Magic's Bane Book 1: The Black Heart

Chapter 1: Promises and Dreams

As Hope stared at the fan slowly spinning, casting shadows across the dark, cold room, she thought of her dream. Most of the time, her dreams ran from her memories, but one had clawed its way to her subconscious. The dream was really a memory, the memory of one of day she sat on the cliff with James, her best friend. They had read books of folklore in class that day, and they talked about one tale. Afterward, they asked each other questions.
James asked the last question, "This might be a weird question, but if something were to happen to us, would we still be friends?"
It took no time to reply, "Of course! We will be friends forever!"
That word still echoed in her head, forever. Hope was still friends with him, but it wasn't the same. They were inseparable. Hope had been his friend, even to his past girlfriends' dismay. 
Hope giggled, "I remember when James dated that one girl, she always tried to trip me!" 
Hope had always teased James for all his girlfriends. Hope herself had never had a boyfriend, not that she tried. 
Soon she got up and changed into her outfit, a navy blue dress, jean jacket, black knee-high boots, and her locket. She opened the locket, inside was a picture of her family. You see, her parents had died on her 7th birthday. 
"Exactly 10 years ago today," Hope sighed, "I love you Mama, Pops."
She tied a navy ribbon in her brown hair, sobbing. 
Hope walked down the stairs of her aunt's home. Hope never called it her home, for she never felt at peace. The only benefit was that she now lived next to James, and Bell. Bell was Hope's best friend. Bell was the trouble maker in the threesome. Bell had always seen rules as a suggestion, and often broke them, though she had never been caught. 
Everyone, even Bell, knew to never bother Hope on her birth/death day. 
                                        ...
After school, she went to her aunt's house and ventured toward her room. Her thoughts drifted to another memory, one just after her parents died.
She had just come home after the funeral, for she had to pack. The young orphan looked at herself in the mirror, tears running down her face. Until the wind whispered;

"Come to the room above,
Open the past,
Discover the way,
To the story,
Of wonder and magic...."

Hope remembered the voice so clearly. She woke from the daydream next to the attic door.  The doorknob seemed to call her out. I must be insane she thought as she opened the door.
The musty, dark, and cramped stairs seamed to go on forever. When Hope finally reached the attic, a box grabbed at her eyes. It was a medium sized box, with only one word written in thick, black marker, Jada, her mom's name. 
Hope ran to the box, tears in her eyes, and fell to her knees. She wiped the tears, staring at the name. After many more tears, she opened the box. First thing she found was the messenger bag that her mom always carried with her. It was brown with buttons for various bands, causes, and many more things like that. Next thing she found was a bracelet, a charm bracelet, with no charms. 
The last thing was what seemed the most important, a book. The cover read The History of Magic's Bane. Hope put the bag, and bracelet on herself, and placed the book inside. 
Hope walked back to her room, her only thought what might be in the book. When she got to her room she sprang on her bed. Hope flung open the book, and it flipped to the first page. She only skimmed the first few pages, until she reached a page that grabbed her attention. 
"The Curse of the Black Heart," Hope read aloud, "There are many curse traps set in the town of Magic's Bane, and one of the strongest curses is The Curse of the Black Heart. The Curse of the Black Heart was ment for one family in particular. The reason it was set for this family was because their ancestor had been a great general in the hidden war..."
There was more, but Hope didn't want to read that so she skipped down to the bottom.  
She read on, "It says The Curse of the Black Heart would be first to be activated, starting the 2nd hidden war. It is said to be enacted as soon as the last witch said aloud," Hope gave a deep breath, and said; 
Enact the curse,
"Start the war,
Let the past be opened,
Let the world see, 
Let the magic,
Be free!"
Nothing happened. Hope sighed, "Well that was fun."
She laid her head on her pillow and drifted into a deep sleep.
                                        ...
Hope woke with a start, then laid down once again. A dream had made its way into her mind. It was the strangest thing.
It had started in a dark, creepy alley, it was well past midnight. A woman strode into the alley, she was five-foot tall, her chocolate brown hair flowing from her ponytail, her fair skin glowing among the darkness, her eyes sparked with blue fire, she had a cloak, blacker than the night, that just reached past her knees. 
From the other side of the alley entered a man, he was about five-foot two, with a smirk on his face that made the stars look dimmer, he strode in with confidence. His hair was jet black, his eyes greener than seaweed, his outfit was black as well, but his was a pure black suit. 
The man looked the woman over, "So this is the high witch," he chuckled, "your reputation eludes you."
"All the same young wizard," chided the woman, she giggled, "None of the stories I have heard told of how much of a geek you are!" 
The man growled, then smiled, "We must move to more pressing matters," he sighed, "the hunters have already captured the last few fairies," a noise stopped him.
"Not all of them!" another woman landed next to him. 
"Lila!" the first woman yelled, running to the new woman.
The one called Lila was the same height as the first woman, but with more grace. Lila's hair was a dirty blond, put in the longest braid ever. She wore a black skirt, with black tights, and a black shirt. Her violet eyes filled with hope, dimmed by whatever disaster had occurred. She had an aura of love and superiority.
"It's okay!" she chuckled, the first woman still holding her tight, "I found a way out, but none of the others made it." 
Tears filled both women's eyes. 
The man nodded ever so solemnly, "As we feared, we are the last free magic users."
"Possibly," The one named Lila sobbed, then perked up a little, "but maybe a few others made it!"
The first women finally let go, "I doubt it...." 
A crash interrupted her. Then lights streamed into the alley, they ran. The dream faded. Another dream came to Hope's mind. This one started in a hospital. The same man paced outside a room, he looked older. This time he wore a sky blue polo and khaki pants. 
"Come in," a nurse had come from the room. 
In the room the first woman sat on a bed holding a baby in her hands. Lila sat next to the first woman holding the baby's small, frail hand.
The mother spoke, "I tell you my last wish, the wish I have held close until I really needed it," She sighed, staring into her baby's eyes, "Now I need it."
"What is your last wish my friend?" Lila pulled out a whittled stick that almost glowed in the baby's presence, "I will gladly grant it."
The mother stared into Lila's eyes, "I wish that my little girl would be protected like I have, with a fairy godmother of her own."
Lila smiled, "I have a daughter of my own, she has no one to protect, I will grant your wish and make her your baby's fairy godmother, and friend."
The father then came to the bedside, tears of joy in his eyes. 
He picked up the baby and whispered, "You will be happy, as long as you have," he kissed the baby's temple, "Hope."