“Hm,” huffed Meghan. “No wonder I always felt so good after drinking Kanda’s tea.”
Balloch continued. “The Retelling will conclude tonight with the same speech given by Nethaniel Bedgewood at the end of that first feast.”
A new voice filled the night sky.
‘I am humbled to be amongst friends. We are forever in debt to our new neighbors, the Tunkapog, for their help these many months in preparing our new home, and for tonight, this needed and gracious feast. I am also delighted to learn that we were able to cure the Tunkapog from the fatal disease brought here by bad magic.
‘To my fellow settlers, I have also made the decision that from this day forth, in memory of our journey, and those lost to us, that this day each year we will hold such a feast. It will be called Thanksgiving, a day to remember and give thanks for what friends and blessings remain.’
He toasted the entire group, which filled the massive beach. Cheers and cries returned the toast.
‘If I could have your attention, one last time,’ Nethaniel spoke. ‘I have made another decision, one that affects us all. Now that we have a home, I feel it is only fitting that we also have a name.’
Full attention was on Nethaniel Bedgewood as he spoke, from the audience in the sky, and on the ground below.
‘From this day forth, as an endless reminder of the peace each and every one of us strive for, we shall be known as the Svoda, the People of Light.’”
The crowd in the scene roared, along with the crowd watching on the ground below. The scene above began to fade and the sky once again became dark and starless, as a light snow began to fall over them all. The stone chairs shifted back into normal sitting position, the lanterns reigniting once again, and the crowd began to disperse. Much more somberly than it had started.
Ivan tilted his head toward Meghan. “Not what you expected was it?”
Can he speak any other language other than smug? “You talking to me?” she replied just as snidely.
“I was simply noting the fact that you did not think this would be worth your time.” He got up and left, leaving a speechless Meghan, for the second time that night.
Colin and Jae swore they saw steam bursting from her ears, and after a tense minute, she finally mustered out the words, “I hate that boy.”
They filed out of the amphitheater.
Sheila leaned her head on Irving’s shoulder as they walked home. He held her arm tightly in one hand and grasped his daughters in the other. Jae walked behind alongside the twins. Ivan sauntered strode a few steps behind them.
Meghan would have bet he was watching her, and she wanted to turn around and throw something at him. She picked up her pace, Colin and Jae followed.
“Wasn’t that incredible?” he exclaimed to the twins.
“It was pretty wild,” agreed Meghan.
“Banon Blackwell stores up extra magic all year for that,” Jae said.
Colin had questions he wanted to ask, but Meghan cut him off.
“This is not the place, Col, we better wait.”
They slowed. Meghan noticed Ivan had fallen behind. He appeared to be ensconced in his own private conversation, paying no attention to them now. Irving, Sheila and Mireya were far ahead now.
They pulled their jackets snugly around themselves. The November night was chilly. The snow wasn’t heavy enough to stick, it melted before it hit the ground, or right after.
Just before they reached the final turn to the Mochrie cottage, the trio found their path blocked. They froze, uncertain what to do.
“So, Mr. Jacoby, do you have what I asked for?” It was Darcy. She was alone this time though. Minus her two counterparts.
“No. I- I have nothing for you,” he stuttered in reply.
“Well well well… going to be some trouble brewing, isn’t there?” She raised her hand as if about to use a spell on them; the three gasped and ducked as Darcy shrieked with laughter and scurried away.
“Is it possible,” thundered Meghan through clenched teeth, “to go just one stinking day without having a problem around here?”
“What kind of problem?” It was Ivan, looking rather superior (so Meghan thought at least).
Jae answered. “Just Darcy Scraggs. Been hassling us a lot lately.”
“What about?”
“Oh, no one thing really. More like our general ability to exist.”
“Sounds like good ‘ole Darcy. Good luck with that.” He sauntered off, losing interest.
“That was too close,” said Jae, relieved. “On too many counts. Darcy isn’t giving up. And I don’t know what Ivan would do if he found out about you guys, the Magicante, or what Darcy did.”
“And I don’t intend to find out,” said Meghan, incensed. “As far as I’m concerned, Ivan Crane can just fall off the face of the planet!”
Colin and Jae tossed each other an amused gaze, watching Meghan storm off toward home. They followed and once inside, got out of their warm jackets. Jae hit at Colin’s arm. He looked up and followed Jae’s gaze… there was an odd scene unraveling.
Irving, Sheila and Mireya were bending over the basement door, their ears glued to the floor. The others joined them.
“Is that knocking?” asked Jae.
“Corny?” questioned Sheila.
Irving bent over to open the door. The others stepped back, waiting as the door creaked open, but nothing happened. They leaned in closer, when out of the musty darkness below a wrinkled hand pushed up through. It held a piece of paper. Jae grabbed it and Corny’s hand disappeared; they could hear the sandpaper shuffle as his shoes skidded across the basement floor, back to his corner.
“I think this is for you, Colin,” mused Jae with a low chuckle.
He grabbed it. The drawing was identical to the others.
“That’s four now,” counted Meghan. “You totally have a new best friend,” she teased.
“Whatever,” he snapped back.
Ivan’s eyes combed over the page from the top of the stair; he took a fleeting glance at Colin before disappearing into his room.
“How strange,” said Sheila. “He does appear to have taken a liking to the boy.”
“That’s good, for Corny,” replied Irving. They shielded their laughter, disappearing into the kitchen.
#
Later, upstairs, Meghan told Jae they had some questions for him. They waited impatiently for Mireya to fall asleep. Once she was soundly sleeping, Jae motioned for them climb up to the loft. The twins eagerly followed. Jae opened the small door to the hidden crawl space and they crawled inside. After two feet, they entered a square room, which was tall enough only to sit in.
“We need to talk softly, but it’s safe,” he said, lighting a candle. Colin’s heart raced. He felt as though he were passing along dark secrets to a spy, and as he thought that, he realized it was somewhat true.
“I’ve never figured out what this room was built for,” said Jae, “but it sure is handy tonight.”
Colin’s curiosity got the better of him and he assaulted Jae with questions about the Retelling.
“That was an unbelievable story, Jae. Do those enemies still exist? Have you ever seen them? I can’t believe there are scarier things out there than Scratchers.”
“I can’t say for sure that they do,” answered Jae. “But our real enemy does; the one who actually ordered those creatures to take down our ships.”
“Who is that?” asked Colin.
“The Grosvenor,” replied Jae. “Immortal beings,” he explained in a low whisper.
“That sort of thing exists?” muttered Colin.
“Unfortunately. Do you remember when I told you, back in Cobbscott, that magic was almost wiped out a long time ago? The Grosvenor are responsible for the battle that caused that. They even killed off their own kind, it didn’t matter to them.”
“Their own kind?” questioned Meghan.
“Vetala. Otherwise known as Vampyres. Not Vampyres in the sense of what your world thinks of
them. They don’t suck blood. What they do is just as monstrous though. They can suck the life force out of any living thing,” Jae told them.
“And the Grosvenor still hunt you?” asked Colin.
“Yes, and if they get the opportunity, they will destroy all magic but their own.”
“You mean they want to take over the world kind-a-thing,” Meghan confirmed.
“On the bright side though, even in all the years since that battle, they have not succeeded.”
The twins exhaled in unison. They were now included on the list of magical things to destroy. They saw no bright side.
“Do they send the Scratchers after you?” Colin asked after a minute.
“It’s likely. I think the Viancourt believes that’s the person you heard speaking to the Scratchers, at the pine tree back in Cobbscott-”
“The one you called the Scratchman,” interrupted Colin.
“Yes. It is possible that what you saw could have been one of the Grosvenor, which is a terrifying thought to consider, that one of them could have been so close. They are very powerful.”
Meghan did not want to think about terrifying any longer, and decided it was time to discuss the Tunkapog. “Did you know that the campground back in Cobbscott is owned and run by someone from the Tunkapog Tribe?”
“Yes,” answered Jae slowly. “That’s right. I don’t know why it never dawned on me before now. You’re good friends with the owner of the campground, Kanda Macawi,” he remembered.
“She is our longest friend,” said Meghan. “Our Uncle Arnon knew her long before we were even born.”
“I guess nothing should surprise me about you two anymore,” Jae noted.
They sat for a moment trying to figure out what it meant. But again, there were no answers. After a few minutes, Colin got a chill and they decided it was time for bed.
“This new world we’re stuck in sure keeps getting stranger and stranger,” sent Colin into her mind. “I wish we could talk to Uncle Arnon. I have so many questions I want to ask him.”
“Yeah, well that ain’t gonna happen,” she shot back more harshly than she’d meant to. They were both tired of having no answers to their ever-growing pile of questions.
The trio crawled out of the tiny room and disappeared behind their curtains.
Two dreadful things happened during the night:
First, Meghan had a nightmare that was identical to her vision of Jae, and once again, her new ability forced her to watch her friend being tortured. She awoke, petrified. Jae had been happier lately. Why would this nightmare return? A sense of helplessness settled like a suffocating veil over her thoughts.
Second, much to the dismay of Colin, he was abruptly awakened in the night by a foul smell, and opened his eyes to see the face of Corny Tibbit bulging down at him. He handed him two more sheets of paper, covered with the same scribbling as before, and then shuffled away.
Jae was the only other in the room to witness the occurrence. “Weird! Wicked weird,” he said, locking the bedroom door.
The smell of sour breath and the sight of rotted teeth sifted through Colin’s restless mind, seeping into his dreams. Meghan, after finally falling asleep after her nightmare, found her and Colin sharing another dream.
“My dreams may be dangerous,” she silently yelled at him, “but yours are just gross!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
An unexpected knock at the door interrupted breakfast a few days later. Ivan, who was racing down the stairs, shouted, “I’ll get it.” Shortly after, he walked into the kitchen holding two letters in his hand.
“Pantin Hollee delivered these.” He kept one and half-heartedly handed the other to Meghan. Irving glanced at the letter in Ivan’s hand.
“Is that what I think it is?” Irving asked. He shook his head. “Hard work does pay off!” He nodded, as if a point he had made a thousand times was suddenly proven true.
“What is it?” asked Colin.
Meghan opened hers. Inside was a letter written expressly to her.
To Meghan Jacoby,
You are cordially invited to the annual Up and Comer’s Christmas Dinner, as the invited guest of Banon, Juliska Nandalia Blackwell.
Formal attire required, 7pm on December 21.
Congratulations on this honor,
Pantin, Hollee Troast
“Such an honor,” breathed Sheila, dreamily. “Only youngsters Banon Blackwell feels are truly worthy are asked to attend each year.”
Ivan’s letter read the same. Colin wanted to be happy for Meghan, but hadn’t both he and Jae done better than she had on the school exams? What exactly counted as worthy?
Jae watched his father gloat over Ivan, who, if Meghan was being completely honest, appeared to be humbly embarrassed.
Sheila snatched Meghan’s letter, gazing longingly at it, reminiscing.
“These dinners used to be grand balls when we lived on the island. They have been put on for years, long before Banon Blackwell became our leader. How I dreamed of getting a knock at the door delivering my invitation, but it never came.”
She sighed, longingly, caressing Meghan’s letter. After a minute, Irving “hm-hm’d” Sheila, dragging her back into reality. She handed the letter back to Meghan.
“Yours does not surprise me in the least, Ivan,” said Irving proudly. “I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.”
“Thank you, Sir,” replied Ivan.
Irving looked at Meghan questioningly, but said nothing.
Guess I’m not the only one who thinks she didn’t deserve it. Colin frowned. Then jumped as Sheila burst out in exclamation.
“I forgot! Your exam grades arrived last night. They’ve been sitting on the kitchen table all this time!”
Irving shook his head at his forgetful wife.
“You three all passed!” she went on. Mireya already knew she had not, and sat with a far off look in her eye, dreaming of receiving her own invitation to the Up and Comer’s Dinner. Irving pinched his daughter’s chin.
“If you work hard enough, you could get your own letter in a few years.”
She giggled in reply.
“At least I’ll have something to go on about at the bank for a change.” Irving let out a gratified sigh. “I can hear the jealousy now. Two letters in the same house! Has that ever happened before?” he asked the air.
Great, thought Colin. He doesn’t think my sister deserves it, but he’s sure willing to gloat about it anyway. Irving Mochrie could sometimes be a bit of a jerk. Colin felt bad for thinking it. But it was true.
“Getting to meet Banon Blackwell in person is a great honor,” said Ivan, in his usual dry tone.
“I’ve already met her, in person,” Meghan retorted without thinking. The rest of the room went silent. Meghan realized too late, what she had done.
“When?” asked Sheila.
To Colin’s knowledge, Juliska had visited her only once at the hospital. And he could scarcely count their first encounter, right after arriving in Grimble, as a personal meeting.
Meghan lied, or, decided not to tell the whole truth, as she saw it.
“Banon Blackwell came to visit me when I was brought to the hospital; the day I found out I was a Firemancer. She offered me some advice.”
“Well of course she would have,” realized Sheila, looking pleased. “Banon Blackwell herself is a Firemancer after all. You’re a lucky girl to have her around.”
Ivan glanced distrustfully at Meghan, believing she was not telling the complete truth.
Colin looked at her the same way; he knew when his sister was lying as he’d heard her do it a thousand times before. She is hiding something from me, still, even after what Uncle Eddy said.
Breakfast ended. Irving departed eagerly for work, with a promise from Sheila not to overly boast about his news. Ivan followed soon after. Jae headed up to their shared bedroom and slid into his cubbyhole of a room. The twins followed. Colin was not sure how Jae was feeling, but he was getting more pissed by
the minute.
Meghan shook her head and laughed at the artwork covering the backside of Colin’s wall. Corny’s handiwork hung behind his bed.
“I don’t think you should go to this dinner,” Colin bleated to his sister.
“Why on earth not?”
“I just…” he stalled, finally saying, “I don’t think you should go.”
“You’re just jealous,” she guessed, thinking how pathetic.
“Am not,” he shot back. “I seriously think there’s something wrong with Juliska. I don’t trust her. Sorry, Jae, I know you all look up to her.”
“You don’t trust Juliska Blackwell?” Jae questioned, popping from behind his curtain. “Her judgment is a little strange I guess, but the invitations are hardly ever fair. Someone inevitably gets invited who doesn’t deserve it.” This statement, although made out of matter-of-factness by Jae, threw Meghan over the edge.
“So you both think I don’t deserve this?” she demanded, shaking her invitation at them.
Colin tried to explain better. “It’s not a matter of deserving, Meghan. It’s that I don’t think she likes me.” Nothing he said was coming out like he wanted it to.
“That makes no sense, Colin.”
“You can’t see it, but she’s up to something.”
“Can you hear yourself?” Meghan charged. “You act like she’s got it out for us or something. She’s done nothing but help us.”
“You know what, forget it. I don’t want to argue,” Colin said, already sorry he had brought it up.
“You started it… Little Bro,” she said abrasively.
“I hate it when you do that!” he thundered so forcefully that the walls shook.
“Everything okay up there?” Sheila Mochrie’s voice rang up the stairs.
“Fine Mom,” answered Jae, looking apprehensively at Colin. Mireya came running into the room as Colin stormed off. He decided he needed to visit Uncle Eddy. Meghan sighed, and chased out of the house after him.
“Wait up, Colin,” she pleaded. “You should give Juliska a chance.”
Shifting (The Prophecy, The Spy, and The Ghostly Guardian) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 2) Page 20
