Seeing Magic (The Queen of the Night Series Book 1) (2 page)

Evan seemed really surprised and even angrier. “What?  Did you say never?” 

I gulped. “Yes. Aunt Rose has visited us in Santa Monica a few times, but we’ve never been here. I’ve never met anyone else besides her.”  Then my brain processed something Evan had said. “Did you say Cacapon? I thought we were in Berkeley Springs.”

He snickered.

That’s not good, he’s laughing at me. What’s so funny
? 

“Fiona has her store in Berkeley Springs. It’s a little crowded in town, especially during the tourist season. Right now we’re on her farm, which borders the Cacapon River about ten miles outside Berkeley Springs.” 

I hadn’t noticed that we’d passed through the tiny town. The whole landscape was remote and confused me. Fiona and the rest of my relatives believed that the town, population 1,157, was
too crowded
. It was fate: I would die of boredom this summer.

Evan must have seen my expression, because he asked me, “Uhm, didn’t your mother talk to you about Cacapon?  I mean, about what we do?”

Even more concerned, I queried, “No. What do you mean, what we do?”

“Wow, that’s just great,” he responded. “I better let Fiona tell you herself.”

“Does my mom know what you do?” I asked cautiously.

“Pretty sure she does.” 

I made a mental note to call Mom as soon as possible. Another thought struck me. “Is she always like that?” I whispered and nodded in the direction of Fiona’s bedroom door.

“Like what?”

“You know, brusque and regimental. I feel like I’m the one at a military school summer camp, not Corey.” 

To my surprise, he chuckled. I wasn’t sure he had a sense of humor.

“She and your mom haven’t agreed on the timing of your education.” 

“My education into what?” 

Evan looked taken aback. Then he looked ashamed. Finally, the angry scowl was back. He shook his head and mumbled, “Talk to Fiona about that.” 

“Why do I have to talk to Fiona?  Why not tell me yourself?”

“I’ve already suffered enough for this family. I’m not going to babysit the child Matthew had the nerve to bring into this world. Not when I’ll never get…never mind. Ask Fiona.”  He stomped out of the room. Within moments, he’d darted out the front door, locking it on his way out.

I still called after him, demanding an explanation, or how he even knew Dad’s first name, but he was gone.

Should I interrupt Fiona, even though she intimidates me
?  Tired and confused, I couldn’t begin to understand everything I’d seen and heard in the last twenty-seven hours. Evan had called me ‘the child Matthew had the nerve to bring into this world’. Dad was a soldier who died six years ago.
What the hell did he have to do with any of this
?  He and my mom had left this community before either Evan or I was born.

As I entered my assigned bedroom, my phone chirped. Pulling it out of my pocket, I smiled at the screen indicating a text from Corey.

STP WRRYNG N GT SUM SLP
!


I wondered if it was possible to sleep at all with so many questions running through my head. My phone chirped again, as if to answer me.

IM NT KDDNG. GO 2 SLP.

I sighed. Corey was right, of course. He was always right. I’d call Mom in the morning. There was nothing that could be done tonight. Aunt Rose had decorated her room with lots of eyelet lace and old quilts. It looked really inviting and comfortable. I should have been more upset by the secrets everyone obviously kept, by Evan’s resentment, by the weird customs these country people practiced, and by what they wanted to do with
me
, however, once I saw the bed, I couldn’t think of anything else. Opting against pajamas, I collapsed onto it, pulled a soft patchwork quilt made out of many pieces of flannel over me, and sighing, fell into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Two

The Garden

Something woke me. The noise sounded like hushed voices. Pitched too high for adult voices, they must have belonged to children.
Why would children be whispering in my bedroom
?  It took me a couple of beats before I remembered I wasn’t in my room, but in Great-Aunt Fiona’s cabin. There shouldn’t have been any children here, either. Opening one eye, I squinted against the bright sunshine flooding the room. The voices fell completely silent and were followed by scuffling, like little claws on the hardwood floor as they ran away. I assumed they were mice, since I now lived in the country. It was odd how much mice twittering sounded like English, because I could have sworn my name was mentioned in those whispers.

The memories of the previous day came flooding back to me.
What time was it
?  Aunt Rose had an alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed which said 12:00. Even by California-time, I’d overslept. Heading into the bathroom, I caught my reflection in the mirror. My long, chocolate brown hair poked in multiple directions around my face. My eyes looked bloodshot and my face was pale with apprehension.

It was too late to call Mom today; she would have already left for the store. The three-hour time difference meant she wouldn’t get home until after I’d gone to bed. I’d have to get up earlier tomorrow. I wandered into the dining room to see what waited on the table.

In the center sat a neatly folded piece of notebook paper, addressed to me in beautifully lettered calligraphy. I took a seat at the table and reached for the note. It said,

Maggie,

The herb garden directly behind the house needs weeding. Afterward, bring the following into the house for dinner.

Four sprigs each:

Parsley

Thyme

Sage

Basil

Oregano

3 Beefsteak Tomatoes

1 Eggplant

2 Zucchini

1 Summer Squash 

There is a basket by the back door you may use. You will find garden tools and gloves in the shed.

If you find you have extra time you might want to familiarize yourself with all of the crops in the garden.

Have a nice day.

Fiona

Huh.
So much for easing into things and letting my body recover
; at least I wouldn’t be bored. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to please my great-aunt, or avoid her disapproval, but found myself eager to start my day’s assigned tasks.

Grabbing the willow basket sitting on a chair against the wall of windows, I headed out the back door onto the deck.

A beautifully landscaped garden stretched out before me, with neatly tended rows of vegetables, and meandering patches of herbs. A small orchard grew off to one side. In the distance the brown-green bank of a river glistened. I discovered tools in the small wooden shed and started the weeding. It was interesting that Fiona assumed I knew how to weed a garden. My family had always lived in apartment buildings in Santa Monica. If Mom hadn’t signed us up for a plot in the city’s community garden, I’d never have had the opportunity to visit one up close, let alone care for it, but I’d helped Mom with hers for two years now, so I was pretty confident.

Two hours later, the sun beat down on my skin and sweat poured off me. This really grossed me out as I’d always considered myself to be naturally cool and ladylike. It wasn’t just hot in the garden. It was humid. I had never experienced humidity. The mosquitoes irritated me the most. I must have tasted good, because several of them had bitten me all up and down my body. By the time I noticed the swelling of the bite, the darn bug had gone. Scrutinizing my limbs, and waiting for an opportunity to catch one in the act of biting me, I slapped myself trying to kill it. Too fast for me, the pest flew away lazily, taking a bit of my blood. I threatened it anyway which made me feel better.

The sweat dripping into my eyes and obscuring my vision forced me to take a break. Dusting myself off, I headed inside the cabin. After washing my face and hands, I poked my head in the refrigerator to see what Fiona had to drink. Pouring myself a tall glass of iced herbal tea, I turned back to look out the windows onto the backyard. A bottle of mosquito repellent sat on the chair by the back door where only the basket had been before
. I was alone in the house so how did it get there?
  Shrugging it off as an ADD moment, I gratefully slathered the lotion all over my exposed areas, identifying aloe in the mixture by the smell. The bites all over my body stopped stinging. Refreshed, I headed back out into the yard. This time I took a bandanna with me.

***

Proud of myself for finishing the weeding, I took time off to explore my surroundings. Startling noises came from the corn. For a moment fear gripped me, but this wasn’t the city and crime didn’t lurk around every corner. Driven by curiosity, I ran over and looked in between all the rows of corn stalks, but whatever creature was messing around had disappeared.

Deciding I should stay close to the house, I headed back. My explorations had shown me where all of Fiona’s vegetables grew. It was a simple task to get the pruning shears from the shed and, pulling her note out of my back pocket and grabbing the willow basket, to collect the items she’d requested.

I left the vegetables and herbs in the sink, cleaned myself up and helped myself to another glass of iced tea. That was when I realized I was not alone in the house. Evan sat in Fiona’s old leather chair, ankle crossed over knee, casually flipping through a magazine. Fiona must trust him a lot to give him free run of her house while she was at work.

“Are you here to check up on me?”

“Actually, I thought you might like to take a drive. You could see Cacapon from a bird’s eye view.”

“Really?  That’s kind of you.”  His motivations intrigued me.

Fortunately, he explained himself quickly. “I wanted to apologize. Fiona reminded me today that you are not responsible for your parent’s mistakes.”

“What mistakes?”  I bristled at the thought of anyone maligning my parents, especially Dad.

“Can we agree to not discuss difficult memories today?  I’m sure there will be plenty of time to argue later…after you have that talk with Fiona.”

I absorbed his words and thought
I’ll talk to Fiona…after I’ve talked to Mom
. A drive sounded much more interesting than waiting alone in the cabin, though, so I smiled and agreed to drop the subject of my parents.

***

Evan stopped at a scenic overlook at the top of the mountain ridge. A beautiful green valley nestled at the base of the mountains. A wide river ran through the valley’s center. The brown current rushed downstream. Tall, stately trees lined each bank. They grew dense on the mountains obscuring all of the homes or buildings. It gave me a sense of being alone in the woods, even though I knew there must be many roads, leading to many houses spread throughout the area.

Awed at the vastness and beauty of the river and valley below, I gasped aloud.

He gave a self-satisfied chuckle.

***

I didn’t expect him to open my door for me when we headed back. We reached for the handle at the same time and for a fraction of a second, our fingers touched. Shocked, I jerked my hand and ended up touching him more. For an instant, time stood still. The electric sensation spread from my fingers throughout my whole body and dissipated into the gravel below my feet. My body had never reacted like that to someone’s touch. I pulled my hand back and covered it, to preserve the tingly sensation for as long as possible. Evan seemed irritated that he’d brushed my skin. He clearly didn’t care that my world had tipped on its side.

I was sure that he attempted conversation on the way back to the cabin to diffuse the tension which filled the Jeep.

“How do you think Corey’s doing?”

“I’m sure he’s doing great. Corey always fits in, he always makes friends. I know he’s my responsibility, but Corey has an unnatural ability to accept change. It’s almost like he knows things before they happen.” 

Evan coughed suddenly, as if trying to stop himself from blurting something inadvertently. “What makes Corey
your
responsibility?”

“Mom has to work, so I’ve been caring for Corey since my dad died…”

“Six years ago,” he finished the sentence for me. “Yeah, I remember.”

“How could you remember?”  I stared at him, aghast. Dad was killed in action in Afghanistan. There was no possibility Evan had first-hand memories of his passing.

He shook his head, embarrassed, as if he’d said something he shouldn’t. “It’s just an expression. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It happened a long time ago. It’s why I’m so worried about Mom, though. Pushing Corey and me away for the summer, it just doesn’t make sense.”  I hadn’t planned to share my anxiety with anyone, but at that moment, it felt right to confide in Evan.

He honestly looked concerned as he prompted me to continue.

“She’s just been acting so strange. We had a huge fight over this trip. I was all set to attend summer school.”

Evan interrupted me. “Why would you waste the summer in school?” 

“Ever since my fifth birthday, when Mom and Dad got me a toy medical bag, I’ve wanted to become a doctor. If I’d stayed home, I’d be able to get credit for Biology II, take Physics during the school year, and be able to take Physiology in my senior year.”

“Wanting to be a healer is a noble goal,” he mused quietly. “Have you talked to her yet?”

“No, I’m planning to call her in the morning.”

He pulled the Jeep into Fiona’s driveway and turned off the engine. He looked straight at me and said, “You should ask your mother to explain things to you.”

“I intend to,” I nodded. “Thanks for the drive.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you around.”

“Okay,” I smiled as I hopped out of the SUV and waved as I headed back into the cabin.

***

I was still pondering the virtues of farm boys as I wandered around the cabin to get my bearings in my temporary home. As I did, a sinister feeling of unease grew inside me, but not because of the odd noises that had disturbed me earlier. What worried me was an item I had not yet found in the house, an item so fundamental to daily life it should never be hidden from view. I’d reached near panic stage by the time Fiona’s truck came down the gravel driveway.

Her greeting, when she came in the door, was cordial, if not warm. I instinctively knew not to interrupt her. I summoned diplomacy and patience, answered her questions about my day, and showed her the basket of produce. After a few minutes, I couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Great-Aunt Fiona, where’s the TV?”

She pursed her lips and gave me a shrewd look. Her expression confirmed my fears even before her words did. “We don’t have one. The cable company doesn’t offer service out here. The cabin is surrounded by mountains. To install a satellite dish which would get a signal down here in the valley, I’d have to take down half of my trees. I wouldn’t do that. Besides, reading keeps the mind sharp, so there’s no TV. There are several books in my office. You should peruse them to see if any appeal to you. If not, we’ll go by the library on Saturday.”

I didn’t want to offend her with the depth of my disappointment, so I asked, “Is it okay if I go look for a book now?”

“I believe that would be a good idea.” She said rather coolly, “I’m just going to start dinner. Select a book now, and then join me in the kitchen. It will give you something to enjoy after the evening blessing.”

I ran out of the room to hide my expression of complete horror.
What nightmare had I entered
?  No mall in the town, and no TV at home…in what century did these people think we lived?  I fumed,
not only do they
not
have a mall, they don’t even have a department store! How will I survive three months without shopping?  This crappy cabin is ten miles from the closest store, and it’s a thrift store. How will I survive without TV?  What about my Tai Chi?  Is there a dojo in Berkeley Springs? I doubt it. How will I find a sparring partner?

To calm myself down, I automatically stepped into the ‘
Opening the door
’ form. I centered my weight, relaxed, and breathed evenly. I’d studied Tai Chi at the local community center for years. I’d mastered the discipline of San Sau, or ‘Push Hands’, the ultimate martial art for self-defense. It incorporated the same forms as Tai Chi, but they were executed blindingly fast to unbalance an attacker and avoid violence.

My mother’s argument echoed in my head. “No one’s going to attack you in West Virginia. It’s a tight-knit, loving community. They don’t have crime there like we have in the city. You’ll just have to take a few months off from practicing San Sau. It won’t kill you.”
 

I groaned at the memory of her answer.

***

After a few minutes alone in the small third bedroom Fiona used as an office, I’d run through several forms, regulated my breathing, and centered my chi. I really had no choice but to make the best of things. Nevertheless, as soon as I talked to Mom, I’d beg her to let me come home. Scanning the bookshelves in the office, I found a murder mystery that looked pretty good, grabbed it and returned to the kitchen, showing my selection to Fiona.