“Itoldyou I was clairsentient.” Carly flicks her hair back, her eyes softening just a bit. “Still think I need to get my aura cleansed?”
“Hmm. Maybe just buffed a little.”
“Cute.” Carly rolls her eyes again, but I can tell she’s holding back a smile. “Anyway, Phaines is a total creeper. Always has been. My parents couldn’t stop singing his praises over the years, but he always gave me a bad vibe—even when I was little.”
“Really? How so?”
“Just… I don’t know. That whole Grandpa Gandalf act. It’s a bit much, even for an old mage. I mean, I realize I’m a naturally gifted witch, more advanced than most—”
“Stop with the modesty! Sing your praises loud and proud, girl!”
Again, a hint of a smile. “Anyway,it always seemed like he was just a littletooexcited about my magick. Then, when he met my friends, it was the same thing all over again. Ooh, so much natural talent! Yes, we must work closely together, to ensure your talents are not wasted, blah blah blah.”
“What was his end game, do you think?” I have my own thoughts on the matter, but it sounds like she was working even more closely with him than Kirin and I were, and she’s known him a lot longer. Plus, she’s not biased by the knowledge that he’s one of the Dark Arcana.
“At first I thought he wanted to just, I don’t know, take credit. My mom is like that too—real big on that ‘she gets that from me’ kick. Of course, she’s the first person to throw you under the magick bus the second anything goes wrong, but as long as you’re kicking ass and taking names, it’s all because of her amazing parenting skills. Anyway, Phaines—I figured he’d build us up, help us get stronger in our gifts, then parade us around like his own little pets.”
“So what changed?”
“It’s weird. Like, he was supposed to be this wise old mage teaching us about the ways of the world. But in the end, it was more like he wanted us to teach him. Like he wanted to learn all about our magick, about how we felt certain things or knew things. He would run all these weird experiments on us, and when they didn’t go as planned, he’d get all bent out of shape. He was like an addict. I’m not surprised he went off the rails in the end.”
“When you say experiments, what do you mean?”
Carly sighs with annoyance, our momentary truce coming to an end.
Ah, peaceful coexistence. We hardly knew ya!
“You working for APOA now or what?”
“Sorry.” I lower my eyes. “Just trying to figure out how I could’ve been so wrong about Phaines.”
She opens her mouth like she’s got a snappy retort already locked and loaded, but then she just sighs. “He fooled a lot of people, Stevie. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
I glance up at her, surprised at the emotion caught in my throat. “Thanks,” I whisper.
“Alternatively, maybe you needyouraura buffed. I’ll see if I can get you the friends and family discount.”
This has us both laughing—and for a minute I wonder if we’ve slipped into an alternate dimension. Deciding to push my luck, I say, “So your mom’s working here now, huh? That’s—”
“Not something I feel like talking about.” Carly ices over in an instant, but then her anger melts away the chill, and she’s more than ready to chat. “She never even told me she was coming here. Just showed up out of nowhere, announcing to the world that she’d taken this librarian job. She wanted to surprise me, she said.” Carly hikes her bag up on her shoulder and lets out a huff. “Well, color me surprised. I wouldn't be more surprised if I woke up tomorrow with a magic wand shoved up my ass and pink sparks shooting out.”
“Um, okay. Thanks for the visual. I’ll be sure to drink myself into a stupor later in hopes of erasing it.”
“I’m serious, Stevie.” Carly shakes her head. “We're not close. She didn’t even bother to see me off when I left for the Academy. I don't know what the fuck she's doing here, but I can tell you this much. Librarian? Please. She wouldn’t know a rare book if it reached up and slapped her on the ass. And don’t even get me started on all that ‘guiding young witches and mages along the winding path of magickal enlightenment’ crap. Go home, mother. You’re drunk.”
I give her a moment to cool down before I ask my next question.
“So if she’s not serious about the library stuff, why do you think she's here? Just to watch over you?”
Carly laughs, but this one is as bitter as they come. “I'm pretty sure the last time my doting mother gave two shits about me was when she found out I have three elemental gifts—gifts she thought she could use to her advantage. Well, that didn’t work out. So here we are.” Carly peeks into the classroom and waves at Blue, her pink-haired partner in crime. “Better get in there. Anyway, free advice? Steer clear of Janelle Kirkpatrick, whatever you do. I’m not saying she’ll carve you up with a knife like her predecessor… But I’m not saying she won’t.”
On that less-than-sunny note, Curly turns and heads toward the classroom entrance. But just before she escapes, I grab her arm and give it a squeeze.
Carly sighs and turns back to face me. “Story time is over, little witchling. Time to let Mommy go to class.”
“Seriously, Carly. Thank you for making that phone call. I owe you one.”
“Great.” She flashes a wide smile, then leans in close. “I’ll be sure to collect.”
