"Alexis, as I live and breathe!"
"Nicole, you certainly have grown into a remarkable young woman."
"Marie, you're just Mora all over again. Rest her soul."
"Alexis—"
"Marie—"
"Nicole—"
Around and around, my sisters and I were manhandled by people who seemed extraordinarily excited to see us. They introduced themselves as cousins and second-cousins and great aunts and uncles once removed as if they expected me to remember some great family tree I'd never known existed until now.
"I'd like to speak with Alexis alone." Gram's voice cut through the din of conversation. I felt the sweep of gazes fall on me, and I marched forward, not knowing what to expect.
"Lord, don't scare the poor girl," Nina said with a dry look at her sister. "She hasn't done anything wrong."
"Nina, I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself," Gram replied, beckoning me forward.
I followed her down a long hallway. There had obviously been a ton of magic saturated into this house, making it much larger on the inside. In between the doors were oil paintings of men and women and each painting showed a different decade of dress, all the way to—
"John Chase!" I exclaimed before I could stop myself.
"Oh, so you're familiar with our ancestor?" Gram asked, lifting an eyebrow at me.
"I…Marie told me about it. But I didn't know he was our ancestor?"
"Then I'm sure she didn't tell you the whole story. Come in."
We had arrived at a large office with windows overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The drab November day seemed fitting as the gray waters crashed against the rocky shore. It was as far from my sparring beach as I could get.
"Sit, girl," Gram ordered, herself taking a seat behind a desk.
I crossed the room in three steps and plopped down on an antique chair in front of her.
She watched me for a moment, and I got the feeling she was reading my magic, especially as something foreign poked at the energy under my skin. After a moment, the probing stopped and she sat back, looking neither pleased nor upset.
"I am the leader of Clan Carrigan," she began. "This clan has roots that go back to John Chase, the man who stopped the Two Year Magical War and created the Separation."
I nodded, hoping she wouldn't ask me what I knew about the Separation.
"I am the Clanmaster. Do you know what that means?"
Again, I nodded.
"That demonstration with your sister was just a fraction of what I can do. Understand?"
Another nod.
"Above all else, the safety of this clan is my utmost priority. And I will do whatever it takes to keep its members safe."
I swallowed and nodded. I wasn't quite sure what she was getting at, but I felt it best to keep quiet regardless.
"This compound is sealed by magic, and only those I deem safe are allowed in this space. You will not be able to tell others about its location unless I allow you to. Do you understand?"
My head was getting tired of nodding my understanding, but I did so again.
"Within the compound, which comprises all the houses on this street and the four adjoining ones, you may practice magic at your discretion, but you will not use it to bring harm to others. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said, hoping that speaking would, perhaps, get her to stop asking if I understood.
"Good. Dismissed."
I blinked at her, having never been ordered around in such a way.
"Are you deaf, girl? I said dismissed."
I popped to stand, spun on my heel, and scurried out of the room.
I could scarcely believe that all the people walking in and out of Gram's house were related to me in some form or another. They all seemed to know exactly who I was, which left me feeling a bit strange as I had no idea who they were. It was a relief when I finally found Nicole and Jeanie in the kitchen, talking over steaming cups with Nina.
"There she is!" Nina said, spotting me first. "Come in, Lexie. I hope my sister didn't scare you too much."
I shrugged and took the empty seat next to Nicole. With a flick of her wrist, Nina conjured up another mug of tea and teabag. Seeing so much magic in use after all the times Jeanie had barked at me never to use it was startling.
"Jeanie tells me you're into history?" Nina asked, bringing the mug to her mouth.
I glanced at Jeanie. "She does?"
"I'm a bit of a history scholar myself," Nina said. "You know you're welcome at my house any time you need help with homework."
"I am?" I said, glancing at Jeanie, who nodded. But after Gram's threatening welcome, I wasn't so sure that was the case. After all, it had taken her nearly eight weeks to grant me entry in the first place. Had Gavon not shown up, I might've had a much worse time of it.
"What's that face for?" Nicole asked.
I swallowed a comment about being welcome, because my gaze landed on a photo on wall. A blonde woman who heavily resembled Marie stood with two girls in her arms on a beach not unlike the rocky one just beyond this house. I stood from the table, crossing the room to get a closer look. There was something familiar about the house visible in the background. About the beach. The woman.
"That's Irene's favorite photo of your mother," Nina said, standing behind me. "We miss her every day."
But that didn't fit with my grandmother's actions. She'd done everything in her power to make me feel unwelcome. She'd threatened me, she'd isolated me and my sisters for fifteen years. So why would she have a photo of my mother on the mantle?
"That was taken a few months before she became pregnant with you," Nina said with a sigh. "Your mother loved that house almost as much as she loved this one. She'd been so happy when Uncle Ashley had bequeathed it to her." She chuckled. "And I still remember you, Nicole, coming over to play in my herb garden. I should have you come look at my lavender plants. They haven't done as well as they did when you were around."
My thoughts slowed, as a few pieces fell into place. My mother had inherited a house here in Salem. Nicole had played in Nina's herb garden. That meant they'd been in the clan before I'd been born; they'd lived amongst magic. Which also meant that my father had lived here, and had known about magic. Everyone had been happy.
And everything changed when I'd come along.
But why?
I looked at Jeanie, who must've read the question on my face, because she quickly said, "Lexie, why don't you go outside? Don't leave the compound."
"No, I think I'd rather stay."
"Oh, you shouldn't disobey your aunt, darling," Nina said with a pat on my hand. "Jeanie's got Irene's patience. Run along, and we'll talk more later."
Before I could argue, Nina's magic, a yellow-sunshine-y feeling that left me both happy and annoyed, pushed me out the door and locked it behind me.
18
"What the hell?" I said, marching back up to the kitchen door and tugging on the knob.
I could see Nina, Jeanie, and Nicole talking in the kitchen, ignoring me. When I banged on the glass, the curtains on the door closed. And when I pounded on the door, Nina's magic enveloped me and tossed me onto the rocky beach.
I glared at the house, still visible from where I sat. But then the strangest feeling of déjà vu came over me. The way the waves crashed against the shore, the smell of the ocean (similar, but different from the sparring beach). The feeling like I should be meeting someone here. I walked eastward until I came across a newer house in the midst of all the old ones. Something about it seemed wrong, like it didn't belong there. Like some other structure should've been there instead.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Marie asked, appearing beside me.
I broke from my trance and shook my head to clear it. "Where've you been?"
"Staying out of sight of Gram," Marie said. "She's such a b…"
"Bitch?"
"I think she's magicked my tongue," Marie said, casting furtive glances at the house that loomed above us. "
But seriously, what the hell are you looking at?"
"Nothing," I said after a long silence. "Want to go exploring?"
"Better than staying in this dump."
Since neither of us wanted to figure out how to summon Marie's car from Florida, we had to settle for exploring on foot. We didn't really speak to each other, but that also meant Marie wasn't being awful to me, so I didn't mind it.
I wasn't sure what I'd expected in a magical village, but I found myself a little underwhelmed. It looked awfully…normal. I didn't know if I'd expected dragons or wyverns or spells shooting across the street. The only thing half-interesting was that each house boasted what might, in the summer, be a sizable garden, but now was nothing more than a patch of dead leaves and vines.
"Did we live here?" I asked Marie after we'd rounded the block and came onto a main street.
Marie made a noncommittal noise and shrugged.
"Are you magically compelled not to tell me about this stuff?"
"What stuff?"
"About living here, about Gram. Not telling me about magic for fifteen years. All the secrecy—"
Again, she made a noncommittal noise and shrugged.
"I'll take that as a yes."
My mood soured considerably as our short journey ended, and we stood on the street, watching Gram's house bustle with activity. People arrived in puffs of different color smoke, grinning and hugging each other as long-lost friends. Others left their houses with casserole dishes in hand, and children chased each other through the brown, dead grass. No one seemed bothered by the cold, chatting with each other with bright, warm expressions.
"This is going to be painful," Marie said, pursing her lips. "I don't know these people and I don't appreciate them acting like we're all close and shit."
"Yeah," I said with a nod, glad that she wasn't magically compelled to not speak ill of Gram.
"And Gram just showing up and ordering us around like she's the queen of England."
"Yeah!"
Marie shrugged. "That's why I'm moving out."
"Are you…really?" I risked a glance at her. She was completely serious. "Really?"
"Yup."
Somehow the thought of Marie leaving made me sadder than I'd expected. Even though she didn't speak to me or act any differently toward me now that she was healing me after sparring lessons, we'd still spent a lot of time together. And despite everything, she was my sister.
"And she won't have any control over you?" I asked softly.
"Neither of them will. I'm so tired of Jeanie's bullshit. And Nicole's just a pushover and does whatever she says." Marie's face grew darker. "When I turn eighteen, they won't have any power over me."
"They won't?"
"Not if I renounce the clan."
I chewed my lip. That didn't sound so terrible.
"Maybe I should do that, too."
Marie shrugged. "Do what you want."
We stood in silence, watching the crowd ebb and flow in front of the house. Twice, Jeanie walked out to greet someone, and they hugged like family.
Nicole appeared on the stoop and spotted us. Wrapping her coat around herself, she hurried over, a frown on her face.
"Where the hell have you two been? I've been stuck making dinner for the past three hours."
"Nina kicked me out of the house, if you'll recall," I said, channeling a bit of Marie's attitude.
"Don't start with me, Alexis," Nicole barked.
"Then why don't you tell me the truth, for once?" I snapped, storming toward the house.
Before I even got through the front door, the smell of Thanksgiving hit me. In Florida, we usually had a small meal together which Nicole had made for the past few years. But I'd never seen such an assortment of food as was in the dining room. Three turkeys, rows and rows of casseroles and vegetables and rolls and cranberry sauce. I lost count of the number of seats crammed around an impossibly large table. Even more tables were stashed wherever there was a place.
"Ah, Lexie," Nina's voice pulled me from my amazement. "This is my seventy-fifth Thanksgiving, and the sight of all these people never ceases to amaze me. We just keep getting bigger and bigger every year."
I half-smiled, the memory of her kicking me out before I could ask more questions about my father fresh in my mind.
"Now, you'll be with the rest of the children," Nina said, pointing to a table already prepped with high chairs and booster seats. "I used to have to sit at the kid's table when I was younger. When Irene took over the clan from your great-great uncle, I got to move to the main table." She sighed, glancing at the nondescript chair at the front of the room. "He was such a fun man. I still remember he always had candy in his office when I came to visit."
"How is that decided?" I asked. "The Clanmaster?"
"Power, prestige, age, wisdom…and, of course, the support of the clan itself. We Carrigans are quite powerful when you get us all rowing the same way. The problem is, of course, the rowing." She tittered to herself. "We're nearly five hundred strong, you know."
That got my attention. "Five hundred? I have five hundred family members? And they're all coming here?"
"Oh, heavens, no. When you get to fifth and sixth cousins, it tends to dilute the familial bond, don't you think?"
"Do they all live here?"
"Some do, others with more distant limbs on the family tree have established offshoots out west. But most of the northeastern clan lives here in Salem, except, of course, for you girls."
I glowered at one of the three turkeys. What made us so special that we'd been cut off from the rest of the family? "And does that mean that everyone else knew about magic before they turned fifteen?"
"Why, of…oh that's right, Jeanie didn't tell you until your Magic's Eve, did she?"
"No, she did not."
"Well, dear, we have our reasons for doing things."
I turned to face her, straight-on. "Did my parents live here before I was born? And why did we move to Florida, and—"
"Darling, all of those questions would be best answered by your Gram," Nina said, patting me on the head and floating away as if on a cloud.
My anger boiled, and out of the corner of my eye, a boat of gravy rose off the table. I released it gently, and took three deep breaths. It wouldn't be very smart of me to lose control, so I found what I presumed to be the kid's table and sat down in a hidden corner to cool off.
But the longer I sat and watched the room fill with people, the more my anger simmered. They all seemed so close and welcoming, as I caught snippets of conversations about jobs and sports tournaments. Nicole, Marie, and I were the only strangers in this house, which, again, made no sense considering that the woman who owned it was our grandmother.
I was joined at the table by an eight-year-old named Beth and a ten-year-old named Mark, who apparently belonged to my third cousin. They reminded me a bit of myself and Marie, who'd taken a seat across from me, although their insults were more along the lines of who was going to turn whom into a toad when they got magic. Their arguments only served to turn up my anger, because it reminded me that I was the only one in this family who hadn't known about magic until she was fifteen.
"Attention, attention." Gram's voice floated through the enlarged space and all conversation ended as we turned to look at our Clanmaster at the head of the table. She was surrounded by men and women who seemed, if possible, twice as old as her.
I looked around for Jeanie and saw her at the other end, crammed into a corner with Nicole.
"I want to thank you for coming to the Clan Carrigan Thanksgiving feast," she said. "We have several announcements that I'd like to get out of the way before we begin our meal. First, a moment of silence for those in the clan we lost this year. Nan, Hartley, and Milton." The collective group bowed our heads for a brief moment and an older woman dabbed her eyes. "We've welcomed a few new members of our clan by marriage, Ira and his nonmagical wife, Luella." The couple stood, the wife looking like a deer in the headlights. I g
uessed they hadn't been married for very long. "And Robby and Harvey, who recently got married after a very long waiting period."
Nina clapped loudly for that one.
"We had a boom of children born this year. Erin, Christa, and Don and Leon, the twins. We can't wait to see what sort of trouble they get into, if they're anything like you, Teresa."
The woman sitting in-between two baby carriers blushed and laughed.
"And we've had two come into their magic this year, who we formally welcome into our clan. Rachel and Jonathon." Two teenagers about my age stood and waved nervously as they received loud applause.
Wait a minute…
"Mom, didn't you forget about someone?" Jeanie said.
"Right, of course." The look on Gram's face said she hadn't forgotten about me; she intentionally hadn't mentioned me. Which I wouldn't have minded, except for the mountain of evidence that said she was doing everything in her power to make me feel not welcome.
"Alexis has also grown into her powers."
A ripple of curiosity swept through the room and I didn't understand why until I realized that she hadn't specifically welcomed me into their clan. And based on the way everyone had begun whispering, that was significant.
"Mom—" Jeanie began.
"That's enough, Jean. Now, everyone—"
"Hang on a second." I found myself on my feet and addressing a room full of strangers. "What the hell is your problem with me?"
"Lexie," Jeanie hissed.
Gram stared me down from across the room. "Alexis, sit down. We will discuss this—"
"No, we're going to discuss this right now. Like why you guys never told me I had magic. Like why my sisters and I—your grandchildren, I might add—have been banished to Florida while the rest of you guys just wander around this stupid magical neighborhood."
"Alexis, sit down."
I could feel the magic in the room rising, and I wasn't so sure it wasn't just my own. "I'm not in your clan, apparently, so you can't order me around." I leveled my stare at her. "Why wasn't I told that I was magical?"
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