“You didn’t see what happened! Don’t you believeme, yourwife?”
“Gee, I wonder why that’d be hard for me to imagine you didn’t cause this.”
“He’s getting closer…” Marcus whimpered.
“Whatever happened to forsaking all others?” I asked.
“I don’t remember traffic violations being a part of our wedding vows, but you can add them into the upcoming ceremony if you like,” Charlie offered.
I huffed. “Wow. Just wow. Okay, Marcus, you’re up!”
“Me?!” Marcus yelped.
The dude had gotten to my window and was banging on the door. He broke off my mirror, which made me gasp. How dare he touch my baby!
I poked Charlie’s arm. “Ancestors, what a dick! You know, if he threatens me, youhaveto punch him, then.”
Charlie let out an irritated noise, clearly contemplating it.
“Oh my gods,” Kallie grumbled, and she got out.
Five minutes later, Kallie had dusted off her clothes.
“That loser got his blood on my shoes. You were right, Ava, hewasa dick,” Kallie complained as she wiped them off outside the car. The other guy, who Kallie had pelted to bits, stumbled back into his truck and drove off.
“You’re all terrible people.” Charlie shook his head.
I gave a happy sigh. “Well, now that’s over with, we might as well get on down the road!”
“No, you lost your privileges. You’re sitting in the back with me,” Charlie said, and he snatched the keys out of the ignition. “Marcus is driving.”
Marcusdid, which was absolutely terrible, I tell you, because he went ten miles under the speed limit the entire time.
“Are we going to get there today, grandma?” I mumbled.
“Cars are dangerous. They are potential weapons, and therefore, should always be driven safely,” Marcus replied.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Marcus didn’t have to sing along toevery single show tunethat played over the speakers. He’d hooked up his phone to the car stereo, and his playlist was extremely one-sided. I liked musicals, too, but it was hard to enjoy the music when Marcus was belting outWaving Through a Windowat the top of his lungs for the third time in a row… with accompanied hand movements and expressions.
After I’d nearly aged ten years, we finally arrived in Vegas. This was one of the few places in the United States where I’d never been, and it looked amazing. The strip was full of fancy casinos that towered into the skyline, and neon lights beamed everywhere into the desert night. Hundreds of people filled the streets, and the whole city seemed to buzz with an undertone of excitement and danger.
“We could get into some trouble out here, honey,” I said to Charlie as I looked around.
“There’s a reason it’s called Sin City.” Kallie pointed to a tall building at the edge of the strip. “Here. The strip club’s inside that hotel.”
Marcus pulled into a parking garage. The van was already waiting inside.
We got out of the car, thank the ancestors for it. I was tired of driving with Miss Daisy over here.
“Marcus, you drive so slow that you lost the lead I had on the van, and they still arrived here earlier than us,” I complained.
“But we made it here safely, and that’s what counts,” he shot back.
We all gathered in a circle outside the van, and Marcus conjured the potion. He passed it around. Each of us took a drink, save for Ivy. I waited for it to change my features, but nothing happened.
“Are you sure this spell works?” I asked, looking at the remnants of the potion vial.
“I’m positive,” Marcus insisted. “I’ve tested it out a bunch of times. We don’t look any different to each other, because we all took the potion, but anyone else who looks at us is going to see a completely different person. They won’t be able to tell who we really are.”
