“Spooky,” Olivia said.
“You guys don’t look half bad as zombies,” David kindly admitted.
“I look frail,” observed Eric.
“Somehow, I look better than I did before.” Vanessa chortled as she made fun of herself.
The next day was Soulstead. None of the four could think of what to dress up as, so they all decided to create their own zombie costumes. They looked into the mirror for reference. Once it was evening, the four were ready to go out. Each of them looked like their reflections had stepped out of the mirror and replaced them.
“I can’t believe how well these costumes turned out,” Eric uttered to his friends.
“Yeah, if I saw myself like this on Earth, I would scream.” Olivia shivered at how realistic the costumes were.
“I still look better as a zombie than in real life,” Vanessa said which made everyone else laugh.
“Come along figies, it’s time to go,” Mr. Hale called out.
The figies ran over and held hands with the four.
“Ivy, please hand out the candy which I left on the counter to scare-or-treaters and try not to get tricked by pranksters. You remember the incident from last year with the zucchini, right?” Hale instructed as he led the group out of the room.
“Y-y-yes sir, and I will t-t-try my b-b-best.” Ivy trembled.
“What’s the zucchini incident?” Olivia asked curiously.
“I-i-it’s nothing,” Ivy faltered trying her best to hide her fear by smiling. “B-b-but here’s a t-t-tip, never take a glowing z-z-zucchini from smiling figies.”
Once the group was out of the building, Hale led the four through many neighborhoods. The group passed Wintergreen’s Ice Cream Factory where Peppy was enchanting impish-figs. Olivia and Eric waved to her.
Finally, Hale stopped walking when the group reached a small neighborhood. It was a circular street surrounded by a small group of houses. It had a sign: Ink Street.
Hale spoke, “Scare-or-treating is really fun. You can go to all of the houses in this neighborhood, but make sure you don’t go any further.”
“Scare-or-treating is going to be fun.” Vanessa smiled.
The kids all went their separate ways. Olivia, David, and Vanessa went scare-or-treating with figies and some ghosts, but Eric heard a voice in the corner. He followed it and he saw who it was from coming from. She was a pale, transparent ghost floating in the air. She had long wavy hair and was wearing an old-fashioned dress.
“Hello, who are you?” Eric asked the ghost.
“Why do you care? I am just a ghost. A foolish, ignored spirit, nothing’s special about me,” she huffed.
Eric was surprised at the spirit’s remark and figured that it was because of the treatment that she had received from other magians.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, but why aren’t you out with the other ghosts celebrating Soulstead?” Eric asked.
“Why should I? The whole year we ghosts have been ignored by magians and now all of a sudden they want us to celebrate with them for one day. It’s pointless,” she replied.
“Why, may I ask, did you decide to stay back as a ghost?” Eric questioned.
“Magians don’t understand this, but the one thing keeping us from eternal happiness in the Soulscape is guilt. Guilt from our wrongdoings we had committed when we were alive, or even before that,” she responded.
“What did you do that caused that guilt?” Eric continued to ask.
“You really aren’t like other magians, are you? I have never been talked to, let alone asked that question. I don’t mind it though, sometimes the pain is too unbearable to share, but moving past that, something else sets you apart from other magians. I don’t know what it is, but there is something strange about you. Something which you yourself don’t know about. Something which I myself have a connection to. Who are you?” she inquired.
“I will answer that question, only if you tell me what your name is,” Eric responded.
The ghost sighed. “Fine, you win, wise guy. My name is Calista. It’s been so long that I have forgotten my own last name. Now tell me yours.”
Eric replied, “I’m Eric Andrews, and I don’t know what is so strange about me.”
As he said this, he crossed his arms which slightly lifted up his sleeve. This revealed his crow-shaped birthmark.
As soon as Calista saw the mark, her eyes opened wide. “I-i-it can’t be after all these centuries. No, s-s-stay away from me!”
“What’s wrong?” Eric asked, puzzled.
She quickly flew away, scared, as she screamed, “S-s-stay away from me!”
“That was odd,” Eric remarked as he walked away to join his friends.
Once Eric reached the rest of the group, Vanessa asked, “Eric, where have you been? We’ve had a blast! The figies kept pranking people such as when they would ring doorbells and run away. But my personal favorite is when they hid on the roof, and then popped out which scared the parents when they answered the door to hand out candy. Speaking of which, we’ve gotten a ton of candy! Come scare-or-treat with us?”
Eric responded, “I just met a ghost, but yeah, let’s keep going scare-or-treating!”
They all kept visiting houses, collecting candy, and scared parents.
At the end when Mr. Hale picked them up and took them home, the four had gathered a lot of candy (most of which the figies ate) and had a lot of fun. However, Eric couldn’t stop thinking of the encounter with Calista the ghost.
Chapter Seventeen
Magical Recycling
Mr. Hale led the four into the lesson room when it was time for another magic seminar. In there were the items the four had created in the previous lessons.
Hale instructed, “In our previous lessons, we have learned how to create objects. This would have been helpful if you had a problem and needed something to fix it. However, using material you already have and manipulating it to create an object is less strenuous than if you were to create an object from scratch. We are basically ‘recycling’ magic. Let me explain. Say you need a pair of scissors, but all you have is a glass cup. You can use your magic to manipulate the cup’s shape and change it into a pair of scissors. All you have to do is focus on the current item, move your fingers depending on how you want to change the object, and imagine the finished article. The glass material will still be the same, but the shape will be different. This is why you have to make sure that the object you want is of a similar material to the object you already have. Along with that, you have to make sure the object that you want is also the same size as the object you already have, so you have enough material. Now, I want you to create a vase out of something else.”
“I’m glad that what we’re doing today isn’t as tiring,” Olivia said, relieved.
“Me too, though I like a challenge, that experience was exhausting,” agreed Vanessa.
Each of the four tried finding something that would be suitable. Olivia settled on a wooden stool, Vanessa chose a small glass mirror, Eric picked a metal teakettle, and David chose a porcelain bowl.
Each of them focused on their object, closed their eyes, and spun their fingers. Surprisingly to the four, something did happen on their first try. Slowly, purple lights came out of each of their hands and encircled the objects. The objects slowly started changing shape. They were starting to become vases. At the end of the transformation, the object’s material remained the same, but the shape was different.
“I cannot believe that worked! On our first try we performed magic,” Vanessa squealed.
“Yeah! We have gotten so far in our magic lessons!” David beamed.
Mr. Hale clapped. “Congratulations! Now that you you’ve created something out of one object, I want you to create something out of multiple items. Do the same thing as before, but this time focus on multiple objects and im
agine them colliding. I want you to create a table.”
Each of the four collected multiple items to use for their table. They gathered pots, skillets, glass, and anything else they could find which was compatible for a table.
Once each of the four had their items, they created piles and attempted to combine them to make a table. They focused, moved their hands, and imagined the finished tables. The purple lights came out of their hands and surrounded each of their object piles. The objects slowly started floating in the air and combining together. The objects were fusing together and became tables. Each of the four’s tables were different and made up of many items.
“We did it again! We are getting excellent at this. I bet that from now on, we will all be able to perform magic on our first tries,” bubbled Eric.
“Well done! You really are becoming excellent at magic,” Mr. Hale congratulated.
By the end of the lesson, the four had used the objects in the room to create many new things. In the following lessons, the four mastered the art of using their surroundings to create objects.
Chapter Eighteen
A Nefarious Meeting
At the edge of Crow City, in a dark room of an unknown building, three men in black coats were gathering. Once they were all safely inside, and the door was locked, they all removed their hoods. This revealed their faces. The first man had dark black tresses and a very pale pigmentation. His eyes were an emotionless brown. The majority of his face was covered by a huge scar with dead skin surrounding it. The second had brown hair which complemented his medium complexion. He had a type of heterochromia which made his eyes two different colors. One was hazel while the other was so dark blue, it looked black. The third man was bald and had a slightly tan skin tone. He only had one eye which was bright green. The other’s socket was covered by a black eyepatch.
The first man spoke, “The four are here.”
The second man burst with a sinister smile, “When do we attack, boss? I can’t wait!”
The leader responded, “Patience, Amos. We’ll have to wait. We can’t attack the four, remember, we need them to acquire the crown. If we attack Hale, or any of the agency members connected to the four, A.S.H. will know we are after the crown. That will give us no chance to search for clues. We’ll have to wait.”
“I hate that agency filth. They call us ‘malefactors’, as if we’re interested in committing petty crimes,” Amos grumbled.
“What’s the plan, boss?” the third man asked.
The leader smiled. “We all know what the prophecy speaks of. The four will help us find the Black Crown. With it, we will gain ultimate power. Twelve years ago, we snuck into A.S.H.’s headquarters with the help of an ally. Once we got in, we found out that the agency really was planning on finding the crown pieces with the four just like we were. They tried to hide from the entire world what the crown really did. They are fools for doing that. We, however, are smart; we know what the crown is capable of. We know what the crown can do to help us. So we continued to spy on the children hoping for some answers. But those blasted parents got themselves ruined, and the agency blamed us for it! At least they would have if they knew that we were the ones pursuing the crown. But anyways, the four were taken to Earth where we had no hope of finding them. Until recently, when we found the file which kept the information on their location. However, the wretched agency found out that the four were in danger and brought them back. Either way, we know where they are right now. Hale is protecting them in his home, but he doesn’t know who we are, yet. We will use this to our advantage. We will carefully continue to follow the four until we figure something out. Once we find out enough information, and know where the crown is, we will immediately go searching for it. Not before we attack those brats though, Amos. Once we strike, this will spread fear, and make the agency filth lose morale. It won’t be long before we do attack, but we will have to wait.”
“I hope the time will come soon,” Amos snickered.
The men continued plotting until they had concocted a devious plan.
Chapter Nineteen
Magical Defense
It wasn’t long until it was time for the four to learn more magic. This time the lesson room had four practice dummies. The dummies looked like copies of each of the four.
“What are we going to do today? I couldn’t sleep last night! I was just too excited,” Vanessa squealed.
Mr. Hale explained, “I think from all our lessons you understand the basic rules. You can do almost anything with your magic. Whenever you want to perform magic, all you have to do is focus, imagine what your magic will do, and move your hands based on what you want to do. More complicated tasks require more energy. Up until now, we’ve only been creating or changing objects. Now, we move over to something much more significant. You have gotten advanced at magic so today, we’ll be practicing how to defend yourself. Whenever you’re in a situation where you are being attacked, this will come in handy. Each of you four will be testing your skills on a dummy. Each of these dummies has been enchanted to fight against you, but don’t worry, they’re harmless.”
The four nodded.
“Vanessa, I want you to go first,” Mr. Hale instructed.
“Yes! I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Vanessa said to herself.
She took a deep breath and walked towards her dummy. The rest of the four stepped back and intently watched Vanessa.
“Good luck,” whispered Eric.
“Thanks Eric.” Vanessa smiled.
“I was actually talking to the dummy. It has no chance against you,” Eric joked.
Suddenly, the dummy waved its hands and created a blue blast which it shot at Vanessa.
Vanessa was shocked. She didn’t expect that at all. She quickly reacted and moved her hands. She imagined a shield protecting her. Sure enough a transparent purple shield materialized very quickly and blocked the blue blast.
“I think the dummy heard you, Eric,” Vanessa panted and tried to catch her breath.
She couldn’t believe that she had created a shield so fast. It was as if her adrenaline and shock allowed her to perform magic very quickly. She then closed her eyes and imagined the dummy hanging in the air. She moved her hands and when she opened her eyes, she saw that a purple light came out of her hands and went to the dummy. The light suspended the dummy from the ceiling. Vanessa then lashed her hand in the air which made the purple light disappear. The dummy then fell from the air and would have almost hit the ground and shattered if it had not protected itself by waving its hand. The dummy got set back in its place with a magical blue light. It then pointed its hand near Vanessa’s feet near the floor. A blue light came out of its hand and went to Vanessa’s legs. All of a sudden, Vanessa felt as if she couldn’t move. When she looked down, she saw that her feet were pinned to the ground. The blue light had stuck her to the floor! She quickly pointed her hands at her feet. She twisted her fingers and purple lights came out of them. The lights went to the floor and removed the blue light, unsticking Vanessa’s feet. Vanessa then pushed her hands in the air and a purple light came out of them. The light spun in the air and created a sharp ice shard. The shard hit the dummy and magically started solidifying it. The dummy was becoming frozen. To unfreeze itself, the dummy twisted its fingers and small flames came out of them. The flames joined together to create a small fire which melted away the ice. This freed the dummy.
“Won’t this mannequin just quit?” Vanessa whispered to herself, frustrated.
She quickly made the next move before the dummy could do anything. She stroked the air with her hands and created a bright purple blast with all of her energy. The blast hit the dummy and it exploded. Its leftover pieces fell all over the room.
Mr. Hale clapped. “Well done, Vanessa!”
He then twisted his fingers over the floor and purple lights came out of them. The lights went to the pieces of the dummy and
made them disappear. Hale cleaned up the whole room.
He looked David. “I want you to go next.”
David nodded and walked toward the dummy that looked like him.
“I know you can do it, David,” Vanessa encouraged.
“Thanks,” David replied.
He looked at the dummy intently. It suddenly raised its hands. A bright blue light came out of its hands. The light went to the ceiling lights and put them out. The room was in complete darkness. David quickly spun his hands and a purple light came out of them. The light went to the ceiling and the all of the room’s lights turned on. David looked behind him to see that when the room wasn’t illuminated, the dummy had snuck behind him and was waiting for its chance. The dummy quickly created a blue blast. David wasn’t ready for this and the blue blast hit him. It wasn’t very strong, but it was strong enough to knock David down. Olivia and Vanessa saw this and stepped forward to help him up. However, Mr. Hale held them back.
He spoke, “It’s okay. He can do this.”
David quickly got up.
“Blasted oversized doll,” he said.
“Tell me about it, I hate dolls,” commented Vanessa.
David crossed his hands and swished them in the air. This created four purple lights. David pointed his hands at the dummy and the lights went forward to it. Each of the four lights grabbed onto the dummy’s arms and legs. David then stretched his hands apart. This made the lights also stretch. The lights were slowly pulling the dummy apart. The dummy would have been separated by then if it hadn’t struggled to move its hands. Once it had its moment, it waved its right hand which created a blue light. The blue light went to each purple light and made them disappear. This freed the dummy. The dummy then hit the air with its left hand and a magical chain came out of it. The chain flew to David and wrapped around him. He was trapped. The chain slowly started getting tighter. David then tried to twist his fingers even though it was hard. Luckily, he managed to do it. Once he finished the task, small purple lights came out of them. The lights then joined together to create a purple blast. The blast flew to the dummy and hit it. The dummy quickly fell down and the chain disappeared. David was freed. He quickly waved his hands. A purple light came out of them and created a large flame in the air. The flame went to the dummy and set it on fire. The dummy was melting. Once it was completely destroyed, the fire disappeared.
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