An image of the library flashed in her mind at the last second. Willow felt herself disappearing into thin air. She saw Victor’s library disappear in a blur, and she was suddenly aware that she was standing in at least two feet of something cold. A violent wind blew at her face, and she felt as if her skin was getting stabbed with frozen knives. Small blocks of ice flew right in her face, and she struggled to open her eyes.
When she did, she saw she was standing on the side of a snow-covered mountain. Willow’s bones began to freeze from the frigid cold.
Where am I? she wondered, terror gripping her body. If she didn’t get back to Victor’s castle on the warm tropical island soon, she was going to freeze to death. She did not remember her mother saying anything about the climate of the place where the library was.
Willow looked around and did not see any buildings that might be a library. She began to panic. Where was she? Why was she in this place?
Please work, please work . . . she thought as she fumbled with her wand in her frozen hands.
She waved her wand over her head and said, “Time and space . . . take me back to Victor’s castle.” Nothing happened.
Oh gosh, what were the words again? Willow wondered. “Help!” she yelled as she stumbled around in the snow, hoping beyond all hope that someone would hear her. No one was around.
I am going to die here! Willow thought in horror. A few minutes later, she saw a figure of a man appear next to her. Victor! she thought. Relief washed over her when she saw who the man was.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I-I don’t know! I’m sorry!” Willow said, teeth chattering in the zero-degree weather.
Victor grabbed her arm, waved his wand over his head, and said, “I imagine that Willow and I are back at my castle! Now time and space shall make it so!”
Those were the words! Willow thought, upset that she didn’t remember the exact words to the spell. Her small memory slip nearly killed her. The mountains became a blur, and Willow was relieved to feel the warmth of Victor’s castle. His library came into view.
“Where were you? We’ve been looking for you!” Lillithia wailed.
“I don’t know! I was suddenly in this mountain range, standing in the middle of a snowstorm!” Willow replied.
Rosaria burst out laughing. “Why did you go there?” she asked, nearly doubling over with laughter.
Willow knew she would have laughed as well if someone had told her that. She smiled and said, “I don’t know!”
Then, it occurred to her that she could probably tell the other students why that had happened. “The day my mother was caught, she said a lady had told her about a library that would be a safe place for magical people being hunted by the government. That place flashed in my mind as I recited the spell, and I wound up sending myself to the top of a mountain.”
When she mentioned the other library, she thought she saw Victor’s face grow stern, but she put it out of her mind as just being in her imagination. He smiled and said, “That is why we practice spellwork! So that we don’t wind up doing something or accidentally transporting us somewhere that could kill us. Now, it’s time for lunch. Lillithia and Rosaria, why don’t you two go fix it?”
“Yes, sir,” Lillithia said. She and Rosaria walked out of the room. When Willow and Victor were alone, Willow decided to ask him about the memory spell. He walked over to the bookshelf. Willow walked up to him and said, “Um, Victor, we didn’t get kidnapped yesterday.”
“I know, but that was the best explanation I could give them.”
“How come I didn’t forget anything? The memories began slipping from my mind, but then, they suddenly rushed back. I remember everything that happened yesterday.”
“Perhaps Lillithia has to work on her spellwork. Not everyone gets it right on the first try.”
“Victor, how did you not lose your memory?”
“I drank a memory-protecting potion before the lesson. One that I will teach the three of you within the next couple months.”
“Also, how did you find me when I accidentally transported myself to the mountain?”
“You said that you wanted to be transported to your bedroom. When you didn’t come back down to the library, I grew concerned. I asked the spell to take me to where Willow Nightshade was.”
That night, Willow was reading over her spells, studying for the morning quiz. She wanted to see if he could tutor her on the transporter spell. She walked out of her room and looked around the castle, but did not find him. Willow walked down to the library and saw Lillithia reading through her books.
“Hi, Lillithia, do you know where Victor is?” Willow asked.
Lillithia looked up from her books. “Oh, he goes for a walk in the evenings,” she said.
“Do you know what time he will be back? I want to see if he can tutor me on the transporter spell we learned today.”
“I have no idea.”
“Maybe you can help me. Did you and Rosaria get the spell right on the first try?”
“Yes, both of us did.”
“Could you help me learn the spell?” Willow asked.
Lillithia smiled. “I certainly can. Let me go get Rosaria so she can help you too.”
“Oh, thank you!” Willow breathed.
Lillithia walked out of the room and returned moments later with Rosaria trailing behind her. “We both will come with you so that you aren’t left alone anywhere,” Lillithia said.
Willow smiled. “Thank you!” she said.
“Do you remember the words?” Rosaria asked.
Willow smiled and rolled up her left sleeve. She had written the spell on her arm in case she forgot the words of the spell. She had also studied the words so much and had memorized them so well that she felt that she could not forget them easily.
“That’s great!” Rosaria laughed.
“Now, how did Victor bring you back?” Lillithia asked.
Willow thought for a moment. “He grabbed my arm, waved the wand over his head with his free arm, and recited the spell,” Willow said.
Lillithia shifted from one foot to the other. “So you should stand on the outside and grab my right arm with your left, and Rosaria will hold my left hand,” she said.
Willow grabbed Lillithia’s right hand with her left hand, and Lillithia held hands with Rosaria. Willow asked, “Where do you two want to go?”
Rosaria said, “The spell doesn’t work unless we go to where YOU want to go!” Willow thought of somewhere she would like to go. This time, it was a place on the island she had been to. She waved her wand above her head three times and said, “I imagine I am standing under the Rainbowflower tree. Now time and space shall make it so!” There was suddenly a blur, and darkness engulfed them. Willow could smell the sweet aroma of the Rainbowflower tree, and through the branches, she could see the light of the full moon.
Willow illuminated her right hand and looked around. Sure enough, she could see the rainbowflowers in the light. There was an odd orange cloud that stretched across the horizon. “Look at that cloud there!” Willow commented. She pointed at the cloud.
“Victor says that cloud appeared over the island when his brother brought magic back to this realm,” Lillithia said.
Willow saw a strange blue glowing figure darting through the trees. “What’s that?”
A chill went down her spine. Just then, several spectral creatures began to form around them out of thin air.
“I think we’d better get outta here!” Rosaria whimpered.
“Rose, you grab Willow!” Lillithia said, voice trembling in terror. One of the specters approached Willow, and Willow saw it was a beautiful female spirit with long black hair. She opened her mouth, and Willow heard the beginnings of the most beautiful melody that she had ever heard.
Willow heard someone else mumble something, and all of a sudden, everything became a blur. She saw the light of Victor’s fireplace and was aware that she was back in the library. The trance the creatu
re had Willow in broke, and a terrible pain shot through her head.
“What were those things?” Willow asked.
“Demons from Levotheria in the Dead Realms! A fairy ring must have formed somewhere. Victor says they are popping up now,” Lillithia said.
“We will have to tell Victor about it when he returns,” Willow said.
Lillithia’s eyes widened. “You will not tell him anything! Rose did something bad last night, and now no one knows what it was because we have all forgotten it!” Lillithia growled through gritted teeth.
“But what if they attack us here?” Willow asked.
“They won’t. Victor has put all kinds of spells of protection on this castle,” Lillithia said.
The three of them went to bed, but Willow lay awake, thinking about the creature that had attacked her. Something about her looked very familiar to Willow. She sat bolt upright in bed when she remembered where she had seen the woman’s face before.
The woman looked exactly like one of the murder victims Riordan had showed her a drawing of! She decided to tell Victor about what she had seen when he returned from his walk. Willow shot out of bed and got dressed.
Should she tell Rosaria and Lillithia? She did not know. Willow ran down the stairs and sat in a chair by the door to wait for Victor to come home. Suddenly, the scent of lavender filled the air, and Willow was doused in a cloud of lavender dust. She fell fast asleep in her chair. Rosaria stood behind her, holding a can of Sandman Fairy dust.
She knew that none of Victor’s spells could work on Willow, being that Willow was a sorceress and Rosaria was a witch, but other fairy magic would. Sandman Fairy dust was known to cause wild dreams. I may not be able to wipe your memory of the creatures you saw, but I can make you think you dreamt seeing the Faeblood Wraiths, Rosaria thought. And that was exactly what happened.
Chapter Five
Two months later, Willow had completed her studies with Victor. They all passed the final test he gave them. He decided they were ready to try to invade King Banderon’s castle. Willow was ready to get her vengeance for her parents’ deaths.
The four of them walked to the stables and saddled their horses. Willow saddled Starfire, and the others saddled their horses. Willow asked, “What are we going to do with our horses when we get there?”
“We are going to put them in the stables with the servants’ horses. Now, let’s all hold hands so that we don’t lose each other when we transport ourselves. We will transport ourselves to the forest outside the city where no one will see us appear,” Victor said.
They all stood their horses in a line and held hands. Victor stood on the outside and held Rose’s hand. Rose then held Lillithia’s hand, and Lillithia held hands with Willow. Willow’s heart pounded with anticipation as she thought about what they were going to do. Victor held his wand high above his head and said, “We imagine we are standing in the forest outside Ethermoor City. Now time and space shall make it so!”
The island became a white blur. Willow saw tall trees come into view, and they found themselves standing in the middle of a forest. “How far are we from the city?” she asked.
“We are several miles from the city gate. I have marked some of the trees with knife cuttings to mark a path there. No one knows what they mean but me,” Victor replied. He pointed to an oak tree with a large gash in its trunk. “This is the sign you look for on the tree trunks. I know the way to the city by now.”
Willow thought it was odd that a doctor who lived in the city would have needed to find his way to the city by marking trees. She had never been to Ethermoor City, but knew that the Centrarius Way was the major road that connected all the principalities in the kingdom to the capitol.
“Did you make these markings when you lived in the city?” Willow asked.
Victor appeared to be caught off guard by the question. “No, I transported myself here a few nights ago and made them. That way, we wouldn’t get lost when we came,” Victor said. “Oh, and I almost forgot. You three are going to need these when going into the city and walking into the castle.” He opened his bag and pulled out three small boxes. “Shapeshifter pendants. The police are probably still looking for the three of you, and you will need these to get in the palace without anyone recognizing you.” Victor handed each woman a box. Willow opened her box and saw a small golden necklace with a half-moon pendant.
“These were made with the fur of a shapeshifter embedded into the pendant. They will enable you to change into whatever form you wish.” Willow, Rosaria, and Lillithia put their necklaces on. Rosaria suddenly transformed into a red-haired woman with blue eyes, and Lillithia shifted into a blonde woman with green eyes. Willow shifted into a woman with black curly hair.
“I will introduce the three of you under fake names so that no one will know your real names. Willow, your name will be Tara. Rosaria, your name will be Cynthia. Lillithia, you will be Danielle,” Victor said.
As they walked, the cold and imposing walls that surrounded the capitol came into view. There were even guards patrolling the top of the wall. Willow felt a stab of homesickness in her heart as she thought about the quaintness of Fernhollow.
Someday, I will be able to go back there and tell everyone about how I helped overthrow the unjust government, she thought.
They all walked through the imposing archway that led into the city. Willow was shocked at the number of homeless people sitting under the archway. An elderly woman approached her and held out a cup. She had a terrible sore on her face that spread over her left cheek. “Can you spare me some money?” the woman asked.
“I don’t have any money, but I do have some medicine that can help that sore on your face,” Willow said.
She always carried some of her mother’s healing potions around with her in case she should encounter someone who needed them. The woman closed her eyes, shook her head, and said, “Nothing can cure it. I lost my job because my employer thought it might be contagious. Doctors bled me dry of money searching for a cure, and now I am out begging for money on the street as a result.”
“Here.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of skin cure. “Can I pour some of this on it?” Willow asked.
The woman shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Well, it can’t hurt. The sore only grows and gets worse.”
Willow opened the bottle and poured the liquid on the sore. A cloud of white smoke emitted from the wound, drawing the stares of bystanders. Seconds later, the cloud dissipated, leaving healthy skin in place of the open sore. The other beggars approached her and gasped at the sight of the woman’s healed skin.
The woman looked around in wonderment. “Do you have a mirror?” she asked Willow.
“I don’t, but there is a reflective window over there,” Willow said as she pointed at a window.
The woman ran over to the window. She gasped, and tears welled up in her eyes when she saw that her sore had been healed over by healthy skin. “Oh, thank you so much! What is your name, dear?”
“Willow Nightshade. What is yours?” Willow replied.
“Marcy!” the woman replied.
Oh no! I forgot to use my fake name! Willow thought.
“How did you do it?” someone asked. A large crowd was starting to gather around Willow.
Victor suddenly grabbed her arm and whisked her away from the crowd. “You can heal as many people as you want later, but we must keep quiet about our abilities for now. I don’t want you exposing yourself to the king and ruining our plans!” Victor said through gritted teeth.
They walked through the crowd. They came to a rather rundown, nondescript-looking building that had a sign hanging over the door that said “Inn.”
“Here. No one will suspect us if we are staying here!” Victor said.
“Aren’t we going to the palace now?” Willow asked.
Victor grabbed her arm, and the two ducked inside the rundown building. He whispered, “What are you thinking being so loud about this?”
“I-I’m sorry!” Willow stammered.
There were just some things that she thought he was making up as they were going. Even though they planned their trip very well, she had never been to Ethermoor City, and upon arriving there, she realized there were a few things they had not discussed back at the castle.
“Do not say anything until we are all away from people. There are some things we need to discuss right before going to the palace. We are going there at night. Don’t say any more until we are all in private,” Victor said.
He walked up to the front desk and paid for one room in the inn. “Here you go. Room 158 is on the second floor,” the innkeeper said as she handed a set of keys to Victor. Willow knew better than to ask him why they were only going to have one room when there were four of them. They went out of the inn and got Rosaria and Lillithia. The three women followed Victor upstairs.
“We are going to go there at night so that we can kill him while he is sleeping. You know, catch him off guard!” Victor said.
“How are we going to get into the palace?” Willow asked.
“I used to be his physician. I have connections at the palace who can help us get in.” Victor said.
“How come you didn’t poison him when he was your patient?” Willow asked.
Victor turned to her and laughed. “They would have suspected me, and I wasn’t ready. I could not have protected myself. Magic had not returned yet.”
Willow still thought it was odd that he did not kill him then.
“Now, the three of you will be introduced as my students who are studying alchemy and pharmacy with me. Also, they called me by my middle name, Halvor, since there are other people named Victor who work at the palace and no one else is named Halvor. The people at the palace call all the people named Victor by their middle names. That way, we know which Victor is being addressed.
“We are going at ten o’clock at night, because that is when the king goes off to bed. We will wait until a time we know for certain he is probably asleep to begin our attack.”
At 9:30 p.m., they began making their way toward the castle. They walked up to the castle gate, and Victor pulled an identification card out of his bag. He showed it to the guard, and the guard opened the gate to let them in. Victor led the way to the servants’ stables, and they locked their horses inside. Willow was extremely nervous but excited about what they were planning to do. She couldn’t help but notice the way people scowled at Victor, and thought it was rather strange. She brushed it off. Oh well, it wouldn’t matter after tonight.
The Night Sorceresses Page 10
