The day finally came.
Celine had left Graham with Daniel so she could do what she needed to. She had driven her car out into town and had her eyes out for any sign of Ronin.
The sky was completely black with the few clouds wandering the sky and looking a dirty brown due to the streetlights shining brightly. The street was busy with people who were taking a night out or employees who had just come from locking up.
With the cold breeze picking up and blowing her hair, Celine had to close her eyes and rethink her decision to give Ronin the wand.
It would be safer with him, but was Graham right about not giving it to him? Ronin had changed after the years, but who’s to say he won’t use the wand himself?
Her insecurities took over and she suddenly wasn’t in the mood for meeting up with him. But Ronin could only come out Au/Ra for so long because he was traceable when near humans. Chances of him meeting her again were slim, so she had to meet him tonight. If not tonight, they would trace the wand to her and maybe find Daniel as well. Ronin was good at making things … disappear. They wouldn’t find it if he hid it.
Celine opened her eyes felt the wind blow at her through her window which she had rolled down. As she drove down the streets, she listened to the honks of car horns and voices of people all talking at once as they passed her car. Deciding she’d give the wand to Ronin, Celine drove with full confidence and let the safety of her son fuel her.
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***
“Alright, kid, time for dinner.” Graham called to Daniel from the kitchen. He was busy making pancakes because Daniel asked for it. Graham wanted to make something delicious, but Daniel begged him to make pancakes because his mother would never allow him pancakes at night. Graham poured a little bit of syrup all over his pancakes while Daniel poured so much syrup on that the mouth-watering, sugary liquid almost fell off the plate. “Yay!” Daniel cheered happily, hurrying to the living room where he sat down on the couch and began eating.
“When is my mom coming back?” he asked Graham, swallowing a mouthful of pancakes. Syrup covered his lips, so he licked it off as soon as he finished swallowing. “She said she’d be back in a few hours.” answered Graham, skipping past a few channels to find one worth watching. “Where did she go, anyway?” “She went to meet a colleague.”
“She can’t be at college. She finished it years ago.” Daniel told Graham. Graham laughed and found a channel where they were conducting serious surgeries. He liked watching shows like that, especially when it involved disturbing scenes. Graham wasn’t the one to get nauseous so easily, and Daniel was the same. When Celine asked Graham to babysit Daniel while she was out, he was glad because he hadn’t seen Daniel in years.
“You are one of the only people I’ve seen in my whole life.” Daniel confessed. “Can you please tell me why my mom doesn’t want me to leave our house?” Graham didn’t know how to answer that because Celine strictly told him not to answer any questions Daniel asked involving the outside world and her included. “There are flowers in the woods and far from your house with a rare type of pollen that you’re allergic to.” said Graham quickly, still focused on the TV screen. “If you sniff it, you’ll die.”
“Huh? Isn’t pollen supposed to be sweet?” Daniel confusingly asked, turning to Graham with a chin half covered in syrup. “It’s sweet after bees turn it into honey.” Graham said, eating a chunk of the pancakes slowly.
“I guess a lot of people are allergic to flowers even though they keep us alive.” said Daniel, feeling a bit sorrowful all of a sudden. Graham looked down at Daniel and suddenly felt sorry for him.
He only experienced the world through a television screen. If he were to go to school, Celine would have to at least take him outside their land to know what he was expecting. The surgeon on the screen cut open the man’s belly and began moving through the pieces of fat to get to his organs.
That’s when the dog barked outside. Daniel was the first one to turn his head around and look at the front door. “She’s barking again, Tina.” he whispered, afraid in a way. “Why is that?” Graham asked Daniel, his eyes on the front door as well. Daniel shrugged and told him Tina barked for no reason nowadays.
Then Bruno barked as well. Graham put his plate down and walked to the front door. He peered through the blinds and gazed out into the black world. Both dogs stood away from the porch and looked at the distance, barking their heads off.
“Are you sure no one else has come here before?” he asked Daniel. Daniel nodded and began to get worried when Graham asked him that. That type of question meant that the dogs were sensing something outside, and now Graham was too.
Graham had his hand in his pocket, locking his fingers around his wand and ready to use it. A shadow hurried past, darkening the porch light for one second. He didn’t want to alarm Daniel with a, “Stay here,”, so he kept calm and walked away from the front door. Graham let go of his wand and returned to the living room where he sat down on the couch and watched TV. Daniel felt a bit safer with Graham watching TV instead of freaking out like his mother did, but still Graham had his eye on the front door, waiting for the shadow to return.
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***
Celine drove down the empty street. It was cold and calm, quiet and dead. The streetlights were on and lit up the street, shadowing the stores and buildings and alleyways. She was on her nerves, even though she knew she could protect herself.
Even though the streets were empty and the shops were closed, Celine still feared there might have been someone in the darkness just looking out at her, waiting for her to come out of her car like a harmless woman and attack. The package was on the passenger seat while Celine held her own wand in her left hand. She had to be sure of herself. Ronin had well been her husband, but that didn’t mean he would not try to flick his wand at her.
She’d been driving for hours, around and around, waiting for the time to hit 22:02 so she could finally spot Ronin. He told her he’d leave Au/Ra at that time. Even though Ronin was a crook and somewhat of a thief, he wasn’t a liar.
Celine slowed the car down as she passed a rather unusual streetlight. It was well straight and upright with a bright orange light on top, like any normal streetlight, but there was someone hiding right beside it. The only thing that gave the person away was their sharp shoes poking out from under. Celine rolled down her window and sighed deeply.
“I can see you.” she said, stopping the car and turning off the engine now that she’d found him.
Ronin stepped out from behind the streetlight as if he was never there. He had his hands in his coat pockets and avoided eye contact with Celine for he felt embarrassed. He looked like a drug addict. Both his eyes were sad, tired and red. He had messy black hair that was so long it almost looked like a woman’s hair. His skin was pale and all he wore was black and grey.
His coat was grey and his jeans were black as well as his pointy Derbies. Even though he looked like that, Ronin was a successful warlock with enough money to take care of a whole family. He came out from the shadows and walked towards his wife. They hadn’t seen one another in years, and coming to her with unwashed hair was not a sign of respect. Celine had already put the Silver Wand inside of the duffel coat she had on. She climbed outside and was greeted by the cold breeze as well as what Ronin called a welcoming smile.
His wand, a dark-brown oak-wand, was in his hand and almost dangled down his fingers. He blew a lock of his hair from his eye and smiled at Celine.
“You look good.” she said to him, studying his dark pupils that were being stabbed by the red veins in his eyes. “Stop being so modest.” he said, laughing and trying to feel good again. Celine, to him, looked as good as the day he left her. Unlike him, she had learned to move on with her life with him absent from it.
But there wasn’t a day or night Ronin wouldn’t spend thinking of her for even a second. “How is he?” he asked her, trying not to get nostalgic. “Does he look like me?” “He acts like his father, that’s for sure.” Celine said with a crooked smile.
She wrapped the coat around her and shivered as the cold became a bit unbearable. It wasn’t even winter but already the icy winds decided they could take over. “Stupid and careless?” asked Ronin, laughing afterwards. “More like brave and careless, with a bit of curiosity.” she answered him, walking past him and onto the sidewalk with her wand in her hand.
Ronin looked down at the ground and thought deeply of a son he had but never touched before. Daniel was like a memory. He was something Ronin knew existed but he could never again reunite with it. Without her knowing, Ronin closed his eyes and flicked his wand. She could hear him whisper something but she knew he’d never hurt her. One by one, every streetlight turned off and went dark. The street was plagued by darkness, except for the two streetlights in front and behind Celine and Ronin. Celine looked around her and saw nothing but darkness on her left and right. They stood in a light of one thick line. Ronin swung around to face her, and he held out his hand. Celine didn’t know if she should, but she did it anyway. She took his hand; it was warm and clammy. With what little trust she had in him, Celine followed Ronin into the darkness and they were soon covered in shadows whispering the words Ronin did. Within a split second, Celine and Ronin were both transported to his home in Au/Ra.
The shadows slid off of them and disappeared, leaving them in the brightness of a wide living room with the most ancient and glamorous furniture.
There was no TV, but there was a shelf with hundreds of records all next to each other. Two record players sat next to a giant pot with a small tree planted in it, twenty pansies growing on the branches and in between the leaves. The couch was long and curved like a banana, sitting on top of a step and before it was the wide space with a coffee table in the middle on top of a pentagram carpet. When Celine looked to the wall, she could see portraits of Ronin and creepy paintings of trees with figures hiding in plain sight.
“I almost forgot how lively your place is.” Celine said as she sat down on the couch. Ronin turned on the record player and played some smooth jazz.
It brightened the room even more. When she looked behind her, she saw the hallway that led to the bathroom, bedroom and stairs that went down to Ronin’s secret basement. Ronin left to the kitchen where he made them something to eat, not even asking Celine if she wanted something or not.
Celine sat back and rested against the soft pillows, closing her eyes and allowing the music to enter her ears and comfort her brain. She fell asleep for a few minutes before Ronin appeared in front of her with a bowl of dumplings. It smelled heavenly with the sauce over it. Steam curled around the stew and cooked dough.
“Thank you.” Celine said and took hold of the bowl. It burned her hands so she put it down on the coffee table. “Your hands still sensitive to heat?” Ronin asked, joking and making fun of her.
She nodded at him and tried to get to the point. She didn’t want to stay in Au/Ra any longer because it only brought back bad memories. “Have you told him yet?” Ronin asked, intruding her thoughts.
“He needn’t know.” she said softly, leaning over and grabbing one of the forks in the bowl to take out a dumpling. “He might get hurt if he knows about all of this.”
“I meant does he know he has a father?” Ronin asked her. Celine grew quiet as she blew the dough colder and then chewed it slowly. She sighed and shook her head, telling him she didn’t tell Daniel about him, and she never would. “You know what’ll happen if he knows about you.” she said. Ronin folded his arms and closed his eyes as he thought deeply about her words. He wanted to be with Daniel so badly. He wanted to teach him a lot of things and bond over one thing.
Ronin longed for a family, but after what he had done he knew he could never be with his wife and child. Even saying Daniel’s name would cost him trouble. “Can we get down to business now?” Celine asked, taking another dumpling. Ronin hated when she suddenly changed the subject just like that.
“I need you to hide the Silver Wand so no one can find it.” Celine told him. She turned around and grabbed hold of the wrapped wand. “Why do you have it, again?” Ronin asked, taking a dumpling himself. “It’s better with me than in the hands of darkness.” she answered him. “Besides, the Eternal wands don’t belong to anyone at all. Anyone can take them and own them.”
She unwrapped the wand and showed it to Ronin. His eyes went wide with surprise. The Silver Wand was beautiful and thin, shimmering due to the lights above them. It looked like it was made of glass. A chain of small round silver balls was attached to the end of the wand. Being in its presence was such an honour, but it was as dangerous as Ronin being with Daniel.
“You’re good at hiding things. Please, make sure that wand disappears and make everyone think it’s still out there.” Celine said, moving her fingers over the Silver Wand, admiring its smooth skin.
“Do you know what this wand can do?” Ronin asked as he took the wand from her and gripped it with both his hands. It felt good in his hands and was cold like metal. “Do you know what this Silver Wand can do to a person?”
“Can we discuss this on another day when I’ve found the rest?” she asked him.
Ronin gazed up and met her eyes. He nodded and put the wand down on the coffee table, keeping it close for after Celine left. He stroked his fingers across the wooden table and slid his fingers towards Celine, brushing it past her thigh. Celine closed her eyes and shuddered. His fingers were so cold they stabbed right through her jeans and touched her skin.
“I’ve missed you.” he whispered. “Though many women have lain beside me in bed, only you could warm it and make it feel as though there were two people sleeping, or rather sleeping together. I missed that.” Celine sighed and didn’t know what to say. If she said what he wanted her to say, she’d only redo what had been done to her so long ago. “I may still be wedded to you,” she said. “But that does not mean I am your wife.” Ronin looked at her but she avoided his eyes by looking at the record player. He didn’t want to admit it, but he missed her.
Even after what happened between them, he still loved her, but Celine didn’t love him. She only cared about him, that’s all. “Are we finished here?” she asked him. “Can I go now? Daniel must be worried sick and asking Graham a lot of questions.”
Ronin laughed. He felt betrayed and insulted. “Your friend gets to babysit the boy I made while I haven’t even touched him before.” “Can you quit complaining about it, now?” Celine angrily said. “For seven years you’ve never had an issue of not seeing your son. What happened, now all of a sudden?”
Ronin didn’t answer her directly. He walked over to the record player and turned it off. As soon as the music stopped, an unforgiving silence moved on them. Celine turned around and stared at the Silver Wand. It glistened under the light and seemed to move every time Celine moved her head to the side.
“I may have riches,” Ronin softly said. “But not even with all that money, I can’t buy true company. I need love, Celine, and I’ve grown lonely here all by myself.”
“And how’s that my fault?” she asked, clenching her fists tightly. She didn’t want to fight with him anymore, but if he kept on saying that it was her fault that he never had a relationship with Daniel and keep on pestering her she’d punch him on the nose. “Even though I’m with him, it won’t make a change.” Ronin said, almost begging. “We can protect him. With the Silver Wand, no foe will stand a chance against us.” “With both the Silver Wand including Daniel here, it’ll be like a beacon for danger.” Celine warned him.
“We will die protecting him, but if he’s here, he’ll die along with us. And I won’t let that happen. I love him.” “Let me love him too!” Ronin angrily begged her. “Why can’t he be with me? Why does he have to stay with you?” “Because you’re reckless.” Celine said. “And it’s because you and Daniel have the same blood type, so just by having you together would be like calling the Commission of Incongruous Nature.”
“So when, Celine,” Ronin asked impatiently, slapping his hand next to his thigh. “When will I be able to hold my son? When will you and I be together again? When will we return to being a family again?”
“That’s it, I’m leaving.” Celine said, rolling her eyes and storming off, not even knowing where she was going seeing as Ronin was the only one that knew how to take her back home. “Take me back home. Staying in Au/Ra this late is very … frustrating.”
“Why? Is it because of the taverns?” Ronin asked her, suddenly feeling a bit cheerful. “Oh please, the taverns here are …” Celine started, but Ronin interrupted her. “Great?” he asked happily. “The taverns here are great. We have all sorts of things to drink. There’s even one that makes you very nostalgic.”
“Yeah, most drinks do that.” Celine told him. “Oh, you’d know a lot about that, wouldn’t you?” Ronin joked. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Celine asked him, her hands on her hips.
“Let’s go for a drink.” Ronin said after some time of just staring down at his feet. Celine looked at him as if he had just spat on her head. “One drink, and I’ll prove to you what that means.” he said, holding up one finger.
Celine didn’t want to, but honestly, she hadn’t drunk any sort of alcohol-based drink in a while. Protecting Daniel meant that she couldn’t have many friends. It was too risky. Graham was so far the only close friend she had, and the worst part was that he didn’t drink at all. So, swallowing her pride and folding her arms, Celine avoided Ronin’s eyes and nodded.
“Sure, I could go for a drink.”
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***
Stacey Crik, known by her alias as Raye, gripped the mike in her hands and sung with the voice anyone would say God gifted to her.
She sung like an angel and could fit in with any genre of music if given the right lyrics. She was dressed in a tight, dark blue evening dress decorated with shimmering sequins. Her blond hair was put into a bun. The softness of her pink lips looked so gentle it was like begging for a kiss that no one could ever succeed in satisfying.
Raye loved Earth-like music and songs, so she sang one of Adele’s songs; one no one in the tavern recognized so they just assumed she wrote it herself. The red and yellow lights that moved across the ceiling made her purple-coloured eyes darken and light up at the same time.
The tavern, Coin Toss, wasn’t packed, like any other nights. The only customers so far were humans, gnomes and leprechauns. No one else wanted to visit the tavern after the imp infestation.
But for some weird reason Ronin loved the Coin Toss. Celine never liked it, even when she used to live in Au/Ra. The two of them walked in through the wooden doors and were greeted by a warm wave of heat and the strong smell of beer. The clanging of beer mugs and tumblers were heard along with Raye’s singing on a red-carpeted stage right next to the bar. The tables were all round and had four seats around each. The customers were talking and enjoying their drinks while listening to the music.
Against the wall hung pictures of barely-naked elves, and right near the front doors was a stack of newspapers. Behind Raye was a jazz band with a bass and two saxophones played by the same creatures who served the customers: hobgoblins. “I thought this place would have grown fuller since the last time I was here.” Celine said, sticking close to Ronin because there were not that many humans in the tavern. The ones that were there all looked like they were worse than ogres. Ronin knew the manager, and bartender, Peg, so he walked in front.
Peg was the only goblin there with his pointy ears holding his brown hair like curtains. His long nose was right in between his two eyes that only had but a pupil and the white around them. Peg was still a little young to be running a business, but he was brilliant, and that made him dangerous.
He was busy wiping off the mugs and tumblers, gazing at his reflection in the glass. Ronin sat down in front of him and knocked on the wooden desk. Peg sighed and narrowed his eyes at Ronin. “Hi, Pug.” Ronin said, moving his eyebrows up and down.
“It’s Peg, not Pug.” Peg told him through gritted teeth. He hated when Ronin called him that. Celine sat next to Ronin and just had to take a look behind her when she sensed she was being watched by someone.
One of the waiters was looking at her through the wooden masks they were required to wear when on the job. She ignored the hobgoblin and looked at Ronin and Peg who had already begun talking and joking. “So, I see you finally found one that isn’t like us.” Peg said, his dark eyes turning to Celine.
His colourless eyes made Celine shudder. Only when she shuddered did she realize how long it had been since she had seen creatures like Peg. “No, no, no,” Ronin said before Celine could. “We aren’t a thing.”
“Come on.” said Peg, putting down the beer mug he was busy with. “She’s better than that elf you dated.” Celine gasped and smiled sinisterly. She didn’t know why, but even if they weren’t together anymore, she loved hearing juicy stories about the bad things Ronin did, except if they were too bad.
“You dated an elf?” she asked him, surprised. “What did you do? Did you bribe her? Threaten her? Wait, you didn’t blackmail her, did you? Elves mostly like dating their own kind and using humans as sex toys. How did you manage the unmanageable?”
“Oh, Celine, the same way you fell for me.” Ronin said, stroking his chin and feeling impressed with himself. “Cheap thrills?” Celine asked him. Peg scoffed and almost dropped the beer mug when he picked it up again. “I’ve grown wealthy now, since you’ve forgotten, Celine.” Ronin braggingly said. “I can afford to take an elf out on a date.” “The usual?” Peg asked Ronin, and he nodded.
Celine didn’t know what she wanted because behind Peg was a variety of weird drinks humans would sacrifice to taste. So, not coming to a good decision, she said Peg should surprise her. He nodded and left them to prepare their drinks.
“Elves are quite rich.” Celine said, moving her eyes to Ronin and tapping her fingers on the desk. “Could you afford to buy her everything she wanted?” “All she wanted was chocolates.” Ronin said. Celine’s eyes stretched wide and she almost punched him. “You idiot, do you know what happens to elves when they eat any form of cocoa?” she him, shocked. Ronin swallowed deep and nodded. “That’s why we broke up.” he whispered.
Celine slapped herself against the face and shook her head in disappointment. “You idiot.” she groaned. “How did she persuade you?” “She wanted to sleep with me.” Ronin said, remembering and regretting what he did. “Do you know how many people have slept with an elf? It’s so rare that stories were made as to what happens after.”
Peg came back with a champagne glass and a cocktail glass. He handed Ronin the champagne glass and Celine the cocktail glass. “Two parts sparkling smiling wine and one part peach puree.” Peg said to Ronin because Ronin liked hearing what was in his drink before sipping it. “And for the lady,” Peg swung around to Celine who was already sipping from her drink. “Eight parts gin, four part blackberry brandy, one part cointreau, one part Benedictine, two parts grenadine, sixteen parts pineapple juice, six parts lemon juice and a dash of bitters.”
“My, that sounds just like a Singapore Sling if you ask me.” said Celine, smiling as she sipped on the drink and closed her eyes as the cold of the ice cooled the cocktail.
“Except, this drink has a few drops of unicorn urine in it.” Peg told her. Celine stopped drinking and met his eyes. She tried not to spit, so she swallowed instead. “Don’t worry.” Peg assured her. “Unicorn’s are very clean, and they are healers so their urine tastes like caramel apples.” Celine gave him a smile and continued to drink, because even she couldn’t resist the delicious taste of the sweetened unicorn urine.
“I don’t even want to know how you got the piss.” Ronin said, drinking his cocktail. As soon as the sparkling smiling wine kicked in, Ronin smiled broadly. Time slowly passed and the two of them were enjoying themselves as the alcohol kicked in and they felt a tiny bit better about their lives. “I can’t wait until Daniel grows up.” Celine said, twirling her finger in her drink. Ronin was tapping on the counter as he looked at her, not even realizing he was.
The Coin Toss was emptying until only Ronin, Celine and Peg were inside. Peg was still cleaning. Ronin asked Celine why she was so eager for Daniel to grow up. “He’s a child, so he doesn’t understand any of this.” she said, holding her finger gently above her tongue and letting the droplets awaken her taste buds.
“When he grows up, I’m finally going to explain to him why he’s living the life he is.” “Are you going to tell him about Crimson Creek, or his last name?” Ronin asked her, resting his head on his chin on the counter. “If I did I’d have to tell him about you, too.” Celine said. Ronin groaned and began hating Celine for not allowing him to see Daniel. Peg dropped a glass and it shattered on the floor. The sound startled both Ronin and Celine.
That was a sign for Celine that it was getting late and she needed to leave; Daniel might be worrying about her, as well as Graham. “I have to go.” she told Ronin. “My son might be wondering why I’m taking so long.”
“So now he’s your son?” Ronin angrily asked, standing up and feeling unbalanced. Celine rolled her eyes and ignored Ronin’s arguments. She stood up and almost fell. Peg was picking up the shards of the glass when he noticed someone else in the tavern. It was a hooded man sitting in the corner and drinking by himself. He appeared to be looking down but his hood darkened his face with shadows and made it impossible to see exactly what the man was facing.
His thoughts were interrupted when Celine and Ronin were about to leave. Celine fell against the door and Ronin laughed at her. They left the tavern yelling at each other.
Peg threw the shards in the bin next to him just as the man in the corner stood up. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark grey hoodie. Peg didn’t even need to see the man’s face to know what he was thinking. As the man walked to the front door, Peg stopped him by calling him. The man stopped and had his back faced to Peg.
“Wait until he’s taken the woman away.” Peg told the man in a low whisper. “Have him when he’s alone.”
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***
Ronin and Celine arrived at his home. Ronin fell down on his couch and groaned as he felt his body grow tired and lazy. “You better get up from there.” Celine ordered. “I still gotta get home!” “Why don’t you sleep here tonight?” asked Ronin, his face in the pillow. “I could sleep on the couch and you could sleep in my bed.”
“Please let me go home.” Celine urged him, closing her eyes and pleading as if she had to pee. “I’m starving and in the mood for my own food.” “God, you are annoying!” Ronin moaned, rolling off the couch and landing on the floor. “Let me take you home before you kick me out of mine and make it yours.”
He stood up and stretched his arms. Celine gave him a sarcastic smile and then readied herself to go home. “You know what to do.” Ronin said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t know why he did it, but he was still irritated by Celine. Celine went and closed her eyes. She balled her hands into fists and waited to be taken back home. Ronin searched his pockets for his wand but couldn’t find it. Then an idea crept into his drunken brain.
He bent over the coffee table and took the Silver Wand out of its package. Luckily Celine’s eyes were closed so she couldn’t see him using it. “Don’t even think about it.” Celine said, her eyes still closed.
“I can’t find mine, and this is the closest one.” Ronin told her, rolling his eyes again. He admired the wand once again and cleared his throat as he got nervous using such a powerful wand. “If you kill me, I’m going to haunt you.” Celine warned him. Ronin mouthed what she said before breathing in deeply, closing his eyes as well to visualize where he wanted to send her.
With his throat cleared and the words ready to come out, Ronin flicked the wand at Celine and said his words loud and clear for her to hear. “Teletrasporto, Bonnievale,” he said. A bright, white light came from the tip of the wand and illuminated the whole room with a blinding light. Ronin, even with his eyes closed, had to shield his eyes with his free hand.
The light was there for a few seconds before it went away, dimming into non-existence. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Celine had vanished. Laughing at himself, Ronin looked down at the Silver Wand and started spinning it in the air and catching it, impressed with how well he handled that hex. All he needed to do now was find out where he could hide the wand until Celine needed it. He put the wand down on the kitchen table and stretched his arms a bit.
He could hide the wand, of course, or he could test out the hundreds of theories around it?
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