The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (30 page)

“I want to go with you,” Fred said.

“Me too!” Melanie said eagerly.

Jamie frowned. “I thought you were going to help search through the magic books. That’s why we’re here, you know. Not for sightseeing.”

“What if we work hard all morning before we go? Then work the rest of the afternoon after we get back?” Melanie nodded. “We could easily put in eight to ten hours on the books, total. That’s a lot.”

“We’ll need a break,” Fred added.

“We may all need one.” Bryce pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Before I forget, I want to get a picture of all of us together that I can e-mail my parents.” Both Brinna and her mother stared suspiciously at the device and he said, “Uh...it’s a way of capturing images and sending them to someone else over wires...sorta.”

“Is it magic like the laptop?” Brinna asked.

“Um....” Bryce looked at Jamie.

Jamie answered for him. “It’s technology, like the laptop. It may seem like magic, but it’s not. Anyone can do it, even you.”

Chapter 22

Evelyn waited with Brinna and Mrs. Tully in the main room while the kids cleaned up the after dinner, supposedly without their help. Mrs. Tully, however, couldn’t seem to let it be, and bustled back to the kitchen. “They can do it by themselves,” Evelyn called after her, but Mrs. Tully ignored her.

Evelyn turned to Brinna and shook her head. “Why won’t she let them do it? Those kids are perfectly capable of washing the dishes on their own.”

“Ma can’t help it, Mrs. Wallace. It’s the way she is.” She smiled and said, “Thank you again for inviting me to dinner. I enjoyed it very much.”

“Thank you for coming. It was our pleasure. Your mother didn’t seem quite as uncomfortable as she did last night.”

Brinna paused as she seemed to gather her thoughts. “It’s hard for her, making this adjustment. Not just to the fact that Renn is dead, but also that you have a very different way of doing things.” She gave her head a tiny shake. “And inviting her to the table is different indeed.”

“I still can’t get her to use a real drinking glass instead of that ugly mug. Why does she do that?”

“She was never allowed to use the fine dinnerware in this house before. She was expected to use the coarser plates and such, and eat in the kitchen. It’s an old habit, that mug.” She smiled whimsically. “And she believes things should be done a certain way, like they’re done in the big houses in town. The staff never eats with members of the household.”

“Well, this isn’t one of the big houses, is it? It’s just a two bedroom cottage...a nice one, but still modest and...unpretentious.”

Brinna faced the kitchen and called, “Come on, Ma! We need to go home.” But she got no response from her mother.

“Tell me, Brinna, how come your mother doesn’t work in one of the big houses?”

“She tried to get a position at one, once, but she was turned down. You see, most of the people that own them are rich friends of Mayor Duncan, and that has no small influence on their opinion of my mother. Ma and the mayor have had their...grievances.”

“What do you mean by grievances?”

“Perhaps I should let her tell you.” Brinna folded her lips tightly together and looked away for a long moment. When she turned back, she had a troubled look in her eyes. “Mrs. Wallace, how well do you know John Paul?”

“Mmm, not as well as Carl does, but he thinks highly of him, and that’s no small thing. Carl is very strict judge of character.”

“And Carl trusts him?”

“Oh yes. With his life, I’m sure. That’s why he asked him to come when they first visited here last weekend. They were very worried about the dangers of other sorcerers. Rachel likes him, too. She’s had him over for dinner with the family a couple of times.”

“It’s just that I...oh, I don’t know.” Brinna closed her eyes briefly and sighed.

“Are you wondering if you’ve lost your mind?” Evelyn said with a gentle smile. Brinna nodded and gave Evelyn a hopeless look.

“I know it might seem like an impossible situation, Brinna, but don’t despair. You have Jamie and Fred on your side...and the rest of us, too. That is, if you like John Paul enough to try.”

“I do, Mrs. Wallace, I really do.”

“When did you know, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“The very first day. The very first moment I laid eyes on him. I felt something so strong, so...it’s hard to describe. And it grows stronger every time I talk to him. I’ve never felt like that before.”

“Not even with your first husband?”

“My first marriage was one of convenience, not love. It’s not that I disliked my husband, I just never had romantic feelings for him.”

“Then why did you marry him?”

“My mother pushed me into it after my father died. My husband was older than I, and financially secure, not rich, but he owned a house and a shop in the market. I didn’t want to become a farmer’s wife like most of my friends did, so...it was either accept his proposal or become a spinster.”

“You are far too lovely to be a spinster. I can see why John Paul is attracted to you.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you have any children?”

She shook her head and glanced toward the kitchen again. “Here comes Ma.”

Mrs. Tully rejoined them with her cloak over one arm. “Shall I light the fire in the fireplace before I go, Mrs. Wallace?”

“I’ll get Jamie to do it. Then he can use his magic.” She regarded the stern woman for a moment. “What do you do about firewood at your house?”

“My son brings me some when he can, though he’s been busy lately. I have to buy a little coal now and then to get me by, but I hate to do it, because it is expensive.” She turned to Brinna. “Are you ready to go?”

“Wait,” Evelyn said. “Let me get Jamie to walk you home.”

“”Twon’t be necessary, Mrs. Wallace. We are quite capable of walking by ourselves.”

“I insist. I would feel better, knowing that you’re safe.”

“I’ve lived here my whole life and never had a problem. We will be fine, Brinna and I.”

“I want Jamie to be able to make a doorway for you in the morning, but he can’t do it if he doesn’t know where you live.”

“I enjoy the walk, Mrs. Wallace. ’Tis good for my constitution.”

“Ma is healthy as a horse,” Brinna said, “and willful as a mule.”

“I won’t argue with you about that,” Evelyn said, mindful of the stubborn set to the dour housekeeper’s face. “Then you should take one of Fred’s pendants for protection. You never know what might happen.”

“Mrs. Wallace, I do not need —”

Evelyn held a hand up to hush her and called, “Jamie? Could you come here please?”

Jamie walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on his jeans. Evelyn said, “Can you loan your pendant to them for tonight?”

He pulled the brass cross with the slender chain over his head and slipped the counter charm bracelet from his wrist. “They’ll need another one of these.”

Mrs. Tully looked at the cheap plastic bracelet and frowned. “I’ll not wear that. I didn’t wear it last night, either.”

Brinna held out her hand. “Give it to me.”

Jamie handed her the bracelet, then the cross. “You should hold the pendant if you have the bracelet. You won’t be affected by the spell if you wear the counter charm.”

“I know. Fred explained it to me. It sounds like amazing magic.”

Mrs. Tully turned toward the front door. Evelyn said, “Wait. One more thing.” She hurried to the bedroom and returned with a small zippered plastic pouch and offered it to Mrs. Tully. “This is for you. I had Rachel buy it this morning before they came.”

Mrs. Tully took it and eyed it warily. “What is it?”

“It’s a plastic rain poncho. I was going to wait to give it to you, but earlier I noticed the clouds are building on the horizon, and my shoulder is starting to ache. I think it’s going to rain and I don’t want you to get wet in the morning.”

“I have my cloak.”

“The cloak doesn’t repel water like this does. This will keep you dry as a bone.”

Mrs. Tully stared at the package in her hand. “I...I have no money with me. I will have to repay you tomorrow.”

“It’s a gift. I want you to have it.” Evelyn took the pouch from her, unzipped it, and pulled out the bright red poncho, unfolding it to show her what it looked like.

“But...it is so...I can’t.”

Evelyn folded it back up and slipped it into the pouch. “Nonsense. You can, and you will. It’s just a little gift from me to you. Besides, it costs next to nothing. Brinna, I wish I’d gotten Rachel to buy one for you, too, but it didn’t occur to me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Ma needs it more than I do. She walks so much more.”

“Okay.” Evelyn and Jamie herded them to the front door. “Now, about tomorrow, Mrs. Tully,” Evelyn said. “It’s Sunday. Is that your day off?”

“I work every day.”

“That’s crazy. You need at least one day off a week.”

“Even Gramma doesn’t work
that
hard,” Jamie said.

Mrs. Tully looked back at them willfully, and Evelyn knew she might as well expect the sun to rise at night. She said, “Then at least come in later. I’m making pancakes and sausage for the kids’ breakfast, so twelve o’clock would be good.”

“I’ve too much to do. There won’t be enough time in the day.”

“Okay, eleven, then. We usually go to church around that time, but we can’t. Considering our unusual situation here, I’d like to at least make some respectful allowance for the Lord’s day. Do you go to church?”

“There be no church here.”

“The nearest one is in Stillshire,” Brinna said. “It is a good half a day’s ride from here.”

“Oh.” Evelyn turned back to Mrs. Tully. “Can you come at eleven o’clock?” She didn’t respond, and Evelyn ground her teeth in an effort to keep her face from showing her exasperation. “Would it help if I got the master of the house to tell you what time to come in?” She glanced at Jamie, who started to speak, but Mrs. Tully didn’t wait.

“Nine o’clock,” Mrs. Tully said. “That’s as late as I can go.”

Evelyn and Jamie walked them out, then stood on the stoop and watched them walk away into the darkness. Jamie said, “We should have given them one of the flashlights. The clouds are blocking the moon.”

“I doubt they would’ve taken it. Mrs. Tully is too stubborn.” Jamie opened the front door for her and she said, “I want you to see about getting her some firewood when you can.”

“I’ll talk to Mr. Kennerly next time he comes by.”

Later, Jamie’s friends took turns talking to their parents on the computer. Jamie went last, and his father gave him some disturbing news about the demon.

“My buddy Hank called me a while ago,” Carl said. “They decided to try a different approach to capturing
the bear
.”

“They still don’t know what it really is?”

“No. They sent some hunters out to try and sedate it, three guys with tranquilizer guns and a pack of hunting dogs.”

“How did they know where to look for it? Have there been any more hikers killed?”

“No, but they’ve found an awful lot of deer kills. The hunters went up near Spivey Gap and followed the trail for a couple of miles, and before long their dogs started barking like crazy, so the hunters let them loose, and they ran off like they were on to something.” Carl made a grim face. “The hunters heard some horrible yelping and they called for the dogs, but they never came back. The hunters got spooked after a while, and bolted to their trucks and high tailed it out of there. They refused to go back.”

Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. That’s three less people in danger. I feel bad for the dogs, though.”

“I don’t how much longer before the demon kills somebody again. They’ve closed that stretch of the trail, but you know how people are. Some idiots will ignore the warning signs and go anyway.”

“We’re working as hard as we can, going through these books, but we keep getting interrupted. There are a lot of distractions here.”

“I heard about the girls visiting Fred for the love potion. That’s kind of amusing. And that boy looking to be your apprentice, that’s a story you’ll want to tell your grandchildren.”

“But it wastes time, Dad. We’ve only got until this weekend to find the answer.”

“I know. Spring break will be over.” Carl took a deep breath. “You might have to miss the first few days of school, if you still haven’t found the right book.”

“Mom will never go for that.”

“Unless the demon starts making his way south, toward us.”

“I don’t even want to think about that.”

Carl held up a stack of one hundred dollar bills. “By the way, remember those two gold coins that I got from the closet at that house? I took them up to King’s Coin Shop. The owner said he’d seen coins like that before, many years ago.”

“Probably from Eddan. He must’ve exchanged some there so he’d have some American money to spend on Earth.”

“They’re worth a lot.” Carl shook the stack of bills for emphasis. “Three thousand, four hundred and twenty-two dollars. That’s how much I sold them for. They’re worth more than seventeen hundred dollars each.”

Jamie could only blink and stare in response.

“What do you want me to do with this?” Carl held up the stack of bills again.

“Um, save it, I guess. We can put it toward the bathroom addition for this house.”

Carl’s face drew up in a quizzical squint. “I thought you didn’t want to keep the house?”

“Well, I don’t know.” He rubbed one hand over his eyes, suddenly feeling drained. “I don’t know what to do with it. We gotta keep the books somewhere, and this is as good a place as any. And we’ve got Mrs. Tully to take care of it.” He shrugged. “But if we’re going to come back here, we definitely need a real bathroom. I’m not crazy about using the outhouse. A real indoor shower would be nice, too. When everybody showers outside, it’s a pain, because I have to guard them.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?”

“Yep, especially after what happened today with that boy.”

“Because he can feel your magic?”

“And if he can, another sorcerer can. Though I wouldn’t call that kid a sorcerer. Not yet, anyway.”

“Was it strange when he showed up?”

“God, yes.” Jamie sighed deeply. “It’s such an odd situation, being here and all, but it feels so
familiar
at the same time. Not this house, of course, because Eddan was never here before, but when I step outside, it’s just...it’s hard to describe.”