What Lay in the Dark

by Casey L. Nash

  Chapter Eleven: Magic School

  My eyes were closed. I heard the wind blowing and the snap of twigs under animals’ feet. The sun peeked out from behind dark clouds. I felt its warmth beneath the trees of the forest. I sensed the energy around Michael, who sat opposite me and watched intently.

  I also experienced the force of the wildlife and other small energies which Michael called forest spirits. I wasn’t sure whether to believe that or not. I breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of the pine trees. I felt a new energy join the others; it only took me a moment to recognise it as Egan. I was often shocked at how quietly he moved.

  “Okay, open your eyes,” Michael instructed.

  I blinked away the bright starburst in my eyes. I looked behind me and noticed Egan leaning against a tree.

  “You sensed him?” Michael assumed.

  I nodded and Egan smiled.

  Michael returned to Scotland a few days ago, around a month after I last saw him. Immediately he started teaching me a lot of stuff to do with magic and witchcraft in general. He wanted to get as much done as he could before he had to return to Ireland. He wasn’t sure when that would be. Michael stood up and held out a hand. I took it and he pulled me up.

  “Hold out your hands.”

  I obeyed, palm up. Michael held his hands over mine with only a couple of centimetres between. My left hand started tingling.

  “Your left hand is your receptive hand,” Michael explained. “What you feel now is the energy from my right hand. You should be able to do the same thing.”

  I concentrated on my right hand for a moment, and it soon tingled as well. I noticed a slight difference in each of my hands. My right hand seemed to be pushing energy out, while the left was taking energy in.

  “And that,” Michael smiled. “Is magic. All you need to do is learn to control it.”

  “Then what?” I asked with a grin.

  “Then you can do this,” Michael turned and thrust his right hand towards Egan. His hands and legs were suddenly pinned to the tree. He laughed.

  Michael looked back at me. “He can’t move now.”

  I looked at Egan. “Sorry, did you just say that he can’t move?”

  “Yep,” Michael grinned. I stared past him in confusion, watching as Egan walked to a downed log and lay back on the grass with is head against it. Michael looked back to where he thought Egan was. “Hey!” he cried, turning around to see Egan looking at the sky and grinning.

  “It’s mind over matter, magic,” he mused. Egan rolled his head over to look at us. “And you have to admit that I have a pretty brilliant mind.”

  Michael dropped his hand, staring at Egan. “Do you exist simply to break the laws of nature?”

  Egan opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by a woman’s voice.

  “Believe me, you do not want to start a conversation with him about the laws of nature.” Mikayla strolled into the clearing.

  “Who are you?” Michael asked.

  “I’m Mikayla,” she replied. “And I may not be able to use Egan’s mind over magic tricks, but if you try anything I will break your nose as soon as I’m released. I’d suggest keeping your magic to yourself.” She left a startled Michael to sit down on another log. “It’s nice to meet you.” She finished with a smile.

  “Where’s Samuel?” Egan asked.

  “He’s coming,” Mikayla placed her hands on the log so she could lean back. “He started talking to his spirit guide.”

  “What’s a spirit guide?” I asked Michael.

  “It’s a spiritual person who guides you through life,” he replied.

  Samuel walked into the clearing. “Everyone has spirits who watch over them through their life,” he began, “Most have several, but there are generally one or two who work closely with you.”

  Samuel took a seat next to Egan.

  “Ailia,” Michael whispered to me. “Have I ever told you that you have strange friends?”

  “You haven’t seen strange until you’ve met Andy,” Samuel called.

  “How did he hear that?” Michael whispered again.

  “I’m clever,” Samuel looked hard at Michael. “And please control your thoughts.”

  “What?”

  “I know that Mikayla is attractive, but you thinking about it kind of gets on my nerves.”

  Egan laughed while Michael yelled. “Stay out of my head!”

  Mikayla flushed a little but moved her hair behind her ears, obviously trying to pretend she didn’t care. “What did your guide say?”

  “Remember the demon we picked up on with Kieran?” Samuel looked around at us before continuing, “It’s Ashleigh’s.”

  “Any idea what it wants?” Egan asked.

  “The usual. She has a crap life and it’s feeding off her.”

  Mikayla sighed. “I might have to see if I can get through to Kieran then.”

  Egan sat up. “I’ll see what I can find out about her.”

  “And I,” Samuel turned to Michael and me, “Am going to help you two.”

  “With what?” Michael asked with a confused look on his face.

  “You want to teach her to shield properly, right? I can get inside her head. What better test have you got?”

  “Okay,” Michael said slowly.

  Egan and Mikayla stood up to leave, waving as they walked down the pathway to the house. Samuel walked over to us.

  “You’ve shielded before, yes?” Michael asked me.

  “Apparently.”

  “You have no idea how it happened?”

  “I was sort of acting on instinct,” I replied, gazing at the surrounding trees.

  “Basically all you need for a shield is white light. If you can clearly imagine a sphere of white light around you, you’re likely shielding yourself.”

  “That doesn’t sound that hard.”

  “It’s not that hard to summon a shield. It’s keeping it in place that takes practice.”

  I looked back at Michael.

  “Try it,” he recommended.

  I closed my eyes and imagined I was surrounded by a brilliant, pure white light. I instantly felt safer. I opened my eyes, working hard to sustain the illusion.

  “She’s gone,” Samuel confirmed.

  Michael nodded.

  Suddenly I let go of the light, unable to hold it there any longer.

  “And she’s back.”

  “It’ll get easier the more you do it. Try it again and see if you can hold it for longer,” Michael instructed.

  I recalled the light into my mind and was instantly surrounded again. Michael looked at Samuel who nodded.

  I focused on my breathing, concentrating on the movement of my stomach and chest while holding the light around me. This time I held the shield for a couple of minutes, rather than a couple of seconds. Samuel signalled Michael to let him know the shield was dropped.

  “It’s something you’ll have to practice a lot,” Michael told me.

  “But won’t I only need to do it if a demon attacks me?”

  “It’s more complicated than that,” Michael said. “To start with, a demon is not going to run away simply because you shield. They’re going to try and break it and it may not be a demon that’s attacking you.”

  “What else would it be?”

  Michael looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

  “Don’t answer that,” I told him. It was hard enough to cope with demons, let alone anything else out there.

  Michael nodded.

  “I could try and break the shield?” Samuel offered.

  Michael hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

  Samuel looked at me as I summoned the light again. His dark eyes connected with my own. A sudden pain soared through my head. I gasped, dropping the shield.

  “Are you all right?” Michael asked.

  “Yeah, just a headache.”

  “That’s a side effect of someone or something trying to break into your mind,” Samuel told me. “Y
ou need to learn to ignore it.”

  I nodded. “Can we try again?”

  Samuel nodded. I brought back the shield, a task that was becoming easier every time and prepared for Samuel’s attempt to enter my head again. When I felt the pressure against my forehead, I ignored it and focused solely on the shield. The pressure increased and the headache grew stronger. I refused to budge. Samuel’s gaze darkened. Soon I couldn’t hold on any longer. I dropped the shield panting.

  Michael smiled. “You lasted longer than I expected.”

  Samuel smiled. “I think Mikayla wants me. I’d better go.”

  I nodded. “Bye.”

  Samuel nodded at Michael and left. Michael turned to me. “So, how powerful is that guy?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s psychic, yes?” Michael walked down the one-track path after Samuel, who was already most of the way out of the forest.

  “Yeah.”

  “How psychic? Because he was doing some pretty big stuff back there and it didn’t look like he was even trying.”

  “I suppose he’s had a lot of practice,” I shrugged.

  “Even the oldest psychics generally have trouble doing that kind of stuff, Ailia. I mean, some of them can talk to spirit guides, interpret thoughts or play around with energies but I’ve never met one that can do all three.” Michael paused to duck under a low branch, “And I’ve never met one who can break down shields. That’s unbelievable.”

  I shook my head. “You just don’t like Samuel.”

  “You’re right, I don’t. But there’s a reason for it.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “He’s too powerful.”

  “So he’s clever.”

  Michael smiled, shaking his head. “What form of psychic?”

  “Huh?”

  “You have no idea, do you?” he sighed, stepping into Egan’s house to find him seated at the table poring over a bunch of files.

  “You name it, he can do it,” Egan answered Michael’s question. “He’s mainly clairvoyant, but I’ve seen him do clairsentient and clairaudient stuff as well.”

  “And he does all of this perfectly?”

  “Hasn’t gotten a thing wrong,” Egan answered before quietly adding, “Yet.”

  Michael looked at me.

  “He’s too powerful?” I guessed.

  “He is way too powerful. Anyone with that amount of power should have driven themselves mad by now.”

  “How?”

  “Can you imagine knowing what everyone else is thinking or feeling?” Michael asked me. “When do you know where your thoughts and emotions begin and theirs end? If Samuel has that much power, he should have the thoughts and emotions of at least three or four different people. You can’t just switch psychic abilities on and off the way he claims he does.”

  I turned to look at Egan, who was now staring at Michael. “How much experience do you have in this?” Egan asked.

  “I had a friend who was only half as good as Samuel. He got put into a mental institute a couple of years back, so I did some research.”

  Egan nodded. “I had some pretty similar thoughts when I first met him, but he seems okay. Living with Mikayla helps, I think. She’s good at helping him when it becomes too much.”

  “Just keep an eye on him,” Michael recommended before leaving.

  I leaned over the table to have a look at the files that Egan was flipping through. “What are these?” I asked.

  “Ashleigh’s medical records,” he replied.

  “How did you get them?”

  “I have my ways,” Egan said with a grin.

  “Are your ways legal?”

  Egan frowned, “Probably not. But check this out.” He opened one of the files and placed a photo on the table in front of me. There was a large purple bruise the size of a peach on the back of Ashleigh’s shoulder. “According to this,” Egan lifted a sheet of paper, “She fell.”

  “So?” It seemed small to me.

  Egan put another photo on top of the first, this time displaying a bruise on her cheek. “Fell down the stairs.” He added a photo of Ashleigh’s thigh, also bruised. “Tripped while she was gardening.” Another photo went on top of that, which showed Ashleigh’s stomach with two bruises in separate places. “Walked into a table.”

  “How many of these are there?”

  “Twenty-four in the past year,” Egan replied. “They’re becoming more regular as time passes.”

  I flipped through the other photos.

  “I would say it’s actually a demon doing this...”

  “But?”

  “None of these injuries left a scar; demons aren’t usually that careful. It would have to be planning something big if that was the case.”

  I shook my head. “It’s not a demon, Egan.”

  Egan looked up at me.

  I sat next to him. “These injuries, I had them all when I was with Joel.”

  “You don’t think…?” Egan didn’t need an answer.

  I nodded. “Ashleigh’s boyfriend is beating her.”

  Egan ran a hand through his hair. “There’s an opening.”

  I gave him a blank look.

  “It’s what allows a demon to attach itself to someone. There has to be some kind of darkness or depression in the person before the demon can get hold of them.”

  “Oh.”

  We both looked when the door opened.

  “Well there’s a good vibe coming from you two,” Mikayla said sarcastically as she entered the room.

  “We found the opening,” Egan replied as Samuel walked in behind Mikayla.

  “Which is?” Egan cast a sideways glance at me. “Violent relationship.”

  Mikayla raised her eyebrows, sitting opposite Egan. “That explains why Kieran’s so upset with her current relationship.”

  “You think he knows?” Egan asked, closing Ashleigh’s medical records.

  Mikayla nodded.

  “Egan,” Samuel said, sitting down next to Mikayla, “This battle we’re about to fight…”

  “No.” Egan spoke firmly.

  “Egan, it has to happen,” Samuel replied.

  “She is not fighting that thing with us.”

  “Egan,” Mikayla said with a soft edge to her voice. “Think about this. If we leave her alone and start fighting this demon, there is every chance that hers will take the opportunity to harm her. We don’t know what it wants yet.”

  Egan stared at Mikayla, obviously lost for words.

  “She doesn’t have to come, Egan,” Mikayla told him. “But at least give her the choice.”

  Mikayla and Samuel left when they realised Egan wasn’t going to say any more.

  Egan stared at me for a moment, something unrecognisable in his eyes. He sighed and stood up walking down the hallway quickly. I sat at the table for a few moments, thinking about what Mikayla said and the way Egan couldn’t argue against it.

  I thought I’d won the last argument with Egan over me fighting demons, but Egan seemed to think differently. Apparently I’d failed to change his mind about anything. It felt like the perfect time to try again. I swallowed, stood up and made my way down the hall to the open door of the room Egan went into. It was a room which I never set foot in.

  Egan’s guitars were placed carefully against one wall and there was a bunch of scientific looking equipment stacked in the corner. A desk was covered in more electronic equipment tangled inside a bunch of wires. A corkboard hung behind the desk covered in newspaper clippings. They mainly focused on weird or unexplained occurrences, though there were a few which claimed scientific breakthroughs. The wooden cross adorning the wall next to the board seemed completely out of place in this room.

  Across from the door Egan wrote madly on a whiteboard. Equations and symbols covered the surface. I intended to barge in and convince him to teach me everything he knew about demon hunting, but when I saw him, something inside me softened. He just seemed so... sad.

&
nbsp; “Egan,” I said softly, but loud enough for him to hear. He ignored me. I moved into the room and placed my hand on his shoulder.

  “Know what I love about this stuff?” Egan asked, finishing off one of the equations on the board and moving on to the next. My hand dropped from his shoulder. “It always makes sense. There’s no confusion or second guessing, just right and wrong answers. You can always tell which answer is right and which ones are wrong. There are set rules you have to follow. Nothing changes them or breaks them.” Egan turned to me. “Why can’t everything else be that simple?”

  “Because that would make life very boring.”

  Egan smiled grimly. “I think I’d rather have a bit of control.”

  “You do have control.”

  “Not enough,” he sighed.

  “You can’t protect everyone, Egan.”

  “I thought I could protect you.” Egan placed the marker on a shelf under the board. “Ailia, if you walk into that battle and you don’t come out...”

  “I’ll be alright, Egan,” I assured him.

  “We’re not living a fairytale Ailia.”

  “Good. I hate fairytales. They’re too predictable.”

  “You mean that after all you’ve been through, you don’t want to marry a prince and ride off into the sunset?”

  “No,” I breathed.

  Egan stared at me. “You live with a demon hunter, you’re being dragged into something dangerous and you have your very own demon trying to kill you...”

  “Egan, I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. Even with demons and hunters.”

  “This battle could kill you Ailia.”

  “It could kill you as well.”

  Egan shook his head, gazing at me.

  “What?”

  “You are just not what I expected.”

  I smiled. “What were you expecting? A girl who would scream and run at the first sign of the supernatural?”

  “That’s what I was hoping for,” Egan sighed. “Someone I could send away without a thought and who would never look back.” Egan turned to stare at the whiteboard again. “Now everything has changed.”

  I moved closer and placed my hand on his shoulder again. “Surely there are some reasons you’re glad you don’t have all the control.”

  Egan looked at me again. “What?” he whispered.

  I dropped my hand. “You try to change everything Egan. Make it go your way.”

  “Never works.”

  “Wasn’t there ever a time when that was a good thing?”

  Egan moved my hair behind my ears. “Ailia, if you get hurt when we go into that battle…”

  “It won’t be your fault.”

  “I don’t know how I’ll cope if...”

  “Egan,” I spoke over him. “I will be okay.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  “Would Samuel and Mikayla recommend I go if they thought I was going to get hurt?”

  “Ailia,” Egan sighed. “Mikayla told me about the rest of your dream.”

  “So?”

  “There’s another interpretation for weddings, Ailia; if they don’t end happily. Mikayla didn’t want to tell you about it.”

  “Which was?”

  “It signifies death. Death that can only be escaped by a miracle.”

  “You think it means I’m going to die?” I couldn’t turn my eyes away from Egan’s.

  “I hope not, but if that...”

  “Egan, if I’m meant to die there is nothing any of us can do about it.”

  “Just be careful,” Egan instructed, leaning forward so that his forehead leant against mine.

  “Stop worrying so much,” I whispered. “It’ll be okay.”

  “Not if I lose you it won’t.” He whispered back.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Egan.”

  “Good.” He turned back to the whiteboard and continued to write his equations. I sighed and walked out of the room, trying to ignore the feeling of emptiness in my chest.