by Suzi Davis
“Fine,” I grumbled.
“Don’t pout, Grace,” David scolded in a louder voice. He smirked down at me. “If you’re nice, maybe we’ll let you sit shotgun.”
A few of the others chuckled. I glared them into silence.
“Let’s go.”
I didn’t have to answer any more questions in the van; the others seemed to sense that I was not in the mood so they kept any curiosity they had under wraps. I listened to their quiet conversations as David navigated the large van through the city streets. Bridgette flirted with Nathaniel and Jai, giggling and causing me to roll my eyes. Sylvia and Red were talking about a restaurant they had eaten at the night before. Ella plugged a pair of headphones into her ears as soon as we got in the van and closed her eyes, leaning against the window as if she were going to fall asleep. David and I were silent.
The oak tree was near the center of Beacon Hill Park. We parked as close to it as we could get and then all got out to walk the rest of the way through the sparse winter gardens, over the duck pond bridges and under the tall trees. As our group approached the towering, ancient oak, all conversations died.
I tipped my head back and gazed up at the tree, its powerful branches twisting upwards, reaching for the misty sky. For a brief moment, I closed my eyes and all I wanted in the world was to be with Sebastian, for him to be safe, for this to be over with. But nothing happened, nothing changed.
Slowly, I turned to face the group who stood in a loose half-circle before me.
“I’m not sure how much you know or how much you’ve been able to figure out, but let me begin by telling you the truth. You, and a few others around the world, are able to access a powerful and ancient magic that lives inside of you. It is known as the Lost Magic and it is as old as time itself.” All eyes were on me, their attention so intense some of them barely blinked or breathed. Even David looked on with interest.
I continued on, explaining what I had learned of the Lost Magic from my life as Caoilinn and the pieces of information the spirits had shared with me.
“A long, long time ago, before the magic was “lost”, it was a very present and important part of everyday life. Not everyone could access it but everyone knew of it. Slowly the ability disappeared, it stayed with the souls who possessed it but it lay dormant within them, so that they had no knowledge or awareness of the magic in their next lives. Two thousand years ago, when I lived as the Celtic priestess, Caoilinn, I was one of the last living people to possess the magic naturally.”
“Excuse me, but what did you just say?” Red interrupted. He wasn’t the only one who looked confused. “What do you mean, you lived two thousand years ago?”
I realized my mistake, continuing on patiently.
“The truth is, though our bodies die, our souls never do. We are born and live again as our souls continue their journey through different incarnations. It is the same for every single living person on this planet; we have all lived before and we will all live again.” Jai and Nathaniel nodded knowingly but the others just looked stunned. David appeared indifferent.
“It may be difficult to accept at first but you will know in your hearts that it’s true. Many of you may have known each other in different lives and we are naturally drawn to others who have the Lost Magic within them. Though not always,” I added, thinking of Sebastian and then quickly pushing his image and all the emotions that came with it away. I took a deep breath and continued.
“There are spirits who exist in a place between life and death, a place sometimes accessible by those who possess the Lost Magic or who have a natural ability to access it. These spirits once lived but then their souls were not reborn in the usual way or perhaps their souls are just waiting for the right body, the right life to choose. Either way, they exist in limbo in this otherworldy place that both touches the Earth and doesn’t. These spirits have great power and great knowledge, they are watching and listening, even now.”
As I spoke, the wind picked up, rattling the branches above us and causing several among us to shiver and shift uncomfortably.
“A month ago, under the last full moon, the spirits came to me and instructed me to awaken the Lost Magic. They said the ones who were able to control its power would be drawn to me, would come seeking me out.” I hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. “They warned me that not all would have good intentions, that some would be tempted by darkness and would pose a great threat not only to us but to the world. They told me to judge who was worthy to control the magic, who was ready to learn its secrets and master its powers. I have also been instructed to deal with those who are deemed unworthy.”
“What do you mean ‘unworthy’?” Ella asked softly. She blushed as all eyes turned to her.
“The magic should not be used for your own gain, for manipulating others or causing others harm,” I replied. “The ones who took Sebastian, are obviously unworthy. I am sure they have turned to darkness though I’m not sure how they have learned to use their abilities without my guidance. It would be too dangerous to leave them with the ability to use the Lost Magic.”
“So you’re going to take their powers?” Jai frowned.
“Yes.” I held his gaze, refusing to let the shame and fear that I felt show. I could not destroy the Lost Magic and the only way I could strip another of their powers was by taking their life, as the spirits had instructed me. Soon enough the others would realize that, but I was not about to share this information now.
“I will teach you how to use your powers, I will share with you all that I know of the Lost Magic: what I have learned in this life and what I remember from my past life. But if you do anything to make me think that you are unworthy of the magic, you will also be stripped of your powers,” I warned.
“Do you see yourself as above these laws then, Caoilinn?” David tilted his head at me, his eyes narrowed. “Have you not already used the magic to manipulate and to serve your own best interests?”
“I want to rescue Sebastian for myself but the spirits have also charged me to hunt down and deal with those who are unworthy, which his captors most certainly are. They have instructed me to save him and so I am justified to use the magic to complete these tasks.”
“You said we were going to contact these spirits?” Bridgette asked. She held her head high and spoke confidently as the attention was redirected to her.
“Yes, we are going to now. I am going to teach you how to combine your magic. Most of you will not be able to use your magic for some time unless you are feeling a particularly strong emotion. I am going to be directing your magic through you, so that you can feel what it’s like, so that you can experience the strength and the sensations of using the Lost Magic while I actually manipulate it. It will better help you connect with your own abilities and it will give me more than enough strength to contact the spirits. I will focus all of our magic together. You should all be able to see and hear everything that the spirits have to say, though I would ask that you do not address them directly, just observe.”
I examined the faces before me. David looked skeptical. Bridgette giggled nervously while Red looked excited. Ella, Sylvia, Nathaniel and Jai were giving little away, their eyes were bright and focused. No one else spoke.
“Let’s begin. Join hands in a circle around the tree,” I instructed.
The group moved quickly. Bridgette skipped forward and took one of my hands, David slid his hand around my other. His fingers were long, his skin smooth, his grip firm and strong. I was surprised by the comforting feel of his hand in mine.
“What if someone sees us?” Bridgette suddenly asked, her eyes darting back towards the trail. “We look ridiculous.”
A few others rolled their eyes. Red snorted softly.
“I don’t want anyone to pay attention to us, so they won’t,” I informed her curtly.
“Oh… right. Well, good.” She giggled and tossed her head, sharing a quick smile with Nathaniel who held her other hand. I cleared my throat.
; “Close your eyes and follow my instructions. Become aware of your own breath, your own heart beating. Relax and slow down your breathing, slow down your pulse. Good…” I followed my own instructions as I spoke, slowing and deepening my breaths. “Now reach out slowly with your mind and focus on the breathing of the people to either side of you. Connect your breath with theirs, fall into the same rhythm, feel their pulse matching yours through your hands.”
My necklace was slowly growing warmer, its gentle pulsating throb matching the rhythm of my own heart, the rhythm of the group. I continued speaking, my voice soft and hypnotic.
“Let yourself become aware of the energy vibrating within you, pulsating with its own rhythm so closely entwined with your heart. Feel that power, that quiet strength just below the surface that is waiting to be used. Let it spread, let it fill you, let it become you. Feel the magic in every fiber of your being, in every heartbeat, in every breath. Feel it inside you and feel it all around you. Let the magic flow through the circle, through all of us. Let it travel through your left hand and out your right in a never-ending cycle. Let it travel through your body, your heart and your mind with each heartbeat, each breath.”
The magic swelled within me, rushing through me in an amazing current. My senses were all heightened, making me hyper-aware of the birds far overhead, the distant splashes and calls of ducks, the hum of the city’s traffic, the icy bite of the breeze against my cheeks. It was amazing. It was a rush.
“Wow,” I heard Bridgette whisper beside me. I smiled.
“Good. Now I’m going to direct the flow and use it to contact the spirits. Feel my focus, feel the control, feel the way the magic is shaped around my desire.” I paused, ensuring they were all focusing. “Hear me. I need your aid,” I called to the spirits. My words echoed eerily around the woods, my voice bouncing back off the trees. The day suddenly grew darker, the clouds shifting to obscure even more of the sun. I opened my eyes and watched as tendrils of mist began unraveling all around us. They appeared from the thin air but quickly formed a solid gray wall around our group, blocking out the rest of the forest and swirling around the ancient oak in the center of the circle. I knew it was both real and unreal; a blurring of boundaries, a blending of worlds. “Open your eyes,” I whispered to the others. “And focus.”
The damp mist continued to roll in around us and with it came a definite sense that we were no longer alone. A powerful presence had entered our circle, invisible to our eyes but I could tell the others had all sensed it too. Only Red, Ella and Sylvia looked afraid, the rest of us appeared calm.
“Gracelynn,” the wind whispered. I watched as the others’ eyes all widened, realizing they heard the voice too. “Why do you summon us?”
The mist rolled and tumbled around the tree at the center of our circle, the dry, ancient voice seeming to speak from the oak tree itself as the wind around us steadily rose.
“Sebastian has been taken by some of those who can control the Lost Magic. We need to find him, to rescue him and to stop the others but we don’t know where they went, where to start,” I explained, my voice clear and crisp but my words still muffled and muted by the thickening fog.
“Those you have turned away, the angry ones, they have turned to a darker source as you were warned. They are dangerous. The evil that they are capable of, the horrors that will unfold at their hands if you let them continue down this dark path. They must be stopped. You must destroy the darkness that guides them,” the voice hissed on the wind, whipping through my hair and into my ears almost painfully.
“The one you seek is with them, he still lives but he hurts… The pain… The darkness… It is almost too late.” The wind carried the words to my ears, sending waves of shock and fear through my heart, almost causing me to lose focus. The mist began to break apart with my loss of control.
“Where are they? How can we find them? How can we save Sebastian?” I demanded, an edge of desperation to my voice as I called out into the steadily rising wind.
“They have been led from the light and into the darkness, tempted by the darker side of the magic. They must be stopped. Destroy the darkness that guides them and save the ones you seek. They set a trap but you must go, you must lead the others… you must stop them…” The wind blasted each word into my face, so strong now it nearly knocked me down. I planted my feet determinedly, squinting into the wind, watching the mist swirling up and around the old oak tree. David squeezed my hand tightly in encouragement.
“I will go. I will lead them—just show me where. Show me how,” I begged.
The wind swirled faster, creating a spiraling cyclone with the oak tree at its center. The remaining tendrils of mist were sucked into the vortex, creating a thick, gray cloud around the tree, blurred in places by the violent wind.
“The dark ones must be stopped.” The words came from all around me, the voice splitting and turning into a hundred whispered words upon the wind. “See,” the wind whispered over and over. “See.”
The gray cloud around the tree thickened and seemed to solidify, an image forming faintly at its center. I strained to make it out.
I saw a gray ocean, tossing and turning, waves crashing steadily against a long, sandy beach. A motorboat rode the waves, its name painted near the back of the ship, The Sea Spite. A few dark figures were visible, huddling into their coats as they were battered by the wind and the rain. I thought I recognized the dark green coat that Jeremy had been wearing when he turned up on the doorstep of my mother’s house. My attention was focused on another though, a pale, black-haired man who was huddled in a corner of the boat, separate and apart from the others as he gazed out over the ocean. His eyes were dead and cold, his face white, his expression so devoid of all emotion that it made his face terrifying and unfamiliar. He looked like he was in so much pain, his body could barely contain it. He was too pale, he stood too hunched, his face twisted into a permanent grimace. The sight of Sebastian like that shocked me so much that I lost my focus entirely. I lost control of the magic. Like a candle snuffed out, the magic was abruptly gone. The mist instantly vanished, the wind died mid-gust. I dropped David and Bridgette’s hands and fell heavily to my knees.
“What, whoa!” Nathaniel mumbled. I heard several others stumble as they reeled beneath the backlash of my abrupt withdrawal from the ceremony.
“Grace, are you alright?” Bridgette asked me, gently placing her hand on my shoulder. I was trembling beneath her light touch, struggling desperately to keep my emotions at bay. What had they done to him that he would look like that? What torture and pain had he been put through that would make him look so broken, so dead inside? The icy fear inside of me was slowly morphing into a steadily building, passionate rage. It was so much easier to be angry than to be afraid.
“No. I’m not alright,” I answered, my voice fierce. She took a small step back from me, letting her hand fall. Surprisingly, it was David who stepped forward and took my hand, pulling me to my feet without waiting for my permission. He looked unexpectedly disturbed.
“That was intense,” Ella spoke up. “My hands are still shaking.”
“Yeah,” Red agreed, at a loss for words.
“I know that place, in the vision. It looked like the West Coast,” Sylvia announced quietly. “Somewhere near Tofino or Ucluelet—maybe Long Beach?”
“That’s what I was thinking too,” Jai agreed. “It’s 10am, we could reach the west coast of the island by 2pm if we leave now.”
All eyes turned to me and David, waiting expectantly.
“Let’s go,” I agreed, my voice sounding rough and harsh.
Everyone immediately started walking back towards the trail but David paused, catching my wrist and pulling me back.
“Maybe we shouldn’t rush into this. They’re dangerous, Gracelynn, the spirit said so. I know you’re eager to save Sebastian but the others have no experience with this kind of thing. You’re leading them into a battle when they can barely hold a sword. I think it would be wise to
take a little time to formulate a plan, to train the others more. Do you even know what you’re going to do with Jeremy and his followers once we find them? And what of this ‘darkness’ that you’re expected to destroy?” David demanded.
“I know exactly what I’m going to do,” I answered. I tugged my wrist free from his grip. “I’m going to kill them all,” I pronounced coldly. And with that, I marched away from David, stomping angrily over the wet, rotting leaves. For once, I left him in stunned silence.
Chapter Eleven – Carefully Laid Plans
“Are we going all the way to the west coast then?” Bridgette asked me as I tried to march past her.
“Yes.”
“Too bad it’s not beach weather,” she sighed. She kept talking, before I could respond. “Are we all going in Sylvia’s van? You’ll sit with me Grace, won’t you? I’ve barely had a chance to talk to you since I got here and now I’ve got even more questions.”
Her smile was so innocent and friendly it made me hesitate. I had hoped to spend the drive in the front of the van with David. At least I could depend upon him for some silence. As I opened my mouth to say ‘no’, David caught my eye and gave me a significant look. His meaning was clear: I needed to spend time with these people, I needed to get to know them, as well as teach them. I could not shirk my responsibilities again, the results were sure to be disastrous.
“Sure, I’ll sit with you,” I agreed.
“Good.” Bridgette beamed back at me.
David and Sylvia sat in the front of the van, David driving again. Jai, Ella and Nathaniel took up the second row, and in the very back sat Red, Bridgette and myself. There was just enough room for all of us with everyone’s bags piled into the back and stowed under the seats.
Everyone was chattering almost excitedly as David pulled the van out of the parking lot. They were all still amazed by their first experience with the Lost Magic.
“My body’s still vibrating with energy,” Sylvia commented. She looked like she was buzzing, as if she’d drank too much coffee. In fact, they all did.