Way of The Wand

Chapter 11

To celebrate Lila’s impressive performance at the tournament, Jira had given her pupils the rest of the day off, telling them to go celebrate however they saw fit.

At first, she’d thought she was doing her pupils a favour by giving them the day off, but now realises she needed the break just as much as they did.

Jira reclined into the sofa in the sitting room and smiled as the events of the race played back in her head. Had Lila not got entangled by those stupid vines, she would have won. The little girl made every witch in the land proud. All the hours of practice they’d put in training paid off.

That said, with one win out of three for Airad, it was imperative the witches clenched the next win to level up. If they lost at the task of smarts, it was over.

Jira’s stomach grumbled, interrupting her thoughts and reminding her of Kalinda’s dinner invite.

When the offer was made, Jira did not even bother to consider it. But now that she’d had a chance to return to her home and relax, she realised there might be some advantages to it.

If she went to the Airad mansion, it might allow her an opportunity to find out some information about Airad’s champion for the task of smarts. Not to mention, her mere presence on Airad school grounds might intimidate the students, and an intimidated opponent was a half-defeated opponent.

These reasons put together made a strong case for her to go, but then again, if she did, she would have to face her half-sister, Daila.

It had been over four years since she saw or spoke to her sister. Her memory of their last moments together was forever etched in her mind.

After Jira packed her bags and decided to leave the Airad mansion, Daila blocked the exit and tried to prevent her from leaving. They had a big argument that ended with Daila warning Jira that if she left, she would never be allowed to return.

Jira sat up on the sofa as she remembered Daila’s ultimatum. Contrary to what she felt initially, maybe going back just to spite Daila was reason enough to take up Kalinda’s offer.

Jira sprung up from the sofa and strode to her room, rummaging through her closet for a pick of clothes. She settled on a black agbada. If she was going to go, she might as well make a strong statement with her choice of clothing.

Nostalgia almost overwhelmed Jira the instant she got off her broomstick and landed on Airad grounds.

Facing her was the truncated pyramid that was Airad Wizarding School’s main building, flanked on either side by tall circular towers.

Dotted around the landscape was a host of smaller buildings, including the mansion that had served as the Rakha residential home for several generations.

In the silence of the night, she could hear the waves of the Airad sea crashing against the beach, and far into the distance, the black “zombie” trees of the Airad forest rose against the horizon, merging into the block of mountains as it stretched to the west.

Jira sucked in a long breath. Not once in the past four years had she come visiting, and now that she was here, a barrage of emotions rose to the surface.

Even though Kalinda had married twice, she’d refused to drop her maiden name both times. The Rakha family was one of the oldest, wealthiest and most powerful families in all of Edoh, some say only outclassed by the royal family.

Like their mother, Daila kept the Rakha name, believing it too important to be dropped. Of course, there was no surprise there. Daila loved power and influence too much to walk away from a surname that evoked esteem based solely on ancestry.

As for Jira, when she walked away from Airad, she walked away from everything, including the family name. Now, she was just Jira.

It made her feel like she’d shed all the baggage of her past, even if that baggage had refused to shed her.

Jira made her broomstick vanish and walked the rest of the way to the Rakha mansion. The door swung open by itself as she arrived. She encountered no one in the hallway, just old metal suits hanging from the walls.

Walking through the hallway flooded Jira with old memories. Her legs took over, and she didn’t even know when she climbed the large stairwell to the third floor and entered her old room.

To her surprise, it was just as she’d left it. Well mostly. Judging from the lack of dust, someone had certainly been tasked with keeping it clean.

Jira lowered herself unto the four-poster bed, looked left to the brown curtains draped over the open windows, then forward to her cluster of shelves and cabinet that used to hold her things.

There was nothing in there. She’d made sure to clear out all her things before moving out of the mansion. The clothes and belongings she couldn’t take with her she’d made sure to give out.

The door opened, and Jira was startled.

“I thought I heard someone come in here,” Kano said with a wide grin on his face.

Jira got up and embraced her brother.

“I didn’t think you’d come. Looks like I owe Mum seven gamins.”

Kano watched as his sister continued to scan the room and saw a flash of the old Jira.

“Mum insisted on keeping it just like you left it. She believed someday you’d return. Looks like she was right.”

Jira wagged a finger in protest. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m here for one night, and that’s it. I don’t think I can share a roof with Daila ever again.”

“Well,” Kano said, “just know you’ll always be welcome here.”

A voice neither Jira nor Kano had been expecting crashed into the room. “No, she’s really not.”

The air chilled as Daila filled the room with her presence.

Jira straightened up and pulled herself to her tallest height. “Speak of Iku, and she appears.”

Daila hissed. “It’s an insult to compare me to the God of the dead. I’m much scarier.”

“I see you’re still as full of yourself as ever.”

“And I see you are still full of shit, as always,” Daila fired back.

“Ladies—” Kano stepped between them to prevent escalation. “Let’s all just take a step back and take a deep breath. I know there’s a lot of history here. But can’t we all just get along for one night?”

Daila snapped her head at Kano. “Leave us.”

Kano’s body jerked forward. “Excuse me? Leave the two of you, here, alone with each other?”

“Yes,” Daila answered. “You want us to get along? Then you need to let us talk. Alone. This conversation is long overdue.”

Kano shifted uneasily on his feet. He lifted his gaze from Daila to Jira.

Jira cocked her head sideways. “Go. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

“That’s right Kano,” Daila teased, “she’s a big girl now. She doesn’t need her big brother to protect her anymore.”

Kano hesitated before giving in. “Fine, but play nice.”

A sharp silence came to rest between Jira and Daila after Kano’s departure. The two ladies stared into each other’s eyes for a stretch of time, each weighing the other.

When Jira couldn’t bear it anymore, she leaned against the wall and complained. “If you have something to say, say it and stop wasting my time.”

Daila did not take her eyes off Jira, rather, her gaze intensified, calcifying to stone. “I warned you never to return here.”

Jira threw her hands in the air and shrugged. “You’re not some ovarian overlord. I don’t have to obey you. Unlike everyone else who goes to your school, I’m not afraid of you.”

“A mistake, I assure you.”

With Jira standing right there in front of her, Daila’s old feelings about Jira’s choice to quit Airad pumped back into the wizard’s chest.

“When I look at you…all I see is wasted potential. You’ve thrown your life away.”

“I don’t have to stand here and listen to this.”

“You can’t stand to hear the truth huh?” Daila jibed.

Jira shifted her weight off the wall. “Well, good talk,” she retorted and exited the room.

“Don’t you dare walk out on me!” Daila yelled as she followed Jira out to the corridor.

The witch stopped and turned, almost tripping one of the potted plants spaced along the corridor

Daila regarded her half-sister from head to toe, her mouth twisting in disgust.

“Gods, you are a disappointment and a disgrace. We carved out your path for you. All you had to do was follow it, but you couldn’t even do that.”

“Maybe I wanted to find my way instead. That ever occur to you?”

Daila snarled. “And look at you now, such a shame.”

Jira’s insides coiled with rising anger. Her pent-up frustration exploded in her voice. “I don’t care Daila, that I didn’t live up to your expectations. I didn’t grow to be the wizard you wanted. So what? Deal with it!”

Daila’s voice was surprisingly cool when she replied. “You’re right. It was my fault. I thought too highly of you. I gave you more credit than you deserved, not knowing the whole time that you were a weakling. Still are. And that’s why you would rather your pupil face me at the tournament, since you don’t have the eggs to do it yourself.”

Something snapped in Jira. She whipped out her wand, but before she even had a chance to cast a spell, Daila struck.

The wizard used her magic to tear off the door to Jira’s old room and hurl it at Jira.

Jira ducked, the door breezing over her head, but she knew more than to think she was safe.

She turned around in time to see the door make a U-turn and come at her again. Jira let it close in before she aimed her wand at it and yelled, “Disintegrate.”

The door reduced to a pile of dust and Jira quickly followed up with another spell. “Wind.”

A gust of wind from nowhere blew the pile of dust at Daila’s direction, sending some particles into the wizard’s eyes and momentarily blinding her.

Daila, in desperation, motioned to the vines of potted plants. The vines enlarged and entangled Jira, yanking her off her feet and suspending her upside down in mid-air.

Jira’s wand slipped from her hand, but with Daila clawing at her face to clean out the dirt in her eyes, Jira had some time to reach her weapon.

Jira stretched her hand as far as it would go, clinching the crystal stick with the tip of her fingers. Once she had it in her grip, she snatched it up and pointed to the vines holding her feet. “Release.”

She hit the floor with a thud, and not a moment too soon, as an instant later, a now clearly seeing Daila sent forth a haze of fire from her hands.

Jira countered with “Ice.”

Ice filled the hallway, snuffing out the fire and forming into sharp spikes spreading out towards Daila.

Daila motioned in a circle, turning the huge spikes of ice into water and sent it back at Jira.

Jira lagged in her counter. The wave of water collided into her like a tsunami, knocking the air from her lungs and flushing her down the corridor.

Wet from head to toe, Jira scrambled back to her feet, ready to have another go at Daila but stopped when her mother’s voice struck like thunder.

“Enough!”

Jira turned to see Kalinda hurrying up the stairs. She expected her mother to berate her and Daila for fighting, but instead, all Kalinda did was look disappointedly at both daughters and sigh.

“Mum it was—”

Kalinda did not let Daila finish. “I don’t want to hear it.”