“Good!” he
replied. “I’d have to be a fool to risk anything that would cause me to lose
you.”
“You’ll never lose
me.” I laughed and threw a handful of leaves in his face.
“Oh! You are on!”
he said, pouncing on me and rolling me into the leaves, getting them all stuck
in my hair.
I laughed and
squirmed as I tried to get away from him unsuccessfully.
“I give up!” I
hollered, throwing my hands in the air and surrendering in exhaustion.
“I told you I
wouldn’t let you get away.” He laughed at me, and I decided right then I needed
to win this one after all. I used my magic to scoop up a bunch of leaves and
dropped them over his head.
“Hey!” He grinned
through the shower of falling leaves. “That wasn’t fair!”
I just shrugged my
shoulders, and soon we were rolling about in a tornado of color as a magical
battle ensued.
Chapter 20
Thanksgiving
finally rolled around, and I began to help my mom with the preparations for it.
She’d invited the entire coven to come and eat with us this year.
Vance helped me
put out some seasonal decorations in our formal dining room, and together we
transformed the space.
The dining room
table was laden with a beautiful cornucopia, flanked with taper candles in
crystal holders. We finished polishing all the silver from the china cabinet,
carefully putting each one in its formal place setting. Vance carried the china
dishes over from the cupboard and helped me to set them with a fancy folded
napkin. The table glistened when we were done.
Vance went outside
with my dad to bring in some wood to build a fire in the fireplace, while I
went into the kitchen to help mom out with the rest of the food preparations.
“Mom?” I walked
over next to her, breathing in the wonderful aromas filling the air. “How come
you never let us use magic to help you out with things like cooking?”
“Cooking is an
art,” she replied with a smile. “It isn’t something that should just be thrown
together. Besides, it’s my own little type of magic around here. I need to be
valued for some reason.”
“Mom!” I laughed
and reached out to hug her. “You’re always appreciated! Don’t ever think
otherwise!” She reached out to pat me affectionately. “What can I do to help
out?”
“Well, I guess
you’re worthy enough to take on the relish tray this year,” she replied with a
grin.
“Oh! Thanks so
much, your Majesty, for bequeathing me with such a noble assignment!” I teased
her back, and she laughed at me, giving me a shake of her head.
I got out the
serving trays and the cutting board and began to cut the vegetables. The two of
us continued to visit while we finished making the last of the meal together.
The dinner ended
up being a huge success, and it was wonderful having all of our “family” there
with us. We ate until we were stuffed and, when we were done, we cleaned up and
gathered around the piano for a sing-a-long.
While several
members of the coven were certainly musically gifted, the singing got
significantly wilder as the evening progressed. I thought it was due directly
to how much wine was been consumed by the older members of the coven.
Vance and I
watched them, laughing at some of their crazy antics. He finally stood and
asked me if I’d like to take a stroll in the night air with him.
I thought that
sounded like a fabulous idea, so we got our coats on and headed out the door.
“It’s a little
nippy out here tonight,” I said, when we stepped into the courtyard.
“Don’t worry, I’ll
keep you warm.” Vance smiled and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close to
him.
I blew my heated
breath into my cupped hands and rubbed them together briskly to warm them up a
little, then shoved them deeply into my coat pockets.
We walked slowly
together down the dimly lit street, looking at the houses we passed. Many had
their windows aglow with home fires burning while other families celebrated
their holiday also.
“Today was great,”
Vance said, breaking the silence.
“You really
enjoyed it?” I’d worried if all the extra people around would make him feel
nervous.
“This is one of
the first Thanksgivings I can think of in a long time that I’ve had so much to
be thankful for. I really felt like part of a family tonight.”
“You are part of a
family,” I said. “You’re my family.”
“I know,” he
continued, trying to explain. “It’s just I’ve never been surrounded by that
many people, with that kind of warmth for an occasion like this.”
“Well, get used to
it,” I replied, smiling up at him. “I plan on spending many more celebrations
with you in my lifetime.”
He smiled back at
me and gave me squeeze.
“I’m looking
forward to that, too.”
Monday morning
returned all too soon, and it was time to go back to school once again. We
pocketed away all the wonderful memories of the weekend and prepared to buckle
down with class work once more.
Marsha had let
Vance drive her Audi that day. We’d been rewarded with our first light snow of
the winter overnight, and the roads were a bit too icy for the motorcycle. When
we arrived at the school, there were numerous kids running around outside
involved with some pretty intense snowball fights.
Vance and I
decided to bypass the front of the school to avoid the mayhem, and worked our
way around to one of the back doors to the building. We walked down the hall
together, reaching the door to Vance’s classroom first. He kissed me goodbye,
and I walked over to the science hall where my chemistry lab was.
I was surprised to
see Shelly near the doorway when I entered. She stopped next to me.
“You’ll never
win,” she said with a glare, before pushing past me and continuing on her way.
I watched her for
a second, wondering what she was up to, before I went in and sat at my assigned
table. I took off my hat and scarf, hanging them, along with my jacket, on the
back of my chair.
My lab partner was
Maggie Pratt. We usually had a fun time mixing the ingredients in our
assignments together. I’d always thought science was fun, and now that I knew
about magic, it even took on more fascination to me.
We were using
chemicals on the Bunsen burner for today’s class. Maggie already had our
protective goggles laid out, as well as masks to prevent inhalation of the
fumes. The beakers we were using were all lined up in a row, and the large
labeled bottles of chemicals were next to them.
I dug my pencil
out of my bag while Mr. Fisher passed out the handouts and gave us an
explanation of the assignment.
After roll call,
everyone buckled down to get the experiment done. Maggie and I chit chatted
over recent events and gossip going on at school while we worked.
“How do you like
the snow this morning?” she asked me.
“I always love the
snow,” I replied, waxing a little wistful. “It’s like the world becomes all
fresh, kind of clean again. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah.” She laughed.
“Except for when it all melts and everything turns filthy from the mud.”
“That’s so true,”
I said, agreeing with her.
“So, are things
any better with Shelly?”
“Not even close,”
I muttered back, with a shake of my head. “I don’t know what the deal is with
her.”
“I tried to talk
to her, to ask her about an assignment this morning,” Maggie told me. “She
wouldn’t even look at me. It was like I didn’t exist.”
“Well, don’t take
it personally. I think that’s the way she treats all of her old friends now. I
don’t know what her problem is.”
When we were done
preparing the chemicals, we fired up the burner and began to add the
ingredients.
All of a sudden,
there was a horrible explosion. The next thing I knew I was being blown across
the room. I slammed into the opposite wall hard and crumpled to the floor. I
groaned loudly, looking up just in time to see the ceiling buckle and begin to
cave in.
Instinctively, I
raised my arms over my head just as a shielding ray of power shot out from the
talisman hanging at my neck, forming a magical barrier around me. Debris rained
down hard against it.
“Portia!” Vance
yelled loudly into my mind. “Hang on! I’m coming!”
I could hear
screams filling the hall outside as a cloud of dust swept through the room,
completely blinding me.
“Maggie?” I called
out, choking on the silt-thickened air, since my mask and goggles were no
longer on my face.
I tried looking
over some of the debris piled all around me, and as the air cleared a little I
could see the entire outer wall of the classroom was blown away, exposing the
outdoors. The roof was gone completely, burying my classmates on the floor
beneath.
I shivered as the
cold air swept into the space.
“Maggie?” I called
again with a cough, before trying to climb out over the rubble.
An excruciating
pain went through my back, and I screamed out loud.
“Oh, Portia!”
Vance’s frantic voice swept through my head. “Don’t move! I’m almost there!”
I started to weep,
choosing to lie still on my stomach, waiting for him to arrive. I wasn’t
prepared for what happened next.
“No!
No
!”
Vance’s voice pelted through my brain, and suddenly he was gone. His mind had
shut like a steel trap. He was no longer there, and I knew it.
“Vance!” I
screamed with every fiber of my being, my heart flooding with true terror. Then
the intense physical crushing pain came throughout my entire body. The kind of
pain I only ever experienced when he was moving away from me. Pain like we used
to experience during the early days of our binding spell. This time, however,
was the worst I’d ever experienced, and it was crippling.
I lay on the pile
of debris and sobbed, the faint wail of several sirens beginning to fill the
air.
“Maggie?” I called
out again hoarsely. There was no sound coming from the wreckage, just the
sounds of people running through the halls, evacuating the building.
“Vance?” I called
mentally. “Where are you?”
Nothing. Not even
a hint of his presence.
“Can anyone hear
me?” I recognized Mr. Holland’s voice shouting over the din coming from the
direction of the outer wall.
“Yes,” I
whispered.
“Can you hear me?”
he shouted louder again. “Anyone?”
“Yes!” I tried to
say a little more forcefully.
“Who am I talking
to?” he shouted back.
“Portia Mullins,”
I croaked out, my mouth feeling like it was filled with layers of dirt.
“Portia, can you
see any of your classmates or teacher?”
“No. They’re under
the roof.” I started coughing, and I cried out as some more shocks of pain
radiating through my back.
“Do you know where
you are?”
“I think I’m
somewhere near the hall doorway. I hit the wall,” I said through my tears.
“Hang in there,
Portia! Help is on the way! Try to hold still, okay?”
“Hurry!” I said,
shaking violently. “It’s getting harder to breathe.”
Chapter 21
It was a long time
before I was pulled from the building. The rescuers had to secure the scene
before they could even enter. Firefighters worked hard to shore up unstable
areas of the building before any of the paramedics were allowed to come in.
Finally, one
firefighter made his way to my side, coming in from the blown-away hall door. He
edged his way down the wall carefully, over the piles of debris, and knelt down
next to me.
“Are you Portia?”
he asked gently.
I nodded.
“Portia, my name’s
David. I’m a firefighter paramedic. I’m going to ask you some questions, and I
need you to answer me with a yes or a no. I don’t want you to move your head or
body at all. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I wheezed,
and he slipped a small monitor on the end of one of my fingers.
“I’m going to
place an oxygen mask over your nose and mouth to help you breathe better now,”
he said after looking at the monitor, and he gently placed a soft plastic mask
with a bag hanging off the end if it over my face.
“This bag down
here’s an oxygen reservoir. It’s just there to help you breathe better,” he explained.
I inhaled deeply
several times, letting the cool air rush into my lungs.
“How old are you,
Portia?” David asked me while he pulled more equipment out of the large canvas
bag he’d brought with him.
“Sixteen,” I
replied through the plastic mask.
“Do you know what
day it is today?”
“Monday.”
“Good,” David said.
“Do you know where you are?”
“At the high
school,” I responded.
“Very good. Portia,
can you tell me where you hurt?”
Everywhere,
I thought. “My back,” I said out loud. “I was slammed up against the wall.”
“Do you remember
what happened?”
“I only know we
were getting ready to mix our chemicals together in the burner when there was a
horrible explosion from the front of the room. I was looking down though, and I
didn’t see anything.”
“That’s okay. I’m
going to examine you real quick now. You’ll feel my hands pressing on your body.
You need to tell me if you hurt anywhere I touch, all right?”
“Okay.” My teeth
chattered uncontrollably.
David began to run
his fingers over me. When he reached the middle of my back, I sucked in a
painful breath and cried out.
“I’m sorry,” he
said. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you okay?”
“It’s all right. I’ll
be fine.” I gritted my teeth, tears leaking from the corners of my eyes at the
white-hot pain radiating from where he’d touched.