My paper ran out long before the questions did, forcing me to use a borrowed tablet to type out answers.
T.J. was showing a drawing to my aunt when I approached her.
“Ye have to know that magic and technology have a hard time co-existing, ye see?” my aunt was telling him.
“But Miss O’Carroll, my tech is different. Maybe it’s part of my talent, but most of my work is pretty tolerant of magic, and it’s not like anyone can cast a spell directly on my creations,” he replied.
“If ye want to make one o’ your robot thingies and put it to the test, then by all means. I think it a grand idea. Jest don’t be surprised if some of the landscaping spells muck it all up,” my aunt said, turning and catching sight of me.
I had found some more paper in Caeco’s supremely organized backpack, so I handed her my question.
Can we talk?
“Oh, I think that we should,” she said in an ominous tone. T.J. backed away several steps before fleeing back to the other kids, some of whom were watching us. Maybe they thought she’d turn me into a frog or something. They didn’t know her very well… her anger wouldn’t manifest in anything so mild.
“So, go ahead. Give me your brilliant excuses for why ye would break yer word,” she said, arms crossed.
No excuses. I knew what was in that section and I could either break a promise or drop out and never come back. But I am very sorry.
“It was as bad as that, was it?” she asked, her tone doubtful that anything could be that bad.
I was helpless. Utterly helpless and I thought I was losing Caeco because I was so weak and slow compared to him. He whispered stuff in my ears like I was his bitch. I wanted to kill him. Thought about it. But I remembered Mom’s book.
“Mind yer language,” she said as she read my words, but her face softened just ever so slightly. “Ye could have come home… or called? And how were ye knowing what was in that section, eh?”
First week of college and I’m supposed to flee home? My mother would be so proud. And I read the whole book once, long before you gave it to me. I found it in your office when I was like ten or something.
“You what?” she asked loud enough to make half the remaining kids jump.
Old Mr. Grady came into the kitchen, mad about something and cursing a lot. You sent me to your office, probably so I wouldn’t hear his words. Mom’s book was under some papers and I thought the writing looked like hers. I paged through it, but the glyphs caught my eye so I mostly remembered them.
“And ye never mentioned a word of it when I gave ye the book?” she asked, frowning.
I was so excited to get Mom’s grimoire and I thought you might not let me have it if I told you I had seen it before.
“That’s called lying by omission and it can be jest as bad as the regular sort of lies,” she said, but her tone wasn’t quite as dangerous.
I thought of just trying the glyphs from memory.
She paled as she read that, a flash of real fear flickering across her features.
“Oh, Declan, I really wish ye had called or texted or something,” she said, her anger now dismay, which, strangely, was a little worse.
I won’t use them.
“Oh lad, that’s easy to say, but they’re a part of ye now. Ye might as well say ye won’t use yer feet,” she said. “What will ye do if that behemoth wolf comes for ye again?”
I’ll use magic.
“Just as bad. Maybe worse, don’t ye see? First, yer likely to get tossed out on yer ear for using magic against another student. Ye got away with it this morning because Mrs. Velasquez saw him go for you in his beast shape. But as much as she wants ye here, for whatever reason, if ye break the rules, she’ll have no choice, will she? And how many times have I told ye that using the Craft to solve yer problems is no solution at all?”
Lots, but why does she want me to stay? Maybe a quick change of topic would move us away from more dangerous things.
“I don’t know, lad, but she was mighty persuasive, arguing on yer behalf. I’d think her a witch meself if I didn’t know for sure she wasn’t. Which goes back to