Robbie stood, startling me as the chair scraped and bumped over the linoleum. "Where are you going?" I asked. Not home for five minutes, and we were arguing already.

"To get something," he said, and walked out. I could hear him talking under his breath, and the harsh sound of a zipper as he opened his suitcase. His bedroom door slammed shut and the familiar stomp of his feet in the hall as he came back was loud.

I knew I was wearing that same unhappy, ugly look he had when he dropped a heavy book on the table in front of me. "Happy solstice," he said, slumping into his chair.

I waited, not knowing what to say. "What is it?"

"A book," he said shortly. "Open it."

I scooted closer and tucked my hair behind an ear. It was as big as a dictionary, but the pages were thick, not thin. The stark brightness told me it was a new book, but the charms in them… I'd never even heard of them.

"That's an eight-hundred-level textbook from the university in Portland," he said, voice harsh. "Now that you have your two-year degree, I wanted to ask if you would come out with me to take classes."

My head came up. He wanted me to go out to the West Coast with him?

"Mom too," he added, and then his expression shifted to pleading. "Look at those spells, Rachel. Look what you can do if you apply yourself and invest some time. If you go into the I.S., you won't ever be able to do charms like that. Is that what you want?"

Lips parted, I looked at the pages. I was okay with earth magic, but these looked really hard. "Robbie, I—"

My words cut off and I stared at the page. "Oh wow," I breathed, looking at the charm.

"See," Robbie coaxed, his voice eager. "Look at that stuff. It's yours if you want it. All you have to do is work for it."