Convergence

The little bell on the door let out a ring and we went directly to the counter. Rick waited patiently, but I glanced around trying to see if the old lady was organizing her merchandise.

“Yes, yes. I’m coming,” she called from the back. After a few moments, she walked out. “Oh, hello, young lady.” She glanced over to Rick. “I see you found your protector.”

“More of an annoyance than anything,” I mumbled.

“The book was stolen,” Rick said ignoring my comment. “We need a way to track it down as quickly as possible.”

“You lost the book! How could you lose the book?”

Rick became upset. “Can you help us track it down or not?”

“I can help you find it but there is not much time. Morgan must not be able to use the spells contained within.” She returned to the back and we followed.

“Okay, does anyone know why Morgan wants to control the universe? Don’t people or monsters or whatever have reasons for doing things?”

Rick shrugged. “Everyone has goals.” He said it all matter of fact.

She opened a door to what I can only assume to be a closet and reached into a cardboard box on the top shelf pulling out a black cloth. She held it in her hands and unraveled an egg-shaped white stone a little bigger than a quarter.

“This is a locator stone,” she said. “It can find anything, anywhere. All you need is a piece of the thing you’re looking for and it will guide your way.”

“But we don’t have a piece of the book,” I whined.

“Yes we do,” said Rick. He pulled a page from his pocket that, at first glance, looked like a recipe card with hand-drawn pictures around it. “This was the only part Ashe was able to get back before that boggart bit her.” He handed the page over.

“Nasty creatures, boggarts. Were you able to heal her?”

“Karissa healed her.”

Both of them looked at me.

“What?” I said defensively. “He took my hand and this gold light came out.”

“I did not think she would have her powers until the equinox,” the old woman said. “Perhaps she gained more than I thought when she held the book in her hands. It recognized her as its owner and just released the power to her willingly.”

“Is that even possible?” Rick asked.

“I have never heard of such a thing happening, but anything is possible.”

“She told me she’s always had her powers.”

“Always?” she asked.

“Ok, what is it that has the two of you bothered so much?” I asked.

“Not bothered,” said Rick. “Curious. Usually, all your ancestral magic is stored either in the book or a person. That magic is either passed down after the magical parent dies or by chanting the restoring spell under the first full moon of fall.”

The woman took over. “But if you can use your magic already, then it was too much for the book to hold. You are either the most powerful young woman out of an extremely powerful line of magic in which case you alone have the power to rule the magical world without anyone else’s help.”

“Or?” I looked at her wide-eyed.

She pressed her lips together. “Or there is another source of power inside of you, a power that we currently know nothing about.”

“But this Morgan person needs magical help?” I asked.

“You can rule over even him if you gain back all of your magic and learn how to use it,” said Rick. “Like I’ve said, your ancestral magic is strong. You’re far more powerful than he is.”

“And to do that, I need the book?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t want to find the book. In truth, I didn’t care what happened to the magical world filled with magical creatures I’ve never seen. The very thought that it even existed in the first place was too much for me let alone the idea that I could be its leader.

“Karissa?” Rick was suddenly leaning down looking directly into my eyes. He pressed his hands lightly on my shoulders. “Are you okay?” There was a genuine look of concern in his eyes.

I shoved his arms away. “Fine.”

“Is it too much, Princess?”

“Can we just go find the stupid book and get this over with?”

He folded the page and placed the stone on top. With his palm held flat, he chanted some words and the tip of the stone turned blue and started to flash.

“I guess that means it works,” Rick said.

The woman nodded. “When the stone turns red, it means that you are very close to your goal. It will flash in the direction you need to go.”

“Well, according to this, we need to go north for now.”

“And how do we get there?” I asked.

Rick smiled. “We fly.” He grabbed something hidden beneath his shirt and closed his eyes. A breeze from nowhere surrounded him and he called his fox cat. She appeared out of thin air in the same backflip manner I saw her disappear before and landed softly on his shoulder before giving him a loving nudge and a squeak.

“How is that tiny little thing supposed to get both of us around?”

“Just wait, Princess.”

“Daughter of Howe,” said the woman. “Where is the necklace I gave you?”

“What?” I vaguely remembered having one. “I thought I left it here.”

She smiled briefly. “Then it will find you in your greatest need.”

“What, like a deus ex machina or something?”

The bell on the door chimed and the old woman left to meet the customer.

“I’m just looking around,” said a young girl.

“If you are interested in them, I have made a display of love spells right back there.”

I heard the girl’s footsteps and the old woman returned looking upset.

“You must go quickly. Morgan already knows you have come to me for help.”

“How can he…?” I started to ask but she grabbed us and started shoving us away.

“This way, out the back. Hurry, boy.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rick gave the woman a peck on the cheek and dragged me away.

“Wait a minute.” I looked back at the woman filled with even more questions. She looked terrified. The last thing I saw was the girl standing at the pay counter and the old woman turning to talk to her.

We were outside when I heard the attack. Glass shattered and the ground shook with a series of explosions.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Who was that?”

“Another of Morgan’s minions I suspect.”

I was shocked. He didn’t seem to care at all about this woman who helped us. He was so preoccupied with that stupid glowing stone.

“What about that old woman? She needs help.”

“She’ll be fine.”

I turned to go back inside, but he grabbed my arm tightly. Next thing I knew we were up in the air on a giant form of his fox cat. I yelled and grabbed him tightly around the waist.

He coughed. “I can’t breathe, you know.”

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! We’re flying!”

“Uh, yeah. I told you we were going to fly.”

“I’m going to fall like this.”

“I won’t let you fall.” He said it so sweetly. “Put your legs on either side of Ashe so you can get a good hold with your thighs. You’ll feel more secure that way.”

“Open my….” I couldn’t tell him more of my prissy little habits. He would mock me even more, but riding the way he wanted was just… well, it was just un-ladylike. “I’m fine like this.”

I heard him laugh. “Afraid of heights, Princess?”

Not really, but it was better than him thinking less of me. “Yes, maybe a little.”

“I’ve got you and Ashe is very quick. She can catch you before you even know you’ve fallen off.”

Ashe let out a roar in agreement. She sounded like a tiger of sorts.

“Why didn’t we help that old woman? She was being attacked.”

“She’ll be okay, Kari.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“My great aunt, Augustina, can’t be stopped by anything.” He sounded so happy and proud to be related to her.

“Great aunt? I guess that’s why you kissed her.”

“Did it make you jealous?”

“What? No way!”

“I can kiss you too if you like.”

I would’ve let go if I knew the fall wouldn’t kill me.

“Besides,” he continued. “I’m sure she summoned her animal for help. Tula is a total badass.”

“What attacked her?”

He was silent for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“Well, what about that girl?”

“That wasn’t a girl. Didn’t you notice?”

“Notice what?”

“You can use magic but you can’t feel it around you? We have to fix that. That was some creature disguised as a girl. It could’ve been a demon, or it could’ve been Morgan himself.”

“Are we dealing with demons now too?”

He let out a huff. “Pretty sure I just said that.”

I let my head fall to his back. “I don’t think I understand these rules.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. We’ll beat this. Never for a moment do we doubt the power of our awesomeness.”

I let out a soft chuckle, but my anxiety was growing. There was no longer any way I could ignore the fact that magic and demonic creatures were real. After all, seeing is believing and I saw more in those first few days than I ever thought possible. It was in those moments that I finally realized the full gravity of my situation. It was in those moments that I knew a whole new world of dangers waited for me, a world I knew nothing about, and it scared me more than anything ever had in my lifetime.