Anica Storm & The Wand Of Time (Part 1 of 4)

by Steven Wolff

CHAPTER 9

  MARCEL

  As she slides the ring over her ring finger, everything changes instantly in a shock wave that explodes outward all around her! What once was the breakfast nook of a small country kitchen is now a spacious living room, full of dark cherry oak furniture, with lots of windows. The room is unusually quiet and kinda dark. Outside the skies are overcast and dreary. Anica listens for any signs of life but it is so quiet.

  “Hello? Marcel?”

  No answer.

  “Anyone home? It's me, Anica Storm.”

  Still no answer.

  Her curiosity leads her to examine the living room in more detail. The main piece that catches the eye is a huge stone fireplace that is unlit. Inside the fireplace are several fresh logs that are ready to burn when the homeowner is ready to enjoy a warming fire.

  With the air temperature a little nippy, Anica wishes the fire was burning right now so she could warm up. She rubs her arms together to try and warm them as she continues to look around.

  Above the fireplace is a wooden mantel that has some photos of Marcel with some friends she doesn’t recognize. Marcel is standing next to several scientific-looking people in a couple of photos.

  In one of them, he's standing next to Christopher Lloyd who's wearing a white lab coat and goggles on his head, grinning while he's got his arm around Marcel like they're best friends.

  “Huh.” She says to herself.

  Most of the four walls are lined with nothing but books that are varied by subject. By first glance, there are a lot of “how to” books, science books and a handful of random novels from various authors. Facing the fireplace is a big comfy chair that looks well used by its owner. A tall skinny reading lamp stands behind it, the pole gently bowing over the back of the chair.

  Anica twists the light switch until it clicks on, softly illuminating the dark room. On the armrest of the chair a book lays facing down where the reader last left off. She turns her head to see the name of the book and notices it’s from one of her favorite authors. She browses a few paragraphs and finds herself interested in it, but she knows if she doesn’t put it down she will be stuck reading it till the end of the book.

  Several other chairs in the room face the reading chair so if company were to come over, everyone would be facing each other. A small pillow and a fleece blanket lay in the corner nook of the chair. Anica borrows the blanket and wraps it around herself in an effort to warm up.

  She notices outside the living room windows that the sky is almost winter-like, which is a big contrast to the sunny skies and warm temps. Anica left as she crossed over. A draft of cold air blows in from a crack in the window frame, howling in a rather eerie way. She starts to shiver and her eyes once again wander to the logs in the fireplace, wishing they were lit.

  Suddenly the logs in the fireplace burst into flames! Roaring and crackling, it generated much-welcomed heat to Anica as if on demand.

  “Very impressive!” A male voice says with delight.

  Anica turns around quickly in surprise.

  There in the doorway of the living room stands a tall man wearing a long flowing robe that just barely touches the ground. Around his waist is a belt with several little pouches and a long pouch with a foot-long black metal wand in it, holstered likes a gun. His hair and beard are long and straggly, and his wrinkles tell of a well-traveled man. His eyes are slightly slanted with a natural sincerity when he looks at you, almost disarming. He's got one hand in his robe pocket, another one holding a long pipe that he puffs.

  “You must be Anica. My name is Marcel, welcome to my home.”

  “How’d you do that?”

  Marcel chuckles in delight. “What makes you think I lit the fire?”

  “You’re a wizard right? I think it would be an easy for you to cast a fire spell.”

  “And you're an expert on wizards I take it?”

  “No, but I do read a lot.”

  “Well, you’re right. I can cast a flame spell. But I have news for you. I had nothing to do with the fire in that fireplace.”

  “Is your fireplace on a timer then?”

  “My dear girl… You've got quite an imagination!”

  “So if you didn't do it and it's not on a timer, are you telling me that I did that? That I started the fire?”

  She looks at Marcel for confirmation. He takes a puff from his pipe and squints his eyes, nodding.

  “Yeah, right. I can barely boil water much less start a fire.”

  “If I heard correctly, you possess a lot of magical abilities you have yet to discover.”

  “I was under the impression that I had to be a fairy to do anything magical.”

  “From what I understand, you killed a very powerful Dark Fae…”

  “In self-defense, I wouldn't normally kill anyone on purpose.” Anica interjects.

  “I believe you. That Dark Fairy had killed hundreds of wonderful beings, some of them good friends of mine, just so he could have their abilities, and now supposedly you have them in you. I wouldn't be surprised if you can start a fire easily. That's child's play compared to the things I think you might be able to do.”

  “But I'm a human… I'm not supposed to do stuff like that.”

  “And why not?”

  “Because it's not natural? I'm not a fairy, I don't know.”

  Marcel looked at Anica with a Try Again look.

  “This is still all new to me. I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything that has happened since the other day.”

  “What happened the other day?” asks Marcel.

  “Well, one moment I'm on a plane trip to Europe, next I wake up in some house with Lonnie and R'dell, who look human but are life size fairies. They tell me that I somehow killed a very powerful Dark Fae who was trying to kill me. Of course my luck would have it that I supposedly inherited incredible magic that the Dark Fae stole by killing others. Now I have to go see the great wizard of Oz or what ever you call them.”

  “The High Council.”

  “Right, the High Council. So now I put on a magical ring that takes me to a realm where every fantasy creature that I ever read about or can imagine supposedly exists. *WHEW* Do you see my dilemma now? It never fails, when things are going my way; something has to happen to throw me off track. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. I go to museums; I go Ooooo Ahhhh, snap a few pictures, mail a few post cards and come home. Instead I feel like I'm in the Hobbit book.”

  Marcel nods.

  “Did you know I personally knew the author who wrote the Hobbit? John and I go back quite a ways.”

  “You did not!”

  “Where do you think he got his inspiration for his books?” Marcel asks, puffing his pipe while stroking his long beard.

  “WHAT? No way… now you’re just pulling my leg!”

  “Am I now? Okay, don't believe me. The question is, what abilities do you have Anica? THAT I am anxious to explore with you.”

  “Darn it, now you have me wondering.”

  “I have no reason to lie to you Anica, just remember that. Now, as you should know, just because you have an ability to do something doesn’t mean you will know how. You still have to learn how to do it. If I'm not mistaken, there's a lot of things you are capable of, but we many never know all of them unless we discover them along the way by doing some research and tests. I know a dear friend of mine; Snow Owl was murdered by the same Dark Fae who attacked you. She had the ability to do incredible things and I take great comfort in knowing her abilities are in you now. In a way, she lives on in you.”

  “What could she do? Is starting a fire one of them?” Anica asks.

  “I don't know about starting a fire, but she could Soul Jump, Teleport, and Glamour, I forgot what else.”

  “What is Soul Jumping?”

  “Soul Jumping is the ability to jump into someone else’s body and using that person’s body for a short period of time.”

  “You mean like possessing them like a ghost does?”
>
  “Something like that, Yes, but it's really frowned upon. I wouldn't recommend trying it.”

  “Really? Wow! What happens to the persons' souls?”

  “That's a good question! I don’t remember. Here, let me check...”

  Marcel walks over to his wall of books and puts on his glasses. He scans the shelves up and down looking for one particular book. He lifts his head back to see through his bifocals and moves his index finger over several books before finally resting on one. He waves his fingers in front of the book, which causes it to float off the shelf. It settles in mid-air like a balloon, not floating up or down but hovering. Waving his fingers again, the book opens and Marcel scans the pages, waving his fingers to flip through the book's contents.

  “Ahh, here we go.”

  Marcel proceeds towards Anica with the book gliding in the air in front of him; wherever he turns the book turns. Marcel sits down the chair by the now-crackling fireplace, and the book gently settles into his lap. Anica peers over and sees the pages look really old, with lots of drawings of spells and of creatures unfamiliar to her. He scans the pages with his fingers looking for the words Soul Jump.

  “Ah... Here it is. It says here that when one soul jumps, they push out the existing soul and occupy that body for a limited time. The new soul gains control over the motor skills and movements of the occupied body but not the memories. If the new soul does not leave the body within an hour or two, that person's soul will not be able to jump back out and the soul will be fused with the new body. The ousted soul will then be lost forever. If the soul that was ousted is separated by a substantial distance from its body, regardless of the timeframe involved, it will remain lost forever.”

  “That’s crazy!” Anica stated.

  “Why would anyone want to Soul Jump? What good does that do?”

  “Anica, that’s a very powerful ability! Think about it for a moment. What if you can jump into any person you see and BE them? Imagine Soul Jumping into the President of the United States or the Queen of England.”

  “Oh my gosh!”

  “Right! That's why it's frowned upon and outlawed almost everywhere. Not to mention it's very invasive. Nobody likes the thought of having their body possessed by another soul. Think rape but multiplied by a million times.”

  Anica shutters at the thought.

  Marcel continues, “Unfortunately, there have been instances where important political, military and spiritual leaders have had their bodies taken over and their agendas changed, changing the course of critical events in our history… Or at least that's what has been suspected. In the wrong hands, imagine the power it holds. For that reason, I’m not going to teach you that, especially since we just met and I don’t know you.”

  “I understand and I don't think I'm ready to learn that, nor want to learn it. Can you teach me how to start a fire?”

  Marcel closes the book and smiles.

  “That, I can do!”

  He pushes the book off his lap, and it closes itself and floats back to the place on the shelf from where it came. Marcel gets up and walks towards an unlit candle on the windowsill.

  “Now I want you to concentrate on how heat feels. Look at what you want to burn and focus... In this case, look at the candlewick. Imagine the candle lit up and imagine the heat of the flame.”

  Anica focuses her attention on the candlewick, but nothing happens. Anica strains her eyes looking at it in hopes of it lighting. Marcel notices she's squinting her eyes like she’s passing a grapefruit.

  Marcel interrupts, “Anica, this has nothing to do with your eyes but your mind. Focus on your mind feeling the heat of the candle.”

  Anica looks at the candlewick again and after a few moments, a small wisp of smoke starts to rise from the wick.

  All of the sudden the candle spontaneously ignites! *Foom*

  The candle burns normally in front of her.

  Anica grins from ear to ear, ecstatic. “Did you see that? I did that… Right?!?”

  Marcel pats Anica on the back in approval.

  “Yes, you did. Congrats! Just be careful! Don't go setting things on fire, especially in my own house!”

  “I won't, I promise. Will you teach me more, please?” Anica asks, looking at Marcel with big puppy dog eyes. Marcel smiles in amusement but shakes his head.

  “One thing at a time, my dear Anica. We must first see the High Council to talk about how we fix your situation.”

  “What do you mean 'fix my situation'?”

  “You know you can't keep these abilities, Anica.”

  “But they're a part of me now!” Anica pops out her bottom lip in a pouty look.

  “Yes, but they need to be returned to the proper people.”

  “From what I was told, they are all dead so who am I going to give them back to? And why does it make sense to teach me how to do something if it's only going to be taken away from me? I can be trusted! I know with great power comes great responsibility! Spiderman taught me that! Please don't make me have to give them up.”

  “That's not for me to decide Anica, that's the High Council’s. This is a very unique situation you're in with you being the first human to have this happen to. Trust me, they look at everything and hear all sides of the story. They are never quick to jump to any decision lightly.”

  “How long will it take to get to the High Council?”

  “It’s a good journey three days east of here.”

  “Oh good! I have time to discover some of my abilities!”

  “Don't get too attached to them Anica. Like I said, the High Council will decide what happens to these abilities, like if you get to keep them or have to give them back. Meanwhile, you wanted a vacation? Here's your vacation, along the way we will pass several villages where you will see all kinds of creatures, magic and beings. We will stop at a place called Fairhaven, which is a good stopping point for eating and resting up.”

  *****