A Handful of Hexes

by Sarina Dorie

  My throat tightened, and I tried to swallow the sorrow that wanted to bubble up out of me. How many students had suffered the same fate?

  A burst of bubbles came out of my mouth as I spoke. “But what if there was a way to ensure Maddy gets pregnant? What if there was a way to overcome the problem Fae are having with infertility?” Surely this was why my mother had wanted to solve the Fae Fertility Paradox—this knowledge wouldn’t just help Fae conceive, but Witchkin as well.

  I thought back to my recent encounter with the Raven Court. The fact that they had somehow been behind placing Alouette Loraline’s journal in my keeping should have made me throw it away. Instead it was as tempting as the seashell had been to Maddy.

  Thatch tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing. “If you’re speaking about what I think you are, I advise you to guard your tongue while here in a Fae court.”

  Maddy trembled uncontrollably. I wanted to tell her she didn’t have to be afraid. The horror of the tale Thatch spun didn’t have to be her fate. I might know of a solution for Fae and Witchkin fertility—if I finished translating my mother’s journal. Even if I discovered the answer, that didn’t mean I had to tell the Raven Queen.

  Thatch’s pessimistic tale had been bad enough, but he went on. “That’s another scenario, of course. Perhaps you meet someone you like, fall in love, and get yourself with child. They’ll allow you to keep the baby just long enough to fall in love with him or her before they steal it away and break your heart. Sometimes Fae devour the child in front of the parents or drain him or her of all magic. Sometimes they let them live and enslave and torture them for their entire life. I’ve seen Fae do this more times than I can count. Either way, they break you.” He gritted his teeth. “You can never win in a bargain with the Fae. They have had thousands of years to think out all the loopholes in every possible contract they could make.”

  Maddy curled in on herself, her back hunched over her knees forming a ball, only the tether of her arm grounding her to me. Thatch continued pacing in silence.

  Vega had told Hailey she wasn’t smart enough to make bargains with Fae, let alone her Witchkin elders. I thought of my bargain with the Raven Queen at the fair, and how I’d somehow outwitted her. Or I thought I had.

  Was the crest of the Raven Court that had been attached to me another of Thatch’s bluffs? Could it be relevant to Maddy’s situation?

  I tried not to exhale as I spoke, but bubbles still managed to slip out. “How is it the Raven Queen was able to claim me even though I won the bargain with her for my freedom? Why am I marked with her symbol?”

  “She hasn’t claimed you. That mark is temporary, burned into your aura, not into your soul. Last summer at that fair, the Raven Queen put her mark on you, but she didn’t take you as a tithe. The mark is faint, not the brand of a servant or one in her court. Think of it like a child licking a cupcake to claim it for later so no others will take it. This mark is so weak it wouldn’t stop one of the great houses of Fae from erasing it to lay claim on you, but a small house such as this one won’t want to invoke her wrath.”

  I was a cupcake being saved for later. Great. “And those lines of light around us?”

  “Wards. The green ones are your fairy godmother’s doing. They’ll keep you safe from being noticed by minor Fae and Witchkin without powers strong enough to see through the ward’s veil. They might even keep you safe from falling into a Fae trap. Though, they won’t protect you from your own stupidity.”

  Another snarky comment I wasn’t about to acknowledge. “And the red ones?”

  “Those were my doing. They’ll keep you safe from stronger Fae, possibly even from powerful witches like Baba Nata and Baba Yaga, but not safe from Fae kings or magical contracts. The blue wards and white ones were set up by Jeb and Pro Ro.”

  “I didn’t see any blue or white ones.”

  “Of course you didn’t. They’re too subtle for your eyes. Perhaps someday you’ll become observant enough to see them.”

  We lapsed into silence. I wondered what period it was at school. What would my next class do when there was no teacher? Probably loot any supplies I had acquired and make airplanes out of the expensive drawing paper.

  We discussed other possible solutions, none of them viable. After an hour had passed, we were brought back before the king.

  He restated his deal. Thatch tried to negotiate an alternative to the one the king had originally decided, but the monster couldn’t be persuaded to change his mind. He wouldn’t take an indentured servant when he had already decided he wanted a slave.

  Thatch clenched and unclenched his fists, belying his anger. He spoke with his customary calm. “As is the tradition of our people, I ask that you give this student an opportunity to finish her education before you ask her to fulfill her part of the bargain. After she graduates, she will then give you her firstborn child.”

  The two heads bowed in acquiescence.

  Maddy stared down at the white sand under her feet.

  It was so unfair. I hated the Fae with all their rules and bargains.

  “Why?” I asked. “Why do you steal babies away from babies?”

  “Miss Lawrence, be quiet before you anger his eminence,” Thatch said through clenched teeth.

  It was too late for that. The king rumbled, the pitch vibrating through my bones.

  Maddy’s eyes went wide. “He understands English, though he says it’s below him to answer in this inferior tongue. He has an answer for you in the Mer tongue.”

  More low rumbles came from King Crabby.

  Maddy rolled her eyes in the typical teenage fashion. “He says his house is sterile, and they can’t grow and protect themselves against the greater houses unless they recruit or take the heirs of Witchkin. It used to be the duty of his own sons and daughters to protect their kingdom, but they’re all dead now.”

  The king rumbled again.

  “He claims he wants a child of his own to love.”

  “Oh really? To love?” I asked. “Stealing isn’t love.”

  “Miss Lawrence, close your mouth, or I will hex your lips closed,” Thatch said. “You’ve done quite enough helping for the day.”

  Bubbles burst from the king, and he lashed a tentacle toward Thatch, though he didn’t touch him. This time, Thatch did flinch.

  Maddy said, “The king says he wants to hear what you have to say.”

  Thatch’s eyes narrowed at me. “Speak formally and politely. You are addressing royalty.”

  I curtsied. “If the mighty king truly wants a child to love, then I propose he should treat Maddy’s baby as though it were his own. He needs to agree to love the child, not ever hurt or put him or her in any kind of danger. He has to promise not to torture the child and always think about what is in the child’s best interest like a real parent would. His every motive needs to be out of love, not to use the child.”

  “Fae do not love,” Thatch said quietly. “And they most certainly don’t love us Witchkin.”

  The water churned with bubbles. The water vibrated, and sonic waves pushed me back into a hammerhead guard. He shoved me off himself.

  Maddy turned to Thatch. “Whoa! I think that was swearing. He is majorly insulted you just said that and demands an apology.”

  Thatch kept his voice monotone as he bowed. “I am sorry if I have given offense.”

  The king kept on bubbling and thundering.

  Maddy explained. “He lost his first litter of children in a war with the Mer Court and the Algae Nomads, his second litter in battles with humans, and his twins when their mother saw how beautiful they were and ate them. He knows he’s infertile because he hasn’t sired a child in five hundred years. He’s lonely and tired and wants a baby. It doesn’t matter if it’s Fae or Witchkin. He says he’ll love it.” She frowned.

  If Fae were capable of eating their own children, I didn’t know if they were likely to love someone else’s children, but what I thought wasn’t
important. This wasn’t about me.

  “Do you believe him?” I asked. “Does it make the idea of giving him your firstborn any easier?”

  Thatch crossed his arms, sticking his nose up in the air. He didn’t say anything, and it was a good thing. He was the one who had caused the problems for once, not me.

  Maddy stared down at her silvery hands. “I’ll do it. I’ll give my baby to the King of the Pacific as long as he promises to love her or him.”

  Thatch shook his head in disgust. I didn’t care what he thought. It was Maddy’s choice. I had simply helped her make it hurt less.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  This Is the Thanks I Get?

  “What the hell were you thinking bringing a siren to the school?” Puck, the school guidance counselor asked, throwing his hands up in disgust. “This is a scheduling nightmare. I can’t put her in any class without causing problems.” With his pointed ears and blond hair, he looked like Tinker Bell’s cousin.

  I sat in the conference room, surrounded by thirteen other staff members. An emergency after-school meeting had been called into session. I didn’t see what the big deal was. The school was full of difficult students. What was one more to the mix?

  Khaba ran a hand over his bald head. “Not to mention she’s going to create even more discipline problems than there already are. Two boys in the hospital wing where she was being secluded got a look at her and beat each other bloody, fighting over who got to kiss her. I’ve already got enough on my hands between those nymphs and vilas trying to seduce boys.”

  Thatch remained cool and impassive. He folded his hands in front of him.

  “This is a mighty fine pickle we’re in for sure,” Jeb said, twirling the curl of his mustache around his finger. “We hain’t had ourselves a siren with magic this strong in quite a spell. I’m plumb tired thinkin’ about how to handle this pile of may hay.”

  Professor Bluehorse shook her head sadly, moss on her green hat swaying. “It isn’t safe for her here. We need to ship her off to Lady of the Lake School for Girls as soon as possible.”

  Jeb nodded in agreement. “That’s a mighty fine suggestion.”

  Vega spoke up for the first time since the meeting had begun. “If they’ll have her. She’s a charity case. They have scholarships available, but they don’t just give them out. I would know, I used to work there. If she can make it here long enough to prove herself academically, she might be awarded a scholarship.” She pursed her lips. “She’ll have a better chance if I write her a letter of recommendation, but I’m not putting myself out there vouching for a student who hasn’t earned it. I have a reputation to uphold.”

  From what I’d gathered talking to Madison Jennings, a.k.a. Maddy, in the hospital wing during lunch, she wasn’t going to be able to prove herself academically. She’d dropped out of elementary school at the age of ten when her body had started going through early puberty. Between the unwanted attention of boys and her stepfather’s advances, she had decided the only thing she could do was run away from home.

  I raised my hand, but no one acknowledged me, so I spoke up. “I don’t know if sending Maddy away somewhere more academic is an option. We’re going to be lucky if she has a fourth-grade reading and writing level.”

  Grumpy faces turned to me. I already felt like the odd woman out in this meeting after having brought her to the school with Thatch.

  “What about distance learning? We’ve arranged apprenticeships in the past,” Josie suggested.

  “Not with a succubus,” one of the male teachers muttered. “Who are we going to apprentice her with? A prostitute in Lachlan Falls?”

  I looked up in shock. Was that Jasper Jang the drama and music teacher who had said that? Or Silas Lupi? What a bunch of jerks!

  I had always resented Thatch for keeping me from the proper Witchkin education I felt I had deserved. But if teachers reacted this way to a young woman who couldn’t help her powers, what would they have done to me? I was a Red, worse than a siren or succubus. Perhaps Thatch hadn’t been as horrible as I’d first thought. He had been right to keep my existence secret.

  “She’s a siren.” Professor Bluehorse thudded her mossy staff on the floor. “She can’t help her affinity. She just needs training.”

  Professor Bluehorse had never been nice to me, and I hadn’t grown close to her like the other staff had. My respect for the old woman doubled knowing how she cared about the students. Even this girl she didn’t know anything about she was willing to go to bat for. It was no wonder the kids loved her.

  Jackie Frost stood up. “How many students are going to die as we train her?” She pointed an accusing finger at Thatch. “It takes tremendous magic to mask a siren’s call. Do you remember what happened the last time we had a siren at this school?”

  “A fine pickle.” Jeb shook his head.

  “Pardon me,” Pro Ro said in his polite British accent. “But this is my first year Womby’s. What happened the last time a siren attended our school?”

  Thatch leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. I wished I could get away with pretending to sleep at staff meetings to avoid answering questions.

  “We had a rash of unexplained deaths,” Sebastian Reade, the foreign language teacher said. “They turned out to be the siren’s lovers. The headmistress at the time covered it up so the girl wouldn’t be expelled.” He cast a superior look in my direction. I presumed the headmistress he mentioned was my mother.

  “That isn’t what happened,” Professor Bluehorse said. “You weren’t even here at the time.”

  “I was hired the year after.” Sebastian stood. “It was no secret what she did. No one was strong enough to stop the young lady.” He looked to Professor Bluehorse. “That girl was under your mentorship at the time.”

  Professor Bluehorse shook her staff at him. “No, she wasn’t.”

  “Hey, now. Hold your horses,” Jeb said. “We ain’t even certain that siren was behind those murders. All we know is they stopped after that spell Loraline—”

  “Ahem,” Thatch said. Of course he would interrupt the moment I was about to find out some juicy gossip about my mother. “Excuse me if I don’t find a staff meeting where we bicker for hours to be productive and enjoyable, but I propose we move on. We can start the process to transfer the student elsewhere by writing to Lady of the Lake and some of the smaller schools that specialize in Amni Plandai magic. In the meantime, Madison Jennings is here.”

  My heart burned with admiration at his resolve to help Maddy. Despite his moments of being a grouch, Felix Thatch was my hero.

  Thatch steepled his fingers under his chin. “Womby’s always makes the claim we will provide sanctuary for any child who wishes to avoid becoming prey to the Fae. It doesn’t bother me if we don’t wish to uphold this claim.” He said it casually, as if he truly didn’t care. But he’d given up his pocket watch for Maddy. He’d been angry and indignant on her behalf when trying to reason with the King of the Pacific. He did care, even if he wouldn’t let anyone else here see it. I wondered why he was so falsely apathetic.

  Jeb nodded in agreement. “I got to hand it to Felix for makin’ sure we hadn’t disremembered the reason this school exists. It ain’t gonna get us nowhere attitudinizin’ this matter. This girl is here, and she needs our help. If any teacher don’t feel they can do their job, you let me know, and I’ll get somethin’ else set up for her. That clear, y’all?”

  Faces around the table nodded. Puck handed out Maddy’s schedule:

  First period homeroom with Miss Bloodmire

  Second period Open Study

  Third period Miss Bloodmire for Charms and Minor Spells

  Fourth period with Miss Frost for Survey of Elemental Studies

  Fifth Period Open Study

  Sixth Period with Miss Bloodmire for Survey of Spell Craft

  Seventh Period with Miss Lawrence for Beginning Art

  Eighth Period with Mrs. Lupi for Dange
rous Creatures

  All her teachers were female. After her history with men, I agreed with that decision.

  “We haven’t figured out what to do with her second and fifth period,” Puck said. “Volunteers?”

  “What if she doesn’t just attract men?” Evita Lupi asked, tapping the schedule. She gave Jackie Frost a sidelong glance. “Female sirens can attract lesbians.”

  I hadn’t ever suspected Jackie was a lesbian, just a feminist. Jackie glowered at Evita.

  “They only attract women if the siren prefers women,” Silas Lupi said next to his wife.

  “No, that isn’t how it works. It depends on the species of siren,” Professor Bluehorse said.

  The wind howled outside, wheezing through the shutters of the window. The door to the conference room popped open and a gust of cold wind rushed inside, fluttering schedules off the table. I dove for mine on the floor. For a moment I detected the aroma of butterscotch and Cheetos and I froze, thinking of Derrick. It was such an unexpected moment to be reminded of him.

  I thought of the other times I had thought I’d smelled his magic. I’d been with the Raven Court. What if Raven Queen’s magic was at work? I was on guard.

  I returned to my seat, inhaling deeply, but I no longer smelled anything other than Vega’s perfume.

  Puck stood. “Do we have a volunteer for Madison Jennings’ fifth period?”

  “It isn’t just an open study teacher she needs. This girl must have a mentor,” Thatch said. “She needs someone powerful and authoritative to shield her from boys—as well as her own magic. I recommend Miss Bloodmire for her strict, no-nonsense teaching style. She won’t allow excuses for behavior. She’s more than capable.”

  “Not a chance. You already insisted on placing her in three of my classes. You owe me for that big time.” She gave Thatch a significant look. I wondered what kind of new bargain they’d struck. I already knew his lack of enthusiasm for her supposed weakness hadn’t cut it before.