The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (37 page)

They stepped inside and Jamie said, “But what’s it going to be like when we go home? It’ll just be him and Mrs. Tully. And Brinna, too, I guess.”

“I wouldn’t worry about him too much,” Evelyn said. “Mrs. Tully may seem like a hard woman, but I think she’s got a soft spot for children.”

“I think he’ll be okay,” Fred said. “He could be doing a lot worse.”

“I agree,” Rollie said. “It’s not exactly a home, but at least he’s not homeless.”

* * *

Jamie became aware in Fred’s dream-living room, lying on her deep-gold sofa with his head in her lap. “Hey,” he said, and reached up for her red curls as he always did.

“Hey yourself.” She put one hand on the side of his face and smiled gently at him.

“I like this dream already. We haven’t done this in a while. How come?”

“Well...I guess I feel kinda guilty about doing it, since Melanie and Bryce can’t...you know.”

“Don’t feel too bad for them. I’ve seen them steal a few kisses the last couple of days.”

“But they can’t really sneak off and make out. And Rollie, he doesn’t have Tanisha, but you and I have each other and all.”

Jamie took a deep breath through his nose, his ice blue eyes locked on her emerald greens. “Have you noticed that Rollie doesn’t talk about Tanisha these days? He doesn’t want to Skype her either. Whenever I offer to set him up on the laptop, he declines.”

Fred took a deep breath of her own. “I’m not sure what’s going on with them, but I think that ever since Rollie got kicked out of his house, things haven’t been so good between them. Rollie’s emerging magic has changed things for them, even though she doesn’t know about it.”

“Maybe we should get her to do the oath, so she’ll know.”

“I talked to him about it once, and he didn’t act like he wanted her to.” She patted Jamie’s face gently. “It’s too bad she doesn’t have magic. It sure makes things easier, when you’re a couple like us.”

“You know, I’ve never given it much thought, but what would I do if you weren’t around?” She wrinkled her nose at him, and he quickly added, “I mean, if we’d never met? You’ve known all along about my magic, but what if we weren’t together? I’d probably have to keep my magic a secret from whoever I dated, and that would seem like lying. You’d have to do that, too, if you were with someone else.”

“Yes, but we don’t have that problem, so don’t get too worked up about hypothetical situations.” She ran one fingertip sensually along his lower jaw. “What do you think about what Aiven said, about us being the most powerful couple? Do you think that’s true?”

“That’s a good question. I don’t know if wizards and witches date much.” He gave a short laugh. “Is that one of the boxes you check on a dating website profile? Magical power, check one...yes, no?” Her finger moved from his jaw to his lower lip, and her eyes became half-lidded.

“Fred, I’m sure every couple probably thinks this, but you know how we always say that we were meant to be together and everything?”

“Of course.” Her finger pushed his lower lip down delicately.

“Well, do you feel any different since we’ve been here on Eddan’s world, like, feel it even more so?”

“No. How could I? I feel it as strongly as humanly possible. “We — were — made — to — be — together. Period.” She tapped his lower lip with each word for emphasis. “Why?”

“Because....” He inhaled deeply and collected his thoughts. “Because ever since we got here, I’ve had this feeling, like there’s a little...something-or-other, in the back of my mind, telling me that...I don’t know how to put it. Like, not only are you and I supposed to be together, but that we’re
supposed
to be here.”

“Of course we are. How else are we going to figure out what to do about the demon?”

“No, it’s more than that. It’s like...when I see Gramma and Mrs. Tully working together and talking in the kitchen, and when Brinna talks to John Paul on Skype....” He shrugged. “Those things should be weird, but they’re not.”

“No, not at all. I get that.”

“And when Aiven showed up, it was awkward at first, but by dinnertime, it was so...normal. It felt right, like things were lining up and fitting together.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. Nothing feels out of whack, if that’s what you’re trying to say.”

He exhaled slowly while he regarded her beautiful face, only inches away from his now. “Maybe I need to talk to Gramma about it. She always says things happen for a reason.”

She looked back at him for a long, silent moment. “Are you through talking yet, Magic Boy?”

“I guess.”

“Then bring those lips a little closer. You owe me some kisses.”

* * *

The demon finally cornered the massive, black-furred beast at the narrow end of a rocky ravine. It had nowhere left to run, and it turned to face him, but instead of cowering in fear, it reared up on its stubby back legs and roared a challenge.

A challenge! The demon drew in a breath to answer with a bellow of his own, but paused and studied the magnificent animal that dared to stand its ground. It was large, far larger than any other animal the demon had encountered. It was powerfully built, with long claws on each paw and splendid teeth that showed menacingly when it snarled.

Its terrific growl was deep and resonant, almost worthy of a demon, but what he admired most about the black creature was its audacity. It was prepared to fight, and fight savagely.

In the end, the demon let it live.

Chapter 28

Jamie and his friends were having breakfast at the table when Melanie pointed toward the front windows. “They’re here! I see ’em coming up the road.” Everyone rushed out of the front door and waited on the stoop while Mrs. Tully and Aiven pulled to the edge of the yard, riding in Brinna’s carriage.

Sugar nickered a greeting, and Jamie hopped down the steps to meet them, with Fred and the others right on his heels. “So this is it, huh?” Jamie put a hand on one of the two carriage wheels. It was made of wood with a steel cap on the outer rim. The single seat and small body were also wooden, the brown varnish worn and cracking. It had a pair of rusted steel springs underneath, resting on the metal axle. An open compartment at the back reminded Jamie of the trunk of an automobile. In it sat two bulky cloth sacks and the old saddle.

The seat was covered by a thick padded cushion, upholstered in a faded red fabric. There was no top, so it was open to the elements. “Well, the wheels didn’t fall off, as I feared,” Mrs. Tully said as she climbed out with Aiven.

“If it has any problems, I might be able to fix them with my magic,” Jamie said.

She gave her head a single shake. “’Tis fine. No need to bother yourself, Master Jamie. Though I may ask Mr. Kennerly to fetch some grease for it. The wheels are most squeaky, and the springs need cleaning up.” She reached into the back for the two cloth sacks.

Jamie pointed a finger at Aiven. “You take care of it, the carriage and the horse. Mrs. Tully has enough to do as it is.” He gestured at the saddle. “Why did you bring that back?”

“In case anybody wants to ride Sugar today,” Aiven said. “And Mrs. Tully still has her old one. I saw it.”

“Hey, Aiven,” Rollie said, “how did you like staying at Mrs. Tully’s house?”

“I got my own bed! In my own room! I never slept in a bed before. Well, maybe when I was little, but I don’t remember that.”

“Where’d you sleep at your uncle’s house?”

“On the floor. My cousins slept in the bed.”

“So now you have one of your own.” Rollie clapped him on the back. “That’s cool.”

“No, it was quite warm. Mrs. Tully gave me two blankets.”

Rollie chuckled. “No, cool, as in, that’s good. When I say that’s cool, or, I’m cool, that means
good
. Got it?”

Aiven nodded. “I’m cool.” Then he grinned and everyone laughed.

They started up the steps and Mrs. Tully said, “That carriage doesn’t make it to the stable on its own.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Tully.” Aiven hopped back up in the seat and grabbed the reins. “I’ll take it for you.”

“I want to ride with you,” Fred said.

“Me too.” Melanie said, and they both climbed up and squeezed in on either side of the boy.

“Giddy up!” Fred said. “Is that how you make it go?”

Aiven looked at her with one eye squinted. “No. I use my mind to tell Sugar what to do, but if you want, give the reins a little flick so that they just touch her back. But don’t whip her with them. I hate whips.” He offered her the reins, but she didn’t take them.

“You do it.” Fred gestured regally with one hand. “Make it go.”

Aiven stared at Sugar for a moment, and the horse gave her head a little responsive shake, her pale mane flipping across her neck, then she stepped forward and the carriage began to roll. Aiven turned in his seat to look at Rollie. “Is this cool?”

Rollie held one thumb up and grinned. “Yeah. Way cool.” He and Bryce followed them as they rolled toward the side yard, leaving Mrs. Tully with Jamie and Evelyn.

They started up the steps, and Jamie took one of the heavy sacks from Mrs. Tully. She stopped and said, “Master Jamie, I am sorry that I am late this morning. I had a most devilish time getting that boy up and ready.”

“No big deal. It’s not even eight-thirty yet.” He paused on the stoop and said, “In fact, why don’t you come in later every day? Aiven’s young and needs his sleep.” He braced himself for one of her stubborn arguments, but instead she nodded.

That was easy
,
for a change
. He opened the door and they went inside.

Jamie and his friends settled into the sitting area to continue their search through the magic books. Aiven joined them, but didn’t seem interested in what he was doing. He sat on a chair near Bryce and Melanie and flipped randomly through the pages of a heavy, leather-bound tome, kicking his heels rhythmically against the chair legs.

“Dude.” Bryce reached over and put one hand on Aiven’s arm. “You’re distracting me.”

Jamie, sitting on a folding chair near the fireplace, looked over at the boy and said, “If you want to learn about magic, you have to read, not play.”

Aiven’s expression was petulant and sulky. “It’s boring. I don’t know a lot of these words.”

“I can help you,” Melanie said. “Want me to?”

He shrugged and mumbled, “I guess.”

Jamie watched him and sighed.
This is not what a ten-year-old should be doing. He should be playing
. “Do you want to go out and play with Sugar?”

“Can’t.” His lower lip protruded even more. “Mrs. Tully said I gotta stay in ’cause Mr. Kennerly is coming to work in the yard, and she doesn’t want me to bother him.”

Melanie sat up and looked out of the front window. “I think I see him now. Is he an old guy with a hat, and drives a rickety wagon?”

“That’s him.” Jamie stood and headed for the door. “I need to talk to him.”

By the time Jamie made it outside, the groundskeeper was unloading a wooden wheelbarrow from the back of his ancient wagon. Mr. Kennerly was short and wiry, bent at the shoulders, like a man who’d had a lifetime of hard work. His straw hat was wide and worn, and he wore a patched gray shirt and brown woolen pants with suspenders.

He looked up when he saw Jamie, and lifted the front edge of his hat in greeting. “Mornin’, Master Jamie.”

“Hello, Mr. Kennerly, good to see you again. Did Mrs. Tully tell you about the horse?”

“She did.” He pulled a rake and a shovel from the wagon as he spoke.

“We’ll try to keep the horse from ruining the lawn. We’ll exercise her so that she doesn’t feel the urge to run in the backyard too much.” Mr. Kennerly set the tools in the wheelbarrow without responding, so Jamie added, “That way the grass won’t get torn up, but if it does, I can get it to grow back. Instantly.” Jamie wiggled his fingers. “In fact, if you need any plants to grow quickly, like some flowers or something, I can help.”

The old man still didn’t answer. He stood there and looked at Jamie, one hand on the wheelbarrow, his weathered face unreadable.

He’s quite the conversationalist
. Jamie started to turn back toward the steps, but something in the back of the wagon caught his eye. “Mr. Kennerly, I see you have some rope there. Do you know where I could get some more?”

“I can get it for you in town.”

“Great. I need about forty feet or so. And I need one more thing. A plank, about this big.” He held his hands about two feet apart.

“I can have it for you after lunch.”

“Perfect.” Jamie dug into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out some money.

* * *

The smell of charred wood stung Jamie’s nostrils as he set his index finger near the other end of the plank. He focused his will, and a beam of energy burst from his fingertip and burned a perfectly round hole through the wood.
That ought to do it
. He looked up when he heard the back door slam, and he saw Fred walking across the yard toward him.

“What are you doing, Mr. Mysterioso?” she asked.

“I’m making a swing for Aiven.”

“You didn’t eat much of your lunch.”

“I wanted to get this done. Poor kid looks bored to death.” He grabbed the second length of rope that hung from the stout branch overhead and pulled it through the hole, just like the other that was already fastened to the plank.

“That’s clever,” Fred said when she reached him.

He looked underneath the board, twirled his finger, and the end of the rope twisted into a wide knot. “Don’t tell Gramma that I cheated and used my magic for that, but I’m not very good with knots.” He let the plank hang, and then he pushed down hard on it to test it. “Looks good. Wanna try it?”

Fred smiled, put a hand on each rope, and slid into the seat. With a girlish laugh, she pulled back, kicked her legs out, and swung forward.

“How is it?”

“Perfect. Let’s show it to Aiven.”

“I’ll go get him.”

He turned toward the house, and Fred said in mid-swing, “Just thought you might want to know. Bryce found another book with a reference to demons.”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he said over his shoulder as he hurried to the door.