Micah or the end of Magic. Chapter 7.

Chapter 7.

 

Calizone’s Cottage.

 

As Josiah had said, the road into the Dark Forest began a few miles from the village.

They stopped at the crossroads.

“Do you really want to go and talk to Calizone?” Grace asked.

Micah nodded. “All my life I’ve wanted to do magic, but for some reason I can’t. And I want to know what happens to me when I open the dragon‑skin box and the jewel glows red. It feels like a big hand pushing against my chest. I think Calizone is the only person who can explain it.”

Grace nodded slowly. “She isn’t always very helpful, though.”

“You don’t need to come with me,” Micah said.

“Oh, I think we do,” Josiah replied. “There’s no work to be had if everyone’s been driven out of the villages. I need to earn a living.”

“And there might be a reward for telling Calizone that someone else is claiming to be the Witch of the Dark Forest,” Grace added.

They made good time. The forest road was well maintained.

“It’s peculiar,” Josiah said. “We’ve travelled this way before, and there are usually carts, riders, or walkers. But today, nothing.”

When they reached a narrow path, they tied the horse to a tree and walked the rest of the way. The rooks nesting in the tall trees around the cottage rose into the air, cawing loudly.

“No one sneaks up on Calizone,” Josiah murmured.

Micah took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a tall woman in a long black dress.

“What?” she said sharply.

“Are you Calizone?” Micah stammered.

“Obviously. And this is not the time for travellers like you. Off with you.” She began to close the door.

“There’s someone claiming to be the Witch of the Dark Forest!” Micah blurted.

The door swung open again. “Well?” Calizone demanded.

“We found a note on the pillory in Wilford,” Micah said. “Grace has second sight. She looked at the note and saw it was written by someone called Magalan. We thought you ought to know.”

Calizone sniffed. “I already know about her. You’ve wasted your time.”

Micah persisted. “I wanted to show you this as well.”

He took out the dragon‑skin box and opened it.

The jewel glowed brighter than ever before. The pressure on his chest slammed him to the ground. The lid snapped shut.

Calizone inhaled sharply. “Where did you get that? Do you know how dangerous and evil that thing is?”

“I’m sorry,” Micah said, scrambling up. “I didn’t know.”

“You and your friends had better come in and explain,” Calizone ordered.

Inside, Micah began, “I was born in Sowton at the exact moment the spell on the people was lifted.”

“I remember that,” Calizone said. “Magrib’s spell. Not a very good one either. Go on.”

“I grew up wanting to do magic,” Micah said. “But I can’t. So, I left home to learn from people who could. Near Othermoor I found a place where there had been a fire. This jewel was buried in the ashes. I thought it might be valuable.”

Calizone held up a hand. “Othermoor… yes, that rings a bell. Sit there. And don’t open that box again.”

She went to a bookcase, took down a thin notebook, and flipped through it.

“Ah. Here it is.”

She returned to the table. “That jewel belonged to a witch, never mind her name. She disappeared. Her diary turned up here years later. She used that jewel to take over other creatures’ bodies.”

“How did it end up in a fire?” Grace asked.

“More importantly,” Calizone said, “why is it behaving like this now? For some reason, it is sucking all the magic out of the world.”

She glanced at the dragon‑skin box and her eyes widened. “Where did you get that?”

“In a ruined tower near Sowton,” Micah said. “Grace says it came from a dragon killed by someone called George.”

“I wondered if they made more than one chest from his skin,” Calizone muttered. “Put it on the table.”

“Magic users can’t touch it,” Micah warned.

“I know,” Calizone said. She drummed her fingers, thinking. After several minutes she stood. “This won’t hurt you,” she said, pointing at Micah.

Nothing happened.

She scowled and tried again.

Still nothing.

She pointed at Josiah. He yelped and clutched his head.

Calizone nodded, satisfied, and turned to Grace. Grace stepped back.

“Don’t be silly,” Calizone snapped. “If I wanted to harm you, you couldn’t stop me. Now, have you tried your second sight on this man?”

Grace nodded.

“And?” Calizone demanded.

“I can’t read him,” Grace admitted. “He just… isn’t there.”

Calizone turned to Micah. “When the jewel glowed red, you fell over. Why?”

“It felt like a huge hand pushing against my chest,” Micah said. “The more magic there is nearby, the stronger it feels.”

“This is fascinating,” Calizone said. “If it weren’t so serious, I’d love to study it.”

“I don’t understand any of this,” Micah said. “All I wanted was to do magic. Not great magic like you, just small spells like the charmers.”

Calizone laughed unpleasantly. “I’m glad you didn’t want to be a magician. I might have had to deal with you. There is only room for one major magic‑user in the world, and that is me.”

“So why can’t he do magic?” Josiah asked.

Calizone tapped her teeth thoughtfully. “I think, no, I’m certain, that he is the exact opposite of a magic‑user. He isn’t a magician. He is an anti‑magician, for want of a better term.”

Micah shook his head. “I still don’t understand. I can touch the box, so I’m not a magic‑user. But why do I feel that strange pushing when the jewel glows?”

Calizone went to a cupboard and took out a piece of black cloth.

“Open the box and wrap the jewel in this. Quickly.”

Micah obeyed.

“Now put the wrapped jewel on the table. Don’t let the cloth slip.”

Micah handed it over.

Calizone slipped her hand into the cloth. She stood very still, concentrating. At last, she nodded.

“I see,” she said. “Put the cloth back in the box. Then take the jewel out and close the box. The cloth is far too valuable to leave with that monstrous thing.”

When Micah had done so, Calizone nodded. “Good. First things first, there is a dragon asleep in the woods.”

“Dragon!” Josiah squeaked.

“Yes,” Calizone snapped. “Take this box to him. Tell him it must be taken to the Dragon Islands and kept safe and unopened for as long as dragons exist. He will understand when he sees the box is made of dragon skin.”

“Me?” Josiah squeaked. “With a dragon?”

“Yes,” Calizone said. “Don’t worry. Das is harmless. The only way he’d hurt you is if he stepped on you by accident.” She smiled, not pleasantly. “So, stay away from his feet. Now go.”