Page 12

Chapter 12

The Madsens

A s Natalie advances on us, the dog leaps forward with a snarl, hitting the end of his short leash. Freddie lets go of me to hold onto Wyatt with both hands.

“Get the hell away from her,” Natalie shouts, waving an arm. Her green trench coat is open over an olive sweater and jeans, items glinting in her inner pockets.

Relief washes over me so intensely that my knees weaken. Breathing fast, I back away from Freddie, moving deeper into the alley and closer to Natalie. My arm throbs where he grabbed me.

Freddie sneers, not bothering to tell his dog to back down. “Why? Who’s she to you?”

“Does it matter? You were grabbing her.”

Each time I’ve met Natalie, she’s been calm, cool, her voice a purr—but now, she swells with anger, her expression contorts, and her voice is hoarse. I guess I do have every reason to fear Freddie Madsen.

Freddie leans back against his dog’s pull, still holding on with both hands, as if to show that all he needs to do is let go. “We were just talking.”

“Like hell,” I snap .

A nasty smile curls Freddie’s lips.

Natalie clenches her fists at her sides as she stops beside me, a few steps away from Freddie and the snarling dog. Her nostrils flare, her chest heaving. “I know what you’re here for, and you’re too late—”

Freddie lets go of Wyatt. “Get ’em!”

Icy adrenaline surges through my body, slowing down time as the animal rockets toward us.

Before I can put my hands up in self-defense, Natalie pushes me behind her with one hand and swipes the other through the air.

My arms prickle like I’m walking under a powerline. A gust of wind lifts my hair. The ground shudders beneath my feet.

With a deep crack that rattles through me, the pavement splits, a fissure snaking across the alley to draw a line between us and them. Asphalt crumbles into the chasm. Gasping, I stumble for balance as the shifting earth rumbles through me—but most of the quake is on the other side. Beneath Freddie and the dog, the ground swells and heaves like a living thing, jolting them so they’re forced to crouch. Wyatt scrambles forward with a scrape of nails on pavement, but it keeps rising, the slope forcing him to slide back to his handler.

I take a shaky step back. I don’t understand what I’m seeing. How is this happening?

Freddie’s desperate roars tear through me. “Get ’em! Get ’em!”

Wyatt snarls and snaps in frustration. He regains his balance amid a cloud of dust, and then I lose sight of them. The earth keeps climbing until it forms a vertical wall blocking their path.

Natalie is still holding up a hand, palm out. She looks back at me, breathing hard, a sheen of sweat on her brow. Something flashes in her eyes—a purple glow passing through her brown irises. “Katie, in my car, now! We need to go.”

I take another step back, gulping down air, my legs like jelly. My brain is sluggish as I try to understand what’s going on .

Natalie’s outstretched hand. The wall of pavement. Is she…?

No. Impossible.

My skin still prickles with that staticky feeling, a strange wind tugging my hair and clothes. “Where’d you park—”

“End of the alley.”

My legs can’t move fast enough. I race away, the shadows pressing in on me. My open jacket catches the wind, the wintry air raising goosebumps on my clammy skin.

I slam into her car with my palms, anchoring myself against it. She’s parked on an angle in the alley, the wheels cranked as if she got out in a rush.

Over my shoulder, Natalie backs toward me, glimpses of Freddie and Wyatt visible through crumbling gaps in the wall of pavement.

My insides are numb. I must be in a dream—a nightmare.

Natalie spins around and runs at me, pumping her arms. “Go!”

Behind her, Wyatt darts through a gap and charges after her with long, powerful strides, his teeth glistening in the street lights.

“Natalie!” I shriek, pointing.

“I know!” she shouts without looking back. “Open the doors!”

While the dog gains on her in a rush of thundering paws and huffing breaths, I whip open the passenger door. I dive in and slam it, and as I lean over to open the driver’s side for Natalie, she leaps onto the hood and slides across on her butt.

Wyatt catches up, snapping at her feet as his front paws scramble for purchase on the hood. He barks furiously, claws screeching on metal.

I scream, pushing the door wider. Natalie grabs it and gets in, slamming the door just in time for Wyatt to throw himself at the window. His claws and teeth scrape the glass as he tries to break through.

“Drive!” I yell over the snarling .

Natalie starts the car and stomps down, accelerating so fast that I suck back against the seat. Tires squeal, the car jerking left and right before we gain traction.

Behind us, Wyatt stops running and looks at his handler, who stumbles out of the alley and watches us go, his fury palpable even from a distance.

“Put your seatbelt on.” Natalie’s raspy voice fills the car.

I obey, my hands shaking, as she flies through a red light. “Will he follow us?”

“He won’t make it to his car in time.” She glances quickly at me, like she’s trying not to take her eyes off the road but can’t help it. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

She slows a little and studies me for longer. “Look at me. Are you sure?”

The concern in her eyes melts me. I exhale, feeling safer in her presence. “I’m fine, Natalie. Thank you for—” I choke on the words. I don’t know what, exactly, she’s saved me from, but that icy terror is still gripping me, making me shiver.

She shakes her head, accelerating around a turn.

“He set his dog on us out of nowhere,” I grumble. “Poor thing is going to get seized by the SPCA because of a reckless owner.”

Natalie’s lips twitch, and then she goes back to grinding her teeth. “He knew what he was doing.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was forcing me to show you what—” She closes her mouth, deliberating her next words. “What I can do. Now you know. Now you’ll always know, and there’s no going back.”

“Know what ? Why were you there? ”

“Why were you there?” Her gaze travels down my body—my curled hair, makeup, the low-cut lace shirt peeking out of my open jacket—and despite everything, a tingle rushes through me at the way she looks at me.

“New Year’s party. I heard there was a bomb, and I thought of the doll and…”

She doesn’t scoff or get angry at me for going closer. Instead, she exhales slowly, dropping her shoulders. “You’re right. It wasn’t a bomb.”

“You were neutralizing a curse.”

She nods curtly. Sweat glistens on her face, and she tries to shimmy out of her coat while weaving through traffic.

“Here.” I grab the end of the sleeve.

Her hand brushes my fingers as she pulls her arm out, shedding the jacket and leaving the olive cable-knit sweater. She wipes her brow. “Thanks.”

Her delicious, warm scent fills the car more than ever, making me want to lean over and see if she tastes as good as she smells. It doesn’t help that her sweater looks cozy enough to curl up against.

I fold my hands in my lap, numb shock rolling over me at what just happened.

The city lights flicker over us, highlighting the sharp angles of her face. She scowls, her jaw working.

“What are you, Natalie?” My words come out tired.

She doesn’t answer. I study the way her fingers caress the steering wheel before forcing myself to look forward.

“Are—” What I’m about to say is ridiculous, but everything fits, doesn’t it? “Are you a magician?”

“What, like I do card tricks at birthday parties?” she grumbles. “Hang on, let me get my top hat.”

I scowl, ready to persist until she cracks. “An alchemist? A shaman? A witc—”

“Stop.” She puts a hand out toward me, a flash of panic in her expression.

A jolt of victory shoots through me. She’s scared. Either I’ve guessed correctly or I’m dangerously close to the truth.

She lowers her hand, and my heart flips as she nearly rests it on my thigh.

She diverts at the last moment, grabbing the gear stick. “Katie, I really can’t tell you. This is something you were never meant to stumble on.”

“Freddie was about to tell me more.”

“Freddie is a reckless asshole. He was trying to exploit you.”

“Exploit me how? Don’t you think I have the right to know what my ability means?”

“Doesn’t today prove this is all very dangerous?” Natalie snaps, her voice filling the car.

“I don’t know who Freddie Madsen is and why he’s dangerous!” I wave a hand. “But he sure as hell knew who I was.”

Natalie looks at me sharply. “About that. How much did he know?”

“He knew I can sense curses. He saw us in the thrift store. I remember him looking at me.”

“You saw him that day? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What, that a stranger looked at me? I didn’t think it mattered!”

Natalie groans, leaning back against the headrest. “He must have followed us—followed me —to the thrift store. I should never have gone out in public with you. That was so…”

“Well it’s too late to regret spending time with me. What’s done is done.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

There’s a pause as Natalie switches lanes.

Abruptly, she growls and slams her palms against the steering wheel. I jump .

“If he followed me that day, there’s a chance he knows where you live,” she says.

“I’m sure it’s fine—”

“No. You have no idea…” She grips the wheel tightly, her knuckles straining. Her gaze keeps flicking to the rearview mirror.

“What? Tell me what you’re thinking.”

She scoots in front of a bus to avoid a left-turning car, earning a prolonged, angry honk from the bus driver.

“I don’t know if you’re safe at home,” she says stiffly, like each word is difficult to get out. “They’ve probably already been watching you since…”

“Who’s they ?”

“You’ve been seen with me by people who shouldn’t have seen us together. The Madsen family knows what you can do. This is what I meant when I told you it’s dangerous to spend time with me.”

Fear seeps from her pores and into my skin, making my face numb. Part of me believes her and trusts that she’s trying to protect me. The other part of me is screaming to open the door, tuck and roll out of this moving car, and run as far away from this whole situation as fast as possible.

But if I run, will Freddie Madsen’s dog just sniff me out? Will the Madsens come after me no matter what I do or where I go?

I feel tainted, dirty. Everything familiar is suddenly unstable, my sense of home and comfort upended all over again.

“What do I do?” I ask, a tremor in my voice.

“I have somewhere you can stay,” Natalie says. “It’s the safest place, especially where the Madsens are involved. Would you be comfortable with that?”

“Wait. You want me to…” My brain reels, this turn of events making me dizzy. “I can’t move out of my place! How do I know you’re telling the truth? ”

“Katie, if you go home, he will come for you again. He’ll try to take you like he did tonight.” She glances sideways at me, her eyebrows pulled down. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you. But it’s the truth.”

My breaths come faster. I rub my face, smothering myself. The sensation of Freddie’s hand on my arm hasn’t left, tingling down to my fingers. And though I’m not sure what to believe or whether Natalie can be trusted… I can say with certainty that I’m more afraid of Freddie Madsen than I am of Natalie Zacharias. And I refuse to risk him finding me again.

I drop my hands into my lap. “What about Ethel?”

“I know.” Her tone is extra calm as if to balance out my panic. “We’ll go now, get your kitten, and pack as many of your belongings as we can. We have to be in and out as fast as possible, okay?”

“But—” Can I just abandon my place? It’s not like my roommate will notice, but I have a life to live. “What about school? Term starts in a couple of days! I have a full timetable!”

Natalie casts me quick glances between concentrating on the road. “I’ll go to class with you. This is my fault, and I don’t want to put your career in jeopardy because of it.”

We turn onto my street, and I blink at her, a struggle happening inside me. “Natalie, you’re telling me I’ll be in danger if I sleep in my own bed tonight, and now I need an escort to bring me to class. Will you please tell me what’s going on?”

Her scowl softens, and she suddenly looks younger, like a teenager getting in trouble.

We screech to a stop in front of my place, and she shuts off the car. She draws a breath, drops her hands into her lap, and clenches her fists as if bracing herself. “I’m a witch.”