A Little Touch of Magic | The Callers #1

Chapter Eleven

'Tell me everything,' I demanded, storming into Mr Ravencroft's study.

He was sitting behind his desk, looking over some papers, that he stuffed into the drawer as I crossed the room. There was something he was trying to keep hidden from me and I could feel an itch in my stomach over how irritating the whole situation was.

'Tell me,' I said again.

'I see you found the family book then,' Mr Ravencroft said, resting his hands on the table. 'I wondered how long it would take you.'

'Why am I in some old book?'

He softened his features and gave me a sad smile. 'There's much that you don't know,' he said. 'I'm trying to teach you as best I can.'

'But you're not succeeding,' I said.

'Well, there is much that needs to be told,' Mr Ravencroft said, tapping a finger on the desk. 'Peter wants me to push forward, make things happen that just can't. Not yet.'

I narrowed my eyes. He knew way more than he was telling me. I needed to find out something. Anything. Mr Ravencroft looked at me strangely. There was a glint in his eyes that I couldn't quite understand.

'Perhaps you are ready more than I thought,' he whispered.

I watched as he opened one of the desk drawers and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper. He held it in front of him, glancing from me to the page and back again. After a deep sigh, he placed the page on the desk and pushed it closer to me.

I hesitated for a second before picking it up, my curiosity getting the better of me. The page felt so thin, I worried I was going to tear it as I lifted it from the table and glanced at it. The page was handwritten and the ink was faded. I had to squint just so I could read it. It was difficult to make out and understand but after a few tries, I was finally able to read what was written.

'There's a blood debt?' I asked, not fully understanding what I'd just read.

'Many years ago, our family was in a war against another,' Mr Ravencroft said, sitting forward.

'What happened?' I asked, fearing what the answer might be. If there had been a war, what was to say that it wasn't still going, even all these years later?

'It didn't end well,' he said. 'There's one book I didn't give you earlier. I didn't think you were ready.'

He got up slowly, groaning a bit as he put his weight back on his feet. He shuffled towards the bookcases he'd picked books from before and scanned the shelves until he found the book he was looking for. It was a thick, black tome with gold writing on the front. The hairs on my arms stood on end as he brought the book back to the desk.

'Once you've read this,' Mr Ravencroft said, 'there's no turning back. The secrets kept hidden within this book won't be shaken off or dismissed.'

I nodded, not sure what I should say. His hands were still resting on the top of the book as he watched me. I waited for him to say something else, to give me more information. But he didn't.

He sighed. 'It's time you learned the reason behind your being left at the Home all these years,' Mr Ravencroft said, taking his hands away from the book. Upside down, I could read the title The Ancient War of the Ravencrofts and the Shadow Men. 'It's time you read this.'

A weight settled in my chest as the title sank in. Shadow Men. It can't mean...

'Who are these Shadow Men?' I asked, needing to know more.

'They're an ancient group from a powerful family,' Mr Ravencroft said. 'Only the males join the group and their power is a terrible thing. They control the shadows, mould them into terrible things. They use fear against their enemies and create minions out of people they deem disposable.'

I chewed on my lip, unsure as to whether I should tell Mr Ravencroft about Mr Shadow, the man who haunted the Home for as long as I could remember. I thought back on the mysterious creatures that turned into dark dust and the warning from my fairie friends about it.

All these events from the last couple months were coming tumbling together and they all pointed towards Mr Shadow being one of the mysterious Shadow Men. If I was indeed a Ravencroft by birth, then Mr Shadow must have known it from the beginning. Was I the reason he plagued the Home?

'What's on your mind, dear?' Mr Ravencroft said, tilting his head in such a way that he reminded me of a confused puppy.

'There's some things I need to tell you,' I said, deciding to be honest. 'Before you came to the Home, there was a man that would visit occasionally, but not in the traditional sense.'

'How do you mean?'

'He would hide among the trees in the garden,' I said. 'Miss Haver never saw him, but he kept trying to lure the little children away with him.'

'Oh dear,' Mr Ravencroft said, his mouth pressing into a thin line.

'There's more,' I said, not wanting to leave anything out. I had kept this from him for too long. If I'd been honest from the beginning then perhaps he would have told me sooner and I wouldn't have been so wary of him.

'There were these creatures,' I said, 'made out of this dust. It looked just like you one night and it tried to eat me.'

Mr Ravencroft's lips seemed to disappear altogether. He got up from the desk and paced in front of the window, his brow furrowed. I waited. There was nothing else for me to say, I could only see what he would say about it.

We both turned as Peter knocked on the door and came in.

'Mr Ravencroft, sir,' he said, looking from me to the old man. 'We have a problem.'

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Hello! Thank you for reading this chapter of A Little Touch of Magic. I plan to update this story every Thursday so be sure to add it to your Reading List so you don't forget to check for updates! If you've enjoyed reading this story, please do take a moment to vote and comment and I'll make sure to respond to any comments received.

Thank you so much again for reading. I hope you have a lovely day :)

-Heather