Kidnapped by Majic

By Nyria Fey

Wen thought she was just taking a normal train home, but when the next station reveals a completely different dimension, her life is changed forever. This new world, Ulmuswood, is a land of majic and mysteries, and when she meets Tyce, a boy in his late teens, he saves her from arrest by the enforcers and shows her this new life. Beneath the canopy of the majical forest in the central park, Wen learns how to tap into her own power and control the use of spells. But with the town's true leaders in seclusion, unrest among the population is growing. When her friends ask her to help them reach the Maeven and Cacique, Wen is unsure whether her newfound majic will help or make things worse.

 

If you enjoyed the suspenseful adventure of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", you'll love "Wen and the Magic of Ulmuswood". Pre-order now

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caishel Books
• Release date: Jun 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9781738583508

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Copyright © 2023 Nyria Fey

All rights reserved.

Except for use in any review, no part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission of the author Sue Perkins.

These books are works of fiction, written by a human author – not an AI. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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ISBN Ebook: 9781738583508

First Edition

Contents

1.Chapter One

2.Chapter Two

3.Chapter Three

4.Chapter Four

5.Chapter Five

6.Chapter Six

7.Chapter Seven

8.Chapter Eight

9.Chapter Nine

10.Chapter Ten

11.Chapter Eleven

12.Chapter Twelve

13.Chapter Thirteen

14.Chapter Fourteen

15.Chapter Fifteen

16.Chapter Sixteen

17.Chapter Seventeen

18.Chapter Eighteen

19.Chapter Nineteen

20.Chapter Twenty

21.Chapter Twenty-One

22.Chapter Twenty-Two

23.Chapter Twenty-Three

24.Chapter Twenty-Four

25.Chapter Twenty-Five

26.ChapterTwenty-Six

27.Chapter Twenty-Seven

28.Chapter Twenty-Eight

About Author

Also By

Chapter One

A dank, humid smell wafted up the stairs as Wen descended to the platform. This tube station was the fastest route home, but Wen shivered partly from the breeze coming from the train tunnel and partly from a nervous reaction to this creepy location. The revamping of the network hadn’t reached this end of the line, probably because hardly anyone used this short section. Instead of the dazzling white tiles of the more popular stations, the walls were dingy and smeared with mildew. Litter had filtered down the stairs and the wind from the tunnel blew it around the platform.

Wen withdraw into the shadows behind one of the stone pillars as she heard footsteps on the stairs. She shrank back as the sound came closer and a man in a dark cloak and cap passed by her hiding place.

Strange thing to wear. Nobody wears cloaks in the twenty-first century.

The stranger moved down the platform and stood with his back to her. Wen felt a strong draft emit from the tunnel and knew this meant a train approached the station. A single carriage halted with its rear end beside the man.

Wen frowned. Why is there only one carriage?

The doors whispered open. Wen waited until the stranger entered, then slipped into the rear of the carriage and sank into a seat, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. The stranger appeared unaware of her presence and sat with his back toward her as the train picked up speed and pulled out of the station to rush through the dark tunnel.

This is odd. The journey to the next station rarely takes so long.

Several minutes later the speed dropped quickly and through the carriage windows Wen saw an unfamiliar station. The doors whispered open again and the man left by the nearby carriage exit and walked down the empty platform. The carriage motor sighed, and the lights flickered.

Worried the doors might close, Wen slipped out of the carriage and quietly followed the cloaked man. He climbed the steps and Wen hurried to keep him in sight, but not close enough for him to sense her.

The stranger passed through double glass doors at the top of the steps. Afraid they might shut and trap her in this unknown place, Wen hurried through the narrowing gap. The world outside took her by surprise.

Chapter Two

Where’s the pollution? Why is everything so quiet?

Crisp air entered her lungs and she saw the sun shining out of a brilliant blue sky with no sign of the pollution Wen’s home city suffered. The building facades shone, giving the impression they’d recently been scrubbed clean. At first Wen thought they could be new office blocks, but their style reflected the Georgian period of her own world. The air sparkled and a further turn of her head revealed scrupulously clean streets with noiseless traffic. She couldn’t even hear the tires swishing over the roadway, but a more intense look made her realise the vehicles didn’t actually touch the road. They were like the hovercraft of her home world, drifting forward without no contact.

Wen remembered the man from the train and glanced in the direction he’d headed. She could see no sign of him and turned in a circle to search, but he’d gone. Her movement brought her round to face the station entrance. The glass doors now stood open, revealing the interior of a shop. The way back to her own world had vanished!

Great! What do I do now?

Wen looked around, searching for help to escape her predicament. A man wearing an official looking dark blue uniform stood at the edge of the pedestrian footpath and a youth leaned against a nearby building. He wore flared trousers, and a red cross over shirt with baggy sleeves partially covered with a gaily patterned, sleeveless long tunic covering his upper torso.

The uniformed man looks to be the best option. He must be some sort of policeman. I’ll ask him for help.

Excuse me. Can you tell me where I am?

Dark eyes filled with a hint of suspicion stared in her direction.

Young lady. You cannot be lost. Activate your finder.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. What does he mean ‘finder’? Wen’s thoughts whirled round in her head. This is a strange place. Odd vehicles and words I don’t understand. Did I fall and hit my head at the station?

There you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere. A hand grabbed her arm and she looked into the eyes of the boy in the red shirt. I’m sorry, sir. My sister’s spell backfired on her and she’s not herself at the moment.

You shouldn’t let her out on her own if she’s of an unstable mind. The man in uniform looked sternly at the youth.

Yes, sir. I only went to get her a hot drink and when I came back, sis had disappeared. I’ll take her home and won’t leave her again until the spell wears off. The youth tugged at her arm and led her down a narrow road.

Wait. Both the boy and Wen froze as the uniformed official barked the words out. Why is your sister wearing such odd clothes?

I hadn’t noticed, sir. The boy stood back and looked critically at Wen. They’re not the ones she had on this morning. It must have something to do with the spell. I hope she comes back to normal when it wears off or I’ll have to take her to the health maji.

Carry on. With a nod, the official dismissed them and returned to watching the road.

The boy dragged Wen further into the warren of alleyways lurking behind the main road. At first she went willingly until it occurred to her a complete stranger was leading her to an unknown destination. Wen pulled her arm from his grasp and stopped walking.

Who are you? Where are you taking me?

The name’s Tyce. We need to get away from the enforcer before he questions what I told him. I’m taking you back to my place. Once we get there, I’ll answer your questions. Tyce tilted his head to one side as he looked at her. Believe me, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of an enforcer.

The youth walked a few paces forward, then turned to see if she followed him. Wen shrugged. What else could she do?

Tyce led her along a route so twisted Wen would never find her way back without his help. He stopped in front of a single storey whitewashed cottage which had fallen into disrepair. The door appeared to be broken and in danger of falling off, and the walls had turned grey with the paint peeling from the surface. Tyce led her into a dusty, cobwebbed room with barely any light filtering through the single filthy window at the back. Her companion turned to the door and muttered words too low for Wen to hear, but she heard the loud click as the lock engaged. Tyce turned and muttered again. A sparkle filled the air and large cushions sprang up from the floor. On the opposite side of the room, a table complete with food and drink appeared and sunlight streamed through the now dazzling clean window, making the room a more welcoming spot.

Help yourself. Tyce waved a hand at the table. Then take a seat and we can talk.

Thirst overtook Wen’s amazement at the change in the room, but nerves chased her hunger away. Drink in hand, she eased herself onto a cushion and looked at her companion expectantly.

Let’s start with your background. Tyce looked at her. For a start, where did you come from?

Why do I have to go first? Wen asked indignantly.

If you don’t tell me your story I could waste a lot of time telling you things you already know. If you tell me where you came from and why you find this place so strange, it will let me know where to start.

Fair enough. My name is Wen. I got on a train to go home. I’ve used the same station several times before, but this time I ended up here instead of the next station on the track.

Did you notice anything different when you got on this train? Tyce’s intense expression made Wen nervous.

Only the man who travelled in the same carriage as me. A very weird person wearing a black cloak and a black cap. He sat further down in the carriage with his back toward me, and I don’t think he saw me. His presence must have been the reason the carriage ended up here. Wen had a flash of inspiration. He knew exactly where to go when he got off the train, so the change has to be his fault.

Tyce bit his lip and Wen waited patiently for him to give her an explanation of the strange events.

The cloak and cap suggest the man has a place on the council. You say our city differs from where you come from. How?

Well, Wen gave serious thought to the differences between her home and Tyce’s city. Your city is a lot cleaner. We have pollution which dirties the buildings and the air. The vehicles are also different. The engines in our cars, buses and trucks belch exhaust fumes which add to the pollution. They’re also very noisy. Your cars and buses are quiet and clean.

Anything else? Tyce stared at her. By the way. What’s a train?

Wen patiently explained about trains and railway lines, then looked around the room again.

Whatever you did to make this room look so nice. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you did magic. That’s impossible. There’s no such thing.

It’s majic not magic. Tyce’s versions used a soft consonant in the middle rather than the hard ‘g’ Wen had said. Our world runs on majic. The spell I cast to make this room secure and comfortable is pretty basic. Everyone has basic majic to cook, clean and run their private vehicles. Then there are the ones who specialise in certain areas. For instance, making the vehicles takes four or five majicians skilled in different mechanics and engineering. Public transport has conductors capable of driving the vehicles from place to place. Herbalists mix the correct healing herbs without even touching them. Everything is based on majic.

The man I followed, you mentioned he probably holds a seat on the council. What do you mean? Wen waited patiently for Tyce to explain.

Our councillors approve or disapprove new majic. Things with no previous history. At present it is illegal to do any new majic without the permission of the council, which is rarely given. It sounds as if this councillor has discovered a portal to your world, but why he would want to go there, I don’t know. Tyce helped himself to cheese and biscuits, then offered her the plate. Perhaps I should explain how our country is organised. The Maeven is our strongest maji and our leader, but our current one seems to have lost her way since her daughter disappeared. Cacique, her deputy, also had a daughter who vanished. The theory is, someone kidnapped them for ulterior motives, but nobody’s seen them for years and there have been no ransom notes.

The enforcer mentioned activating my finder? Is that someone who finds lost things? Who is the enforcer, anyway? Wen thought Tyce’s previous explanation would make good reading in a children’s book, but she wanted him to carry on.

I’ll answer the last question first. Enforcers are the upholders of the law. If you do bad majic to hurt someone, or steal something, he can make you immobile and take you to jail.

Oh, a policeman. Wen grinned as Tyce frowned. It’s what we call them in my world.

Your finder is inbuilt and you can activate it to find your way home or to any other place. Officials can also find you by locating your finder, if it’s turned on. They tried to find the missing girls by their finders, but couldn’t catch any trace of them. Actually, that’s not completely true. They traced them to a glade on the edge of the woods outside the city, but the trail stopped abruptly. Nobody knows why.

So, Wen said thoughtfully. Both girls went to the same place, but then all traces of them vanished. Were they taken at the same time?

No. A few days apart. This is history anyway. What are we going to do about you? I don’t suppose you can do majic, can you? Hope lit Tyce’s eyes, but faded when Wen shook her head.

Sorry, no. Majic is only in books where I come from.

So you don’t really know if you can weave majic? If you’ve never tried, it’s possible you can cast a spell. Tyce looked hopeful again.

I doubt it. I wouldn’t know where to start. More to the point, how are we going to get me home? Wen thought Tyce would give her an instant remedy for her problem, but he shook his head.

Sorry, I don’t know. I can’t get you back the way you came because it doesn’t exist here. The majician who brought you here in the first place would be the only one who could take you back.

Then let’s ask him to help me. Wen jumped to her feet, but Tyce pulled her back down.

No good. Think about it Wen. Nobody knows about the train and hidden station, so I’d say he wants to keep it a secret. Even if I knew which councillor to ask for help, he would be more likely to disable us to keep us quiet. It’s too dangerous.

I guess you’re right. Any other suggestions?

First, we need to see if you can do minor majic. Light the candle, lift a book. Small things. Do you want to try now?

Okay, what do I do? Do I need a wand? Wen had always had a sneaky suspicion if majic existed it relied on talent, not training. Did she have the necessary talent? She’d soon find out.

No, we don’t use wands any more. You need to concentrate on the outcome of the spell, then use your mind to make it happen.

Tyce looked to the back of the room and Wen watched in fascination as an old-fashioned candlestick holder, complete with a candle, floated toward them.

Concentrate on the wick. He placed the candle immediately in front of Wen. Look at it closely, examine every fibre you see. When you’re ready, imagine a tiny flame taking hold of the wick then growing to a flame about a thumbs height.

Wen did as he’d told her. For several minutes she concentrated on the candle, then imagined the flame.

Nothing. Her disappointment showed in her voice. Guess it means I’m a dud.

"Not so fast. Not everyone can