Extraordinary (The Extraordinary Saga #4)

Chapter 5

The next few months went by quickly, and as the school year grew to a close Caeden and Rowan became good friends. They worked together in class, exchanged contacts, and basically used each other as a placeholder for the other, more typical friends they both expected to have. Because for all they hit it off, they were actually very different.

But for all they found they had in common, for all they hung out, there was one thing they never spoke of, yet it was the one thing that against all odds they both knew so much about.

Magic.

Caeden, for his part, was relieved that someone wanted to talk to him. Usually he found his clique and knew his place among the other kids within a matter of days. But as the days turned into a week, and then two, he realized that he had only spoken to Rowan and a few others scattered in his classes. He felt... lost, almost. Caeden thought back to Arizona, to his best friend Arien. They had talked some since he moved, but not as much as either of them had hoped. The distance was getting to them, and Caeden needed to adjust to that. But that was proving to be harder than he had expected. At least Rowan was there for him to talk to.

Rowan was glad, too. Though she had a handful of friends, her two closest - Luna and Mac - had recently had a huge falling out, leaving her caught in the middle. It wasn't either of their faults; things happen. But to make matters worse, her other friends had each taken a side of the argument. It was like she could barely talk to any of them without saying something wrong. Luna had once been so easy to talk to. But now, it was like someone had flipped a switch. It was nerve-wracking. Her and Luna hadn't had any real reason to stop talking, but just as had happened with Mac, their bond just broke apart.

For once, it was nice to have a conversation where Rowan didn't feel like she was slowly sinking underwater, waiting to say something wrong and plunge under.

And so her and Caeden's acquaintanceship balanced, just enough effort on either side for there to be some type of benefit. And it would've stayed that way, except one event in particular altered both of their futures more than a little bit.

It started when Rowan walked home from the bus that day. She came home with her brother as always, and everything was fine. Until she stepped into her room.

Rowan kept the magic coin inside of a locked box, and that box in a bin for even more security. The last thing she wanted was for her dog or her brother or her parents to stumble across it. So she panicked when she opened the door to her room and saw that bin scattered across the floor.

Heart pounding and hands shaking with unseen electricity, Rowan unlocked the box. She felt tangible relief when that golden quarter-sized coin was right where it should've been, inside her small safe.

Quickly she recollected the scattered contents of the bin and rearranged the things. She wondered what had happened to them in the first place; who had tried to break in?

With that unnerving thought she hesitated. That coin had power, the same power bestowed upon her. Did she really want to leave it alone all day long?

Slipping the coin in her pocket, Rowan decided that wasn't a risk she was willing to take. From then on, the coin went wherever she did, including in her backpack at school.

The next day went fine, and she didn't come home to her room being ravaged by an unknown source. Thinking it over again, she decided it must've been her dog, Jasper. He'd always had an issue with rummaging through the things he shouldn't. When the little pug came wandering through her door that night, she pulled out the coin and held it to his face. The dog's eyes seemed to go wide.

"This isn't a toy," Rowan lectured him, even though she knew it made little difference. Still, in a weird way it made her feel better. She could feel the raw power of the thing right there in her hand. "You had me worried."

Jasper cocked his head. Scratching his ears, Rowan laughed to herself.

Now I'm talking to a dog, she thought. What has my life become?

She tucked the golden coin back inside her school bag and let Jasper run off somewhere else.

Feeling a bit more relieved, Rowan still wondered about the nature of the coin. Where had it come from? Was it magic? That one, at least, she knew the answer to. But that didn't help her with her other big question: How was it magic?

Rowan pondered all that, sitting in math class that Friday next to Caeden as always, and not saying a word about her thoughts. She couldn't, obviously. She hadn't realized just how lost in thought she was until Caeden tapped her lightly on the shoulder, a strange look in his eyes.

"Rowan," he whispered. "What's on your backpack?"

"Huh?" She looked down at the bag by her left foot and nearly gasped. Because swarming around her bag like a living shadow was a collection of golden particles.