Legacy (10 page)

“The enchantments?” Mercy’s stomach twisted in fear. “What does that mean?”

Darynda looked perplexed. “Enchantments? The
O
rb is like a
great big
present loaded with a batch of the neatest magick. I hand-selected each and every one
for you
.” Her lower lip jutted out petulantly.
“I honestly expected a little gratitude. Most witches would be thrilled to receive a personalized
O
rb of
E
nchantments.”

“
Will you
listen to
yourself?
I’m still trying to accept the fact that I’m a witch.
”

Darynda fisted her hands on her hips. “Why can’t you get into the spirit of this thing?
Just accept this gift with my best wishes and try to come out of your shell a little. You should be having fun with this
.”

Mercy nodded. “Thanks, I think. I’ll
try to figure this thing out.”

Darynda held out her arms. “Oh, virtual huggies.”

Mercy felt warmth
and a squeezing sensation
as though real arms embrac
ed
her.

“
Your powers will grow stronger with practice,” Darynda said. “And remember, focused energy.”

The television screen went dark, leaving Mercy staring
into the void
.

Alistair
leaped onto her lap. “How was the lesson, M’lady?”

“I guess it was pretty good,” she said. “Oh, I
can
hear you without the amulet.”

A loud purr prefaced his answer. “It’s because your powers are g
row
ing stronger.
”

“T
hat’s a good thing too, I guess.” She rubbed his ears.
“Maybe it’s the
O
rb.”

“
Aren’t you anxious to get started?” He gazed at her
quizzi
cally, his green eyes aglow.

“Hmmm? What are you talking about?”

“The
O
rb of
E
nchantments. The spells. You are supposed to practice, you know?”

A little tingle from the
O
rb reminded her of
its
presence. “Yes, I’m just not sure how to begin.”

“Focused inte
nt.”

She took a breath and closed her eyes. “Focused intent,” she whispered. The tingle sharpened. Mercy opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was a small basket sitting by the back door. Gran used
it
for gathering herbs from the garden.
She held her breath and focused all her intent on moving the basket.
Come here. Come here.
She thought she was going to
rupture her brain with the effort
.
“Come here!” she shouted.

Alistair jumped and the basket shuddered and moved a couple of inches toward her. T
he tingle increased.

She pointed her finger at the basket. “Come to me,” she commanded.

The basket skidded across t
he floor to a stop at her feet.

“I did it!”
She
jumped
around
gleefully
a few times before taking a deep breath and gathering her intent once more. “Now return
to your place.”

The basket didn’t budge.

She pointed at the spot she wanted it to go. “Go!” The basket slid across the
floor to slam against the wall.

“You should be careful where you point that thing,” Alistair said. He left the room with a distinctly superior
swish of his t
ai
l
.

“Well, I’m trying…and I’m new at this, y’know?” She turned back to her task and practiced for the better part of an hour.

At least she had a letter from Gran. And that letter bound her to secrecy,
for fear that
she
would
be sent to the children’s protective services. She figured that her grandmother knew what she was doing, so she planned to keep her mouth shut, at least for now.

In the meantime, she spent time reading her grandmother’s journal and each page she turned brought more revelations. Gran made it clear that she was a witch. That she had always been a witch and that Mercy was to be a WIT, or Witch in Training. In her journal, Gran commented that she thought Mercy had buckets of natural talents just waiting to be developed.

Mercy closed the journal and held it tight against her chest.
Natural talent?
No one had ever said that about her. She wondered what she had ever done to give Gran that impression.

~*~

On Monday, Mercy was still feeling the effects of the Orb of Enchantment. She had
a remarkably confident feeling when she
got to the school
. “Hey, Greg!” she called as she passed hi
m in the hall
. He grinned and winked at her. She narrowed her gaze a
little as she strode past Lindy.
Don’t even mess with me today
.

Lindy gave her a startled look before tossing her hair and lifting her nose. Perhaps she was still upset over the dress. Perhaps not.
Who cares anyway?

Mercy
went to her first class and t
ook her seat beside
Felicity
.
She felt lighter inside than she had since Gran had gone to Minah. She wondered briefly if it was because of the new dress or the
O
rb of
E
nchantment.
Whatever.
It was a relief to approach the week with a little more self-assurance than usual.

When the b
ell rang she bounced out of her seat and stepped into the hall. She noticed that her entire body felt light, as though she might lift off in flight at any moment.

Greg waited until she came down the
hall
and fell in behind her.
He tweaked a sprig of her hair.

She turned to him with a smile. The look in his eyes was intense, to say the least. The
O
rb tingled, or was it her stomach?

Mercy enjoyed her classes, and even in gym class she found herself grinning. She ignored the sneers from Lindy and her gang
and managed to sink the basketball in the hoop a couple of times in spite of he
r general lack of coordination.

Then it dawned on her. She took a deep breath and bounced the ball once, twice, gathered her intent and focused on the hoop.
Go inside there. Go!
She thrust the ball upward and saw it arc toward the basket.
She held her breath as it descended through the hoop without even touching the sides.
Airball!!!

She glanced around, but the only person to notice her feat was
Kelli
. She gave her a thumbs up and bounced the ball back to her. Mercy gathered her intent and refocused on the hoop. The
ball sailed through the air and
through the hoop again. A
little clutch of joy in her core was the only sign that she had just accomplished something big
…Well, something big
for her.

“Great job,
Young
,” her coach called.

Mercy nodded at her and acknowledged that it felt good to do something right in gym class for a change. Just for good measure, she made another basket. Coach looked at her quizzically as though wondering
how
one of her less talented students had suddenly managed three air
balls in a row.

“Way to go,”
Kelli
said. “Have you been practicing, or what?”

A twinge of guilt shot through her. “Yeah, a little.” Although what she had been practicing had
definitely not been basketball.

After classes, she went to her locker and filled her backpack with the books she would need to complete her homework assignments. She was thinking about her schoolwork when Lindy bumped into the locker, purposely swinging the metal door into her. The pain resonated up from the point of impact, her elbow, to her shoulder. She yelled out and then glared at Lindy, who was
snickering with Becca and Amy.

A little seed of anger glowed at Mercy’s core and she felt the orb’s tingle. She focused her intent on Lindy, who fell back as though she had been shoved
hard. She
slid on her butt to slam into the lockers on the opposite side of the hall. She sat with he
r mouth open, staring at Mercy.

The other students stopped milling around and gazed at the spectacle. No
one spoke…o
r moved…or breathed.

Greg moved toward her, glancing down at Lindy. “That was some rebound, Lindy. You should watch where you’re going.” He put his hand on Mercy’s arm. “
Are you okay,
Mercy
?
”

Lindy turned bright red. She closed her mouth with a snap and scrambled to her feet. Amy and Becca clustered around
her, making comforting noises.

Mercy released the breath she didn’t even know she’d been holding.
Somehow Greg had managed to take the conflict out of the situation. She’d had the feeling that, without his presence, Lindy wou
ld have been ready for a fight.

Greg took her backpack and slung it over his shoulder to join his own. He walked with her out
to the gate while
Kelli
and Felici
ty
pulled the car around. T
hey stood
together
waiting for
her ride
. He talk
ed
about the baseball game coming up on
Satur
day afternoon, but didn’t mention the dance
on Friday night
.

“Are you
coming to the game?” he asked.

She du
cked her head. “I…I don’t know.”

He chuckled. “Let me put it this way, I would like it if you were there.”

She took a deep breath and searched for a way to express herself that didn’t sound totally lame. “I’m not sure that my grandmother will be able to drive me…I mean, she might have plans.”

“It’s not because you hate baseball or anything?” He grinned at her discomfort. “I mean, I wouldn’t want you to suffer through something you
can't stand
.”

A warm feeling swirled through her gut. “No, I don’t hate baseball and I’d love to see you play, but…”

“Don’t worry about a ride then. I can pick you up before the game…if you want to go, that is.”

“Yes, I want to go. Thanks.”

He grinned and sli
ppe
d his arm around her shoulders.

A few glances
slid
their way. He was making it clear he liked her. She was Greg’s girl.

~*~

CHAPTER FIVE

The rest of the week zoomed by. Other than glowering at her from
across the hall or the other side of the gym, Lindy gave her a
lot of space.
When she heard the jingle-jangle of Lindy's bracelet, she held her breath, but Lindy seemed to be avoiding her
like the bubonic plague
.

Mercy continued to use gym class to practice her focused intent. The coach leaned against the wall, smiling and nodding each time she sent the ball through the hoop. Since Mercy hadn’t enjoyed a lot of approval from the coach, she probably should have stopped when she was ahead.
T
hen the coach told her to move further back and shoot
. Mercy
should have just given it her usual
lam
e throw, but something about being successful
made her feel lightheaded. When she made a basket from mid-court the whole class stopped to
stare.

Kelli
bounced the ball back to her. “Do it again, hotshot!”

Mercy caught it and gave it a couple of bounces just to center herself.
Gotta make this look good.
She held the ball in both hands and flexed her knees, giving a little jump as she made a
pathetic
attempt to get the ball to go in the general direction of the basket. The ball fell way short, the hollow sound as it hitting the court echoed off all t
he hard surfaces. She shrugged.

“Good try, Mercy,”
Kelli
called and clapped her hands.