Legacy (5 page)

Maybe out in a field somewhere.
She
swept
i
nto
class and slid into her usual seat
and sat with her hands clasped tightly on top of
her desk, not raising her eyes.

When
Lindy
, Amy and Becca
made their appearance,
she cringed.
I wish you would
just
go away.

Greg strode down the aisle and tossed his backpack
under
the seat beside her. “Hey!”

She took a deep breath. “Hey.” She managed a tremulous smile. She hoped he hadn’t heard about the gym class. He didn’t say anything. Just sat beside her.

When
Felicity
came to class
, she was careful to ease past
Lindy
and her friends, managing to evade the foot stuck out in the aisle. When she spotted Greg sitting beside Mercy, she
froze
, looking confused. She started to take a different seat, but Mercy motioned her to sit
on the other
side
of
her.

Felicity
took
the
seat beside Mercy, keeping her eyes carefully averted. “Hi Mercy. Hi Greg
,
”
she mumbled.

“Hey
Felicity
.” Greg spread his fingers in a
greeting
.

The bell rang and Mercy tried to concentrate on the teacher’s words, but she was painfully aware of the great number of times Lindy and her friends glanced back at her,
glaring when they met her gaze.

Mercy contented herself by imagining them
being whisked far, far away to some other dimension
.
Someplace where they couldn’t hurt anyone
.

When class was over, Greg walked her to her locker and grabbed her threadbare backpack, hooking it over his shoulder.
He grinned and fell into step beside her as they headed for the main door. The hall filled with noisy, jostling students. Felicity caught up with them and
walked behind her to the exit.

They
walked
in silence, but it was strangely comforting. Somehow, being flanked by Greg and Felicity made h
er feel safe…almost invincible.

Greg walked them out to
Kelli
’s car and thumped
her
door with his hand
after he had closed her inside. He
winked and turned
to hook up with his baseball buds.

Felicity slid into the back seat beside her cello. “He must really like you. He sure is staking his claim.”

Kelli
let out a gurgle of glee. “Yep! You’re branded now.”

The drive home was filled with blissful chatter from
Kelli
and Felicity, but Mercy remained deep in thought. She was being bullied by three
hideous
girls and seemed to be helpless to defend herself. The fact that Greg liked her made it a little more bearable, but she thought
the situation could only get worse.
In fact, it seemed to have escalated
since Greg first started paying attention to her.
Maybe that's it. Maybe Lindy is jealous
because Greg likes me
.

When Mercy entered the empty house, the silence
consumed her…prickled her skin
. She wanted to tell Gran about her horrible day. She wanted to feel her grandmother’s arms enfolding her in a hug. And she wanted to eat an after school snack her Gran
usually
had waiting
on the table
.

I miss you Gran. Please come home
.

She opened a can of soup and
heated it in the microwave.
The heaviness in her chest was almost unbearable. Still, she thought she should try to do as Gran wished and carry on as normal, whatever that was.
She
carried her soup to
the table
and pulled out the chair.
Alistair
leaped onto the other chair and
s
a
t, staring at her.
She could almost hear him miaowing to her, although he
remained
silent.
Where is Gran?
Am I
experiencing a Martian Mind Meld with a cat?

“I don’t know where she is,” she said aloud, but
Alistair
continued to interrogate her with his huge emerald green eyes.

She lifted the spoon and forced herself to choke down the contents of the bowl
bite-by-bite while Alastair
maintaine
d his silent scrutiny
.
"There...Are you satisfied?"

He jumped down from the chair and made himself comfortable by curling up in the overstuffed chair. Only the tip of his tail flipped back and fo
rth to hint at his aggravation.

Mercy cleared the table and washed her dishes, then sat at the same table to finish her homework. She arranged her books and papers in her backpack and left it by the door so she could grab it in the morning on her way to meet the
girls
.

She
picked up the remote
to
turn
on the television
. Scanning
the
program
s
, n
othing drew her interest until she happened on a channel she hadn’t noticed before.
WTC? Maybe it was something new
. She turned up the sound and settled on the sofa to get her mind off her present situation.

Two girls about her own age were having some sort of a dialogue. The dark haired one was talking…“So
this is your first assignment?”

The other girl nodd
ed. “Yes, I’ve read through the
chapter in the
handbook, but this is my first actual assignment. I’ve never divined anything before.”

Alistair
startled her by jumping up beside her. She stroked her hand down his back and he settled into her lap.

“Let’s get started then.” The dark-haired girl removed a cloth covering several items on top of a table. “Go ahead and select an object and let
’
s see if you can divine something from it.”

The other girl let her hand graze over the objects and selected a pocket watch. She held it in both hands and closed her eyes.
“I’m not getting anything.”

“Just relax and let the object speak to you.”

Mercy stroked
Alistair
, touching his collar. There was a medallion hanging from it that Gran had placed there. When
she had
asked about it, Gran said a handsome cat deserved a
handsome
adornment
and added that it was an antique
.
Mercy
t
ouched
the medallion and noticed the scrollwork design. It appeared to be
pewter or maybe silver
with the patina of age. It warmed in her hand reminding her of Gran. Then it chan
ged, grew hotter and then cold.

I am here for you, M’lady…

She heard it as though it had been s
poken aloud. Startled, she
released the medallion and
glanced around, but there was only the cat.
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She muted the sound on the television. “Hallo?...”
Alistair
’s l
oud purr was the only response.

She drew a deep breath and released it.
Geez! I'm imagining things. Getting spooked over nothing
. Her fingers trembled like aspen leaves in the breeze.
Alistair
reached out a paw to touch her hand. Smiling she stroked his head.
He must miss Gran too
. She rubbed his ears and he turned on his back.
His medallion gleamed silver against the black fur. She
touched
it with one finger. Hot again.

“
M’lady…if you would but concentrate for the moment…
”

A whisper of alarm scurried down her spine.
“
Alistair
! Are you speaking to me?”

“Of course, M’lady. There’s no one else here.” He gazed at her with his eyes narrowed to slits.
His voice came out raspy, like his purrs.

“Oooh…” She drew the word out until it died in a whisper. “It’s the medallion! I can hear you through the medallion.”

“Well…” he purred. “It’s just because you’re new. Lavinia hears me quite well without it.”

“Lav…You mean Gran?”

“Yes, my dear Lavinia. I have been
en
trusted with
her
protecti
o
n
.”

Mercy let out a derisive snort. “Well, you’re doing a heckuva job of that!”

“Excuse me?” He looked down his silky nose at her.

“If you’re protecting her, where is she? Why hasn’t she gotten in touch with me?”
Mercy
wanted to scream at him, but it wasn’t his fault…And she realized that, after all, he was just a cat.

“Just a cat!”
He twisted around in her arms, glaring at her. “I say! I am most definitely not just a cat. I’ll have you know that my bloodline goes back to Sir Lancelot.”

“Sir Lancelot? That’s silly. He was a knight and you’re a…”

“Cat?” The emerald eyes regarded her solemnly.

She swallowed hard. “I see…Have you always been a…?”

“Cat?” he repeated. “It’s sufficient to say that I have been many things
…and I will probably be many more before I’m done.”

“Can you tell me where my grandmother is?”
She felt the tears prickling her eyes again. “I mean, when will she come back?”

His purr came out rich and velvety. “Who said she was missing?”

She gestured around the room. “Do you see her anywhere?”

“Yes.” He leapt from her lap and pushed through a narrow opening in the
door
way
.

“Wait! You’ve got to tell me…” But he was gone. She sank back down on the sofa and unm
u
ted the television.

“You’re doing quite well for your first attempt at divining. Practice, practice, practice.” The dark-haired
woman
turned to the camera. “And that brings us to the end of this day’s lesson. This is Darynda your hostess on WTC, the Witches Training Channel.
”

Mercy sat straight up. “Wait a minute! Witch’s Training Channel?”

“Yes, Mercy. Tune in
again
for your lesson, and in the meantime, practice your divining.
There will be a quiz.
” The screen went dark.

“But wait!” She flipped the television back on and
found Darynda glowering at her.

“What?”

“I haven’t had a lesson.
What lesson are you talking about?”

Darynda was on her feet with her hands fisted on her hips.
“Well, duh! The lesson on divining. Weren’t you paying attention? Seriously, I can only do so much. You have
to make a little effort here.”

“I…uh, I was having a conversation with a…cat.”

“Not my problem.” She glanced at her watch. “Look, I’m on overtime here. You gotta get with the program.”

“I will, but…” Mercy waved her hands in a helpless gesture. “It’s just that everything is happening at once. I had no idea I was a witch and all this…is just so…” She realized that Darynda had her cell phone to her ear. “Hello?
I’m talking to you…
”

Darynda slid her phone into her pocket. “Look, the lesson is over. I suggest you practice divining and
read your handbook.”

“Handbook! What hand
book? I don’t have a handbook.”

Darynda made a groaning noise. “Do I have to do everything around here?” She spoke to someone off camera who commented back in an unintelligible
mumble. Darynda turned back to the camera. “Check your mailbox and tune in
next week
when
I will introduce simple elixirs.” The screen started to darken.

“Wait!” Mercy shrieked. “What is the Witch’s Training Channel?”

Darynda rolled her eyes. “The WTC is THE home-schooling program for future witches. You,
young
lady are officially a Witch-in-Training, or a WIT. The Witch’s Training Channel was developed to provide standardized
education
for future witches.” She gave a slight shake of her head as though she had never encountered such a limp brain. “Your responsibility is to pay attention
, read your handbook
and practice your lessons. Good-bye.” The screen went to black with a vengeance.