But then I felt it, that familiar warmth spreading from my heart to my fingertips.
"Marie…?"
"I'm here," she said. As her healing magic replenished that which I'd lost, I began to think a little clearer.
Wait a minute…
"Marie!" I cried, springing to my feet. The change was too much and I swooned, leaning into Marie and someone else.
"Stay here," Nicole whispered, clutching me tightly to her. "Let Gram handle this."
"Gram?"
My shock overpowered my exhaustion, or Marie's healing had kicked in, because I stood upright and stared at the center of the sparring arena. My grandmother stood with eight other family members I only briefly remembered talking with, and Jeanie. She was speaking with Gavon, who wore a mask of indifference. But I saw it—the small spark in his eyes.
"W-what's going on?" I said. "How…what are you doing here?"
"D—"
"It's a long story," Nicole snapped, cutting Marie off with a look. "The bottom line is that you're safe now. Gram's working it out."
"But they said—" I said, glancing around at James, who was still lying in the dust. I hoped he wasn't dead. "They said it was to the death."
"He's not dead," Marie said quietly. "Just depleted."
I hoped they didn't have healers in New Salem. James deserved to heal the old-fashioned way.
"But the duel—"
"We found a loophole. You can't belong to this Guild until you formally renounce your membership to our clan," Nicole said. "You can't belong to both."
"But Gram said—"
"She claimed you," Nicole said with a smile.
I closed my eyes, thanking my lucky stars that I'd never figured out how to formally distance myself from the clan. I would also grovel and beg for Gram's forgiveness. Maybe even attempt a hug, if she'd let me.
"And since the rules of their Guild expressly forbid granting membership to someone ineligible, this match had to be ended," Jeanie said, appearing in front of me. "Are you all right, honey?"
I leaped from Marie into Jeanie's, words of gratitude and apology tumbling out of my mouth quicker than I could say them. To my relief, she returned the embrace and kissed me gently on the top of my head.
"You're all right now," she said. "But next time, don't run off, okay?"
I nodded fervently, until my gaze landed on Cyrus on the other side of the arena. I took comfort in the look of pure fury on his face, while Gavon calmly spoke with the so-called "esteemed Council." None of them looked pleased with the situation, but their looks of displeasure were mostly directed toward Cyrus.
"What's he saying?" I asked.
"None of—"
"Jeanie, just stop," I whispered. "I know everything."
She sighed heavily and locked gazes with Gavon for a brief moment. Before I knew what was happening, Gram's magic surrounded us, transporting us back to the tear. It was with no small amount of relief that I crossed through it, grateful to hold Jeanie's hand.
26
"In the kitchen," Jeanie said when we arrived back home. "All of you."
I swallowed nervously, following Marie's golden hair into the kitchen. I sat on a barstool and looked at my hands, ready for whatever Jeanie was going to throw at me. Marie placed a hand on my shoulder and continued healing me. Or perhaps it was just a show of support.
"First of all," Jeanie said, plucking a soda from the fridge and setting it in front of me. "Are you all right?"
I nodded, even though "all right" was the farthest thing from what I was.
"Good," Jeanie said.
"About what I said…" I whispered but she waved me off.
"There's a bit of blame to go around," Jeanie said, sitting down. "I thought it was best not to tell you the whole truth because…because I didn't want you to have that burden."
"Which burden is that?" I asked a little hotly. "The fact that I've had magic since I was born, or that my father was the leader of an evil gang, or perhaps that I was only conceived to be the next leader of that gang?"
Jeanie went back to the fridge to grab a beer and sat back down. She looked a lot older than her mid-thirties.
"I'm sorry," I said. "It's just…it's a lot to take in at once."
"You have one thing wrong," Nicole said, joining Jeanie with a beer in hand. "You weren't wholly conceived to be the leader of that gang. Mom…" She closed her eyes and took a long drink of her beer. "Mom loved Gavon. Until the end. And she loved you."
I was too afraid to ask my next question, so I shifted topics. "I've had magic since I was born, haven't I?"
Jeanie nodded slowly. "Gram put a grounding spell on you, but you were so powerful, even when you were born, she wasn't sure it would stick if you knew about your magic. A few times, growing up, I thought I saw a bit of magic from you."
Fifteen years of being cooped up by a grounding spell. A simple grounding spell. Of course Gavon would've known how uncontrolled it would be after fifteen years of disuse. No wonder he'd shown up when he did.
"Why…why wouldn't they let me go up to the compound?" I said. "All of this, if I'd just had someone to show me what to do—"
"Because Mom was worried Gavon was still around, that he'd come for you and… Well, she was worried that if she let you into the compound, he'd come, too. She was trying to protect the clan."
"So is that why we're…we live here and not in Salem?"
Jeanie sighed heavily, and I thought I saw tears in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice was strained. "It came out of the blue, you know? I was in college, out at a bar, and I get a phone call from Gram that Mora was…Mora was dead. We knew what Gavon was, but Mora was so stubborn. She swore he could be trusted, and she married him without telling Mom, got pregnant. Then…then…" She swallowed. "After she died, Gram thought it best to let Gavon take the three of you."
There was a sharp intake of breath, but it hadn't come from me or Marie, it had come from Nicole.
"You can't be serious," she whispered. "She…she was willing… Do you know what they would've done to me over there?"
"I knew," Jeanie said with a hardness in her gaze. "And that's why I told her I'd take you. All of you. Mom told me that if I did, I'd be on my own, at least until Lexie grew into her powers and we made sure Gavon wasn't still interested in her. I wasn't…I wasn't even allowed back at the compound until you came of age."
I stared at my aunt in a new light. She'd given up everything—her family, her friends, her world as a magical in the compound. My own life could've turned out very differently had Jeanie not stepped up. I would've grown up in New Salem, been a puppet for Gavon's Guild. I wouldn't even have known Gavon—Cyrus would've taken me. And who knew how I would've turned out under that psychopath's tutelage?
"I'm sorry for ruining your life," I whispered.
"No, sweetie, this is not your fault," Jeanie said firmly.
"But it is! It's because of me—"
"We're all Gavon's children," Nicole said, although she spat out the name of our father. Silence fell on the table.
"I should've told you about him sooner," I said after a moment. "I just…" Thinking about how safe and comforted I'd felt with him brought tears to my eyes. Was it because he was my father, or because he'd wanted me off my guard? "He was so helpful. I felt like he got me, you know? I had all this power and I had no idea what to do with it and nobody was helping me and—"
"I'm sorry," Jeanie said. "Lexie, I had no idea…I'm not a strong magical. I never practiced like Mora did, or Mom. And when you came along and you just…I had no idea what to do with you."
She didn't say it, but the power imbalance between us was clear. Just as Marie had always been more powerful than Jeanie, I, too, was way out of her league. No wonder she'd been trying so hard to find me a better teacher.
But I couldn't be angry with her for being less than she was, not after she'd come for me. Not after she'd been the only person standing between me and Cyrus my whole life.
"B
esides that, we didn't give you any reason to be suspicious," Jeanie said. "I know how easily he worms his way into your life." Her face grew dark. "Remember, he was married to your mother for almost a decade…lived at the compound with the rest of us. He was especially interested in Uncle Ashley's old book collection."
I swallowed, hating myself for what I was about to say. "He gave me some old magical books. Primers and history books. You should probably take them."
"I think the books are fine," Nicole said. "I've still got the potions books he gave me and they're…well, mostly innocuous."
I shook my head, another fairly obvious puzzle piece fitting into place. Of course Gavon had known which book I'd used to make my ill-advised healing potion.
"What kind of books did he give you?" Jeanie asked.
"History books, and…a dueling primer," I said. "I thought it was to help me learn how to spar better. Maybe it was…I don't know." My gaze fell on Marie, recalling her strange behavior after she'd begun to heal me. "Did Gavon do something to you to force you to heal me?"
Jeanie and Nicole's gazes swept over to Marie, who seemed the least concerned of all of us. "Force me?" She barked a laugh. "He didn't have to force me. I was glad to do it."
"You spoke to Gavon?" Nicole gasped, a mix of horror and disgust. "How could you not tell us he was here?"
Marie shrugged, tilting her chin higher. "Because he has money. He said if I helped Lexie, he'd give me money so I could move out."
I wasn't sure which stung more; that Marie had effectively been bribed to heal me, or that she'd lied to my face about our father when I asked her.
"How could you!" Jeanie said. "You, more than anyone…you should've told us—do you have any idea the danger you put Lexie in?"
Marie's face grew red. "He said he was just trying to help you get your magic under control, I didn't know that he was training you to fight in a duel!" She swallowed and lifted her chin. "And honestly, I don't believe he's all that bad."
"He let Mom die—"
"So you say, but I think there's more to the story—"
"Says who? Gavon?" Jeanie snorted.
I groaned and sank my head to my arms as the fight between the three of them escalated. My brain began to point out the inconsistencies in his behavior—how he hadn't wanted to train me at first, how he'd resisted giving me a healing potion to speed up my recovery. He'd been more concerned about my emotional wellbeing than making sure I was a fighter.
But then again, he'd sat there while I was nearly annihilated by his crazy apprentice.
But then again…my head began to hurt.
"Marie, do you even know how much danger you put this family in?" Jeanie yelled.
"Obviously we would've been in the same amount of danger regardless, because if you'd told Gram, she would've excommunicated us!" Marie sat down. "I remember Dad, okay? And I don't believe he's capable of what you all say he is."
"Yeah, and I remember the day he didn't show up and let Mom die," Nicole shot back, fire in her voice.
"Wait…what?" I glanced between the three of them. "What do you mean? What happened when Mom died?"
"Oh yes, why don't you tell her what really happened?"
My blood ran cold and I sprang to my feet.
Cyrus stood in the doorway of our kitchen. There was something so familiar about his face, about how he walked into the kitchen as if he owned it. My magic crackled at my fingertips, recovered from the duel, or perhaps egged on by some other force.
But as soon as it started, the magic was gone.
"You can't have her," Jeanie said, and I realized she'd taken my magic.
"Jeanie, give it back!" I cried, knowing that she was powerless against him.
"Marie, take your sisters and run!" Jeanie said, yellow magic gathering at her fingertips.
Cyrus chuckled. "As if you would be any match for me. Your sister's magic was pathetic, too."
Jeanie looked back to Marie, who stood frozen in fear. "Marie, get your sisters out of here!"
"Jeanie, give me my magic back," I said, torn between watching Cyrus and needing Jeanie to see reason. She couldn't possibly--
"There's more than one way to reverse a grounding spell," Cyrus said.
It happened in painful slow motion, every millisecond burned into my memory. The spell that gathered in his hand, dark gray like a thundercloud. The sharp intake of breath, the way I searched for my magic to protect her, to deflect the spell that crossed the kitchen.
When my magic roared within me, I knew it was too late.
"Jeanie, no!"
I stared at my aunt, her eyes half-open and the blood trickling from her forehead as the magic pooled in my hands. Marie screamed as she tried in vain to replenish the life that was gone.
"And what are you going to do, potion-maker? Throw your iron dust at me?"
I moved on instinct, surrounding both of my sisters with magic and transporting them to Gram's front yard where I knew they'd be safe. But I'd never be safe as long as this psychopath was around.
"You know, it's just a shame I have to kill you, Alexis. You would've made an incredible Warrior."
I cut off his monologue by switching off the lights in the kitchen, the only thing I could think of to distract him, and disappeared, reappearing on our sparring beach.
There was a chance—a small one—that the charm Gavon had placed on this spot would activate, and he'd know I was there. The only question was, would Cyrus kill me first?
"Oh, how poetic." Cyrus was behind me. I spun around and nearly lost my footing on the shifting sands beneath my feet. "He's quite busy cleaning up the Guild business, you know. They weren't very pleased that you didn't complete your match. Curious how someone outside our Guild could've known about the membership clause. Curiouser how that clause ended up in our bylaws in the first place."
I took another step back. "He'll come."
"That's what your mother said, too," Cyrus said.
And I knew she had. A memory filtered into my consciousness, one that felt as familiar as rewatching a TV show from my childhood. Cyrus and I had been on a beach together, not this one, but a colder, rockier beach where the waves smashed against the shore. There had been lightning and thunder, a rare fall storm for Salem.
The memories of that night and this one crashed together in a poetic symmetry. It had seemed impossible—Gavon had said he'd charmed and hidden the tear to keep anyone else from coming through. But there he was, a stranger in my living room.
No, my mother's living room.
Then, as now, I had transported away from the house to save my children—no, my sisters.
I had drawn him to our sparring beach, but not our sparring beach, the one Gavon and my mother had practiced on in Salem.
This was a magical memory—my first. The night my mother died, the night I'd been born. Cyrus had tried to kill her, and she'd defended herself using my magic.
And when the connection between her and I had been cut, she'd died.
The realization drew forth more memories: sparring with Gavon. But it wasn't me—it was her. He'd taught her how to defend herself. All my instincts, they had been honed when I was in the womb. She'd been able to tap into my magic and Gavon had taken advantage, teaching her how to fight. She'd loved him, and she'd felt safe with him, the same way I had.
But the night of her death, she'd stalled as long as she could, waiting for Gavon to show up and protect her family. And when he didn't, she'd sacrificed herself.
I couldn't help the sob that escaped my lips as the memories of love and betrayal swam in the back of my mind, made more complicated by my own knowledge of Gavon.
"Oh, don't cry, Lexie," he said, drawing up a deadly-looking spell. "You'll be back with her soon enough. Then your sisters will join you."
My magic throbbed beneath my skin, remembering what it was to fight with skill and practice, and I let go of control, deflecting and attacking with the grace of a practitioner much more advanced than I. My body dan
ced as effortlessly as Gavon's had, and I drew up three spells of my own, not to kill, but to confuse.
"I do like a challenge," Cyrus said. "Unfortunately, I don't have time—"
I released a blast, if only to shut him up, and he blocked with a spell of his own, but the force had knocked him back a few feet. When I saw the confusion on his face, I knew he'd underestimated me, which meant I had him.
I exploded in purple and fury and power. The spell crashed into Cyrus, pummeling him mercilessly until he fell to his knees. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth, and he panted, struggling to gather his magic. Somehow I knew, perhaps through the magical memory, that I was going to use the rest of my magic to destroy him, and I was going to die.
Goodbye Nicole. Goodbye Marie.
With a loud crack, I released my final magic, the last of my life bleeding from me in slow motion. Cool sand met my face as I fell to the ground, the spell engulfing Cyrus as I closed my eyes as someone screamed my name.
27
"I'm not losing her, Marie."
"Daddy, she's gone."
"No!"
I awoke slowly and miserably. Every single inch of my body ached, my mouth was as dry as a cotton ball, and my head thudded. There was a glass of water within reach, but even moving my arm was difficult. Eventually, I mustered enough strength to pull it to me, gulping down the precious fluid before lying back down.
The door cracked open and Nicole walked into my room. "I thought I heard you stirring."
"W-what happened?" I whispered.
"I… Where do I start?" Nicole said, wiping a tear away from her eye.
I lay back against the pillows and closed my eyes, knowing what she was thinking. "Jeanie's dead."
Nicole nodded. "There was… She was gone before…"
I wanted to cry more than anything in the world, but I couldn't. Maybe in a few days, when I was physically recovered, I could let loose the wails and sobs of misery that hurt even in my numbness.
"Marie went back to the house once she realized what you'd done," Nicole said bitterly. "She said she found you on the beach with Cyrus. She said she thought…she thought you'd died."
Spells and Sorcery Page 20
