Grace wiped a tear from her cheek and stepped forward as her grandmother’s apparition wavered and began to fade. Suddenly there was a loud tearing noise, and a rip opened right in front of Grace. Leira looked up with wide eyes as Grace began to lose her footing. Her arms windmilled wildly as she tried to pull back.
Yumfuck sprinted for her, growing in size with every step. He scooped Grace up as he ran past and dove out the way, rolling into one of the flower beds. He opened his arms and found Grace safe and sound, with tears flowing down her cheeks. He set her down and shrunk back to three feet, reaching up and taking her hand.
Leira jumped in front of the rift, grimacing at the goop that seeped out onto the grass and killed everything it touched. She pulled the energy from the ground, feeling the tingle of her bracelet on her wrist. The magic swirled up through her chest and down her arms, bursting in a steady stream from her palms. As it struck the rift, she heard the screeching of some sort of creature from the other side.
Finally, the rift slammed shut, and the air cleared as if nothing had ever happened. Leira let out a deep breath, walked over to Grace, and grasped her arms. She looked at her puffy red eyes and smiled comfortingly.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded her head, sniffling.
“You’ve been through quite a lot, and I know how it feels to see a loved one like that. At least you know she is watching you.”
“What...what was that? I could hear screaming and growling.”
“That was a rift. It split open because the veil was so thin. Your grandmother found a way to communicate, and the creatures used that to try to grab you and pull you inside.”
“Is she okay?”
Leira really didn’t know the answer to that, but she saw the pleading in the young girl’s eyes. It reminded her of herself when she was younger—before all the magic had hit—when she was trying desperately to find answers and maintain hope.
Leira smiled and nodded. “I’m sure she will be okay. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”
21
General Anderson sat in the back of the town car as he drove out of the city of Charlottesville and through the countryside. He’d always liked it out there; it was beautiful, especially this time of year. The fields were still green, but the trees were losing the last of their vivid fall leaves. Whenever the government demanded he visit, he made sure he did it before winter hit. He never was one for the Virginia snowfall. It was too bitter and frozen for him, and the summers weren’t a prime time to come either.
He stared out at the rolling hills, the large southern mansions perched up high with the bright morning sunshine shimmering down on them. He hadn’t told Mara Berens he was coming and felt kind of bad for just dropping in like that, even though that was the entire point of surprise inspections. He knew his presence made everyone nervous, but he also knew Mara Berens had run a tight ship for years. He was impressed by the way she had handled the issue with the student who had been hexed the year before, but that was what had prompted the government to call for an inspection. That, and their new ROTC/MD program that no one seemed to care about.
Then again, after the latest debacle with secret agents going into the resort kemana to spy and find out how humans could take them over, he completely understood why they might not be so keen to trust humans with anything, especially magical warfare. Still, it was his country, and he was charged with maintaining the connection between the two worlds. He had to admit, though, he was close to wanting to take that retirement and sleep for about a week straight.
After hemming and hawing over it, he picked up his cell and called Mara.
“This is Mara Berens.”
“Mara, it’s General Anderson. How are you today?”
“I’m well, General. How may I help you?”
“I didn’t just want to show up and knock. I am about fifteen minutes out for a surprise inspection.”
He could hear the quaver in Mara’s voice. “Oh, how lovely.”
“I hope you didn’t have anything stressful planned today.”
“Nope, not at all. It’s the weekend, so most of the students are out and about. It’s a perfect day to drop in...unannounced.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it. I’ll see you soon.”
“Perfect.”
He ended the call and tossed the phone on the seat next to him, chuckling at the panic in her voice. She did that every time, and even when he showed up with no warning at all, the school was perfectly fine. He could still remember the one time he had shown up mid-day when classes were in session, and kids were running around everywhere. Her face had been priceless when she turned the corner and saw him standing in the foyer. Sometimes she forgot he knew they were teenagers, and with magical ones, anything was possible.
Mara hung up and set the phone on her desk, taking a surreal moment to process what was just said. She started to laugh, not because anything was funny but because everything was very not funny. She had just spent a good four hours on the phone with Grace’s parents, trying to explain what had happened when their daughter had nearly been sucked into the World in Between during a Halloween celebration on the grounds of the school. Grace was fine, but her parents? Not so much. They were thankful to Leira but didn’t understand how she’d gotten into that position.
Finally, after Grace got on the phone and told her parents about seeing and talking with her grandmother and where she was they calmed down, but were very emotional about the message she’d gotten. They understood how Grace could have slipped away, and how she could have been drawn in after missing her grandmother for so many years. It helped that Mara had given her perspective too, having been on the other side. Not that she told them all the bad stuff; just the part where she’d watched Leira from different places where the veil was thin. It comforted them, especially since Mara had escaped, but she didn’t have high hopes for Grace’s grandmother.
She lifted her head and took a deep breath as Izzie poked her head around the corner of the office.
“Izzie, perfect timing. Come in.”
“Okay,” Izzie replied, looking at her suspiciously. “You’re not going to put me to work, are you?”
“No, quite the opposite, actually. I am giving you and your friends day passes to go to the kemana and explore. My only stipulation is that it is not negotiable. You all have to go, and I want you to do it in the next ten minutes.”
“Uh, okay, sure.” Izzie was completely shocked, but she wasn’t going to ask why. She didn’t want to jinx it. She hadn’t asked up to that point because she figured Mara would tell her no, having kept a close watch on her since the year before.
Mara pulled out a pad of paper and quickly started writing the passes for each of them. “So that’s Luke, Tanner, Ethan, Peter, Kathleen, Aya, Emma, you, and Alison, correct?”
“You really know my friends.” Izzie laughed.
Mara smiled and handed over the passes. “I know my students.”
Just then there was a loud knock on the front door, the sound echoing down the hall. Izzie looked over her shoulder. “Who is that? No one knocks.”
“Some people knock.” Mara sighed. “And don’t you worry about it. Go gather your hooligans and get out of here. I have a meeting—an important one—and I’d rather not have any students lurking around pulling pranks or accidentally setting off waves of energy because their emotions get the best of them.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Izzie smiled. “Good luck!”
“As you can see, General, we have made some general maintenance changes to the house, but all in all we’ve kept it very similar to what it was when it was first opened. And of course, pretty much the same as it was the last time that you took an unexpected tour of the place.”
“Yes, everything seems to be very much in order. Let me ask you…did you ever figure out who was behind that young boy’s curse?”
Mara sighed. “We found the first toombie, but we are sure there are others.”
“Toombie,” he repeated quietly. “The orphans injected with dark magic when they are young.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And have you found the rest of the orphans in the school?”
“We know who they are, and we are watching them very closely.”
“But they are still free to attend classes and such?”
Mara looked at the general, trying to keep her composure. “I’m sorry, General, but I was not aware that we had begun incarcerating young children simply on the grounds of where they grew up.”
The general shook his head, realizing what it sounded like he was implying. “Uh, no, of course not. That would be barbaric, and not in anyone’s best interests.”
“I agree. Besides, if one of them is a toombie they will have no idea, and it really doesn’t matter where you lock them up. When the switch is thrown, their magic will get out. I would rather it be in an atmosphere where we can attempt to counteract it than tucked away in a cell.”
“Yes.” He nodded, suddenly feeling uncomfortable.
Mara smiled and put her hand out, gesturing to the cafeteria. “Where they eat their meals.”
“Do you still have the magic plates? That was always so neat to me, and I’m pretty sure my wife would feel the same.”
“We do, and if you’d like, we can have lunch here.”
“No, unfortunately, I am not going to be able to stay that long. I have several meetings, on the plane and back in the office. But another time.”
“Of course.”
Mara turned to walk out of the cafeteria, spotting the ROTC board across the way. She waved her hand in front of her, and the virtual screen went blank. They walked into the entryway, and she watched as he happily glanced at the signups for the different clubs and plays.
“Is there a board for the ROTC/MD?”
“Well, we thought it was much too important for a bulletin board and paper sign-up sheet, so we discuss the idea during during first period with everyone.”
“Nice. And how are things progressing? The government put a lot of time, effort, and, of course, money into creating this program. We are looking for the best and brightest, starting here in high school, moving forward to college, and then on to the active service—serving the magical community of course.”
“Oh, of course. You know, with any new venture it takes time to really pique their interest,” Mara replied, downplaying the fact that no one gave two shits about the program. “Teenagers these days, with their technology and such. Always on the move, always distracted by one thing or another. We will continue to pump the information to them, of course, making it sound just as splendid as it is.”
He smiled and nodded, his hand tucked between the top two buttons of his dress uniform jacket. “Very good, Ms. Berens. As always, I will have nothing but good things to report.”
“Fantastic.” Mara smiled, showing him to the door of the mansion. “Please stop by any time.”
“I will do so when I can.”
Mara stood at the door and watched as the general’s guards escorted him from the building to the car parked out front. He waved as he got in and Mara gave her best political grin, waving back. When the car pulled away, she shut the large wooden doors and leaned her head back against them. She shook her head back and forth, so glad the meeting had been a success. It had the potential to have been a complete disaster, and she knew that.
She walked back past the ROTC/MD board and flicked her wrist. The virtual screen came back on with an American and Oriceran flag flying in the background next to one another. She scoffed, letting out a loud laugh.
“ROTC, Magical Division,” she grumbled. “Yeah, right. Magical beings don’t trust humans as far as they can throw them, in general.”
Mara was sure that the general knew this, or at least had some idea that it was true. If he didn’t know, she wasn’t going to be the one who spilled the beans. It was much easier to let him think they were all supportive of the government, especially when the government was the one funding the school.
It was a constant work in progress, and Mara didn’t see that going away any time soon. The magical community was only going to grow larger, and she knew that in time kids would sign up for the program, but for now, they didn’t even know if they could trust the magicals working with the government. It was a sore spot, and Mara heard it all the time from Leira. She had put her foot down long ago, but the government did things the way they saw fit, even if it meant not including some of the brightest minds in the magical community.
She took off her dress jacket and laid it over the back of one of her office chairs and sat down behind her desk, letting out a deep breath. The school was incredibly quiet, but she had sent pretty much everyone off to the kemana, and the freshmen who stayed behind liked to stay in their dorms. Mara didn’t know what the future would bring, but she did know that to have one, they needed to find out who was behind all the dark magic that had been effecting the students lately.
22
“So, let me get this straight. Headmistress Berens pretty much ordered us to go have fun in the kemana?” Ethan asked as they walked slowly down the dark steps to the underground city.
“Yeah, that’s what happened.” Izzie shrugged.
“And she didn’t say why?”
“Nope. Like I said, I dipped my head in to tell her we were going to get lunch, and she called me in and just started writing passes for everyone. Then she basically shooed me out of the room just as a loud knock came on the door.”
“Did she say who it was?” Kathleen asked.
“No, but she was kind of sweating and seemed a bit nervous, which is very unlike her from what I have seen of her for the last year and a half.”
“I wonder if she had a date?” Emma giggled.
“With whom?” Izzie grimaced. “She spends all her time here or chasing down dark wizards in town. When does she have time for dating?”
“Maybe it’s one of those online websites.” Peter chuckled.
“Or maybe...it was Mr. Regency.” Aya laughed.
“Oh, God.” Izzie grimaced. “Can you imagine the two of them dating?”
“I’d rather not.” Ethan scoffed.
“He would have to stand on her desk to kiss her,” Kathleen bellowed, her voice echoing down into the dark.
“I would be careful. I know two unsuspecting upperclassmen who still have random bouts of jock itch for making fun of Regency’s height,” Luke pointed out.
“Yeah, well, I don’t have a jock to itch,” Kathleen replied. “And I’m pretty sure the other way around would be against some sort of code of conduct.”
“Seriously, guys.” Ethan stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Can we just go the whole rest of our day not thinking about Mara Berens dating or saying the words ‘jock itch?’ Besides, who cares what the reasoning was? We are here.”
The group walked out of the doorway, Alison and Tanner bringing up the rear. They all looked around in wonder for a few moments, then wrinkled their noses, remembering the last time they were there together.
“Hey, none of that,” Ethan demanded. “This will not be like last time. Come on, let’s go over to that general store and exchange our money.”
“NO!” Alison and Izzie yelled at the same time, forcing everyone to turn around and stare at them.
Izzie chuckled, walking over and squeezing Alison’s hand and laughing nervously. “That is, the owner there charges more than the other places.”
“I heard he went to jail,” Tanner revealed. “Something about finding two students from the college tied up in his basement for stealing. Apparently, he was torturing magical beings instead of calling the authorities. Crazy business. The place is probably shut down and boarded up at this point.”
Alison lifted an eyebrow and looked over, sensing the nerves in Izzie’s energy. Tanner waved to everyone, grabbing Alison’s other hand tightly.
“Come on, the café has an exchange at the back. We can
get some Ruby Falls there. Plus, they make the best hot chocolate I have ever had.”
Alison smiled as they walked toward the large cup of coffee magically steaming next to the café’s sign. “How do you know so much about the kemana?”
“You don’t think I came to a new school last year and didn’t check out the kemana beforehand, did you? I knew it was off limits to freshmen, and I wanted to get a good look. See what this town had to offer.”
“Well, that’s just awesome. You can help us get around. We’ve only been here once, and let’s just say it didn’t go as scheduled.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Tanner replied.
“Could have been worse.” She smiled, gripping his hand tighter as they entered the café.
They made their way to the back where a Crystal was standing behind a counter that looked like it was from one of the humans’ banks. Above the window was a large wooden sign engraved with the word Exchange. The group took turns getting their money switched over and waited for Alison and Tanner to finish. Deciding to take Tanner’s word for it, they got in line, each ordering a small hot chocolate.
As they walked out of the café Kathleen took a huge sip, getting the mound of whip cream all over her mouth and nose. “Mmm, this really is the best hot chocolate ever.”
Emma handed her a napkin and giggled, happy to see her loosen up. As they walked down the street, they looked around at all the different creatures shopping, talking, and making their various ways through the city. Alison watched the energies surrounding them, remembering how many dark souls had been down here when they rescued the boy from the Kilomea. Things weren’t so bad this time around, and she was glad because she’d had enough of dark magic for the year.
“Oh, I have to go in here,” Kathleen gasped. “I bought a sundress here last year and loved it. I hear their winter gear is even better.”
Kathleen ran off, and the rest of the group shrugged and split off. Luke, Izzie, Tanner, and Alison stuck together, while Emma, Ethan, and Peter spotted the local technology store. Aya trailed after Kathleen, not wanting to leave her alone. They shopped and talked for several hours, finally meeting back up, mostly by chance, in the town’s square. Kathleen sat down on the edge of the large fountain filled with bubbles and set her six bags down next to her.
Wary Is Her Love_An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure Page 13
