I used to believe in magic. When I was little I believed in it with all my heart. I believed there really was magic out there in the world, hiding in the shadows.
Then I learned that I really did have magic. My Dad took me into our Lair, and he showed me things I still can't fully describe. Justin and Alex showed me more of it, later.
And it sucks, it absolutely sucks. All the lying, all the games, and all the treachery I need to do every day just to keep a secret.
And it's the right thing to do. I know the reasons to keep the experiment going. It will all be worth it, in the end. But that doesn't make it any easier to live every day lying to the world.
I hate my magic. It means I can't just live. I always have to lie to everyone!
Even Nancy.
Alex and Justin didn't help at all, not really. They were always locked up in some hidden drama I still don't really get. There are secrets and lies inside the lies of the magic world. That's the first thing I had to learn.
Everyone else calls us wizards, or witches, or demon spawn. But I don't think that's the right word for us. I call us magicians. I think that fits so much better. We aren't defined by our powers. Plenty of creatures have power, and writhe above and below this world in dimensions that mortals could never dream of. We aren't defined by power, we're defined by lies. We're defined by the deception we need to engage in every single day to keep the experiment running.
Is the experiment worth it? Look outside the window sometime and see for yourself.
I stood next to my mother, waiting for Nancy to come home. I was so not looking forward to this. Yet another lie. A lie to end all lies. But I hadn't had a choice. Nancy, she said she understood. I love Justin and Alex, but…
Well, they were trying to take Nancy from me. There was the time they made me fail my wizard studies. There was the time Alex took Juliet and Mason from all of us.
Okay, most of the time it wasn't me who they took stuff from. But did they really think I didn't feel it when they fought? I had to see Alex and Justin tear out each other's hearts every day for my whole life. Did they think I didn't hate it?
There was a reason I kept Nancy out of it, all of it. She was the one thing they weren't allowed to touch, to spoil, and to lie to, to ruin. I hoped I would never have to bring her into this again. Twice was too much already.
I watched the chaos outside. I stood next to my mother. I couldn't believe what they were trying to do. I just had to scheme my way out of it. I turned to my mother.
"Mom, what is he doing back there? Look, I really like this girl. That's why I didn't want her to know I'm related to him." They just had to make me lie to them.
"It's making sense to all of us." Mom told me, and she walked away from Justin's chaos. Magic and science were one outside, as Justin wielded magic to create a machine to make it look like we were mortals.
I stepped outside carefully, and watched Justin for a second before coming back inside. Mom had gone to Alex, who was still dealing with my spell. I thought it would fix everything, making Alex want to tell the truth. I should have known better, my family is worse than a single bad seed.
Justin had taken over for Alex. He always does, in the end. The way Justin looks at her. There was that thing underneath the rage. It was the way he looked at Alex. The way he always looked at Alex. The way I'd looked at Harper or Juliet before I found Nancy. Well, occasionally afterward. It was sick!
I remembered back to when I'd told Nancy about it, when we were on our magic carpet ride.
"Why did you want to keep me from this Tom?" She had this awesome laugh, like she was snorting out of her nose.
"My brother and sister." I explained to her. "I just couldn't bring you into that mess."
"What mess?" Nancy asked me. She leaned on my shoulder as we flew. The crash helmet made it slightly less romantic than it could have been, but I needed her safe. Keeping my eyes on the road was also important. So I couldn't see into her eyes. I'm random, not a bad driver.
"Well, tell me, what do you think of my parents?" I asked her.
"Weird people, they'd kind of have to be." Nancy did that wonderful snorting laugh of hers. "They were really weird. Like, they wanted to jump each other while they couldn't stop fighting. Old people stuff, eww!" She kept the snorting laugh. It was wonderful.
"That was my brother and sister." I told her.
"What?" Her startled voice nearly caused me to crash.
"That's what I needed to show you. They, they're sick. I don't know if they want to kill each other or do each other." I landed the carpet on a roof. I couldn't drive like this. I was starting to get mad. "She's our sister. And he, the way he looks at her. And she's just as bad. She can't stop teasing him, hurting him. I HATE IT!" I shook.
"Tom. Please look at me." And I did. She looked cute in her helmet. Kind of like a Power Ranger with the whole ensemble of protective gear. And I calmed down as I saw her.
"I'm sorry Nancy. But those two… …and that isn't the worst part. They lie all the time, to me, to Mom and Dad, and to each other. And the way they fight. The schemes they pull. I just wanted some peace. I wanted to keep you away from that." I looked out at the city. I love New York. This is the heart of the world wizards were creating. Piece by piece we worked in the shadows. Someday it would all be worth it. That's the point of WizTech.
"It can't be that bad." Nancy smiled at me.
"It really is. Will you, will you stay with me?" I asked her quietly.
"Of course. I mean I still need to get mad about the whole lying thing, but hey, magic carpet ride and wizard boyfriend! What's not to like?"
"Well, I do need you to lie for me, if this is going to work. I can't let them know we're still together." I looked out at the city, blazing with human lights. "I'll tell you what to do. And when it's done you'll be safe.
"She's here." My mother's worried voice called to the family. I started towards the door. "Jerry, what are we going to do?" This was bad, what I was doing to her. I could care less about Justin's sweat and tears outside, but mom…
"I don't know." Dad rose up from the sofa. "I'm still a little groggy from my nap."
I went to the door and turned around to look at my family. I have one last sigh, and opened the door for Nancy. If she could just do what I had told her to do…
"Just go along with whatever they do or say." I explained to her. "They have to think that you don't believe me anymore."
"How are we going to keep dating, anyway?" Nancy asked me. We were just eating ice cream now. We were away from the magic. Well, besides the magic I'd used to pay for the ice cream. A duplicated Rolex and a pawn shop will do wonders for a teenage boy's social life.
"We're going to have to keep it a secret. I'll use magic to keep them from finding out again." I explained to her. "An image change spell should keep them from ever finding out again. I'll be careful." I looked into her eyes. Her eyes were the best part to look into, as I didn't get hit or snorted at for looking into them.
"Tom. This whole thing, this sounds deep, really deep. What exactly am I getting into?" She asked me. I considered for a brief moment. But I would never lie to her again.
"When we mess up, people die. Once I didn't read the instructions for a spell, and I lost my conscience. I unleashed a horde of monsters into the city. My people are still bringing back the Monster Hunters that were destroyed cleaning the mess up. Another time my sister led me to believe that I was going to be king of the Wizard World. She was lying to manipulate me. And she insulted me about it. But, millions of people would have died if she hadn't tricked the girl, Stevie. I killed her for it. Wizards would have died because they were too weak to kill monsters. Mortals would have died without wizards behind the scenes across the world. Every single day there's a chance I will mess something up, and innocent people will die for it." I chose my words carefully. I couldn't joke about it, I couldn't random it up. I mean, I love being random. People underestimate me a lot for that. And everyone gets a kick out of it. But tonight was a night to be serious. My skin crawled, staying so serious for so long.
Nancy's face turned into a smile. "Wow, you sound pretty awesome. I like having a badass wizard boyfriend."
"Remember that line. I have a feeling that we will need it." I smiled at her. And she looked confused. People usually are. At least she gets my plans explained to her, unlike certain other people.
"Hey wizard boyfriend." She had remembered the line. Good. She sounded happy, so far so good. I hoped she could keep her acting up.
"Hi Nancy, come here for a minute. Look, I know you came here for your magic flying carpet ride, but I have something to tell you. I'm really not a wizard." That was the code phrase I'd told her. She played along right away, making a little laugh that warmed my heart. Too bad she was faking it, I can always tell, she didn't snort at all.
"Of course you're a wizard." She rolled her eyes. "You told me how your brother and sister used magic to make themselves look old. And how you have a wizard lair, there's a wizard world, and a wizard competition."
"It happens when we're all adults. When each of us is ready and capable of breeding, we fight for dominance. We fight under handicaps to make us be creative. The winner gets everything, all the magic, all the power, eternal life and eternal security. The losers become mortal. At the mercy of human predators and natural misfortune, unless we beg the victors for help, like my Dad does." We had finished our ice cream.
"Why? That just sounds barbaric." Nancy looked out at the street.
"So we can survive." I answered her. "Only one Family Wizard for every generation. To keep those powers stable, you need to add in more power that isn't at that level, the power of childe wizards. So their brothers and sisters get stuck with the bill, and we all pay." I looked out onto the street. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Is there anything you didn't tell her?" My dad's hushed voice was full of anger. Occasionally the man who could have been a Family Wizard, a bull rider, a champion, that man shines through, sometimes.
"Yeah I still didn't tell her about the dragon dog because I have no idea what happened to that." I whispered back at him. I hoped he would snap now. I hoped he would break the masquerade right open then and there, and keep me from having to follow through with it.
Dad was so close. He was about to do it, when Justin burst in from the terrace. "Nancy Luci!" He shouted. He was stained with the signs of his working. "Come out, everything's all set. Right through here." Nancy clung to my arm and kept behind me as we headed out. I wished I could have told her everything that was going to happen, but I had had no idea what scheme they would pull when we talked. At least I'd taken Alex out of the equation. And Alex is the dangerous one.
"We give up our powers, if we want to breed with mortals. But it doesn't matter if I lose my powers or if I give them up, my kids will have magic." I explained to Nancy. "You have to understand what that means. If we stay together, you're going to be part of this for the rest of your life." I looked into her eyes, hoping she'd understand.
"Max, this is the most awesome night of my life!" Nancy laughed and snorted. "But this all seems a bit premature. We're just kids. We aren't talking about marriage yet…" She suddenly looked frightened. "Max, you aren't going to propose to me, are you?" One time asking if she wanted to hyphenate. "I mean I totally like the whole random impulsive romantic thing you have going but seriously we're still teenagers. Max, get that smile off your face!"
"Nancy, maybe we'll stay together and maybe we won't. But if we stay together for a month or for the rest of our lives you need to know all of this stuff. I don't want to have to lie to you ever again."
Nancy gasped. "It's the flying carpet that Max took me on!" I felt another sick feeling in my stomach. She was hoping for a brief moment that I'd messed up the code phrase. I hadn't messed up the code phrase, right? I wasn't sure, I was pretty nervous. But she'd understand once Justin started his explanation. "Attached to a bunch of garbage." Her voice faltered. Justin started his rambling.
"This is very exciting. Yes it is a carpet, alright. But it is not magical, no. It moves because it has a motor, and gears, and springs." Gosh and they think I'm the dumb one! "We are not a family of wizards." Justin backed up to Alex. He always backs up to Alex.
Everyone started laughing fake laughs, saying "no."
"We are a passionate amateur special effects enthusiast family." Justin announced. That's the best he could come up with?
"Yes, yes, that is what we are. We are very…" Alex turned to Justin. "What?" Always the two of them, even when there was no reason to be the two. Always. This was the heart of the whole mess.
"I always thought this family would be brought down by a strange creature from another dimension. Not a little girl from." Mom leaned to Nancy. "Where are you from sweetie?"
"Riverdale." Nancy answered her. She kept by me in case things started blowing up. I had mentioned that this was a strong possibility.
"There you go, rich kid." Mom whispered to dad. I felt like hitting her for the first time in my life. This was my girlfriend. My first, and the way she dismissed her, the way she…
Alex was still trying to recover her wits from the spell I'd hit her with. It was a simple one to slow her mind down a bit. Without her I felt I could control the situation. No one expected me to be in control after all.
"Okay, hop on the non-magic flying carpet. Very non-magical." Justin pushed Nancy on first, and then me. "Okay, you guys ready for the quote unquote, takeoff?" He asked us. The thing he had created started to work around us, badly. It so obviously wasn't a real flying carpet. But he might just assume that Nancy was dumb. Or maybe he had a mind spell lined up and didn't know I'd put a spell lock on her. Mom and Dad grabbed the screen and put it in front of us. We saw the running of the bulls. I wasn't sure if the slip up was intentional or not.
Nancy leaned into me, and kept up her act. "Nice try, but I know the difference between bulls and New York." Nancy looked over her shoulder and told Justin.
"Wrong, but as I said amateur special effects enthusiasts." Justin assured us before he set up the right video of New York at Night.
"Whoa, it looks like we're flying." They had to believe that I'd accept this. They bought pretty much anything from me. It's almost like they didn't realize I was Alex's little brother.
"Okay, I'll give you that. But I'm not stupid. It was windy when we were flying." Nancy was nice enough not to mention that we also actually felt acceleration.
"Yes, it was windy. Perhaps like this." And Justin activated the fans. It didn't actually feel like flying, but Nancy was to play along as far as it could be believed.
"But we got hit by bird poop." Nancy pointed out. "I don't see any bird poop here." My girlfriend was perfect, she kept her complaints good enough to be believed, didn't bring up the flaws in the plan, and knew how to go along with it. I think I chose the perfect girl.
"Bird poop bird poop I forgot the bird poop." Justin shouted at himself. Alex improvised something. I didn't see what it was, and I probably didn't want to know.
"Oh my Gosh this is just like the ride you took me on." Nancy told me. Damn she's a good actress. I didn't even need to cast a spell on her, all natural. So am I. While she talked I tasted it.
"This tastes nothing like bird poop." I told her. I didn't want to eat it, but I had to keep up appearances.
"You really are passionate amateur special effects enthusiasts." Nancy looked down and sounded bitter. Perfect! I liked finding things to like about her, and being perfect is a good one.
"Yes! That's what we are. Special, that." Alex offered her insight into the events. The spell hadn't entirely worn off. Or maybe she just had a hard time remembering it. I couldn't remember it already.
"I never met a family where everyone had the same hobby." Nancy looked suspicious. We were in the final stretch. One last chance for them to come clean. One chance to realize just what they were doing to me.
"That's because we are very close." Justin smiled and extended his arms. As if she could believe that…
"Close knit family. Come on let's just hug it out." Alex gestured for us to group hug. My family tried to hug. I hugged Nancy with one arm. They'd just proven who my real family was.
"Is this really the way you guys hug? You're a sad, sad bunch." Harper had been quiet throughout this scene, real quiet. I suspected that she knew something was up, too.
"Who took my wallet?" Justin asked. Alex handed it back. I hadn't needed a lot of proof.
"So Nancy. Now that we've got this whole carpet thing cleared up what do you say we go play cards in the wizards lair?" Last chance, family. Your very last chance.
"No, no, we don't have a wizard's lair." Alex charged forward and put her arms around me, touching my face. Then she went back. I shared a look with my girlfriend. She knew what to do next.
"I'm breaking up with you Max." My redheaded girlfriend told me.
"What?" I looked at her, keeping my face as confused as I could. I was good at confusion. "Why?"
"You keep lying to get me to like you." Tonight would take care of that. "And the only way I can get the truth is from your family." She lifted up her arms in a vague gesture at them.
"Truth, from my family!" I did a gesture. My emotions started to slip through. I'd known this would happen. That's why we were breaking up now. I couldn't stay calm after that.
"And I'm keeping the dead lizard. It deserves better than you." Our code phrase, to show she understood my family. I represent the dead lizard.
Nancy put her arms over her chest and left. It was over. We were safe. I could keep up the blatant lies forever, and my family would never know. They would never know it if we broke up. They would never know the name of anyone else I ever dated, if I didn't marry Nancy. I still wasn't sure if they would ever know my children.
Alex came to me. "Sorry Max. Whoo that was a close one." She turned to the rest of them. The Russos. "I was starting to think that telling the truth was better but Justin's lie fixed everything. Let's just face it. We're a family full of liars who don't know how to hug. I love you guys. Goodnight, Harper!" And she snapped her fingers so she would follow her.
They'd already lost their chance. Maybe, just maybe, I could make them regret it.
"Lying didn't fix everything. Because of lying I lost the most important thing in my life." I pointed in the direction Nancy had gone.
Mom came to comfort me. If only she'd thought of it when they were all lying. "Oh Max. I know it's hard to lose your first girlfriend honey. I'm so sorry." I couldn't hurt my mother more than I already had. So I did a little white lie there to undercut it. I wanted to hurt Justin, not mom.
"What, Nancy? No, I'm talking about my lizard. I miss that crumbly little guy to sprinkle on my salad." I looked down, unable to face the pack of lying magicians. And I was the biggest liar of the group.
My family cared more about their damned secret than about me. They didn't trust that I knew who I was dating. They schemed and lied and tried to take the one thing in my life that really matters.
Well, they'd already taken everything I wanted from them. I couldn't trust them. I hadn't for a long time.
At least I had magic. That was something.