by Phil Stern
Driven from her latest, fitful nap by Tiffany’s fast-dissipating wave of green energy, Valensa bolted upright in the first floor inn bed. Nearly gasping, she felt the passing magic stimulate her new earth stone. Tightly grasped within her right hand, the stone finally punched through a final mental barrier, fully surging into Valensa’s mind.
A vast, almost overpowering sensitivity deluged the young magician’s entire being. Tiffany was very close by, along with several ruby witches. Desperate and furious, her older sister clearly needed help.
Jumping up, still in her tattered nightgown, the tall brunette hesitated. Then, with an attendant burst of earth fire, Valensa clothed herself in the jeans, boots, and white shirt of the Haven Coven. However, the 21-year-old purposely chose a blouse both tighter and scooped lower than her staid older sister. Tiffany was okay in a lot of ways, but definitely needed loosening up.
Fastening a setting and chain for her earth stone, she then triumphantly put the magical talisman around her neck. Without question, it felt right. Yes, this was indeed her natural form of magic, empowering Valensa in ways she could only dream of just a few days before.
After conjuring a floor-length mirror, the young Dythian studied her own image. Even her body seemed different. Before, Valensa had hated looking at her own reflection, feeling everything was somehow off. Now she actually liked her own figure, face, and hair, the confident jaunt of her hips and legs. Physically, she now meshed in the way she’d always imagined. After so many years in the wilderness, the young woman was finally coming into her own.
Opening the locked door with a mere mental flick, Valensa pounded out into the hallway. A few more steps carried her into the small kitchen, where she found Tiffany’s boyfriend morosely sitting at the table. Eyes almost comically wide, Blake stared in wonder at this Valensa-like apparition.
“You like?” she lightly asked, doing a little pirouette for his benefit. “Did I get it right?”
“Well, um, sure.”
“Hey, I’m sorry about all my bullshit before, but I’m better now.” Laying a light hand on his shoulder, Valensa was gratified by Blake’s slight jump. Too bad he was her sister’s boyfriend. “Tiffany’s in trouble. I have to go.”
“Trouble?” he stupidly repeated. Obviously Blake hadn’t gotten much sleep since they’d arrived. “Was that why the building shook a minute ago?”
“Yes. We’ll be back for you soon, so stay here.” Crossing over to the back door, Valensa pulled it open.
“Valensa!” Half-standing, Blake half-heartedly called after her. “Wait! I’m not sure...”
But the reborn sorceress had already run from the backyard into the surrounding woods, confidently racing through the forest towards her sister.
*****
Thrown back against an old log by the ferocity of Adrina’s initial attack, Tiffany was summarily knocked to the ground. Instantly rolling aside, however, she managed to dodge the Zarth girl’s attempted chest stomp, reaching up to fling Adrina into yet another trunk.
The Haven sorceress was vaguely aware of her Coven Stick, some thirty feet away, fighting the other ruby witch. Amid the roaring and snarling of the snow cat and muffled cursing of the enemy operative, that was clearly turning into a vicious battle.
But these ruby magicians were obviously front-line warriors. The only winning strategy was to knock Adrina out quickly, then deal with the other girl before she escaped the Coven Stick. Otherwise, if Tiffany had to combat both witches at once, she’d be quickly overwhelmed.
Tumbling down before the tree into which she’d been flung, Adrina and Tiffany were now both momentarily on the ground Leaping up at the same time, the two immensely talented, powerful young witches met in the middle of a open space. Blocking the blonde’s first punch, Tiffany landed a hard right flush on Adrina’s jaw. Ducking down, the ruby girl managed to plant a painful fist into Tiffany’s ribs, but the brunette’s knee almost instantly connected with the side of Adrina’s head. Rocked by the force of the blow, the Zarth witch was sent sprawling down onto her rear end. Yet without hesitation, Adrina once more sprung to the attack.
By now, though, Tiffany realized there wasn’t much subtlety to the Zarth playbook. When pressed, they relied on bullying and aggression over skill and cunning. They were also accustomed to their opponents backing down, rather than pressing an advantage.
So just as Adrina bounced back up into a standing position, Tiffany dropped back a step, regained her balance, and launched a vicious spin kick. Clearly unprepared, Adrina didn’t even raise a hand as Tiffany’s boot smashed into the side of her head. Accompanied by a precisely timed surge of earth fire, the devastating combination sent the other girl flying off through the air.
Arms waving helplessly, Adrina languidly crunched, shoulder first, into a largish rock. Screaming in pain, her blonde locks smoldering with residual green energy, the ruby warrior weakly rolled onto her back. At least for the moment, she was unable to resume the battle.
“Had enough?” Tiffany called out, her blazing eyes locked on the fallen Zarth witch.
*****
Meanwhile, Colleen finally had her hands around the snow cat’s neck. This beast was obviously the same creature Claire had fought at the quarry. Apparently the Haven girls had some type of weapon able to take on various forms, the Larian snow cat being only one of several nasty manifestations.
While formidable, though, it was just a magical tool. Claire herself had shown them how to overload it’s innate power source, flooding the tiny sliver of earth stone with massive amounts of ruby energy.
Her gashed cheek bleeding freely, Colleen grimly sent massive amounts of ruby magic surging into the snow cat. Held at arm’s length, the Coven Stick was unable to break free. Struggling and roaring, the animal’s eyes finally shifted from green to ruby red, it’s massive tongue now lolling out of it’s mouth. A muffled explosion soon wracked his shaggy body. Screaming in rage, Colleen flung the beaten predator into an ugly thorn bush, watching in satisfaction as it quivered and finally lay still.
Well, Colleen thought, she was finally beginning to understand why Adrina had it in for this Tiffany witch. That was nasty! Not to mention very rude. Painfully flexing her wrenched wrist, the Leven assassin looked over to where her comrade was last battling the Haven girl. Hopefully Tiffany wasn’t dead yet, as she really wanted...
From behind, a firm tap came down on Colleen’s shoulder. Stunned, she whipped around to find Valensa Smith standing right behind her. Somehow the stunted, fumbling girl she’d known in Zarth had been transformed into a lustrous young sorceress, raw power radiating from her sleek body. With an equal measure of shock and distaste, the ruby witch realized Valensa’s might was now earth stone-based.
“Colleen.” Smiling, Valensa raised an eyebrow. “How nice to see you.”
“You disgusting, treasonous mongrel!” Raising a fist, the Zarth enforcer intended to beat her former comrade senseless.
But even that first blow never landed. With a mighty magical surge, Valensa casually propelled Colleen back through the air to crash against a large tree. Awkwardly sliding down to the ground, Colleen’s ruby stone burst apart. Gasping in dismay, a finger badly mangled by a shard of her destroyed magical talisman, the Zarth witch lost consciousness.
Contemplating the beaten sorceress for a moment, Valensa let out a very satisfied sigh. The Leven were feared by the rest of the Zarth coven, it’s operatives allowed to punish and even kill at will. If Tiffany’s wayward younger sister could now so easily defeat one of it’s top members, then she could do almost anything.
Speaking of which, she now glanced over at the beaten snow cat, still splayed across the large bush. Strolling over, the young brunette placed a comforting hand on the cat’s quivering flank, sending soothing waves of earth fire directly into it’s overloaded power source.
*****
Painfully grasping her left shoulder, Adrina didn’t reply to her opponent’s taunt. Rolling up into a sitting position on the
forest floor, the abused witch acted as if she had indeed been defeated.
But Tiffany wasn’t fooled. So when Adrina’s hand darted into her suit jacket and pulled out a mundane handgun, she was ready.
Six glowing red rounds smashed into Tiffany’s magical shield, none strong enough to break through. Staggering to her feet, left arm held at an odd angle, Adrina then threw the gun away in frustration.
“I said, have you had enough?” Tiffany sweetly repeated. Yet it was all she could do not to pounce and kill this venomous young woman. The little girl dominating her soul wanted vengeance, and it was all that adult Tiffany could do to keep everything in check.
So, while keeping herself rigidly under control, Tiffany mentally checked in on her Coven Stick a short distance off. To her surprise it was fully operational, while there was no sign of any other ruby magic. It seemed the snow cat had indeed driven the other witch off.
“You bitch!” Adrina screamed. “When I get my hands on...” Eyes going wide, she now focused on something behind and to Tiffany’s left. Horrified, the Zarth sorceress began backing away.
Smiling, her magic fully prepared, the victorious Haven witch strode forward. “Are you done trying to fool me into dropping my guard? Come now, let’s stop all this and find a way...”
But this was no act. Adrina promptly turned and ran off through the woods, soon disappearing around a stand of trees. Puzzled, Tiffany listened to her frantic retreat. Surely, these Zarth girls were made of sterner stuff than this?
It was then that Tiffany felt the powerful surge of magic against her own back, along with the satisfied rumble of a Larian snow cat.
*****
Nearly ripping the door from it’s hinges, the third Leven operative stalked into the closed inn. Passing through the front sitting room into the hallway beyond, Bly coldly looked first one way, then the other.
There was very strong residual magic here. Unfortunately it was of the earth stone variety, but that only meant she could bag an enemy sorceress before finding and killing Valensa. With any luck, the two might even be together.
However, a quick search of the building revealed only a human male sitting in the kitchen. Almost in some kind of stupor, he blankly looked up as Bly walked in.
“And who might you be?” Belying his pleasant tone was a loaded handgun laying on the table. “I’m Blake Stanton.”
“Where is the Haven witch?” she demanded, magically pulling the weapon into her own hand. “Or Valensa. Is she nearby?”
“Actually, they’re one and the same now.” Frowning, Blake looked away. “Valensa now is a Haven witch, I think. Frankly, I don’t know what’s going on.”
This male, Bly now realized, had been badly saturated with the raw magic of the other coven. This must have come from a tremendous concentration of energy in a short span of time. “You’ve been exposed to a dangerous amount of green magic. Why?”
“Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The man really seemed out of it. “All I know is that we gave Valensa an earth stone, and it really worked.”
“You gave Valensa...” Trailing off, Bly realized what had happened. “No! You couldn’t have!”
“We did,” he proudly confirmed. “Well, Tiffany did, really. I just helped.”
“Tiffany? You mean Tiffany Smith? Valensa’s sister?”
“You got it.”
Her mind racing, Bly considered the implications. This wasn’t good news at all. Claire would want a first-hand account of exactly what had taken place. “Blake, did you say your name was?”
“At your service!”
“Tell me, Blake.” Smiling, Bly leaned down to look into his goofy face. “Have you ever been to another dimension?”
*****
Hardly believing her own eyes, Tiffany found her half-sister standing about twenty feet away, the Larian snow cat calmly sitting at her side. Idly laying a hand on the great beast’s head, Valensa gave a radiant smile. “Tiffany. I’m so glad to see you.”
Taking a deep breath, Tiffany looked from Valensa, down to her purring Coven Stick, then back up into her sister’s confident face. Somehow, she resisted a strong urge to beat Valensa senseless. “You seem to have made a friend.”
“Indeed. Your, uh, cat was in trouble, so I helped him.”
“Is that right?” Eyes still full of green fire, Tiffany again glanced down at the Coven Stick. Turn her back for one menlar, and this disloyal, unreliable opportunist of a Larian snow cat was making friends with another witch? Smiling, she thought of another feline, in another dimension, who’d displeased her once...
“Don’t get angry, Tiff. It’s okay.” Urgently snapping her fingers at the cat, Valensa then waved it away. “Off you go now. Your mistress wants you.”
Rumbling his obedience, the snow cat padded over to the elder Smith sister, once more sitting back on his haunches. Looking quite contrite, the Coven Stick nervously stared up into Tiffany’s wild gaze. Contentedly licking a paw, he then let out a tentative purr, bright eyes full of wonder.
At this, Tiffany’s fury began fading away. Taking a deep breath, her green-tinged vision began clearing, the world slowly returning to normal hue. Impulsively lurching into her legs, the snow cat nearly knocked Tiffany over. Laughing, she then bent down to give him a big hug, the inner fire fading away as quickly as it had come.
Still, a few thing definitely needed clearing up. A quick motion of Tiffany’s hand converted the snow cat back into a greenish-grey rod, which was then tucked into her belt. Standing tall once more, she then focused fully on her sister.
“Those magical weapons are really cool,” Valensa offered, taking a few steps forward.
“They are.”
“Colleen over there had shorted him out or something, but I fixed him up again.”
Raising an eyebrow, Tiffany quickly scanned the area. “Where is this Colleen now.”
“Unconscious. I smashed her ruby stone, though, so she can’t surprise us. Sucks for her, I guess.”
Tiffany quickly assimilated these choice tidbits. Valensa could now reanimate Coven Sticks and destroy ruby stones at will. Most women who’d been wearing an earth stone for decades who couldn’t do either one. “I take it you’re feeling much better?”
“I’m feeling wonderful.” Advancing several paces more, the 21-year-old nervously touched her fingers together. “Tiffany, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. This is incredible!”
“Yes, it is.” Remaining where she was, Tiffany still held herself in light readiness. “Almost too incredible, to be honest.”
Stopping in her tracks, Valensa uncertainly shrugged. “What can I say? I’m sorry for being such a witch, and I see now that you were right about my power source. Is that what you want to hear?”
“You’ve fooled me before,” Tiffany observed. Still, she didn’t sense any anger from her younger sister at all. “I’ve paid dearly for trusting you when I shouldn’t.”
“I know I have a lot to answer for.” Wincing, Valensa looked down. “But you gave me this stone for a reason. This is me, the real me! You were right. I’m whole, finally, and I have you to thank for it.”
Brushing back her hair, Tiffany considered the young enchantress. Indeed, this is the result she’d imagined. Her younger sister, seemingly in a good state of mental health, successfully converted to her natural form of magic. This is what she’d risked both her own and Blake’s life to achieve, not to mention Eleanor’s wrath.
Still, a lot of water had passed underneath their collective bridge, some of it going back years and years. “Do you still harbor all that resentments from Dytha?” Tiffany demanded. “Am I still the evil sister you’ve imagined, or are things different now?”
“Look, we have a lot to talk about.” Spreading her hands in supplication, the tall brunette sorceress, so like Tiffany herself, let a tear run down one cheek. “But I’m finally willing to listen. And learn!”
“Really?” Frowning, Tiffany took a step forward. “The tr
uth behind me, and my role in your life, is very different from what you’ve been led to believe. You’ve been suffering from a distorted reality.”
“I see things aren’t what I thought,” she said, brown eyes full of both pain and hope. “Give me a chance. Please?”
Still, Tiffany held back. “In my experience, people can never really accept that the bullshit they grew up with is just bullshit. They always think it’s a deeper truth, no matter how much else they experience to the contrary.”
“I’m not stupid, Tiff! I can see how much you’ve gone through for my sake. And this earth stone is amazing! I feel alive and strong. I didn’t dare dream this was even possible!”
“Oh, that wonder will fade.” Bitterly, Tiffany shook her head. “Then you’ll just resent and attack me, like everyone else in my life.”
“No!” Almost desperately, Valensa wrung her hands. “Tiff, I have no one now! No friends, no coven, and no family. Except you.”
“Please.” Irritably, Tiffany glanced around the windy forest, then back at the tall, strong girl before her. “You have the whole universe now.”
“But we’re sisters,” Valensa implored, another tear marring her other cheek. “We’ve been kept apart far too long. Tiffany, we’re not at odds anymore! We share so much.”
Frowning, Tiffany swept a booted toe through the dry fall leaves. “There’s a long way to go for us. You know that, right?”
“Yes! But this is our new start.” Tentatively smiling, Valensa still held herself back. “Isn’t it? For both of us, maybe?”
“It could be,” Tiffany acknowledged. “But I won’t lie to you. Things are still very bad between the covens. I need your help to avoid a war.”
Wide-eyed, Valensa nodded. “Just tell me what to do.”
“What I have in mind is very dangerous,” Tiffany continued. “You may have to fight more of your former sisters there, like Colleen.” Nodding vaguely behind Valensa, she indicated the fallen ruby witch.
