Something Wizard This Way Comes: Something Wizard Book 1

By Christine Edison

Can a shy girl handle sudden stardom?

 

At Pyewacket High School, Mallory Martin has hidden her prodigious magic skills, but the day she flies in school to rescue a bat, someone records it and the video goes viral. A TV producer sees it and selects the school to compete on America's Top Teen Wizard, catapulting shy Mallory to sudden fame, possible romance, and peril.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christine Edison
• Release date: Apr 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201032111

Christine Edison

Christine Edison is a librarian in the Chicago area. She, her husband, and two cats live in a house overstuffed with books.

Book preview

Saving the Bat

Mallory

At times like this , Mallory Martin wished she was still being homeschooled.

She felt the stares, saw the eye rolls, heard the giggles and snarky tones as she scurried through the halls of Pyewacket High School. Like the woodland creatures she loved, she wore protective camouflage. In her case, that meant a green turtleneck and brown corduroys with shapeless brown shoes.

It wasn’t working. Her scalp itched with magic.

She walked into her College Algebra class that Friday greeted by hushed laughter and barely suppressed grins. She caught her reflection in the dry erase board. No mistaking that red clown hair. Her cheeks grew hot.

Beth Jones and Jenna Carlson burst out laughing. At every opportunity, they worked illusions on themselves to look prettier to the boys — deep, beckoning eyes with lush lashes. Pearly white and straight teeth. Bouncy, lustrous hair and skin that glowed. Once they learned they could create illusions around other people if they worked together, they terrorized the other girls with giant noses, big butts, and bald heads. Mallory was a favorite target.

Miss Brookfield walked into the room, and with a wave of her hand, Mallory’s hair returned to its normal brown braid. Mallory fled to her back row seat in relief and took out her math textbook.

AT LUNCHTIME, MALLORY preferred sitting outside listening to the birds, but it had been raining all morning. She brought her coat just in case she could go outside. Instead, she sat in a study carrel in the school library and ate her cashew butter and jelly sandwich as she read from her Advanced Biology textbook. School policy forbade eating in the library, but the library staff turned a blind eye as long as she was quiet and cleaned up after herself.

Mallory dreamed of becoming a wildlife researcher. She looked forward to going to college to study animals and ecosystems. Maybe she could find a way to graduate as a junior and avoid dealing with Beth and Jenna for another year.

She enjoyed flying, and that was an excellent skill for a researcher. She liked to fly up to treetops to visit birds and peek in their nests or hover just above the creek, watching the water bugs and the fish dart around. Flying with a backpack was a challenge—it threw off her balance and made steering awkward.

As she ate the last bite of her sandwich, she heard a scream. Twilby Watkins stood in the middle of the reading room, batting at something above her head. "There’s like a bat in here!" she shouted. Students waved their books at what looked like a little brown bat circling around. What were they doing? That bat wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Without a second thought, Mallory glided up toward the little creature, which was zooming erratically over the screaming students. She rose toward the ceiling, glancing down at the tops of dusty bookshelves and the upturned faces. The bat made a safe landing in the folds of her coat, its tiny talons clinging to the fabric. Mallory cradled the coat in the crook of her arm and descended to ground level. A few students stared. Derron Smits had his phone pointed at her.

Oh no. This was more embarrassing than the clown hair.

"It’s got like rabies!" Twilby said.

"How did you do that?" someone asked.

You’re Magic Girl now. Derron smiled.

The librarian shushed everyone and said, Please get that creature out of here. Why don’t you take it to Mr. Anders in the Science Lab? He might want to identify it and see if it’s okay.

Mallory picked up the rest of her stuff and hurried out.

MR. ANDERS WAS ONE of her favorite teachers. He was short and stout, and he made corny jokes. He was sitting at his desk looking at his laptop during a study hall when Mallory knocked on the door. Mr. Anders waved her in but looked puzzled when she gingerly set down her coat.

It’s a bat. I caught it in the library, she whispered. She carefully uncovered the fluffy little creature. Its black eyes blinked up at them with a dazed expression.

Everyone was watching now, and one or two students approached the desk to have a look. Mallory offered the bat a dead fly from the bag in her coat pocket, but it didn’t eat it. It never hurt to have dead flies for coaxing reluctant fish and frogs.

Mr. Anders nodded and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves from his desk. Well done. Let’s have a look at you... He cupped the bat in his hand and examined it. It’s a little brown bat, a young female. She seems healthy enough, probably just got disoriented with all the noise. Still, where there’s one, there are probably more.

How did it get in? someone asked.

Through an air duct, perhaps. Mr. Anders turned to Mallory. How did you catch it?

In my coat. The poor thing was so scared.

Yeah, she flew up to the ceiling and caught it. Derron put it up on BrewTube! Durke Nordmeyer, one of the popular boys, held up his phone. You could clearly see Mallory sailing over everyone’s heads. People took their phones out and plugged in the keywords.

Mallory winced and turned away from the phones. Her parents would not be pleased about her using magic in public.

All right, everyone, back to your seats. Mallory, could you bring me one of those shoe boxes over there? Let’s cut a few air holes in it and put our furry friend in the box, and maybe after school we can track down where her colony is.

JUST BEFORE HISTORY, Durke Nordmeyer sat down next to Mallory. It was not his regular seat. So where did you learn to do that? Fly, I mean. His eyes were very blue and looking right at her. He had sandy hair and very smooth, tanned skin.

Her heart quickened. A boy was talking to her! M-my parents are mages. I learned from them, she murmured.

Both mages? My uncle’s an arithmancy mage for a big company in Texas. I might work with him someday. But flying is cool...can you do anything else? Like Beth and Jenna?

She scrunched up her nose. I d-don’t do illusion magic.

Mr. Bergstrom started class, and Durke migrated to his usual spot halfway across the room. Beth and Jenna looked between Mallory and Durke, mouths agape. What was all of that about? Mallory looked at her notebook, but her mind was reeling.

Attracting Attention

Mallory

After school, Mallory went back to Mr. Anders’ room and checked on the bat. The tiny creature was crawling across the bottom of the box. She reached in and stroked the brown fur on her back, then gave her a couple more flies.

The colony is probably up above the gymnasium, Mr. Anders said. I saw some gaps among the rafters and bracing for the basketball backboards. They must lead to the roof. I’ve noticed a few bats in that area recently.

Mallory nodded. She carefully covered the box and followed Mr. Anders down the hall.

That was a brave thing you did, catching the bat. Not at all squeamish, are you? He held open the stairwell door for her. They trudged up the stairs. Have you been flying a lot?

I’m getting practice so I can be a wildlife researcher.

Really? Have you had any lessons?

Yes, from my parents. Mallory said.

Why aren’t you on the Magic Track? Flying is a sought-after skill.

I just want to study biology and ecology, she said. Best not to say too much.

Mr. Anders used his binoculars to locate a likely site for the bat colony. They climbed up the stairs to the gymnasium roof, and he pointed to a hole in the building.

Mallory opened the box and put her hand inside. The bat crawled onto the back of her hand. Its little claws tickled her skin and gave her goosebumps. She lifted her hand, and the bat fluttered around and attached herself to the ponytail band of her braid. She laughed and showed her braid to Mr. Anders.

Looks like you’ve got a familiar now. he said.

She’d never heard of a bat familiar. Bitty little bat, your family is waiting. She lifted her braid, and the bat took flight, winging in a great arc before landing next to the hole and squeezing inside. At least one of them fit in someplace.

Thanks for your help, he said. I think you’ll be a talented researcher.

Mallory smiled.

ON HER WAY HOME, MALLORY stopped near the creek and set down her backpack. She rose a few inches and floated over the water, turning face down so she could watch the fish. She tossed her braid over her shoulder so it didn’t dip into the creek.

Sparkles flashed on the water as it burbled by. The cool air felt delicious. Yellowed leaves fell in spirals and cartwheeled along the shore and into the creek to be carried away by the current. A few of the little carp were still left from the spring, and they were getting plump on all the juicy mosquitoes. Mallory got the last fly from her pocket and touched the surface of the water with it to tempt one of them.

Is this where you practice flying?

Mallory whipped her head around and nearly fell out of the air. Durke was sitting not far away with his cellphone in his hand. Was he filming her? N-no. I mean, sometimes. She dropped the fly and turned upright, heading for shore. What are you d-doing here?

Um... I like to watch the dragonflies.

Really? She’d never seen him here before. I’ve seen lots of d-dragonflies around here. They’re p-pretty. A boy was talking to her! Again! She felt a little calmer once her feet touched the ground. She hefted her backpack onto her shoulders.

Sorry I startled you. Did you release the bat?

Y-yes. She didn’t know what else to say. When she felt nervous, she either clammed up or else blurted her feelings in a great rush. Goodbye. She walked away. Fast.

A minute later, she heard footsteps behind her. Durke matched his stride with hers. You don’t talk much, do you?

She looked sideways at him. Most people either didn’t seem interested in what she had to say or made fun of her. He’d never said anything mean to her, but he was friends with Beth and Jenna. And he didn’t live in this direction. Why are you walking this way and t-talking to me?

I’m studying magic, but I can’t fly or anything. So I wanted to ask you, what’s the secret?

She stopped and studied him for a moment. She didn’t see much of an aura, maybe a hint of red in those very blue eyes. You have a red aura, so you should start with fire magic. She started walking again.

He caught up with her. You can see auras? I thought only teachers could do that.

Oops. She’d said too much. Flying at school had been a mistake.

Fire, huh? Cool. I’ll have to look for fire spells to try.

They walked side by side in silence a few steps further, Mallory racking her brain for something to say. Before she could come up with something, Durke broke the silence. So what spells do you know—besides flying, I mean? What magic classes are you taking?

I’m n-not taking any magic classes. I learned magic at home so I could clean the house. I learned to fly to clean tall shelves. Boring, yet he was still looking at her.

I know Beth and Jenna are jerks to you. Why do you let them do that? You could put a spell on them or fly up and dive-bomb them, and I’ll bet they would leave you alone.

That’s n-not what magic is for. She bit the inside of her lip to keep from saying more.

But it’s for cleaning the house? You’ve got power. You should stand up for yourself.

I c-can’t, because— She couldn’t tell him. Mum warned her not to tell anyone. Her stomach twisted. "That’s not what magic is for." And with that, she flew away.

The Weirdest Girl

Durke

Durke shook his head as she flew off. Mallory was the weirdest girl. She looked so serious, and he could barely tell what she really looked like in that shapeless sweater and baggy pants. And that hair. Muppets had a better sense of style.

As far as he knew, she had no friends at school he could talk to. He’d never seen her hanging out with any group or walking to school with anybody. A quick run through social media produced no accounts for her on Twinkle, InstaMagic, SnapSpell, OKBroomer, or even SpellBook.

But now with that video, people were talking about her. So what was her deal? She could fly fast and even hover, but she only used magic to clean her house? What did she think magic was for?

Did he come on too strong somehow? Girls usually liked when he talked to them. He needed to talk to her again and win her over somehow as a friend. With her help, he’d get some real magic spells under his belt. If she could teach him to fly, he would be her new best buddy. No one ever told him he had an affinity for fire spells before. That was progress. If nothing else, talking with Mallory made Beth and Jenna jealous, and that was fun to watch.

He glimpsed something near the treetops. Huh. Was that her? Man, if he could do that, he wouldn’t walk anyplace.

The Maelstrom House

Mallory

Stupid, stupid, stupid . She’d sounded like a baby. That’s not what magic is for. She always sounded so stupid talking to boys. Not that she didn’t like them, she just couldn’t think of anything to say that didn’t sound dumb. And here a boy went out of his way to talk to her. Twice in one day! That had never happened before. Was he really interested in her, or was he just setting her up as a joke, like at her last school?

What she wanted to say was she couldn’t do magic at school without getting in trouble at home. Mum and Dad insisted she either do without magic in public or wear a magic inhibitor. Those gave her a headache. So she’d done without magic at school, even though it felt like tying one hand behind her back. Especially when it meant putting up with Beth and Jenna’s pranks. Durke wouldn’t understand. She wasn’t allowed to fight back.

She stayed just above the treetops and watched him turn and walk away. Then she pulled on her flying goggles, banked and sailed through the forest, following her familiar landmarks, and then dipped below the treetops to land at the garden gate in the forest clearing.

From here, the house looked like a Hansel and Gretel cottage with green wooden shutters and window boxes set inside a stone wall fence. Smoke curled up from the chimney. Leaves lay scattered about the patio in a patchwork of autumn—yellow and red from the maples and brown, curled ones from the oaks. Sparrows chattered in the trees but kept their distance. Mallory peeked in the mailbox, then spelled open the green wooden gate and stepped inside the yard, feeling the tickle of magic against her skin as the illusion broke and the wards let her pass.

The overcast sky was an eerie green. A dull roar announced the tornado of gray clouds that writhed about the house in a slow tempest, showing barely a glimpse of a window here, a patch of roof there. A few leaves and branches were caught in the slow revolution of the storm. Its name was the Maelstrom House.

Home sweet home.

Mallory adjusted her flying goggles and stepped through the clouds. The wind whipped her hair and clawed at her clothes. She fought her way forward in the murk, grasping a window box, then one of the living room shutters, and then hugging the side of the house until she found the front door. She pulled on the latch and shoved hard to open the door.

Hello? I’m home! she called, stepped inside and shouldered the door closed.

America’s Top Teen Wizard

Amber

Amber Amblyn clicked her pen nervously. The public couldn’t get enough of magic, and here she was on the bleeding edge of the trend.

Her rise to the top had been meteoric. She lucked into a job as segment producer on Robo-Dude, a cheesy superhero sitcom starring soon-to-be-famous teen heartthrob, Frisco Pitt. That entry on her CV led to a production assistantship on CSI: Charmed City, then a promotion to producer for a season on Wandsmoke, followed by an executive producer role on Cinders & Ashe, not to mention a directing role on the Emmy-nominated The Halls of Grimwarts.

But flying at the helm of a top-rated show was always a risk. Getting the gig as showrunner for America’s Top Teen Wizard had been a coup, but after four seasons at the top of the charts, the ratings had taken a small dip. Maybe it was the summer lull, but Amber didn’t want to leave it to chance. The show needed something to rekindle the public’s enthusiasm.

Amber clicked through the video clips sent to her by her staff. Some were digitally enhanced, and others were outright special effects or magic tricks, but once in a while, some real magic slipped through. After the initial rush of precocious teen applicants, pickings had been slim. Since ratings had been good, especially in the coveted eighteen to twenty-four demographic, the network was squeezing her for every last show. She needed people with a story who they could profile and interview and follow for thirteen episodes. The best possibility so far this season was a kid who could talk with cows. Not a lot of drama possibilities there.

Her ulcer twinged. Ugh! Ulcers, at her age. Might be a curse from her arch-rival at Wizflix. Amber popped an antacid tablet in her mouth and chased it down with black coffee. She needed an idea for the next season before her meeting with a marketing VP on Monday.

She pulled up the next video link from Cyndi, a cell phone video of a flying girl. The girl flew up to the ceiling to capture a bat—a bat!—with ease, then landed gracefully. Amber watched it twice more. No wires or trickery that she could see.

This she could use. The girl could fly well enough to pluck a bat out of the air. What else could she do? She could use help with grooming, makeup, a new hairdo, and certainly a new wardrobe, but why not make that part of the show?

Amber picked up her phone. Cyndi? I’m looking at the flying girl video you found, and I’m impressed. Can you contact the school where this was shot? I’ve got an idea on how we might spin this for the new season. ‘Ugly Duckling becomes Teen Swan.’

The Magic Track

Mallory

Mallory settled into her seat in first period English class on Monday and listened to the announcements. Principal Parrish talked about the Math Team finishing third at a tournament, and the cheerleading team competing the next weekend, and how everyone should show up to root for the cheerleaders. Beth raised her arms and waved so that everyone would know she was on the team. Mallory doodled a devil waving pom poms in her notebook.

"And I have a special announcement for all of you on the Magic Track. Pyewacket High School has been chosen to be featured on the next season of America’s Top Teen Wizard! We will hold auditions for the school team next Wednesday afternoon in the auditorium, so pick up a permission form and polish up your best spells in preparation. Have a good day in class!"

The class erupted in cheers. Since she wasn’t on the Magic Track, Mallory didn’t think much of it.

Dr. Duvall walked up to Mallory’s desk and handed her a hall pass. The principal wants to see you. Then she asked everyone else to turn to page 160 while Mallory packed up her backpack and walked out.

Was this for using magic at school? Mallory knew technically she shouldn’t use magic outside of a Magic Track class, and since she wasn’t in any of those classes, she really shouldn’t at all, but how else could she have caught the bat? Wasn’t that more important? She showed the monitor her pass and walked to the principal’s office. The receptionist pointed her to the conference room. She heard laughter and opened the door to find the principal sitting at a large conference table with a tall man who had very white teeth.

"Mallory? Come in. Please have a seat. This is Fred Woodman, a producer for America’s Top Teen Wizard. They will film here at the school soon, and we wanted to let you know what to expect as the starring member of the school’s team."

Expect? She wasn’t expecting anything except a reprimand for using magic in school. And starring—how? She wasn’t in the Spellbinders, the school’s magic club. She wasn’t in the Magic Track classes. Why on earth would he think she was on the team? But sir, I’m not—

"The producers saw your video online and chose our school as a result, so of course you’ll be on the team! This is such an honor for our school, I can’t even tell you, Fred."

Fred Woodman’s smile was as white as a shark’s. Mallory stared.

Mr. Parrish went on, "Now, Mallory, I know you’re not currently in the Magic Track, so I’ve already talked to the department about getting you up to speed with the classes. Someone with strong magical talent like yours needs to be nurtured! Here’s a copy of your new class schedule, and you can ask the receptionist for copies of your new textbooks."

A new schedule? Different classes? Mallory felt a bit panicked. She’d have a different routine? And she’d be a month behind. She hated being disorganized, and this sounded like chaos. But I like my classes. I’ve read all the textbooks. Why do I—

"I’m sure you’ll love learning more about magic in your new classes. Principal Parrish said. Fred, you said you would like to interview Mallory soon for the show?"

I’ve never even seen the show. Mallory had a deer-in-the-headlights feeling. They weren’t giving her a choice in any of this. We don’t own a TV. I’m not sure my parents—

Mr. Woodman waved away her concerns. "Yes, we’ll be talking with your parents to go over the contract and make sure they’re on board with everything. Dave, this is a tremendous opportunity for the school and the entire town. Schools featured on America’s Top Teen Wizard see a jump in enrollment, and towns see a jump in tourism. I think you’ll agree that this school and this town could use a shot in the arm. Mallory, the entire town will get behind you and your team as you compete for our full-ride college scholarships!"

Wait. Scholarships? She could go to college for free? Maybe even Wiscatonic University, The Flamel Institute in Paris, or possibly even the revered Abe no Seimei Academy of Onmyoji in Kyoto? Maybe she could graduate early and go straight into college after this year. Mum and Dad might go along with the idea if she had a full-ride scholarship. Maybe. I’ll have to talk about it with my parents.

Fine, fine. I look forward to meeting them. Just fill out this form and we can get started. There were those shark teeth again. Mallory had nothing against sharks. Shark attack books were mostly hype. But something about Fred Woodman made her very nervous.

Mallory looked at the permission form. My parents have to look this over. She folded it up and put it in her backpack.

Mr. Woodman’s smile dimmed a bit.

Mr. Parrish jumped up and darted out of the room.

Magic that smelled like anise tickled Mallory’s nose. She sneezed.

Bless you. Mr. Woodman brought his shark smile back online. Now she could see his pink aura. Did he use illusion magic to make his teeth so white? So tell me about yourself, Mallory. How long have you been learning magic? And what’s your specialty?

She fidgeted. I was homeschooled in magic. I like to fly, but I want to study wildlife.

He stroked his chin. Why don’t you want to study air magic and weather working? Plenty of job opportunities for weather mages.

She mumbled, I like nature.

He wrote something on his legal pad. I know being on a show can bring upheaval into your life. We will do what we can to minimize the disruption to you and your friends.

I don’t really have any friends, Mallory whispered. She felt strange saying it aloud, like that made it real somehow. She had her animals and her notebooks for company at home, but she rarely heard her own voice at school. It was like being invisible. Unless someone was making fun of her, almost no one except teachers bothered talking with her until she’d caught the bat.

His grin grew wider. Well, maybe this will change that. You could get popular, become famous, and have lots of new friends.

Mallory wasn’t interested in becoming famous. Being popular might be interesting. Friends would be really nice. So would getting out of this school and going away to college.

Mr. Parrish stepped back in the room. Mallory, we’re contacting your parents right now to bring them up to speed. Why don’t you head to your new first class, and we’ll be back in touch a little later today, hm? Fred, you said you wanted to discuss arrangements for your crew here at the school?

She didn’t bother telling him they would have trouble contacting her parents. Even she had trouble getting through to them sometimes.

THE FIRST CLASS ON her new schedule was Alchemy. Well, maybe that wasn’t so bad. Hopefully she wouldn’t be in classes with Beth and Jenna anymore. She looked through the AP Chemistry textbook on the way to the classroom. This class seemed based more on science than strict alchemy. Spending an entire term trying to turn other things into gold sounded boring. Learning chemistry sounded much more interesting.

She climbed the stairs of the Arcane Tower to room 313. Mr. Holmes, an elegant African-American man in a lab coat, was demonstrating a chemical heat reaction. He gave her a little wave as she walked in. She recognized a few people, including Durke and Jenna. Ugh. She still had to deal with Jenna? Mallory waited until the exothermic demo finished.

All right, turn to page sixty in your workbook and let’s get started on the lab. I’ll be passing out the chemicals shortly. He turned to her with a warm grin and handed her a piece of paper. Hi, Mallory, I heard you’ll be joining the class. Here’s a copy of the link to the class syllabus and our online classroom passcode. I see you have the textbook and workbook already. Take a seat at the lab table back by the window, next to Durke and Jenna.

With everyone’s eyes on her, she ducked her head and walked to the back of the room.

Jenna scowled as she sat at their table.

Hey, Mallory. So you’re in this class now too? That’s cool. Durke smiled. Was he being sarcastic?

Mallory frowned. The principal just changed all of my classes to the Magic Track.

Lucky us. Jenna sneered.

Why did he change your classes? Durke asked.

Because I’m going to be on the Magic Team, he said. I just met someone from the show in the principal’s office.

Durke and Jenna looked at each other wide-eyed.