Shifting Read online

  Meghan hurried back into the village wanting to get started right away in her journal. She stopped at the one open shop to get a pen. The man behind the counter showed Meghan his selection; she couldn’t get over the fact that she did not need to pay. He simply bid her a good day and sank behind a shelf.

  Colin found Uncle Eddy talking to Timothy in the old mill. After learning that Meghan had cut classes and not made contact, Uncle Eddy insisted that Colin send a leaf, once she had.

  “We also found out that after the holidays we are moving on,” Colin then informed him.

  “I assumed that would be the case,” said Uncle Eddy. “We still have some time, though. Come whenever you can.” This did not cheer up Colin, but he pretended to be happier, and told Uncle Eddy about successfully moving the pillows in class.

  “I did it no problem. I couldn’t believe it was so easy.”

  “Good, good,” he answered. “I had no doubts that you would fit right in.” The rest of the hour his uncle helped him get a start on his homework, and they watched Timothy play. Colin, too soon, realized it was time to leave.

  “No Meghan yet?” Eddy asked, hopeful of some news before Colin’s departure.

  “No, still nothing. She is completely blocking me.” Timothy followed most of the way back and left him near the wagons. When Colin arrived home he spied his sister sitting alone in the back yard, writing. He stormed through the house ignoring the Mochrie’s, and yelled at her.

  “Thanks for not telling me where you were all day! I had no idea if you were all right or not.”

  “I’m obviously fine! Maybe I didn’t feel like having you in my brain all day,” she whispered angrily, hoping no one would overhear.

  “Fine. Whatever. I’ve got to send a leaf to Uncle Eddy and tell him you’re all right. He was worried, too.” Meghan could see that her brother had been anxious, but for some reason, this made her even more furious.

  “Don’t worry about me, okay? I went for a walk, I needed some air!” 66

  “You know, I don’t think you can play by your own rules in this place. You missed classes all day, and the teacher is expecting you to have some kind of letter of excuse for not being there. I think she is worried that you won’t have enough practice time to pass to the next level or…” he stopped.

  “Or what, Colin?” she barked.

  “Maybe you would enjoy being the only thirteen year old in the elementary class, when Jae and I both pass, and you don’t.”

  Meghan jumped out of her chair and promptly left the backyard, huffing her way to her bedroom, sliding the curtain closed as angrily as she could.

  Days passed without the twins speaking, and each time Colin tried, Meghan made herself busy writing in her journal. Whenever Meghan thought she might try, Colin was busy impressing some student, or the teacher, with his ever-increasing magical abilities; something she was not improving on, and growing increasingly agitated by.

  The weekend arrived and they headed out to visit Uncle Eddy, not saying a word the entire way. As they arrived at the old mill Uncle Eddy instantly noticed that something was wrong.

  “You might as well spill the beans,” he said. The twins ignored each other. This did not please Uncle Eddy. “Listen!” he said, gaining their attention. “If there is only one thing you remember from what I teach you, it better be this. I understand you have been through a lot these last few months, but it is imperative that you stick together. You are both stuck here! You are both starting new lives. If you work out your problems, rather than ignoring each other, you’d at least be certain that you will always have each other.”

  Colin knew he was being foolish, but his sister had not been nice to be around lately.

  “That’s not true!” she objected, hearing the thought.

  “Oh, it’s okay to spy on my thoughts now, but I’m still not allowed in yours!”

  “If you were to try harder, you could block me out better!” she shouted.

  “Why would I want to block you all of the time, I don’t have anything to hide.”

  “And you’re saying I do.” She jumped up folding her arms tightly.

  “ENOUGH!” roared Uncle Eddy, stopping the twins in their tracks; it had sounded exactly like Uncle Arnon. “Did you not hear a word I said?” he added firmly. The twins quieted, and Meghan sat down, leaving her arms securely folded.

  “Uncle Eddy, you have no idea what it’s like to always have someone in your head, reading all your thoughts,” she said hatefully.

  “It’s the same for me, too,” Colin said, trying to calm down.

  “At least you’re talking now,” said Uncle Eddy. “You two need to work this out. This talent of yours can be of great benefit, but privacy of course is needed, for you both. You will have to figure out a way to make this work. Your lives have been entwined together since you were born. I am making this your number one priority! Remember, no secrets! If you let your bonds fail, these next few years could be even harder to live through.” The twins knew he was right, but were not yet ready to admit it to each other; they did do their best to get along the rest of the day.

  67

  He had them practice drawing energy and using it to perform spells. Meghan was slowly making progress, but was still far behind Colin; this irritated her tremendously, but she tried to not show it. Colin congratulated her when her spells did work, and she thanked him nicely, and by the end of the day they were back to getting along.

  Another day with Uncle Eddy was ending though. Meghan fed her kitten; she grew fast and could no longer fit into her pocket. Timothy arrived, happy to see the kitten looking healthy.

  “Have you given her a name yet? I’ve thought up a bunch if you need help,” and without waiting he began listing names. “There’s Waggles, Blackberry, although, she looks more like a fuzzy peach, and then there’s Athena, Bashful, Buttons, Cuddles. Another one I like is Jingles, and then Doodles.”

  “I think I’ve chosen one, but thanks, Timothy,” Meghan interrupted, realizing he could have easily continued for hours. “I’ve decided to name her, Nona Jacoby. She will be an elegant full grown cat someday; therefore she needs an elegant name.”

  “Nona it is, then,” said her uncle, as he escorted them to the edge of the mill, surveying the area.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Colin.

  “Just being careful. I didn’t bring it up, but last time you were here, Colin, I thought I caught someone watching us.” The twins glanced around, hoping Eddy was wrong. Their thoughts strayed to the Three D’s. “I’m sure it was my imagination,” he added. “Do be careful, though, and remember what I have said today.”

  Timothy floated alongside, as always, entertaining the duo playfully, as they worked their way homeward. They were caught off guard as a hideous looking ghost floated unexpectedly in front of them. Warts and scars covered his face and his clothing was torn and burnt. Timothy floated away, taking cover behind a nearby tree limb.

  “It’s Duppy, the mean one.”

  “Give it to me, now!” the ghost named Duppy snarled. Colin, as usual, froze up at the sight of the confronting ghost.

  “Give you what?” replied Meghan.

  “You know what I want! My employer won’t be happy until I have delivered it.” Meghan began to move as if she meant to walk straight through the ghost, grabbing Colin to get him moving with her.

  “Honestly, unless you can be more precise, you’re wasting our time.” The ghost then floated right up into their faces.

  “The book, the Magicante,” he accursedly grunted. “I want it now!” Meghan and Colin panicked over the knowledge that this ghost named Duppy knew about Magicante.

  “Col, ghosts can’t use magic on us, right?” she sent him.

  “No, at least, that’s what Jae said when we first met Uncle Eddy.”

  “Better get Timothy outta here, then.” Meghan then shouted, “Timothy, go find Uncle Eddy.

  Tell him there’s a ghost who wants our book.”

&n
bsp; Timothy was gone instantly and the ghost began backing away.

  “What? Afraid of our uncle?” egged Meghan. “Been waiting to get us alone, have you?” 68

  “You wait long enough and my employer might decide to handle matters… differently.” The ghost floated through Meghan; she ducked, but could not stop the eerie coldness from touching her as Duppy stabbed through her body.

  Just then, their uncle arrived and with his ghostly hands, threw what resembled a ball of light at Duppy, exploding him into a million tiny ghostly bits.

  “Are you both all right?” he asked hurriedly.

  “Yes,” they answered.

  “And the…” he said softly, hinting at the book.

  “It’s fine. What did you do to him? Has he moved on?” asked Colin.

  “No. Going to take him some time to put himself back together, though. You can’t kill someone who’s already dead, and you can’t make them move on, either.” He paused, and then added, “It’s called Sphaera. Saying the word allows magical energy to collect in the form of a sphere, or in my case, ghostly energy, and this energy can then be thrown, subduing your opponent. It does some serious damage, as you can see. In the world of the living, you would only want to use this spell in dire circumstances.”

  “Pretty amazing,” replied Meghan.

  “Double amazing!” added Colin.

  Eddy chuckled with a hint of concern in his voice.

  “You’re close to home now, so I’ll leave you,” he said. “But first. Keep that book hidden. Show it to no one. And don’t come back to Grimble until I have sent word that it is safe to do so.”

  “But when will that be?” protested the twins.

  “Not until I figure out why Duppy is spying on you and why he wants that book! Now go, quickly. And thank you for your help today, Timothy,” added Eddy.

  Timothy floated alongside the twins, leaving them at the wagon’s entrance. They stepped inside, secretly afraid that it might never be safe for them to return to Grimble.

  8

  The twins were vexed. An entire week went by without a word from Uncle Eddy. Their classes were getting more difficult as exam time rolled closer, although their tutor turned out to be Teacher Lindy; she’d taken a liking to the twins, especially Colin, who was excelling in all his subjects, unlike Meghan. The only time they saw Jae was in school; otherwise he was with his father, or on occasion, Ivan. Some nights he did not come home at all.

  “I’m concerned about Jae,” said Meghan one night before bed, noticing once again, he was not home.

  “Yeah, me too,” agreed Colin. Meghan grabbed her journal and scribbled a few notes down.

  “What are you writing?”

  69

  She answered hesitantly.

  “Something bad is happening to Jae.”

  “Can you use Firemancy to find out what?” he asked her.

  “Maybe, but I’m not sure how yet, which leads me to the journal. I started writing things down as they happen. I thought it might help me decipher what I see,” she lied, feeling guilty for not telling him it was Juliska’s advice. For some reason she felt protective of that knowledge.

  “Why couldn’t you tell me that before?” Colin questioned.

  “Not everything I do has to be public knowledge,” she replied hastily. Not wanting to argue she added, “I just hope I figure it out, before it’s too late.”

  “We can’t interfere with how things are done here,” reminded Colin. Meghan shrugged, departing the shared bedroom. She decided to take a bath, seeing as it was the only way to get any privacy, when she ran into the boy named Ivan. After a speechless moment, he disappeared into his room, saying only, “Goodnight.”

  “Ugh, that boy,” she snarled, not noticing Ivan’s door reopening. His spying eyes followed her until she was behind the door.

  Colin lay on his bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. A light rapping at the window startled him; a leaf was tapping gently on the glass. He opened the window and the leaf flew into his hand.

  A message appeared.

  “Timothy and I are fine. Still not safe to visit, so sit tight. There’s still time. Work hard for the exams and if anything happens, leaf me.” Colin wondered why Uncle Eddy did not sign his name on the leaf. He sent his sister a silent message, as she bathed.

  “Meghan, Uncle Eddy is fine, he sent a leaf.”

  “Great! Can we go see him?”

  “Not yet.” He heard her sigh.

  “Getting out of the bath, night, Col.” He grunted his reply. Meghan dried off and then sat in front of the fire. She did not want to fear it. Fire was supposed to be her ally. Nevertheless, as Meghan gazed into the flames there was no stopping the vision. This one was different, though, as Meghan was transported, as if taking part in it.

  She knelt on a pillar in a dark cavern. Dim rays of light gave away the edges, not more than six feet away from her on all sides. She crawled carefully, peering over the edge. She gasped, falling back to the center; a dark abyss waited below.

  “Hello,” she whispered, her voice bouncing off walls she could not see.

  A noise from behind startled her. She slid around apprehensively. A few feet away, just out of reach, another dim light snapped on, exposing another pillar. A small shape lay on it, moaning.

  “Hello,” she stammered. “Are you okay?” As the small figure rolled over, Meghan lost her breath; the body was shrouded in bloody gashes. An arm stretched out to Meghan, and a weak voice pleaded with her.

  “Meghan, don’t let it come back! I can’t fight it!”

  She searched in desperation for some way of getting to the other pillar, groping the edges of her own pillar, until she came face to face with the moaning figure again. The figure used its arm to shift the blood covered hair out of its eyes. Meghan felt her own blood drain to her feet and felt lightheaded.

  70

  “This can’t be happening,” she muttered. “I don’t want to see this!” It was Jae Mochrie lying on the pillar.

  “Please, don’t let it happen again, Meghan,” he repeated his plea.

  “Jae, I don’t know what to do, please tell me what to do!” Her eyes met Jae’s, but were immediately frozen on something new: a faceless silhouette rising over him. Her eyes widened and she struggled to find her voice. Jae saw the fear growing in Meghan’s eyes and he rolled onto his back to look.

  “No. No. No,” said Jae, putting his hands over his face.

  “Leave him alone,” begged Meghan, but the figure did not stop. The silhouette fanned into a dark mass, drowning Jae’s beaten body. With failing breath he screamed out in agony.

  “No! Not again! I won’t!” A new gash across Jae’s face appeared. His face jerked, staring directly at Meghan. She stared back in horror. His eyes had changed; they were not the same sad eyes she was accustomed to seeing. They were wicked. Then, they changed back to the eyes Meghan recognized. Jae was fighting it!

  “Kill me!” he dared the shadow. “I won’t do what you want!”

  Meghan did not want to watch anymore and collapsed.

  The dark mass transformed again. This time, however, it became a faceless, living being. It picked up Jae’s limp body, dangling him over the edge of the pillar.

  “Please don’t!” cried Meghan. Tears streamed down her face. She groped the edge of her pillar, trying desperately to reach out for Jae. “Why are you doing this?” she sobbed in helpless horror.

  What purpose did her gift serve, if she could do nothing but watch her friend suffer and die?

  Meghan took a daring glance at the being. Black burnished eyes pierced her own. She screamed and the hideous being dropped Jae into the black abyss.

  Meghan’s screams grew distant; she lay on the bathroom floor, with one hand in the fire, panting. Sunlight was creeping into the room; somehow, it was already morning. Her eyes wouldn’t focus and she thought she might be sick. Someone lifted her off the floor, but didn’t speak.

  She sat with her head between her legs and afte
r a minute her eyesight returned and the sick pit in her stomach subsided. And, as if she needed another shock to her system, Ivan Crane sat in a chair near the entrance of the bathroom. She grabbed her robe and pulled it tightly around herself.

  “Thanks?” she said dryly, as if asking a question.

  “I’d gather a pretty bad dream.” His voice showed no concern. She didn’t want to discuss it, especially with rude stranger boy, who stared at her intently.

  “I don’t remember,” she lied. “But I’m fine now.”

  Ivan took the hint to leave.

  “I’ve had bad dreams,” he mused, halfway out the door. “But nothing that ever made me scream like I was being murdered in my sleep!” His voice taunted her to argue, but she ignored it.

  “Great!” she said. “Screaming in my sleep, and in front of weirdo boy of all people.” With exhausting effort, she made it to her bed, trying to forget the alarming vision replaying itself in her head.

  71

  Mireya got up and dressed. Meghan stayed quiet. After Mireya was gone she sat up, grabbing her journal furiously ready to write. Suddenly, she was not so sure about writing it down.

  Somehow, it would make it real, plus, Meghan didn’t think it was possible she would ever forget the details of the vision. Still, she had promised Juliska. As she finished writing, changing the name from Jae to “unknown boy,” there was a knock at the door. She wondered who would be knocking, and hoped it wasn’t weirdo Ivan.

  “Who’s there?” she answered tentatively. Her brother poked in his head.

  “You up, finally?”

  “What are you doing knocking? Usually you just invade my head.”

  “I’m trying to be more… what Uncle Eddy said. More privacy.”

  “Oh. That’s really nice of you,” she answered, caught off guard by his behavior.

  “Breakfast is ready and it’s the Saturday, so no school or tutor today,” he reminded.

  “I’d forgotten,” she smiled. She came close to telling Colin about her vision but decided to keep it to herself; besides, she didn’t want Colin to worry about Jae (more than he already was).