The Magic Collector

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Summer looked up into Grayson’s familiar blue eyes. “I saw you running away. Well, I caught a glimpse of you. Not the other two, only you.”

“You didn’t say anything. No one knew it was us until we were caught playing another prank and Spencer confessed. Why didn’t you say anything?”

What could she have said? Line them up so I can look into their eyes? She tried to tug her hand from his. “We have to find Oliver.”

His grip tightened. “Did we hurt you?”

She shook her head, tugging her hand away. This time he let go.

“I’m glad. We weren’t trying to hurt anyone. That was the last thing we wanted.”

She looked ahead along the narrow track, gum trees pressing in on each side. It was a little cooler in their shade, but not by much. “Why haven’t we seen Oliver by now?”

“It was a long walk.”

She frowned, trying to figure out the tone she could hear in his voice. Uncertainty? No, he was uncomfortable. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing. He’s a little kid. As if we’d do anything to him.”

“Then what aren’t you telling me?”

“We turn off here.” He gestured towards a larger tree, thin layers of bark curling away from the trunk in various places.

“Grayson-”

“We didn’t do anything to him. He wanted to come with us. Wanted to hear about the local legends.”

She stayed close to Grayson as he wound his way through the trees. How could her brother have found his way back to the path? A glance over her shoulder had her wondering how she was going to find her way back. “What local legends? Do you mean Aboriginal legends?”

“No. Although there are some of them about this area. It was the legends about curses, entrances to another realm and a race you don’t want to annoy.”

“No wonder Oliver wanted to go with you. That sounds like the kind of story he’d listen to for hours.”

“It’s not a story. And we’re not meant to show outsiders. But Oliver is kind of part of our family. He’s the cousin of my cousins.” He paused a moment. “So I guess you’re kind of family too.”

She almost told him that between stepfamilies and in-laws they weren’t really family at all, but if thinking there was some sort of family connection convinced him to tell her what was going on, she wasn’t about to argue. A cliff face loomed up out of the trees in front of them. Summer turned her back on it, looking in the direction they’d come. Fear rose within her. “Where is he? He could be anywhere.”

“There are caves. Well, they’re not exactly caves. More like narrow canyons I suppose. He’s probably in them. There’s a swimming hole.”

She looked him up and down. “The day isn’t that hot. Your clothes would be wet if you went swimming.”

He opened his mouth, closed it, took hold of her hand and drew her forward, following the line of the cliff. “Come on. Not far now.”

She should be calling out to her brother, but something about the area made her remain quiet, glad to hold onto Grayson’s hand. “I was meant to be watching him.” She kept her voice low, barely above a whisper. “They asked me last night. I shouldn’t have hid in the car. I should have been watching him.” And keeping him out of trouble.

Grayson squeezed her hand. “He’ll be okay. Stop worrying about him.”

“How do you know?”

Grayson stopped in front of a narrow gap leading through the cliff face. “Because he knows the rules.”

Her gaze travelled up, seeing that the gap ran all the way to the top of the cliff. “What rules?”

“Eat nothing, take nothing and whatever you do, don’t talk to the Fae.” He tried to tug her into the gap.

She pulled away from him, her gaze narrowing. “Is this another one of your practical jokes? What have you done with my brother?”

“I don’t play practical jokes anymore. That was years ago.” He glanced over his shoulder towards the gap. “Oliver is probably in there. The last time I remember seeing him was after we came out of the waterhole. In the realms of the Fae.”

“I’m not going in there. What have you done with my brother? Where is he?” For a moment she thought she saw a hurt look in his expression.

“Wait here. I’ll go after him.” He turned sideways and stepped into the gap.

A sound behind her had her glancing over her shoulder before returning to stare at Grayson as he moved further into the cliff, the gap widening so he was able to face forward. “You’re not leaving me alone.” She stepped into the shadowy gap. The smell of dirt surrounded her and a cool breeze brushed over her skin. It didn’t make her feel any better. “We should have brought Tim.” Her stepdad would have understood. And it would have made her feel better to have an adult with them. The two of them on their own made her think of horror movies where there were no survivors.

“We couldn’t. It’s the curse of our family. Once we turn twenty-one, we forget all about the legends. That’s why we have to pass it along as soon as each of us is old enough to understand. Someone has to know in case the Fae ever decide to leave their realm and make mischief in ours.”

“Will you stop with the stories? I’m not an eight-year-old to be sucked into them. If you’re setting me up for some big prank, I will get even.” She probably owed him for the bucket, even though she hadn’t been hurt by it.

“I’ll stop for now. But you’ll see soon enough.”

“All I want to see is my brother. Nothing better have happened to him.”

“Summer? Is that you, Summer?”

She froze at the sound of her brother’s voice? “Oliver?”

“I’m over here. I got lost, Summer.”

Relief rushed through her. Oliver was okay. “Where are you exactly?”

“In a kind of cave.”

“I thought you said there were no caves here.” She kept moving forward, having lowered her voice so only Grayson could hear.

“Not in this realm. It’ll be one of the passageways between the two worlds.”

“Will you stop with the stupid stories?” She didn’t bother to try and hide the anger in her voice. “Where is my brother?”

Oliver called out before Grayson could speak. “Summer? Where are you?”

“I’m coming, Oliver. I’m not far away.” Again she lowered her voice to talk to Grayson. “Where is he?”

“This way. I think.”

She followed him through the cliff, relieved when the gap widened and she could walk next to him. On either side of them, they occasionally walked past gaps going off in different directions. Grayson eventually led her along one of the larger passages.

Spotting her brother, she ran towards him. “Oliver.”

“I don’t know the way out. They said not to use just any path. Only one wasn’t cursed.” Oliver stood with his arms wrapped around himself, the gap almost meeting in front of him before it widened behind him into an area that would be large enough to be called a cave.

Grayson grabbed hold of her before she could enter the gap separating them from her brother. “Let go of me.” She tried to shake him off, but his grip tightened.

“It’s a cursed exit. We’ll have to go through the natural portal and show him the way out.”

She couldn’t believe he was trying to tell her the same stupid story. “Let me go.” She swung at him, connecting with his shoulder. When his grip loosened, she spun, grabbed hold of Oliver’s arm and dragged him through the gap to her side.

Oliver’s eyes widened and he shuddered, dropping to the ground as he cried out, clutching his stomach.

“Oliver?” She crouched beside him as he curled up into a ball, moaning from pain. The gap hadn’t been that small that it should have hurt him.

“This can’t be good.” Grayson knelt next to her, reaching for Oliver. Before he could make contact with the younger boy, Oliver seemed to shrink in on himself. The fine blond hair covering his head lightened and became white fur on a small cat that miaowed pitifully.

Summer pressed her hand to her mouth, unable to take her gaze off the cat. This couldn’t be happening. It wasn’t possible. Somehow it had to be a trick that Grayson was playing on her. “You-”

He grabbed her hand before she could hit him again. “I didn’t do this. I was the one who tried to stop you.” Letting go, he scooped up Oliver who’d turned to scamper back towards the cave he’d been dragged out of. “We’ll have to take him to the realms of the Fae and find someone to break his curse.”

“Are you crazy?” She gestured towards the cat. “That isn’t my brother. I want my brother. What have you done with him?”

“I’d tell you to wait here, but you’d probably get into more trouble. Come on. We have to use the natural portal. Who knows what going through from this direction would do to us.”

She stared after Grayson as he headed back towards the path they’d initially followed into the cliff, carrying the white cat. That wasn’t her brother. She had no idea where Oliver was, but she was going to find out. She strode after Grayson, catching up to him and grabbing hold of his arm. “Where is my brother?”

Grayson met her gaze, giving a slight shake of his head. “You saw what happened. You know where he is.” He pulled away from her and continued walking.

She watched his back, wanting to run after him and beg him to tell her it was a prank. A shiver ran through her, like she’d been doused in a bucket of cold water. If it was a prank, she had no idea how he’d managed it. When the cat he held looked over his shoulder and miaowed, she hurried after him. That couldn’t be Oliver. Coming closer, she stared into hazel eyes. Did cats have hazel eyes? She didn’t know, but her brother certainly did. Another shiver ran through her. She was meant to be keeping Oliver out of trouble.

She followed Grayson, the ground sloping slightly upwards, her mind a whirl of confusion and questions. When he stopped ahead of her, she slowed her pace. The passageway widened, the walls angling in so they nearly met overhead, not far above them. Seeing the reason why Grayson had stopped, Summer froze. The path ended abruptly. There was a several metre drop into a waterhole, a circle of light reflecting in the water from the opening above. A wave of light-headedness washed over her and she took a step backwards. All thoughts of her brother momentarily vanished as she fought to remain conscious.

“We need to go through there.” He gestured towards the water below, his other hand holding the cat against him.

She scanned the far wall, trying to avoid looking directly down. “It doesn’t go anywhere. It’s a dead end.”

“It’s a natural portal to the realms of the Fae, but you have to make sure you dive into the circle of light. Don’t surface until you touch the bottom of the waterhole.”

There was no way she could jump over the edge, the distance seemed to be growing by the second. As was her light-headedness. She tried to focus on something other than the drop. “The Fae aren’t real. They’re stories.”

“Stories about a race that are real. History books are stories about real events. Just because something is a story, doesn’t mean it isn’t real.”

She closed her eyes, desperately trying to ignore the drop in front of her. It didn’t help. Only had her swaying on her feet. Opening her eyes, she tried to focus on Grayson. Her gaze was again drawn to the light reflected on the water below. Her stomach did a slow turn, making her feel queasy. She took a step backwards. “Where is my brother? Where’s Oliver?”

The cat miaowed, trying to escape Grayson’s grip. He had to use both hands to prevent him from escaping. “It’s okay. Wait here and I’ll try and fix this. I thought he’d be old enough to keep up. I’ve been making this journey since I was five. One of my older cousins took a group of us through. I tagged along with him until I was old enough to go on my own.”

She slowly shook her head. There was no way that she was going to wait here on her own. The shadows were lengthening and it’d be dark in a few hours.

“You’re right. I don’t know how long I’ll be. Go back and tell everyone you couldn’t find me. Time doesn’t run the same in the realms of the Fae as it does here. Days might pass there while only minutes go by here. Or it could be the opposite. But it rarely is the opposite.” He turned away from her, facing the water.