Spark of Knowledge

by Jacie Douglass

  “Wow, is your Mom always so…”

  “Busy? Abrupt? Unconcerned with what I’m doing?” I shrug. “Yup, pretty much. Anyways, let’s get out of here. Did you pick up soda already? We might have some in the kitchen if you need more.”

  “Nah,” Sebastian grins. “I’ve got it covered. Let’s go.”

  I lock the door and Sebastian grabs my arm, guiding me down the stairs. The sun drifts lower in the sky as dusk approaches. Perfect weather for barbequing. Although once the sun sets, it will probably get chilly.

  “Are we taking your car?” I ask as we head towards the fountain

  “Yup,” he grins flashing his keys. “I left it at the bottom of the drive. Come on.” He increases his pace, and I’m practically jogging to keep up. Why do these guys have to walk so fast?

  Popping the locks on his dark blue SUV, he opens the door for me. “Your chariot, Mademoiselle.” I shake my head at his ridiculousness and climb in.

  “So what’s the plan for tonight? Are we just barbequing?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see.” Sebastian answers playfully, pulling away from the curb. I huff in mock irritation and switch to looking out the window.

  “So have you checked out the island since you’ve been back, Sprite?”

  “If by checking out, you mean getting lost and driving around aimlessly, while trying to get my GPS to work…. Then sure, I’ve done a lot of sightseeing.” I reply sarcastically. “Why does this island hate GPS?”

  Sebastian laughs. “Oh come on, it’s not that bad.”

  “Not that BAD?” I repeat in disbelief. I turn and fix him with a glare that would peel paint. “None of the streets run in straight lines! They dead end and restart blocks away! Seriously!?! What is that? It’s like the city planners were smoking crack when they drew the roads.”

  Sebastian snorts, glancing over at me. “You do realize that the houses came first and the roads later in most places on the island.”

  “Pfft! WhatEver! I say it was crack smoking city planners. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” Sebastian busts out laughing, his shoulders shaking and tears running down his cheeks. Oh God, I think I broke him.

  He’s still laughing when we pull over and park on a residential street in an older part of town.

  “Come on Sprite; let’s get you inside before you get lost again.” Sebastian manages to get out between his laughter. Sticking my tongue out at him, I pop open the door. “Hey now, you better keep that tongue in your mouth if you’re not going to use it.”

  Heat floods my cheeks and I jump out of the vehicle without a word. I need to stop doing that if the guys are going to use it as an excuse to flirt and make bad jokes. I shouldn’t be having those kinds of thoughts about my friends in the first place. I don’t need them encouraging me.

  “Sooooo, whose house is this?” I ask, changing the subject as I look around. An old Victorian painted in dark gray and trimmed in forest green, looms in front of us. It looks like something straight out of a gothic novel. Off to the left, a wide cobblestone path leads around the side of the house.

  “The twins. Come on, everyone will be at the cottage,” Sebastian said, grabbing a 20 pack of Coke from the back seat. He heads down the path and I scramble to catch up. I try not to notice how good he looks from behind. Nope, don’t go there. I’m definitely not checking out my friend’s ass. Coming around the side of the house, I catch my breath. The backyard stretches out before us in a series of terraces. Each level a containing a unique garden with flowers in a single color. The soft evening sky makes the place look like something from a fairytale. The path gradually descends as winds its way between the terraces and ends at a smaller version of the front house. Sebastian grins at me, leaning against the wall by the door.

  “Come on slowpoke,” he calls before ducking inside.

  “It’s NOT my fault you have Abnormally Long Legs!” I call after him picking up the pace. Laughter floats out of the building and I follow him inside, blinking at the brightness after the dusk. “Damn,” I breathe. Someone had created the ultimate man cave out here. Since we’re alone at the moment, I take the opportunity to explore the room. One wall is dominated by a huge TV mounted above a cabinet filled with various electronics, movies and video games. A huge leather couch sits directly in front of it, flanked by two matching leather armchairs. Bowls of snacks cover the large coffee table. Off to the right there’s a door before the hallway opens up.

  Sebastian throws himself down on the couch, pulling my attention.

  “Like what you see?” His green eyes twinkling with laughter and I feel the heat rising in my cheeks again. Since his question could take two different ways, I’m going to play it safe and not answer. He is not flirting with me. And I’m definitely not going to admit to noticing how his black tee shirt is riding up, exposing his flat stomach and defined abs.

  Quickly looking away, I say the first thing that pops in my head. “This place is like giant playroom.”

  “Thanks,” Ian replies, popping out from around the corner. His sudden appearance scares the crap out of me and I stumble back against the couch, hand on my chest. Sebastian breaks into another round of laughter, earning him a dirty look. Could I NOT make a fool out of myself in the first five minutes?

  “Sorry if I scared you, Emmy. I thought Bast warned you that we’d be here.” Ian apologizes, absently brushing his purple bangs out of his eyes and giving me a reassuring smile. At least he cared about my feelings. Unlike someone else…

  “Not your fault,” I smile back.

  “I’m still working on getting the sound system fully integrated,” he explains, gesturing behind him. “Once it’s finished, we’ll be able to switch between the different equipment and instruments without having to constantly unhook everything. Sam is out back, manning the grill and Jared’s around here somewhere.” He disappears again and I drift closer, peaking around the wall.

  The second space is almost as large as the living room set up. There’s half wall that divides it from a small kitchenette. There’s a full set of drums to one side and a keyboard and upright piano tucked away in the other corner. Band posters covered the back wall and various other musical instruments are displayed between them. Ian kneels in front of an open electrical panel that’s set in the half wall. A dozen multi-colored cables are neatly lined up next to him and connect to speakers, amps, and a bunch of other equipment I can’t even name. They’d mentioned being in jazz band together, but I hadn’t expected anything like this.

  I take the opportunity to watch him work, still irritated at Sebastian. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to seeing Jared’s sharp features with Ian’s shy smile. Ugh, that sounds horrible. I can’t help it. I met Jared first, if it had been the other way, I’d probably be thinking how weird Ian looks with Jared’s smirk. Although I can’t imagine Jared wearing the khaki cargo pants and sage polo shirt that Ian’s sporting. It takes me a minute to realize he’s not wearing the glasses I’d seen him with in the library. Huh? I think I like him better with the glasses, they soften his look and give him that sweet, nerdy vibe.

  “So are we eating first?” Sebastian asks randomly. I know he’s not asking me.

  “That’s the plan,” Samil answers from the hallway leading from the back. He carries a platter of grilled burgers into the living room. His white tee shirt is so tight it’s practically painted on, making his muscular chest and six pack abs clearly visible. “We’ve got burgers fresh off the grill. Hey there, Em. Do you mind making some room for these on the table?”

  “Hi, Birthday Boy!” I smile and look away. These guys are just too damn hot for their own good, or for mine. Bad Emily, stop ogling your friends.

  “Oh Sure, I can do that.” I finally manage, moving to the table and rearranging the bowls of snacks to make space for the burgers. Samil brushes against me as he sets the tray down, his energy rippling over my skin and sending shivers down my spine. Damn. Say something, Emily… “So how old are you today, Sam
il?”

  “Eighteen,” he replies, flashing me a quick smile. “We all are as of today, Em. Well except you, anyways. You’ve always been the baby of the group.”

  I laugh, shaking my head. “Pfft, whatever, Old Man. I may be a little younger, but I’m no baby.”

  “Did you bring the buns, Sebastian?” Ian asks, bringing over a stack of plates.

  “Buns?” Sebastian blinks, looking up from the bowl of popcorn he’d confiscated. Samil sighs and shakes his head.

  “We told you in the group text. We needed you to pick some up on your way over. The ones here were moldy and had to be tossed.” Samil gives Sebastian an exasperated look. I manage to be the bigger person and resist the urge to snicker. Sebastian pulls out his phone and looks at it accusingly.

  “Sorry guys, must have turned off the sound.” Setting the bowl back on the table, he stands up and stretches, showing off even more of his abs. The grin on his face as I look away makes me think it’s not an accident.

  “Better grab some food before the others get here, Emmy. They clear a table like a plague of locusts.” Ian’s comment startles a laugh out of me. “Don’t worry about it Bast, just make yourself useful and get the rest of the condiments from the fridge. I’ll text Jared to check for some at the main house.”

  “Text me what?” Jared asks, as he walks in the door, Clayton trailing right behind him.

  “Someone wasn’t paying attention and forgot to pick up the buns,” Samil answers, filling his plate then settling into an armchair.

  “Well, lucky for you guys, I was paying attention,” Clayton grins. “I grabbed buns when I picked up dessert.” He tosses a couple bags to Ian before ducking back outside.

  “Excellent!” Sebastian laughs, grabbing one of the bags from Ian and freeing a couple buns. I take a plate, helping myself to a burger, a couple slices of cheese and some chips. Sebastian slips a bun on my plate with a wink, and I roll my eyes. Taking the corner seat on the couch, I assemble my burger and take a bite. Mmm. Damn, this is good. Huh, did I remember to eat today? Oh well, I’m eating now.

  Clayton returns with a large pink bakery box, which he passes off to Ian. Sebastian plops down in the spot next to me, his plate piled high with food. I’m surprised he didn’t spill it everywhere. Ian reappears with an armful of Coke cans. He gives me one, before handing the rest out to the guys. Within minutes, everyone has settled down and is digging into their food.

  Ian wasn’t kidding about them being locusts. In the amount of time it took me to eat half my burger, they’d cleared ¾ of the food on the table. Where the hell did they put it all? If I ate like that, none of my clothes would fit. By the time I finish, they’ve moved on to discussing their plans for Sunday.

  “Do you want to join us on the Treasure Hunt, Em?” Samil asks.

  “Mmm, I don’t know, I’ll think about it,” I shrug. “I’m not sure I’m an outdoorsy kinda girl. I’d love to see some magic, though… You did say you would show me…” They exchange looks, before turning their attention back to me.

  “Sure, if you’re ready,” Samil says, watching me closely. I smile confidently, ignoring the butterflies in my stomach. “Alright, let’s go.” The guys all stand, and Samil heads towards the back hall, the twins right on his heels.

  “Come on Sprite,” Sebastian grins down at me, offering me a hand. I take it, ignoring the rush of joyful energy that accompanies it, and let him pull me up from the couch. Lacing his fingers through mine, he winks and follows Clayton down the hall. Samil opens the last door, revealing a narrow set of stairs. The guys troop upstairs, leaving me and Sebastian alone. With a final squeeze of my hand, Sebastian releases me and motions for me to go first.

  The second floor is one big room with floor to ceiling bookcases on the far wall. Nearby there’s a huge, dark wood table with matching chairs. In the center of the room, a large area rug covers the hardwood. Beanbag chairs and pillows are scattered around, giving the whole room a cozy feel. Clayton and the twins grab beanbag chairs, while Samil digs around in a cabinet. I drift towards the bookshelves, a strange tug pulling at me. I don’t need to ask if these books are on magic and the Magi, I can feel the power rippling off them. The energy tingles along my fingers as I run my hand over the unmarked leather spines.

  “Wow, did you get all these books from your Granmama?” I ask, looking back at the twins.

  “Some of them,” Ian answers. “The rest we found over the years.”

  “Wait… you found them?” I let my hand fall away and turn back to look at him. “Umm no offence, but doesn’t that seem weird to you? I mean, why would a secret race of magic users, Magi, whatever, leave their books lying around where people could find them?”

  “It wasn’t that easy,” Jared smirks, and I roll my eyes at him.

  “What he means is that they were hidden, but we found them,” Clayton jumps in to explain. I give him my full attention, taking a seat at the table. “Like it was Fate, if you believe in that kinda thing. See, my parents used to do restorations and flip houses.” Emotions flashes over his features for a moment, before smoothing back into a smile. “As soon as they thought we were old enough to handle it, they put us to work helping out on their jobs. We would clean out the junk left in the house, remove carpeting and assist with minor demolition. When they bought the property themselves, we could keep and repurpose any of the junk we found inside. Most of the stuff went straight in the trash, but sometimes we’d find a book or something interesting tucked away and forgotten.”

  “That’s really cool,” I smile and Clayton gives a little shrug in response. “So you found all these books one at a time?” There had to be over a hundred books here, I couldn’t even imagine how many houses they would have had to help at in order to collect them all.

  “Not quite one at a time,” Clayton laughs. “That would have taken forever. The number always varied. But really, we got a lucky break; my parents bought one of the oldest houses in town. The place had been empty forever and the whole thing was a mess. The attic and basement were filled with years and years worth of junk, much of it broken or rotting. When we finally got the attic empty, we found a hidden cupboard built into a window seat. Inside the cupboard were a bunch of old books and journals. After we found that first hidden compartment, we went back through the entire house to make sure there weren’t others that we missed.”

  “We found five other stashes of books and antiques around the house,” Samil interjects. “It was way too much stuff to go through on the spot, so we brought everything here.”

  “It wasn’t until after we started reading, that we realized what we had found.” Jared picks up the story. “Proof that Granmama wasn’t the only one that believed in the Magi. The journals gave us a whole new perspective on the world. We learned more about how the Magi realized that they were losing their magic. Some of them believed it was because they’d lost their connection to nature. While others thought it was because they’d diluted the Magi bloodlines by marrying humans. The writer of the journals decided to break away from the Magi community because of disagreements with the other families.”

  “Apparently, he didn’t agree with some of their practices.” Ian chimes in, a pensive look on his face.

  Jared nods at his twin before continuing. “During the winter of the last journal, the writer decided not to teach his children magic and made plans to seal away his books and tools. He didn’t have the heart to destroy them.” The guys watched me expectantly, like they expected me to argue, but who was I to disagree?

  After figuring out I wasn’t going to interject, Samil takes over. “We also found more information on the island. One of the books listed the names of the founding families that formed the island’s original coven. They moved here to form a refuge for those who wanted to marry outside the Magi line. Even at the risk of weakening their powers. According to the journals, eventually their powers dwindled to the point where they could only command one element instead of all five.”

  �
�Wait, there are five elements?” I interject.

  “Yes there are,” Samil replies. “But we’ve gotten way off topic. I thought you wanted to see some magic, and there is something we should tell you before we get started.”

  “Yes, I want to see magic! But first you have to finish your story about the Magi on the island.”

  “Fine,” Samil says. “Where were we…?” He pauses slightly and I can see his eyes grow distant. “Oh ya, so after we read through the journals, Ian and I discussed their theory that the problem was caused by mixing with humans. On a large scale, we could see how they might jump to that conclusion. But the island population has always been small. So even if some Magi married humans, the odds were good that some of their children would have marrying back into Magi families.”

  “That makes sense.” I tell them. “So what happened? You found the books, realized you were secretly Magi, or whatever you call yourselves, and just started doing magic.” The guys burst out laughing, and I drum my nails on the table in irritation.

  “Sorry, we’re not laughing at you, just the way you said it, Em.” Samil finally composes himself enough to explain. I glare and motion for him to continue. “Yes, we assumed it was possible that the twins weren’t the only ones descended from Magi. So the five of us started trying to cast some of the spells we found in books. By trial and error we figured out that by working together, we could perform minor magic. Nothing like the stuff the original Magi could do, but little things.”

  “That’s really cool,” I grin. “So what did you need to tell me? Is it more about the Magi?”

  “Yes, but it’s also about that last summer you spent on the island,” Samil answers.

  “Really?” I say hopefully. “I’ve been dying to ask you more about my time here… I want to know everything!”