Chapter 7

Show and Tell that day began with Chelle and Theo performing a scene from a play. Normally they were the same height, but her glamour did a good job of making her seem small and weak next to him. Ashton told the group about what he’d learned about the World War Two frostbite spell mentioned at the last meeting.

Summer, instead of talking about her studies, asked a question. “Jennifer? Is it true that you lost the ability to walk from participating in that big teleportation ritual a few years ago?”

Jennifer nodded. “Many of us paid a price - willingly - to pull off a once-in-a-century spell. It’s actually pretty amazing that the consequences weren’t worse.”

Summer spoke again: “Is it true that the whole reason for that spell was because a little girl got herself into trouble, and so her mother had to rush home to fix things for her?”

“Summer...,” Jennifer cautioned.

“Isn’t it fair to say,” Summer pressed on, “that it’s that little girl’s fault that you’re a cripple?”

The look Jennifer gave Summer was enough to make even her cower.

“What Summer is alluding to,” Jennifer said, looking each of her students in the eye one by one, “is the Portugal magic summit, five years ago. Mages from all over the world met to teach and learn from one another. It was unprecedented, having so many highly skilled mages together in one place. We used the opportunity to try some group magic that would otherwise have been out of our reach. One day, Clover Monroe received a text that her family was being attacked by a demon, back in the United States. We abandoned the spell we had been planning and instead attempted the impossible: sending Clover instantly home to deal with the threat.”

Laurel spoke softly. “Reiser. Clover Reiser. Monroe was her maiden name.”

Jennifer nodded at the correction. “Clover Reiser. Laurel’s mom. I don’t think any other living person could have commanded those energies. If it had been me? There would have been seventy-two corpses in a ring around a crater. We all knew the risks, and we accepted them, to help one of us save her family. I don’t regret it for an instant. Actually, many of us would have done it even without the urgency, just to be part of a ritual that ambitious.”

Jennifer forced a smile. “So, who’s next?” When no one volunteered, she said, “Okay, I guess that’s enough for today.”

Summer was the first to rise, walking with her head held high.

“Keep walking, bitch,” Chelle growled at her.

“Dick move, Summer,” Theo chastised.

Summer and her friends went out on the town that night. The rest stayed in and watched bad supernatural films.

“You know what gets me?” Theo complained. The group had started talking about Hollywood cliches about magic. “Is when just being angry is enough to make magic happen. Where’s the respect for the scholarship and artistry? Anyone can get angry. It takes a lifetime of work to learn spellcraft.”

“And what’s with broomsticks for flying? That looks really uncomfortable!” Laurel wondered aloud, smiling for the first time in hours.

“Yeah, I think Baba Yaga’s got the right idea when it comes to flying,” Ashton suggested. “Get yourself a giant mortar and pestle, trick it out with some leather seats and a killer stereo. That’s the way to travel.”

“How about milk turning sour when there’s a witch nearby?” Maxie asked.

“Warts!” Chelle contributed, tickling Maxie. “We’re all covered with big ugly warts!”

“You guys ever heard of night hags?” Maxie asked, giggling and pushing Chelle away. “They’re witches who enter your bedroom at night and sit on your chest, slowly crushing you.”

“That one is based on a real thing,” Ashton explained. “Sleep paralysis. Totally normal phenomenon - happens to like ten percent of people at some time in their life. You’re awake, but something goes wrong switching out of REM sleep and your body is paralyzed. It goes away on its own, but when it happened to me, it was the most terrifying two minutes of my life.”

“That’s what she said!” Chelle joked.

Maxie threw a pillow at her. “Do you always have sex on the brain?” Chelle wiggled her eyebrows in answer.

“Speaking of which,” Theo asked, “do you feel like giving a lesson tonight, Laurel?”

Once Ashton and Maxie learned about Laurel’s private tutoring, they begged to join, so Laurel started over with her new students. They were so enthused that the five of them stayed up nearly until dawn.