“Do what we came here to do then,” another voice mumbled. “Let us be done with it.”
“Once done, it cannot be undone,” Freyne spoke expeditiously.
“Fazendiin betrayed us,” Narona responded.
“Very well.”
From out of Freyne’s mirror, a pasty, thin-skinned arm stretched forward, reaching towards the empty mirror of Jurekai Fazendiin. A fine mist emanated from the outstretched arm, forming into a thick smoky cloud, which covered Fazendiin’s mirror. The outstretched arm retreated as Fazendiin’s mirror began to shake violently. A moment later, it shattered, spewing shards of glass throughout the cave.
“It is done,” said Freyne. “Fazendiin’s connection with us is broken.”
Snarls of sickly celebration resounded from the remaining Grosvenor.
“Now that the connection is broken, we can speak freely. What is our next move?” asked Narona.
“We need more stones, more power,” said one of the ghostly mirror faces.
“Yes!” agreed another.
“The problem is, there are few remaining. We will never collect enough to recreate the Immortality Stone,” said Freyne.
“Then what do you suggest?” asked Narona.
“The boy. Fazendiin’s precious offspring.”
“What about him?”
“We find him. Take away Fazendiin’s edge.”
“But the boy is not killable! He was born immortal.”
“Did I say kill him?” spouted Freyne. “No! We take him and we turn him! Use him against his own father.”
“I don’t see how this will be possible.”
“I will see to it myself,” said Freyne. “I’ve devised a plan.”
“If you capture the boy and prove that you can hold him prisoner, then and only then will I agree to try this,” said Narona. The others agreed with her.
“He will prove too powerful to control,” a voice called out in warning.
“Just leave it to me.” Freyne’s figure dissolved, followed soon by the rest. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a vial filled with thick red liquid.
“A drop or two of Fazendiin’s blood should do,” he said, his eyes wild. He stepped towards two rocks seeping up through the ground in craggy mounds and gently tapped one drop of the red liquid onto each one. He put the vial safely back into his pocket and raised his arms over the rocks. They began to pull out of the ground and as they did, they came to life, forming a head, arms, torso and legs. A crack sliced across each head forming a mouth with teeth that protruded outward, moving in a motion meant for cutting and digging.
They towered before Freyne.
“Find the boy. His father’s blood formed your bodies. Go. Hunt. Find him!” Freyne ordered, his voice holding an edge of frenzy. The rock creatures sank into the ground, burrowing their way toward the scent of Fazendiin’s son.
CHAPTER 9
“How long have they been gone now?” asked Sebastien.
“About five minutes longer than the last time you asked,” retorted Ivan.
“It’s been over a day!” said Nona. There was urgency in her voice.
“Nona, it’s going to be okay,” insisted Ivan. He felt bad for her. He couldn’t imagine how lost she felt. Even Elisha was showing signs of breaking down, having had no contact with Colby.
“We are getting nowhere. We have walked around for hours and we are no closer to finding them than we were!” Elisha exclaimed.
“Quite aware,” noted Sebastien, dryly. “It feels like we are just walking in circles. We have no idea how to track them. And if their own Catawitch’s cannot sense them... wow! We are literally walking in circles.”
“We are back at the cave,” mumbled Ivan, his shoulders dropping in disappointment. “I cannot believe this is the best we can do.”
“You’re up against magic you don’t understand,” reminded Nona. She shuddered, thinking of Meghan stuck with Colby. “If he so much as harms...”
“Oh please stop your incessant disapproval of my master,” Elisha raved. “If you so much as diss him one more time...”
“Enough!” said Ivan coolly. “We need to work together if we’re going to save Meghan. And Colby.”
“Right, but we are clearly not getting anywhere,” said Sebastien. “And I agree with Nona’s sentiments, if he hurts her...”
Elisha hissed. Ivan motioned for Sebastien to cool it, as like it or not they needed Elisha’s help. Sebastien frowned.
“Hey, what’s that?” Nona blurted, pointing with her head. It was a lump on the ground where Meghan and Colby had been standing a day earlier.
“I swear that was not there before,” said Sebastien, running over. “It’s her bag.”
“Maybe they came back,” Elisha chimed eagerly. She hunted the area for any sign of her master’s presence. Nona joined. But after a minute, they had found nothing new, save Meghan’s bag.
“Perhaps we somehow missed it from before?” Ivan suggested.
“I don’t see how, but if they didn’t come back, then,” Sebastien stopped, eyeing Meghan’s bag cautiously. “Did her bag just move?”
They watched her bag closely and jumped in unison as it did indeed move. They stepped carefully toward it. Ivan daringly bent over and unzipped it. He jumped back a second time as something bounced out of her bag landing on the ground.
“It’s that book! The Magicante,” Ivan exclaimed, relieved. His eyes met Sebastien’s and he lifted his eyebrows.
“It got them out of a lot of jams,” Sebastien agreed, answering Ivan before he’d even asked.
Ivan leaned over and picked it up, flipping it open. The book’s snide voice called out, “Hide! You idiots!” The voice continued shouting insults while the foursome stared in shock at each other, but proceeded to heed the warning. They fled into the woods, finding cover. And not a moment too soon.
Back on the spot where Meghan’s bag still lay, the ground began to quiver. Dirt suddenly spurted into the air, the ground breaking apart.
“What is that?” Nona asked, her cattish voice small and petrified.
Two stone bodies drilled up out of the earth and hit the ground with a thunderous thud. They had no eyes but turned their heads in weighted turns as if they could see. Stone teeth rotated in their mouths spitting out bits of dirt and root.
“Trackers,” the book informed them.
Ivan and Sebastien exchanged a glance. Was it possible for their situation to get any more desperate? Colby and Meghan were being tracked by... they didn’t even know what to call these things. They were monstrous, hard-bodied hunters with teeth that could crush just about anything!
They kept silent and hidden. They had no clue how to fight creatures such as these. They were not sure magic would do any good. Unless they attacked straight on, with dead shots, all at once, and maybe just maybe, managed to blow them up. It was a long shot. If they were super lucky, they’d get a few chunks.
The Trackers stone bodies creaked and groaned as they twisted and turned. After a few minutes, it appeared as if they’d decided what they were searching for was no longer around, and they threaded their way back into the ground and vanished.
“It would appear that those Trackers know where they’re going,” said Ivan tensely.
“And we still don’t,” Sebastien said.
“I wonder who sent those things?” Nona said.
“Never seen anything like those before,” Elisha claimed. “Not Colby’s father’s. These belong to someone else.”
“Should we track those things? If they are searching for Meghan or Colby, they might find them first.”
“You do not want to mess with those creatures,” the book’s voice spoke up. “And if you’d just ask me, I could help you track your friends.”
“What? Please,” begged Sebastien, astounded. “We need any help we can get.”
“How can you help?” asked Ivan.
“I hold the magic of the ancient Projectors. Colby is a Projector, like the bo
y, Colin. I can track Projector magic, but...”
“But what?” asked everyone at the same moment.
“It will require time and patience.”
“We don’t have a lot of time,” said Sebastien, worried this plan would be no better than what they’d been doing already.
“We’ll do it,” insisted Ivan. “What?” he aimed at Sebastien. “Have you come up with any better ideas than walking in circles?”
Sebastien conceded.
“If you’re all decided then,” the book said. “Take hold, and hold tight!”
They each touched the Magicante and instantly found themselves transported to a small clearing surrounded by granite walls on two sides of them, and thick trees on the other two.
“So when were they here?” asked Sebastien eagerly.
“They were not here,” the book responded.
“Why did you bring us here then?” asked Elisha crossly.
“It’s a safe place to wait.”
“Wait for what?” asked Ivan.
“For Colby to show himself. Right now, his powers have he and Meghan cloaked. They cannot be found, even by the Trackers. He must have a moment of weakness, or choose to voluntarily return to this world for me to trace them. I will know the moment this happens.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Sebastien. “That could take days, maybe even weeks!”
“In the case of Jasper Thorndike,” said Elisha, “it took years.”
Ivan sank to the ground, exasperated. “I believe what the book’s trying to say is that this is the time and patience part.”
“At least the trackers can’t find them either,” Nona spoke. Though, it offered little comfort. The book closed itself and the rest of the group plunked down helplessly near Ivan, begrudgingly sitting and waiting.
CHAPTER 10
“We should go,” said Kanda Macawi, with a slight pause between her words. “It is time to return to my people.”
Colin’s display of losing control had astonished her and Arnon. Nevertheless, it seemed that at least for now, they were still allowing him to join them on their journey. Would everyone else be as eager and accommodating upon their arrival, was yet to be seen. But at least he had Arnon and Kanda on his side. And Catrina. Always her.
Arnon followed Kanda out of her home.
Colin and Catrina followed. He kept the protective cloak over them as they walked.
Once outside, they headed toward the lake, the same lake in which Colin had his run in with a moose a couple of years back. They hopped into Kanda’s canoe, breaking through a thin layer of ice covering the lake, wondering where exactly she was taking them. She and Arnon paddled to an inlet not too far away, where a trellis made out of bent tree limbs covered in thick frost, straddled the inlet.
The water was not deep enough for a boat or canoe if they went too far in. Regardless, Kanda aimed the canoe toward the inlet and paddled underneath the tree limb trellis. For a moment everything went dark and then just as fast, they paddled out into the light, continuing on a river that flowed slowly down a winding path.
“Oh my,” whispered Catrina wondrously.
It took Colin a few moments to take it all in; they were no longer in the campground in Cobbscott, Maine. “It’s like we’ve gone back in time,” he muttered in disbelief.
Arnon caught Kanda’s bright smile and said, “Good to be home?”
She nodded. “It gets more beautiful every day I’m gone.”
“This place is...” Catrina started to say, but could not find a word to describe the landscape. In their world, winter was nearing, and the landscape was empty and dreary. But here, it was lush and green, with vast, hilly fields spreading as far as the eye could see. A warm breeze caressed their skin, both welcoming and calming.
“We have been living here, as our ancestors lived, for hundreds of years,” Kanda explained. “We did live in your world, but when the early settlers arrived, trouble started. Over the years, we were forced out of our homelands and many of my people lost their lives. If not by war, then to illnesses brought by the settlers; illnesses we did not know how to heal, even with magic. This is how we met the Svoda. You see, they were relocating to their island and needed help. We gladly did so, showing them how to live off the land. In return, they helped us cure the illnesses brought by those early settlers and also, helped us create this haven.”
“The Svoda helped create this place?” asked Colin.
“Yes. Things were different once. The Svoda were one-minded, living in peace, not torn as they are today. They saved us from complete annihilation. We were sure to end up on a reservation; eventually losing our way of life as so many like us tragically succumbed to. The Svoda helped us create this haven and we have lived here in peace ever since.”
“I had no idea,” said Catrina. “In any song I have ever heard, I never once heard a story about this.”
“It was stricken from all history, as if we never existed. We were left alone to live peacefully. Not that we haven’t come into your world here and there. Or had conflict from time to time.”
“But,” injected Arnon, “this is also why the Tunkapog must now enter into battle. The magical world is breaking apart. If we do not take swift action, it might never recover.”
“We do not rejoice in this action, of going to battle, but we have no choice,” said Kanda. “Not only is our way of life in jeopardy, but the entire world’s, magical and non- magical. If Amelia succeeds with her intentions, and Juliska Blackwell is allowed to keep power, and the Grosvenor are not once and for all stopped... no one’s way of life will be safe. We owe the Svoda, they saved us when we needed it the most. And I fear their way of life is now equally in jeopardy.”
They pulled the canoe over to a small alcove and jumped out. They stepped over the embankment and were even more surprised to see a bustling village not far in the distance. As they got closer, Colin and Catrina could see that most of the buildings were dome shaped, and built out of a mixture of bark, grass and wooden poles. They had been built in various sizes, some meant to be lived in, and some meant as businesses, and one in the middle of the village that had to be a meeting hall as it was long enough to fit hundreds of people, or more, inside.
Figures approached them.
“Is that?” said Colin, pointing and speechless.
Milo and Kay Jendaya stopped in front of them, greeting Arnon and Kanda.
“Colin,” said Milo. “This is a surprise!”
“Mr. Jendaya,” said Colin, not believing his eyes.
“We have much to catch up on,” added Kay in her kind voice.
“I’m so glad you are both here, and safe,” Kanda told the Jendayas.
“It is not easy, but I know it was the right thing to do,” said Milo. “And we were so pleased to find our friend, Amos Durmuddy hiding out here too. Such a relief to know he’s okay and not caught by Amelia.”
Colin shook his head. There was so much he did not know.
“Is Sebastien here?” he suddenly blurted.
The Jendaya’s sighed, pain etching their faces. Milo shook his head.
“But you guys all know about magic too?” Colin confirmed the obvious. “I guess we do have a ton to catch up on.”
They had not had time to discuss it yet, but his uncle had mentioned he had connections to the banished group of Svoda. All Colin knew of this group was that they were led by Amelia Cobb. Were the Jendayas a part of this group as well?
They walked into the heart of the village.
While walking, Arnon bent over and whispered into Colin’s ear.
“For now, your secret should remain so. We feel it’s best to reveal this only if needed.”
Colin nodded that he understood. But some of that warmth he’d let in upon entry cooled a little. The scary truth was always a little too close for comfort and he could not afford to be caught off guard.
He heard Kay speaking to Kanda up ahead.
“The battle plans are nearly completed.
Nashua has a full battle plan with back up battle plans, should things not go as expected.”
“I assumed my brother would be prepared,” said Kanda.
“As I am,” a deep voice answered. “Sister.” He outstretched his arms in greeting. He wore a suit of white fur. Oddly, the suit almost seemed to seep into his skin in some places.
After saying their hellos and making small talk, the Tunkapog man named, Nashua, asked them all to enter one of the dome shaped buildings. Inside was a wooden table at which they all took seats.
He wasted no time beginning. “The battle should go swiftly and smoothly. Using the information provided to us from Kay, Milo, and Amos, we should be able to take Amelia by surprise, escaping with minimal casualties on either side.”
“And once we have captured Amelia?” asked Arnon.
“We bring her back here where she is out of reach to the outside world. We find out what she’s done and just how she plans on returning magic to the world, and what steps she has already taken. Hopefully, it is not too late to stop it.”
“And what if things go badly?” asked Milo.
“You mean in the off chance that she dies? Or a war breaks out?”
Milo nodded.
“These are contingencies we are still mulling over. It is frankly, not an option. She must live. As per battle, we are prepared to fight, if we must.”
“When will we strike?” asked Kanda.
“We are close to deciding, but I feel soon. Within days, we should be ready.” His eyes searched the table, stopping on Colin and Catrina. He exhaled, eyes pinched inward. “At last we meet,” he aimed at Colin. “Although, you probably don’t remember it, we did actually meet once before, shortly after you came to live with Arnon. You were just an infant.”
“Oh, um, nice to meet you again then, I guess. You’re right, I don’t remember at all.”
“You are very welcome here,” Nashua told them all. “Please make yourselves at home while you are here. In fact, I have taken the liberty of setting up accommodations for you. I believe you will find them quite acceptable.”
“Thank you,” said Colin.
Taken (The Blood Spell, The Fugitives, and The Firemancer's Son) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 6) Page 7
