A loud noise sent me spinning, back to the wall, hands lifted for a spell. Tires squealed as a car roared past the motel.

I looked down at my fingers, still outstretched, ready to cast. I inhaled sharply and clenched my fists.

What if she did have a gun? Sure, I knew some martial arts, but I was no black belt. I’d learned grudgingly, knowing my spells were better than any roundhouse kick.

I’d love to bring this kid down on my own, but the important thing was to stop her before she targeted another witch. Time to get backup.

I was two doors from my room when a hand clamped on my shoulder. I spun, fingers flying up in a useless knockback spell.

It was a man, a huge guy, at least three hundred pounds and a few inches taller than me. Beard stubble covered his fleshy face. He smelled like he’d showered in Jack Daniel’s.

“You got a dollar?” he said. “I’m hungry.” He pointed at the vending machine. “I don’t got a dollar.”

“Neither do I,” I said.

He grabbed my arm and yanked me, his other arm going around my waist as he pulled me against him. I froze. Just froze, my brain stuttering through all the spells I couldn’t cast, refusing to offer any alternatives.

“Let her go,” said a familiar voice.

Adam walked over, hands at his sides, fingers glowing faintly, gaze fixed on the man. I snapped to my senses and elbow-jabbed the guy, who fell back, whining, “I just wanted a dollar.”

Adam is my height and well built, but he’s no muscle-bound bruiser. Still the guy shrunk, then slithered off to his room.

“Well, that was humiliating,” I said. “Tell you what, I’ll buy that new top for your Jeep if you promise never to tell anyone you rescued me from a drunk asking for spare change.”

He didn’t smile. Just studied me, then said, “Let’s get inside.”

“Can’t. My little witch-hunter has returned. She’s up on the roof. I was just coming in to get you for backup.”

That gave him pause, but he only nodded, then peered up at the dark rooftop. “I’ll go around the rear and climb up. You cover the front.”

I should have warned him that I was spell-free. I really should have. I didn’t.

A few minutes later, gravel crunched on the roof again and I tensed, but it was only Adam. He walked to the front, hunkered down, and motioned me over.

“No sign of her,” he whispered. “But I can’t see shit. Can you toss up a light ball?”

“Is there a flashlight in the Jeep?” I asked. “That’d be easier.”

“Sure.” He dropped the keys into my hand. “Glove box.”

two

I retrieved the flashlight, but it didn’t help. The girl was gone.

“Lot of ground to cover,” Adam said after he’d climbed off the roof. “It’s all farm fields behind the motel. My guess is she parked on a nearby road. We’ll split up. You’ve got your light ball and I have the flashlight.”

I let him get a few paces away before I said, “I don’t have my light ball.”

“Hmm?”

“My spells,” I said. “They’re . . . gone.”

“Shit.” He paused. “That damned poison.” I’d been having spell problems for a few days, after being poisoned. “Okay, come on.”

We’d barely set out when the whine of a car engine sounded to the west. It stopped, then started again.

Adam smiled. “Someone doesn’t have a four-by-four. Got herself stuck in the mud.”

We broke into a jog, but before we got close the engine roared as the car broke free. A flash of brake lights. Then darkness as the car tore away, headlights off.

“She’ll be back,” Adam said.

“I don’t want to wait. We need to go after her.”

“And we will, after you’ve paid another visit to Dr. Lee to find out why the hell that poison isn’t out of your system yet.”

I stopped walking. “It’s not the poison. My spells were working fine earlier.”

“And you’ve lost them again because you should still be in the hospital, recuperating.” He put his arm around my shoulders, propelling me forward. “You’re going back to—”

“My spells aren’t weak. They’re gone. I . . . I gave them up.”

“What?”

“Last night, I said I’d give my powers to undo what happened with Kayla. The Fates must have taken me up on it.”

“How? You can’t just make a wish and have it come true.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Let’s go inside and get some rest, then head over to Dr. Lee—”

I pulled from his grip. “Don’t patronize me, Adam.”

Hints of amber sparked in his brown eyes. He got his temper under control before opening his mouth, and when he did, his tone was low, words measured.

“I’m not patronizing you, Savannah. I’m trying to calm you down and get you inside so you can think rationally.”

“Rationally?”

“Yes, rationally. You had spell blackouts because you were poisoned. Now your spells are gone again, and you insist it’s not the poison, but a wish you made because you’re feeling shitty about what happened in Columbus?”

“I know it sounds crazy—”

“You’ve got an assassin on your trail, Savannah, and if your spells are on the fritz—”

“They aren’t on the fritz. They’re gone. I can feel it. My powers—” My voice cracked. “They’re gone.”

He reached out, as if he wanted to hug me, but only gripped my upper arms, thumbs rubbing, comforting me at arm’s length. The back of my throat ached. I wanted that hug. Needed that hug. Any other time, I’d have gotten it, one friend comforting another. But it was as if something had changed after Columbus, and this was all he could offer.

I stepped back and his hands fell to his sides. Spots of color touched his cheeks as he awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Okay,” he said. “Well, I think you’re wrong. You’re still very upset and you’re—”

“Overreacting?”

His gaze met mine. “No, I think you have every reason to be upset. You feel responsible for what happened—even if you aren’t—and this is your way of punishing yourself.” He lifted his hands against my protest. “But there’s an easy way to settle it. You said you offered the bargain to set Paula free. So, let’s go back to Columbus and see what’s happened.”