His hands curled into fists at his sides. “Magic has a signature, Ox. It’s like a fingerprint.”
“But you said his was taken from him. How’d he get it back?”
Gordo shook his head. “I don’t know. There are… ways. But. It’s dark. It’s fucking dark magic and I can’t even begin to think of what this means.” He reached for the car door.
“You can’t leave.”
He sighed. “Ox. I’m no good here. I’m not pack. I have to find out—”
“I don’t care. I don’t care what you think of the pack or any other bullshit. You’re staying here and we’re working together on this. Nothing else matters. I need you, man. You know that. I can’t do this by myself.”
He said, “You’re not alone. The pack is with you.”
So I said, “And who’s there for you? You’re my pack,” knowing I was laying on the guilt, but I didn’t care. I didn’t know what this meant. I didn’t know who these people were, aside from the horror stories.
“Goddammit,” he muttered. “You fucking suck, Ox.”
“Yeah.”
We waited there. In the dark.
Then, “Ox, what if it’s him?” And it was said in a small voice. A choked voice. I’d never heard him sound like that before in all the years I’d known him.
I took a step forward and put my hand on his shoulder. He was shaking.
I thought of all the things I could say. And all the things I couldn’t because of what I didn’t know.
I said, “You’re not alone.”
He shuddered at that. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or bad.
“Do you remember? How it was when Dad left?”
He nodded.
“I was scared.”
“Ox—”
“But you helped me to not be scared anymore.”
“Yeah?”
And so I said, “And now it’s my turn to do it for you.”
He turned so fast that I was almost knocked down. But then Gordo had his arms around me and I felt the magic in him, the swirls of shapes and colors, and I searched for the green, the relief. It was there, buried deep in the violets and blues and reds and oranges.
BACK IN the house, I said, “Joe.”
He said, “Ox,” and took me by the hand. He led me away from the others. I knew they could still hear if they chose to. But I knew Thomas wouldn’t allow it.
We found a dark corner of the house, away from prying eyes. Away from any light.
His eyes glittered in the dark.
He said, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I said, “I know.”