The Gift of Magic

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It didn't take long for Peter to arrange for them to be on the next plane out of Denver, they'd fly commercial then take a private plane to the island. Morgan was apprehensive about the trip, not only because she was leaving with a man she barely knew to a destination she’d never heard about, but because Peter had insisted that they couldn't leave without both of the grimoires. The Corey grimoire wasn't a problem, she'd never logged it into the library, the Bradbury one was a different story.

“You want me to steal it?” Morgan had asked shocked.

“I don't think there's any other way to describe it. Morgan, we have to have that book, it's been missing for years and if nothing else should be destroyed.” Peter had said, shocking her to the core.

“You want to destroy it?”

“I don't know if we have any other choice. From what you've told me that book is very dangerous and if it belongs to who I think it does, we have to be sure that it never leaves the island again.”

Morgan thought about his words, and realized that there was still a lot of information missing, “Peter, it feels like you're still holding information from me. Who does that book belong to? Is it the same person who sent that man after me, the man who kidnapped me?”

“I think it does, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. When we get to the island my mother will be able to tell us, she's the scholar on the island, the person who would know.” Peter said, still avoiding answering all her questions. “I know you're probably still confused, but I don't want to throw too much at you all at once, we'll talk more later. Right now, I want you to try and relax, you look a little pale.”

Morgan leaned her head against the car seat and took a deep breath, she did feel overwhelmed, but every time she closed her eyes all she saw was the man who attacked her. It didn't help that she was about to do the one thing she'd never thought she'd do, steal a rare book left in her care. Just thinking about it made her stomach hurt and her heart rate speed up. But by the time they reached the library she'd come to the painful conclusion that she really had no choice but to steal the book, she'd felt the evil radiating off of it, knew that it held amazing power.

Since it was the weekend, she had little problem sliding into the library unseen. She used the door she knew the security guards always left propped open so they could smoke, and was in and out in only a few minutes, both books tucked into her jacket. There was no way to avoid the security cameras or the need to enter her security code to get into her office, but by the time anyone realized she was gone, she'd be on Corey Island, the last place anyone would think to look for her. She felt sick to her stomach at what she'd done, and promised herself that she wouldn't let the book be destroyed no matter how evil it was.

By the time they got through security at the airport, Morgan was a mess, sure that she was going to be arrested at any moment. Peter had to keep reminding her to stop looking over her shoulder, she knew that he was becoming impatient with her, but she'd just stolen a rare book and was sure that they were going to be caught. When they sat down at the gate to wait for the plane, he put the cases that held the books between their feet, put his head back and closed his eyes. But it wasn't long before Morgan's anxious shifting in her seat made him open his eyes and look at her, seeing her pale face he put himself in her place and realized that he'd feel the same way.

“Look I know you're worried about getting caught, but it will be a few days before they notice that it's gone.” He said, then added, “I have an idea. You should call in on Monday and tell them that you've got a family emergency, tell them that you had to fly to California today to help out and that you won't be back until next week, that'll buy us some time.”

Morgan thought that over, “Do you think we'll be able to return the book?”

“I don't know, grandmother might be able to neutralize it, remove the evil. I know it's important to you that it's not destroyed so we'll try, but I can't promise anything.” He said, then put his head back and closed his eyes again.

Morgan knew that she had to be satisfied with that answer, at least Peter was thinking of a way to save the book, it was a minor thing to be concerned with considering everything else she was facing, but it made her feel better to know that he'd at least try. She tried to put her head back and rest like Peter was doing, but her mind wouldn't shut down, so when their flight was called she was glad to board the plane. Moving forward at this point was the only way she'd be able to keep her sanity, and she was determined to made Peter answer all her questions once they were in the air.

But after takeoff she couldn't seem to keep her eyes open and in only minutes she was sound asleep. She'd never flown first class and the seats were amazingly comfortable for an airplane, when a soft blanket was thrown over her, she snuggled down into the seat, her brain finally calm and quiet. While she slept she had strange dreams about her father and the grimoire, dreams that weren't so much upsetting as confusing, her father repeating the same phrase over and over until she was sure it was burned into her mind.

But when Peter nudged her and whispered that they were about to land, the dreams and the phrase evaporated leaving her with the sense of confusion and sadness. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't remember the dream, but she could sense that it was important that she did. Finally, she put it from her mind, knowing that she'd drive herself crazy if she didn't. There were so many pieces of the puzzle that had become her life still missing, that she couldn't afford to focus on a dream, maybe once the other pieces were in place the dream would come back to her.

It was late in the afternoon before they climbed onto the private plane that would take them to Marblehead, where they'd then have to take a boat to Corey Island. Morgan was relieved to see that they were the only ones on the plane, she had so many questions for Peter and she couldn't imagine asking them in front of people she didn't know. Once they were in the air, she turned to Peter and opened her mouth, but he held up his hand and stopped her.

“I'll try to explain everything to you, it's a complicated situation, one that you'll understand better when we get to the island. First though I want to remind you that people are people no matter who they are, there are good witches and bad witches.” He said, waiting for some response from her.

It took Morgan a second to get past the word witch, but she nodded, knowing that it was going to take time to get used to the idea that not only did witches exist but that she was one. “Our coven has always believed in using our magic for only good, but there are other covens out there that use their gifts only for their own gratification. That grimoire from the library, the one with Bradbury on the front belonged to a family of witches who fell into that last category, a family that strove only to better themselves not through hard work, but through witchcraft.”

Morgan nodded again to show that she understood, there were plenty of people like that in the world. “As you can imagine, our family has always opposed those kind of people, but when the Bradbury's challenged another coven and lost it seemed like the perfect chance to integrate the survivors into our coven. It was a hotly debated decision, but in the end a hand full of people were brought to the island, among them was Malcolm Bradbury, who quickly became your father's best friend.”

“He never talked about his childhood.” Morgan said, trying to envision her father as a child.

“They were just boys and Malcolm needed someone in his life, his father had all but destroyed himself in his quest for power and taken the family down with him. But your father looked past what the man had done, never blamed Malcolm for his father's choices and because of that he was fiercely protective of your father.” Peter paused to collect his thoughts and Morgan couldn't help but ask a question.

“Is the grimoire theirs? Are they the Bradbury's in the book?”

“I think that book belonged to them, but it was lost when Malcolm's father challenged the other coven and it hasn't been seen since then.”

“It was found in a used book store in New York.” Morgan said absently, thinking of all the evil spells in the book and how dangerous they were.

“That makes sense since all this happened in the city.” Peter said, waiting for her attention again. Then continued when he had it, “When your father and Malcolm went off to college things began to go bad between them, Malcolm was jealous of your father, felt that he used his powers to get ahead. It all came to a head the day your father married your mother, Malcolm had been in love with her since they'd met her, but she was in love with your father, actually laughed in his face when he told her that he loved her on the day of the wedding.”

“That doesn't sound like my mother, that can't....” Morgan said, then trailed off, her mother had lied to her for most of her life, she wasn't perfect.

“Malcolm swore that he'd get even with your father one day, that he'd come and take all that should have been his, including your mother. We know that he spent the next few years building his own coven and looking for his family grimoire, which we now know he never found. When you were four, he challenged your father for control of the coven which was his first mistake because he would have never been able to beat your father. His second mistake was having you kidnapped, I'm sure he thought it would throw your father off, distract him, give him the advantage he needed, but instead he rescued you and took you away. He's been waiting all these years to face your father, to finish what they started.”

“Malcolm Bradbury is the reason I've been living a lie.” Morgan said, finally able associate a name with all her troubles.

“Yes, he's the final piece of the puzzle, the reason that your dad kept your family and heritage from you all your life.” Peter said, relieved that Morgan was taking it all so well.

“And now that my fathers gone?”

“He'll be after you, the grimoire and the coven belong to you now.”