Malice (8 page)

“What are you going to do about this?” I wondered. “I mean, what can you do?”

Her expression was pained. “I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to do anything. I had hoped that she’d just grow into the power naturally. But lately, I’m not so sure. After finding out that she’d persuaded another child to help her cheat, it makes me wonder what else she’s persuading children at school to do.”

“Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe the test was a onetime thing,” I offered up.

“As much as I’d like to believe that, I don’t. She’s using her gift on us more frequently so I have to assume that she’s using it elsewhere as well. At this rate, it’s only going to be a matter of time before she fully grasps what she’s capable of.”

Though she had explained things, she really hadn’t answered my question. So again, I asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Right now,” she said in a resigned tone, “I really only have three options. I can just let her be, try to guide her and hope for the best. I can try to bind her power. Or I can strip it completely.”

“You can do that?” I knew that it was possible to strip and bind magic. What I was really asking was whether or not she
would
do it.

“Not by myself, no,” she said. “But it can be done.”

“But will you do that?” I could hear the abhorrence in my tone. I hadn’t meant for it to come out. But binding someone’s magic was hard to grasp. Stripping it was unfathomable. It was also unfathomable that my little sister, not quite seven yet, could soon have the power to persuade
anyone
to do
anything
.

“I don’t know,” Mom admitted. “The thought sickens me. But the thought that people could come after her, if they knew, that terrifies me.” With a decisive little nod she said, “If it comes to it, I’ll do what has to be done. I’d do anything to protect my children.” Without another word, she slipped through the doorway and into the hall. I heard her light footfalls as she padded into my sister’s room to kiss her goodnight.

The following day at school I was clearly distracted, though I tried to pretend not to be. The drive to school in the morning with Tristan had been filled with more silence. My head had been filled with thoughts of Magnolia. While her gift had sounded amazing to me at first, now that I’d talked to Mom, I realized that it probably was not worth the trouble.

Another thought nagged at me, as well. Our father knew that Magnolia would be able to persuade people one day? He’d known before he’d left. He and Mom had disagreed on how it should be handled. I’d always been told that he’d left without explanation. Now I wondered if this had something to do with it.

Tristan had tried to cajole me out of my glum mood but I hadn’t been very receptive. He’d given up quickly. He probably thought it still had something to do with the argument we’d had. Any other day, I’d be quick to correct him. This morning, however, I’d been too preoccupied to care.

Daphne and Finola had also known something was wrong. Luckily they both thought I was nervous about my date with Xavier.

My date with Xavier had been about the last thing on my mind.

I’d promised Mom I wouldn’t tell. It hadn’t occurred to me when I made the promise just how hard it would be to keep this from my best friends. Instead, I’d tried to distract them. Asking Finola if she’d heard from Alex yet had worked.

Not only did it move the attention away from me, but it reminded Finola that she was annoyed with Daphne. The two of them spent the rest of the day squabbling while I was left to my thoughts.

Mom left shortly after I got home. There was another issue with Magnolia at school, though this one, she hadn’t seemed quite as stressed over.

The elderly couple had checked out earlier in the day, ready to be on their way, driving up the coast. I was in my bedroom when I heard a car pull up. I peeked out the window, surprised to see that Levi was back already.

Really, I’d seen very little of him since he’d checked in. His research was obviously keeping him very busy. Most of the time I’d go downstairs to greet a guest. However Levi had been here awhile and he never seemed to need anything. Instead I dropped myself back onto my desk chair.

I had some homework in Methods in Magical Theory that I wanted to finish up before dinner time. The bell over the door jingled, announcing that he’d come inside. After a few minutes I realized that I hadn’t heard Levi ascend the staircase. Perhaps he needed assistance with something after all. There was a bell on the desk that guests could ring. It was charmed so that the sound would be heard in whatever room we were in. He hadn’t used the bell. Maybe he was just relaxing in the parlor.

With a sigh, I got back up and crossed my room. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on my homework again until I knew for sure. I’d left my bedroom door open, as Mom insisted. When I stepped into the hallway, I was greeted with an eerie silence. Usually I was greeted by the distant sound of a drink being poured, a newspaper rustling or at the very least, footsteps.

I heard nothing and for a reason I couldn’t explain it sent a prickly shiver down my spine. I moved out of my room slowly, cautiously. I strained my ears as I went. Still nothing. My hand reached the banister. I gripped it as my feet cautiously made their way down the steps. I avoided the stairs that I knew creaked.

When I reached the bottom, I peeked into the foyer. It was empty. As was the dining room to the other side of me. I frowned. Maybe Levi had made his way upstairs after all. It was possible that after so many days in this house, he was aware of the creaky steps too. I was about to head back upstairs when the squeak of a shoe on hardwood caught my attention. I took a few more steps so that I could peek into the hallway that led away from the foyer.

Levi was standing with his back to me. His hand was on the door to Mom’s study. The sight of him there was so surprising that I was momentarily stunned. I stood watching him for a moment, wondering what he was doing.

Aside from the obvious: He was trying to get into the study.

I cleared my throat. He stood straighter, his shoulders obviously tightening. It took a moment for him to turn around. When he did. He flashed me his friendly grin.

I flashed back my own confused smile. “Can I help you with something?”

“I thought there was a restroom down here?” He turned all the way around to face me, and then he motioned toward the door. “I take it this isn’t it?”

I pointed toward the doorway at the end of the hall. The door itself was half open, the pedestal sink clearly visible. “Right there,” I said.

He winced in embarrassment. “Can’t believe I missed that. Thanks.” He scooted toward the bathroom. As soon as he shut the door I wandered into the kitchen.

I didn’t really need anything but I decided to pour myself a glass of water. I leaned my hip against the kitchen counter as I sipped it. He couldn’t have really thought that was the bathroom, could’ve he? But it didn’t make sense that he’d want to go into Mom’s study. There was nothing for him in there.

A quick, hard knock on the front door, followed by the bells chiming, interrupted any further thought on the matter.

“Sam?” Tristan called from the foyer.

“In here,” I called back. I placed my glass on the counter before I walked out to greet him. “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Julie.”
Again
.

He shook his head. “I was but we finished up early. She’s catching on pretty fast. I don’t think she’s going to need me to tutor her much longer.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to say something that wasn’t snarky.

“So, look, do you think maybe—” He cut himself off when the door at the end of the hallway opened and Levi appeared.

I wanted to ask him if he’d been trying to get into Mom’s study. I couldn’t think of a tactful way to do that. Not without sounding accusatory. I certainly wouldn’t do it with Tristan here. Instead, a prolonged silence settled in.

Tristan glanced at me, and then back to Levi before his eyes dropped to the floor.

“Renee’s not around, is she?” Levi asked. “I didn’t see her car out front.”

I shook my head. “No. Is there something I can help you with?”

“No. That’s okay. I’ll just talk to her later. I have some paperwork I’d like to get done tonight. I’ll just head up to my room.”

I moved out of the way, giving him access to the staircase. He took only a few steps before stopping in front of Tristan.

“It’s Tristan, right?” he asked. I wasn’t surprised that he knew his name.

Tristan nodded and reached for Levi’s hand when he held it out.

“Levi,” Levi said as they shook.

Tristan moved to pull his hand away but Levi held on a few moments longer than necessary. I realized his attention had been grabbed by the band Tristan wore.

“That’s…a unique piece of work. Can I see it?” Levi asked.

“Uh, no.” Tristan’s tone was uncharacteristically unfriendly. Without further explanation, he tugged his hand out of Levi’s grip. He stuffed it into his pocket, effectively blocking the leather band from Levi’s view.

Levi appeared nonplussed. “Alright then. It just looks like a pretty intricate piece of work. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.”

Silence filled the air once more. My guess was that Levi hoped Tristan would feel compelled to give him some information, at the very least, if he wasn’t going to allow him to look at it. If that was the case, Levi was out of luck.

Tristan rocked back on his heels and his gaze bounced around the room.

“Alright then, I’ll get out of your way,” Levi announced. He quickly climbed the staircase and disappeared from our view.

I turned back to Tristan. His gaze had settled at the top of the stairs. His jaw was set and though Levi was out of sight, Tristan was still scowling.

We heard the sound of a door being opened and closed again.

“How much longer is he going to be here?” he demanded as he turned to me.

“Tristan!” I hissed. I was sure that Levi was in his room and well out of earshot. But still. “That was rude.”

Tristan shrugged. “I was just asking.”

He may have been just asking, but the tone he’d used implied that he wanted him gone.

“What difference does it make?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I just don’t like that guy.”

I opened my mouth in surprise. Then I closed it again because I wasn’t sure what to say. Finally I settled on, “You don’t even know him.”

He glanced up the staircase again before directing his attention to me. “Can we talk? Outside maybe?”

I nodded and I silently followed him out. He rounded the backside of the house. The old swing set from our childhood still stood. Magnolia used it and every now and then, guests with children would make their way out to the backyard.

Tristan bypassed the swing set and settled for the old wrought iron bench instead. He dropped down on it and I settled in next to him.

The autumn day was warm, beautiful, really. The sky was a powdery blue, cloudless. The sun’s warmth whispered across my skin as a gentle breeze fluttered my hair. I turned to Tristan, waiting for him to say something.

“Sorry,” he finally muttered. He was leaning forward. His feet planted firmly on the ground. His elbows rested on his knee. His left hand fidgeted with the bracelet on his right. “I shouldn’t have said that while we were inside. I’m sure he didn’t hear me.”

“What did you mean when you said you didn’t like him?” I demanded.

He straightened up, leaning back on the seat. “I think he’s up to something. He’s been asking questions all over town. He showed up at Grandma’s a few days ago. She said he was asking questions that would only lead to trouble. I’ve seen him hanging around The Rush, too.”

“So? Lots of people hang around The Rush.” I happened to be one of them.

“Grandma feels like he’s trying to stir up trouble. He’s bringing up things that should stay dead and buried.”

“Do you care to elaborate?”

He shrugged. “That’s really all I have.”

That’s it? That was nothing.

“Well, I think he’s a nice guy.” It was possible I said it just for argument’s sake. I didn’t know him well enough to feel one way or the other about him.

Tristan narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t know him. You don’t know anything about him.”

“Neither do you,” I accused. After a moment’s hesitation, I rephrased that. “
Do
you know something about him?”

“No,” he irritably replied. “There’s just, I don’t know. There’s something about him I just don’t like.”

I cocked my head to the side. Was it possible that he didn’t like that Levi and I were chatting? Was he possibly jealous? I decided that was just wishful thinking so I swept those thoughts away.

“I just think you should stay away from him. He’s dangerous. Okay?”

“No, not okay. I need more to go on than that.”

“Just, please, trust me. I know there’s something not right with this guy.”

His words annoyed me. “Just because you
think
you know everything, doesn’t mean that you do.”

“Great,” he muttered. “This got off to a great start. And it’s not even what I came here to talk to you about.”

“What did you want to talk about?”

He raked a hand through his hair, leaving it uncharacteristically disheveled. I reached over, carefully smoothing it back into place. My fingers may have lingered a bit longer than necessary, yet they didn’t linger nearly long enough.

“Xavier,” he said.

My hand dropped to my lap and I felt my shoulders stiffen. “What about him?”

He shook his head and leveled his gaze on me. “I don’t think you should go out with him.”

“Why not?” I asked, my voice low.

“I just don’t think you should.”

“Tristan! First you tell me you want me to stay away from Levi. Now I’m supposed to stay away from Xavier. And you can’t give me a good reason to stay away from either one.”

“I just don’t want you going out with Xavier.” He took a deep breath before saying, “The guy is a jackass. You can do so much better than him.”

“Like who?” I demanded. He was right. Xavier could be a jackass. But it wasn’t like I had guys asking me out very often. Daphne insisted it was because everyone thought Tristan and I were together. I wasn’t so sure. I thought it was because I simply wasn’t that interesting.

“I don’t know,” Tristan said. “
Anyone
. Or no one. Why do you have to date anyone? I mean, you can’t possibly like him. So why bother going out with him at all?”

He had a valid point so it took me a moment to conjure an argument.

He hoisted himself off the bench and headed toward the swing set. I followed.

“Maybe I’m tired of not dating anyone,” I said. “Or maybe I’m tired of knowing the guy I want to be with doesn’t think of me the same way.”

He turned to face me. His eyebrows were pulled together, his head cocked to the side. The breeze was playing with his hair, leaving it disheveled again. This time, I didn’t bother trying to pat it back into place.