“No, for dinner. We’ll pick up Indian. You like Indian food, don’t you, Jaime?”

She smiled. “Love it.”

“Why don’t Paige and I go pick that up now, and we’ll have an early dinner.”

Savannah plucked at Jaime’s sleeve and nodded toward the house. As they went inside, I watched, still standing there as the door closed. So much for a mother-daughter boy chat. Maybe later.

I turned to Lucas. “Jaime doesn’t like Indian food, does she? The real Jaime, I mean.”

“Hates it.”

“Ah, so you didn’t quite believe me. You could have said so, you know, and we’d have thought up an easier way to test her…one that doesn’t require us leaving them alone while we go pick up dinner.”

He shook his head. “We’re not going to pick up dinner. The Indian query was simply a convenient opportunity to verify that the Nix is indeed still inhabiting Jaime’s body. I was quite sure of it when she lured me out here, but ‘quite sure’ is hardly sufficient, considering what we’re planning to do.”

He handed me Paige’s helmet, and took his own off the shelf.

“I thought you said—” I began.

“We must at least appear to leave. That will also provide us with the opportunity to sneak back and find out what Savannah meant—what she and Jaime needed to discuss.”

Chapter 48

48

LUCAS PARKED THE MOTORCYCLE AT A TINY COMMUNITY vegetable garden half a block away. We left our helmets locked to the bike, then hurried back to the house.

“Blur spell?” I asked as we drew close. “Or can you do that one yet?”

“I believe you’ll find my spell-casting much improved since our last meeting. Being bested by a witch casting sorcerer magic is bound to have a rousing impact on any sorcerer. I finally mastered the blur spell last year.”

“How about Paige? ’Cause I’m restricted to her level of magic here. My Aspicio powers aren’t working worth a damn.”

“Paige is reasonably adept at it as well. Anything I know, she knows…” A quarter-smile. “Or she is doing her best to learn.”

“How about the cover spell? If you can’t do it, I can cover you—”

“Paige isn’t the only one driven to expand her repertoire. I can cast most witch magic she knows, including the cover spell and binding spell, though she continues to be more proficient at the latter. I believe I’ve hit the racial-crossover wall with that one.”

“Well, you’re the first sorcerer I’ve met who can do it at all, so you’re well ahead of the game.”

We paused behind the neighbor’s fence. Lucas stood on tiptoe to peer over it. I tried…then realized I didn’t have a hope in hell of succeeding. Not at this height.