“Adam!”

Felix's voice cuts through the haze, and I realize he and El have been trying to get my attention for several seconds.

I shake my head to clear it a little. “I'm sorry—what?”

“Are you okay?” he asks me, his brows knitting together in a worried frown.

“I'm fine. Just a little... you know.”

He nods. He understands.

El slips her arm through mine, linking our elbows. “I think we'd better take a break,” she suggests. “It's been a bit of a hectic day, and we still have to figure out where to go from here. Let's do something else, and come back to everything we've learned so far with a fresh perspective tonight or tomorrow. Is there anything worth sight seeing nearby while we're down here?”

“A break might be a good idea,” Felix agrees, “but I've got to write down everything the nurse told us while it's still fresh in my mind. You two figure out something to do next, I'll be done in about ten minutes.” He sits down on the ottoman and pulls out a pen, flipping open his binder to one of the blank pages in the back.

I offer El a couple of weak suggestions about interesting things to do down here, and she pulls out her phone to google nearby points of interest. I'm not really paying that much attention, I'm still caught up in trying to process everything I've seen and heard today.

I'd been so excited by the prospect of tracking down my mom, of trying to uncover her identity; and my own. But we'd hardly dug up any concrete, useful answers; and those few we had had only left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I don't know what my mom's name was, but I know what her unidentified grave looks like. I don't know what color her eyes were, but I know the last words spoken by her dying lips.

It's not much of a comfort.

El's managed to find a zoo nearby, and she makes the executive decision that that's where we'll go; and Felix is almost done recording everything we learned from the nurse Jan when my phone buzzes in my pocket.

I'm caught off guard, since the two people that I talk to the most are already here with me, and I'm even more surprised when I check the caller ID and see that it's Ms. Cross.

“Hello? Ms. Cross?” I say, putting my phone to my ear. Both El and Felix look abruptly up at me.

“Adam? Hi. Where are you? Are you at home right now? Work?”

No casual small talk, no 'hi how are you?'. I don't know what that means, but it can't be good.

“Um, no, actually. I'm in Southern California.”

“What? Why?”

“I'm spending the summer trying to find out who my mom was. Felix and El are with me, they're helping. We've been talking to social workers and hospital staff and stuff. We only just got down here yesterday.”

There's a long moment of silence as she processes this information, and then a rush of static as she sighs over the phone. I can't tell if it's an exasperated sigh, or a relieved one.

“Okay. Actually, this works okay. I want you to stay down there for another day or two at the least, okay? Until I call you and let you know otherwise.”

“Why? What's going on?” I ask, and I feel my heart clench tight in my chest.

“What, what is it?” El demands, grabbing me by the arm.

“I don't know,” I mouth back, shaking her off. “Hold on.”

“Adam,” says Ms. Cross, her tone heavy, “Samuel Cartwright escaped from prison yesterday.”

“Samuel—the... the MRF guy? That Samuel?” I stammer. Of course she's talking about that Samuel, who else could it be? But it sounds so insane, I can't believe it's true.

“Yes,” Ms. Cross replies grimly.

“How? How'd he get out? I thought he was in a high security magician's prison?” I demand, my voice rising slightly. Now Felix jumps to his feet, leaving his binder forgotten on the ottoman, his expression shocked. I struggle to lower my volume before I spill the secret of the magical world to the entire hospital lobby. “Did the MRF break him out? The Council was worried about that, weren't they? That's why he didn't go to a regular prison under the care of magician guards, right? So how the hell did he get out?”

“It doesn't look as though he received any help from the outside. At least, not organized help. One of the guards at the prison in Massachusetts was evidently an MRF sympathizer. Not an actual member, mind you, just a sympathizer. Well, as I know you're aware, Samuel Cartwright can be quite convincing when he wants to be. The guard, who has since been identified and taken into custody, helped him in his escape.”

“What about the other two? Jennessa and... what was his name; Lucas?”

“Still in prison. Cartwright didn't bother to spring them while he was at it, apparently.” Ms. Cross's tone is dry when she says it.

“Is he...” I swallow the lump that's risen in my throat. “Do you think he's going to come looking for me?”

There's another long pause.

“I don't know. I'm inclined to think not. You made it very clear the last time your paths crossed that you have no intention of ever joining the MRF, and after that duel of yours, I doubt even the most idealistic of MRF members would believe that you could still be swayed to their side. And now that you have almost full control over your magic, you wouldn't be worth even taking as an unwilling pawn. However...”

“However what?”

“However, the Council has been... discussing the possibility of recruiting you as a member of the Council Guard over the past few months.”

“What?” I all but shout into the phone.

“What?” El and Felix demand simultaneously.

I drop my voice to a furious hiss. “The Council wants to make me a fucking member of the Council Guard!”

El's jaw drops, and Felix looks as though he's just been slapped across the face.

“It's just been tentatively suggested,” Ms. Cross hastily elaborates, “and I highly doubt it will go any further than that. But the recent attacks on Council members and high profile Council supporters have made a lot of people very nervous. A few members of the Council believe that having you on the Guard might dissuade the Magician's Independence Movement from becoming more brazen and violent.”

“Do they really think I'd be willing to be a fucking human shield for them?” I rage. “If half of them had their way, I wouldn't even have any magic at all right now! And now they think they can use it for their own convenience? I mean, I'm sorry that woman got attacked and I don't want anyone, even the Council, to get hurt; but what have they ever done for me to make it worth risking my own life for their hypocritical asses?”

“Language, Mr. Wolfe,” Ms. Cross scolds, but her heart's not really in it. “I know, I know. And as I said, I highly doubt you will ever even hear about the proposition again. The Council is well aware how you feel about them, and I don't think they would trust someone who doesn't trust them with their safety. But there is the possibility, no matter how faint, that the Independence Movement will get wind of this discussion and move to incapacitate the threat before it comes to fruition.”

“'Incapacitate the threat'; meaning...” I don't finish the thought, because I'm really hoping I'm wrong about what exactly she means.

“Meaning to do something to get you out of the way while they still can. I couldn't say to what extremes they would go to do this. As I'm sure you've already heard, the Magician's Independence Movement is an extremist splinter group of the MRF, and they have been much more willing to use blatant violence to pursue their goals. You... you haven't had good experiences in the magician community, and it's known you've spent most of your life living in the mundane world. It's possible they may view you as a threat not just because of the Council's sudden interest in you, but also because of your own past, which might incline you to side with the mundanes rather than the magicians should the Independence Movement ever gain real traction.”

I stagger over to the ottoman and collapse onto it, letting my head fall into my free hand. “Why? Why is this happening again? Why can't everyone just leave me alone already?”

“I'm so sorry, Adam. I really am. But remember, none of this will necessarily come to pass. The Independence Movement may decide that your own dislike of the Council makes you little risk to them. The Council will likely abandon their plans to ask you to join the Guard. And I would be very much surprised if Samuel Cartwright dared approach you again. I just wanted you to be informed, so that you can take proper precautions. I expect Cartwright will be found and taken back into custody in a few days. He's a powerful magician and he's been breaking every tracking spell that's been placed on him so far, but he can't keep it up for long. So stay where you are for a couple of days, just in case, and with luck, all of this will blow over soon.”

God, I hope she's right.