Though my ADHD hampered my efforts to do any real magic, I did manage to make the air in front of me glow for two seconds, caused a gust of air to knock over a picture frame, and caught my shoelaces on fire. Thankfully, Lina was able to put it out pretty fast.

"You are not bad for someone who does not know what they are doing," she told me as we went into the kitchen and prepped food for dinner.

I pressed fingers to my temples to soothe the headache. "Is this normal?"

She nodded while kneading a ball of cornmeal. "Magic focus is different than thinking hard about things. The magic—how do you say—presses the mind into shape."

"It molds our minds?"

"Ah yes, that is it. Like new languages make new paths in the mind, so does magic. But it hurts for the first months."

I grimaced. "And it doesn't give you brain damage?"

She giggled. "No more than you already have."

"Ha, ha," I said and tickled her while she had her hands in the dough. "Now who's brain damaged?"

She laughed and jerked her hands from the cornmeal, spraying bits everywhere including my face. I sputtered.

Lina giggled and gently wiped the dough from my face, pausing perhaps a little too long for my comfort with her hands against my cheeks. Her dark eyes shimmered with emotion.

"Interesting," said a familiar voice from behind.

Lina backed away, her smile flattening into a hard thin line before turning back to the cornmeal.

I twisted my head and saw Elyssa standing in the door, her left eyebrow raised. "Uh, hi," I said in a weak voice. It was the only thing that came to mind as I felt my face burning bright.

She walked into a back room and emerged a moment later with the Templar equipment we'd stripped off her the night before.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm staying in the town hall and leaving first thing in the morning."

"Why are you staying there?" Lina asked pausing as she rolled the cornmeal flat.

Elyssa's violet eyes settled on me. "Even you should be able to figure that out."

A hurt gasp from Lina failed to soften Elyssa's hard gaze. "You are very rude, but if you want to stay for dinner, please do."

"Thanks, but no thanks." With that, Elyssa left.

My heart dropped to a new low.

The next morning crawled into being after a long night of tossing and turning. My mind rewound history over and over again, analyzing and rehashing each detail, searching for something, anything I could have done differently to keep Elyssa by my side rather than captured and mind-wiped by her father. I wondered if they had time turners in the Overworld. I could definitely use one to go back and fix my mistakes.

My stomach growled feebly but my appetite had vanished. I forced down some rice, beans, and eggs Lina's grandfather, Eduardo, had made and hoped they didn't give me gas. After retrieving my backpack—the very same one Kassallandra had given me—I set off outside and down the driveway.

When I got to the town hall, I noticed a bus parked in front. People milled nearby, loading coolers, folding chairs, and blankets into the back. Bella spotted me and strode over, an almost apologetic look on her face.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking at the crowd.

A sheepish grin underlined the embarrassment in her eyes. "It appears your quest has attracted more volunteers than we thought."

"Wait a minute—this bus is for El Dorado? All these people are going?"

"No, no, no, not all." She smiled reassuringly. "Three old people aren't going because the bus ride is too stiff for their bones."

My mouth dropped. "This isn't some joyride. This is dangerous!"

Her hand touched my arm. "I know. But while we plumb the depths of El Dorado, there will be a picnic and a history tour. During the day, it is perfectly safe."

My palm slapped my forehead before I could stop it. When I looked up, Beck and Fausta stood there.

Fausta gave the villagers a disdainful gaze. "Looks like we have a three-ring circus accompanying us."

Elyssa appeared from behind the other two Templars and gave me a grudging nod. Dark, bruised lines underscored her eyes, and her hair hung limp in a messy ponytail. "We're going under El Dorado?" She shook her head. "You're crazier than you look."

Just peachy. Instead of capturing Vadaemos Slade, I might end up being responsible for shadow creatures annihilating an entire village.

Chapter 26

I slashed a hand through the air, drawing a line somewhat less substantial than drawing one in the sand. Still, I had to put an end to this nonsense. "Forget it. I'm not going if the entire village is. We're talking major league bad guys here."

The embarrassment in Bella's eyes vanished. Her chin angled up an extra inch, buoyed by local pride. "Lest you forget, Justin, nearly every one of us are Arcanes. We are more than capable of taking care of ourselves."

My feet took an involuntary step back at the ferocity in her gaze, and I felt stupid for making out like I was the expert on supernatural dangers. Not that it made me feel much better about the bored citizenry of Los Angeles, Colombia, turning my plans to rescue my love life into a picnic of all things. These people were really cashing in on my misery. "Exactly who will be joining us in the vaults?"

"Myself and three other experienced sorcerers."

"And me," Elyssa said, her eyes hard as steel.

I'd seen that look before and knew it too well to bother arguing with her. Beck and Fausta chimed in.

"I will also come," Lina said, stepping into the small circle.

"Child, you're far too inexperienced to join us," Bella said. "Does your brother know?"

"Why should that matter?" Lina said, jutting out her chin. "I can make light globes as well as anyone else and it would free up the others to be on the lookout."

"Absolutely not," I said.

Anger flared in her brown eyes. "I am not a child. I can make my own decisions."

"This is no decision, young lady." Bella crossed her arms. "This is a mistake. I am sorry, but you cannot come."

A tear welled in her eye. "But I want to help Justin." She glanced at Elyssa and her face hardened.

I took Lina by the arm and led her away from the group. She offered no resistance. I stopped. She refused to look up at me so I put a hand under her chin and raised her eyes to mine. "Thank you."

Her brow crinkled. "For what?"

"For caring. For helping." I sighed and looked at the others, at the back of Elyssa's head and felt my heart pinch with pain. As if she felt my gaze, her head turned and our eyes locked, like two tractor beams. I could feel the power sizzle in the air between our eyes. My heart felt electrified and tight at the same time.

Lina pressed a hand to my chest. "I care about you Justin. I want you to be safe."

Forcing my eyes from Elyssa, I met Lina's sad face and took her hand in mine. "I'll be safe as I can be. I don't want you risking yourself."

She nodded silently. Leaned up and kissed me on the lips. Turned away and paused for a second before facing me once again. Digging in her pocket, she pulled out a small black square and pressed it into my hand. "Devon found this next to the bullet wound in Elyssa's leg. He gave it to me."

My eyebrows pinched as I held up the bit of plastic to examine it. It only took a glance to tell what it was—a tiny memory card, the kind made for smartphones and other computer devices. "This was inside her leg?"

"Just under the skin. Devon said it looks like it was placed in just the right spot for the skin to heal over it, but not deep enough for the muscle to reject it and push it out."

"What's on it?"

She shrugged. "My phone doesn't have a slot for that kind of card. I probably would have looked at it otherwise."

I didn't blame her for being curious. What could be stored on this thing that Elyssa or someone else would insert it surgically beneath her skin? "Thanks, Lina. I'm glad you gave this to me."

"I almost didn't. I was so angry with you. With her." She gave a curt nod in Elyssa's direction. "But I realized it is not your fault you love her. And it is no fault of my own I—" She broke off and a tear trickled down her face. "Anyway, I hope it helps."

I hugged her and pecked her on the cheek. Backed away, leaving my hands on her shoulders. "Thanks, Lina. I mean it."

She nodded as another tear joined the first.

I dashed back to her house and grabbed my smartphone. With trembling hands, I slid off the back cover and pushed the tiny card into the appropriate slot. Thankfully, my phone had plenty of battery left since it had been off all this time. It recognized the card when I powered it back up. The only thing on it was a fairly large video file. My heart thudded hard against my ribcage as I started the video. Elyssa's face appeared. She looked tired, defeated. Judging from her surroundings, she was in some sort of high-security cell.

She looked so vulnerable. So beautiful. My heart ached for her.

"This is Elyssa Borathen. I am of sound mind. You may think I'm crazy, but I'm not. Elyssa, hopefully you've found this. The story I'm about to tell you may seem insane, but it's true. Your father wiped your mind not because you did anything wrong, but because he couldn't control you. Because he couldn't stop you from falling in love."

I stopped the video. My pulse hammered and hope rode a swelling victory tide in my heart. Holy crap. Holy mother up in heaven! Elyssa had somehow managed to record her memories! This was irrefutable evidence. I saw the time on my phone and realized with a jolt it was past time for the circus to move out. Grabbing a pair of Lina's headphones so I could privately preview the rest of the video before showing it to Elyssa, I stuffed my phone into a pocket and rocketed out the door, back to the bus.

The bus was gone but a white, full-sized van waited. Bella and the other members of my intrepid group sat inside. Elyssa, Beck, and Fausta sat in the third-row seat speaking in hushed tones while Bella sat shotgun next to the driver, a middle-aged Asian man I didn't know. Alejandro and a light-skinned man with short, red hair sat in the front bench seat.