Page 14 of Magic Blooms

thirteen

My mind made up, I climbed out of the truck and took a few careful steps before stopping once again. I needed to be smart about this.

Rather than charging straight in, I recreated the same experience I’d had in Karen’s room at Fox’s End, centering myself and taking a series of deep breaths as I visualized the exact outcome that I wanted.

When I exhaled I felt my power leave me, reaching out and mixing with the shrubbery outside of the doctor’s office.

Whereas before I was just focusing on a few single seeds, this time I was able to influence full grown bushes, the branches stretching out and expanding across the walkways, over the building.

Higher, higher.

I took a startled step back as I realized the bushes were still growing. I tried to tell them to stop, but they didn’t listen.

Higher, higher.

Thicker, thicker.

Less and less control.

Panic hit me then; I could no longer find my calm. All I could do was keep backing up until I was pressed flat against Joshua’s truck. The overgrown branches had crept just inches from my feet when the door to Art’s office swung open and the mysterious figure reappeared.

The figure halted upon seeing the plant barricade I’d created as a trap. The vines and branches turned away from me and crept toward the new arrival, ready to ensnare the figure even more fully.

I smiled in victory. Take that, Joshua. Turns out I’m not so useless, after all!

But then a bright blast of fire tore through the brush, creating a clear path for escape.

A moment later, Joshua burst through the doors and grabbed at the fleeing figure’s robes.

I hoped that he would pull the material far enough for me to get a good view of the culprit, but then there was a flash of light so bright that I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut and hold a protective arm in front of my face.

When I opened my eyes again, the figure was gone.

And Joshua came staggering toward me, uninjured but alone.

I let out a deep sigh of frustration. We’d gotten so close, only to fail at this critical juncture. No, I wouldn’t accept it.

Couldn’t accept it.

“What happened?” I shouted as Joshua stormed past me to the truck. But he ignored me, slamming the door with great force and turning over the engine.

I bit my lip in frustration, trying so hard not to scream as I jogged around Old Sparky and slid into my seat.

I expected Joshua to speed off immediately once I was inside, but instead he sat there silently stewing. He flinched when I put a hand on his arm to get his attention.

The movement drew my eyes down to where his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly I feared he’d break it. That’s when I noticed that something wasn’t right, his hands didn’t look as they had before. His fingers had grown longer, sharper, tipped with dark claws.

“Joshua, what’s this?” I reached for one of his hands but he tore it away.

“You didn’t stay in the car,” he finally bit out, his whole body shaking.

“I wanted to help. I thought I did until—”

“You did all this? With the plants?” He took a few deep breaths as he looked out over the mess I caused.

“Yes, that was me.” What was the point in denying it?

Joshua nodded and finally pushed Old Sparky into motion.

When I glanced at his hands again, they appeared normal, exactly as they’d been before.

What was going on? Why weren’t we talking about what had just happened? What we’d learned about each other? He now clearly knew that I could manipulate nature, and I knew he’d changed, shifted.

“Joshua,” I began hesitantly. “We can’t just sit here, pretending nothing happened.”

“I need a minute,” he said. It sounded more like a question, like he was asking permission rather than making a declaration.

And so quiet I sat until at last we pulled up to Fox’s End.

Joshua remained tense and agitated as he continued to freeze me out.

As for me, I only had one: What now?

Was this it? Were we giving up? Surely Joshua had a plan. We couldn’t stop now.

“Joshua,” I started again.

This time he turned to look at me, his eyes shining though no tears were falling. “We were so close,” he whispered. “He was right there. I can still smell him.”

I wanted to touch him again, to comfort him, but I was afraid he’d pull away. Instead I looked past the roiling emotions and focused on the facts. “You said he. It was a man?”

“I’m not entirely sure. But whoever it was, they were strong. I caught them right after they got to the body.” He winced. “Sorry, to Karen.”

He’d gotten to Karen, which meant our killer was one step closer to finishing whatever he—or, I guess, she—was trying to do. “What are the chances someone using death magic isn’t doing something terrible?”

Joshua’s silence was answer enough.

“The fire,” I blurted out, desperate to keep the conversation going. “Did you see the fire?”

Joshua nodded solemnly. “He let out that blast just as I reached the door.”

This next part was tough. “Do you… Do you think that means our killer has elemental magic? You know, like me?”

He studied me thoughtfully, then shook his head. “That person is nothing like you. You’re good, Polly. He…” His voice cracked and fell away.

Still, despite Joshua’s soothing words, I couldn’t help but wonder if the mysterious killer had somehow followed me through the portal, was one of Vilea’s rare fire elementals.

I let out a deep sigh. “We can’t give up. Lorraine needs us to keep going.”

I need us to keep going, I silently added.

“No,” he said. “We’re not giving up. And it wasn’t all for nothing, what we did tonight.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of scrap material. “I managed to snatch this.”

I took the material from him. It appeared to be a scrap from the figure’s cloak, thick and all black except for a peculiar symbol woven in gray. It seemed a poor choice of garment to wear amidst Elyria’s current heat wave.

“Have you ever seen this before?” I asked, tracing the upper arc of the symbol that gave way to a jagged spike at the bottom.

“No, but maybe Lorraine has. Or Jasmine. Someone’s got to recognize it. And maybe if we can find what this symbol represents, we’ll know why Karen was killed and what might be coming next.”

“So what now? We ask around?”

He placed a firm hand on my shoulder and offered me a sad smile. “The sun never truly sets in Peach Plains. Did you know that?”

“What?” This didn’t feel like an answer to the question I’d asked. All it did was confuse me.

“It’s something a friend of mine used to say. It’s not for real, but a metaphor. The day is never over. Our chance to accomplish something is never lost.”

“Okay,” I said with a nod, still not understanding why he’d chosen to say this now. I grabbed the door handle and turned back to glance at Joshua. “So we keep going. C’mon, we’ve been sitting out here long enough. Let’s go see how Lorraine’s doing.”

“No,” he said without making eye contact. “I’ll trace down our killer. You go be with Lorraine. It’s already too dangerous, and I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

I sat back in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest, rooting to the spot, showing myself just as much as Joshua that I wasn’t going anywhere. “You’re wrong.”

“About what?” he asked softly.

“All of it, but especially me. I’m not leaving you to do this on your own, so stop trying to get rid of me.”

Joshua’s eyes found mine, and a small smile crept across his face. I smiled, too, unable to help myself.

“In it to the end?” he asked.

“To the very end,” I agreed.