Residue (35 page)

It worked. I pushed myself up and over until I was propped on my hands and knees.

Tilting my head up, I found the thing that had split us apart.

A balcony pillar had come down, directly where we’d been standing, splitting in two from the impact. And somewhere on the other side was Jameson.

Unable to stand, I crawled over broken glass, burning shards of wood, and charred plants toward him. Only vaguely, I noticed the tearing of my skin, the layers of my palms peeling away and the flaps of skin scraping along the ground as my knees dragged me forward.

“
Jameson,” I shouted only to hear it come out a whisper.

Reaching the pillar, I heaved for air, summoning the strength to speak it louder. He had to be there - on the other side. He had to be breathing. He had to be alive. He had to be. He was too strong. Too resilient. And we’d gone through too much to get to this point. Against all the odds, despite our family’s wishes, we were together and our love had survived. But he didn’t know it. Because I’d never told him. That I love him. I never said the actual words. I only hinted and right now, right here that wasn’t enough. He deserved better. He deserved to know.

“
Jameson!” I screamed, this time his name carrying past the edge of my lips.

Then he was there.

His arms swung over the pillar, pulling himself up, his face crusty and blackened, his forearms bleeding from wounds down both sides.

“
Jocelyn,” he breathed, relieved.

“
Jameson,” I chocked. “I thought…I thought…”

He slid down and wrapped me in an embrace, locking me in an iron embrace that said he wouldn’t allow us to separate again.

“
I know, I thought I lost you, too,” he sighed into my hair. And then he was kissing me, his hands on my cheeks, his lips passionate and tender.

I returned it with the same vigor, my body trembling against his.

Then I pulled my lips away and, with my hands on his face, told him what I should have said a long time ago. “I love you, Jameson.”

He swallowed, his nose flaring with a deep inhale as he reacted to hearing me finally say the words. “I wondered how long it would take you…”

I laughed, my head rolling back, despite the pain it caused. As it fell forward, I gently rested my forehead on his, captivated by the weight of his hands on my hips and the feel of his arms resting against mine.

Only then did I realize that the courtyard was calm. Just the crackling of the embers could be heard.

“
Jameson?” I asked, looking up, wondering where the screams, incantations, and sizzling fireballs had gone.

We straightened but didn’t pull away, surveying the area around us. More than one pillar had fallen and they lay burning across the courtyard. Beneath them were the remnants of the balconies and railings, no more than shreds of wood now. Broken glass, pieces of what had once been classroom windows, gleamed in the flames. Branches and leaves from healthy, lush plants were now burnt and littering the ground. Everything seemed to smolder. The air, however, had cleared. There were no more fireballs or makeshift arrows. The smoke had lifted, giving way to the true damage. The courtyard and the building’s façade around it were entirely destroyed.

It was eerily silent but we weren’t alone. The faces of our families peered over the edges of what had been the balcony. They were motionless, captivated by what they were witnessing.

“
What are they looking at?” I whispered to Jameson, apprehensive that any louder voice might disrupt the peace.

He caught my eyes and smiled.

“
Us.”

21 THE TRUTH

For a brief second, I thought my cousins and the Caldwells had stopped themselves by their own free will, that they’d come to their senses, and realized there was no need to fight. But that was too much to hope for.

The destruction would have continued and someone would have been seriously injured if my mother and Ms. Veilleux hadn’t returned. They stood at the opening of the tunnel, not shocked so much as disappointed.

I felt like a child being admonished without words. And I’d been trying to stop the fight. I couldn’t imagine what my cousins and Jameson’s brothers and sisters felt like.

Cautiously, they stepped forward, through the devastation.

“
This…” said Ms. Veilleux “is more than I ever imagined.”

My mother simply shook her head.

“
We didn’t realize-” Estelle began to say but my mother languidly swept a hand through the air in her direction and Estelle’s mouth clamped down. Whether my mother had cast against her or not, I couldn’t tell but she’d done the job. Estelle remained quiet.

None of those on the upper level had moved and I began to question why until Ms. Veilleux motioned above her head and they began to drift down over the edge to land on the ground floor. She had stopped the fight, levitating and restricting them enough to prevent any further damage from taking place. Only Jameson and I were free to move about and that was probably because we weren’t causing the ruins…we were part of them.

Still, it was easy to see from the disbelief in their expressions that they had heard Jameson and me pronounce our love for each other. They never removed their gaze from us as we stood together, hand in hand.

“
You’re going to have to accept it,” Jameson said to everyone listening, including my mother and Ms. Veilleux. “I love her. Nothing’s changing that. Not my last name and not hers.”

“
It’s not just a last name,” Alison said exasperated, referring to the years of animosity, treachery, and deceit between our two families.

When Jameson didn’t answer, Burke suggested defiantly, “Maybe we should have let you go missing. Maybe we shouldn’t have tried to get you back. It might have helped you remember where you come from.” That was designed to provoke Jameson, to get him to think about what he was doing, but it didn’t work.

“
If this is the result…yes.” Jameson pinched his lips in irritation. “I understand that you want to keep me safe. I appreciate that because there might be a time when I actually need it. With Jocelyn, I don’t.”

“
Where were you the last few days?” Burke countered, insisting that Jameson remember that he’d just disappeared because of a Weatherford.

“
Outside the city, healing others.”

I noticed Jameson gave the same explanation I’d given to my mother, which was good because she and Ms. Veilleux were patiently listening to their exchange.

The Caldwells fell silent, awkwardly glancing at each other. They’d thought it was so much worse that it took them a while to absorb the truth.

“
It’s as simple as this…” said Charlotte, attempting to step forward but unable to pick up her foot. She sighed in aggravation at Ms. Veilleux for keeping her movements restrained but still wouldn’t be deterred. “The confession of your love just now was touching…I’ll give you that. But the fact is it endangers all of us if you stay together. We’ll need to watch what we say around you, keep things we do a secret. Because it’s just not safe for us…for anyone if you two stay together."

It was the most lucid argument I’d heard yet and I wasn’t the only one impressed by it, albeit for a different reason.

“
Wow,” muttered Estelle. “We actually agree on something.”

Charlotte wasn’t able to respond as my family started up.

“
Jocelyn,” said Vinnia, “you are a Weatherford. Being one comes with certain responsibilities. One of those is not falling in love with the enemy.”

“
Or even consorting with one,” added Spencer.

“
Or even looking at one…” said Nolan, and then corrected himself, “Unless you’re casting.”

“
But I did,” I stopped them gently. “And sooner or later, both families are going to realize that the other isn’t the enemy.” Scoffs rose up from both sides of the courtyard. “The reality is that the Weatherfords and the Caldwells have a lot more in common than you think.” Actual laughter followed my implausible statement. “Both families are tight knit. You would do anything for your brothers and sisters - including destroy your school in defense of them.” Although no one would concede and move their heads, their eyes did a quick scan of the destruction around them. “You both grew up with prickly housekeepers as guidance counselors because your parents were elsewhere. Those on both sides have dangerously effective casting skills. No one on either side is evil - manipulative and destructive - maybe but not evil. All of you are just trying to defend yourselves from the other. And you all dislike the idea of Jameson and me together.”

While I didn’t see any nods of agreement, their expressions told me what I needed to see.

They were recognizing, probably for the first time, that their enemies weren’t all that different. I wondered if it would matter to them, if it would help change their perspective and then Estelle gave me the answer.

“
Jocelyn,” she said, dumbfounded. “Your mother hid you in New York to protect you from these people, because she knew what they’ve done to us and what they can do to you.”

My heart sank. I was running out of ways to help them see the truth. Part of me wanted to scream it and the other wanted to give in, walk away with Jameson and handle what may come.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and my mother’s voice in my ear. “I’ll take it from here, Jocelyn.”

She’d crossed the still smoldering courtyard and now continued on to the center where she was easily visible by both families.

“
It’s well known and documented the lengths to which both the Weatherfords and the Caldwells are assumed to have gone in their deceit toward one another.”

“
Assumed
to have gone?” mumbled Oscar, confused. And I had a feeling he was speaking what everyone else was thinking.

My mother ignored his reference and continued. “What I have to say may fill in a few holes…misconceptions that still exist. Things are not always what they seem.”

There was that statement again. I’d heard it from Miss Mabelle, Miss Celia, and now my mother.

“
First, let me clarify that my decision to bring Jocelyn to the academy in New York was not to protect her from the Caldwells. They were…and still are…the least of my worries.”

This drew looks from both families, which only grew tenser as she went on.

“
The Caldwells are victims as much as we are.”

“
Victims?” Spencer scoffed.

“
Allow me to finish,” my mother said and it was not posed as a question. “My rationale for hiding Jocelyn at the academy in New York…my rationale for working at the ministry…and my rationale for not coming forward earlier are each embedded in the same reasoning…We are all in grave danger.”

Charlotte sighed loudly. “This has nothing to do with us.”

My mother aimed her gaze at Charlotte. “
We
includes you,” she replied stiffly. “The Caldwells, in fact, are in a greater position of risk because you are unaware of what is coming.”

The furrowed eyebrows and apprehensive looks now aimed at my mother told me that even if they didn’t believe her, they were listening.

“
Working at the ministry has made me privy to certain information. The feud between the Caldwells and Weatherfords is well documented. It is known even in the most remote provinces that our two families have cast against each other for generations. What is not known, what I’ve only recently learned through friends with access at levels higher than mine, is that the most egregious acts…every murder…every attempted murder…every loss of fortune…every long-term illness…these were all manufactured.”

“
Manufactured?” asked Oscar, confused.

“
They were fraudulent, designed to look as if the other family committed these crimes.” She paused to assess the expressions of those around her. Only Ms. Veilleux didn’t appear to be in shock. “We have been pitted against each other, deceived in to believing that the cause of our relatives’ deaths or financial ruin or ill health had all been delivered at the hands of the other family. When, in fact, they have not.”

Spencer shook his head slightly. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would anyone do that?”

My mother paused to pivot her head and look at Jameson and me. I thought this was a little unusual and then she answered. “To keep these two separated.”

“
Us?” I slapped my free hand to my chest and then glanced at Jameson, who was equally as astounded.

“
Everything they’ve done to our two families has been to prevent the two of you from ever meeting.”

“
Why us?” asked Jameson, still stunned.

Ms. Veilleux stepped forward then, stopping my mother from answering. “I think this news would be best understood coming from me.”

My mother hesitated but I saw her working things through in her mind. And I knew that whatever they were about to tell us would be circumspect coming from my mother, a Weatherford.

“
The Sevens have known since the first channelers that Jocelyn and Jameson would eventually be born and they’ve been told by those channelers that, together, Jocelyn and Jameson will be their downfall. So they’ve taken immeasurable steps to keep the two apart. Long before they were born, elaborate schemes were created to build mistrust and animosity between your families so there was no hope that any of you would willingly cross paths, so that no friendships could be built or even considered. They concocted ways to eliminate both families’ money in attempts to force you to relocate. Then, as infants, an abduction attempt was made on both Jameson and Jocelyn. They failed and Jocelyn’s mother secured her in upstate New York with a unit to watch over her while the Caldwells developed a unit of protection around Jameson here. The abduction was another attempt to keep Jocelyn and Jameson from ever meeting. When it was discovered that Jocelyn was no longer in the city, they suspended their efforts. But they’re aware of her return because their emissaries are aware of it. And they are currently looking for a reason the rest of our world won’t question that will legitimize the return of their forces here, where your lives will be in far greater danger than a boil hex.” Her mouth turned down on one side and she finished by looking around the ruined courtyard. “And I think you’ve just given them the reason they’ve been waiting for.”