Greysons of Grimoire

by Tpaul Homdrom

  The day her mother died, and her world bottomed out from under her.

  The day, that horrific day, that her father died.

  Years later, when she found notebooks from her mother’s younger days.

  Every time she gripped her lighters, gifts from her mother.

  So many times when she looked in the mirror, whenever she was alone.

  All that pain, the pain Chelsea never let the world see, she saw reflected in the little girl’s face.

  Don’t burn the trees!

  That’s what Isabelle had said, with such frantic desperation.

  And now…

  Where were the trees?

  Stop, Chelsea called out. The euphoria, the rush, died out so suddenly that Chelsea nearly collapsed at the sudden burden of reality. An emerald inferno that had spread out and out and out, suddenly and swiftly was extinguished.

  Chelsea stood in the smoldering waste of Hollow Island, and was astonished at what she saw.

  Where were the trees?

  How far had her flames burned?

  She turned around, looking back the way the group had come. Across the blackened, charred waste, she could see the beach where they’d arrived, and the ocean beyond. Before her, in the direction they’d been running, Chelsea could finally see the massive mountain that was their goal. And, around it, far, far, far away to her right and left, Chelsea could just barely see the green of trees.

  Miles.

  She’d burned away entire miles of jungle, of Hollows, of flowers and birds and trees and all living things.

  And finally, in the stunning silence left behind with the fires gone, Chelsea could hear Isabelle’s wailing. And all the pain she’d seen written on the girl’s face hit her with that voice, penetrated to her heart, and struck Chelsea to her knees.

  They’re just trees, Chelsea wanted to say. Why are you so upset?

  But she couldn’t. She couldn’t throw that in the girl’s face. Such raw emotion couldn’t answer to reason.

  Chelsea knew that better than most.

  “You…” Isabelle said, staring at Chelsea with horror and sadness. “Why? Why… I told you not to. Don’t burn the trees. Don’t… they…”

  Chelsea could feel it, then. There was more than just Isabelle’s desperate anguish. There was raw emotion echoing across the devastation Chelsea had wrought. It was coming from the land itself.

  The Enchanted Dominion. That’s what she called this world. A land of magic.

  So magic infuses everything. Even the trees, the grass, the flowers…

  All of it, alive and calling out for anyone who cares to listen.

  Isabelle clearly had a stronger attunement to magic than any human. If Chelsea could grasp just the tiniest echoes of the pain and despair crying out from the destruction around her, what must Isabelle be feeling? What must she be hearing?

  Chelsea stood, shaky on her feet. She pocketed her lighters. One step. Then another. She crossed the short distance between her and the child, knelt down, and wrapped her arms around Isabelle.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered, barely getting the words out. “I just wanted to…”

  I just wanted to protect Caleb.

  I can’t lose him.

  Isabelle’s wailing ceased, and she hugged Chelsea back. This girl was so small, so utterly fragile in Chelsea’s arms. She could summon Piper’s Flutes from thin air. She could use magic without a Talisman. She played music that pierced straight to Chelsea’s soul and brought up emotions that tore her apart.

  Isabelle wasn’t human. Of that Chelsea was certain.

  And yet, she really was just a child.

  So Chelsea hugged her, held her, and the two of them cried. Soon, Lorelei was on her feet, and she helped Delilah regain consciousness and stand as well.

  Chelsea didn’t want to look back at them. She heard Lorelei and Delilah talking, very quietly. She heard Caleb’s name several times. She heard the telltale low, hollow whistling tone that accompanied Lorelei’s Healing Magic.

  It went on for far too long. Nothing ever took this long to heal.

  So Chelsea couldn’t look. Because that must mean…

  “Chelsea,” Lorelei said softly. Chelsea felt her friend’s hand on her shoulder. Dread mounted within her. She closed herself off, tried her hardest not to hear Lorelei’s next words, the words she couldn’t hear, the words that would tear her world to pieces.

  But the words didn’t come.

  Instead, came a small light of hope.

  “Caleb’s alive,” Lorelei said.

  Chelsea let go of Isabelle and looked up at her friend. Lorelei’s expression didn’t look hopeful, but she had led with that for a reason.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Lorelei continued. “Magic doesn’t seem to touch him. I can’t heal him. He isn’t hurt, or sick, but… I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I have no idea what’s wrong with him. He’s breathing. His heart’s beating. But…”

  Chelsea stood up and raced over to Caleb, dropping to her knees at his side. Reaching out, afraid her hand would pass straight through his body like smoke, she was astonished when her skin contacted his. Her hand held his face.

  But there was no warmth. He wasn’t cold, either. He just… was. He didn’t feel alive, but Chelsea had held the dead before, and Caleb didn’t feel like that, either. There was no temperature. There was barely any sensation at all. His skin was like glass. His breathing came so softly, she almost didn’t notice at first.

  He’s so pale. He looks so weak. So pained. What… what’s wrong?

  “Caleb,” she said softly, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Caleb, please. What’s wrong? Tell us… tell us how to fix you. Why are you…?”

  “I think it’s his Time Magic,” Delilah said. Chelsea looked at her. She and Delilah hadn’t spent much time together, so it was hard for Chelsea to read her expression. “He… I’ve seen him use it a few times before, and his body gets like this, just for that small moment when he’s slowing down time.”

  That’s right. Chelsea recognized it now. She’d seen Caleb use his Time Magic countless times, but it always lasted for a second, sometimes less. She hadn’t realized the similarities, but Caleb’s body had that blurred, intangible appearance to it. Touching him like this was so strange. He didn’t look real.

  “So he’s… stuck in time?” Chelsea asked.

  “I don’t know,” Delilah said, running her fingers through her brother’s hair. Her free hand wiped away her tears. “That would be my best guess. But this has never happened before.”

  “And none of us knows enough about Time Magic to be sure,” Lorelei said. “No one ever talks about it, except to say how it’s impossible to use, and that…”

  “It comes with a terrible price,” Chelsea finished, staring at Caleb.

  That warning was always thrown around about Time Magic. People talked about how it was impossible to master, but even more than that, they talked about the price that came with it.

  Caleb had brushed it off in his usual carefree fashion. He smiled, dropped a joke about it, and went on slowing down time. A few times, he’d told Chelsea how it felt when he used his Time Magic too much in one night.

  A tightness in his chest. Shortness of breath. Pressure, bearing down on his body.

  But he liked pushing his limits. So did most Hunters, Chelsea included. Magic was exhausting, and fighting Hollows every night was even more so. Caleb’s symptoms sounded close enough to someone who had just normally overexerted themselves that Chelsea hadn’t worried. Good rest and eating well would take care of it.

  Caleb acted so strong. How much had using Time Magic actually harmed him? How much did it really hurt?

  Had Caleb seen this coming all along?

  What…

  What can I do?

  Nothing.

  That was the answer, and Chelsea hated it. She couldn’t bear it.

  Nothing? Really? I can’t do anything to save him, after all the times he�
�s saved me? I can’t do anything to help him, after all the ways he’s helped me?

  I can’t…

  Chelsea’s mind filled with images of Caleb, with memories. The way he teased her and joked with her, but always became serious when she asked him to.

  The steady strength he showed, constant and determined no matter the danger.

  The way he made small contact with her all the time. Holding her pinky with his, bumping lightly against her shoulder, brushing his hand against hers.

  The way he looked at her. So full of love, so full of joy, so full of warm emotions that Chelsea never deserved.

  The patience, the insane, impossible patience, as he could clearly see all the pain in Chelsea’s heart, and yet never pushed, despite how unfairly she held back with him, how unfairly she kept secrets from him.

  The way he smiled.

  All the time, smiling.

  How could one person smile so much?

  And how could it always seem completely genuine?

  “Chelsea,” Lorelei said softly, wrapping her arms around Chelsea’s shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

  “I can’t do this,” Chelsea said, letting her tears fall freely. “I can’t. He… he has to get better. He has to be okay. This isn’t right. This isn’t…”

  Lorelei started to say something, but Chelsea stood up abruptly, pulling away and walking across the desolation. Charred remains of so many things, more than Chelsea could grasp, crunched and cracked beneath her feet.

  “Hey,” Lorelei said calmly, following her. Chelsea came to a stop after a few paces, staring out across the wasteland.

  “He’s everything,” Chelsea said, shaking her head. “I can’t lose him.”

  Lorelei stopped, her shoulder against Chelsea’s. “I know,” she said.

  “There’s so much I need to tell him,” she said. Some tears flowed over her lips, and Chelsea didn’t bother to wipe them away, tasting their salty bitterness. “I… always thought there would be time.”

  “And there is,” Lorelei said. “He’s alive. Somehow, he’ll come back to you. Either we’ll find a solution, or whatever’s happening to him will wear off.”

  “You think so?” Chelsea asked, looking into her friend’s eyes. True to her name and her magic, Lorelei’s eyes were an icy blue. So many people, especially boys, had teased her over the years, calling her “Ice Queen” and saying she didn’t have a heart.

  To many, it was hard to see emotions in Lorelei’s eyes. But Chelsea knew her better than anyone, and she could see the mixed hope, sadness, fear, and determination in those eyes.

  Lorelei was afraid. But she hadn’t given up.

  “Lorelei, if he doesn’t…” Chelsea said, choking back a sob. “If he doesn’t get better… if he doesn’t come back… what do I… what do I do?”

  “You don’t think about that,” Lorelei said. “You hold out hope for him. You don’t give up on him.”

  “I need to tell him everything,” Chelsea said. “But… I’m afraid it will destroy him. I’m afraid it’ll push him away.”

  “Don’t be,” Lorelei said. “He loves you. You’ve told me everything, and I haven’t gone anywhere.”

  “But these are things that —”

  “I know. It’s still not going to push him away. I’m sure of it.”

  Chelsea leaned into Lorelei, who wrapped her up in a hug.

  He’s everything. He’s everything, and I can’t do anything.

  If he comes back, I’ll tell him everything. I’ll tell him all I’ve held back. All that I’ve locked away.

  And then, when he hears it all, I’ll watch as his love for me disappears. I’ll watch as he walks away from me. I’ll stand there and take it as my world falls to pieces.

  “What do we do now?” Chelsea asked.

  “We get off this island,” Lorelei said, looking towards the mountain looming in the distance. “And we take Caleb with us. You watch over him. Don’t let him go. Don’t give up on him.”

  Chelsea nodded. “Let’s go,” she said, returning to the group and scooping Caleb’s glassy form into her arms. He was so light, Chelsea could scarcely believe it. She didn’t need to use any Enhancement Magic to reinforce her strength. As light as feathers, Chelsea was even more struck by how unreal he seemed. How, even as he breathed slowly and steadily, he seemed so heartbreakingly lifeless.

  Turning towards the mountain, determination in her heart, Chelsea led the way.

  Caleb… don’t you dare die. Come back to me. Just long enough for me to tell you what you’ve been waiting so patiently for me to say.

  Even if it costs me your love.

  Even if it costs me my everything.

  You deserve the truth.

  Chapter 17: Just Jump

  — G —

  Delilah looked out across Hollow Island from her new perch.

  Traveling the rest of the way to the central mountain hadn’t taken long at all after Chelsea laid waste to everything, and now the group was climbing a spiraling path up the rocky slope.

  Looking out from this high up, Delilah could see farther than ever before, and found that Chelsea’s devastation wasn’t as widespread as it had seemed from the center point of it all.

  Hollow Island was huge. This mountain was at the very center, and even only halfway up, Delilah could see to the ocean in all directions. If she had to guess, she’d say Chelsea’s inferno had destroyed about a fifth of the island’s jungle. There was still a lot of green, and from way up here, without the threat of Hollows and the claustrophobic atmosphere, it seemed quite beautiful.

  Still…

  Delilah looked over. The group had stopped to rest, and Chelsea was sitting next to Caleb’s still blurred, glassy form.

  She looked distraught. Delilah had picked up some of Chelsea’s words with Lorelei, and she’d been shocked. She hadn’t realized that Chelsea felt so strongly about Caleb.

  To call a single person her “everything” was unimaginable to Delilah. There were far too many important people in her own life. And she was trying to figure out if Chelsea’s attachment to Caleb was closer to love… or obsession.

  It didn’t help that she’d barely interacted with Chelsea at all in the four years she and Caleb had dated. Caleb hardly ever brought her home with him — two times in four years, if Delilah remembered correctly. And Delilah was the youngest, and spent a lot of time either studying, doing homework, playing video games, or training. Her free time was spent with the most convenient people in her life — mom, dad, Shana, and Shias. With Fae and Caleb living away from home, even if they were in the same city, Delilah just didn’t have the time to go visit them on her own.

  Chelsea had struck her instantly as very emotionally intense. That was the impression she left on Delilah each of the few times they’d interacted.

  I never knew just how much, though…

  When Caleb had collapsed, Delilah barely had time to register it had happened before Chelsea lit up the entire jungle with emerald fire. One second there was nothing, the next, fire was everywhere. And as Delilah had choked on the smoke rising from burning monsters and foliage, she’d stared at Chelsea, unable to take her eyes off of the fire mage.

  Chelsea had been utterly terrifying to look at. She was wrapped in fire herself, and yet the flames didn’t burn her, or her clothing, or her hair. Her eyes had shone like emerald stars, gleaming with rage and desperation.

  Scary, but…

  Delilah stared at Chelsea looking over her brother.

  She did all of that for Caleb. She may have lost control, but if I’d had a chance to actually react to Caleb falling… if I’d thought he was dead or about to be…

  What would I have looked like?

  And as Delilah looked across the island, and saw there was so much green left, it wasn’t such a terrifying idea. Knowing that Hollows of a far more vicious variety roamed through the jungle below only cemented Delilah’s opinion.

  What Chelsea had done was terrifying. And she
hadn’t had enough control.

  But in Delilah’s mind, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

  The devastation had shaken Isabelle, and Delilah could understand and empathize with the girl. But running had likely ceased to be an option once Caleb collapsed. With so many enemies around them, closing in on such a narrow, confined space…

  We wouldn’t have made it out alive. Chelsea saved the day.