by D. R. Perry
"Dragons see colors when there's magic?"
"Colors? Not always, but mostly. Is that why you're such a beast at Bishop's Row now? You see everyone's conjures before they happen?"
"Yeah." He laughed. "It's useful that way. And a total relief to know I'm not losing my marbles. Thanks, Aliyah."
We danced through to the final verse before he spoke again.
"Your mind trick worked, you know."
"Hmm?"
"You called us all over there when Gauthier showed up."
"How'd you know it was magic?"
He pointed at his eye. "You looked like a spider, in the middle of a web."
"What color is it? The mind stuff, I mean."
"Blue. Almost like Professor DeBeer's lightning, but with more green in it."
"You should make a list sometime of all the magic colors. Keep track."
"So should you, with the sound." He chuckled. "Bet it'd make a unique research project at uni someday."
I had nothing positive to say to that, so I kept quiet. Logan returned at the end of the song, and Dylan left with a wave.
At the side of the dance floor, I noticed a flurry of movement. It was Noah, approaching Jonah with his face almost literally lit up. Then joy fled from my brother's face like a hind from a wolf. The reunion soured and he took to the dance floor alone, moving as if to a dirge instead of the spooky yet upbeat music. At first, I almost asked Logan for a break so I could comfort him. Before I could, I realized what was missing.
I hadn't been able to sense it as concretely over the summer, but back then, they still seemed bonded somehow. Like their care for each other was tangible.
Now, there was nothing at all that connected the two of them.
After an entire year nursing a broken heart over his ex Darren, Noah was back at square one. In a brutally ironic contrast, Ember and Gale wheeled overhead, in what every nature show on magical critters would describe as a courtship flight. The pit of my stomach sank along with Noah's, while simultaneous elation lightened my head. All the emotions felt too big for my body, so no wonder they leaked from my eyes.
I sniffled and put my head on Logan's shoulder. He patted my back and murmured in my ear.
"Whatever it is, I'm not going anywhere."
"Thank you." I lifted my head and looked at his face.
Instead of grim determination like the last time he'd said those words, his expression was almost impossibly tender. I heard it now—the song Grace said I'd been absently humming. If it hadn't been for everything we'd been through together, I might have chalked my feelings up to bleed from Ember's courtship. But no.
I'd gone and fallen in love with Logan Pierce. But was he interested in romance? Did I even feel that way, or was it more like Bubbe's relationship with Grandpa? Did big love always have to be cinematic romance?
"Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind if… I mean. May I kiss you?"
"Oh!" He blinked. "Nobody's ever asked me that before."
"No?"
"They just did it." He grimaced. "Without asking. Like that's the normal thing to do. So I ran away both times."
"Wish I'd been as smart as you." I patted his back. "Should have kicked Alex in the shin and left."
"You couldn't, though." He sighed. "Doris said you smelled like poison that night."
"I wish I could get a do-over."
"Listen, Elanor didn't always know she was lesbian. She kissed a boy and didn't like it. When she kissed a girl, she called it her second chance at a first kiss." He cleared his throat, then leaned in close. "I want to try kissing you sometime. But not now. It's…too many people here. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I get it."
We hugged, then kept right on dancing. The silence after the last song nearly startled us. When we looked around, everyone from Hawthorn had left already. Ember glided sleepily down from her perch on the crown molding and settled on my shoulder. We walked out into the night air together, crossed the street, headed up the driveway at 10-1/2 Hawthorne, then through the back gate. Ember took off up the back stairs inside, and that's where we nearly parted ways. Then Logan tugged my sleeve.
"Yes." His eyes shone bright blue in the faint light from the upstairs doorway. "If you still want to, let's try it.
I nodded, unable to think of any words, let alone the right ones. It didn't matter. We got our second chance.
Our first kiss was a little breathless but perfect all the same.
Chapter Seventeen
"I don't generally check email on weekends, but since this is a matter of import beyond the walls of this campus, I shall make an exception."
I sat, waiting as Hiram Hawkins logged in on the computer his son had purchased the summer before my first year. Somehow, he looked out of place using the machine although Bubbe wasn't much younger than him. I'd never felt that way watching her keep medical records. For some reason, he flipped open a folder on his desk although he didn't look at it.
Maybe Mom was right, and Bubbe's generation was all over the place in terms of comfort with technology. Eventually, he stopped clicking and frowning. Sounds from the night before emitted tinnily from built-in speakers, giving me an unsurprising sense of déjà vu. I'd put them together in a playlist, so only brief pauses separated each video. Silence stretched after the last one finished. I didn't dare break it first.
"It seems you do have mind magic Miss Morgenstern."
I only nodded.
"It's as I expected. And rather unfortunate."
"How?" I blinked.
"Any other year, I'd have no choice but to expel you from school."
My mouth dropped open. I couldn't speak, could barely even breathe.
"Mind magic is risky and rife with potential for academic unfairness, accidental or otherwise."
"Aren't there accommodations?"
"Yes. Which is why you may be allowed to finish out the year and obtain your diploma. If you agree to them."
Say nothing.
"Anything."
Oh no.
"You will see a tutor twice per week, as a way to ensure you do not, inadvertently or otherwise, violate the minds of classmates, faculty, and staff. Additionally, Director-General Rockport will fit you with a device that you must wear during all athletic practices and events, lab practicals, and exams taking place on this campus."
"I'm already in counseling twice a week, sir."
"Then you will have extra obligations four days of the week. It's the only way to make things fair."
"That's bullshit, Gramps." Hal Hawkins stepped through the door, followed by Logan and Faith.
"Language, Harold."
He shrugged. "Aliyah's saved lives on this campus. It's unfair to treat her like this."
"I understand all the familiars in this place." Logan crossed his arms over his chest. "Are you making me wear a device in exams too?"
Faith only glared with her hands on her hips.
"The safety of everyone here is my direct responsibility, including Miss Morgenstern's. If I do nothing, she is at risk of persecution, Harold." The headmaster stood. "Even the most intelligent familiar in history can't dictate entire essays during exam periods, Mr. Pierce." He raised an eyebrow at Faith. "Before any of you say another word, this meeting is being officially transcribed."
Faith blinked. Logan paled. Hal's nostrils flared.
"I'm not afraid to go on record." Hal's lip curled. "Tell Aliyah who tutors mind magic before making her agree to this."
"Abraham Fairbanks." The headmaster sighed. "And technically, she verbally agreed before you walked in the room. To anything."
"Then I insist on auditing her lessons, Grandpa." Hal smirked.
"On what grounds?"
"To take notes regarding the family business. trustees aren't supposed to teach except in emergencies. I don't want us stuck without a mind magus on staff when I'm headmaster in the future."
"Future?" The headmaster's eyes widened. "Harold, you—"
"Are you disowning me?"
"No. But magiglobular anemia has no—"
"I've read all the literature." Faith's smile was pure saccharine. "Over fifty percent of patients with magiglobular anemia live through their twenties and over twenty percent into their thirties. Of course, there's no cure yet, but in ten years, who knows? He'll probably outlive you, sir."
Faith's bluffing. His case is more advanced than that. But say nothing.
"I'll allow it." He flipped open a folder on his desk. "But you must designate an alternate to take notes if you are too ill to audit."
"No." Hal shook his head. "If I'm ill, we move the session to the infirmary."
"And if you're in the hospital? What then?"
When Faith opened her mouth, the headmaster held a finger up to silence her.
"You'll be with him, Miss Fairbanks. And we must avoid conflicts of interest between you and your father."
"I'll do it." Logan glanced at Hal.
"Brilliant." Hal beamed. "Who wouldn't want the valedictorian to help out with tutoring?"
"Then we have a plan." The headmaster wrote on the paper inside the folder, then turned it toward me. "You begin on Monday."
I read the paper, which had automatically filled in all of our verbal agreements. He'd signed it, and there was also a space for my name. However, something was missing.
"What about Director-General Rockport, sir? The device?"
"He'll contact you soon. A copy of this exact agreement is on his desk at this moment. Remember, be on your most conscientious behavior while meeting the terms of this agreement. Violating code of conduct while in tutoring sessions may result in probation or even expulsion."
"Okay." I leaned forward, took a pen from the cup beside his nameplate, and signed.
I straightened, then turned my back to follow my friends out of the room. When I had one foot across the threshold, he cleared his throat. I turned.
You forgot to thank him.
"Thank you, Headmaster. I won't forget your advice."
"Same," Hal murmured as he closed the door on his grandfather.
"Well." Faith stooped to scoop Seth into her arms as Ember flew down from the perch across the hall. "How screwed are we?"
"Totally." Logan stared at Doris, who paced ahead of us the entire way out into the lobby.
Once out there, Dylan hurried over to us.
"Did you hear last night?"
"No, what?" I asked.
"I did." Faith sighed. "Tempe's guilty, but I didn't want to say anything. Too angry about it."
"Yeah." Dylan scowled. "Because she barely got a slap on the wrist."
"How?" Logan blinked.
"Wrongful death for bringing that device on campus, because of the professor." Dylan's lip curled up in a sneer. "That's it."
Hal opened his mouth, then shook his head and sat on a bench.
"What about Noah?" My throat felt too tight. "And Mercy?"
"Accidental." Faith kicked at the bench's leg. "They said one mistake shouldn’t ruin her life."
"So much BS." I clenched my fists.
"More like so much money. The court fees for wrongful death and the accidents are enormous." Faith narrowed her eyes.
"She's not coming back here, is she?" Logan gulped.
"Nope." Hal looked up. "Expulsion is serious business. It wasn't just ineligibility, like with Noah."
"Dad said he's sending her to The Academy." Faith frowned. "She'll be on the long-term plan. That's when they stay past getting a diploma until the staff thinks they're rehabilitated. Better there than at home, I guess."
"How do we tell Noah?"
"Your brother already knows, Aliyah." Dylan sighed. "He's how I found out."
"Dorian, then?"
"I don't know." His stomach rumbled. "Let's think it through over breakfast."
We got our food but didn't talk any more about it. Later, on my way to the gym to run laps, I saw Dorian leaving the office. He was wiping his face on his sleeve. It'd be better for him to know, but maybe that's why he'd been in the headmaster's office. Perhaps I was too late.
Only one way to find out.
"Hey. Are you okay?"
"Not now, Aliyah." He shook his head. "Sorry. I need to be a wreck in my room."
"The trial?"
He nodded and hurried away without another word. Julia glided after him on silent wings. Later, I saw him in the café, shirtsleeves rolled up to the elbows, scrawling words in a notebook as though if he wrote fast enough, he could outrun the past. I took one step toward him, but Alex gave me a death glare. A hum in my head told me something was different between them, although I wasn't sure what or how.
What would Bubbe do?
I headed to the counter instead. "What?"
"You butt in too much." Alex shook his head. "He needs time and space."
"I believe you." I turned toward the door.
"You're backing off?" He blinked.
"Take good care of him."
"Or else what?"
"Or else nothing. I'll butt out."
"Maybe you shouldn't."
"What was it you said last spring? You owe Dorian your life?" I gave him a tiny grin. "You'll do the right thing for him."
I walked away finally. Once I’d fully turned my back, I smiled as tears welled in my eyes. Maybe this was Bubbe's wisdom proved right, that hurt didn't just come before healing. Sometimes it came in tandem. Maybe something decent could come from last spring's pain and anguish, after all.
The next day before dinner, I had my first tutoring session with Mr. Fairbanks.
"See you later." Logan hugged me. "Do you want me to make a to-go order for you? We're eating in the lounge."
"Yeah, thanks." I pulled back and smiled at him.
"Be careful." Faith studied her fingernails.
"We will." Hal grinned.
"If I had a magic lamp, I'd wish there was some other way." She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not safe."
"I know," Hal said. "But the buddy system works."
"I'm not sure." Faith looked from him to me. "I hope you're stronger than him."
"Me too." I nodded. "I'm scared."
"That's good." She nodded. "Stay on guard. That goes for both of you."
"I've got insurance." Hal reached into his blazer pocket and scooped Nin out. “She’ll literally squeal if something goes sideways.”
"It's me." Logan grinned as Hal passed her over. "I'm safer than State Farm."
"And he doesn't wear tacky khakis." Dylan peered around the corner. "Or make sales calls at three in the morning."
We all chuckled.
"Come on, Ember." I tried coaxing her down from my shoulder, but she clung on.
"Doesn't she want a playdate with Gale?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.
The moment he spoke that name, my familiar launched into the air and flew in circles, peeping her lungs out.
"Well, there's your answer."
Everybody waved. I took one last look over my shoulder, then walked with Hal down the hall. Unfortunately, this tutoring session was in the same room Ms. Khan used for counseling.
"His tactics are so on the nose that it's almost insulting." Hal snorted, a habit he picked up from Faith.
"Hmm?"
"He wants you to let your guard down, sitting in here." He shook his head.
"Ugh." I rolled my eyes. "If I stay vigilant, I bet he hopes it means counseling's less of a help in the future. So, what do I do?"
"I vote for vigilant. If it's horrible, I play sick, and we're in the infirmary. Faith knows what she's talking about, so there's this, too." He patted the notebook he'd brought.
"What's that?"
"Double insurance." He tilted his head, then pointed at the door. "That's all for now."
He's inside.
I nodded as we crossed the last few feet before walking into the lion's den.
"Sit." Mr. Fairbanks gestured at a metal folding chair in front of the desk. The cozy
chair Ms. Khan used sat in a corner.
I did, finding it cold and too slippery. He ignored Hal entirely, as though he wasn't there. So, Hal sat on the couch and put his feet up, shoes and all. He held the notebook on his lap with one hand, smiling as he gave a friendly wave. Mr. Fairbanks didn't even turn his head or glance in his direction. He also said nothing at all for an entire minute. I know because I watched the second hand moving around the clock behind him.
"Um, sir? Is this detention?"
"It's mind magic, Miss Fairbanks." He tapped the side of his head with one finger. "You'll have to show me you'll do it here. Focus. Or I'll tell the headmaster this isn't working. You're aware of the consequences?"
"I'm new at it, though." I blinked. "I mean, the first time it showed itself was in the test."
"I find that hard to believe." He narrowed his eyes.
"It's true, though."
"Prove it."
"How?"
"Either your videos misrepresented your abilities, or you're unwilling to meet the terms of your accommodations. I don't care which it is." He scoffed. "If you can't think of a way on your own, the headmaster will hear of this and will remove you from campus."
I needed help and Hal was only supposed to observe. Stumped, I consulted the inside voice in a desperate attempt to discover the problem.
You closed your mind off to him the night of the masquerade ball when you hid with Dorian and Alex. You're still blocking him.
Shouldn't I be? Faith flat-out said he's dangerous.
Not when it'll get you expelled. He's using this situation to get you out of his way. That's a danger, too.
I tried relaxing, but it was no use. Remembering the fear in my friends, how horrifying Temperance was as his favored child, made that impossible.
"I'll allow you to waste three more minutes of my time."
Don't think about him or the night in question, the voice pleaded. Find something else.
"No."
I couldn't, so I didn't. If Abraham Fairbanks, the architect of so much horror, wanted a display, he'd have it. I immersed myself in last year's memories of the locker room, awash in swampy ice-rimed water, blood on Jonah's face, and my brother's neck. The flat, metallic stench of old machinery. A fanatic's crazed glare framed by green and brown hair. I imagined the lighting board in the auditorium, with my hand on the follow-spot, aiming it at his eyes in what I hoped would be an arresting if not blinding display.