• • •

The sun had risen far enough into the sky that the frostiness of the morning had passed by the time we reached town.

“So, who is it you’re visiting?”

“Sorry?” Izzy said, meeting my eye. I suddenly noticed how tired she looked and worried.

Mr. Henderson and his ghost had distracted us for a little while, but we had fallen into silence on our way into town, allowing the seriousness of the situation to creep back in.

“You said you were going to pay someone a visit?”

“Oh,” she said with a forced smile, “I thought I’d go see Roxie.”

I stopped walking. Izzy turned and looked at me.

“That’s a really good idea.”

Her smile brightened. “I thought so.”

Roxie, originally named Dorothy, was Beatty’s older sister and occasional legal secretary. She also happened to be the local dance instructor, a onetime Vegas showgirl, and an infamous town gossip. If anyone knew what was going on with Constance’s case, it would be her.

“Do you mind if I come along?”

She shook her head slightly. “I don’t know. I thought I might like to go alone.”

My face dropped.

“I’m teasing,” Izzy said with a laugh. “Of course you can come, but would you do me a favor?”

“Sure.” As soon as the word had left my mouth, a bad feeling came over me. Like somehow I had made a mistake without even realizing it.

“It’s just one little spell.”

Oh yes, I had definitely made a mistake.

Chapter 6

The lighter than a feather charm?” Izzy raised the basket she had resting on her forearms. “This hamper is a little heavy, and I’m afraid my fingers have gone numb.”

Over the past few months, I had gotten quite good at avoiding these scenarios. I always had a sense of when to leave a room, or to gather an excuse, or to steer solutions to problems in nonmagical directions, but today I hadn’t even seen it coming.

Izzy asking me to perform the spell wouldn’t have been a big deal in her mind. While I had lost the ability to see or talk to ghosts, the rest of my magic had remained intact, and the lighter than a feather charm was a simple spell, just a little dance of the fingers, followed by a snap. It made any load instantly lighter. Again, it was a very easy spell. I could do it without thinking.

But I wasn’t going to.

“Let me take that for you.” I grabbed the basket before Izzy had a chance to protest. “I should have offered from the start. Even without the weight, it’s unwieldy.”

I could feel my aunt looking at me, but I refused to meet her eye. If I did, I might tell her everything, and I was so not ready for that.

“All right, darling. If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” I said brightly. “Besides, we’re almost there.”

Izzy and I fell into silence once again, but this time it was much more uncomfortable. I was grateful when I heard the recorded piano music coming from the open windows of the dance hall just ahead.