I grab the sword from Stewart’s still warm and blood-soaked hand and manage to get it in front of me as the chimera bounds through the door.
“Farah! No!”
I blink repeatedly to get my strained and tired eyes to focus. The voice can’t be...
“Farah,” Cindy scolds. “No eating the sorceress. Lou is not for eating.”
“Sweetie?” Mom’s voice seems to come from nowhere until she carefully moves around the creature and Cindy who block most of the doorway, and stops a few feet away from me. Her eyes keep darting back to the creature, though to her credit, she’s not as terrified as I expect. At least she isn’t running away screaming. “Oh, Lou.”
“Mom?” I lower the blade a little, but instinct kicks back in, forcing me to keep my arms strong. There’s still danger the chimera might attack, and I’m not certain Al’s gone for good.
“Sweetie, it’s okay,” Mom says in her soothing voice. “It’s over. Everything’s going to be all right.”
Still watching the chimera, I lower the sword, but don’t let it drop out of my hand. It’s enough for Mom who rushes over to me and engulfs me in a hug.
“Everything’s fine.” She strokes my hair, plastering it against my face and neck. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
“Borin?” I ask Cindy over Mom’s shoulder, not quite able to hug her back the way I want. Not yet.
Cindy’s face twists into a grin, though she looks about as wary as I feel. She lifts her hand and wiggles my phone.
“All locked up. How’s that for ‘silly magic?’” She says to the phone.
“What about the chimera?” I ask.
Cindy shrugs. “Seems my scaring it before made it respect me. Honestly, it’s kind of cute once you get past the two heads thing.”
“What is that thing?” Mom asks, but thinks better. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. I’m just happy you’re both safe.”
When Mom shifts her attention to hug Cindy for a while, I’m finally released from her grip and able to move around the room a little. I don’t go too far since I’m afraid of leaving my family unprotected in case anything should happen. But after another sweep with my magic, there’s still no sign of Al.
“Way to go with stabbing Stewart,” Cindy says, breaking my concentration from another magic sweep. “I hope it was slow and painful.”
“It wasn’t me,” I admit with a shake of my head. “It was Al. He saved my life.”
“Hey, yeah. Where is he?” Cindy asks.
“Who?” Mom asks. “Someone else did this?”
I can’t bring myself to explain what happened. Not right now. Maybe someday, but it’s all too fresh. The blade passing through Stewart’s body, as though I’m the one stabbing him. The blood in his mouth as he dies. The shift in Al as he took in the magic. It’s still too vivid to talk about.
I turn away from the corpse, unable to be near it for any longer.
“I think I hear the neighbors,” Cindy says.
Mom, flustered for a moment, recovers and says, “I’ll have to deal with them. No matter what happens, remember this wasn’t your fault.”
With the bloodied blade in my hand I know it would be hard to convince people as much. But I nod to her in agreement and she leaves, ready to smooth things over the best she can.
Cindy waits until she’s out of earshot before asking, “Where is he?”
“Gone,” I tell her.
“Gone how? Is he alive?”
It’s times like this when I realize how observant Cindy is. She knows something’s wrong, and she’s not going to let it go until I tell her exactly what happened. And yet if I do, she won’t stop until she finds him and makes him pay for attacking me. I can’t let her. Not only because there’s a good chance if she does manage to find him, he won’t hesitate at killing her. And now he’s a full wizard it will be all too easy for him. But there’s also a voice in my head repeating over and over.
He stopped.
Maybe he felt my magic and decided to run, or maybe there is part of him still in there. Like the trap of the phone, but instead of being surrounded by technology, the Al I know is being trapped by the tainted magic.
And so I can never share the truth. It’s a good thing I’ve spent my entire life telling people what they want to hear.
I plant a sad smile on my face and turn around.
“He left,” I tell her while letting a couple of tears steam down my face. Those I definitely don’t have to fake. “When he saw how killing Stewart was the key to me retrieving some of my stolen magic and regaining my sight, he told me he had to go. He thinks he can save his sister.”
“Hey! You can see! Awesome,” Cindy says before scowling. “Is he coming back?”
“I don’t know,” I say. At least this isn’t a lie. “I don’t think so.”
Everything that has happened gets the better of me and I can no longer hold back the tears. I slump, giving in to the emotions and finally let the sword drop to the ground. When Cindy hesitantly wraps her arms around me, I don’t flinch or pull away. I rest my head on her shoulder and let her hold me.
When I’m feeling strong enough, I pull away and look at her ridiculous red hair.
“You know,” I say. “I think you’d look better with blue streaks.”
“What?” she says indignantly while placing a hand on her head. “I look hot as a redhead.”
“It’s terrible.”
“Your face is terrible.”
I laugh, “Shut up.”
We start toward the door.
“You didn’t hear any neighbors, did you?” I ask.
“Not a soul,” she says. “Think Mom will let me live here after high school? I’m getting a real good vibe from this place. Bet there are a lot of hot angsty guys in the area. And then I’d be able to keep Farah and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.”
“There is no possible scenario where you get to keep that monster,” Mom calls from downstairs.
I laugh as Cindy whispers to Farah not to worry; she’ll figure something out. And not for a second do I doubt she will.
About the Author
Christina G Gaudet is a young adult author. When not writing, Christina can be found working on comics, illustrations and designs. She grew up and continues to live in Prince Edward Island, Canada where having red hair instantly makes you famous.
www.christinaggaudet.com
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