by R. G. Thomas
But if he took just a small sip—the tiniest of sips—what could that hurt? He unclipped the canteen from his belt and held it in his lap. His father continued to scrape the old paint from the front of the house, and somewhere downstairs he could hear Miriam’s voice as she talked with Astrid and Dulindir.
With slow movements, Thaddeus unscrewed the cap. He carefully tipped the canteen toward the window and peered down the mouth. The light coming in the window sparkled along the surface of the water inside like tiny diamonds. Thaddeus lifted the canteen and inhaled the clean, crisp smell of the water, then licked his lips. He took a slow, deep breath and closed his eyes. Finally, he screwed the cap back in place and gave it a firm, final twist to make sure it sealed properly.
It would probably be best if he found a safe place to store it until they were ready to continue. Aisha’s question about the canteen had made him realize it was attracting attention that their group would rather avoid. He got up and limped to the small closet in the corner of the room. Shelves ran around the interior several inches above the hanger rod. Thaddeus reached up and was just able to stand the canteen in a corner. When he stepped back and looked up, he could barely see it standing there among the shadows, and he nodded to himself. That would be much safer than keeping it with him at all times.
Thaddeus felt a little bit better now that he’d made that decision, and he stepped into the bathroom. He washed his face and changed into a clean T-shirt. With a better outlook, he left the room and carefully descended the steps. Not yet ready to see or talk to Teofil, Thaddeus stepped out the front door and approached his father where he was crouching between a couple of scraggly bushes. Nathan was so focused on his work, he didn’t hear Thaddeus until he was just a few feet away.
“Why are you on your feet?” Nathan asked. “You need to keep weight off your foot.”
“I thought you might want some help out here.”
Nathan frowned. “You’re asking to spend time with me instead of Teofil? What’s going on?”
Thaddeus sighed and turned away. “Nothing. Forget it.”
“All right, all right, just stop.”
Nathan disappeared around the corner of the house and Thaddeus worried that he would come back with Teofil in tow. But when his father reappeared there was no sign of Teofil; instead he carried a plastic lawn chair that he situated between a couple of bushes at the other end of the house.
“Your throne awaits,” he said with a deep bow and a wave of his hand.
Thaddeus laughed and the action sent a wave of good feeling through him. He settled into the chair, accepted the scraper his father handed him, and set to work. With each scrape of old paint, Thaddeus imagined that his bad feelings, anger, and confusion toward Teofil flaked away as well.
He and his father worked for a long time. The sun moved behind the mountain and an early dusk settled over the yard. Hannah came out to assess their work, and Nathan spent some time talking with her, far enough away that Thaddeus wasn’t able to hear what was said. From the glimpse he managed to catch of her, however, he thought Hannah’s appearance might have worsened. Her hair lay flat and limp, tucked behind her ears, and dark circles had formed beneath her eyes. She was probably worried about money, what with her husband’s death in the mine and the lack of tourists this season.
A breeze made him shiver. Now that the mountain had hidden the sun, the temperature had dropped. Hannah left the yard and walked away down the street, arms crossed over her chest as she hurried off.
“Feels like it’s time to call it a day,” his father said.
“Everything okay with Hannah?” Thaddeus asked.
Nathan shrugged. “I’m not sure. We just talked about our progress out here and what the others have been working on.”
“Is she happy with the arrangement?”
“She seems to be.”
“Good.”
Nathan had Thaddeus sit on the porch steps as he took the tools and lawn chair to the shed at the back of the yard. When he returned, Nathan put an arm around Thaddeus’s waist and had Thaddeus lean against him for support, helping him around to the back door and into the kitchen where he sat in a chair.
“Clean up first,” Miriam instructed from where she stood at the stove.
“What’s for dinner?” Astrid asked as she came up the basement steps with a basket filled with clean sheets. “Smells better than mooshberries.”
“Those mooshberries kept us all fed for a good many days,” Miriam replied. “Just finish up what you’re doing and then wash up.”
Nathan helped Thaddeus up the stairs and left him sitting on the bed as he grabbed some clothes from the closet and stepped into the bathroom to shower. Thaddeus looked at the canteen sitting on the closet shelf. For a few long seconds, he again considered taking a sip, but then told himself he didn’t need to. As a matter of fact, his ankle was feeling decidedly better. He carefully moved his foot around and thought that Miriam’s mix of herbs were pretty amazing.
A light knock on the bedroom door pulled him from his thoughts. He shifted on the bed to face the door instead of the closet.
“Come in.”
Teofil stuck his head in the room and looked around. “You alone?”
Thaddeus waved toward the closed bathroom door. “My dad’s taking a shower.”
“May I come in?” Teofil asked.
Thaddeus’s anger thawed a bit to hear the request even after he’d already invited Teofil in. He nodded and said, “Yeah. Come in.”
Teofil left the door partway open and sat beside Thaddeus on the edge of the mattress. There was a tension between them, something Thaddeus wasn’t used to and which he didn’t like feeling one bit. He wanted to go back to the laughter and warmth he’d felt earlier.
“I’m sorry,” Teofil said as he stared at his hands clasped tight together. “I was angry and I don’t know why.”
Thaddeus let out a breath of relief, but before he could respond, someone said, “It was the nacht macabre.”
Thaddeus jumped a bit and discovered Dulindir standing in the doorway.
Teofil frowned and his brows knitted together. “This was intended to be a private conversation.”
“Then you should not have left the door open,” Dulindir said and stepped into the room. “The nacht macabre can affect those who handle it, causing mood swings and thoughts that are shaded with ill intent.”
“Really?” Thaddeus asked. He thought about the plant he’d held in his hands, how he’d breathed in the heavy scent of its bloom. Maybe that could explain his sudden crying jag and his urge to drink the magic water. Then he remembered the sharpness of Teofil’s tone and his angry expression and had to wonder whether it was all because of the plants, or if there might be more to it.
“I trust you removed the plants?” Dulindir asked, fixing Teofil with a steady stare.
Thaddeus was afraid Teofil would lash out at Dulindir once again and caught himself holding his breath. Teofil, however, sighed, and his expression softened. He untangled his fingers, letting his hands hang down between his knees, and then he nodded.
“I removed them and dumped them in a pile back where I’d found them at the foot of the mountain.” He looked up at Dulindir. “I’m sorry I got angry with you.”
“It was not your fault,” Dulindir said. “It was the effect of the plants. I know you would not hurt me.”
Nathan was talking as he opened the bathroom door and walked out, rubbing his hair dry with a towel. “I was thinking we could—” He stopped at the sight of Teofil and Dulindir. “Oh, I didn’t know we had company.”
“Sorry,” Thaddeus said. “We’re just talking.”
“I see that,” Nathan tossed the towel back into the bathroom. “I’m glad I got dressed in there.”
“Yeah, us too,” Thaddeus said with an eye roll.
They all laughed, and the tension seemed to leave the room with the sound. As Nathan and Dulindir discussed dinner plans, Thaddeus leaned in close to Teofil.
“Apology accepted,” Thaddeus whispered.
Teofil smiled. “Good.”
“What is this, a boys-only party?” Astrid stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and a suspicious look on her face.
“We’re just having some guy time,” Nathan replied. “And Dulindir and I are about to get started on dinner.”
“It’s already done,” Astrid said. “Mum and I were hungry and knew you two would frolic around trying to decide what to make and we wouldn’t eat until bed time.”
Thaddeus shared a smile with Nathan, and they said together, “Frolic?”
“Just get your rears down to the kitchen.”
Astrid stomped off in a huff and Dulindir followed.
“Let’s go, you two,” Nathan said as he stood at the door and waved Thaddeus and Teofil out of the room. “I’ll help Thaddeus down the stairs, Teofil. You go ahead.”
Thaddeus leaned against his father and hopped down a step at a time.
“Things okay between you and Teofil?” Nathan asked as they maneuvered down the stairs.
“Yeah, everything’s good,” Thaddeus replied. “But Teofil found some unusual plants over by the mountain. They’re nacht macabre, according to Dulindir. Have you heard of them?”
Nathan shook his head. “No, but I never really studied the magic of plants and mixes and potions.”
“You were more a man of action?” Thaddeus asked. “Mowing down weeds with a wave of your hand?”
Nathan chuckled. “Something like that. Your mother used to get on me about that too, said I wouldn’t be able to keep up with—”
Nathan stopped midsentence. Thaddeus studied his profile, noting the lines of concern at the corner of his eye and the creases in his brow.
“Keep up with who?” Thaddeus asked.
Nathan shook his head and smiled, but it didn’t seem to match the expression in his eyes. “No one. Well, no one specific. Just all the other wizards and witches around us, you know?”
They entered the kitchen, and Nathan helped Thaddeus sit at the table. Hannah had joined them and sat at the far head of the table. As they all passed around dishes of vegetables and pan fried chicken, Thaddeus wondered just who his father had been thinking of and why he hadn’t felt comfortable telling him about it.
Chapter SEVEN
THE NEXT morning, Thaddeus was able to put a bit more weight on his ankle. The ice and elevation seemed to have helped. Even though it felt better, he was careful not to overdo it. Every morning, they had a list of chores to complete, and the next couple of days passed in a blur of activity, but the longer they stayed, the more frustrated they became. Astrid sniped at everyone more often, even Dulindir, who merely stared back after her sharp comments. Teofil hummed to the plants less and less, and Thaddeus caught Miriam grumbling and sighing to herself in the kitchen more than once. His father became more withdrawn, and spent most evenings after dinner on his own in the sitting room, alternately staring out the window or at a book selected from the shelf. When anyone tried to have a conversation, he replied with noncommittal grunts or one-word answers.
Thaddeus felt restless and on edge. Throughout the day his gaze would stray to the end of the street where a trail curled through tall grass, around large stones, and then made its way up the mountain. Frustration rumbled through him like thunder, which led to flashes of anger at himself for his injured ankle and, though he hated to admit it, his father for not having the money they needed to continue the search. Whenever he started to feel this way, Thaddeus would stop what he was doing and consider the years his father had cared for him all alone. How he had kept their magical bloodline a secret to protect him, and how he had moved them from city to city, forgoing friends and relationships of his own to keep Thaddeus safe. These thoughts would cool Thaddeus’s temper enough for him to carry on with whatever task he’d been working.
Hannah heard about Thaddeus’s ankle and suggested he soak it in water from the hot spring up the mountain trail. Teofil and Astrid hiked up the trail with two buckets and brought back water for him. The sulfur and lingering heat of the water felt good, and the soaking helped him walk up and down the steps with just a bit of weight on his foot.
Aisha stopped by each day and talked with him as he scraped paint or folded laundry or washed windows. Thaddeus began to suspect that Teofil might be right about Aisha having a crush on him. She didn’t talk as much with anyone else in their group, and she laughed a lot around him, even when he wasn’t trying to be funny. He enjoyed talking with Aisha but was nervous that she might like him. She was becoming a friend, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He’d never had this problem before, with a boy or a girl, and it sat in the back of his mind like an itchy mosquito bite.
Thaddeus’s injury had limited the time he could work on magic with his father, but they still managed some exercises together in a corner of the inn’s backyard, as well as in the room they shared. He learned to reliably call the small chunk of asphalt to him, whether he lifted it from the floor or brought it whizzing toward him from across the room. The first time he summoned the rock from the windowsill, it flew at him too fast and he’d ducked at the last minute. As it was, the rock left a small dent in the plaster wall that Nathan hid by moving the armchair over a few inches.
Though he was learning, Thaddeus could only summon an item he was familiar with, or something he had previously touched. And while he could call the rock to him, he still wasn’t able to cast it away from him. He was anxious to perform more magic faster, but Nathan seemed pleased with what he had learned so far and kept reminding him he couldn’t learn it all in the span of a few days.
All of them worked hard to earn their room and board at the inn, but that didn’t get them closer to having all of the clothing and equipment required to climb the mountain. Thaddeus wasn’t very surprised, therefore, when one evening over dinner Nathan announced he’d found a job.
“A job?” Astrid frowned. “Why?”
“We’re going to need different clothes and equipment to be able to climb the mountain,” Nathan replied.
“Oh.” Astrid nodded.
“I think it’s a fine idea,” Miriam said. “Where did you find this job, Nathan?”
“The general store in town,” he replied. “They’ve lost a lot of employees because so many people are leaving town. I told Kathryn, the owner, that I’d work for minimum wage and that I’d be open to working for supplies instead of cash on some days.”
“We’re going to be here a long time, aren’t we?” Thaddeus asked.
“Longer than I’d hoped,” his father replied with a nod. “But this gives us time to get ready to face Isadora and Logan.”
“And meet up with the dragon,” Astrid said and made a face.
“Thaddeus’s mother,” Teofil reminded her.
“She’s still a dragon,” Astrid grumbled down to her plate.
“Strange that there’s been no sight of them,” Miriam said. “I would have thought they’d be down here ready to fight us all at once.”
“Maybe the townspeople are keeping them away?” Teofil suggested.
“Hey, what about Leopold?” Thaddeus asked. “And Vivienne and Rudyard? Can we get in touch with any of them? Maybe they can help us, or bring us supplies?”
Nathan and Miriam shook their heads, and Nathan said, “I’ve tried calling Leopold’s phone as well as the Superstition Public Library to get in touch with Vivienne, but there’s been no answer at either place.”
Thaddeus widened his eyes. “The library is closed?”
“Seems that way,” Nathan said, then nodded to Miriam. “And there’s been no word from Rudyard either.”
“I’ve tried every method I can think of to get in touch with him,” Miriam said with a slow shake of her head. “And there’s been no response. I just hope something terrible hasn’t happened to them all.” She looked from Teofil to Astrid with tears in her eyes. “All your brothers and sisters are back home as well, and I miss
the devilish little monsters something awful.”
Astrid rolled her eyes. “I don’t. I was so happy when you said Fetter and I could come along.” She stopped and looked down at her plate. Then she took a breath and lifted her head to display a completely fake smile. “Anyway. I’m happy to be here. Just don’t want to have to live here longer than we need to.”
“Me neither,” Thaddeus agreed. “This inn is nice, but there’s no cable TV and no Internet.”
“What’s Internet?” Dulindir asked.
Thaddeus sighed, but shared a smile with his father, almost able to hear what he was thinking: You said it, now explain it.
“It’s information,” Thaddeus replied. “Like, all the information you could ever want.”
Astrid’s eyes went wide. “All of it?”
Thaddeus nodded. “You can look up anything online and find an answer in seconds.”
“Like why the sky is blue?” Astrid asked.
“Yep.”
“Why Teofil smells so funny?” Astrid asked with a grin.
“Why Astrid’s face is so ugly?” Teofil added.
They all laughed, and Thaddeus realized he felt better than he had in a few days. He was looking forward to working on his magic after dinner and was planning to walk into town the next day with Teofil. His ankle was feeling really good now, and he needed to get out of the inn for a while.
It was Thaddeus’s turn to wash dishes, and he stood at the sink, glad to find he was able to keep his weight on both feet as he worked. Teofil stayed in the kitchen with him to clear the table and wipe everything down. They talked as they worked, Teofil telling Thaddeus about the trail he and Astrid had climbed to the get the water from the hot spring.
“Your foot’s been healing up really fast,” Teofil said. “Maybe we’ll be able to go soak in the springs soon.”
“That sounds nice,” Thaddeus said. “I’m really surprised at how fast I’ve recovered.”
“I am too.”
“So what’s it like up there?” Thaddeus asked. “Just, like, holes in the ground filled with water?”
Teofil chuckled. “A little better than that. There are four or five springs in a flat alcove just off the trail. Big flat stones are set up around each of the springs, and a lot of the brush has been cleared away. It’s nice, but it looked like it’s been a long time since anyone’s been up there.”