Hexes and Exes

by Sarina Dorie

  “I’m sorry that happened to you.” I wished I knew the right words to comfort her. All I knew was what I wished someone had told me. “It isn’t your fault,” I said, crouching next to her.

  “My mother told me it was. She said I was a little slut and kicked me out. She was right. I did become a slut. I wanted sex all the time. It hurt, and I didn’t like it, but it made me feel powerful. It made my magic stronger so I could do incredible things.”

  “Stop. You are not a slut. Wanting sex doesn’t make you a slut.” I wished Bart had never said that. For being a unicorn, he could be a real jackass.

  “Like you would know.” Maddy crossed her arms and turned away. “Not everyone can be a perfect little virgin like you with her own unicorn boyfriend.”

  Hailey groaned.

  “I never claimed to be perfect,” I said. “I’m not even a virgin by choice. I just don’t want to kill anyone. I’m trying to make conscientious decisions not to put anyone in danger.”

  “I wish I could have what you have,” Maddy said. “To not know what it’s like. I wish I could start over so I wouldn’t think about it all the time.”

  Hailey groaned. “Are you freakin’ kidding me? Am I the only smart person in the room?” She looked to me, eyebrows raised as if waiting for me to say something.

  I didn’t know what she was going on about.

  “The answer is obvious. I mean, come on, you know what I’m talking about, right?” Hailey waved a hand at Maddy and then to me. “It’s the answer to both your problems.”

  “What?” I asked.

  She whispered something to Imani. The other girl shook her head, eyes wide.

  Hailey shrugged. “I shouldn’t say it. You’re a teacher.”

  I threw my hands up in frustrated cluelessness.

  Greenie’s furrowed brow scrunched up even more as revulsion painted across her face. “Are you implying what you think you are? Don’t say it in front of an adult. You’ll get in trouble.”

  My knowledge of sexuality was obviously limited compared to theirs since I had no idea what kind of illicit solution Hailey was suggesting.

  “You don’t have to be a virgin if you don’t want to. And Maddy doesn’t have to seduce boys to power her magic.” Hailey waggled her eyebrows. “Let’s just say wands can be used for more than magic spells.”

  I shook my head at her, not needing further explanation. “I don’t think teachers are allowed to discuss this with students.”

  Hailey, oblivious, went on. “Just in case you don’t know what I’m talking about—”

  I held a palm up to stop her. “I do. You don’t need to—”

  “Masturbation,” she said.

  “Agh!” Greenie covered her ears. “That’s a bad word.”

  “It’s not a swear word,” I said, but even I felt uncomfortable using it due to my lack of sex education early on.

  Imani covered her face, giggling. Maddy remained somber. She looked like she might be considering the idea.

  Hailey shrugged. “I’m just saying there are smarter ways to handle sexual needs than seducing Thatch.” She made a barfing noise.

  “Okay, good. Problem solved.” Not that I thought Hailey’s simplistic solution would solve my problem, but it might help Maddy. “If you want to talk more about this amongst yourselves later, that’s fine,” I said. “But any minute now, the principal or Mrs. Keahi is going to walk in and hear all this sex-education talk and tell me I’m fired.”

  It wouldn’t surprise me if they banned sex education in this realm in addition to psychology and computer science.

  I tucked the forbidden book under piles of papers on my desk.

  Thatch didn’t come up for dinner. I didn’t know if he was ready for me to visit so soon after the ordeal with Maddy.

  In the cafeteria, I made him a plate of food to take down to the dungeon. The worst that could happen is that he would shout at me to go away again and I would have to leave the plate at his door.

  I found him at his desk in his office grading papers. He was alone, his familiars absent from the cage and under his desk. I set down the tray with the soup and salad.

  He flung his quill down, splattering red ink across the paper he was grading, resting bitch face in place. “What?”

  His foul mood didn’t bode well. Tentatively, I scooted the tray forward on his desk.

  He tasted a spoonful of the soup, made a face, and set the spoon down. “You’ve brought me food, even if it isn’t very good food.”

  Knowing Thatch and his philosophy on showing gratitude in this realm, that was about as close as he would ever allow himself to say thank you.

  “You might as well say whatever it is you came to say.” He removed a glass vial from his top drawer, pinched a portion of black, white, and green powder into his hand and sprinkled it into the soup.

  “What’s that? Is it something magic to make school food taste good?”

  “Just so.” The hint of a smile cut through his crabby mood. “It’s salt and pepper mixed with Italian herbs.”

  “Yep. Magic.”

  He ate, ignoring me. I dreaded the conversation we needed to have. I sat on the armrest of the torture chair, trying not to sound epically awkward. “So, um, I came to talk to you about Maddy.”

  “Of course you did.”

  “I think I know why her magic is getting stronger and she’s having a harder time controlling herself. My magic is rubbing off on her. Not in a contagious way, but. . . .” I glanced over my shoulder.

  I got up and closed the door that led toward his detention room and then closed the other door to the hallway with his bedroom. “It’s my affinity. I think I’m making her powers stronger. Plus, all the time she spends with Imani isn’t helping.”

  He stirred his soup. “I’ve told Imani not to hug people with such cavalier disregard. I reminded you how your affinity affects people when we were at your fairy godmother’s house.” He set his spoon aside and dunked the bread into his soup. “One might think you would have gotten the hint.”

  So that lesson hadn’t just been for my mom’s benefit.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just a huggy person.”

  He arched an eyebrow at me. “I have made an error in judgment. I thought you could keep your affinity to yourself, but it seems that isn’t the case. It would be in everyone’s best interest to remove Maddy from your care so that she won’t be exposed to your magic.”

  I nodded. Guilt settled like a lump in my stomach. I’d been trying to help her, but every time I’d tried to show her love and nurturing, that magic had deepened her problems.

  “I didn’t mean to make things worse. I really want to help Maddy and Imani both,” I said.

  Thatch withdrew a bottle of salad dressing from a drawer. “We’re going to have to separate her from Imani Washington. Or at the very least, try to convince Imani to keep her hands to herself. Consider this a lesson to learn from.”

  “Right. Thanks for the pep talk.” I stood. “I’ll get out of your hair.”

  “Sit.”

  I gave him a crabby look that probably came close to equaling his own.

  “Please, sit.” He stirred the ranch dressing around in his salad, not meeting my eyes. “I would like to apologize.”

  I sat down in the torture chair. He had my attention at “apologize.”

  “I’m not above reproach. I should have realized what was going on sooner, but I was distracted . . . by other matters,” he said. “If I knew how to be a better mentor, I would be.”

  He picked at his salad. I had a feeling he wanted to say something more. I wondered if I was the only one who felt how awkward this was. I wanted to fill the silence with conversation, but I wasn’t good at small talk. Neither was he.

  “Are you ready to collect more items for your friend’s spell yet?” he asked. “Or are you still working on virgin tears and dragon eggs?”

  “Still working on it.”

  He gave me that look. The one that said, You ar
en’t even trying. You don’t care about Derrick, do you?

  I wanted to help Derrick, but every day was filled with hormonal teenagers and their drama. The immediacy of Maddy took precedence over the problems I wanted to solve. I remembered what Thatch had told me about Derrick. “How is Derrick going to explode?”

  His brows drew together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “You said he was like a bomb or something.”

  “I said he’s a ticking clock. The magic I’ve used to contain him is unstable. I have no idea how long it will remain effective. Every moment you waste brings him closer to a point I cannot undo.” He leaned closer, expression grim. “If you haven’t cried by now, perhaps thinking upon his death might assist you in this process. Or was he not your friend as you claim?”

  “I do want to help him. I would cry if I could.”

  I leaned back in the chair remembering my encounter with the invisible man and how I’d burned him with my phone. I thought about what Thatch had said to me previously.

  “Do you think I can’t cry because I might be turning evil?” I didn’t want to say “turning into my mother,” but that was what crossed my mind.

  “Why do you think you’re evil?” He stabbed at his salad.

  “You told me that might be why I can’t produce tears for your potion.”

  He snorted. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear, especially from me.”

  So he’d just been messing with me? Again. In the dictionary, a photograph of my face was probably set next to the definition of the word “gullible.”

  “Let’s see if any of your fears are founded,” he said. “Do you enjoy seeing others in pain?”

  “No.”

  “Have you been intentionally cruel to your students or friends for pleasure?”

  I shook my head. “Only my enemies. Does that count?” And then I felt guilty about it. Invismo hadn’t turned out to be an enemy.

  “Have your actions been motivated by morbid curiosity? Do you mock others and make up stories simply to see their reactions?”

  “No. Wait. Are you describing yourself? Do you think you’re evil?”

  He ignored my question. “Dr. Thatch gives you a clear bill of health. You’re welcome.”

  “Thanks, but that doesn’t actually help me.” Or Derrick. I would do anything to cure him. “If my well of tears has dried up, maybe we can ask another virgin for tears.” That was going to be majorly awkward. I hoped he wasn’t going to ask the students. Knowing my luck, he would probably tell me I had to ask students.

  “Your tears will be more practical for this counter curse. Something from you will help resolve what the Raven Queen wishes him to do to you.” He drummed his fingernails against his desk. “Have you tried pain? I’ve seen you cry from pain.”

  I rolled up my sleeve to show him my latest bruises from Vega when she had lassoed me to the wall. “It didn’t make me cry, but maybe it didn’t hurt enough.” The winter princess who had frozen me had hurt me enough to make me cry. I really didn’t like the idea of that.

  “There is another way.” He dabbed his napkin against his mouth and set his tray aside. “Are you willing to try?”

  I swallowed. This sounded ominous. “What do you have in mind?”

  He walked around the desk. “I won’t leave any marks or damage your body.”

  This didn’t sound any more reassuring. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll send a small electric current into your arm. I won’t go beyond what I think your affinity can handle. The moment you start to cry, I’ll absorb any lingering pain in your body so you won’t feel it. If you want me to stop, all you need to do is to say so.” He smiled, his expression not unkind, but his eyes remained serious. “Will you agree to let me try?”

  I hated pain. Then I thought of Derrick. For all I knew, he was being tortured by the Raven Queen this very moment. I didn’t want to be selfish and whine about whatever Thatch was going to do. This ingredient would just make me one step closer to finding him and helping him.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

  He took my hand and set it face up on the armrest of the metal chair. I shifted uneasily, trying not to tense. He pressed his palm flat against mine, burying my hand under his long fingers. He muttered under his breath as he rubbed his wand up and down my forearm. As he did so, the air turned charged and electric. Ozone mingled with the perfume of starlight and dusty books. Electrons shifted inside me, moving faster, more frantic. My skin grew warm. He lifted the wand, but my flesh continued to heat. Lightning flashed up my arm, blue light glowing from underneath my skin.

  I screamed as the pain came. My eyes burned, and I choked. The pain wicked away, leaving my arm cool and numb.

  “Where is the vial?” Thatch asked.

  “The vial?” I blinked up at him, tears pooling at the corners of my eyes. I didn’t carry vials around with me all the time.

  He made a face and unlocked his closet. It only took him a second to find one.

  He stooped to collect the tears at the corners of my eyes.

  “How was that?” he asked. “Can you do it again?”

  I nodded stoically. Better to get this over with all in one sitting. He began anew. The shock of the lightning was just as horrible as it had been the first time. He kept his word and stopped when tears sprung to my eyes. The moment he absorbed the extra pain and energy, relief flooded through me.

  I blew my nose on an old tissue in my pocket. Out of the two of us, Thatch was the one who looked the worse for wear. He took slow and controlled breaths like someone trying not to appear winded, but his face was flushed, and a fine sheen of sweat glistened on his face.

  “Excuse me. I need to sit down.” He went around to the other side of his desk and plopped down in the comfy chair.

  “Did you get enough tears?” I asked.

  “Hardly.” He lifted the vial.

  It was about a fourth of the way full. This was some serious work, but I hadn’t expected it to be easy. “I’m ready when you are,” I said.

  He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. “Perhaps we should do something a little less taxing for you. I have been thinking up more hurtful insults. We could try that instead.”

  “The pain thing worked pretty well.”

  “Indeed.” He chewed his lower lip, thinking it over. “Give me your hand again. The other one this time.”

  I started to make my way around his desk.

  He held up a hand to stop me. “Remain on that side of the table.”

  That’s right. He had a thing about touching.

  I returned to the other side. His desk was too wide to reach across comfortably. I leaned against the desk, my arms stretched across. He placed his arms out to reach mine. There was a lot more space between us now. He ran his wand up the inside of my arm. At first the tickle was pleasant, but as the skin warmed, the sensation grew uncomfortably hot. I held his gaze for as long as I could before the pain consumed me. It was blindingly sharp. My knees turned to jelly, and I sagged against the desk.

  The pain wicked away, and I was left with tears. I tried to shift off of his desk, but Thatch’s hands clutched my wrists. His eyes were closed, and he breathed more heavily now. Slowly, reluctantly he drew back, blinking and looking groggy. He lifted the vial again and held it to my cheek to collect tears.

  His voice was rough, a raw edge lacing the words. “Tilt your head to the side.”

  I did so, accidentally jabbing my eye into the bottle. “Ow!”

  He laughed. “You’re a moron.”

  “I meant to do that. I’m just trying to give you more tears.”

  “Brilliant.” He leaned back in the chair and laughed harder. The tears sloshed around in the vial, dangerously close to spilling. I’d never seen him so unguardedly happy, if laughing at someone else’s pain counted as happiness.

  He cleared his throat and scooted toward me again. A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. I
t was easier to be around him when he smiled like this. He was less formidable.

  He took my chin in his hands and tilted my head at an angle, collecting another drop from my eyelashes. His hand was warm against my jaw, gentle compared to earlier. Small surges of electricity pleasantly prickled my skin where he touched me, most likely remnants of the lightning spell he’d been casting.

  He held up the vial so I could see it was halfway full. “I need more,” he said.

  “Okay.”

  He grabbed my arm, dragging me across the desk. My skirt started to slide down and I yanked it up before I mooned him. In my haste to cover myself, I elbowed the dinner tray onto the floor, the empty bowls and cutlery falling with a clatter.

  “Sorry.” I tried to scoot back. “I can pick those up for—”

  “Later.” He pulled me closer.

  He grabbed me by the wrists again. He scooted himself closer to the desk. Now I had to crane my neck to see his expression. Mischief danced in his eyes. His fingers dug into my wrists. He wasn’t using the wand now.

  Pain flared up in my arms, just enough to make me tear up before fading away. Another stab of heat came before chilling. It felt as though my blood turned to icicles as it flowed down my arms and into his hands. He laughed, harder than before. Another wave hit me, and he sucked it away. From my angle prostrate across his desk it was hard to miss his erection.

  All of this was starting to make sense. I’d sort of suspected pain was something sexual for him back at the tattoo parlor. I didn’t completely mind either. I liked the idea of him being attracted to me. I wanted him to want me. I waited for him to cup my chin in his hand and touch the bottle to my face again. Instead, he sent another jolt up my arms.

  “I think I have enough tears to—” My breath caught as he did it again.

  He said something under his breath, his eyes closed. A spell probably.

  This time as the pain came, it didn’t stay localized in my arms. It jolted into my bones and surged up into my spine. I screamed at the intensity of it. Like before, the heat chilled into ice and wicked away. Thatch moaned.