Chapter Two: A Magic Bracelet
I woke up the next morning to the sun shining through Charlie's bedroom curtains directly into my face. My head was pounding. I felt sick. I couldn't remember what had transpired the night before but I found it strange that I was dressed in layers of clothes and I had socks on my feet. Although I had never been one to drink or party like other teenagers, I was willing to bet that a hangover felt no different than this. When I descended the stairs I could hear my mother, Maisie and Grizelda arguing in the kitchen. "I won't let you subject her to what Charlie has to deal with. You don't even fully know if she's one of those magic kids or not. She's sixteen. Wouldn't that have shown up by now?"
"That's the thing, mom. It has happened a few times when she was younger. The obeah in Bimini weakened it so it wasn't as noticeable, but it's going to come back. That's why I brought her here. That's why I home schooled her all of these years. I would rather her be somewhere that understands what is wrong with her than in a public school where she could accidentallly hurt someone or be labeled a freak. She needs to be with other people like her. That's the main reason I brought her back here." My mother argued back. "I already spoke to the headmaster before Infinity and I even boarded the plane. Not that it has made much of a difference. Dr. Bloor told me that he was informed already."
"Did you tell her any of this? Did you let her make that choice for herself? I know you didn't tell me any of this. You need to think about what you're doing Lillian. I don't even want Charlie there. You need to take Infinity and get her away from that family while you can." Maisie pleaded.
"Either she can go by free will, or they will come after her. And you don't want them to come after her." Grizelda said ominously. "You can't hide an endowed child. Especially now that they have been informed directly. Dr. Bloor is going to send a car for you both to have a meeting with him and get her enrolled. I suggest you keep your nose out of things that you don't understand, Maisie." Grizelda walked into the living room and looked at me. "Oh good, you're awake. You better clean yourself up. A car is being sent for you and your mother. You're going to go look at a new school today."
"Bloor's Academy, right?" I asked. I was met with silence. I frowned and slowly walked to the bathroom. I wished we never came here. I didn't understand what was going on. I didn't believe any of this was possible. I had grown up believing in science and logic, not magic. Now I was being thrown into a world of kings and magical powers. I felt like my life was being turned into a shitty RPG or fantasy novel. Now I was expected to be separated from my mother and go to a boarding school in a country I wasn't familiar in. I had never even attended a school with other students before. I wasn't socially adjusted.
I turned the shower on and let the bathroom fill with steam. Maybe a shower would clear my head a little more. I still felt foggy from last night and I couldn't quite remember what had happened. I remember almost sleep-walking all the way to Cathedral Square and meeting up with Venetia and a boy. I remember what he told me but I couldn't remember his face or how I got home. I just remembered his eyes. They were as black as the night sky and there was something about them that made me uneasy.
When I couldn't stand to be in the shower anymore I finally got out and dried myself off. I yanked a brush through my hair and tied it up into a loose bun, I brushed my teeth and pulled on some clothes. I didn't know if I was expected to dress nicely or not. I decided to go half way and put on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a nice sweater. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom I heard the sound of a car honking its horn in front of the house. Mom ushered me out the doorway and into the car, allowing me to have the front seat. The man driving had long black hair that he pulled back into a ponytail. He had a little facial hair and I couldn't see much more of his face because he had sunglasses on. I couldn't blame him. The sun reflecting off the snow was almost blinding. Something about him seemed familiar but I couldn't place it. "Hi." I said sheepishly. He looked at me with a blank expression. I blushed and looked down at my feet. I had never been good at making eye contact with people.
"You must be one of Harold and Dorothy's sons." My mother said as we began to drive down a street full of beautiful homes decorated with Christmas lights. "I knew your parents years ago. I used to be a wedding planner. It was the nicest wedding that I had ever been a part of. Not that I expected anything less from a Bloor."
The boy didn't say anything. He continued to drive and I watched my mother in the rear-view mirror as she glared at him. If he wasn't going to talk to us, I would instead spend the trip taking in the surroundings. The city was actually really pretty. Some of the plowed roads were still cobblestone or brick and trees were planted along the sidewalks with branches caked with icy snow. It was a nice, late January day. The sun peeked through the naked tree branches and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
"You act like you've never seen winter before." The boy finally spoke as we came to a traffic light. I looked at him and returned his cold silence from before.
"Infinity Elizabeth, don't be rude." My mother demanded.
"She's fine." The boy smirked at me and put his foot on the gas. We all sat in silence until he pulled up to an old gray mansion that looked like the setting of some cliché horror film. He parked the car and got out, expecting us to follow him up the steps to the main door of the academy. He pushed open the large door and ushered us inside. "This is the Great Hall. When school is in session, there is no talking here. If you talk, you get detention. And because this is a boarding school, detention means that you are stuck here until Saturday afternoon. You can talk again when you make it into the coat rooms." He waved his hand towards three doors, each with a sign above them. One had two paint brushes, the one next to that one had two trumpets, and the last door had two masks, one happy and one sad. "You'll keep all your books and such in the coat rooms along with your cape during break. All students are required to wear a colored cape that sorts you into one of the departments. All students, including the endowed, are required to be put in one of three departments. The drama students wear purple, the art students wear green, and the music students wear blue. Any questions so far?"
"No." I squeaked nervously.
"Good. You must wear your cape at all times, except for when you have your breaks in the courtyard. All students have to go to the courtyard for exercise. You can walk, run, sit or whatever you please, as long as you do it out there. When you come back in, you put your cape back on or else you get detention. Three square meals will be provided to you every day except for Monday and Friday, unless you are given detention, in which case you'll be provided with Friday night dinner and breakfast on Saturday. Breakfast and lunch are served in cafeterias consistent with your department. Dinner is held in the main dining room with all of the staff. After dinner all endowed students gather together in a room called the King's room to do homework. There, you are supervised by me." He led us into another wing of the mansion and into a sitting room area where we were met by a very large man with steely gray eyes and broad shoulders. His hair was graying at the temples. He kept it slicked back and neat. He stood to greet us and shook our hands.
"Hello! You must be Infinity. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm the headmaster of the academy, Dr. Bloor." He had a very deep, loud voice. I bet he intimidated the other students. "Have a seat and we can get started with the enrollment process. I will be asking you questions on your abilities as an academic as well as some personal questions. My son Manfred will be asking you questions based on your abilities as a child of the Red King.
"Manfred?" I asked, looking over at the boy who drove us here. He removed his sun glasses and stared at me with his dull black eyes. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn't quite place it.
He winked at me and sat down in an armchair next to his father's chair. My mother and I sat on the couch. Dr. Bloor asked all the normal questions like what my GPA had been, my date of birth, social security, permanent address and other affairs that a sixteen year old probably wouldn't answer for their self so a parent was required to be present. "Do you know which department you want to be in? You may not have the talents that the other students do, but you need to be placed in a department."
"I would go with drama if I were you, Infinity." Mother spoke up. "She has never picked up an instrument and can't draw to save her life. She's incredibly smart though. And she can sing, but that's about it."
"That's the department that I'm in." Manfred noted. "I also believe that it will be a good fit for you."
"I can play the piano." I interrupted. While I had never played an actual piano, my father bought me a keyboard and I was able to teach myself how to play. I was able to plug in headphones while I did so to keep my mother from complaining about the noise. "I would rather be in the music department."
"I really think you should consider the drama department. There are more endowed students your age that can help you." Manfred pressed. It was no use arguing with him so I reluctantly agreed.
"Then you'll have to get a purple cape. The dress code for drama students is a little more lax than it is for other departments. I'll start the work on your schedule and leave you to finish up with Manfred." Dr. Bloor stood up again and walked out of the room leaving me alone with my mother and Manfred.
"So, why don't you tell me about your endowment?" He looked at me.
"She doesn't know anything about it." My mother cut in. "When we lived in the Bahamas, it was suppressed by the obeah. Only the obeah were allowed to practice sorcery.."
"What?" I looked over at her. "I don't remember any of this."
"You wouldn't. The obeah made you forget. She's a…" She whispered the next part. "Witch. That's why we homeschooled her."
"You'll have to be more specific than that." Manfred snapped. "All of us could be considered witches and sorcerers."
I stared at my mom, wondering what I was capable of doing. "Well, it started when she was about four years old. A little girl was bitten by a rabid stray dog on the street. My husband managed to bludgeon it over the head, but the little girl bled profusely all over the street. Medical care in that part of Bimini wasn't that great and my husband and I, the only people around, tried to help the girl, but we couldn't stop the bleeding. An artery was ripped open and she would have died of rabies if not blood loss. There was no way to get her the medical attention she needed in time to save her life. Infinity walked up to her and I tried to stop her, but she put her hand over the girl's arm and whispered something to her and the wound cleared up right before our eyes. The little girl, slightly older than Infinity, thanked her and told her to tell no one what she could do or something bad would happen. And she left." She looked down at her hands. "We were at a loss and Infinity wasn't shy about using her powers. That's when her father took her to the obeah."
I scoffed. "Can I fly, too?"
"Of course not. That's just a folklore thing." Mom shook her head at me. "She's 16 now, and I suspect that now that she knows what she's capable of, her powers will come back much stronger and potentially dangerous."
"Do you know if she can do all spells or just healing?"
"Just healing that I know of."
Manfred looked down at his arm covered by a long black sleeve and rolled it up. The skin was scarred from what looked like burns. "There was a fire here a few months ago. My arm was badly burned in the blaze. A candle was knocked over onto a stack of papers. I didn't catch it in time." He held out his arm to me. "We had herbs to help with the healing and pain, but there wasn't much that could be done about the scarring."
"No." I turned my head away. "I'm not comfortable with any of this. I don't even want to go here. I'm not one of you. My mother keeps saying that she thinks my "powers" are going to come back, but there is no evidence of this. Nothing has changed in my behavior since my father died. I'm handling his death like a normal sixteen year old girl handles losing her father."
"Eustacia says-" My mom interrupted.
"And you're going to make me go here because some woman who barely knows us and allegedly has magical powers says to?" I stood up. "You've been trying to get rid of me since the day I was born, always sending me off with nannies or leaving me home alone all day, and now you're trying to send me off to a boarding school. If you didn't want a daughter, then you should have just left me with Maisie and Amy. They would have taken better care of me than you did. If you want to leave so fucking bad, I'm not going to stop you. You've hardly been a mother to me anyway."
She lunged at me, ready to strike. My mother had a short temper and I had felt the sting of the back of her hand on my face quite a few times in my life. I put my arm up defensively but her hand never made it to my face. When I opened my eyes, she was angrily slamming her palm against some invisible wall and yelling about what an ungrateful brat I was, and how dare I talk to her like that in front of people, or at all for that matter. I looked over at Manfred, who was now smirking at me. I had given him what he had wanted, even if his arm was still burnt. He stood to his feet and rummaged around for something on his father's desk. When he finally found what he was looking for, he turned back to me. "It looks like you belong here after all." He handed me a black folder with "Bloor's Academy" printed in golden letters in the front. "There are 500 questions in there on every general school subject. You'll need to answer them all correctly before you're completely enrolled."
"That's more questions than I had to answer on my PSAT's." I took the folder in my hands and looked up into his eyes. It was as if they suddenly began to sparkle and shine. My memories came flooding back to me. "You… You hypnotized me." I took a step away from him. "Why?"
"You'll learn not to ask so many questions." He turned me around and began to push me towards the door. "I'll take you home so you can get started. My father will give your mother a tour of the academy today, to give her enough time to cool off and we'll give you your tour next weekend."
I sat at the dining room table staring down at the plethora of questions in front of me. For some reason, I couldn't focus to save my life. About an hour after I began my attempt at completing this awful packet, Grizelda poked her head in to check on me. "How are your questions coming along?"
"I know all of these," I looked up at her. "But for some reason I can't focus to save my life. I'm so stressed out."
"I made Charlie answer all of these questions by himself because he was never good in school and didn't pay attention. It was for his own good. But your mother has told us how good you've done and how ahead you are so I'll let Venetia help you out." She approached me briskly and sat something down on the table. It was a bracelet made of small tiger eye beads. "Put it on and you should be able to focus enough to get all of those questions done today." She turned on her heel and left. I gingerly took the bracelet in my hands and examined it. She had already tricked me with her magic once before. What if this bracelet took control of my mind and body like the pin did? But the thought of spending a whole week doing nothing but answering questions made me feel sick so I gave in and slipped the bracelet onto my wrist. I found myself filling out answers without even having completely read the questions but I knew they were all correct. Normally, it would have taken me about ten hours split into several days to answer all of these questions, however I managed to finish it after working for four hours. I removed the bracelet as quickly as possible after finishing and hid it in my suitcase where no one would find it. I slipped the folder under Grizelda's door when I was done, as instructed by Manfred during our drive back to Number 9 Filbert Street the day before.
I went back downstairs and found Charlie sitting in the living room watching a show on the history of jousting. He seemed to only be halfheartedly paying attention to it. "Hey." I said, sitting down on the couch next to him.
"Are you done with all of those questions already?" He asked, turning himself on the couch to face me. I nodded and he let out a low whistle. "That was fast. I'm sorry you're stuck going there with me. On the plus side, they put a second bed in my room. I'm used to sharing because of the dorms. I hardly doubt one girl could be as loud as five other boys." He kicked his heel into the back of the couch a few times. "Oh, Aunt Lily called. She wanted you to meet her at the department store when you were done with your questions. I can walk you there if you'd like."
I accepted his offer and we left the house. It was still just as nice as it had been when I had to go to the academy yesterday. It was an unusually calm January, not that I had any problems with it after the winter that this place had just endured. I had read online that it was the coldest winter in years and just as soon as the cold hit, it began to fade away. "I wish I could have grown up here." I found myself saying to Charlie as I looked around. I had been born here and still had a slight accent because of my mother and father, but I had been raised in an entirely different kind of culture. Bimini was completely different from England, and The States were completely different from Bimini.
"You're lucky you got away. There are a lot of terrible things that have happened here. I never knew it before, but going to Bloor's has really opened my eyes to how dangerous the endowed can be." He was silent for a moment. "Um… I'm sorry about your dad." Charlie blurted awkwardly. I looked over at him and smiled softly.
"I'm sorry about yours too."
"He isn't dead." He stated confidently. I didn't know what to say. My mother had told me that he had driven his car into a quarry and died ten years ago. Why would she lie about tfhat? "It's okay. I wouldn't expect you to know that. I just found out this year. I don't know where he is or what he's doing, but he isn't dead. They never found a body in the car and I've come across a few clues that prove that he is still alive."
"So…did he leave willingly? Why would he do that?"
"Oh, no. He didn't do that either. The Bloors have him hiding somewhere. I can feel it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's in that academy."
"I don't understand. Why would the Bloors take your father?"
"They are an evil family. You'll learn that soon enough. I think my dad knew something that he didn't want them to know. They do terrible things to people and manipulate them to suit their own needs. I'll have to introduce you to my friend Emma Tolly when you start. She knows firsthand how awful they are. She didn't even know who she was until a few months ago because Manfred Bloor hypnotized her and made her live with an awful foster family. They told her that her name was Emilia Moon."
I felt something in the pit of my stomach. "I met Manfred Bloor. And I'm not talking about when I enrolled; I'm talking about the night we showed up at your house." We turned away from Filbert Street and headed towards Cathedral Square. "Venetia slipped some kind of pin into my jacket that made me go to Cathedral Square in the middle of the night to meet her and Manfred, and he told me about the Red King. He then hypnotized me for some reason…" I tried to think of the last thing I remember him saying. "He asked me if I remembered what Uncle Lyell looked like. I told him I vaguely remembered a photo of him that I saw when I was ten, and then I woke up on the couch… I think he took my memory of Uncle Lyell. And if he went through all the trouble to do that, then that must mean that he really is still alive. I could have helped you find him, Charlie. I'm sorry. If I would have seen him before then, I would have been able to place him."
"I…saw you leave that night. I followed you to cathedral square and saw Manfred hypnotize you. He walked you home that night but practically just dumped you on the door step. I had to help you get back into bed." He paused and I could see that he was thinking about something. "You mentioned seeing a picture of my father. All of the ones that my family had disappeared. Do you happen to know if you still have that picture of him?" He looked so hopeful. I shook my head and his face fell again. We walked the rest of the way to Kingdom's in silence and met my mother, who was standing in the front with bags. She had obviously already finished shopping.
"Infinity! Charlie!" She called us over, waving her free arm. When we approached her, she handed me the bags. All of the hostility that I had seen in her face the day before was long gone. She was putting on some kind of cheerful facade and it made me worry. Although wary of my mother's intentions, I still examined the contents of the bag. There was a violet colored cape inside. It looked like it was made with very expensive fabric.
"Your uniforms are stupid." I looked over at Charlie. "Can't you just have colored blazers? Why capes? And why the different colors? Is it really important to know which departments everyone is in?" Charlie shrugged and I rummaged through the other bag. There were black pleated skirts, white long-sleeved dress shirts, black fleece tights and black sheer tights, purple ties and two gray cashmere vests. I handed the bags back to my mother, who seemed very pleased with herself.
"I also got you all new toiletries and towels and pajamas. But they're in your new luggage trunk in the car." She smiled.
"What car?" I looked around and my heart dropped into my stomach. The Bloor's shiny black car sat near the curb. "Why did you have me come here if you already did all the shopping?" I asked slowly as the door opened. Manfred Bloor and a large bald man stepped out of the car and headed towards me. She was forcing me to go a whole weekend early? Bloor's academy's break was still going on. When I looked over at Charlie, his panicked look mirrored my own. He took off down the street like a bat out of hell, which only panicked me further. "You can't force me to do anything." I murmured, taking a step back. My mother reached forward to snatch me by my coat and Manfred quickened his pace. I needed to get away immediately. If they were making me go this early, than that meant they had plans for me. Manfred had hypnotized me once and I had been powerless to stop it. I didn't want to give him the opportunity to do it again.