Chapter 53: Separated

Saturday, November 22

Corrie had called her mom as soon as she had a chance the day before. She was surprised to hear about Corrie’s difficulty with magic, but when Corrie had explained how she’d talked to her father and discovered that her magical abilities were nearly the opposite of a werewolf’s, she sounded nervous. “Are you sure it’s safe to do this trance stuff?”

“If you’re doing it right. And I’m not going to do it without Professor Lal around.” Corrie hadn’t told her about the problems Dawn had had with trance. “But stop changing the subject?”

Her mom sighed. “I’m not working tomorrow. I’ll come by campus and we can talk about it in person.”

Corrie wanted to be mad that her mom wouldn’t tell her about it, but she was more excited by the prospect of seeing her—even though she already planned to be home for Thanksgiving. “Why can’t you tell me over the phone?”

“I’d rather not. Besides, I’ll take you and your friends out for pizza.”

Corrie laughed. “I’d be sick of pizza by now if I didn’t love it so much. We keep having it. But thanks.”

The afternoon when her mother arrived, it was snowing again, though this was a light, slow snow, nothing like the storm they’d had the week before. It had been snowing for three hours and there was only a dusting on the ground. She called, and Corrie ran down to meet her.

“It’s a lovely day,” said her mother when they had reached each other. “Why don’t we walk around the campus and talk?”

Corrie shook her head, laughing, but it was actually fairly pleasant out, considering it was snowing. And they were both dressed warmly. “Sure, Mom. Why not? Just stick to the paths.”

“So,” her mom began, “I think I may know why your magic is the way it is.”

“I guessed as much.”

“You know I wasn’t happy when Francis—your father—told me he was a werewolf, especially since I was already pregnant with you. If I’d known he wasn’t human I would have taken more precautions… but that doesn’t mean I’m not happy to have you,” she added quickly, grabbing Corrie’s hand.

Corrie grinned. “I know, Mom. Go on.”

“Well, when he came to see you in the hospital the day you were born, he said you weren’t a werewolf, but he warned me you might have some werewolf traits. So, to keep the story short, after bringing you home, I did a spell to divide you from your werewolf heritage.”

Corrie’s eyes widened. “So… I’m blocked from my magical heritage when it comes to being a werewolf. But not you, I guess.”

“Yes, it does not surprise me in the least that your heritage from me and your grandmother would be strong magic. We might not have gone to college for it, but we’re good at it.”

Corrie nodded slowly, taking measured paces along the slippery path. “But it didn’t work entirely. He says the reason I’m good at paying attention to the phases of the moon is that I’m half werewolf, and he thinks it has something to do with my running, too.”

Her mom shrugged. “I guess my spell didn’t affect that. If I’d known about the magical ability aspect, I might have done things differently.”

“Okay. Now I know.” Corrie took a deep breath. “But the more important question is, can you reverse it?”

Her mom grinned and pulled a bag out of her pocket. When she shook it, things inside thumped and rattled. “I should be able to. I brought the components I need.”

“Oh!” Corrie grinned back. “That’s why you didn’t want to tell me over the phone.”

“I didn’t want to tell you unless I thought I could do something about it. Why don’t we go in the woods for this? I know people on the campus are used to magic, but I’d prefer a little privacy…”

Corrie shook her head quickly and took the next fork in the path, turning left, further into the campus. “That’s not a good idea. Let’s use the magic building instead. It’s shielded, so it should be safe, and I doubt anyone is in there right now.”

“Oh… all right. I guess you know best.”

“Ha, that’s probably the last time I’ll hear you say that!”

They reached the magic building without difficulty, and as Corrie had predicted, it was abandoned—there might have been professors in their offices, but that was in a different area than the classroom they were going to use. Corrie’s mom took her components—seeds, candles, an athame, and a large clay pentacle—out of her bag and laid them out on the teacher’s desk. “I think you should lay down on the floor,” she told Corrie. “That’s how you were when I was doing the spell…”

“Sure.” Corrie lay down on the floor and, from that vantage, watched her mother prepare the spell.