Beauty from Ashes: Authors & Dancers Against Cancer Anthology

by Vera Quinn

  Logan rolls his eyes before he looks down at his sister again. He decides to explain so they will know what she’s going through and why all of this was a bad idea. “As you know, Liv and I have always had a close connection with the ocean. That night I was having a hard time, so I went for a walk on the beach along the water line. Something grabbed my ankle and pulled me out into the water. I fell onto my back so my face was out of the water but the rest of me was not. The Water King came to me that night. He was the one that cured my alcoholism, not you. I am a water witch and so is Liv. If you had let her start practicing like I’ve been asking, she wouldn’t be in this position right now. You don’t need something to let the magick in. That’s an excuse your family uses to not teach children until they’re older. You can start as soon as they’re old enough to understand. As soon as they start actively practicing they don’t get these kinds of illnesses. Each witch has an element they have an affinity with and it doesn’t have to be the same as their parents. That’s how Liv and I are water witches. You’re working on very old and outdated information and it very well could have killed my sister.”

  Della feels empty inside. She didn’t know any of this. She trusted her parents when they told her about being a witch and all that comes with it. She never thought to question it or look into it further. Now it would be her fault if her daughter dies. Her heart stops, and she slowly starts to walk away from them.

  Logan isn’t about to let her get off that easily. “Don’t you dare walk away. You did this and you are going to watch until the end.”

  Serena puts her arm around Della. Serena isn’t sure how to feel. She’s happy that Logan had the foresight to question and research what he was being told. But, because her and her sister didn’t, they may have caused her niece’s death. She did at least listen when Logan said that he would be needed for this. She has a pain in her chest from disappointing her nephew and not doing right by either of them. She should have been better for them.

  Della looks down at her daughter, puts her hand on her forehead, and whispers to her, “Baby, I’m so sorry. I thought I was doing what was best for you. Your brother knows so much more about all of this than I ever did. Do what he tells you. You fight if you need to, talk to whoever you need to, and do whatever it takes to come back to us. I love you.”

  Serena grabs Liv’s hand as Della doesn’t remove hers. “You are a formidable witch, my dear. No training yet and already doing all kinds of stuff that I can’t even do. You impress me every day. You are already exactly where you need to be for this journey and have the best guide there is. Let your brother guide you. Listen to him. He has been there before. He is the one that always wants the best for you. He is your best friend. You can’t go wrong with him.”

  Logan nods his head at the sisters, showing his approval. He doesn’t say anything about them keeping a hold of Liv either. She needs all the energy she can get right now. He has dealt with his anger with them so he can now let that go and focus solely on his sister and her recovery. He can’t jump into her subconscious because she needs him to continue feeding her energy so the most he can do is continue to talk to her.

  “Liv, I can’t join you because I have to keep your physical body going. If you are wandering around, you need to stop moving. Stop and wait, the Water King will come to you. He won’t try to find you if you’re moving around, but if you stop and wait for him, he will come to you. Trust me, I know it’s scary, but you have to stop and wait for him. Talk to him and then you can come home.”

  Logan looks at his mom and aunt. He may have sounded convincing just listening to him, but when they study his eyes, they see exactly how scared he is. His heart is still racing, and the boulder is back in this stomach. He is putting a lot of faith in the Water King. Truth is he has no idea if the king will heal her and send her back or keep her in the palace. He also has no idea what the price will be. His price was exposing the family secrets and setting his sister free. Was he setting her free only to place her in the king’s grasp?

  Chapter Eight

  One second Liv is on the beach trapped in her body with a death grip on her mom and aunt—she can feel that she is pulling energy from them but can’t stop herself—the next thing she knows she’s in this underwater palace.

  “How the hell did I get here? And where the hell am I?” The fish swimming by don’t provide any answers. It is really beautiful. It’s made out of colorful coral and the most beautiful fish and underwater life are swimming around.

  She starts to walk around and tries to find a way back to the beach. She suddenly stops. “Wait a minute. How can I breathe and talk?” Again, the fish don’t provide any answers. She continues to wander. At one point she hears Logan but when she spins around, he is nowhere to be found. “I must have imagined it. I want him to be here so bad now I’m imagining his voice. Besides, only I would come up with the Water King to go along with this palace.” She laughs and continues her exploration.

  Before she realizes it, she’s lost in the palace. She left no markers to show the way she was going and has no idea of where she has already gone or how to get back to where she started. She doesn’t even know if she’s going in circles because it’s all starting to look the same. When her frustrations are beginning to get the best of her, she hears her mom. She frantically looks around but doesn’t find her. Then her aunt’s voice comes from the void. “Where are these voices coming from?” She stops when she hears Logan again. Everyone keeps telling her to listen to Logan. He said he can’t join me and all he can do is talk to me. That’s weird. He says to stay put so I will plop my butt down right here and stay here then.

  What she thinks is probably about ten or fifteen minutes later, the water starts to ripple around her. She tries to make herself small. Her heart starts to pound in her chest as she watches a figure appear out of the rippling water.

  When the water calms, a tall man with long black hair and green eyes, wearing a very large crown and holding a trident is standing proudly in front of her. She doesn’t know the proper way to react so she curtsies and says, “You must be the Water King I have heard about.”

  He laughs. “There is no need for such formalities. I could hear your questions earlier. You can breathe and talk because your physical body is still on the beach. It is only your soul that is here. You got here because your mother and aunt have been working on extremely outdated information and family secrets. Your brother has now taken care of that situation and set you free from that.”

  Liv furrows her brow. “Does that mean the treatment for my cancer won’t work? I thought this whole thing was too good to be true. At least they tried.”

  “Their treatment won’t work. Yours will. You are a water witch. You are so much more powerful than them. You and your brother combined can do almost anything. He has been trying to get them to allow you to practice for your own good under my instructions. I foresaw this and was trying to prevent it. He didn’t know what would happen, only that something bad would be coming your way that could be avoided if you were practicing.”

  “Wait, are you telling me that if I was a practicing witch I wouldn’t have gotten cancer?”

  He smiles. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Practicing witches don’t get major illnesses. But, there is one very important thing your family has neglected to tell you. All magick comes with a price. Every spell you do, you have to pay a price. Some you know the price from the start. The smaller ones, it’s usually an offering, but the bigger ones you may not know the price until it becomes due. Like the one your mom and aunt were doing. They didn’t know the price or whether they would have to pay it or if you would. They thought the risk was worth it though.”

  Liv feels her anger rise at his revelation. Her blood pressure raises and her hands ball into fists as she fights to keep her anger out of her voice. It isn’t the king she is angry at. “I will have to discuss this with them when I get back. I should have been a part of that discussion and decision.”


  “That brings us to your options. You have a couple of options of where to go and what to do from here.”

  “Options? I don’t know if I like the sound of that. Usually when someone in your position gives options, it means you have something you want me to do, and that is the only option I really have.”

  He laughs. “I can see that. I assure you in this case, each option I give you is one that you will be allowed to take with no hard feelings or fear of retribution. You can have me cure your cancer and return to your life. Your price will be that you must educate your mother and aunt in the way that magick actually works and when you have children teach them from a young age in the art of magick. Or the one that I personally want you to choose—stay in the palace and learn the old way of water magick. You are a very natural and powerful water witch. If you’re trained correctly, you could be very formidable.”

  Liv takes a moment to really think about her options. The king gives her the time to consider, thankful she is actually thinking about it.

  Liv chews on her lip. Her stomach is in nervous knots. She isn’t sure how he is going to take this but she really wants to do this. “Can we compromise? I would really like to go back to my life. I don’t mind teaching my mom and aunt and I would be proud to teach my children. I don’t want to stay down here permanently, but can I come down for lessons once a week? That way I can still learn and I’ll have more I can teach my brother, mom and aunt.”

  This time it’s the king that takes a few minutes to consider her counteroffer. He has never had anyone try to negotiate this way. Usually they take out some of his demands. She has included everything from option one and then added part of option two.

  After a moment, he breaks his kingly role and sits on a piece of coral next to her. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. You’re doing everything I asked of you in the first option. Why add more to it?”

  “Because I’m very interested in learning the old ways of water magick. I’m sure I can learn how they do it now and I will, but I also want to know the old ways.”

  The king’s eyes light up. “So it isn’t like a price you’re paying but something you will enjoy. That is wonderful. Nobody has been interested in learning the old ways in so long. Of course we will teach you. Your brother is welcome to come with you if he’s interested in learning them as well.”

  Liv feels her heart lighten as she was worried about telling Logan she was going to get to learn but he wasn’t. “I’m sure he will be joining us. I was dreading telling him for fear of him being upset he couldn’t come.”

  The king stands up again, points his trident at her, and she shudders. She suddenly feels so much better. She feels like herself again.

  He smiles. “I have kept my end of the bargain. You may want to open a location of your dance studio down here in Florida. You’re going to be spending a lot of time here. I can’t survive in the river where you are, it’s too polluted.”

  Liv grins. “I was thinking the same thing. This is going to be great. Logan and I will see you next week.”

  He grins. “I have a lot to prepare.”

  Next thing Liv knows, she is opening her eyes and looking directly up into Logan’s. He instantly starts sobbing and pulls her to his chest. She looks around confused.

  Della and Serena are staring at them in shock, neither of them sure if she had woken up or died. They stand very still afraid to approach the siblings. As long as they don’t go over there they won’t know.

  Chapter Nine

  When Liv gets over the shock of Logan’s reaction, she wraps her arms around him. “Hey, it’s fine. I’m right here. I told you I would come back cancer free, and that’s exactly what I did.”

  He pulls his head back so he can look her in the eye. “Really? It worked?”

  She laughs. “I found the Water King. I even surprised him. He sat down on coral. Thanks for the help by the way. I would have kept wandering around even though I was lost beyond all hope.”

  Logan’s mouth is gaping open. He doesn’t know what to say. The boulder is back in his stomach. “Liv, you’re acting like you had a nice talk with an old friend instead of a king. If you’re back and cancer free, that means you had to make a deal. You had to pay a price.”

  Liv grins and tries to wiggle out of Logan’s arms. He lets her down but keeps a hold of one of her hands. He isn’t ready to completely let her go yet.

  The sisters have been listening to all of this in shock. This is all new to them. Their parents hadn’t told them about any of this. They have to wonder if their parents didn’t know or if they just didn’t want them to know. They’re feeling betrayed.

  Liv hugs her mom then her aunt. They both hug her back tightly. They are both filled with a mixture of guilt and relief.

  Liv stands in the middle of the three people that did everything they could to help her. She smiles a radiant smile as she runs her free hand through the water. “I have so much to tell you. I don’t know where to start.”

  Logan still has his brow furrowed and a tight grip on her hand. The boulder hasn’t left his stomach and his heart is still pounding, causing his blood to race through his veins. “Start at the beginning and tell us everything.”

  She cups her hand and takes a scoop of water and dumps it on his head as she winks at him.

  He gets her subtle message, and he submerges himself in the water to cleanse some of the worry and negativity from his system. The others watch as the water washes it all away. When he comes back up, he is calmer but the boulder is still taking residence in his stomach.

  Liv smiles. “Now that we’re all ready, I’ll tell you.” Liv tells them everything that happened from the time she appeared in the palace to the time she woke up in Logan’s arms.

  Logan is no longer worried. The boulder disappeared about halfway through her explanation. “We get to learn the old ways of water magick? Are you serious?”

  Liv laughs. “I told him you would be excited about the lessons. You realize this means we have to move to Florida?”

  Logan is excited. “What about your studio? I can transfer down here. I have worked in our office down here before that’s not a problem. We need to find somewhere to live too.”

  Aunt Serena interrupts, “The house you have been staying in, Logan, was bought with the two of you in mind. I figured you two would eventually move down here, so I bought a house for you. You can move in anytime. It’s also a beachfront property so you can go into the water anytime you like without drawing attention to yourselves.”

  Liv explains her plans of opening another studio and making it a chain.

  Della is all smiles. “That means your dad and I can sell our house up there and move into the house we have down here.”

  Logan and Liv snap their heads over to their mom. She laughs. “We only stayed up there for you two. We knew you would eventually move down here for the water since you both love the ocean so much, so we were prepared. When the house we wanted became available, we bought it and your aunt has been taking care of it for us since it’s right next door.”

  Liv grins. “That will make it easy for our lessons.”

  Serena’s stomach drops to her feet. “I’m nervous about those. I don’t know anything other than what our parents showed us. I realize now that isn’t very much. I’m happy you will be teaching us what it’s really all about, but I have to admit, I’m not sure if I have the ability for it.”

  Logan goes to her and hugs her. “You have more power than you realize. You have never had the need to tap into it though because you have always used minor power spells. I think that’s what your parents wanted for you—to never have to use a spell that required more than minor power. The problem with that is that it can do more harm than good. As you saw today, I had to use major power to get Liv to the palace to get the help she needed. If you had been left on your own, she would have died on that beach today. So, to make sure no more mistakes like that happen again, we will teach you what you need to know and the fami
ly secret will now only be that we are witches. No more of this limiting power. Our family will be taught from an early age and their power will grow with them.”

  Della interjects her opinion. “I like that so much better. I always wished I could tell you both about this. I thought it would be easier for you if you knew about it from a young age.”

  Liv breaks up the conversation. “The past is irrelevant now. What matters the most is the future. We will all move here to find our happily ever after. I will open another dance studio. My cancer is gone. Logan and I will find the loves of our lives, get married and have our own children that can be raised with our family all right here. They will know the family secret and they will be trained in modern magick as well as the old ways.”

  Serena grins. “I couldn’t imagine a better ending for this situation.”

  Della smiles, hugs her daughter and pulls out her cell phone. “I really need to call your dad. He will be ecstatic over all the news.

  About the Author

  Miranda Shanklin lives in Central Illinois with her husband, two children, and the family security system, a 100 pound lab named Fido. Paralegal by day, mom/wife by night, she writes during those rare but precious moments of downtime. An avid reader her entire life, Miranda's dream was to someday become an author. That dream was realized in 2015 when her handsome and intelligent husband said three beautiful words: go for it.

  Other books by Miranda Shanklin

  Soul Series

  Soul Journey

  Soul Redemption

  Soul Knowledge

  Soul Freedom

  Soul Discovery

  Guardians of the Origin Trilogy