by Marva Dasef
* * * *
After her final exam, Kat hurried down Galdorheim’s only street. Cottages lined the lane on either side, most with neat picket fences and flowers forever in bloom. She headed home, hoping Rune would be there. More artsy than she, he could help tweak her presentation for the Witches’ Council to perfection. She reached the door and shoved it open. Looking toward the open kitchen, she found him in his usual position, standing in front of the icebox with the door open. He searched and ate simultaneously, choosing his next snack while finishing the previous one.
Kat rolled her green eyes and sighed. “Rune, you can’t eat like that forever. You’ll be the first fat vampire in the world.”
“Hey, how do you know there aren’t fat vampires already?”
She shook her head in wonder. Her little brother would grow up to be the most powerful warlock in Galdorheim, but what really bugged Kat was everyone thought him impossibly cute and funny, and now he was even taller than she. Casual observers might mistake the two for full brother and sister. Both bore their mother Ardyth’s good looks, but they got their black hair from their respective fathers: Rune’s sire, Drakos, a vampire with whom Ardyth had a brief encounter; and Kat’s father, Boris, a Siberian fisherman, buried in an ice cave collapse and revived only a few months ago.
Kat snorted. “Watch out, or I’ll start calling you Tubby. Anyway, will you help with my presentation?”
“For what?”
“My Winter Abroad, goofy. I’m going to Stonehenge for Samhain after graduation, and I’ve got to tell the Council why it’s a good idea.”
“What’s not to like about Stonehenge?” Rune reached into the icebox and pulled out a frozen package. He examined the label and then pumped his other hand. “Score! I knew there had to be at least one reindeer roast left.” He carried it to the food warmer, popped it inside, and turned to his sister. “So, what’s this presentation supposed to look like?”
Kat plopped down on a kitchen chair. “Oh, you know. Background on where I want to go, how I plan to get there, stuff like that. I’ve already done most of it, so I just need to tune it up.”
The food warmer dinged, and Rune took the dinner, now piping hot, to the table. “Sure. Let me eat first; then I’ll take a look.”
Rune unwrapped the meal and dug in. Kat’s stomach rolled a little, but at least he had quit eating his meat raw. She thought the cooked roast smelled good, but she’d become a vegetarian when she discovered her magical talent for talking to animals. She didn’t like the idea of eating anyone she could have a nice chat with. Still, her stomach growled at the aroma, so she decided to grab a snack, too.
When they finished eating, Rune cleared the table, and she spread out the notes. She flipped through them, reading aloud the first topic. “Samhain: The Importance of the Festival, Origins and the Festival Today.”
“So far, so good, but that’s just the yada yada stuff. Where’s your map?”
Kat pulled out the map token from the folder. She touched it with her wand, and the map sketched itself in the air over the kitchen table. Rune chuckled. “Looks like Google Earth except see-through.”
Kat shot a look at her brother. “I had to use something as a model.”
“Just sayin’ that’s a cool idea.”
“There’s Stonehenge.” She tapped the map. A miniature picture of the standing stones appeared.
“How about your route?”
“I’ll go to Norway on the supply boat. It’s scheduled to leave in a day or two. Then, I’ll travel by land to Bergen—probably take the train. Eurail goes everywhere. Air Norway flies to London, but I’m not sure I can afford that. Maybe I should take a ferry to Scotland.” Kat sighed. “I sure wish we could just poof ourselves wherever we want to go like the mundanes think we can.”
“I hear ya.” Rune examined the map and then added, “But you’d have to travel all that way down Norway. I think you should fly directly to Scotland.”
“Are you crazy? I couldn’t keep a broom in the air that far. It’s all water with no place to stop.”
Rune’s brow furrowed as he studied the map, touching it here and there to add details. “Well, I could go along to help. We could take turns.”
Kat’s mood went from hopeful to angry, and her emerald eyes flashed—literally. “Oh, no you won’t!” she snapped. “This is my trip, and I’m not dragging my little brother along.”
Rune held his hands up palms outward. “Hey, chill! Don’t spaz out, Kat. It was just a thought.”
Kat reined in her temper, biting her lip. Every time she had left the island, it was always with Rune’s help. She wanted to make this trip alone. She couldn’t and wouldn’t depend on Rune all her life.
“I just need to do this myself. It’s tradition. A witch always goes on Winter Abroad alone. You’ll get your chance next year.”
Rune awkwardly patted Kat’s shoulder. “I know. I really wasn’t trying to glom onto your trip. Hey, how about the ultralight?”
Kat hung her head. Rune always came through for her, and here she was yelling at him. Straightening up, she replied, “I think Aunt Thordis would freak out, but I can give it a try.”
“Yeah. She’d think it’d be too dangerous or something. I don’t know for sure, but I think the little plane would be up for it. I’ve taken a couple of flights, and it seems happy to stretch its wings.”
Kat smiled at her little brother. “Thanks for the help. I mean that.”
“Yeah, I’m a real philatelist.”
“Philanthropist you mean.”
“Whatever.”
She and Rune set to work making the changes. Kat stood back and examined the presentation with a critical eye. “This is getting all messed up. The routes we changed still show up, and I’ve got way too many cities that I’m not even going to. I’ll make a new one.”
An hour later, Kat bundled her presentation into a ball of pale yellow light. She tore off another blank sheet from the notepad and, with Rune’s help, added a few Old Runic characters to one side. They agreed on raidô for journey and sôwilô for sun, to wish a good journey with plenty of sunshine. The power words also served to display the map when needed. Then, she turned the sheet over on the table. She directed the ball of light onto the blank side of the paper then folded it into a pentagram shape. Checking to make sure she had centered the Runic characters, she adjusted a couple of the folds. She held it out for Rune to examine. “Everything look okay?” she asked.
“Check. But you’d better bolt. You’ve only got a couple of minutes to get to the Council Hall.”
Kat nodded, took a deep breath, and let it out. Her eyes narrowed with determination. “Thanks. See you later.” She walked toward the door, which swung open at her approach. Glancing back at her brother, she smiled when he gave her a thumbs-up.
