Sinners of Magic (10 page)

‘
Come on, you
must have been doing something!’ Matt gasped, when she still didn’t
answer him and she pushed a wisp of her long, thick hair which had
fallen across her cheek away from her face instead.

‘
I’ve just
been doing some research,’ she told him when the curl slipped back
over her eyes. He felt a shiver run down his spine.

God, she’s so
beautiful,
he thought to
himself
.

‘
What are you
reading?’ he enquired, swallowing hard. Her reaction was guarded
and her face was set, resolute, and he instantly regretted asking
the question when she snapped shut the cover of a large book and he
let out a sigh of frustration.

‘
What’s so
top secret that you can’t tell me?’ he snapped, offended by her
actions. Crystal blushed when his eyes flashed with
anger.

‘
I’m sorry,’
she said, lowering her dark lashes. ‘I know I can trust you of all
people.’

Matt heaved a sigh.

‘
So, are you
going to share what you’ve learned with me then?’ he asked, moving
to her side. He thought back to that unforgettable day at the lake,
knowing he had a lot to thank her for. She had saved him and, in
return, he would try and do the same for her – one day.

Crystal’s eyes clouded.

‘
I’ve found
this old book on mythology,’ she explained, shrugging her
shoulders. ‘I thought it might help me understand a little more
about sorcery or that bird-man who, if my memory serves me
correctly, is called Tremlon.’

He nodded, remembering the
moment when the bird had transmuted before his very eyes.

‘
None of us
will be the same again after seeing him,’ he said, threading his
fingers through his hair and pushing it away from his face. Crystal
broke into a bitter laugh.

‘
You’re so
right there,’ she said, pushing the thick, leather-bound book
towards him. ‘None of us will ever be the same again, especially
me.’

He reached out and felt the
cool binding touch his fingertips. His eyes inspected the dark
cover. The book smelt of damp and old age, and a bronze clasp in
the shape of what looked like a Celtic symbol grasped the numerous
pages firmly together. He had never seen a book of this calibre
before and it needled him.

‘
Where’d you
find it?’

‘
In the
fantasy section, though I swear I’ve never seen it there
before.’

‘
It’s not
like you to miss a book of this size,’ he said, with a smirk that
reached his eyes. ‘I thought you said this place was your second
home.’

Crystal pulled a face.

‘
A mere
oversight,’ she said, rising from the chair and motioning for him
to sit. ‘Come here and I’ll show you what I’ve found so
far.’

His keenness showed as he
obeyed her. The warmth of her body trapped within the wood of the
chair made his body tingle.

‘
You’ve got a
warm bum,’ he teased, turning shy. They both giggled; two teenagers
learning how to become close friends. A slight draught brushed
against his left cheek and he bristled, his eyes alert.

‘
Did you feel
that?’ he asked, spinning in his chair.

‘
Feel what?’
Crystal replied, her attention returning to the book. She leant
over his shoulder and started to thumb through the pages but Matt
suddenly felt very ill at ease. He didn’t know if it was because
she was so close or if it was because something else was closer
still?

‘
Matt, you
okay?’

‘
No,’ he
said, his eyes hooded. ‘I guess it’s just my vivid imagination on
overdrive again.’

Crystal mumbled something about
being silly and tried to nudge him out of the way.

‘
So, what’s
so good about this particular book?’ he asked, shuffling his chair
to make room for hers.

‘
Well, for a
start the cover is not actually leather, but made of human skin,’
she told him, brushing her fingertips over the odd ripples that
covered the surface. ‘If you look closely, you can see all the
lines that make up the membrane.’ She had shocked him and Matt
recoiled, pulling his own fingers away from the cover, momentarily
repulsed.

‘
That’s
disgusting,’ he told her, flatly.

‘
You don’t
believe everything you hear, do you?’ she replied, her eyes filling
with amusement.

Matt bit the inside of his lip.
‘It looks real enough to me,’ he said, feeling his jaw tighten. ‘In
fact, it’s bloody gross.’

‘
It’s just a
legend,’ Crystal said, ignoring his outburst. ‘The story goes that
the skin represents an influential magician who believed he could
one day be brought back from the plateau of the afterlife. His
bones were buried in a secret location and he ordered his skin to
be peeled and soaked in the amniotic fluid of his first-born son,
the water that had protected the foetus in the womb. Once this was
done, the skin was turned into parchment before being made into
this unique book.’ He shut his eyes and allowed the vision to form
behind his lids.

‘
Nope,’ he
said, his eyes still closed, ‘that just doesn’t cut it for
me.’

‘
You have to
be more open minded,’ she told him, not the slightest bit amused.
‘After all, if you’re hanging around with me you’re going to have
to lose some of your scepticism,’ she added. His face relaxed and
he opened his eyes to see hers, bright and wary, fixed on his. He
noticed her arms were folded under her small breasts and he blushed
before having the decency to look away.

‘
Anyway, I’ve
managed to find out what Tremlon meant when he said I had Oakwood
blood,’ she told him, unaware of Matt’s bright-red
cheeks.

‘
Oh yeah,
what’s that?’ he asked, thankful for the diversion.

Crystal laughed.

‘
Apparently,
the bloodline can only be found from the realm of Oakwood
wizards.’

‘
Wow, that
sounds very mythical, doesn’t it?’ he said, grinning. ‘So tell me,
what evidence have you found telling you all this?’

Crystal shifted uncomfortably
before reaching out and turning the thick vellum to a page she had
bookmarked earlier. He felt a slight tremor move through his body
at her even closer proximity.

‘
See here,’
she said, pushing the book right under his nose and pointing to a
specific paragraph. He followed her gaze and slid his eyes over the
beautiful handwriting, written more than a thousand years ago. The
pages were large and thick, and the lettering was amazingly clear
considering its age, with sweeping illustrations inscribed with
meticulous detail. Matt pulled his chair closer, drinking in the
startling information, feeling the enchantment woven within the
pages begin to magnetise him, coaxing him to concentrate. He felt a
thrill of excitement when he traced his fingers over the thick,
gold letter imprinted at the start of each new page. The words were
written by a fluent hand, filling him with wonder.

‘
This is just
awesome,’ he murmured, with eyes wide with delight. He brought a
finger to his temple in concentration. Silence welled and his mind
opened to the spells and charms, lying like a mountain of goodies
for him to digest. The faint light of the library unfolded down on
him and he was unaware of the dimming surroundings. He turned over
the next page, transfixed. Drawings of colourful wizards jumped out
of the page at him and the words of sorcery waved like a magic wand
before his eyes, creating wonder in his mind. He eventually went
back to the paragraph Crystal had earmarked and, glancing up, he
pulled the table light closer so he could see the writing more
clearly.

... But there
were others, others who were special far beyond what we would call
a normal wizard or sorcerer. These wizards were born with
incredible powers, which were released with age and maturity. They
were given these gifts to protect the ordinary and the
extraordinary worlds. We have little knowledge of this band of
mages. The evidence we do have tells us they came from the realm of
Raven’s Rainbow. These wizards were strong, their sorcery not from
the darkness but from the white spear of light. If they disgraced
their own kind, the penalty was heavy, possibly even eternal
purgatory. However, there has been known to be a slither of
leniency, which was not always acceptable to the one who was
judged. If the magician was found to be guilty of a crime committed
against the realm he could, if granted by the Elders, be pardoned.
Banishment was only a minor luxury, but if they so choose, the
guilty party would have to give a living part of themselves to the
ordinary world. Whatever part they gave had to be done so freely,
only then releasing them from their sentence …

‘
This is
pretty heavy stuff,’ sighed Matt, mentally exhausted. ‘No wonder
you’re so troubled. Can you imagine having to give away your arm or
leg?’

‘
Well, I’m
not completely sure that’s what it means,’ Crystal said, pulling
the book away from him and taking her turn to gaze at the paragraph
once again. Matt sensed her turmoil.

‘
We aren’t
knowledgeable enough to understand all this,’ he said, trying to
ease her confusion, but then he saw a shadow cross over her
face.

‘
Come on, out
with it,’ he demanded, his eyes turning to slits. ‘I can see you’re
not telling me everything.’

Caught at a vulnerable moment,
Crystal decided to come clean and tell him all about what happened
at the lake and the full version of events, followed by her life
and her fears of who she might be. She spilled the beans to her
newfound friend, having a burning need to release the torment that
was eating her up inside.

Matt listened spellbound for
the next few minutes whilst she poured out to him the constant
dreams and visions she had suffered since early childhood. She
shared with him her innermost secrets of how she had saved him and
what she had awakened deep below the surface of the waves. She
stopped only to draw breath, exhausted by the rush of words that
spilled like wine from her lips. Only a moment’s silence engulfed
them before it was shattered by an intruder’s voice.

Simultaneously Matt and
Crystal’s eyes darted into every dark corner and deep recess,
having recognised the voice. Uncertainty wafted between them and
Crystal worried as to how much the bird-man had overheard.

‘
And so we
are to meet again,’ Tremlon trilled, manifesting before them like a
ghost and Matt sprang out of his seat in surprise.

‘
Bloody
hell!’ he said, pointing his finger accusingly. ‘It’s the
bird-geezer again. I knew he was here, I felt him creeping about
earlier but thought it was just my stupid imagination.’

Crystal shrank back into the
shadows, taking the book with her.

‘
Don’t worry
about that old thing,’ Tremlon said, releasing a sly smirk and
pointing to the book. ‘I’m only too pleased you were able to enjoy
what’s written inside; I thought it might help you understand our
kind more.’

‘
Why, you
scheming son of a bitch!’ she yelled, clutching the book to her
chest. ‘I knew it wasn’t there before.’

Tremlon gave a hearty chuckle
and the book was torn from her fingers by an invisible force,
landing with a loud thud on the cold stone floor only inches from
his feet. Crystal rushed forward in panic, uncertain what he would
do next. She desperately wanted to keep the book, but she was too
scared to try and retrieve it and so instead it sat like a vast
rock between them.

Tremlon clicked his fingers and
the book vanished into thin air. Crystal gasped.

‘
I’ve merely
archived it,’ he said, in a peevish tone, aware of her look of
dismay. He clasped his hands together and brought them up to his
mouth as though in prayer.

‘
Crystal, I
have a proposition for you,’ he said, cocking his head to one side,
unconsciously imitating a bird. He watched for her reaction with
curious eyes. ‘Tell me; are you interested in broadening your
horizons?’

She looked bewildered, aware
only of her ribs moving up and down as she breathed.

‘
What are you
talking about?’ she asked, jutting out her chin in disdain. She
feared him, loathed him even, but deep down she knew he was the key
that could unlock the dark secrets that would tell her who she
really was.

Tremlon looked into her
beautiful blue eyes and saw raw hunger.

‘
I believe it
is your wish to visit my world, is it not?’ he probed, watching a
pulse twitch at the side of her temple. ‘After all, didn’t Gzhel
advise you to seek out the Elders?’

She hesitated, unsure of
herself, and that moment of delay sealed her fate.

‘
I have come
today at the request of the Elf King Gamada,’ Tremlon explained,
exchanging glances. ‘You’ve heard me speak of him before,’ he
reminded her with a toss of his black head.

She nodded; feeling her own
curiosity ignite she peered over at Matt and noticed he was looking
rather fractious.

Tremlon followed her gaze and
frowned. He sensed Matt’s devotion to the princess for it was clear
he adored her and this made the shape-changer all the more
cautious.

‘
It would
appear the king needs your help and he thought he could perhaps
strike an unlikely bargain with you. You help the king and in
return he will take you to speak with the Order of the Elders so
you can learn whatever your heart desires regarding your actual
birthright,’ he said, leaning his shoulder against a marble column.
Crystal looked at him in surprise.