The Gift of Magic

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Malphas soared over Corey Island getting as close as he could before the protective spells that engulfed the island drove him upward. The layers of protection on the island were stronger than anything he'd ever faced, but he was a strong demon and could see through some of the layers to the ground. He thought it would take him some time to find the witch but to his surprise he found her immediately sitting on the shore talking to what he assumed was her familiar.

It had been over twenty years since he'd seen her the last time, but he'd known that the day would come when their paths would cross again. To him twenty years was nothing more than a blink of the eye in a life that had no end. When he'd met the witch all those years ago, she'd been nothing more than a child, but to his surprise she'd nearly defeated him, catching him off guard with her powers. Malcolm had sent him to the island to spirit her away, a job he'd resisted at first, feeling it below him, but he'd soon discovered that she was a formidable witch capable of defending herself even at that age.

Her familiar was a fierce warrior with talents of his own and he was disappointed to see him sitting next to Morgan on the rock, he'd hoped that the spirit would have been gone. But as he soared over the ocean, the power of the witch shimmering around her, he was sure that his plan would still work. Sure, that he could use his charm to gain her trust, then make her his, a willing witch to compliment his power. Together they would rule the mortal world, pleasing Satan and assuring his place in the underworld forever.

That fool Malcolm thought that he had him in his power, but the demon had only been playing along, waiting for the day that the witch could be of use to him. Looking at her there on the shore he could sense her power, but it was confused, as if she had no control over it and he knew that the time was not quite right. He'd have to be patient, keep an eye on her until she was ready, then he'd make his move. In the meantime, Malcolm would keep him entertained with his pathetic attempts to get what he thought belonged to him, it was going to be especially gratifying to take the witch away from him.

He'd have to keep that silly magician happy, make him think that he was on his side. He was looking forward to the day the stupid man got what was coming to him, the day when he could finally break free of that stupid circle and crush him, show him that on his own he had no power. The man was no different than his father had been, deceived by his own ego into thinking that he controlled him, when Malphas had been in control the entire time, merely playing along with his schemes for entertainment.

The son was no different than the father, but he had given him this witch and for that he'd let the ruse go on for all these years, letting Malcolm and his followers believe that the man had a chance of becoming the most powerful witch the world had ever seen, it had severed his purposes, but there was no way he was going to let the man get his hands on Morgan, she belong to him and someday he and he alone would command her.

Morgan and Magnus sat in a comfortable silence, but the sound of a barking dog down the beach caught both of their attention and before she could even blink he shifted into his animal form and crawled into her lap. Immediately on her guard, Morgan watched a man approach, groaning when she realized who it was. The last thing she wanted right now was another round of confusing feelings, especially when one of those was desire, but clearly the man wasn't going to turn around. Hopefully, he'd just wave and walk on by, but deep down she knew that it wasn't going to happen that way.

When he and the shaggy dog got close enough, the dog came trotting up to the rock she was sitting on and began to bark. Whiskers, as she thought of Magnus when he was in the form of a cat, stood up and arched his back, hissing at the dog, who seemed completely unaware of the cat. The dog began to run in circles, barking as if he'd found a great treasure, then sat down and stared at her. Morgan wanted to shoo the dog away, his big staring eyes unnerving her.

“I'm sorry, he's a good dog, but doesn't always listen.” Devon said, coming up to stand beside the dog.

As Morgan looked closer at the dog, she realized that this wasn't an ordinary dog, it shimmered in the sunlight like it was charged with electricity. “What's his name?” She asked, wondering if this was a familiar like her own.

“He doesn't have a name, at least not one we can pronounce.” Devon said, then pointed to the cat and asked, “Who's that. He doesn't look very happy.”

“This is Whiskers and I don't think he likes your dog.” Morgan said, hoping that would encourage Devon to move along.

“No, I guess not.” Devon said, then on impulse held out his hand, “I'm Devon Bradbury.”

Morgan didn't want to take his hand, had a feeling that the simple act of shaking hands with the man would give her knowledge she wasn't ready for, but she held out her hand, unable to stop herself. “I'm Morgan Corey.”

When their hands touched a rush of electricity passed between them, taking her breath away and making her heart pound in her chest. Devon held her hand a little longer than necessary, smiling at her as if he'd found a treasure, making her slightly uncomfortable but she couldn't seem to pull her hand away.

“It's nice to meet you Morgan, I'm new to the island and I don't know very many people.” Devon said, resisting the urge to blurt out that he'd been looking for her for most of his life, he knew that it would scare her, but he wanted to very badly just to see what her reaction would be.

“I'm new here too.” She said, finally looking into his eyes which was a mistake.

Desire washed over her and she hoped that he couldn't see her reaction, it was mortifying to suddenly be this head over heels for a man she hardly knew. A man who was the son of the man who had forced her father to leave the only home he'd ever know and live a life that was on a fraction of what his life should have been. As much as she was attracted to him, she knew that she shouldn't trust him, that she needed to go slowly.

Devon could sense her wariness and knew that it was time to move on. “Hopefully I'll see you around the island, I better finish my walk, the dog gets anxious if we stand around too long.” He said, wishing he hadn't seen the look of relief on her face.

“I'm sure we'll run into each other, it's a small place.” She said, then noticed that he was suddenly full of tension. “What's wrong?”

Devon looked around, sent his extra senses streaming out in all directions, but couldn't pin point where the evil he'd felt had come from. There were animals and birds in the woods, a crow flying out beyond the breakers, but nothing that seemed alarming, shrugging he tried to push the feeling away but it held tight.

“I'm not sure, something doesn't feel right.” Devon said, with a shrug.

Morgan c****d her head at him, studied him for a minute then made a brash suggestion. “Maybe you could walk me back to the village.” She wasn't exactly scared but something was telling her that it was time to leave the beach and that Devon would be the perfect escort.

Devon wasn't about to question what had made her ask him to walk with her, but he guessed that she was feeling the same thing he was. With her head c****d to one side like it was, he could see her magic flaring, her aura pulsing with magical light, and was amazed that she wasn't even trying to hide just how powerful she was. Of course, not everyone would be able to see her aura, but those that could would have been awed by the colors they saw, it was like a rainbow pulsing around her head.

He'd never seen anything like it before and for a moment was actually frightened by the power she possessed. But then she smiled at him and all his fear disappeared, it was then that he realized that although he'd found the woman from his dreams, he knew nothing at all about her. One thing was clear to him though, he had been sent here for this woman, soul mate or not, there was something bigger going on, that whiff of evil in the air was a clear enough message for him.

“I'd love to walk you home.” He said, reaching a hand toward her and helping her down off the rock, his large hand engulfing her smaller one.

Isobel sat at her kitchen table staring at her grandson, “I don't know Peter, we're still not even sure that Devon is the man your uncle said would come for Morgan. I still don't trust him, I don't think he's told us the complete truth.” She said, getting up to pace around the kitchen.

“But if it is him, then we're only wasting time by not telling her. She's practically bursting with magic and before long it's going to start flaring up, if Devon Bradbury is the man who is supposed to teach her how to harness her magic I think she should know.” Peter argued.

“If it was only that I wouldn't be so cautious, but don't forget about the grimoire. I still don't know what to think about all of this happening at once. What if I'm wrong about him? What if he's really working for his father? I think we have to especially vigilant when it comes to anyone from that family.” Isobel said, sitting down at the table, her mind clearly made up.

“I can see that you've decided not to tell her.” Peter said, knowing he'd lost.

“If Devon Bradbury is the one in the prophecy, it will happen on its own. I'm willing to wait and watch for a while, give things time to happen on their own. Besides, I'm not sure Morgan would welcome another sudden intimacy in her life, I'm afraid we've all been a bit much for her.” Isobel said, shaking her head.

“I'll accept your decision, but in the mean time don't you think we should start teaching Morgan something.” Peter suggested.

“Yes, I think that's an excellent idea. You can begin her lessons tomorrow morning. I'll tell her at dinner tonight.”

“Me? I'm not a teacher, there are so many other people who would be so much better at it than me. You, for example.” Peter said, jumping to his feet.

“That may be true, but she trusts you, shes comfortable with you, so for now you're her teacher. Just start with simple spells, the kind of spells that you teach children, but remember that she's very powerful.” Isobel instructed, nodding her head, liking the plan.

Peter was silent for a long time, thinking about the task in front of him. Then he asked, “How powerful is she?”

“Even I'm not sure how deep her power goes, so go slowly.” Isobel said, then added, “Our goal is to have her ready to read that other grimoire, figure out whose it is and how to deal with it.”