“We could go after her,” Kat says.
I shake my head. “We don’t have time. Nana needs to know about this, and then we have to find Winn.” I hold out the picture. “He had to have seen who took this, which means he could describe the person.”
“Good point.”
I sigh. “Too bad it doesn’t help me know which person they’ll attack next. You’d think they would have gone for Winn first, since he saw. But it’s like they knew somehow that you were bound to me, and therefore most important.”
Her eyes go wide. “You think?”
“Yeah.” We speed-walk in the direction of my house. “We’ll have to figure out how to protect everyone after I get more info from Winn.”
“Nana!” I yell once we get back. “Nana!”
“She’s gone.” My dad emerges from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. By the way he stares, I know he can see again. I feel like a dork for blushing, but he hasn’t seen me since he found out the truth. Somehow, it’s like the first time he’s truly looking at me. “You got your voice back.”
“Yup. And you can see.”
He smiles. “The house looks a lot nicer than I imagined. It sounded on the brink of collapsing.”
“She likes to talk back. I imagine her as my cranky old aunt.” I point toward the apothecary. “Did you say Nana left? She hardly ever leaves.”
“She took Maggie to fortify the barriers around town again. They had a whole bag of bones and some bottles of snakeskins.”
“Good.” I’m glad Nana already knows what happened and is doing what she can to protect my friends. As long as Gwen doesn’t leave Willow’s End or get a horrible letter in the mail, hopefully she’s safe for now. “A dog skeleton, to sound warnings. And snakeskins to poison magical trespassers.”
“Did something happen?” he asks. I hold out the picture for him, and he inspects it with this funny half frown. “So that’s your boyfriend? The one from the pizza place?”
“Uhhh, kind of?” Cue awkward silence. It keeps smacking me across the face like this—the whole “I have a father” thing. “He’s not my boyfriend. At least not yet. I don’t know. We’re just dating.”
“Okay.” He hands the picture back, not seeming convinced. “Whatever it is, it’s fine. I guess. As long as you aren’t, uh, never mind. None of my business.”
“Yeah . . .” I can’t look at him, positive he’s implying what I think he’s implying. “That’s not really the point right now.”
“But he has his arm—”
I point to the big X on Kat’s head. “Whoever put that curse on you? They tried to kill Kat, and—”
“Your hand!” He takes my wrist, inspecting the red skin. “Is this how you saved her?”
I wince at his touch. “Part of it.”
“That’s what Dorothea must have meant. Come to the kitchen.” He disappears, and I start to wonder if either of us will ever finish a thought without interrupting the other. But once I see what’s on the table, I smile. Nana set out a balm for my hand and extra charms for my bracelet. He pulls out the chair for me. “Seems like your grandmother knows everything.”
“Almost.” I sit, putting my hand in the bowl. The creamy mixture is cool and soothing. It smells like roses, though that’s only to cover up what’s really in it. My guess is some kind of blend of animal innards and healing herbs. “Look at the back of that picture.”
He flips it over, and as he reads his mouth gapes. “Jo . . .”
“I know.” I stare at my hand, my whole soul feeling sick and tired. “It’s like whoever is doing this is . . . having fun. I have to protect everyone in this picture before it’s too late. Nana has the rest of town covered, but my friends need even more.”
“What do we do?” Kat puts her chin in her hands and glowers. “I wish I could help. What’s the point of being here if I can’t help?”
“Kat . . .” I wish I could give her an answer. “Do you know Billy’s address, by chance? Winn mentioned they were studying there tonight, but he’s way outside town.”
She shakes her head. “Ugh, I’m so useless.”
“Don’t say that. I’d hate to be doing this on my own right now.” I pull out my phone with my good hand and call Winn. As it rings, my heart pounds faster and faster. Please, please pick up. It can’t be too late.
“Hey,” he says, and I can hear the gorgeous smile that goes with it. “Are you feeling better? Say you’re feeling better.”
Despite all my concerns, I grin like a fool. So relieved. “I’m feeling better.”
“Good, I’ll come get you, then.”
“Are you sure? You’re at Billy’s, right?”
“Very sure. And I was just about to leave for his house, so perfect timing.”
I laugh. “Awesome. I kind of need to beg Billy to read my paper—he did such a good job with Kat’s, and I’m way behind on my stuff now.”
“See you in twenty?”
“Perfect. Thanks, Winn.” I shut the phone, a plan already clicking into place. “Kat, you’re about to be very useful, more useful than you probably want to be.”
Her brow furrows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
I give her my best cackle.
NINETEEN
“It’s simple,” I say to Kat as I paint the potion onto her palm. There’s no way we could pull off giving Winn and Billy some kind of charm necklace, so I figure the best bet is to put the protection spell right into them. It won’t be permanent, but it should ward off most bad magic and reduce the effects of anything truly horrible for at least a day. “All you have to do is touch him on the skin, and the spell will transfer. He won’t even notice. Just don’t touch anything before, or it’ll get the spell instead.”
Kat gnaws on her lip as I cover her fingers with the clear liquid. She doesn’t daintily bite—no, she chews to the point you wonder if she’ll start bleeding. “I don’t know, Jo. I’m not a flirter; I can’t touch him.”
“Yes, you can!” I laugh. Kat never gives herself enough credit. She may be shy, but she is beautiful in her own right. Punk beautiful, with her heavy bangs and porcelain skin. “You totally had a vibe going with him the other day at lunch, and he’s all thin and hipster. You’d look good together.”
She stares at her hands. “I don’t want to date Billy.”
“I’m not asking you to date him—I’m only saying you could if you wanted. One touch on the arm does not a relationship make.”
She sighs. “I guess this is what I get for wanting to be helpful.”
“That’s the spirit.” Winn honks his horn, and I jump. “Better go.”
I certainly don’t mind scooting in right next to Winn when we get in his truck. As he wraps an arm around me, I press my hand into his forearm. The spell transfers, and I feel a little more at ease. Then I notice the ends of his hair are wet. Oh, for the love, he just showered. “You didn’t have to get all cleaned up to study.”
He laughs. “Actually, I did. I was out in the fields testing soil and compost. You and Kat would have opted to sit in the truck bed if I came straight from that.”
I tilt my head to look up at him. “You test the soil?”
“Any good farmer does. If the pH levels are bad, it can damage the crop. Or sometimes there will be too much of a particular chemical, so you need to plant a crop that’ll balance the levels out. We rotate our fields all the time.”
“Huh.”
“Huh?” He pokes me. “Having grown up around a bunch of farmers, I thought you’d know this stuff!”
“Hello?” Kat says. “Jo and I live in town, and Gwen pretends she doesn’t live on a farm. I’ve never even touched a tractor, nor do I plan to.”
“Exactly,” I say. “I have Nana’s bug legacy to uphold, Gwen dreams of being a stylist, and Kat has her poetry.”