Delinquents Turned Fugitives - Ann Denton Page 0,59

came with a tiny strip of parchment on the end, for single spell use. I rolled out the little parchment, ripped it off the pen, then wrote the spell that brought my helmet back to regular size.

I texted Gray after I’d mounted my bike. He gave me our new location, which I programmed into my navigation. Then I drove for nearly an hour, crossing state lines and going through small towns with cutesy storefronts before I got to my destination. I hardly saw my surroundings though. Inside, I was still a mass of frustration and hurt from Potts’ betrayal. In order to shove down my emotions, I spent the drive brainstorming. When I arrived at the rental home Gray had procured, I thought I might have figured out how Potts had written her Illusion Spell to hide Matthew.

I didn’t even need her.

I parked the bike on a calm, residential side street lined with century-old trees, just like Gray had instructed. I climbed off my bike, took off my helmet, and smiled at an old woman walking her dog. I waited until she’d rounded the corner to call Gray again. “I’m here. I’m gonna circle the block on foot before I come in.”

“On it. While you walk, make the phone small and ditch it down a storm drain. Do I need to say … make sure no one sees?”

I heard the buzz of a drone lifting off a nearby rooftop and glanced up to see a small black dot circling high above me. “That you?” I asked Gray.

“Yup. Gonna check you for tail feathers. Can’t be too careful since you ran into a pinhead.”

“How very norm of you, using a drone and all,” I said wryly.

“Isn’t it? This is a norm neighborhood, so I thought it was a little more subtle than hiding a bunch of amulets in the trees.”

“You did that too, right?” I asked, walking over a huge uneven crack in the sidewalk and then around an overgrown bush that had encroached on the sidewalk.

“Of course. Got a couple of Honesty Amulets and a couple Confusion Amulets scattered around.”

“That ass is looking good,” Gray made an mmmm sound.

“Thanks—”

“Nobody on it.”

Apparently, I’d interrupted him. He was more concerned about my tail. I was glad he couldn’t see my flaming cheeks when he chuckled. I just hung up on him and ducked behind a second overgrown bush. I knelt in someone’s yard and quickly uploaded the video of Muller I’d taken to the cloud, in the hope that Malcolm or one of his contacts could start a little smear campaign. Then I used another disposable wand to shrink my phone. I wrote this spell a little more specifically than the last one, because I didn’t want to choke any fish. I made the phone shrink to the size of a Tic-Tac. Then I scuttled out of that yard, startling a mailman.

“Shit! Sorry! I fell!” I scrambled to lie even as I struggled to stuff my temporary wand back in my pocket. No need for him to see.

But the mailman, a guy in his fifties with a sunburnt nose and white hair that kind of reminded me of Santa Claus, just smiled. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Just painfully embarrassed.” I gave him my best awkward face.

He chuckled. “Well, be careful.”

“Will do.” I waved at him and walked quickly away, hoping that I wasn’t too memorable. At least the corner was close so I would turn and disappear from view soon. Then I could chuck the phone and get inside.

Three steps later, I nearly collided with Gray, who was wearing a Hawaiian print shirt and board shorts with flip flops. “Sorry!” What the hell? I wasn’t normally this clumsy. And what the hell was he wearing?

Gray didn’t acknowledge me. He simply strode quickly down the sidewalk toward the mailman, who had dropped off some mail on a front porch. I watched as Gray approached the mailman and handed him a small box. Instantly, the mailman’s expression changed. It grew confused and befuddled and his jaw went slack.

“Have a great day!” Gray patted the guy on the shoulder.

The mailman just nodded and climbed into his vehicle. When he pulled away, Gray turned back toward me. I went around the corner without him, ditching the tiny cube of phone and walking up to town home 4A.

The door was unlocked, but Malcolm waited just inside, seated in a plain wooden chair on the dark, narrow landing, hand casually lifted, palm facing the door. Behind Malcolm, a