Chapter 15
So Good He Doesn’t Even Need a Wand
Rowan replies with an agitated flap of his wings.
My eyes fall on his clothes. He managed to drag them under the bed after he changed, probably just accomplishing the task when Mom looked down.
“How…?” Baffled, I look at his wand across the room.
But Rowan can’t answer without his amulet, and as far as I know, we left it at Ansel’s after the reversal.
Ansel.
“Don’t panic,” I say, though I’m definitely panicking. “We’ll go to the rock shop right now.”
Using his wings in the tight space, Rowan hops out from under the bed and then flies to the bedpost.
“Oh, gosh, I wish you could talk.” I wring my hands, trying to figure out what to do.
Knowing he’ll need clothes when Ansel turns him back, I snatch up his things and toss them on the bed. “I have to put these in something.”
I find a tote bag in Laverna’s old wardrobe, shove the clothes into it, and then open the window. “Meet you at Ansel’s, okay?”
Rowan flies out, leaving me alone so I can get dressed.
I make an appearance in the kitchen five minutes later. My hair is up in a messy bun, and I’m wearing shorts and a pink T-shirt. I look like I’m going to the beach.
My parents exchange a look when they see me, concerned.
Mom carefully says, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“I didn’t sleep well,” I admit. “And I need to take off because I have an errand to run before the shop opens.”
Mom rises from the table and hurries to the quick bread cooling on the counter. “At least take some breakfast with you.”
Nadine sips coffee at the table, looking perfectly put-together. “I can open the shop if you want.”
“You’re sure?”
She has all our notes, and she’s no stranger to tea. It will probably be fine.
“I’m happy to help.” I can tell from the curious glint in her eyes that she wants to ask me what’s going on, but she somehow knows I don’t want to talk about it in front of my parents.
“Is Rowan going to pick you up?” Mom asks.
“Not this morning,” I say, highly aware of his clothes in the tote bag. “I’m going to take the bike.”
But then I realize if I do, Nadine will have to walk.
Waving her hand when she sees the concerned look on my face, she says, “It’s fine. I’ll call the livery stable and request a pickup.”
“You’re sure?”
“Very sure.” She looks pleased, making me think she’s already plotting a way to make sure Jax is her driver.
“We need to look into getting our own transportation,” Dad says. “It’s been a while, but I can manage a horse and cart.”
As they discuss the options, Mom flits about the kitchen.
Five minutes later, Nadine follows me out the door.
I quickly finish my slice of blueberry bread. “I eat so much better now that you guys are here.”
“I was wondering how you were managing on your own.”
“I lit a skillet on fire once,” I admit.
She laughs, walking into the back with me to get the bike. “What’s in the bag?”
I glance behind us to make sure we’re alone. “Rowan’s clothes and wand. He accidentally turned himself into an owl again.”
Nadine stares at me, her mouth open and her eyes wide.
I quickly add, “Ansel should be able to turn him back.”
I hope.
What if he can’t? What if Rowan’s truly stuck this time?
A cloud rolls over the sun, moving in too quickly.
Nadine looks up, concerned. “Are you okay?”
Swallowing, I nod. “Yeah. I should go, though.”
“I’ll see you in a bit.”
I hand her the shop keys and roll the bike to the lane.
Ansel opens the door after I knock for three frantic minutes.
The mage looks rough. His dark hair is disheveled, standing up in tufts. He needs to shave, and his eyes are tired. Also, his T-shirt is wrinkled, and it appears to be inside out.
“What could you possibly need at six in the morning?” he demands. “Come back at nine. I’m going back to bed.”
I grab the door before he can close it. “Nine? Must be nice to open your shop at ten.”
“Why are you here?” Ansel demands, not keen to discuss his lazy morning ways. “Whatever you need can wait until—”
He’s interrupted by a shrill screech from the tree just outside his shop. He follows the sound to its maker, and his expression morphs to incredulous. “Is that Rowan?”
“Yeah,” I admit, feeling weirdly guilty, though I didn’t have anything to do with this.
Ansel swears, rubbing his face, and then barks, “Get in here, both of you.”
I rush into the quiet shop. “Sorry to wake you.”
He grunts, leading me through the back and then upstairs instead of into his workshop. “Coffee first.”
I follow him into an apartment that’s similar to the one over the tea shop.
Most of the buildings on Main Street were built with a second-story living space—handy for those who like to bring their work home with them.
Ansel is apparently that type, judging from the rocks and random mage stuff scattered around his living space.
His apartment is just as cluttered as his workshop, but his kitchen is clean, with just a few dishes in the sink. Most of those dishes are coffee mugs, making me wonder if he exists on caffeine alone.
Rowan lands on the back of a chair, looking around with an air of birdy disdain.
“What happened?” Ansel demands as he rinses the coffee pot.
“Rowan turned back into an owl.”
He shoots me a look over his shoulder. “I got that. If you want me to help, give me a few more details. Was he experimenting again?”
“No. He was…” I look at Rowan for help, but of course, he can’t answer. “Well. He was trying to hide, and then suddenly…he hid really well.”
Ansel turns around, drying the coffeepot with a kitchen towel that looks like it’s been in the apartment since 1995. It has geese on it, the type with blue ribbons around their necks. Not exactly Ansel’s vibe. “What could he possibly have needed to hide from?”
“That’s not important.” I stare at the geese. “Hey, you don’t happen to have Rowan’s amulet, do you? It would be nice if he could talk.”
“He took it with him the night we reversed the metamorphosis.”
“So only Rowan knows where it is?” I ask, not liking that.
It’s probably in his room at his aunt’s house. If all this is hard to explain to Ansel, it will be impossible to explain to her.
“Presumably.” He turns to me, leaning against the counter while the coffee maker burbles to life. “So, you’re here for another reversal? If you start making a habit of this, I’m going to begin charging you.”
“I don’t even understand what happened. I didn’t think mages could access their magic without a wand.”
“We can’t.”
I tilt my head, focusing on the finality in his tone. “Rowan didn’t have his wand. It was across the room.”
“He must have had one of them. Most of us have several, you know. Different wands for different types of magic. It’s all about the original enchantments placed on—”
“He didn’t have another wand. I would have seen it with his clothes.”
“Impossible.”
Rowan shrieks, making both of us jump. He flaps his wings and stares at Ansel.
The sorcerer narrows his eyes at the owl. “Don’t tell me you’re some great fae anomaly. You’re not that special—you can’t work magic without a wand.”
Rowan shrieks again, but who knows what he’s trying to tell us.
“I really need to get that amulet,” I say. “Come on, Rowan. Let’s see if Anna will let us in. We’ll be back, Ansel. Sorry to wake you up early.”
“Wait,” the sorcerer says when I’m almost to the door. He studies Rowan, thinking hard.
“What?”
After several long seconds, he shakes his head and waves us away. “Go get the amulet and then come right back.” He points at me. “Right back, all right?”
“Is something the matter?” I ask, more worried than I was before. “Something other than Rowan being a bird again?”
“No.” Ansel turns back to his coffeemaker. “Go on.”
Rowan follows me down the stairs, through the hall, and out the front of the rock shop. Once we’re outside, he lands in a tree, waiting for me.
I pause underneath it, realizing I don’t have my phone. “I was going to call Anna, but I can’t.”
“Morning, Kit,” Ryder hollers from across the street, carrying a pastry box. He hurries over to meet me, waving to Hudson as he rolls by with a cartful of early-bird tourists. “You’re usually at your shop by now.”
“Rowan accidentally turned himself back into a bird this morning, and I’m trying to figure it out.”
Rowan screeches a hello from the tree, making Ryder jump.
The elf turns toward the owl, thoroughly unimpressed. “You can’t be serious.” Growing angry, he adds, “Do you have any idea how difficult it was to turn you back the first time?”
“It was an accident,” I explain. “He was himself one moment, and then the next…”
“How does a mage work accidental magic?” Ryder demands.
“I don’t know enough about mages or their magic to have any idea.
” I sigh. “And we can’t ask him. We think Rowan left his amulet at his aunt’s house.
He can’t talk in this form without it. I don’t suppose you know Anna’s phone number, do you?
I need to see if she’ll let us in, and I accidentally left my phone at home. ”
“Let me give her a call, and then we’ll head over there together.
” He gives me a cheeky wink as he balances the pastry box with one hand and pulls out his phone with his other.
“His aunt likes me, so even if Anna’s already left, she’ll let me rummage through Rowan’s things. It wouldn’t be the first time.”
I laugh a little. “When did you go through Rowan’s stuff?”
“After he disappeared, Marshall and I went through his room and workshop to see if he had left any clues. All we found was a blasted gryphon feather that sent us on a wild goose chase for a good six months.”
“It was an owl feather.” I nod toward Rowan. “A screech owl. He was cheap and bought it online. He didn’t realize it was a fake until he worked the metamorphosis.”
“It was definitely a gryphon feather. Marshall and I took it to an alchemy expert in New York to be sure.”
I come to a dead stop. “But…Rowan turned into an owl. If it was a gryphon feather, shouldn’t he have turned into a gryphon?”
Rowan screeches again, looking highly agitated now.
“You would think…” Ryder frowns. “Let’s go find that amulet.”