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

by Humphrey Quinn

  “If you’re worried about your beauty sleep, don’t bother,” he teased, laughing aloud, which silenced everyone at the breakfast table. It became awkwardly obvious that the conversation he had not been attending to was not humorous in the least. Colin stuffed his face with food, pretending it didn’t happen and the conversation continued.

  A whisper found his thoughts. “Serves you right, Little Bro.”

  “Hey! Not fair,” he shot back into her mind.

  The Mochrie parents continued their heated conversation as Irving excused himself from the table and stoked the fire pit, flames reigniting. They were cooking and eating breakfast outside; the weather was cloudy, but warm today.

  “Maybe this will be your turn, Irving. Even Vinson Troast cannot ignore what a fine job you do at the bank.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure, Sheila. I not only have to pass the approval of Troast, but also Vian Sadorus. I don’t think either of them wants me for the job. I’ve been hearing rumors about Markus Scraggs.”

  “Since when do you pay attention to rumor, Irving Mochrie?” Sheila scolded. “What would the rest of your family think if they heard you planning your life according to rumor?” Sheila Mochrie decided the conversation was over. She got up and beelined it into the house.

  “Dad’s not fond of Vian Sadorus,” whispered Jae. “He bought the bank and demoted dad, who was next in line to manage the place.”

  “I wouldn’t like him either if he’d done that to me,” Colin whispered back. “I don’t understand why you need a bank though, if things in the village are free.”

  “In the village, yes. However, outside the village, not the case. Everyone has to chip into the town fund. We do odd jobs as we travel, like here, working in Grimble, so we can buy supplies we need along the way. But, the businesses in our village are still owned by people, and Garner owns a lot.”

  “How does he afford to buy businesses?” asked Colin, confused.

  “He’s old money, plus the business owners get small stipends to keep their businesses open. It’s not much, but it helps.” Jae added, “Sorry I haven’t been around much, been helping dad at the bank. He’s due for a promotion, as you heard.”

  Colin wondered if he and Meghan should give some of their recently inherited money to the town fund.

  “Fire should keep until dinner,” announced Irving. “We’d better be off then, Jae,” He darted stern eyes at his son to see if he was ready to leave.

  Jae jumped up, said he’d be ready in a flash and ran inside bounding up the spiral staircase. Meghan, at that same moment, was bounding down the stairs. She glanced through the staircase window, noticing the flames in the fire pit out back, and wondered why they cooked outside so much. It seemed odd to her they did this so often when they had an indoor kitchen. She didn’t notice Jae rounding the staircase at full speed and they crashed head-on.

  Meghan fell back and Jae fell down a stair, thankfully catching himself before falling all the way. He was back up instantly and held out his hand to offer Meghan assistance.

  “Sorry, always in a hurry these days. I was telling Colin, I’ve been helping my dad at the bank. Should calm down soon though.”

  She held out her hand to accept his help. It was nice to see Jae, if even for a minute.

  As she grabbed hold of his hand, an overpowering sensation crept into her mind; intense heat, followed by crippling pain. She doubled over, feeling as though her body was being squeezed like a tube, emptying every last ounce of her breath. What she pictured a last breath, a final breath before death, to feel like.

  Jae propped her up, setting her down on the stairway and let go of her hand. Instantly her breath returned and she began to feel normal again.

  Colin, sensing something wrong, snuck inside.

  “What happened?” he asked, seeing her on the stair.

  “Don’t know. We ran into each other and when I tried to help her up, she fell over.”

  Meghan did not speak.

  Irving Mochrie burst in impatiently. “I’m out the door, Jae.”

  Jae passed by the twins and ran up the stairs. Colin helped his sister outside for some air. A minute later Jae was gone, followed by Mireya and her mother, leaving the twins alone.

  “What was that all about?” asked Colin.

  “I don’t know exactly. I… I saw Jae’s pain, as I touched him. I could feel it.” She scrunched her face as she said it, leaving out the worst of what she had felt.

  “How can you feel someone’s pain?”

  “I have no idea. But I’m so sure of what it was. Maybe Uncle Eddy can help?”

  She departed the Mochrie cottage at a quick pace, with Colin begging her to slow down. As they edged closer to Grimble, Colin finally dared ask what he had been thinking the entire walk.

  “Were you able to see what’s wrong with Jae? What he is upset about?”

  “No. It wasn’t a specific thing.” After a minute, she continued. “I did get the feeling that whatever’s bothering Jae has been doing so for a long time, and is something that might get worse.” Not wanting to frighten Colin, she blocked the memory and left out the most important part: Jae’s imminent death!

  When they arrived at the old mill, they were surprised to see Uncle Eddy was not alone. The ghost of a younger boy floated nearby.

  “Who’s that?” asked Colin.

  “That is my new friend, Timothy.” He floated close to the twins, whispering, “Poor boy’s been here nearly twelve years. Found some bully of a ghost named Duppy using magic on him, poor thing couldn’t even defend himself.”

  “He isn’t magical?” questioned Meghan.

  “No. Strange he would end up in Grimble, with no magical ties.”

  “He’s funny,” said Colin, watching the boy flutter around in circles above.

  “He has been quite a hoot. Timothy, come down for a moment.” The ghost boy dived and abruptly halted in front of the twins.

  “Hi! You must be Meghan and Colin. Nice to meet you. So Eddy is your uncle? You’re so lucky. How is it that you are alive and he’s dead? You didn’t tell me they were alive. Wow, I never get to talk to alive people anymore.”

  “He sure is an excitable ghost boy,” sent Meghan to her brother, who nodded in amused agreement.

  “Nice to meet you, Timothy,” said both twins, together.

  “You too,” he twittered. “I have to go now. Going to go help a new ghost child arriving today. Hope I get to see you again. So many questions I’d like to ask an alive person.” He floated away.

  “Bye, Timothy,” said Eddy. “Stay away from that Duppy ghost, eh.”

  “I will. I promise,” his voice trailed off into an echo and he was gone.

  “Okay, where were we?” said their uncle, getting comfortable on a wooden beam hanging over the twins.

  “Before we do anything Uncle Eddy, can I ask you about something that happened earlier this morning?” asked Meghan.

  “Yes, of course.” He looked at her with unease in his gaze. He floated down off his beam, to be closer to her.

  “This morning I fell, and Jae grabbed my hand to help me up. Somehow, I ended up in his mind and…” she glanced sideways at Colin, giving in. He would find out eventually anyway. “There were feelings of wanting to hurt someone, and Jae not surviving. I don’t understand how I know this, I just do.”

  Meghan’s fear overwhelmed Colin’s thoughts, and though he was upset that she had not told him everything, he said nothing.

  Uncle Eddy’s frown formed into a knowing smile. “I should’ve seen it,” he muttered.

  The twins waited eagerly for him to explain.

  “Meghan, it may not appear so at the moment, but what you have is a great gift. And the more I think on it, the more it makes sense.”

  “A gift? You mean a magical gift?”

  “In a manner of speaking, yes. Your gift runs in the family, your mother and your grandmother and her mother... you get the picture, although it can skip a generation or two. It’s
no surprise to me that this would occur. I should have been expecting it.”

  “Expecting what?” Meghan wished adults would get to the point faster.

  “The gift of sight,” her uncle answered without further delay.

  “So I can see things, and feel things, like Jae’s feelings?”

  “Yes, I would imagine you can see other things too, like glimpses of the past, present, or future. Out of curiosity, do you have any idea how the sight comes to you, what mode allows you to see?”

  Colin was not sure he understood what his uncle was asking, but Meghan knew immediately.

  “Fire, its fire.” She read Uncle Eddy’s face; he looked surprised that she already knew this.

  Something dawned on Colin. “That’s how you knew about the Scratcher attack, back in Cobbscott, isn’t it? Jae had lit those things he was juggling, on fire. And you had some kind of premonition or something, didn’t you?”

  “I guess so. I think somehow, I knew it was a vision of the future. I just didn’t really believe it at the time.”

  “I wish I knew more about having the sight,” lamented Eddy. “It is not a subject I am very familiar with. Perhaps there are some books in the Svoda library that might help you, Meghan,” he suggested.

  “Books?” questioned Colin. “You obviously don’t know my sister very well.”

  Eddy chuckled, and Meghan glared.

  “Well, we’ll work on it,” Eddy said. “See what we can discover.”

  Many memories came pouring into her mind. Everything she experienced while she was sick. Voices speaking incoherently over her. Images surging through her brain. And one that stopped and played like a movie in her mind. What was it again? An orphanage, with cloaked figures taking away a couple of babies. And then there had been a dream after. A woman sleeping on a feather. It had all been such a bizarre thing.

  “Let’s have an early lunch,” suggested Eddy. “And then get down to the business of the day after.”

  The twins ate in silence. Eddy did a quick check of the perimeter around the old mill. Once he was satisfied they were alone he allowed them to begin their practice for the day. Eddy used himself as a moving target. Colin successfully sent rocks hurtling through his ghostly body time after time. Meghan watched, jealously impressed.

  Uncle Eddy was thrilled. He had never seen someone take to magic like Colin and grinned proudly. And frankly, other than reading, his sister had never seen him take to anything.

  Meghan, on the other hand, was not having such an easy time. Today she attempted to balance items, like she had seen Jae do. However, she never successfully balanced more than three items before they plummeted to the ground.

  Timothy returned, watching them practice. They ended the day exhausted, and on Colin’s part, elated with his progress. On Meghan’s, not so much. But Eddy congratulated them both on a job well done regardless. He was pleased with their progress in such a short time.

  Timothy escorted his new friends on their walk home. The twins did not speak the entire time as Timothy had not yet stopped; which for the present they found amusing.

  Before they reached the circle of wagons, the twins stopped in their tracks. Unfriendly footsteps advanced from the woods, encircling them. Timothy flitted high into the air, watching from a distance as the scene unfolded below. Three figures emerged from the woods. Two they recognized, Darcy, along with her partner in crime, the eloquent speaking Dulcy. The third was a towering, skulking girl they did not recognize. She kept pace with Darcy and Dulcy as the three ambushers circled their prey.

  “You were right, Darcy,” bellowed Dulcy. “Wait and they’ll come, and then we’ll see what they’ve been up to.”

  “Shut it!” warned Darcy harshly. The skulking girl sneered as the trio tightened their circle around the twins.

  “What do you suppose this is about?” sent Colin silently, trying to keep his nerve. Meghan kept her eyes on their ambushers, showing no fear. This only elevated Darcy’s anger.

  “What do you want?” demanded Meghan.

  “We’ve seen what you can do,” Darcy stated, her eyes blazing. “And we think you’re spies.”

  “Oh, no,” sent Meghan to Colin. “Not good if they caught us.” She made sure not to outwardly show her anxiety.

  “I don’t think this is how Uncle Eddy imagined our abilities being found out,” stammered Colin back into her mind.

  “It doesn’t exactly bring about trust, does it?” she sent back dryly.

  Darcy waited for a reply, growing angrier as one did not come. Meghan cleared her mind and Colin grew aware that she slipped into her own defensive mode.

  “Why should we care about what you think you’ve seen, Darcy?”

  Meghan obviously had no idea who she was dealing with. The other two girls jumped backwards as if complete fury was about to be unleashed.

  “It will matter to you when I get you both kicked out and left here to ROT! I’m going to turn you in for what you really are.”

  “I see,” said Meghan. “What is that by the way, Darcy? Who are we? What are we really?”

  The skulking girl stood at the ready, awaiting orders to pummel the twins.

  Dulcy, the worded wonder, to the twins’ benefit, threw Darcy off her game.

  “Banon Blackwell is going to flip out when we bring you in as spies. We will totally be rewardified.” Dulcy’s eyes rolled as she attempted to pronounce the word. “No, rewarided,” she corrected, still wrong.

  Darcy cringed, gritting her teeth. “Stop. Speaking.” She hissed at Dulcy, her nostrils flaring. “I don’t know why I keep you around. You’re an idiot!”

  Meghan took advantage of the momentary switch in attention and nudged Colin to step to the left, which was now open since Darcy had moved closer to her idiot counterpart.

  “Darcy, they’re trying to get away!” the skulking girl thundered. “You want me to pound ‘em?”

  Darcy whirled around facing the twins. “No one walks away while I’m talking to them,” she roared.

  “Oh, really? Watch me,” goaded Meghan, taking another step.

  “Are you trying to get us killed?” yelled Colin silently.

  “Look, you two… Ditch Witch’s!” Darcy stopped, gloating over coming up with such a clever term. She waited until the other girls had a good laugh, before continuing.

  “We’re watching you,” she warned. “And when you screw up, which you will, we’ll be there to show Juliska Blackwell who you really are. And then we’ll see who’s scared.” Darcy marched away followed by her companions.

  Colin yelled at Meghan.

  “You don’t think we are in enough trouble, without pissing off that crew? I mean, why not just walk in and announce hey, we can do magic and we’re here to spy on you and report back to our evil… people.” Colin was never good at arguing.

  Meghan sucked in, let it out, and let him have it. “When will you learn that you have to stick up for yourself? Especially here. More than even back home. And so what if they get pissed off! It’s clear they’re not running home tattling to anyone. You heard them, they’re waiting for us to screw up.”

  “More fun for them, then. I think Uncle Eddy would agree that we, or I should say, YOU, just screwed up.”

  Meghan threw up her arms in defeat. “That’s it, Colin. I’m not sticking up for you anymore. If you think you could have handled that situation any better, then next time, YOU DO IT!” she stormed off crossly.

  Anger overwhelmed her, along with a strange sense of heat. It wasn’t a particularly warm day, but she wiped sweat off her brow and tried to stretch out an ache building through her entire body. “I’d so better not be getting sick again.” She huffed her way home. Pissed that she had to live with the Svoda. That they had so many secrets. That they had to deal with bullies like Darcy and her friends.

  And they were from a magical bloodline! Something their Uncle Arnon never told them. And they were stuck here unable to find out if he was alive or not.

  It w
as all too much. And Colin did need to learn to stand up for himself. She recalled her trip to the Blue Moon Festival with Sebastien. He had warned her then. She chuckled, remembering how she thought he’d been acting way too much like a grown up. And here they were in the exact situation. Alone. On their own. And she might not always be around to protect him.

  And yet how could she just not? How could she just let him fend for himself? He was still her little brother. In size only, but he was.

  She stopped, holding her stomach.

  “I can’t do this,” she muttered to herself. “I don’t think I can do this.” What was happening to her? Was this a panic attack? She’d never had one before. She’d been in Colin’s mind when he’d had a few, and it was never fun. But she’d been able to block him out. She could not block out her own thoughts. Or her own fears.

  Meghan did not want to go home. She veered off the road, taking the lane that led to the ocean shore instead of the Mochrie house. She needed air, not confinement. She needed to feel the bite of the ocean on her face.

  Colin slumped over on the wagon steps. Up above, Timothy, looking forlorn for a ghost, floated in circles over him.

  “Sorry, Timothy,” said Colin.

  “Oh that’s okay,” he said shyly. “I hear people argue all the time around here.”

  “My sister can argue with the best of them. Um… you won’t tell Uncle Eddy will you,” Colin said nicely.

  “You mean a secret, between you and me?” Excitement rose in Timothy’s voice.

  “Yeah. A secret.” Yay, more secrets… Colin chided himself silently.

  “Wow, I haven’t had a secret to keep in such a long time.” He swirled around, happy as any ghost could be and sang a little song, “I won’t tell, I won’t tell.”

  “I gotta go, Timothy. See you later, okay.”

  “Yes, later, friend of which I know a secret.” Timothy held his hand up and saluted Colin, then floated away.

  Colin headed into the wagons hoping to find his sister waiting for him, but to his dismay, he did not. He walked through Bedgewood alone, feeling every staring eye. Every glare. Feeling the hardness of each breath in his lungs.