by Sam Short
The sound of the two muscled bodies slamming into one another was almost as loud as the crowd, and Millie winced as she heard George’s breath leave him in a ragged gasp. His abdominal muscles rippling, and his fangs glistening in the moonlight, he struggled to force the wolf from on top of him.
"Change, George!" shouted somebody in the crowd. "You know you want to!"
Judith turn to Millie, a hand still on the base of her back. "If George changes into human form, he loses," she said. "It's the vampire and werewolf fight equivalent of a wrestler tapping out."
"But if he changes back into a human he’ll be crushed by the weight of Timothy!" said Millie, wincing once more as Timothy placed a massive paw on one of George's arms, and forced it into the sand.
"No, he won't," said Judith. "The moment that George changes — Timothy will know, and he'll change too. Werewolves and vampires have been playing this game for centuries, and no one's ever been hurt." She paused. "Well, no one's ever been killed, I should say."
“That sounds less reassuring than I think you meant it to sound,” said Millie, beginning to enjoy the spectacle unfolding before her. When she factored out the fact that she was witnessing two of the most common creatures which populated children’s nightmares, wrestling on a moonlit beach, the fight was intensely exciting to watch.
Timothy slammed George’s other arm into the sand and let out an ear-splitting roar as his supporters cheered him on. “You’ve got this, Timmy boy!” yelled a woman.
“Finish it!” shouted a man.
Timothy hunched over George, the yellows of his eyes piercing in the gloom. George struggled in the sand, a heavy paw on each of his limbs and a drooling werewolf leering over him.
"When will he change?" said Millie. "He's lost! Shouldn't he just give in?"
"Give him a moment," said Judith. "He's just regaining his strength, look how calm his face is."
Judith was right. Although not a picture of serenity, George’s face was not the face of a vampire about to be beaten in a wrestling match with a werewolf. His black eyes shone, and Millie was sure he was smirking.
As the crowd's demands for George to change grew louder, the vampire tensed his body, his abdominal muscles tightening, and his hands closing into fists. George seemed to slip deeper into the sand, and the werewolf jolted on top of him as the vampire made an upward thrust, using all four of his limbs to shake Timothy from him.
The werewolf howled again, and George’s fists tightened, the veins in his forearms bulging. He looked into the crowd, and when his eyes fell on Millie, he gave her a wink, and this time Millie was certain he was smirking.
With a shout that came from his gut, George pushed himself upwards in a show of power and strength. The werewolf had no chance. Even with soft sand beneath him, the pure brute force he employed propelled George upwards, forcing the werewolf to travel with him.
Timothy attempted to release his grip on George's arms, but George took the initiative and gripped a chunk of hair in each fist, keeping the werewolf close to him.
The two creatures flew through the air together, switching positions as they reached the peak of their arc, leaving Timothy beneath George as they slammed into the sand, this time Timothy expelling his breath in a gasp.
The force of the landing pushed half of the werewolf’s body beneath the sand, but George wasn't finished, he put a forearm on the werewolf’s neck, and pushed hard — forcing Timothy's head deeper into the beach.
The werewolf relented, and in the blink of an eye, the scene changed from a werewolf and a vampire struggling in the sand, to a vampire straddling a short naked overweight man.
No sooner had Timothy transformed back into his human form, than George joined him, releasing his grip and allowing Timothy to breathe.
George rolled off Timothy, and lay in the sand next to him. “Somebody get the man some new shorts!" he demanded, wiping a hand across his stomach. "His todger touched my belly when he changed!"
Millie laughed. "Todger?" she said. "Who says todger?"
Judith giggled, too. "It was probably a common term during the period George lived as a human," she explained. "He often forgets what era he’s living in, and reverts to old slang. You have to admit that todger is better than a lot of words he could have used!"
Timothy did his best to hide his dignity as he struggled into the fresh pair of shorts somebody tossed him, and magnanimous in defeat, he slapped George on the back as the two men stood up. "Good fight!" he said. "I almost had you, though!"
"Almost isn't good enough, Timothy," said George. "But I must admit I thought I was beaten at one point."
Daniel stepped back into the ring, and grabbed George's wrist. He pushed it upward. "We have a winner!" he shouted. "George of the vampires!"
Both Timothy and George’s supporters showed their appreciation, clapping and cheering. Somebody thrust a drink into each of their hands, and the crowd began to disperse — some of them heading back to the fire, and others making a beeline for the barbecue.
"Not so fast!" shouted Daniel. "Everybody come back! There's a new witch in town, remember? It's time for her to show us what she can do. It's time for Millie Thorn to entertain us with a magic trick!"
"We don't do tricks, Daniel" said Judith. "We cast spells."
"And I don't know how to cast any," protested Millie. "I can't entertain you with magic. I know a few card tricks which I don't mind performing?"
"Of course you can cast spells!" said Judith. "Have some faith in yourself."
"I've got faith in you," said George, rubbing the sand from his hair, which had collected there during the fight. "I know you can do it."
"But I wouldn't know where to start," said Millie. "All I’ve done so far is summon a cockatiel, and I think I read the mind of Jim Grayson in the harbour."
"Remember what you did when you summoned Reuben?" said Judith. “Do you remember how you did it?”
Millie nodded. "Yes, I remember."
Judith smiled. "Then just do what you did then, but instead of focusing on summoning Reuben, focus the magic onto something else. Whatever you want your magic to do when it's built up within you, it will do."
"What sort of thing do people want me to do?" asked Millie. "Turn somebody into a toad? Send somebody to sleep for a hundred years? I don't know what sort of magic witches can do — the only magic I've seen since have been here was you showing off while you made breakfast. I could try that I suppose. I could try to float some meat over the barbecue?"
"You can do far more than that, Millie," said Judith. "You're standing very close to the source of magic in Spellbinder Bay right now, you should be able to access your magic easily." She passed her empty cup to George. "I know. Let me show you the sort of thing they expect. It doesn't serve any real purpose — it's just showy magic, for these sorts of events. I suppose you could call them tricks."
"Told you," said Daniel, with a smirk. “Magic tricks.”
Judith rolled her eyes. "It's more than you can do, Daniel," she said. "Walking through walls is hardly the best trick in the world. It gets very boring very quickly."
"Maybe so," replied Daniel. "But how many ghosts do you know that can keep a solid form for as long as I can?" He smiled. "Look at Millie's face! She didn't even guess I was a ghost! Did you, Millie?"
She hadn't. Daniel appeared as real as everybody else on the beach. "No," she said, genuinely amazed at the man standing before her was dead. "I had no idea."
"It's only because you're so close to spellbinder Hall," said Judith. "Try keeping such a solid form on the other side of town — you'd be as see-through as the rest of the ghosts who wander the streets!"
“Ghosts don’t wander,” countered Daniel. “We travel with purpose. Anyway, enough about my powers, are you going to show Millie and the rest of us some of yours?”
A single voice in the crowd began chanting, soon joined by others. “Magic! Magic! Magic!” they shouted.
Judith rubbed her hands together. "Ok
ay a quick trick and then Millie can have a go. She turned to face the sea, and looked at Millie. "All I'm going to do is focus on my magic, and then let it go in any way want it to. Watch this. It’s simple"
She took a deep audible breath, and thrust her hands away from her body. A green orb flashed into existence, hovering a few feet above the sand. It dipped and rose, growing steadily in size and becoming brighter.
As the orb grew, it began changing shape, until Millie recognised what it was. "An egg?" she said.
"It's all I can think of!" said Judith, controlling the orb with her hands. "You reminded me what I did at breakfast time -- so an egg appeared in my mind. It's not just any egg, though — watch. "
The egg shimmered, and a small crack appeared at the tip. As the crack widened, a red light seeped through the shell, becoming brighter as the crack grew. As the egg split open, the two pieces of shell fell to the beach and disappeared into the sand, leaving a faint glow where they'd landed.
The red light began to take on a form of its own, and Millie laughed when she saw what it was. "A dragon?" she said. "It’s amazing!"
The hatchling dragon spread its fiery red wings wide, and looking around as if exploring its new world, it made long sweeping strokes with its wings, powering it quickly across the sand. The dragon quickly gained momentum, tracing the gentle curve of the beach as it followed the coastline.
"Where will it go?" asked Millie, as the dragon rounded the base of the cliff and disappeared, leaving only dim red sparks in its wake.
"It will fizzle out within a mile or two," said Judith, "you might even see a few stories in the newspapers over the next few days, fishermen reporting UFOs — that sort of thing!"
Daniel clapped, raising a spattering of copycat applause from the crowd. "Not bad," he said. He looked at Millie. "Now let's see what you can do."
Millie handed Judith her drink, and stood with her feet shoulder width apart. "I’ll try my best," she said. "But I'm not sure I can do anything quite like Judith just did."
"Just draw on your magic and imagine what you want it to become," said Judith. “It's easy. I promise."
Millie closed her eyes. It seemed easier that way. She concentrated on the space within her chest where she'd last experienced the sensation of magic. A gentle warmth rose within her, and she sucked in another breath of air, concentrating hard and trying to recall what she'd done to summon Reuben.
The air around her seemed to warm, and she heard somebody gasp.
"You’re doing it," said Judith, "the air is electric. Open your eyes!"
Millie opened her eyelids slowly, aware that tingles of static surrounded her body. Not only could she feel it, she could see it, too. Small sparks flashed and died as they hovered around her, gaining life above her head, and dying in the sand at her feet as they dropped slowly to the beach.
The electric in the air buoyed Millie's confidence, and with purpose and intent, she explored the ball of heat which burned inside her. It was as if another life-force resided within her. A life-force which demanded release.
The quick beat of her heart was evident in her ears, and delicate spider webs of tingling energy sent tendrils throughout her body. She smiled at Judith. "I think I can do it!"
Chapter 19
"Just let it happen," said Judith.
Her hands trembling, and the muscles in her forearms giving tiny spasms, as if she’d taken hold of an electric fence, Millie gazed at the expectant faces around her. They wanted a show, and it was Millie who was to provide it.
With the fire on her left, and the beach and ocean to her front — shrouded in moonlight filtered by the growing cloud cover, she concentrated on the burgeoning ball of heat within her chest. Running on a newly discovered instinct, Millie tightened her focus, willing the powers which swirled within her to take on a physical form. A form which her spectators would enjoy.
"Look at her hands," said a female to her right. "If this really is her first time casting a spell, then she's going to be really good when she's had some practice!"
Millie looked at her hands, and gave a small gasp of delight. Tendrils of blue light swarmed over the surface of her skin, flickering and sparking with every movement she made, and every thought she processed.
She gazed towards the sea again, only the brightest tips of the tallest waves visible in the dark.
"Let it go," said Judith. "The magic you've built up will respond to your thoughts, the way you want it to. It will mould itself to the images in your mind. It will do what you want it to do."
Millie opened and closed her fingers, her imagination running wild. She knew what Judith had said was right — she could feel the magic waiting for instructions. She sensed it raring to go — like a powerful racehorse awaiting a heel from its rider.
The image of a horse was a strong one, and as the white foam from a wave shimmered under moonlight, Millie recalled that sailors often referred to the crests of waves as the white horses of the ocean.
That was it! That's what she'd do with the strengthening build-up of magic! Making two tight fists, she drew her hands close to her chest, and with a push from deep within her, she expelled her magic, thrusting her hands forward in the same moment.
The force with which the magic left her caused her to stumble backwards, and she was only prevented from falling to the floor by a pair of strong arms.
"Are you okay?" said George, his mouth close to Millie's ear, and his hands on her waist.
"Yes," whispered Millie.
Shouts of astonishment rose from the crowd as Millie's spell rushed across the beach, the white ball of light morphing into the majestic form of a galloping stallion, its mane long, and its hooves kicking up sand as it sped towards the ocean. Muscles rippled in its strong thighs and flanks, and it tossed its head from side to side as it ran.
"You did it!" said Judith, a hand on Millie's shoulder. "It's beautiful!"
As the shimmering horse neared the sea’s edge, a warning shout rang out from a man in the crowd. "Watch out!" he yelled. "Get out of the way!"
The warning came too late for the woman standing in the surf. Suddenly illuminated by the brightness of Millie's magic, she stood as if mesmerised by the stallion which approached her at speed.
Waist deep in water, her white dress and long golden hair reflecting light from the fast approaching spell, she attempted to step out of the way, but had no chance of avoiding the galloping horse.
As the horse collided with the woman, a sound like a cracking whip filled the air, and a vivid blue light spread across the ocean as the horse lost its form and collapsed in on itself.
With the beach dark again, Millie joined the stampede of people as they rushed to help the woman in the surf. George reached the water's edge first, moving fast, his arms pumping quickly as he ran. He rushed into the sea, and reached the stricken woman who was floating face down, bobbing like a piece of driftwood in the waves.
"What have I done?" said Millie, "what have I done?"
"It's not your fault," said Judith, standing alongside Millie. "She shouldn't have been there. I don't understand how she could be there. Non-paranormal people shouldn't be able to get this close — it keeps them safe! From things like that!”
"I've got her!" yelled George, dappled in moonlight as he dragged the unconscious figure towards the beach.
Another man waded waist deep into the heaving surf and held the woman's head above water level, while George dragged her towards the safety of the beach.
A collective gasp went up from the crowd as George laid the woman in the sand, a safe distance from the water's edge. Millie gasped too, staring at the place the woman's feet and calves should have been.
The white dress she wore, water sodden and clinging tight to her shapely body, covered half of the appendage, but it was quite apparent what it was which emerged from beneath the hem.
"She's got a fin!" said Eve.
“She had legs when I saw her,” said the man who had yelled a warning. “S
he was standing up in the water!”
Millie knelt in the sand next to the stricken woman, more concerned with the woman’s health than the fact that she was encountering yet another paranormal creature. She put two fingers to the woman's throat, and concentrated on what she could feel. "She's got a pulse," she said. "But it's weak! We need to get her to a hospital!"
"Forget the hospital," said Judith. "We need to get her into the moon-pool. She's been hurt by magic, and only magic can cure her."
“Into the what?" said Millie, her finger still on the woman's throat.
"You’ll see soon enough," said Judith. "Remember I told you there’s something special in the crack in the cliff… well the moon-pool is that thing."
George stood up. "Everybody else go!" he shouted. "Put the fire out, and leave. Me, Millie and Judith will deal with this."
Nobody questioned the order, and as George hoisted the mermaid onto his shoulders, people began grabbing their belongings and leaving the beach, the fire dying quickly as the witch responsible for it extinguished the flames.
Even with the weight of a woman on his back, George moved with remarkable speed across the sand, making it difficult for Millie and Judith to keep up with him.
As they approached the cliff face, and with the fire now out, Millie noticed a soft green glow emanating from the fissure in the cliff. "What's in there?" she asked, hoping it was something that could reverse the damage her magic had done to the poor woman.
What had she done? Her first spell had led to the serious injury and possible death of a beautiful mermaid. The fact that the mermaid had possibly murdered Albert flashed through her mind, but she put it aside, for later consideration. Helping the mermaid was of far more importance.
"I was looking forward to showing you the moon pool in a less stressful situation," said Judith, following George into the darkness of the crack. "But it seems that wasn't meant to happen."
As Millie entered the cliff face, the air temperature rose, and a soft humming sound reverberated off the damp walls of the narrow tunnel they followed. Millie stayed close to Judith, the soft green glow growing brighter, and the sand beneath her feet warm.