“What?” Madeline said in disbelief. She allowed herself to look at him out of the corner of her eye.
“Tell me you love me.”
Her heart began to pound on her chest like a wild animal that had gotten entrapped for the first time. She didn’t know what he was playing at, but it had to end. She realized that being the new girl would place her under the microscope, but it would pass in a day or two. Of course, she had to open her big mouth and insult a student with enough clout to back up his words. Grandpa had warned her.
“You’re going to be my girlfriend,” Kieran said, folding his arms. A sly smile crept across his face as his eyes danced in delight. His gaze wandered over her body. “From now, all the way to high school graduation. Too many people know who I am so they would be scared being with me, but you’re new. You don’t know what I can do, so I can make you a good girl. You might even love me later on.” Kieran reached out with the hand that had previously held the rock and caressed her cheek with the back of it, smearing her skin with her own blood.
There were no more tears.
Madeline’s arms tensed and locked as she felt her face get hot. She wanted to grab the rock by his foot and smash it against this thick skull, but she didn’t know how fast he was, and from their exchange in the classroom, she knew that he had training in magic. If he was threatened physically, he could lash out.
“Are you going to say you love me?’ Kieran asked sweetly, “or do I need to teach you another lesson?”
Madeline cast her eyes to the sky above. Flickers of light were beginning to fire off from behind the cloudy veil like Morse code. Should she use her trump card so soon? On the first day?
Yes, it was inevitable. There were two things that no one could think of her.
That there was a reason to be suspicious.
And that she was weak.
After all, she was a human.
Powerless. Hated. Unable to wield or practice magic.
But she didn’t need magic to trick a simple-minded boy like this one.
There was a clear path for her to follow—a goal that could not be sidetracked or delayed, no matter what. One that she had designed meticulously. Most girls would hang up posters of their favorite fictional princesses or a cute actor, perhaps a member of the Coven, but her walls were plastered with sketches and timelines. Her ambition was scrawled out painstakingly in several notebooks hidden under her bed, and her mirror had listened patiently to her speeches and planned deceptions. Her goal, no—her mandate—no, her purpose, was as clear as air, and she breathed it in, every waking second.
No one, and certainly not an entitled brat, was going to alter her destiny.
“I thought I would end up butting heads with someone like you,” she muttered.
“What?” Kieran said in surprise. Did she just ignore his command?
“Are you a man or a beast?” she asked, shifting her weight so that she was on one knee. With one arm draped over her knee, she used her free hand to begin marking the pavement with the dirt in the cracks. Kieran watched in curiosity as she dipped her finger into her mouth, moistened it, and then returned it to the dirt to create a crude paste. Kieran chuckled under his breath as she continued her work. To Kieran, the symbols were nothing like he had ever seen. They might as well have been ancient hieroglyphics.
“What are you talking about?” he laughed.
“Are you…a man…or a beast?” she asked again, finishing her sentence with a whip-like snap of her finger, completing her masterpiece on the ground before her.
“A man,” he said proudly.
Madeline snickered. “Good. Then this will be easy.”
“You’re trying to scare me,” he said. “It won’t work.”
“Do you know what a bighorn is?” she asked. She climbed up to her feet, but she kept her back to him. The lights in the sky were multiplying rapidly, as if it were a multiplying single-celled organism bursting through the stages of evolution.
“An animal, right?” he said. His cocky attitude was losing its bluster. He was trying to figure her out.
“They’re sheep, with huge horns on their heads. Occasionally, whether it’s mating or to establish dominance…they’ll butt heads, with a force so powerful it would crack your pretty little skull. See, they’re not made like you. They don’t have one solid bone to protect their brain—that one organ that makes you, you. They have many little bones that shift on impact, allowing them to take the blow. I may be young, but I learned that many people are trying to be something they’re not. They have one trick. One card to play. Once they play it, they’ve got nothing left to take the next blow. That one solid bone is gone, and then they’re exposed.”
“And what are you?” Kieran laughed. “You’re a ram? A beast?”
“No,” she seethed, turning slowly to face him. “I’m a damn monster, trying to live peacefully among men, but then you come, and remind me that it isn’t possible. So why hide who I am? Why lower my horns? Why hide the chest of tricks I’ve got under my sleeve? You want to know why I’m homeschooled? I lied about what I said earlier,” she took a step toward him and he took one backwards. “I killed my parents,” she said with no remorse. “With the forbidden magic I learned at a young age, and all it did was fuel the flames. I’ve been butting heads with people all my life, and I haven’t lost yet. You want to face me? You want to throw that one card you’ve got? Because you better not miss!”
The sky cracked with thunder, and Kieran yelped. The children on the playground halted their games one by one, stopping to investigate the strange cry that had come out of the boy-king.
“I’m sorry,” Kieran whispered. He wrapped his arms around himself for comfort as he shivered. His face scrunched up in worry and his throat became dry. Madeline read him completely—she hadn’t touched him, but he was wounded just the same.
“Are you sure you don’t want to see what I had in store for you?” she asked, pointing back at the inscriptions in the pavement.
“No,” he said.
She wanted to let him go. Her anger had subsided and had become replaced with a twinge of self-loathing. This wasn’t her—to instill fear in others the way Kieran had surely done for years, but this was necessary. The situation had gone beyond her wishes now. The entire playground was watching, and Kieran had a reputation to uphold. He would skulk away and lick his wounds, but he would be back to reclaim his alpha status, and that couldn’t happen.
Her performance was good, but anyone that watches a magician enough times begins to slowly unravel the mystery. She wouldn’t be able to fight back as hard next time.
After all, she was the hornless one.
She was the one trick pony.
“Say you love me,” Madeline said, staring directly into his eyes.
He couldn’t quite bring himself to completely look into hers. “I love you,” he mumbled.
“If you love me, that means you will leave me alone, right?”
“Yes,” he said. He was aching to run away.
“Good,” she said, clasping her hands together. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the teachers walking toward the playground, wondering what could cause the hyperactive children to stop playing. She only had seconds left. “I placed a hex on you,” Madeline said. “One that activates when I say. All it takes is a word. If I decide to activate it, because you’re feeling like you want revenge for breakfast instead of a nice, healthy dish of humility, then you will lose your ability to walk and speak. Until I decide to let you go.” She took a few steps closer to him, so that her lips were only inches from his ear. “Don’t tempt me,” she whispered. “Now leave.”
Kieran darted back into the school before the teachers behind her could reach them. As soon as Madeline saw the doors close behind him, she winced and carefully dabbed the wound on her head. Ms. Laine grabbed her free arm and spun her around as a couple of the other teachers ran inside after Kieran.
“What happened?” Ms. Laine demanded. The fir
st raindrops began to fall from the sky, and the children began screaming and shrieking, scurrying past them to get inside.
“I was hit with a rock,” Madeline groaned.
Ms. Laine inspected the wound and sucked her teeth. “This looks bad. You should see the nurse. Do you know who did this to you?”
Madeline shook her head. She needed Kieran to be on his toes around her, not full of spite. Getting him into trouble would only infuriate him more.
“Come on, dear,” Ms. Laine sighed, escorting her inside with a hand on the young girl’s back. Madeline played up the pain, wincing and letting out sharp sighs as they walked briskly back to the classroom. “Um, do you think you can make it to the nurse on your own? It might take me some time before I can find another teacher to watch the class.”
Madeline nodded sheepishly and Ms. Laine extended a hand toward the girl’s shoulder to console her once more, but Madeline quickly darted away from the attempt, zipping past like an over-alert housefly. With permission to stroll the halls of the school alone, she refused to waste any more time in the company of those that sought to scold and humiliate her.
Teachers walking past gave her curious glances, but none asked her where she was headed. They were too busy focusing on making it through the next subject, knowing that their rambunctious students were at their worst after lunch, when their bellies were full and they became little nuclear reactors.
After the third teacher passed by without uttering a word, she felt comfortable enough to let her thoughts wander, and surprisingly, they settled on Kieran. The way he had stared at her before he headed back inside—it terrified her to know that she had caused that level of fear in someone. Had she gone too far? It was not like they were adults, playing a game of life and death. All children, even those that broke the forbidden laws, were given leniency. The Coven had decreed it so, understanding that while they would never gain the full trust of the adults, the children were still impressionable, regardless of their upbringing.
Madeline winced as the wound on her head began to throb—a low pulse that reverberated throughout her body like sonar. She nearly passed the nurse’s office.
“Excuse me, dear,” the nurse called out as she passed by the door. “You’re Madeline, right? Ms. Laine called down to let me know you were coming.”
Madeline turned around and entered the office. The nurse was at a desk with her elbows planted firmly on a stack of crinkled and dog-eared papers. She held a tomato and pepper sandwich in both hands and her white uniform had faded to beige. Madeline was certain that this woman was not going to provide her the proper care.
“I was sure it was you,” the nurse replied. The tag on her left breast said: Iris. “It’s not too often that we get new students around here.”
“Why’s that?” Madeline asked. She remained in the doorway, where she could easily escape if she had to. Though Nurse Iris seemed friendly, she had to remember. They were all her enemy. All of them.
“Once you’re enrolled in Kindergarten, there’s no changing of schools. You’re stuck until graduation, and after that, hopefully, you get picked at the Harvest.”
“Or you can get a job,” Madeline said. “That’s not terrible.”
“It’s a living,” the Nurse said, her eyes drifting down to the tiled floor.
“Aren’t you happy?” Being a child was the time to ask questions and get answers that were as close to honest as possible. The older she became, the more guarded the conversations would become.
“Happiness is innocence,” the Nurse smiled with tired, blue eyes. “Stay young forever, darling.”
Madeline nodded in understanding. “But then how can I get picked for the Harvest?”
“That’s true,” the Nurse put down her sandwich and wiped her hands on the bottom of her skirt. “Oh well, there’s still much to look forward to. Now, let me see the back of your head.”
Madeline obeyed with hesitation, walking over to Iris and putting her back to her. She could barely see the movements of the Nurse from the corner of her eye.
“This is nasty,” Iris said. “Ms. Laine said someone hit you?”
“With a rock,” Madeline muttered.
“Who would do such a thing?”
“By the way he acts around here, I’m sure you can figure out who it is.”
“Oh,” Iris said with full understanding. “I see…him.”
“Am I going to need stitches?”
“Well,” Iris said, dabbing at the exposed wound with a cotton ball. “It looked worse than it is, so I doubt it. You will definitely need a bandage though…and you went through all this trouble with your hair. So sad.”
“Messy hair is fine,” Madeline mumbled. “I would rather not be hit in the head with a rock.”
“You’ll miss these days, trust me. Men don’t know how to deceive the girls they like yet. They’re straightforward at this age, but later in life, it all becomes a game to them. At least with a rock, you know where he stands.”
Madeline’s face turned red. Now that was one rumor she prayed would not get started. “Kieran is not in love with me.”
Iris chuckled under a breath. “And yet, you’re the only girl I’ve seen him pay this much attention to.”
“He’s sick.” She could hardly believe her ears.
“He’s rich,” Iris retorted. “And his family is well-known too. You could do worse.”
“I’m nine.”
“Never too late to start planning your future. If there’s one thing I’ve learned—” the phone interrupted her, “One sec.” The Nurse kept one hand pressed against Madeline’s head while she answered the phone with the other. “Mm-hmm. Yes. Sure…as soon as I’m finished. No, no, it won’t be long. A minute tops. Yes. Yep…okay, bye.” The Nurse hung up the phone. Madeline noticed that the Nurse’s fingers started twitching nervously as she applied the gauze and tape.
“Is…there something wrong?’ Madeline asked, keeping her eyes forward.
“The Principal would like to see you now.”
Madeline’s eyes went wide. Why? Did Kieran` make up some lie about her? Would he tell someone that he had threatened her? This was the last thing she needed—more exposure. Grandpa Grant was going to have a fit. “Did the Principal say why?”
“I think…it would be better if you go and find out for yourself.”
Okay, that wasn’t good. Whatever the Nurse knew, it was serious enough to keep it hidden.
But for what purpose? Surely the teachers talked amongst themselves about all kinds of taboo subjects. What made this topic so secretive?
She left the Nurse’s office with a numbing sensation, as if she was caught in a dream. Strangely, she didn’t see a soul patrolling the hallways as she made her way down the colorful corridors, plastered with a myriad of art projects, trophy displays and banners with quotes on them, offering words of encouragement such as ‘Never Give Up,’ and ‘Magic Doesn’t Define You, You Do.”
Madeline sighed heavily as she reached the principal’s door. She could hear muffled voices inside, and the tone was calm yet serious. She tried to identify them, and was grateful that none of them sounded like Grandpa. She could hear his scolding now. “You didn’t even last a few hours,” is what he would say. It would probably be while he was cooking dinner, so that he wouldn’t have to face her in disappointment. She preferred it that way. At least all she had to absorb were his words, but once…just once, she would have liked for him to turn around and smile once in a while. Then when he said he loved her, she would know it, and not think that he was saying it out of obligation.
She shook her head profusely, casting the thoughts aside as she placed a hesitant hand on the doorknob. Of course, he loved her. It was silly to think otherwise. Who had taken care of her when her parents left? Who had supported her in her ambitions, even when she was being difficult…and he had done it with such gentleness, such faith in her. She had no right to think any less of him. She couldn’t help but wonder though…would his opini
on of her change the longer she was entrenched in this world? Would his faith waver? Could he survive another broken heart?
“Madeline,” the Principal said in surprise, opening the door suddenly. He blinked rapidly as he stammered for his next words, but being unable to find them, he waved her inside. She swallowed hard as she kept her hands folded in front of her. The room was dark and smelled of sandpaper. The blinds along all three windows were closed, and a tiny desk lamp provided all of the lighting. She felt like she had walked into one of those old detective movies, the ones Grandpa loved to watch on weekend nights. All the principal needed was a trench coat.
“You can take a seat anywhere you like,” the Principal said. She thought of saying, “Even yours?” but she knew what he meant. She patted down her frilly dress as she took the closest chair to the door. She sunk into it immediately, and found herself barely looking over the surface of the Principal’s massive cherry oak desk. He walked over to his chair and sucked in his stomach as he took a seat. A sudden movement in the corner of the room caught Madeline’s eye.
She shot the culprit a stern look, staring into the shadows. Was it a mouse? No…a mouse wouldn’t be up so high. The darkness shifted once more, her eyes narrowly adjusted, and she realized that a person was standing in the corner. She couldn’t see the person’s face, clothing, or any defining features, only that the watcher was tall, thin, and still.
“Thank you for coming,” the Principal said. He cleared his throat and extended a hand out for her to shake. “I don’t know if we’ve met yet. I’m Principal Waters. You can call me Mr. Waters though. The children all do. I think that if you build a rapport with the—are you okay?”
He followed the young girl’s eyes, tracing the invisible line to the living fixture in the corner. When he realized the reason for her silence, his shoulders relaxed and a smile came upon his face. He sat down in his chair and made an effort to make his voice even less authoritative than usual.
“Do not worry,” he said, patting the surface of his desk gently. “She is only here to observe.”
Those words did not soothe her. Observe? Who, exactly?
The Works of Julius St. Clair - 2017 Edition (Includes 3 full novels and more) Page 83