The Big Book of Enchantments, Chapter 8, Zac's story

     In the four years I’ve been on the road, I’ve never felt this uneasy. We’ve been walking for days, trying to reach the citadel, and the closer we get, the angrier everyone seems to be. 

     I think it all started when I asked Jessica why we didn’t just start by going to the Citadel. Everyone knew that Mildred Stonebridge was planning something, everyone knew the only way to stop her was to go to the citadel and show her what’s what. When I mentioned this to her, she just said, “You can’t defeat her. Even if you prove she can’t beat you, she’ll never let you win. She won’t admit defeat, she’ll keep fighting until you either kill her or decide it’s easier to just give up. Once she invited an assassin over and the two got into a fight. He injured her badly, but she kept fighting until he agreed to do what she wanted. It doesn’t matter that we’re stronger than her. We’ll never win.”

    I think she’s crazy. Everyone has a moment where they give in, and if you keep pushing, you’ll go past it eventually. But the closer we get to the citadel, the more nervous she seems to be. We keep asking her for tips, and she’ll either say nothing or say, “I don’t know.” 

    We’re about a day away from reaching the Citadel, and I can’t stop this horrible feeling that we’re being watched by someone. I don’t know who would have a scrying orb this far away from anywhere, or know why they’d be using it on us, but I’ve been on the run long enough to know one when it’s being used on me. 

    Is Mildred Stonebridge watching us? Does she know that we’re coming? Is she trying to stop us? Why does Jessica seem so afraid of her? 

    It’s late now. This orb spell Jessica uses keeps the rain off but doesn’t keep out the noise. I’ve slept outside to long to be afraid of the dark. The stars are beautiful tonight. I remember hearing that back in the days when mages ruled Altra some would look into the sky to see the future. If they were looking into the sky, would they see us succeeding?

    “Well, well, well, Someone’s up past their bedtime.”

     Okay, who is talking to me? I look around to see that everyone else is asleep. “There’s no point in looking, you won’t see me.”

     I stand up suddenly and shout, “Who are you?” 

     “Zac?”

     I turn to see Jessica waking up. “Sorry, I thought I heard someone talking.”

    “This close to the citadel, you probably did. Mages try to keep in practice with illusion spells of all sorts.”

    “Why would they want to talk to me though?”

     “If I had to guess they’ve been watching us ever since we entered the citadel’s zone of influence. They don’t get many visitors.”

    “Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask.

    “They’re mages. I don’t know why you thought they wouldn’t be watching us.” 

    I guess she’s right. I don’t know what mages would normally do. They aren’t very common anymore. “Do you think Mrs. Stonebridge is watching us?” I ask.

     “Yes. Even if she’s asleep, she’ll have someone watching our behavior.”

     “Do you think she’ll attack us?” 

      “Once she knows what we want, she’ll go all out. But we have a while to go until then.” 

The Big Book of enchantments, Chapter 3, Zac's story

     My friend’s call me Zac. My enemies don’t call me anything. Not because I don’t have enemies, but because all my enemies are the kinds of people who don’t care about a kid who decided to leave his family at the age of six. 

     Most people who know my story think I’m nuts. I guess I am. I was the kid who couldn’t learn anything, no matter how simple it was. I guess it makes sense I would think it was a good idea to leave home at six, and to still be on the road years later because someone like me will never learn their lesson, no matter how often it’s spelled out for them.

    I can’t even remember why it was I left to begin with. I think it had something to do with looking for my real parents. See, even though my mom and dad were alive, still are as far as I know, they didn’t like me at all. I think I had some brothers and sisters, and I remember them getting the lions share of my parents’ attention, but I don’t remember it clearly. The only thing I remember about my birth family clearly was the day I brought a report card home from school with a note saying I needed to be held back. I left the day after that.

    I can’t remember what they said that made me leave, all I remember is sitting in the closet in my room bawling my eyes out. I remember seeing a book belonging to one of my brothers or sisters, about a kid who got left on someone’s doorstep and was on a journey to find their birth family. I remember thinking “maybe I’m like that kid. Maybe my real mommy and daddy are out there missing me.” 

     I don’t know if that’s why I left. I do know that if I thought that, I didn’t look very hard. I just wandered from place to place, leaving when local residents drove me out. A few people tried to put me in an orphanage, but I just broke my way out. Nobody tried to find my birth parents. 

     But one day I found something special. I was walking one a road going somewhere, I’m not sure where, and I found a ring lying on the ground. It wasn’t anything special, just a silver band, but written on it were the words, “I will love you forever, Maggie.” When I saw it, my heart just started beating like crazy. I thought “This is it. This is how I find my family.”

    That was about two years ago. I haven’t found who, if anyone, it belongs to. 

***

    The nice thing about traveling with royalty is that nobody suspects you’re a thief. I’ve been stealing to get by ever since I left home. Jessica keeps telling me that I shouldn’t steal things because she can make charms that’ll let us get by. I say dream on. Charms are going the way of magic artifacts these days. 

   I don’t steal anything from people who’ll be ruined. I look at people and guess how rich they are and how much of jerk they are, and if I think they’re mean I swipe their wallet when they aren’t paying attention. I told Jessica this and she asked me “How do you know for sure they weren’t just having a bad day when you met them?” I said, “I don’t know, but I don’t have to look to see where they keep their wallets, so I’m willing to bet I can judge character pretty well.”

    I don’t think Jessica’s comfortable with me stealing. Why she hasn’t left I don’t know. It’s not like she has to put up with me. From what she’s told me, she left her family the same way that I did. 

    Maybe she doesn’t think she can make it on her own. She did say she comes from a high-class family from someplace called “The Citadel”. She might just need me to take care of her. Or she’s just looking to take advantage of me.