Mary-Beth just smiled at me and shook her head. “Making things fly with your mind does sound fun,” she whispered as she set the book down on my desk. She gave me a wink before turning to face forward.
Mary-Beth was a mage. She was one of us.
It was no longer just Nathaniel and I, tasked impossibly with bringing magic back on our own. There were four of us, who knew how many others there were?
We could do this.
We could bring back an entire lost race.
I practically ran to lunch after class. I waited impatiently as students floated in and out around me. I was actually biting my nails by the time Nathaniel walked into the cafeteria, Borden in tow behind him.
“She could read the book,” I blurted out as soon as they walked up. “No problem, she could read the book.”
“She’s one of us,” Nathaniel said, a small smile pulling in the corner of his mouth.
“Glad to not be the only newbie,” Borden said, and he actually did seem glad for it.
“We have to tell her,” I said as we stepped into line. I took a tray and grabbed my food. It was Wednesday. I wouldn’t see Mary-Beth again until Friday, unless I went looking for her. I thought through it as I walked from the checkout to our now normal table.
“Do we wait until this weekend?” I asked as we sat down. “I feel like it’s something we should all do together. But you don’t have a day off until Saturday.”
“My next lesson is Saturday,” Borden pointed out as he sat beside me. “Seems like an easy way to kill two birds with one stone.”
I looked at Nathaniel, who considered it for a moment. And finally, he gave a nod. “That sounds like a solid plan to me.”
I nodded as well. “I have some ideas about our tester as well. How overwhelmed is everyone right now? Maybe we could meet tonight after your shift?”
I could see the tiredness on Nathaniel’s face already. His face had always been slightly gaunt, but now the hollows beneath his eyes were more intense and noticeable. But he didn’t hesitate when he nodded.
“Meet at the solarium at nine, then,” I said with a nod.
It had been dark for three hours by the time I told my father where I was going and headed to the solarium. The snow was crunchy and crisp. The weather had gotten a few degrees above freezing today, and thus had started melting. But now the temperatures had plunged again, leaving everything frozen and slick.
Smoke was rising from the chimney in the solarium, and I kind of wondered how no one but Borden had ever found Nathaniel living there. Not that this end of the school looked safe. It really did look like it could all collapse and be swallowed up at any moment.
But I didn’t fear for my life as I walked past the fence and headed down the overgrown path.
Borden was already inside when I stepped in. He and Nathaniel were talking, both their arms folded over their chests, looking concerned.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, hanging my scarf on the tree stand.
“My parents called this afternoon,” Borden said. “They’ve spoken with the Society about my desertion. They’re worried I’m going to screw up my education, that I won’t be able to handle the business when it’s my time to take over. They’re cutting me off.”
My heart sank into my stomach. “The Society continues after Alderidge?”
Borden’s lips disappeared into a thin line and he nodded his head. “These families go way back. To the founding of the country, almost. They all stay in touch, they all are connected with their business dealings. My father and David’s have worked together in some form since their own time here at Alderidge.”
And I realized then just what Borden was willing to sacrifice. “Borden, why is this worth it to you? We’re…we’re just a couple of acquaintances. This, you could forget about magic and move on with your life. Go live the way you were supposed to. How is this worth it to you?”
Borden fixed me with his eyes, and I knew whatever came out of his mouth, he meant the words. Some people just have intensely honest eyes like that.
“There’ve been expectations placed upon the shoulders of Stewart children for centuries,” he said. “We’ve been expected to live our lives a certain way since the old days in Scotland. I’ve been a good son. I’ve done my duties. And I am still a good man who is still going to do something great and big and somehow, I am going to make my parents proud. But I’m going to do it my way. I’m going to be my own person. And if they can’t respect me along the way, then I don’t need it. Let them see the end results.”
Little by little, I was coming to realize that Borden was different. He wasn’t the same person he was when he tormented us with the Society Boys.
I wasn’t exactly ready to forgive and forget. But slowly he was proving trustworthy.
“I really respect that, Borden,” I said. My words came out tight and hoarse. “I don’t know if I’d have that same kind of strength.”
Borden pressed his lips together again and nodded. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me, and in that moment, it wasn’t difficult to reciprocate the hug. Nathaniel stepped forward too, wrapping his long arms around us, holding tight.
I took a deep breath as I released the both of them and let it out between my lips. “Okay, right. It’s getting late. My idea.”
We turned and I walked to the couch, leaning against one arm. Nathaniel stayed where he was, folding his arms over his chest. Borden took a seat at the desk, listening intently.
“The telekinesis book reacts to mages,” I said. “I didn’t think anything about the glamouring book before, but if you think about it, it’s already the only test we have. What if we were able to take some kind of hybrid approach with the glamouring book and the transfiguration book?”
“Create an object that transfigures itself when held or touched by a mage, but remains glamoured when touched by any regular human?” Nathaniel asked.
“Exactly,” I said, the excitement in my voice increasing. “It needs to be easy and quick. I mean as in something we can walk through the halls at school with and touch people, without them even knowing what we’re doing, and instantly be able to tell.”
“We joked and said a stick earlier, but that would be the easiest thing,” Borden spoke up. “You could walk around with it and touch people without them even noticing.”
“So, we’re wanting to create a magic wand that glows when it touches another mage?” Nathaniel said, the humor of it showing in his face.
I chuckled just twice, recognizing how ridiculous it was. “Yes, I’m talking about creating a magic wand that glows when it touches others like us.”
Borden laughed and shook his head. “This is ridiculous. But it should work.”
Nathaniel’s eyes were wandering, and I could see the gears turning in his head a million miles a minute. “I think we can make it work. That isn’t to say it will be any time soon. Transfiguration hasn’t been going the smoothest.”
At that confession, Borden gave me a look, to which I simply shrugged.
“I think we need something simple, something that doesn’t look suspicious,” Nathaniel said, and I knew he was always thinking about our safety and how our ancestors had essentially been hunted to extinction.