Crystals and Criminals

by Lily Webb

  “Merlin’s Heart!” I shouted, thinking back to the immortality-granting necklace my parents had died to protect — the same necklace now in Heath’s possession after the Black Brotherhood tried to steal it from the magical vaults in the Bank of Moon Grove several months ago.

  “Precisely. For generations, magical folk have believed these artifacts to be nothing more than myth — stories of wonder to pass down to their children — but those involved in the governance of magical communities have known better.”

  “Are you saying these other two artifacts exist?”

  “They do, but no one knows where they are, or at least they aren’t sharing. Who could blame them?”

  “What do the other two do?” I asked, and a shudder rippled through me as I thought of the possibilities. If Merlin’s Heart could grant its wearer immortality, what were his other creations capable of?

  “In a similar vein to Merlin’s Heart, the Mind and Wand grant their wielders infinite knowledge and magic, respectively.”

  I furrowed my brows. “What exactly does that mean?”

  “Everything that Merlin ever learned, every piece of knowledge he possessed that he could share — an amount that was surely staggering; let’s not forget he’s one of the most accomplished, prolific, and revered warlocks in magical history — is stored in Merlin’s Mind, or so the stories go.”

  “Whoa. So, it makes you super smart?”

  Heath laughed. “Something like that, yes. But your comment about servers made me think of it.”

  Another thought occurred to me. “Why would Merlin want to make things like this? I don’t get it. For someone as smart and talented as he must’ve been, don’t you think he would’ve had reservations about creating such powerful objects?”

  Heath frowned. “No witch or warlock is without flaws, Zoe. I’ve researched Merlin for years — in fact, I wrote my magical thesis about him during my time at Veilside — and hubris appears to have always been one of his shortcomings. Some say he refused to accept the limits of his own mortality and physical form, so he created his Trinity to ensure he would exist through the ages.”

  “It sounds like you don’t agree with that assessment.”

  Heath smiled. “You’re as observant as ever. No, I don’t. I think Merlin was a young warlock with a mind too curious and too sharp for his own good. A warlock that powerful with no one to rein his more ambitious experiments is a dangerous individual indeed.”

  “So, what happened to him?”

  “He died creating the Trinity. Well, more accurately, he lost himself to his creations.”

  A chill zipped down my neck and across my shoulders. “Then these objects, these artifacts, they’re… Living?”

  “In a certain manner of speaking, yes.”

  “What happens if a witch or warlock without Merlin’s skill tries to use one of them?”

  Heath’s smile faded slowly, replaced by a serious, thin line of his lips. “There are few documented instances of such a thing happening. Remember, the artifacts are objects of myth.”

  “But you have one of them. The necklace, Merlin’s Heart. I’ve touched it too.”

  Heath nodded. “Correct. At least in that piece’s case, so far we know nothing negative comes from contact with it.”

  “Where is it now?”

  “Hidden. No one knows where but me. The fewer—”

  “People who know, the less likely someone else is to find it,” I interrupted, and Heath’s smile returned.

  “Exactly.”

  I looked Heath in the eye as the puzzle pieces fell into place. “You’re hunting these artifacts, aren’t you? You said you wrote your thesis about Merlin, and you already have his Heart…”

  His eyes twinkled. “There’s truly nothing I can slip past you, is there?”

  “What are you going to do with them once you collect them?”

  “What Merlin himself refused to do: destroy them so they never fall into the wrong hands. Perhaps you can’t understand the gravity of them yet but trust me when I say that these are the three most dangerous magical objects ever created.”

  “Is it even possible to destroy them?”

  Heath’s expression fell slightly, but he kept a smile on his face while he shrugged. “I’m not sure. No one is, but then again, no one has ever tried. I don’t mean to talk myself up, but I think if anyone stands a chance at that, it’s me.”

  I agreed — Heath was easily the most powerful warlock I’d ever met — but I didn’t want to think about what he might risk in the attempt… And what if it failed? What if the artifacts consumed him too?

  “Was this what you meant when you told me I’d one day have to run Moon Grove without you?”

  His smile widened, deepening the creases at the corners of his eyes. “Among other reasons, yes.”

  “What ‘wrong hands’ are you trying to keep these objects away from?”

  “I think you already know the answer to that.”

  “The Black Brotherhood,” I whispered, and shuddered at the sound of their name. For years, the shadowy group of warlocks had been working in the dark trying to undermine the Council and witches in Moon Grove at large. I still didn’t fully understand what they wanted, but I knew too well how dangerous they were — because they’d killed my parents in pursuit of Merlin’s Heart, and nearly killed me for the same object years later in the belly of the Bank of Moon Grove.

  Terrible possibilities raced through my mind as I thought about what the group might do with the power of all three of Merlin’s artifacts. “Do you think the Brotherhood is behind the attack on Madame Astra’s shop?”

  Heath shrugged. “It’s possible, maybe even likely, but I can’t say for sure.”

  “What else do you know about Merlin’s Mind?”

  “I’ve never seen it with my own eyes, nor has anyone else — as I said, it’s believed to be a myth thanks to its disappearance hundreds of years ago — but based on what I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot about these objects over the years, Merlin’s Mind is most often represented as a gemstone. They say Merlin wore it either as decoration in his warlock’s hat or, in other representations, as the centerpiece of a crown.”

  I raised my eyebrows at Heath. “A crown? He really was full of himself, wasn’t he?”

  Heath chuckled. “Perhaps, but not without reason. The man was a true genius. Modern, organized magic wouldn’t exist without his discoveries and inventions.”

  “Okay, but still… To crown yourself the king of the warlocks takes some serious arrogance. It almost reminds me of—” I froze as my heart caught in my throat. My eyes shot to Heath’s as I struggled to get the words out.

  “Reminds you of whom?”

  “Madame Astra,” I gasped. “It all makes sense. Dear Lilith, Heath! I think Madame Astra has Merlin’s Mind. That’s how she’s able to process all these queries to her app. Wait, wait, wait! Her crystal ball! How did I miss it? She plugged her app right into Merlin’s Mind, feeding it new information while it spits out answers like a central server. That’s why she won’t let anyone touch it and why someone stole it.”

  Heath’s eyes searched my face. “Are you sure?”

  Another realization struck me like lightning. “No, but nothing else makes sense. Madame Astra told me her family has passed the crystal ball down for generations… And she said the ball itself doesn’t have any magic, but what if it’s not the ball that’s magical?”

  “Hmm. For what it’s worth, and keep in mind that we’ve never been able to verify this, rumors maintain that Merlin’s Mind was last seen in the Starfall Valley area.”

  “That makes perfect sense! If the crystal ball really has been in Madame Astra’s family for generations like she claims, maybe that’s why no one’s seen the stone for so long. They could’ve been protecting it just like my parents were protecting Merlin’s Heart.”

  Heath nodded. “Which makes it even more understandable why someone would want to steal it. They must have figured out wha
t it was before we did.”

  “What else do the legends say about Merlin’s Mind? What happens to someone who tries to use it?”

  “Nothing definitive. There are stories of people without the requisite skills in mental magic having their minds overloaded by the sheer amount of information transmitted at once, but again, no one has ever confirmed these rumors.”

  I sat bolt upright. “Heath, that’s it! No one killed Rowena Norwood — Madame Astra’s crystal ball did! Rowena must’ve touched the ball during her reading at the business fair. That’s why she dropped dead with no evidence of illness or attack. Then Holly must’ve realized what the ball was after Rowena died, and after Carter Norwood fired her, she did something desperate. I always thought it was weird that the person who attacked Astra’s shop didn’t use magic and didn’t just teleport themselves away from the scene of the crime — and that’s why! Holly can’t use magic. It must’ve been her!”

  “That fits, but if that’s true, where did she get the vials of fire?”

  The final piece fell into place. “Derwin Moriarty! When I spoke to Holly’s kids earlier, they told me she had an appointment to see him, and it sounded like it wouldn’t have been the first time. Derwin’s a powerful warlock, he easily could’ve made those vials for her, which means he’s in on the scam… But why?”

  “Desperation makes for odd bedfellows,” Heath said as he stared me in the eye.

  “That’s it! They must’ve hatched the scheme together. Derwin told me he resented Madame Astra and the Norwoods for what they’d done to his business, so maybe he and Holly hatched a scheme to attack both of them for the fortune of Merlin’s Mind. Holly can’t use magic, and Derwin doesn’t have the physical capability to attack anyone, so they used each other. Seeing Derwin for Divination readings would give them the perfect cover while they negotiated.”

  “Exactly. No one would think twice about them meeting, nor find it odd that they had no other communication outside their readings.”

  I slammed my hands down on the table, making Heath jolt. “Her phone! That’s why she left it with the kids. It wasn’t because she forgot it, it was because she didn’t want anyone to track her!”

  Heath looked at me like he wasn’t following, but my mind moved too quickly to catch him up on everything. Instead, I reached for Holly’s phone in my bag and tapped to bring it to life. Just like Torin said, there wasn’t a passcode, so I swiped up on the screen to unlock it and Holly’s apps appeared. The crystal ball icon for Astra’s Answers was on the first screen, prominently placed in the middle of several rows of apps.

  The answers are always written in the stars, according to Madame Astra, and so that’s exactly where I wanted to look. Without thinking twice, I tapped the crystal ball icon and waited with my heart hammering as it loaded. There had to be a history of the questions Holly had asked. After digging through several menus, I finally found what I’d been looking for.

  A list of questions, each accompanied by an icon of a clock to show they were part of her search history, ran down the screen. There were so many questions I couldn’t count the number, but I didn’t have to dig through them long to find what I needed.

  Two days ago, Holly had asked a seemingly innocuous question: “Does Merlin’s Trinity exist?” I tapped it to see the answer and nearly dropped the phone. Written in Madame Astra’s signature cryptic style, it read: “Myths and legends are often rooted in reality. To find the truth, sometimes you have to reach out and touch it.”

  It was a veiled message that only Holly would’ve understood had Madame Astra not also shared the story of Holly touching her crystal ball with me. Astra must’ve had some inkling what was going on all along and been trying to clue me in without saying it — because she didn’t want anyone else to know what her ball really was.

  Which meant that Holly absolutely knew what it was when she’d touched it during her readings in Starfall Valley. I knew nothing about Holly’s magical background, but if I had to guess, I’d say she probably specialized in Divination, which would’ve allowed her to touch the ball without meeting the same fate as Rowena…

  All of which pointed to the fact that it was Holly who’d taken Madame Astra’s ball, AKA Merlin’s Mind — but if she and Derwin really were working together to steal the artifact then where had Holly gone after she’d done the deed, and what had she done with the crystal?

  A sinking feeling washed over me like I’d walked through a frigid waterfall. Something about the situation didn’t feel right. As I’d realized while I talked to her kids, Holly didn’t at all seem like the type to disappear on her kids, which could only mean that something had gone wrong somewhere along the line — and there was only one person left in town who might know what happened: Derwin Moriarty.

  Heath waved a hand in front of my face. “Zoe? Where did you go?”

  “I need to get to Derwin’s shop and fast. I think Holly might be in serious trouble,” I said and dashed toward the door.

  “Zoe, wait! This could be dangerous. I’m coming with you, and we should at least take Gorloz and Umrea along too.”

  I shook my head vigorously. “No, that’ll be way too suspicious. I have to go alone. If I show up with you and a couple gargoyles, Derwin might run — or worse. We have to catch him off guard, and he likes me. He’ll let me in.”

  “You aren’t thinking, Zoe. You have a baby coming, remember? I won’t let you walk into a volatile situation alone. It isn’t just about your safety anymore.”

  I instinctively reached for my stomach, and though I didn’t want to listen to him, I knew my days of charging in with my wand pointed were over. I sighed. “Fine. Call the cops and the FBI and the gargoyles and whoever else you want. Have them surround the building in case anyone inside tries to run but give me at least thirty minutes to talk to Derwin and figure out what’s going on before you storm the place. I won’t do anything stupid. I promise.”

  It was a promise we both knew I wasn’t likely to keep, but Heath caved anyway. “Okay. I don’t like this, but you’re right. I don’t see another choice. But please make sure you take your phone with you, just in case.”

  “Got it,” I said, patting the pocket of my robes where I kept my phone. “Now let’s go before it’s too late,” I said and dashed toward the door before I had the chance to form any second thoughts about what I might get myself into.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Minutes later, I landed outside Derwin’s Divination with all my senses on high alert. Heath insisted on tailing me with Gorloz and Umrea, but the three of them hung back to avoid alerting anyone while I attempted to work my magic on Derwin.

  The building was dark inside. Given the hour, and that most of the other shops in the area were also closed, it wasn’t unusual, but it still made all the tiny hairs on my body stand on end.

  I rested my broomstick against the wall beside the door and, unsure of what else to do, knocked loudly. “Mr. Moriarty? It’s Zoe. I was hoping I could talk to you more about your situation.”

  Several seconds passed without an answer, not even the shuffle of someone moving inside. Either Derwin had left for the day, or he’d never been there at all. Despite my heart thrumming in my chest and the shrill voice in the back of my screeching at me to call it quits and go back to the Town Hall, I reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist.

  The door creaked open, and I bit back the “Yes!” burning at the back of my throat. Evidently, breaking and entering had become one of my new specialties, but now wasn’t the time to let guilt slow me down. If my suspicions were correct, Holly could be in serious trouble, so if forcing my way into Derwin’s shop had the slightest chance of saving her, it was worth it.

  I slipped my wand from my robes and tiptoed through the dusty, musty space toward the room where Derwin and I had shared tea before. Unlike the first time, the door leading into the room was wide open and just as dark as the rest of the shop. I spotted Derwin’s recliner and the radio resting on the end table beside it,
which thankfully wasn’t on this time. Dishes sat by the sink, but from what I could tell they were all dry, suggesting Derwin hadn’t been here for a while — but as far as I knew, he lived in his shop, so if he hadn’t been here, where was he?

  Then again, maybe it was a good thing he wasn’t around. At least this way I could poke around without interruption. I raised my wand above my head and muttered, “Lumino.” A soft light emanated from the tip of my wand and bathed the room in a warm glow, revealing particles of dust pirouetting through the stale air as gravity pulled them toward the floor.

  Nothing immediately stuck out to me as unusual. Based on the way I’d found Derwin sleeping in the recliner, I guessed he had no need for a bed, but it seemed odd he didn’t have much else in the room. I passed the recliner and was heading for what looked like a dresser behind it when I heard a deep thud like something had fallen over nearby.

  I paused and brought my wand down to use it but when nothing happened after a few more moments, I continued on to the dresser to rifle through its top drawer. Unfortunately, I found nothing other than Derwin’s robes and underclothes, so I moved on to the second and third drawers but only found more of the same.

  A second, heavier thud jolted me from my knees where I’d crouched in front of the dresser. I froze, remaining still and quiet as I strained to hear. I couldn’t be sure, but what sounded like muffled voices drifted into my ears, coming from… Under the recliner?

  When the voices faded, I crept to the recliner and pushed it forward as quietly as I could. Its feet scraped and squeaked against the finished wooden floor, but I kept pushing until a round, wrought-iron handle appeared. My pulse doubled at the sight because there was no mistaking it: there was a trapdoor built into the floor of Derwin’s shop, which meant that I’d definitely heard voices from somewhere below — but whose were they, and what were they doing down there?