“I see,” said his uncle.
Colin plunked down miserably onto a pile of wood. Part of him was relieved to finally just say everything he’d been thinking. The rest of him was ashamed of it. Eddy joined him, his ghostly frame hovering in a sitting position next to him on the woodpile.
“Colin. Don’t be ashamed of how you feel. And don’t doubt yourself. Sometimes our wildest concerns turn out to be true. Can you trust Juliska Blackwell? I think this has yet to be seen. If you feel the need to be cautious and concerned, then so be it.”
“Really? You don’t think I’m just being a jealous brother. Or overly paranoid.”
Eddy wore a troubled smile. “Maybe just a little when it comes to the jealous brother,” he winked. “But mostly, no. I would always tell you to trust your instincts, Colin.”
He sighed and groaned. “I don’t know why I feel like I do about Juliska. I can’t explain it really. There’s just something about her I don’t trust. I want to like her, it’s just every time I try the opposite happens.” He looked up at his uncle and shrugged.
“You need to believe in yourself, Colin. You and your sister were thrust into a new life without any warning. But like you said, you’re smart. You’re observant. You see things others might not. Truth be told, you get that from your father.”
“I do? Really?”
“Yes. I can’t tell you much about your father, Colin. But he had a way of seeing things others missed as well. Not the gift of sight, like Meghan. More of a natural intuition. A gut feeling that was almost always right.”
He was like his father. He smiled. He wasn’t sure why this made him so happy, but it did.
“Trust your instincts, Colin. Never make rash decisions because of them. Be cautious. Be careful. But do give them credit.”
“I will. You know, Meghan’s smart too. In her own way. She’s really taken a liking to Juliska though and,” he cut off his words.
“And?”
“I guess it’s that,” he hesitated. “It feels like Meghan is moving on. Moving forward. And I’m just not ready to.”
“You think she’s going to leave you behind? Just like she was afraid you all might leave her behind, in school?”
“I suppose. A little.”
“This is why I have tried to impress upon you both, the importance of sticking together. It doesn’t mean you can’t have separate lives, but you must keep your bond secure and open to each other. I’d wager you’re both thinking about things more alike, than unalike.”
“Right now, the only thing on Meghan’s mind is what to wear to her special dinner.”
Eddy chuckled. He got up off the woodpile and floated in front of Colin, lowering himself so his ghostly frame was partly sunken into the ground. He peered into Colin’s eyes.
“Just remember to trust yourself. And never let anyone, including your sister, make you believe that you’re any less of a person because you think differently, or because you are shorter than them. Height does not automatically equal intelligence, strength of character, or kindness. All qualities you possess in spades, Colin, and so much more important than how tall you are. Let me ask you something, how do you feel after you use magic?”
“Great,” he answered truthfully. “Powerful. Like I could do anything.”
“What’s stopping you from feeling that way all the time?”
His uncle had a point, but still. “I can’t do magic all the time, Uncle Eddy.”
“It’s not really the magic that makes you powerful, Colin. It’s what you do with it. How you use it. And how you do not use it.” Eddy pointed at his heart. “Back in Cobbscott, when you used magic to protect your friends and sister, that was your head and your heart, Colin. Courageous, unafraid, and quick thinking. You can always choose to be that person.” There was a dim sort of twinkle in Eddy’s ghostly gaze. Like he was proud, but also sad, in a way. Almost as if he had a lot more he’d like to say, but did not.
Colin mulled over the advice. Even with magic on his side, he was not sure he could portray that kind of confidence all the time.
“Now, you must return home. I’m still not sure it’s entirely safe for you to be here. Travel like you did to get here. Stay hidden as much as possible. In fact, leaf me once you get home to let me know you got there without incident.”
Colin glanced around. He noticed Timothy was still absent. He asked Eddy about it. “I expected him to show up after I got into Grimble. He always does.”
“Ah, yes. Timothy. Haven’t seen him in a few days. Not too worried though, he disappears from time to time. Always shows up again.”
Colin decided not to worry, he had enough of that raging around his brain already. But without Timothy or his sister, he found the walk home much lonelier than he had expected.
THE DAY OF THE UP AND Comer’s Dinner arrived. Meghan and Colin had not spoken since their big explosion over a week prior. They had spent most of that time in various parts of the house ignoring each other. The more days that passed, the more nervous they each secretly became, over the fact that Colin had not handed over the book, like Darcy was demanding.
Jae didn’t try to moderate between them, just split his time, or kept to himself. They assumed he was thinking of the same thing. And wondering how much more time they had before Darcy or Garner tried something else.
If they left the house at all, they kept to public places or within groups of people, or at least nearby. Colin didn’t sneak out again on his own. He’d been lucky not to get caught when he’d visited his uncle in Grimble, but he wouldn’t chance it again. He groaned, caving in. This feud with Meghan had to end. He decided to try to speak with her that afternoon before she left for dinner. He figured she’d be in a good mood.
However, when he approached her, he chickened out. She was muttering to herself testily about riding to the dinner with Ivan. He decided to try again later, after the dinner.
He and Jae, and the rest of the Mochries did see them off. The carriage arrived about thirty minutes before the dinner began. A light snow was falling. It was everything he and Jae could do to keep their grins and laughter to themselves, watching Ivan begrudgingly help her into the carriage. She just as begrudgingly accepted. Nona jumped in after her, tagging along.
They watched the carriage pull away. Colin pulled his jacket around himself and told Jae he’d been in soon, he wanted to go for a quick walk. He promised not to go far, and to be careful.
Jae was leery about letting him go on his own. “You know what? You’ll be fine. Garner will be at the dinner. And I heard Darcy gloating the other day about her own invitation. They’re busy.”
“Of all the people to get invited, even including my sister, Darcy’s makes no sense at all.”
Jae nodded in agreement. “Garner probably got her in.”
“Ugh. You’re right though. I still won’t be gone long. Getting cold. And I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Yeah. That’s getting super weird at this point. I can’t believe Corny snuck in again.”
Colin had no idea what to make of the grizzled old man. He’d awakened in his bed with the guy staring down at him again. Corny had dropped two more pages on the bed and shuffled out of the room back to his basement hideaway.
Jae headed back indoors and Colin wandered, in no particular direction. Before long, he looked up to see he was stepping onto the wharf. The same one where his sister had been a walking fireball and given her first prophecy. He let the restless ocean mists spray his face. It was brutally cold, but the smell of the ocean reminded him of home.
He wondered about Uncle Arnon, Kanda Macawi, and the Jendayas.
Summer was long over and Sebastien’s school year was half over. What were they all doing right at that moment? Was Uncle Arnon still alive? What did Kanda know about the Svoda? Had she known that the twins and Uncle Arnon were descended from a magical bloodline?
These questions remained unanswered as he let the frigid spray of the ocean bite his skin; some
how, it prevented his thoughts from overwhelming him.
AS THE CARRIAGE PULLED away, Meghan realized she should wave goodbye. She stuck her head out of the window to do so and noticed Colin walking toward the wharf. “Jealous,” she muttered.
“What?” asked Ivan, from inside the carriage.
“Nothing,” she replied, bringing her head back inside.
It was surprisingly warm. There was a small fireplace in the center of the carriage. Smoke billowed through the top. Meghan and Ivan sat in awkward silence, listening to the clip-clop of the horse’s feet against the slushy cobblestone. Nona curled up in Meghan’s warmed lap. The poor thing had such thin hair, it was almost nonexistent.
After a few minutes, Meghan let out an annoyed sigh. She refused to have her evening start off badly and attempted to make conversation.
“So, Ivan,” she said, startling him into looking at her. “What exactly do you do here? What’s your job?”
“I do my share.”
“Right,” she said sardonically.
“You asked.”
“So you’re insinuating that I don’t?”
“I’m not insinuating anything. You are not from our world. It’s possible you may belong here now, but you have a lot to learn, Meghan Jacoby.”
“I see. I’m not good enough for your world, is what you mean to say?”
“As far as I see it, you don’t fit in here. Those who don’t fit in, don’t make it.”
“I’m trying my best!” she argued. “I can’t help it if I look out of place.”
“See, that’s it right there. You thought I was talking about your... clothes. The problem is, Meghan, you don’t take notice of what’s going on around you. If you can’t smarten up, then...” he did not finish and looked out of the window.
“Then what?” she launched back, completely insulted. “You don’t know me, Ivan Crane. You don’t know me at all. Do you even comprehend what it means to be nice to someone? Do you have any friends? Do you even know what the word means?”
It was the last straw for Ivan. He poked his head outside the carriage and asked the driver to stop.
“I will save you the trouble of having to arrive with me,” he said crossly, jumping outside into the snow. It was coming down heavier now, sticking to the ground and piling up fast.
“Is this your game, Ivan?” she yelled out the window. “Go from hardly speaking to me, directly to saying I am a stupid, shallow girl without a care in the world? You’re the drama boy,” she returned smugly. She didn’t actually believe he’d choose to walk in the bitter cold, versus get back in the carriage.
Meghan wished she had stuck with her original plan and kept quiet. She asked the driver to stop, sucked in deeply, and then climbed out.
“Ivan, please come back inside. It’s freezing out here. You’ll be soaked and frozen solid if you keep walking.”
“And you care why?”
“I don’t really. I’m just trying to be nice. Because I am actually a nice person. You would know that if you weren’t such a jerk all the time.”
He scowled, but stopped walking. Snow swirled around their heads. It was turning into quite the winter storm. Ivan let out a low grumble and hopped back in the carriage. This time he allowed Meghan to get in on her own.
As the carriage ride continued, they warmed up nicely thanks to the toasty fire. Ivan leaned around the fire and held out his hand as if to shake Meghan’s.
“Truce. For tonight at least.” His eyes shouted displeasure at the arrangement, regardless, she leaned in to shake his hand.
Her hand slipped into his. An ember popped in the stove. Her eyes flitted to the flames. And Meghan was no longer in the carriage. She was sucked into a vision.
It was dark and cold, but she still wore her dinner gown. She got on her hands and knees feeling carefully until she came to an edge. A familiar edge. A familiar edge that brought nothing but dread. A dim light draped down over her.
As in her vision, or dream of it, each time before, a second pillar just out of reach appeared in the darkness, imprisoning Jae’s beaten body.
“Not now. Not now.” She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around her legs and rocked back and forth, crying. Jae had been better recently. Happier. And she was on her way to a dinner that was supposed to be fun. Could nothing actually be fun in this messed up world she now lived in? Was it against the law or something?
Meghan sucked in a sniffle. Something changed. There was a voice there had never been before. Calling out to her. It echoed, from far away, but she recognized it.
“Ivan,” she sobbed. “Get me out of here. I can’t watch this again.”
But almost like she had to, her eyes dragged upward, watching the loathsome being drowning Jae in its heavy shadow. An odd sense of calm came over her. She calmed herself, taking in and letting out a few breaths.
“What would Juliska do?” she whispered. The question came to her quite suddenly. She attempted to break herself away from the immediate scene she’d seen over and over enough to last a lifetime, and look at the vision like an outsider trying to piece together a puzzle. She cast away the emotion, thinking logically about it.
“Right before I got sucked in, I was shaking Ivan’s hand. An ember popped in the fireplace.”
In the background from the second pillar, Jae’s voice pleaded with Meghan. “Please, make it stop. You can help me.” Something in his voice made her believe she was close to figuring it out.
“How can I help you?”
One fact dawned on Meghan while each of the previous nightmares came into memory.
“Ivan. I had run into Ivan each time.”
She stood up, but was no longer herself. Ivan took her place on the pillar. She looked through his eyes as if seeing with her own. Something wet dripped down her face. She reached up and wiped away the tears. But they were not her own. They belonged to Ivan.
“It’s not my nightmare. It’s not my vision. This belongs to Ivan. I’ve been seeing his nightmare. Which means... he must know what’s wrong with Jae.”
With a gasp and a jerk, she was back in the carriage. Lying half on the floor, half in Ivan’s lap. He clutched her close, repeating, “I’m sorry,” in her ear. All condemnation and arrogance had left him.
She moaned, reaching up to her head. There was a slight pang just for a moment, and then it vanished. Ivan said he was sorry again.
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“I know what you saw,” he confided hesitantly.
She sat up, escaping his grip. “I was right. I got it right. It’s your nightmare I’ve been seeing, not my own.” She stopped, shaking her head. “Wait. How did you know what I was seeing?”
He let his arms drop to his sides. She stared into his eyes, waiting for an answer. It took him a moment, and he was uncharacteristically befuddled when he spoke.
“The night I found you... on the floor upstairs at the house, I heard you talking. I’ve had the dream so many times.”
Meghan was not sure how to feel. She had no idea that her gift would allow her to see the deepest dreams and nightmares of other people. She said nothing at first. Ivan helped her up into the seat and sat next to her. She couldn’t take her eyes away, and yet had no idea what to say.
Ivan turned away and stared out the window. It was almost dark now.
Nona pawed gently at Meghan. It comforted her. Encouraged her. She hardened herself, nodding in response to her Catawitch’s reassurance, refusing to let him shut down.
“Ivan...” she called out softly.
He turned to look at her, his momentarily wounded pride replaced by a thick cold wall.
Meghan swallowed hard, but forged onward. “What’s happening to him?”
“I don’t have any answers for you,” he replied flatly. “Forget you ever saw it.” He vaulted out of the carriage, which had come to a stop. They had arrived at their destination.
“Ivan, wait. Please,” she begged. She hopped out and trudged through
the falling snow, with Nona at her heels.
He stopped and spun around. His gaze furious.
“Forget about what you saw, Meghan. I’m sorry you had to see it. I really am. But you cannot help.”
Ivan marched inside, leaving her alone. Just before stepping in, he stopped and forced a tight grin to form, pretending the entire thing had not happened. He was greeted and asked to come inside. Meghan saw Juliska herself standing just through the door, greeting her guests. She cast a long gaze out the door when Ivan came in alone.
Meghan had left her coat in the carriage. She shivered and turned to go back and get it, but the driver had already pulled away. They were at Juliska’s fort. The carriages were being lined up and parked in the large courtyard, but Meghan had no idea which one was hers.
“Screw it. Let’s just get inside.” The snow was a mix of heavy white powder and not quite frozen water. It dribbled down her hair, setting tight wet ringlets across her head. She didn’t even want to see the makeup mess dripping down her face. This was not the entrance she pictured herself making. There was a fleeting moment in which she almost decided to go home.
Nona pawed at her leg, meowing softly.
Meghan smiled. It was sort of like the little thing was talking to her. She understood what she meant, perfectly. Without the use of a single word.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
She made her way inside, wet, exhausted and shivering.
Juliska greeted her at the door with a sigh. “I was afraid something had happened. Pantin Hollee,” she called out. The Pantin came over at once. “Take Meghan to my private quarters.” Hollee nodded curtly and pulled Meghan up a flight of stone stairs, down a long corridor and into a warm room. She sat her on the edge of a bed while Hollee dabbed a towel over her wet hair.
Had she gone too far with Ivan?
Had she not gone far enough? I should’ve forced it out of him...
Fated Fantasy Adventure Page 38
