by ERIN BEDFORD
I sighed heavily, my gaze scanning the crowd hanging out at Sabrina’s booth. She might be an elitist bitch, but it was working for her. All I had was four hot wizards doing their best to be show their support. Well, sort of.
Dale and Paul were talking about the differences between the use of poppy seeds and the actual poppy in home-brewed potions. It would have been a quite invigorating debate had it not been on such a boring topic. Ian had his legs propped up on the edge of my booth, leaning back in the chair he had conjured out of thin air and looking very much like the sexy bad boy. And then there was Aiden. Sweet, big as a mountain Aiden. If anyone were deterring my audience, it would be him. While I found him adorable in his stalkerish ways, the quiet looming would make any man or woman quake in their boots.
“Hey, honey,” my mom strolled up, holding hands with my dad. “Your booth is nice.”
“It sucks, mom.” I sighed and stood. “I can’t get anyone to come over here.”
My dad’s eyes weren’t on me and the booth but the guys hanging around it. “Well, it’s probably because you have your own set of bodyguards here. Maybe lose some of the testosterone.”
I gave my dad a wry grin. “Thanks, dad, I’ll keep that in mind.”
“So, when do the judges come by?” my mom asked. She was trying to hide her anxiety, I could tell. She was rubbing my dad’s arm like it was a magic lamp. If something did pop out of my dad, I sure as hell hoped I wasn’t there for it.
I shrugged. “Probably pretty soon, but if I don’t get some more people, it won’t matter.”
“Well, then.” Mom glanced around at the guys. “We better get you some more people. You.” She pointed at Ian. “Go find some girls, throw a little flirty smile their way, and then lead them over here.”
“Why him?” Dale asked, clearly miffed by my mom’s choice.
She raised her brows. “Look at him. He’s got that bad boy thing down pat. No girl can resist a bad boy.”
“Mom,” I warned. The last thing I needed was for her to be showing favoritism. I had enough pissing contests between them on my own. She didn’t need to start something where there wasn’t any.
“I’m just saying.” She gestured to Dale. “You have a lot going for you too, but we aren’t at a library. We’re at a festival where girls are going to be looking for the fun guy, not the ‘I’ll let you in my pants if you help me with my homework’ guy.”
“Peggy!” my dad admonished.
She laughed and patted his chest. “Don’t worry, dear. You can still teach me anytime you want.”
“Mom, ew.”
“Quite right. That is hardly an appropriate conversation to be having in public or other.” My grandmother pushed her way into our little group. “Maxine,” she nodded at me and then to each of the guys in turn, except for Dale. She stared hard at him and then turned her back, clearly telling everyone what she thought of him.
Dale didn’t appear to notice, or he was hiding it. I had a feeling I was going to have to deal with it later regardless of the fact. Just what I needed.
“Grandmother, how nice to see you.” I gave her an awkward hug and glanced behind her. “Where’s grandfather?”
“Oh, he’s about.” She waved a hand behind her. “He loves these kinds of things, especially shadow twists.” A soft smile caused her lips to curl. She seemed to catch herself, and she smoothed out her face a stern frown taking its place as she turned to my mom. “I’m surprised you took time out of your busy life of playing in the dirt to come support your daughter.”
“Mother,” my mom snapped, stepping between her and my dad.
“No, it’s alright, Peggy.” My dad pushed her behind him and stood in front of my grandmother. My grandmother’s eyes bore into him as if daring him to say something.
“This is a bunch of bull crap.” I sighed, scratching my face with my hand. “I can’t deal with this right now guys. I have a contest to win. I can’t referee a pissing match between you too.”
“Maxine!”
“Max!”
Grabbing my amulet, I didn’t even hesitate. “I wish everyone could get along until the end of the competition.”
All of a sudden, the irritation and resentment on my parents and grandmother’s face melted away. A sort of artificial calm replaced it, and they all smiled at each other.
Turning away from them, I gestured to Ian. “Can you go do what my mom suggested? It’d really help.”
“Of course,” Ian smirked, sauntering over to me. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine with a wink. “Anything for you.” I watched him walk away a little too long because Paul cleared his throat.
“Yeah, sorry. Uh, Dale and Paul, can you start handing out the pamphlets? Get as many people as you can to come this way?” The guys nodded and then I turned to Aidan. “Aidan, you’re really awesome as a bodyguard, but in this instance, I think—”
“Say no more.” Aidan nodded and moved from my booth to stand beside Sabrina’s. Instantly, the people around her booth started to get nervous. Many of them quickly leaving and heading my way.
Clapping my hands with a gleeful grin, my faith was renewed. I glanced at my family and waved them away. “Go enjoy the fair, I’ve got a contest to win.” To the crowd coming toward me, I gave them my best professional smile. “The future of the magical community is here. Come and find out how you can help keep balance in our lives.”
By the time the judges came around, I’d run out of pamphlets and had so many people at my booth they had to push their way through. I was surprised by the reaction I’d gotten from many of the visitors. Most of them didn’t even realize there was an issue, and the others thought it was a great idea. I only had a few who balked at my suggestions.
“I’m not human-raised, why should I care?”
“Yes,” the headmaster who was one of the judges agreed. “Why should we care?”
Clearing my throat, my hands becoming moist. I held them behind my back to hide how they shook and to keep myself from fidgeting. “I’m glad you asked. While the percentage of human-raised witches and wizards is one in nine, leaving them to fend for themselves would be detrimental to our community as a whole. Would you really want to let a bunch of children barely old enough to vote figuring out the confines of their powers? Can you imagine the chaos that could create?
“I am human-raised and can tell you that it scared me. My powers came out when my emotions became too much to hold onto. So, they manifested through my power and almost killed several people.”
“Then we should just get rid of them then,” someone in the crowd called out. A few people agreed with them.
“How are you going to find them?” I asked, glancing around the group. “Are you going to hunt them down in the trillions of people in the world? You might as well be searching for a snowflake in a snowstorm.
“The fact is we need new regulations for those who were human-raised, something other than just throwing them into school and hoping they catch up. Because, believe me, it’s not fun. We are taking away the chance to have some amazing witches and wizards by handicapping them for something they had no control over.”
“And what do you propose?” another judge asked, this one a brunette woman with glasses that pointed up at the ends.
Taking a deep breath, I took one of my flyers and showed it to her. “I propose a spell that would only be available to those who are human-raised, one that would fill in the years of education that we missed, just like that. Then we are caught up and are no longer a danger to society.”
“But if we do it for you, why shouldn’t we do it for all magical children?” the headmaster asked. There was a proud sort of look on his face that gave me the courage to continue.
“I don’t think they would want it, to be honest. I know I wouldn’t. I’d rather have the experience of going through school, finding new friends, and making my own mistakes over having twelve years’ worth of schooling shoved into my head. However, since that is not an option, ther
e would have to be regulations that stated the spell would only be available to those who need it. Meaning only a set amount of people would know the spell, and they would be kept to secrecy by a binding spell, limiting those who would abuse the system to a minimum.”
The crowd around me clapped politely. The judges had pleased expressions, or at least they looked so, as they scribbled away on their pads of paper. They moved on to the other booths, allowing me to finally relax.
Dale came up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “You did great.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He nodded, pulling me close. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“He is right.” Aidan approached.
I grabbed onto his arm, hugging him tightly. “So, can you tell me? Who won?”
Aidan’s lip twitched. “No.”
“Ah, come on.” I stomped my foot and pouted. Aidan bent down and thumbed my lower lip before brushing his against mine. I placed my hand on the side of his face and leaned into him. When he released me, I sighed. “Fine. I’ll wait.”
Chapter 24
Waiting for the announcement was torture. They weren’t kind enough to make a decision right away. They had to brood over it for an hour or two. It was enough to make a girl sprout some gray hairs!
“Relax.” Paul smoothed a hand over my back. “It’ll be all over soon. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
I nodded but still chewed on my thumbnail. He might be able to keep calm because he had his family money to take care of his schooling. If I let my grandmother pay for it, she’d own me, and I wasn’t ready to give up my freedom just yet.
Dale sat at my other side, his hand on my leg. “If you don’t win, you can always do a work-study like me. There’s a few available in the library.”
I grimaced. I knew Dale was being helpful, but I really didn’t want to have to work and do school at the same time, not if I could help it. I had a hard enough time keeping up with my work as it was. If I had to work too, I couldn’t imagine the amount of stress that would add to my plate.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” I’d put that in my list of last resorts, along with student loans and stripping.
“Hello, can I have your attention please?” a voice boomed over the entire fairgrounds.
I couldn’t see the speaker even though I knew where it was coming from. I got out of my seat and started toward the stage they’d set up. The guys followed after me, each of them staying close by my side. My parents and grandparents had done exactly as my wish had commanded. They chatted happily with each other as if they were best friends. It was a bit eerie actually.
Turning my attention from them, I focused my gaze on the stage. The headmaster stood with the other judges waiting for everyone to quieten.
“Thank you all for coming out. We appreciate your support in the school and our students. Now the moment everyone has been waiting for ...”
My heart jumped into my throat, and my pulse pounded in my ears. This was the moment that would decide the fate of my future. Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but it was still a really big deal. Student loans were no joke.
“We are proud to announce that the winner of this year's Spring Fair competition, by a unanimous vote, is Maxine Mancaster!”
The crowd cheered, and the guys patted me on the back. My mom hugged me, and my grandparents gave me congratulations. All of this was barely registered in my shocked system.
I couldn’t believe it, I had won. I had really won. It took me several seconds to process what was happening and then it hit me. What the headmaster had called me.
Mancaster. He’d called me Maxine Mancaster, not Norman.
Fury and disappointment filled me. I had won alright.
People had liked my idea, sure, but my booth wasn’t really all that, and I wasn’t that charming. The reason I had won wasn’t that I had a great idea. Or I’d charmed the judges. It was because I was a Mancaster.
Without a word, I pushed away from the hands on me and through the crowd. I had to talk to the headmaster. I couldn’t accept it. I wouldn’t. I had said from the beginning that I’d make my way with my parent’s name. My name. I wasn’t some magical royalty that got things handed to them.
However, I never got to the headmaster. Someone rushed up to the stage and whispered in his ear. His face went from happy to despair in under a millisecond. He didn’t explain but moved off the stage and out of sight.
I stood there in all my anger and confusion, not knowing what to do. My grandmother came up to my side, her hand on my shoulder. The look on her face told me she knew what was wrong.
“What is it?” I glanced back at my grandmother and the sympathy on her face genuine.
“It’s his daughter, Delilah. She’s dying.”
“Dying?” My brow scrunched together, trying to remember when they had mentioned her before. My grandmother had offered her condolences before, but they had never said what was wrong with her. “Of what?”
“Cancer.”
“Don’t you have some kind of spell for that?” I asked, not understanding how that was even a thing for them.
My grandmother gave me a small, sad smile. “Magic can do many things, but even it cannot fight death.”
I frowned hard at her answer. My amulet warmed against my chest as if telling me I could do something. I glanced down at my amulet, the inside of the gem swirling and sparkling like never before. I never would have thought to use it, not for this. Surely, it wasn’t powerful enough to save someone’s life. It couldn’t even make money.
But I had to try.
“I have to go,” I told my grandmother, heading toward the way the headmaster went. I could hear them calling my name behind me, but I didn’t stop. I ended up at the entrance to the fair, but I had no idea where to go from there. I didn’t even know where the headmaster had gone.
A rumbling noise came toward me, and I jumped back as Ian came to a stop in front of me, a motorcycle growling beneath his legs. “Get on.”
Not one to be told twice, I hopped on the back of the bike. “Do you know where you’re going?”
“The headmaster’s house, right?” I nodded. He revved the engine. “Then hold on.”
We raced down the street faster than I’d ever gone. I wasn’t even sure he was going the speed limit, but none of the cars even noticed we were going by them. Deciding he had to have some kind of spell at work, I held onto him like my life depended on it.
Before I knew it, we were at the headmaster’s home. I expected his house to be like my grandparents’ or the Broomsteins’, but it was a simple home like my parents’, a two-story house with off grey paneling. There were several cars parked outside, and a feeling of gloom settled over the place.
I climbed off Ian’s bike and started toward the house. Ian trailed after me. I didn’t really acknowledge him as I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. At first, no one answered, and I thought I might have to ring it again, but then there was a rush of feet and the door opened. The headmaster stood there, grief and confusion on his face.
“Miss Norman, Mr. Broomstein, I’m not sure what you are doing here but now is not a good time. I will see you at school.” He tried to shut the door on us, but I caught it.
“Wait, please. I want to help.” I licked my lips as he stared at me. “I mean, I think I can. If you’ll let me.”
He seemed to struggle with his decision. Not surprising, really. However, when he moved back and allowed us inside, I sighed with relief.
“I’m not sure what you think you can do, but she’s this way.” He led us through his home in a slow gait. It was humbly decorated, nothing like the other wizard homes I’d visited, not that they were the norm.
We came to a bedroom door on the first floor. The door was half cracked, and I could hear low voices inside. The headmaster pushed the door open and went in.
I hesitated.
Ian took my hand, squeezing it lightly. My hand around the amulet, I st
epped into the room.
Headmaster Swordson took his place by the bed, next to what I could only assume was his wife. A few others hovered nearby, all of them looking at me like they couldn’t understand what I was doing there. A weak cough came from the bed.
Delilah could have been called beautiful at one point but no longer. Her hair was drab, her face shallow, and almost skeletal. Cancer had wrung her out and left her to dry. It was clear in her eyes that she knew death was coming and she accepted it.
But I didn’t. I could do something for them, for this family that I didn’t know but whose father had already made a huge impact on my life.
“Hello,” I said quietly to the room. “I’m Max. This is Ian.” I gestured to him. They all nodded politely but didn’t greet us. I turned to the headmaster. “Can I?”
“Of course.” He moved away from the bed, allowing me to take a seat beside Delilah.
“Hi, Delilah, how are you?” I snorted. “Sorry, that’s a stupid question.”
The woman smiled weakly.
“I don’t know if this will work, but I’m going to try and help you. I just need you to relax is all. Can you do that?” Delilah’s hand twitched. “Right, not like you have a choice.” To the headmaster, I asked, “Where’s the cancer?”
“In her liver but it’s spread to her blood and other organs,” the headmaster offered.
“So pretty much everywhere. Alright,” I fingered my amulet, “I guess that makes it easier then.” My eyes went to Ian who gave me an encouraging thumbs up, the douche.
I placed my hand on Delilah’s. I wasn’t sure if I needed to be touching her, but it couldn’t hurt. My other hand stayed on the amulet, and I could feel it begin to warm as my wish formulated in my mind. “I wish the cancer was gone.”
“What is this crap?” an annoyed voice from the grievers asked but he was shushed by everyone else.
“I wish she was healthy. I wish the cancer were gone.” I kept muttering these wishes over and over again, but the amulet never grew to that almost hot temperature like it had with all my other wishes.
Maybe it was too big for it? Dad had bought it at a marketplace in Cairo. It’s not like it was a lifesaving object.