Abby and the Mystic Dancers

by L. C. Miller

  “She said you would change into cat shape when we came out. And you did.” Which for some reason the giggly Wielder found vastly amusing.

  “You’ll have to excuse her,” called another ghost from behind Abby. “She doesn’t get out much.” Abby turned to stare at the new ghost joining the strange conversation. This one appeared ancient. Even his wrinkles had wrinkles.

  “You don’t look like her much,” he said, staring at her with beady eyes. Abby let her short brown hair grow long and red. “Oh, I see it now,” and that was all he said as he disappeared again.

  “We have kept people from tampering with her grave at night. And Harold keeps people from touching it during the day,” explained the dead guy.

  “Who’s Harold?” asked Abby.

  “He is the groundskeeper here during the day. Oh, and please excuse my manners, my name is Joseph Carmichael. I died two hundred twenty-seven years ago.” He bowed as he spoke to her. “And this is Rosetta Johnson,” he gestured to the giggling ghost, “she died about ninety-six years ago.”

  “Oh,” was all Abby could think to say.

  Suddenly Joseph threw back his head and roared with laughter. “This is a grand night, indeed. So tell me,” he began, sitting on his tombstone, “how are you planning on fixing Esmeralda’s grave?”

  Before Abby could say anything, the giggling Rosetta broke in. “I know what you should plant. How about some begonias, daisies, and pretty figworts?”

  “Eww,” exclaimed Abby before she could help herself. The giggly ghost looked at her, disgruntled, before disappearing.

  Joseph laughed again. “If I had known that’s all it took to get rid of her, I would have tried a long time ago.”

  Chapter Twenty

  On Friday morning, Abby went downstairs to find Mrs. Herrin in the kitchen. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “Good morning, Abby. I thought I heard you moving about. You’re up early,” Mrs. Herrin said as she filled her coffee mug with milk.

  Looking at her, confused, Abby said, “It’s what time I usually get up for school.” Abby watched as Mrs. Herrin yawned and nodded, barely paying attention. “Are you okay?” asked Abby as Mrs. Herrin sat down at the table.

  “Oh, I’m fine.” Brannon came into the kitchen carrying his morphing book. “How’s it going?” asked Mrs. Herrin as he sat down.

  “It’s pretty good. I’m taking Abby’s advice and going to start trying the cat form.”

  Abby smiled. “Try and not sound too enthusiastic.”

  “You know, Mrs. Queenly does the cat form,” Mrs. Herrin stated.

  “I already knew that,” said Brannon.

  “Yes, but did you know she used to be a Tracer?”

  “Really?” Brannon asked, surprised.

  “Really what?” asked Mr. Herrin as he came into the kitchen.

  “I was just telling them about Mrs. Queenly being a Tracer.”

  “I remember that. She switched to teaching after she caught Cecilia Ridmore.”

  “She caught her?” asked Brannon in awe.

  “She was one of the few who did,” Mrs. Herrin answered.

  “We should be going, honey.” Mr. Herrin grabbed a muffin from the table.

  “Okay. Good luck with the cat form. Bye, you two. Oh and, Brannon, Carter told me to tell you that he will get back to you when he can. And tell Ethan to leave Mr. Cook alone and to stop putting Catcher’s Glue on his seat.”

  She kissed Brannon and Abby on the cheeks and walked out the door as Mr. Herrin said, “See you two, and be good.”

  “They gone?” asked Ethan as he peered through the kitchen door.

  “Yeah, they just left,” Brannon replied as he threw a muffin at him. “Catcher’s Glue, huh?”

  “What’s Catcher’s Glue?” inquired Abby as she bit into a muffin.

  “It’s glue from the Laugh Emporium that sticks to anyone,” Ethan answered. “It’s supposed to be extremely hard to remove without the password, but Wonks got it out of Brock’s hair in seconds.”

  “I could have told you that. Next time try this.” Brannon passed Ethan a small green bottle from his robes.

  “What is it?” asked Ethan as he peered at the bottle.

  “It’s a hair dye called Badges Bad Hair Day that changes the person’s hair color to bright pink. The only way to get it off is to wash the person’s hair in peanut butter. Michael gave it to me after he went to Russia with his dad this summer.”

  Abby rolled her eyes as Ethan stuffed the bottle into his red robes. Brannon rose from the table. “Ready to go?”

  Once outside, Abby got on her new broom and joined Ethan, who was already in the air. “Did you finish Mr. Frump’s report on luna flowers?”

  “Not yet, I was planning on finishing it tonight.” As they flew toward the school, Abby stared at the graveyard while keeping a death grip on her broom.

  “Hey, look, there’s Aaron and Carly.”

  Abby glanced down to where Ethan was pointing and saw them along the cliff’s edge, far down from the school. “You lose something?” Abby asked, as she skidded into the ground.

  “Yeah, my notebook,” replied Carly. “It fell out of my bag and landed somewhere around here.” The foursome started searching in the tall grass.

  “Did you try the summon charm?” asked Ethan as he took out his wand. Abby did the same.

  “Found it,” called Aaron seconds later, kneeling behind a bush.

  “Disani,” yelled a voice. Abby’s wand flew out of her hand and over the cliff’s edge. They all jumped and glanced up to see Brock and his friends hovering in the air above them. Ethan immediately tried to retaliate, as did Aaron, but both missed as Brock and his friends flew out of range and toward the school, laughing.

  Abby sighed as she peeked over the cliff’s edge. Far down, the waves crashed against the rocky shore. “Come on, let’s go see if we can find it.” Carly handed Abby her broom and they flew toward the shore, landing among the rocks.

  “Sessome wand,” Ethan stated. Nothing happened as the four of them glanced around.

  “Hopefully it didn’t land near the water. Serpents are supposed to be coming in,” said Aaron as he kicked over a rock. He still wouldn’t look at Abby.

  They had been searching for a while when Abby remembered the sensing charm, which she learned not long after she lost her wand the first time. If she was near her wand, she could sense it and find it. She put her back to Carly who was searching next to her, and closed her eyes.

  She concentrated hard on her wand, picturing it in her mind and in her hand. Suddenly she opened her eyes and through the water, could see her wand, the stone glowing bright green. “Found it,” she called as she stepped into the ankle-deep water.

  “Be careful,” Carly warned as Abby leaned in to grab it.

  She had just grabbed her wand when Aaron yelled, “Look out!” Something snaked around Abby’s foot and jerked. Abby hit the water hard, a death grip on her wand. Whatever had grasped her ankle began to drag her back through the water, toward the ocean. She had just gone under when she swung high in the air.

  Hanging upside down in the air, she saw the giant snakelike reptile. It had four long tentacles and rows of razor-sharp teeth. Abby’s screams were drowned out by the creature’s screeching as sharp rocks hit its many eyes. It retaliated by throwing Abby through the air to land in the water with a splash.

  She came up sputtering and realized she was far from the shore. Ethan, Carly, and Aaron were doing their best to distract the serpent. She tried to think of something when she was grabbed underwater. Jerking free, Abby shot through the surface again. “Sessome Glider!” she screamed, attempting to swim back to shore. The serpent, however, must have realized he had easier prey, for it quickly started toward her.

  She could see Carly and Aaron trying to hurl a very large stone across the water. It struck the serpent square on the head as something came swooshing by it. The carpet dove into the water and shot Abby strai
ght into the air. She flew quickly over the water to the three very stunned-looking people on the shore.

  Abby jumped down as a long tentacle slapped at her Glider, pinning it against some rocks. There was more than one serpent now. They backed up as far as they could, as one. Long tentacles slapped the ground next to Aaron’s feet. With a flick of his wand, he sent one more large rock hurling toward the serpent and yelled, “Run! We’re too close.”

  Immediately the four of them started running. Only, they ran away from the school instead of toward it. They raced along the side, as the serpents followed in the water, making strange hissing noises. One of their tentacles slapped the ground in front of Carly’s feet. She stopped and jerked back into Ethan, causing Abby and Aaron to run into the back of him. Taking a step back, Abby tripped and tried to lean a hand against the cliff’s side to balance herself.

  When her hand should have touched rock, it touched nothing and she fell into a hole in the cliff’s side. “Hey, get in here,” she yelled when she realized it was a small tunnel. Aaron, Ethan, and Carly quickly ran into the opening as another tentacle sprang forward. Fear kept them running, and eventually the small tunnel came into a large opening.

  “I can’t see anything,” whispered Carly. The four of them used their wands as lights and took a breather as they looked around their new surroundings.

  Abby could see her breath in the light as she shivered. She felt a breeze coming from somewhere in the cave. “We need a fire or something. Abby’s drenched,” instructed Aaron as he looked at her.

  Ethan went to the center of the cave and began to move rocks into a circle. “Here.”

  Carly helped Abby out of her robe and sweater and laid them against a rock.

  “Anyone got a paper and pen? I can send a letter to Rainy and she can get us some stuff.” After writing down a quick note from the paper and pen Carly had given her, Abby pushed the bubble toward the opening.

  “It’s still out there; I can hear it hissing,” Aaron, who was shredding paper for Ethan to burn, said.

  They had made a nice-sized pile of paper when Abby heard Ethan ask, “Well, now that was fun, but since we have a minute…” Ethan didn’t seem to catch the are-you-crazy looks from his friends. “What is that? And where can I get one?” She glanced up to see him staring at her Glider as it tried to wring itself out.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Abby went over to her twisted-up Glider. Lifting it, she flung it out. It stayed hovering in the air about three feet from the ground.

  “It’s a Glider, a type of flying carpet. Carpets are one form of a Mystic’s way of transportation,” she explained as the bubble came through the opening.

  “Doesn’t look like she could get much.” Ethan watched the bubble float. It stopped in front of Abby, and she popped it with the tip of her wand. Out flew piles of wood and a small sack. “Wow,” exclaimed Ethan, “I didn’t think it could hold that much.”

  “It was one of the requirements we put on the spell. It can hold anything we put in it.”

  “Now that is epic,” Ethan said as he and Aaron helped gather the wood. After Carly and Abby emptied the sack, Abby grabbed the dry clothes and went to another room to change. When she was done, she made her way back into the room and ran into Aaron in the tunnel.

  “Um, hello,” Aaron said as he stared at her.

  Unsure herself, Abby replied, “Hi. Uh, thank you, for, ah, for saving me.”

  “You’re welcome, any time. Well, not any time, but you know what I mean. I wouldn’t want you to, um … uh, never mind.”

  Nodding, Abby moved to walk past him when he stopped her again. “I’m sorry, Abby. I really am. I miss our friendship. I can’t promise I believe your dad is innocent, but I can do my best not to talk about him around you.”

  Trying not to cry, Abby hugged him. “Thank you for even doing that,” she whispered.

  Rainy burst into the cave. “Are you okay?” she demanded. Dressed in nearly the same outfit as Abby, she put her hands on her hips and waited for an explanation.

  “Did you not see the serpent?” asked Ethan as the fire came to life.

  “I saw more than one,” she answered, joining them.

  “Okay, okay, get back to the flying carpet,” said Aaron.

  “You told them about your Glider?” asked Rainy.

  Abby nodded. “I had to. The serpent flung me through the air away from the shore. Speaking of which, thanks for trying to distract it,” Abby replied as rolled her Glider back up.

  “It was Aaron’s idea. I saw him lift that one large rock like it was nothing,” said Carly.

  “I could only lift the smaller ones myself,” Ethan muttered.

  “Well, what can I say? I’m just that good.” Aaron ducked when Ethan threw a paper ball and laughed.

  “How did you get a flying carpet?” asked Carly.

  “I got it as a birthday present when I was nine,” Abby explained. “There aren’t many of the Gliders left.”

  “Why?” asked Carly.

  Rainy shrugged. “Because the guy who created them only made five before he died.”

  “He never told anyone how to make them,” Abby said. “The Gliders are the fastest flying carpets around.”

  “We’ll have to race whenever we get home,” Ethan said excitedly.

  “Prepare to be beaten,” Abby replied, smiling.

  “So, what do you do?” Carly asked Rainy. “At the camp, I mean.”

  “Oh, I’m a Scribbler,” Rainy answered. “I write or copy the dances down from old, hard-to-read scrolls to newer ones. I have to write all the moves, meanings, symbols, and everything. I paint the symbols on Abby when she dances.”

  “Oh, that’s right! You’ll be dancing soon,” Carly said excitedly.

  “Yup.” Abby grinned. “A week from tomorrow.”

  It took all of the morning and most of the afternoon for Abby’s clothes to dry. While they waited, they explored the cave. It turned out to be much larger than the cave at Ms. Rable’s house. Three smaller rooms were to the right of the large room. There were two tiny rooms to the left of the large room, and one held a water hole in it.

  “We might as well go home,” Aaron remarked as they gathered all their stuff.

  “Yeah!” Ethan said, swinging his backpack on. “We have some racing to do!”

  Abby looked up from talking to Rainy. “Yes, we do!” Rainy rolled up her old flying carpet and joined Abby on her Glider.

  “Hang on!” Abby told Rainy as they lined up to race Ethan, Aaron, and Carly back home. She beat them as she skyrocketed by.

  “Hey!” exclaimed Ethan, his jaw dropping.

  “How did you do that?” Aaron asked as he and Carly touched down beside her.

  Abby grinned. “It’s called blinking capabilities. Only Gliders have them. It shoots you forward at a very fast pace for only a little bit of time. They can only be done once, sometimes twice, during your ride, as it can be exhausting to the Glider. It’s a great means of escape for getting ahead of your enemies if you can’t beat them.”

  Rainy slid off the carpet. “That’s why the creator made so few. He didn’t want everyone to have one. Are you guys busy next Saturday?”

  They all shook their heads, Abby looking at her quizzically. “Want to make the cave our next hideout?” Rainy asked her.

  Abby’s eyes lit up. “Yes!” she said excitedly. “And you three have to be there!” They seemed confused so Abby quickly explained, “Do you remember my cave at Ms. Rable’s house? Well, the only reason you guys were able to find it was because I accidentally left the rocks open. Otherwise, Mrs. Herrin wouldn’t have been able to see where I went.”

  “When Abby and I perform the dance, you have to be in the room with us in order to be able to find it,” Rainy went on to explain.

  “We’ll definitely be there!” Carly said.

  Abby walked Rainy home toward the camp. “Have you been to your mom’s grave yet?” Rainy asked.

  Abby nodded.
“Yeah, I went there yesterday morning. I almost got caught by Mrs. Herrin when I came back, but she seemed distracted.”

  Rainy cocked her head to the side. “You know what? The Madam has also been acting strange. She keeps coming and going all the time.”

  Abby shrugged. “Maybe the council is giving her a hard time in coming here.”

  “I don’t know,” Rainy said. “I heard they agreed to let her come here and they are even planning a trip to see how things are going.”

  “Hey, do you see that?” Abby interrupted, peering into the shadow of the trees.

  Rainy squinted as she looked. “I don’t see anything.” Then she leaned down to whisper, “But I bet its Rollen.”

  “Probably is.” Abby shrugged. Arriving at the camp, she gave Rainy a hug and headed back home. She decided to make a detour through the woods and arrived back at the creek. Abby looked around at several tall trees. The wood elf, Traba, waved at her before disappearing into a hollow tree. “Ooohhhhhh, stop that! It tickles,” a voice from above her said.

  Abby jumped back as the tree the elf had gone into shook his branches roughly. Abby could hear the little elf giggling. “I wish they would stop doing that,” he said again on a sigh.

  “You’re the one who warned me company was coming. Thank you for that,” Abby said as she sat her bag on the ground and introduced herself.

  “I’m Orn. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen your kind here,” he spoke in a rough, gravelly voice.

  “I wanted to talk to you when you first got here, but noooooo! They wouldn’t let me,” said a smaller tree across the creek.

  “She wasn’t alone, Piney, and we don’t always talk to people who can talk to us,” replied the hollow tree.

  “Piney?” asked Abby. “You’re not a pine tree. You’re an ash tree. Why Piney?”

  “’Cause all he does is pine away about wanting to be a two-legger and walk around,” broke in a tree to Abby’s left; this one a tall, skinny tree with no branches. “I’m Barky, by the way.”