Last Christmas (Book 1 in the Christmas Series)

Chapter Sixteen

"Your powers are returning, My Lord!" a squeaky voice said, penetrating that white light that surrounded me, entombed me. The white landscape was never ending, it was as though I had been taken back home, only less trees, houses and workshops. Just light as far as they eye could see. I had seen this before.

"Yes, I am aware of that, Storm. However, they are not returning quick enough, I was certain this process would be faster, you told me she was moving away from her Magic, forgetting her roots. If that is the case, why is it taking so long? Did you and your sister lie to me?" a deep voice snarled. The words echoed around my head, bouncing through the landscape and colliding with my sub-conscious like a drum.

"N-No, sir, of course not! Eira and I were convinced that as time wore on, she would forget her powers, but just when we think she has, she uses them again. Albeit, in small, almost unnoticeable traces, but she does, even if she does not know she is doing it. Because these traces are getting smaller, almost undetectable, it is more likely that she is forgetting, or becoming more normal than perhaps she realises. Only a few more weeks and she will have forgotten, I can assure of that sir," the squeaky voice, Storm said.

"Eira, is this true?"

"Y-Yes, sir! The less she uses her powers, the more she forgets about them, or can no longer see the Magic at work. Despite her lineage, the longer she is away from the Magic, the harder it becomes to recognise it. Her Magic is not like yours. Yours can be dormant, but be used after several years, hers is family Magic, passed through generations. Its laws are drastically different. Especially as she is not the direct heir, were it her brother, you would not be able to syphon the Magic, with her it is easy. But it does take time," Eira said, her voice squeakier than her brothers.

As I listened to their conversation, trying to make sense of it, trying to decide who they could be talking about and why they might want to take Magic away from someone who didn't want to use it. Despite what many think, many people who consider themselves normal have Magic buried deep within them, some use it without knowing. That Magic remains with them until they knowingly use it, but if they forget, if they move away, it no longer works, it leaves, it has no purpose. There are many different types of laws for Magic, not all of them good. These people could have been talking about anyone.

Due to the echoing tones of their voice, it was my first instinct that they were at a distance, which is why I couldn't see them, though I was entirely sure if I wanted to. But, if the dreams/visions were going to be a re-occurrence, I wanted to know who I was dealing with. So, I put one foot in front of the other, and through the bright, white light I moved towards the voice, though they had fallen silent. My feet kept moving, though I had no idea where they were going, they moved without my help, just one foot, then the other. Every time I glanced down, the white light that surrounded my ankles made it impossible to see them, all I saw was the blue fluff of my pyjama bottoms.

"At least you were able to create the storm, sir! That is better than what you could do before! Perhaps you can create chaos from inside the cage whilst we try to open it," Storm said, sounding nervous at the statement he had just uttered.

"The chaos I can create in this cage is nothing compared to the chaos I can cause beyond its constraints. The snow storm was just the beginning of my powers, once they have been fully restored, I will be able to show the world what I am capable of! Show the world that I am not to be taken lightly, despite how I might be portrayed in their media. They will tremble before my name, before my powers!" the deeper voice roared, echoing through the white space.

"It is great that you are, erm, thinking ahead sir, but we have yet to, er, get that far. We are only in the early stages of the Magic extraction. There is nothing to say this will work, or if she even has the power you need. The combined efforts of myself and Storm was not enough to break the cage and might I say we are powerful."