by Basil Bacorn
“Hello, Sky.” Cassandra whispered, “Have you enjoyed your stay? Because it's about to end!” Smoke filled the room, and the only sound that was heard was Sky coughing and gagging as Cassandra chuckled.
Changes
Will had ordered a carriage to take them to the far end of Everlanon, where Evangeline lived. “It should be an easy journey,” Will told the group, “as long as the Living Screams aren't awake.” No one wanted to know.
Charlie was determined to find Cassie. He loved her, and he didn't know what he'd do without her. She was his one and only, there was no one else.
Evangeline couldn't believe her eyes! “I thought you were going to kill her!” she screamed, “Why did you bring her here?” Sky laid on the floor by Cassandra. “I wasn't going to let her off that easily.” Cassandra explained, “I figured we could get some use out of her, by making her our monster slave, allowing her to keep her consciousness, is that possible?”
Eva was stunned that her daughter could think of something so evil! To make the girl work for them as a wretched beast, allowing her to remember every second of it! Despicable!
Cassandra thought for a moment before reciting a rhyme.
For trying your hardest to do me harm,
Scales I put on your arm.
For being a girl who's mentally insane,
I turn you into a Hu-Po-Dane.
And for the simple fact that I don't like you,
You shall know what you are, and regret every second of what's due!
Cassandra watched as Sky morphed into a hideous creature. Her pupils elongated, her arms grew scales, and her legs were replaced with a squid's tentacles. She grew a snout and horns, and her skin turned green. Sky was gone, and was replaced with a Hu-Po-Dane.
Evangeline was alive with excitement! Her daughter just turned a girl into the beast she had once been called!
Sky woke up and was terrified! She knew Cassie was evil! If she had been successful with the kill, she would still be human! That monster! Sky let out a deep breath, and flames flew from her mouth. She breathed fire!
Will looked out the carriage window. In about an hour, they would be passing his new castle. At this rate, they would get to Evangeline's tower in a month, and would probably be too late. They had to find a way there quicker, especially since by the time they got to her, it would only take a wave of her hand and Cassie would be back in the Realm of the Foretold! They were setting themselves up for failure! Will told them the dilemma.
“A month!” Susan exclaimed, “We don't have time for that!” She had to get her daughter back, and she had to get her fast! Susan had no patience when it came to her baby.
Charlie thought about a possible solution. He remembered that the first time he came, he had left the limousine by the woods! That would definitely get them to Cassie in under a week! “The woods!” Charlie yelled, how fast can we get to the woods that I left the limo at?”
“What woods?” Will interrogated, “Where?” Charlie showed them the direction he had followed Cassie. “The Good Woods!” Will shouted excitedly, “Driver, go there, full speed!”
The driver whipped the horses, and off they ran, to the Good Woods, to get the limo, to chase down Cassie.
The twins were still fighting when Betty's stories came on. She had given up, and hoped they could settle it on their own.
“Poophead!” Vander shot back, “Vanessa is a poophead!” Vanessa started to cry and pushed Vander down again. “We are not going to find out more if we keep fighting!” she cried, “Can you reach the phone?”
Vander jumped up to the table and got the phone. “Who are we calling?” he asked. Vanessa gave him Cassie's number and he pressed the green button and waited for someone to answer.
Cassandra was enjoying herself when her new phone rang. She must still have the same number. Cassandra took it out and said “Hello?”. It was Vanessa. “Sissy?” she asked. Cassandra heard Vander in the background, “Did she answer? Where is she?”
“Hi Vanessa! Hi Vander! Is everything alright?” Cassandra asked. “Mommy went looking for you, and we're worried. Are you okay?” Vander inquired, taking the phone from his sister.
Evangeline watched the look on her daughter's face. It changed from happiness to concern. No, she wasn't going to lose her that easily!
Eva zapped the phone out of her hand. “When we are in control, you can talk to your fake mother's twins.” she reminded.
Cassandra was sad. She loved those two. Then her evil instinct kicked in. They weren't even her family! Love is weakness. Love will make you weak. You can't love those who might bring you down from your glory! Those twins were barking up the wrong tree!
“I'm back.” Cassandra reassured her mother, picking up the device, “Love is weakness, so I have to cut myself loose of that burden.” Cassandra squeezed her hand, crushing the device. “My mommy's coming to get me!” she mocked, making Eva cackle.
Vander and Vanessa were shocked when the line went dead. Did Cassie hang up on them? Mommy should know. So that's what they did. They called their Mommy.
Susan answered immediately. “Hi Mommy!” Vanessa greeted. Vander took the phone and informed, “We called Cassie and she hung up!” Vander was the tattle-tail of the two. “What?” Susan questioned, “Cassie hung up on you? And you can work the phone?” Vander confirmed what they said, “It went BEEEEEEEP!”
The Good Woods came into view and the twins hung up. Susan knew something was wrong because Cassie would never hang up on the twins!
Charlie hid his face in his hands when he heard the news. What has happened? His Cassie is evil! And it's his fault! Would they find her before she couldn't turn back?
“Faster!” the prince commanded, “I see the limousine!” The carriage went as fast as the horses could run, until a wheel broke off. The carriage tipped over and the horses broke free. They were only a hundred feet from the long car anyway.
Everyone ran to the limo and Susan got in the driver's seat. “It'll work; my electric limos have a lifetime guarantee!” Stella boasted as the engine started. Will pointed to the direction they needed to go in and off she went.
The Rawshkin Mountain Range
“So mother,” Cassandra began, “any plans for the rescue team?” Eva was already contemplating that problem. If they survived, they should arrive in a week. That was plenty of time for planning, and making her daughter permanently bad. Right now, she was still blossoming, or rotting, and she could easily be pulled from her success by a stupid boy!
“Relax my dear,” Evangeline cooed, “let them have fun with their pathetic mission while the can! We'll take care of them when they get here.”
Cassandra thought about what would happen to them. She really wanted them to just not get here at all! “What exactly are we going to do?” Cassandra asked, “They are my friends and family after all.”
Evangeline laughed in her daughter's face. “Really dear? I am your family now, and Susan never was!” Eva expounded, “She was a mere liar! And don't get me started on your 'friends'! Will is coming. The one who left you the minute he found out you were simply related to me! Stella teased and taunted you for years!”
Her mom was right. She was fooling herself all her life! But what about Charlie? “Charlie?” Cassandra inquired, “What did he do?”
Eva taunted, “Think about it, what didn't he do!” Cassandra looked at her broken phone. “He was just like Will, only worse.” she began, “He led me to think that he accepted me. Charlie said he loved me even though you were my mother. And then he kissed, who I thought was my friend when I left to get a snack! At least Will never cheated on me!” Cassandra couldn't stand it and she punched the wall until it crumbled to pieces.
Eva sighed, and remembered that they would be moving out soon, so she might as well let Cassandra beat up something.
“Cassandra,” her mother began, “if we want to conquer the realms in a timely manner, we have to save the petty work for later! Right now we need to find the
special spell I hid twenty years ago for this occasion!” Cassandra was curious as to how some spell could help them defeat over 13 billion people, and that was just Everlanon and Earth. Who knew if they had any competition in space?
“I hid it in a cave in the Rawshkin Mountain Range, that I filled with tricks, traps, and everything else that could keep an intruder out.” Eva informed, “So, after twenty years, it's hard to keep track of so many deadly traps, so you're going instead!” Cassandra wanted to prove herself, so she set off to find the enchantment.
By the end of the first day, Susan was still going. She needed her daughter back, and nothing was going to get in her way. “Mrs. Smith?” Stella called, “Should I take over so you can rest? If we drive straight through we'll get there sooner, but you look exhausted!” Stella was right. The last time Susan slept was 3:30 this morning, because Vanessa had puked. Everything was okay, but by the time she found that out, it was already eight o'clock. Susan decided to pull over.
Stella took the driver's seat and despite everything the driver's ed. teacher said, she maxed the speedometer at 160 miles per hour. Overnight, they made a great distance.
On the downside, however, it was the Market season. The Market season was when millions of vendors gathered by the Rawshkin Mountain Range and set up a gigantic operation called The Market Place. Will informed the group that the quickest way through was straight through, so that's what they did.
The Rawshkin Mountain Range stretched across Everlanon, earning the nickname 'The Belt of the Realm'. It was filled with caves, caverns, and mountain critters. It was one of the most dangerous places in Everlanon to hide something, which was why Eva chose it. Somewhere no one dare stay too long was the perfect place!
Cassandra flew from one mountain to the other, looking for the cave. For some reason, her mother refused to tell her what cave it was in. All she knew was whatever cave that she threw a stone in, that set off a dozen traps, was home to the spell they needed.
Cassandra plopped down in frustration. She was never going to find that stupid cave! She picked up a rock and threw it at the cave in front of her. It tumbled inside and landed in the open. With the blink of an eye, a flaming arrow shot at the spot, a boulder fell on top, and lava poured over it all, quickly hardening into solid stone.
Cassandra was amazed. She had found the cave! Now she only had to make her way a mile or two inside, while avoiding certain death, to get what was needed. This was going to be difficult.
Cassandra walked inside the cave with a handful of pebbles. She would take the pebbles and throw them ahead to check for traps. Throwing the first pebble, she carefully walked forward. Then her mom appeared.
“Cassandra!” Evangeline screamed, “Why are you going so slow? Just poof to the spell, and poof back! It's that simple!” Cassandra glared at her mother. “I thought there was a magic suppressor of some sort.” she explained. “I did!” Eva assured, “But it was magic that doesn't work on blood relatives! Duh!”
“Blood magic!” Cassandra confirmed, “I read a fairy tale with that before!” Eva acknowledged her daughter's statement with a brief nod. Cassandra winked and dirt flew everywhere setting off hundreds of traps and tricks. When the dust cleared, the two were looking at a radiating scroll in a bottle. “Nice work on that move!” Eva congratulated, thoroughly impressed. Cassandra grabbed the bottle and sent them both back to the tower. It was time to get to work.
The Market Place
Susan took the wheel from Stella and slowly proceeded through the market. They moved through the crowds at a speed that made Charlie think of his grandma as a racehorse.
As they drove, vendors knocked on the vehicle and tried to get them to buy their merchandise. “Ugh!” Will sighed, “Peasants!”
One merchant got Stella's attention. He had a small pink flask that was glowing and sparkling brightly. Stella needed to know what it was! She rolled down the window and yelled, “What's that pink stuff!?” The man ran up close and answered, “This is the Elixir of Clear Sight. It shows you what is right in front of you, that you've taken for granted, looked past, or what you haven't let yourself believe. I'll give it to you for that necklace!” Stella glanced at the $250 necklace, and ripped it off. “Here, I accept the offer.” she began, handing him the necklace and taking the vial. Stella then put the potion in her purse.
The limousine slowly rolled through the place, and relentless sellers continued to knock on the doors and windows of their ride. “I wish I could just plow right on through.” Susan admitted. “As long as no one buys anything else, they should give up.” Will explained looking at Stella.
Will has lived among peasants for sixteen years, and he despised most of them. These individuals were worse, since they always demanded attention. Will looked out the window. Was that Cassie and Evangeline over there?
Cassandra looked at her mom. They were going through The Market Place to grab the ingredients they needed for the spell. So far they got the squid, but still needed to find the rest of the twenty-some ingredients. Cassandra was surprised at first when her mother said they were going shopping, because she thought that evil didn't purchase. She was right. They had threatened the squid man with a small dagger and an evil grin. Cassandra was told that some give in easier than others, so she had to be prepared for a fight. They now walked past a group of people huddling around a limo? A limo! “Mother,” Cassandra informed, “We may have some trouble.”
Eva looked at the limousine. “Eh, let's just go this way instead.” she ordered. Eva couldn't take any chances that her daughter meet her old friends because they might restore some old emotions. Those emotions could be good or bad, so she hurried her girl along.
“Look!” Will announced, “It's them!” Susan turned the limousine to where he pointed, and honked to scare people out of the way.
Cassandra turned around when she heard the honk. “They saw us!” she warned, “What now?” Knowing the possibility of losing her daughter, Evangeline shoved her forward. “If need be,” she explained, “I'll take care of them.”
Susan raced after the duo, running into people who weren't smart enough to move. She honked the horn repeatedly. She was not going to lose Cassie this time!
Evangeline pulled Cassandra around a corner. “Go! Run!” she told her, “I'll slow them down.” Cassandra smiled and shouted as she ran away, “Leave some for me!”
Eva grinned and produced a fireball with her hand, sending the crowds screaming and running away. She tossed the fire at a nearby tent and the flames sprawled around the market. Good luck getting out now!
Susan saw people running away from something around the corner. A red glow bathed everything in its light, as Susan watched the fire dance their way. “No!” she yelled, driving straight into the flames. She cranked on the air, for cooling purposes, and followed the woman who was with Cassandra.
They drove out of the fire and went full speed into the lady. Right before contact, the woman disappeared.
Ingredients Of Evil
Cassandra was in Evangeline's library when she heard a bang. It was her mother! “What happened!” Cassandra screamed. “Oh nothing,” Eva answered, gasping for air, “just catching my breath after barely escaping a limousine-ram.” Eva motioned for Cassandra's silence. “Now what do we need again?” Eva asked. Cassandra grabbed the scroll and read the list of ingredients for the power balance-tipping spell, “Squid, archiles, the golden flame, a tomato?” Cassandra took a break before continuing. “A black sheep's wool, a crushed beloved ornament, a skunk's stink, the combined blood of twins.” Cassandra paused before reading more, “the Silver Shadow!” Cassandra's memory blasted back to that night at summer camp, the night she killed a man, the night she was scared out of her wits. That was the night she held the Silver Shadow in her own hands.
Cassandra put the scroll down and told her mother the story of the Silver Shadow. She seemed impressed when she heard the killing part.
“Wait, so you had the Silver Shadow!” Eva excla
imed, “What did you do with it?” “The cops took it for evidence.” Cassandra explained, “It's probably still at the Paradise Police Department office.” Evangeline took her daughter's hand and said, “Field trip to Paradise?”
Susan was furious at the fact that they had the advantage. Will had an idea. He read a book that told of a spell that could only be performed by a mother and daughter team. It was the reason Cassie was sent away in the first place. The oracles knew that Evangeline possessed it, so when they foretold that she was having a daughter, they immediately spoke to the king.
The spell, was more of a curse. It allowed for the casters to alter reality and the balance of good and evil to their own desires. If the curse was cast, the battle was as good as over, with Evangeline the victor. They could even establish a permanent link between the realms if they wanted to!
“Mrs. Smith,” Will began, “If you want to save Cassie, and everyone else in existence, turn around and drive to my castle, I just had an awful realization.” Susan did as he said and drove the way he told her to. If this was her only way of bringing back her child, then she would do it.