Pearl (Jewels Cafe Book 8)

by Tabitha Barret

He tsked at me. “How is that any different than what you do at home? At least you can look stylish while avoiding people.”

  I laughed at his version of how I should keep a low profile. “It’s fine. I can wear something else.”

  He nodded and closed the closet. “Candice is making your favorite dessert tonight, though don’t tell your mother. It will be hidden in the back of the fridge. She wanted me to tell you that she’s noticed that you’ve lost weight and that you need to eat. I will also be leaving a snack in your room for after the Pike game later.”

  Smiling, I nodded. “There are definitely perks to being back home. Thank Candice for me and for the chocolate mousse. Don’t worry about the sweater. I’ll figure something out.”

  He smiled and left the room.

  Walking over to my bed, I heard a stone hit my window.

  “Benjamin!” I ran to the window to see him standing on the back porch. I waved and ran down to meet him. Since my parents were at a breakfast with the Wands of Tomorrow Society, I was free to see him.

  “Hey!” He waved as I came around the house and into the garden.

  “Hey! Are you ready for the game?” I pointed to his black uniform with purple lettering. Most of the conjurer schools used some form of purple and black as their school colors. His academy team uniform was no different.

  “I just wanted to make sure that the orange line had faded so that people wouldn’t notice.” He looked down between us and smiled.

  “Tamara already knows about the spell and has made fun of me. I’m still the joke of the coven, so no worries there. However, my mother hasn’t seen it yet, so we’re good.” I shrugged.

  “I’m sorry. I thought I was far enough away for the spell to have disappeared.” He grimaced and kicked a rock across the patio.

  “It wasn’t your fault. Let’s just say that someone else was affected too.” I wanted to avoid talking about Carson, but it was better for Benjamin to know about him.

  He stood up straight and stared at me. “Who? Who else?”

  Surprised by his reaction, I opened my mouth to tell him but his name was called from across the yard.

  “Benji. Come! It’s time to leave!” Anika’s shrill voice echoed across the yard.

  He frowned. “Players need to be there early to help set up. I should go.”

  “What’s going on with Anika?” I blurted out the question before I could stop myself. I couldn’t understand how he had turned into that guy who stopped living his life when his girlfriend showed up.

  He looked at me for a second as if he was confused by my aggressive tone.

  “We’re friends.” He shrugged.

  “Friends. Sure. Every time I turn around, you’re running off with her. If you were friends, then I would have actually met her or maybe hung out with the two of you.” I was annoyed that Anika was occupying all his time.

  “It’s not like that, Celeste. Her father is an old friend of my family’s. They asked me to show her around since she’s still getting used to the culture. They’re from Romania, so she doesn’t always understand the language or our customs. I’m just being nice to her. What’s wrong with that?” His defensiveness made me feel bad for accusing him of some kind of wrongdoing.

  I hung my head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I feel like we don’t have a lot of time to see each other. I’m only home for the week and we haven’t snuck off to get ice cream or see a movie. Things have changed.” I didn’t want to say it, but I missed the way it used to be.

  He smiled and sighed. “I know. I wish I had more time, but Anika’s social calendar is insane. They want her to have an escort for everything. Her family is kind of a big deal. Besides, if I make a good impression, I might be able to get in good with her father. He is working to form a new coven of casters and conjurers. According to my dad, her father is looking for someone to mentor and mold. It would be a great opportunity to make some positive changes between the covens. Less segregation and more acceptance. Doesn’t that sound great?”

  “Of course, it sounds amazing. Just ignore me. I was being stupid and selfish. I hope that you get to be that guy. I would love for you to lead a coven like that someday.” I felt like dirt for being jealous of Anika.

  He waved at Anika and looked back at me. “I’ll let you know if anything comes of it.” He waved at me and headed back to his house.

  At least Benjamin was on track to be noticed by someone important and for the right reasons. I had no doubt that he would be chosen for the mentorship, as long as he wasn’t seen hanging out with someone like me.

  Chapter 6

  Standing in the chilly morning air, I pulled my scarf tight around my neck. The field had been cleared of the snow and heated with a warming spell, though a cold wind was fighting against the warmth.

  Refilling the water cups on the table for the Pike players, I manned the concession stand while keeping an eye on the game. The caster team was down by one at the end of the 1st period. Technically, there were no winners or losers since this was a charity event, but bragging rights were important enough to make the game very competitive.

  Just like in a regular game of Pike, the casters like Tamara, Carson and Crystal were on one side and conjurers like Benjamin and Hana were on the other.

  Looking at what most non-sups would think was a giant game of ring toss, I glanced through the three different sized pikes that were worth 5, 10 or 20 points, and watched Tamara take the mage position. Carson took his place on the first line in front of Tamara as her blocker. As Tamara’s primary defense, Carson had already let two people use their spells to throw her across the field. If he couldn’t keep her safe from the opposing team or he let the hoop, or the “crown”, be stolen away, she would probably curse him in the parking lot.

  The other four players lined up on the caster’s side, including Anika in the Left Defender position. I was surprised to see her playing since she might break her perfect nails.

  Carson nervously looked around and gripped his wand tightly. All he had to do was keep the other team away from Tamara.

  On the opposite side of the field, I watched Benjamin take the mage position for the conjurers. Hana was doing a great job as Right Spotter. She had successfully used her magic to move Benjamin into scoring position twice. She had also made an amazing shot when she got the crown around the blue pike for 5 points.

  As the whistle blew, signaling the start of the 2nd period, I watched everyone throw attack spells and defensive spells, hitting each other and moving their mages around the field. Ryan, the conjurer’s Left Defender took a hard hit into an obstacle in front of the red pike, which was the tallest and had the highest point value. He appeared dazed but got back up.

  Carson tried to defend Tamara against Hana’s attack, while jumping over an obstacle near the green pike on the far side of the field. He managed to stop the attacks, until Ryan threw Carson into a hazard.

  Biting my fingernails, I gasped when Carson started limping around the field. One of the refs called for an injury time out and Carson headed off the field to the infirmary section. Abandoning my refreshment station, I went to the sidelines to check on Carson.

  Seeing that his leg was gashed open, I stood by while the medic tended to his wound.

  “I’m still alive, which is saying something since Tamara has threatened to turn me into something squishable at least six times already.” Carson laughed until he recoiled from the pain of his cut being cleaned.

  “You’re holding your own out there.” I tried to sound as positive as I could.

  “I suck. I know. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that you’re here watching me.” He held out his hand to me.

  Taking it, I played with his dirt-covered fingers. “It’s for charity, so no matter what happens; you’re doing a good thing.”

  He smiled and squinted up at me. “You always see the bright side of things.”

  The medic finished up and nodded to Carson.

  I glanced down at
his grass-stained legs and thought about how many times he had fallen. “Carson, look over there at the rowdy group of lion shifters who come to every local game. What color shirt is the third guy on the right wearing?”

  Confused, he looked at the bleachers where I was pointing and shrugged. “Where’s the third row?”

  “Carson, what is the farthest thing you can see?”

  He squinted and shrugged. “The red pike.”

  I looked at the red pike sitting halfway across the field. “Wait. Can you only see half the field? You should be able to see the team’s starting line on the opposite end.”

  “Really? I’ve never been able to see that far.” He was shocked as he tried in vain to see across the field.

  I smiled and patted his shoulder. “You have bad aim because you can’t see. Carson, this is a good thing. Glasses can fix your sight.”

  “Huh. The eye tests at school were never hard, but now that you mention it, my mom always complains that I can’t find anything.” He pulled me close and gave me a quick side hug. “Now, if only you can improve my casting.”

  I nodded and thought about the way he had cast the flashlight spell. “Say aprinde and snap your wand at the bandage wrapper on the ground over there.”

  “No. I have never been able to light anything on fire.” He vigorously shook his head.

  “Just do it.”

  He sighed and attempted to ignite the paper. “Aprinde!”

  I smiled. “It’s your accent, Carson. Romanian has a certain cadence to it. It’s the syllables. You need to say it like ahh prrrin day.” I clapped my hands, hoping that I had found the solution.

  He repeated it a few times with some minor corrections before he shouted, “Aprinde!” The small piece of paper turned red until a flame sprouted up.

  I was so excited that I jumped up and down before quickly running over and stamping out the fire.

  He stared at the paper in disbelief. “I did it.”

  Beaming with pride, I nodded. “You did it.”

  He laughed as he picked me up and spun me around. “We did it!”

  He quickly kissed my cheek and put me down before running off to rejoin the game.

  By the end of the 2nd period, Carson’s spells were improving here and there. They still needed a lot of work, but now that he stopped believing that he was the worst wizard ever, he had an incentive to try harder.

  Before the start of the final period, everyone came to the table to get some water.

  “Your boyfriend sucks.” Tamara glared at Carson as she took the plastic cup from me.

  I saw Benjamin choke on his water, practically spitting it on Anika. Apparently, he hadn’t gotten the memo about Carson.

  I frowned at Tamara. “At least I have a boyfriend. There isn’t a love spell in this world that could make anyone fall in love with you.” I regretted my snide remark the second it was out of my mouth.

  Tamara threw down her cup and had her wand pointed at me within the span of two seconds. Based on her wicked expression, she had the perfect curse in mind. Opening her mouth to speak, someone else nearby shouted, “Proteja,” a protection spell. My eyes shifted to Benjamin, who had his hands out in front of him. He moved his arms to form a protection wall in front of me.

  Tamara’s spell never reached me thanks to his blocking spell. Carson had his wand pointed at her by the time her spell failed. The casters and conjurers all had their wands or the hands pointed at various people in a kind of standoff.

  The officials ran over to stop any duels from breaking out.

  “What’s going on?” Lord Cornish wandered over and raised his hands to keep everyone from talking at the same time. “I can only listen with two ears. Miss Dreger, please tell me what happened since you seem to have been the target.”

  I eyed Tamara, who was silently seething.

  “Nothing more than a friendly rivalry that got out of hand. Apparently, I was cheering for the wrong team.” No one corrected me, but everyone kept their wands in their hands or stayed in their battle stances.

  Lord Cornish pretended to wipe his forehead. “Is that all? You had me worried. Everyone loves a good game of Pike. It’s okay to cheer for the conjurers. We’re all friends here. You can cheer for whomever you want.” He smiled and nodded. “Even if it’s the losing side.”

  I could tell that the last part was meant as a joke to lighten the mood, which it did.

  All the team members grabbed their cups and headed back to the field, though Tamara kept her eyes on me.

  “So, Carson was affected by the love spell?” Benjamin’s question sounded more like an accusation than an actual question.

  My mouth hung open for a second before nodding. “Yeah. I’ve always liked him, but there was a miscommunication between us, so I thought he hated me. We’ve since cleared things up.”

  I didn’t know why I was nervous about what Benjamin thought since he had made it clear that we were just friends.

  “Oh, okay. I’m glad things worked out.” He didn’t sound happy, which irked me.

  “Me too. I’m happy that someone could express how they felt about me. I’m helping him with his casting, ironically.” I felt compelled to defend my new relationship to him. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to prove that the love spell wasn’t faulty or if I was trying to shove his face in the fact that someone could care about me.

  He wiped his hands on his uniform and looked over at Carson. “I’m happy that you’re tutoring him. You know more about magic than most of us. I saw you reading in the garden last night. I’m assuming it was another spell book.”

  “Yep, just got it. I’m hoping to teach Carson some protection spells so that I can feel safe around Tamara. I don’t like relying on anyone to protect me. I appreciate you stepping in, but I need to figure out how to stay safe.” I was grateful to Benjamin but I hated feeling helpless.

  He took a step forward and looked into my eyes. “Celeste, I will always be there when you need me.”

  The sincerity in his voice nearly brought tears to my eyes. “As my friend.” I couldn’t help but state that aloud even though it hurt to do so.

  “Benji, hurry, the game is starting.” Anika called to him from across the field.

  Ignoring Anika, Benjamin stared at me. “Can we talk later?”

  “Of course.” I looked away so that he wouldn’t see the collage of emotions warring on my face.

  “Good.” He ran off to join the conjurer’s team as I pretended to care about the cups sitting in front of me.

  I spent the rest of the game trying to ignore Benjamin so that I wouldn’t burst into tears. When his team won, I immediately ran to Carson to tell him how proud I was of his efforts. I high fived him and quickly got him off the field before Tamara could make good on her threats of turning him into a slug.

  ≈

  After dinner, I sat in my room, staring at my gray carpet. With my parents off at some meeting with the coven, I was alone with my thoughts.

  My mind bounced between the excitement I felt when I was around Carson and the disappointment I felt about Benjamin’s desire to stay friends.

  I picked up my healing crystal from my side table and rolled it around my palms. Why was it so hard to ignore Benjamin Fitzroy? I tried not to think about his handsome face and his ability to make me feel like I mattered.

  Gazing at the crystal, I sighed. “Let him go, Celeste. It’s time.” I tried to push him out of my mind, but every time I tried, he unleashed his devastating smile on me. What was wrong with me? Why was I infatuated with someone who didn’t care about me? It was maddening.

  I wanted to throw the crystal across the room, but stopped myself. Gently putting it down, my eyes unconsciously went to the window. There, I saw my furry nemesis sitting on the windowsill.

  “No! No way, Buddy. You need to leave. It’s perfectly normal for a girl to sit in her room pining for a boy who doesn’t love her. If that’s why you’re here, you can move on to the next girl. I’m sure there ar
e thousands of girls around here that you can bother. Shoo. Go away!”

  The cat’s black fur stood on end and it hissed at me.

  “I don’t want to fight with you. It’s been a long day.”

  Again, the cat hissed. Even for a cat that only showed up when I was stressed out, it was strange that he was hissing at me.

  Moving to the window, I opened the latch and tugged on the window. A burst of cold air hit my face, making me lose my breath for a second.

  The cat managed to keep its balance on the ledge and turned around to meow right in my face.

  “Go!” I yelled. I thought about pushing the cat but I had never been cruel to it.

  Hissing again, the cat reached out and scratched my hand.

  “Seriously?”

  The cat’s tail whipped across my face as it meowed frantically at me. Sensing that something was wrong, I quickly accepted that the cat wanted something from me.

  “Okay, I get it. What do you want?”

  Nodding at me, the cat jumped to the ivy-covered trellis, and climbed down, still meowing at me.

  I had no idea why I was following a crazy cat, but I did as it wanted and ducked out the window.

  Climbing down the trellis just as I had done on the occasions when I needed to get away from my family, I reached the bottom within a few seconds. The cat darted in front of me and ran across the back patio to the trees on the far end of the property.

  “I must be really nuts to follow you.” I wrapped my arms around my shoulders and sprinted across the lawn in my slippers. Reaching the end of the patio, a loud bang threw me off balance and I fell flat on my stomach. I turned around in time to see purple smoke rising from the chimney. All around the house, the purple smoke drifted out of the cracks from the old windows.

  The cat ran to me and meowed again. This time, I didn’t hesitat to follow him to the side yard next to Benjamin’s house.

  Panting, I leaned against the black iron fence and stared in disbelief at my house. I had no idea what had caused the purple smoke but I knew something bad had happened. Thinking back to all the spells I had learned, purple always indicated poison or some kind of malicious potion.