Poetry in Motion
Chapter Twenty-Six
POETRY IN MOTION
Alison
T he fireplaces in the library had been lit by the early Sunday evening, and it was a good thing too: it was getting so cold in there, Alison’s hands were shaking trying to keep the books open.
Keir helped her move the pile of books and sketches Weyland had done of Leo’s objects to a well-worn couch and coffee table right in front of the fire where Willow was already sleeping. Then he’d brought them a heavy tartan blanket he’d packed from home and a steaming hot cup of tea for good measure.
There were men, and then there were men , and Keir was the latter.
They had split their time during the day between Professor Marin’s lab, where they were able to transport all of the power-savers for further testing now that the ‘lectrics were back, and the library, where they continued pouring over books, looking for answers to Leo’s predicament.
They hadn’t been able to come up with much regarding the lighter. Dean Whittaker had answered some questions for them in between supervising repairs, but he hadn’t been present for the fire itself and knew little more of it than they did.
They’d had a little more luck with the doll thanks to Professor Marin, who had recognized it from the sketch as the kind that had been popular when she was a girl hundreds of years earlier. It gave them a place to start.
The language in the books from that time was nearly incomprehensible, even with Professor Marin’s help. The professor of Ancient Languages wasn’t available, unfortunately. He was down in Norgate lending his strong orcish muscle to the flood repair cause. Ceri’s roommate Ana had only just begun her studies and wasn’t able to offer much help either, although she had attracted the attention of the star flagball player, who had overheard their conversation and wondered if she’d help him with their paper. Alison had enjoyed watching the young couple flirt from a distance even if Ceri disapproved.
“I don’t get it,” said Ceri as she joined them by the fire. “I don’t see the appeal.”
“There’s nothing wrong with having different taste,” said Rinka, pulling up a chair. “If he were older…”
“Don’t tell me I’d have to compete with a flagball player for your affections,” said Idris.
“Just because your father is so insufferable about sports that you two hate them doesn’t mean they aren’t good fun,” said Rinka. “I, for one, am looking forward to the first game.”
“Anything new from Leo?” asked Keir as he passed around more cups of tea.
“He’s in the library too,” said Ceri. “I told him the books the library had suggested for us, and he’s going through them as well.”
The library had been less useful than usual in its recommendations. It kept hitting Alison with poetry books, and while she appreciated its encouragement, she couldn’t seem to get it to understand that it wasn’t her top priority at the moment.
The book Alison was currently reading—or perhaps skimming, since the language was so difficult to grasp—was a grimoire from roughly four centuries earlier, the time when the doll was popular. It had been copied from an even earlier manuscript and unfortunately had not been fully translated into even early Modern Loegrian.
The pages were illuminated with painted images varying from the ornamental to the macabre, lovely floral patterns on one page and then dark, demonic shapes on the next. The magic within its pages all seemed to involve strange herbs and animal parts mixed together under various phases on the moon, long continuous pages of instructions with little rhyme or reason.
Perhaps it was for this reason that one page in particular stood out to Alison.
It reminded her of the pamphlet they’d made. Each of the poems she’d written had appeared with an accompanying illustration by Weyland, and that was exactly how this page looked as well: like poetry.
Poetry.
“Wait,” said Alison. Everyone looked up at her as if they weren’t sure what they were meant to be waiting on. “ To quieten an curse. I think this may be it. Oh Gods, how could I be so stupid! The answer was poetry all along.”
“Come again?” said Idris.
“I’m not sure what the rest of this says, but I think it’s a spell of some kind. Some of these old spells are just poems. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. It’s the piece that has been missing from my magic. The reason I can’t do it consistently. You don’t need it, but I do. I need poetry.”
“Let me see that,” said Professor Marin. She had been sitting some distance away from the fire but still within earshot. “This is not my mother tongue, but I can still recall it.” She read from the book in a strange accent:
To quieten an curse, speke tese lynes tries:
Breke tyn bonde, breke tyn chayne,
Leve till oonly goode remayne,
Bi lighte o moone & fyre o sunne,
Lete us ende what hast ybigun.
“Can you understand it?” asked Alison.
“Can I see the journal? I can write down what it means.”
To quiet a curse, speak these lines thrice:
Break thy bond, break thy chain,
Leave ‘til only good remains,
By light of moon and fire of sun,
Let us end what has begun.
“It doesn’t sound like much to go on,” said Idris. “We’ve never needed words to do our magic. But maybe this magic is different.”
“Could you try it?” asked Rinka. “On the locket, maybe?”
“Perhaps the ring instead,” said Idris. “We don’t know what the locket does, and that ring is more trouble than it’s worth.”
“I’m willing to give it a go,” said Alison.
Idris rose to retrieve the ring, taking the secret passage back to his closet.
“What do you think about trying it outside?” asked Keir. “ By light of moon and fire of sun. Maybe you need one or the other.”
“Maybe both,” said Alison. “Although I suppose they’re nearly the same thing. It’s cold out there, but I’m sure the library would prefer it if we didn’t try it here.”
The library dropped a book in response: The Beauty of the Great Outdoors.
“Message received,” said Alison.
They met Idris at the entrance to the secret passage and entered the courtyard from the door Ceri had used during the storm.
The full moon was just beginning to rise over the mountains. A cold wind blew through, forcing Alison to wrap the blanket tightly around her.
“Do you think I just say it?” she asked Idris. “Does it need to be in Middle Loegrian, or can I use the translation?”
“No idea,” said Idris. “I have no idea if this is going to do anything at all. But as long as I get the ring stored safely again before anyone falls asleep, there should be little risk in trying.”
Idris removed the ring from the heavy box it was stored in and placed it on the ground in the middle of the brown patch where the lightning struck. “Might as well see if Leo had the right idea about this place. I can sense power here.”
Alison held the journal up and read out the translated text three times.
Nothing happened.
“I didn’t feel anything from you,” said Keir. “I think you need to channel your power into it somehow. Or mine.”
“But what power can Leo channel?” asked Alison.
“One thing at a time,” said Keir. “Let’s see if we can get it to work first.”
Alison read the text once again, this time pulling on her power and Keir’s in the way that occasionally did something.
The ring shook on the ground.
“That’s doing something,” said Idris, holding his hand over the ring to feel the power. “Keep going.”
Alison read the text a second time. This time, the ring screeched.
Everyone put their hands over their ears.
“Read it again, quick!” yelled Rinka over the noise.
Alison read it a final time, struggling to concentrate over the sound, but it seemed to have worked: the ring fell silent.
“I can’t believe it,” said Idris. He picked up the ring and shook his head. There was no magic on it. “I’ve managed to decurse a fair number of things in my time, but usually there’s some kind of trick to it. Some sort of negotiation or even a duel with a hostile force. It probably won’t work on everything—basically nothing does when it comes to magic. But if it can work on anything, it’s worth a try.”
Alison shivered. “It’s a beautiful ring, really,” she said, taking it from Idris to feel the lack of magic on it for herself. “A shame someone did that to it.” She handed it back to Idris, who stored it back in its box just in case the curse removal was temporary.
As they returned to the library, Idris pulled her aside. “Do you think you’d be willing to try it on me?” he asked her.
Alison could see immediately how serious he was. He was trying to appear nonchalant, but he couldn’t quite look at her. She was used to the Idris that always had a joke or a jibe for any occasion. It saddened her to see him so vulnerable.
“Of course we can,” said Alison. “We can try it right now if you like.”
“Maybe once the others have gone to bed,” said Idris. “I’d rather…I’d rather they didn’t know. Just you, me, and Keir.”
Alison didn’t ask why he wanted to keep it from Rinka and Ceri. She guessed that maybe he didn’t want to have to see their disappointment if it failed.
Ceri gave Leo the instructions on how to use the spell, although they still didn’t have much of an answer about where he should draw the power from.
“The fairy queen Mab told me everyone has magic within them,” said Alison. “I don’t know if he’ll be able to learn to wield it without any help in such a short time, but I could feel an energy in the spot in the courtyard. Maybe it could be enough on its own.”
“Tell him to try to decurse the items one by one, starting with the doll,” said Idris. “It’s too much of a risk to take them all out of the fairy magic sanctuary at once.”
“Coming to bed?” Rinka asked Idris, yawning. “I think that’s enough for one night. I’m exhausted.”
“I’ll meet you there,” he said. “I’m going to ask Ana if she can cast that same ward on my closet. It never hurts to have multiple layers of protection from curses.”
Rinka nodded and left, with Ceri following behind her. Professor Marin had slipped away earlier without a goodbye, which was a move she used often and one that Alison envied.
“You probably should ask Ana to do that,” said Alison to Idris once the others had gone.
“I hate to interrupt her ‘studying’ with apparently the most desirable man in the school, but I think I will do so,” he replied. “I’ll meet you both outside in a moment.”
“What are you up to?” asked Willow, stretching. It was time for her to wake up now that it was dark outside. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing much,” said Alison. “Just a minor breakthrough in why my magic has been failing all this time and also the possible answer for keeping Leo safe until we can bring him home.”
“Oh, good,” said Willow. “I was afraid I slept through something important.”
“Do you really think poetry is the key?” asked Keir. “Do you think you could do something with poems you write yourself?”
“I’d like to try,” said Alison. “It makes sense, in a way. I started writing it for the coin, but it eventually became how my mind works. It’s sort of like a puzzle with words. I think if I can find a way to combine my poems with my magic, both of them will be better for it.”
“They’re both wonderful already,” said Keir. He kissed her on the lips, which Willow took as her cue to take off. “You know, there’s a fantasy of mine that takes place among the stacks.”
It was very cozy here on the couch now that everyone had gone.
“I’m not sure if the library would appreciate that,” said Alison regretfully. Or maybe it would, and she wasn’t sure which was worse. “But maybe we should stop at Weldan House on the way back. I recall you having an impressive library there. Come on. It’s time to decurse Idris.”
“Do what?” asked Keir, but he followed her nonetheless.
“Idris asked me if we could try the spell on him,” said Alison once they were outside. “So he can fly again, I suppose.”
Idris was waiting in the same spot in the middle of the courtyard.
“Ceri took the journal with her,” said Alison. “But I think I have it memorized. I said it so many times just now.”
“Let’s get this over with. It’s bloody freezing out here,” said Idris, pacing around to keep warm.
That seemed more like him.
“Do you think we join hands or something?” asked Keir.
“Sure, and let’s all sing it together,” said Idris. “It’ll be just like nursery school.”
“Gods, you’re insufferable,” said Keir. “I hope this works so you can fly off and leave the rest of us in peace.”
“And miss out on all of the nagging and brooding? Not a chance.”
“Will you both be quiet? I’d like to get back inside before I freeze my tits off.”
Idris laughed as Keir said, “Alison!”
“What?” said Alison, looking at Keir’s shocked face. “It’s really bloody cold.”
Alison took Keir’s hand, ignoring Idris’s childish laughter, and recited the spell exactly as she had done before.
Something was happening.
Alison couldn’t tell what, but she felt the air change.
“Are you doing that?” Keir asked Idris.
“It’s not me,” said Idris. “I can feel something. Keep going.”
Alison recited the spell two more times. Then she and Keir stood back.
Idris transformed into the red dragon with a loud crack and the smell of brimstone. He tried to flap his wing, but Alison could see it: it was still broken.
“I’m sorry, Idris,” she said. “It really felt like it worked.”
He changed back just as quickly. “Maybe it did,” he muttered. “Thank you.”
“What?” asked Alison, but he was already rushing off inside.
Alison and Keir followed him into the guest wing of the dormitory.
“You saw that, right? He can’t fly,” said Keir. “So what in the name of the Gods did he mean?”