For Love or Magic

by Lucy March

  No one seemed hurt; the crowd roared with delight at fireworks the likes of which they had never seen before.

  I turned around, looking for the picnic table where Desmond and everyone was, but I’d lost my sense of space. I twirled around again, and by the time I looked back at where Emerson had been, he was gone. More fireworks were going off as the sun set, and I looked for him in the flashes of light, but he had disappeared.

  “Eliot! Eliot!” Desmond was suddenly at my side, one hand on my upper arm, the other running over me, as though checking for injury. “What happened? Are you all right?”

  “No,” I said, and vomited into the grass.

  *

  “So what do we know?” Liv asked, pouring coffee for all of us in her kitchen, as it promised to be a long night. We hadn’t woken Peach and Nick; we wanted to wait until we had some idea of what was going on.

  “We know that he wants to spread magic,” I said. “And that the blue light was the same thing I saw in Lott’s Cove when I was a kid. Last time, people became symptomatic within twelve hours, their magic activating immediately or at the next switch between day and night, depending on what kind of magic manifests. And within twenty-four hours…” I looked at Desmond, who reached across the Formica table and took my hand, and the room went silent.

  “And it’ll just be everybody?” Stacy said. “Everyone in town is going to have magical powers now?”

  “If it works the same way it did last time,” I said, “then at least everyone touched by the light. Everyone who was within the blast zone … yes. I would expect that they would. That would make everyone in town magical, and that’s what Emerson wanted.”

  “But what about free will?” Leo asked, glancing from Stacy to Liv and back to me. “Isn’t that a thing with magic? Don’t things go wrong if you mess with free will?”

  “I don’t know. Desmond, you want to field that one?” Stacy said in a snarky tone. All eyes turned to her, and she sighed. “Sorry, Des. Old habits.”

  “It’s quite all right,” Desmond said, and looked at Leo. “Free will is an ethical consideration. Magic acts the same whether it was used with permission or not.”

  “The good news is, some of the people with night magic are just going to go to sleep, so there’s a good chance things will be quieter tonight than tomorrow morning,” Tobias said. “But there’s still going to be some panic starting tonight. Even if there aren’t any bad side effects this time, getting sudden magical power has a destabilizing effect. It might make sense for us to start canvassing the town, keep an eye out for anything unusual, and try to calm things where we can.”

  “The thing is, using the power makes it worse, but people who suddenly get power love to use it,” I said. “If you see someone using their magic, you have to convince them to stop, then … I don’t know.” I looked at Liv. “Bring them back here?”

  “Absolutely,” Liv said. “I’ll call Addie and Grace and have them hang out here to take in anyone we find. Let’s make sure we’ve got everyone’s numbers in our phones before we head out, so we can keep each other informed.”

  “I think I should look for Emerson,” I said. “I don’t know if I’ll find him, but if I do, I might be able to get more solid information. If he’s been running trials, it might be safe. But if not…”

  I looked at Liv, and the room went quiet.

  “What?” Liv said.

  “Magicals were affected, too,” I said. “This killed my mother, without her even using her power much. I think just having residual power put her at risk. And given that you’re unusually powerful…”

  Liv stared at me for a moment as she processed what I was saying, then gave a sad smile. “I’m the canary in the coal mine.”

  Tobias’s face went to stone, and he stood up. “But we don’t know that it’s the same thing this time.”

  “We don’t,” I said. “And the symptoms are very similar to Desmond’s trials from last year. He has some potions that might put things off for a while.”

  “But not enough to keep an entire town going for long,” Stacy said.

  “I’ll be in my lab,” Desmond said. “Making as much as I can as quickly as I can, but it’s not a fast process, and my supplies are limited.”

  Stacy stood up, all business. “I’ll grab what I’ve got and meet you there. I can double your speed.”

  “Let’s go.” Leo stood up and started toward the door, and Desmond and Stacy conferred about what she’d need to grab from her lab. Tobias and Liv looked at each other, fear in both of their eyes, and I walked over to them.

  “Don’t use your power deliberately,” I said to Liv. “If it starts to spark on its own, and you can’t control it, call Desmond immediately. If you feel dizzy, call.” I looked at Tobias. “Stay by her side. Once it starts, things move pretty fast.”

  Tobias nodded grimly, and I wanted to tell them how sorry I was, but there wasn’t time. I turned and headed out the front door without saying another word to any of them.

  I had to find my father.

  *

  He wasn’t at his office, of course, and I had no idea where he lived. I hadn’t asked. I hadn’t wanted to know. To find the person who would know, I had to head straight to Happy Larry’s.

  The place was packed, and as far as I could see from a quick look around, no one was using magic. Based on my experience, the Happy Larry patrons were not town-event types. Most likely, they’d been in this brick building all night, which meant there was a chance they would have been unaffected by the blast. But it was a Saturday night, and it was crowded, so finding Amber Dorsey was gonna take a few minutes. I made my way to the bar and waved Larry over.

  “You comin’ in to work tonight?” Larry said. “I gotta tell you, I could use the help.”

  “No, sorry. Hey, have you seen Amber tonight?”

  Larry nodded, then jerked his head over toward the pool tables. Of course.

  I tapped the bar. “Thanks.”

  I wove through the crowd to find Amber lining up her shot, surrounded by guys. Pool balls were spread all over the table, and Amber was working her angle.

  “Now how much do I get when I sink this?” she asked.

  “Between us?” One of guys, a young blond kid who I’d served when he’d turned twenty-one last week, motioned among all of the guys there. “Forty bucks.”

  “Put your money down,” Amber said, and they all laid their cash on the rim of the table, then went back to admiring the exposed tattoo on her lower back. I, however, was actually watching her play. She lined up the shot, wiggled her ass a little bit to distract attention, and opened her hand as she moved the stick. Smoky, orange strings of light shot out from her fingers, and a four ball went sailing straight into the corner pocket. The guys all let out pretend jeers as Amber collected their money and stuffed it into her back pocket.

  “Pleasure doing business with you, boys,” she said. “Who wants to test me again?”

  I stepped into view, and Amber smiled when she saw me. “Eliot!” She threw out her bony arms and wrapped them around my neck. I hugged her back for appearances, and was surprised by how frail she felt in my arms.

  “I’m gonna take Amber away for a bit, guys,” I said, grabbing her hand. “It’ll just be a minute.”

  There was some complaining from the guys, but I pulled Amber by the hand and dragged her outside.

  “You already had a four ball on the table,” I said. “You should have played a ball you already sank. They might have noticed.”

  “What, those guys?” Amber said, popping her gum. “Please. They’re dumber than the damn pool cues. Besides, all the balls were on the table. I hadn’t sunk a one.” She laughed and patted her bulging back pocket. “But Momma’s on a roll tonight.”

  “Not anymore, Momma,” I said, taking her by the elbow and pulling her toward my car. “You’re coming with me.”

  She yanked her arm out of my grip and said, “The hell I am. I got rent to pay, and your dad canned me toda
y, so I need to go rustle up some green.” She turned to go back into the bar, but I raced to block her.

  “What? He fired you? Why?”

  Amber gave an uncoordinated shrug, and I could tell she’d had a fair amount to drink. “I don’t know. Closing up shop. Leaving town. Said he’d done what he came here to do and now he was hitting the road. Whatever. But seeing as I don’t have a job anymore, I’m gonna have to hustle for a while, so if you’d be so kind as to let me get back to that shit—”

  “Happy Larry will hire you,” I said quickly. “You can work here. You’re good in the bar, and he’s gonna need help, because I’m quitting.”

  Her eyes narrowed at me. “Yeah? What, you running off with your dad?”

  “No. I’m staying, but…” I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. I need you to stop using your magic, and I need you to come with me where I can keep an eye on you. The magic’s dangerous, and—”

  “Oh, fuck,” Amber said, throwing her arms in the air. “You’re gonna give me a hard time about that? I got magical pool balls, and a crowd full of guys happy to give me their money. Exactly why should I listen to you?”

  It was then that I noticed that Amber was weaving on her feet. I reached out and grabbed her arm to stabilize her.

  “Oh, man,” she said, putting a fist to her chest. “I knew I shouldn’ta had that boilermaker.”

  And with that, she pitched to the side, her eyes rolling back in her head. I caught her before she fell and dragged her into my car, then got in and called Desmond to tell him to meet me at Liv’s.

  Chapter 14

  Frankie Biggs met me at the curb when I got to Liv’s. Without a word, he gathered Amber up in his arms and carried her inside. I got out of the car and met Addie on the porch steps. She looked really upset, and my heart jumped in panic.

  “Is it Liv?” I said, and Addie shook her head.

  “No, she’s fine, far as I know.” She nibbled her lip and nodded in the direction Frankie had taken Amber. “What’s up with Amber?”

  “I don’t know yet. Is Desmond here?”

  Addie stared out into the night sky, as if she hadn’t heard me, so I touched her arm.

  “Addie?”

  “Hmmmm?” She turned to face me. “Um … no. Not yet. He should be here soon.” Her eyes filled with tears and she said, “Oh, Eliot, I’m so, so sorry.”

  I led her to the porch swing and we both sat down.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I knew what he was doing,” she said. “I helped him.”

  “What?” The air went out of me.

  Addie’s eyes filled. “I thought it would be nice. You know? I had magic two years ago, for just one night, and it was amazing. I don’t know … I guess I just thought … the way he talked, he made it sound like we were just giving the whole town ice cream, you know?”

  “Yeah,” I said sadly. “I know.”

  “He explained how persecuted magicals are, how dangerous life can be for you all, and I wanted to make a safe place for you, all of you. But it wasn’t just that. I wanted … I wanted to feel the way I did that one night…”

  She raised one hand and moved her fingers. Smoky strings of yellow light moved around her fingertips like storm clouds, and a small lace doily fell from her fingertips onto the swing between us.

  “Don’t do that,” I said. “Don’t use your power.”

  “Why not? It’s what I traded everyone’s life for, right? So I could have magic. So I could have adventure.” She stared out into the street, her expression despondent. “I have a good life. I’ve got a wonderful wife and we have enough money to live a peaceful life here in this incredible place where I have friends … I mean, who could want more than that?”

  “Addie, I’m sorry, but do you know where he went? My father? I need to find him.”

  She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry.” She stared out into the night. “He told me no one would get hurt, and I believed him. But even if no one did get hurt, I messed with free will. I smuggled the firework he gave me into the rotation, and set it off on his signal tonight because I am a stupid, foolish old woman.” She turned to face me, her eyes full of tears. “I’m so sorry.”

  I put my arm around her shoulders and rested my head against hers. “My father is a devious man, and he’s smart and charming. He knows how to use people to get what he wants from them. You didn’t know what you were dealing with. You couldn’t have known.”

  She nodded, but didn’t seem comforted at all. “For two years in a row, we’ve had people coming here and messing with magic. For two years, I sat on the sidelines and watched, wishing it was me. Even when it got dangerous, even when I knew it was hell for Liv, or Stacy … I wanted it to be me. I wanted adventure. I wanted some silly little power, so I could feel special. So I could play with the rest of you. And now…” She picked up the doily and held it daintily in her fingers. “Now, I’ve ruined everything, for this.”

  I looked up to see that Desmond pulled up in front of the house. I took Addie’s hand in mine and squeezed it.

  “You’re forgiven,” I said. “Whatever you did was his fault, not yours. He lied to you and he made you think things that weren’t true, and none of it is your fault, okay? But right now, we need you to be strong and take care of these people inside. And when this is all done, we’ll talk more, okay?”

  She sniffed, then squared her shoulders and stood up. “Okay.” And with that, she took a deep breath and went back inside. I walked over to the steps and met Desmond, throwing my arms around his neck. He hugged me back, but when we released each other, we were all business.

  “Amber?” he said, and I led him inside. I had no idea where Amber was, but I figured she’d been taken to a bedroom, which I assumed was upstairs, so that’s where we went. Inside, there were maybe ten people milling about, and Addie, playing the hostess along with another woman, tall and striking, with a sharp bob the color of steel wool. I figured it must be Grace, Addie’s wife. I looked forward to meeting her, but that would have to wait.

  “I found her at Happy Larry’s,” I told Desmond as we made our way up the stairs. “She’d been using her magic, but she’d also been drinking. She mentioned a boilermaker, which is a full beer with a shot of whisky for a chaser. She’s eighty-five pounds dripping wet. That’s enough to knock her out. It might not be the magic.”

  We got to the landing, and could see Frankie sitting next to a bed through an open door, so we went that way. Amber lay passed out on top of the coverlet, which Frankie had pulled up and over her from one side.

  “She’s still out,” Frankie said unnecessarily as we walked in. Desmond moved past him and sat down next to Amber. He took Amber’s wrist in his fingers, and my guess was he was feeling for her pulse. Frankie and I watched, tense and silent, as Desmond worked on Amber. After a moment, Amber groaned, and Frankie said, “I know that sound,” and ran to grab the trash can. He was there in a shot, and when Amber vomited over the side of the bed, he caught it expertly. It was romantic, kind of, in its own gross way. Desmond stepped back to hang out with me while Frankie cleaned up after Amber.

  “I can’t be sure if her reaction is to the magic or the alcohol,” Desmond said. “I would hesitate to give her anything just yet. One, it could do more damage than good if she’s not reacting to the magic. And two, it’s likely she’ll throw it up anyway, and we’ve only got so many doses.”

  “How many?” I asked.

  He gave me a grim look. “Not enough. Stacy’s back at my lab working, but even if she works fast, we’re going to run out of supplies before long.”

  “Jesus, Amber!” There was a clunk as a pool ball fell to the floor, and Frankie was holding his cheek. “Why you gotta hit me in the face?”

  Amber pushed up on her elbows, and had sobered up enough to give Frankie a withering look.

  “Amber, I told you not to use your magic,” I said.

  “I’m not doing it on purpose!” Amber said, and another pool ball shot f
rom her hands, putting a dent in the ceiling before crashing to the floor, then disappearing.

  “I feel like fucking hell,” Amber whined and fell back onto the pillows.

  Desmond touched my arm. “Peppermint tea and crackers. If we’re going to keep the potion down her, we’re going to need to settle her stomach.”

  “On it,” I said, and headed for the door. I wandered downstairs just as Leo was bringing two teenage girls into the house. I gave him a quick wave and went into the kitchen. I put a kettle on, and started searching the cupboards for crackers. I found some, set them on the counter, and had to wait for the water to boil. Not having something to do was making me crazy, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed my father’s number.

  “This is Emerson Streat.” His pleasant tones dripped southern sunshine through the voice-mail recording. “I’m busy with somethin’ or other at the moment, but if you’ll leave a message, I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”

  There was a beep, and I hesitated, because just the sound of his voice broke my heart. “It’s me. I just wanted you to know that your little experiment here has gone south, fast. You were in the blast zone this time, so I’m hoping like hell that means it’ll all be okay, because I’ve never known you to be a man to risk his own skin. But let me tell you this; if anyone here dies, and you survive, I will find you, and I’ll kill you myself, you son of a bitch.”

  And with that, I hung up the phone.

  *

  By three in the morning, people were splayed all over Liv’s house. I stepped over the sleeping bodies as I walked through the darkened living room, looking for magical sparks happening in their sleep; there was nothing. That was a good sign, and Desmond had managed to stabilize Amber with his potion, but two things worried me. One, Liv and Tobias hadn’t returned, and when I called Liv’s number, all I got was voice mail.

  And two, sunrise was coming. Night magic tended to be quieter than day magic, because most people slept during the night. When daylight hit, Nodaway Falls was going to be sparking magic all over the place. Between Stacy and Desmond, we had enough potion to keep maybe half the people well for a couple of days.