Page 15

15

Indigo watched Niko walk away from the truck as she slumped down into her seat. The rollercoaster of emotions had taken their toll. She’d gone from dread to excitement to disappointment in all of about five minutes, and it had left her wishing she’d never agreed to accompany Niko to the university at all. He hadn’t needed her. Not really. It’s not like he couldn’t have gotten the same information from Professor Cannon if she hadn’t been there to be humiliated.

When was she going to learn? People and their biases never changed. Not really. Maybe individuals grew, but institutions? Not in her experience. They just wanted their troubles swept under the rug so they didn’t have to deal with them or be embarrassed by them anymore. So the school was right back to blaming her for something she hadn’t done. Her only saving grace was that Niko believed in her.

She wondered how long that would last. If he spent enough time listening to them, would he eventually see her as a suspect, too?

Indigo shook her head, knowing that she was borrowing trouble. Niko had done nothing to indicate he was the type of man who would take the easy road or be influenced by political pressures. In fact, hadn’t he become an agent so that he could right wrongs and make sure that innocents weren’t wrongly incarcerated?

If there was ever a time to trust someone, this was it.

But why did it have to be so hard?

She focused on the man who’d been there for her after Paul’s verbal attack. And how he’d taken care of her after she’d freed both Polly and the woman outside her shop from the compulsion spells. He’d been nothing but honorable and honest. He deserved her trust. She knew that and prayed to the goddess that she could give it to him.

As she sat staring out the passenger’s window of the truck, a familiar tingle of magic lightly brushed her psyche, jerking her out of her internal thought bubble. She scanned the lawn, searching for the source of the magic. It didn’t take long for her gaze to lock on the two women riding brooms just above a tree canopy on the far side of the field.

They must’ve been brooms from Brooms that Vroom, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to feel the faint trace of her magical signature in the air. She found herself stepping out of the truck, watching the two women as they road toward the experimental lab building. One had her long brown hair tied back into a ponytail. The other had black curly hair that sparked a sudden memory. It was the same color and texture of the woman who’d Indigo had saved outside her shop only a few days ago. The one who’d disappeared before anyone could question her.

Indigo’s feet seemed to move without her permission, carrying her toward the building as the two women landed. The one with brown hair stumbled slightly but then let out a high-pitched laugh that she’d recognize anywhere.

“Kinsley?” Indigo called as she picked up her pace. Now that Kinsley was back on solid ground, there was no mistaking her. Her sleek brown hair glinted in the sunlight as she locked up the two brooms in a broom rack near the building.

The dark-haired woman turned and glanced back at Indigo. Shock washed over her features as she quickly grabbed Kinsley by the elbow and suddenly steered her into a crowd that was streaming out of the building.

“Kinsley, wait!” Indigo called, running now to catch up to the two women. Everything inside of her screamed that she needed to talk to them. Questions flashed in her mind that she couldn’t turn off.

Since when did Kinsley know the woman who Indigo had saved from the compulsion spell? Why was Kinsley ignoring her calls and texts? And last, but not least, why were they intentionally trying to lose Indigo in the crowd?

Indigo pushed her way through the students, straining to find Kinsley and her friend. But once the crowd thinned out, she didn’t see anyone familiar, much less her MIA employee and the woman she’d helped. She took a long moment to check and make sure she wasn’t missing anything. They weren’t anywhere outside. The only place they could’ve gone was into the building. After hesitating for only a second, Indigo sucked in a breath and strode up the stairs and back into the building.

She spent the next ten minutes walking the halls and peeking into all of the classrooms and labs, but she didn’t see even a hint of either of the women. Instead, she endured curious glances and a few glares from professors who seemed to recognize her. But before they could say anything, she moved on quickly, knowing full well that the longer she lingered the greater the chance she’d have to deal with Paul Pitts again. If one of them reported seeing her, she’d have to endure yet another showdown with him.

“Indigo?” a familiar male voice called curiously.

She spun and found herself staring into the face of Professor Mathew Mitchell. He had a wide welcoming smile, and his deep brown eyes were sparkling with warmth.

“My goddess, it is you,” he said and then wrapped her in his arms, pulling her in for a tight embrace. As he held on, he lowered his voice and said, “I thought for sure we’d never get the honor of seeing you around these parts again.”

A lump got caught in her throat as she blinked back unexpected tears. Professor Mitchell was her and Tricia’s adviser and had been the one and only person in authority who’d stood up for her after Tricia’s death. He’d fought to keep her at school, but after everything that happened, she hadn’t even wanted to stay. It had all been too much. Indigo pulled back and swallowed before she said, “I didn’t expect to be back.”

“Damn administration.” He shook his head. “You were the best student these halls have seen in fifty years. The day they cast you out was the day they lost their integrity. I’d apologize on their behalf, but it appears they’ve learned nothing in the past decade.”

Indigo shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m only here to help a friend. I don’t care about… all that.”

“It’ll blow over,” he said. “Mark my words. And when it does, I’d love it if you’d consider working with me again.”

“Work with you?” Indigo was taken aback. “I’m not coming back to school, and even if I wanted to, they’d never consider letting me back in.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” He gave her a small smile. “I’d like to have you as an assistant with my work. I’ve been working on some magical medical research, and you’d be the perfect person to help me with that.”

“Magical medical research?” she asked, frowning. “You mean like what Polly Smart was doing?”

His brows furrowed. “Wasn’t she working on magical vision correction?”

“That’s what I was told.”

“That’s worthwhile, but no. That’s not what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m working on spells to heal tissue for use in surgeries and medical trauma. It has the potential to save millions of lives.”

“That’s impressive,” Indigo said, vaguely remembering that when she’d been in school, no witch had figured out how to isolate their spells with any sort of precision for such delicate work. If he’d found a way, that was a major breakthrough.

“What do you say? Will you consider it?” he asked hopefully.

She paused, knowing that his work was important, but she also knew that experimental magic, even used in research, was a bridge too far for her. She just didn’t trust herself. “Thank you for the offer, but I really don’t think it’s in the cards for me.”

The disappointment in his expression was unmistakable. “If you change your mind?—”

“I won’t,” she said, not wanting to give him false hope.

“I hear you, but if for some reason that changes, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, Professor Mitchell,” she said.

“It’s Matthew.” He squeezed her shoulders affectionately and then walked down the hall toward his office.

Indigo stared after him, wondering what sort of alternate reality she’d walked into. When she realized she was blocking a classroom, she finally gave up on finding Kinsley and her friend and headed back to the truck.

Once she was outside, she walked by the broom rack and paused, scanning the various brooms. Her magical signature had a strong presence, but not one of the brooms were the style that she sold or rented at her shop. Confused, she held her hand out over the brooms. Two of them started to shimmer with magic. Both were basic brooms that one could buy at just about any commercial magical store. What was different about them was that these brooms were infused with magic that held her signature. But not just her signature. The magic was mixed with someone else’s, too.

Kinsley’s. She’d recognize it anywhere.

The only question was, why was her magical signature there on brooms she’d never seen? Had Kinsley stolen it the day she’d shown her how to spell brooms? Or had Indigo’s magic gotten away from her again?

Rubbing her forehead to combat the growing headache, Indigo let out a groan of frustration and then went to wait for Niko in his truck. This day couldn’t end soon enough.