Page 32 of Bearly Bewitched

A knock shattered the moment. They separated reluctantly as Burke entered, his expression grave.

“Sorry to interrupt, but... there’s been another incident with Daisy’s curse.”

Kaine stiffened at Burke’s words. “What happened?”

“She was practicing shielding charms with Professor Changly.” Burke’s steady voice couldn’t quite hide his worry. “Everything was fine until the ward stones started pulsing. Then her magic just... changed.” He glanced at Vail. “Like that night at the community fair, but worse.”

“Worse how?” Vail’s skin prickled with unease. She could still picture Daisy’s curse magic creating shadow creatures during the fair – how they’d moved with unsettling purpose, drawn to the strongest magical signatures.

“The shadows were bigger this time. More defined.” Burke’s fingers twisted together, a rare show of agitation. “One was definitely a woman. Daisy kept saying ‘Grandma, please stop’ before she passed out.”

The temperature plummeted as Kaine’s power turned sharp with protective fury, frosting the windows. “Where is she?”

“Infirmary. Sabine’s with her – she said something about the shadows carrying traces of ancient magic.” Burke hesitated. “Daisy was asking for you both when she woke up. And she mentioned something about the full moon. Said it was ‘like Grandmother’s ritual, but different.’”

Vail caught the way Kaine’s jaw clenched, his hands fisting at his sides. Without thinking, she reached for him, letting her fire magic wrap around his in silent support. Some of the tension eased from his shoulders as their energies harmonized.

“She’s never talked about that night,” he said roughly. “Not since...”

“Since her parents?” Vail asked softly.

Pain flashed across his face, raw and still bleeding after two years. “My brother Marcus married Sirai Changly – Professor Changly’s sister,” he said, his voice rough with memory. “A powerful fire witch from an old magical family. Sirai’s mother, Nora Changly, sat on the Senior Council.

“She was... traditional. Believed witch bloodlines should remain pure.” His voice carried echoes of old grief and anger. “The Changlys had maintained pure witch lineage for generations, and they were proud of it. When Sirai married outside their traditions...” His magic crackled with suppressed emotion.

“Nora didn’t just disown her. She used her council influence to have Sirai’s name struck from the official magical registry. But when Daisy started showing both magical signatures, when it became clear how powerfully the magic had merged in her...” His voice roughened. “Nora couldn’t stand that her granddaughter might prove everything the council preached about magical purity was wrong.”

THIRTY-ONE

Understanding dawned as pieces clicked into place. “Like Ames and his council protocols,” Vail said quietly. “The same prejudices against hybrid magic.” She thought of the crystal she’d seen Ledger using, how it pulsed with that ugly purple energy whenever hybrid magic was present.

“Pure bloodlines were everything to them.” Kaine’s anger brought the temperature down further, frost patterns spreading across the windows. “The Changlys were considered magical royalty, their lineage traced back to the founding of the council itself. When Sirai married Marcus... it wasn’t just about love. It was a challenge to centuries of tradition.”

“What happened?” Vail squeezed his hand gently, remembering Ames’s earlier warning about ward alignments and lunar phases. The protection runes on her rings hummed with increasing urgency.

“She showed up at their house during the full moon. Said she wanted to reconcile, to understand.” His laugh held no humor. “Marcus called me right after she left. Said something felt wrong – the wards were acting strange, their usual protective magic twisted somehow. Daisy’s power kept fluctuating like it was responding to something they couldn’t see. They were driving tomy place when...” He broke off, magic crackling with suppressed emotion.

“The accident,” Burke supplied quietly. “Black ice that shouldn’t have been there. Shadows on the road that witnesses couldn’t quite describe. And Daisy...”

“I felt it the moment it happened.” Kaine’s voice turned hoarse. “The family bonds breaking. By the time I reached them, it was too late. Daisy was unconscious in the backseat, her magic twisted into something dark. And Nora... she just stood there, watching from the roadside. Said it was ‘necessary’ to preserve the council’s traditions. That the curse would ‘purify’ Daisy’s magic, stripping away what they considered contamination.”

Horror rolled through Vail as more pieces clicked into place. A Senior Council member’s hatred of hybrid magic. A curse tied to lunar cycles. And now Ledger manipulating Ames with promises of council advancement, right when the ward fluctuations were growing stronger.

“The lunar eclipse,” she said slowly, remembering Ames’s parting comment. She crossed to her calendar where the upcoming eclipse was marked in shimmering silver ink. “If the curse is tied to moon phases...”

“It’ll be at its strongest then.” Kaine’s eyes met hers, golden with fear for his niece. “And if someone’s using council connections to tamper with the wards...”

“They could use that power surge for something bigger.” Vail’s rings burned against her skin, protection runes flaring. “We need to?—“

A knock interrupted her words. When the door opened, Thaddeus Ledger glided in, his smile smooth as oil on water. His magic filled the room with discordant notes. Even the ward stones visible through her window pulsed erratically at his presence, their usual golden light taking on that same violet tinge.

“Headmistress, I wondered if I might discuss some fascinating theories about hybrid magic?” Ledger’s gaze slid to Daisy’s curse diary on Vail’s desk, lingering too long on the lunar charts tucked between its pages. The crystal at his throat pulsed brighter, and Vail felt her recent ward stone observations trying to rearrange themselves into a pattern she couldn’t quite grasp. “I’ve been reviewing some of Nora Changly’s old council research. Remarkable work on magical purification. Though perhaps her methods were a bit... crude.”

His casual mention of Nora’s name hit like a physical blow. Kaine shifted slightly, angling himself between Ledger and the curse diary. Outside, storm clouds gathered as his protective magic surged, responding to the threat he sensed in Ledger’s carefully measured words.

“I’m particularly interested in her theories about ward stone alignment during lunar events.” Ledger moved farther into the office, each step precise and measured. “The council has expressed concerns about the stability of hybrid magic signatures. Your experimental curriculum has raised some... questions.” His smile sharpened. “Though I’m sure your former fiancé already mentioned that.”

“The council approved our curriculum,” Vail said firmly, though her rings burned against her skin. “Including the hybrid magic studies.” She watched how his crystal flared at the mention of hybrid magic, storing away another piece of the puzzle.

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