The first part of the evening had been like a fairy tale. My mother helped me select my dress weeks before and we paid a small fortune for it. I submitted to her pampering, polishing, and painting, and by the time she was finished with me, I looked like one of the models in the fashion magazines, only happier and less hungry.
By the time we walked into the gym, I didn’t feel like myself at all. Many of my classmates showered me with compliments, and it was the first time I didn’t feel like a complete misfit. For some inexplicable reason, Becky had decided to leave me alone as of late. Her lack of open animosity combined with Jace’s friendship pulled me from the abyss of high school hell. I now skipped along the path toward relative social tolerance.
Draped across Jace’s arm, I stood taller and possessed a confidence I hadn’t felt since I was six years old and learned to ride a bike on my own. When Jace and I twirled around the stained and scuffed gym floor, it was one of the happiest moments of my life.
Just before my whole world fell apart, Jace spun me around and asked, “So, why haven’t you ever been to one of the Homecoming dances?”
“No one ever asked me. Jace, you know how it is for me,” I said.
“Yes, but I don’t see why. I can’t believe none of the guys here ever asked you out.”
“Why? Look at me,” I said, whirling away from him.
He reached out and pulled me back toward him. “Alisa, I am looking at you. And I see a beautiful girl.” I blushed and looked away. “Can I ask you something?” The song ended before I could respond.
When a freshman came up and asked me to dance, Jace disappeared. The kid I danced with was as short as I was. I tried to hide my irritation that he’d distracted Jace before he could ask his question. I craned my neck, searching for Jace in the crowd, but finally gave up and enjoyed dancing with the young boy who kept looking at my chest. Oh, well. At least I felt somewhat desired.
When I spotted Jace with Rachel, my heart thudded painfully. She was breathtakingly beautiful with her deep caramel skin and delicate features. Her ebony hair was piled high, revealing her graceful neck. I felt short, squat, and hideous in comparison. The second Jace pulled her close, I knew he was lost to me.
Standing in a daze on one side of the gym, I watched as Jace left Rachel on the bleachers. Jace was by my side in an instant. His arm wrapped around my waist and he led me to the entrance into the school. As soon as we were safe within the privacy of the school hallway, Jace released his hold on me.
“Rachel is the one we’ve been looking for. She’s strong, so much stronger than she should be. It’s dangerous for her,” he insisted.
I stood quietly, watching him. I willed myself not to cry because I was afraid of what his next words might be.
“Something happened between us. She was inside my head and I was inside hers.” Jace seemed to be searching for the right words. “I don’t think I liked it at all. I don’t like the fact that someone can read me like that.”
I sighed, certain there was something more. I could see the connection between them when they danced. I didn’t need magic or a special gift to see it. Was Jace that oblivious, or was he hiding his feelings from me?
“I’ll have to talk to my parents about it, but I don’t want to do it now. I know that sounds irresponsible and selfish, but I just want to have fun tonight. There will be plenty of time later for my parents to give me the third degree,” Jace said. “You wanna leave and go get something to eat?”
“Okay, cool.” Avoidance was my favorite way to deal with unpleasant topics, so I was thrilled to discover Jace was a hardcore procrastinator as well. Like he said, there would be plenty of time to worry about it later.
After Jace dropped me off at home, my mother brutally forced me to describe in detail everything that happened at the dance. Obviously, I decided to omit mention of the Jace/Rachel incident. I tried to impress upon her the fact that Jace and I were only friends, but she was too busy planning our wedding in her head to actually listen to me. I finally gave up and went to bed.
I fervently prayed things would stay the same between me and Jace. Our friendship was precious to me and I was afraid it would be diluted if Rachel was thrown into the mix. I knew once Jace spoke to his parents about Rachel, they would want to meet her. Would she become part of their lives the way I had?
Jace was my best friend—my only friend. Ever since the cookout with his family, he called me every day, at least twice. We saw each other after school most days and on weekends. I could talk to him about everything. He knew about my lack of friends, the fact that I had never had a boyfriend, and that I dreamed of one day becoming a writer. He knew my hopes and dreams and encouraged me to go after what I wanted.
We spent hours talking—at his house, on the phone, or driving around. He told me how hard it was when his oldest brother died, and about his strained relationship with Bryce. He even told me about his fears and self-doubt. Jace was often afraid he wouldn’t qualify for admittance into Warrior Training.
When I woke up the morning after the Homecoming Dance, I worried our relationship would change irreparably. Would he call me, or would he talk to his parents first and leave me in the dark? All my fears were scattered when my phone rang.
The first words out of Jace’s mouth were, “Hey, my family is playing tennis in a couple of hours and I need a partner. Can you play?”
I almost fainted with relief. Things were still normal between us. “Yeah, I can come. I’m not doing anything today,” I replied.
“That’s not what I asked. Can you play? Are you any good? I bet my dad a day of yard work that I could beat him in tennis. He said he wouldn’t play without his partner—Mom. That’s because she’s better than him. He knows he can’t beat me alone. So, can you?”
“I’m okay. I haven’t played in a while, but I’m pretty good. My backhand sucks, though.” I was excited. The weather was cool—only in the seventies. I was anxious to get outside, but more importantly, anxious to nurture my close relationship with Jace.
“I’ll pick up the slack,” he offered. “I’ll be there at three to pick you up. Bye.”
After our high-stakes tennis tournament, we headed back to his house for dinner. Jace was flying high on adrenaline. It was his first time beating his parents at tennis, and he was already making complicated workout and training schedules for the two of us. His next goal was to defeat the dreaded Bryce/Jerica combination.
“We do need to discuss your training schedule, and I’m not talking about tennis,” Jerica said with a frown. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in the training room.”
“I know, Mom,” Jace agreed. “I realized after last night that I have some things to work on. I was waiting for the right time to talk to you.”
“What happened?” Abe asked.
“I’m not inattentive. I swear I honestly never picked up on anything before. But last night at the dance…” Jace paused, thinking. “It was crazy. I danced with Rachel and then… it happened.”
“Tell us everything.” Abe leaned forward and I could tell he was committing everything Jace said to memory.
“I asked Rachel to dance, and as soon as I grabbed a hold of her, she was inside my head.” Jace’s expression clouded over. His parents looked expectant, but worried.
“She began sifting through my brain, searching. I tried to protect my magic, but that’s not what she was after. I think she was just experimenting. She doesn’t even know what I am, or who she is,” he explained. “The connection surprised her. She didn’t realize anyone else had the ability she had.” Jace smiled briefly. “It was a surprise to me too. I didn’t know I had it in me. She had a very strong link. I couldn’t break it on my own. Finally some guy bumped into her and broke her concentration. That’s about it. I didn’t really talk to her after that.”
“What do you mean you didn’t talk to her after that?” Abe asked, narrowing his eyes.
“Well, you know. Her date came over and started talking, so
I left her with him,” Jace explained.
“Oh, honey,” Jerica said, shaking her head. “She’s going to need protection now more than ever. You left her alone? And without explaining anything to her?”
“What was I supposed to do? Drag her away and tell her she’s a Spellbringer? She would have thought I was joking or crazy or both,” Jace said defensively. “I mean, you can’t tell someone that and expect them to believe you right away.”
“Well, I’m worried about her,” Jerica said. “She needs our help. We need to invite her over and explain she has a gift. She also needs to be aware she is vulnerable.”
Abe looked at me and asked, “Alisa, how well do you know Rachel?”
“I’ve known her since kindergarten, but we’re not exactly close,” I admitted.
“We may need your help in getting her over here. It might even help if you are with us when we talk to her. She’s known you longer than Jace, and she might be more likely to believe what we’re saying if she sees a familiar face. Do you mind?” Abe asked.
“I’ll help any way I can,” I offered. I felt like a fraud. The Alexanders probably thought I was so helpful and kind, but in reality, my motives were completely selfish. I wanted to be there, but not just to help them. The idea of being excluded was worse than anything I could imagine. On some level, I felt by being there, I could control what happened and prevent Jace and Rachel from getting too close. Insecurity does horrible things to a person.
I zoned out while the Alexanders continued to talk and make plans. I wallowed in my own worried thoughts. What would happen to Rachel if she didn’t accept her magic? What if she refused protection and training? I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. What I told Jerica and Abe was true. We weren’t close. She’d never been nice to me until recently, but I didn’t want to see something bad happen to her.
“Hey, do you want to watch a movie before I take you home?” Jace asked while we washed dishes.
“If we have time,” I replied, glancing at the clock on the wall.
“Why do you always volunteer us for kitchen duty?” he asked.
“Because your mom slaved over a hot stove to feed us. The least we can do is wash the dishes.” I handed him a soapy cup to rinse. “Don’t you know any magic spells to speed this up?”
“Do you really want me to try?” He pointed to a dish and a large crack split it in two. When he raised his arm with his palms facing toward me, I flinched away. I’d seen examples of his erratic use of magic, many of which resulted in moderate destruction.
“Um, I think we should wash the dishes the old-fashioned way. You know, I used to think having magic would be somewhat glamorous, but that was before you set the patio furniture on fire. If your mom wasn’t there to put it out…” I trailed off as Jace splashed me with warm, soapy water. I giggled and tried to duck away from him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled me close.
“Knock it off, you two,” Jerica said, coming into the kitchen. I blushed under her close scrutiny. She didn’t seem happy to see Jace standing so close to me, but perhaps it was the huge puddle on the floor that made her frown. Or maybe she saw the broken dish in the trashcan. Whatever the case, I stammered an apology and took a couple of steps away from her son.
On the drive home, I kept thinking about the look on Jerica’s face. Years of sitting on the sidelines watching my peers interact from afar, had left me with an ability to interpret emotions fairly accurately. Jerica didn’t want to see me and Jace together, at least not in a romantic sense.
“Do magical people always marry other magical people?” I blurted before I could help myself.
“No. Well, yes. I think,” he replied. “Actually, I don’t know any Spellbringers who married a human. But I don’t think there’s a law against it. Why?”
I could have kicked myself for asking such a question. I didn’t want Jace to think I’d been scamming on him. After all, he’d never shown any interest in me as anything other than a friend. I tried to formulate a careful response. “I don’t know. Just wondering. If Rachel has magic, she had to have gotten it from somewhere. What if one parent has magic and the other doesn’t? It’s possible, right?”
“Maybe. So, who’s gonna ask her to come over for dinner?” he asked as he turned onto my street. Tires squealed as he took the turn a bit too sharply. The bottom of the car scraped against the bump going up into my driveway. I almost laughed remembering Bryce’s declaration that he’d rather let me drive his truck than to allow Jace to get behind the wheel. The Georgia State driving test apparently wasn’t very difficult if Jace had been given a license.
“You. It’s your house. You ask,” I said.
“But what if she gets the wrong idea?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Wrong idea? That must mean he wasn’t interested in her. At least, that’s what I hoped. “That’s a chance you’ll have to take. I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked, hopping out of the car.
“Bright and early. Goodnight, Alisa. Sweet dreams,” he said, flashing a crooked smile.
I knew what I’d be dreaming about that night. I chewed my bottom lip as I thought about the tentative plans for dinner at his house the next day. Hopefully, Rachel would be joining us. Well, the Alexanders were hoping. I was ambivalent.
Chapter Ten
Rachel
I was completely shocked when Jace asked me to come to his house for dinner. Usually, people go out a few times before parents are thrown into the equation. As soon as I knocked on Jace’s door, I realized my mistake. Jace wasn’t asking me out, at least not in a boyfriend/girlfriend way. When Jace opened the door, Alisa was standing behind him. He invited me inside and introduced me to his parents, while I struggled to figure out what was going on.
“Rachel, we’re so glad to have you,” Mrs. Alexander said.
She invited me to have a seat in the living room and offered me a cold drink. When she stepped into the kitchen, I looked around the beautifully decorated room with admiration. I noticed Alisa seemed completely comfortable here. It was obvious she was a frequent visitor. I made awkward small talk with Alisa and Jace while his parents finished making dinner. When they led me into the kitchen, I was still trying to figure out why I’d been invited. Conversation was kept light throughout dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander did not ask the obvious questions about school and the dance, although I suspected they had a hidden agenda.
Abe, Jace, and I chatted for a few minutes while Jerica and Alisa cleared the table and prepared dessert. I liked Mr. Alexander—Abe. He was intelligent with a great sense of humor. I could see a lot of him in Jace. After meeting Jace’s family and hearing stories about some of their travels, it was hard to imagine them willingly moving to this town. Oaktree was not exactly a bustling hub of culture.
Mrs. Alexander surprised me by sitting down, looking directly at me, and getting right to the point. “Rachel, I’ll bet you’re curious about why we invited you here for dinner. I’m not one to beat around the bush, and you seem like a pretty straightforward young woman, so I’m just going to put it out there. Jace told me about what happened at the dance.”
My head began to throb. I shouldn’t have been caught off guard. Part of me suspected this might happen.
“Everyone in our family has special skills of some sort, Jace included. Abe and I try to help people like you who are beginning to tap into their abilities. Without exception, everyone we’ve tried to help has been frightened by their newfound talent. You seem to have a handle on your gift which is rare for someone with a psychic ability so strong, but I suspect you may still benefit from some guidance.”
I could have denied it. I could have stormed out and never spoke to them again. But I took a deep breath and said, “It’s nothing. I don’t think I need any help. A lot of people are intuitive, but I wouldn’t use the word psychic.”
“Rachel, I think we can both agree that mind-reading is more than being intuitive,” Jerica said gently.
“I wouldn’t call it mind-readi
ng. I sometimes pick up on people’s thoughts. No big deal.”
“So, the incident at the dance wasn’t the first time you’d experienced something like this? Can you tell us about the first time it happened?” Jerica asked.
I stammered out a brief explanation, trying to downplay how overwhelming my psychic curse was at first, and how terrified I’d been that I was losing my mind. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t think I was crazy. Jace obviously had psychic abilities and so did his family. As I spoke, relief loosened my tongue and I found myself describing my feelings of being watched, and my increasing awareness of the thoughts and feelings of others.
All eyes were on me as I relayed my version of the incident at the Homecoming Dance and I found myself beginning to fidget under their close scrutiny. I nervously twisted the chain on my necklace, and when my fingertips touched the pendant, a comforting pulse of energy rushed through me. I took a deep breath, sat up straighter, and lowered my hands back to the table in front of me. Jerica’s eyes settled on my necklace.
Spellbound (Spellbringers Book 1) Page 7