Any Witch Way

by Annastaysia Savage

  “And what can I do with this,” she asked as she waved it about.

  “WHOA!” screamed Elgarbam.

  “Look out!” exclaimed Whistle as he ducked.

  “Sadie, just put that down carefully and slide it back into your bag. That’s a freezing wand,” said the elemental.

  “What’s a freezing wand?” a curious Sadie questioned. She wondered what kind of icicle could get that much of a reaction from the three of them. She also felt a little bit tougher knowing it was in her possession.

  “Whatever you point that wand at will turn to ice and not thaw for at least a week. They usually have about twenty freezes in them. If my powers of observation serve me correctly, yours has a full twenty charges on it. Whenever you run out, you can recharge them at any one of the Society for Magikal Beings Supply Outlets,” responded the Green Woman.

  “Oh, I want to go to the supply outlet now. I LOVE to shop,” Sadie said.

  “Well, you have to be in the Guild for Magikal Beings territory first before you can go to any of their shops,” said a disgruntled Elgarbam.

  “You mean we’re not there right now?” Sadie asked. She was genuinely confused. How could Tara’s home, all of this, everything she’d seen exist in the human world?

  As the two tiniest beings laughed in unison at Sadie’s question, the Green Woman was perfectly still. Sadie felt her cheeks turn a little red, and she began to feel somewhat like she should stand up for her question, but inside she knew she wouldn’t dare. When the laughing had died down and Sadie was thoroughly embarrassed, the elemental spoke.

  “No, Sadie, we’re still in the human world. Whatever gave you the idea that you, us, all of us, were in the magikal dominion?”

  “I just thought, I just…well…since I’ve been around all these creatures and whatnot,” she stammered as she waved her arms towards the two gnomes, “that we were already here. I mean, I didn’t see these types of things back in my world.”

  “Oh, we’re all around in your world. You just don’t see us as our true selves. We remain hidden from human eyes though we’re here, living and working right beside you all the time. We wear a glamour when in your world so no one spots us and can expose…” Whistle started, but was cut off by Elgarbam.

  “…our true forms. There are some out there who can see us magikal beings, but they’re mostly considered crazy and either left alone, ignored, or locked up if they speak about us.”

  Sadie took all this in; as she did, her mind drifted almost immediately to Crazy Mary.

  If that’s the case, that would explain what she said to me. But how did she know? Could she see through the glamours? Does she have some sort of magikal powers? If so, she probably saw our town filling up with all sorts of nasty beasts. I guess she’s not so crazy after all.

  Sadie thought and answered her own questions in her head. The implications of what this new information could possibly mean made her eyes open wide.

  So anyone could be a magikal being?

  Her mind raced with this information as well.

  Anyone I’ve ever spoken to could have been…otherworldly, and I didn’t know it. That could explain that strange little man who runs the movie theatre and the lady who…OH, MY GOSH—I’ve got to find out about the parking meters. I just knew I saw them move….

  “And I’m afraid that the Society of Magikal Beings or the Magik World is much, much different from what you’re used to in your world. That’s why no witchling is allowed to go there until she’s a full witch at age sixteen. That’s when you more fully understand what it all means, and you are in control of your powers, which, I might add, don’t come into full effect until you’re sixteen,” stated the Green Woman.

  Sadie pondered this new information for a moment, digesting what it all meant to her. She began pocketing bits of pertinent information into the files and folders of her mind. She also took a few moments to mull certain ideas and kept coming back to the fact that the gnomes had laughed at her, very loudly.

  “And this is for laughing at me for asking a question,” she said as she punched both Elgarbam and Whistle in their arms. “I won’t punch you, Green Woman, since you’ve helped me so much. Not to mention, I think if I made you mad enough, nothing in my backpack of tricks could help me.”

  The two gnomes sat rubbing their arms in stunned silence as the Green Woman chuckled a little, causing some leaves to shed. “You’re wise not to upset me, Sadie.”

  “What about us? You think you can just punch us with your giant pink fist, girl child? Witchling or no I ought ta….”

  “There are NO stupid questions in this world or in the magik world, and you laughed at hers. I’d say the two of you deserved those punches. It’s just a good thing she’s still unsure how to use most of these items from her bag. Although, she does know all about the Frog Pebbles she has. I might add, little gnomes, there are no Reverse Frog Pebbles.”

  The two gnomes held each other and backed away a bit from Sadie, eyes wide, like they might’ve been turned to frogs before.

  “I’m sorry, Sadie, it’s all Whistle’s fault. He’s so rude. I blame his upbringin’. He was raised in a mixed marriage, Gnome and Sprite, very nasty business if you ask me, and I would….”

  “She didn’t ask you and since when are you against mixed marriage? You yourself have been after me sister Whisper for the last so many years, and she’s half gnome and half sprite.” Elgarbam punched Whistle; then Whistle punched him back. “You’re just scared of the witchling now.”

  “ENOUGH!” the Green Woman exclaimed, “I don’t know how anyone can be around you two with all the arguing. Now stop it!”

  Some more leaves fell from her face. “The time has come for you to guide Sadie to one of the Society of Magikal Beings offices. Tara sent me word saying you are to go to the office in her hometown, Cranberry Grove, isn’t it? Put your glamour on to look like adults so no questions are asked as to why this young lady is in your company.”

  “Done,” said the bickering pair in unison.

  “I can still see you,” Sadie said.

  “You will always see magikal creatures now, Sadie; you’re a witchling. Glamours for the human world no longer work on you unless you let them,” responded the Green Woman. “If only you were a full witch and you could glamour yourself, dear child, for the Syndicate will be looking for you full force. It’s a shame these two can’t perform magik on you; gnomes just don’t have it in them to glamour someone else.”

  Elgarbam and Whistle looked down at the ground, pretending they didn’t hear what The Green Woman said. It was obvious they were embarrassed by their weak magikal skills.

  “What is the Syndicate I keep hearing about?” Sadie asked. “Zeno did mention something about the glamours, but I’ve really heard nothing about the Syndicate, ‘cept for their name, ‘til now.”

  “Elgarbam and Whistle can fill you in on the journey. I have other matters that need my attention immediately. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more, or explain more of your objects to you, Sadie MacDougall. Good luck!”

  As she spoke, her moss began turning brown, the ivy began to curl, and leaves began to drop just like from the trees in the fall. “Be safe and vigilant, and if you really need help, remember everything in the world is whispered on the wind.”

  As she spoke her last word, the elemental known as the Green Woman completely disappeared in a little gust of wind that scattered her vegetation about the hut as if she had never been there.

  Silence filled the tiny shelter as Sadie gathered her objects back into her bag. She felt a little sad The Green Woman was gone. She had really liked her.

  Was she even really here?

  That thought was immediately interrupted by a very loud burp.

  “No couth!” said Elgarbam as he, yet again, smacked Whistle on the head with a loud crack.

  “I’m surprised one of you doesn’t have brain damage with all the smacking and hitting about the head the two of you do,” said Sadie as she
hooked her arms in her backpack straps. “Shall we be off?”

  The two gnomes began inspecting each other’s heads for brain damage as Sadie left the lean-to. The sun was shining bright, yet brought little warmth on this most beautiful of all fall days. Just about all the leaves had left the trees, and Sadie wondered why she hadn’t noticed before.

  Laughing a bit, she thought ‘cause I’ve been a little busy.

  She looked around and the vast, murky swamp lay to her right and the forest she had run through last night lay to her left. In front of and in back of her was a sort of dirt road that ran the length of the two. Not knowing which way to go, she yelled for the gnomes. The two creatures waddled out and put up their hands to shield their eyes from the sunlight.

  “Smells like snow,” shrilled Whistle.

  “Which way do we go?” questioned Sadie.

  “This way,” said Elgarbam, pointing along the track of road between swamp and forest that seemed to Sadie to lead north. She had worked this out from the time on her watch and the position of the sun. For once, she was glad she had paid attention at Outdoor Girls Camp when her mother had sent her.

  As the threesome walked together, Sadie asked once again about the Syndicate. After several attempts and much arguing about who would talk, Sadie set the rules, and they all came to an agreement about the conversation at hand. They walked on and the two gnomes (who looked very much like they could be Sadie’s mother and father to our regular old human eyes) told her all that they knew of the Syndicate.

  Elgarbam began to explain how years before in the human world’s history, around the year 1487, a book had been written called the Malleus Maleficarum.

  His story went on something like this: A loose Latin translation of Malleus Malificarum is The Hammer of the Witch or Witch’s Hammer. It is said that in 1486 it was written by two men—two human men—named Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. Who really wrote the book and what this book’s intended use was is still up for discussion to this day. The one thing that is known for sure is that following its publication, the hounding of any witch became crueler and much more widespread. This was because, at the time, witchcraft was accepted in human society as a very real fact.

  Human society also thought witches were very dangerous and, thusly, should be killed. Eventually, humans realized how ridiculous this was (the dangerous part) and that they were burning and torturing lots of innocent people. They weren’t even killing magikal beings most of the time. Mostly poor innocent women, midwives, and people who just didn’t quite fit into society’s norms were the ones accused and tortured. The book-and-witch-hunting were stopped. At least, on the surface, they stopped.

  Out of all of this hoopla formed a secret society determined to keep witch hunting and destroying alive. This group believed all witches to be an abomination, and that they should be disposed of accordingly. They called themselves the Exterminator of Witches Syndicate. As time passed and they somehow found out about other magikal beings and creatures, their name changed to the Witches and Magikal Beings, Hunters, Trappers and Exterminators Syndicate. It was commonly known as just the Syndicate because the latter is such a mouthful. Though the humans who directed and lead the Syndicate hated all magikal beings, they would use them to suit their purposes.

  The gnomes went on to explain that they, the Syndicate, are a very real and very dangerous threat to Sadie’s life. Their mission is to seek out and destroy all witches, as well as witchlings. They try to find all humans who are about to turn and kill them before they even become magikal. It’s still not sure to the Society of Magikal Beings how they, the Syndicate, find these witchlings. The gnomes reminded Sadie of her thirteenth birthday at the bookstore and how that turned out.

  “But those were magikal beings that came after me at the bookstore,” said Sadie.

  Elgarbam went on to explain that just as there are bad and evil humans there are bad and evil creatures in the world of magik as well. And some have taken to working for the Syndicate, (as he had mentioned) even though ultimately, they will be their own destroyers. The Society, which is short for The Society of Magikal Beings, is made up of good and bad magikal creatures.

  The good or light creatures belong to the Chaste Commonwealth and the bad or dark creatures make up the Dark Domain. With the enticement of power and riches from the Syndicate, there were some that could turn their cold hearts even colder and kill their own kind. They were the creatures who were the darkest of the dark and could not be trusted anymore. A deal was struck between them stating that the Turncoats, as they came to be known, would be given great rewards and eventually would rule the Society once all the good witches and creatures were destroyed. As long as they stayed in the magikal world and did not return to the human world, the Syndicate would not harm them—and vice versa.

  Whistle continued, “As far as we know there is only one human in the entire human world that can see the creatures of the magikal world though he has not been fairy struck. He is the leader of the Syndicate. We have no idea how he got this power or how he uses it, except to hunt out about-to-be witchlings. He is one devious and shady human, that’s for sure.”

  “That’s how they spotted you and sent some of the Turncoats to kill you, Sadie. I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, even without any training, that you’re a witchling,” said Elgarbam.

  “And that on your thirteenth birthday you turn,” said Whistle.

  “And that usually some important member of the Society will whisk new witchlings away before the Syndicate can, let’s just say, dispose of you,” said Elgarbam.

  “But you were found out quite quickly and almost couldn’t be saved in time,” said Whistle.

  “So it must have made them mad, and that’s why they’re still after you, unless, there’s some other reason we don’t yet know about,” said Elgarbam eyeing Sadie.

  “But how did they know I was going to turn? Do I have some sort of Neon sign on my forehead that says hey, I’m gonna turn into a witch? Oh, this is all too much,” said Sadie putting her hand up to her head.

  “It’s something like that. When a young person, such as yourself, is about to turn, they get a bright purple glow all about them, sort of like an aura. The leader of the Syndicate sends out his people to spot these soon-to-be witchlings so that they can destroy them before they even get a chance to turn,” said Elgarbam. “The scary thing is it’s like he knows before we even know. For quite some time we’ve been trying to discover how he’s able to do this, but we’ve got nothing. He’s all human. I mean, it makes no sense. And these poor witchlings? What becomes of them?”

  “And before you ask, no, you don’t have a choice since you’re so worried about being normal all the time—whatever that, ‘normal,’ means,” said Whistle, a bit frustrated. “You were one of the ones born a witch.”

  Sadie smiled. She hadn’t thought about fitting in or being normal or even having a family since the surprise birthday party at Tara’s. As a matter of fact, that was the first time in her life she actually felt like she fit in and was normal. The only thing abnormal was that she was the only one without full powers.

  But that’s okay; apparently there are lots like me out there. I belong in the magikal world more than in the human world. When all this is said and done, I’m never going back to the human world. I’m staying where I’m not made fun of for being different.

  “I have so many more questions: like what if an adult wants to become a witch or what if some kid who wasn’t born a witch wants to become one. Or wait, how ‘bout this. Do you guys, I mean, you magikal beings, ever recruit people to join? Or what if someone wants to decline who was born a witch, not that I want to decline, I’m just wondering...oh, sorry, I’m babbling. I can’t help it; there’s just so much to learn and....”

  Before she could finish, a shape in the distance distracted Sadie from her line of questioning. A bit nervous at the thought of running into someone or something else, she surveyed her surroundings. The threesome was app
roaching a road. Sadie recognized it as one of the four roads that led to town, and on this road stood a figure about the same size as Sadie. Sadie’s strange feeling in her stomach and chest returned.

  “Hey, guys, you see that person up there? I’m getting a weird feeling about this,” Sadie said to her two traveling companions.

  “Whoever it is, they are about the same size as you. What harm can a human of your size do?” questioned Whistle. “I mean unless, of course, they have magikal powers,” he continued when Sadie shot him a warning look.

  They resumed their approach despite Sadie’s uncomfortable feeling. The person had his back to them and was looking through a pair of binoculars at a great and vast lake on the other side of the road.

  All of this seems so familiar, thought Sadie, like I’ve been here before. I know this place. Wait! IT’S MY DREAM!

  “Guys, when I was knocked out from that sleeping tea, back at the bookstore, I had a dream and this place looks….”

  Before the words had completely left her mouth, two giant vulture-men swooped down from out of the trees and grabbed a hold of Whistle and Elgarbam. The person standing in the road turned to face Sadie.

  “David?” she questioned.

  It can’t be.

  David, the boy she had met on Main Street, held a black velvet bag in one hand and with his other, threw some sort of dust at Sadie. He turned around just as quickly as he threw the powder and buried his head in his free arm. Through blurry vision she watched David’s strange actions, and she watched the gnomes being carried off into the distance. This dust caused her to sneeze and then fall over—not asleep, but paralyzed—watching everything that was happening to her.

  Things That Hurt