then looked up at me, a grave expression on her face.
"This guy," she said on a grim sigh, "is the man who killed your sister."
Chapter 9
"You mean ... Holly?" I said.
Davina's eyebrows raised up in surprise. "You know about her?"
"Yeah." My chest tightened a bit, and I said, "So it was that guy, Cain? He killed her?"
Davina nodded solemnly.
"And now he's here for me?"
"Well..." She sighed. "Yes."
I tried to process this information, but couldn't get anywhere with it. I knew I should be feeling something, but mostly, I was just hollow. "I don't understand any of this. What is so special about us that people are trying to kill us?"
"It's power, baby. Power is everything. All the killing, all the evil, all the tragedy in the world, it's all about who's in charge. The only thing that kept magic people marginally safe were the facts that the powers were usually fairly tame, and they couldn't be stolen. You were either born to it, or you weren't. As long as Magicals stayed closeted and didn't present a threat, it was okay. But then, your father got his power and he was ... different."
I leaned forward, hungry for details. "Different how?"
"He was the first known Magical who could manifest his power by will." She met my eye. "Do you understand what that means?"
"Nope."
"It means that there was no limit to what he could do. Most Magicals have innocuous powers. Some can make flowers grow faster. Some can maybe make things fly, set things on fire without a match. Simple things. Harmless, mostly. But imagine someone who could decide what power they wanted, practice a bit, and make it a reality." And here, her expression grew dark. "Imagine if there was a way for a non-Magical to force that person to will that power away."
I felt a shiver go down my spine. "But I thought ... you know ... free will, and everything. I thought that was important."
"It's important to the people who care about what the darkness does to their soul," she said, her voice low. "Some people care about the power more. Cain's one of those people."
"Okay, now ... who the hell is Cain?"
"He's a conjurer ... a witch, sort of. Someone who uses natural elements and potions to create magic, but who is not magical by nature." She gave a small, humble nod. "I'm a conjurer as well, although I really just dabble. I'm not nearly as powerful as he is."
I took a moment to absorb this. "So, Cain found Holly and killed her?"
"I still don't believe he intended to kill her. He's crazy, but not homicidal. It was an accident, I believe, an unintended consequence of stealing the power from her." She raised her eyes back to mine. "But now, see, we've got a problem."
"Now we have a problem? Didn't have one when he killed my sister, but now...?"
She nodded. "Since taking your sister's magic, Cain has been slowly losing his grip. The transition from day to night, from no power to power, it's taking a toll. But it's not like he's going to give up the power so..." She eyed me. "He's figured out another solution."
I thought on this a moment, then finished her thought. "Me. If he takes my day magic, he doesn't have to deal with the transition."
Davina nodded. "I knew he was searching, and so I searched, too, and I found you. That's what the test was about, the gym sock? The sneezing? I had to be sure it was really you. And then, you turned out to have day magic. You're exactly what he needs."
"No, no, I'm not anything," I said, standing up. "I'm going to find my father and have my powers bound and - "
Davina stood up as well. "It's too late for that. Cain's found you, he's not going to let you go." She grabbed my hands and held them in hers, nice and warm and comforting. "But there's good news here."
I stared at her. "Hmmm. Missing father. Dead sister. A crazed conjuring killer after me. Somehow I missed the silver lining."
"Well, for one, he won't try to take anything from you yet. You're not strong enough. You would die before he could get enough juice out of you."
I swallowed. "That's the bright side?"
She smiled, her expression calm and loving, and I felt my heart rate slow down a bit.
"You can fight him. With Holly, we didn't know what he was after, but now, we do. If you build up