Abby and the Mystic Dancers

by L. C. Miller

  “Which is why we are going down this dirt road,” finished Aaron.

  “Do you travel by portal a lot?” she asked, amazed.

  “Not so often,” Brannon replied. “We only travel like this when the trip is really long.”

  “You’ll want to look out the windows when we go in it. It doesn’t last long, so look while you can,” said Ethan.

  Before Abby could say another word, she saw Mrs. Herrin raise her wand in front of her and say, “Home!”

  Chapter Eight

  Abby jumped at the loud crack that happened a split second later. She glanced around, stunned. It was dark, and at first Abby couldn’t see anything. What happened next made her freeze. Staring out the window in amazement, she saw bright blue and white lights coming from all directions. She looked to the front of the car, trying to see where it was coming from.

  It seemed like they were going down a blue and white tunnel that was in constant motion. The bright lights swirled all around them as they kept on. Abby didn’t want to blink in case she missed anything. It was beautiful.

  Before she could take another breath, it was over. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She rubbed her eyes and when she opened them, she thought she was dreaming. She looked around and noticed that Ethan, Aaron, Brannon, and Mrs. Herrin were watching her.

  Abby felt her face turn red as they laughed. “Awesome, wasn’t it?” asked Aaron.

  Abby could only nod. She looked back out the window and saw green fields and beautiful trees. She noticed then that they were driving on an old dirt road.

  She said nothing as Mr. Herrin turned the car onto a paved road and drove for a mile or two before pulling into a driveway. She stared at the building that came into view. It was a two-story house painted white with dark green shutters. It had an orange roof and a porch that went all around it. With all the trees lined behind it, it was gorgeous to Abby.

  Mr. Herrin pulled into the driveway and stopped the car. “Welcome to our humble home, Abby,” he said brightly as they got out of the car.

  Mrs. Herrin led Abby to the front door and opened it. The inside of the house was every bit as beautiful as the outside.

  It was packed full of things, and yet it didn’t seem cluttered. Abby jumped as a vacuum flew around the corner, almost bowling her over. Brannon laughed at Abby’s shocked face. “Yeah, better watch out for that one. It likes to chase.”

  Mrs. Herrin followed them into the living room. “Come on, Abby, let me show you to your room. We gave you Carter’s old room on the second floor, right across from Ethan’s.” Mrs. Herrin led a silent Abby up the stairs to the second door on the right.

  “Brannon’s room is two doors down on the left and the bathroom is the last door on the right,” she explained as Abby took a step inside the spacious room.

  “You have a beautiful house,” Abby said as she took in the room. She went over to a rather large window and looked out. She could see one side of the yard and a lot of woods. She could just make out the top of a few of the Mystic Dancers’ tents and see the giant white oak tree, which always travels with them, a small distance away. Then she saw a trail through the woods.

  “That trail over there leads to Aaron’s house. He doesn’t live far from here and will leave when his mother gets off work. Emily catches Wielders who do magic in front of Normals, which are people who don’t have or believe in magic,” she explained.

  Abby grinned. “Mystics call them the same thing. What do you do?”

  “I work at the council as well, but in the archive section. Jackson works up at the school as a teacher. He teaches brewery for the first through third-year classes.”

  “What about Carter? Is he still in school?”

  “Oh no, Carter graduated last year. He now works for the broomstick industry,” Mrs. Herrin explained, laying Abby’s suitcase on her bed.

  “When will I be starting school?” Abby asked, her eyes lighting up at the mere thought.

  “Soon enough,” Mrs. Herrin said. “First, you will be tested by the council to see which year you will be in. You know some spells, so I don’t think they’ll make you start all over. You’ll be fifteen, right? When is your birthday?”

  Thinking about colors for the room, Abby said, “It’s December twelfth. Can I really paint my room any color I want?”

  “Absolutely.” Mrs. Herrin turned to leave, but Abby stopped her.

  “Um, Mrs. Herrin?” Abby asked.

  “Yes?” Mrs. Herrin replied, looking back at her.

  Unsure of what to say, Abby stared down at the floor. “I just wanted to say, um, well …” She didn’t raise her head until she felt Mrs. Herrin’s hand on her shoulder.

  Looking down at her, Mrs. Herrin smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”

  With tears in her eyes, Abby lunged at Mrs. Herrin, hugging her with all her might. Soon after, Mrs. Herrin left so Abby could fix up her new room.

  She took out some of the books from her trunk, along with three photo albums hidden at the bottom. These she hid high in the closet until she could find somewhere better. She was just about to close the trunk when she noticed a small box in the corner of it. She didn’t remember putting it there and reached for it.

  It was kind of heavy, and there was a note attached. Abby quickly ripped the note off the box and opened it. She recognized the curving handwriting and smiled as she started to read.

  Dear Abby,

  Since there wasn’t any time to give this to you before we left, I snuck it into your cave. Don’t worry, no one saw me, not even eagle-eye Beelzebub. I am going to miss seeing you so much. Now who will I talk to? You HAVE to write me, okay? I figured things would be hectic there your first few weeks, so I decided to give you my most beloved gift. I am sure you will take care of him as much as I did and let him grow. Best wishes and may the sound of song light your way.

  Your best bud,

  Rainy

  Reading the letter a second time, Abby frowned and stared at the box. She was worried about opening it, for her friend had a twisted sense of humor. Her last most beloved gift to Abby had been a bottle of maple syrup. She hadn’t realized Rainy poured truth-speaking serum into it until a former foster mother used it all over her pancakes one morning.

  Within hours, the woman had everyone on the block mad at her. She told two neighbors that everyone on the street knew their spouses were having an affair with each other. Needless to say, that night turned into an ugly situation. Abby picked up the box and shook it. Something moved around.

  Abby sat the box back on the floor and slowly untied the string around it. Then she flipped the lid open quickly and stepped back. Nothing happened. She leaned over the box to peer inside and burst into laughter. Picking up the softball-sized rubber band ball, she held it in her hands as she lifted the second note in the box. It read:

  HA!!! Got you!!! You remember George, don’t you? I decided he needed to get out in the world and see new places. What better way than with you? =-) Hope to see you soon!!

  ~ Rainy

  P.S. If you happen to find any lock picks there, could you get them for me? I’ll pay ya back. I haven’t had time to make any more of the lost-and-found brew yet, and Marcella has a new hiding place.

  Abby picked up the rubber band ball and tossed it in the air. Grabbing the letters and the box she stuffed them in the back of one of her dresser drawers. Next, she went over to her green case and picked it up. She slid her magic carpet out, straightening it on the floor. She looked around the room and then sat down on the red quilted bed. How have I gotten this lucky? she thought. After sitting there for a few minutes, Abby got Bombers out of his cage.

  “Do you like your new home?” she asked as she laid him on the bed. Bombers looked back up at her before nodding and slithering to the windowsill. Once there, he curled up in the sun. “Now remember, you have to stay up here so Mr. Herrin doesn’t get freaked out by you, okay?”

  She waited until the snake glanced back up at
her before she turned to leave. Abby took one more look around the room and then went downstairs.

  She didn’t see Aaron during the next few days, but she hung out a lot with Ethan. He and Brannon showed her how to paint her room one day—with magic. It was a new experience for her, and one she liked a lot. By the time they were done, the room with earthy colors felt more like hers than anything she had ever had in her life.

  Chapter Nine

  Hanging out with Ethan and Aaron in Aaron’s room, Abby looked around. It wasn’t as spacious as hers, but had plenty of room for the three of them to sit on the floor. Looking over his small desk, Abby saw a photo pinned to the wall. She couldn’t make out the face, as it had holes in it that had probably been made by the darts that were still embedded around the photo.

  Before Abby could ask who it was, Aaron’s mother arrived home. This was another lady she liked. Emily Richardson was taller than Mrs. Herrin, with long blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She welcomed Abby to their home and then rushed out of the house to go back to work.

  The following week went by pretty quickly for Abby. She was just getting into the rhythm of things when Mr. Herrin announced they were going to go school shopping that following Saturday. First, however, Abby was going to get tested by the teachers instead of the council, although a few members would be in attendance.

  The day before Abby was to get tested, she went in search of Brannon. She found him in his room, reading. “Hey, Brannon,” Abby said after she knocked. Although his door was open, she didn’t step in. He glanced up from his book after she called his name again.

  He finally focused on her and smiled. “How’s it going?” he asked as she went over to his desk and sat on the chair. She looked around as she answered. His room was cluttered with wall-to-wall bookshelves. And they were all full.

  “It’s going pretty fast, but I think I almost got the hang of it. Is that the new book by Maseroff? The one about werewolves?” She eyed what was in his hand.

  “Oh yeah,” he answered, holding it out to her. “It’s his newest edition. It came out yesterday. It’s really good so far.” They talked about the book for a few minutes. He stunned her speechless when he said she could borrow his books.

  “I know you’ll take good care of them. But I don’t think you came up here to talk about books.”

  Abby looked up from the book and stared at him. “Right,” she said, finally remembering about school. “I was going to ask Ethan what school was like, but he’s at Aaron’s house. Could you tell me about it?”

  “Hmm,” he began. “Let’s start with the wings ... You know, like the wings in a mansion? There are five wings you can be in. There are the Sea Serpents, the Firebirds, the Earth Dragons, the Stone Leprechauns, and the Sky Griffons. I’m in the Griffons, Ethan is in Firebirds, and Carter was in Griffons as well. You get sorted by the Decisionary, which is this circle you stand in. Some kind of shield goes up around you, but it’s sort of hard to explain after that, as it’s different for everyone.”

  “Is the school very large? Like, will it be easy to find my classes?” Abby asked.

  Brannon laughed. “Sure, it’ll be easy…after a year or two, maybe. They do have maps posted up throughout the school, and the Gearmen have been known to direct a few students. Only sometimes though, as they generally ignore us. But an easy way to think of it is like an octopus. Well, really, an octopus wearing a top hat.”

  Abby looked at him, her head cocked to the side, as that was the last thing she expected him to say.

  He grinned at her expression as he continued. “You have the head of the octopus and then you have its tentacles. Once you go inside, you’ll go down a hallway, or its hat.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke. “And you’ll see what you’d consider the head because it’s a huge circular room. From there the five separate wings jut out like, somewhat interconnecting, tentacles.”

  Abby nodded. “Okay, so what about classes? What are those like?”

  “Well, if you go into your fourth year, with Ethan, you will have a total of eight classes: DETs, Prophecy, Drifting, Brewery, Morphing, Greenery, Stargazing, and Mythical Beast Lore.”

  “What is DETs?” Abby asked.

  “Defense Education Teachings is a class where they teach you how to sense if evil magic is being used, concealment spells, and how to counteract them. It also teaches you how to disarm; things like that. I took my course load in that direction. I plan on working in the council’s defense sector. I want to become a Tracer.” He paused a moment. “Oh, and if you get into Drift, don’t sit in the front row. Ms. Wonks tends to spit when she talks. And in Stargazing, you might want to drink some coffee or something beforehand. Most of his students fall asleep in that class, and then the teacher loads them down with really random and difficult constellations to learn. But if you stay awake, he gives you hardly any homework.” They talked a little more about the school before the conversation led back to books.

  “What’s the first Borgan Maseroff book about?” Abby asked, eyeing the blank cover.

  Brannon’s eyes lit up. “His first book is about the first Wielders, and I think Mystics are mentioned, too. How they all came together, what spells they knew and created. It’s a very interesting read. Of course, nowadays things are done differently and there are far more powerful spells out there.”

  Abby thanked him and took the book back to her room.

  The next morning, Abby woke up to the smell of pancakes and fresh-cut strawberries. She had just cleared her plate when she remembered that she was going to get tested today. With breakfast threatening to come back up on her, she went to her room to get ready to leave. Ethan was still asleep when she came back down, but Brannon was up and wished her good luck.

  Mr. and Mrs. Herrin did their best to ease her anxiety, but it wasn’t helping. They had barely driven a mile straight down the street when Mr. Herrin pulled into a small parking lot near a cliff’s edge. Getting out of the car, Abby looked around. She could hear loud water crashing into something, but couldn’t see it. All she saw was a bent and gnarled-looking tree near the edge of the cliff. It somehow seemed familiar to her. It was also guarded by two large stone gargoyles. Abby laughed when she saw they both had on hot pink tank tops. “It’s a school tradition—dressing the gargoyles up in clothes to match the weather,” Mr. Herrin explained.

  “Where is the school?” Abby asked, still not seeing any buildings.

  Mrs. Herrin took her hand and began to lead her to the cliff’s edge. “We’re standing on it,” she explained.

  Once they approached the edge, they stepped onto a large jutting rock, which began to move slowly downward. As it went down, Abby looked around. Never before had she seen the ocean. She stepped onto the sandy beach.

  “That’s not the only extraordinary view,” Mr. Herrin said as he turned her to face the cliff.

  At first Abby couldn’t make anything out of the ordinary from the cliff’s side. When she finally did, her eyes went wide. She could see a huge wrought iron door beginning to form from what she thought where vines. Large windows also came into view, row after row of them. At the top of the cliff the name Wielders Academy of Magical Arts formed in beautifully curved writing.

  It also changed from a dull rock color to bright golds and purples. The doors became dark green and sprouted blue and yellow flowers, the windows lined in navy blue. To the right of the cliff a huge tower formed. It was dark brown with green lined windows. The door to this one was gold with fuchsia flowers sprouting all over it. Abby loved it. She stood still as she took in the school. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Yes, it is,” replied Mrs. Herrin as she looked over it with Abby. Mr. Herrin was already walking toward the doors.

  As they caught up with him, he said, “If you think the outside is great, wait until you go inside.” Grinning, he swung the huge door open and they stepped inside.

  This is even better than outside, she thought as she stepped in and looked around. The floor was made of clea
r glass. She could make out colorful schools of fish swimming around in strange patterns. She gasped when a mermaid swam up to the glass and waved. “Did you see that?” Abby demanded, peering around to try and see where it had gone.

  “Mermaids and mermen enjoy swimming below the glass. When school starts, they are often sitting on the rocks and splashing children as they come in,” Mrs. Herrin explained.

  Abby could barely take it all in as they led her through the hall. Large, shiny metal grinding wheels covered the back of the door. She watched in amazement as they started to turn one by one, closing the door behind them. All over the walls hung large outside scenes. One held a small waterfall that dripped on the floor. Abby watched in astonishment as it went straight through the glass and into the ocean below.

  “Wow, are those robots?” she asked, staring up at a large metal man. She stepped back quickly as it glanced down at her and shook his head, the gears in its neck spinning.

  Mr. Herrin laughed. “They are called Gearmen. One of the founders was very much into something called steampunk or some such thing.”

  “Cool,” Abby said, still staring up at the man. The gears in its chest started turning as it raised its hand and saluted her. All the other Gearmen did the same as they walked past. “Is the whole school like this?”

  Mr. and Mrs. Herrin both nodded. “Pretty much. The Gearmen are all over the place. Each founder designed their wings to be different. For instance, in the Sea Serpents wing, there are no lefts.”

  “Huh?” Abby asked, sure she hadn’t heard Mr. Herrin right.

  Mrs. Herrin nodded in agreement. “It’s true,” she said. “It’s said its founder was very superstitious. She thought left turns would make you stray from your intended path and lead you into darkness.”

  “How can there be no left turns? That doesn’t make sense. If you turn right into a room, you’d have to turn left to leave it,” Abby reasoned.