Spellcasters Read Free Page A

hit the ground, he realized he might have something more serious than humiliation to worry about.
    The air flew from his lungs, he saw a blur behind the half-demon as Paige charged the man.
    Oh, shit. She’d said she would go inside for help, but he should have known she wouldn’t run away and leave him alone. Her mouth opened to call for help, to attract the council’s attention that way. Before she could get out a syllable, the half-demon turned to meet her charge.
    Paige skidded to a stop, eyes going wide, lips moving in some useless incantation. Adam sprang to his feet and grabbed the man’s arm. The half-demon yelped and tried to yank away, but Adam tightened his grip, heat flaming through him.
    The half-demon fought, panicked. Adam’s grip slid. The man pulled free and ran for the forest. Adam tore after him, but the man was faster and Adam reached the road just in time to see him jump into a car.
    At a noise behind him, he turned to see Paige. She stopped in front of him, eyes dancing, cheeks glowing, curls flying free from her ponytail.
    Whenever his friends asked Adam what his “Boston friend” looked like, he’d say, “Cute, I guess,” but as she looked up at him, grinning just for him, she looked way better than cute. Her lips parted, and he knew if he leaned over—
    “You did it,” she said, waving the notepad between them.
    He looked into her eyes then, saw only the glowing happiness of a friend, and he knew that’s all he’d seen before, and probably all he ever would. She threw her arms around his neck, and he hugged her back. When she pulled away, she held out the notebook.
    “I’ll do the talking,” she said. “But you give them this. You’re the one who got it.”
    “No, you should—”
    She shoved it into his hands. “Don’t argue. Take it.”
    He grinned. “Our first adventure. The first of many.”
    “Oh, I’m not so sure about that.”
    His grin widened. “I am.”
    Robert handed his half-demon friend, Leo, a bottle of salve. “This should work. It’s Ruth Winterbourne’s recipe and she finds it works particularly well on the burns Adam inflicts … though that one seems to be worse than usual. He’s making remarkable progress.” A soft chuckle. “Though I’m sure you aren’t nearly as impressed. I do apologize. This is the first time he’s ever caused second-degree burns—”
    Leo waved off the apology. “I’m fine. The kid did good, and I owed you.”
    “Well, thank you anyway for your help. I’ll leave the salve with you. I should be getting back to the hotel before anyone realizes I left.”
    Leo took the jar and they said their good-byes. Then Robert hurried off. He couldn’t afford to dawdle—if Ruth found out what he’d done … It was the kind of thing that could threaten a very old and very dear friendship.
    Yet even if she did learn the truth, he wouldn’t regret the ruse. It was training. Necessary training. The council was sliding into old age along with him and Ruth, without ever having become the vibrant, active force he’d once imagined.
    With Paige and Adam and the next generation, that could change. The will and the desire for innovation were there. He saw them in Paige and knew they were more than adolescent rebellion. She was questioning her mother’s passivity, looking for a more active delegate’s path. Adam would follow her on whatever path she proposed, particularly if it offered more excitement than endless talk.
    When they’d come running into the meeting, notebook in hand, he’d seen by their expressions that his ploy had succeeded—their glow of victory tempered with the knowledge that they’d picked a fight they may not have been ready for. Someday they’d be ready though. They’d make sure of that now.

D IME S TORE M AGIC

P ROLOGUE
    T odd adjusted his leather power seat and smiled. Now, this was the good life. Driving along the California coast, road stretching empty before him, cruise control set at fifty, climate