Nightingale

For my family and friends-always believe in magic

Prologue

A great magician once said "what the eyes see, the mind believes," that magician of course, was Harry Houdini. But what about what you don't see? In all reality- the world is full of magic and mysticism that's invisible to most of us. It wasn't really revealed until two young Scottish brothers named Kieran and Abraham Whittington came along.

These two young brothers were the descendants of a medieval Scottish sorcerer named Alistair Whittington whose magic was passed down through generations. Most of the Whittington's however, chose to hide their powers from the real world. This tale tells of Kieran and Abraham's grandfather, Garnett and his journey to discover his true magical abilities. Just like his ancestors before him, Garnett was hesitant to use his powers and he tried to live an ordinary life in a world that was full of mysticism.

Voyage

The boat rocked violently as the waves crashed against its hull. Seasickness had taken its toll on nearly all of the passengers. The excitement of a new home was quickly hindered by the crippling nausea.

"Here, darling," a mother cooed handing her child a cup of warm soup.

The child slurped down the warm broth and peered across the room.

Sitting across the room, not making a sound was a young man scribbling in a journal. He was tall-nearly six foot with thin, spindly arms and legs and inky brownish black hair that stuck out in tight ringlets beneath his bowler hat. For hours, the young man had peered down at his journal as he wrote.

The rest of the passengers didn't really acknowledge the young man as he wrote, but that didn't bother Garnett Whittington. For the last twenty-four years, Garnett has been a bit of a loner. He preferred to be alone, even as a child, he wasn't much for socializing. When he didn't have his nose buried in a book reading, he was scribbling in a journal. He documented every day of his life since he was ten years old, but this chapter was going to be his greatest.

This is the day; the day in which I start a new chapter in my life. He wrote, I've been at sea for so long now that I have begun to miss the feeling of the earth beneath my feet. The captain has just announced that we've arrived at the port. I've made it to the city of my dreams-New Orleans!

He closed the journal and hurried up the stairs and onto the deck of the boat. He and the rest of the hopeful passengers smiled as the gleaming city of New Orleans sat before them-a beacon of hope to these immigrants.

Garnett's blue eyes shined as he shoved the journal into his knapsack and grabbed his suitcase. For a moment, he flashed back to his childhood.

"Young man, have you got anything better to do than read?" his father taunted as they sat around the dinner table.

Eight year old Garnett sat across from him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Why not go out and practice your gifts?" his father asked.

Garnett shook his head, "I can't, Althair; ­­­what about the prophecy?"

"You mean to tell me that you believe all of those stories? It's a fairy tale, my boy; Alistair Whittington was just your ancestor. There's no way he could've cursed the entire Whittington name for eternity," his father boomed. "Your mother has got you so frightened of magic and demons that you won't even use your magic."

Garnett glanced back at his mother, who kept her back to them while she made tea.

Since he was a toddler, his parents and grandparents had told him the tale of his ancestor Alistair Whittington. According to the legend, Alistair was a heroic warlock who accidentally cursed a fellow sorcerer named Samhain. Scarred and vengeful, Samhain then cursed the Whittington name and declared that any one of Alistair's descendants had the chance to become his harbinger of evil. The prophecy scared Garnett and for years, the child was afraid to use the magic he'd inherited.