1 - Wren Thorne

Wren felt Nixon's eyes boring into the back of her head as she walked out of the room. It gave her the sensation that whatever magic she did in the room, if it could be called magic, did not go entirely unnoticed. But Veritas didn't say anything about it if she was aware of such things, and neither did Nixon, though Wren was convinced Nixon knew. But in this predicament there was little else Wren could do to get to the truth directly; she could only infer.

The skateboard hit the floor by the door. Headphones around her neck.

Both of them were in the kitchen. Wren didn't sit down, didn't take off her bag.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She waited.

"Tell you what dear?" Julian Thorne, Wren's father, had just left his desk by the study corner of the living room, his computer screen flickering with whatever it was that he was working on before he was summoned by her mother, Lyra, somewhere in the kitchen, to set the table for dinner. It was he who greeted Wren as she stepped into the kitchen. Her brother was somewhere upstairs in his own room, no doubt. The Thornes were happily average in the household demographic, Wren grew up unexceptionally in that regard, though her hypersensitivity had been an ongoing concern as she grew into her teenage years. "Go wash up quickly, dinner soon!" Lyra's voice was further back, nearer the stoves.

Still, nothing rocked the boat, it was a Tuesday like any other Tuesday in the Thorne household.

All that was about to change.

"Dad."

Wren's eyes held his - steady, reproachful. The bag stayed on her shoulder.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"What's going on Wren? No I don't know what you're talking about. Did something happen at school?" Julian could tell his daughter was totally serious, his genial expression now furrowed to understand where Wren was coming from. Again from further back, mom could be heard, "What is it honey?" Did her parents intend to keep up this pretense? Why did they hide essentially her entire life from her?

Wren considered something more drastic...

So, he was going to pretend still...

She had not expected otherwise, but it still puzzled her how stubbornly he kept playing the same charade both her parents always had.

It wasn't really Wren being angry with her father, but something grew in her. She tried to concentrate on the hum around her, feel the hum, pick up the hum and fell in with the hum. Somehow, the tone soured and split, scraped sharp against itself, you knew, what was going on, you knew...

Then she took full control, fell back into harmony with the hum "Mmmmhhhhh" and once she looked down at her hands she was seeing a glowing stream of light going out one hand and in the other.

She looked up at her dad again, tears filling her eyes. "Do you still say you've got no idea?"

The sound of the casserole pot smashing onto the kitchen floor was second to the scream Wren heard from her mother as the manifestation of raw light filled the kitchen with an unnatural brightness. "What are you doing Wren? Stop it, stop it now!" She had never heard her father's voice so upset. Even in his angriest moments when dealing with their children, Julian Thorne did not raise his voice as he did now. He instinctively raised his hands in front of him to block the light as he stepped back to reach Lyra, torn between trying to protect his wife from whatever it was that Wren was doing, and wanting to reach Wren to grab hold of her and prevent her from doing whatever she was doing. "Just stop it Wren and calm down, you're scaring your mom!"

"We're always here for you Wren. I'll protect you, us." Dad had let go of his wife for a moment, even though Lyra was aghast at the scene of her daugther's manifestation. Julian reached for Wren, first to hold her hands without the similar fear that Lyra was emoting, and then to wrap his arms around his daughter in reassurance. "It's okay, we can figure this out together, whatever this is. Everything will be okay." He turned his head to look at his wife while still holding Wren tightly, "It's okay honey, she's alright, she'll be alright."
Wren had only known love and care from her parents, and more recently they had also been more concerned about any potential special needs Wren might have when Wren had talked about her increased sensitivities. At this moment she could still feel the same love from her father, even if she hadn't see her father in such an emotionally reactive state.
Was Cassandra wrong about what she implied about the Thornes? The council president spoke so convictedly, and there was no reason for her to lie; it was true Wren had powers, like some of the others. Myra was probably doing the same thing now, trying to find out if her parents were also mages. But dad and mum here seemed totally clueless. They couldn't have possibly lied to Wren for the past sixteen years. Julian was equally distraught, but one word he said stuck in Wren's mind. One of the first things her father said was 'protect'.

"What happened -- why is this happening -- are you alright -- will you be okay -- what are we going to do --" Mom was equal parts fearful and distraught and worried. Questions came tumbling out of her mouth one after another. All her maternal instincts wanted to comfort her daughter but found herself caught up reacting and rationalising what was happening.

At her moment of procesing and bewilderment it was Wren's father who took the reins as head of the family. Wren's awareness picked up on the next question he asked, "Did this happen in school? Did you tell your teachers? Who else knows?" Did Julian not hear what Wren whispered, or did he choose to ignore it?

She would discover later from her friends that Myra was putting forth the suggestion that her parents were somehow preparing her to know about the world of magic, by ensuring that their home library contained some of the necessary knowledge to illuminate her situation. Though at this point Wren was experiencing the opposite, that her parents, if they knew, had kept the truth from her. Maybe they had had to keep the truth hidden, for even in Myra's case, she was not (could not?) be told directly, even grandmother Lockwood did not know. This led Wren to believe that there was a deeper reason for all this concealment, that it was for their own good and safety. She had to try to find out why this was the case.

"I'll be okay, Mom." She said it without looking away from Julian. "I think."

He hadn't asked what it was, or how, or why. He had asked who saw it. Did this happen at school. Who else knows.

She let the quiet stretch a moment before she answered.

"Not many. No one who'd talk."

Her eyes stayed on him.

"You heard me, Dad."

So she had been right all along, he knew at least something. She hoped there was a good reason not to tell her earlier and she hoped that reason finally vanished and he'd talk.

"I know you're confused Wren, I don't have an explanation for this that will make you feel better. But everything will be fine, I promise. We can see someone about this, but for now this remains within the family." Julian spoke that authoritatively, whether or not he believed himself. "We'll be okay, hon." He reached to wrap his other arm around Lyra.

By now Wren knew she wasn't going to arm twist anything out of her father. Whatever was going on was larger than even her direct confrontation and her overt display of magic. But how would she find out the truth? Who could she talk to about her family history? Or would she have to dig through her parents' private possessions to look for evidence? Or spy on her own father? Or wait to find out who her father meant when he said they could see someone about the situation? Julian seemed wary of school. Did school know something? Was Torrance on to something when he broke into the counselling room archives and found their case files, which would include health records and family history?

Something else dawned on Wren. Did her friends' parents know about their children? Or were they clueless? If she couldn't find out from her own father, could she find out from someone else's?

She stepped back.

For a moment she just looked at him, and the disbelief in her face hardened.

"You don't get to keep me in the dark and then tell me to stay quiet."

Then her expression changed. The anger didn't leave, but it pulled back behind her eyes, and the corner of her mouth moved.

"Remains within the family." She said it almost gently. Then she turned to the hallway. "Kieran!"

She looked back at Julian and waited.

"Wren Thorne, whatever this is, stop this now!" It was now her father's turn to check his rising anger. "End of discussion. You will go to your room and think about the way you're talking to us." Julian had put his foot down. Was Wren about to defy her parents, or would she cool off in the privacy of her room.

"What? I'm coming!" came the reply from upstairs, Kieran presumably putting down his headphones by his computer, assuming that he had been summoned because it was dinner time. Wren heard his steps as he came down, through the living room and then finally into the ultra tense scene in the dining doorway leading to the kitchen.

She looked at her brother in the doorway.

"Hi Kieran."

Then back to Julian.

"When you stop lying to us, I'll talk differently to you."

She picked up her skateboard and went for the door.