The Ragnix Circle

“Why did you lie to me mum?”

Mr. Michaels and his motorcade had been gone for almost four hours. I figured that was enough time for my mother to prepare herself for the inevitable inquisition. We were now seated at the small dining table sharing a light supper of roast peas and rice. We had sat there for almost three hours, both of us knowing what was on my mind. It had not taken me long before the question flew out of my mouth. I could not help it.

“To protect you Ty,” she replied not looking up from her plate. “There’s a lot you don’t know about Ragnix.”

“All I know and care to know is that I hate it.”

“So you should.” My mother smiled at me dropping the fork on the plate. “But you forget one minor detail Tyler you have two of the most powerful magic in you.”

“I don’t want them mum,” I retorted.

“Life is not about what we want Ty.”

“How come you have magic and we’ve not lived in the capital?”

My mum looked at me and for some reason I got the same feeling like I got when I stared into Mr. Michaels eyes. There was some hidden power inside of her and it was coming out. She smiled at me as if she knew what random thoughts were going through my mind as I looked at her.

“There are different reasons Ty.”

“Such as,” I prompted.

“You won’t let it rest until you drag it out of me, huh?”

“Yeah.” I put my fork down and looked her straight in the eye. “Come on mum, that guy said so himself, tell me.”

“Alright, I’ll make some tea Ty,” my mother said taking away the dishes. “I’ll find you in your room and I’ll tell you what I can.”

I picked up my bag of bones and walked to my room. I could not help thinking of how much my mum had lied to me. I couldn’t believe that after all these years she refused to tell me the truth about who I was. All these years, thinking that I had no father, and yet he was the greatest of the Ragnix council. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knew about the Michaels and their magic. It was rumored they headed the Ragnix council, and here I was in a pleb village, yet I am the very evil that all plebs hate and curse.

I crossed over to the window in my room and wondered what I was going to do in Nodrid. I hated magic but still had to learn to use it because it was in my blood. No, I was actually being forced to learn how to use it.

I stared out the window remembering all my snide remarks about magic and the council with my old friends. None of them had come back for the weekend visit last week and that had hurt. It had made me hate the Ragnix more than I already did. But, here I was about to go to some place I am sure none of them would have expected. Wait a minute Tyler; no one said you had to agree to what they said. I still could not help thinking about the fact that I was one of the very people a lot of my friends and their families hated and that seemed to make it worse.

“Hey,” my mother flipped the light switch off.

“I kinda still wanted the light mum.” I kept my back to her.

Suddenly, there were dancing white lights in my room. I turned round alarmed. It was only my mum, a big smile on her face and her eyes alight with a rare fire. She held to cups of steaming tea in her hands. The lights played in the space between the walls casting rays of brilliant light on my mother’s face.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked.

“You’re doing this.” I meant it more as a statement than a question.

“Yes Tyler.” My mother set my cup on the window sill. “I wanted to tell you for so long but I had agreed with Sam to show you when the time was right.” I saw the fear and pain cross her face as she looked at my blank expression. “We did it to protect you sweetheart. Please, believe me if there was another way, we would have taken it.”

“The time should have been right for what mum?” I asked.

She sat down on the edge of my bed with a heavy sigh. “What do you know about the council and the war?” she asked.

“Nothing mum,” I said remembering that I was left behind last year. “I was supposed to have gone to school last year.”

“I arranged it with your father.” She sipped at her tea. “You needed to see the ugliness of the world as it is.”

“Thanks to him and his kind,” I snapped.

“Your father is among the few that would see the world return to the old ways.” My mother’s tone was almost angry. “He hid both of us to protect you from the intrigues of politics and magic. How do you think I felt every time I saw his face cross the screens? He did what we felt was right to protect you Ty.” The lights glowed a little brighter which I took to mean she was slightly peeved.

“I don’t care.” I too could match her anger. “He abandoned us for sixteen years mum…sixteen bloody years.”

“I taught you better than that Ty,” she snapped. A heavy silence filled the room as we glared at each other over the steaming mugs. I noticed the glow of the lights dim a little. “Do you want the story or not?” she asked in a strained voice.

I nodded.

“Good.” my mum placed her cup down and said some gibberish. The only thing I could see was a white light forming round my room. It illuminated the entire room and for the first time I noticed my mother’s ear rings. The black gems were shinning against the whiteness of the light and the dragon appeared to be awakening in each of them. It was like seeing a miniature figure of a mighty beast spreading its wings on the verge of flying.

“Years before the war started.” Her eyes took on a silent fervor as she spoke. “Magic was hidden. The core families hated themselves and constantly fought; each desiring to control the small pockets of the hidden magic users. Your father’s family, the Merlin or Michaels as they are known now, tried to prevent such conflicts but they often failed. However, in time the other sides that were led by my ancestor Blake Aperdian approached your great forefather Arthur Michaels with an offer.

“An offer of war on the rest of mankind. They claimed that the rest of mankind needed to respect and know about magic. Your father’s ancestor refused and only accepted one small thing; magic to come out of hiding. Only a handful of people knew about it at first and before long the world leaders tried to hide it from their people. At first it seemed sensible but with time the rest of mankind got to know about magic and like all normal humans, jealousy nudged at their hearts and they started attacking us.

“The Salem witch trials in America were just a prologue compared to those hunts. Without warning, such burnings sprouted out all over the world. Our kind grew angry and begun to fight back. The Guardians were born and the armies of magic rolled over the humans destroying the world in its wake. Ragnix was born and what was left of mankind was enslaved as plebs.

“That was a long time ago Tyler, and many people have surely never been let to forget of what magic can do. A terrible time but not as terrible as what is coming. Ragnix has been experimenting on plebs. Why do you think so few come back for the holiday. Some core families have discovered dark magic that can make them more powerful. Those that oppose them are either killed or run off.

“Your father and I are against this new way of gaining power and would rather see the plebs regain their freedom. However, there those who are against him so they killed his family. To protect you and me, he had us hide this far off from the capital. A week before you were born, your father’s only relative was assassinated and that helped hasten our decision. But something has happened and it is time you learnt to use your magic, both the white and black magic that flow through your veins.”

“What magic?” This could not be true and the more I tried to deny it the more I felt the truth deep down in my veins gnawing away at the lie I had been living. I am one of them.

“My magic is the blackest magic that ever is and ever will be. The Aperdians were the mortal enemies of the Michaels. Merlin and Aperdian were brothers from the same breast and it is from them that the two kinds of magic grew.” My mum touched my face tenderly. “You’ll learn all this in the capital of capitals.”

“So we’re going?”

“Yes Tyler,” she affirmed. “Pack and rest now, we get an early start to the train station in Klaios.”

“Klaios!” I could not believe my ears. “The capital is so many miles away mum. How are we going to get there?”

“Magic Tyler. Magic.”

She stood up and left my room flipping on the switch. All the white light disappeared as she closed the door behind her. Great, just great, my mum loves using magic. I pushed the windows open and was almost thrown off my feet by a blast of strong wind. I shivered as the wind picked up sending some of my papers flying. I stayed there looking into the forest and wondering if the patrols had somehow managed to get this far out this night. What if I run away, but what good would that be able to do. I was stuck and there was no way out of this stick widget.

It did not take me that long to pack up my things and head to bed. I hoped that I would meet Christian, Charles, Rodney, Ruth, Adriana, Chris and Melanie in the capital. They were my closest friends before the guardians had picked them up and taken them to school. The chances of that happening were as slim as me discovering all this had been a dream. But no one could blame me for hoping that it was.

Wait, I thought sullenly. They must be in Klaios and not in Nodrid.