Mad Magic

by Nicole Conway

  “I’ll be back soon,” I promised.

  He turned away, almost as though he didn’t want me to see his face. “I’ll be waiting.”

  I stopped in the doorway of the apartment building, looking around for Joe. After all, I assumed that was the disguise Zeph would be sporting for the evening.

  Only, it wasn’t.

  Zeph stood on the curb, smoking a cigarette in a black tie tuxedo like a young James Bond. His hair was styled back, and he’d even shaved the stubble off his chin. This must have qualified as a super-special occasion if he’d bothered to shave for it. Anyway, it made him look younger, sharper, and so handsome that it caught me off guard.

  He looked like himself—not Joe.

  My heart pounded and my stomach fluttered as I lingered there to watch him for a moment. He was pacing back and forth and chain smoking like a freight train. He had a tense expression, like he was concentrating.

  “This is a pleasant surprise,” I said to get his attention as I stepped outside. My bare shoulders were hit with a blast of cold night air and I immediately regretted not grabbing my coat on my way out. “I was expecting Joe.”

  Zeph stopped pacing and turned to face me. He flicked his cigarette away, and our eyes met. Suddenly, his anxious frown vanished. His cheeks turned more and more red as he studied me.

  “That’s … uh.” He cleared his throat. “That’s a nice … I mean, you look … really good.”

  I laughed as I wobbled toward him on my high heels. “Thanks. You don’t look half bad, yourself.”

  “Sorry, that was lame. I don’t speak fashion.” He fidgeted with his bowtie nervously. It was totally adorable. “This is probably even lamer, though. I … I got you something.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Got me something? What for?”

  He shrugged as he reached into jacket pocket and took out a clear plastic box. Inside was a corsage—a beautiful purple globe amaranth with a sprig of baby’s breath.

  I knew what this meant to him. The language of the flowers was important to faeries. Each blossom had a meaning as unique as the bloom itself.

  Globe amaranths meant undying love.

  “This is what humans do, right?” he asked as he slipped the corsage onto my wrist.

  “It’s not lame,” I whispered.

  When I looked up at him again, guilt made my throat tighten and my lungs constrict. Maybe this hadn’t been important to me, but it was obviously important to him. I was being selfish. I had been so caught up in trying to save him I’d forgotten to cherish these moments. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you prom was tonight.”

  Zeph gave me that candid, roguish grin of his. “You’re sly, I’ll give you that, but you’ll have to get up pretty damn early in the morning to get one past me.”

  “That wouldn’t be very hard. You sleep late every day.” I looped my arm through his, warming my body against his side.

  “Hey, wait a minute.” He pulled away and took off his tuxedo jacket. He draped it over my shoulders, helping me into the sleeves. Suddenly, I was surrounded by his familiar warmth and smell.

  “All right, let’s go.” Zeph took my arm again and walked me to the school.

  I’d never been more thankful he had picked an apartment so close to Saint Augustine’s. The tall, black glass heels Eldrick had put on me were hard to walk in on the icy sidewalks. Zeph had to hold me up more than once to keep me from falling, but I didn’t mind the walk. It was nice to be the one being stared at when we passed other couples on the street. Zeph was right beside me, holding my hand and smiling while he cracked jokes about being the only old guy at the prom. It felt perfect. It felt right. And in that moment, my heart was full.

  To be honest, I hadn’t even thought about how he was going to be the only 20-something-year-old man at a high school prom. That was bound to get some interesting looks from my classmates, who were all expecting me to arrive with Joe. But Zeph was just a few days away from the Singing Moon now. He barely had any magic at all at his disposal, so he couldn’t maintain the ruse of being Joe for long. I knew it must have been hard enough for him to keep up his usual “human” disguise instead of slipping into his natural form.

  “I’m glad it’s you tonight instead of Joe.” I squeezed his hand tightly as we walked up the steps to the school. “I mean, I’m glad you look like you.”

  He arched a brow. “That so? You don’t like being with the popular jock type?”

  “No. I like being with you.”

  Zeph didn’t have a sarcastic retort for that. His haughty expression faded into boyish, embarrassed surprise again as he held the door open for me. Loud music thumped through the gloom of the dark school halls, and there was a big purple banner hanging over the doors that led into the gymnasium. I’d forgotten that the theme was a masquerade until some of the kids from the theatre department greeted us at the door with boxes full of hand-painted masks. They must have been working on them for weeks.

  Zeph was already getting a few stares as he tied a black and silver mask over his eyes. He was right; he was bound to be the oldest person here—well, except for the teachers. I was going to have to come up with one spectacular story to explain all this, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I was starting to have fun.

  “Hey, stop squirming around,” Zeph scolded me as he tied a purple and black mask over my eyes.

  I was nervous as we entered the gym together. Everyone was dressed up in beautiful gowns or flashy suits and wearing their painted masks. The whole room was decorated with streamers and balloons. Couples were dancing under the flashing lights that came from the DJ booth. Even more kids were hanging out in the doorways chatting, or sitting at some of the dining tables munching on snacks and drinking punch. A few bored-looking teachers serving as chaperones stood against the far wall. I was relieved to see Ms. Grear wasn’t one of them.

  “What’s with that face?” Zeph had to shout over the music so I could hear him. “You look petrified.”

  I leaned closer to him, holding onto his arm. A few of the popular girls gawked at us, whispering. They were eyeing Zeph and probably wondering why I had come with someone else—not to mention a grown man.

  “I’ve never been to a dance before,” I admitted, although it was only half-true.

  I was way more worried about getting attacked again. I hadn’t gone anywhere except school by myself since the night Fir Darrig’s spriggan nearly crushed us all. Even then, Eldrick had gone back to his old ritual of camping out in the coffee shop across the street in case anything went wrong.

  I scanned the faces of my peers for anyone who didn’t look like they belonged here—well, besides my date, that is. What if this was all just an illusion, too? What if Fir Darrig was here, somewhere, waiting to kidnap me. Or maybe he’d send one of his minions like Lumi …

  Zeph was right; I was a nervous wreck.

  Zeph put an arm around my waist and smiled. “Relax. It’s supposed to be fun.”

  “Explain to me again why you think this isn’t corny?” I curled up closer against his side.

  He was grinning like a kid in a candy store. “I dunno. Maybe it’s that primal faerie urge to cause mischief.”

  “Just don’t burn anything down, please.”

  After visiting the banquet tables stacked high with delicious food, Zeph and I sat down to eat. He had practically taken all of the spinach-stuffed croissants. He’d also snatched up three pieces of cake, and then helped himself to the chocolate fountain. I was afraid he might go back and try to stick his whole head under it. Apparently, chocolate was his second favorite thing next to honey.

  A few other kids from my class joined us. They were friendly, which I knew was only because they were eager to find out why I had come with a much older man instead of Joe. The pretty and extremely nosy girl, Anna, from our calculus class plopped down in the seat next to mine and flashed a spiteful glance in my direction. I could recognize her easily by that look, even if she wa
s wearing a mask.

  “Nice dress.” She was obviously forcing herself to be at least slightly nice.

  I pretended not to notice. “Thank you. Yours is pretty, too.”

  “So, who is this? I thought you were coming with Joe. Did you guys break up?” She cut straight to the chase. I had to give her some credit; she didn’t mince words.

  “You talkin’ about my kid brother?” Zeph’s eyes sparkled with mischief. I guess he thought this was his golden opportunity to indulge some of those primal faerie urges he had mentioned before.

  Anna blinked in surprise. “Oh. You’re Joe’s brother?”

  Zeph’s smirk was as cocky as ever. “Yep. He won’t be coming tonight, though. In fact, you’ll probably never see him again.”

  I had to turn my face away so no one noticed my panicked expression. All the kids sitting around us leaned in closer, eager to hear Zeph’s story.

  This wasn’t good.

  “What?” Anna looked genuinely upset. “Why not?”

  “Well, it’s sort of a private family matter. But hey, you’re his friends, so I’ll let you in on it.” Zeph sat back in his chair and adjusted his cufflinks proudly. I could tell by his tone that he was just getting tuned up. “My mother left the family business to him when she passed away. I guess he just couldn’t take the pressure. He ran away, leaving behind a note that said he was never coming back and that I should take over the company instead. At first, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I’m not exactly the business type. I’ve never liked living my life with that kind of responsibility hanging over my head.” He put a hand on my shoulder with an exaggerated sigh. “But then I got one look at the beautiful girlfriend he’d just abandoned … and I just knew I had to step up. She needed someone she could count on.”

  I blushed and looked down—not because I was flattered, but rather because he was telling even crazier lies than ever before. I was so mortified I wanted to dive under the table and hide. The worst part was everyone believed it! They were buying everything he was selling, and all the girls sitting around him swooned when he stroked my arm affectionately and described how he’d fallen in love with me right away and had been counseling me through a broken heart after his “little brother” ditched me. It was ridiculous.

  “That is so romantic,” one of the girls said with a dreamy sigh. “It’s like a movie or something.”

  Zeph brushed a lock of hair behind my ear with a feigned wistful smile. “Maybe she’ll never love me the same way she did him, but I just can’t give up on her. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her fall in love with me.”

  Under the table, I kicked the side of his leg as hard as I could. He squirmed and shot me a glare.

  “He’s just going to have to convince me that he’s not just some womanizing cradle-robber who only tells people what they want to hear,” I said calmly.

  Anna nodded in agreement. “He’s a little old for you.”

  She had no idea.

  “Age is just a number, sweetie.” Zeph winked at her. Now he definitely sounded like a dirty, old creep, but his good looks got him another round of dreamy sighs from his captive audience.

  He went on and on with this story, basking in the attention as usual. Even a teacher came over to see what all the fuss was about—or maybe she got concerned with why there was a grown man sitting with a bunch of high school girls. She got caught up listening to him, too. I didn’t hear any chimes, but his stories seemed to work like magic on these people. They believed anything he said, and he obviously loved every second of it.

  Watching him be a showboat was annoying, at first. I’ll admit it made me jealous seeing all those other girls, and now an adult teacher, fawning all over him. At the same time, watching him pander to a bunch of hopeless romantics was kind of funny. He never failed to drag me into the story, professing his undying adoration for me over and over. Even if it was mostly just an act, it made me blush.

  It was so subtle; I barely noticed it at first. Before I knew what was happening, I was sitting with a bunch of other kids from my school, smiling and laughing. We were talking like nothing had ever gone wrong, like I’d never been crazy. The other girls complimented my dress and hairstyle. They all wanted to know if my jewelry was real. Of course, I told them it wasn’t. People usually didn’t go to prom dripping with black diamonds—but then again, most people didn’t have faeries for roommates, either.

  We talked about normal things—about good restaurants, movies, and final exams. It was wonderful. Anna even invited me over to her house for a group study session. I couldn’t remember smiling that much since before my dad had passed away.

  I was comfortable. I was being myself. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to feel that way at school, even with Zeph or Eldrick there.

  I was so busy making new friends, I didn’t notice Zeph stand up until he put a hand on my shoulder again. “I’m gonna step outside for a minute. To grab a smoke and take a breather,” he whispered in my ear.

  “Are you okay?” I was worried something might be wrong. Was he in pain? Was he running out of magic? “Do you want me to come with you?”

  He smiled and shook his head. “Nah. Have fun, princess. I’ll be back in a few.”

  I watched him duck out one of the side doors of the gym, a cigarette already between his lips. That’s when I realized … this was all part of his master plan. I’d been suckered into it from the beginning right along with everyone else.

  All this time, I’d assumed that Zeph pretending to be Joe Noble was just a way for him to get attention and feed that desire to cause mischief. But his antics in my so-called romantic life had caused such a stir that everyone had long forgotten about my crazy outbursts. I wasn’t a pariah anymore. I had a fresh start and a chance at a normal social life again, all thanks to him.

  There was a smile on my lips I couldn’t have hidden even if I wanted to. I went back to talking, confident Zeph would come back once a few of Hank’s special cigarettes had taken the edge off. I was exchanging phone numbers with a few girls from my history class when I felt someone tap on my shoulder.

  I assumed it was Zeph.

  I turned around with a big grin still plastered on my face. “That was fast. Too cold out there for—”

  I stopped short, staring directly into the bright, brilliant green eyes of a boy I didn’t recognize. It was hard to tell much about him because of the mask that covered his face around his eyes and nose. His wavy blonde hair fell over his forehead in a beautifully casual way. “Would you like to dance?”

  I blinked. Was he talking to me? I glanced around for a girl or anyone else standing nearby he might be talking to. Nope. It was definitely me.

  “Um …” I glanced back at the other girls sitting at the table. They were all staring at me with wide, mystified eyes. Anna shrugged her shoulders slightly, indicating she didn’t know who this guy was, either.

  “I-I’m not sure,” I stammered, still glancing around for some clue as to who this guy was. Maybe he was dating someone from our class? If so, she might not be too thrilled about seeing us together like that. “Won’t your date be upset if you dance with someone else?”

  He smiled and adjusted the red silk tie of his tuxedo. “No, I’m sure it’s fine. What about you? Where’s your date?”

  My date would definitely mind if I danced with someone else, but I didn’t want to be rude. It was just one dance, right? One dance didn’t mean anything. Besides, Zeph might not be back for another half hour if he decided to have a second cigarette … or a third.

  One dance wouldn’t hurt.

  “Okay then,” I agreed. He offered his hand, and I took it.

  I watched the door as the boy led me out onto the dance floor, half hoping Zeph might suddenly appear and intervene, but he didn’t come.

  A slow, soft song was playing as the boy placed one hand on my waist. He looked straight into my eyes as we swayed together. I couldn’t help l
ooking him over. It wasn’t hard to imagine he’d be good looking under that mask. His teeth were perfect and his hair was a beautiful shade of wheat gold. He was only a little taller than I was, which made him pretty short for a guy. He was lean and his hands were soft, so he probably didn’t play sports at all.

  I wasn’t used to boys approaching me even for casual things, so my stomach was spinning. Something nagged at the back of my mind—an anxiety I didn’t quite understand. There was something about him that seemed almost … too perfect.

  “You don’t talk much. Am I making you nervous?” He chuckled.

  “N-no! I’m sorry. I was just trying to remember if I had seen you at school before.”

  “Oh,” he said. “No, I doubt it. You’re Josie Barton, right?”

  “Yes.” It was a little creepy that he already knew my name. I was starting to worry my reputation as the city’s teenage nutcase had spread to other schools. “How do you know that?”

  He shrugged lightly and sent me another smile that made his light green eyes sparkle behind his black mask. They were so beautiful it was almost enchanting. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I thought we should meet.”

  Something about him made me relax. Maybe it was his casual, soft smile, or the gentleness of his voice. He had such a meek, comfortable demeanor, and it made me feel calmer—as though I’d known him all my life.

  “My name is Raleigh,” he continued. “Although I do have a lot of other names.”

  Other names? Like nicknames?

  I studied him more closely, watching the way his gaze wandered away. His smile faded as he began observing the other couples dancing around us. There was a glint of something in his eyes—something quietly angry. It was subtle, just a fleeting spark, but I could see it.

  My hands started to get clammy and there was a dull ache in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn’t right about this. Why had he asked me to dance in the first place? And why had he waited to do it after Zeph had walked away? How had he heard about me if no one else at the school knew him?