Page 36 of Practically Witches

It only takes him a moment to flip through all nine pages and then he grins. “Maybe the wands are in the dedication stone at the Institute.”

I don’t even have a guess so that makes as much sense to me as anything I may come up with, plus I certainly have never seen anything like the picture at our house—theHadleyhouse. Although, it could be that the house is full of cubbyholes like the one where we found the grimoire, so it could be there and I don’t know.

Having the information is powerful and I feel that in my soul. “Maybe we should go check.” I cock a brow at him. Probably as witches of the Institute and since he is one of the first families, we shouldn’t go anywhere, but the sooner this over, the better.

Chapter

Sixteen

There is something to be said for the four giant buildings and how imposing they look in the dark of night, the moon as their only illumination. “The picture is inside, in the Hall of Greats.”

On the way over, we’d talked about the picture of the families. It was his parents and the parents of the rest of his group. “Did you write down all the facets and which families they belong to?”

I nod and pull out the piece of paper I wrote them on, even though he isn’t looking at me. He’s still looking out the windshield as he pulls into a spot—his usual spot—and we sit for a second.

“Do you remember where the dedication is?”

He nods. “Middle building on the left side in the foundation.”

Still, we don’t move. We continue to sit in his Jeep. I sigh. I’m not usually a woman who’s plagued by fear. I get nervous about things, but true fear is odd for me. Right now, though, I’m shaking. I don’t want my magic syphoned and being here at night when the place is deserted is eerie.

But he doesn’t seem to be in a big hurry either. “Weird day, huh?”

“Kind of.” Not that I’m complaining. “Ikind oflike some of the turns it’s taken.” I smile and gaze at him. He’s the turn I like. The one I’m glad this day took.

He leans his head back against the seat and looks at me. “Me, too.” And then he twists his body so he’s facing me. “I like you, RJ.”

I want to close my eyes and savor the words. I want him to say them again. “I like you, too, Zane.” And I like saying his name, especially when it comes out soft and kind of breathy, emotional, even.

His smile is slow as it spreads across his face. “I’m going to go inside and get the picture. Then we can find the stone.”

My stomach swirls. “I think we should go together.” I don’t want to be alone in the car, and I don’t want him to be alone in the Institute. More, I don’t want him rethinking this thing between us when I’m away.

“I might have to break a window.”

“Well, I might have to help you.” It’s all I can think of to say.

It is a second more of gazing at one another before he nods. “Two witches are better than one, right?”

I nod, and he winks, and my heart starts a heavier, faster beat. Zane is the kind of guy that takes a woman’s breath away, makes her body react.

We walk across the lawn like we belong there, hand-in-hand as a bonus, and head to the building that houses the Hall of Greats. It isn’t the one with the dedication stone, but we’re working on one thing at a time. We’ll get to it.

When we get to the building we need, we both stop and look up at it. There are windows, but no way caneither of us can reach them, even if I stand on his shoulders, so we walk around the building, checking for a way in.

The grass crunches under my feet and the wind is almost warm blowing against my skin. And he’s still holding my hand. This is definitely climbing the charts of one of the best nights of my life. But I keep it to myself as we round the backside of the building. It’s a place I’ve never been because I’ve never had a reason to so of course, the railing that is halfway around an opening in the ground instills me with hope.

“Is that a basement?” I run toward it, and he takes me by the arm and pulls me back.

“RJ, we don’t know what’s down there.”

“Well, we should definitely find out.” I use the arm he’s still holding onto to tug him down the stairs behind me.

“What if there’s no way to get upstairs from here?”

I shrug as we get to the bottom of the stairs and the heavy metal door with a shiny silver knob. “I don’t know yet. I’m sure we’ll think of something.” And then, while I’m smiling at him, gazing into his eyes, I give it a twist and pull the door open.

The inside is dark and the musty smell of a basement is strong and stark. But I walk inside because my sister needs her magic back, and I have questions I need answered.

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