C&F were so relieved

Give them my love.

… thats sweet but u could send em an owl

No I can't. Apparently Conf Owl Post no longer comes to Larkin Mills.

the war is for real. Not even sure Charmbridge will be safe

Will you be safe?

We'll be fine, Alex. Watch ur back.

I'll try.

CALL ANNA

I'll try.

Somehow, Alexandra had imagined that joining the Thorn Circle at last would be more climactic. She didn't exactly expect a ceremony, or a secret membership ring, but when her father simply smiled and told her to go home and wait for him to call on her again, it was a bit of a let-down. Like all these years he'd tried to bring her over to his side, and once he'd succeeded, she was promptly filed away as just another asset in his war against the Confederation.

She knew she was being egotistical. As the newest, youngest member of the Thorn Circle, she probably was less useful to him. But she really had expected something more.

"Give me something to do," she said.

"Start mapping all these so-called cracks in the world around Larkin Mills," he told her. "You can see them in a way I cannot. Plot them. I will send you some geomantic surveying textbooks."

More homework was not what she'd had in mind, but she nodded. "Is it safe for me to stay in my—Claudia's—house?"

"Claudia's house is protected. And I have taken other measures."

"What measures?"

Of course he didn't elaborate. Only told her that she needed to be watchful.

So just keep looking over my shoulder for Dark Convention warlocks and Special Inquisitors, and wait to be called on, Alexandra thought sourly. Then she thought about Mrs. Wilborough, who'd waited in Larkin Mills for years for a chance to do her part. Her father played a long game. She just wasn't sure she had the patience to do the same.

When she knocked on her neighbor's door again, Mrs. Wilborough opened it with a smirk. "So. Did you get taken out to the woodshed?"

"Not exactly. I joined the Thorn Circle."

"Well, well. The little rebel has become a revolutionary at last."

"I have some more questions for you, Mrs. Wilborough."

"Are you going to drop by like this every day? Goodness, it's almost like having neighbors who actually care about me." Mrs. Wilborough turned away from the door. Feeling uncomfortable, Alexandra followed, shutting the door behind her.

"So, what can I tell you that your father didn't or won't?" Mrs. Wilborough had the television on, tuned to a daytime talk show. She sat down on her sofa and picked up a can of soda. She didn't offer Alexandra anything, or even ask her to sit down, so Alexandra sat down in a chair opposite her without being invited.

"Do you know anything about what happened to my mother?" Alexandra asked.

"She was Obliviated to hell and gone, wasn't she?" Mrs. Wilborough made a crude finger-gun gesture at her own head. "Mind wiped, nothing left to salvage. Abraham said she's being taken care of by her sisters. I only met her a few times, and I was beneath her notice." She smiled at Alexandra's dismay. "Oh, don't look so surprised. You never even knew your mother. Everyone except Abraham was beneath her notice. She hardly spoke to any of the other members of the Thorn Circle. Hecate Grimm was a piece of work, and she knew it. Arrogant, self-centered, and too clever by half. Didn't need anyone else except him. You have done the math, right? Always wondered if she had daddy issues." Mrs. Wilborough peered at Alexandra over the top of her soda can. "You do look like her. Not quite such a spicy dish, but the resemblance is there."

Alexandra tried to let Mrs. Wilborough's biting remarks roll past her. "You don't like witches and wizards at all, do you? Probably not even my father."

"Oh, Abraham's all right. He's as high and mighty as any of them, but for all his Dark Lord pretensions, he actually sees us as people, and that's unusual for wizards, at least among purebloods."

Alexandra didn't miss the pointed comment. "I'm not my mother."

"How do you know, dear? As I said, you never knew her."

"Do you know anything about the prophecy? That was supposedly made when I was born?"

"Hasn't your father told you about it?"

"No. Just that he swore to protect me from the Stars Above."

"Hah. Sounds like him. He'll protect you from the Stars Above, but the rest of us are expendable in his war against the Confederation. Oh, don't make that face again. I accepted my role long ago. If I live to see the Confederation burn, I will die satisfied."

"I'd rather nobody die."

Mrs. Wilborough laughed. "What part of 'wizard war' do you not understand?"

Alexandra sighed. Mrs. Wilborough's cynicism was wearing on her. "So there's nothing more you can tell me?"

Mrs. Wilborough set her can down and adjusted her glasses, as if inspecting Alexandra for new faults to find. Then she leaned back against her sofa and seemed suddenly tired. "Abraham Thorn doesn't tell anyone more than he thinks they need to know. You were always a tool and now you're a willing one. If you're looking for revelations about your birth, your mother, or your father's deepest, darkest secrets, you'll need to look elsewhere. I'm just an old woman who's managed to survive this long by being ignored. What do you want to know, what it was like growing up as a Squib, or what I thought of the other members of the Thorn Circle, or how I've felt living here for the past twelve years watching you and Claudia and waiting for the Confederation to come for us all? You don't need to know any of that, and you don't really care."

Alexandra gave her neighbor a long look, and slowly rose to her feet.

"Thanks for talking to me," she said. "If you need help, or anything else, call me, okay? I don't know what my father's plans are, but I intend to protect my family and my friends… and my neighbors. Nobody is expendable, Mrs. Wilborough." She turned away. "I'll see myself out." She left, with Mrs. Wilborough staring silently at her back.

She spent all evening walking the neighborhood, not yet venturing to Old Larkin Pond or the Pruett School, but seeing with her Witch's Sight the streets she'd run and played and biked in as a child. She drew lines on a map of Larkin Mills.

Archie was home when she returned after dark.

"I didn't see any wizards today," he said.

"That's good," Alexandra said.

"Claudia hasn't called yet."

"You could still go join her."

"If I did, would you come too?"

Alexandra shook her head. "I'm not done here yet."

"Claudia wouldn't like me leaving you behind."

"Claudia would understand."

"I guess neither of us are going anywhere."

"Dammit Archie—"

"I'm not arguing with a damned teenager, so don't you damn me, dammit!" Archie's face turned red; this was the reaction she remembered from childhood. "You're not nearly grown up, but me and Claudia are supposed to let you act as if you are. You're still as reckless and irresponsible as ever!"

Alexandra looked away, and allowed Nigel to slide to life around her wrist. Archie rose and walked into his bedroom. Alexandra stroked Nigel's smooth scales, and carried the snake up to her room, where she set him in the terrarium she used to keep him in. She called Charlie forth, and after feeding her other familiar some raven treats, she put the raven in the fancy magical cage Livia had bought for her last year. Charlie protested, but only a little.

She opened her bedroom window and stepped onto the sill. Charlie said something that was Silenced by the charm on the cage. She turned her head and smiled at her familiar.

"I'm probably being reckless and irresponsible," she said.

She stepped off the sill and cast a Falling Charm to land softly on her feet in the backyard. She concentrated, and Apparated several houses over, appearing behind the Seaburys' house.

Brian's bedroom faced the backyard, and she saw a soft light on in his room, through the window blinds. It wasn't too late, so she figured he was reading or using the Internet or something. Taking a breath, she walked over to his window and tapped lightly on it. She heard a sudden movement within as he made a startled sound.

A moment later, he peeked through the blinds. When he saw Alexandra, he raised them, glanced over his shoulder at his bedroom door, and then carefully slid the window up.

"What are you doing, Alex?" he whispered.

"I know I should have texted you or something," Alexandra said.

"Yeah, probably."

"I'll go away if you want."

He shook his head. "No. I was kind of thinking about calling you. But you're a little old to be sneaking over here to tap on my bedroom window, don't you think?"

She smiled and leaned against the window sill. "Am I?" She had done this more than once when they were kids. But usually to show him something, to chat in the days before they each had cell phones, or to lure him outside for some mischief of her devising.

Brian's eyes were distant. Maybe he was remembering that too. Or maybe it was other memories, still settling in his head.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like… I just found out witches are real, and my best friend is one of them, and we were dating but wizards made me forget about it, and they also killed my sister."

Alexandra straightened up, backing away from the window.

"I didn't mean I blame you," he said.

She looked down.

"Why'd you come over, Alex?" he asked.

"I just thought you might want to talk. And frankly, I wanted to be out of my house."

"Problems with your folks?"

"It's a long story." Hastily, she added, "But I'll tell you everything, if you want."

Brian looked over his shoulder. Alexandra could hear music playing from his computer speakers.

"Want company?" she asked.

He gave her a long look. Then he reached for the screen over the window. Alexandra shook her head. "You don't need to do that. Magic, remember?"

He paused. Alexandra put a finger over her lips, then Apparated into his room with a soft pop. He only jumped a little.

She smiled and put her arms around his neck. He didn't pull away when she pressed her mouth to his. His hands slid around her waist. Their kissing became deeper and more prolonged. Then Brian sighed and pulled away.

"This is nuts," he whispered. "My parents are just down the hall…"

Alexandra held up a finger. "Want to see some more magic?"

He frowned. "I'm not sure."

"It won't disturb your parents at all."

He sighed. "All right."

Alexandra drew her black hickory wand and made small gestures, waving it at the door and window. It was a simple enough Charm that she could cast it non-verbally. Brian watched, forehead wrinkling.

She turned to him, opened her mouth, and let out a long, high-pitched scream that should have been heard up and down the street. Brian almost fell back onto the floor, with a look of sheer panic.

Alexandra laughed. "Sorry. But listen." She put a hand to her ear. There was no sound from the rest of the house.

Brian put a hand over his chest. "Jeez, Alex."

"Nothing in here can be heard outside."

"Okay," Brian said. "You still like showing off."

"Speaking of showing off." Alexandra showed him her bare arm. Then she reached for the bottom of her shirt. Brian said nothing as she pulled it up over her head and removed it. With her shirt in one hand, she indicated the shoulder where Charlie usually sat. "Look. No tattoos."

He nodded slowly. "You can just make them appear and disappear?"

"Kind of." She stepped closer to him again. He reached for her, and she began pulling off his shirt.

"Is this a good idea?" he asked breathily.

"It's fine," she said softly. She took him by the hand and led him over to his bed. "Everything will be fine."

That wasn't true, and they both knew it. But the transparent lie was enough to banish his remaining qualms. They finished undressing each other, and fell onto his bed together, no longer worried about making sounds.

They fell asleep tangled in each other's arms, then slept until morning, when they were interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door. Brian's eyes became wide with panic.

"Brian, are you having breakfast?" his mother asked.

"Uh, no Mom. I'm not hungry."

Alexandra laughed. He glared down at her and made a "shh" sound between his teeth.

"Brian? Are you still sleeping?" his mother called through the door.

Alexandra shouted, "No, Mrs. Seabury, he's definitely awake!" Brian turned white and looked as if he might roll off the bed and crawl under it.

"The spell, remember?" Alexandra put a finger to her lips and reached for her wand, which she'd left on Brian's nightstand next to his lamp, on top of a baseball glove. She picked it up and flicked it at the door. "Colloportus." Then she waved it, dispelling the Muffling Charm.

"Brian!" his mother said, and tried to open the door.

"MOM!" Brian yelled. "Don't come in, sheesh!"

"Since when are you locking your bedroom door?" his mother demanded.

"LEAVE ME ALONE, DAMN IT!" he shouted.

There was a silence. Now it was Alexandra's eyes that widened, as she looked into Brian's face. His sudden anger was very real.

To her surprise, Mrs. Seabury just walked away.

Brian rolled off of Alexandra and collapsed face-down on his bed, grabbing a pillow to cover his head.

She sat up and recast the Muffling Charm. "We can talk again. If you want to."

He sighed and tossed the pillow aside. "Sorry. I just… I don't know. I'm sick of pretending things are normal. I almost wish she had caught us. Just to see the look on her face."

Alexandra smirked. "I mean, if you really want…"

She was joking, but Brian didn't look at her. "Sometimes I hate her, and I shouldn't."

Alexandra's smile faded. She squeezed his shoulder, but wondered what had happened to the dutiful, nervous boy she'd grown up with.

He lost his sister, got mind-raped, and now his parents are breaking up and you're throwing magic around like it's a joke. The thought was her own, but it could have come from Anna or Julia or any of her other friends and relatives who were always ready to call her out, even in her own head.

She set her wand back down on the nightstand. "I'm sorry, Brian. I know this is really hard for you, and I'm not sure what to say. I'm not very good at being supportive. I'm a lot better at breaking stuff and setting things on fire."

His expression was glassy-eyed for a moment, as if he were trying to recall memories that were still fluid and hard to latch onto. "Yeah. I remember." He sat up and became much more serious. "I want to ask you something."

"Okay." Alexandra leaned back, pulling the sheets over herself. They were still naked, but Brian's mind was clearly elsewhere now.

"You said this Confederation of yours sacrifices children. They're still doing it."

"Yes," Alexandra said.

"And that's the society you joined."

"I only found out about the sacrifices, and Bonnie, a few months ago." Alexandra watched Brian's face. "Actually, I knew they sacrificed children a couple of years ago, but I thought they only did it to one wizard child every seven years. Not that I thought that was okay, but… I just didn't know what to do about it. It's a long story, and I still don't understand everything myself. I'll tell you whatever you want to know, but it still could be dangerous, you knowing too much, and especially talking about it."

"But you're wanted because you exposed all this crap."

"And because my father is trying to destroy the Confederation."

"He's leading a revolution."

"Yeah, basically."

"Are you on his side?"

Alexandra hesitated. Even though she'd made her decision, she still felt funny about declaring it. It wasn't even that she had moral qualms about her father's cause—those were, mostly, gone. It was all the years she'd resisted being pulled into his orbit, and in the end, she was a member of the Thorn Circle after all, as if all her years of independence and following her own path had just been a childish phase before she accepted her fate as… what had Mrs. Wilborough said? You were always a tool, and now you're a willing one.

"Yes," she said.

Brian nodded. "I want to join."

Alexandra's mouth fell open. "What?"

"I want to join your revolution. I want to help fight the Confederation."

Alexandra almost laughed. She stopped herself at the last moment. Brian was deadly serious.

She shifted her position, leaned forward to take one of his hands in both of hers. "Brian," she said gently, "you can't."

"Why not?" he demanded. "Because I don't have a magic wand?"

"Yes. Because of that." Of course, Mrs. Wilborough didn't have a wand either, but she was different—

Alexandra was completely unprepared for what Brian did next. He leaned over her, so suddenly she didn't realize what he was reaching for, and grabbed her wand off the nightstand.

"Brian!" she shouted, as he held it up, opening his mouth to say something, and then he yelped as the wand suddenly spun in his grip without letting him release it, twisting his hand and wrist and then his entire body. It kept spinning, rising into the air and jerking Brian off the bed, spinning him as if he suddenly had a helicopter rotor at the end of his arm. His feet kicked helplessly and Alexandra, who'd been reaching for the wand, was knocked off the bed by his flailing legs. She jumped back up immediately as Brian desperately tried to let go of the wand, with a look of panic. The light above them flashed as the bulb exploded. Every electronic device in the room lit up with blue and white sparks, crackled, and exploded with violent popping sounds. Brian's phone and charger, his alarm clock, his computer, headphones, a game console, all flashed and died.

Alexandra reached out and commanded her wand without speaking a word. Brian fell onto his bed as the wand flew into her hand. It was riled by its mishandling, but she was riled by its mistreatment of Brian. She won, and the wand quiesced.

"Oh God," she said, seeing Brian lying on his bed with a look of shock on his face. For a moment she wasn't sure he was breathing. She rushed to his side and put a hand on his chest, and felt his heart hammering. He took a deep breath. His eyes were unfocused. Alexandra set her wand down on the closer nightstand.

Brian's eyes rolled in her direction.

"Brian, speak to me," she said. "Please. I'm not great with healing magic." Did she dare call Livia again?

Brian took a deep breath. "Uhhhhh. That… was…"

Alexandra kept her hand on his chest, breathing rapidly herself. "Okay, relax. Don't talk any more."

They waited until Brian's heartbeat slowed down, and his breathing was almost normal. Alexandra looked him over for burns or other injuries. "How do you feel?" she asked quietly. She reached for one of his hands and gently laced her fingers through his, squeezing until he squeezed back.

"Like I just got taken for a really sick ride."

The smell of ozone permeated the air. Alexandra was glad her Muffling Charm had still been in effect. She shook her head, and now she allowed a trace of anger into her voice. "Don't ever do that again."

He groaned. "You didn't warn me."

"I didn't think you'd do something that stupid!"

"I'm sorry, Alex. I just thought—well, if you could use a wand, maybe I could too—"

"That's not how it works."

He closed his eyes. Alexandra continued holding his hand.

With his eyes closed, he said, "I still want to help you fight the Confederation. For Bonnie."

Alexandra shook her head. How could she refuse him the right to do what Mrs. Wilborough had done, or her sisters Lucilla and Drucilla, who had joined the Thorn Circle when they were younger than she and Brian were now? But that was different. All of them, even Mrs. Wilborough, had some idea of what they were getting into. Brian didn't. Losing his sister might have earned him the right to want vengeance, but there was no way he could join the Thorn Circle. And Alexandra no more wanted him involved in this wizard war than she wanted Anna, or her sisters, or her hard-headed brother-in-law.

"Should I be able to remember actually being… what did you call it? Obliviated?" Brian asked. "Is that done with a wand? 'Cause I still don't remember that. Just the fat guy who vanished, the night Bonnie disappeared. I feel like that's when it happened, but I don't remember anyone pointing a wand at me."

His eyes were open now, and Alexandra stared at him. "What fat guy?"

"When I went looking for Bonnie, first at her friends' houses, then the park… then Old Larkin Pond. I remember there was this huge bearded fat guy at the pond, wearing these long robes, like a big green tent. He looked weird. Gave me the creeps. He just stared at me, drinking from this little tiny teacup. That was weird too—who brings tea to Old Larkin Pond? And then he disappeared. Like you do, when you teleport. Alex?"

Alexandra had risen to her feet and turned away from Brian to hide her expression, but her back and shoulders were rigid with tension.

"Why didn't you mention that before?" she asked, in a barely-controlled voice.

"I just remembered it. Or maybe I remembered it before, but… I told you, everything has been sloshing around in my head and sometimes I don't even realize I'd forgotten something until I re-remember it. There are all these thoughts sitting in my head like they've been there all along, but suddenly I'm like, oh, that's new."

Alexandra closed her eyes and pressed fingers to her temples. She could feel her rage like heat through her fingertips.

"Alex?" Even seeing only her backside, Brian could tell something was wrong.

She extended her fingers, and her wand flew from the bedside table into her hand. She waved it, and her clothes were suddenly on her again.

"Alex, tell me what's wrong," Brian said, as he struggled to his feet. She turned, and he almost fell back on his bed at the look in her eyes. He was still shaky.

With an effort, Alexandra forced the fury out of her voice, and composed a calmer expression. She put her hands on his bare shoulders.

"Brian," she said, "you can't do anything against wizards. This isn't your fight."

His face darkened. "Don't tell me this isn't my fight! Bonnie—"

Alexandra shook her head. "Bonnie… Bonnie got too close to me, and the wizarding world, and she's gone. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, too."

"Maybe that's not up to you," he said tightly. "What's going on? Why are you about to leave?" He grabbed a pair of boxer shorts and pulled them on.

"Because I need to talk to someone about vengeance. I swear it, Brian—I'm going to avenge Bonnie."

And now she knew who to take vengeance on.

Franklin Percival Brown, she thought grimly. I'm coming for you. She Apparated out of Brian's room.