Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 1: Tragic Birth
Rolling farmland and the occasional service area passed by in a blur from the window of the large tanker truck. Hedgerows and low, stone fences divided the land into a patchwork of greens, yellows and browns, and every so often, an old stone church peeked over the horizon to reveal the presence of a village. There wasn't much to see — or hear, with no electronics in the cab other than a GPS unit and an old mobile phone. Road noise replaced music and radio presenters to make for a very long, dull journey.
"Bollocks," muttered a short, bald man. "It don't make no sense, driving to Yorkshire. Middle of nowhere, it is!"
The man sat in the cab of a tanker, heading north on the A1 motorway, and he stayed as close to the speed limit as possible so he could stay on schedule. His electronic companion was a stickler for being exactly on time.
"Take the Pontefract, A639 exit," said a woman's voice with a perfect London accent. "Proceed east on towards Campsall."
"Bloomin' GPS, tellin' me what to do, where to go. It i'n't natural."
The man continued to mutter as he took the exit and wound around the curved off-ramp, passing over the A1 and heading towards his destination in the village of Campsall. It didn't take long for him to realize that something was off. The modest two-lane road offered nothing but an endless view of fields broken up by the occasional stand of trees.
"'ere now. I shouldn't be drivin' this here piss poor road in a tanker. Where am I supposed to deliver the petrol?!"
"You are twenty three seconds behind schedule," the feminine voice said. "Increase speed to fifty miles per hour."
The man laughed. "You must be jokin'?! Drive that fast on this road?!" Then he paused, wondering why he even considered arguing with a machine.
The voice didn't respond. Instead, the truck accelerated on its own. The man pumped the brakes to no avail and cursed. He also tried opening the door so he could bail out but the door wouldn't budge.
"Veer left on White Ley Road," the feminine voice said.
The man thought he detected slight irritation in the voice but he pushed it out of his mind. He was too busy trying to keep the large truck on the road.
The truck skidded a little and just managed to continue. It passed along Barnsdale Wood and flew down a small hill as it rapidly approached the next intersection. Several small birds nervously fluttered back and forth between hawthorn bushes as the truck passed.
"Turn right on Norton and Kirk Smeaton Road," the GPS said.
"You're gonna kill me, you bloody piece of shit!" he screamed at the voice.
"Stiff upper lip," it responded. "Be a man."
The tanker slowed just enough to make the turn without tipping over. The man nearly pissed himself but hearing a woman's voice telling him to be a man was just what he needed to keep going. His fear soon turned to anger.
"I don't need no work this bad," he growled. "This is it. I'm quittin' after this."
"What you need," the feminine voice said, "is a good and proper education. Pity it's too late."
"What the f…," the man tried to say but was interrupted.
"Turn right on Ryecroft Road," the voice said.
By that point, the truck had made up for lost time and slowed enough to easily make the turn. The man uttered a long string of curses under his breath as he drove down the road to his final destination.
"Pull over here and await further instructions," the feminine voice commanded.
The narrow road didn't have a shoulder so the man drove off into the grass and stopped, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. He unsuccessfully tried to open the door to escape and slammed the palms of his hands against the steering wheel.
The GPS voice remained silent.
With little else to do, the man looked around and noticed a sign that marked the entrance for Campsmount school on the other side of the road. He could even see a little of the school, hiding behind several small trees along the top of a small ridge. "What's this?" he complained. "You stopped at a school? I thought you said it was too late to get me educated."
The GPS voice remained silent.
The man wasn't known for his patience. And he didn't like being ignored, even if was by a machine. He saw a flaw in the machine's logic and had to bring it up. "I thought we were on a tight schedule? Why are we waiting? You almost get me killed and now we wait?!"
"Do shut up," the GPS said. "There are three students coming this way. Save your voice for them."
"I thought I just had to deliver this here petrol and drive back to London?"
The voice ignored the man, waiting until three teenage girls emerged from the school entrance. The girls turned to walk along the road towards the tanker. When they got close, the electric window lowered on the passenger side of the truck and the voice spoke to the man, "Call out to the three girls across the road. Tell them you're lost and ask for directions to Askern."
"GPS? Lost? Bloody hell. I'm not talking to no girls."
"Do it!" the GPS voice hissed. "Now!"
The man didn't like the sound of that. He slid over on the seat and called out to the girls, asking for directions to Askern like he was told.
Two teenage girls, one with long, straight brown hair, the other with a short, dark curls, walked down the narrow road that led up a small hill to their school, chatting about schoolwork and boys and various other subjects. They trailed behind a third girl, a tall blonde with dark green eyes. All three wore the same navy blue skirts and matching blazer with a white blouse as required by their school.
As usual, the three active girls managed to be the first to leave the school after classes ended. They led a short line of students who all began their walk home. After the previous week of early spring rain, the current nice weather had everyone in a good mood. None of them were in a hurry to get out of the sun.
When the three girls rounded the front iron gate, the blonde's two friends seemed confused when a dodgy little man poked his head out the window of a large tanker and called to them. The blonde girl was a little confused too, as well as a little wary. Still, she couldn't in all good conscience bring herself to ignore a request for help, no matter how odd it looked.
The blonde wanted to ask her friends to stay back, far from the truck, but the three of them were normally inseparable. They'd fought several fantastic battles against dark creatures of legend and only managed to survive by staying together. When a fifty foot serpent with wings attacked them the previous weekend on a shopping trip to York, they had to stand close and protect themselves with a dome of ice while they pulled down a rock wall to crush the serpent. They were lucky to have the River Ouse nearby to supply enough water for their ice dome. The serpent would've gobbled them up otherwise. It was certainly large enough to swallow them whole and it took a large amount of magic power to dispose of its body to prevent any awkward questions by the authorities.
The leader of the trio carefully looked both ways to make sure no cars were coming and led her friends over to the truck. When she got there, she stepped up on the running board and started giving the man directions.
The man scooted back to the driver side and sulked, not giving her much notice. He acted as if he didn't really care, like he didn't want directions.
The girl stopped to ask him, "Are you even listening to me?"
A feminine voice interrupted, causing the girl to jump. "No, he's not, Jenna."
The girl immediately knew she made a mistake, a fatal mistake. However, she did have the presence of mind to stall as she shouted at the person who remotely spoke through the GPS unit. "You! I know you in spite of that voice. Give up! Pack it in! Whatever you're planning won't work." At the same time, she telepathically communicated with her two friends, preparing them for battle.
The GPS voice tutted and responded with the last words that the man and three girls would ever hear. "My dear girl, it's already worked. Good bye and good riddance."
The girls wasted no time. Jenna, ever vigilant to protect innocents, spent just under two seconds, drawing on an amplified burst of magic from Emma to open large fissures in the ground. The fissures swallowed all nearby fellow students, gently wedging them deep in the dirt and protecting them from harm. The earth-based spell barely gave her enough time to cast her second spell. She finished just as the back of the tanker erupted in flame.
The leading edge of a huge fireball slowed to a crawl as the new spell began to take effect. The girls appeared to swim through a pool of flames, flames that singed hair and blackened clothing as everything froze in place. Out of reflex, their eyes tightly shut, squeezing out a few tears just on the verge of evaporating from reddened cheeks.
The time stop spell was the best that Jenna could do. There were no significant sources of water near the school and the fire had gotten too close anyway. Any water would turn into a deadly cloud of steam.
As part of the spell, Jenna's spirit left her body. She looked back at herself and her friends, engulfed in flames and nearly lost her will to fight. She had to force herself to continue, knowing that she had no way to move her body or the bodies of her friends. When her last spell ended, time would resume its normal course and she and her friends would die. But before that could happen, she had one thing she could do, one thing she had to do. She had to look for a successor. She floated up and called on her intuition and divine guidance to help her find a person with the potential to succeed where she had failed.
Time hadn't exactly stopped, more like Jenna moved incredibly fast. From the girl's current perspective, the flames still slowly crept up on the bodies and would eventually burn the girls to death. The spell would end long before that happened though. She required a tremendous amount of energy to maintain the spell and her two friends were trapped in normal time so they couldn't continue to supply her with magic. She had to hurry to find her successor.
The girl's spirit floated high over the blossoming flames directly below her. With no flashing light, no beacon appearing to show her where to go, she hovered with indecision and worry. She had no idea what to do. Again, she appealed to the Goddess.
Inspiration struck then, as it often does, without reason or warning. She suddenly wondered if perhaps her successor might be from the very same school that she attended. A powerful magic user might be tucked into one of the fissures below her, or might still be in the school, well beyond any threat. Her lack of clear direction could only mean that she wasn't meant to move.
Jenna looked down, wondering where to start. She directed herself toward the closest fissure and stopped halfway down. She couldn't hear anyone's thoughts. They didn't register. They couldn't. Their minds were frozen along with their bodies thanks to the time stop spell.
Despair overtook the girl. She felt so close yet so far. The person she sought was near. She could feel it with a strange certainty. One last chance, one last appeal to the Goddess and she found herself back near the tanker as the spell ended. She thought she detected a single word that formed in her mind just before she snapped back inside her body.
Endure.
Night had long since fallen before the police finished picking over the scene of the explosion. Too many suspicious circumstances convinced the police that the four charred bodies they found were murdered so they took a long time searching for clues. They found it impossible to prove it though. They didn't believe in magic.
Rescuing the students from the fissures and cleaning up all of the fire suppressing foam took the most time and energy. Multiple professionals paid special care to the students, trying to piece together the chain of events but frayed nerves kept any of the victims from noticing that the fissures weren't caused by the explosion. The fissures erupted close enough in time to the explosion that it was blamed for them. Again, so few people believed in magic.
The last of the emergency vehicles drove away, leaving the first quarter moon to cast everything in an eerie glow. Jenna's spirit had been joined by the spirits of her two friends, and the three of them had watched all of the examinations and cleanup, trying to lend support and encouragement to everyone. It didn't actually help any of the living but it made the three girls feel better. Being together helped the girls as well. They supported each other.
Jenna didn't exactly need any help. She felt a clear duty to find a successor, knowing the importance of the mission. The other two girls were the ones needing help. Kate, the youngest of the three, wailed at the injustice — she'd never achieve her plans for a perfect life — while Emma fumed. She wanted revenge.
They communicated to each other by thought, and when they all calmed down enough to think things through, they all agreed that they must have unfinished business to tend to before they could move on to wherever good spirits went. That encouraged them enough to keep going.
When all of the chaos and excitement died down, the students settled in their homes and Jenna once again received some divine assistance. Her two friends followed her as she felt her spirit pulled along High Street in the neighboring village of Norton, seeing cottages and buildings with small signs that displayed their names, names like Rose Cottage and Ivy House. When she got to a small, white cottage with the name, "Water Works," she phased through the wall and found herself in a small bathroom with a single teenage occupant, soaking in the tub. Kate and Emma waited just outside.
'She's kind of plain,' thought Jenna, studying the oval face and short, brown hair. 'Not well developed either,' she continued, referring to the person's flat chest. Then a terrible thought occurred to her and she looked farther down the teen's body to confirm her worst fear. 'She's a boy!'
A boy wouldn't do… wouldn't do at all! Males couldn't handle water-based magic very well. But he was all she had to work with. She'd asked for help and a higher power had led her to this boy.
The other two girls entered the bathroom, sensing their leader's distress.
'What's wrong?' Kate asked.
'My successor is a boy,' Jenna replied.
The two girls looked horrified.
Jenna gave an ethereal sigh. Something else troubled her too. She felt a strong compulsion to return to her dead body, and she correctly assumed the same held true for her two friends. The longer and farther away they were from their bodies, the stronger the pull. She worked out that they had to complete three tasks and hoped they all had enough time to do so before they had to leave.
'What about you two?' Jenna asked her friends. 'Do either of you feel your successors nearby?'
Finishing the first task required the discovery of a new trio. The boy in the tub needed two others to join him. Throughout the recorded history of witches, only a trio could effectively wield the strongest magic.
'Actually, I do,' Emma told them in as few words as possible, her eyes still smoldering with anger over her death.
'Me too,' Kate added. 'Now that you mention it, I suddenly feel a compulsion to peek into the adjacent room.'
The two older girls moved forward and Jenna noticed that Kate lagged behind. She caught the girl peeking at a certain someone in the tub.
'Kate," the older girl warned.
'Coming!'
The three girls poked their heads through a cream-colored side wall of the bathroom. The neighboring room held two beds with two more boys lying in them, slightly younger twin brothers of the boy in the tub. The girls knew they were boys by the clothes that littered the floor of their room.
'Not more boys!' they thought.
Jenna quickly pulled her friends together for a group hug. 'Come on, girls. Accept the will of the Goddess and move on. We still have more to do.'
With the first task out of the way, they started on the second. The second task involved an extremely important rule in their teachings. They could do no harm, which included forcing the boys to take their place. The boys had to freely accept their role in the battle against evil, no matter what that entailed. All the girls could do was leave each of the boys with a thought, a mental contract that gave him the choice of accepting or not accepting. The contract would play out in their dreams and give the boys a chance to think about what it would mean to accept the contract.
Being the oldest, Jenna moved back to the bathroom and subconsciously planted the contract in the mind of the oldest boy in the tub. Emma instinctively chose the older identical twin boy — older by about ten minutes — in the bedroom and Kate, the youngest of the three girls, was left with the younger twin.
They finished the second task. That just left one more. The third and final task had the three girls asking for divine assistance to ensure that the new trio would have a teacher. Immediately after that, the three of them snapped back to the charred remains of their bodies.
None of the girls were sure of their current location. All they knew was darkness and a profound sadness when they realized that they couldn't move on. Each of them floated alone in the dark, only half-aware of their surroundings, wondering about what other unfinished business they might have.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 2: Strange New School
George Green unfolded his newspaper and spread it out, leaning it back against the edge of the dining room table where he sat. Early morning sunlight gave him enough light to read by, though he mostly just skimmed headlines to keep from being late for work.
"Did you see this 'un, Sue?" he said, pointing out a story to his wife who sat across from him, quietly sipping her tea.
"See what, Dear?"
"Another explosion in London yesterday to go with ours. Terrible thing, that."
Sue furrowed her brow. "There've been loads of explosions down south. Makes a person wonder."
George silently agreed, wishing he had more time to talk about all the explosions. Yesterday's incident shocked and angered everyone in the area. They all demanded to know how a truck full of petrol could've ended up at the school entrance and exploded like it did, and why things like that kept happening all across the country.
"Well… time to make a move. Good luck with the boys." With that, the man of the house slurped down the remains of his coffee and slipped off to work, leaving his currently unemployed wife to watch over their sons. School had been canceled for the rest of the week to give everyone time to adjust and perform necessary road repairs.
Sue thought her sons might sleep late and tried to take advantage of it. She went back to the sitting room to finish her tea whilst watching Breakfast on BBC One. She loved that morning show.
Dan stubbornly stayed in bed, listening to his father drive off to work. He wanted to have a good lie in but he had trouble sleeping. He'd been one of the students stuck in a fissure and it didn't set well with his dreams. He'd never forget sliding down into the earth and seeing flames fill the narrow ribbon of sky above him. At least the details of his dreams mercifully eluded him. He just knew they were unpleasant enough to wake him up.
Something else bothered him more than just a little too. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone watched him last night in the bathtub. He'd never felt such a strong feeling and it blended into his vaguely disturbing dreams along with fissures and flames. He had to give up on sleep.
Looking around his small, cozy bedroom in the attic, he spied his fluffy brown bathrobe and sighed. It reminded him of baths and made him long for another good soak. Like his brothers, he couldn't seem to get enough time in water. Forget showers. He never spent less than an hour in the bath, and he loved swimming in nearby Askern Pool. He couldn't wait to harass his mother for money to go to the pool. Since they canceled school, he wanted to have a good swim.
He didn't think he'd escape without his twin brothers tagging along. He'd gladly let them come though. It would give him easy victims for dunking and splashing. They were a little less than two years younger than him and a good ten centimeters shorter. He'd have no trouble getting the best of them, even if they tried to gang up on him, something they'd been trying more and more lately.
The twins did get better at surprising him during awkward moments and they worked extremely well together. They seemed to share that peculiar link between identical twins where they knew what each other was thinking. One could and often did finish the other one's sentence those few occasions where they spoke at all. It was eerie, but not nearly as eerie as yesterday's incident.
The teen shivered and roused himself for breakfast, slipping into his bathrobe and slippers before opening the door to his room and walking downstairs.
"Hi Mum," he muttered as he passed by the sitting room. He paused for a little conversation.
"Hello Dan," she said. "You're up early."
"Couldn't sleep. Bad dreams."
Sue gave him a sympathetic look and turned back to the television.
He resumed his walk, scuffing his feet as he entered the kitchen. After a good rummage through the pantry, he settled for a bowl of cold cereal and ended up at the dining room table, surprised to see his brothers already there, currently eating their own bowls of cereal.
"You too?" Dan asked them.
They nodded. They knew exactly what he meant. They knew he asked if they got up early because of a night of bad dreams.
Sue chose that moment to interrupt, perfectly timed with adverts on the telly. She poked her head into the dining area on her way to get a refill. "Is that all you're having? Wouldn't you at least like some toast?"
"Yes, please," the three of them chorused, causing the twins to stare at Dan. All three brothers seemed to be on the same wavelength that morning.
"Hang on then," their mother called. "Toast is on the way." She went back to the kitchen and busied herself preparing toast as well as more tea.
The twins looked at each other and shrugged, turning to watch Dan as he ate his cereal.
Sue couldn't quite see her sons as she worked in the kitchen, but that didn't stop her from trying to have a conversation with them. She much preferred voices to silence. "Did any of you know any of the girls that died yesterday?" she asked them. "Such a shame. But at least it was over quickly. Right?" She talked as much to herself, not really expecting an answer and usually not getting one.
Hearing talk about the girls suddenly triggered something in all three boys. The older twin, Patrick, turned to look at Simon, expecting the younger twin to look back at him. But Simon remained focused on Dan, while Dan paused and looked up at Patrick. All three then cocked their heads, listening to a contract play out in their minds. Their eyes widened as they were asked to join a very serious cause, and all three said, "Yes," agreeing to the contract.
Dan put down his spoon and leaned back in his chair, staring back at his brothers who stared at him. "You too?" he asked them.
They nodded.
The morning was getting seriously spooky. But being a growing boy, Dan's stomach gurgled for attention and he got back to eating his cereal.
Sue finished making toast and brought in a large plate full. She set it down on the table and all three boys thanked her.
"My," she said. "You're all so polite this morning. Are you sure you're all okay?"
"Yes, Mum," the three brothers chorused. Their timing amazed all four of them considering that the boys paused to make sure they didn't talk with their mouths full.
Sue shook it off with a chuckle. "Have fun. I'm going back to the telly," she told them, taking a sip of hot tea as she slowly made her way back to the sitting room.
"We have to talk," Dan told his brothers.
The twins nodded.
"On the way to the pool," Simon said.
They all knew where they'd end up later that day.
The three brothers cleaned their teeth and made a passing attempt to clean their rooms, the minimal effort required to get a little spending money out of their mother. Dan felt a little guilty about not helping his mum out a little more but he was anxious to get to the pool, especially after accepting the strange mental contract. Something about the pool drew him in more than just the usual fun to be had there. Patrick and Simon felt the same way. They couldn't get out of the house fast enough.
The teens grabbed their swimming trunks, a towel and goggles to protect against the chlorine in the pool and left the house. They quickly walked up High Street in silence, not trusting their conversation to be private enough, and turned left onto Campsall Balk a short distance before veering left along a public footpath that skirted a farmer's field. The triangular field opened to their right and a mix of small trees lined the path to their left. As they walked along the drier edges of the muddy path, they started talking, or at least Dan did. The twins mostly listened.
"Okay," Dan said. "I think it's safe to talk. Those forces of darkness mentioned in the contract can't be everywhere at once. Right?"
The twins looked at each other and shrugged.
"Yeah," the oldest brother agreed. "But I don't see anything around except plants. It should be safe."
Dan took the time to summarize his own contract, making sure it matched the twins'. It did. The voice in their heads gave a very brief description of the mission, a warning about those who would oppose them and then a simple question of acceptance. That left them with speculation, lots of speculation.
"I'm guessing that like me, you two feel a strong urge to go to the pool."
The twins nodded.
"I think I know what that means. I think we're trading one school for another today."
Simon spoke up. "The contract didn't mention anything about a school."
"No, but it was implied. We'll need to learn how to use magic if we're going to fight magical battles."
"Fight magic with magic," Pat said, with Simon nodding and adding, "Sounds like fun."
Dan shook his head. "I very much doubt it'll be fun. I suspect most of our battles will be to the death."
"Learning will be fun," the twins chorused. They all agreed on that much.
The three of them had the contract play out in their conscious minds and all three accepted. They knew it would be dangerous and they knew magic was involved. That got their attention. But they still weren't sure what to do next. They only knew that more answers waited for them at the pool.
The boys quickened their walking pace for the last hundred meters on the wide trail through the wood that lined the north side of Church Field Road. They carefully peeked from the side of the road and launched themselves across the two-lane road to the pool, playfully competing to see who would be first to the door of the building.
A short run up the front steps, they soon found themselves at reception, paying to swim, and then heading left to the boys changing room. In no time at all, they stood at the edge of the pool in their matching green swimming trunks, watching and waiting, still unsure of what to do.
There wasn't much to see. Four teen boys splashed about in the middle and were watched closely by a young man acting as the swimming attendant. The teens played a game to see just how far they could go without getting a warning. The only others in the pool were a young woman and her four-year-old daughter quietly playing in one corner at the shallow end.
"Well, Dan? What now?" Simon asked.
Dan shook his head and hopped into the shallow end on the opposite side from the mother and daughter. The oldest brother pulled the goggles up from around his neck and placed them over his eyes. He waited a minute or so to see if anything happened. When nothing did, he turned to wave the other two in.
"I don't get it," Dan said. "Something should've happened by now. We obviously need a teacher. So where is he? And why do I think he'll be here?"
The twins stared at their brother and shrugged.
The waiting and shrugging shoulders gave way to frustration. The older boy waded towards the deeper end, leaving his brothers behind. He kept going until the water level reached his neck before he stopped and cocked his head as if he heard something. Feeling his brothers' eyes watching him, he turned around to see them immediately shrug their shoulders for the umpteenth time. That did it. His brothers drove him crazy sometimes. He dunked his head underwater and right in front of him, he saw the translucent figure of a beautiful blonde girl who appeared to be about his age. He could just make out that she wore the girls uniform from his school. Though her body was mostly transparent, her face was clearly visible, and when she smiled at him, he almost levitated out of the water, gasping when he thrust his head out of the water.
The nearby attendant looked at him with concern but Dan held his hand up to show the man that he was okay.
The shaken boy quickly waded back to his brothers, certain that he'd just seen one of the girls who was killed by the explosion at their school.
"Are you okay?" Pat asked him.
"Yeah. But I'm not sure I like our teacher."
"What?" the twins said.
"Just follow me."
Dan led his brothers until they were neck deep, which wasn't quite as far as he went since he was taller. He turned to face them and couldn't help himself when they shrugged their shoulders. He dunked them both and quickly followed them under.
There, under the water, the three brothers saw an amazing sight. All three of their fellow classmates who fell victim to the explosion floated right before their eyes. Kate, the youngest with short, curly black hair paired with Simon and Emma, with long brown hair that seemed to flow naturally in the water, paired with Pat. That left Jenna with Dan. Jenna's long blonde hair also seemed to flow and radiate out as if she actually swam underwater. But that was impossible! They were dead! All three girls were dead. That's what the brothers were thinking anyway.
'You''re right,' Jenna said with her thoughts, reaching the three boys as well as her two dead friends. 'Our bodies are dead. But our spirits live on. And we're here to teach you. We have a lot of work to do so shall we get to it?'
'Wait a minute,' Dan thought. 'How is this even possible?'
'And how are we going to learn anything when we can only see you underwater?' Pat added before quickly turning to stare at his older brother. 'I heard you!'
'And I hear you!' Dan shot back.
'And I hear both of you, and the girl,' Simon said, sounding bored. 'She's right. Can we just get on with it? I want to learn some magic. This will be so cool!'
The other two brothers started to laugh and lost too much air. They surfaced for another breath and quickly submerged again.
'Good,' Jenna told them when they returned. 'Now can we begin?'
'Hang on,' Dan said. 'What is this, some sort of telepathy?'
'Yes,' Jenna agreed. 'It has to do with the high density of magic in the water. Water magic is amazing. I could try to explain it but we really don't have the time. We have a lot to teach you in a fairly short time.'
'Right then. Go ahead.'
Jenna nodded and, after everyone introduced themselves, she began her first lecture. 'Magic works best when witches work in trios. Each witch specializes in one part of spell casting so they can wield stronger magic than each could individually. First, there's what we witches call the font. The font specializes in connecting to and extracting sources of raw magic, which is pretty much everywhere to some degree. The Goddess has determined that Simon will work best as a font.'
'So mote it be,' the girls said in unison.
Simon held his finger up and rose to get more air. He dipped back down with a question. 'Do you have any water breathing spells?'
'Yes, but not yet,' Jenna replied. 'We don't want you to attract too much attention by staying underwater too long. Please be patient and let us figure out how and what to teach you. We're learning just as you are. The Goddess guides us because we've never taught before.'
The younger twin just shrugged to that.
'Next, there's the flow,' the girl continued. 'The flow specializes in gathering and amplifying the raw magic from the font and converting it to various forms that can be used by the third member of a witch's trio: the fetch.'
Pat interrupted with what they all knew to be true. 'Right then. I'm the flow.'
The girls all nodded and said, 'So mote it be.'
Jenna resumed her lecture. 'The fetch is the spell caster of the trio, taking the amplified magic from the flow and creating specific magical effects. Dan is the fetch of your trio.'
'So mote it be,' the girls repeated together.
Jenna smiled. WIth the background information out of the way, the fun could begin. She liked to think of it as fun anyway. She had a feeling of great satisfaction as her intuition told her they had an excellent chance of succeeding in their mission with the boys. She waited for them to get more air again before starting the lesson.
'Since Kate was the font of our trio, she'll work with Simon. Emma will train Pat to be a flow and that leaves me to work with Dan.'
Dan looked pensive and Jenna quickly cut him off before he could say anything. 'No more questions. We don't have time. We'll lead by example and direct application. I'm not sure exactly why things worked out this way. I've never been dead before. I think the pool helps us though. The water seems to reduce the tendency to be pulled back to our bodies. I think it might also help you learn more easily. We shall see.' The tall blonde looked at the other two girls and they nodded before pairing up and separating a little to help them focus on their individual lessons.
Normally, a new student of magic would have to start in small steps using meditation to seek out the ambient magic around them. Once a student could sense the magic, they could then work on detecting stronger sources of it and tap into those sources. They all start out as fonts that way, and they move on, learning how to be a flow or fetch if they have the aptitude. However, the girls didn't have time for the usual teaching methods.
They explained that they themselves couldn't use magic as spirits but they could bend the rules. They'd have to bend the rules to sensitize the boys to magic and get them started right away. As directed by the Goddess, and with the permission of the boys, the girls took over their pupils' magical power using a form of partial possession. Through their thoughts and actions, they showed the boys exactly how to feel for and draw in the magic around them. It worked well.
Simon noticed immediate results and remarked on how much more concentrated the magic seemed to be in the pool water than in the air. He could also see differences in the magic itself, depending on its environment.
'That's awesome!' Kate told him. 'I can't believe you picked up on that already. You're right of course. Magic comes in many forms with elemental magic being attracted to its like element of water, earth, air and....' She understandably hesitated on the last element since she was so recently a victim of fire magic.
Simon gave her a sympathetic look and didn't finish her sentence for her like he wanted to.
The younger twin did make the best font of the new trio. That much was clear since he detected and redirected magic so easily. Redirecting came just as naturally as detection did. Kate showed him how to create a magical hose that drew in magic from the water and sprayed the magic in a tight stream towards the deep end of the pool. The magic gave the water a slight blue glow as it shot through it, not quite bright enough for the other swimmers to notice unless they knew to look for it.
The other two brothers weren't quite as quick to pick up on the different magic types but through their special brotherly bond — now enhanced by magic — they learned it anyway. Their learning continued to accelerate that same way. Whenever one brother had any kind of epiphany, the other two would share it.
The girls noticed the bond between the brothers and occasionally gave each other a knowing look. The Goddess chose their successors well. Not only did they share insights, the brothers also seemed to share an affinity for water. That boded well. If only they were girls. Boys couldn't wield strong water-based magic. It just didn't happen. Something had to change, and the girls wisely kept quiet, waiting and watching for the coming changes.
Once Pat and Dan understood the basics of the font, they moved on to their own specialties while continuing to absorb new details that Simon shared with them. They didn't practice the same things that Simon did, but their new font knowledge still helped them learn and understand their own specialized skills.
Emma showed Pat how to harness strong emotion to force magic into patterns. She soon had Pat creating a vortex of magical energy from the pool water, surprising both of them by the strength of the vortex as it carried water along with it to create a slow moving but significant whirlpool. Other forms could be used but the vortex was both the simplest and most powerful as it funneled magic into a small, concentrated area.
Pat continued experimenting with both the size and shape of the vortex. He reduced its diameter, thereby increasing the density of magic and then expanded its height a little, changing it from a disk into more of a donut shape. He kept shrinking it and as the density increased, it caused the water to spin faster and glow blue, just as Simon's magic hose had done. The magic looked like a giant blue glazed donut about one meter in diameter, earning a nod of subtle praise from Emma.
If the four boisterous teens didn't move to the deep end of the pool and keep the swimming attendant occupied, the young man might have notice a slight dimpling on the surface of the pool. The whirlpool spun fast enough to create a visible effect.
The oldest brother of the trio benefited from Pat's successes as much as Simon's. Even without practicing, he could easily imagine himself creating the same effects. Jenna didn't give him a chance to prove it though.
The blonde spirit relied heavily on her intuition and creativity for teaching her lessons and progress was remarkably fast. Casting spells took a lot more mental skill than the other two magic disciplines, and specific magical effects took a lot more control to create. After giving her lesson some serious thought and letting some of the twins' experiences sink in, she sent Dan something that she liked to call a thought form. A thought form represented a spell template, showing the boy how to use his thoughts to form a spell. Words were unnecessary. In the case of spell casting, it truly was the thought that counted.
Jenna's thought form started with the simple displacement of water. She showed her pupil how to literally dent the water with the mind, simulating the act of throwing a rock into the water. The rock would splash and send out ripples in concentric rings that radiated outward from where the rock entered the water. The ripples could come naturally after the splash. Only the splash was necessary.
There were different ways to do the same thing with magic. Air magic could blow directly down into the water. Earth magic could control the movement of an actual rock to create a splash. However, the girl wanted Dan to focus on water magic for the first lesson. Like the boys, the girls shared a bond, and they noticed that not only did the boys share a love of water, their water-based magic effects were unusually strong. The girls wanted to see just how strong those abilities were.
Dan started with the image of a single drop of water and pushed it straight up out of the water above his head. The drop levitated a few inches and then dropped back into the pool, creating an almost imperceptible splash. It was a start.
After lifting a drop of water, he then imagined a single drop of water jerking down into the pool to create the same effect. It worked, and he built on his success by slowly increasing the volume of water until it was the size of a small rock. He pulled the water down and suddenly let go to create a small splash.
Jenna would've squealed with joy if she still had lungs. She didn't normally have such outbursts but the progress of the three brothers astounded her, and she couldn't help herself. She tried to imagine what they could do as girls and soon wondered if she might have gone too far. She knew she didn't have any magic ability in her current form. However, she did have a direct link to the Goddess and She could work wonders. As soon as the girl connected her imagination to thoughts of the Goddess, the three boys very suddenly and violently doubled over as if they experienced severe cramping. The boys barely made it over to the side of the pool where they managed to pull their heads above the surface with one arm. Their other arm remained tightly held against their abdomens. After several minutes and only a single slightly concerned look from the swimming attendant, they started breathing more easily. The worst of the cramping stopped, with only minor twinges that hit periodically. They were soon able to continue their lesson.
The girls pretended not to notice and waited for their pupils to return. They still had so much more to teach, and most likely, no more than a few months in which to teach it. The number of magical explosions and fires increased every week and had to be stopped.
'What was that?!' Dan asked when he approached his teacher. 'What just happened to us?'
'I'm not really sure,' Jenna said, carefully. She really wasn't sure. Her intuition could make a good guess but she decided that the time for such speculation might be a little early so she tried a half truth. 'Something to do with learning magic so quickly I'd say. Are you okay to continue?'
Dan turned around to check with his brothers, who nodded. Like good little soldiers, they carried on.
Simon and Pat kept up their magical effects to test and strengthen their endurance, while Dan learned several different spells. Everything went well until a last short lecture from Jenna.
'You're all doing extremely well,' she told the boys, with the twins still working on maintaining their magic. 'There's just one last thing to teach before we end today's lesson. I want you to think about how your effects might overlap and connect to each other.'
Dan had been only half listening by that point. He wanted to run through his half dozen spells to make sure he remembered them all. So when Jenna mentioned connecting to his brothers' magic, he changed focus and did just that, before Jenna could warn him. He aligned Simon's magic hose to Pat's vortex, rapidly filling and expanding the vortex. Then he tapped into the magic and created his splash spell.
The magic vortex quickly built up to an extremely large amount before Dan could cast his spell, and when he finally finished, the splash he created exceeded his wildest expectations. A very large wave fanned out from a central point and slopped over the sides of the pool by several feet. The mischievous teens in the deep end saw it in time and dove under it. The alarmed swimming attendant didn't fare as well. The initial wave slapped him against the nearby wall behind him, stunning the poor man. The mother and daughter had mixed results. Neither female was hurt but the monster wave scared the mother, who mostly feared for her young daughter's safety. Through a nearly superhuman effort fueled by adrenalin, the mother stayed close to her daughter. The young girl bobbed up and down, staying on the surface and dropping into her mother's arms when the water washed away as quickly as it appeared. The little girl laughed. "Do it again!" she squealed.
The three brothers stood in the much shallower water, stunned at what had happened. Being so close to the center of the splash, they escaped any injuries.
The girls continued to float nearby, invisible to all but the boys. No words came to mind for a good minute until Jenna excused them for the day. The boys dunked their heads underwater to hear Jenna tell them, 'Lesson over.'
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 3: A Taste of Darkness
The brothers bounced into the house later that day, taking a long way around the village to try to burn off more energy. They joked. They laughed. They found themselves giddy with the new skills they were acquiring. Magic was real!
Dan had been a little concerned when he saw the potential for harm, but the twins constantly reminded him that it was only the swimming attendant that got a little banged up by the wave of water. The young man had been strong though. He'd be fine. The sun had continued to shine and the world had never seemed more interesting and alive. The darkness that had awaited their future couldn't dampen their enthusiasm after their wild success in the pool.
When it came time for baths, they surprised their mother. They didn't fight at all. Simon, as the official youngest, went first, followed by Pat and then Dan. They spent a single hour alone in the tub, practiced what they'd learned and got out. While each boy sat in the water, he could hear the thoughts of his brothers but they couldn't hear him. The water increased his potential for telepathy.
Simon quietly mentioned it to his brothers right after his bath and the other two had the same result. They experimented a little by sticking their hands in the tub full of water at the same time and found they could just barely communicate mentally that way.
Dan got a bit of a shock right after getting out of the tub. Just before he put on his fluffy brown robe, he looked down and noticed the absence of something. After verifying in the mirror, he noted that all of his body hair from his neck down had vanished. Not only that, what little facial hair he noticed seemed much finer, shorter and blonde.
"That's odd," he muttered to himself. "I wonder if it's a side effect of the magic."
He compared his lack of hair to his brothers but being younger and not as far along into puberty, they didn't really notice much of a difference. It bothered the oldest boy enough that he made a mental note to ask Jenna about it during their next lesson.
George Green unfolded his newspaper like he did every morning before work. After scanning the headlines, he noted a familiar story, one he'd heard last night from Dan.
"Here it is," he said, pointing out the story to his wife who sat next to him, quietly sipping her tea.
"That's nice, Dear."
"It says here that they blame a localized earthquake. Very odd, that."
Sue furrowed her brow as her husband continued speaking.
"They evacuated the pool to check for damage but they didn't find any cracks. How is that possible? There's a lot of strange things going on around here."
His wife absently nodded, thinking about last night.
Dan had mentioned something about the water sloshing out of the pool, though the boy had made it sound harmless enough. No one had been seriously injured so it didn't bother her. At least it hadn't been an explosion or fire.
Sue shrugged it off and continued her normal routine, seeing her husband off to work and watching the Breakfast program on the telly while she waited for her boys to wake up. She thought she'd be able to have much more time to herself that morning. The three brothers would most likely sleep very well after having had a full day and a late night filled with excitement. They'd get out of bed very late that day.
Dan hurried down for breakfast just after 10 am, getting beat by his brothers again. They had plenty of cereal and milk so it didn't matter. What did matter was that the pool wasn't available for general admission for the next two days. The eldest son filled a bowl, splashed milk on it and rushed to sit across from the twins at the dining table. "Did Kate or Emma mention anything about what we're supposed to do today?" he asked.
Simon spoke up first. "Kate was too busy checking out those lads in the pool whenever she had a free moment."
"Emma never said much," Pat added. "She seemed like a kettle full of water just about to boil."
"Yeah," Dan agreed. "I got that impression."
"I say we go to the lake," Simon said. "Lots of water for practice there."
"Sounds good," the eldest brother said. "We might be able to contact the girls there too."
"Yuck!" Simon blurted out, surprising himself as well as his brothers with his outburst. They just stared back, prompting him to explain. "I'm not sticking my head in that mucky water," he told them.
The other two stopped and shuddered when they imagined the lake water. They spent many weekend afternoons walking around Askern Lake, watching people feed the plentiful geese and other water fowl. The large birds peppered the shoreline with droppings and swam enough to dirty the water and keep it very murky.
"It is as much a toilet for geese as it is a boating lake," Dan said.
They all laughed at that.
The three boys inhaled their cereal and cleaned their teeth before attacking their rooms. They spent a good amount of time cleaning, earning a surprised note of praise from their mother. She'd never seen the twins' room without several articles of clothing strewn about on the floor. That morning, there were no clothes to be seen. Clean clothes were put away in the closet and dresser while the dirty clothes were put in the hamper, ready for washing.
"We should have explosions more often if this is the result," Sue remarked as she inspected Dan's room.
"Mother!"
"You know what I mean, Dan. This is nice," she said, waving her hand around the room. "I hope it continues."
She soon went back to the sitting room to watch television, leaving her oldest son scratching his head.
'Maybe it wouldn't be so bad,' he thought. 'My room does look nice all cleaned up.'
The boy smiled and went to collect his brothers. They had a date with a lake.
The boys walked by the pool, giving it a fond look, continued past the cemetery where the girls would be buried next week and went on through Askern to the lake. They moved to the side farthest from the A19, the main road that ran by the west side of the lake. They wanted to keep farther away from prying eyes. It didn't take long. At a good walking pace, the lake could be circled in less than ten minutes. It was very shallow, more of a pond than a lake.
A steady rain started soon after they arrived. That helped keep foot traffic down for all but the geese that waddled behind, giving the boys hopeful looks. When it became apparent they wouldn't be fed, the geese and other water fowl took to the water to forage on water plants near the shore.
"Well?" Simon said after they stopped.
"Here we are," Dan answered. It wasn't much of an answer. The tall boy knelt down and peered into the murky lake, calling out to Jenna with his mind. After a full minute of trying, he stood up straight and stretched. "Nothing," he said to his brothers' inquiring looks.
"Are we just going to stand her all day and get soaked?" Pat asked. He dressed for the possibility of rain like his brothers but none of the three carried an umbrella. The rain would eventually soak through their water resistant outerwear.
"Give it a chance," Dan said as he scanned the surface of the lake.
Another five minutes and the twins walked back to a small building for some shelter, leaving their brother to wait for contact. It wasn't a long wait.
A faintly glowing circle of gold hair caught Dan's eye as it moved towards him from the center of the lake, and Jenna's form could soon be seen. She moved to just off shore and smiled up at Dan, who smiled back and absently waved his brothers over.
'Can you hear me?' Jenna called out with her mind.
The boy nodded, as did his brothers who caught up to him and stood to either side. It rained heavily enough that they could all hear her thoughts through the connection of rain to the water in the lake.
'Good. We know about the pool schedule. We'll have our next lesson this Saturday. As for the rest of today and tomorrow, just practice what we've taught you so far.'
"Here? At the lake?" Simon asked, speaking out loud for the benefit of his brothers. He tried using telepathy at first but they couldn't hear him as well as they could Jenna. The rain only helped enough that they could hear his voice without being able to quite make out the words.
Jenna heard him well enough, or she could read his lips. In any case, she answered. 'I wouldn't recommend practicing here. It's too public and I'm not sure how safe it is.'
"Oy!" Pat said. "You're concerned about safety?"
Jenna grimaced. 'You never know who might be watching or listening. I'm just not sure. The pool is safe because it's somewhat isolated from the ground. That and I think the chlorine repels most creatures. It might be safe enough to practice with rain in a field, but I'm a little wary of rivers and lakes.'
"I'm not afraid," Simon said.
'You should be,' Jenna told him. 'We need to keep you three a secret until you can learn enough to defend yourselves. If our enemies found out about you now, you could easily end up like me.'
"Just exactly who are our enemies?" Dan asked. "You've never been clear about that."
Jenna turned to look away. 'I have to go now. I'm too far from my body. I think it'll be easier once we're buried but for now I have to go. Sorry!'
The girl disappeared in a flash, leaving Dan's question unanswered.
"I say we practice here and go home for lunch," Simon said. "We can try practicing in the fields near our house after we eat."
"I don't know," the eldest said. "I think we should listen to Jenna. What about you, Pat?"
"Whatever," the older twin replied. "We're already here. Might as well see what we can do."
The twins out-voted Dan and they stayed to see what they could do with the water in the lake. The murkiness of the water seemed to slow them down a little but all three were able to repeat yesterday's accomplishments on a small scale. The fetch of the trio made sure to avoid connecting to his brothers' magic so they wouldn't create a miniature tsunami like they did in the pool.
Everything went so well that Dan eventually felt comfortable enough to try tapping into his brothers' magic. He made sure to use less magic than he did in the pool but he couldn't help wanting to disturb the geese a little. The birds had it a little too easy in his opinion. Wild animals should be wild. He used about a third of the magic power that he had yesterday and created a splash about a third as large in the center of the lake. By the time the waves radiated out to hit shore, they weren't more than about ten centimeters high. The geese weren't impressed.
None of the few people about noticed the splash and resulting wave. They were all distracted by the rain or their own errands. That left the trio a little disappointed, though they shouldn't have been. Their little display did attract the attention of a certain something that magically bubbled up into the lake from some dark magical dimension where it normally lurked.
As soon as the new arrival detected a few nearby geese, it swam up under them and exploded in a fury of water and feathers. The large serpent inhaled three frantic white geese before they had a chance to escape and then turned its attention to the three stunned boys.
"Oy!" Pat shouted. "What the flippin' heck is that, Dan?"
Simon silently stared, still somewhat in shock but he did still manage to keep his magic flowing in the lake. Pat kept his spinning vortex available as well. That just left Dan barely enough time to act, assuming he could keep from panicking.
"Serpent," the eldest boy muttered. "How do you stop a serpent with water?"
"Dan?" Simon said, finding his voice and sounding more than a little concerned.
"Keep your magic going, Simon. You too, Pat. I'm thinking."
"At least slow it down!" Pat shouted again.
"Just hang on!" Dan shouted back, then muttered a bit more, thinking out loud. "It's long, like a sausage... or a balloon animal. Balloon! Got it!"
Pat had already pulled Simon's magic stream into his vortex to whip up a significant amount of magic. That just left the inexperienced fetch to tap into it, which he did, using a simple spell from his short list of known spells. He created a narrow and very powerful stream of water, spraying it into the serpent's open mouth. The force of the water began to inflate the huge creature, blowing it up like a water balloon, and after a good blast of twenty seconds, something had to give. The serpent exploded, splattering the boys with small, bloody chunks of flesh and bone.
After being a little disgusted at first, the three brothers then started worrying about being discovered. They didn't have to worry though. The rain took care of the blood and the remaining geese and a score of ducks soon overcame their fear and gobbled up anything too large for the rain to wash away. In less than fifteen minutes, there was nothing left to give them away, not that anyone noticed anyway.
The twins stood there in shock for the longest time. Dan tried not to laugh as he went up to them and gently lifted their chins to shut their mouths. "Oy," he told them. "Wasn't that exciting?"
All during the walk home, Dan and the twins swapped roles in exaggerated fashion. The twins flinched at every little sound, worried about an imminent attack, while Dan laughed and shouted at the sky about the wonders of magic.
"Do you have to make so much noise?" Pat complained.
Dan looked a little hurt but did tone down his enthusiasm a little for the sake of his brothers. He decided to put more energy into analyzing their encounter with the serpent. "I guess we do have to be careful," he admitted. "And it would appear that the more magic we use, the more likely we are to attract some nasty creature."
"You think?" Simon said, trying not to sound too sarcastic.
"He thinks," Pat said, lightly slapping the hat on his twin's head. "Remember we were the ones who wanted to stay and practice at the lake."
"I know," the youngest said.
The three of them spent their remaining walk in silence, staying very close together with Dan, who used a spell to deflect the rain and keep them all dry. The twins had enough water for the time being and their protective big brother showed them some much needed compassion.
As they hurried home, Pat's thoughts turned to what the night might bring. He wondered about what dreams he'd be having that night and hoped he'd be able to get enough sleep. Simon tried not thinking but his emotions betrayed him. Flashbacks of the serpent swimming towards him upset him enough to cause a few tears to roll down his cheek. He made sure to walk slightly behind his brothers so they wouldn't see his face.
Sue watched from the kitchen as her three sons quietly entered through the back door and removed their shoes, coats and hats. They seemed so much more subdued than yesterday.
"Simon?" she said, giving her youngest a good look. "Are you crying?"
"What?! The boy looked horrified. "It's just rain. It's raining out, you know."
Sue frowned. She knew crying when she saw it, and she knew just what to do.
"How would you lot like some hot choccie?" she asked them, receiving vigorous nods. "Okay then. Go change into some dry clothes and I'll have it waiting for you along with lunch."
"Thanks, Mum," Simon said. He gave his mother a quick hug and then quickly followed after his twin.
The woman shook her head, not quite believing what she saw but happy that she saw it.
He's still my darling baby boy.
She blamed her son's emotional display on grief for his dead schoolmates and got on with making lunch.
The boys returned to the dining room and devoured their meal in silence. The hot chocolate disappeared much more slowly. They all wanted to savor every sip. It never seemed more delicious.
After lunch, Simon received a little good-natured teasing from his brothers.
"Come on, Simon," Dan said. "We need more practice."
"No, thanks. I'm going to my room to read."
Pat laughed. "Still reading that same stupid book?"
"What's wrong with Princess Arwen of Mars?" the boy asked.
His twin laughed. "You need to read some real science fiction. But I'll let you off this time." He ruffled his brother's hair and went to get ready to go out with Dan.
Simon refilled his mug with hot chocolate and went to sit by the window in his room. "I'll practice through the window," he said to himself. "Right after I finish reading another chapter."
He opened his book and began to read, thinking how beautiful the rain sounded as it pattered on the window pane before he immersed himself in the story. The boy read about daring adventures of a beautiful woman on another planet and sighed. The book just kept getting better. He didn't normally care for romance but for some reason, what little romance there was in the story felt right. He even thought it could use more.
While he read, certain aspects of the science fiction reminded him more of magic. His mind occasionally wandered a little, and as it did, he didn't notice the water drops on his window, glowing and swirling in reaction to his thoughts.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 4: School of Dreams
The boys practiced their new skills and managed to shrug off any lingering stress from their battle with the serpent. The stress quickly returned though when Jenna found out.
The girl's spirit found a way to communicate with the boys through shared lucid dreams. Using her spiritual energy, she was able to link herself and all three brothers. She explored all manner of contact to speed up their lessons. They had so much to learn and so little time.
'You did what?!' the girl mentally shouted.
Simon felt as though she rattled his teeth — impossible, he knew, but he let Dan do all the talking rather than have any of her anger directed at him.
'We stayed at the lake and practiced, against your advice. I guess I got a little... err... cocky. I wanted to tease the geese so I created a large splash in the center of the lake. It wasn't nearly as large as the splash in the pool, but I guess it was large enough to attract a rather vicious looking serpent.'
'You guess?!' Jenna shouted, then quickly calmed herself. 'You're right, of course. I blame myself though, for not telling you. I wanted to tell you more but I couldn't stay. I can't stray far or long from the remains of my body.'
'Why?' Dan asked. He had so many questions — too many. 'I mean, no offense, but wouldn't it make more sense to have a living teacher?'
'I've been thinking about that,' she told him. 'I told you that we needed to be secretive and what better way than having us girls teach? We're much harder to detect and spy on than the living.'
'Is it really that important?'
Everything, the mission, the teaching, everything was so important, but she knew what he meant. 'You really need to keep a low profile. Like I told you at the lake, you're much too vulnerable. You need to learn a lot more before you can adequately defend yourselves.'
'We took care of that serpent easily enough,' he said with a little wounded pride.
'Trust me. You got lucky. What if you had five serpents attacking at once? What about ten? Not only that, there are many worse things out there than serpents.'
'There are more than just serpents?'
'Haven't you three ever played any fantasy role-playing games?'
'A little,' Dan spoke for himself and his brothers.
'Serpents, wyverns, dragons, they're all out there, mostly on other planes of existence, but there, ready to cross over to our plane if they detect magic. It's not the smartest thing to go looking for witches but serpents aren't the brightest creatures.'
'What about dragons?' Pat asked.
'Dragons are powerful enough that they can often dominate a single magic user, and they can save themselves some effort and mostly use your magic to cross over. Magic use tends to temporarily weaken the boundary between planes.'
'Isn't there any way to block them?' Dan asked. 'What happens after a big magic battle? What prevents a dozen dragons from crossing over and kicking everyone's weakened arses?'
Jenna mentally wrinkled her nose at Dan's choice of words. 'You're right of course. There is a slight danger after a magic battle. But most of the weaker creatures are scared off when the magic gets too powerful. And forget about a group of dragons working together. That doesn't happen. They're mostly solitary creatures and they're smart enough not to interfere with powerful magic users. You might have one or two creatures show up that are either mostly harmless or at least easily stopped.'
Dan paused, trying to decide which question to ask next. He just started to ask more about their mission and Jenna interrupted him.
'Please. No more questions. I have limited time I can spend here and we need to cover more spells. You, Dan, have a lot more to learn than your brothers so I'll be visiting nearly every night to teach you. Kate and Emma can't seem to master lucid dreaming so it'll be just me for our dream sessions, and tonight I think I'll start with a lesson on control.'
'Control?' the eldest boy asked.
'Control. You have a lot more to learn about control.'
'Wait a minute. Just one more question. It's important.'
'Okay.'
Dan paused again, more out of embarrassment than anything else. 'What happened to the hair on my arms and legs? Does magic remove hair or something?'
'What? Oh... that. I wouldn't worry about that.'
'But it's weird!'
'I'm sure you'll be okay with a little less hair,' she told him. 'Most adults complain about having too much hair. You should feel lucky.'
'Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me?'
'Because I'm new at this. Because we're on a tight schedule. Because you need to shut up and let me teach you control.'
'Oy!' Pat said.
'Just shut up, Pat,' Dan said, then added. 'Fine. Teach me control then. I'm ready.'
Jenna repeated her lesson about incrementally increasing the strength of a spell to get a feel for how much power to add for a desired effect, adding that it should be done for every new spell he learns. Spell casting didn't work like it did in role-playing games, where the strength of a spell increased with artificial experience levels. In Dan's newly expanded reality, the strength of the spell increased proportionately to the amount of magic gathered to cast the spell.
Dan couldn't actually cast spells in his dreams, but his teacher still had plenty she could teach him, including more thought forms for additional spells. If he could remember the thought form, or spell template, he could cast the spell, even if he didn't collect any raw magic. With little raw magic, a spell would just have very little effect. The boy went over all of his lessons in his mind. The next day would be a good test of his memory as well as his control.
The girl reached the end of her class time and left the three boys with some homework. She had them look up the more common creatures from fantasy role-playing games. Playing the game wouldn't teach them much but learning about creatures of legend would translate nicely to their past as well as future experience. Their battle with the serpent was just one of many that they'd likely have over the next few years, assuming they lived long enough.
Friday morning started with three very hungry brothers having a full English breakfast. Magic and certain other changes in their bodies worked up a good appetite and cold cereal wouldn't satisfy them. They started out trying to make breakfast themselves but their mother soon put a stop to that and took over for them. She didn't get angry about it. She knew they meant well by trying to save her some effort.
The brothers sat together at the dining room table with Pat reading a couple different creature guides from his roleplaying game collection. He took Jenna's advice seriously. He wanted to make sure he was ready for anything.
Sue passed by behind Pat as she served the food. She saw a drawing of a wyvern in the book and wrinkled her nose in distaste, but she didn't say anything.
Boys will be boys.
After they finished eating, the three brothers rushed back to their rooms, did some light cleaning since that's all their rooms needed, and shot out the door, leaving their bemused mother to wonder about the changing moods of teenagers.
The rain held off in spite of low clouds and high humidity, though the boys didn't mind. Plenty of moisture hung in the air for magic practice. The three of them ended up in a large hilly area near their house. The land back there consisted of a few ponds and open areas surrounded by trees where they could practice without too much chance of being seen, as long as they were careful.
Simon got over his nerves and soon had large spheres of elemental air magic blowing across a field. They looked like soap bubbles and even Pat and Dan stopped to watch for a few minutes.
"I didn't know you could access air magic," Dan said.
"I didn't either," the youngest said. "I could detect it but I didn't know I could gather it... until now."
"Cool," Pat said and then went back to his specialty. Following on his twin's success, he soon had a miniature tornado of elemental air magic spinning in the dirt. With just a little effort, he pulled elemental earth magic from the dirt and mixed it in with the air magic.
"Nice," Simon commented. "I was thinking of mixing water and earth but I didn't want to make a muddy mess."
"Elemental magic seems easy to learn," Dan said.
"And it's powerful," Pat added.
"Lucky for us," Simon finished.
The ambient elemental water magic in the moist air supplied enough magic for Dan so he didn't need any magic from his brothers. He didn't want large amounts of magic anyway, on the off chance that he might use too much and attract unwanted attention.
The fetch of the group managed to cast all but one of the five new water-based spells he learned from his lucid dream session with Jenna. He wasn't even sure how to start with the fifth one so he worked on controlling the four spells he could cast and then got back to the last one after he felt he had good control of the others.
The fifth spell was tricky and potentially dangerous because it dealt with water in the body. Water could be added to or removed from the body and if he wasn't careful, he could dehydrate himself. He could cast it on someone else but until he got better control, he didn't want to take the chance of hurting one of his brothers.
After slowly pulling moisture out of the humid air, he managed to add a significant amount of water around his waist, and he also moisturized his skin to help it stretch. The added bulk made his pants slightly uncomfortable so he unfastened the button fly on his jeans and unzipped them. Then he wondered exactly how to remove the water. The spell allowed water to be easily absorbed but once in the body, it had to be moved through proper channels or removed with magic. The magic didn't exactly work the same way in reverse though. He couldn't remove it the same way he added it and he wasn't sure how to use magic to reverse the process.
The obvious way to get rid of water normally involved a urinal or toilet but he didn't want to do that outside in spite of the relative privacy. He also considered having himself sweat it all out, though that would soak his clothes, so instead, he tried moving the water higher up on his body, thinking he'd give himself a more manly chest. It didn't work out exactly as he'd planned though. He shyly turned away from his brothers, zipping up and fastening his jeans while he tried to think of a way to get rid of the excess water. As he stood there, thinking, he heard some nervous laughter behind him.
"I saw that, Dan," Pat said. "I think that spell would be popular with the girls."
Dan blushed and turned back around. "I need to get home to use the loo. I added water to myself and need to... um... flush it out."
Both boys finally noticed Simon, staring at Dan's chest. Dan wore a light jacket that emphasized his apparent breasts very nicely.
Pat lightly punched his twin's arm. "What's the matter?" he said. "Never seen boobs before?"
Simon remained silent and tried not to stare. After an awkward couple minutes, he tore his gaze away from Dan and gave the matter some thought. "Try your mouth," he said after a couple minutes.
"What?" Dan said.
"Yeah," Pat said. "He's right. Try moving the water up and spraying it out your mouth. You know... unless you like having boobs."
Dan blushed again. He remembered to start small to keep good control and soon had water dribbling down his chin. With a little more effort, he pursed his lips and had a little stream of water shooting out of his mouth. His chest deflated, returning nearly to normal after a minute or so, and he breathed a sigh of relief. A last little bit of water refused to budge, leaving him with a hint of breasts, but he figured he could work on draining it completely later on in the day.
Pat shook his head as he watched his brother.
"Keep it up," Dan told him. "Maybe I'll try practicing on your arse next."
Simon snickered and ran off before he could become a target.
Jenna visited again Friday night, leaving Dan with several new spells, including a few using elemental air magic. According to his report of the day, his control improved enough that she deemed him ready to expand to other elements.
She also left the twins with an assignment, giving them each a simple spell to create a puff of air, just strong enough to blow out a candle. They'd eventually go on to learn several different kinds of spells. Learning a few spells would help the twins better understand the magic that they channeled and help them work more effectively together with a fetch. During their next session in the pool, they'd continue to master water-based magic and then spend the rest of the day practicing what they learned about elemental air magic.
The girls all gave the boys more lessons on control in the pool both Saturday and Sunday, with Jenna meeting up with them again on Monday night. General admission to the pool ended before the school day ended on Monday.
'How was the mood at school today?' she asked Dan.
'Grim and depressing,' he told her. 'I could tell everyone got nervous as they walked through the entrance. A lot of the grass and shrubs were burned, and we could also see where the ground opened up and swallowed us. That didn't help. But thanks by the way. I know you did it to save us.'
'You're welcome.' She smiled and had to wonder if things would've been different if the other students didn't need protecting. A teleport spell would've required too much time to gather the magic needed to cast it and the raw materials for a proper shield weren't around. She did the right thing in any case and she felt good about that.
'They announced your funeral today,' he said after a short pause, wiping the smile from the girl's face. 'That's when things got depressing.'
Jenna didn't say anything. The news left her lost in her own private thoughts.
'It'll be four in the afternoon this Friday at Askern Cemetery,' Dan continued. 'We're not exactly invited but we're going.'
That got the girl's attention. 'No! You mustn't!'
'What? Why not?'
'Someone or something might show up to confirm our deaths. It'll be too dangerous.'
'I guess you'll have to teach me some more spells then because we're going.'
'Dan!'
'How would it look if no one from school showed up? I know you didn't have a lot of friends other than each other. Your families will be there but how many schoolmates do you think will come?'
'Not many,' she said. 'A couple. Maybe.'
'Right. That's it then. We're going.'
Jenna quickly gave up trying to stop the boys from going to their funeral. Instead, she coached them on what to watch for and how to act. If anything other than a normal human appeared, it would most likely be invisible to humans without magic, or mundanes as many witches like to call them. The boys however might very well have advanced enough to see through a low-class invisibility shield or illusion.
'Whatever you do,' Jenna said, 'don't let them or it know that you see them. Promise me. Promise me!'
'Okay!' the boys said in unison, startled by the girl's intensity. 'We promise!'
That satisfied her for the moment, but Dan had to ask an obvious question. 'What about your family? They'll be at the funeral. Won't they need to be warned too?'
Jenna shook her head. 'They don't practice magic. Most of them don't even know it exists… for their own protection. Magic ability isn't hereditary. It just seems to pop up randomly.'
'What about your teacher then?'
Jenna shook her head again, though much more slowly. 'She's dead.'
Dan barely heard her answer, and seeing the sad look on her face, decided not to ask any more questions.
The three boys weathered an awkward silence before blurting out together, "How about another lesson?"
'That's really strange,' Jenna told them.
'What?' they all said.
'That. How all three of you talk at the same time like that. You seem to be doing it a lot.'
'I have noticed doing it more but it seems natural now,' Dan said. 'Twins do it all the time and I just started myself. I didn't used to do it. I thought it had something to do with the magic.'
'Perhaps,' Jenna said. 'You're much more synchronized than my trio though.'
'Synchronized speech,' Simon said. 'Cool.'
Tuesday and Wednesday brought more lessons in the pool. Everything went well until Jenna caught Kate staring at Dan late in the lesson on Wednesday.
'Kate! Stop staring!' Jenna said after the boys surfaced to catch their breath.
'I'm not staring,' the dark-haired girl said.
'Shameless girl,' Jenna said with a teasing lilt. 'You are.'
'I'm not staring, I'm... inspecting. Dan's looking a little... softer and more feminine. I'm worried. He's changing too quickly.'
'Ah. I see what you mean. That'll make it awkward for him in the pool. He can't very well wear a girl's swimming costume if he starts developing breasts.'
'It's not fair,' Emma said suddenly, startling the other two girls.
'What's not fair?' Kate asked, prompting the angry girl to erupt.
'This! This isn't fair! Why did we have to die?! It should be us out there fighting! Us!'
The angry girl looked like she was crying. She tried to cry, but being dead made actual tears impossible, frustrating her all the more. 'I can't even cry! I hate this!'
The boys came back underwater and caught the tail end of Emma's outburst. Pat went over to her to try to comfort her as best he could, giving her a sympathetic look and setting her off again.
Emma looked away from her pupil. She faced away from the entire group. 'It's bad enough we're dead and can't move on. But we have to teach these smelly boys too. It's not fair!'
'Oy,' Pat said. 'I'm… sorry. I'd rather have you alive... but what else can we do?'
'You don't understand!' Emma wailed. 'You're taking our place!'
'Emma,' Jenna said, her tone of voice had an edge to it to serve as a warning.
'Fine. Don't tell them. They couldn't handle it anyway. Emotionally challenged, the lot of them.'
'Tell us what?' Dan asked, totally confused. 'What's going on?'
Pat ignored his brother and focused on Emma. 'I can't relate to being dead but I do have emotions,' he told her. 'I might not express them well but I have them. Please consider that before you shout at us again.'
The distressed girl turned and actually gave her pupil a sympathetic look, knowing that his life would likely get a lot more complicated as he slowly became more feminine. Then she shot back to her remains in the morgue.
The group gave a collective sigh and the boys surfaced for another breath of air, leaving the two remaining girls to continue their previous discussion. They still needed to figure out where to finish the magic lessons. The pool made the perfect place to teach water magic but there were other types of magic that wouldn't work well underwater.
Kate looked thoughtful. 'It certainly rains often enough to practice elemental water spells without a pool. We can finish water magic lessons soon anyway, but then where will we teach?'
'I don't know, Kate. I don't know. The Goddess will direct us though.'
That satisfied the two girls enough to focus back on the boys, though Kate wasn't necessary for the next lesson. She politely excused herself, saying that she wanted to check on Emma. Jenna approved, leaving just her and the boys.
'I think it's finally time for that water breathing spell,' Jenna told them.
'Thank the Goddess!' Simon said, surprising everyone. The boy blushed at the attention.
'When did you start thanking goddesses?' Pat asked him.
'Not goddesses,' Simon corrected. 'Goddess. The Goddess. She's like the magic school administrator or something. Right?'
Jenna smiled. 'We can talk more about Her later. For now, we have a water breathing spell to cast. Dan? Here it is.'
The girl sent a thought form to Dan who spent several seconds processing it. He soon nodded his head, dipped into Pat's magical vortex and cast the spell on Simon.
The youngest member of the new trio looked shocked as he took his first breath underwater. He choked a little as his magically modified lungs filled with water but he could breathe.
'Cool!' he said.
Dan cast it on Pat next and then himself. All three boys stayed underwater for several minutes, enjoying the new experience, before Dan thought to question it. 'What about the swimming attendant?' he asked Jenna.
'Don't worry about him,' she said. 'There are a lot of swimmers today. He won't notice. But if it'll make you feel any better, you can surface for a short time every so often and catch his eye. Just make sure you don't try to breathe air when you do. If you try to breathe air, you'll spit up all the water and end the spell.'
'How long does the spell last?' Simon asked, with Pat and Dan nodding.
'Until you try to breathe air again, though I wouldn't recommend staying underwater too much longer today. The chlorine in the pool isn't very good for your lungs.'
The boys cocked their heads all at the same time, bringing a smile to Jenna's face. They had synchronized body language as well as synchronized speech.
'Congratulations,' she told the boys. 'You're all honorary fish today.'
They all had a good laugh at that. Jenna gave them homework assignments for the next couple days and the lesson ended. The boys reluctantly surfaced and resumed their air-breathing.
"That was so cool," Simon said after he spit up all of the water from his lungs.
"Not bad," Pat agreed. "But I didn't like the taste of the water."
"Chlorine," they all said in unison, then looked at each other and shrugged.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 5: Ominous Encounters
Friday arrived, cold, wet and very gray, reflective of the mood of those gathered for a funeral. Umbrellas kept long coats and black dresses dry for all except three teenage boys who stood well back from the circle of people that surrounded the graves. The boys preferred getting soaked to letting anyone see them cry, something they seemed to do with increasing ease. Raindrops provided the perfect camouflage for their tears.
As an Anglican priest said a few words to send the girls on to heaven, a sudden gust of wind swirled around the gathering. The air shimmered just behind the priest and something vaguely humanoid appeared. The humanoid stood two heads taller than the tallest man at the cemetery, with gray-blue skin and straight long black hair that stuck out stiffly in all directions. It wore a long black trench coat and dark sunglasses to block out the daylight. In spite of the gloom, the light still bothered it.
No one screamed. No one pointed at it or ran away. As Jenna predicted, none of the mundanes could see it, but that didn't include the three boys who apparently had advanced beyond novice practitioners of magic. The boys saw through the illusion of the rain filling in where the creature stood. They saw the creature itself. They saw the pointed ears, skin color and very long, bent nose that would've identified it as a troll to anyone knowledgeable about dark creatures.
Simon carefully nudged Pat with his elbow, and Pat nudged Dan who then sent the same signal back through Pat to Simon, just as they'd planned. The boys kept their eyes fixed on the three coffins and controlled their thoughts. They focused on their grief and the tragedy that led to the funeral, anything to keep from acknowledging the presence of the troll.
The tall humanoid slowly wandered around the main group of people in a counterclockwise direction, occasionally stopping to tilt its face up and sniff the air. It sounded like a large man blowing his nose in a handkerchief. The mundanes had to be able to hear the sniffing but it blended in fairly well with the sounds of grief so it didn't alarm anyone.
After circling twice, the humanoid stopped sniffing and shambled diagonally towards the boys from their left. Simon flinched once and just barely held his ground when the troll blocked his view of the coffins. Pat sensed the problem and quickly draped his arm on Simon's shoulders to steady his brother.
The dark creature didn't respect the dead. It trod over graves that laid between it and the boys, its large bare feet making squishy sounds and leaving vague footprints in the wet grass. No one noticed the trail left by the troll, not even the boys. They continued to look in the direction of the coffins, staring through the troll when it blocked their view so they wouldn't give themselves away.
The tall, hideous creature stopped when it got to within an arm's reach of Dan. It stood just off to the right of Dan's view of the coffins and looked about to sniff again, but it held back, realizing that it would give itself away. It was given strict orders not to do that unless it found a new trio. 'I remember, I do,' it thought, sending out waves of fear that the boys actually felt.
Dan's knees trembled and he quickly pulled a tissue out of his coat pocket and rubbed his nose with it to distract himself.
The rain intensified at that moment, causing the troll to glare up at the clouds. It didn't like rain. The rain interfered with its keen sense of smell, and out of desperation, it carefully took a quick, short sniff in the air, trying very hard not to make a lot of noise and succeeding. The sniffing wasn't heard over the sound of the pouring rain.
'I smell magic,' it thought. 'The nose knows. The nose knows.' The tall humanoid looked around and then gave the boys a good long look.
Dan could see the huge thing, bent over and staring right at him and his brothers. He had to close his eyes and pretend to rub them like he was crying. He didn't care if he showed weakness. He couldn't look into the large, black eyes of the troll. He rubbed his eyes for several seconds but when he dropped his arm back to his side, the troll still stood there, staring at him. He waged a tremendous battle with his eyes not to change his line of sight ever so slightly and lock eyes with the hideous thing. It took all of his willpower and still he wavered. Just one little glance and his life would be over.
'Help me, Jenna. Goddess. Someone,' he thought. 'Please help me.'
Just then, he heard a young woman start singing as part of the ceremony. Her clear, soprano voice cut through the steady hiss and spatter of the rain, and he clung to every line, every word. The song gave him the strength to resist the troll's gaze.
In times of trouble, look ahead.
Look past the gloom and doom and see?
The sun shines clear and bright.
And even in the darkest hour,
The Earth keeps spinning endlessly.
We can escape the night.
Time flows ever onward,
Starting off a brand new day.
Leaving graveyards in its wake,
Forever now. Time flows.
He looked ahead, imagining a time in the not so distant future when the sun would shine again. Life would go on. The boy sighed with relief as the singing continued.
The troll snorted with disgust and turned to shamble back towards the coffins. When it circled back around close to the priest, it bent down and gently sniffed the ground around the priest's feet.
'I smell death,' it thought, smelling the girls in their coffins as they were lowered into the graves. 'Death and magic. Fire and a trace of earth magic. Must be them. Must be. It is done.'
The troll stood up and disappeared in a shimmer of light a fraction of a second before the priest tossed a small handful of dirt down onto Jenna's coffin.
The timing startled Simon. He let out a gasp as if he'd been holding his breath and shuddered. Pat's arm still draped across his shoulders, giving him a little comfort.
When the priest tossed the last handful of dirt down onto Kate's coffin, the rain let up and the sun suddenly peeked through the clouds, causing a rainbow to flare up behind the boys. Most everyone took it to be a good sign, thinking that the girls were in good hands.
The boys had got lucky and Jenna made sure they understood just how lucky they were. The rain had diluted their relatively weak scent of magic, confusing the troll's very sensitive sense of smell. If it had been a warm, sunny day, the troll would have smelled magic on them and attacked in spite of the presence of normal humans. The Dark Forces had grown bolder every day.
Over the next two months, unusually heavy rains took their toll on the countryside with widespread flooding. Swollen lakes connected wide streams. Rivers overflowed their banks to invade farmlands. The Goddess worked to balance out the effects of the Dark Forces in her own mysterious ways.
By the end of July, school would let out for the summer holiday. The incessant rains would upset most of the kids, but not the Green brothers. They'd take full advantage of the wet weather. The rain would help hide the boys and also provide a potential source of ammunition for magic battles, allowing the boys to continue their training in relative safety. It would also help the girls to communicate with the boys away from the pool. When it rained hard enough, the girls could speak directly to the minds of the boys.
The boys hated to leave the safety and comfort of the pool. They learned so much there and loved the water. But they had to move on to other magic besides elemental water. They had a lot more to learn. Dan actually felt some relief too. His budding breasts continued to develop and quickly became impossible to hide in the pool. He had to start binding them soon after leaving the pool to keep them hidden under his clothes.
The girls finished the water magic lessons by the end of June with air magic lessons lasting another few weeks after that, finishing just as summer holiday started. Air magic had been relatively simple to learn compared to water magic. Everything got easier as they went along since a lot of what they learned could be related to many different kinds of magic.
They started the lessons in the pool with the water-breathing spell — a combination of air and water magic — and timed the rest of the lessons outside during some of the heavier rainy periods. The boys got drenched as they mentally spoke with the girls in the rain but they didn't mind.
'It's time to start learning about earth magic,' Jenna told them, ' and these are perfect conditions for the next spell. The rain water mixes with the heavy clay soil here to make it easy to form pottery.'
'Pottery?!' all three boys said in unison and groaned.
'It's a useful spell! And anyway, you never know when it might come in handy in battles. Virtually all spells can be tweaked to use for either attacks or defense. It's part of what we know and we're teaching you everything.' Jenna left no wriggle room for the boys and they dutifully learned what she had to teach. They retreated to the shelter of some trees so they wouldn't get too much water in the spell.
In addition to being attuned to water and air magic, the boys also found it easy to detect and manipulate earth magic, and even a little fire magic. They decided not to tell the girls right away. They wanted to surprise their teachers when they thought the time was right.
Dan pulled purified clay from the soil and formed a small urn as inspiration struck. He could dry his urn with water magic by drawing out the water according to Jenna's instructions but he knew about kilns and firing the clay to set it so he decided to fire his urn with magic. After spinning the clay in mid air under the branches of a large sycamore tree, he used air magic to send a whisper to his brothers, asking for some fire magic. They answered with a nod and sent back a small but significant source of the requested magic.
All of the spells so far had consisted of at most two types of elemental magic. Dan's attempt involved three forms, with fire in addition to earth and water. It was more complicated than he was used to but he figured it was still simple enough for what he wanted to do. After finishing the shape of the urn, Dan had his brothers stand back in case the fire ball got too large and he cast a shield spell on himself. Then he hit the urn with a small, concentrated blast of magic fire and the results were spectacular. The water in the clay superheated and the urn exploded in a ball of pottery shards and steam. The shield blocked all of the damage from the exploding urn. It didn't provide any protection from Jenna's verbal explosion though.
After Jenna stopped screaming, she managed to calm herself enough to explain why she was so upset. Dan had just created a beacon that would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Dark Forces. There wasn't enough power released to attract any creatures that lurked nearby in other dimensions but those responsible for the trouble down in London would be near enough to detect Dan's use of fire magic. They'd all be on high alert.
A small, gray salamander popped out of thin air and plopped a short distance onto the damp grass not far from the girls' graves. It wriggled and squirmed over the short grass and stopped to take a deep sniff of air once it got to the Jenna's grave. Looking around, it decided the area was safe enough and settled down for a nap. It didn't go unnoticed.
Jenna felt a strange tickling sensation as she worked with Dan. It took her a few minutes to realize it was somehow connected to her remains. Someone or something lurked near her grave. She was sure of it.
'I need to check something out at the cemetery,' Jenna told everyone.
'Why?' Kate asked. 'What's wrong?'
'Just stay here. I'm not sure what's happening but it can't be good.'
Jenna rushed to the cemetery and slowed down to carefully approach her grave. She almost missed the tiny intruder as she hovered over her name plate. After giving it a good, long look, she went back to the others.
'We've got a salamander problem,' the girl said to the others.
'You mean a newt?' Simon asked.
'Well… newts are salamanders but this salamander is definitely not a newt. It's a creature of fire.'
'Fire?!' Simon said, looking a little concerned.
Pat voiced his thoughts as he looked up. 'I remember reading about salamanders in my gaming books. They're fire elementals.'
'That's right,' Jenna said. 'I warned you about the use of fire magic. Now we have a little work to do.'
Jenna taught her pupil a couple of spells that could prove useful, including a stun spell, and with all of their preparations done, the six of them headed off to the cemetery.
The three boys crouched low in the wood just to the west of the cemetery. A steady rain continued to fall, helping to discourage people from visiting their deceased loved ones. The young magic users had the whole cemetery to themselves.
'What's the plan?' Dan asked Jenna.
'You get as close as you can to my grave and hit it with the stun spell.'
'Then what?'
'I don't know. I'm not sure. Crush it with a rock? It's small enough.'
'Do I have to kill it?' Dan wrinkled his nose. He didn't like the idea of having to kill a young creature, even if it was evil.
'if there's no other choice you do. I don't think we can hold it prisoner now that I think about it. It'll slip through to another dimension and go back to warn its dark master.'
'I'm not going to kill it.' Dan folded his arms and set his jaw.
Jenna rolled her eyes. 'You had no trouble with the serpent in Lake Askern.'
'That was different. It was much bigger and knew what it was doing. That salamander looks like a baby.'
His last comment made the girl think. It actually didn't make sense for a young salamander to act as a spy. It had to be enhanced somehow. Perhaps a mind probe could figure out the truth of things.
'Salamanders don't have babies like you're probably thinking, Dan. It's newly developed and they tend to be smaller when they're newly developed, but they don't give birth. You're right about one thing though. A newly developed salamander wouldn't be mature enough to handle a spy mission. Something is off about this one.'
'New plan then?' the boy asked.
'We still need to stun it. After that, I'll see if I can probe its mind. I'll try to figure out what's been done to it so you can reverse it if possible. Satisfied?'
'Yeah. Let's get going.'
Pat and Simon hung back in the wood with the girls while Dan crept towards Jenna's grave. He got within two strides of the grave when the salamander opened its eyes and hissed a small cloud of steam.
"Flippin' heck!" Dan shouted out loud.
The salamander turned and ran, trying to buy itself some time. It needed time to build up enough magic to escape into another dimension. It detected strong magic coming from the boy and had to report it.
Dan recovered quickly enough and formed the stun spell in his mind as he gave chase. He stayed close enough to easily stun the little salamander. Jenna arrived just as he reached down to pick up the little creature by its tail.
'Careful,' she warned. 'It might be a little hot.'
The salamander could easily fit in the palm of Dan's hand but he didn't dare hold it. Instead, he used a water skin spell on his hand and pinched the tail between his thumb and index finger. The water covering his fingers sizzled and steamed.
The boy and girl returned to the wood and Dan gently placed the salamander on a rock. Then Jenna probed the salamander's mind, getting angrier the longer she probed. After a couple minutes, she stopped and fumed. 'Those bastards! They brain blasted the poor thing. They completely overwrote its mind with their own selfish thoughts and orders. Oh!'
The boys wisely let her get her anger out of her system before Dan asked what, if anything, could be done.
'I'm not sure if any of its original mind can be saved,' she said. 'I can have you erase what's been done to it but I'm not sure if anything will be left. It's awful. That's one of the worst things you can do to another sentient being.'
The girl wished she could cry, but as with Emma, as with all spirits, tears can't form without a body. It was so unsatisfying, and so unfair. The two other girls embraced her to give what comfort they could and Jenna got on with the plan.
'I'm sorry,' Dan said. 'Maybe it would be better to kill it then.'
'No, you're right. It's an innocent in all this. I say we at least try to remove the brain blast spell effects and see what's left. It's young enough that it couldn't have had much of a personality.'
'Right then. Just show me what to do.'
Jenna sent him a thought form and after analyzing it for a short time, Dan cast the spell on the small salamander and hoped for the best.
The girls eventually decided they liked the salamander. They thought it was very cute, though they warned the boys about thinking of it as a pet. Salamanders were intelligent creatures and wouldn't allow themselves to be held captive. Beyond that, the girls didn't know much about them. They floated back to their graves and left it up to the boys to discover what they could.
After the short walk back from the cemetery, Dan carried the salamander up to his bedroom, using a large, flat rock so he wouldn't burn his hands. The twins followed and sat on his bed, watching and waiting while their older brother tried to awaken their little guest. He traced a tiny magic flame along its side as Jenna suggested and it didn't take long to wake.
With Dan's face down close, the little salamander opened its eyes. The first thing it saw was Dan and an instant bond formed. The young creature imprinted on the boy, kind of like a baby animal to its mother, but stronger. Salamanders didn't have parents. They only had one older salamander to create it out of elemental fire.
The little creature made cooing noises and lunged forward to rub against Dan's face. It left a bad burn that Dan later used magic to fully heal, after Jenna taught him a simple healing spell. She'd planned on teaching healing and other biological spells soon anyway.
"Flippin' heck!" the boy said as his cheek sizzled. He quickly backed away only to be followed and have his pants burned by some enthusiastic nuzzling. "This thing's trying to kill me!"
"No," Simon said. "It's like it thinks your its mum. I'm sure it's just showing affection."
"Salamanders don't give birth, Simon."
"Creator then. Whatever. It's easier to just say mum, Mum."
Dan scowled but didn't feel like arguing, not when he was busy keeping his clothes from burning through to his skin. He used some water magic to block the elemental heat and fire given off by the salamander.
Simon looked pensive for a short time before speaking. "I think it's pretty much a baby," he said. "It doesn't seem to want to do anything other than bond with its mum.
"Very clever, Simon," the older boy said. "But I just want it to stop burning me."
"You'll have to give it a name," Pat suddenly added. "I'm not going to keep referring to it as an it."
"That might be difficult without knowing its gender," Dan said.
"Do salamanders have gender?" the twins chorused as they turned to look at each other.
"No," the older boy said. "I doubt they do. That means it needs a name that can refer to both boys and girls… something to do with fire I think."
The three boys looked down at their tiny new house guest, hoping for inspiration and soon getting it. The salamander waddled over to one of a pair of open back slippers near the foot of Dan's bed and began nibbling along the front of it.
"Oy!" Dan said. "That's my slipper!"
Pat couldn't help himself. "It's going to be hard to not think of it as a pet if it keeps that up."
"I wonder if it's teething," Simon said, thinking aloud.
The oldest boy moved to save what was left of his slipper and Pat held him back as the salamander started coughing, sending little puffs of smoke under the bed. The poor little thing didn't look happy. It moved slightly to position its head over the heel of the offending slipper and spit up, leaving a little pile of ashes.
All three boys blurted out, "Ash!" Dan looked at Simon. Simon looked at Pat. Pat looked at Dan. And all three brothers smiled and said, "The perfect name," at exactly the same time.
The tiny creature proved to be quite a handful. Dan had to feed it elemental fire several times a day to keep it happy, and he continued to accumulate burns before and after each feeding. Ash nuzzled Dan to get his attention when it was hungry and nuzzled to show gratitude after being fed. Without his healing spell, the boy shuddered to think what he'd look like after caring for the salamander for any extended period of time.
Ash grew quite rapidly. All of the elemental fire that it consumed was instantly added to its size, which tripled after only a week. At the current rate of growth, it'd reach full size — about Dan's current weight — in well under a year. In spite of growing larger, it kept its cuteness, and it insisting on following the boys wherever they went.
After giving the matter some serious thought, Simon got out his old toy metal wagon and had Ash ride in it. WIth its short legs, the small salamander had trouble keeping up with the boys otherwise, and they couldn't leave it behind. They didn't dare try to lock it in Dan's bedroom for fear of the house burning down. They tried keeping it in the garden shed one afternoon and gave up on that idea when they came back to the charred remains of several wood-handled tools. The shed itself was safe, having aluminum walls, floor and ceiling, but Ash got a little upset and got the hiccups. It belched fire every time it hiccuped so it was just a matter of time before the vulnerable tools got torched.
Early on, when Ash was small enough, Dan could carry it in a ceramic bowl. The little thing seemed to like that, and it loved all the attention given to it by the girls. Being an elemental with access to other dimensions, it could see and hear spirits well enough. It outgrew the bowl though, and that led to using the wagon. Simon volunteered to do all the pulling of the wagon to leave Dan free to concentrate on spellcasting, if necessary, until they got to their destination and began practicing their magic.
Ash's arrival during the summer school holiday proved convenient. At least the boys didn't have to worry about what to do about Ash during school. They only had to worry about what to tell their parents as the fire elemental grew well beyond the normal size for a mundane salamander. Dan thought of some convincing lies but he didn't like the idea of lying to his parents. He hoped to put off any talk of magic and magical creatures as long as possible. Adults seemed to have a lot of trouble with the subject, even when presented with convincing evidence — or perhaps especially when presented with convincing evidence.
Ash wasn't the only thing that the boys kept hidden from their parents. After a few months, the boys were as much girls as they were boys. They had all the working reproductive parts of both. The twins were young enough that they didn't have noticeable breasts. Dan couldn't say the same though. He ended up binding his chest the last few weeks of school, and he kept them bound at home except when he bathed and slept. It started getting uncomfortable for him, physically as well as psychologically.
Dan sat on the edge of his bed one evening after his bath. He reached inside his bath robe and sighed as he cupped his bare breasts in his hands. They'd gotten to be a little more than a handful so far and he could tell they weren't finished growing.
He bent forward and had a quick look under the bed to check on Ash, knowing well enough to hold his breasts to keep them from flopping around. The salamander sat in a large, flat metal pan, snoring quietly. The boy — or boy-girl as he started thinking of himself — briefly wondered what salamanders dreamed about, or if they dreamed. He didn't think elemental creatures would even sleep, and guessed that Ash was only sleeping because it was young and growing.
More questions for Jenna.
He got up to turn out the light but it wasn't quite time to sleep yet. He had a sudden visitor.
Simon burst into his bedroom looking quite upset. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he quickly pointed to his crotch, mouthing the word "blood."
Dan got up and quietly closed his door. He draped an arm across his brother-sister's shoulders and began having a talk that would normally take place between a mother and daughter when the daughter came of age. It was going to be a long night.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 6: The Fairer Sex
Simon took his first period fairly well after some gentle words and a little research on the Internet. They raided the house medical supplies to find their Mum's tablets that dealt with cramping and soon had Simon feeling much better.
"It looks like you're the first," Dan said, after they returned to his bedroom and sat next to each other on the bed. "I haven't had a visit from Pat so far and I haven't started myself."
"Yet," Simon added.
"Yet," Dan agreed. "I was surprised there was room for... both… down there…." He blushed.
"I know what you mean, Dan. And it's okay to say vagina."
"Oy. It takes a little getting used to."
Simon nodded.
Dan nodded as well. "It's strange that you're first, being the youngest."
The twin's eyes wandered inside his older brother's partially open bath robe and he gasped. "What about those?" He pointed to Dan's breasts, not realizing until that moment just how large they were. "How could those have gotten so big without… you know."
The older boy shrugged and said, "Magic." He tried to laugh but the joke fell flat.
Simon gave him a sad smile as Dan continued. "I was angry at Jenna at first, thinking she tricked us somehow. But I know now it was all part of the deal. It was all in the contract."
"Implied, you mean. We need to master water magic so we can defend well against fire, and there's only one way for that to happen."
"Right."
They had to become girls.
Male wizards fought each other constantly throughout history, according to a very brief lecture by Jenna. And when the men fought, they'd mostly use what they were best at; fire for offense and air for defense to blow away the fire. Air magic wasn't the best defense for fire though. Blowing on flames generally makes them hotter unless you could blow hard enough. It took a lot of strength and a lot of luck to fight fire with air. Water, on the other hand, cancelled out fire much more effectively, the result often being steam that could still be redirected or blocked very well with water magic.
Dan sighed, realizing that it didn't really matter any more. He and his brothers, soon to be sisters, decided to accept whatever fate they had coming when they accepted the contract. They'd do whatever it took to stop the Dark Forces. They had to because the world as they knew it depended on them.
Like his older brother, Simon had been a little lost in thought. He had to fight to regain his focus, and when he did, he put a finger to his lips for a moment, searching for the right words. "Would you change your mind about agreeing to the contract if you knew this would happen?" the twin finally asked.
"No. No way. Not if I knew about everything else that happened as well. The serpent at the lake that tried to eat us. The troll at the funeral. Our poor little brain blasted salamander. These Dark Forces, whatever they are, need to be stopped."
"The explosion at the school was enough reason for me," Simon said.
Dan gave the twin a grim smile in agreement before sending him off to bed. It was time for another shared lucid dreaming session and a long, serious discussion with Jenna.
'Hi Jenna,' Dan said immediately after entering the lucid dream state. 'We need to talk. No more stalling. I think we've learned enough magic by now for a little break.'
Jenna smiled, wondering when he'd finally assert himself. She'd been ready and waiting for that moment for several weeks. 'What would you like to know?' she asked, catching him by surprise.
'Uh… what?'
'Could you be more specific, please?' Jenna couldn't resist teasing him. If only things had been different. If only she hadn't died and he wasn't becoming a girl. They would've been good together.
'Why aren't you trying to put me off?'
'Because you have learned enough to adequately defend yourself now, and you're right. You deserve some answers. I don't really have a lot of answers but I'm happy to tell you what little more I haven't already told you. I was planning on telling you soon.'
Dan paused, trying to prioritize all of his questions. It would've been easier if Jenna wasn't smirking at him the whole time. 'I want to know more about these Dark Forces that you keep talking about. Who leads them? What's their end game? What's their problem?!'
The girl held up her hands. 'Whoa! Steady! One thing at a time, please. I'll start with a general overview of the Dark Forces and tell you everything I know.'
As she told him, she didn't know much. The Dark Forces were most likely led by a human trio. She couldn't be sure but that's what her intuition and common sense told her. Her few experiences with them, including her last indirect experience in the cab of the exploding tanker, could only be accomplished by evil, technology-loving, magic wielding humans. The combination of technology and magic made them especially powerful and especially dangerous.
The human leaders were definitely evil, and like many evil humans, they craved power. They couldn't begin to be happy unless they dominated as many as they could, though it was never enough. Even ruling the world wouldn't be enough. They could never be satisfied, and they couldn't recognize that the problem began with themselves. They weren't happy with themselves so they could never truly be happy.
After Jenna finished, she could tell Dan wasn't satisfied. 'I told you I didn't know much,' she said. 'It's been really frustrating for us too.'
'Right. What about what they want? Why all the explosions around the country?'
'World, Dan. They're all over the world.'
'What?! Are they trying to take over the world then? Is this just a mad James Bond plot with magic as well as gadgets?'
'Pretty much,' Jenna agreed. 'They're drunk with power and they won't stop until the whole world either bends to their will or burns.'
'Oy,' all three boys said together. Pat and Simon had been listening but they couldn't help blurting out the same word as their older brother.
'I don't understand something,' Dan added. 'Aren't there more good trios to stop them?'
'There aren't very many good trios that are powerful enough to be effective. What few exist are spread thin all around the world, and they're all busy fighting locally. There aren't that many evil trios either but the strongest one just happens to be here in England, and they've got an army of creatures to back them up.'
As long as Jenna was so cooperative, Dan had to ask another subject that niggled at the back of his mind. 'Right then. Enough about the Dark Forces. What about the Goddess? Just who is She? Does she even have a name?'
Jenna sighed. 'I'm not sure how to begin to explain Her. She doesn't have a name as far as I know. She just is. She's everywhere… in everything. I don't really understand her all that well myself. Who could understand a Goddess except another Goddess?'
Dan sulked, and even though he didn't say why, Jenna understood, and she sympathized.
'I can tell you this,' she added. 'Our intuition… that wise little voice that sometimes speaks truth to us…. That can only be the Goddess at work. She somehow connects us all and we can tap into her wisdom. Something like that. Oh! I'm also sure She has something to do with our telepathic bonds too.'
The boys paused to digest what Jenna had told them, with Pat finishing his mental meal first. He had to ask, 'How are Emma and Kate? Are they making any progress with lucid dreaming?'
Jenna smiled when she heard Pat say Emma's name first. It was usually said the other way round. It had a better ring to it that way. 'They're fine except for being a little frustrated. They can't seem to make any progress. It's just as well though because we have a good idea that we want to try next. We'll have to because it looks like the Goddess is just about rained out. Unless our idea works, we won't be able to communicate except in dreams as the weather dries out.'
That got the boys' attention. They listened intently as Jenna talked about a new spell that involved all of the four elements and more. It would be the most complex spell Dan had seen so far, and it would involve a new kind of magic that dealt directly with living things. The spells used life force, also known as chi, to operate. The simple healing spell that she gave Dan used chi, so he had an idea of how to cast the other spells. She gave a quick introduction of chi to Pat and Simon and then sent several thought forms to Dan, one at a time so he could analyze and memorize each of them. After practicing simple chi spells like healing, she'd mix chi in with the four elements to achieve their goal.
The next day started with low cloud and drizzle. That would allow Jenna and the girls to communicate with their pupils and teach a little more at least, but it didn't look like the damp gloom would last the day.
The three brothers found their way back to the wood by their house, with Ash sprawled out in the wagon as usual. They stopped near a thick stand of oak trees and started their lessons.
As with the healing spell, Dan centered his breathing and tapped into his own chi to change his hair color. It worked. His dark brown hair became a golden blonde, all the way down to the roots. That spell wasn't like a glamour. Glamours are illusions. This spell was permanent in a way, sort of like using hair dye. His hair would still grow out with its true color but Dan would have to cast the spell again to change his current hair back to its original color.
With Jenna's guidance, he tried a couple more spells and made it to the last spell of the day. He'd cast what his teacher called a cosmetic spell that would totally change the appearance of his face. He could look like anyone, and like the other spells, it would be permanent until he cast the spell again. Having blonde hair seemed harmless enough but the idea of changing his whole face made him a little nervous. Still, he needed the experience if they wanted to advance enough to communicate with the girls outside of dreams.
The sun began to peek through the clouds as Jenna gave her last instruction. Dan heard her say, 'Concentrate on the face….' Then nothing as a shaft of sunlight lit up the area. The fetch was left with an image of Jenna's face as he cast the spell, leading to predictable results.
Pat saw his older brother and gasped. "Oy! Your face!" he said with a slightly raised voice.
Simon just stared.
"What about it?" Dan said, barely finishing the last word. His eyes went wide as he heard a very feminine voice. His neck and vocal cords were also changed by the spell. He looked exactly like who he imagined as he cast the spell. He looked — and sounded — like Jenna except with short blonde hair instead of long. Even his eye color changed. He looked back at his brothers with dark green eyes and it didn't take him long to figure out what happened. "I take it I look like Jenna," he said.
Both twins slowly nodded, with Simon soon shaking his head vigorously to shake off his surprise.
"At least your face better matches your chest now," Simon said, trying hard not to snicker.
"Keep it up," Dan said. "I'll have you looking like Kate… and Pat looking like Emma."
"We'd stun the entire village," Pat said quietly. Then, more loudly, he added. "Hang on. What did Simon mean about your face matching your chest?"
The older boy blushed. "I've… developed a bit. That's all."
"Blossomed," Simon said. "Definitely blossomed."
"Oy, Simon. One more word from you and you'll have a matching set."
"We'll all have them soon enough, Dan," Pat said. "No use pushing things."
Dan cooled down and cast the spell again, returning his normal face, or at least as close as he could imagine. He couldn't keep from shrinking his nose and chin slightly, and his jawline was smoothed and rounded a little more. He couldn't seem to help himself.
"Mum's gonna notice you look a little different," Pat told him. "We're going to have to tell her soon." The older twin turned and stalked back towards their house, slowly shaking his head.
Dan felt very confident using chi to cast spells in spite of being challenged by his attempts to get his original face back. He only wished he had as much confidence when he thought about telling his mother about his changes, about all of their changes. He volunteered to do all the talking, alone; especially since he'd changed the most. She'd more likely believe him after seeing his chest and feminized face.
With a sigh and a last quick little fireball to feed Ash, he turned to slowly walk back home with Simon just behind, pulling Ash in the wagon. It was a long walk home.
The eldest child looked round the lower floor of the house. The twins were nowhere to be found. Simon had veered off with Ash without him noticing before getting back and Pat was long gone. Only their Mum was home, sat in her recliner watching the telly in the sitting room.
Dan stood at the entrance to the room. "Mum?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Give me five minutes to wash up, then come up to my room, please. I need to talk to you."
Sue raised an eyebrow and nodded, watching her oldest quickly turn and run to the bathroom.
Once inside, he pulled off his tee shirt and started unbinding his chest. It felt good. He couldn't wait to unburden himself to his mother, but he still had to be careful. He didn't think she could handle the full truth.
Sue knocked on his door and entered just after he slipped into a zippered hoodie and got a certain website displayed on his laptop. He'd been preparing for a little mother-daughter talk for the past several weeks.
"Are you okay?" she asked, giving his face a good look. "You look… different."
"I am different." He moved away from his bed and motioned his mother to sit on it. After she sat, he put his laptop on her lap and continued. "I've been doing some research. I know I looked like a boy when I was born, but sometimes things get mixed up. It appears that I'm not really a boy. I'm intersexed." He pointed at the website and directed her to read the little summary.
Sue felt numb as she looked back and forth between her son and the website. She read the summary and looked up. A tear threatened to escape her right eye. "I don't understand."
"I don't either. But sometimes it just happens. It's no one's fault. I have boy bits but they don't work so well, and I found out recently that I also have girl bits. They're easier to hide and they're working fine."
"This is mad. I must be going mad."
Dan unzipped his hoodie and bared his breasts. "Please, Mum. I need your help. I'm changing into a girl and I need clothes. I need a bra… among other things." He blushed.
Sue gasped and stood up, wrapping her child in a tight hug.
"Please, Mum," Dan whispered. "You're squishing them."
"Sorry. It's just so… sudden."
"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. It's been going on for a couple months now."
"Do the twins know?"
Dan hoped to put off talk of the twins for another day. He didn't want to put his mother into shock so he kept it short and simple.
"Yes. They know."
A tear rolled down her cheek, followed by another. "How? How could this happen?"
"It's more common than people think. I'll give you links to more websites if you like so you can read more about it."
"Sure," she said, looking lost.
This time, Dan initiated a hug. She looked like she needed one.
Sue pushed him back after a moment, looking stern. "I think we need a doctor's opinion. What if something's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I feel fine, just a bit girly." He gave her a nervous smile. He didn't want to get doctors involved.
"I'm going to have to insist, Dani."
"But…," he said, pausing as her last word sunk in. "Dani?"
"That's going to be your new name. It's short for Danielle. That's close enough to your current name I think. It's what I would've named you if you'd been born a girl. You'll need new identification, and a whole new wardrobe."
"Yeah. Okay. That sounds… okay." Dan carefully zipped up his hoodie and flopped down hard on his bed. "I really need a bra," he muttered.
Sue smiled and thought ahead to what it would be like to have a daughter. There'd be shopping trips, clothes and makeup, girl talk and more. She'd been the lone female in the house for too long.
"Dani? What do the twins think about all this?"
The oldest child was distracted for the moment. He spoke without thinking. "They're not developing breasts yet," he said, then slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Yet?! What's going on, Dani?"
"Sorry, Mum. I didn't mean to let that slip out. But you might as well know. The three of us are all going through the same thing."
Sue sat down close by on the bed. She wasn't exactly in shock, just thinking. Both mother and soon-to-be daughter kept quiet for several minutes before Sue broke the silence.
"If Pat and Simon develop as you have, they'll need a doctor's note to get them out of P.E. when they start school again. I don't want them getting harassed in the boys shower."
"It's a good thing I'm old enough that I don't have to take P.E. I think I'd have been beaten senseless by now."
Thinking about the boys shower made Dan feel a bit queasy and strange. He got a sudden twinge in his abdomen and frowned.
"What's wrong, honey?"
"I don't know. I think I have a bit of indigestion or something."
Dan intensified his frown when he felt a little dampness in his underwear. He got a bad feeling and slid his pants down a little to investigate. Blood spotted his briefs and his face turned pale.
"What is it?" Sue asked, looking very worried by that point.
"I think I'll need your help with something else. Forget the bra for now. I seem to be bleeding."
"What?! Did you cut yourself? Is it bad?"
"Not that kind of bleeding, Mum. The monthly kind. You know. Like you have?"
Sue looked a little shocked at first, but as she thought about it, she found that she really liked the idea of having a daughter. She was the lone female in a house full of males for a long time, and now the tides were turning.
She soon smiled and took charge. "Okay. Stand still a moment and I'll get something to tide you over until we can move to the bathroom for a little lesson in feminine hygiene."
"You needn't be so happy about it!" Dan called after his mum as she left the room, his voice cracking and sounding more like the girl he was becoming.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 7: Golem Girls
The lucid dream session had gone well that night. Jenna had mostly focused on teaching the one spell that they'd need to allow her to communicate with the boys. She'd soon become a golem.
That sounded worse than it was. Her spirit would be transferred to a small, animated clay vessel with a roughly humanoid shape. She'd be doll-size to save on energy and materials, and to minimize the chance of detection since the spell involved a small measure of elemental fire. The clay shell wouldn't make for a very flattering appearance but it was all they could think of doing, and it would work at least.
The golem was actually a form of magic item that could hold magic as well as a spirit. Jenna had explained that magic items were fairly common since witches couldn't easily cast powerful magic on their own. Some items were simple and could only be used once. The more sophisticated ones like a golem could be recharged and used indefinitely. The items became a type of magic battery that could substitute for a font and flow.
She'd also tantalized her pupil with talk about powerful magic items, like the Eye of Horus that her teacher showed her. The Eye could protect against all physical attacks and during a time of great need, it could shine as brightly as the sun and destroy all enemies near it. Jenna's teacher told her that it took a magic ritual that lasted three days to create it.
Her pupil was impressed.
Dani, as everyone now called Dan, needed some supervision when it came time to casting the spell, and that required a good rain shower so Jenna could communicate with them. Luckily, the weather forecast called for occasional heavy rains around mid day and the weather cooperated. The two trios made it to the usual stand of oak trees and waited less than an hour for a decent rain.
'The Goddess still shines on us,' Jenna said just after it started raining heavily.
'This heavy downpour can't last long,' Dani said. 'We'd better get started.'
And started they did. Simon lined up all the different types of magic they'd need and Pat stood ready to channel it all to his new sister. It took some getting used to thinking of Dani as a sister. She might still be just as much boy as girl but her appearance definitely leaned more towards the girl side, especially with her new clothes. Sue wanted to get her daughter some clothes that fit properly, and she insisted on Dani wearing a bra. No more chest binding for her daughter. It wasn't comfortable and it wasn't healthy.
Mother and daughter hit a couple clothing shops hard and fast earlier that morning, soon after the shops opened. Sue felt a little disappointment that her daughter didn't want to shop for more than a couple hours but she understood. It took years to reach the level of master shopper. She laughed to herself. The mother of three vowed to teach her new daughter and two soon-to-be daughters well. Simon transitioned where it counted but still looked to be more boy than girl so he stayed in the boy category for the time being.
Dani actually felt relieved to wear a bra. It was a lot more comfortable. She had to admit it to herself. It also allowed her much better concentration, something she needed to cast the golem spell.
Earth and water formed the clay material and shaped itself into the golem. Air and fire moved together to add that spark of life to animate the clay. The last ingredient, chi, could then bind Jenna's spirit to the whole package. When everything came together, Jenna positioned herself near the golem, ready to move and be sealed inside with a liberal amount of chi.
The dark gray figure lay on its back with a crude smiley face etched on a smooth, round head. All of the major joints were deeply grooved to allow for easy movement. The hands and feet were kept simple with a single crease across the palms and soles to allow for some bending.
The girl spirit looked down at it and wrinkled her nose.
Ew. That is one ugly golem.
She couldn't be choosy, though she did make a mental note to have Dani try to improve her appearance later. To go from a cute blonde spirit to clay dud didn't do much for a girl's confidence.
With the spell completed, Dani took some deep breaths to relax. The spell took a long, nerve-wracking thirty minutes to cast. She walked over to the golem and spoke to it as a test.
"Jenna? Can you hear me? Are you in there?"
Ten seconds passed. Then another ten before the golem's arms and legs twitched. Something was happening. The head turned its crude smiley face towards Dani and opened its mouth. Watery mud dribbled out and the golem seemed to cough and splutter. When its mouth finally emptied, it cleared its throat and spoke a single word. "Yuck!"
Dani sighed with relief and shouted back at her brothers. "She's alive! Alive!!"
"Ha ha," the golem's rough, high-pitched voice oozed sarcasm and Dani had to laugh.
Life as a golem didn't agree with Jenna. It took her a couple hours to get proper control of the vessel just so she could walk around. Even so, she couldn't move very quickly and it tired her out mentally. She had to rest frequently for long periods of time. Meditation helped, and she thought of a couple ideas that might help. She should be able to make the transition easier for Kate and Emma at the very least.
"Are you okay?" Dani asked her.
She looked up at him with the goofy smiley face that was etched on the golem but inside, she scowled.
Dani could sense her mood a mile away. "Sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I did think of one spell that might do the trick. It involves more elemental fire though, so we'll have to be careful. That's another reason why we can't cast the golem spell again today."
Dani nodded. Kate and Emma would have to wait another day for their chance to become golems. The chance of detection was too great to cast more than one golem spell since it also required elemental fire magic.
Jenna decided she'd warmed up her new body long enough so she started teaching the new spell that she had in mind, transferring a thought form to Dani, who created a simple type of fire magic battery and inserted it into the body of the golem so Jenna could tap into it. As a golem, the girl couldn't use magic directly but she could use enchanted items now that she took on a physical body. She briefly wondered if she might ever get a new human body. If she did, she thought she'd be able to cast spells again. She had to stop that line of thought however. It teased and tormented her, distracting her from more important things, like getting back to teaching Dani.
Just as she turned to walk back to Dani, Ash suddenly loomed in front of her. The little salamander wasn't so little any more. It grew to the size of a Labrador retriever and took a great interest whenever Dani used a significant amount of elemental fire magic in her spells.
Jenna took a step back and Ash lunged forward, sniffing and then licking the little golem. The salamander then backed off and jerked its head from side to side.
"I think it wants to play," Pat said, smiling at the scene.
"Well, call it off, Dani," Jenna snapped. "I'm a little busy here."
"Are we really too busy to give Ash some attention. I can't help feel like we've been neglecting the poor thing. All I've done is feed it and give it a few strokes on its back… when I forget about how hot it is." Dani winced as she thought about the burns that she continued to receive from the salamander.
"Yeah!" Simon said. "We need a little fun once in awhile."
"Or we'll likely go mad," Pat added.
Jenna turned to the two former partners of her trio and they shrugged. They couldn't exactly play, and they couldn't communicate with the twins any more. The rain had lightened up by that time so they could only communicate through Jenna. The girl golem still maintained her telepathic link to the two spirit girls.
"Okay," Jenna said. "You've got ten minutes for play time." She didn't know exactly what they'd want to do but there was one thing she failed to realize. She'd have to be included. Ash wanted to play and it wanted to play with her. As she turned to walk over to an oak tree for a little rest, she found herself pushed on her face by a forceful nudge from behind.
"I think Ash wants you to move faster," Dani said. "Try running. Think of it as a test of the battery."
"I bloody well won't!" she snapped as she slowly got back to up on her feet. She turned to look back at Ash and sighed.
The salamander violently wagged its tail and had a mischievous glint to its eye that Jenna most definitely didn't like. It unnerved her to the point of wanting to run, just to be rid of it. So she ran. Or tried to.
At first, Jenna couldn't run very fast. Ash caught her from behind several times, knocking her to the ground, before she got serious. She didn't want to drain her energy reserves too quickly but if it meant escaping from a mad salamander, she didn't care. She sucked down a large amount of elemental fire and took off, leaving a little trail of fire behind her.
Ash looked confused at first. The fire distracted it. Then it looked ahead to see the golem and gave chase.
The hunter and prey looked to be evenly matched. Just when Jenna surged ahead, Ash would put on a burst of speed to make up lost ground. The girl golem tried running round a close group of trees but the salamander wouldn't give up.
"Dani! Do something! This is ridiculous!" Jenna shouted. "I thought you wanted to play! Why am I stuck entertaining this overgrown puppy!"
"I don't know what you mean," Dani said. "We're all having great fun watching you and Ash." Dani and the twins laughed.
The girl golem steamed, literally. She aimed herself right at Dani and jumped into her arms, followed immediately by Ash with predictable results. The three of them ended up in a heap, splashing round a mud hole caused by the recent, heavy rains. The sound of sizzling could be heard as Ash's body heat boiled out the water content.
Dani shrieked when she saw herself caked with mud. "My new outfit!" she cried.
"Hah," Jenna said with an obvious smirk to her tone of voice. "Spoken like a true girl."
Dani looked shocked. She still hadn't really thought of herself as a girl and wasn't too sure she liked it. "I only meant that clothes are expensive. What if I can't get them clean?"
"Again, I say, spoken like a true girl. But seriously, Dani. Next time, let's not have fun at my expense. I'm trying hard to adjust to a new body, just as you are."
The new girl blushed. "Sorry. I didn't think of that." She looked over at Ash, licking the steaming mud off itself. "I guess we just needed to let off a little steam." She smiled but the joke fell flat.
"What are you laughing at?" Jenna said when she noticed Kate and Emma. "You'll be soon next. Not today… but soon!" She forgot for the moment that they couldn't hear her voice. She could only communicate with them mentally. "Oops." She tried again once she realized her mistake.
'Sorry, Jenna,' Kate said. 'It was kind of funny to watch. I'm sure if we recorded it, you'd laugh at the video.'
'It'd go viral over night,' Emma assured them. 'If only from the sight of a salamander chasing a golem. You don't see that everyday.'
'Fine. I guess it would make quite a sight. But can we please get back to teaching magic now?'
They all agreed. Even Ash. The salamander didn't especially like being coated in mud. It tickled and itched. The salamander ended up burning large sections of bark off the base of some oak trees as it rubbed up against them. Dani finally noticed Ash's discomfort and sprayed the suffering creature with water to clean it.
Ash loved the water, which turned to steam and felt great on its skin, more than making up for the mud. Dani had to suffer then as Ash thanked her with some loving nuzzles, whilst the rest of the group looked on with only a few snickers.
"I'll heal myself later," Dani said, frowning. "Let's get on with the lessons."
With lessons finished, and after much practice, the group split up for the day. The two girl spirits headed towards the cemetery while the living went back towards the house. That only left the golem girl, who couldn't decide where she belonged. She let out a piercing wail that had Dani racing back to the trees where they left her. The twins continued on with Ash as Dani suggested.
"What's wrong, Jenna?"
"I don't know where to go. I no longer feel a pull towards my grave. My spirit is no longer bound by my remains. It's bound to this… this… hideous clay shell." She gestured towards herself and shuddered with revulsion.
"You can come home with us." Dan paused before adding with a smirk. "I think Ash would like that."
"No, thank you. I think I should stay with Kate and Emma. But I don't know how I'm going to do that. I can't phase out and go back underground. Not with this body."
"We could sneak into the cemetery after dark and I could dig a small underground chamber over your grave."
Jenna thought about it for about two seconds before she mentally shivered. "That sounds creepy. But I guess it's my only option, isn't it."
"No. As I said, you could come home with me. You'd be easier to sneak into the house than Ash."
"Ah. Yes. I wondered about Ash." For once that day, Jenna's mood matched the goofy smiley face on her clay body.
"I don't suppose you could teach me an invisibility spell. It would come in really handy for certain large salamanders."
"It's a very advanced spell, Dani. And though I think you might be able to handle it at this point, it takes too much magic to cast. I'm afraid it would attract the wrong kind of attention."
"Right. Hang on here for a bit longer then whilst I fetch a spade. That is, if you're sure you won't come home with me."
"Yes. Thanks for the offer but please do fetch the spade. And include a large, sturdy bag to hold the dirt."
"Oh. Right. Hadn't thought of that."
Jenna leaned back against an oak tree to wait for Dani to return. She tried humming a few songs but it sounded odd to her ear, more like walking with gravel crunching underfoot than humming. It almost felt like she had a mouth full of gravel.
Being a golem felt more strange than anything else. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, just strange. After getting used to moving herself, it still took time to adjust to the mental aspects of being the size of a doll and made out of clay. Still, it was better than being dead; perhaps even one more step towards coming back to life. A girl could dream anyway.
After what seemed like hours but was really just a few minutes, Dani returned with the spade and a Hessian cloth bag.
"Shall we go then?" Jenna asked.
"There's still over two hours before sunset. We can't exactly go digging up the cemetery while it's still light."
"Oh. You're right. I'll wait here with you until dark then."
Dani sat down next to Jenna and leaned back against the same tree. After a short, awkward silence, Dani decided to volunteer something that had been bothering her recently.
"Dad isn't so happy with his oldest son becoming a girl, and he doesn't know about Pat and Simon yet. I don't know what'll happen after Mum tells him about the twins. I keep thinking the worst and I hope Pat, Simon and I will be able to stay in our cottage. We've grown quite fond of it."
"Oh," Jenna didn't know quite what to say to that.
"Just thought you should know. In case we have to move."
"I see. I'm assuming you know your cottage sits over a strong source of water magic then."
"It does?"
Jenna shook her tiny head. "You didn't know? I'm sure that's part of the reason the Goddess chose you three to replace us. The water magic in your cottage is very strong. Your bodies are all saturated with it so it must have had a strong effect over the years. You couldn't really tap into it as boys but as girls, you're becoming quite gifted."
Dani gave a faint smile. "I suppose I should be flattered. It's still a little much to watch your body slowly change into a complete stranger."
"Come on. You don't look so different. And you're still the same inside, mostly."
"Mostly. So far. But I expect more changes before I'm done. I still like girls though. I still find you attractive. Er… your true form that is."
Jenna gave him a playful slap with her tiny clay hand.
A more pleasant silence passed before Jenna had to ask, "Don't you have to be home for tea?"
"I'm not hungry. I told Mum I'd have a snack later."
"If you're sure." Jenna actually felt a surge of happiness that she'd have some company for the moment. She didn't look forward to spending the night as a golem in a cemetery.
"I'm sure. A girl's got to watch her figure after all."
Dani's attempt at humor got an ever so slight chuckle out of Jenna and Dani finally felt that her new best friend would be okay.
The two girls had a nice chat, with Dani learning more about telepathy. Jenna and her two former trio mates worked magic long enough to form a strong, telepathic bond. It was something that happened as a natural side effect from casting spells together for so long. Magic formed the telepathic bond, though no magic was actually needed to communicate once the bond formed.
They both wondered if Dani and the twins were already beginning to form the same kind of bond. The new trio spoke in unison quite often, and they could easily finish each other's sentences. That's how it started, and at the rate they were learning, it wouldn't take long before they Dani and the twins could communicate without saying anything. That included body language, something they were also picking up quite well. As boys, they missed a lot of the more subtle physical cues but as girls, reading body language seemed to become second nature.
Dusk came and went, and still the two chatted before getting up to walk together through the trees. It was quite dark by the time the two of them ended up at the cemetery. Dani could see well enough to dig by the light of a nearby street lamp, neatly slicing out some sod to use as a trap door. Then she dug out a hole just wide and deep enough to hide Jenna's clay body. They couldn't dig too large a hole or someone might step in it. Not everyone was respectful of graves.
Dani said her farewell to her mentor and good friend and headed home for the night. She woke up the next day with a smile on her face as she thought about the strong friendship that had been developing between them, between all of the girls, and soon-to-be girls.
The oldest Green child got out of bed and checked herself out in her new full-length mirror. Her newest habit became a near obsession as she lifted her nightie and mentally catalogued her progress towards becoming a girl. Her waist had narrowed significantly over the past two weeks, enough to notice without measuring anyway. Her breasts were only slightly larger. At least they seemed to be nearly finished. Except she still had the potential for several more years of natural development. She groaned when she thought about having a larger bust size. She thought a B cup was more than enough. She didn't know what she'd do if they got any larger. Her male bits hadn't reduced in size. That disappointed her for some unknown reason. She turned sideways and noted that her derriere seemed to looked a little larger and rounder as the weeks wore on, though her new shape had pretty much already been confirmed by how well her new clothes fit. She sighed. "I'm going to be all girl… eventually. Get over it."
The new girl tried to give herself a smile in the mirror but it looked a little sick. She decided she needed one of her favorite foods to cheer herself up. It was time to treat herself to some eggy bread.
Dani threw on a dressing gown over her jim jams and glided downstairs to find herself beaten once again by the twins. She couldn't remember the last time she'd beaten them to the breakfast table but she privately vowed that she'd do so again soon. It was a sibling rivalry thing.
"Hello you two. What's for breakfast?"
"Eggy bread," Pat replied alone, but only because Simon's mouth was full.
Simon's eyes said, 'No fair!'
Pat ignored his twin and finished telling Dani there were some slices of eggy bread kept warm in the cooker. It appeared as though the three of them shared cravings as well as thoughts.
The older sister smiled and began to rethink her vow to be first to breakfast, not if it meant an easy, instant meal once in awhile. She helped herself to a few slices, spreading a little butter on them and dribbling them with golden syrup. They tasted better than ever, though the joy was short-lived.
A tap-tap-tapping at the kitchen window quickly got Simon up out of his chair to check out the noise. It was Jenna, standing outside on the dust bin so she could reach the window. She seemed rather anxious so Dani went out to check on her while the twins got dressed.
"Morning, Jenna."
"Morning, Dani."
Dani paused, waiting a good minute for Jenna to explain her early visit before prompting her for answers. "Um… don't you think it was a little risky coming over?"
"No. Not this early in the morning."
Dani looked in through the kitchen window to see that it had just gone half seven. That spooked her a little. It felt much later, though in retrospect, it shouldn't be all that surprising. She found herself going to bed much earlier lately. Learning and practicing her new craft seemed to take a lot out of her.
Even without a glance at the clock, the early hour should've been obvious. The house was too quiet for one thing, with the television set volume turned down low. Sue sat half asleep in her favorite recliner in the sitting room, slowly sipping some tea whilst trying to watch the Breakfast program. That morning was especially rough on the mum of the house after getting the odd request for eggy bread. She worked herself a little harder than usual in spite of getting help from Simon. She normally passed work day mornings much the same way after seeing her husband off to work.
"What's the occasion then?" Dani asked after Jenna had gone quiet again.
"Nothing. Just the usual. Saving the world and all that."
Dani rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, Dani. We should get an early start if we're going to be dealing with fire magic. I'm fairly certain that the leaders of the Dark Forces aren't early risers. We should be able to cast a second golem spell at the very least… if we hurry."
"Right then. I'll go hurry the twins and get ready myself. See you soon." She nipped inside and, after a quick word with Pat and Simon, trotted a few steps and changed to walking upstairs to her bedroom, anxious to slip into a bra.
The group arrived at the usual stand of oak trees and immediately got to work. All four types of elemental magic flashed to create the golem, with Dani taking more care to create a more realistic face at Jenna's urging. The sun just started to work its magic, evaporating dew from the tall grass in steamy fingers of mist as Dani finished.
Emma had a good look at the figure lying on the ground and shook her head. The golem's face looked very much like her own and she didn't like that. Her intuition told her she should be last. Though she wasn't sure why she should wait, she always listened to her intuition.
'Jenna?'
'Yes, Emma?"
'I need to go last. Please have Dani change the golem's face to look like Kate.'
'But we're all ready to go now.'
'I know. Sorry.'
'Sorry? You don't sound sorry. But really, Emma. You've been brooding too long. I think you need a body, even if it's only a golem.'
'Not gonna happen. Kate needs it more than I do. Think about how depressed she'll get if she's alone as a spirit.'
'True, but….'
Emma's eyes flashed with anger but she restrained herself. 'My intuition is telling me to go last and we both agree it would be better for Kate to go second. Please.'
'Okay. I get it. Are you sure you'll be okay going last?' Jenna had to ask. She didn't like the look in Emma's eyes.
'Yes,' the girl spirit snapped. 'Just do it!' She turned and faded out, going back to the cemetery to recharge.
Jenna would've cried if she could, but she relayed the new request to Dani and sat down against an oak tree to watch.
After only a few minutes, the golem looked quite a bit like Kate, and it wasn't just in the face. Dani added some solid chunks of clay to the head and fashioned them into what approximated short curls of hair. She also added a slender, feminine shape to the legs, arms and torso, and even created two sets of four tiny fingers for each hand. The fingers only had two joints each but they were a big improvement on Jenna's flattened round blobs that she used for hands. At the very least, the golem looked very much like a girl.
Kate seemed less reluctant than Jenna had been when hovering near the clay figure. She only hesitated a few seconds, and did so more out of concern for Emma than her own slight distaste. Emma could be quite stubborn though, so Kate made the decision and jumped into the golem to complete the process. After getting a good feel for all the joints and coughing up a bit of watery mud, she croaked her first word. "Disgusting!"
A second golem was born, like a sister to Jenna, though they looked nothing alike. Dani offered some cosmetic surgery to Jenna but the first golem girl declined. They didn't have time for any more frivolity. That still didn't stop Kate from giving Jenna a fierce hug after she finally managed to stand and walk around a little.
Being an intelligent creature, Ash had learned its lesson after messing with Jenna. The salamander gave Kate's golem a look of longing and went to sleep, dreaming of the chase.
Dani chanced adding an elemental fire energy battery for Kate after getting yet another warning from Jenna. The day had progressed to late morning and using fire magic then was never a good idea. The Dark Forces typically favored the night and slept late — if they slept at all — making them more likely to notice any significant use of fire magic later in the day.
"Don't forget to avoid the cemetery," Jenna said. "Even if our fire magic is detected, any spies would most likely start out there. They wouldn't be able to pinpoint our location so they'd start at the cemetery."
"What about you?" Simon asked. "You and Kate are golems now. Won't you be easily detected?"
"Good question," Jenna said. "But no. Golems are mostly creatures of earth with some significant fire added to the mix. It's exactly the blend that already permeates our remains. Nothing will seem different than when the troll visited."
"Right then," Dani said. "You worry too much. Nothing's going to happen. Can we resume our lessons?"
If Jenna had a tongue, she would've stuck it out at Dani. As it was, she kept quiet and fanned the flames of her paranoia. She had a bad feeling.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 8: Dark Forces
The sun had just reached its zenith, marking midday at the cemetery. The dew had completely evaporated by then and the day had warmed enough to be comfortable wearing shorts and a tee shirt. All of the birds had settled down for a rest from the heat except a lone mourning dove on the edge of the wood.
The dove cooed its displeasure at some mild threat and its agitation briefly increased when an ill wind suddenly gusted in one small corner of the cemetery. The wind swirled and howled, sending birds in all directions away from the noise. The wind died as suddenly as it appeared just before a bright light flashed and a man popped out of thin air very near the graves of the three girls.
The short pudgy man's unshaven face, rumpled clothes and mussed hair made it look as if he'd slept off a drinking binge in the woods overnight. The man patted his jeans and tugged at his long sleeves before looking around and shaking his head.
"Oy. Always a bit rough wit' sendin' me," he said, talking out loud to himself, a common habit of his. "Don't 'preciate it none. Bad enough I got to come up here and nose around for a bloody salamander."
He muttered a little more and soon started doing what he came for, wandering round the cemetery looking for a certain set of three graves. It didn't take long to find them, and it didn't take long for him to be noticed by a certain spirit who floated just above her grave, glaring directly at the invader's face.
Emma felt the disturbance of a teleportation spell and was ready to see who arrived but the human male surprised her. She expected to see a lower class minion of some sort. Having a human snooping around was definitely bad news, especially since he reeked of fire magic. She could tell. The man was definitely the font for a Dark Force trio.
"Stupid bitches," he said very clearly, clearly enough that Emma could read his lips. "Always stickin' yer noses in our business. Got what were comin' to ya, ya did."
Emma's eyes narrowed to slivers of anger. This was one of the men responsible for her death.
The man waved his arms in the air, startling the girl spirit. She feared he detected her and stood ready to cast some evil spell on her. She backed up and away, only to see him cackle with malice before spewing a long string of profanity that would've made the girl blush if she still had a body.
He ended his vulgar tirade by spitting on each of the three graves, one at a time, saving Jenna's for last. He missed the last grave, being the farthest from him, so he marched over to it and coughed up a large, green glob of saliva and snot, hitting the girl's name plate dead center. Then he cackled again.
Emma fumed at the display, but she didn't know what to do about it. She couldn't interact with any physical objects. She felt powerless — until she remembered one thing. Every living thing had a spirit, even subhuman men. Her scowl slowly changed into a humorless smirk as she quickly made plans. She didn't have much time. She figured Jenna would feel the man's presence and come to investigate. She wanted to be done by then.
After a quick run through a couple scenarios, she settled on one. First, she had to grab the man's spirit. After that, things got a bit crazy, but if she succeeded, the man wouldn't be bothering them again anytime soon.
The edges of the man's aura oozed a dark gray color, making her hesitate. It didn't feel right but she continued anyway. She ran her hands down the aura to his base chakra and grabbed with both hands. She basically gripped the man by the spiritual equivalent of his testicles, making him squeal.
"Oy! Me nads!" he screamed, just before Emma yanked his spirit out of his physical body, which crumpled in a heap over Jenna's grave.
Being separated from his body confused the man's spirit for a short time, but Emma waited until his awareness trickled back. Then she snarled and shrieked, scratching at his spirit as if to tear it apart. The startled man instinctively protected his face and tried to back away towards his body but Emma kept pulling him farther and farther away, yelling a single word at him. 'Body!' She tried to make it sound like she was crazed and completely focused on stealing his body from him.
It worked.
Since they were both spirits, the man could hear her and she unnerved him to no end. He knew it was possible to steal a body and he didn't even try to fight back. He just tried pulling back into his body to escape the crazy girl spirit. When he finally did make it back to his body, he pissed himself and immediately teleported back to where he came from.
Emma had to admit that the thought of actually stealing his body did cross her mind, but she had no intention of doing that. Body theft would be an evil thing to do and she wasn't evil. Besides, he was a smelly man and she'd rather be dead than be a smelly man. That thought nearly made her smile. Then she noticed that when he picked himself up from Jenna's grave, he unwittingly wiped his disgusting gift from the name plate. That did it. She smiled for the first time in months.
Jenna arrived at the cemetery by herself. She cautiously stalked her grave from the west, keeping to the wood for cover. After seeing that no one was about, she slowly entered the grounds and called out for Emma.
Emma popped her head up through the grass above her grave. 'What kept you?' she said. She still grinned from ear to ear, enjoying her little victory.
Jenna didn't know what to think. She couldn't remember the last time she saw her friend smile. Even when they were alive, the humorless middle girl of their trio would rarely smile. 'What happened?' she asked. 'Did something happen? I definitely felt something going on here. And why are you smiling?' She couldn't help herself. Not knowing was driving her crazy.
'Everything is fine,' Emma told her, still smiling. 'I don't think we'll have any trouble from the Dark Forces any time soon.'
No matter what Jenna tried, no matter what she said, she couldn't get any more information about what happened in the cemetery from her friend. They both ended up going back to give the new trio more lessons.
A light briefly flashed from the pointed top floor of a London skyscraper. The tall, glass building, with a circular cross-section and slightly rounded sides that curved to a dull point, looked vaguely like a giant pickle, earning it the nickname, "The Gherkin." Triangular and diamond-shaped glass panels in various shades of blue covered the building, making it quite striking, even beautiful to some eyes. The same couldn't be said for the current contents of the top floor.
The same short, pudgy man who had appeared in Askern cemetery found himself back to where he started, magically transported in the blink of an eye. His trousers dripped on the shiny top floor of the beautiful skyscraper.
"Here now," a tall, gruff man said with a sneer. "Look at you. Disgusting. Get yourself cleaned up and report to my office." The man wore a pin-striped cashmere suit and a look of superiority. His short dark hair glistened with gel. His perfectly manicured fingernails and soft palms showed a man who didn't like to get his hands dirty. He had minions and lackeys for that, and according to him, everyone in the world fit that category, including the other two members of his trio.
The trio leader turned on his heel and returned to his office, leaving the short man alone to follow orders.
After changing clothes and giving himself a brief pep talk, the short man, also the font of the leader's trio, found himself standing in front of a large mahogany desk very near a padded, black leather chair. He sank his bare feet — he couldn't find a clean pair of shoes — into the plush beige carpet and tried not to be intimidated by two large bookshelves full of law books and a wall full of awards and diplomas. He wanted to sit but knew better. He had to wait for permission — to do anything. He couldn't even speak without permission and he wouldn't get permission to do anything until he was thoroughly humiliated.
"Bloody hell, Ray. You're a disgrace. Instead of coming back with the bloomin' salamander, you come back with nothing but urine-soaked trousers." The leader shook his head. "I'm assuming it's your urine." He nodded at Ray and got a timid nod in return. "I don't want to hear any excuses. Just tell me one thing. Did you find the source of the elemental fire magic that our agents detected up there?"
"No, Richard."
"What did you call me?" The leader glared at Ray, warning him not to make any more mistakes.
"No, sir!"
"Then what did you find, you useless prat?"
"I was attacked by a ghost. It was one of the trio, sir. She di'n't like being dead."
"And why would you think that?"
"She wanted me body, sir."
Richard laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound.
Ray tried very hard not to mutter. He wished very much to be back up on the top floor of the tower, basking in the strong source of elemental fire that he could tap into up there. That's why the tower was built where it was, and though the architects claimed they added all the glass windows to bring in more sunlight, the trio knew better. Wielders of magic designed the whole building to reach up to and focus magic fire. Lots of sunlight was just an added bonus, especially since the energy of the sun was also a source of elemental fire.
"Are you listening to me, you worthless shite?" Richard said, intruding on the poor man's daydream.
"Yes, sir. Uh… no, sir. I was thinkin'."
"Oh, really. This should be entertaining. What were you thinking about?"
"I was thinkin' that it'd make more sense to be called a tap. I tap into magic. I don't know what a font has to do with anythin'."
Richard rolled his eyes but soon raised an eyebrow. "Actually, you might have something. Font, flow and fetch are ancient terms that have little relevance today. I think we could use a fresh look. Marketing will love it. It'll make us look better when we take over the world."
"Or die tryin'," Ray muttered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir!"
"Quite right. You'll be a tap, Peter can be… an amp, short for amplifier. And me?" He paused a moment to think, staring outside at the stunning view through his office window. "I'll be the tuner," he finally said. He gave his subordinate a smug look and waited for a proper response.
"Very clever, sir."
"Very clever indeed, Ray. Now back to your report. You have yet to give me a full report. I don't have any more time to waste on you so make it quick."
"Yes, sir! I told you most of it, sir. The ghost girl yanked me spirit right out of me body and attacked me. She sounded half mad, sir. All she kept sayin' were, 'Body!'"
"Fascinating. So you didn't detect any trace of the salamander then?"
"I didn't have time, sir. She attacked me as soon as I… got to the graves. Maybe she attacked the salamander too. Sent it packin' or worse."
"Indeed," the leader raised a skeptical eyebrow. "That will be all then, Ray."
The short, pudgy man spent a precious half second eyeing the soft leather chair with longing before turning to leave the office.
Richard returned his attention to the papers on his desk and didn't spare a glance or a good-bye for the man.
The leader of the Dark Forces spent much of his time planning. He had plans for everything, covering every contingency he could think of. He wouldn't be denied what he considered to be his birthright. His motto was, 'With great power comes great privilege.'
He removed the only threat that he considered to be worth his time and effort — Jenna and her trio — and tried to leave it up to his subordinates to watch for any other possible threats. So far, he believed himself on track for global domination.
The main part of his plan centered in the UK. The man left a path of destruction that followed ley lines and ancient sources of elemental fire. He even made a game of it, causing explosions in a spiral pattern that any agent at MI5 could see if they bothered to plot all the explosions on a map. The spiral wound to a point at Westminster and it was well over half way complete. He'd destroy the British government and take over the small island nation, the first step in his plans to take over the world.
Stop me if you can. But I'm betting you can't.
Dani sat in the passenger seat of the car and the twins sat in the back, all three dreading their destination. They watched a blur of green and brown pass by without really seeing any of it. All they could do was think of one horrible scenario after another as they looked ahead and imagined what their impending visit to the doctor would be like. They all did independent research on the Internet. They knew more about gynecological exams than they ever expected and they flinched whenever they saw a glint of cold steel reflecting in the morning sun.
Sue made appointments for all three of her children together as soon as it was convenient. Being out of work herself and having the kids out of school for summer holiday made it easy enough to do so. She didn't have any schedules to juggle.
She left the cottage early since parking was never easy and herded her three daughters-to-be to the doctor office. Another short wait inside and she'd have the three of them sorted. Then the fun could begin. She entertained several daydreams on the drive, most of which involved shopping for girls clothing and accessories, lots of accessories. The family didn't have loads of money but she'd dip into her savings if need be to cover more than the basics. Her daughters had a whole new world to explore.
Doctor Kilgore ushered the family into his examination room almost immediately, like he was waiting for them. it bothered the three girl-boys a little. It made him look like a stalker or something. Still, he was a professional and he looked and sounded the part, being an older man with graying hair, dressed nicely in a dress shirt and tie. He calmly asked each of them for a description of the changes in their bodies and privately examined each teen in turn with their mother present. After several confused looks and sounds, he eventually shrugged his shoulders and threw up his arms in defeat.
"I don't exactly understand this," he told Sue, "but since your phone call, I've done a little research."
"On the Internet," all three of the teens said in unison, momentarily distracting the doctor.
"As I was saying," he said. "I researched the problem and the only thing that fits is that they're all partial hermaphrodites with latent female reproductive organs. The female organs appear to be dominant and activated at…." He glanced at Dani. "Or somewhat after puberty. I'll need to do some tests to confirm it but it's my opinion that we'll have to reclassify your three sons as daughters." He went on to try to explain the condition as best as he could with his medical science background.
Sue tried to hide her joy and mostly succeeded. Only the sparkle in her eye betrayed her but the male doctor completely missed it. Dani and the twins noticed and felt a little nervous. Their intuition told them there'd be loads of shopping in their near future.
The next morning, Sue and George sat at the dining table. George skimmed the newspaper headlines as usual while Sue quietly sipped her tea and thought about how to break the latest news about the boys to her husband. She watched as the sun slowly creeped over the surface of the table, making her think about the inevitabilities of life. Nothing could stop the cycle of day and night. Then she thought about the weather and how the only constant in life is change. Change is inevitable. But people seem to fight change nonetheless.
She mentally chastised herself for stalling.
"George?"
"Yes, Dear?"
"I don't know if it's heredity or what, but Dani isn't the only changeling in the family."
George kept reading for several seconds until her words sunk in. He carefully folded the newspaper and placed it on the table before looking up at his wife. "What are you going on about? This isn't about your Mum, is it?"
"What?! No! It's… it's about Simon and Pat. I took all three kids to the doctor and they all have the same… issue."
Her husband waited to see if she was pulling a prank. When it appeared she was serious, his face reddened. Sue couldn't tell exactly what that meant, but knowing her husband, it was something like frustrated confusion.
"Bloody hell, Sue! Do all the men on your side of the family turn into women? Because it doesn't happen in my family."
Definitely frustrated confusion.
"This is the first time I've heard of it," she told him. "It certainly surprised the doctor too, but he came up with a possible explanation. He blamed some of it on modern society and all the chemicals out and about in the world. A lot of them can mess with hormones. That and there have been examples of it happening all throughout history. It's more common than people realize because most people can't handle it and keep it quiet."
"Well… it is quite a shock. First we're a happy family with three young men. Then I find out Dan… Dani is changing. I admit it bothered me… at first. But I went with it, didn't I?"
"You took it very well, George."
"That's right, I did. But Pat and Simon too? How? Why? Am I next?!" He bowed his head and held it in his hands.
Sue quickly scooted her chair over next to her upset husband and put a hand on his arm. "Don't be silly, Dear. It'll be alright. They're still our children. We have to support 'em, don't we? We'll get through this."
George moaned but didn't say anything.
"We can change schools if the… girls have problems with bullying."
He looked up with a fierce look. "And continue to keep it quiet?"
"No use looking for trouble when you don't have to, right?"
"Bollocks!"
Sue gasped at her normally placid husband.
"We should ask the… girls. They deserve a say in this. But if I have my way, they'll stay and explain the situation. Face it like a…," he paused, blushing.
"Like a man?" Sue finished for him.
He gave her a faint smile. "Sorry."
"You're right about asking their preference, but if things don't work out, I think the right thing to do would be to move. It's hard to get any support from the school these days."
"True, that. But I still don't like the idea of being chased off. Water Works cottage is my home. My family grew up in this cottage."
"I know. But we have to think of what's best for the whole family, not just your ancestors."
George sighed his acceptance and his wife continued.
"By the way, you should know that we had to do a little shopping yesterday. The girls will be needing new school uniforms and a new wardrobe."
"Now that worries me!" he said with a smile, showing that he wasn't serious.
Sue playfully swatted his arm and gave him a quick kiss and cuddle to send him off to work. She stood in the front doorway with a pleasant smile on her face, watching as he drove off.
That went fairly well, I think. I've got a good husband, I do.
A clear sky greeted the countryside for another beautiful early morning of summer. The three sisters, as they were now officially declared, gathered in their usual spot near their home, sheltered by several large oak trees. Simon's name changed to Simone and Pat was Patricia, though she still insisted that everyone call her Pat.
Ash lounged in the wagon and dreamily watched the two golems as they instructed the sisters on the use of fire magic. Its limbs and tail hung over the sides of the little wagon. The large and still growing young salamander wanted to chase the clay figures but a certain secretive someone made sure that Ash got enough play time so it was content for the moment.
Dani kept her fire spells at a minimum level, careful to avoid any unwanted attention, while the younger twin continued her studies as font. Pat sat bored next to Ash's wagon and occasionally siphoned off a little of Simone's fire magic to feed to the salamander.
"Keep it up, Simone," Kate told the girl. "You're doing quite well."
"Thanks, Kate." Simone flashed a smile as she literally glowed with the energy of fire magic that she held inside her. "This is so much nicer now that we can talk to each other."
Kate sighed.
"Oy. I can almost see a smile." Simone couldn't resist a little teasing.
Kate drew a smiley in the air, making a short curve with her tiny hand. Then she raised two fingers in the air like a backwards peace or victory sign. It would be dire insult to a stranger but they both knew it was in jest.
Dani looked over at the older twin after creating a tiny flame in the palm of her hand. "Pat! You should be practicing."
"I am!" Pat shouted back. "I'm feeding your pet."
"Ash isn't a pet!" The rest of the group shouted in unison, surprising themselves. Then they all laughed, even Pat.
Pat shook her head of short brown hair. "Until it says something, if it even can talk, it's just a pet." She couldn't help thinking of Ash as a pet.
Ash did appear very much to be nothing more than a wild creature, but after hearing Pat's words, it cocked its head and amazed everyone. "Patteeeee," it said, in a raspy but clearly understood voice. It repeated the name several times just to make sure it wasn't a fluke.
"Ash seems to really like you… Patty," Simone said, smirking.
"My name is Pat!"
Ash vigorously nodded and again said, "Patteeeeee."
"That's not what Ash says." Dani said, and everyone laughed, everyone except Pat.
Pat still hadn't accepted being a girl, and it wasn't just because she still had prominent boy bits. Dani seemed to accept it fairly well and Simone loved being a girl, but for some reason, Pat felt uncomfortable and she didn't understand why. It frustrated her because the three sisters felt closer than ever in all other respects. Being happy as a girl was the only thing she couldn't bring herself to share. It almost made her cry, and that just upset her more because boys didn't cry.
She did have a point. She wasn't exactly a girl. The three sisters did still have boy bits, and those boy bits allowed them to gather and use elemental air and fire magic just as well as any male magic users. While the three of them hung somewhat in limbo between the two genders, they could use all four types of elemental magic. The formerly living trio thought that the ability to use the four elements might make the difference in the battle with the Dark Forces so they quickly taught what little they could of fire magic. They had to press their advantage while they could, before the sisters became truly all girl and lost their ability to wield more powerful fire magic.
Jenna hated and feared fire magic. The Dark Forces used it to kill so many, including herself and her two best friends. Even before she knew much about its destructive potential, she still didn't like it much. She could never use it very well and learned very few spells, most of which were mixed with other types of elemental magic, like the creation of the golems. She did have one good offensive spell that involved fire though, and she saved it for last.
"The last spell I'll be teaching is what I call the dancing fire sword spell," she told Dani. "It's a classic. I take a weapon, like a sword, animate it and add fire to attack an enemy from a distance. If you've enough power and concentration, you can keep two or three flaming swords in play at the same time."
"That sounds cool," Simone said, still glowing with fire magic.
"You might want to power down, girl," Jenna warned.
"Right. Dark Forces watching and all that." Simone sighed and the glow faded away. "I was hoping to see a pair of dueling fire swords."
Jenna would've smirked if her golem face allowed. "You'll have to settle for dull kitchen knives. That's all we've got anyway."
She sent the magical thought form to Dani who then spent a couple minutes processing it before casting the spell on one of the knives. The knife rose slowly in the air, twirled a few times and burst into flame.
Simone clapped several times and giggled.
"Oy," Pat said. "Do you have to be such a girl?"
The giddy girl turned and stuck her tongue out at her twin sister.
Dani ignored her sisters. She was already moving the flaming knife through the air, trying loops, feints and thrusts. After getting the hang of it, she sped up the movement until the knife was a glowing blur. It left a long trace of light in the air behind it, giving the fetch an idea. With an even greater burst of speed, the knife spelled out Jenna's name in the air.
Simone clapped and giggled again. Even Pat was impressed. Ash looked at the display with a glint of mischief and hunger in its eyes.
With the success of one knife, a second flaming knife soon joined the first and the two of them had a mock battle. Sparks flew as well as flames as metal struck metal. Even with small kitchen knives, the spell could be quite deadly, something they might need in the battle against the Dark Forces.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 9: Graduation
By the end of the week, after a day off from fire magic practice, Dani created a third golem for Emma. Like Kate's, the new golem looked like the girl who's spirit would inhabit it. The six girls all met under the shade of their favorite oak trees and Simone passed some fire magic directly to Dani for the second to last part of the spell. They didn't need any processing of the elemental fire from Pat.
Emma hovered over the clay figure, deemed it an acceptable likeness and passed into it. Dani supplied the life magic to complete it and then stood back to wait.
Within the usual time of around ten minutes, the golem spit up some muddy water and uttered her first word. "Wicked!"
While Emma got used to her new body, Dani insisted on a few improvements to Jenna's golem. The little clay figure looked much more like the girl inside when Dani finished.
Kate couldn't help herself. She squealed and grabbed her two trio mates in a group hug as soon as they were all close enough to do so. Dani and Simone laughed at the display, and even Pat smiled.
"Tonight we'll have to dig a third hole in the cemetery for Emma," Dani reminded everyone. "I hope it goes better than last time."
Kate put up a fuss during her turn, crying and moaning about how yucky and dirty it was to live in a shallow grave over a deeper one with her real body. The distraught golem got tired of complaining about the dirt and moved on to the real reason for her displeasure. She felt like a freak, being more like an elemental being of earth than a human. It took nearly all night for Jenna to calm her down enough to get her to try out her hole. They wouldn't have to spend a lot of time in their little holes but they had to get used to it to keep from being spotted.
"Are you okay, Emma?" Jenna asked. She felt that the newest golem would be okay but it never hurt to ask.
"Oy. You're not gonna treat me like Kate, are you?"
"I will if you want," Jenna said with a teasing tone.
"Ha ha. Let's just get on with teaching these girls some of the advanced shit and complete their education. We've got some serious arse to kick soon. I can feel it."
Advanced lessons moved indoors to Water Works cottage. Jenna rightly figured that the strong water magic that permeated the small home would make it harder to detect spells from long distance. It was also true that the spells would affect much smaller areas and be much easier to contain than elemental magic so they could be learned inside the cottage.
The group of six met in Dani's room, with Dani sitting at her desk, Simone perched on the edge of the bed and Pat on the floor with her back to the white door to block it in case their Mum showed up unexpectedly. Each of the three golem girls sat very near their respective pupil and Ash lurked in its usual spot on a large sheet of steel under the bed.
The new trio had to work together for the more difficult spells, and they had to be very careful to keep everything scaled down and under control at minimal power for each spell. High level spells like invisibility required a lot of power. It would be so easy to attract unwanted attention.
Jenna sat on the edge of the desktop so she could see everything. "Remember, Dani," she told her pupil. "This type of magic is different from anything you've used before. We call it electro magic and it's ever so much more subtle. The magic power itself is as complicated as the spell that uses it."
"I think I've got it. At least let me try?"
"Right. Have a go then."
Simone readied the required magic and fed it to Pat for processing. Then Dani concentrated, pulling magic from Pat's vortex. She wrinkled her nose and squinted a little until she could just make out the silver threads of magical energy. Once she got that far, she wound the threads around a small marble to block all light, making it invisible. She smiled when she rolled it across the desktop, hearing it but not seeing it.
"Excellent," Jenna said.
Dani experimented with the new magic whenever she could, and she put her science lessons at school to good use. The magic was based on electricity so knowing about electricity made things a little easier at least. Electro magic took more effort to use than elemental magic but it had great potential. The girl's time and effort were well spent.
Over the next few days, the teachers went on to cover various other advanced subjects. Before long, with Dani's aptitude, she'd progressed enough to cast spells to phase through walls, levitate and even fly. She could store up electrical energy and send bolts of lightning from her fingertips. Worst of all in terms of destructive power, she could disintegrate matter, including living things. She practiced on a glass marble and shocked herself when it turned to a tiny pile of sand on the desk.
"That's scary," Dani said, more to herself than anyone else.
"Yeah," Simone agreed, having a good view of Dani's desk. "But in a cool way."
"I can't believe it," Emma blurted out.
"Can't believe what?" Pat asked.
"That you've all come so far, so fast. It took us ages to learn all this."
"True," Jenna said. "But I still have one more spell to teach. And after that, it'll be up to our star pupils to practice and eventually mix and match different forms of magic to create new spells. Like most skills, it takes a lifetime to learn and master, something we didn't get a chance to do."
"The questions never end," added Kate. "That's for sure."
"I have a question," Dani said. "What's the last spell?"
"Teleportation," her teacher said. "It takes more power than any other spell. That makes it dangerous, both because it's so difficult to cast and because it could very well be detected by the Dark Forces."
"Teleportation?" Simone said. "Cool!"
"Cool," Ash mimicked from under the bed, still learning new words but not yet able to form sentences.
Dani smiled. "Good Ash. Yes. Cool is a good word."
The salamander thumped its tail a few times to show it liked the praise.
"We'll use a marble, of course," Jenna said, interrupting Ash's speech lesson. "And I'll have Dani teleport it only twice. The first try will be a few centimeters. The second try will be across the room. After that, I have a surprise. So let's get started."
The three Green sisters continued working together and Dani soon had her first successful casting of the teleport spell. The sisters wanted to celebrate but Jenna insisted on the second goal. It took three tries but the marble disappeared from the desk and instantly reappeared across the room and dropped onto the bed. Everyone cheered. It sounded funny coming from the golem girls with their raspy, squeaky voices but no one laughed.
They all went very quiet though, after a knock on the door.
"What's going on in there?" Sue asked. "What are you cheering about? Are you playing a game?"
"Everything's fine, Mum!" Dani shouted, sounding a little panicked.
Sue tried to enter and found the way blocked. Pat still sat in front of the door. "Let me in!"
Simone quickly collected the three golem girls and slid them under the bed with Ash. Then she flopped on the floor in front of the gap under the bed to shield them.
The salamander happily accepted the golems, licking them silly before settling down and quietly nuzzling them.
With all of the magical beings secure, Pat quickly moved to the bed and flopped down, sitting like a boy with her legs spread wide just before the door flew open.
Sue gave a quick look round the tidy room. "What've you been up to in here? I thought you were playing a computer game. I heard strange voices."
Pat spoke up first. "We were just studying and got excited when we finally figured out a difficult exercise. That's all."
Sue turned to listen to her daughter and glared. "Patricia Anne Green! What did I tell you?!"
"But Mum! I'm wearing jeans!"
"Keep your legs together, dear. You need to make it a habit or I promise you you'll be sorry. Follow your sisters' example."
Dani sat at her desk with her legs firmly together. Simone, still on floor, had her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. Both girls also wore jeans.
"Yes, Mum. Sorry, Mum." Pat pinched her legs together and sulked, letting her older sister continue the conversation.
"We won't be making any more noise, Mum. Sorry if we disturbed you."
"You didn't disturb me. But I have to wonder why you're not outside on such a nice day. School is still a couple weeks away. You shouldn't study all through your summer holiday."
"Yes, Mum. We were planning on going out soon."
Pat and Simone nodded agreement.
"Right then. I'll leave you to it. She gave a last quick look and walked out, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Pat moved back to her position in front of the door and Simone retrieved the three golem girls, setting them on the edge of the bed and sitting next to them.
"Now that that's over," Jenna said. "I have something to say. You three girls are unusually gifted. You've learned everything we have to teach in less than six months. Do you know what that means?"
"You're quitting?" Simone asked.
"In a way, yes. But I'm not talking about myself. I was referring to your accomplishment. Congratulations. You've all graduated. You're all full-fledged witches."
Simone almost cheered but was held back with a warning glance from Dani. Instead, the three sisters had a group hug. They held the hug and then each one of them picked up a golem and included them in the hug.
Ash peeked out from under the bed and spoke quietly enough that no one heard. "Hug."
Jenna had an additional subject to talk about but it was just for Dani's ears. She waited until after everyone else left the bedroom. Simone and Pat carried their respective golems out, hiding them in the hood of their hoodies. Ash remained under the bed. The large salamander was too large to sneak out of the house while Sue roamed the cottage.
"You should get a blank journal to keep notes about all the spells you've learned. It's also useful to write down new spell ideas. Witches call it the Book of Shadows. It's not like what most people think of as a spell book. You couldn't read from it and cast the spell. You know that. It would just be to help you remember everything that you need to cast all the spells you know."
"Sounds like a good idea," Dani said. "I'll do that."
"I'm telling you privately so you keep it hidden. It's not meant to be shared."
"Right. The fewer people know, the better."
Dani turned to look down at Ash, who'd peeked out from under the bed.
"I don't suppose I could cast an invisibility spell on Ash so I can sneak the poor thing outside."
"No. Sorry."
Ash understood and whimpered. It didn't like being left alone.
Dani bent down, casting a quick water skin spell on her hands as she did so. She gave Ash a few gentle scratches behind one ear until the water on her hand sizzled away.
Jenna moved to scratch the other side and Ash loved it. The salamander actually purred.
"I'm glad we kept Ash," Jenna said.
Dani nodded agreement and then something amazing happened.
"Me too," said Ash, speaking its first sentence.
Jenna and Dani turned to look at each other and gasped.
"Wow!" they both said in unison.
Dani met up with her two sisters in the usual spot under the oak trees near their cottage. She gently removed Jenna from her hood to join the other golem girls and all six of them sat on the ground to talk.
"What do we do now?" Emma asked. "I like being a golem a lot better than being a ghost, but are we going to spend the rest of eternity as golems?"
"I don't think we'd last that long," Jenna said. "We need recharging with fire magic."
"You know what I mean."
"I think I do. I guess we can watch the girls practice or something."
"I meant us. What are we going to do?"
"Oh. Right. We can't cast any spells."
"I have an idea about that," Dani said. "I'm sure we can use all the help we can get so how would you like to help?"
The three golems turned to look up at her with their little blank faces.
Dani explained how she planned on making magic items that the golems could use in the coming battle. She reversed the heat in the flaming sword spell to store a freezing spell in an item. The golems could throw the item or attack with it and whatever it hit would suffer damage from freezing cold, assuming it was vulnerable to cold. It was a good assumption because most users of fire magic put a lot of their energy into protection from fire magic so they could effectively use it. Otherwise, they'd get burned. That was the one big disadvantage of elemental fire spells.
The golems could use fire magic without any problem, being magical clay beings, but they could also use ice magic. That would help. They had something else in their favor too.
"You're very small," Dani told them. "You should be able to use that to your advantage. You can hide and use stealth to ambush and surprise opponents."
"Brill," Kate said. "I like it."
"I'm in," Emma added.
"Me too," Jenna said.
"Me too," came another familiar voice from behind the trees.
"Oy! Ash!" Pat shrieked. "How did you get out?"
"Walked," the salamander said as it walked around the trees to join the others.
Dani slapped her forehead and groaned. Ash was too large, intelligent and impulsive to keep hidden in her bedroom. Like a small child, the salamander would need constant supervision.
"We should tell Mum about Ash," Pat said. "If she doesn't already know."
"She probably knows," Simone added. "Mothers know everything."
"Okay," Dani said. "When we get back I'll tell her." Then she turned to Ash. "No talking around Mum. Got it?"
"No talk to Mum," Ash said, nodding.
"We've another sibling then?" Simone asked.
Ash nodded and said, "Me brother."
"Finally!" Pat shouted. "I can stop referring to him as it!"
The others laughed.
The golem girls waited for dusk in the wood so they could sneak back back into the cemetery and watch over it. Meanwhile, the three sisters walked back to their cottage, with Simone and Pat keeping Ash company while Dani went in to speak to their Mum.
Sue stood in the kitchen, putting crockery and cutlery in the dishwasher and generally cleaning to get ready to make tea when Dani entered.
"Hi Mum."
"Hello, Dani." She gave her oldest daughter a piercing look. "What happened now?"
"What do you mean?" the girl looked around.
Sue laughed. "You look guilty. It's written all over your face. Are you coming to tell me about your house guest?"
"I knew it!" Simone shouted from outside the kitchen window. "I knew she knew!"
Pat shushed her twin but Sue couldn't help hearing. She'd turned slightly at the sound and then turned back for an answer.
Dani replied. "Yes, we have a house guest. It's a… a…."
"Lizard? Like one of those monitor lizards?"
"What?"
Sue smirked. "I can do research on the Internet too. I read all about large lizards."
"Oh. Right." Dani felt more relief than anything else until her mother continued.
"But aren't they rather dangerous?"
"Not Ash!"
"Ash?" Sue raised an eyebrow.
"That's his name. He's large but he wouldn't harm us."
Not intentionally.
"If you're sure, Dani."
"I'm sure."
"But you should've asked first. You know that, right?"
"I know. I'm sorry, Mum. Ash was an unexpected… gift. We couldn't just drop him in the dust bin and forget about him. Please, can we keep him? Please?"
Dani started crying, causing her Mum to cry a little herself.
"You can keep him," Sue said before hugging her oldest daughter.
After a brief tender moment, Dani called to her sisters to bring Ash inside, which they did. As soon as he got inside, he started thumping his tail against the bottom cupboards, showing how happy he was. It got a smile out of Sue.
"He's rather large for a house pet, isn't he?" Sue backed away slightly as Ash approached.
"He stays under my bed. Don't worry, Mum. You won't see him."
"I've already seen him. I'm sure I caught glimpses of him before but I saw him leave the house earlier today. I was surprised that he knew how to open a closed door. He jumped up and twisted the door handle in his mouth. Quite the clever clogs."
"He's very intelligent, yes. But we'll watch him. Don't worry."
"Okay. Go wash up for tea then. And Simone? Will you be helping me again tonight?"
"Yes, Mum."
"Good girl. I'll see you soon then."
"I'll help too," Pat added. "If you like."
"Well!" Sue gasped. "This is a day for surprises." She laughed and ruffled Pat's hair.
The youngsters hustled out of the kitchen, leaving their bemused mother alone for the moment.
I love my family.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 10: Target Practice
The group found themselves back among the oak trees with a dull, gray sky overhead. Rain didn't threaten but neither did the sun, which found it impossible to burn off the heavy cloud layer. A light breeze rustled the tree tops, sending down a small shower of dried leaves, a midsummer gift.
All six of the girls practiced what they could, with the new trio casting spells and the golem girls planning and playing at strategy for their magic weapon attacks. Dani kept the golems supplied with a cheap set of metal forks and knives that she bought for them to use as enchanted weapons. It gave the former trio a much needed sense of purpose since they had nothing much left to teach.
When they took breaks, they read books and discussed ideas that would aid them in the coming battle. And like in the wild, play time became informal training. Even Ash got involved. Emma liked playing catch with the salamander. She'd toss a cricket ball to him and he would punch the ball back to her with his nose, improving his coordination. He got to where he could punch the ball hard enough to knock Emma back. She had to stand farther and farther away to toss the ball to him.
Ash liked playing catch with Emma but his favorite game was toasting marshmallow people. Dani created stick figures and stuck large marshmallows to the ends of the sticks to act as arms, legs and a head. She'd toss the stick figures to Ash and he'd use his newly discovered fire breath to toast them. They'd be flaming as they entered his eagerly awaiting mouth. He loved the sweet flavor of marshmallow flames.
Back to work, the three sisters practiced more defensive magic. Dani created shields that could block virtually any projectiles, even bullets. Pat and Simone had fun throwing rocks at their older sister, watching as the rocks bounced off the shield. Next up was a flexible magic shield that not only blocked magic effects like fireballs, it reflected them back at the caster. That could prove to be very useful.
Jenna worked with Dani on using offensive spells in a defensive manner. They talked about spraying water like a fire hose to push back attackers and creating boiling mud points to slow them down as well as slowly cook them — if they didn't have protection from heat and fire.
"Good," Jenna said. "But those are all obvious means of defense, meaning that they're predictable. Predictable is bad. It makes your spell much more likely to be blocked. You have to be creative."
"What about this?" Dani led Jenna over to a small shrub and began weaving a spell involving chi and elemental water magic. She pulled a small amount water directly out of several leaves and one of the branches of the shrub. The water pooled in a ball in the air for a short time before the girl let it dribble on the ground, giving back to the shrub what was taken from it. The targeted branch and leaves wilted but the shrub itself would live. Killing was always done as a last resort.
"That's… different," Jenna said. "However did you think to do that?"
"I once tried adding water to my body and made a mess of things. I gave myself a large belly and tried moving the water up to give myself a manly chest. I ended up giving myself breasts instead. Simone loved that."
Jenna giggled while Dani continued.
"Adding a lot of water to someone would slow them down but there might not always be a good source of water nearby so I thought I'd try the reverse and remove water. The only problem is, I'm afraid of removing too much. It works well enough for a plant with branches. A branch can wither without killing the plant. Losing too much water could be fatal for a person though."
Jenna nodded. "True. I'd only use something like that in a very desperate situation. What else can you think of?"
"What about a wall of ice?"
"Too easily destroyed, or bypassed if it's not large enough. You'd have to have a lot of water to block anything for a fair length of time."
"I could encase something in ice, freezing it."
"Better. What else?"
"A wall of fire?"
Jenna frowned. "You mustn't forget that the Dark Forces will be attuned to fire. It'll be least likely type of elemental magic to have any effect on them."
"But they won't expect it from me."
"True. If we could just use that somehow…." The golem girl looked up and placed her tiny clay hand under her clay chin, deep in thought.
Dani thought it a cute pose and tried hard to focus. Fire magic would be a surprise but not if it couldn't harm any of her enemies.
"I've got nothing," Jenna finally said.
Dani shrugged agreement.
"Too bad," the girl golem added. "That means Ash will be of limited use. You might even want to keep him out of the fight."
The salamander busied himself by stalking a caterpillar when he heard his name. He came running straight to Dani and begged for attention by jumping up on her leg.
Jenna laughed, even when Dani finally managed to fend off the excited salamander and then turned her attention to putting out some smoldering patches on her jeans.
"I don't think I like the idea of leaving Ash behind," Dani said after she'd put out all the little fires.
"Me not like too," Ash said. "Me stay with Dani. Protect Dani."
"I could cast an invisibility spell on him. That might help."
"That's a good idea," Jenna agreed. "The element of surprise can be as good a weapon as the strongest spell. Keep thinking like that and we might just get through this."
Ash thumped his tail. He liked the idea of being invisible almost as much as he liked the taste of toasted marshmallow flames. He imagined being invisible whilst stalking the golem girls. It would be so much easier to catch them that way.
Richard sat at his large desk in his office, deep in thought. He couldn't get the missing salamander out of his mind. He knew it wasn't as simple as Ray believed, that the salamander was chased off by a ghost. It was definitely a loose end and he hated loose ends. He also hated dirty work, but his incompetent minions left him no choice.
The tall man got up and walked over to a bookshelf, pulling out a book half way and looking over at a wall panel. The panel slid back to reveal a safe. He went over, unlocked the safe and pulled out a small wooden box that he carried back to his desk.
Inside the box, sat a large, milky white glass orb, sitting on a dark blue velvet cushion. It looked like a large marble or glass knickknack, but appearances could be deceiving.
The Eye of the Illuminati. Makes for the perfect spy.
He picked it up and cupped it in both hands as he closed his eyes and concentrated on an image of Askern Cemetery. It wasn't long before the image appeared in his mind, but it wasn't just an image. It was like a live camera view, and with a mere thought, a user of the magic eye could zoom in, change angles and even move to other nearby locations. What was probably the best feature, one that Richard triggered, was that it could detect even the faintest traces of magic.
Well. Well. What have we here?
Several very narrow colored trails of earth and fire magic led from three graves to a single point in the nearby wood. He had the eye slowly and carefully follow the trail.
If you want a job done right, do it yourself. I think I might even enjoy this.
The group of six took a brief break in their favorite practice area. They talked about the finer points of spells and magic, enjoying the pleasant weather, with only an occasional breeze to distract them by rustling leaves in the tree tops.
"Remember," Jenna told the new trio. "Each of you can access and use magic. The effects aren't nearly as good by yourself as it would be with a full trio but you can do it. Always keep that in mind during a battle. Any one of you might be attacked and unable to do your part so you'll need to be able to take over for a missing member of the trio just in case."
Simone frowned. "I can see replacing Pat or myself, but what about Dani? She's the only one who knows all the spells."
"True," the golem girl said. "But you and Pat can do enough with elemental magic to escape. You could flood an area, washing away an attacker if necessary. Dani isn't the weakest link though. She can protect herself far better than she can protect all of you as a group. Take my word for it. The Dark Forces will either go for all of you together like they did us, or they'll single out the font or flow."
The younger twin sighed. "You've got most of the experience here so you should know. But I still don't like thinking about losing one of us."
"None of us do," Dani said. "But we have to be ready for anything."
"Speaking of that," Emma spoke up suddenly. "I have a bad feeling... like we're being watched."
Dani flinched and looked around. She didn't see anything with her normal sight so she heightened her sensitivity to magic and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "I feel it too," she said.
"Me too," Simone and Pat said together.
A sense of electro magic flowed into the area that Dani could almost see. She was highly sensitive to it since she'd been experimenting with it so much recently. Something serious threatened and Dani was ready for it. She expected it.
"Simone," the fetch said quietly as she maintained focus on the threat. "Gather as much electro magic as you can and send it to Pat for me. But don't gather any magic from the direction of that weird feeling."
"What?" the confused twin said.
"Now!" Dani hissed. "Do it! And mix in some elemental fire, for effect."
Simone gathered the magic and Pat stood up, creating a simple but effective vortex and placing it within easy reach of her older sister.
Dani waited as long as she dared — she had to act while the threat remained active. She took the vortex of electro magic and channeled it into a highly concentrated beam of focused magic that she sent back to the source of the spying spell. She knew she could cancel out the spell but she hoped for more, even though they might never know the exact result. All they could do was watch for a repeat of the spell and prepare for the coming storm.
Richard watched with growing anger as he caught up to the source of all the recent magic in the cemetery. His underlings had failed him and he couldn't decide what to do first, punish his underlings or deal with the latest threat to his plans.
His anger heightened his senses, allowing him to detect a new spell being cast, but that same anger almost became a fatal distraction as his precious Eye of the Illuminati started glowing from a magic overload. Only his reflexes saved him as they kicked in to create a simple but effective telekinetic force field. The force field pushed the magic eye away from him to the farthest corner of his office where the Eye promptly exploded, embedding shards of glass into the wall and creating a significant fireball that set off the fire alarm and sprinklers.
He sat at his large desk, barely noticing the noise and spray of water as he fumed about the loss of his favorite magic item.
It would seem I have another trio to deal with.
The girls watched and waited for something else to happen, some other form of attack, for nearly an hour before Jenna had enough.
"We need to prepare," she said.
"Prepare for what?" Simone asked.
Jenna would've rolled her eyes if she could. "For tonight's battle."
"That soon?" Dani asked.
"Yes, that soon. They'd probably attack now if they could but they'll want to plan first. That and too many of their minions are sensitive to light. They'll be much stronger tonight, and I'm sure they won't wait. Not after what just happened."
"What exactly did just happen?" Pat asked with Simone standing next to her, wondering the same thing.
"I'm not sure myself but I would have to say it was a scouting mission. We've been lucky for too long a time and the Dark Forces aren't stupid. Well... their leader isn't stupid. They've been sending minions...."
Emma interrupted her, "And one of the evil trio members who killed us."
Everyone turned to stare at the golem girl.
"What?" she said. "He spit on our graves and I sent him packing."
Jenna fumed. "And you were going to tell us this when?"
Emma tried to shrug her shoulders but she couldn't move her clay body well enough to do so. She sighed and said, "I just did."
"We need to know things like that! Right away! When they happen!"
"I was enjoying my private little victory and I didn't think they'd be back so soon. Sorry."
"Fine," Jenna said. "We've a lot to do... plans and backup plans, starting with what to do about your parents."
"Oy!" The three new girls said together.
"Hang on," Simone said. "I've got it. They're overdue for a night out together I think."
"Good idea but it's Thursday," Dani said. "They'll want to wait for the weekend."
"Ah, but that's why it'll work. Everyone waits for the weekend. It'll be a lot more crowded and noisy then... not very romantic."
Dani's eyes lit up. "You're quite devious," she told her younger sister.
"But in a good way," all three sisters said.
Mr. and Mrs. Green left the house well before tea time, off to enjoy a pleasant afternoon and evening together. Sue phoned her husband who even managed to leave work early for it. Their thoughtful daughters assured them that they were well old enough to care for themselves and the house. The girls would have everything under control. Mostly.
The group of six — seven counting Ash — met in the sitting room to start their plans.
"We'll be outnumbered," Jenna told everyone. "So we'll have to be clever."
Dani cleared her throat for attention. "Right. I'm guessing that they'll realize we're powerful witches. It's not likely they'll underestimate us."
"We'll need a distraction," Kate added. "Something to hold their attention whilst we attack from behind. Something like that."
"Brill!" Jenna said.
Simone raised her hand then and said in a timid voice, "I volunteer."
"Oy!" Pat and Dani said. Their sister actually caught them both by surprise, something that had been increasingly difficult to do. One of them would have to actively shield themselves from the others to pull it off, otherwise their thoughts would give them away. The sisters could actually read each others thoughts over short distances, just as Jenna's trio managed to do.
"It's no use trying to change my mind. I'm perfect for a distraction. I have it all worked out."
The youngest sister explained how she could shield the cottage with strong, brute force water magic and make the Dark Forces think they were all inside. The cottage would be under a frontal assault, leaving the enemy vulnerable to sneak attacks. It was perfect.
"There is one more issue that I'd like to cover," Dani said. "I know they'll be trying to kill us but I don't like the idea of killing. Isn't there any other way?"
Jenna nodded her tiny head. "Right. Killing isn't the way of the Goddess. We found various ways to protect ourselves without killing but tonight it looks like there might have to be some. We learned that the hard way."
Kate and Emma nodded agreement.
"Right then. I make us all invisible and we pick them off one by one as we can until they're all gone."
"It'd be nice," Pat spoke up, "if we could take out the more powerful enemies first, but we might not get the chance. That means they might notice what we're doing before we get them all. We'll have to be ready."
"I'll be ready," Dani said with a grim look on her face. The others all nodded.
After two hours with Jenna explaining some creative alternatives to killing, they took a break to eat and think about their plans. Dani didn't like the idea of using Simone as bait but she agreed it would likely be safer inside the cottage than out. That only left Simone and Pat to create and charge up as many magic batteries as they could in the time remaining before nightfall. The batteries would make for some much needed magic energy reserves since the fetch and flow would be without their font.
Dusk blended into night and the first signs of the coming battle showed themselves as winged scavengers appeared, waiting for an easy meal. Dry, yellow grass filled many of the nearby unused fields and hundreds of crows lined the power lines, their caws echoing in the distance, giving the village an early Halloween look and feel.
The main invading force consisted of a dozen trolls that lumbered through desolate fields, flanked on both sides by nearly a hundred goblins riding giant wolves and followed by a surprisingly old-fashioned supply line of carts pulled by giant black bulls with glowing red eyes. The trolls shunned technology except when it came to weapons. Giant indistinct shadows glided overhead, occasionally engulfing an isolated, unwary crow for a snack. Whenever that happened, the volume of the remaining crows increased to show their displeasure.
The Dark Forces didn't try to hide their presence. They dared and even welcomed anyone to interfere. They'd love the target practice. It was lucky for the village that the trolls and goblins combined to give off an unhealthy aura that even mundane villagers could feel. Everyone — except the parents of the girls — called it an early night, locking up their doors and windows tight.
Simone sat on the ground floor toilet in Water Works cottage and awaited for the signal that everyone was outside. When she received it in the form of a telepathic communication from Dani, she tapped into the strong source of water magic beneath her and raised an elemental water shield that included water that they'd sprayed all round the cottage with the hose pipe earlier that evening.
The shield covered the home in a translucent box shape that fit the shape of the building. It looked like a fine mist, something not terribly out of place on a cool summer evening in Northern England except, and it would yield slightly to both magic and mundane attacks before springing back and reflecting whatever was thrown at it. Simone planned her part of the battle well.
'Done,' Simone said telepathically to her sisters.
'Right,' Dani and Pat sent back. 'Be well and good luck.'
'Blessed be!' the three sisters added in unison.
Ash and the rest of the girls stood outside. Pat and Ash stayed with Dani while the golem girls spread themselves out to create a defensive perimeter around the cottage.
Dani cast invisibility spells on everyone and supplied the golem girls with enchanted cutlery. She also buried several boxes of the cutlery to be used as needed and cast gentle wind spells to swirl around everyone and the buried weapons to keep anything with a sensitive nose from smelling them.
Pat had suggested magic land mines but there just too many unknowns. They hadn't been sure which direction the Dark Forces would be coming from and they hadn't been sure how easy the land mines would be to detect. They'd needed to spend their time on things that would have a better chance of helping, like the magic batteries.
The fetch and flow both wore two wide crossing straps full of shotgun shells. The shells didn't contain gunpowder and shot though. They held various types of magic that could be tapped into for spells, and the girls both added several belt pouches with complete spells that they could use right away.
Dani went over some last minute thoughts as a reminder to herself just before the enemy forces came into view.
Remember to watch out for aerial attacks and afterward, don't forget the possibility of attracting something like a rogue serpent or two. Now Dani girl, it's time to kick some Dark Forces arse.
Plans were made. Preparations were finished. All were ready to do battle in the next step to either take over the world or save it.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 11: Battle at Water Works Cottage
Goblin wolf riders ran wild round the village of Norton, swarming about the area of Water Works cottage but not yet attacking. They left the initial assault up to the trolls. The snarling of the giant wolves caused a few local dogs to whimper quietly in fear and hide away wherever they could. No dog was brave or stupid enough to bark.
The shadows flying overhead kept a look out for the girls but saw nothing and had nothing to report. They soon drifted off in search of easy snacks and mischief elsewhere. They weren't missed.
When the trolls arrived, their noses sniffed loudly in the still air smelling strong water magic. Still, they didn't let that stop them. They marched right into the front garden, trampled the short white picket fence and flower beds before running into the protective wall of mist. The wall gave at first, as expected, and it covered the cement path with a thin layer of moisture that made decent traction impossible. The lead troll started slipping and the wall snapped back, sending all dozen trolls flying back into the street.
The leader of the trolls sat on his rear in the middle of the street, scratching the short, bristles of hair on his head with one hand. "Supreme Commander not like this," he said before shouting a command. "Break out the fireball cannon!"
Two of the trolls called up a large cart that had a cannon lashed to it. They pulled the cart around the back of the cottage and unloaded the cannon, tying the large weapon to two small trees to minimize recoil when it fired its projectiles. The bull that had pulled the cart was freed to graze on the greenery around the back garden.
Meanwhile, just over a dozen wolves and their riders went suddenly and permanently missing, thanks to Dani. She shrank them to insect size and let them loose, watching as her victims turned tail and ran away, never to be heard or seen again.
The less killing, the better.
In the frenzy of the moment, none of the Dark Forces noticed their reduction in number. Ignorance truly was bliss, at least for the girls. It all depended on one's perspective.
The golem girls didn't have much luck in the battle until the trolls lumbered near. The wolves were too fast for the small golems. They needed slower targets and the trolls were perfect, if a bit large. Enchanted forks struck the feet and ankles of the trolls, freezing everything from the toes to the knee. It didn't stop the trolls but it slowed them down and annoyed them.
'Sod this,' Emma sent to Kate and Jenna. 'I'm aiming higher.'
'Don't do anything rash!' Jenna called back on deaf ears.
Emma ran up to a troll and climbed it, using leg hairs for handholds. She made it up to its torso before it absently swatted her away as if she was a bug. She managed to leave an enchanted fork stuck in its hand to freeze the arm though, making it impossible for the troll to work the fireball cannon.
"Arm no work," the confused troll said to its partner. "You fire cannon. I watch."
The other troll, also confused, scratched his head for a few seconds and then went to work. He loaded the cannon with a magic projectile that erupted into a huge ball of fire as soon as it left the barrel of the cannon. The fireball easily hit its initial target, pressing into the misty barrier, with the water sizzling and popping from the heat. The flexible shield yielded to a point, and the strong force of the blast nearly allowed the projectile to reach the outer wall, but the shield held and snapped back, sending the fireball up and over the heads of the trolls. They turned and watched it hit in the wood behind them, starting a fire.
"Leader not like that," said the troll with the frozen arm.
Dani and Pat would've laughed if it wasn't for the fire.
"Ash?" Dani whispered.
"Yesh?" came Ash's voice from nearby.
"Please go and gobble up all that fire. Okay?"
"Yesh! Yesh! Ash go eat now. Yum!"
The salamander ran off to take care of the fire. That still left all dozen trolls and far too many goblin and wolves.
'Dani?' Simone sent out a telepathic message. 'What's going on? I felt something very strong hit the water shield.'
After having the fireball cannon explained to her, Simone suggested that it be taken care of with a disintegration spell if possible.
'Right,' Pat sent. 'I'll do it. I've got a spell ready to go.'
'Are you sure, Pat?' Dani asked.
'I'm sure. Cover me.'
With that, the older twin moved away towards the fireball cannon, leaving Dani wondering how she could cover her sister.
I think she still watches too many cop shows on the telly.
Pat nearly made it to the cannon but she forgot about the troll's sense of smell. The troll with the frozen arm started sniffing and growling, making the brave girl come to a quick stop and take a few steps backwards.
"Me smell girl," said the troll as it took a few menacing steps in Pat's direction. "Me hungry."
Pat couldn't see any way round the troll. All she could do was back away. But she did think to activate her spell and toss it towards the troll before she ran back to her sister. The spell went off, turning the troll into a pile of dust.
The other troll roared in confusion and anger. "Trog! Where you go, Trog! Come back! We winning!" Then he stopped and took some deep sniffs of the air. "I smell girls! I kill them for scaring Trog away!"
The troll didn't see what happened to his partner. He thought the girls scared him away so he didn't think to be concerned. He didn't think much at all. Instead, he went back to the cannon and turned it away from the house, firing it blindly into the field behind the cottage. "Me kill girls!" he bellowed.
Dani and Pat saw what the troll was up to and easily dodged the fireballs. They left it up to Ash to take care of the fire and Dani went on to take care of the troll and the cannon.
"Stay here," she whispered to Pat before moving round to flank the angry troll. She got close enough and shrank the troll. Then she pulled out her own disintegration spell and turned the cannon into a pile of dust. They wouldn't have to worry about fireball projectiles any more. There was only the one cannon, and now two less trolls. They still had a long way to go though.
When the fireball cannon stopped firing, it took several minutes before any more trolls came back from the front of the cottage to see what happened. The lead troll sent two others around back and they started calling for Trog and Stench.
The trolls caught the attention of Dani when they started sniffing around and wandering ever closer to her position. She'd been searching for Pat, who kept silent, but when she saw the trolls, she stopped her search and telepathically called to Simone instead.
'Simone? Are you able to come to the dining room window? I need a distraction, please.'
'Be right there,' the twin called back.
Seeing the trolls in the back garden, Simone opened the window and yelled, "Hey troll dolls! Give up! Pack it in!" Then she giggled, slammed the window shut and went back to her station.
The trolls spun around and marched back towards the house, giving the oldest sister her opening. She snuck on them from behind and shrunk them both. The two of them spent the rest of the night running across the lawn, thinking they'd been teleported to a faraway jungle. The grass loomed like tall leafy trees over the heads of the tiny trolls.
Only eight more trolls to go. Now to find Pat.
Dani went back to the field and started calling out in a loud whisper after her telepathic calls went unanswered. She stopped every so often to listen for a reply but heard nothing from where she stood. That made her think to start moving around, listening and calling out as loudly as she dared.
"Pat! Where are you, Pat?! You better be okay!"
She moved slowly in the dark, trying hard to resist casting a spell to light her way. She couldn't risk drawing any attention to her so she just continued to wander in a slow spiral pattern starting from her original position. It didn't take her long to run into something.
She startled and almost tripped when her foot snagged on something and she heard a muffled whimper low to the ground. She bent down and reached out, feeling a warm body.
"Pat? Is that you?"
She heard some sniffling and then a sad voice reply, "Yes."
"What happened? What's wrong?"
"I... I killed something! That's what's wrong!" she said, breaking into loud sobs immediately afterward.
Dani shushed her and rubbed her invisible sister's back — once she was sure she'd found it. She made soothing noises and kept a sharp eye out for more trolls who didn't take very long to appear.
The lead troll sent three more of his underlings to the back garden to look for trouble. They were more cautious this time, spreading themselves out in a large triangle and furiously sniffing the air.
"Pat?" Dani said in a whisper. "Please. We don't have time for this."
Her sister answered her with a quiet whimper.
"I know. I know it's not pleasant, but it has to be done."
Pat answered with another whimper.
"Look. I can relate. I had to kill that serpent in the lake. I didn't enjoy that."
She got two short whimpers and a third long one as an answer.
"No. The serpent wasn't intelligent but it still upset me... loads."
Dani saw the trolls edging ever closer and tried not to panic or bring them to the attention of her distraught sister. She calmly kept talking in a quiet whisper.
"You've got to keep in mind that it's either us or them. Kill or be killed."
No reply.
"Okay. What about this? Think about Mum and Dad. What would happen if they were here?"
Two loud whimpers sounded out, catching the ears of the trolls as well as Dani.
"Come on, Pat. I need you. Now!"
Dani could feel her sister start to get up, and she could see a little dust appear as Pat brushed herself off. She made sure to add a little wind magic to make sure the trolls didn't catch their scent. Then she broke away to target one of the trolls.
When she got within range of the nearest troll, Dani cast her shrinking spell and sent her target on a new adventure, just as she had the previous ones. Unfortunately, the other two trolls saw and immediately charged in her direction. They weren't normally very fast but they could accelerate very quickly in short bursts when they had to. It surprised Dani, and it surprised her more when one of the trolls suddenly tripped and fell on its face. She saw frost covering both of his feet and smiled when she realized what happened. The golem girls were still in the battle.
The downed troll lashed out, swinging wildly in the grass and connecting with Emma, sending the golem girl flying. Then it commando crawled across the grass to follow his fellow soldier, swinging and grasping at anything and everything along the way. He surprised Pat, who had tried to sneak in and finish what Emma had started. He grabbed the girl's leg, knocked her down and pulled her towards him, grinning with a mouth full of chipped yellow teeth and fetid breath.
"I've got you now, little girl," he said.
Pat screamed but Dani had her hands full with another troll. Both girls were on their own.
Simone heard her twin's scream and winced. She felt so helpless sitting on the toilet. All she could do was maintain the shield around their cottage. It worked well enough up to that point.
The book on the art of war that Dani had her read didn't make much sense to her. There was one thing that stood out in her mind however. She needed to act, and she needed to do so in an unexpected manner. So far, she'd been passively defending and it wasn't helping her sisters much at the moment.
She could feel attacks on the water shield on the front part of the cottage but the attacks were happening less and less frequently. Dani had telepathically shared the destruction of the fireball cannon with her so she figured more trolls would be moving to the rear of the cottage. She needed to give them a reason not to do that, and she smiled when inspiration hit.
In the front of the cottage, the misty wall of water started pulling back. The lead troll noticed right away and cautiously approached, waving along two others to follow. The misty wall pulled back, farther and farther, up the few steps to the porch and nearly to the front door. The trolls kept coming, their breath coming in ragged bursts as they got more and more excited about the possibility of bashing their way inside and killing the girls. They made it on to the porch and readied themselves to charge when the mist quite suddenly and quickly sprang back to its former position, sending the trolls flying over the street and into the neighbor's stone wall. Both the wall and the trolls took damage but the wall took the worst of it, unless you counted the mental state of the lead troll.
The troll leader roared with anger, loudly enough that every living thing in the village could hear him. Those who were fast asleep shivered in their dreams, and anyone still unfortunate enough to be awake turned the volume up on whatever device they listened to so they could drown out any more unpleasant noise.
The leader's second in command, a most unusual troll in that he was both short and fairly intelligent, had watched everything carefully and cautiously approached his angry superior. He made an excellent suggestion that brought the leader back from going berserk. If they couldn't go through the shield, perhaps they could go under it. If they moved to the side of the cottage and dug in the soft, damp soil, they should be able to tunnel under the wall and get inside.
The tall, strong troll calmed himself and slapped his subordinate on the back in gratitude. Then he barked out some orders. They had some digging to do.
Dani somehow managed to keep her cool as the huge creature charged her. It wasn't easy. Being invisible helped but the darkness and proximity to the troll limited her options . She couldn't very well dodge the troll's keen sense of smell and hearing and she didn't have any more disintegration spells. Those spells required a lot of electro magic to create so she couldn't make many of those. There wasn't enough time for a shrink spell either. She had a plan though. She readied two shotgun shells, one that stored the magic that she needed for a shrink spell and the other for a spell that she cast on herself. Her second spell was the same one that Jenna had used just before she died. Jenna's spell worked to greatly speed herself up, effectively slowing down time for everyone else. Dani cast that same spell and left her body as Jenna had done. She then had more than enough time to cast the spell to shrink the troll.
She breathed a sigh of relief as time returned to normal and watched with amusement as the tiny troll ran off through the grass. Except her moment of victory didn't last long. She heard Pat screaming and ran to help.
Pat kicked and occasionally screamed — more in anger than fear — but she couldn't break the troll's iron grip on her leg. She couldn't escape and she couldn't think of any spell in her meager list of known spells that could help her. She was completely at the troll's mercy and knew she might not have long to live. She sent out a telepathic goodbye to her sisters and closed her eyes, hoping her death would be quick.
The troll smiled and then laughed when he realized the girl was giving up. He had her and he was going to enjoy killing and eating her. His only mistake was taking his time. He wanted to savor the moment and his sadistic behavior gave a certain golem girl time to recover and return to help.
With the troll on his knees, Emma didn't have as far to climb to her target, and she escaped detection as the troll focused solely on his prey. She gripped a long fold in the troll's trench coat and quickly climbed to his right shoulder. Then she pulled her last enchanted fork from the sling on her back and with a loud, squeaky shriek, she savagely thrust it into the troll's unprotected neck.
The troll had a funny look on his face as he slapped his neck, again sending Emma flying. His hand stuck in place as frost coated his neck and the side of his head. Then his eyes turned cloudy and he fell backwards. His brain froze and he died before his head hit the ground.
Pat slowly opened her eyes and cried. She felt a profound sense of relief, sadness and joy all mixed together and it completely overwhelmed her.
Dani soon arrived and heard her sister crying. She quickly felt around and gave Pat a fierce hug once she found her. She also croaked out a quiet, "Thank you," to Emma. Having seen the frost form on the troll as she ran, she knew one of the invisible golem girls had to be responsible.
In spite of slightly blurred vision from a few tears, the oldest sister still had the presence of mind to watch out for more trolls. There were still five of the large, dangerous creatures left. There were also far too many goblins racing about on their giant wolves. The goblin rider numbers seemed to be thinning a little more but that was due to the goblins becoming easily bored and looking for mischief elsewhere. Dani would've laughed at the spectacle if she wasn't crying.
After securing some weapons that could be used as crude digging tools, the leader had two of his underlings begin digging on the side of the cottage. They made short work of the sod and easily plowed through the rocks and clay to create a shallow trench through which they could crawl under the curtain of mist. As long as that curtain didn't shift position, they'd come up inside of it and would make short work of the front door.
The leader eagerly watched the digging at first, but he soon got bored when it looked like it would take more than a couple minutes. He looked around at the nude goblins racing by on the street and scowled. "Why we bring goblins again?" he asked his second in command who stood next to him.
"Because the girls are faster than us but the goblin riders are faster than the girls. If the girls get by us, the goblin riders would catch them."
The leader turned and sniffed at the other troll with disdain. "It be rhetorical question."
The second in command blushed, not easy for a troll. "Oh. Right." He didn't give the leader enough credit for knowing any words with four syllables, but the leader wasn't exactly stupid either. That's why he was made leader.
Simone sat on the toilet, reaching out with her extra sensory perception, trying to "see" what was going on outside. She wasn't very good at it though. Still, she kept trying. The trolls had been too quiet for too long. She knew they had to be planning something.
Trying to guess only threatened to give her a headache. It was only after she relaxed with some deep breathing exercises that she crinkled up her nose. A bad feeling suddenly came over her.
Her intuition screamed at her for action but it wasn't yet specific about exactly what kind of action, so she did the first thing that came to mind and started filling the bath tub with water. She figured she'd find some use for the extra water.
Her intuition approved.
Kate and Jenna weren't having much luck in the battle. They didn't feel comfortable pestering the trolls in the front of the cottage and they couldn't hit the fast moving wolves. Jenna eventually sent out a telepathic call to Kate for a little teamwork. She had an idea.
Several homes in the area had clothes lines hanging outside and the two golem girls managed to detach one of them. They dragged it back through the grass to a narrow trail that the goblin riders seemed to favor and tied the nylon line to a small, sturdy tree on one side of the trail and a metal pole on the other side. Satisfied, the two golem girls waited for victims. They didn't wait long.
A dozen goblins came down the trail, brandishing their spiked clubs and pushing their wolf mounts hard. They seemed to be playing a game of chase, with the lead goblin several lengths ahead of the pack. The clothes line was strung low but high enough that it easily tripped the lead wolf, sending its rider tumbling. The rest of the riders saw what happened but they didn't have the wits to try stopping, and they were following too closely to stop anyway. They all went tumbling into a huge pile.
The girls wasted no time, jumping over and sticking goblins right and left. The ice enchantment on their weapons proved strong enough to mostly freeze the fairly small goblins, leaving only the wolves to deal with.
The wolves were confused and angry at first. They were angry because they didn't like being controlled by the cruel goblins and they became confused when they found themselves without riders. Several of them sniffed suspiciously and snarled, looking left and right and occasionally snapping at each other. However, it didn't take them long to figure out that they were free to leave, and leave they did. They ran north, the complete opposite direction from which they came. They'd never be ridden again if they could help it.
A few of the wolves howled as they ran, sending a call to the rest of their pack: an invitation to follow if they could. Nearly a dozen more of their kind took them up on the invitation too, running under low hanging branches to dislodge their stunned riders.
Kate and Jenna saw it all and took full advantage of the situation. They even had to dig up some of the enchanted weapons that they'd stored as they soon ran out. The number of goblin riders continued to steadily decrease.
Pat mostly recovered with her older sister's help. The cry really helped too. She needed it. She'd been repressing her feelings more than usual ever since they started becoming girls. Something about the slow process bothered her and it took until that moment to figure out what it was. She and her sisters seemed to take their changes very well, perhaps too well. It seemed as though they didn't care about their male selves. Shouldn't they be sad to see them go? Shouldn't their parents? She promised herself to hold a memorial for their former selves, assuming she lived through the night. She survived one close call but who knows how many more there might be that night, or in the coming days for that matter. Dani was right. They were fighting for their lives and she wanted to live.
"Ready to kick some goblin arse, Dani? I am. I'm feeling a might bitchy, I think."
Dani laughed. "I thought you'd never ask. Let's go."
The two sisters, still invisible, held hands and took the fight to the remaining goblins. Pat used the spells stored in her shotgun shells to freeze, stun and blow riders off their mounts, with Dani pretty much doing the same thing with her own stored spells. She used the stored spells to save on magic, and only dipped into her own magic to shrink the goblins, rendering them harmless.
In every case, as soon as a wolf lost its rider, it ran off to the north, leaving a bemused pair of girls to marvel at the sight.
"No love lost there," remarked Pat.
"None," agreed Dani.
When the last of the goblins had been taken care of and not a wolf was in sight, the two girls returned to their home. They noticed the bull, greedily munching everything in the back garden, but they had bigger worries. There were still a few trolls nearby.
A waning gibbous moon poked above the horizon to light up the cloudless sky as a slight breeze blew a chill through the village. The trolls, goblins and wolves didn't notice. The trolls preferred colder weather and the goblins and wolves grew feverish with bloodlust, though fewer and fewer goblins ran past the trolls as the large, gray-blue humanoids worked on their trench.
The second in command noticed the decline in their goblin force. He stood by himself near a low hedgerow that bordered the garden and silently worked on a backup plan. There were only five trolls left and it looked like there'd soon be no goblins. The only magic weapon that they brought was the fireball cannon but once it was destroyed, and after losing so many trolls and goblins, they should've retreated. The only reasonable course of action was to retreat and wait for reinforcements. Too bad the leader wouldn't accept that. The troll motto was success at all cost, loosely translated. Too many of their kind were simply too stubborn or stupid for their own good.
The short troll slapped his forehead in frustration and left to check on the bulls and the remaining two wooden carts full of food and ale. With nothing else to do, he could at least tend to the poor beasts of burden and grab himself a snack.
The leader noticed his restless second in command and gave a quiet snort before turning his attention back to his three underlings. The trench was just being finished and he couldn't wait to taste his prey. His short comrade could have the dried meats on the cart. He wouldn't settle for anything less than fresh meat. Just the thought of biting into one of those tender, young girls made him drool.
When a last mound of dirt and rock was pushed up onto the grass on the other side of the misty shield, the leader ordered the other trolls to stand guard while he went into the cottage himself. He crawled through the short, wide trench, getting mud all over his coat and mace but he didn't care. He had an appetite to appease.
The heavy front door surprised him. It took several bashings with his mace and two savage kicks before the deadbolt bent enough to give way. With the door open but still hanging proudly on its hinges, he gave it a last, ineffectual kick and took a precious couple seconds to spit on it before beginning the hunt inside the cottage.
Simone heard the bashing and nearly panicked. She almost sent Dani and Pat a telepathic message but she thought they might be busy with battles of their own. Instead, she concentrated on maintaining the misty shield and brainstormed for ideas to deal with what sounded like a very noisy intruder.
I wish I could've kept Ash with me.
She shrugged off any regrets and decided to go with what had worked so far. Taking some of the water from the bath tub, she created another misty water shield in the doorway of the bathroom. The remaining water could be used to cast the only other elemental water spell she knew, creating a jet of water that might be used to fend off an attacker.
With nothing else to do, she sat back on the toilet and waited. And she finally sent a telepathic message to her sisters.
'Dani? Pat? A troll got inside the cottage. If you can help, please hurry.'
'What?!' both of her sisters replied.
Dani verbally fended off Pat and took over the telepathic conversion. 'We just finished taking care of some goblins. We're coming in through the back so lift the shield for us when I say we're ready. Just about… now!'
Simone lifted the shield in the back of the cottage, allowing entrance to her two sisters and Ash, who'd caught up with the two girls by that point. They all ducked under the shield and headed for the back door.
'We're in, Simone. Lower the shield again and we'll make sure the troll knows where we are so it doesn't go for you.'
'Too late!' the younger twin sent.
'Simone? Simone!' Dani shouted telepathically, but she didn't get an answer.
The girls dashed for the back door, forgetting for the moment that they kept it locked, just in case the enemy got through the shield. They wanted to slow down the Dark Forces but they ended up slowing themselves down. Dani and Pat only had a key for the front door.
They quickly ran around the cottage and noticed three trolls just outside the shield near a large trench. Being invisible, they couldn't be seen but they slowed down, careful not to make any noise. That gave the troll leader more than enough time to try to deal with their sister.
The leader hunched over to cope with the low ceiling but he moved quickly through the small cottage, sniffing loudly and often, trying to track his prey. He caught too many strong scents though, several of which were male. That meant a thorough search was in order. He moved through the living room into the dining room and around to the kitchen. Nothing. Then he discovered the hallway and quickly started checking doors, the second to last being the door to the bathroom where Simone waited.
He flung open a closed door and seeing a girl, rushed in, hitting an all too familiar misty shield. It had some give and flung him back as quickly as he rushed in, causing more than a little structural damage to the wall opposite the bathroom door in the hallway. Shrugging off the minor inconvenience with a snarl, he came back at the doorway and started bashing the door frame with his mace. If the door frame weakened enough, he could push through. The door frame would collapse and take the shield with it.
Simone figured out his clever strategy and immediately countered, taking the water from the shield and forcing it into the troll's lungs.
With all of the strenuous activity, the leader found himself gasping for breath so he couldn't stop himself from inhaling the water. He choked and fell to his knees, but he had enough strength left to crawl forward. He still meant to taste his prey.
The girl added several short busts of water to slow his progress, but he kept coming.
The two invisible sisters held hands as they crept along the side of the cottage. Ash went his own way, wriggling well ahead of the two girls, also unseen. The three of them made it past the troll trench and up to the front porch without incident unless one counted the noise coming from inside the cottage. Various thumps, bangs and an occasional snarl could be heard, enough to encourage maximum haste.
Ash and the girls knew where their sister sat. They picked their way past the damaged front door and through the house to the hallway, with Ash still in the lead. Even though they were invisible, the girls proceeded with some caution. A planned ambush or lucky swing worried them, as did the trolls they saw outside. They might be overrun at any minute and their hearts raced. The salamander had no such worries. He only worried about the fate of one of the girls. He cared deeply for the girls — for their whole family — and the thought of even one of them being killed drove him into a frenzy. He hoped he wasn't too late.
The troll leader had made his way near enough to Simone to grab her legs, one in each hand. Favoring his stronger right arm, he pulled the girl's leg towards his mouth, ready to take a very large bite.
Mercifully, Simone screamed once and fainted dead away, and her fading consciousness took with it all of the magic that she'd been maintaining. The water shield around the cottage rained down and the water in the troll's lungs gurgled out in a torrent. The leader let go of Simone's legs, leaving her to slump and slide off of the toilet onto the floor. He gasped and spluttered on his hands and knees, annoying him to no end as it delayed his meal. But luckily for Simone, the interruption lasted just long enough for an enraged, invisible salamander to arrive.
Ash bit into the troll's lower left leg, adding some elemental fire for good measure. He ground his teeth together and kept a firm hold of the leg as he tried to jerk back and pull the troll away from Simone. He didn't have any desire to eat the troll. He just wanted to protect the girl.
The troll had coughed up most of the water by that point and howled in pain and anger. He reached back and ripped Ash off of his leg, throwing the salamander hard against the back wall to fall into the bath tub, stunned.
With his breathing back and no salamander to hamper him, he resumed his mission and reached for Simone. He didn't quite make it.
Dani had arrived by that point and her eyes glowed red. Literally. It wasn't a happy ending for the troll.
When the trolls outside heard a girl scream and saw the magic shield rain down onto the grass, they snorted with excitement and waited for their leader to come back holding the heads of the three girls by their hair. They imagined him thrusting the heads up and giving a roar of victory. They weren't ready for what happened next.
They did hear a roar. They also saw bright flashes of light and then silence for a very long minute or so. And after the silence came a cry of victory. It wasn't their leader though. It was Dani.
Even as stupid as they were, they knew defeat when they saw and heard it. They also still had their second in command to come back and order them to quickly pack up. They were retreating. One of the three bravely went back for the bull and cart in the back garden before catching up to his comrades for a quick exit from the village. They left and as they quick marched back the way they came, they couldn't help wondering if they'd live to see the sunrise. The Supreme Commander back in London wasn't known for being a good loser.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 12: The Best Defense
The battle took a lot out of the girls, both physically and emotionally. Then came the cleanup and repairs. That really exhausted them. They went right to work just as soon as they revived Simone and took care of their new house guest, starting with outside.
The fence and trampled flower beds in the front garden soon looked good as new. The trench was gone and the half-eaten greenery in the back garden grew out to look as it did earlier that day. Over forty frozen nude goblins were shrunk and thawed, releasing them to fend for themselves — though Dani did create miniature clothes for them. Goblins were very hardy when it came to cold but like the trolls, they couldn't survive having their brains frozen. A few of the goblins couldn't be revived. That upset the girls. They held an informal funeral and buried the tiny dead goblins in their back garden. But the worst part was disposing of the dead troll that had tried to eat Pat. She fed Dani enough electro magic to disintegrate the troll and ran inside, crying.
With the outside taken care of and Pat consoled, they turned their attention to the cottage. The bathroom and hallway were fixed up and they mopped up all the water. The proud front door had its hinges oiled, its dents removed and its dead bolt straightened. Of course they used magic in addition to hard physical labor but they had it all done with nearly an hour to spare before their parents got home. That left them some time to deal with the house guest, who was being guarded by Ash in Dani's bedroom while the sisters worked.
Their guest stood about three feet tall with beautiful long blonde hair and light blue eyes. She wore Dani's white tunic top — looking ever so much like a dress on her — and kept a scowl on her face that might have scared away even the bravest young man had she still been a troll. As it was, she looked like nothing other than a cute little girl in spite of her dark mood.
The little girl sat on edge of the bed, wildly swinging her legs and snarling as Dani approached.
Dani laughed. "What's your name?" she asked.
The girl tried to speak but the sound of her voice put her off so she continued snarling.
"If you don't tell me your name, I'll give you one and you'll have to keep it. You might not like that."
"Fine!" the little girl said. "Me Frag."
"Frag? Is that your first name? Do you have any other names? A nickname perhaps?"
"Me sometimes called... Fang." She only whispered the name and blushed, realizing how ridiculous it sounded given her current appearance.
"Oh, my. Those names won't do. Won't do at all. Pat! Simone! Someone here needs a name."
The twins nervously entered the bedroom. Pat and Simone still had flashbacks from their close encounters with the trolls. They saw a little girl when they looked at Frag but they couldn't help remembering her as the troll leader.
"It's okay," said Dani. "Come on in. She won't bite. Ash won't let her."
Ash lounged between the bed and where the three sisters stood. He looked half asleep but he turned and grinned when he heard his name. "Me already nipped girl twice. She behave now."
Frag winced as she remembered the stinging hot bites of the salamander. She rubbed her backside with the memory.
Dani noticed and giggled before continuing. "Girls, this is Frag, also known as Fang. Of course that just won't do. We need to give her a new name."
Frag started to object and the oldest sister interrupted her.
"It's okay. We won't give you a name you don't like. But you need a human name. You're a human girl now."
The former troll slumped and sniffled a little as she fought a sudden urge to cry.
"We'll list off some names and you stop us when you hear something you like. Okay?"
Frag slowly nodded and the girls started the naming. They ran through the alphabet and came close to running out of names before finding something that Frag could live with. She ended up being called Wanda. To her, it sounded like something her mother would've name her if she'd been born a female troll.
The three sisters approved and all was mostly good. They just needed to figure out a story to tell their parents. The new girl, Wanda, had a question or two that she needed answered first however. She looked at the three sisters with a pair of the saddest eyes they'd ever seen and asked, "Why you not kill me?"
Dani gave her a sad little smile. "It wouldn't have been right to kill you. It's not our way. I couldn't leave you as you were but I also couldn't kill you. I did the only thing that my conscience would let me do."
"But why you not turn me into a young troll?"
"I couldn't visualize a young troll and I didn't have the time to try. I had to act quickly to keep you from eating my sister. Remember?"
"Yeah, Frag... I mean Wanda remember. What about now? Can you make me young troll now?" She gave the oldest girl a hopeful look.
Dani sadly shook her head. "I'd need a sample to work with... one of your fellow trolls. But they're long gone. I don't think they'd cooperate in any event. I'm afraid you're stuck as a little girl."
"I think they try to eat me now. That what I would do." She shook her small head and shivered a little at the thought. She might not like being a little girl but she liked the idea of being eaten a lot less. It made her feel something she'd never felt before. It made her feel afraid.
Pat spoke up next. "Mum and Dad will be home soon, Dani. What are we going to tell them about Wanda?"
"Right," the older girl said. "We need to come up with a story and stick to it. That includes you, Wanda."
"Me be good. Me like stories."
"That's good, Wanda, because you'll likely be having a lot of stories read to you."
"Why?"
"It's a human thing. But don't worry. I think you'll like it."
The girls came up with a story they could all agree on, that Wanda had no parents and had been abandoned by her guardian. Not knowing what else to do, the little girl came up and knocked on their door, asking for something to eat. They'd say she couldn't remember any last name — the truth since she'd never had one as a troll — and wouldn't tell them anything about her guardian. They'd imply that she'd been abused and leave it at that.
Social services would have to be contacted to see about finding her a place to live, assuming she couldn't stay with the Green family. The three sisters actually thought it better to keep her to help her adjust given her former self. Dani wanted to keep her, but she wasn't optimistic about doing so.
When Sue and George got home, Sue went crazy for little Wanda. She thought the girl was just the cutest little thing and wouldn't listen to her husband when he tried to be a voice of reason.
"We can't afford another girl!" he said.
"Nonsense," Sue told him.
"We don't know anything about her. What if she's some sort of psychotic serial killer?" George got nervous when he saw Wanda handling the cutlery during a quick, late meal. She seemed to have an especially fond regard for sharp knives.
Sue laughed. "Listen to yourself, George. She's a lost little girl and she needs a good home."
"I don't think I like the idea of keeping her here. Where would she stay? We don't have enough bedrooms."
"She can stay with me in mine," Dani said.
With every argument countered, George bowed his head in defeat. He'd phone social services as soon as possible to start the process of trying to adopt Wanda.
"What's one more female in the house?" he said to himself, shaking his head. "We've already got a house full of them."
Later that same night, Dani sat on her bed, amusing herself by watching Wanda trying to stay awake. The little girl was lying on an air mattress that the family used when they had guests stay overnight. She huddled under several blankets to keep warm and it made her very drowsy.
"It's okay to sleep, Wanda. Ash and I won't hurt you."
Wanda stuck her lower lip out in a full pout and Dani tried hard not to laugh.
"Me no want to sleep yet. Still dark outside."
"Human children normally sleep when it's dark outside. They play together during the day."
"That stupid. Night make might."
"Spoken like a true troll."
"Thanks."
"That wasn't a complement, Wanda."
The two girls remained silent for another few minutes, with Wanda starting to nod off again.
Dani hated to keep the little girl awake but she wanted to discuss something while it was fresh in her mind. She thought back to when she cast the shapeshifting spell. It was the first time she cast it so she wasn't even sure it would work. The only reason she cast it was because she was desperate to save her sister without killing the troll leader. It was only the troll's bad luck that she used her own DNA as a template to change the troll, meaning his gender changed along with his species.
"You might not believe this," Dani said, startling Wanda fully awake. "But I used to be a boy."
"That explain much," the little girl said. "I smell boy and girl in cottage… when I be troll."
"I'm actually still both, but I'm slowly becoming all girl. I just thought you might like to know that we have something in common. I wasn't happy about changing into a girl. I'd much rather be a boy but I got caught up in this war and the Goddess decided I had to be a girl to win it."
"Goddess scare me."
"Yeah."
More silence filled the room until Dani added, "I can't change you into a troll but I might be able to change you into a boy if you want. It would complicate things but I think I can do it if I can find a boy to cooperate. You probably wouldn't be able to stay with us. I don't think I could explain it. My parents don't know I'm a witch."
Wanda cocked her head in confusion. "No worry. Boy or girl both same to me. Both much weaker than troll. Me much rather be troll but girl okay if human."
"Really? You really think that? I thought maybe I'd change back to a boy after this crazy war. I'm not sure I want to grow up to be a woman. I thought I could handle it at first. I've been trying, but it's starting to bother me. It just doesn't feel natural."
Wanda held out both her arms. "Me have two arms. Two legs. Head. Body. Same as boy. Me can do all boy do."
"But you'll grow up to be a woman! You could get pregnant! You'll be weaker than men and they won't respect you."
"Pregnant! Hah!" The little girl pointed to her head. "It be all in here. You work hard, you be anything you want. Me weak troll when young but have strong will. Played hard. Fought hard. Became leader."
Dani had to stop at that point. She'd just been taught an important lesson by a four year old girl who used to be a troll and it'd take her some time to accept it and actually take the lesson to heart. She'd tried to go with the flow and had seemed to succeed. She'd gotten used to her new body easily enough. If was only her mental state that had needed help.
She noticed that Pat had the same problem and wondered if they should have a nice long discussion with Simone about it. The younger twin was the only one of the three that seemed to fully embrace her change. In terms of gender identity, they definitely weren't in sync — with their bodies and each other — and Dani somehow felt it was extremely important that they be in sync in all ways before they did what she was seriously thinking about. She decided that they'd been passive long enough. It was time to go on the offensive.
Dani and Pat looked nervous as they stood before their sister outside near their favorite stand of oak trees. They asked for a private meeting so the golem girls stayed inside with Ash and tried to entertain Wanda in Dani's bedroom.
Wanda loved playing with the golem girls, though she often had to be restrained. She got a little rough when she played war with them, kicking and throwing them across the room if she got the chance. Ash had to play referee and ended up scorching the little girl's clothes several times as he nipped at her to pull her away from one of her overly violent battle maneuvers. That included her triumphant victory celebrations. The little girl loved to celebrate her victories.
Dani shivered when the imagined the carnage in her bedroom. It would take her a good hour to clean up after Wanda's playtime. But she had more important matters to think about. She needed to synchronize her trio for another upcoming battle.
"Simone, how do you do it?" Dani asked.
"Do what?"
"How can you accept being a girl so easily?"
The younger girl cocked her head in thought for a moment before smiling. "Is it that obvious?"
"That you like being a girl? Yes. Care to share your secret? Pat and I are at wits end."
Pat nodded. "We're supposed to be twins. Why are you so different?"
Simone sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. It's kinda hard to explain."
Pat looked desperate. "Try! Please."
"I'm not really trying to be a girl. I'm just doing things that I enjoy. It doesn't matter if I'm a girl or boy. I still enjoy the same things."
Dani frowned. "Like reading?"
Simone nodded.
"What about boys?" Pat asked, raising her voice a little.
"What about them? Are you asking if I like them? Like do I want to snog them silly or something?"
Pat wrinkled her nose. "Ew! That's disgusting!"
Simone laughed. "There! See? That reaction is so… girly. The less you think about it, the easier it is to be yourself… a girl."
Pat shook her head. "Are you saying that we're just supposed to somehow forget we're girls? It's a little difficult to do that in the bath."
"Or when I'm putting on my bra," Dani added.
"Right. I'm still getting used to my reflection. I miss being able to stand and pee. But there are good and bad sides to everything. When it comes to boys, I never really thought about having a girlfriend before I changed so I won't really miss not having a girlfriend if I find myself attracted to boys. We like who we like. I'm not going to fight it."
Pat screamed in frustration. "I don't get it!"
Dani came and hugged her distraught sister while Simone watched, smiling.
"There you go again," the younger twin told them. "You're acting naturally, without thought." She paused a short while to think. "I don't know what else to tell you. I like that I can wear boy style or girls clothing. I can cry whenever I want to and no one would think twice. It's kind of refreshing."
"I still don't get it," Pat said, pulling away from her older sister.
"Neither do I," added Dani.
Simone sighed. "Sometimes, when I get dressed, I stand in front of the mirror and pretend I'm watching someone else get dressed. I wonder what will look good on this girl I see in the mirror and I try things on… different combinations of clothes and accessories. I'm young. We're young. We might get used to our bodies eventually, but even if we don't, I'm going to try focusing on the positive things."
Pat pouted and Dani had a faint, sad smile on her face.
"You two can always be tomboys. Just don't be surprised if I experiment with more feminine things."
Simone's two sisters both perked up at the idea of being a tomboy. It never occurred to them. They'd try to take their sister's advice and see what happened.
Dani sat on her bed and watched Wanda sitting on the floor, battling some crude toy soldiers that were molded out of modeling clay. The soft clay could be shaped over and over so Wanda could be as rough as she wanted. The little girl needed an outlet.
"Wanda?" she said, trying to get the girl's attention. "Wanda!"
"What?! Me busy here."
"You're playing. I think you can take a break."
"Art of war serious business."
"You read Sun Tzu?" Dani asked with one raised eyebrow.
"Sun what?"
"Never mind. Please. I'd like to discuss military tactics with you. You like war, don't you?"
"No. Me don't like war. War bad. But winning good. If me must battle, me like winning."
"Oh. Right. I'm sorry."
"No! Don't say sorry. You beat me. Me respect you."
"Oh! Well... thank you. And I agree about winning. I plan on winning this war and to do that, I need to know more about who I'm fighting."
"Good plan! Me help you. Tell you all about Supreme Commander."
"Supreme Commander? Is that what he calls himself?"
"His name really Richard Smythe. He like you. Think big."
"He's nothing like me, really, except that he wants to win. But enough of that. What can you tell me about him?"
Wanda went on to explain more about the Supreme Commander and his office on the thirty seventh floor of 30 Saint Mary Axe, known informally as The Gherkin. He went through several fonts and flows, killing them when they wouldn't follow orders. His current font and flow were afraid of him so they did pretty much everything he wanted. They weren't as effective though. They definitely weren't Richard's first choices.
"He smart in many ways," Wanda added. "But stupid with magic."
Dani smiled. "So he has a weak spot then. Two weak spots. His font and flow aren't top notch. That's good to know."
"Still won't help you. He have big army. Big! Lots of soldiers and creatures."
"I think you're wrong but we'll see. My feminine intuition tells me that's exactly what I needed to know to win and my intuition is never wrong."
Wanda cocked her head. "Me girl. Me have intuition now too?"
Dani shook her head. "Probably not yet, but when you're older, I'd say yes."
Wanda flashed a wicked smile with perfect teeth, making Dani shiver just a little.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 13: Field Trip
Sue and Dani sat together on the sofa in the sitting room of their cottage. The television was turned off so they could hold a serious discussion. Everyone else was out of the house so it was very quiet. Almost too quiet.
Dani held her hands together in her lap and tried not to fidget. She needed to be very careful about what she said. Her parents still had no knowledge of magic and she meant to keep it that way for their protection. Not knowing anything about magic didn't save them from being threatened in their own home but Dani's latest plan would most likely prevent any more threats to her parents — unless her trio lost the war of course. Her only real concern was what to do in the event that she and her sisters were killed. She needed to leave a note of some sort at the very least. She didn't like that option though.
"The twins and I want to go on a field trip to London... and we were hoping to go on our own."
Sue raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I like the idea of you three alone in London."
"Please, Mum! It's not exactly for school but we figured we could find a way to make a school project out of it. We want to visit the British Museum and Tower of London as well as see Buckingham Palace. There's so much to see and do in London. Please?"
"I'll have to discuss it with your father. It sounds like an expensive trip."
"It'll only be for the day and we don't plan on shopping or anything. We'll just need money for the train, the Tube and food. Oh, and a little for entrance fees for the places we want to visit."
Sue sighed. She would've liked to go shopping in London. "It sounds like you have it all planned. What made you want to visit London so suddenly?"
"Oh... it's just something we wanted to do before summer holiday ends. We've never been to London and it could be a good learning experience."
"What about fun?"
"Oh... that too. I guess. I mean, I'm sure we'll have a little fun."
Sue shook her head. "You're so serious, Dani. You should have more than a little fun. And you should do at least a little shopping while you're down there. I'll talk to your father and see how much money I can prise out of him."
"Thanks, Mum!" Dani hugged her mother and quickly ran to tell the twins that they had a good chance of going. Sue would most likely talk their father into letting them go. Dani was old enough to go on her own and she was responsible enough to look after the twins. They didn't really need looking after but their parents might not think so.
The new, larger gang of Ash and seven girls all met outside under the spreading oak trees as soon as Dani got the good news. Sue managed to talk George into letting the their daughters go to London. They just had a little more battle planning and they'd be on their way to finish the war, one way or the other.
"Why can't we go?" Emma asked in her squeaky voice.
Jenna sighed. "It's obvious, Emma. We're golems!"
"We can be invisible for the trip. We helped here. We can help in London too!"
Dani shook her head. "It's not the same thing. London is a big city. We'll probably need to move around a lot and you wouldn't be able to keep up. It would also be too easy to get separated. And if you were lost and invisible, we might never find you."
"This bites. I wanna fight."
"You too small and weak," Wanda said, not helping matters. The golem girls ignored her though.
"We've done a lot of good already," Jenna said. "We've done a lot of good. We taught our girls everything we know and helped in a major battle. Quite good for three dead girls I'd say."
"I still wanna go," Emma said. "But I'll stay. I'd like to know why Ash gets to go though. Why him and not us?"
"Ash is our secret weapon. We might need his fire. That's what my intuition is telling me anyway."
Emma huffed but she mellowed after Ash nuzzled her. She couldn't stay angry at him.
"Right," Dani said, clapping her hands together. "Now it's time to discuss strategy. We have to assume that no part of the trip, including the train ride, will be safe. I want options for everything."
They all put their heads together and thought they'd covered every possibility, including the death of one of the trio. They didn't like the idea of dying but they had to plan for everything. The stakes were too high for anything less.
The three girls took a private moment in Dani's bedroom for one last important thing. They used magic to record a three-dimensional message for their parents in case they didn't make it back home. The message would automatically play for their parents at midnight that same day unless they got back and canceled it.
"If you're seeing this message," Dani began. "It likely means we've been killed."
"Or worse!" Simone shouted.
"What's worse than dying?" Pat asked, frowning.
"I don't know. Torture? Mind control? Slavery?"
Dani slapped her forehead. "Oy! You two aren't helping."
They stopped the message and started over, with each of them giving their own personal touch after Dani gave a brief overview of everything that had been happening over the past several months.
Simone went first with her message. "Please try not to be too sad. Save your energy for the bad times ahead. Trouble is coming and the world will suffer. I wish you all the best... better luck then we must have had. Just remember that I love you and try to use that to help sustain you. Good bye."
Tears streamed down the cheeks of all three sisters before Simone finished. It took several minutes for Pat to compose herself before she could add her message.
"I'm still not happy being a girl but I've been trying to give it a chance. I just wish I had more time. Please do carry on. Look for a resistance movement or something. Anything. Just please don't give up. Fight the good fight and know that I love you too."
Pat sniffled a little and turned away to pet Ash. She winced as Ash's skin burned her but she didn't want to cry any more and the pain helped distract her.
Dani noted her sister getting burned and winced along with her. She made a mental note to heal her later and started her own private message to her parents.
"I'm sorry we didn't tell you about magic," Dani said. "We thought it best you didn't know, for your own protection. You might not believe in magic even after seeing this message but I assure you it's real. It's actually the reason why we turned into girls. You'll likely find out for sure in the coming months or weeks as the Dark Forces slowly take over the world. We tried to stop them but without us, I'm afraid it's not likely they'll lose, not with magic on their side and no serious magic to oppose them. It takes three people to craft serious magic and apparently, we were the best hope for the forces of good. I'm not sure how or why it turned out that way, but it did, and we paid the ultimate price. I love you Mum. I love you Dad. Good bye."
Dani wiped a tear from her eye and finished the magical recording. The three of them only had a little more planning to do so they'd be ready to leave tomorrow morning. They timed their trip to minimize the chance of encountering any of the Dark Forces but they'd still be ready. They prepared well.
Parking at the Doncaster train station was hit or miss at best. The small car park just past Frenchgate Centre couldn't hold nearly enough cars to handle the number of passengers that came and went, not to mention any additional people who wanted to see them off. A large number of people either took a taxi or bus and only a stubborn minority drove cars.
Dani rode in the front passenger seat with Wanda in a child seat wedged between the twins in the back. The three teens all wore knit tops in white to symbolize the forces of good but they didn't feel very good. The normal chatter was quieted by thoughts of the impending separation and anticipation of the battle to come. No one smiled.
Sue drove through the short tunnel under the shopping center and turned into the car park, hoping for an open spot but not finding one. She had to be content with dropping off her daughters so she didn't have much time to say good bye. She wanted to follow them along and see them off at the train platform. Instead, she had to drive off with her vision blurred by tears. It didn't make sense to her that she was so sad. Her daughters would only be gone for the day.
It didn't help that the three girls were close to crying. That's what set off their mother but Sue was too emotional to think about it. She just wanted to get home and watch some telly to take her mind off of it.
The girls quietly got out of the car and an extra unseen passenger climbed down from the top of the car to follow them. Sue didn't know about the extra passenger but she made sure to say good bye to her daughters.
"Good bye, girls!" she called out through the open car window, then to herself in the car she added, "Bon voyage," right after pulling away and exiting the car park with Wanda mostly quiet and alone in the back.
"Good luck," the little girl muttered, unheard by her new Mum.
A single crow sat on a lamp post, watching the scene in the car park with great interest. Soon after the mother drove off, the crow flew off to the south, disappearing in the blink of an eye as soon as it reached the edge of the city.
The girls stayed close together as they entered the train station. They stopped briefly at the window to buy their tickets and continued on, nervously looking around for trouble. A couple boys leered at them but were otherwise harmless. With nothing to get in the way, they went down a flight of stairs, entered a tunnel to cross under the tracks and came up to their designated platform to wait for their train.
They had some time to enjoy a snack or engage in small talk but didn't take advantage of the time. They were too nervous thanks to having a strong feeling that something bad would happen long before they reached their destination. Relaxing for even a minute could prove fatal in their minds.
When the train pulled up to the platform and hissed to a stop, they all let out a sigh of relief and boarded the train, checking on their seats for the long ride to London. Sue thought to pack them some healthy snacks like almonds and carrot sticks to nibble during the ride but Simone immediately started looking to buy a packet of crisps. She said she was craving salt and only crisps would do. She soon wandered off, leaving Pat and Dani to try to find a way to keep Ash out of the way.
The large salamander was invisible but there weren't a lot of places to keep him out of the way. He couldn't stay in the aisle because passengers would trip over him. They couldn't keep him in their lap because he'd burn them. They tried having him curl up on the floor between their seats but they couldn't put their feet down on the floor if they did that. There wasn't any room. They also couldn't rest their feet on Ash's back, the soles of their shoes would burn and would likely set off the fire alarm.
As the passengers slowly boarded, the sisters noticed that the train didn't appear to be filling up completely. They managed to sneak Ash onto the floor in front of an unused seat. He stayed there and kept quiet, carefully watching in case someone arrived late to claim the seat. He had a couple other empty seats he could move to if that happened.
"We didn't plan very well for Ash, did we," Pat said after getting back to her seat.
Dani nodded. "Let's hope that's the only detail we missed."
Simone came back just then and plopped down in her seat. "I didn't see anything suspicious anywhere in the train," she said. "I'm thinking any attack will come from outside the train."
"Right," Pat and Dani said together. Then Dani added, "Where's your crisps?"
"I didn't find any but I believe someone will come round selling them on the way to London."
"Oy! So you just went on a reconnaissance mission then. You weren't after crisps?"
Simone smiled while touching the side of her nose with her index finger.
Dani shook her head and sighed.
Both of my sisters watch too much telly.
The train started several minutes late, causing minor grumbling from a few passengers. It accelerated slowly until it got near the city limits and then rapidly approached cruising speed. If everything went according to schedule, the train would pull into London's King's Cross Station in about two and a half hours.
The countryside became a dull blur as the train moved along smoothly at over a hundred miles per hour with very few stops to break up the monotony. Much of the trip took place with high banks on both sides so there wasn't much of a view. The passengers were left to fend for themselves when it came to entertainment.
After the first uneventful hour of the trip, Pat and Simone grew restless. Simone wanted to take another look through the train and Pat wanted to go with her, just for something to do.
Dani's first impulse was to forbid it. They shouldn't separate but if Pat and Simone would be together, there was no reason why she couldn't go with them. Together, the three of them would be able to wield enough magic to counter anything the Dark Forces might try. Dani had Ash guard their things and the three of them left. They only made it to the neighboring car when trouble hit.
During a long, straight stretch, the engine hit something on the track, causing it and the first car behind it to derail. If the train had been on a curve, the lead car would've likely fallen on its side and pulled the rest of the train with it in a chain reaction. As it was, an initial jolt shot through all the cars to signal trouble and time slowed to a crawl as the girls achieved a heightened state of awareness and went into action.
The fetch and her sisters knew what happened. Their keen intuition kept them well informed and they knew just what to do. They'd planned for just such a thing since it was easy enough to predict. They worked together to pull enough electro magic to generate a great levitation spell. It took loads of concentration and a little perspiration but the girls managed to levitate the engine and next car to settle it back onto the rails.
The train had started to slow down all during the incident and it came to a stop soon after it got back on the rails. That was the exciting part. The next hour was nothing but dull and tedious though as the crew tried to work out what happened. When they finally resumed their trip, they did so at a much reduced speed, well under a hundred miles per hour.
"This wasn't an accident," Pat whispered after a last concerned crewman left the girls alone in their seats and exited the car.
Her sisters nodded agreement.
"I think it was just a warm up, or a test," Pat continued. "I've got a really bad feeling."
Dani almost snarled when she thought about being killed before they even got close to London. "Keep me supplied with electro magic," she said. "I'm going to make sure the track stays clear."
The fetch cast two spells, one to extend her awareness to the front of the train and a second one to create and maintain a force field that would push any debris off the track. It took a lot of power and concentration but the girls were determined.
Dani had kept up the force field for nearly an hour and she was mentally exhausted but content. Her hard work had paid off because she felt several objects deflected by the force field. The objects had been increasing in size and weight and they'd all been placed on curves in the track, meaning that they'd likely have been in a major accident by that time if not for Dani's efforts.
The obstacles on the track threatened the train at a fairly consistent rate and the next one was over due. Dani telepathically warned her sisters to be on full alert and then reached out with her magic to sweep the area all around the train. She kept her focus on the ground and missed one very important area, as she soon found out.
The passenger car they were in suddenly lurched hard to the right as something made loud clicking sounds on the roof. The girls looked to the right and gasped as a large, reptilian face peered upside down at them through the top of the window. Its gold eyes had narrow black slits for pupils and it ran its tongue along a row of dagger-like teeth in its slightly open mouth before it pulled its head back up. Seconds after the monstrous face disappeared, the car started rocking, gently at first and gradually increasing. The car would soon be knocked off the tracks if it continued for very long.
Dani didn't hesitate. She canceled her force field and immediately took all of her electro magic reserves to electrify the roof of the train right under the beast.
The girls heard a tremendous zapping noise followed by an angry roar. The car rocked dangerously as the great winged beast pushed off and flew away to lick its wounds.
"Ash!" Dani called. "Come here, please."
"Yesh!" the invisible salamander said, already near Dani's feet as he anticipated action of some sort.
"Stay and guard our hand bags and food again. We're nipping outside."
"Aw. Me want to go too!"
"Please. I need you to watch our hand bags. We can't afford to have anything stolen. We'll be back soon."
"Okay," Ash said quietly.
Dani turned to her sisters. "I need more electro magic, girls. We're going out for a little pest control."
She led the way to the back of the car whilst Pat and Simone worked together to prepare to feed their older sister all the magic she could handle. They entered the compartment between cars and in less than two minutes, they finished preparing.
Dani cast a spell that would make them all virtually weightless for the next ten minutes or so, and with her next three spells, she made them all invisible. Then she cast a last spell to shield them against the wind and opened the outer door. They climbed up and over the top of the train to settle on the roof.
"Dragon at five o'clock!" Pat shouted after looking over her right shoulder.
Their intuition told them that the dragon could still see or otherwise detect them, even though they were invisible, so Dani dropped the invisibility spell. She only wanted to conceal their actions until they could be out of sight on top of the train. The mundanes were likely already upset by the rocking of the car. They didn't need to see three teenage girls battling a mature black dragon.
The large, black beast flew diagonally down at them in a power dive, coming up along the side of the train. It's huge wings stretched out a distance that nearly matched the length of a train car and it's speed exceeded the speed of the train by half again. As it started to level off, its speed slowed to match the train so it could turn its head to the side and take a deep breath to unleash its deadliest attack.
Most people would likely be more than a little scared at the sight but Dani just flashed a grim smile. She was ready. She cast a certain spell that she saved for just such an occasion. The spell targeted the water in the flesh of the dragon's wings, just like she demonstrated on a shrub to Jenna a few days ago. With the water removed from the wings, they shriveled up. The dragon couldn't fly and therefore wouldn't be a threat. The fetch didn't leave anything to chance though. As the water was extracted, it was immediately forced down the dragon's throat, extinguishing its flames to keep it from breathing fire on them.
The dragon gurgled as it quickly dropped to the ground, tumbling and rolling to a stop off to the side of the train. It had been greatly roughed up but it would live.
"Thanks for the idea, Sis!" she shouted to Simone, referring to the battle with the troll leader when Simone forced water into his lungs.
"You one-upped me with that one!" the younger girl shouted back.
The sisters all hugged each other in victory and separated to enjoy the view from the top of the train, if only for a brief moment.
"I think we still have another twenty minutes or so before we get to London," Dani soon said. "Anyone care for a snack?"
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 14: London
Richard Smythe, the leader of the Dark Forces, fumed as he sat at his desk in his plush office on the thirty seventh floor of The Gherkin. He fumed because he was listening to one of his more intelligent minions, a human female in a smart, gray suit dress, stand in front of him and ever so carefully give a status report of the recent battle on the train. The minion finished her report by mentioning that the dragon requested some healing and quickly left the office without even asking for permission to leave. She kept her wits about her as she noticed the man's darkening mood and thereby kept her life.
Richard held an old, wooden pencil, recently snapped in half, in his left hand, and a small, decorative glass paperweight in his right that he threw against the far wall, leaving a dent in the plaster.
"They took out my dragon! Those bloody bitches took out my dragon!" he shouted. Then, much more quietly as he regained his composure, "They destroyed the Eye of the Illuminati, defeated a small force of trolls and goblins and stopped a full-grown dragon. I'm through playing games."
He buzzed his personal assistant, an older woman also dressed nicely in a sky blue suit dress, and told her to arrange a special midnight council for that same evening. He wanted to accelerate his plans for taking over the UK. With that out of the way, he sat back in his black leather chair and took several deep breaths to calm himself. He still had to plan a welcome for the new trio on their visit to London. If he had his way, their stay would be quite unpleasant and short.
The girls had long since climbed back into the passenger car of the train, using magic to minimize any drama of course, with the only real trouble being Ash as he jumped up on Dani and singed her jeans. The girl fended off her hot, invisible companion, magically mended her jeans and she and her sisters soon found themselves sitting in their seats and whispering excitedly about their recent battle.
The train pulled into King's Cross Station without fanfare or any trouble, and when it finally stopped, excitement turned to apprehension. The girls gathered their things with Ash in tow and left the train, heading for the nearby entrance to the London Underground, a large subway system that went by the nickname of the Tube.
The Tube consisted of an extensive network of underground railways that transported people all around the large city. At a modest cost, a passenger could quickly ride to a stop nearest their intended destination without getting stuck in traffic in the streets above. It had its own share of problems but it generally served the city well.
The girls bought tickets, went through the turnstiles and rode the long escalator down to the railway platforms, making sure to keep Ash surrounded so no one would trip over him. Dani and Pat ignored the long series of adverts placed on the wall along the escalator but Simone seemed fascinated by the bold colors and brash subjects. She even squealed once and would've made even more of a fuss if Dani hadn't shot her a sudden fierce glare. They couldn't afford to do anything that would draw attention to themselves. The fetch already felt several pairs of eyes watching them, and at least one of those pairs of eyes felt like it was most unfriendly.
When they reached the bottom of the escalator, they stepped off and Dani quietly cast a spell, pulling water vapor with her through the tunnels across to their departure platform. When they arrived, she mentally contacted her sisters.
'We're going to skip two trains so follow my lead.'
The twins nodded and a serious game of cat and mouse began.
With a second spell, the temperature dropped from uncomfortably warm to chilly cool, and the strong breeze that had been blowing through the tunnel noticeably calmed, carrying with it a dense fog that arrived just before the next train. Dani took advantage of the fog, removing Ash's invisibility spell and changing his shape into that of a human with the appearance of an older teenage boy. With the way he'd been growing, he had enough mass to be half a head taller than Dani and he had an impressive physique. The fetch outdid herself. She added a simple outfit consisting of a gray tee shirt, shorts and trainers with ankle socks, all in special heat-resistant materials, and declared him finished. She couldn't change his basic nature. He still radiated a lot of heat but he'd pass as human.
Pat and Simone couldn't wait to see him properly but they had to wait a little while after getting rid of the thick fog.
Passengers complained as they filed into the cars of the train. The train left the station, pulling the dissipating fog with it and drawing some stowaways both in and behind the last car.
Ash and the girls noticed the unwanted attention that the train received. They'd been standing back against the tiled wall of the platform. They weren't exactly invisible but they appeared to blend in perfectly, with their clothes, skin and hair changing colors and patterns to exactly match the dirty, cream colored tiles on the wall behind them. Dani called it the chameleon spell. Her intuition informed her that the Dark Forces would now most likely detect invisibility so she used fog and the chameleon spell instead.
Nothing and no one seemed to notice them but the four of them remained perfectly still according to Dani's instructions. The next train arrived and they watched as several more dodgy looking humanoids boarded it. The decision to watch and wait for the third train proved a good one.
The fetch watched for the right moment, when none of the few people in the area looked her way, and removed the chameleon spell. She herded Ash and her sisters to a bench at the far end of the platform and went to work, using another spell to make a few more modifications. With Ash standing to provide some cover, she first concentrated on Simone's face and hair and then changed the color of her short-sleeved top to a powder blue. After finishing with the younger twin, Pat gasped. Simone looked exactly like Kate. Dani worked on Pat next, making her look like Emma with a gray top, and for her third try, she made herself look like Jenna with a green top.
"Camouflage and psychological warfare," Dani said, flashing her sisters a wicked smile. The Dark Forces would be looking for girls dressed in white tops with their true faces, not the faces of the dead trio. According to Dani's intuition, only the commanding trio of the Dark Forces would have any idea of what the dead trio looked like. When they finally faced each other in battle, Dani hoped their appearance would create an advantage by unnerving the dark trio.
"Me feel funny," Ash said suddenly after hearing Dani speak. Then he looked confused. "My voice. Where my voice?"
Dani giggled.
"Sorry, Ash. You look human now so you'll sound more like a human. But don't worry. I've memorized the template for your original form so I can change you back. For now, just try to get used to your new look and new voice. We don't want to talk much anyway. Someone might overhear us."
Ash nodded and accepted his new form. He didn't like it but he understood the importance of the mission.
The next train pulled up to the platform just at that moment — great timing. The four of them took the Victoria line down to Warren Street station and crossed over to the Northern line, ending up at Tottenham Court Road station, very near the British Museum. They told their Mum that they'd visit the museum and they didn't want to lie. Besides, they wanted to keep the Dark Forces busy looking for them all round the city in the hopes of tiring them out a little.
Ash and the girls rode the long escalator up to the station and emerged on New Oxford Street. They walked a couple blocks along Great Russell Street and soon found themselves at the museum, paying the entrance fee and having a good long look around.
The huge room just inside the entrance impressed all of them with the curved glass ceiling and round white structure in the middle. Simone wanted to explore the round structure but Dani insisted on skipping it. They didn't have time. There were several key exhibits that she felt were a must so they moved to an adjacent room to start with the Egyptian exhibit.
The Rosetta Stone, along with lots of Egyptian and Greek sculptures in the same wing gave them lots to talk about but sadly, they didn't have time to see any more. Dani feared that they'd lose track of time in the huge museum so she bought a guide book in the gift shop on the way out and she and her sisters headed towards the Tube to reach their final destination. The Dark Forces wouldn't wait forever.
The trio didn't make it to the next Tube station right away. Simone saw a flyer for the Cartoon Museum and begged to go.
"Please, Dani! It's just over a block on Little Russell Street. It's practically on the way."
"We don't have time!" Dani hissed.
"We could use a little humor before we get into it with the dark side."
"Dark Forces," Pat corrected, clearly out of sync with her twin.
"You know what I mean!" Simone said. She came close to crying and Dani gave in. The oldest sister noticed that their synchronization weakened when one or more of the girls became upset. The British Museum was grand but too serious and stuffy. They needed some comedy relief.
They did end up enjoying themselves for a good hour as they walked round the Cartoon Museum together. The museum was much smaller and less impressive than the British Museum but it had its own charm and a much lighter atmosphere. As they looked at the cartoons, even Pat giggled several times, covering her mouth in embarrassment each time. When one found something funny and giggled, they all eventually started giggling. By the time they left, they were in perfect sync.
The cartoons helped elevate their mood and they marched with a lighter step on to Holden Station, riding the Central line to Bank Station and switching over to the eastern split of the Northern line. They continued down to London Bridge Station, their final stop, and left the station in the direction of the River Thames. As soon as they reached the area near London Bridge City Pier, they walked across the gangplank and hunkered down on the pier to review their plans for the coming battle.
The floating pier gave the trio easy access to a great supply of water and elemental water magic. So far, everything was moving according to plan.
The four of them were pleased with how well everything was going, but after Pat and Simone took some time to have a good look west at the nearest bridge, they became a little confused.
"That's London Bridge?" asked Simone. "It doesn't look very impressive."
Pat nodded in agreement until Dani tapped the twins on the shoulder and pointed down river. "I think you're confusing London Bridge with Tower Bridge."
The three of them looked over at Tower Bridge, with its two sturdy towers connected by a pair of horizontal walkways, and sighed.
"That's better," Simone and Pat said. Dani had the same thought but decided not to add her voice.
They chose the pier on the south side of the river as their battleground so they had the River Thames between them and The Gherkin. During their planning back home in Norton, the golem girls didn't seem to think it mattered since the Dark Forces would likely be spread out on both sides of the river but they agreed for symbolic reasons if nothing else. One side would represent the dark and the other side, light.
Dani raised a finger to her lips and made a shushing sound to remind Ash not to talk and give themselves away. They weren't alone on the pier. Several people stood at the railing, looking and pointing at all of the sights in the area.
The disguised salamander knew the girl's gesture and gave a slight nod to acknowledge it.
'Remember,' the girl then said telepathically to her sisters. 'We cut off the head and the body dies.'
'Right,' Pat and Simone sent back together.
'We need to hit fast and hard,' Dani continued. 'We stop the dark trio and the Dark Forces will be vulnerable to anarchy. There can't be much loyalty to the three men if what Wanda said is accurate. We do that and we win.'
"Time to get their attention," all three girls said aloud, getting a funny look from Ash who wasn't in on the telepathic conversation.
Richard sat at his desk, quietly fuming... again. The messenger woman was back with nothing good to report. She sensed an approaching verbal storm again and quickly left before the thunder rolled out of Richard's mouth.
"You sneaky little twats!" he shouted. "What are you playing at? Where are you?"
A blast of water suddenly sprayed against his office window, startling him. He whipped his head around and watched as drops of water connected to form little rivulets. The rivulets twisted and turned on the window to spell out words, two or three at a time.
"WE'RE WAITING!"
"Waiting?" the man said. "Where?"
"LONDON BRIDGE..."
Richard sighed. "Which London Bridge?" He didn't believe they'd refer to the proper bridge in spite of any sign posts.
"IS SO NOT..."
"Such reprehensible grammar these days. It's just as well that I plan to destroy all the schools."
"FALLING DOWN..."
"London Bridge is falling down? Or not if I correctly read their bad grammar."
"FALLING DOWN..."
Richard scowled.
"FALLING DOWN..."
"Please. Please don't finish the song." He tried to ignore the rest of the message. He knew what the words meant, or thought he did. But he couldn't look away.
"LONDON BRIDGE..."
"IS SO NOT..."
"FALLING DOWN..."
"Just finish it!" the man shouted, at the end of his patience.
"MY FAIR WANKER."
The message finished with a crude but obvious representation of the distinctive Tower Bridge and then ended. The water resumed its normal behavior of running down the window and began to evaporate in the midday heat.
"Droll," Richard said without humor. "Very droll."
He buzzed his personal assistant.
"Yes, Mister Smythe?"
"Miss Jones, please inform all of my... associates that they're to converge at Tower Bridge in ten minutes."
"Yes, Mister Smythe."
He opened a drawer in his desk, grabbed his mobile and quickly stood up, speed dialing his favorite verbal punching bag as he did so.
"Ray? It's begun. Get in here. Now. And don't forget Peter this time. I'm in no mood for mistakes."
He hung up and paced in front of his desk, thinking about the message from the girls. He knew that the song didn't actually refer to Tower Bridge — it actually referred to much older bridges that were long since destroyed — but most people associated the two anyway. He figured that the girls would get it wrong, thinking they had an inferior education because of their bad grammar. And that's exactly what the girls wanted him to think.
Ash and the three girls stood at the west end of the London Bridge City Pier, enjoying the early afternoon sun. They scanned the area on the far side of the river down near Tower Bridge. A few mundane citizens still remained on the pier, though most seemed to have gotten nervous and left when they started seeing impossible sights flying overhead. The only others on the pier were a mother and her young daughter who stood at the opposite end, looking down river at Tower Bridge, and one older gentleman who sat on a bench whilst snacking on a packet of crisps.
"I'm sensing movement," Pat said aloud, earning a smirk from Dani.
'Maintain verbal silence!' the older girl shouted telepathically. 'Mental communication only until this battle is over! You got that, soldier?!'
'Yes, Ma'am!' Pat and Simone both replied and smiled.
'Remember. Keep that water magic ready. I'll wait until they're close to the river and then let 'em have it. We don't know exactly what they look like but we have a verbal description of one of them from Emma and we know to look for three men together. My far vision spell is active so I should be able to spot them.'
'Right,' the twins said.
The girls managed to stay calm — only pretending to be afraid to reduce suspicion — as they saw all various members of the Dark Forces strut about in broad daylight, daring anyone to stop them. The Dark Forces were brazen though they did hide what weapons they carried. They didn't want to force the police to get in the way.
Battle-scarred men in black leather were bad enough but there were worse things. Orcs, dark elves and evil dwarves, all wearing dark sunglasses, walked among the cowering mundane citizens. Even trolls and a few giants who towered over the trolls wandered the streets. Then there were the creatures. Griffins and wyverns flew overhead with giant snakes and enormous centipedes slithering about the alleys. The dark army covered every square inch of the area around Tower Bridge and came up empty.
Richard and the other two members of his trio stood in the shadows near the entrance to the Tube's Tower Hill Station, across from the Tower of London. They knew better than to get near the River Thames. The girls would gain an advantage, however small, with all of the water in the large river and they weren't taking any chances. Too many things had gone wrong since killing Jenna's trio.
"Where are those girls?!" Richard said, gritting his teeth and barely suppressing the urge to kill something. The only two living, breathing beings near him at that moment were the members of his trio and he couldn't kill them without seriously handicapping himself.
"I don't know," Ray replied.
"I wasn't talking to you, you arse. Just keep my magic ready."
"Yes, sir."
"I can't see anything from here. We need to get a better view."
The evil trio moved towards the west side of the Tower of London, away from Tower Bridge and significantly closer to London Bridge. The leader didn't trust the girls so he thought he'd stay well clear of Tower Bridge. Even so, he had Peter and Ray lead the way. When they came within view of the river, Richard briefly stopped, letting the other two men continue forward. He felt like he was being watched and he didn't like it. It was more of a prey reaction and he wasn't prey. He was the predator here.
The leader looked all round him and mentally chastised himself for being nervous. He continued on but still hung well back from Peter and Ray.
Dani perked up suddenly, surprising her sisters. She stood up and leaned against the railing, staring down river.
'Do you hear that?' she asked the twins.
'Hear what?' they replied. 'We only hear you and normal city background noise.'
'I definitely heard another voice in my head. It sounded familiar somehow but it can wait. I think I have the trio and they're in a great position near the river. Listen to this….'
Dani described the three men that came into view in front of the Tower of London. Two of them were fairly close to the river and the third followed at a fair distance. One of the two men in front fit Emma's description but it was the feeling that she got from her intuition that told her they were the ones. The twins agreed. It was only a matter of when to trigger the trap as the three men moved ever closer to the water.
'Troll at three o'clock!' Pat and Simone mentally shouted after looking over at the south river bank.
Dani moved back with her sisters, pretending to cringe in fear. She made sure to face the troll so it could see that she looked nothing like her true self.
The troll gave her a casual glance and kept walking, disappearing back into the building that stood nearest the pier on the south bank.
'All clear,' the twins said.
'Right,' Dani said, looking back to check on the evil trio. 'They obviously haven't spotted us yet so they're expanding their search area. Keep building up that magic in the river near the men. I've waited as long as I dare. I'm flying over to it now. I'll need to be closer to pull this off.'
'Wait!' Pat and Simone said. 'What about invisibility?'
'I suspect that would attract attention faster than if I simply flew. I'm sure they expect us to try an invisibility spell so they probably have some magic that detects it. I bet I'd show up like a flare at night. They'd swarm me in seconds.'
'There must be some way to sneak up on them. What about going under water?'
'That might work but we didn't plan for it. They could have serpents in the river. Remember the one in Askern Lake?'
The twins shivered.
'Look. I can't swim nearly as fast as I can fly. I probably wouldn't be fast enough. But they won't expect me to be bold enough to be visible when I fly over near them. I'll have the element of surprise. Besides, I want them to see Jenna's face. Remember?'
The twins nodded and finally agreed to let their older sister get on with the original plan.
After a quick look around to see that there were no cruise vessels about on the river, Dani looked at her sisters and gave a very short, slow nod and then marched to the east side of the pier to get as close as possible to the evil trio. She considered creating a distraction for the mother and daughter who stubbornly stood nearby but shrugged her shoulders instead and magically launched herself into the air. She was a girl with a plan and she wasn't going to let herself fail.
The little girl immediately pointed and shouted, "Look, Mummy! That girl is flying!"
The mother saw the flying girl and gasped. She'd finally seen too much. She grabbed her daughter by the hand and pulled her by the hand back up the gangplank, with the daughter crying out, "I wanna fly too! Please, Mummy!"
The woman and girl were almost immediately followed by the old man. He didn't see Dani fly away but he finished his crisps and decided to go get something else to eat. Ash and the twins soon stood alone on the pier, watching the brave teen fly out over the river.
"Be careful, Dani," Simone whispered with Pat and Ash nodding agreement.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 15: Battle at the River Thames
Dani flew low and straight towards her target, and she surprised both men and herself as she soon hovered over her selected position on the river. She actually had to call out to get their attention.
"Excuse me," she said as she powered up for her spell. "I believe you're looking for me."
Peter and Ray nearly suffered whiplash as they jerked their heads around to face the girl who hovered near them. Richard stopped walking and simply stared. He'd been lost in his own thoughts and completely missed her.
"No," the evil trio leader whispered after getting a good look at Dani's new face. "It can't be. I killed you." He couldn't help wondering if some dark magic had resurrected the dead trio, seeking to use them to replace his own trio. He collected his wits though, and immediately started looking for the other two girls, thinking that they'd be vulnerable if they were too far from their fetch.
The other two men also recognized Jenna's face and it rendered them speechless for several amusing seconds until Ray finally managed to blurt out, "Bloody hell!"
Dani suppressed a giggle and simply said, "Don't worry, you two. I choose life." She started her spell and an undulating wave began forming along the river. The wave grew in size until the water sloshed up and out of the channel, sweeping the two men into the river and underwater. Richard had stood too far back to be hit by the wave but Dani didn't worry about him. Without the rest of his trio, he'd be a lot less dangerous. Instead, she concentrated on the second part of her two part plan. With some chi magic that she kept in reserve, she transformed the two men into large, primitive fish called sturgeons. The two men swam as fast as they could up river, losing their humanity but keeping their lives.
Richard finally thought to take advantage of being out of range of Dani's spells. He temporarily gave up on his search for the two missing girls and shouted orders as he ran away from the river bank. "Get the girl! She's here!"
The man's shouts attracted the desired attention. Several trolls appeared on the far bank and opened fire with semi-automatic guns that they'd kept hidden in their trench coats. Bullets whizzed in Dani's direction but she didn't stay still. She cast a shield spell from her dwindling magic reserves and zigzagged back in the direction of her sisters.
Richard watched what he could of the battle as he ran. He saw the general direction she intended to go and worked out that she must have come from up river on the south bank of the river. He shouted more orders in between gasps for breath. "Get to… the south side… of London Bridge! The other girls should be… just down river... from there!"
He received a lot of confused looks but not much action.
"Bloody… useless…," he wheezed, getting too short of breath to shout at his minions. The man didn't get enough exercise sitting behind a desk all day. Still, he continued jogging at a fairly quick pace towards the north end of London Bridge.
Dani had enough magic to cast her shield spell but not much else. It was all she could do to remain in flight. She fought hard to avoid the bullets because she didn't trust the strength of her shield. When two griffins arrived to attack her from above, she nearly gave up. It was only a certain voice in the back of her mind that gave her hope. She listened to the voice and canceled her flying spell, replacing it with a water breathing spell as she dove head first into the river. She swam down into the murky water and let the current carry her away from all of her attackers. Luckily, there were no serpents waiting for her.
Ash had kept a close eye on the girl and saw her drop from the air into the river. He wanted to dive in after her but fire and water didn't mix well. He needed help.
"Dani needs help!" he cried. "Go help her!"
Pat and Simone froze, thinking that they just lost their sister and their only hope for defense. They couldn't imagine what to do next. Their plans didn't account for being separated for any length of time.
In desperation, Ash reached out to grab Pat's sleeve and burned it, causing a puff of pungent smoke that made the girl sneeze. It snapped her out of her funk.
"I don't know what to do, Ash. We can't fight without Dani. We'll be slaughtered!" It was all she could do not to cry.
"Run! Run away from river. Back away and down street. Find Dani. Now!"
"No, Ash. We shouldn't leave the river, not with all of its water magic."
"Please, Patty!"
The girl frowned at her nickname and steeled her resolve. "Our intuition is telling Simone and me to stay. But it's saying nothing about you. You'll have to listen to your own inner voice, whatever it might say. I'm sorry."
Simone reached out to hold her twin's hand in a show of support. The two of them meant to stay and accept whatever fate had in store for them. And with whatever time they had left, they'd brainstorm. They certainly weren't giving up. They just didn't know what else to do.
"Fine! Stay! Ash go. Save Dani!"
The human-looking salamander quickly ran up the gently sloping gangplank using his longer legs and soon disappeared from sight. The twins watched him go and once again heard some inner voice telling them to stay and wait. They bravely listened to that inner voice, though they did think to find cover to reduce their chance of being spotted by any suspicious members of the Dark Forces.
Richard just made it to the north end of London Bridge, breathing hard and bending over with his hands over his knees to rest. He very briefly looked across the river and thought he spotted someone running from the London Bridge City Pier. But whoever it was quickly moved out of sight.
"Probably… nothing…," he wheezed. "But…."
He went onto the walkway of the bridge, keeping close to the railing over the river so he could look for the girls. If he had to lead every single one of his minions by the nose, he'd do it. Or, if necessary, he'd kill the two girls himself. As a matter of fact, that thought began to appeal to him more and more as he walked. He'd been working himself up into a furious frenzy all day and he needed an outlet. If none of his minions happened to be nearby, he'd do the dirty deed himself and be done with it. No one made a fool of Richard P. Smythe.
By the time he got halfway across the bridge, he'd gotten his breath back. His pace quickened and he occasionally stopped to take a look along the south bank of the river.
"Still nothing," he said. "Except for the bloody police. It doesn't matter though. They won't find anything… as long as the bloody trolls stop shooting and activate their illusion rings."
He continued to walk and thought about the loss of his trio. Losing individuals never bothered him much before. Not even losing members of his trio bothered him. But that was because he'd always had backups ready to go. This time was different. He had no one to replace Peter and Ray. The two former men weren't very bright but they had decent power. Without them, he felt almost helpless. He could only perform what he considered to be parlor tricks unless he spent hours ramping up his power in some tedious ritual. A lot of power could be stored in magic items that way but he didn't have the time. Time was running out for him since he ruled by power that he no longer wielded. Deep inside his subconscious, he realized that his minions didn't respect him. They only feared him. And without his power, he couldn't maintain that fear. He needed a trio, and he needed one soon.
If he thought about it a little more, he might have realized that he would be better served to go back to the office and rebuild his trio. Instead, his anger provoked him into saving face by eliminating three girls who'd been an increasingly painful thorn in his side.
He kept walking and fuming.
After bullets stopped zipping through the water above her, Dani zoned out in the murky water, still breathing thanks to her last spell but not doing much else. She aimed her feet down river and kept her arms at her sides, barely kicking a little to keep from skimming along the bottom. The cold water slowly sapped her strength and left her feeling sluggish, both physically and mentally. What should she do now? She didn't get all three of the men. The leader would fill out his trio again and the evil madness would continue.
She couldn't give up, not after coming so far but she didn't know what else to do. The Dark Forces were too strong and she was too far from her sisters, moving farther all the time as the river carried her away.
Her sisters seemed to call out to her in her imagination, calling her home, calling for help. They were so vulnerable without her spells. She had to help them. She had to try.
The girl slowly turned perpendicular to the current and swung her open hands up and around to cup the water and move her towards the south bank of the river. The water was so cold and her arms felt so heavy but an inner voice spoke up, ever louder to encourage her. Three, four, five strokes and the light from above grew brighter as she moved closer to the surface. She leveled off before reaching the surface so she could remain concealed for as long as possible and continued on until her hands brushed soft mud in the shallows. She crawled out, muddy and exhausted, and expelled the water from her lungs to break the spell and breathe air once again.
No gunshots interrupted the quiet gurgle of the river or the splashing as she struggled to crawl completely out of the water. No one shouted at her or threatened her in any way. She briefly stopped to cough a couple times and look around. She saw that she wasn't all that far from where she dove into the river. Tower Bridge could still be seen.
The cold and tired girl slowly stood up and brushed away some of the larger clumps of mud. There wasn't enough magic left to properly clean and dry herself so she'd let the sun do some of the work and not worry about it. She had to find a way back to her sisters. She was back in the game.
Ash ran quickly down Tooley Street for several blocks until he tired and slowed to a jog. He wasn't in the best of shape, though his longer legs helped. The transformed salamander didn't complain. He just kept jogging, trying to ignore the sirens and police as they swarmed the area, looking for much larger "men" with guns.
He passed the Unicorn Theatre and briefly wondered what unicorns would be doing in London. Then he saw Potters Fields Park next to Tower Bridge and thought about cutting through the park to get easy access to the river. But a little voice in his head told him to not to. He started getting mystical advice just as Patty suggested he might. He listened to the inner voice and it seemed to guide him, urging him forward down the road, on to where it changed to Jamaica Road and gently curved to his left to follow the bend in the river. He kept going.
Several very large men dressed all in black eyed him suspiciously as he passed them but they didn't move to stop him. They were looking for three girls, not a desperate looking young man running down the street. Both Ash and the Dark Forces followed their own path in their search for Dani and her twin sisters.
The Dark Forces continued to follow their last orders to seek and kill the trio of girls that arrived in London that day. They all received magically produced photos of their targets and moved through the city at their own pace. Many of them did start to wonder about the lack of updates, but so far, their fear of the man who led them prevented them from doing anything other than do what they were told.
The normal citizens of London mostly went about their business, with little more than a sideways glance and nervous throat clearing. In true British tradition, they ignored the impossible sight of trolls, giants and griffins. And as long as no laws were broken, the police wisely left them alone. No one realized that the forces of good and evil waged a war for city and country right under their noses.
Ash neared another park and ignored it. He veered left around a large traffic circle and continued on Brunel Road. His inner voice told him he was getting close and he increased his pace.
Pat and Simone sat close together on the floor of the pier, using their magic bond to communicate wordlessly to each other. A series of images alternated in their two minds, quickly suggesting options and just as quickly dismissing them as unworkable. Their brainstorming session wasn't working out very well.
"I don't want to die," Simone suddenly whispered, startling her twin who hugged her and quietly shushed her. She almost responded with some whispered words of comfort when her inner voice interrupted.
Both girls perked up as directions for an unfamiliar spell formed inside their minds. They'd been exposed to a few spells so they recognized it as a magic thought form. Without hesitation, Simone gathered elemental water magic, passed it to Pat to concentrate it and then both sisters dipped into it, casting what they vaguely understood to be a type of summoning spell. They didn't know what they were summoning and they didn't care. The inner voice assured them that something would arrive to help as soon as she could. It wasn't clear if she would make it in time to save them but she'd certainly try her best, whoever or whatever she was.
The twins waited and tried to remember to breathe.
Richard cursed under his breath as he made it across the bridge. He walked along Tooley Street, checking out the buildings before finally hesitating near the London Bridge City Pier. His gut instinct told him they had to be on the pier since it had the easiest access to the river in the area.
He hesitated because it wasn't clear if the three girls were back together. He hadn't heard any gunfire for several minutes and wasn't sure exactly what that meant. Without his trio mates, he couldn't tap into his magic information network. If the feminine trio was together, he'd be completely at their mercy without magic of his own to counter theirs.
The leader decided to gather some of his forces to assist him just in case. He whipped out his mobile, speed dialed the first number that came up on his display and pressed his mobile hard against his left ear.
"Troll leader? This is your Supreme Commander. I'm on Tooley Street near the London Bridge City Pier. Send everyone you've got to this position immediately."
He hung up, not waiting for a reply and worked his way through all the numbers for his generals, giving them orders to send everyone his way. He didn't trust some of them to know where to go but he felt confident that at least half of them would show up and put an end to the little battle. The angry man wiped the sweat from his brow and paced, waiting for reinforcements.
Dani walked between two buildings to reach the nearest street. She made it half a block further before encountering a troll dressed in its usual gear of a long trench coat and dark sunglasses.
In spite of her unfamiliar face, the troll had enough intelligence to be suspicious of the muddy girl and hurried his pace to catch her. He didn't like the idea of hunting down three teenage girls. It wasn't so much that he cared. He just didn't respect the girls, thinking they'd be too easy to kill. Still, he had his orders and fear compelled him to carry them out.
The girl resisted the instinct to run when she saw the troll coming at her. She knew it was a troll even with the illusion that changed his appearance and still she held her ground, finding herself suddenly felt full of energy, and full of confidence. Before the troll got close enough to grab her, she went on the offensive.
"Excuse me," she said. "I magically changed my appearance but yes, I'm one of the girls you're looking for and I have one question for you. Who's your real enemy?"
Her words confused the troll. He knew magic could change one's appearance since he was doing it himself. That's not what confused him. It was the question that did it.
"You?" he said.
The girl shook her head. "Wrong answer. Do you know your Supreme Commander lost his two trio mates? Except for whatever magic items he might be carrying, he's powerless. Think about what you'd do if he couldn't threaten you with magic. Again, I ask you. Who's your real enemy?"
The troll rubbed the stiff black stubble on his chin. "How me know you tell truth?"
"You don't. But I did change the two men into fish and they swam away in the river. Perhaps you should check in and ask about that."
"Me don't wanna. Me…."
The troll suddenly stopped in mid sentence when he got a magical summons from the leader of the trolls. He was ordered to report to the Supreme Commander at London Bridge City Pier.
"Me go now to pier. Take you with."
The troll moved to grab Dani but she easily evade his grasp.
"Girl hold still!"
"I'll willingly go with you. Just don't grab me."
"You no keep up. Me special forces troll. Wear magic boots. Run fast. Me carry you."
"I can keep up. In fact, let's race. If you win, I'll let you carry me the last block to make you look good in front of your superiors."
"Hah! Girl not win."
"Hah, yourself."
Dani took off running at a magically enhanced pace. She had no idea how she managed it and didn't care to think about it. The blur of the scenery and rush of the wind through her hair made her giddy.
"Hey! Wait for me!" the troll bellowed as he trailed farther and farther behind. "Stupid girl!"
Ash knew he was very close to finding Dani. His inner voice insisted on it. He turned left onto Swan Road and made it to Rotherhithe Street and then something odd happened. He felt Dani's presence behind him on the road he'd crossed over from. She was running back on Brunel street the way he came, back to help her sisters, leaving him behind. His inner voice sadly informed him that there was no way he could keep up with the girl but also said that he had to continue after her. She needed him so he turned around and slowly jogged back towards London Bridge City Pier.
"Me no understand," he said. "This not part of plan."
The battle lasted well past any plans that the girls had made. It was expected that all three members of the evil trio would be eliminated and the Dark Forces would scatter in chaos and confusion. That's not what happened and now there were no plans. The poor, tired salamander faithfully chased after his beloved human and hoped to eventually be of some use.
Richard had stopped pacing and instead started checking his watch every five minutes. He wasn't known for his patience. Every minute that went by added to the punishment he had in mind for every single member of his dark army. Nothing angered him more than incompetence, and not even the rapidly diminishing police presence eased his anger.
When a single, magically disguised troll arrived, the leader assumed control, ordering the troll to stand ready and wait for more to arrive. After seeing the look on the man's face, he nervously leaned back against a metal lamp post and slightly bent it without noticing.
Richard noticed the troll's clumsiness and imagined sending a surge of electricity through the post to electrocute the troll. He couldn't do that though, and that angered him all the more.
Two more trolls came, both with uzis concealed in their trench coats. Then a third troll arrived along with a large salamander that he restrained by a titanium chain lead, followed by two orcs, a dark elf and several men. All of the trolls and orcs had activated their illusion rings so they appeared to be human with skin tight clothes that couldn't possibly hide any large weapons. That got them past the police so they could arrive to do their leader's dirty work.
The Supreme Commander decided that his little group would be enough. He told a man to stand by and direct all newcomers through to the pier and quietly issued orders to the rest.
"I believe the girls to be somewhere on the pier. The trolls will lead the way and immediately fire upon the girls on sight. If or when the trolls run out of ammunition and any of the girls are still alive, unleash the salamander and have it fry them with fire. Understood?"
Everyone nodded and the Supreme Commander ushered his small force ahead of him to hunt the girls.
The twin girls sat on the deck on the southeast part of the pier, watching every ripple, every eddy in the river, imagining something emerging from the water to help. As the minutes ticked by, they stopped imagining and started trying to will it to happen. Their intuition told them that they didn't have much time. So did their ears and eyes. They heard shuffling and looked behind them to see a troll coming down the gangplank. Its illusion didn't fool them. They moved back against the red wall and stayed low below the window to hide. They truly didn't have much time.
Pat first worried about innocents getting hurt until she looked around and noticed that there was no one else on the pier. She then thought about trying the summoning spell again but decided against it when she realized that her twin didn't share her idea. They fell out of sync again and they couldn't even communicate telepathically, not surprising given the stress of the situation. Both girls were understandably quite upset.
Casting the summoning spell would most likely attract attention as there had to be someone with magic detection capabilities. Trolls could smell magic. That was bad enough that any spell would get their attention. Still, Pat had to do something. Simone sat next to her, trembling with fear, leaving her ever so slightly older twin to be the girl of action.
There wasn't much that Pat could do, and whatever she did decide, if anything, would have to involve elemental water magic. It was a good thing that she thought to keep her vortex of water magic going after the summoning spell. She had the magic to work with. She just had to decide how to use it.
As the troll slowly and carefully edged closer to the girls, a second one joined him they both eventually made the decision for Pat. Their proximity and the semi-automatic guns that they carried reduced her options to one.
Pat clung to her sister and called a wave to wash over the pier directly towards the river bank. She made it about two-thirds as big as she possibly could and the results were impressive. The wave hit the trolls hard, causing them to let go of their weapons and washing them into the river. The wave continued across the pier and part way up the gangplank, catching the two orcs and a couple men off guard as well. The orcs fell back against the men and sent the group of them into the river. The nimble dark elf danced back away from the wave. That left the elf, two men and the one troll with the salamander.
Richard slapped his forehead as he watched from the river bank. He briefly looked up at the sky and back down again, screaming, "Get them! There's only two of them! They're on the southeast corner!"
The wave had forced the girls up against the wall so it couldn't wash them away, but Pat wasn't as careful the second time. She had just enough magic left to call up a second wave about half as large as the first, and she had it sweep in the direction of the river current, from west to east. The wave actually got the dark elf and the remaining men, and it got the girls too, washing them all off the pier. The troll and salamander were lucky enough to find something to cling to so they didn't join the rest in the cold river.
With water pooling in spots on the deck of the pier, the troll pulled the reluctant salamander to the railing. Every step of the salamander hissed with superheated water and steam rolled off its damp skin. By the time the steam and hissing stopped, the salamander stood at the rail but the girls were out of range of its fire. That left it up to the rest of the Dark Forces who were in the river with the girls. They swam towards the now powerless girls, intending to drown them if nothing else.
Richard anxiously watched the deadly swimming race and muttered obscene cheers in support of the side of evil. He didn't notice when a certain girl approached him from behind, though he did get that strange feeling of being watched.
"What did you do to my sisters?" Dani said with remarkable restraint. She startled the man, who turned and glared at her.
"I haven't done anything. But my minions are closing in for the kill. Care to watch with me?" He smirked at her, something that normally would've sent the girl into a full blown rage. She surprised both him and herself though.
"Yes. Let's do."
She felt a warm, calm feeling wash over her and she moved to stand beside him and turned her attention to the river. All of her senses easily extended to her sisters and beyond. She never felt so good, so alive. Something new and wonderful was happening to her, and she took none of it for granted. However, she did appreciate some of the benefits, like sensing a powerful water being rapidly approaching.
An ancient and very powerful undine, also known as a water elemental, had been summoned by the twins. She reached them first and pulled them under, granting them the ability to breath underwater. She also encased them in a shell of much warmer water to keep them from getting cold and kept them from moving with the river current. Then she dealt with the others in the water.
The heads of the evil swimmers disappeared one by one, starting with the one closest to the twins. When it was just the floundering dark elf left, he didn't get pulled under. Instead, he found himself flying through the air from a rogue wave. He splatted against a stone retaining wall and plopped into the shallow water at the base of the wall, groaning. He'd live. So would the others, but they had a little problem.
"What… what happened to my minions?!" Richard shouted.
Dani smiled. She knew exactly what happened. "They won't be surfacing again for awhile, not till they're far down river," she told the man.
"What?! They're dead?!"
"No. More like they can no longer breathe air… at least for the next hour or so. They'll have to breathe water until then. Interesting solution."
"That's… that's just… bollocks!"
"Will you please stop shouting? You're upsetting the salamander."
The troll and salamander had walked back up the gangplank to join their Supreme Commander. The salamander licked its lips and moved to the side, ready to breathe fire on the girl.
Richard noticed and quickly moved out of the way so his minion could act.
The salamander almost immediately breathed fire, which engulfed the girl. The fire lasted nearly twenty seconds before laughter could just be heard over the roar of the flames.
"Stop!" The man said. "Stop at once! Something's wrong."
The salamander stopped and Dani stood before them, untouched.
"That tickled," she said, giggling.
"How did you do that?" Richard said, his eyes bulging. "Your trio mates are gone. You shouldn't have any more magic than I do."
She shrugged. "You heard him, boys," she said, just as the special forces troll with the magic boots caught up to her. "He doesn't have any magic to control you. You're free to do what you want. That includes dealing with your impotent Supreme Commander."
The two trolls and salamander looked at each other and scowled. Then they slowly turned towards Richard, giving him an evil smile that sent shivers down his spine.
"Stay back! Back, you bloody…." He went quiet when he saw the angry determination in their eyes. He didn't want to aggravate them any more than he already had.
"Here now," said the special forces troll. "You want blood? We give you blood."
WIth that, the three minions lunged at their former leader, causing him to sprint away. The slower troll and salamander continued chasing him. They likely couldn't catch him but the special forces troll could with his magic boots. He stayed behind though, not to give the man a chance with a head start but to do something much better.
"Thanks, girl," he told her. "You good. Me like you."
"Please. Call me Dani."
"Me like Dani."
"And?"
"And me don't like Supreme Commander."
"He's not your commander any more. Always remember that." She paused to give him a big smile. "But I meant something else. What's your name?"
"Oh! Right. Me Spanner. Span for short. Me fix things."
"Nice name, Span. I…." Dani paused again, but she frowned when she detected a short range teleportation. Richard must have had a magic item with him to teleport himself out of danger. "Oh, bugger!"
The troll gasped at the vulgar language coming from a girl.
"Sorry, Span. I just sensed your former commander teleporting to the Chunnel station." She paused again, suddenly hearing the evil man's thoughts in her head. She didn't have time to be surprised though. She took it all in and relayed it to her new friend. "This is important, Span. Your former leader is planning on going to Paris to fill out his trio again. He didn't have enough power to make it all the way to Paris but he'll still manage to get there. And he means to eventually come back and punish you all."
"Oy!"
"But don't worry! I'm going to make sure he never harms anyone ever again."
"You kill him?" the troll asked her, giving her a sad, serious look.
"Not if I can help it. I don't like to kill. I don't want to kill. But I have to make sure he never harms you or anyone else and I'll do whatever it takes to stop him. The man is a menace to… everyone." She wanted to say good and evil but she saw the potential for good in the troll, just like she saw it in Wanda back home. Trolls were influenced as much by nurture as they were by nature.
"Me happy you not kill. Killing no fun for me too."
She smiled up at the kindly troll. "Go now. Tell everyone that they're free of that man. Go back to your families, the lives you had before he took over. I'll stop him and try to stop anyone who tries to take his place."
"Thanks again, Dani. Bye!" The fast troll ran off to his new life, leaving the girl with several loose ends.
'Pat? Simone?' she called telepathically. 'Can you hear me?'
'Dani!' both twins answered and continued speaking together. They were completely in sync once again. 'We hear you! What's happened? Are you okay?'
'I'm fine. Richard is on his way to Paris to form a new trio and I'm about to chase after him and prevent it from happening.'
'Oy!' the twins responded. 'Wait for us!'
'No! Please. It's still not exactly safe. There are a lot of Dark Forces around. Please stay with the undine. You summoned her. Now enjoy her hospitality and wait for me to return. I will return.'
'But what about magic? How will you cast any spells without us?'
'That won't be a problem. I'm not sure, actually, but I think the Goddess is looking after me. I don't know how else to explain all of the magic I've been performing without the two of you. I'll be fine. But something tells me I'll need Ash. Any idea where he is?'
'He chased after you. Didn't he find you?'
'Not so far…. Oh. Wait. I think I can feel him coming now. I've got to go. Be good for the nice undine now!'
'Ha ha,' was the sarcastic reply in stereo, followed by a sincere and loving, 'Blessed be!' They had faith in their sister. That and a reassuring little voice in their heads telling them that everything would be okay.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 16: Calm before the Storm
Dani turned away from the river and started walking towards the street to search for Ash. There wasn't much time before Richard's train left for Paris and she was getting a little anxious. Her inner voice insisted that she take Ash with her. She didn't realize that her companion was a little worried about coming back and running into trouble so he didn't take the most direct route to the pier.
The slightly anxious girl stopped and tried to sense his exact location. She took some deep breaths but stopped when she heard heavy breathing behind her. She turned and there stood the salamander, looking exhausted.
"Ash! There you are. Come on, boy. We need to get moving. Richard's trying to escape and we have to stop him."
The human-looking salamander shook his head and gasped out a few words. "Me… too… tired. Please. Need… rest."
The girl smiled and then on impulse, cast a spell on her companion. It was a strange mix of magical energies that she'd never before tried to cast as a spell and it was exactly what Ash needed.
He looked surprised at first, and then he flashed a big smile. "Wow! Me feel great! Let's go!"
Dani laughed. "That's the spirit. But don't worry. We won't have to run very far. Our villain has too big a head start so we're going to have to…." She looked around to make sure she wouldn't be heard. That wasn't a problem though. The battle scared all of the mundane citizens away long ago. "We'll be using magic to catch up to him. That still doesn't mean we shouldn't be discreet."
She led her companion to a nearby vacant hallway where she cast an invisibility spell on both of them and then teleported together to King's Cross Station. She knew the layout of that train station so she could teleport to it with no problem. From there, it was just a short walk over to Saint Pancras International to catch the train to Paris, the same train that Richard had already boarded. The tall, evil man sat in comfort in a premier class seat with a smug look on his face, sure that he'd find a new trio and resume his reign of terror before the end of the week.
But before leaving King's Cross Station, Dani and Ash had to find a way to stay together. The girl couldn't hold hands with Ash since he'd burn her, but she could sense him well enough that she didn't need to maintain physical contact. She had to keep him informed though, so he wouldn't wander off and get separated.
'Ash?' Dani sent telepathically. 'Can you hear me?'
"Yes," he replied out loud, not realizing what she was doing. "I hear you fine."
Several people who were walking by looked in their direction and hurried their pace.
Dani shushed him. 'Don't use your voice. Remember we're invisible. We'll upset people so just think your answers to me.'
'You hear me now?' Ash tried.
'Yes. I hear you. Good.'
The girl explained the first phase of her plan to the salamander and the two of them walked the short distance over to the Saint Pancras station with Ash in the lead. They had to keep close to the wall to keep from people from colliding with them but they got to the station without mishap.
The pair stood against a wall to stay out of the way and waited for an opening to sneak onto the train. Dani didn't have the money for train fare so they'd have to stow away. She felt a little guilty about that but they had to be on that train. Something told her that she wasn't yet ready to confront Richard. It would take strong and obvious magic to get him off the train, and if she somehow did force him to leave, she had a bad feeling that it wouldn't end well. Her little inner voice told her to wait and confront him in Paris and that's what she'd do.
The train pulled out on time with Dani and Ash on board. They stayed invisible and sat in the area between cars to make it easier to avoid passengers.
The trip would take a little over two hours. That would give them both time to plot and prepare for the coming battle.
'Me no understand,' Ash sent. 'Why there be battle if bad man has no trio?'
'I'm not exactly sure myself but I think it has something to do with what's been happening to me.'
'Yeah! You make magic without Patty and Simone. How you do that?'
'I don't know… exactly. Or I do know… but I can't explain it. Oh!' Frustration almost caused her to lose her focus and with it, her telepathic connection to Ash.
'You okay, Dani?'
She took some deep breaths to center herself. 'Yes, Ash. I'm okay. I can see it more clearly with every passing minute. I think I finally understand the Goddess now and why Jenna couldn't explain Her very well.'
Dani hadn't exactly been getting help from a goddess. She'd been on the path to becoming one with the Goddess. It was a subtle but very important distinction. The Goddess wasn't a separate entity. She was more like the opposite. She consisted of the collective life energy of all life on the planet, including the collective intelligence of every intelligent being on the planet. That included men, and it meant that being one with the Goddess would allow Dani to easily control all aspects of magic. Fire, air, water and earth were all available to her, and she didn't need a font and flow to be powerful.
Being intersexed, however temporary, made it easier for her to become one with the Goddess. Synchronizing with her twin sisters also helped. They helped her find balance for the masculine and feminine forces that normally fought for dominance within a person. Pat represented the masculine and Simone was the opposite, embracing femininity, and yet the twins could still synchronize with each other. They found the perfect inner balance and Dani tapped into it. She became one with the twins and that was the stepping stone she needed.
'It's wonderful, Ash,' she said after reaching a new, higher level of consciousness. 'I wish you could feel what I'm feeling.'
'Me too hot to feel you, Dani. Remember?'
'No, Ash. You're not too hot for me to touch. Not right now anyway.'
The partially enlightened girl reached out for her companion and drew him into a hug. She borrowed magical energies around her to reduce the salamander's heat and control her skin's reaction to it. He actually couldn't burn her.
'Hug,' he whispered in his mind.
He didn't mean for her to hear him but she did, and she shed a few tears of sadness for him, sadness that he couldn't experience the comfort and love of a simple hug until that moment.
She held Ash in her arms for a good thirty minutes. That was as long as she dared, but only because she really needed to get back to planning for the battle. It was going to be a terrible last battle.
Dani kept mental tabs on Richard, but she had to be careful. He started sensing her presence and she could tell. It became a psychological game of cat and mouse, and she wasn't always able to assume the role of the cat. Richard's force of will was formidable.
'Oh, Ash,' she sent. 'I still don't know what all to do.'
'What you mean, Dani? We have good plan.'
'It's a start but it's not going to be easy. I just know it. Richard is like my polar opposite. He'll find some way to counter me. He'll find a magic item or maybe…. I think the same thing that's happening to me could be happening to him.' Her voice got quieter as she spoke. She didn't like idea of Richard becoming god-like.
'He not have magic. You do. You stronger.'
'He had a magic item. That's how he teleported to the train station. He's not without resources. He has a lot of money, money that can buy magic." She paused as her inner voice whispered to her. "Oh, no! Why didn't I think of that?!'
'What? Bad man buy trio on train?'
'No, you silly salamander.' She gave her companion a kindly smile, even though he couldn't see it. 'He could be using his mobile to buy magic items and even interview trio mates. He's certainly been keeping busy during this train ride. I can feel it.'
'Why we not stop him now then?' Ash started to stand up and Dani held him down with surprising strength.
'No, Ash. If we fought him now, I'm afraid we'd push him into becoming too powerful for us. At the very least, we'd very likely disrupt the train and a lot of people could get hurt or even killed. We need to wait until we get to Paris.'
"But Dani!" He blurted aloud, forgetting himself.
The divine girl mentally shushed him. 'I'm sorry, Ash, but I insist. We wait. We've done as much plotting as we can. We'll have to leave the rest up to the Goddess. I'm still not fully integrated into Her and I need to be. It's the only way we'll win.
'Okay. I be good. But Goddess scare me.'
'Yeah,' Dani said. 'Wanda told me the same thing. And I'm scared too, Ash. I'm scared too.'
Dani used the remaining time to meditate with Ash keeping watch over her. She did fear what was happening to her and she had to get over it to continue on her spiritual path. The meditation was necessary to contemplate all the good that could be found in the world. She'd already dwelled too long on the bad and Richard had her quite upset. The Goddess encompassed both the dark and the light and Dani had focused too much on the negative. She needed goodness and light to cancel out the dark.
She focused first on her sisters and the love they shared. Then her parents, school, Jenna and Jenna's trio, her loyal companion, Ash, and even Wanda. Trolls showed that they had a good side. Good could be found in almost everything. One just had to look to see it.
The girl sighed. It took a lot of energy to compress all of her fond memories into the span of fifteen minutes. It was worth the effort though. The energy, thoughts and feelings that washed over and through her became almost unbearable until the love shined through like the sun breaking through the clouds after a storm. Dani smiled. She did it. She was one with the Goddess. She completed Her path on a journey that started when She was first brought home to Water Works cottage as a baby — Her whole life designed to prepare Her to become the Goddess.
'I see it all now, Ash,' She sent. 'We need to leave the train now and wait until the time is right to stop poor Richard.'
'Dani?'
'It's okay, Ash. Everything is okay. The plan has changed. I see it all clearly now. Richard will be dealt with when the time is right, and in the right place. Let's go.'
She reached out and held Ash's hand, teleporting them both very near the location where She'd have Her final battle with Richard. No longer invisible, Ash and the fully divine girl stood on the grass of the Champ de Mars and looked up at a famous landmark. The Eiffel Tower loomed just over a thousand feet above them very near the River Seine on the Left Bank. She saw the tower and knew exactly how everything would play out. It all crystallized in Her mind.
Dear Goddess, please tell me I'm wrong.
She gently shook Her head and answered Herself by shedding a single tear that rolled down Her cheek.
The train had long since left England. It passed through the Channel Tunnel, nicknamed the Chunnel, and surfaced to quickly glide through the French countryside, rapidly approaching Paris.
Richard sat in his plush seat on the train and hummed. He never felt so relaxed and so confident. He couldn't bring himself to believe that he was anywhere close to being at full power but he surprised himself by feeling the familiar tingle of magic all throughout his body, like he was fully charged.
"Impossible!" he whispered. But it was true. Even without a trio, he'd absorbed magic around him and could easily wield it, just as he realized Dani could do the same. Something was happening to both of them. He didn't like to entertain the possibility of being stopped from his dream of world domination but he could appreciate a challenge, especially as he felt sure he'd come out on top.
His mobile played the familiar opening of Beethoven's fifth symphony and he stabbed at the button to accept the call. He tried to keep his enthusiasm from showing and just barely restrained himself.
"Richard here. What've you got for me?"
The voice on the other end of the phone told him everything he wanted to hear. He was all smiles but he didn't let it show in his voice.
"Right. I'll meet you in two hours at the Louvre, just in front of the glass pyramid entrance. You can expect online payment in full on delivery."
Richard selected his words very carefully. The other person wanted to sell an extremely powerful artifact and just because that person could expect payment didn't mean that Richard would actually honor the agreement. He just had to sound sincere to make sure the person showed up at the appointed place and time. If the artifact worked like his research said it would, he wouldn't need a trio and he wouldn't have to worry about paying anyone anything ever again.
The man laughed and as usual, it wasn't a pleasant sound.
The train arrived three minutes late at Gare du Nord, the North Station in the tenth administrative district of Paris. It took a long time for everyone to disembark and Richard was the last passenger to leave. He didn't care. Everything was going his way and he stayed on the train, relaxing in his comfortable seat as long as he could. When he finally got up, he walked off without thanking any of the staff and didn't look back. He hadn't brought any bags so he didn't have anything to slow him down as he walked towards his date with destiny.
He did wonder about some odd feelings that he had on the train. It felt as though he was being watched several times during his trip, and each time, he looked round the passenger car yet saw no one.
Sometimes his sight extended into adjacent cars. That confused him a little. He wasn't used to doing something like that without any magical effort. But still, he trusted his feelings. The girl would be after him. He was as sure of that as he was of his own name. It wouldn't surprise him if she'd been on the same train with him.
Bring it, girl.
He stopped briefly and waited just in case. He was ready for her, fully charged with a fireball spell that had her name on it. But she didn't show up.
The man shrugged and continued walking.
Taxis were scarce near the train station. That annoyed the evil man a little. He shrugged it off though, as soon as his thoughts came back to the magic item that he'd wanted for so long. He'd searched for the Dragon Mask for over two decades of his life, and just when he most needed it, it fell into his lap.
The wearer of the mask was said to be able to breathe fire like a giant dragon, sending thick columns of fire for great distances, kind of like a cross between a flame thrower and a fireball spell except on a huge scale. Even his invention of the fireball cannon couldn't compare to the Dragon Mask. Just the thought of holding the mask in his hand and slowly bringing it towards his face gave him a warm, pleasant feeling.
Since he couldn't find a taxi, he decided to enjoy the nice weather and walk. He'd been to Paris before so he wouldn't get lost, and even if he walked all the way to the Louvre, he thought he still had enough time for a quick meal. A nice cafe caught his eye and he waltzed in like he owned the place, wanting to grab a quick supper consisting of some rich French food that he didn't plan on paying for. The train fare would be the last thing he'd ever purchase.
He was seated very quickly against one wall in a prime location. The staff noticed his expensive suit and appreciated one's attention to their appearance. When the man straightened the lapels on his suit, he immediately got the attention of a waiter.
The waiter, a thin young man with short, greasy black hair appeared in front of him speaking French, asking if he wanted any wine.
Richard didn't understand a word of what the young man said but he nodded yes and pointed to an expensive vintage on the wine list. He didn't need to understand the language to know that a drink would be the first order of business.
The waiter hurried off to get the wine, leaving the evil man to try to decide what to do first once he had the Dragon Mask. With so many options, it was hard to decide.
So much evil to do. So little time.
Dani sat next to Ash on the grass near the Eiffel Tower. Making sure that She wasn't being watched, the divine girl changed Her face back to its true appearance, with Ash left looking human to keep from scaring anyone. She kept track of the time by the position of the sun and patiently waited, enjoying the pleasant late afternoon while She could.
Having Jenna's face had seemed odd but at least it gave Her a nice idea, one that She'd work on after getting back to Water Works cottage. The idea also reminded Her of something, something that She didn't remember experiencing. It was the last word that the Goddess had said to Jenna before the girl's death and it suddenly made sense. She couldn't wait to get home, though She did regret one small thing.
"It's a shame we can't do more sightseeing now, while we're here," She said. "We'll have time after we take care of Richard but I'm afraid by then, we won't be in the mood to enjoy the city, assuming there's anything left of it."
"What?" Ash said, confused. He never understood half of what Dani said and since their sudden trip to France, he understood even less.
"Ah. I'm sorry, my friend. I don't mean to worry you. Perhaps we could go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower and have a good look round the city. Would you like that?"
Ash squinted as he looked up at the observation platform near the top of the tower. "Me not like high places. Me can't fly."
"Oh, dear. That's not true. Not with me around. You'll be safe enough with my magic. Is that okay?"
The human-looking salamander thought about it for a brief moment and shrugged his shoulders. He trusted his beloved human but still couldn't decide.
"I'd really like to see the view from up there, and I'd like to share it with you. Please. Let's go up."
Ash couldn't say no to Her. He nodded. "You go. Me follow."
"It'll be okay. Everything will be okay… just over three hours from now. You'll see."
Richard sipped his overpriced but adequate red wine. He unknowingly ordered a meal with fish, getting a raised eyebrow from the waiter since it clashed with the red wine, but he didn't care. The man felt a bit peckish by that time. He needed something in his stomach after all of his exertion back in London. He'd snacked on the train but that didn't keep his appetite satisfied for very long.
After two loud stomach gurgles, the waiter appeared and carefully set a plate of sole meunière before the hungry man, who started eating it rather quickly.
The evil man spared a glance at his watch and noticed it was getting close to his meeting time. He needed to get some food in him as quickly as possible and make a quick exit. He had such wonderful plans for his exit too.
His waiter wandered over to a neighboring table, muttering, "Crétin," under his breath.
© 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 17: Paris Is Burning
Richard ate all of his fish and immediately after taking his last bite, he cast the fireball spell that he prepared earlier in case Dani showed up to confront him. The fireball shot across the restaurant and slammed into the far wall, opposite where he sat. The magic fire set the wall ablaze and the restaurant began to fill with smoke.
Shouts of "Merde!" could be heard from the restaurant staff whilst Richard calmly chewed his last bite of fish and walked out, following after a stampede of patrons, none of whom paid for their meal.
The tall, evil man in his expensive suit hailed a taxi and rode to the Louvre. The cab driver looked in the rear view mirror, noticing the fire and emergency vehicles but otherwise left his passenger alone. They drove the short distance and when they stopped, the cabby turned, expecting payment. Instead, he got a spell. The spell lit the man's hair on fire and he bolted from the taxi, screaming. Two quick-thinking young men stopped him and probably saved his life by grabbing dirt from a potted plant and using it to smother the flames that had spread to the man's clothes. Another five minutes, another fire. Richard was on a roll.
He originally worried about his office tracing him by his credit card payments and hunting him down but he didn't have to worry about that. He didn't really have to worry about the Dark Forces coming after him at all. He could take care of himself quite well. He didn't understand why and he didn't care. His inner voice just told him that he deserved a run of good luck after being thwarted several times by the trio of good girl witches of the north.
Either his inner voice was talking to him more recently or he just started listening more. He wasn't sure which but he did notice how useful it could be to listen. It hadn't been wrong so far.
Richard took his time getting out of the car. He still had four minutes to get to the meeting place and he didn't want to be early. He hated being early. He walked slowly and hummed a long series of random notes that sounded beautiful to his ear. The discordant sound went so well with the destruction that he planned.
"I'm sorry, Ash," Dani said, walking across the grass away from the Eiffel Tower. "I should've realized we had to pay to go up to the third level."
"Me no worry. Nice day for walk."
Dani smiled and nodded.
The odd pair went in search of an ATM and it didn't take too terribly long to find one a few blocks away. Actually, the walk took the perfect amount of time. Dani purposely started on Her little quest to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower at exactly the right moment. Her inner Goddess timed the visit to the observation deck to coincide when She'd have to be up there to try to stop a madman.
Ash stood to the side in front of the ATM, blissfully unaware of Dani's plans. She decided to keep him innocent as long as She could. He'd soon play an important if disturbing role.
"Can me have ice cream?" the salamander asked. "Me never had ice cream."
"You've never…?" Dani stopped and shook Her head. Of course She never thought to let him try ice cream. She was afraid he'd melt it all and never properly taste it. She decided to change Her mind though and let Ash indulge in a little ice cream flavored fire, if that was possible. It was the least She could considering what She'd soon ask of him. She magically withdrew several more euros until She was sure that She had enough money. The money was magically withdrawn but She still made sure to target Her parents' bank account. She had to do it with magic since She didn't have an ATM card. Her father insisted that She be kept on a strict budget and he felt an ATM card would be too tempting to abuse.
Still on their perfect schedule, the two of them walked back towards the Eiffel Tower at a leisurely pace. They still had over ninety minutes before the final curtain.
Richard reached the front of the Louvre's glass pyramid exactly on time. He looked around for his contact and just managed to suppress a frown. He'd come too far to frown. Frowning implied failure and so far, everything was perfect. The sound of the sirens, the rising smoke in the distance, everything made his body hum. He felt like a god of destruction, the perfect complement to a goddess of creation, except he didn't intend on being complementary in the least. He'd cancel out his feminine nemesis and take over the world.
As he stood, waiting, he went back to humming an awful little tune. Passers by frowned at him and that made him hum all the more. He fed on the discontent and grew ever stronger by the minute. He was almost disappointed when his contact arrived, several minutes late. He wanted more power, but he accepted that he had enough to do what needed to be done.
His contact was a short, stocky man with ever so much dark hair everywhere on his body except on his head and face. His suit looked a size too small and his shoes looked ready to throw in the dust bin. If only one word could be used to describe him, it would be shabby.
Richard asked to examine the mask and the shabby man naively handed it over after unwrapping it from several layers of black silk cloth.
The mostly black Dragon Mask gleamed in the late afternoon sun, its only colored feature being a thin blood red outline along the outside edge and around the eye and mouth holes. The mask reeked of age and power. It had a history of destruction that only a very powerful and evil magic user could fully appreciate.
The tall, slender man smiled as he thought about how he contrasted so completely with his contact in stature, knowledge and magic ability. He smiled even knowing that he planned on killing the shabby man in a very short period of time.
Richard closed his eyes and sighed as he felt the back of the mask. Elemental fire arced like static electricity over his finger tips as the mask charged in the sunlight. By all accounts, the mask had never reached full power and its potential was thought to be limitless. It could charge all day by any number of sources and it could be used as long as it had power. At its current power level, Richard figured he could use it for hours and still not come close to exhausting the elemental fire stored in it. It hadn't been used for centuries, and for good reason.
The legend of the Dragon Mask told of an ancient history full of burning armies and firebombed buildings. Someone at some time in the distant past had to have been able to harness the mask's power and use it to its full potential, something that Richard couldn't wait to test.
Giddy with power, the evil man opened his eyes and smiled a most unkindly smile, just before quickly slapping the mask onto his face, startling his contact. It was the last thing the poor shabby man saw.
The mask quickly and permanently bound itself to Richard's face and according to its written history, the only way it could be removed would be with the man's death. He didn't really think about trying to remove it though. He was too busy thinking of all the ways he could use it, starting with the shabby man standing before him.
Richard sent out a slender tongue of fire through the mouth of the mask. The fire penetrated the large man's chest and cooked his heart in an instant. The man fell dead and was quickly forgotten by his murderer, who was anxious to move on to bigger things. The glass pyramid behind him tempted him ever so slightly but he liked its modern look. He graciously left it alone and looked to find a more deserving target.
"It's starting," Dani said, staring out at the view from the top level of the Eiffel Tower. Long shadows stretched across the grass below Her and a few lights started blinking on in the distance. She sighed and committed the beautiful sight to memory.
"What starting?" Ash asked, after lapping up the flames that danced on top of his little bowl of ice cream. But his question wasn't answered.
The divine girl searched out and remotely followed the growing evil with her consciousness, satisfying Herself by making sure to minimize loss of life. She could've prevented the destruction Herself but that would reveal Her interference and unravel Her very important plan. She couldn't do that. All She could do was to protect the potential victims as best She could. That and mourning the dead would have to be enough.
Ash finished his treat by quickly devouring the ice cream. The ice cream wasn't as good as the flames but it developed a smoky flavor that the salamander appreciated. After he finished eating, he enjoyed the the view and patiently waited for Dani to reveal Her plan.
Richard knew he looked odd as he was, sharply dressed with an ancient black mask on his face. He knew others would soon try to stop him if he didn't act right away, so he marched over to the nearby Royal Palace Museum and belched a column of fire from his mouth that put his beloved fireball cannon to shame. The outer walls of the museum exploded from the instant heat and combustible artifacts nearest those same outer walls burst into flame. The museum would burn to the ground and no one could do a thing about it. He didn't notice a shimmering wall of force covering people as they escaped from the opposite side of the building. Instead, he continued looking for his next target.
He walked on, turning a fountain of water into a fountain of steam as an afterthought. He noticed but chose to ignore all of the emergency vehicles that passed him as he left the Royal Palace Museum behind, zigzagging a block or so until he came upon a Library.
"Perfect fuel for the fire," he said, absently scratching his groin.
The man used the mask's two eye holes to shoot a pair of narrow streams of liquid fire to pierce the wall of the building and catch shelf upon shelf of precious books on fire. Once again, he didn't notice how people were protected as they ran from the building. He could've stayed and protected himself well enough but he wasn't interested in a battle, at least not at the moment. He just wanted to create as much destruction as he could before the Goddess confronted him like he knew She would. He was the self-appointed God of Destruction and he had a reputation to build.
Speaking of battles, Richard suddenly found himself facing two policemen, who stopped their car when they witnessed the latest impossible scene with their own eyes. They bravely forced themselves to overcome their fear and slowly approached the perpetrator. They had thought to call for backup, though it wouldn't come in time.
The new demigod didn't hesitate. He spat a ball of fire at the two men, instantly vaporizing them. Their ashes scattered down the street from the early evening breeze. High up in the Eiffel Tower, the Goddess mourned their deaths.
Richard smirked and continued on, walking into the library and spitting fire left and right, making sure to burn every book he saw. He'd always hated school and he found his current rampage to be particularly satisfying. It almost made up for all of his despised teachers who seemed to find pleasure in torturing their students with mountains of tedious homework. He knew school helped him get to where he was now, but he still hated the experience. It was only the destination he cared about, not the journey. He lived for the moment, and his moment was one of sweet, beautiful fire.
He wandered through the library and eventually exited the north end of the building, not knowing where to go next until he remembered that the stock market building was very close. He followed his memories of the city, looking to cause a little financial mischief on the way to an even greater triumph.
Several visitor milled about on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower, but most steered clear of a certain odd pair that gave off strong vibes of intense heat and boundless compassion.
Ash looked over at his beloved human and frowned. "Why you cry, Dani?"
"Oh, Ash. You're so sweet. Thank you." The divine girl walked over and hugged the salamander, again preventing any dangerous burns with Her powerful control of magic.
Her previous hug surprised him. He didn't hug Her back. But this time, he wrapped his arms around Her and helped create a perfect shelter against the raging fire storm of grief and despair that was taking hold of the city. It gave Dani the strength to continue.
The girl pulled back and smiled. "I love you, Ash."
"I love you too, Dani." He gave Her an uncertain smile in return. He knew something bad was coming. His own little inner voice told him so.
"Yes, Ash," the girl said, both hearing and being a part of his inner voice. "Something bad is coming and we need to prepare for it."
She revealed Her latest plan, at least as far as it concerned Her companion. He'd be sent on a journey through a special portal to his homeland, a dimension of elemental fire, where he'd gather all the fire at his command and send it back through the portal. She assured him that no one would be harmed and he nodded, his face a solemn mask of trust and respect with just a trace of fear. As he said before, the Goddess scared him.
Richard made it to the Paris Bourse, the historical stock exchange building with it's impressive Corinthian colonnade. The building had received lots of criticism over the years but it would still be missed, and the dark demigod made sure of its absence so it would be missed. He fire bombed it, lobbing impossibly huge balls of flame that bubbled from the mouth of the mask. The fireballs arced and rained down the building, melting the roof and eventually the huge columns from the top down. The whole building melted down into a blob of stone, metal and glass.
As before, some of the police noticed the cause of the latest spectacle. Two men in the police car slowly came to a stop off to one side of the road. They stayed in their car and wisely radioed for backup. Their caution didn't help.
Richard noticed them. He lobbed a fireball up in the air and watched it fall onto the car, causing a huge explosion. The men were killed instantly. Two more victims were mourned by the Goddess.
Throughout the chaos, no one else noticed the dark demigod's involvement. They were too busy trying to put out fires and tend to the injured. They didn't see him scaring a cab driver out of his vehicle so he could drive away and cover more ground in a short period of time. He was dying to test the limits of his new abilities.
Next on the list of major things to burn was a very important symbol to the French people, and a beautiful structure in its own right. The stolen black cab rolled the wrong way down Rue du Quartre Septembre, a one way street. The driver didn't care about traffic rules, and all it took was a few fireballs and the road quickly cleared ahead of him. He drove slowly, just in case, and continuously spewed fire from the driver side window, destroying all buildings on the his left side.
The vehicle soon came to an intersection and the driver noticed an opera house — a new minor target. He always hated opera so he purposely drove to the right of the building so he could easily hit it with his fire. He gave it an extremely large blast, large enough to create a small mushroom cloud. The force of the blast was so strong that a backwash of superheated air hit the cab, singeing the man's eyebrows. Up to that point, he didn't think to protect himself from his magic fire and he barely put up a shield in time. He stopped briefly to think about the issue and decided that shields were for wimps. Instead, he created a spell to filter any incoming fire and convert it back into magic energy that he could use. Technically, it was still a shield but he didn't care to give the matter any more thought. He drove up to Haussmann Boulevard and took a left, following the road to his target with flames continuing to pour from the mouth and eye holes of his mask. He left a terrible trail of fire and destruction in his wake.
Visitors on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower continued to give Dani and Ash a wide berth, especially when Dani's mood changed from sadness and affection to anger.
"No more!" She shouted. "No more deaths!"
The Goddess shielded every potential victim in protective bubbles that slowly floated away from any threatening flames. As soon as a person in a bubble was clearly out of danger, the bubble would pop, freeing the person. It took a lot of power and a lot of energy with all of the fires that were starting, but She kept it up, knowing that the new demigod would soon be paying a visit to her location. The fires would get worse when that happened. Still, She kept protecting people.
There was only one more task that needed doing before the final phase of Her plan. She had to get everyone to leave the immediate area.
A very loud siren suddenly erupted then, startling the visitors. It sounded exactly like a World War Two air raid siren and it had the desired effect, sending all of the staff and visitors to the lifts. People had already been nervous when they saw fires sprouting up all over to the north so it didn't take much to get them all to leave.
Dani gave a faint smile.
One more thing to go right. Thank the Goddess.
Richard made it to the Arc de Triomphe de l'étoile, a symbol of victory in times of war, built in the shape of a giant arch. He looked up at it and sneered.
"Pathetic," he said. "I'll have one made to my own specifications after I take over this planet. It'll easily be ten times larger, in a size befitting a god."
Since he planned on having his own arch of triumph replace the famous landmark in Paris, it meant he needed to make room. He called up his largest fireball so far, feeding it with fire from his mouth and his two eye holes, and gently blew it towards the arch.
The fireball slowly spun and floated towards the arch. The few eyewitnesses in the area watched, helpless and horrified as the huge ball of flames moved to engulf the entire structure and stuck to it, quickly melting everything into a large, flattened blob just like the stock market building.
Word quickly spread that Paris' grand arch of triumph was destroyed and the French mourned.
Richard continued driving his stolen cab when his little inner voice spoke to him once again, whispering in his mind. It mentioned snippets of ideas that took a little time to sink in: Things like low ground, fighting in the trenches and the advantage of gaining the high ground. They all made sense and began to cause the man a very slight disappointment. He could do so much more if he could get above all of the buildings around him. He felt almost claustrophobic.
His first thought was to spin and send out a wave of fire to flatten the area around him, but even that didn't satisfy him. Then the inner voice spoke to him again, whispering, "Eiffel Tower."
He looked up and could just see the top of the tower over a nearby building.
He smiled and drove in the direction of the tower as he continued leaving a trail of fire behind him.
As Richard crossed over the Seine and approached the Eiffel Tower, he'd grown increasingly suspicious. So far, he hadn't seen any evidence of the Goddess. He felt sure She'd have followed him from London. He looked around and tried using magic to detect Her but had come up empty. That was because She'd successfully shielded herself and he had yet to reach his full potential as a god. He was at a disadvantage and only had his gut instinct to fuel his suspicion. It wasn't enough.
He drove over the grass at the edge of the Champ de Mars and slowed down just enough to quickly step out, leaving the car to roll on ahead of him through the park. He didn't have the patience to park. The Eiffel Tower loomed over him, calling him up to the third level to achieve the first great step in his dream to take over the world. He'd destroy Paris and show the world his might. Everyone would bow before him and worship him like a god deserved.
With no one around to get in his way, he navigated the lifts quickly enough, using magic when necessary. He reached the top and was pleased to find the observation deck completely deserted. With no one to get in his way, he had a good look round the city to select his first target.
"I wish I'd listen to my instinct more often," he said to himself. "This is perfect."
To check his range, he belched a small fireball at the Paris Military School, flattening it. That gave him a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He followed it up with a larger fireball aimed at the Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb a little farther away. They too were demolished in one go.
The dark demigod didn't think about the possibility of any casualties and didn't care, but the Goddess made sure to protect everyone, and She continued to manage the impressive feat without Richard realizing it. He still had his gut feeling, sounding a warning bell, but he didn't yet know how to properly listen. The Goddess had to move quickly before he did become one with the God and realized how he was being manipulated.
Dani floated in a shielded pocket dimension that She'd fixed well above the top point of the Eiffel Tower, and She directed Ash, who She'd changed back into his true salamander form, to start sending elemental fire through the portal from his home dimension, a dimension full of elemental fire. As the raw elemental fire emerged from the portal, She used it to create flames that danced around the observation deck and once again pretended to be Richard's inner voice, whispering suggestions to him that it was just a sign of his impending godhood. He took it as well as could be expected.
"I'm a god!" he shouted, scaring a flock of pigeons that nervously perched on the lower levels of the tower. "Bow before me, mortals, or feel my wrath!"
Richard got ahead of himself and declared himself a god before he'd actually become one. He'd done so before but after reaching the Eiffel Tower, he felt like he was the real thing, and it all went to his head. He randomly sent out fire in all different forms including balls, streams and even sheets. For something different, he experimented with a rain of fire but it didn't do enough damage so he soon ended that nonsense. It wouldn't do for a god to show weakness.
Dani would've smiled if She wasn't working so hard to protect lives while building up the flames around the tower at the same time. She had to use an extremely high level of concentration to succeed, but succeed She did. People had their protective bubbles when they needed them, and they didn't bother to wonder how it was done. They thanked their deity or lucky stars that they were alive and that was good enough for them. And as for the flames, they continued to increase in both volume and intensity until they covered the entire tower.
Richard had to stop sending fire down on the city. He couldn't see through the flames. But he was content. His inner voice linked the amount of flames to the strength of his power. He believed that he was responsible for them and saw them as the gateway to full godhood. He moved to the center of the observation platform as he continued to absorb some of the fire, converting it to magic. The Goddess wasn't worried though. The amount of flames that Richard absorbed was negligible compared to what Ash continued to send.
The fire and heat continued, with Ash acting as a font and the Goddess acting as flow and fetch. And as the heat increased, something eventually had to give. It wasn't Richard though. He felt great with all of the magic he was absorbing, and actually, he would reach godhood within the hour, but the Goddess didn't need that long to finish what She'd started.
The wrought iron lattice of the tower started glowing, moving through a shortened spectrum of colors, starting with red, then orange and yellow. It stopped when it got white hot and the metal finally had enough. As it got close to its melting point, the tower started to slump and slowly collapsed.
Richard didn't worry when he felt the floor shudder and heard the groan of the metal. He protected himself in a shell of magic that continuously grew in strength. His own potential for magic also grew in strength until he reached a point where he finally tapped into the source of what he thought was his inner voice. That surprised him.
"Goddess!" he shouted, making sure to be heard over the sound of the collapsing tower.
"How nice," She said, after appearing from Her pocket dimension to float just to the side of the flames, level to Richard. "You didn't take my name in vain. Thank you." She didn't need to shout. Her voice reverberated at a perfect level to cut through the noise.
"What's happening?! Where are you?! What are you playing at?!" He couldn't see Her through the flames, though he was starting to sense Her presence without having to hear Her speak or see Her.
"I'm helping you achieve one of your goals. You wanted to be a god, didn't you?"
"I don't need you," he said, lowering his volume after having learned Her trick for speaking without having to shout over the noise.
"You're right," the Goddess agreed. "You would've become a god on your own, following your own path as the Buddhists say. But it would've taken you a lot more time to do so. I've been hurrying you along. You've almost made me proud."
"Listen, you glorified twat. You're not going to kill me by turning this tower into a slag heap."
"Now now. I have no intention of killing you. Killing isn't my way."
That surprised the budding god. He didn't quite know what to say, other than perhaps a few choice vulgar words. Normally, he would've spewed more hateful words but as he reached godhood, he felt such behavior to be beneath him. He'd much rather just destroy things. He truly was becoming if not the God of Destruction then at least a minor version of the god.
"Thank you for choosing to stop cursing," the Goddess said, reading his mind.
Richard could actually feel Her inside his mind and it made him test the connection by thinking a reply instead of saying it aloud. 'I'd curse if I thought it would do any good. But I know better.'
'Very good. We can communicate even more easily now. Can you see now too?'
'See? See what?'
'Can you see how I've trapped you in a sphere of iron, flames and magic. If you can't curb your appetites, I'm going to at least slow them down… greatly.'
'You can't do that. You have no right!' He paused as Her words sunk in. 'Wait. What do you mean, slow them down?'
'I can't let you take over the world, Richard, especially the way you're going about it, destroying things willy-nilly. You've been very naughty and it's time for a little discipline.'
'Really now. Treating me like a child? Calling me Richard? I'll not be baited. I'm going to figure a way out of this.'
'Yes, I'm sure you will. But it will take you a very long time, and hopefully, you'll be more mature and even compassionate by then. If not, I'm sure we'll end up with another stalemate.'
'How can you be so sure?'
'I'm sure because I don't limit myself. I don't focus on only one aspect of divinity like you. I embrace all things, equally. It's really refreshing and rather invigorating even. Perhaps you'll consider it during your metaphorical long winter sleep.'
'I'm not….'
Those were the last two words the new minor god could utter during their conversation before the Goddess completely finished the stasis cocoon around Him, something She worked on while they talked. Time slowed to an extremely slow crawl and virtually stopped for Richard as far as the rest of the world was concerned. His perspective was another matter. He was still alive and still quite aware, though He was without His new toy. The Goddess managed to take away His Dragon Mask without killing Him, and She disposed of it, teleporting it into the heart of the sun. The magic artifact was far too dangerous.
Thanks to the Dragon Mask and his obsession with destruction, the man had begun his path to become one with the God, the male counterpart to the Goddess. All creative acts are preceded by destructive ones. Trees are destroyed for lumber and to clear land to build houses. Ore is extracted from the Earth to create metals. Both creation and destruction are necessary and both are aspects of divinity. Focusing solely on destruction wasn't a balanced approach though, and it could've easily led to His destruction. But instead of choosing to kill Him, the Goddess trapped Him and left Him to ponder His fate whilst trapped in an iron sphere. And She wasn't quite finished with Him.
Wanda sat transfixed in front of the telly in the sitting room of Water Works cottage. She watched the evening news and gasped at the lead story. Vigorously shaking her head, she got up and quickly left the room to find Sue, her adopted mother.
"Mummy! Come quick! Paris is burning!"
Both Sue and George followed the little girl back to the sitting room and sat watching in horror as huge areas in the city of Paris burned. They turned up the volume on the television and listened to the reporter on location as she documented the destruction of a once great and beautiful city.
"The authorities are baffled as to the cause of the fires that started sporadically throughout the city. They suspected terrorism until the source of the fires seemed to jump to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Flames spewed from the observation deck of the tower and destroyed building after building until the tower itself slowly collapsed. The iron slumped and melted from the heat. Men, women and children are all either in shock or crying. There are hundreds of injuries but surprisingly few confirmed fatalities. It's not clear… wait…. This just in. Something's happening at the base of where the Eiffel Tower once stood. A large metal sphere has formed out of the remains of what was once a beautiful work of art… and now the sphere is rolling. It's actually rolling by itself… towards the Seine. It's going into the water and… steam! Great billowing clouds of steam are obscuring the ball. This is unbelievable!"
Sue used the remote to mute the television. The excited reporter added too much fuel to an already volatile situation and Sue couldn't handle any more. She just continued to watch with her husband and adopted daughter, unable to believe her eyes and yet unable to look away as Paris burned.
Over the next six hours, well into the night, helicopters with powerful search lights followed the movement of the large iron sphere as it rolled down the river bed and disappeared into the English Channel, never to be seen again. The sphere had to jump the several locks and bridges along the way but it was small enough that it could fit under the bridges that spanned the lower part of the Seine. That surprised a lot of people who thought that such a large metal tower would create a much larger sphere. At least it surprised them until various experts came forward to offer their observations. One such expert in America described it quite well several days later.
"The sphere is estimated to be about fifty feet in diameter, or tall if you will," a relaxed looking, older man said, sitting on a white couch on the set of a popular morning television show. "That's actually larger than it should be if all of the metal in the Eiffel Tower was melted into a solid sphere."
The host of the show, a much younger man in a very nice suit, sat on a smaller sofa next to the couch and looked puzzled. "Are you telling me the Eiffel Tower could be melted into an even smaller ball of metal?"
"If the sphere was solid, it would only be about forty feet tall. Remember that the tower was a lattice of relatively thin iron girders."
"So let me get this straight, if the… sphere is fifty feet tall, it can't be solid. It must be a shell. Is that right?"
"Very good," the older man said. "At its current size, it could contain a spherical cavity about forty feet tall."
The host tapped his temple with an index finger. "So the sphere is hollow. Then what's inside? Any ideas?"
The older man shrugged. "Who knows. It could be anything that was up in the tower. It could just be air."
The host frowned. "Well… forget how it was done. No one can seem to figure that out. But any idea as to why?"
"I have my own theory. I have no proof but it fits the facts."
"Oh? Do tell our audience. I'm sure they'd love to hear it."
The older man gave a nervous laugh, suddenly realizing how many people might be watching him at the moment. He paused and the host gestured with his hands to start talking. The older man focused on the host and pretended to speak only to him. He looked the host in the eye and told him everything. "Before the Eiffel Tower collapsed, there were terrible fires, explosions and even melted structures all around the Right Bank of Paris. There were also dozens if not hundreds of accounts of people surviving against impossible odds. In spite of all the destruction, there were only five confirmed deaths: four policemen and a foreign businessman. It looked like everything on the Right Bank might burn. But then flames suddenly started shooting from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Several landmarks were then destroyed on the Left Bank."
"Right. Right. We know all that. Please. Get on with your theory."
"Well, I'm thinking that we were witnessing a battle of some kind. Someone or something, be it an alien, a god, some kind of higher being, decided to try to destroy Paris and someone or something else stopped it."
The host smirked. "So a higher being of some sort had a temper tantrum and another stronger one decided to stop it. Is that what you're saying?"
"Do you have a better explanation? Remember that there were a lot of unexplained fires happening up in London not long before Paris got hit. I'd say the fight actually started there and moved to Paris for some reason."
"Right. Well, I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm not sure I agree with you."
"Take all the time you need to think it through," the older man said, his eyes twinkling. "I think we're safe now. I'm guessing we won't be seeing any more fire storms."
© 2014 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.
Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.
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Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 18: Going Home Again
Dani kept Ash and Herself invisible, and kept both of them levitating whilst finishing Her business with Richard. She formed the spherical prison around the minor god, adding a magical outer layer to protect the iron from rust before rolling it over into the Seine to cool it off. Before it had even stopped steaming, She continued rolling the sphere down river at a fairly rapid pace until She got to the English Channel. She rolled it straight out from the mouth of the river to keep from giving away Her ultimate destination from the prying eyes in the helicopters that followed, and only when She was sure the helicopters had given up did She turn the sphere east towards the North Sea. She sent the sphere on its way, magically programming it to continue until it found the deepest point in the North Sea. Once there, it would embed itself in the silt at the bottom and stop, forever still until Richard or someone else moved it. Richard would eventually develop enough power to free Himself, though it would take Him several dozen millennia, thanks to the stasis spell that the Goddess used on Him.
Still levitating over the English Channel with Her companion, Dani canceled the invisibility spell and prepared for yet another powerful spell. But before She cast it, She had to be sure of something.
"Ash?"
"Yes, Dani?"
"Are you okay with helping me trap Richard?"
The salamander paused briefly to think about it. "I think so. He bad man. You… we stop Him but not kill. That good. Right?"
"Yes. I think so. Thanks, Ash. He needed to be stopped and we did it without killing Him. I'd say we did a good thing."
"What about now? Will He die underwater?"
Dani shook Her head. "He'll be fine. He's a minor god now. It'll take a lot more than being trapped underwater for several millennia to kill Him."
He looked a little confused for a moment and then gave Dani a faint smile.
"Okay, Ash. Prepare yourself for travel again," She said. "We need to hurry back to our sisters so I can get us all home. We're already two hours overdue. Mum will be worried."
"Oh! Yes. Uh… Mum worry… much." He hesitated to think of Sue as his mother but found he liked the idea. With his eyes closed and a smile on his face, Dani, as the Goddess, used Her considerable power to teleport them back to the River Thames near London Bridge where Her twin sisters waited with a friendly undine, who was fairly powerful in her own right.
The ancient water elemental, or undine, that saved the twins had needed a little help keeping the girls warm underwater. She wasn't gifted with the ability to manipulate elemental fire so she had to make due with skimming off the warmer water near the surface of the river. That worked well enough during the day with the sun shining but nighttime proved more difficult.
The twins were able to pull down a little elemental fire from the air above the surface and use it to warm the water around them. It wasn't quite enough though. By the time Dani and Ash arrived, their teeth chattered from the cold. They could've gotten out of the water, and they would've had to soon, but they were still under the protection of the undine and she could best protect them if they stayed in the water.
Dani sensed the problem immediately and quickly warmed the water in the area until it was equivalent to a hot bath. The twins sighed with relief.
'Hi Dani! Hi Ash!' both twins sent telepathically, sensing their sister levitating in the air right above them with Ash.
'Hello, my beautiful sisters. Ash sends his love too.'
The salamander wasn't able to communicate telepathically with anyone but the Goddess, at least for the time being.
'Oy!' the twins said, though Pat was ahead by a fraction of a second. The two girls were a little out of sync as they were slightly shaken by Dani's divine presence. They could sense it.
'Yes,' Dani said. 'I'm one with the Goddess now. I won't be staying this way but I have several more tasks to complete so I will likely be this way for another day at the very least.'
'Cool!' Simone said, with Pat nodding.
'Right then,' Dani said, leaving Ash in the air and slipping into the water. She turned Her attention to the undine, who formed a roughly humanoid outline in the water to define her presence. 'Who might you be?'
'Goddess,' the undine said, slightly bowing her watery head to show respect. 'My name is Nivia.'
'Thank you very much for watching over my sisters, Nivia. It is very much appreciated.'
'It was my pleasure, Goddess. They're both delightful creatures.'
'Please, Nivia. Call me Dani.'
'As you wish, Goddess Dani.'
The Goddess went on to insist that the undine be rewarded for her effort with a small gift. It took some time to figure out exactly what to give though. Undines weren't known for being materialistic and Nivia was no different. The ancient undine had seen centuries pass with very few things persisting into the present. Only the heavy stone of some buildings and statues could endure the test of time.
Being divine helped though, as Dani eventually came up with an idea and talked to Nivia about it. 'You must spend the majority of your time in bodies of water but that prevents you from interacting nicely with anyone other than the occasional undine. Fishes make poor conversationalists so I would imagine you'd be happy to be able to interact with people. Is that true?'
Nivia paused to think about it and agreed. She hadn't realized how lonely she'd been until Pat and Simone called upon her for help and spent several hours together, communicating telepathically underwater.
'Well, Nivia. I think I have the perfect gift then.'
After the Goddess sent thought forms that instructed the undine in the use of chi and earth magic for a spell, the undine processed the information and nodded. She then splashed just enough water for what she'd need onto the nearest bank of the Thames and started casting the spell. The undine had enough power and knowledge to accumulate all of the magic and materials she needed. After nearly an hour, she created a living, breathing human body and moved her life force into it to complete the spell. For the first time in her very long life, the undine stood on land as a solid living being.
"Fantasic!" she shouted out loud, getting the attention of several people.
Dani acted quickly to create clothing to cover the immodest undine and Her gift was complete.
The twins soon followed, crawling out of the river and spitting up water so they could breathe air again.
"Dani? Could you please dry us?" Simone asked, speaking for Pat and herself.
Before Dani could act, Nivia spoke up. "Please, Goddess Dani," she said, marveling at her voice. "Allow me. It is my specialty after all."
Dani nodded and the undine removed all of the water from the hair and clothing of the twins. The water went back to the river from which it came. While the twins were being dried, Ash drifted over and landed on solid ground to complete the group.
"One last thing," Dani said, sending a visual map that Nivia could follow to one day visit them. The undine could easily travel down the Thames, out and around the North Sea and then up the River Humber, keeping right to the River Ouse and then left at Goole up the River Don to Doncaster for a visit. Once in Doncaster, Nivia could create her human body and mentally call out for the sisters. At that distance, they'd be sure to hear and answer her and they'd get their Mum to drive them to nearby Doncaster for a visit.
"Thank you, Goddess Dani," Nivia said, crying a few happy tears that rolled into the corners of her mouth to merge back with her.
"You're quite welcome, dear, and remember. To return to your true form, all you have to do is inhale water to fill your lungs. Your solid body would quickly dissolve and you could separate the water from what's left and flow away. Now if you don't mind. We're late and must be going."
"Of course, Goddess Dani. Good bye."
Dani, Ash and the twins all gave their thanks for the undine's hospitality and said their good-byes. Nivia backed away and Dani teleported everyone else directly to the front garden of Water Works cottage. Their arrival at home would greatly surprise their parents but the time for secrets was over. They needed to tell their parents everything.
Ash and the twins stood on the grass of the front garden of their home, blinking and rubbing their eyes. It usually took a little time to adjust after teleporting, especially when doing so over such a long distance. Dani had no trouble at all though. She marched up to the front door and tested the door handle. The door was locked but that didn't slow Her down. She magically unlocked it and entered, calling out to Her parents.
"Mother! Father! We're home! Come at once, please!"
Sue arrived first, running and reaching out to hug her oldest daughter. "Where have you been?! I've been so worried! Shootings in London! Paris burning! And you lot missing! The whole world's gone mad!"
Dani stroked Her mother's hair and offered words of comfort. "There, there, Mother. We're all fine. And we have some important things to talk about. Shall we all go to the sitting room?"
Ash and the twins had entered by that time. George and Wanda also arrived to uncomfortably fill the tiny entry way of the cottage so they all filed into the sitting room with George in his recliner and Sue and the girls all crammed onto the large sofa. Ash sat on the floor to keep from damaging any of the furniture with his considerable heat.
Sue finally noticed the stranger in their midst, not recognizing Ash as being the human male who sat on the floor. "Who's this then?" she asked, pointing at him.
Dani smiled. "He's one of the things we need to discuss. This," She said, pointing at him, "is Ash. You know him as a lizard."
Sue gaped like a fish. She couldn't bring herself to speak.
"He's the one who you caught opening the kitchen door with his mouth. The one you researched on the Internet. You thought he was something like a large lizard but he's actually a salamander."
"But...," she spluttered, "salamanders are small... and slimy. They're not... boys. I don't understand."
"Mother. Father. Please prepare yourself," Dani told them.
She didn't know any other way to broach the subject of salamanders and magic so She combined them by changing Ash back into his true form. George fainted before Ash had finished transforming and Sue felt a little lightheaded herself.
"That's... impossible," their mother whispered, in awe of what she just witnessed.
Ash thumped his tail once on the floor, happy to be back to his old self. "Hi... Mum," he said.
That did it. Sue joined her husband, both of them unconscious for the moment.
Dani shook Her head and spoke more to Herself than Ash and Her sisters. "That didn't go very well, did it? I should've seen that coming. I did see that coming… but only after I started the transformation. Being the Goddess is hard work."
With Sue and George revived and sipping tea, Dani tried again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I sort of knew that would happen but I don't always listen to myself. I'm not used to being the Goddess."
"The what now?" George asked, not believing what he heard.
"Actually, I'm one with the Goddess. Here...," She said, moving to touch Her father's right shoulder. "You injured your shoulder way back at university, playing rugby with your mates. It still plays up when the weather turns cold."
George nodded and his eyes went wide when he saw his oldest daughter's hand glowing along with his shoulder.
"There," Dani told him. "All better now. Test it out, please."
George shrugged once. Twice. He swung his arm round in a wide circle and stopped. "It... it feels great!" he shouted and gave his family a big smile. "First time in years I could swing my arm round like that. But really, Dani. Aren't you just winding us up? Glowing a little and making my shoulder feel better doesn't make you a goddess. It's just a trick. Right?"
If She wasn't a goddess, The Goddess, She would've growled in frustration. As it was, She patiently worked Her way up to more impressive feats of magic. Changing Ash had been too much to start with. She understood that well enough. She had to start small and move up gradually. After levitating George in his recliner, giving Her mother long pink hair and then making Herself seven feet tall, She had them nearly ready to believe. But it wasn't until She teleported them all to Hawaii for a sudden, quick holiday that She soundly convinced them without causing them to faint again.
The Green family, including Ash and Wanda, all looked down at the remote Green Sand Beach on the southern tip of the big island of Hawaii, and they were all dressed appropriately with sunglasses, shorts and loudly colorful Hawaiian shirts. Dani had never heard of the beach before becoming one with the Goddess. Being divine made all the difference in the world though.
George laughed and briefly threw his hands up before he followed the trail that led down to the beach. "Right then. You got me. You're a goddess. My daughter's a goddess!" He shouted the last bit and laughed some more. He wasn't going mad. Not really. He just needed a bit of an outlet.
Sue took everything quietly. After rubbing her eyes and shaking off the effects of the long teleport, she cried a little and moved to hug her divine daughter, whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry I doubted you... Goddess."
"Please... Mum. I'm still Dani. I'm still your daughter."
"Right. Are you off to Olympus then? Will we be able to visit?"
Dani smiled. "Wrong pantheon, Mum. Actually, I'm not part of a pantheon. I'm one with all living things. I'm more like Gaia. Have you ever heard of Her?"
Sue nodded, her eyes tearing up again. "My daughter, the Goddess. I don't think I can get used to it. I'm sorry."
"I won't be staying this way, Mum. I have two more tasks to complete and I'll be back to being just an ordinary teenage witch."
Sue gently pushed away and raised an eyebrow. "What was that again?"
"This all started with magic on a much smaller scale. Pat, Simone and I have been slowly changing into girls because of the Goddess... before I became one with Her. We had to change gender to become powerful witches and we've been learning magic to fight the Dark Forces. That's what all of the shooting and fires have been about. We had to stop some bad men... an army of darkness... from taking over the world."
"And you didn't think to tell your parents until now?!"
"I'm sorry, Mum. It wasn't safe for you to know."
"What if you were killed down in London?! What then?!"
"We left a magic message that would've told you everything. We thought it was best that way. Sorry, Mum. Knowing what I do now, I would've done things differently."
Sue sniffed once, long and hard. "It's okay, Dani. Goddess. I... I forgive you. You're all safe and sound now... and we're where now? In the states? On a tropical island? Let's have a bit of fun and forget it all for awhile."
Dani smiled. "That's the spirit, Mum."
The Green family arrived on Hawaii in the very early afternoon and decided to stay for a couple hours to take in the warm air and sunshine. Being in a remote location, they weren't actually lucky to have the beach all to themselves. Dani checked various locations before She teleported. She liked the idea of having Her family visit Hawaii and their current location was one of the few beaches that wasn't packed with people.
After they all scrabbled down the steep trail to the beach, the Goddess magically changed their clothes into swim wear and they all had a little fun in the water, even Ash. The salamander didn't stay long in the waves though. He created so much steam that it made him sneeze. He sighed and contented himself with watching his family frolic in the water.
Wanda noticed Ash watching them and decided to join him. She'd had enough of the water in spite of its relatively cool temperature. She hadn't yet developed an affinity for it like her sisters, but that would come as she grew up in Water Works cottage. The magic under the cottage would bubble up and saturate her body, enough that she'd develop some magic potential along with an appreciation of water in general.
"It too hot here," she complained as she approached Ash.
"Me like it," the salamander said.
Wanda stuck her tongue out at him and he sneezed a little fire, not having gotten all of the steam out of his nose. The fire sent the little girl squealing and running back to take her chances with the waves, though with Dani around, she'd be safe enough.
Dani actually kept the surf fairly calm for Her family. The waves could be a little rough, especially when the tide reached higher on the steeper part of the beach.
After they had their fill of water, they lounged on the peculiar green sand that gave the beach its name and got a little sun. Sue was a little concerned about sunburn but again, Dani kept them safe, creating a filter in the air over all of them that acted like sunscreen lotion. The filter reduced the ultraviolet rays enough that they'd only get a very slight tan.
"This is nice," Sue said to no one in particular.
"Yeah," Pat and Simone said together. They were back in sync.
Dani smiled at Her family and soaked up the love that they all shared. She loved being the Goddess. How could She not?
When they reached their third hour in Hawaii, Dani told them all to prepare for teleportation back home.
"Do we have to go?" Simone said, half whining. "I'm finally getting a bikini tan line."
Pat rolled her eyes but smiled. She silently agreed with her twin but she wasn't going to let anyone know that. She wasn't going to fully embrace her inner girl until she could hold a certain ceremony that she promised herself, a ceremony to mourn their male selves.
Dani picked up on Pat's thoughts and felt She should talk about it. She took both twins aside and spoke quietly to them so none of the rest of the family would hear. "Would you like to be boys again? I think I know the answer but I wanted to give you the chance. I can change both of you back to boys easily enough. I can't really change myself though. I'd get stuck somewhere in between genders if I tried. I'd lose my connection to the Goddess before I could finish."
"That would be awful!" Simone said.
"I think so too," Dani said. "But since becoming one with the Goddess, I've come to fully accept and even enjoy being a girl. I don't think I'd want to go back to being a boy even if I could."
"Really?" the younger twin said. "Because I feel the same way. I want to stay a girl."
"What about you, Pat?" Dani asked. "Still not happy being a girl?"
"I can't really be an identical twin if Simone stays a girl and I go back to being a boy. And I do so love the connection we have. Besides, I feel like I haven't given this girl thing a chance. I'd like to stay a girl, I think."
"You think?" Dani teased. "You're still not sure? It sounds like you might be better off as a boy."
"Okay. You got me. I'm sure. I want to be a girl. There. Are you happy?"
Dani smiled. "I'm... content, brave sister. We'll all stay girls. Mum will certainly be happy."
"Can't say the same for Father," Pat said and the three of them laughed.
Staying girls would allow the three Green sisters to keep their magic ability and keep their trio intact. As a powerful trio, they could both protect against any future Dark Forces and help discourage evil creatures from joining forces in the first place. The good trio's reputation would be passed along by the trolls and others who might be tempted to fall in with the dark side. It was a good plan.
Only one more magical task remained for the Goddess. She had three sad little golem girls that needed attention. After a quick late night snack and a good night's rest for Her human body, She woke up completely refreshed and ready to complete Her task, except for one little problem. As Her gurgling stomach reminded Her, She still needed to eat. Her human body required nourishment and it made sure to remind Her of that fact.
There hadn't been much time for eating anything except for a couple snacks and a little ice cream the day before so Dani had cheated. She'd magically created glucose and had added it to Her body in small increments throughout the day as She had time. It hadn't been very satisfying for Her stomach but it'd kept Her going well enough.
"Okay, little one," She said, talking to and patting her tummy. "I'll follow my nose to the kitchen then. It smells like someone's celebrating our victory with a favored breakfast."
She looked over at Wanda, who now slept on a small bed in Dani's room. The air bed had been replaced whilst the trio had been away in London. Dani quietly walked over and smiled at the young girl.
"She looks so cute and peaceful," She said to Herself, knowing that the girl was awake and could hear Her.
Wanda opened one eye and glared up at the Goddess. "I not sleep now. I wanna sleep but me only sleep at night since we talk. No fair. Me love the night."
"Perhaps when you're older, you can find a night job. But for now, you need to fit in with your new family and we only sleep at night, except for the occasional nap."
"Okay. Me hungry anyway. We eat now?"
"Yes, Wanda. It's time for breakfast. Let's go."
The two of them held hands as they made their way downstairs to the kitchen and found Pat and Simone ready and waiting to serve them with eggy bread. Both Dani and Wanda smiled and sat down next to each other at the dining room table with Pat being the chef and Simone acting the maid. The girls all had a good time.
"What's this?" Sue said as she joined the fun. "Got room for one more?"
"Yeah!" all four girls said in unison, surprising everyone… except the Goddess.
Dani got everyone involved to help with the golem girls, except Her father of course since he had to go to work. She had Her family gather materials for a grand spell that She hoped would put everything right. It didn't take long.
When all of the materials were collected, Ash stayed outside the house as a guard and all of the females moved to the dining area. They'd cleared the room of its table and moved the chairs to the kitchen and open doorways on the edge of the dining area.
Pat and Simone hoped to have the spells cast under their favorite stand of oak trees but Dani sensed too many people around who might see them. The spell would take nearly an hour to cast and it needed to be cast once for each golem girl. That made interruptions too likely, and interruptions could prove dangerous for the golem girls. That's because they were getting new bodies and the final part of the spell to transfer their spirits to the new bodies could be tricky.
The first step was to magically create a stone bath with an indentation in a roughly human shape. The bath would hold just the right amount of warm water to which was added a balance of organic compounds, just as Dani had shown Nivia. The Goddess would be creating three human bodies and the golem girls were in shock. Never in their wildest dreams would they ever guess that they'd be brought back to life, but here they were, ready to return to the land of the living.
First up was Emma, the flow of the deceased trio. She went first since she was last to become a golem. Dani mixed the compounds into the stone bath and chanted, causing the water to glow. That was the cue for the golem girl to step forward.
Dani picked the golem up and gently placed it on the rim near the part of the bath that represented the head. She finished the spell by adding copious amounts of chi magic, binding everything together into the shape of a teenage girl.
For nearly a minute, Pat, Simone and Sue didn't breathe as they watched the body after it finished taking shape in the stone bath. They waited for some sign of life and they finally got it. The new girl's eyelids twitched and opened to reveal a very surprised pair of hazel colored eyes, and seconds later, the girl shouted her first word.
"Toilet!"
Dani's human body couldn't quite measure out the perfect balance of water and solid compounds for the new girl's body. She added too much water and the new body needed to remove the excess water.
After moving the lifeless golem, the Goddess helped Emma up and conjured up a robe that She draped around the girl. She also supported her as they walked together to the bathroom and gave the girl some privacy after carefully setting her on the toilet.
On her second try, Dani got the balance right for Kate, the font of her trio and next one to become human. The Goddess found a way to compensate for Her imperfect human body.
Kate didn't say anything for the longest time after gaining full control of her new body. She simply cried as the Goddess held her. After several minutes, the new girl was helped up and covered with a robe. She went to sit beside Emma who'd returned from the bathroom.
Last was Jenna, the fetch and leader of her trio. She formed after the required time and soon said her first word.
"Finally."
"Yes," Dani said. "Congratulations. You endured."
Jenna's eyes went wide as she heard Dani's last word. "You… you know!"
"Yes, of course. I wasn't the Goddess then but I'm one with Her now. I know it was the last word She said to you before you were killed in the explosion. She asked you to endure and you did. Thanks for listening." The Goddess smiled and Jenna started crying.
Kate and Emma quickly got up to join their trio mate in a group hug full of tears.
Dani let them cry themselves out before She gave them the bad news. There had to be consequences after their original bodies were killed. That meant they couldn't keep their original faces, as they did for the moment. The Goddess had used traces of their original DNA to create copies of their original bodies. That meant that they had their original faces. But if they kept those faces, they'd have some difficult questions to answer. Mundane citizens wouldn't be able to accept the girls as coming back from the dead. They wouldn't trust them, especially with the current popularity of zombie movies.
"I'm afraid you'll have to permanently change your faces. You'll still have the same DNA. Your children will still be related to your family, but you won't be able to look like your original selves, at least not in public. I'm sorry."
Jenna sighed. "Our faces are a small price to pay for our lives. Thank you so much, Goddess." The girl bowed.
"Please!" Dani said. "Don't bow. I'm not exactly the Goddess and you know it. I'm just one with Her."
Jenna smiled. "So modest. You're more than just an avatar, and you're much more than just a small extension of Her. As you are now, you are the Goddess. I can see it in your eyes. I can hear it in your voice even though you're mellowing out your normal commanding voice."
Dani bowed Her head in defeat. "I concede that I speak with Her voice and see with Her eyes. But please realize that I still act with an imperfect human body. I make mistakes as I did with the balance of Emma's bodily fluids."
Jenna's eyes twinkled. "You're right, of course. You're the Goddess and the Goddess is always right."
Everyone laughed. It was a good day — a very good day.
The Goddess properly clothed the three new girls, helped them create new faces and new names that they could live with along with official identification. And She sent them home to their families after a round of thankful hugs and a tearful good-bye. The trio of girls would visit each of their families in turn so they could work magic together and temporarily change their faces back to their original form. They had a lot of explaining to do and a lot of stories to tell. Like the Green sisters, the time was right to let their families know about their magical heritage. Dani wished them well but as the Goddess, She knew the outcome would be favorable.
The resurrected trio would easily integrate back into the area with their families. They'd also help to play an important part in deterring the Dark Forces along with the Green sisters. The world would be a magically safe place for generations to come.
Dani's last task as Goddess was a solemn one. She presided over an informal funeral for the Green brothers after George got home from work. The Green sisters were well on their way to becoming all girl. They left their boy selves behind and Pat especially needed closure. So did their father. They prepared everything and held a private funeral for their immediate family. That included Ash and Wanda. The two newest additions were just as much a part of their family.
They moved their dining room table and chairs outside in the back garden to take advantage of the warm late afternoon. And they added decorations, but instead of black, the decorations were all white. The white celebrated the good side of the natural balance of life and it encouraged the family to look on the bright side of things. They still had their love to keep them together. Even Wanda, who was once part of the Dark Forces, could appreciate the good things in life, and love was the best.
No one except their father said anything, and all he said was a simple, "Good bye, boys. I appreciated the times we spent together and I'll always remember you fondly."
Sue and the twins cried a little at that. Even Wanda sniffled once.
Ash kept quiet and silently vowed to do manly things with his adopted father. He hoped Dani could give him human form once in awhile so Ash could go places too. He had his dreams. He meant well. He was a good salamander, just as Wanda made a good little girl. The two new additions to the family were originally thought of as inherently evil but they proved that to be untrue.
Dani couldn't help hear Ash's thoughts. She smiled and walked over to the salamander, giving him a last hug. She hugged him tightly and as She shed Her first tear for Her former male self, She lost Her divine connection. She was no longer one with the Goddess, though she did hear her inner voice give her some parting words.
'You've done well, child,' the Goddess told her. 'Be well and know that we'll become one again in your later years. So will your sisters and Jenna's trio, but please don't tell them. If they know they'll try too hard and make their journey more difficult. They have to follow their own path.'
'I understand,' Dani said. 'And I look forward to it. Blessed be!'
'Blessed be, child. I love you and remember that I'll still be around. Listen for me and you will hear.'
With Her last words, the Goddess slipped away, but not before tapping Dani lightly on the shoulder to remind her of a little problem.
"Oy!" Dani cried as Ash's skin burned her. She no longer had the power of the Goddess to protect her.
The fetch had to use a powerful healing spell to repair the burn damage. It took her nearly thirty minutes with the twins' help but that was okay. The ceremony was over. It ended when she hugged Ash and shed a tear for the Green brothers.
The Green family said good bye to the boys. It was time to move on and celebrate their daughters, including Wanda. And it was time to welcome Ash too. The family had something stronger than any magic. They had love.
© 2014 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.