The Dragon Heir (The Heir Chronicles #3)

The Dragon Heir (The Heir Chronicles #3) Page 34

“So, Barber was here.” She had this way of getting right to the point.

He nodded. “Grace saved the day. She was amazing. She's not afraid of anything.”

Madison nodded. “She's fearless, all right. It's scary sometimes.”

“You never said she was an elicitor, too.”

Madison froze in mid-fuss, her eyes fixed on the quilt. “What are you talking about? She is not.”

“Madison. Hello. It's me.”

“She's not,” she repeated, louder.

“Have you told her?” When Madison said nothing, he shrugged. “Guess not. She doesn't seem to know anything about magic.”

She finally looked up at him, her eyes darkening to a deep-water blue. “She's not in this.”

“Yet.”

“Never.” Madison was like a person who presses her thumb over the hole in the dike while the water gushes through all around her. “You can't tell anyone.”

“Maddie, it was just dumb luck that Barber didn't figure it out when he was here.”

“That's why I have to stay out of this thing. To protect her.”

Then, all of a sudden, she was crying. Tears streaked down her face and Jason cast about for something, anything to say. “Um, hey, listen, Madison, I …”

“It's been hell around here, you know that?” Her voice rose and the dog stirred and opened his eyes. “Last year, somebody was setting fires all over the county, and everybody blamed it on us, saying we're witches. Kids were teasing Grace at school. Her best friend's mother told her to stay away from her. It got vicious. When I left, that finally died down.”

She sniffled a little and dabbed at her eyes. “I was happy in Trinity. Then Second Sister happened. I can't get involved with this. If they find out about Grace … My family—they're all I've got.”

“And now I've brought Barber down here,” Jason said, thinking of Leesha. “I'm really sorry.”

“Do you think he'll be back?”

Jason shrugged. “He's probably just checking everywhere close. I doubt he'll be back, unless he finds out you live here. That would be too much of a clue.”

“It still says Booker on the mailbox,” Madison said. “Everybody knows who lives here, though.” She paused. “So. What does Barber want? What are you doing here?”

I came to find out if you're working for the Roses, Jason thought of saying. Or, I came to spy on you. Or, I came to drag you back to Trinity, willing or not. Not that he was in any condition now to do that.

So of course he said none of those things. “Barber's looking for the Dragonheart. I guess he thinks I have it.”

“But you don't.” She slid a sideways glance at him, trying to act casual. “Is it … is it still in the church?”

“Yeah,” he said. She still wants it, he thought.

“Any luck using it? Figuring it out?”

He shook his head. He thought of saying, No, the thing bites me every time I try and lay a hand on it. But he didn't say that, either. He still had hopes. “We've got the rest of the stuff pretty much sorted.”

They both fell silent, checking each other out like candidates for the same job.

“So,” he said finally. “You met with your art teacher?”

She nodded distractedly. “My teacher from Trinity College. I met her in Columbus so she could look over what I'd done so far. She was there for an opening.”

“So what'd she say?”

She stared at him a moment, then reached forward and grabbed the front of his T-shirt and pulled his face perilously close to hers. “Jason Haley! You did not drive all the way down here to ask about my homework!” And she gave him a little shake.

“Easy! I'm an invalid, you know,” he said, and she let go of him. “I came because someone broke into your room at the Legends and tore it all up.” He watched carefully for her reaction, and got basic bewilderment.

“Why would anyone do that? There's nothing there to steal.”

“It was a wizard,” Jason went on. “Seph thought it might have been the Roses.”

“The Roses! Why would they break into my room?”

“They might be trying to find you,” Jason suggested. “You sure there wasn't anything there worth stealing?” And then, on impulse, asked, “Did you leave any of your paintings behind?”

Madison turned a kind of skim-milk color, revealing freckles Jason hadn't even known were there. “Paintings? Well, I didn't … I mean, I …”

Jason stared at her. “It's not a hard question.”

“No, but…” She swallowed hard. “I don't think I left…anything. Why do you ask?”

“Well, Seph took a look around, but he couldn't tell if anything was missing.”

Now Madison looked positively panic-stricken. “Seph was in my room?”

“Well, yeah, he and Nick…”

“Seph and Nick? What were they doing? How did they get in there?” Madison leaned forward.

“Um. I guess Rachel asked Seph to come over. Actually, she thought maybe you two had a fight, and he trashed your room for revenge.”

Madison laced her long fingers together. “Did they … did they mention seeing any paintings?”

Damn, Jason thought. I don't believe it. She's totally guilty. She knows that painting was bad news.

But if she meant for Seph to find it, why is she acting so freaky? Was she going to give the thing to somebody—some coconspirator? Did she have a plan for it and now it's messed up? If it's messed up, do I want her to know it's messed up?

“Jason?” Madison was staring at him, biting her lip, waiting for some kind of response.

Acting on instinct, he shook his head. “No, he didn't say anything about a painting. Why? Is one missing?”

“Um, no,” Madison said. “Just wondered.”

She was absolutely hopeless as a liar. There was something wrong with this whole picture of Madison as secret agent or assassin. Like maybe he'd put the puzzle together by forcing the pieces in a way they were not meant to go.

They avoided looking at each other.

Finally, Madison spoke. “So. You came all the way down here to tell me about…about a burglary?”

“Well, ah … pretty much.” Jason cleared his throat. “Seph wants you to come back to Trinity. He'd…like to keep a better eye on you.” Well. That was true enough.

“What?” She sat down on the floor next to the mattress, wrapping her arms around her knees. “Did anyone think of asking me about it?”

“He doesn't think it's safe for you to be down here on your own.”

“I'm sorry, Jason, but I really don't think anyone's out to get me.”

Well, no, not if they're coconspirators. Another puzzle piece jammed into place.

“I'm safer here than there, anyway,” Madison went on. “If someone could break into my room with Rachel on guard, they could do anything else they wanted, too. If a stranger showed up in Coal Grove, he'd be noticed in a hot second. The only wizards I know of in the whole county are you, Warren Barber, and Brice Roper. And Barber followed you down here.”

Jason blinked. Grace had mentioned that name. “Who's Brice Roper?”

“A jerk and a liar. He lives at the base of the mountain. He has horses.” She seemed to think that was word enough on Brice Roper because she clamped her mouth shut, and Jason felt sort of sorry for Brice Roper, whoever he was.

Jason turned and dug in his backpack, pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He looked up to find Madison glaring at him. “What?”

“You think I'm going to let you light up in a barn?”

“Oh. Sorry.”

She snatched the cigarettes away from him. “Matter of fact, this entire mountain is smoke free where you're concerned.”

“Huh?” But Madison had that mulish look on her face again. “Look, I'll smoke in the yard. I'll smoke in the woods. I'll smoke in the fricking outhouse. Whatever you want.” He extended his hand.

She stuck the cigarettes in her jeans pocket. “If you think I'm going to let you poison yourself after all the yick I went through to save your life, you are a crazy man.” She made a face and wiped her hands on her shirt.

“Fine,” he said. “I'll smoke twice as much after I leave.” He paused. “So. Are you coming back with me?”

Madison stood and began to pace, flinging her hands out as she talked. “I can't just pack up and leave. Judge Ragland released Grace and J.R. on condition that I'm here to watch them. If I leave, the county will take custody again.”

Jason sighed. He'd known this wouldn't be easy. And if Madison was conspiring with someone, it was a tough call whether it was better to bring her back into the sanctuary where they could watch her, or to keep her at a distance. The ban on attack magic didn't seem to work in her case. But he still didn't understand how she could put a hex in a painting, if she wasn't gifted.

If she was working for the Roses, though, wouldn't she be hot to come back to Trinity so she could get her hands on the Dragonheart?

Realizing she was waiting for a response, he said, “So what are you going to do?” It was no use to try and force Madison into anything. Wizardry would do no good on her, and in his present condition he couldn't very well carry her kicking and screaming to the car.

If he had a car.

“Look,” Madison said, “If I don't get this portfolio done, I'll lose the whole semester. And the kids are depending on me. I can't go tearing back to Trinity because of a break-in. Seems like I'd be heading for trouble instead of away from it.” Madison waited, twisting a lock of hair between her thumb and forefinger. When Jason didn't respond, she said, “How is Seph doing?”