“So if all six of us would learn witchcraft… today—and using your earlier comparison—my grandma and I would be like a… like a thirty-eight-caliber pistol while you four would be like a forty-four-caliber pistol?” Wendi questioned.
“Actually, if you and your grandma would learn witchcraft, both of your calibers would be more like a twenty-two-caliber pistol,” Harris corrected.
“So in other words, if you and I knew the exact incantations, and we would battle it out head-to-head, there would be no way that I would beat you?” Wendi questioned.
“By you beating me in witchcraft would be like… ooh… a thousand to one long shot,” Harris said. “When Sonya grows up and learns witchcraft, you beating her would be more like a hundred thousand to one long shot.”
“I’ve been across the river—to the horse track—and that’s definitely not a safe bet,” Wendi said.
“No, it’s not,” Harris agreed.
“So should Sonya even learn witchcraft?” Wendi quickly asked.
“Yes!” Ellen uttered fervidly. “She has to protect herself.”
“Protect herself against what?” Brandon asked.
“If you would ignore the fact that there are missing volumes and sequentially read the Legacy volumes from beginning to end, you will learn of the Wizard Wars,” Harris began. “And although the Wizard Wars are officially over, there are still wizards and sorceresses out there who won’t hesitate in killing Sonya and taking her powers.”
“Perhaps we ought to read those volumes,” Brandon told Mitchell.
“I’m reading them first,” Ellen said in a tone as if to take a stand.
“Calling dibs on who will read them first isn’t necessary,” Harris informed Ellen. “All I have to do is call Sadie and find out the method on duplicating them.”
“Right,” Ellen agreed with an embarrassing grin. “I forgot that we could do that.”
“Do Ellen, Brandon and I attract birds because we are descendants of Merlin?” Mitchell asked.
Harris slightly hesitated before replying, “I’m going to say yes. In fact, among Merlin’s descendants there are three wizard lines and your line is the power over the beasts. So I’m certain that the attraction that birds and animals have towards your family has something to do with your wizard line. However, I have never read in my family’s Legacy volumes about the members of the Clover Coven attracting birds and animals as your family clearly does.” Harris saw the confused looks that Mitchell and Brandon were giving him. “The Clover Coven is the wizard line with the power over the beasts. And… and the top freckle being the darkest denotes that.”
“We can also feel each other’s presence no matter which of the three wizard lines that we’re a part of,” Ellen added.
“So what are the other two wizard lines?” Brandon asked.
“My family’s line is known as the Brimstone Coven,” Harris began. “Our power is over the Fire and Water, and the darker freckle is the one furthest from the moon-shaped birthmark. The Raven Coven is the third coven. That coven has the power over the Earth and Air, and the darker freckle is the one closest to the moon-shaped birthmark.”
“So which wizard line is Sonya a part of?” Mitchell asked.
“She has power over the beasts,” Harris answered.
Mitchell grinned as Ellen added, “There’s actually a rule if multiple lines are involved. The Fire and Water line is the strongest of the three lines, and the stronger line will always give strength to the weaker line. So Sonya’s moon-shaped birthmark is more than a sliver of a waning crescent moon.”
“Interesting,” Brandon said. “So which line is the second strongest?”
“Not ours,” Ellen quickly said.
“Which leaves Earth and Air as the second strongest,” Mitchell concluded.
“Yep,” Ellen said.
“So would a stronger wizard be a higher caliber than a weaker wizard?” Wendi asked.
“Yes, but the caliber differences won’t be too significant,” Harris answered. “In fact, a crafty wizard could defeat a stronger wizard under the right circumstances. Anyway, I’m sure that Martha doesn’t want to stand here all day. We should carry these volumes to the car.”
“If it wasn’t for the fact that it is suppose to rain later, I would suggest my truck,” Mitchell said. He then saw the skeptical stare that Ellen was giving him. “I wouldn’t do anything to the volumes, Ellen. I know you want them… mainly for Sonya, I’m guessing. And I swear, I wouldn’t do that to you… or to Sonya.”
“Okay,” Ellen said barely audible while breaking the stare. “Let’s carry them out.”
As everyone went to grab an armful of books, Brandon asked, “So who chose Sonya’s name?”
“Ellen proposed it… in fact, she proposed the name Sonya Paige Anderson,” Harris began. “I thought the name was pretty and so did Allyson. So we all agreed on it.”
As Brandon picked up a reasonable amount of the Legacy volumes, he agreed, “Sonya Paige is a nice name. Is there any reason in particular that you chose that name though, Ellen?”
“Harris’s great-grandmother was the last one to carry the mark of Merlin in his family and her first name was Sonya,” Ellen began as everyone walked towards the exit with a few books in his or her arms. A stack of five was left on the table. “And I had originally chosen Paige because I thought since Sonya had grandpa’s birthmark, that Sonya was a page from his life. It turns out though that Sonya is a page from her ancestors’ lives through both parents.”
“Sonya was born with the mark of Merlin because both her parents are descendants of Merlin,” Mitchell guessed.
“You’re on the right track,” Harris said.
“But there’s more to it than that?” Wendi was the one to ask as they were outside of the storage space while walking towards the vehicles with the books.
Before Harris could answer, Tony stepped up while asking, “Are we leaving?”
“As soon as we load all of the books in the car, Sweetie,” Wendi told him.
“Which car?” Tony asked.
“I think that the trunk of the cab would be the best place for them for now,” Wendi suggested.
“The trunk of the cab is good,” Harris confirmed.
“I’ll go open it,” Tony said before running ahead.
“You were about to say, Harris,” Wendi prompted.
“About what?” Harris questioned as it dawned on him. “Yes! Right. Every three generations among Merlin’s descendants twins are born, and each twin receives half of his or her parent’s power. In fact, the moon-shaped birthmark on Merlin’s direct sons and daughters was originally a full moon in appearance. Then throughout the generations it had changed from its full moon appearance and slowly moved through all of the waning moon phases until it had faded completely. Mitchell. Brandon. You two don’t carry the mark of Merlin is because you two were the set of twins behind the set of twins who were born with the sliver of a waning crescent moon; however, anyone who is born during the first three generations of not having the birthmark is considered to be in the Phoenix stage. Tanya was in the third generation of the Phoenix stage and Michael was in the second generation of the Phoenix stage…”
“So Sonya was born with the mark of Merlin because both of her parents are descendants of Merlin, and they were in the Phoenix stage,” Mitchell amended.
Harris grinned before saying, “Correct.”
“If every three generations twins are born, shouldn’t Sonya have been a twin?” Wendi asked as they approached the cab.
“We don’t know for sure, but we believe that by both parents being in the Phoenix stage, the cycle of when twins are born gets offset… or possibly even reset,” Harris explained as everyone stepped up to the cab.
“Considering Sonya as being a Phoenix rising, am I’m right to think that a Phoenix rising is a rare oddity?” Brandon questioned.
“It’s very rare,” Harris confirmed. Ellen glanced at Martha and saw that she was pondering a
thought. “In fact, I recently learned of the Phoenix stage myself, as well as learning from my mom that a Phoenix rising had only happened once before in my family, and that was back in the 1960’s with my mom’s cousin. And like with Sonya’s birth, the cycle of when twins were born was offset.”
“Are you okay, Martha?” Ellen asked as everyone was putting his or her armful of books into the trunk, one after the other.
Martha grinned before saying, “I’m fine, dear. All this talk about a phoenix had made me remember a dream that I had a few nights ago. The dream wasn’t about the phoenix per se.
The setting of my dream was at night with a waning crescent moon overhead, and with only three stars visible. I was walking along an empty highway, and I came across a woman’s lifeless nude body on the shoulder of the road. When I went to check her condition, her body crumbled away at my touch, and leaving a newborn girl among the ash. The baby girl was awake and very alert for being a newborn. She glanced at me for only a brief moment before looking towards the crescent moon and pointing towards it. I woke just after that. I thought that the dream was just a random dream, but now I think that my dream might’ve been telling me about Sonya… announcing her birth to me so to speak.”
“That’s possible,” Harris confirmed. “Since you were allied with Gloria sixty years ago, you could’ve formed a telepathic bond with her and her family without either one of you realizing it. In fact, some of your dreams that you thought were random could’ve been about Alex, Mitchell, Brandon, Ellen and their other relatives.”
“That’s an interesting thought?” Martha said.
“I’m going to get the remaining volumes,” Ellen announced while gesturing towards the storage space.
“Need help?” Mitchell asked.
“I don’t!” Ellen snapped while sounding snippier than what she had meant to. She then said more sympathetically, “There aren’t that many left. Thanks though.”
Mitchell nodded with a polite grin. When Ellen turned and walked away, Wendi said, “Okay, Mitchell, this is obviously none of my business, but I have to ask this anyway. What did you do for her to be so angry at you?”
“I’m certain that you heard the phrase, ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’,” Mitchell began. Wendi shot a worried glance towards Tony before nodding. “Well, I didn’t pave a road; I paved a superhighway.”
“Would I be too far across the line if I ask what you did?” Wendi asked.
Mitchell slightly hesitated before saying, “I had four sons and one daughter prior to Ellen being born. While my wife Megan was pregnant with Ellen, Megan and I had separated… she could never put up with my shit when she was pregnant and…”
“Mitchell, please watch your language around my son,” Wendi politely requested.
Mitchell nodded before he continued with, “Anyway, I was given a warning from a superstitious psychic that my kids were in mortal danger…”
“Aren’t all psychics superstitious to a degree?” Marc asked while glancing towards Martha.
“Well, as I told Martha and Wendi in the storage space, Ellen, Brandon and I attract birds, and so did my other kids, and the psychic had mistaken all those birds around my house as a bad omen, and I didn’t know better,” Mitchell explained. “Anyway, my dad was with me at the time of the psychic’s warning, and his warning had frightened us both. When my dad and I went to warn Megan, Megan thought that my dad and I had lost our minds.
“I was desperate to keep my children safe, so when Megan refused to heed the psychic’s warning, my dad and I left with the kids… we kidnapped them actually. Megan called the police, and while we were trying to evade the police we were involved in an accident that killed my father, three of my sons and my daughter. I was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for five counts of involuntary manslaughter. I would’ve gotten more time in prison, but I turned in my boss—a drug lord and a weapons dealer—for a lesser sentence.”
Wendi stared warily at Mitchell for the first time for a brief moment before telling him, “Thanks for being honest with me; I’m sure that was harder than what you had made it out to be.”
“Telling you was actually a walk in the park compared with knowing that no matter what I do or say to atone for what I had done, in Ellen’s eyes I will always be the harbinger of death,” Mitchell told her. “I don’t hold that against her though.”
“Is Ellen one of those who will constantly remind you over and over at what you had done?” Marc asked.
“No; she’s not,” Mitchell quickly said. “You get on Ellen’s bad side, you might as well consider yourself a ghost to her… I mean she won’t flat out ignore you, but she will stare apathetically without uttering a syllable until you either feel like a fool for trying to talk to her or get tired. And her mother was the same way.”
In a tone as if it was an afterthought, Wendi asked, “Weren’t you scared that your drug lord boss would come after you for blowing the whistle on him?”
“I love my kids, and after learning that my foolish actions had killed four of them, I had wished that I had died in that accident as well. So I was actually hoping that Clayton—my drug lord boss—would send someone to kill me. However, it turned out that Clayton’s criminal empire was only a house of cards.”
“What do you mean?” Marc asked.
“Clayton was a bully; he made a lot of enemies and a very few loyal allies, and what I had given the DA was enough to arrest Clayton and those allies. The others turned on Clayton like starving sharks. As a result, Clayton knows that someone had blown the whistle on him, but he hasn’t a clue who had initiated it. Originally I had planned to make sure that Clayton knew who had blown the whistle on him, but then I found out that Megan was pregnant again. So I kept my mouth shut.”
Before anything else got said, Brandon warned, “Ellen’s coming.”
Everyone turned towards Ellen. As she stepped up, Mitchell asked, “Anymore books?”
“This is it?” Ellen said before she went to put the books in the trunk.
“I’ll go lock up the storage space for you, Grandma,” Wendi announced.
“I’ll allow it,” Martha told her with a grin.
As Wendi—with Tony tagging along behind her—was walking towards the storage space, Ellen—with volume five in her hand—shut the trunk and faced Mitchell. Mitchell wasn’t facing Ellen, and after a second of deliberation, Ellen choked out, “Dad.”
Mitchell turned towards Ellen, and while giving her an incredulous look, he asked, “Did I hear right?” Ellen gave him a confused look. “Did you call me ‘Dad’?”
Ellen slightly smirked before saying, “I had to swallow back bile, so don’t get use to it.”
“Okay, well, I’m guessing you grabbed my attention for a reason,” Mitchell prompted.
“Our rented SUV is parked in front of Martha’s house,” Ellen began. “Are you coming with us or… what are you going to do after this?”
“If it’s okay with you, I would like to follow you back,” Mitchell said.
Ellen nodded with a polite grin. She then pointed towards the backseat of the cab with one hand and slightly raised the book with the other while saying, “I’m getting in the cab and read.”
When Mitchell gave her an acknowledging nod, Ellen turned towards the closest back door. Once Ellen got comfortable in the backseat—with her door closed—she opened to the first page of the volume and began reading.
(Margaret’s handwriting)
My brief summery that I do with all my volumes when I start a new volume—
My name is Margaret. I’m a sorceress and a seer. My father is the southern leader of our coven. I’m back now with the main coven, but I had left it less than a year ago to marry Clifford.
Clifford is from one of our acorn covens and we had planned to begin an acorn coven of our own, but just before I discovered that I was pregnant, my twin sister Helen and I, along with many other seers in the region, were getting visions that someone from one of the C
lover’s acorn covens will turn the Raven Coven’s kingdom upside-down.
During the first couple of weeks after the vision had begun, the Clover’s acorn covens were targeted, but only a few were killed off while the others had regrouped with the main coven. The Brimstone’s acorn covens and the Raven’s acorn covens regrouped as well. In fact, that is why my husband and I are back with the main coven.
On the night of the last full moon during the first month that the Clover acorn covens had regrouped, the Raven Coven had attacked the Clover Coven’s citadel. However, the battle didn’t go as well as the leaders of the Raven Coven had hoped. Many partisans had lost their lives that night.
The weeks and months that followed, the Raven Coven’s most talented wizards patrolled the Clover Coven’s borders while looking for any opportunity to kill a Clover Coven’s wizard and stopping the vision from coming true.
It’s been nine months now since the vision had first appeared and over two hundred lives have been taken, and yet the vision still plagues the Raven Coven’s kingdom.
There’s a full moon tonight and another attack on the Clover Coven’s citadel is happening as I write this. I also have been sick all night. Not from morning sickness though, but from worrying about if Clifford was going to return safely.
Other than the Raven Coven’s attack on the Clover Coven’s citadel, today has been a normal day. The baby kicking me in the ribs had awakened me. I got up and ate and that had calmed the baby a little. After breakfast and with Helen’s help, I walked around for a few minutes. I heard that walking would help speed up the birth of my baby.
My God! The members of the Raven Coven are now fighting among themselves, and it was my baby and his father who turned the Raven Coven’s kingdom upside-down.
I’m a part of the Raven Coven and I thought that Clifford was also. Clifford wasn’t though. Clifford’s mother is a Raven partisan and she had recently confessed to my father and me that she was raped by one of the Clover Coven’s wizards and became pregnant from it. When Clifford was born, she was the one who scarred Clifford’s chest. She made it where no one knew that Clifford was a part of the Clover Coven.
Legacy Page 16
