Shattering Crystals

"What? What does he know?" I ask, my voice rising in volume and pitch.

"About... you." The boy answers for himself this time, his voice deep but quiet. It’s not out of shyness, but rather intimidation.

"Who is he, Lynda?" Lorraine asks, a sort of frightened look on her face.

Lynda bites her lip. "Wessley. My... my boyfriend." She shuts her mouth like the word feels strange on her tongue. Then she absently cracks her knuckles, just as she always does.

"And you tell him?" Elise shrieks. "Don't you know how important this all is?" Lynda shifts her gaze to the marble floor. Of course Elise would be the one to freak out first - her life on Earth wasn't exactly the best, and a new life is what really appeals to her.

"He won't tell anyone." Lynda doesn't seem too sure of herself.

"Yeah. Why would I tell anyone anyways?" Wessley says, but no one seems to listen to him, really.

"What do you think is going to happen, anyways?" Lorraine asks her voice hushed and intense. "Are we just going to take him back to the magical world, a world where he doesn't truly belong?"

"Seems like you're taking Connor," Lynda mutters in response. Connor flinches a bit, and I reach for his hand.

"That's... different," Cody says in defense. "He's my brother and I sure as hell wouldn't leave him behind."

"Not different by much," Lynda protests. "It can't hurt to bring him along with us, can it?"

"No," I admit after a second. "As long as he keeps the secret."

"How do we know if we can trust him?" Elise says. "He isn't one of us."

"And neither is Connor, truly," Lorraine says. "But I trust him."

"It's different," Elise retorts, "like Cody said."

"I just don't want to be a part of all this," Ashlee says somewhere in the background. She has never been one of the more outspoken in our group. "Just figure something out, please. I don't like fighting." She shakes her head and slowly heads upstairs to her room.

"Let him stay," I say, containing my anger at Lynda and trying to think rationally. “If he knows, we have to keep him somewhere that we can watch him, make sure he doesn’t tell.” Elise glares at me but doesn't say anything, knowing that I have more power over decisions than her. Even though I really didn't go anything to get the power...

"Are - are you for real?" Lynda says. "That would be amazing."

I notice Dean slip out of the room out of the corner of my eye - he doesn't like fighting either. I watch him slowly leave before answering.

"Yes," I say. "Unless he does something to betray us all... then that's it."

"What would happen?" Lynda asks fearfully.

"You don't need to know," Lorraine says, smiling devilishly. I really don’t know what she has in mind, and something tells me I don’t really want to know.

Wessley being here makes me feel uneasy, like something is off, wrong. But I can't deny Lynda him. I know that even if Connor wasn't related to Cody in any way, I'd still take him with me. And I don’t think hypocrisy is right.

"Does he know the whole story?" I ask. The tale of magic runs through my mind subconsciously, readying myself to tell it if needed. Part of me wants to keep him in the dark, but the other part tells me that he needs to know if he’s going to be of any help at all.

"Yes," Lynda says. "I told him. Don't worry; I remembered the whole story so I didn't miss any details."

"If you're so sure..." I trail off.

"Then... it's settled, isn't it."

"I guess so."

No, Dana. It really isn't.

The voice that I'd heard that day, on my thirteenth birthday, speaks once more. It had been a while since I'd heard from Marigold, and I wasn't expecting her to finally speak up at this moment.

"Dana?" Lorraine says, her forehead wrinkling with concern. "You look... worried."

"Marigold says no." The words escape from my lips before I know what I’m saying.

"Huh?" Lynda says, her eyebrows knitted in an expression of anxiety. She’s so close to getting what she wants…

You can't take him.

This puzzles me, for there seems to be no reason not to. The whole group watches my face as I speak to Marigold internally.

He is an Earthborn. A human, Marigold explains. Not one of you, as you said.

But Connor is coming back with us. What makes Wessley so different?

"Only one," I say quietly.

"Only one what?" Lynda asks, frantic. It seems as if she wants to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible.

"One Earthborn."

"An Earthborn..." Lorraine repeats. "You mean as in Connor?"

"Yes," I say, suddenly regaining the power to form full length sentences. "Connor and Wessley are Earthborns. Non-magic. We can only take one with us."

"So..." Lynda says, her lip starting to tremble. "What now?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly.

"Can I..." Lynda says, hesitant. She swallows and then continues. "I want to take Wessley. Please."

Her request is selfish and almost rude, but I know that if I was her, I would be asking the same thing. All eyes turn to me. The only one I'm really aware of is Connor. Would he hate me forever if I left him behind? Would I always be wondering what could have been?

Saying no to Lynda is hard. Who am I to deny someone’s love, even in these circumstances? I know exactly how Lynda feels. Is this how it’s supposed to be when you love someone that’s not your kind?

"Please?" Lynda begs, one more time.

"No Lynda. I'm sorry."