Short Story - Why Are There Wizards in my Coffee Table?
By Riya Roylance
Look, I didn't mean to explode my house. Not at all-that accident rests entirely upon the
shoulders of the wizards that live in my coffee table.
My Saturday to-do list consisted of me, the couch, and Netflix. Notice how there were
absolutely zero mentions of houses exploding on the list. Seemed practically perfect, am I right?
Well, life-or should I say wizards?-has a way of throwing a wrench in even the most perfect
plans.
How exactly did my house explode? How are there wizards in my coffee table? All valid
questions. Much to my displeasure, I remember the day of the explosion well.
My brother had an all-day baseball tournament, hours away, and my parents were going
to watch, leaving me home alone.
I was about to turn on my favorite show when my dad entered the room, a bag packed
with snacks for the day in his hand.“Mattie, I need your help to grab something out of my car before we leave for the
tournament.”
“What's in your trunk?” I asked, not even taking my eyes off the TV screen.
“Uh, it's a table. Picked it up from your Great Aunt Alice. She's moving into a retirement
home, but insisted I take this table. It's a family heirloom of some kind … but you know how she
is.”
It was a miracle that Aunt Alice could still talk, I had always thought that the
overwhelming scent of cat pee from her house would've caused her permanent brain damage.
Knowing her, this table was probably a refined scratch post, held together by crochet yarn and
denture glue.
Reluctantly, I got up and walked outside, my eyes immediately catching the sight of a
U-Haul truck parked at the house on the other side of the street. Moving trucks meant new
neighbors. I tried to spot anybody who might be moving in, but all I saw was several sweaty men
unloading boxes.
Oh well.
My dad opened up the trunk of the van to reveal a dark wood table, partially covered by a
large handmade quilt, consisting of various patterns of kittens playing. I lifted the corner of the
quilt up to try and get a better peak at the table. In doing so, my fingers brushed against the
wood.
Screams filled my ears. I clamped my hands down over my ears and took a big step back.
Instantly, the screaming stopped.
“Mattie, are you all right?” My dad asked.
I blinked hard, trying to focus past the ringing in my ears. “D-did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“The table-” I muttered. “I heard…”
My dad gave me a quick smile. “The faint sound of meows in the distance? I’m pretty
sure there’s a million cat ghosts haunting this thing.”
He adjusted the quilt to cover all the table. Still a little bit dazed, I followed his
instructions without saying anything. What had just happened? Why had I heard screaming? Was
it just my overactive imagination at work, or was there something up with the table?
These thoughts swirled through my mind as I helped maneuver the table-which weighed
about a ton and a half-into the living room. I was extra careful not to touch the wood again.
Whatever it was that had happened to me, it didn't seem to happen when I grasped the table
while it was covered in the quilt.
By the time my dad and I had positioned the table awkwardly in the living room, my
mom and brother had made it downstairs and were waiting by the door. My brother, Will, was
wearing his bright red baseball jersey that clashed horribly with his ginger hair.
“Mattie, you sure you don’t wanna come watch me play? What if I hit a home run and
you’re not there?”
“I told you, I’ve got homework to do. Lots of homework and boring high school stuff.”
Honestly, I could only handle a couple minutes being around Will and his fellow prepubescent
teammates before it felt like my brain was sloshing around in a tub full of Legos. And, I did need
to do that chemistry assignment…
My mom hugged me. “Please, Matilda, stay safe. Get your work done, and call us if you
need anything. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“I know, Mom, I know.”My mom ushered Will out to the car. My dad gave me a quick side hug before following
them. “Try not to burn the house down while we’re gone, eh?”
I laughed, but now, looking back on that, it was no laughing matter. The wizards made
sure of that.
Anyways, as soon as I heard the sound of the car pulling out of the driveway, I made my
way straight to the quilt-covered table. I ripped off the blanket, paying extra heed to not make
direct contact with the wood.
With its covering off, I could fully see what a beautifully made table was, and I’m no
table expert. It was two feet tall, made of a rich, dark wood. On the legs were carved tangled and
twisting vines of ivy. Along the table edges were designs of various tiny swords and shields. On
the top was the most impressive feature; etched into the wood was a large, grand tree, its
countless branches making up a dense canopy, with roots going deep into the ground.
Wow. It had a weird ancient, powerful feel to it. But, even with all of that, it was still just
a table. A family heirloom, perhaps, but definitely not magic. Right?
I was having a hard time convincing myself of that when the memory of the screams
filled my head. If this was just a regular old table, where did all of the screams come from?
There was only one way to find out, and just because I knew it didn’t mean I liked it. It
felt like I stood there for ages, having a silent staring contest with an inanimate object.
Finally accepting that I was probably as crazy as Aunt Alice, I reached my hand out and
placed it on the carving of the tree.
Instantly, my ears were filled with sounds of screams and shouts, and clangs of metal on
metal, almost like swords. It was so loud I could feel my jaw rattling. My mind was flooded withfeelings of intense anger and hatred that I was sure wasn’t mine. Any thoughts I might have had
were blocked and replaced by intense agony.
I gathered all the strength I could and wrenched my hand off the table. I fell back onto my
couch, breathing heavily, ears ringing.
No way that had just happened. Was I going insane? Even my imagination didn’t work
like that. It felt as if the world's most powerful speakers were blaring a heavy metal concert
straight into my ears.
Just from touching a table.
Soon, the ringing in my ears faded into a new sound, the ring of the doorbell.
In a bit of a daze, my mind swimming, I stood up and opened the door.
Now, I know that answering the door while being home alone goes against basically
everything parents teach their kids. My mind was so scrambled I wasn’t thinking straight at all.
Standing in the doorway, much to my complete surprise, was an extremely good-looking
teenage boy. And when I say good-looking, I mean it. He had golden blond hair in an attractive
mess of curls on his head. He had a big smile, exposing pearly white teeth that were a stark
contrast to his sun-tanned skin.
“Hi,” he said, sticking out his hand. “My name is Charlie. My family just moved across
the street, and I figured I’d come and introduce myself. Frankly, I’m just relieved there’s
someone around my age on this street, as I’m not looking forward to starting school on Monday.”
I hardly understood anything he said, because the second I looked into his stormy blue
eyes, my already confused brain basically turned to mush.
“I-I …” I struggled to find my words. What was my name again? “I’m Mattie … that’s
short for Matilda.” I shook his hand, painfully aware of how stupid I probably looked comparedto him. I had planned to binge TV all day, so as such I was wearing sweatpants and one of my
dad’s old t-shirts, my hair in a messy braid that I had slept in the previous night. He wore cargo
shorts, a nice blue t-shirt depicting a band, and a wood bead necklace.
He smiled again. “Mattie. Cool. I was gonna ask if-”
What he was going to ask, I’m not sure, since I didn’t give him the chance to finish his
question before I blurted out, “Hey, would you like to come inside for a quick second?”
I don’t know what possessed me to say it. If I was in my right mind, I don’t think I
would’ve managed to even get a word out to Charlie, but the strangeness of the table had clearly
fried all of my reasoning. All I knew was that I needed another person to touch that table and
verify if I was crazy or not.
He blinked. “Um, sure?” There was a hint of apprehension in his voice, and I didn’t
blame him. A crazy lady invited him inside. Wild.
I left the door open and hurried over to the table. After a couple seconds of confusion, I
heard him follow me.
“Nice table,” he commented.
I nodded, but I couldn't have disagreed with him more. “Place your hand on the table.”
“What?”
“J-just touch it. Please.”
Charlie eyed me warily, and I knew I was probably not giving a good first impression of
the neighborhood. He seemed willing to humor me, though, and so he put his hand right on the
tree carving.
Nothing happened. “So…”
My heart sank. If he didn’t hear anything, maybe I was going crazy. I looked down at the
table’s designs, not wanting to see the confused look on his face. “I’m sorry. This probably
seems really weird. Just-” My eyes caught on something. Etched into one of the roots were the
words Potens Cantatio. What was that?
Charlie took a couple steps back, clearly uncomfortable. “Um, well it was nice to meet
you, Mattie, but I should be heading home. See you-”
I barely listened to him. Reading those words had caused a hum in my ears. Something
was happening. “Potens Cantatio,” I whispered.
Suddenly, the branches on the tree began to glow. I took a step back in alarm. The table
started to shake, and it began to emit a low humming noise.
“Mattie, what’s happening?” Charlie asked.
Good question. I had no idea. Sparks began to shoot out of the table, reminding me of
Fourth of July. The colors continually changed like it was trying to throw up a rainbow. Before I
could do anything, Charlie tackled me down, pulling me behind my couch. I’m grateful he did,
because at that moment a large flash of white filled the room, bright enough that I’m sure I
would’ve been blinded by directly looking at it. The sound of firecrackers accompanied the light,
so loud Charlie and I clamped our hands down over our ears in unison.
Then came the silence. I didn’t dare look up. Instead, I locked eyes with Charlie, who
looked just as scared as I felt. His mouth was open slightly and he just stared, shocked, back at
me.
From across the room, I heard a groan, and my body tensed. Who was that? Charlie’s
hand grabbed my arm, trying to stop me, but I still managed to peek over the couch.
Two old men were in my living room.One of looked like your textbook wizard, with long, grey hair and beard, green robes, and
a gnarled wood staff. The other looked much more terrifying. His bald head glimmered with
sweat, and he had a much shorter black beard, styled in a sharp point. His robes shimmered from
black to red.
For a brief second, they stood still, evidently dazed. Then Mr. Gandalf moved quickly,
swinging his staff hard into the other’s gut. Ouch. The red-robed man fell to the floor. Green
robes lowered his staff to Evil Dude’s throat.
“What did you do, Marak?”
The man on the floor-Marak-still looked dazed. I was too, surveying all the damage
that had happened to this room. My living room was a complete, exploded mess. How did the
TV get stuck in the ceiling? If my parents got home to see this, I knew I’d be grounded for life.
After the explosion, the only thing that remained solid and unburnt was the coffee table. How
was that fair?
“I did nothing, though I won’t complain about the change of scenery,” Mr. Scary Robes
said with a smirk.
“Marak, you liar! How else did we escape?”
The man in red looked directly at me. “Her.”
Charlie’s grip on my arm tightened even more, but I knew there was no use in ducking
back down since I now had two sets of angry old men’s eyes staring right at me.
The first wizard turned to look at me, and Marak took that as an opportunity to sit up.
“Did you let us go?” The man asked me.
“I-I … maybe…?” My voice was almost as shaky as my body.
Gandalf-Twin swung back toward Marak. “You better not move while I talk to her.”
Marak’s hands went up defensively. “Aw, you know me, Kayd, I would never do such a
thing.”
Kayd rolled his eyes and walked in my direction. “Miss, I'm sorry about this. But … Why
was the tree in your house?”
“Tree? You guys just burst out of my table!” I exclaimed, gesturing to where the table
stood, annoyingly unscathed.
Kayd clicked his tongue. “The tree must've been turned into a table. Have you perchance
heard of a king named Greyson Hill?”
I frowned. “No … but my last name is Hill.
He ran a hand through his hair. “Oh my. This is rather difficult to process. Well, my name
is Kayd and it's a pleasure to meet you, young lady. Oh, and who might you be?”
His question was directed at Charlie, who had finally stood up next to me. He had been
so quiet, I had almost forgotten he was there.
“My name is Charlie,” he said. “What's going on?”
“Good question, young sir, but I'm afraid I'll have to answer it shortly after I deal with
Marak.”
Marak stood up and dusted off his robes. “Well, well, well. Kayd, we’re not in our time
anymore. You've got no king or army to back you up this time. So, no, I don't think I'm going to
comply anymore. I think”-a crazy fire dashed in his eyes-“it's time for me to have some fun.”
“Marak, no!” Kayd dove for Marak, but with a loud crack, Marak had disappeared. Kayd
fell hard into a pile of rubble that had once been a bookshelf.Kayd cursed and got to his feet, but I could hardly believe what I had just seen. One
second, I’m looking at this table from my crazy great-aunt, and the next, my living room is in
shambles, and two old wizard guys are fighting and teleporting.
Charlie looked at me. “You’re seeing this too, right, Mattie?”
I nodded. I didn’t trust my voice, especially with him staring at me.
“Where in the world did you get a table like that?” he asked.
“My great-aunt. But I had no clue that it would do all of this,” I said, spreading my arms
wide to gesture at the remains of the living room.
“I’m sorry, young ones, but I must stop Marak. I don’t think you’re aware of the amount
of damage he can do.”
“Well, hey, how about we help you?” Charlie offered.
“What?” Kayd and I asked in unison.
No way.
Help this crazy guy hunt down another teleporting weirdo? Didn’t seem like the best use
of my last few hours of life before my parents killed me for wrecking the house.
Charlie seemed a little surprised with himself for offering, but he continued. “You’re
gonna need help navigating, right?”
“Ah, no. I’m sorry, it’s much too dangerous for me to bring inexperienced youth. Marak
has wiped out armies before, he won’t hesitate to hurt you two.” Kayd gave a sad smile. “Thank
you for the offer. Now, before I go, do either of you know where one might go to get energy in
your time?”
“What?”
“After centuries of being trapped within that tree-or table-Marak would not have
enough energy to go far. Frankly, I have no energy either. So, where would one go to get
energy?”
Charlie looked at me for an answer. I racked my brain. “Well, the supermarket has a lot of
energy drinks.”
Kayd frowned. “I’m not familiar with these energy drinks.”
“Drinks that are full of caffeine and other stuff. They kinda make you hyper, but can
really pump you up.”
“Marak is in need of energy, so that sounds like the place to go. Goodbye.” Kayd picked
up his staff and marched toward the door. Then he paused. “Do you happen to know where to
locate this supermarket?”
Charlie shrugged. “Sorry, I just moved in. But Mattie probably does.”
Kayd sighed and turned to face me. “I don’t wish to endanger you, but would you help
guide me there? We must move quickly.”
Both of their eyes were on me, and I felt my face burn. “No, no, no. I can’t leave now. I
can’t go, I … Well, just look what happened to my house!”
“I’m sorry to sound harsh, but if Marak remains loose, you’ll have much bigger things to
worry about than an exploded room.”
I shook my head. No. I was not ready to leave my destroyed house to go and fight some
ultra-evil magic guy. I was not qualified in any way to do such a thing, and I had no desire. I
mean, did I want to be helpful? Yes, of course, but not when it came to wizards.
“C’mon, Mattie, we’ve gotta help.” Charlie looked at me, pleading.Why did he want to help so badly? Probably wanted to be all heroic and stuff. But
looking at him made my resolve weaken. I couldn’t believe it. “Fine,” I mumbled, “I’ll drive.”
Charlie gave me a warm smile. Kayd asked, “How exactly do people travel nowadays?”
“By car,” Charlie said, his smile widening. “Man, this might be a little wild for you.”
Kayd did not look pleased with the news. “Well, lead the way, Miss Hill.”
All I had planned to do that day was relax. But-for some strange reason-I was
agreeing to help. Maybe the explosion had caused some kind of permanent brain damage in my
mind. Still, Marak needed to be found, so I reached into my pocket and pulled out my car keys.
What was I doing?
Within 10 minutes, I was driving to the supermarket. Charlie sat in the passenger seat and
Kayd sat in the back. From Kayd’s constant glances out the window, I could tell he was
uncomfortable, but he seemed willing to push it aside for the ride.
“Of all the people to be neighbors with, I end up with a girl with an exploding table. This
is a crazy first day,” Charlie breathed.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” I warned. “This is probably the most boring town in the world
… when wizards aren’t involved.”
He laughed. “I think this will make up for all the boredom.”
“What exactly did you do to release us?” Kayd asked.
“I don’t know … there were some words inscribed on the table, and I just read them out
loud.” I furrowed my brows. “I think it was something like ‘Protein can-’”
“Potens Cantatio? That’s very peculiar …” he trailed off.
“What’s peculiar?” Charlie asked, echoing my own thoughts.“First, let me back up. Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, to the time of Greyson Hill.
His father, the king, sent him away at a young age to be raised by fairies, satyrs, and other magic
folk, which is how I met the boy. The king died when Grayson was only sixteen, making him
ruler at a very young age. On his journey back to the kingdom, he was ambushed by a fleet of
trolls, led by Marak, who wished to rule. Luckily, I managed to intervene and save the boy’s life.
In making the attempt on the new king’s life, Marak started a war. An army of orcs, spiders, and
trolls versus one of brave knights, elves, fairies, and nature spirits. It was brutal and
neverending.”
I was so caught up in Kayd’s story that I didn’t notice the green light until a car honked at
me. Fairies, satyrs, orcs-why not?
Kayd seemed to be in deep reflection, hand stroking his beard in thoughtfulness.
“Uh, what happened next?” I pressed.
“Ah, yes. Many years passed, and war continued. The new king, now a strapping twenty
year old, hadn’t known peace at any point of his reign. Our army was good, but so was theirs.
Both sides had wizards-which, being modest, are the most powerful magical beings-so it was
hard to deal any real damage. So I eventually decided what needed to happen. This war couldn’t
go on forever, so I challenged Marak to a duel, to the death. One of us would have to die for any
progress to be made.
“Marak agreed to my challenge. We dueled, soldiers on both sides watching. I decided to
use a very powerful spell, Potens Cantatio, unaware that Marak had planned the same. Out spells
collided midair, and the resulting magic encased Marak and me in a tree together. Marak has
spent every day since trying to escape, and I’ve spent it preventing him because I knew thatwhile he was in a tree, he wasn’t causing damage outside. At some point, I believe the tree was
chopped down and made into a table. And I would say you know the rest.”
My head was spinning with information as I pulled into the parking lot of the
supermarket. I had somehow done magic to release the wizards, which included an evil wizard
who tried to kill my ancestor. Had the fighting that I had heard when I touched the table been the
sounds of Kayd and Marak?
Kayd’s explanation left me with almost more questions than answers. I didn’t have much
time to ponder my questions, because as soon as I parked the car, I heard screams. Floods of
people ran out of the store.
“Marak is most certainly here. If he’s able to cause this much chaos, he’s probably found
a way to get his energy up.” Kayd’s face grew grim. “Thanks for your help thus far, but you need
to stay out of the way. Farewell.” He took off running towards the store. He was surprisingly fast
for an old man.
Charlie unbuckled himself and reached for the door handle.
“What are you doing?” I asked. “Kayd told us to stay put.”
“Kayd’s gonna need our help. Let’s go and see what we can do.” With that, Charlie
exited.
Great. Now, he probably thought I was a coward. Not good. I wasn’t a coward, I just
followed instructions. Kayd told us to stay put, so clearly he could handle Marak alone. Right?
I could see Charlie in the rearview mirror, pushing through the crowd of screaming,
frantic people to get in the store. Charlie might need my help. It couldn’t hurt to try, I guess.
Unless it resulted in Marak exploding me all across the store. But I tried to push that thought
away. I took the keys out of the ignition and ran after Charlie.As soon as I managed to slip through the crowd and into the store, I could tell where
Marak was. The light above aisle seven flashed and crackled like a plasma sphere. And aisle
seven just so happened to be the aisle for energy drinks.
I saw Charlie crouching in aisle six, looking like he was trying to stay hidden from the
wizards. I joined him.
“Mattie, you sure were right about the energy drinks. Smart thinking.”
I felt my cheeks grow hot. Not the time for getting flustered. I directed my attention away
from Charlie. Instead, I peered around the edge of the aisle to catch a glimpse of the wizards.
In the middle of the aisle stood Marak, chugging a can of an energy drink. There was a
pile of cans at his feet. He looked up at Kayd, who was standing a few feet away. Marak had an
energy drink dribbling down his face and into his beard. His eyes were glowing and he was
shaking slightly.
“Hello, once more, Kayd! I see you’ve found me, but jokes on you! I am now more
powerful than ever before!” He held up his hand, and I saw little lightning bolts coming off of it.
Kayd grabbed a can off the shield and drank it quickly. He looked ready to puke, but his
eyes also began to glow. “Oh, Miss Hill really was right about these drinks.”
“Hill? As in my old friend Grayson? You don’t mean to tell me that the girl … oh that’s
just delightful. I had hoped to kill Grayson Hill, but I guess his descendant will be good enough.
First, I need to take care of you.”
Kayd waved his hand. Suddenly, in the aisle, the table had appeared. “Marak, you’ve had
your fun, but now it’s time to return to where you belong.” He pointed his staff at Marak and
began to say “Potens canta-” but was interrupted by Marak’s cry of “Not again!”Marak lifted his hand and shot a bolt of lightning directly into Kayd’s chest. Kayd fell
backwards and crashed into the shelf, knocking all the cans down.
“No!” I shouted.
Marak’s eyes landed on me. “Ha, with Kayd taken care of, there’s nobody here to protect
you, little girl.”
Marak pointed his finger at me, and I watched the lightning condense around his fingers.
I couldn’t take my eyes off of Kayd’s limp body. I couldn’t move.
Charlie grabbed me and pulled me aside just as a bolt of lightning came for me. We ran
around and hid behind the next shelf. Charlie had just saved my life. My heart beated fast. What
had I gotten myself into? I knew I should’ve stayed in the car.
If Kayd was knocked out-I refused to think he was dead-then there was no way we
could defeat Marak.
“Holy cow. Oh my.” Charlie’s voice was panicked. “Okay, okay. We’ve gotta do
something. But what?”
“Kayd … no way. It’s not possible.” I hardly knew what I was saying. My brain was so
empty it was a miracle I was getting words out.
Charlie grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. “Mattie, we’ve got to focus.
How do we stop Marak?”
“I-I don’t know,” I stuttered. “Kayd tried, but Marak interrupted him before he finished
his spell.”
“Spell? What spell?”
“The powerful one. Potens Cantatio. But Marak stopped him.”
“That means Kayd thought that the spell would stop Marak. So we’ve got to try it.”“But neither of us …” I noticed Charlie watching me intently. “No. Charlie, I can't do
magic like that.”
“Clearly you can. You’ve already done it, you released them. Kayd summoned the table
here, so maybe he thought the spell would put Marak back.” A lightning bolt struck right above
our heads, exploding a package of Cheetos.
Charlie grabbed my hands and pulled me into a different aisle. “C’mon, Mattie. You can
do this. We need to stop Marak.”
My mind was numb. If Kayd couldn’t defeat Marak, how could Charlie possibly expect
me to try? All I could do was stare at my hands, which Charlie was still holding. He gave them a
little squeeze.
Lightning bolts began to strike the ceiling, coming from a few rows over. But my mind
began to clear. If I didn’t try, then Kayd’s sacrifice would have been for nothing.
I had to do something.
“Okay. Charlie. You need to distract Marak. But stay safe, please. I’ll go around the other
side and cast the spell. I-I really hope it’ll work, no guarantees.”
Charlie gave me a quick smile. “It’ll work. Trust me.”
He let go of my hands and ran towards the sight of all the lightning. I ran there too, but on
the opposite side of the aisles. Somehow, unbelievably, I found myself smiling.
Even if we ended up dying, Charlie had held my hand.
I pushed that thought aside as I reached Marak’s row. I peeked my head around the
corner, and saw that he was facing my direction, still downing more energy drinks. All the way
across from me, I watched Charlie jump into view.“Hey, oldie! How does it feel knowing you’re gonna get your butt whipped by teenagers
again, just like with Grayson Hill?”
I watched Marak’s eyes flash with anger. He threw aside the empty cans and whirled
around to face Charlie. “I don’t even know who you are, boy, but that won’t stop me from giving
you the same fate as dear old Kayd.”
He raised his hands, but before he managed to attack, Charlie grabbed a stuffed unicorn
off a shelf and chucked it at Marak. I watched it soar and Marak caught it. He paused for a
moment to look at it.
“A unicorn? Really?” Marak held it out and it burst into flames. “Nice try, boy.” Marak
muttered something that sounded like gibberish, and a circle of fire formed around Charlie. It
was only about two feet tall, so Charlie jumped over it. He landed, and motioned for me to get
going.
Right. I was supposed to be doing magic.
Somehow.
“Now, boy, that just isn’t kind. I’m supposed to be killing that girl, and you’re just being
annoying.” He lifted his hands again. The flames grew higher. “So do me a favor and stay put.”
Charlie was cornered. The fire circle was behind him, and it was too tall for him to jump
over now. I couldn’t bear to see Charlie face the same fate as Kayd.
“Potens Cantatio!” I shouted.
Marak screamed. “No!”
A couple rows away, the table flew high up into the air. It began to glow, and so did
Marak. He was lifted into the air too, and the table zoomed for him. As soon as he made contact
with it, he vanished.The table fell to the ground. Charlie and I both ran towards it.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
His hair was sweaty and his clothes were a little singed from the flames. “I’m fine. But
that was amazing, Mattie! We did it!”
I nodded, but I didn’t feel like celebrating. Not yet. “We need to find Kayd.”
We ran back to the energy drink aisle. Kayd’s crumpled body remained exactly as we had
left it. I kneeled next to him. Charlie helped me turn his body over. His beard was soaked from
one of Marak’s half-drank cans.
“Kayd?”
His eyelids fluttered open. “M-Miss Hill? What … what happened?”
Relief filled my body. “Charlie and I got Marak back in the table.”
Charlie smiled. “Mostly Mattie. I just was the decoy, she did all the magic.”
“You did the spell?” Kayd asked. “Well done, my dear.”
I sighed. I had done the spell. We did it. “It was all because of Charlie that I was able to
do it though.”
His cheeks reddened slightly. “I’m sure you both were amazing,” Kayd agreed. “But we
really need to get that table back to your house, Mattie.”
We helped Kayd up. He looked over at the destruction in the store. “Those energy drinks.
They sure are something, eh?”
I rushed Kayd and Charlie home. On the way, we passed the police, who seemed to be
zooming for the supermarket. They’d probably be surprised to see it restored, all thanks to Kayd
and his energy drink-induced magic boost.Much to my pleasure, he gave my house the same treatment. I watched as my destroyed
living room put itself back together, pieces zooming back into place. Every single shard of wood
returned to its original location. My discarded chemistry homework floated back onto the coach,
and, to my surprise, all the answers were filled in.
Ah. I love magic.
Charlie and I had carried the table back inside. Something was off. It was still shaking
slightly, which I had learned was not a good sign.
“Kayd, do you see this?” I asked.
He glanced over, and his shoulders slumped. “It is as I feared. Without me there to
prevent him, Marak will soon be able to escape on his own. I must return to the table.”
“Seriously?” Charlie shook his head. “That’s not fair. There’s got to be another way.”
“I’m afraid it is not so. But thank you two for providing me with a fun little break. I’ve
enjoyed our time together. And I trust you two to be responsible guardians of this table.” He
looked at me. “Grayson would be proud of you, Miss Hill. I can tell. Would you do the honors?”
I swallowed. “It was nice knowing you, Kayd. I-I hope I can see you later.”
He gave us a small, sad smile. “Yes, that would be nice.”
Charlie gave a little wave. “Potens Cantatio,” I said.
In a blink, Kayd was sucked back into the table. Charlie and I were left standing alone in
my newly restored living room. Charlie broke the silence. “Y’know, I can’t believe that I actually
agreed to go into your house. If my mom knew, she would kill me.”
I laughed. “Well, I’m just as surprised that I invited you in. But I’m glad I did. I think
Marak would still be running rampant if not for you.”He waved my comment away. “Not at all. I was only there to provide motivation.”
Charlie turned to look at me. “But, hey, after all that, you think you’d be up to show me around
school on Monday? It’ll be my first day, y’know.”
“After facing a maniac wizard, you’re worried about high school?”
“Well, I’m not worried if you’ll be there to help me.”
My cheeks grew hot again. “For sure.”
Charlie looked at his watch. “I probably should head home. See you Monday, Mattie.
Thanks for the adventure.”
I looked down at the table. “Hey, if my brother ever misbehaves, I know a great way to
get him back. You think releasing Marak for a couple minutes could teach him a lesson?”
Charlie left my house still laughing. It wasn’t even that funny of a joke, but I think we
were both so exhausted we would’ve laughed at anything. Once Charlie was gone, I was finally
by myself.
I couldn’t believe the events of the past couple of hours. To think that I had started the
day off just planning to binge TV … I stared at the delicate carvings on the table, amazed at the
trouble it had caused me.. All because I heard the screams coming from it.
Would the screams still happen? Both of the wizards were trapped again, so why not?
Curious, I reach my hand out and set it against the wood. I braced myself for screams, but
instead, Kayd’s warm voice echoed through my mind.
“Hello, Miss Hill.”
