Unconscious.
“That’s not surprising,” commended Maeve.
The compliment didn’t go unnoticed, though Mal’s expression remained cold.
Maeve positioned herself in front of Thaddeus. Placing her fingers at her temple, she pulled forward the false memory of The Peur family’s murders she created. The silvery black substance hung from her fingertips like dripping glue.
“You are certain?” She asked Mal. “I hate to do it to him.”
“I am certain.” Came Mal’s voice from behind her.
She didn’t argue. She knew they had to cover themselves. The Double O had been here before. They had suspected Mary Gagner was Magical in some way. And Thad made it easy for them to incriminate him. He admitted he had already tried to kill Mal’s father once.
She closed her eyes, reached out with her free hand and touched Thad’s forehead. His mind was like butter, and all his memories blurred in and out of focus.
She worked swiftly in what felt like record time, planting the false memory in his mind. She erased all memories of herself and Mal meeting Thaddues. She released his mind for a moment, only to return and extract the new memory herself. She opened her eyes and looked up at Mal.
“Would you like to see?” Asked Maeve.
Mal merely raised his eyebrows, but Maeve was used to reading his silences by now. She rose from her knees and tapped the silver string hanging on the tip of her fingers into Mal’s temple.
He submerged for only a minute before coming back. Maeve had to suppress her anxiousness, even though she knew the charm to be without fault.
His eyes opened as she pulled the memory out. It dangled at her fingers.
“Brilliant,” he said.
With a confident swish of her arm, she tossed the memory into Thad’s muddled brain.
There would be no confusion about who murdered Malachite Senior and his parents. If anyone cared to search his mind for evidence, they would see no trace of Mal or Maeve, only Thad himself. When Thad awoke, he would think nothing other than that he himself had killed them.
With a wave of Mal’s hand, the door to the Gagner shack of a house slammed shut. Maeve didn’t follow him down the hillside to his mother’s grave. He stared at it only for a moment before traveling back up the hill and the pair began their journey to a summer at Sinclair Estates.
Chapter 23
“Alright,” said Maeve as they ventured deeper into the woods, away from Ragsling Village. “You’re certain you can-”
“How many times must I reassure you I can Obsure both of us safely there?”
She grinned. “At least once more,” said Maeve.
Mal didn’t smile. “Take my hand.”
“I can just go separately-”
“Take my hand.”
“Show me,” said Maeve. She pointed. “There.”
Mal nearly rolled his eyes. “I passed the test last term, Sinclair.”
“Well, I’ve never seen you do it. I don’t enjoy the idea of getting sliced in half when you only teleport half of me to-”
Mal vanished with a SWISH. And reappeared behind her. She jumped and spun around. He looked smugly satisfied.
“Ok now-” she started.
Mal lunged for her and grabbed her wrist. She gasped as her body compressed and swirled next to his. She spun loose from his arms ten feet from where they had just been standing.
