Firemancer Collection (Fated Saga Box Set Book 1)

by R. H. D'aigle

  “Oh,” answered Colin, taking off the coat.

  “I’ll give it to my mother later,” said Jae, peeking out of the bath room to see if they were alone. He closed the door, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been dying for a moment that we could talk privately. What happened at the Viancourt?”

  The twins described what had taken place.

  “They didn’t bring up you using magic, did they?” he asked Colin.

  “No, not at all. I don’t think they saw anything.”

  “That’s such a relief. I was afraid you’d be in there for hours.”

  Meghan got up the courage to confirm her and Colin’s worst fear.

  “So, we really are stuck here, aren’t we?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid there’s no way, not until the next blue moon. I’m sorry. This time it’s my fault, plus you’ll be stuck away from home much longer than I was,” said Jae, his voice apologetic. “If there were any way of finding out anything, even if it broke a hundred rules, I’d tell you in an instant.”

  “We have no option, then,” said Colin, beginning to come to grips with their plight.

  Jae shook his head.

  The twins knew he spoke the truth, and that it was time to accept it.

  “We may be stuck here, Jae, but it’s in no way your fault,” consoled Meghan. “We made the choice not to heed your warning.”

  “Still…”

  She cut him off. “Nope! Won’t hear it, Jae. We’re here. There is nothing that can change that now!” She put on a brave face. Colin could sense her fear underneath, ready to overtake the braveness.

  “Since we are stuck here,” said Colin, “tell us about this place. How does it work exactly? An entire town inside a wagon.”

  “Kind of like the wagon back in Cobbscott, only on a much larger scale. We collect energy to create this place. Although the town has actually shrunk a great deal in recent years, as we find our magic getting weaker the longer we travel.”

  Colin took out Magicante and thumbed through it.

  “There is one thing I don’t understand.”

  “What’s that, Col?” asked Meghan curiously, not having sensed this in her brother’s mind.

  “Do you remember, after we got Jae’s father through, when Uncle Arnon showed up?”

  “Yeah, I recall,” she said snidely. As if she could’ve forgotten!

  “Well, do you remember when we left the trailer that night that I did not have the Magicante?”

  Meghan’s eyes widened.

  “I do,” answered Jae. “I remember asking you where it was.”

  “Why would Uncle Arnon bring Magicante to me? I can see throwing it at me, to get me out of the way, but why did he bring it?” Colin fought off tears, but he was too weak to hide it from Meghan.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Colin,” she tried to assure him.

  “But if I hadn’t forgotten my book, or hadn’t gone at all, Uncle Arnon might still be safe. Why would he risk his life to bring me Magicante? It’s a handy book, but worth giving up his life for?”

  “Colin, I think it’s vital that we try and put this out of our minds, for now. We should focus on surviving the next three years. I think I’d rather curl up and die, than sit around drowning in constant worry.”

  “I’ll try,” he murmured.

  Footsteps shuffled up the staircase.

  “I think its best,” warned Jae, “to keep all of this to ourselves; using magic, the book… and Meghan, I wouldn’t tell anyone about your run in with the Catawitch, either. Those things could easily change the Viancourt’s minds about you staying here.”

  It was Mireya who had come up the stairs.

  As Colin departed the bath behind Jae, he spun around.

  “I almost forgot. The other room,” he pointed to the room across from the staircase, “that belongs to Ivan Crane. He was with me the day I ran into you guys and dropped all my packages. He just turned seventeen. Busy all the time. We don’t see him much. My parents took him in a few years back after his grandfather passed on.”

  “That’s nice of your family to do that,” said Meghan from the bathroom door, recalling the rude boy and her instant dislike of him. She hurriedly bathed, allowing Colin time to clean up, too. After, they had dinner. During the meal, another package arrived from Banon Blackwell, this time for Colin.

  “I already got mine, its beautiful,” said Meghan.

  Colin opened his. It was a black jacket, with a hint of gold fringe.

  “That’s what all the men wear to fancy type occasions,” said Jae, rolling his eyes. Colin tried it on over his clothes. Again, it fell to his ankles.

  “Another item to grow into?” Colin asked hopefully.

  “I can fix that, along with your other one,” said Sheila. “Leave it on the couch over there, but in the box. We must keep it nice. It’s a real honor to get a gift from Banon Blackwell.”

  “Is there some event we need to have these outfits ready for? We were told there may be occasions we cannot attend.”

  “We do have lots of fancy affairs. Best to always be ready,” Sheila smiled. They ate quietly and immediately after, Meghan announced she was ready for bed.

  “I realize it’s early, but I’m spent.”

  “I’m pretty beat myself, probably won’t be too far behind,” replied her brother.

  “I think that’s a splendid idea all around,” announced Sheila. “I’m going to make a quick trip to see your father and when I get back, bed time.”

  No one argued. The dinner meal had filled their bellies, causing the immensity of their gloomy tiredness to kick in.

  “Night everyone,” yawned Meghan, as she wound her way up the staircase. A chorus of sleepy goodnights swept through the house.

  The boys and Mireya decided to stay up until Jae’s mother had returned from seeing Irving Mochrie at the hospital.

  Meghan’s head hit her pillow, all thoughts left her mind, and exhaustion took over. She did not awaken until the next morning.

  ##

  ##

  It took a few groggy minutes for Meghan to remember where she was. She sensed in her mind for Colin.

  “You’re finally awake,” he said, catching her probing through his thoughts. “Hurry and get up. Jae’s practicing magic.”

  “K, gotta get dressed,” she mumbled, hurrying to make herself presentable. As she departed the bedroom, a door opened beside her. A handsome, dark haired young man dressed in a sport coat bounced out, surprised to see her.

  “You must be Meghan,” he said dryly.

  “Yes, I am.” Before she could say more, he raced down the stairs. She followed him, recalling their first encounter back in Cobbscott. She wondered again, Is it really possible to know you hate someone, so instantaneously? Ivan ran out the back door, yelling hello and goodbye.

  Irving Mochrie had returned home from the hospital late the night before and was sitting in the back, outside the house near a lit fire pit, clearly impressed with the boy.

  “Look at that, already off to work. Never an idle moment, that one!”

  Off to the side, Jae was practicing a balancing spell. He had many items stacked atop each other; his hand balancing the items without touching them.

  Irving Mochrie, still heavily bandaged, noticed Meghan arrive.

  “Good morning. It is nice to meet you, properly, although I wish it were under different circumstances,” he added.

  “I can’t believe you’re home already, after what those Scratchers did to you!” said Meghan.

  “Yes, that was some ugly business. But the wounds will heal! We all have a price to pay for this lifestyle we lead. I’ve already spoken with your brother, but I must thank you personally for your assistance, and I am deeply sorry about your uncle. He would be proud of your bravery, of this, I am sure.”

  “Thanks,” she said, growing agitated that so many believed their uncle to be dead.

  A glass dish fell off Jae’s balanced stack, plummeting to the ground. Irving used magic to
stop it before it smashed into shards. “Pay attention, Jae.” he scolded harshly. “You’ve got a month’s worth of work to catch up on.”

  Jae looked worn out. Meghan wondered if he’d slept at all, and had a twinge of guilt for having such a restful night. Colin watched Jae intently.

  Irving shifted in his chair, wincing a bit, as Sheila Mochrie joined them from inside.

  “Ivan’s off,” she told Irving. “Says he won’t make it home for dinner, another long day ahead.”

  “I’ve never seen a young man so dedicated to his work,” claimed Irving.

  Jae lost his concentration and the stack of items smashed to the ground, the glass ones smashing into sharp bits.

  Irving glanced in Jae’s direction, huffing. “Keep trying. Always keep trying, Jae.”

  “Yes, Dad.” He flicked his wrist and the broken items magically repaired themselves.

  Irving went back to his conversation with Sheila.

  Meghan grabbed a meat pie that Sheila had stacked in front of her, trying not to listen in, but could not help it.

  “Not nice, Sis,” Colin sent.

  “They’re not exactly keeping it down,” she shot back.

  “We cannot judge the Banon,” Irving was saying. “Has she ever led us astray?”

  “No, she hasn’t. I was wrong to even think it!” Sheila disappeared into the cottage, followed by Irving a moment later.

  “What was that about?” wondered Colin.

  “It’s okay to listen in on other’s conversations now is it?”

  “I got curious,” he shrugged. The twins twitched uncomfortably, believing they were not as welcomed into the Mochrie house as they had been led to believe. Maybe they should take up Billie’s offer and move in with her. Meghan got up the courage to ask.

  “Jae. It’s not a problem is it, us staying with your family?”

  “Problem? No. People are just a little slow to warm up to strangers is all. It’ll take some time, but they’ll come around.”

  He wasn’t as reassuring as the twins had hoped.

  “What’s there to do around here?” Meghan asked, changing the subject.

  Jae finished cleaning up his mess before answering, the last of the glass repairing itself as he stacked the non-breakable items on the table.

  “There’s Grimble, otherwise not much. I should warn you that tomorrow I’ll be back in school. I haven’t heard any word as to what they’re going to have the two of you doing.”

  Meghan frowned. The way he said it was as if they needed to be kept busy.

  “There’s school in the summer here?” she questioned, distraught at the thought.

  “School is sort of always in session around here.”

  “How awful,” she replied.

  “She hates school, or learning, period,” Colin explained.

  “Is Ivan still in school?” she asked.

  “No, Ivan graduated when he was sixteen, already been working near a year. Youngest to graduate ever! Usually we don’t get to graduate level until about age sixteen or seventeen.” Jae sounded like he was trying to be proud of Ivan, but it came across as more of a sore subject.

  “How about today?” asked Colin. “Are you busy?”

  “Maybe I can talk my dad into letting me take you into Grimble.” Jae ran into the house and came back out, smiling. “I can’t believe it, he said yes. Guess he figures getting you two acquainted with Grimble is as important as magic practice.”

  They departed immediately. The twins felt a nagging desire to keep their minds busy.

  “What’s Grimble like?” asked Meghan.

  Jae thought about it, unsure of how to explain.

  She added, “Let me guess, another one of those ‘we have to see to understand’ things?”

  “Sorry, kind of.”

  As they walked, Meghan got curious. “Sorry, Jae, I don’t mean to pry, but why don’t you all stay here permanently? It’s safe here, right? You’re not that large of a group and there’s no Scratchers here, right?”

  Jae laughed. “I forget how little you know about us. It’s true, the Scratchers didn’t follow us here, but we are only one of nine groups of traveling Svoda.”

  “Nine?” repeated Colin. “When do you see the other groups?”

  “We don’t. That’s why we are working so hard to get back home, for good. We all have friends and family in the other groups. It was done that way on purpose, so that if one group was wiped out, the whole family wouldn’t be lost.”

  “That’s absolutely appalling,” breathed out Meghan.

  “Yes, it is,” Jae agreed.

  The twins now understood Billie’s actions the previous day, too. The woman in the photo: she had not seen her in eleven years. The picture was getting clearer.

  “No wonder they don’t trust anyone,” sent Meghan to Colin.

  “The words, welcome to Hell come to mind!” he declared. She had never heard her brother use such a strong word, but agreed to his sentiment.

  Outside of the wagon, the sky was darker and the foggy air smelled stale. There were trees, but they were leafless and dead.

  “Is there a way, Jae, to at least keep in contact with the other groups?” asked Colin, hesitantly.

  “We do leave messages behind. Problem is, sometimes another Svoda group may not get them for months, or years.” Jae stopped at a small stone bridge. Two tall dead trees grew up out of the bridge, and the stream bed below had long dried up. With the exception of a few Svoda Gypsies (who couldn’t take their eyes off the twins) the town was deserted. They crossed the bridge, and so far, Grimble did not prove impressive. The buildings were empty and run down. Nothing looked open for business. Then, as they stepped off the bridge, silvery shadows formed, some floating in the air.

  Without any warning, one such shadow floated right in front of Colin’s face.

  “Is that a ghost?” asked Meghan.

  “That’s why it’s a little hard to explain,” laughed Jae, seeing their faces. “Grimble is a ghost town,” he explained. All at once, silvery essences floated into and out of walls, buildings, and even the ground. Some you could see straight through and some looked like they were alive. Yet you could tell they were dead, as their movements flowed easily across the ground and their bodies shimmered as they did so.

  “This isn’t like any other ghost town I’ve ever seen,” said Colin, coming around. “This is impressive!”

  “Oh, I think one of them touched me,” whined Meghan. Jae and Colin broke into amused laughter.

  “It does take a bit of getting use to,” said Jae. “But don’t worry, the worst it can do is leave you feeling the cold, creepiness of death.”

  Colin continued laughing at Meghan until he felt the rush of something icy against his skin. A ghost floated up out of the ground on the exact spot Colin stood. It bellowed something about getting out of the way, and flew off.

  “Not so pleasant, is it?” chided Meghan.

  “C’mon. Something I wanna show you guys,” said Jae. They jogged a few buildings down and stopped at the least colorful candy shop the twins had ever seen. Each item was black, gray, or some other version of that color. “Wait here,” said Jae, racing inside.

  A group of ghost children had gathered outside of the shop, arguing. Jae exited the store handing the twins a black piece of soft candy. “Watch,” he said, nodding toward the arguing ghost children.

  A few of the ghosts were daring another ghost to try a certain kind of candy, which he did not want to do. Eventually, he caved. Seconds later, he was no longer a ghost, but a living boy! He ran crazily, not believing he was alive again. Seeing the living Colin, Meghan and Jae, he rushed over, rubbing his hands over their faces.

  “I can feel things again.” As instantaneously as he had transformed into the living boy, he changed back into the ghostly boy. His smile faded and he went back into the candy store, exiting with a pocketful of the candy.

  “Was that supposed to be funny?” asked Meghan, equally troubled
and stunned by what she had witnessed.

  “No, that wasn’t. He’s probably new here. The older ones are teasing him.”

  “What are we holding?” asked Colin cautiously.

  “Candy for the living,” said Jae, popping a piece into his mouth, grinning smugly. The twins watched as his body dissolved into a ghostly image of itself.

  “It only lasts about thirty seconds,” he yelled down to the twins, floating higher and higher into the air. “But it’s like nothing else you’ve ever tried!” Meghan didn’t wait. She popped hers in and closed her eyes, hard, as if expecting something to explode. She transformed and floated past Jae, on his way down.

  “This is so cool,” she shouted. “Colin, try it! It doesn’t hurt or anything.” Not wanting to be outdone by Meghan he popped his in. Colin changed and passed his sister as she descended to the ground. He drifted to the rooftop. Feeling unstable, he grabbed the building.

  A cloaked figure stood atop the roof. The figure held a leaf in its hand, speaking to it. A distressed female voice replied back, seemingly out of the leaf.

  “We’re not ready yet. I hope it’s not too soon for them to be there.”

  “I think we can use the situation to our advantage,” argued the cloaked figure; it was a man’s voice. He was cut off by the female voice.

  “Behind you!”

  The cloaked man turned, eyeing Colin, who let go of the roof and pointed himself downward. Halfway down he began to change back, and plunged toward the ground. Meghan closed her eyes, having no desire to watch her brother fall. Jae, thinking smartly, used magic to slow him. He landed with a soft thud. Meghan and Jae scurried to his side.

  “Are you all right?”

  Colin rubbed his neck.

  “I think so.”

  “That was too close,” said Jae, relieved. “If you’d gotten injured, mom’d never let us have ghost candy again.”

  Colin’s thoughts strayed to the man on the roof.

  “Jae, is there a safe place to talk around here?” he blurted out.

  “There’s a pub not many Svoda visit. Why?”

  “Let’s just go there,” replied Colin.

  Meghan and Jae eyed Colin questioningly. As they entered the pub, the twins and Jae caught an adult aged ghost peeking around a corner. Was he spying on them? The ghost, noticing he’d been caught, floated away.