Inherited Magic

by Jennifer Mccullah

  Jackson was standing outside the RV, silent, as if waiting for some type of response.

  “Come out now and join us, and everything will go back to normal. We won’t hurt your grandmother, your friends or your father. You can begin training with us. You and Adam can pursue a romantic relationship, if you so desire,” Jackson said.

  Allison had wanted a relationship with Adam, and she would be lying if she said the thought of pursuing one right now did not pique her interest. Why would she still be interested in having anything to do with Adam, after all that had happened? Still, she found Jackson’s offer tempting. What if this was the only way to keep her family and friends safe? It was worth never seeing them again to know they were okay. She could make that sacrifice for the ones she loved.

  “Maybe I should go with him. If it keeps everyone safe, it may be for the best,” Allison said.

  “Jackson is a liar, and a good one. He would kill us all, maybe not you at first, but eventually,” Cain said.

  “Cain is right. It wouldn’t keep us safe, and it wouldn’t keep you safe,” Ruby said.

  “Think about it. You have until sunset before we decide to go another route,” Jackson said before disappearing back into the trees along the interstate.

  “What did he mean by that?” Allison asked.

  “Who knows? Jackson isn’t very patient, and he often has more than one plan to get what he wants,” Cain said.

  “We have to find a way out of here. I need to try and tap into whatever magic I have, trained or not. Maybe it will work and I can seal up the hole,” Allison said.

  “Even if you can, that still won’t put air back in the tire,” Vinnie said.

  “Maybe not, but fixing the hole will be a start, if I can even do that.”

  Chapter 10

  Ruby worked with Allison, helping her learn to access her magic within. Ruby focused on showing her the way to manipulate objects. They sat together at a table and Allison tried to move a penny across the table’s surface several times. Allison was becoming frustrated because the coin remained still. She knew she had moved the pool ball the other night.

  “This isn’t going to work,” Allison said.

  “It will, but you have to want it,” Ruby said. “Relax your mind and focus on nothing but the penny and how much you need it to move.”

  Allison shut her eyes and drew a breath. She opened them and looked down at the shiny, motionless coin. She focused all of her attention on that penny, willing it to slide across the table. It did not move. Allison stood up and let out a groan of frustration.

  “We’ll try again in a minute,” Ruby said.

  Allison nodded, walking to the refrigerator to grab a drink. Vinnie and Cain watched her but did not say anything. After a short break, Allison was ready to try it again.

  “Remember; concentrate all the energy in your body. Focus it through your mind. You have to push it out. Project your magic,” Ruby said.

  Allison looked down at the coin. Ruby’s words ‘Push it out, project’ replayed in her mind. To Allison’s amazement, the penny moved halfway across the table.

  “It moved,” Allison said.

  “I knew you could do it.”

  After the first time, Allison practiced moving the penny longer distances. Soon, it seemed second nature to scoot the coin around with her mind. Ruby, Vinnie and Cain all watched, seeming to be impressed. They moved on to larger objects, first a glass then a book. She was soon able to lift the book off the surface and make it float through the air.

  They were ready to try her gift out on the tire. Allison stretched out on a bed in the back and closed her eyes.

  “First, clear your mind and concentrate on nothing but the tire outside. This will be a little harder because the object is not in front of you. You will have to see it with your mind,” Ruby said.

  Allison took deep breaths and worked to think of nothing other than the tire. It was harder than she anticipated. She focused on the tire and the hole, but other things kept intruding on her mind. She tried several times before anything happened. After a while, she could see the tire as well as if she were standing outside looking at it.

  “Try to manipulate the rubber, try to forge it back together,” Ruby’s voice instructed.

  Allison looked down at the jagged hole, willing it to fuse back together. She concentrated, putting all of her energy into this task. She was pushing out with her mind and when she could see that it was beginning to work, she pushed even harder. The hole was sealing up. She was using all of her energy and it was working. She continued to project until everything went black. That was the last thing she remembered.

  She blinked, not knowing how much time had elapsed. Cain, Vinnie and Ruby were all staring at her. She tried to sit up, but the pulsing in her head was too painful. She put her head back on the pillow. Allison felt something warm and wet on her face. She rubbed above her lip and looked at her fingers, which were now covered in blood. Ruby began wiping at her face with a wet rag.

  “We did too much,” Ruby said, her tone apologetic. “I should have known better.”

  “This isn’t the first time that I’ve had a headache or a nosebleed from visions,” Allison said.

  “But, it is the first time you blacked out and that is my fault. If you stretch the limits before you’re ready, these things happen. The more we work and the more you learn to control your gifts, you won’t have nosebleeds or headaches any longer.”

  “So I have these abilities or whatever, but I can’t use them?”

  “You have the potential to be so powerful, but it’s like lifting weights. You can’t start with 300 pounds. You have to work up to it,” Cain said.

  “I think I need a nap,” Allison said, “It feels like I haven’t slept in a week.”

  “Okay sweetie, you just rest,” Ruby said kissing her forehead.

  It only took a moment for Allison to go to sleep. Her sleep was deep and uninterrupted by dreams or visions. While her mind rested, she formed an idea. She knew how they could have their tire changed without leaving the RV. After three hours, she woke up with a plan.

  “I know what to do,” she said.

  “About what?” Cain asked.

  “Cain, we can use your laptop to find the numbers of some local garages. We can call, tell them where our RV is and that we need to have the tire changed. They can get to the spare tire without going into the RV.”

  “True, but we have to be able to pay them.”

  “We just need to find one that will accept payment by phone or online through a credit card. We’ll say that we had to go somewhere, so the RV is empty and then pay over the phone. Nothing is opened, which means the veil isn’t broken, and the tire is changed. We can keep going and Jackson won’t even know which way we went because he still won’t be able to see us.”

  “That is a great idea,” Ruby said.

  Vinnie and Allison began using the laptop to locate phone numbers of garages in neighboring towns. After calling several numbers, they found a garage just a few miles away with a mechanic who was willing to come out and change their tire, for an extra fee. They completed the transaction over the phone and within thirty minutes, a blue truck approached the RV. A young man stepped out. They were all still and silent, careful not to make a sound. Allison looked out the window to see the young man walking back to his truck. He was medium height with a muscular build and his right arm was covered in tattoos.

  “He’s cute. We might need to have some more work done,” Allison said.

  “He’s obviously too old for you,” Ruby said.

  “Besides, between Josh and Adam, I think you have enough guys to worry about,” Vinnie added.

  “Whatever. I’m over Adam and Josh will be over me after all this,” Allison said, wishing she hadn’t ignored his last text.

  She wondered what he thought of her, and the fact that she and Vinnie were both missing from class. The blue truck was now well out of sight, and Cain turned the key. The roar of
the engine interrupted her thoughts of Josh, Adam and home.

  “Should we continue west, or change directions?” Cain asked.

  “Let’s go north,” Allison suggested.

  “North? Is that good with everyone?” Cain asked, looking back at Vinnie and Ruby.

  They both nodded.

  “Anything is better than this,” Ruby said.

  It was settled. They were on their way, ready to change directions at the first opportunity. At the very moment the RV pulled away, Jackson was back. He was standing out from the trees. Allison was sure he had seen the tire being changed, and had to realize they were moving once again. He looked angry and frustrated; Allison was glad for that.

  While they traveled, everyone was now in a great mood, excited to be out of immediate danger. Ruby had decided to begin training and teaching Allison as much as possible, starting that very moment.

  She, Allison and Vinnie sat together at the table going over the very basics of magic and ways to control it. Allison learned fast.

  “So basically, I can manipulate objects and see visions of the future. Is there anything else?” Allison asked.

  “Because that’s not enough,” Vinnie said with amusement.

  “Other than mixing potions and doing spells, that’s it. That, however, is not limited to just those who have natural magic abilities. It is about knowing what to mix and how to mix it,” Ruby said, looking at Vinnie.

  Ruby spent time with Vinnie, teaching him about spells and identifying important roots, herbs and flowers. He seemed interested in this aspect, more so than Allison.

  “You may not possess the same magic as Allison, but you can still play a key role when everything is said and done,” Ruby told him. “Knowing how to make potions and such is a gift in itself.”

  It was dark when they finished working on several aspects of magic, and Allison felt like they had accomplished quite a bit. Ruby began making dinner from the limited supply of food in the RV. They wanted to wait at least one full day before stopping anywhere to stock up. Vinnie and Allison were relaxing in the back of the camper, watching television. She was so glad that Cain had cable in this thing. It made being cramped up all day a little more bearable.

  Allison was petting Dru and laughing at a rerun of The Big Bang Theory, when an image forced its way into her mind. It was almost like a flash of lightning struck her brain. She could see Adam talking to Sam at school.

  “Have you heard from Vinnie or Allison?” he was asking her.

  She shook her head, “I called Allison’s phone yesterday, but it rang and went to voicemail. Vinnie doesn’t have a cell phone. I thought about calling Ruby, but I was going to give it another day.”

  “Is it like them to just miss school?”

  “Not Vinnie, Allison misses quite a bit sometimes.”

  “Would you show me their house after school? I’d like to check on them.”

  Jane was listening to their conversation from her locker.

  Allison blinked and found herself staring at the television once again. Her first thought was happiness. Sam had called her cell phone to check on them. Maybe their friendship could be repaired after all. That feeling of triumph and hopefulness was soon replaced by a sense of dread that crept into her chest and stomach. Adam knew they were gone. He was playing some angle with Sam, and Allison did not like it. She had to know more. She shut her eyes and concentrated on bringing back the vision.

  Instead of Sam or Adam, she saw Jane standing in the girl’s bathroom with two of her cheerleader clones.

  “He comes onto Allison which is strange enough. I guess some guys might find her attractive in an alternative sort of way, but now he’s after that weird girl Sam?”

  “Maybe he’s scared of pretty girls,” one of the cheerleaders suggested.

  “I’m going to follow them after school and when he tries to make a move on Sam, not only am I going to confront him about it, but I’m also going to tell Allison.”

  “Why?” One of the other girls asked.

  “So that Allison won’t have anything to do with him, and then maybe, he will start paying attention to me like he should have in the first place.”

  “You’re so smart, that’s why you’re the head cheerleader.”

  This was all Allison could see before she was back to her reality. Her nose was bleeding and her head was pounding. She wiped away the blood and ignored the pain. Allison had to push through it and find out more, it was the only way. She cleared her mind and closed her eyes, concentrating once again.

  Sam and Adam were walking on a sidewalk, with Jane, behind them, trying to be subtle. They were on a familiar side road leading to the trailer park. A van slowed down and the door opened. A man reached out and grabbed Sam before she could stop it from happening. Adam turned and grabbed Jane. In an instant, he jumped into the van with her in his arms. The girls struggled and yelled while the men began to restrain them with rope and duct tape.

  “Why are you doing this?” Jane asked, her voice more shrill than usual.

  “I needed bait. I was just going to take Sam, but you had to be nosy,” Adam said.

  “So take her and let me go. I promise I won’t say anything.”

  Sam looked at Jane with wide eyes, unable to form words. Jane did not seem to feel shame or remorse for what she had said.

  “What? There’s no reason we should both die.”

  Adam stared at Jane for a minute, and Allison wondered if he was considering her proposition.

  “Wow, it’s no wonder Allison can’t stand you,” Adam said.

  The vision became blurry, and then was gone. Allison stood up though she was weak from forcing visions to come. She was light headed, but she ignored it and walked to Cain, who was driving the RV.

  “We have to go back right now,” she told him.

  “Back where?”

  “Mason Springs. I had a vision.”

  Ruby and Vinnie were behind her, listening to her words.

  “They took two girls.” She turned to Vinnie, “They have Sam and Jane.”

  “Why?” Vinnie asked.

  “So that I would come to them.”

  “If you go back, you’ll be giving them what they want. You know it’s a trap,” Vinnie said.

  “He’s right. Your mother was strong and trained, but they were still too much for her,” Ruby said.

  “It doesn’t matter. We have to help them. I can’t just look the other way when I know they’re in danger.”

  “You must care a lot about your friends if you’re willing to risk your life for them,” Cain said.

  “Well, I care about Sam. Jane, not so much, but I still can’t leave her there.”

  “We do have to go back,” Cain agreed, “but we have to be smart about it.”

  Ruby sighed, “Of course we do. We can’t just leave them with those men.”

  Everyone was silent for some time. They knew they were walking into a dangerous situation, unprepared and unarmed. Allison realized she might die, and there was still a lot she wanted to do in life. She wasn’t ready to die, and she would bet her mother had felt the same way. Was anyone ever ready to die? The unknown made death so scary. For every preacher proclaiming the pain of Hell and the glory of Heaven, there was a well-educated atheist saying that neither existed. The fact remained that no matter how strong someone’s faith or conviction, no one could say for sure, and that was the scary part.

  Cain changed directions when he had the chance, and they were soon traveling back to Mason Springs, and back into imminent danger. Everyone seemed immersed in his or her own thoughts. Allison was thinking back to the fight between Adam and Siler. Adam had handled Siler with no problem that day. The task of facing an entire group of people as skilled as Adam was daunting and seemed impossible, but what choice did they have? They had to try.

  Chapter 11

  They were at least a day and a half’s drive from Mason Springs. Allison was anxious to be home where she could help her friend, but R
uby was insisting on making another stop first.

  “How far is Wilburn from Mason Springs?” Cain asked.

  “Around two hours. Mamaw has to go up there every few months for job training,” Allison said.

  “Allison, how much training do you think a secretary needs? I just said I was going for training. The truth is that I have always gone to Wilburn because we have friends there who sell ingredients and supplies I use.”

  “All this time,” Allison said to herself.

  She was in shock at her grandmother’s secret activity. It seemed so obvious now. Why would a secretary have to go to on the job training two hours away every couple of months? She had never questioned it, never given the idea as much as a second thought. Vinnie’s expression showed that he was as surprised by this revelation as she was. After this detour in conversation, Allison returned to the main point.

  “Why is it so important to stop before we go home?” Allison asked.

  “It could be life or death, that’s why. This is where I buy all of my ingredients for the spells and potions. There are ingredients I need. I also need somewhere to stay long enough to make these things and prepare for what we’re up against. We need all the help we can get, and they may be a lot of help to us.”

  “You can’t just buy your stuff and make it in the RV?”

  “No. There isn’t a lot of room in here, and Ursula has the proper equipment.”

  Allison rubbed her forehead. Was she the only one who realized that people were in danger? They may be dead by now. Everyone seemed to think they were on some vacation and could just go home at their leisure. Ruby must have guessed what Allison was thinking.

  “I know it’s frustrating. You want to go in there right now and save them. I’m telling you, we have to be as prepared as possible if we stand a chance of surviving.”

  “It’s hard to see the use of spending time on anything other than going back and helping Sam.”

  “Spending time in Wilburn is necessary if there’s any hope of survival for Sam or us. This will be time spent working toward bringing Sam to safety.”