* * *
When I made my way into the kitchen for my morning cup of tea, Kaitlin and Madison were already at the table, both nursing cups of coffee. They looked up, expectantly, but I still didn’t feel comfortable sharing with them.
Then Kaitlin’s eye drifted to my ring finger and she gasped. “Cassie!”
I followed her gaze. Of course, Kaitlin would notice right away. Giving her a small smile, I flashed the ring in their direction, giving them each a chance to admire the large, princess-cut stone.
“You and Matthew?” Kaitlin said, as if she couldn’t quite believe it. “That was so fast.”
“And not at all like you,” Madison added. She didn’t look happy.
“Congratulations,” Kaitlin said. “Have you set a date? If it’s soon, you’ll have to squeeze me into a maternity bridesmaid dress. Do they make those? I’m sure they do. I’ll have to start looking, though.”
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and I found myself grinning despite my dark mood.
“Last night when you came home, you seemed kind of upset,” Madison said. “Then you went out and got engaged?”
“Basically, yeah.”
Kaitlin elbowed her. “Don’t be so gloomy. Matthew’s not bad looking.”
“Looks aren’t everything,” Madison said.
“I agree.” I moved to the stove to put on a kettle of water for my tea, then grabbed a piece of bread to butter.
“What happened last night, with Evan?” Madison asked.
I closed my eyes, holding the butter knife firmly in my fist. Then, deciding they would never leave me alone until they had the truth, I told them.
In response, Kaitlin spilled hot coffee all over her lap and Madison began stammering nonsense. All in all, I decided, it was a good thing I’d chosen to seek out Matthew for comfort the night before.
“So, what was up with you and your father last night?” I asked Madison in an attempt to change the subject.
She continued to stammer for a minute, then swallowed, and shrugged. “He suddenly wants me to move back home. Into a bigger home, actually. Says he had a change of heart.”
“Yeah, and came into some money,” Kaitlin added. “Does anyone else think the timing is weird?”
I did, but Madison had clearly had enough of this line of thinking the night before, because she excused herself and fled to her room.
“I need to get to work,” I said. “Will you be at dinner tonight with my parents?”
“No,” Kaitlin said. “I’m having dinner with my mom tonight.”
Meaning I’d miss her, once again, but that seemed to be the norm of late. How had moving in together resulted in us spending so little time together?
* * *
Wesley didn’t talk much as we trudged through the list of names that afternoon, getting all the way through the C’s and well into the D’s before calling it quits. The sheriff radioed several times to check our progress, and didn’t seem upset at how little we’d made. He seemed to be trying to find a way to connect the fire with the murder of David McClellan, but if there was a connection, it definitely wasn’t obvious.
The afternoon was remarkably uneventful, despite making visits to both the Cranes and the Donaldsons, two fairly powerful families who didn’t like to be bothered. Most of the people we interviewed had been forewarned of our impending arrival and gave us brief, courteous answers to our questions before sending us away. Only the Cranes behaved rudely, threatening to sic their pet basilisk on us if we didn’t clear out. But the great serpent never materialized and they did, finally, give us curtly sarcastic answers to our ridiculous questions.
I arrived at my parents’ home for dinner well ahead of Matthew because I hoped to have a few minutes alone with them before he arrived. It didn’t work like I planned, largely because the instant I walked through the door, Juliana noticed my engagement ring.
“You’re going to marry him? Are you crazy?” Juliana demanded after looking pointedly at it for a long minute. “You’ve only known the guy a week!”
The reaction, while not unexpected, did give me pause. I took a minute to carefully study the reactions of everyone in the room, beginning with my mother, who kept wringing her hands. My father refused to look at me. Nicolas refused to look away, but he kept biting his lip, as if to keep himself from saying something he might regret. Isaac, Elena, and Christina weren’t there, thank goodness, but even Adam frowned, thoughtfully.
“I don’t think you should get married,” Adam said, in the serious tone of a six-year-old sage. “You might not come over as much.”
I knelt down to his level, giving him my solemn oath, “I’ll always be your big sister.”
He didn’t look convinced, but before he had a chance to pile on the charm, Mom spoke. “This is kind of sudden. It’s not because of… of what you found out yesterday, is it?”
“Sheila, I don’t think now is the time,” Dad said.
“Are you mad at us?” Mom asked, ignoring her husband.
“Yes, but that doesn’t have anything to do with getting engaged.” My throat constricted as I stared at the ring, wondering if anyone could just pretend to feel happy for me. A rational part of me understood how sudden this must seem, but still, it wasn’t like I would ever get engaged again. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I wanted someone to be happy.
“I assume you’re angry with us because we didn’t tell you the truth,” Dad said.
“No,” I said.
“No?” Dad shook his head slightly.
“I don’t know why you couldn’t tell me,” I said. “But I accept that you couldn’t. I understand the power of magical debts.”
“Is anyone planning to tell us?” Juliana asked. “I’m still hung up on the fact that she’s engaged to Matthew Blair and you’re not trying to talk her out of it.”
“There are bigger issues here right now,” Mom said.
“Are there?” I asked. I turned to my sister, whose hazel eyes bored into me. “Spill it. What’s your problem? And please, don’t start going on about the fact that he’s a mind mage.”
She opened and closed her mouth a few times, but apparently I’d eliminated her main argument. Finally, she threw her hair over her shoulder, lifted her chin, and turned away. “I won’t go.”
“Go where?” I asked.
“To your wedding.”
I wouldn’t have thought I could survive another knife to the gut, but apparently I could. She couldn’t be serious. Juliana had to go to my wedding. Kaitlin probably assumed she’d be my maid of honor, but it would have to be Juliana, with Elena, Kaitlin, and Madison standing alongside.
“Juliana,” Mom said. “How can you say that?”
“Because it’s tainted. Don’t you think I can feel it?”
No one spoke for a long time. For my part, I tried to find the taint, but I found only love for Matthew, hurt at Juliana’s words, and a deep sense of confusion. Then I remembered the link I’d acknowledged for the first time that morning, binding me to my brothers and sisters. It felt as it had then, but who knew what Juliana felt? Perhaps her comment had nothing to do with the link, which might, after all, have been a product of my own overactive imagination.
“Juliana, look at me,” I said. “Look into my eyes. Are they pink?”
She didn’t look. “I doubt Matthew’s that sloppy.”
“What is the matter with you?” At first, I hurled my accusation at Juliana, but then widened it to the rest of my assembled family, including Isaac and Elena, who had just peered hesitantly around the corner to look into the living room. “All of you! This is a good thing! I’m very happy about it.”
“Who are you trying to convince, us or you?” This snide remark could only have come from Isaac, though he still hadn’t dared to fully enter the room.
“Forget it. I’m not trying to convince anyone, but for the record, Matthew’s joining us for dinner tonight.”
“That’s great, Cassandra,” Mom said. “Do you
need to talk to us alone? About that other thing?”
“What other thing?” Nicolas asked.
“It’s private,” Mom said firmly.
I did need to speak to my parents alone, but I had no intention of hiding the truth from my brothers and sisters. They should know, and they should hear it from me. It might even explain the taint Juliana felt and the lingering sadness I felt, despite the joy of the engagement.
“Yesterday, I found out what happened to my magic,” I said, clearly and succinctly. “Victor Blackwood cast a spell to deprive me of it before I was even conceived, and it ended up going to his son.”
I let the deafening silence go on for only a moment before heading up the stairs to the library. “Mom, Dad? How about that private word?”
I didn’t wait for them, but they followed me without comment until we reached the familiar warmth of the second floor library, with its massive bookshelves reaching from floor to ceiling. The results of generations of magical studies resided there, but I would never be able to perform any of it. Evan’s decisive “No” had closed that door in my face.
“So, why are you angry with us?” Mom asked when she had closed the door softly behind her.
“Because for twenty-one years, you have led me to believe that it was all my fault.”
Dad clenched his fists at his side and sparks flew out of his eyes. “When have we said anything like that?”
“Normal? Ordinary? Disappointment? Do any of these words ring a bell?”
Dad didn’t back down. “My mother called you a disappointment and I told her to shove it. I didn’t think you’d even remembered.”
I blinked, trying to pinpoint the source of that word, but failing. For some reason in my mind, I’d always heard it in my father’s voice, but perhaps I’d been somewhat unfair. Maybe I simply assumed he felt that way. “All right. I’ll give you that one. What about normal and ordinary?”
Mom wrung her hands. “I didn’t mean them as an insult. We were trying to make you feel comfortable with what we knew was going to be your life. So you’d feel comfortable with the rest of the world. I didn’t know you felt bad about them. I mean, you called yourself a normal detective.”
“I’m not normal. I never have been.”
“That’s for sure.” Dad eased into a chair by the fire.
“Weak link?” I said.
They both winced.
“We never called you that,” Mom said.
“Not to my face. Did you know I could hear you through the vents?”
From the stunned looks on their faces, I guessed that Elena, my old bedroom’s new occupant, would have no such ability. Probably within twenty-four hours.
“You tried to cut me out of the family from the day Christina was born,” I said. “You weren’t sure if I counted. If the magical protection was there. I took you at your word. Thought I didn’t count. But you were wrong. There is a bond protecting us and I can feel it, magic or no magic.”
“You can?” Mom went a little pale.
“Yes, I can. It’s what sickened the family when you tried to break it.”
Mom sat down next to her husband. “I’m sorry, Cassandra. I’ve said it a hundred times and will say it a hundred more if I have to, but I can’t change what I’ve done.”
No, she couldn’t, and since I’d already forgiven her, I decided that maybe I should let go of the anger. Or work toward that point.
“Do you disapprove of Matthew?” I asked.
Mom and Dad glanced at each other. Something unspoken passed between them, but they only shrugged.
“It is a little sudden,” Dad said.
“How long of an engagement period do you plan?” Mom asked. “Maybe a year from now, to give you a chance to get to know one another. A nice fall wedding next year?”
“I, um… we haven’t discussed it.” I didn’t like the idea of a long engagement, though I couldn’t fault her logic. Why was I in such a hurry to get married, anyway? Unless I was more like my mother than I thought and I longed for a magical pregnancy so I could feel the power flowing through me. But I’d never experienced it in the first place, so how could I miss it?
The doorbell rang and I leaped to my feet. “That will be Matthew.” I hurried away, wanting to get to him before my brothers and sisters could bombard him with questions or insults.
Dinner turned out well, despite everything. Perhaps Matthew had a calming influence on everyone or perhaps my announcement about Evan had shocked them into quiescence, but the evening passed with little more than polite congratulations and small talk.
Shortly after dinner, I pulled Nicolas aside for a private word. I had a favor to ask of him, one I still didn’t feel comfortable asking my father. I knew the sheriff didn’t want me actively involved in the investigation of Sarah Roberts’s murder, especially not if I involved my family, but if I had to spend one more day asking inane questions of people who had no connection to the Robertses, I thought I would go insane.
“What’s up?” Nicolas asked.
“The fire chief’s report said he couldn’t find any normal means for starting that fire,” I said.
“So I heard. Loudly. They blame me.”
“I know.”
“I haven’t gone into town since Thursday. Then, they were just hurling unfounded accusations at me, but I heard it was getting worse and I didn’t want to end up hurting anyone.”
“I think it’s more or less under control now, but it’s pretty unstable.” It was probably best that he stay away, which made what I had to ask him that much more difficult. “The thing is, I was wondering if you could look at the house and give me your own report about what happened. Maybe you could figure out what kind of magic was used, or how it was done.”
“I could.” He hesitated. “I’d better do it late at night, though. And there’s no guarantee I’ll find anything.”
“I understand. So, can you do it tonight?”
Before he had a chance to answer, someone rang the doorbell. Frowning, my father went to discover the identity of our unexpected guest. When he reached the door, he let out an audible groan.
“I was expecting this,” Dad muttered as he opened the door.
“Mr. Scot,” came a vaguely familiar tenor with a very pleasant timbre. “I realize we haven’t been introduced, but your reputation precedes you, and I was hoping we might have a word.”
“Your reputation precedes you, too, Mr. DuPris, and you have to know that I’m not in favor of joining your cult of personality.”
“I realize that,” Alexander said. “But I thought that perhaps today, we could set aside our differences to talk about something more important.”
“I can’t think what you might have to say that would interest me.” My father was acting more hostile than he needed to, but I recognized the effort as part of resisting Alexander’s charismatic charm.
“It involves your daughter Cassie,” Alexander said.
I straightened. Dad’s head swung around to gaze at me, his eyes attempting to penetrate my mind, but it wouldn’t have helped if he could. I had no idea what Alexander meant. Matthew, who could read my mind, looked just as baffled.
“Come in.” Dad stood stiffly as he stepped aside for Alexander to enter. His gaze swept the room and he said, sharply, “Kids, off to the play room. Cassie, you stay.”
“What about me?” Nicolas asked.
Dad hesitated. “All right, you stay, too.”
“And me?” Juliana asked. She didn’t appreciate being in that awkward middle stage where she wasn’t a child or an adult, but in this case, I hoped she wouldn’t be allowed to stay. Whatever Alexander had to say, I wasn’t sure I wanted Nicolas to hear, either.
“Go,” Dad said to her.
Amidst a cacophony of grumbling, Juliana and Isaac herded the rest of the kids out of the room, leaving behind the legal adults.
Alexander took a seat in one of the vacated chairs and waited for the noise to die down before speaking. “I unders
tand your community has had a long-standing problem with a particularly reclusive family of practitioners who have been known, from time to time, to engage in kidnapping and murder to achieve their ends.”
Understanding dawned, and I started to open my mouth to speak but Alexander hushed me with a gesture.
“Are you talking about the Travises?” Dad asked. “They were causing trouble a while back, but we put an end to that years ago.”
Alexander shook his head. “From the intelligence I’ve been able to gather, they’ve continued in their illegal and immoral activities. They usually select victims from outside the community, but recently they decided to cast a spell requiring an enormous amount of power. Their intent was to banish me and my people from the area and, given that there are at least a dozen of us around and that none of us are particularly weak, this should give you an idea how much raw energy they needed. Gathering that kind of blood magic from outside the area takes time, and the local population has a much greater concentration of magical potential.”
Dad’s face paled somewhat. “I personally spoke to Eugene about an opposition, but it never occurred to me that they’d try to put together the magic for a banishment.” His face went even whiter as he glanced at me. “What does this have to do with Cassie?”
Alexander looked mildly surprised, though I didn’t think the expression was particularly honest. “Didn’t she tell you? They tried to take her for the ritual.”
“They what?” Dad roared to his feet in such a fury that sparks flew from his eyes. He turned to me. “When did this happen? Why didn’t you say something?”
I spluttered. “It was last night. I was out running when the storm hit and I got lost.”
“You must have gotten pretty damn lost to end up anywhere near their property. It’s not even all that close to your house.”
I’d thought of that, but I still hadn’t quite worked out how I’d made the turn that would have taken me to their property. “I don’t know if they would have killed me.”
Mind Games Page 18