Sinners of Magic (8 page)

Crystal raised her hands
heavenward.

‘
I saw her
with my own eyes, I actually spoke to a mystical being,’ she
whispered, pinching her arm to check she had not been
hallucinating.

Her chest muscles relaxed
enough for her to breathe freely again. Crystal lowered her hands
and glanced over to the boat. To her surprise, she saw it was
making its way towards her, pushed by an invisible hand. It glided
on the calming water, stopping only when her fingers reached out
and touched the bow. She peered inside to see Alfie rolled up in a
tight ball, his eyes screwed shut with his hands over his ears.
Without saying a word, Crystal turned back towards the bank and
guided the wooden boat safely to the sandy shore.

Chapter
3

‘
I still
can’t get my head around what happened yesterday,’ said Matt,
grasping the handle and opening the great double doors of the
library. His eyes, however, were extremely vigilant when he stepped
inside. Crystal shrugged her shoulders.

‘
I don’t
presume to have all the answers,’ she said, throwing herself into
the first vacant chair they came across, ‘but at least you’re alive
and kicking.’ Alfie cleared his throat.

‘
You know, I
really am sorry about what happened. I honestly don’t know what
came over me.’

‘
Oh, it
wasn’t your fault,’ Crystal said, stretching the tension from her
shoulders. ‘You were a pawn in a terrible game out there yesterday,
but thankfully, in the end we were not the losers.’ She breathed in
the heady smell of beeswax mixed with the natural aroma of
furniture polish. It smelt so good and the tension in her shoulders
slowly ebbed away.

‘
Let’s just
forget about it,’ she said, giving him a warm smile to show she
felt no animosity towards him.

‘
I agree,’
said Matt, slapping his mate on the back for good measure, ‘and to
think we’re back in this place,’ he added, screwing up his nose and
taking the seat next to Crystal. ‘You know, I wasn’t going to step
foot in here again after meeting you.’

An
unfortunate beginning to an unusual friendship,
she thought secretly to herself.

‘
Yes, I have
been known to appear a bit strange,’ she said instead, shifting in
her chair and frowning. ‘You see, I’m not entirely sure of the
powers I possess,’ she explained, reaching for a magazine, ‘but as
long as it all works out in the end, what does it
matter?’

Alfie moved towards a set of
three oak bookcases situated close behind them, showing a
tantalising display of hardback books. He thumbed along a few of
the spines, but it was obvious nothing held his interest. Instead,
he dropped like a sack of potatoes into a leather armchair and
watched Crystal leaf through the pages of the magazine. Crystal
caught his stare and he forced a tight smile, unable to hide his
bout of boredom. Somewhere in the building a clock chimed the
hour.

‘
Can you hear
that?’ Alfie suddenly asked the others. Cocking his head to one
side, he strained to hear a distinct sound. Crystal was amused to
see his eyes appear to dart in several directions at once and Matt
made the gesture of putting his hand to his ear, to help him focus
on the noise.

‘
Probably
bats,’ Matt said, losing interest. Crystal, however, wasn’t totally
convinced.

‘
That’s
strange,’ she said, sounding wistful, ‘I’m here most of the time
and I’ve never heard constant tapping like that before.’

After a minute or so her face
tightened, the noise clearly irritating her. Tap, tap, tap, the
noise continued. Crystal felt the earlier tension in her shoulders
returning.

‘
Do you want
me to go and investigate?’ asked Alfie, his voice sounding weak. He
didn’t really want to, but didn’t want to appear spineless after
yesterday’s performance.

‘
It’s
probably just a broken branch or an overgrown twig banging against
the window,’ said Matt, thinking of a rational explanation. ‘It’s
hardly anything to worry about.’

It was a slow, regulated beat,
precise in its elemental rhythm: TAP, TAP, TAP.

‘
What the
hell is that?’ Crystal snapped, throwing her magazine down in
frustration. She folded her arms and narrowed her glare to rest
upon Matt, making it obvious she wanted
him
to investigate. He accepted the
challenge and jumped to his feet, and she watched him with keen
interest, noticing how his eyebrows arched in
concentration.

‘
Look, it’s
coming from that window,’ Matt said, pointing to a small circular
hole above them.

Alfie started shaking in his
boots.

‘
What do you
think it is?’ he whimpered, with a crackle in his voice exposing
his anxiety. Matt’s face softened. ‘Oh, it’s nothing more than a
little bird,’ he said, pointing to something white. ‘Look, it’s
pecking like mad to come in.’ Alfie followed his gaze, suddenly
smiling broadly.

‘
Phew,’ he
said, shivering with relief, ‘it’s not something nasty
then.’

Climbing on a bench, Matt
reached up and fiddled with the latch. He could see storm clouds
forming, blowing high in the sky and scudding in front of the sun.
He switched his attention back to the handle. It was stiff with age
and he was struggling to open it. There was a clap of thunder
before the drizzle fell and he gave a small cry when the latch gave
way, allowing fine rain to splash onto his face. He pushed the
window wide, laughing with pleasure, his hands wet and slippery,
when the bird dived past him.

‘
Well,
there’s the culprit,’ Matt stated, jumping down off the bench.
‘It’s a white dove and it was adamant it was going to get in
through that window.’ Crystal walked over to the bird, which was
resting on the back of a chair. Something had caught her
eye.

‘
Why, it’s
got a strange marking on its left wing,’ she pointed out, moving
closer and craning her neck to get a better look. The bird flapped
its wings, clearly startled, before folding them back and settling
with a ‘coo’.

‘
It looks
like a fingerprint,’ Crystal stated in surprise. ‘No, actually it’s
thicker, more like a thumbprint; how unusual.’ The bird cooed at
her once again, bobbing its neck as though in greeting.

‘
I wonder if
it’s tame,’ Alfie pondered aloud. ‘Looks like it to me.’

‘
Mmm, you
could be right, but look, it has the weirdest coloured eyes I’ve
ever seen,’ Matt said.

‘
It’s plain
freaky!’ said Crystal, clearly ruffled by the bird’s presence, ‘I
think we should get out of here and go and grab a coke.’

‘
But it’s
pouring down,’ said Alfie, whining. ‘I don’t want to go out in the
rain.’

‘
It’s okay,
we can stay if you want to,’ Crystal said, shifting her shoulders
uncomfortably, ‘it was just a suggestion.’ A peculiar wave of
internal intrusion washed over her then, like something was trying
to tap into her psyche, and she grabbed her stomach, feeling
slightly sick. The dove spread its wings and took flight, landing
on the bench, its eyelids closing sleepily. She frowned, turning to
look at the bird.

‘
I’m sorry,’
she said, sounding confused, ‘but I suddenly don’t feel well.’
Crystal looked at both Matt and Alfie as she spoke, her blue eyes
turning troubled. ‘I know this sounds silly, but I feel like
something is trying to take me over.’ She became agitated, chewing
her bottom lip in distress. ‘It’s like someone else is here with us
and they’re trying to get inside my head, I can feel
it.’

Alfie
gulped.
Please, God, not another
vision
, he thought to himself. After the
day he’d had yesterday, he couldn’t face another drama.

‘
I’m getting
some sort of mental vibe,’ Crystal said, trying to explain herself
better. ‘I just need time to clear the fuzz inside my head,’ she
rasped, realising she sounded completely batty. Matt glanced around
the library, his shoulders were tense but he was relieved to see
there was nothing sinister lurking in the shadows.

‘
Do you want
to be alone, is that it?’ he asked, raising a dark eyebrow. ‘Just
say the word and we’re out of here, if that’s what you
want.’

Crystal knew he was being
perfectly reasonable, but it annoyed the hell out of her all the
same.

‘
No, of
course not, silly, leaving me isn’t the answer. It’s hard to
explain, truly; just give me a minute to pull myself together.’
After a moment Crystal looked as though the pieces of the puzzle
were finally falling into place.

‘
It’s all
getting clearer,’ she said, putting her fingertips to her temple,
‘I can see a picture in my mind ... I can just make out the faint
outline of a male figure. He’s small, with blood-red eyes, and he’s
extremely anxious. His natural movement is strange, quite jerky and
I believe he’s neither human nor animal, I just can’t quite see his
face ...’

She closed her eyes and then
blinked them open, turning her attention back towards the dove.
Unexpectedly, she dived onto the bench. For a moment, she thought
her legs would turn to water and flow away like a broken raft when
a strange feeling zapped her energy. With sweating palms, she
grabbed hold of the bird; it was clear it had been taken by
surprise and when she tightened her grip, it tried in desperation
to get away from her grasp. The terrified bird pecked fiercely at
her fingers, but Crystal refused to let go.

‘
What are you
doing?’ Matt gasped, unable to keep the shock from his
voice.

Crystal glanced over at him,
but her attention was snatched by the strange black mark on the
dove’s wing. She drew a shuddering breath before letting go of the
bird with one of her hands and she placed her own thumb over the
black mark and pressed down, hard. There came a guttural cry. A
blaze of green and red light erupted like a flame from a faulty
firework, followed by a rich, stimulating aroma, which no one could
later identify. A breathless enchantment darted through the smoky
atmosphere, causing a shiver of uncertainty to descend between
everyone in the room.

Crystal felt herself dragged to
the ground by a sudden heavy weight and lost her balance. Her eyes
were blinded by the intense blur of colour, but her fear of the
unknown only tightened her grip. The hazy glow faded away and in
its place sat a figure with Crystal’s hands clasped around a bare
throat. They both lay there, stunned, for what seemed like eternity
until a voice rasped in Crystal’s ear.

‘
Would you
mind letting me go?’

Crystal was scared, unsure of
what she’d done and refused, until she felt the intruder surge to
his feet, forcing her to follow, both of them white faced. She
stared at the strange-looking man for several seconds without
releasing her hold and she saw that fright competed with fury in
his eyes. She absorbed the dark hair, his unremarkable face and his
rather pointy ears. Her eyes ran over his sallow complexion and
stopped at his eyes, for they were as red as blood. He looked
almost human, but it was clear he was not, even though he was
dressed in simple clothes, a plain linen shirt and dark woven
trousers. From his belt hung a small silver dagger intricately
carved with a complicated design. The hilt flashed when he moved
his hip, a warning of its potential to kill.

‘
Who are
you?’ Crystal mouthed, unable to stop trembling.

‘
Isn’t it
obvious?’ the creature replied, pulling a grim
expression.

‘
Well, no, it
isn’t actually, but the main question is, are you going to hurt
us?’ she asked, suddenly tightening her grip.

‘
Hardly, and
anyway, aren’t you the one with your hand around
my
neck?’ the creature
hissed, flashing his hard eyes at her. He flicked his gaze to Matt
and Alfie and saw only their cold stare in return.

‘
Why is
someone like you here in our world?’ Crystal asked, her lips drawn
tight. ‘What do you want with us?’

‘
Well, if you
let me go I will try to explain,’ the half-human shot back. ‘Of
course, we could always stay like this,’ he added, placing his cold
hand over hers. ‘It’s your choice.’

She felt his cool fingers touch
her skin, but she was too afraid to let go. Matt walked over and
pulled gently at her arm.

‘
Let him go,’
he urged softly, but his eyes were filled with concern. ‘I think
you’re hurting him.’

‘
Well,
Hall-e-lu-jah,’ the creature said, when she relaxed her fingers
from around his throat, feeling his neck and making sure his
windpipe was still intact. ‘You have quite a grip there, young
lady.’

‘
What do you
want?’ Matt interrupted, pulling Crystal to a safe
distance.

The stranger took an unexpected
step forward.

‘
In answer to
your question, my name is Tremlon and I am a messenger sent here by
the Elf King Gamada, who rules the Kingdom of Nine
Winters.’

Alfie screwed his hands up into
fists and raised them to his chest.

‘
Do you have
a message for us or something then?’ he demanded, flexing his jaw.
Crystal stepped back and clutched one of his hands. She raised her
eyebrows, shaking her head at his unreasonable
behaviour.