I got to my feet and took one step closer to the kid, my voice very quiet. “Is there a reason you just did that?”

He nodded. “The guy in the cloak paid me fifty bucks. Said you were practicing for an audition for a play.” His gaze scanned my face and he took a step back. “Not auditioning. Uh, sorry dude.”

“Dude?” My power slammed into my shield and I gritted my teeth, holding it back with sheer willpower. The teenager took the opportunity to sprint in the opposite direction.

Of course, this had to happen directly after I’d convinced Samael to stop having his demons follow me around. If I hadn’t, Scarface would be in demon custody right now.

The thought pissed me off. My phone vibrated and I fished it out of my pocket, forcing myself to stalk away from the kid.

“What?”

“Uh, are you okay?”

“Cara?” I was so mad I hadn’t even looked at my screen. “Sorry. What’s up?”

“I heard a little something through the grapevine.”

I pushed the alley door back open and stepped into Merrill’s back room. “What kind of something?”

“That rowan wood in your arrow? I did a little poking around, and the demons keep rowan quiet, putting a stop to anyone who grows it. But there’s a seller in town. You could go talk to him and see if he knows anything about your arrows.”

I sure could. “Can you send me his details?”

“Yup.”

“Cara, I really appreciate this. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

16

Danica

The next morning, I threw on a load of laundry, played with Lia, and then dropped by the tower, where I handed over the footage I’d collected from Merrill’s neighbors to Steve.

He grunted at me, guzzling coffee, and I left him to it, heading to Selina’s for a quick lesson.

She’d had me raising and lowering my shields every hour for the past few days, and I was officially convinced— I’d do whatever it took to learn how to wield my power without needing to lower them. After half an hour of intense focus, I could slowly eek out a trickle of magic from beyond my thickest shield. It felt like forcing syrup through a sift, but it was something.

My homework this week was to keep my shields up but use my power to see each person’s magical ‘signature.’ Selina had shown me how I could use my power to measure other people’s power without dropping my own shields, but it was easier said than done. I’d had a glimpse of Samael’s power a few weeks ago. It was a crimson so dark it was almost black.