by Lady Ellen
“I’m not sure of the best way to seek the Cimaruta’s location in Bodesnoir,” Angelica started. “There are many paths I could use. The problem is, that once I focus magical energy on the castle, Melanthios is sure to pick up on it, so I probably only have one chance at this. Whether I use a spell, scrying or try a Mind Reveal; which could be very tricky on Melanthios, when even Laurel had a hard time, and that was years ago. I’m bound to alert her.”
“I think if we contemplate on it, sort of let the Magical Energies come to us, we’ll become aware of the best route,” Persy lazily added, as she picked up a stray piece of bun and tossed it at a chipmunk she spotted peaking out from under the hedge. She was getting tired, and was more interested in sleep than doing the mental gymnastics to try to puzzle this out right now.
Angelica was staring into space, thinking this all through, when her stare became fixed and hard. Persy followed her line of vision and she too, locked her eyes on what caught Angelica’s attention. The chipmunk that Angelica was intently watching had the bread in his mouth; he was grabbing it with his front paws, only they weren’t paws. They looked like tiny goat hooves. What the….?
Persy walked closer to have a better look. As she neared him, the air became absolutely frigid. This was not good. The chipmunk spotted her creeping up on him and vanished under the hedge, as did the cold air.
Robert and Thaddeus came outside, and Persy quickly told them what happened. They became quite pensive and had troubled looks on their faces.
Robert broke the silence. “Let’s go into the house. Ang, best be putting protection spells and candles on the house,” he suggested.
You didn’t have to tell Thaddeus and Persy twice. They scooted up the steps to the house in a heartbeat.
Benson, meanwhile, had been down the bottom of the garden and missed the sideshow, but all of a sudden noticed the dash into the house.
“Oy, where you all going? What’s the hurry? What did I say?” he yelled.
Benson flew up to the house in time to go in with Angelica and Robert.
“It seems there’s a Dark Energy here, Benson,” Angelica explained. “We need to put protection on the house. Get in here.”
“I’m here,” he assured her. “I’ve had my share of dealing with those black beasties.”
Angelica and Persy went up to the secret attic. Persy backtracked to invite Thaddeus to join them, and of course, no one was keeping Benson out, so up he went as well.
“Persy and Thaddeus, here, I have a box of red, black and blue candles, core them out with this small corer and pack them with the protection mix of herbs in that canister,” said Angelica.
“What’s in the mix, Mom?” Persy asked.
“Rue, rosemary and lavender, my favourites for these purposes,” answered Angelica. How like Persy to want to know everything.
“Hey, Persy, you pack, I’ll core. Here’s a couple I’ve already done.” Thaddeus passed her the cored candles he’d finished.
Angelica was busy at her table where her Book of Shadows laid open.
“Wha’cha doing, Mom?” asked Persy looking over.
“I’m just making sure there’s nothing else I have to add to with this Protection Oil. Let’s see, crushed hematite, lodestone, agate, topaz and crystal quartz in olive oil, with essence of cypress added. Yup, all there. This has been sitting out the past couple of nights to absorb the energies of the moon and stars, so it’s ready.”
Benson decided to help Persy pack the candles and pushed the herbs in with a hind leg.
“Benson, um, really, you’re more in the way than helping. Sorry, but I can do this faster on my own,” insisted Persy, knowing she’s walking on thin ice here.
“Fine. You ungrateful cur. I shall not burden you with my presence any longer,” Octave one and rising.
“I didn’t mean to offend you, but Mom needs these done ASAP. Ungrateful cur, indeed. Where do you get this stuff, Benson?”
Benson flew off to sit up on the corner of the window to watch all activity, still miffed he isn’t being included.
“Benson,” called Angelica. “Can you go down and get Robert? I need his help to spread the Protection Oil around all the doors and windows of the house.”
“Oh, sure NOW you need me, cause I can zip down there quick-like and save you the trip,” he grumbled.
Angelica stopped what she’s doing, looked up at him, “Benson, stop being petulant and help where you can. I need to get this done quickly. There’s no knowing who or what is lurking outside around the house...now skedaddle.”
“Blimey, ‘alf a mo’...I’m going, I’m going,” he spat out as he buzzed down the stairwell.
“Cripes, that little odonate’s hard work at times,” Angelica muttered as she returned to blending the oil more evenly.
Robert came bounding up the stairs and he and Angelica proceeded to apply the Protection Oil on all the door and window frames. As they lightly brushed it on, they repeated chanting the spell Angelica had made for the occasion:
Hail Goddess Moon
Ruler of Night
By dragon’s light
Show us your might
By the powers in thee
I conjure you to protect ALL who
Belong to me
So mote it be
Meanwhile, Persy and Thaddeus put five candles on each window sill, mixing the colours at each one. At bedtime, they’d be lit, burning and ‘charging’ the protective herbs.
When they were finished, they met in the living-room. It was getting on for 9:00 pm and there was no doubt they were all quite tired. Still, the idea of sleep didn’t appeal just yet.
Angelica sat on the couch deep in thought. “Now, to figure out the location of the Cimaruta.” She stared off into space again, this time looking through the large bay living-room window.
“Oy, Perse-strings,” said Benson. His flippancy was an obvious attempt at retaliation for not being given more to do. “Wasn’t that Roc feather from Queen Breena meant to help out when things looked bleak or unclear?”
“There’s a plan, Benson,” said Thaddeus. “Let me go get it, Persy.”
“Sure. It’s sitting on my desk, I think.”
Thaddeus charged upstairs and brought it back in a split second, winded, but excited that a solution may be at hand.
“Give it to Mom. She’s the one who will recognize the best answer.”
Persy jumped up and picked up a pad of paper from one of the side tables. She handed it to her mother, who took it and the feather.
“Now what?” asked Angelica.
“Just hold it over the paper and it should start writing.”
“Don’t I need ink?”
“No, it magically writes as if you’ve just dipped it into an inkwell.”
Angelica took the feather and placed the tip on the paper. Nothing. Tried again. Still nothing.
Thaddeus was sitting beside her. “Let me try.” He took the feather and pad. Nothing. Tried again. Again nothing.
“Are you sure it works?” Robert asked.
“Yes, of course,” said Persy. “Queen Breena wouldn’t have given me a dud.”
“Ok, you try,” suggested Thaddeus, handing her the feather and paper.
Persy took them both and put the pad on her knees. As soon as she touched the feather to the paper, it started whipping all over the surface. It was writing out the word “Vadoma, Vadoma, Vadoma,” over and over again.
Her eyes bugged out of her head as she tried to control the feather’s speed. “Whoa! What’s Vadoma?”
“Of course,” exclaimed Angelica. “She’d be a great help.”
“Who?” Persy asked.
“Vadoma. She’s a great Rom - uh - gypsy friend of mine. A simply amazing scryer. Uses a crystal ball like no one else can. I know she could help us find the Cimaruta. That is if I can find her.”
“Why would she be hard to find?” asked Robert.
“Can you imagine the appeal of the Time-Linx to a gypsy? She
wanders it constantly. Could take me some time to find her, but I know now, she’s who we need.”
“There you go…Master Dragonfly not so useless after all, is he?” gloated Benson as he buzzed around the living-room.
“No, not at all, Benson,” smiled Persy. “Great help you are, really.” She said as she put the feather and pad on the coffee table.
He looked at her suspiciously.
“I’ll start tracking her tomorrow,” Angelica said. “Right now, I think we all need to hit the hay.”
Robert and Angelica went around the house lighting all of the candles, while Persy and Thaddeus, quite willingly got ready for bed and slid between the sheets in their respective rooms. Benson settled on Persy’s drapes, as usual.
Sunday began with a bright sun and a light breeze.
“We should go walk around town, Thaddeus,” suggested Persy as she finished her bowl of cereal.
“M-m-m-f-f-m-f,” mumbled Thaddeus with his mouth full, adding a nod to concur without spurting cereal and milk all over the table. These breakfast foods don’t seem to have much to them. Not like the stodge he is used to in 1669. He felt as if he could eat ten bowlfuls, but it was evident that Persy was anxious to show him around.
They left the house by the front door and headed up to Main St. Benson was flying alongside, be-bopping into every garden looking for delicacies or lady dragonflies.
Thaddeus, having spent most of his time in 1669, didn’t really notice the clarity of the air and the vast numbers of trees here, but Persy always appreciated the beauty and cleanliness of Muskoka. As they approached Main St., she pointed out the lake at the edge of the road.
“Wow, that looks so clear...is it good swimming?” he asked.
“The best,” Persy said proudly. She spent most of every summer in that water.
On Main St., they passed a ladies clothing store, a menswear and hardware store, all of which were closed Sunday. There was a diner, which housed a small arcade that opened onto the street, called ‘Archie’s’. It was open and several groups of kids were milling around out front.
“Rix!” shouted Persy.
Rix turned quickly, recognizing Persy’s voice.
“Hey. Where’ve you been all weekend?” she asked, running over to meet Persy. Persy noticed Rix was chatting with the Downing brothers, Zach and Simon...who were probably the hottest guys at school.
Rix eyed Thaddeus with not well disguised interest.
“Hey, Persy....and...?” she said still staring at Thaddeus.
“Oh, hi,” responded Thaddeus.“I’m Thaddeus...um...Persy’s...um...”
“Cousin,” chimed in Persy “Here for a visit from England.”
“Ohhhhh...well, welcome Thaddeus...say..gotta love the accent,” cooed Rix.
Persy leaned over and whispered to Rix, “Chill, girlfriend, he’s not here for very long.”
“Aw, dang, Persy,” Rix muttered back. “You can’t bring something this hot here, wave it around and NOT expect a gal to react.”
Thaddeus turned away deciding not to pay attention to their muted conversation. Obviously, it wasn’t meant for his ears. He noticed a rather large, lumpy, pock-marked character sprawled on a bench in front of Archie’s, with a couple of similarly disdainful looking guys standing on each side of him. There was no question, by their collective expressions, that this trio was not part of the local choir.
Persy caught him eyeing the three and commented, “That’s Morton Eagleton on the bench and his flunkies Fred and Larry. They’re the resident bullies-come-losers. My best advice? Stay clear of all three.”
“Yeah, on Friday, Morton stole some little kid’s lunch money, then shoved sand in the kid’s mouth when he started to cry. He’s just an animal,” said Rix, giving the threesome an evil look.
Thaddeus continued to size them up and noticed the word ‘Bear’ on Morton’s T-shirt.
“What?” Thaddeus asked with a wry smile, “Was ‘Refrigerator’ taken?”
Persy broke out laughing and Rix followed. “Yeah, exactly,” agreed Persy.
Morton looked up; his eyes followed the sound of the laughter. Seeing Persy, Thaddeus and Rix glancing his way and laughing at the same time...well, even with his deficit of brain cells, he knew he was the butt of some joke.
He got up and lumbered over to them, Fred and Larry shuffled behind him. Fred and Larry took their expected positions on either side of Morton.
“Hey, Perse-butt...what’s so blinkin’ funny?” Morton demanded.
Without really thinking, Persy retorted, “You would be, if you weren’t so pathetic.”
The world stood still. NO ONE said a word. Morton’s face blackened and his scowl deepened. His upper lip curled on the left side, mimicking Gruesome in a growl.
Morton’s hand went back to the pocket in the back of his jeans, extracted what looked like a six inch leather club. As he started to raise it over his head, obviously meaning hit Persy, Thaddeus quickly put his hand over his mouth and quietly mouthed “Vergrando” which changed the size of the club to that of a toothpick.
Persy stepped back, and as Morton lowered his hand to whack her, he saw the tiny weapon he was threatening her with, as did all the others. He stopped his hand mid-air.
Persy, Rix, Thaddeus and the Downing brothers cracked up when they see how idiotic Morton looked, brandishing a toothpick at Persy.
Even Morton’s goons, Fred and Larry couldn’t help but snicker. Tears of laughter poured down Persy’s face. Boy, this was great. She’d often thought of giving Morton a case of warts in undesirable places, but this was even better.
Morton, now completely humiliated, came running at Persy, both hands out, looking like he was about to go for the jugular.
Thaddeus had already taken his wand from his pocket and stuffed it up his sleeve where he could cover it with his hand, so he instinctively threw a silent blocking spell in front of Persy causing Morton to bang into an invisible wall and fall on his backside.
“What the....?” he growled, rubbing his head.
Peals of laughter flew through the air, even from Fred and Larry. Morton got up and roars. “Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh,” He charged back at Persy who stood there grinning knowing he could never touch her. Bang! He hit the wall again.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!” Morton screamed as he got himself up, yet again.
By this time Archie heard the ruckus and came running out of the diner.
“What in the Sam Hill is going on out here?” he demanded. “Buzz off...all of you...before I call the cops.”
They took off like startled deer, Morton and goons in one direction, Persy, Thaddeus, Rix, Zach and Simon in the other. When they stopped running they were blocks down Main St. They bent over, breathing heavily, waiting to catch their breath.
“Oh, Thaddeus, this is Zach and Simon, guys from our school,” Rix said.
They exchanged ‘hello’s’ smiling at each other, but were yet unable to speak.
Rix straightened out, and scowled. “What are those sparkles? Or am I seeing things?” She pointed to the space between Persy and Thaddeus. The Downing boys squinted, trying to figure it out, too.
Well, of course Persy and Thaddeus needed to have this conversation. After all, Thaddeus had just pulled no end of ‘no-no’s’...so a Memory Erase needed to be performed. When done immediately after the fact, it was much simpler than the whole spell thing Angelica did in the case of Kyle Dunsmore. They agreed on the spell and pulled their wands out simultaneously, silently muttering “Erasum!” They quickly tucked their wands away, lest they made a new memory to be dealt with.
Rix, Zach and Simon blinked hard several times, and then looked around.
“How did we get in front of the drug store?” Zach asked, looking into the store’s window.
“Oh, I guess we’re talking so much, you didn’t notice how far we walked,” suggested Persy, with an academy-award-performance of a straight face.
“Weird,” says Rix. “I can’t really remember ge
tting here, either.”
“Ah, time flies when you’re having a fun time,” smirked Thaddeus.
“Listen, Rix, Thaddeus and I have to push off. Mom wants us home soon. Catch up to you tomorrow in school, OK?”
“Ah, sure...sure....good to meet you Thaddeus.”
“Yeah, see ya,” added Zach. “Likewise,” Simon nodded.
“Sure, tomorrow, bye,” said Thaddeus. Persy and Thaddeus headed to Persy’s by a back route.
As they closed in on her house, they passed Mr. Hornby’s. They approached the fence and Gruesome caught wind of them. He was snorting on the porch in the sunshine. He raised one fleshy eyelid to see who it was, and then his head popped up in anticipation of a chat.
Gruesome slowly got himself up on his short, dumpy legs and came thunking down the steps, one at a time.
“Hey, Grues,” called Persy.
Sparkles flying everywhere, as Thaddeus added, “Hello, boy...how you doing?”
“Well, well,” said Gruesome. “What do you know, a three way.”
“This is my friend Thaddeus,” Persy explained.
“How nice. So, what have you two been up to?”
Persy grinned at Thaddeus and they tell him about their encounter with Morton and how they did a very quick mind erase to get themselves out of hot water, before anyone found out.
“Heh, heh, snort, snort,” Gruesome laughed his doggie laugh. “Would give my favourite bone to see that. Often think I’ll take a big bite out of that blob...I’ve seen how he bullies young kids, but then I worry I’ll poison myself.”
“Yeah, good point,” laughed Persy.
Mr. Hornby sauntered over, seeing the kids at the fence and Gruesome strangely quiet. He usually barked at anything that moved or came near his fence. Mr. Hornby seemed to stand for a moment to listen, a small smile breaking out over his face, Thaddeus was a little surprised. Mr. Hornby noticed Thaddeus watching him, so continued over to speak to the kids.
“Hello, Persy. New friend?”
“Hi Mr. Hornby, yes, this is Thaddeus my cousin from England.”
“Hello, sir,” said Thaddeus politely.
“Hello, yourself, young fellow. And welcome to Muskoka.”
