Galena

The next morning, Jace didn’t find Maggie in the kitchen waiting for him to go to the bakery. He knew she would be upset after hearing about Diana, but he couldn’t even remember if he heard her come home. He went upstairs and lightly knocked on her door, but there was no answer. He needed to know if she was really in there, so he slowly turned the doorknob and found it locked. He let out a sigh and quietly dropped his head to her door. He didn’t know Diana the way Maggie did and couldn’t imagine how she was feeling right now.

Jace walked away from his sister’s door - knowing she wouldn’t tell him what was wrong if he was able to speak to her. He headed downstairs and left the house to open the bakery and begin the day. The morning rush was quiet which didn’t help keep Jace’s mind off what was going on with his sister.

“She’s grieving, Jace,” Emma let out, cleaning the case. She noticed Jace lost in worry the minute she came into the shop.

“I think it’s something else, Em,” he shook his head. He had his head in his hands and was trying to force out a headache that was taking over. He stood straight and looked over at Emma, “I don’t know why, but I feel it.”

“Maybe I should check on her. She might tell me what’s going on,” Emma suggested, which Jace agreed to. “Let me fix that headache first.”

“It’s that obvious?”

“You don’t normally squint in pain when you talk to me.”

They went into the kitchen where Emma pushed her healing power into Jace’s head again. The pain was relieved and Jace opened his eyes to Emma, who smiled at him. She kissed his forehead, telling him not to worry about Maggie and that she would figure out what was going on. She left the bakery immediately and continued her way into Kent to the Creed house.

On her way there, her stomach began to knot. Something wasn’t right. She picked up her pace and found the feeling of dread get stronger as she got closer to the house. She didn’t knock when she reached the house. She used the key Jace gave her and went right inside.

What she didn’t expect was Benzi standing in front of Maggie, in the middle of the room, barking at a six-foot Void. Emma called for Maggie and saw that her entire body was becoming pure energy like the Void that stood in front of her. The Void grabbed Maggie by her arms and the purple swirls of magic surged faster up her arms and shoulders.

“Benzi! Get Marie!” Emma yelled to the wolf then pointed her staff at the Void. “Let go of her!” she yelled, shooting an energy ball at it.

The Void stepped forward to catch its footing and dropped Maggie. She fell to the ground and couldn’t push herself up to get away from the Void. She was too weak from the amount of magic trying to consume her.

Emma shot another attack of her white magic to lasso around the Void and just as it was about to hit him, he swung around and grabbed it. The wave of energy became solid to the Void and he whipped Emma back and forth, sending her across the room when he let go. But it wasn’t a room Emma found herself flying through, it was a field, and when she looked up, she saw Marie sucking a bubble of magic back into her scepter.

Marie shot an energy ball at the Void as it went for Maggie again. “You are not welcomed outside the Nothingness!” Marie called out, shooting another energy ball and stepping forward.

The Void stepped back with every hit and hissed at Marie.

“Stand back, fiend!” Marie said, standing next to Maggie. She knelt and looked at Maggie as Emma threw her own energy ball at the Void. “This is not my fight,” Marie told her, “Only you can kill this Void or else it will just keep coming.” She turned and shot another attack.

“I’m not strong enough…” Maggie let out, feeling the magic continue to surge up her neck.

Marie turned to Maggie again and took hold of her shoulders, “Why do you think Vivian’s seal broke so easily?”

Maggie’s eyes widened at hearing this, but before she could ask how Marie knew her mother, the Void pushed out a large amount of energy. The energy hit Marie and Emma, knocking them away from Maggie, who fell backwards.

Before she could move away, the Void grabbed her by the neck. It picked her off the ground and the purple energy moved faster up her jaw. Maggie could feel the stars in her eyes becoming brighter and knew she had to stop this Void before she was lost for forever.

Maggie grabbed the Void’s arm, feeling the magic in her hands swell up. “You’ve come for me for the last time,” she forced out, gasping for air between each word. She thought about Diana’s words during her lessons and pushed the magic through her hands.

In her mind she told her magic where she wanted it to go and watched as it went into the energy of the Void and traveled down its arms. The magic went up the Void’s neck and into its forehead, shooting through the stars in its eyes.

The Void dropped Maggie and let out a daunting scream as it was sucked into itself.

Maggie began to cough as she kneeled on the ground, catching her breath. She watched as the purple magic flowed back down her body and into her hands. When she leaned back, she was met with Emma rushing into her and wrapping her arms around her.

“Thank Yhden, you’re okay!” she shouted, tightening her hold on Maggie.

Maggie let out a tired laugh. “Where are we?” she asked, looking around.

“Welcome to Vorik,” Marie answered, with a smile.

“I’ve heard that name before…”

“Perhaps from your mother.”

“Who are you?” Maggie asked, being helped to her feet by Emma.

“This is my guardian, Marie,” Emma answered.

“And an old friend of your mother’s and Diana,” Marie said, giving her a sad smile. “Let’s go inside and talk for a few minutes. Emma, can you feed some of your magic into her, so she gains her strength back?”

Emma nodded and took Maggie’s hands.

Maggie watched as the white magic glowed around their hands. She felt the warmth of Emma’s magic stream into her and with every step she felt stronger. “You’re a healer-” she said, and Emma nodded. “I’ve only known one other healer…”

“Evelyn?” Emma asked, and Maggie’s eyes grew wide, nodding. “That was my mother. She also knew Vivian. Yhden brought them together just as they’ve brought me to you and Jace.”

“Does Jace know that you’re a healer?”

Emma nodded and walked with Maggie and Marie into the kitchen. “I’ve been healing his headaches,” she answered.

“Those headaches are his suppressed memories,” Marie said, sitting down with the two after handing them both a cup of tea. “I’ll be seeing your brother to help him soon. If you would like me to help you with your magic, I will. Pick up where Diana left off,” she gave Maggie a smile when she said this. “You can’t wear those gloves forever, Maggie Creed.”

Hearing her full name reminded Maggie of Heath. She never meant to offend him or make him feel a certain way and knew she had to speak to him. Even if he didn’t want to speak to her.

Maggie returned Marie’s smile and thanked her. “I’ll let Emma know when I’m ready,” she said, then asked “So you knew Diana?”

Marie nodded, explaining that she knew Diana and Vivian long before Maggie and her brother were born. She then congratulated Maggie on what she did in her mother’s base.

“Base?” Emma asked, looking at Maggie.

Maggie nodded to Emma, telling her about the Thaumaturgy base her mother created in the basement of the bakery. “I destroyed what I could to keep myself and my brother safe. Using that much magic drained me though… I didn’t have a healer to refuel me,” Maggie added, smiling at her friend. “Luckily Heath found me right before I passed out.”

“See!” Emma said, taking Maggie’s hand, “I told you he would be there! What happened?”

Marie noticed the look on Maggie’s face when Emma asked this and quickly changed the subject. Maggie didn’t stay in Vorik too much longer. She needed to clean up the mess the Void created before Jace came home. Emma volunteered to help, and Maggie gave Marie a hug, thanking her for everything.

“We’ll work on my magic soon,” she told Marie.

Marie smiled, happy to hear this and called for her scepter. She formed a bubble around the two and teleported them back to the Creed’s living room.

“So that was Marie, huh?” Maggie said, pushing the couch back in place with Emma’s help.

“That’s her,” Emma smile. “You know she could’ve taken on that Void herself.”

Maggie let out a laugh. “I knew why she wanted me to get rid of it,” she let out, putting the lamp on the table. “Em, you can’t tell Jace I have magic.”

Emma stood straight and looked over at Maggie. She held out her pinky, “I won’t.”

Maggie gave her a smile and linked her pinky with Emma’s.

They both turned to Jace who was coming through the front door. “You’re up,” he said, surprised to see his sister. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” Maggie answered, “Emma healed my-”

“Stomach bug,” Emma quickly said, “Poor thing was hurting.”

Jace let out a subtle sigh of relief. “So you know Emma heals,” Jace stated.

Maggie nodded. “If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what would’ve happened,” Maggie said, looking back at Emma, who gave her a gracious look. “I’m going to go take a bath. I’ll see you both tomorrow morning at the shop,” she added, going around Jace towards the stairs.

“Mags-” he said, turning around to her and making her look back at him. “I’m sorry about Diana. I didn’t know her like you did, but- I’m sorry.”

Maggie gave her brother a sad smile and nodded her head, telling them goodnight. She rushed upstairs and down the hall to her bedroom. She grieved Diana by almost turning into a Void, just like when she grieved her mother and Jace when she was younger. She grabbed a towel, but never went to the bathroom. Seeing her mother’s journal made her climb into bed and open the page where Vivian clearly wrote ′Maggie’, followed by a page worth of the mystery dialect.

She touched the writing and dropped her shoulders, thinking about almost turning into a Void again. If it wasn’t for Emma and Marie, she would never be able to understand what her mother wrote, and she would never get to see her brother or Heath again.

For the rest of the week, Maggie continued to check her eyes to see if the stars had come back and luckily it was just her hazel eyes staring back at her. She even checked her hands during the week and for once in her life she was happy to see her magic sitting at her fingertips.

Maggie went right back to work after the Void event, and while standing at the register counting jewls, Emma walked up to her and leaned on the counter, asking how she felt. Maggie glanced over at her, answering, “Much better. My magic is staying where it’s always been, and that Void is finally gone for good.” Maggie looked back at what she was doing and slipped the jewls into a deposit bag.

As Emma watched, she caught a small sadness in Maggie’s face. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

Maggie looked back at her and shook her head, “Nothing. Why?”

“Did you and Heath have a fight?”

Maggie let out a laugh. She knew that Emma was just teasing her, but she was right. “You can call it that…”

“What happened? Is he another reason why that thing came?”

Maggie’s expression told Emma she was right again. Maggie turned to Emma and hugged her arms across her chest. “When I heard about Diana, I went for a walk and ran into him… We hung out and things didn’t end the way they should’ve.” She shook her head, “I’m not even sure he wants to talk to me right now.”

Emma put her hand on Maggie’s arm, saying, “I think you still need to talk to him. At least tell him what happened.” Emma gave her a small smile and added, “I think you’re perfect for each other, Mags, and I don’t want to see you hurting because he’s no longer in your life.”

Maggie returned her smile and thought about her words. “Okay I will,” she told her.

Emma pulled Maggie into a hug and told her to be safe going to the bank. Maggie thanked her and headed across the shop and out the door.

“What were you two talking about?” Jace asked, coming up behind Emma and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Girl stuff,” she answered, turning to him and putting her hands on his chest. “I think Maggie needs a break and so do you.”

“I’ll agree to that.”

“Good because I want to celebrate your birthdays.”

Jace let out a laugh, remembering that Emma told him during her birthday she would make a day for him and Maggie. “You really want to do that?”

“Of course, I do,” Emma said, going onto her toes to softly kiss him. “I love you and I consider Maggie my best friend; and you both deserve a day about you.”

Jace smiled at her, “Okay. We’ll do it.”

Emma beamed with a smile, “Let’s do it Saturday. She’ll be at the market and we’ll make it a surprise!”

“Agreed. Let’s pick out a cake,” Jace said, taking her hand and leading the way into the kitchen.