Marigold Flowers: A Little Blue

by Garnet D Toritto & Garnet F Vaccaro

  Anyway, Dad and I had a great day. The weather was really rainy, so Dad and I went to a pottery place and I had a lesson on the pottery wheel. By the time we got back to his place, we were starved. Dad said he went shopping yesterday, so there was a ton of food in the fridge and we could cook up whatever we wanted.

  I love to cook, so I was definitely excited. I checked out what he had bought and decided I would make lemon chicken and potatoes. It was one of my favorite recipes … seasonings, lemon, vinegar, chicken, and red potatoes all roasted together. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

  I pulled all the ingredients out and got working on washing the potatoes and cleaning the chicken. Dad had bought a whole chicken, so we were deciding if we wanted to cut it up or roast it whole. We decided to roast it whole. There seems to be something special about making a whole chicken versus chicken parts. Maybe it’s just me.

  Anyway, everything was going perfectly until I started to cut up the potatoes. I should have let my dad do it. I should have stayed away from the knife, but I didn’t. I was caught up in the cooking fun and laughing at a joke my dad made, and then I cut my hand. I didn’t even feel it, but my eyes went round when I saw blood gushing from my hand and I screamed. Dad dropped the tomatoes he was washing for the salad and grabbed a dishtowel to wrap around my hand. But even with the pressure he applied, the blood seemed to pour out. He gave me a container to rest my hand on so that blood didn’t drip everywhere as we headed to urgent care.

  I was totally distraught as the doctor told my dad I needed five stitches. My dad held me tight as the doctor and nurse worked. By the time they were done, I had a lovely white bandage that covered the palm of my left hand, and the bleeding had stopped.

  Once we got home, Dad cleaned up the kitchen and ordered Chinese food. I sent Mom and Grandma a text letting them know what happened, adding that Ivy was not home so although I had lost some blood, she wasn’t around to get any. Mom and Grandma were skeptical in their replies, but there was not much we could do at this point. Plus, to add to our concerns, Grandma was not able to find Tessa in the library.

  Chapter 13

  When Philip handed the small container to his wife, he smiled. If Ivy wanted Marigold’s blood, then she would have it. He would do anything for her.

  Ivy could not believe her husband was able to get her Marigold’s blood. He did not question why she wanted it. He trusted her to the point that he would do anything for her. After all these years she would finally have her powers back. She could not wait to fly! She missed being able to soar through the air so much and being able to wrap herself in soft, white wings. She also could not wait to unite with the angels. Although she was hurt that they never reached out to her during her powerless years, she longed for the camaraderie of their presence.

  Everything was set out, and the moon was high in the sky. Although the spell did not need to be done by moonlight, it just felt right to Ivy.

  She carefully mixed all the ingredients together, including Marigold’s blood, and chanted the words from the ancient parchment. The wind began to pick up, and the potion in the bowl transformed to a mist that enveloped her entire body. She could feel the power returning. She knew she was getting stronger, but something was wrong. The power felt all wrong; it did not feel warm and light, it was cold and dark. She did not want this power. She wanted to be an angel again, but it was too late. Whatever it was that snaked its way into her heart, she felt it grow increasingly dark until she didn’t care that it was dark power, only that she had power once again.

  Chapter 14

  I woke with a start. My heart was racing; it was the most awful dream. My dad betrayed me and gave my blood to Ivy. Now Ivy was evil. I kept telling myself it was just a dream, but I knew in my heart it wasn’t. I needed to call Mom and Grandma. They would know what to do.

  Before I could get to my phone, I saw Ivy standing in the doorway to my room. Her aura was all wrong, and the look on her face sent chills down my spine. “Don’t bother calling for help,” she said in a deadly tone. “They can’t help you.” With that she waved her hand and before me appeared a vision of my family—Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Poppie, Uncle Luis, and my cousins all floating in suspended animation.

  Ivy laughed. It was a low and haunting laugh that went right through me. “I did not know your blood would be this powerful,” she said. “I only wanted to regain my angel powers, but now I am so much more. And your family is so strong; I can feed off of them for years. Now it is time for you to join them, but I wanted you to see what became of your family before sentencing you to the same fate.” With that Ivy sent a blast at me that should have knocked me out cold, except it didn’t. I wasn’t the only one surprised when it didn’t work. Ivy shrieked in anger as she shot another blast directly at me. This one had the same effect—nothing happened. She drew even more power to herself and tried again, but still nothing.

  “NO!” she yelled in a rage as she reached for me. I tried to call up my demon power but instead I found I was pure angel. I glowed like Aunt Poppie and Grandma. It was too much for Ivy, and she turned away, giving me the opportunity to rush at her with all I had. I wrapped my wings around her as I pulled her close to me. I could feel the corrupted power coming off her in waves, but I could also feel something more, something deeper. Sadness. A sadness so deep and strong, it made me catch my breath. Then images flooded my brain of a time long ago, the most beautiful being I had ever seen was in love. The being was Ivy. It was a love so pure and true, it filled my heart and my soul. Then searing agony and pain. It was so piercing that I felt my heart break over and over as the person Ivy loved so purely betrayed her and ripped her angel essence right from her. Leaving her broken and alone, cut off from the angel world. A shadow of the beautiful, pure being she once was.

  I felt tears running down my face as I relived this terrible memory with Ivy. I could feel her struggling in my arms, and I was amazed I was able to keep her trapped in my hug. The hurt and despair was so thick it seemed to cloud reality and stop time. Then I remembered the words I had read, “Only an act of pure unselfishness can link the angelic heartstrings and heal the broken.” I had to heal Ivy. It was the only way to save her and my family. So with that thought, I hugged Ivy tighter and said something I never thought I would say in my life.

  “Ivy, I am sorry. I am sorry for not being nicer to you and not telling you how much I appreciate everything you have done for my dad and for me. I am sorry it has taken me until now to realize how much I love having you as part of my family. I love you, Ivy, please come back to us.”

  I don’t think it was the words so much as the sentiment behind them because as I said them I knew that I meant them and as I said them I felt a snap. I could feel my heart linking with Ivy’s and my demon power settling back within me where it belonged. As soon as that happened, I felt Ivy relax and I knew my family was safe.

  I unfolded my wings and let out a huge sigh of relief as I realized I was once again pale blue. But the biggest surprise was how magnificent Ivy looked. She was an amazing angel, and I could feel the sheer vastness of the light that poured from her. How anyone could have betrayed her was beyond my comprehension as I stared at goodness and light personified.

  Even more amazing was how she gripped me in a hug so tight, saying over and over again, “Thank you … I am so sorry.” After about the 20th time, I stopped her since it was embarrassing and, well, I wanted to make sure the rest of my family was ok.

  Ivy transported them all directly to her house. She kept my dad and uncle in a peaceful dream state as we weren’t sure how they would react, being human and all. My mom and Grandpa were full-on demon, ready to rip someone apart. But Grandma and Aunt Poppie radiated soothing, calm energy that tempered my mom and Grandpa. Ivy also kept Luna and Solé in a dream state, but she looked at Aunt Poppie and said, “You need to speak with them very soon as their angel traits are rapidly emerging.” Aunt Poppie let out a yippee, which made everyone laugh, breaking a
very tense moment.

  Grandma hugged me tight, and I whispered, “Thank you.” It was her protective shield that negated the evil power Ivy had blasted at me. She was my guardian angel, which made me smile, since I was, after all, a demon.

  Chapter 15

  I have to say my family is pretty amazing. Mom and Grandpa got over their anger at Ivy pretty quickly, which is something considering they are demons and known to hold a grudge. Aunt Poppie and Grandma welcomed her into the fold without even blinking an eye. In fact, we all got together for a huge barbeque at Aunt Poppie’s house to celebrate the end of summer. It has been one of the best days of my life seeing all of my family together.

  I looked over to see Ivy chatting with Grandma, and a huge smile spread across Grandma’s face as she winked at me. I guess Ivy shared some news Grandma really liked. I cannot wait to find out what!

  As for me, I am looking forward to starting sixth grade and exploring the full extent of my powers. I also hope I will see Tessa again as I definitely enjoyed reading about angel and demon history. But for now, I am going to enjoy the beautiful day, play with my cousins, and gorge myself on the scrumptious (love that word) food my aunt has made for our end-of-summer celebration.

  The end.

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  Thank you for reading our book. If you enjoyed it please take moment to leave us a review at your favorite retailer. Just be sure to check with your mom or dad first. Also, keep an eye out for Marigold’s next adventure.

  Thanks!

  Garnet & Garnet

  About the authors:

  Garnet F. is the beautiful daughter of Garnet D. and together they refer to themselves as The Gs. They live a quiet life in Westchester, NY with their faithful dog, Bean Sprout. By day they go to work and school but by night they collaborate on writing.

  Here’s a sneak peak of book 2, Out of Balance. Marigold finds her BFF (best friend forever), helps her cousins, meets an elf and finds herself in a whole lot of trouble.

  Marigold Flowers: Out of Balance

  Chapter 1

  OMG! You are not going to believe what happened! If you thought what happened after I turned 11 was unbelievable wait until I tell you what happened once sixth grade started. If I thought my life was totally abnormal before well it has just gone to a whole new level. First, Luna transitioned before Solé (pronounced so-lé), which caused a huge issue but then you know how boys can be. And I found out my mom has this insanely scary power. And my best friend is a shifter. And…wait.

  I am sorry I just broke a cardinal rule in story-telling. Well according to my mom anyway. I jumped right in, no preamble (that means introduction, interesting word don’t you think?). So as my mom says, let’s take a step back and start at the beginning. However, I think I may start at the almost beginning since I really do have too much to tell you.

  First, my name is Marigold Flowers and on my 11th birthday I turned blue and found out that I wasn’t 100% human. In fact, I am a demon/angel/human hybrid. My dad is a human and my mom is a demon/angel hybrid since my grandma is an angel and my grandpa is a demon. I know pretty wild. Plus, my Aunt Poppie is an angel/demon hybrid as are my two cousins, Luna and Solé. They are twins, we are the same age although I am 3 months older then they are. And before I forget there is my stepmother who is also an angel. She tried to steal my angel powers but took my demon powers instead and so I had to heal her to save her and my family but that is a totally different story.

  Ooph, not sure that is the type of preamble my mom would approve of but you should be somewhat up to speed. If I forgot something I’ll try and catch you up in the story. I am not really sure where to start so much happened and my head kind of hurts from thinking about it. But I think I’ll start by telling you about my BFF, Jackalynn.

  So last year, 5th grade, I was the new girl in school since mom moved us to Graciouston after her and my dad got divorced. We moved here since this is where my Aunt Poppie, Uncle Luis and cousins live so it meant I would be in 5th grade with my cousins. Well, that was great and all but it was really really tough to make friends. Everyone knew each other since pre-k except for me. So while I chatted with the kids in my grade I hadn’t found a BFF (best friend forever in case you didn’t know) and to add to it I was missing my BFF from my old school. So double whammy if you ask me. It’s a good thing I have my dog, Daisy.

  Anyway, I knew that sixth grade would be different. First of all you change classes, which is helpful for meeting different people. Then you get to take a language class, I am taking Italian and I love it, although it might be my worst subject. My least favorite class is science but that is the one I do the best in but I digress (that means to go off topic)…sorry I tend to do that a lot. So where was I? Oh yeah, how sixth grade was going to be different. But the biggest reason sixth grade is different is that I found my BFF. Actually, I didn’t find her so much as something mashed us together. So here’s what happened…

  There was a new girl in my home base class; I think some people call it homeroom. She was unlike any girl I have ever seen before. Skin the color of mocha, which is like chocolate, dark hair and deep brown eyes. Basically, the total opposite of how I look. But the reason she was unlike any girl I have ever seen was because she glowed! She has this beautiful gold light that surrounded her. Not an angel kind of glow more like, well I don’t know what it was like since I’d never seen anything like it before.

  I felt kind of bad for her since I know what its like to be the new girl in school. Well, I didn’t see her the rest of the day since she wasn’t in any of my other classes and I didn’t see her at lunch. But I did see her when I was walking home. We walked in the same direction but she was too far ahead for me to catch up to her unless I wanted to run. Normally, I would have, and I am a really fast runner, except I got these really cool wedge boots for my birthday that I wore on the first day of school and well they were barely conducive to walking never mind running. And yes, if you are wondering, my mom told me not to wear them or at least to bring my sneakers to walk home in but I didn’t listen and boy did my feet hurt…so no running to catch up for me. But the new girl walked so slowly, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders so I was almost close enough to call out when she turned the corner, making a right. I was turning left so I figured I’d try and meet up with her the next day but when I went to cross the street I couldn’t. I kept bumping into a wall that wasn’t there. I turned to see the new girl hadn’t gone very far either it was like something was holding her back. Then it felt like I was being tugged by a rope until I literally smashed into the new girl.

  And when we collided she laughed! Her laugh was contagious and before I knew it, I was laughing as well. We were doubled over in hysterics over being mashed together. Finally, we composed ourselves and did a proper introduction. And that is how I met Jackalynn Inkenster who unbeknownst (this means without knowledge of, cool word, don’t you think?) to me would become my BFF.

  Having a BFF is awesome, especially since both of us are only children. Jackalynn lives with her dad who is a professor at the local college and I live with my mom who happens to write a popular children’s book series. In case you don’t know she’s like a mini celebrity here in our town. Oh and so you don’t let your imagine run wild…Jackalynn and I made a pinky promise that we would never try and get out parents to date. It’s too gross to even think about.

  So as I was saying, it is great to have a BFF. We have lunch together everyday and walk to the library after school. Sometimes we even walk over to Dunkin Donuts. My favorite though is when we walk to my house. I make us chai tea and we eat vanilla bean scones if mom happens to buy them. She usually does since she knows I enjoy them with chai.

  I love my mom, although I should probably tell her that more often especially after what happened on Halloween but I think I am getting ahead of myself again. I really think I need to tell you what happened with Luna and Solé before talking about Halloween. And I just realized I jumped to a new topic without a prop
er transition, sorry about that. Sometimes my mind just decides to switch directions. I’ll try not to do it too much if I can but I am not rewriting what I’ve already told you since well I am 11 and improper transitions don’t bother me.