“Last one there is a rotten egg!” Tad yells, and then the engine on his Prius whirrs as he pulls in front of me and begins the race.
“You ninny!” I shout at him, a wide smile on my face, and then I press the pedal to the metal.
“So I seemaniacruns in the family,” Rogan observes dryly, giving theoh shithandle on his side of the car more action than it’s ever seen in its life.
“Well, if you can’t handle it, Mr. Kendrick, you’re more than welcome to just undo everything you’ve done to insert yourself inmylife and be on your way,” I tell him, my tone saccharine.
“Tell me something,” Rogan starts, the look on his face assessing. “I thought you were new to this whole magic thing—”
“I am,” I interrupt, not sure where he’s going with this.
“Then how did you manage all that back there? No incantations, no herbs, no magnifiers or anything else that I could see helping you manage your newfound magic with such finesse. You didn’t even need to tap into my magic to make it all happen?”
I look over at him, a flicker of surprise moving through me. I could almost take that as a compliment. Almost.
“So if you’re so new and underprepared like you said, how did all of that just happen back at your aunt’s house?”
There’s a hint of mistrust in his tone that I don’t like, but instead of addressingthat, I decide instead to answer his question, mostly because I think if I do, I might get answers to some of my own queries too.
“I’m not sure how selection works for Hemamancers,” I start, pulling my eyes away from him so I can weave my way through this gated community and beat Tad’s ass home. “But when I sealed myself to the bones, it felt like it unlocked this vault inside of my head. Suddenly I just knew things, knew I now had power, but not exactly how it would manifest.
“When I walked into Magda’s house, I just felt so mad. It was like my emotions opened that same vault again, and suddenly I had options for how I wanted to use that power. I could have cursed them, tortured them, destroyed everything they had quickly or slowly. There were so many choices, so many different things my magic could do in that moment, all laid out before me like a catalogue. I could sense the osteo matter in the ground, and that’s just what I went for. It was as though I put it in my shopping cart and checked out. Then the next thing I know, it was happening. Was it not like that for you? For your brother?”
“No,” he answers simply.
I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. Uneasiness seeps into my thoughts, and I’m not sure what to think of that. Is what happened to me not normal? Is it different for each family or each stream of magic?
I commit right then and there to spend the rest of the night reading and studying. Grammy tried to teach us aboutourline and some general witch info, but there’s clearly a lot that I missed. I knew there was magic, a little about how it worked and the things that my grandmother did. But my disinterest in knowing more beyond that has clearly crippled me here and I need to rectify that as soon as possible.
“So howdidit work for you then?” I press, having no intention of letting this go. I assumed how things worked in my family was how it would work for any selection in any family, but Rogan’s resounding no has me second-guessing and extremely curious.
“The magic in my line works like it used to when magic first joined with mortals and the first witches were born.”
I raise my eyebrows at the veryonce upon a timevibe to his tale, but I keep quiet because it feels like I’m just starting aLord of the Ringsbook or something.
“We’re not selected later in life by chance, we’re born with a spark of magic that identifies us as heirs. When we were old enough, Elon and I were sent off to study with the Hemamancer and Osteomancer of our line. We grew up with them, in this world, practicing everything we would need to know for when it was our time.”
He explains all of this in a very matter-of-fact way, but I can’t help but feel like the way he grew up must have been very cold and lonely. “How did your parents feel about having to send you away?” I ask. Even though I know I’m prying and it’s none of my business, I just can’t seem to help myself.
Rogan shrugs and runs his hand from the crown of Hoot’s head to his rump, the motion steady and I suspect comforting. “My parents were matched because it was magically advantageous. That’s how things work with the House of Kendrick. It all comes down to being the best, the strongest, the most powerful. My parents knew what would be expected of them if their children were heirs.”
“Are there a lot of families that do things like yours?” I ask, surprised by what seems like an archaic set of traditions.
“Not as many as there used to be, but many founding magical houses are still there, and this is how they’ve always done things.
“It all seems so stuffy compared to how I grew up, so stifling. Are you sure your brother wasn’t running from that?”
Rogan studies me for a moment, and I can’t tell if he’s thinking about the questions or looking for something in the planes of my face. “Maybe,” he finally answers. “I don’t think so, but I’d be dumb not to consider every possibility. But even if that’s the case, how do you explain the other disappearances?”
“Are the other witches also fromfounding houses?” I ask in my best aristocratic voice as I mime holding a teacup, pinky out, of course. I honk at some asshole who cuts me off going half the speed limit, and angrily change lanes to speed past them. “Learn how to merge, you numpty!” I shout out my still open window, and then I feel like a prick when they give an apology wave.Oops, guess I’ll just reel my road rage right back in. I return the wave as though we’re now road besties and promptly putter away.
“One is,” Rogan answers, ignoring my driving faux pas. “But the others are from newer lines.”
I grew up in Massachusetts, so the wholeOld MoneyversusNew Moneything isn’t new to me, but I’m a little shocked to see it’s like that with magic too. I probably shouldn’t be; I know enough history to see a pattern of this when it comes to most things. Religion, land, money, magic, politics, the list really is endless, and regardless of which option, there’s always a group that wants to be on top, with people at the bottom hoping someday their lot in life will change.
“So what about you?” Rogan asks me as I take a sharp right and barrel down the street that leads to my apartment complex.
“What about me? You know how I got my magic.”
