Smoke and Mirrors

by Jess Haines

  Cormac growled, the sound driving a few of those seated nearby to scoot their chairs back or hide behind their menus. Kimberly gave him a pointed look. He stopped growling, but his tone was still sharp.

  “Viper’s desperation to follow that misguided quest of his will never work. And there’s no need to scare her with stories of the past. They wouldn’t have her in that mage school if they were still carrying out that witch hunt for sorcerers.”

  “Tell that to the one who died in that vampire’s restaurant a few months ago. I heard The Circle had a hand in that.”

  “Wait, what?” Kimberly said, her tone flat with disbelief.

  “Yeah, well, he signed his own death warrant when he started summoning demons.”

  Kimberly made a choking sound, her eyes bugging. As Cormac lightly thumped her on the back, she waved him off. “De-demons? D-d-did you say… demons?”

  “Yes. Don’t tell me they don’t teach you the basic differences between sorcerer and magi powers—oh, for heaven’s sake.” Rieva threw her hands up, eyes rolling heavenward once she saw Kimberly’s expression. “What in the hell do they think they’re doing, calling that place a school when they don’t even teach you your own history? I doubt you’ll be figuring out how to manage it on your own, but that’s what drove magi to hunt down and kill sorcerers in the past. Your kind has a talent for it that they don’t. Not that they should be throwing stones, considering what they summon for familiars, but that’s a subject for a different day.”

  Cormac’s thumps on Kimberly’s back shifted to soothing stroking up and down her spine as she slumped forward. “This is another reason you’d be better off with me as your familiar, Kimberly. That is a road I never want to see you walk, and I can help you learn more about how to use your powers instead of what the teachers at Blackhollow think your powers should be.”

  Kimberly rested her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands. Rieva tsked, pushing her seat back and rising with a lazy stretch that caused her white silk shirt to ride up and gave a brief glimpse of the slashes of scars on her pale skin.

  “Stop pressuring the girl,” Rieva said, nudging the chair back into place with her foot. She started toward the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “Do what you feel is right, Kimberly. Don’t let him—or anyone else—walk all over you. No matter what path you choose, remember, ultimately you’re the one who has to live with the consequences of those choices.”

  Kimberly couldn’t find it in herself to reply.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Though Kimberly wasn’t thrilled to have Cormac tagging along for her study date with Xander, she preferred to have him by her side. After hearing that Viper was still after her and that The Circle had a hand in killing one of her kind, she couldn’t help but feel nervous.

  One lone sorcerer against an entire coven didn’t sound like good odds. Even with a dragon protecting her, she wasn’t sure about her chances. The Circle’s power was legendary.

  How foolish she had been for thinking they might accept her into their ranks. Even if she could join them, she was no longer entirely certain that was what she wanted. Much about what she had wanted had been called into question by the things she had learned since her first meeting with Cormac Hunter.

  He moved beside her like a great prowling jungle cat, strides long, smooth, and hinting at his predacious nature. His pale blue eyes were constantly roving, taking in his surroundings, one hand pressed to the small of her back as they walked. Though she had planned to take the subway to get to Xander’s neighborhood, Cormac had insisted on taking a cab instead. Though she argued that it would no doubt cost a small fortune, he had said that he would sooner walk into The Circle to be bound by the first mage to come along than be stuck with a bunch of humans in close quarters in a stinking, sticky, moving metal tube underground.

  Considering his tone, Kimberly thought it best not to argue the point.

  Xander’s house was in Bellaire, part of Queens Village. Kimberly wasn’t familiar with the area, but between the cabbie’s cheerful banter and Cormac’s sense of direction, they found it without too much trouble.

  It turned out to be a lovely cream-colored Dutch colonial-style building with white trim and slate-colored shingled roof, punctuated by a pair of shed dormers on the second story. It immediately put Kimberly in mind of the country. The front yard was small but neatly manicured, a wrought iron fence surrounding the property and leading up to the small, gabled porch.

  Xander was hanging out on the front steps when they arrived, rising with a wave when he spotted Kimberly. His easy smile faltered when he saw Cormac. Or, rather, when he saw the fierce gleam in the dragon’s eyes.

  “Hey, hope you don’t mind I brought a friend,” Kimberly said, giving Cormac a nudge in the ribs with an elbow to give him the hint to settle down. He blinked the glow out of his eyes and frowned down at her. “Xander, I know you guys weren’t really introduced before. I’d like you to meet Cormac. Cormac, this is my study partner, Xander.”

  “Hey, no problem,” Xander said, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you. Any friend of Kimberly’s is a friend of mine.”

  Cormac cocked his head, eyes narrowing, then slowly extended his own to shake the offered hand. “Ah, yes. I remember you. Trying to drive off the wyvern with some kind of fire-based shield right in front of the museum. Foolish, but very brave. You have my thanks for keeping her safe.”

  Xander blinked. “You saw that?”

  “I imagine anybody with Sight for a good distance near the museum did that day. Not subtle, by any means, but you’ve got a powerful spark.”

  The way Xander’s chest puffed with pride had Kimberly rolling her eyes. “You’re not one to talk about subtlety, mister.”

  “Perhaps not where you’re concerned. You do seem to bring out the worst in me.”

  At Xander’s look of confusion, Kimberly coughed. “Remember the whole dragon incident?” She hooked a thumb at Cormac and gave Xander a weak grin. “Surprise.”

  His eyes bugged in shock. His mouth moved, but not a sound escaped.

  Cormac snorted, folding his arms. “I go for centuries with only a handful of people learning what I am but in a matter of days within meeting you it feels as though half the city knows.”

  “Well, if you’d stop giving off those rawr vibes and, say, not shapeshift in the middle of Central Park, for goodness’s sake…”

  “Yes, yes,” he replied testily, “but I believe I was understandably upset—”

  “Sure, fine,” Kimberly replied, just as testy, “but we don’t have time for this right now. Xander, can we get started? We’ve got a lot of ground to cover.”

  Though he was still a trifle shell-shocked, Xander nodded, swallowing hard a few times before leading them inside. He had already set out a pile of school books on the kitchen table in preparation for Kimberly’s arrival. “Mr. Cormac, I hope you don’t mind my saying, but it is so freaking awesome that you are going to be her familiar. I mean, a dragon. So cool!”

  Cormac grinned, while Kimberly muttered something darkly under her breath.

  “Would it be too much to ask to be introduced to any dragon friends you have? You know, anybody else in the market to be a familiar?”

  Kimberly glared lasers at Xander, who was utterly oblivious. He only had eyes for Cormac at that moment, who was chuckling. “I’ll be sure to tell any I meet where to find you.”

  “So. Freaking. Awesome.”

  “Yes. Awesome. Hurray. Homework?”

  Xander cleared his throat and turned his attention to the books. “Yes. Homework. Enchantments or summoning first?”

  “Enchantments. I have the feeling summoning is going to be a lost cause for me.”

  Cormac watched on with interest as the two pored over their texts together. Kimberly quizzed Xander on some of the basics but it wasn’t until she scanned his sample sketches of runic enchantments before she could pinpoint where he was having difficulty. It wasn’t a problem with the theory. He
had confused some of the ones that shared common symbols and tangled up their meanings, which naturally led to a confusion on which runes to use in which situation and a fizzled enchantment or one that ended up with far different results than he intended.

  It took some time to sort out which symbols he didn’t fully understand. With Cormac’s watchful eye on them both, Xander was clearly embarrassed and having some difficulty concentrating on his work at first. The arrival of Xander’s father’s familiar, a jet black raven that flew in through the open kitchen window to land on a perch near the table, didn’t help. The raven gave one look at Cormac before braining itself on the wall behind it in its haste to escape the room.

  The dragon picked up the limp form of the bird. He moved to the living room, leaving the two students to study in peace, lightly stroking the bird’s feathers and focusing on calming the dazed creature in his hands.

  With something to keep the dragon’s attention off of him, Xander managed to relax and made a greater effort to pay attention to what Kimberly was trying to show him in the textbooks.

  Once they found the missing basics he needed, it was a cinch to fill in the gaps. Xander was soon rattling off the proper names and uses of the runes on the pages as Kimberly pointed them out. There were also a few things he hadn’t quite grasped the theory of until Kimberly showed him an example by sketching out some of the runes herself and explaining under what circumstances she had used them.

  With a little coaching on her part, Xander was soon able to rattle off a number of his own examples of how he could use each rune. It took longer than either of them expected, but his obvious relief and newfound confidence made it all worth it to Kimberly.

  “So… summoning?”

  Kimberly shook her head, slapping the textbook in front of her shut. “I’m not going to bother. Rieva made a good point. I’ve been trying to force myself to fit into the mold the school made for me instead of learning how to hone the skills I do have. Summoning isn’t my area of expertise, now or ever. I’ve learned as much as I can about being a mage. It’s time for me to start learning how to be the sorcerer I am.”

  Xander’s brown eyes went wide. “That was you? I mean, I knew you were having some trouble but I didn’t realize…”

  “Oh, God, I forgot. Professor Reed said the school was sending letters to all the parents that there was a sorcerer at Blackhollow. You heard?”

  “Yeah, my parents freaked out and almost pulled me out of school. If it wasn’t so close to the end of the year, they might have. You sure don’t act like any sorcerer I ever heard of.”

  One brow arched sardonically. “How many do you know?”

  He chuckled. “Sorry, that did sound pretty bad. You’re the first I’ve met. How come you’re in school? I thought no sorcerers were allowed anywhere near magi.”

  Kimberly reddened, turning away. “My mom didn’t know. Heck, I didn’t know until Professor Reed took me aside after class in my first year and ran some tests. Dean Morrell had a talk with me after that, told me to do my best but to see Professor Reed if I had problems in any of the classes. I’ve been doing my best to fit in, but that’s my problem—my magic isn’t the same as a mage’s, and it’s been driving me around the bend attempting to force it. I don’t regret going to school. I learned a lot. Having my diploma will help, too.”

  “Why?”

  That gave her pause. Seeing Kimberly’s look of confusion at such a seemingly simple question, Xander tapped the schoolbook in front of him.

  “What makes you think having a piece of paper is going to make any of this worth your while? There can’t be many covens who would welcome a sorcerer, no matter where you graduate from or who writes a letter of recommendation. Especially after what happened a few months ago. I mean, all I ever heard before was how they use nothing but blood magic and black enchants.”

  Kimberly frowned at him. “It legitimizes me. It shows I play by the rules. Don’t lump me in with that one crazy guy. That’s like saying all Muslims are violent terrorist extremists or everyone from the South is an ignorant racist or all women become crazed PMS machines during their periods or something. Jeez.”

  “Don’t you?” he asked, eyes innocently wide. She laughed and gave him a sock in the arm. “Okay, okay! Sorry, I didn’t mean it. You’re right, that was a thoughtless thing to say. Doesn’t mean you won’t have trouble, though.”

  “I know. If all else fails, I’m sure Rieva or Cormac will help me find a job.”

  “Yes, I will,” Cormac said, now leaning casually against the doorframe with the raven perched on his shoulder. Its beady eyes were locked on him, raptly attentive. “Are you about done here?”

  Kimberly glanced up, giving Cormac a nod. She turned a smile on Xander. “No matter how things turn out, whether I graduate or not, we’re still friends. Let me know if you ever need a hand brushing up on enchantments.”

  He grinned. “Sure thing. Think maybe we could celebrate graduation at the Black Star?”

  Cormac shrugged at Kimberly’s questioning look, making the bird on his shoulder flap its wings and squawk in annoyance. “I don’t see why not. I’ll make arrangements.”

  Xander’s cheer made both of them laugh.

  Cormac set the bird back on its perch and everyone said their goodbyes.

  They enjoyed a few more minutes of chatting and planning the upcoming graduation party at the end of the week until the taxi Cormac called for them arrived. Xander followed them out, thanking them both profusely the whole way.

  “You’re both awesome. Kimberly, I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Mr. Cormac, thanks again so much.”

  “Save your thanks until after you’ve met Rieva. You may not think it’s such a great favor after that.”

  Kimberly decided not to add anything to Cormac’s assessment. She knew Rieva wouldn’t like having magi in her café, but she hoped between her and Cormac they could convince the changeling that Xander wasn’t a threat.

  A little ambitious and eager to meet a potential familiar, maybe, but not a threat.

  Truth be told, she was still feeling a measure of surprise with herself over admitting out loud that she wasn’t a mage and that she was ready to learn more about what she was truly capable of doing with her powers. An ember of excitement was burning, deep down, at the thought of accepting Cormac to be her teacher in the sorcerous arts.

  None of her textbooks covered sorcery. The closest she had ever come were the classes on defense against sorcery and other arts considered black magic, and those had primarily covered minor alterations on counterspells, runic spells, and enchantments she’d already learned in other classes.

  Sorcery couldn’t possibly be all bad. There was no way the source of her power had anything to do with blood magic and black enchants and dealing with demons. The rumors of sorcery having no uses but to those involving forbidden arts were wrong. She had already learned a great deal about how to cast numerous harmless spells and utilize her power for defensive reasons on the fly. To have a tutor who was knowledgeable and—more importantly—ethical in their use of her type of magic meant so much more to her than a piece of paper that might help her get a job working for other magic users who were nothing like her.

  They didn’t have licenses for magic like hers. Not really.

  If the covens wouldn’t make room for her then she would carve out a place in their world for herself and prove along the way that not all sorcerers were creatures of pure evil. With a dragon by her side, she could blaze a new trail—not just for herself, but for future sorcerers, too.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Monday arrived too quickly for Kimberly. Much to her mother’s relief, she slept in her own bed while Cormac kept watch from the living room couch, a copy of one of Kimberly’s textbooks on summoning keeping him occupied in his time alone during the—in his opinion—interminably slow creep of night hours. Monster growled at him for a good portion of those hours from the safety of the hallway.

  Heather surprised Ki
mberly by immediately agreeing to meet with Rieva to interview for a position at the Black Star. When Kimberly explained as best she could that it was a place frequented by supernatural creatures, her mother shrugged.

  “They have to eat too, don’t they?”

  And that was that. Kimberly promised to show her the way to the Black Star after Heather got home from work later that night.

  Kimberly and Cormac left before Heather, leaving her still getting ready for work as the pair made their way to Blackhollow Academy.

  The sun had only been out for an hour but it was already warming up to the point Kimberly was regretting putting on a light jacket over her t-shirt and jeans. Cormac seemed unaffected in one of his usual anachronistic getups he must have magicked up for himself; a double-breasted navy vest over a plain white long-sleeved shirt paired with charcoal trousers and oxfords polished until they gleamed. She privately thought he looked like he was ready to either walk into work in 19th century Wall Street or attend a steampunk convention.

  They made good time. Enough that Cormac convinced Kimberly to stop for a bite to eat on the way. At his urging, despite the butterflies staging an epic battle for dominance in her stomach, she choked down a muffin and coffee. He did attempt to get her to eat something more substantial, but that was the best she could do.

  Not long after they reached the Gate entrance on 77th and Columbus, Eddie the centaur joined them.

  Cormac made what he thought was a heroic effort not to scowl. Kimberly nudged him with her elbow before turning a tremulous smile on Eddie.