Shifting (The Prophecy, The Spy, and The Ghostly Guardian) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 2)

by Humphrey - D'aigle Rachel

  “What are you keeping from me?” She bore into his mind trying to infiltrate his thoughts.

  “It wasn’t that big a deal,” Colin said, blocking her. “After you stormed off, the day you got sick, the book told me you were in trouble and I had to find you.” He explained the leaf tornado, which led him to her. “I wasn’t sure how to help you. I asked the book to get us out of the woods. But it wouldn’t, it told me I had another way.”

  “Another way?” she questioned, with a shudder. “That was such an awful day. I couldn’t even move, it all hurt so bad. It was like being paralyzed, and in so much pain at the same time.”

  “I remember it well,” said Colin. “I felt everything you did. But when I found you I couldn’t move you, and the book wouldn’t help me. I panicked. All I could focus on was getting you home, and BOOM! I was there.”

  “Without the book’s help?” she asked.

  The book answered her question. “Not with my help, lassie. He didn’t need it, did he?”

  Meghan huffed. “I get that we come from some magical bloodline, Uncle Eddy. And it seems like Colin has accessed his abilities a few times now. What I want to understand is why can Colin do all this magic stuff, but not me?”

  “Before we get to that, Colin, let me ask you, why do you think the book forced you to figure it out for yourself, instead of doing it for you?”

  Colin recounted the incident in his head before answering.

  “I think it was because the book thought I should learn how to do it on my own. It was more like it was forcing me to. I remember it telling me something about not having a lot of time and needing to.”

  A low agreeing grumble ricocheted out of the book. “Looks like I was right.”

  “How did you know though?” Colin asked the book. He shook his head in disbelief that he was having a conversation with a book.

  “I became aware the first moment you opened me, that you had magical blood, and that you did not know this. This inevitably leads to finding out, followed by others finding out. It only makes sense to prepare you. Quickly.”

  Eddy eyed Colin. “Make sense?”

  “I guess. It’s all just so new to me. I thought it was only because of Jae being around that all the magic stuff was happening. Or the book. I didn’t think it was anything to do with me.”

  “Oh, it’s all to do with you,” the book responded. It insinuated there was more to say on the subject, but Eddy cleared his throat, cutting it off.

  “Magicante is a complex thing. Think of the book as a textbook to end all textbooks. It will not, however, perform what it thinks you should be able to do for yourself.”

  “So back to my question,” implored Meghan. “Why - can’t - I?”

  “Have you tried?” enticed her uncle.

  “No, I suppose I haven’t,” she answered less impatiently. “The first time the book helped us we weren’t sure that it wasn’t a fluke. Even after the second time, and Colin using magic himself to fight the Scratchers, it honestly didn’t dawn on me to try.”

  “Well,” Colin started, “when I did magic the second time, before the Scratcher attack…”

  “A second time?” she questioned.

  Uncle Eddy gestured Colin to explain. “No secrets,” he reminded.

  Colin let out a burst of air. “Remember when you were getting over being sick, and you sensed I was being bullied, and you came looking for me with Sebastien and Jae?” Colin lowered his head, embarrassed to let his uncle hear that he had been bullied.

  “Yeah, I remember, you had this smug look on your face…” she exhaled and asked in a dark voice, “What – Did – You - Do?”

  “It was a complete accident,” he insisted. “I didn’t realize anything would happen. I wished that the boys would freeze, and they did. Then they started yelling. I was afraid someone might see what I’d done, so I wished for them to shut up, and they did. I asked for it to happen, and it just did. But I heard the spell wear off. After I, um, ran away.”

  Meghan was dumbfounded that Colin had done magic, twice, before she had known about it. What scared her most was that he had successfully kept this fact hidden from her. He must be getting better at blocking me.

  “Yes, I am!” He stuck out his tongue.

  She mimicked him, folding her arms in disgust.

  Uncle Eddy eyed them both apprehensively.

  “I am afraid that before either of you can continue, this bickering has to stop. You must both find peace with each other. Your bond is strong, but it needs to remain so. Remember, always. No secrets.”

  Once again, the twins found themselves in trouble for arguing. They tried to put aside their bitterness and continue.

  “So how do I do it? Magic, I mean,” asked Meghan.

  “Let’s start with something simple,” suggested Eddy. “Perhaps the book will allow some assistance since it’s your first try.”

  The book answered, this time with a snide poem.

  Assistance I will give,

  For the one that lives,

  Although her brain a sieve,

  Oh drat! We all know she can’t do it on her own!

  Colin frowned at the odd poem, while sensing in Meghan’s mind a desire to kick the book.

  “What would you like to try, Meghan?” asked Eddy.

  “I don’t know,” she replied, unsure.

  “How about something simple, like color changing,” Eddy prompted.

  “Color changing!” she grinned. “How about my hair?”

  “Um. Well. That’s not exactly what I had in mind, but I guess it will work.”

  Colin rolled his eyes and was about to make a joke, when Meghan gave him a glare; he put on a fake smile, motioning for her to continue.

  “Book,” she tried to ask politely. “Hm-hmm,” she cleared her throat. “Give me a spell to turn my hair sky blue.”

  “As you wish your…” Uncle Eddy interrupted.

  “If you don’t mind, stick to the spell, thanks.”

  It sniveled and snarled under its breath. The pages flipped, stopping on a shimmering yellow leaf.

  Meghan was thankful to her uncle for stopping the oncoming onslaught of contempt. She read the directions, which floated over the shimmering leaf.

  “Although an insult to my knowledge…”

  Humpff Meghan’s thoughts shouted.

  A Spell for Blue Hair.

  To have hair of blue in every strand,

  Say three times, whilst waving your hand,

  Blue hair everywhere.

  To have blue hair just in stripes,

  Please say thrice, while trying to be nice,

  Blue hair here, blue hair there.

  Meghan stopped reading. “I’m going to try it!” She stood up.

  “But there’s more options, Meghan,” pointed out Colin.

  “I want the first one, all blue.”

  Colin was going to argue but decided to play nice.

  “Okay. Here I go. My first spell. Hope it doesn’t go wonky and turn it a bad blue, ‘cause that would suck.” She closed her eyes and waved her hand, palm side toward her face.

  “Blue hair everywhere,” she repeated it three times.

  After the third time, the hair on her head changed to a brilliant sky blue. She opened her eyes and admired herself in a nearby broken window.

  “Too cool! I did it! And I love…” she choked, looking down at her arms as bright blue hairs took the place of her normally blond ones. “What the…”

  Torrents of laughter filled the empty mill, Colin couldn’t help himself; even Uncle Eddy got in a good chuckle. Meghan’s hair was blue from head to toe, including her eyebrows and arms. She hiked up the bottom of her skirt. All she could muster was a low grumble.

  “I guess,” Colin squeaked, “when it says everywhere,” he could barely talk, “it means everywhere.”

  Meghan grabbed the book, snarling. A steady stream of insults churned in her mind: Reviling! Ridiculous! Conniving little… dang book thinks its soo
o smug! Well I’ll show…

  A new bout of hysterics bubbled out of Colin. He had not laughed so hard since he could remember.

  Meghan, humiliated, continued reading.

  “Since you’ve decided to be smart enough to read all I have written…”

  Meghan ignored the sneering remarks, and the hysterical laughter bellowing from Colin, and read the final verse.

  If blue on your head is what you desire,

  Then what you need is a way to inspire,

  Sing it three times like a children's choir,

  And if you’re lucky (ha), blue will be your outcome!

  “Be your… outcome?” She glared at the book, shaking her head.

  It took all Colin’s strength to stop laughing and feel even the slightest bit of remorse. It was possibly the most humiliated he’d ever seen her. Even more so than the night he’d found out about her crush on Sebastien Jendaya.

  She mustered up what courage she had left and sang blue fire three times. The hair on her body returned to its normal color, and only the hair on her head remained blue.

  “At least that’s over!” she stated, plopping herself down. “I suppose,” she said, humbled, “That the first lesson is to read all the instructions, first.”

  “The first lesson was no secrets, but alas, number two. Understanding the entire picture, even on a seemingly simple task, requires complete knowledge of the situation.”

  “Don’t worry. Think I’ll remember that one.” She took a deep breath. “I still don’t understand why the book helped us, before we even knew what it was?”

  “I am sure when you first needed help it realized you would not yet understand.”

  “So it’s a rude book, with a heart o’ gold?” she retorted in smug disbelief.

  “It is said that a little bit of the creator’s, let’s say, humor and temperament, seeped in during the book’s creation. This book may have an off-kilter sense of humor, but it will never fail you. Again, I reiterate, you may not like the answer, or the solution, but it will never fail you. Do you both understand so far?”

  They shook their heads yes and he continued.

  “Now, I…” Eddy was cut off by a shadow moving outside one of the broken mill windows. He chased it, yelling for the twins to stay put. They watched him go, but did not see what he was after.

  Meghan let out a groan. “If you’d told me a few months ago we’d find out our parents were from a magical bloodline, well, it’s so hard to believe. Magic really exists. I can’t even get my brain to accept that. Never mind that we can do magic.”

  “I know it went a little wonky, but it’s pretty cool, huh?”

  She grinned and bit her lip. “Yeah. It is.”

  “I wish Uncle Arnon would have told us though. Maybe things could have turned out differently. He gave up so much to keep us safe. Maybe if he had found a group like the Svoda, he could have had more of a home, or friends.”

  “But the Svoda hide, too.”

  “Yeah, but at least they have each other.”

  Meghan did not reply.

  They remained silent, hiding their befuddled thoughts from each other. They were both getting better at blocking the other. A few minutes later, their uncle flew back in.

  “Saw a ghost, tried to follow him, but he disappeared before I got a real fix on him. Probably accidentally happened upon this place, but can’t be too careful.”

  “Uncle Eddy, why is it so important for us to keep our magic a secret? Between the Svoda, who are magical, and the ghosts, who are dead magical people, would anyone even care?”

  “Ah, yes. Something I did wish to discuss with you. Simply put, it may not matter much at all, and yet, doing things in the right order always works best. Your magic will come out when the moment is right, perhaps once they have begun trusting two new strangers.”

  Colin heard a hint of suggestion. “If I understand what you’re saying, we should try to make a good impression, get people to like us, and then maybe they will be more accepting.”

  “Something like that, yes, Colin.”

  “It would make life easier if they’d stop gawking at us all the time,” huffed Meghan.

  Uncle Eddy laughed, which was followed by a sigh.

  “It’s already getting later than I expected. I’d imagine you’re getting hungry by now, so eat, and then off you go for the day.”

  The twins realized they had been gone for hours already and were starving. At the same time, they didn’t want their first day to come to an end so soon. They ate slowly. Even Meghan, whose first magical attempt went awry, didn’t want to leave. But the end came.

  “Let’s plan on meeting same time, same place, tomorrow,” said Uncle Eddy as they departed.

  “We’ll be here,” grinned Colin.

  “One more thing. And this applies to both of you. Keep that book safe. Even if your magic does become public knowledge, or you get upset with it,” his eyes rolled to Meghan. “There are a lot of people who would love to get their hands on the Magicante, and this one is meant for you.” His gaze affixed on Colin. He gripped the book tighter.

  Something in Eddy’s gaze set off little red flags in Meghan’s mind. She hid it from Colin. It wasn’t anything dangerous, just something she saw when he looked at her brother. Something he wasn’t telling them. Or wasn’t telling Colin…

  They said their goodbyes, and during the walk home they passed a few ghosts and gypsies; all doing double takes of Meghan’s blue hair.

  “I’m not sure this is what Uncle Eddy had in mind when he wanted us to impress the Svoda.”

  Meghan simply held her head up high and walked on. Once back in the wagons they met up with Jae and Mireya. She ran up to Meghan’s head and touched it.

  “Wow, I love it! Wish my mom and dad would let me.”

  “You know dad would never,” charged Jae.

  Meghan wished she hadn’t done it, realizing it was more trouble than it was worth.

  “I had it done in Grimble,” she lied half-heartedly.

  “How was your first day back at school?” asked Colin, taking the attention away from his sister. Mireya’s eyebrows raised and she briskly walked away. Jae waited for Mireya to walk out of hearing distance before explaining.

  “Not my best day. The class wanted to hear about my month alone. I told them about getting stuck behind, fighting the Scratchers, don’t worry, they don’t know about you, Colin,” he added. “Then, for whatever reason I tried to explain how much stronger my magic was. But when I went to perform a spell in class, I could barely pull it off. Like it all just got sucked out of me. I guess it’s so crowded here, I’m just weaker.”

  “There are more people around,” consoled Meghan. “I guess more people equals less magical energy to use?”

  “Something like that,” mumbled Jae. He hid his face behind his stringy hair. “For a minute, I wished I were on my own again.” He shook his head in dismay. “I shouldn’t have said that. You guys lost so much helping me get home.”

  Man. Poor Jae. He seems so miserable here. Meghan thought it in her mind. Colin had his blocked from her, but was thinking the same thing.

  Jae changed the subject. “How about you guys? How did your day go?”

  The twins decided they could tell Jae what their uncle was teaching them. If he confided in them, they saw no reason not to do the same.

  “I had a little fiasco of my own there,” said Meghan, retelling the story of her blue nightmare. It helped cheer him up, and Jae wasn’t surprised at all that Meghan performed magic, seeing as Colin had already done it. He was shocked to find out they were descended from a magical bloodline though, and didn’t know until today.

  “I guess it makes sense,” he said after a bit. “Your uncle maybe didn’t know other magical clans existed. Just hid you away as much as possible. Sort of like the Svoda hide.”

  “Just in a much smaller way,” noted Meghan.

  “And never telling us what we were,” added Colin.

 
“I don’t know. Maybe in his own, subtle way, he did.”

  Colin thought about what his sister said for a moment. “He did always steer me in the direction of books about magic.”

  “Maybe he was planning on telling you then?” said Jae. “And just…”

  “Ran out of time…” finished Meghan.

  “Waited too long…” said Colin. “Maybe if he’d just told us…” he choked up, and didn’t finish.

  “Whatever his reasons, Col, we can’t change anything that happened.”

  He nodded. It was no use venturing down the what if path. His sister was right.

  ##

  Later that night before bed, Colin, hidden behind his curtain, opened the Magicante, hoping to ask it a question he knew it probably wouldn’t answer.

  “Um Book, can I ask you something?”

  “I suppose,” it yawned.

  “Can you tell me, is there a magical way to make myself taller?”

  Colin swore he heard the book sigh, and then in a whisper it barked its answer.

  “You people and your personal hang-ups! Don’t waste my time, Boy! We don’t have that much of it.”

  Colin was about to ask what it meant when a message materialized on the leaf attached to the page, but in the form of a poem, which the book did not speak. Colin read it aloud.

  Now if you don’t mind,

  I’d like to unwind,

  I think you will find,

  That someone is going to arrive any minute now!

  “Huh? Doesn’t rhyme.” Colin shook his head, listening as footsteps approached. He hid the book at the bottom of his dresser and crawled into bed. Through the open bedroom door and a crack in his curtain, he spied Ivan Crane going into his room. He was a strange guy. Hardly ever home. What kept him so busy? And he rarely ever said more than a couple words to either him or Meghan.

  His sister barged into his head.

  “Hey, Col. Awake?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for Jae to come up. Must’ve had a ton of school work to catch up on.”