Magic on Changeling Mountain

Carolyn hurried back up to the cottage and ran up the stairs. She quickly gathered up her overnight bag and then ushered everyone out the front door. She locked up the house and realized she would need to get a spare key for Amelia and Lucinda while they were here. Or maybe she would just use the spare key she kept hidden outside.

On the ride up to her parents’ house, Carolyn told the sisters about the stranger that had broken into her house and what he had told them about needing Tammy’s help.

“Did he happen to mention this witch’s name?” Amelia asked.

“No, in fact he wouldn’t tell us anything about her. Just that she needed the help of a white witch.” Carolyn said and glanced in her rear view mirror in time to see the two sisters exchange a look. “What?”

“Well, I can’t say for sure but the only reason I can think of that a trained witch with a familiar would want an untrained white witch is……..well, let’s just say, it’s not a good thing.”

Carolyn came to a complete stop on the road and turned in her seat to look back at the witches. “Look, I understand that you may not want to share all of your secrets with me since I’m not a witch but if there is something that you are not telling us that could end up being dangerous for Tammy, you had better spill it right now.”

The two sisters looked at each other, then from Tammy to Carolyn and finally Lucinda took a deep breath and said “Well, we don’t know much about dark magic and the spells that dark witches or wizards use but we do know that if they can get their hands on an untrained white witch, they can turn her to dark magic and a white witch as powerful as Tammy has the capability of becoming a very powerful force for everything evil.”

“Dark witches can be very persuasive. They trick you into thinking that what you are doing is a good thing but it ends up being the wrong thing to do. That’s another thing you have to learn is how to see into the future. Not all witches have it but I’m betting you can.”

“She’s always had very good intuition.” Carolyn said.

“That’s it! Intuition is going to be one of your greatest allies!” Lucinda said delightedly.

Carolyn turned around and put the jeep back into gear and started up the mountain again. “So if you had to guess, what do you think this witch wants with Tammy?”

“It’s hard to say without knowing who she is. I guess we’ll have to wait until she calls to find out.” Amelia said.

Just then, Carolyn spotted her dad in the woods. She slowed down and pulled over when she got level with him and called out to him. “Dad! Mom said to tell you to come home. Lunch is ready! Where’s Kevin?”

Kevin transformed and ran over to the jeep. “Got enough room for one more?”

“Sure, Kevin, come on in.” Lucinda said and opened the back door for him. She slid over on the seat to make enough room for him to fit inside and Kevin smiled as he got in.

Daniel transformed and said “Tell mom, I’ll be right there. I want to check out one more place and then I’ll be home.”

“Ok but take care and hurry home.” Carolyn said.

Daniel transformed again and took off through the woods as Carolyn put the jeep in gear and continued to climb the mountain. “What is he looking for?” Tammy asked Kevin.

“He thinks it was trolls that came into the yard last night. They were trying to get into the hen house. They broke through one side and got two of mom’s laying hens. She was mad as a hornet.” Kevin told them.

“What makes them think it was trolls?” Tammy asked

“The smell for one thing. They definitely need a bath! And then there are the huge footprints they left in the yard. Dad wasn’t really happy about that at all.”

“I bet. Did anyone see them?”

“Nope. Just smelled them and whew what a smell! Like rotten eggs and manure that’s been sitting a while.”

“Oh lovely!” Amelia rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

“Well, we are going to show Tammy how to clear the air of her magic so that hopefully no more magical creatures will find their way to your mountain. We should have done that the last time we were here.” Lucinda said.

“Hey, I had no idea that there were going to be so many of them showing up. I figured she might get another witch or a stray familiar but never realized that there would be creatures like trolls and centaurs so close by.” Amelia defended herself. She had basically been the one in charge of training Tammy up to that point because Lucinda was still weak from her battle with Armand.

“Well, now that I’ve had some time to recoup, I’m going to take a more active role in your training. I’ll teach you some constructive spells that will help you get better control of your powers. I’m very glad to see that you’ve learned to curb your aura, most of the time.”

“Thanks. I’ve been practicing but it still gets away from me when I’m scared or really excited. I just can’t help it.”

“Just keep practicing. It will get easier. It just amazes me that you have reached this age and have never been trained or spotted by another witch before now.”

They arrived at the Masters home and even though it had been hours since the trolls had been on the property, there was still a slight odor in the air. It wasn’t overpowering but it was definitely noticeable. As she got out of the car, Lucinda cast a spell and a strong but gentle wind blew across the property and it cleared the air, bringing with it just the scent of the pine trees that grew all over the mountain.

“Tell your parents to put moth balls out all around the property. The trolls don’t like the smell of it and will stay clear of it.”

“Maybe I’ll spread them all over the forest and they will move on to somewhere else.” Carolyn teased.

“I’d be careful about how much you push. Trolls can get mean. It’s best not to make enemies of them.”

“If they steal anymore of my mom’s laying hens then they are the ones that started it and had better watch out. We depend on those eggs for protein in our almost vegetable only diet.” Kevin said as he got out and walked towards the house. He ran up the stairs and swung the screen door wide as they all trooped into the house. He may be in his twenties but he was still like a kid at heart.

Angela had lunch all ready and told everyone to go wash up and come to the table. She had made squash soup and salad and fresh bread. Everyone gathered around the table and enjoyed the wonderful food as they visited and caught up with what had been happening on the mountain.

When everyone was done eating, Lucinda urged Angela to stay seated as she waved her wand and cleared all of the dishes from the table. “I also want to apologize for our behavior the last time we were here. We were so focused on getting rid of Armand and training Tammy that we forgot our good manners. We did not mean to take advantage of your wonderful, kind hospitality or to devour all of your delicious canned goods. You will find your cupboards completely replenished.”

“Well, thank you.” Angela didn’t know what else to say and felt slightly ashamed that they had insisted that the witches stay down at Carolyn’s house.

“Well, it’s going to be difficult for us to do any training at Carolyn’s house. It’s just too close to the road, so if you don’t mind, can we use your yard again? I promise to not only clean the air but to teach Tammy how to do it as well so that you won’t have any problems with gaining any more residents to your lovely mountain.”

Angela and Daniel looked at each other and then Daniel said “So long as you promise to clear the air, then you are more than welcome to use our yard to practice.”

“Lucinda, there’s a spell that I’m hoping you can teach me. I found a reference to it in a book but it didn’t say anything about how to cast it.” Tammy said.

“What spell is that?” Lucinda asked with a smile. She liked that Tammy was so eager to learn.

“How to find the lost?” Tammy asked innocently and was surprised when Lucinda’s smile faded and turned to one of concern.

“That can be a very dangerous spell and you must be very careful how you use it or any of the spells you read about in books. Most books you will find in bookstores are written by humans who do not truly understand the art of witchcraft. The spell to find the lost can raise the dead from their graves and have them walking the earth.”

“Oh, good lord! I didn’t think there was a spell that could bring back the dead.” Daniel said in surprise.

“Well, it doesn’t bring back their souls. Once a soul leaves its host and the body dies, it can never truly return. No, with that spell, the dead do become animated but they have no souls. That is dark magic and I for one will have nothing to do with it.”

“Wow, I just wanted to be able to find my keys when I lose them!” Tammy said in an amazed voice.

“Well, then you have to be very specific what it is you are looking for but for something like that, you need to get one of those clickers that will let you find them when you snap your fingers.” Amelia said with a smile. “I can’t express strongly enough how very careful you must be when casting spells.”

“Well, this is all very interesting but I need to get back to work.” Daniel said as he pushed away from the table and stood up. Angela told Kevin and Donna, “Come on, we all have chores to do.”

“Do you mind if I stay?” Carolyn asked Lucinda and Amelia.

“No, as long as you promise never to repeat what you hear.” Lucinda said.

“Don’t worry, I’m good at keeping secrets.” Carolyn said

“Good then you can take notes for me so I can practice what they teach me later on.” Tammy said.

For the next hour, Lucinda and Amelia showed Tammy what looked like simple spells but as Carolyn watched, she could tell it was taxing Tammy physically. She was beginning to look tired.

Carolyn glanced at the clock and realized that they were going to have to get a move on if they were going to get back to the cottage in time for the phone call from the strangers witch.

“Sorry to call a halt to all of this fun but we are going to have to get back to the cottage. I told him to have her call around 3 and it’s almost that now.” Carolyn said.

They left the Masters house and climbed back into Carolyn’s jeep. Carolyn waved to her mom and dad who were working on rebuilding the chicken coup and they waved back. “Call us later and let us know what happened.” Angela called out to Carolyn, who nodded that she would.

“Your parents are very understanding people.” Lucinda said.

“Yeah, they’re great.”

They drove back down to the cottage and Carolyn let them all in. She offered everyone something to drink and was just passing around the glasses of their drink choices when the phone rang.

“Put it on speaker, please.” Amelia said, as Carolyn answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Who is this please?” The other person added, rather rudely.

“This is Dr. Carolyn Masters. It’s my phone you are calling.” Carolyn replied.

“I need to talk to the white witch. Put her on the phone.” The voice at the other end said.

“Either you learn some manners or you are going to get hung up on.” Carolyn replied.

“You are right and I apologize. My name is Melinda. I need the help of the white witch. May I speak to her please?”

Tammy looked over at Lucinda and Amelia and they nodded at her. Tammy stepped forward and said “Hello? I’m Tammy. Why are you looking for me?”

“Ah, Tamaura! I have been searching for you for a very long time. I need your help. You must come to my estate. How long will it take you to get here?” Melinda said.

“You have not answered my question. Why are you looking for me?” Tammy said.

“Like I said, I need your help.” Melinda answered, acting exasperated. She was obviously not used to having to explain herself and just expected her orders to be carried out without question.

“But you haven’t told me what you need my help for? What is it you want me to do?” Tammy asked.

“I need your help to rid my island of a demon.” Melinda told her bluntly.

“What?” Everyone in the cottage gasped at once.

“Are you not alone? Who is with you?” Melinda demanded.

“I am Lucinda. I am a blue witch and one of Tammy’s teachers. She is untrained and does not have the knowledge she would require to be able to help you fight a demon.”

“And I am Amelia, Lucinda’s sister and also a blue witch. Our student cannot help you.”

“You mean you won’t let her. If she comes here, I can direct her magic to kill the demon and free my island.”

“You want to feed on her magic?” Amelia asked in surprise.

“No, no. I will not steal her powers, just direct her magic.” Melinda said.

“Melinda, who are you?” Lucinda asked.

“I am Melinda of Ashbury. I’m a green witch but a warlock has stolen most of my powers. I did not know he was in the area. My familiar was away on business and it’s only because he returned in time that the S.O.B. didn’t get all of my powers. I can still channel another’s powers but I need help getting rid of the dark force that was hiding in the shadows on my property.”

“I think there is a chance we have already rid you of him. When was the last time you felt his presence?”

“It’s been several weeks. What makes you say that you think you have gotten rid of him?”

“If it was the same warlock, his name was Armand. He attacked my sister and I threw an energy ball at him. He fell on a broken branch and was impaled through his heart. It killed his body but he cast a spell before he died to turn into a shadow creature. He was feeding off of witches and warlocks, looking for one that was strong enough to take over their body. One that had a lot of power that he could use to come back and kill us. He was going to kill my sister because she didn’t want to be with him and involved in his black magic. I didn’t mean to kill him. I was just trying to stop him from killing my sister.” Amelia said.

“So that’s what happened.” Melinda said with a choked voice.

“What do you mean?” Amelia asked.

“Armand was my cousin. We grew up together but Armand and his brother, Garret were outcast from our family when they started to dabble in dark magic. I always knew something like this would happen and I’m very sorry that he attacked you and your sister. He wasn’t always like that but he and his brother started hanging around with some bad influences when we were in high school and they changed. And I’m sorry to have bothered you. Goodbye.” Melinda said and then hung up.

“Oh wow.” Tammy breathed.

“Yeah.” Amelia said.

“So what now?” Carolyn asked. “Do you think we will have any more trouble from her?”

“No. At least, I hope not. She didn’t threaten you or us in any way, so no, I don’t think she will make any more trouble. But if she does contact you again, be very careful and make sure you contact us right away. Don’t ever try to take her on by yourself.” Amelia said with a look at her sister. “In the meantime, we need to begin your training! Have you been practicing the spells we taught you last time?”

“Oh, yes. Every chance I get.” Tammy said.

“Good. Let’s see how you are doing.” Lucinda said.

“Are these spells going to be safe to do inside?” Carolyn asked.

“Some. Some we will have to take outside but when we are on your parents land. Here is too close to the road. Don’t want anyone seeing something they shouldn’t.” Lucinda said with a smile, as she waved her wand and pulled the curtains on the windows.

For the next hour or so, Tammy showed them what she had learned. Carolyn was amazed as she watched Tammy transform her tea kettle into an “alive” kettle that danced around on the stove with a spoon. She made the almost dead flowers in the small pot on her window sill come back to life and bloom into the prettiest violets. She changed the color of the room several times and rearranged Carolyn’s furniture.

“Oh, I like this arrangement. Can you make the walls a little lighter green?” Carolyn said.

“Sure.” Tammy said and waved the wand that Lucinda loaned her. The walls turned a very nice shade of sage green that Carolyn found very pleasing and matched her furniture very well.

“I like that! Wow, this is great! I’ve been thinking about painting in here for over a year but just never had the time and you managed to do it with the wave of your hand.”

“Well, with a wave of this wand anyway. Speaking of which, where can I get a wand of my own?” Tammy asked.

“Well, you have to go to a wand shop of course.” Lucinda smiled.

“When you come to visit us, there is one not far from where we live that we can take you to get your own wand.” Amelia said.

“Oh, I can hardly wait.” Tammy said excitedly.

“Well, I know we had planned to stay for a few days but we could go home now and visit the wand shop and you could train using your own wand. You will need to get used to it. It’s very different when it’s your own.” Amelia said.

“I think I understand. This wand is great but it doesn’t feel like it’s mine. It’s like I’m wearing someone else’s shoes or something.” Tammy said.

“Well, before all of this happened with Melinda and her familiar, we were planning a weekend away. Maybe instead of Myrtle Beach, we could go to your place. That is if you don’t mind me tagging along?” Carolyn asked.

“Not at all. Why don’t you pack a few things and we’ll head home first thing in the morning.” Lucinda said. “Although I must warn you, we will not be driving all the way. Actually we will just drive back to the car rental place.”

“Oh, then we will need to book flights?” Carolyn asked as she reached for the phone.

“Well, no. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of that. You just go get your things together. Make sure you pack a coat. It gets cold up at our place.” Amelia smiled at her.

Carolyn wasn’t sure what she meant by that but she nodded and went to pack her things. She hadn’t taken the overnight bag she had packed to take up to her parents’ house out of her jeep yet so she took what she had packed out of that bag and put it in a suitcase that would allow her more space. She packed enough clothes to stay for a couple of days and wondered where it was that they lived.

“Where exactly are we going? I will need to tell my folks that we are going to be gone for a few days.” Carolyn said as she came back into the living room.

“Washington or actually one of the islands just off the coast.” Amelia said with a smile.

Before Carolyn could ask Tammy said, “Oh, I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted to learn more about my witchcraft and I can hardly believe I’m finally going to be able to train with someone who can really show me how to use it to its full extent.”

“Well, your excitement is showing and the fact that you’re happy is clear. You are glowing all the colors of the rainbow.” Lucinda said, with a smile.

They stayed and visited with the sisters for a little while more before Carolyn said “Well, I guess I’d better call Cindy and let her know we are going to be gone. I want to go down and post a notice on the door of the clinic and let people know to go to Dr. Harris in the next town.

Changelings will go to Cindy or my folks house, if they need help. Cindy’s not a doctor but she’s been my very capable assistant for a couple of years now. She can handle most anything and I’ll have my cell phone. You do get service in your area don’t you?”

“Well, sometimes, I think, but we don’t carry cell phones so I’m not sure to be honest.” Lucinda said.

“Well, hopefully nothing will go wrong while we are gone and you can finally have a real holiday.” Tammy said and at Carolyn’s look of uncertainty added “Oh come on Carolyn. We deserve this holiday. It’s been too long since we’ve taken a vacation.”

“Ok, ok. Just let me call my folks and let them know we are going.” Carolyn said.

“We are staying up there for the night. Remember? We can tell them then.”

“Yeah and speaking of which, we had better get going. My mom will be upset if we get in late.” Carolyn said. She purposely didn’t mention that her mom was probably holding dinner for them even now. “The cupboard is well stocked and there are clean sheets on the beds. We’ll be back early tomorrow morning.”

“Ok. We’ll be fine. See you in the morning.” Lucinda said.

Carolyn and Tammy left the cottage and drove up to her parents’ house. Just as she had suspected, her mom was holding dinner and they got lightly scolded for being late.

“Where are Lucinda and Amelia? Didn’t they come with you?” Donna asked as she followed her sister into the dining room.

“No, they are on their own for dinner tonight.” Carolyn said.

“So what happened with the phone call?” Daniel Masters asked as they sat down to eat.

“Turned out it was a witch, who was also Armand’s cousin. Apparently he had visited her before he came here. He almost completely drained his own cousin out of her powers trying to save himself but she didn’t know it was him. She wanted help to rid herself of a dark force that she didn’t know was her cousin. When we explained what had happened, she apologized and said she had always known he would come to an early end.”

“You mean he sucked her dry of her powers and she was looking to feed off of Tammy? Sounds more like a vampire than a witch.” Daniel Masters said as he shook his head.

“Please don’t tell me vampires really exist?” Carolyn asked, uneasily.

“I’ve never known one so I can’t really say but I have heard about them. From all I’ve ever heard, it is best to avoid contact with them. They are masters at mind games. They are supposed to be able to hypnotize almost anyone and make them do their bidding, even against their will, if the person is not mentally strong enough to resist them.”

“Can we please talk about something else?” Angela asked. She could tell that Donna felt uneasy and even Kevin looked a little nervous.

“Sorry, dear.” Daniel Masters said.

“Well, as it turns out, since the call turned out to be nothing, the sisters are going home tomorrow and Tammy and I are going to go with them and take the holiday we had originally planned, just not where we had planned on going, but still we are going to get out of town for a little while. It will give Tammy a chance to train with the sisters and we will get to have our much needed vacation.” Carolyn announced and waited for her parents’ reaction.

“Where do they live?” Angela Masters asked.

“Washington. Or rather one of the islands off the coast.”

“The state of Washington? That’s clear across the country!” Angela said as she put down her fork. “I don’t know about this, Carolyn. That’s an awful long way to go.”

“Mom, it will be fine. We’ll only be gone for a couple of days.” Carolyn said.

“I’m sure it will be.” Daniel Masters said and reached for his wife’s hand. “She’s a full grown woman dear. She can come and go as she pleases and besides, she’s not going alone. She will have Tammy, Lucinda and Amelia with her. I’m sure she will be fine.”

“Thanks, dad. Don’t worry mom. We’ll be back before you know it.” Carolyn said.