In the end, it didn’t matter what she felt. Their relationship—their friendship—was based on trust and respect. Despite their failings, when push came to shove they knew they could depend on each other. At least she thought so. Sebastian had been acting strange lately, but perhaps it was just the stress of him trying to impress her. She had never felt this way about anyone before, so she had no idea what “normal” even was.
“Lily?” Sebastian’s uncertain question brought her back from her thoughts, and she realized they’d been standing in awkward silence for some time.
Forcing herself to look up, she took a deep breath, Sir Kipling’s admonition echoing in her mind. “I—I’m sorry. For saying…those things I said…at the hotel…” It was what she should have told him last night. She had no idea if they were “okay” in the sense that Sebastian meant—whatever that was. But she did know that he was her best friend, and friends shouldn’t let grievances stand between them.
“Oh…um, yeah. Thanks.” Sebastian gave a jerky nod, seeming taken aback—as if her apology was not what he’d expected. Well, so much for easing the tension. “I guess I’ll, uh, be going now.” Despite his words, he hesitated.
“Yes?”
“Please…please promise me you’ll be safe, Lily?”
“Only if you promise to do the same,” she said, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.
Instead of smiling back, Sebastian’s eyes darkened and a grimace flashed across his face. The brief look was so surprising, Lily wasn’t sure what it was. Anguish? He seemed to want to say more, his body leaning in her direction with the intensity of his need. But in the end, he simply said, “Be well, Lil,” and opened the door to slip quietly out.
Lily stared through the open door at the back of his leather jacket as he descended the steps and headed to his car, shoulders hunched in the morning chill. He didn’t look back, but instead climbed into his old wreck of a car, moments later bringing it to shuddering life and pulling away from her apartment. It wasn’t until he had turned the corner and disappeared from view that Lily remembered his tux jacket was still hanging in her bedroom, conveniently forgotten.
Troubled, but not sure why, Lily could only shake her head as she collected her coat and carpet bag from the stand beside the door and headed out to pay her old mentor a visit.
3
A New Wizard on the Block
Since it would have been impolite to appear on Madam Barrington’s doorstep unannounced—living in the South had done little to alter her mentor’s innate Britishness—Lily dug out her cell phone and called as soon as she—and of course Sir Kipling—were situated in the car.
“Hello? Barrington residence.”
“Mother?”
“Why, Lily, I didn’t expect to hear from you this weekend! You said you would be busy.”
Oops.
In all her worry about the meeting with Richard, she had completely forgotten this was the second weekend of the month—the weekend in which her mother drove up from Alabama with her little brother, Jamie, for his monthly magic lesson with Madam Barrington. While the older wizard had not been able to take Jamie on as a full-time student like she had many other young pupils during her decades as a private tutor, she had agreed to see him one weekend a month, saving Lily’s poor mother the arduous task of trying to teach the impetuous youth all by herself. If it had been up to Jamie, of course, he would have been living with Madam Barrington and studying every day. But the boy was only sixteen, and entirely too much of a handful for the elderly wizard in her state of health. The curse that John Faust had cast on Lily’s mentor last fall had permanently sapped her strength, and she now looked much closer to her true age—Lily wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but certainly over a hundred. There were dark moments when Lily wondered how things might have been different if only she’d been able to protect her mentor, or if her father simply hadn’t been an egomaniacal fanatic.
“Lily?”
Her mother’s voice broke into her somber thoughts and she quickly shoved the matter from her mind. “Yes, Mother, sorry. I was planning on other things today, but a, um, sensitive matter has come up. I need to speak to Ethel right away. Do you think she would mind me interrupting her lesson with Jamie?”
“If she were actually having one, I’m sure she would be all too happy to be interrupted. I swear that boy would try the patience of a saint. It’s a wonder his father and I have managed to resist strangling him this long.”
“What? Is she feeling all right? What’s the matter?”
“Oh, nothing’s wrong. She was just called away to visit another student—a new one, apparently. I’m keeping an eye on Jamie at the house.”
Now Lily was even more puzzled. A new student? Of course, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, and she knew she wasn’t acquainted with even a fraction of Madam Barrington’s extensive contacts among wizard families. Not that there were many of them left, but still, some of them had to be having children. She just hadn’t known her old mentor was still open to taking on new students. Jamie, of course, had been the exception, since Lily’s mother, Mary—formerly Freda LeFay—was a past student herself and a very old friend. Lily felt a moment of worry, wondering if her mentor was overextending herself when she should have been preserving her strength.
“Well, do you know when she will be back?”
“Hopefully not long. She didn’t expect to be gone all day, in any case. I’ll give you a call as soon as she gets home.”
Lily sighed. “All right. Thank you, Mother. Goodbye.”
“I hope to see you over here today, providing Ethel doesn’t get in too late,” Freda put in. “Jamie has been dying to show you the conjuring runes he’s been learning.”
“She’s teaching him conjuring already? We didn’t cover that until my second year.” Lily pursed her lips, feeling vexed.
“Believe me, it wasn’t Ethel’s idea. I caught the insufferable child trying to conjure his sister Becca’s diary a few weeks ago and nearly had a heart attack. His father tanned his backside to a dry strip of leather for that stunt. Could have killed himself, the ninny. In any case, Ethel decided it was best to go ahead and make sure he understood the extreme danger—and cost—of that spell class. She has a poignant lesson in store for him, something to teach him a lesson and hopefully knock some sense into that thick skull of his. If it doesn’t work, I doubt he’ll live out the year.”
Lily felt a pang of sympathy at the worry in her mother’s voice. Despite the jokes, Lily could tell her mother was deeply concerned, even fearful, for her youngest’s safety. “I’ll be sure to come by one way or another. Perhaps I can have a talk with him.”
“Oh, would you? You know he looks up to you, even if he would never admit it.”
“Of—of course. I’ll wait to hear from you. Goodbye.”
“Bye now, sweetie.”
Lily put her phone away and sighed, leaning her head back on the car seat’s headrest.
“I’m sure he doesn’t remind you of anyone you know.” Sir Kipling didn’t even bother opening his eyes, simply kept his tail curled and his feet tucked under him as he huddled in the passenger seat, grumpy at the cold.
“I was an exemplary student, thank you very much.”
“I’m not talking about when you were Madam Barrington’s student. You did run away from home to come to Atlanta, after all, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t run away. I was eighteen,” Lily pointed out with a sniff.
“If you say so. By the way, if we aren’t going anywhere, why are we still sitting in this cold car?”
As if in answer, Lily’s phone rang.
“Well that was quick,” Lily muttered, picking it up to put it back to her ear. “Is Ethel back already?” she asked in way of greeting.
“Excuse me? Lily?”
“Oh! I’m so sorry, Ethel, I didn’t expect a call from you. Where are you? I didn’t think you had a cell phone.”
“You are correct, I do not.”
Lily’s brow furrowed. “But I called your house and Mother said you were out, um, visiting a student?” She felt apprehensive just as she always did when prying into her mentor’s private affairs. For years, Madam Barrington had been a tightly closed book, sharing very little about herself, her past, or anything beyond the magical knowledge directly related to the lessons she taught. It had only been in the past year—well, ever since Lily had discovered her father’s true identity and opened a rather large and violent can of worms—that the two of them had come to be on first-name terms.
“I am indeed visiting a student, and that is the reason for my call. I apologize for the inconvenience, Lily, but would you be so kind as to come and join me? There is some difficulty with the mother, and I feel that speaking with one of my previous students may help ease her fears.”
“Of course. I would be happy to help,” Lily answered, though her insides twisted uncomfortably at the thought of conversing with a stranger. It was up there on her list of least favorite things to do, right alongside changes to her routine and attending parties. “Once we’re finished, however, there is something I need to speak to you about, perhaps once we retire to your house.”
“Nothing serious, I hope?”
“I’m…not sure.”
“Well, then, let us be about our business. What will come, will come.” Madam Barrington told Lily where to meet, tone as no-nonsense and unflappable as always, and then bid her goodbye.
The address she was given took Lily to Buckhead, an area north of downtown Atlanta, but still inside the perimeter of 285. She was not at all surprised that her destination was located in an upscale neighborhood filled with huge, newly built houses. Of the few wizard families she was acquainted with, the majority of them were quite well-off, possibly due to a combination of their longer lives, savvy business investments, and perhaps a bit of magic here and there. This particular neighborhood was obviously meant to leave no doubt as to the wealth of its occupants. The large driveways were filled with shiny, expensive-looking cars, and every bit of lawn had been landscaped to within an inch of its life.
The house in question was easy to find what with Madam Barrington’s antique black Buick parked in front of it. Lily added her respectably aged Honda Civic to the mix, squinting in suspicion at the bright red Lexus nearest the garage. It looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t place where she might have seen it. At least in the midst of all these riches she didn’t have to feel self-conscious about her appearance. She always dressed professionally, and there was just something about pencil skirts that never went out of style.
“Stay in the car, Kip,” she told her cat as she got out. “This is obviously a delicate situation, and I don’t want to make it worse by bringing in a pet unannounced.”
Sir Kipling looked affronted. “Excuse me? Pet? Your lack of faith in my discretion wounds me. Besides, it’s too cold to wait out here. If you would just cast a heat spell on my ward collar like I’ve asked, we wouldn’t have this problem.”
“That’s a frivolous use of magic and you know it. You have a perfectly functional coat of fur to keep you warm, so don’t even try to pretend like you’re suffering. Besides, it’s not your discretion that I doubt: it’s your opinion of when such discretion is necessary that worries me.”
“Either way, I’m not staying in the car.”
Lily sighed. It had been worth a try, at least.
“Just please stay out of sight. And be careful. They might have a dog.”
Sir Kipling didn’t even bother replying to such needless worry, and simply hopped out of the car and disappeared into the shrubbery. Lily closed the door and headed up the front walk, trying not to stare at the garish stone edifice rising before her. A sweeping flight of stairs took her up to the portico, where she rang the bell beside a grand set of double doors. The windows were made of beautifully arranged patterns of cut glass, and she could not see within as she waited. Finally, she heard the quick tread of feet, and a blurred figure appeared beyond the windows. Lily stepped back, preparing a smile and polite explanation as to her presence on their expensive doorstep. But the sight of the young man who opened the door made her forget everything she was about to say.
“Seth? Seth Humphrey?” Her astonished question did not seem to surprise him, and he glanced down.
“Um, hey. I wasn’t sure if you’d remember me.”
“Remember? I rather think you’d be hard to forget, considering how we met.” Indeed the memory was vivid—a fireball hurtling toward her and Sebastian pushing her out of the way. Of course, that was when she had only just met “Mr. Blackwell,” and not minutes after the fireball attack they had discovered their assailant was an inexpert and very frightened teen whom they had caught by surprise. Seth Humphrey, the wizard son of a controlling mother who hated her magical heritage and wanted to forget it existed, had been studying magic in secret and thought they had been sent by his mother to put a stop to it. Of course, they had only been following the trail of some stolen wizard texts, and everything had worked out in the end once explanations had been exchanged and nerves had calmed. She had sent him home in that very same red Lexus, though only after he had promised not to practice magic again until he was eighteen and could be more responsible about it. Not wanting to leave him completely to his own devices, she had also given him her name and told him to find her at Agnes Scott if he still wanted to study magic once he came of age. She had not possessed the slightest intention of teaching him herself, naturally, but had felt sure she could find someone to help the boy, even if Madam Barrington was not interested in taking on a new student. So how was it that Madam Barrington was the one here, while Lily had not heard from the boy since that fateful day?
“So…I suppose you’re eighteen now?” Lily ventured after a lengthy silence during which Seth seemed unable to speak or look at her.
“Uh, yeah. A little past. Doesn’t seem to have done me much good, though.”
“So I gather. That, I believe, is why I am here.”
Seth finally looked up, truly meeting her eyes for the first time. “Do you think you can? Talk to her, I mean? I know I’m eighteen and all, so she can’t really tell me what to do, but…well, you know. She’s my mom. She already cut off my allowance when I wouldn’t back down.”
“Why didn’t you find me at Agnes Scott? I could have helped.”
The young man looked down at his shoes again. “I was going to. I’ve been studying hard, everything I could get my hands on since we met. And I kept my promise. I haven’t used any magic, like you said. But then I made the mistake of bringing it all up to Mom. Okay, so I sort of threatened to leave and go join my ‘wizard friends.’ Mom had a fit. Said I was grounded, took my phone, my keys, you know the drill. I guess I haven’t had the nerve yet to just leave…”
He trailed off, and Lily felt a pang of sympathy, memories of her own youth assaulting her. She hadn’t just threatened, but had actually left—though in her case she’d had much less to lose. She had been raised to be self-sufficient, and since there wasn’t much on her Alabama farm to leave behind, her decision to move to Atlanta had been logical, if not exactly easy. Of course, it had also been a different situation. She had left with a plan and a college acceptance letter in hand, complete with scholarship aid because of her poor background. This boy didn’t look as if he would fare quite as well, especially not if he was cut off from his parents’ money and support.
“Look, Seth…leaving your family behind…it just isn’t a decision to take lightly. It’s true that your mother is no longer your legal guardian. But that doesn’t mean she no longer cares for you or wants what’s best for you. She’s probably just used to being in control, and magic frightens her. I’ll talk to her, but you have to promise me to be patient and not abandon your family on a whim.”
Seth nodded, though he didn’t look hopeful. “Come on inside. Mom’s in the drawing room with the old lady.”
“That’s Madam Barrington to you, youn
g man,” Lily corrected him sternly as she stepped into the grand front hall. “How did she get tangled up in this, anyway?”
“No idea. Mom knows her, I guess, and called her after I said I was going to leave. Maybe she thought the old lady—I mean Madam Barrington,” he corrected himself at Lily’s narrowed eyes, “could convince me to forget about magic. They’ve been holed up in there for almost an hour.” He nodded toward a set of closed doors off the main hall.
Lily let a small smile show through. “Oh, things aren’t as bad as all that. Stay here, and don’t worry.”
Marshaling her nerve, Lily marched down the ornate rug running the length of the hall and set her hand on one of the double door handles. She briefly considered knocking, but decided that would come off as timid. So, moving quietly, she opened a door and slipped inside.
The room was large and elegantly decorated, but not in the antique, dignified way that Lily enjoyed seeing in many historic homes around Atlanta. The decor within was sparse, but stylish, all creams accented with silver and grass green, giving off a modern art-deco feel. A middle-aged woman, blond hair as styled and perfect as the room, sat on a cream sofa facing the implacable figure of Madam Barrington, who sat on the edge of an armchair, back as straight as a board. The elderly wizard was dressed, as usual, in black, the style of her blouse and skirt harkening back to a bygone era, and she gripped a black, silver-capped cane in her hands. Both women turned to look at her as Lily closed the door behind her with a soft click.
“Ah, excellent. Mrs. Humphrey, may I present my former student, Miss Lillian Singer, current archive manager at Agnes Scott College. Miss Singer, this is Mrs. Humphrey, first cousin to the Chandler family, of whom I have tutored several promising young wizards. She knew of my reputation through them and contacted me to ask about the education of her son.”
Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus Betrayal Page 6
