“Er, I think I’d better give you the expanded version.”

He held up the phone. “Two minutes.”

When I finished, his eyes met mine, his expression un-readable.

“So what happened at the community center, the shooting. That was this Nix.”

I nodded, but I knew I’d failed, that my story was too preposterous and he wasn’t—

“We were worried that it was somehow connected to Savannah,” he said quietly. “We tried to convince ourselves we were being paranoid but—” His head shot up.

“This Nix is in Jaime? Right now?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. We’ll head her off before she gets near—”

Lucas was already on his feet and flying out the door. I jumped off my chair and tore after him.

“Hey!” I called as he bounded down the stairs.

He didn’t even slow. He hit the bottom step and wheeled through the dining room doorway, disappearing. I ran into the dining room just as he flew through the kitchen, pausing only to grab his keys.

“Oh, shit!” I said. “She’s already here, isn’t she? That’s who’s with Savannah.”

I caught up with Lucas in the lean-to, as he yanked the cover off his motorcycle.

“Hold on,” I said. When he didn’t listen, I snatched the keys from his hand. “Lucas, hold on! She’s not after Savannah, and if you go tearing off to wherever they’ve gone, she’ll know we’re on to her. Given the choice between killing Savannah and abandoning her revenge altogether, I sure as hell know which one she’ll pick.”

He turned to me, mouth opening to say something, then stopping as he saw me, a look of disconcertment passing behind his eyes.

“Cast the glamour spell,” I said.

“Hmmm?”

“This is making you uncomfortable—me looking like Paige. You know what I really look like, so cast the glamour spell, so you’ll see that instead.”

He nodded, and cast it. When he finished, his eyes darted my way, shoulders tense, as if bracing himself. Then he relaxed.

“Better?” I said.

He nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’ll have to uncast it when they come back, so you remember who I’m supposed to be. So when did Jaime get here?”

“This morning. Savannah, of course, was thrilled to see her, and Paige and I—” He shook his head. “We were just as happy, thinking it was exactly what Savannah needed, how thoughtful it was…” Another sharp shake of his head.

“She didn’t seem at all…odd?”

“Had it been anyone else, I’m sure I would have thought so. But Jaime’s moods—and behavior—can be…erratic. She called after she heard about the shooting, and was concerned about Savannah, so for her to get a sudden notion to visit wasn’t abnormal, not for Jaime.”

He looked back at the keys in my hand. I clasped my hand around them, hiding them.