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Chapter 21
Charles and Mac stayed with me at my mom’s house while I recovered and, back in Las Vegas, the show went on hiatus. The official announcement stated that this was happening so that the theater could have some new set designs put in, but, really, Charles just didn’t want to leave me while I was healing—and neither did Mac.
I feel like the show should have, could have continued without them, but okay.
“Guess you’ve come over to the dark side?” I poked, teasingly.
“I heard you had cookies,” he replied with a grin plastered on his face.
REALLY?! ARE WE REALLY DOING THIS RIGHT NOW?!
I grabbed and kissed him passionately as a feeling washed over me. I think that feeling was the happiest I’ve ever been.
Chapter 21 summary: As Zade heals, Dela, Charles, and Mac tells her what happened. However, Zade isn't exactly satisfied with their stories, and asks to pull their memories. They agree, although Mac only asks that she pull memories from when she fainted up until she woke up. But her parents don't, so she takes the opportunity to “find out some things”.
The show in Vegas went on a break because of this. They kept calling the others to keep them informed of Zade's condition. They also googled a bunch of medical stuff to find out a plausible, human condition that could explain everything away.
After a month, they go back to the theater. They're greeted by Tad outside, and Mac and Zade sarcastically say that the two of them are getting married now. Inside, everybody jumps out with a “surprise! Welcome back!” for Zade. And then they all line up to express gratitude that she isn't dead.
Later, Mac tells Zade that the party was all Jackson's idea. He says that things will probably be different between the three of them, since Mac is now in the know. The two of them start to make out.
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Chapter 20
CHAPTER 19
DEATH
Oh gee. (Also please remember that I'm off a chapter because I failed to check that it was actually the end, and mainly because I don't care.)
He started to recite the ancient text he had been taught as he held himself steady directly over where I lay. The words were odd and Mac didn’t know what they really meant, because when Dela offered to explain them to him, he said he didn’t want to know. His exact words had been: “As long as I’m not conjuring demons, I don’t want to know.”
Mac yelled into the wind and the rain: “Sa ovim bodežom, prožet magije
starih, i moje vere, neka ljubav preokrene kletvu Ja vaskrsne duh, dušu i telo Via Gardrich Verdicy!”
I'm so used to seeing Latin in novels that it's almost refreshing to see... whatever this is. Turkish? Google translate says Bosnian, but the translation doesn't seem quite right (according to what google gave me).
“So, is that what was supposed to happen? Is she okay now? She doesn’t look okay.” I knew he was trying not to sound mean and so did Dela, but he was almost beside himself with worry. He did not have the patience my parents seemed to be
exhibiting, probably because he expected all magick to just go “poof” and be completed. He was confused by how calm they were and how they seemed to not be the least bit anxious.
“Yes, that was all supposed to happen. So now we wait. We’ll see if she gets better. It’s up to God and the spirits.”
Again, I'm so used to seeing instant fixes, that it's honestly a little refreshing with the idea that Zade didn't instantly get better.
“Yeah, I do . . . and there is the issue of him being mortal—but we can worry about that later,” Charles acknowledged as the light from his eyes dimmed and a look of sadness washed over him.
You know, the book took a lot of time to tell us about the Charles/Dela relationship, but never circled back to how Zade had previously explained that the witch society had shunned her mom after hooking up with a mortal and having a baby with him. You'd think that would have driven a huge wedge into their relationship, and played a huge role in her leaving with baby Zade.
I am pretty sure I was asleep before he even had time to respond.
Chapter 20 summary: Charles and Mac sit by Zade's bed for a little bit before Dela comes in. She makes sure that Mac knows what he has to do before they take Zade outside to her altar. There, Mac plunges the thing inside of Zade's chest, and she kind of starts floating, she starts bleeding out the mouth, and it starts raining really hard. Charles runs her inside before she can get chilled.
After that, it's basically just a lot of waiting around until Zade wakes up. Mac finally crashes after two days of no sleep. Dela absently flips tarot cards, but says that she's not really getting a good reading on them. But after a while, she does say that there are a few paths now open to Zade, but again, it's revolving around free will, so it's unclear. Charles sits with Zade for a while, and kind of has a moment where he realizes how much of his life has been wasted because of youthful mistakes.
Zade eventually wakes up, and spends way too long reminding the reader that right after she woke up, she didn't know what was going on. She wouldn't read people's minds until later. Charles tells her that he and Mac brought her back to Dela, and that Mac knows. Zade is surprised to see Mac asleep on a loveseat in her room.
Charles leaves to get her an aspirin, but wakes Mac up before he goes. Mac is happy to see her awake, and promises to tell her everything later. He also apologizes for having blown up about her non-romantic relationship with Charles. Especially upon finding out that Charles is her biological father.
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Chapter 18
Dela began to tell Mac the story of how my parents met and how I came into existence.
Once again... no need to rush or anything. It's not like your daughter is slowly dying upstairs or anything.
Twenty-year-old Charles replied sarcastically, “Didn’t you see me coming in your little cards? Didn’t they tell you why I’m here?”
We are listening to Zade telling her story, who is telling us of how she read the mind of Mac about how Dela told him a story.
This is some Inception level of deep right there.
Her quip bought Charles back quickly from his shock. A broad smile spread across his face. He thought of a quick retort to cover his near-panic. “You could serve sandwiches, I believe it would help a lot with sales. Free sandwich with every reading! Great for business.” He shrugged and winked at her. He put his hands up and above his head as if he was reading a sign that said “FREE SANDWICHES.”
“Exactly what I wanted to read about in the tail end of Zade's story: the romance of two minor background characters.” -Nobody
Dela, composing herself through a deep breath or two, smiled at the woman in front of her and once again began to shuffle the cards.
Chapter 18 summary: And now, the subplot that literally nobody asked for, and when it was announced that it was happening (in the previous chapter), I'm sure everybody protested over it.
Dela and Charles's romance origins, everybody. She was a seer, he was an idiot, what more could I say? He said “This is stupid” but then changed his mind when she was like “Is this the nightmare you've been having?” and then randomly told him about one of the ladies he was sleeping with. The entire thing goes on and on with no real reason or direction. There's a lot of stuff about Charles refusing to wear a bulletproof vest for an act, even though Dela warns him that if he doesn't, he will literally die. But since obviously he's alive in the present, this is stupid.
Get back to goddamned Zade. You know, your daughter. Who is literally dying upstairs?
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Chapter 17
The moment the swinging door had completely stopped swishing back and forth, my mom became completely overwhelmed and melted into the floor. She stood leaning against the wall for a moment before sliding down to the floor and beginning to cry.
I don't know. I actually kind of like this moment. It's hard to deal when your own child is dying, and it's 100% on you to save them. I like that the book is showing Dela having a breakdown, that she's not just going to soldier on and pretend like she's alright.
“Perhaps I should start by explaining to you exactly how Charles and I met. It will have to be the quick version for now as we have a lot to do here.” She nodded and clasped her hands together as she spoke. “Maybe you should sit down?” Dela smiled and offered Mac one of the chairs at the dining set in the kitchen.
Meanwhile, as Charles and Dela make googoo eyes at one another, as Dela has an emotional breakdown over the entire thing, and as Dela tells Mac about how she and Charles met, Zade upstairs, unattended by medical professionals, just dies.
Mac raised an eyebrow as Dela shook her head at Charles and cracked her knuckles.
“Anyway . . . as I was saying . . .”
Chapter 17 summary: Mercifully, we gloss over Charles getting Zade out from the hospital, and the three of them flying in his private jet to Tennessee, where they're picked up by Dela at the local airstrip.
Once at the house, the three of them put Zade into her old bedroom. Back downstairs, Charles and Dela make googoo eyes at one another, clearly still madly in love but unable to be together. Mac gets uncomfortable and goes to sit with Zade. Dela then tells Charles that they don't have time for this, but apparently she has time for a breakdown. Which I love the raw emotion of the scene, but I hate the timing. After she gets a hold of herself, she says that they have an hour to prepare. For the midnight hour, for some spell, I guess.
Mac comes in, and rather than to actually get ready, Dela tells Mac that she has to tell him about how she and Charles met. And oh god why is this going to be an entire chapter about the two of them?
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Chapter 15
[Image description: A screenshot taken from the “Handbook for Mortals” PDF. It is of a text conversation between Zade and Mac, which only includes emojis. Zade sent Mac a crying emoji, while Mac sent back a “disinterested” emoji.]
Holy fucking shit, are we really doing this right now?
The cast had just walked the red carpet for the premiere of the revamped show. I had talked to so many reporters on the carpet, and I could feel the anxious excited energy in my blood.
I'm not quite sure how shows in Vegas are handled, but it honestly seems weird that not only would they have a red carpet event for redesigning a show that was already around and never actually closed, but that reporters would show up as well.
The cast had just walked the red carpet for the premiere of the revamped show. I had talked to so many reporters on the carpet, and I could feel the anxious excited energy in my blood. I wanted to do cartwheels down the hall but I refrained somehow, partially because it would have hardly been appropriate considering the dress I was wearing.
This might be the only instance of Zade doing her fancy dress we're going to get. Sorry for those who predicted that she'd do this at some point.
“Yes. I told someone I loved him. Not that I was in love with him. It’s two totally different things.”
“Looked pretty similar. I heard him say he loved you more than life itself. Pretty intense words, don’t ya think? And what about movies and a guitar shop?” He narrowed his eyes as he waited for my response. I guess if you didn’t understand the situation, those words would have sounded pretty intense. He was right about that.
“Forget the movies and guitar shop. This isn’t about that, anyway. I promise you it’s not what you think it is,” I said as calmly as I could.
Pete’s voice sounded over the radio. “Top of show, everyone. We go in two minutes.”
“Well, what is it, Zade?” He gritted his teeth again and I could see his jaw clenching. I wasn’t sure how to respond. The cause of his anger—and how I should respond—became even clearer as he continued, “You’re just like Clara. Maybe worse. At least she had the decency to come clean when I confronted her.”
Mac isn't a man; he's a bunch of red flags in the shape of a person.
“Clara’s gone, Mac. She’s been gone a long time. But clearly you still need to let her go.”
I don't know how long that this incident with Clara happened, but it's clearly been long enough for people to not have known her.
This guy needs intense therapy, if he's still hung up over what happened with Clara. It's clearly impacting his ability to form relationships, even years after the fact.
Like I'm sorry that she hurt you and broke your heart. But not every woman is some evil, manipulating harlot. And if the only thing that you're doing is looking for future heartbreak, you're going to miss a lot of chances to actually be happy.
“Heaven help me,” Cam muttered to himself.
Chapter 15 summary: Everybody works hard to revamp the show. There's some big new illusion that Zade has been working on with Charles, but they're playing it close to the vest to the point that not even the other performers not involved with the illusion have seen it yet.
After the final rehearsal wraps, Charles takes everybody out to dinner. At the restaurant, Charles insists that Zade sit next to him, and thus “demotes” Sofia to sit somewhere else. He also asks that Jackson sit on Zade's other side. Sofia ends up sitting next to Mac, who looks beyond livid over the entire thing.
Later, Zade goes into Charles's office to thank him for all that he's done for her. The two of them are like “I love you... LIKE A FATHER.” and “I love you... LIKE A DAUGHTER.” Mac happens by right around then, and misses the subtext of family love going on between Charles and Zade.
Mac then goes to confront Zade right before the show is about to start. He tries to call her out on “two timing” him, but Zade legit doesn't know what's happening. Especially because Mac knows that she's also been casually dating Jackson as well. But Mac goes on and on, and compares her to the girl who broke his heart, Clara.
Mac then storms off, practically in tears over the entire thing. All because this asshole couldn't be bothered to ask her about her relationship with Charles. He knows that he can't do his job, and calls for Cam to take over for him for the night. Despite the fact that Cam hasn't done this for over a year, and doesn't know the cues... and forget about the cues for the new illusion.
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Chapter 14
“You know how hot you look in that harness?” Mac asked. I stood up and turned around so I was facing him directly.
“Oh, yeah, I’m sure,” I said sarcastically.
“No, seriously!”
I swear to god if this book mentions freaky anti-gravity sex, I'm going to scream.
He pulled me in for a kiss. I kissed him back quickly before grabbing the bar hanging by my head and pulling myself on top of the set piece where I was suppose to start. At that exact moment I noticed Charles standing farther down the catwalk. I wasn’t sure if he had seen Mac kiss me, but I guessed he had. And, if he
had, it was too late to do anything about it.
I don't know why it matters. Charles is fucking Sofia on the side. It would be really goddamned hypocritical if he said anything about the Mac/Zade situation.
“If you don’t mind me asking—why do you care? Lots of people in our
show date, you and Sofia, even.”
“Yes, of course. It’s what happens in this business. Well—you both are
very important to me. Professionally. I know my show would struggle without you. And she—well, you see how special and important she has become to us. She brings something extremely unique. Wouldn’t want anything to cause issues.”
It's been at the most a couple of months. I fail to see how Zade could have seriously brought that much to the table that Charles is now giving Mac the “worried father” speech.
Of course he chose the latest action superhero flick starring Ryan Reynolds.
Oh my fucking god. This book doesn't hesitate to tell us the exact brand and shade of lipstick that she's wearing, but can't even be bothered to tell us that they go to see Deadpool?
With that he kissed me passionately while bending me back like they do in the movies until my knee popped, which anyone who’s ever seen any romantic movie would know, is a very good thing.
Chapter 14 summary: One day, Mac is helping Zade into her harness for a catwalk thing for the show, and he playfully kisses her as she's rising up. Charles sees this, and calls Mac into his office, where he gives her the “If you hurt her, I swear to god...” speech. Which... I don't know where that's coming from. I get that Mac is an important stage hand, but Zade has only been there a few months. She can't be THAT important to the show. Mac promises him that they'll be professional if they break up.
Later, Zade doesn't know about Charles talking with Mac, but senses something off about him. They're walking through a park when a cyclist rudely bumps into Zade. The contents of her purse spills out everywhere, including her deck of tarot cards. Zade then uses her magic to make it seem like the cylist hit a pothole, and he goes flying.
Mac then picks up the cards, and he's like “A bit silly, isn't it?” Zade explains about how her mom does tarot readings for a living, but Mac gets angry over it and says that just because Dela did it doesn't mean Zade has to do it. As you can imagine, this just upsets Zade. It's not about the cards, it's about her power.
Later, Zade goes on a movie date with Jackson. As they're leaving, he invites her to look at guitars with him. But they pass a random tarot/palm reader shop, and he suggests that they should get their futures told. Zade is insanely happy with this development.
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Chapter 12
I still hadn’t quite made a decision in regards to my personal life. Every time I would start to lean in one direction something would pull me in the opposite.
Or as I like to call it: there's no actual conflict, and if Zade made up her mind about which guy that she wanted to be with, there would literally be nothing to keep the book chugging forward.
“It’s not good, that much I can tell you. I just don’t know how bad and what it all means”. I heard Zeb say, sounding worried.
Charles responded in an equally grievous tone, “You know we have to let some things take their own course, you must let it go for now.” Was it something I’d done? Was I going to be fired?
OH MY GOD, YOU SELF-ABSORBED TWATWAFFLE. NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU.
A few days later, Tad, Mac, and I were standing backstage by the time clock getting ready to clock out.
I really don't think that the author understands how performers function. Either you show up for rehearsal, or you don't. People would fucking realize this. Especially for shows where individual talents are highlighted. No need to clock in and out.
“So, you’re going to spend your only two days off rehearsing with Charles while everyone else is camping?”
Well I'm fucking sorry that I'm spending time actually working rather than goofing off with everybody.
“Now, for the important question. Something smells amazing. What’s for dinner?”
Chapter 12 summary: Zade sits in front of her dressing room table and tries to sell the reader about the various products she'd been given to use. No, I'm not joking: she name drops so many brands, it's hard to keep up. After a moment, Jackson comes in and tries to invite her to another one of his band shows, but Zade says that she has to work on another illusion with Charles. He seems disappointed and leaves, but Zade realizes that he left his sunglasses behind and tries to go after him. As she's walking through the halls, she overhears Tad and Charles talking about something, and worries that it's about her. They reassure her that it's “magician stuff”, and quickly leave. Zade isn't satisfied by this answer.
Later, Zade tells some of the others that she can't go camping over the next two days since she has to work on this illusion with Charles. Mac gets insanely upset over the entire thing, which is sending up so many freaking red flags. The narration glosses over Zade's actual work (but it's been doing that, and focusing on the romance aspect) and skips to Zade cooking dinner for her and Mac, following his return from the group camping trip.
There's a table just inside her apartment door, and she drops random things on it until she gets around to putting them away. But following actually working with Charles, they went to see David Copperfield, and ate dinner at a fancy restaurant where somebody takes your photo and offers to sell it to you. Mac gets unreasonably upset over the fact that Zade went out, and apparently has a life outside of him. And again: giant red flag.
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Chapter 11
Overall, keeping [the Mac/Zade/Jackson love triangle] to ourselves kept our work environment drama free.
God knows that there's probably enough drama at the theater without that mess. I'm sure Sofia brings an entire circus's worth of drama every single day.
If I had written on a piece of paper all the things I wanted in a guy, well, [Jackson] would have fit it to a T, except my ideal guy would also have powers. I had learned from my mom that it’s easier when you are both magick— it’s actually deeply frowned upon for someone like me to end up with a mortal.
I literally forgot that Zade is supposed to be a witch. So I'm sitting here thinking “Superman”, but she's thinking “Harry Potter”.
I had learned from my mom that it’s easier when you are both magick— it’s actually deeply frowned upon for someone like me to end up with a mortal. It’s practically a law for us to not be with our own kind. My mom instantly became an outcast for having me with a mortal.
I'll call this “this could have been interesting if expanded upon, but I know that it'll probably never be brought up again”, part 710823098109823908123.
Mac, was also a mortal and we clearly had our differences—but so much passion had sparked between us.
Passion. Spark. Um... bitch where?
[The random stranger at the bar] was obviously hitting on me, even though I was not even remotely interested— not just because I already had one too many prospects, but also because I am not the “get picked up at a bar” kind of girl. He was funny and it was kind of fun to have him fawning all over me and, honestly, it was better talking to him than standing by myself awkwardly.
She says this, but at the same time, the narration has shown NOTHING but guys tripping over themselves about Zade.
Oh, but this is at a BAR, so I guess that it's DIFFERENT?! (Despite the fact that she also works with this guy.)
“Oh! Sorry, I must have zoned out. What was it?”
“What’s your favorite clothing store?”
Really? We're really going to go from “Mac having a pissing contest because he wants to be with Zade” to “Shallow females” with barely taking a breath?
Making excuses of an oncoming migraine, I excused myself from the girls’ conversation so that I could leave before I started banging my head against the table.
Chapter 11 summary: The ENTIRE first two pages of this chapter are nothing but stream of consciousness writing as Zade basically screams at the concept of dating Jackson and then switches over to screaming at the concept of dating Mac.
Zade goes to the bar to hang out with everybody after work. Jackson gets called away on band business, so Zade ends up just floating around and talking with a bunch of people. She's talking with somebody from work that she doesn't know well when Mac comes over and asks her to do shots with them. Zade says that she'll go, but the guy, Justin, gets belligerent over her leaving. Not being forced to leave: Zade awkwardly trying to tell Justin “thanks but no thanks” and then leaving. Justin gets into Mac's face, and a bunch of the other guys show up. A fight breaks out, but ends almost as soon as it begins.
As the Justin incident breaks up, Zade lingers near where Tad and Mac are, and hears Tad chewing Mac out about his shitty, possessive behavior towards Zade. Jackson comes over and asks Mac if he's okay following that. But he also chews Mac out, and says that “Zade can take care of herself”.
The book then takes a hard left away from that, and Zade is dragged into a conversation with nameless, faceless “girls” who will not shut up about clothing brands.
