Way of The Wand

The first thing Tomi did when she got home was go straight to sleep. She practically walked to her room on instinct, taking as minimal effort as possible.

Thanks to Jira’s extremely potent potion, her injuries had healed in seconds. However, she still felt sore all over, and that wasn’t just because she’d got herself knocked into the wall.

Tomi had overexerted herself during the battle. A one on one match against a wizard was hard enough, but one against two? That just proved too much for her.

Saying she was “tired” would not accurately capture how worn out she felt.

Tomi might have slept till the following morning even had Timi not punctured her rest with a surprise dinner in bed.

“Hey, look what I brought you,” he announced, balancing a tray of dundun and sliced coconut with one hand and stirring her with the other.

Tomi writhed slowly on the bed, stretching her arms wide and almost knocking down the tray.

“Careful,” Timi admonished softly, moving the tray out of her reach.

His sister blinked, then her eyes zeroed in on plate set on the tray.

Her face eased into a smile. “Breakfast in bed? Did I sleep that long?”

Timi fought hard to stifle a chortle. “Dinner in bed,” he corrected. “You slept for four hours, not fourteen.”

Tomi turned around and stretched her arms to pull back the brown curtains draped over her window. Sundown.

The revelation came as a bit of surprise to her because she felt like she’d slept for an entire day, but she’d only been in bed for a few hours.

“You really shouldn’t have. I told you, I’m okay.” Though she sang out the words like she meant it, her hands extended to accept the tray of food.

Timi bit back another laugh and then sat himself down on the edge of her bed.

“For a second there—” He stared distantly into the brown wall opposite him. “— I thought I was going to lose you. I’ve never been more scared of anything in my life.”

Tomi put an arm around his neck. “Come on. Give me some credit. I’m tougher than one stupid wall. Now had I been smashed through seven walls, then—”

The door barged open, followed by a loud and annoyed voice.

“What!”

Tomi and Timi sprung to their feet, their faces turning pale at their mother’s presence.

“What! You got smashed into a wall!”

“Mum, mum, it’s not what you think,” Tomi quivered. She pushed aside the tray of dundun and coconut, spilling some of the latter’s sweet milk on her bed.

“Did something happen? Did you get injured? Are you hurt?” Wura Afolabi fired out these questions all in one breath.

“Mum it wasn’t serious. It was just a scratch,” Tomi said. But the way she said, even she wouldn’t have believed her lie.

“Just a scratch? Just a scratch? I heard your brother say he thought he’d lost you. Brothers don’t fear losing their sisters over a scratch!”

That last bit made Timi chew down on his tongue. Gods know just how much of their conversation their mother had overheard.

He shut his eyes and wished he could turn back time. He shouldn’t have woken Tomi up. He should have let her sleep till the following morning. Then their Mum wouldn’t have had any conversation to spy on.

“Don’t just stand there Timi! Tell me what happened!” Her rage had turned to him now.

“Mum,” Timi said, making his voice calm and soothing, “she’s alright now, and that’s really all that matters.”

Another mistake. That wasn’t the best reply he could have come up with. No, that was a terrible, terrible reply. And when their Mum went silent, he didn’t mistake it for understanding. It was the calm before the storm, the silence before the dam broke.

The flood of rage was coming, and he braced himself for it.

“Fine—” Everything in Wura’s stance and tone indicated otherwise. “—If that’s how you want to be.” Wura took a deep breath, selecting words in her head as she prepared to pronounce her judgement. “Tomi, I withdraw my permission to allow you compete in this tournament.”

“What?”

“Oh, you heard me the first time. I forbid you from partaking in the final task. Your road ends here.”

Tomi’s jaw dropped open, her eyes revealing the horror that surged through her body upon her mother’s pronouncement. “No!” She argued. “You can’t do that. You can’t stop me from—”

“Oh I can!” Wura Afolabi interrupted, “and I just did.”

“Mum, please,” Timi tried to beg.

“You shush!” Wura’s hands flew to her waist. “I won’t let you get hurt. Not on my watch. From now on, you’re forbidden from leaving this house. Both of you.”

“Till when?” Timi asked.

“Till I say otherwise.”

No more tournament. No more training. No more classes even.

These thoughts circled in Tomi’s head as their mother departed the room. And the moment the door closed behind Wura Afolabi, Tomi broke down, collapsing to her knees with one arm on the bed.

“This is all my fault.” She wept. “I thought I could do this, but I’m too weak. And now the wizards are going to win by default. I’ve ruined everything. I’ve doomed all the witches in the land.”

Timi crouched down beside his sister and took her in his arms. “It’s not a done deal yet. There’s still hope. We need to get word to Jira and Arron, they should be able to help.”