LIGHT of the MAGOS, page 16
“No, I promise I’ll get there. I can just say to my mother and father that I’m going into the city, clothes shopping with Hannah. They won’t be suspicious about anything.”
“And Hannah will cover for you?”
“Sure, she’s been in there all this time screaming away. She’s my best friend, even if she’s not so keen on you.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said, but we both laughed. “But you know, I’m not very keen on Mr. Duffy. There’s something about him I don’t trust.”
“He’s always been nice to us in class.”
“Well, to you and the other Intellects, maybe, but these things that have been happening, he has a connection to all of them. He gave you the passcode for the library, you said he’s getting more friendly with your dad, and then there was the way he was behaving at the beach the other day.”
“Yes, I remember him being annoyed at you coming over to the Intellect group.”
“Not just that. Remember how he was walking up and down the shoreline? He had binoculars. It was like he was looking for something.
And, then, remember how it was him that was close by? When we were in the water together. He was the one that shouted at us.”
“He carried me out of the water,” replied Faith, “that’s why my father thinks he’s so great.”
“Well, that’s just it,” I said. “I resurfaced just for a second, and he wasn’t there. The next thing I knew, he was carrying you out, but I never saw him near you in the water. How did he get a hold of you to lift you out? It doesn’t add up.”
The door opened from the nurse’s room. Hannah winked at Faith as she stepped out the door. The school nurse followed her out. She always looked at all of us with suspicion. I suppose it was from years of pupils all suffering mysterious illnesses when there was a class they didn’t want to attend, or an exam that they wanted to get out of.
She looked at Faith and then at me. At least I had a bloodstained football shirt on. Surely that was evidence in my favour.
“Colby Custer?” she asked.
“Yes, miss.”
“You look as if you’ve been in the wars today. I hope you got a point, at least, for that.”
“I scored a goal. Three points.”
“Oh, well. Everything’s been worth it. Can you wait until I’ve seen Faith? She was here first, after all.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I’m feeling better now,” said Faith. “It must have been just something I ate. Hannah and I had the chicken curry. It was maybe just the spices.”
“Well, if Hannah was anything to go by, then you might need emergency surgery. I’ve never heard such wailing. Oh, no, wait, maybe I have, aye the last few times that Hannah’s been here.”
“I’m just terrible at handling pain,” Hannah replied.
The nurse looked back between Faith and I, “you know, we’ve all been told that you two have to be separated from one another. If Colby hadn’t gone to all the trouble of getting himself wounded on the football field, then I might have been reporting this little meeting to Mrs. Rossini.” “Oh, please don’t,” said Faith.
“Don’t protest, Faith. It doesn’t make it look any better. Honestly, I think I should have gone for a job in the Garda. I’m quick at finding out the truth. Your dad wouldn’t be able to make me a sergeant, Colby?” “Maybe,” I responded, looking down at my feet.
“Alright, I’ll say nothing more, but please don’t think of my waiting room as the place to bend the school rules. Remember that although your teachers are older, they were pupils once as well. They know all the dodges because they all did them when they were at school. If you want my advice, keep up appearances for the moment. In time it will all calm down, and use your whispers. What do you think you have that power for? Now, Faith, if you’re really okay, and you don’t have the same medical emergency as Hannah, then you two ladies can take yourselves back to class. If anybody asks what I did, just tell them I perform miracles with my magic.”
We all grinned. Faith stood up beside Hannah, and they headed towards the door and back to class, but not before she turned and whispered to me.
“Noon, at the Wishing Stone.”
Chapter 12:
The Wishing Stone
It was a bright day down at the bay. It was still early in the morning and it was quiet. It was cold, but when the sun was on you, you could feel its warmth. There were only a couple of dog walkers around, so I decided I was going into the sea. I had come out already wearing my swimming trunks, so I just needed to leave my clothes on a dry rock. Dublin was with me, so he would guard my stuff if anyone got too close. He didn’t really enjoy going into the sea, so I knew he would stand by the shore keeping a watchful eye out, and barking from time to time to check I was alright.
The water was freezing as I dipped my toes. There were always these mad people you would see diving into the water on New Year's Day. They would show them on the news every year. They always said it was a really healthy thing to do, but I’m not so sure about that. I just knew that it would keep being cold until I was fully immersed. Then, for some unfathomable reason, you would just start to feel warmer. I knew I had to push on into the waves that were rolling past me towards the shore.
After a few moments, it felt less perishing and more refreshing. I had been able to swim from when I was very little, so I was happy to power through a few yards, following along the line of the shore. I stopped for a rest, just keeping myself afloat. All was quiet apart from the sounds of gulls overhead. Then, I felt a sudden rush of current pull past me. Something was in the water with me. Dublin was jumping about on the shore and barking for all he was worth. The dog walkers were also running up to the sea and shouting at me. I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
I started to panic and turned around, to see three small dorsal fins coursing through the water. It looked like they belonged to the same creature, but I wasn’t hanging around to find out. I plunged forward into the sea to start my race for home when I felt myself being pulled backwards, and down below the surface.
I curled around under the water to wrestle against whatever was pulling on me. It was the same creature that had tried to snare Faith. It was coiling its tail around my legs in exactly the same way that it had tried with her. It was dragging me along on the seabed. The stones were scraping against my back, but I grabbed one with my hand and raised all my energy to give me the strength to attack the creature’s tail with as much force as I could. I bashed and stabbed at it until it let go. As I tried to get upright, it turned on me again. It launched itself forward; its face came up to meet mine. It was terrifying. I could see directly into the dark hollows around its eyes, but now I could see a life in them and an emotion, a hatred. It wanted to kill me, and as it opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharpened teeth, I thought it was all over.
Then I woke up.
I had wrapped my duvet cover all around me in a tangle, and I had been sweating, but the sun was shining through my bedroom window, and I wasn’t in the sea with a frightening monster.
“Colby, you better get up if you’re wanting a run into town,” shouted mum from downstairs.
It’s Saturday. As that realization registered in my brain, I looked over at my clock. It’s 10 a.m. I still had two hours.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” I shouted back.
It might have been less than that, ten seconds to find a clean shirt, my jeans were passable, and my socks didn’t smell yet. I put all my clothes on, plus my sneakers, with still about twenty seconds left.
I ran downstairs past Everleigh and Dublin who were trying to play golf in the hallway, through into the kitchen where I grabbed a bowl, threw cereal into it from a box that was already on the kitchen table, and took the milk from the fridge pouring a large splash onto my breakfast. I had eaten it before I left the kitchen, holding it in one hand as I ran to the hallway mirror. I still had a black eye, so I squinted with the other one and used my spare hand to drag my hair into place, all while avoiding Everleigh’s wild swing with dad’s 7-iron.
I walked into the living room and spoke to mum on my way to the patio. “Everleigh got a hold of dad’s golf clubs again.”
“Everleigh!” shouted mum as she disappeared off into the hall. Meanwhile, I arrived at my destination on the patio where I landed on a seat, and dropped my bowl on the table with just a small splash of milk. Dad looked up from his pile of mail and his half-drunk coffee.
“Are you in a rush, son?”
“Mum said you were going into town soon. I’m meeting Beau today. His parents are going to fade him into the city, so that I can show him around for the day. He said that if you could fade me to his ranch in Texas, I could visit him too.”
“Texas? You can get a run in the car, the shops are as far as I’m going today. Where are you going to take him?”
“I don’t know, Dublin Castle, the Book of Kells, The Guinness Storehouse.”
“Here, you’re too young for that last one,” smiled dad as he leafed through what looked like an instruction book.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s a DNA testing pack from F.L.T. Health-Tech. I’m thinking of giving it a go.”
“Faith said Mrs. Rossini wasn’t too keen on Magos submitting their DNA.”
As soon as I spoke, I realized that maybe I had said too much. Dad switched to being a policeman in an instant.
“Oh, aye? You didn’t tell me you had spoken to Faith. So what did Mrs. Rossini say?”
“I just know that she wasn’t very keen. Did you know that she worked for Interpol?”
“Yes, I did, but I wasn’t sure that she was telling other people. What else did you get out of Faith?”
“Dad, I wasn’t interrogating her.”
“Well, you need to learn, son. There’s no time like the present.”
“Her dad has been doing business with the DNA company, and she said he’s befriended Mr. Duffy from the library.”
“That’s the teacher that pulled her out of the water?” I nodded in response. “Well, I suppose that figures. Can you ask her when her dad is going to have another meeting with F.L.T.? I’m sure Lonnie will keep a diary or a calendar. He’s very meticulous that way.”
“I don’t know if I can. The school is keeping us apart. Lonnie Jenkins was going to send Faith to another school if Mrs. Rossini didn’t separate us.”
“You like Faith, don’t you?”
“Dad!”
“It’s alright. She seems like a nice girl, considering who her parents are. Maybe I can help reunite the two of you. I think it’s about time I had a meeting with Mrs. Rossini.”
“Please don’t cause more trouble for me, dad.”
“It’s no trouble, son. I’ll just let her know that I’m looking into the DNA company, and I’ll make a little plea for you when I’m there. Now remember the golden rule, say nothing to your mother.”
“Wayne Custer, when are you going to learn that I hear everything,” said mum suddenly appearing from the living room, “and Colby, if your dad is giving you advice about girls, don’t listen to any of it. Come to your mother, I’ll tell you what’s what.”
“Oh, you two are so embarrassing,” I said.
***
Dad had got me into Dublin city centre fast enough, but then there was the usual delay as both my parents and Beau’s decided to have a conversation with one another.
The plan was that Beau’s parents would hang around for a few hours and visit some tourist attractions as well. We would go our own way and meet up at 5 p.m. so Beau could go back to Texas, all in the space of an afternoon. Fading definitely had its uses.
We disappeared off into the crowd, heading straight for the train station, but making sure I passed the tourist information shop.
“What are we going here for,” said Beau.
“You need to have some leaflets to show where you’ve been,” I said.
I was getting used to working undercover. Maybe I would carry on the family tradition of working in the Garda. I was starting to think I would be good in the Covert Operations Unit.
We made it onto the train, just a minute before it pulled away from the platform. There was nothing I could do but watch the scenery go by and try to divert Beau from asking me too many questions. It was a shame. I know he was trying to help me meet up with Faith, but the information at stake was top secret. If I said too much, it might stop Faith from trusting me again, but that didn’t stop Beau from asking.
“C’mon, Colby, you’ve got to tell me a little of what’s going on.”
“I wish I could, believe me. It really is top secret.”
“I can keep a secret,” he replied.
“Well, that might be, but if I tell you, then it means that I can’t keep the secret.”
“That’s true.”
“I don’t think we’ll be here all day. We’ll get back into the city and still have time for visiting places.”
“That would be good, at least.”
We sat quietly for the rest of the journey. Towards the end, the railway line looked out over onto the bay. The sea looked vast. It was easy to imagine a hundred, or even a thousand sea monsters swimming below the surface. Then, I caught my reflection in the window. I could make out a faint impression of the face of the monster. The dark, lifeless eyes and the razor-sharp teeth, startled, a shiver travelled down my spine. I turned around, but there was nothing there. It was just a quiet train carriage and my bad memories that had stayed with me since my last visit to the bay.
As we pulled into the station, I checked my watch. Time would be tight to make it to the top of Killiney Hill where we had arranged to meet. Beau and I ran for a bit, then just walked as fast as we could. It was all uphill and steep in places. We made it to a viewpoint that sat below the summit. Hannah was standing there alone and looking very bored.
“Where have you two been?” she said.
“It’s not noon yet,” I said.
“Colby Custer, do you know anything? On time is just another way of saying not early. Now get on with you. Faith’s waiting at the Wishing Stone.”
I dashed the last part on my own. Beau and Hannah were happy to stay back at the viewpoint together. When I got there, Faith was sitting near the top, gazing out towards the sea, lost in her thoughts.
“Hi, Faith. You made it, then.”
“Colby, I’m glad you’re here. Your eye looks awful,” she said as she reached out and gave me a brief hug. “This is the first time I’ve gone out on my own for the whole week.”
“What’s been going on?” I asked.
“Father has been making sure that he knows where I am at all times, and he’s been causing trouble for your family. I’ve heard him speaking on the phone to other people, going on about how dangerous the Custers are, and something needs to be done about them. Of course, my father has influence. Even if the people on the other side of the calls don’t agree with him, they’ll still try to support him. I hope he doesn’t cause trouble for your dad. I’m so annoyed. You helped me when we were in the sea, but my father won’t listen. He just threatens me with going to Switzerland.”
“What about your mum?”
“She supports father, too. Does your dad ever talk about my mother?”
“No, why?” I replied.
“Nothing, it doesn’t matter,” she paused, “but Mr. Duffy came to the house two nights last week. Dad had told him I was having trouble with my laptop, and that it looked like there was something wrong when it connected to the library. Mr. Duffy took it from me and started typing on the keyboard for ages. Then he just handed it back, saying it was ‘fixed’. Now I’m worried that it’s even worse. I don’t even want to switch it on.”
I started to see Faith’s colour of fuchsia glowing from within her. She wasn’t doing anything to cause her light to be revealed. I looked all around us. The Wishing Stone was a popular place for tourists and there were always other people around, especially on a Saturday. None of them seemed to react. They couldn’t see it, I was sure.
Faith looked back at me in silence. I instantly knew she was able to see my colour of teal. Again, we both looked around at the other people who were nearby. Everyone there was just acting normal, taking photos of the Wishing Stone, looking out at the views over the bay.
Faith used her whisper to keep from attracting attention. “What’s happening, Colby?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered back.
I grabbed hold of Faith’s arm. The colours faded from around us, and became gray. For a brief second, there was nothing at all.
Suddenly, the scene had changed around us. We were on the shoreline. We seemed to be alone.
“You faded us?” asked Faith.
“I’ve done it once before by accident.”
“Can you get us back? My mother and father were just up at the big hotel for lunch. If they come back and I’m not there, they’ll go crazy. Please, Colby.”
I tried my best to see the place I wanted to fade to, but this was still all new to me. Your magic had to be developed with all the elements of fire, air, earth, and water before you could fade. We had just been learning about the first element of air. We were nowhere near ready to fade. As much as I tried, I couldn’t get us back to the Wishing Stone. We suddenly felt alone and vulnerable. I looked over towards the sea and squinted into the sunlight. Breaking the surface of the water was the familiar short line of dorsal fins, but there wasn’t just one, there must have been twenty swirling around near the shore.
“We need to get out of here now, run!”
What had I done? How did I even get here? A million thoughts were racing through my head, but instinct was taking over. What I had seen breaking through the waves was frightening, but right now I was just as scared of being caught by Lonnie and Delaine. I knew they would send Faith away from the school if they found out what we had done.
We ran from the beach up to a tunnel that passed underneath the railway line. I lost my footing and slid along the ground on my knee. Faith reached out to me and as our hands touched, we both saw a flash of light, and a tall man in a dark suit standing with his back to us.
