Shifting (The Prophecy, The Spy, and The Ghostly Guardian) (A Fated Fantasy Quest Adventure Book 2) Read online

  A FATED FANTASY QUEST ADVENTURE

  Book 2, Shifting:

  The Prophecy, The Spy, and The Ghostly Guardian

  Rachel D’aigle as Humphrey Quinn

  TABLE of CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Series Info

  Chapter One

  Meghan and Colin Jacoby fell through an archway, thudding onto a cold stone floor. On one side of the archway, the silhouette of the Scratcher enclosing its wings around their Uncle Arnon’s body, faded, while on the twins’ side of the archway, they were met by suspicious stares from the Svoda Gypsies.

  Colin, his back to the gypsies, glanced at the culprit that had caused him to fall through the pine tree. It was his book, the Magicante. Instinct told him to hide it under his sweater.

  Why had his uncle done it? Of all the things to grab and throw at him; why his book?

  Meghan sat on the icy stone floor, her face blank. Words would not formulate in her mind.

  “Let me through, let me through!” a familiar voice called out in front of them.

  Colin faced the gypsies, searching through glaring eyes as an out of breath Jae Mochrie appeared in a stone doorway about ten feet away; he held his arms against each side of the stone wall as if holding it up.

  Meghan raised her head, becoming aware of the suspicious stares.

  Jae darted across the room. “I don’t believe it. This is bad! This is really bad!” He shook his head, no idea what to do. “You’re not in any immediate danger,” he whispered to the two of them.

  Meghan bounced off the floor and jerked her confused head back and forth between Jae and the other gypsies. What did their friend mean? They were not in immediate danger pretty much screamed they were in a lot of danger. Right now though, her only concern was to get home. Although the panic squeezing her chest made it impossible to form a complete sentence.

  “The Scratcher… wings… our uncle… go back.”

  The crowd inhaled at the same moment. Murmurs spread like fire.

  “Wings.”

  “He’s dead for sure.”

  “It would take a miracle.”

  Meghan’s breath drew heavily as she tried to comprehend what was happening. They had been trying to help Jae get home. His father had shown up and gotten injured. She and Colin had helped get him into the pine tree, and then their uncle showed up and…

  This isn’t happening. She repeated it over and over. We need to get home.

  Colin heard her thoughts and trembled as the truth began to sink in. They’d gotten Jae home, safely, but he and Meghan had followed him, to his world. And the doorway home was closed.

  His head shot up. “Jae, your dad and the other guy, are they…” he didn’t finish.

  “The guy helping my dad is fine. Dad is hurt pretty bad, but he’ll be okay thanks to you two. Which makes what I have to tell you even harder.”

  They already knew what Jae was going to say, but they didn’t want to hear it or believe it.

  Meghan could not get enough air. Her lungs refused to suck in deep enough.

  Colin attempted to keep his mind focused on the current moment, which was difficult as their desire to get back to Uncle Arnon was mounting.

  Jae dropped his head, heaving a great breath, preparing for what he needed to say to them. “By now, your uncle is most likely,” Meghan cut him off.

  “Don’t say that! Open it back up. I want to go home. Now!” Meghan jumped back through the archway.

  Nothing happened.

  She tried again.

  Jae grabbed her and forced her to make eye contact with him.

  A hand slipped into hers.

  Colin’s.

  “We can’t go back, can we?” he confirmed. His face tightened; he did not want to lose it, not here, in front of complete strangers.

  Jae did not have the heart to answer and instead kicked the wall angrily. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

  Meghan sank to the floor, no longer able to stand. “Can’t go back,” she said, the meaning of those words sinking in.

  The crowd buzzed. It was clear that something like this had never happened before and no one knew what to do. Jae leaned into Colin’s ear.

  “Did anyone see you use magic?”

  “Only the Scratchers and my uncle, I think,” answered Colin in a weak voice.

  Jae nodded. “Keep that and your book secret. This doorway won’t open again for three years. That’s why I had to get home tonight. It only opens during the blue moon, which only happens…”

  “Three years, every three years,” finished Colin, dazed.

  Meghan heard him and rousted to her feet, instantly mindful of her stupidity. Why hadn’t she just listened to Jae and not come to his aid? He had warned them to stay away. They hadn’t listened. And now their uncle was…

  Don’t say it. He can’t be. He just can’t be.

  Colin’s hand squeezed tightly in hers.

  Neither succeeded in blocking their thoughts from each other.

  “We both followed Jae. It wasn’t just you,” he sent her.

  The crowd quieted, parting down the middle, serving as a corridor for someone hurriedly approaching.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Jae muttered apologetically. He backed away from the twins. Uncertainty heavy in his gaze.

  They waited breathlessly, unsure of what was to come next.

  A woman’s voice reverberated through the stone room.

  “Jae, you are safe.” She said it as though it was no surprise, and promptly moved on, her fierce gaze penetrating the twins.

  It was Juliska Nandalia Blackwell, Banon (leader) of the Svoda Gypsies. They saw Jae do a slight head bow as she spoke to him. Meghan and Colin decided to follow Jae’s lead and performed a small bow. The Banon’s face softened, but remained stern. She did not speak right away.

  “Excuse me, Banon Blackwell, if I may speak on their behalf,” said Jae, approaching the leader.

  She did not acknowledge Jae and slowly stretched out her thin, pale arm and stroked Meghan’s cheek. The Banon wore elbow length red silk gloves. Meghan’s breath hitched as her hand dropped; was this some kind of curse or spell she should be wary of?

  The Banon’s gaze landed on Colin. “What are your names? You first.”

  “C-Colin Jacoby, Ma’am.”

  Her eyes narrowed in on him, distrust weighting her gaze, which swept to Meghan.

  “And you?”

  “Meghan Jacoby, Colin’s twin sister.”

  “Speak,” the Banon ordered Jae, though her eyes never left the twins.

  “Thank you, Banon Blackwell. I just want you to know if it hadn’t been for their assistance, my father would be dead. Saving my father got them stuck here.”

  Her eyes drilled into Jae, and she interrogated further.

  �
��And just how is it they were with you in the first place? Did they offer, or did you seek their help?”

  Jae was noticeably losing his nerve.

  “They came to me, and being on my own, I accepted,” he explained.

  Juliska Blackwell whisked herself around to Jae.

  “We will need to speak further, but I will allow you to go home to your family tonight.”

  Jae knew this was his cue to depart, but the doubt in his eyes sent the twins’ already weak strength plummeting.

  Impending doom, they both felt it.

  The twins realized that the crowded stone room they’d arrived in, had emptied, except for Banon Blackwell. She paced, speaking coolly.

  “You must realize that this situation is most uncommon and will not be easily accepted amongst my people. I have taught them, perhaps too well, not to trust outsiders. We cannot survive if our safety is compromised. And no matter how good your intentions or Jae’s, your uncle, if not dead, is likely being tortured and questioned about us.”

  Meghan’s legs faltered. Colin, in only slightly stronger shape, leaned to steady her.

  Juliska Blackwell reached her first. “I am sorry. But the truth is all I can speak. Nothing else has kept us alive for this long,” her voice grew kinder.

  The thought of their uncle being dead was horrible enough, but being tortured for something he did not know about was more than either of the twins could bear.

  The Banon released her steadying grip on Meghan and whisked around, motioning for two women, who stood near the entrance, to enter.

  “Bring them! Nothing will be decided tonight. Tomorrow, the Viancourt will decide their fate.” She dashed away, her deep red jacket flapping in the still night air behind her.

  Two women grabbed the twins, not unkindly, pulling them from the stone room out into the darkness. A crowd of at least a hundred shot distrustful glares at the duo, followed by unwelcoming voices.

  “She will not let them stay!”

  “No. No way, it’s not right.”

  “Where then will they go?” another one asked. “They can’t go home.”

  “Spies!” someone shouted viciously.

  Two things were certain. One: they could not go home. And two: they were not welcome here.

  The twins came to an abrupt stop. They had no choice as their path was blocked.

  “It’s him,” Colin’s thoughts stammered. Meghan stepped closer to her brother.

  The man named Garner Sadorus, and his intense stare held no mercy. The twins had to tilt their heads to see his face. He still donned the spiked hair and boisterous overcoat. And up this close, his black tattoos almost appeared to move across his neck. Just a trick of the silvery shadows of the night. They hoped.

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  The twins did not answer. They were not quite sure what he meant.

  “Oh get out of the way, Garner,” spat the woman holding Colin’s arm. “You heard the Banon. This will be decided by the Viancourt, the entire Viancourt, not just you.” Her eyes flashed, reveling in the confrontation.

  “And I, as a member of this esteemed Court, have the right-” he was cut off.

  “Excuse me, Vian Sadorus, sir.” Jae came to their rescue again. “I will speak for them.”

  Garner glared down at Jae with a penetrating scowl. “You? I hardly need to hear what a Mochrie has to say on these stranger’s behalves.”

  The woman holding Colin looked like she might just strike Garner. He glowered and stalked away into the darkness.

  Jae leaned in and whispered. “Wouldn’t be good to get on his bad side. Although, most believe that’s the only side he has.”

  Neither twin could reply at that moment. Only nod in wide-eyed confusion.

  The two escorts shook their heads at the confrontation and forged onward. Jae followed them a few steps before a forced goodbye left him in the shadows. With each step, they lost sight of each other. The murmurs of the crowd faded.

  The two female escorts held lanterns to light their way; the twins had not even noticed where they had gotten them. There was no moon or stars, only black night. And yet silvery hues cast all around them.

  They stopped at the entrance to a wagon. Similar to the one Jae had stayed in while at the campground. They stepped inside expecting it to be the same, but it wasn’t. It was still much larger on the inside than the outside, but a smaller version of the one parked in the campground. It didn’t have near as many rooms. Mainly one large room and a kitchen. Another door opposite the kitchen. A meeting room of sorts, perhaps.

  Our new prison… both twins expected.

  The twins waited near the entrance as the two women disappeared into the room opposite the kitchen. They were gone only a minute and came back with blankets.

  “You will have to stay in the wagon for the night, but it’s safe here,” the first woman said. She was a small stout woman and went to the fireplace, waving her hand over it. “Fire will keep you warm. Food, you can find in the kitchen. If you can bring yourselves to eat.” She cast them a warm smile and exited the wagon.

  The twins sank into a sofa next to the fire, overwhelmed. The other woman lagged behind, taking a seat across from the twins. She was a rugged looking woman with short, somewhat curled hair. Her voice was not what the twins expected. Colin’s thoughts said it best – a woman right out of an old black and white movie, over-dramatic and to the point, and he thought her face was pretty. She’d probably sounded the same when confronting the tall man, Garner, but they hadn’t really been listening too carefully. They were in shock.

  “I’m positively ashamed for such harsh treatment, especially after you helped our Jae get home. I’m sure you’re picking up that the Svoda aren’t so trusting of strangers.”

  “Jae warned us to be careful,” mustered out Meghan. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, and worse, if they said too much or the wrong thing, it was bound to cause trouble for themselves or Jae.

  “Yes, he’s a good lad. Hope the court isn’t too hard on him. What do they expect from a young one?”

  “Jae will have to go before a court?” questioned Colin. He felt oddly comfortable around the woman.

  “'Fraid so. It’s the only way to get the whole picture, see. But don’t go frettin’ about that. Jae can handle himself fine. My name is Billie by the way, Billie Sadorus.”

  “Sadorus? Are you related to the man named Garner?” asked Colin without thinking.

  “He’s my brother, sure. Stink of a man!” she said, winking. “But my brother none the less.”

  “Oh.” Colin swallowed hard. It didn’t seem possible they could be related. They didn’t even look much alike.

  Billie stood to depart, letting out a sharp breath. “I realize it won’t be easy, but do try to get some rest, will you?” She proceeded to mutter to herself all the way out of the wagon. “What a way to treat two youngins. Shameful, that’s what it is. Downright shameful. Sometimes I don’t know what’s become of us all…”

  The door shut and they heard a lock click into place.

  They were alone.

  Locked up and alone.

  Neither twin spoke.

  The desire eluded them.

  Colin moved to the other couch. Sleep came in waves, and included nightmares of their uncle’s unknown fate. It was not until light began to filter into the wagon that they got up with the petrifying realization that the previous night had not been a terrible dream.

  Colin was the first to speak. “What do they need to decide exactly, anyway?”

  “I think, whether we can stay with them or not.”

  “Why can’t we stay?” he whispered as if someone may be listening.

  “They’re obviously not fond of outsiders, Col.”

  “But what would they do with us?”

  “Like I’m supposed to have some idea?” she snapped back. “Sorry,” she added a second later.

  “I wish we knew how long we’re going to have to wait here.”
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  Meghan let out an anguished huff. “I cannot accept that there is NO way to find out about Uncle Arnon. I think as soon as we get out of here, we need to find a way.”

  “We don’t even know where here is. How are we going to find a way home?”

  “I don’t know. But we have to! The Scratchers follow these guys, so there must be a way!” she said decidedly.

  With nothing more to say, they attempted to eat. They found bread for toast in the kitchen; it was dry going down their throats no matter how much butter they spread on it.

  After hours of waiting, and not knowing where they were, when anyone was coming for them, what happened to Jae, or what would be their fate, the lock clicked open on the wagon door. They sat down on a couch, trying not to appear too eager or worried, and did not look up until they heard the familiar voice of Jae Mochrie.

  “Guys, it’s me. Sorry I couldn’t come sooner,” he apologized, slumping down on the couch opposite them. “They wouldn’t let me come until after I’d met with the Viancourt.”

  “I hope it wasn’t too terrible, Jae.” Meghan frowned, concerned about their only friend in this unfamiliar world.

  “It was like filing a report. They needed a list of anything I’d done that might have compromised our safety.”

  The twins were horrified.

  “Look, it’s not that bad. Really. If I were in serious trouble, I would not be allowed here.”

  “What about us? Have they decided anything?” she asked cautiously.

  “I’m not sure. I have to bring you to the court in thirty minutes though. They held a private meeting after I left.”

  “How far do we have to go to get there?” asked Meghan.

  “That’s hard to answer.”

  “Where exactly are we?” asked Colin, hoping for a clearer picture.

  “A place called Grimble.”

  “Grimble? Where’s that?” Colin asked.

  “It’s a bit hard to describe. Maybe I’ll get to show you around.” Jae attempted to sound positive, but he couldn’t hide all the uncertainty in his tone.

  “How far away from home are we?” Meghan needed to know this.

  Jae let out a sigh. “It’s difficult to explain. When you go through a doorway, you’re in another place entirely. It’s not really a matter of how many miles away you are?”