Today Aiden was going to meet his new tutor and have his first lesson. His mom dropped him off at the park where they were meeting.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Mom asked. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
And watch him act like a freak? “No, I’d really rather do this alone.”
“Do you think it’s safe? You don’t even know this woman.”
Great. Now he had that worry planted in his head. A whole childhood filled with don’t talk to strangers suddenly started clamoring. “Do you want to come meet her with me? Would that make you feel better?”
“It’s up to you.”
He debated for a moment. “Come on. Just to say hello.”
A woman around the same age as his mom stood from a bench and waved at them.
“That must be her. Hi, Mrs. Rowland.”
“Call me Phoebe. You must be Aiden.” She held out her hand.
He was sure he hadn’t seen her before, but there was something familiar about her. When he took her hand, a weird sensation went through him, subtle enough that he thought he might be imagining things. Was it wishful thinking that he recognized another fae? Or had he really felt something? “Nice to meet you. This is my mom, Brenda.”
Phoebe reached out to shake his mom’s hand. “Nice to meet you. Are you staying for the lesson?”
Mom glanced at Aiden. “I don’t want to get in the way, so I’ll leave you to it. Good luck.” She looked like she was about to give him a hug, something Aiden was far too old for, but then she drew back. “Bye.”
Aiden watched her go to the car.
“I hope you have a lot of patience because we’re going to start with the very basics,” Phoebe said. “Take a seat on the bench, and you’re going to meditate on the nature around you. The trees, the grass, the breeze, the stars in the sky. Just feel them.”
Aiden sat. “And this will help me control my magic?”
She smiled a little. “Yes. I know it isn’t exciting, but your power is based in nature, and an awareness of that is the first step to controlling your magic.”
“Will this take long? I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be impatient, but I want to make sure I don’t hurt anyone else.”
She sat on the other end of the bench. “Even a basic awareness will help you feel when you’re about to use your magic by accident. When you know that feeling, you’ll be able to stop it before something happens.”
That sounded wonderful. “Good. So just close my eyes and meditate?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you when to stop.”
It took Aiden a while to push his worries aside and focus on the things around him. The breeze was chillier today, and it would probably only get colder. It tossed the leaves in the trees and he thought about them for a while. All his life, he’d had a love for the forest, for any natural place with trees—the more the better. A few times he’d imagined running off into the forest to live alone, like Tarzan or Mowgli, not because he was angry at his parents or wanted to leave them, but because the trees felt like home. He’d often stamped down on those feelings. It was impractical to think he could live in the woods. All the dangers, all the things he’d have to learn just to survive.
He wanted it, but he was afraid of it.
He’d imagined having superpowers. What kid hadn’t? Being a mutant like the X-Men, or a wizard like Harry Potter. But once he’d found out magic was real and he was a changeling, it didn’t sound like fun anymore. Aiden wanted to get rid of it, to go back to his normal life when he’d mostly known what to expect, where a plan had been laid out for him. He hadn’t decided on what he’d study in college, but he’d known he would go.
Except now he didn’t know anything.
Aiden let out a sigh and thought about the stars. Sparkling overhead, light years away, little pinpricks that were actually suns. Beautiful and amazing. Thought about pictures from telescopes showing galaxies and nebulas in amazing colors, the infinite vastness of space. He was nothing more than a tiny speck on one planet that was less than a speck in part of a huge galaxy that was in turn a speck in the endless stretch of space.
It was fine to be so insignificant. It put life in perspective. But now, here, he stood out. A rarity among monsters, with powers that scared most of them.
“Do you ever feel like the trees are talking to you?” Phoebe asked softly.
“Not… really.”
“Have you ever felt a connection with them, or with the grass and other plants?”
“Yes.”
“The fae blood in me isn’t very strong, so I can’t be sure, but I think you’re a forest fae. Your magic comes from life, from growing things.”
“I made a tomato plant grow.” Aiden licked his lips. “I was working with Mom in the garden. The tomatoes had sprouted, just tiny little green bumps, and I thought about how good they would taste when they were ripe. I wanted them to hurry up, to be ready right then. And suddenly they grew. Just in a couple of seconds they were as big as my fist and starting to turn red.” Aiden opened his eyes and turned to her. “I was so scared.”
She smiled. “You shouldn’t be afraid of your magic. It’s a good thing. You can do wonderful things with it, help people. Yes, it can be used to hurt too, but once you get a handle on it, the magic obeys your will.”
“What if I don’t want to use it?” He wanted to lock it away so he and his parents could go back to their normal lives. Would Shadow Valley High School send his records to college? What would they do about the magic classes? They couldn’t put those on the transcript, could they?
“You have to use it, at least for a while. It’s the only way you’ll learn how to control it.”
“And the only way I’ll get good grades in school.” He couldn’t forget that. Not using his magic meant flunking.
She laughed. “If that’s the motivation you need, then focus on that.” She stood. “Okay, come over and sit with your back against this tree. I want you to imagine becoming the tree, with roots in the ground and your branches high above.”
It sounded silly, but he’d do anything to get closer to his goal.
* * *
The smart thing would be to leave it alone, to hope they would ignore each other in the halls. Conner Mays was a year older, so there was little chance they’d ever end up in the same classes. But it was eating at Aiden. No matter how much of a jerk Conner was, and despite the fact that he’d started it by making threats, Aiden hadn’t meant to hurt him. Aiden needed him to know it.
So when he saw Conner with his friends—his pack, a pack of werewolves—he swallowed his fear and walked up to him. They spotted him when he was a few feet away and glared.
“You looking for trouble?” Conner asked. “You caught me by surprise before, but I’ll take you on right now.” The whole pack oozed aggression.
“Actually, I came to apologize.” Aiden’s pulse pounded in his ears. “I didn’t mean to use my magic on you.”
“Apologize?” he repeated. “You mean you want to say you’re sorry so I don’t kick your ass.”
Aiden swallowed. “I don’t expect anything from you. I just want you to know it was an accident. I don’t know how to control my magic, and I was afraid, and it just… happened. So I’m sorry.” He’d said what he needed to, and sticking around would probably only cause problems. Aiden turned and took a step away.
“Hey! I’m not done with you.” Conner glared down at him.
“Please, can we just leave it at that?” Aiden was afraid of getting hurt. He was more afraid of getting in trouble, and what scared him most was the idea of his magic getting out of control again.
“You scared, little girl?” Conner said.
The werewolves behind him laughed.
Aiden wondered if he might have had a chance of things going more smoothly if Conner didn’t have his friends around to impress. For a second he considered admitting he was afraid, but afraid of hurting Conner. But that would definitely make things worse.
Conner stepped closer, growling and with a flicker of yellow in his eyes. Aiden felt something, fur and warmth, but not physically. Only in his head.
“Huh? I asked you a question. Are you scared?”
“If I say yes, will you let me leave?” Aiden could run, but these kids were part animal. That would probably encourage them to chase him.
Conner considered him with narrowed eyes. “Yeah. Say you’re scared of me and that you’ll stay away from my girl, and I’ll let you go.”
Sure, it was humiliating, but it was better than another fight. The principal had let him off with a warning, and he doubted she’d do it again. “I’m afraid of you, and I’ll stay away from your girlfriend.”
Conner laughed. “That’s right, chicken. Now run off to class.”