by B. J. Smash
“The first rays of dawn appear on the horizon,” Magella said.
Almost instantaneously, the first birds of the morning began their song. Magella stood frozen for a few moments, and then she said, “It's too late. She comes.” And if I thought her face was pale and ashen before, it was white as paper now. Her eyes were like circles sitting in her wrinkled face.
Whoever was coming evidently scared the living daylights out of Magella.
A thunk hit the window, causing everyone to almost jump out of their skin. Then there was another thunk and then another, even louder.
“Get her out of here!” she screamed to my sister. They both fell upon me, untying my hands. “Move!” she screamed at me.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The noises grew louder, and birds flew into the windows with such force, they shattered. I was astonished to see the sight beyond the broken windows…so many birds were around that they were tipping the boat.
Magella grabbed my arm with such force that you would never guess she was an old woman. Before she got me out the door, I attempted to grab the rolling pin from the counter, but it fell to the floor. Bending down, I grabbed at it again, missing.
“Oh no you don't!” Magella yelled. She grabbed my hair and pulled me upright, and then she threw me into the door. My head smarted, and I turned to see that she held a handful of my hair in her hands. A big grin spread across her face, showing a scattering of missing teeth, and her overbearing breath smelled like rotting flesh. I gagged at the putrid smell.
Birds continued to puncture the boat, and she opened the door. She pushed me with so much force that I flew out to the railing and over the edge of the boat and into the water. The water was calm, but the boat had drifted from the dock about fifty feet—purposefully, no doubt. I would have to swim.
As I did the doggy paddle, I turned back to see hundreds of birds flying toward the boat. There were huge black birds, seagulls, and many others. Magella stood on the small deck, trying to make it back to the door and she swung her fists at the birds—which were attacking her whole body. Unbelievably, my sister pushed past her out the door with the rolling pin in hand and threw it toward me. Why would she try to help me?
“No!” Magella shrieked.
It plopped in the water, and sank. I immediately went for it.
I swam down a ways to discover that I was completely surrounded by dark waters. I felt for the rolling pin, and somehow, when I grabbed at it, it flew into my hands.
I heard a loud splash. Something had jumped into the water, and this sent chills down my spine. I could only hope that my sister had come to her senses and escaped the boat.
My lungs began to burn, and I decided that it was time to get out of here. But as I approached the top of the water, I felt something hot grab my ankle; it was scorching hot. It yanked me down, and I looked over my shoulder in the darkness to see Magella encased in a reddish aura. Her eyes were bloodshot and her hair floated out to the sides, causing her to look Medusa-like. As my eyes focused better, it occurred to me that it wasn't hair after all but sea snakes swimming past her head—and toward me.
A scream tried to escape my throat, and bubbles came out of my mouth. Squirming, I couldn't break free. At this point, my lungs burned badly, but she pulled me down farther, and I knew I had to break free now, or die. With all my might, I hit her in the head with the rolling pin, as snakes entwined themselves around my arms. I didn't think the rolling would move very fast in the water, but it sailed through, smacking her upside the head, stunning her and causing her eyes to cross. Her grip loosened, and I whacked her again, but her hand continued to hold onto my leg.
I hauled the rolling pin back to hit her a good one but paused as a bright light appeared overhead, lighting up the whole area. Then it faded, only moments later to return, lighting everything up as though it were the sun.
Birds began diving in. Big, black birds with sharp beaks. Some of them ripped the snakes from my arms, and others went farther down to reach Magella.
Releasing my foot in a hurry, she swam backward. An unnatural scream of anger escaped her mouth along with big bubbles, and she swam away, disappearing into the ocean.
I was so mesmerized that for several moments I’d forgotten the pain from not breathing; it finally returned when I saw the light fade and the birds retreating. I swam to the surface, my head breaking out through the water, and I pulled in long, gasping breaths. When I finally reached the dock, I plopped the rolling pin down, hauled myself out, and lay there, staring at the birds flying overhead.
I had to wonder if Zinnia threw the rolling pin to me on purpose. Had she been trying to help me? I'd like to think so. But Magella had said it knew Izadora was looking for it. Had it used some sort of power to make Zinnia throw it?
The birds were leaving, going back to wherever it was they'd come from. Some had died on impact after slamming into the windows, and they floated in the water. I felt so sorry for them. They had saved me. But one question remained; why did they save me?
The sunrise shone over the horizon, with a big, thick orange band and thin, puffy pink clouds. I finally felt a moment’s peace, but I wanted to get out of there. Pushing myself up, I reached for the rolling pin. My hand had just set upon it when a huge eagle swooped down and grabbed it right out from underneath my grip. It stood about five feet from me, and its yellow-golden eyes bore into mine. I noticed that the eagle wore a crystal stone around its neck that glowed and dimmed. It had to be the source of light I'd seen in the water.
“Hey!” I yelled. But all the eagle did was make a high pitch whistling sound, and took off, soaring up and over the rocks, and out of sight.
“Ivy!”
I turned to see my Aunt Clover running down to the dock in her pink fur-lined robe and matching pink fuzzy slippers. “Get inside.” She pulled me up by my arm, sending shooting pains all the way up my shoulder. I yelped; it was the same arm that Magella had yanked on.
“I'm fine. I'm fine. What's wrong with you?” I asked.
“Just get in the house.” She was frantic with worry, and as I followed her from the dock and toward the café, I soon realized why.
On a bench a short ways down from the café sat an old man: Izaill. His cane was by his side, and he had on the same green pants and brown jacket. He had a perma-smile, and through his yellow-brown stained teeth, he laughed. It wasn't a sinister laugh but more of a humorous laugh, as though he'd just heard the best joke in town. You could feel the cold emanating in the distance between us.
“Just keep walking.” She kept her head down and hurriedly walked to the café door. I couldn't take my eyes from the old man, and Aunt Clover was having a helluva time with the doorknob. “It's stuck!” she yelled. She caved, and panicked, and was soon pounding on the door. “Cora! Wake up! Get the door open! Coraaaa! Help us! Help!”
Finally it gave in and opened. But just before we walked through the door, he tipped his bowler cap at me and said, “Bravo. ‘Twas a good show, young lady.”
And with that, my aunt hauled me through the café door and bolted it behind her.
Chapter Thirteen
“What were you doing out there? And how did you attract the attention of the old man?”
We stood in the impeccably clean kitchen of the café.
“I was…” I paused. How could I tell her what I was up to? Could I tell her that I was trying to steal from one old witch from the sea because another old witch from the forest told me to do it? And would I be lucky enough after telling her that, to not be committed to an asylum? “I was…well, I saw Zinnia over there, I told you I did. I just saw her again inside the houseboat. And what do you know about that old man?”
“You were inside the houseboat! Oh my…oh no. Oh no, no, no.” She paced the floor, wringing her hands. “And no, that's nonsense. Zinnia is at Becky's!” She spun around, grabbed the coffeepot, and filled it with water, and then she turned to fill up the coffeemaker. Her hand shook, and she spilled more water on the floor than she p
oured in the coffeemaker. She turned it on to percolate. “That old man…let's just say that the whole town knows of that old man. We avoid him at all costs. All costs! Once he has his eyes set on you, forget it! It's bad, bad news. His sister…she is just as horrible. Oh what have you done, Ivy!” She put a shaking hand onto my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.
“Everything will be fine,” I said. I didn't dare tell her that I also knew Izadora. That would certainly send her up to the cuckoo's nest, but I had to know what she and the town knew about these…beings.
“No, it won't be fine.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she walked out of the kitchen and sat at a table in the café.
I followed her, sitting down.
“We must tell my mother. She might be able to help you. We have wards on the café and the house. You'll have to stay inside. You just can't go outside anymore.” She put her face in her hands.
Ut-oh. She was going to tell Gran. No good was going to come of that, but it was futile to argue the point. “I can't just stay inside! Just tell me. Who are these…people? Magella and her brother?”
“They aren't people. They are some sort of…witches or something. I don't know what to tell you, but you must understand, we go years without them bothering us, and now…what have you done?”
What had I done? Could it all be my fault? All I wanted was to have my father back. My task had been to retrieve a rolling pin, and I had almost accomplished that. I didn't know how I would tell Ian and Izadora that I had failed, that an eagle with a crystal around its neck had uprooted it from my hand and flown off to God only knows where. Probably Timbuktu, for all I knew! And if I had failed that task, would Izadora not help me find my father?
“I don't know,” I said.
“These beings, these witches, they…” She sighed. “They take people when they have been angered. And we do not discuss them. Discussing them only gives them power. The whole town knows that. Anybody who just witnessed the birds attacking that boat—they will ignore it. Or they will fear the consequences.”
“My sister was there, Aunt Clover. She was there on the houseboat,” I said firmly.
“No. You have to be mistaken. She is at Becky's. I talked to her mother myself after you hung up the phone. I went in my room and called her. Becky's mom said she was there…in the bathtub.”
It would be no use to argue. If Becky's mom told my aunt that, how could I convince her otherwise? She wouldn't believe me. Furthermore, she was in a state of shock. Nope. It was no use to argue with her.
Before I could speak, a clunk, clunk, clunk sounded on the stairs, and the door flew open, whacking the wall behind it. Aunt Cora walked out in yesterday’s clothes, with one hand on her head.
“I smell coffee. What are you two doing up this early? The bakery doesn't open today; it's Sunday.” She poured herself a cup. “You want some?”
“Ivy was on the houseboat. Birds flew at it, and we saw the old man sitting outside on a bench, and I couldn’t get the front door open, and oh my goodness,” Aunt Clover rambled on.
The coffee cup slipped from Aunt Cora's hand, splattering coffee all over the place. The cup bounced once on the floor and then stood upright, unbroken.
My aunts stared at each other, and silence filled the room.
I couldn't read either of their expressions, but one thing that I did notice in their eyes, was fear.
I was about to get up and clean the coffee from the floor when a loud bang sounded from behind us, causing everyone to jump a foot in the air. Someone was at the door.
Aunt Clover jumped up and ran to the door, peering through the window to see who it could be. Apparently she knew the person. “Come in, come in.”
“Everyone okay?” A middle-aged man stood in the doorway. He wore a police uniform. “I got a call about some birds attacking the houseboat. I'm just checking to see if everyone is okay.”
“We're fine,” said Aunt Cora. “Thank you, Officer Bonkers.”
“Okay. You know the protocol. We keep this amongst ourselves. Not a word. Not a single peep.” He pretended to zip his mouth.
We all shook our heads in unison. He walked back to his cruiser and left. A short time later, people in black uniforms were picking up the dead birds, cleaning the area. The street was quarantined off until midday. But even after it was reopened, no one came out on the streets for the remainder of the day.
Some of the people of the town must have witnessed the event. Whether they saw from their windows or hid behind lampposts, who knows? And they may gossip some, but they wouldn't dare speak too much of it. It would not be on the news. It would not be in the papers. The fear of the “witches” was too great. The people knew that if they did such a thing, a chain of bad events would follow them around for the rest of their lives; or worse. This little event would remain a secret, forever.
Chapter Fourteen
I finally arrived at Gran's late in the afternoon. My aunts didn't dare to leave until they were sure the old man, Izaill, wouldn't return. Aunt Cora went to her room, probably to sleep or better yet—read romance novels. GG Edmund sat in the living room, and Gran told me that Zinnia was upstairs sleeping. She'd fooled everyone; they all thought she'd been at Becky's house. My sister had always been the ultimate charmer, and convincer. She could convince you that your nose was really your ear, and that your brain was fueled by toothpaste and pop-corn.
Gran disappeared somewhere, never mentioning the day’s events. As soon as she left, I headed to the stairs. I would shake Zinnia awake and demand an explanation.
My plan was thwarted when GG Edmund called to me, “Come sit with me, Ivy.”
“I will in a minute. I have to check on Zinnia,” I said.
“Zinnia is fine. Now come and sit with me,” he said firmly. Something in his voice was final, and so I did as he said.
I sat in Gran's favorite red Victorian chair, staring out the big bay window. Things were silent for a few minutes and then he finally spoke.
“There comes a time in one’s life when things are not as they may seem,” he said. I thought this was the beginning of a speech, but instead he pointed to the shelf where the games were stored. “How about a game of Yahtzee?”
“Okay,” I said. I took the game down, and we began to play. He was ever adept at Yahtzee. I had played him many, many times and only won a few times. I had begun to believe that it wasn't a game of luck and that it could be a game of manipulation. GG Edmund loved his Yahtzee game. When we played, we had to play three games or five. That's how he liked to do it.
About midway through the game, I decided to bring up the subject of Izadora. He had to know something about the legends and lore of these woods.
I asked him, “Have you ever heard about the old woman that lives here in the forest? And her sister who lives on a houseboat? And the brother Izaill, a bad, bad warlock?”
The corner of GG's mouth turned up into a half grin. He looked out the window for a moment, and then he turned to speak to me. “Why yes I have, as a matter of fact. I know the story all too well.” He rolled the dice and began the story.
“Izadora and Magella. Two old women, with the power of demigods. The legend says that the two sisters have always been rivals. They were born to an old woman who goes by the name of Augusta. People called her ‘Aggie’ back in the day. Aggie was rumored to have been the child of a great sorceress. Her father was of some unknown lineage of great power as well, with a royal line of some sort, giving Aggie mega powers. She also married a fairy—or Fae man, rather. She had four children who also inherited this power.
“Two of the children, Izadora, the oldest, and Izaill, the next born, seemed to have more power than the other two younger children, Magella and Montague. This caused numerous problems, and the children were always at war, bickering, fighting. It was said that it never ceased. Especially between Izadora and Magella. Magella couldn't stand that her older sister had more power. On her twelfth birthday, she opened up Aggie's book of spells and turned I
zadora into a white horse.
“Aggie couldn't figure out what had happened to Izadora for almost half a year. She thought she'd run off with a boy from town. She finally put two and two together. The white horse had grazed their fields for some time, and at first Aggie thought the neighbors had gotten a new horse, but they never came for it. She finally kept the horse, and one day she caught the two middle children, Izaill and Magella, laughing about Izadora's fantastic misfortune. It was then that Aggie figured it out and reversed the spell.
“Izadora didn't seem to be too upset. She said she enjoyed being a horse. But inside she fumed. And it was said that Izadora could be relentless when she was crossed. She couldn't control her temper. She turned Magella into stone and tossed her in the river.
“Old Aggie knew something was wrong when Magella didn't return home for two nights. She searched high and low, to no avail. She had a feeling that Izadora was at fault, and she forced her to speak by threatening to turn the honeybees on her.
“When Magella was finally recovered—it took weeks to find the proper stone in the riverbed—the spell was reversed. Aggie had had it. She cursed the two, plus Izaill for taking part in the covering up of Izadora's disappearance. The curse was this: Izadora would be bound to the air, she could never touch the ground. Magella would be bound to the sea or water, she could never walk the earth. And Izaill would be bound to walk the earth. He could never touch the ocean, and he could never climb a tree into the air.
“Earth, air, water. That left fire. This is what happened to fire.
“She adored the youngest, who hardly gave her any problems. She let him free of the curse, but in order for the spell to work, she needed to assign fire to someone. So, the youngest wasn't cursed, and he was blessed with the gift of controlling fire.
“It is said that the children have never been freed from this spell, nor do I think they ever will be. They do not know how to free themselves, and so they have adapted to their lifestyles. Over the years, Aggie disappeared. It is said that she finally died. And so the spell will never be broken.