He turned to the others and said, “Now, point your wand at your candle, and when I count to three, recite the spell,” Victor said. Willow’s hands trembled as she reached for her wand in her pocket.
Please don’t start a fire again! Please don’t start a fire again! she thought as she cautiously wrapped her hand around the wand’s handle and pulled it out of her pocket. Willow pointed it at her candle and tried to put the spell out of her mind until Victor commanded them to use it.
Victor said, “All right, here we go! One, Two, Three!”
Willow relaxed and said, “I picture a fire burning brightly. Flickering as a beacon of light in the dark night.” A ball of light shot out of the tip of her wand and hit the candlewick, lighting it on fire. She breathed a sigh of relief and put her wand back in her pocket.
Rosaria and Lillithia were not so lucky. Each of them recited the spell, and nothing happened. “Nothing’s happening!” Rosaria complained. She shook her wand and examined it as if that would help it work.
“Think of a time when you were furious at someone. Let that anger flow through you!” Victor said.
Rosaria calmed down and tried to refocus. She pointed the wand at the candle. Her face contorted in wild rage, as if she suddenly remembered a horrific event from her past. Fire shot out of the tip of her wand and lit the candlewick on fire.
After they finished practicing spellwork, it was time for their history lesson. Willow wondered if the account of Ethermoorian magical history that Victor was going to teach them would be the same as the one her ancestor had written down. Willow flipped through the history book and noticed that the events in it ended fifty years before the exile. She flipped back to the first page and saw the words “A History of the Old Craft in Ethermoor by Tina Twinklefeathers. Publication year 4890” written on it.
This book was written fifty years before the banishment, Willow thought. She was excited to read an account of magic in Ethermoor from someone besides her ancestor. “Now, open your books to the first chapter,” Victor said. Willow and the others opened their books.
“Now, who would like to read the first page?” he asked. Lillithia raised her hand. “Yes, Lillithia. Please read the first page.”
“In the beginning, after the very first rainfall, a circle of mushrooms appeared, establishing the link between the fairy worlds and Ethermoor.”
As she read, Willow compared the events of the chapter with the creation story written in her ancestor’s book. The events matched up perfectly. She decided to get her ancestor’s book and show it to the others.
Willow raised her hand. “Yes, Willow?” Victor asked.
“Um, I have a journal that was kept by my ancestor who left Ethermoor during the banishment. She also has a creation account written in it. Can I go get it?” Willow asked.
“Sure, go right ahead!” Willow ran upstairs and got her ancestor’s journal from her bag. As she walked back into the library, Victor asked, “May I look at your ancestor’s journal?”
“Sure,” Willow said. She brought it up to the front of the library and handed it to Victor. He opened the book and began carefully turning the old brittle pages.
“This is very interesting! I’m rather surprised that your family has had this journal for so many centuries,” he said. He handed the book back to Willow. “Why don’t you show it to the others when we finish the lesson?”
“I most certainly will,” Willow piped. She sat down at her desk. She compared the two stories as Rosaria read the second page of the chapter aloud. After the lesson for the day ended, Victor said, “Now, study everything I taught you tonight because we start every morning with a quiz on what you learned the day before. Get suited up in armor and meet me downstairs in twenty minutes. Willow, your armor is in your wardrobe.” They all walked to their rooms.
Willow started taking her armor out of the wardrobe, when she heard someone knock at her door. Since she had not undressed yet, she decided to open it. Rosaria and Lillithia were standing there. “You said you would show us your journal,” Rosaria said.
“Oh, that’s right!” Willow gasped. She had forgotten to show the other sorceresses the journal. “Here it is.” She carefully showed it to them and turned the fragile pages.
“That’s so cool! What’s in that bag?” Rosaria asked, pointing to Willow’s bag on the bed.
“Oh, another journal. I’ll have to show it to you later,” Willow responded. She didn’t know why, but she felt a nagging sensation that she should not tell them about the shell.
“Well, we have to be down there in twenty minutes, so we have to go!” Rosaria said. The two women walked out the door, and Willow shut it. She picked the pieces of armor up off the bed and put them on. She fastened her sword belt around her waist and thought about her father.
She cried as she thought about him coaching her in fencing and all the matches she had competed in back home in Aralin. She pulled the sword out of the holster and examined it. It was a blunt sword used for practice and competition, not warfare. As soon as she put the sword belt around her waist, she ran downstairs, eager to join the others.
“Are you all right?” Lillithia asked, noticing Willow’s puffy eyes.
“Oh, I was just thinking about my father. He and I used to compete in local fencing matches,” she mumbled.
“You will be avenging his death soon!” Victor said triumphantly.
“I sure hope so,” Willow grumbled.
“Rosaria and Lillithia used to fence as well. I will have to see what you know first to determine how it will be best to train you. Willow, you will fight Lillithia first.”
They all walked out to the large green meadow. “Now, there are two rules. One is that you can’t use any magic. You must learn how to fight without it. The second one is this: if your opponent strikes you in the chest, you are out. Your opponent has won the match,” Victor said. Willow and Lillithia each pulled their swords out of their holsters and looked each other square in the eyes. “Are you ready?” Victor asked.
“Yes!” Willow and Lillithia said.
“When I say go, you start.”
Willow’s heart began pumping harder. She had no idea how good of a sword fighter Lillithia was. Victor shouted, “Ready, set, go!” Willow screamed and swung her sword at Lillithia. The two women smacked their swords together with all their might.
Willow heard an odd whispering sound, and suddenly she saw herself standing in a castle. King Banderon stood in front of her with his sword against hers. Upon seeing him, Willow felt a surge of adrenaline and fury unlike any she had known before. She disarmed him and kicked him in the stomach, sending him hurtling backward. He smacked the ground, and his head hit the floor so hard that he was knocked out. Willow felt excitement well up in her. Suddenly, she saw that she was standing in a meadow.
A young woman lay on the ground in front of her, unconscious. Willow blinked her eyes and was hit with the realization that she had hallucinated her fight with King Banderon.
“Lillithia!” Willow shouted when she recognized the young woman lying on the ground. Horror filled her as she realized that she might very well have killed her. She bent down and put her fingers on Lillithia’s neck. She was comforted to feel a heartbeat. “Lillithia?” She shook her. No response.
“Good, good, Willow!” Victor chirped.
Good? Did he want me to kill her?
“Good? She could die!” Willow snapped.
“Well, go make her a healing potion! That is the second part of your lesson tonight: making a healing potion very quickly and from ingredients you find lying around. I’ll take you to the room where I make my potions and where you ladies will make yours.” Victor ran toward the castle, and Willow followed.
“I remember seeing some ingredients that can make a healing potion when I was looking around the library yesterday,” Willow said.
She was livid that he’d made her hallucinate like that and put Lillithia in that kind of danger. She had never seen King Banderon
before, and had no idea what he looked like, but she just knew that the man she saw herself fighting was him.
“Do you have any milk?” she asked. “I need milk for my potion.”
“Yes. It’s in the kitchen. Finding it yourself is part of your test,” Victor replied.
When they ran into the library, she looked for jars of white sage, dried hibiscus, green tea, and milk. Willow remembered where she had seen each of the ingredients the day before. He led her to a room next to the library, which had a large chemistry apparatus and hundreds of bottles of potions. Willow would have loved to take time to look at all the potions. However, at the moment, time was of the essence.
She ran inside the library and began rummaging through the bottles on the shelves. She found each of the ingredients in the library except for the milk, which she got from the kitchen. Willow quickly laid out all the ingredients on the table.
She imagined Lillithia being conscious and able to walk again. Willow placed her hand on each of the ingredients and infused them with her magical essence. When she did, a faint light appeared, signifying that the healing properties of each ingredient were now activated.
She put them all in a beaker, placed it in the apparatus, and lit the burner under it on fire. She watched it impatiently as the liquid boiled and took on the pink color of the hibiscus, indicating that the mixture was ready. Willow took the beaker off the burner and ran outside to where Lillithia lay.
She had awake but was mumbling nonsense, her face contorted in pain. “She can’t get up!” Rosaria shrieked.
Willow put the beaker to Lillithia’s lips and said, “Drink!” Lillithia couldn’t open her mouth. Rosaria got on the ground and pried Lillithia’s mouth open. Willow poured the mixture into Lillithia’s mouth, and she drank it down.
Lillithia took several deep breaths, and her face began to relax. Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, I don’t hurt anymore! How did you make that potion?” she asked Willow.
“White sage, dried hibiscus, green tea, and milk. I can show you how to make it sometime,” Willow replied.
Lillithia’s mouth hung open in shock when she heard the ingredients. “That’s it? Nothing unusual?”
“No, nothing strange or unusual.”
“You gave me that tonic, and I felt my bones mending back together,” Lillithia said.
“I think Lillithia’s had enough practice for today. Rosaria, it’s your turn,” Victor said.
“Here, take this and keep drinking if you need it,” Willow said as she handed Lillithia the beaker.
Lillithia stood up and hobbled over to where Victor stood. “You really must be on your guard better than that! You’ve been with me for weeks!” he hissed at her.
“I’m sorry!” Lillithia moaned.
Rosaria wore a look of complete terror on her face as she walked out to the middle of the field. Willow hoped that she would be more prepared for the hallucination this time around, whatever it might be.
“Ready?” Victor asked.
“Yes,” Willow said.
“Well, I guess I have to be.” Rosaria sighed.
“Ready, set, go!” Victor shouted.
Suddenly, Willow had a vision that she was fighting the man who killed her father. She swung her sword, and he blocked it. Suddenly, he thrust Willow’s sword out of her hand, and his sword hit her in her right hip. Willow was suddenly thrust back into the present, where she was facing Rosaria on the island of Enchantica. She saw her sword lying on the ground beside her. Her memory of electrocuting the man who killed her father came back to her too.
“All right, Rosaria won that round,” Victor shouted. By that time, the sun had set, and it was time for supper. “Now, it’s six and time for dinner.”
As they were walking back, Rosaria asked, “We can use our magical powers during the coup, right?”
Victor said, “Of course!”
All three of them were so exhausted from the day that they decided to go right to bed after they ate. After Willow had changed into her nightclothes, she decided to check on Lillithia. She knocked on Lillithia’s closed door.
“Come in!” Lillithia called from behind it.
Willow opened the door and walked into her room. Lillithia was lying in her bed. “Hey, I’m sorry about what happened out there,” Willow said.
Lillithia smiled and said, “It’s okay. Victor is a tough teacher for a reason.”
At that moment, Willow felt a twinge of doubt. He seemed self-absorbed for a teacher, but Willow did not say anything. Perhaps she just had to get used to his teaching style.
She reminded herself that Victor was busy preparing all of them for battle with military-trained guards, not for developing cures for strange ailments. Her mother had been an excellent sorcery teacher. “I wish the two of you could have met my mother. She was an awesome teacher,” Willow said.
Lillithia smiled and replied, “I’m sure she was. After all, you were able to make a bone-mending medicine that helped me to be able to stand up and walk again when I probably otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.” The glass of potion sat on her nightstand.
“Are you still hurting?” Willow asked.
“No, but I have the potion here in case I do start hurting again,” Lillithia said.
“Is he always this tough of a teacher?”
“Yes, he is. However, he is good, and you will learn a lot from him.”
“How did you learn magic before coming here?”
“My father owned the local newspaper called the Zaradar Inquisitor. I am from the city of Zaradar in Kalnoreth. Knowledge Sorcerers don’t do a lot of potions work. Our talents lie mostly in the discernment of truth. Before I came here, I owned a bookshop. My mother owned a hair salon and was a relationship counselor.”
“She worked two jobs?” Willow asked.
Lillithia laughed. “No! People asked her for advice on if someone was telling the truth about something or not. You’d be surprised what people ask a beautician!”
“And . . . she made money doing this?” Willow asked.
“Oh, no! Cutting hair was her livelihood. She never asked for money from anyone for the counseling part. Her customers would ask her for advice about their kids, lovers, etc. People would spill the beans the second they sat in her stylist’s chair.”
Willow burst out laughing. So did Lillithia. “I never thought of a hair appointment that way!”
Lillithia leaned in and said, “And then, weeks later, they would come back and tell her that her advice worked and thanked her for it.”
Willow was quiet for a moment. “So, how did the police find you?”
Lillithia’s face grew serious. “They found the magic in my mother’s hair, scalp, and nail treatments. As for me, I mean, I did make a few potions, but I’m not as knowledgeable as other sorcerers and sorceresses. Knowledge Sorcerers don’t make potions as much as some of the others do.”
“Did anyone tell you why they suspected her?” Willow asked.
“No.” Lillithia closed her eyes, and Willow took that as a cue that she should leave.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” Willow said.
“Thank you for coming to check on me.”
“Goodnight, Lillithia.” Willow opened the door to Lillithia’s room.
“Goodnight, Willow.”
Willow walked back to her room and studied what they had learned that day in preparation for the next day’s quiz. Then, she fell right to sleep.
Chapter Four
Rosaria crept into Willow’s room that night. She was careful to watch her step so as not to trip or kick something and wake Willow. She wanted to see if Willow brought anything with her that might be of some use to her.
She opened the door to Willow’s wardrobe and saw a bag lying in the bottom of it. She opened the bag and saw the light of the candle she was holding reflect off something golden. She looked inside and repressed a squeal when she saw what the light was reflecting off. She pulled the conch shell out of Willow’s bag and
quietly placed the bag back in the wardrobe. Rosaria held her candle up to it, and her heart throbbed with excitement when she saw that she was holding a Sea Sorceress’s cauldron!
How on earth did Willow get this? she wondered. She couldn’t ask her, because that would give away that she was rummaging through her things. Rosaria quickly stood up and walked out of Willow’s room. She had dreamed of obtaining a Sea Sorceress’s cauldron but didn’t know how to find one.
She had only read about them in some of her books. Rosaria wanted the cauldron because one of her own spell books had a potion in it that she really wanted to make, and she could only make the potion by using one. It was a spell to make one’s voice able to put someone under their control just by the sound of their singing.
She got a bag from her own wardrobe and put the shell in it. Rosaria pulled a stone out of the wall and saw a spell book that she had brought with her to the castle sitting in the wall space behind the bedroom wall. She then sneaked down to the chemistry room, opened her book, and read the ingredients for the potion. It called for the vocal cords of a dead sailor, seaweed, fresh seawater, and barnacles.
The spell itself had to be written on parchment paper and burned. Then, she had to mix the ashes with the rest of the mixture. Rosaria decided to try to walk down to the lagoon behind the castle to get the water in the middle of the night.
She took an empty jar out of the chemistry room to carry the water in back to the castle, and walked down to the water’s edge. Rosaria placed the shell in the water, and as soon as she did, she saw a blue glow illuminate the water. Rosaria scooped the water into the cauldron and poured it into the jar. Suddenly, she felt a horrific pain searing through her hand.
The pain felt like a thousand poison-coated knives suddenly stabbing her hand all at once. In the glowing light of the cauldron, she saw a little octopus with blue rings on it swimming in the shell. Rosaria panicked and threw the shell in the air. It fell into the water about twenty feet away.
She was so desperate to keep the shell that she swam after it and got it out of the water. She felt the little creature’s poison flowing through her body and knew she had to get back to the castle before it killed her. Rosaria felt her strength beginning to fail as she ran through the castle door. She hoped Lillithia still had some of that healing potion left.
The Night Sorceresses Page 8