Spell Fire by Ariella Moon Page B

Deal?"
    "Deal. And if you fail?"
    "I won't."
    "Well, if you do, then you'll have to buy me a cupcake or something." I figured he couldn't afford a whole meal.
    We shook on it. The quick hand squeeze sent erratic sparks shooting up my arm. Jett gasped, a small, barely audible intake of air, and his eyes widened before we both recoiled and stared at the front door. Through the thick glass I spotted a dust-covered jeep drive up. Two guys with military haircuts piled out.
    "No." Jett angled his body away, a sick look on his face.
    "They're getting out of the car," I taunted, "and heading this way."
    "Forget it. Bet's off. They're from the Marine Combat Center."
    "So?"
    "I don't want to know the future of someone headed off to war."
    The first guy at the door couldn't have been older than nineteen or twenty. His hair reminded me of orange sherbet. His eyes were the same sky blue as my chemistry folder. He didn't look smart enough to handle advanced math, much less heavy weaponry.
    "I tell you, this place is a trip," the redhead said over his shoulder. "They have all sorts of things your daughter will like."
    His friend, a Latino in his late twenties, shouldered in beside him and the two men crossed the threshold together.
    The color drained from Jett's face.
    The redhead noticed me and jerked his head in a hey-pretty-girl greeting.
    I noticed the cross necklace around his friend's neck, the same gold as the guy's wedding band. I flashed on the outdoor art installation someone had created back home. The artist had erected a white wooden cross for every service person killed in Iraq. Volunteers kept adding crosses, and a large sign tracked the ongoing death toll. The memorial took up an entire hillside.
    Jett was right. We didn't want to know.
    Jett's eyes were closed, and a pained expression twisted his face. His fingertips pressed against the top of the crystal ball, the flame tattoos on his knuckles blood red against his suddenly bone-white skin.
    "Jett?"
    His brow twitched. In my peripheral vision, the two Marines stopped to examine a collection of pewter dragons and wizards. The redhead picked up one of the small statues and rotated it to get a closer look.
    The air pressure became heavy, as if a storm was about to hit. The register area darkened. Before I could freak out, the rest of the store whirled like a brightly lit merry-go-round. The wind chime above Jett's head clanged like a warning bell at a train crossing. The clamor hit some kind of a force field at the edge of the darkness and rippled back.
    I covered my ears to muffle the noise. "Jett!"
    "Can't — stop — it."
    "What?" I started to say, and then I spied the flames raging inside the crystal ball. Something moved within them, like a movie running within a circle of fire. Hands still clasped over my ears, I leaned in for a closer look. Heat seared my face.
    It took me a second to recognize the redhead. His brush of orange hair was hidden beneath a camouflage helmet. He had lost his naïve expression and easy smile. He clutched an assault weapon with one hand and signaled to his friend with the other. Their backs were against a sun-bleached wall. Nearby, a body bled in the street.
    "Jett!" I clawed at his hand, trying to break his connection to the crystal ball.
    It worked. Light flooded the register area, and the store stopped whirling. Oblivious, the two recruits had moved on to a lavender-draped display of glittery fairy dust and beribboned children's wands.
    Jett's fingertips were sunburn-red and painful-looking. He fanned the air while struggling to draw in a breath. My chest constricted. I snatched a small paper bag from under the register and offered it to Jett. He shook his head. The color had leached from his face. He blinked a few times, his eyelashes long and black against his pale skin.
    I hyperventilated into the bag. S nap. W hoosh. Snap. Whoosh. It inflated and deflated. My anxiety ebbed. Calmed, I lowered the bag. "You win."
    He flashed a pained