Wingheart: Luminous Rock

Chapter 6: Myth and Magic

Chapter 6 - Myth and Magic

The morning after Cecil had brought the brothers to Markwell, Magnus awoke, wishing he were back in his brother's bookshop, safe and at peace. He wished to no end that the story of the shades and the shop's closing were nothing but a ghastly dream. But when he blinked open his eyes, he found himself lying under the cover of a sleeping bag, still beneath the wooden beams of Cecil's shelter. He poured out all his hopes in a sigh.

As Magnus passed through the door of his bedroom into the living room later that morning, he set eyes on Cecil reclined in one of the chairs by the center table, browsing languidly through a slim red notebook. The book MorningStar was laid on the table before him, next to a beaten leather satchel. Magnus pulled a limp smile as he approached.

Cecil looked up from the notebook to return the smile. "Good morning, Magnus."

"Morning, Cecil." Magnus scanned the premises. "Where's Drake?"

"He's walked down to Markwell to get us some breakfast," Cecil replied, gesturing the boy to a seat on the second of the stately chairs. "Come. Sit down for a minute."

Magnus nodded affably and sat by his former guardian. The place certainly appeared a lot brighter than yesterday. When Magnus looked to the lantern dangling overhead, he noticed that it was the same one Cecil had used when they first arrived. The crystal within it glowed blindingly.

"Like it?" Cecil called the boy's attention away from the lantern.

"What is it?" Magnus asked in reply. "I mean, what kind of stone is that inside it?"

"A special kind." Cecil smiled thinly. "One I quite doubt you've ever seen before. I'll tell you about it later." He seemed to scrutinize Magnus' weary expression. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Not really," Magnus answered haltingly. "When I woke up, for a minute I thought all this had just been a dream. Running away from the bookshop..." he lifted his dismal stare to Cecil. "...the story of the shades..."

"Well, I suppose I still owe you a solid explanation for why we're here in the first place." Cecil returned the boy's look with sympathy. "My frantic warnings were hardly enough to justify bringing you here on a whim."

A flicker of hope lit Magnus' face. "I suppose."

But Cecil cut in before the boy could even pose his first question: "Then you must bear in mind that I have absolutely no reason to lie to you," he said, as if already anticipating Magnus' incredulity. "A lot of this may seem hard to believe, but you have to understand, I take no joy in messing with your mind."

Magnus gave a wary nod. Cecil scratched his chin in deliberation. "Where do I start?" he muttered.

"The beginning," Magnus answered. "My past, my parents...after everything I've just been told, I'm not even sure about where I was born."

"Fair enough." Cecil nudged Brendan's book toward Magnus. "You were born in MorningStar."

Magnus stared blankly at the book. "Then where is it? Where exactly is MorningStar?"

After a moment of contemplating the floorboards, Cecil rose from his seat to study the bookcases behind the table. From the topmost shelf, he withdrew a hefty, furled chart and brushed it free of a thick layer of dust. He opened it out on the table, flattening it over with his palms.

It was a map. It depicted a sea in which two islands were nested; the first, to the east, was the largest, paired with a western island about three-quarters its size. At both the north and south borders of the map were the jutting crowns of two other land masses that faded off the edge of the chart. Though the map showed traces of vibrant color, time had paled it all to a lackluster sepia hue.