Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3)(40)

“You didn’t do anything wrong, baby,” Rose said.

Lon stared straight ahead, eyes on the road. “I’m not mad at you.”

That seemed to calm Jupe down a little. After awhile he said, “Do you think she’s really sober?”

No one answered. Adella was still angry, and like Lon, was keeping herself tightly wound. Mr. and Mrs. Holiday glanced at each other as if they were wondering whether they should jump in. I never knew them to stay quiet about anything, so it was disconcerting that they were holding back.

After a few moments, Rose finally said, “I don’t know.” She put her arm around Jupe’s shoulders and pulled him closer, stroking his arm in one of those grandmotherly ways. I never knew my grandparents, but I always fantasized that they’d be that way, kind and comforting.

It was weird that a few hours ago, I was still angry with this woman. Now I saw her in a different light. God only knew what she’d had to deal with when it came to Yvonne. She could have just let Lon and Jupe slip out of her life. But she stuck around. Jupe thought she was the best thing since sliced bread. So she was a little stubborn. Maybe I’d be stubborn too if I was in her shoes.

“I want to believe her,” Jupe admitted after a while. “Does that make me a sucker? Every time I believe her, she lets me down.”

“Me too,” Rose answered. “Me too.”

Lon remained silent for the remainder of the ride. He was dark and stormy and circled by a solid stone wall and a moat filled with snapping crocodiles. Completely unreachable. I hated that Yvonne had that effect on him. I desperately wanted to talk to him in private, but when we got home, Lon asked the Holidays to take Foxglove out back with Jupe. Once he was out of earshot, we stood on the front walkway with the Giovannis.

“How did you do it, Rose?” Lon asked.

“Do what?”

Lon’s eyes narrowed. “You know damn well what I mean. Resist her knack. How did you do it?”

Rose pushed her glasses up. If I had to guess, I’d say she was almost embarrassed. “Oh, all right.” She sighed theatrically, then reached inside her purse and pulled out an object that fit in her palm. It was metal. It glowed softly with Heka.

“A charm?” I said.

Rose was embarrassed. “Just a little one.”

“Mama!” Adella said, peering into her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged. “I bought it from a magick shop in Portland. The woman who owns it is a witch, and she said she bought it from an estate sale. She wasn’t sure if it would work. But I had it on me last time I saw Yvonne and it worked . . . well, like a charm.”

“Can I see it?” I asked

She handed it to me. “It” was a silver signet ring, the band almost worn through in the back. The front was a flat hammered circle with a magical sigil engraved in the middle. “This is a variation of Solomon’s Seal.”

Lon squinted at it as I turned it in my fingers. “I’ll be damned. I think you’re right.”

“And just what does that mean?” Adella asked.

“King Solomon supposedly had a ring that allowed him to control demons and talk to animals. Whoever made this seems to have adapted it for use on Earthbounds.”

“That’s why I couldn’t hear your emotions when Yvonne showed up,” Lon said.

“When I saw her walk onto the patio, I grabbed the ring from my purse. It only works if it’s touching your skin. That’s what the witch told me, anyway.”

Lon was astonished. “Damn, Rose. Do you know how many hours I’ve spent thumbing through old grimoires trying to find something that would do this?”

“Believe me, I wish I’d had it years ago. More than that, I wish I knew someone who could just get rid of her knack once and for all.” She slid a sly glance my way. “Do I know someone who could?”

“Me? Christ, I don’t know. I’ve never seen a spell that could do that. Plus she’s got—” I gave Lon a questioning look. He told me that, like the Holidays, they knew about the transmutation spell. Yvonne was fond of showing off, apparently.

“She’s got magick in her already,” Lon finished for me.

Magick I never wanted to experience. Her regular knack was powerful enough.

“That would have to be reversed first, I think, and . . .” My words trailed off as I thought about it. Could I? If I could slow time, then maybe I could do this, too. But so much could go wrong. It was like performing a surgery you’ve never done before. Or that’s what I imagined, anyway. Besides, there was no way Yvonne would ever agree to such a thing, so what was the point of thinking about it?

“Just a thought,” Rose said.

I handed the ring back.

“What I’m dying to know is what you heard,” Adella said to Lon. “Spill it. Was she lying about any of it?”

Lon glanced around at all of us. My nerves were jumping, buzzing with dread.

“She was sincere.”

Godammit. I knew it was selfish, but my heart still dropped.

Lon’s fingers grazed the back of my neck. “Being sincere in a moment doesn’t mean lasting change.”

“He’s right about that,” Adella murmured.

Rose sighed. “I’m going to the hotel to talk to her.”