The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (3 page)

Fred stepped to the coffee table and stood beside Jamie. “Jamie, I’ve been wondering about something. Remember when we said this oath for the first time, back when we were little, in your clubhouse?”

“How could I forget that? You made me and Rollie wear dress-up clothes.”

“Anyway, I thought we made you swear not to tell anybody, especially our parents. Now we’re telling your whole family. How can that be? Do you think the oath is still working?”

“I’ve been wondering about that, too, and here’s what I think is going on. When Renn showed up here and tried to kill me, my parents found out about the magic anyway, so that part of the oath didn’t apply like it used to.”

Pete and Darla stared at Jamie with stunned looks on their faces. Darla said, “Somebody tried to kill you? And you didn’t tell us?”

“I couldn’t. But now we can tell you everything, soon as you take the oath.”

Larry stood and patted Pete on the shoulder. “Come on, Pete. I did it. Ray did it.” He gestured at the others. “We all did it. It’s not hard at all.”

Darla’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows drew down. “Is it going to hurt?”

Larry laughed. “It feels pretty good, actually.”

Fred knelt beside the coffee table and put her hand on the Bible. “Come on, Mr. and Mrs. Sikes, don’t be so chicken. Let’s get this over with, ’cause I’m getting hungry.”

Pete and Darla exchanged worried glances, but when Jamie joined Fred, they did, too.

Carl set the piece of paper in front of them so that they both could read it. Jamie smiled at his grandparents reassuringly. “It’s fine. You’ll see.”

“Okay,” Darla said with a little shrug toward Pete. “What can it hurt?” Pete and Darla put their hands on the Bible with Jamie and Fred, studied the paper before them and read aloud, “I solemnly swear in the eyes of God and my friends to never tell or reveal to anyone what I am about to see and hear tonight.” Their hands began to glow, then flared a brilliant white before fading out.

Pete jumped to his feet and stared at his hand. “What in the hell was that?”

Evelyn frowned. “Watch your language, Pete.”

He looked from Carl to Jamie, then at his hand again, as if it were something dangerous. “What was it? Was that one of your magic tricks, Jamie?”

“No sir. It was real magic.”

Pete shook his head firmly. “Don’t pull my leg. I’m too old for this.”

“Show ’em, Jamie,” Carl said. “Make the doorway.”

“Why aren’t we going to the three moon world?” Ray said. “That’ll convince ’em.”

“It’s too cold,” Jamie said. “I checked earlier. Besides, there’s no restaurant.” He stepped to an open space in the room and outlined the glowing shape of a magic doorway. Then he pushed it open, revealing a lush, tropical landscape beyond.

Pete and Darla stared at it with their mouths open and their eyes wide. Ray grabbed Pete by the elbow. “I’ll help you, Pete, ’cause I know exactly what you’re going through.”

“Who wants to be first?” Jamie said.

“I do.” Fred slipped on a pair of sunglasses and strode through the doorway to Waikiki Beach as if she owned it.

Carl sat next to his father at the table, underneath a pair of thatched umbrellas. Graceful palm trees lined the perimeter of the outdoor restaurant, and a singer with a ukulele sat in one shady corner, his music drifting over the warm, salty air. “Are you okay, Dad?”

Pete rubbed his forehead with the fingertips of one hand and stared at the table top. “Uh. I guess.” Then he looked up. “It’s just...it’s...
crazy
.”

Darla cradled her face in her hands. She was pale as if she’d just seen a ghost. “Jamie, you...you’ve been hiding this since you were eight?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Evelyn?” She looked at Jamie’s other grandmother, sitting near the end of the long table. “You didn’t know either? You practically raised this boy.”

“I didn’t know, not until this past September, though I had my suspicions. We had some strange things happen at the house from time to time.”

Pete looked at Jamie, who sat across from him. “And you have all the memories and power of some old wizard? What...what all can you do?”

“Well, I can fly, and I can —”

“Fly?” Pete’s face registered a new round of shock, his defenses overwhelmed again.

“You should see it, Pete,” Larry said. “That’s why I wish we were on the three moon world. Then he could fly around and blast stuff. It’s better than fireworks!”

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Larry loves the blasting.”

“It’s fun,” Jamie said, grinning.

“I’m sure it must be.”

“And that wizard you killed... Renn?” Darla said. “He’d been hunting you for a long time?”

“My whole life, pretty much.”

“How awful.”

Pete turned to Carl. “Did the older wizard really leave you all the money from the house after he sold it to you?”

“Yep. It was a fair chunk of change, even after taxes. That’s how I bought my new truck and Rachel got her Honda. There’s still enough left for Jamie’s college and a little bit for our retirement.”

“Can’t believe you paid taxes on that money.” Pete frowned. “Should’ve talked to me, first. I could’ve helped you find a shelter for it. I’ve got friends who know all about offshore —”

“Never mind, Dad.” Carl looked up to see the hostess walking toward them, carrying a stack of menus and leading a group of hungry-looking tourists. Fred began twirling the pendant she wore on a chain around her neck and the new customers paused, uncomfortable looks on their faces, and they turned and headed to the far side of the patio, where the hostess seated them.

“What’s that do, Fred?” Darla eyed Fred’s necklace.

“It’s a repulsion spell. When they got close to us, they suddenly decided that they
really
didn’t want to sit here.” She gave a little satisfied nod and let go of the pendant, a silver fairy. “That way we can talk and not be overheard.”

“And you’re a witch.” Darla shook her head slowly and sighed. “So strange. So very strange.”

“Why didn’t that pendant affect us?” Pete said.

Fred pointed at the woven bracelet she wore on her wrist. “Because of this. It’s a counter charm. It protects us from the spell. That’s why I made everybody wear one.”

Darla examined hers more carefully. “I wondered why you wanted us to wear these tacky plastic things. I thought it was some kind of birthday gag, like party hats or something.” She frowned. “It’s doesn’t exactly go with my other jewelry.”

“I wear mine all the time,” Jamie said.

Fred pulled hers off and held it before her. “I could put the charm in fancier bracelets, but they would cost more. I got these at the Dollar Store. Maybe if I got a raise in my allowance, I could make nicer ones.” She looked squarely at her father.

Larry grunted and said, “These are nice enough.”

Pete turned back to Jamie. “So these doorway things...you can make them anywhere...other worlds, even?”

“Yes sir. Maybe when we get back to the house, I’ll make one to the three moon world so you can see what it’s like.”

“How about the world where that old sorcerer was from? Do you ever go there?”

“I’m afraid to. A doorway sends off a pretty powerful signal to other sorcerers, and I don’t want to attract the attention of any more psychos.”

“What’s that world like?”

Jamie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Nice, I guess.”

“Was it like Earth?”

“Pretty much, I think. At least, like North Carolina. It wasn’t like Waikiki.”

Lisa raised her glass, a frozen drink with two orange slices on the rim, and grinned broadly. “Well, what is?”

* * *

Fred found Jamie in a dream that night. She conjured one of his favorite settings, the dream-meadow, where she sat on the soft grass. She made the sunlight gauzy and warm, but not hot. Wildflowers were everywhere, and a few colorful butterflies flitted from blossom to blossom, like gossipy neighbors stopping by to say hello.

Jamie materialized with his head in her lap. “Hey.” He smiled at her and reached one hand up, tangling his fingers in her red curls.

“Hey, yourself.” She smiled back at him and placed her hand gently on his forehead. “Wild night, huh?”

“Yeah.” He laughed softly. “But I thought Granddaddy Pete took it okay. So did Grannie Darla. Neither of them had a heart attack, at least.”

“So everybody who matters knows about the magic now, except for Rollie’s parents.

“I feel bad about that. They would’ve enjoyed dinner at Waikiki. I feel like we’re leaving them out more and more from our family gatherings. They should’ve been there, too.”

“Do you think we’ll ever be able to tell them?”

“I don’t see how. Rollie’s dad is so convinced that magic and Satan go hand-in-hand, he’d probably pack up and move away if we told him.”

“I don’t think Rollie’s mom is as bad. I heard her talking to my mom once about wanting to see the Harry Potter movies, but she’s worried that her husband would freak out.”

“He would.”

“I know.” They wordlessly looked into each other’s faces, and Fred’s mouth grew tight. “Jamie...today, at Rita and Cassandra’s house.” She sucked in her breath and held it briefly. “I was having a hard time. A really really hard time. I was remembering how bad it was when I was a prisoner there...all of the pain and stuff. It was nearly overwhelming.” She gave her head a tight shake.

“It didn’t show. I couldn’t tell.”

“That’s because you were mostly in the other bedroom, sifting through Rita’s mess.”

“Yuck. Don’t remind me. Are you okay now?”

“Now that we’re alone, I am.” She touched her fingertip to her lips and kissed it, then placed it on his. “It’s like...it’s like I know the bad feelings are still there, but they’re one step removed, like they’re something rancid that I put in a zippered plastic bag. I can see them, and I know they still stink, but I can’t smell them right now.”

“I know what’ll make you forget about that.” He sat up, put his arms around her neck, and pulled her face to his, kissing her gently. “How’s that.”

“I don’t know.” She looked at him slyly. “I’m pretty troubled right now. I think I need much more therapy.”

“I can take care of that.” He kissed her again and again, until she woke up in her bed and sighed happily, sunlight glowing around her curtains.

She was home, she was safe, and she was loved.

* * *

The demon slowed and stood erect when he saw the dome-shaped tent in the clearing beside the stream he’d been following. A campfire still smoldered nearby, and two pairs of hiking boots stood beside it. He inhaled deeply through his nose and there, mixed in with the smoke and the smell of evergreen trees and mountain laurel, was the scent of flesh.

It was a flesh he’d never tasted before, but with a delicious aroma — sweet, with a hint of fat. Saliva dribbled from his dagger-like teeth onto his leathery jaw, and he dropped back to all fours and crept supernaturally quiet toward the tent.

Chapter 3

Carl watched the ball bounce off of the front rim of the basketball goal in Rollie’s driveway and blew out a disgusted grunt. “Dang. All my shots are short today.”

Garrett Wilkins, Rollie’s father, grabbed the rebound and laid it up and in, then flipped the ball back to Carl. “That’s ’cause your legs are goin’. You get older, your legs aren’t what they used to be, and there goes your jump shot. No legs, no shot.”

“Yours seems to be okay.”

“I’ve been doing squats and running on my treadmill some. I’m getting ready to start playing in an adult league, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

“When do you play?”

“Sunday afternoons. There’s another league that plays on Wednesday nights, but I’ve got church then.”

Carl launched another poorly aimed shot and frowned as it missed the hoop. “You’re the only person I know who goes to church more than my mother-in-law.”

Garrett picked up the basketball and held it on his hip. “She told me once that she takes her church with her everywhere she goes.”

“That sounds like her.”

“I’m not like that. I need to be in a sanctuary, with a big, loud choir, and everybody wearing their best clothes, and a preacher with an attitude and a message. That’s church, to me.”

“Well, my mother-in-law’s got enough attitude about religion for all of us.”

Garrett stepped to the edge of his driveway and took a baseline shot. “Was that your dad’s car I saw in your driveway last night?”

“He and my mom came over for dinner to celebrate his birthday. Just a small group.” Carl neglected to tell him that the Callahans were there, hoping that Garrett wouldn’t ask.

They both looked across the street when a dark blue BMW pulled into Carl’s driveway. “That’s a nice ride,” Garrett said. “Who drives that?”

“Bryce. His dad bought it for him, but he hates it, from what Jamie tells me.”

“You’re kidding. Something wrong with it?”

“He thinks it makes him look like a rich snob. His nickname on the cross country team used to be Richie Rich, and he
really
hated that, I heard.”

“Hmm.” Garrett stared thoughtfully at the luxury car. “I wouldn’t mind it. He can give it to me, if it bothers him so much.”

“Apparently, he doesn’t want to take handouts from his dad anymore. That’s why he worked so hard at cross country this year, so he could get a scholarship. He helped push Jamie harder, too. I think he and Jamie are going running today.”

Garrett twirled the ball on his fingertip, like an orange planet spinning on its axis. “Well, we’re still hoping Rollie can get a basketball scholarship somewhere. I don’t care where, at this point, as long as it’s a decent school.” He shot a fadeaway jumper, the ball neatly swishing through the net.

Jamie jogged away from his house with Bryce, waving to his father and Mr. Wilkins, who were still shooting baskets in Rollie’s driveway.

Though it was still only February, it was warm enough to run without wearing sweat pants. They both wore long sleeve T-shirts and black shorts.

“Let’s not go too far today,” Jamie said. “I don’t want to be sore tomorrow.”

“How about five miles, then?” Bryce said.

Jamie grimaced. “But not too fast.”