DESECRATION, Serial: Part 1 of 3 (Book One of The Wizard Queen at Sixteen Series)

by Hadley Holt

  I wondered why the Board Authority hadn’t thought to ban Ellen from our televisions. A lot of movies, television shows, and ebooks were banned by the wizards’ Communications Board Authority. At the top of the list of forbidden books and movies was the Harry Potter series, because it depicted female wizards with actual magical abilities. They didn’t blink an eye over the cable series Sex in The City because they knew girls in our society wouldn’t even consider that type of sexual promiscuity due to the threat of retraining. The Board seemed to focus on the clothing and shopping aspects, and disregarded the fact that the women in the series held important jobs such as a journalist, a lawyer, and a marketing executive.

  So, we could watch Sex in The City, but wizard society might collapse if wizard girls imagined themselves to be like Hermione Granger. After all, if a “Muggle” girl could manage to obtain magical powers, then wizard girls might start believing they could wield magic, too. And then where would our society end up? In complete and total chaos, or so they led us to believe. I was only just beginning to question it myself.

  The reality was we watched about anything we wanted to watch because of certain enterprising and determined young wizards who set most of us up with underground stations of banned programing.

  I happened to glance at the clock on my nightstand. Uh-oh! The party was going to start in twenty minutes. I’d been distracted again, lost in my own thoughts, which wasn’t particularly unique for me, but it was happening more than usual today.

  Because, as of today, I represented everything the wizard council sought to prevent. I, Addie Evangelista, the daughter of the High Chancellor, was the nightmare that lurked in the mind of each and every esteemed council member.

  And I needed to focus on getting ready for a party—and fast.

  I took a quick shower. Sitting at my dressing table, I glamoured on thicker eyelashes, a little eye liner, a slight tan, plum lips, and a light smattering of sparkles on my eyelids to match the shimmers in my dress. I left my hair down, sweeping back small side-sections into a small pewter and rhinestone hair clip.

  Lastly, I slipped my dress over my head. It slid on, settling on me perfectly. My father might have given it to me, but my mother had undoubtedly picked it out. Going to my closet, front and center, I found matching high-heeled strappy sandals. When it came to running a household, planning an event, or accessorizing an outfit, my mother never forgot the slightest detail.

  To avoid running into arriving guests, I took the back way to the ballroom. The structure of the keep stretched a mile long, with lengthy, winding corridors. There were doorways that opened to shortcuts using dimensional folds, but I preferred to walk, even in high heels. It took me a good five minutes to get to the ballroom.

  As always, my mother, with Tristan’s help, had the ballroom looking resplendent. It would befit any head of state, but it was mostly for Zarius, and also for appearances. My father’s position of High Chancellor was pretty much like being the wizard president of North America, including both the United States and Canada.

  The thirty-foot-high ceiling glimmered with rainbow shimmers from the flickering lights of the five massive chandeliers dripping with thousands of individual crystal prisms. In addition to the chandeliers, hundreds of free-floating golden and silver wizard lights sparkled like hovering stars, twinkling across the full length of the ballroom. Every few seconds a screech would ring out as an owl, or hawk, or kestrel would soar through the air, adroitly weaving in and out of the wizard lights.

  Silver and gold linen-covered side tables were filled with every kind of extravagant food and drink imaginable. An enormous sixteen-tier birthday cake stood as the centerpiece, lit with enchanted candles. The wax would not melt or the wicks lose their flame, until the right moment.

  For familiars, stands and perches of varying heights held bowls of water, cream, raw meats, vegetables, and grains.

  “Oh! Adriana, there you are, darling,” my mother called as I walked toward her. Her eyes only landed on me for a moment, and she nodded her approval. “Lovely, dear,” she said distractedly. I could see her mentally checking off an item on her special event checklist. Adriana dressed and here—check.

  My mother was, as always, radiant. Her theme tonight was gold. Her white-blond hair was glamoured to a shiny gold, and upswept into an artful arrangement of curls and sparkling golden pins. Her dress was a cascade of bright and burnished golden tiers, and she’d chosen to transform her sky-blue irises to a soft topaz. Even her skin sparkled with the faintest touch of luminous gold dust. The chandelier and wizard lights showed her off to perfection.

  This was the type of event my mother lived for.

  And obviously, she hadn’t talked to my father, or I’d be in trouble with her, too. Her checklist would have been more along the lines of: give Adriana a censuring look to uphold Manfred’s displeasure—check.

  My mother glanced around, her eyes holding the barest hint of anxiety. “Adriana, dear, have you seen your brother?”

  Yes, too many times today. “Not lately.” Thank goodness.

  “Hmmm, I wonder where he could be.”

  My mother’s majordomo, Tristan, walked up to her. “May I be of assistance, Lady Clarissa?” he asked with a respectful nod.

  “Tristan, have you seen Zarius yet?”

  “No, my lady, I have not,” he responded in his usual professional manner.

  Tristan was one of the few wizards on staff. He was from a minor wizarding family and probably hoped to make and use connections with a core family. That’s what I’d heard my father say, anyway. The keep’s staff was primarily composed of norms, except for Tristan and our head chef, Christophe, whose culinary skills really were magical, and then some.

  “Tristan, please be a dear and fetch Zarius for me,” my mother requested, but continued to search for Zarius amidst the household staff, the hordes of family members and their familiars assisting with the festivities, and the musicians milling about the ballroom.

  As my mother was looking for Zarius, she didn’t see the fleeting grimace on Tristan’s face, but I did. Apparently he dreaded encountering him, too.

  “If I may suggest, Lady Clarissa, I may be of more immediate assistance to you if I were to send a locator-message probe to master Zarius, while I continue to help you with last-minute details.”

  “Yes,” my mother agreed. “That’s a good idea, Tristan.”

  Wearing a black tuxedo identical to my father’s, Zarius finally made his appearance as the orchestra started playing, right before my mother and father positioned themselves before the ballroom doors. We commenced greeting guests. My father was closest to the doorway, then Zarius, my mother, and lastly, me. I didn’t particularly care about the lineup. I was just glad the arrangement helped me avoid eye contact with my father, and my brother.

  After a hundred or so guests and familiars passed by, Lady Acacia entered the ballroom with Rory by her side. As Lady Acacia’s guest, he was one of the few norms in attendance tonight. He wore a pewter-colored tuxedo, an almost perfect complement to my gown. When he first saw me, his mouth dropped open with undeniable appreciation. I had to admit, it was a pretty gratifying expression. Then, he quickly remedied that lapse, and gave me a polite smile.

  “Lady Adriana, you are lovely tonight,” Rory said quietly.

  “You are, too.” I felt the heat of my blush, as once again words escaped my mouth before my brain registered what I was saying. But he was gorgeous in his tux.

  Within the next few seconds, Lady Acacia and Rory were swept forward by the tide of guests continuing to move through the massive ballroom entrance.

  We greeted arriving guests for over an hour more before we were allowed to break away.

  “Adriana, remember to circulate,” my mother directed.

  Forget circulating—I needed to find Hugo and Izzy. I searched through the crowds of formally dressed guests in their glittering full-length gowns and sober tuxes. Through the myriad of familiars—the bears, coyotes
, foxes, monkeys, wolves, dogs, panthers, and cats of all sizes as well as the owls, falcons, eagles, and other feathered familiars, I looked for my best friends. Finally, I found them.

  Rushing toward my friends, my mind whirled with all I had to tell them since I’d seen them a couple of hours before. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about Rory’s magic, though. I was pretty sure they’d assume the worst if they thought about what purple magic might mean, but I just couldn’t see Rory as evil. There had to be some other explanation…unless the truth was that I wouldn’t let myself see him that way. If that was the case, was I putting others in danger? Was I risking anyone’s life by believing in him? I needed answers, and to get them I needed access to wizard libraries and computers.

  One thing I would tell Izzy and Hugo about was the argument with my father. Someone should get a kick out of that story, and Izzy and Hugo were the two people in the world who definitely would.

  CHAPTER 8

  In For a Penny, In For a Pound

  I threw my arms around Izzy in a big hug, and gave Hugo a quick hug, too, although technically I wasn’t supposed to touch a wizard boy who wasn’t my betrothed. Hopefully no one saw us in the crush of people. I was taking all kinds of risks today.

  “Whoa. Down girl.” Hugo stepped back, his face set in a nervous grimace. “What was that about?” he asked, glancing around to see if anyone had seen us.

  “Sorry.” Chagrined, I apologized to Hugo. “Wasn’t thinking. I really needed hugs from my two best friends.”

  “I don’t think anyone saw anything,” Izzy assured us with a quick grin.

  “That’s my third time today to be totally inappropriate.”

  “Oh, do tell,” Izzy smirked, arching an eyebrow.

  So, I told Izzy and Hugo an abridged version of what had happened with my brother and Rory, and then I told them about my argument with my father, including the permanent lowering of the family IQ. As I predicted, Izzy squealed and high fived me for what she called my new found spunk.

  “You need to be more careful, Addie,” Hugo warned. “But go you. The thought of you with Bart sends chills up my spine.”

  “Exactly,” I agreed.

  Over the next couple of hours, wine was poured, trays of food devoured, and the cake was cut. Both Zarius and I blew out candles. Wizards had adopted the custom of singing the Happy Birthday song, and I couldn’t help but notice that most of the party-goers inserted Zarius’ name. A few exceptions sang my name, including a handful of relatives who regularly had to put up with Zarius in the keep and, of course, Izzy, Hugo, and Rory, who belted out my name.

  At one point, I noticed my father speaking to Bartholomew Magnuson and his father. I wasn’t sure, but I thought my father might have rolled his eyes when he turned away. I was probably imagining it. Surely the great and dignified Manfred Evangelista would never roll his eyes.

  While Hugo and Izzy made a trip to the dessert table, I searched for Rory in the crowd.

  Occasionally, I caught Rory staring at me. Sometimes, he had that same look of wariness I’d seen in his eyes earlier in the day. At other times, he had an intent look that made me feel like he was fighting an internal battle. Probably the same one I was fighting. Every time I caught him staring, he quickly glanced away, pretending to pay attention to someone or something else.

  An idea struck me—an awful, amazing idea that I had no business contemplating. I studied the entrances to the various balconies dotting the length of the ballroom. People moved in and out of those doorways, but behind the dessert table there was one balcony entrance that no one was using. I caught Rory’s glance and motioned with my head for him to follow me. I discreetly waved at him as I stepped outside onto the balcony. Each balcony had an outcropping to protect its occupants from the wind, which also meant privacy. I waited, wondering if he dared come.

  Adrenaline from what I was doing sent my heart racing. This pretty much broke every rule in the book and meant retraining if I got caught. Girls didn’t rendezvous with boys, and especially not norm boys. Although Rory was anything but a norm.

  Just when I’d lost my nerve and was about to go back inside, Rory parted the brocade drapes and stepped out onto the balcony. For a few seconds we only stared at each other. Rory’s amethyst eyes pierced me with an intensity I’d never seen before. I hadn’t really planned what would happen when he came out.

  “You look really pretty—all grown up,” Rory said, his demeanor serious.

  “You look pretty, too.” My cheeks burned with heat, and I cleared my throat. “I meant handsome, or…” I leaned my head back and sighed. “I’m not good at this,” I admitted, even though it was painfully obvious.

  “I don’t want you to be good at this,” Rory said with a lopsided grin. Then his eyes turned stark, almost grim. “You know we shouldn’t be here.”

  “Yes. If we get caught, I’d probably be retrained,” I agreed. “And you’d—”

  “—have my memory wiped and be permanently exiled, or worse,” Rory said, as he closed the distance between us.

  My breathing quickened. I wasn’t sure if it was the fear of being caught, or the dizzying feeling I had when Rory was close, or maybe both.

  He held up his hand. “May I have this dance?” he whispered, his expression soft, but his eyes fixed on mine.

  My eyes went wide for a moment, because he’d just upped the risk level of what we were doing into the stratosphere. But honestly, wasn’t this secretly why I’d wanted Rory to meet me on the balcony? This was the birthday present I most wanted in the deepest, hidden part of me. And besides, what had Hugo said earlier? In for a penny, in for a pound.

  I surrendered my hand into Rory’s. His bigger fingers enfolded mine as he enveloped me within his embrace. As with all good wizard girls, I was well-trained in the art of ballroom dancing.

  We danced one song, two songs, three songs, and Rory glided me around the balcony. Exhilaration trilled through me, and the breeze whipped through my hair as Rory smiled down at me.

  The next piece of music was slow and romantic, lilting out to the balcony from the orchestra inside. I leaned my head against his broad shoulder, and he rested his chin on the top of my head. We swayed together, our bodies so close I could feel the beating of his heart.

  Being with him was forbidden on so many levels, but it felt so right to me.

  The music stopped and a garbled announcement filtered out to us.

  I didn’t ever want this to end. I blinked several times, as if to wake into the real world, the world where there could be no us.

  “You slip inside, Addie,” Rory suggested. “I’ll follow in a couple of minutes.”

  I nodded and slid inside through the drapes.

  Spotting Izzy and Hugo, I walked over.

  An air of anticipation filled the ballroom with an accompanying wave of whispers. Then, a hush swept across the massive room.

  “Where did you go off to?” Izzy whispered.

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  “And now, please welcome the Knower of Familiars, Master Bertrand,” Tristan announced into a microphone in front of the orchestra.

  And in that split second, my heart started thrashing inside my ribcage, and beads of perspiration broke out across my upper lip.

  How had I forgotten about this moment? How had I so completely denied it might be coming? What if Hugo and Izzy were right? What if a familiar chose me? No, surely not.

  Master Bertrand, the only Knower of this generation, walked forward. Amidst all the colorful ladies’ gowns and dark men’s tuxedos, his velvety white robes made him seem like some exotic mystic straight out of our history books.

  His own familiar, a great snowy owl, rode his shoulder. A red-tailed hawk screeched as it soared above his head, a ferret peeked out of a large fold in his robes, and a black panther slinked beside him. In his wake, a gorgeous white arctic wolf followed, his noble head held high, his glacial blue eyes almost glowing in the shimmer of the wizard lights.


  My father and Zarius moved to greet Master Bertrand in the center of the ballroom.

  “Welcome to the house of Nostradamus, Master Bertrand.” My father’s voice resounded throughout the ballroom.

  “I bid you greetings, High Chancellor, and I bring potential familiars to bond with your son on this most auspicious occasion. Tonight, I have several potentials who have chosen to accompany me, along with my own Bia of the Snow Owl Clan, of course. The potentials include: Caelia of the Black Panther Tribe, Hadrian, above me, of the Red-Tailed Hawk Cadre, and last, but certainly never least, the noble Cheeva from the White Wolf Pack.”

  Gasps of awe sporadically erupted throughout the room. It was extremely exceptional for a white wolf to become a familiar, so it was a rare and revered honor to be chosen by one. Even wizard girls knew how uncommon white wolf familiars were. We were trained in the care and feeding of all familiars, both common and exotic.

  An angry chirping came from Master Bertrand’s mid-section. “Ah, Piri of the Ferrets, I do apologize for my negligence. And now, you have been introduced to all of our potentials. Wizard Zarius Evangelista of the house of Nostradamus, please come and greet the potential familiars.”

  Zarius, who’d changed from his tux into traditional black wizard’s robes, confidently strode forward and began the process of greeting the potentials. The red-tailed hawk landed on Master Bernard’s free shoulder.

  Zarius moved from familiar to familiar, giving each one a nod of respect, the traditional formal greeting, and staring into their eyes for a few seconds without blinking.

  Dread churned in my gut, and fear made my legs go wobbly. I just knew this would not end well for me. I started slowly pushing back through the crowd, Hugo and Izzy moving with me.

  “It’s going to be okay, Addie,” Hugo whispered, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze, but I could see the worry lines on his forehead. “Just take deep, slow breaths.”

  “I want a familiar to choose you,” Izzy whispered near my ear. “But at the same time, I don’t, because that would pretty much blow the lid off of everything.”