School Spirits

by Rachel Hawkins

Page 8

 

  He was examining his fingernails, bored, but when he realized I was there, his face brightened. "Hullo, Isolde. Pleasant day at school?"

  "Not really," I told him. "But I needed to ask you something. "

  Torin folded his arms. "Im not in much of a prophecy- spouting mood today, to be honest. "

  "I dont need to know the future. I need to know. . . I dont know, the present, I guess. I met this boy today, and hes. . . I dont know, hes something. "

  "Something as in he is handsome and you fancy him, or something as in hes one of my kind?"

  Scowling, I replied, "Hes Prodigium. I think. I dont know He felt strange when I touched him. "

  The second the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them. Torins sly grin only intensified that regret.

  "This is why I told Aislinn she should have more blokes around. A boy touches you, and you mistake hormones for magic. "

  I wanted to shake the frame, but I crossed my arms, mimicking his pose. "It wasnt hormones. It was magic. Or some kind of power. But not like any power Ive felt before. Its. . . I dont know, really weak. "

  Finally, the grin slipped and Torin managed to look a little serious. "Weaker than mine?"

  Even trapped in the mirror, Torin radiated power, and I nodded. "Yeah. I can usually pick up on a Prodigium within a few feet. But this guy, I didnt get it until he shook my hand. Could he just be. . . like, a really, really bad warlock?" But then I shook my head. "No, wait. He had asthma. If he were a warlock, he wouldve cured that. " One of the benefits to being a magical being was that they almost never get sick.

  Torin gave an elegant shrug. "Perhaps hes faking it. And something could be diluting his power. A counterspell or a binding charm. Did he seem odd?"

  I thought back to Dex, to his weird, formal way of talking, and strangely old-fashioned, if stylish, outfit. "Yeah, but Im not sure thats magic. "

  "If you find out where he lives, I can always slip into his mirror, find out for certain," Torin offered. "It would be, as you like to say, a gigantic pain in my backside, but I could try. "

  Torin moved pretty easily through the mirrors in our house because his original mirror was housed here. Getting into mirrors in other locations was tough for him, but Id seen him do it before. And Im not going to lie, the idea of sending Torin to check up on Dex was tempting. What if Dex was something dangerous? Okay, so maybe an asthmatic guy rocking a cravat didnt seem all the threatening, but what did I know? And I was here to investigate supernatural shenanigans.

  But I couldnt get over the feeling that sending my pet warlock into a dudes mirror to spy on him was. . . well, icky. Especially when he was one of the few people at school whod been nice to me today. So I shook my head. "No, lets not go that far. Ill work it out on my own. "

  "As you like," Torin said, going back to studying his cuticles. "But the offer stands. "

  I leaned back on the bed, bracing my arms on the footboard. In the mirror, it looked like we were standing practically on top of each other. "You just want me to owe you a favor. "

  "There is but one favor you can do for me, Isolde, and that is to release me from this prison. "

  The words sent a shiver through me. "Thats never going to happen. "

  He glanced up, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, so now its you with the gift of prophecy, is it? I know what Ive seen. You are my key and my salvation. "

  Without answering, I got up and went to cover the mirror. His voice sounded muffled behind the canvas as he called, "Remember, a favor for a favor, Isolde. I can be very useful. "

  He could be. He had been. But his visions never came when we most needed them, and from everything Mom had told me, Torin had a way of twisting words and promises so that he got more than you were willing to give, and always gave you less than you wanted.

  In other words, it wasnt worth it.

  Sighing, I opened the door and walked into the hallway.

  "What are you doing?"

  I jumped as Moms voice rang out in the quiet house. She was standing just inside the front door, frowning. "Isolde?" she asked, her body stiff.

  I froze, a million lies rushing to my lips. But Mom always saw through those, and all lying did was piss her off. "I was talking to Torin. "

  "About what?"

  "Just my day at school. " That wasnt technically a lie, but Mom still frowned.

  "Well, why dont you tell me about your day. " Her expression hardened. "Specifically the part where you hurt some boy in your P. E. class?"

  Ugh. So thats why she was so pissed. "It was an accident," I said for what felt like the millionth time that day, but Mom gave a frustrated sigh as she tossed her bag onto the hall table. "Damn it, Izzy, I told you, keeping a low profile is an essential part of every job. "

  "I was trying!"

  "And breaking someones arm by second period? That was your attempt at trying?"

  "It was only a dislocated shoulder," I muttered, sounding sullen even to my own ears. "And he was a jerk who purposely hurt this girl I think can help me with the ghost thing. "

  Mom gave a frustrated sigh, but then what I had said dawned. "What does that mean?"

  Briefly, I told her about the Paranormal Management Society and Romy. As soon as I said the words "teenage ghost hunters," she sat down on the edge of the bed.

  "Damn it. You know if there is a legitimate haunting happening here, theyll probably end up making things worse. Those types of kids always do. "

  "Yeah," I said, going to sit next to her. "But its some- thing. If nothing else, maybe theyll have information. Either about Mr. Snyder himself, or who could be haunting the school. Save me the hassle of going to the library. "

  Mom looked up, and something very close to a smile flickered on her face. "So youd actually go to a library instead of plugging everything into the Google?"

  Now I smiled. "Mom, its just Google. And yeah, you always said books were the best for research. Even the Internet cant know everything. "

  "I know I said that; Im just surprised you listened. "

  "I do that sometimes," I told her, and she reached out and patted my knee. Then, clearing her throat, she rose to her feet and headed for the door.

  "Well, its a start," she said, her voice slightly gruff. "Probably wont lead to much, but better than nothing. Now, come on. I dont like you spending too much time in here. "

  Swallowing my disappointment, I stood up, too. I had always been proud of my mom. So shed never bake cookies, or sew a Halloween costume, but she could fight monsters. She was tough and smart, and maybe she didnt read bedtime stories, but she had taught me to defend myself against the things that lurked under beds.

  But in that moment, I didnt want a smart, tough mother who kicked supernatural ass. I wanted to sit on the couch with her and tell her about my crappy day. And maybe about Dex, leaving out the possible magical powers part.

  I wanted to tell her that I missed Finley, too.

  Instead, I followed her out the door and said, "So, I. . . I guess Ill go do homework now. "

  "Right," Mom said with a brusque nod. "And Ill go, uh, clean up the kitchen. See you at six for dinner?"

  "Sure," I said, turning to jog up the stairs.

  When I was halfway up, Mom called, "Izzy?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Im. . . youre doing good work," she said haltingly. "Other than the dislocated shoulder. "

  It wasnt exactly "Oh, Izzy, I am so proud of you, and I was wrong to ever give you such lame job. "

  But Id take it.

  CHAPTER 10

  I sat up, confused. I was moving, and overhead, birds were chirping, and the scent of flowers was so heavy in the air, it made me feel a little light-headed. Sunlight sparkled on dark green water. When I threw up my hand to ward off the glare, I saw that once again, I was wearing a ton of rings that I had never owned.

  Groaning, I sank back against silken pillows. "Why are we on a boat?"

  At the other end of the little rowboat, To
rin grinned at me, his long arms pulling the oars. "Thought a change of scenery might be nice. "

  "You know what would be nice? Not having you invade my dreams with these"-I waved my hand-"whatever this is. "

  "Its an outing, Isolde. And quite a nice one, too. "

  Much as I hated that, I couldnt argue. The sun felt good on my face, and there was something undeniably pleasant about drifting down a stream flanked with flower bushes and weeping willows. "Where is this?" I asked. "Someplace you knew?"

  Torin abandoned the oars and leaned back, closing his eyes and lifting his face to the sun. "You know the answer. "

  "Set you free and Ill find out," I muttered.

  He nodded, replying, "Even so. "

  "Since thats not going to happen, any other reason you decided we should row our boat merrily down the stream?"

  "You were grinding your teeth as you slept. It was both annoying and concerning, so I thought an outing would do you some good. "

  "First off, dont watch me sleep, and secondly-"

  "Oh, hush," Torin said with no real heat. "Cant you just lie back on your pillows and enjoy this lovely summers day?"

  "Its February, and I am lying back," I reminded him.

  "In the outside world," Torin said. "But in here, it can be whatever we want. "

  That was a dangerous line of thought. Torin was good at this kind of thing; offering dreams and wishes and perfect days. But none of it was real, and none of it was free.

  Still, it was nice to feel warm and drowsy in the sunshine, not worrying about Finley or Mom or ghosts or-shudder-high school.

  Leaning over the side of the boat, I let my fingers trail in the cool water. It took me a second to realize I didnt have a reflection. Sitting up, I squinted at Torin. "I get the no-mirrors thing, but even water is unreflective?"

  "My rules," he said easily.

  There was a flash of movement on the far bank, and I lifted my head to see a woman moving along the shore. She was wearing a heavy dress of purple brocade, the sunlight picking up hints of blue in her black hair. "Whos that?"

  "Hmm?" Torin turned his head, and seeing the woman, he scowled. "What is she doing here?"

  A flick of his wrist, and the woman vanished; but Torin kept scowling. "Thats odd. I didnt invite Rowena here. " He squinted at me. "Did you?"

  "Since I dont even know who Rowena is, no. "

  Torin turned his gaze back to the spot where shed been. "Rowena was a member-" He broke off, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "No matter. "

  I sat there waiting for him to say more, but Torin simply closed his eyes, tilting his face to the sun. I didnt know much about the life hed lived pre-mirror, and sometimes I wondered if that was for the best. It was too weird to think of Torin as just a normal guy-a normal boy, really-wandering around in the world.

  We were quiet for a long time, and I might have dozed off. Was that even possible? Sleeping inside of a dream? With Torin, who knew? Still, I was startled when he suddenly said, "You should just be yourself. "