Fiery Gemstones (A Heston Witch Novella)

by Cassandra DeBrown

  “Rise above it girl,” she muttered under her breath. “Rise above it.”

  She opened her locker and did her best to focus on her timetable for the day, looking at the sheets of paper she’d picked up at the reception on her way in.

  “Hi.” She heard a male voice say from behind her locker door.

  “Hi,” she replied woodenly.

  Not taking her eyes off the piece of paper she held in her hand, she mechanically sorted out the books she needed for the day. She flicked her eyes up to see who it was and the next thing she knew, her books went flying all over the place, most falling haphazardly back into her locker, the others landing on the floor.

  “Oops.” The boy said with a gentle smile. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  For the second time that morning, Elvira Heston found herself speechless. His name was Matt. He and his family had moved to Silverline City towards the end of the last term and he’d never been seen to pay attention to any of the girls. Actually he never seemed to pay much attention to anyone. He just minded his own business most of the time. Was respectful to teachers, had good grades and participated in the mandatory afterschool sports and activities but never took it too far. It was like in a world filled with poppets marching to a communal drum beat. He did his own thing and didn’t care what anyone thought of him. Despite this he was very popular. His good looks didn’t hurt either.

  Her eyes narrowed as she contemplated the possibility that this was a prank, a joke at her expense. She was an obvious target but she hadn’t thought he was the type to go along with such things. If the numbskulled guys at Silverline Senior School thought they could mess with her just because she was on her own this year, they had another think coming. If it was a lame joke she would make them all grow tails and whiskers before the day was through.

  “Sorry,” Matt repeated. “Like I said, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  He handed her the books he had rescued from the floor. He seemed almost nervous and Elvira had no intention of encouraging him or putting him at ease. She gave him her best poker face and just waited patiently as she collected her books and tried to put her locker into some semblance of order. He stood there patiently while she locked her locker and turned back to him.

  “Yes?”

  He cleared his throat and gave a little cough.

  “I need a favour,” he said looking her straight in the eye.

  “I’m listening,” she replied dispassionately.

  “I’ve been invited to this formal, like event, at this place on Saturday and I really need a date.”

  “Yeah,” she said slowly, not seeing where he was going with all this.

  “Well I was wondering if, that is…, maybe,” he rephrased. “You would like to be my… errm, you know, my date?”

  Elvira bit back a laugh. If this was a prank, it was the mother of all lame pranks. What was supposed to happen? She’d turn up and he’d have another date? She’d turn up and he wouldn’t be there? Or what? It didn’t make any sense.

  Does he even know who he is trifling with?

  She opened her mouth to blast him for wasting her time while at the same time preparing to give him a mental push to dance like an ape out of The Jungle Book or something when her eyes fell on the small cream envelope he was holding in his left hand.

  It looked very familiar and rightly so. Her Aunt Ethos had ordered those same cream envelopes specially for Esther’s manifestation and had spent all night collaborating with Aunt Edna to fill them out. Aunt Edna told her who would be there on the day, who she had seen would be able to attend and her mum and Ethos then filled the cards. How in the world did Matt happen to have one?

  From the gentle smirk on his face she could tell he knew what she was wondering. She also knew he knew that the place he’d referred to was her ancestral home.

  Great, just great.

  Her family had started inviting guys home for her at what, age fourteen? What was next, a bedding party? If he had a card it meant Aunt Edna had already seen him there. She didn’t even want to consider the ramifications of that fact.

  Anyway, she thought to herself, looking him over I could do much worse.

  She hadn’t even thought about getting a date for the party. With his full head of blond hair, his pleasant and agreeable disposition and his strong wide shoulders he made a nice bit of eye candy.

  “Alright.” She said, regally. “I’ll think about it.”

  It wouldn’t do to give in too easily. Though she knew his fate was already decided with that little cream envelope, he didn’t know anything, yet.

  “Now I really must be going, I’m going to be terribly late for class, and Mr Gordon isn’t the nicest of teachers, especially if you are tardy,” she said, fluttering her eyelids. Matt snapped to attention.

  “Okay then. I guess I’ll talk to you later,” he said as he turned to lope away.

  Elvira watched him go, a bemused smile on her face. She pulled out her phone to send her Aunt Edna a ‘you could have warned me’ text before she remembered her aunt’s aversion to modern technology. Edna was the one Heston that did not have a mobile phone. Even Evie had one. Well she couldn’t text Edna but she could definitely test Esther.

  “Oh my, oh my. You’ll never guess what Coz…”

  #11

  When it all comes down to you

  Some days, Edna appreciated her lack of electronic equipment more than others. Today was one of those days. The quiet environment of her inner sanctum was simply priceless. The silence that she treasured was not shattered by ringtones or people chatting endlessly on the other end of a small device. She was also spared the agony of endless texts.

  She sighed when she remembered her niece’s agonising rant over the lack of warning she’d had about Matt’s invitation. Truth be told, Edna had more important things on her mind. She still didn’t know what she would do to make Preston order the hit, but she knew it would happen soon. Her prescient gifts told her that it would either be today or tomorrow and she had to be ready. The manifestation ball was coming closer and there would be a limit on the opportunities she would have to piss him off.

  She looked at the piece of paper she had on her desk. Edna had done a lot of research and she’d found the old spell book that Evie had inherited from her mother. She hadn’t wanted anyone to see her with the ancient book so she’d simply copied out the spell she needed.

  If the family gets wind of this, we’re all toast.

  Talking about a Plan E, this was really pushing the envelope but the way Edna saw it, she was fresh out of options and she wasn’t expecting that to change any time soon.

  What I saw was real, it just hasn’t happened yet.

  A complete transposition spell was the only way to go. It was one of the oldest and most powerful spells in the Heston magical arsenal and it wasn’t one that was used lightly. It was rarely, if ever done because the person casting the spell had to quite literally DIE to complete the spell. It was a magical switchover that basically morphed a person’s body into a form that could break the physical boundaries of life. It conferred on the caster of the spell a chance to stay on Planet Earth after crossing the last hurdle of humanity. A chance to taste a form of immortality. A chance to conquer Death itself.

  As she looked over the spell and mentally checked off the list of requirements for casting it, Edna thought to herself, I’ve got nothing to lose, seeing as the odds of me surviving a bullet to my cerebellum are not encouraging. In a couple of hours, I’ll be dead anyway so … she took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

  She read through the spell again.

  Complete transposition spell

  Ingredients

  Three leaves from the two Eden trees: one to represent the spirit, one to represent the soul and one to represent the corporeal body.

  One silver chalice filled with clear water from the middle of the eastern fork of the River Pishon

  Three quarters of the egg-white of an egg from a five year ol
d hen.

  Two newts’ tails

  Seven drops of blood from a willing Heston witch and the use of the personal gemstone of the Heston casting the spell.

  She had just enough time to do the spell before the manifestation ball.

  And I should have enough time to get Preston all riled up as well.

  #12

  To get the best fruits, you have to climb the tree.

  Esther was wearing her favourite pink shorts and perky yellow tee shirt Elvira had given her for good luck. The day had started early. She would be turning fifteen tomorrow and her manifestation ball was planned for the next day.

  Esther gulped as she looked up at the massive tree that looked as if it had been here for ever. And it probably had, seeing as it was said to be one of the trees that stood guard at the entrance to the legendary Garden of Eden. The two Eden trees.

  Come to think of it, they do seem a little bit familiar, maybe from my dreams.

  She looked back at the two gigantic trees. She couldn’t tell what kind of tree they were. They look more like a cross between an Oak tree and a Redwood. Their branches soared so high, towering over the other trees in their vicinity. She remembered reading somewhere that their roots were embedded in the very bed of the Pishon River that was one of the four rivers that came out of the well in the middle of the Garden of Eden. This was the source of their nutrients and the special healing properties that the two trees were famed for.

  Esther glanced at the river. Its surface sparkled, and the water looked clean and clear. There was no sign of the Pelenchies this morning but she knew they would be around somewhere, watching. The fierce clan of women were the protectors of the river and took their responsibility very seriously. The river had stayed free from pollution for all these years due to their watchful supervision. She hoped they knew by now that the Hestons meant no harm either. She was just there to pick her pod and get her gemstone and that was all. That was assuming she could make it to the top of the tree.

  She looked up again, trying to see the topmost branch. It wasn’t happening. She was feeling dizzy just trying. And she was still on the ground. This did not bode well. She looked round at the family standing around, Mum, grandmother and aunts. They were waiting for her at the foot of the tree.

  I wish Elvira was here. Stupid rules.

  She’d be allowed to come for the manifestation ball but not today. Today was for mature Heston witches only. And her.

  Taking deep breaths in a vain attempt to calm the butterflies in her belly, she smoothed her hands down the front of her borrowed canary yellow tank top. Elvira had given it to her for luck. She popped in her iPod earpieces. With The Climb playing on repeat, she stepped closer to the tree. After one last glance at her family, she started her climb.

  Taking her time she shimmed up the trunk and reached out to the closest branch. She pulled herself up and sat for a minute, trying to plot a path but it seemed futile. There were branches everywhere, crisscrossing and ascending and covered with leaves. She stretched out her hand and took a firm grasp of the sturdiest branch in her visual field then pushed out with her feet and moved up into the cradle of two other branches. Soon she settled into a pattern of stretching, pushing and moving, instinctively placing her hand in handholds she soon realised had been used by hundreds of Heston witches before her.

  “It’s the climb, keep the faith, keep the faith…” Esther sang out loud as she paused for breath. She looked through the canopy of leafy branches. She could see the whole of Silverline City stretched out below her. When she squinted slightly, lifting her hand to shade her eyes, she could just about make out Red Rock Haven and in the east, the dense forests that supposedly led into the Garden of God. In the west, she could see the bustling hub of activity that was the silver mines.

  Still looking out in awe at the fascinating view, she reached out for the next branch but slipped and missed her target. Luckily the thick branches broke her fall while she floundered and desperately tried to grab any branch she could reach. She came to a joint-wrenching stop with her heart pounding in her ears.

  That was close! Whoa!

  She’d lost some ground but as least she was still in the tree. The thought of plunging to her death made goose bumps break out all over her. She tried to make her seat a bit more comfortable but hearing the thin branch she was sitting on groan with her weight, she hastily shifted to another, more reliable- looking branch.

  Her feet felt sweaty and uncomfortable in her sneakers. Actually all of her felt sweaty and uncomfortable. It was time for a drink. It was tradition for each Heston witch to climb with some water drawn from the fork in the river. It was supposed to be refreshing and to bring good luck and perseverance to the climber. After taking a few swigs, Esther had to agree that she was refreshed and ready for another round of climbing. She glanced at her wristwatch, its face gleaming luminously in the faux gloom of the tree. From the time on the display she could tell that she’d been climbing for just over an hour. Glancing upwards she could just about make out the sun breaking through the topmost branches of the Eden tree. She had more than half the tree to go, what with her recent unscheduled descent having set her back a bit.

  “It’s not about how fast I get there…” The singer in her ear reminded her. Right.

  She had to remember to tell Elvira how inspired her climb soundtrack was. It had been nice at the start but after an hour of hearing it loop over and over again she was a little sick of it. She pulled out her ear buds and stuffed them in her shorts pocket. She looked down at her feet and gingerly pulled her leg up until she could unlace her sneakers. One by one she let them drop to the ground. They fall for some minutes before they disappear from her sight.

  “Oops. Hope I didn’t hit anyone on the head.”

  She tried to peek downwards to see if she could make out her family standing at the base of the tree but the effect it was having on her stomach quickly dissuaded her from pursing that course of action for more than a couple of seconds.

  Besides they look like a bunch of ants from up here.

  Refusing to be daunted, she gave herself a quick pep talk. She could do this. She wasn’t the first and she couldn’t imagine that she’d be the last either. She took another swig of river water and then slung her water bottle around till it rested against the small of her back.

  “Okay. Upwards and onwards it is.”

  Sooner than she expected, she was at the top of the tree. She heaved a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and breathed a thank you to whatever guardian spirits had kept her from taking a swan dive into the ground from so high up in the air.

  Opening her eyes she turned her attention back to the tree. Right at the very top she could see a peach coloured pod just about the size of an apple. Tears sprang to her eyes as she started the chant she had been taught since she was knee-high and in diapers.

  We are Heston witches

  We are many

  We are one…

  Note from the author.

  Whew. You made it all the way to here. What did you think?

  I hope you had a nice time socialising with the women who have occupied most of my waking moments for a while now and some of my sleeping ones as well. Most of my precious books have been character driven but Fiery Gemstones was a new kind of adventure for me as I experimented with building the fictional Silverline City where my characters lived. Often scary, often frustrating and sometimes confusing, it challenged me and made me try and try and try again. I think I did a half decent job of it as well.

  The short story that started everything off follows the author’s note if you’d like to take a look (scroll down/turn a few pages). It’s also been featured on my blog cassandradebrown.wordpress.com.

  I hope you enjoyed this one and I promise we haven’t heard the last from the Heston Witches. If you would like to get in touch with me, let’s hook up on Twitter where my handle is @CassandraDeBrow. I also have a Facebook page with the same name and am active on Good Reads, Librar
y Thing and Shelfari if you’d like to say hi there as well. Looking forward to hearing from you.

  Yours sincerely

  Cassandra DeBrown.

  Somewhere scribbling, doodling or typing ;)

  THE HESTON WITCHES

  I don’t know where it comes from

  But there is magic in our veins

  A pure, undiluted and powerful magic

  A force to be reckoned with.

  We bend the laws of nature to our whim

  We are Heston witches,

  We are many,

  We are one.

  EVIE – GRANDMOTHER/ MATRIACH

  EDEN- DAUGHTER OF EVIE (SISTER 1)

  EDNA- DAUGHTER OF EVIE (SISTER 2)

  ETHOS- DAUGHTER OF EVIE (SISTER 3)

  ELVIRA – DAUGHTER OF EDEN

  ESTHER - DAUGHTER OF ETHOS

  WELCOME TO SILVERLINE CITY

  A reader’s guide to The Heston Witches

  POPULATION: 45, 473 souls.

  CURRENCY: Silver coins with profile of ruling Heston matriarch engraved on one side and two trees and a river on the other side. 1 silver coin has a value of about $1.25.

  THE CITY: Silverline City is a fictional city that is located at the western border of the legendary Garden of Eden. The city was founded by the ancestors of the Heston Clan who are descended from Mother Eve herself. The River Pishon runs through the city and the end of the Heston estate which is said to be the border between Eden and the rest of the world though no one has ever found the entrance to the Garden. Two massive Eden trees stand on opposite sides of the river and the land around Silverline is blessed with silver ore and precious gemstones.

  INDUSTRIES AND UTILITIES: Solar power station generates electricity for the city’s use. The river water is purified and supplied to the city by the water processing plant. There are four silver mines and two mines for precious stones. There is a jewellery manufacturing plant where the famous Heston earrings, bangles, brooches, chains and pendants are designed and created and then shipped to other nearby cities and around the world.