Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,29

I’ll unravel it incorrectly. Maybe even make it worse.”

“Crap.” I picked at my lip, possibilities lighting up inside my head like bingo squares on the big board where my grandma used to drag me on Sunday afternoons when she’d watch me in the summertime.

I spoke out loud even as my eyes studied Andros and I kept plucking at my lip. “Most spells work like computer code. You give a command, they execute it.”

“Right, that’s a good metaphor. But … with this question … I’m kind of thinking it’s an if/then type of command. So, the magic literally hovers in the air with the if, searches you for the answer to the question—”

“Searches how?” I let go of my lip and ran my eyes across the words once more.

“Well that’s the trick. Heart can mean an organ or an emotion. So, is the question whether Andros hardened his heart as in the actual beating heart—which would seem physically impossible—or the emotion, like he closed it off?” Evan plucked the notebook out of my hands and my eyes met his blue gaze. It was alight and energized, as though puzzling this out lit him up inside. “Now, I think the obvious answer would be emotions … but I think that would be the wrong one.”

“Because Claude was a bastard who wouldn’t know emotion if it bit him in the dick?” I asked.

“Because of ‘the other part’ in the translation. What does that mean? If you can’t harden your heart literally but can harden other things…” He looked at me.

It dawned on me what he meant. “No.”

“I think so.” He tilted his head.

“That’s fucking gross. And immature. No old dude who has to take little blue pills—”

“I think that’s exactly why I think it might be the right answer. Because that would be most people’s reaction. That it’s too ridiculous to be right.” Evan leaned back and his eyes scanned the original spell once more.

I closed my eyes and pressed my lips together and tried to slip into whatever twisted mentality I thought Claude had. “Harden any part … Dammit.” My blue eyes flew open and I shook my head. “Try it.”

“You really think?”

I kicked his leg. “You’re the one who just convinced me. Are you taking it back?”

“No,” Evan brushed a thoughtful finger over his chin. “I just don’t want to get it wrong. I mean, I suppose it could be mental … hardening your resolve … shit.”

We both stared at Andros for a long moment, our silence broken only by the chirp of crickets somewhere in the parking lot. My eyes roamed over Andros’ blue face. He looked like a gargoyle, his expression fierce and frozen in concentration.

I ground my teeth as I internally walked a tightrope trying to make a decision which way to fall. My hands got clammy. I’d never felt so utterly responsible for one person’s fate in my life. But we had to choose. We had to do something.

“We could let the spell wear off,” Evan suggested.

“Would he have to be hard like the moment of the spell? Or does it mean if he’s ever … you know.” I turned to Evan, my throat tight as a hangman’s noose. “He wrote it so I couldn’t get out. He knew we were going in somehow. He knew this was my thing. That I’d volunteer to go first. He wanted to do this to me. If you’re right, I’d never have gotten out.”

“We don’t know I’m right. And like I said, we can wait it out. There are so many possibilities.”

I shook my head. “No, if there’s one thing I’m sure about, it’s that Claude would use vampire blood to strengthen his spells. I don’t think this will just wear off.” My hand touched Andros’ cheek but then I pulled back. It felt weird to touch him like this when he couldn’t move or look at me. I hardened my resolve and went with my gut. “Do it. Your way. Now.”

Evan’s eyebrows shot up. “You sure?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.” I took on the decision so that Evan wouldn’t have to carry it. This was my heist, my job, my problem. If something went permanently wrong, it was only fair that the blame lay with me. I met Evan’s steady gaze as I said, “I’m gonna head back inside so you can concentrate.”

He nodded and ran a hand over his dark hair one last time before he grabbed the notebook and started muttering to himself, trying to commit the