Wish (18 page)

Pushed up against the farthest wall was a beautiful
old-fashioned bed, with old-fashioned cream lace bedding. Beside the bed rested
an oak bookshelf filled with books. I glanced around. An empty rocking chair
rocked in the middle of the room.

I turned to Nana. “Where is she?”

“Look again.”

Mom sat in the Cherry red rocker.

“I gave her a cloaking spell, but you can see through it.”

I swallowed my surprise that Nana really could perform magic
to hide my mom from my eyes. I stared at the woman in the chair. The woman I
hadn’t seen for almost a year. Her long dark hair, the hair I’d been jealous of
since I was old enough to know mine would never look that way, cascaded around
her shoulders. It had a few streaks of gray that hadn’t been there before.
Other than that she looked just as I remembered her. Beautiful. Strong.

She smiled, but it was a tentative smile. Her eyes swam with
moisture. My throat dried up looking at her. She wore a flowing floral gown,
just like the ones she always wore no matter what the current trend or how
often I teased her. Dresses I’d told her were frumpy and ugly when I was being
mean. Over the last months she’d be gone I’d longed to see her in one of those
dresses. And now, here she was with Magic curled up in her lap, watching me. My
cat purred and stared at me as intently as my mother did.

“Traitor,” I said to Magic. Tears gushed into my eyes. My mom
spoke quietly. “Magic’s been in the family a long, long time. He came to you as
a kitten so it wouldn’t frighten you. He protects the necklace and its powers.
Helps protect the witch,” she said softly.

“No, Stevie gave him to me.”

Mom nodded. “Stevie’s a Kindred. Magic chose her to come to
you. Stevie’s a good friend for you.”

Mom and I stared at each other for a moment. I wanted to yell
at her. To accuse her of abandoning me. Condemn her for lying to me. Not
telling me what was going to happen to me. Running away.

And then she lifted her arms as if to hug me. Without
thinking, I ran to her and bent down, diving into her and squeezing her tight.
Her arms folded around me and I inhaled her wonderful scent. She buried her
nose into my hair.

“It’s black,” she said, her fingers picking up strands.

I pulled away a little.

“And you have a nose piercing.”

I stiffened and pulled back further, ready to retreat from
her arms.

“Oh, Sydney. No. It’s okay. I’m not mad. You’re a teenager.
God. You haven’t had your mother around for a year. You thought I was mentally
ill. I’m surprised you don’t have purple hair. And tattoos.”

“I do have a tattoo,” I said. I stood up and backed away,
glancing down at her in her chair. “But I didn’t even get it done. It appeared
after my birthday.”

She smiled. “I know. I had one once, too. But not as powerful
as yours.”

I frowned at her but she kept talking.

“You look so different. You’re so grown up. Sixteen.” She
chuckled. “You’re stunning. Beautiful.”

It was the voice from my childhood. My Mommy, who could do no
wrong. My Mommy who could fix my owies with a kiss and a Band-Aid.

Except, I’d grown up. And she’d left me. I crossed my arms in
front of my chest.

“You’re angry with me,” she said. ”I don’t blame you.”

 “Good.” I frowned. I wanted her to make everything better.
She wasn’t doing a very good job.

“I’m sorry I left you the way I did, Sydney. I thought it
would save you from harm. I thought if I came to the Institute it would keep
the powers away. It hasn’t exactly worked out the way I planned.” She shook her
head. “We have so much to talk about. You’re a witch now. I owe you so many
explanations.” The corner of her mouth turned up. “And now, I need you to help
me.”

I glanced at Nana. My rock for the last year when Mom had
been gone. She didn’t step in or move closer to help. She kept her distance and
her lips pressed tightly together.

“You’ve got great powers,” Mom said. “The best witch yet.”
She sounded almost proud. Strange, since she hadn’t wanted me to have powers in
the first place.

“Not so great,” I countered. I stared down at my feet. “I
messed it all up with a stupid wish about a stupid boy.”

“Boys are hard,” she said softly. “That I know.”

 I looked up, quickly.

“Your dad,” she said. “You met your dad.”

“You could say that. He was in Jenny Truman’s body.” I made a
face and tried not to cry. “He came disguised as a stupid girl.”

She nodded, not dropping her eyes from mine. “I know.” She
sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m saying that a lot, aren’t I? Sorry. I should have
handled this all so differently.”

“Here’s the thing, Sydney. Your father is part of a powerful
group of rogue Sentries. The SHEILDERS. They got hold of him and haven’t let
go.” She rocked slowly in her chair, her eyes staring at the floor. Magic
purred and she stroked his fur, absently.

“At one time he was a normal man, my Sentry but with no
powers of his own. He preferred that we live without powers. He preferred me
not to use mine, and I loved him, so I didn’t.” She glanced at Nana and
laughed. “Well. Not often. Only when I really had to.”

She looked at my face and her smile disappeared. “Your dad
was a good man, once, Sydney. I want you to know that. He’s been corrupted,
tricked by the SHIELDERS. He wasn’t strong enough to withstand them. What he
does now, well it’s not really him. Not who he was.”

I frowned. “No. You’re protecting him. Everyone has choices.
He chose to betray you. He took your powers and betrayed all of us.”

She didn’t try to argue. I gave her credit for that. I hadn’t
even known the guy and I felt bad. She’d been married to him. Loved him. He’d
hurt me, but not as deeply as he’d betrayed her.

“I told you kids he’d disappeared and in a way, it’s true.
Your father, the man I loved, the man who gave life to you disappeared a long
time ago.” Mom sighed deeply. “He wasn’t strong enough to fight back. I don’t
know why. Some things we’re not meant to understand. Your dad was part mortal.
His father was a Sentry, his mother wasn’t a witch she was mortal. He wanted us
to live as mortals.” She attempted another smile but it fell flat. “I hoped you
wouldn’t have to learn about all of this until you were older. Much older.
Living your life as a normal mortal. I wanted to give you a chance to be free, Sydney.
Not burdened by magic or by the choices of other people. I didn’t want you to
feel betrayed by your father. Or me. Being a witch is not a bad thing, it’s
not, it’s a wonderful gift, but there are dangers. I wanted to protect you from
that. From him.”

“Yeah? Well, I kicked his ass.” 

      She covered her mouth with her hand, hiding a smile.

“You did fine. Great. I should have known. I asked you to
trust me, but I forgot to trust you. I was wrong. I let my own fear guide me and
didn’t trust you. You are a Grant Witch. The one hundredth in a long, long line
of witches. The last known Order of witches who still live among mortals.

      “When your father, well, when it happened, I was
crushed. I lived in fear and I tried to protect you with fear. By trying to
shield you from well, The SHEILDERS, I’ve denied you the right to make your own
choices.”

My heart ached but I couldn’t fight the anger at her either,
the feeling that she’d betrayed us by leaving.

“Cody and I needed you.”

Magic leapt from her lap then and wrapped his warm little
body around my leg. I bent to scoop him up. Mom sighed deeply and bowed her
head. “I came here because this is the only place where your dad couldn’t sense
me. Not while you didn’t have your powers. I thought I could keep your powers
from finding you and then when your birthday passed and your powers didn’t find
you, I planned to come home. I gave the jewels to someone I trusted. I didn’t
know they would end up in a Pawnshop. I didn’t know the strength, or how
determined your powers would be to find you. Or, how much your father wanted
them. I messed up. Once you got your powers, well, my location was exposed. He
knew how to find me and then he found you.”

I buried my face in Magic’s white fur trying to sympathize,
trying to believe leaving us alone was the right thing to do.

“You didn’t leave them alone,” Nana called. Both of us looked
back at her, surprised, as if we’d forgotten she’d been there. “She left you
with me, Sydney. And you know I would do anything for you and Cody. It was what
she thought was right. She did it because she loved you.”

I didn’t answer. But I remembered what I’d felt when Dad
taunted me. I was sure of her love. I was sure of that.

Mom stood up from her chair. “I need to stop apologizing. I
did what I thought was best. I thought it would keep him away. It didn’t work
and now we have to deal with the present.”

      Magic jumped from my arms and went back to my Mom. He
seemed undecided about who he wanted to comfort.

“I underestimated your father. Again.”

She smiled. “But, you handled him. You came to me,” she said.
“In a forest yet.”

“I didn’t come alone. Keith brought me.”

Her eyes darted to Nana. I watched the two of them exchange a
meaningful glance.

“I should never have put you in this position. Forced you to
save your silly mother.” She shook her head. “It’s even my fault you’re afraid
of forests to begin with. I brought you here, years ago you know, to the
Institute, to find out how to stop the powers from reaching you.”

I frowned.

“Anyways. They told me what to do, but it didn’t really work
so well.”

“They?” I asked.

Another glance with Nana was exchanged.

“Another time,” she said.

I wondered if I would ever learn all the secrets. “You were
so afraid of this place. You ran away from me in the forest and got lost. You
never did get over your fear of forests. I tried to help. I used a Forget
Spell, an old herbal spell, but my true powers are gone and I didn’t remove the
whole memory. You always remembered the fear. The forest. You hated them. You
still do.”

“You did a spell? I thought you had no magic.”

“I have residual powers, and I’ve studied Herbal Magic. Using
natural enchantment. But it’s not strong enough.”

I thought about the way she always seemed to be a step ahead
of me. “Is that why you always knew what I was doing? With magic?”

She laughed. “Not so much. Herbal magic has limitations.
That’s more being a mother.”

She glanced at Nana then. “Well. Enough. I am so sorry, Sydney.
So sorry.”

“It’s okay, Mom.” I attempted a smile, a small nod. “No one’s
perfect.”

She touched my arm lightly. “Certainly not me. Or your
father. “Thank goodness you’ve been so strong.” She beamed at me. “Did I
mention how proud I am?”

My face colored. Me? I messed everything up.

“Yay me. I’m going to be known as the freaky witch girl whose
father left the family so he could steal her mother’s powers. And came back
dressed as a girl to steal mine. Great. Go Sydney.”

She actually chuckled for a second. “Mortals aren’t meant to
know the truth. About our powers, or us. They won’t know, I promise. You’ll
always be the girl whose father went missing. You won’t have to deal with
mortals who don’t understand magic. Your magic.”

I wondered about Jenny. She didn’t exactly have a small
mouth. “Um. I don’t know. Anyhow. Like I told Nana. I didn’t do anything.
Keith’s the one who knew you were here. Not me. He brought me to find you. I
was only along for the ride.”

      “No”. She didn’t look at Nana, but took my hand. “What
did Nana tell you about Keith?”

      Nana said nothing.

“Not much. He’s my Sentry. Isn’t he?”

      My mom nodded. “Keith,” she said softly. “He’s a good
boy.” She dropped her head for a moment, contemplating her fingernails. They
looked lovely and perfect. I suddenly realized I hadn’t chewed on mine in hours.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know,” she said.

      I didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “Know what?”

      “That he was your Sentry.”

      I nodded, thinking of my friend. The way he’d come to
town, fitting in with Stevie and I from the beginning as if he belonged with
us.

      Mom smiled again. “Your necklace is the source of your
power. But only in the beginning.”

      I sighed trying to understand. “I don’t understand.”

      “Once the transfer is complete the jewels are put away
for the next Grant witch. Magic, our cat, protects the necklace and unclaimed
powers. They’ve been in the family for a long time.”

      I grabbed my necklace. “This is where I get my powers?”

      “It’s not that simple.” She peeked at Nana. “The powers
are merely stored in the necklace. Grant powers are pre-destined. We receive
them on our 16th birthday. In simpler times there was a ceremony, a
celebration. But then the burning of witches drove us to secrecy. Even the Cats
don’t know who gets what anymore. Until they are given. The mark, the tattoo
shows the powers. May I see yours?”