The Girl Without Magic

by Megan O'Russell

  “You’ve been fed. Now tell us what Jax is planning.”

  “Ah, you must be Abeyla,” Bertrand said pleasantly. “The woman in charge. I am thrilled you came to question us yourself.”

  Abeyla moved to the side of the pole so she could see both Bertrand and Maggie at the same time.

  “You know my name?” she asked, her eyes narrowed.

  “Well, the nice blond boy, Tammond, said Abeyla was in charge, and I assume that is you,” Bertrand said. “It really is an honor to be questioned by the leader of a group. Things tend to stay so much more reasonable.”

  “If you would like me to remain reasonable,” Abeyla said in a low and dangerous tone, “then tell me what Jax is planning.”

  “We don’t know,” Maggie said. “Sincerely, we don’t.”

  “Even if you are not one of the Enlightened―” Abeyla began.

  “So, that’s what his people are called.” Bertrand cut across.

  “Everyone in Malina knows Jax Cayde is the Master of the Enlightened,” Lamil said.

  “And here we have found the answer,” Bertrand said. “We are not from Malina. We are from another world far from here.”

  “The Siren’s Realm.” Abeyla glared at Maggie.

  “Yes, Ma’am. Tammond said you call it the Land Beneath.”

  “It seems Tammond said a lot of things.” Abeyla’s face was set so tightly, Maggie couldn’t tell if she was starting to believe them or not. “What is this world you come from called?”

  “The planet?” Maggie said. “Earth.”

  “What land?”

  Maggie swallowed the urge to say Disney as Bertrand answered, “It was the British Colonies when I left, but Ms. Trent came to the Siren’s Realm quite a bit after my time.”

  “The United States of America,” Maggie said, an unexpected pang hitting her chest. “I was born in Virginia. My family was of the Virginia Clan, but I grew up farther north at the Academy. It’s a school. Well, prison-slash-school. It’s where they put kids with magic who don’t have anywhere else to go. That was in New Hampshire. But I guess you don’t know where that is, so I don’t suppose it matters.”

  Abeyla knelt down, her face not a foot away from Maggie, staring directly into her eyes.

  “Why did no one want you? How did you get sent to the Academy?”

  “I―I lost my family.” Maggie pushed the words past the lump in her throat. “There’s always been disputes about who should be in charge of the Virginia Clan. My family had a blood feud with another family, so there was always fighting. My father wanted control of the entire Clan. He attacked the people who were in charge, but the others from the feud, the ones who had always hated us, they joined with the people my father was fighting. My mother sent me to the Academy right after the attack. Within five days of my getting sent away, my whole family was dead. And who wants to take care of a kid from the wrong side of a blood feud?”

  Maggie bit her lips together. The metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth, ridding her of the unbearable urge to cry.

  “I’m so sorry, Miss Trent,” Bertrand said from the other side of the pole.

  “Don’t be,” Maggie said. “People die all the time. Mine just died all at once.”

  “And what about you?” Abeyla turned to Bertrand.

  Maggie wished she could see Bertrand’s face as Abeyla stared him down.

  “What is your story?”

  “I lived in a land where magic was forbidden and we were all meant to live like humans. With no joy or laughter, suppressing our magic until we died of awful mundanity. I refused to live my life in breathless boredom, so I left. I found the Siren’s Realm and have been living there quite happily ever since, with the occasional exploration of other lands, of course.”

  Maggie couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to the story than Bertrand was letting on, and Abeyla seemed to agree.

  “A man who runs from his world in search of pleasure?” Abeyla pushed herself to stand. “Even Jax Cayde wouldn’t want you.”

  “I take it I’ve proven my point?” Bertrand asked. “That we are not, in fact, spies or enemies, only travelers?”

  Abeyla looked at Lamil for a moment. He gave a small nod.

  “I believe you,” Abeyla said, “because if Jax had spies coming for us, the simplest lie for you to tell would have been that you had come here to train with the Wanderers. Jax would have found such an elaborate lie distasteful. And I’m sure even Jax’s most dispensable spies wouldn’t dare do something to displease him.”

  “Even to save their lives?” Maggie asked. “Jax sounds like a real asshole.”

  “A lovely description, Miss Trent.”

  “Jax is a terrible man,” Abeyla said, “and I am afraid you might be less safe here as travelers than captured spies. If Jax comes, he will not care if you are a Wanderer or not. He will slaughter every living thing in the Wandering Place.”

  “Great.” Maggie leaned her head against the pole. “Can we get untied? That way we won’t die strapped to a pole.”

  Bertrand gave a low laugh.

  “Of course.” Abeyla raised her hand slowly through the air, and the ropes lifted away as if they had never been tied at all. “But I am afraid you will have to stay with us until morning. You are far from where we took you, and night is nearly here. You could never find your way through the maze alone, and I won’t risk my people escorting you in the dark.”

  Lamil nodded. “A wise choice.”

  “You will be our guests until morning, then I offer you transport back to where we found you. I suggest you take it. We have not seen Jax or the Enlightened on the Broken Lake yet, but the waters are too vast for us to see all. And I assure you, Jax is coming.”

  Maggie’s heart raced at the finality of Abeyla’s words. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

  “Tonight we shall celebrate the travelers from the Land Beneath.” Abeyla turned for the door. “Every moment that can be celebrated must be cherished.” She walked out of the room, Lamil following her. This time they did not shut the door behind them.

  he Land Beneath,” Maggie said, more to push Abeyla’s parting words from her mind than anything else. “It sounds like we crawled up from Hell, doesn’t it?”

  “It wouldn’t be wise to make the Siren’s Realm sound too appealing.” Bertrand had stood up and was peering out the door. “I’ve always suspected that is why there are so many from our world in the Siren’s Realm: the stories sound so forbidden and appealing. I don’t know how anyone resists.”

  “She also likes to drag people in, remember?” Maggie grumbled as she got stiffly to her feet, rubbing the sore places on her arms where the ropes had bound her.

  Looking through the door, Maggie couldn’t have said how far from where they had been they currently were, only that they were someplace different.

  Surrounding them were high walls of sheer rock, which came down to the lake with no beach to keep the water from lapping gently at their sides. Out in front was a channel that curved slowly until it blocked the view of whatever lay beyond. The sky had turned a dusky blue, and soon even the nearby cliffs would disappear into the darkness.

  “I think it’s time for a bit of exploring, Miss Trent.” Bertrand stepped out the door and onto the ramp.

  Maggie nodded before following. Even knowing Bertrand couldn’t see her, the silent affirmation that she was choosing to explore and not being dragged into the darkening night was comforting.

  The ramp, well, walkway really, was made out of thin bamboo tied together with the same brownish-green rope that had bound them to the pole. The gentle sway of the water beneath was just enough that Maggie could feel herself move.

  Bertrand was already ten feet down the walkway, striding forward with confidence Maggie was unsure she could match. Four steps out on the ramp she looked to her left and gasped.

  She stood, staring for a moment, trying to force her brain to register what it was she was seeing. Houses. A hundred houses f
loating on platforms made of the same bamboo planks she was standing on. Walkways led from one house to another, wrapping around the side, cutting across open water, looping to go over the roofs of the houses.

  And people everywhere. Sitting on docks outside their front doors, paddling their long boats in for the night. A group of children were swimming in the water with an elderly man keeping watch from the side. A little boy not more than three was splashing the old man, who pretended to dodge the deluge of water, laughing all the while.

  In the center of the houses was a building larger than the rest and a full story taller. A thatched roof seemed to have been peeled away and lay against the sides of the building. Through the gaps between the houses, more people could be seen, surrounding the large building. Young people, around Maggie’s age, but they weren’t laughing like the children. Each of them had a look Maggie knew very well. The look of someone who was preparing to fight and knew that a fight might mean saying goodbye to everything they held dear. Even their own lives.

  “We should go there.” Maggie jogged on the walkway to catch Bertrand, hating the feeling of it moving under her feet as she went.

  Bertrand didn’t even look where she was pointing. “Of course we’re going to the center of it all, that’s why we’re here! The center of the wheel might not be where adventure lies, but it is where one can best see what trouble there is to get into.”

  “But didn’t you hear Abeyla?” Maggie hissed, keeping as close to Bertrand as the narrow walkway would allow. “These people are about to be attacked by a very bad man. This isn’t an adventure, it’s a battle field… lake… you know what I mean.”

  “Adventure often comes in the midst of battle, Miss Trent.” Bertrand glanced at her with a gleam in his eyes. “Why do you think there are so many heroes who carry swords?”

  “But this isn’t an adventure for them. It’s their lives.” Maggie grabbed Bertrand’s arm, forcing him to stop mid-step.

  Slowly, he looked down at her fingers clasped around his arm. Without a word, he peeled her fingers away and placed her hand back at her side.

  “My dear Miss Trent, I think we must come to an agreement.” Bertrand’s tone was so patronizing Maggie wanted nothing more than to shove him into the water and see if he ended up back in the Land Beneath.

  “We both agree we are here to gain a little magic and have a wondrous adventure if this land will allow it. I think we are both individuals with enough conscience not to want any harm to befall the good people who call this floating village their home. But, and this is a very important but, Miss Trent, we do not know this world. We do not know the history of their fight with Jax Cayde. They might very well have been in the wrong and are now criminals forced into hiding for doing unspeakable things.”

  “But you said―”

  “People change.” Bertrand held up a hand to silence her. “I hope that will be one of the first lessons you learn, Miss Trent. Hopefully for the good, but some inevitably for the bad, people change. We cannot help people when we don’t know whom we are helping. I will not hurt people if there is a chance they might be innocent. We are here to learn and to have an adventure. Not to save people who have embroiled themselves in a war we know nothing about.”

  He paused, staring so intently at Maggie, it took all her will power not to look away.

  “You’re right,” she said finally. “Maybe Jax is a real live Robin Hood and the Enlightened are his Merry Men. But then what are we supposed to do?”

  “We go to that big building, see what there is to see, learn what we can learn, and hope adventure presents itself.”

  “But what if these really are the good guys?” Maggie asked. “What if our adventure is helping them survive whatever Jax is sending after them?”

  “Then what an adventure it shall be.”

  tares followed them as they made their way through the town. Children were pulled out of their path by adults, and whispers seemed to move faster than the wind.

  They had started moving in the direction of the large building, but the ramps didn’t make sense.

  Some houses were attached by the ramps to the ones catty-corner to them, but not the ones next door. A high ramp, held aloft by thick staffs of bamboo, looked like it should lead them directly to the roofless building. The thing shook so badly as they crossed its narrow slats, Maggie wasn’t sure it was actually meant for people to stand on. Her nails biting into her palms, she took deep breaths, telling herself that this would be the last walkway and then they would be at the big building. But when they reached the water level, they were on another platform ten feet of open water from where they wanted to be.

  “I say we swim.” Maggie shrugged. “It’s not too cold to get wet.”

  Maggie moved to sit on the edge of the dock, hoping the water here wouldn’t be any colder than the part of the lake she had landed in.

  “Maggie!” a voice called from across the water. She pitched forward, swinging her arms wildly to catch her balance.

  A strong arm wrapped around her middle and yanked her back, landing her right on her butt.

  “Careful, Miss Trent,” Bertrand said over her muttered “Ow.”

  “Are you all right?” a voice called from across the water.

  Tammond. Beautiful Tammond, his hair glowing even in the setting sun, was ten feet away from her, looking terribly concerned.

  “Fine!” Maggie said, adding in a whisper, “I’m just going to jump in and drown myself now.”

  Tammond was standing in front of the large building. The people around him were staring at Maggie, too. Blood crept into her face as she blushed.

  “We got a little turned around trying to find a way there.” She pointed at the big building, not knowing its name.

  A girl with bright red hair standing close to Tammond’s shoulder giggled.

  “The paths can be complicated.” Tammond smiled. “Wait there. I’ll come and get you.”

  “Great!” Maggie’s voice squeaked as she spoke. “Thanks.”

  Tammond cut through the crowd and out of sight.

  “Miss Trent,” Bertrand said, taking her by the elbow and helping her to her feet. “I think it would be best for us to explore separately this evening as there is so little time to discover if there is an adventure here for us. In fact, we only have one night. One brief night, Miss Trent. If you need me please do come and find me.”

  “Thanks,” Maggie said. “Not sure how I’d do that, but sure.”

  “And remember, Miss Trent, your virtue is your own, but I do hope you’ll protect it.”

  “I―wha―”

  “Maggie.” Tammond rounded the corner in the opposite direction of the large building. He beamed at her. Like the sun. Her own personal blond-haired, blue-eyed, muscular sun. “I’m glad to see they’ve decided you aren’t here to betray us.”

  “Yeah,” Maggie said breathlessly. “Not evil traitors makes things good.”

  “How eloquent, Miss Trent,” Bertrand said dryly.

  “Are you trying to get to the Fireside?” Tammond asked, not looking away from Maggie.

  “Is that the big one?” She pointed stupidly across the water, silently cursing her finger for doing something so mundane as pointing.

  “It is, and I would be honored to escort you there.”

  Maggie blushed and followed as Tammond led back the way he came.

  “Is that your primary gathering place?” Bertrand asked, breaking the glorious silence Tammond had left in his wake.

  “It is our library, our school, our meeting place, and where we gather in the evenings when the village must go dark. It’s where the children ride when we travel.”

  “A simple yes truly would have sufficed, but I appreciate your thoroughness.”

  “What do you mean travel?” Maggie asked as Tammond led them down one dock barely wide enough to walk on and onto another that cut through the center of a shop filled with tools.

  “You have much to learn, Maggie.” Tammond looke
d over his shoulder with a charming smile. “The Wanderers’ home may be small, but it is a place filled with wonder.”

  They walked across loosely-tied bamboo that sat barely above the water.

  Tammond reached back and took Maggie’s hand, steadying her as the bamboo swayed.

  A thrill shot up Maggie’s arm and filled her chest with a warm and brilliant buzzing. “Thank you,” she murmured as her cheeks blushed.

  “Here we are.” Tammond smiled and swept an arm through the air. “Welcome to the Fireside.”

  It was larger than it had looked from far away. Three stories high and made of thicker wood than the other buildings in the village. Up close, Maggie could see ropes tied to the roof that had been peeled away. Wide doors opened out onto a walkway broad enough to allow people to stand five across.

  “Impressive,” Bertrand said, looking to the peeled-away roof. “Why the moveable roof?”

  “To let the sun in during the day for the school children. We tip them up to cover the firelight at night. For rain and moving, we shut the roof tight. We can’t afford to have extra rooms, and this is the simplest way to ensure we can use the Fireside for whatever we need.”

  “Awesome!” Maggie said, her stomach sagging as Tammond looked at her confusedly.

  “Great.” Maggie corrected. “It’s a really great idea. Having one room that does lots of stuff. Like classes and fires….”

  “May we see inside?” Bertrand asked.

  For once, Maggie was relieved Bertrand was talking.

  “Please.” Tammond bowed then led them through the crowd. People gawked as Maggie and Bertrand passed.

  It was strange. There were people near Abeyla’s age and people near Tammond’s age, but there didn’t seem to be anyone in the middle. As though for twenty years no one had joined their village.

  Before Maggie could begin to come up with a reason why there were no thirty-year-olds, they had entered the Fireside, and she forgot to think.

  The four walls were lined with books and shelves reaching from the floor to the eaves right below where the ceiling would have been. Tables with long benches sat along the walls, waiting patiently for students to take their seats. But the fire was what drew Maggie forward. In the center of the room was a metal disk twelve feet wide, holding a swath of low-lying flames, which danced hypnotically, casting the shelves of books in their warm glow.