by Diana Nixon
Didn’t he go out today? As much as I knew about the kid, I was sure he never stayed in the pueblo longer than a few hours. He was just that curious about everything that was going on outside their closed world, especially about the things that would put him in danger.
Suddenly, I heard the familiar voice asking, “Enjoying the night walk, Miss Clark?”
I turned around and saw Leno staring at me with those dark-brown eyes of his that in the darkness looked almost black.
“I need to talk to Songaa.”
“Isn’t it a little late for talks? The tribe rests at night. Didn’t you know that?”
His irony didn’t humor me. “It’s urgent,” I said firmly.
“Fine. Follow me.”
He moved forward, and I followed him. Even without seeing the colors of his aura, I could tell that he still hated me. I bet one of the reasons for his hatred was my friendship with Evan – the son of the man who once stole his future wife’s heart. Songaa said that Leno had been in love with Amitola since childhood. No wonder he hated not only me, but Dever as well. It took her away from him, and even though she returned and stayed to live with the tribe, and married Leno, life in Dever had changed her.
We walked through the invisible wall, shielding the pueblo and I immediately felt the presence of magic there. It was not just the tribe’s magic, created by the songs they were singing, or the magic that Songaa was capable of creating, and that I could so clearly feel all around the pueblo. There was something else…
I listened to my feelings again. Each spell had special energy that once felt, could be recognized everywhere. And this time was not an exception.
“Oh, no,” I whispered, terrified. Someone had been practicing masterminding. “Where’s Tai?” I asked Leno.
“He should be in his bed already.”
“No, he’s not.” I shut my eyes tight, hoping I would be able to find Tai with the help of Evan’s silver amulet that I once gave him. It was filled with Evan’s magic, and that was one of those kinds of magic that I could feel anywhere.
“What is it, Eileen?” Leno asked, worried.
“Take me to the river,” I said. I knew that whatever Tai was doing, he was close to the water.
“Can you explain what is going on?”
“Later.”
Leno and I went around the huts and headed down the path that I supposed lead to the river. I didn’t want to believe my feelings; neither Tai nor his family knew how dangerous masterminding could be. But I did… I saw the consequences of it, and I was pretty damn sure Tai was not even close to handling them.
At some point I switched from walking to running, hoping it wouldn’t be too late to stop Tai before his attempts to mastermind ended with success.
As soon as I saw him, I knew he was in trouble.
“Tai, stop!” I shouted, running to where he was standing, holding a snow-white rabbit in his arms.
“I said, jump!” The boy said to the animal. But the rabbit only started to tremble harder.
“Tai, you are hurting him,” I said, trying to take the rabbit away from him.
“Stupid animal!” He threw the poor rabbit into the river, and I bet he would die there if it was not for Leno who managed to catch him millimeters from the water surface.
“What do you think you are doing?” He said angrily, looking at his son.
“Don’t,” I warned Leno. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“Your mother will be very unhappy to know about what you have done to Robin.”
Tai looked at me and I saw tears glistening in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt him,” he said, sobbing.
“It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean that.” I picked him up and carried him back to the huts. Tai cried, with his head resting on my shoulder. I felt so sorry for him. It was not his fault that he was born gifted, as well as it was not his fault that he didn’t know how to control whatever he was capable of.
As soon as we came to Leno’s hut, he said, “I will take him to bed.”
“No. Let me do this. Please.”
His jaw tightened. He knew Tai would feel better if he just let me stay with him for a while, but what we saw just a few minutes ago still bothered him.
“Fine. But don’t stay long,” Leno said. “He needs to rest.”
“Okay.”
Tai didn’t say a word, until we were alone in the safety of his room. I closed the door and put him on his bed.
“Shall I bring you some water? Or better – something sweet?”
“No, just…stay with me.”
“Okay.” I sat on the edge of the bed and took one of the books I saw on his bedside table. “How about a fairy tale?”
He nodded in agreement.
I opened the book and started reading it. I was still too shocked after what I had seen at the river. Tai was trying to make the rabbit obey him, only he didn’t know that masterminding didn’t work on animals. For that, you needed to use some magic as well. But the main question was – what made him go to the river and torture the poor animal?
After almost five pages of reading, I realized that Tai was not listening to me. He was staring at something behind me, obviously thinking about the things that didn’t have anything to do with the evil forest monster from the fairy tale.
“Shall I read you something else?” I asked, hoping to distract him from his thoughts, that I was sure were far from good and happy.
“I’m scared,” he said, ignoring my question.
I sighed and closed the book; no fairy tale could help him tonight.
“I know,” I said, taking his small hand in mine. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“Why did you suddenly want to mastermind Robin? Did something upset you?”
I knew that Tai was a good kid, unless there was something stressing him out. Whenever he got angry, he lost control over his powers, like the day he burned Amitola’s wrists.
“The boys laughed at me.”
“Your friends? Why would they laugh at you?”
“We had been playing and one of them hit me with a ball. I threw it back at him and well, missed it. They started laughing at me, saying I can’t be a real man if I can’t play baseball. And I got angry. I said I could make them all do whatever I wanted, and they started laughing even harder. So, I went home and took Robin out of the cage. I knew that whatever I wanted to do was wrong and bad, but I couldn’t stop myself… Do you know if Robin is still alive? I didn’t want him to die.”
“He’s fine. Your father has taken care of him.”
“I’m so sorry, Eileen. I didn’t mean to do anything bad.”
“I know. But you need to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“Promise me you will try to control yourself. Even if you feel angry, it is not necessary to hurt others to make yourself feel better. There are other ways to calm down.”
“Like what?”
“Like training.”
“You mean practicing magic?”
“Yes. But I’m not talking about evil magic. I’m talking about something good. Think about your best friend, Zaltana for example, the one who made a bracelet for you. Would she approve of what you had done to your rabbit?”
“No. Never. She’s a good girl. And she’s very kind.”
“You don’t want her to think anything bad about you, do you?”
“I want her to be proud of me.”
“See? You care about her, which means you are a good boy too. Think about Zaltana next time you feel like doing something bad. Think about her reaction to your actions. You want her to be your friend forever, right?”
“That would be great. I like her.”
I smiled. “Then don’t upset her, okay?”
“Are you going to tell my grandpa about what I did? He will be upset…”
“Let’s make a deal – I won’t tell anyone about what has happened tonight, and you won’t do anything like that ag
ain. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Okay. Now, why don’t you try to fall asleep? It’s been a long day for you.”
“Why did you come to the pueblo? It was not because of me, was it?”
“I need to talk to your grandfather.”
“About what?”
“Your tribe’s traditions.”
He crinkled. “It’s boring.”
Again, his reaction reminded me of Evan and his words about the textbook.
I spoke again, “I love stories about different traditions. They may keep a lot of interesting information.”
“Maybe one day, I will love them too.”
“Well, if you come to Dever, you will need to read a lot of different stories, books, legends.”
“Will they let me practice magic as well?”
“Of course. But only after you learn how to do it properly.”
He put his hands under his head, and looked dreamily at the ceiling, as if he could see something there that I couldn’t. “I can’t wait for the day I will be able to go to Dever.”
It might happen sooner than you think, I thought to myself.
“It’s a wonderful place. I’m sure you will love staying there. Now, I wish you a good night, sweet dreams. And don’t forget about our deal, okay?”
“Okay. Good night, Eileen.”
I kissed his forehead, turned the lights off and left the room, closing the door behind me.
Leno and Amitola had been waiting for me in their living room.
“Is he okay?” She asked.
“He will be.”
“Leno told me about what happened at the river. I wanted to thank you, Eileen.”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“No, you did…a lot.”
“Well, I promised Tai no one would find out about the accident. So, try to not talk about it in his presence, okay? And his grandfather better not know about it.”
“I agree. I don’t think Father will like the news.”
Leno wanted to argue with that, but Amitola stopped him. “You came to see my father, right? I will accompany you to his hut.”
Leno spoke, “Eileen? I wanted to thank you too.”
It was a little surprising to hear those words from him, but considering the circumstances, I was sure they were sincere. Even though he was not Tai’s biological father, he loved him. I could see it in everything he was doing for the boy, and how he was worried about his future.
“Like I said, there’s nothing to thank me for. Don’t leave Tai alone tonight. He needs someone to look after him.”
“I will stay with him.”
“Good night, Leno.”
“You too, Eileen. And if you need help with finding your way back to Dever, I will help you when Ami comes back to stay with Tai.”
“Thanks. But I’ll be fine. A way back home is always easier to find.”
Amitola and I left their hut and headed to another one, where her parents lived.
“Tai was very angry, wasn’t he?” She asked while walking down the road, made of small stones.
“How often does that happen?”
“It got worse after you came here. Not you personally, I mean Dever.”
“I see… Well, it’s logical, considering Tai can feel the energy of his brothers there. Both are very talented magicians.”
Amitola stopped walking, turned around and stared at me, as if I were an alien or something.
“Who told you about Dominick and me?”
“No one did. I figured it out on my own.”
She lowered her eyes to the ground and said, “It was a mistake. What happened between us was just a stupid mistake.”
“How did you two met?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m in no rush.”
She sighed. “I used to be one of Dever’s students. Did you know that?”
“I did. Your mother told me.”
She nodded. “Just like Tai, I was very excited about going to Dever. My father told me so much about the university. I counted seconds until I could finally get there. He accompanied me to the gates and then one of my future professors welcomed me and showed me around Dever. I was as happy as ever. I looked forward to my first class. I remember how excited I was at the end of my first day there. I couldn’t make myself fall asleep that night. Every day, I sent letters to my father, telling him and Mom how much I enjoyed being in Dever. I knew they were happy for me, even though their life in the pueblo was so much different from the one I had in Dever.
My marks were getting better with each new practical lesson. I learned how to use different spells. I was so proud of myself. Then one day, a guy from a different faculty approached me, saying he saw me training; he thought I was a very talented magician. He said he could show me a few more spells and I agreed to follow him into one of the classes. But what happened there took away not only a part of my powers, it took away my desire to stay in Dever, as well as my desire to live… So, I ran away. But I didn’t go back home. I was so ashamed of myself. Of how weak I had become. I thought my family wouldn’t want me back. That’s why I went to one of the villages in the north of Britain that my father once told me about. I didn’t know anyone there. But I met a woman who needed someone to help her around the house, and I agreed to stay at her place and work for her. She was a human and it was such a relief to know that she couldn’t feel my weakness, or see how desperate I was in my agony. I woke up at the break of dawn and stayed up until I couldn’t feel my body. I worked in the house and in the garden, doing all the jobs the woman wanted me to do and even more. I didn’t want to stay without work, not even for a second. Because when I was busy, I didn’t have time to think about how miserable my life had become. I had been living like that for almost a year. Until one day, when I went to the market to buy fruits and vegetables for dinner. And there he was - all mature and so irresistibly handsome. Dominick Murray...
He was much older than I was, but I didn’t care. I fell in love with him. I guess it was love at first sight. He saw me staring at him, then he came closer and asked some random question about the village. But I was not listening to him. Because all I could think about was the power of magic that I could so clearly feel radiating all around him. I had never met such a strong magician before. I was fascinated by him. Then we started talking about Dever, because he could feel my magic too, though it was very weak. I told him about what happened to me, and he said he would help me restore my powers. He took me to France and introduced me to his family. I remember the look his wife gave me – she didn’t like the fact that I would stay in their house. But Dominick insisted. He said I could help them with cooking and I agreed. His wife didn’t feel well, and Dominick was very upset about that. I knew he loved her, I could feel that. But one night, I felt thirsty, so I went to the kitchen to have some water, and he was there too. Drinking scotch. He looked so sad, miserable even. I asked if there was anything I could do for him, and he said yes… Our gazes locked, and I knew I was lost. Lost to everything but the power pulling me to him.
Then everything happened so fast… By the time I realized what was going on, I was naked and Dominick was kissing me with so much force. I wouldn’t be able to stop him, even if I wanted to. But I didn’t want to stop him…”
She stopped talking, and I saw tears glistening in her eyes.
I didn’t say a word, or asked anything. It was her story to tell.
“A few days later, I realized that I needed to leave Dominick’s house. I couldn’t look into Mrs. Murray’s eyes. I felt awful. Like I took something that didn’t belong to me. Well, it was true, in fact. I packed my things and left without saying good-bye. I was so lost, I felt even worse than after what happened to me in Dever. I didn’t know what to do, so I went back home, to my family. And, of course, they were more than happy to take me back. Only a few weeks later, did I feel that something was wrong with me: morning sickness, bad appetite, dizziness… I was expecting a baby, D
ominick’s baby.”
“What did your father say about it?”
“He was shocked, of course. Especially after I gave him the name of my child’s father. He said that Dominick was a monster, and that he would never let my child live. That’s why I locked myself in the pueblo. Because here, he wouldn’t be able to find me. I didn’t want to get rid of the child, and my family would never let me do that. Then Tai was born. And again, I felt like the happiest woman in the world. He was such an adorable kid, still is. He brought something very special into life, he made me want to live again.”
“When did you find out about his powers?”
“I always knew he would be gifted. Only I didn’t know he would be that gifted. I started to notice the first signs when he turned three. Here and there, I saw something that looked weird to me. I had never heard about children demonstrating their powers at such a young age. I got worried; I thought something was wrong with him. I went to talk to my father and he said there was only one person who could help us understand what was going on with Tail. And so, he asked your father to come to the pueblo…”
Chapter 17
I opened my mouth in a silent question, a little shocked to hear Amitola’s words. “My father came to the pueblo? I thought no one from Dever has ever been allowed here before.”
“He has been here just once, but I remember that day as if it were yesterday. He told us to leave him and Tai alone. I don’t know what they were talking about, or what they were doing, but when they returned to the hut where my parents, Leno and I had been waiting for them, Frederick said that Tai would be fine. He just needed a little more time to develop his powers and learn how to use them.”
I wondered why my father never told me about his visit to the pueblo. It was not a secret, or was it?
“What about the amulet that Leno is wearing? It was created by Dominick, right?”
Amitola nodded. “He gave it to me when we came to France. He said it would protect me from enemies and dark magic, and help me restore my powers faster.”
