by J A Campbell
“Yes.” They both said.
“Good.” Satisfied that she wouldn’t lose them as friends, she gave them both quick hugs before going into the classroom.
Leaving was easier than she’d expected. Callie shadowed Elise constantly. Whatever Mr. Burns had done, hadn’t hidden her companion from her. She had a few small treasures from home and a few changes of clothing. Apparently the school had uniforms. Her dad gave her a quick goodbye at the house; he couldn't come with them since he had to dash off to another important meeting. They’d see each other again soon, so it wasn’t forever.
She pulled out a few pamphlets they’d been given. They were safe for public consumption, no mention of magic at all, simply pictures of the grounds, things like that. She chatted with her mom while their driver negotiated the traffic. Elise was simply grateful she didn’t have to take the train once they got into the city. She hated the train.
They finally pulled up outside the terminal. Another school representative was there to make sure she made it to her flight. Elise almost got the impression they were guarding her, though if it was from others or herself, she wasn’t sure.
“I’ll miss you, honey.” Her mom wiped away a couple of tears before hugging Elise tightly.
“I’ll miss you too, mom. I’ll keep in touch though, and learning to control....” Elise glanced around. “Everything, will be good. Then I can come home. We get breaks and stuff too, so it’s not forever.”
“I know, honey.”
Elise held her mom tightly for a few more moments before stepping away. The school official, a tall man wearing a dark suit, took her luggage and waited.
Offering a tentative smile to the intimidating man, she walked over to him.
After a moment, the man smiled back, but it was so forced it was almost a grimace, as if he’d never actually smiled before.
Stifling a laugh, Elise waved at her mom and led the way into the terminal, trying to ignore her pounding heart and. She’d learn so much and be able to come home without the ghosts.
Though slightly nervous about the flight, having the school official with her helped. They navigated security easily and arrived with time to grab a coffee before boarding.
He said little, but right before they boarded, he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Elise, if you start to feel like you’re going to have any issues, please tell me. I have a pill that will make you sleep. It’s perfectly safe, but ghosts breaking out on an airplane is not. You should still be protected, but just in case.”
Gulping, Elise nodded. “I’ll be sure to let you know.”
Seemingly satisfied, the man nodded and preceded her onto the plane.
Elise followed, found her seat and settled in for the cross country flight.
Traveling took all day and Elise finally got up the nerve to ask her escort’s name. Stanley. Stanley wasn’t terribly talkative, but he did answer the few questions she got brave enough to ask, though he didn’t know if she’d have a roommate, or what her dorm would be like. He did know a bit about the school’s history and filled her in as much as he could in a public setting.
Stanley escorted her as far as the pickup location at the airport and she got into the car by herself. The town car was luxurious on the inside, with leather seats and tinted windows, but she saw no mini-bar. Hungry, she asked the driver if they could stop for food.
Without comment, he handed her a cooler and drove away from the airport.
Elise looked for Stanley to wave goodbye, but he was already gone so she opened the cooler and stared out the window at the new city.
By the time they arrived at the beautiful country estate, the sun had gone below the horizon lighting up the sky with reds, oranges, and yellows that faded into purple while Elise watched.
The school itself was located on grounds full of robust trees: ancient oaks, maples just starting to turn color, ash, and others. The carefully manicured grass looked vibrant green, even in the fading light. Fall would bring a riot of color.
Their driver pulled up to one of the smaller three-story buildings that looked something like a dorm. Mr. Burns waited for them and opened their door.
Elise climbed out, staggering a little after the long ride. He helped her gain her balance until she could get her crutches under her arms.
“It’s late, so we thought we’d get you settled for the night. Tomorrow, you’ll have orientation and then classes. We’ll keep you very busy, but you’ll learn a lot. In no time, the ghosts will only appear if you want them to.” He smiled.
Unable to imagine ever wanting to see a ghost besides Callie again, Elise nevertheless smiled and acted like she agreed. “Thank you, Mr. Burns.”
“Right this way. There are a lot of steps, but I think you’ll be able to manage.”
He picked up her bags and they headed into the school. Elise’s heart fluttered with excitement as she prepared to face her new life.
Unfamiliar sounds awoke Harmony in a strange place. She lay on a hard cot in a small room. At first, she thought she was in a hospital, but there was no equipment—only bars.
Smells of disinfectant, smoke, and fear burned her nose. Somewhere close by, a printer clattered and a phone rang.
Jail! Panic set her heart racing. Her last memory was seeing Sam—oh god, she rushed to the tiny sink, dropped to her knees just as she spewed bitter hot fluid out of her mouth, gasping with sobs. Did they think I killed Sam?
She stood too quickly and dizziness swamped her. Her butt missed the cot. She slid down to the cold hard floor. She held her aching head between her hands, completely bereft, unsure what to do next.
“Miss Hendricks,” a woman’s voice startled her.
Harmony looked through the bars at an Asian policewoman, probably close to her mom’s age. She nodded, wincing when her aching head advised her too much movement was not the best plan.
“Are you all right?” the woman asked.
That’s a good thing, Harmony thought. The police wouldn’t be so kind to someone they thought killed a person…But, even if I didn’t kill Sam….
Images of Johnny Carver lying so still in the coffin…his eyes and mouth opening…singing that stupid song. A terrible ache settled in her chest.
“Come with me, please.”
When the woman opened the bars, Harmony stood up and walked ahead of her, careful to keep her hands in plain sight and her intentions non-threatening. She’d never been inside any of the Austin Police Department stations—only waited outside while her mom did the inevitable errands to bail some friend out for a drunk and disorderly or possession charge.
She’d been careful not to touch the drugs her mom kept around, not to steal or smart off to the local police. This was not a place she’d ever wanted to end up. She’d pretty much vowed at a young age to stay out of trouble. Truth, she never was sure her mom would actually come for her if she did get busted. The thought of staying there forever scared her.
“Are you all right?” the woman asked in a kindly voice.
“I think so,” Harmony said. “My head aches.” She hoped that much answer didn’t incriminate her. She’d always heard you shouldn’t talk to the police unless you had an attorney present. She didn’t know one in Seal Beach and was pretty sure the money she had stowed away in the Beetle wasn’t enough to hire a good one. Okay, one would be appointed for her if she couldn’t afford one.
Had she been read her rights? Mirandized, her mom had called it.
“Granddaddy!” The retired Oklahoma City Police Officer was the last person she expected to ever see again, but the tall, lean silver-haired man stood there with another older blonde woman.
And Ivin.
Harmony’s stomach lurched. She carefully avoided her mom’s blonde fake-baked boyfriend and went to hug Granddaddy. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight reassuring embrace.
“I’ve been looking for you for weeks,” he said. “Had the Seal Beach Police Department doing all kinds of favors trying to find you. Don�
�t you pull a disappearing act like that again.”
“No sir,” Harmony choked out the response as he gently released her with a pat on her back.
An older man in a nondescript blue suit and yellow tie presided. He wasn’t as well-preserved as Granddaddy even if he was maybe half his age. Harmony could see his belly sagging over his belt, his hair was retreating fast, and his fingers looked permanently yellowed from nicotine.
“Miss Hendricks,” he said. “I’m Alan Curtis, a missing persons detective here. Mr. Eason’s requests for aid were how we found anyone related to you. He was able to help us track down your next of kin—who sent her representative.”
The detective’s eyes rolled to Ivin and his lips tightened with obvious dislike. Harmony caught him and Granddaddy exchanging a grim look. She couldn’t quite breathe right yet, but she had hope the two men had gotten Ivin’s number and weren’t going to let him get custody of her if they could help it.
“Both these gentlemen are here to claim you,” he said. “Seeing as you are underage, we normally would release you to your mother….”
Granddaddy gave the stink eye to Ivin, who straightened up and looked like he was trying to appear like an upright citizen. Harmony almost grinned when she could tell neither of the policemen were fooled.
“Ivin here does have a letter from your mother, which she verified over the phone. However, he is a registered sex offender.”
Harmony’s stomach heaved again. She swallowed back a bitter taste. Did her mom know this when she had him in the house with her or was this one of those things she just blithely ignored like whether there was food in the refrigerator or the cats were taken care of? She’d been the adult in their relationship for so long, she didn’t even want to think about it.
“It’s noted also that your mother never filed a missing persons report on an underage minor,” the detective went on. “When I asked her about that, she said she believed that you would return home whenever you were ready. She seemed surprised at the thought some harm might befall you—or you might get yourself into serious trouble.”
Harmony shook her head hard from side to side. “I didn’t kill Sam. I told him to go to the shelter last night—I found….”
Everything went odd and she felt herself being steered into a chair.
“You’re not a suspect in the young man’s murder.” Detective Curtis’s voice was gentle. “Several young men from the local college attempted to implicate you, but there were witnesses to them dragging Sam off last night and there’s plenty of physical evidence on both Sam’s body and theirs. They’re in Holding now, if they haven’t already lawyered up. Officer Jenkins was already on the scene for the call when you arrived and screamed. He brought you in because of your obvious distress. You ran out in traffic and nearly got hit.”
Harmony’s heart did a tap dance in her chest. “Some guys were teasing him yesterday.”
“Probably the same guys we’re told have teased him every day,” Detective Curtis said. “A couple have already ratted on their friends’ activities. I don’t think it’ll be hard to build a case against the lot of them. Frat boys out for a good time, preying on a poor kid who couldn't defend himself.”
Harmony nodded.
“What I’m dealing with right now is where you should go, young lady,” Detective Curtis continued. “While it seems you’ve been doing a fine job taking care of yourself, from what I’ve learned from Breck Vance and Shelley Herring, the law states you should be at home with a parent.”
Ivin let out a breath to speak.
Detective Curtis shook his head at the same time Harmony did.
“Mr. Eason is willing to take custody of you and either return you to your home or help you find a more suitable placement with his family or elsewhere,” Curtis continued. “Ivin Bryan wants to return you to your home and your mother. We spoke with your mother and she is amenable to you choosing which gentleman you wish to go with.”
“I’d prefer to go with Mr. Eason,” Harmony said, before anyone could continue. Her heart sang. Granddaddy came all this way to help her. That was more than her blood kin would have done.
Ivin made a frustrated noise, which she ignored. “Harmony should be at home with her mother.”
Detective Curtis picked up his phone and called her mom.
“Hey,” Harmony said when he handed over the receiver after explaining her wishes to her mom.
“It’s good to hear your voice,” her mom said. “I was wondering when you would call. I missed you.”
Harmony wondered if she’d left any voice messages or anything on her phone. She hadn’t put it back together for fear of someone finding her. Abruptly she realized her folly. If her mom had really wanted to trace her, all she would have had to do was check where the credit card purchases came from.
“Thanks for not canceling the credit card.”
“Keep it,” her mom said. “Money’s no problem. Are you coming back here?”
Harmony glanced at Granddaddy.
“I’m not sure,” she said. “I need to talk to Mr. Eason and see if he’s got some suggestions for me. I’m not going back to my old school if there’s a better option for me.”
“Let me know. I will do what I can for you. You know I love you,” her mom said and rang off.
Harmony’s “love you” hung in the air. She stared at the receiver for a moment, listening to the dial tone, and then let it drop back into the cradle with a clack her mom would never hear.
The end.
Ivin left the office without saying goodbye, which was fine with Harmony. She didn’t precisely let out a sigh of relief when he departed; that was pretty much done when she realized she wasn’t arrested for murder.
The rest was just a formality. She walked outside into the morning sun with Granddaddy. He went up to a woman who waited by the front doors of the station. She fell into step with them as they walked away.
“This is Marina Brothers,” he said once they were away from the station. Instead of loading up in a car, they walked to a diner around the block, which the local police had recommended for good coffee and food. They were quickly seated at a turquoise vinyl booth, nearly the color of the ocean, and handed plastic one-page menus. It was 10 AM and the place was fairly quiet between the breakfast and noon rushes—and far enough from the beach not to have constant traffic from tourists.
“Get whatever you want,” Granddaddy ordered a heart-attack-inducing plate of food. Marina asked, in a Russian accent, for dry toast and coffee.
Knowing her stomach had already been on a roller coaster, Harmony opted for French toast and soda. She was pretty sure it wouldn’t be Kerbey Lane’s level of delicious, but her stomach boisterously reminded her that she hadn’t eaten anything for a while, so anything edible would be excellent. She excused herself and went to the ladies room to freshen up and rinse the terrible taste out of her mouth.
“Marina’s my old lieutenant’s widow.” Granddaddy finished introductions once the waitress had brought them something to drink and left them in relative quiet.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Harmony told the older woman, a blue-eyed blonde who’d gotten the attention of every male they’d passed in the street despite being dressed in severe widow’s weeds.
“Thank you.” Marina’s voice was hoarse and low, still flavored with the Mother Country. Harmony wondered when she’d immigrated and what circumstances brought her to the United States. Marina dabbed at a tear gleaming in the corner of her eye. While her words were sincere, Harmony suspected she was telling the kid version of the story. “We have no idea why someone would want to harm him.”
“She’s like you.” Granddaddy said, softly.
Harmony let out another long breath. She felt like springs and coils inside her let loose. “Do you know where Lisa and Charlie are?” Maybe if she was part of the community she’d know what had happened to them.
Marina glanced around to be sure no one was listening and continued in a quieter to
ne of voice.
“No. I don’t know Lisa or Charlie. I do know of a school where you can learn control. I went there.” Marina leaned across the table speaking earnestly. “It’s a special school where you’ll be among others like you. You’ll be learning to use your gifts along with getting a top-notch boarding school education. My ACT was good enough to get into UCLA.”
Wondering if she should trust Marina, Harmony glanced at the man she’d adopted as her Granddaddy. So far he’d been completely straight with her and she now knew strange powers existed. What other choice did she have, but to learn to control her “gifts,” as Marina called them.
Finally, Harmony nodded and Marina outlined the details. By noon, they had made the phone calls and she was on her way.
Granddaddy drove her Beetle up I-5 to the school in the Oregon woods alongside the Columbia River. While students were not normally permitted vehicles, the headmaster granted her an exception because of unusual circumstances and inconvenience of having to return the Beetle back to Austin. Harmony was told if her grades and behavior were acceptable, she’d have a weekly pass to use her car. That seemed fair enough.
Having grown up in an urban sprawl that was eventually going to devour any open land between Austin and Dallas, Harmony loved the remote woodsy setting of the school. The school was a multistory brick building which sat surrounded by tall pines and old growth oaks, ash, and maples high atop a hill overlooking the river.
Headmaster Westenra greeted them as they entered the facility. Marina had told her this particular school was an old mental asylum, which had been abandoned by the state and redone by the Justiciarate Magus, the group who ran the school.
“This is quite exciting. We’ll be admitting two new students today,” Headmaster Westenra remarked as he led Harmony to the office and got her settled in their equivalent of the principal’s office. She was gratified to note the room was full of glass front bookshelves full of vintage volumes. Instead of athletics trophies, the shelf tops held pots of herbs interspersed with busts of men and women she supposed were significant members of the underground magical community.