Funny Tragic Crazy Magic (Tragic Magic Book 1)

by Sheena Boekweg

  Giara was still walking toward me. I wiped the runelight from Meg’s ankle, but it wouldn’t budge. Someone strong had shared the binding, and the light was a twisting of two colors.

  The women surrounded me, a look of hunger on their faces. They reached forward, their eyes on my notebook.

  “Hocus pocus!” I shouted on a whim, and then I drew the rune for stay and threw it at them. Eight people were frozen. Eight. That’s how many I can affect at one time.

  Sadly, there were nine people in the room.

  One woman slinked around the women frozen to the library floor, her eyes locked on mine like a magnet. It was Shizuka, the Japanese woman in pale pink who had held Meg hostage. I could feel all that magic expelled from the stay rune drain out of me, but I tried not to think about it. Shizuka drew a transformation rune on her own stomach, her eyes never looking away from mine. At first, I thought she went invisible, but no. She shrunk down incredibly small and then ran for me. I watched her, completely perplexed. Would it be a bad thing if I stepped on her? I mean really, was that the kind of thing a person did?

  When she was right in front of me, she ended the rune, and the displaced mass gave her an extra heave as she punched me incredibly hard across my mouth. My arms went flying out, and with her other hand, Shizuka snagged a corner of the notebook. I protested as it slid out of my hands, and then I fell to the floor.

  Shizuka stood there, smiling and obnoxious. I must not have been the only one who thought so, because Meg ran to the woman uttering swear words her mom didn’t know she knew. I braced my hands on the hardwood floor and pushed myself up.

  “Meg,” I screamed.

  Shizuka barely noticed her. She drew a rune on Meg’s arm. It was the rune for fire.

  “No!” I rushed for her, drew the rune for air in the… well, air, and then cast it at both of them. It was a weak rune; it blew past Shizuka and Meg, shaking their hair in the rune-created wind. Just then Shizuka’s rune caught, and Meg’s clothing erupted in flames. She cried out and fell to the ground, rolling and slapping the flames away.

  I dropped the rune for stay that held those eight women, transformed myself three feet taller, and pushed Shizuka to the ground. She fell and hit her head with a satisfying thud. The notebook fell from her hands. I drew the rune for air to pull the notebook to me, and then drew the rune for water and doused Meg until the last flame silenced. I caught the notebook and glared at the other women, tensed for them to spring at me en masse. They were all still.

  I hadn’t noticed during my battle with Shizuka, but more women had entered the library. I was surrounded now. Twenty or more Witches were in that room, each looking at me with their faces calm, eerily devoid of emotion.

  “I told you,” Ana, who was standing near the back of the room, whispered to the Witch next to her. The room was so quiet, that her whisper seemed shouted.

  I released the transformation rune, and the floor rushed forward a few feet. My shoulders rose and fell with each of my breaths.

  “This is mine,” I whispered.

  The Witches looked at one another, several glancing at Giara for a verdict. She didn’t seem happy, but she nodded. The women in the room erupted in a cheer that hurt my ears it was so loud. What was going on?

  When the cheer ended, the women spoke to each other with excited voices. Shizuka still lay on the ground. The massive cheer didn’t even wake her up.

  “Welcome, Larissa Jayne Alvarez, the newest Grandmother,” Giara said, her voice strong. I could sense a bit of reluctance both in her stance, and also in her voice. I took a deep breath, still looking around at the others like a scared cat.

  “I’m sorry… What?” I asked.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  I was a Grandmother. I may have been the shortest seated Grandmother in history, but let’s not dwell on that. My first act as Grandmother was finding a healer to take care of Meg, and reluctantly, also Shizuka’s injuries.

  As soon as Shizuka healed, she left the library, a few Witches followed behind her. I didn’t mind their absence, even though it felt like an insult. Really, I was glad they were gone. I wish I could be gone too.

  Meg came to me when she was healed, followed by an eleven-year-old Instinct named Kaylie. She was a small little thing, with freckles and braces. It felt good to see Meg looking so clean and healthy. Kaylie was the healer who helped her.

  “Welcome,” Kaylie said with a shy smile. “I’m glad to have you here. I mean we all are, of course, what with everything going on. But I, especially, am glad for you to be here, cause now at least I’m not the only Grandmother younger that eighteen.” She smiled at me, and I had to laugh. This little girl was a Grandmother?

  Meg and I exchanged a look.

  “Kaylie, right?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “I thought…” I thought Helena and Tiffany were the Instinct Grandmothers… was that rude to ask? “Have you been a Grandmother long?”

  “What... is my gray hair showing?” She had this gentle giggle, this light and pleasant laugh. “Three months, actually. They really needed a healer, so Tiffany stepped down.”

  I nodded. Meg and Kaylie started talking, a conversation involving magic, runes, and Justin Bieber. I looked around; most of the Witches had left, but a few stayed around talking in whispered conversations. Only one Witch looked at me. Giara. She glared at me until she noticed I was looking at her, and then she winked once and looked away.

  That was when I took the opportunity I had been waiting a whole year for. I opened my mother’s notebook. The inside binding of the notebook tore when I opened it, and a letter fell down to the ground. I looked around, but no one seemed to notice. I bent down and picked it up, and then smoothed the binding of the notebook back in place. I took a quick look around again, held the notebook close to my chest, and then began to read.

  To my beautiful girls,

  It breaks my heart that one day you might need to read this. If you’re reading this, then something bad has happened to me, probably something involving the Grandfathers. I’m so sorry to leave you. I never want to leave you; you girls are the best thing in my life. I love you with my entire heart.

  Larissa, you’re strong, and not just in magic. Although you are so strong in magic that without trying, you should be able to take my place as a Grandmother. If you choose to. I know you don’t care that much about magic, but I hope one day you change your mind. I hope you know you are capable of so much more than just being looked at. And it’s a beautiful thing, our history, our responsibility. If you have any questions, ask Giara. You can trust her. Please, no matter what you choose to do with magic, I want you to watch out for your sister. You can handle it. You can handle life on your own. I don’t think you’ve needed me, not really, since you were five. But your sister will need you. She’ll need your strength. I love you, Lara baby.

  Phoebe, my sweet baby girl, how can I possibly leave you? Be good to your sister; be happy; grow strong. Oh, I love you.

  Pheobe, I want you to have the notebook, when you are old enough. My girls taking on the world together.

  Both of you, don’t be afraid to trust, don’t be afraid to love, and don’t be afraid to jump. There is always a choice. Love yourselves. Forgive yourselves. Just do your best. No matter what happens, know I am so proud of you.

  Love,

  Mom.

  I leaned back in my chair. My face felt warm from my close proximity to the fire. Giara watched me, her eyes following my movement as I put the note back in the notebook and wiped my cheeks dry.

  Meg looked over at me. She wanted to go home. I nodded my head, and we both stood up. Kaylie was startled by our sudden and synchronized movement.

  “Can I show you around?” she asked.

  Her eyes looked pleadingly up at me, and for a moment, I felt like an older sister, not wanting the younger sister to come with her. I would have left then, I would have saved my own life and just left with Meg, but that guilt… It felt too much like leaving F
ee. Besides, if I couldn’t trust Kaylie, then who could I trust?

  I smiled as I made the decision that brought me here, “Of course, Kaylie.”

  I watched her, from the corner of my eye, as we stood. Meg looked afraid, but we’d take a quick look around and then we would find a way to go home. I was a Grandmother now. I could do anything.

  Right?

  I glanced once more at Giara, and then we went to meet our doom.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  The ballroom was my favorite place in the building. It was perfection in the middle of sludge, the only room in the dilapidated part that held the original glory of the building. The walls were pristine and covered with classic murals, tiny runes painted into the landscaping. The ceiling went twenty-four feet up, and at the top were intricate gilded carvings of cherubs and ivy, runes hidden in the carvings again. On one side, long russet curtains ran the entire length of the wall. The windows on the top story opened to the street outside, and I could see the stars through them. The windows closer to the floor were blocked by cinderblocks, the only marring of the elegant room.

  It felt empty, but while I was in there I swear I could feel my mom with me. Maybe it was just because the last time I had been there she stood so close and held my hand. It was just… I could feel her there next to me. I could feel how proud she was of me, joining her… other family, really.

  After taking in the room, I left it without looking back. The rest of the dilapidated side wasn’t that remarkable, and you could tell the moment the face of the building side met the hidden part. The woodwork alone looked like it cost more than the rest of the building I had seen. The passageway through the garden was as beautiful as the ballroom, but its beauty was in its simplicity. Small gray pebbles lined the walkway.

  One wall, sparkling white, held portraits of woman with little plaques underneath saying their names. The first painting was of Camilla Fortuna, and the last was a portrait of my mother. My bisabuela was in the line as well.

  On the other side, in equal rectangles of rich stained wood, perfectly polished glass looked out onto a garden. A stone fountain was in the exact center of the garden, and delicate iron benches surrounded plants and flowers, trees artistically shaped. Shizuka and her group stood in a rune-closed circle near the edge of the garden. They glared at me when we passed by them.

  “Why do they hate me?” I whispered.

  Kaylie answered, “Shizuka is the one you replaced. She doesn’t hate you, not really, I mean, she doesn’t know you, so how can you hate someone you don’t know, but she resents the loss of power. That’s all. It gets better.”

  I glanced at her, and she smiled back at me, her eyes not really taking my eyes in, but held elsewhere. She spoke from experience, that much was clear. I pulled my mom’s notebook closer to my side. No way was I going to let go of that.

  The rest of the building was much nicer and better lit. Thick, ornately carved oak doors dotted along thin hallways. Almost every door was locked, some with a rune, some with keys. I could have opened them, but Meg seemed impatient to leave, and Kaylie barely glanced at them.

  There was one door along the back of the building that locked with three interlocking runes for stay, and three different locks. Kaylie pointedly refused to look at the door, so, of course, I was curious. I walked down the hallway, and Kaylie protested.

  “I… Uh…” she started.

  We really needed to be friends; she clearly was as eloquent as I was.

  I ignored her, and then drew the rune for eavesdropping on the door. There was only silence, then the sound of a chair scraping. Kaylie seemed hesitant to walk close to me, but she reached her hand closer to me and pulled on my hoodie’s sleeve.

  She shook her head, but wouldn’t say anything. She only mouthed the word, “Please.”

  I followed her, and she sighed and relaxed her shoulders. When we were far enough away, she stopped.

  “It’s best to leave that alone.” Kaylie whispered.

  “What is it?”

  She sighed. “It’s a who, actually, not a what. I don’t know if you know who killed your mom…”

  “An Instinct named Michael.”

  Kaylie sniffed, and scratched behind her neck. She pointed once to the door.

  Behind that door, behind those runes and those locks was the person who killed my family. Meg looked confused.

  “Should we go?” Meg whispered.

  I glanced at the door, and then nodded. As I turned away, I saw movement from the corner of my eye. Someone just walked between walls and then through the locked door.

  Not just someone. Joe. My Joe. Just walked into a locked room with the Instinct that killed my family.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  “Is there someplace safe we can put Meg?” I asked Kaylie. She started to point behind us, but Meg interrupted.

  “Put Meg, like I’m some kind of doll?” Meg muttered.

  “Meg, I’m not trying to be mean,” I said. “You just don’t have anything to defend yourself with.”

  “Yeah, except for Kaylie here who could heal me,” she said. “If you leave me by myself, something worse could happen, and you guys wouldn’t know in time to help me. Besides, no one is going to pay any attention to me. I’m just a normal.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  “And I am tougher than I look,” Meg said.

  “Um… Maybe we all should leave,” Kaylie suggested.

  “I can’t.” I said.

  “Okay.” Kaylie whispered.

  Joe phased out of the door, propping a young Asian boy up by his shoulder. The kid was probably twelve, and he was filthy. Dried blood covered his left leg, his dark brown eyes looked weakly about the hallway, and rested on me. He looked so innocent, so much like Fee, that I had to swallow the protective feelings that took me over, that wanted to save him.

  To save this boy who killed my family.

  Kaylie walked forward, and Joe turned at the movement. Our eyes met for a moment, and then he looked away, his face in agony. What had he been up to, I wondered. In fact, I still wonder, because I never got the chance to ask him.

  Kaylie reached Joe and the boy. She had a hesitant smile on her face, and she spoke quietly. A look of recognition passed through Michael’s face. He let go of Joe and gave Kaylie a hug. I think she healed him when he wasn’t looking, because after meeting Kaylie, he looked much happier.

  Joe still wouldn’t look at me. I walked toward him, and Meg followed close behind. I was wary of Michael, and kept a short distance.

  Behind me, from the shadows, two people stepped out. One was Shizuka, and the other was … me.

  The transformed version of me winked. It was Giara. She wore my exact same clothes, so exactly the same I knew they transformed with Instinct magic. That red silk dress was totally one of a kind. Giara had transformed into a version of me, I think to fool, or distract Joe. But Meg was by my side. How stupid did she think he was? He knew which of us I was. I hoped.

  Still, all of us went silent as the two approached. Meg leaned into me, as the two walked closer to her. My eyes were on the version of me, Giara, and I didn’t really notice what was happening to Meg until the runelight started, a brilliant ripple of light over her face. As Meg grew taller, I turned to her, searching for a rune someone put on her. Then I felt the burning feeling of an Instinct’s look.

  Meg wasn’t really Meg. Behind the ripple of runelight, a tall woman with gray hair, pearls, and a peach cardigan appeared. She looked like the kind of woman who would bake cookies and ruffle your hair while you did homework.

  It was Helena. The Instinct Grandmother, Helena.

  Well, thank goodness Meg hadn’t been hurt. She was probably safe at home. They had fooled me. I glanced at Kaylie. She looked away quickly. Was everyone ashamed of how they behaved toward me today? Well if they weren’t, they should be.

  I glanced at Joe, and he still wouldn’t look at me, his eyes were on Giara, and I felt this overwhelming wave of jealousy at how
he looked at her.

  I was me. Why didn’t he know that?

  Maybe I should have said something, but Giara spoke before I got the chance. She pushed Shizuka to the ground, and drew the rune for stay on the back of her head, and the woman fell to the ground in an exaggerated way. She wasn’t a very good actress. Giara looked over at him.

  “Joe, we need to go now,” she said. “Come with me.”

  “Don’t Joe, that’s not me.” I said. “If you go with them, they will kill you.”

  Joe glanced at me finally. I tried to communicate with my eyes all our history, but I think he couldn’t notice, because soon after he glanced at me, his eyes shifted toward the Helena who used to be Meg. She was transforming too, and turning into me.

  Oh, you have to be kidding, three me’s?

  Kaylie spoke quietly to Michael.

  I sighed, “Joe, you idiot. Put Michael back where he belongs, and let’s go.”

  Joe looked at me quickly when I called him an idiot, and a quick smile passed through his eyes. Well, at least now he knew who I was.

  “Can’t do it, Riz,” he whispered, “I’m expected.”

  He draped Michael’s arm around his shoulder and then they both ran through a series of walls. When he turned, I saw a compulsion rune drawn on the back of his neck. I ran forward to wipe away the runelight that had betrayed me, but I was too late, and Joe was too fast.

  Two versions of myself walked toward me. Helena glanced at Kaylie, “What was that about, that chumminess between you and a lethal weapon?”

  She whispered, “I felt bad, him being alone for so long, so I started visiting him a couple of months ago. He’s not that bad. We’re kind of friends.”

  Giara forced out a quick laugh. Was that really how I sounded?

  “That’s the problem with making Grandmothers out of hormonal teenagers,” she said in my voice. “It makes them soft. Makes them traitors.” She said the last bit looking directly at me, and I knew she was calling me a traitor.