7. The Impossible Spell
1395 Words
7
The Impossible Spell
The door to the professor’s study was open, and Jacob ran straight in.
“Professor, I need to talk to you,” Jacob said before the professor could turn to look at him.
“Jacob, the car will be here any moment,” the professor said, his already wrinkled brow furrowed with the stress of the day. “You should be waiting outside.”
“I have to ask you a question before I go.” Jacob forced himself to say the thing he had been holding onto for months. “When I destroyed my school, when I broke all of those windows, I didn’t have a talisman. My magic just exploded out of me, but I didn’t get hurt. I was fine.”
“Doing magic under extreme circumstances is normal for a new wizard.” The professor patted Jacob’s hand. “And as we can’t ask humans to carry around talismans just in case, the first display of magic is always done without anything to direct the energy away from the body.”
“When we were being held in the caves,” Jacob pressed on, his mouth dry, “there was a woman. She kept me in a room.” The scars on Jacob’s cheek and chest burned at the thought of his dark cage, making his heart pound even faster. “I didn’t have a talisman, but we fought.” Jacob swallowed. Sweat slicked his palms. He didn’t want to say the words, but he had to know. “I killed her.”
The professor’s face turned white as he lowered himself into a chair.
“It was the same thing,” Jacob whispered. “I was desperate. I had to get out to save Emilia, and then there was a flash. I felt the magic fly out of me, and then she was dead.”
The professor ran a hand across his forehead, as though trying to wipe a horrible image from his mind. “I am sorry this happened to you Jacob. Taking a life, even when you must, is a terrible thing.”
“But how did I survive?”
“You are powerful. You were desperate,” the professor sighed. “You are the strongest new wizard I have seen in quite some time. You played with the boundaries of how much magic you can do without a talisman and somehow miraculously survived. Your magic was stronger than hers, but do not try magic like that again, Jacob. The next time, if you go even a touch further, it could kill you.”
“I did go further.” Jacob’s voice wavered. He didn’t want to see the professor’s face when he heard what Jacob had done. “When Emilia and I were escaping Graylock, Emilia was pinned down. She couldn’t do anything. Something happened. I did a spell without even thinking. I didn’t have my wand. I’d dropped it. But this spell was more than I had ever done before.
“I felt my magic burn. The trees caught fire. I killed the Dragons who had pinned her down. I don’t know how I did it, but what if it happens again? What if we get attacked and I hurt Emilia or Connor or Claire?” Jacob drove the image of Claire and Connor burned and dead from his mind.
“Jacob, what you’re saying is impossible. You are powerful, and I understand what happened to that woman. It was magic done under extreme pressure. But burning a forest, killing that many people. No one, not even the most powerful wizard, could do a spell like that without a talisman and survive.” The professor stood and shuffled forward, taking Jacob’s trembling hand in his own withered one. “Perhaps Emilia did a spell you didn’t know about.”
“It was me,” Jacob said, desperate to make the professor understand how dangerous he, Jacob, was. “What if my magic is weird? What if some filter or off switch inside of me is broken and I can’t control it?”
“You ready?” Connor popped his head into the study. “The scary guy from MAGI is waiting outside.”
“Just one moment more,” the professor said, and Connor bounded back down the hall. “Listen to me, Jacob. I don’t know what magic you could have done in those woods, and I am not convinced it was your magic that you saw. But if it was, I don’t think you need to worry about hurting Connor, Claire, or Emilia.
“If that spell did originate with you, and you had not meant to manipulate it in that way, that means something deep inside you, even deeper than your magic, would not let you hurt Emilia. I know, as the two of you are tethered, a deeper connection is not to be found, but you have a strong heart. You care for Connor and Claire. I don’t think you would allow yourself to hurt them, no matter how out of control your magic may seem.”
Jacob nodded, finally letting himself breathe. “What about my talisman? I didn’t have my wand.”
The professor shrugged. “I will see what I can find on incidents like the one you experienced. But Jacob, if you were trapped and Emilia was in danger, perhaps you didn’t notice you were holding your wand.”
“Jacob, come on!” Claire’s shout rang from the front of the house.
“Go, go.” The professor shooed Jacob all the way out the front door, following him with wheezy steps. “Go, Jacob. You’ll be fine.” The professor patted Jacob’s arm.
Jacob wanted to say the professor was wrong, that he knew he hadn’t had his wand. But the chaos of packing the car surrounded the front of the house, and the whole family would hear.
“I don’t know why we can only bring one bag.” Claire scowled at the car that waited for them out front. “That trunk is huge.”
“You’ll be fine, Claire,” Jacob said, leaving the professor and walking to the car. He picked up Claire’s pink bag and tossed it into the trunk with his own. Emilia and Connor loaded their bags into the trunk as well.
Jacob turned back to the house. Aunt Iz stood to the side, talking to MAGI Stone. He was tall, dark-skinned, and terrifying. Everything from his shining bald head to his enormous muscles made it known that he was not a person to be trifled with.
“Be careful, all of you.” Molly gave each of them a tight hug. “Do as you’re told, and remember to practice your magic. You must be able to protect each other.”
“I will miss you all.” Tears slid down the professor’s cheek as he said goodbye to each of them, giving Jacob an extra smile of encouragement.
“Take care of Aunt Iz for me,” Emilia said as she hugged the elderly man. He looked tiny to Jacob, even next to Emilia.
“We will take care of each other,” Aunt Iz said. “And I will be in touch as soon as I can. You had better go. We want to get you there before dark.”
“Where?” Claire asked, clinging tightly to Iz.
“Someplace you’ll like.” Aunt Iz herded them toward the car.
“You take the front.” Jacob gestured to Emilia. He looked into the car at Stone, who sat in the driver’s seat ready to whisk them away to safety. He had taken Samuel’s place.
“No, thanks.” Emilia shook her head. “I’ll stay in the back and try to keep the kids calm.”
“Did you really just call us kids?” Claire planted her hands on her hips. “I take offense to that.”
“Leave it, Claire,” Connor said, sliding into the middle back seat.
“Fine,” Claire said as she climbed in after Connor, “if you won’t stand with me in a show of solidarity in this time of crisis, I’ll just have to take offense for both of us.”
Aunt Iz wrapped her arms around Emilia. “Be strong, and take care of each other.”
Emilia nodded and climbed into the car, shutting the door behind her.
“Take care of her, Jacob,” Aunt Iz said, looking through the window at the curtain of black hair that hid Emilia’s face.
“Always.” Jacob hugged Aunt Iz. She felt thin to him. Breakable. “You be careful, too.”
Iz smiled. “Don’t worry about me.”
Stone started the car, and Jacob took his seat. Iz closed the door, and before Jacob could fasten his seatbelt, the car was crunching down the driveway. Jacob looked back at the house. The last time he had left here, he had been going to New York City to stand trial. Then Emilia had been kidn*pped. A war had started. Everything had changed.
“You’re crowding my seat,” Claire grunted from the back as she shoved Connor into Emilia.
Jacob let himself smile. That girl could sure lighten the mood.
- Writer
