The Infraction Of Magic (2018)

XXI

The Land of Fire. The waves of heat are an indication that we have already arrived and I do not need to draw the curtains to know that we're here. Drew is rousing from his slumber, wearily combing a hand through his hair to smoothe out the bumps.

Hannah knocks her legs against each other, trying to contain the buzz of fear that is too visible in her eyes and I turn my gaze away, pretending that I'm not affected by what we have just gotten ourselves into. My hands pull against the curtains, the parting creating a shaft of orange illumination. The particles of bright colours diffuse against our figures and Drew ducks out of the light's way, blinking furiously to erase the hot flashes of white beams.

"Isn't it night in Acadia?" Drew sniffs, smacking my hand and pulling the curtains back.

"Do they not teach you about the different continents of Acadia at the academy?" Hannah raises her brows at us and I feel a blush coat my cheeks.

"He isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and whatever time meant for me to be studying is spent in other ways." I dip my head, letting my lips swell into an embarrassed smile.

"Hey!" Drew complains, swiping at my arm again. The carriage begins to slow and I peek at the cracks between the curtain and panel of wood along the carriage, trying to soak in the surroundings.

"Well, he's right about it being night in Acadia. The Land of Fire is part of Acadia since it's sitting along the fringe of Acadia, closer to a water body, there are environmental conditions that affect the time of sunrise and sunset here." Hannah explains, letting her fingers grace her kneecaps.

"How so?" Drew straightens his hunched figure, interest seeping across his features.

Hannah laughs at the curiousity embedded on his face, her eyes twinkling. "It's far too much to explain in one short conversation. Maybe you'll learn more about it once we get to field work."

As she finishes her answer, the carriage slows to a pause. The sound of friction between the wheels and the ground falters as I push the curtains aside, the heavy material draping against my arm for support. Outside, the world is saturated in fall colours.

Barren land stretches on for miles. The only signs of civilization blinks into sight as I make out tiny motels speckled along the edge of the horizon. Small pubs dot the thin fracture beneath the sunset, projecting distorted shadows across the seams of faint yellow.

Hannah surveys the landscape for a while before sending the cartiage into a slow jog towards what must be the closest motel. The ride takes five minutes and the golden orb is still sinking below the horizontal 'l' when we reach our destination.

Hannah parks the carriage in an empty lot behind the motel and with the three of our combined effort, we are able to haul Cass through the motel entrance and make it to the lobby. A panel that is manned by a goblin is situated at the far end and when we reach, the goblin manning the desk shoots us strange looks of suspicion which we return with furtive glances.

"A room for one night, please." Hannah forces a polite smile on her face.

"Have you any money?" The goblin snarls, flashing us a clear presentation of his crooked teeth marred with dirt. I nod and slide my hand into my pocket, wrapping my fingers over a smatter of coins. The rounded metal digs into my palms and I quickly let them clatter against the surface of the panel. The contact the metal makes against wood creates a chime and the goblin swipes the money off the table, an expression of greed slipping across his features.

As he pours the money into a drawer underneath, he slaps a key against the table with his other hand. "Make sure that it's only one night." He growls.

Hannah, Drew and I return this comment with a brief nod of understanding before heading down the corridor, searching for the room numbered with the digit stamped against our key. It takes us a few minutes to discover the room we have been assigned and when we do, I almost wish that I was back at the brothel.

The room is cramped, already heavily occupied by two lumpy beds and a joint washroom area. A small sofa made large with knobbly bumps set beneath the thin material sits at the corner of the room, a dull sight that causes my hope to evaporate.

"Awesome." I comment, lifting my shoe and driving the tip of it against the floor. My expression of disgust only backfires when pain flares across my toes and I have to hide my wince.

"Don't worry. If everything goes well, we won't be required to stay here for the night."

"Faeries of Mirth, why would you book a room if you thought we wouldn't need it?" Drew questions bluntly, shifting the weight of his body from one foot to another.

Hannah rolls her eyes at both of us. "Where else would Cass stay, genuises? We can't very well leave her in the carriage all by herself."

"That makes sense." I admit, finally conforming to the environment of the room and settling against the edge of one of the beds. Hannah and Drew settle Cass in the other bed before situating themselves beside me.

"So what's on the menu for tonight?" I nudge Hannah.

She flips open a thick leather-bound book, flicking the pages to the right until she reaches the page she has been searching for.

"Here." Hannah jabs her forefinger against a page which is colourful with illustrations crayoned with various hues and paragraohs of details about a charm that consists of a curse and a blessing. Several crows are imprinted along the paper and the sharp stare depicted by the artist begins to grow alive with every pasisng second.

"The Song of Crows." I cite the large text stamped at the top of the page and struggle to hide the doubt I am certain is appearant on my face.

"How are you so sure that this is the one?" Drew asks.

"Drew," Hannah says, a note of solemnity in her voice, "The curse for the poison in Cass is thousands of years old. With that kind of a curse, the antidote is bound to be ancient and well known among medics like me, passed down for generations and retold countless times during parties. So of course I would have qualms about this being part of the antidote."

"I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, then." I hear Drew mumble under his breath hastily and have to avoid Hannah's gaze of plea and Drew's desperate looks, focusing on the book instead.

"The curse and the blessing of creatures of fire and darkness- crows." I read aloud.

Hannah nods. "Not just any crows. Crows that are specific to this area. A long time ago, the crows that used to inhabit this area could sing. They would sing for every dusk and dawn, for every milestone created in this land."

"I think I heard of that story before," I continue for Hannah, "They had beautiful singings voices, right? The goblins living in the area felt blessed to wake up and turn in for the night to the sound of their music."

"That's right," Hannah verifies, "Except it's not a myth. It's a real story and the part of the antidote we have to retrieve is their singing voices."

My hands fall limp by my sides and my gaze helplessly wanders upwards to meet Hannah's determined stare.

"You're joking." I remark.

"You're right. We drove for an hour just so I could show you the beautiful scenery found within the Land of Fire." Hannah reciprocrates, her fingers twisting the edge of the page. The paper curls at her touch and crinkles, the noise almost a whimper.

I choose to ignore her sarcastic exchange. "So how are we going to get it, then? If I recall perfectly, the crows had their voices stolen from them. We can't simply go up and ask them to get it back."

"No, we can't." Hannah agrees and I exhale a shaky sigh of relief, until I hear her next response.

"We'll have to ask the crows who stole their voices and take it back."

Word Count: 1408

A/N: Feedback is encouraged and appreciated.