Shifting (22 page)

“Yes, of course, Banon Blackwell. Right away,” he promised. “Also, thank you on behalf of myself, and Ms. Jacoby, for your hospitality this evening.”

He led the dizzy Meghan out the door, overhearing Juliska whisper, “Don’t be a stranger now, Meghan.”

“You’ve become quite the little chum to Banon Blackwell, haven’t you?” he interrogated, while assisting her into the carriage.

“Are you making fun, Ivan? ‘Cause honestly, I’m not in the mood.”

“In all honesty,” he said, “You look ill.”

“Thanks,” Meghan responded sardonically, adding, “My head is spinning.” The carriage took off with a start. Nona jumped onto her lap meowing raucously.

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“What is it?” Meghan asked. Nona, somehow, slowed her dizziness, bringing a clearer picture into her head. “Something’s wrong,” understood Meghan. “Colin!” she gasped. She had been blocking him all night, but he had been trying to reach her.

“I can’t feel him anymore, he’s…” She put her hands over her mouth, not daring to say what she truly felt.

Empty.

Alone.

Colin had always been in her mind; even when they blocked each other, the essence of the other was always there.

“Do you know where he is?” asked Ivan, not questioning how she knew he was in trouble.

“When I saw him last he was walking toward the wharf.”

Ivan dove into action, jumping out of the carriage, which was moving at a snails pace through the falling snow. Meghan and Nona were at his heels. They tried to run but the heavy snow impeded their progress. Meghan’s feet froze in no time; her dress shoes were no match for the weather.

As they neared the Mochrie house, Ivan veered off, grasping Meghan’s hand, forcing her to come with him. Once inside he threw a pair of oversized boots and coat at her, while explaining to the bewildered Mochrie family what was happening. They immediately dressed and minutes later all raced frantically for the wharf.

Meghan called out to Colin but he did not answer. They ran to every shadow that could have been her brother, but the forms were either frozen drift wood or jutting rocks. Then a petrified thought struck her.

What if he isn’t here? The truth was that Colin could be anywhere. He might even have wandered into Grimble. How would she ever find him? The bitter winds wailed with blinding snow, making it near impossible to see.

“Please answer me, Colin?” she begged. “I’m sorry, I’m not mad anymore! Please tell me where you are.” The emptiness inside her flourished, and tears froze to her plump cheeks.

“Are you sure he’s here?” asked Mireya. “How do you know he’s hurt?”

“Because, he’s my brother,” was all she could think of to say. “And no, I’m not positive he’s here, it’s the last place I saw him.”

“He said he was going for a walk,” stammered Jae. “I’m sorry. I should have realized something was wrong when he didn’t come back earlier.”

“You couldn’t have known, Jae. Let’s just find him,” she said with growing desperation.

Meghan and Jae both thought briefly on the demand they had not met: turning over the Magicante to Darcy Scraggs.

“I think we should sound the alarm,” said Irving. “We need more help.” Ivan sped off to heed Irving’s wishes.

“We will have the entire village searching if we have to,” insisted Irving. “Don’t worry! We will find him.”

In the distance, over the raging blizzard, a bell clanged loudly. Lights popped on and the Svoda village came to life. Ivan returned, and he was not alone. Two Balaton followed. Meghan was glad that Ivan had already explained.

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“This snow is falling harder with each passing minute,” one of them said. “We need to hurry!”

“We’ll check outside the wagons, too,” said the other. With a pop, they vanished.

The group then left the wharf, feeling confident they had searched every inch of it. Meghan was glad Ivan had forced her to wear boots; she couldn’t imagine what condition her feet would be in if she hadn’t. She walked onward, recalling that Colin had not been dressed for this weather either. The thought of him lying somewhere, buried, almost knocked her over.

The group called out his name, but not once did they get a reply. Irving and Sheila forced the group to stay together so no one would get lost; between their numbers and the blinding snow, progress was agonizingly slow. Thirty minutes later a Balaton materialized.

“Nothing yet, but anyone capable is searching. Banon Blackwell has been informed of what’s happening and sent her personal Balaton to help.” A second later, he vanished. The group trudged onward, making their way to the center of the village, hearing voices of other Svoda calling out for Colin.

The emptiness in Meghan’s mind was growing.

“How could I let this happen?” she muttered.

Only Ivan heard her.

“What do you mean? You didn’t cause this,” he replied, through the blustering snow.

“You don’t understand, Ivan. He’s my brother. My responsibility. My uncle would never forgive me if I let anything happen to him.”

“You cannot control what you cannot see,” Ivan told her. She was about to reply, when a faint voice entered her head.

“Colin! Where are you?” she yelled frantically over the storm. The group listened anxiously.

“He’s alive,” she yelled, “I can hear him.” Meghan remained cautiously still, sensing where he was. The connection was weak. She slowly walked in the direction that felt the strongest, leading them to a snow covered pathway behind The Steel Gin.

She walked as fast as she dared, hoping not to lose his presence in her mind, when she stumbled. There, below her feet and covered in snow, lay the blue and unconscious body of her brother. The sight of him stunned her and she couldn’t speak.

Irving, without hesitation, clutched Colin’s lifeless body, noticing his eyes frozen open in fear.

“Balaton,” he yelled forcefully. Two appeared, one of whom immediately grasped Colin and disappeared. Irving turned to the gathering crowd with a furious glare.

“Magic has been used against that boy!” he declared. The gathering crowd stood in paralyzed disbelief. This had never happened before.

The connection with her brother failed and Meghan grew dizzy, slumping toward the ground.

She was caught before her head collided with a protruding tree stump.

It was Ivan Crane who lifted her off the snow-covered ground.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

She gazed at him then, trying to remain conscious.

“I don’t understand,” she murmured, grabbing his coat for balance. She then lost consciousness and was whisked away as deftly as her brother. The Mochrie family, bewildered and exhausted, rushed to the hospital and awaited news of the twins.

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13

Meghan awoke briefly. A nurse gave her something to make her sleep. Her last conscious memory was that of her feet burning, the results of warming up too quickly.

Her dreams were vivid and strange. One second she was in Ivan’s nightmare, except that Jae’s broken body was joined by Juliska, Ivan, and the Mochries, all pointing and laughing malevolently at her.

Then, the next second, the pillar dissolved and the darkness turned to bright light. Meghan found herself sitting on a rose petal watching a woman sleeping soundly on a floating feather.

This merged into another dream, in which Ivan chased Meghan through the woods. She fell and he gently picked her up off the ground, whispering he was sorry. Meghan did not think he looked sorry though. Conflicted better described it.

His face leaned into hers, his cold breath hitting her face as he searched her eyes for some hidden truth.

“Oh God! Is he going to kiss me?” She cringed away.

He dropped her, his eyes turning furious. Ivan fell to the ground, yelling incoherently, punching his fists into the dirt.

“What you are does not change anything!” he shouted, as if regaining control of his conflict.

His eyes scathingly jerked from the ground to Meghan. He edged closer to her, like an animal stalking its prey.

“I will sacrifice anything that gets in my way!” he told her, pulling out a knife. Meghan screamed, inching backwards across the ground. He pinned her easily, raising the knife over his head, ready to plunge it into her body.

Then, he was gone. She was sitting in a dreamy memory of the old mill in Grimble, with her brother.

“Colin!” she yelled, hugging him fiercely.

“I was hoping I could find you,” he said. “It’s harder than I thought to track someone through their dreams, though.”

“You could not have found me at a better moment, Col. That last one was a doozy.”

“What was all that about, anyway,” he asked, having caught a glimpse of Ivan with the knife.

“Ah. Who knows! Stupid Ivan,” she blew it off, hesitantly adding, “I’m so sorry, Colin. What happened?”

“Don’t be sorry, Sis. You found me, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but none of this would’ve happened if I’d done what Uncle Eddy said, and kept the connection open.”

“True,” he replied. “But I have more important things to tell you, because I may not wake up for awhile.”

“I’m listening,” she said.

“I was ambushed.”

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“By whom?”

“Never saw anything but a shadow sneak up on me. But Meghan, they stole the Magicante.”

“What?”

“It’s gone,” he said.

“What do we do, Colin?”

“You mean what can you do? I don’t think I’m going to wake up any time soon, and I’m pretty sure Uncle Eddy’s not going to be happy when he hears it’s gone.”

“I wish he would tell us what is so important about that book. I mean, it’s magical and all, but what’s in it that he doesn’t want any one else to see?”

“I think that’s for you to find out, Sis. Just promise me you’ll be careful, whatever you decide.

Don’t go and do anything rash,” he begged, his voice growing more distant.

“Colin, don’t go, let me stay,” she pleaded. But he was gone. Meghan bolted upright, inhaling air deeply. The Mochrie household stood over her, anxiously, in the hospital room. The sunlight told her it was morning.

“Have some water,” said Sheila putting the cup to her lips.

“My brother, how is he?”

“I am afraid Colin is in a coma,” answered Irving honestly. “We are so sorry, Meghan. It appears someone used some sort of spell against him. Doctor Stamm is working hard to sort it out. Don’t worry, he will.”

There was only one thing Meghan could do. As soon as possible, she would go to Uncle Eddy and tell him what happened. Unfortunately, the visit would have to wait, as the doctor determined that she needed to stay for one more day. The Mochries went home to get some rest after the long night, minus Jae.

“This letter came for you while you were sleeping,” he said, handing it to her.

“It’s from Jul …the Banon,” she told him. “She says she’s sorry about my brother and hopes I am better. She says not to worry, that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”

“She is a good woman, Juliska Blackwell,” said Jae. Knowing that she was on the trail of the culprit, her thoughts strayed to the Magicante.

“Jae,” she whispered hesitantly. He leaned closer. “Whoever attacked Colin stole his book!”

“I was so hoping that was not the case,” he sighed. “I can’t believe someone hurt him, and all within the confines of the village. Something isn’t right!”

“I was going to ask you, I thought the Balaton always came if they sensed magic being used against another person.”

“In the past I would have always answered, yes. Unless, someone cast another spell to allow it.”

“Darcy,” growled Meghan, already planning her vengeance. “Ugh! Not Darcy. She was at the dinner last night.”

“I can’t imagine it, but Garner could have done it himself. We’d never prove that though.” Doctor Stamm arrived then, insisting Meghan drink another sleeping potion and rest. She fought, but he won in the end.

“What’s your next move, Meghan?” asked Jae, as the potion kicked in.

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“I’ve got to talk with Uncle Eddy. After that, I haven’t decided yet,” she said in a slurred voice, fighting sleep.

Jae leaned in again, whispering in her ear.

“Remember, you are the sister of someone who was attacked, it’s possible you’ll be followed.” Her eyes popped open.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised. “I’ll figure out something. I have to,” she said, her eyes closing again.

That evening, Meghan awoke feeling recuperated, but Dr. Stamm would not allow her to return home until morning, and only with a promise to rest for another day. Once home, Meghan thought she would go mad waiting for the right time to sneak away and visit Uncle Eddy. There had been no more contact with Colin since the first night; he was deep in a coma, farther than even she could reach. In addition, Ivan had barely shown himself since the night of the dinner party. Was he friend or foe? She wasn’t sure what to make of him.

Jae brought up dinner, and news; she was allowed out of bed the next morning. “I was hoping to go into Grimble with you,” he added. “Turns out my father needs me at the office. I don’t think I can get out of it.”

“That’s okay, Jae, I can go on my own.”

“What if something else happens, I’m not sure you should go alone.”

“Actually, alone might be better. I can hide more easily if I need to.”

“Okay,” he finally agreed. “Be careful, we don’t need you in a coma, too.” Meghan knew he was genuinely concerned and wondered, since they were talking freely, if maybe he would open up to her.

“You sure do work hard, Jae,” she said. “You must be a great help to your dad.”

“It’s all good training, I guess,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “Dad takes me to work, mostly so he can watch me practice.”

“I’ve never seen someone work so hard, not even my brother,” said Meghan.

“Colin’s smart, it comes easy for him. Not me. I think that’s why my dad keeps me working so hard, he wants me to succeed now, so it won’t be so hard later.”

“My Uncle Arnon always said school is important, but so is being a kid, which you can’t do later.”

“Your world is much different than ours.”

“I’m learning that,” she said, thinking of the argument she’d had with Ivan in the carriage. She yawned from the boredom of lying in bed all day.