PROLOGUE:
Seven Towers from what was once seven kingdoms, seven continents, hosting the mightiest of peoples. Corruption spread over the lands, the ground tainted with foul blood. Malice poured forth like water bursting from a dam, irreconcilable unquenchable like the furious blaze of the summer sun. This aftermath of a terrible battle between two siblings, still warm in the hearts of generations after beyond the times of memory and recollection
Chapter 1
Her eyes quivered, her top eyelids rose like a black curtain, then descended once again. She could feel herself being ushered forward hurriedly to some unknown destination, heard whispers and unidentified sounds. Throb, throb, throb, pain circulated around the crown of her head, like blood through its vessel. She squinted her closed eyes and furrowed her brow, a quick stab of pain shot in her head, then disappeared like mist before the beaming sun. It was warm, it was gentle, the bed she occupied seemed to draw her away from the world of the woken, back into the roaming halls of slumber, wandering, walking. She nestled into the warm embrace, then a flash shot across her mind’s eye, a black figure leaking menace, a burst of pain, kaleidoscope vision. She shot up in the bed eyes wide open, a tall slender woman stood before her. She had bright orange hair, and sharp but kind green eyes, with a fair beautiful complexion.
“Hua Le”, The woman said with a question mark embedded in her tone, looking down at her tablet, then placed it aside.
The blanket now fallen on her lap, seemed to possess a weight and a gravitas as well, then she gave a weak nod, paused, then shook her head faintly and mumbled in dazed correction, “Amy”.
Another sharp pain, like a meteor cleaving the foggy night sky. Amy put her hand to her head with a groan, the soft fabric of the bandages rubbing against her skin, her hand retreated hesitantly, ‘a bandage’? The woman sprang forward with an unnatural quickness, she gently pushed, she gently guided, Amy’s slightly swaying body back down onto the bed, her hands not straying in their direction, despite the weak, apprehensive resistance, gently pushing forward.
The woman’s soothing, bright and clear tone filled the room, seeming to linger in the air with a nurturing warmth, “Lie back my dear, sleep more, you are safe here. My name is Glyn, and I will be looking after you”.
The corner of Glyn’s dull purple blazer brushed against Amy’s hand uttering a whisper. As Amy laid down, her back conforming to the bed, the fabric thereof seemed to reach out, a tingling warmth crept up her spine, relaxation and a sense of slumber soon followed. As she drifted once more to the foggy shore, a word popped dimly in the gentle wake of her conscious, ‘Jeremy’. Amy opened her eyes again, she felt refreshed, rejuvenated, resting her head on the pillow she lifted her arm, felt where the bandage was before, to find it gone, replaced with her former forehead and black hair, ‘How long was I sleeping’, she thought.
“Looks like you recovered well”, Glyn said with a warm, gleaming smile.
Amy, an astute observer, noticed she had the same blazer as before; the time had not strayed too far from her previous awakening.
Before she could speak, Glyn held up an index finger in a gentle gesture, she tapped the screen of her tablet then spoke aloud, “Amy is awake Ian”.
“What happened?”, Amy asked, as visions, scenes, danced in her immediate memory: her breathing slightly labored, as she raised her arm for a drink of water in between strides, she visited places she and Jeremy would go. Then she had a realization, in a panic-stricken voice, that voice, her tone elevating in tension, “Where is Jeremy?! Where is my boyfriend?!”. As if she was withheld, entrenched involuntarily, in the rut of her most recent memory, like a movie plowing forward without a pause or stop button, she journeyed through her own narrative, “I stopped in this old Chinese medicine store…”, she lifted her right hand clutching a pure white wand in surprise gazing at it with intent, her voice trailed off as she studied it, “and this caught my eye…”, she raised her hand with the wand in a gesture of display.
Amy recalled the strange breeze she felt wafting along. She looked at her hand, feeling the warm throbbing hum emanating hence. She felt her hair stand up, stiff like blades of grass on her neck reaching for the sun. She stopped speaking, she went silent, reflecting, something was different, something was amiss, these feelings, these sensations, they were not normal, ‘Am I hallucinating’, she asked herself, then the bright starburst of pain flooded her memory, it was indeed real. The odd old Chinese man sitting by the register, with white flowing hair, and a long white beard. ‘It seems to like you’, he said with a cheery disposition, ‘You may take it, no charge’. Shuttering through the hurried plot points of her recollections. Why did Jeremy appear after a year of absence? After his deployment he never returned home, vanished like a trail of his cigarette smoke in the night sky. She looked at Glyn, with pleading eyes, hoping she would hold, possess, all the answers to her pressing questions, as she struggled to grasp her current circumstances. Clunk the door opened and Amy’s focus followed two tall men walking into the room, they seemed bursting with intent and focus. Their added presence seemed to press the air aside, like the soft glow of light from a window, glistening, reflecting in the foggy particles suspended in the dark, dewy morning breeze.
“Lass, Ian here is going to wave his tablet around you, just relax”, Glyn said in a reassuring tone.
“Good evening lass”, Ian said brightly, approaching the bed, but with intense rock gray eyes burning a hole in his smart device, “A wand that is interesting”, he looked up, his focus seeming to move like a spotlight as he positioned the tab above the white object in her hand, “Haven’t seen one like this before, we haven’t used those for centuries”. The phone vibrated audibly in pulses, Ian silently brought the phone up to where her healed wound was, hovering around where the blemishing, brutal blow had been wrought. It continued vibrating. The tablet dinged, “We got a hit”, Ian remarked calmly glancing at the other blond-haired figure standing silently with his hands in a trench coat. Ian stood straight, stepping backwards, “Liam, the lingering presence from the wound is not natural.”.
‘Manner of creature’, Amy scrunched her face in puzzlement, ‘cloaked’, ‘creature’, ‘presence’. Amy frantically studied the two men, hoping she could gleam some sliver of information, a glimpse of an answer from their appearance.
“What about the wand”, Liam asked, looking, with his blue eyes, and wavy blonde hair, at Ian. Ian replied, as he showed the screen to Liam, “It cannot determine the source”.
The anxiety welled up in her throat, wound tight like a ball of yarn, she could no longer restrain herself, no more could she endure the tension, her desperation fueling her courage to break the stiff atmosphere, she spoke out her voice rising in volume with each syllable, but still calmer than before “What happened, where am I, where is my boyfriend?!”.
“Well…my dear lass…”, Liam said, his voice laden with uncertainty, hesitant to divulge, “Though it may be hard for a human to accept, sheltered as you were”, with a relenting shrug he continued after a pause, “You were attacked by a creature not of this world, that wand in your hand, contains a strong source of unknown magic”.
Amy opened her mouth to speak, her eyes blinking in disbelief, and before a single whisper could escape from her lips, Ian carried on the explanation, carrying answers, but not the one she wanted to hear.
In anticipation she followed every word, keen to get an answer, “Wands are magical tools, conduits of magical energy allowing the caster the ability to amplify their flow of magic. Never has there been a wand imbued with magical energy, they merely relay the energy”. Amy studied Ian’s face as she listened, his black hair contrasting, with his light skin tone, “As for Jeremy”, he strode forward grabbed a chair, the legs made a metallic thud as they alighted on the floor, Amy felt the comforting weight of his hand on her shoulder, “He has yet to be discovered, we have people looking for him though; we did not notice or smell any hints of his blood, we believe he somehow escaped, judging by his background he probably protected you, saved your life”.
Sitting up for a while now, she sank again into the bed, in contemplation, her intellectual enzymes digesting the information presented. Her eyes wandered in the brightly lit cream-colored room, roving from individual to individual. She noticed the badges they had, some type of organization they were. The room was not in a hospital, at least not one she had witnessed before. However, it did appear to be some type of treatment room, a few chairs, a desk in the corner. Her eyes caught Liam’s, and he smiled warmly. They were patient, waiting for her response, soft and understanding, but they had a purpose, an objective, they nudged her along, metering and measuring the startling information in increments.
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Ian looked inquisitively at the wand, and asked in thought, musing to himself, “She got the wand from the Chinese medicine store, where not a soul was found, despite merchandise displayed”. Looking at Amy Ian smiled, Amy met his attention, with a puzzled face she looked at him. With all the benevolence and good will he could bring to bear, he said, “We believe you should stay with us for the time being”, before she could protest, he held his hands up in a calming motion, “Now, now, we know, you are wanting answers my dear, and quite frankly so do we, and considering the nature of this mysterious situation”, he looked around, at Liam and Glyn, as they both nodded, “We believe it is safer for you, lest current history should repeat itself”.
The danger she could not ignore.
Liam stepped forward, winking at Amy, with a smirk on his face, “We should take the lass with us, there is no safer place for her than under our wings, I think it would be beneficial to apply herself rather than staying, stewing here, besides I am sure she has ample motivation”.
She considered what happened hitherto: new unnatural sensations, unbelievable words being spoken. She was faced with an emerging new reality, or these people must be crazy, she must be crazy. But she must find Jeremy, her heart compelled her so, she tightened her grip, and these people, were her only solution.
With a glint in her eye, and hope brewing in her heart, Amy glanced up shyly at them, then she nodded silently, and spoke with a quiet, intrepid gratitude, “Uhm…”.
A sound in between a soft yelp and squeak emitted from Amy’s lips, as Glyn released her tablet and it stayed suspended, supported by a force invisible. All doubt of the veracity of their claims vanished like a vapor. Glyn chuckled, standing, amused by Amy’s response. Ian took Amy’s hand, and helped steady her as she arose unsure, uncertainty clinging to her every movement, into this bold new world she pressed into as they exited the room. A soft but radiant light illuminated the cream marble floors. Click click, the sound of Glyn’s heels echoed off the rock walls. The three in front of her, walked leisurely, but focused. The sounds of their clothes shifting, shuffling, as the garments appeared to whisper amongst themselves. ‘Clothes’, Amy looked down, her mind elsewhere had forgotten about the clothing she wore. She looked down, she no longer wore her leggings, they were replaced with stylish perfectly fitted jeans and a light blue satin blouse. She looked at Glyn, she seemed to possess a great sense of style, refined but poignant.
“I hear the dwarves…”, a man from a group of similarly dressed individuals said, his voice trailing into the lower decibels as the group progressed in the opposite direction.
Amy peeked into the doors as they passed, quickly looking away if it was occupied, not wanting to draw attention, a tall slim woman with pointed ears, then next a very short stocky man with a rough full beard, next to a short stocky man with a white beard resembling wool, squabbling. Soon they reached a vibrant royal blue door at the end of the hall.
“Get ready for the circus”, Ian said as he held the door open.
Amy was met with a large cavernous, spacious, sprawling hall, the floor changed not save for the amount thereof.
Amy gasped, Glyn chuckled, “Can you believe this is underneath the city center here in Portland. Welcome to the Portland Dyllewech Magic Community Center, D.M.C.C.”.
Amy shook her head in response, inwardly she sighed, relieved, so she was still in Portland. The shuffle and bustle, the sound of feet impacting the floor, built a symphonic lively hustle permeating the air, echoing off the cavernous ceiling. She felt a beard graze her hand, startled she looked down, the dwarf looked up irritation clouding his eyes as he huffed and continued walking.
Glyn nudged Amy’s arm with a fond affectionate grin as she watched him walk away, “Dwarves seem irritable and cranky, but they have stout hearts of gold”.
As they strode forward, Amy sensed a tingling, crackling, humming sensation in the air. Stepping into an open area devoid of the monolithic stone columns, Amy once again gasped as all these fantastical people walked out of doors that appeared in the air, disappearing without a trace, leaving no clues lingering in the air betraying their presence.
Liam motioned to a bench on the fringes of the open area, caught Amy’s bewildered stare, smirked, and said, “You probably thought we were insane when we talked about magic”.
Amy shook her head in an embarrassed rebuttal; however, the thought had indeed crossed her mind. As they sat and waited, Amy stared at the opposite side from which she entered this space. It seemed to be lined with shops, and restaurants, she turned around looking back, the other wall lined with official looking counters, with lettering foreign, indecipherable to Amy’s roving eyes.
She felt a poke on her arm, “You sure talk a lot mah dear”, Glyn said with a slight snicker, “Liam look at her expression, so adorable”.
“Quit teasing the poor lass Glyn”, Ian said in a stern tone, looking at Amy his green eyes sparkling and lucid.
She looked down feeling a little embarrassment, her cheeks warming becoming flush with color. Almost in unison she heard lighters, her nostrils were swamped with the heavy smell of tobacco, surprised she looked at the trio all smoking a cigarette. A large man strong and burly, but layered in sophisticated, subdued garments, came through a door and lifted up his hands. Amy looked at Ian, as he waved back. He towered above those passing by him. He had dark, rounded, smallish olive-green spectacles perched on a strong nose. His bright, orange hair protruded from underneath his tweed cap, in a long braid. He had a black blazer and an olive-green vest, a beige tie, and black slacks. He had a pipe in his mouth, Amy thought it was amusing, as he approached, he resembled an old steam locomotive puffing along.
Stepping within earshot, he pulled out his pipe, and said in a strong baritone, “I see she has awoken”, he stood in front of Amy and held out his hand with a warm smile spread on his face as he removed his sunglasses, revealing his grey irises, “How are you mah dear? I am glad to see you awake and well, we were worried about you”.
Amy stood up to shake his hand, his grip was firm, his strength was stark and apparent, yet it was still delicate and thoughtful, he said, “My name is William, how you feeling lass?”.
Amy looked up into his warm eyes, “My name is Amy, I feel better thank you”.
“Glad to hear it lass”, he released his grip, he turned his head towards Ian standing up in the crowd like a lighthouse perched on a battered rock in the surf, sure and strong, “Where is that loafer?”, he inquired.
Glyn shook her head, “Always late”, she huffed in protest.
Behind them came a mischievous youthful voice, “Dear sister, I always have a reason”, a young man appearing freshly graduated from high school, emerged behind the benches, Glyn shifted in her seat, he had a devilish grin on his face, as he presented five cups of coffee to the group, “The magical nectar of the Gods”, he said boastingly.
“Thank you”, Amy said as she eyed the coffee in her hands greedily, still groggy.
After he distributed the coffee accordingly, he deposited the cup tray into a black metallic bullet shaped waste bin. “Right, my name is Sean, you seem much better, I’m glad”, he said smartly walking back. Amy began to rise again, he shooed her away with a hand gesture, and said after a sip, “No need, sit down and enjoy your coffee, that bed you were laying in is great for healing, but it leaves you groggy”, shhllurp, he sipped his coffee, sighed in satisfaction, then with a more serious look in his eyes, he glanced at Ian and Liam, he continued, “you were hit quite hard, I’m glad it was less serious”.
Sean began to pat his pockets, “How can you remember so many spells, yet forget everything else?”, William balked in subdued exasperation. Sean looked pleadingly at William and Glyn, with a smile, “Draeg knows why I tolerate you”, William continued complaining.
“I know my siblings love me enough to give me a cigarette”, Sean spoke confidently, unfazed, smiling.
Huffing and puffing in weak protest, William grudgingly pulled out his cigarette holder from his vest, he smoked a pipe yet he knew his younger brother’s tendencies, and kept cigarettes for him. He then flipped it open and glared at Sean for the briefest of moments, then held out his hand with the cigarette, he seemed to be seriously contemplating withdrawing his generous offer.
As he lit his cigarette he said in a subdued voice, acting as if he was relaying top secret intelligence, but still clearly audible, Sean looked sideways to check for eavesdroppers, then winked at Amy, “Don’t let his rough exterior fool you, he is really a big teddy bear”.
William reached out and rubbed Sean’s head violently, almost causing Sean to spill his coffee, then said sternly, “I don’t need boundaries with the sweet lass, she has manners, you on the other hand, you”, he looked directly in Sean’s eyes, his face hovering in front of Sean, as he pressed down with his hand immobilizing the young man’s head, “You are a special case, an exception to my benevolent ways, you need a stronger staying hand, to forcefully impart some of those much-needed manners”.
Sean wriggled out from underneath his brother’s imposing grasp. The corner or Amy’s lips began to curl ever so slightly, her lips parted ever so slightly, amused, distracted ever so slightly from her immediate, desperate concerns.
Liam leaned forward, peering at Amy; she glanced sheepishly at him, her cheeks beginning to blush again, red sprouting on her cheeks, Liam remarked with a twinkle in his eyes, “That is a refreshing expression lass”.
Amy glance to meet his eyes, then broke eye contact, leaning back against the bench she sipped thirstily on the coffee. She looked at the cup, and smiled, ‘Starbucks’. ‘Maybe this world wasn’t so different’, she began to relax. She heard a rustle and discreetly looked at Ian sitting next to Glyn.
Ian looked directly at William, all mirth gone hence from their eyes, replaced with a clear focus, the look between them seemed to pierce through the air. “William you find anything, were you able ascertain any details?”.
William glanced at Amy, their eyes met as he smiled assuringly, “I have good news for you my dear, though I am quite confused as well. However, the cause for concern is that the blood found other than from the lass here was without a doubt dragon, fouled and rotten”. Amy watched Glyn choke on her coffee and her heart thumped feeling the tension this revelation caused.