“There’s nothing on the ceiling, love.” Winston looked at me like I was crazy.
“Really?” I said, deciding to make a game out of it. “Just there. You don’t see it? Maybe you need your eyes checked.” Winston began to study the ceiling again.
Theo smacked him on the back of the head. “She’s messing with us, Churchill. She tends to do that.”
Winston dropped his head down and chuckled. “Shoulda known.”
I picked up a piece of buttered toast and bit into it.
Beside me, Adelaide sighed. “Boys are so gullible.”
“I don’t know,” Theo countered, a mischievous look in his eyes. “I seem to recall once convincing you unicorns were real.”
Adelaide squared her shoulders and stuck her nose in the air haughtily. “I was five so that hardly counts.”
“Still counts,” Theo muttered under his breath. His eyes flicked up to me. “Are you done eating?”
“No—”
“Great.”
Before I knew it, he was up and out of his seat, around to my side of the table, and dragging me from the room.
Chapter 11
THEO PACED THROUGH THE LIBRARY. Up and down he went. He’d been doing this for the past ten minutes. I was surprised his legs didn’t fall off.
I wanted to be irritated with him dragging me away from my breakfast, since I barely got to eat, but I knew he was about to tell me something important, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Theo,” I pleaded. “Sit down.”
He squished his eyes closed and pressed the heel of his palms to them. “Okay,” he finally said and sat.
I waited.
“Okay,” he said again and steepled his hands in front of his face. “In order for you to understand I have to start at the beginning.” His gray eyes darkened to storm clouds. “From an early age, I dreamt of a girl. A girl I knew I was meant to protect.” He laughed. “All good stories seem to start with a girl, don’t they? I told my parents of my dreams and they soon learned what it meant. I was a protector and I was meant to protect the girl in my dreams. They went to The Order; they head the entire enchanter community,” he clarified. “The Order provided them with protection, spells and such, to keep The Iniquitous from finding us. But there was a leak and they … they found us.”
“This is all starting to sound very Harry Potter to me,” I interrupted.
Theo glared at me and his eyes turned darker. “This is no story, Mara. This is my life.” Silver and blue sparks glittered around his hands. He knotted them into fists and the sparks disappeared.
“I-I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered and for a moment was fearful.
His shoulders and whole body slacked as the fight went out of him. “Are you ready to hear the rest?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
He eyed me before continuing. “I was eight and Adelaide was four when they found us.” He looked away and I saw his jaw tighten. He licked his lips.
“It was night when they came. We were asleep. The wards went nuts and Mom and Dad came running into my room with Adelaide. My mom wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on top of my head. She was crying. I asked her why, but she wouldn’t answer me. Instead, she said, ‘Theodore, it’s time for you to start your job. Your father and I need you to protect Adelaide.’ They led me downstairs, my dad carried Adelaide, and my mom knelt on the floor of the pantry. I wondered what she was doing when suddenly she opened a door to a secret passage. There’s always a trapped door too, isn’t there?” He chuckled with no humor.
“My mom told me to go down the steps into the tunnel and to remember, ‘Left, left, left, right.’ My dad then put Adelaide down beside me. ‘Take care of your sister, son. I’m proud of you, Theodore.’ It was the last thing he ever said to me. There was an explosion. They closed the door and sealed me and Adelaide inside. It was so dark and she began to cry. I beat on the door and screamed for my parents to come back until I was hoarse. I quickly realized that they weren’t coming. They were fighting to give Adelaide and me a chance to live. I was scared but I knew I needed to be strong so I took her hand and started down the steps. It was cold and we both began to shiver. I remembered what my mom had said, left, left, left, right, and I began to chant it softly. I didn’t understand at first what her directions meant until I came across the first fork in the road, so to speak. I listened to my mother’s directions and chose the left.”
He paused, his eyes falling closed briefly as he gathered himself.
“The tunnel continued to lead us farther beneath the earth. I kept imagining all kinds of things jumping out and attacking us but I knew I needed to be strong. I was a protector. One day I would need to protect the girl in my dreams and now I needed to protect my sister. I heard a loud noise, another explosion, and then voices. They weren’t the voices of my parents. They sounded angry and I kept hearing them say ‘kill’. I ran and dragged Adelaide along behind me. She kept crying and I had to tell her to be quiet. I was worried we’d be found. I came to the next left and ran with all I had. Lights began to appear behind us. ‘Run faster, Ade,’ I said. She could hear the panic in my voice and instead of arguing with me, like she normally would, she ran faster. We came to the next left and I thought we had lost them but then I heard, ‘Kill the boy, kill the protector.’ I might have let them kill me if I thought it would spare Adelaide but then I thought of the girl in my dreams, you, and I knew I couldn’t do that. My job was to stay alive so I could protect you. I knew I couldn’t let you down and I didn’t even know you.”
I had never seen Theo so emotional. I had only known him a few days but I already viewed him as my rock. Strong, steadfast, and immovable. But now I could see the cracks in his sarcastic fa?ade. His whole life had been ruined because of me and now he was bound to protect me. He had every right to hate me. If he did, I wouldn’t even blame him.
“Finally, we came to the right turn. I dragged Adelaide along behind me. She had fallen and skinned her knees but she didn’t make a peep. We found ourselves in a small room, if you could even call it a room, and rocks fell behind us sealing us in. For a moment I was afraid that we were trapped but I then realized it was the work of magic. Sleeping bags, lanterns, food … Everything we needed was there. And a note from my parents.” His hand disappeared into his pocket. I was certain the note must reside in his pocket even after all these years. “The note said to wait. That someone would come.”