The Deceiver | The Magicians

Chapter 5

Five | The Summoning

A week had passed and Lilly loved every minute of it. She had finally found someplace she felt at home. Since arriving, Lilly had eaten up every bit of magical information she could, still in shock that this place was real and not a dream. The classes were straight out of Hogwarts, she had taken a liking to her spell casting class but struggled immensely with Alchemy. 

There was a reason Lilly hadn't gone into the fields of math or science. Dani had been helping her study, lending her superior knowledge of magic to both her and Alex. She had grown closer with the two, spending long hours talking together in the common room or at the coffee shop. Quentin had joined them on occasion, though he had been in sort of a mood. 

He had gone to see Julia a few days ago for her Birthday, only to find out that Julia hadn't been erased properly and still remembered that magic existed. The way Quentin had described her state made Lilly worry for the girl she barely knew. He had said she looked broken, empty, and that she practically begged him to tell the school about her. Lilly couldn't blame her though. She was sure that if what happened to Julia had happened to her, she would be in a similar situation. She couldn't imagine how hard it would be to see a world of magic and wonder, only to have to return to your mundane life only to have it ripped away from you because you couldn't pass a stupid test.

Lilly Sat in the common room, curled up in an armchair and studying for her History of Magic class. The class would make anyone fall asleep, even if they drank five Red Bull before entering. The Professor had a way of explaining things that made it extremely hard to keep her eyes open. The information was fascinating but the presentation was lifeless. The dorm was almost empty that night, leaving the common room to Lilly. 

She would normally study in the library but the roaring fire had enticed her more than a walk across campus. She had found herself sinking into her thoughts rather than focusing on her studies. Lilly wondered about her mother and about her friends she left behind in New York. She had just up and left one day with no warning. She wondered what they thought she was doing, if they thought she had gotten into a prestigious grad school like Dean Fogg had promised they would. Lilly hadn't called or texted anyone outside of Brakebills since the first day she arrived and she found herself reaching for her phone. Once she realized that magic was real, the rest of her life had taken a backseat, completely wiped from her thoughts as if it never really happened. 

Lilly found herself reaching for her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she found her mother's number. She held the phone up to her ear, listening to the ringing as she waited for an answer... and waited. She was just about to hang up when her mother's happy British voice filled the phone.

"Hello Darling! I'm so proud of you! Getting into grad school and a full scholarship too!"

"Hi Mom, I'm really loving it here. The people are amazing and I'm really learning a lot." Lilly felt horrible for lying to her mother but she knew that it was what she had to do. She could hear background noise behind her mother's voice, making it hard to understand what she was saying. "Where are you? Why is it so loud?"

"Sorry, I'm at a work event. Just a little party the British Museum is throwing." This information didn't surprise Lilly. Her mother worked as a curator for museums, most recently, the British Museum. She was always traveling to different places, delivering and coordinating exhibits.

"How are you Mum? We haven't talked in a while." Lilly asked.

"Oh, everything is fine! Working hard, getting things done, you know, the usual." She said quickly, "Listen. I have to go, they need me. But I'm going to be in New York in a few weeks, delivering something for the Guggenheim. Lunch? We can go to that pizza place you love. I have something important to speak with you about"

"Sounds good Mom." Lilly told her, slightly disappointed that she didn't have time to talk and wondered what was so important to warrant a visit. It wasn't often that her mother took time away from her busy life to spend time with her only daughter. "Better not keep them waiting."

"Love you! Goodbye!" Her mother hung up quickly leaving Lilly to say,

"Love you too." But no one was listening, only the dial tone. She sighed, continuing to scroll through her contacts, placing a call to her friend Cara. The phone rang with no response, directing her to leave a message.

"You've reached Cara. Sorry I can't take your call right now -" Lilly's head snapped up as a bang echoed through the dorm.

"Hello?" Lilly called. No answer. She quickly dropped the call to Cara, abandoning her armchair. The Banging continued, coming from the back door. She crept towards it, calling out again with no answer. "I swear to God if someone is playing a joke on me I'm gonna kill you!" She grabbed the knob, turning it and bracing for someone to jump out at her. Her eyes widened at the sight of a vibrant green forest laid out in front of her, rays of sunlight illuminated the clearing. She knew immediately where she was. Fillory. She stepped through the door, wandering through the masses of vines draped over branches until she found Jane. Jane Chatwin sat on what looked like a swing, made out of thousands of vines intertwined. She swung lazily, not looking at Lilly.

"Took you long enough." Jane spoke, finally turning to face her. "I've been waiting."

Lilly moved towards the girl, amazed at how vivid these dreams of Jane were.

"You're a dream. I can't be late if I made you up." Jane laughed at her in the same way

someone would laugh at a babbling child. She stood from her seat, materializing a foot away, causing Lilly to jump in surprise.

"Yes, I am a dream, but why on earth should that mean I am not real. You of all people

should know that."

"What do you-"

"Enough talking. You haven't heeded my advice." Jane strolled around Lilly, sizing her

up. "You have not prepared yourself for what is to come. At this rate you'll be dead soon and we will have to start all over again."

"Would you stop being so vague? How am I supposed to prepare myself for something when I

don't even know what is coming!" Lilly was becoming increasingly irritated with Jane and the way she talked in circles all the time.

"You will know soon enough. Here," Jane said, holding out her hand. "take this." She opened her fingers to reveal a glass horse, almost identical to the one Alice had made in class the other day, resting in her palm.

"What does a glass horse have to do with anything?" Lilly asked, reaching out to take the

object. On closer inspection she noticed that the creature was missing an ear, probably chipped off at some point.

"Find Quentin. You'll know what to do." Jane said shortly.

"What-"

"Enough you must wake up. Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Lilly shot up in her armchair, never having left. Her heart beat fast from the jolt to consciousness. A quick glance at the clock revealed it was eleven o'clock and a few people had returned to the dorms, studying at the tables across the entryway from the common room. Something hard poked into her hand and she glanced down to see the same glass horse as in her dream, resting in her hand. 'Yes, I am a dream, but why on earth should that mean I am not real.' Jane's voice echoed in her mind as she stared at the object that shouldn't exist. Picking up

her phone she quickly texted Quentin, asking where he was. I took a moment but a response came through.

Navar's classroom with Alice. come meet us - Q

Lilly didn't hesitate as she gathered her things and headed out the door. It only took her a few minutes to reach the building as it wasn't very far from the dorm. She had begun waking down the hall when she saw two people walking towards her, meeting in the middle beside the door to the classroom. Penny stood in front of her looking less than pleased to see her, a girl close behind, someone named Kady. Lilly had seen her in class but they had never spoken.

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." he fired back to which Lilly gave him an honest answer.

"I'm meeting Quentin and Alice. You're turn." He looked at her shaking his head.

"I don't owe you an explanation." Penny pushed the door open walking into the classroom

before she could say anymore. Inside, Quentin and Alice sat across from each other, between them was a cloth laid out under various bowls and lit candles. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were casting a spell.

"Uh. Hi. So..." Penny greeted awkwardly.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Kady said, "You were sent here to help these losers?"

"Sent?" Alice asked them. "Who sent you?

"No one." Penny stated defensively, "Look, I gather you guys need some extra hands or

something."

"That's interesting, because I was sent here too." Lilly told them, looking around at everyone's confused faces. "I had a dream- or vision maybe? I was told to find Quentin and they gave me this." Lilly pulled the chipped horse from her pocket holding it out for everyone to see.

"Where did you get that?" Alice asked, quickly snatching the horse from Lilly's grasp.

"This was Charlie's."

"Who's Charlie?" Penny asked, just as confused as Lilly.

"My brother. That's who we're trying to summon." Alice explained. "The spell says we need five people, each one magically adept and here they are... Please, come sit down. This is perfect timing." Alice moved to sit next to Quentin, leaving the other side of the cloth open. Penny and Kady sat across from them and Lilly took a spot at the end between the two couples. "The horse you brought..." Alice began, pausing. This was obviously a painful subject and Lilly put two and two together to figure out that Charlie was dead. Why else would they be summoning him? "Charlie used to make glass horses for me when we were younger. I loved horses and I still do, but this horse... This was the first one I ever made by myself. He had been trying to teach it to me for months and I finally managed to do it. Charlie was so proud of me that he gave it a place of honor on top of his dresser." She inhaled painfully and Lilly could tell she was trying to keep the tears at bay. "When Charlie died, my mom threw a fit. She started trashing his bedroom, saying that she couldn't stand to see all his things anymore. It was too painful. She knocked the horse over and that's why it has a chip. I managed to save it before it got thrown out with the rest of his things. We need something of emotional value to him in order to do the summoning. I don't have much left of his things so i was hoping that I could be used. It was hidden in my room

at home. How did you get it?"

"I told you. I had a dream and the person in my dream gave it to me. I woke up and it

was in my hand."

"Was this person blonde, tall? Was it Charlie?" Alice looked so hopeful that it pained Lilly to tell the truth, but that's what she did.

"No. It was Jane Chatwin, from Fillory and Further." Alice and Quentin shared a look while

Penny complained.

"I'm surrounded by nerds." Lilly glared at him before turning her attention back to Alice.

"What aren't you telling me?" She asked, not forgetting the look the two had shared.

"I had a dream too." Quentin told her pulling a cloth from his palm. "Jane Chatwin gave

me this." A large symbol of sorts was branded into his palm.

"It was the key piece of the spell. I have no idea how he got it." Alice told her looking

completely lost as to how they both had dreams and received essential parts of her spell.

"Can we get this over with?" Penny asked them, clearly annoyed. Alice nodded, placing the correct ingredients in their corresponding parts.

"Join hands please." Alice instructed and they all did except for Penny.

"I am not holding your hand Quentin." Q had reached out to take Penny's hand but he was

not having it. It was a few moments of arguing before Kady finally switched seats with Penny so that he wouldn't have to hold his hand. Penny groaned when he realized that now he would have to hold Lilly's hand instead. "I just can't win, can I?" He reluctantly took her hand, completing the circle. 

Alice lead them in a chant which caused the bowl in the middle of the circle to boil though there was no heat. The five of them completed the spell, waiting until midnight for Charlie to arrive through the mirror Alice had spelled. The seconds ticked by slowly, having them all on the edge of their seats, but when the clock struck midnight, nothing happened. No Charlie. No anyone. They all stared expectantly at the mirror but their spell must not have worked. Alice's eyes stared straight ahead, the pain she felt written clear as day across her face. Penny and Kady took off as soon as they realized nothing was happening, leaving the three of them to clean up.

"I'm so sorry Alice." Lilly told her but Alice just ignored the words. Once they had cleaned up she sent Alice a quick goodbye before heading back to the dorm.

➻➻➻➻

Lilly barely slept that night, too busy wondering why the spell hadn't worked. They had all the ingredients and they had enough people. So why didn't it work? These thoughts continued throughout the next day, keeping her from focusing on her classes. She walked into her Alchemy class that afternoon, taking a seat beside Alice, not bothering to engage her in conversation. She knew how disappointed the girl had been after the failed summoning. This particular class had Lilly in a permanently confused state, but she still took notes and tried her best to understand.

"Always pay close attention to the alloys." Professor Navar told them, "Iron has a neutral quality whereas silver and Gold have the effect of magnifying the components of the alloy-"

The Professor had lost Lilly at 'pay close attention', but she didn't seem to be the only one completely bored. Quentin was playing with coins at his desk on the other side of the room, while Penny and Kady were fooling around in the back. She was trying her best to keep up with the lesson but it became increasingly hard when the professor started talking in German.

"-From the famous German poet and wizard, Kruka-" Navar began another stream of German. Lilly was just about to ask Alice if she knew what was going on, when something very peculiar happened, every muscle and bone in her body froze. The Professor stopped mid-sentence, his body freezing up as well. The only part of her body that Lilly was able to use was her eyes, which moved around frantically as she tried figure out what was happening. Everyone that she could see from the position she was stuck in was frozen in place too. She figured it was a prank by one of the upperclassmen, meant to mess with the newbies. 

Then she heard something...wings. Thousands of fluttering wings and then, footsteps. A chill went down her spine, whatever this was, it was not good. The footsteps moved leisurely from the back of the room, all the way to the front. Lilly's heart was beating out of her chest now as she felt a pair of wings brush up against her and then another and another, until there was a whole swarm of moths around her. Then if it was even possible her eyes got wider as she saw the man. No. The Beast in front of her. She had prayed she would never see it again, but here it was. The beast that had haunted her nightmares as a child was now standing before her, clear as day. She squeezed her eyes shut as tight as they would go.

This is just a dream. Open your eyes Lilly! But in that moment, she knew, there was no waking up from this nightmare. All she could do was pray that it would not see her and it would move on. To her utter relief it did. Moving past her to the front of the room, pausing before the frozen figure of Professor Navar. Her relief soon turned to horror as she watched The Beast use his magic to crush Navar's windpipe. He dropped like a stone and all Lilly wanted to do was scream, but her mouth wouldn't move and neither would her legs. She was trapped like a fly in a web. 

The Beast turned to face the terrified students just as a bang sounded from the back of the room. A spell flew past Lilly's periphery and slammed The Beast back into the table behind him. This didn't do much though, because within seconds of being hit, the moth man had recovered, using his own spell on whoever their would-be savior was. 

Lilly heard a gasp from the back, but was unable to see from her current position. Things were quiet for a moment before the sounds of something being ripped and squished could be heard for where the gasp had been. Lilly felt sick from fear and the ghastly sounds. A body dropped and the silence had returned. The uncertainty was killing her, not knowing what was happening or if they would even make it out alive. 

The sound of a coin dropping hit her ears and from where she was seated she could just barely see Quentin. She knew it had been him, he had been playing with a quarter before they were all frozen. The footsteps picked up again and Lilly prayed that the monster would ignore the sound. Her prayers were not answered. She watched as The Beast made its way in front of Quentin, leaning forward to get a better look.

"Quentin Coldwater. There you are..."