Thieves Alike

     "Begin new life!” the Green Ixi cried, raising her right palm out towards an acorn resting on a rock. The acorn wobbled back and forth a moment before rolling into the tall grass. Her lips tightened in frustration. Though the faint chuckling from her brother behind her wasn't helping, she didn't let it dampen her spirits.

     Zena Lexley was no stranger when it came to the art of casting spells. She frequently exercised her magic abilities with her best friend, Nathan, but it was often carried out in some form of mischief and usually involved Dark Magic. Zena had just started to dabble in Light and Earth Magic and there was still a lot to learn. Dark Magic seemed to come more naturally to her and was accordingly easier to execute. As much as she enjoyed stirring up trouble, she had recently begun to feel that being experienced in other forms of magic could someday prove useful.

     “Maybe you should use a wand,” her brother, Hector, teased. Zena turned her head over to the broad Yellow Ixi and glared, lips still tightened.

     “Wands are only necessary for more complicated spells, otherwise they are just for show,” Zena barked. “Besides, you know I can’t afford one right now!” She knew her brother was only teasing, but expressing this point out loud made her feel a bit better. Besides wands were banned from Silver Hills, where they resided. Even the use of magic was not tolerated, which was why she had to practice in private. Zena pushed aside the tall grass in search of her acorn.

     “Looks like a complicated spell,” Hector needled.

     “But it’s not!” Zena answered abruptly. She picked up the acorn, placed it back on the rock and concentrated intently, ignoring her brother’s rolling eyes. She didn't see her brother roll his eyes, but she could sense them.

     “Begin new life!” she shouted again. The acorn cracked and a tiny green shoot poked out. “Ah-hah!” Zena cheered, jumping up and down triumphantly with clasped hands. Hector, who was busy tending to his Capriors, peered over to take a look.

     “That’s it?” he questioned. “But it's still an acorn.”

     “I wasn’t trying to change it. I wanted it to sprout. And it did!”

     “I guess that’s what’s going on there,” Hector said, unimpressed. He wasn't usually impressed when it came to magic. He found no practical use for it. At least, not in their isolated village.

     Hector enjoyed a simple lifestyle, taking on the role of a rancher ever since their parents passed away. He grew up watching and helping his dad every day in the fields, tending to the Capriors with a burning desire to one day become a rancher himself. It just happened much sooner than planned, but Hector viewed it more as a privilege than an obligation to take over the business. A couple of other ranchers in the area had offered a decent amount to buy the Capriors off of him, but he respectfully declined the offers without a second thought. It was a peaceful job and kept him busy and out of trouble. He would often spend entire nights out with his Capriors, sleeping under the stars when the weather cooperated.

     Zena lived in town at their house, but would often spend entire days with her brother to keep him company. She didn't want him to feel lonely, even though he insisted he wasn't lonely. But, like her brother, she also enjoyed the tranquillity of the countryside and, as an added perk, there was more space to practice her spells.

     “Learning the proper way to cast spells takes time and any small feat is a success. I would need more experience and strength if I wanted a seed to grow into a tree!” Zena pointed out. She found another acorn and placed it on the rock.

     “I really don’t understand why you need to learn magic. It’s going to get you into trouble one day. It’s too unpredictable and difficult to control,” Hector said. He wasn't disappointed in Zena’s interest in magic, but he did feel a genuine concern about his little sister.

     “It’s the excitement of creating something out of nothing, using nothing but a few words and some concentration. You wouldn’t understand,” Zena started to trail off. She had had this conversation with Hector a number of times before and never felt like she had won the debate nor even got through to him. “Magic isn’t for everyone,” she concluded. Hector nodded subtly and turned back to tend to his Capriors.

     “One day I hope to change the world,” Zena muttered to herself and continued practising spells.

     “Hey, Kaddy! What’s up?” a voice called from behind Zena. Zena glared into the sky for a moment, clearly annoyed but not wanting to show it necessarily. ‘Kaddy’ was the nickname her best friend, Nathan, called her on occasion. Mostly because he knew it annoyed her. Kaddy was short for Kadoatie, which was how Nathan explained Zena sounded like when she got upset. The name apparently had a good ring to it, so it stuck. Zena turned around.

     “Hey, Nate. Just practising some magic,” Zena answered.

     “On whom?” the Brown Lutari looked around excitedly, but saw no one other than Hector. Puzzled, he asked Zena in a lowered voice. “On your brother?”

     “No!” Zena smacked him on the arm and laughed. “On these acorns!” Zena bent over and picked up the sprouted acorn and showed it to Nathan. “I’ve been trying to make these acorns sprout. This one was a success.” Zena’s head was held high in the air with evident pride in her work.

     “Is that what that is?” Nathan remarked, obviously unimpressed.

     “Well.. “ Zena lowered her head and half-cleared her throat. “I’m trying to familiarize myself with Earth Magic. I think it would be a good form of magic to learn.” Nathan shook his head disapprovingly.

     “I feel people ought to stick with their inner strengths. If you dabble in too many types of magic, you begin to lose focus and will spend less time strengthening what you are naturally good at. For example, Dark Magic comes more naturally to me than other types of magic.” Nathan quickly held out his hand towards the acorn and chanted: “Light up!” The acorn lifted slightly out of Zena’s hand and began to glow. Zena quickly retracted her hand as a hue of red flames slowly encircled the nut. Suddenly the acorn popped into puffs of white confetti resembling popcorn. The white puffs coated Zena’s fur and the resulting pop from the explosion echoed deep into the valley, causing Hector’s herd of Capriors to scatter in all directions.

     “Hey!” Hector yelled out to his Capriors, running towards them and swinging his arms in the air in an attempt to get their attention. Nathan’s grin from his initial trick widened and evolved into hysterical laughter as he curled over, wiping tears away from his eyes.

     “Nathan! What do you think you're doing?!” Zena snapped, making a poor attempt to hold back her own laughter. She didn't like to prank her own brother, but she couldn't deny the humour in the randomness that was unfolding before her. Nathan couldn't answer. He was far too lost in his own amusement.

     “Why did you come out here?” Zena asked Nathan once she was able to get herself under control. Nathan took a little longer to catch his breath enough to answer.

     “I knew you were spending a lot of time out here lately and I wanted to see what you were up to. Plus, I have something I want to show you.”

     “What’s that?” Zena enjoyed surprises.

     “I can’t tell you. Not here. But believe me, it’s worth seeing,” Nathan said, building up the excitement. It worked.

     “Now you have to tell me,” Zena insisted.

     “I can’t risk anyone overhearing what I have planned. Just meet me at my house tonight at seven o’clock sharp.”

     “It better be good. I don’t want to die from the suspense for nothing,” Zena taunted him sarcastically.

     “It is. Believe me,” Nathan said, looking over his shoulder. Hector had just gathered the last of his Capriors and was herding them back in their direction. “I better run before your brother wrings my neck.”

     “Not a bad idea. He looks pretty annoyed. Oh, and by the way, I think your stunt was Fire Magic, not Dark," Zena needled.

     “They overlap sometimes,” Nathan smirked. “Remember seven o’clock tonight. Not a second later!” With that, Nathan jogged away without looking back.

     Hector was out of breath by the time he made it back to Zena, and for a large, fit Ixi like Hector, it took a lot for him to lose his breath. He didn't acknowledge Zena straight away, his eyes darting around for Nathan who was already long gone.

     “Where did that good-for-nothing Lutari weasel off to?!” he boomed. The giddiness Zena had still been feeling disappeared instantly. She felt bad for her brother again. He worked hard each day on the ranch and she knew it would take some time and patience to calm his Capriors down. After a fright like that, they could be jittery for days.

     “Gone home I think,” Zena answered, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

     “I don’t understand why you hang around with that hooligan. He can’t be trusted and is always causing mischief,” Hector said, clenching his jaw.

     “That's probably wise of you to feel that way,” Zena said earnestly.

     “Yet you do!” Hector stared at her sternly as a fatherly figure would. Zena didn't answer. Hector continued, “I don’t get it. You are usually very sensible about most things, but when it comes to him,” He paused for a moment as if trying to find the right words. “It’s like you forget who you are!"

     “You wouldn’t understand,” Zena interrupted, but not abruptly. Hector’s comment hurt her feelings, but she understood why he felt that way. Nathan did bring out a wild side in her. “I know him. We grew up together and have always been very close to each other. Sure he has a mischievous quality about him, but I can trust him.”

     “I don’t know how that’s possible,” Hector snarled. “Just promise me not to run off and marry him.”

     “Our friendship isn't like that,” Zena answered calmly and seriously. “We just get each other. He’s always been there for me. Whenever I needed someone to talk to. Whenever no one else would listen to me,” Zena paused. By the look in Hector’s eyes, she knew she had hurt his feelings a bit. She let out a faint sigh and continued. “That doesn't negate how much you do for me. You may not be my best friend, but I love you more than anything in the world.”

     Hector’s face cracked a smile and blushed slightly. The tension between them had lessened. He rubbed one of his fists on Zena’s head and then pulled her in with his arm for a hug.

     “…well, apart from magic that is,” Zena laughed. Hector rolled his eyes and went back to tending his Capriors.

     **********

     Zena arrived at Nathan’s house a few minutes past 7:00 pm. Being in the heart of summer, the sky was still bright and sunset would not begin for another couple of hours. Nathan opened up the door, clearly annoyed.

     “I thought I told you not a second past seven!” Nathan snapped.

     “I’m not,” Zena said cheekily. She was, quite literally, many seconds after seven.

     “Nevermind. Come in. Everything is set up in the living room,” Nathan pointed the way even though Zena had visited enough to know the layout of his house.

     “What’s set up?” Zena asked.

     “You’ll see. I’m trying out a spell, but I need your help,” Nathan said. Zena knew it had to be substantial if he needed her help with a spell, especially if he waited for his parents to leave for the evening, visiting friends. She was intrigued.

     Zena walked into the living room where the curtains had been drawn and the doors to each room closed, darkening the room to only candlelight. Candles of all shapes and sizes were scattered haphazardly around the room, but they successfully gave the room an eerie glow. The scent of vanilla filled the air. In the middle of the room, Nathan had placed a small, yet significant in size, cauldron on top of a portable oven. The contents had not yet come to a boil, but it was steaming. In front of the cauldron lay a linen sheet spread out, covering something that resembled a book. Zena suspected it was a book of spells, but why the dramatics of veiling it from her?

     “Ooo! Are we making a potion?!” Zena asked, her voice cracking slightly with excitement. She had never attempted to make a potion before. At least, not one she planned on using.

     “No. Just wait. It’s even better,” Nathan said with a smirk, then walked over to the sheet and revealed the book that lay underneath. “Check this out.” Zena walked up to the old weathered book, clearly beaten up over the years. Picking it up, she brought it over to the candlelight to read the title.

     “Morguss Spell Book,” She read aloud slowly, then gasped. It looked like an original copy. This time she felt a little frightened. She paused for a moment, subconsciously holding her breath. “Where did you get this?" She asked as she slowly opened the book up with trembling fingers.

     “In the back of Bernie’s antique shop,” Nathan answered. Zena leafed through the yellowed pages. They crinkled between her fingers as she scanned through some of the spells. Chicken scratch decorated the margins of several pages, but Zena was unable to decipher the writing.

     “This looks like an original copy,” Zena muttered to herself as she read. She paused and looked up at Nathan once it registered what he had said. “Where in the back? I’ve never seen this before!” Zena frequented the little antique shop just outside of the village because the owner, Bernie, had a great eye for finding unique items.

     “In the back back,” Nathan said, strongly emphasizing the first ‘back’.

     “Oh.” Zena understood what he meant. It didn't phase her that he had broken into the shop to snoop around. She was guilty of it too. The back was where he kept a lot of his really good relics.

     The book had to have been a recent find since it had only been a couple of months since she was last in the back of Bernie’s shop. “I wonder what he's doing with a copy of this. He doesn’t even practice magic. Is this the original?”

     “Not sure,” Nathan said. “Looks like it, but I doubt Morguss would ever part with her copy. However, whoever’s copy this is, they understood enough to make notes about most of the spells in the book.”

     “What do they say?” Zena asked.

     “I’m not sure. It looks like a doctor wrote them,” Nathan said jokingly. “I’m assuming they're improvements or modifications to the spells, but I have a feeling they're written in another language.” The fur all over Zena’s body raised and a shiver crept up her spine. Zena was finding the book very fascinating.

     “How long have you had this?” Zena said as she silently mouthed off a spell to herself. Nathan shrugged his shoulders.

     “Not sure. A while I guess.”

     “And you're just telling me now?!”

     “I wanted to test out some of the spells first,” Nathan said. “And it’s not easy practising around the house with my parents around.”

     “You could've come over to my house. It’s empty most of the time.”

     “Sorry, Zena. I just wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet,” Nathan said. Zena let it go. She knew that Nathan liked having the upper hand on things, but she was feeling too excited to continue needling him.

     “So what’s the plan? If it’s not a potion, what’s in the cauldron?” Zena asked switching her gaze towards the now-boiling pot.

     “That’s just water!” Nathan said, laughing.

     “You’re boiling water?” Zena said, not amused. “What’s going in it?”

     “Nothing. It’s just for ambience.”

     “Boiling water?” Zena asked slowing, giving off a confused stare.

     “Yes. See, I read somewhere once that in order to master some of the more difficult spells, it's recommended that novices try creating a certain ambience; an atmosphere that can help you focus and better visualize the spell. So in this case we want to imagine an atmosphere that would surround Maguss when she's busy conjuring up spells. I’m trying to mimic that,” Nathan said, speaking a little quickly to push things along.

     “So you are boiling water?” Zena asked, still not understanding.

     “Well, yeah.” Nathan’s eyes darted around the room in an effort to think of a better way to explain it. “But it’s not just the sound of bubbling water, it’s the lighting, the scents, the temperature, anything that affects your senses. All of your senses need to be stimulated and in sync with each other.” Zena noticed it was uncomfortably warmer than usual.

     “Why the vanilla candles?” she asked.

     “Well I didn’t have anything like Eau De Skunk or Eye of Mortog, so I went with another smell I didn’t like," Nathan said, covering his nose.

     “I like vanilla," Zena said with a smirk.

     “You’re not helping me here. Anyway, I’m working on a spell and you're going to help me with it.”

     “What are you up to, Nate?!” Zena was starting to get confused again. “Since when do you ever need my help with anything? Especially when it comes to magic!”

     “I wanted to try out one of the spells in this book, but they're all pretty advanced. I’m thinking that with a bit of help, I can probably pull this one off,” Nathan said.

     “What do you want me to do?” Zena asked. Nathan handed her a piece of paper with a few words written on it.

     “Just give me a moment to focus, then begin reading off those words repeatedly once I start talking. I think it works better if you memorize them, Nathan explained. Zena agreed because she trusted Nathan, completely unaware of the event that was soon to unfold.

     Nathan closed his eyes, raised his arms and started to take slow, deep breaths. The room soon became eerily quiet as Nathan continued to focus. A cold breeze brushed against Zena’s right cheek and rolled over the tip of her nose towards Nathan. Zena began to look around the room for a draft, but none of the drawn curtains moved and the candles did not flicker. Nathan began to talk. Zena closed her eyes, raised her arms and began chanting alongside him.

     **********

     Outside the wind began to pick up and the sky darkened as black clouds quickly rolled in, eating up any remaining sunlight. Morris Tachi was a local resident who frequently went out for walks in the evening. The stout Yurble carried a stern demeanour with very little personality. He took it upon himself to patrol the streets of Silver Hills as the town’s watchman, as he so dubbed himself after his failed attempt to become mayor. It was his belief that if he had taken on the job of Town Watchman a decade prior, the war that struck the village and cost so many Neopians their lives would have been prevented. In other words, he despised magic and was the driving force behind the town’s ‘Prohibition of Magic’ movement that was generated after the war was over.

     Holding his hat in place, Morris stopped and looked up into the sky as thick clouds formed.

     “How suspicious,” he said to himself, twirling a finger around his large thick moustache. He held out his hand as a couple of large drops of rain began to fall from the sky. “There was no rain in the forecast.”

     As the rain started to pick up, Morris quickly scanned around for somewhere to take shelter. He ran under a shop’s canopy where a few other villagers were sheltering from the rain.

     “Those are strange-looking clouds. I’ve never seen anything quite like them before,” A disgruntled Elephante grumbled. Everyone under the canopy agreed. The clouds were coming in abnormally fast and had a purplish hue to them. Rain soon began to pour down and the wind grew strong.

     Morris observed a mother pushing a stroller. Panic struck her as she looked around for somewhere to weather the storm. Morris rushed to her aid, aware of the potential threat to her and her child. He helped push the stroller under the shop’s canopy moments before large chunks of hail plummetted to the ground. The shopkeeper had just closed shop for the night, but opened up the front door and urged everyone in.

     The wind started to howl, knocking over large trees and blowing shingles off of buildings. Murmurings after the event described the horrendous howling of the wind as a deafening maniacal laughter. Inside the house, Zena and Nathan were completely oblivious to the weather unfolding outside.

     **********

     Zena opened up her eyes. Her mind seemed a bit foggy yet she noticed that she was still reciting the same words repeatedly. For a moment she was not entirely sure how long they had been casting the spell or if she was even in control of her own voice anymore.

     The room was silent apart from the low muttering coming from Nathan. The energy in the room that Zena could sense was overwhelming. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She came to a sudden conclusion that she was slowly waking up from a trance. She stopped chanting, but with a bit of effort. The room was now quiet. Nathan had also stopped his mutterings, but his eyes remained closed.

     “Did anything happen?” Zena whispered. Her soft voice seemed to echo throughout the room. Nathan remained silent. She snapped her fingers and called out his name, but Nathan didn't react. Zena was starting to feel uncomfortable. This was the first time that she had ever felt like she wasn't in control of her body and Nathan appeared to be experiencing the same thing.

     Zena broke from the circle and walked towards a window to see if anything was different outside. A faint draft picked up, shaking the curtains slightly as she was about to draw them open. Zena hesitated for a moment, but then slowly pushed aside one of the curtains and peered out the window. The sky was black and torrential rain was plummeting to the ground in marble-sized drops. Rivers had already begun replacing the town’s streets.

     Silence broke with a wail behind her. Zena almost jumped out of her fur as she whipped around to see where the noise was coming from. Nathan was now screeching words unknown to her in a voice she never knew he could make. Suddenly thunder cracked and the roaring of the wind outside became audible in the room, revealing the full intensity of the storm.

     “Nathan! Stop!” Zena demanded as she ran up to him and clenched both hands on his shoulders. “This is going too far!” Zena’s efforts appeared to be in vain as Nathan exhibited no reaction to her pleas. She shook him violently. He stopped talking but it was evident that he wasn't done with the spell. His eyes vibrated under his eyelids and strange twitches sporadically encompassed his face. Zena looked around the living room and spotted a vase of flowers. She ran over to the vase, picked it up and dumped the water over Nathan’s head. Nathan opened up empty eyes and snarled at her: another expression she had never seen before. Nathan rolled his eyes back and closed his eyelids for a moment before dropping to the floor.

     Nathan lay on the ground for a few seconds before he opened his eyes. His pupils were completely dilated in the darkened room. The Brown Lutari got up to his knees and shook his head to get rid of the fogginess that lay within, then began to massage his temples. Zena took a few steps back, unsure of what to expect. Outside it appeared the storm was breaking up as sunbeams started to penetrate the darkness of the living room, though she was much too concerned about Nathan to be certain of it. Nathan muttered a few words, but, although incoherent, this time it appeared to be a conversation to himself rather than chanting.

     “What’s going on?” Nathan finally managed to get the words out clearly enough for Zena to understand. “Why am I wet?” Zena stepped towards him again, knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder.

     “Are you okay?” she asked.

     “I think so,” he said weakly. Zena helped Nathan to a nearby sofa. He was clearly exhausted, more so than Zena.

     “I would like to know what’s going on too!” Zena said sharply. “What in all of Neopia happened here?!” Nathan could only stare towards Zena. He didn't know how to respond.

     Zena attempted to calm herself down before explaining the series of events that unfolded to the best of her knowledge.

     Suddenly there was a loud banging at the front door accompanied by muffled, disgruntled voices. Zena's eyes widened as she caught Nathan's worried glance at her.

     "What do we do?!" She cried.

To be continued…