Sasha closed her eyes. Could the shooting be another coincidence or was she the target? Maybe Evan would know.

"Where's Mom?" She asked "She's on her way," he said taking the seat beside the bed.

Sasha leaned back into the pillows and closed her eyes. These a.s.sa.s.sins were determined. Sasha wasn't sure how long she could keep this up. She hoped her mother could help her. She planned to tell her everything once she arrived.

"Dad," she said. Her father made a noise and observed her from the magazine he was reading.

"Dad, have you ever heard of Tysseland?"

"Can't say I have, where is it?" He said.

"I don't know," she said.

"Ask your mother. She'll know if it's one of those new up and coming neighborhoods."

"Yeah," she said in a small voice. "I'll do that. Can you get Evan now?"

Her father dropped his magazine on her bed and got up. "Sure," he said. "I'm sure he'll be glad you're awake."

Her father returned a couple of minutes later with Evan. His white T-shirt was rumpled and stained with blood. She gasped when she saw him.

"Are you hurt," she said concerned.

"Me?" he said confused and then noticed the front of his shirt. "Ah, no that's not me. That was you."

"Dad, could you--," she said before he cut in.

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit," he said. "Want something from the cafeteria?"

When neither responded to the question he slipped out the door.

Evan took the seat her father vacated. They stared at each other for a minute neither saying anything.

"That was scary," Evan said finally. "I thought you were done for."

Sasha closed her eyes and nodded silently in agreement.

"This is serious," he said. "You can't do this on your own."

"So you think they were after me? My dad said it was a drive-by."

Evan shook his head. "That's what I told them. I thought they'd lock me up if I told them some magical forces were at work and that after a man tried to kill you with fireb.a.l.l.s he used guns."

"You saw Nefar?"

Evan shook his head. "It was the two guys from the robbery but he was sitting in the getaway car."

"Evan," she gasped. "I don't know what to say."

"I don't want to lose you Sasha," he said his voice coa.r.s.e. "It was hard enough with my dad. I don't want to go through that again."

Evan rested his head on the bed sheets as if it weighed too much. Sasha caressed his hair and the back of his neck. His hair was soft and silky in between her fingers. Evan straightened and blinked back tears. His cheeks were rosy and he avoided meeting her eyes.

"I'm not going to die," she said with fake confidence. She covered his hands with her own and didn't say any more. They breathed in unison until the moment was shattered by a noise in the hallway.

Evan sat up and ran his hands across his face. He rubbed his eyes and wiped away tears.

"Tell me you're going to get help," he said. "Tell me you're going to tell your mother everything. Tell me you aren't going to handle this on your own."

Sasha nodded her head vigorously. The door flew open as Willow Bean charged in. She halted when she saw Evan leaning on Sasha's bed. He inclined over her and lightly brushed his lips over hers. Before she could react he pulled away.

"I'll be back. Do what I said."

Sasha nodded again and smiled. Evan left the room without saying a word to her mother. Willow Bean was bewildered by the rudeness. "Is he mad at me?" she asked Sasha as she dumped her large handbag on the floor.

"Yes," Sasha said laying her clasped hands on her belly.

"Why?" her mother was genuinely flummoxed that she was the target of someone's ire.

"He doesn't like it that I got shot because of you," she said matter-of-fact.

"What?" she said. "That's ridiculous."

"Oh Mother," she said exasperated. "Drop the act."

"What act?"

"I know you are from Tysseland and my grandmother has cursed me," Sasha said staring at her mother. "I think Gus called it the killing curse actually."

Willow Bean seemed bewildered. She crumpled into the spare chair by the bed but wouldn't look at Sasha.

"Who told you this tale?"

"It's not a story Mother," Sasha said drawing out the word mother. She wasn't going to let her off the hook. Her mother had kept her in the dark for too long. She laid it out for her mother and spared no details.

"My grandmother cursed me to die and hired a.s.sa.s.sins to finish the job just in case the curse didn't work," she said. "I know you are from Tysseland and that's where she is too. There is much I still don't understand like the blue sparks and the pendant. I will find out eventually even if you won't help me."

"Why didn't you tell me this before now?"

"I tried but you were always busy."

Willow Bean didn't argue.

"Mother what are the blue sparks?"

Willow Bean stared at her, occasionally blinking. She bit her lip and then pressed them together in a grimace when she realized she was chewing off her lipstick.

"Blue sparks? I don't understand. What makes you think they came from you?"

She told her mother about the three attacks when the blue sparks came to her aid. Her mother was quiet for a minute. For a second Sasha wondered if her mother was as clueless as she was about the blue sparks. Then her mother wrung her hands together and Sasha knew she'd stumbled upon the truth.

"You shouldn't be able to do that."

"No duh."

"I meant," Willow Bean said swallowing, "You shouldn't be able to do that while wearing the amulet."

She rose from the chair and gingerly sat on the side of Sasha's hospital bed.

"What? This?" Sasha pulled the pendant away from her neck. She reached behind and unclasped it. She swung the amulet around by its leather cord. "How is this supposed to stop the blue sparks?"

Willow Bean sighed and took the pendant from Sasha. She quickly reconnected the clasp around Sasha's neck.

"The pendant suppresses magic," her mother said. "It prevents it from being used on you and from you using your magic abilities. So there should be no blue sparks. So, again, how do you know they came from you?"

She told her mother about the experiment with the dog. "Were you wearing the pendant?" her mother asked.

"Of course," she said frustrated that her mother didn't believe her. "Without the pendant I die Mother."

Willow Bean arched her eyebrows. "Don't be overly dramatic Sasha."

"I'm not," she said and told her mother what happened when she gave the pendant to her father to inspect. "Do you want another demonstration?"

She tried to remove the pendant but her mother stopped her. "That won't be necessary."

"I want answers Mother," she said with as much strength as she could muster while lying down.

"Of course you do," Willow Bean said in a condescending tone. "We don't always get what we want Sasha."

She turned away from her mother, not wanting to look at her. She wanted comfort, answers. She felt like she was just getting blame and recrimination.

Willow Bean sighed. Her shoulders slumped and her head drooped.

"I wanted to spare you," she said. "The truth is very messy."

"More messy than someone trying to kill me?"

"Before we do anything, I need to know why your pendant isn't working," she said. "I gave it to you to keep you safe."

"Forget that," Sasha said harshly. "A working pendant can't save me from bullets because guns don't come from magic."

Willow Bean bowed her head in defeat. "You're right. I have failed you."

She was mute for a few minutes. When her mother's eyes finally met hers Sasha saw pain and regret. She held Sasha's hands as she recounted her unbelievable past.

Willow Bean was born into a powerful magical family in Tysseland, a prosperous realm that sits parallel to the one where they reside. In Tysseland many people have special abilities. Those with the most magic, like her mother Queen Vania, rule.

When Willow was 17 she was desperate to escape. Her mother planned to wed her in an arranged marriage that would bring the queen more power and wealth but leave Willow under the thumb of a possessive, cruel man.

Before she could sneak away, Queen Vania confronted her. They argued and Willow left, but not before Queen Vania cursed her.

"You have to understand," her mother said pleadingly. "At first I didn't think the curse would work here. This is a different world. Time moves differently here.

"My mother cursed me when I left her house. I felt her do it but never actually knew what the curse would be. These things aren't spelled out. When nothing happened to me over the years I figured she cursed my offspring. That would be her style, payback. Take my daughter from me because I hurt my mother. My mother is petty that way."

Sasha frowned. If the curse was cast almost 30 years ago before Sasha was conceived why was a talisman necessary?

"Mother," she said. "Does that mean there isn't a talisman?"

Willow Bean shook her head.

"There is a talisman," she said. "The curse needed the two parts to become active. She cursed me, which put the curse in your DNA. Then she needed your DNA to activate it. Getting rid of the talisman doesn't get rid of the curse. That's the beauty of it. My mother can reactivate at any time as long as she's got some of your DNA."

Astounded, Sasha didn't know how to respond. Her grandmother really wanted her dead.

"So, how do I get rid of the curse?"

Willow Bean shook her head. "You can't. She can reactivate it with another talisman. "

Sasha felt dread. Was this nightmare ever going to be over? "What if the queen were dead?"

Willow Bean smiled. "Well that would solve a lot of problems. But I've spent a lifetime refraining from killing. That's what set me apart from my mother."

Willow Bean was quiet for a moment inspecting her fingernails and gathering her thoughts.

"I gave you the necklace because it only made sense that my mother would target you because you are the first born," she said. "I gave you the necklace to keep you safe and to hide your magical abilities from you.

"I didn't want you to find out where I came from. Your father doesn't even know."

Sasha was stunned. Her father didn't know?

"So dad isn't from Tysseland?"

"No, I met him not long after I got here. A few years ago I went back to Tysseland. There is a very old wizard there, Glenbury, who helped me craft this pendant for you. I knew the curse would trigger when you were 16 or 17. Those are years when you come into your powers. I made the pendant to protect you."

"Protect your secrets you mean," Sasha said harshly. She couldn't resist jabbing her mother.

"Yes," she said morosely. "My secrets aren't so secret anymore."

They were both quiet for a minute lost in their thoughts.

"There is something interfering with the power of the pendant," Willow Bean said. "I have to talk to Dominic about it."

"Is Dominic from Tysseland too?"

She hesitated and then nodded. "What about Gigi and Evie?"

She got up from the bed without answering. Sasha was sure they were part of this Tysseland group too.