Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3)(66)

But could I use it to poke around the innermost workings of a human being? Could I “will” Yvonne’s transmutation spell out of her? Or would I melt a few organs in the process?

Even if I could, there was the other sticking point. Priya warned me: I was calling attention to myself in the Æthyr when I used it. Specifically, my mother’s attention.

Rose became frantic. “What do you think Lon’s going to do when he gets back? Huh? You think he’s going to just let her go back to Miami? He’s going to end up in jail, that’s what’s going to happen. You want to lose him to her? Because if she has her way, she’ll take him down however she can.” She leaned in closer, putting her face right in front of mine, intense green eyes on mine. Swirls of her halo cast a glow on the tip of my nose. “God forbid she catches Lon alone. If he doesn’t have something like this ring to protect him, she’ll have him on his knees in seconds. And if you want to know how that story ends, you go ask Adella.”

I didn’t have to. Adella’s story was still fresh in my mind. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t made myself sick worrying about Yvonne’s possible control over Lon.

My hands were shaking with anger. I walked around Rose, heading back down the hall. She trailed me downstairs to the living room as I dialed Lon’s number. “Pick up, pick up,” I muttered. But he didn’t. I tried again and hung up when his voicemail came on a second time. Then I stopped in the middle of the living room and stared at Rose for several beats, fingernail clicking on the screen of my phone.

“Her knack by itself, I can handle,” Rose said. “Even without this ring. But when she shifts, there’s nobody in this world that can stand between her and what she sets her mind to have. And as much as she’s done to hurt this family, I still want her to get better. But without getting rid of that magick inside her, it’s just not going to happen. God help me, but she’s my daughter.”

“Rose—”

“If you won’t do it for me,” she said in a deceptively calm voice, “then do it for Jupiter.”

I glanced upstairs like I could see him. My heart constricted painfully.

Then Rose said, “He’s counting on you. Lord knows he can’t count on her.”

And sometimes you do stupid things for people you love.

Golden light from the entry faded as my low-top sneakers crunched over white gravel. Adella’s poofy curls were silhouetted against the headlights from Yvonne’s rental.

“Everything okay?” Rose called out over my shoulder.

Muffled pounding sounded from the backseat of the car. Shouting followed.

“She’s angry as a bull,” Adella replied.

I could just make out the movement of Yvonne’s halo inside the dark car. When I stepped closer, I saw more. She was blindfolded. I glanced at Adella; the scarf around her hair was gone. I remembered how her knack kicked in when I looked up at her at the seafood restaurant that first night.

“She’s like Medusa,” I said dumbly.

Rose huffed. “Turning people to stone might actually be useful. She’s like Medusa’s evil twin. It came from my late husband’s family tree.”

“Avoiding eye contact only delays the inevitable,” Adella explained. “Unless you’ve got a solid wall between you, she’ll eventually ensnare you. She’s gotten me when I’ve had my back turned. You doing this? Stripping away the transmutation spell?”

“I can’t guarantee anything,” I warned. “Are we straight on that?”

They both nodded. Rose gave me the rental keys.

“And I’ll need the Solomon Seal ring,” I said. “Maybe it’s best you two head inside the house. Keep trying Lon. Check on Jupe.” I thought of the tail and twitched. No jeans to hide it this time; I was wearing mini cargo shorts that barely covered my ass. An ass that was, by the way, currently freezing in the cool night air. “Don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe.”

Adella slipped off the ring and gave a wary look toward the car as she handed it over.

“Go!” I said. “Before she changes your minds.”

I slid the ring on my index finger and waited until I heard the front door shut. Then I approached the car and hit the unlock button on the key ring. The car’s interior lights came on, illuminating Yvonne. Her sister’s blue-and-white striped headscarf had been torn in two. Half of it covered her eyes; the other half bound her wrists together behind her back. It was a shame that the Giovannis felt they had to do this. I almost felt sorry for Yvonne.

Almost.

“Get out,” I shouted.

She didn’t move for several seconds. I swung the door open and stepped back.

“Where are they?” she asked. The bottom edge of her makeshift blindfold was damp with tears. Mascara seeped beneath it, running down her cheeks.

“Inside. It’s just you and me. Please get out. We need to talk.”

“Untie me,” she bit out between clenched teeth. She was angry now. Her halo was dancing. I watched it carefully, worried that she might transmutate any second.

“You don’t need your arms to stand. Out of the car, please.”

She struggled to move her legs around, but finally managed a sloppy exit and teetered on high heels against the side of the car. “I don’t know what you expect to accomplish by talking to me,” she said, chest heaving. “But this is between me and my family.”