These Lying Eyes (19 page)

“Water is ours, as Grace said, and it’s the most common. It is followed by Air, Earth, and Fire.”

“What’s the significance of that?”

“Not much. Water Witches come more naturally to water spells at first. But, mostly, for now, it only matters that there’s a lot to magic. Things we can teach you, but we’ll need to focus on that later. We need to discuss how we’re going to teach you now. We need to meet together at least twice a week.”

Mina shrugged and looked to Max. They negotiated into Wednesday afternoons and Sundays. “Tutoring” would excuse them to their parents. Once they finished planning and eating, Grace lithely leapt off her stool.

“This is my favorite part,” she said as she turned and skipped from the kitchen.

Chapter 16

W
hile Grace was gone, Zizi entered the great room from the back of the house. Mina had no doubt that the sprite had been snooping. There was a wicked grin on Zizi’s face, and she shot Mina a satisfied glance before dropping onto her shoulder.

“How long does it take for the potion to work on Max?” Mina asked Penny to distract her from the frown she was shooting Zizi. None had realized she was gone until she blithely returned.

Max leaned forward, focused, as Penny said, “It just depends on how deep his magic is buried, but probably not much longer.”

Before Penny could return her attention to Zizi or Max could ask further questions, Grace danced into the room with an anticipatory grin, setting a small carved chest on the counter before them.

As she did, Penny arranged candles across the island counter. Penny waved her hand, and Mina felt Max jump. She grinned at him as the curtains shot closed, shutting out the last rays of the setting sun. Grace gestured, and lit the candles. Fingers of light crept towards the chest, almost stretching sinuously. But with the first touch of light, the silver figures began to move in a sinuous parade.

Mina felt her mouth drop. On the box, a bird dove towards a mermaid who swam along the side of the box. Zizi gasped as the mermaid flicked water at the bird, and Mina felt the sprite’s hand latch onto a curl of Mina’s hair.

“Oh my.” Zeez whispered.

“We’re going to identify your line. It will help us as we help you find your magic. Magic of different lines tend to dwell in similar places in our bodies. For example, when I first found my magic, it was flowing through my blood like a current in the ocean. It was very similar for Penny.

“Each witch begins his or her training by identifying their prominent magical line. There are many ways to do this. The way I use is a skill I cultivated which cuts short the meditation and study most young witches need to do to identify their magic.”

Grace opened the chest. Mina watched Grace while also trying to keep track of the silver dancing figures. Twice, she barely stopped herself from reaching towards those moving carvings.

A griffin she thought—calling on a vague memory as she examined the great cat with wings. The silver bird, only steps in front of the griffin, burst into flame. The bird, she knew then, was a phoenix.

The mermaid was obvious, but Mina didn’t recognize the small lizard-like creature. There were spikes along its back and more spikes at the tip of its tale.

“Put your hands out.” Grace addressed Mina, and her heart fluttered with excitement. She placed shaking palms on the counter in front of her.

Max’s shoulder brushed hers as he moved closer, carefully watching Grace as she pulled a Sharpie and a clanking velvet bag from the chest.

“What I’m going to do is write a rune on each of your hands. It’s a testing rune. Then I’m going to write a finding rune on my own hands. This will allow me to help you pull your magic into the open, so to speak. It’ll feel like a tickle in your mind. As I help you find your magic, the creatures on the chest will be drawn to you. Each represents a magical line. The one that chooses you does so because he recognizes the nature of your abilities.”

Penny interrupted, saying. “Not very many witches can do this spell. Having Grace as one of your teachers means that in a few days to a few weeks you’ll consistently be able to find and use your magic. You’ll shoot ahead of other apprentices who can take a year or two to be able to first identify their line and then call on their abilities. In no time, you’ll be doing basic spells and not long after you’ll surpass the abilities of those who’ve been studying for years.”

“It won’t matter to them what other people can do for quite some time.” Grace lifted Mina’s palm and covered it with lines. Using the marker, she wrote a strange symbol on Mina’s hand.

Grace finished the emblem on Mina’s hand and then Grace wrote on her own hands, following up with Max’s.

“You first luv,” Grace said to Mina. “Your magic is closer because it has never really slept. Finding your magic will call to Max’s.”

Grace placed a glittering crystal on Mina’s right palm. Then Grace placed her own palm over the crystal sandwiching it between their two palms. Their fingers were on opposite sides, so Mina’s fingers touched Grace’s palm. Grace laid her right hand down in front of Mina’s holding a black stone in it. The stone seemed to draw in the candlelight, so it insinuated itself between their palms.

With an unfamiliar word, a rush of air flew around the room making the candles flicker and then burn brighter. Mina felt the hair on the back of her neck lift, and she turned her gaze from their hands to Grace. Her hair pulled free, floating in the air. The smoke from the candles seemed to play with Mina’s senses, and she felt as though Grace was staring inside Mina, through her. Goose bumps rose along Mina’s flesh, and with a shiver, a sense of déjà vu overcame her.

Mina leaned forward until her face was nearly atop the counter. She watched the silver etched creatures; her face was only inches from the box when the griffin turned and stretched a paw towards her. The paw peeled away from the side of the book, and the griffin stepped free, becoming a three dimensional, silver etched creature that moved freely amidst the candles. The griffin led a parade of dancing, freed, figures that twined amongst each other to a song no one could hear but them.

They crossed, in their strange parade, over Mina and Grace’s wrists, and Mina wasn’t able to hold back a gasp. For she felt the pressure of small paws, the rush of wings just above her skin, the feel of the claws of the lizard.

And then, the creatures broke their line. The phoenix and the griffin took flight, soaring over the heads of the humans, and Mina stretched to get a better view. She just caught the gaping grin of Max as she turned. The lizard creature rotated faster and faster until only a blur with a spiked tail appeared where he moved. It somersaulted, towards Mina, just missing candle after candle.

The mermaid circled towards her as well, and Mina held her breath. The mermaid must represent the Water Element. Grace said Water was the most common of the elements, and Mina wanted to be like Grace; it seemed easy, felt right. Mina had long felt Grace was family. Now Mina couldn’t help but envision Grace as one of those long, lost missing triplet sisters. The mermaid cut through the counter. She twisted and leapt from the counter landing on the back of Mina’s left hand. The mermaid’s tail snapped against Mina’s wrist, and Mina could feel the cool, sharp edges of her scales.

Mina bit her lip as the mermaid leaned down and licked Mina’s skin. Mina jumped, and her hand should have moved, but it was cemented in place.

The mermaid flashed a look over her shoulder, laughing at Mina. Then the mermaid licked Mina again with a hint of teeth before diving over the side of Mina’s hand, into the countertop, and swimming through the counter as if it were the ocean.

Mina knew when she had been rejected. Disappointment welled for a moment.

But then, then the two flying creatures soared closer, dodging the other. They ignored her, and just for a moment, Mina thought none would choose her. Maybe they wouldn’t even bother with her. Maybe, they didn’t need to lick her to know she wasn’t for them. She jiggled her legs and heard the murmur of Zizi. Mina’s friend gave her the renewed confidence she needed. She’d been seeing sprites her whole life, she
was
a witch; it didn’t matter what kind.

The griffin leapt onto her hand. She sucked her breath in and forgot to let it out. The lion’s head was large and carried a full mane. He circled, snuggling down, claws pressing into the back of her hand. The lizard made one of its nearly invisible leaps, landing mere centimeters from the griffin. They growled at each other. The griffin swiped at the lizard with a low growl. The lizard hissed at the winged cat, but the lizard also backed up to one of Mina’s knuckles, never touching her beyond the momentary settling of its nail into her flesh.

The phoenix, she thought, must stand for fire. Of the other two, the griffin could only be air. Which means the strange, scary little lizard must be earth.

The griffin growled again at the lizard, but the cat turned its head to include the phoenix. The bird cawed and burst into flame again. It leapt into the air to dive at the lizard, which clung tenaciously to her knuckle, refusing to back off but never attempting anything else.

It snarled at the others, revealing a mouthful of dagger teeth. Almost nonchalantly, the lizard leapt from her skin without ever doing anything that seemed like it was testing her.

The phoenix and the griffin paced in front of each other. One would charge, one would retreat; each would try again. A burst of flame pushed towards the griffin, but the lion stepped almost lazily to the side of the flame. It swiped its huge claw at the phoenix, forcing it into flight. A caw and a rumbling growl filled the air. And she felt a drip of blood roll into her mouth from where her teeth pierced her lip.

Mina tried to breathe, but she was so anxious to see what…flavor of witch she was. She’d read enough during the previous couple of weeks to know that she’d be playing with a feather or a lighter as she made her first attempts to manipulate her magic.

Each of the creatures made their battle cries again before they settled on her hand dipped their heads simultaneously. The phoenix blew a flame over Mina’s skin, and it seemed to sink into her, call to something wild in her. That wildness rose, her breath caught, and it seemed as if something new was rolling through her. Powerful and fierce.

At the same time, the flames were disappearing into Mina the griffin’s head settled between her knuckles, a low purr filled the room, and it looked as if both of them had selected her.

The creatures rumbled at each other, licking Mina again. The griffin snuggled into Mina’s palm and began nuzzling its paw. Mina’s eyes jerked to Grace who nodded.

“What does that mean,” Mina whispered as the phoenix leapt onto the back of the griffin and the two of them curled up as cozy as could be.

“How very unexpected.” Grace said. “An Air Witch
and
a Fire Witch.”

* * *

The creatures chose Max even faster than they’d chosen Mina. In seconds the lizard had landed on his hand, crawled up his arm, and settled against the curve of Max’s neck. The other three never even approached him.

“Max,” Penny said as she waved her hands to turn on the light, “You’re an Earth Witch. How lovely. Earth Witches and the fae are an overlapping element where both the fae and witches learn similar things, at least to begin.”

“But you’re both of the lost lines, and that’s just exciting.” Grace pulled a cake from the fridge, several layers with caramel colored frosting.

“The lost lines.” Max turned.

She shrugged, whispering, “It’s official, you’re a lost boy.”

“We’ll they’re not really lost.” Grace lectured, “They’re just rare—the Earth and Fire lines—it seems as though they could be gone. Yet, there’s supposed to be an Earth Witch in Astoria and another lives in the Haven, only we don’t know them.”

“In Ocean Haven?” Mina asked wondering if she knew the Earth Witch. Maybe it was someone in her family.

“Oh, no.” Grace waved her hand and the blinds opened. “The Haven is all around us here. Ocean Haven edges the supernatural haven of Cascadia. Supernatural Havens are all across the world. Pieces of the planet hidden from the wider human world to protect us in our differences.”

“The wider world,” Grace continued, “is not, I’m afraid, very tolerant. Anyone the slightest bit different is persecuted. Too many have been burned alive. So, we’ve been making our secret places almost since the first door was marked with blood, the first witch was stoned, etcetera. When you see your mother killed by your neighbors, suddenly a place where your normal neighbors can’t go seems like a pretty good idea.”

“Our Haven runs from Portland to our coast. It’s one of the largest in the world and sparsely populated in comparison to some of the older ones. We do have, however, quite the number of populations of supernatural creatures. We have pegasi, unicorns, griffins, several species of arachnids and quite a number of other creatures. We’re also one of the most balanced Havens. Avalon is all witches, and of course, there is Tir-na-nOg which is entirely fae. There is even a Haven where only sprites populate it. But, I’m getting all excited and ahead of myself again.”

“Our Haven is larger than Scotland, stretches quite a ways, has pieces of the Willamette Valley, and of course, a large section of the Cascade Mountains and the coast.” Penny added.

“That doesn’t sound possible.” Max said.

“Well, that’s because it’s magic, silly.” Penny ruffled his hair.

Mina laughed.

Magic.

Well, holy magical playgrounds, Batman.

* * *

“So your house,” Max said as he ate his third piece of apple cake. “It’s a lot bigger inside than out.”

The last time she’d been in Grace’s kitchen; it had been medium sized with an old school turquoise fridge. This time it had grown before her eyes. And when she’d used the restroom there had been a bathtub, so big she could have taken a swim. Who had a tub like that? Not even mansions had those. And yet, from the outside the cottage looked like it would fit in her parent’s garage.