by K. F. Breene
“He didn’t at first,” Niamh said. “He started to pay it heed with the first wave of danger. He wasn’t doing it to spy. None of us are doing it to spy, and if you’re feeling sorry for yerself, we just tune ye out, so we do. We got our own problems; we don’t need yours, like. But ye’re smart, so ye are, and we knew ye might find a way to cut us off if ye knew the truth. And if ye find yerself in a spot of trouble and the danger seems great enough, ye might try to hide yerself to protect us. We couldn’t take that chance. Ye’re too damn nice, girl. Ye know ya are. So we deceived ye, as ye say, to help protect you.”
What she said made sense, but it still stung. They should’ve been more open with me. Maybe not right in the beginning, but we’d been through a few battles by now, and I could see the value in what she was saying. At the same time, they were the original crew of this place, deeply entrenched in their positions and their ways, and I could forgive the misstep. I would also acknowledge that the Jasper and Ulric situation had been an oversight on Mr. Tom’s part. Fine. People make mistakes.
But Austin…
That guy had made a big deal about privacy. A big deal. He knew I didn’t tap into the magical link unless I needed emotional cues to interpret his new expressionlessness. If he’d decided to keep his side open, he should’ve said something. I had trusted him from day one. Why didn’t he trust me? If he’d explained that he was keeping the link open to ensure I stayed safe, protecting my privacy as much as possible, I would’ve been okay with that. I would’ve understood.
But he’d said nothing. Not a peep. Nor had he hinted that the others could tell every time I was sad or anxious or moping. No, he’d helped ensure that everyone in the crew could open me like a book to be read at their leisure. That Ulric and Jasper could peep in on my most personal moments.
He would tear down the world if someone had done that to him.
Tear it to the ground.
My heart ached with the betrayal. My eyes stung with unshed tears. I’d always thought Austin and I were a team, the two normal ones in a maelstrom of weird. I’d missed hanging out with him something awful these last weeks. I’d longed for him to randomly call me, like he had at the beginning. Except it hadn’t been random at all. He knew when I was okay. He even knew when I was lonely or sad.
Let’s have some space, Jess, I imagined him saying. Let’s take a step back and clear our heads. But only you will feel lonely. I’ll be good because I’ll have the reassurance of your presence with me all the time.
This wasn’t how friends treated each other.
I blinked away the tears and slowly blew out a breath. I hated that they could all feel my heartache and the cracks forming in a trust I’d once valued so highly.
Anger was less embarrassing than mopey sorrow.
“What a dick,” I said to no one.
“Uh-oh. Looks like some fireworks are coming our way,” Niamh murmured.
Yeah, it did. I wanted an explanation. I wanted a confrontation. I wanted him to make it better.
Before I could about-face and head straight to the bar, a knock sounded at the door.
I froze. Mr. Tom and Niamh looked between each other and me.
No strange presence stood on Ivy House soil.
A mage strong in magic had been able to fool Ivy House. My summons had been answered.
Four
“We should…” I rolled my shoulders, pushing away my anger so I could focus.
“Let me.” Mr. Tom moved to step in front of me, but I put out my hand.
“I will.” I pulled open the door slowly, my face surely matching my mood—grim.
A guy of about thirty stood just off the front stoop, his light brown hair disheveled and sticking up at various spots, stubble adorning his sharp chin, and thin eyebrows sloping over light gray eyes. He had his hands in the pockets of his loose jeans.
He looked me over, his expression flat. Finally, he pulled his right hand free and dragged a blue note card from his back pocket. “You wanted me to make this potion?”
I frowned at him. “You’re not glowing.”
He glanced down at himself. “I altered the potion a little. Hope you don’t mind. If you glow, you give yourself away as magical. People will know you’re using a spell. This way, no one will know.” He turned back and pointed at the ejection panel. “Otherwise the potion’s kind of like that spell. Anyone who knows what to watch out for would avoid that.”
“I know. That was on purpose.”
He nodded, turning back. “I wanted to step on it, just to see what it did.”
“It wouldn’t have done anything. Ivy House can’t sense your presence, so she wouldn’t have known to trigger it. Otherwise, though, you’d fly like a bird and land on your butt.”
He could give Austin a run for his money on expressionlessness.
“Funny,” he said. “I would like to see that.”
“Hang around for long enough, and you probably will. Do you know why you’re here?”
He slipped the note card back into his pocket.
“Wait, I’ll take that.” I put out my hand.
He shrugged and handed it over. “I got a magical…summons, it felt like. It was like a tug, directing me here. I resisted for a while—my employer doesn’t like to share highly paid employees—but…” His smile was crooked, as though someone else were pulling at his lips. “It got the better of me, didn’t it? Here I am. You need some training or something, right?”
“Your employer…” I paused for a moment. “And who is that?”
He opened his mouth, as though to answer, and then drew in a breath. He shook his head. “Can’t tell, I’m afraid. Physically, I mean. It’s a gag spell put on us when we sign up. He’s more powerful than me or I’d find a way around it.” He shrugged. “It’s pretty standard practice for the higher-level employees.”
“Probably should’ve expected that,” Niamh murmured.
“Do you know the story about this house and who I am?” I asked.
He looked upward, leaning back to do so. “Creepy old house. It’s cool. But no, I don’t know more than that. This town is out of the way. Seems pretty small. Is it magical? I haven’t heard of it.”
“Not really. I mean, it’s becoming magical.”
I chewed my lip, feeling a strange sort of hesitation. Usually when someone answered my summons, I invited them in. Some of them got to live here until they were fired or accepted. But for the first time, I didn’t want to push the door wide and usher this guy through. Maybe it was all the failed mages before him. Maybe I’d learned not to be so welcoming to strangers. Whatever it was, I didn’t step back and play the nice host.
“You know what?” I said. “Why don’t I have one of my team get you checked in to the hotel in town.” I glanced back at Mr. Tom—a silent request for him to get Ulric or Jasper. “We can meet up at the bar in a few hours and chat. In the meantime, my person can fill you in on some of the particulars about this place.”
He dug his hand back in his pocket to match the other before stepping back. “I already got a room there. I wanted to put my stuff down and check out the town before I showed up.” He paused for a moment. “Precaution.”
“Right, so”—Niamh stepped forward, past me—“let’s go grab a pint then. C’mon, I’ll tell ye all about this miserable place and the whack jobs running it.”
A car rolled down the street slowly, a newer Ford in midnight blue, the figure inside scouting the houses he or she passed. When the car neared us, though, I nearly lost my stomach.
“It’s Jimmy! He’s here early!” Joy bubbled up through me, and I was shoving Niamh and the new guy down the walkway before I realized my rudeness. “Sorry, hey, what’s your name?”
“Sebastian,” the new guy said.
“Hi, I’m Jessie—”
“But you will call her ‘miss,’” Mr. Tom cut in.
I didn’t have time to get annoyed as Jimmy stopped in the street, looking through the windshield of his rental car b
efore glancing down at the screen of his phone, trying to find the right house, not noticing me standing out front.
“Niamh, head to the bar with Sebastian and fill him in. I’ll…” I grimaced. This was the first mage that had made it to the door, and he might be the last. He could help me, but if left solely to Niamh’s devices, he might not stick around long enough to hear an offer. I had to meet them tonight to make sure he’d stick around.
Hopefully Jimmy would be tired from his journey. He’d come all the way from New York, a trip that would’ve taken a couple planes and a layover. He’d probably want to head to bed early. I could make the meeting work.
“Fill Sebastian in,” I started again as Jimmy recognized my car in the driveway and then noticed us all standing near the front door. He frowned. I’d told him about the house—I’d even sent him a picture—but only an in-person tour could do this place justice. Jimmy was seeing why, from the magical shadow that unnaturally shaded the place, to the glowing attic light (which was rarely on), to the sheer size as it sprawled across the carefully tended grounds. “Get some food, maybe. I’ll meet you all as soon as I can, okay? I just have to get my…visitor settled in.”
No point in letting a stranger know how precious my visitor was. I wasn’t important enough for someone to hunt Jimmy down all the way in New York, where he went to school, but if my son was on hand, and things went pear-shaped with this powerful visitor…
“He’s a day early,” Mr. Tom said, stepping farther out to see the car as it pulled into the drive. “Hopefully he didn’t bring a cooler full of food and cheap beer like your parents did.”
“Okay, see ye in a while.” Niamh motioned Sebastian ahead of her.
“Are we allowed to come out now?” Ulric called from inside the house. “Also, are we in trouble? I promise I wasn’t spying on you, Jess—miss. I did like feeling the spice, but I didn’t want to feel your wrath, so figured I’d better close it down.”
“Shh!” I batted at the air even though he couldn’t see me. “Mr. Tom, tell him and Jasper to head into town to watch Sebastian. Tell Austin about him, too. He’ll want to keep an eye on things. Don’t tell Austin I’m going to ring his bell the next time I see him. I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Hey, bud!”
I practically ran around the car to grab hold of Jimmy as he climbed out.
“Hi, Mom.” He groaned within my squeeze. “This house is huge! Is it really yours?”
I reached up to put my palms on both of my son’s cheeks, his scruff almost a messy beard, completely unkempt, and his sandy-brown hair falling past his eyes and over his ears. His hazel eyes matched mine, as did his thin nose, but he had his father’s wide smile and height, over six feet tall.
I frowned at the hoodie draped across his bony shoulders and the jeans sagging around his hips. “Did you stop eating? What happened to you?”
“It’s fine.” He twisted out of my grip. “Cooking sucks. But seriously, is this really your new house? I got the pictures, but…”
“Yeah, this is it. Come on.” I led him toward the front door as Sebastian and Niamh reached her house. She ran in to get something, and he turned to look at us, his gaze tracking me and Jimmy. I waved my hand, throwing up a magical one-way mirror, making it so nothing impeded my view of Sebastian, but he saw his own reflection instead of us.
“Well, hello, Master Evans.” Mr. Tom bowed, his wings fluttering.
Magic sparkled along my spell, and it took me a moment to realize Sebastian’s fingers had lifted from his sides, his spell work hardly noticeable. His magic and power filled in little spots and crevices in my spell that I hadn’t even realized were there, strengthening it but also changing it. Enhancing it.
I paused as Jimmy reached out to fist-bump Mr. Tom, turning back to see Sebastian’s handiwork.
The image of Sebastian crystalized, like I was looking at a computer screen, the shadows of early evening now tinged lime green. He’d added a nighttime effect in addition to cleaning up the haze from my spell.
“Just a sec,” I murmured, jogging out to the street. I couldn’t pass up the chance to look at it from the other side.
I punched a hole through the spell so I could cross the threshold, the world snapping back to its normal appearance. Once I crossed through, the hole winked out, the spell weaving itself back together.
“Wow.” Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the spot I’d jogged through. “That’s incredibly advanced, being able to walk through a spell like this without tearing it down. Not many in the world would be able to do it. I didn’t expect it with the rudimentary spell you’d erected.”
“Let’s just quiet things down.” I made a sign like pushing down the air. “Not everyone knows I’m magical around here.”
He frowned. “That’s your son, though, right? He looks like you.”
I didn’t comment.
Apparently I didn’t need to.
“How can you have this much magic without him knowing about it? Without him having some too?” he asked.
“Niamh will explain my situation. Keep your voice down, if you would.” I marveled at the way he’d changed the spell. His side was no longer a mirror: I could see Ivy House, only Jimmy’s car wasn’t parked in the driveway and there was no sign of anyone in the doorway of the house. It looked as though Jimmy hadn’t come at all and we’d all gone inside. “The work you did on that spell is amazing. How can you fix someone else’s spell?”
He scratched his head, making another patch of hair stand on end. “I have a lot of power, and figuring out spells and duplicating them is kind of a hobby of mine. Patching up or fixing spells that have already been realized is in my wheelhouse.”
“Can a lot of mages do that?”
“No. That’s why I get paid so well. And why…whatever this is probably won’t work out. I mean, from the summons I got the sense I’m supposed to train you or something, but…” He shrugged. “Like I said, I have a job.”
“If it is just the money you’re worried about, that’s no problem.” I blew out a breath, really wishing I could have him walk me through how he’d fixed my spell. Jimmy was waiting, though. “Listen, will you just hang around this evening long enough for me to meet up with you? After I get my houseguest settled, I’ll head around to the bar. Please?”
Niamh stepped out of her house as the man’s gaze rooted to mine, reading me. Or maybe reading the situation.
“Okay.” He shrugged, still seeming so uninterested. Aloof. “I took a week off anyway, so I don’t have to hurry back.”
I had a week to determine if I could trust him, a week to win him to my side. The fact that he’d created a potion that hid him from Ivy House without making him glow like he was radioactive was eyebrow-raising, because even Elliot Graves, one of the most powerful mages in the world, hadn’t pulled that off. But transforming my spell into something infinitely better? This guy could be my salvation. Austin could drag out my magic, Edgar could point me in the right direction, and this guy could help me hone my craft.
I couldn’t help smiling at the thought. “I’ll connect with you later. Get some food or whatever you want. I’ll see you.”
As Niamh stepped down to him, I waved and jogged back to the house. I punched a hole in the spell and saw everyone still on the porch, Jasper and Ulric included. Edgar had joined them.
I really hoped it worked out with Sebastian. He’d give me the edge I needed to survive this crazy magical world. An edge I’d likely need once his obviously rich and probably high-powered boss found out I’d stolen his star employee.
Five
“The cape is dope, bro.” Jimmy was sitting at the kitchen island, eating an apple while Mr. Tom made him sandwiches. He’d gravitated straight toward the kitchen. “Sometimes you just gotta let your freak flag fly. At your age, you’ve earned it.”
“Yes, fantastic. Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Mr. Tom said dryly.
“It isn’t a cape,” I said. My stomach twisted as I stood at the corner of
the island.
I’d decided before Jimmy had gotten here that I’d immediately tell him about the magic. There was no point in the house playing mind games with him like it had with my parents, or with me trying to hide the nature of the mage that had just shown up at the door. I’d have to tell Jimmy about the magic eventually—my parents had proven that—so I might as well do it while he was tired from his already long day. He’d be less inclined to want to leave.
I hoped he didn’t assume I’d gone crazy and immediately run for the door…
“They are wings,” I said. “In his other form, they are wings, and when he’s in this form—his human form—they look like that. Like a cape.”
There were probably better ways to break it to him, though.
Jimmy snorted. “Like a gargoyle?”
Mr. Tom twisted to look back at him. He didn’t say a word as he returned his focus to the sandwiches, leaving this to me.
“What do you know about gargoyles?” I leaned over the island.
“Remember that old cartoon? And come on…” He rolled his eyes. “How many movies have gargoyles with a cape that’s supposed to be their wings? I’ve seen it in anime, too. You’d think someone would have an original thought. I mean, no offense, bro. If you’re going to do cosplay, you kinda gotta go with what’s established, right?”
“Only in the realm of make-believe does one require original thoughts.” Mr. Tom set a plate down on the island, the porcelain clinking. “Would you like some chips? Tea?”
“Do you have Coke?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes, sadly. It will rot your teeth, but I did pick some up.” Mr. Tom turned toward the fridge.
