The Gift of Magic

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Morgan had no idea where she was going to spend the next few hours, she could go back to her apartment, but she had the explainable need for some fresh air. As early in the morning as it was, she felt safe walking around the campus of the very small private college where the library was located. The morning had turned misty and the lights along the well-lit path gave off a luminescent glow, much like the grimoire had.

As she walked, the events of the last few days went around and around in her mind, and no matter how she looked at it, she was left with more questions than answers. She hadn't gone far when she thought she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her, Peter's warning at the café popped into her mind. At the time it had just seemed like part of some sophisticated practical joke, but now she thought about it some more and wondered if it had been a good idea to go walking alone.

The answer to her question came in the form of a very tall man, who stepped into the middle of the path in front of her. Startled, she let out a little scream and backed up a step, trying to remember the shortest way back, but finding her mind blank. When the man advanced a step closer, a wicked smile on his face, his eyes full of anticipation and licked his lips, she turned and ran.

She couldn't hear him behind her, so she snuck a look over her shoulder, screaming when she saw that he was only a few steps behind her. Hoping that her sense of direction was correct, she turned off the path, ducking under low hanging branches and leaping over bushes toward her car in the parking lot. The man came crashing after her, grunting and cursing when the branches caught him in the face, but still too close behind her for her to slow down.

As she ran she wished that she'd learned a protection spell from the grimoire, then laughed out loud at the thought, wasting a few precious breaths of air and slowing herself down. The man was getting closer, she could feel him behind her, a presence that seemed to be radiating cold air. Just when she thought he'd catch her, she burst through the bushes that surrounded the parking lot and saw that her car was only a few spaces away.

Hope gave her a burst of energy and she made it to her car before the man managed to get through the bushes, but her hands were shaking so much she couldn't get the key in the lock. Hearing the man coming up behind her, she turned wishing that someone was around, that the parking lot wasn't deserted, that someone would come along who could save her from the man who was clearly planning to do something terrible to her.

She was backed up against her car door, keys in her hand to defend herself, but not feeling much hope when there was a shimmering in the air in front of her. The man saw it too and stopped, clearly not sure what he was seeing, but then he raised his hands and murmured a few words. His hands began to glow and the shimmering disappeared, leaving nothing between he and Morgan but a few feet of asphalt. She looked around the parking lot again, wishing for what she figured was the last time, that someone would come to her rescue, then closed her eyes unwilling to look at the man any longer.

A burst of hot air made her open her eyes, then close them again, the shimmering light was back again, the heat of it so intense her eyes watered and burned. She heard the man gasp and forced her eyes open to see him backing up, again mumbling words and holding his hands out in front of him. As she watched, the light brightened then began to change until the figure of a man could be clearly seen glowing in the darkness like a light of hope.

Morgan sensed immediately that the man would protect her, that he had been sent to keep her safe, that he'd been doing so for a long time and immediately relaxed. Looking at the man, a feeling of immense power flowed through her, flooding her with a feeling of warmth and well being when the glowing figure turned and looked at her over his shoulder. It was quickly followed by a feeling of recognition which made the man smile, before he turned back to her attacker.

The air was alive with the feeling of magic, how she knew that's what it was she wasn't sure but she knew that a force greater than anything she'd ever imagined was at work. In a flash of light, her protector was on her attacker, his feeble attempts to defend himself doing nothing to protect him, it was only seconds before the man was unconscious on the ground at Morgan's feet and the parking lot was once again dark.

Hands shaking, she finally managed to unlock her car and jumped in, she started it and roared out of the parking lot, the urge to scream building in her chest. After a few miles she pulled over, glad that there were few cars on the road, she put her head down on the steering wheel and tried to calm down. Not sure if she wanted to cry or scream, she waited for both feelings to pass, but although she began to feel calmer, she couldn't stop shaking.

When she was finally calm enough to drive, she headed straight for her apartment, the attack flashing though her mind over and over, all she wanted was to go somewhere she felt safe. When she stopped at the traffic light in front of the café, she glanced in the window and to her great relief saw that Peter was sitting in the booth by the front window. It was still hours until they were supposed to meet there, but she didn't care, Peter would be able to explain what was happening to her. Screeching to a halt in front of the café, ignoring the no parking signs, she turned the car off and got out, unsteady on her feet.

The screeching of tires made Peter look up, the sun had just begun to rise and it was a strange sound to hear this early in the morning. He'd been trying to concentrate on his work with little success, the feeling that Morgan was in danger getting stronger and stronger as the minutes ticked by. When she stumbled out of the car, he was on his feet almost instantly rushing for the front door, alarmed when he saw how white her face was and the way she was shaking, his first thought that she was hurt.

“What happened?” He demanded the minute he reached her, then pulled her into his arms when he saw the look on her face. “Are you hurt?”

The minute Peter's arms came around her, Morgan instantly felt better, but she was still shaking uncontrollably. “I'm not hurt, but….” She couldn't finish her sentence, her relief at finding Peter so great that she couldn't control all the emotion inside her and she burst into tears.

Peter let her cry, cursing himself for not having her followed, but at the time he was afraid that if he did and she found out she’d never speak to him again. “It's okay, you're safe.” He repeated over and over until she began to calm down, the sobs coming less and less frequently.

Finally, she pulled away from him and looked up at him. “I'm sorry.” She said, embarrassed to have come so completely unglued in front of a man she hardly knew, family or not it was humiliating to be standing in his arms crying.

Peter could feel Morgan shaking, “Let's go inside and get you something hot to drink and then you can tell me what happened.”

He helped her to the booth where he'd been sitting, then went to the counter and got her a cup of steaming coffee. When he set it down in front of her, she was calmer and some of the color had returned to her cheeks. He slid in next to her and put his arm around her again, waited until she seemed calm enough to talk, then asked again what happened.

She took a few sips of the coffee, feeling her equilibrium return bit by bit until she felt calm enough to speak. “I needed to go for a walk, I needed to think.” She began, then stopped, an image of the man who'd tried to attack her flashing through her mind. “There was a man, he tried to attack me.”

Morgan started to shake again, so he said, “But you're okay.” When she didn't respond, he said it again and she took a deep breath.

“It's all just too much." She finally said. “The books, the man, my apartment, I can't take much more of this.”

“What do you mean the books?” Peter asked, suddenly worried about the grimoire.

“There's another grimoire, it's part of a private collection that was donated to the library, remember I told you about it. It's awful, full of terrible pictures and a spell to call a demon.”

“Why didn't you tell me about that sooner?” Peter asked, wondering what else she hadn't told him. “I want you to start from the beginning and tell me everything.”

After several stops and starts, Morgan managed to tell him about everything that had happened to her over the last few days, from the spell she used in her apartment, to the way an apparition had appeared and saved her just in the nick of time. As she talked, she began to calm down, Peter's acceptance of what she was telling him, making her feel less like she was losing her mind.

When she'd finished, he was silent for a long time, making her worry that he wasn't quite as accepting of everything as she'd thought. But then he finally said, “I'm sorry you had to go through all that, I shouldn't have left the grimoire with you. I should have realized that they'd come after it.”

Morgan thought about that for a second, then realized that the attack had nothing to do with the grimoire. “I don't think he was after the book, I think he was after me.” She said, a shiver running through her.

“What makes you say that?”

“I didn't even have it with me. It was the look in his eyes, it was like he was hunting me, like I was his prey and he was enjoying the chase.” She explained, closing her eyes trying to remember exactly what the man had looked like, but all she could remember was his eyes. “He was evil, Peter, I could sense it.”

“I knew that something was wrong, but I didn't know what, I never dreamed that they'd come after you. I thought you'd be safe enough for now.” Peter said, then added, “We've got to get you out of here, you need to come home with me, it's the only way I can be sure that you'll be safe.”

“You want me to just leave? I have a job and a life here.” Morgan said, still unable to believe that her life had been turned so totally upside down. “I need to know what's going on, I need some answers.”

“It's a long story Morgan, one I don't have time to tell you now. I need you to trust me, I know that might seem hard right now, but I can protect you on the island, I can't here. I promise that once I know you're safe, ' explain everything.”

Morgan looked up at Peter, remembering the words her father had said to her in her apartment, “I'll go with you, but first I want to see my mother.”