Page 71 of The Glittering Edge

Alonso looks like he might argue, but the fatigue must win out, because he nods. It would be kind of sweet if Penny could forget that Alonso just braved death. As Corey and Alonso shuffle out to the Prius, Penny hangs back by the door.

“You have another question?” Milton says.

Penny nods. “It’s about the shadow figure.”

“The what?”

“It’s this… creature. It looks like a shadow, and it appears in front of Corey’s family when someone is about to die.”

“Oh.” Milton’s brow furrows. “I’ve heard of stuff like that. Sometimes long-term spells like curses, bargains, magic that influences relationships—they can have physical manifestations.”

“So it’s not sentient?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Fear constricts Penny’s throat. “Then it’s alive.”

“It’s better if you look it up on SkyCat. And I know you didn’t ask my opinion, but I wouldn’t tell Corey what you find. He’ll be better off not knowing.”

On the other side of the parking lot, Corey has gotten Alonso into the front seat and is now leaning against the car, staring up at the sky. He looks distant. Mournful.

“Can these…manifestationsappear in dreams?” Penny asks.

Milton rubs the stubble on his chin. “Dreams can be a connection to the Second World. Astral projection is the most obvious example of that. I guess this shadow could use dreams as a conduit if it was really trying to make a point.”

“So itcancommunicate? Does that mean it’s…”

Human. Penny doesn’t say the word, but it hangs in the air between them.

Milton looks away. “You’ll see.”

Unease settles in Penny’s limbs. Milton’s eyes find Alonso again, and he nods in his direction. “Be careful with that one.”

Penny suddenly feels defensive. “Why?”

“That kid was born with his magic locked away. If he’s telling the truth and nobody helped him access it, there’s only one explanation.”

“Which is…?”

“He’s powerful, Penny. So powerful that his magic broke free on its own. And if it’s misused…” He shakes his head. “You’ll need a miracle to get out of this alive.”

“I hope you’re happy,” Alonso says.

The anger in Alonso’s voice makes Penny’s hands tighten around the steering wheel. Corey is quiet in the back seat. They’re halfway home, but Alonso’s silence seemed worse than his rage. Now that he’s opened his mouth, Penny wishes they could return to quiet fuming.

“Do you need to go to the hospital or something?” Corey asks.

Alonso is exhausted but tense, like a rubber band ready to snap atthe slightest tug. Corey’s words seem to take the fight out of him, and he slumps in his seat. “No.”

They fall back into silence. Thirty miles outside Idlewood, Penny pulls into a Mobil station. There’s nothing around but cornfields and distant forests and power lines barely visible in the night. A quarter moon hangs above them like a ticking clock—only a few weeks to go. Then they can do the curse-breaker, and Penny’s mom will be back. She has to believe that.

“I’m getting some food,” Corey says, and he’s out of the car quick as summer lightning.

“I’ll get the gas,” Alonso says, and he doesn’t give Penny the chance to argue.

There’s a hum as the tank fills up. Penny avoids looking in her side mirror for as long as she can, but curiosity wins out. It’s bizarrely domestic, seeing Alonso De Luca at a gas pump. His brow is furrowed as he watches the price rise on the tiny screen. In the dim overhead light, the lines of his profile are stark, and Penny follows them from wild hair to slightly crooked nose to lips to chin.

When Alonso gets back in the car, Corey is still in the convenience store. The night is warm, and Penny leaves her window down. The air smells like a mix of gasoline and green leaves and soil.

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