by Unknown
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“I’ve never figured out what this room was built for,” said Jae, “But it sure is handy tonight.” Colin’s curiosity got the better of him and he assaulted Jae with questions about the retelling.
“That was an unbelievable story, Jae. Do those enemies still exist? Have you ever seen them? I can’t believe there are scarier things out there than Scratchers.”
“I can’t say for sure that they do,” answered Jae. “But our real enemy does; the one who actually ordered those creatures to take down our ships.”
“Who is that?” asked Colin, not sure he wanted to know.
“The Grosvenor,” replied Jae. “Immortal beings,” he added in a low whisper.
“That sort of thing exists?” muttered Colin.
“Unfortunately. Do you remember when I told you, back in Cobbscott, that magic was nearly wiped out a long time ago? The Grosvenor are responsible for the battle that caused that. They even killed off their own kind, it didn’t matter to them.”
“Their own kind?” questioned Meghan.
“Vetala. Otherwise known as Vampyres. Not Vampyres in the sense of what your world thinks of them, as they do not suck blood. What they do is just as monstrous though. They can suck the life force out of any living thing,” Jae told them.
“And the Grosvenor still hunt you?” asked Colin.
“Yes, and if they get the opportunity, they will destroy all magic but their own.”
“You mean they want to take over the world kind-a-thing,” Meghan confirmed.
“On the bright side, though, even in all the years since that battle, they have not succeeded.” The twins exhaled in unison. They were now included on the list of magical things to destroy.
They saw no bright side.
“Do they send the Scratchers after you?” Colin asked after a minute.
“It’s likely. I think the Viancourt believes that the person you heard speaking to the Scratchers, at the pine tree back home…”
“The one you called the Scratchman,” interrupted Colin.
“Yes. It is possible that what you saw could have been one of the Grosvenor, which is a terrifying thought to consider, that one of them could have been so close.” Meghan did not want to think about terrifying any longer and decided it was time to discuss the Tunkapog.
“Did you know that Camp Agunkpot is owned and run by someone from the Tunkapog Tribe?” she asked.
“Yes,” answered Jae slowly. “That’s right. I don’t know why it never dawned on me before now. You’re good friends with the owner of the campground, Kanda Macawi,” he remembered.
“She is our longest friend,” said Meghan. “Our Uncle Arnon knew her long before we were even born.”
“I guess nothing should surprise me about you two anymore,” Jae noted.
They sat for a moment trying to figure out what it meant. But again, there were no answers.
After awhile, Colin got a chill and they decided it was time for bed.
“This new world we are stuck in sure keeps getting stranger and stranger,” sent Colin. “I wish we could talk to Uncle Arnon. I have so many questions I want to ask him.” 97
“Yeah, well that ain’t gonna happen,” she shot back more harshly than she’d meant to. They were both tired of having no answers to their ever-growing pile of questions.
The trio crawled out of the tiny room and disappeared behind their curtains.
Two dreadful things happened during the night:
First, Meghan had a nightmare that was identical to her vision of Jae, and once again, her new ability forced her to watch her friend being tortured. She awoke, petrified. Jae had been happier lately. Why would this nightmare return? A sense of helplessness settled like a veil over her thoughts.
Second, much to the dismay of Colin, he was abruptly awakened in the night by a foul smell, and opened his eyes to see the face of Corny Tibbit bulging down at him. He handed him two more sheets of paper, covered in the same scribbling as before, and then shuffled away.
Jae was the only other in the room to witness the occurrence.
“Weird! Wicked weird,” Jae said, locking the bedroom door.
The smell of sour breath and the sight of rotted teeth sifted through Colin’s restless mind.
Meghan, once again in a deep slumber, found her dreams invaded.
“My dreams may be dangerous,” she silently yelled at him, “But yours are just gross!” 12
An unexpected knock at the door interrupted breakfast. Ivan, who was racing down the stairs, shouted, “I’ll get it.” Shortly after, he walked into the kitchen holding two letters in his hand.
“Pantin Hollee delivered these.” He kept one and half-heartedly handed the other to Meghan.
Irving glanced at the letter in Ivan’s hand.
“Is that what I think it is? Hard work does pay off!” Irving said, as if a point he had made a thousand times, was now proven true.
“What is it?” asked Colin eagerly. Meghan opened hers. Inside was a letter written expressly to her.
To Meghan Jacoby,
You are cordially invited to the annual Up and Comer’s Christmas Dinner, as the invited guest of Banon Juliska Nandalia Blackwell.
Formal attire required,
7pm on December the Twenty-First.
Congratulations on this honor, Pantin, Hollee Troast
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“Such an honor,” breathed Sheila, dreamily. “Only youngsters Banon Blackwell feels are truly worthy are asked to attend each year,” she added.
Ivan’s letter read the same. Colin wanted to be happy for Meghan, but hadn’t both he and Jae done better than she had on the school exams?
Jae watched his father gloat over Ivan, who, if Meghan was being completely honest, appeared to be humbly embarrassed.
Sheila snatched Meghan’s letter, gazing longingly at it, reminiscing.
“These dinners used to be grand balls when we lived on the island. They have been put on for years, long before Banon Blackwell became our leader. How I dreamed of getting a knock at the door delivering my invitation, but it never came.”
She sighed, longingly, caressing Meghan’s letter. After a minute, Irving “hm hm’d” Sheila, dragging her back into reality. She handed the letter back to Meghan.
“Yours does not surprise me in the least, Ivan,” said Irving proudly. “I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.”
“Thank you, sir,” replied Ivan.
Irving looked at Meghan questioningly but said nothing.
“Oh, I forgot!” burst out Sheila. “I received your exam grades last night. They’ve been sitting on the kitchen table all this time!”
Irving shook his head at his forgetful wife.
“You three all passed!” she went on. Mireya already knew she had not, and sat with a far off look in her eye, dreaming of receiving her own invitation. Irving pinched his daughter’s chin.
“If you work hard enough, you could get your own letter in a few years.” She giggled in reply.
“At least I’ll have something to go on about at the bank for a change,” Colin overheard him tell Sheila. “I can hear the jealousy now! Two letters in the same house! Has that ever happened before?” he asked the air.
“Getting to meet Banon Blackwell in person is a great honor,” said Ivan, in his usual dry tone.
“I’ve already met her, in person,” Meghan retorted back without thinking. The rest of the room went silent. Meghan realized too late what she had done.
“When?” asked Sheila.
To Colin’s knowledge, Juliska had visited her only once at the hospital. Meghan lied, or, decided not to tell the whole truth, as she saw it.
“Banon Blackwell came to visit me when I was brought to the hospital; the day I found out I was a Firemancer. She offered me some advice.”
“Well of course she would have,” realized Sheila, looking pleased. “Banon Blackwell herself is a Firemancer.”
Ivan glanced untrustingly at Meghan, as if she were not telling t
he truth.
Colin looked at her the same way; he knew when his sister was lying as he had heard her do it a thousand times before.
She is hiding something from me, still, even after what Uncle Eddy said, he thought, blocking it from her.
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The party broke up. Irving departed for work, Ivan followed soon after, and Jae slid into his cubbyhole of a room. The twins followed into the bedroom. Colin was not sure how Jae was feeling, but he was pissed!
As Meghan entered the bedroom, she caught a glimpse of the wall behind Colin’s bed, now almost completely covered by Corny’s artwork.
“I don’t think you should go!” Colin spat out before she could speak.
“Why on earth not?” she asked.
“I just…” he stalled, finally saying, “don’t think you should go.”
“You’re jealous!” she guessed, thinking how pathetic.
“Am not,” he shot back. “I seriously think there’s something wrong with Juliska. I don’t trust her. Sorry, Jae, I know you all look up to her.”
“You don’t trust Juliska Blackwell?” Jae questioned, popping from behind his curtain. “Her judgment is a little strange I guess, but the invitations are hardly ever fair. Someone inevitably gets invited who doesn’t deserve it.” This statement, although made out of matter-of-factness by Jae, threw Meghan over the edge.
“So you both think I don’t deserve this?” she demanded, shaking her invitation.
Colin tried to explain better.
“It’s not a matter of deserving, Meghan. It’s that I don’t think she likes me.” It did not come out right.
“That makes no sense, Colin.”
“You know what, forget it. I don’t want to argue,” he said, already sorry he had brought it up.
“You started it… little bro,” she said abrasively.
That was it. Colin exploded.
“I hate it when you do that!” he thundered so forcefully that the walls shook.
“Everything okay up there?” Sheila Mochrie’s voice rang up the stairs.
“Fine Mom,” answered Jae, looking apprehensively at Colin. Mireya came running into the room as Colin stormed off. He decided he needed to visit Uncle Eddy. Meghan sighed, and chased after him.
“Wait up, Colin,” she pleaded. “You should give Juliska a chance,” she insisted.
“I’m not listening,” was all he replied, which infuriated her even more.
“I was trying to be nice,” she yelled after him, folding her arms, looking as stubborn as ever.
Jae darted past Meghan, catching up with Colin, handing him a coat.
“Girls,” he said jokingly.
Colin was not ready to laugh it off yet.
“I don’t have a choice in sisters, but sometimes...” he shook his head. “She gets me SO MAD.
And what’s worse, I fall for it every time.”
“Why did she call you little brother?” Jae asked. “Aren’t you guy’s twins?”
“She knows it’ll make me mad,” he answered, “And I am the older brother. I was born FIRST,” he yelled as if she could still hear him.
Colin thought about what his uncle would say if he showed up without his sister, and told him they were fighting again; he would be more than disappointed. “I can’t believe Juliska didn’t invite you, Jae, after everything you’ve been through.” 100
“Yeah, but I also got into trouble. She would never get away with inviting me after demoting me in class.”
“I guess, but Meghan. Let’s be honest, she sucked.”
“The Banon has taken quite the liking to her, it’s really not that bad, Colin. Maybe, just let her have this,” he said, attempting to be the voice of reason.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” he shrugged. Colin decided to hold off visiting his uncle, and instead they went to The Waterhouse, a small café in the village. “Looks a bit like snow,” he added.
“It does,” agreed Jae. “Would be nice for Christmas.”
“I wish I could see my Uncle Arnon,” professed Colin.
“You must miss him a lot, huh.”
“Yeah, but, you guys miss people all the time. How do you do it?” They entered the The Waterhouse and found a seat near the window.
“Personally, I don’t remember living any other way,” Jae said. “It is hard though, for those that do remember.”
Snow started falling. Colin noticed Ivan walking into a pub across the street called The Steel Gin, and impulsively burst out laughing.
“What is it?” asked Jae, wondering if Colin had suddenly gone mad.
“My sister’s face, when she realizes she is going to the Up and Comer’s Dinner with one Mr.
Ivan Crane!”
Torrents of laughter replaced his bitter feelings.
Later, as they walked home, Colin decided he had been stupid to get upset with Meghan; after all, a fancy affair was right up her ally.
Moreover, with everything that had gone wrong, or could go wrong at any moment (like another run in with Darcy demanding the Magicante), he decided to let her have the dinner and apologize. He just hoped his gut feeling was wrong when it came to Juliska Blackwell.
When they reached the Mochrie home, Meghan, Mireya and her mother were out shopping, Irving was at work, and neither of them could tell if Ivan was home yet or not. Colin did not recall seeing him leave The Steel Gin.
“I think I’ll start some dinner, wanna help?” asked Jae.
“Why not,” he said. “It can be our own little feast, to congratulate Meghan and Ivan,” they laughed, “on their trip together, to the Up and Comer’s Dinner.” They headed into the kitchen and to Colin’s displeasure, sitting on the table was another scribbled page from Corny.
“Seven,” counted Jae.
“They don’t make any sense. Look at this,” said Colin. The page was covered in black ink, with what looked like letters, but in no logical order.
“His mind is pretty screwed up,” said Jae. “Poor guy, probably trying to tell you he likes you or something.” Colin set it aside.
By the time they were finished cooking, the table was overloaded with food, and just in time.
All at once everyone began arriving home. Jae and Colin heard Sheila in the hallway.
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“So late, better get dinner ready,” she buzzed. When she came into the kitchen, she screamed in delight and astonishment.
Mireya lunged into the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” She saw the prepared table and giggled.
“What a treat!” exclaimed Sheila. She kissed Jae on the head and patted Colin on the shoulder.
“I have such blessings,” she said. “This looks lovely, boys.” They also discovered that Ivan had beaten them home and had been upstairs the entire time.
Colin wondered how he could be so quiet. They hadn’t heard him moving at all.
Meghan sat opposite Colin but refused to look at him. Mr. Mochrie walked in moments later and joined the table. Jae and Colin gave a shared toast, congratulating Meghan and Ivan.
Meghan cheered up a little after realizing that the dinner was her brother’s way of saying he was sorry. Near the end of the meal, Irving Mochrie cleared his throat and congratulated the twins and Jae, on passing their school exams.
“I should have mentioned it this morning, but in the chaos of the invitations, I did not. I apologize. It is important to understand that passing is something to be extremely proud of.” Irving glanced at Sheila.
Colin had a sneaking suspicion she had told him to do it. Regardless, Colin was glad to see Jae looking happier.
“Oh, by the way,” said Ivan. “Another message arrived this afternoon.”
“Busy day. What about, Ivan?” asked Irving.
“Apparently, on the evening of the dinner, Banon Blackwell is sending a carriage to fetch Meghan, and, uh… myself,” he said with sour hesitation.
“A ride to boot, you’re just moving on up, you two,” admired Sheila.
Colin couldn’t get jealous at this news; the look on his sister’s face, as the reality set in, made up for all her anger towards him that day.
I am going with Ivan Crane! I will have to ride all the way to Juliska’s with Ivan Crane.
Meghan turned stone cold. Then, she caught a hint in her mind of Colin laughing.
“I’m never talking to you again!” she exploded, abruptly leaving the table, running upstairs.
The first one to speak, to everyone’s surprise, was Ivan.
“She’s hard to understand, your sister,” he said to Colin.
“Yes, she is,” Colin agreed, inwardly laughing about the irony of Ivan’s statement.
Colin went to Grimble the next day. Safe or not, he needed to talk to Uncle Eddy. He explained the Up and Comer’s Dinner, and ranted about how unfair it was for Meghan to be invited, and how he was sure Juliska couldn’t be trusted. After finishing, Colin took a deep breath, as he had spoken without taking one.
“That was a mouthful,” said Uncle Eddy. “What’s really upsetting you, Colin? I’m sure it’s not the dinner party.”
“No, it’s not the dinner party,” he admitted shyly. “I wish Meghan would listen to me. I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is, Uncle Eddy, I just don’t trust Juliska Blackwell. I have seen her with Meghan, treating her all nice and special. Meghan always falls for that kind of thing.
Juliska looks at me though, as if I am some kind of annoyance.
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“And… When is it my turn?” his rant continued. “She always gets everything! I’m older and smarter than her, only a few minutes, but older. She always calls me her little brother,” he mocked. “And look at me! I am little! My little sister is taller than I am.”
“I see,” said his uncle. Colin felt relief for finally saying what he had been thinking. At the same time feeling humiliated for admitting it.
“Come, sit, Colin,” motioned his uncle.
Colin obliged.
“Don’t ever,” commanded Eddy, “let anyone, including your sister, make you believe that you are any less of a person because you might be smaller than them! Let me ask you something, Colin. How do you feel after you use magic?”
“Great,” he answered truthfully. “Powerful, like I could do anything.”
“What’s stopping you from feeling that way all the time?”
