Bricking It

by A. A. Albright

  Tonight, for some reason, my mother had been insistent on us needing to do it in a place we wouldn’t be easily found – and also, not to let anyone outside of the coven in on the location. There were actually a number of other places where we could initiate new witches, should the need arise. As long as we were on a site dedicated to Wanda the Wayfarer, we were good to go. Obviously St Stephen’s Green isn’t dedicated to Wanda the Wayfarer. But the thing is, it’s not the only park at that address.

  My mother approached the Yeats sculpture, waved her hands around and began to mutter an incantation. As she did so, the sculpture began to glow. As the glow increased, the ground began to shake beneath our feet. The sculpture lowered into the ground, taking my mother, me, and a small circumference along with it. We found ourselves quickly sinking below.

  ‘I can’t wait for you to see An Pháirc Eile,’ said my mother as we descended, barely able to contain her excitement. ‘This is one of those places where even a Pendant of Privilege can’t gain you access. We’ve been using it more and more lately, for secret coven meetings. You’ll soon be coming along to those.’

  I was about to reply when we arrived. When we stepped off the plinth, my mother did her mojo with the sculpture again and we stood aside to watch it rise. And as for the Other Park itself … well, that was just breathtaking. Yes, we had come underground, but now … now we were no longer underground. I would never fail to be amazed at just how magical magic could be.

  The sky was still above us, the full moon shone heavy and bright. There was no traffic noise, and the air here smelled fresh and clean. Where I had been looking at the Yeats sculpture just a few minutes earlier, I was now staring at a statue of a witch who looked just like me.

  Christine stepped forward and hugged me. ‘Your resemblance to this statue has been getting stronger as you’ve grown,’ she said. ‘It’s uncanny.’

  I shrugged. ‘That doesn’t mean much. It’s not as if anyone knows what she actually looked like.’

  ‘And yet,’ said Melissa, joining in the hug. ‘Here it is – a statue that we do know was carved hundreds of years ago, a statue that just happens to look exactly like you.’

  I pointed to the stone ground just below the statue. ‘What is that? There are marks in the stone.’ I bent closer. ‘Oh my goddess. It looks like … like something was stuck here at one point. Bracelets and a chain or something.’

  ‘Try shackles,’ said my mother. ‘This is one of the sites where people say Wanda rescued a witch called Carline Von Brandt, when she was being taken against her will to the Wizard’s Graveyard. Have you heard that story?’

  My eyes lit up. ‘Just this week! So … this is where the shackles fell to the ground when Wanda did her thing? Wow.’

  ‘Maybe.’ Christine shrugged. ‘We think so anyway. But there are quite a few sites making the claim. As far as we know, the Wayfairs are the only ones who know about this spot.’

  ‘And you really think this place is the real deal?’ I asked, feeling that same itch going up and down my arms again. This was something. I wasn’t sure what, but it was something.

  ‘I definitely think it’s the real deal,’ Melissa told me with a grin. ‘Firstly, because this is the one site that isn’t charging an arm and a leg for entry. Secondly, because the other sites have shackles for people to touch – incredibly new and shiny looking shackles that they refuse to allow anyone to study.’ Her grin grew wider. ‘Also thirdly, because … y’know … magic. Or rather the lack of it. You can sense it around the indents in the stone. Like … your power gets a little bit weaker. And the stone is a bit blackened, too – maybe it got singed by the lightning bolt Wanda sent flying that night. Look.’

  I was just looking a little closer when I felt the sense of being watched. I glanced up, and realised that I was being watched. By … oh, maybe a hundred pairs of eyes. I knew we had secret members of the coven, but I didn’t know we had this many. I now understood why we had to keep our location strictly secret. As I looked at them all, they seemed to take it as a cue to step forward. As witch after witch approached me, I was soon feeling overwhelmed by all of the attention. Thankfully, midnight was coming, and my mother clapped her hands and said, ‘The ceremony will now begin.’

  A chair appeared on the ground beneath me, and a goblet was suddenly in my hand. ‘You’ll need to sit down for your first time drinking this.’ My mother had a wicked glint in her eyes. ‘Let’s just say it’s a heady brew. Don’t take more than a sip, then I’ll pass it around.’

  I did as she said, taking a single sip and passing it to her. ‘What is it? Poitín?’

  ‘There’s some of that, yes. And a dash or two of the Wayfairs’ secret sprinkles.’

  The others drank and then held hands, spinning around me in a circle, chanting in unison.

  ‘Let the elements recognise, a new witch is among us! Let the elders come, and show her the way!’

  I tried to concentrate on their faces, but the drink was taking hold. Even sitting down I felt dizzy. As the coven danced around me, I soon saw more faces in the crowd, people I had never seen before but felt I should know. A woman who looked just like me, just like the statue of Wanda, stepped forward, sitting in the chair along with me. I gasped. It was as if she was sitting through me.

  ‘Close your eyes,’ she said. ‘And see through mine.’

  I squeezed my lids shut, and saw her again. This time she was wearing clothing that looked like battle armour, riding on a broom, pointing a sword up to the sky and screaming in delight. She was flying at breakneck speed, her face flushed with excitement as she chased down another witch. Her sword seemed to catch the light of the moon, making the weapon shine with a cold glow. She pointed it at the witch ahead of her, and he fell to the ground, clutching his heart.

  I saw her in countless other circumstances. Riding her broom into battle. Clasping shackles around the wrists of other witches, as well as werewolves, vampires … she seemed to have equal power over all.

  Next, I saw her sitting upon a throne in a room I didn’t recognise. The ceiling was lit with magical stars. Charmed candles bobbed in the air, adding even more light. Hundreds of other supernaturals watched on. There were too many kinds to count – even some I didn’t recognise.

  Wanda’s voice boomed out, declaring, ‘This is the first meeting of the Wyrd Court. A place for supernaturals to come together. A place for us to work as one. A place for us to make our world as peaceful as possible! Here, in the great tower of our new seat of law, we will look down upon the Wizard’s Graveyard, day after day, and take it as a lesson. When we treat our fellow magical beings with a cruel hand, there will be revolt. When we treat our fellow magical beings as we ourselves would be treated, there will be unity!’

  The crowd cheered.

  I felt a cold sensation then – one of loss, too – as Wanda left my body and walked back into the encircling coven. ‘Remember Wanda,’ she said. ‘Magic is not the only way to get things done.’ With those last words, she faded away.

  More strange visitors came to me then, telling me they were my ancestors, come to welcome me into the fold. Actually, after that point, pretty much everything was strange. I found myself wondering just what was in those secret sprinkles.

  Ghostly familiars greeted me, one after the other – just about every animal, even a great big dragon (now that bit had to be down to the secret sprinkles) – and told me tales about their time with the original Wayfarer. How she had helped them solve their witches’ murders and find peace in the afterlife, and how I would do just the same. At one point, Maureen O’Mara and Dudley walked towards me and hugged me tight.

  Eventually, the odd happenings ceased, and I began to feel a little less dizzy. The coven stopped circling and chanting. My mother held her hands up and said, ‘Wanda Wayfair, you are now a Wayfair true! Come on everyone, let’s get to the feast!’

  Now that she mentioned it, I was a bit on the peckish side.

  The feast was laid out on a long table a
t the bandstand in another part of the park. In the human version of St Stephen’s Green, I had visited this place many times to watch bands play. In this version it was where we stuffed our faces with the most amazing food and wine.

  I thought I was happy when I realised I had finally come into my power, but sitting there at the head of the table, I felt an even stronger glow. I had been so worried about the state of our coven. For years I had feared it was in decline. And I could understand why – why break your behind fighting crime when you get paid next to nothing for doing it? And why spend day after day banging your head against the brick wall that was the Department of Magical Law when you would receive no reward in return?

  But now I knew the truth. Wayfairs hadn’t cowed down to bureaucracy. They were just as brave as they had always been. And they were everywhere. In every school, college, business, and department in the Wyrd Court, there were Wayfairs playing at being members of other covens. But they were still Wayfairs, through and through. And the more I spoke to them all, the more I realised just how much they were coming through for us, day after day.

  ‘Thanks to Gabe I’ve finally been able to examine the skeletons.’ A witch called Agatha Oster – the Magical History professor I had been told about – was speaking to my mother. She looked a little older than my mam, with silver-grey hair and eyes. They had been whispering to one another on and off all night, and once again their heads were bent together. I bent my head close to both of them, and listened in.

  ‘It’s bizarre,’ Agatha went on. ‘Because Wanda is sure she saw Franklin Lovage’s body in the flesh before he became a skeleton, I assumed his and the other skeletons would test as being relatively new. But they seem to be ancient, so the Minister is once again asserting they’ve been dug up from graves. Except I know that can’t be the case, because there are no traces of soil on any of them. If they were dug up from graves, then surely there’d be soil. I’ve got my whole lab working overtime, though, so hopefully we’ll find something more concrete.’

  I sat back, sipping at my wine and thinking. No traces of soil. Well, that didn’t surprise me. ‘And what about how they got there?’ I asked Agatha.

  She jumped a little, then laughed. ‘I should have realised you’d be earwigging.’ She patted my arm. ‘Good girl. So what do you mean? You’re wondering how they appeared where they appeared?’

  I nodded. ‘It had to be magic, obviously. So is there any way to test for who did the spell that made them appear?’

  ‘Of course,’ my mother said. ‘Every spell gives off a little residual magic. Oh.’ She ran her finger around the brim of her goblet. ‘I see what you’re getting at. You know, you could be onto something, Wanda. We’ve been examining the skeletons for age, for clues as to who they were and were they’ve come from. But if we could find out who sent them to where they appeared …’

  She and Agatha grinned. ‘That would be a big step in the right direction. But …’ Agatha’s face grew troubled. ‘Spells to discover the magic’s originator can take days. There are so many variables. Witches who are up to no good tend to cover their tracks. They perform layers and layers of scattering spells, designed to wipe their own traces. But I think if I …’

  As they bent their heads together again, using words I didn’t understand (yet) I looked around the bandstand. The place was buzzing. Witches were dancing and laughing. At the edge of the bandstand a group were playing a game of spin the bottle. You couldn’t make it up, I swear. But as I continued to look around, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one who was observing. There was a guy on the other side of the table, down the far end from me. He didn’t look particularly shy or awkward – he just looked like he was enjoying himself by taking the night in. He was dressed more casually than the others, in well-worn jeans and a simple white T-shirt. His messy brown hair fell into his eyes. He sensed me watching him and looked up at me, smiling.

  As he rose to his feet and began to walk towards me, I realised that I recognised his face. I very nearly fell out of my chair.

  ‘I’ve been hoping for a chance to talk to you,’ he said, extending a hand. ‘But I’m not very good at putting myself forward. Anyway, I’m Gabe.’

  I gawked. ‘Gabe? You’re Gabriel Godbody. I hardly think shyness is actually an issue for a guy like you.’

  He groaned. ‘Yeah. The less said about that the better. It’s just a thing I have to do.’

  I broke out into wild laughter. ‘You are so not like the guy on TV. Even your teeth aren’t as white. Wow, you really gave it to the Minister yesterday afternoon. I definitely wasn’t expecting that.’

  He sucked in some air and dragged a hand through his messy hair. ‘Yeah, well why do you think I’m relegated to daytime TV? I’m surprised she agreed to speak with me yesterday at all. Still, when a golden opportunity arises, you gotta seize it, right?’

  ‘So … you’re a Wayfair?’

  ‘Couldn’t be in your secret lair if I weren’t.’ Now that he was no longer acting like he was a gift from the goddess, I suddenly found him a lot more attractive. ‘The Godbody coven is a small one,’ he told me. ‘We declared allegiance to the Wayfairs centuries ago, but we keep it on the down low these days. Because of the obvious reasons. But I think things might soon be about to get the shake-up they need.’

  ‘Oh? Why?’

  His scrunched up his brow. ‘Why? Because of you Wanda. It might not be widely known, but a few of us are aware that you’ve inherited at least one of the original Wayfarer’s more unusual talents. And those few of us … well, we happen to think that means something. Wayfairs have been shunted aside way too long, Wanda. People who fight for what’s right usually wind up treated that way because – let’s face it – the people who fight for what’s wrong will do anything it takes to make sure they get out on top. Like the Minister and her so-called Peacemakers. But you’re going to change it, Wanda. You’re going to change it all.’

  I felt acutely aware of just how intensely he was looking at me and speaking to me. He believed every word he was saying. He believed in me. ‘Well …’ I took a sip of my drink, trying to cool down my embarrassment. ‘I don’t know about that. But I do know that I believe in the Wayfairs. If anything’s going to change, it’ll be because this whole coven makes it happen.’

  His smile widened. ‘Said like a true Wayfarer.’

  I grew even more self-conscious. Luckily, my mother chose that moment to bang on her goblet. ‘I think it’s time for Wanda’s present now!’ she cried out with words that were ever-so-slightly slurred.

  A hush fell over the party, and the air beside my mother began to shimmer. After a moment, an object materialized beside her.

  ‘It’s … it’s a broom!’ I ran forward, peering at it. I had a sudden twinge as I remembered – I still hadn’t told anyone in my coven about the broom Will Berry had given to me. Soon, I promised myself. Soon.

  ‘Wow.’ I picked it up. It was about as different from the other broom as possible. There were buttons everywhere, a padded seat on the shaft, and it looked like it was made of some sort of metal rather than wood.

  ‘It’s a wizard broom,’ my mother explained. ‘The best on the market right now. The whole coven chipped in to buy it for you.’

  Melissa nudged me. ‘We know you’re getting a bit annoyed with the restrictions the Minister has put on you. You can hardly travel by yourself because she doesn’t want you using magic. She won’t let you ride a witch broom because … well, more magic. So we figured this would be a compromise even she couldn’t argue with.’

  ‘It comes with the latest wizard technology, so you can cloak yourself without using your own magic,’ my mother said. ‘It’s got hyper-speed too, so you can get to and from the school in a flash. Hopefully it’ll make your schedule a little easier to handle.’

  Hot tears were working their way out. I had looked at wizard brooms and knew that I could never afford one this amazing. ‘I … I don’t know what to say.’

  ‘Don’t say anyth
ing.’ My mother hugged me. ‘Just go ride it.’

  ‘But … I can’t just abandon my party.’

  Melissa smiled. ‘Yeah, you can. I would if I had a broom that fancy to try out. Anyway, we’re going to start clearing up in a sec. You go on out for a ride. Have fun.’

  I hesitated. ‘In a while. I should help with the cleaning up first.’

  ‘As if!’ Christine snorted. ‘If a hundred witches can’t muster enough magic to clean up this mess, then we don’t deserve to be witches. Go on. Get going this minute or we’ll take the broom back.’

  Excitement bubbled through me. ‘No one’s getting their hands on this broom. It’s mine now,’ I said with a slight squeal.

  The party followed me back to the Wayfarer monument, and a couple of people came up to St Stephen’s Green to watch me take off and explain the myriad buttons to me.

  ‘That one will cloak you,’ said Melissa, pointing to a dark blue button. ‘Green is for taking off, amber is for slowing down, red is for stopping. Oh, and that crazy glittery purple button? That is hyper-speed. But don’t worry – it’s not as scary as it sounds. Yeah, you’ll be travelling faster than you’ve ever travelled in your whole life. But your face won’t melt or anything. Honest.’

  She worked quickly through the controls. There were such a lot of buttons, and I began to worry that I would never take it all in.

  ‘What if I fall off?’

  ‘You can’t. It’s physically impossible to fall off this broom. Until you press this button–’ Melissa pointed to a pink button. ‘–you’ll be contained within the broom’s gravity field. Even a comet hitting you couldn’t shake you off this thing.’

  Christine gave an evil little laugh. ‘But when you graduate to a witch broom … well, then you can most certainly fall off. Trust me – I have the bruises on my rear to prove it.’