Playing With Fire

by Adrienne Woods et al.

  “Best friend?”

  “I didn’t tell you about that.” Danny said quickly.

  “I know. Gaston told you to go to the police, Danielle.”

  “Mom, they didn’t hurt me.”

  “So, you were with him?”

  “It’s a long story. It’s real. Magic is real. Your gift is real. Those books are real. Marick can help us find out where we came from. This is his history, Mom. I know it’s a lot of information to take in. Time will make things clearer. Mom, please?” she begged.

  “I need coffee. Marick, you want coffee?”

  “That will be nice, thank you.”

  “Danielle?” she asked.

  “I’ll help.”

  “No, you stay. I need to think,” she said, and Danielle sat back down on the couch. She fell with her face in her palms and her elbows resting on her thighs.

  “Hey,” I said. “Look at me, Danielle.”

  She lifted her head.

  “It’s going to be fine. She’s dealing with this much better than your first time.”

  “You can say that again.”

  “I’m talking about the limo.”

  She laughed softly.

  “She hasn’t screamed yet.”

  “She isn’t going to give Eva to us, Marick.” She got up. “I fucked up,” she said and covered her face with her hands.

  I got up from my chair, walked to her, and turned her around. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her head. “Time will fix everything. It always has.”

  “I’m so sorry, Marick.”

  “Stop apologizing. You didn’t know.”

  She wasn’t squirming way from my touches anymore. She was less tense, and she let me hug and comfort her when she needed it.

  Her mother waltzed in carrying a tray with three cups.

  Danielle’s hands flew to her mouth to suppress a laugh.

  “What is so funny?” Liz set the tray on the table and sat down.

  “Nothing.”

  I looked at Minaut and gave her the eye. This wasn’t a time for her humor. This was serious.

  “You can hear my thoughts?” Liz asked skeptically.

  “No, no, not yours, someone else.”

  “His thoughts?”

  “No, Mom.”

  “Then who? The cat’s?” her mother asked, exasperated, and Danny couldn’t keep her laughter in anymore.

  “Marick, what is wrong with my daughter.”

  “Nothing is wrong with her. She can hear the cat’s thoughts, and Minaut is apparently witty. Sorry, Mrs. Laurent.”

  “He’s serious?”

  “Mom, yes, okay, Minaut is not an ordinary cat. She’s special. Can he please see the books now?”

  “It’s our family’s books, Danielle.”

  “He’s here to help,” she snapped.

  “Fine.” Her mother got up. “Why don’t you give her the cure to get back her memories?” she asked me.

  “Because there isn’t one,” I said.

  She squinted. “I know for a fact there is one because I read the ingredients last night.”

  My eyes shot up at her. “What?”

  “It’s in one of my books.”

  I didn’t care how powerful or dangerous those books were. If there was indeed a cure in one of her mother’s books, I needed to get into that room.

  “A little while longer, please,” Danielle said and bend down and patted Minaut’s head. She hated being in cat form, but Danielle’s mother wasn’t ready for that yet.

  Liz was taking all of this fairly easily. But then, Danny did say Liz strongly believed that they came from a line of witches.

  “Is there a cure, Marick?” Danny asked me as we got up from out seats.

  “There was a long time ago, but the book was lost among many others.”

  As I came nearer to the closed door, the magic felt strong. How on earth did this house contain all of it’s magic? We have the temple shielded with years and years of strong magic to contain the books back in our world.

  In the office, closed boxes were packed on top of each other and stacked against the walls. Liz was busy opening one box. When she ducked into the box, I felt the immense power.

  I looked at all the boxes. These were all magical manuscripts. The magic wasn’t evil. It was the magic from all these manuscripts combined that made me and Minaut felt stifled.

  She took out the one book put it on the table. It was old, black, and leather-bound. The sight of the embellished symbol on them made me gasp.

  Danielle looked at me as I moved to stand next to her mother. “It’s this one! The one that contains the potion,” I said. Liz paged through the book for me and stopped at the Remembrance Potion. I touched the words softly and felt the power behind the blood it was written in. I closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again.

  “Why do you look like that? Isn’t this a good thing? It’s the cure,” Liz said.

  This potion was a legend. I grew up speaking about these sorts of potions in secret dens at the academy among friends, what grandparents told grandchildren from one generation to the next. No one has ever seen them or touched their words, and here they were, right in front of me. I turned the page—more potions that were among the legendary potions: The potion to grant life, more time, was scrawled out in red ink before me. An immortality potion followed it. Witches aren’t immortal. A specific potion had to be used, but that was also known as a forbidden potion because of its ingredients.

  I closed the book and pinched the bridge of my nose tight to push back the headache that was busy forming from all the magic in this room.

  “Marick, you okay?” Danielle asked.

  “This can’t be,” I said softly and let the bridge of my nose go.

  “You know these books, don’t you?” she asked again.

  “Do all of them look like this?” I ignored Danny’s question for a moment and looked at Liz.

  Her mother nodded. “More or less.”

  I looked back at Danielle. “These books were lost to us in a fire, a long time ago.”

  Danny looked at me with a frown. I looked at her mother. “I need to see the pictures of your ancestors.

  “Which fire, Marick?”

  I didn’t answer her. Danny didn’t know about the king and queen, the ones we took over for.

  Her mother handed me a box filled with journals. Inside was a wooden box.

  “Marick, which fire?” Danny pressed.

  I looked over my shoulder. She looked petrified.

  I got up slowly.

  “Are you speaking about Philip’s family?”

  Minaut must have told her. “How do you know about her brother?”

  “She told me how he died: that he was executed with his family, that they were evil, that their entire family line was wiped out.”

  “Who is Philip?”

  “The cat’s brother, Mom.”

  “The cat has a brother?”

  “Had. A long time ago,” Danielle yelled. “Speak to me.” She looked at me.

  “Yes, they destroyed half of the books. The ones in the temple were the only one they could save that night.”

  “These are those books?” She started to pace slowly with her hands in her hair.

  “Is there a problem here?” Liz asked.

  “Yes, Mom, there is a fucking huge problem here.”

  “You don’t know that, Danielle,” I spoke sternly. She needed to calm down. I looked at the wooden box in my hand and opened it.

  There were so many photos stack on each other. I picked up the photos and put the box down. I looked at each, one at a time.

  None of them looked familiar.

  “The journals explained all of their lives, some of them didn’t even know, and they were terrified about what happened to them,” Liz said, explaining what research she found on them. “It stopped with her.” She pointed at the woman in the photo I was holding. “She grew up in a monastery and before that, nothing. We do,
however, have pictures that we don’t know where they fit.”

  “Mom, please,” Danielle begged.

  “Danny, he might be able to help.”

  “I don’t like those pictures,” she said.

  “The pictures you mentioned?” I asked.

  Danny nodded. “Our ancestors were evil. I knew it.”

  “Calm down, okay? Show me the pictures.”

  Her mother ran to another desk in the corner of the room, opened the drawer, and pulled out pictures, old pictures.

  She handed them to me to look at. I dropped the pictures on the table, eyes closed, and rubbed my face hard.

  “You know them, don’t you?” Danny asked as I paced in the room. This was bad—dire.

  “Who are they?” her mother asked.

  It can’t be! They burned them on the stake! she was with child.

  “Marick, is it them?” Danielle asked.

  I nodded. “Their bloodline was supposed to be wiped out Danielle. This is not good. We can’t tell people that you are a witch, especially not my dad.”

  “Marick, you gave up the throne to marry me.”

  “The throne? He’s royalty?” her mother yelled.

  “Mom, not now!” she said fast. “Who are they?”

  “They were the royals before us, Danielle.”

  She froze.

  “We’re from a royal bloodline?” her mother asked.

  “Those books shouldn’t exist. This is not my way back to the throne.”

  “We had nothing to do with them,” Danny said.

  “Danielle, take my word on this, please. You can’t tell anyone that you are a witch. They will ask for your blood heritage. These books…” I looked at them. “They were lost and so many cures were in them. They didn’t burn them. They placed them with their newborn child for safe keeping.”

  “These books might be our bargaining chip,” Liz said.

  “They won’t. Our law doesn’t work like that.”

  “You will be king then,” Danielle said.

  “I won’t, Danielle. They will have a hearing. I can’t lose you like that again.”

  “I can’t let you give up the throne again.”

  “I will rather have no throne than lose you.”

  “Your dad will listen.”

  “Danielle, please, forget that you are a witch.”

  “What about my mother? She’s one too, Marick, and a good one. You father isn’t going to buy that I can suddenly hear thoughts. He will pick up on it. I will slip up. Besides, Minaut chose me. She can help.”

  “Danny, please, don’t do this,” I begged.

  Liz chimed in. “Danielle, please, listen to him. I will be fine.”

  “Mom, you always believed this and I…” Tears were pooling in Danny’s eyes.

  “It’s not worth it, sweetheart, if it’s going to put us in a dangerous position. Listen to your husband,” Liz said.

  “No cure? Is that what you are saying?”

  “Danny.” I closed my eyes.

  “I thought I was being abused for five years, Marick. I’m closed off because of it, just the thought did that to me. If I can remember anything of my life with you, I might be able to know who did this to me. Please, don’t give up.”

  “Danielle, I would give anything if you could remember five minutes of your life with me, but you don’t know what you are asking. Us talking about it can lead to consequences. You don’t know the power of those books. They aren’t safe for you even here in this house. Even Minaut feels their power.”

  “Who is Minaut?”

  “Our wisp.” I responded

  “What is a wisp?”

  “The cat, Mom. She’s not a real cat. She’s something much more superior.”

  “She’s not a cat?”

  “She’s like a giant cat who can blend in looking like a normal house cat,” I said.

  “I want to meet her,” Liz said.

  “She doesn’t like this room and the news of your lineage, her brother was…”

  “I know she told me about that last night.”

  “You can really speak to her?” Liz looked at me.

  “No, Danny can. She belongs to Danny, has for a long time. She simply took me as a substitute.”

  “Oh, darling.” Liz looked over at her daughter.

  “It’s why we need to fight this, Mom. Having a wisp is not something common. Only four of them are left as is. They won’t execute her.”

  “You don’t know that, and you can’t make that choice without her,” I said.

  “I want to meet her, please,” Liz asked again.

  I nodded and walk to the door. “We need to meet in the lounge then. She doesn’t like this room.”

  They followed me, and we found Minaut lounging on the sofa.

  Danny crouched in front of her. “My mother wants to meet you, if it’s okay.” She smiled, and Minaut jumped down from the sofa. “She’s huge, Mom, and she is different—”

  “Shh.” Her mother touched Danny’s mouth with her fingertips as she stared at Minaut. Her eyes grew wide as Minaut’s form transformed into the magical being she was. When Minaut stood in front of her in full glory, she gaped at the large catlike creature.

  “This is a wisp. I’ve only read about them. I didn’t think they were this big. May I?” She looked at Danny. Danny smiled and nodded. Her mother approach Minaut slowly, and Danny laughed.

  I knew Minaut said something.

  “She won’t bite, Mom.” Danny said as her mother went down on her haunches in line with Minaut. She bowed her head toward Minaut, and the cat bowed back.

  She knows.

  “You knew?” Danny asked.

  I looked at Danny. “What is she saying?”

  Danny huffed. “I’m so sorry, Minaut.” She went over and gave her a hug.

  “What is she saying, Danny?”

  “She said that this was why she was so drawn to me: her brother’s magic still lingered around us as he was supposed to be our wisp, or our family’s wisp. She didn’t know what it meant back then, but she knows now. She knows how powerful those books are, Marick. She knew what it meant as that magic made the hair on her back stand straight up. She only felt like that at the temple.”

  “The building that carries those types of books, those protect them, Danny.”

  “That’s what you mean by the books not being safe with us here?”

  “I think our magic awaken the books’ magic. We need to move them, otherwise, your mother is going to have unwanted guests tonight at her home, and they won’t be as lenient as me.”

  “What are we going to do with them?” Liz asked.

  “Minaut can hide them?” Danny asked.

  Minaut growled.

  “I know you don’t like it, but we need you, Minaut,” I said.

  “She will do it, Marick. She just doesn’t like the effect it has on her.”

  I stroke her fur. “Sorry, girl.”

  “She doesn’t blame you,” Danny told me.

  “I know. She isn’t blaming you either, Danielle.”

  We were silent for a moment, then Liz asked, “How can she protect the books?”

  “She has her own type of magic, Mom.” Danny said. “Thanks, Minaut.”

  Danny looked at me. As much as I wanted to rule, this was not going to get me the throne back. I hoped Danny would trust me on that and not say anything.

  Chapter 15

  DANIELLE

  * * *

  The three of us chatted about how we were going to move the books.

  Marick came up with a brilliant idea for how to get a moving van. He could put the drivers in a trance, and make them believe they made another delivery, even plant conversations in their mind.

  Magic was just that, pure magnificence.

  Mom made us three cups of coffee during our conversation. Marick explained to us that if the move wasn’t going to happen tonight, my mother would wake up with the council in her house, and they would likely take
her books and give her the Forgotten potion without asking any questions.

  He even made the call to one of the moving companies we found on the internet. He spoke perfect French.

  I looked at my mother. She had a soft smile on her lips. His charm already won her over.

  When he put the phone down, he looked drained. It must be the books feeding off him and Minaut. Why else would he look like that?

  “They will be here around three,” he said as he put the phone in his pocket.

  He looked at my mom. “I don’t want to interfere, but we need to speak about Eva.”

  “Marick, she doesn’t know that Danielle is her real mother. And she has no idea that you even exist.”

  “She never asked about me?”

  “Oh no, she had, but I told her that he isn’t the type of man I want to talk to her about.” She looked at him. “I didn’t know.”

  “Neither did Danielle.” He sounded sad.

  “We can arrange something. I’m open to anything and with time. We can see how that goes.” She looked at both of us. “I’m just looking out for her. She has been through so much, Danielle.”

  “I know Mom. If I had been there for her, then none of this would’ve happened.”

  “Sweetheart you were drowning as is. You could hardly look after yourself, let alone a tiny baby.”

  I wiped my tears away, not realizing that they started to stream down my face.

  “I know you’re still going through a difficult time now that you know the truth, but we are talking about another beautiful little girl that isn’t going to understand any of this.”

  “I know, Mom.” I looked at her. “We can talk about this when we thought about a plan in more detail.”

  “Okay.” She smiled. “So, Marick, your father is really the king?”

  He nodded with a smile.

  “I’m so sorry that we aren’t the right type of bloodline,” she said.

  “Don’t. Your daughter taught me everything I know about humanity. The throne is not that important.”

  She smiled. “Oh, he is a keeper.”

  “You need to watch out for your mother. I think she’s smitten with him,” Minaut said to me.