She took a moment then shrugged, shoulders riding high towards her ears, the old leather of her beaten up jacket creaking. “Beats me. Max has always been a mystery. He….” She looked as if she wanted to add something, but shook her head.
Again, I pressed forward on my chair until I was sitting right on the very edge. If a feather had landed on my back, I would have crumpled forward. “He what? Seriously, whatever you know about him, anything would help. Because I know nothing. And every time I question him—”
“He claims to have no memory, ha?” she answered.
I nodded gravely. “Is that honestly how it works? I mean, I know magic costs ordinary people something, but that seems excessive.”
Bridgette made a face. “What do you mean you know magic costs ordinary people something? It costs everyone something. That’s the very nature of magical power. In order for it to manifest, it has to take something from the person through which it arises. Nothing comes for free, kid,” she added.
It was my turn to frown awkwardly. “Except for my magic, right?” I asked, sounding ridiculously innocent. My voice shook a little and had a real tinge of stupidity.
Bridgette scratched her nose. “Of course your magic costs something. I mean, I never asked because we never exactly had the chance. But what do you lose? You know what I lose.” Bridgette brought a hand up and patted her stomach, indicating the permanent scar that ran down her torso. Bridgette could split herself off, create a body double. But every time she did so, she opened that scar. If she used her magic for too long, she would run the risk of splitting herself in half, literally.
I began to shake my head but stopped. Sure, I hadn’t exactly used my powers extensively – but I’d used them enough to know nothing like what happened to Bridgette happen to me. I didn’t lose my memories, I didn’t open up a permanent scar down my torso, and I didn’t stop myself from forgetting, like Sarah whenever she used her magic.
Bridgette watched me carefully, and it was her turn to press forward in her seat, resting her lanky elbows on her knees. “Nothing comes for free,” she repeated. “All magic costs. It’s a fundamental rule. And even seers – though rare – don’t get out of it. So your magic will cost you something, even if you haven’t figured out what that is yet.”
Bam. I felt like someone had just shot me.
I already had too much to think about, too many questions swirling around and clamoring for answers. Now this.
A moment of silence passed between us. She leaned back, still staring at me. “He told you it costs nothing, didn’t he?” she asked perceptively.
That twist of nerves in my gut only turned harder, kind of like a thumbscrew being tightened by a torturer.
At first, I couldn’t answer – didn’t want to betray Max’s confidence – but in another moment, I found my head nodding anyway.
Bridgette’s expression became grim.
“Perhaps he didn’t know. Perhaps whatever magic had cost my grandmother hadn’t been visible, and—”
She shook her head with some finality. “Every magical creature is beholden to the laws, Chi. They’re part of reality. They are sown into the very fabric of the universe. Every ounce of magic costs you. And the more you use, the more you pay for it,” her voice dropped down low, her gaze darting towards her middle.
… What the hell was Max hiding from me? I could conjure up the first conversation we’d had. Where he told me that magic costs everyone but me. That the only true consequences of my magic came from the curse. Came from turning from my abilities.
Trust me. Max’s voice rose unbidden in my mind, as if a perfect copy of the guy had suddenly squeezed itself between my ears. I could hear his exact tone, practically feel his presence behind me.
I shook my head in a tight move.
Bridgette gave an uneasy sigh. “That doesn’t bode well. And, to be honest, I’ve always had my suspicions about Max. It’s not that he’s ever done anything…. It’s just that…” she trailed off.
A surge of emotion propelled itself through my stomach and shot hard into my heart. I wanted to jump to Max’s defense. My whole body did. But I controlled myself as I clenched my teeth. “I don’t think he is a bad guy,” I said in a light, falsely easy tone. Just…” I trailed off as I wondered just how much to tell Bridgette.
I hadn’t told a soul about what had happened to me in the past. That vision with Max, with Mary McLane, with the curse. Max had told me never to breathe a word about the curse. He’d said doing so would only aggravate it, would only bring more fell creatures to my door.
Now I wasn’t so sure – of anything.
I brought up a hand, plastered it over my sweaty brow, and hid behind it as I let out a fatigued sigh.
“Buck up, kid. We’ll find a way. Though I’m reticent to agree with you,” she paused as she breathed through clenched teeth, “I’m inclined to agree. Somewhere under Max’s surface is an okay guy. I mean, he’s had plenty of chances to turn against us witches, but he always seems to do the right thing at the end of the day. That being said,” she looked at me directly with the intensity of a star, “he’s got secrets. And you’re gonna need to find out what they are.”
There was something so bolstering about her tone, so sure, so powerful.
It reminded me of something. The person I’d been before I’d fallen headfirst into this ridiculous world. The ballsy fortune teller who never
