AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sam felt a cold chill run up his spine.
The power, he had said. Like it was just something you mentioned in casual conversation. Like it was a common thing everyone knew about.
Drake smirked. “Why, whatever can you possibly mean, Chaz?” The way he said it was an unmistakable threat.
“Nothing,” Chaz said quickly.
“She was doing a magic trick,” a voice yelled. “She wasn’t hurting anyone.”
“I told her to stop.” Orc was on his feet again, glaring with undisguised hatred, but also some wariness, at Drake.
“Orc is a deputy sheriff,” Drake said reasonably. “So when he tells someone to stop doing something wrong, they have to stop. If this girl refused to obey, hey, I guess she got what she deserved.”
“You don’t have the right to beat on people,” Sam said.
Drake had a shark’s grin: too many teeth, too little humor. “Someone has to make people listen to the rules. Right?”
“There are rules against doing magic tricks?” Edilio asked.
“Yes,” Drake said. “But I guess some people didn’t know that. Chaz? Give the fire chief the latest copy of the rules.”
Sam accepted a crumpled, folded piece of paper without looking at it.
“There you go,” Drake said. “Now you know the rules.”
“No one’s doing magic around here,” Quinn said, placating.
“Then my work is done,” Drake said, and laughed at his own wit. He tossed the baseball bat to Chaz. “Okay. Everyone go home.”
“Bette will stay here for a while,” Sam said.
“Whatever.”
Drake drew Orc and the others in his wake. The crowd parted for him.
Sam knelt beside Bette. “We’re going to get you bandaged up.”
“What’s this about magic tricks?” Quinn asked her.
Bette shook her head. “It was nothing.”
“She made little balls of light come out of her hands,” a young voice said. “It was a cool trick.”
“Okay, you guys heard what Drake said: everybody out of here,” Quinn said in a loud voice. “All of you go home.”
Sam, Quinn, and Edilio half carried Bette inside and sat her in the ambulance. Edilio used the sterile wipes to clean the blood from her face, applied an antibiotic cream, and used two butterfly bandages to close the wound.
“You can spend the night here, Bette,” Sam said.
“No, I have to get home, my brother will need me,” Bette said. “But, thanks.” She managed a smile for Edilio. “I’m sorry I got you kicked.”
Edilio shrugged, embarrassed. “No big thing.”
Sam left to walk Bette home. Quinn and Edilio trudged back up the stairs.
Quinn went to the pot and used the slotted spoon to drain a few pieces of rotini. He tasted one.
“It’s like mush, man.”
