Convergence

Rick met up with me the next day practically skipping. He was far more pleasant than other days and seemed eager for something. If he had a tail, it would be wagging incessantly yet he tried to remain calm while he concealed something in the hand he held behind his back.

“Hey, Princess,” he said as sweetly as possible. “Sorry about yesterday.”

“For the last time, I’m not a princess.” I continued walking not wanting to talk to him or even breathe the same air.

He smiled and pulled out a small blue box. “Here, I got this for you.”

I stopped and looked at him.

“It’s an apology.” He pushed it towards me again. “For the thing I broke.”

I slowly took the box but didn’t open it.

“Um, yeah so like I said. It was my fault so I wanted to give this to you to sort of make up for it.” He took in a nervous breath. “I mean if I had been more alert, you know, maybe….”

“Rick, stop. I get what you’re trying to do, but you can’t replace the irreplaceable. That’s why it’s called irreplaceable.” I thrust it back but he refused to take it.

“I know that. This is something irreplaceable to me, a gift from my mom. She died when I was a kid. I took it from her jewelry box but I don’t need it anymore.”

“Well, now I really don’t want it. You can’t just give me something like that.”

He laughed. “I have lots of mementos and pictures of her so don’t sweat it. Besides, she would’ve been honored for you to have it.”

“Why?”

“I told you yesterday. You have a very old and powerful magic from an honorable family, a family that my family has served for generations.”

I reluctantly opened the box. Inside was a small crystal butterfly. The design in the wings was very detailed and the antennae looked extremely delicate. It sparkled like a diamond in the light.

“This…this is too much. I can’t accept it.”

The smile spread big across his face. “You can and you will. Put it on the place where you had that ceramic cat. This will protect you in its place.”

“Protect me? From what?”

“More boggarts. Your family gnomes can’t protect you all the time.” He continued walking. I had to move quickly just to keep up with his large stride.

“What are you talking about? Before yesterday, I’ve never seen any type of mythical creature.”

“Magical creature,” he corrected. “And of course you wouldn’t. Those of the magical world doesn't just run around exposing themselves to people with no powers.”

He smiled but then hesitated. I had a sense that he needed to tell me something important but wasn’t quite sure how to do it.

“Your birth mom, Aubrey Howe, died trying to defend you from some evil being when you were still very young.” He stopped gauging my response.

I took in a deep breath. “Okay?”

“It’s a story that I’ve been told for as long as I can remember.” It looked like he was trying to organize his thoughts, for my benefit no doubt. “The cops saw it as some crazy car crash. Your dad had a hard time with it. I guess it still hurts for him and maybe that’s why he wouldn’t let you keep your powers. Maybe he thought that he was protecting you by removing them and then brainwashing you about it. But you have to believe me, no matter what you were told in your childhood, the magic is very real.”

I could barely speak and my voice came out in rasps. “How could you possibly know any of that?”

“My great aunt told me. My mom, Elaina de Jesus, died on the same day. Maybe you remember reading about it or something?”

I scoffed. “It was years ago. I couldn’t read yet.” That was almost a lie. I may not have known all the words, but I could read at the time. I even kept the newspaper clipping in a scrapbook I made for her. I would read it every year on the anniversary of her death. I lost my mother and baby brother all in one day. The police report blamed the accident on Elaina. They said it was a hit and run and found her car a few blocks away believing she was heading to the hospital to save herself from her injuries.

He cleared his throat. “Okay. Well, my mom lived for a few more hours before finally dying from the injuries she suffered trying desperately to save your mom. My great aunt said my mom went into the afterlife blaming herself for not being fast enough to save her.” He licked his lips. “That ceramic cat was meant as a talisman to protect you from those who would steal your power and so is this butterfly.”

My legs gave out and I started to fall. Rick quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and I fell into his chest.

“So that’s it, the reason why I was never told about my powers. Magic already took so much from him that Dad thought it would kill me too?”

“He was just trying to protect you. At least you knew your dad. I never met mine. Anyway, the magic from your mother’s family line is exceptional.” I could feel his breath hot against the top of my head. “The book that was stolen contains your family magic though I’m sure you got some of your powers back when you touched it. That’s how you were able to heal Ashe, but now we’ve got to get the rest of them. No doubt that creature who killed your mother is the one who is after it or perhaps the one who sent a creature to steal it.”

“But, I’ve always had magic,” I whispered. “Long before I ever knew about any special book.”

“Always?” He sounded shocked.

“Pretty sure.” I felt his arms tighten around me. “What now?”

He helped me to stand upright and slowly brushed some hair out of my eyes. “Don’t worry about it?”

“What’s going on over here?” James, the most beautiful man in the universe and the love of my life (even if he didn’t know it yet), sauntered over giving me newly found energy.

“Hey, James.” I shoved Rick out of my space and smoothed out the rest of my hair. For a moment, I saw James give Rick a slight glare that I interpreted as jealousy.

Rick let out a huge sigh. “There’s something else I need to talk to you about, Princess. I’ll be over here.”

I grumbled at him for calling me that but quickly composed myself in front of James’ perfection. Standing over six feet his flawless form transcended to the heavens. His intense black eyes were like a sparkling beacon of love pulling me ever deeper into his gravity. I wanted to hold him close to my breast and run my fingers through his soft, brown hair. He smiled down at me and I was ready to faint all over again just so he would catch me.

“Does that guy bother you?” he asked so sweetly. The sound of his voice sent shocks through my body. I almost melted. “I can get rid of him for you. I can’t let anyone hurt my friends.”

“N-not really. I mean we have to be partners for a class for a while but it’s not anything I can’t handle.” I wanted to sound confident in front of him, but I heard my voice start to waver.

The corners of his lips turned up and I stifled a squeal of delight. His eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky when he smiled.

“I’m sure you can handle anything, Kari.”

I tried my best not to jump up and down from sheer joy. It was getting increasingly difficult to keep myself composed.

“I saw you coming out of some magic store yesterday. You looked upset then too.”

I waved my hands dismissively in the air. “No, I’m fine.”

“You don’t really believe in that sort of thing, do you?”

“What? No. I was just escaping some freak rainstorm.”

“Rain?” He seemed confused and then smiled. “I see. Well, if you need any help with anything, don’t be afraid to ask me.”

I nodded. “O-okay.”

He waved and walked away.

“What do you see in that guy?” Rick whispered in my hair. His breath touched my ear. I jumped and turned back to face him. “There’s just something off about him.” He looked backtracking James until he turned a corner.

“There’s nothing off about him. He’s just so wonderful.” I stopped dreaming and stood up straight. “And you’re none of those things.” I continued on my way. Rick caught up easily.

“I guess if you like that tall, dark and handsome type of thing. Pretty boys are really dumb, though.”

“Then I guess you have below-average intellect.”

Rick stopped walking and started laughing. “Did you just say I was kind of hot?”

I rolled my eyes. “I insult you and you take it as a compliment.”

He ran in front of me and looked into my eyes. “I think you like me more than you want to admit.”

“Seeing faces like yours should be against the law,” I scoffed. “What else did you need to tell me?”

He remained in good spirits but started speaking in hushed tones. “Oh, we only have until the autumnal equinox to find the book. That’s when Morgan can use it to take your powers.”

“Morgan? That djinn person you were talking about the other day?”

“And the monster that killed your mother.”

There was an awkward moment of silence. Rick hunched his shoulders looking guilty.

“The autumnal equinox?” I asked breaking the silence. “That means we only have a couple of weeks. How are we going to find something so small in such a vast world?”

“That I don’t know. We should visit the person who kept the book for you.”

“Um, some old lady at this store down the street.”

“A store, huh?” He smiled. “I know you’re not up for misbehaving, but I think the fate of fae is a good enough reason to skip out on school.”

“I’ve never missed a day of school in my life.”

“Not even when you’re sick?”

“I’ve never been that sick. If I can sit up, then I’m in school.”

“Such a perfect little princess.” He shook his head.

“Ugh, for the last time, I’m not a princess.”

“We’re talking about the thing that killed your mother. Do you really want him to have everything he’s always wanted because you don’t want to miss a pop quiz in algebra?”

“There’s a pop quiz in algebra?”

“You’re missing the point.”

I took a deep breath. “No, you’re right. We have to get the book back as soon as possible.”

“Of course I’m right.” He was so smug. “And if we end up needing to go out of town for a while I’ve got everything we’ll need in my bag.”

“That bag is for books, Rick. Where in the world would we possibly need to go?”

“I’m just saying I’m prepared. I’m trying to reassure you that I’m a handy person to have around.”

“I haven’t seen any evidence of that yet.”

The corner of his lips inched upward. “Let’s just go to this store.”