“Then we need to keep at it,” Channing said brusquely. A flicker of disappointment crossed Stella’s face, forcing a flashbulb of understanding to go off in my head. Stella was using Wade to see if Channing had feelings for her—to see if she could make him jealous.
I concentrated on Channing’s emotions to see what I could discover, but there didn’t appear to be a scrap of jealousy in him—only a simmering sense of protectiveness toward Stella, the kind you’d find from a brother or a close friend.
Oof, that’s going to sting.
Wade, on the other hand, seemed absolutely delighted. He grinned and nudged Stella back, prompting her to chuckle. I could feel my retinas detaching just by looking at them. He had no idea that he was part of a setup, and he was loving it.
A big part of me wanted to expose Stella there and then, but I kept the knowledge to myself. Girl code and all that. However, I was so looking forward to dumping a bucket of cold water over Wade when we got back to the coven. He couldn’t have been more flattered if he’d tried. Heck, his cheeks were pink. Another part of me felt a little salty at the happiness he was showing with Stella. With me, it was almost always business-mode Wade, all the time, with a few sprinkled exceptions here and there. Why couldn’t he laugh like that around me, or nudge me in the arm, or—
My stomach twisted into knots. Oh boy, I am in BIG trouble…
My reactions weren’t the reactions of a sane, indifferent young woman. These were the jealous reactions of someone who was catching feelings for a certain Wade Crowley. The serious kind. The butterflies-in-the-stomach, head-over-heels, tongue-tied, stupid kind. The kind I tended to avoid at all costs. An expletive sat on my tongue, begging to be muttered under my breath.
“Come on, let’s go,” I said quietly, keeping my feelings firmly to myself.
“Are you okay?” Wade asked as we walked.
I nodded. “Yeah, sure. I mean, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? Just tired after yesterday. Running around after people will do that to you.” My words came out all flustered and jumbled. Jeez, Harley, get it together.
“Did you not get much sleep?”
I shrugged. “Not really. Lots on my mind.” Yeah, like you.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Now?”
“No, I meant when we get back to the coven. We can talk or something—grab a coffee and chat through what’s on your mind.”
I stared at him weirdly. “Yeah… maybe… if there’s not a whole load of other things going on, which there probably will be. Might be a raincheck situation, for when I’ve got even more mental garbage to spew at you.” Very smooth, Harley. Oh, yeah, let’s talk about what’s on my mind—how about, I think I have feelings for you and I don’t know what to do about it? What would you suggest, Wade?
He chuckled. “Nice mental image.”
“Yeah… sorry for that visual poetry.”
He glanced at me with a curious look. “Harley Merlin apologizing? I might have to send you for a psych evaluation when we get back.”
“Very funny.” I nudged him in the arm, feeling like a middle-schooler again. Maybe I do need a psych evaluation, or some shock therapy. Maybe that’ll get you out of my head, Crowley. If not, a lobotomy might be a good plan.
“I mean it, though. If you need to talk, I’m here.”
“Thanks.” My cheeks were burning furiously, forcing me to look away so he wouldn’t see.
We moved on up the road, asking the same questions and showing the same picture to anyone who’d listen. Near the top end of the street, there was a small apartment block, with a fire escape snaking down the outer wall. A figure caught my eye, just visible from the sidewalk. A girl was coming down the wrought-iron steps, clutching a plump trash bag in her hand.
Marjorie.
“There!” I hissed, not wanting to alert her.
I waved to the others across the road and pointed toward the apartments. They scuttled over, keeping their distance from the fire escape’s line of sight. Slowly, we approached. She was almost at the bottom of the fire escape when she saw us. Her eyes widened in fear. Flinging the trash bag over the railing, she took off at a sprint, racing back upstairs toward the roof. I took off after her, with the others following. Channing, Wade, and Stella hurried up the escape behind me, while Santana and Raffe went around the side of the building, to stop her if she tried to make a break for it through the front door.
Marjorie wasn’t stupid. She’d evaded the Ryder twins, and she’d kept a low profile for longer than anyone her age ought to have been able to. It was clear this girl had some serious skills. As much as I admired her for them, we needed to catch her. This wasn’t a Jacob and Isadora case—there were no benefits to her staying out here on her own. Nevertheless, I understood her fear.
I tore up the side of the fire escape, my boots pounding on the rickety metal. Reaching the top, I vaulted over the low wall of the roof and spotted her halfway across it. I sprinted after her, my legs pumping to cut her off. Clawing breath into my lungs, I forged a Telekinetic lasso and hurled it at her. She glanced over her shoulder, grimacing from my mental grip, then threw her arm back and sent a violent gust of air toward me. The blast knocked me off my feet, severing the Telekinetic connection.
I jumped up with barely a pause and hurtled after her again. She fired blast after blast of violent air in my direction, the sudden whorls and gusts shaking the palm trees in the front yards of the houses opposite. Above us, the sky darkened, her powers drawing on the energy all around her. In her terror, she seemed to be changing the weather.
Reaching the far edge of the wall, Marjorie didn’t miss a beat as she roused a cushion of air to carry her safely across to the next building. I charged on, with Wade at my side, the two of us leaping onto the next building. The gap was small enough that Wade could make it without the need for magic, though I had to grasp the front of his shirt to stop him from toppling backward. Once he was steady, we sprinted after Marjorie with everything we had.
Wade hurled a fireball at Marjorie’s feet. So much for keeping a low profile. Behind us, Channing and Stella were struggling to keep up. They didn’t have enough momentum to cross the gap between buildings, both of them forced to go back and take a run up.
Undeterred, I powered over the next gap and the next, until I realized that Wade was no longer beside me. The gaps between buildings had spread too wide. It was just me and Marjorie now, seeing how far our Air abilities could take us. All around me, the wind howled and snapped, attempting to push me back. I fought Air with Air, creating tiny tornados that spiraled upward before disappearing into the sky.
Marjorie turned at the end of the street, with no more buildings to leap onto. Instead, she jumped the immense distance onto a building on the next street. I hurried after, determined not to lose sight of her. The diamond of my Esprit sputtered for a minute, the air cushion beneath me disappearing instantly. I plummeted toward the ground, with nothing to break my fall.
Filled with panic, I flung out a lasso of Telekinesis and wrapped it around a utility pole, using it to gain upward momentum and bounce back toward the rooftops. Somehow, it worked, my Air ability rushing to meet me, as it pushed me the last few feet onto the opposite roof with a roar of wind.
I didn’t stop for breath, or to think about what might have happened. I kept sprinting, my legs burning, until I closed the distance between myself and Marjorie. She fumbled on the edge of the outer wall, teetering awkwardly. I could see she was tired. Using her moment of hesitation to my advantage, I lunged for her, the two of us toppling over the side. I forged a cushion of air beneath us, and we landed with a soft bounce a few feet above the ground. As it dissipated, we collapsed in a heap, the two of us gasping for breath.
Even then, she tried to fight me. She attempted to release a sharp gust of Air, but I was too close and held her too tight for it to work.
“Marjorie, stop!” I urged. “Just stop. We’re not here to hurt you.”
“Let go of me!” she snapped, wriggling like a ferret in my arms.
“Quit it!” I gripped her tighter, worried she might get away again. I didn’t have much juice left in the tank.
The others came hurtling around the corner. Santana darted ahead and ducked down beside us, seizing Marjorie’s arms and slapping a set of Atomic Cuffs on her wrists. Mine were in my back pocket, and I couldn’t put them on her without loosening my grip. As soon as she was restrained, I sprawled out on the ground, my chest heaving.
“Nice catch, Merlin,” Channing commended me. He sounded genuinely impressed. Beside him, Stella dropped her gaze to hide an impulsive expression of hurt. I figured that maybe Channing had never spoken to her like that, just like Wade had never spoken to me the way he had done with her. What are these guys doing to us, Stella? We’re strong, fierce, formidable women… reduced to this by a couple of dudes. We both needed a stern talking-to, or a kick in the ass.
“What now?” I wheezed, getting to my feet with Santana’s help.
“We need to take this young lady back to the coven and have a long and serious talk about what happened,” Wade replied.
Looking down at Marjorie’s scowl, I winced. In all honesty, I would’ve made the same face.
Fifteen
Santana
I sat down in front of the terrified teenager, in the safety of Alton’s office. It was just me and her. I had been elected to speak with her alone, since she showed a clear unease around authority figures, which canceled Alton out, and all of us piling into the room would have made her just as uncomfortable, which canceled the rest of the team out. Apparently, I had a better bedside manner than the others. I wasn’t about to argue.
“All right, chica, well, I just want to start by saying you can calm the hell down. I know we look like them, but we aren’t the bad guys,” I said. She’d just been chased across a dozen rooftops by a bunch of strangers she’d never met. Given her last encounter with folks like us, I’d be crapping myself, too. Marjorie was shaking like a leaf, her eyes bulging out of her head, frog-style.