Zen and the Art of Major Magical Control

by Devin Harnois

  “I kinda figured that. But now everyone else does.” He’d waited until most of the kids were gone before slinking to his locker with Aiden and Dylan. He felt like such a coward.

  “What Warden Bradley did to you was terrible and way out of line.”

  Some part of him wanted her to be on his side, wanted it so desperately it hurt. Like the way he’d wanted his parents to be proud of him. “I know you’re watching me, making sure I don’t turn out like my parents.”

  “Tiago.” The way she said it made him look up. “Unless you’re the best damn actor I’ve ever seen, you’re a good kid.”

  He let out a shaky breath as a rush of emotion came over him. Relief? Gratitude?

  “Whatever happens, I’m on your side.”

  Tears burned at the back of his eyes. His parents had never been on his side. He was never good enough for them, never werejaguar enough, never strong enough. This woman wasn’t related to him, had been assigned to watch him, and yet here she was declaring her support.

  He suddenly felt guilty for treating her like an enemy and keeping his distance. Wet drops spilled from his eyes, and as he wiped them away, she pulled him into a hug. “Thanks,” he muttered against her shoulder.

  Pulling away, he said, “Can I ask you a favor?” Guilt tightened his chest again, but his friend needed help.

  “Sure.” She rubbed his back, and he wanted to curl into that affection. Soak it all up.

  “Will you go to the PTA meeting tonight and vote for Dylan to stay? He’s… a good person, and he needs help.”

  “He’s been a good friend to you, hasn’t he?”

  Tiago nodded and suddenly decided to tell her. “He—he knows what I did. Him and Aiden. I mean, they knew before today.” A little spark of hope lit inside him. If Aiden and Dylan could still accept him, then could other people? “And they didn’t treat me any differently.” Telling Dylan had been much easier than telling Aiden. God, he’d been so scared when he confessed to Aiden, convinced his friend would be horrified.

  “That’s good.” Rosalind smiled. “Of course I’ll help him. I think he made a stupid mistake saying those things at the protest, but he doesn’t deserve to be banned from certification for it.”

  “Thank you.” Relief eased his muscles. “You know, you’re pretty cool.”

  “For an old lady?”

  Tiago laughed. “For anyone.”

  * * *

  Dylan’s parents said encouraging things to him all the way to the school, but they couldn’t hide their worry or their tension.

  And it wasn’t just fear. They were mad—not at him, or at least mostly not at him. His parents were so easygoing it drove him nuts, but now they simmered with anger. Especially Mom. They’d been upset enough already, but after hearing what happened at lunch, they’d cranked it up a few notches.

  They arrived early, but the auditorium was already filling up. A podium had been set up on the stage, which of course made him think of the speech that had gotten him into this mess.

  Mom led him to a seat in the front row. Of course. Dylan felt every eye in the auditorium watching him. Anger and shame swirled inside him until he wanted to run, to burst out of his skin.

  “It’ll be okay.” Mom squeezed his arm.

  No it won’t.

  The endless wait went on. Every time Dylan looked at the clock on the wall, the minute hand had barely moved. More and more people filled the auditorium. He could tell by the rising noise but forced himself not to look around. He stared at the floor, at his shoes, at the stage.

  The principal came in, and Dylan tensed. Here we go.

  But instead of getting on the stage, she walked over to Dylan. She said hello to him and his parents. “Dylan, would you like to speak? I can give you time to… well, to defend yourself.”

  Would that be a good idea? Would he make things worse?

  He glanced at Mom, instinctively wanting to check with her. But no, he couldn’t sit here while people crapped all over him again. “Yeah.”

  “Okay.” She pulled out a little notepad and scribbled something down. “Just so you know, I don’t agree with any of this.”

  Then Principal Nejem turned and climbed up on stage. “Thank you all for coming. As you know, we’re here to discuss Dylan Galloway and whether we feel he’s too great a danger to remain in school.” Her gaze flicked to him, but he couldn’t read it. Was she really on his side?

  She wasn’t on Warden Bully’s side, that was for sure. Would she get in trouble for throwing him out?

  “A few people have asked to speak, and we’ll have them come up before we open the floor to comments.” Her hand gripped the edge of the podium before she stepped aside.

  A man stomped up on stage, glaring right at Dylan. He looked vaguely familiar, but that wasn’t surprising in a small town. The man glanced around at the full auditorium. Half of Shadow Valley had to be here. “I try to be tolerant and open-minded, but we have to have limits.” He jabbed a finger at Dylan. “That boy is a dragonkin. By his very nature he’s a risk, not just to the school but to the whole town. He’s already beat up one kid. Sent him to the hospital. Now he’s hanging out with radicals, calling for the end of the treaty.” The man shook his head. “I don’t want that thing anywhere near my kids.”

  Thing. Even in a town full of monsters, Dylan was an outcast. They’d probably be happy to let the wardens execute him. No protests for his sake. No, they’d celebrate instead.

  The man went on for a while before Principal Nejem interrupted him. “Thank you, Mr. Sellers, but your time is up.”

  The next person to speak, a woman, said much the same thing, though she wasn’t as angry. Dylan felt his parents’ tension on either side of him. He usually took their support for granted. Wasn’t that a parent’s job, after all? They’d even said that to him plenty of times. But that wasn’t the case with everyone.

  Hanna’s parents were jerks to her, trying to control who she dated and who she was friends with, yet totally overlooking what a giant asshole Conner was.

  And Tiago’s parents were even worse.

  Whatever happened, at least Dylan knew Mom and Dad had his back.

  Speaking of parents… Dalton’s mom came up to the surprised mutter of the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, I agree that Dylan is dangerous.”

  So much for a having a supporter. Cold betrayal stabbed through his gut.

  “But…” She glared around the room. “All of us are dangerous. That’s why we’re here. That’s why our kids are here. Leaving aside my feelings on the treaty and the wardens, as things stand, our children come to Shadow Valley to learn to control their powers and be granted certification. Dylan Galloway is very powerful, but he also has excellent control. Many of you watched him at the spring exhibition. He deserves a chance to graduate.”

  Well, okay. Maybe she was on his side.

  She took a breath and gripped the sides of the podium. “A chance my son will never have. His killers were brought to justice, in part thanks to Dylan. How many more of us would be dead if it weren’t for him? How many of our children would have been slaughtered like animals?”

  A wave of murmuring went through the crowd. Was she changing their minds? Or pissing them off?

  Dylan thought of how many people had been at the protest. How many were here tonight? Enough to save him?

  Dalton’s mom looked around the audience again. “And he killed the dark fae who sent panic sweeping through this town. Who murdered three people, and the wardens could neither find nor stop him. It took two teenage boys, Dylan and his friend, to stop him. Dylan Galloway isn’t a menace or a time bomb.” She looked directly at Dylan. “He’s a hero.”

  People clapped, and a few even cheered. Dylan dared to hope the vote might come out in his favor.

  Mom reached over and squeezed his knee. He half turned and gave her a little smile.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Rhodes,” Principal Nejem said from her spot at the side of the stage. Her expression tightened. �
��Next we have Warden Bradley.”

  Oh, shit.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Warden Bully walked across the stage, and Dylan was shocked to hear booing from the audience. The arrests at the protest hadn’t made everyone afraid.

  Good.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, as Mrs. Rhodes said, Mr. Galloway certainly has control over his powers. But that isn’t the issue. The question is what he will do with that control. He has a long history of anger and violence issues. Just last year he sent a fellow student to the hospital.”

  Mutters in the crowd. Dylan couldn’t tell how much was agreement and how much was dissent. Dylan wanted to jump up and shout that Conner was a bully who had beat up plenty of other kids. Clenching his jaw, Dylan gripped the armrests of his chair.

  Warden Bully leaned on the podium, eyes narrowing. “And the year before that, he sent his friend to the hospital.”

  Dylan sucked in a breath, shock and fear hitting him like a punch to the stomach. No one was supposed to know that. The only people who knew that Dylan had burned Aiden were their parents, Mr. Johnson, and the people at the hospital. So that meant Warden Bully had gone snooping.

  If he’d dug that up, what else had he found out?

  If Warden Bully knew Dylan was responsible for letting Morgan out, that was it. Nothing would save him. He’d have to flee Shadow Valley and spend the rest of his life running.

  Mom and Dad gasped on either side of him, and a quieter ripple of surprise went through the auditorium.

  “He hurts his friends, his enemies—anyone who makes him mad,” Warden Bully said over the noise. “Not only should he be expelled, he should be locked up.”

  “Time is up, Warden Bradley,” Principal Nejem said, her voice tight.

  Dylan glanced at the exit. How long would it take to get out of here?

  Mom gripped his arm and leaned close to his ear. “It’ll be okay.”

  Dad patted his hand.

  Dylan wouldn’t be alone. Mom could turn into a dragon and fly them out of Shadow Valley. She went on and on about following the rules, but he thought she’d break them for him. To keep him alive, out of jail… safe. Yeah, she wouldn’t let anything that bad happen to him.

  Warden Bully looked like he was going to argue, and for a second Dylan wondered if they were going to fight. He imagined a huge brawl breaking out in the auditorium, his supporters fighting the ones who hated him.

  The warden shot a glare at Dylan, then turned and walked off the stage.

  A few more people came up, some ranting, some calm. Some wanted Dylan expelled, others supported him. The audience grew restless, and part of Dylan didn’t even care what happened as long as this was over.

  Principal Nejem stepped up to the podium. “Thank you, everyone. And now Dylan would like to speak to you on his own behalf.”

  Mom squeezed his hand. “Try to be calm, sweetheart.”

  Yeah, right. But being angry and flipping off the wardens had gotten him into this.

  Standing up, he felt every eye in the auditorium fixed on him. His heart pounded as he climbed the stairs onto the stage. Another podium in front of him, another crowd. He blinked in the bright lights. It was a little hard to see, but it looked like almost every seat was filled.

  “Hi.” The word echoed. He was on trial for his freedom, maybe his life. He wished Aiden was here and tried to pick out his friend’s parents.

  What should he say? The smart thing would be to beg, to be super polite and try to prove he wasn’t dangerous, maybe even cry. But he couldn’t do that. “I’m not sorry for going to that protest, and I’m not sorry for saying what I did.” He didn’t look at his mom because he didn’t want to see the disappointment on her face. “It wasn’t wrong. What’s wrong is you all standing out there judging me, trying to throw me out of school because I dared to speak my mind.” A few people clapped.

  Dylan did at least try to follow Mom’s advice to stay calm. He didn’t have to yell to get his point across. And they weren’t all against him. “I didn’t get arrested for hurting anybody. I got arrested for talking. So you want to throw me out of school for that?”

  He took a breath, trying to keep his anger down. “I’ve been trying in school, really trying. You can check my grades if you don’t believe me. I used to fail almost everything, but now I’m passing all my classes because I finally believe I have a chance of getting certified. I finally have some fu— uh, some hope.” Maybe it was cheesy, but it was true.

  “And if you think I’m so dangerous, why don’t you ask your kids? Ask them if they think I’ll hurt them. Ask them if I’ve ever bullied them. They aren’t the ones that are afraid of me. You are.” He pointed at the audience. Oops, getting too mad again.

  “So if you want to expel me because I’m pissed at the way things are, then go ahead. If you want to throw me out because I spoke up, fine. But don’t pretend it’s to protect your kids.”

  He hesitated a moment. As he’d told Dalton’s parents, he wasn’t a speaker. “Yeah. That’s it.” Most people had probably already made up their minds. If they were determined to expel him, there wasn’t anything he could say to change that.

  A light applause started as he walked off stage, growing louder by the second. By the time he reached his seat, it was a roar. Dylan glanced around and saw a few people actually standing up and clapping. But he also saw others sitting and frowning. How many supporters did he have? Enough?

  Mom and Dad smiled and patted him as he sat down between them.

  “Good job,” Dad said.

  “You certainly have your own way.” Mom shook her head slightly, but she was still smiling.

  Principal Nejem called for the vote as a few people went down the aisles passing out paper and pens. The sheet of white paper said simply: Should Dylan Galloway be expelled from Shadow Valley High School? Below that were boxes for Yes and No.

  Dylan wasn’t sure if he was supposed to vote, but screw it. He made a big X through the box for No and folded the paper in half. After a few minutes, the people came back to collect the sheets.

  This was it. Once the votes were counted, he’d know if his future was ruined or not.

  The auditorium grew louder as people started talking. The last few sheets got handed down the rows, and the school workers brought them backstage to be counted.

  Sweat dampened his armpits, and Dylan desperately wanted to go out and burn something.

  Mom touched his shoulder. “Let’s go wait outside.”

  “No. I’m not running.” Not until he had to.

  “Are you sure?” Dad asked.

  Dylan nodded.

  The waiting was torture, but he didn’t want anyone to see him leave. To see him be weak.

  An eternity later, Principal Nejem came back out, her expression neutral. Mom and Dad each took one of Dylan’s hands, and instead of pulling back, he squeezed them.

  “We carefully counted all the votes, and Dylan Galloway… will not be expelled from Shadow Valley High School.”

  Cheers erupted. Dylan closed his eyes and sagged in his chair, relief making him shaky. Mom pulled him into a hug, kissed him, and he had no strength to resist. He still had a chance at certification.

  As the cheering and clapping continued, it dawned on him that people were happy he was staying. How things had changed.

  When his head cleared a bit, he fumbled out his phone. “I have to tell Aiden.” His poor friend had no idea what was going on. Dylan hoped he wasn’t having another panic attack.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  Aiden had asked if Tiago could come over because he didn’t want his boyfriend to be alone after what happened today. And with being so stressed about what might happen to Dylan, Aiden didn’t want to be alone himself. So Aiden’s parents brought Tiago over before they went to the PTA meeting.

  Hours went by. Tiago tried to distract him, but even kissing couldn’t keep Aiden’s mind off the meeting. He wished he could be there, but students weren’t supposed to attend.
Aiden kept checking his phone, fighting the urge to text Dylan or his parents to ask what was going on.

  “It’ll be fine,” Tiago said as he watched Aiden pace. He didn’t sound very convincing.

  Finally Dylan texted to say he wasn’t expelled. Aiden read the message over three times, letting relief sink in. Through several more texts, Dylan’s parents agreed to have Aiden and Tiago come over, and Aiden’s parents agreed to drive them.

  Dylan’s dad ordered pizza and brought them snacks. For a while they sat in the living room as Dylan’s parents hovered around. Obviously his mom and dad were relieved and wanted to be around him, and for once Dylan didn’t complain.

  Eventually they asked if Dylan wanted to go up to his room, and he quickly made a retreat with Aiden and Tiago carrying the remains of the pizza and pop with them.

  Dylan flopped onto the bed. Between him and his parents, they’d shared with Aiden and Tiago what had happened at the PTA meeting, but apparently they’d left out a few details because Dylan said, “Warden Bully told everyone I sent you to the hospital.” He stared at the ceiling.

  “What?”

  “He must have done some snooping and looked at your hospital records.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tiago interrupted, looking between them with a frown.

  Uh-oh. Aiden rubbed at the spot on his chest where the scar had long since faded. Only a spot about the size of his thumbprint remained, slightly paler than the surrounding skin. Aiden probably only noticed it because he looked for it. Tiago had seen him shirtless and hadn’t mentioned anything.

  Dylan sat up. “I burned Aiden freshman year.”

  Tiago stared at him, eyes narrowed.

  “It—it was an accident,” Aiden said. “We were training and I—I startled him. But I healed and I’m fine.” He hated lying to Tiago, but Dylan hadn’t even told his parents about letting Morgan out.

  “You never mentioned this before.” Tiago’s voice was low.

  “Because it’s not important,” Aiden said, heart pounding. The last thing he needed was for Tiago to be mad at Dylan.