“No!” Kizzy swept the air and pushed Noah aside without touching him. Then she punched the air in front of her, and the two stunned criminals flew backward, landing on their butts. Their weapons flew out of their hands and landed a few feet away. They staggered to their feet, and as soon as they regained their equilibrium, the older man scrambled for his gun.
Kizzy tossed the book to Noah, then held out her hands, and the guns jumped into them. Now she was armed, and her assailants were on the defensive.
“Let’s get out of here,” the younger of the two men cried.
“Not until we have that book!”
As the first fire truck pulled up out front, so did the cops.
Kizzy drew a circle in the air, enclosing Noah and the book in a translucent bubble.
“Shit. We can’t afford to get arrested. Run!” The two perpetrators rushed through the hedges toward the next street.
Kizzy drew the circle the opposite way, and the bubble dissipated.
Noah put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
What could she say? She was definitely not okay. She had just used her powers in front of three people. All humans. She had broken one of the strictest rules of the paranormal world.
In his best Ricky Ricardo accent, Noah said, “Lucy, you got some ’splainin’ to do, but it can wait. Let’s meet the firefighters and tell them what we know.”
Her startled gaze snapped to his face.
“About where the fire started and how. I have the feeling there’s a lot more to know than what you’ve told me, but I’ll let you take the lead on that.”
“Please don’t say anything about me and what I can do.”
“Don’t worry, babe. I have secrets too. At some point, we’ll share them. I trust you.”
She smiled. “I trust you too.”
* * *
Kizzy was on the phone with her father. Or she would be if he hadn’t placed her on hold. The fire department was just finishing up, and they’d managed to save most of the home. The police had taken statements from both Noah and Kizzy. Nick Wolfensen had been delayed at home, and when he finally arrived, he said he felt terrible about leaving her alone for so long.
That’s when Noah spoke up. “She wasn’t alone. I was here.”
Kizzy slipped her arm around his waist. “I don’t know what I would have done without Noah. He really did save me—and more of the house than I could or would have by myself.”
Kizzy’s father came on the line. “What happened?”
“The house caught fire. Somebody threw something like a Molotov cocktail through the window.”
“My God! Are you all right?”
“Yes. Umm…my vision even came back.”
Dr. Samuels said, “Put Nick Wolfensen on the phone.”
If Noah didn’t have paranormal hearing, he wouldn’t have been able to follow the conversation. Nick grabbed the phone and moved a few paces away.
“Where were you, Wolfensen? Is Kizzy really okay?”
“Yes. Kizzy must have had to lift the blindness spell to get out. I’m sorry, Dr. Samuels. Truly, I am. My wife needed my help with something, and I thought Kizzy would be okay for a few minutes. Fortunately, the young man, Noah, was with her. He’s a firefighter and did contain the fire to a smaller area while Kizzy got out and called 911.”
Nick glanced over at them. With one hand around Kizzy’s waist and the other in his pocket, Noah tried to look casual and supportive. Not possessive.
“Why were they alone together? You were supposed to make sure they stayed apart.”
