Stormwood: The Descendant (book 1)

Chapter 2- Everyone has Secrets (part 2)

The line to the buffet tables is extremely long by the time Colia and Emi join the end. Counters of food line the walls of the cafeteria and students continue to crowd, making Colia feel awfully claustrophobic. The room itself is a large, two-story rotunda and looks ancient like the rest of Stormwood with its stone walls and wooden floor and furniture. 

Colia is at the buffet, placing rolls on her plate when she notices something strange: every time she takes food from its dish, its replaced with more. She takes a roll, puts it on her plate, and another is there by the time she looks up again. But she disregards it and goes to sit down again with Emi. 

"Wait, we should sit upstairs," Colia suggests, spotting a group climb the stairs a few feet away. 

Emi shakes her head and warns, "You don't want to sit with any of them. That's where the Storm side sits. Unless of course, you are on the Storm side, but I assumed not since you live with your mom and all." Glimpsing out of the corner of her eye suspiciously, Emi takes a bite of food. "What side are you on?"

"I guess I'm neutral." Colia hasn't comprehended the whole Storm/Burn conflict yet. Sure, her parents divorced, but it wouldn't make sense for an entire community to get involved with a personal matter that occurred a decade ago.

"Neutral? No one is neutral." Emi looks to be deep in thought. "However, I suppose if anyone could be, it'd be you since you're related to both sides," she thinks aloud. 

"What is this division about? I hadn't heard of it until I reached Stormwood last night."

Wide-eyed, Emi stares openly at Colia. "Do you know nothing? Did your mother not tell you anything?"

"Apparently, not," Colia complains. "She didn't even tell me about this place."

"How strange." The tips of Emi's lips point downward. "Well, I must explain then. Nobody knows when the dispute arose, but it's been separating magicians ever since." Colia starts at the mention of magic, though she doesn't intervene. "The Burns and Storms are the two strongest, most powerful families, which is why their disagreement became such a huge deal. While the Storms want the freedom to interact with humans using magic, the Burns believe it's too dangerous. For a while, they were at war with one another and many have died in the past, but today the feud serves as a barrier between people. My family doesn't associate much with the Storm side."

"Magicians?" Colia practically squeaks once Emi is finished. That word keeps reoccurring.

"You really do know nothing!" Emi throws her hands up in exasperation. "I mean, I assumed your mom told you that much at the very least."

"I need to see it."

"See what?"

"Show me magic, Emi. If it's real. Show me," Colia demands. "I need to see it to believe it."

"I can't just- I really don't know much about-"

"Please, just do something. Dad mentioned magic last night. I didn't know what to think. I still don't know what to think. I thought he was lying, but after everything that has happened in the past few days-" Colia closes her heavy eyes. "Nothing makes sense." She'd said that last night and now she says it again.

"I'll try," Emi gives in with a small smile that doesn't reach her eyes. She holds out her hands and cups them as if holding a ball. Her eyes are squinted in focus, and it takes a few seconds before anything happens. Soon, Colia spots a spark, and the spark turns into a flame but doesn't get much bigger than the size of a fingernail.

The flame dances around and lasts for about a minute, which Colia spends watching in fascination. She can hardly believe it even after witnessing magic first hand. The whole world seems different to her.

"I can't imagine why Mom and Dad kept this from me. I didn't think we kept secrets from each other," Colia says grimly, rubbing her forehead as always.

Emi is silent for a moment before answering, "Everyone has secrets, Colia."

"Even you?"

Pursing her lips, Emi nods. "Do you not?"

Colia hesitates. "Yes, I do." They both look away from one another. "How about we make a pact?"

"What for?"

"A pact to never push each other for secrets, no matter what they may be, and not to share one another's secrets with another. Deal?" They're pinkies intertwine and they shake on it.

"Deal."

Just then, Colia feels someone bump into her and turns around to see the Devil's eyes. Augustus begins to apologize until he sees who he's talking to. His eyes go cold and he quickly walks away. Fingernails digging into her skin, Colia clenches her fist in a way to harmlessly release her anger. Only, it isn't so harmless when the ground beneath Augustus's feet cracks open.