Duality by Rowan Erlking (classic books for 13 year olds txt) 📕

Malkia drew in a breath. She pulled on Bernum’s arm, even as his eyes widened on Dennik who reached out to them with a perfectly formed hand. The other one was still missing its fingers, but that didn’t matter. Tears ran down Dennik’s face. He grabbed hold of his older brother, almost feeling his face with his perfect hand then reaching for their father before taking hold of Malkia’s open hand. “A foreigner…Hann…just appeared in the shop. Funny dresser. He….”

“Had a monkey?” Bernum asked, starting to laugh though he was crying now.

Dennik nodded, grinning, then held up his hand. “He said he made a deal with you.”

Malkia embraced Dennik with a kiss then kissed Bernum’s cheek before running to the window to look out. There was no sign of the wizard or his monkey—but then he didn’t want to be found. After all, he had gone north towards danger rather than south to the border like the circus had planned. Even as she looked out, Malkia thought she saw a shadow of an unusually large bird somewhere over the rooftops in the far southern end of the town. Bernum joined her then pointed to the shadow with a nod. “Someone’s in a hurry.”

She looked up at her brother. “Wouldn’t you be? We should be.”

They looked back to Dennik who still puzzled over his healed hand and foot, showing them off to his father.

“He kept his word,” Bernum murmured, smiling with a sigh.

Nodding with a bemused twist to her lips, Malkia nodded. “Yes. He did.”

Bernum chuckled then pushed off the window sill. With a skip, he gathered Malkia’s bag off the bed before she could protest, and trotted towards his father and brother again. “Maybe the world has some bit of fairness after all.”

His sister slugged him in the arm, going after him. “It’s not the world that’s unfair, Bernum. The world is indifferent, as is magic. People are the ones that are unfair or cruel. You know that.”

He nodded. He did know that. Funny, though. It seemed that these days it was the demons and weirdoes that truly balanced things out in the end. And on that thought, Bernum wondered where Jonis was…if he made it over the border safely—or if he got that far yet.

Taking the rest of his sister’s things, he embraced his father and brother one last time with Malkia, giving their farewells. Then the fraternal twins trotted back out into the yard where the goat cart was waiting. Their father and brother followed after them, lingering in the doorway. They paid the boy who had remained in the yard looking excruciatingly bored as if the excitement he had expected after their earlier encounter didn’t pan out. They had him lead their belongings back out into the road. He scuffed his feet along, pulling the goat cord with calls, though one hand was rubbing the extra money in his pocket they had paid him to keep quiet until they were completely out of town. The housekeeper stopped them once they opened the gate, handing them wrapped food for the trip then wiped her eyes on the corner of her apron. Malkia tucked it under her arm, giving Bernum looks to warn him not to snitch any until they were safely inside the west-bound carriage and on the highway.

The Pharmacist held Dennik’s healed hand as he watched the twins march away from home. In his chest was a swelling of hope that they would return soon. Had he known it, they were secretly wishing the same thing.

*

Rumors around Maldos about the ghost demon heading north spread. So did the news of the Perri assassins killing Merchant Omoni of Jonori. Then, as the months wore on, came the bulletin about several of the crooked deals Mr. Omoni had been involved in—including the murder of Ludy the midwife and a foreign circus owner, though there were several reports about him manipulating a good number of other business partners as well. Last in the news arrived in bold and grand letters, an official apology from the Patriarch of Brein Amon to the Tetrarch of Maldos for his ‘military magister’ who also happened to be a Cordril—a tall white demon—for entering Maldos without his permission, which was posted in almost every newspaper. Political smoothing over. Clearly Jonis had arrived home safely.

When Bernum read the last news in the press release of Donlori’s large newspaper, sitting in the newly opened magisterial lab in the magic school at Yolund, he chuckled. On his desk was the first print copy of the spell book Jonis wanted help with. Already he and Malkia were working on adding southern spells to the collection.

Malkia walked in with her hair pulled back in a long white kerchief, carrying the cleaning supply basket with a glance over her shoulder at the boys that ogled her from the hallway. The only way Bernum could get her into the school was to disguise her as one of the school’s maids. Head Magician Jimmit approved the entire thing and even arranged in-house quarters for her. However, under the cleaning supplies, Malkia was carrying in herb packets she had just bought outside to help in the experiments she and Bernum were conducting. After all, they had to test the contents of the scrolls Jonis had given them for accuracy, and she was not going to leave off magic no matter what Maldos culture said about it.

She smiled at Bernum then peeked at the headline as he held it up for her. “What do you know? We were right.”

Bernum nodded. “Yep. It really was him. That demon wasn’t a liar.”

Setting the basket down, Malkia asked, “Does this mean we’ll be able to go home for a summer visit?”

Shrugging, Bernum stuck his hand into her basket to lift out the ingredients he needed. “If you want to. I’m sure Dad would be glad to see us.”

Smiling slyly, Malkia glanced over her shoulder at the boys peering in from the hallway. “It would be good to see him and Dennik again…but, I was thinking about taking a side trip besides. Neither one of us ever got to go to the Northborder township yet, and I hear there will be a huge convention of magicians, herbalists and magisters there. Jonis might show up, you know.”

He peered up at his sister, somewhat startled. “You didn’t form a crush on that demon, per chance?”

Malkia rolled her eyes with a laugh. “No. But it would be a good time to talk to him more about that book. He mentioned in his letter that he wanted to have it translated into other languages and sold abroad—but I’m not sure about the title he’s chosen. It’s a bit egomaniacal.”

Bernum nodded with a chuckle as he went back to work. “Yeah. It doesn’t even mention that the book is a collaboration. Besides, what magician would want to buy a book with a title like The Jonis Scrolls? He’s not that famous.”

With a shrug, Malkia said, “Well…”

He stared at her. “You wouldn’t!”

Blushing, she shrugged again. “I was just thinking about keeping the title and adding on our names. The Scrolls of Jonis, Malkia and Bernum.”

“Now who’s being an egomaniac?” Bernum nudged her in the arm, though he was laughing.

Malkia just shrugged again.

“It’s the Translations of Westhaven Magic, and that’s final,” Bernum said. But then with a roll of his eyes, he added, “And we’ll speak to Jonis about it in Northborder this summer. Ok? I know you just want to go there to meet the Herbalists. This thing with Jonis really is just a side visit, right?”

Grinning, Malkia pecked Bernum on the cheek then skipped out of the room. “You found me out.”

The boys followed her with their yearning eyes then scurried away as Bernum cast a glare at them. It would be a never-ending job to keep men off the beauty of a sister that she was. Yet, he chuckled. Malkia was as strong in magic as he was, so that would not be a difficult problem.

Bernum set down the herbs onto the written spell he had been transcribing, drew in a breath and sighed. Maybe one day they would become as famous as Jonis Macoy—but famous people had a way of attracting trouble and he wasn’t so sure he wanted that. Anonymity wasn’t so bad. Maybe he would let Jonis have his way with the book title. A demon like that could take the flack. Chuckling more, Bernum nodded to himself. Maybe Jonis knew that also.

At least he could now look forward to going to Northborder.

Publication Date: 02-21-2018

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