"Runa had just figured out how to recuperate your parents. The extraction reversal process was a success, and Banna couldn’t risk your parents bearing witness to her role in their imprisonment. Plus, it provided her a distraction to put a Concealment Charm on the portal scans."
"And you’ve know this how long?" I asked.
"For a while now we’ve been certain it had to be Banna who brought Tobey through," said Mr. T. "Chester was likely tricked into finding him and bringing us that note."
"Tobey mentioned a bright light," I said, also recalling his mention of the ground rumbling, which had probably been Chester’s heavy footsteps. "That was Banna’s orb he saw, wasn’t it?"
"Yes," said Olivia gravely, "and I was never more glad to see that orb go dark. I hate revealing my banshee heritage, but I suppose sometimes it comes in handy."
"Is that why you try so hard to control your temper?" I asked.
"That, and the fact that it wouldn’t do for one of the senior members of HQ to go around shouting at everyone," she said wryly. "Leadership requires working together, not creating discord."
"But why would she help the Mauvais? Why betray all of you?"
"I’m sure more answers will come, but I think Banna carried a hatred for the Magics since the time of her capture after she’d led the fight against us all those centuries ago. Because of her name we called her the White Warrior — mockingly so after we defeated her. We ruined her people to gain our own strength, but I thought she’d come to terms with that after all these years. I thought she wanted to move forward. Clearly, I thought wrong.
"My guess is she saw in Devin Kilbride a wicked, selfish determination she’d been looking for. But she wasn’t truly allying with him. She was using him to do her dirty work. He would start the ball rolling to subjugate the Magics. If he failed, he would take the blame and face the consequences, but if he succeeded, she would have done away with him and assumed her role as the White Warrior once more. She would take back the magic we stole from her people, and use it to bring them back to power."
This didn’t exactly sound like a speech Olivia had come up with on the spur of the moment.
"You knew all this and didn’t stop her?"
"I’ve had my suspicions. Things she’s said, ways she’s behaved, but I had no concrete evidence." We were on the final few steps that led to the hospital wing. "She keep her nose clean, she became one of the group, and she didn’t perform any D-spells. Which means if my records are correct, and if she was the one who extracted your parents—"
Before she could finish, we stepped out from the stairs and into the hospital area. All was chaos. Happy chaos, but it was a sharp contrast to the ward’s earlier calm serenity. Runa caught sight of us first. The joy and relief in her eyes at seeing Olivia reminded me of the looks I’d often seen on Alastair’s face. It warmed my heart for these two.
I know, I’m turning sappy in my old age, aren’t I?
"They’re back. It’s—" Runa’s face glowed with good cheer. "I’ve never seen anything like it. What happened?"
"Banna’s dead. The Extraction Hex was done by her, not the Mauvais."
"So your theory about the tribunal—" She then pulled her eyes off Olivia and turned to me. I was feeling woozy with pain at this point and cold sweat chilled my brow. "Great goblins, what has happened to you?"
I held up my hand.
"Again?"
"Should be the last time. I think my ribs might be broken too."
Runa looked to Olivia who nodded.
"Chester!" Runa shouted. The ward went silent for a moment, then the happy chatter resumed when Chester came thudding up to us.
"Yes, Mr. Dr. Dunwiddle?" Chester lifted his hand as if to salute, then seemed to remember this wasn’t necessary and clamped the hand back to his side.
"It’s just Dr. Dunwiddle, Chester. Now fix Miss Black. Ribs and hand."
"The ribs? But I’d have to—"
"It’s medical, Chester."
"Yes, sir."
Chester blushed and muttered some apologies, then placed his large hands to my sides as if he was going to lift me in the air. His fingers acted like a push-up bra for my breasts, and the poor troll’s cheeks turned an alarming shade of red. There was none of the strange bone-sliding sensation, but under his warm palms my chest instantly felt better and when he asked me to take a deep breath, there was no stinging pain.
"Not broken, just bruised," Chester said as he released me. "Easy fix." He then held out his hands to take mine which, even swollen like a Macy’s Day Parade balloon, looked tiny in his grasp. He closed his hands over mine and, as before, I could feel the bones shifting, the tissues deflating, the bits and pieces returning to their proper place.
"Better?" Runa asked. I nodded. "Now, would you like to meet your parents?"
"After which, we have something to discuss," said Olivia.
So, with that storm cloud looming over me, I followed Runa into the adjoining room.
"They’re better," she said as we walked. "As in their magic has returned, but it will still take time to fully recover from the starvation and dehydration. That should resolve itself more quickly now that they have their magic back, but they’ll tire easily."
When I took a tentative step into their room, Simon and Chloe Starling were awake. Although the droopy eyelids proved they might not remain so much longer.
"Cassie?" And that’s all it took to turn me into a blubbering mess. Hearing my mom speak my name broke the dam of strength, of hard headedness, of toughness I’d built up over the past couple decades. Tears of relief and happiness spilled over as I nodded.
His voice weak and dry, my dad asked, "Is it really her?"
"Of course it’s her," my mom chided, her own voice raspy. "Look at that face."
I didn’t know what to do, but when my mom held out her stick-thin arms I accepted the embrace, being careful not to squeeze her skeletal frame. She was too weak to tighten her hug, but it was enough. I’d waited twenty-four years for a hug from my mom, and even a gentle one felt like being wrapped in a world of love. My dad then asked when it was his turn and I was soon taking another dose of parental warmth.
"They say you saved us," he said, pride filling his scratchy voice.
I wiped my eyes and shrugged.
"I didn’t have much else going on."
I sat with them for about half an hour, catching them up on who I’d met in MagicLand, telling them about Mr. Wood being the best boss in the world, and regaling them with the delectable desserts at Spellbound Patisserie, which had apparently been started by Gwendolyn’s grandfather who, it turns out, was a distant cousin of my father’s grandmother.
"The height, it runs in the family," he said.
I didn’t tell them about any of the bad stuff. The abusive string of foster homes, the times of near starvation, the lack of funds to finish my schooling, nor the battles against the Mauvais. There would be time for that when they were better, and I feared any bad news would slow their recovery.
By the time I got around to showing them a picture of Pablo on my phone, they were fighting to keep their eyes open, so I made my goodbyes and promised I’d be back soon. I think they were snoring before I left the room.
Alastair waited for me outside.
"How was it?"
"Emotional, that’s for sure."
"Did you tell them about us?" he asked with a hopeful grin.
"What about us?" I teased. "Is there something going on?"
With a smile, he took my hand. As we headed down to Olivia’s office, he said, "I still can’t believe you let him kill me."
"It was just for a little while."
"What if I hadn’t come back?"
"I’d have made sure you came back," I said and waggled the fingers of my free hand at him. "This meeting, it’s about the watch isn’t it?"
"It is."
Except for the hand Alastair held, my entire body went cold.
48 - A FAREWELL TO MAGIC
ALASTAIR AND I remained silent the rest of the way through the corridors and stairways. When we reached Olivia’s office, he kept hold of my hand. Inside were Runa, Morelli, Mr. Tenpenny, Tobey, Rafi, Fiona, and of course, Olivia. On her desk sat the watch, still ticking away the time, or whatever it was those gears tracked.
I didn’t wait for the hammer to drop. I knew exactly what this was about. Despite everything, my magic was still a threat and it was still entangled with the watch’s power. Even if the Mauvais and Banna were dead, who else might come up with the cunning plan of using Cassie Black as a weapon?
"You’re going to extract me, aren’t you?" I fixed my stare on Olivia. On the way to the hospital ward she’d been talking to me like we were equals, like we were comrades, like I was going to have a happy life amongst the Magics. How stupid could I have been? "It’s what you’ve wanted all along, what you’ve been pushing for for days, so go on, get to it."
"Cassie, you’ve got it wrong," Runa said, her face grim as she scowled at my insolence.
"Then maybe you could explain it to me."
Runa and Olivia exchanged a look, then Olivia gestured to Runa as if she were giving the doctor the floor.
"Olivia did want to extract you. But not out of malice or spite or punishment. She knew the Mauvais wanted you, well, wanted your magic. So we, her and I, came up with a plan."
"What plan?" Rafi and Busby asked at the same time, sounding more than a little offended at not being included on this scheme.
"We’ll explain everything, but first, let’s have a seat," Olivia offered as she conjured some tea to go with Gwendolyn’s desserts. We all settled into chairs and Fiona placed a slice of Victoria sponge in front of each of us.
The fights, the healing, and the emotional ride had left me starving, so I dug into mine. I’d already polished off half the slice before I noticed everyone else had remained politely poised, waiting for Olivia’s explanation. I carefully placed my plate back on the desk. But really, why hand out cake if you’re not going to eat it?
"Does this have to do with her lessons?" Mr. T asked, his perplexed expression declaring he wasn’t used to being out of the loop.
"Wait, what about my lessons?"
"You didn’t think it odd that we kept making you take classes and kept insisting you practice and study, even though you might be extracted by the tribunal?"
"You wouldn’t believe how many times I thought that."
"We wanted to keep you busy," Mr. T said. "We also wanted to keep your schedule unpredictable. We hoped it would leave you too distracted to meddle in our efforts to find the Mauvais. And yes, we were actively searching for him, so please don’t think we weren’t.
"The other reason was so, if we did find anything, you wouldn’t know. That way if the Mauvais got into your head, he wouldn’t be able to read your thoughts regarding our progress. But," and here he fixed an accusing stare on Olivia, "apparently there was another layer of subterfuge going on?"
"We didn’t want to tell you," Olivia explained to him. "You knew about the distraction tactics with Cassie’s lessons, but the more people who knew what Runa and I were planning increased the risk of discovery if the Mauvais attempted any form of mind reading charm. That’s why we kept it to ourselves. Even if it meant all of you thought I was being unfairly harsh on Cassie."
"I’ll withhold my apology for now," quipped Busby.
"So you weren’t going to extract me?" I said, thinking of how she’d hidden Chester away to keep him safe from any further curses.
"No, we absolutely were," Olivia said cheerily, as if I should be delighted to hear that news.
"I think you might want to explain a little better," said Rafi, who I noticed had ignored the others’ behavior and had already eaten most of his piece of cake. "Because right now, neither of you are making any sense." He then, in a show of camaraderie, cut and placed another large slice of the spongy dessert on both our plates.
"We need to start with the tribunal. I have a feeling the reason Banna kept their proceedings so secretive was because she was the sole member. At first she would have been keen to use a tribunal ruling as an excuse to legally extract you and hand your power over to Kilbride," said Olivia. "But once you started filling absorbing capsules for your parents, well, she didn’t dare slaughter the cow that could keep on giving. Especially a magic one that would give large, consistent doses of power."
"Each time Cassie would fill a bundle of those capsules, they’d go missing," said Runa. "I thought it was Jake not paying attention to the dosage, but he swore he followed my instructions to the letter. We should have realized that not long after Cassie filled a new batch, the Mauvais would attack a city. It had to be Banna taking them to him. It’s the only way he would have had the strength for that much destruction."
"I tried to tell you that in the note I sent with the Communication Charm," Alastair said. "I saw her giving capsules to him one day and I could smell Cassie’s magic on him soon after Banna’s visits."
"Yes, well, we will now insist everyone practice sending and receiving messages via the Communication Charm. Banna was the only one of us who remembered the revealing spell. I think she saw what you’d written and quickly concealed it again, giving us only half your message." Olivia took a deep drink of her tea.
"And this whole Extract Cassie idea?" I prodded.
"As I’ve told you before, I was worried about your magic being given to the Mauvais if you were extracted. Our plan was to get the magic out of you before anyone else could." When I didn’t applaud this wonderful plan, she added, "We were going to give it back."
"Time was running out before the tribunal made its decision," said Runa. "That’s why I was working so hard and getting so frustrated with my lack of progress at undoing your parents’ extraction. Turns out my procedure did work, but Banna — or perhaps Chester under Banna’s influence — was undoing it and setting the Starlings back to zero."
"She would have wanted to keep them too far gone to tell us what really happened to them," said Rafi.
"Exactly. Anyway," said Runa, addressing me, "the plan was to extract you. That would make you useless to the Mauvais and keep you safe until we took care of him."
"Then," Olivia added, "once Runa perfected her extraction reversal technique, we would put your magic back into you."
"Remind me to stay away from both of you if you’re ever in research mode again," Rafi said before shoveling a massive bite of cake into his mouth.
"I still can’t believe Banna’s prophecy was wrong," said Fiona. "Or was that a ruse as well?"
"It wasn’t wrong," I said. "It was spot on, you just assumed it was about me." I gestured toward Tobey. "Tobey Raven Tenpenny. He’s the black bird. The line about reversing must have referred to the Previous Spell he used. Tobey. Not me. Every line fits."
And I will admit I felt a little bitter about this realization. The Mauvais had made my life miserable, he’d had a curse placed on me because of that prophecy when he should have taken out his frustration on Tobey Tenpenny. All I can say is my dear cousin owed me one. More than one.
"She’s right," said Fiona. "But the problem is solved, isn’t it? The Mauvais and Banna are both gone. We don’t need to go through with the extraction now, do we?"
I appreciated her concern, but while this chat to figure stuff out and make sense of it all was a great delaying tactic, I knew I’d have to face the inevitable. It was too dangerous to keep both me and the watch magically chugging along.
"We are," said Olivia. "Alastair, I think you can explain this best. The strands are different now, aren’t they?"
Alastair pondered a moment before beginning. "When I asked for the watch to be sent to Rosaria," he said hesitantly as if still working out the ideas he needed to convey, "I’d come up with the theory that the
magic in the watch had been woven together like threads. Two threads teased apart the right way are easy to separate, so I thought I could undo my magic from the Mauvais’s. Then Cassie came along, her magic mixed in as well, and a braid was created. A braid is less easily untangled."
"But now the Mauvais is dead," Mr. Tenpenny said.
"Exactly. His strand within the braid was removed when he died. And, thanks to Cassie’s unique form of strategy against the Mauvais, I died as well. When I died, my strand disappeared. I haven’t touched the watch since, which means only Cassie’s magic should be left in there."
"That’s good, right?" I asked. "We can just drain my magic from the watch to shut it down." The apologetic looks on their faces were like fly swatters coming down hard on my pixie of hope. "The watch, because of the entanglement, it won’t let go of my magic, will it?"
The Untangled Cassie Black Page 30