Page 15 of The Magic We Made

But the kids are shaking their heads.

“She’s pretty,” says the girl Dylan insulted. “I love her hair, so long and shiny. But I haven’t seen her. Have you guys?” She glances at her friends, all of whom shake their heads and murmur, “No, sorry.”

Oh, well. It was worth a shot.

“Thanks,” I say, putting my phone away again. “If you do run into her, tell her to call her parents, okay? They’re worried about her.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for her,” one of the girls calls as I head back to the platform. I have more trains to check, and this one is about to move. “Don’t worry! I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Thanks,” I say.

But I’m not sure Emma is fine. That’s why I have to find her... and also get my boss off my back. If I have to hear the words, “Just find her... before it’s too late,” one more time from Guy’s mouth, I’m going to lose my shit, especially since, when I ask, “Too late for what?” Guy only looks at me and repeats, “Just find her.”

So that’s what I’m going to do... even if it’s looking more and more like I’m going to have to move my base of operations to the last place Emma was seen—West Harbor.

I guess I should be happy about what happened to Mrs. Baumgarten. At least now I have a place to stay while I search, since she and her husband moved out.

But of all people, why did Mrs. Baumgarten have to ask for help fromFrancesca Giovanni?

Emma

I finger the severed ends of my hair. I know I shouldn’t care. It’s only hair.

But when Haley said they needed a sacrifice from me, I didn’t think the sacrifice would be myhair.

“Don’t worry.” Haley sits down beside me on the rough log and hands me a tin cup full of soup. “It will grow back.”

“I know.”

I don’t want Haley to think I’m vain—although I am, a bit. I’ve been trying so hard to grow out my hair since that disastrous pixie cut Mom made me get in eighth grade, and it was finally exactly the right length. I always used salon-quality shampoo and styling products, despite Dad groaning over the cost, because I wanted to maintain its silky sheen. I’m a little ashamed now about how I used to insist on such high-cost products, but... my hair really did look gorgeous.

Until now.

“I’m just being silly,” I tell Haley, and am relieved when she replies,“There’s nothing silly about it. You have beautiful hair. Or had, I should say.”

Haley laughs, showing her dimples, and I’m suddenly reminded of what it was that drew me to her in the first place: her snark. The videos she used to post about the Craft were always informative, but also... fun.

There hasn’t been anything fun about Haley in a long time.

“But it still looks good,” she’s assuring me. “Sort of. We can have Trina style it, if you want. Her sister works in a hair salon.”

I smile, but only to be polite. Having a sister who works in a hair salon does not automatically make you qualified to cut hair. Meg made the mistake of letting Trina trim her bangs, and now Meg looks like someone stuck a bowl on her head and cut around it—which makes sense because this is actually what Trina did.

I look around for Meg since I know she’d back me up on the Trina thing, but I don’t see her anywhere. I realize I haven’t seen her in a while—not since Haley sent her and some of the other girls to dig some more, this time in a new spot.We’re going to find it,Haley told us last night.And then we’ll be unstoppable.

“It’s okay,” I say to her now and eat a little soup. It’s good, especially since it’s store-bought. For once Haley isn’t making us forage in the woods for our supper. I know that, as a green witch, I should be more committed to living off the bounty of the earth.

But I’m so sick of garlic mustard and stinging nettles. Meg is, too. Maybe that’s where she went—to find a cheeseburger. Although none of us has any money since we’ve given it all to Haley. And we’re not allowed to use the boat, so we’re stuck here.

“If it’s for a good cause, I guess it doesn’t matter,” I lie. Because it does matter. I hate my new bob.

But I know I’d hate Haley’s disapproval more.

“Itisfor a good cause,” Haley says.

I lift the spoon to my mouth. Chicken noodle never tasted so good. “The defeat of Gaia?”

“Yes,” Haley replies, simply. “That witch has sent someone to look for us. And your sacrifice is going to ensure that he never finds us.”