“Oh, that was just a freak occurrence, Mother.” Lara could still see the frayed wire and the puddle of water, which had no real origin—it couldn’t be chalked up to rain or to any leak from the amphitheater’s ceiling. Still, the charge had gone through her hand. When she turned over her palm, it was still there, like a stigmata scar.

“No.” Audrey shook her head. “You were nearly killed onstage in front of five thousand people. Even Jason was spooked—that’s why he’s never invited you on tour with him again.”

“What about my summer in France and Italy?”

“I can work wonders with hair and sunglasses. Even then, you were nearly struck by a moped in Rome.”

Lara leaned heavy on the counter. “That was—”

“—another accident?” Audrey cut in. “We’re safe here. Mother claimed it was a daemon of some sort trying to kill us—a woman.”

“Do you know who?”

Audrey shook her head. “But you are constantly reminding me that you’re thirty and you can take care of yourself, so it’s time I teach you what we really do.”

They walked into Lara’s living room and Audrey took a seat on the floor, settling herself in front of the fireplace on the area rug. “I just need one candle, but you have to make sure that you have one with you always. Each night, you must do this.”

Lara found a candle and handed it to her mother.

“Perfect,” said Audrey. “You don’t have to be picky. The fire binds the spell.”

Watching her mother run her hand over the flame again and again, Lara worried that the hand would burn, but it appeared to take on a sheen. “Yours will do this, too,” said Audrey.

Bracatus losieus tegretatto.

Eh na drataut bei ragonne beate.

The door blew open and a gust of wind hit them. Her mother smiled.

“Done,” said Audrey. “Now sit. I have some chants to teach you.”

Part 2: The Trip to Paris

Chapter 16

While they waited at the gate for the flight to Paris, Gaston kept a tight grip on Lara’s carry-on suitcase, which now contained the wrapped painting Sylvie on the Steed. He had chosen not to use an art handling service, preferring to keep the painting with them during the flight. Freed from its heavy frame, the painting was now small enough to fit into an international carry-on bag. Gaston had used acid-free packing paper to fill the hard-sided suitcase along with a healthy mixture of tissue and then bubble wrap.