Banishment and Broomsticks

by Kali Harper

  When Lance did, I leaned forward to see what was inside. The material she used to apply the fine powder was covered in dark soot, stained and unusable. That explained why she hadn’t put her makeup on, but where did it come from?

  “What is it?” I asked, looking from her to Lance who continued to inspect the dirty foundation.

  Lucy took a shaky breath and refused to look at us. As she spoke, her shoulders dropped and her crying from before continued. “When I went back to check on him, he… I…” She hiccuped, hugging her arms around herself as she rocked back and forth. “There were footprints.”

  Lance frowned, but then, as if a light had turned on, he spoke. “You used this to hide the footprints.”

  Lucy nodded.

  “But why?” I asked. “Why would you hide this?”

  “Because she was protecting him,” Lance explained, exhaling hard. “That explains the residue I found before. It was Mark, wasn’t it?”

  “I wanted to hear it from his own mouth, but when he told me Darby was missing, it didn’t seem as important.”

  “And you’re sure the footprint didn’t belong to someone else?” I asked her.

  “I’ve seen him track mud inside before, probably the same way he tracked it onto your porch while we were gone. It’s because of those heavy boots. They’re clunky and extremely loud when he walks.”

  “He can’t be the only one who wears boots, though. What about Darien?” I asked.

  Lance agreed. “Lucy, it might not be his footprint, but I need to run this.”

  “You… you aren’t mad?” She looked at him with disbelief, her hands shaking as she folded them in her lap.

  “I don’t have the energy right now to deal with more than one person at a time. Covering up for this is inexcusable.”

  “I know, and I would’ve mentioned it sooner—”

  “But things spun out of control.” Lance nodded, then with a sigh, he removed a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket.

  “You can’t be serious,” I said, standing up between them. “Handcuffs? Really?”

  “Astrid, for all we know, she could’ve been an accomplice. Now, unless you want to join her, I suggest you stand aside.”

  “But—”

  “What if she warned him while we were on our way back, huh?”

  I swallowed around the lump in my throat, then picked Lucy’s cell off the floor to read the texts she’d sent.

  How could you do this?

  Where’s Izzy?

  Did you do those things to Morpheus?

  Answer me!

  You’d better be there when we get back. I can’t take this anymore.

  As I read over each message, I sank lower and lower until I was on the sofa with the phone cradled in my hands. “She did warn him.” She might not have intended to, but she’d sent the last text just as we were leaving Fairmount. If Mark had come back, he would’ve left just as quickly. “Lucy…”

  “I’m sorry, Astrid. Truly. I thought he was different.” Lucy hung her head, then held out her hands so Lance could cuff them.

  I couldn’t watch anymore, so I turned away and headed into the kitchen, barely keeping myself upright by the time I reached the sink. Maggie released her hold on Sammy as they both followed after me.

  Vaguely aware of Lance reading Lucy’ her rights, I tried to block everything else from my mind. How did I not see this? The way she’d acted when we joined her in Morpheus’ office, how she acted when I mentioned the police, and how she’d gone without her makeup for the first time I could remember… it was all there, right in front of me.

  “Love is blind,” Sammy said, having read or overheard my thoughts. “She probably meant well—”

  “But she hid it from us.” My words came out in a growl and I gripped the countertop. “You warned me. You told me something didn’t feel right—”

  “Inside Morpheus’ shop, not around Lucy,” Sammy corrected me.

  “We should’ve gone with her when she ran back to Morpheus’ office. We could’ve caught her before she tried… God, I can’t believe she’d cover something up like this.”

  “Let Lance handle her,” Maggie said, her voice gentle. “You need to focus on the girls. They’re still out there.”

  “They could be on their way home by now,” I said. Without Lucy around to keep tabs on Mark, there was no telling where he might’ve gone.

  “Actually…” Maggie’s form flickered. Was she… smiling?

  “You’re hiding them, aren’t you?”

  Maggie nodded, and when she looked to Sammy, he turned back for the living room. Wherever he was headed, I had a good idea of what we’d find once we got there.

  Chapter Fourteen

  After living here for over five years, I’d never been inside the attic. The thought of rafters falling on me was more than enough without actually walking on them. So when Sammy stopped underneath the hatch, I almost laughed.

  Lance had scoured the top floor of my place looking for the girls, but he’d never thought to look here. It’s not like it was hidden, either. The hatch was at the end of the hall in plain sight.

  “He probably looked but didn’t see them,” Sammy said, glancing up at the ceiling as I pulled the ladder down.

  “What do you know about this?” I asked them both, testing the ladder before making my way up to where the girls were hidden.

  “Nothing.” Maggie’s smile gave her away. “You can ask them yourselves. I would’ve called but—”

  “Ghosts can’t use cell phones. I know.” It would’ve been a huge help, that’s for sure! Halfway up the ladder, something shuffled above me, followed by a very soft hiss of breath. “Darby, it’s me. I have Sammy and Maggie with me. Everyone else is gone.”

  When she didn’t come over to the hatch, I continued my climb, carefully crawling on my hands and knees in the dark until I found an old light which didn’t even work. “I swear, you aren’t in any trouble. We’re worried.”

  “He wants to erase her memory,” Darby cried out, “can you believe it? I can’t let him.”

  “I know, and I wouldn’t ask you to. Izzy’s your best friend, and best friends should be protected from all magic. I conjure things,” I told her, “so Izzy’s in no danger around me. Is it okay if I sit?” I found them in the far corner of the attic, the rafters creaking whenever I moved.

  “Not there,” Izzy said, her words quick. “There’s a nail to your left.”

  “Oh, thank you.” After finding a safe, if not terribly uncomfortable spot to sit, I faced the girls and hoped my voice didn’t shake as much as I thought it did. “I know you’ve already gone over things with Lance and possibly your uncle, but if there’s anything you left out, I need to know. Please. All I want to do is keep you both safe, but I can’t help you if I don’t have all the details.”

  When neither of them spoke, I went on. “I met with the man who works next door to The Magician’s Closet. He told me the clocks in his shop stopped at 12:15 AM. I’m guessing it’s because of how much time had slowed before whoever was after Morpheus cast their Turning spell. Unless you know something else.”

  Izzy wouldn’t have much information to share as magic was still new to her, but even as Darby lowered her gaze, I could see she had something she didn’t want to share.

  “You aren’t in any trouble,” I told her, “and I know you’d do anything to get someone to listen to you. You slowed time, didn’t you?”

  “I tried, but time was already off once we got there,” she admitted, her voice tight, “I just wanted him to hear me out before he sent us away.”

  “You asked him before, didn’t you?”

  “After my trial, I asked if it was possible to bring a friend. No one believed I could finish, so maybe they’re wrong about Izzy as well.”

  “And he said no.”

  “I thought if he could see her and hear what we had to say, then maybe—”

  “He’d let her in.”

  “But I swear, we didn’
t do this. By the time I noticed the books along the ceiling and saw what was going on, we were stuck inside that stupid pile of books.”

  “Izzy, is this true?” No doubt the girls had rehearsed their story while everyone was away, but I decided to ask anyway.

  “All I remember are shadows and a woman’s voice.”

  “Lucy’s?”

  “No. She sounded old, but we couldn’t see anything. She was terribly upset and was yelling at someone.”

  “But you never heard their voice.”

  “It was familiar,” Darby admitted, “but it was so garbled because of where we were, I can’t say who it was for sure.”

  Realizing there wasn’t much else to tell, I slowly made my way back over to the hatch. “I’m going to make some hot cocoa. It’ll be waiting for you when you come down.”

  I knew what Sammy was going to say even as I finished making my way down the ladder. Before he could, I walked away from the attic and headed back downstairs.

  “They know something,” he hissed, his fur bristling.

  “I know, but they’ve already been through enough. Let them come down, then we’ll talk some more.”

  “The longer Morpheus remains in the other realm, the harder it’ll be to get him back!”

  “Is there a reason why Richard can’t bring him back on his own?” Surely there was a reversal spell that didn’t require us to know whoever banished Morpheus in the first place.

  “It’s more involved than that,” Sammy said once we reached the kitchen. “They need to let him back in, and if someone is running around banishing whoever they want, bringing Morpheus back will only anger them.”

  “But Richard can reverse it, can’t he?” I asked, putting the kettle on the stove once I’d filled it with water.

  “Yes, Richard can along with the help of the Celestials. It isn’t a simple spell to bring one back. It will require most of Fairmount, including us.”

  “Why us?”

  “Because we were the first to discover it.”

  “But it only takes one person to banish him?” That didn’t sound right at all.

  “Sending one away from our realm isn’t as hard as bringing them back,” Sammy said again, sighing as he did. “I can’t go into detail about it, but just as there are Celestials in Fairmount, there are older, stronger guards where Morpheus was sent. They don’t like letting their prisoners out because, usually, those who are sent to the other realm deserve it.”

  “What if we went in after him?” Darby asked, leading Izzy into the kitchen where the two of them took their places at the table.

  “Too risky,” Sammy said, excusing the suggestion altogether. “What happens now is up to you. Lucy’s gone with Lance after trying to cover for your uncle.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “You humans with your bleeding hearts. She saw the footprint from his boot and tried to wash it away.”

  “You mean the ones he had to throw out because the sole was coming off?” When I looked at her, she continued. “He doesn’t wear boots anymore. He hasn’t worn them for close to a week and has used his sneakers ever since.”

  “So no combat boots?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then why is your uncle running around asking Alex about a Seer’s charm?”

  “Because he wants to marry Lucy,” Izzy said with a laugh. “What? Weren’t you listening to him in the car?” She was looking at Darby, her eyes bright as she came to a completely different conclusion than the rest of us had. “You told me he’s terrible with words and trips over them most of the time. He’s even blurted out a few off-color comments before—nothing bad—but he doesn’t have a filter. Then, today in the car as he was driving through Fairmount, he stopped to ask the guy in a trench coat if he’d seen Caleb. I thought he was trying to get this charm or whatever it is for me, so I didn’t say anything, but he worked so hard to find the guy and to clean off his shoes once we got here that—”

  “Wait, he found Caleb?” I asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Darby, what charm did your uncle get?”

  “Nothing. Caleb said he was all out and asked him to come back next week. Strange, he didn’t live in Fairmount. You can get to him from there, though.”

  “Where?”

  Convincing Maggie and Sammy to stay behind with Izzy wasn’t easy. When Sammy tried to follow us, Darby summoned her broomstick and ordered me to get on.

  “Are you sure it can carry both of us?” I asked, carefully getting on the back of it.

  “Yes.”

  My stomach dipped as the broomstick slowly lifted a few inches above the ground. “How are we supposed to get to Fairmount without a portal?” When Darby presented a piece of chalk out of thin air, I laughed. “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

  “Not everything. I’m still trying to find a way to bring Izzy here. To stay, I mean.” She sighed and refused to look at me. “I don’t want to come here without her.”

  “You don’t have to.” I placed a hand on her shoulder and tried not to squeeze too hard as we flew toward town.

  Any other time, I might’ve enjoyed the experience. Unfortunately, we were moving too fast for me to identify much at all. The shops along Main Street blurred as Darby wove between them, steering us toward Harris’ bakery.

  “Having magic doesn’t mean you need to live near it,” I told her over the rushing wind.

  “You live here,” she said, stopping short of the bakery so we could dismount before she dismissed her broom. “It doesn’t seem so bad.”

  “It isn’t, but I was already here by the time I found out about my magic. You’re different. You have a choice.”

  Darby held out her chalk and drew on the wall. A moment later, the arc flickered and a portal appeared inside of it. “If I stay with Izzy, there’s a small chance I’ll lose my magic.”

  “Says who?”

  “My uncle.”

  Scare tactics? Really? No wonder Darby was having a hard time.

  I exhaled hard. “What’s more important to you? Magic or Izzy?”

  “Izzy.”

  “Then that’s your answer.” I placed my hand on her arm before she could walk through the portal. “Just because you don’t live in Emberdale, Fairmount, or any other magical town, that doesn’t mean you’re turning your back on magic.”

  “My uncle wouldn’t agree.”

  “That’s because he’s had magic longer than you and probably can’t imagine living his life without it.”

  “I wanted this so badly, Astrid. To know I was different and for someone to recognize it.”

  “And now? Is that validation still important?”

  “No. If Izzy can’t join me, what’s the point? I have no connections in this world. I guess I could talk to my uncle and Lucy, but it isn’t the same thing.”

  I nodded gently. “You need someone your age,” I said, passing her a reassuring smile. “There are other teens in Emberdale, but for now, if you ever need to talk or vent, all you have to do is call.”

  “Or write,” she added. “I like writing.”

  “Then write.” Facing the portal, I said, “What should I expect once we reach the other side?”

  “We have a second portal to go through. It’s on the far side of Fairmount Square inside one of the old subway tunnels. They don’t use them anymore, but they don’t enforce them, either.”

  “So folks like Caleb can go unnoticed.”

  “Yes, and he can come and go whenever he wants. The mayor kicked him out, did you know that?”

  “I did, for practicing bad charms.”

  “Not bad,” Darby explained with a partial shrug. “Different.”

  As we prepared to cross over to Fairmount, I wondered if leaving Sammy behind was such a good idea. He’d always been with me, and while I still had his wards along with my own magic, the thought of not having him as a buffer made me sick to the stomach.

  Izzy needs him more. Sammy might not hav
e thought so, but without him to keep her safe, anyone could’ve hurt her or taken her away. I could’ve called Lance, but it was easy to see the girls already hated what was going on without having more people around. Like it or not, I had to keep both girls safe, even if it meant not having my familiar for a little while.

  “Lead the way.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The old subway system spanned under most of Fairmount, and as soon as we entered the old, unlit tunnels, it was interesting to see the dark underside of such a bright city. Witches and wizards of all kinds set up shop down here, from brooms and wands to other things such as enchanted trinkets and charms.

  Many of them were quiet and tucked out of the way behind portals of their own, but those who sat out in the open seemed no different from those who worked the streets above. One of them actually reminded me of Darien. She had the same pale skin as him and wore a long black gown.

  “Another vampire?” I asked Darby, leaning close to her so the woman wouldn’t overhear.

  “Yup. Shifters come down here as well. They aren’t welcome up top.”

  “How come they let them stay here if they aren’t welcome?” I asked, following Darby down one side of the subway tunnel.

  “They have nowhere else to go. Besides, whatever happens down here isn’t Fairmount’s problem.”

  “And what happens down here?” Away from the Celestials, I could only imagine the terrible things that might’ve happened in such a place.

  “Less than you’d think. They might look like a shady bunch, but they mean well. They’re just trying to make a living, you know?”

  “How come Lance didn’t mention it?” The entrance to the subway stations was out of the way and not something I would’ve come across on my own, but surely he came down here once he realized Morpheus was gone.

  “Darien runs things down here,” Darby explained.

  “But I saw him up top.” In fact, I always saw him along the same stretch of shops as before.

  “He and the mayor of Fairmount have an agreement where Darien’s welcome up there so long as he doesn’t hide what’s happening here. Everyone here respects Darien, even the wand seller who tries to take customers right from underneath Darien’s nose. At least, that’s what my uncle told me.”