Chapter Eleven – Mason

I always thought that a Wizard's Lair would be an interesting place to spend a night. I was wrong.

All of the interesting things were incomprehensible, unusable, or extremely dangerous. During the night I had managed to end up in Siberia for two nerve wracking hours.

And now I was in the kitchen, making sandwiches. Human sandwiches were really boring. I was used to the ones made out of real witches.

I had worked in restaurants before. Working in places like this comes with the territory of being perpetually seventeen. It was either this, or working as a werewolf. And I had quenched my thirst for blood decades ago.

I heard Justin race passed and start shouting. He seemed intent on ruining their business for some reason. Well that meant less work for me.

A few moments later Justin had emptied out the sandwich shop. "Help me. We need to cover all the windows!" He shouted. Well, I was trying to get on the boy's good side. I started to help cover the windows with him.

"Would there be a reason why you decided to force everyone out of your sandwich shop?" I asked him as I pounded nails into the board he was holding up.

"Juliet! Sun! Burning death!" He gasped out.

Oh.

"That would be a very good reason to force everyone out of your sandwich shop."

Several minutes later the crisis had passed. I looked around the sandwich shop. Justin looked panicked and exhausted.

"So, did you make any progress on determining exactly how your sister brought me back?" I asked him carefully.

Justin looked at me. And I smelled fear all over him. Justin was absolutely terrified of answering my question. But he didn't have to know that I knew he was terrified.

"I mean, I haven't heard of a wizard saving one of my kind from being a wolf before. And you didn't tell us that you would save us before we walked away into the woods." I left my sentence trailing away in the air.

"Because we can't. Not without going too far." Justin stared out into space.

"Too far?" I asked.

"She could have asked a genie, or made a deal with a demon. But those aren't spells, and I know she cast a spell. She could have drained a powerful wizard, but that would be far beyond her capabilities. Or she could have killed someone to power the effect."

I stared at Justin.

"Alex, is she really, could she really…"

"Normally, never in a million years. That's why we didn't do it the night you two were lost. But she wasn't herself last night. My sister was running on orders from a powerful psychological tool. She could have done anything last night."

I looked at the boarded up windows. The idea of Alex having gone so far was strange. Even in her evil pranks she had always shown that touch of innocence. But murder?

"Would you mind leaving? I don't know how Juliet will react to seeing you." Justin looked at me. I nodded and left the room. Too bad, I really did want to see Juliet again. I was sure our conversation would have been interesting.

And I really wished I had the chance to change out of Alex's dress.