These Lying Eyes (20 page)

“It’s magic. Some of it is making a large room inside a small room. Some of it is folding space onto itself, so when one room comes into play, others go out of play. There’s really quite a lot of calculation to it.” Grace ran her hand across the kitchen counter. “We’ll teach you.”

Mina met Max’s eyes. Sweet.

Penny stood and waved them to follow her. They walked through the house finding little hallways that turned into hidden suites of rooms. There was a ballroom the sisters used for roller-skating and racquet ball. There was a pool room on the top floor that was surrounded with fruit trees. A lush courtyard. They saw a large pond with swans and ducks, grapevines, and a little herd of pygmy goats shepherded by a gnome wearing jeans and very small Birkenstocks.

“So this is, y’know, neat and everything.” Max said as his head swiveled to watch a flock of dragons. Each was so small it could bathe inside of a tea cup. They were a rainbow of colors and swooped and darted among each other and across the tall ceiling.

Mina pointed to where two black dragons nestled together on a vine that attached to the ceiling. Clouds rolled across the sky colored ceiling, and Max lost track of his thoughts when a little orange and red one landed on his shoulder.

The little monster growled and clawed his ear. He jumped, and with a bat at his shoulder, sent the beast into flight. It snarled back at him, circled Max’s head and shot little tufts of flame at him. Grace blew and a gust of wind pushed the dragon towards a series of nests built into a thick vine that grew out of the floor.

“And?” Penny prompted, her voice sliding across the back of their necks like the foot steps of a spider.

Even though she was across the room.

“Um…” Max shrugged his shoulders. “Will it take a long time to learn how to do, y’know, spells and stuff?”

“When will I be able to light candles with my mind and fly on the back of a broom?” Mina bounced on her toes. A dragon sat on the top of her head and another nuzzled Zizi on her shoulder.

“They like you.” Grace pet the little dragon that had curled up in the spirals of Mina’s hair. “It’s said they were kept by Fire Witches for centuries. We’ll have to eventually see if we can get a flock started with you. And, as for you Max, the time it takes to learn spells varies from witch to witch and from spell to spell. But…”

“But,” Penny said, “Grace has the rare gift of helping another find and use their magic. It’ll take you far less time to touch and use your magic than normal. Still, we can’t tell you. It’ll depend on each of you. How hard you work. How easily you overcome setbacks. It’s not the same for each person.”

“You aren’t racing,” Grace said as she lifted the dragon out of Mina’s hair and pulled the small beast towards her chest.

“Course we are.” Max glanced at Mina who nodded in agreement. “We’re not even racing each other, but now that we know…”

“Who’d want to wait?” Mina finished.

Chapter 17

M
ina’s dad shook her shoulder to wake her. With a shuddering yawn, she blinked up at him looming above her. A furtive movement of her head shot towards the sprites on the top of the bookshelf. One darted out the still open door to check on Sarah. Why else would Dad be in here, but to look for Mina’s sister. But when Hitch came back, it was to motion that Sarah was across the hall.

“Whhaaa?” Mina squinted towards the clock as her dad turned on the lamp. What the freaking heck? It was nearly one a.m. and Hitch confirmed Sarah was in her bed. What? Dad’s eyes were the same color and shape of Mina’s, but they were filled with a fatherly guilt trip.

“Mina, we need to talk.” His deep voice broke the silence of the sleeping house and pulled Mina further awake. Her dad settled against one of the posts of her canopy bed jostling the covers. Mina winced. Talk? Alone with Dad? Without Sarah or Mom as a buffer? But Dad didn’t notice her horror. Her dad’s close-cut red beard and thick shock of hair was responsible for the red curls amidst Mina’s blonde hair. Dad could also be credited for the arch of her brow and the way her ear lobes were a little weird.

Every time she looked at her parents, Mina re-confirmed that she wasn’t adopted. The romance of having parents who wanted her had been a lovely dream for a while during middle school, but she’d given it up. Maybe she’d even recognized that they did want her. But even so, her dad’s broad shoulders, his trim figure, no longer added up to the strongest and best daddy a girl could imagine.

Zizi leapt to Mina’s shoulder as Mina hauled her sleep addled body against the headboard. Anxiety loomed, and she sucked in a slow breath. What parental worry compelled this stupidity?

“Is everything, ok?” She demanded when he just sat there, looking to the side.

“I’ve just gotten back from Blackfish with the grownups, Kitten,” he said.

What was she five? .

“Your mom and I are concerned about you.” He tapped her foot through her bedding. “You came up in the conversation, Hilda, Charlotte, Mike they all mentioned that you haven’t been yourself for a while. Now you’re hanging out with this boy.”

Her dad shot her a frustrated glance thrusting his hands into his hair. “You’ve been so busy, and your mom says you’ve got plans tomorrow.”

Mina held her breath and then carefully released it, trying to hide a scowl.

“Where’s Mom?” Mina masked her irritation by arranging her covers. How she hoped he was going to tell her that Mom would be along with cocoa or chamomile.

“Your Mom is… well she doesn’t want to fight with you Mina. She feels as though you two are always at odds. I thought I might have a better chance of explaining how we feel.”

Mina’s throat lost all moisture.

Obviously, Mom cared too much to be present.

Clearly.

“Ok,” she murmured, crossing her legs and reminding herself to keep her own objectives in mind. They needed to think she was doing well to continue their general lack of attention.

“I’d say I know what it’s like to be you Mina.”

Mina didn’t bother to hide her scowl.

“I’d say it, if it were true. I’d like it to be true. I know what its like to be young and—let’s call it mischievous. Only, things have been changing. This way you have of disappearing, only coming home late, never spending time with anyone we know.”

Mina stared over his shoulder. Disbelief and anger warred inside her. She wasn’t sure what he expected her to say. That she didn’t feel comfortable at home, watching them monitor her like a hawk to ensure she was eating instead of telling her that she was a witch and her magic demanded more calories. How their inability to deal with what they were made it necessary for her to hide what was happening with her; because clearly, they couldn’t be counted on to help her themselves.

He barely talked to her—now he was pretending—she didn’t know what.

To care.

A piece of Mina whispered he was trying, but he couldn’t know what it was like to be her.

It was so very insulting.

“I’m also.” He paused for long moments. “I’m not, unaware, really that your mom and I aren’t very good parents.”

Mina darted her eyes towards his face, forcing back the surge of emotions.

“To you anyway.” He amended, staring at his hands.

Holy freakin’ holies! How was she supposed to respond to that?

“You make it easy, you know. To not pay as much attention. You quietly go about your life and never ask for anything. But that can’t carry on.”

Breath rushed in and out of Mina. She needed it to go on. She needed them to be distracted. Kate and Jase traveling through Eastern Europe wasn’t going to be enough. Jase was going to have to get a random girl knocked up or something.

“Your sisters Kate and Sarah, they demand attention. Jason and Erik—well they…” He trailed off.

How could he say that her brothers were just more interesting? That he just didn’t like her as much? That the truth behind why she was the only neglected child was because he found her irritating?

“You, though, Mina—you’re a challenge. Which is why your Mom and I think maybe you should... Well not maybe,” he said, taking hold of her leg. “We have set up appointments for you with Dr. Seal again.”

Mina stopped breathing. Stopped thinking.

“So a couple weeks reprieve was enough?” Her voice was shaking. “I told you how it made me feel.”

“But it’s supposed to help you, and even your aunts and uncles see that you are struggling. Hilde said that Hailey said…”

“Dad, stop.”

He frowned at her, but he waited.

“I haven’t talked to Hailey since what happened at school, and I don’t care what she says. We haven’t been friends in three years, and her ability to have any sort of insight into my life or my heart is miniscule.”

“You’ve needed to see the doc before. Maybe we should just carry on again, for a while. You’re so thin. How can you be so stressed?”

Mina stared at him, unable to speak. Had he forgotten that
other
reason for her slenderness? The magic? Had he just said no to magic without ever realizing what it could do to his kids to have untrained, awakened abilities?

“You cause your mother and I more worry than the rest of your siblings put together.”

Was this a sick joke?

“It’ll be better this way,” he squeezed her leg again, as if by one of those fatherly caresses he could make up for what he was saying.

“Mina?” He asked, fake love filling his voice.

She shook her head, reaching out to trace her fingers around the quilt on her bed.

“I thought maybe we could all go this time. You, me, your mom. At least to some of the appointments. We can be adults about this; we can work together.”

Mina swallowed. She wasn’t an adult. She was a month from fifteen.

“Mina you’re scaring your mom. She can’t sleep for worrying. She’s cried herself to sleep every other night for the last few years because of you.”

Mina’s dad reached towards her face, but she snapped her head back. He let his arm drop; his eyes filled with hurt.

Mina ignored the rush of fury. Liar.

“She has too much to deal with, Mina, to spend all her energy worrying over you.”

Mina’s jaw clenched.

“Mina, I want you to be happy. We want you to be happy.”

What he wanted was for her to be as easy to raise as Sarah.

“I want you to be happy in high school, not that I believe that’s possible for anyone. Your mom has held Kate as she cried herself to sleep countless times.”

Mina thought of all the times she cried herself to sleep—alone.

“Your mom and I are just so concerned.” He waited, gazing at her like he was trying to peer into her mind.

The moment lingered on until Mina decided to end it.

“Over what?” She asked playing with the stitching on her quilt.

“We’re concerned about this boy.” Her dad looked down at his lap. “We’re just not comfortable with your friendship with him.”

Rage flooded her. He was concerned about Max? Her only friend? The only person who believed her.

“Max!” His name burst from her mouth. Her eyes were held to her dad’s face as if by magnets. Sarah’s door opened; her sister stood in the hall way as ghostly as a wraith in her white night gown.

“Max.” Her father repeated, looking into her face and placed his hand under her jaw.

She barely stopped herself from growling in sheer fury.

“Mina it’s just going so fast.” He let go of her chin.

“What?” Confusion infused her words. Nothing was going fast. Her dad only met Max again today. And even then, it was only for a minute. She closed her eyes; she didn’t want to see her dad’s stupid lying face. Mina combed her hair with her fingers and tried counting to ten. She couldn’t even get to one.

“Mina.” He paused. “Mina, it’s just that you have been so alone. It’s been so long since you and Hailey have been friendly, and you haven’t had boyfriends since that little freckled boy in grade school. You’re too young for a boyfriend. And the doc can help you identify your feelings and your needs, so that you don’t get taken advantage of.”

That’s what this was about? He wanted someone to counsel her through having a guy friend? Did he trust her so little?

“So, Mina…” He grabbed her hand, waiting until she looked up at his worried eyes before he continued, “Being so lonely leaves you vulnerable.”

Mina didn’t bother to contradict him, waiting for him to vomit all his paranoia.

“Vulnerable to the advances of those who might take advantage. You’re an innocent plum waiting to be plucked.”

“And you think Max is only my friend because I’m friendless. That he’s planning some sort of Machiavellian scheme to make me his sex buddy?” Her dad choked when Mina said sex.

But he cleared his throat and said, “That’s not a possibility that I can ignore, Mina. I’m your dad. It’s my job to protect you and keep you safe.”

“Then I guess,” she said calmly, “you should have thought of that three years ago when I needed you. You should have figured out a way to get me out of George Dub Middle School and back to where my friends were. But what did you say? Oh, right, it takes several appeals to the school board, and you didn’t have time with your job at the resort and the triplets being so little, and you couldn’t ask mom. Cowgirl up, Mina, you said.”

Mina clenched her jaw to fight back any emotion other than her anger.

“Now, you want me to give up my only friend on the off chance that being neglected by you and mum and ignored by everyone else has warped me into a slut.” She took a jerking, hiccupy breath.

“You have Peter, Ben, Hailey.”

Mina scoffed, yanking the covers back off her bed, slapping her dad’s hand away, and stomping out of her bedroom.

“Mina…” he reached after her, grabbing her hand, but she twisted away. She rushed past the face of her sister to the bathroom where she slammed the door, locking them all out.