Summoned By Magic by Lexie Scott

Chapter 3

Nothing. Not even Masie sprouting horns and a tail or Mom telling me we won the lottery, or hell, even their telling me I was adopted—nothing could have shocked me more than the creepy, obviously insane words my aunt just uttered.

“What?” I gasped.

I looked between Mom and Dad, waiting for one of them to crack. To burst into laughter or even smile at the inside joke.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

I blinked and refocused on Masie. “What are you talking about?”

She tilted her head. “I know this is a lot to take in. We . . .” She glanced over at my parents and sighed. “We thought it was too late for you. We thought there was a chance their powers didn’t pass on. We never told you because we were all hoping that was the case.”

That explained why they all looked so guilty.

“So, the earthquake? And the water? I made that happen?”

“We believe so.”

“Because I’m a witch?” I dragged each word out, giving her the opportunity to cut me off and tell me I was mistaken. She didn’t.

“It appears so.”

“Are you a witch?”

“Yes.”

“You have abilities?”

She nodded, “Mine aren’t considered particularly useful anymore. I can create and remove light, but electricity makes that affinity outdated and less valued.”

“What about my mom, Amber?”

She smiled, “She was a great Earth witch. She could make anything grow.”

Mom and Dad agreed.

“I was always jealous of her ability to keep plants alive.” Mom stared at the floor, looking lost in her own memories.

I sucked in a breath and held it in while I closed my eyes. Their abilities didn’t sound like mine. Mine were destructive and unpredictable. Maybe this was all a big misunderstanding. Either that or every adult in my life had lost their minds. Maybe I should take my brother and sister and leave for a while, and let them get their heads on straight.

“What about my dad? Do I take after him too?”

The three adults shared a look, but Masie was the one to answer, “You would have shown signs by now, so we don’t think so.”

At least that was one thing I didn’t have to worry about. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the whole shifter thing.

“Saige.” Masie’s hand landed on my arm, and I opened my eyes, staring at where she was touching me. “I’ll explain everything, but we need to go.”

I furrowed my brows. “Go where?”

Mom answered, “There’s a school for young people like you. They can teach you how to use and manage the abilities you have.”

I snorted. “You’re sending me to a witch school? Who am I, Harry Potter?”

The similarities set in, and suddenly, it wasn’t so funny. My parents died when I was a baby. My pseudo aunt and uncle raised me. Now I found out I was a witch and was being sent off to a school. I really hoped there wasn’t some evil snake-obsessed weirdo missing a nose who wanted to kill me. I drew the line there.

Maybe I’d get an owl.

Dad chuckled. “Sorry, kid, but from what your parents told us about it, Drexel Academy is more normal than you’d think.”

Drexel Academy? They were serious? “You’re really sending me away?”

I stared at Brielle. I didn’t want to leave her. Or Aiden. Or my parents. They might be overprotective, and my desire to rebel was at a constant simmer beneath the surface, but I was a teenager. That was normal.

This. This was anything but normal.

“Oh, sweetie.” Mom looked like she wanted to come over and comfort me, but the sleeping angel in her arms prevented her. “It’s not like that. Attending the academy is the best option for you right now. You need to learn how to control your abilities. It’s not safe otherwise.”

“It’s not safe?” I asked.

“Your abilities, your powers, whatever you want to call them, are getting stronger without you learning how to control them. It’s getting more dangerous. Nothing was damaged from the earthquake or the water show, but that doesn’t mean that next time won’t be worse,” Dad explained.

I sagged against the cushions and gripped Masie’s hand. “Okay, so where is this school? When do I start?”

“It’s in Montana, pretty isolated so the students have free-range to test their abilities without drawing attention,” Masie answered, then dropped her eyes. “The fall term starts this week.”

I blinked. No. School wasn’t supposed to start for three more weeks. I still had some of summer left.

“That’s why we have to go.” Masie stood, and I looked at my parents.

“Now?”

They nodded, and Mom bit her bottom lip. “Masie has taken care of everything. You’ve been enrolled, and they’re expecting you to arrive tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I repeated. What about my friends? What about Aiden and Brielle? I couldn’t just up and leave. “But I have to say goodbye.”

Dad shook his head. “There’s no time. You have a flight to catch.”

“You need to go up and pack, sweetie.” Mom’s voice was tight like she was holding back emotions.

“But,” I stopped when I realized this wasn’t up for discussion. I had no other options. I’d woken up this morning expecting an ordinary Saturday, and within hours, I was being shipped off to Nowhere, Montana.

“Come on,” Masie offered her hand. “I’ll help you.”

I followed her upstairs, hearing the murmur of my parents talking but not able to hear their words. It didn’t matter. I entered my room in a daze and stood frozen next to the door while Masie went to my closet.

“Where’s your suitcase?” she asked, pulling clothing off the hangers.

I shrugged. “In the garage?”

“I’ll go get it. You start grabbing everything you want to take and set it on your bed.” She slid past me, but I remained still.

Was this shock? Was my body too surprised to function? That’s what it felt like.

“Saige?” Aiden’s quiet voice made me jump, and I turned to see him peeking around the corner from where his room was down the hall.

I forced my lips to curve into a smile. I couldn’t scare him. I couldn’t show him how terrified I was. If there was anyone I could pull myself together for, it was him. I would protect him from anything, and right now, it was me.

“Hey.” I waved him over, and he darted into my room staring at the pile on my bed. “What’s going on?”

I sucked in a shaky breath. I could do this. I could put on a brave face and make sure he knew I would be happy and safe wherever I was going. I didn't want him to worry about me.

“Aunt Masie came to take me to my new school.” Simplifying the information for him helped me process what was happening. “It’s a really cool place in the middle of a forest, and I'm going to get to learn all sorts of new things.”

His eyes widened. “A forest? Where?”

I wasn’t exactly sure if that was true, but when I thought of remote Montana, I pictured mountains and endless trees. I’d find out tomorrow how accurate that was. Something I never thought would happen. Because really? Who thinks of traveling to Montana? Not me.

“It’s in Montana.”

His eyes narrowed. “Where’s that?”

Right. He was still learning to read and do basic addition. It wasn’t like geography was in the lesson plans for first graders. I pulled my phone from my back pocket and pulled up a map. “This is where we live.” I pointed just above Pittsburgh. “And this is where I’ll be going to school.” I pointed to the middle of Montana as a guess.

His eyes widened when he looked back up at me. “That’s so far.”

The sadness in his voice broke my heart, and I had to look away so I could blink back the tears before he saw them. I couldn’t let him see me cry, or he would too.

I cleared my throat and put my smile back in place. “It’s only a plane ride away. Remember when we went to Florida last summer?”

He nodded and started smiling. “I’ll get to go on a plane?”

“Yeah, when you come to visit me, you’ll get to go on a plane again.”

He seemed happy with that. “And Brielle?”

I ruffled his hair. “Of course. You can’t leave her behind.”

He looked back at my phone again. “Can I still talk to you?”

“Yes, you can FaceTime me or call me whenever you want. I’ll try to always answer unless I’m in class, then I’ll call you right back.”

He swung his legs, letting his heels kick the bed. “How long will you be gone?”

I blew out a breath. I didn’t know. “I’ll probably come home for Thanksgiving.”

Masie returned then and smiled at Aiden. “Hi, sweetie. Do you want to help us pack?”

He eyed the two suitcases she sat down and shrugged.

I went around the room with him glued to my side and had him help me decide what to take and what to leave behind. It took the pressure off me to think too hard about what was happening and made him feel like he was contributing, a win-win.

We sat on the floor in front of my closet, and I considered my shoe collection. I had a pair of sandals and one pair of dressy heels and the rest were Converse of every color and pattern. My obsession started in middle school, and luckily, my feet stopped growing back then so I had about thirty pairs.

“Which ones should I bring?” I peered down at him.

“You have to take these.” He reached for the bright pink pair Mom got me to reveal to Aiden and Dad that she was having a girl.

“Of course.” I put them next to the bed. “What else?”

“These are my favorite,” he pointed to the teal and green tie-dye ones we’d customized together earlier in the summer.

“That’s a good choice.” I added them to the pile.

“And these! They’re your favorite.” He tossed my gray high-tops over.

He was so excited and took each selection seriously until he stopped at twelve. “Do you think that’s enough?”

“Yeah, but if I miss any of them, I’ll ask Mom to send them.”

“I’ll help! I’ll make sure she gets the right ones.”

I wanted to hug him, but I knew this would be one of the times he’d push me away. He was being a helper, not a baby. I had to remember that. “Thanks.”

He jumped up and looked around the room before running to my bed.

“You have to take this.” He held up my old, ragged Mr. Snuggles, the stuffed bunny I had since I was a baby.

That wasn’t necessarily something I wanted to bring with me to a boarding school, but the thought of leaving him behind twisted my gut.

“Would you mind keeping him company for me? It would make me feel better if I knew you were watching after him.”

His eyes widened. “Really?”

He knew just how special that bunny was to me. “Yeah, can you do that?”

He nodded vigorously. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

I grinned. “Thanks, Aiden.”

Masie folded the last of my clothes and carefully arranged the piles in the second suitcase. The first was already full and waiting by the stairs.

“You’ll probably need a warmer coat this winter, but we can ship that to you along with anything else you end up needing.”

I looked around my sparse room, my eyes landed on the window, and reality sunk in. I was leaving. My secret spot would be abandoned, and I didn’t know when I’d return.

Who would I be when I did? I was walking out of my room for the last time as a normal teenage girl. After this, I’d have to accept that I was really a witch. And my dad had been a shifter. Whatever that meant. I could only handle so much, and if they didn’t think I was a shifter, then I didn’t have to worry about that right now.

Life as I knew it was over.

Hell, the life I thought I had maybe never was.

I blinked the thoughts away and put my hand on Aiden’s shoulder, leading him down the hall. With Masie following, I picked up my suitcase, and we went back down to where my parents waited in the living room.

“All packed?” Dad asked as he moved toward me.

I nodded, and he pulled me in for a tight hug.

“I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you sooner. I never want you to question how much we love you.” He kissed the top of my head, and I looked up at him.

“I love you too.” I wanted to be mad at him and Mom, but there wasn’t enough time. I could go through their lies later. Right now, I needed to soak up his strength.

“Let us know as soon as you land, and remember to call if you need anything.”

I agreed, and he kissed my forehead before stepping back so Mom could replace him.

“I’m so sorry,” she cried into my hair as I squeezed her back. “It was naïve of us to think this wouldn’t happen. We should have prepared you rather than trying to protect you.”

Preparing me would have been protecting me, but it was too late to change the past.

Mom kissed my cheek before squeezing one more time. “I love you so much, and I’m going to miss you like crazy. Please be careful.”

I sniffed and turned away toward Aiden. He stood next to dad, watching us with a hint of confusion. I couldn’t let Mom’s emotions get to me. I forced a laugh. “Mom cries over everything, huh?”

He giggled as I moved to him. I kneeled down and wrapped my arms around his small shoulders. He hugged me back, and I closed my eyes, wanting to commit this moment to memory.

“I’ll miss you so much,” I whispered. He balled his fists in my shirt. “Be good for Mom and Dad, and take care of Mr. Snuggles and Brielle for me, okay?”

He squeezed me one more time and pulled away. “I will.”

I smiled and kissed the top of his head the way Dad had done to me. “I’ll call and talk to you soon. I’ll show you all the cool trees.”

He grinned. “Maybe you’ll see a bear!”

I widened my eyes. “That would be so cool.”

He nodded, bobbing on his toes. Good, now he had something to occupy his thoughts and look forward to talking to me about.

Brielle was still sleeping on the couch, but I couldn't leave without saying bye. I snuck over and gently kissed her chubby cheek then stroked a finger down her smooth arm. “Bye, sweetie.”

She didn’t move, and I was a bit disappointed. I knew she wouldn’t remember whether I said bye later, but I couldn’t help feeling guilty.

Masie moved to the front door. “Ready?”

I glanced around the room at my family, offering them each a smile before nodding and following her out to my future. We loaded my suitcases into the trunk of her car, and I waved once to where my parents and brother were waiting on the porch.

My heart nearly shattered to pieces as I got into the front seat, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to leave. I had to protect them. I had to find out the truth of who I was. The Drexel Academy might hold all the answers.