It was finally warm enough that they could sit outside. Dylan led the others to a table on the far side of the grassy square, as far away from the school as he could get. He set his tray down with a sigh and stepped over the bench.
Hanna moved to his side of the table, made an odd face, then shifted to the other side of the table where Aiden was sitting down. What was with her? She was getting weirder all the time.
“It’s a little chilly, but this is nice,” Aiden said, taking a deep breath. “I’d be happy never to eat in that lunchroom again.”
“Seniors can leave school grounds, and I’ll have a car by then,” Dylan said. “So you’ve only got like two more years to deal with that.” Although he figured Aiden hated the lunchroom because of Conner, and Dylan was going to take care of that problem long before then.
Aiden sighed. “That’s something at least.”
Tiago said, “Shit.”
Dylan looked over to see Conner marching toward them, his pack trailing behind. Two of the people with him weren’t werewolves.
“You won’t get away with this.” Conner’s eyes flashed yellow.
Aiden turned, face going pale with fear. Beside him, Hanna tensed.
“With what?” Dylan asked, power simmering inside him, ready to be let out.
“You took Dalton, you took that man, and now you took Sanjit’s mom.” Conner pointed to an older boy, one of the new followers. “We know it was you. They all just happened to disappear by your house, and you, or maybe your mom, are the only ones with magic strong enough to cover your tracks. So where are you hiding them? Where are the bodies, Dylan?”
Okay, that was it. Dylan stood, barely holding back his rage. They could go behind the school, away from where Aiden could see them. “Let’s go, right now—”
“Mr. Mays, I need to ask you to go back inside. Now.” The same hall monitor who had chased Conner off before appeared from out of nowhere.
Conner’s jaw worked, his whole body stiff. “Yes, ma’am,” he snapped.
She stood staring until he turned away and started walking toward the building. The others followed. The last one, the boy with the missing mother, glared at Dylan. “You’ll pay.”
“I’m still watching,” the hall monitor said. “Don’t worry.” She stepped behind a nearby tree.
Aiden let out a deep breath and laid his head on the table.
“Duel. We need to get on that,” Tiago said, picking up his hamburger.
Dylan laughed, although he wondered if that might actually be a good idea. They couldn’t fight in front of Aiden, and now they were being watched by hall monitors. And Conner getting non-werewolves to follow him around might be some kind of plot. Maybe he was trying to get others to do his dirty work.
Some of Dylan’s anger twisted into fear. People were afraid of him already, and the cops kept questioning him about the disappearances. What if Conner could convince enough people that Dylan was responsible? The kids could convince their parents, and they could push the cops. Shadow Valley modeled its justice system on human ones, but they didn’t have to follow the same rules. The wardens had the final say on everything.
If the wardens decided Dylan was guilty, he’d be punished, with or without proof.
* * *
“Good, now hold it,” Phoebe said.
Aiden was trying to look like the hero of an action movie. This was the next stage of his glamour training. Up until now, he’d made changes to his appearance: making his hair a different color, or his eyes, looking like he was taller or more muscular. “It’s… hard.” He had his eyes squeezed shut, holding on to the image of the actor while his magic tingled all over his body.
His concentration slipped and he let out a grunt as the spell broke apart. “Nuts.”
“Okay. Take a moment and we’ll try again.”
He opened his eyes. “Sorry. I’m trying.”
“Don’t feel bad about it. You’re stretching your abilities. I don’t expect you to get it right on the first try, and you shouldn’t either.” She smiled.
“You keep saying that. Maybe it’ll sink in one of these days.” At least with Phoebe he was making real progress with his magic. Not like the pathetic struggle he was having in gym. Target practice was okay as long as he was on the opposite side of the room from Dylan. Aiden could watch the matches that didn’t involve fire, but the idea of getting in there filled him with cold dread.
“Maybe actors aren’t the best way to start.” She put a finger to her chin. “Could you make yourself look like Dylan?”
“What?” That was crazy.
“You see him every day. His image is sharp in your mind, and you know what he feels like. I think that’s a much better place to start.”
“You want me to turn into Dylan?” Although he did see the logic of it.
“Not turn into him. Like a costume, remember? A costume made out of magic.” She took a step back. “Try it.”
He considered saying no, that he could try changing into his mom or dad. But being Dylan for a moment might be kind of fun. “Okay.” Aiden closed his eyes. Picturing Dylan was easy. Like she said, he saw him every day. Magic tingled all over him, the glamour starting to work.
Aiden focused on details: the messy dark hair, hazel eyes that glowed green when he was using magic. The line of his jaw, the shape of his cheekbones, his strong nose. The tingle of magic all over Aiden grew warm. Now he thought of how Dylan felt: strong, confident, aggressive but not cruel.
“You’ve got it,” Phoebe said. He could hear the smile in her tone.
It seemed… stable this time. Aiden slowly opened his eyes.
“Perfect.” Her smile widened. She bent to pick up the mirror she’d brought.
Aiden stared into it and his mouth fell open. Dylan looked back at him. Aiden held up a hand and the mirror-Dylan moved with him. A faint gold-green shimmer covered his body.
Phoebe looked at the mirror. “Ooh, the spell is very strong. Good job. Weak glamours can’t be seen in reflections.”
“This is so trippy.” Aiden watched Dylan’s mouth form the words.
“Yes. It’s strange to look like someone else, especially someone you know.”
Aiden tilted his head one way, then the other. “I wish I really could be him for a while. As strong as he is. As brave as he is.” He sighed, letting the spell go. The face in the mirror flickered and he was looking at himself. “But I’m not.”
Phoebe set the mirror down against a tree. “You don’t have to be someone else to be strong, Aiden. You can be strong in your own way.”
“I’m afraid all the time. That I’ll hurt someone, that someone will hurt me.” He closed his eyes, wishing he could go back to his old life.
“I had an idea the other day.” Phoebe waited until he opened his eyes. “You’re very powerful, and you’ve learned a great amount of control over the past few months. There’s no reason you can’t defend yourself.”
“But I don’t want—”
She held up a hand. “I’m talking about deflecting, holding. Ways to stop an attack without hurting anyone.”
He frowned. “I can really do that?” Aiden remembered the first match he’d had with Dylan, the way he’d used wind and an invisible barrier. His breath came faster, chest feeling tight.
“Of course. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what you can do. Even I’m not sure how much you’re capable of.”
Aiden’s head felt a little tingly. What if he’d reacted faster when Dylan threw fire at him that night in the woods? If he’d had more training, if he’d been able to put up a barrier, he might not have a scar on his chest. He might have avoided all this fear.
Phoebe put a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
Remember to breathe. “Yeah. Thinking about it makes me nervous, you know?” He was so tired of being afraid. “But I want to try.”
She smiled. “Good. See, you are brave. So, did you learn any defensive spells in school?”
“I know how to put up a barrier, but I haven’t done that in a while.”
“Well, let’s try it out. You stand there, and I’ll throw things at you.” Her mischievous grin made her look more like a kid than a mom.