Wizard Born: Book One of the Wizard Born Series

by Geof Johnson

  “The kind like you and Fred’s daddy drink when he comes over.”

  “Beer. He’s shoplifting beer ’cause he’s underage.” He pulled into their driveway. “All right, Buddy. I’m gonna take you inside and then I’m going back to the store. Don’t say anything to Mommy or Gramma just yet, okay? This is just between you and me.”

  * * *

  “Why didn’t you want me to tell Mommy or Gramma?” Jamie asked his father when he tucked him in that night.

  “Well, you know how they like to worry, and they might think that older boy coulda hurt you if you told. And Gramma might think it’s wrong that you waited to tell, but I don’t.” He patted his son’s head. “I think you did what you thought was right, when it was right. I would’ve done the same thing.”

  “But remember when I broke the vase and Gramma got all mad ’cause I didn’t tell her?”

  “Yeah, she was pretty steamed. She wasn’t so mad that you broke it, just that you didn’t tell. This is different. I told you not to tell, so let me take the blame.” He kissed Jamie on the head. “But you did the right thing, and I’m proud of you.”

  That made Jamie feel a little better. At least his father wasn’t mad at him. He hoped Gramma wouldn’t be, either. He’d never forget what happened with the vase.

  Jamie woke to the smell of bacon. Sunday mornings were Gramma’s time to fix a special breakfast before church. The rest of the week, they usually ate cereal or bagels, but Sundays were the exception. Jamie could count on having bacon or sausage, waffles, pancakes, or French toast. His stomach growled just thinking about it.

  He made it to the kitchen, but no one else was up but Gramma.

  “Morning, Gramma.”

  “Morning, Jamie. Are you hungry?”

  “Yes ma’am. Sure smells good.” He loved to watch his grandmother in the kitchen. She often hummed while she whisked food in and out of pans and the stove and the refrigerator, all the while washing dishes as she cooked, the kitchen never messy or chaotic. It wasn’t like she belonged in the kitchen — the kitchen belonged to her.

  Jamie had an overwhelming urge to confess, to tell her what happened the day before. She had told him after he’d broken the vase, “If you do something wrong, always do the right thing and tell.” But Daddy had told him not to. He was torn.

  “Gramma.”

  “Yes, Dear?”

  He looked at her for a moment and she looked at him, expecting an answer.

  He had to say something. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Jamie.”

  He had just learned a lesson that would serve him well for the rest of his life: when in doubt, use the L word.

  * * *

  Jamie knew that grownups would often change the subject if they thought that a kid was listening. At their Saturday afternoon cookout, Jamie’s parents were on the deck talking with the other parents, and Jamie wanted to hear what they were saying. Gramma was there, too. Jamie’s dad had just come home from an errand, or so he said, but earlier Jamie had overheard him say that he was going to the convenience store.

  Jamie hopped off the tire swing and walked a few steps closer to the deck, which was over 100 feet away.

  “Where ya goin’?” Rollie called from the swing.

  When Jamie didn’t answer, Fred, who was swinging next to Rollie, said, “Are you going inside?”

  Jamie didn’t answer. He concentrated on his father, trying to hear him.

  “Ja……mie!” Rollie said in a sing-song voice.

  Jamie waved him off without turning his attention from the deck. He could pick out a few words, and the more he concentrated, the better he could hear.

  “Hey, Jamie!” Rollie yelled.

  Jamie turned and said, “Hush!” and turned back to focus on the deck.

  Rollie yelled again. “Jamie, I’m talking to —”

  “Shut up, Rollie,” Fred said.

  Rollie hushed. The Queen had spoken.

  Jamie still couldn’t hear everything. Amplify. He knew that word somehow. Use your will to amplify the sound. He didn’t know how he knew to do that, but he knew that he could. Jamie focused hard, harder than he ever had.

  He could clearly hear his father talking as if he were right next to him. “…so last week, I talked to the manager, and he said that teenage kid would be back around this time because he does it every week. So today I waited outside, and when I saw him walk out of the store, I got out of my truck and confronted him. Sure enough, he had two bottles of beer in his jacket. Then I flashed my badge, took him back inside and talked to the store manager.”

  “Why didn’t you take him downtown and book him?” Rollie’s father asked. “He’s a shoplifter.”

  “The manager and I thought it was better to call the boy’s dad. He came down to the store and paid the manager fifty bucks for the beer his kid’s been stealing. Plus, I took a picture of the kid with my phone and told him I was sending it to every convenience store around, so he shouldn’t try it anywhere else.”

  “Did you really send his picture?” Fred’s father said.

  “No. I just wanted to scare him. His dad will take care of him, I’m sure. He was furious.”

  Rollie’s father leaned against the deck rail and crossed his arms. “I still think you should’ve busted him.”

  “No, you did the right thing, Carl.” Gramma nodded. “It’s better to let his father deal with it and keep the boy from having a criminal record.”

  Rollie’s father only frowned.

  * * *

  Renn materialized near a rustic log house in a clearing deep in the woods. Smoke curled from the chimney, and a couple of scrawny chickens scratched at the hard-packed dirt. Someone must be home, he thought. The door wasn’t locked, so he pushed it open without knocking. Inside was smokey and dim and smelled of sweat, and he waited in the doorway while his eyes adjusted to the gloom. He saw two men in dark robes huddled next to the fire in the hearth, too intent on what they were doing to notice him. One had a book open in his lap while the other dropped something in a pot that hung over the glowing coals.

  They look alike. They must be brothers. How quaint. Maybe these two will be a challenge. Renn rapped the floor with his staff, and the men looked up. “What are you doing here?” the man with the book said.

  “You have something I want,” Renn said.

  Without warning, the brothers extended their arms and pale yellow bolts of energy shot from their fingertips at Renn, who stood calmly with his staff. The two beams struck an invisible barrier in front of him and deflected to either side, hitting the wooden walls behind him with a faint ssst.

  “My turn,” Renn said, grinning as he raised his staff. Twin streams of power erupted from the eyes of the dragon’s head, slamming into the brothers, one falling into the fire, dead before he landed on the coals, the other crashing against the wall behind him before slumping to the floor.

  Renn glanced at the body on the fire. That’s going to stink. I think I’d better hurry. He surveyed the room and spotted a small stack of books on a nearby bench. He grabbed the top one and flipped through it. It’s a spell book. Might be useful. He picked up the leather-bound tome the brothers were using, glanced at a few pages, and shrugged. I don’t have this one. He tucked it under his arm with the others, made one last turn around the room, stamped his staff and vanished.

  Chapter 14

  Mrs. Heflinger handed out envelopes to each kid as they walked into her classroom Monday morning. “Please put it in your back pack right away, and don’t open it yet. We don’t want you to lose it. Give it to your parents when you get home.”

  Jamie asked Brodie Mckenzie what it was.

  “It’s an invitation to Elizabeth’s party,” Brodie said.

  Now I get to go to one, too! Jamie thought.

  On the bus ride home, he tried to brag about it to Rollie and Fred, but they weren’t impressed. “We’ve already been to one,” they said. “No big deal.”

  But it was to
Jamie. When his mother came home that afternoon, he handed the invitation to her before she could put down her stuff.

  “Oh, what is it?” she said. She carefully opened it as Jamie bounced on the balls of his feet. “Let’s see…It’s an invitation to Elizabeth Stalling’s birthday party.”

  “Lemme see, lemme see,” Jamie said.

  They looked at it together as his mother read. “It’s at 11:00 this Saturday at her house. You’re having pizza for lunch.” She picked Jamie up and hugged him. “You’re going to have so much fun.” She put him down and said, “Elizabeth’s a cutie. I think she likes you.”

  Jamie scowled.

  “No, I’ve seen her following you around the playground when you’re hunting for bugs.”

  “Lots of kids do.”

  “That’s true.” She put the invitation back in the envelope. “Let’s go tell Gramma.”

  * * *

  Friday night, Jamie was worried about being able to fall asleep. “Mommy, tell me about the Dream Fairy again.”

  “Okay. Close your eyes first.” She sat on the edge of his bed. “The Dream Fairy is going to wait right outside your bedroom door, and she’s going to peek in to see if your eyes are really closed.”

  “They’re closed. I promise.”

  “Good. Then she’s going to fly in your room, but she might dart behind your lamp or your mirror, just to be safe, because she wants to be absolutely sure that your eyes are closed.” She looked at Jamie closely. “Which they are.” She stood and stepped closer to his door. “Then she’s going to fly around your bed once or twice, hover right over your head, and sprinkle dream dust on you.”

  “In my eyes?”

  “I’m not sure. They’ll be closed, so it won’t matter. Then she’ll give you the slightest, lightest kiss,” — she made a kissing sound — “and fly away.”

  “Mommy, tell me again what she looks like.”

  “She’s beautiful. She has lovely red hair and emerald-green eyes with a face like an angel.”

  “Does she love me?”

  “Of course. Everybody does. Good night Jamie.”

  “Good night, Mommy.”

  * * *

  Jamie and his mother knocked on Elizabeth’s door on Saturday morning. In one hand, he held a small bouquet of flowers, which was not his idea, and in the other, her present. It had taken them a while to pick out the perfect gift; his mother wouldn’t buy his argument that an action figure was a good choice. So they settled on an art kit, the kind with markers and stickers, glitter, and scissors — everything you need to make an excellent mess on a rainy day.

  Elizabeth’s dad let them in, but all Jamie saw was a room full of parents and a table stacked with presents.

  “Everybody’s out back,” her mom said. “We have a clown and an inflatable bouncy castle.”

  A bouncy castle! Wait ’till Rollie and Fred hear about that.

  * * *

  After pizza and presents, it was time to say goodbye. Elizabeth stood by the door with her mom and thanked everybody individually.

  As they walked to their car, Jamie’s mom said, “Elizabeth seemed tickled that you gave her flowers, Jamie.”

  “She didn’t have to kiss me.”

  “It was just your cheek. You can wash it when we get home.”

  “That’s okay. I wiped it off already.”

  * * *

  During Monday morning recess, Rachel was sitting on a playground bench when the two class tattletales, Katie and Jenna, ran up to her.

  “Fred pushed Elizabeth down, and she’s crying,” Katie said.

  “Where are they?” Rachel asked.

  “Over there.” Jenna pointed.

  Rachel arrived at the scene of the crime and saw Elizabeth sitting on the ground, crying, and Fred standing over her, fists on her hips. A crowd of kids had gathered, all talking at once and pointing at Fred.

  “Fred,” Rachel said, taking her by the arm and pulling her aside, “I need you to stand over here, please.” Then she knelt beside Elizabeth. “Sweetie, I need you to get up so we can see if you’re okay.” Elizabeth stood, and Rachel brushed her off, inspecting her for scrapes. “I think you’re fine. You can stop crying.” She dragged Fred by the hand back to the playground bench.

  She sat Fred down and plopped beside her. “Okay, Fred. What’s this all about?”

  “Elizabeth said she’s Jamie’s girlfriend.”

  “And?”

  “I said she wasn’t, and she wouldn’t listen so I pushed her down.”

  “Honey, that was wrong. We don’t go hurting people just because they say something we don’t like.”

  “She’s not Jamie’s girlfriend.”

  “It’s still wrong. Don’t do it. Now you’re going to have to spend the rest of recess with me on the bench.”

  Fred wouldn’t look at her. She stared straight ahead, making her I-smell-a-fart face, arms crossed. Rachel knew she should be mad at Fred, but it was hard.

  “Fred,” she said, rubbing Fred’s back, “you really are a firecracker.”

  Fred said nothing, but her hair seemed to be glowing about 20 degrees redder.

  * * *

  By the time Rachel got home from the faculty meeting that afternoon, Rollie and Fred had already gone home. Rachel’s mother met her at the door.

  “I had to put Fred in time out today,” Evelyn said. “She kicked Jamie when they got off the bus.”

  “Why?”

  Evelyn smiled and said, “I think you might want to hear the story from Jamie.”

  Rachel found him on the couch with a bag of ice on his shin. “You poor baby! What happened?”

  “Fred kicked me.”

  “Because?”

  “Because I said I wasn’t her boyfriend.”

  “You’re not?” She tried to keep a straight face. “Well then, whose boyfriend are you? Is it Elizabeth?”

  “No! I’m nobody’s. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  “Well, it’s okay if you don’t have a girlfriend, just don’t lead anybody on.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “Don’t fool them into thinking they are when they’re not.” When she saw his puzzled look, she added, “Don’t worry about it right now. When the time comes, you’ll have lots of girlfriends.”

  “Don’t wanna girlfriend.”

  “Okay, but if you change your mind, Fred would make a good one. We wouldn’t have to go far to pick her up.”

  “The only way I’d be her boyfriend is if she gets softer shoes. Please ask her mom to get her softer shoes!”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  * * *

  “For Halloween, I’m gonna be a queen,” Fred said. “Jamie, you need to dress up like a king ’cause we’re going trick-or-treating together. I heard my mommy say.”

  “I’m gonna be Commander Hawk,” Jamie said.

  “No, you gotta be a king, ’cause then we’ll match, and that’s more better.”

  “Don’t care. I’m gonna be Commander Hawk. I already got a costume.”

  “Okay, then Rollie, you gotta be a king.”

  “No I don’t,” Rollie said. “I’m going to my church and get lotsa candy, probably more candy than you.”

  “Nu uh, I’m gonna be a beautiful queen and everybody’s gonna give me lots ’cause they’ll think I’m so beautiful. What do you do at your stupid ol’ church, anyway, if you don’t trick-or-treat?”

  “We play games and get candy for when we win and sing and get more candy and —”

  “Do you dance?”

  “No, we don’t dance at my church.”

  “Well, it can’t be any fun, ’cause everybody likes to dance. My mommy says she’s gonna sign me up for dance lessons, and I’m gonna be a beautiful ballerina.”

  “Are you gonna be a queen ballerina?” Rollie smirked.

  “I can if I wanna. I can be anything I wanna be.”

  * * *

  Carl, Rachel, and Lisa walked with their kids while they w
ent trick-or-treating. They waited at the end of a neighbor’s driveway while the kids walked up to the door. Fred made a clop clop sound as she walked.

  Rachel looked at Fred. “Those shiny plastic high heeled shoes you got for her are so cute, but I don’t think she’s going to last long in them.”

  Lisa opened a bag she was holding and pulled out a small pair of tennis shoes. “Sugar, I’ve already thought about that. I know how hard a pair of heels can be on a girl’s feet.”

  “The cars seem to be driving slower tonight. That’s really considerate.”

  “I gave them a little extra incentive to slow down,” Carl said. “I bribed Ron Kaminski to park his police cruiser at the entrance to the subdivision for a while.”

  “Bribed?” Lisa said. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

  “Well, not exactly bribed. I told him I’d help him finish his deck this weekend if he’d do it.”

  “Honey, you would’ve done that anyway,” Rachel said.

  “Yeah, probably, but don’t tell Ron.”

  * * *

  Fred and Jamie were almost finished trick-or-treating, walking ahead of their parents. Fred said, “Jamie, how come your glow stick is still so bright? Mine’s almost out.”

  “Lemme see it.” Jamie grabbed the faintly pink plastic tube that hung from a string around her neck. “You just gotta do this.” He wrapped his hand around it in a fist, closed his eyes and squeezed. A brief flare of crimson light flashed from the cracks between his fingers, and when he opened his hand, the stick was a blazing pink once again.

  “Thanks,” she said. “You need to show me how to do that sometime.”

  “Sure, it’s easy. Anybody can do it.”

  All you need is magic. He wondered briefly where that thought had come from. He only had a moment, though, because Fred was already knocking on the next door. He scampered up the steps to join her.

  * * *

  Thanksgiving promised to be much better for Jamie than the previous year. Although Rollie still had to go out of town, Fred didn’t. And best of all, Gina came back from Greensboro to visit. Jamie got to stay up late on the Wednesday night that she arrived, and he waited impatiently for the grownups to quit talking so that she could read to him and tuck him in.