Its Not Just Magic

Chapter 1

I ran down the house stairs in a hurry, I was late for school and it was the last day before I graduate. I held my boots in one hand and ran as fast as I could though I knew that if my parents saw me they would yell at me for running in the house.

I jumped down the last step and slammed hard into my little sister Auburn.

"Ow! Lace! You hurt me! I'm telling mommy!" Auburn pulled the bow from in her hair and let it fall to the floor. She rubbed her arm and made it red and began to cry. "MOMMY!"

I rolled my eyes and began to turn away when my older brother Lionel grabs me from behind an shakes my shoulders.

"What did you do to her?" Lionel asks pulling me toward the kitchen and pushing me into a chair.

"Nothing! I was coming down the stairs and-"

"Don't lie to me. You know I'm trained to see lies." Lionel grabs my wrist tightly in his hand and pulls me to my feet in one pull.

"And starting tomorrow you will be as we'll. Wizard hunting training matures all people." I look at my older brother, his light brown hair cut into a perfect buzz cut, his dark green eyes now mostly black with anger like they have been since he was my age, dressed in light silver and white. Wizard hunting changed him.

"I have to go." These conversations always make me feel sick.

I walked past him and past Auburn who is sitting on the stairs playing with her little white kitten.

I picked up my back pack and slugged it on my shoulder. Auburn waves goodbye and blew a kiss. My mother daintily waves from the laundry room. My father nods as he pulls on his tie from the hallway. I wave and pull open the door and step put into the freezing cold winter air.

"Wait! Lace wait!" I turn around and see Lionel walking toward me.

He hands me my lunch and whispers to me "Don't forget right after school ends today you began pre-training with me!" He smiles so wide and pulls me into a quick hug. Lionel really is in the wizard hunter thing. I wince and pull away disgusted at my brother. Killing innocent people just to see if they are wizards which are "bad" people. I'm one. But he doesn't know.

I nod my head and slip away not meeting his eyes. I walk down the porch steps and down the pathway. If only graduation wasn't so close upcoming, if only we didn't have to start our training at age seventeen, if only Auburn wasn't homeschooled because mother thinks the towns only second grade teacher is part dragon and part wizard.

I laugh at our mother's foolishness. If she only knew how close she was to a wizard everyday. I pull my jacket closer to my chest. I had to look like I was cold, before I cast a spell. "Sun reveal yourself make us warm. Only for the warm who have sworn." I whisper faintly so even I can't hear. I close my eyes and hold my breath. 'Warm' I think 'Be warm' instantly warm air courses over my body I sigh with pleasure and safety from the cold. I keep my jacket tight around me to keep up the normal look.

I arrive at school soon and walk into my school room and sit down at my desk. I do my work quietly and push all thoughts out of my head. 'Act normal' I thought.

"Lace!" I snap my head up and see my teacher looking at me front the front board. "Answer my question."

"Um..the answer is...um..." I look down at my paper and close my eyes 'Reverse time to safe my mind, quick it close for the most!' I open my eyes and see my teacher walking to the front board. One look at the clock said I reversed time by three minutes, I'm glad I have been training.

"Lace you should know this answer quite well." My teacher wrote the word Wizard on the board and circled it. "Lace, what does this word mean?"

I swallowed hard. Gosh it made me sick and angry to say the answer but I had to stick to the script. I took a breath and answered.

"A Wizard, a Wizard is a person or animal with supernatural talents that are harmful to every person, plant, animal, or anything in the world and must be. Must be-" I paused and breathed. 'Pause time now for I am asking it is my only way of passing!' A second later everything but myself was frozen. I stood up and looked around like I was confused incase anyone from outside in the hallway was still moving. I can only freeze my immediate area without practice. Finally I sat back down and put my head down on my desk and whispered to myself.

"Lace. Come on just say it. You have to stick to what you have to say to stay safe. Your not hurting anybody." I was trying to convince myself it was ok but in a way it wasn't working. I felt sick like I was a bad guy. I sighed I needed to say it and let time run again.

"Time play again and unfreeze all frozen, let nothing fall let nothing remain broken."

Everyone continued like they were. My teacher looking at me.

"-And must be taking care of." I smiled for effect and laughed. My family were wizard hunters I had to act like I didn't care.

"Very,Very good Lace." My teacher gives a little clap and turns to someone else asking about what to do when confronted by a wizard asking for help. I zoned off and began day dreaming about running in the meadow and shopping in town with my family. About being normal. About being normal.

The lunch bell rang ten minutes sooner than my class though it would. 'Oops. That's my fault. I forgot to pause ALL time. I only paused the rooms time.' My teacher didn't notice and dismissed us with a wave if her hand. Well all but me.

"Lace. A minute please?" I walked to her desk and nodded.

"Your answer was perfect, spot on! I heard your beginning hunting training after graduation tomorrow and I thought about how prepared you must be!" I nodded though it was painful and looked away "Ok well that's all. Just remember one thing Lace-" I turned to my teacher who wasn't at her desk anymore. 'What is going on?' The room suddenly turned dark and I knew someone powerful had stopped time and made it dark with magic. My teacher.

"Just remember Lace. Not everyone is what they seem." I turn toward the sound and see my teacher, looking years older than she is holding a purple flower in her hand. She walks over to me and puts it in my hair.

"So beautiful. Your powerful Lace don't forget what you can do." I touched the flower with my finger tip.

"I'm not powerful" I mumbled "I can't even disappear and reappear without losing something in the travel."

"Now you will." She answered

"What teacher?" I ask

"Try. Your VERY POWERFUL now."

I blink and my teacher is back to normal and the light is back on. Time unfrozen.

My teacher nods and smiles, she waves her hand to dismiss me for lunch. 'Did I imagine that?' I thought to myself

She shakes her head no and mouths the word powerful.

'Ok...then.....'

ME

POWERFUL!