by Mara Webb
When I got in, I set up the remote for Quin and put his food in the refrigerator. Then I ran up the stairs to prepare for the test. I had no deadline for this but felt like the sooner I completed it the better. I would be able to perform real magic, defend myself, take part in some of the work the council does that would require more powerful spells than I could do with just my hands and chanting.
I read through the powerpoint that O.W.L. had emailed to me and started to play the audiobook for the wand proficiency test guide. The test itself was multiple choice and the topics covered were mentioned in the same order as the guidebook.
“One of these is a common spell for removing weeds from a lawn while leaving the grass unscathed. Select the weeding spell,” and “If you hear the words ‘ignis mittent’ from an enemy in a duel, which spell should you perform in defense? Select ONE answer.”
Fortunately, my 99% was enough to pass the exam, as 98% apparently required a resit. Confetti fired out of my laptop, more forcefully than last time, and once the paper settled a long thin box was lying on the desk beside me.
The cardboard that the box was made of was a slight yellow color, like pale lemon rind. Lifting off the lid allowed me to see the thin wooden object within. My wand was intricately carved, eleven inches of maple with a core made from dragon scales and a fairy’s tibia, according to the tag. The carvings were witches running from townsfolk with flaming torches.
I held the wand in my hand and the carvings started to move around the wood as if the people depicted there were actually trapped inside. It was a living, flowing, powerful thing that was now mine to use. With my right hand wrapped around the handle, I could feel that same strange heat on my palm and fingers that I had felt the day that lawyer, or whatever she was, had grabbed me. Magic coursing through my veins. I wanted to sit in this feeling forever but a sound from downstairs let me know that I had other responsibilities.
My cell was ringing on the kitchen counter. Ryan needed me to urgently join him and the other council members on the southern, outermost border of Sucré, I was instructed to bring my wand. I pointed out that I had owned a wand for just under three minutes when he called me, but he assured me that they could train me quickly, it was an emergency.
I told Quin I needed to leave but he protested.
“Wait!” he shouted as he hurried down the stairs after me. “While you were upstairs, I stepped on your cell and it started playing Joan tapes out loud. I was going to turn it off but then there was a huge fight and I think I have an idea about who killed Edith. I am not sure though, I need you to listen to it all too, then we can talk about it.”
“Sounds great Quin, maybe whe—"
“Maybe we could get one of those cork boards with the photographs and maps and red yarn and start linking things together. Have a few brainstorming sessions, interview some suspects, double check some alibis, go undercover one night together maybe?”
Oh brother.
“Quin, I have to leave right now. We can do all of that when I get back but please just keep any theories to yourself. You can’t go around accusing people of murder. Promise? You can watch any channel you want now, please stay out of trouble.” He reluctantly agreed and I, with wand in hand, drove to the southern border to face the most terrifying thing my eyes have ever seen.
I didn’t need to drive as far as Ryan had asked. I saw the other council members about a mile short of where I was supposed to meet them. I had thought it might be awkward to see Benjamin again but there was no time for that. The group were firing sparks and beams of light from their wands towards a spider-like creature that was 15ft tall, it’s pincers dripping with saliva as tentacles waved frantically out of its back. It was such a deep brown and black color that it was hard to make out, but it looked like it might be bleeding. Whatever it was the council were attacking it.
“NORA!” Ryan yelled, “Stand by me, I will show you what to do!” I ran quickly to his side, listened carefully to his quick explanations of a few spells that they were using to injure the creature and the intended spell that they would all cast at once on his signal.
This was an incredibly steep learning curve in wand use.
I shouted “Cultro!” and my wand shot at the creature. Where the light touched the surface of its skin a wound appeared, it screeched in pain. “Cultro!” I shouted again.
“Germinat!” I heard Benjamin shout.
I looked over at him and saw that he was wearing the same suit that he had worn to my house, the wine stain seemed to have been washed out but not entirely. His face looked older somehow, I tried to get a better look but Amber shouted “NORA MOVE!” and I quickly ran towards her voice as the creature moved a giant leg closer to where I had just been standing.
“Get ready!” Ryan shouted, locking eyes with each of us in turn to make sure we were listening, “NOW!”
As one voice the five of us shouted “Exsilium!” and a red beam fired from each of the wands, as each beam reached the creature it staggered backwards. With all five red beams hitting it at once it screeched and took large steps back, we walked towards it to maintain the spell that was shooting it away. This went on for several seconds before the creature could take no more and turned to bound away from us at speed, running on its many legs in the direction of a dense forest.
We were each covered in sweat and dirt that the creature had kicked up in its retreat. They all walked towards me, out of breath but laughing a little.
“Not bad for a first try.” Ryan smiled, and mopped his forehead with the back of his sweatshirt. They explained that the creature had escaped from the forest and in its confusion was heading towards Sucré. The alarm system that the council had put in place alerted them to its approach and they were able to get there in time to defend the town. Ryan asked Amber to make sure they added my cell number to the alert system when she got a chance and they suggested we all go for a drink at The Lion’s Head, a bar in town. Ryan, Amber and Jennifer tapped themselves with their wands and were suddenly clean, Benjamin seemed to be keeping an eye on the creature to make sure it didn’t come back. I wished I knew how to magic the filth off myself.
I didn’t think before I spoke. “I would love to, but I have my family tree assignment to finish and Quin thinks he knows who murdered Edith, so I better get home and hear him out.”
What if Quin thought one of them was the murderer? They exchanged glances.
“Well if you need to take off then don’t let us keep you, thanks again for your help. You really have got the Wildes power, not a lot of newbies could take on a creature that size and live to tell the tale,” Ryan said, smiling again.
I turned to walk all the way back to my car. What just happened? Did I actually just fight a giant spider thing and then tell everyone about my cat’s murder conspiracy? The sooner I get home the better, I needed to wash off the dirt and spider blood, then speak to Quin. Had he really figured out who had killed her?
I used my phone as a GPS to get back to the house. I would have to learn the roads around here at some point, but I had needed to get out this far in a hurry, so it wasn’t the time for guesswork. Suddenly the voice from the map on my cell phone announced a re-route, it has anticipated traffic at a particular exit that I needed to take, a faster route was now available on some less populated roads.
Who would live round here? There were a few houses, but they were a good distance from the street, there was daylight, but trees blocked out so much of the sun that it was almost dark, mottled light and shadow danced across damaged tarmac.
It was then that I saw a car in my rearview mirror, it was getting closer and closer, its speed increasing with each passing second.
Could they not see me in the shade of these trees?
I flashed the lights on my car. Any bulb that I could control was blinking wildly so that they could see, but the car behind me didn’t slow down.
Then I realized that they were trying to hit me. I tried to pull away, but it was too late.
&
nbsp; The vehicle smashed into mine.
I screamed; my arms fixed tightly to the steering wheel as I lost control. The wheels under me turned. My car veered off the road and hit a wall of trees with a sickening crunch.
For a few seconds everything was quiet. My eyes were closed. My heart was racing.
I assumed I was dead.
Opening my eyes, I saw smoke pluming up from the car’s crumpled hood. I pushed myself back into my seat and away from the airbag. My belt had kept me from hurtling through the windscreen and the airbag saved my face from the wheel.
I was ok, just shaken.
I felt a pull to get home urgently. I need to get back to the house, it wasn’t safe. Quin. I couldn’t see the face of the driver, but I could see enough in the mirror to recognize what they were wearing.
I had been thrust off the road by a driver in a sweatshirt.
12
The car would start, that was good. I just needed to reverse up this verge and back to the road. All I could do is hope. I pulled my wand out of my bag and held it tightly in my hand, please. I put the car into reverse, pressed my wand against the dashboard and put my foot down. It was working. My car somehow was moving backwards up the hill despite the damage to the engine from the crash.
Keep going.
I willed it to make the final push up onto the tarmac and focused my thoughts on getting there. I’m up, please make it home. I needed this car to make it all the way there. The sputtering sounds from the car didn’t fill me with confidence but the wheels spun, and I was able to build speed. Please be ok.
I was on Charm Close now and could see the house. From the outside it appeared undisturbed. I pulled onto the driveway and the car cut out. There was no movement at the window. I opened the front door and was greeted by silence. Quin was gone. No. Could Ryan have taken Quin? Why would he hit my car? I had told them all at the border that Quin thought he had identified Edith’s killer. It must be him. Ryan was a murderer. But why? I needed to rescue my familiar, my best friend.
I knew Ryan lived on a big piece of land from the tapes of the meeting discussing the explosion of his barn last year. I pulled my cell phone out of the back pocket and searched for “barn explosion Sucré”. The first result was from a local newspaper called ‘The Sucré Sun,” and it was an article about the incident last year.
It read “Mr. Ryan Hughes, of 22 Gallows Hill, was woken by an explosion at 2am last night. Looking out of his bedroom window he was able to see his barn ablaze and made a frenzied call to the fire department. Unfortunately, the barn was not saved, and the contents destroyed beyond recognition.’ 22 Gallows Hill.
I had his address, so I knew where to find Quin. Yes! I knew where he was. I just needed to get there. I stepped outside and looked at my car. “Can you do this one thing for me? I will get you fixed tomorrow I promise.” The driver’s seat was still warm. I fastened my safety belt and pressed my wand to the dashboard again, the engine started. “Thank you! Thank you!” I said to the car, reversing off the driveway and heading to Gallows Hill.
The minutes of driving felt like an eternity, but the car made it. I pulled up to Ryan's house and jumped out to look around. I had my wand raised defensively in case he tried to attack me again, he had told me the spells to use on that giant spider and they would work on him too, right? His driveway was empty, where had he taken Quin? I thought he would come straight back here. No! Maybe he had brought my familiar into his house and then gone back out to search for me. I looked around, there were no vehicles in sight.
It was getting dark now, it had been such a long day already, but I needed to somehow break into the house of a powerful, murderous wizard and retrieve my cat. I didn’t have a plan for making that happen, or what would happen afterwards. I just hoped that the declining light could be used to my advantage.
Creeping up to the back door of the house I tried the handle, to my surprise it wasn’t locked. People in small towns, eh? The door creaked as I pushed it open, the hinges whining like a deflating balloon. I raised my wand higher still. I was in the kitchen, total silence wrapped around me like a blanket. If Ryan had brought Quin here, where would he have left him? I had to delve deeper into the house.
In my mind I made a list of the rooms as I entered them, drawing a strike through each one as I cleared them for having no signs of Quin. Kitchen strike, Lounge strike, hallway strike, cupboard under the stairs strike. I nervously climbed the staircase and cleared every room there too, the attic was also vacant, just boxes upon boxes labelled ‘small/decorative’, ‘medium/novelty’, ‘medium/artistic’ and other equally unusual words. I opened one of the boxes and saw a ceramic gnome with a fishing rod staring back at me.
Ryan collected gnomes? Is that what had been in his barn?
Quin wasn’t here. How would I ever find him? I had been in Ryan's house for over 40 minutes and searched every drawer, looked under every piece of furniture and opened every kitchen cabinet. Now what? I would have to ask for help. If I went to The Lion’s Head, I could explain to the others what had happened and they could help, I had to try.
Using the wand pressed against the dashboard technique again I was able to start my exhausted car and crawl towards the bar in town. The wheels were turning but I was struggling to speed up, at points it would have been quicker to walk but I willed for the car to keep going and it did. Once I had reached the street where the bar stood the loud sighing sound started again and I realized that all this magic was starting to give my car an energy like a living thing. It was sighing with frustration that it was injured and still had to move around. I could hear shouting on the street.
Was I in danger already?
The shouting was coming from an elderly lady that had started an argument with a bus driver. I recognized the woman; she had been shouting at a traffic cop on the high street a few days ago. I tried to remember what she had been screaming about then but was too caught up in her current anger to think straight.
“DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? HOW DARE YOU DRIVE SO CLOSE TO THE SIDEWALK, YOU COULD HAVE SPLASHED ME DRIVING THROUGH THAT PUDDLE!”
The bus driver was trying to explain that although he was sorry for bothering her with his bus, she was completely dry, and he wasn’t sure what exactly she was angry about. This made her angrier for some reason. I had to get into the bar, I couldn’t listen to her screaming all night.
I walked quickly towards the entrance of the bar, the music was loud, and it was completely full of people dancing and drinking. What day was it?
Urgh. Friday.
The volume was so loud I doubted I would have been looked at twice if I started yelling. Moving around in here was going to be difficult but I needed to find the rest of the council, then they could help me find Ryan. I wasn’t sure how all this would be received. I have been in town for less than a week and I am accusing a person they know and trust of kidnap and murder.
I wrestled my way towards the bar and leaned up onto the counter to raise my head above the crowd. I spotted Amber ordering drinks on the other side. Getting over to where she stood was going to be a slow process. I pushed my body through a wall of people, turning sideways so that my right shoulder went through any gaps I could identify. Making my body narrow like this allowed me to cut through to Amber quicker than I thought.
She caught my eye and I heard her shouting to the bartender, “BETTER MAKE THAT FOUR!”
Amber held up four fingers to clarify how many drinks she wanted. It was way too loud.
Four?
She put her arm around me and told me to hold a shot glass in each hand as we walked back to the table. Ryan was sitting next to Jennifer and Amber sat down on the other side of him. I pulled up a seat so that I was facing him. I wanted him to feel intimidated that I was there, but he was acting like nothing had happened. My fury was building. Where was Quin? Was I too late to save him? Please, no.
“To spiders!” shouted Jennifer, raising her glass.
“To Nora!” yelled Ryan, raisin
g his. I lifted my glass and threw the liquid into his face. Amber lifted up her hands and the whole bar fell into silence, no one around us was moving, not even breathing. She had frozen them all in time. Ryan blinked rapidly to guide the tequila out of his eyes.
“Where is Quin?” I yelled, my anger had brought me to my feet, and I stood tall above the three of them. He stared at me in disbelief. “Your arrogance is matched only by your cruelty. If you have hurt him, I swear, I will make you regre—” He stood up and started to speak, cutting me off.
“Nora, what is happening? What’s happened to Quin? Is she under a hallucinogenic curse Jen?” He turned to Jennifer who stood up and looked at both of my pupils carefully, turned to Ryan and shook her head.
“Nora, tell us what is happening, from the start. We can help.”
I was so confused, was he trying to humiliate me in front of Jen and Amber? I had seen him in the car, hadn’t I? He was making me doubt myself and the anger bubbled up into tears that rolled freely down my cheeks. Amber put a hand on my shoulder and encouraged me to sit and explain.
“Edith was murdered, you all know that don’t you? The coroner said she drowned but we can’t drown, can we? Witches would float, so someone killed her and made it look like she drowned in that lake. Jennifer, I know you found her.” I shot her a look. She lowered her head. “Quin was working through the meeting minutes, he said there was an argument and that he figured out who killed Edith, I mentioned it to all of you guys at the border and next thing I know Ryan is driving his car at me, knocking me into trees.
“I could have been killed. I get home and Quin is missing, obviously so he can’t tell me that it was Ryan that murdered my aunt! I don’t know how he did it yet, but I know it was you.” I got to my feet again and my hands twitched as I considered grabbing my wand from my inside jacket pocket, in front of all these frozen people.
The three of them had listened and now I stood waiting for a reaction, a response, anything. Ryan took a deep breath and began to speak.