He swallowed hard. “That about sums it up.”
“About?” Her eyes bulged. “What did you leave out?”
“Part of our becoming fairy godfathers was our promise that for every case we take to retrieve a kidnapped child, we would match it by completing a fairy godmother wish.” In the beginning, the wishes had been simple. A pony. Long hair. Learning to ride a bike without training wheels. But lately, they’d become more convoluted.
“I once asked for a fairy godmother,” Sophie said sadly. “I wanted to go to heaven and be with my parents. I never got one.”
Fuck. “Yours wasn’t a wish they could grant. They only respond to ones they can. And even then, not all wishes are granted.”
“Why not?”
“Because fairy godmothers are in short supply. That’s why Clarabelle was able to get it approved to start a fairy godfather branch. It was either that, or those children whose doable requests went unanswered would continue to be disappointed, and the more that happened, the fewer and fewer who would believe, and that would eventually cause the demise of fairy godmothers.”
Sophie’s eyes softened, and she looked at him with a mixture of understanding and lingering sadness. “So, it’s not just about granting wishes. It’s about keeping the magic alive?”
“Exactly,” Stone said, relieved that she was starting to grasp the bigger picture. “We’re doing our best to keep the belief in magic strong, to make sure that kids don’t lose hope. It’s a delicate balance.”
She walked back to the couch and sat down, her expression contemplative. “Where’s your wand? Can I see it?”
“Soon. This brings me to the next part of my reason for being here.”
“Never in my thirty-two years,” Sophie said with a bemused smile, “did I ever think a day would come when I heard myself say this, but here I go… This secret has been worth every penny of that million-dollar bid I made.”
He laughed. Her enthusiasm was endearing. “Back to your question about my wand. You see, after the accident, my magic started glitching, which made me a danger in the field.”
She frowned. “How was your wand damaged?”
“A bullet caught it and grazed my finger.”
She went white. “A bullet. You take fairy godfather cases where bullets fly?”
He shook his head. “No. At least, we’ve never been given one where that was necessary. But we’re allowed to use our wands in our retrieval of kidnapped children cases. By doing so, we practically eliminate the danger to the children. But on this particular night, right as I was casting a spell over the kidnapper, a child emerged we hadn’t known was in the house. I was distracted, and my inattention gave the bad guy enough time to fire off a round before I could spell his gun.”
“Was the child hurt?”
“No. Everything turned out okay, but my wand took a bullet, and my finger was grazed by the incident. As a result, my magic started glitching.”
“What does glitchy magic look like? I mean, does your wand droop or something when you’re spinning it?”
“I can say, ‘turn those boots into stilettos,’ and it turns the boots into a loaf of bread.”
“Oh. I could see how that would be unimpressive to a child expecting big things out of you as their fairy godfather.”
“Anyway, my wand hasn’t been the same since.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I feel like there’s more to the story than that. What aren’t you saying?”
“It’s been discovered that during the injury, magic from the wand leaked into me.”
Sophie’s eyes widened, her curiosity palpable. “What does that mean?”
“It means I now have some level of magic within me, independent of the wand. It’s unpredictable and, at times, uncontrollable.”
“Well, doesn’t that just sound delightful?” She went back to pacing, her steps quick and purposeful.
Stone watched her in fascination. “I’m glad you feel that way because all the thunder, lightning, rain, freaky blinking lights… Those were all caused as a result of our interaction. It appears that every time you and I touched, my magic either seeped into you or you sucked it out of me. Or you are a sleeping Magical finally awakening.”
She swirled around and came to him, eyes wide with realization. “Are you saying—” She stopped talking, twirled her pointer finger in the air, then pointed it at him and said, “Jazam.”
