by Nixon, Diana
“Okay,” agreed Evan.
We walked a few rows, looking for the right letter.
“There are hundreds of books here!” exclaimed Eileen.
“I think the books are also arranged in chronological order. We must begin with the earliest, and then see what is written in the more contemporary records,” Evan suggested.
He started with the original sources. I stopped at the shelves with more recent editions, and Eileen was engaged by those which, according to Evan, kept records of the modern period of Dever’s history.
“Don’t you think that Alexis’ conversation was rather strange?” I asked quietly.
“As well as the way she reacted when she saw us,” Evan added, taking the next stack of books off from the shelf.
“Who is Eric?” Eileen wondered.
“There could be anyone,” I said. “I am more interested in someone who is so well looked after, and what has not time come for yet.”
“Yes, you are right,” Evan agreed. “Her conversation wasn’t intended to be heard by anyone. But apart from Alexis we have a lot of things to do here, so let’s start.”
After a silent half an hour of research, I finally saw something that caught my attention. The book was written in 1564.
“Hey, guys! I’ve found something,” I said.
Eileen and Evan came up to me.
“Look, it was written by Lillian Wizardy – Medellin’s daughter. “Moon Dreams.”
“Let me have a look,” asked Evan. “It's a kind of dream interpretations, and degrees of probability, whether they are true. Here it is: “The dreams we see in a growing Moon, are called “the filling dreams”. They show us the events that will happen to us in the future. Those dreams are also called prophetic.”
Evan looked at Eileen and me.
“But now the moon is really growing and you Eileen, began to dream just recently...”
“I don’t know how you can believe that, Evan,” Eileen said. “The book was written several centuries ago!”
“And I think he's right,” I said. “Lillian was one of us, she wasn’t just any woman. It speaks for itself.”
“So you're saying that I will meet Medellin soon, and say goodbye to my life in the Devil's Lake?” said Eileen indignantly, looking darkly at Evan and me.
“The Black Lake,” corrected her Evan. “Okay, okay, don’t look at me like this,” he said, catching a serious look from Eileen.
“I just want to say that your dreams can mean a warning. It is clear that meeting with an old witch is impossible, but still worth trying to understand the meaning of these dreams. There are many interesting things in this book, we must take it if possible.”
“Okay, let's look for something else,” Eileen gave up without meaning it.
“I have already found something else,” Evan said, handing me a book.
“A solis ortu usque ad occasum,” I read the name in Latin.
“What does this mean?” Eileen asked.
“From sunrise to sunset,” said Evan. “This book tells how the sun and its energy impact on the strength of our ability to manage the elements. Perhaps there is something about why Christian can no longer possess his power as he used to, and why you, Eileen, know how share yours.”
“Let’s take this too,” I said, putting the book to the one that I had found myself. A few minutes later, Eileen came up to us.
“Who is Camilla Steward?” she asked frowning.
“Camilla was one of the most famous historians of Dever,” Evan said. “She is Darcy's grandmother.”
“You said she was?” I asked.
“Yes. Haven’t you heard? She died a few years ago, when I was a second year student. They say she died accidentally, drinking charmed water.”
“Accidentally? You must be kidding, Evan. She was Feta! How could she not recognize a spell?”
“So people say. If you're so interested, just ask Darcy about it. And what is this book about, Eileen?”
“It's not really a book, more like a diary. It is written by hand and in a very illegible writing. Here's what caught my attention,” she said, turning the book so that we could read what she was talking about.
“Today Eric visited me again. And again he was angry at Frederic. He said that he had chosen the wrong way. He said that he shouldn’t keep her alive, because it’s very dangerous,” I read. “So Eric again. Maybe he's the same one that talked to Alexis?”
“Camilla was about sixty when she died, and the entry was made several years before her death. This Eric may still be alive. The question is, who is Frederic and who is she?” Evan said.
“Unlike many Erics, I know only one Frederic. Frederic Fairey, to be exact - my distant relative and one of the Supreme Keepers of Dever,” I said.
“Why do you think we are talking about one and the same person?” Evan asked.
“I don’t know, it’s just my assumption. First, he is directly connected to Dever, and second, as far as I can understand that if Camilla was a local historian, she lived in campus, therefore, Frederic visited her here. And, if you remember, the entrance is closed for strangers. And this also means that he was one of us. And as I’ve already said, I don’t know anyone else with such a name in our world.”
“Probably you are right,” Evan agreed. “Let's say, we're talking about the same person. What else do you know about him? Maybe there was some kind of a story with a woman involved? Because this record clearly shows that the case involved some woman.”
“I once heard from my father that he had an illegitimate child, whom he had left because he wanted to hide the fact of infidelity from his wife.”
“You don’t think that Camilla was speaking about his wife, as the one who should not be left alive, do you?” Eileen said.
“I don’t know.”
“Anything is possible. Anyway, I think this diary should be studied carefully,” said Eileen. “But we didn’t find anything about Medellin.”
“There’s one book,” said Evan. “I just remember seeing it once in our library. It tells the legends of Dever. Perhaps it was the same one Darcy was talking about.”
“So, we are done here,” I said. “Now let’s ask Beatrice if we can borrow the books we’ve found and go to the library.”
And so we did. However, luck didn’t seem to smile to us for the rest of the day. As it turned out, the necessary book was already taken by someone and we could only wait for its return. We went to one of the Embry gardens, to read what was already found. Eileen sat at one of the benches and Evan and I sat down on the grass.
“Look!” called Eileen. “The record after the meeting with Eric is missing. And it's not a coincidence, the page was torn out,” she said, pointing at the shreds. “And it seems as not the only page is missing, but at least, ten pages, in different places.”
“It looks like someone has already studied this diary, and took a part of it,” Evan said thoughtfully.
“Or got rid of the evidence,” said Eileen, reading my mind.
“I think so too,” I said. “Why would someone just pull the pages out from the diary covered with layers of dust? This was clearly done on purpose.”
“It's a pity we can’t know what was there in these pages,” while continuing to look through the diary, said Eileen.
“Now that's interesting,” said Evan. “This book says that there are people connected by “protective bond”, when one of them becomes a keeper to another one, who in his turn, can control the powers of the first one. It also means that these people can’t live apart, because the power user will remain unprotected, and the curator will lose his own force.”
Evan finished reading and looked at us.
“Hey, both of you look speechless. Does what I’ve just said ring a bell?”
“He is your keeper, you are his power,” - Eileen said quietly.
“What are you talking about?” Evan asked.
“There, on the lake, she heard another voice - a male voice and he said this
particular phrase. We just didn’t understand what it meant, but now... now everything is clear. We have the same bond. I am her Keeper, and she is my Power,” I explained.
“Good grief!” exclaimed Evan. “So this is the reason why she could give you part of her power. But still I don’t understand the part about the keeper.”
“When Christian is near, I feel safe. I can use as much power as I want. When I experimented with the water, I knew that it would take a lot of energy. But when Christian came, I was strong again. Even then I could feel it, but just couldn’t explain!” said Eileen excitedly. “Wait, you said that we shouldn’t be apart, but what will happen otherwise?”
“You can die without each other,” Evan said quietly, staring into a book.
We didn’t expect such a response. Eileen froze. We looked at each other's eyes, not believing what Evan had just said.
“It’s written here that this can happen only if, for example, you, Christian use up too much power and won’t be able to recover if Eileen won’t be there at this time. But it also may happen if she spends too much energy, but you won’t be there to give her your strength. In other words, if you Christian, always stay near Eileen nothing will happen to her. But it is unknown if this “near” can be translated into steps or miles.”
“So, we just need to be careful in the use of our powers, right?” I asked.
“Not really. You should also always be by her side like a personal guardian.”
“This is probably the most pleasant part,” I inhaled deeply, trying to smile at Eileen. “I hope you don’t mind?”
She answered only with a passing smile. I stood up, walked over to her and embraced her, holding firmly.
“I know, today is not the easiest day in our life,” kissing her forehead, I said. “We'll fix it.”
“But what don’t you like?” asked, smiling Evan. “I wish I could be bound to some slender blonde too.”
Eileen couldn’t see him saying that, when he looked at me gravely, silently saying that we really should be very careful.
“I could recommend you someone to bind yourself to,” trying to make a joke, said Eileen. “There’s one girl who is waiting impatiently for your affection.”
“Really? Will you show me her?” asked Evan enthusiastically.
“Be sure, I will,” she said, smiling to me. I knew she was talking about Amanda, but I couldn’t understand whether Evan knew about it too.
Chapter 16. Forces of elements (Eileen)
We stayed in the garden for some more time, reading our discoveries, and in turn commenting on something new. When it started getting dark, and it was difficult to make out the text, we headed to the dining room, where Amanda had already been waiting for us. When her classes ended, she called me and we agreed to meet in half an hour.
“Hi, detectives!” she greeted, meeting us on the spot. “Whoa! You are just like “Men in black”!” she added, looking at the three of us. Up to that moment we didn’t pay attention to the fact that we were all dressed in something black, and started laughing.
“That's who we really missed today!” Evan said, hugging my friend's shoulders. This meaningless at first glance gesture, caused a whole sea of emotions among the present. Christian frowned, and Amanda... Well, she, of course, was very happy, although she was trying to hide her smile really hard.
We told her all about the day. Moaning, Amanda managed to forget that, being an inaccessible princess she should have removed Evan’s hand from her shoulder, who definitely wasn’t going to do it himself.
“What a turn-up for the book! Why on Earth I’ve chosen so many extra-curricular activities! Now I’ll miss all the fun!” Amanda complained.
“I'll tell you everything,” still hugging her, said Evan.
Darcy came to our table.
“Hi guys! I had some free time and went to the library. I’ve found something that may help you. Here,” she said, handing me a book that we had failed to take.
“And here we just thought no one could take it away,” said Evan.
“Thank you,” I replied.
“You're welcome,” she said.
“Darcy, can I ask you something uh... personal?”
“Sure.”
“It's about your grandmother. I heard she was a local historian, right? “
“Yeah,” Darcy smiled sadly, “she was a remarkable woman, among other things. And a fantastic fate reader. Unfortunately, she died a few years ago, but that's the cause of her death that brings about so many questions. It was during the winter break, I went to visit my parents, and when I came back, I found out about that. They said that she was poisoned by accident, but I don’t believe it. Did you want to ask about this?”
“Actually, yes, but why don’t you believe that?”
“She was too smart and experienced. She couldn’t just mix up the liquids. This is only possible if the charmed water was added to her drink. But since every Feta can identify a spell in every liquid, it was supposed to be a very strong charm. Such a charm could only be made by a very powerful magician. In general, there are many inexplicable facts, so I don’t believe what they say.”
“Did your grandmother know Frederic Fairey?” Evan asked.
“Of course. Even as a student, Frederic spent much time with his favorite teacher - my grandmother. She was always proud that he had been her student. He was always interested in the lines of fate, always tried to learn something new. Why do you ask?”
“Just read about it in one of the books and thought that your grandmother must have known him,” said Christian.
“He still often visits me and says that I have Camilla’s talent,” said Darcy. “Though he never allows to read his palm. He says that everyone should have his secrets, because if my grandmother was still alive, many of them could be revealed,” laughing, she added, and, suddenly more serious, said:
“Oh, God! So that's it… She could have been murdered because of this!”
Noticing that we all carefully were hiding our eyes, thinking the same thing, she asked:
“Do you know something? You couldn’t just ask about it, huh?”
It was Evan who decided to break the ice.
“Darcy, today we’ve found Camilla’s diary. And she often mentioned Frederic’s name there, and judging by the context, your grandmother knew some secret, that he was trying to hide.”
“I never knew that she kept a diary. Do you still have it? Can I look at it?”
I took the diary from my bag and handed it to her.
“Yes, indeed, the handwriting is definitely Camilla’s. But why some pages are torn out?”
“We don’t know. Maybe this was done by someone, whose secrets were revealed on these pages,” I assumed.
“And you think Frederic did this?”
“Unfortunately, we don’t know this either. But we think he is one of those who could be interested in something like this.”
“And where does this come from?” Darcy asked, showing us a note hidden in the cover of the diary.
“What is it?” we asked in unison.
“Alea jacta est. What means from Latin...”
“The die is cast,” said Evan.
“It's Alexis’ handwriting,” Darcy said. “What does that suppose to mean?”
None of us knew the answer to the question. There wasn’t even any assumption.
“All of this is quite weird. I didn’t even know that Alexis had any relationship with Camilla. As far as I know, she generally lived somewhere in Europe at that time, and came back here only after my grandmother’s death.”
“Will there ever be an end?!” Evan exclaimed. “The solid puzzles, more and more of them! Why do we possess all these supernatural abilities, if we still can’t find out anything?”
“There are people, Evan, who are willing to do anything to hide their secrets forever,” noted Darcy. “I don’t know why you guys are digging in all this mess, but I want to help. I want to know the truth too,” she said with
determination.
Thus, our ranks were joined by one more adventurer. Darcy promised to find out as much as possible about the role of Alexis in the story, and left. The rest of us, as always in the evening, went to our room to find something useful in the book of Dever’s legends.
Among the list of them, we found the one that interested us most. The Legend of the Black Lake. It was kind of a brief retelling of the life of Medellin Wizardy.
…Having given birth to a beautiful, like a ray of sun, daughter, a magician settled with her and her eldest son on the bank of a lake. Every night, she lit the lake with a few bright stars, and asked the forces of the night to give her little girl the best supernatural powers.
Thus, the moon gave the baby Lillian the gift of its light, so that the girl could always find a right way in her life. The dark night’s gift was the ability to see in the darkness, to make all that seemed so terrifying to the little girl, bright and beautiful. The stars gave Lily the wit and wisdom, and the black expanse of the lake gave her the power to control the element of water, the part of which it was itself; the element of fire, that it itself could overcome; the element of earth, whose banks held its own forces and the element of air, that controlled the flow of its own waters. Lillian’s own mother gave her the power of magic.
Over the years, the girl became more talented and powerful. She loved nature, spoke with animals and understood the language of the wind. Lillian has always helped those who needed her help. She used her powers only for the good.
Many years passed. The girl grew up and turned into a beautiful young woman. She was loved by all who were fortunate enough to become her friends. One day, while walking along the shore of the Black Lake, Lillian met a young man whose name was Gabriel. They liked each other at first glance and had never been apart since then. A few years later, their daughter, named Paola was born. The baby took all the best from both parents.
Gabriel adored his little treasure and Lillian… Until one day he met another woman. She was older than him and had two sons. The woman fell in love with Gabriel and wanted him to become her husband. Though, he already belonged to Lilly. One night the woman came to Gabriel’s house, killed Lillian and took her to the Black Lake.
