“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 sooo 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.”
“I don’t think he has taken a break since he got home today. Just wanted to say goodnight,” she said.
“K, night, Sis.”
Colin ended up falling asleep while waiting. Hours later, he awakened to the sound of soft footsteps padding across the bedroom floor. He poked his head out of the curtain, mouth open to rib Jae about working so hard when he heard sniffling. He sucked himself back behind his curtain, holding his breath.
What was the right thing to do? Ask Jae what was wrong, or pretend he did not notice. He desperately wanted to wake Meghan, but decided it was best for at least one of them to sleep. Colin supposed it could wait until morning. Confrontation was her forte after all, not his.
DAYS PASSED AFTER COLIN had awakened in the middle of the night, having overheard Jae crying. After discussing it with Meghan, they decided to wait and see if Jae volunteered any information. However, a chance for volunteered information had not yet developed, seeing as Jae was busy from morning until late at night, typically with his father.
The twins were also busy with their Uncle Eddy, practicing simple spells. Meghan had the book help her change her hair color back to red, keeping a single blue streak, to draw less attention.
Colin successfully used magic to pick up a rock, and hurl it thirty feet, hitting his target straight on ten times in a row. He hoped there would be no occasion when this talent would become useful... aka... a Scratcher attack.
Meghan, however, struggled without the book’s help. If she tried magic on her own, nothing worked. She decided to try creating fire, by touching a pile of wood and telling it to burn.
“You couldn’t start a fire, magic or not,” Colin jested lightly.
She could not argue.
“I’m not sure why I’m even trying this spell. I’m all thumbs when it comes to matches and lighters.” She persisted though. For some reason, she liked the idea of a roaring fire, but when the day ended, the pile remained unlit.
“MEGHAN, YOU BETTER get up,” sent Colin from the backyard, a few mornings later. “If you don’t hurry you won’t get to see Jae at all, he’s leaving with his dad, again.”
“Okay, okay, I’m up already. What is with this place, getting up so dang early all the time?” she mumbled haughtily.
“If you’re worried about your beauty sleep, don’t bother,” he teased, laughing aloud, which silenced everyone at the breakfast table. It became awkwardly obvious that the conversation he had not been attending to was not humorous in the least. Colin stuffed his face with food, pretending it didn’t happen and the conversation continued.
A whisper found his thoughts. “Serves you right, Little Bro.”
“Hey! Not fair,” he shot back into her mind.
The Mochrie parents continued their heated conversation as Irving excused himself from the table and stoked the fire pit, flames reigniting. They were cooking and eating breakfast outside; the weather was cloudy, but warm today.
“Maybe this will be your turn, Irving. Even Vinson Troast cannot ignore what a fine job you do at the bank.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, Sheila. I not only have to pass the approval of Troast, but also Vian Sadorus. I don’t think either of them wants me for the job. I’ve been hearing rumors about Markus Scraggs.”
“Since when do you pay attention to rumor, Irving Mochrie?” Sheila scolded. “What would the rest of your family think if they heard you planning your life according to rumor?” Sheila Mochrie decided the conversation was over. She got up and beelined it into the house.
“Dad’s not fond of Vian Sadorus,” whispered Jae. “He bought the bank and demoted dad, who was next in line to manage the place.”
“I wouldn’t like him either if he’d done that to me,” Colin whispered back. “I don’t understand why you need a bank though, if things in the village are free.”
“In the village, yes. However, outside the village, not the case. Everyone has to chip into the town fund. We do odd jobs as we travel, like here, working in Grimble, so we can buy supplies we need along the way. But, the businesses in our village are still owned by people, and Garner owns a lot.”
“How does he afford to buy businesses?” asked Colin, confused.
“He’s old money, plus the business owners get small stipends to keep their businesses open. It’s not much, but it helps.” Jae added, “Sorry I haven’t been around much, been helping dad at the bank. He’s due for a promotion, as you heard.”
Colin wondered if he and Meghan should give some of their recently inherited money to the town fund.
“Fire should keep until dinner,” announced Irving. “We’d better be off then, Jae,” He darted stern eyes at his son to see if he was ready to leave.
Jae jumped up, said he’d be ready in a flash and ran inside bounding up the spiral staircase. Meghan, at that same moment, was bounding down the stairs. She glanced through the staircase window, noticing the flames in the fire pit out back, and wondered why they cooked outside so much. It seemed odd to her they did this so often when they had an indoor kitchen. She didn’t notice Jae rounding the staircase at full speed and they crashed head-on.
Meghan fell back and Jae fell down a stair, thankfully catching himself before falling all the way. He was back up instantly and held out his hand to offer Meghan assistance.
“Sorry, always in a hurry these days. I was telling Colin, I’ve been helping my dad at the bank. Should calm down soon though.”
She held out her hand to accept his help. It was nice to see Jae, if even for a minute.
As she grabbed hold of his hand, an overpowering sensation crept into her mind; intense heat, followed by crippling pain. She doubled over, feeling as though her body was be
ing squeezed like a tube, emptying every last ounce of her breath. What she pictured a last breath, a final breath before death, to feel like.
Jae propped her up, setting her down on the stairway and let go of her hand. Instantly her breath returned and she began to feel normal again.
Colin, sensing something wrong, snuck inside.
“What happened?” he asked, seeing her on the stair.
“Don’t know. We ran into each other and when I tried to help her up, she fell over.”
Meghan did not speak.
Irving Mochrie burst in impatiently. “I’m out the door, Jae.”
Jae passed by the twins and ran up the stairs. Colin helped his sister outside for some air. A minute later Jae was gone, followed by Mireya and her mother, leaving the twins alone.
“What was that all about?” asked Colin.
“I don’t know exactly. I... I saw Jae’s pain, as I touched him. I could feel it.” She scrunched her face as she said it, leaving out the worst of what she had felt.
“How can you feel someone’s pain?”
“I have no idea. But I’m so sure of what it was. Maybe Uncle Eddy can help?”
She departed the Mochrie cottage at a quick pace, with Colin begging her to slow down. As they edged closer to Grimble, Colin finally dared ask what he had been thinking the entire walk.
“Were you able to see what’s wrong with Jae? What he is upset about?”
“No. It wasn’t a specific thing.” After a minute, she continued. “I did get the feeling that whatever’s bothering Jae has been doing so for a long time, and is something that might get worse.” Not wanting to frighten Colin, she blocked the memory and left out the most important part: Jae’s imminent death!
When they arrived at the old mill, they were surprised to see Uncle Eddy was not alone. The ghost of a younger boy floated nearby.
“Who’s that?” asked Colin.
“That is my new friend, Timothy.” He floated close to the twins, whispering, “Poor boy’s been here nearly twelve years. Found some bully of a ghost named Duppy using magic on him, poor thing couldn’t even defend himself.”
Fated Fantasy Adventure Page 24