“It’s not going to happen, Scout. There is no way we came this far just to have you die now. You have so much more you have to do.”

For the love of Pete. “Is this a destiny thing? Because you know how I feel about that crap.”

Alex pulled back and locked his grey eyes onto mine. “Why must you be so stubborn?”

“I’m not stubborn, I’m realistic.”

“You’re special.”

“I’m a freak.”

His fingers played with a strand of my hair. “You’re wrong. You’re the exact opposite of freak. You’re like the anti-freak.”

“Is that the same thing as the Anti-Christ? Because I think that’s one of the things the Alphas are charging me with.”

“The Thaumaturgics aren’t the Anti-Christ. I think most popular belief has them as Satan’s minions on Earth.”

“Do I look like a minion to you? Or a witch for that matter.” I pulled back, freeing one of my hands so it could grab a clump of my hair. “This? Not black and bristly. I have no warts to speak of, and my nose is both dainty and straight. Seriously, what is wrong with these people?”

“Actually, you’re supposed to be able to tell a Thaumaturgic by her ethereal beauty.” He ran a finger down the length of my nose and then tapped the end. “That’s probably how they got so confused. They saw how gorgeous you are and assumed you had to be otherworldly.”

I rolled my eyes, hoping it distracted from the blush I could feel spreading across my cheeks. “You seem to know a lot about these Thaumaturgics,” I said. “You know, it might have been helpful for you to have mentioned them before. Like maybe when I was asking if witches were real you could have said, ‘Sure, but my people call them Thaumaturgics, because we’ve enjoyed way too many role playing games.’”

Alex let me pull away completely. I rested my hands on my hips; he folded his arms across his chest. All systems go for what my father would call a “deep discussion.”

“I didn’t tell you about them because I don’t believe they really exist. And what would you have done if you had known about them in the first place? At least this way you have the advantage of being honestly lacking in any knowledge of Thaumaturgy.”

“At least I would’ve known what I was dying for. The way it stands now, I’m going to get executed for doing something, but I don’t even know what it is.”

“You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die.”

I took a deep breath, reminding myself this was just a dream and nothing more. Sometimes that worked. I was able to let go of the emotion and drama and move on. But sometimes, like this one, I couldn’t convince myself it wasn’t real. I felt too much, was too worked up to let it go.

“Can we just agree to disagree on this point and move on?”

Alex was holding himself so rigidly I kinda thought he might break, but instead of arguing he said, “Move on to what?”

I made a conscious effort to appear less confrontational, dropping my arms to my side and shifting my weight to one foot. “You could tell me what you know about Thaumaturgics.”

“I really think—”

“Please?” I dipped into the Angel arsenal, attempting to make puppy dog eyes. “I just want to know what it is I’m being accused of, Alex. Please tell me.”

“I think using that face qualifies as cheating.”

I dropped to the ground, crossing my legs criss-cross-applesauce style as a big grin spread across my face. “Story time!” I declared, knowing I was going to get my way.

Alex scowled, but came to sit by me all the same. The pup climbed back into his lap, angling her head so he would scratch it.

“So, what do you know?”

I searched my brain for all pertinent bits I’d been able to pick up. “Thaumaturgics are women, the female half of Immortals. They are the enemies of Seers and Shifters. And although everyone seems to think there are Shifters and Seers who believe in them, no one who would ever tell me anything is among that number.”

Alex’s eyebrows quirked. “That’s not much.”

“I think I’ve said that. Repeatedly.”

“Well, you’re right about Immortals and Thaumaturgics.” He stretched his long, frayed-jeans covered legs. I noticed for the first time that he was barefoot. “According to the stories, they have the same sort of relationship as Shifters and Seers, but it’s reversed. There are more Thaumaturgics than Immortals, and the Thaumaturgics are the ones with the active power.”

“Which is…?”

“They can change things, manipulate them.”

“Like turn a prince into a frog?”

“I think that’s on the Super-Thaumaturgic side of the spectrum, but yeah. They’re supposed to be like Seers and have a specific affinity. Like there are Thaumaturgics who can do stuff with water and others who can manipulate earth.”

“This is starting to remind me of Captain Planet.”

“Now you see why all of your nice, sane friends don’t believe in them?”

I kicked at his ankle, somewhat surprised to see that I was no longer wearing shoes either. “Keep talking, Narrator Man. I want details.”

Alex used his toe to fling dirt at me. “I don’t have details. Seriously, if Thaumaturgics and Immortals exist, there aren’t very many of them. I’ve never heard of a Shifter or Seer meeting one.”

“And until last Christmas I’d never known anyone who had met an actual werewolf. Just because they aren’t getting all buddy-buddy with their known enemies doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

“You know what? I think you are a Thaumaturgic,” Alex said. “You’ve got this weird ability to manipulate logic in a way to make it sound like you’re right.”

“That’s because I am always right,” I said, eyelashes batting. “So, is that all you’ve got? Because that’s not much more than I had to begin with.”

Of course it’s not, my inner-Scout whispered. This is all in your head. How could you know something you don’t already know?

“Okay, Smarty Pants. Did you know Thaumaturgy required a ritualistic sacrifice and Immortals stay young by eating babies?”

“Are you serious?”

Alex’s smile was unrepentant. “No, not at all. Really, ‘agents of the devil’ is the only thing they’ve got going against them as far as I know.”