like all the books I read.”
“It is all very real,” said Jae, morosely. “We travel between worlds to survive. Always trying to stay ahead of the hunters, but never seeming to be able to do so.”
“Can’t you just hunt and kill them, instead?” asked Meghan, still perplexed.
“We tried. So far, though, we have not found a way to kill them, only to injure, temporarily.”
“So if I get this all straight,” sighed Meghan, trying to make sense of everything she had witnessed and heard that night. “You are Gypsies, with real magical powers, that travel between worlds, realities or whatever you want to call them, trying to escape those Scratchers, who hunt 93
you, constantly, but you cannot kill them, or outrun them for long?”
“That about sums up what I can tell you safely,” said Jae.
“And somehow, Colin purchased a book that also turns out to be magical in some way, and on the very day we would need it the most,” she added.
“That mystifies me just as much as it does you two,” noted Jae. “As I said, I have never seen a book like that before.”
Silence overtook the threesome again and for a long time the only sound was the crackling of the fire. Jae was the first to break the silence.
“Even though it went awry, thanks for trying to warn us.
I think what you have told me might be useful, if I can get back to my caravan.”
“Can you rejoin them then? Do you know which world they moved on to?” asked Colin.
“Yes, I can get back to them. But not until the end of the month, you see, the door only opens at certain times and as you have seen, it does not stay open long.” Colin lost himself in thought for a moment.
“The blue moon,” he then blurted out. “It opens again on the second full moon, doesn’t it?”
Jae grinned in impressed surprise.
“Good guess.”
“My brother watches a lot of Sci-Fi Channel,” Meghan said, as an excuse for her brother’s geeky brain.
“I’ve heard of that, never seen it, though,” Jae said.
Colin could have easily gotten them off subject discussing his favorite shows, followed by movies, and then books, so Meghan kept hold of the conversation.
94
“So basically, this means you have to stay here by yourself for an entire month. I am sorry, Jae. It is completely our fault. We thought you were in trouble.”
“It can’t be helped now, besides, maybe the information you gave me will help us better our fight. Still, I have never been away from my family before. We train for these situations, but it is the first time someone has not made it through in time.”
Colin decided it was time to get back to the twins’
original question.
“How do you do all this?” he asked, waving his arm and pointing to the inside of the wagon. “And who are you?” Jae sat quietly, as if struggling with an answer.
“The best way I can answer is to take you back to the beginning. When this world began, ages and ages ago, it was a magical world. Everyone knew of and practiced magic. The short version of the story is that there was a war; one that lasted many years. You could probably guess over what.”
“Power?” assumed Colin. “It’s the reason for nearly any war.”
“And this war was no different. By the end of it, nearly every living person had been stripped of their magical powers. There were survivors though, and they banded together, hoping to better their chances of fixing what had gone wrong.
“Over time though, people forgot about magic and when it showed itself, they started to fear it. The survivors became outcasts, travelers trying to stay hidden from a world that no longer accepted them. They became the Svoda Gypsies, my ancestors.”
“Wow!” said Meghan. “This is… a lot to take in.” 95
“It’s a lot even for me,” added Colin. “I have always hoped real magic existed, but never dreamt it actually did.”
“Welcome to the real world,” Jae sighed. “It is not a pretty one, but yes, it is very much
“It is all very real,” said Jae, morosely. “We travel between worlds to survive. Always trying to stay ahead of the hunters, but never seeming to be able to do so.”
“Can’t you just hunt and kill them, instead?” asked Meghan, still perplexed.
“We tried. So far, though, we have not found a way to kill them, only to injure, temporarily.”
“So if I get this all straight,” sighed Meghan, trying to make sense of everything she had witnessed and heard that night. “You are Gypsies, with real magical powers, that travel between worlds, realities or whatever you want to call them, trying to escape those Scratchers, who hunt 93
you, constantly, but you cannot kill them, or outrun them for long?”
“That about sums up what I can tell you safely,” said Jae.
“And somehow, Colin purchased a book that also turns out to be magical in some way, and on the very day we would need it the most,” she added.
“That mystifies me just as much as it does you two,” noted Jae. “As I said, I have never seen a book like that before.”
Silence overtook the threesome again and for a long time the only sound was the crackling of the fire. Jae was the first to break the silence.
“Even though it went awry, thanks for trying to warn us.
I think what you have told me might be useful, if I can get back to my caravan.”
“Can you rejoin them then? Do you know which world they moved on to?” asked Colin.
“Yes, I can get back to them. But not until the end of the month, you see, the door only opens at certain times and as you have seen, it does not stay open long.” Colin lost himself in thought for a moment.
“The blue moon,” he then blurted out. “It opens again on the second full moon, doesn’t it?”
Jae grinned in impressed surprise.
“Good guess.”
“My brother watches a lot of Sci-Fi Channel,” Meghan said, as an excuse for her brother’s geeky brain.
“I’ve heard of that, never seen it, though,” Jae said.
Colin could have easily gotten them off subject discussing his favorite shows, followed by movies, and then books, so Meghan kept hold of the conversation.
94
“So basically, this means you have to stay here by yourself for an entire month. I am sorry, Jae. It is completely our fault. We thought you were in trouble.”
“It can’t be helped now, besides, maybe the information you gave me will help us better our fight. Still, I have never been away from my family before. We train for these situations, but it is the first time someone has not made it through in time.”
Colin decided it was time to get back to the twins’
original question.
“How do you do all this?” he asked, waving his arm and pointing to the inside of the wagon. “And who are you?” Jae sat quietly, as if struggling with an answer.
“The best way I can answer is to take you back to the beginning. When this world began, ages and ages ago, it was a magical world. Everyone knew of and practiced magic. The short version of the story is that there was a war; one that lasted many years. You could probably guess over what.”
“Power?” assumed Colin. “It’s the reason for nearly any war.”
“And this war was no different. By the end of it, nearly every living person had been stripped of their magical powers. There were survivors though, and they banded together, hoping to better their chances of fixing what had gone wrong.
“Over time though, people forgot about magic and when it showed itself, they started to fear it. The survivors became outcasts, travelers trying to stay hidden from a world that no longer accepted them. They became the Svoda Gypsies, my ancestors.”
“Wow!” said Meghan. “This is… a lot to take in.” 95
“It’s a lot even for me,” added Colin. “I have always hoped real magic existed, but never dreamt it actually did.”
“Welcome to the real world,” Jae sighed. “It is not a pretty one, but yes, it is very much
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