Free Fire Spell by T.A. Foster Page A

talking about me. I looked around the room for someone who might be out of place.
    He continued. “She says the visitor is a good witch, but I ask that you reveal yourself. I presume you’re using a Double Fade Spell .” He turned to face the open door of the lounge. “We can use all of the good forces of the world right now. Please, show yourself.”
    I didn’t wait another second before I raced along the hall, taking the turn with force and barreling out of the door. No one seemed to be following me, but I sped into the air and flew toward the theater before I found out if the council had sent someone to search for me.
    I slipped into the back of the movie theater, which was empty by now. The western had ended hours ago, and the clerks had locked the building for the night.
    “Open.” I pointed to the handle and urged it to unlock.
    I walked toward the broom closet, tugged on the door, and closed it behind me. I waved my hand toward the wall, and whispered, “Unfold.”
    I pushed through the seam and into the supply closet. I had never been so happy to see an overhead projector. I swiveled on my heels to close the seam and the mysteries of 1949. It felt safer to have the Double Fade Spell , but I couldn’t walk through the hotel invisible. I needed some sort of normal.
    “Radiance.” I commanded the spell to fall from my limbs. The glitter piled around my feet and disappeared into the carpet.
    My room was waiting for me. If I could just make it to my room, I could fall apart there, but not here in this closest or in the hotel lobby. A deep breath filled my lungs, and I slipped out of the closet.
    At this time of night, there would probably be one clerk at the desk.
    My legs wanted to run, but I pushed them to a normal walking pace. I retraced the steps of the conference corridor to the lobby.
    The chandelier had been dimmed, and the music that usually played on the overhead speakers was off. The desk was empty, but the computers were bright, so the attendant was probably in the office. I started toward the elevator when I saw a man sleeping on the couch. His tall frame filled the designer sofa, and he was hunched in a position that would give anyone the worst neck cramp. I pivoted toward him, feeling there was something familiar about him. I took two steps and stopped.
    It was Jack.

W HAT IN the hell was Jack doing sleeping on the hotel’s couch? Part of me wanted to shake him awake and demand some answers; the other part wanted to run to my room like my original plan.
    I walked toward the couch and knelt beside him. I patted his forearm. “Jack? Jack?”
    He moved his head to the side, and one eye opened.
    “Ivy?”
    “Yep.” I tried to smile.
    “They wouldn’t— I couldn’t—” He looked around the lobby and sat up. “I fell asleep. They wouldn’t let me in your room, and they’re all booked up.”
    “And why is it you’re here, exactly?” The clerk had returned to his post at the desk. He eyed me disapprovingly.
    Jack sighed. “Can we talk? I really need to talk to you.”
    If he were going to try to pressure me again with this crazy western agenda, I would have to stun him. I couldn’t take any more surprises tonight. I needed wine or chocolate. Something that would steady me after my Time Spell . What I did not need was to get in an argument with Jack in the middle of the night.
    “Jack, I’m exhausted and you’ve been sleeping on a couch.”
    He stood in front of me and stretched his arms to the side. “I drove here to talk to you. We can’t do it in the lobby. Just five minutes, and then I’ll head back to Sullen’s Grove. Ok?”
    He had that sad, forlorn look that I couldn’t say no to. “Ok. Five minutes. We can go to my room.”
    I walked toward the elevators with Jack in tow. His messenger bag was slung across his chest. It looked small on him, but only because his shoulders were broad.
    Neither one of us talked as the elevator carried us upward. The doors retracted, and I