by Unknown
“I also fully realize,” she continued, in a more serious tone, “that our actions in this matter could upset the delicate nature of our relationship here. Nevertheless, I simply cannot leave behind an innocent man if he is yet alive, or what this man possesses, if he is not. I have prepared a backup plan should things…go badly.”
Ivan interrupted.
“You mean if Eidolon is guilty of this charge, discovers us and wages battle?”
“See what I mean, Meghan. I hardly need to explain myself at all with this young man,” said Juliska.
Ivan had practically been sitting on air while listening to the details of his mission. He leaned back now, inhaling and exhaling deeply. After a few minutes of hard concentration, his face turned from calculating to acceptance.
“I agree that we cannot leave a fellow Svoda behind, Banon Blackwell, and I accept your task. When does the journey begin?”
“In three weeks time we celebrate the Feast of the Blest Arcane. This will keep the people pleasantly occupied, while you two enter the valley.”
Meghan wondered what exactly she could do to assist Ivan on this task. I suck at magic. He remembers that, right?
“Meghan, I have a special favor to ask you,” Juliska then said.
28
“Yes,” she answered.
“I want you to be as ready for this journey as possible. I realize you have much left to learn.
Being a Firemancer is a lifetime of learning. However, Ivan will need your talents on this journey. I request that you move in with me for the remainder of our time here in the valley.
This will make it much easier for me to train you.”
Meghan’s face lit up brightly. She need not speak her answer aloud. She had already begun packing in her mind. Oh drat! What about Colin. Well, it’s just for a few weeks. He’ll live.
“Good. That’s settled then. I will expect you later tonight, Meghan. We need to get started right away. Now, Ivan. You do not need to be here for all of Meghan’s training. However, I will ask that you be here sometimes. It is vital you are able to work together, and understand her limitations.”
Ivan smiled upon the Banon’s last word.
Meghan scowled.
Why did this great event, of her being able to spend extra time with Juliska, also have to be mired with spending extra time with weirdo boy, Ivan? Then, the reality of what she was training for set in. Just the two of them, on a journey, possibly for days … her heart sank.
Ivan agreed on times to come and train with Meghan, and then bid his goodbye. Meghan remained behind, looking overwhelmed. Juliska sat down across from her.
“I have one other request for you, Meghan,” she said. Meghan gave Juliska her complete attention. “I realize this situation is not one you ever thought you would find yourself in, but I trust Ivan explicitly. I would not allow you to follow him on this journey if I felt it were too dangerous for you. In addition, I fully realize your dislike for him. I cannot change your mind on this, you either like someone, or you don’t. I am sorry to have to make you spend so much time with someone you absolutely loathe.”
“Is it that obvious?” mumbled Meghan.
“Honestly, it’s quite apparent to see that when the two of you are in a room together, the tension is thicker than a knife, and not in an ‘Oh they’re so cute and will grow to love each other some day’ kind of way.”
“Sorry. I do find him infuriating. But I will… persevere,” Meghan answered weakly.
“Good. Because I think, like it or not, Ivan is bound for great things, and I would like to see you in this direction, too.”
I could be great! She knew she would never defy a personal request from Juliska, regardless.
“I will leave you to go home and pack now,” said Juliska.
As Meghan arose to depart, Juliska stopped her.
“Oh, one other thing, in regards to your brother. I understand this may be difficult, but I need this task to remain a secret. You can tell him you are moving in with me for additional training for Ivan’s initiation.”
Meghan nodded that she understood and left.
29
What would Colin say when he discovered she was moving out? He would probably have a fit. But he would have to get over it, because she was moving in with Juliska Blackwell whether he liked it or not!
“What are you doing?” asked Colin, walking in on Meghan, packing a suitcase. She sighed, unsure of how to break this news to him.
“It’s only for a few weeks, Colin.”
“What is?” he asked.
“Jul…Banon Blackwell feels I need some full time training, in order to assist Ivan,” she puckered her nose, “on his Initiation.”
“Okay. Still don’t understand why you’re packing.”
“I’m moving in with the Banon, upon her request, so we can train more often.” Instantly Colin disliked this idea, and then almost as instantly, he accepted it. I can spend more time searching for Catrina this way.
Meghan saw his face change from anger to acceptance and wondered why. But still, she could not nudge past the seemingly permanent block surrounding his thoughts.
“I guess that makes sense,” said Colin. “It’s just for a few weeks. I’ll be fine here.” Meghan was about to question him when Jae walked in. She gasped, stunned by his appearance. Colin followed with a gasp of his own.
“What happened to you?” she asked, concerned.
“Yeah, I guess I should go to the doctor, huh. I… fell, slid down a rock,” he explained.
“Stupid really. Clumsy. It looks worse than it is. If we were allowed to do magic, I’d just heal it, although, I feel so drained lately I probably couldn’t even do that!”
“Bad day?” Meghan asked, grabbing a damp cloth.
“You could say that,” he said, wincing as she dabbed at a large bump on his head. Jae used another cloth to wipe off bloody bits of dirt, which had ground its way into the side of his scraped up arm.
Meghan’s nightmare sat at the edge of her thoughts. When would she figure out what was going on with Jae? She felt Colin’s mind trying to link with hers and she accepted his thoughts.
“Maybe he did just fall?” suggested Colin. Meghan frowned, pondering his injuries. They did seem plausibly caused by a fall down a rocky surface.
“I dunno, Col. Maybe.”
Colin grabbed the bloodied cloths used to clean Jae’s wounds to dispose of them. Meghan’s thoughts entered his mind again.
“I only know I can’t worry about it right now, Col. I have too much on my plate, already.” Colin secretly agreed with her there. Once again, Jae’s problems would have to wait.
Jae popped out from behind the dressing area with a stack of torn and bloodied clothes.
“Here, add these to the trash too, Colin. They’re ruined at this point.” Just as he tossed them to Colin, both boys jumped in surprise.
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“Nona! Nona!” Meghan shouted, repeatedly.
Nona had just entered the room, clearly not her usual, well-balanced self. Her head bent to one side and she stumbled while attempting to jump onto Meghan’s bed.
“What’s wrong with her?” asked both Colin and Jae.
Meghan did not answer. She tried to get closer to Nona but found it impossible as her faithful Catawitch’s body began shifting strangely. It began with frantic stretching, and then evolved into hitting her head with her own feet, and then even more strangely, into a full on fight with herself. She scratched and meowed raucously, running in tight circles, climbing walls and in general, appearing to have suddenly gone quite crazy.
Colin, in attempts to help Meghan catch Nona, tried to grab the Catawitch, only for Nona to scratch him with her sharp claws.
“Nona!” yelled Meghan. “Please stop this!” She could sense that her loyal pet was in torment,
but
could
not
see
or
sense
what
was
causing
the
problem.
Then, to the shock of the petrified trio, Nona’s meow turned into a clear, cat-like, girly voice.
They looked on, stunned, as Nona shook herself, and then began licking one of her feet, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred at all. After a moment, Nona looked up at the stunned three.
“Sorry,” she purred. “I’ve been trying to get that out of me for days, now.”
“Nona …you are…talking,” muttered Meghan in relieved disbelief.
“Of course,” she said so only Meghan could hear. Nona added, aloud, “Sorry, Colin, about scratching you. Did not mean to do that,” her cattish voice explained. She hopped onto his lap and began licking his wound. Colin burst out in relieved laughter as Nona healed his arm.
Once finished, Nona turned to Jae.
“Would you allow me to heal you as well?”
Jae, not excited about a trip to the doctor, nodded yes, heartily.
“I guess I should’ve expected you to be able to talk,” breathed Meghan, shaking her head,
“after all, the first Catawitch I encountered could.”
“Ugh. Let’s not talk about that Catawitch!” demanded Nona, sounding annoyed that she had not done more damage in their previous fight back in Grimble.
Meghan laughed, immediately understanding Nona’s thoughts.
After healing Jae’s wounds, Nona went immediately back to business and reminded Meghan they needed to go. Nona was anxious about their upcoming journey; Meghan could sense this. Nona wanted Meghan to get started with her training as quickly as Juliska did.
Nona bounded out of the stone house and headed toward their new home. Meghan picked up her suitcase, and explained to Jae what she was doing, asking him to pass the news along to his parents.
It was a strange goodbye, and although temporary in the twins’ minds, they both felt an unexpected appeasement at being out of each other’s lives for a time.
After Meghan’s departure, Colin and Jae sat in the Mochrie’s kitchen. Both were deep in thought and neither paid any attention to the other, when they heard a stone door creak 31
open, startling them both. An old, withered hand shot out of the door, holding a piece of paper.
“Corny,” whispered Colin, eagerly grabbing the sheet. The door abruptly slammed shut.
“Thank you,” Colin said, unsure Corny could even hear him.
He examined the page. It made no sense, but Colin could not help but smile eagerly. He hoped whatever Corny was trying to tell him, the answer would come soon. This time, he was listening.
7
Amelia Cobb bent down to the ground, hovering over a puddle of newly fallen water.
“Speculo.”
She whispered the incantation, and there, in the puddle, appeared a murky and distorted face. She had to pass along the frightening news of the Projector to her informant.
“I am sorry to contact you so abruptly, but there is news. News that cannot wait!” The informant, a male voice, spoke back.
“Has something gone wrong with the plan?”
“Not exactly. But the plans may have to change.”
The informant waited, breathlessly, checking his surroundings to be sure he was truly alone.
“Go on,” he said. “It’s safe to speak.”
“We have become aware of something that changes everything. A …Projector has emerged, not yet in full power, still a child.”
The murky face in the water stammered, speechless for an entire minute.
“I know,” continued Amelia. “This is a circumstance none of us expected.”
“What has been decided?” asked the informant, remembering that the tradition was to kill these children before they could reach full maturity and thus, come into full, unstoppable power.
“We cannot come to a unanimous decision. However, we needed to warn you. By this point, the Grosvenor and all in the magical world will have discovered this information.
Eventually, this knowledge will come to those of you who travel, too! Everyone will know about this child. Everyone will be hunting the Projector… whether to kill or conquer.” The informant acknowledged this.
“I will pass this information along to the rest. We will follow whatever decision you make, Amelia Cobb, rightful Banon to the Svoda Gypsies.”
Amelia’s comforting smile waved through the puddle rings. Her face then vanished, leaving the informant alone.
32
“How grave,” he muttered, “that a poor child is out there, fated to die, because of a limitless magic that cannot be controlled.” He then whisked away to speak to his fellow informants.
Colin glanced at Meghan’s empty bed. This would take some getting used to. As much as he enjoyed the fact that he would have more time on his own, not having his sister around still made him uncomfortable. He wondered if he should be more worried about it. Would Juliska allow Meghan to return once her task with Ivan was completed?
Again, Colin decided he would wait until the task was over to worry about it: He needed to focus on finding Catrina; which led him to his next problem: he needed to use magic to find her.
He grabbed under his bed for Magicante. The pages glimmered as he turned them, searching for what he needed.
“Magicante,” he said to the book, waking it from its slumber.
It yawned its reply.
“Is there such a spell that can hide the fact that I am using magic? From everyone?” The Magicante sighed in boredom.
“Such a silly question, boy,” it replied snidely. “Is there such a thing? You already know the answer to that,” the voice trailed off and the pages flipped until reaching the exact spell Colin was looking for.
“Oh, right!” remembered Colin, thinking back to when Darcy Scraggs had used magic against them, back in Grimble, without the Balaton knowing. The book, sensing Colin’s memory of it, added more to the story.
“That snooty girl’s spell only worked for hiding magic from the Balaton. However, this is the spell to end all spells in regards to hiding the use of magic. You cast this spell correctly, boy, and no one will ever sense magic is being used.”
“Do I need to cast it just once?” asked Colin, noticing how short the spell was.
“You need to cast it before you perform any spell,” it explained, sounding more interested.
“For example, Abdo Emissio. Always add the Abdo before any spell you perform and it will be hidden from all.”
“That. Is. Cool.” said Colin, eager to get started.
“Let me clarify, though, it does not hide magic completely. This spell keeps magic from being traced, by hiding the trail of expelled energy that magic leaves behind. If someone physically sees you doing magic on the other hand… well you can put the rest together.” Just then, Jae walked in.
“Hoped I’d find you in here. Mom wanted me to tell you dinner will be ready soon.” He sat down on Colin’s bed, watching as he hid Magicante. “Have you heard from Meghan yet?”
“Not since that first day. She sent me a leaf letting me know she’d gotten settled in, but would be busy studying. I’m sure she’s having her fill of fun, studying with Ivan,” laughed Colin.
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Jae joined in.
After a minute, Colin noticed a new injury, this time on Jae’s hand.
“It’s nothing,” he insisted, after seeing Colin’s questioning gaze.
“Nothing? Looks like a nasty gash, Jae.”
“The doctor gave me some salve. It’ll heal in no time. I’ve just been kind of clumsy lately.” Colin did not believe Jae’s explanation, and for a brief moment, wished Meghan was there.
A sudden case of clumsiness just did not fit.
“We’d better go eat,” reminded Jae.
After dinner, Colin and Jae went outside of the caves and meandered down a path. Both were silent, each rooted within their own thoughts. It seemed like ages passed without a single word pa
ssing between them.
Colin then got a fleeting urge to let Jae in on his secret. He was not sure why he felt such a desire, except for the fact that no one did know, not even his own sister.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized how stupid it would be to go gallivanting off to find Catrina, without telling anyone. What if something happened? It’s the smart thing to do, isn’t it?
“Jae,” he began tentatively, before he could lose his nerve. “Do you recall the girl that is sick, from the Flummer family?”
“Um, yeah, Balloch’s granddaughter, Catrina, right? I heard my dad mention her.” Colin was not sure how to explain his dream girl situation, without sounding nuts. He began with explaining his first encounter with Catrina, back in the Grimble hospital, and then told Jae about his dreams, finishing with his encounter with Balloch’s ghost.
Jae listened without interruption, and afterward, let his body slide down the edge of a red rock formation, which he had perched himself on.
“And you believe she is here, somewhere in the E Valley?” Colin nodded yes.
“I don’t understand how you could have seen her in Grimble, though. She’s from another group. Are you sure?”
Colin nodded yes again, hoping his instincts had been correct, to confide in Jae.
“I don’t know how to explain it all, Jae. I just know I’m right! And I need to save her.”
“You could get into so much trouble, Colin,” Jae blurted unexpectedly. “I mean, we don’t know the whole story. Maybe there’s something important we’re missing, maybe you should just forget about it!”
This was not the response Colin expected. His heart filled with dread. Thus far, Jae had always agreed with the twins, if not actually perpetrating their previous troublemaking escapades. Before Colin could argue his side, Jae’s attitude took an all too familiar turn.
“On the other hand, if she really is in trouble, I suppose you’d have no choice, would you?” Colin could practically see Jae’s mind churning through the information, struggling with what it meant. He must have been thinking the same thoughts Colin had. How could she be in two different groups at one time?