In the Name of Magic

Chapter 4

I opened my front door only to be greeted by frigid air. Then, I grabbed the newspaper, shook the snow off, and returned to the kitchen.

“Here you go,” I said, handing the paper to Mom.

She put the newspaper down on the kitchen counter. “Thanks, sweetie. Anyway, what do you want for breakfast?” She asked while standing by the stove.

“Can I have an omelet, please?”

“Of course.”

I took the slip off the newspaper (The Magnifico Times) and set it down on the kitchen counter. I gasped at the photo of the wolves on the front cover.

The picture wasn’t what I needed to start my morning. Mom cracked three eggs in a bowl and sprinkled in some cheese. Then, she gave the mixture a good stir with a fork.

“I can’t believe it,” I said.

She lifted her gaze from the mixing bowl. “Can’t believe what? Is something wrong?”

“Queen Vivian is implementing secret police wolves,” I said.

Mom frowned. “It’s not a secret if the newspaper wrote about it.”

“It’s a figure of speech. According to the paper, Queen Vivian says the secret police wolves are for Magnifico’s protection. To help ease the transition. They’ll be working with the existing police.”

“That’s a nice way of spinning something.” Mom opened the bottom cabinet and pulled out a frying pan. She flicked the front burner switch and poured the contents of the bowl into the frying pan after placing it down on the stove.

My jaw twitched. “Katherine seems more worried than she lets on.”

I had to tell someone about my concerns about whether the anti-magical sentiment would grow worse. Magnifico’s future was at stake, and I challenged anyone not to be worried.

“I don’t follow you.”

I inhaled a breath. “There’s something I have to tell you, Mom. But you can’t get mad.”

“Okay. What’s up?”

“Do you remember when Katherine and I went out the other evening?”

“Yes. But why is that relevant to our conversation?”

I remained silent for a beat. “Someone vandalized her parents’ bakery. The glass was broken and everything.”

“I’m sorry, dear.” Omelet finished, she scooped it together and put it on a plate.

I took the plate from her and placed it down on the counter near the newspaper.

“You don’t have a problem with Katherine and her parents even though they were born without magic, do you?” I asked.

Mom scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Good. I know it was a stupid question, but I had to be sure.”

She grabbed the ketchup from the fridge and a fork from the drawer near my hip and handed them to me.

“How did you get out of the situation?” she asked.

“I used magic.” I squirted ketchup onto my plate before breaking apart a piece of my omelet and dunking it in the ketchup.

She handed me a glass of water. “I almost forgot.”

“No worries.” I placed the water on the kitchen counter after sipping it.

“Wouldn’t you rather eat at the dining room table?”

I shook my head. “Nah, it’s okay.”

“Whatever,” she said.

“Do you mind if I ask you another question?”

“Of course not. You can ask me anything.”

I finished the last of my omelet before speaking. “Do you think what Queen Vivian did was bad?”

She gritted her teeth. “I don’t know if bad is the word I would use.”

Mom was a great person, but she needed to stop waffling. It wasn’t like Queen Vivian or her army of secret police wolves eavesdropped on us. At least I hoped not.

I looked up at Mom. “You can be honest.”

“Fine. I think her actions were cruel.”

Okay. Good to know Mom agreed with me.

“Is Katherine still dwelling on what happened?” Mom asked.

I gulped down more water. “No. But she always scans her surroundings all the time. You know, like she’s afraid someone will jump out at her or something.”

“It’s good that she has you.” Mom pushed a chunk of her thin hair to the side.

“I suppose…”

She patted my shoulder. “Focusing on yourself is better than worrying about changing the world.”

“If you say so.”

“I’m serious, Maximillian.”

“I’m not trying to cause trouble.”

She sighed. “I know. But I don’t want you to be hurt.”

I rested my hand under my chin. “I don’t understand why Queen Vivian brought back the wolves. She once said they were a stain on Magnifico’s history.”

The wolves used to live in the north and had once worked with law enforcement. That was until Vivian’s great-grandparents ended the practice. Yup. I paid attention in history class when I wanted to.

“Queen Vivian has to change her mind,” Mom said.

Allowing my thoughts to drift back to my history classes meant realizing that until recently at least, a Magnifico king or queen hadn’t been executed in several hundred years. So I could imitate Mom for a moment. Pretending life would be okay was easier than admitting the alternative could be true.

* * * *

I stood by Katherine’s locker at school while she organized her books.

“Do you want to know something funny?” I asked.

Katherine shoved her remaining textbook into her backpack before closing her locker. “Yes, please.”

“I hope I’ll see Prince Stefan again.”

She chuckled. “I don’t know why you keep calling him Prince Stefan. Since he ran away, he hasn’t been acknowledged by the royal family in any way.”

“Whatever,” I said.

Katherine picked at one of her nails. “There’s something I need to tell you, Maximillian.”

“I’m listening.”

She adjusted her sleeve. “My parents and I had to go to the records office at town hall and register as nonmagical citizens.”

A lump grew in my throat. There was no way Katherine said what she did. Making nonmagical citizens register took bigotry a step further. Nobody should have had to register because of being different than the majority of the population. I could only wonder what the government would do with the lists of nonmagical people. Malicious intentions could turn the list into a kill list. Yet that couldn’t happen. Not in Magnifico. We had modern innovations such as electricity and cars, which meant people had to be too smart for taking the ultimate step with intolerance by committing mass murder.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say,” I said.

Katherine scowled. “I haven’t told Taylor about it.”

I folded my arms together. “Why not? I’m sure he cares about you even if his political beliefs are misguided.”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know if I can trust him…”

I almost bit my tongue. “Taylor is one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever met, but you have to tell him what you need. Because he’d do anything for you.”

“I’m probably overthinking everything.” Katherine tugged at her backpack straps.

More and more students started flocking by in the hallway while others remained engrossed in their conversations at various spots as a few teachers scurried out of the history department office.

“Did your parents do anything about the bakery?” I asked.

“Yeah. They had a magical friend fix it in a matter of seconds.”

“That’s good. Is business the same? Are people still going there?”

She looked down at the ground. “Not as many as before. There’s still a good stream of loyal customers and close friends and family members, though.”

“Has anyone bothered you since that night?” I asked.

The muscles around her lips tightened. “Someone left a threatening note under the shop door. I found it. I didn’t tell my parents about it, though.”

Damn. Yet another real example of intolerance that proved current life in Magnifico wasn’t some childhood nightmare.

“I’m sorry, Katherine.”

The bell screeched. Today going to class felt like the end of the world.

* * * *

Hours later, the teakettle rattled while steam flowed from the spout as I stood next to Mom in the kitchen. She turned the burner off and poured the water into a mug. She shoved a tea bag into the cup before leaving it be.

“I can’t imagine how they must feel,” Mom said.

“Yeah. Me, too.”

Mom quirked her eyebrows. “Are you sure you don’t want a cup of tea? I’d be happy to make you one. It’s like the air is extra cold. I’m even wearing a sweater, and you know I never do.”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks.”

“Fine. Whatever you say.” She grabbed a spoon, took the bag out, and gave the tea a quick stir. “There’s a saying from the town where I grew up.”

“And what’s that?”

Mom sipped some of her tea. “You have to promise not to laugh because it’s a little cliché.”

“Say it!”

Wait. Impatience wouldn’t help matters.

“The bastard you know is better than the one you don’t,” Mom said.

I snorted. “I don’t follow you.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m talking about King Dorian and Queen Penny.”

“Oh,” I said, scratching the side of my head. “You mean that it’s better to deal with the villains you know than the ones you don’t.”

“Exactly. Although I’m not so sure that King Dorian and Queen Penny qualify as bastards or villains. But you get my point.”

Yeah. I understood Mom’s point. Although I couldn’t deny a part of me wanted to laugh, because she always had a funny way of mixing up expressions.

The front door was flung open before slamming shut a moment later. I got up. “I thought I locked the front door when I came home from school. Maybe Dad’s back from work,” I said.

“No. He would’ve gone through the garage after parking the car and used the basement door.”

Mom and I scurried into the living room, only to be greeted by a shivering girl standing with her back to the door.

“What’s wrong, Katherine?” I asked.

I could infer something terrible must have happened for Katherine to randomly show up at my house. There had to be a reasonable explanation for Katherine’s unexpected appearance, since I couldn’t even entertain the notion of life in Magnifico getting more dangerous.

“I’m sorry,” Katherine said, stuttering. “I didn’t know where else to go. Your house is the closest to mine.”

“You look cold. I’ll get you a blanket.” Mom grabbed a blanket before walking over to Katherine and wrapping it around her.

Katherine feigned a smile. “Thank you so much. Anyway, I didn’t mean to intrude. But the front door was unlocked.”

“s**t. I can’t believe I forgot to lock the front door,” I said.

Mom gave me a dirty look.

I cleared my throat. “You haven’t told us what’s wrong, Katherine.”

Katherine shuddered. “It’s the secret police wolves. I was in my bedroom doing homework when I heard a commotion. Mom burst into my bedroom. She said that the wolves and a police officer wanted to take us somewhere and that I needed to run.”

No. No. No. Katherine’s story couldn’t have been true. There had to be some misunderstanding. I ran my fingers through my hair, as if giving myself a distraction made things better. “I don’t understand…”

Katherine turned to me. “Don’t you get it? I was right. There’s some sort of campaign against nonmagical people.”