Watch Me Burn: The December People, Book Two (10 page)

“She treats me like her cats. When she wakes up in the morning and feeds her cats, she also puts out cereal for me. Like I’m a cat with a special diet.”

“Does she put it on a table at least? Or does she make you eat on the floor?”

“The table.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make fun.”

“It’s okay. She takes good care of her cats. Never forgets to feed us.”

“
Us
? Samantha, you’re not a cat.”

She giggled. “I know.”

“Are there lots of wizards in New Orleans?”

“Yes. My aunt says there is a higher wizard per person ratio in New Orleans than almost any other place.”

“So, at least you’re not lonely.”

“Of course I’m lonely.”

“I’m sorry,” Emmy said again.

“It’s not your fault.” A pause passed between them. “So, how is everything with you?”

“It’s fine. Boring. Hot.”

“I can tell when you’re lying you know.”

“You don’t believe it’s boring and hot?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Do you still talk to Patrick?”

Samantha paused again. “No. Not recently.”

“Oh.”

“If you wanted to know, why didn’t you just ask him?”

“I don’t know. I like talking to you better.”

Samantha laughed quietly.

“Well, I wanted to stay with him but it was too weird, you know?”

“Sure…”

“And we’re too far apart, and all.”

“Yeah.”

“How is he doing?” Samantha asked.

“Fine.”

“Are you sure? You don’t sound sure.”

“So, you didn’t talk to him at all last week? No texts, nothing?”

“No…why?”

“No reason.”

“You can’t do that. Now I’m scared,” Samantha said. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s nothing. It’s family business.”

Samantha scoffed. “Then why did you even call me?”

“I’m sorry. I have to go. I really am…sorry.”

David needed to learn more about Leona and Caroline. If the Prescotts had two other missing daughters, but covered it up, then they knew more about Julie’s fate than they let on. Perhaps Julie had been too popular. Even if they knew what happened to her, too many other people would notice her absence for them to sweep it under the rug as they had with their other daughters.

He didn’t have a good plan. He couldn’t walk into their house and look. And he couldn’t pretend to be the cable guy or something, because they would recognize him as a dark wizard before they opened the door. But he had to do something.

All four kids watched television in the living room, and he addressed them as casually as he could.

“Hey guys. I’m going to step out for a minute. I’ll bring home lunch.”

Three of them nodded with expected disinterest, but Emmy stood up. “Where are you going?” she asked.

“The car repair shop. The truck engine is making a funny noise. I want them to look at it again.”

“Can I go with you?”

“Uh…you want to go with me to the repair shop…to look at the truck’s engine?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re still grounded for sneaking out.”

“But I can go somewhere with you right?”

“Um, I guess so. But you wouldn’t want to do this. It’s not going to be fun.”

“I want to get out of the house. I’m going stir-crazy. Give me one good reason why I can’t go.”

“I…can’t think of one.” He had tried to think of one, but blanked out.

“Cool. I’ll go get my purse.”

David sat behind the wheel with Emmy in the passenger seat. Now he had no choice but to go to the repair shop.

“Where are we going?” Emmy asked.

“Um…I told you.”

“No, you didn’t. You were lying. We’re going to Sugar Land. I saw you getting some directions from Google Maps.”

“Oh…”

“It looked like a house in a neighborhood. It’s the Prescott’s house, isn’t it?”

“Emmy…”

“Come on, Dad. It’s too late. I found you out. Now, tell me why you’re going there.” She had an Emmy-ish aggressiveness in her voice, but her eyes told a different story. She looked at him earnestly, almost frightened.

“Why do you care so much?” he asked.

“Why do
you
care so much?” she countered.

“I…” He didn’t want to involve Emmy in any of it. He should have told her to get out of the car. But Emmy never cared this much about anything he did, and it felt good to see her care.

“What?” Emmy asked.

“It’s nothing to be worried about. I thought I could help find her…Julie. Or, maybe I’m supposed to. I think someone cast a spell to get her home, and I’m part of it for some reason. It’s hard to ignore.”

Emmy cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. “Oh,” she said. “That’s it? Really?”

“Yeah, really. What did you think it was?”

“So, if you’re part of bringing her home…then you, or someone you know, must be involved in her kidnapping.”

“Not necessarily. And why’d you say ‘you.’ I hope you don’t think I kidnapped her.”

“Probably not.”

“
Definitely
not. I can promise you I would never, ever kidnap an innocent girl.”

“Yeah, I know, Dad.”

“Okay.”

“So, why are we going to the Prescotts?”

On the drive, he told her about Leona and Caroline, and everything he had found out from the PI. She listened intently, asking questions, but offering fewer opinions of her own than usual. He knew he shouldn’t bring his daughter to a home invasion. But in this case, it felt right. They talked to each other as two human beings sharing a common interest, which felt miraculous. Partners in crime, maybe—but at least they were partners in something.

With Emmy along, he knew he would be more cautious. No breaking and entering, just a little look.

“When we get there, do you want me to go peek in the windows? Maybe I could find Leona’s bedroom and see if she’s there,” Emmy suggested.

“No. You’re staying in the car.”

“Aw, come on Dad. Think about it. If someone sees you lurking around, they’ll call the cops. No one is going to take any notice of me.”

“Maybe not Mundanes, but a summer wizard would. A dark wizard is a dark wizard.”

“Still. They wouldn’t hurt a little girl.”

“If I were convinced of that, we wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.”

The Prescotts lived in the type of neighborhood you would expect—an attractive neighborhood near Southwest Freeway, with lots of parks and playscapes and sports fields. The houses were mostly spacious two stories, but nothing ostentatious.

He found himself driving slower and slower as he approached the little destination dot on the GPS.

“This is a bad idea,” he said.

“Keep driving,” Emmy said.

They could at least drive by the house. He thought he might feel their presence as they turned on their street, he couldn’t tell. Summer radiated from all angles at one hundred degree strength.

As he got closer to the house, he saw people standing in the front yard and he slammed on his breaks with a loud screech.

“What are you doing?” Emmy asked. “Drive by and act natural.”

“Okay. Get down.” He pushed her head down.

“Why? You think they’re going to shoot at us?”

“Just do it.”

“Fine.”

David tried to do what Emmy suggested and drive past them normally. That had to be possible, right? People drove down neighborhood streets all the time for all sorts of normal reasons. Why did that seem so impossible all of the sudden?

He realized quickly that it wouldn’t matter how normal he acted. A block away, the three people in the front yard froze and turned their heads in his direction. It reminded him of deer freezing when they hear a hunter’s approach. He recognized the three people as John and Thea Prescott, and their oldest son, Nathan. Nathan had either recently arrived or was preparing to leave, and the parents spoke to him while he leaned against his truck.

David had no choice now. They had seen him, so he might as well keep driving. Their stares followed him as he passed, and David gave them a nod and a slight wave. They did not wave back. Just stared, frozen, like big glassy-eyed deer.

As soon as he passed, he pressed on the accelerator to get out of there as fast as he could without attracting more attention. He hoped they were too stunned to write down his license plate number.

mmy managed to wait a whole two days before trying to sneak out again. She knew Nathan had hypnotized her or something. He’d made her go straight home and confess what she had done and ask to her parents to ground her. That was low. Although, his ability to bend her will impressed her. In general, no one could ever get her to do anything she didn’t want to do, magically or otherwise.

She needed to go back to that forest. She knew she could go where Nathan couldn’t. She could go where, perhaps, few others could. She could walk right into the darkness without blinking an eye. Maybe that’s why the catalyst spell needed her and Dad. The magic knew only a dark wizard could save Julie from the darkness. That didn’t explain the bracelet, but it did explain why dark wizards had to save her.

Sneaking out of the house wouldn’t be easy this time. Her parents had gotten smarter. Mom had started hiding the keys somewhere in her bedroom at night. But Emmy had an extra key she didn’t know about. Dad had talked Mom out of putting bars on the windows and locking her bedroom door from the outside because, as he said, that was crazy. If they had a bathroom in their bedroom, he might have lost the fight. But Mom couldn’t bring herself to make Emmy and Evangeline pee in a bucket at night in their locked room.