“I think we should sound the alarm,” bleated Irving. “We need more help. And fast.”
Ivan sped off to heed Irving’s wishes.
“We will have the entire village searching if we have to,” insisted Irving. “Don’t worry! We will find him.”
In the distance, over the raging blizzard, a bell clanged loudly. Lights popped on and the Svoda village came to life. Ivan returned, and he was not alone. Two Balaton followed. Meghan was glad that Ivan had already explained.
“This snow is falling harder with each passing minute,” one of them said. “We need to hurry!”
“We’ll check outside the wagons, too,” said the other. With a pop, they vanished.
The group left the wharf, confident they had searched every inch of it. Meghan was glad Ivan had forced her to wear boots; she couldn’t imagine what condition her feet would be in if she hadn’t. She walked onward, recalling that Colin had not been dressed for this weather either. The thought of him lying somewhere, buried, almost knocked her over.
How stupid could she be? She’d been out having a grand old time, and her brother was where? Lying buried in the snow? Held prisoner somewhere?
The group called out his name, but not once did they get a reply. Irving and Sheila forced the group to stay together so no one would get lost; between their numbers and the blinding snow, progress was agonizingly slow.
Thirty minutes later, a Balaton materialized.
“Nothing yet, but anyone capable is searching. Banon Blackwell has been informed of what’s happening and sent her personal Balaton to help.” A second later, he vanished. The group trudged onward, making their way to the center of the village, hearing voices of other Svoda calling out for Colin.
The emptiness in Meghan’s mind was growing. Expanding. Stretching through her entire being. “How could I let this happen?” She held her stomach for fear she might be sick.
Only Ivan heard her. “What do you mean? You didn’t cause this,” he replied, through the blustering snow.
“You don’t understand, Ivan. He’s my brother. My responsibility. My uncle would never forgive me if I let anything happen to him.”
“You cannot control what you cannot see,” Ivan told her. She was about to reply when a faint voice entered her head.
“Colin. Oh my God. Where are you?” she yelled frantically over the storm. The group listened anxiously. “He’s alive,” she yelled, “I can hear him.” Meghan remained still, sensing out for where he was. The connection was weak.
She painstakingly walked in the direction that felt the strongest, leading them to a snow covered pathway behind The Steel Gin.
She walked as fast as she dared, hoping not to lose his presence in her mind, when she stumbled. There, below her feet and covered in snow, lay the blue and unconscious body of her brother. The sight of him stunned her and she couldn’t speak.
Irving, without hesitation, clutched Colin’s lifeless body. His eyes were frozen open in what they could only describe as fear.
“Balaton,” Irving shouted in fierce determination. Two appeared, one of whom immediately saw, and grasped Colin, before popping out of sight with him in tow. Irving turned to the gathering crowd with a furious glare.
“Magic has been used against that boy!” he declared. The gathering crowd stood in paralyzed disbelief. This had never happened before.
The connection with her brother failed and Meghan grew dizzy, slumping toward the ground. Someone caught her before her head collided with a protruding tree stump.
It was Ivan Crane who lifted her off the snow covered ground. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
She gazed at him, struggling to remain conscious. “I don’t understand,” she murmured, grabbing his coat for balance. Her hand dropped. She lost consciousness and was whisked away as deftly as her brother. The Mochrie family, bewildered and exhausted, rushed to the hospital and awaited news of the twins.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Meghan awoke briefly. A nurse gave her something to make her sleep. Her last conscious memory was that of her feet burning, the results of warming up too quickly.
Her dreams were vivid and strange. One second she was in Ivan’s nightmare, except that Jae’s broken body was joined by Juliska, Ivan, and the Mochries, all pointing and laughing malevolently at her.
The next minute, the pillar dissolved and the darkness turned to bright light. Meghan found herself sitting on a rose petal watching a woman sleeping soundly on a floating feather. Something about this was familiar to her, but she couldn’t quite place the memory.
This scene merged into another dream, in which Ivan chased Meghan through the woods. She fell and he gently picked her up off the ground, whispering he was sorry. Meghan did not think he looked sorry though. Conflicted better described it.
His face leaned into hers, his cold breath hitting her face as he searched her eyes for some hidden truth.
Oh God! Is he going to kiss me? She cringed, covering her face.
He dropped her, his eyes swarming in fury. Nope, not kissing her.
Ivan fell to the ground, yelling incoherently and punching his fists into the dirt like a child having a tantrum.
“Who you are does not change anything!” he shouted, regaining control of his conflict. His eyes scathingly jerked from the ground up to Meghan. He edged closer to her, like an animal stalking its prey.
“I will sacrifice anything that gets in my way,” he told her, pulling out a knife. Meghan screamed, inching backwards across the ground. But he caught up and pinned her easily. He raised the knife over his head, ready to plunge it into her body.
Then, he was gone.
She was sitting in a dreamy memory of the old mill in Grimble, with her brother.
“Colin!” she yelled, hugging him fiercely. Instantly, she knew she’d found him. He was real. At least his thoughts were.
“I was hoping I’d find you,” he said. “It’s harder than I thought to track someone through their dreams though. Go figure. We don’t want to share our dreams and can’t seem to stop. I want to share one,” he trailed off with a what can you do, shrug.
She let go of him and let out a puff of air. “You could not have found me at a better moment, Col. That last one was a doozy.”
“What was all that about, anyway?” he asked, having caught a glimpse of Ivan with the knife.
“Ah. Who knows! Stupid Ivan,” she blew it off and looked at her brother apologetically. “I’m so sorry, Colin. I didn’t mean for all this to happen. I should have listened to Uncle Eddy. Kept the connection open. This is all my fault.”
“Not all of it. I was responsible too. We were both being a bit stubborn. And you did find me.” He looked like he had more to say, but held back.
“What happened?”
“I was ambushed.”
“Who?”
“Never saw anything, or anyone, other than a shadow, sneak up on me. But Meghan, they stole the Magicante.”
“What?”
“It’s gone.” He looked down, disappointed with himself. “This is the part that’s pretty much all my fault. I went for a walk with the book on me. I’d been reading, and stashed it under my jacket. I didn’t even think about it when I left.”
“What do we do, Colin?”
“You mean what can you do? I don’t think I’m going to wake up anytime soon, and I’m pretty sure Uncle Eddy’s not going to be happy when he hears it’s gone.”
“I wish he would tell us what is so important about that book. I mean, it’s magical and all, but what’s in it that he doesn’t want anyone else to see?”
“I think that’s for you to find out, Sis. Just promise me you’ll be careful, whatever you do.” His voice wavered, sounding distant.
“Colin, don’t go.”
But he was gone.
Meghan bolted upright, inhaling air deeply. The Mochrie household stood over her, anxiously, in the hospital room. The sunlight told her it was morning.
“Have some wat
er,” said Sheila putting the cup to her lips.
“My brother, how is he?”
“I am afraid Colin is in a coma,” answered Irving honestly. “We are so sorry, Meghan. It appears someone used some sort of spell against him. Doctor Stamm is working hard to sort it out. Don’t worry, he will, in time.”
Time. How much time? Hours? Days? Weeks?
She didn’t dare think in periods of time longer than this.
There was only one thing Meghan could do. As soon as possible, she would go to Uncle Eddy and tell him what happened. Unfortunately, the visit would have to wait as the doctor determined she needed to stay for one more day.
The Mochries went home to get some rest after the long night, minus Jae. He offered to stay behind, wide-awake after his nap and the search. He wasn’t sure what to say at first, so he handed Meghan a note.
“This came for you while you were sleeping,” he informed her.
“It’s from Jul… the Banon,” she corrected. “She says she’s sorry about my brother and hopes I am better. She says not to worry, that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”
“She is a good leader,” said Jae. “She won’t rest until the culprit is found.”
“I just can’t believe it.” Meghan propped herself up.
Jae helped shove a couple pillows behind her back, looking crestfallen.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep and missed that Colin hadn’t come home.”
“Jae, it’s not your fault. But listen,” she glanced around to make sure no one was too close out in the hall.
He leaned in.
She whispered. “Whoever attacked Colin stole his book.”
“He had it with him?”
“Yes. I shared a dream with him, just now.”
“Wow. Really?”
“Yeah. Normally, it’s not fun. Today it was quite welcome.”
“How often do you share dreams?”
“Um, it varies. If you haven’t guessed already, we can speak to each other telepathically, too.” She couldn’t express why exactly, but an overwhelming need to come clean had overcome her.
He grinned. “I actually did kind of guess that. The dream thing though, that’s a new one to me.”
“We found each other in a dream and Colin told me he’d forgotten to put the book away before heading out. Someone attacked him, and stole it.”
Jae got up and paced around the room.
“I can’t believe someone hurt him, and all within the confines of the town. Something isn’t right.”
“I was going to ask you, I thought the Balaton always came if they sensed magic being used against another person.”
“In the past, I would have always answered, yes. Unless, someone cast another spell to allow it.”
“Darcy,” growled Meghan, already planning her vengeance. “Ugh! Not Darcy. She was at the dinner last night. Garner too.”
“They could have worked with someone else I guess. We’d never prove that though.”
Doctor Stamm arrived, insisting Meghan drink another sleeping potion, and rest. She fought, but he won in the end and she downed it. He left, telling Jae she’d be asleep soon.
“What’s your next move, Meghan?” he asked as the potion kicked in.
“I’ve got to talk with Uncle Eddy,” she replied with a yawn. “After that, I haven’t decided yet.”
Jae leaned in again, whispering in her ear. “Remember, you are the sister of someone who was attacked, it’s possible… very likely… you’ll be followed.”
Her eyes popped open. She hadn’t thought of that.
“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll figure out something. I have to.” Speaking became difficult. Her eyes heavy. The potion worked fast.
Later that evening, Meghan awoke feeling recuperated, but Dr. Stamm would not allow her to return home until the next morning, and only with a promise to rest for another day. Once home, Meghan thought she would go mad waiting for the right time to sneak away and visit Uncle Eddy. There had been no more contact with Colin since the first night; he was deep in a coma, further than even she could reach now.
In addition to that, Ivan had barely shown himself since the night of the dinner party. Was he friend or foe? She wasn’t sure what to make of him. He was hiding something from her. Something vital about Jae. And Ivan’s hard outer shell hid a fragile disposition underneath; one he might never show her again, and was obviously pissed about showing her to begin with.
Meghan was bored from lying in bed all day, with Nona curled up at her feet. Jae brought up dinner, along with news; she was allowed out of bed the next morning.
“I was hoping to go into Grimble with you,” he said. “Turns out my father needs me at the office. I don’t think I can get out of it.”
“That’s okay, Jae. I can go on my own.”
“What if something else happens? I’m not sure you should go alone.”
“Actually, alone might be better. I can hide more easily if I need to.”
“Okay,” he finally agreed. “Be careful, we don’t need you in a coma, too.” Meghan knew he was genuinely concerned and wondered, since they were talking freely, if maybe he would open up to her.
“You sure do work hard, Jae. You must be a great help to your dad.”
“It’s all good training, I guess,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “Dad takes me to work, mostly so he can watch me practice.”
“I’ve never seen someone work so hard, not even my brother.”
“Colin’s smart, it comes easy for him. Not me. Exams this time around were easy as I’d done them all before. I don’t normally pass so easily. I think that’s why my dad keeps me working so hard, he wants me to succeed now, so it won’t be so hard later. At least, that’s what he tells me,” he droned.
“My Uncle Arnon always said school is important, but so is being a kid, which you can’t do later.”
“Your world is much different than ours.” There was a longing in Jae’s eye as he spoke.
“I’m learning that,” Meghan said, thinking of the argument she’d had with Ivan in the carriage. She yawned from the boredom of lying in bed all day.
“You should rest,” he said, getting up. She didn’t want Jae to leave yet, he’d finally started talking.
“I’m not tired,” she insisted. “It’s just all this lying around, can’t help it.”
“I gotta get into bed anyway,” he said. “Morning’ll be here fast enough. Night, Meghan.” He disappeared behind his curtain just as Mireya drifted in with another serving tray.
“Mom thought you might enjoy some tea before bed.” She grabbed the dinner tray and replaced it with the tea tray.
“Thank you. You guys have been so nice to me and Colin.”
Mireya smiled and turned to leave. “Oh… Ivan checked in on Colin tonight. Said he’s the same, no change. But that Dr. Stamm feels confident they are getting closer to finding a cure.”
“Ivan?” repeated Meghan.
“Yup. Night,” Mireya chirped.
“Night,” Meghan mumbled back. She wished Ivan would just come talk to her directly. It was late and time for bed, but she wasn’t tired in the least and settled in for another fitful night.
#
Colin was stuck deep within a dream, running and spinning like an airplane in an open field. Sunbeams shone down. Flowers were in full bloom. The grass was nearly waist high.
He was not alone in the dream. A girl with long silver hair spun alongside him.
She looked familiar, but he could not place her. She was by far, the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, and she was small, like him.
They stopped running. She came up to him, just out of reach, and smiled.
“Do I know you?” he asked her.
“No,” she replied, looking at him with eyes that felt as though they were reading through to his soul.
It was a strange feeling this girl gave him. His stomach fluttered excitedly, and yet he wasn’t nervous. Or a
fraid. Something about this girl was comforting, like seeing an old friend.
“You’re sick, aren’t you?” she asked him.
“Yes. I was attacked, knocked out. In a coma I guess.”
“So you are real?”
“Yes. Are you? I swear I’ve,” it hit him. The sick girl in the hospital. The memory of seeing her must have slipped into his unconscious.
She stepped closer and reached out to touch his hand. “I’m real too. I know we’re dreaming, but,” her voice clipped off with a sharp inhale. “I don’t have much time.” She grasped his hand firmly, suddenly afraid to let go.
“What is it?”
Her figure started to fade, taking on a hazy glow. “You’re the only person who can help me.” Her voice was desperate and her grasp weakened.
“Help you? What do you mean? Who are you?”
The silver haired girl’s frame dissolved into the sunshine.
Darkness swallowed the light.
Colin fell backwards.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Then, nothing.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The next morning, Meghan waited for Jae and Mireya to get up and dressed before getting up herself. She was hoping to sneak out of the house, and then out into Grimble, unnoticed. Just after she’d dressed, she stopped.
“What is that noise?” she turned to see Nona perched on the bedroom windowsill, pawing and scratching at the window. Meghan went over to take a look. “What are you trying to show…” she trailed off, dumbstruck. “No way.”
There was a bird sitting on the branch of a snow covered tree. Looking ragged and roughed up. It looked just like the bird that had followed them from Cobbscott. She shook her head. It made no sense. How did a bird, any bird, know that they were the people it had traveled through with? Yet it appeared to be following them. Which was just wacked.
Meghan opened the window and a gust of cold air rushed in. The bird moved closer rather than fly away. She eyed it suspiciously. “Are you following me?” she demanded as if the bird could understand her.
Shifting (The Prophecy, The Spy, and The Ghostly Guardian) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 2) Page 23
