The Veil Weavers (2 page)

“They are not,” said Eneirda. “Tears are getting worse.
Sssst!
Magic is leaking.”

No!
I thought.
No!
Humans caused enough damage, through changes so large they reached into the magic world, like mines and tunnels and even rising temperatures. Holes in the veil were extras the magic folk didn’t need.

“What can we do?” I asked. “Why do you need us?”

“Maddy because she sees clearly. Josh because he is...
Greyfur struggled for the right word. “
Tss
. Because he is strange.”

What?

Greyfur shook his head and tried again. “Josh has magic that is unusual.
Sssst!
Our magic is not...it is not enough. We hope Josh’s will be.”

Magic was strong in me the last time I was in the magic world, but I had no idea how to fix the tears. I felt confused and a little scared by what they wanted from me, but desperate to help, too. “I want –” I glanced at Maddy. “
We
want to help, but we don’t know anything about healing the veil.”

“Nevertheless, you must come,” said Greyfur. “We will wait until you are ready,
chrrr
.”

We stared at each other. For a moment, Greyfur reminded me of Keeper, solid and immovable.

Eneirda said, “Giant at Castle Mountain sent for you.
He
believes you can help.” I could tell she wasn’t so sure.

“We have to try, Josh,” said Maddy, in her most determined voice.

We have to try
, I told the knot in my stomach. I nodded. “Wait for us in the garden. We need to get ready.”

“
Chrrr
,” purred Eneirda. “We will wait.” As they walked down the porch steps they paused at the pumpkin.

“Come on!” I hurried them into the garden. “Stay in the shadows,” I whispered, as a group of witches and wizards turned up our front walk.

Quickly, they slipped into the darkness where the porch light doesn’t reach.

Maddy and I raced inside.

“Layer up in your warmest clothes,” I said. “Long johns, heavy socks, a warm shirt. Warm pants – not jeans. Are you wearing your ring?”

She lifted her hand so I could see her silver band, the elven ring Keeper had given her when we brought back the nexus ring.

I nodded. “Hurry.” I dashed into my bedroom, yanked off my clothes, and pulled on warmer layers. We were going back to the magic world! I felt a wave of joy and then I immediately felt guilty. The tears weren’t healing – and I had caused some of the damage, although I hadn’t meant to. I could still feel what it was like when magic was strong in me, when I could breathe the world. I would do anything to protect it.

I ran through a mental list as I leapt down the stairs. Winter boots, fleece, jacket. Hat, mitts. What else? Firestone! I needed my firestone!

I spun around and raced back up the stairs. I pulled open a drawer and groped under my T-shirts, sure I’d hidden it there. Finally I found it, snug in a back corner. It looked like an ordinary black stone, a smooth, flat oval. I slipped it into my pocket and ran downstairs.

As I joined Maddy at the back door, I glanced out the window – three crows were sitting on the fence. They seemed restless, shifting back and forth, watching the house. Waiting for me.

“Josh is going to take me,” Maddy announced as Dad picked up his jacket.

He paused. “Are you sure?” He looked disappointed.

“Yes,” I said. “We want to go together.”

Maddy zipped up her jacket over a fleece, and flung her cape over her shoulders. I was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to keep wearing a fur hat, so I grabbed a red wool hat and shoved it into my pocket.

Dad hung up his jacket. “Okay. Be back by eight. And don’t go too far.”

I nodded, but didn’t say anything. We’d be going much further than he could imagine, and be gone for much longer. But we could cross time when we crossed the veil, and be back before Mom and Dad knew we were missing.

Dad handed us pillowcases for the candy we wouldn’t be collecting. “Watch out for trolls,” he said. “And ghosts and goblins and, well, whatever’s waiting out there.”

Maddy shivered.

I struggled not to. “We’ll be fine,” I said. “C’mon, Maddy.”

An almost full moon was rising, huge and
orange in a deep blue sky. The crows circled overhead, dark against the moon.

As we walked past the gate, Eneirda and Greyfur studied the Halloween treats in their hands, puzzling over them. Maddy giggled and held out her pillowcase.

“Humans,” muttered Eneirda, as they dropped in their candy. But she smiled when Maddy grinned back. They walked together, talking quietly.

“Where are we going?” I asked Greyfur.

“To the creek,
chrrr
,” he said softly, as we passed a group of small creatures with their parents.

It was the perfect night for Halloween – maybe too perfect. It felt eerie, walking down the street to the park with an escort of crows.

“Did you come for us because your magic is stronger on Halloween?” asked Maddy.

“Of course not,” said Eneirda. She used her “humans are so foolish” voice. “Because of costumes. Only now can we safely walk in city,
hnn
.”

Still, magic seemed stronger to me, maybe because the magic folk were near. It felt like the magic world was a little closer tonight.

Greyfur and Eneirda walked swiftly, straight north and then down into Confederation Park, away from the houses and streetlights and kids in costumes. We didn’t have far to go. The otter-people led us to the stone water fountain that drained into the creek. Then they stood, waiting.

“The crows will open doorway,” said Greyfur.

“I can do it,” I said.

“No.
Tss
. It is arranged. Your magic must be preserved.”

I shook my head in frustration. Opening doorways never tired me like it did magic folk. But no one ever believed me.

The crows circled the pond below us. I could feel their restlessness again, a need to hurry that was edging into irritation.

I heard voices and saw a human couple walking through the park. One crow followed them, a second continued circling the park, and the third, the smallest, returned to us.

She landed on my shoulder, looked at Maddy and trilled in what sounded like laughter. Eneirda smiled and turned her head away.

“What?” asked Maddy.

“
Chrrr
. She thinks your clothes are funny,” said Eneirda, struggling to hold back a laugh.

I glanced down at Maddy. Her otter costume suddenly looked silly, like we were little children pretending to be powerful magic folk.

Maddy slipped off her cape and I helped her wipe off the face paint. The little crow perched on a low branch and watched, head tilted to one side, as if we were putting on a show just for her. We filled our pockets with Halloween candy, and hid the cape and our pillowcases in the bushes near the creek.

Once the couple had left the park, the other crows joined us. They lined up on the grass and began to mutter softly. Slowly, mist formed. It was hard to see at first, white against the snow, but gradually the mist thickened, obscuring the trees and pond beyond it.

A doorway opened in the mist, and Eneirda pushed us forward. Maddy and I walked into a fog so thick I could see nothing in it. The mist thinned and we stepped into the magic world.

Chapter Two

The Rockies At Dawn

E
ven in the dark I could feel the
difference
between Calgary and the magic world. It was both brighter and darker, with no city lights, a gazillion stars and a luminous
moon. This world was rougher and wilder than the human world, with a power I could feel deep in my body. Maddy and I grinned at each other. We were back!

Greyfur, Eneirda and the crows followed us through the doorway, and immediately conferred with Corvus, a large crow with white-tipped wings who was waiting for us. According to Keeper, crows don’t like to talk to not-crows, so one crow is always chosen to speak for them all. This was Corvus.

A boat rested on the bank of the creek. It was like the one we’d travelled in last summer, bark stretched over an oval ring of branches. We all climbed in, the smallest crow perching on the edge of the boat beside my shoulder.

Their paddles were magical and could travel upstream or downstream with equal ease, but tonight the otter-people were working extra hard, paddling in a fast, smooth rhythm as if they were in a hurry.

We followed the creek down a deep, treed valley, and crossed a marsh alive with the rustling of animals and the fragrance of mint and mud. A wolf howled as we slipped around a beaver dam. When Maddy shivered, I pulled her close to me.

She watched everything through the engraved silver band Keeper had given her. When I borrowed it, I could see magic strong and golden on Eneirda and Greyfur, and on the boat and paddles. It flashed off the wings of the crows and glowed softly on everything.

The stream carried us down to the Bow River. As soon as the boat slid into it we could feel the power of the current. Eneirda and Greyfur murmured to their paddles – the boat turned and we headed upstream.

The crows continued their patrol. Gradually more crows joined them, until they were an inky black cloud.

Greyfur grumbled. “We do not need so many crows. I told Corvus. But all of them want to be here. All of them want to escort their Crow Boy.
Sssst!
”

He frowned at me like it was my fault. I flushed. The otter-people didn’t like it that Maddy and I were human or, I guess, that the crows liked my magic.

As the moon rose high above us, the temperature dropped, and cold seeped in. When Maddy’s teeth started chattering, I said, “We’re getting really cold. Could you warm us with magic?”

“You do it,” said Eneirda.

I frowned. “I don’t know how!”

“We cannot spare magic,” said Greyfur. “You must do it,
hnn
.”

I looked into his face and saw a fatigue I hadn’t noticed before. Eneirda looked the same – pale, dark around the eyes, and tight-jawed with the effort of paddling. “Why are you tired? I thought your paddles were magic.”