The Ragnix Circle

“Are you sure about this Tyler?”

“Sure as daylight dad.” I had rushed to my dad’s study the moment I got home. Ash was safely away in the dorms. Our escape from the research center was a lucky one. Just when Ash wanted us to leave, the circle took it upon themselves to begin getting out. We had to stay behind the canisters as they slowly filed out. Worse still, the tour was coming to an end. We were lucky that the alchemists allowed the rest of the plebs to linger round one of the fire charmed heaters.

As soon as the Circle had dispersed leaving the empty shell that was once Norbert seated on the stool staring through the glass wall at us. It was easy finding our way to the bus after locating the other students. We found them right next to the door they had gone through when we came by. We had been as silent as the grave mounds back home in my little village on the way back, both scared to speak of what we had seen.

I had waited for ash to enter the doors of the dorm, before heading off to my bike. I dint stop by my usual place to think. My mind had one goal and that was to find my parents and tell them what we had seen. If there were any two people that could stop this from happening, it was them.

“That means they know about the true power of blood magic Sam,” my mum said from the big chair opposite my dad. “That is clearly bad for us all.”

“Yeah,” I said flustered. “You had to be there to see what happened to the other kid. It was scary, really scary. The way they left his body there as if it meant nothing…” I shivered at the thought of Norbert’s lifeless eyes staring at me. “…scary.”

“We know Ty,” my mum said calmly. “Unlike you, we’ve seen this magic work before.”

“When?”

“Forget about it Ty,” my mum said before turning to my dad. “What are we gonna do about it?”

“I will deal with this tonight,” my dad said firmly. “I must go and see these fools at the research center. Avian can’t hide it away from me for so long.”

“Be careful Sam,” my mum said. “There is something helping him and that something will do anything to get rid of you.

“I will be.” He got up and walked over to her side. He turned his back to me so I could not make out a single thing he was doing. “When the time is right to you Emily, you know what to do.”

“Don’t be so rash Sam.”

“I have to be,” he said. “To save the plebs and the little semblance of a sensible world we have left. I think the day has come when, magic shall be divided.”

My dad turned round and left the study, leaving me and my mum seated right next to each other. I wondered where my father was going and somehow I feared for his life. I could not help thinking about the small exchange about the time being right for whatever plan B they had.

“Don’t be scared for your dad,” my mum said, “he knows what he is doing Tyler.”

“It’s just that I’ve barely known him.”

“I have barely found the man I fell in love with.” My mum laughed. “There he is running off to almost get himself killed. How do you think I feel? At least you are lucky that there is no one to make you feel the way your father does me?”

I wish you knew. “Luck. Yeah.”

I don’t know if it was my expression or just a mother’s intuition, but my mum practically knew what was on mind. “You know it is rather impossible with the current laws?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Don’t lie to me Tyler,” my mum said. “I saw the way you looked at that girl. It’s the same way that most people in love look at each other. It’s the same look your father gave me a number of years ago.”

I could barely speak; not trusting what I knew was inside of me.

“It’s ok Ty.”

“Is it?”

“Yes,” my mum said. She got up from the seat and went over to the window. “I managed to live without Sam for sixteen years because I knew what was important. We had to protect the two most endangered families by protecting you. I had you for all those years to remind me of the man I loved. Besides, we knew it would only be a matter of time before the rest of the Ragnix families decided that the Michaels and Aperdians were collateral and useless. We had to protect you and the only to do that was to forge my death and finally make me disappear with a week old baby.

“Disappear somewhere so far away from Nodrid that the Ragnix would believe the only magic alive that could destroy them was Sam. It worked until a few months ago when your father came. Soon Ty, you’ll have to make a choice. Either you’ll be forced or you will make it by your own freewill. I hope you are not forced to make it. But when the time comes, I hope you will do the right thing.”

My mum stopped her tale abruptly, leaving me to ponder her last words. What was she going on about choices? As far as I knew if it had anything to do with magic, my mind was made. I wished I had never been born with it and if there was a way I would get rid of it.

“You might not have a choice Tyler, most of us don’t.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“In time you will see.”

“Mum…”

“Go to bed Ty,” my mum cut me short. “Don’t bother about anything, alright?”

Dad has just left, hell bent on a path of confrontation with that scary dude and you expect me to chill. Too bad all that was in my mind as I said, “Good night mum.”

“We shall talk more tomorrow.”