Shifting (7 page)

“I’m afraid that I don’t have much else to add,” said Eddy. “I never met either of you in person, but something kept me here in Grimble. Something nagged in the back of my mind that I had to wait for you.”

“Honestly, Uncle Eddy, we’ve never known much about our parents, so even the little you can tell is fascinating,” Meghan told him.

“I’m glad. I only wish I had more to tell.” His face smiled compassionately as he turned his attention to Colin. “Do you have your question ready?”

He did.

“How come I can do magic, Uncle Eddy?”

Eddy floated back and forth for a moment before answering.

“You are what the Svoda like to call lost ones, people who survived magic’s demise but whose families didn’t join a larger clan.”

The twins stared at each other in stunned silence.

“Is that why we can talk to each other?” Meghan divulged the truth before she could stop herself. It was a fact they usually kept secret.

“Can you? No, I do not think that’s magic related. I would guess that has more to do with your twinly bond,” he answered.

“That’s why we traveled around with Uncle Arnon isn’t it?” asked Colin. “If anything magical happened, he didn’t want us to get caught.”

“Yes. I am sure he wanted to raise you away from prying eyes.” They were saddened again at the memory of their uncle, but Eddy continued.

“And now you are with the Svoda. There is much you can learn from them.”

“So where do we start?” asked Colin, eager to begin.

“With the Magicante. If you don’t mind, Colin,” he gestured for him to take it out and hold it open. The leaves glimmered.

“Ah, Magicante! Any ideas on how this book works, either of you?” asked their uncle.

“When we were in trouble and asked for help, it gave it to us. Although it was quite unexpected, I might add. I guess you have to ask it?” answered Colin.

“Make sure you say please, though, Uncle Eddy,” muttered Meghan. “It doesn’t do rude.”

“A spirited book is it?” he chuckled. As his ghostly hands hovered over the leaf-filled pages, the book came to life.

33

“I see I’m moving up in the world,” a snide, bored voice announced. “Finally, someone with experience. Dead, but knowledgeable, at least.”

“See?” Meghan rolled her eyes.

“Magicante isn’t just a magical book, it’s original magic,” continued their uncle. “Magic long forgotten by most. If you ask for help, it may choose to help you or it may not. Or it may offer help, but not in the manner you might desire or understand.”

“Uh, okay. So I guess when we were first unaware of what it could do, it offered help, knowing we needed it.” Meghan tried to understand. Colin butted in.

“It didn’t offer me help when I was trying to save Meghan back in Cobbscott. Why?”

“What do you mean?” she demanded.

Colin realized that he had never explained to Meghan how he had gotten her home, when she had first fallen ill under the oak tree.

“Maybe before I continue, you should fully disclose to your sister what the book did and did not do. First lesson- never keep secrets from each other.”

“What are you keeping from me?” She bore into his mind trying to infiltrate his thoughts.

“It wasn’t that big a deal,” Colin said, blocking her. “After you stormed off, the book told me you were in trouble and I had to find you.” He explained the leaf tornado which led him to her.

“I wasn’t sure how to help you. I asked the book to get us out of the woods. But it wouldn’t, it told me I had another way.”

“Another way?” she questioned, adding, “I couldn’t even move. I was paralyzed.” Meghan shuddered at the memory.

Colin continued.

“I couldn’t move you and the book wouldn’t help me. I panicked. All I could focus on was getting you home, and BOOM! I was there.”

“Without the book’s help?” she asked.

The book answered her question.

“Not with my help, lassie. He didn’t need it, did he?”

“What I want to understand,” she whined, “is why can Colin do all this magic stuff, but not me?”

“Before we get to that, Colin, let me ask you, why do you think the book made you figure it out for yourself, instead of doing it for you?”

Colin recounted the incident in his head before answering.

“I think it was because the book thought I should learn how to do it on my own.”

“Correct. Magicante is a complex thing. Think of it as a textbook to end all textbooks. It will not, however, perform what it thinks you should be able to do for yourself.”

“So back to my question,” implored Meghan. “Why - can’t - I?”

“Have you tried?” enticed her uncle.

“No, I suppose I haven’t,” she answered less impatiently. “The first time the book helped us we weren’t sure that it wasn’t a fluke. Even after the second time, and Colin doing magic, it honestly didn’t dawn on me to try.”

“Well,” Colin started, “when I did magic the second time, before the Scratcher attack …”

“Again?” she questioned.

34

Uncle Eddy gestured Colin to explain.

“Remember when you sensed I was being bullied, and you came looking for me with Sebastien and Jae?” Colin bowed his head, embarrassed to let his uncle hear that he had been bullied.

“Yeah, I remember, you had this smug look on your face…” she exhaled and asked in a dark voice, “What – Did – You- Do?”

“It was a complete accident,” he insisted. “I didn’t realize anything would happen. I wished that the boys would freeze, and they did. Then they started yelling. I was afraid someone might see what I’d done, so I wished for them to shut up, and they did. I heard the spell wear off after I ran away.”

Meghan was dumbfounded that Colin had done magic, twice, before she had known about it.

What scared her most was that he had successfully kept this fact hidden from her.

“He must be getting better at blocking me,” she thought.

“Yes, I am!” He stuck out his tongue.

She mimicked him and then folded her arms in disgust. Uncle Eddy eyed them both apprehensively.

“I am afraid that before either of you can continue, this bickering has to stop. You must both find peace with each other. Your bond is strong, but it needs to remain so. Remember… no secrets.”

Once again, the twins found themselves in trouble for arguing. They tried to put aside their bitterness and continue.

“So how do I do it? Magic, I mean,” asked Meghan.

Uncle Eddy took a worried breath.

“Let’s start with something simple. Perhaps the book will allow some assistance, since it’s your first try.”

The book answered, this time with a snide poem.

Assistance I will give,

For the one that lives,

Although her brain a sieve,

Oh drat! We all know she can’t do it on her own!

Colin frowned at the odd poem, while sensing in Meghan’s mind a desire to kick the book.

“What would you like to try, Meghan?” asked Eddy.

“I don’t know,” she replied, unsure.

“How about something simple, like color changing,” Eddy prompted.

“Color changing!” she grinned. “How about my hair?”

It wasn’t exactly what Uncle Eddy had in mind, but it would work. Colin rolled his eyes and was about to make a joke, when Meghan gave him a glare; he put on a fake smile, motioning for her to continue.

35

“Book,” she tried to ask politely. “Hm hmm,” she cleared her throat. “Give me a spell to turn my hair sky blue.”

“As you wish your…” Uncle Eddy interrupted.

“If you don’t mind, stick to the spell, thanks.”

It sniveled and snarled under its breath. The pages flipped, stopping on a shimmering yellow leaf.

Meghan was thankful to her uncle for stopping the oncoming onslaught of contempt. She read the directions, which floated over the shimmering leaf.

“Although an insult to my knowledge…”

Hmpfff Meghan’s thoughts shouted.

A Spell for Blue Hair.

To have hair of blue in every strand,

Say three times, whilst waving your hand,

Blue hair everywhere.

To have blue hair just in stripes,

Please say thrice, while trying to be nice,

Blue hair here, blue hair there.

Meghan stopped reading. “I’m going to try it!” She stood up.

“But there’s more options, Meghan,” pointed out Colin.

“I want the first one, all blue.”

Colin was going to argue, but decided to play nice.

“Okay. Here I go. My first spell. Hope it doesn’t go wonky and turn it a bad blue, ‘cause that would suck.” She closed her eyes and waved her hand, palm side toward her face.

“Blue hair everywhere,” she repeated it three times.

After the third time, the hair on her head changed to a brilliant sky blue. She opened her eyes and admired herself in a nearby broken window.

“Too cool! I love…” she choked, looking down at her arms as bright blue hairs took the place of her normally blond ones. “What the…”

Torrents of laughter filled the empty mill, Colin couldn’t help himself; even Uncle Eddy got in a good chuckle. Meghan’s hair was blue from head to toe, including her eyebrows and arms.

She hiked up the bottom of her skirt. All she could muster was a low grumble.

“I guess,” Colin squeaked, “when it says everywhere,” he could barely talk, “it means everywhere.”

Meghan grabbed the book, snarling. A steady stream of insults churned in her mind: Reviling!

Ridiculous! Conniving little … Dang book thinks its sooo smug! Well, I’ll show…

A new bout of hysterics bubbled out of Colin. He had not laughed so hard since he could remember.

36

Meghan, humiliated, continued reading.

“Since you’ve decided to be smart enough to read all I have written…” Meghan ignored the sneering remarks, and the hysterical laughter bellowing from Colin, and read the final verse.

If blue on your head is what you desire,

Then what you need is a way to inspire,

Sing it three times like a children's choir,

And if you’re lucky (ha), blue will be your outcome!

“Be your… outcome?” She glared at the book, shaking her head.

It took all Colin’s strength to stop laughing, and feel even the slightest bit of remorse. It was possibly the most humiliated he’d ever seen her. Even more so than the night he’d found out about her crush on Sebastien Jendaya.

She mustered up what courage she had left and sang blue fire three times. The hair on her body returned to its normal color, and only the hair on her head remained blue. “At least that’s over!” she stated, plopping herself down. “I suppose,” she said, humbled, “That the first lesson is to read all the instructions, first.”

“The first lesson was no secrets, but alas, number two. Understanding the entire picture, even on a seemingly simple task, requires complete knowledge of the situation.”

“Don’t worry. Think I’ll remember that one.” She took a deep breath, and then said, “I still don’t understand why the book helped us, before we even knew what it was?”

“I am sure when you first needed help it realized you would not yet understand.”

“So it’s a rude book, with a heart o’ gold?” she said smugly.

“It is said that a little bit of the creator’s, let’s say, humor and temperament, seeped in during the book’s creation. This book may have an off kilter sense of humor, but it will never fail you.

Again, I reiterate, you may not like the answer, or the solution, but it will never fail you.” He then asked, “Do you both understand so far?”

They shook their heads yes and he continued.

“Now, I…” Eddy was cut off by a shadow moving outside one of the broken mill windows. He chased it, yelling for the twins to stay put. They waited impatiently for their uncle to return, their thoughts wandering.

“If you’d told me a few months ago we’d find out our parents were magical, well, it’s so hard to believe,” said Meghan.

“I wish Uncle Arnon would have told us. Maybe things could have turned out differently,” he choked. “He gave up so much to keep us safe. Maybe if he had found a group like the Svoda, he could have had more of a home, or friends.”

“But the Svoda hide, too.”

“Yeah, but at least they still have each other.”

Meghan did not reply.

They remained silent, hiding their thoughts from each other. A few minutes later, their uncle flew back in.

37

“Saw a ghost, tried to follow him, but he disappeared before I got a real fix on him. Probably accidentally happened upon this place, but can’t be too careful.”

“Uncle Eddy, why is it so important for us to keep our magic a secret? Between the Svoda, who are magical, and the ghosts, who are dead magical people, would anyone even care?”

“Ah, yes. Something I did wish to discuss with you. Simply put, it may not matter much at all, and yet, doing things in the right order always works best. Your magic will come out when the moment is right, perhaps once they have begun trusting two new strangers.” Colin heard a hint of suggestion.

“If I understand what you’re saying,” said Colin, “we should try to make a good impression, get people to like us and then maybe they will be more accepting.”

“Something like that, yes, Colin.”

“It would make life easier if they’d stop gawking at us all the time,” huffed Meghan.

Uncle Eddy laughed and then sighed.

“It’s already getting later than I expected. I’d imagine you’re getting hungry by now, so eat, and then off you go for the day.”

The twins realized they had been there for hours already and were starving. At the same time, they didn’t want their first day to come to an end so soon. They ate slowly. Even Meghan, whose first magical attempt went awry, didn’t want to leave. But the end came.

“Let’s plan on meeting same time, same place, tomorrow,” said Uncle Eddy as they departed.

“We’ll be here,” grinned Colin.

“One more thing. And this applies to both of you. Keep that book safe. Even if your magic does become public knowledge, or you get upset with it,” his eyes rolled to Meghan. “There are a lot of people who would love to get their hands on Magicante, and this one is meant for you.” Colin gripped it tighter.