Tales of magic: grimoire of transmogrification

  Chapter 45

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  Arc 2 – “The hunter and the beast”

  Chapter 29- “Inhuman”

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  Two boys stood, side by side. They looked to be at least eleven or twelve, and one was taller than the other. They both had black hair and green eyes.

  “It's nice out here, we could rest for a moment.”

  “No soldiers after us.” Tears flowed freely from his eyes.

  The taller one sighed.

  “I'm sorry.”

  “What for?”

  “This isn't what you want. If we had taken Darwin's offer, we won't have this kind of life.”

  “... It's not your fault.”

  Ein picked up a pebble.

  “You're right. It's the Crown.” He tossed it over to the water.

  “That bi..”

  “No, William. Dad wouldn't have wanted us to talk like that.”

  “What does it matter? He's left us. He's fucking dead!” He stood up.

  “William!” Ein raised his voice.

  “What are you? Ein, what the fuck are you? How are you always calm? You haven't shed a single tear. Are you really eleven years old? Are you even human? Did you ever care? Or is this just like sword practice to you? Is that it? Fucking answer me, damn it!”

  Ein was quiet for a while. There was a tense silence in the air, that was broken when he spoke up. His voice was calm, and level.

  “Am I human? I don't know. I do what I do, because I have to. I love you. And I just want you to be you. Our father left me in charge. It's what I have to do. Do I ever feel fear? Yes. Do I ever feel sad? Of course I do. But I don't let it get in the way of what needs to be done. Now, I'm not asking much from you. Just let me be the sword that protects you.” ~ 1869. Pridon river, Greenville, Pridon.

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  2nd May, 1886.

  Weidson, Pridon.

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  Veronica.

  She took a deep breath, sighed and shook her head. Then she and stared at the mirror. The feral look in her eyes was still there. She had become a monster.

  ‘No. I'm being melodramatic.’

  Veronica, I know that's your name.

  “Would you quit it?!” She snapped smacking the small mirror to the ground, cracking it. She panted a bit afterwards.

  No...you don’t seem to get it. You see, I own you.

  “We made a deal.”

  We did. But who is going to make me honour it? You’re not a Mage, girl. Your words don’t have Power or Authority. You’re an innocent. The spirits don’t honour agreements between things like me, and humans like you.

  “But we made a deal, didn’t we? I take complete control for now, and you don’t bother me. In exchange, I’ll... relinquish my freedom to you at night-time when I don’t interact with anyone. That way I keep the fact that you exist a secret.”

  Mistake. You speak as though you have freedom. You’re just acting human for me when you’re around other humans, so they don’t notice. I still own your body.

  She hated that sentence. She hated everything about that last sentence, but somehow she managed to not show it. Veronica adjusted her dress one last time, and put on her fake smile. Then, she left the room.

  “It’s about time you got out of there.” Lancaster commented, comfortably relaxing on the sofa.

  “Yeah.” Jordan added, meekly.

  ‘Jordan. You’re still the same aren’t you? You sound like you’re still thirteen.’

  “We can’t waste time flirting, Veronica. Jordan...”

  ‘What does he think he’s talking about?’

  “.. let’s get to business. We’ll start by giving personal accounts of what happened last night. Jordan, make it quick.”

  He nodded quickly. Then he took a deep breath and smiled boyishly.

  ‘Yep. Still the same.’

  “Okay... I’ll start from the beginning for your sake.” He glanced at Veronica, then he started. “I...”

  “We don’t have time for that.”

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  “You told me you’ll have everything explained right to the last minute detail, Lancaster. Don’t mess with me. I didn’t come all this way for nothing.” She shot back.

  “Fine. Start talking, Quill.”

  ‘Quill?’

  It’s the Mage’s title, if you weren’t aware. You made an incorrect observation. Your friend is much different now.

  “Lisa passed away. Then I found the killer. Realised now he probably didn’t kill her, but I..” Jordan clenched his fist.

  His eyes spoke volumes.

  ‘Yeah. You might be right. He’s been through a lot.’

  That wasn’t what I was talking about.

  “He told me the queen ordered her death. Told me magic was real. That if I climbed up to the top of the little mountain, I’ll get to see her. Of course I didn’t believe him. I just ... wanted closure. I wanted to understand why she died. But I didn’t get answers. Instead I ended up with this.” He brought out his quill from his pockets. All of a sudden, words started to form on the table. The words were: Pretty neat, right?

  “And that’s not the whole gist of it. I.. had to make a deal with a demon to obtain my powers. The deal was, I have to kill every other Mage. If I do, I’ll obtain the full Power of Magic.”

  “What if you don’t?”

  “I can’t not do it. I can make an agreement with another Mage, a truce- whatever you want to call it- but I... I don’t really know what’s going to happen if I don’t do it.”

  “Really?” She tried not to laugh.

  I’m not concerned about your human customs, but maybe you should be a bit more sensitive, if you want to keep being around these Mages.

  ‘You’re... Actually right about something. Why do I find his predicament funny?’

  You’re evil. That’s why.

  ‘Evil isn’t some label you could just slap on someone. I’m human, not evil.’

  Where did you learn that? Exactly what dimension are you from?

  “Really. Then... I almost got killed. The queen’s men. I fought my way past them until I got to her. She’s also a Mage. And she nearly killed me without raising a finger. Then I...”

  “Just go straight to the point Jordan.”

  “Right. The point is, I met Lancaster again, we fought evil spirits together and made one of those Mage agreements; my fainting earlier wasn’t normal- it was magic. Losing my finger was also magic. A sacrifice to the demon for more Power.... I ran away, we came up with a plan to take out William, so I don’t get killed by the queen, and the entire plan goes to shit because of some mad paladin and a diabolical werewolf.”

  “Jordan. You haven’t said a single useful thing.”

  “Ahh. What happened after we separated. I.. got beat up while trying to save her.”

  “Veronica?”

  Jordan nodded.

  Lancaster glared at her.

  “No offence but, she’s not that hot. And it’s not like she’s into you.” He whispered to Jordan.

  “You just said I had a chance.” He whispered back.

  “I also said you shouldn’t fuck it up. You already did. Knowing her, she’s probably even more grossed out by you. I mean, why would you do that? If you had beaten them with some cool macho-man energy, that would’ve been fine. But you got beat up like a wimp in front of her.”

  “I... never thought of it like that. She was in danger so I...”

  “So you rushed in without a plan. Typical. And you have a brain that works. You’re smart, Jordan. Use it more.”

  “I didn’t have any good spells.”

  “Nonsense. What about that thing you pulled with Lycan? And I know you’ve learnt a lot more. I read your diary. You had diagrams of cannons in there.”

  ‘Did they just forget about me? They’re not even whispering anymore.’

  And they have no knowledge of your extra 'features'.

  ‘I didn’t need your input, shithead.’

  “Now you’re the one wasting time here, Lancaster.” She said, with a loud voice as if she was trying to raise her voice higher than others.

  “Thanks V. Jordan, I believe you have more to say.”

  He nodded and started talking.

  “..And then I realised something important- which I’ll share later. I rushed over to finish your little plan when I was back on my feet.”

  “And the spell saved my life, but didn’t activate William’s curse because of what I decided to do with it. Good. I guess we’re caught up?”

  “No. I fought William. He beat me soundly... And then he refused to kill me. Then Lycan happened. Monsters swarmed in and... And he protected me. Till he was ragged and weak.”

  Lancaster’s smile dropped.

  “.. and he used a spell to send me away when the monsters eventually overwhelmed him. It would have saved my life, if Lycan didn’t literally tear my chest open the next minute.”

  “I’ll take it from here. You were actually saved by a miracle. No. I mean an actual miracle. The ultimate power of the god of justice and the god of light running through a paladin. Valkyrie- she ‘blessed’ you and I guess you have an ability granted by the gods.”

  “What?!!!” Jordan’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

  ‘How...Do they even believe their own words?’

  You know and understand that magic is real, don’t you?

  ‘They’re too many things that don’t make sense.’

  That’s the point. It’s magic. It can’t make sense. Although, if you look closely you might find recurring patterns and try to ascribe meaning to them. The same goes for magical phenomenon.

  ‘Why?’

  Boredom. Also, the more knowledgeable you are, the easier it would be to sustain your life. Which works for us, since your survival is the same as mine.

  “I can’t die?” Jordan asked.

  “You can. You just can’t die from that wound, and it won’t get any worse. It’s all it does, really.”

  “Why did she do that?”

  Lancaster smirked.

  “She has an agenda. She wanted Lycan dead, and using you, or rather, us to stall him until Hunter showed up was the easiest way to get it done. Simply put, she had a role to play in Fate’s elaborate scheme, and that’s what she did. Your wound was a miscalculation.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  “She told me. We were... bored. I’ve realised that she’s not that much of a hag after all.”

  Jordan just stared at him. His expression said he wasn’t happy.

  “You’re hitting on the abnormal unbeatable lady that nearly killed me.”

  “Wait a moment, exactly how many times were you nearly killed?” Veronica butt in.

  Jordan shook his head in response.

  “It doesn’t matter. I'm okay, now."

  “I take it that Valkyrie is the bitch that cut off Ashley’s head, right?”

  Lancaster stared at her with a suddenly shocked expression.

  “What?! That respectable lady would never stoop so low to do such a despicable thing... I made her do it.”

  Veronica got up.

  ‘This.. this is too much.’

  Is it? Your friend’s aren’t as noble as you thought, are they?

  Tears left her eyes.

  “What’s the matter?” Lancaster asked, serious.

  “What’s the matter? You just fucking joked about murder. That’s the matter. You killed her.”

  “She was trying to kill me. She had it coming.”

  “Fuck you. That was a human being. A human being that saved my life. I really didn’t know her long, but... She did so much to help me. But that doesn’t matter. The truth is, regardless of all that, no one deserves that kind of death. No human being deserves to be killed.” Veronica picked up her bag and started leaving.

  “Good to know. But humour me for a moment. What about Lycan.”

  “He was a monster.”

  “With emotions and feelings and all the crap that Ashley must’ve had. I’m not saying we’re saints. Far from it; we might as well be monsters too. But if you walk out that door, you’ll lose a lot more than your freedom, and your ‘in’ in our little magic club.”

  “Our friendship? Do you think it’s worth much to me. You’re killers!”

  “No. I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about your life. You see that thing inside you, it’s really evil. And right now, it could take control of you at any moment. But the real problem is Willie: Jordan’s good friend Willie. The bastard would probably kill you to make a statement to us. I can’t predict what he would think up next and if you don’t help us, you might as well be signing your own death warrant.”

  “I’ll rather die than be an accomplice to murder.”

  Foolish girl. To think you would pull a stunt like this.

  “I apologies for her rudeness, mages. I shall take her place moving forward.” The voice was deep and guttural. Her facial expression was also stiff and forced.

  Lancaster’s smile widened.

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  motivation if you catch my drift. I'll make it obvious- I'm one of those dumbasses who believed he could actually make money out of this. Now I'm contemplating taking this book to KDP.