Family Magic (32 page)

I was thrown from his touch by that great
power, the same power I felt before, tinted green and with the
flavor of the forest. My demon snarled as we were hurled back to my
plane and sent crashing into my body. I collapsed to the floor of
the basement, beaten down for the second time that night. This time
I stayed there for a while, and cried.

I let the tears leak freely from my eyes and
down my face into my hair, not even bothering to try to wipe them
away. Why should I? There was no use in anything anymore, no
future, no help coming, no glimmer that something would happen to
make it all better. I was lost, my parents were lost. There was
absolutely no hope left.

The Hayle family was no more and there was
nothing I could do about it.

I would have lay there forever, I think, if
it weren’t for the sound of the kitchen door opening, the footsteps
on the floor upstairs. I dragged myself to my feet and went up, not
wanting to see anyone, but not really having a choice.

I took the last step. I found the Moromonds
there as the basement door swung shut behind me. Batsheva and
Dominic stood in the kitchen. They seemed very surprised to see me.
Batsheva schooled her expression pretty quickly, but I could tell
she didn’t expect to get caught in our house. Not sure where else
she thought we’d go.

Dominic on the other hand, gave me the old
once over, his face pinched, piggy eyes furious.

“Sydlynn,” Batsheva said smoothly, smiling.
“Are you all right, dear?”

What a stupid question. I felt like laughing
but didn’t have the energy.

“What do you want?” I wasn’t in the mood to
be gracious, even to the new leader of the coven.

Especially to the new leader of the coven.
Yeah, that pissed her off.

“We came to check on you,” she snapped,
“ungrateful child. And your mother.”

“Sure you did,” I bit back. “Came to finish
us off, you mean.”

She scowled at me, all pretense gone. Good. I
was sick of the masks and the lying and the fake smiles.

“It’s time you learned a little respect,” she
hissed at me.

“Or what?” I asked.

“Or,” she said, “maybe we make sure you and
your precious family end up on the street. This is a coven house,
Syd. You’re not one of us anymore.”

I knew she would do it. Sure, we could
probably find someone to take us in, but the house, the Hayle
fortune, belonged to the coven. Or did it? I knew I’d have to find
out and fast. Until then, I begrudged, I’d have to hold my
tongue.

“Understood,” I said. “What can I really help
you with?”

“You can get out of the way,” she said

“Mom’s asleep,” I countered. “I’d rather you
didn’t bother her right now.”

Batsheva laughed. “Oh, Syd,” she said, “I’m
not here for your mother. I’m here for the power in the
basement.”

I tensed. My father’s statue. No way.

“There’s nothing down there anymore,” I
argued.

“We need to be sure of that,” she said. “I
need to drain the last of the magic.”

“I told you, it’s gone,” I said as she tried
to push past me, putting my body in her way.

“Move,” she ordered. “Now.”

I didn’t. I wouldn’t. She snapped her
fingers. Dominic came forward.

“Move or he makes you move,” she said.

I knew I lost. With no recourse and
frustrated beyond belief, I stepped aside. The demon hissed and
snarled at me but I pushed her away. Until I figured out what to do
next, I couldn’t antagonize them. At least, not yet.

I couldn’t bear to think of them down there
with Dad so I hit the back door. I needed air, just a little air. I
couldn’t,
wouldn’t
, leave my family alone with them, but I
had to have some space to think and the outdoors was always my best
place to cool my head. I escaped into the night, and ran right into
Quaid.

He caught me and held me when I tried to back
away. His face seemed sad, a switch from the cynical smirk he
always wore. He glanced over my shoulder at the house before
returning his gaze to me. His dark eyes felt bottomless, his magic,
a rich, warm, exotic power, gently wrapped around me. I knew I was
safe. My demon welcomed him in a rush of golden light. I was lost
in that feeling as the walls between us fell for the second time
and I felt his absolute regret and fear.

“Syd,” he said, “I need to tell you something
important.”

I shook myself, trying to break free from the
wonderful glow of him around me. It felt stronger than the first
time outside the diner, deeper, more welcoming, like an offer of
something I wasn’t sure I was ready for. He always kept himself as
guarded as I did, but there was no way to guard against this. With
each passing moment I marveled more and more at the connection. I
had no idea he was so… endless.

“What?” I asked, dazed. I went through a lot
that day and I wasn’t exactly focused. Being engulfed in protective
energy didn’t help a whole lot, either.

He looked over my shoulder again before
leaning in, lips over mine, eyes so close I could see the glimmer
of the streetlight in them.

“They plan to destroy you,” he whispered.

It took a second to sink in. “Who?”

He scowled and shook me, enough to break me
free of the spell his magic cast over me. It made me mad.

“Stop it,” I said, pulling free, rubbing my
arms, realizing they hurt because he was holding me so hard. Now
that we were out of physical contact, his power dissipated again,
the walls rising to block each other out. I could finally think
straight. “What are you talking about?” He needed to stop touching
me.

“My
parents
,” he said it like the
words disgusted him. “Miriam was right. There are traitors. And
they’re it.”

“How do you know?” I whispered back, acutely
aware the very people we discussed were so close I could feel
them.

“I overheard them tonight after the
ceremony,” he said. “They were celebrating, Syd, actually
celebrating
.” Quaid’s anger leaked into his eyes. He
struggled for control. It didn’t take long for his calm to return.
“I didn’t know. You have to believe me. But I guess there’s some
old stuff between my mom and your mom and Batsheva’s decided to do
something about it.”

“Some something,” I said.

“I guess,” he said. “You have to get out of
here.”

“Why are you warning me?” I didn’t trust him
despite having been inside his power and mind only moments before.
Had we still been connected, maybe. But it was easy to lose that
total sense of who he was when I wasn’t inside his magic. I was
sure then he must have an ulterior motive or maybe they even sent
him. I took a step back, even my demon rising to the defensive. I
wondered at how quickly and easily she made herself a part of who I
was despite all my attempts to keep her out. Nothing like a little
life-threatening coven action to bring a girl around.

Quaid’s hand reached out to take mine,
closing the gap between us, the exchange flowing again. “I’m not
like them,” he said. “They’ve been using negative magic, Syd. I
want no part in it.”

I knew he couldn’t lie to me, not with that
power flowing over me and through me, weaving its way through mine,
making itself at home. Lying in that state was impossible for both
of us. My demon purred with contentment as his aura fed her.

I struggled to concentrate.

“I can’t leave,” I whispered. “What about
Meira? Mom? Gram? I won’t leave my family, Quaid.”

I could tell he was frustrated. “I know. I
had to try to warn you anyway. Syd,” he let go of my hand, but the
connection was still there. I wondered if it was permanent now. “I
wanted you to know… because I didn’t want you to think I had
anything to do with it.”

“Why do you care?” I asked him, breathless.
How had I not noticed before how sweet his energy was, how lovely
and generous, how great he smelled, like chocolate, oddly. How had
I missed the draw of his dark eyes, the brightness of his perfect
teeth? Or was it the demon in me that made me pay attention all of
a sudden?

“I just do,” he said, fingers brushing my
cheek.

I believed him.

“I have to go,” he dropped his hand and
stepped away. “I’m sorry, Syd. I wish… I wish I could do more. Take
care of yourself.”

Quaid disappeared into the darkness. I missed
him immediately, missed his warmth around me, the feeling that for
once I was not alone. I didn’t even get a chance to thank him
before he vanished from sight.

***

A strong hand gripped my arm and spun me
around. I was face-to-face with Brad. It took me a minute to
comprehend what was going on as my two lives overlapped, giving him
ample time to speak his mind.

“I don’t get it,” he snapped, angry and hurt,
radiating it like a broadcast signal so even my demon shrank away
in guilt. “I try to be your friend, more than your friend and you
don’t care! I gave up my whole life because of you, Syd, my
friends, pissed off my dad, my coach! And what do you do? Ditch me
for some other guy!” He shook he was so mad.

Um, what? Since when? It’s not like we were
officially dating or anything.

I pulled my arm free. “What are you doing
here?”

“I wanted to see you.” There was a
desperation in his eyes that worried me. It went way past anything
he should be feeling. Unless he was the kind of guy who fell for
girls who stood him up?

“Not good timing.” I felt terrible about it
but I had way bigger stuff going on than him at the moment.
“Besides, I thought you were with Suzanne.”

His face fell as he stepped away from me.
“Yeah, right,” he said. “Like I’d jump into a relationship with
another Alison.”

“You were with her,” I still struggled to
switch to normal girl mode, so wrapped up in the mess I was in I
could barely focus. “With the pops. You were a bully, Brad, just
like them.”

His head dropped. The anger drained out of
him. I wanted to hug him and tell him it was going to be okay.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

I went to him and put my hand on his arm. The
demon part of me grumbled, vaguely disappointed there was no
answering blanket of power.

I ignored it. “I am too,” I said. “Really.
But, my family…” I glanced at the dark house, noticing the kitchen
light turn on. I felt the draw of that life more powerfully than I
ever had despite my best intentions. “Things are really rough right
now,” I whispered. “And I need to go back.”

I turned away from him, but he caught me.

“I don’t know what to do, Syd,” he said, face
hovering over mine, hands covering the developing bruises Quaid
left behind. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“You have to go,” I said as gently as I
could. I wasn’t about to let the Moromonds catch me with Brad. I
had no idea what they would do, but I knew they would find a way to
use him against me. I didn’t want to put him in that position.

“I can’t,” he said. “I can’t go, Syd. I don’t
know what it is, but there is something about you I can’t let
go.”

I felt along the edges of his aura with a
lump in my throat. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Brad Peters,
football star and All-American boy, had a gift. Not full-blown and
certainly not strong, but a gift none-the-less. His power was
latent, sleeping, but awake enough it recognized me and what I was.
I knew it happened sometimes, that normals were born with a hint of
what we had, but I never experienced it before. It was quite likely
he would never be able to conjure magic, but the tiny spark within
him wanted to be fed. Because of it, he was drawn to me like a moth
to a flame.

That was the last thing I needed right
then.

“Brad,” I said. “You need to go, please.”

Instead of listening, he kissed me.

His lips were soft, softer than I ever
imagined a boy’s lips would be, but firm underneath where they
pressed against his teeth. His warm breath tasted like cinnamon
gum. It filled my mouth. I melted toward him, not meaning to,
giving in to something amazing and open and pure. I kissed him
back. For that brief slice of forever, I forgot everything but the
joy of it.

When he pulled away, I was breathless.

“Do you still want me to go?” He whispered
over my mouth.

I didn’t, so help me, but he had to. I did
the hardest thing I did all night to that sweet boy who just wanted
to be with me.

“Yes,” I choked.

I don’t think he believed what I said but I
put it in my eyes, in my stance, in my face, in my very energy and
let him experience that he wasn’t welcome.

He stepped away, releasing me, head
bowed.

“Okay,” he said. “Bye, Syd.”

It was all I could do not to call after him
as he left me alone in the dark of my back yard to face the
emptiness that had become my life.

I dragged myself to the bench, and cried
myself clean.

When the sobbing eased, I struggled to pull
myself together. But, seriously, what sixteen-year-old is in a
stable enough mental and emotional place to handle that much crap
in such a short period of time? I deserved a few tears, thank you
very much.

But, I was also practical and knew if anyone
was going to help us, it had to be me. No one else was going to
ride to the rescue. Even if helping us meant settling us in a
normal life without magic anymore, then that was what I was going
to do.

I pulled my legs up and rested my chin on my
knees, staring at the glittering stars. I thought of my mother. I
scowled and sat up straight. I was not, repeat
not
, giving
up that easily. I was a
Hayle
, damn it, we all were, and
Hayle witches did not quit no matter what. I gathered myself. Even
if it meant turning into Gram, I took her example. You did
everything you could to protect your family, even if you had to die
to do it. Or go nuts.