Celtic Magic

by Amber LaShell

  “No, no. If you try to hurt me, you will kill him in the process. You can take that chance if you want to, I wouldn’t mind having one less piece of trash to think about, but I think you might not want to do that” she told her with an evil smirk on her face. Abby felt the anger boil inside of her, aching to be released.

  “What do you want?” she asked through gritted teeth.

  “There are many things I want, but mostly I want you either dead or banned from here once and for all. There is no way I am going to let you wear the crown, or sit on the throne and rule, the stink would be unbearable” Elysia said.

  Abby thought for a moment, was it worth never coming back to this place if she could take Tom with her right this second? She knew that even though it was tempting to just give in and take him, she had to do the right thing. She had to choose what was best for everyone, and having Elysia rule was not a price she was willing to pay.

  “Never!” she yelled.

  Elysia laughed, “I was hoping you would say that, I would love nothing more than a good fight with you. That will have to wait though, I want you to suffer, and the best way to make you suffer, is to make this human suffer” she said as she disappeared, taking Tom with her.

  Chapter 30

  Abby looked up at the purple sky and screamed a guttural sound that came from deep within her. She continued to scream, but the anger was still trying to get out, so she lifted her hands up toward the sky and felt the heat race out of them, making the clouds move quickly until there were directly above her and the castle.

  It then started to rain, and the cold water hitting her pulled her out of the angry trance she was in and decided to go back into the throne room to try and find out exactly how all of this had happened. When she landed her mother and Jasmine ran up to her.

  “What happened out there?” her mother asked.

  Abby was at a loss for words, she knew that if she opened her mother, the tears would start, and she was so angry she did not want to give Elysia the chance to hurt Tom.

  She knew she had to move fast so without saying a word, she pulled the Seer’s Orb out of her pocket thinking that she wanted to know exactly how Elysia had even known about Tom.

  The orb glowed then flew up in front of her, growing large, she watched it. She saw her mother, Jasmine, and herself standing in the gazebo on the night that she thought she might have lost her magic. She saw herself crying, it was after she had seen the truth on this exact orb, and she was telling her mother and Jasmine how she was going to the hotel to talk to Tom.

  She watched herself disappear, with all of the tiny lights following her, and then watched as her mother and Jasmine held hands and then they also disappeared. She was just about to look away, thinking that the orb had misunderstood what she wanted to see, when she saw a movement directly behind the gazebo.

  It was Elysia and she slowly started to appear, as though she had been standing there completely invisible. Abby’s heart started to beat very fast, she had felt something was off when she was there in that moment, but she had been so upset about Tom and Nicole that she didn’t think much about it.

  Now she knew, she should have trusted her instincts, they were trying to tell her something and if she would have listened, Tom would right now be in his apartment, safe and sound.

  After she closed the orb, she looked back to her mother and Jasmine.

  “It’s all my fault that she took him. I knew something was wrong, why didn’t I listen to my own head?” she cried out, feeling the tears start to roll down her cheeks.

  “It is not your fault Abby, how were you supposed to know that she was there invisible? You were very upset, besides I didn’t know she was there, and neither did your mother, and she’s a full Goddess” Jasmine told her.

  Her mother nodded, “Yes, don’t blame yourself. Elysia is very powerful and cunning, nobody would have guessed that she would have gone there to eavesdrop on you” she said.

  Abby shook her head, “What do I do now?” she asked putting her head onto her mother’s shoulder.

  She wished with all her heart that she could go back in time. She would have never let him sit down at that table with her. At least then he would have been safe never knowing her. She had to get him out of this mess, and when she did, she would have to end it. Being with her was much too dangerous for him, and she wouldn’t’ be able to live with herself if anything more happened to him.

  Her mother patted her head, “We will have to find her and get Tom back for you. I want you to know that it will be an awful fight, but I have a feeling you are ready to fight to the death after what she’s done.”

  Abby nodded, “I will kill her myself if I have to, but I will get Tom back from her unharmed” she answered back pulling her head back up, the tears gone now that the anger had taken over once again.

  ***

  Abby stood in the middle of the throne room, listening to the ideas that her mother and Jasmine were throwing out at her, ways to try and find where Elysia had gone.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off of the throne though, wondering when she would finally be able to sit on it and rule. She would never let someone like Elysia have control over all of the creatures in this world. They deserved someone who would fight for them, not against them.

  Abby was deep in thought when she started to feel an urge to turn toward her left, so she slightly turned her head, hoping there wasn’t something there that would deepen the problem. All she saw was the window that overlooked the Eastern Gardens, and something deep inside of her told her she needed to see something out of that window.

  She felt her entire body turn and start to glide that way, even though she knew she wasn’t actually moving her feet. She looked down and saw that she was actually flying a little bit toward that window. There must be something she really needed to see, even though she already knew that the only thing that was ever in the Eastern Gardens were the unicorns.

  When she finally reached the window she looked down and saw the large one with the golden horn that had allowed her to touch him before.

  “Abby? What is it?” her mother asked behind her, obviously concerned about something that had transfixed her so suddenly.

  “It’s the unicorn, the one with the golden horn, he wants to speak with me. Do unicorns speak?” she asked, a little confused as to how this was going to work.

  “Yes, they can speak to you telepathically, in a way. If he wants to speak with you, then you should head down, he may know something about Tom” her mother told her. Abby nodded and took off for the garden.

  As her feet hit the grass, she saw that he was standing right in front of her, with his golden horn lowered, close to her hands. Unsure of what to do, she followed her instincts and put her hand on his horn.

  Once again she was surprised at how soft and warm it was and as soon as her hand was on it, she started to get these images in her mind. The first was of the scene that had happened between her and Elysia just minutes before. She knew that the unicorn was watching everything that had happened.

  Then she saw what must be the future, it was Elysia lying on the glittering grass of the Southern Gardens either dead or knocked unconscious, either way she was motionless. Then she saw herself standing over her with an energy swirling around her, it was almost scary.

  She noticed that she was wearing a deep purple dress and on her head was the crown that was in the throne room. Just as she was starting to admire herself wearing the crown the image changed.

  This time she was sitting on top of the unicorn and they were flying through the air. She was dressed the same as she was right now, with one difference, she had pastel purple wings jutting out from her back.

  Abby pulled her hand away from the unicorn’s horn and he lifted his head up until his eyes were directly in front of hers and she heard a deep voice in her head, echoing as though she was in a large bathroom.

  “Your mother will know what to do. Come to me when you are ready to proceed” the voice
told her.

  She nodded and watched as he walked away, heading toward the large group of smaller unicorns that were on the other side of the garden. Abby closed her eyes and went back up to the throne room and as she landed she ran right to her mother and grabbed her by the shoulders.

  “Can unicorns predict the future?” she asked frantically.

  Her mother shook her head, “Not exactly” she said.

  “They can show you what is meant to be, but the future doesn’t always happen the way it’s supposed to, so what they show you can change. Why? What did he show you?” her mother asked.

  Abby closed her eyes and made a large couch appear next to her, she really needed to sit down and think this through, but she really didn’t think it was appropriate to sit on the throne yet.

  Sitting down, her mother sat right next to her, taking her hand into her own and she knew that no matter what she said, her mother would be right there with her, fighting for the man that her daughter loved so much. She took a deep breath and began.

  “Well, first he showed me that he was watching what had just happened between me and Elysia. Then, he showed me something from the future, I was standing over Elysia’s motionless body and I was wearing the crown” she told her, pointing to the crown that was resting against the throne.

  “Then, it changed again and he showed me sitting on his back and we were flying through the air, but I had purple wings” she said, looking over at Jasmine with her hot pink wings, but she was looking out the window at the unicorns and didn’t see her looking.

  “He also told me that you would know what to do” she finished, looking to her mother for the answer.

  Her mother sat there in silence for a minute, looking over toward Jasmine. Finally her mother looked back over to her.

  “Are you sure you had wings?” her mother asked.

  Abby nodded, “Yes, they were a pastel purple, I remember how beautiful they looked” she said.

  Her mother sighed, “That must mean that she had gone over the Faerie Castle with him” she said with a dejected look on her face.

  “What does that mean?” she asked, not liking the look on her mother’s face. Her mother shook her head, staring blankly into space. Jasmine turned and walked toward them.

  “Basically Abby, that means she’s on her own turf, seeking the protection of the other fairies. She thinks she has you backed into a corner, since the Faerie Castle runs basically the same as this one” she told her.

  Abby tilted her head, “So, only fairies can enter?” she asked. Both her mother and Jasmine nodded at the same time.

  “That’s where the problems is” her mother said. Abby waited for her to finish what she was saying.

  “You are definitely not a faerie” Jasmine finished for her.

  Chapter 31

  Abby watched as her mother paced in front of the couch, every once in a while muttering questions out loud to her and Jasmine, but not waiting for an answer before she started to pace again. After what felt like forever, her mother finally stopped pacing and looked over at Jasmine.

  “Is it possible to give her faerie powers?” she asked. Jasmine walked over and sat down next to Abby.

  “Well there are stories your mother used to tell me about how my mother once gave my father temporary powers to sneak him into the castle when they were seeing each other, so I know it’s possible, I just wish was my mother was here to show up how to do it” she answered.

  Abby had a question nagging at the corner of her mind, so she decided to ask it, even if it might be a stupid question.

  “Is it possible for Jasmine to maybe transfer some of her own faerie powers to me? It wouldn’t have to last long, just long enough to get me into the castle” she said. Both her mother and Jasmine turned to look at her.

  “That’s not a bad idea, but how do you think we can do it. Look deep down into your gut and tell me the first thing that comes to mind” Jasmine told her.

  Abby closed her eyes and concentrated on emptying her mind of nothing else but how to get the faerie powers from Jasmine into herself. After a few seconds she felt her left pocket burning hot and it came to her.

  “Let’s ask the orb to show up how to do it!” she yelled suddenly, making her mother and Jasmine jump.

  “Sorry, I just got excited for a second” she said sheepishly. Her mother shook her head.

  “It’s okay Abby, just try it and see what happens” her mother said.

  Abby pulled the orb out of her pocket and took a deep breath and before she could even form the question in her mind, the orb flew out of her hands and hovered right in front of her face already showing her the images she needed to see.

  The picture was blurry, something she had never seen before with the orb and she had to squint and really get close to see what it was showing her. It was a woman with blonde hair and hot pink wings, almost the exact same color as Jasmine’s wings, standing in front of a very tall man with dark black hair.

  She couldn’t make out either of their faces but she could see that the woman had her hands on the man’s face and was chanting. It sounded a little like she was saying something in a different language.

  “A ghlacadh ar mo sciathán, sciar mo chumhachtaí, tá muid anois ar cheann” the woman said.

  Abby listened to her a few more times to make sure she had the words right, and just as she was about to look away she watched as the man started to glow silver, much the same way she always glowed a red color when her powers were at their strongest. When he went back to normal, he had pale green wings coming out of his back.

  Abby pulled away from the orb and turned to her mother and Jasmine and told them what she saw, and she repeated the words that the woman, who she figured must be Jasmine’s mother, was chanting.

  Jasmine nodded, “Are you sure that was what she said?” she asked her.

  Abby nodded, “I made sure to listen to that part very closely, just so I could be completely sure. What does it mean?” she asked.

  “Well, she was speaking in Gaelic, which is an old Irish language that most people don’t even use anymore, but it means basically, take my wings share my powers we are now one. I only ask if you are sure because it seems too simple” she said.

  Abby nodded, “Yes it does, but I’ve noticed that magic is actually much more obvious and simple than it seems. I’ve been thinking that for weeks now during our learning session.”

  Jasmine nodded, “Yes you do seem to say that a lot. Okay, are you ready to give it a try?” she asked her.

  Abby nodded and stood up, “Ready” she answered. Jasmine walked up to her and put her hands onto her shoulders and took a deep breath.

  “Okay here we go” she said before she started chanting the same words as her mother.

  It seemed as though it went on forever and nothing happened, then she heard her mother gasp behind her and she saw that she was actually glowing the same silver color as Jasmine’s father had been in the orb.

  Just as she noticed it, she felt a sharp pain in her back, near her shoulder blades, and she had to grit her teeth to keep herself from crying out in the pain.

  Just as the pain was starting to become unbearable she felt Jasmine’s hands grow hot and it felt as though she was burning her skin. Then, it was suddenly gone; all of the pain disappeared and Jasmine pulled her hands away from her.

  She looked down and saw that her body was back to its original color. She looked back up to Jasmine.

  “Did it work?” she asked. Jasmine nodded, looking a little drained.

  “Are you okay?” she asked her, just as she looked like she was about to fall.

  Her mother ran forward and grabbed Jasmine around the waist; pulling her to the couch and helping her sit down. Abby tried to look behind her, but she couldn’t get a good look at her wings, so she walked over to one of the walls and pointed at it, making it turn into a large mirror.

  She stood there staring at herself in the mirror for quite a few minutes. It was as though she
had never seen herself before, even though she didn’t look any different, except for the wings.

  They looked exactly like the ones she had seen when the unicorn showed them to her. They were very large, just slightly smaller than Jasmine’s wings, and they were actually a lighter purple than what she had seen in his vision, but her mother had told her that the unicorn’s visions were not entirely accurate.

  They were such a light purple they almost looked white, and they had to be the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She moved them around, laughing when they ticked as they closed. She walked back over to Jasmine.

  “These are great, I wish I could have them all the time” she said smiling.

  Her smile quickly lowered as she noticed how pale Jasmine looked, as though she was sick with the flu, even her wings looked paler than their usual hot pink color.

  “Are you okay?” she asked concerned.

  Jasmine nodded, “I’ll be okay, I just feel drained, and I guess that took a lot more energy than I thought it would. Go to the unicorn and have him take you to the castle and get Tom back. I don’t know how long this lasts, so you had better hurry” she said to her with a weak voice.

  Abby nodded and leaned down to hug her, “Thank you Jasmine” she said.

  She stood back up and hugged her mother, and closing her eyes, she let herself be guided to the unicorn.

  Chapter 32

  It didn’t take long to find him; he was still in the small paddock with the rest of his flock, all of them standing around him as though to protect him. Abby kept her head up high as she walked straight to the largest unicorn with the golden horn.

  “I am ready to go to the Faerie Castle” she said with a firm and clear voice.

  The unicorn looked at her for a second, and then lowered his large head, indicating that she was to climb on top of his back. All of the smaller unicorns turned and walked away from him as soon as she touched him, apparently satisfied that he was in no danger. Abby was scared to try and actually use the wings because she didn’t know how they if would work, and didn’t want to over exert them. She lifted up into the air, the way she had when she had first faced off against Elysia, and then slowly glided down onto his back wrapping her arms around his large neck as he suddenly lifted up into the air.