Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass by Erica Kirov Read Free Book Online

carriages clip-clopped by on the cobblestone streets. But the man in the cloak was gone.
    And the hourglass stood, its gold sand glittering in the lamplight on the watchmaker's table.

    “That man,” Theo pointed, as the figures in the crystal ball started to fade, “the man in the cloak, he was my great-great-grandfather.”
    “Do you mean to tell me,” Nick said, “that going way back in time, our relatives were liars and cheats?” Nick thoughtthe pocket watch that the man stole looked remarkably like the one Damian owned. Thieves! His family was from a long line of thieves.
    “Let me ask you something, Nicholai,” Theo said, clasping his hands together. “When you go to a museum, where do you think those artifacts came from?”
    Nick shrugged. “I never thought about it. And I think I’ve only been to a museum once anyway. And it was boring.”
    “Boring? Clearly, you don’t know the first thing about museums. That will change now that I’m in charge of your education instead of your father.” He sighed. “Americans! Well, antiquities, my dear Kolya, have been robbed and stolen, gained by trickery and forgery, and even murder, throughout time. Magic relics are no different.”
    “Magic relics?”
    He nodded. “Magic takes many forms. The relics can make some spells more powerful, more potent. My great-great-grandfather foolishly believed he was becoming part of modern society by trading the hourglass for the watch. But in reality, the Eternal Hourglass was far more powerful than he even realized. He never should have let Houdin get his hands on it.”
    “Who was Houdin?”
    “An illusionist. The father of modern illusions. Trickery with ether, sleight of hand, and magnets and automatons.”
    “Was he related to Harry Houdini?”
    “Houdini took his stage name from Houdin.”
    “So was the watchmaker a Magickeeper?”
    “He wasn’t one of us, but he bribed and traded for magic relics. After the hourglass was traded, it then switched hands many times throughout history—and has been lost to us. Like so many of our relics. We spend a great deal of time hunting for them. The lesson here, Kolya, is that we learn from the past. We must honor and treasure every bit of our magic as sacred.”
    “THEO!” The crystal ball filled with a lavender smoky mist, and a man's face appeared inside it, swarthy, with huge dark eyebrows that perched like furry caterpillars over pale blue eyes.
    Theo rolled his eyes. “Not now, Sergei.”
    “PLEASE!” The face in the crystal ball looked directly at Nick. “Nicholai, tell your cousin that I am the best horse trader in Russia!”
    Nick leaned closer to the crystal ball and touched it, not knowing what to expect. The head inside looked so real. “Excuse me?” He looked over at Isabella, then Theo, then back at the head inside the ball. “You said my name. Am I supposed to know you?”
    “Yes. I am trying to sell him a horse for you. A special horse. For the show. An Akhal-Teke! For real!” The man'sface disappeared, and suddenly, Nick was gazing at a field filled with horses. Then the man's head popped into the crystal ball.
    “Shop at CRAZY SERGEI’S horse lot. Where my prices are INSANE!” He gestured with his hands and crossed his eyeballs. “INSANE!”
    “Get out of my ball, Sergei!” Theo ordered. “Or I will never buy a horse from you again.” He crossed his arms, a stern expression on his face.
    “Fine!” Sergei said. “But this Akhal-Teke…I will sell it to the next person who comes to me with an offer. You know they are a dying breed. Maybe three thousand left in the entire world. And I have a golden one waiting for the new apprentice himself.”
    “Enough, Sergei. Or I’ll tell Damian. And then no one in the entire clan will buy horses from you. Ever.”
    “Fine! I go now. But Nicholai. Think about it.” At that, the ball went dark.
    “What was that?” Nick asked.
    “Commercial,” Isabella yawned.
    “Commercial?”
    “In a manner