by L. C. Miller
Fourth graders to sixth graders, Abby thought. That’s a big range to teach. Before she said anything else, Brannon asked her a question.
“Want some help in the garden?” Abby shook her head and then grinned at his relieved expression. “That’s good, because I don’t have a green thumb … only a black one.” He smiled as she laughed.
“No worries. It won’t take me long.” She left him sticking his nose back into a book as she stepped outside. Having not seen a sign of Ms. Rable, Abby quickly ran into the woods, hoping to look for her wand.
Rainy wasn’t kidding, Abby thought as she neared her cave. Mud already covered her shoes and was partway up her pant leg. She gasped as the rocks suddenly opened and Rainy stepped out. “Oops. Hey, Abby! Have you found your wand yet?” Rainy asked, stopping next to her.
Abby shook her head, still looking around the mouth of the cave. “Bombers searched the house, too, but I don’t think I had it my room after yesterday. I had it out when I was about to go in,” she gestured toward the caves, “when they started calling me. I thought I put it back in my pocket, but I haven’t seen it since.”
Rainy’s eyes lit in excitement as she grabbed Abby’s arm. “I’ve got the best idea! Come on!” She began to drag Abby down the tunnel.
“What is it?” Abby demanded.
“Lost and found!” Rainy said excitedly. “There is still some potion left from the last time I lost my lock picks!”
Once in the open room, Rainy went straight to the bookshelves, going through the bottles of various sizes. “Here it is!” she produced a large brown bottle labeled Lost and Found. “And if I remember correctly, it tastes like old leather.”
Abby scrunched up her nose and gently opened the bottle. “How is this stuff supposed to work?”
“Just think about what it is you’ve lost, and drink it. It tracks the movement of the item you lost. How do you think I always know to look in Marcella’s room for my lock picks?” Rainy asked, grinning.
Abby nodded, thinking about her white wand and trying to remember all its details—like how it was slightly crooked, nearly a foot long. It also had a green emerald buried in its end, which was wrapped in green ribbon. Closing her eyes, Abby drank the brown liquid. She almost gagged, but caught herself in time.
Opening her eyes, she stared in wonder as she was suddenly outside the cave. It was like she was lying on the ground gazing up at the sky. Rain pelted the ground as lightning streaked. She suddenly started moving around—or rather, her wand was—as she realized she was looking from her wand’s point of view.
She followed it back up toward the house and into a small box in one of the yellow-walled rooms. She recognized the room to the right of the stairs on the second floor. She jerked suddenly when something gripped her arm. “Abby! Are you okay? You’ve gone white on me.” Abby looked around, relieved to find herself still in the cave. “Are you okay?” Rainy asked again. Understanding dawned in her eyes. “Oh yeah. I forgot to say it takes you with it as it tracks. Oops. You okay?
Abby nodded. “Yeah, I am. I’m just not used to this stuff, I guess. But I found it!”
Rainy lost the worried expression and she smiled. “That’s awesome!”
“Yeah, it’s in one of the other rooms at the house.” Abby breathed a sigh of relief. An ivory-colored orb suddenly slammed into the ground of the cave. Abby jerked around quickly as Rainy groaned.
“Ugh, it’s Marcella,” Rainy said, having picked up the orb and looked in it. An angry-looking blonde woman appeared in its center.
“We better head on out. She’ll send Rollen for you soon.” Abby grinned. Rainy rolled her eyes as they made their way out of the caves. “Oh, and before I forget, tell the Madam the Herrins are leaving in the morning. Things should go back to normal before too long.”
“How do you feel about that?” Rainy asked, eyeing Abby. “I know you’ve made friends with the boys.”
Abby shrugged. “I’m not looking forward to it, but there isn’t anything I can do about it. Not much of a friendship base if I can’t tell them what I am. They’re Normals and I’m a half-Mystic, half-Wielder.”
“You mean a seriously awesome half-Mystic, half-Wielder who can turn into anything she wants to!” Rainy said, grinning.
Abby smiled back at her. “See you at camp tomorrow!” Abby said as they hugged each other bye. Glancing back, Abby saw Rainy step into the cave, so she stopped. “Where are you going?”
Rainy looked back at her, still grinning. “Marcella is searching for me, so I think I’ll stay in here a bit longer.”
Shaking her head, Abby made her way back to the house, stopping to check on the flower beds. She smiled as they bobbed at her in the breeze. Stepping into the kitchen, Abby froze when several adults turned toward her.
“Ah, Abby, these are our friends, Ms. Bauble and Mrs. Queenly. Principal Gaea Bauble and Professor Aretha Queenly,” introduced Mrs. Herrin. A tall older woman dressed in a blue cloak with long, dark brown hair stepped forward and shook Abby’s hand. A shorter, darker-skinned woman with short black hair who was wearing a black cloak with a bright green stripe at the bottom did the same.
Each of the newcomers had hands adorned with many rings. Aretha Queenly’s rings all matched her bright yellow eyes and her black-and-green robe. Ms. Rable ushered everyone into the living room and then glanced at Abby. “Abby, bring in some coffee and cookies, why don’t you?”
Abby was trying to balance a small tray of cookies, coffee cups, and the coffee pot when Aaron stepped into the kitchen.
“Here, let me help.” Their hands brushed as he grabbed the tray from her, and Abby saw his face turn red.
“Who are those people?” she asked, before loading the cookies onto a second tray.
“It’s our principal and one of our teachers. They’re really cool, ya know, for being teachers and all. Oh, you need to come meet Carly. Her and her dad, Mr. Peterson—who’s also a teacher—just arrived.”
As soon as Abby stepped into the living room, she was enveloped in a hug by a taller girl with long, curly, brown hair. When she stepped back, Abby saw sparkling hazel eyes and a huge smile. “Hi, my name’s Carly! You’re Abby, right? They’ve told me so much about you. Do you really have a pet snake? Can I see it?”
“That’s a good idea,” broke in Mrs. Herrin. “Abby, why don’t you three go show Carly upstairs?”
“Okay, great!” Carly said excitedly, jumping up and down.
Ms. Rable stepped into the living room, looking dazed. “Abby, I need you to come get the laundry.” Abby told Ethan and Aaron where Bombers was and that she’d join them soon.
“Need any help?” Aaron offered, but Abby shook her head.
“Nah, it’s okay.” She followed Ms. Rable into the laundry room and picked up the full laundry basket. She had just stepped onto the second-floor landing when she remembered her wand. Setting down the basket, she peered upstairs. She could see her bedroom door was open and hear her friends’ excited voices. After looking back downstairs to make sure no one was coming, Abby quietly opened the door to Mr. and Mrs. Herrin’s bedroom.
Dragging a wobbly old chair to the open closet door, she stood on it and grabbed the box off the shelf. Still standing on the chair, Abby felt relieved when she saw her wand nestled inside. She had just grabbed it when something slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground. “Why, you little sneak. You dirty, rotten little sneak. How dare you steal from them!” Ms. Rable screamed, lifting her hand to hit Abby again.
“No! You don’t understand. This is already mine,” Abby cried as she tried to grab the wand she had dropped. Brannon burst into the room, followed closely by Ethan, Aaron, and Carly. Abby took this moment of confusion to pick up her wand off the floor. Pointing it at Ms. Rable, she yelled, “Palloki.”
Ms. Rable immediately spun back toward the door, causing the others to run back. Abby dove into the wall where a tunnel was hidden that led to the living room. She didn’t remember the antique iron table
until she slammed into it, knocking it to the floor. She didn’t look up to see the stunned faces of the adults in the room. Or see Mrs. Herrin start toward her. She froze at the sight of the wand in Abby’s hand. Ms. Rable had made it down the stairs and blocked the doorway. “You aren’t going anywhere, you thief!”
Abby quickly got to her feet and morphed into a small gray cat. She darted in between the legs of Ms. Rable, who stood in shock at what she’d witnessed. Abby ran as fast as she could to her cave, transforming back into her human self as she ran.
Arriving at her cave and terrified at what she had done, she jerked her wand up and yelled, “Operia.” Not stopping to wait for the rocks to fully open, she ducked through the small opening. She didn’t notice Mr. Herrin and the unfamiliar gentleman standing near him.
Chapter Six
“Abby! What’s wrong? I couldn’t leave because there’re people out there. Who are they?” Rainy demanded as Abby went flying into the cave. Rainy stopped when she saw the tears running down Abby’s face.
“I messed up, Rainy! They know I’m a Wielder and that I can morph. I had to, to get away.” Abby could barely get the words out she was not crying so hard. Rainy didn’t have time to so say anything when they heard footsteps.
“Abby?” someone called out.
“What do we do?” Rainy whispered, desperate.
“Quick, hide!” Abby looked around and changed into a small gray cat again. She saw Rainy crouch down behind a large jutting rock, so Abby jumped and hid behind a row of books on one of the shelves.
“Abby?” someone called again. Abby watched from her view as Mrs. Herrin stepped into her cave. “Oh my, will you look at this place?” She watched as Mrs. Herrin wandered around the large open room. She stopped in the center of the cave. “Abby? It was your wand we found, wasn’t it? You’re okay now. No one is mad or upset about anything. We promise. We’re a lot like you.”
“No, you’re not,” Abby called out, her voice echoing through the room. It sounded strange to her cat ears. “No one’s like me.”
“Yes, we are, Abby. We’re all Wielders, just like you.” Abby caught her breath in surprise. “Principal Bauble is the principal of Wielders Academy of Magical Arts, or as the students call it, WAMA. My sons go there, and so do Aaron and Carly. You could go there, too! Learn new spells and everything.”
“Why aren’t you afraid of me?” Abby demanded. “I morphed in front of you!” She could see the confusion on Mrs. Herrin’s face.
“Why is that a bad thing? Restricteds are not rare, and it’s not at all looked upon as bad. I promise you, Abby, you do not need to fear us.”
On the other side of Mrs. Herrin, Abby caught sight of Rainy frantically waving at her. She was behind Mrs. Herrin, still hiding by the large jutting rock. When she caught her eye, Abby nearly lost her cat form, as her friend’s eyes were glowing bright red. She waved at Abby then pointed at Mrs. Herrin and gave a thumps up. Eye-bright. Abby remembered the potion you drip into your eyes to see if people are being dishonest. It had been one of the homework assignments in the Mystic camp recently.
Abby jumped from her perch to land on the only picnic table in the room. Mrs. Herrin turned quickly at the movement and then relaxed when she saw the cat. “Hello, Abby, are you okay?”
Changing back into her human form, she eyed Mrs. Herrin. “Why are you here? Why did you follow me?”
“We care about you, Abby.” Abby saw Rainy quietly step from behind the rock and give her another thumbs up. Abby sat down on top of the table.
“How did you find me?” she asked.
Mrs. Herrin sat at the table. “Well, to be honest, we weren’t looking for you. We were looking for a group of Mystics.” Rainy immediately crouched back behind the rock.
“Why?” Abby asked.
Mrs. Herrin didn’t seem surprised by the question. “Principal Bauble needs to find them.” She got a distant look in her eyes. “We’re here to help them and offer our aid.”
“You do know Mystics don’t exactly trust Wielders, right? Why would they open themselves to you?”
“Well, we hope to help them. Many of us owe them our lives for their acts during the tough times. Mystics offered their help to us then, and we just want to return the favor and offer our aid.”
“Why would they need it? The only thing after them is you,” Abby said.
Mrs. Herrin shook her head slowly. “No, we are not the only thing after them. During the tough times, we thought a very bad Wielder was killed by a Mystic. But it turns out, that Wielder is very much alive. His name is William Reed and he is searching for the Mystic tribe called the Dancers. He’s after one Mystic in particular. Her name is Esmeralda Firen. If we could—” She broke off as the color drained from Abby’s face. “Abby, are you okay?”
“William Reed is looking for Esmeralda Firen?” Abby whispered. Tears formed in her eyes at the mention of her parents; the father who was never in the picture, and the mother who was murdered on her birthday. “He’s really looking for her?”
“Do you know Esmeralda?” Mrs. Herrin asked hopefully. “We need to warn her.”
“Warn? Why? They’re married!” Abby said, confused.
“Married? We didn’t know that …” Mrs. Herrin looked concerned. “Either way, we must speak with her. Warn her, for he’s a killer.”
“He is not! Have you ever actually seen him kill someone?” Abby demanded vehemently.
Looking surprised, Mrs. Herrin shook her head no. “Not personally no, but the evidence—”
“He’s not a killer,” Abby interrupted.
“Okay, okay. He’s innocent until proven guilty.” She held her hands up in a calming gesture. “Do you know where she is?” Mrs. Herrin asked.
“She was killed nearly five years ago,” Abby told her.
Mrs. Herrin’s face fell. “Oh dear. We hadn’t expected … She was a very good and brave lady.”
Abby’s eyes darted to Mrs. Herrin’s face. “You knew her?”
Mrs. Herrin nodded. “Yes, I did. I had the pleasure of her company many, many years ago. What about Sephrina Winters? Do you know her?”
Abby, stunned, blurted out, “She said she didn’t know you!”
A wide smile formed on Mrs. Herrin. “No, she doesn’t, but she does know Gaea Bauble and Aretha Queenly.”
“Holy harpies! Are you serious?” Rainy burst out, now standing next to the rock. “Our Madam is friends with Wielders? Actual Wielders?”
Mrs. Herrin seemed stunned as she quickly turned to eye Rainy. “Yes, she is. And who are you?”
Rainy held out a hand to her. “My name’s Rainy. I’m a Mystic.” She glanced over at Abby and saw Abby pointing to her eyes. “Oh yeah! Sorry about that. It’s called eye-bright.” Rainy rubbed her eyes until they returned to their normal brown color. “Lets me know when someone is being dishonest. Can we go meet this Bauble lady?”
Mrs. Herrin nodded. “Yes, you can. She’s waiting outside, along with everyone else.” The trio made their way through the open tunnel. Everyone, save for Ms. Rable, was indeed waiting. All talking immediately stopped.
Principal Bauble stepped forward and offered her hand to Abby after Mrs. Herrin explained what she’d learned. Abby and Rainy were surrounded by Ethan, Brannon, Aaron, and Carly. “You’re really a Mystic?” Brannon asked, amazed.
Rainy smiled as she nodded. “I sure am. Are all of you really Wielders?” The boys and Carly produced their wands. “Oh, those are cool. I like the different colors.” Brannon put his blue-green wand back in his pocket as Rainy inspected Aaron’s yellow one. Ethan held his red up to Abby.
“I didn’t see any of you with those the whole time you were here,” Abby said, now eyeing Carly’s blue one. “Where did y’all keep them?”
Brannon started laughing. “Well, I kept mine in my pocket. I don’t know about Carly, but I do know Mom held on to Ethan’s and Aaron’s so they’d stay out of trouble.”
Ethan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, didn’t wor
k too well, did it? I still managed to break a plate and sneak a lizard into the house without using magic!”
“You guys put the tunnels in the house!” Abby exclaimed suddenly. Brannon raised his hand guiltily.
“It was our brother Carter’s idea. We had them spaced all throughout the house. He hid them so only Wielders could use them.”
“Yes, but that was after Eleanor went through one of them. You could only imagine her face when one minute she’s in the attic and the next she’s on the floor of the dining room,” Mrs. Herrin explained, joining their group. “I sealed that one up, but I didn’t know about the other ones.” She cast a stern eye on Brannon, who had the grace to appear sheepish.
“Oh,” Abby started, “so that’s why there isn’t one in my room.”
“Are you really a Restricted?” Aaron blurted out.
“A what?” asked Abby, distracted as she looked down at Bombers, who was weaving around her feet.
“A Restricted,” a red-headed gentleman joined them, “is someone who can only turn into one animal as opposed to an Unrestricted, who can turn into anything. Hello, Abby. My name is John Peterson. I’m Carly’s father. We haven’t had the chance to meet.”
Abby already knew that Unrestricteds could turn into different animals, but she shook his hand and grinned at the way Carly came over and put her arm around him. She couldn’t help but notice they looked nothing alike. Mr. Peterson was a shorter man with bright red hair and blue eyes, while Carly was nearly as tall as him with curly brown hair and hazel eyes.
“Then I guess I’m a Restricted,” Abby said, glancing sideways at Rainy.
“That’s awesome!” Carly exclaimed.
“It doesn’t bother you?” Abby asked hesitantly.
“Are you kidding? Did you see the look on Cousin Eleanor’s face when you changed into a cat? It was epic!” Ethan laughed.
“Well, haven’t we all had a lot of news today?” Principal Bauble interrupted them. Rainy was looking in amazement at all the rings Principal Bauble wore. “Do you think you two ladies could do us a favor? Can you let Sephrina Winters know we need to talk to her?”