Meghan huffed. “I have had just about enough,” she mumbled under her breath. She waited, biding her time, and when she knew the lunch bell was about to ring, indicating it was time to return to class, she darted around the other students, waiting near the entrance for Jae to appear. When she saw him, and that he was alone, she raced forward, grabbed his arm and dragged him around the corner and into the edge of the woods.
“What the heck is wrong with you?” she shouted, letting into him. “Why on earth would you act like that? Why on earth would you, of all people, be hanging out with Darcy Scraggs, like she's suddenly your new best friend?” Jae didn't speak. “Answer me,” she demanded, poking him in the chest. “And I don't want some flimsy answer! I want the truth, Jae Mochrie!”
Meghan's rampage seemed to take Jae off guard.
His face crumpled as if suddenly in a deep struggle.
“It’s taking over,” Jae spoke, as if each word he said was causing him great physical pain.
“What is taking over?” she asked, only slightly less angrily.
Jae started laughing, low in his throat. When he picked up his head to look at Meghan, his eyes had turned jet black. She gasped, but stood her ground.
“Maybe I'm better this way,” he said darkly.
“What are you trying to prove, Jae? Or maybe I should ask, who are you trying to impress? Yourself, or your father?”
Jae snarled, frightening Meghan as he took a step toward her as if he might actually attack her. He stopped, falling to the ground, his voice enraged. “It’s all his fault! I hate him!”
“Jae, your father can be really mean sometimes, but I know in there somewhere, he loves you and just wants what’s best.”
“You saw him, when I was injured by that Scratcher, how proud he was...” Jae spat out the words as if they were poison. Meghan noted his emphasis on the word injured and wanted to ask if Jae had somehow faked the injury, but let it slide, because Jae stood back up, his eyes swimming in the color of dark ink.
“It doesn't matter anymore,” he told her, his breath coming out heavier. “I'm more powerful than anything he could ever be, or ever think of being.”
Meghan thought back to her conversations with Jae, after leaving Cobbscott, when he had missed the power he had felt while being on his own. “Whatever you've done, Jae, you made the choice to do it! Your father didn’t make this choice for you.”
Jae's face crumbled again. “I – I can't control it anymore.” He doubled over, looking like he might be sick. When he looked up again, his own eyes stared into Meghan’s. “Please, just leave me alone,” he begged. “You can't help me. I'm done for.”
“Done for?” she repeated. “Jae, you’re not done for! Let me help you. Just tell me what you did. A spell gone bad? A potion you shouldn’t have taken? Maybe a doctor can sort it out. We'll find someone... Juliska,” she suggested promptly.
As she said Juliska's name, Jae let out a furious groan. “Just leave me alone,” he spat hatefully. He eyed her for a moment, and she watched as Jae’s eyes disappeared and the black, inky eyes replaced them. He lunged as if attacking her, but flew over her head and ran away.
Meghan watched, horror struck, but did not give chase. Instead, she stood, staring into nothing, a feeling of numbness widening over her body. The schoolyard was empty, the students now all back in class. She had no desire to return. She turned her gaze, knowing what she did want. Stiffly, she stepped onto the street, pointing her body toward the house of Ivan Crane.
The chances of him being home were slim, she realized, but she could think of nowhere else to go. She walked as if she could only hold onto this one thought. Get to Ivan’s… she ignored any passersby, ignored the strange looks they were shooting at her, not stopping until she had come to the gated entrance of a cream colored cottage.
She had never been inside. She opened the gate, hardly aware of her movements to do so, and made her way to the small front porch. She glanced through a window and saw a shape moving inside. “Good. You're home,” she murmured between gritted teeth. She knocked.
Ivan opened the door, gasping, “Meghan!” and dragged her inside at once. “Have you been walking around like this?” He slammed the door shut behind them.
“Like what?” she spoke, her teeth still gritted, her brain still numb.
Ivan spun her around to face a mirror. Her eyes shot open in surprise, her trance-like numbness vanishing.
The veins in her face and neck popped with pulsating, fiery lines across her skin. Ivan darted away and came back with an ice-cold glass of water, forcing her to drink it before allowing her to say another word.
When she handed him the empty glass, she glanced in the mirror again. The fiery lines were dimming.
Ivan dragged her into his kitchen, maneuvering her body through a small pathway he had left, between stacks of what looked like clutter. Somehow, she had pictured Ivan to be a neat freak. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed a pile of dishes in the sink and a slew of dirty pots on the woodstove. There were rows of empty shelves where clean dishes should have been. Ivan swooshed a bunch of papers off the kitchen table, and emptied a chair.
“Not how I pictured your house to be,” she spoke, still hazy.
“Cleaning is not real high on my list of priorities,” he replied, ordering her to sit.
She shook her head no. “Ivan,” she spoke evenly, “you're going to tell me everything. Everything!” she emphasized firmly. “I will not leave here until you do.”
Ivan sighed. “I've been counting down the hours until school let out. I was coming to see you.”
“Oh,” she replied, momentarily caught off guard, adding, “I didn’t actually expect you to be here.”
“I took a day off,” he said, as if the words were foreign to him.
She nodded absentmindedly. He refilled her water and then continued.
“I do plan on telling you... everything,” he stated emphatically. “But I need Bird's help to explain some of it, and, well, I don't want to worry you anymore than you are, you're clearly about to lose it.”
“You are so infuriating, Ivan Crane,” she shouted in exasperation. The vein-like lines on her face, which had not yet fully dimmed, now darkened into deep fiery pulsating channels.
Ivan grasped her by the shoulders. “I'm infuriating,” he repeated in mock tones. “Imagine me, life going on just as I've planned it. Infiltrating a world that's nearly impossible to get into, only to have the likes of you come along and shove a big, hot, burning poker into everything, destroying everything I've worked so hard for!”
“What are you working so hard for?” she demanded, keeping her determination.
“Only trying to save the world,” he spouted as if she should somehow know this. “I have spent every breath planning, maneuvering, and plotting to get my life exactly where I needed to be.”
“And why do you think it’s your responsibility to save the world? And what does it need saving from?” she asked hotly.
“It’s not my job anymore,” he replied, sounding hostile. “Because after arriving here, I found out I wasn't the only one here who knew, after all. All this time, I thought I was alone. The only one that knew. I even thought, in order to fix everything, I'd have to forfeit my life.” He let go of her then, having not yet let go of her shoulders, stepping back, taking heavy, labored breaths. His eyes shouted equal amounts of hatred and confusion.
“Ivan, you're still not making any sense. Can you please…”
Ivan broke in. “There's so much, Meghan. When you first came to live the Svoda, I used you.” He spoke as if this revelation should horrify her opinion of him.
“I know,” she replied calmly.
He looked at her, taken aback by her response.
“I know you think I'm just a dumb girl, but I'm not that stupid, Ivan. I know you only tolerated me because it would look good to Juliska Blackwell.”
“Yes, that's true,” he admitted bleakly. “She took such an instant liking t
o you, it was too easy.”
“So what?” she asked. “Why did you have to get closer to her?”
“Because I needed proof. Proof I could show everyone. So that everyone would know the truth. They deserve to know the truth.”
“That Juliska Blackell is... evil,” Meghan spoke, her voice wavering uncertainly.
Ivan wrinkled his face, shooting her a look of unexpected comprehension.
“She's been spying on me, since day one,” Meghan told him in hushed tones, as if somehow, suddenly, they could be overheard. “A few nights ago I found a journal under her pillow. It was an exact replica of my own. And everything I have ever written, she has read.”
Ivan looked grave as she spoke.
“Don't worry,” she said, relieving his concern. “By some miracle, I never wrote anything of extreme consequence in there. For some reason I kept a lot to myself. I started reading back through my own entries and believe me, there's plenty I wished she did not know, but nothing that could point anything back to you.” She knew that’s what he would be most worried about.
“I thought I had it all figured out,” Ivan let slip out as if deflating like a balloon. “Thought I knew everything I needed to and then Bird, he turned everything I knew upside down. All my planning, all my ...” he trailed off.
“You gave up a lot, Ivan. It's obvious. But so what, your life isn't going where you thought it would. Welcome to the club,” she muttered bitterly.
“Meghan, there's more. A lot more,” he said, some of his usual vigor returning. “And I do want to tell you everything, but I need Bird's help.”
“Where is Bird?” she asked. “I still haven't seen him.”
“That's what I was coming to see you about. He’s gotten himself into a bit of trouble.”
“Well, why didn't you say so?” demanded Meghan, as if nothing else mattered and except saving Bird. She looked ready to rush out of the house that very instant.
Ivan just rolled his eyes. “I will never understand you,” he mumbled under his breath. More loudly, he said, “I don't know how he got there, but somehow, he got caught in a local shop, which just recently reopened. I happened upon him as I was walking down the street and noticed a rather odd looking bird perched inside a cage in a front window display.”
“Do they know he's not really a bird?” she asked, completely concerned.
“Don’t think so, but we cannot take the chance. It’s going to be tricky, though, and require actual planning. We cannot just go strutting in.”
“Let's plan then, we have to get him out of there.”
Ivan nodded to a pad of paper. “Already started.”
##
Meghan worried, during her walk home, that Julsika would find out she had skipped school that afternoon. She did not see any way around it. It had taken all afternoon for her and Ivan to plan Bird's escape and she felt confident it would go smoothly.
They intended on meeting up early the next morning, just after curfew lifted, but before any of the shops opened for business. She had just left Ivan's and was walking down the street when Billie Sadorus caught up to her.
“Was hopin' I'd run into ya,” Billie said.
“Hi, Billie,” Meghan greeted. “Sorry I haven't visited at all. School,” she noted, showing her all the books in her school bag.
“Ah, yes. Remember those days quite well.”
Billie walked along side her, silent for a moment and then she said, “I see ya was visitin’ Ivan Crane.”
Meghan blushed. Did everyone think she liked him?
“Um, yes. Its not what you think though.” She wasn't sure why she felt like saying this to Billie, but she had always felt comfortable around her. So had Colin.
“Oh, well, his loss,” she said, winking.
“Yeah, I don't think he sees it that way,” Meghan mumbled sarcastically.
“It’s a lovely little cottage,” Billie added.
“You should see the inside,” she said with a low chuckle.
Billie stopped her then.
“Meghan, I wonder if ya might accompany me home, before curfew sets in this evening. I've been meaning to visit. I have some of... Colin's things. I thought ya might like to have’em.”
“Oh. Wow, yeah, I would. I can't believe I didn't even think about that.”
“It has been rather chaotic ‘round here,” Billie returned.
“You can say that again,” Meghan agreed, following Billie to her home.
Seeing the real version of Billie’s house was much more impressive than the magical replica they had visited back in Grimble. Its brown-shingled turrets jutted from the sides of the house, shooting into the air. There was a small, square front porch on the real version, where as in Grimble, it had been just a path leading up to a door. The real door was made of ornately carved wood and was heavy to open.
“So, Billie, I always wanted to ask... is your house an actual old ship? Or did you have it built this way?”
“Little a both, actually. You see, the wood all comes from a ship my father used to own. However, he wrecked it one day, brought it to shore where it sat for years, until he passed. I decided I didn't want it going to waste, so I had it torn apart and rebuilt into my home. It’s like havin' a piece of my dad with me.”
“And your dad was a piece,” another voice spoke, heartily amused. A head poked up from behind some nearby hedge. A woman appeared, covered in clippings, a bit of green smudged on her face. Underneath the smudge, her pale skin had a pinkish glow to it, especially accentuated by her raven black hair.
She took off her thick gloves. “I don't think we've officially met. I’m Maura,” she said, shaking Meghan's hand. The last time Meghan had seen her, Maura had been tied to a stake and nearly burned alive.
“It’s nice to meet you,” said Meghan.
“You, too. I’m just sprucing things up before the first snow,” she added with a smile. “Some things are better done before winter sets in,” she said, her words aimed playfully at Billie. Billie just waved her arm as if Maura had no idea what she was talking about, but never once did either lose their smiles.
“You head on inside now, take care of your business. I’ll be seeing you around,” Maura noted, returning to her hedge trimming.
As they stepped into the ship-shaped house, Billie exclaimed, “You can’t believe what relief and joy it gives me to be back here on the island. And thank goodness for Maura, ‘cause frankly, I’m downright terrible ‘bout procrastinatin’!”
Meghan laughed lightly, which oddly enough, felt like little jolts of relief.
They walked into Billie's living room where a small box sat on her sofa. “There it is,” she pointed. “Although, I don't know as the most important thing is in that box.” She proceeded to walk to a bookshelf, lifting a few stray books, grabbing one hidden behind, and then handed it to Meghan.
Meghan just stared at the book, stunned, with no idea what to say.
At first, she was elated, knowing the book was safe. Then she started to panic, and without being able to stop it, tears streamed down her face. She looked up and whimpered, “I thought Colin had this with him.”
It had been her one positive that she had clung to… at least Colin has his book with him.
Then, a new panic ensued. Meghan trusted Billie, but did she know how important this book really was?
Meghan sniffled and Billie gently swiped away the tears from Meghan's face.
“I betrayed my own brother,” Meghan said, standing eye to eye with Billie.
“Ya did what ya thought ya had to,” Billie replied in muddled tones.
“Do you know what this is, Billie?” asked Meghan.
“I do,” a deeper voice answered. A man’s tense frame entered the room.
Meghan gasped, backing up. She gazed between Billie and her brother, Garner, who towered over both of them.
“Oh, brother, really, that's how ya choose to enter a room?” Billie chided.
“Sorry,” he replied, his
tone more complacent.
Meghan just stood with her mouth gaping. Was this some kind of trap? Could she not trust Billie after all? What happened next caught Meghan off guard completely. So much so, that she could not reply, only gape.
“Meghan,” spoke Garner, his voice stern but compassionate. “First, I must apologize for my ungodly behavior to you. But as you are discovering, things are not at all what they seem in our little community.”
Meghan could not argue this point, but alas, what did Garner Sadorus have to do with all of this? And why was he cornering her at Billie’s?
“There is a certain… facade I must keep up in public,” he continued, as if this somehow explained and made up for, his atrocious behavior in the past.
“Okay,” Meghan replied, still quite uncomfortable to be in his presence, especially holding the Magicante in her hands.
“I asked my sister to call you here today for two reasons. First, so that the book could be returned to you. Your brother would want you to have it in his absence I’m sure, regardless of…” he trailed off. Meghan knew that he meant, regardless of the fact that you betrayed him.
“Second,” continued Garner, “I fear there is a terrible thing we must tell you. Something you deserve to know.”
“Oh. Terrible. Well that's something new,” Meghan said, her voice hollow.
“Are ya okay?” Billie asked her. “Perhaps ya should sit.”
“Nope. Good with standing. Just lay it on me,” Meghan insisted, as if this entire moment was no big thing, just another conversation with friends. “At this point, I don't think there's anything else I can find out that’s going to surprise me. I mean, Ivan ...” she stopped herself before saying more. “Please, tell me what you have to tell me. I definitely get the picture that things are not what they seem around here.” She shook her head in dazed acceptance.
Billie glanced at her brother and then admitted, “We helped your brother and Catrina Flummer escape.”
“Really? Um, okay… I guess I can still be surprised,” she gave in, asking, “Why did you help them?”
Divided (Book Five) (Fated Saga Fantasy Series) Page 11
