Reader Believes

Chapter 4

            For several moments, all Conner did was stare at Rika. Then he pressed a hand against her forehead, frowning, before waving a finger in front of her eyes. She followed the digit for a moment, then gave her brother a questioning look. He asked “Did he give you anything to eat, drink, or smoke?”

            Rika blinked a few times before glaring at her brother. “I haven’t been drugged! I didn’t hallucinate it. It was real.”

            Conner winced. “I know you want to believe in magic and other worlds, but it’s not real. It…it might be a good idea if we look into a psychiatrist-”

            “I’m not crazy!” she snapped, jerking away from him.

            “Riks,” her brother sighed, taking a step towards her. He stopped when the head of Ahisu’s staff swung down in front of him, blocking his path. Conner turned cold blue eyes on the mage. “This has nothing to do with you.”

            Gaze following the length of the staff to Ahisu, Rika bit her lip. The last thing she wanted was the mage taking it into his head that Conner was a threat. She’d seen how he dealt with those. “It’s fine. Conner’s my brother. He’s just worried. I’m going to prove magic’s real, and then everything will be okay.”

            Ahisu glanced at her then back at Conner. After a moment, he lowered the staff. Rika flashed him a smile before turning to her brother, who was still eyeing Ahisu. “I can prove magic’s real. Watch.”

            Waiting to make sure Conner was looking, Rika reached into her bag and pulled out her wand. The purple crystal on the end felt cool against her hand as she raised it. From where she now stood, she could see the coffee table and the newspaper on it. She reached for her magic, felt it fizz up, and sent it down her arm and into her wand. Eyes locked onto the paper, she flicked her wand upwards. The newssheets followed, leaping up into the air.

            She risked a glance at her brother, smiling at his wide eyes. She twitched the end of her wand to the side. The paper slowly floated towards them. Using her wand like a conductor’s baton, Rika flew the sheets over to her brother. When he only stared at them, she waved them into his chest a few times. He looked at her. “You can grab it,” she said.

            With a hand that only trembled slightly, Conner pulled the hovering paper out of the air. He stared at it before turning his wide-eyed gaze back on Rika. She smiled. “Told you magic was real.”

            He shook his head. “This…I mean…This can’t be-”

            The sound of the door opening and closing drew all three sets of eyes. Rika recognized the red figure. She was surprised that it had taken Shetton that long to catch up to them. Then again, her world was so different from theirs, that he’d probably gotten distracted.

            “Who-What is that?” Conner demanded, face pale.

            Rika smiled reassuringly. “That’s Shetton. He’s Ahisu’s primary demon. He…” she trailed off when she noticed that both the mage and the demon were staring at her brother, almost like he’d grown a set of horns. “What’s the matter?”

            Shay took a step towards her brother, looking him over. “Mortal, you can see me, can’t you?”

            Conner’s mouth worked for a few seconds before he was able to force words out, his eyes going to his sister. “Demon. He’s a demon! Rika, what…you are here, seeing this, right? This isn’t a dream I’m having or some kind of hallucination. This is real?”

            “Yes, it’s real,” she replied absently, her memories of Ahisu’s tower only now catching up with her. Shetton couldn’t be seen unless he let people. That’s what he’d said. So how… She looked at Ahisu. “Why can Conner see Shay?”

            The mage turned away from his demon just long enough to say “Magic.”

            Rika laughed. “Really? That’s wonderful!” she said, before dancing over to hug Conner. “Did you hear that? You have magic. Just like me!”

            Her brother looked down at her, his pupils dilated, his skin the colour of eggshell. “I…”

            She felt her stomach twist, as guilt churned inside her. Rika put hands on either side of Conner’s face, pulling his head down so their foreheads met. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have…You weren’t prepared for this. In my head, you were always aware I’d been gone for months, and this would just be me explaining things. I never thought it’d be this hard on you.”

            Conner closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. “How is this possible?”

            “I don’t know. It will get easier. And hey, it won’t change us.”

            “It had better not,” he said, his eyes opening into a severe look.

            Rika smiled. “Just think on the bright side. Think about how many new possibilities there are, now that you know magic’s real. That you have magic. You power could be something really cool, and might even be useful at school.”

            “You would be excited about it.”

            “Of course.”

            Conner sighed. “Well, you might as well explain all this and get all the shocks you have for me out of the way. The magic, this other world, and him,” he said, jerking his head towards Ahisu. “Though, I’m pretty sure I’ll be thinking this is some kind of really long, really elaborate dream for weeks.”

            Rika smiled. “That’s what I thought for a while. Now, let’s sit, and I’ll tell you everything.”