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22

MAGYK

That evening the east wind blew in across the marshes.

Aunt Zelda closed the wooden shutters on the windows and CharmLocked the door to the cat tunnel, making sure that Bert was safely indoors first. Then she walked around the cottage, lighting the lamps and placing storm candles at the windows to keep the wind at bay. She was looking forward to a quiet time at her desk updating her potion list.

But Marcia had got there first. She was leafing through some small Magyk books and busily making notes. Every now and then she tried out a quick spell to see if it still worked, and there would be a small popping noise and a peculiar-smelling puff of smoke. Aunt Zelda was not pleased to see what Marcia had done to the desk either. Marcia had given the desk duck feet to stop it from wobbling and a pair of arms to help with organizing the paperwork.

“When you’ve quite finished, Marcia, I’d like my desk back,” said Aunt Zelda irritably.

“All yours, Zelda,” Marcia said cheerily. She picked up a small square book and took it over to the fireside with her, leaving a pile of mess on the desk. Aunt Zelda swept the mess onto the floor before the arms could grab it and sat herself down with a sigh.

Marcia joined Jenna, Nicko and Boy 412 by the fire. She sat down next to them and opened the book, which Jenna could see was called:

Safety Spelles

and Unharm Charms

For the Use of the Beginner

and Those of Simple Mind

Compiled and Guaranteed by the Wizard Assurance League

“Simple Mind?” said Jenna. “That’s a bit rude, isn’t it?”

“Pay no attention to that,” said Marcia. “It’s very old-fashioned. But the old ones are often the best. Nice and simple, before every Wizard tried to get their own name on spells just by tinkering with them a little, which is when you get trouble. I remember I found what seemed like an easy Fetch Spell once. Latest edition with lots of brand-new unused Charms, which I suppose should have warned me. When I got it to Fetch my python shoes, it Fetched the wretched python as well. Not exactly what you want to see first thing in the morning.”

Marcia was busy leafing through the book.

“There’s an easy version of Cause Yourself to be Unseen somewhere here. I found it yesterday…Ah, yes, here it is.”

Jenna peered over Marcia’s shoulder at the yellowed page that Marcia had open. Like all Magyk books, each page had a different spell or incantation on it, and in the older books these would be carefully written by hand in various strange colored inks. Underneath each spell the page was folded back on itself to form a pocket in which the Charms were placed. The Charm contained the Magyk imprint of the spell. It was often a piece of parchment, although it could be anything. Marcia had seen Charms written on bits of silk, wood, shells and even toast, although that one had not worked properly, as mice had nibbled the ending.

And so this was how a Magyk book worked: the first Wizard to create the spell wrote down the words and instructions on whatever he or she had at hand. It was best to write it down at once, as Wizards are notoriously forgetful creatures, and also the Magyk will fade if not captured quickly. So possibly, if the Wizard were in the middle of having breakfast when he or she thought of the spell, they might just use a piece of (preferably unbuttered) toast. This was the Charm. The number of Charms made would depend on how many times the Wizard wrote down the spell. Or on how many pieces of toast were made for breakfast.

When a Wizard had collected enough spells together, he or she would usually bind them into a book for safekeeping; although, many Magyk books were collections of older books that had fallen apart and been remixed in various forms. A full Magyk book with all its Charms still in their pockets was a rare treasure. It was far more common to find a virtually empty book with only one or two of the less popular Charms still in place.

Some Wizards only made one or two Charms for their more complicated