A New Witch in Town (Maybe Two) (A Modern Tale about the Witches of Springsville Book 1)
Page 10
Following the first group was a middle-aged man, with the friendly smile of a person used to dealing with children, who showed a slight embarrassment by constantly adjusting his glasses on his nose. Then there quickly arrived a skinny old woman with big gray eyes; a young man, not much older than a teenager, covered with tattoos and piercings; and a handsome young man with dark hair who seemed unable to keep his walnut eyes off the young black woman.
These were the first seven witches she was going to talk to and train. If the meeting was a success, then the witch race would have resolved a huge problem which had threatened its existence. Probably this was going to be the most important meeting the witches had had since their start.
They all sat down in the chairs prepared for them in front of the Queen. Kim smiled, embarrassed, and greeted them. Nobody dared to talk, and Kim had to ask them to introduce themselves.
Luckily, she had been given the list with names and details. Now she only had to connect every name to its rightful owner.
Samia, the black woman, hadn't a lot of experience but seemed to be very powerful. On the contrary, William, the middle-aged man, had had his healing ability since before he could walk, making everybody around him feel well and healthy every time they were near him. Surprisingly, the handsome young man, Francesco, was an unpowered witch and was therefore personally interested in learning as much as he could. All the others had a similar story, although coming from different parts of the world.
Kim explained to them what had happened: her dream, her painting, her first discovery of the shields.
The trainees took notes and asked many questions, some of which Kim didn't really know how to answer. They all seemed to be much more prepared than she felt.
During the break Isidora and Celeste joined them, and after the refreshments, an unpowered volunteer entered the room.
He was a young teenager, proud to have been chosen for the experiment. He would have a lot to tell his friends. And when he saw Samia and Ivy, the Chinese girl, he was sure he would be envied by everyone!
“So, how are things going, my dear?” Isidora asked, sipping her tea.
Kim let herself fall into the chair in front of Isidora's desk and grabbed her cup of tea. She was exhausted.
“Honestly, for a while, a long while, I thought it was a complete failure. They all understood the theory and thought it would be easy. But even though they are very good healers, they couldn't see the shield. Everybody looked depressed. With the last try, they all seemed defeated. But then it was Francesco, the Italian guy, who saw it. He wasn't looking at it. Not anymore. Samia was sitting in front of him and his gaze literally dropped over her generous bust.” She blew on her tea and continued. “Then he saw something with the corner of his eye. His attention turned back to the patient but his vision disappeared. He looked away again and we realized something was going on because he looked very excited. He tried many times, always failing at bringing the shield into focus. He decided to take a short break. When he tried again, he could see it. Not clearly, but that was a great improvement. Earlier, each in the group had tried to remove the shield without seeing it but they didn't succeed. Having a clear vision of it seems to be essential. At the end of the session, all of them could see the shield, more or less, pretty clearly. Tomorrow we will check other unpowereds of different ages and then I will explain to the trainees how I remove the shields. They might be able to find better ways, though.”
“Kim, my dear, you know this is important to us, but you probably cannot imagine how much. Your coming means a lot to us. We were already nearly extinct in some parts of the world and we didn't know why. I wonder why all those healers were never able to see the shields. Why nobody has ever understood where the problem was. And we are magic!” Isidora shook her head.
“I saw it because in a way I was expecting to see it after my dream. I suppose this is the reason. The shield isn't part of the aura. Therefore, healers who can see the aura had no way to see it, to look for it.”
“So, you will meet again tomorrow, right?” Isidora helped herself to some more tea from an invisible teapot.
“Yes, we decided to meet until they can perfectly clear the shields. Then we'll try an experiment. We will let fourteen more healers come. Each healer in the first group will train two new healers. I won't assist in those sessions. Then we'll compare the results and we'll decide if they are able to train other people without me. If this is the case we, I mean you and I, will need to coordinate the whole thing. Thousands of healers will be involved, and I cannot imagine the confusion if nobody knows who will train whom.”
“Great. I will ask Ravyn to assist us. She always tells me I should let her assist me with all the bureaucratic stuff...”
CHAPTER 23
It was a starry night despite the giant, shining moon reflecting her silver rays on the little dark pond. Lots of colorful lanterns were flying low, lazily moving on the light breeze. The fresh air brought the smell of grass and wildflowers. In front of the cottage which concealed the school, there were long tables covered with many good things lit by hundreds of candles, also placed on the path and everywhere around the low hills, their flames trembling and casting dancing shadows all over.
The orchestra played a magic melody, and the witches, gathered for the party from all over the world, were dancing in many circles, some of them flying high, making somersaults and twists. It was one of the biggest parties held by witches in the last few centuries. The reason was really important. Not only to personally introduce the Queen to the witches, but also to celebrate the end of a problem which had afflicted them for at least twenty years and had threatened their race.
As soon as Kimberly and Aurora arrived, they stood still, looking enchanted by the magic scenery. Everything looked so otherworldly that they felt as if they were inside a fairy tale: the lights, the sounds, the music, the smells, and the many witches dancing and flying. Aurora, open-mouthed, gripped her mom's hand tight. When she recovered from the surprise, she squeaked with delight and tried to run near the dancers, but Isidora's community surrounded them to protect them from the great curiosity they elicited.
When the witches realized the Queen had arrived, they all stopped their dancing, a few trying to slow down their swirl in the air. The music stopped. Only a flute in the far distance was still playing a slow, melancholy melody which spoke of past times.
Kim felt overwhelmed by the scenery. She closed her eyes, enjoying that soft music, and tears wet her face. She looked at the witches around her and felt a sense of belonging she hadn't felt in her entire life. Home, she thought.
All the witches had gathered around her, forming many concentric circles. The music started again, and she picked Aurora up into her arms and started dancing.
She looked at Isidora, waving to her. Isidora smiled and waved back.
The night went on with songs and music, with all the witches trying to approach her and she had a smile for everybody. Later, she rested on one of the soft armchairs which had appeared everywhere, Aurora falling asleep on her lap while she kept caressing her head.
“I'd better go.” She gestured to Isidora who was sitting not far from them, pointing to Aurora, who was yawning.
Isidora nodded and looked for Hylee to take them back while Lucille rushed at her, handing her a newspaper.
“Look at the short piece on page nine,” Lucille shouted to make herself heard over the loud music.
Isidora looked and her face clouded.
“What's the matter?” Kim shouted at her, standing up with Aurora in her arms, ready to go.
“Nothing, my dear,” Isidora whispered, exaggerating the movement of her lips to make her understand without hearing the words. “We will deal with it tomorrow,” she added.
Kim nodded and kissed Aurora, who was smiling in her dreams.
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