Chapter One: Family Reunion

When I was about three years old my mother and father packed up everything we owned and we flew over the ocean. We lived in Bimini for a few short years where my father was a marine biologist studying with a well-respected oncologist on how oil from the liver of sharks could cure cancer. Shortly after results were deemed inconclusive, we became citizens of the United States and moved to California where my father continued to study the marine life off of the coast. He traveled to other parts of the world to continue his studies, leaving my mother and me alone for weeks, sometimes months, at a time. Mom went out and made friends and I spent most of my time alone in the house. They home schooled me so I occasionally almost went weeks without seeing another person.

My father was born in Wales and all of his family had passed away before he and my mother even met. He was a good bit older than my mother, and his parents had been old and frail by the time he had received his PhD. My mother's family lived in England. I had a grandma, an aunt, and a cousin that I hadn't seen in years. They never called us nor had my mother ever called them, which is why I was confused as to why we stood on their doorstep exactly three months after my father passed away. His boat had capsized somewhere near Bermuda. His body was never recovered. For some reason my mother warranted this tragedy as an excuse to return home.

We stood on the front porch of a house that resembled a brownstone. A chestnut tree loomed over the house, encasing everything in the shadow of its gnarled and bare branches. Other than where the tree was rooted, there wasn't much of a yard. Everything was silent and still under the snow and I wished someone would answer the door before my fingers froze off. I wasn't used to this kind of cold. We had only lived in warm climates most of my life. "Did you even tell Grandma or Aunt Amy that we were coming?" I murmured.

"Do you think I would just cross the ocean and show up at my sister's doorstep without telling anyone?" My mother narrowed her green eyes at me. Though I didn't say so, I did believe she would do something like that. She was an impulsive and selfish woman. She knocked on the door again. This time someone answered. It was a boy of about twelve with messy chestnut hair and brown eyes. We stood at the same height. "Ah! Charlie!" My mother pulled the boy into a tight hug. "I was beginning to think no one was home." Charlie hadn't even been born yet when we left. I could only imagine how awkward it made him feel to have a woman that he had never met before clutching him to her chest.

"Uh… Hi, Aunt Lillian." He awkwardly mumbled. "Sorry we didn't hear you. We were all in the kitchen and I'm sure you know how loud Maisie is when she cooks." He let us into the house. We stood in the foyer and he took our coats to hang up on the hooks in the wall. "You can leave your boots right under the coats." He motioned to an old beat up rug that sat on the floor. It was slightly damp and muddy from the other snowy boots that had been stored there.

I slipped out of my snow clad boots. It didn't really snow in California this time of year, or hardly ever for that matter. I didn't think of how different England would be. I balled my scarf and gloves into my hat and gingerly followed Charlie into the kitchen where I would be meeting my aunt and grandmother for what felt like the first time. I barely had time to process my surroundings before I had something pink and fuzzy in my face.

"Oh look at you, my sweet girl! Look at how much you've grown!" My grandmother crooned into my hair. She detached me from her pink sweater clad chest to get a better look at me. "You would think with all that traveling and money your father made, your parents would have brought you out to see us at least once."

"I'm sorry, Grandma." I said, not sure what else to say.

"No, don't call me that. It's too formal and makes me feel old. Please, just Maisie. It sounds way more cheerful, don't you think?" Maisie looked back at who I assumed was my aunt Amy.

When I finally saw Aunt Amy, I couldn't look away. It was like looking in a mirror. She stood up, looking just as shocked as I was. I had her straight honey blonde hair and hazel eyes. We had the same waif like body shape, high cheek bones, refined nose and thin lips. "Hi…" She uttered. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Look at you." Her eyes began to well up with tears and I wondered how emotional of a woman she was.

"Amy, stop being so strange." My mother commanded. "Aren't you going to say hello to your only sister?"

"You mean her only sister that just dropped off the face of the earth and took Infinity across the ocean without even warning anyone?" Maisie snapped suddenly. "Didn't you think that we would have liked to have seen her? You could have called or sent pictures. We've had international calling on our phones since you left just in case you chose to call. And I sure know that you had it too with Ailwyn and his traveling."

"I wasn't aware that I had to have my mother's permission to move as an adult." My mother snapped back. "We're moving back now, aren't we?"

"Don't you think Amy and I would have liked to have watched her grow up? I'm not reprimanding you for leaving, I'm upset because you haven't talked to us in almost twelve years."

"Mom, Lillian. Let's not do this today. Dinner is almost done. We can sit down as a family and catch up." Aunt Amy grabbed a bunch of plates. "Charlie, can you go get your uncle and tell him that dinner is done? I'll go set the table."

"Make sure you set it for three extra spaces." Someone commanded from the doorway. I turned my head and saw a woman that reminded me of a scary old witch that should be living alone in the forest who made a habit of eating children rather than standing in a kitchen and barking orders at my family. The woman was gaunt with long white hair braided down her back. She wore a long black dress and had a beak of a nose. "The Yewbeams are coming for dinner."

"Grizelda, I told you that my daughter and granddaughter were going to be here tonight. Why would you go and invite them?" Maisie fumed. "They don't need that kind of hocus pocus here. They haven't been home in twelve years."

"Hocus pocus?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it." My mother and Aunt Amy said in unison. I felt like something was being hidden from me. I was about to question them again when three other women walked into the room. They were all obviously sisters because of how much they looked alike even with hair of all different shades. The youngest (I only assumed so because she had the least amount of wrinkles) had black hair, the middle had steely gray, and the older had hair as white as the witch woman.

"Ah. Is this the one? Infinity?" The gray haired one asked, stepping forward. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, dear. My name is Eustacia. These are my sisters Venetia and Lucretia. You can call us your aunts if you wish."

I stared at them, confused. They had to be Uncle Lyell's family or something. Why did they want anything to do with me? Maisie was hardly able to conceal her anger while she tried to light candles. She kept breaking the matches and muttering under her breath. Charlie took the matchbook from her, struck a match with one swift motion and lit all of the candles at the table while Maisie flicked off the lights.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Paton is sensitive to light." My mother explained.

"Oh, like migraines? Or cataracts?"

"Something like that." The first male voice I had heard in this house said jovially. "Oh… You're all here." The happiness left his voice as he looked at the Yewbeam Aunts. I was taken aback by this man. He was incredibly tall and handsome with wavy black hair and a very deep voice. He had dark brown eyes and did not seem to have cataracts at all. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Paton." He stuck his hand out to me and I shook it. "I hope my sisters aren't bothering all of you."

"She did this on purpose." Maisie murmured under her breath. "It was a mistake telling them that Lillian and Infinity were coming today."

"We have just as much of a right to be here as-" Venetia snarled.

"Enough!" Paton roared. I was confused as to what was going on. Aunt Amy herded Charlie and I into the dining room. He and I took the seats next to each other and sat in silence. The rest of the family made their way into the room and eventually took seats around the meal that Maisie had placed out.

"Mum, I wanted to ask you something." My mother spooned some mashed potatoes onto her plate. "I need to go take care of some of Ailwyn's estate and it requires a bit of traveling. I think Infinity is too young and needs to be somewhere settled and in school. Would it be okay if she stayed here with you and Amy for a while?"

Aunt Amy blanched. "It will be a bit of a squeeze. I mean, Charlie is away all week at Bloor's-"

"Charlie is attending Bloor's?" This surprised my mother. "Is he in the… alternative program?" She looked at Charlie, who nodded. Her face turned white and her eyes found Aunt Amy's again. "Amy, can I talk to you for a moment in the other room?"

Both my mother and Aunt Amy left the room. I was beyond confused. "You go to a boarding school?" I asked, making conversation with my cousin. "Like the kind you have to sleep at?"

"Yeah." Charlie looked up at me and gave me a shy smile. "Hopefully you never have to go there. But you're probably safe. You don't have Yewbeam blood."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked. Were only certain families allowed to attend Bloor's Academy?

Grizelda went to open her mouth but Paton shot her a nasty look. Venetia gave me a toothy smile. "They're hiding something from you." She whispered. "If you would like to find out what it is, find a way to meet me in cathedral square tonight." She then stood up. "Sisters, I believe we have caused our dear brother enough trouble for the night. We should take our leave. Maisie's cooking makes me absolutely sick anyway. Are you coming with us, Grizelda?"

"I might as well." Grizelda grumbled. The four women filed out of the room as mother and Aunt Amy returned. This left us to spend more awkward family time together along with Paton, enjoying a meal that I thought was incredibly delicious and that Venetia was just being rude, until my mom decided it was time for her to take her leave as well and abandon me with people I had just met. She was going to stay in a hotel for the night and then leave at the end of the weekend. She didn't tell me why I couldn't stay with her. I think she just wanted me to get used to this new family.

That night, Aunt Amy made Charlie up a bed on the couch and allowed me to sleep in his room. This would pose a challenge for my midnight escape to Cathedral Square, but I held out hope that Charlie was a heavy sleeper.. Venetia had me curious. The only problem is that she didn't take into account that I had no clue where Cathedral Square was. I hadn't lived in this town in years. But once I was sure everyone was asleep, I found myself pulling on a pair of jeans over a pair of leggings, a sweater, my coat and a pair of boots. I stole a glance at the living room to check that Charlie was still asleep. I didn't hear anything so I quickly opened the door and stepped snow had finally stopped falling but it was still below freezing. I quietly tiptoed down the front steps and began to walk down the street. My body was on autopilot. My feet seemed to already know where to go.

When I saw two cloaked shadows standing under a streetlight, I realized how stupid it was for me to sneak out in an area I wasn't familiar with. Especially when I realized one of the cloaked figures was male. But I couldn't stop walking towards them no matter how hard I tried. I stopped in front of Venetia and the unknown man. He was also tall with black hair like Paton, but nowhere near as handsome. He only looked a few years older than me. "I don't know how I got here." I murmured.

"Oh, I gave you a little hand." Venetia unclipped a pin from my coat sleeve. I felt like I had control of my feet again. "This is Manfred. He is going to give you a short history lesson."

"Uh… Okay? In the middle of the night in the dead of winter?" I looked at the boy. He was very thin and pale and even though it was dark, I could tell he had beautiful eyes. They were like sparkling coals. I never knew black eyes could be so beautiful.

"I don't know why I had to come here just to tell this girl something you very easily could have told her." He murmured. "But I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Manfred Bloor. My family owns the academy up near the heights. I'm sure if you were to drive around, you wouldn't miss it. My great grandfather is the owner and my father is the headmaster. It was built on the grounds of a castle that is now nothing but ruins. The castle belonged to a medieval king who we only know as the Red King. A large portion of the city is descended from him. He was a magician and had ten children who each got a piece of his power."

I scoffed. "Magic?"

"I didn't expect you to believe me." He snarled. "Just shut up and listen so I can go home and go to bed. Anyway, his wife died giving birth to his youngest child. He abandoned his children and they all turned against each other. Half were evil, half were good. They all separated to different corners of the earth and started their own families, passing down their powers to their other descendants. Now we run an academy here that takes children who are artistic and academic geniuses as well as other children who are descended from the Red King like myself and Charlie. If you want a better history lesson, go ask Paton Yewbeam. I'm not a fan of the man but he is a very brilliant historian if I remember correctly."

"You made me get out of bed to listen to a fairytail?" I glared at Venetia.

"Now, the real reason I brought Manfred here was proof. Manfred, why don't you show her what you can do? Be careful though, would you? We don't want to turn her brain to apple sauce." Venetia snapped her fingers and Manfred rolled his eyes.

"Look at me." He said, taking my face in his gloved hands, forcing me to look into his eyes. Something about him felt dangerous but I was being pulled to look into them. They sparkled and glistened and I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life. I felt as if my soul was being pulled from my body. I began to feel dizzy. I grabbed his forearms and tried to look away, but I couldn't. His voice sounded distant and it echoed slightly. I couldn't feel the cold air. I felt like I was beginning to lose my balance and when I couldn't hold myself up anymore, I slumped forward and he caught me, one hand around my waist and the other holding me up under my arm pit. He held me there until I could collect myself and hold my own weight up without any assistance. "Hypnotism. It's a real thing. And Venetia can put magic in clothes. That pin she put in your coat took control of your body so you knew where to go. Charlie can travel through pictures. Paton can make light bulbs explode. And Eustacia is clairvoyant. She seems to think that you have an endowment as well. Now, I'm sure there are other secrets that your family is keeping from you, but that's not our business, at least not at the moment. But before I let you go I do have a quick question for you."

"What is that?"

"Do you remember what Lyell Bone looks like?"

"I saw a photo of him once when I was like ten before my mother misplaced it. I vaguely remember him. Why? Didn't he die around ten years ago or something?"

"Yeah, something like that." Manfred smirked and held out his hand. Although he made me uncomfortable, I decided to do the polite thing and put my hand in his. His grip tightened and I found myself drawn to his eyes yet again…