I was standing in a line, balanced between reality and the ever-after. I could go either way. I wasn’t his yet. “One day a week,” I said, knees wobbling.

“I give you Newt’s mark, you give me my name,” Al said, then wiggled his fingers as if he needed me to take them to finish the deal.

I reached for it, and at the last moment, Al’s glove melted away, and I found myself gripping his hand.

Autor: Kim Harrison