Shanna Swendson - Don't Hex with Texas

“They didn’t have a camera here, but there is a security system,” Sam reported when we reached the jewelry store.

“Yeah, I was able to bypass it,” Dean said. He looked a little too proud of himself for my comfort.

“That’s not too difficult,” Owen said. “The spell that dissolves the window actually keeps the sensors intact. You were sloppy, though. You overdid it on the windows. They should have come back as soon as you were in and out. That wasted power and drew attention to your actions.” He faced the window, waved a hand, whispered a few words, and the glass vanished. “Okay, now put the stuff back in there.” Dean went to climb through the window, but Owen shook his head. “No, just leave the boxes there. You want them to notice it’s been returned. You don’t have your name or anything identifying you on those boxes, do you?”

“These are the boxes I got from the store.”

“Then put them in there.”

Dean followed instructions. As soon as he was clear of the window, the glass reappeared. “You’ll have to teach me how to do that,” Dean said.

“Somehow, I don’t think that would be such a good idea.”

“I wouldn’t do it to steal stuff again.”

“Then why would you need to be able to do it?”

“This is amazing,” Teddy gushed. “Now, how does the ratio of matter and energy work on this? Are you actually making the matter go away, like into an alternate dimension, or are you just separating the atoms so it looks like the glass isn’t there, but all the matter actually still is?”

“Teddy, we don’t have time for the scientific explanation,” I said.

“Sorry. But can we talk about it later?” If they did, it wasn’t a conversation I wanted to be anywhere near. Thinking about how magic worked gave me a headache.

We worked our way around the square, returning goods to all of the stores Dean had burgled magically. “What were you trying to do, open your own store?” I asked.

“Something like that. I thought I’d unload a lot of this stuff on eBay when it cooled down a little.”

“You do know that cops monitor eBay to look for stolen goods showing up, right?”

“In this town? I’m not sure the cops know eBay exists.”

“Jason’s wife sells collectible dolls and antiques on eBay,” I pointed out. “He’d know it exists.”

“You took some extremely stupid risks,” Owen said. “You shouldn’t be doing anything with magic that brings unnecessary attention to yourself. That should be the first thing you learn, even before you start learning spells.” I could tell the night’s activities were draining him, even as he made it look easy. With each shop, the glass took a bit longer to disappear, and he walked more slowly to the next shop.

When we were almost done and Dean had retrieved the last load from the car, the police car returned.

“Sam, have you still got us?” Owen asked.

“Yeah, but hold off on the hocus-pocus until he’s gone.”

We all froze in place, holding our breath as the police car made its circuit. Just when we thought we were in the clear, the car pulled up in front of the jewelry shop, and the officer got out to walk the square, swinging a flashlight ahead of him. He aimed the flashlight into the windows, where he was sure to spot the boxes.

“Now!” Owen hissed, getting Dean’s attention. The window we were in front of had gone. Dean dropped the box he held as quickly and quietly as he could, then the glass returned.

From across the square, we heard, “Hey!” The police officer leaned against the window, getting a closer look. He must have discovered the returned goods. He went back to his car and got on the radio.

“I suggest we scram, now,” Sam said. “I can bamboozle one of them, but not more with this many of us and at cop levels of scrutiny. Stick together, though. That makes it easier.”

We clustered together and tiptoed away from the square, moving as one with Sam flying overhead.

When we reached the spot behind the bank where we’d met, Owen said, “Now, go, but take the long way around instead of going straight home or looking like you were coming from here.” My brothers took off, and Owen turned to Sam. “Keep an eye on things and let me know what happens here tonight.”

“Sure thing, boss. Now you get some rest.”

When he was gone, we made our way back to Owen’s rental car. He tossed me the keys when we reached the car. “Do you mind driving? I’m not sure I’m up to it.”

I noticed then that he was shaking. “You could have drawn power from me, or from Teddy,” I said.

“I’ll be okay. It was quicker and easier this way.”

He fell asleep almost as soon as he got into the car, and I hoped we didn’t get stopped this time, since I didn’t have any Jedi mind tricks in my arsenal. I’d have to resort to crying. I let the car creep away from downtown without the headlights on until we were well out of the zone of suspicion. Then I took back roads to arrive home from the opposite direction, as though we were coming from out of town.

When I’d parked and killed the engine, I nudged Owen awake. “Are you wearing anything under that black sweatshirt that might look less suspicious?” I asked him.

“What? Why?” he mumbled sleepily.

“Because I don’t think you need to be climbing trees or in and out of windows right now. And I think you need sugar. We could go in the back door, have a snack in the kitchen, and then if we get caught on the squeaky steps, we can say we just went downstairs for a midnight snack. The thought of food should distract Mom. She’ll be so terrified about her guest going hungry that she’ll insist on going downstairs and cooking you a three-course meal, and she’ll forget to wonder why she didn’t hear us going downstairs.”

“Very good idea,” he said, making no move to get out of the car.

I got out and went around to Owen’s side, where I opened the door and pulled him out. I nudged him into a position leaning against the side of the car and unzipped his sweatshirt to discover a plain white T-shirt underneath. I pulled his sweatshirt off him, removed my own sweatshirt, and locked them and the bag of magic tricks in the trunk. I then got an arm around his waist and led him up the back steps into the kitchen.

Under the kitchen light, he looked even worse than I realized, very pale and drawn, and with his eyes sunk into dark circles. I put a kettle on to make cocoa, then found two packets of mix. While the water heated, I cut a couple of slices of cake and put one in front of him. “Eat!” I ordered.

He nibbled at the cake while I mixed up the cocoa, then I put a mug in his hands and made sure he took a few sips. By the time he finished half the mug, he looked a lot more human. That was reassuring enough that I was able to sit and drink my own cocoa.

“If doing all that had this effect on you, how did Dean do it?” I asked.

He finished his cake, and I got up to cut him another slice while he replied. “I imagine it took him all night, and there would have been fewer patrols then. It was harder for me to do magic tonight than it was yesterday. I’ve probably been using more power than is wise in a place like this, for too many days in a row. I shouldn’t have done as many demonstrations as I did earlier in the day, and I may have gone overboard in controlling Dean. I probably could have done that physically, but I thought using magic would have more impact.”

“I’m worried about you being weakened while Idris is in town and doing some pretty big tricks.”

He shrugged. “He won’t be able to keep that up for long, and he doesn’t have any immunes to draw power from. I have you and Teddy. And your mother, if things get desperate, though I’d prefer it not come to that.”