Zani muttered something that sounded vaguely magical as she picked up the flowers. After she handed the bouquet back to the man, she winked at him, unfurled the fan, and fanned the Ordinary man’s face generously. Instantly, the beads of sweat rolling down his temples evaporated.
“Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine,” she assured him.
When his lady friend approached again, Zani winked at her, too. She waved the fan back and forth at the girl, like she was blessing her, pausing at the end to fold the fan with a flourish. Finally, she bowed and blew them both a kiss.
Then she spun on her heel and hastily linked arms with Will. “Come on.” She tugged at him. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait. Don’t you want to see if she says yes?” Will asked, suddenly feeling invested in the couple.
“No.” Zani was adamant. She tucked the fan back into her satchel. “I just erased their memory of us. As far as they’re concerned, we were never here.”
* * *
“How did you do it?”Will threw open the door to the luxuriously appointed van. Technically, the van belonged to his employer, Westabrook Enterprises. But as it was custom outfitted as a traveling home base for Will’s porting activities, he also thought of it as his own. He placed the travel case on the floor of the back seat.
“How’d I do what?” Zani asked. She ignored his proffered hand and reached out to grab a handle, swinging herself up and into the back of the van with ease. Wearily she slipped the small satchel off her shoulder and dropped it onto one of the leather upholstered seats. She looked around at the lavishly appointed interior and whistled softly. “Fancy ride!”
“How did you erase their memories?” Will asked. He frowned as she slid into one of the seats. “You know you can leave your bag there and come ride up front with me. There’s plenty of room up front and we can catch up.”
“I just wish I was there already. You do not know how long this journey has been.” Zani closed her eyes. “And to answer your question … I used my Forgettable Fan to erase their memories. Handy little thing. It’s gotten me out of a few tight spots. I picked it up at a prop sale in West Hollywood a few years ago. I rarely use it on Ordinaries at the airport.” One corner of her mouth twitched up as she rubbed at a spot between her eyes. “Are you always such a menace in public, Will Porter?”
“You’ve got a headache,” Will said. Zani was clearly exhausted.
“It’s nothing. I’m just tired. I’ll be fine as soon as I get some rest,” Zani asserted. She sat up and looked at Will expectantly. “Shouldn’t we get going now? How long is the ride?”
“It’s rush hour.” Will shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter much if we leave now or wait here for a bit. It’s normally about forty minutes, but we’re bound to spend at least an hour in traffic if we leave now.”
Zani groaned.
“Here.” Will stepped into the van and closed the doors behind himself. “Let me get you some water and an aspirin.”
He opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of water along with a small glass jar of pills.
“Thanks.” Zani took both and swallowed the pills.
“Can I offer you anything to eat?” Will asked. “We have some snacks in the cabinets or I know of a great sandwich shop we can stop at or…” He hesitated and Zani raised an eyebrow.
“Or what?” she asked.
“Or I could just pop out to wherever for whatever it is you are craving. There’s a magical donut shop in LA, or a trattoria in Rome.”
“It’s the middle of the night in Rome, Will.” Zani rubbed her eyes. She thought for a minute. “But there are markets open in Singapore…”
“Which ones?” Will asked excitedly. “I can be back in ten minutes.”
Zani’s eyes flew open. “I’m joking, Will! I’m not sending you to Asia for noodles now. Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll grab a bite when I get to Maida’s place.”
“Okay.” Will was disappointed. Now that she mentioned it, the noodles sounded superb. He sat down in the seat opposite Zani. “Can I see the fan?”
“Whatever for?” She eyed him suspiciously.
“I’m just curious. How does it work?” Will adored magical gadgets. One of his most prized possessions was the Gearheart Locket he wore around his neck. It could create a protective pocket universe when activated. The locket had been a gift to him from Maida. “I’d love to just see it. Please?” Will made what he hoped was an endearing puppy dog face.
“Ugh, fine, just stop making that face,” Zani said. “You look like you just ate a pickled lime.”
She pulled the fan out of her bag. It was an elegant origami contraption. He could see now that it could even conceal a wand in one of its ribs, should one choose to place a wand there. The paper was a rich floral print, but seemed to change every time he looked away. It was impossible to recall the pattern or the color for more than a moment or two.
“So clever!” Will reached out to take it from her for a closer look, but Zani snatched it away.
