Magic sparked around her and I stared. Evie kept her magic hidden away, but since I’d been in Austin, she’d turned into a powerhouse. There was something about it—
“Danica.”
I surveyed the witch standing behind my sister. “Gemma.”
Last time I’d been here, I’d lost control of my power, holding the coven leader in place and ruthlessly questioning her. The look on her face told me she would never forget it.
“The boys are in the living room.”
She gestured for me to follow her. I gaped at Evie and she clamped her mouth shut, her eyes dancing with humor.
I’d forgotten how Gemma felt about most kids. I’d never been fortunate enough to benefit from the way she loved on anyone younger than sixteen, but I’d seen it happen.
Cil and Zip were sitting on a stuffed gray sofa, a bowl of popcorn between them. On the TV, the news played, and for one long moment, it felt like I’d never left this house. Gail– one of the more senior witches– had always been obsessed with the paranormal news, and insisted on keeping the TV on day and night.
The boys were silent, obviously exhausted, their gray faces drawn and pale, with dark circles beneath their blue eyes. Zip clutched a small canvas bag in one hand and held his brother’s hand in the other.
They needed to go to bed. But I needed to find out what they’d seen before they forgot anything important. I crouched in front of them. “Hi guys.”
Both of them focused on me. “Hi, Danica,” they chorused, and I smiled.
“What’s that you’ve got, Zip?”
He clutched the canvas bag tighter. “It’s our treasures.”
“What kind of treasures do you have?”
“They’re secret.”
I glanced at Evie. She grinned at me. “You always looked after our treasures when we were kids.”
“You couldn’t be trusted not to lose them.”
I turned back to the kids. “Okay, I need you guys to tell me everything you remember about tonight. Can you do that?”
They both nodded. Distantly, I was aware of Gemma, Gail, and a few of the other witches filing in.
“Okay,” I took a deep breath. “What did you guys have for dinner tonight?”
“Chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes with green beans,” Cil said. “I ate all my green beans, but Zip only ate half.
“Dad said I could,” Zip stuck his lower lip out.
“I hate green beans,” I admitted, and he grinned at me, revealing sharp, pointed teeth. He was still missing a couple of adult teeth.
“I hate them too.”
“So after dinner, what happened next?”
“We went back to the store. Dad said he wanted to stay open for a few more hours and we needed to do our homework quietly.”
“Okay. So what happened after that?”
Zip reached for his brother’s hand once more. “A bad man came.”
“How did you know he was a bad man?”
“He was wearing a cloak. Bad men wear cloaks.”
