Magecraft

by Antoine Henderson

  Rook’s vision became blurry from the initial blow to his head. He could withstand the punches, but he slipped in and out of focus as Oscar looked away with every blow. He tried to focus on figuring out a way to escape, but those thoughts quickly left with a quick glance around the room in-between punches to his various parts of his body. There were six men, not including the four that were holding him. There was no escape, and the room was fading with each blink, slowly getting darker until he slipped into unconsciousness.

  4

  Jumportal

  Bishop’s eyes snapped open, waking up from a harsh sleep before around his room and wincing, wiping the drool from the side of his mouth. He looked at the blank screen of his television, then the clock next to it. It was nine-thirty at night, and he’d slept in longer than he was hoping to.

  Standing from the chair he turned to see his cellular phone light flashing on his bed. He picked it up saw a missed call from Rook. Bishop sighed and wiped his face before he turned to walk out of his room when he came to a stop.

  Slowly turning around, his gaze met the empty clear box that once contained the emergency survival kit and Bishop knew the culprit. Only Rook would have the stones to take it, let alone come into his room without permission. Felix wouldn’t do it out of the respect and admiration he held for Bishop and Niles didn’t care enough and would prefer not to come into his room.

  In a huff, Bishop marched over to his bed, cursing Rook for stealing one of his most prized possessions and grabbed his phone. He tried to ring him several times, but his calls went directly to his voice mail. Annoyed, Bishop left him a scathing voicemail cursing him for taking his emergency survival kit, without it being an emergency and worst of all, without his permission.

  Hanging up, he realized he had a voicemail on his own phone and he listened to it. His anger with Rook faded when he heard voices of men he never heard before threatening Rook, with one even giving an order to take him downstairs.

  The voicemail came to an end and Bishop hurried downstairs to an empty café. Bishop glanced over the empty booths until spotting one with papers scattered over the table. He immediately saw the note Rook left for him. After reading it he looked over a few files, trying to remember the important details and grabbed another map from the pile.

  Rook, you idiot! Why didn’t you wait for me?

  Without hesitation, Bishop ran to his room, searching the closet and drawers of his dresser throwing things out, until he finally found what he was looking for: the jumportal cloth. It was a cloth with a symbol drawn on it.

  The jumportal was the simplest form of conjuration magic, but it used up a lot of the users' energy. They were used to transport a person from one place to another. When a person stood on the symbol after activation, they transformed into blue magical energy and transported to the others’ location.

  Bishop always suggested that they use them in case of an emergency. He hoped Rook remembered to place his, if not, Bishop wouldn't be able to get to him in time. Bishop put the square cloth on the floor before placing his hand upon it. He used magic to activate the seal, and it illuminated a blue glow as he stepped onto it. Bishop transformed into energy until he disappeared.

  In what seemed like a flash, the jumportal activated and Bishop arrived, kneeling in a wooded area. Rising, he immediately hit his head on a thick branch above him as the symbol’s blue aura dissipated.

  “Ouch!”

  His painful shout attracted several guards’ attention near the back of the house. They came running toward the tree line. He removed a Yoyo from his pocket and swung it like a pendulum while standing still, avoiding making any sudden movements. The Yoyo was his personal conduit and radiated a purple glow. Conduits were objects used by warlocks and witches to channel their magic and it was up to them what they used.

  The guards came before him, but their gazes moved around him as they passed. He was invisible to them. Of Bishop’s two schools of magic he specialized in, his primary was the school of illusion, while his secondary was the school of evocation.

  Satisfied that what they heard may have been a woodland creature, the guards returned to their post. Bishop lowered his conduit before exhaling and looking for a way inside the estate.

  He took a moment to catch his breath. Even for him, using a jumportal and his illusion magic took its toll. The more he used it, the weaker he became, but he had to come up with a plan quickly otherwise he might be too late to save Rook.

  Raising his conduit to eye-level, he walked onto the grounds of the Magnus estate, using the map to guide him. A window was open straight ahead and after referencing the map, he deduced it was the same one Rook used to get in. He lifted himself into the room through the window.

  There was some movement in the hallways and Bishop followed, doing his best to control his breathing and his flow of magic so he could keep his illusion. Against experienced mages, a trick like this would be easy to figure out and sense, but there were none in sight as he followed security guards around the estate until noticing a pair standing by a door that led to the basement of the estate. He thought about bursting through the door but decided against it. If he alerted the guards, they might kill Rook if he wasn’t dead already, no, he needed a distraction.

  Scanning the room, Bishop saw a vase sitting against the wall. He knocked it over then ran back down the hall to find the guards running toward him and then passing him. Wasting no time, he entered the door quickly, making his way down the steps. Chatter echoed up the stairs as he walked down them. The source came from a room at the far end of a long hallway. He crept down the hall until walking into the room to see Rook worse for wear next to an older man. Their hands bonded by rope, they both sat next to one another in silence.

  He tiptoed behind Rook. Eight guards stood before them watching them closely. Bishop silently cursed himself and Rook for their current predicament. He walked over to Rook slowly, standing on his left side. Bishop could only imagine what was going through his head at that moment. Part of him felt responsible for Rook being in this predicament while the other part of him blamed him for not waking him up.

  Another guard entered, followed by a large bald man wearing a light gray suit walking with the aid of a cane. His entry into the room caused the other guards to stand at attention and make way for him before he stopped in front of his two prisoners.

  “A kid and a Butler—my butler—tell me, Oscar, was losing your life worth the betrayal? You made the wrong choice.”

  Oscar’s eyes widened. “Lord Magnus, I didn’t!” He shouted in a panic.

  “Take him out of here, you know what to do,” Magnus ordered.

  Several of the guards left their positions and grabbed the now sobbing butler as he begged for his life, but his plea fell on deaf ears as Magnus’s attention focused on Rook. He admired Rook for several moments, analyzing his features, his emotions, trying to figure something out.

  Bishop was proud of the way Rook was handling the situation, he didn’t show fear. He accepted his fate no matter what happened. Bishop didn’t know what Rook was offered, but whatever it was; he believed it was worth risking his life over.

  “Boy, what is your name?” Magnus questioned.

  “Rook.”

  “Rook, huh? Cute,” Magnus replied. “Do you know who I am, Rook?”

  “Yes. Magnus Rath—”

  “Lord Magnus Rathbone,” Magnus interrupted. “Head of the Rathbone royal family. I tell you this because I want you to know who will kill you. I will not end up like the others no, no he can’t kill me so easily.” He paused. “Are there others?”

  Bishop recognized that name. Magnus Rathbone was a member of the royal magical families. A fullblood mage in high society, he’d met Magnus and other members of his family years prior. But the man he met years ago differed from the man before him now. Time had not been kind to him and he’d gained a significant amount of weight which hid the small frame he once carried.

 
Rook glared at him in confusion. “Others? What are you talking about? It’s only me.”

  “Don’t act ignorant! He sent you here to kill me didn’t he?”

  “Who—who are you talking about? I wasn’t sent here to kill anyone! I was sent here to take back something you stole!”

  Magnus paused for a moment and appraised Rook once more.

  Bishop’s frustration grew as he watched, still unable to lift a finger to help his friend in this state. The guards that took the butler away hadn’t returned yet, so that increased their odds slightly, but not enough for him to act. Glancing around the room, he stopped to look on a table near the back. On it was his shroudnet, his emergency kit, and Rook’s phone. His attention quickly fell back to Magnus as he spoke.

  “Okay. I’ll play along… what did I steal?”

  “He only described the item being long, black, and it has a silver lock on it. I—I don’t know what’s inside. He only told me you stole something from his client and that if I came here and retrieved it and delivered it to him, he would help me in return. That’s all.”

  “Long black case—” Magnus stopped talking and turned his head and stared at Rook for several seconds before speaking again. “Tell me, who are your parents?”

  Rook raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  Why is he asking about Rook’s parents?

  “Just answer the question!” Magnus ordered.

  “They’re dead.”

  “What are their names, boy?” Magnus roared.

  “Morgan and Lucia Montcroix,” Rook relented.

  Magnus’ eyes widened, stepping back as he swallowed a lump in his throat. “Morgan and Lucia? This can’t be…! He found—why didn’t he—”

  The sudden appearance of Bishop’s head poking through the shroudnet next to Rook interrupted Magnus. He and the guards took several steps back and stumbled at the sight of seeing a bodiless moving head. While the guards and Magnus focused on Rook, Bishop retrieved the shroudnet along with the emergency kit and Rook’s phone.

  “Hey buddy,” Bishop greeted. Rook jerked away, startled by Bishop’s sudden appearance. “Might want to cover your ears!”

  Bishop’s hand appeared from under the shroudnet, bringing the whistle to his pressed lips. Rook followed his instructions, lifting his rope-bound wrists; he struggled to place his hands over his ears as Bishop blew as hard as he could.

  The whistle emitted a powerful and piercing cry, causing Magnus and his guards to stagger back toward the wall, dropping whatever they had in their hands and trying to cover their ears. He used that opportunity to use Rook’s pocketknife to cut him loose allowing him to join him under the shroudnet. Bishop stopped blowing the whistle, but the sound carried for a few more seconds, while Magnus shouted for his men to kill them, but they were too busy protecting their eardrums from the piercing cry.

  Under the protection of the shroudnet, they made their way out of the basement as guards passed them hurriedly to find out what the commotion was. Reaching the ground floor of the estate, they removed the cloak and Rook hugged his friend, before pulling back quickly.

  “Did you hit your head on the branch when you arrived?” Rook questioned.

  “What kind of question—wait, I did! You did that on purpose?”

  Rook grinned. “Good serves you right for sleeping!”

  “We don’t have time for this! It’s time to go, Rook,” Bishop argued.

  “Not without what I came for!”

  “We don’t have time for that, they’ll be up here any moment!”

  “I almost died because of this thing! I’m not leaving without it, Bishop!”

  “Yes, we are! There will be other jobs to do, Rook. It isn’t worth losing your life. Remember what I always say? Only enter a situation when you can control the outcome—this would not apply!”

  “Had you been awake to help me, this wouldn’t have been a situation! I’m going, Bishop! This is the only way for me to find my sister and I am not screwing this up!”

  Bishop paused as he realized why Rook was steadfast in his attempt to complete the job. He didn’t do this for money or anything monetary, he did it because he loved his sister and would do anything to see her again; even going on a dangerous mission. Bishop felt leaving was their best chance at getting away, but he wouldn’t allow his friend to do this alone after he’d been through so much already.

  “All right, Rook, lead the way. I sure hope you have a plan!”

  Rook smiled at Bishop. “I do, this way!”

  Rook led Bishop up three flights of stairs until reaching the fourth floor. They entered the master bedroom where the box remained on the mantel shelf. Rook grabbed it and held it tightly. The sound of distant shouting and footsteps storming up the stairs headed in their direction alarmed them.

  “Now what?” Bishop asked.

  “Think you can conjure an illusion?” Rook questioned.

  “Possibly, I’m almost tapped out—I can use it for a minute, maybe less.”

  “Good, that’s all I need. Keep them distracted. Throw me your fanny pack.”

  “Emergency survival kit!” Bishop corrected.

  “Whatever, just throw it here!”

  Bishop followed Rook’s request and tossed him the emergency survival kit. Catching it, Rook ripped the bedding off the bed and yanked the bed sheet off of it. He opened the emergency kit, removed the firecrackers and lit them, placing them on the wooden floor. He walked toward the window on the other side of the room as Bishop removed his conduit from his pocket and held it high, stepping back toward Rook as the guards' voices drew closer. Bishop looked toward the bed and noticed the firecrackers and his face turned pale.

  “Rook! Did you-you didn’t light those, did you?”

  “Yeah, we need it for a distraction once your illusion disappears. It should last long enough, just get to it!”

  “But—”

  “We don’t have time, Bishop!”

  “But—”

  The guards storming into the room grabbed their attention and Bishop held his conduit high, looking at them, then at the firecrackers. Their attention fell on the illusion of them standing by the bed, holding their hands up in the air. The guards aimed their guns at them while the real Bishop and Rook stood behind them.

  Bishop held his conduit high while Rook hurriedly drew a symbol on the large bed sheet with the blue marker from inside the emergency kit. He finished by the time the illusion were giving themselves up.

  Rook came to Bishop holding out an end of the bed sheet. “Here, take this.”

  “What are you planning, Rook?”

  “We’re going to jumportal out the window.”

  “That’s a bad idea! We need to get out of this room and fast! Those weren’t just regular firecrackers, Rook!”

  “What were—”

  The sudden disappearance of their illusions interrupted Rook as Bishop lowered his conduit. The guards noticed the firecrackers on the ground before turning and seeing them standing there holding a sheet to their backs.

  Bishop looked at the quickly burning wick and panicked. He placed his conduit in his pocket, grabbed the end of the sheet, pulling Rook with him and bolted toward the window in one motion. The guards ran out of the master bedroom as they crashed through the four-story window sending glass shards flying outward. They looked on as the firecrackers popped, turning into a large series of explosions that engulfed the room, rocking the house and sending flaming debris through the window behind them.

  Rook activated the seal, and it ignited in the blue aura as they descended closer to the ground. As they landed, the jumportal fully activated, collapsing around them, and then onto itself before disappearing into nothing.

  5

  Link

  They arrived back in Bishop’s room atop the hurriedly drawn jumportal symbol on the bed sheet. Their landing was harsh, and they felt the full-force of Bishop’s hardwood bedroom floor after the transpo
rtation was completed. Had Rook activated the symbol any later they would have suffered the full impact of the four-story fall and suffered severe injuries instead.

  Gasping for air, Bishop rose to his feet, brushing debris from his clothes while Rook used the bed as a crutch to pick himself up before lying on his back, spreading his arms out and chuckling in relief. He’d done it, he completed the mission.

  “That… was close,” said Rook in between breaths. “But, we did it,” he added with a grin.

  “Yes, yes we did, Rook. But tell me, you can read, can’t you?” Bishop questioned, still panting himself. He stabbed a finger at the glass case. “I mean, the box there clearly says e-mer-gen-cy. Or am I wrong? Wait, let me look. Nope—that’s exactly what it says!”

  “I had to take something,” Rook argued. He rose, leaning on his hands to keep himself up. “We were supposed to do this together, remember? Oh, you don’t do you? That’s because you were asleep!”

  “You… could have died. Do you not realize if I hadn't listened to your voicemail when I did, you’d be dead? I understand you want to find your sister, but you can’t be so careless!”

  “Okay, I get it! I won’t touch your precious fanny pack again. All right?”

  Bishop didn’t respond. He snatched the fanny pack from the floor and placed it carefully back into its glass box. He turned to walk out of the room. “I need a drink, you coming?”

  “Right behind you.”

  Although Bishop didn’t show it, Rook knew he wasn’t as upset as he was expressing. Bishop couldn’t care less about his survival kit; he was upset with Rook for going by himself even if he believed he could handle things on his own. Bishop wouldn’t forgive himself if something happened to him.

  Rook rose from the bed and grabbed the black case before following Bishop out of the room and downstairs, where Harmony, Felix, and Niles sat at the counter. He didn’t hear what they were talking about initially but from their laughter, things were going fine.