Episode 34: Stand-Offs and Shifting Sands
- Crystal Crawford
- Apr 10
- 8 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
I clutched the lockbox more tightly. “Mr. Pierce!” I gave him a smile, but he didn’t return it, not even a little. “I-I’m sorry to be in here without permission,” I stammered, “but I just…”
My words faded away as Mr. Pierce gave me a glare the likes of which I never could’ve imagined seeing on his face. Mr. Pierce was kind, supportive, warm—this was not the Mr. Pierce I knew.
I gave my dad a panicked look, but he was already stepping forward to appease the situation. “Our apologies, Mr. Pierce. We were just—”
“I can see what you were doing.” Mr. Pierce growled as his glare shifted from Dad to me, to the lockbox in my hands, and then to Collin, who had moved toward me and looked ready to fist-fight Mr. Pierce if it came to that. “Now give me one reason why I shouldn’t call the principal this instant—or the police!”
As entertaining as it might have been to see my school librarian and prep-school neighbor in a fist fight, I was eager to diffuse the tension. “Please don’t do that, Mr. Pierce,” I said pleadingly.
Mr. Pierce spun to face my father. “You are an adult, whoever you are, dragging two minors with you to commit a crime!”
My dad stepped forward. “If you’ll just give us a moment to explain, I’m sure we—”
“Are you one of these kid’s parents?” Mr. Pierce interrupted him. “Do you know how much trouble I can create for you, if I report this?”
“Mr. Pierce, please,” I said again. “I can explain.”
I glanced at my dad, who looked concerned about what I might be getting ready to say… but I knew Mr. Pierce better than he did, and he knew that. He nodded for me to continue.
Mr. Pierce’s eyes locked on mine for a moment, then he crossed his arms and stared at me. “Go ahead, then.”
He still looked furious, but at least he seemed willing to listen.
“I’m very sorry for breaking in here,” I said quickly, “but my sister—-”
Mr. Pierce’s entire bearing shifted. “This is about Emery?” He suddenly looked more concerned than angry.
I stared at him. “Yes.”
My dad couldn’t stand there silently anymore. “Why does that make a difference?” he asked Mr. Pierce in a gentle tone.
“Wait.” Mr. Pierce looked at my dad, then tilted his head, studying him. “How did I not see this before? You have it, too,” he said in a bewildered tone. “Latent, but I can smell it. It’s there.”
Collin, Dad, and I all shared a startled glance.
“You can smell what?” I asked.
Mr. Pierce spun toward me, his eyes wide and wild. “This is your father?” He looked back at my dad. “Yes, of course he is. He must be.”
I nodded, growing more and more alarmed by Mr. Pierce’s behavior. “Yes. That’s my dad.”
Collin moved close enough his arm was touching mine. He was tense and on high alert—and I shared the feeling.
My dad took a step sideways toward me, his gaze never leaving Mr. Pierce. “And what, exactly, are you saying I have?” His tone was less gentle now.
Mr. Pierce’s anger had vanished, but he was staring at my dad with a look of eagerness that was unsettling in an entirely new way. “A whole family line of them,” he muttered under his breath. “Right here under my nose…”
“A family line of what?” I asked, my heart in my throat.
“Of gifted blood,” he said, turning to look at me.
Dad stepped protectively in front of Collin and me. “What is that supposed to mean?”
His confusion sounded convincing, but apparently not convincing enough.
“Oh, I believe you know.” Mr. Pierce’s lips curved up into a haunting smile. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Was he one of the ones hunting me? This whole time? A chill ran down my spine. “Mr. Pierce?”
His eyes flicked to me, then to the lockbox I still held. His gaze was intense—almost manic.
My dad shifted Collin and me back behind him, but there was nowhere to run. Mr. Pierce was blocking the only doorway.
Mr. Pierce shook his head, and the manic look vanished. He refocused on my face. “I’m sorry, Aubrey. I can see I’m frightening you. I just hadn’t anticipated—” He paused. “Forgive me. I’m sure you had your reasons for this… intrusion… and I trust we can talk this through and come to an understanding we will all feel better about.”
In a blink, he was almost back to normal. If not for the past minute, I could’ve believed he was still the kind, supportive Mr. Pierce I’d known the past two years. But my pulse was racing, and I couldn’t just pretend the past minute hadn’t happened.
I stepped forward, but my dad grabbed my arm and met my eyes, wordlessly telling me to stay back.
“What is going on here?” Dad demanded, looking right at Mr. Pierce.
Mr. Pierce held out his hand. “If Aubrey will return my hourglass to me, I’d be happy to explain.”
I tensed.
My dad put his arm in front of me to stop me from doing what Mr. Pierce requested—not that I was going to, anyway.
Mr. Pierce looked a bit sad. “I assure you, I have no intention of harming any of you. But the hourglass is mine, after all.”
“Is it?” Collin spoke up from next to me. “How do we know Emery didn’t hide it here for us to find?”
“Is that what you think?” Mr. Pierce looked at Collin, then at me. “Is that why you took it?”
“I—” I honestly wasn’t sure if Emery had put it here, or just led me to it. “I just know she meant for me to find it.”
Mr. Pierce studied me. “Fascinating.” He was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was friendly and calm. “I promise I have no ill intent toward you, Aubrey. I will not harm you or your friend or your father. I won’t even report this break-in. But that hourglass is mine, and I do need you to return it. Once I have it in hand, I promise you, I will be better able to explain my part of this situation.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Mr. Pierce looked calm and sincere, but if Emery had gone to so much trouble to lead me to this, there was no way I was handing it over to a potentially psychotic person without knowing what it was, first—even if the potential psycho was my favorite teacher.
Collin stepped forward. “I suggest you use your words to explain. That hourglass is staying where it is.”
“Collin…” I muttered in a warning tone. Ordinarily, Collin probably could’ve taken Mr. Pierce. I mean, Collin wasn’t a body-builder or anything, but he was a fairly fit teenager and Mr. Pierce was a small-framed, middle-aged librarian—but this entire exchange had proven there was more to Mr. Pierce than we understood.
Mr. Pierce, however, didn’t seem agitated by Collin’s snarky response. He just shrugged and said, “I suppose that’s a reasonable perspective, given the unknowns.” He looked at me. “Aubrey, do you trust me?”
I stared at him. “Honestly? I did before, but right now, I’m not sure.”
He looked saddened by that. “Regrettable, but also understandable.” He clapped his hands together, perking up. “And fixable, I hope. We can talk this through. Do me a favor, though, Aubrey—please do not lift that hourglass from the case again. It’s imperative that the sand stay how it is.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why?” Only after I asked the question did I realize he’d said not to lift it from the case again—but my dad was already on top of that.
“How did you know we’d lifted it from the case before you got here?” my dad asked.
“Do you have hidden cameras or something?” Collin added.
Mr. Pierce smiled. “No, but believe me, when the sand shifts, I can tell.”
“How?” I asked. “What is this thing?”
“It’s a dampening glass,” Mr. Pierce said, meeting my eyes. “If you tilt it too far, it will no longer conceal my magic.”
“Magic?” I gaped at him.
“Is that what this is all about?” my dad asked. “You’re a gifted in hiding?”
Mr. Pierce nodded, then turned to me. “I’m sorry I frightened you, Aubrey. But that hourglass—it’s vital that it not be disturbed. It keeps my powers hidden and helps me control my magic. It takes most of my focus just to blend in, and that little device there does the rest. Without it, just by existing I’d be giving off enough magic that it would be the equivalent of sending up a beacon to my location for anyone with detection abilities to see.” His mouth curved into a slight frown. “For some of us, looking like a normal human is harder than it might seem.”
He looked sincere, and honestly, I could relate. I’d never really felt normal, even before I knew I had magic.
“Is this why you never leave the AV room?” I asked.
He smiled. “Partly. I also like it in here.”
I looked at my dad. “How would Emery have known about this?”
Dad met my gaze. “Her dreams showed lots of things. She must’ve seen it. Though why she led you to it, I’m not sure. Perhaps she thought Mr. Pierce was a threat. Or maybe she just wanted you to know he had magic, for some reason.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I said.
Mr. Pierce watched our conversation with intense curiosity, but he didn’t interrupt.
I looked at the device in my hands, which I was now holding very carefully. “Why an hourglass?” I asked Mr. Pierce.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. That was Madame Sava for you. She had her own way of making things, rest her soul.”
I had no idea who Madame Sava was, but that wasn’t high on my list of concerns at the moment. “How does it work?” I asked.
“The sand was engineered to counter my exact type of magic. It keeps my powers dampened when I’m in public so they won’t draw attention. The hourglass has quite a wide radius, though it’s more effective the closer I am to it. I use this one for the school, and I have another at my home since I live nearby. Between the two, my trek to work and home is covered, as are most nearby errands I need to run. Going farther than that is always a risk—but thankfully I prefer to stay close to home.” He smiled.
“If the hourglass is so powerful, wouldn’t whoever is detecting you be able to detect that as well?” Collin asked.
Mr. Pierce shook his head. “That’s the brilliance of it. Madame Sava only made a handful of these before she passed, but she outdid herself. The hourglass magic is nearly undetectable, even in proximity. Only someone very familiar with that exact magic would even notice it.” He pointed at the hourglass I still held. “That marvelous device enables me to stay under the radar even from those who can usually detect such things…and I very much wish to remain beneath their radar.”
***
Want to reread a previous episode? Click here to be taken to the main Season 1 menu, where you can see all available episodes!
Comments