Craig was at the front steps of Leon’s house when Maggie said, “I carried you in my body, Craig. You’re my son. We were camping, and then there was an accident. I was hurt, but you crawled out of the window and went for help.”
He paused.
A burst of hope rose up inside her, and Maggie pushed to her knees.
“That part was in an article.” Craig sounded horrified. “Then I got back, and myactualmother was gone. So I’m stuck here…” He gestured at the house. “I wish my mom was still alive, but she’s not.”
Craig fumbled with the lock on the door, looking over his shoulder at her repeatedly.
“I’m not dead,” she said, tears and what felt like a broken nose making her voice thick and wrong. “I came back for you. I’m right here. Craig!”
The door closed behind him, and Maggie was sobbing full-out now.
“Come on,” Ellie urged. She grabbed Maggie’s upper arm and tugged her to her feet.
Sirens wailed in the distance.
“Seriously, Mags. I don’t want to sit in jail.”
A flash at the window made Maggie look up, and she realized her son was doing exactly what she’d taught him. He took pictures of them and the car.
And he punched me!
He might not remember her face, but he remembered her lessons.
“Once I can talk to him longer, I can convince him.” Maggie stared at her son through the window. He wasn’t safeorhappy here. She was sure of it before, but hearing his words made that doubly clear.
“Right now we need to get out of here, or we’ll be in jail.” Ellie pulled on Maggie’s arm again, and this time, Maggie went willingly.
They ran to the car, and as Ellie started it and pulled away, Maggie glanced back. Another picture. Their license plate was in his photos.
“He’ll turn those in,” she told Ellie.
“No shit, Mags. No fucking shit.” Ellie was speeding away, randomly turning whichever way seemed likely to be the opposite direction from the police.
When they finally got to an intersection with a red light, Maggie took a steadying breath. “Fabricate it. Change the number on the plate. The color and shape of the car, too. Do it.”
“If we use magic, they’ll come here and—”
“If we don’t, we’ll be in jail by morning or trapped here with no car because we need to abandon it because my son smartly photographed the car and plates.” Maggie winced at the thought of leaving her son.
It’s only temporary.
She’d come up with a plan. She’d get through to him. She would. That meant staying out of jail, though. Jail made them vulnerable—to the law and to the witches.
“If we’re sitting in jail, they’ll find us and return us to Crenshaw anyhow.” Maggie swatted at the tears that kept falling. “I can demand siphoning, especially since I know he’s alive, but there’s something over there killing people, Ellie. Do you want to go back there and die?”
Ellie’s hands tightened on the wheel, but she closed her eyes.
As Maggie watched, the hood of the car became black. The shape shifted slightly. The compact car grew into an older-model sedan.
Ellie opened her eyes. The shifting was either easier or she was better at it. Either way, she wasn’t passing out this time. “If you drive, we can go faster. I’m tired from…” She gestured around the car.
“Pull over.” Maggie nodded. It took a lot of willpower to stop the lingering tears, but wrecking wasn’t an option any more than jail was. They had to get away, figure out the next step, avoid any police—including magical police if there were any—and rescue Craig.
He’s alive.
Maggie wasn’t sure how they were going to do all of that, but they were. There was no way in hell she was letting some witches—or herex—steal her son. “We need to get our IDs, make some sort of plan, and—”
