by Casey Herzog
Piece by piece, I was putting things into perspective, and this doorway was just standing there waiting for me to cross the threshold. This had to be the way my father traveled without the knowledge of the Elders. I was afraid, but I wasn’t going to let it cripple me into doing nothing.
I held my breath and took the step, until a sense of being in two places at one time got the best of me. I finally had to pick which foot was going to dominate over the other. I forced myself through to the other side. I appeared out of nowhere with no discernible way of finding my way back. I reached out to where I had stepped through, and there was nothing there.
The whole room was musty and the weathered pages of the books were cracked and worn. I heard the hum and I knew to duck out of sight when the piercing light came through the window. The drone hovered in place until it moved onto another part of the building.
There was a cool breeze coming from somewhere and it made me hug my body to keep warm. It didn’t help, and I was constantly shivering as I took my seat where my father had spent his time. I sensed I was on the right track. There was a weapon, but finding it was another matter. Secrets paled in comparison to a potential weapon. I wouldn’t have a whole lot of time, and the drone would come back to take a second look around.
If it noticed anything out of place, it would notify the Guardians who would come in force. I would be left with the possibility of finding myself rehabilitated. The very thought made my skin crawl and tiny goosebumps appeared where there had been none.
“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to get here.”
That was not the voice of the magic eyes, but I couldn’t see where it was coming from.
“I can’t see you, but I can feel you. It’s hard to describe what I’m seeing, but somehow, I’ve managed to phase out of existence. I’m lost, but it’s comforting to know I can work miracles when push comes to shove.” I wanted to say something, but I was still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that Damien reaching out to me.
“I’m glad to hear you’re alive. I question why you would leave, but you did so at a most opportune time. They got wind of you being in my house and they came to find you. When they didn’t, they were not amused. It’s only a matter of time before they figure out I was complicit.” I sat down with my elbows on the metal table looking at the one book out of place on the shelf.
“I don’t even know what came over me. I felt something coming and I reacted without thinking. Unfortunately, I’m trapped and I don’t think I’m alone. Something keeps touching me in the dark. It wants something, but it hasn’t found a way to tap into the magic inside me. It’s trying, and I’m resisting, but there’s only so much I can do.”
I listened intently, hoping to come up with a reasonable plan of attack, but he had no substance. It was just a voice like the magic eyes whispering into my ear. “I want to help you, but I have no idea how to go about it. The only thing I can say is to not give up. Whatever is touching you is probably not your friend. Don’t let it get into your head and feed you lies. There’s no telling what its true purpose might be for coming after you.” I reached for the book. It looked like it had been used several times. I found myself touching the cover with the silver card. I was soon perusing the pages while feeling Damien was looking over my shoulder.
“You do know I’m only a kid, right? I might be powerful in my own right, but this is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I thought your father was the strongest, but this one feeds on magic. I don’t know how long I have left. It’s a fight to keep control and not an easy one. I don’t get how I’ve been able to reach you, but I’m glad I did.” Damien’s voice was cracking with nervousness. This was the first time I had found him to be lacking in commitment.
“I have to get control of some kind of weapon to use against them. I don’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary, but I’m sure the weapon will come in handy. I’m prepared to sacrifice my life for this cause, but not for just any reason.
“I feel that we are connected. Hold onto that and maybe we can ask the school for help. If anybody might know what to do it will be Professor Bethesda. He might find this unusual, but magic has a funny way of making you think one thing and do another.” I found crude drawings and a tale that left me scratching my head. It was about an amulet that once combined with magic power could be a force for good or evil. The amulet in question was lost during a crusade after a massacre. It was a dark time in our history and one that many felt necessary to gloss over like it didn’t even happen.
“I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise to win this fight. Don’t take too long. If this thing takes what is rightfully mine, then I will be left neutered and be of no use to anyone. I might live, but living without magic is not living. It’s merely going through the motions like the other birds sticking their head in the sand.” His voice was vanishing. I tried to hold onto him, but it was futile.
There was no word of where the amulet would be found. There was a brief mention of a young man who had been given great power. It did not mention any names, which left me to take into my confidence someone I barely knew. Trust was not easy. Mr. Coleman had taught me to have one eye open. I had to stop believing with my eyes and step into a lost world. I had to bring it out into the light. The Elders would resist. I would need more than just words. Damien had to be a part of it, but what side his magic was going to fall on was anybody’s guess.
I could only hope Damien was strong enough to pull back from the irresistible force. It concerned me, but not enough to give up. The time for indecision was done. To do nothing would lead to our end with the Elders getting more and more demanding. People had seen the power of banding together, but none was strong enough to answer the call.
I was young and impressionable, but I knew the difference between right and wrong. A careful orchestration of the underground community of magic was what was finally going to open up their eyes. I needed a coordinated attack in one place where they were the strongest. I first thought about where they lived, but that was not going to make a statement. I had to set free those imprisoned against their will. It wasn’t just the ones inside the asylum. It was also those who had seen the inside of the asylum.
It seemed like there was no easy way, but my father had taught me that nothing good came easily. It took hard work and determination. There had to be conviction and a belief in something that wasn’t readily understood. Most thought of magic as parlor tricks with floating cards and disappearing coins. It was more than anyone could imagine.
It was a known fact that change was not easy. People were not accepting of something they deemed to be dangerous, but it was only dangerous if someone was pushed too far into a corner and had no choice but to come out swinging.
I had that book, and combined with the knowledge of the other three, it would be a good start for an uprising. I needed to find a way to get to Damien and bring him home where he belonged.
Jasper was the anchor, but nobody had seen him since he had been detained several years ago. He was supposed to be the one to bring magic back into the light, and he had been well on his way to recruiting others with the same thought. Nobody was expecting for him to be captured. Jasper was the voice of magic, but he had a hard time making the older generation listen. It was only the younger generation who took notice, and wanted to be the solution.
Jasper was an orator who could stand in front of crowds, and get them all riled up. This was a young man of character, and he knew how to give people hope. Some believed he died because of his beliefs, but there were others who expected him to rise and do what no one had the courage to.
Jasper was a bit of pacifist, but the Elders’ saw him as a threat and needed to silence him before his beliefs became contagious. Making him disappear was a good way to quell the uprising in others. There were still those who talked about magic, but not in the same way Jasper did. They were scared, and the Elders’ wanted them to be. I was just as guilty for not doing anything because of f
ear.
Professor Bethesda and the other teachers might be what were needed to make those chains in the links stronger. It was a matter of convincing them to stand up for something they believed in. I could only hope to find my father’s words. He was always with me in spirit.
I heard the drone returning. I looked behind me with my fingertips glowing. I reached out and made the shape of a door by using my hands to make something out of nothing. It was just the frame, but it was enough to know where it was going to lead. I envisioned the study and I stepped back to where I had started all of this.
Chapter Seventeen
“Are you sure you haven’t been drinking? It would explain how you can think like this. You need to give me time to think things through. I can’t believe you came up with this on your own. It’s kind of disappointing you didn’t need me at all. I’ll get over it. It’s just my bruised male ego.” I had told William most of what I had learned, but I was leaving out some crucial details. I wanted to trust him implicitly, but he had come into my life quite unexpectedly. I had to be sure that William could be trusted. He had shown nothing to the contrary, but I wasn’t about to take chances.
“I have to do this for my father’s vision of a new day. I’ve already passed two of the three tests, and I have no idea what the third one is going to be. We need to return to the school as soon as possible. Let the magic inside us give us the fuel we need to complete this journey. I can’t force you to do something against your will. I could, but it seems more important to have allies to stand with me without a second thought. There can be no doubts. That will only lead to failure, which isn’t an option. This is going to be a one-way trip. It could be for nothing, but there’s a chance to make things better.” William listened, and I could tell he wasn’t exactly happy.
“You are essentially asking these people to commit suicide. What makes you think they will follow you without taking a step back? Speaking as the devil’s advocate, sometimes you need to think about how far to push people. There’s only so much someone can take before they crack under the pressure. The more people who know your plan the higher the likelihood it will be discovered. Blind ambition is one thing, but blind trust will be your undoing.”
William was saying the things I had already been thinking. There was no chance with just me leading the charge.
“I have to believe people are tired of the way they have been treated. We let this happen. We were foolish, which led to giving the Elders power. They weren’t exactly shy about using it and abusing it. We are only as strong as our weakest link. We have to be sure about who we take into our confidence because I have no doubt the Elders are using those easily intimidated to do their bidding.” William was making me think that I should take time before pursuing this course of action.
“It’s the hunter that makes expedience necessary. They found a way to fight fire with fire, and we need to do the same thing. We lay out the facts using logic to prevent them from making holes in my plan. The one thing missing is Damien. He’s a brave kid with an old soul. He fights with the realization that it’s never going to be enough. He needs me to pull him out of wherever he’s at before it’s too late.” The hunter was breathing down my neck, and I could practically feel his hot breath.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve grown fond of Damien, but I’ve also grown fond of breathing. I’m not going to stop you, and it’s not like I could even if I wanted to. I just wish I could believe we had good things coming our way. It just seems out of reach, and it doesn’t feel very good. We are on the losing end of this battle.”
I felt the same way William did, but I wasn’t going to allow that to stop me. “The world is changing, and we either prepare for that eventuality or stay stagnant with no way to fight back. They control how we live our lives, and I am through playing by their rules. They think that with intimidation automatically comes obedience. I don’t want to be treated like a pet. These rules have gotten out of hand, and something has to be done sooner than later.” I was trying to get through to William and I could practically see the gears in his head going around and around.
I took his hand, and he looked down at me with his mouth open in absolute shock I would take initiative. I grazed his palm with my fingertips until I was gliding my fingers in between his. I brought it up to my mouth and I kissed the exposed flesh, his eyes wide with the implications of what I was doing. I put my other hand on his chest, letting him know it was time to follow his heart.
“I can never say no to you, but there’s something you need to know. I haven’t been completely honest, and you deserve to know the truth. I don’t want you to look at me any differently, but it’s entirely up to you.”
I could only hope that his declaration was not going to tear apart what we had together. It was still in its infancy, and there was still a lot for us to discover about one another.
“You can say anything to me and we can deal with whatever it is together. I want you to treat this place like a safe haven. Nothing can get to you in here. It doesn’t matter how much the Elders, the Guardians, and Mr. Black would like to believe otherwise."
His heart was beating heavily inside his chest and he was breathing deeply like he had run a marathon. “A few years ago, I was diagnosed with an unknown illness. I need to sit down before I continue. I can’t believe it has come to this. I thought it was going to be so simple, but it got complicated in a hurry. I’ve known about your infatuation for quite some time.”
His words had a hint of betrayal. It made me feel like we were working against each other, that somehow we were at odds with one another without me even realizing it. I had let the enemy inside the inner circle, but I wasn’t the only one to blame. There was enough of that to go around.
“I’m not sure I want to hear this. I was worried, but I tried to quell the unnecessary voice in my head. Are you saying I have a reason to doubt your sincerity?” I was wondering what to do and how it was possible I could only think of him at a time like this. He was suffering some kind of indignity and was ready to unveil his true purpose. I had to give him the benefit of the doubt, or I would never be able to look at myself in the mirror again.
“I will get back to that in time. There’s a back-story you need to know before anything else. My life has not been my own since the moment I was diagnosed. My parents invested their time and effort to find a cure without any luck. I was deteriorating, my body shutting down with no hope on the horizon.”
I could tell this was hard for him to say out loud. I wanted to comfort him in his hour of need, but he had not said anything to give me a reason to trust him. “Let’s be sure of one thing before you say what you’re going to say. I want to be perfectly clear without any miscommunication. I’m doing what I can to stay strong, but I get the feeling I’m going to want to wrap my hands around your throat.” I didn’t mean to lose my composure, but my feelings for him were genuine.
“I wasn’t expecting to have feelings for you. I thought I could string you along until I was able to take something to them they could use. They know about the school.”
That was a cold slap in my face and one that had me stumbling backward. I was barely able to keep my balance. “How is that possible? If they knew, then why haven’t they stormed the castle? You’re the one that told them.” I tried to keep a straight face, but my mind was whirling with the possibility I was kissing the enemy.
“They do know about the school, but there’s no way for them to access it. I have been their eyes and ears. I do it for the selfish reason of wanting to live. The Elders came to me when I was at death’s door with the grim reaper knocking quite loudly. I had nothing but contempt for them, but they offered me something of a lifeline.”
I wasn’t expecting William to be a Trojan horse. He had fooled me and everybody else into thinking he was on our side. “I’m trying hard to understand, and it’s not easy with red-hot rage burning in my veins. You’re very lucky I haven’t unleashed the full potential of the magic eyes on you. It
’s taking everything in me not to show you the full force.”
He was showing a bravery rarely ever been seen. “They had a cure, but it meant treatment every couple of months, which was going to cost more than my parents could afford. I’m sure they would be ashamed of me, but I decided at the last minute to take their deal. I
I don’t know how they learned of my connection to the scruffs, and I felt bad for ratting them out one at a time, but I didn’t have a choice. Without treatment, I was going to die. I just couldn’t make the ultimate sacrifice. What would you have done in my shoes? Anyone in the community would have done the same thing with some notable exceptions, like your father.” He had strong will and it made him an example to live by. I will never forget what he and his daughter did for me.” He was causing me to feel pity for him.
“I see where you’re coming from, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about you. I want to tell you to leave and never look back, but I think we can use this. If you were to give them misinformation, then we might be able to catch them off guard.” I was putting together something more than a surprise attack. With his help, I would be able to find their weakness and destroy them from the inside out. The only sticking point was that William would die without treatment.
“I have decided my life is not worth betraying my friends. I haven’t been able to sleep and need pharmaceutical aid to get any kind of rest. I hope what you have in mind will finally put an end to all of this. It’s a good thing you didn’t mention the weapon. I don’t want that information in case it falls into enemy hands. I’m not in control when I’m around them. Whatever I know by spying is pulled out of my mouth without any will to fight back.” He was in a tough spot, and it hurt me terribly to see him dying for the cause.
