The trio of girls wasted no time in crossing the campus grounds, and all three were silent until they were inside the TD Bank Sports Center. Violar poked her head into the arena, where another game was in the final minutes of the third period.

"They're not here," she announced to her companions. "How do we get into those tunnel things?" She pointed at the exits where she'd seen the players emerge before.

"Locker rooms," said Kitty, grabbing Violar by the wrist. "This way."

They hurried down the empty corridors, where cheering and groans of disappointment echoed through the arena. Signs directed them to the locker rooms, and Violar halted when she saw the yellow-jacketed security guard standing by the entrance. She chewed on her lower lip as she saw the sign posted on the wall next to the entrance: NO UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL BEYOND THIS POINT.

Rogue grabbed Violar and Kitty by their forearms and dragged them around the corner before they were spotted.

"I think it's a safe bet that we don't count as authorized personnel," muttered Kitty.

"Or boys," Rogue pointed out. "That is a men's locker room."

Kitty giggled, but Violar's mind was elsewhere – on the security guard.

Perhaps if I explain the situation to him . . .

The thought died in her head before she could complete it. There was no way the centaur was going to blow her cover – or Bobby's – by telling a solid, intimidating security guard some far-fetched and outlandish story about how two hockey-playing kids might be dangerous, let alone hint at anything connected with mutants. Or black magic.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Marie turned to her.

Violar didn't answer. She casually peeked around the corner at the guard and the entrance. There was no way they could get past him without arousing suspicion.

No. That's not true.

"Kitty." Violar ducked behind the corner again and kept her voice low. "Can you phase yourself into the locker room and make sure Bobby's all right?"

Kitty choked. "Vi, that's the last thing I'd have expected you to suggest."

"What?" Violar looked completely bewildered. "Why?"

Kitty's eyes blinked wide in shock. "Okay, just imagine me phasing into a locker room – right into the middle of a group of guys in, uh, various states of dress. And undress."

Violar flushed. That hadn't even occurred to her, because Narnia didn't have locker rooms.

Marie giggled. "Oh mah Gawd, that'd be fun!" She whipped off her glove and held out her bare hand. "Here, girl, lemme have a lil' bit o' that phasin' power! Ah volunteer for this mission, y'all!"

Kitty dodged aside and swatted Marie's shoulder. "Put your glove back on, you boy-crazy loon!"

Marie pretended to pout as she slowly tugged her glove over her fingers.

"Ladies, could we please stay focused?" Violar was amused by her companions, but concern for Bobby overrode everything else. "In Narnia, the wielders of dark magic needed only seconds to do a lot of damage. They could have a whole locker room of children either incapacitated or . . . wiped out by now." Violar shivered. "Jimmy and Rosa might not even be human at all, but creatures pretending to be human. I don't know. But listen, about that locker room. Isn't Rosa in there?"

"Not in the boys' locker room," Kitty answered. "They probably have another room set up just for girls so they can change."

Violar scuffed her boot toe against the squeaky linoleum floor. "Well, I think we're out of options." She shot an apologetic glance at Kitty. "Go on in."

"Lucky dog," grumbled Marie. "Why couldn't Ah'a been born with that kinda power?"

Violar suddenly breathed a low, incredulous laugh. "Because Aslan knew it'd be no good for you, that's why. Kitty, you'd better go."

Kitty shook her head, sighed, and pressed into the wall until her body vanished. Violar and Marie were left alone in the corridor. The centaur stuffed her hands into her coat pockets and paced in a little circle as Marie bemoaned her missed opportunity to behold a lot of young, athletic, handsome boys without their hockey gear on.

Violar suddenly rounded on her. "Will you stop? Please? You're driving me completely insane."

Marie grinned, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief. "Secretly, I bet ya wanted to go in there. Jimmy's in there too, ya know."

Violar groaned and turned away, thumping her forehead against the wall. "Either I'm going to lose it, or I'll round up Kitty and Bobby and we'll put duct tape over your mouth to keep you quiet for the rest of the trip. And I hear it hurts like fire when you peel it off. Really, Rogue!"

Before Marie could answer, Kitty stepped out of the wall – and knocked heads with Violar. Hard.

"Ouch!"

Both girls staggered sideways, rubbing their temples and glaring at each other.

"Next time, Kitty, take a little longer before you come into phase!"

"Next time, Vi, stay away from the wall!"

Marie couldn't help laughing. "Ah'm sorry fer laughin', but y'all shoulda seen yerselves!"

Violar groaned and gave her aching head a little shake. "Never mind. Kitty, what did you find in there?"

"Boys," she snapped. "In various states of dress."

Marie giggled.

Violar gave Marie a warning glance. "No, I mean… did you find Bobby?"

"Yes. In various states of dress."

Marie laughed harder.

Violar made a frustrated noise and tipped her head to the ceiling, then gripped Marie and Kitty by the sleeve and pulled them further out of earshot of the guard. Inside the arena, a buzzer sounded, and a loud cheer went up.

"You know what I'm asking, Kitty," said Violar firmly. "He's alright, isn't he?"

Kitty nodded, equally serious. "He's fine."

"Oh he's fine awright," put in Marie with a wicked grin. "Real fine."

Violar frowned at her, then turned back to Kitty. "Did you hear Jimmy or Rosa say anything odd?"

"Not Rosa. I sneaked into the girls' locker room too, and Rosa was with a couple other girl players talking about, well, girl stuff. Jimmy. . ." Kitty cast her gaze to the floor and took a deep, deep breath. The veins in her neck stood out, indicating she wasn't sure about continuing.

"Kitty." Violar stepped closer, staring at her with a warrior's intensity. "What did Jimmy talk about?"

After a long exhale, Kitty looked up at her. "Well, he was talking about you quite a bit."

Violar's jaw dropped, and she instantly took two steps backwards as her heartbeat quickened. "What? What… what did he say about me?"

"He asked Bobby all sorts of questions, like . . . like if you had a boyfriend, if you liked sports, what your hobbies are. Basically, the sort of questions a guy asks about a girl he's interested in."

Violar flushed pink, bit her lip, and turned away. Trepidation and hurt battled for possession of her emotions and reflected in her tormented features. Next to her, she heard Marie giggling behind her hand.

"Now what?" Annoyance crept into Violar's tone.

Marie turned to her, grinning wide. "All that worryin' you were doin' about Bobby, sendin' Kitty in there to see if he was awright, and what do we find out? That Jimmy has the hots for ya. Like we didn't know that already. Vi, you are one centaur that's got it goin' on."

Violar groaned and stared up at the ceiling, as if imploring Aslan for help. "Exactly. A centaur. I'm sure most gentlemen are dying to have a girlfriend with four legs and a tail. Never mind!" she suddenly snapped as Marie collapsed in a fresh fit of laughter. "I tell you, you really are driving me insane! There's only one good conclusion we can draw from this, though." Violar turned to Kitty, ignoring Marie completely. "If Jimmy has time to stand around and talk about a girl, whatever he's planning can't be that serious – or soon. I'd bet you tomorrow's dinner that nothing will happen to jeopardize Bobby during this game, at least. We can breathe more easily until then – not that I'm advocating we drop our guard. We can't afford to do that with dark magic wielders around. Understand?"

Kitty nodded. Violar didn't look to see what Marie would do.

Kitty patted her shoulder. "So, why don't we just go find some seats and watch the game? I'll buy some funnel cakes to cheer you up."

Violar let out a long sigh, feeling defeated. Funnel cakes were wonderful to a point. She'd hoped to scrape together more evidence about Jimmy and Rosa, but all she had were the stirrings in her Danger Sense. It was irrefutable proof to her, because she'd felt those things in bad circumstances before; but it wouldn't be good enough for her friends.

"Yes, let's go. But we're sitting as close to the players as possible so we can keep an eye on Jimmy and Rosa."

The two mutant girls nodded. Violar was inwardly grateful that neither Kitty nor Marie showed the slightest hint of simply humoring her.

They sat in the row just behind the player benches. Fifteen minutes later the Flying Tigers and their opponents, a team called the Tarrytown Troopers, entered the rink for their pre-game skate. Violar's thoughts drifted away: The sound of skating blades slicing into the ice reminded her of battles in Narnia.

She closed her eyes. All of a sudden, the angry red air around her was choked with smoke and ash. Cries and bellows of wounded creatures and throaty roars from the warriors who still fighting rang in her ears.

Violar galloped through the battlefield, her palomino fur thick with dirt and caked blood. She clutched her twin swords and looked around, panting heavily.

The worst of the fighting was over. The invaders from Ettinsmoor had been beaten off. A few minotaurs and mangy coyotes were fleeing for the northern borders and the shadowed wastelands beyond, and other beasts were being thrown to the ground and tied up – prisoners to be taken to the dungeons of Cair Paravel. High King Peter would ultimately decide their fate. A line of fauns and graceful naiads worked to stamp out the brush fires started by flaming arrows, while anxious forest dryads hovered close by and watched their progress with deep concern.

Weariness began to settle in on Violar as she slowed to a walk on the far side of the battlefield, and she wiped her forehead with the back of one grimy hand – without letting go of her sword. She wasn't ready to let go of her swords yet. Clusters of Narnian warriors lifted their weapons and uttered hoarse shouts of victory.

The centaur's tense face broke into a faint smile. Narnia was safe again. Then her smile faded as she looked over the battlefield once more, noting the still, twisted bodies of her dead comrades and the struggling and writhing of the critically injured. Violar's face fell. The gravediggers would have their hands – and paws – full, and it would be a long night for a healer.

A powerful rush of wings to her right made her glance aside as a dark gray winged stallion swept in for a landing, his snow-white mane like flames rippling along his neck.

"Praise be to Aslan," he muttered to Violar, folding his white wings into the slate-gray fur of his back.

"Aye," Violar agreed. "Freedom lives another day. But it has come at great cost." She nodded grimly at the blood-soaked land before them.

"As do all things worth fighting for," replied the stallion wisely.

Violar pursed her lips and nodded again. "I'm grateful you're safe, Sir Brandolor."

The coal-gray stallion turned his majestic head and fixed dark eyes on her. "I, too, am grateful that Aslan has not chosen this day to take you home."

Violar swallowed hard and drew a deep breath, steeling her nerves. "My thanks to you, good horse. But let us not tarry here. We have much work to do ere the sun sets."

"Good riddance to the sun on such a black day," remarked the horse, inclining his head ever so slightly in a gesture of respect to Violar. "I will take to the skies and start the search at the north end of the battlefield. Tell Sandarius and the Black Dwarf to bring in the wagons."

Violar cringed. Sandarius was a powerful blood bay centaur with ice blue eyes, and he intimidated her – and scorned her, outcast of the Council Ring that she was. Violar did not relish speaking with him. Durin, on the other hand, was a friend – a Black Dwarf whom she'd defeated once in a spar, thus earning his respect… and his name. Black Dwarves were very secretive towards members outside their own race, often not revealing even their names; and Violar greatly treasured the fact that he'd trusted her enough to talk with her. And, at Durin's behest, she'd kept his name to herself.

"Aslan be with you, Sir Brandolor," replied Violar, already turning away and squaring her shoulders in preparation for a showdown with Sandarius. "It will be done."

With a strong flap of his white wings, Brandolor was airborne.

Violar turned away with a heavy sigh, dragging her hooves in the scorched dirt as she trudged in Sandarius' direction. Even on a good day, it was difficult for Violar to talk with him – to bear up under the continual sting of his sarcasm and open ridicule. Not all of that ridicule was directed at her, either. A lot of venom was reserved for her parents. Those were the insults that hurt the most.

She could see Sandarius through a thin veil of lingering smoke, standing with several other centaurs who were discussing the battle. They were probably going over plans to secure the border, Violar thought. They would have plenty to do, making sure the neevils didn't turn around and sneak into Narnia in the middle of the night.

Violar was mentally rehearsing a brief address for Sandarius when a black thundercloud struck her Danger Sense and stopped her in her tracks. The hair stood up on the back of her neck and ran all down her long centaurian spine. There was a loud crack and a wild whinny.

"Violar!" came the warning shout from the sky.

Violar wheeled with a cry and threw up her swords just in time to see a streak of blue light fly past her left shoulder, nearly close enough to singe her fur. A brown werewolf in a tattered cloak glared at her with his yellow eyes, but he had no time for a second shot: The winged horse was swooping down on him, white wings pinned flat against his back. The werewolf turned and extended his clawed hands toward the charging Brandolor, muttering something awful under his breath.

A ball of blue fire collided with the winged stallion, freezing him in midair. Instantly the werewolf's chanting changed, and a volley of red bolts slammed into the helpless horse – one after another after another.

Violar heard herself screaming as each flare struck Brandolor with unerring, deadly force. "No, no, no, no, no!"

She was already in full gallop, a curtain of red blinding her to everything except the vicious werewolf. She whirled her swords like silver bolts of lightning and came crashing down on him with merciless strength. With a grunt of fury she buried both blades to the hilts through the werewolf's chest and pinned him into the ground.

A wave of dark power shocked Violar so hard that she was knocked breathless. Her vision blurred as her heavy centaur body was thrown backwards, but she held doggedly to her swords, snarling like a mad beast and glaring at her enemy with black fire in her blazing eyes.

The werewolf's glazed yellow eyes met hers, and his hideous face curled into a wicked grin. Choked, hoarse laughter ripped from his throat. He was dying, impaled by her two swords, and still he laughed at her – because she was in agony. Then he convulsed once and his yellow eyes went dark as he fell limp.

A horrible crash behind her sent Violar reeling, and she turned to see a broken, battered wreck of a charcoal body and mangled wings encased in fading blue light. A snarling cry of anguish tore from her chest as she abandoned the werewolf and galloped over. She slid to her palomino knees beside the grounded stallion and threw her arms around his muscular neck.

"Brandolor! Brandolor!" She gripped his white mane and shook him desperately, but his eyes were closed and a deep serenity surrounded the majestic creature. There was no response.

"Brandolor!" Violar screeched frantically, shaking him again. He was still warm! He'd just been talking to her only a moment before. It was all wrong. The battle was supposed to be over. This couldn't be. One moment, he'd been alive… this powerful, brave animal… and now he was gone. She was too late.

"Brandolor, no – Brandolor!"

Violar balled her fists in his mane and buried her face in the dead horse's still-warm fur as intense sorrow shredded her soul. Choked, furious sobs wrenched from the centaur as she clutched him close, and she could feel the shadows of other Narnian warriors hovering around them.

She didn't care. Her mind reeled. Victory meant nothing in the face of such horrible finality. Doubled over with grief and rage, Violar uttered a deep, primal roar of agony and hugged Brandolor's neck fiercely as her tears soaked into the fading warmth of his fur.

A loud buzzer shocked Violar back to reality. She gasped and sat back in her chair, hyperventilating and gripping the blue plastic armrests with the same strength she'd held onto Brandolor all those years ago.

Fingers snapped in front of her face. "Ya okay, Vi? Ya look like ya've seen a ghost or somethin'."

Violar swallowed hard and clenched her trembling jaw. A muscle worked in her cheek as she fought to bring herself under control. Slowly the forms of the hockey players took shape before her blurred vision, and she hastily dashed away hot tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm fine," she replied huskily, though her voice sounded like a heartbroken sob.

A gentle hand touched her shoulder. "What is it, Vi?"

Violar lowered her head and sniffed. She couldn't bring herself to meet Kitty's gaze right then.

"Just… a memory," she answered shakily as her breathing gradually evened out. "Some scars… never fade."

Kitty narrowed her eyes in concern. "What caused the scar in the first place?"

Violar gulped bitterly. "Dark magic."

Over Violar's bowed head, Kitty and Marie exchanged bewildered, worried glances.

Before anything else could be said, the Flying Tigers came skating up to the bench. Bobby spotted Violar through the glass separating the players from the fans and smiled at her, then looked puzzled at her pale features. Violar shook herself out of it and managed a wan smile back at her friend.

Then Jimmy turned around. In a moment, he noticed her and smiled as well. Everything inside of Violar twisted up with conflicting emotion, and she looked away, biting her lip.

Rosa, however, did not smile when she caught sight of her. Instead she eyed her suspiciously. Violar didn't see the look, but Kitty did. She frowned.

"What's her problem?" she hissed in Violar's ear.

Marie answered for the dazed centaur. "Jealousy," the group's authority on love and romance decided confidently.

Violar didn't feel like arguing.

Another buzzer and a mad slapping of the puck kicked the game into action, but it was awhile before Violar found the will to cheer the team on. The funnel cakes Kitty flagged down and purchased from a fellow walking in the aisle couldn't tempt the centaur's appetite – not when she had rocks in the pit of her stomach.

But she had three periods of energetic playoff hockey to gradually bring her out of it.

In some ways, this game was similar to the first one for the Flying Tigers. Bobby, Jimmy and Rosa seemed to do the majority of scoring – and hitting. Some of the parents complained about those three "hotshots" being showoffs and stealing spots from established players. And, as before, the Tigers lost. This time, however, the score wasn't as lopsided as the earlier 7-3 slaughter at the hands of the Monarchs. The Flying Tigers lost to the Tarrytown Troopers by a mere 4-3 margin.

Another difference in this game – compared to the previous one – was that every once in a while, Rosa would cast suspicious glances at Violar from the bench. That didn't help release the icy cold that had gripped Violar's insides, but it also bothered the centaur on a far more trivial front: Had Rosa been too distracted by Violar to concentrate on the game?

The players skated off the ice, and Kitty, Marie and Violar rose to exit the building with the departing crowds. They loitered at the entrance of the locker room, and Violar leaned her back against the wall with her hands shoved deep in her pockets, staring at the floor and saying nothing. If Kitty and Marie were chattering away, as they usually did, the centaur heard none of it. She was lost in her own thoughts.

Yet Violar was aware that the powerful memory had consumed her consciousness, and she needed to break out of it. Brandolor had died, and in doing so, he had probably saved her from the same fate. But what was done, was done. It was all in the past. She'd been trying to reconcile that memory for years, and the only success she'd had was when she pushed it deliberately out of her mind and made herself forget about it for a little while.

Only the possibility of real danger to a friend had brought that memory to the surface.

Relief flooded through Violar as she saw Bobby emerge from the locker room area. Nothing seemed wrong with him – except for the fact that his team had just lost another game. Violar took a deep breath, and a genuine smile lit her features as she came forward to greet him.

A second later, Jimmy and Rosa appeared behind him. Violar stopped where she was, glancing sharply between the two strangers before she realized that she was hardly being subtle about it.

"Good game, guys," Marie said.

"Well, a better one than last time," Bobby noted.

"Yeah, I think everyone was working together better than they did this afternoon," Jimmy said encouragingly. "Just think of it as warming up for tomorrow, where it's either we win or we go home early."

"Well, tomorrow's tomorrow, Jimmy. Right now," Bobby patted his stomach, "it's dinner time. I'm starving."

To Violar's surprise, her own stomach growled. She glanced aside at Kitty, only to find a funnel cake on a plate being held out to her – along with a warm, relieved smile. Violar shot Kitty a grateful look for her thoughtfulness and took the cake, nibbling on pieces of the delicious treat.

"I saw an IHOP like a block away from the school's main entrance," Jimmy informed them. "How about we go there?"

"Sounds great," enthused Kitty.

"Ah love IHOP," Marie chimed in. "All them syrup flavors!"

Violar brought up the rear as the laughing group filtered down the hallway, and twice she caught Rosa looking over her shoulder with concern and suspicion in her dark eyes. Each time Violar met the other girl's gaze, Rosa quickly looked away.

That set Violar's nerves on edge. Tonight was going to be interesting, to say the least.

"I'm driving," Bobby declared as he held open the glass doors.

"Can the car even hold six people?" wondered Kitty as they stepped into the frigid evening and descended the steps.

"All we hafta do is sit on each other's laps," suggested Marie with a sly glance at Violar and a slight wriggle of her dark eyebrows.

Violar caught her breath so fast that she choked, and hid a blush behind a mild coughing fit. Then she straightened up with all the centaurian dignity she possessed and sent a challenging stare in the mutant girl's direction. "If we leave Marie here in the parking lot, that will solve all our problems."

"No, ya can't leave me here!" Rogue complained. "All them flavors of syrup!"

"Precisely." Violar gave her a cool, calculating smile. "So behave yourself."

Kitty giggled at that. Violar noticed that Jimmy's cheeks puffed out as he fought to hold in his laughter. He then took a deep breath and turned to Marie. "Who gets that obsessed about syrup? What do you do, drink it?"

"Naw, Ah like to mix the flavors, and I pour it everythin' – eggs, sausage, whatever."

Violar made a face, but she was smiling.

Bobby unlocked the car doors, and the girls piled into the backseat while he took the driver's spot and Jimmy sat on the passenger side. Violar was right behind him, Kitty and Marie were sandwiched in the middle, and Rosa was crammed against the left car door. At least Violar and Rosa hadn't been forced to sit next to each other. The two boys talked about today's games, and things the Flying Tigers needed to work on tomorrow if they wanted to get at least one victory. Violar listened to them in silence, mainly concentrating on Jimmy. She felt her worries ebb the more she listened to him talk. He just sounded so . . . normal.

Maybe he is. Maybe I'm just overreacting.

Violar clenched her teeth, thinking back to the day of Brandolor's death. She had let her guard down, thinking all was well. Perhaps if she'd been more alert . . .

Her eyes flickered across the backseat to Rosa, who just stared ahead of her in silence. Violar used the girl's presence to refuel her concern. Her complacency had cost the life of one friend long ago. It would not happen again.

When they reached the IHOP, a hostess led them to a table with six seats.

"No, ya sit right here, Vi." Marie patted the back of one chair – the chair that happened to be next to where Jimmy sat. Violar had already taken an innocent step toward the trap before she realized what Marie was doing, and Violar stopped and glared at her.

Jimmy turned to Violar and shot her a friendly smile. Never one to be impolite, Violar smiled back at him, then shifted a hard gaze to Marie and pinned her with it. "Ever the thoughtful one," she said through gritted teeth. Marie batted her eyelashes at the centaur, knowing there wasn't a blasted thing Violar could do to get even with her in a public place, and she took her own seat next to Kitty. Violar clasped her hands and swallowed hard, smiled again at Jimmy, and slid into the chair beside him.

A waitress came by a minute later with glasses of water and menus. As Violar looked over the colorful menu with various pictures of food, her worries vanished for a moment. Once again, her admiration for human cleverness surfaced. What race in Narnia could have ever conceived of opening an establishment that served a popular breakfast food, in several different varieties, morning, noon and night?

And it all looked amazing. Violar wanted to order everything on the menu, and she gulped as she turned the laminated menu flaps.

The waitress returned and took their orders. "I'll have a Grand Slam breakfast and the Southwestern skillet," Violar decided. "Scrambled eggs, please, and for toast, I'd like those English muffins."

The waitress' eyes flicked to Violar in surprise even as she scribbled down the order. "You do know those are both pretty big, don't you? This ain't Applebee's."

The remark gave Violar a moment's hesitation. She wasn't sure what "applebees" were, but she smiled at the waitress. "The bigger, the better."

"Would you like one of your orders in a to-go box?"

"Ah, no, thank you."

The woman couldn't quite seem to figure that one out. She looked at Violar a moment longer, then continued down the table, collecting orders as she went. Finally she headed for the kitchen, and Violar clasped her hands on the tabletop as the waiting began.

Marie hopped up and wandered to the next table, staring at the tray that held four containers of syrup. With a triumphant little cry, she plucked one of the little jugs from the tray and brought it back to the table.

"Blackberry," she explained, sitting down again. "We awready have the other flavors here; Blueberry, plain maple, butterscotch, and strawberry. Ah knew we were missin' one."

Violar's silvery eyes lit up. "They have blackberry syrup?" she asked, holding out her hand.

Marie gave it to her. "Welcome to syrup heaven," she declared. "Read it for yerself."

Violar took the little jug and studied it, then lifted it and sniffed delicately at the lid. Blackberry perfume overwhelmed her senses, and she breathed a soft moan. Marie grinned at her. "Told'ja."

Violar reluctantly handed the syrup back and clasped her hands again.

"So, Jimmy," Marie leaned forward. "Ya said ya go to a boardin' school like us?"

"Yeah, I do."

"What's it like?"

Jimmy paused. Violar's Danger Sense prickled as she sensed uneasiness bubbling from somewhere inside the young man. He shifted in his seat and answered, "Well, you know. It's like any other place. We go to class, we got some nice dorms. We've got a forest around us. It's pretty nice."

"That's nice." Marie nodded, then leaned even further across the table. "So, y'all got yerself a girlfriend?"

Violar glared at her in horror. Where was this conversation leading?

The corners of Jimmy's mouth twisted, and an ache settled in Violar's Danger Sense. She glanced at Jimmy and studied him closely. Had Marie touched on a sensitive subject?

"Um . . . no, actually," Jimmy finally replied. "I'm currently single."

"Really?" Marie practically squealed. Excitement illuminated her brown eyes, which then shifted to Violar.

The centaur's cheeks flamed, and she lowered her head. She wished she could slither under the table and hide like a shy foal, especially when she sensed Jimmy turning towards her. An electric tingle ran down her spine. Was she next in line to be questioned about her love life – or lack thereof?

Before anything else could be said, an unexpected savior came to Violar's rescue.

"Um, could you guys excuse me," Rosa suddenly spoke up, rising from her chair. "I, um, I need to make a call."

Jimmy's head whipped toward her. "What?" The bewilderment in his voice was evident.

"Yeah. I just remembered I gotta make a call. Jimmy, come with me."

"Huh? Uh, why?"

"Just come with me." Rosa sounded annoyed as she grabbed Jimmy by the arm and nearly yanked him out of his seat.

He turned back to the group as Rosa dragged him out of the dining area. "Um, I'll be back in a bit . . . I guess."

Violar might have giggled, had the situation been any less serious. But her Danger Sense was in flames, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rosa was deliberately taking Jimmy away from their conversation.

Marie knew it, too. "Jealous," she muttered. She grinned at Violar. "Told'ja."

Violar wished that were the case. Logically, Marie's comment made sense. But Violar knew something else was wrong. As the restaurant's glass doors swung shut behind the departing pair, Violar suddenly came to a decision and stood up.

"Vi? Where are you going?" Bobby asked as Violar rose from her seat.

Violar stopped and clenched her fists. "Um…" Her gaze strayed longingly to the front doors, then came back to Bobby. She hated lying – hated it with a passion. Her silvery eyes came back to Bobby. Jimmy and Rosa were his friends. She needed proof that she wasn't merely being paranoid. "Um, to the restroom."

"But the restrooms are over there." Confused, Bobby nodded to the rear of the dining area.

Violar didn't respond as she strode between the rows of tables. She had to hurry, or she'd lose them – if it wasn't too late already. She broke from the restaurant doors and glanced to her left, just in time to catch a glimpse of two people ducking around the corner of the IHOP building.

Violar drew a careful breath, then pressed her back against the wall and crept carefully in the same direction. She paused a few feet from the corner, her keen ears tuned into the familiar voices.

"Okay, as my friends back in Britain would say, what the bloody hell's going on?" Violar heard Jimmy's voice from the darkness.

"Jimmy, something's going on here," Rosa said.

"Like what?"

A pause, then Rosa answered. "There's something not right about that Violar girl."

Violar jolted at that. She'd known Rosa was suspicious of her, but to hear someone else say there was something wrong with her shook Violar. Had she let her centaurian heritage slip?

"What the hell are you talking about?" she heard Jimmy respond. "There's nothing wrong with Violar. She's cool, she's smart, and oh yeah, she's friggin' hot."

Violar jolted again in shock as a scarlet blush flared to life, and she puffed her cheeks to keep from gasping aloud. Hot. No one had ever called her "hot" before. At least not to her face. Then again, she reminded herself, Jimmy wouldn't have either – if she hadn't been eavesdropping.

"She's also not normal," Rosa said.

"Oh for Merlin's sake." Violar raised a curious eyebrow at the name of the wizard from those Arthurian tales she'd read in the X-Mansion's library as Jimmy continued. "You know, you're the one who told me I need to get over Rana and stop pining over Mireet. Now I meet a girl who's cool and beautiful and you start freaking out. What did she do to not earn the Rosa Infante seal of approval?"

"I think she knows about magic."

Violar jolted for the third time. She blinked, trying to puzzle out the clues as Jimmy and Rosa threw them out, but she didn't entirely understand what they were saying. And the constant issues regarding herself and Jimmy, which Violar still struggled fiercely against, were far too distracting. She gave her head a shake to clear it.

Focus, Violar. Focus.

"What, you think she's a witch?" Jimmy asked.

Violar scowled and tightened her jaw. That, I definitely am not.

"I don't know. But when we we're talking this afternoon, she asked what the name of our school was. So I told her it was the Northern Massachusetts Boarding School. You know we have a charm on that name to keep Muggles from asking any more questions about it, right? Well after I said it, it seemed like, I don't know. I had this feeling she was fighting off the charm. Like it wouldn't work on her."

"How the hell is that possible if she's a Muggle?"

"I don't know."

Violar's brain short-circuited. What the heck's a Muggle?

"Jimmy, there's something else we need to consider," Rosa said.

"What?"

"The fact that . . . the fact that she might be working for the other side."

Violar almost couldn't stifle her gasp. Working for the other side? That depended on which side Jimmy and Rosa were working for! But now Violar knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these two were very likely to be her worst enemies. She steeled her heart.

"Are you serious?" Jimmy responded. "I mean, Violar just doesn't seem . . . she just seems nice."

Violar's resolve cracked.

"We barely know that girl. Who knows what she's really like? And the way things are right now, we can't afford to let our guard down."

There was a long pause. Violar held her breath, her mind in a whirl. They were steeling themselves – as she was. If they already knew she was an enemy, then what harm would there be in confronting them head-on – rather than waiting for them to make the first move?

Violar wished she'd brought her swords.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jimmy sounded dejected. "All right, we'll keep an eye on her, and the first chance we get we'll get in touch with your parents or Jared's parents and let them know. Dammit."

"What?"

"It's just . . . man, after Penny dumped me it's like my luck with women has gone right down the toilet. Mireet didn't want to get involved with me because we'd both be going our separate ways when the school year ended at Hogwarts. Then Rana . . . well, that turned out to be a disaster. Now this."

A needle-like ache of compassion pricked Violar's heart. She knew how Jimmy felt, yet he hadn't given up on the idea of love. Not like she had. The centaur glanced away, feeling oddly sorry for Jimmy – and admiring him, grudgingly, for his courage.

Then she scowled and straightened up. Never mind all that: The lives of her friends were at stake. Time to act. Swords wouldn't be much good against dark magic wielders anyway – not if they had a chance at the first shot.

Violar took a firm step toward the corner.

Tires squealed. Violar's head snapped toward the direction of the awful noise. She swallowed a horrified breath as a large black SUV barreled across the parking lot on a collision course with IHOP. It was moving much too fast and picking up speed, but the last-second squeal of brakes she expected – and inwardly prayed for – didn't come.

Like a charging rhinoceros, the huge vehicle blundered into the restaurant wall and smashed through glass and brick with a deafening crash – right toward the table where her friends sat.

A wild shriek escaped the centaur. "Bobby!"

Forgetting all about Jimmy and Rosa, Violar broke into a blind run, grabbed the doors, and practically tore them from the hinges as she plunged inside.