Wish

by Janet MacLeod

  “At one time he was a normal man, my Sentry but with no powers of his own. He preferred that we live without powers. He preferred me not to use mine, and I loved him, so I didn’t.” She glanced at Nana and laughed. “Well. Not often. Only when I really had to.”

  She looked at my face and her smile disappeared. “Your dad was a good man, once, Sydney. I want you to know that. He’s been corrupted, tricked by the SHIELDERS. He wasn’t strong enough to withstand them. What he does now, well it’s not really him. Not who he was.”

  I frowned. “No. You’re protecting him. Everyone has choices. He chose to betray you. He took your powers and betrayed all of us.”

  She didn’t try to argue. I gave her credit for that. I hadn’t even known the guy and I felt bad. She’d been married to him. Loved him. He’d hurt me, but not as deeply as he’d betrayed her.

  “I told you kids he’d disappeared and in a way, it’s true. Your father, the man I loved, the man who gave life to you disappeared a long time ago.” Mom sighed deeply. “He wasn’t strong enough to fight back. I don’t know why. Some things we’re not meant to understand. Your dad was part mortal. His father was a Sentry, his mother wasn’t a witch she was mortal. He wanted us to live as mortals.” She attempted another smile but it fell flat. “I hoped you wouldn’t have to learn about all of this until you were older. Much older. Living your life as a normal mortal. I wanted to give you a chance to be free, Sydney. Not burdened by magic or by the choices of other people. I didn’t want you to feel betrayed by your father. Or me. Being a witch is not a bad thing, it’s not, it’s a wonderful gift, but there are dangers. I wanted to protect you from that. From him.”

  “Yeah? Well, I kicked his ass.”

  She covered her mouth with her hand, hiding a smile.

  “You did fine. Great. I should have known. I asked you to trust me, but I forgot to trust you. I was wrong. I let my own fear guide me and didn’t trust you. You are a Grant Witch. The one hundredth in a long, long line of witches. The last known Order of witches who still live among mortals.

  “When your father, well, when it happened, I was crushed. I lived in fear and I tried to protect you with fear. By trying to shield you from well, The SHEILDERS, I’ve denied you the right to make your own choices.”

  My heart ached but I couldn’t fight the anger at her either, the feeling that she’d betrayed us by leaving.

  “Cody and I needed you.”

  Magic leapt from her lap then and wrapped his warm little body around my leg. I bent to scoop him up. Mom sighed deeply and bowed her head. “I came here because this is the only place where your dad couldn’t sense me. Not while you didn’t have your powers. I thought I could keep your powers from finding you and then when your birthday passed and your powers didn’t find you, I planned to come home. I gave the jewels to someone I trusted. I didn’t know they would end up in a Pawnshop. I didn’t know the strength, or how determined your powers would be to find you. Or, how much your father wanted them. I messed up. Once you got your powers, well, my location was exposed. He knew how to find me and then he found you.”

  I buried my face in Magic’s white fur trying to sympathize, trying to believe leaving us alone was the right thing to do.

  “You didn’t leave them alone,” Nana called. Both of us looked back at her, surprised, as if we’d forgotten she’d been there. “She left you with me, Sydney. And you know I would do anything for you and Cody. It was what she thought was right. She did it because she loved you.”

  I didn’t answer. But I remembered what I’d felt when Dad taunted me. I was sure of her love. I was sure of that.

  Mom stood up from her chair. “I need to stop apologizing. I did what I thought was best. I thought it would keep him away. It didn’t work and now we have to deal with the present.”

  Magic jumped from my arms and went back to my Mom. He seemed undecided about who he wanted to comfort.

  “I underestimated your father. Again.”

  She smiled. “But, you handled him. You came to me,” she said. “In a forest yet.”

  “I didn’t come alone. Keith brought me.”

  Her eyes darted to Nana. I watched the two of them exchange a meaningful glance.

  “I should never have put you in this position. Forced you to save your silly mother.” She shook her head. “It’s even my fault you’re afraid of forests to begin with. I brought you here, years ago you know, to the Institute, to find out how to stop the powers from reaching you.”

  I frowned.

  “Anyways. They told me what to do, but it didn’t really work so well.”

  “They?” I asked.

  Another glance with Nana was exchanged.

  “Another time,” she said.

  I wondered if I would ever learn all the secrets. “You were so afraid of this place. You ran away from me in the forest and got lost. You never did get over your fear of forests. I tried to help. I used a Forget Spell, an old herbal spell, but my true powers are gone and I didn’t remove the whole memory. You always remembered the fear. The forest. You hated them. You still do.”

  “You did a spell? I thought you had no magic.”

  “I have residual powers, and I’ve studied Herbal Magic. Using natural enchantment. But it’s not strong enough.”

  I thought about the way she always seemed to be a step ahead of me. “Is that why you always knew what I was doing? With magic?”

  She laughed. “Not so much. Herbal magic has limitations. That’s more being a mother.”

  She glanced at Nana then. “Well. Enough. I am so sorry, Sydney. So sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Mom.” I attempted a smile, a small nod. “No one’s perfect.”

  She touched my arm lightly. “Certainly not me. Or your father. “Thank goodness you’ve been so strong.” She beamed at me. “Did I mention how proud I am?”

  My face colored. Me? I messed everything up.

  “Yay me. I’m going to be known as the freaky witch girl whose father left the family so he could steal her mother’s powers. And came back dressed as a girl to steal mine. Great. Go Sydney.”

  She actually chuckled for a second. “Mortals aren’t meant to know the truth. About our powers, or us. They won’t know, I promise. You’ll always be the girl whose father went missing. You won’t have to deal with mortals who don’t understand magic. Your magic.”

  I wondered about Jenny. She didn’t exactly have a small mouth. “Um. I don’t know. Anyhow. Like I told Nana. I didn’t do anything. Keith’s the one who knew you were here. Not me. He brought me to find you. I was only along for the ride.”

  “No”. She didn’t look at Nana, but took my hand. “What did Nana tell you about Keith?”

  Nana said nothing.

  “Not much. He’s my Sentry. Isn’t he?”

  My mom nodded. “Keith,” she said softly. “He’s a good boy.” She dropped her head for a moment, contemplating her fingernails. They looked lovely and perfect. I suddenly realized I hadn’t chewed on mine in hours.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t know,” she said.

  I didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “Know what?”

  “That he was your Sentry.”

  I nodded, thinking of my friend. The way he’d come to town, fitting in with Stevie and I from the beginning as if he belonged with us.

  Mom smiled again. “Your necklace is the source of your power. But only in the beginning.”

  I sighed trying to understand. “I don’t understand.”

  “Once the transfer is complete the jewels are put away for the next Grant witch. Magic, our cat, protects the necklace and unclaimed powers. They’ve been in the family for a long time.”

  I grabbed my necklace. “This is where I get my powers?”

  “It’s not that simple.” She peeked at Nana. “The powers are merely stored in the necklace. Grant powers are pre-destined. We receive them on our 16th birthday. In simpler times there was a ceremony, a celebration. But then the burning of witches
drove us to secrecy. Even the Cats don’t know who gets what anymore. Until they are given. The mark, the tattoo shows the powers. May I see yours?”

  I nodded and lifted my t-shirt. The swirling ink seemed even more frantic. “Oh,” she said as she stroked Magic’s fur and he purred. “My.”

  Nana rushed over and they both stared down at my mark without speaking.

  Finally Mom took a deep breath. “You can choose to give them away. Your powers. Grant witches have choices.” She smiled. “We don’t always make the right ones. Like everyone, we do what we think is best.”

  “Like you gave your powers to my dad?”

  Her lips closed together, her eyes saddened. “I did. He was my Sentry, the only person who can take them from the necklace or the witch.”

  “I gave him my powers because I didn’t know he was one of The SHEILDERS. I didn’t realize until too late.” She sighed heavily and Nana placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Your dad told me I had to choose. He knew I did magic with Nana when he wasn’t around and he said it made him angry. He told me I had to give them the powers. That I had to give them up to prove I wanted to keep my family.”

  Magic hissed and Mom stroked his ears.

  “I believed him. I was tired, not at my best. He told me I wasn’t a good mother. He said if I didn’t give them up he would take you and Cody from me. I gave him my powers to keep you and your brother. You and your brother meant more than my powers ever would.”

  She paused and Nana put an arm around her, just as Mom would do to me. Her daughter.

  “He lied to get her powers,” Nana said.

  Mom backed up to her rocker and sat down. She rocked back and forth. “I fell for it. I didn’t know the SHIELDERS were inside him. I’m so sorry, Sydney. I didn’t want to have to tell you any of this. I wanted to spare you and Cody from knowing what your father did while you were still young. I planned to tell you when you were older, less vulnerable. Cody too.”

  Nana kneeled beside her.

  “Nana didn’t agree. She thought I should tell you. Warn you, but I thought that if I did what they said, your powers would never find you and you’d never have to deal with him.

  She sighed and a sad laugh escaped her mouth. “Lesson learned, listen to your mother, Sydney. Mother knows best.” She reached up and twirled a ringlet of her dark, beautiful hair. She seemed close to crying. “And now, through Keith…” She dropped her head. Nana stood up and faced me.

  “Keith? What about him?”

  “The SHEILDERS. They’re using him to get your powers.”

  “Keith won’t let them. He promised.”

  Nana and Mom said nothing.

  “You’ve both known Keith as long as I have. He’s my friend. He wouldn’t hurt me.”

  My mom’s eyes shone with unshed tears. “I never thought your father would betray me either.”

  She held out her hand and I walked to her and she reached for my hand and gently stroked my palm. “There is a way to stop all of this. I mean if you don’t want your powers, you don’t have to keep them. There’s still time. You have another choice.” Mom said and glanced down at Nana.

  Nana furrowed her brows, shook her head back and forth at me and then pleaded with Mom without saying a word. The two of them seemed to argue without even opening their mouths.

  “No, she has the right to know,” Mom said to Nana. She looked back up at me. “Sydney. There’s a way out of this. You can renounce your powers. You’re very strong already but you’re not completely transferred. You still have a chance to send your powers back to the necklace. If you want all you have to do is make one last wish. You can wish the Powers gone. They will leave you. You can take off your necklace and you’ll be free. Completely mortal. Your markings will vanish. The powers will be locked in the necklace safe from your Sentry and the SHEILDERS. Once the powers return to the necklace they can’t be retrieved. Not until the next witch in line is marked and claims them.”

  Mom stood and hurried to the dressing table pushed against the wall. She pulled out a deep purple velvet jewelry box. She opened it. “You have the right to turn down a gift if you don’t want it.”

  She held out the box. “Make a wish and return the necklace and the SHEILDERS will leave here. You’ll be free from the Institute. You won’t have to deal with any of this. You’ll be a normal kid again and they’ll leave Keith alone too. Without you and your powers, they have no need for you or Keith.”

  Oh boy did that sound appealing. I wanted to curl up in my mom’s lap, put her hands over my ears and ignore everything going on around me. I stared at her aching to run to her and bury my head in her arms, to make her make it all better, like when I’d been a little girl. I wanted to go back to being a kid, have her keep on protecting me, and shield me from the things I didn’t want to face.

  “There’s just one little problem,” Nana said.

  Mom and I glanced at Nana. She and Mom were communicating without words again. Mom shook her head.

  “If you don’t keep your powers,” Nana said.

  “No, Mom,” my mom interrupted, pleading with her eyes.

  Nana locked her sights on me and stood up. “If you don’t keep your powers, your mother will have to stay at the Institute. Permanently. She will not be able to leave. If she leaves without the help of a more powerful witch of her own Order, she’ll die. You’re the only one who can get her out alive.”

  Great. No pressure. “What about you? You’re a witch. You came here to get her out in the first place.”

  Nana crumpled. Her body kind of shrunk. She suddenly looked ten years older, her head hanging with shame. “I tried. I couldn’t do it, Sydney. I tried, but my magic is weak. I’m too old. I’m not powerful enough. You’re the only Grant witch who can help.”

  “Well.” I blew out a breath of air and reached for a fingernail to gnaw on and then put my hand down.

  “You don’t have to, Sydney. I won’t die here. I mean. You’ve earned the right to be a normal teenager. If you want to be, you can be,” Mom said.

  I glared at her. “And leave you here? Cody would hate me. Besides, it’s a little late don’t you think? For me to be a normal teenager. Knowing what I know. Isn’t a teenager’s job supposed to be worrying about boys and clothes and pimples? How could I go back to that now? How can I be completely self-absorbed if you’re stuck in here because of me?”

  “It’s not because of you, Sydney,” my mom whispered, looking incredibly guilty. “I’m the one who caused this.” She studied the velvet box she still held in her hands.

  “Well. I’m sure I’ll find a way to pay you back.” I frowned. “I would have got these stinking powers even if you hadn’t given up yours right? So I might as well learn how to use them?”

  She smiled through her pain. “You’re right. You would have gotten them. You’re a Grant Witch. For now.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “You’ve grown up, Sydney. You handled your father. Sadly, it’s not him I’m worried about now.” She paused. “It’s Keith.”

  “Keith?” I glanced to the doorway I’d come in through as if he might walk through it at the mention of his name.

  “Honey. The SHIELDERS want him.”

  I shook my head. “No way. Not Keith.”

  My mother didn’t say anything. She glanced at my necklace and swallowed. She didn’t have to articulate what she was thinking.

  “He wouldn’t even come inside here with me. I asked him to, told him to but he refused.”

  I set my jaw and scrunched up my face. “He’s on my side.”

  “Well that’s good,” my mom said. “Pure Sentries can’t come through the Institute doors. But SHIELDERS. They can.”

  Nana cocked her head to the side and moved closer to the door. A breeze licked my arm as Nana sped by.

  “What is it?” My mom asked.

  Nana’s face drained of all color until her skin tone almost matched the robe she wore. “It’s Keith. He’s ins
ide.”

  The blood in my veins stopped flowing. I went completely cold.

  Outside the door Keith bellowed. “Sydney, let me in. It’s important. I need to see you. Now!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “He’s a Sheilder,” Nana said. “Oh. No. Keith.”

  My heart grew legs and leapt straight into my throat. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. “No. He’s worried about me, that’s all. He came to see if I’m okay.”

  Nana and my mom stared at me. They didn’t have to tell me they didn’t believe me.

  He’s my best friend. He would never, ever hurt me.”

  They both gaped with wide, sober eyes. Not even shaking their heads.

  “Who was your Sentry?” I snapped at Nana.

  “Your Grandfather.”

  “He didn’t betray you.”

  “He was a strong man.”

  “So is Keith.”

  The door to Mom’s room echoed as Keith’s pounding. “Sydney? You in there? Sydney, let me in. I only want to help you. You know that. Let me in.”

  I paced the floor in front of Mom’s rocker. Back and forth. I stopped. “How did he know where to find me?” I asked my mom. “I couldn’t even see the door in the wall. Nana had to show me.”

  My mom’s eyes went to the door and back to me. “There’s no way he could find it on his own,” she said softly. “The SHIELDERS have incredible strength, Sydney. They’re combining them inside of Keith. They’re using Keith to get to you. He couldn’t have come into the Institute on his own. It’s not possible.”

  The pounding continued. “Sydney,” Keith called. “Let me in.”

  My mom shook her head. “You don’t have to let him in Sydney. Even the SHEILDERS can’t get inside without you opening the door for them. But if you do, once you let them in, it’ll take everything you have to fight them off.”

  Magic hissed at the door and jumped from Mom’s lap.

  “A normal teen wouldn’t be out somewhere getting into trouble? Why do I have to be the one who is brave? Why do I have to figure out the right thing to do?”

  I stared at the door, angry with everyone. “I am so staying out past my curfew when I get you home.”