Of Beasts and Bells by J E Mueller

Author:J E Mueller
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2020-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

Nadia quickly led the way from the library to her mother's study. The room had an antique looking aesthetic with a large wooden desk, a small chandelier, and lights along the walls that had a gas lantern look but were very clearly powered by magic. Nadia motioned toward the display of books behind the desk. The center part of it was barred, and while I couldn't see the flow of magic, it's power was obvious even from the doorway. The magic radiating off of it wasn't old at all.

"When did your mother pass?" I asked curiously. "This magic feels much newer."

Nadia shrugged. "When I was almost fourteen. The cabinet was locked before then."

I nodded. It likely was. I had no reason to doubt that. I made my way over and noticed that while I could easily see into the cabinet, the spines themselves could not be read. The magic blurred out the words.

"Did the magic always hide the titles?" I asked curiously.

Nadia frowned. "What? No." She walked over and saw exactly what I saw. "That's new."

"Have you looked in here since all this nonsense happened?" I glanced her way, already guessing at the answer.

"I have, but I guess I didn't take the titles into consideration. That screams to me they have the answers." Nadia gave a fierce growl as she banged on the cabinet with all her might but nothing happened.

I gingerly placed a hand on it, the magic felt so intense, unlike anything I had ever encountered. "I don't think there's an easy way around it right now."

Nadia knocked over things on the open shelf by her, cursing everything under the sun.

"Well, excuse you, brat." I declared.

She turned toward me, fire in her eyes. "What did you call me?"

I motioned to the things on the floor. "What was that about? Destroying things is not going to get you anywhere!"

"They're fine! I've explained that already," she hissed.

I crossed my arms. "So, just because you can get away with it, that makes it all right?"

Nadia growled and stormed out of the room without another word.

I didn't follow her. She could throw a tantrum well enough on her own. Instead, I turned my attention back toward the locked cabinet. The intensity of the magical flow reminded me of an electrical current. It seemed to go in a continuous circuit, leaving no gaps. I wondered if there was a way to simply turn it off. That was essentially what the caster of the spell did. They pulled a thread of magic in such a perfect way to create the structure, flow, and strength. All they would do to end it, was to find the beginning of their thread and release it.

I placed my hand on the cabinet once more. The hum of magic flowing was its own song. Something about the melody it gave off seemed ancient. The song came to me in words and instruments I had never heard before. Until one note stood out. A hum that reminded me in a small way of my magic when it listened.

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