The Book, The Witches, and the Doorway (Fated Chronicles Book 1)

by Humphrey Quinn

  “Too cool! I did it! And I love…” she choked, looking down at her arms as bright blue hairs took the place of her normally blond ones. “What the…”

  Torrents of laughter filled the empty mill, Colin couldn’t help himself; even Uncle Eddy got in a good chuckle. Meghan’s hair was blue from head to toe, including her eyebrows and arms. She hiked up the bottom of her skirt. All she could muster was a low grumble.

  “I guess,” Colin squeaked, “when it says everywhere,” he could barely talk, “it means everywhere.”

  Meghan grabbed the book, snarling. A steady stream of insults churned in her mind: Reviling! Ridiculous! Conniving little… dang book thinks its sooo smug! Well I’ll show…

  A new bout of hysterics bubbled out of Colin. He had not laughed so hard since he could remember.

  Meghan, humiliated, continued reading.

  “Since you’ve decided to be smart enough to read all I have written…”

  Meghan ignored the sneering remarks, and the hysterical laughter bellowing from Colin, and read the final verse.

  If blue on your head is what you desire,

  Then what you need is a way to inspire,

  Sing it three times like a children's choir,

  And if you’re lucky (ha), blue will be your outcome!

  “Be your… outcome?” She glared at the book, shaking her head.

  It took all Colin’s strength to stop laughing and feel even the slightest bit of remorse. It was possibly the most humiliated he’d ever seen her. Even more so than the night he’d found out about her crush on Sebastien Jendaya.

  She mustered up what courage she had left and sang blue fire three times. The hair on her body returned to its normal color, and only the hair on her head remained blue.

  “At least that’s over!” she stated, plopping herself down. “I suppose,” she said, humbled, “That the first lesson is to read all the instructions, first.”

  “The first lesson was no secrets, but alas, number two. Understanding the entire picture, even on a seemingly simple task, requires complete knowledge of the situation.”

  “Don’t worry. Think I’ll remember that one.” She took a deep breath. “I still don’t understand why the book helped us, before we even knew what it was?”

  “I am sure when you first needed help it realized you would not yet understand.”

  “So it’s a rude book, with a heart o’ gold?” she retorted in smug disbelief.

  “It is said that a little bit of the creator’s, let’s say, humor and temperament, seeped in during the book’s creation. This book may have an off-kilter sense of humor, but it will never fail you. Again, I reiterate, you may not like the answer, or the solution, but it will never fail you. Do you both understand so far?”

  They shook their heads yes and he continued.

  “Now, I…” Eddy was cut off by a shadow moving outside one of the broken mill windows. He chased it, yelling for the twins to stay put. They watched him go, but did not see what he was after.

  Meghan let out a groan. “If you’d told me a few months ago we’d find out our parents were from a magical bloodline, well, it’s so hard to believe. Magic really exists. I can’t even get my brain to accept that. Never mind that we can do magic.”

  “I know it went a little wonky, but it’s pretty cool, huh?”

  She grinned and bit her lip. “Yeah. It is.”

  “I wish Uncle Arnon would have told us though. Maybe things could have turned out differently. He gave up so much to keep us safe. Maybe if he had found a group like the Svoda, he could have had more of a home, or friends.”

  “But the Svoda hide, too.”

  “Yeah, but at least they have each other.”

  Meghan did not reply.

  They remained silent, hiding their befuddled thoughts from each other. They were both getting better at blocking the other. A few minutes later, their uncle flew back in.

  “Saw a ghost, tried to follow him, but he disappeared before I got a real fix on him. Probably accidentally happened upon this place, but can’t be too careful.”

  “Uncle Eddy, why is it so important for us to keep our magic a secret? Between the Svoda, who are magical, and the ghosts, who are dead magical people, would anyone even care?”

  “Ah, yes. Something I did wish to discuss with you. Simply put, it may not matter much at all, and yet, doing things in the right order always works best. Your magic will come out when the moment is right, perhaps once they have begun trusting two new strangers.”

  Colin heard a hint of suggestion. “If I understand what you’re saying, we should try to make a good impression, get people to like us, and then maybe they will be more accepting.”

  “Something like that, yes, Colin.”

  “It would make life easier if they’d stop gawking at us all the time,” huffed Meghan.

  Uncle Eddy laughed, which was followed by a sigh.

  “It’s already getting later than I expected. I’d imagine you’re getting hungry by now, so eat, and then off you go for the day.”

  The twins realized they had been gone for hours already and were starving. At the same time, they didn’t want their first day to come to an end so soon. They ate slowly. Even Meghan, whose first magical attempt went awry, didn’t want to leave. But the end came.

  “Let’s plan on meeting same time, same place, tomorrow,” said Uncle Eddy as they departed.

  “We’ll be here,” grinned Colin.

  “One more thing. And this applies to both of you. Keep that book safe. Even if your magic does become public knowledge, or you get upset with it,” his eyes rolled to Meghan. “There are a lot of people who would love to get their hands on the Magicante, and this one is meant for you.” His gaze affixed on Colin. He gripped the book tighter.

  Something in Eddy’s gaze set off little red flags in Meghan’s mind. She hid it from Colin. It wasn’t anything dangerous, just something she saw when he looked at her brother. Something he wasn’t telling them. Or wasn’t telling Colin…

  They said their goodbyes, and during the walk home they passed a few ghosts and gypsies; all doing double takes of Meghan’s blue hair.

  “I’m not sure this is what Uncle Eddy had in mind when he wanted us to impress the Svoda.”

  Meghan simply held her head up high and walked on. Once back in the wagons they met up with Jae and Mireya. She ran up to Meghan’s head and touched it.

  “Wow, I love it! Wish my mom and dad would let me.”

  “You know dad would never,” charged Jae.

  Meghan wished she hadn’t done it, realizing it was more trouble than it was worth.

  “I had it done in Grimble,” she lied half-heartedly.

  “How was your first day back at school?” asked Colin, taking the attention away from his sister. Mireya’s eyebrows raised and she briskly walked away. Jae waited for Mireya to walk out of hearing distance before explaining.

  “Not my best day. The class wanted to hear about my month alone. I told them about getting stuck behind, fighting the Scratchers, don’t worry, they don’t know about you, Colin,” he added. “Then, for whatever reason I tried to explain how much stronger my magic was. But when I went to perform a spell in class, I could barely pull it off. Like it all just got sucked out of me. I guess it’s so crowded here, I’m just weaker.”

  “There are more people around,” consoled Meghan. “I guess more people equals less magical energy to use?”

  “Something like that,” mumbled Jae. He hid his face behind his stringy hair. “For a minute, I wished I were on my own again.” He shook his head in dismay. “I shouldn’t have said that. You guys lost so much helping me get home.”

  Man. Poor Jae. He seems so miserable here. Meghan thought it in her mind. Colin had his blocked from her, but was thinking the same thing.

  Jae changed the subject. “How about you guys? How did your day go?”

  The twins decided they could tell Jae what their uncle was teaching them. If he confided i
n them, they saw no reason not to do the same.

  “I had a little fiasco of my own there,” said Meghan, retelling the story of her blue nightmare. It helped cheer him up, and Jae wasn’t surprised at all that Meghan performed magic, seeing as Colin had already done it. He was shocked to find out they were descended from a magical bloodline though, and didn’t know until today.

  “I guess it makes sense,” he said after a bit. “Your uncle maybe didn’t know other magical clans existed. Just hid you away as much as possible. Sort of like the Svoda hide.”

  “Just in a much smaller way,” noted Meghan.

  “And never telling us what we were,” added Colin.

  “I don’t know. Maybe in his own, subtle way, he did.”

  Colin thought about what his sister said for a moment. “He did always steer me in the direction of books about magic.”

  “Maybe he was planning on telling you then?” said Jae. “And just…”

  “Ran out of time…” finished Meghan.

  “Waited too long…” said Colin. “Maybe if he’d just told us…” he choked up, and didn’t finish.

  “Whatever his reasons, Col, we can’t change anything that happened.”

  He nodded. It was no use venturing down the what if path. His sister was right.

  Later that night before bed, Colin, hidden behind his curtain, opened the Magicante, hoping to ask it a question he knew it probably wouldn’t answer.

  “Um Book, can I ask you something?”

  “I suppose,” it yawned.

  “Can you tell me, is there a magical way to make myself taller?”

  Colin swore he heard the book sigh, and then in a whisper it barked its answer.

  “You people and your personal hang-ups! Don’t waste my time, Boy! We don’t have that much of it.”

  Colin was about to ask what it meant when a message materialized on the leaf attached to the page, but in the form of a poem, which the book did not speak. Colin read it aloud.

  Now if you don’t mind,

  I’d like to unwind,

  I think you will find,

  That someone is going to arrive any minute now!

  “Huh? Doesn’t rhyme.” Colin shook his head, listening as footsteps approached. He hid the book at the bottom of his dresser and crawled into bed. Through the open bedroom door and a crack in his curtain, he spied Ivan Crane going into his room. He was a strange guy. Hardly ever home. What kept him so busy? And he rarely ever said more than a couple words to either him or Meghan.

  His sister barged into his head.

  “Hey, Col. Awake?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for Jae to come up. Must’ve had a ton of school work to catch up on.”

  “I don’t think he has taken a break since he got home today. Just wanted to say goodnight,” she said.

  “K, night, Sis.”

  Colin ended up falling asleep while waiting. Hours later, he awakened to the sound of soft footsteps padding across the bedroom floor. He poked his head out of the curtain, mouth open to rib Jae about working so hard when he heard sniffling. He sucked himself back behind his curtain, holding his breath.

  What was the right thing to do? Ask Jae what was wrong, or pretend he did not notice. He desperately wanted to wake Meghan, but decided it was best for at least one of them to sleep. Colin supposed it could wait until morning. Confrontation was her forte after all, not his.

  Corny—Cornell Tibbit, stiffened in his bed. His mind might be a muddle of mostly incoherent thought, but his body sensed the change in the dark basement. A shiver of cold shook through him. There wasn't a sound to warn him he was no longer alone, but the brisk chill announced the dead presence.

  "Hello, old friend." The wisp of ghostly white floated and hovered at the foot of the creaky bed. Corny cocked his head, eyeing the dead thing smiling thinly. "Do you remember me? Can that scrambled mind of yours see me?"

  The ghost named Eddy had finally dared enter the wagon to track down his old friend. He'd been careful not to be noticed by anyone else. Not so hard when you are a ghost. And necessary so as not to be recognized for who he truly was. But the danger in the risk was worth it. It was, in part, what he'd stayed in the afterlife to do—help. And it was finally time to keep that promise.

  Corny merely stared, eyes squinting at the ghostly form as if his mind was trying to seek out the man behind the hazy face, but the connection to the answer was broken. Buried in a memory he could no longer access.

  Eddy floated closer. "I think I can help you. I can't fix the terrible thing that was done to you." He stopped, shaking his ghostly head. "I'm so sorry, Cornell. If I'd known I would have stopped it. Love can be—equally blinding and revealing. But all too late. All I can do now is try to fix the wrongs."

  He didn't clarify what he meant, and not that it would have mattered to Corny who only replied with a few indiscernible grunts.

  "This might be a wee bit strange," Eddy explained, floating right up to the grizzled man in his bed. There wasn't any magic he could use to fix Corny, especially since ghost magic and human magic were useless on each other. But he'd been researching nonetheless.

  Eddy held out his ghostly arm and without anymore warning, his spirited form began to sink right inside of Corny's body, which went rigid as his mouth opened and let out a coarse gasp.

  Possession of a human form took many long years to perfect. But Eddy wasn't just possessing, he was trying to heal Corny. Even a few minutes of possession would allow the grizzled man's mind to unscramble, just a little. It had something to do with the way the living brain worked when it saw the spirit as some invading host and fired up in ways it wouldn't normally.

  It would drain Eddy for a time though. He'd not be able to perform another possession anytime soon. Not before the Svoda left Grimble anyway. So, this was his one chance to try to help his old friend. And in the process, help Meghan and Colin Jacoby, too. Because they would move on to another world, without him. Even as a ghost, Eddy wasn't permitted to just hop into the world of the living whenever he wanted.

  When he could not hold the possession a moment longer, Eddy's ghostly form pushed out of Corny's weakened body. The man slumped downward onto his bed. If Eddy hadn't been dead he'd have wanted to do the same. As it was, he could barely maintain his ghostly appearance. His normally vibrant white was dimmed to almost nothing.

  But his dead eyes froze when he saw Corny staring at him. In recognition. He could not voice it, but it was there in his eyes. If ghosts could shed tears, Eddy would have. Both in relief for his friend, and for himself. To be seen. For real.

  It had been so long.

  "Hello, old friend," he greeted again.

  Old Corny's eyes watered up, the overwhelm of the moment pouring out of him.

  "You've missed so much," Eddy told him. Corny grunted nothing in reply. But his mind heard the words. For the first time in too many years, it heard and understood the words. Eddy began talking, and it went on for hours. Catching the man up on all he'd missed in the years since his mind had been so maliciously stripped away from him.

  "So, you see," Eddy said, nearing the end of the tale. "I did what I had to in order to stick around. They are upstairs right now, sleeping." He spoke of the twins.

  Corny's aged gaze flittered upward toward the dark ceiling. Even in his previous state, his addled brain had felt it. The change. The arrival of something—powerful. Maybe even dangerous. Old magic the likes of which he hadn't sensed in—it felt like ten lifetimes ago.

  "You sensed it," Eddy realized with a short chuckle. "Can't keep the best magic tracker there is down forever. But if you felt it, and have heard what I've said, then you know. You know what's coming. And I've seen much since death claimed me." There was so much clarity after death. So much truth. Even glimpses of the possible future.

  A look of question plagued Corny's eyes.

  "I will share with you all I know," Eddy told the man. "I have no right to ask, not after all you've suffered. But I need yo
ur help."

  Corny shocked the ghost by lifting his arm and putting his hand over Eddy's ghostly one, as if to offer comfort.

  "You—" Corny pushed out coarsely. "Suffer—too."

  "I—" Eddy hadn't expected actual words from the man. "I chose my path. I accept all that comes with that choice. And I know if you were in my shoes, you'd have made the same choice I did."

  When he planted his saddened gaze on Corny, the grizzled man had just one demand on his features.

  Tell me everything.

  CHAPTER 24

  Days passed after Colin had awakened in the middle of the night, having overheard Jae crying. After discussing it with Meghan, they decided to wait and see if Jae volunteered any information. However, a chance for volunteered information had not yet developed, seeing as Jae was busy from morning until late at night, typically with his father.

  The twins were also busy with their Uncle Eddy, practicing simple spells. Meghan had the book help her change her hair color back to red, keeping a single blue streak, to draw less attention.

  Colin successfully used magic to pick up a rock, and hurl it thirty feet, hitting his target straight on ten times in a row. He hoped there would be no occasion when this talent would become useful… aka… a Scratcher attack.

  Meghan, however, struggled without the book’s help. If she tried magic on her own, nothing worked. She decided to try creating fire, by touching a pile of wood and telling it to burn.

  “You couldn’t start a fire, magic or not,” Colin jested lightly.

  She could not argue.

  “I’m not sure why I’m even trying this spell. I’m all thumbs when it comes to matches and lighters.” She persisted though. For some reason, she liked the idea of a roaring fire, but when the day ended, the pile remained unlit.

  “Meghan, you better get up,” sent Colin from the backyard, a few mornings later. “If you don’t hurry you won’t get to see Jae at all, he’s leaving with his dad, again.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m up already. What is with this place, getting up so dang early all the time?” she mumbled haughtily.