Page 15 of Bombshell

Shaking off the memories of that rainy night fifty years ago I opened the book with a sigh. It looked just like it had when I was seven years old reading it for the first time, and just as boring too.

Alexander had been a lot more affectionate then, sitting next to me as I sounded out the ancient spells written in Latin like I was sounding out the words in a picture book.

Years after that, as my peers passed me by, Alexander didn’t sit next to me anymore and instead stood over me during our lessons, clearly upset that his own child wasn’t as talented as he was.

The spells depicted in this book were basic. Elemental spells, spells to move objects, spells to change the appearance of something—all things that young witches and wizards learned by thetime they were twelve years old and all things that I had always struggled with.

“Try the first one.” Alexander pointed to a levitation spell, the simplest of the bunch. I’d always had some success with that one, though toddlers seemed to still do it better than me.

Looking at the objects that were laid out in front of me, I focused on a golden apple paper weight and muttered the spell, watching as it lifted into the air and wobbled there.

“It seems you can at least do that still,” Alexander muttered under his breath as he scribbled something down on his notepad.

The next few hours were long with Alexander pointing at a spell and me attempting it to the best of my ability.

By the time he finally ended it, the reservoir of magic that always sat deep in my chest felt stretched and empty in a way that it hadn’t been in a long time.

Spells and spellcasting had always seemed to wear on me much more than the average witch—especially seeing as most of the magic users in our coven could pull on the shared reservoir of magic from the White Ponderosa. These spells shouldn’t have taken much out of me but as I sat back in my chair I felt my limbs start to shake with exhaustion.

“Somewhat better than when you were a child,” Alexander said, oblivious to my current state as he looked over his notes. “You still can’t use any of the elements outside of earth which is quite disappointing.”

“Is that so surprising? I’m literally half-tree.” I rolled my eyes, confident he wouldn’t notice it.

Alexander didn’t miss a beat as his dark blue eyes met mine. “Then that just means you should bemorein touch with nature, Euphemia.”

“Well then maybe my magic isn’t as mature as you say,”and that means maybe I can wriggle my way out of our deal,I added silently, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him like I used to also do when I was a child. I was half-afraid I was regressing all the way back and soon I’d have a face full of pimples again. It figured that, out of all of the humanistic traits I inherited from Alexander, acne had been at the top of the damn list.

“No it definitely is. It leaks out of you at an alarming rate and goes all over the place. I’m surprised none of the riffraff you spend so much time with down at the Wharf haven’t told you yet.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. Truthfully, I was one of the few magic users that lived on the Wharf. Sure, we had them come through the shop for tattoos, but more often than not I made myself scarce on days we had them on the books.

Other magic users could clock that I wasn’t normal in the blink of an eye and their expressions reminded me too much of the coven members who used to whisper about me behind my back. They always knew just how much of an‘other’I was and I didn’t have the time to go into a spiral of self pity every time they blew through to get inked up.

So, instead of answering Alexander’s question, I changed the subject. “So what’s the game plan? I come here and we read spells out of a spellbook until you decide that my magic can’t be developed anymore? Then you send me on my merry way and we can agree to come back to it in another fifty years?”

“No you’re needed now,” Alexander said almost absent-mindedly before his dark eyes widened, telling me that I wasn’t meant to hear those words.

“Why am I needed now?” I asked, frowning as he straightened his suit looking as flustered as I’d ever seen him. “You and your coven have never needed me, I’m your weird tree daughter, remember?”

It was Alexander’s turn to frown. “You are notweirdEuphemia, you are unique. A special being.”

For just a moment I was transported back to when I was a little girl and I used to tell on the other children who’d make fun of me. He’d reacted the same way then as he did now, but nothing ever changed and I eventually stopped saying anything at all.

“You’re dodging my question. Why am I needed now?”

It had been strange enough that he’d basically shown up out of the blue the night of my last magical freak out and pushed for me to come back and learn magic from him, but now heneededme?

Had I woken up in some sort of alternate reality? Was I about to be on a very supernatural episode ofPunk’d? If Ashton Kutcher popped out from somewhere I was going to lose mydamn mind. The guy had always given me theheebie jeebiesand that was saying something seeing as I worked at the adult equivalent of Halloweentown down at the Wharf. I knew bothheebieandjeebievery well.

“You’re needed because you are my daughter and my heir,” Alexander said after another beat of silence, clearly unaware of the inner monologue ping-ponging in my brain about 90s heartthrobs that gave me the Ick with a capital ‘I’.

I scoffed at that seeing as it wasn’t a full answer in the slightest. “An heir who can’t even perform basic spells? The coven would riot if you tried to put me in charge, hell, I’d riot. You do realize I’m not coming back, right? Not really. Once Daphne safely gives birth I’m done here and I will be on my merry way.”

Alexander looked almost hurt by my words as he tucked the notepad he was holding under his arm with a sigh. “Regardless of what will happen in six months, you are going to learn magic. That was the deal, Euphemia.”

“And I will always keep my end of the bargain, Alexander, but how am I supposed to learn magic when most spell incantations I say blow up in my face?”

I was frustrated, thinking of all of the spells he’d made me read out over the past few hours that hadn’t worked at all.

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