Way of The Wand

Chapter 12

Jira dried her clothes with magic and took her seat on the dining table directly opposite Daila, with Kano to her left and Kalinda at the head of the table.

Jira looked at the collection of food on the table. The spicy aroma of jollof rice, dodo and roasted chicken wafted into her nose. She would have dug hungrily into her food had her appetite not been spoiled by the fight earlier.

She lifted her gaze and noticed Daila stabbing a piece of chicken on her plate with a knife.

“It’s already dead Daila. You can’t kill it a second time.”

Daila stabbed the chicken leg even harder. “Don’t presume to tell me what I can or can’t do.”

Jira rolled her eyes. “I’m actually surprised you eat meat.”

Daila let go of the knife. “Do I look like a vegetarian to you?”

“No, you like you devour souls for sustenance.”

Kano chuckled but checked himself when Daila sent a deadly glance his way.

She growled. “I’ll feed on yours next if you don’t stop running your mouth.”

“I’ve had it with you two!” Kalinda banged her fists on the dining table. “Gods! I know we’re a dysfunctional family but we’re still a family. Why don’t we talk about something a normal family would talk about?”

Kalinda desperately sought to move the conversation on to something less combative.

“How about—” Kalinda put up a smile. “—Any boys in your life I should know about?”

Neither daughter answered.

“Girls then maybe?”

Kano cleared his throat. “Actually, there’s this girl—”

“Not you Kano! You change girlfriends every weekend.”

Kano reclined into his chair and swallowed the rest of his words.

Kalinda waited for her daughters to say something, but neither opened her mouth. They only kept staring at each other, fire raging in each’s heart. A fire that would soon explode again if Kalinda didn’t find a way to put it out.

The old wizard sucked her teeth. What could she do to make these two ladies play nice with each other?

Her shoulders dropped. Perhaps the table would come alive if she brought up the tournament. Both ladies seemed pretty fired up about it, but Kalinda worried it would only make them fight again.

“Daila, what did you think about the task of speed today? Jira’s student put up a really impressive display, don’t you think?”

Kalinda’s attempt to trick Daila into giving Jira’s pupil a compliment blew up in her face.

“Don’t tell me you were impressed by such a cheap trick.”

Jira kicked out her leg under the table. “You couldn’t pull it off if your life depended on it.”

“I can fly you dimwit. You would never catch me on a broom!”

Kalinda stifled a scream. Who was to blame for this? Was it her? It couldn’t be. She raised them to love and look out for each other. And for a long time, they did.

As kids, Jira and Daila were inseparable. They weren’t just sisters, they were best friends. Jira followed Daila everywhere, copied her older sister at everything. They played together, even practised the rudiments of wizardry together.

And Daila likewise returned all that attention. When people would compliment Daila on how strong and powerful she was, she would direct the compliment to Jira, telling everyone when Jira grew up, she would become an even more powerful wizard.

Daila was proud to have a little sister like Jira, a sister with so much potential for wizardry.

Everything changed the day Jira broke the news that she wanted to study witchcraft. It broke Daila’s heart, and since then, they’d never so much as looked at each other without wanting to rip the other’s throat out.

“Your father would be very disappointed in you, both of you,” Kalinda said.

“Oh yeah?” Daila retorted, “Hers or mine?”

Jira only rolled her eyes. “And here I thought I was already a disappointment.”

Kano, who had cleared the rice on his plate, reached for a glass and downed the water in it, belching to dissolve the tension that had gripped the table.

He remained undeterred as eyes turned to him. The only way to force normalcy back into this conversation was to move it along.

“Jira tell me how you plan on preparing your next champion for the task of smarts.”

Jira was happy to answer. This way she could steer the conversation the way she wanted and uncover the identity of Airad’s next champion.

Ever since Kano told him Kalinda wanted the second champion’s identity kept secret she hadn’t stopped wondering who he was.

“We don’t need to prepare. Everyone knows we witches have you beat in that department. I mean, who in all of Airad could possibly pose a threat to my pupil?”

Kano sneered. “You only say that because you haven’t met Korath.”

Immediately, he drew scolding gazes from his Mum and half-sister.

Kano realised his mistake. He’d been baited into revealing the identity of his school’s champion.

He shook his head as a smile settled on his face. “Well done.” He told Jira. “You witches are truly cunning.”

“That’s it,” Daila broke out, “you’ve overstayed your welcome.”

Jira, having gotten what she came for, rose to her feet. “I was already leaving anyway.”