Sinners of Magic (11 page)

‘
How could I
possibly help an elf king?’ she asked, forcing her eyes to connect
with his.

‘
Well, I’m
not sure, I’m just the messenger,’ Tremlon stated, shrugging his
shoulders. ‘However, the king must believe you can do something to
help him otherwise he wouldn’t have wasted my valuable time sending
me here to find you.’

‘
You’re
messing with her head,’ Matt snapped, rushing towards him, his
fists raised in readiness to punch him. His eyes glared dangerously
at the shape-changer, his body taut with expectation.

‘
Hey, calm
down,’ said Tremlon, backing away and showing the palms of his
hands in surrender. ‘I’m not here to cause any trouble.’

‘
Don’t
leave!’ Crystal begged, fearful Tremlon was about to vanish, and
Matt turned to see the look of panic in her wild, blue eyes and
immediately lowered his fists and rushed to her side.

‘
I’m sorry if
you think I’ve just made matters worse,’ he said, putting his arm
around her shoulders and pulling her close. ‘I was only trying to
protect you.’

He felt the electricity from
her skin rush through his body, sending a strange sensation to
register in the pit of his stomach.

‘
Calm
yourselves,’ said Tremlon, when the atmosphere crackled with
uncertainty. ‘There’s no harm done, I never meant to intimidate
either of you.’ Matt saw Crystal attempt a weak smile and he, in
return, smiled back.

‘
Look here,’
said Tremlon, trying to lighten the mood, ‘let’s start
over.’

He held his breath, allowing a
gentle current to fill the atmosphere and he transmuted his body
into another shape. He changed so quickly that Crystal’s heart,
like her eyes, filled with alarm. Her legs buckled and Matt grabbed
her, her fingers digging into his flesh when she clung to him for
support.

The elf changed into the figure
of a woman; not just any woman, but that of Beatrice, her mother.
Crystal noted she was dressed in the wrong era of clothes, making
her look strange and out of place, but there was no mistaking the
remarkable resemblance to her mother: the greying hair, the plump
yet firm body. It was all much too real.

‘
No way!’
Crystal gasped, taking a step back. ‘You’re not my mum, you freak!’
Her mind swam with suffocating confusion. Did this mean that the
shape-changer had been part of some terrible conspiracy against her
all these years? Had Beatrice only been make-believe, a person
created through Tremlon’s ability to change into a human
being?

‘
It’s just an
illusion!’ Matt yelled, trying to reassure her. ‘It isn’t real,
it’s just a trick of the mind,’ he insisted, covering her hands
with his own and trying to make her see sense.

‘
It looks
real enough to me,’ she cried, pushing him away. ‘Tell me, is this
some kind of sick joke?’

There was a mumble in the air,
a whisper of words and Crystal saw Tremlon change back into his
human form. He tweaked at his clothes as though preening his
feathers, unaware of the distress he had just caused her.

‘
That wasn’t
bloody funny!’ she roared, and her eyes filled with tears. She
started to cry and Tremlon lowered his gaze and bowed to her in
apology.

‘
Forgive me,
Crystal,’ he said in earnest; ‘please, dry your eyes, for it was
not my intention to upset you.’ He reached inside his trouser
pocket and walked over to a spare table. Crystal could see his
fingers were curled securely into a fist. It was obvious he was
holding something tight in the palm of his hand and she strained
her neck to get a better look. She watched him open his fingers and
release golden particles no thicker than a grain of sand onto the
surface of the table. The sand moved when he swept his hand away,
moulding themselves together into a type of soft pyramid. A blue
flame ignited on its very peak and lazy wisps of smoke trailed into
the atmosphere. Tremlon bent his head and pursed his lips, blowing
out the flame and the sand scattered like rain to reveal to them an
incredible miniature, winged dragon.

Crystal’s tears vanished.

Tremlon looked up and was
pleased to see her face was filled with wonder and he let out a
sigh of relief. Crystal took a hesitant step towards the dragon,
her confusion and fear of Tremlon momentarily forgotten whilst she
peered in fascination at the tiny creature. Its beautiful dark
wings were stretched with a bat-like skin and its body was dark
green with scales of silver-grey woven into a hard membrane running
down its back. On its head sat five horned peaks of flesh. Its eyes
were the colour of amber, giving an effect of hot, bubbling lava
floating around the cornea.

‘
Is this
dragon for real?’ Crystal gasped, her troubled eyes lighting up
with newfound curiosity.

Matt appeared at her side,
peering with disbelief at the remarkable creature. The dragon was
so tiny yet perfect in every way; a real piece of magic.

‘
Yes,’ said
Tremlon with a smirk. ‘It’s as real as you and me.’

‘
It’s truly
amazing,’ Matt said, almost lost for words. ‘Why, it’s
beautiful.’

Tremlon opened his mouth to
speak, but a short snort came from the dragon’s mouth and an
energetic flame of fire left its nostrils, taking them all by
surprise. The flame only narrowly missed their clothing and landed
on a pile of abandoned books left by a previous reader on the
opposite table. The books exploded into flames and smoke bellowed
towards the ceiling, and Tremlon was startled when the fire alarm
went off.

‘
Oh no, we
need to turn it off,’ Crystal cried, grabbing a magazine and
wafting the air above her head. ‘You’ll have the fire brigade here
in minutes if we don’t get these flames out.’

Tremlon reacted by pressing his
thumb gently against the dragon’s back. The creature let out a wail
of protest and was forced to transmute. Tremlon stood back; the
dragon was gone but in its place stood a perfectly formed white
stallion. The miniature horse snorted and whinnied in panic,
kicking out its legs and its front hoof caught Matt’s hip.

‘
Ouch!’ Matt
said with a jerk. ‘Tremlon, will you stop messing about! Just
forget the party tricks and concentrate on getting rid of this
smoke before we end up in trouble!’ Tremlon nodded and then took a
long, deep breath, before blowing cold air into the direction of
the burning books. Ice and snow flew from his mouth, and like a
fire extinguisher the white mixture concealed the flames, putting
out the fire. His lips had turned blue and he wore a white, icy
moustache just above his top lip which in Crystal’s opinion made
him look like Jack Frost.

‘
Will that
do?’ he asked, wiping the ice from his lips with the back of his
hand. Crystal and Matt smiled with relief when the alarm suddenly
fell silent, their fear of him for the moment
relinquished.

‘
I am willing
to take you to my world if you’re ready?’ he said attentively,
assessing the situation. Time was moving swiftly and if he failed
to bring the princess back the consequences were something he
wasn’t ready to think about.

He moved towards her, trying to
coax her to come with him.

‘
I promise
you, no harm will come to you whilst you are a guest in my
kingdom,’ he said, extending his hand. ‘If you agree to come with
me, then we must hurry and make our way to the Kingdom of Nine
Winters,’ he cajoled.

‘
Why does the
king want me of all people?’ asked Crystal, hearing the urgency he
was trying to hide in his voice.

‘
All I know
is that the king fears an uprising from another realm,’ Tremlon
explained, looking slightly shifty, and she noted he was unable to
look her in the eye.

‘
But that
still doesn’t explain what that has got to do with me,’ she argued,
realising she still held the rolled-up magazine she had used to
waft away the smoke.

‘
I don’t
know,’ Tremlon admitted, lowering his gaze and looking at his feet,
’but the king has made it clear to me that he needs you and I’m
sure you would benefit from a visit to our land, of that I am
certain.’ Crystal looked torn and threw the magazine onto the
floor.

‘
It’s the
chance of a lifetime!’ Tremlon pressed, pulling his lips into a
tight smile, ‘and you won’t get another chance like this
again.’

‘
But how will
I get there?’ she asked, glancing at Matt and shrugging her
shoulders. ‘It’s not like I can just vanish into thin air!’ A
sudden bustle of noise brought them back to reality.

‘
Where’s the
fire?’ shouted the librarian from somewhere down the hall. ‘Can
anyone see any flames? We’ll have to evacuate, I can smell
smoke.’

‘
Quick! We
haven’t much time,’ Tremlon hissed, realising his mistake with the
dragon. ‘Crystal, are you ready to come with me?’ He grabbed the
white stallion and slapped it between his hands, causing sand to
spray out of his fingers and all over the floor.

‘
We must
leave now before I am seen,’ Tremlon said, backing away towards a
dark corner, unable to hide the fear in his eyes. Matt looked down
at the table and noticed a pile of manure left by the horse and he
screwed up his nose when he saw it steaming.

‘
That’s
disgusting!’ he said, appalled. ‘Why don’t you clear that up as
well before you leave?’

‘
Are you
coming with me?’ Tremlon asked Crystal, ignoring Matt’s outburst.
‘It’s now or never.’

A prickling at the edge of her
senses warned Crystal too late.

‘
Yes, we’ll
come,’ she said, looking at Matt for a sign of
encouragement.

‘
We!’ said
Tremlon, taken by surprise. ‘There is no we.’

‘
I’m not
going anywhere without Matt,’ she stomped, turning
stubborn.

‘
Hey, do I
have a say in this?’ Matt interrupted with a grin spreading over
his face, clearly pleased that she wanted him by her
side.

‘
No, you
don’t,’ she said, giving his hand a quick squeeze. ‘We’re in this
together.’

‘
So be it,’
said Tremlon, closing his eyes in concentration. He whispered words
in the old language, creating a spell. Crystal shuddered and
something shifted inside her; excitement, expectation. She felt a
rush and then at her feet dropped two thick animal skins, landing
with a thump on the floor. Surprised, Matt picked up the one
closest to him and stroked the thick pelt; it felt soft against his
skin.

‘
Why the hell
do we need fur coats?’ he asked, sounding confused. He bent down
and retrieved the second coat before offering it to
Crystal.

Tremlon winked and gave them a
huge grin. ‘Why on earth do you think it’s called the Kingdom of
Nine Winters!’ he said, bursting out laughing. ‘Come on now, isn’t
it obvious?’

C
hapter 5

The wagon was rickety and the
horses in need of rest and a decent meal. Crystal and Matt sat
huddled together inside the wagon for a shred of warmth and a slice
of humble security. The wooden wheels, worn from many years of use,
wobbled dangerously upon the road and each bulky stone they went
over rattled their bones.

Tremlon had somehow catapulted
them all into the extraordinary world and when they arrived, the
group had been greeted by five elf warriors who wore black livery
and dismal expressions.

‘
Nice
welcoming party,’ said Matt, eyeing a threatening warrior with a
sideward glance. He turned his head and caught the attention of a
black, beady eye and gave a shudder.

‘
Remind me to
never bump into one of those guys on a dark night,’ he mumbled
aloud, ‘why I’ve seen friendlier faces on death row.’

‘
These are
good elves,’ Tremlon interrupted, annoyed at hearing Matt’s
unfounded comments. ‘And they have been sent by the king to protect
you.’

‘
Why should
we need protecting?’ Matt asked, throwing a suspicious glare
towards the distant hills in search of sinister shadows. ‘I thought
you said we would be safe? You never mentioned anything about being
in any danger and how come we have to travel so far to meet the
king? I’d assumed your spell would take us straight to
him.’

Tremlon’s hand gripped the
leather reins.

‘
We have a
long ride ahead of us and we don’t know who or what we may
encounter on the road. These are dark and troubled times and we
must stay extremely vigilant. The soldiers are here to help defend
us should we meet anything untoward. You may think our magic can
shield you from harm, but it doesn’t work that way here. You see
you have to understand, strong magic is forbidden outside of our
kingdom, but not everyone abides by the rules.’

‘
Where is
here?’ Crystal interrupted. She was beginning to take more notice
of the lush green countryside and wide-open spaces that surrounded
them, suddenly aware of how vulnerable they could be to an
attack.

‘
This is the
passageway known as Cleric’s Ridge,’ Tremlon explained, flicking
his head towards the horizon. ‘Once we arrive through the gates of
our kingdom our magic is no longer bound and we will be
safe.’

‘
So why
aren’t you allowed to use strong magic outside of your kingdom?’
Crystal asked, wishing to understand the strange restriction a
little better.