“I would bet that after tonight, everything will go back to normal,” he reassured her.
Meghan shifted her feet in the dirt and took a deep breath.
“I have this feeling, Sebastien. It keeps telling me nothing will be the same again.”
He reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it nervously while flashing his famous, it’ll all be okay, smile. For a moment, she lost all her concerns and smiled back. No matter what, Sebastien would always be there. This would not change.
Meghan knew her uncle would be calling her inside any second.
“I better head in,” she sighed.
“Yeah, tomorrow then.” He let go and started to turn away.
As he did, an uncontrollable urge surged through Meghan. Without thinking twice about it, she grabbed him, stopped him, and planted a kiss on his unsuspecting lips.
She could not believe she had done it!
Her heart skipped twenty beats before stalling completely.
Before Sebastien could respond, Meghan darted away. She saw from the corner of her eye, that he stood frozen in place and to her incredible delight, he was beaming. She rushed inside drowning herself under her bed covers. Before she could stop it, Colin was in her thoughts.
“Oh, come off it! I don’t want to hear about that!”
Meghan was too electrified to get angry. “Then stay out!”
“Fine, goodnight.” he said grumpily.
Their uncle came to the door.
“No talking, out loud or however else you do it. I want to hear snoring,” he chuckled. He walked into their room and gave one of those speeches that grown ups give, and kids despise. Meghan thought she had heard enough of that for one day, but listened anyway, her heart still strumming over her kiss.
“Look at you two, practically all grown up.”
Meghan’s first thought was he had seen her kiss Sebastien, or worse, heard them talking.
“Before I know it,” continued their uncle, “you’ll be all grown up and living lives of your own.”
“No need to worry,” said Colin. “We will be around for a while yet. I mean, I can’t legally leave until I’m sixteen.”
His uncle laughed and ruffed up his hair. “Goodnight,” he said, lingering at their door before closing it. The twins did not speak after that, but also did not sleep.
They continually checked the time for when Jae would be passing by them. The campground was in complete silence. No breeze rattled against the trailer, no peepers peeped in the night air and thankfully, there was no cry of the Scratchers.
The twins felt that it was too quiet and wished that something would happen. It was ten o’clock now, another ninety minutes and Jae would be leaving for the fallen pine tree in the woods. Sleep came in waves after that.
What felt like hours later, an echo pushed its way into the minds of the twins, rousting them from their fitful slumber.
“Scratchers!” gasped Colin, sitting up.
Meghan jumped softly out of her bunk and began dressing, and for the first time, Colin did not argue. Meghan opened the secret door under their carpet and they slipped out.
“We are so grounded,” Colin murmured as they crawled away.
“I am thinking a full year this time,” agreed Meghan. A few minutes of running later, they were at the path’s edge leading to the pine tree. Meghan noticed Colin’s empty hands.
“Col, where’s the book?”
He felt around as if the book would be up his sleeve. Or under his shirt.
“I can’t believe it,” he yelped.
“Forget it, there’s no time. Just be ready to do that spell.” She started running down the path.
“I’m ready,” he yelled. “I’m just not sure it is going to work,” he added under his breath.
It was nearly time for the door to open.
The Scratchers howled, stopping the twins in their tracks.
They saw a blast of light over the trees.
Jae was fighting them!
They raced as fast as they dared, trying not to stumble over jutting tree roots and jagged rocks. Soon, the clearing was in front of them. Jae stood alone, close to one of the fallen pine tree’s empty, but still dark, rooms. He did not hear them come up behind him. The Scratchers’ howls were deafening.
The twins watched as two began to dive from behind Jae, while he held the one’s in front at bay. Jae nearly fell over when a voice shouted behind him.
“Emissio!”
Colin’s magic still worked!
“What are you doing here?” Jae barked in dismay over the noise of the flying beasts. “You’ll be…” Meghan did not allow him to finish.
“We remember what you said, Jae, but you cannot do this alone.”
Fear rapidly turned to acceptance. She was right.
“How much longer?” asked Meghan, staying between the two boys.
“Any second now,” Jae said, over the noise.
Colin helped Jae fend off the Scratchers, now constantly diving into the blasts. One of them was nearly breaking through when finally, a light began emanating from within the empty rooms of the fallen pine tree.
“Hurry, Jae, go through,” urged Meghan.
“We’ll be fine,” said Colin, ending his own spell.
“Where’s your book?” Jae asked frantically.
“Ah, sorry, forgot it hurrying to get here.”
“Jae, just go, you have to,” insisted Meghan.
Two shapes emerged from the now lit pine tree. Jae let go of his spell, appearing weak, and was caught by a man the twins assumed to be his father.
“I cannot believe you let yourself get stuck behind! Do you have any idea what this last month has been like for us?” the man shouted.
How mean, the twins thought in unison. Shouldn’t he be happy to see him?
Jae’s father noticed the twins. His face contorted in a fierce look of disappointment.
The second man that had come through shot spells at the Scratchers, pushing them higher into the sky.
“Dad, do you have to? If not for them, I don’t think I would have made it.”
His father’s eyes darted between the twins and Jae.
“I am sorry, Son. Rules are rules.” He pushed Jae into the pine room.
He waved to the twins one last time, dissolving into the light. His voice echoed back to them. “I’m sorry,” he said, knowing they would soon lose all memory of him.
Jae’s father approached the twins as the second man neared the doorway of the pine tree. The Scratchers were looming overhead reorganizing for another attack.
Out of nowhere, one lone flying beast flew over the twins, knocking them to the ground. Another dove head first into Jae’s father, catching his shoulder and digging in deeply; so deep, that the sharp talon cracked and snapped off, remaining in Mr. Mochrie’s shoulder.
The creature backed away in agonizing pain at the loss of its talon. Jae’s father, also screaming in pain, rolled over on the ground, close to the still brightly lit pine room.
The second man still defended on the other side of the tree. The twins, now on the ground, crawled carefully over to Jae’s father.
“I’m okay,” he winced. “Stay close to the ground.” Jae’s father nudged the twins to move closer to the edge of the tree for extra cover. “I assume that Jae has told you what I must do.”
They nodded yes, not taking their fearful eyes off the Scratchers, now preparing to dive again.
“Before I do it, and even though you will forget, I must say thank you. I am truly sorry for what I must do. But it’s for your safety as much as ours.”
Meghan and Colin were confident they had done the right thing, and no punishment, however terrifying, could change their minds. With eyes closed, they waited for the spell to take away their memories of Jae. Wondering exactly what they would remember.
“You will have about five minutes until the spell takes effect,” he informed them. “As soon as I say it, run as fast as you can. We will
take care of the Scratchers.”
A panic-stricken voice rang out from behind Jae’s father.
“Irving, in front of you!”
No more than he’d said it, the twins saw the Scratchers diving directly for them. Jae’s father attempted to stand, and speak at the same time, but the spell missed completely. The creature hit Irving Mochrie with a crushing blow, dragging him across the ground with its curved claw. He fell to the ground with a new gash across his chest, a few feet away from the entrance to his freedom. The man helping Jae’s father worked his way toward Irving, still sending defensive spells, which were growing weaker.
Echoes of voices began to escape from inside the shining room. They had not seen what had happened. They were yelling for the two to hurry. The man helping Irving was now over him and ignoring the twins.
He dragged Irving Mochrie’s body closer to the pine room; he was unconscious and bleeding profusely. Colin and Meghan tried to keep low and help the man. Irving was not a large man but his weight was heavy.
“He looks bad,” sent Colin uneasily.
“I hope he isn’t…” Meghan could not muster out the word. The man let go of Irving, leaving the twins to try to pull him closer.
“Get him close as you can, I will keep defending. Then run, and once I see you’re away, I will take him through,” he said. “You are very brave and the Svoda will have to trust you with our secret.”
There was no time for a reply. The man fought hard, shouting his spell repeatedly as the twins struggled to move Irving closer to the doorway. The light inside was growing fainter, and blood was pouring from his chest, leaving a trail behind his dragging body.
As they got Irving as close as possible to the pine room, without going in themselves, a blood-curdling scream broke their concentration. The other man flew through the air and into one of the other doorways. He disappeared into the light.
“That’s not good,” Colin said blankly.
The Scratchers reformed overhead.
“Now what?” wailed Meghan. “I don’t think we can push him in!”
Voices were still echoing, but becoming more distant. They didn’t have much time.
“Maybe we can drag him in before the light goes out. We cannot allow him to get stuck here,” said Colin, pulling once again. Without arguing, both twins worked together and pulled Jae’s father into the room. Once in, they could feel the pull coming from the other side.
Shadows of people from the other side danced around the pine room as the pull sucked Irving’s body through. The twins let go of him, holding on to the tree, trying not to get sucked through too.
“We have to get out of here,” struggled Colin.
Meghan and Colin pulled hard and kicked their legs to the ground, bouncing out of the pine tree.
They gasped in unison.
Frozen in complete terror.
Uncle Arnon! Surrounded by the Scratchers!
The light was nearly gone behind them. There would be no more help from the Svoda on the other side. Colin decided to break the rules and no longer cared who knew about his magic, if it even still worked now that Jae was gone.
“Emissio!” he boomed.
An angry blast tore at the howling creatures, blasting them backwards away from their uncle. Enough for Arnon to take a few steps forward. To the twins’ bewilderment, he did not appear worried, scared, or surprised, but instead beamed with pride.
“He’s going to be killed,” thought Meghan, seeing the Scratchers already reorganizing.
“Why did he follow us?” questioned Colin.
Above, two of the regrouped Scratchers dove directly for Meghan and Colin. Arnon saw this and took off, darting athletically through the remaining creatures as they plunged toward him, their wings poised for the kill.
When Arnon was ten feet away from the twins, he heaved himself into the air, spinning toward them. A Scratcher hovered over Arnon’s whirling frame, its wings ready to enclose around him. It shrieked hideously over its impending victory.
Arnon threw something at Colin. It hit him with such force that he fell back, disappearing into the pine room. Without a second thought, Meghan dove after him, hoping to catch Colin before he went all the way through.
Then, the fallen pine tree went dark.
CHAPTER 20
Meghan and Colin Jacoby fell through an archway, thudding onto a cold stone floor. On one side of the archway, the silhouette of the Scratcher enclosing its wings around their Uncle Arnon’s body, faded, while on the twins’ side of the archway, they were met by suspicious stares from the Svoda Gypsies.
Colin, his back to the gypsies, glanced at the culprit that had caused him to fall through the pine tree. It was his book, the Magicante. Instinct told him to hide it under his sweater.
Why had his uncle done it? Of all the things to grab and throw at him; why his book?
Meghan sat on the icy stone floor, her face blank. Words would not formulate in her mind.
“Let me through, let me through!” a familiar voice called out in front of them.
Colin faced the gypsies, searching through glaring eyes as an out of breath Jae Mochrie appeared in a stone doorway about ten feet away; he held his arms against each side of the stone wall as if holding it up.
Meghan raised her head, becoming aware of the suspicious stares.
Jae darted across the room. “I don’t believe it. This is bad! This is really bad!” He shook his head, no idea what to do. “You’re not in any immediate danger,” he whispered to the two of them.
Meghan bounced off the floor and jerked her confused head back and forth between Jae and the other gypsies. What did their friend mean? They were not in immediate danger pretty much screamed they were in a lot of danger. Right now though, her only concern was to get home. Although the panic squeezing her chest made it impossible to form a complete sentence.
“The Scratcher… wings… our uncle… go back.”
The crowd inhaled at the same moment. Murmurs spread like fire.
“Wings.”
“He’s dead for sure.”
“It would take a miracle.”
Meghan’s breath drew heavily as she tried to comprehend what was happening. They had been trying to help Jae get home. His father had shown up and gotten injured. She and Colin had helped get him into the pine tree, and then their uncle showed up and…
This isn’t happening. She repeated it over and over. We need to get home.
Colin heard her thoughts and trembled as the truth began to sink in. They’d gotten Jae home, safely, but he and Meghan had followed him, to his world. And the doorway home was closed.
His head shot up. “Jae, your dad and the other guy, are they…” he didn’t finish.
“The guy helping my dad is fine. Dad is hurt pretty bad, but he’ll be okay thanks to you two. Which makes what I have to tell you even harder.”
They already knew what Jae was going to say, but they didn’t want to hear it or believe it.
Meghan could not get enough air. Her lungs refused to suck in deep enough.
Colin attempted to keep his mind focused on the current moment, which was difficult as their desire to get back to Uncle Arnon was mounting.
Jae dropped his head, heaving a great breath, preparing for what he needed to say to them. “By now, your uncle is most likely,” Meghan cut him off.
“Don’t say that! Open it back up. I want to go home. Now!” Meghan jumped back through the archway.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Jae grabbed her and forced her to make eye contact with him.
A hand slipped into hers.
Colin’s.
“We can’t go back, can we?” he confirmed. His face tightened; he did not want to lose it, not here, in front of complete strangers.
Jae did not have the heart to answer and instead kicked the wall angrily. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Meghan sank to the floor, no longer able to stand. “Can’
t go back,” she said, the meaning of those words sinking in.
The crowd buzzed. It was clear that something like this had never happened before and no one knew what to do. Jae leaned into Colin’s ear.
“Did anyone see you use magic?”
“Only the Scratchers and my uncle, I think,” answered Colin in a weak voice.
Jae nodded. “Keep that and your book secret. This doorway won’t open again for three years. That’s why I had to get home tonight. It only opens during the blue moon, which only happens…”
“Three years, every three years,” finished Colin, dazed.
Meghan heard him and rousted to her feet, instantly mindful of her stupidity. Why hadn’t she just listened to Jae and not come to his aid? He had warned them to stay away. They hadn’t listened. And now their uncle was…
Don’t say it. He can’t be. He just can’t be.
Colin’s hand squeezed tightly in hers.
Neither succeeded in blocking their thoughts from each other.
“We both followed Jae. It wasn’t just you,” he sent her.
The crowd quieted, parting down the middle, serving as a corridor for someone hurriedly approaching.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Jae muttered apologetically. He backed away from the twins. Uncertainty heavy in his gaze.
They waited breathlessly, unsure of what was to come next.
A woman’s voice reverberated through the stone room.
“Jae, you are safe.” She said it as though it was no surprise, and promptly moved on, her fierce gaze penetrating the twins.
It was Juliska Nandalia Blackwell, Banon (leader) of the Svoda Gypsies. They saw Jae do a slight head bow as she spoke to him. Meghan and Colin decided to follow Jae’s lead and performed a small bow. The Banon’s face softened, but remained stern. She did not speak right away.
“Excuse me, Banon Blackwell, if I may speak on their behalf,” said Jae, approaching the leader.
She did not acknowledge Jae and slowly stretched out her thin, pale arm and stroked Meghan’s cheek. The Banon wore elbow length red silk gloves. Meghan’s breath hitched as her hand dropped; was this some kind of curse or spell she should be wary of?
The Book, The Witches, and the Doorway (Fated Chronicles Book 1) Page 18
