Family Magic (7 page)

“Do you think she really meant it?” I wanted
some glimmer, some hope my mother had my best interest at heart.
Sass could only shrug.

“Regardless, she’s regretting bringing it up,
now.”

“She is?” I wiped at some tears with the
corner of my quilt. “Are you sure?”

Sass rested his chin on his paws.

“Definitely. You didn’t see the look on her
face, Syd. She’s feeling terrible. To be honest, I think maybe this
was an old agreement that came back to bite her in the ass.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt a
little better, tears drying up. At least she suffered too.

“Batsheva left when your mother took over as
leader,” he said. “I always thought Miriam tried too hard with that
woman,” Sassy was never one to hide his opinions. “But it was never
enough. So, Batsheva joined Dominic’s coven in the Midwest. We
haven’t seen her since.” Obviously he thought the Moromonds should
go back to where they came from.

“So what’s all this stuff
about me marrying their son?” I would
not
say his name.

Sass sniffed. “I know your mother has tried
out of the goodness of her heart to stay in contact. I think
Batsheva must have decided when you and Quaid were babies that you
would be a perfect match for each other someday. Your mother must
have agreed to mend fences. I’m not even sure Miriam remembered it
until Batsheva brought it up.”

I had a suspicion Sass was totally making
this up just so I’d feel better. I knew it but kept quiet. Who knew
for sure? Maybe Mom didn’t remember before today, but the ringing
of the doorbell definitely brought it all back. I rolled over and
closed my eyes, taking in some deep breaths to calm myself. Sass
climbed onto my chest and curled up. I started petting him as his
rumbling purr echoed through my body.

A soft little hand slipped into mine. Before
I even knew she was there, Meira climbed up to lie beside me, her
head on my shoulder. I could tell she had been crying, her sweet
face scrunched up with anger.

“I
hate
her,” she hissed.

I slipped my free arm under her shoulders and
hugged her. Weird how it took my impending marriage for Meira to
forget she was mad at me.

“No, Meira,” I said. “It’s okay. No matter
what, I’m doing what I want to do.”

She sobbed once into my shirt. “I don’t want
you to go away!” She wailed.

“Me either,” I said. “And I don’t think it’s
going to come to that.”

She sat up and pointed accusingly at the
backpacks. I was really going to have to do something about those
before anyone else saw them.

“I’m not leaving, I promise,” I told her.

“Ever?” She snuffled.

“Meems,” I did my best big sister.

She played with my belt.

“If you go,” she whispered, “take me with
you.”

“You love the coven,” I said.

“I love you more,” she blinked her huge demon
eyes at me. “Don’t leave me here alone, Syd.”

I pulled her down beside me and hugged her
again. I happened to glance over at Sass who studied me with his
lidded cat eyes. I glared back as I spoke to Meira.

“No one is going anywhere, except, hopefully
the Moromonds.”

No luck there.

A knock on the door and Erica stepped into my
room. She tried a smile but there was too much sympathy in her
face. Less smile, more crooked grimace.

“Meeting,” she said. “Can you join us
downstairs, please?”

I sat up. Sass hopped off as Meira and I
stood. Erica opened her mouth as though she wanted to say
something. Her eyes fell on the stuffed bags and she faltered.

“It’s not what you think.” I was getting
tired of saying that. And of the hurt looks from the people I cared
about when they assumed the worst.

“I’m sure it’s not.” Erica stepped inside and
closed the door. “Syd, you know your mother loves you and would
never do anything to hurt you.”

Why did I grow up in a family where it was
impossible to insist anyone mind their own business? “Yes, Erica,”
I said.

She kissed me softly on the cheek, running
her thumb over where her lips touched. Great. Lipstick. “We all
love you.” She glanced at the bags again. “And would miss you if
you left us.”

That was Erica, the queen of subtle. Her eyes
shone with sincerity though and I knew she meant it. As much as she
liked to mother me, I guess I’d miss it if she decided to stop.

I hugged her on impulse. “Thanks,” I said.
“Mom Two.”

She giggled and pulled away. “Brat.
Downstairs. And please don’t let your mother see those.”

She left without another word.

I squared my shoulders. I refused to let this
rule me. No one could force me to do anything. If it came down to
it, I knew some people in a few other covens, so I had
alternatives. The tears dried up. The embarrassment lingered, but
I’d get over it. Who cared what they thought, anyway? Two more
years. Two more. I could do it.

I dodged into the bathroom for a second to
check my face. Just as I thought, disaster. The red blotchiness I
lived with after every bout of crying rose to the occasion. In
fact, joy of joys, it spread to my neck and upper chest as
well.

I dabbed at some mascara stains and tried to
forget about it.

Meira still waited for me. It surprised me
Sass did too. When he followed us to the top of the stairs, I had
to ask.

“Joining us?” My witchy senses vibrated. Sass
never intruded on meetings.

“Curious,” he answered cryptically. He swayed
his way down the stairs ahead of us and whisked around the corner,
tail twitching. Meira’s hand found mine. We went together.

I tried to avoid the others making their way
from the kitchen to the basement. My face felt flushed. I knew they
could see the humiliation rising from me in waves. It took all the
courage I had to go down the stairs. The weight of their judgments
pushed against me. I was in no mood to talk to anyone. I simply
took my place in the circle and waited.

Mom stood silently as I slipped in beside
her. Her fingers reached out and slid over the back of my hand. I
turned my head a little, catching her gaze. The naked grief there
erased the last of my anger. Of course my mother hadn’t tried to
sell me off. What the hell was wrong with me? I was overreacting to
everything lately. Geez, Syd, get a grip.

I held her fingers in mine, and some of the
pain eased. I squeezed her fingers.

“You owe me a batch of cookies,” I
whispered.

Her eyes widened before she leaned and kissed
my cheek.

“I owe you a lot more than that,” she
said.

Everyone gathered around, waiting on us. I
shrugged in answer and smiled at her. I spotted the Moromonds on
the other side of the altar. My stomach flipped over. I knew
without a doubt what that meant.

Mom stepped forward to confirm it.

“My friends,” she said, “my family, I am
thrilled to reunite us with Batsheva Andreas, now Moromond, who has
at last come home to the coven. We have reviewed the submission of
Dominic Moromond and, by her honor, their son, Quaid.”

The three stepped forward. I tried not to
watch, doing everything I could to avoid the smirk I knew was
plastered on Quaid’s face. Maybe he wasn’t really so hot after
all.

“It is with the greatest pleasure I offer
Batsheva her rightful place. I am also happy to grant her husband
and son entry,” Mom continued, “with my sponsorship and that of the
Hayle family.”

Minus
one
. I thought it but wanted to say it. A
fluffy tail slapped my leg. Sass glared at the newcomers, tail
thrashing. His eyes met mine, glowing with demon fire. I glanced
over at them before turning back to him but he already saw enough,
I guess. I barely caught the final flick of his tail as he
disappeared up the basement stairs.

Make that minus two.

Batsheva beamed at the crowd, meanwhile,
stepping forward. Guess who wore the pants? Nice to figure that out
early.

“We are so happy to be here,” she gushed.
“The Hayles are family and old friends. I have known many of you
since I was a child. We feel like we are being welcomed home.”

If she poured it on any thicker, no one would
be able to keep dinner down.

Guess that was just me. There were murmurs of
welcome.

Several people stepped forward to speak to
the Moromonds. Mom took her place beside me again and fixed a smile
on her face as the coven greeted their newest members.

“I don’t really have to marry him, do I?” I
whispered to her.

Mom’s lips twitched. She shook her head ever
so slightly. “Honey, can you ever forgive me? Honestly, it was so
long ago... I wasn’t even sure Batsheva remembered, and you were a
baby then.”

“Yeah, I got that from Sassy,” I told her,
keeping a smile on like her. “Do they really have to join?”

“Yes, Syd, they do.”

“Just as long as lover boy knows to keep his
hands to himself,” I told her.

She choked on a laugh. “I don’t think you
have to worry about that,” she answered. “Somehow I think he was
less enthusiastic about the whole thing than you were.”

“Like that’s possible,” I answered. A frown
followed. Hey, wait a second. He didn’t want to marry me? Jerk.
“Thanks a lot. Not good enough for him or something?”

Mom shot me a look of humored
exasperation.

“Well aren’t you the end all,” she said, eyes
sparkling.

“What?” I answered, trying not to be
offended.

“Never mind,” she said. “I love you,
Syd.”

I turned back to the action and caught Quaid
watching me again. This time, I smirked at him.

Funny, he wasn’t smiling anymore.

***

I waited until everyone left to retreat back
to my room. It was almost dark by then. I undressed, digging out my
favorite grubby pajamas, dropping my clothes on the floor out of
the habit of pissing off my mom. I knew she would glance in on me.
I heard the long sigh of suffering she would heave at the unruly
pile of clothes. I flipped open a textbook, trying to study and
sighed myself. Damn, she was good. Even in my imagination, she
could make me restless with guilt. I threw aside the book and
glared at the pink chandelier. I slouched out of bed, put the
clothes away, and went back to studying, feeling decidedly
huffy.

It didn’t take me long to concede defeat. I
sucked at chemistry. I was about to toss the book across the room
when I felt a surge of power so strong it shook the house to the
foundations.

I leapt to my feet, out my door before I knew
I moved. I took the stairs three at a time, practically flying. I
made it to the basement doorway ahead of the typically timely
Sassafras. He ran at my heels as I pounded down the steps and hit
the floor, freezing at the bottom.

My mom sat on her backside on the edge of the
pentagram, the remains of her casting strewn about her. Her clothes
smoked from the dispersed magic. The shocked look on her face would
have been funny under different circumstances.

Sprawled across from her, equally as
startled, lay two vampires. Which would have been an event in
itself if these particular vampires didn’t live in our
basement.

My Uncle Frank, forever preserved at boyishly
handsome, with his sense of humor intact, flashed my mother a grin,
showing fang.

“Morning, Miriam,” he said.

Mom shook her head as if to clear it, the
last of the smoke dissipating.

“Frank!” She said. “Are you all right?”

Uncle Frank patted his hands over his black
hair, plain white t-shirt and torn, faded jeans.

“Looks that way,” he said. “Sunny?”

Uncle Frank turned to the beautiful blonde
vampire beside him. She smiled at Mom and me, her own delicate
canines careful hidden behind plump lips. Sunny always tried to
pass for living and breathing.

“Wonderful,” she said in her vibrant voice. I
didn’t have the heart to tell her no matter how hard she tried her
voice would peg her as undead every time. Nobody sounded that good
unless they had help.

And, yes, Sunny was her real name. Most
unfortunate for a vampire, but she thought it was funny.

I crossed the pentagram, feeling a thrill of
residual power as I did. Mom was doing magic this close to sundown?
I offered her my hand, which she took with a look of gratitude.

“What happened?” I asked. I couldn’t help but
notice now the doors of Frank and Sunny’s elaborate cupboards gaped
wide open. They must have woken up, their auras colliding with
Mom’s, causing the explosion.

Uncle Frank and Sunny stood without appearing
to move. It always freaked me out, no matter how many times I saw
it.

“Miriam lost track of the time, I guess,”
Frank winked at his sister. He appeared to be about twenty-one, his
light blue eyes dancing with mischief, despite being closer to
forty.

“I’m so sorry,” Mom said. “I… I thought I had
time...” She looked at Sass who rubbed against her legs, his big
head butting her knees in sympathy.

“It’s autumn,” Sunny dismissed it. “Sunset
comes earlier now.”

“It was an accident, Miriam,” Frank said. “No
worries.”

My mother shook her head.

“Inexcusable,” she muttered. “I don’t know
where my head was. We could all have been badly hurt.”

She wasn’t kidding.
Different magic sources did not mix. The vampires didn’t
necessarily
do
magic, they
were
magic, animated by it. The reaction was strongest when they
woke. Human power butting against the newly risen undead turned
into an explosive combination, which was why Mom had to be so
careful and made sure we were, too. Had things been a little
further along with her spell, all that would be left of our house,
and us for that matter, would be nothing more than a gaping
hole.