She stopped, scissors in one hand, cotton spooled out in the other. “Are you telling me the Moon Rabbit removed your curse?”
“No.”
It was her turn to grunt. “One of the meddling gods then. A trickster?”
When I didn’t answer, she snipped the cotton and tucked the end of it into place.
“There are gods I won’t get involved with,” she said. “There are gods you shouldn’t get involved with, either.”
“Who said I was involved?”
She drew thin, stretchy bandaging off a roll and repeated the wrapping process.
“I think…I’m aware our meeting isn’t a coincidence, Mr. Gauge. I’ve been surrounded by magic since my first breath. I can recognize when the Fates are poking their fingers in my eyes.”
She finished with the wrap, then picked up the arm brace, tugging on the tabs. Hook and latch scratched apart in short, quick jerks.
“We—my family—have fallen into difficulties.” She nodded toward Franny who was listening in rapt awe to Abbi telling a story about werewolf ghosts and moon cookies. “Choices and actions we’ve made. Things that aren’t easily undone.”
She carefully positioned the brace on my arm and indicated I could let go of my wrist. She took over, placing the brace and supporting my wrist before letting me put my hand back under it.
She threaded tabs through slots, pulling the brace tight.
“I was searching for our answer, and here you are now. I think you’re our answer, Brogan Gauge. Or at least part of it. But before I can ask you the questions, I need to know which gods you’re tangled with.”
She pressed the last straps across my palm, her fingers warm and firm.
“Wiggle,” she ordered.
I wiggled my fingers.
She squeezed each of my fingertips, looked at my nails, then sat back and folded the towel in her lap. “Let go of your wrist. Let’s see how it feels.”
I released my wrist, ready for the pain, but it was muffled. “It’s good,” I said. “Doesn’t hurt as much.”
“It will as the swelling goes down. Tighten the straps if it feels too loose, but don’t tighten it so much you lose circulation in your fingers. Understand?”
“Not my first fracture.”
“Good.Then I’ll spare you the lecture on what to do if you run a fever, if you become nauseous, if you feel dizzy.”
“Rest, elevate, hydrate,” I recited.
“Someone’s taught you well.” She braced her palms on her thighs, elbows sticking out to the side, reminding me, fleetingly, of a grasshopper ready to jump.
“Gods,” she said. “How many are you connected to?”
“Questions like that usually come with prices to be paid.”
“All right, here’s my ante. I’m a witch, you know that. I’m part of a powerful coven. We have connections. Connections that will help you with your vampire problem,” she pointed at my wrist, “your past curse problem, and if you play your cards right, your finding whatever it is you’re searching for problem—yes, I can see that in you too.
“We—my family—can help you find the thing you’re tied to. The thing you can’t figure how to cut free of.”
The spellbook, of course.
She nodded. “Whatever just put that look on your face? That’s the thing we can find.”
“How can you find something when you don’t even know what it is?”
