Entangled (Spellbound #1)

Chapter 19

Gray waited by the elevator for Raj. They rode down in silence. Gray stole a sideways glance at him. Raj looked like he'd seen a ghost even though Gray was the one who should have been blown away.

She would never forget the way the layers of Stacey's forehead had peeled back and light poured out of her head. She had no idea Raj was such a powerful warlock. Even if he hadn't gotten any information, she was amazed.

They walked side by side out the front door and into the parking lot.

"Can you come over?" Gray asked. "I want to teach you the invisibility spell."

Raj sighed. "It's been a long day."

Was Gray hearing correctly? "A promise is a promise. Follow me home."

Raj nodded. Like he was going to say no to that.

Gray kept glancing at him in her rearview mirror. By now it was getting darker and Raj looked like a silhouette behind his wheel.

Poor Stacey Morehouse, Gray thought, followed by, I'm a terrible person, a moment later. Terrible because she wasn't really thinking about Stacey at all. Her mind was on Raj. Raj's hand in hers—how right it'd felt when their fingers had intertwined.

"Mom, Raj is going to hang out a little bit with me," Gray called out once she'd led him inside.

Mom appeared in the hallway before Gray had a chance to make it to the stairs. Her mom's eyes went straight to Raj. "Hello, Raj," she said.

"Hi, Mrs. Perez."

"Would you guys like something to eat?"

Raj's lips lifted.

"Maybe later," Gray said quickly. "We have stuff to do."

Mom's forehead creased. "What kind of stuff?"

"Don't worry, it's kosher. Come on, Raj." Gray charged up the stairs. She didn't look back until she'd reached the upstairs hallway. She was happy to see Raj right behind her. "I'll teach you in my room." She led him inside and shut the door behind them.

"Tidy," Raj observed.

"Yeah, let's get to work," Gray said, standing in the middle of her room. Raj was still having a look about, and she'd rather he focused on her than her personal effects. "This spell is ridiculously easy. Have you heard of the graphic artist M.C. Escher?"

Raj shook his head then shrugged. "Maybe."

Gray pressed the shift key on her computer to wake it up and bent over the keyboard, typing. She brought up a picture and stepped back so Raj could see. "I'm sure you'll recognize his Drawing Hands."

"Oh yeah, he's done a lot of cool stuff," Raj said when he got a look at the black and white picture of two hands, each drawing the other.

"I like to think of the invisibility spell in opposite terms—as you, the artist, erasing yourself from a 3D canvas." Gray held up her hands. "I have this eraser in my mind and I'm moving it back and forth, picturing my hands disappearing and, as you see, my skin vanishes from sight." Gray held up two seemingly decapitated hands. "Pretty cool. Now you try."

Raj held his hands out and stared at them.

Gray watched his face and steady concentration. She half expected him to peel back the layers of his skin right down to his bones. Yeah, a walking skeleton wouldn't go over so well.

"Stop concentrating so hard," Gray said. "Staring at your hands isn't going to make them disappear. I don't even look at myself when I'm going invisible."