The 13th Mage (28 page)

“Yes, as I was telling your older brother here while you were busy thinking is that we are all born into families of souls as you might say.
Our essence is of the same makeup.
Groups are born together but not necessarily in the same world or at the same time, not unless you decide to do so before hand for some reason, these are what we call brother or sister souls or twin souls as they are popularly known seeing as gender often changes between one life time and another.
Many choose to stay together throughout eternity, they are born and advance at a similar rate, often at the same time, in the same world, often meeting each other lifetime after lifetime.”

Owen felt his heart quickening.

“Sean is here for reasons beyond this battle, he and this twin soul have arranged to meet here from the beginning of time, and they have a great job to do.”

She pulled off her baseball cap and switched the little fan
off
, “great inventions these, they keep your face cool even in the hottest weather, I am not very good with the heat, never was,” she said, putting the cap back on and carried on eating.

The brothers looked at each other.

“Yes, it happens often that twin souls will be born as twins, you two for example, you chose to come here as twins for very specific reasons, the link between you two is very special.”

“So you know the reasons we were born for?”

“Oh yes,” she said smiling, “but that’s another story to be
discovered at
another time, as the saying goes. For the time being, time being short, we need to get Owen back to where he is needed.
You have the power to stop the Shadow winning Owen.
You have managed to develop it unaided as it should be for it to be genuine, a skill very few people have been able to learn in such a small amount of time.”

“It’s the golden light,” Sean said, smiling broadly.

“What golden light? What are you talking about, I haven’t developed a thing for years, I have been stuck at the same mage level for decades and I am ashamed to say I have worked hard to advance with no results whatsoever.
Anyway, I still don’t see why you don’t simply wipe the Shadow from
the face of the earth yourself. Y
ou are quite capable after all.”

“If I destroyed the Shadow it would be like destroying the left side of my body to allow my right to survive, it is quite impossible. Besides, without the Shadow there can be no light dark game, it’s just that sometimes it gets a little out of hand being ambitious as it is. The Shadow cannot and should not be destroyed at this time, it can only be overcome. You have the power, the energy needed to overcome this particular Shadow.”

“There is more than one
Shadow
?”

“More than one manifestation of it, yes.”

“What is the energy that can defeat it?”

“It’s the golden light, I just know it is,” Sean said enthusiastically.

“What golden light?”

“Yes, the golden light, a very fine type of frequency, very close to that which we are.
It is known by many names, one I thought was rather nice is unconditional love. Love, with capital L.”

Owen felt bitterly disappointed.
Here they were at the end of the world as they knew it, energies shifting faster than he could think and the Keeper had come to talk to him about love.

“Pity wisdom doesn’t come as part of it,” she said to him and blinked.

Owen blinked in unison and saw a golden stream coming out of his hands and flowing into Sean’s.
As he became aware of it the flow stopped.

“The golden light?” He said looking at his hands, now empty.

“The golden light,” said the Keeper.

Sean looked at his hands and rubbed them together, then held them out projecting a flow of gold energy toward his brother.

Owen ducked, but the energy followed him and engulfed him.
The energy was pure, unpolluted, and powerful
. H
e now knew they would defeat the Shadow.

“One of your twin souls needs your help Owen,” said the Keeper.

Owen looked at his brother, then at the Keeper, she meant Jennifer, he knew she meant Jennifer but he didn’t know how to locate her.

“She will be close to the
Staff
, she will be close to Aeoife.”

Owen didn’t want to leave his brother, if things got nasty his brother would be unprotected, he couldn’t leave him.

“Don’t worry about Sean, we have a little trip to take, someone is expecting him at a little village near here.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Owen said getting up this time, “you are not going to mess with both of our lives, I don’t care whether you are a Keeper or not.”

“I am here to watch over him while you go about your business, once you return, if you return, I will leave.
If you fail I cannot allow Sean and his twin soul to perish.”

Owen was taken aback by this.
He hadn’t seen failure as a possible outcome.

“The future is not yet written,” the Keeper said.
Owen knew he had to leave, had to find Jennifer.

A tremor shook the Irish town of Skerries. The gulls flew, screeching, into the air, the fishermen stopped knitting their nets, Rossini held on to his staff with both hands.

Aeoife, looked at the sky, a dark shadow crossed it.

“Evil is upon us,” she said, “we must get away from the town, we’ll walk up the beach, North, there is a little enclave there where we can wait.”

“Yes,” answered Rossini, it wasn’t a good idea to face a Challenger in a built up area and the
Staff
was pulling, a strong mage was on his way to claim it.

The sea was uneasy, threatening.

As they walked onto the beach and North, away from the town, the sky grew somber, threatening.
They sat on a rock to wait.

“He’s here,” he said looking at the light growing inside the crystal.
But the mage was out of sight, not ready, waiting for something.

“All in good time,” said Aeoife.

“This could be dangerous Aeoife.
It might be a goo
d idea if you took refuge, or ge
t out of harm’s way.”

“Ah no, I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” she answered smiling.

Rossini fe
lt vulnerable with Aeoife there. T
he Challenger might very well attac
k the woman in order to weaken him
.
Weak, he thought, he was turning weak by allowing himself to be taken in by the witch.
It had probably been the plan all along, Owen’s plan, and he hadn’t
realiz
ed it.

No.
He could trust his inner instincts, they had never let him down, never.
Aeoife was harmless, she was part of no one’s plan.
No matter.
If she wanted to stay it was her choice, if he couldn’t protect one witness during the Challenge he was not worth the title he held.

Aeoife tapped his knee and wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders, she looked worried.

Steps were heard on the sand, a small crowd, mages, Shadow mages
, were approaching
.

“I don’t believe it,” said Rossini, “They can’t expect to activate the
Staff
all at once, that would be unspeakable, they are not strong enough.”

“Not yet maybe, not until the
Thirteenth
Mage gets here.”

“The
Thirteenth
Mage? Are you talking about The
Thirteen
Mages?”

“Yes,” answered Aeoife, looking expectantly at the approaching crowd, trying to work out their features, find out who they were.

“Stellar?”

“Hello Rossini, it’s so nice to see you again after all these years.”

“What on earth happened to you?” He asked, taking a defensive stand in front of Aeoife, a detail Aeoife found very endearing.

“Oh, nothing that can’t be repaired,” Stellar answered, “Aeoife,” she added looking past Rossini.

“Stellar,” nodded Aeoife.

“You know each other?”

“Oh yes, we go a long way.”

“Aeoife, please tell me you are not the
Thirteenth
Mage,” said Rossini, looking back at the helpless looking witch behind him.

“Me? The
Thirteenth Mage? Oh, no, not me,” she said laughing.

Owen material
iz
ed a few meters from Stellar.

“Owen?” said Rossini, giving the younger man’s position away.

Stellar turned and stopped and returned the blow of energy emanating from Owen throwing him back.

“Not Owen,” stated Rossini, as Owen flew past him and into the rocks.

Come.

The order came from Stellar and it was aimed at Owen.
He picked himself up and walked to Stellar, who grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward with her.

Stellar looked at Aeoife, Aeoife nodded and let it pass.The voice came, it was sweet, it was innocent and it sang:

“
And the night engulfed the earth

Like a mantle of blackened lace.

No hope,

No joy,

Only fear and dismay…
”

They all looked up, it was Jennifer above the rocks, she was wearing earbuds and danced to the invisible music, she sang, eyes closed:

“
Only fear and dismay,

A thousand nights and no day,

Only fear and dismay,

Yeah, yeah, only fear and dismay…”

She danced and as she danced darkness descended upon them.

“Take my hand,

I’ll show you the way

Out of the darkness

Follow my steps

Yeah, follow my steps… ”

She opened her eyes and jumped down, landing beside Rossini, she reached over and took his staff.

“Mine,” she said, smiling like a Cheshire cat.

Rossini was dumbfounded. H
e couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Not in all the history of the Council had someone simply walked up to the
Staff
Holder and taken the
Staff
from him, it was not possible.

She held the staff in front of her and the golden claw opened releasing the crystal.
She took it in her hands and held it up, it shone, lighting up their faces
gold as the sun
.

The Shadow mages bowed down before it, before her, Stellar making Owen do the same.
Then they stood and formed a circle around her.

“Welcome back Joitan.
It has been a long time.”

Jennifer smiled at Stellar, “Stellar dearest one, soon, very soon.”

The voice was a man’s voice, not Jennifer’s, yet it came from her.

“Joitan?
Joitan has taken the
Staff
from me?
But he’s nothing more than a worm, a worthless, spineless coward. Where has he learned to Borrow so well that he can walk undetected
in a woman’s shape
?
What manner of magic is this?”

“Keep out of this Rossini, if you want to keep your life,” it was Jennifer. It was Jennifer’s voice.

Rossini listened to the
Staff
Holder, he had to obey, had no choice but to obey.

A large sphere grew around the crystal, emanating from it.

A beam of light came from it to Jennifer’s head, then from her head to the other mages around her.

The clouds started moving back, the day began again, and the day before that, the plants became younger, the moon sped past ever
y
night.

Then they stopped.
It was daytime, a young woman walked home, two streets
up the road
waited the man who would be her lover.

“NO!” Stellar shouted, reaching up to the sphere.

Jennifer looked at her and Stellar fell unconscious to the ground, dropping Owen beside her.

Jennifer reached for the young woman, searching for her heart.

In one moment she would be no longer, her mother would live, Owen and Sean’s lives would be normal.

“Jennifer, my love, don’t do it.”

The sphere flickered, Jennifer looked around in surprise.

“Mommy! I thought, you…”

The remaining Shadow mages tried to reach the
Staff
, she pushed them away, several meters away.

“Yes, I am not in this world, but look, I still live.”

Esther walked up to her daughter, there was a light emanating from her, it was bright, beautiful.

“It’s a trick,” said Jennifer,
crying in pain,
looking around at the remaining mages, Owen, Aeoife and Rossini, but there was no power coming from them, no evil intentions.

The only dark creature there was herself.

“No trick, use your heart Jennifer, your heart will
recogniz
e me.”

Jennifer felt for her mother and received all the love in the world.
She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

“Mommy, I’m so sorry for all this, it’s all my fault. I’m their
Thirteenth
Mage, I am evil Mom, I remembered my previous life, I did terrible things, terrible.”

“Killing my daughter won’t change that, the dark one will simply be reborn again.”

“I am not your daughter, I just used your womb.”

“Jennifer, listen to me, you are my daughter, if you do this Heather will never exist.”

“But you will live.”

“I have lived my life, I’ve been very happy, I’ve had you.
She is a tiny l
ittle baby, her life hasn’t begu
n yet.”

“I can’t … I can’t live without you
Mommy
, I can’t have your death on my heart.”

“It is the natural order of things for mother’s to die before her children Jennifer.
If you were to do this thing you would break my heart.
Yes, I would live, but I would be the unhappiest person on the face of the earth.
Don’t rob me of the happiness I have known with you and my little Heather.”

“It doesn’t matter what we have done in the past, we are the choices we make from now on,” it was Owen, his face was covered in tears.
A golden light surrounded him, a bright, beautiful light. Aeoife shone with it too, and inside Rossini’s’ chest there was the same light flickering, growing slowly.

“Changing the past because you want to avoid pain will cause much more pain to those you love. Those who love you.”

Jennifer reached over and touched the light which surrounded Owen, her hand was instantly covered with it, pushing away the dark swirls which engulfed her from head to toe.

“What is it?”

“What’s what?”

“Can’t you see it?”

Owen looked at himself, but saw nothing.

“Unconditional love,” said Aeoife, smiling.

Jennifer touched Owen’s chest and let the light take her over.

Suddenly things become much clearer, suddenly she
knew
that what she thought was right was in fact the Shadow plan all along.
They had made her learn her magic through anger, through pain, through fear, so that she would do this.

“I can see the future,” said Jennifer.

“What do you see?”

“It’s not clear, it’s muddy, all confused.”

“Once you make a decision the future can be written.”

Silence reigned over the small group of people around her.
She had to decide, she had to make up her mind.
Inside her Joitan struggled to survive, to stay intact, but the golden light was engulfing him too, he tried to kill Jennifer’s body, tried to disintegrate it. But it was too late, Jennifer was now truly the
Thirteenth
Mage, she had become too powerful for his will.
He was, after all, nothing but a memory.
The memory of a previous life.

Jennifer took the memory and put it where it belonged, in the past.

“I think it’s time to go back now,” she said and the clouds started to move forward again at an incredible speed, the sun began to set in the east once again, over and over , the moon flew past, the stars shot across them.

The Shadow and Owen stood in a circle around the
Thirteenth
Mage, sharing her power, sharing her new Light.

Darkness departed.

Jennifer pulled down the
crystal
, the sphere disappeared.
She reached down to the sand and picked up the staff, placing the crystal
back in its rightful place. She then walked over to Rossini and handed the staff back to him.

Rossini looked at it as though he had never seen
the Staff
before, he then looked at Owen.

“Keep it, I don’t need it,” Owen replied to the unspoken question.
Owen’s original
plan had come to the right conclusion, as he suspected Jennifer would turn into a witch mage and hand over the
Staff
to someone else, he had hoped that someone else would be him.
Now it could be him, but he didn’t want it.
Now he knew the power within him was greater than that of Rossini, he could take the
Staff
, but it was unnecessary.
He had the world at his fingertips, anything he wanted to do he could do, master of two arts not yet, but with time and instruction he would be more powerful than any elder or witch.
He would be both.