An odd mix of happiness and discomfort stayed with Aiden all the way home. He’d kissed Hanna on the cheek in the car before they were in sight of her house, just like they’d discussed. They both talked about how much they enjoyed the date, partly for his parents’ benefit. Aiden didn’t know how long they could keep this up.
His parents asked him if he wanted to walk Hanna to her door, but the look she gave him made it clear that wasn’t okay.
“She doesn’t need me to.” That sounded awful, so he added, “And it feels weird with you watching.”
So Hanna went up to the house on her own, pausing with the door open to wave at them. At least that fit the story, a thank-you to his parents for driving her home. They really needed to figure something out, because Aiden couldn’t keep doing this.
When they got home, he didn’t notice the black car in the drive until his parents pointed it out. The dark color stood out against the snow in the yard.
“I think that’s Mr. Johnson’s car,” Dad said.
Of course, who else would come to their house? A nervous flutter filled Aiden’s stomach. He hadn’t seen Mr. Johnson since the incident in the woods. Had Morgan caused trouble? Was he here to tell Aiden he’d changed his mind about keeping quiet?
Mr. Johnson stepped out of the car and waved as they pulled up. “Good morning. I know it’s late, but could I talk to Aiden for a while?”
Here it comes.
“Sure,” Mom said. “Come in and we can get you something to drink.”
“Actually, I’d like to talk to him privately, if you don’t mind.”
His parents looked curiously between Aiden and Mr. Johnson. “Okay,” Mom said, and they both headed for the house.
Mr. Johnson waited until the door was closed. “How are you doing?”
“Fine,” he lied, waiting for the bad news.
Mr. Johnson studied him. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’m keeping my word to you and Dylan. No one knows you were involved.”
That was one worry out of the way. “What about Morgan?” Just asking the question made his heart race.
“The dark fae hasn’t been seen. All the wardens are out looking, but he’s lying low.” Mr. Johnson studied him. “You haven’t had any dreams about him, have you?”
Aiden swallowed. “Some nightmares, but not the super realistic dreams. I mean, I don’t think he was actually in my dreams. I keep the dagger under my pillow to make sure he can’t get back in.” He checked it every night before he went to sleep and renewed the spell regularly.
“Good. Hopefully he got what he wanted out of you and he’ll leave you alone.” He leaned against the car. The long black wool coat made him look even more serious than usual. “How is school?”
“It’s… fine.” Aiden studied the pavement for a while, wondering if he should admit what was really going on. Mr. Johnson was the only other person that knew what had really happened, and Aiden couldn’t really talk to Dylan about it. “Actually, um, I’ve been having problems with magic.”
“What kinds of problems?”
“Ever since… what happened, I’ve been afraid of strong magic, especially fire.” Aiden held his hands up. “Not that I blame Dylan. I know he didn’t mean it, but I can’t stop the fear. I fainted in gym— I mean Major Magical Control. I told Ms. Yang about it, and she sent me to the counselor.”
Mr. Johnson arched an eyebrow. “You told Ms. Yang about Morgan’s escape?”
He brought his hands up again. “No, no! I told her Dylan hurt me while we were practicing. I mean, it’s close enough to the truth.” Aiden hated lying, and it seemed he’d been doing a lot of it since his magic first manifested almost a year ago.
“So Ms. Yang knows Dylan hurt you, and I assume the counselor knows as well?”
Aiden nodded.
“I suggest not telling anyone else. For Dylan’s sake.”
“I won’t.” Ms. Yang liked Dylan, and Mr. Emery was supposed to keep things private, so they might be safe, but he couldn’t be sure anyone else was.
“Have you talked to Phoebe about this?”
“No, she’s been on vacation with her family the past few weeks. She’s coming back on Sunday, I think, and we have a training session Thursday night.”
Mr. Johnson looked off down the road, eyes distant. “You can discuss your fear of magic, but leave any mention of Dylan out of it. Make something up if you must, but if you want to ensure his safety, no one else can know.”
Aiden nodded. This was going to hang over them until they graduated. Maybe forever.
* * *
Dylan found the place by smell. Even after weeks, the wild scent of Faery lingered. So did the fallen-leaves and crisp-night scent of Morgan’s magic, and the candle-wax and old-books smell of Mr. Johnson’s. Traces of Aiden’s magic might be overpowered by the strong smell that came out of Faery when the portal opened.
There was no hint of burning wood or heated rock. The traces of Dylan’s power had been erased. If Dylan were the kind to see magic in colors or to feel it, he thought there would be nothing for him to sense either. Somehow Mr. Johnson had removed it, like washing away a stain.
Snow had covered the circle, but it was still clearly marked, several inches lower than the snow around it. Dylan stepped from the taller part into the depression, footprints marking the smooth white surface. Even animals hadn’t walked here. The scents got stronger as he neared the center. This was where he’d used blood magic to open a portal, to fulfill his end of the deal with a dark fae. If Aiden hadn’t tried to stop him, if the fae had been true to his word, Dylan would be out there right now, free.
Part of him wished he’d never met Aiden, never become friends with him. Caring about someone else made everything much harder.
The crunch of snow made him spin around, arms held out and ready to attack.
Mr. Johnson appeared through the trees. He was downwind and the circle was so full of his scent Dylan probably wouldn’t have been able to smell him coming anyway. “Hello, Dylan,” he said as if they’d run into each other on the street. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“You weren’t home, so I looked around a bit. Your footprints weren’t hard to follow.” He stopped at the edge of the circle, hands stuffed in his pockets.
“So what do you want? Come to collect that favor?”
“Not yet. I wanted to know if you’ve had any other dreams about the dark fae.”
You mean am I still conspiring with him? “No. If he does show up, I’ll tell you right away. Just like I promised.” No one was ever going to trust him.
“Good. I’ll keep my end of the bargain as long as you keep yours. And when I do come to collect that favor, I expect you to do it, no questions asked.”
“This favor… You’re not going to ask me to hurt someone, are you?” Dylan didn’t trust Mr. Johnson, and not just because he was a warden.
Mr. Johnson smiled like Dylan had told a joke. “I think you’ve been watching too many movies.”
“That’s not an answer.” He hadn’t questioned it when he first made the deal, but there hadn’t been much time to think.
“That deal bought you time, Dylan. If you don’t do what I ask when the time comes, then I’m going to tell the wardens what you did.”
That pissed him off, but in the next moment he realized something. “Wait, won’t that get you into trouble too? For covering it up?”
“Yes, and Aiden as well. We’ll all go down together, except I have favors to call in. You and your friend don’t.”
Dylan glared, wondering what the hell the man was up to. What was so important that he’d risk getting into trouble with the other enforcers? What had he been planning when he made the deal in the first place?
Had Dylan gotten himself into an even worse mess?