by T. A. Foster
I drew his palm over my heart. He pulled his shoulders back, but let his hand rest on my chest. I wanted him to feel my heart beating. It was something real; I was real.
“Jack, I am going to tell you everything. I’ve only been giving you pieces and I know that’s not fair. Last night wasn’t fair. After the Time Spell today, anything you want to know, I’m an open book—a book of spells—for you to read.” I looked into his eyes, and smiled.
He stepped closer and brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “I want to trust you. I want to be a part of this. Just let me in, dammit. Let me help you.” His hand lingered on the side of my face.
I closed my eyes. The touch warmed something in my chest, and I wanted to remember every second of it.
“Protect me, Jack. Protect the seam,” I whispered. “I do need you, you’ll see.” I looked over his shoulder at the clock. “We have to go. It’s time.”
The service corridor was vacant. A few empty carts lined the dark hallway.
“Ok, this is where I’ll make the seam.” I pointed to a blank wall just behind the main hallway the service employees used to enter the casino. “I shouldn’t be gone long, maybe an hour.”
Jack paced, his arms folded.
“Do you remember what I told you about the Proxies? Keep an eye out for someone who is kind of catlike. Don’t let anyone block the wall or put a cart in front of it or something. Ok?” I didn’t even know what a Proxy looked like, so I realized my description wasn’t the most helpful.
“Got it. Watch a blank wall. Guard it from carts and cats.” He rolled his eyes.
“Jack, someone is watching us. Until we know who the Proxy is, as far as I’m concerned, everyone is suspicious. I need you to do this. Once I’m on the other side of the seam, I have no idea what’s happening over here, and you can keep the seam safe for me.”
“Why not leave it open? If you need me, I can get to you, I can help.” He unfolded his arms and leaned closer.
“Uh-uh. No way. If that seam is left open, anyone from 1968 can trip into the present and vice versa. I have to seal it from the other side.” Part of me did want to take him with me, but that wasn’t a possibility on this trip. “I’ve got to go. Do you have my back on this?”
I looked over my shoulder, and for a second, I thought Jack was going to try to hug me, but he was in guard mode. “Yes, I’ve got your back. Just be careful, Ivy.”
I looked right then left to make sure we were alone. Reaching both hands over my head, I touched my palms together as I had done many times in yoga class.
“Fade,” I whispered.
A shimmery luminescence coated my body; my shoulders, arms, chest, and legs were washed with the glitter from the Fade Spell and coated until I sparkled from head to toe.
“Can you see me?” I turned to face Jack but saw a stunned look on his face. That answered my question.
“No, not a speck of you. Where are you?” His eyes darted in front of me.
“I’m here, but I’m going to open the seam and then I’ll be gone. You’ll be able to see it, but don’t go through it and don’t let anyone else in it either. That’s important. No one can walk through it. It’s going to be open for a few minutes, so be on high alert. Got it?”
“Got it. Don’t worry.”
“Bye, Jack.”
My witchy senses tingled. I had never spelled for something so urgent before. Lives were at stake and I had trusted Jack with my magic. The memory of Finn and that ill-fated trip to Savannah was rising to the surface. I fought to push it into the farthest corner of my mind and securely lock it away. Jack was here. I had to trust him and I needed him to trust me.
I aimed my finger at the wall and focused my mind on 1968.
“Unfold.”
The wall rippled and eventually waved a glittery fold large enough for me to step through. Jack watched the seam form, but he was unable to see me. 1968, Helen, Simone, and the diamonds were waiting. I traveled through the dark whirling coldness of the seam and into the smoky back hall of the bustling 1968 Starlight.
Las Vegas, 1968
Last night I poured through my notes from the first trip to 1968. I memorized Helen’s schedule and her route. She would be entering the chauffeured car parked in front of the hotel in a few minutes and winding her way through the underground tunnel to Simone’s private elevator. My goal was to meet her car at the garage exit and follow her from the Diamond Towers to the airport. I both assumed and hoped that along the way there would be some kind of hand off of the case of diamonds.
I sidestepped colorfully clad hotel guests lounging in the hotel lobby. There was one woman in hot pink pants dancing around the bellman trio. Her side ponytail bounced as she kicked up her knees. I was unsure if she had won the jackpot in the casino, or if she was dancing off a lingering buzz. I detoured the bopping blonde and headed for the exit. Luckily, a doorman was holding the door for an elderly couple, and I jumped ahead to beat them through the exit. Taxis and service cars were arranged in rows at the hotel entrance. I didn’t bother looking for Helen or her car. I knew she would be at the Diamond Towers in only a few minutes.
I briskly walked to the corner of the building. I pulled my arms in and jumped toward the sky, kicking off the sidewalk. The sun was still creeping upward, and I soaked in the warmth on my face. The Diamond Towers was only a few blocks away, so I didn’t have much airspace to adjust my flying range to two hundred feet from the ground. The towers loomed in front of me, tacky as ever. I slowed my pace and skirted around the far side to begin my holding pattern in front of the garage.
After my third loop above the street, I started to doubt the notes from my trip were accurate. From the sky, I had no way to check the time, but I thought Helen would have left by now. I began another loop when I saw the black Cadillac creep from the bowels of the garage and turn left. Helen’s silhouette and tipped white hat were picturesque from the car’s back window. She patted the bag on the seat next to her. I was relieved my target had finally emerged. Whatever happened now, my focus needed to be on that bag of diamonds.
Five minutes into the route, the car slowed and pulled into an empty parking lot. There was a small, unmarked brick building at the end of the lot. On the side of the building was a metal garage door. It looked like maybe at one time it had been a parts business or a delivery service. Through the cracked blinds of the front window, I could see a desk and a few chairs scattered around a barren office. The driver parked directly in front of the brick building’s chipped door.
First one black shoe and pant leg emerged from the driver’s seat, then the other. The tall, bald man adjusted his sunglasses over his elongated nose, brushed the lapels of his jacket, and walked around the rear of the car to Helen’s door.
It had been two years since I had seen him, but I recognized the man who had shoved Holden Chadsworth off the desert cliff. Helen reached for his hand and gracefully stretched each leg forward as she stepped onto the parking lot. The man held her hand and leaned down so she could kiss his cheek. She lingered for a moment and whispered something in his ear. The oversized hat blocked my view and the conversation. Clutching the diamonds close to her, she walked toward the building.
I waited for the next villain to surface and engage Helen in some sort of diamond swap. I didn’t know how crimes played out, but that seemed like the next logical step. The door opened and a woman emerged. She was wearing an oversized white hat, tipped to the side, barely covering the chignon above her neck. Her long-sleeved white dress was cinched with a white belt, and she carried a pair of white gloves in her hands. Helen and the woman nodded at each other. Helen continued into the building, and the woman glided into the car. The bald man shut the door behind her and careened the car back onto the highway, heading toward the airport.
Within seconds, the shabby garage door screeched open and a long, brown car headed in the opposite direction from the airport. There, in the back of the car, was Helen Chadsworth, and next to her was the bag of di
amonds. She patted the bag, and the car plunged toward the mountains of the Nevada desert. I hovered in midair, watching Helen pull off another masterful con.
My heart pounded. I couldn’t get back to Jack fast enough. I had to tell him what I had seen. The sour feeling of fear pulsed through my body. What if he wasn’t there? What if I had led him into a trap? I pushed my arms back, pointed my toes, and aimed my course for the Starlight with the highest velocity of speed my body could produce. Out of breath, I ran through the lobby, dodging the dancing lady and the suitcases piled in the lobby. Jack. I had to get to Jack.
The casino tables fanned in front of me like an obstacle course. I weaved through the morning gamers, waiters, and dealers, and ducked behind the casino curtain into the service area. I cross-checked the servers’ paths again before opening the seam. My hand was shaking as I raised my finger to the wall.
“Unfold,” I whispered.
The glittery veil waved across the wall, and I ran through the cold membrane and right into Jack.
“Hey!” I bumped him hard. He was standing guard in front of the wall, just as he said he would.
“It’s me. Sorry, so sorry. Are you ok? Did anything happen to you?” I looked him over, taking in every inch of his muscular, 6’4” frame. His hair was tousled slightly on top, probably from his hands. “I have to tell you what happened.” The words spilled from me faster than I could think.
“Whoa, whoa, Ivy. I can’t see you. Can you fix that first?”
“Oh right. Sorry, sorry.” I pointed at the seam first to close the entrance to 1968. “Eclipse.”
The waving veil subsided to a light ripple then faded to nothing. I raised my arms again and resumed my yoga position.
“Radiance.”
The shimmery crystals that covered my body evaporated from my skin, hair, and clothes. Jack stood in awe as my body gradually came into view inch by inch. I lowered my arms to my sides.
“You are back.” He smiled.
“Yep, I am. And I have to tell you what happened. How long was I gone?”
He looked at his watch. “About thirty minutes. I think we should go back up to the room. I’ve been getting a weird feeling down here, like someone was watching me the whole time you were gone.”
My witchy instincts were tingling too. “You’re right. Let’s go.”
Someone was watching us, but I didn’t see anyone in the hallway. The carts hadn’t moved. The casino floor was too full of gamblers and workers to single anyone out. The ride to the top floor took forever, I was anxious to tell him the great reveal.
Jack locked the penthouse double doors behind us. I sank into the oversized couch and took a deep breath.
“It’s Helen.” I leaned forward.
“What? What are you talking about? Helen’s dead.” Jack stood in front of me.
“No, she’s not. I followed her car after she left Simone’s suite. I saw her pull into a parking lot. I thought she was going to exchange the diamonds for money or something, but she made a different kind of exchange. She got out of the car and a woman who looked exactly like her, dressed in the same dress and hat, got in Helen’s car and drove to the airport.”
Jack ran his fingers through his hair. “You are saying Helen wasn’t on the plane that crashed?”
“That is what I’m saying. She got in a different car with the diamonds and drove the opposite direction.” My hands were shaking a little bit, and my body was still pulsing with adrenaline.
“Who was the other woman?” He sat next to me.
“I don’t know. I didn’t follow her.” I felt guilty letting an innocent woman fly off into a death trap. “I think Helen probably paid her to get on the plane in her place. Poor thing, she didn’t know it was for a plane crash.”
“This doesn’t make any sense. You think Helen is still alive? What is going on?”
“It does make sense. I don’t know her whole plan, but now I know why she was so upset about Vegas Star. She is alive and has been all of these years. I’m a threat to her secret.”
Jack leaned against the cushions. “Wait? How old is she?”
I did a quick calculation in my head. “I think that makes her eighty, if she was thirty-five in 1968.”
“This is incredible. I can’t believe she’s still alive. But if you saw her leave with her half of the diamonds, why does she want you to find more diamonds? I’m still not following you.”
“Jack, she wants Simone’s half of the diamonds. That’s why I’m here. Diamonds and magic.”
THE SUNSET over the desert cast deep hues of orange and pink throughout the room. I watched Jack’s shadow pace around the couch, chairs, and tables as he made a repetitive path in front of the wall of windows.
“How do we stop her, Ivy?”
We had been in the suite all day and Jack’s intensity never waned. He was determined to find Helen and put an end to her threats on our families. We both had expected to receive some sort of summons by now. We were on edge waiting for the orders of an eighty-year-old Proxy.
“We have to wait.” I didn’t like my answer either.
“Wait?” He stormed over to the television and started flipping through channels.
“How about we order dinner?” I offered.
I could think of a few other ways we could pass the time, but it probably wasn’t the best way to try to recapture the moment we had this morning. Jack had evolved from calm and protective coconspirator to a raging bull, albeit a protective raging bull. It was a side of him that I hadn’t seen before. I liked the protective side. It gave him a whole new level of sexiness.
The only message we had received from Helen since we had arrived in Las Vegas was in the atrocious cellophane basket. The words had seemed eerily familiar. The quotes from the newspaper articles, the letter to Jack, the note in the basket—they all had that same uppity, disdainful tone. Now that we knew who had crafted the threats, they seemed noticeably connected. She said she would get in touch with us today, but we had yet to receive the next set of instructions. Jack was right. Why was I waiting for her to contact us? I could find Helen. Ian had an awesome Locality Spell. If I could channel some of that spell, maybe I could find her. She had to be in Las Vegas.
“Ok, I have an idea. It’s kind of a long shot since my family bond is on the weak side.” Jack looked at me sheepishly. “It’s ok. It happened. I still have plenty of magic.” I didn’t want him to feel guilty.
“What do you need? What’s your plan?”
“It’s called a Locality Spell. If I have the right elements, I can locate Helen on a map and we can track her. Do we have one of the maps from the lobby?”
Jack hurried to the bar and shifted through the concierge books and pamphlets. Buried in a stack of sightseeing materials was a Welcome to Las Vegas map. He spread it on the dining table and stepped back to assess my next move.
“Perfect. Ok, I need something that belongs to her.” I looked at him.
His brow furrowed again. “How are we going to get that?”
“She did used to live in here. So anything in here that was in the penthouse in 1968 was technically hers. Help me search the suite for something that is original. They had to leave something from 1968.” I started in the living room. “Don’t decorators think all of that stuff is so retro and cool now?”
Jack shrugged his shoulders, but began his deco hunt in the kitchen. He lifted a plant stand and a few knickknacks positioned on the end of the counter for me to examine.
“No, all of that is new.” I surveyed the room again. There had to be something. Jack was banging through cabinets and drawers. “Could you…?” I was going to ask him to stop slamming every door he encountered, when I remembered the boulder-like doors in the foyer. “The doors. We can use the doors.” I grabbed the map and headed into the marbled foyer.
Jack examined the monstrous carved beasts. “How are you going to use these?”
“Get the lights.” I pointed to the wall.
He flipped
the switch in the hall. Except for a few rosy traces of the sunset, we were immersed in darkness.
“Now hold the map as flat as you can on the doors.” I hoped this would work.
He took the map from my hands and spread it out evenly across the doors’ surfaces, smoothing the creases several times and flattening each of the four corners.
“Now what?” He waited with his arms and hands pressing the map into the door.
“I need a little help from my brother.” I reached for my cell phone and punched in a quick text to Ian.
Take a quick break. Need five minutes for a locality.
My phone buzzed.
Why? Who?
Book research.
I thought that would satisfy him. He wouldn’t want the whole story right now.
Ok. Go.
Pushing the phone into my back pocket, I faced the map in front of me, closed my eyes, and pictured Helen. I reached for the map with both hands as if I were about to play pin the tail on the donkey. Everything was fuzzy in my mind. Helen kept fading and I was having a hard time connecting. I squeezed my eyes tighter and pushed everything out of my mind except Helen.
“I see it. There’s something bright on the map that’s blinking. It’s green, Ivy.” Jack’s voice hummed over my head through a distant fog. “Ivy?”
I opened my eyes and looked at the map. There was a green dot blinking in one of the Las Vegas suburbs. My head started to ache a little. I rubbed my temples, but lost my footing. Jack reached around my waist and scooped me up before I hit the floor. His arm held me tightly next to him while I leaned my head on his chest.
