Free A Kind of Magic by Shanna Swendson Page A

to ask yesterday.”
    He normally didn’t like talking about it, but he suddenly found himself wanting to discuss everything with Sophie. He doubted she was putting the whammy on him. It was just that she was the only one who knew the entire story, so she was the only one he could discuss it with honestly. “I don’t know. There are good days and bad days, I guess. Most of the time, nothing feels any different, but then suddenly I’ll remember that I know for sure she’s not coming back and I feel like my whole life has changed. Sometimes that’s good, almost liberating, but most often it’s devastating.”
    “I could always give it one more try. Jen may change her mind.”
    “I wouldn’t count on it. She told me to move on, and she knew her own mind then, so I can’t disregard it. The holidays may be rough. That’s always when I missed her the most when I thought she might be coming back. But I think the closure is helping. This year may not be any worse than other years have been. I suppose I should look at it as the first Christmas of the rest of my life.” He hadn’t even realized he was feeling all that until he started saying it, and after getting it off his chest, he felt a ton lighter.
    “Well, if you need anything—company, food, whatever—let me know. I may be crazy for the next week or so, but after that, my days should be mostly free except when there’s a matinee. If you don’t want to be alone, you don’t have to be.”
    “I’ll keep that in mind.” The prospect was actually pretty cheering. It felt good to not have to pretend about anything.
    “Let me know if you notice anything else that’s odd. You’re getting good at recognizing it, and you’re on the front lines if things are getting weirder than normal in the city.”
    He removed his hands from the keys and stood. “Now I’d better let you get back to your practice, and I’ll go back to making the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. Good day, ma’am.”
    She rolled her eyes and followed him to the door. “You get out there and do that.”
    As he headed down the hallway, he heard the music start again and had to restrain himself to keep from turning back to watch. Instead, he headed outside, where he kept his senses on high alert. The problem was that just about everything in this city could be considered odd, even when it was entirely normal. There was a woman who made amazing music on a saw in a subway station, for crying out loud.
    Case in point, the violinist playing near the entrance to the nearest station entrance. The only thing that kept him from being of Carnegie Hall caliber was the fact that the ones playing at Carnegie Hall were even better.
    Then again, this guy was rather amazingly good, and the usually jaded New Yorkers who normally wouldn’t have so much as given him a passing glance as they went about their shopping were stopping to gape. Even he seemed a little surprised by the crowd he’d gathered as he played lightning-fast notes that struck Michael as being perfectly pitched.
    Another case of fairy magic coming to life? And if so, was it such a bad thing?

 
Ten
     
    The Antique Shop
    5:00 p.m.
     
    Sophie was surprised to find customers in the shop when she stopped by on her way back from rehearsing. She’d seen maybe two at the most in all the time she’d spent there. The shop had seemed to be little more than a front for the sisters’ other operations, and they had to have another source of income to live in a prewar Upper West Side apartment.
    Then again, she wasn’t sure how old they were. Amelia could have been living in that apartment since before the war. There were signs that the maid’s room where Sophie was staying had once been the home of a teenager, and it hadn’t been within the past forty years.
    Now, though, there were people shopping for antique china, probably to fill out sets before Thanksgiving or to give as gifts. Athena acknowledged Sophie’s entrance with a nod as she