Unruly Magic (18 page)

“Seriously?” I had a few pictures, but not many. My eyes widened in hope.

Gage was thumbing through the book then he came to a stop. “Here we are.” He spun the book around and pushed it towards me then leaned in to point. “That’s me and Annalise. I’m clearly the cute one. Our mom and dad... and these two are your parents.”

I drew the book towards me and gazed at them. It was a faded colour shot, slightly sepia with age. It had been snapped in front of Gage and Annalise’s house and there was a little splash pool out which the children were in while the adults looked on. My parents were holding hands.

“This is amazing. Our parents knew each other.”

Annalise nodded. “I remember bits but not much about your parents, more an impression of them. That was a hot summer though. I got my new pink tricycle.”

“There’s more.” Gage flipped over the page and I trailed my fingers down the sides of the cream card, careful to not touch the snaps as I drank them in. All in all, there were several pages with photos that featured my parents. One was a big party shot with my parents stood slightly to the centre. They were waving red, white and blue paper streamers. ‘Independence Day, probably,’ said Gage.

“Thank you.” I smiled at him in absolute appreciation.

“I’ll make copies of them, if you like?”

“I’d like that.” I turned the pages again and started from the beginning.

“They came here a lot. I think our family sold them the house. It’s not as old as ours, but I don’t remember them building it so it must have been here before we were born, or when we were really little,” Annalise said and Gage nodded.

“Did they, my dad’s family that is, ever come out here?” I was pretty certain my mother’s people wouldn’t because they were in England and Wilding wasn’t exactly on the tourist map.

“I don’t know. They might be in some of the old pictures but I don’t know what they looked like, so I couldn’t say for sure,” answered Gage.

“Dad didn’t keep the best notes,” added Annalise.

I’d nearly forgotten about my coffee so I swallowed it and stood up. I had only meant to drop by for a few minutes, instead I’d clocked up thirty. “I’d be really grateful if you could make me some copies. I don’t have many pictures and as I don’t really remember them, anything that comes my way is a boon.”

“I’ll ask around, in case anyone else’s family where friendly with them. They would have stood out so people should remember them if they were known.”

I saw Annalise throw Gage a sharp look. “What do you mean?’ I asked.

“Oh, just that they were out of towners,” Gage replied almost too casually. He left the book open on the table and followed me towards the door. “I’ll stop by with them in the next few days.”

“Thanks.”

“Maybe we could go out again soon?”

“Sure.” I said, not entirely sure what he was asking me but he seemed to brighten a bit. Uh-oh. Maybe he meant a date.

“Are your friends staying long?” he asked, almost hesitantly, and quietly so Annalise couldn’t hear him.

“I don’t know. They have an open invitation.”

“And Evan?”

“I don’t know that either.” I opened the door and for a moment I stood there in the threshold of the light against the grey. I knew Gage was fishing for more information and I wanted to turn and jog away, escaping so I wouldn’t have to hurt his feelings. But I couldn’t avoid him forever, and he didn’t deserve to be ignored.

“He doesn’t like Wilding much, huh?” Gage continued and I wasn’t sure if he meant it as a statement or a question.

I frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“Seems like a city guy,” Gage replied after a pause. I wasn’t sure if that was an insult.

“Oh, well, I don’t know. We’ll have to see,” I blustered.

“See you later, Stella.” Gage bent down to kiss my cheek again and I stumbled back, waving a hand like an idiot. It was only when I got across the street and passed my car, which I left where I had parked it, seeing as it seemed silly to roll it only a few feet forwards, that I noticed Evan standing on the porch, bent slightly at the waist so he could rest his hands on the freshly painted railings, watching me as I walked towards him. From there he’d have had a great view across to Gage and Annalise’s porch. I stopped by my car for a moment to scoop up the bags, steeling myself against any comments.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” I smiled. Seren’s car was back which probably meant all three were waiting inside. Evan came down the steps, kissed me long and slow, resting both hands on my hips. Drawing back, I could see the purple flash of his eyes that made my spine tingle. With one hand he took the bags, the other he slipped around me and steered me towards the house. “What took you so long?” he asked.

I didn’t look back but I was fairly certain the gesture was as proprietary as it was affectionate, and a warning to Gage who I couldn’t be sure wasn’t watching. I held back from rolling my eyes. I’d never had two men stake a claim over me before, and I wasn’t much sure that I liked it.

“Errands to run. Took longer than I thought, then I had to drop something off across the road and I stayed to have coffee.” Which was largely true even if a little bit of me was uncomfortable about missing out a large chunk. A Chyler shaped chunk. Speaking of Chyler, something had been puzzling me.

“While you were gone, we came up with a plan,” Evan was saying and I pulled my attention to him.

“I’m all ears,” I said as I shut the door behind us. “But can I use your laptop while you tell me?”

“Sure. It’s in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” I waved to the others who were hunched over a sheaf of print outs and they paused briefly to greet me before turning back to whatever they were looking at. Étoile blew me a kiss. “Part of the plan?” I asked Evan and he nodded.

The laptop was open and I sat down in front of it. “What’s up?” Evan asked, leaning over me to watch what I was doing.

“I wanted to check something out about Chyler,” I said, bringing up Google so I could do a search. Then it occurred to me there was a better way. “You know those sites you showed me, with lots of pictures of her as a cheerleader and stuff like that? Can you bring them up?”

“Sure.” Evan put both arms around me to use the keyboard and I had to resist the urge to lay my head against his chest and snuggle into him. A few taps later and he’d brought up Chyler’s high school website and opened another tab for a family page. I scrolled through the photos and just as I was about to brush off the niggling feeling, I worked out was worrying me. Chyler had such poise, an almost uncharacteristic elegance for a teenager. There was no way she was the type to sit, with her legs splayed, her back slightly hunched. It was upright, knees together, heels to slightly one side, and that was it. I sat back and frowned at the screen.

“What is it?” Evan asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know exactly.” The more I thought about it, the more fantastical it seemed but the idea was fully formed now. I wasn’t totally sure the Chyler I had been talking to was Chyler Anderson at all, but the very thought of that was completely preposterous. Wasn’t it?

“Do you have any candles?” David stepped into the room just as I saw the reflection on the screen of Evan’s mouth as he started to ask me another question.

“Oh sure. Under the sink.” I waved in its general direction. I’d picked up a cheap bunch of candles a few months ago on Annalise’s advice as she said the power sometimes went out this far out of town.

David opened the doors and rummaged around for a moment and finally came up with a little bag of tea lights. “Hmm. I think I might need something more substantial. Can I use these anyway?”

“Sure.” I clicked the red box in the corner of the browser to close the web pages and then I shut Evan’s laptop, letting my fingers rest lightly on top of it for a moment. I swivelled in my chair to look up at him curiously. “What are they doing?” I asked.

“Something witchy.” Evan sighed. “It’s all part of the big plan.”

“Why does David need candles?” I scraped back my chair and got up and Evan followed me into the living room muttering something about how I really hadn’t been taught anything. Yeah, like that was news.

“How’s that my fault?” I hissed, coming to a stop in the doorway so that he almost bumped into me. “It’s not my fault.”

Evan held his hands up then slowly brushed them down my sleeves until he could take my hands in his. He leaned into me, and murmured against my ear. “I’m sorry. I forget how little time you’ve had in our world.”

“Again, not my fault,” I whispered back, stepping forwards, braking our connection.

Evan put an arm across the doorframe to stop me from flouncing off so I stood still and waited, the heat of him at my back. “I know, but if you came back to Texas with me you’d have better access to people who could teach you.”

“I said I’d think about it, but not right now.”

“No hurry,” Evan said, withdrawing his arm barrier, but I got the impression that if he thought there actually might have been, or if I said the word, we’d be in his house the next time I opened my eyes. I let it slide, for now.

“What are you doing?” I asked looking at Étoile and Seren when I entered the living room, Evan only a pace behind me. The sisters were both sat cross legged on my floor watching David who was marking out a large circle with white grains that looked like salt. I hoped he planned on vacuuming.

“We’re going to call Chyler Anderson,” said Étoile, looking up from her pieces of paper.

“On the phone?” I asked. Moron.

“With magic,” Étoile confirmed.

“Ah. Are you sure no one’s thought of that already?”

“I did a divination spell while you were out,” said David, shaking the last grains to complete the circle. “She’s in the area. You can only do this spell in short range.”

“Oh.” Hadn’t my magic covered hers? I was starting to wonder if I should regret having done that.

“When she gets here, we can find out what’s going on,” added Seren, like I hadn’t guessed that part.

“Are you sure this is the right thing to do?” All three nodded back at me. I turned to Evan. “What about you?”

“It’s the best plan we’ve got.” Evan breathed out and his next words weren’t exactly reassuring. “It’s the only plan we’ve got.”

“Why haven’t you tracked her if she’s close by?” I put a big emphasis on the ‘if’.

“I can’t. I don’t have anything of hers to go on. I’ve never met her and I can’t sense her magic. I think something’s masking her.”

Ah. Oops. I gulped. I was the one masking her, but I’d done it to protect her from everyone else.

“How come David could do the divination spell then?” I asked, wishing there was a text book I could reach for rather than having to ask what everyone else clearly thought were dumb questions.

David took it upon himself to answer me. “It’s more general. It doesn’t give an exact location, just a rough area of where the person you’re looking for is. It works within a twenty mile radius. The good news is we were right in thinking she would look for you. I’m glad we found her first.”

“So it’s not specific... which is why you haven’t shimmered in to get her? Like you did with me?” I asked Étoile and she nodded.

David was on his hands and knees shaking more grains into the shapes of strange symbols around the outside of the circle. Seren was following him, stooping down every so often to put a small tea light in the centre of each symbol. When they completed the circle they stared down at what they had done then David nodded, apparently satisfied.

“So, what’s going to happen now?” I asked looking at the thick white lines and the swirls and shapes.

“We’ll do the spell to call Chyler and it will bring her to this circle. These symbols are protective.” David pointed to the ones that looked like spirals then to the others which looked like sand art to my untrained eye. “These other ones represent the elements – earth, wind, air and fire – and they’re part of the calling.”

“Oh.” I really, really needed a text book, and a crib sheet.

“The candles magnify the spell. Seren, I’m not sure these tea lights will be strong enough. Maybe we should get some bigger ones?” David checked his watch. “We won’t do the spell until dusk so there’s plenty of time.”

I wanted to ask why but I thought I’d probably shown myself up as an absolute neophyte quite enough today so I swallowed the question and instead said, “There’s a gift shop on Main Street that has lots of candles and things, or you could try Walmart.”

“Seren and I will go together.” Étoile had moved so fast that I hadn’t seen her come to a stop next to me. “Then David can finish looking through his spell book. See you later.” She swished out of the door, leaving Seren to gingerly close it behind her so that no draught would disturb their efforts.

After we heard the car start up, David settled himself on the sofa with a small leather bound book. It had symbols etched deeply into the creased and cracked cover.

“What’s that?” I asked.

David stopped flicking through the pages and looked up. “My family’s spell book. I’m checking to see if there is anything else I should do.”

“Can’t you just ask it?” I asked, thinking about Chyler’s book and how she seemed to communicate with it.

“It’s not voice activated, Stella.” David had taken on his teacher voice and sounded a little weary.

“Maybe Apple will make one,” I teased before I skirted around the circle and went into my room leaving him to his reading. After kicking off my shoes, I lay on my bed, looking up when Evan paused on the threshold.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I nodded. “Just tired.” I folded my hands behind my head and stared up at the ceiling making an effort to get my thoughts back to where they had been. I couldn’t help feel something was horribly wrong, not just with Chyler but with the whole situation, but just when the thought seemed close to forming into a fully formed one, it disappeared leaving me a new trail to chase. I just couldn’t add it up fast enough. Was Chyler really Chyler, or was something much more dangerous at play?