Prelude (The Rhapsody Quartet)

by A. M. Hodgson

  Glenn turned his head to me, concerned. “Do you want me to mix you up a salve, or maybe a poultice, or perhaps a—”

  I shook my head adamantly, “No. They’ll probably only take a few more days, honestly, before they’re more or less big scratches. I won’t even need bandages then.”

  “You’re so fragile,” he remarked. “Not what I’d have expected from a council race. Most of them are more resilient than this.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say, so I rapped my fingertips along the patio’s edge. I couldn’t tell him why sirens were on the council in the first place. Aldan’s book implied that it was an honor to be included, but that was all I knew.

  “I still want to see him tomorrow,” I said softly. “He makes me feel… normal. More normal than I’ve felt since turning.” Maybe even more normal than I’d felt in my whole life. Being with Will, at least while we were alone, had felt surprisingly right. I wanted that feeling back again— that’s what I was chasing.

  It could’ve been wishful thinking, the effects of drugs in my system.

  “I don’t like it,” Glenn said again. “But I can’t stop you. It’s your choice, your time, Sarah.” He frowned, collecting his arrows, “But I’ll be nearby.”

  “Privacy?” I said, citing our second ground rule.

  He shrugged, “You said I could veto if needed. Well… it’s needed.”

  “Needed?” I asked dubiously.

  “He’s that guy,” Glenn said. “Trust me. It’s needed.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The Rules

  After school the next day, I returned Aldan’s thin volume on sirens and the thicker one on council law. I hadn’t learned anything useful from either book.

  Aldan snatched them up, staring at me with scrutiny. “Well? What did you think?”

  I sighed, sitting on the floor in front of his desk. “They were interesting, at least,” I said with a shrug, “but I didn’t really learn much. You don’t know of any way to translate that siren writing, do you?” I asked him.

  He snorted as if it was a completely ridiculous question, “And what, pray tell, will you be requesting of me next? The Chalice of Hecate? Perhaps the whereabouts of Atlantis?” He guffawed loudly at his own joke, “No, I do not have a way of translating siren writing. If I did, it would serve that I should know more about your species.”

  I gnawed on my lower lip. “Then do you have any idea which races were combative towards the sirens before they disappeared?”

  He shook his head, scratching out new words in his huge book. “No, not specifically. Most races do not advertise when they commit hate crimes, young lady.”

  I folded my hands in my lap, staring at the stacks of books around me. “Can’t you just figure it out through magic?” I said crossly. It seemed like it would be so easy to do— a quick spell to make things less confusing, or to simplify it, or…

  “Magic does not function in that manner,” he said with a growl. His eyes narrowed as he peered at me over his spectacles. He sighed, looking at my baffled expression. “I can see now that what you need to study is this,” he said, handing me a thin but wide book. “Flip to the fifth page, please.”

  I opened it up, curious. The cover had no writing on it at all, but the first couple pages were illustrated with lots of symbols and marks. On the fifth page, there was a list labeled: The Universal Restrictions and Laws of Magic. I followed it down with my finger, reading. There were five rules listed:

  1. Time Travel is Impossible

  2. Love Cannot be Created, Only Infatuation

  3. Every Spell has a Counter

  4. Death is Permanent

  5. All Magic Requires Form and Function

  *All Rules are Fixed, Unless at the Source

  “Those are the basics,” Aldan said. “The five simple rules of magic. As you can see, it is more limiting than you are suggesting. In this case, it is principle number three that is of our concern. If I were to attempt to utilize magic to decipher other magic, it follows that the sirens— unless they were complete imbeciles…” His eyes narrowed, and he muttered the next phrase under his breath, “Which I am beginning to assume might be the case— would place counter spells to combat such infiltration. So, no. I cannot simply use magic to ascertain the meaning of their text.”

  I stared at the list. Some of it was a little surprising. The third one gave me hope, despite acting as a barrier to discovering more about the sirens. Every Spell has a Counter… that meant that perhaps someday I’d find a cure for my foster parents.

  I looked over the list again. Love Cannot be Created. Who would want to create love artificially? Death is Permanent… I could see where someone would want to bring someone they loved back, though.

  The notation at the bottom caught my eye, “What’s the Source?” I asked.

  Aldan chuckled, “A place I’d wager you’ll never see, and neither will I, or damn near anyone dwelling within Overworld or Realm.”

  He’d lost me. I raised a brow, “Sir?”

  He shook his head, taking his glasses off and rubbing at them furiously, “The Source of Magic, girl! The Source of Magic!” he snapped impatiently. “It’s sealed up tightly and requires massive cooperation or force to breach. A failsafe. Much too volatile, much too powerful.”

  I pushed myself up, handing him back his book. He shook his head, refusing to take it. “No, no, no! Keep that book with you, siren, that one alone, and study it. It contains the most simplistic theory and a basic foundation on magic. Goodness knows you need it. I want it memorized before I see you again.”

  I stared at it dubiously. It wasn’t huge, true, but it was probably at least forty pages.

  “I don’t know if I can memorize—” I started to say.

  Aldan shook his head, dismissing me with a wave. “Get out, get out! You’re wasting my time, and I have precious little for nonsense.”

  I sighed, gripping the wide book in my hands. I wandered back into the darkness. When I emerged into the black, I closed my eyes, counting to sixty before I opened them again. My vision had successfully adjusted, but the world around me was still dim. At least everything had color, shape, and outline now.

  Glenn was propped casually against the boulder, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “You got a new book,” he said, nodding.

  I sighed, “Yeah. I did.” I handed it to him.

  He flipped through it, crinkling his nose. “Why did he give you this?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, confused. Glenn was reacting like the book was offensive.

  “You could ask me, or Princess Marin, or any other extra about the contents of this book. Anyone would be able to tell you the material more succinctly than some pretentious children’s volume on beginner magic…” He snorted, “That keeper is wasting your time.”

  I furrowed my brows, “I don’t think the council would have sent me to him if it was a waste.”

  Glenn’s jaw tensed slightly. He shook his head, handing the book back to me. “Yeah. Maybe not. Go ahead and read it. Maybe… maybe I or the Princess would forget some of the details.”

  I shoved it in my book bag. It barely fit. The book was almost too wide.

  “What are you doing on your date tonight?” Glenn asked, staring directly forward, his mouth a tight frown.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever Will wants to do, I guess.” We walked back towards Marin’s house so I could drop off my school bag. The weather wasn’t as nice today. It was still warm, but the clouds had rolled in. Without the sunshine, the wind felt hard and brisk. “What are you going to do?” I asked.

  “I told you. I’ll be close by, wherever it is. Shouldn’t be a problem. He’s human. You could tell him I’m invisible, and he’ll believe you,” he pointed out.

  Well… yeah, I could. But so far, I’d done my best to avoid manipulating Will any further than my natural attention grabbing. And I couldn’t help that. I looked at Glenn. His face was determined, set. He was not going to get i
nto an argument over it, and he was not going to take no for an answer.

  I wrenched the door of Marin’s house open, hiking the stairs. I dropped my bag on the bed and sat.

  “I don’t… I don’t want to,” I said quietly, “I don’t want to use my magic on him, I don’t want—”

  Glenn shook his head. “It just simplifies things, doesn’t it? How about this?” he asked. “As soon as you tell him he can’t see me, I’ll drop back fifty paces and let you be. You get privacy, but I can still keep watch.”

  My stomach hurt thinking about it. It felt manipulative and wrong, but if it was the only way… I sighed, leaning back on the bed, into my palms. “Fine. Deal.”

  “You say that as if you think I’m looking forward to going on your human date with you. Hardly.” He rolled his eyes, “Really it’s the last thing I’d like to do. Alas, duty calls, even if it involves watching teens snog.”

  I blushed and bit my lip, pulling out my phone and checking the time. We needed to start walking to Harbor Estate, otherwise I’d be making Will wait. I pushed myself up, stalking down the stairs. We walked in silence along the beach. I tugged at my sweatshirt, trying to keep warm in the wind.

  It wasn’t long before we’d reached Will’s house. He was sitting on the porch, wearing sunglasses, reading a textbook. It looked like he had his own homework this afternoon. When he saw me approach, he smiled, then looked a little disappointed when he noticed Glenn next to me. His lips twisted into a frown.

  “Hey, Sarah,” he greeted me, pulling off the glasses. He dropped his voice down a little, “I guess I was under the impression that we’d be alone.”

  I chewed my cheek, staring into his eyes reluctantly. Sighing, I said, “Will, this is Glenn, and you can’t see him or hear him… he’s invisible for the day, so just ignore him.” I frowned and turned to Glenn, narrowing my eyes and hissed, “Happy?”

  I turned back to Will. His nostrils flared just a little, but he popped the sunglasses back on, smiling. “So, Sarah, is there anything you’d like to do?”

  I shrugged, glancing over at Glenn. He appeared satisfied and, true to his word, dropped back several paces. I was still being babysat, but at least it was a little more private. I rubbed my forehead uncomfortably. “No, nothing in particular,” I answered.

  I tugged at my baggy sweatshirt, feeling awkward. Guilt burned at me. I hated manipulating Will, and I wanted to take it back. Magic simplified things, but it took some of the illusion of our relationship away. It was painfully clear that I had the upper hand here.

  “I have a shoe for you,” he said, moving back to the porch and retrieving it. He handed it to me.

  I took it, confused, “But I left them both—”

  He shrugged. “I really would like to see you more than once, Sarah. Since ransoming shoes seems to be doing the trick, I’ll hang onto the second.” He gestured to the beach, “Want to go for a walk?”

  “Sure,” I agreed, my stomach a flurry of butterflies. He kicked off his shoes, and I followed suit, leaving all three of mine in a pile near his porch.

  “You’re inimitable, Sarah, you’re—” he started. He cleared his throat, “You’re just… you’re unique. Different than the other girls.” We slowly walked along the coastline on the hard packed sand. The spray of the water soaked my ankles, and I rolled my jeans so they hit me mid-calf.

  I was acutely aware that what he’d said was the truth. Unfortunately, he’d never understand how unique I was. Right now, our differences felt like a gulf dividing us. “Yeah…” I mumbled, because I didn’t know what else to say.

  “You’re honestly…” He pursed his lips, as if searching for the right words. “You’re the peacock who’s trying to be a chameleon.”

  I blushed and stared at my feet. The sand felt good as we trudged along, and our steps left deep footprints that were filled with little pools of water from the tide. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you’re trying so hard to fade into the crowd, that I’m finding myself—” He chuckled, running a hand through his hair, “I guess I’m doing things I didn’t expect I’d be doing.”

  “Like what?” I asked, curious.

  “Hmm…” he said with a sly smile, “like confiscating shoes to try to coax you out.”

  I laughed. “You… surprise me, too,” I said honestly.

  He tilted his head to one side, “Really?”

  “Well,” I said, feeling a blush rise to my cheeks. I ignored it and pressed forward. “Yes, actually,” I laced my fingers together. “You have to know. You’re popular, good looking,” I gestured back to his house, “apparently pretty well-off.”

  “Careful,” he said with a laugh, “you might give me an ego.”

  I stopped, digging my toes into the packed sand. “What I mean is, you don’t act like any of that matters.”

  Will shrugged, “It doesn’t.”

  “Then what does matter to you?”

  The wind was blowing my hair in my face, but I didn’t care, staring up at him through squinting eyes.

  He pulled off his sunglasses, folding them into one hand. He looked into my eyes carefully, the same way he had since that first day. It was unnerving but appealing all at once. Part of me wished he could see me clearly, that he could see the colors change.

  His hand strayed near my temple, pulling the loose hair from my eyes and cheeks. The wind caught it and blew it behind me.

  “Making a connection,” he said softly. “That’s what matters.”

  The sun was sinking down, staining the sky pink near the ocean and lighting up the tide to create an orange glow. My knees trembled, feeling weak. Will leaned forward. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. He was going to kiss me— I was sure of it. He moved closer, his head tilting just a little…

  “Sarah!” Glenn called out.

  I snapped back, looking at the elf. I glared, wondering what he wanted.

  Will had gone rigid, standing there. His hands were balled into fists, and he had a strange expression on his face. “Are you okay, Sarah?” he asked in a whisper, not meeting my eyes.

  “Yeah, just… give me a second, okay?” I trudged back to my bodyguard, my arms folded across my chest. “What do you want?!” I hissed.

  Glenn grinned, “We never did establish how long you were going to be off gallivanting about tonight. I thought I’d clarify, that’s all.”

  My eyes narrowed, “And this is the moment you chose?”

  He shrugged, “I wasn’t really paying attention, Sarah.” He glanced at me coyly, “Why? Did I interrupt anything?”

  I kicked at the sand, “No. And we’ll be done in an hour or so.”

  Glenn shrugged, “Just checking…”

  I wandered back to where I’d left Will. He was looking thoughtfully out at the waves, his sunglasses replaced over his eyes.

  “Hey, sorry, I—”

  He interrupted me, “I think we should probably call it a night pretty soon.”

  “Oh,” I mumbled, disappointed, “any reason in particular?”

  Will shook his head, “I promised someone back home I’d call tonight. If I wait too long, it’ll be rude. That’s all.”

  “I’d like to see you again,” I said, surprising myself.

  He smiled, “Really? I admit I’m a little shocked.”

  “Well,” I said with a grin, “I still have another shoe to collect, right?”

  Will laughed, “Yeah. I guess you do… so tomorrow, maybe?”

  I bit my lip, nodding shyly. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Sisters Before Misters

  I was surprised that Marin was home that evening. Most nights, she was busy with dates or other social engagements. Tonight, however, she was waiting for me on my bed, chewing gum and blowing bubbles with loud pops.

  “So,” she said cheerfully, dragging the word out, “you had a date. With Will. Details.”

  I smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. I folded my arms in fron
t of myself. “It was… well, it wasn’t what I was expecting.”

  Glenn trudged to his corner, propping his feet on the bookshelf. I grimaced, worrying that he might damage my book collection, but his lanky legs didn’t even rock the shelf as he relaxed into it.

  “If all your dates are going to be like that,” Glenn said, rolling his eyes, “then I have a boring future ahead of me.”

  It wasn’t a fair statement. Wouldn’t any date feel boring if you weren’t the participant?

  Marin held her hands up, looking confused and shaking her head, “Wait, wait, wait. You can’t tell me Glenn went with you?”

  I leaned forward into my hands and nodded glumly. “Unfortunately— for all three of us— yes.”

  Marin was up in a flash, stomping over to the reading nook. She pushed Glenn’s legs down unceremoniously, scowling. “Really?! You won’t allow her to have a life?”

  Glenn glared at her. “I’m her bodyguard, Princess! What do you want me to do about the next wraith that comes looking for her? Tell it to kindly wait, that she’s on a date?”

  “You could let her go on her own if she’s around a human!” Marin insisted. “She’s not completely helpless, you know! Sarah’s so far wound up that—” She stopped talking, and I was grateful. The last thing I wanted to hear was how I needed to get laid.

  “Yeah, but she’s a magnet for trouble,” Glenn rebuked. “She should be wound up. She should be vigilant, always on her guard.”

  Marin snorted, “So your suggestion to save her life is to prevent her from having one? Yeah, perfect.”

  I pulled out Aldan’s book, the thin and wide manual that Glenn had called childish. I flipped through it, letting the two squabble. Though they were talking about me, they certainly didn’t care about my input.

  Flipping past the basic rules were the more advanced nuances. It appeared that every rule had a loophole, except the five most basic— even those had the Source of Magic side-note.

  I blushed as I looked at the pages. It was obvious Glenn was right— it was a children’s book. It had colorful illustrations and simple wording. It was embarrassing, but in the extras’ world, I may as well have been a child.