Fated Fantasy Adventure

by Humphrey Quinn

  “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 afraid. 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?”

  Th
e silver haired girl’s frame dissolved into the sunshine.

  Darkness swallowed the light.

  Colin fell backwards.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  Then, nothing.

  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.

  It turned its head from side to side like it was considering her question.

  “Since you’re following us, I don’t suppose you saw who attacked my brother and stole his book?” Her eyes rolled upward. “Why am I having a conversation with a bird?” On the other hand, nothing was as it appeared in this world. She eyed the bird suspiciously again.

  Nona jumped onto the branch. Meghan was afraid she might have her way with the bird and kill it before she had a chance to understand why it had showed up at her window. To Meghan’s bewilderment, Nona licked the bird’s tattered face. It didn’t even flinch. Meghan reached out for the bird and it allowed her to pick it up.

  “You look awful,” she said, using her sweater to wipe its snow coated feathers. “I can’t imagine what you want, but Nona trusts you, so you must be okay. Perhaps you’re just homesick, like me.”

  She took the bird to the bath-room and washed it, then took it downstairs and made a little bed for it by the fireplace. “So much for sneaking out,” muttered Meghan. Mireya came in, instantly spotting the bird sitting in a small nest of towels.

  “Where’d that come from?” she asked. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Not sure. Nona found it outside the window, looks to have been roughed up.” The bird was beautiful and now that it was clean, it was also terribly thin. Mireya stroked the bird gently.

  “You know what’s strange, Mireya, I can’t place it, but this bird seems familiar, like a distant memory or something.”

  “Maybe you knew it in a past life,” she giggled in her playful manner, running off to see if they had any food fit for a bird. She came back a few minutes later with an old cage.

  “Mom found it in the basement. She said Corny’s back to being his old quiet self again.”

  Meghan didn’t care about Corny, but gladly accepted the cage, placing the bird safely inside, nestled in the towels.

  Sheila Mochrie came in, pulling a stray cobweb out of her hair, with a small basket in her hand. “My my my. Lost animals seem to find you,” she told Meghan with a wondrous smile.

  “Yeah. I guess. Which is odd really. I’ve never even had a pet before.”

  “Well we’ll fix it up before sending it on its way. Can’t leave the poor thing to fend for itself if it’s injured. Luckily I found some bird seed.” She handed it to Meghan and disappeared into the kitchen.

  The cage was set near the fireplace to keep the bird warm. Meghan had never seen a bird look tired. This one looked exhausted. She gently placed the homemade nest inside the cage, filling the food and water dishes. The bird stirred for a moment taking a beak full of the water, then collapsed again. Nona jumped into the cage and rubbed her back against the bird; her way of saying goodbye, and jumped out, watching Meghan lock the cage door.

  “Okay, Nona. You ready to get down to business?” Nona meowed and led the way. No one said anything as she left, but she told Mireya she was going to stop in and see Colin.

  It was not overly cold, but the snow covered ground made it slow going. More than once Meghan swore she had that feeling of someone spying on her and stopped to look around. She never saw anyone. Once out in Grimble she stopped for a bit, and hid behind a nearby tree to see if anyone followed her out.

  No one did. At least no one she could see.

  She let out a breath. Hopefully she’d make it to her uncle, unseen.

  It was much warmer in Grimble, with no snow at all.

  “I won’t ever get used to this,” she said, taking off her coat and scarf, stashing them high into the tree. She assumed that Timothy would show himself, but when he did not, she headed to the old mill hoping her uncle would be there. It was empty. She grabbed a leaf, preparing a message.

  “I’m in the place we always meet. Meghan.” She kept it vague in case as Jae suspected, she was being followed. The leaf floated away. Ten minutes later, Eddy appeared, and even for a ghost, he looked disheveled.

  “If I could put my arms around you!” he cried. “It is good to see you up and moving. How’s Colin, any change?”

  Meghan had asked Jae to send a leaf explaining what had happened, leaving out the part about the missing book. She dreaded it, but wanted to explain in person.

  “The doctor thinks he’s getting closer to finding which spell was used, but no change yet. He’s still in a coma.” She leaned in closer, talking in nearly a whisper. “Jae feared I might be followed.”

  Uncle Eddy understood at once. “I worried about that too.”

  “I expected Timothy to find me,” she noted more loudly.

  “Yes, getting worried about the lad. Haven’t seen him in nearly two weeks,” said her uncle, seeming distracted.

  “Did he move on?” she asked.

  “No, I don’t think so. He would have said goodbye,” her uncle assured her.

  “I hope he’s all right. I know he’s a ghost, but he’s just a little kid.”

  “I’m sure he’s just busy getting himself into some sort of trouble. Oh, nothing to worry about, I’m sure. I can handle Timothy. You need to be with your brother.”

  “Yeah, um, there’s something else,” she admitted reluctantly, searching for the right words to explain, in case they were overheard.

  “What is it?” he asked, his voice distressed.

  “Colin lost his favorite thing,” she said softly. “More like, it was stolen.”

  Her uncle reeled, keenly aware she was talking about the Magicante.

  “I’m going to find it,” she promised straightaway. “I’m not sure where to start though.”

  “Yes, well, that’s always the hard part, getting started.” He floated in circles for a minute before letting out a ghostly whisper.

  “Meghan, I didn’t want to burden you with this, but it appears I have no choice. You must find it! Failure is not an option.” Her uncle’s serious tone left her uneasy.

  “I know, I promised Colin I would find it.”

  Eddy checked one more time, to make absolutely certain they were alone, before explaining what he meant.

  “It’s more valuable than I’ve let on, Meghan. And in the wrong hands, or stupid hands, it could be made to do very despicable things; not only to the Svoda, but to every... living... thing.” His voice was so low she could barely hear him.

  “What do you mean by despicable things?” she asked, her unease turning to fright.

  “It contains ancient information, things forgotten by most and heavily sought after by those who do remember. Power, that could change the course of every world, for good or bad.”

  His words petrified Meghan near as much as the thought of losing her brother. He came down to her level, looking her in the eye.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t want to frighten you. But Colin must absolutely get this book back. It is imperative. He w
ill need it.” The desperation in his voice sent a spiral of dread sinking down her spine.

  She opened her mouth to ask just what he meant. Just why this book was so special to her brother when Nona meowed out a warning. Someone is coming. Meghan wasn’t even sure how she knew this, but she was positive this is what her Catawitch was telling her.

  “Meghan, I realize you’re confused,” said her uncle. “I’m sorry I can’t help you more. If my presence is discovered, many lives will be put in danger. You must figure this out. You must get the book, back. Or... well let’s not think about the or. You can do this.” He smiled knowingly.

  A second later, without warning or farewell, he vanished into thin air.

  Meghan spent exactly three seconds staring blankly into nothing.

  Confused didn’t even begin to describe how she was feeling.

  Nona meowed again. Meghan jerked her head, instinct telling her to follow the Catawitch. They escaped the old mill, sneaking out the back into the woods, avoiding whoever had arrived.

  The farther in they went, the landscape changed. The dead and decaying trees of Grimble were replaced with ones filled with luscious green leaves and needles. Though lush and colorful in comparison to the ghost town, it was still quiet and devoid of things like birds or insects or breezes.

  They were headed downhill. After another minute, a warm mist caressed Meghan’s skin. She shed her sweater, the weather suddenly warm, almost tropical, although still, and stuffy.

  “Where are you taking me, Nona?” The cat meowed and trotted along. Meghan followed obediently. Not too much later she froze.

  Voices.

  She took a moment to catch her breath and scan the area.

  They were approaching the bottom of a hill. The thick trees were thinning. At the bottom of the hill was a gully, lined with tiny huts made out of mud and straw. She took a few steps closer not paying attention and walked right into a flyaway spider web. She wrestled it off her, and hid behind a tree trunk fearful she’d made too much noise.

  Nona pawed at her. Meghan let out a breath she’d been holding.