isn’t it?” Mom asked. She pulled up her blanket a little more, even though the room wasn’t at all chilly.
“I’ll probably piss him off.”
She gave him a fond smile. “You might—but I think your natural charm will win him over.”
Ethan ducked his head, looking away. She was his mother so she had to say things like that, but he didn’t think he possessed very much in the way of natural charm. He didn’t think anybody else he knew thought so, either. “Well, I’ll work hard anyway. I want this, Mom. I really do.” He closed the book, got up, and bent to kiss his mother good night. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I’m going to be a mage . The thought settled in his brain as he headed down the hall toward his bedroom. In the back of his mind he was already doing the things Stone had showed him. Before he knew it he’d be casting spells, slinging magical energy, and never having to worry about anyone disrespecting him again. It was going to be great. He could get along with anybody for that kind of payoff.
CHAPTER THREE
Stone spent his next few evenings and the breaks between his Occult Studies courses preparing lessons for Ethan. He called Yarborough (making sure to conveniently “forget” about the time zone difference) to let him know he’d agreed to take the boy on, and Yarborough had been so grateful he hadn’t even complained about being roused from a sound sleep.
Sunday night he took Megan out to Emilio’s, a little hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant in Los Gatos they’d discovered a couple months ago. “What’s the occasion?” she asked while they dawdled over after-dinner drinks.
“Been neglecting you, haven’t I?”
She grinned. “You do that all the time. You must be feeling guilty about something else. I can always tell. Wait, don’t tell me—it’s your Little Brother, isn’t it? You’ve bonded, and you’re planning to adopt him.”
“You’ve found me out.” He finished his drink and set the glass down next to hers. “You’re half right, actually. It is about Ethan. I’m going to be working with him for a while. Doing some—tutoring to help him catch up with schoolwork he’s missed. Mostly in the afternoons, so you shouldn’t see much of him, but I figured I should warn you in case you drop by and find a strange young man hanging around my townhouse.”
She nodded. “Just as long as you haven’t found yourself—what do you Brits call it?—a bit on the side? I don’t share. Not even if he’s smoking hot and built like Brad Pitt.”
He chuckled. “I’m all yours, my dear. You’re already more than I can handle.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “So what’s he like, this kid? Sounds like he’s had some trouble.”
“He’s a bit adrift, I think. His mum fell ill rather suddenly, so not only is he dealing with all that, but all his plans got buggered up, and he’s had to scramble to figure out what he wants to do with himself.”
“I take it his dad’s out of the picture?”
“Died when he was a child.”
“Poor kid. Well, I hope you can do something for him. Let me know if there’s any way I can help out with anything.”
He grinned wickedly. “Well—I think I can handle his stress. Think you can handle mine?”
“How about we go back to your place and find out?”
Ethan was waiting on the doorstep of Stone’s townhouse when he pulled his black Jaguar into the garage Monday afternoon. “How long have you been here?” Stone asked as he came around to let him in.
Ethan shrugged. “Not too long.” He wore jeans and a Cyberpope T-shirt, and carried a backpack slung over one shoulder. “I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to find the place. Mom’s letting me use the car since she doesn’t drive anymore.”
“Good, good.” Stone waved him in. Inside was a short hallway with a staircase on the left and rooms opening out on three sides. “Today we’ll get started in my study upstairs, since we won’t be doing any of the practical