Chapter 2

• She made it! She practically levitated back through the halls to get out of there as quickly and quietly as possible. She really didn’t need to see Professor Galt again today. Maddy was just about to go back through the door transport when her cell phone rang. She grinned at the number. “Hello Ronnie.”
• “Hey Mad. I know you’re at school, but I just wanted to tell you I dropped off some kitty snacks for Whiskers. They’re in the fridge.”
• Maddy grinned at the phone. “Thanks. It was on my list. Hey, I was going to check out the museum tomorrow, are you busy? They have the artifacts from Ireland and Scotland there this month.” She listened to Veronica’s moan on the other end.
• “I have to help Mother with the planning of the summer gala.”
• “That’s three months away.”
• Veronica snorted. “Oh, I know but it has to be perfect and all that. You know Mother takes her position of Affairs ambassador too seriously.”
• Maddy smirked. “Well, you have fun with that.”
• “I won’t and you know it. Take lots of pictures for me hun.”
• “Will do. Talk to you later.” Maddy tucked the phone back into her pocket and smirked. Poor Ronnie, stuck with a socialite mother. She missed her mother, and father. It wasn’t often both parents were selected to pass onto the high council. At least they hadn’t taken them both at the same time. If there was anything to be thankful for, that was it. The years following her mother’s leaving would have been too hard for Maddy to cope with if she hadn’t had the broad shoulders of her Da to lean on. She’d have to give them a call tonight and see how the otherworldly realm was treating them.
• Taking a deep breath, she placed her hand on the wall panel. “Home please.”
• ~
• Slipping onto the back porch she called out. “Whiskers, I’m home.” She looked around for her only companion. Of course, her cat had stopped coming to greet her years ago. She walked in the bathroom and glanced in the large claw foot tub. The black cat was lying in it, just as she’d suspected. “Ronnie fill you up on fresh snacks?” The cat didn’t make any move to acknowledge her. She sat on the edge of the tub and looked down at the lounging creature. “Not in a social mood today?”
• Am I ever?
• Maddy grinned. “No, I guess not.” She stood up. “I’ll be in the study if you feel the need for companionship.”
• Noted.
• Maddy chuckled as she walked back out. Hearing her familiar’s thoughts wasn’t an uncommon event in her culture, but there were times she wished she couldn’t. There were times she wished she were normal and Whiskers was normal—what would her normal be like? Magic-less, and what fun would that be? She’d been using magic and spells for as far back as she could remember. Except maybe for those few months after her mother passed on, when they realized something had gone terribly wrong with her ability.
• She walked into the study and stopped to take in the room. It was her favorite space on this earth, indoors. Maddy’s home may appear like a small cottage, but her study was castle worthy—that’s how her Da had always described it. A large bookcase overflowing with knowledge covered the one entire wall. A weathered cherry desk, covered in the clutter from her last work assignment. Her oversized comfy chair and triangular table—her favorite because let’s face it, tables just weren’t triangular often. Covering one other wall were shelves of bottles and glass containers of every sort, filled with all the herbs, plant matter and a number of things she couldn’t place in a category—basically, everything a witch could ever ask for.
• The room wasn’t brightly painted. At one time it could have been called white, but now was a faded unnameable shade. The surrounding wood cabinets and shelves made the color seem bright enough for Maddy’s taste. It wasn’t like anyone ever really saw inside the room. Well, other than whiskers and maybe Ronnie every so often. Of course Ronnie’s mother had come in once and looked rather shocked and never stepped near it again. When Maddy had first started her lessons with Ginger, she’d also come to check out her work space—only to inform Maddy that she was an old magic witch without all the new age toys and props most their age used.
• Supposedly old magic was a rare and good thing, it meant most of your talent was natural and didn’t have to be forced. In Maddy’s case hers was completely natural and completely cursed backwards. She often wondered if she didn’t have two natural witch parents, both on the high council, if the community would have abandoned her completely.
• Turning, she smiled at the two small cabinets on the wall just inside the study doorway. They were oak, a few feet wide and tall. When she opened one, or both of the doors, there her parents would appear in the mirrors—to talk to her and on the rare occasion, help her study.
• It was an odd thing that she could never see her parents in corporeal form again, yet they were still alive and well. In the magical culture she’d been born to, some older witches didn’t actually die, they passed on to the high council to fill functional positions, but to the rest of the world her parents had passed on. It wasn’t her fault that most just assumed that meant they’d passed on and died.
• She ran her hand over one small door, then the other. She was proud both of her parents had been deemed worthy of a seat on the high council. They both had titles of sorts, that described in some way what they were charged with doing, but she preferred to just think of them as Da and Mama, anything beyond that didn’t really matter to her. Which, she supposed made her a bad witch...ling.
• Grinning, she hurried to the window and pulled the blind down and turned quickly to rush back to the cabinets. Standing a few feet away she leaned forward and flipped both open at the same time. She didn’t have to wait more than a moment and both her parents were there. The first time she’d done this, she expected the person on the other end to appear like mist, but in reality it was like they were in the room with her.
• “Mama.” She smiled at the most important woman in her world, or in her life as she wasn’t technically in this world anymore.
• Katherine Darcy flipped the long greying red hair from her shoulder. “Maddy, I was just thinking about you.”
• Maddy grinned, “You know I always check in after visiting Hidden Cove.”
• Gerald Darcy chuckled. “Sounds like you had another run in with old professor Galt.”
• Maddy nodded. She leaned forward and swivelled each mirror inward slightly and then sat in the faded chair. “I was late, again.” She rolled her eyes, “I think she’s trying to drive me away so she doesn’t have to worry about me messing anything else up.”
• Her parents, now being able to see each other smiled and also sat down. It was completely ridiculous really, that both of her parents were essentially in the same otherworldly place, but only ever saw each other when Maddy called both at the same time.
• Her mother smiled at her, one of those understanding mother smiles. “Regina still blames herself for not being able to reverse the curse placed on you Maddy—”
• Maddy waved her hand around in exasperation. “I know.” She grinned at her father and quickly hopped up to grab the old book from her bag. Spinning back around, she hugged the book. “Guess what Ginger and I did today, Da.”
• Her father’s bright eyes smiled back at her. “I’m figuring with the age of that book you’re holding things that most adult witches can’t even do.”
• Maddy nodded and held the book up for both of them to see.
• “That’s wonderful, Maddy. You had no problems?” Her mother leaned forward a bit in her chair.
• Maddy shook her head. “Not one.”
• Katherine clasped her hands in her lap. “I think it’s getting very close to that time where a review is called, Maddy.”
• Maddy’s eyes warily studied her mother. “Let’s hope I don’t mess it up this time, Professor Galt still won’t let me anywhere near her office.”
• Both of her parents laughed being reminded of Maddy’s nerves during her last review—that had caused her to unshelve every book in the Professors office while trying to levitate one to her.
• She sat back down and smiled at the two people in the mirrors in front of her. This, Maddy thought, is a normal moment in my life.