The Night Sorceresses

by Erica Griswold

  “Are you certain?” Christabel asked. “The bandits could have stolen their uniforms.”

  “Yes. I am absolutely certain. I worked with these men while trying to solve the mystery of the strange deaths in the country,” Riordan said.

  “They were going to be meeting my parents and me at the edge of Oloredian and joining the wedding processional into Oloredian. Why did they attack me?” Christabel wailed.

  “I don’t know. They’re gone now, and you’re safe with us,” Riordan said.

  The large black horse that had reared up on his hind legs at Christabel’s attacker let out a huff of air. “By the way, his name is Jinx Lightning. He told me,” Angelina said, pointing at the horse.

  “He told you?” Willow asked.

  “Yeah, I can talk to animals.”

  “Jinx lightning! What a cool name!” Christabel said as she stroked the horse’s nose.

  “You can talk to animals?” Willow asked Angelina.

  “I guess. It’s an ability I gained upon coming to Ethermoor,” she replied.

  “Wasn’t Queen Zadelia a woodland fairy?” Willow asked.

  “That’s what my family told me.”

  Willow remembered what Tareth had said to Ambrosia about her not being able to do anything but revive some dead plants, and contrasted the statement with the kind of magic she just saw Angelina perform. Angelina was clearly a more powerful sorcerer than Ambrosia was able to fake.

  Then, they heard the sound of another team of horses and soldiers coming down the path. “That’s my mother! I have to hide!” Christabel shrieked.

  Willow was totally confused. “Don’t you want her to know that you’re okay?”

  Christabel had already darted off into the forest. Confused, the others followed her.

  In the distance, they heard a woman scream at the sight of the carnage. “Do you want your mother to think you are dead?” Riordan asked.

  “She’s going to force me into marriage to Prince Gregory, whom I’ve never met!” Christabel hissed, voice trembling in terror. Willow was sincerely glad that she was not born into nobility.

  Riordan sighed and said, “All right. We won’t tell your mother that you’re alive.”

  “That creepy alchemist guy is going to be king now. I swear he’s going to be an even worse king than Banderon,” Christabel wailed.

  “What do you mean?” Willow asked, intrigued by her statement.

  Christabel leaned in and said, “I’ve only met him a couple times. I know that Banderon didn’t hire strangers to work for him. That guy came in, and all of a sudden, he had King Banderon wrapped around his little finger! I swear that he was digging into the treasury or something.”

  She narrowed her eyes at Willow and asked, “Hey, aren’t you that woman who killed King Banderon? Posters with your face on them are, like, everywhere!”

  Willow pulled the handkerchief off of her face. “Yes! And if you are going to travel with us, you must promise that you will not leave us for any reason! I can’t have you going off somewhere and telling everyone about what you saw Angelina do back there!”

  Christabel’s eyes widened, and she said, “Oh, I promise that I will not leave you!” She put her hands on her hips. “Why did you kill him and then leave? I would have taken the throne if I were you!”

  Willow thought this was a bizarre statement for a noblewoman to make. “Well, I thought Victor, well, you know him as Halvor, was my friend. He taught me magic and told me that Rosaria, and Lillithia, and I were going to rule Ethermoor together. Well, turns out Rosaria and Lillithia were fake names also! Rosaria was Princess Ambrosia Wyvorn, and Lillithia was Princess Desdemona Thiregan!”

  Christabel broke into wild laughter. “You thought that Ambrosia Wyvorn and Desdemona Thiregan were your friends?”

  “I’m sorry! I am from Aralin, and I had never gone outside the principality and had never seen what those princesses looked like before. Desdemona told me she was a hairdresser, and Ambrosia told me she taught botany at a school!” Willow protested.

  Christabel smiled and said, “Well, I will repay my debt to you all for saving my life by using my excellent fencing skills to protect you!”

  “Fencing skills?” Willow asked, surprised that a princess would know anything about weaponry.

  “Oh, yes! When I get a sword, I will repay my debt to you! My own sword is back home. My mother forbade I bring it to Prince Gregory’s palace because she said fencing wasn’t an activity for a true lady.” Christabel rolled her eyes. She stared right into Riordan’s eyes and asked, “I want to know if I truly am safe with the three of you.”

  He thought her actions were rather odd. “Well, yes, you are,” he replied.

  Christabel grinned widely and said, “Good!” She turned around and began walking away from him. She turned her head and said, “I know you can’t lie without experiencing excruciating pain. You’re a Knowledge Sorcerer. I saw your quill pendant.”

  Riordan shoved his pendant down into his shirt. He knew the people of Kalnoreth loved the family, but he wondered how she knew what the quill symbol meant.

  “Do any of you happen to have an extra change of clothes? Maybe I would remain hidden better if I wasn’t wearing something that makes me stick out so much.”

  “I have a dress that I wore yesterday,” Willow said. She took her books out of her bag and handed her bag to Christabel. Christabel grabbed the bag and ran off behind a boulder to change her clothes.

  “Can we really trust her?” Willow whispered to Riordan.

  “Yes. I have not sensed her telling any lies. Everything she has said was the truth.” he replied.

  Christabel skipped out from behind the boulder. She was not carrying her dress, and Willow’s dress fit her perfectly. “Oh, this dress is so much more comfortable than the dresses they gave me back home!” Christabel squealed. She handed Willow’s bag back to her. “I’m going to ride Jinx Lightning here!” She saddled the black horse. They took off walking through the forest.

  “Wait, what about your dress?” Angelina asked.

  “I am not going to be wearing it again, so I left it behind the boulder,” Christabel said.

  As they walked, Christabel was careful to avoid being seen by passersby. Willow noticed that Starfire and Jinx Lightning trotted right next to each other. Christabel ducked behind a tree or a rock every time they heard horses or people coming down the path.

  Willow looked at Christabel and Angelina and said, “Well, we have to get both of you some new clothes.”

  Christabel turned to Angelina and asked, “So what village are you from where people wear clothes like that?”

  “I am from the city of Boston, Massachusetts. I was living Miami, Florida. My country is called the United States of America.”

  “Well, I have never heard of that country,” Christabel said.

  “Supposedly my ancestor was the ruler of all the fairies in this country at one point,” Angelina said.

  “Queen Zadelia?” Christabel chimed.

  Riordan was curious as to how a noblewoman knew so much about fairies. “What else do you know about the fairies?” Riordan asked.

  “Well . . .” Christabel sighed. Her eyes darted around as if to see if anyone was watching her. “Strange things have been happening to me lately, and I have been doing some research on why they might be happening.”

  “What kind of strange things have been happening to you?”

  Christabel swallowed. “Okay, lunacy runs in the family. At least, that’s what they call the people who do strange ramblings during the full moon, right? Many of us wind up in a mental hospital during our episodes. No one knows that about my family. Well, after that horrendous bang that rocked the country a few months back, my dreams that I had during the time of the full moon started to make sense. So did my father’s. I had a vision one night that the king’s old alchemist would die and a new one who was a truly evil man would take his place. That happened. Then, my father had a vision that this
alchemist was going to hunt down and kill all the apothecaries in the land. That also happened, so father ordered all the apothecary shops to close to protect the shop owners.”

  Riordan said, “That’s a strange coincidence.”

  Christabel’s eyes widened. “It’s no coincidence! Our psychiatrist told us that some of his lunacy patients were having similar experiences! One of the servants, who was also a lunacy patient, told my father that Princess Desdemona was going to try to invade Kalnoreth and kill our family. That’s why my family decided to move my wedding up to this week, to get me away from him.”

  “Why not just fire the servant?” Willow asked. A look of extreme sadness crossed over Christabel’s face. “Because he was my boyfriend, and my father thought that if he married me off to Prince Gregory, he could keep me away from him.”

  Boy, I’m glad I’m not nobility, Willow thought.

  “I found out about the fairies while doing my research on why some people might suddenly have rapturous visions on the night of the full moon,” Christabel said.

  Riordan remembered the reports of the lunacy patients who were attacked by Faeblood Wraiths. He wondered if there was some way they could possess magic and not know it. It made sense to him now. There were historical accounts of Luna Fairies who could deliver predictions on the night of the full moon, although there was no evidence of such a fairy or any of their descendants, the Dream Sorcerers, appearing back in Ethermoor. Maybe their magic had confused their descendants since magic had not fully returned to Ethermoor yet? Perhaps Christabel was a descendant of such a fairy.

  As they were walking back toward Ethermoor City, Riordan pulled a stray hair off Christabel’s back. He made a mental note to test the hair in the magic detection potion when they settled down for the night.

  “Um, are we going to go into Ethermoor City for the night? I don’t want anyone to see my face. I’m afraid that people there might recognize me,” Christabel said.

  “No, we are going to stay at my grandparents’ house. They live just outside the city,” Riordan said.

  That evening, they arrived back at Marian’s house. Riordan knocked on the door. The door opened, and Marian’s face popped out. “Well, it looks like all three of the most wanted people in all Ethermoor are standing on my doorstep. She furrowed her brow and asked, “What’s Princess Christabel doing here?”

  Christabel replied, “Ma’am, I won’t be a problem! Willow, Angelina, and Riordan saved me from Gregory’s soldiers who attacked my carriage!”

  “All right, well, come on in!” Marian said, opening the door for them all. The four of them walked inside.

  “This is a lovely home you have!” Christabel commented.

  “Why, thank you!” Marian said, her cheeks turning pink.

  When dinner was ready, Angelina scarfed down all the food on her plate. She had not eaten a real meal since Riordan gave them sandwiches the day before.

  When Riordan turned in for the night, he decided to try to find out if Christabel had magic. He put his gloves on, took out Victor’s magic detection liquid, unscrewed the cap, and dipped the hair inside. He was utterly astonished when the whole vial glowed brightly. Could Dream Sorcerers and Sorceresses have completely escaped the notice of everyone? Were they mistaken for mentally ill patients when they returned to Ethermoor? Riordan pulled the hair out, screwed the cap back on, and put the hair and the vial back in his satchel.

  He spent the night wondering how in the world to approach the matter with Christabel.

  Willow began pondering if there might be a safe way to enter the castle that night and try to find out what Victor’s next move might be. Perhaps turning into a cloud and trying to find her way to Victor’s study might be the best way. She lay in bed that evening, pondering how she would go spy on him.

  Willow decided she could turn herself into a cloud and seep in through the locks. She could not use the transporter spell since the wood in her wand had died. She snuck out the hallway and tiptoed toward the door.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” she heard a woman’s voice ask. Willow turned and saw Angelina standing behind her.

  “I am going to Victor’s castle to try to find out what his next move might be,” Willow said.

  “After what happened last night, I’m not letting you go there alone,” Angelina insisted.

  Willow felt warmed by her new friend’s loyalty. “I have to go alone,” she said.

  “I am going with you. I can turn myself into a bird, and perhaps I can turn into something smaller,” Angelina said.

  “All right, come on,” Willow said. They walked out the door, and Willow locked it.

  Angelina imagined herself turning into a firefly so that Willow could see her in the night. She shrank down so small that the grains of dirt looked like huge rocks and the blades of grass looked like massive trees.

  “Angelina?” Willow called, wondering why her friend had just disappeared. A little firefly flew out of the grass and landed on her nose. “A firefly?” Willow giggled.

  Angelina flew back down into the grass and transformed back into her human form.

  “Now, do you realize that where I’m about to go, they might kill us if they see us?” Willow asked.

  “In the previous three days, I have jumped out of a crashing plane, been jailed, fought off supernatural entities, and rescued a woman from soldiers who were working for her fiancée,” Angelina said.

  Willow giggled at her statement. “All right, you can come with me.”

  She turned into a cloud, but remained dense enough so that Angelina could see her. Angelina turned herself back into a firefly. The two of them took off flying through the air and soared high above the city streets. Willow and Angelina flew to the castle, and Willow guided Angelina to the tower where Victor’s study was.

  They both flew in through the window. Willow turned into her human form. She held her left hand up and lit up her hand so that she could see. She saw that Victor had moved all his books from the island to the castle. Angelina also transformed back into a human.

  Both listened carefully for footsteps that would indicate someone coming up the staircase. Willow saw several books that only had year numbers on the spine. In Willow’s light, Angelina could see her mouth gaping, and her eyes widened in an expression of apparent excitement. Willow gasped.

  “What is it?” Angelina asked.

  “He keeps daily diaries! Everything about his plans and what he is up to might be right here!” Willow hissed. She pulled out one book and flipped through the pages with excitement.

  “What’s that number written on the side of it?” Angelina asked.

  “This is the year. Don’t you have year numbers in your world?” Willow replied.

  “Yeah, but they don’t look anything like that.”

  “This is the year 5530, and this is this year’s journal!” Willow said.

  She flipped through the journal, reading for any information on what Victor’s plans were.

  Willow grabbed another book on the shelf. She opened it up and began flipping through the pages. A massive grin spread across her face when she stopped and read one of the pages.

  “What book is that?” Angelina asked.

  “I’ll tell you when we get back to Marian’s house,” Willow replied. She excitedly stuffed the books in her bag. “I think this is all we need for right now. Now, let’s go back to Marian’s house.” She turned into a cloud, and Angelina turned into a firefly. They flew back to Marian’s house.

  They flew through an open window and resumed their human forms once they were inside. “First, Victor reveals in his journal that he is Tareth, the evil warlock who destroyed this country years ago. Second, he wrote here that he is going to make Desdemona and Ambrosia immortal using the same potion that made him immortal. There’s an entry here that says what book he got the potion out of. I found the book, and when I looked in it, I also found information on how an immortal can be killed!” Willow whispered so as not to wake up any
one in the house.

  “And how is that?” Angelina asked.

  “By exposing them to their greatest weaknesses,” Willow said, grinning widely.

  “Do you know what his is?” Angelina asked.

  Willow was suddenly deflated. She had lived with Tareth for two months but had absolutely no idea what his weaknesses were. “No. I don’t know,” Willow said. “However, we have information on what they are currently up to.”

  “Let’s go to sleep for now and show the journal and the book to everyone else in the morning,” Angelina said.

  She walked back into her bedroom, fell into the bed, and went to sleep. Willow was exhausted, but clues on how to defeat her enemies lay right in her hands, and she read the books until she fell asleep.

  The next morning, they all walked out to the table to eat breakfast. Willow walked out with a huge grin stretched across her face. “Good news! I found out that Victor kept diaries, and I have one right here,” Willow squealed as she waved the journal in the air.

  “How did you get that?” Christabel asked.

  “Angelina turned into a firefly, and I turned into a cloud. We flew to the castle to see if we could find any information on his plans for Ethermoor, and boy, did we find them! We found this journal in the things that he brought from the island!” Willow beamed.

  She sat down at the table. “By the way, he really is the warlock Tareth. When magic started to return to Ethermoor, he was freed from his prison on the island of Valroth and moved to Enchantica, which was the former home of the Godmother fairies. Plus, I read that he, Desdemona, and Ambrosia left two days ago to go to the Pyraxia Library and the Pyraxia Vault. Tareth is going to try to take Tristan’s power for himself like he did to the people he turned into Faeblood Wraiths. He wants to use his Wisdom Fairy powers to subjugate the people of Ethermoor to his power.”

  Riordan sat bolt upright in his chair. “So we have to get going as soon as we finish breakfast so that we can try to catch up to them. It takes a week to get there from here,” he said.

  Willow replied, “They have a traveling spell that he taught us, and are probably at the vault right now. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work for me without my wand, which is currently dead.”