Welcome to the Point: A Point Epoch Tale by Cloud Riser (polar express read aloud txt) 📕

the origins of magic. They know that I didn’t bring magic into the world. How can anyone do such a thing when it exists in nature on its own? What I get credited for is pushing it onto the other townspeople of Becker. A statement that is still false, but it’s at least closer to the truth. Closer. Trevor chose that version of the story to tell Delia.

In truth, I got my first taste of black magic from Damion and Belinda. Before the night of the party, I hadn’t known much about it beyond how evil and disgusting it was! That’s how people ended up in Hell! People who practice witchcraft need to be taken off the planet for the betterment of mankind! The kind of magic Damion and Belinda described didn’t seem to fall into that category.

That being said, when I saw their set up for connecting us to their lord Hades, I wouldn’t call it harmless. There were three different knives laid on a small circle table made from wood. They were placed in a triangle around a lit candle. Seeing everything laid out in such a way caused me to doubt for a few seconds. Only a few. Then the excitement returned.

“The process is simple,” Damion said. “You will enter into a contract. This agreement will be verbal, but please keep in mind...your words are powerful. Do not think they can so easily be spun to get you out of this situation. There is still time to walk away if that is what you’d prefer. We have other ways you can help us.” He waited a few moments before continuing. “What we say has more weight than you probably realize, and it is the basis on which most magic is founded. Entering into our inner circle will rip apart the barriers keeping you from touching that power. Some of you will gain abilities pertaining to specific areas, and others might have a broad scope of new skills. We won’t know how it chooses to manifest within you until after the ceremony.”

Belinda spoke next. “The contract is simple. In exchange for this power, you will do whatever is required of you by our lord Hades who is bestowing you with this gift. He will not ask much of you. Nothing will be unreasonable. If it is deemed to be so by three or more of his followers, your peers, then you may choose to renegotiate this agreement.” She gazed at all of us and smiled. “Shall we begin? Are there any questions?”

“What’s with all of the knives?” I asked, a nervous chuckle escaping my lips.

“That is for a different ceremony,” Damion said. “Not one you need to concern yourself with just yet. However, it does create a nice ambiance, don’t you agree?”

I nodded, swallowing hard. The other ceremony had me all kinds of curious, but something told me I wouldn’t be hearing more about it until I went further down the rabbit hole.

So, I did.

We all joined hands around the table. Belinda led us through the agreement.

“Do you promise to obey the commands given by your new lord? On this world, he is called Hades. On others he goes by Izan, Pluto, and Rexykilfng.”

Oh man… I didn’t even want to try pronouncing that myself. I made a mental note to keep my ears open for anything weird, just in case we had a run in.

“I do,” all of us new recruits said.

And that was all it took. The flame of the candle grew in height while changing into a deep, purple hue. When I gazed at it closely, I saw golden flecks spark throughout it like twinkling stars. A trail of those sparks left the flame and floated toward me, landing on my head. I could feel heat, though it didn’t hurt. The sensation reminded me of the warmth from a hat. Comforting and cozy. Green sparks formed in the air next, and those landed on the rest of the group.

Belinda raised both of her eyebrows at me. “How curious.”

“Hmm?” I asked.

She only smiled.

Chapter Fifteen

Interlude Three

 

Trevor stopped then for effect, and Delia gazed up at him with wide, curious eyes. “And from there it became the beginning of the end.”

“The end of what?” Delia asked.

“The world.” So dramatic, am I right? Trevor continued to stare at her, and it reached the point where she started to squirm in discomfort.

She looked away and twirled a strand of dark hair around her index finger. “Can’t say I’m making that connection just yet.”

“As soon as…he got black magic, he also got the idea to unleash Hell onto the Earth!” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I don’t feel like you’re taking anything I’m saying seriously.”

“I am.” Delia gave him the sweetest of smiles, yet in her gaze she held a great deal of skepticism. “But I still feel like there are a lot of details missing, and this William guy learning magic isn’t a big deal! There’s magic all over the place here! Don’t you have some?”

Trevor let out a heavy sigh. “No, I am not magical. I have certain enhancements, but they’re from a special ritual and…”

“Magic,” she finished, “in a nutshell. I’m sure where you’re from it’s a lot more complicated than that. For all intents and purposes, though, it’s magic.”

“And that never existed in this town until…” He swallowed.

She raised both of her eyebrows. “William? But you just said someone else introduced it to him.”

“But he opened the gates. I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“Fair enough,” she whispered.

Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why are you so quick to defend him, anyway?”

“Because you still haven’t painted him as a monster! I’m still waiting for that moment! You keep saying it’s coming. Besides, I’ve always liked to be a devil’s advocate.”

“Quite literally in this