The Magickers (34 page)

Trent grinned. “I hope Stefan's crystal is cleaner than his socks, or we'll be here all day cleaning.” He ducked his head as Stefan let out a growling mutter and laughter rolled through the others. He rolled his own misty crystal through his hands, closing his eyes in concentration and trying to look innocent as Gaven passed him by.

Jason cupped his. Gavan paused, and put a finger out, stroking the band of granitelike material that divided the crystal. “Ever give you trouble?”

“I don't think so. What kind of trouble?”

“When you're Focusing on it, ever go cold or feel blocked?”

Jason shook his head. “Never.”

Gavan looked searchingly into his face a moment, then commented, “Good,” before moving away. Jason looked after him, wondering. None of the Magickers had ever explained why his crystal was not meant to have been bonded. He gripped his crystal tightly, feeling its energy wash over him. Never had he felt it divided. If the band were a barrier, it had always been open, not locked. Perhaps this was one of the things he was meant to discover for himself. Or perhaps not, if he found the right question to ask.

Trent bumped him. Jason peered at his friend. “What?”

“Something wrong?”

“Nah. Just thinking.”

“You do that a lot.” Trent nodded to himself as Bailey giggled faintly and Trent looked happy to have made her do so.

Gavan took a small bag of white rocks and filled his palm, then scattered it into the tub of water in front of him, and swirled his hand around, dissolving them. “Sea salt,” he said. “About half a handful for each tub. Only one crystal at a time should soak and be washed in this, so take turns. I want you to swish the crystal about, then hold it in the water, and I want you to think it clean. Tell it to be pure and clean, if you will. Then let it sit for, oh . . . five minutes. Take it out and dry it with one of these rags laid out here, and then I want you to Focus on the aura. Let me know what you think.” He pointed at Bailey. “Come here and let's do yours, but don't Focus first.”

Trent dropped his crystal into the small tub, elbowing Jason into a short line behind him. Jason didn't mind as Henry and Danno tussled each other to fall in after Jason. After what seemed a very long time, he fished his up and moved aside, drying it off. Bailey was already holding her crystal and looking at it in dismay, the color still cloudy as she rubbed and rubbed at it.

“Hey,” said Trent. “It works.” He tossed his polishing cloth back on the table and turned his about, admiring the newly shining surfaces.

Jason swished his crystal in the cool water, smelling the very faint aroma of salt. His crystal seemed so much clearer and vibrant underwater. He waited five long minutes before fishing it out to dry.

Holding it, feeling the water-cooled mineral warm to his skin, he felt its aura build and run through him, a clean light tinted ever so faintly with a soft green. To his relief, the aura felt even stronger than before, and he pocketed it without realizing he had a big grin on his face until Jennifer smiled at him.

“It's always nice if it's done right,” she said.

Slightly embarrassed, he mumbled “Yeah,” before moving away from the table. Bailey caught his eye again. She sat in an unhappy heap at the table's end, watching Gavan closely.

As he drew near, all he could clearly hear her say was “. . . don't want another one. Can't we do something? What's wrong with it?”

Gavan put his hand on her shoulder. “Before I go on, I want to say this. We rarely stay with one crystal our whole life. They have different properties and we have different needs and abilities. We often outgrow the first and move on.”

“I don't want to move on. I'm not ready to!” Bailey looked at the Magicker with her soft brown eyes. Lacey, the packrat, poked her head out of Bailey's shirt pocket to let out a nervous chitter before diving back in, her tufted tail hanging out and twitching now and then.

“Isn't there anything we can do?”

Gavan shrugged at Jason. “Not that I can think of. The crystal is attuned to Bailey, but once we got her back here, and her well-being was assured, it should have returned to normal. Instead, it's dying out. She's not going to be able to use it as a Focus.”

Bailey rubbed at her nose.

Jason sat down next to her. “I'm sorry,” he said to her. “After it kept you safe even with the wolfjackal that followed you in, and all.”

She nodded, and looked even more miserable.

Gavan tilted his head. “What was that you said?”

“When I went in to get her, she had a wolfjackal who'd followed her in. We were only one step ahead of it when we came out. We told you . . .”

Gavan looked as if he could smack his forehead. “You did, that's right. At that moment, I didn't quite catch what you meant. I thought . . . we all thought . . . you were talking about the Ritual. That's it, then. The wolfjackal is still trapped inside, and it's poisoning the crystal.”

“You can do something?”

“If that's it, yes. But Tomaz will be best to handle it. Shall we try, Bailey?”

She nodded rapidly.

“Good. If it works, I'll have it back to you by sun-down!” Gavan tossed the crystal in the air and caught it, tucking it away in his cape. He considered her. “You shall have to tell me how you managed that. It could be a useful trick someday.”

Bailey wrinkled her nose. “I didn't mean to, but if I remember, I'll let you know.”

“Do that.” Gavan straightened then, to give his attention to the others. “Anyone have any changes to report?”

Danno said nervously, “Mine went to orange.”

“But that's excellent, Danno. An excellent aura color . . . it usually reflects joy, and an energy coming out of that.” Gavan pointed at Stefan. “How about you?”

Stefan grunted. “Nothing changed, I guess. Is this class gonna run all afternoon, or can we get a break? I'm hungry.” Even from across several tables, now, Jason could hear the boy's stomach rumble. Like Trent, he was always hungry, only Trent stayed wiry while Stefan just seemed to get broader and taller. “No change at all is better than losing the aura. Anyone else have any changes to report? Anything unusual happen?”

“I,” said Henry quickly, “got zapped.”

“Zapped?”

He nodded, his round owllike face reddened from the sun despite the bar of sunblock across his nose. “Zzzzapped.”

“Hmmm. We may have had a double ward on it for the Choosing. If so, that could be half your problem.” Gavan took out a small notebook and jotted something down. “Remind me to check it later?”

“Yes, sir.” Henry sighed.

As it turned out, most of the crystals improved, and while Gavan was checking and looking at them, Tomaz appeared. One moment the wide dirt path to the craft area seemed empty, the next moment he was there, slapping the dust from his denim jacket, his turquoise-and-silver bracelet jangling softly. Gavan did not look at all surprised as he passed him the amethyst and they conferred, their voices not carrying to the campers. Tomaz nodded once, then patted Bailey on the shoulder before returning down the path, his blue-black hair gleaming in its pulled-back ponytail.

“Almost like Gavan had called for him.”

Trent nudged Jason in the ribs. “What makes you think he didn't?”

“Hmmmm.” Before he could say anything further, the loudspeakers rang out for break, and Stefan nearly plowed them over as he headed out.

After break, they had short sessions on using the master crystal, then FireAnn came to get them for Herb Class. Bailey didn't brighten until the late afternoon session of Frisbee pitch, where sailing the cheerful plastic disk across the marked field and trying to score points for longest toss, and highest toss, and most accurate toss gave way to the joy of simply leaping around the field and catching whatever Frisbee they could.

At the fire ring, long into the night, Tomaz appeared at Bailey's elbow while she was singing, took her hand, and put her crystal in it. The purple colors, even in the dim glow of the flame, shone with all their old brilliance. Bailey gasped.

“You did it!”

He nodded. “It taught me a valuable lesson, too, one which may be of help to us all someday. I need to strengthen it a bit, though. I had a difficult time.” He chuckled then, dark eyes snapping with his laughter. “You are full of surprises, Miss Landau.”

“I bet that wolfjackal was surprised when you caught up with it!”

He inclined his head, saying nothing else, before falling back into the shadows at the edge of the bonfire's casting, and Bailey clutched her crystal tightly, throwing one arm around Ting and the other around Jennifer before returning to sing.

Jason fished out his crystal and looked at it. Had he ever looked beyond or behind that band? Was it as open as he felt . . . or could something be locked away inside, and he not know it? He held his crystal thoughtfully for a very long time before putting it away, as the fire burned down to crackling embers.

24

“
T
ALENT Show!” breathed Ting. “They finally posted it! It's been days and days since they said watch for the announcement.” Her hand eagerly tapped the camp calendar.

“Really? No kidding? When's it set for?” Bailey tried to push closer to see through the crowd of campers buzzing around the calendar.

“Saturday night. That gives us six days to finesse our rehearsing.”

Jennifer, who had no trouble seeing over both Ting's and Bailey's heads, smiled faintly. “Just like karaoke.”

Ting bounced. She tugged on Bailey's hand. “Are you ready!”

Bailey hung back a little. “Well . . . I dunno. The shower is one thing, up on stage is another. . . .”

“We'll be fine,” Jennifer said coaxingly. She tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “We might even scrounge up some matching costumes. I have things I haven't even worn yet.”

“That would be too cool,” pronounced Ting. “Let's do the Fifties.”

“But I'm not ready!” With Bailey protesting faintly, her roommates towed her away, chattering eagerly. She cast a wild-eyed look at Jason like a skittish pony, and he grinned.

Trent scratched his nose as the girls left. “Think we could do something?”

Jason looked at him, shrugging. “Maybe. It's not like we've been practicing or anything, though, and I know a few who have.”

“Yeah, but it's for the video. I want my dad to see it.”

Henry eagerly began taking notes as he turned away from the calendar, talking Danno's ear off. “Looks like Squibb has something planned.”

Trent snorted. As the two backed up to leave, they nearly bumped into Stefan and Rich. Trent eyed Stefan. “I bet you could have a puppet show,” he said to Stefan. “Those dirty socks of yours probably walk and talk all on their own.”

Stefan grunted. “Very funny.”

“I thought so.” Trent watched them boldly, relishing the knowledge they held over the two boys' heads. It had been days since they'd watched Stefan's incredible transformation, and yet they seemed to be the only ones who knew of it. Rich was getting worry lines as he desperately tried to keep the secret.

Rich stared. “We'll see who laughs last.” He folded his arms and ignored Jason and Trent, his yellow-copper hair standing in stubborn thatches.

As they left, Jason said thoughtfully to Trent, “I don't think we've seen the last of trouble from those two, and I don't think you should be teasing them like that.”

“You're no fun either.” Trent lightly punched him in the shoulder. He sprinted off, leaving Jason sputtering.

 

“No, no, no,” said Jefferson as he paced the beach. “It takes teamwork to move a canoe swiftly. Decide where you're going to go and then work with each other. Don't paddle against each other!” His voice echoed from his cupped hands as he waded through the shallow water. The canoes on Lake Wannameecha seemed determined to conduct a demolition derby, bouncing into and off of each other despite the frantic paddling of their occupants. They were all capable of canoeing with basic strokes, but Jefferson's attempt to teach them racing strategy had gone wrong . . . horribly wrong. Canoes thudded back and forth and paddles cracked against each other sharply, amidst the yells and laughter of the campers.

Water slapped and splashed everywhere as the campers squawked and warned each other and ducked, but everyone seemed to be dripping wet from head to toe and not really unhappy about it. A hot July sun blazed down. Even when a canoe tipped over, dumping everyone in it and drenching others, no one seemed unhappy. Heads bobbed up from the lake, grinning, as the unlucky canoers grabbed their boat in an attempt to push it back to shore and right it. As usual, Jason had left his fetish in the cabin for this class, knowing he'd end up soaking wet.

Jefferson waved his arms about. “What are you all doing?” he bellowed. His sunglasses hung on a cord about his neck, and he looked to be almost as wet as everyone else. He laughed.

Jason stopped, oar in midair, lake water sliding off his face, cooling him as it dripped. “Having fun?” His shirt clung to his body, and water squished in his tennis shoes, and he felt great.

The tall, dark instructor looked at all of them and finally shrugged. “Well . . . good. But try to learn to paddle while you're at it. This could be a skill you'll need one day! Swimming is later!” But he smiled widely as he yelled it out over the water. He then turned and ran for his life as a capsized canoe jumped out of the water, seemingly headed right at him. He covered the crystal on his wide bracelet and a flash dazzled the lake water a moment, catching the canoe in midair and settling it back onto the water calmly. The campers let out an ahhhhh of wonder. He grabbed an oar as it floated past.