SYMPHONY OF MAGIC (ASHWOOD CHRONICLES #2) Read online

  Symphony Of Magic

  Ashwood Chronicles, Volume 2

  Brandon Chandler

  Published by Brandon Chandler, 2021.

  While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

  SYMPHONY OF MAGIC

  First edition. April 3, 2021.

  Copyright © 2021 Brandon Chandler.

  Written by Brandon Chandler.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Journal #24

  Chapter-One

  Chapter-Two

  Chapter-Three

  Chapter-Four

  Journal #24

  Chapter-Five

  Chapter-Six

  Chapter-Seven

  Chapter-Eight

  Chapter-Nine

  Chapter-Ten

  Chapter-Eleven

  Chapter-Twelve

  Chapter-Thirteen

  Chapter-Fourteen

  Chapter-Fifteen

  Chapter-Sixteen

  Chapter-Seventeen

  Chapter-Eighteen

  Chapter-Nineteen

  Chapter-Twenty

  Chapter-Twenty-one

  Chapter-Twenty-two

  Chapter-Twenty-three

  Chapter-Twenty-four

  About the Author

  This book is for my family and friends-the people whose bright, warm spirits and love that never fails to motivate me.

  Journal #24

  Their cold eyes stared up at us. The life that had inhabited them had gone. Their blood soaked the landscape, limbs at awkward angles and arranged in such a way that they could not be sleeping.

  “They were once people, as alive as we are,” I said to him while slinging my heavy rifle to my back.

  Raiziel was a tall man with flawless skin and prominent cheek bones. His curls were midnight black which glistened in the moonlight. His icy blue eyes stared at me with such intensity I unwillingly gulped.

  “Andres don’t start this now.”

  “But who will bury them, they can’t stay here to rot in the open.”

  He was silent and I could tell he didn’t care or feel any remorse. His elegant aristocrat clothing was ruined by the blood of the dead. Even more blood coated his fingers like caramel over apples, only bright red instead of soft golden brown. He almost seemed enticed by the new color. He was a natural born killer and I feared I was one too.

  “They chose death, by attacking me,” he finally said.

  A sudden smell of flowery incense surrounded us, followed by a foggy cloud gracefully touching down from the heavens. It materialized into a beautiful woman, with long medium brown skin, jet-black hair, an hourglass figure and striking magenta color eyes. Her hair was tied back with a ribbon and she was dressed in a way that resembled a gypsy, maybe a hippy...or a combination of both.

  Raiziel disregarded the horrid look upon her face. “Zaria do you have any news about my family.”

  The woman shook her head. “The entire property is engulfed in flames and hordes of demons are running rampant killing anything in sight.”

  The alarm in her voice caused a panic to build like an unstoppable force in the pit of my stomach and I was sure Raiziel felt the same. “I barely made it back to you unscathed and I’m running low on magic.”

  Raiziel turned away from Zaria swearing under his breath. “I have to go to them now.”

  Zaria nervously fidgeted with two elliptical crystals hanging loosely around her neck by a leather rope. “I fear they might be dead.”

  Raiziel glared at her with such concentration I thought she would catch fire.

  “Those crystals, they once belong to your brother correct?”

  She nodded with a look of confusion.

  “You miss him greatly don’t you, and if there was the slightest chance to bring him back, you would take it right?”

  She nodded once more.

  “I’m taking that chance for my family...are you coming with me?”

  For a moment Zaria didn’t say anything. Her eyes filling with tears, she timidly reached out to touch Raiziel’s cheek.

  “I beg of you, don’t go. Alexander is at the mansion as well.”

  Raiziel glared at Zaria searching her face.

  “Going back there will be the death of all of us...and I will not follow you. I too have a family now.”

  Raiziel’s face hardened as he slapped away Zaria’s hand. “Then run-away coward.”

  Her eyes dropped for a moment, then she looked up with determination.

  “I’ve sacrificed so much for you, including the thing I cherished the most.”

  “And I too made sacrifices,” Raiziel’s voice boomed with dominance.

  However, it didn’t sway Zaria from retorting. “Giving up one of your precious weapons doesn’t come close to what I’ve lost.”

  Raiziel snorted, turned, and began stalking towards a forest entrance several feet away. Being soul bonded to him I had no choice but to follow.

  “Wait!” Zaria called out.

  We both stopped, but it was Raiziel who responded with a robust, “what?”

  “Isabelle, Anastasia and the boys are dead...I don’t want to lose you too.”

  Raiziel’s jaw tightened. He didn’t reply.

  “No-one could have survived the fire.”

  “I have to go see for myself,” he said serenely.

  “Then you are a fool,” Zaria exclaimed. Her voice was so fragile. Then she looked directly in my eyes and ghostly said, “watch over my fool.”

  And she quickly and completely morphed into a fog and was carried away by an abrupt breeze.

  I’m getting too old for this high school sh-

  Chapter-One

  “Brianna!”

  She abruptly closed the notebook and fastened it shut. It wasn’t a large book or particularly thick, but inside laid a few answers she had sought all her life. It was her father’s. He had given up his rights as a parent nearly five years ago. Alexander her new guardian thought it would be good to let her read a few of her father’s old journals, in hopes it might help quench her thirst to find out more about her family’s past. She looked down at the tatty leather-bound book that was held closed with an old leather strap. She sat immobile while the man who had raised her for the past five years glared at her tensely.

  He was an imposing man that appeared to be in his early 50s, with gray hair and eyes. His shoulder length hair was parted mostly down the middle in a way that his waves naturally rose and fell elegantly across his head.

  She fumbled with the book for a second then shoved it away in her backpack.

  “S-sorry.”

  He gave her another stern look before continuing. “Thanks to your stupidity I spent the last year and a half clearing up your mess. Convincing everyone that none of you, including those two other kids, weren’t involved with blowing up that classroom. I even paid for the repairs. I also let you convince me not to erase that boy and girl’s memory. Now I fear they won’t keep our secret-”

  “Kori is immune to mind tampering,” Hayden interjected. “And if you would have erased Ethan’s memory, I’m sure she would have found some way to help him remember everything.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Alexander snapped. “I should have tied up loose ends.”

  As he went on, Brianna stared at her backpack, she wanted to read more of her dad’s journal. She had spent the past year and a half going over the journals analyzing them one by one. Being grounded sucked. She had tried to reason with Ale
xander, that being punished indefinitely with daily lectures and household chores, was an unfair prison sentence.

  However, reading through her father’s journals helped pass the time, and though she loved reading about her old man’s adventures, she wished she could have learned more about her mom. She looked away from her backpack letting her eyes explore the living room. The furniture was high end, destock and like an homage to the Victorian era. She wondered why they never spent much time in this room.

  Then feeling the stiffness of the practical furniture, she remembered there was another living room with more casual places to kick shoes off and curl up with a delightful book.

  Sitting in this room for his every morning lecture felt like part of their punishment.

  From her left peripheral she saw Dominic silently mouthing word for word Alexander’s speech as he spoke them. She fought back the urge to giggle.

  Her amusement faded as her mind recalled the fact that he was the reason why they were grounded.

  “If word about your lineage reaches Malachi...all these years, of keeping you two hidden, will have been for nothing.”

  Hayden scoffed. “He’s bound to find out eventually. Your story about adopting random kids so you could blend in better with the mortals isn’t very believable.”

  “That story,” Alexander said putting emphasis on the word story. “Has worked for the past five years. But if you three keep drawing attention to this family it won’t hold up for much longer... He’s already on edge because I told him Giovanni and his goons were shorting him souls, so I was the one who killed them.”

  “Technically you’re not lying,” Dominic said wryly. “Bruh was stealing souls and popping them like edibles.”

  Alexander scowled, and Dominic’s amusement flattened.

  “And not only is Malachi on edge, but the entire town’s supernatural community is as well, because I lifted the witches ban.”

  That wasn’t part of his speech before.

  What’s the witch ban?

  Before she could ask, the grandfather clock chimed announcing a new hour had begun.

  Brianna abruptly stood. “Mr. Ashwood, we should be leaving now, or we’re going to be late for school.”

  The old man paused, glancing at the large clock then back at the children. “Very well you’re dismissed.”

  But as the words left his mouth they weren’t as stern as before. Brianna eyed him suspiciously.

  “And you’re no longer grounded.”

  Dominic jumped to his feet with a cheer. He went in for high fives but neither of his siblings joined in on his enthusiasm. Instead, Alexander said, “however, Hayden I do expect you to report straight home after school.”

  “That’s unfair old man,” Hayden snapped. “I haven’t seen or practiced with my band in over a year. And besides, I have better control over the Libitinari now. I don’t even hear its voice in my head anymore.”

  “That doesn’t matter, if you don’t have full control, it will take over your body and use you to kill every and anything. So, you will come straight home after school.”

  The harshness in Alexander’s voice returned vigorously causing the children to flinch and ending the conversation before Hayden could recover.

  OUTSIDE, THE MORNING sky was a soothing lavender and brilliant amber as the early morning sunlight gave way to the first strong rays of the day. The weak warmth they brought reminded Brianna that the summer season was coming to an unavoidable end.

  A few feet behind Brianna, her brothers trudged along the pavement at a sedated pace.

  This was the norm for them. They hated school and usually walked as if their brain was struggling to tell each foot to take the next step.

  Except for Melinda, school was never a bother for her. She could never figure out why the girl hated her so. Maybe it was something stupid like the fact they shared the same birth month. She giggled. Well, they both were a year older now. Maybe her tormentor had matured over the summer.

  Slow walking, her mind drifted, focusing on the gentle footsteps that seemed mute due to the bustling district. The conventional neighborhood had a life of its own, stretching out of sight on either side of the road were vibrant two-story houses, on each side, the houses separated by yards large enough to host moderately sized parties.

  There was chatter between neighbors like old friends catching up. Then there were those on autopilot, performing their everyday routine, from running late, or as if unseen hands were dragging them to their destinations. In some rare cases a few of the residents looked happy to be heading out this early.

  Hayden suddenly took the lead staring at a house to his right as he walked. In a few short steps she was at his side following his gaze.

  A girl with wavy and silver shoulder-length hair that was fashioned with an undercut stood near the passenger side of a running sedan. She seemed to be debating with a tall lanky teen with curly brown moppy hair, glasses and gave the impression to be a nervous wreck.

  “Kori, Ethan,” Brianna said partly to herself, but loud enough to warrant a look from the duo. Brianna and her siblings paused several inches away from the house’s driveway.

  Hayden managed to catch Kori’s eyes, but she quickly looked away as a slim, tall man with black hair and dark eyes emerged from the house.

  “Have you two come to a decision on whose riding shotgun.” Though his voice was filled with vigor, the deep shadows below each of his eyes and stubble cheeks were a dead giveaway to the sleep deprivation he was trying to hide. He paused at the driver side staring at the newcomers.

  “My boss’s kids...” he said nervously. “W-would you all like a r-ride”

  “Don’t be a creep Jonathan.” Kori said as she climbed into the backseat. “The school isn’t that far away.” She slammed the door shut. Ethan gave the siblings an apologetic look as he climbed into the passenger seat. The sleep deprived man waved, then got into the driver’s seat and not long after, the vehicle peeled out.

  Dominic scoffed. " So... we’re doing this again.”

  “Doing what?” Brianna asked with raised eyebrows.

  Dominic pointed at Hayden. “You know, the whole staring creepily at Kori thing, hoping she will notice him.”

  Brianna chuckled as Hayden’s face flushed. “It’s only a crush. It will pass.”

  HE WAITED UNTIL THEY were halfway across their schools main parking area to ask. “Why have you been so distant?”

  Kori kept her eyes glued to the pavement. “Have I?” She retorted in a voice that sounded so far away. She looked at him and the emotional stress in her eyes made him wince.

  “If you keep staying up late, you’re going to end up looking like my dad.”

  She chuckled lightly. “I’m fine-”

  Ethan cut her off. “Are you sure...ever since we returned from purgatory you’ve completely shut down. And all summer you either spent your time at the library or couped up in your room reading folklore books and about this town’s history. Plus, we haven’t spoken to the Ashwood’s in over a year,” he paused, “well I can understand not talking to Dominic. But Hayden and Brianna don’t deserve the silent treatment. I only went along with it because I was supporting your decision.”

  Kori rolled her eyes. “Ok I get it. You want to talk to your boy crush. I release you.”

  Ethan glowered for a moment. “That’s not it at all. I’m just worried about you. What we went through and what we have seen in purgatory is enough to drive anyone towards a mental breakdown. I’m just saying I’m here if you want to talk...I can use someone to talk to...hell I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats...” He glared hard at Kori. “Do you think I have PTSD.”

  She smiled gently at him. “I think your mentally stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

  At that moment he felt as if he had his best friend back, instead of the cold distant shell she’d become.

  “Everything that had happened last year and being blamed for blowing up a classroom,
it’s a lot to process. I mean, people are calling us terrorists. Some are literally afraid to approach us.”

  Ethan chuckled as they reached the schools’ main entrance. “Is that such a terrible thing? not even Declan has tried to bully me since then.”

  They slipped inside.

  The hallway had dark marble flooring and white walls decorated with posters ranging from promoting schools’ activities, encouragement, and inspirational meanings. The doors were a glossy black, numbered with golden digits that matched the latch handles.

  “Another day at Winter springs high,” Ethan said mockingly.

  The sudden sound of a door creaking echoed through the empty hall. He turned into the direction the sound originated from. Stepping out of the front office were four teens. Three of which Ethan had never seen before. However, the fourth was an attractive teenage female with a petite frame and shoulder length blonde hair.

  Her eyes fell upon him and Kori. “Well, hello,” Melinda said with a pleasant smile. “It appears you two are no longer the new kids.” She gestured towards the other three teens accompanying her.

  Two of them were females with identical faces however their attire and hair were the complete opposite. While one had long blonde hair and was dressed in a catholic schoolgirl uniform the other had short red hair, dark makeup and was dressed as if she was going to attend a funeral. The only boy in the group smiled.

  He was tall, slim built with long, messy dark hair that was tied back in a low ponytail. Like the other two new girls, he had deep magenta eyes and identical silver square rings on his middle finger. In the center of each ring was a deep purple, round, and smooth gem.

  “I’m Nicodemus, but please call me Nico and these are my sisters.” He motioned towards the girls. “That’s Elenora.” The girl with blonde hair smiled broadly and waved esthetically. “It’s so nice to meet you all.”

  She looked over to her sister. “And this pretty lady is Larissa.” The goth girl didn’t acknowledge them.