Beary Tales

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  Paul nodded and moved toward the door.

  “If I’m not mistaken, Katya had a vision. Is that correct, my dear?”

  Katya nodded.

  Butchy smiled and licked his lips. “This is a very good thing. You are getting stronger. There may be hope for us yet.”

  ***

  Two hours later, after Katya had told her story and Daren had explained that the necklace had once belonged to his beloved Anastasia. After the group had taken supper together and were completely satiated and exhausted from the day’s activities, they rested in front of the large stone fireplace in the living area of the cabin.

  Daren sat on the floor leaned against the large sofa in front of Katya holding the pendant. Every so often he’d raise it to his lips and wipe away an errant tear. Even Butchy remained silent in the wake of such deep sorrow and loss.

  The popping and cracking of the burning wood along with the occasional creaking board were the only sounds in the room.

  Nita directed her gaze back and forth between Katya and Leilanni. They were both getting stronger. Both had shown more control over this last bout of magic. Heck, Leilanni had intentionally used hers without so much as breaking a sweat. If Nita could figure out how to use hers on demand, she could take them straight to Ruby. They could simply grab the girl and go right back through another portal.

  But how to accomplish such a task? And could she make two back to back? There would have to be two. One to get them there and one to get them back. While her mind wondered at the possibilities, her right hand absentmindedly worked at her side. Twirling and whirling in small circles, it moved around and around.

  Leilanni sucked in a deep breath. “Nita?” she almost whispered. “What are you doing?”

  Pulled from her thoughts, Nita turned her head to the side focusing her eyes on her friend. “What?”

  Leilanni tilted her head forward, eyes locked on Nita’s hand.

  Nita glanced to her side. Her heart caught in her chest. Hovering above her right hand, white light flickered and flashed as if electricity was somehow forming mid air. She jerked her hand behind her back squeezing it shut.

  “What was that? What were you doing?” Leilanni asked.

  Nita’s eyebrows rose as she answered, “I don’t know. I was thinking about making a portal. Well, not thinking about actually making one, but trying to decide if I could make one.”

  She quickly moved both hands in front of her, opened palms up. No light nor mark of any kind left any indication magic had danced upon her fingers mere seconds earlier.

  Confused, her gaze wandered to Butchy. “Well?”

  Smiling, he nodded his head and let out a chuckle. “That’s enough for one night girls. Magic will take its toll whether we like it or not. Let’s get some shuteye. Tomorrow we will begin a new class. Magic 101.”

  ***

  After another breakfast of cold trout and wild greens, the group reconvened under the gnarled oak by the pond.

  “Okay, Nita, you stand there.” Butchy pointed to a spot just under the tree. “And Leilanni, you move over there about eight feet. No, a little farther than that. That’s right. We don’t want you too close together.” Turning to Katya, he said, “You stand right here beside me.”

  Obeying his commands, the girls stood in their required spots, waiting for further direction.

  Butchy’s eyes darted between the three. “Well, go ahead.”

  “Go ahead and what?” Leilanni asked.

  “Do it. Make magic.” Butchy answered.

  “We can’t make it happen on demand, that’s the whole point of this so-called lesson. I thought you were going to teach us how to do it,” Nita replied.

  Butchy threw his hands in the air. “Of all the ridiculous nonsense! I can’t teach you how to do your magic. I don’t know how your magic works. All three of you did it yesterday, so it’s likely you can make it happen again. Just try.”

  “But I can’t!” Nita exploded. “You have to be the worst fucking Fairy God-anything who was ever born. You don’t know how to do anything other than change clothes and hairstyles. Why in the hell did they stick us with you?”

  Butchy raised his hand above his head and stopped the tree branch that was about to make contact with his head mid air. His eyes locked on Leilanni. “What are you doing right now? How do you feel? What are you thinking?”

  Leilanni shrugged. “I’d like to knock some sense into you.”

  “And what else?” Butchy continued.

  “I’m angry because you are so incompetent.”

  Butchy nodded. “And?”

  Leilanni clenched her fists. “It feels like fire is rushing through my veins.”

  Smiling now, he nodded vigorously. “That’s the magic. You need to remember what it feels like so you can call it to you again. You shouldn’t have to be angry to use it.”

  He pointed to the suspended branch and said, “Toss it to the other side of the pond.”

  Her shoulders tightened as she strained. After a few seconds she shook her head. “It won’t go.”

  “Think about yesterday. When you tossed Daren out the door what were you thinking?”

  “I wanted him to get away from her.”

  “That’s it?”

  Leilanni began to nod, then shook her head. “I was going to tell him if he wanted to act like that he could go out the same door he’d come in. We hadn’t asked him for help, he’d asked for ours.”

  Butchy’s head bounced up and down. “Good. So you tell that branch you want it on the other side of the pond right now.”

  The limb trembled for a moment and then flew across the pond, landing in the cattails.

  Katya squealed in delight. “You did it! Good job, Lee Lee!”

  “Now, tell it you want it back over here,” Butchy ordered.

  The branch wiggled a bit before rising three inches and falling back into the cattails.

  “Again,” Butchy ordered.

  Over and over Butchy ran Leilanni through magical exercises until he felt she was ready to continue practicing on her own. Once he had her working a fair piece away, he turned his teaching skills toward Katya.

  “Okay, my dear. You were touching the pendant when you had your vision, right?” He asked.

  “Yes.”

  “But when you had the vision of Goldalynn you were looking in a mirror?”

  “Yes. At the bar.”

  “I see.” Butchy locked his hands behind his back and paced the ground as he thought. During his third rotation, a large stick landed just to the left of his foot. He glanced at Leilanni who was at least fifty yards away. “Be careful,” he yelled. “You’re going to kill someone!”

  “Sorry!” she yelled back, but quickly returned to her drills.

  “Now, where were we? Oh that’s right. Katya, I want you to close your eyes and relax. Think about nothing at all. Clear your mind.”

  Katya did as he asked and waited silently. After a few seconds, she opened one eye and peered around. Soon after she sighed and opened the other eye. “It’s not working.”

  “Hmm. Maybe you have to touch something. Here.” Butchy tossed her a stone he’d picked up. “What do you see?”

  Katya rolled the smooth stone in her hands and closed her eyes. “I see ... I see ... I don’t see anything. It’s just a stone.”

  He shook his head. “Try again. This time just try to feel instead of see. Where has the stone been? What--”

  Before he could finish his voice faded away. Katya opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself out by the pond completely alone. Well nearly alone. There were certainly no humans around, but the area was full of woodland creatures. Squirrels played in the old oak. A doe and her yearling soothed parched lips with cool water from the pond. And out in the center of the pond, a fat turtle sunned itself on a log.

  Katya came to with Butchy and Nita standing over her. Her hand shot to her throbbing forehead. “Did Lee Lee knock me out?”

  Nita laughed. “No, si
lly. You go unconscious when you have a vision. What did you see?”

  “Nothing really. Some animals out here by the pond.”

  Butchy scratched his head. “Well that’s something then. Maybe we should go back in the house. There are more things in there for you to work with. Do you feel up to it?”

  Katya shrugged. “I guess. I’m not tired yet.”

  Standing beside her, he offered his hand. Katya latched on and he pulled her to her feet. Still hand in hand, the two headed toward the house.

  “Uh, guys? What about me?” Nita called out.

  “Just do what you were doing last night, Nita. You were on the right track!” Butchy replied over his shoulder.

  “Great,” she nearly hissed. Nita searched the nearby area. Leilanni had moved farther out into the meadow and was currently playing a game of pitch and catch with herself using an enormous tree stump. Both Daren and Paul were nowhere to be seen. Probably off hunting for dinner?

  She kicked at a clod of dirt that had most likely been the home of a crawdad at some point. Strange how the saving of this girl was going to rest mostly on her shoulders, yet she was the one nobody seemed to worry about.

  Exhaling, she settled to the ground under the tree and leaned against it. As her mind focused on the previous evening’s activities, her hand began to move in circles...

  ***

  Katya’s head moved side to side as she spoke. “I don’t understand how this is going to work. I’ve sat on this couch at least twenty times and didn’t see a thing.”

  “True,” Butchy answered. “But you didn’t know then what you know now. It might make a difference. The more we can discover the better.”

  Sighing, Katya laid her head against the small decorative pillow and closed her eyes. The delicate fingers of her left hand traveled across the back of the sofa following the curves and patterns in the cushions. Several minutes passed before she opened her eyes to speak.

  Katya sat up searching the room. Had only minutes passed? The fireplace cracked and popped. Large glowing coals had fallen from the grate onto the stone below as if the fire had been burning for hours. She glanced over her shoulder towards the window and door. Butchy wasn’t there. Where was everyone?

  Standing, she walked briskly into the kitchen and stopped short. The old woman stood over the table rolling out dough. Ruby, or a much younger version than the girl she’d seen before, sat in the chair at the far end watching her grandmother work.

  “Granny, what makes pie taste so good? Is it the cherries?”

  The old woman smiled and shook her head. “They help. It is the combination of ingredients that makes it taste so good.”

  Ruby nodded. “Granny?”

  “Yes, child.”

  “Why does it smell different when it’s cooking?”

  Granny laughed and shook her head. “My goodness, you are full of questions today, aren’t you?”

  Ruby giggled.

  “Some things don’t have a strong smell until they are thoroughly heated, love.”

  The child sat silent for a moment and then cocked her head to the side. “Granny?”

  “Yes, love.”

  “Why are your eyes so big?”

  Granny laughed. “The better to see you with, my love.”

  The girl obviously liked this game. Grinning from ear to ear, she continued, “But, Granny, why are your ears so big?”

  The old woman winked. “The better to hear you with, my love.”

  Granny threw a handful of flower over the pie crust and pulled it from the table top to lay it over the pie tin. After dumping a bowl of sliced apples mixed with cherries into shell, she dumped sugar, four dollops of butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top and covered the pastry with the top piece. As she pinched the sides together, two small slices of apple fell. Picking them up, she handed one slice to the girl and bit into the other.

  Ruby giggled again. “Granny?”

  “Yes, love?”

  “Why are your teeth so big?”

  The old woman’s mouth slid into a snarl and she squinched up her face and hunched over. “The better to eat you with, my dear. And I’m still terribly hungry.”

  Consumed by fits of giggles, little Ruby nearly fell from her chair. Granny straightened her frame and brushed her flour-covered hands on her apron. “All right, darling. I’ll get this in the oven and you go settle in by the fire. We’ll have some reading time here in a bit.”

  Katya moved to the side as Ruby glided past.

  Watching the child leave the room, Granny finished with the pie and popped it into the oven with a smile. “She’s so like her mother, Albert,” the old woman said aloud. “You’d be very pleased with how well she’s turning out.”

  Katya turned to follow Granny into the living room and promptly found herself sitting on the couch in the middle of the day with Butchy at her side.

  “Well?” Butchy exclaimed.

  “It worked, but we may have a problem.”

  “How so?”

  Katya shook her head. “That old woman loves the child. I mean really truly loves her. Taking her away from her grandmother might not be the best thing for her.

  “What about Daren then? What do we do about him?” Butchy questioned.

  “I don’t know. We need to have a meeting without Daren. I think we’ve bit off more than we can chew.”

  Chapter Twelve

  It took quite a bit of deceit and manipulation to get Daren to leave the group for a period of time. After much argument, the man finally took Paul on his motorcycle and headed miles away to the nearest town for food and supplies.

  The moment they were out of sight, Butchy sighed and shut the front door. “They’re gone. We have to figure out the best course of action.”

  “I don’t understand.” Nita said. “I thought our directive was to retrieve the girl for her father.”

  “Well,” Butchy glanced at Katya, “there’s been a slight change in circumstances. Tell them, Katya.”

  Katya nodded and took a deep breath. “I had another vision. I saw Ruby and her grandma in the kitchen. I want to help Daren. I really do. But they love each other. I mean they really really love each other. I just don’t know if it would be right to take the child away and give her to someone she’s never met.”

  Leilanni’s eyebrows pulled together. “But it’s not Daren’s fault she doesn’t know him. The old woman shouldn’t have stolen the child. This is all her fault. Her so-called love did not take the child’s best interest to heart when she kidnapped her.”

  “I agree.” Katya answered. “That doesn’t change the fact that it could damage the child to rip her away from the only person she knows and loves.”

  Nita stood and paced the floor, deep in thought. “Maybe we should see if we can get Daren and Brunhilda together to discuss what to do with Ruby. Both of them love her; if they love her as much as they claim, then they’ll both want to do right by her.”

  Butchy shook his head. “I don’t know if we can pull that off girls. Those two hate each other. Getting them to forgive each other and think only about Ruby is not going to be easy.”

  Nita stopped pacing and glanced at the others. “We have to try. I can’t think of a better way.”

  Leilanni and Katya nodded in agreement. Even Butchy smiled and shook his head affirmatively.

  “Okay then, it’s settled. First we’ll work on Daren, then we’ll work on Brunhilda,” Nita replied.

  “Has anyone given any thought to how we’ll reach Brunhilda?” Leilanni asked.

  “Well about that,” Butchy interjected, “I have an idea I’d like to try if you’re game.”

  “Spill it, fairy.” Leilanni smirked.

  “I’ve been giving a lot of thought to your magic. Each of you have a different gift, but you all got it at the same time in the same way.”

  “Right,” Nita said.

  “What if they were actually meant to be used in conjunction with each other?”

  “What d
o you mean?” Katya asked.

  “You make portals, right?”

  “Yes, we already know this.” Nita replied

  “But you can’t focus them. You can’t make them go anywhere in particular.”

  Nita rolled her eyes. “Also not new news.”

  Butchy raised his hands in front of his chest. “Just bear with me. No pun intended of course.”

  The girls sighed and shook their heads.

  “What if we use Katya’s visions to focus Nita’s portals? If they can combine, the portal should take us right to Brunhilda and Ruby.”

  “Then what am I supposed to do?” Leilanni asked.

  “Ha!” Butchy laughed. “You have the easy part. You pull them through the portal to us. Then everyone’s right here in the same room to talk it out.”

  All three of the girls beamed with smiles.

  “That’s the best idea you’ve had all day!” Nita grinned.

  Leilanni shoved her elbow into his side. “Not half bad for a winged imp.”

  “Let’s try it,” Katya interjected.

  Nita spun to face her. “What? Now?”

  Shrugging, Katya answered, “Why not? What do we have to lose? Besides, makes more sense to talk to Brunhilda first. We already know we can handle Daren.”

  Nita looked at Butchy. “So what do we do?”

  “I think you two,” he said, pointing to Nita and Katya, “should sit on the couch together. We don’t need Katya falling over and smacking her head on the floor.”

  “Good idea,” Katya answered.

  Seated beside each other, Nita took Katya’s right hand in her left and held it tight. Closing her eyes, she began working on a portal. Within seconds, a white light flickered and sparked in her right hand. As time passed, the light grew bolder and more congruent. Before long, it had grown into the shape of a sphere about the size of a grapefruit.

  Katya, eyes closed as well, she thought long and hard about Ruby. In her mind she visualized the girl’s perfectly curled hair and bright blue eyes. As her mind continued to focus she saw the child sitting at the feet of her grandmother playing with miniature toys. The picture was so vivid and clear, Katya was sure it was a vision.