A Little Night Magic (13 page)

“I don’t know. I didn’t think to check.” I lifted him up and looked underneath while he protested with much twittering and scrambling of little ceramic feet. “I don’t know. It just says Gibson.” I turned him back upright and he calmed down.

“Gibson,” she said. “I like that. That’s a good name.”

“I’m not naming him.” I set him down on the ground, where he clacked across the front-hall floor toward my living room, bouncing into a wall on his way. “I don’t want him. I don’t want any of this.” I swallowed hard, finally saying out loud the plan that I’d had in my head. “I’m going to find my father and have him bind my powers again. Then I’m leaving.”

Davina watched me for a moment, her eyes hard. “Oh, that’s the plan, is it?”

“Yep.” I wished I felt as confident as I was trying to sound.

“I see. And you know where your father is?”

“No.” I looked at her, feeling like a surly teen. “That’s where you come in. I was kind of hoping you might know something about that.”

“I do,” she said, and I had just enough time to work up a decent surge of hope when she said, “He’s dead.”

My heart plummeted. “You know that? For sure? How?”

“I don’t know, not for sure. But he’s been missing for ten years and I just don’t think your plan is exactly … realistic.” Davina reached out and touched my arm. “I’m sorry. I really am. I knew your father, he was a good man, and it was a great loss to the community when he died—”

I gave her a sharp look, and she changed course.

“… I mean,
went missing,
but I’m afraid for you that this determination to find him is going to bring you nothing but heartache.”

“I’ll take that chance.” And then I had a thought. “Unless I don’t need to find him. Hey.” I pointed a finger at her. “You did this to me. You can undo it. Un-whammy me.”

Davina crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a doubtful look. “Un-whammy you?”

“Yes, get out your stinky gym sock and take it back.”

“Doesn’t work that way. And what’s more, I wouldn’t do it if it did. I gave you a gift, and I don’t mind saying, I think you’re being a mite ungrateful about it.”

“Fine.” I pulled the door open again. “Then it’s back to Plan A. If not my father, then there’s got to be a grandparent or a cousin or someone out there I can find who can do this. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got things to do. So, it was nice seeing you, but…”

She stood where she was for a moment, then said, “So that’s it?”

I nodded. “That’s it.”

“You don’t even care what kind of danger people are in?”

I paused, leaning on the doorknob. “Who’s in danger?”

She hesitated, and said, “I’m not sure. But this thing with your friend and the walnuts … you said it was at night? After dark?”

“Yeah, but I could have imagined all that.” I thought about the gray smoke, the walnuts falling from the oak tree. “Okay. Maybe not.”

“It must be him,” she said quietly, a troubled look on her face. “He’s started it, then.”

I felt a shiver of unease, and I shut the door again.

“Who’s started what?”

She looked at me. “Baby, this may come as a surprise to you, but this whole thing? Is not just about you. I came to find you because I wanted to get to you before he did, and it’s a good thing I did, but now…” She bit her lip and said, “He’s doing the same thing he did in Tennessee.”

I touched her arm. “Who?”

She met my eyes. “Cain.”

“Cain?” I said. “The drunk guy from the alley? The one you knocked out with a trash-can Frisbee?”

She shook her head. “Don’t underestimate him. He’s much more dangerous than he seems. If he finds out who you are…”

I felt a shock of panic go through me. “He knows who I am,” I said. “He asked me if my father was Gabriel Ford. I said no because I didn’t know who my father was, but he obviously did.”

Davina closed her eyes, released a breath through her nose. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“I didn’t think it meant anything. It means something?”

“It means everything.” She grabbed her coffee cup out of the carrier and walked into the living room. I grabbed mine, and followed her.

“Davina, who exactly is this guy?”

She cleared off a space on the couch, sat down, then looked up at me, a grave expression on her face.

“This guy,” she said on a grim sigh, “is the man who killed your sister.”

9

“You mean … Holly?” I said.

Davina’s eyebrows raised up in surprise. “You know about her?”

“Yeah.” My chest tightened a bit, and I said, “So it was that guy, Cain? He killed her?”

Davina nodded solemnly.

“And now he’s here for me?”

“Well…” She sighed. “Yes.”

I tried to process this information, but couldn’t get anywhere with it. I knew I should be feeling something, but mostly, I was just hollow. “I don’t understand any of this. What is so special about us that people are trying to kill us?”

“It’s power, baby. Power is everything. All the killing, all the evil, all the tragedy in the world, it’s all about who’s in charge. The only thing that kept magic people marginally safe were the facts that the powers were usually fairly tame, and they couldn’t be stolen. You were either born to it, or you weren’t. As long as Magicals stayed closeted and didn’t present a threat, it was okay. But then, your father got his power and he was … different.”

I leaned forward, hungry for details. “Different how?”

“He was the first known Magical who could manifest his power by will.” She met my eye. “Do you understand what that means?”

“Nope.”

“It means that there was no limit to what he could do. Most Magicals have innocuous powers. Some can make flowers grow faster. Some can maybe make things fly, set things on fire without a match. Simple things. Harmless, mostly. But imagine someone who could decide what power they wanted, practice a bit, and make it a reality.” And here, her expression grew dark. “Imagine if there was a way for a non-Magical to force that person to will that power away.”

I felt a shiver go down my spine. “But I thought … you know … free will, and everything. I thought that was important.”

“It’s important to the people who care about what the darkness does to their soul,” she said, her voice low. “Some people care about the power more. Cain’s one of those people.”

“Okay, now … who the hell is Cain?”

“He’s a conjurer … a witch, sort of. Someone who uses natural elements and potions to create magic, but who is not magical by nature.” She gave a small, humble nod. “I’m a conjurer as well, although I really just dabble. I’m not nearly as powerful as he is.”

I took a moment to absorb this. “So, Cain found Holly and killed her?”

“I still don’t believe he intended to kill her. He’s crazy, but not homicidal. It was an accident, I believe, an unintended consequence of stealing the power from her.” She raised her eyes back to mine. “But now, see, we’ve got a problem.”

“
Now
we have a problem? Didn’t have one when he killed my sister, but
now
…?”

She nodded. “Since taking your sister’s magic, Cain has been slowly losing his grip. The transition from day to night, from no power to power, it’s taking a toll. But it’s not like he’s going to give up the power so…” She eyed me. “He’s figured out another solution.”

I thought on this a moment, then finished her thought. “Me. If he takes my day magic, he doesn’t have to deal with the transition.”

Davina nodded. “I knew he was searching, and so I searched, too, and I found you. That’s what the test was about, the gym sock? The sneezing? I had to be sure it was really you. And then, you turned out to have day magic. You’re exactly what he needs.”

“No, no, I’m not anything,” I said, standing up. “I’m going to find my father and have my powers bound and—”

Davina stood up as well. “It’s too late for that. Cain’s found you, he’s not going to let you go.” She grabbed my hands and held them in hers, nice and warm and comforting. “But there’s good news here.”

I stared at her. “Hmmm. Missing father. Dead sister. A crazed conjuring killer after me. Somehow I missed the silver lining.”

“Well, for one, he won’t try to take anything from you yet. You’re not strong enough. You would die before he could get enough juice out of you.”

I swallowed. “
That’s
the bright side?”

She smiled, her expression calm and loving, and I felt my heart rate slow down a bit.

“You can fight him. With Holly, we didn’t know what he was after, but now, we do. If you build up your magic, if you get strong enough, you can defeat him. You can take Holly’s magic back from him, and then he won’t be able to hurt anyone anymore.”

I thought on that for a moment, then said, “Yeah, I like my plan better. My plan has European goats in it.”

Davina sighed. “Your plan will take forever, if it works at all, which is unlikely. And the longer you hesitate on this, the more damage he’s going to do.”

“What do you mean?” I said. “You said he could only take me if I was strong. If I just don’t use the power, if I don’t get strong—”

“Walnuts,” she said.

“Walnuts,” I repeated, and then made the connection. “Wait.
Millie’s
walnuts?”

“Not Millie’s. Cain’s. He took her as a conduit, a non-Magical you can run your magic through, but it comes at a cost. He promises them what they want more than anything in the world, and for that they drink a potion that allows him to gain power over them at night. With every conduit he takes, and he could take quite a few, he is able to draw on their life force to stabilize and increase his own power.” She looked at me. “Do you know what it is Millie wants?”

I thought for a moment, but it didn’t take long to figure it out. “Nick. She was attacking Peach.” I rubbed my hands between my eyes, trying to ward off the headache that was forming there. “And I have them all coming over this afternoon for Confessional.”

“Well, if it’s the afternoon, during sunlight, it should be okay.”

“One of my best friends is trying to kill another one of my best friends,” I said. “It’s not okay.”

“Well, if we don’t do something, it won’t just be Millie,” Davina said. “He’ll do it to others, to gain power, to frighten you.” Davina made a disgusted sound, then looked at me, resolute. “But now, we know exactly what we’re up against. If you get strong enough, fast enough, you can fight him. And I’ll be here, to help you, all the way.”

I stood behind the easy chair, my hand over my beating heart. All I wanted was out. I wanted the power gone and my life back to what it was before. Or, whatever was left of what it was before. But if Cain was messing with Millie, how could I just stand back and let it happen?

Davina went to the coffee table, got my cup, and put it in my hands. “Drink this. Relax. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”

I took a sip of the coffee and almost melted with the decadence of it; real cream, real sugar. I took another sip, then had a thought and looked at Davina. “So … how are you involved in all of this? What’s it to you?”

Davina released a heavy sigh. “Cain and I were both conjurers. We traveled in the same circles. I had known your father, and I went to Tennessee to keep an eye on Holly. I led him right to her.” Tears came to her eyes and she blinked them away. “This is my fault. I just want to fix it.”

I stood there in silence, staring at her. My head was reeling. It was too much information, too fast, all of it floating like a bunch of puzzle pieces in my head that I was helpless to even try to put together.

“Well,” Davina said after a bit. “I have to get going.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall and straightened up. “Oh, okay.”

She put one hand on my arm. “We’ll figure this out. You finish that coffee, and have your friends over this afternoon. You’re fine for now, so try not to worry.”

“Oh, sure. No worry. No problem.” I took another sip of my coffee as I walked her to the door. Damn, it really was good. “When will I see you again? You’re coming back, right?”

She smiled. “Of course, I’ll be back. We’ll figure this out. He won’t hurt you; I won’t let him.”

She gave me a hug and left. I closed the door behind her, sipped my coffee, and decided that I should have stayed in bed.

*   *   *

I sat hunched on my couch, feet on the coffee table, empty to-go coffee cup on my lap. I was staring dazedly out my living room window that looked directly into Peach’s living room window when Stacy walked in, as usual without knocking. I heard her heavy construction boots thud through my hallway, and she plopped into the easy chair across from me.

“So, what are we serving? Do you need any help?”

I stretched my foot out and nudged the open box of Pop-Tarts her way. She nodded, grabbed a package, and ripped it open.

“Having a good day, are we?” she asked, breaking off a piece of one tart and popping it in her mouth.

I looked at her, my eyes taking a moment to focus on her, as they hadn’t focused on anything since Davina had left, some three hours before.

“No, we’re not,” I said. “My life is kind of a big mess right now.”

She sighed and set the tarts down on the coffee table. “Okay, let’s have this out. I’m sorry about Tobias. When I slept with him, I didn’t think you’d care, but then you guys started hanging out so much more—”

I raised my hand up and made a cross in the air, like a priest. “You are absolved. Tobias is officially the least of my problems right now.”

“Really?” She sat back, eyeing me with deep suspicion. “Because I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you haven’t spoken to me since the last confession.”

“I sent you an e-mail about this week,” I said.

“An e-mail is not talking.”

I looked at her, reading some atypical softness in her expression. “You’re being oddly sentimental.”

“I’d walk in front of a train before doing anything I thought would hurt you. You know that.”

I felt a surge of affection flood through me. “Yeah. I know.”

She picked up the tart again, and pulled at the wrapper. “Good.”

The doorbell rang.

“Come in!” I hollered, and a few moments later, Peach and her perfume wafted in, carrying a Tupperware container filled with what looked like big Peanut M&Ms, only pastel-colored.