Free Girl in the Shadows by Gwenda Bond Page B

weren’t talking about me. Raleigh and Thurston were crouching over Dez’s prone body.
    Dez had his hands over his chest, and he was shaking. Other people in the crowd moved, and it blocked me from being able to see him.
    But my hands had greater play now, and it was about forcing them around with the intent and strength to undo the buckles on the back. The straitjacket loosened finally as I did so. I can do this. Escape the danger of myself. Find out what was happening to Dez.
    I prayed.
    The last buckle resisted for a second, my hand heating it. I forced it loose, and then whipped the straitjacket off, tossing it aside. The roaring in my ears became the roaring of the crowd. The fire of my pounding heart was like the fire in my hands.
    But then that receded, and I was . . . back to myself again. I didn’t feel that distance, that sense of careening out of control toward something I didn’t want to happen, of flame flaring deep inside and devouring me whole. I could think and act without panic, and though I wanted to collapse in exhaustion, I didn’t.
    The surge of magic seemed to have passed. I fought through the crowd, a few people applauding despite the fact that someone was obviously down among those gathered. When I reached Raleigh and Thurston, Dez was sitting up, waving them away. He looked scared, his face pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat.
    “What happened?” I asked.
    “We need to get you to a medic,” Thurston said to Dez.
    “I’ll be all right,” Dez choked out. “Moira here almost gave me a heart attack.”
    Had I? I started to shake my head, and he added, “With her beauty.”
    He gave a smile that was hardly convincing, but if he could say something like that, maybe he would be okay. The petite drill sergeant who seemed to run things around here showed up then and pushed us aside. “The doctor’s waiting,” she said.
    Dez didn’t protest as she assisted him up and led him away.
    “Good job, Miss Miracle,” Thurston said. “Nan was right about you.” But he cast a worried glance after Dez and the woman.
    “Nice work, Pixie,” Raleigh said. “Next time you’ll get your applause.”
    The crowd dispersed into the tent, because showtime had arrived. Thurston and Raleigh left too. I checked my pocket and took out the coin to see if I’d transformed Dez’s penny like I suspected I had.
    Yes, it was different.
    But not in any way I could have expected.
    The misshapen copper now held the shape of an anatomically correct heart. No longer a smooth circle, it had rounded metallic muscles, and veins and arteries poking out.
    What had hurt Dez was no mystery. Not to me. It was my out-of-control magic.
    I sank to the ground, not caring if anyone saw. Dez could have been seriously injured—maybe even killed—and it would have been a complete accident.
    My palm curled gently around the metal heart.

eight
    I flipped onto my other side again in the darkened bedroom. With every move, the air mattress rustled beneath me.
    No way I was getting any sleep tonight. Instead, I’d spent the last however-long tossing and turning, thinking about my magic. More than that, thinking about Dez. Word after the last show had been that the doctors hadn’t found anything wrong with him, but I hadn’t seen him again yet. My phone was beside the mattress, and I reached over and swiped to see what time it was. If it was after two, I’d stay put.
    Only midnight.
    I eased out of bed, grabbing my jeans and shoes from the floor. But I wasn’t quiet enough, because Dita sleepily said, “Moira?”
    “Can’t sleep. I’m going to take a walk.”
    There was enough light through the bedroom curtain from a security pole outside to let me see her shift onto her elbow. “You need company?”
    “No, you stay here. I’ll be quiet when I come back in.” I paused. “Where am I likely to find anyone who’s up?”
    “There’s usually poker or a fire pit at the edge of camp. Dad plays sometimes. But it’ll be