“Yeah, that had a bit of pop to it, that’s for sure.”
“You sure you’re OK?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, first at me, then at Clay. “Well, it seems to be working just fine.”
Which raised an obvious question.
“Then why didn’t it zap me?”
Two shapely legs descended down the stairwell and a moment later Kara’s eyes met mine. Right behind her was a pair of significantly less shapely legs, covered in dense hair. Those belonged to Ted.
“We’ve been sent down to make sure everything’s alright.”
Both were smiling as they entered the room, but the smiles faded as Harper took them aside in the second row of seats and began to whisper to them.
For a moment I wondered whether the other guests were beginning to feel left out, then I heard a roar of laughter upstairs, followed by Harold’s voice objecting to Jamar’s telling of past adventures. Seemed they were holding down the fort.
“Do you mind picking it up again?”
“Thanks a lot.” I smiled wryly. Now I was the subject of a science experiment.
I found myself wincing as I reached out to the pot, convinced that this time it would feel like I had stuck my finger in a light socket. I tensed, then stabbed out clumsily to grab it. Probably looked like an idiot in the process, but no damage done.
“Nothing?”
“Nope. Not a thing. Just feels like an ordinary pot.”
“It’s like in that lady’s house.” That was Ted, speaking up from his consultation with Harper.
“Yeah, I guess that’s right.”
The others stared back with blank faces, so Ted explained the incident up North, and how we had been fortunate to avoid Crazy Lady Lucas’ wrath. My mother’s face settled into a familiar expression — livid anger.
“That sounds pretty serious.” Clay spoke up, the voice of reason.
“Yeah. Sorry, we didn’t expect anything like that. We just got back last night. No real harm done, though.” I gave Ted a quick warning glance. If he mention the fire or the cops, I would beat his ass.
“Still, that sounds like a lot heavier magic than a protective spell, or a love potion.” That was Sol speaking, but a lot of heads were nodding in response.
“Maybe its because I’m new to Arcane? Or maybe it’s the type of magic?”
Silence. OK, so maybe neither was a great theory. They could at least act supportive. Geez.
“Or- Oh! I’ve been carrying around a lucky charm, the one from the office.” I pulled out the leper coin and the tiger’s eye stone from my pocket, and handed Clay the coin. “Maybe it’s been protecting me.”
That seemed logical. Certainly Ted was nodding in agreement. But everyone else was giving me a skeptical look.
“That coin is strictly playtime, Donnie. Might even be classified as inert.” Clay was up and leaning on the back of the chair in front of him, energized by the discussion. “What Ted described, that’s serious mojo.”
Hm.
“AAAACHHOOOOO!”
I almost fell off the stool, and Clay looked like he was going to have another heart attack.
“Sorry about that.”
“Bless you.” That was from Harper.
“Don’t do that again. Tsk.” And that was from my mother.
“Uh, where were we? No, it’s almost as if you’re protected, or immune. It’s like the magic can’t affect you. Unless you’re wielding some heavy duty magic yourself.”
Yeah, right.
“Assuming there even is such a thing as magic, why wouldn’t it affect Donnie-boy the same way it does everyone else?” I’m sure Ted’s cynical tone wasn’t making him any friends, but it was a good question.
“I have no idea. Huguette? Any thoughts?”
I realized then that my mother had been very quiet throughout this entire turn of events. For my mother, quiet was uncharacteristic. Even now, she remained seated in the front row of theatre seats, watching the discussion as though observing a lecture.
“Well, we suspected something was different when they were very young.”
“We did?” Ted and I spoke out in unison. I might also have queried the word “they”.
“Well, your father and I. From time to time one of his friends would give you a special gift for a birthday or for Christmas. Say a teddy bear that could say your name. But you and your brother, the gifts never worked for you. It seemed a strange coincidence. But it never occurred to us that magic might not work around you at all.”
“Maybe the batteries weren’t working.”
“These weren’t battery operated.”
“Oh. Then why wouldn’t they work?”
“It’s like magic is… desamorcer?” She looked at Ted and I, but we drew a blank. Count on Sol, however.
“Defused.”
“Yes. It seems to be defused when you are nearby.”
“Me, anyways. I’m not sure about you.” I was looking at Ted.
“Thanks. You make me sound like I should be riding the short bus.”
That brought a scowl to my mother’s face. Sol stepped in, apparently willing to risk the wrath of the she-beast.
“Listen, for all we know, a great many people react to magic in this way. The fact is, much of the world has never seen magic employed. It’s just that, well, you would think we would have seen some example of this before.”
I was thinking through what I had heard over the past few minutes.
“So you’re saying I can’t use magic, and no one can use magic against me?”
Clay seemed to flinch at that, and spoke up from his chair. “I wouldn’t be too quick to assume that. We don’t know that others can’t use magic against you.”
My mother joined in. “There are some very powerful people out there. You can’t just suppose that they cannot do anything to you.”
And why would my mother know anything about that? This whole day had gone sideways into some weird dimension.
“It does make for an interesting situation, though.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” Ted’s mood and manner were degenerating rapidly.
“Well, it’s just ironic that Donnie has ended up working with Clay here. I mean, a courier business for magic items!”
I suppose it was somewhat ironic, but Professor Irving seemed inordinately pleased with the point. Maybe it was the look on my face, but he seemed to realize further explanation was warranted.
“It was not unusual in ancient times for couriers to be illiterate. In fact, it was desirable. The nobility could rest easy knowing that the person delivering a document could not understand its contents. There is a parallel here. If it is true that you’re not able to use magic, then you’re well suited to transport magic goods for others. The fact that others may not even be able to use magic against you makes you even more fitting for the role.”
Did he just call me illiterate?
“Bit of a strange coincidence, don’t you think?” I don’t know whether I was directing my comments at someone in the room, or the world at large.
“That’s what worries me,” said my mother, and I knew what she was going to say next. “There are no coincidences.”
CHAPTER 17
The ride back to my place was a quiet one. Ted closed his eyes and seemed to be napping, possibly a consequence of his “one for you, one for me” policy while tending the bar. My mother stared out the window in silence. And I considered my last few weeks.
I had a lot of questions, and no answers. Why did magic appear not to affect me? What did Niki the Bull have to do with Maxim and Elena Legenko? How could I help Jamar out? Where did the tiger’s eye come from? Should I make a move on Amy or Kara? Could I hope for Amy and Kara? Could I keep Arcane afloat, or was I going to run it into the ground?’
The questions flitted in and out, like mosquitoes drawing blood then racing off to be replaced by their brethren.