 
A Generic Witch Tale

By A.S. Morrison

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2017 A.S. Morrison
Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

# Table of Contents

1. The Little Witch

2. The Last-Nine-Day

3. Willy

4. The Magic Man

5. Eastgate

6. The Evil Witch

7. The Magic Town

8. The Korrigan

9. Fairies and Death Balls

10. The Do-Over

  1. The Little Witch

Little Fira scrunched up her face in concentration.

"This time." She said seriously, almost threateningly, staring at the little black squirrel twenty yards away. "This time I get it right."

Her dress darkened to almost black. Her fists shook. Little plants in the dirt quivered, their leaves forced to the ground. The black squirrel, Rupall, shifted nervously, his little paws rubbing together. Ailith watched from nearby.

The little witch extended her hands and quickly spread her palms. A loud crack shot through the air. For a second it looked like something might happen. She waited, staring at the little squirrel hopefully. After a few more seconds it was clear that nothing changed. She fell to her knees.

The trees began to whisper. It sounded like a strong breeze rustled their leaves, but there was no breeze.

"I can hear you." She said loudly.

It was too difficult to pick out what any one was saying when they all talked at once.

Ailith walked over and knelt beside her. "It will work out, don't worry. You just need more practice."

"It's tomorrow." Fira reminded her. "I just can't get it. We've tried for ages."

"You're overthinking this." Ailith said. "You've done it before. You're just nervous. Trust me, when you get on that stage tomorrow night everything will fall into place." She lifted Fira to her feet and dusted her off. "It's getting late, let's get back."

"No! One more time."

Fira pulled her black witch's hat down to her eyes and concentrated even harder on Rupall, who looked nastily back. He was getting tired of being her practice target.

She ignored him, wishing with all her might that he might disappear in a great flash of light. She pulled her arms back, gathered the energy, and then unleashed everything she had in his direction.

A great gust of wind blew through the dirt patch and rustled the trees encircling it. The trees chattered louder and louder until all Fira could hear was the wind blowing by her ears and their incessant commotion.

Both the witches' hats shot straight into the sky. The squirrel tumbled backward. Fira kept pushing the air, certain that it might work this time.

The sky darkened instantaneously. The wind grew cold, large raindrops splattered the ground. When Rupall disappeared into the woods, it was clear it hadn't worked.

Fira let her arms drop to her side. She fell to the ground again.

The wind died, the rain stopped, and the clouds disappeared as fast as they had come. The hats fluttered back onto the heads they belonged on.

For a few moments everything was silent. Rupall rushed out of the bush and back into the clearing. He screeched angrily and watched the little witch wearily.

"Welp!" Ailith cried out. "That's not bad. You could always blow everyone away tomorrow night. That'd be a last-nine-day party they'd remember for ages."

"It's not funny." Fira complained, her dress momentarily turning deep scarlet before going back to its usual violet. "I'm hopeless. Are you sure I can't try without the hat?"

Ailith shook her head. "You saw that. We can't have a storm every time you want to do magic. The hat keeps your powers under control."

"I can do it better when I'm not wearing it."

Ailith sighed. She got down on the ground next to Fira and put her arm around her. "No one is perfect at their chosen ability when they turn ten. The party is just to show which one of your childhood powers you've chosen to pursue. It's especially difficult for someone like you. You had how many to choose from?" She squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. "You could animate your dolls, morph sticks, read minds—float. I mean, who can float? That's halfway to flying."

"But I was best at teleporting things. That's why I chose it."

"And it shows. Look, if you still aren't sure you can do it by tomorrow afternoon then switch to teleporting a large rock. You can teleport those no problem. I still remember when you figured out you could do that. I came home one day and the house was full of pebbles you'd conjured up from somewhere. And I mean full. I was slipping and sliding the whole night trying to get them all outside and you were still making them appear."

Fira pulled herself away and scooped up a shaking Rupall. "The party's for showing off. I can't show off by teleporting a rock. They've all seen me do that a thousand times. When the mayor takes my hat off I want him to fear me teleporting him halfway across the world."

Ailith laughed. "Then you're just going to have to master it by tomorrow. That's what I did."

"Really?" Fira asked skeptically. She could remember Ailith once telling her that she'd mastered her childhood ability at seven.

"Sure." Ailith said. "I could manifest my thoughts in small ways. It was easy for me to make simple objects appear." A glowing green cube appeared in her hand. "But it was another thing entirely to do what I really wanted to." The cube disappeared and a glowing green hut appeared next to them. It stood four feet tall and came complete with a thatched roof, an ornate door, and even vines crawling up the walls. "I was so nervous that my first try was just a bright flash of light. I nearly blinded everyone. But then I calmed down and made a hut just like this one." She scrunched up her face in thought. "Well, maybe it wasn't quite this nice. The point is that everyone has trouble during the party. The important thing is not to worry too much about it."

The sun was beginning to set and Ailith decided that it was time for dinner. They walked back through the woods and into town. Rolling hills stretched off to the base of the northern mountains. Each hill had one or two black wood houses, each different in shape and size. Tall and short fences laced their way through the town, creating an uneven patchwork. Smoke wafted into the air from outdoor fire pits or cauldrons, and various farm animals mooed or clucked as they wandered up and down the hills.

The town of Windelwind sat comfortably in the western side of the Anull, a country made specifically by and for magic users. Fira didn't know why it was created or when, but she did know that Windelwind was the only full witch community in all of Anull. She knew that other towns had all sorts of strange people in them, but she rarely got to go to them herself. Stories had to keep her curiosity at bay until she was old enough to explore on her own.

Ailith and Fira's house stood on the side of a hill all the way on the west end of town, near the large lake. As they meandered through fence openings and over hills people came from all directions to see Fira.

"I just can't wait till your party tomorrow." An old witch said from a rocking chair as they passed.

"What are you going to do? Don't keep us waiting." Another called while stirring a large stone cauldron.

"Are you gonna fly?" A little girl asked as she skipped alongside them.

The more people that came up the worse Fira felt. Everyone was excited except for her. She had been looking forward to her last-nine-day party for as long as she could remember. She'd always enjoyed going to others, but the closer hers got the scarier it became.

The voices only got louder.

"I blew up a house for mine. It was great!" Someone said.

"I flew through the air, remember?" Came another.

"Yes, remember how I created a terrible thunderstorm? Please tell us something, Fira."

"Alright, that's enough." Ailith shouted over the growing crowd. "You're all going to have to wait until tomorrow night. We can't ruin the surprise."

As everyone went back to their houses Ailith noticed the scared look on Fira's face. "Don't worry about it." She stressed. "Worrying is the worst part."

Their house had a main room with two disconnected bedrooms off each side. All three little buildings had pointed roofs that looked like witch's hats. Ailith had designed them with thought forms when she was just a little older than Fira. Another witch then quickly built them by enchanting the tools and wood.

Inside, the walls were covered with cabinets and shelves. Each one filled to the brim with objects that had any and every use imaginable. A small bronze cauldron bubbled from the corner. Ailith had started soup before they left for training.

Fira collapsed into a cushy armchair, threw off her hat, and pulled her wiry mop of dark brown hair into a bun. She sat back and stared at the wall, wondering how she could possibly manage to avoid total humiliation in twenty-four hours.

Ailith went to the closet and started throwing things out as she rummaged around for something.

"I know what will cheer you up." She said, her voice muffled. "Now where did it go to?"

All sorts of things came out of the closet. Broken brooms zipped through the air, nibs of quills scattered across the floor. Fira even had to dodge a flying knife that shot across the room and lodged itself in the wall only a few inches above her head.

"Got it!" Ailith straightened up with a small but very heavy stone cauldron. She placed it in the middle of the floor. "I remembered to keep the ingredients in here; that's smart of me. Oh, but there's something missing. Would you stop that?!" The knife had come dislodged and flew right at Ailith's head. She plucked it out of the air and threw it back in the closet. With a swipe of her hand all the doodads and thingamajigs flew back into the closet and the door slammed them inside. "Anyway, I'm missing horehound. Fira, can you run over to Mr. Jorna's and get some more."

Fira wasn't paying attention. She was thinking about all the terrible things that would undoubtedly happen if her last-nine-day party didn't work out. She imagined that they would kick her out of town and make her forage for berries to stay alive for the rest of her life.

"Fira! Horehoud!" Ailith said, rapping on the stone cauldron.

"What's that—right—Mr. what's-his-face."

"Jorna. You remember horehound, right? You liked the leaves because they were soft."

"He'll know." Fira jumped up and went to the door. "Come on, Rupe."

The black squirrel ran out the door with her.

Suppertime in the little town of Windelwind was a loud affair. Everyone cooked outside, which meant that everyone in town was outside. Parents sat around to chat as the food cooked itself in cauldrons nearby, while kids used their childhood powers to play tag. Fira had to dodge a large bird that zoomed by when she stepped outside. She wasn't sure if it was someone who had turned into a bird or whether it was a real bird that had been enchanted.

Fira quickly ran to the large lake and walked on its rocky shore to avoid any more well-wishers, Rupall at her side; his long bushy tail swaying back and forth.

"At least it's a nice night." Fira said, looking at the gray water of the lake.

Rupall flicked his tail and made a small high-pitched squeak.

"Exactly. But at least the weather is cooperating for my last night in town."

Rupall chattered his teeth.

Fira shook her head. "They're not going to let me stay here if I fail tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

The squirrel flicked his tail rapidly.

"I know your joking, but it's still mean. If I could just have chosen something easier. I thought about enchanting a tree to walk around, but the bigger the harder. I could enchant sticks to fly through the air, but Murth did that last year. Teleporting you is the only thing that is somewhat unique. Even adults who teleport have a hard time with living creatures." She stopped suddenly. She watched the people of Windelwind chatting and laughing together. "Maybe teleporting myself would have been easier. Oh well, it's too late now."

As Fira and Rupall climbed over rocks on the shore a familiar figure dropped out of the air on a broom.

"Excited for tomorrow?"

It was Vornay, a girl two months older than Fira. The two had hated each other forever, though Fira had long forgotten why. It may have been because Vornay hit all the milestones a witch can hit shortly before Fira, and always managed to do be much better at them.

Vornay rode a broom for her last-nine-day party. She did tricks that most adults couldn't do.

"Go away." Fira said.

"I saw you practicing earlier." Vornay said as she sat cross-legged on her broom, floating just above the ground. "I was zipping over the trees—you probably didn't notice. I saw you down there, but I can't for the life of me figure out what you were doing. Nothing seemed to be happening."

Fira's face grew hot as she tried to walk around her least favorite person and continue to Mr. Jorna's.

Vornay sped up and refused to leave Fira's side. "All I could tell was that you don't seem to like your familiar very much. He kept tumbling away."

Vornay's fat little wren fluttered onto her shoulder and sang an unpleasant tune that sounded something like laughter.

Fira clenched her fists and walked faster. "You just wait till tomorrow. You're gonna see some amazing magic."

Vornay laughed. "I don't know if old Rude will survive that."

"His name is Rupall."

Rupe crawled up and sat on Fira's shoulder. It stared angrily at the wren.

"Whatever." Vornay said. She sped up and blocked Fira. She hung off the broom and leaned toward her. "I'll be in the front row. I can't wait to see what you've got planned."

She laughed, her wren sang, and they both shot straight into the air.

Fira closed her eyes and refocused. She was out there to see Mr. Jorna and to get Horehound. The party the next day was going to go great. It had to. Her anger at Vornay outweighed her nerves. She wanted to show everyone that she was just as good at magic as Vornay.

Mr. Jorna's house was on a little outcrop on the other side of the lake. It was the farthest house from the others. It had a large garden that provided all the herbs and most of the vegetables for the whole town. Fira found him sitting on his porch looking out over the lake.

"Ailith need some basil for dinner?" He asked kindly as Fira approached.

"Not tonight. She needs horehound."

He looked impressed. "Making a call then? That's a good idea seeing as tomorrow's the big day."

Fira sighed longingly.

"Ha-ha, don't be nervous. Everyone has to go through it."

"What did you do?"

"I grew a tree right out of the ground. It had apples and oranges and pears—none to eat of course. Magic fruit isn't known for its safety—especially when made by a nine year old."

Fira stared at the ground.

"Perhaps I should have said it was a complete disaster." Mr. Jorna said, getting up from his chair and making his way to the garden.

Fira followed. "I would love to hear that someone failed before me."

"It'll be fine. Everyone manages something."

Mr. Jorna stood on the edge of the expansive garden. He watched clippers clipping by themselves, knives dicing away at leaves, and the diced up leaves filling jars.

"Alright, that's enough." He yelled.

Everything dropped to the ground.

"Now then, horehound."

He went over to the table full of jars and picked one up.

"Here it is. I believe this makes five. Ailith owes me a mockup of that new greenhouse I need."

"Thanks very much." Fira said. She put the jar in her pocket and started back towards home.

"Here we go." Ailith said a few minutes later as she dumped the horehound into the cauldron.

The brown liquid turned stark white. It swirled faster and faster until a whirlpool formed. Very slowly the liquid calmed. The contents turned crystal clear as if becoming a mirror. Fira crept to the edge. For a moment it reflected their small home, her and Ailith's reflections, and then it changed. Two faces appeared; that of a man and a woman.

"Fira dear, how are you?" The woman asked.

"Hi mom, dad." Fira said, shifting her feet.

"So, you ready?" Her dad asked. "I can't wait to hear a full report tomorrow night. I wish so bad that we could be there with you. But don't worry. We'll be there in spirit."

"I know."

The faces stood out from a bright blue cloudless sky. They looked younger and happier than they did the last time Fira saw them in person.

"So," her mom said, "tell us everything. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to teleport Rupall from home to the stage in a flash of light." Fira said, looking anywhere but at her parents.

"Oh my." Her father said, beaming. "That's hard at your age. I was proficient at teleporting inanimate objects, but to teleport a living animal? That's just gre—"

"I know it's hard!" Fira suddenly cried out.

There was an awkward silence as Fira began to cry.

"I'm sorry, but I just haven't gotten it yet."

"Hey—hey, don't cry dear." Her mother said. "Don't get worked up over this stupid party. It's for you. It shouldn't be so bad."

"I told her that." Ailith said.

"Fira." Her dad said sternly.

Fira stared at the floor, wiping her eyes.

"Fira." Her dad said again. "Look at me."

She tentatively looked into the cauldron at her father's severe face.

"I want you to do something. I want you to imagine a rock in your mind. Can you do that for me?"

Fira nodded sadly.

"Do you see it?"

"Yes."

"Now bring it toward you. Think of it disappearing where it is and reappearing in your hand."

Fira did as she was told. A pebble appeared out of thin air and landed softly in her hand. She looked at it sadly.

"I can do that no problem."

"Now I want you to imagine Rupall. Do you see him in your mind?"

"Yes."

"Now turn him into a rock in your mind. Keep his bushy tail and his black fur. You should be thinking about a rock with the fur and tail of a squirrel. Are you?"

Fira screwed up her face in concentration. "I think so."

"Now do the same thing as before. Imagine the rock disappearing and reappearing in your hand."

Fira tried her hardest to not disappoint her father. With a soft blip noise Rupall appeared out of thin air and landed in her hands. She stared with disbelief as her father laughed.

"That's it! You did it. The secret is to imagine the thing you can't teleport as closely to something that you can."

"I-I did it." She said, unable to take her eyes off the squirrel, who just wanted to get down.

"Now you'll do great!" Her mom said.

"How about the flash?" Her dad asked.

"I've got that down, but putting the two together might be tricky. I can teleport a rock with the flash, so maybe I can just do this and get it to work."

"Of course you can." Her father said, beaming. "It's all about the mental attitude you bring to it. If you believe you can do it, if you can picture yourself succeeding, then you most likely will." He shook his fists triumphantly. "It's always worked for me." He looked around and frowned, his fists dropping to his sides.

Fira nodded sadly, staring at the hard stone of the cauldron's side. "It failed once."

Her parents looked at each other guiltily.

"We're so sorry we can't be there with you." Her mother said. "Always remember that most people don't get to talk to their parents after they're dead."

"I know." Fira said. She took a deep breath and smiled at her parents' faces rippling on the surface of the liquid. "I'll do great tomorrow and tell you all about it. Now I need to get some sleep."

She wiped her hands across the surface of the liquid as her parents both tried to get in their goodbyes. The picture vanished. The light died out immediately; leaving the two witches in darkness.

Fira gazed into the darkness at where her parents' faces had just been. Ailith clapped her hand on her shoulder.

"Whelp, time for bed."

Fira nodded and slowly made her way to her room.

  2. The Last-Nine-Day

Fira had the hardest time sleeping. The first time she fell asleep she dreamed that she accidentally blew up the whole town. She woke with a start and had to look out the window to make sure it was in fact a dream. There were stories told to the little kids about a witch who once set fire to several houses in her sleep, so there was precedence. On top of that, dreams were very important to the Windelwinders. They were seen as prophetic and were not taken lightly. This all made Fira very nervous as she looked out the window at the intact town.

After a long while she finally managed to get back to sleep, only to have a dream about a monster rising out of the lake and eating everyone. She woke in a panic just as dawn began transforming the sky. Not wanting to have another horrid nightmare, she slowly got out of bed and went outside.

Early mornings in Windelwind were her favorite time of day. There were only a few other people out that early, and it gave her a chance to roam aimlessly without having to run in to too many well-wishers. Some of the older witches went out early to set up for their jobs. Each job had something to do with the ability each witch chose to pursue. Fira passed one particularly old witch hunched over a hole in the ground with smoke coming out. She knew this witch was burning certain plants and breathing in the smoke to see an upcoming event. People would come by during the day and ask if she could look into their future. From what she knew it was like seeing grainy snapshots, but it fascinated her nonetheless.

Several people were out early meditating. These were usually witches that needed to strengthen their ability before the stresses of the day weakened them again. She could remember her mother doing that as it helped sharpen her remote viewing later in the day.

Near the mountain pass on the northeastern side of town, Fira smelled something really amazing. She hadn't eaten anything yet that morning and found herself being drawn to the aroma. It appeared to be coming from a small hut some ways away from all the others on that side of town. It was an odd little hut. For one it was one of the few on flat ground. The windows were partially boarded. The doorframe was covered by a long ratty cloth that blew slightly in the breeze. The walls sloped downward as if part of the house was sinking, and the roof had several holes in it. It was the exact opposite of all the other houses in Windelwind. For witches, fixing a hole, repairing a door, or even building a whole new house from scratch wasn't a big deal. If the owner of this house had wanted to have it fixed, they easily could have.

Fira stopped short of the house. Thick mud covered a large area all around, making it hard to reach the cloth door. The smell was so powerful and mesmerizing that she found herself inching closer through the mud anyway. Finally, after a few more steps, the glorious smell turned suddenly sour. It smelled just as bad as it had good. It was so bad that the girl had to run out of the mud and away because she couldn't breathe.

The cloth shot up in the air as if a strong wind came from below it. An old woman stepped out and glided smoothly above the mud, landing softly on dry ground. She took a deep breath and glanced over to Fira.

She had a similar appearance to the house: slightly misshapen and unkempt. Her black dress had frayed edges and too many stains to count.

Fira knew instantly who this was. It was Ms. Bleedmere. Stories of her bewitching children or casting evil spells were told all over Windelwind. Fira had heard many stories, all of which were too ghastly to think about when standing only a few feet away from her. The most important story, though, was never to go near her house. Ms. Bleedmere was the only witch of her kind in that town. No one else who lived there ever caused harm to anyone else, and definitely did not use their abilities for evil.

The girl nodded cordially and quickly walked away.

"You're Fira, correct?"

She froze mid-step. Either through fear or magic, Fira wasn't sure. Her dress turned stark white. Very slowly she turned to face the old woman.

"I am."

"Ah, I won't be at your party tonight, but I imagine you'll do well." Ms. Bleemere smiled creepily.

"Um, thank you for saying so. I sure hope you're right."

"You came for that smell, didn't you?"

Fira found the use of her feet, but still couldn't take more than a few steps back. "I thought it was interesting. I just wanted to see what it was."

The old witch looked genuinely pleased to have someone to talk to. "It was interesting. It's an old recipe I dug up." She held up her hands, which were covered in caked on dirt. "A potion to lure and trap. Not that I wanted to lure and trap you, dearest. I only wanted to try it out just in case. . . for the others."

Fira feigned a look of understanding. Her dress slowly returned to violet. "That is fascinating. I'll just go ahead and–"

"Of course not you." The old witch continued. "I see you—you're the one I like."

That pushed this whole ordeal into a new level of creepy; one that Fira felt was too much to deal with on the morning of her last-nine-day party.

"The others though, they don't have your destiny."

"Huh, that's inter—that's something."

"Did you want to know it? Your destiny?" she moved toward the girl, her eyes shining bright.

"No thanks, maybe later." Fira said, forcing her feet back faster.

"It's good, better than most."

At long last Fira took full control over her legs and ran for it. She didn't stop until she got all the way to the other side of town. She stopped to catch her breath. This was not the day for such strangeness. It was difficult but she found a way to ignore that it happened. She didn't want anything to distract her from what she had to do that night.

Eventually the sun came up fully and everyone streamed out of their huts and out to whatever it is they did. Even though Windelwind only had one hundred people, it was still hard to keep track of what they all did. Some left town completely. Fira envied them. She couldn't wait until she was thirteen and old enough to leave on her own. She never thought it fair that it was literally impossible for anyone younger than that to get through the protective barriers without an adult. Once she ran through the woods just to see how far she could go. She made it about one hundred yards past the clearing she trained in, and suddenly found herself smack dab in the middle of town square, right on top of the six-foot-tall statue of their founder Madam Windelwind. It was always embarrassing having to climb down when all watching knew that she had been trying to leave.

Fearing being asked about what she was going to do that night, Fira ran back home, grabbed her broom, and took off into the sky. The sky barrier was really high so the eight year olds beginning flying lessons could have some room to practice. Eight year olds constructed their own broom shortly after their birthday, and within a few months could zip through the skies over town. Fira's broom bent halfway up, but it was the still pretty fast. She went about to the top of the tree line and floated for a bit, finding it amusing to watch the little people go about their day. She was a fair flyer; nothing too spectacular—not like Vornay.

Fira slowly made her way around town a few times as well as over the trees. As the sun rose higher the nerves got worse. When she got hungry she went back home where Ailith was just getting up.

"Want oats for breakfast?" Ailith asked as she looked through one of the many cabinets in the small house. "Or maybe something more substantial. It is—well you know what day it is."

Fira shrugged. "I'm good with oats."

"Ok, because I just want to make sure that you are in fact good with oats. I have some eggs and I can find some meat if you want that instead. I think Yura has some—of course he does, he has all the animals—well not all the animals—you know right? We see them wandering all over the . . ." Ailith noticed Fira's sympathetic expression and stopped. "What?"

"I think I'm the one who's supposed to be nervous." Fira reminded her.

Ailith waved the thought away. "I'm not nervous." She bit her lip and looked anxiously out the window. "Oh my, everyone's already gathering."

Fira flipped around. No one was gathering. A few people milled about, but that was normal for any morning.

"I think you need to lie down." Fira advised. "I'll wake you when it's time to go."

Ailith continued to stare out the window. "I didn't train you very well. If you mess up its all my fault."

"Well you couldn't actually train me." Fira said, slightly annoyed that Ailith would bring up the possibility of failure. "The ability I chose doesn't match up with yours at all."

"I know, but if it all goes south—"

Fira jumped up and ran to the door. "I think I'll lie down then. Or maybe I'll wander, I don't know."

It was a long and horrible day as Fira attempted to find some way to pass the time. She and Rupall walked around the lake twice. The whole time she made rocks teleport out into the middle of the water. A few times she thought really hard of them with a big bushy tail, and each time was surprised at how easy it came now. When it was clear that teleporting rocks had been mastered, Fira turned her attention to Rupall. He didn't look terribly pleased to be practiced on again. On the first try he teleported from the ground right into her arms with a small flash of light. It was such a great feeling that she refused to do anymore for fear of tiring herself out mentally before the party that night. Performing magic was eighty percent mental—or maybe it was ninety-five percent mental, she could never remember which way the old saying went.

As she finished her second lap and headed toward home Vornay dropped out of the sky as she often, and annoyingly, did. The fat little wren sang as it fluttered around the two of them.

"Tonight's the night." Vornay cooed in a faux sympathetic way. "I wonder if anyone's ever died during a last-nine-day party. I doubt it, but it's always nice to be the first person to do something."

Fira clenched her fists automatically at the sight of Vornay. Rupe jumped onto her hat and hissed at the wren.

"Why are you so mean? I never said anything like that before your party."

"Oh really? If I remember right you said: 'I hope you fall off your broom and break your neck.'"

Fira tried not to smile. That did sound familiar.

"Don't pretend like you're better than me." Vornay said.

"Why? You pretend to be better than me."

"I'm not pretending."

Fira quickened her pace toward home.

Vornay flew a few circles around her and then took off into the air.

It didn't matter what Vornay said. Fira successfully teleported Rupall and was going to do great at the party.

Feeling thoroughly pleased with herself, Fira took a nap until early evening. When she got up everyone really was gathering. The stage had been erected on the edge of town near the base of the northern mountains.

Ailith came in with a clean dress, violet like all the others, and a few words of wisdom.

"You will do great. Nobody expects you to be a master. This is just to show everyone what ability you've chosen."

Fira quickly changed, grabbed Rupall, and started out.

First, she took her familiar over to the statue in the center of town.

"Remember the plan. When I get on stage I'm going to teleport you to me. It'll only be a few minutes from now. After that we can eat and party and forget about how stressful this all was, alright?"

Rupe nodded and flicked his tail happily.

"Wish me luck."

A few minutes later she was behind the stage. The crowd murmured curiously as the mayor, Mr. Brighton, reminded everybody how everything was going to work. They all had heard the speech so many times many could recite it by heart. Fira, however, couldn't seem to remember any of it, and wasn't paying the least bit attention to what the mayor was saying. She was busy drying her sweaty hands and pacing uncomfortably while waiting for her name to be called.

Over the past few weeks the fear of that moment when she took the stage ebbed and flowed depending on how she was doing in practice, or just how she felt. While waiting backstage it flowed without end. She grabbed her pointed hat by the brim and pulled it down over her ears, hoping for some relief from whatever the mayor was saying and the random cheers from the crowd.

Suddenly a very large cheer broke out that she couldn't hide from. At first she wondered what in the world he could be telling them to get that much of a reaction when she heard her name being called again and again.

"Fira . . . Fira! Why, perhaps she's invisible."

She jolted uneasily up the stairs, her hands furiously pulling the hat from around her ears. It wouldn't go without a fight. With a hearty tug she pulled it clean off her head and stumbled into view.

For several painful seconds she stood in the center of the stage with her hat out in front of her and her back hunched over mid stumble. She quickly straightened up, put her hat back on her head, and stared out at the sea of people. Windelwind may have only had one hundred residents, but it sure looked like ten thousand to her. Ailith must have been out there somewhere, but Fira missed her in the brief sweep of the crowd. Instead she came eye to eye with Vornay. She had her fancy well-made broom in her hands and the most condescending expression imaginable on her face. Fira's eyes lingered angrily on her bitter rival. It gave her just enough hate to temporarily drown out the embarrassment of her entrance.

"Fira! The night before every witch turns ten they perform their chosen childhood ability that they will take with them into adulthood. You had quite a few to choose from. If I recall correctly you have shown proficient ability to float, enchant sticks, and even teleport rocks. These can all be honed in the years to come and be applied to many areas. Are you ready to show us which you've chosen?"

A cheer from the crowd answered for her.

Fira took a deep breath and looked out over the heads of those gathered to where she could just make out the statue in the dying light.

"Yes I am." She announced, her voice shaking.

"Then let's get to it. Fira's ability, everyone!"

The mayor stepped down from the stage.

The girl stared steadfastly out at the statue; where she could just barely make out the squirrel sitting on top. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself and began picturing a rock in her mind.

Suddenly she noticed how quiet it was. No one made a sound. She hated the cheering, but at least then everyone was occupied and not staring at her.

A few more deep breaths. Rupall's tail twitched back and forth. She could see the movement.

If only someone would see something amazing in the sky and they could all turn towards it. Anything would do. A phoenix maybe, or a meteor hurtling toward them.

Fira closed her eyes. The rock was shiny and round. It sprouted black fur and a squirrely tail. She was almost ready.

Someone coughed. Why did they cough? Were they bored? Was she taking too long?

She thought hard on the flash of light. It had been so easy to do—to the point where she didn't even need to think about it. But now she was. What color would it be? How big could she make it? Didn't she need to surround the rock with the light in her mind? Did she before? She couldn't remember. How did it work again?

"A-hem."

Fira opened her eyes without meaning to. She recognized that voice. Vornay was in the front row kicking the dirt. Their eyes met again. Vornay looked pleased with herself, as if Fira already failed.

No! It wasn't over yet. It hadn't even started yet. Fira closed her eyes again and pictured the rock and the flash of light. She wondered what horrible colors her dress was turning.

Murmuring broke out. Again she recognized the voice. Vornay was saying something nasty to one of her little friends. Someone tried to shush her but she only got louder.

"Standing still is not an ability."

For a brief moment Fira wondered if jumping off the stage on to Vornay could be considered an ability.

"I'll bet she'll fake it—pretend she did something far away or something. She's so stupid. I'll bet she'll go like her parents before she's thirteen."

Fira's eyes flew open. Rage filled her body like white hot lava. Make fun of her—alright. Make fun of Rupall—less alright but not terrible. But no one makes fun of her parents, especially after what happened to them. If Vornay wanted to motivate her then she did the trick.

Fira flung her hands out in front of her, keeping the statue centered in her vision. She concentrated and began to see the rock and the flash in her mind's eye. Wind started blowing from within. Her hat shot into the air and fluttered away. Several people braced themselves as the wind picked up and up and up.

All at once she unleashed everything she had.

Boom!

It sounded as if something exploded right next to her ears. A flash brighter than anything she had ever seen burst forth in front of her eyes. She shut them tight. Her feet left the stage. She tumbled through the air in every direction at once. Her body jolted this way and that, shooting through the air at a tremendous speed.

This all happened in a single second. With a loud smack she hit the ground, her limbs spread out. She immediately lost consciousness.

  3. Willy

The sun's light pushed in on her eyelids. A warm breeze made the trees sway and their leaves rustle noisily. Somewhere above, birds chirped and sang. A twig broke nearby—perhaps a little animal.

Fira slowly opened her eyes and immediately shut them again. A stream of sunlight shone through a gap in the trees right on her face. With great difficulty she got into a half sitting position, groaning from the pain of hitting the ground. When she finally managed to open her eyes fully, she took in her surroundings.

This wasn't a part of the woods that she recognized. The light was too strong and the green too green. In her woods the leaves were dull, they didn't shine like the ones here. And there was no whispering from these trees. They stood quiet and lifeless.

A crunching sound came from the base of a nearby tree. Her eyes shot a glance in that direction. Something disappeared behind the trunk.

"Hello?" She croaked. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Hello?" She said more loudly.

A face appeared from behind the tree. It was a little boy. He didn't look familiar.

"What's wrong?" Fira asked. She noticed he looked both scared and intrigued at the same time. "Come on."

Very slowly he made his way from behind the tree. His hair was light brown and he had on a well-worn tan shirt and pants, both slightly too large for him.

He came a little closer and then stopped, looking at Fira curiously.

"There was a loud noise last night." He said. "And a bright flash. I thought it might be an explosion."

Fira suddenly remembered what she had been doing the night before. The unfamiliar boy and surroundings gave her a sinking feeling. Had she teleported herself by accident?

"Where are we?" She asked.

"I was too afraid to see what it was at night." He continued. "But now I see it was you. Did you explode?"

"No, I didn't explode." She said, a little snippy. "How would I be alive if I exploded?"

The boy made a noise that sounded something like 'I don't know'.

Fira sighed. "How far are we from Windelwind?"

He scrunched up his face in thought. "Is that a place?"

"Yes."

"A windy place?"

"What—no! It's my town. It's where I live."

"I've never heard of it."

Fira's heart sank further. Where was she?

"Alright, where are we now? Are we near the . . ." She tried to think of the name of the mountains to the north of town, but realized that she never knew if they had a name. "The northern mountains?"

"No mountains near here."

Fira stood up, felt a little woozy, and grabbed a tree for support. "How is this even possible?" She said to herself. "I'm not old enough to get out of town alone." She turned her attention back to the boy. "What is the nearest town, then?"

He looked around as if one might suddenly appear before them. "There's a little village near here. It's just called the Southern Post."

Fira leaned against a tree, feeling thoroughly put out. "Someone in this town of yours might know the way. Maybe one of them can teleport. Of course if I could figure out what I did, I could just do that again."

The boy looked at her suspiciously. "Teleport?"

"Yes," She said curtly. "If not that then I can borrow a broom." A thought suddenly occurred to her. "Ugh! Vornay's never going to let me forget this. Maybe she did it. Nah, she could never have that much skill." She looked up at the boy, who had backed into a tree, looking terrified.

"You're a . . ."

Fira didn't catch on. "What's your problem?"

He pulled a necklace out from under his shirt, unsnapped something from the end of it, and held it out in front of him.

"I know what you are." He said mightily, brandishing the small something like a weapon.

"Are you alright?"

"A witch!" he yelled.

Everything seemed to go quiet.

Fira was starting to get annoyed. "Yeah, but did you have to yell?"

"You admit it!" He stepped forward, stretching his arms out as far as he could.

"What's your problem, kid? Haven't you ever met a witch before?"

Fira knew that she lived in the only full witch town, but she always figured that there were plenty of other witches all over the world.

"Of course I haven't." He said, his voice full of anger.

"Wow, I must have really gone far." She stared at his loathsome expression with a mix of surprise and humor. "What sort of stuff have you heard, then?"

"You're all evil."

"Evil?"

"But I'm prepared. My dad makes amulets and statues that ward off evil entities like witches." He showed off the thing in his hand. It was a little stone dog with red gems for eyes." He travels the world selling them to people. So you can't hurt me."

"Alright, first of all you stupid child: I don't want to hurt you. Secondly, we are not evil." She suddenly remembered Ms. Bleedmere. "At least most of us aren't. And finally, that stupid dog is not going to protect you from anything."

"That's enough." He yelled. "Be gone soulless devil!"

He threw the dog at her. It bounced off and landed in the dirt. She picked it up and examined its fine details.

"This is nice."

"Y-you're not dead."

"I know," she said condescendingly, "because I'm not evil."

"So then you're not a real witch." He sighed with relief. "Why didn't you say so? I'm sorry I threw that at you."

Fira smiled mischievously. "You don't think I'm a real witch?"

She looked down at the dog. With a bright flash of light, it disappeared.

"Whoah, you—OW!"

The amulet bounced off the boy's head and landed in his hands.

Fira tried hard to keep from laughing as a mortified expression came across the boy's face.

"You should hold on to that in case a real witch comes by."

"But—but you . . ."

"Yes, I am a witch." She said, sounding bored. "No, I am not evil, and no, that amulet does nothing. Now, let's get back to figuring out how I'm going to get home."

"There are good witches?" The boy said quietly, mystified.

"I could still fly if I could manage enchanting a tree branch or something."

"—but that doesn't make any sense—"

"Or I could buy a regular broom in this village and enchant that."

"—my dad lied? Does he know—"

"But without my hat I might catch the thing on fire or make it disappear."

"—what if there are other witches—"

"Hey kid." Fira called.

"My name is Willard!" The boy shouted indignantly.

"Calm down kid, stop yelling so much. I get it. Willy, can I get a br—"

"Willard! Only my mom calls me—"

"Whatever! Shut up! Stay focused, kid. I need to get home."

"Well how did you get here? Just do that again."

"I would if I could, but I don't know what I did. I might mess it up worse now."

Willy folded his arms and frowned.

Fira did the same. "Look, kid, if I could just get a br—"

"Stop calling me kid!" Willy stomped his foot. "I'm eight, you're not older than me."

"Actually, I'm nine, so I am—Wait! I'm ten. It's my birthday."

"Oh, happy birthday."

"No, it's terrible."

"Witches don't like birthdays?"

"This is the most important birthday of them all for witches. I should be there eating my fill, rubbing Vornay's face in my amazing teleporting. And instead, I'm in these awful dead woods with some tiny child and no way to get home!"

"I told you, I'm eight."

"I don't care."

Willy gave Fira a dirty look. "Fine then, I'm going home."

"What? You can't leave me here. You have to take me to town."

"I do not." Willy protested. "You're a witch. And besides, you haven't said one nice thing to me. My mom told me not to do anything for anybody who can't be nice."

Fira returned the dirty look. "Ok, I like your shirt. It's nice and baggy."

"That wasn't very nice."

Fira threw her hands in the air. "I've known you for like three minutes. You're the greatest little kid I've ever seen. You've got the best name in the world. Your hair doesn't look stupid. What more do you want?"

"I'll help you," Willy said warningly, "but only because I want you gone. Now come on, I'll need to stop by home first. I need to write my mom a note in case I'm not back when she gets home."

Fira followed Willy through the trees to a tiny dirt road. Past the dirt road were large fields, some of which were growing crops. He led the way down the road to an overgrown patch of trees. In the center was what looked like an old streetcar, refurbished into a small home. It had wild bushes surrounding it and ivy crawling up the sides. Several black statues of animals stood out front. Fira had never seen a streetcar in use and thought the little home was weirdly shaped.

They entered through the end. Though already cramped, it had those black statues all over the place. There were a few large ones and a bunch of small ones. They were carved into any and all animals imaginable. A tiny table with tiny chairs stood on their end. The other end had two thin beds smashed up against each wall. Another hung above their heads from the ceiling. The windows were down and the ivy crept in.

"It's nice." Fira said, casting a wary glance at all the statues with their creepy red eyes. "Where are your parents now?"

"Away." Willy said, squeezing past the table. "My dad travels and my mom's in town working till night."

"What does she do?" Fira asked. She always wondered what non magical people did for work.

"She works at the hotel. She cleans the rooms. You hungry?"

As soon as he said it she realized that she was starving. It had been hard eating anything the day before.

She nodded fervently.

He put a bowl of small hard pieces of bread on the table.

"Crackers." He informed, watching to see if she'd ever had any before.

They didn't have any taste, but Fira wolfed them down anyway.

"That's all we have for now. We don't have an icebox so mom brings dinner every night."

They sat for a bit. Willy strategically placed several amulets and statues closer to Fira. She had the sneaking suspicion that he wanted to see if she would suddenly die if she came in contact with a bunch of them. Meanwhile Fira looked over the place to find something that she could enchant to fly high into the sky and get a better view of her surroundings. There didn't look to be anything there that would fit the bill. There was a small carpet, and she had seen someone fly into town on one once, but she heard it was harder to enchant because of its larger surface.

"So what's being a witch like?" Willy asked, looking around for paper. "Do you get to fly around and curse people all day?"

"No." She said quickly. "It's probably not that different from what you do. Except—you know—we actually can fly around." She suddenly turned to him inquiringly. "Do you have any sort of power? I mean, are you really completely ordinary?"

"No one here has powers. You're the first person I've ever met that did. We hear stories, of course, but witches and goblins, and . . . whatever else are all mysterious and scary. A long long time ago there were witches around here I think, but they're all gone now."

Fira nodded slowly. "Yeah, I've been told that my town was founded by a witch who led a bunch of other witches away from a war or something. Maybe they came from here."

Willy shrugged. "Who knows." He found a scrap of paper and started looking for something to write with. "What was the deal with that birthday thing. Why was it so important?"

Fira found a pen on the floor and handed it to Willy, who began scribbling on the paper. "We have this thing called the last-nine-day party. It's the night before we turn ten. Turning ten is the most important time in a witch's life. Well, that's what my sister Ailith said anyway. Although she also told me eight was."

"Why is it so important?" Willy asked, putting the note on the table and motioning Fira to follow him outside.

"Nine is the last single digit age. That's considered really special. When a witch is born they can't control their powers. It grows in them until they are nine. All nine year olds have to wear a special hat that keeps the powers under control. Really bad things can happen if they don't wear it."

They left the streetcar and started down the small dirt path.

"And that's how you ended up here?" Willy asked.

"I don't know." Fira said, looking out at the fields to their left. "I got on stage to teleport my familiar and I got real nervous. I guess I lost focus or something and couldn't control it."

"You tried to teleport your whole family?"

Fira laughed. "No, my familiar spirit."

Willy gave her a look of total confusion.

"He's sort of my spirit guide—in the form of a squirrel."

That didn't seem to help.

"A spirit guide that tells you where to go?"

"He's—I don't know—my little buddy that helps me be a witch."

"Like a pet."

"Sort of, but he listens and gives me advice."

"He can talk?" Willy gasped. "That's cool."

"They don't talk." Fira bobbed her head back and forth, trying to figure out a way to explain something she never thought she'd have to explain. "Rupall—that's his name—he can make it known to me what he needs to say. I don't really know how, but I know what he wants me to know."

Willy seemed to think this wasn't going to end in a place that he could understand so he shrugged and moved on.

"That's neat. So this party thing, was there cake?"

"There would have been if I hadn't ended up here. After I teleported Rupall, the mayor was going to symbolically take off my hat and give me a real witch's hat. After that we eat."

The dirt road curved this way and that as though the builders were never sure which way they wanted it to go. After about twenty minutes of walking they could see smoke rising in the distance beyond a hill.

"That's it. We'll get a good view from the hill."

Once at the top a little village came into view. The houses were all wood with thatched roofs. They were much more uniform then the ones in Windelwind. The streets were muddy and carts pulled by horses splashed their way along. A bell chimed off to their right. Fira glanced over and saw a streetcar coming to a stop at a small station.

"There goes your house." She said.

Willy wasn't paying attention; he was busy thinking about where they could go to find someone who might be able to help.

"Nobody will think that you're a real witch." He said, more to himself than Fira. "But we can't be too sure." He looked her over. "Eh, I don't know."

"If I can just find a broom or something."

"Oh, I know!" He beamed. "Why didn't I think of it. It's perfect."

His excitement spread to Fira. "You know a good broom store?"

"Better. I know of someone who also doesn't fit in here. They're the craziest person in town. Everyone hates them because they claim to actually like witches."

"That doesn't seem so bad. Where are they?"

Willy pointed to their left. Dark and creepy woods climbed up a large hill.

"They live out there. They have a little shop."

Without further ado they both started towards the creepy woods.

Upon entering it seemed like the bright morning turned to late evening. Very few beams of light managed all the way down to the ground. A few birds chirped far away, but other than that it didn't seem like any animals were around.

The path through was covered by dead leaves. Willy led the way, hoping he knew which way to go.

After a few minutes they came to their destination. It wasn't much to look at. It was a wooden building right in the middle of the woods. A large tree stuck out the side of it. The walls had several holes where the wood had fallen away, there were cracks in all the windows, and mold grew along the edges.

"I've never seen it in person." Willy said, gazing at the odd building. "Is this what a witch's house looks like?"

"Most of the ones in my town are better kept."

She knocked hard on the door. It swung open. The inside was very different from the outside. The walls were gleaming with shelves full of strange little objects. Some reflected the light of the multitude of lit candles scattered about, while others were dull and dirty. A counter stood near the rear of the room, and it was also covered. Glass balls with glowing centers, a multitude of incense sticks all burning at once giving the place a powerful odor, and various sized boxes took up most of the space. A middle aged woman with long black and white hair sat behind the counter staring amorously at a book. She didn't seem to notice the door open, but she jolted to attention when the two kids stepped inside.

"Welcome—welcome, yes, come on in. It's been a bit since we had customers." She looked past them as if expecting more people. "Did your parents come with you?" She suddenly grew serious. "I don't like kids playing around."

"We're here on serious business." Willy announced.

The shopkeeper looked at him skeptically. "What sort of business?"

Willy swelled up importantly. "I hear this is the place to go to discuss witches."

The woman stared at them unflinchingly. "Get out."

"What? Why? I thought this was the place."

The woman gave a hearty fake laugh. "I know you. I've seen you with your dad in town selling those protective statues. You can't just come in here and make fun of me like this. And you!" She pointed a menacing finger at Fira. "Wearing a dress like that. I know how those little girls in town like to dress up like witches to scare everyone. Well it's not funny." She came from around the counter and started toward them. "You all think they're so evil and that I'm one of them. Well you can get on back to town and tell your father that this was real fun, but I ain't buying one of those statues and I ain't putting up with this. What's so wrong with being a fan of magic, huh?"

They backed up to the door, but Fira refused to be pushed out.

"I am a witch!" She shouted.

"Oh sure." The woman said. "Why don't you just leave me al—"

Her eyes widened with fright and she jumped backward.

Willy, thinking Fira was using dark magic, hurdled out of the way. It was only when he looked back that he noticed what happened.

Fira's dress had turned a startling shade of crimson. Her wild brown hair had come out of its bun and was floating upward as if in water.

"Oh my—oh my—oh my." The shopkeeper repeated over and over again. Her expression of fear turned to awe, and then quickly to pure joy. "You are—I mean, are you? You are! But how? Why? Where are we?"

"I need your help." Fira said calmly, her dress slowly returning to violet as her hair came back down. "I accidentally teleported myself here. I need to get home."

The woman made a loud squeal and ran back over to Fira, ringing her hand violently. "I can't believe it. I just can't. Do you know how many times I've fantasized about a witch walking through that door? About a million! And now it came true. AH!" She shrieked, making both kids jump. "What if I did it? What if my wishes and love for witches made you teleport here to see me?" She looked off into the distance dramatically. "What if I'm a witch?"

Fira forcefully removed her hand from the woman's clutches and rubbed it. "Yeah, think about that later. I just need a broom to fly up and see if I can see anything that looks familiar. Do you know of a witch town near here?"

The woman cackled jovially. "If I knew about a witch town anywhere, do you think I'd be sitting in this dump? Ok, it's not a dump, but I mean come on! Why would I not be trying constantly to get in."

"So do you have a broom?"

"A broom?! I've got all the brooms. Come on, let me show you."

She took Fira's hand again and pulled her behind the counter to the back of the room. Willy followed. The woman opened a small door to a closet. There were so many brooms that many of them fell out.

Fira picked up a random one. "This looks good."

"Is that the one? Is that the magic one? I've tried so many different styles hoping to make the magic one."

"It doesn't matter the style." Fira said, walking back to the front door.

"It doesn't?" The woman asked, put out.

Once outside Fira climbed on the broom. The woman and Willy watched eagerly from the doorway.

Fira thought about the broom lifting off the ground, but it didn't seem to want to. The seconds passed and nothing happened.

The woman's goofy smile began to fade. She glanced at Willy and then back at Fira.

"I'm sorry." Fira said finally. "I'm just a little nervous. Without my hat I'm afraid I might mess up worse than I did last night."

She closed her eyes and pictured the broom lifting into the air. She concentrated on her magic flowing forth and entering the broom, allowing her to control it. A slight breeze picked up. The leaves rustled. It sounded a little like the trees in Windelwind whispering. It made her feel like she was still there.

The broom began to feel more familiar. It was hard to explain, but it felt like it was slowly becoming her broom. The magic—her magic—must have gotten in.

With a deep breath she kicked off the ground. The broom flew straight into the air. For a brief moment it felt glorious. The air rushing past, the woman's wail of delight, and then . . .

SMACK!

Her head hit the canopy of trees. Branches broke and fell all around. The broom gave out and dropped quickly toward the ground. Fira's eyes flashed open. She tried to regain control. With a terrified jolt she managed to make the broom stop in midair only feet from the dried leaves and dirt. Her shaking body fell to the ground. She quickly jumped up.

"I'm going to try it with my eyes open this time."

The shopkeeper didn't seem to care if Fira was hurt or not. She was busy shaking Willy's shoulders. "Did you see that? She flew. It's real—she's real."

On the second attempt the broom lifted into the air without a problem. Fira slowly made her way through the branches, twisting and turning to avoid hitting any. She popped out above the trees and continued high into the air, much higher than she would have been allowed at home, stopping only when it grew too cold to continue.

The green of fields and forests went on almost endlessly. A little brown spot near the horizon may have been a desert, but other than that there were no mountains anywhere. Several little towns could be seen and a few roads wandered willy-nilly around them. She had no idea how she could have managed to teleport herself that far away. The only consolation was that she was finally certain that she had chosen the right ability to pursue.

Upon landing again Willy came up to her. "Well, did you see anything?"

"Nothing." Fira said sadly. She shook her head unbelievingly. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"I think I have an idea." The woman said, glowing with excitement.

Next to the closet was another door. This one hid a staircase that went up to a small bedroom above the store. It had quilts hanging on the walls and another as a rug. The woman went over to an ornate chest in the corner, fiddled around her pocket for a key, and opened it.

The only thing inside was a thin book with a hard leather cover and a gilded design on the front. The woman placed the book on the table and then looked at Fira expectantly.

"What is it?" Fira asked.

The woman looked put out. "You don't know? It's a spell book. Or at least I think it is. I've never been able to open it. I don't think anybody but a witch can. Here, look." She proceeded to pry apart the pages with no success. "See, here, you try it."

Fira took the book—it was heavier than she expected—and noticed that it emanated a feeling similar to the broom once she enchanted it. The difference was that this feeling was not familiar. It was very foreign, perilous even.

"I don't know. It has a weird feeling about it."

"That's how you know its powerful. Go ahead, open it. There might be a spell that can get you home."

Fira stared at the book's design. It had a large gold circle with several overlapping shapes inside it. "We don't get taught spells until we're sixteen. I could really mess something up."

"If you don't try then you may never get home."

The witch nodded slowly. Very carefully she opened the book.

The feeling of foreign magic shot through her with a burning intensity. She dropped the book on the table and backed into the quilted wall.

  4. The Magic Man

Black clouds thick as sludge spouted menacingly out of the book, hit the ceiling, and disappeared through it. Willy cowered in the corner, the woman stood rooted to the spot, smiling in amazement at what was happening. Fira edged closer, a fierce wind pushed back at her, and, as the woman right next to the book appeared unaffected, it appeared to only target the witch.

The last of the black clouds vanished through the ceiling and the room became still. They all looked at each other to see if the coast was clear.

"That was something else." The woman said happily. "This is the greatest day of my life."

Willy crept back to the table. "Have you ever seen anything like that?" He asked.

"Never." Fira said grimly.

"Let's see what's in here." The shopkeeper said, reaching for the book.

A bright spark erupted from the book as her hand got close. She backed away.

Fira touched a page. Nothing happened.

"That's not fair." The woman moaned.

Fira flipped to a random page. "'How to roast someone alive without them knowing.' This is a horrible sounding book."

The woman peered over Fira's shoulder. "Ooh, let me see."

"No." The little witch said, flipping to another page. "Here's something more reasonable. '10,000 uses for horehound', huh, I know one at least. Maybe it can get me home. She scanned the list but didn't see anything about teleporting home on there.

For the next half hour Fira looked through the book hoping to stumble upon something useful. The shopkeeper stayed close behind, occasionally whispering excitedly whenever something interesting came up. Willy sat on the bed and played with his amulet.

Fira closed the book hard after looking at the last page. "Nothing, unless I want to murder someone or heal conjunctivitis, whatever that is."

"I thought there were quite a few useful spells in there." The woman said, staring fondly at the back cover.

"I'm not sure why I thought it might help; I can't do spells yet anyway."

"Where did you get that thing?" Willy asked the shopkeeper, who had managed to pick up the book now that it was closed.

"I got it from—oh, hey there's an idea."

"What?" Fira asked, grasping hopefully.

"I got this from an old couple who lives in Eastgate. They may know something. They spent their youth scouring the planet for magical artifacts left from the war. They had all sorts of cool things. I got this book because it was the coolest they had at the time. They are also my only customers, or they used to be before they stopped traveling."

"Where is Eastgate? Can we get there today?" Fira asked.

"Probably not." Willy said. "It's a good days ride in a cart. Two or three on foot. You could take the streetcar, that's the last station, but it'll still take most of the day with all the stops."

"You can fly there faster than that." The woman said, clearly excited to see more flying.

Fira folded her arms. "I can't fly for very long at a time. I'd have to stop and rest a lot. It takes a lot out of me to just enchant the thing."

"The streetcar may be the best bet, then." Willy reasoned. "But I think the only one that goes all the way to Eastgate leaves in the morning. It'll already be gone by now."

"Then I'll go tomorrow." Fira sighed. "I guess exploring this strange magic-less place isn't the worst birthday imaginable."

"Oh, it's your birthday? Happy birthday." The shopkeeper said.

"That's terrible."

"How is that terrible?"

Fira once again explained about how when witches are young they have multiple abilities that will disappear by the time they are ten and they have to choose one to study and practice so it does not disappear.

"And you can only pick one ability? So you picked broom flying."

"No, every witch can fly, the ability there is the skill." She gave the wall a dirty look as she imagined Vornay flying around. "I chose teleportation. I was supposed to be teleporting my familiar Rupall, when I accidentally teleported myself."

"A familiar?" The woman said with a wide grin. "You really are a witch. I love it! I imagine he's a black cat."

"Black squirrel."

"Even better!"

The shopkeeper spent quite a while asking as many questions as she could. "Is there a school? Do you eat lizards? Did you know about unmagic people? How's the crime rate?"

Fira tried to ask her own questions, but the shopkeeper kept insisting that that place was far too boring to talk about.

"The only thing you need to know is that people here all think witches are evil."

They both glanced at Willy, who had been busying himself by playing with his dog amulet.

"But why do they think that?" Fira asked.

"Um." A confused look came across her face. "Old stories I guess. You know the ones; witches eating babies—cursing people. That sort of stuff."

"I've never heard of any witch doing that."

"Yes!" the woman cried. "Thank you. I knew witches were great. I may be related to one; way on up my family tree. My grandmother always told me about it."

"Alrighty then." Willy said, jumping up from the bed. "I need to get home. It's starting to get late."

It was hard to believe that it was afternoon already.

"Oh, yes . . . so the streetcar in the morning?" She asked Willy. "We're going on that?"

"Well my mom is leaving early tomorrow to go get my dad. He's in a town not far from here and she's going to meet him and come back with him. She'll be gone for at least two days so . . . I could."

"I wish I could go." The woman said longingly. "But I need to stay in case a customer shows up. But you're more than welcome to stay here tonight."

Fira had a feeling that would involve answering a lot more questions and showing off magic. She thought it better to stay with the boy that tried to kill her earlier.

"I think I'll stay with Willy, if that's alright."

Willy shrugged. "You can stay in my dad's workshop. I doubt my mom would let you stay in the house."

She weighed her options. "Sounds good enough."

Fira thanked the shopkeeper for letting her see the creepy book. She left the broom. Willy advised that it might not be welcome on the way. They headed out into the warm afternoon turning to evening.

"Wait!" The woman called from the door. "Which witch name sounds better for me: Madame Moonlust, or Ms. Bloodbone?"

"What's your real name?" Fira called back.

"Tiff."

"Go with that one."

The woods seemed extra sinister with the sun at their back casting strange shadows everywhere. Fira didn't notice it much as she was thinking about what Ailith and the others must be thinking now that she was gone a whole day. They were probably worried about her. She imagined Vornay telling everyone that she blew herself up. Though that may be what they all thought.

They came back out near the village. Willy decided to go see if his mother was still working. The hotel was on the other side of town. Fira was constantly watching where she stepped as she followed him through the muddy streets. It was quite a lively night. Lanterns had already been lit and quite a few people were walking about. The black statues that Willy's father made were everywhere. There was one outside every house and some in the windows as well. Smells of dinnertime met their noses. Fira immediately felt nauseated. It had been so long since she'd had a proper meal, and her body was angry.

"Is there any chance that your mom might let me have dinner with you?" She asked, trying to find the source of all the delicious aromas.

"That's why I'm going to see her." Willy said. "I want to tell her to pick up extra."

They came upon a group of ladies talking outside a house. Fira nodded cordially and was greatly surprised at their looks of distaste.

"Unlike you to be going around with someone dressed like that." One of the ladies said to Willy.

He pretended not to hear.

When they got past them he shrugged. "Forgot about that."

"I don't understand how I look that different from them?" Fira said, looking back at the plain dresses the ladies were wearing.

"There's a specific look when we think of witches." He said. "Thick purple dresses are pretty much it. Some of the little kids like to run around like that to scare people. Being afraid of witches is still a really big thing."

"You seem to handle it better now."

"I figure if you were evil you would have died when you went in my home, or when I threw this amulet at you. I'm still not convinced there aren't evil witches, but I see that you're not one of them."

A large man twice the size of them came up and gave Fira a very dirty look. "Can never have a nice night." He grumbled.

"Maybe I should learn how to curse." Fira said under her breath.

"We don't need a witch hunt." Willy said wisely. "Let's just get you home tomorrow and then you don't have to worry about what they say."

"You're pretty smart for an eight year old."

"Almost nine!" He said excitedly. "And my parents make me read constantly. They don't think the school in town is worth anything, so they pulled me out and make me read all my subjects. Do you have school? I know you told that lady that you didn't have one, how do you learn?"

"We get taught by our parents. I get taught by my sister now."

A group of kids not much older than Fira and Willy stopped chasing after a cart when they saw how the little witch was dressed.

"Why are you dressed like a witch?" A tall skinny one asked.

None of them looked as smart as Willy, and they were all dressed in mud stained overalls.

"Just for fun." Fira said casually.

"Witches aren't fun." Said a short round one. "Right, Willard?"

Willy nodded. "That's why I've got this." He held out his necklace.

"See, I'm not a real witch." Fira said, putting her arm up to the amulet.

"No one said you were real." The skinny one said dubiously.

"Right, well, it was nice seeing you all again." Willy said, steering Fira away.

"Don't mind them. They were the type that made my parents take me out of school. The teachers spent all their time punishing them instead of teaching us."

They finally came to the hotel. It was a three story building on the edge of the village. They went into the small lobby and Willy went right up to the woman at the desk. She had medium length brown hair and didn't look much older than Ailith.

"Mom, can you get some extra food tonight? My friend Fira's parents are out of town and she needs some dinner."

"Another one of your old classmates?" His mother asked, looking quizzically at Fira's dress.

"Yep."

"Good. I like that you're still hanging around with them."

"Uh-huh. I just saw Minx and Lun too."

Her face dropped. "Are they still chasing carts?"

"They are."

"Well I see that you haven't been, so that's good." She turned her attention to Fira. "It's very nice to meet you, dear. But, um, why are you dressed like a witch?"

"I—you know—I."

She waved her hand carelessly. "It's alright. I dressed up like that when I was young, too. It scared my mother so bad. She was deathly afraid of witches. She had this weird idea that I might get taken in the night by one."

"That—that sounds like something they'd do." Fira said awkwardly.

"Any who. Go on home before it gets too dark. I'll be there when I can."

The walk back from the hotel wasn't so bad. Willy thought it better to go along a back street with fewer people. No one gave her a dirty look there.

When they got back Willy showed Fira the workshop. It was behind the house in the thick of the overgrown patch of trees. A small path had been carved out, but it was still hard to get to. Half-finished statues were scattered about inside. A few tools were out, but most were in the closet in the back. There was very little room amongst all the statues. Willy pushed some around until there was enough to lay down. He then went and got an extra blanket and pillow from his bed.

"Is this alright?"

Fira shrugged. "It's only for one night. It'll be fine."

The two of them waited in the streetcar for Willy's mother, who preferred to be called Mrs. Minday, to come home. She came in with a bag full of freshly cooked food. Fira dug in the second it hit the table.

"Didn't you have lunch?" Mrs. Minday asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Fira said through a mouthful of beef, "but it was so long ago."

"So who are your parents?"

It was clear by the look on Willy's face that he hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Her parents left her with her aunt for a few days." He said quickly. "You know that lady with the shop outside of town, in the woods?"

"Oh, that one obsessed with evil stuff? It makes sense now why you're wearing that."

"Witches aren't hated that much where I'm from." Fira said, grabbing more food from the bag and filling her plate with it. Everything tasted so good.

"And where is that?" Mrs. Minday asked.

"Far away." She replied.

"I probably wouldn't have heard of it. I don't travel that much."

"So mom, how was your day?" Willy asked, attempting to steer the conversation away from the witch.

"Same as always." She said drearily. "But I'm excited to see your father tomorrow. I'll be leaving on the earliest car to Northgate. We'll be back in two days. You'll be alright that long?"

"I've been alone longer."

"Remember, you can always stay at the hotel if you get scared out here. I asked my boss and he said it was fine."

"I'll be fine." He said quietly.

She turned her attention to Fira. "You'll be going back tonight? I imagine your aunt will start worrying if you're out too late."

Fira tried to say she would, but her mouth was so full that only a garble came out. She swallowed. "I'll be going back in a few minutes."

"Good."

After eating her fill, and most of the food, Fira thanked Mrs. Minday and left. She started down the road towards town and then doubled back to the workshop. It was pitch black and she stumbled on bushes and tree roots before finally coming to the little building. It was a little scary being out there all on her own, but she could see the light from the streetcar from the workshop window. Unfortunately, it illuminated the disturbing red eyes on some of the statues. They all looked like they were staring at her.

Every little noise outside made her jump. She calmed herself and eventually got to sleep.

Fira woke before dawn the next day. She jumped up from the hard floor, placed the pillow and blanket on the table, and watched to see if Mrs. Minday had left already. She couldn't make anything out in the little house.

She decided to go out and get a better look. The first rays of light made the path back just visible enough to see. The streetcar was dark and silent. She made her way to the road and looked both ways. Just as she was about to head back to the workshop to wait, she felt something odd coming from the field in front of her. There didn't look to be anything out of the ordinary, but she could clearly feel a sensation similar to the book she looked at the day before. It was familiar, and yet very foreign. For a brief moment it felt like home. And then she realized why.

It was indeed the feeling of magic. The sensation had been so pervasive in Windelwind that she never noticed it. Now that she was gone, it became very noticeable. The broom, the book, and now whatever it was that she was sensing all had the same feeling. It stuck out so well. She could pinpoint the exact spot in the field where it emanated. And yet there appeared to be nothing there.

Without hesitation Fira climbed over the small fence and started towards it. As she got closer it got stronger. It pressed in on her and made her feel heavy. Whatever this was it was very strong. It was something like a foul stench, but instead of it passing through her nose, it came into her mind.

She stopped. A patch of air about twenty feet away looked out of place. It swirled mysteriously. She tried to focus in on exactly what she was seeing, but was unable to. It looked somewhat like the surface of very clear water floating a few feet above her head.

Suddenly it shifted. It quickly took the shape of a person and then out of it appeared a man. Fira was so shocked she couldn't move at first. The man was a good seven feet tall and extremely thin. He wore a small vest and short pants, both covered in dried leaves. His skin was tanned, as though he spent all day walking in the sun. He had a small round face and his features looked smushed together. It bore a devilish expression.

The pressure of the magic grew exponentially. She had trouble breathing.

"Hi there." He said with an attempt at a friendly smile.

Fira found the use of her legs and quickly backed away, unable to take her eyes off this man.

"I'm Torbst." He said. "And you are?"

Fira had no intention of answering.

"Fira, right?"

She slowed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Torbst." He repeated.

"No, I mean who are you? How do you have magic?"

"Is that so odd?"

"It is here."

He chuckled. "And yet . . . here you are."

She quickened her pace backward, still unable to look away.

"I think I'll be going. I'm sorry I bothered your field."

"It's not mine."

"Well then I guess we should both leave."

"Don't you want to know how to get home."

Fira backed into the fence. "I'm doing alright, thanks."

"I can get you back real quick. It'll only take a second." He held out his hand for her to grasp.

Fira looked away long enough to climb over the fence. She made sure to keep the man in her peripheral vision. "You look busy. Go help someone else." She backed up until she was only a few feet from the streetcar.

Torbst remained on the other side of the fence.

"The people here don't like us." He stressed. "We shouldn't be here. Let's both go back to where we belong, huh?"

"No thanks." Fira said bravely.

He shrugged. "If you insist. But if you ever need me just say the words. I'll come running."

With a small blip he vanished. The oppressive feeling went with him.

Fira took a few deep breaths; her hands shook uncontrollably. She glanced over at the black stone bear beside her and then went back to the workshop.

A minute later the door swung open and Fira panicked. She threw her hands out and with a strong force the door slammed shut. A pained cry followed.

"It's me!" Willy yelled.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Fira pulled the door open and found Willy on the ground, holding his head.

"Never sneak up on a witch . . . noted."

"I'm sorry." She repeated. "You startled me."

"I'm sure glad I wasn't my mother. That wouldn't have gone over well."

"Is she still here?"

"She just left. Our car leaves pretty soon. We should get going."

A few minutes later they started down the dirt road towards town.

  5. Eastgate

Fira couldn't keep it in any longer. She told Willy what happened as they walked down the road.

"That's bizarre." Willy said when she finished. "And you don't know who he was? He wasn't sent to help you?"

"He felt . . . I don't know how to say this, but . . ."

"Evil." Willy finished.

Fira nodded slowly. "That magic didn't feel good."

"Let's hope he's gone for good."

The little witch didn't respond. She had a terrible feeling that he'd be back.

It was hard to avoid stares when they got into town. Just like Windelwind, a lot of people were coming and going in the morning. The small station was packed, and a purple witch dress really stood out. She quickly grew annoyed with the whispers, and tried very hard to stay calm. There would be trouble if her dress suddenly changed colors.

Willy went up to the ticket window and bought two tickets for Eastgate. He jingled a small coin purse.

"Birthday money." He said proudly. "It's nice to finally have a chance to spend it."

It didn't take long for the Eastgate bound streetcar to arrive. Willy fought his way to the front of the line, losing Fira in the process. She got bumped and jostled to the back. Her dress momentarily darkened; no one seemed to notice. She got on last. Thankfully Willy had saved her a seat all the way in the back.

The car took off with a jolt. The town quickly passed by the window and they were out amongst the fields.

"This feels a little like flying." She noted excitedly. "Except I don't have to do anything."

Willy shushed her. They definitely didn't want anybody asking questions in such a crowded and cramped space.

"It's really interesting," she continued in a low voice, "that your transportation can accommodate so many. Can't fit this many on a br—"

"Shut up!" He hissed.

Fira noticed a man standing nearby staring at her. She looked out the window at the hills they were traveling through.

The streetcar made many stops. Every few minutes it slowed. It hardly ever felt like it reached its full speed. Many of the stops weren't even at stations, but sorry pieces of wood with a sign in the middle of nowhere. There were still plenty in towns, though. All of them were small, none of which had a visibly tall building.

The novelty of the experience quickly faded for Fira. The constant slowing made her feel sick. It got better, however. After about an hour the streetcar was mostly vacant. Willy went through a door into a small back room. He came back with two bowls of vegetable soup.

"They don't open it until we get far along." He said of the café. "I couldn't afford anything else, not if we wanted to get back."

"Thanks, this is great." Fira said, digging in. "And thanks for coming with me. I know I was a little short with you yesterday and this is awfully far away for you."

"I'm helping a—" He suddenly blushed and looked around. No one was anywhere near them. "A witch find her way home." He whispered. "How cool is that? I could live to one hundred and never have this chance again. That's what my dad says. He says that I should jump at any exciting opportunity because it may have great rewards—or something like that."

"Your dad?" Fira smiled. "The one that wants witches dead so much he makes statues that are supposed to kill us?"

"Evil ones." Willy reminded her. "Obviously not the good ones."

"Of course."

"But, I do have one spipinat—stipunatio—stip—One thing I want from you. I want to see your home one day. I want to see a witch town."

"The likelihood of that is very low. If I knew how to get back and forth I would."

"Maybe this old couple will teach you. And then you can bring me. Are they afraid of non-witches there?"

"No. At least not that I've ever heard. Maybe I'll learn about it one day, but I don't really know now."

"Then let's hope they don't."

Her nausea settled down after the soup and after the train stopped making so many stops in a row. It never did reach a great speed. Fira wondered if she would have been better off flying.

The morning passed away and the afternoon with it. As the car made its final slow into the final station, a large old gray stone wall came into view. It had cracks and holes in it.

"What's that?" Fira asked.

"That's the old wall. I think it was meant to keep evil spirits out. See up there?" He pointed to a tower poking up along the wall. "It has several protective statues. The whole wall does. My dad studied those when he first began making his own. And that," he pointed to a large empty gateway, "that's the east gate."

"Couldn't a witch just fly over the wall?"

"Sure, but there are more evil entities than just witches."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Goblins, trolls . . . other things."

"I've never seen a goblin or a troll. I've heard of them, just never seen any."

The station came into view and they readied themselves at the door. Only one other person was left to get off with them.

They hopped down and took in the view. The buildings in Eastgate were much different than any of the other ones they had seen that day. Almost everything was made out of white marble: the buildings, the streets, even the benches at the station. Towards the center of town stood the most imposing structure Fira had ever seen. It was also the only thing there not made of marble. It looked to be a temple of some sort. Two towers rose high into the air on either end of the building.

Willy noticed Fira's expression of awe. "That's the Greatest Temple. That's what it's called. Each of the four gate towns has one, and as you can tell by the name; that's the greatest."

"What's it for?"

"Last time I was here we went for a tour. I don't remember much; I was little, but I remember something about it being a place for everyone to worship before the big war. Before the magic people left."

"That war." Fira said, unable to take her eyes from the temple, "I wonder what caused it."

"I guess we'll have to ask that old couple. Hopefully we can get there tonight." He made an annoyed growl. "And guess what we forgot to ask that crazy lady?"

Fira's heart dropped. "Surely we can ask someone here where two witch loving old people are."

Willy set off to do just that. The first person completely ignored him. The second walked away when he mentioned who he was looking for. Finally the third person pointed in a general direction and said: "somewhere that way".

It was a start. They started down the marble street in hopes of finding an obvious house that looked worn down and maybe a little sinister. There was no such luck. They came to the edge of town. A dirt road stretched between two hills and disappeared beyond them.

"The other lady wasn't in town, they might not be either." Willy reasoned. A kid their age sat on a doorstep nearby. Willy went up to him. "You don't happen to know where an old couple who likes witches lives, do you?"

The kid didn't look too pleased to be talked to. He pointed to the hills. "Out there."

It made sense. They went along the dirt road between the hills.

It was a long walk that somehow managed to be just as eerie as the woods they had to go through the day before. Dead trees were scattered about and the ground was black as though a fire had recently been put out. It started getting dark when a light flashed on somewhere ahead. A lantern hung from a post. A two story house sat behind it. It didn't look nearly as dilapidated as the shop that Tiff ran.

Fira knocked on the door. Footsteps could be heard inside. The door swung open and a very old man looked out at them. He was hunched over so much that he was nearly their height. "Yes?" He inquired. He looked shocked when he noticed Fira's dress. "Oh, we have a witch."

"How did you know?" She asked.

He laughed. "Well what else could you be?"

"But how did you know I was real?"

"Real?" He took a step back. "You claim to really be a witch?" He asked dubiously.

"We were sent here by Tiff; that lady with the store in . . . wherever it is."

"Yes—yes, I know Tiff. And she sent you here?"

"Yes, she said you might be able to get me home. See, I accidentally teleported myself away from my town; it's called Windelwind, and I ended up—"

"Wait—wait—wait!" He snapped. "Windelwind?"

"It's named after—"

"I know who it's named after." He croaked. "I've never heard anyone but my wife ever utter that name. No one knows about her here. You . . . show me something magical. Quick, do something or I'm closing this door for good."

"Uh, ok." Fira said, growing excited. If they knew of Windelwind then they already knew more than the shopkeeper.

She focused on a rock on the ground nearby. She imagined it disappearing and reappearing in her hand. It did just that. She showed it off to the old man.

He scoffed. "Please, any would-be magician can do that. Give me something real. Something powerful."

Fira danced on her toes. "That's uh—that sounds dangerous. See, usually I have this hat that controls—"

"I'm closing the door!" He yelled, dramatically bringing the door towards him.

"Ah! I'll try something."

She concentrated on the old man. She imagined him disappearing. He looked back at her suspiciously. She knew perfectly well it would be nearly impossible for him to actually disappear; she only wanted to conjure up the wind that came when she concentrated hard on something difficult.

Nothing happened.

"You're running out of time." The old man crooned, slowly closing the door.

"Wait!" The little witch bellowed. She threw her arms toward the door. With a great force it sprang back open, knocking the old man down. "I need your help!" Her dress turned a rich scarlet and lightning lashed the sky above, illuminating the darkening night. "I'm lost and I have no way to get home. Please help me."

Large raindrops splashed all around. The lightning grew in intensity. Thunder clashed loudly above. It took a second for her to realize what was happening. The first thing she noticed was that she just knocked over an old man. She stooped down.

"I'm so sorry."

Her dress turned back to purple and the storm dissipated.

The old man smiled broadly. "Did you see that, Clarice?" He yelled. "We have a witch. A real live witch."

An old woman shuffled into view behind him. "I sure did. That was excellent. Do it again."

"Oh please do." The old man said, struggling to his feet with Fira's help.

"I can't control it. I might set the whole place on fire."

"Hah, we did that the other day." He said, gesturing outside. "We're always trying to create potions and one did a wallop to our yard . . . and everything else nearby."

Together Fira and Clarice helped the old man into a chair at a nearby table with plates still out for dinner.

He huffed and attempted to catch his breath. "I'm Bendly." He said, shaking Fira's hand. "It's a real honor to meet you."

"I'm sorry I interrupted." She said, noticing the plates and bowls of food.

"Nonsense, sit down dear." Clarice said, pulling up a high backed armchair chair from the living room.

"I can't just barge in like this."

"Sit!" Clarice demanded. "I want to eat with a witch. I have some more on the stove. I'll go get it."

She refilled bowls of sliced potatoes and cooked spinach.

"That should be enough."

Fira sat down in the old chair and accepted a plate from Clarice. She quickly started on the potatoes.

Both Clarice and Bendly suddenly noticed Willy standing awkwardly in the corner.

"And who are you?" Bendly asked.

"That's Willy. He helped me get all the way out here to see you." Fira explained.

"Well come and sit down." Clarice said, going to get another chair from the living room.

He helped her pull a high backed armchair up to the table.

The old couple listened intently while Fira recounted everything that happened to her, starting with the last-nine-day-party, and making sure to describe the scary man she met that morning. When she finished they looked at each other knowingly.

"Interesting." Bendly said slowly.

"Very." Clarice added.

"And?" Fira asked hopefully.

"We haven't any idea on that man you met." Clarice said.

"But the other stuff—about the teleporting—that we've heard of." Bendly said.

"Really?" Fira cried.

"Not exactly like that." Bendly clarified. "We met an old witch a long time ago and she said that she accidentally did something or other and ended up here. She never did get back."

"Never?" Fira sank low into her chair.

"Ah," Clarice said, "but that was in the beginning of our travels. We've come across many magical artifacts since then. Some of which might help you. We have several magical books that we can't open. That might be useful."

"I tried a book at Tiff's. It just had spells for killing people and a few medicinal things. Nothing to get me home."

"Try our books. I think we have a good collection."

After dinner Fira and Willy helped the old couple clean the dishes and put them away. It was turning into a nice night. The windows were open and the lovely sound of—

"Hold on. How do you know about Windelwind?" Fira asked as they moved the chairs back into the living room.

"Read about her." Clarice said offhandedly.

"But you can't open the books." Fira noted.

"Not the magic books." Bendly said. "In old history books about that time. They don't make them anymore—books about that time. All anyone knows now is that there was a war and the magic people left. How do they talk of the war there?"

"All I know is that there was one." Fira said with a shrug. "Can you tell me about it?"

"Ooh, sit tight dears; we've got a story coming." Clarice beamed.

"Now then." Bendly began. "A long time ago the magic and the unmagic people of the world lived in harmony—more or less. In the earliest days—"

"Honey, it's going to take all night if you start back that far." Clarice said.

"Fine." He muttered. "Not too long ago the two groups split into magic and nonmagic groups. It was clear that neither group liked the other, and so they naturally felt safer amongst their own kind. The magic folks thought that the nonmagic folks plotted to kill them all because they were jealous of their powers. Makes sense. The nonmagic folks thought that the magic people were going to kill all of them because they wanted to get rid of anyone lacking the powers. Also makes sense, I guess. Anyway, a few magic people gathered their groups and led them away to make a world where no one had to live in fear. Windelwind was one such witch who brought together as many other witches as possible and then left. Nobody heard from any of them since. I suppose they were successful."

Fira thought for a bit before saying anything.

"Hmm, I wonder how many left. We only have a hundred or so in my village."

"Of course. The number of magic people was way lower than everyone else. There were maybe one hundred total then, too. It's just that when one hundred people have amazing abilities that no one else does . . ." he lifted his eyebrows expectantly, "problems can arise."

Clarice got up and went upstairs.

"So I wonder where they went." Fira mused.

"No one knows. I imagine they found a nice island somewhere and magically hid it from the rest of us." He leaned in close to Fira. "People fear you, here. Did you know it?"

"I figured that out. This kid"—she pointed at Willy—"tried to kill me when I first showed up."

Willy looked taken aback. "I was trying to see if you were evil or not." He pulled the little dog amulet from under his shirt. "I see now that you weren't."

Bendly laughed. "That didn't affect you at all?"

"Not a bit."

"Ha, those really are useless."

Willy gave Bendly a dirty look and put the amulet back in his shirt.

Clarice came heavily down the stairs, laden with three large books, all similar to the one Fira flipped through the day before.

"Here we are." Clarice said as she dumped the books on the couch. "I've always wanted to see these opened."

Fira could feel the magic emanating from them. She grabbed the largest one. It had a golden triangle on the front and a few shapes overlapping inside it. She flipped it open. It wasn't a spell book like the last one.

"Potions, I think." She said. Or maybe recipes. What do you think?" She held the book out for them to look at.

"Definitely potions." Bendly said. "Have you any experience with those?"

"No, I've still got a few years before I learn anything."

"It might be a good idea to forego those then."

Fira glanced through the rest of the book, but found nothing useful. The second book was slightly smaller in both width and height. It appeared to be a novel. Fira read a little bit of it, and put it aside as well. The third book was a collection of maps. This was very fascinating. All four of them had a good time looking over the old maps. Willy was able to trace their route that day. It wasn't until she looked at it that Fira noticed that the whole country was walled.

"Oh yes." Clarice said fondly. "The four gate towns were the only ways in. The whole wall was built before the war with magic and nonmagic working together. It was meant to keep out the raging beasts of the night."

"The what?" Fira asked.

Clarice waved her hand around casually. "All the scary creatures that were meant to harm humans. There were trolls and cyclopes, goblins and golems, reapers and demons. Basically everything you'd ever heard in a scary story. How many were real? Eh, who knows. Some must have been, I suppose. They all either died or left. Not much scary out there now. After the war the nonmagic folks put up all those grotesque statues to ward away the witches and sorcerers and whatever else magical humans there were. Nothing was scarier than a magic human. A troll, sure it could crush you, but a witch could think like you. They could fit in without ever being noticed. That's why that dress is so terrifying to some. It was a symbol, as were long black robes and long thin pieces of wood. It's still around—the fear. Some say they'll return. They'll be back to kill everyone. It's not a question of if for them, it's when."

Fira felt a twinge of guilt for not realizing that the fear of her dress was that deep seated. She wondered if she should have changed into something else before riding a full streetcar out of town that morning.

"No need to worry, dear." Bendly said, reading the look on Fira's face. "We'll get you home soon. We have one more idea that just might do the trick. Two actually, but we hope not to have to rely on that second one."

The old couple led Fira and Willy out back. Up a small hill was a large stone that had a door on it. Bendly explained that a long time ago the two of them carved a space large enough to house the magical artifacts they found. The remnant magic in it was so powerful that they could no longer enter. Fira noticed that she didn't feel it as she did with the books or that strange man named Torbst that she met.

"Do you feel it, the magic?" Bendly asked. "We were told once that magic people could feel it."

"No." said Fira.

"Good. One of those old books we read said that a lead door would contain it. It's nice to finally get confirmation that it was money well spent."

Clarice opened the door and Fira almost fell over. Her breath caught in her throat. The oppressive force of the magic rivaled that of Torbst. It didn't have the negativity that Torbsts's magic made her feel. This felt neutral, as though it had been drained of its past connections.

"Now I feel it." She croaked.

"We also read that a witch like yourself should be able to absorb some of it, or harness it, or something like that. If you do, then maybe you can use it to teleport yourself back home."

"I don't know." Fira said slowly. "Not being able to control myself is how I got here."

Bendly nodded. "True, but you also had distractions. There will be none this time. This may be the best chance you have."

Fira took a deep calming breath and stepped into the hollowed out rock. The walls were lined with shelves full of empty bottles, faded pages, and little devices she didn't know the purpose of.

The magic felt wholly overwhelming in there. "I'll try something easy first." She yelled. The feeling pressed in on her ears. She wasn't sure if they could hear her normally or not.

She stood completely still and concentrated on her feet lifting off the ground. They did. She floated up a few feet and bumped her head on the hard ceiling. Floating worked. It hadn't come as easy as it used to when she was younger, but now it felt even easier. Maybe she was absorbing some of it.

All three watchers vocalized their astonishment in unison.

Next up was morphing one thing to look like another. It was another ability that once came easy and no longer did. It was very difficult, and it fell away quickly when she turned seven. As a five and six-year-old Fira enjoyed enchanting one tree branch to look like another. She would strip one of twigs and leaves, and then make them look identical. In the hollow she took two of the empty glass bottles with different shapes and sizes. Focusing on a rectangular one, she managed to morph it until it was round like the other. It was amazing to see that old, almost forgotten, power work again. Though, just like when she was five, it never looked exactly like the one she modeled it after.

"Alright." She yelled back. "I'm going to try it. If it works, then I guess I won't see you again. Thank you Clarice and Bendly, for letting me try this. Willy," she gave him a wry smile, "thanks for not actually killing me."

Willy looked back sadly. "Anytime."

Fira faced the back wall and concentrated with all her might on making herself disappear and reappear right next to the statue of Windelwind. She felt confident. There was no Vornay to mess things up this time. But then something creeped into her mind. The memory of tumbling through the air with the bright light in her eyes. It unnerved her. She tried desperately to make it go away, but it only grew stronger. Her hands shook. This was a mistake.

She tried to back out, to let the ideas in her head stay in her head. The magic was too strong—too volatile. A blinding light flashed before her eyes. Startled sounds from the others made it obvious that they saw it too. That scared her more than the light. What if she hurt them?

Something popped to her right. She couldn't open her eyes to see. And then something else popped. The sound of glass hitting a hard surface followed. The glass bottles were breaking. She had to get out of there. A brief image of the door closing, creating a worst case scenario of her being trapped, sped across her mind.

The door slammed shut, trapping her. Her own fears seemed to be fueling the magic. The muffled cries of the others scared her even more. They were trying to pry the door open, but in the moment she thought she had hurt them.

Fira fell to the ground and covered her head as the bottles shattered with more intensity and the little devices exploded all around. If only she could clear her mind and stop picturing horrible things, but it was too hard. The images kept roaring through her head.

And then she thought of the witch who once burned down houses in her sleep. This thought made Fira so angry. It was one thing to not be able to control the intense magic in there, not being able to control her own mind was extra infuriating.

The hollow burst with heat. She yelped and threw herself backward. The door wouldn't budge. A flaming ball took the place of the blinding flashed. The air grew too hot to stand within seconds. The lead door burned to touch.

Fira forced an image of the door flying open across her mind. With a great surge of anger and power she threw her hands on the door. It blasted off its hinges, flew over the house, and landed in the front yard.

The little witch ran out of the hollow and fell to the ground. The flame ball turned to smoke. The others, who had thankfully gotten out of the way to find something to open the door, were not around when it flew. They ran over to Fira and helped her inside.

  6. The Evil Witch

Clarice and Bendly ran around as fast as their old bodies would allow to get water for her to drink and to put her hands in. Willy stayed by her side, looking anxiously around. Fira groaned, unable to take her eyes off the burns on her palms. They weren't too bad, but they hurt tremendously.

The water felt good on her hands. She drank as much as she could and put her head back, still trying to catch her breath.

"We are so sorry." Clarice apologized, looking as though she was on the verge of tears.

"We never should have sent you in there." Bendly added, also looking close to crying.

"It's my stupid fault." Fira complained irritably.

"We almost killed you." Clarice retorted.

"Shut up!" Fira snapped. The heat and fear had taken a toll on her emotions. "I can't control it. I don't know why, but I can't. It was my fault, not yours. You were helping. I was too stupid to get it right."

Bendly sat down next to her. "Don't say—"

"I just . . . what was that other way; the one you didn't want to rely on?"

Clarice shifted nervously. "Remember that witch we mentioned; the one that never got home? Well, we know where she lives."

Fira looked at Clarice uncertainly. "What's wrong with her? There must be some reason you don't trust her."

Bendly sighed. "She's not that friendly."

"If she couldn't get home herself then I don't see how she would be of much help. I wouldn't mind talking to her, though. She might be able to help me control my powers."

The old couple shot each other furtive looks.

"When we say not friendly . . ." Bendly began.

"We mean really not friendly." Clarice finished.

"She hides away in a deep forest nearby. The years haven't been good to her. No one goes near her house. The townspeople all think that a witch lives there, but none of them are brave enough to find out for sure. If you go there, you might not like what you find."

Fira thought it over. "There's a chance," she began tepidly, "that this witch may not have ever been good at teleporting, and that's why she can't leave. Since we don't know where I could fly to, teleporting may be the only way. If she could give me a few pointers on how to control it, she may be helpful."

"I'm sure there's another chance somewhere." Clarice said.

Fira splashed the water in the bowl her hands were in inadvertently. "Where?" She said sharply. "I can't just stay here forever. It's been two days. My sister is probably worried sick. I can't do this on my own. I tried that—just now—didn't work out too well. If there is even the slightest chance she can help, then I need to go see her."

Both Bendly and Clarice nodded in understanding.

"You're right." Said Bendly. "Make sure you're careful around her. We'll tell you the way. You can go in the morning. It's getting late. We have a guest bed upstairs. Willy, do you mind the couch?"

Willy's eyes lit up. "I don't mind. It's bigger than my bed at home."

The old couple let them borrow some night clothes, which were much too big, and made up the beds for them. They put some ointment on Fira's hands and bandaged them up. Willy said goodnight and promptly went to sleep on the couch.

Fira found the guest bedroom upstairs. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared out the window for a long time. It was too dark to see anything, but she wasn't actually looking. All she could think about was why she couldn't control her magic. It made sense in the hollow where there was far more than she was used to. That wasn't the case on the stage that night. Why had it been so difficult?

The answer wasn't going to be found sitting there with her hands in pain. After a while she got under the dusty covers and eventually went to sleep.

Clarice woke them bright and early with the smell of frying bacon. Fira trudged downstairs feeling worse than the night before. Her hands healed completely overnight. She thought that was odd, and then remembered that her father was a healer and that it ran in the family. She never had a knack for it consciously.

Willy was already in the kitchen, bouncing on the balls of his feet near the wood stove, waiting for fresh bacon.

"How are you feeling, Fira?" Bendly asked from the table. He perused an old—evidently nonmagical—book.

"My hands healed overnight, so that's good. Other than that, not so great."

He smiled uneasily and went back to his book.

A few minutes later they were full of bacon and scrambled eggs, and about to set out for the witch's house.

"Are you sure you want to go, Willy?" Clarice asked. "You can stay here if you want."

"I'm sure. I'm excited to meet another witch."

Fira found that odd since only forty-eight hours before he thought them all soulless devils.

"It was very nice to meet both of you." Bendly said. "Willy, you should come back and fill us in on what happened after Fira gets home."

"Will do." The boy said.

They thanked them for letting them stay the night. Clarice came out with a sack of food for them and they started back through the scorched ground toward town. Bendly had told them to go through the east gate. There they would see trees to the north. A path would take them deep inside. When a fork appears, don't chose a side, head straight off the path. There they would find the witch's house.

The gate was easy to find. The archway towered over their heads. Willy counted ten protective statues along the wall in either direction. The trees were also an easy find. They could clearly be seen from the gate.

Neither child said much on the way there other than to point out where to go next.

The forest was dense with trees. The path was narrow with plants growing wild on either side. Some places they had to walk single file to get through.

The fork came up as promised. Fira took a deep breath and led the way off the trail and into the plants. It took a long time to navigate around bushes, through vines, and over large roots. They both tripped a few times, always managing to grab on to a tree for support.

Quite suddenly Fira was overcome with fear. She jolted to a stop and looked around. Torbst's dense magic felt like it was coming from somewhere behind them, over her left shoulder. She turned to look. It disappeared.

Willy looked as well. "What is it?"

Fira waited until she was certain it was gone. "I felt something."

"Something bad?"

"It's gone now, let's keep going."

She continued on carefully, attempting to pick up any feeling that was out of the ordinary.

"Mmm, do you smell that?" Willy asked.

Fira had been so preoccupied with sensing magic that she didn't notice anything else. As soon as Willy pointed it out it reached her nose. An aroma unlike any she'd ever smelled. It was absolutely divine. All at once she wanted to rush towards the source and gobble it all up, whatever it was.

"I need some." Willy went around Fira, moving quickly through the wild underbrush.

"Hold on." Fira said, grabbing Willy by the shoulders. "I know what's going on. I smelled something similar to that just the other day."

"Please tell me you have some on you. I need as much as I can get." He said dreamily. He tried to continue, but Fira held him back.

"Not yet."

She waited for the smell to turn sour, like it had in Windelwind, only it didn't. it stayed perfectly mesmerizing. Fira took a few steps closer. Beyond a clump of trees was a clearing. In the center stood an old shabby house. The whole thing had a downward arch to it, as if frowning. The wood was dark and moldy, the windows all boarded up. It was surrounded by a bubbling swamp that made strange sounds, not unlike hiccups.

"This looks like the place." Fira pondered aloud.

For a brief moment Fira was certain she felt Torbst's magic again behind them. She quickly turned and once again it vanished. She focused on the house and found that it too had an aura of magic to it, but it was quite weak.

"Let's go in." Willy said vaguely. "I want some of it."

"You don't even know what it is."

"Who cares. It's got to be great."

The door creaked open, making Fira jump. She jumped again when she saw what stood there. A small ancient looking woman with a heavily misshapen face and long claw-like hands stepped out. She had wisps of white hair on her head, partially covered by a hood. Her dress was thin and holey.

The woman looked just as surprised as Fira. "Oh," Her voice was weak, barely audible, "hello."

"Um, hi." Fira said awkwardly.

"It smells good, doesn't it?"

"Yes!" Exclaimed Willy.

"My name is Fira." The little witch said. Something nagged at her, preventing her from explaining what she was doing there.

"Beautiful name. I am Ms. Bleedmere. Won't you come inside? I can give you some wonderful cookies."

"Bleedmere?" Fira asked. "I know someone with that name."

The old witch looked taken aback. "And how is that?"

Fira pushed through the nagging sensation. "In Windelwind. That's where I'm from. There's a Ms. Bleedmere there."

The old witch's eyes widened. "You're a witch. You know my sister Arga. I am Plura Bleedmere. But how—how did you possibly get here?"

"That's why I came to see you." Fira explained. "I'm hoping you can help get me back. I accidentally teleported myself here during my last-nine-day party."

Plura cackled cuttingly. "Last-nine-day party? I almost forgot about those. What did I do for mine? Ah, I think I poisoned some water. Yes, that was it. They didn't like it one bit, but I said: 'its defensive. I would never use it to actually harm anyone'. And you know what? They believed—" She stopped and grinned, showing all three of her teeth. "Never mind all that, come along inside for those cookies."

"Yes, ma'am." Willy said, breaking free of Fira's hold and bounding along a thin dry path amongst the mud and inside.

This definitely didn't seem like a good idea, but she was desperate. Fira followed warily.

The inside wasn't as bad as the outside, though that wasn't difficult to do. A few hard, chipped chairs were scattered about. A table was covered in half chopped up plants and a few dead rodents. A cloth hung loosely in a doorway blocking a back room from view.

"Where are the cookies?" Willy asked, put out that they weren't there waiting for him.

"You're so impatient." Plura said. "Go sit down and I'll get them."

The two children found chairs that weren't too wobbly and waited. Fira glanced around nervously. This didn't look like a place she wanted to spend too much time in.

Plura returned with a tin of large chocolate chip cookies. She put them on a chair and slid the chair in front of the children. She then took the last of the hard chairs.

"Go ahead, dig in."

Willy grabbed a cookie and stuffed it in his mouth.

"So you fell out, too?"

"Fell out? Are we from the sky?"

"No, I just like calling it that. We aren't in this realm at all. Do you not know?"

Fira shook her head.

"You're too young. They'll teach you. All the heads of clans got together and used their magic to create a rift. We went in with the idea that we couldn't get out." She smiled warmly at Willy, who finished his first and started on his second cookie, and then shrugged at Fira. "We got out somehow. I did it with a potion that went wrong. You teleported. I no longer have access to the ingredients, but it sounds like you should be able to jump back over. Have you tried?"

Fira tried to figure out what rifts and realms were to no success.

"I tried and I almost killed a few people. I can't control my powers. I don't know what's wrong."

The old witch rubbed the one tooth on the top with the two on the bottom in thought. Fira scooted back a few inches.

"If you just had your party then you probably still need your training hat. I suppose that's gone. You might just have to wait until your powers stop being so unstable. That could take years."

"Years?" Fira's heart dropped through the floor. "I can't wait years. I have to get back."

"Years go by quick. I've been through a good hundred thirty and they just blow by."

"Ugh, you were my last hope."

Fira glanced at Willy. He ate all the cookies and stared unflinchingly at the back wall.

"Oh well, that's all the advice I can offer."

"Do you have any tips?" Fira pleaded. "Anything at all that might help. I think maybe my concentration is off. Have any ideas about that? Every time I try to do magic when I'm stressed or scared I end up having endless thoughts of everything that could go wrong. And then it goes wrong."

"Nope, no idea."

The little witch noticed that Plura's attitude changed. She seemed oddly happy about something. Her eyes darted to Willy every few seconds. Willy didn't seem to notice; he was entirely preoccupied by whatever he was gawking at.

Fira wanted to leave right then and there, but she thought of something else she could ask.

"Have you ever met a man named Torbst?"

Plura's eyebrows raised, but she didn't take her eyes off of Willy. "That's an odd name."

"I think he's some kind of—I don't know—warlock. I'm not really sure what that is, but I heard they can be bad."

She had heard people around town, and even Ailith, mention warlocks in passing, but she never did get a good idea as to what they were.

The old witch chuckled. "They're not necessarily all bad. Witches aren't all bad after all."

"So you know of warlocks?"

"Of course I do. They were a group of male witches who went bad long ago. They're similar to hags."

She had heard that word too. They were old female witches that went bad. Fira didn't want to think about it at first, but the more she looked at Plura . . .

"Are you a hag?" She asked.

The old witch bit her lips as though trying to stifle a smile. "That's rude to ask."

"Oh, sorry." The little witch said quickly. "I feel like I don't know as much about my own . . . uh, realm as I should."

"That's perfectly fine." The old witch said. She took her eyes off Willy and looked at Fira. "They hide that sort of knowledge from the young." She leaned in close. "They're afraid."

"Of?" Fira said, backing up.

"Themselves." She whispered.

"Why would they—"

Plura jumped up and went over to the table. She hurriedly plucked leaves off of plants and threw them in a tiny cauldron.

"Girlie, use your head. Those without magic feared those who had it. You've figured that out, I hope. Those with magic feared each other. That's why they split up when they made a new realm." She grabbed a knife and chopped off a mouse's head, throwing it into the cauldron. "Windelwind doesn't let its witches leave for good. Morator doesn't either. Neither does Nuugetta or Florin. They are terrified of each other. You have magic, but what about them? Can they be trusted?" She pointed a dirty knife at her, swished it around, and then went back to chopping up rodents and plants. "Here is different. That's why I haven't tried to leave. Here, everyone is afraid of me—the idea of me is scariest of all. I have no one to be afraid of. I have the pow—" She stopped mid chop and smiled serenely. "Heh, let's see what we have. Oh! It's coming along. Won't you try some?"

She poured the contents of the cauldron into two cups and carried them over to them. Willy didn't move. Fira shook her head. The old witch placed them on the chair with the empty cookie tin.

"We'll get going." Fira said. "I guess I'll just try to teleport home a few more times. I have to get it right eventually." She stood up. Willy still didn't move. "Come on." No response. "What's wrong with him?" She asked accusingly.

Plura smiled. "It's gone. The smell—did you notice?"

Fira hadn't. Plura was right, it was gone.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Fira tried to pull Willy from the chair, but he was too heavy. "Come on, Willy, we need to go."

"It used to be easy for us to get back and forth. It used to be fun." Plura said. She stared at Willy with a nostalgic smile.

"Is he alright? What was in those cookies?" Fira said, shaking Willy.

"It was before my time. They found a way. They came over and scared them. Teenagers mostly. They loved wreaking havoc on the people here." She giggled wickedly. "That's why they're so scared now. It wasn't when we lived together. It was later that the worst deeds were done."

"Fix him!" Fira shouted.

Plura seemed to come out of a stupor. She looked at Fira pityingly. "I don't know why you brought him here. Someone like him shouldn't know too much about us. He's too far gone to leave on his own. What if he told someone that we weren't evil? What if he spoiled my fun?"

"What is wrong with you?" Fira asked, growing frightened. "Turn him back so that we can go. He's not going to say anything. Let him go and he won't tell anyone about you."

Plura shook her head in a 'there's nothing I can do' sort of way. "I haven't had a good kid in ages. They don't come by anymore. I've missed the flavor."

"That's—that's horrid." Fira cried.

She suddenly had an idea. If she could make herself float, then why not make someone else do it as well. With a great flurry of intense emotion and concentration, Fira sent a mental wave of power into the boy's shoulders. Willy lifted lifelessly off the chair and floated up towards the ceiling. The little witch grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him outside.

Plura cocked her head in disbelief. She leisurely followed them.

"That's impressive." She said, clapping. "But isn't he getting a bit heavy?"

It was as if a switch flipped in Fira's mind. As soon as Plura said it, Willy did begin to get heavier. He slowly came down.

"No, come on, don't do that."

All at once she could no longer keep him up. He hit the ground with a thud. She pulled him through the mud in desperation.

Two large knives poofed into Plura's long hands. "Now then, which part do you want? We can share."

"Don't touch him!" Fira screeched.

The more Willy went through the mud, the harder it was to pull him. Fira collapsed onto her knees, feeling hopeless.

"I'll take him all. Don't think I won't."

Plura made a small noise and the two knives spun around in midair. Fira breathed heavy, thinking hard. There had to be a way to stop her.

The knives stopped spinning and faced Willy. With another small noise they shot through the air at boy.

Fira let out a shout and shut her eyes.

A loud pop echoed through the trees. It was immediately followed by a crunching sound. Fira's eyes flashed open.

A large black bear statue with creepy red eyes had appeared out of nowhere. Under it was the mangled body of Plura. Her hand crinkled up and burst into flames. In a few seconds all that was left was a burnt black cloth.

The little witch couldn't wrap her mind around what happened. Had she done that? She must have.

Willy stirred. He sat up and looked himself over.

"What happened? Why am I covered in mud?" He noticed the statue. "It's weird for a witch to have one. Where did she go?" He glanced at Fira, who looked worn out. "What's happened?"

She tried to explain what happened to the best of her ability.

"She tried to eat me?" Willy asked with a horrified grimace. "And then you murdered her?"

"I didn't mean to. It just happened."

"Alright, but about the mud?"

Fira froze up. Her mind swam and her eyes lost focus. She struggled to stay upright. An intense power radiated through the woods. It pushed in on all sides. It felt as though she was being smashed between invisible blocks.

A small circle of fire erupted in front of the house. It went out as quickly as it came. A tall thin man wearing dry leaves appeared in the smoke. His face showed suppressed rage. He looked over the scene, focusing on the statue and piece of burnt cloth beneath it.

"Mother." He said sadly. "What did they do to you?" He refocused on the kids.

Fira pulled Willy from the mud and together they ran through the trees. It didn't take much to realize that this man meant to harm them.

A sharp noise sliced through the air in front of them. The tall man named Torbst appeared a few yards ahead.

"You killed her." He said. His voice was calm, but his face was contorted in agony. "I tried to help you."

Fira didn't have any desire to explain the situation. All she wanted to do was get out of there as fast as possible.

He turned his sights on Willy. He pointed a finger at the boy. Fira felt a burst of power nearby.

Willy stopped mid-step. "I—I can't move." He mumbled.

The little witch watched in horror as a ball of black ooze, similar to what came out of the book she opened a couple days before, appeared and grew larger. It produced yet another negative feeling in Fira—one that she felt only once before. It was a feeling of death.

Before being forced to watch Willy crumple to the ground, before Torbst could let the oozing ball loose, before she knew what she was doing, Fira grabbed onto Willy's hand.

A bright flash appeared before their eyes. Their feet left the ground. They tumbled in all directions at once. Their bodies jolted this way and that, moving at a tremendous speed. With a loud smack they hit the ground and immediately lost consciousness.

  7. The Magic Town

Many hours later Fira groggily sat up and wiped her eyes. She groaned as her hands were covered in dried mud. She wiped them off and looked around. Willy sat nearby. He looked about sleepily.

She came to fully when she felt the unmistakable and pervasive feeling of magic. At first she was frightened that it was Torbst, but upon further inspection it was clearly not. This was the same feeling that Windelwind had—that familiar oversaturation that she somehow never noticed until she left. It felt good. It felt like home.

"I think I did it." She laughed with relief. "I think I finally made it back."

Her current location didn't look like Windelwind; in fact, she noticed that they were sitting on a flat roof in a town. It was night and very quiet.

The buildings were all rectangular with two stories and arched windows. They were made of brick, with some bricks painted white or black to create patterns. Large bright crystals hung in windows and lay in bundles to light the streets. They came in a variety of colors. Each house had a chosen color.

"Finally!" She cried happily. "I can get a broom and fly straight home."

"Um."

She turned and smiled at Willy for a few seconds. And then her smile faded. "Oh no."

"Yeah." Willy said with a guilty smile. "I guess I'm the one who's stuck now."

"I wasn't thinking." Fira said. "I don't know how I even did this. I just wanted to get away."

"And thankfully we did." Willy said brightly, looking around at the town. "I was a goner. I don't know what that thing was he had, but I'm sure I wouldn't have liked it." Willy picked up the muddy sack of food Clarice gave them. "Somehow we still have this."

"How did I—But I did it—surely I can do it again."

"I think . . ." He gave Fira a meaningful gaze, "that it was you not thinking that did it."

She knew he was right. When she had too much time to think her magic was disastrous. When she acted without time to think it actually worked out.

"I can't hope that someone tries to kill me every time I want to use serious magic."

"No, but this is a magic town, right? Surely there are loads of people who can teach you."

"Can you feel it—the magic?"

He shrugged. "I don't feel anything different."

"I figured you wouldn't." She stood up. "I don't suppose anybody's going to be up now. We'll have to find something to do until morning."

"Witches aren't nocturnal?" He asked.

"Why would we be nocturnal?"

"I don't know, I just assumed."

Fira rolled her eyes. She knew she had to be patient while explaining things to him. He grew up thinking all witches were evil, and fifty percent of all the ones he met really were.

"I can't believe I'm in the magical place." He said in awe. "This is so neat. I hope we don't run into any more evil people."

"Before you get too excited," Fira said, thinking things over, "I think you should stay low. I'm afraid you might stick out just as much as I did in your realm."

He looked himself over. "What, does nobody wear normal clothes here?" He smiled as though he just heard a mildly amusing joke. "Normal clothes—get it?"

"I got it." She said patiently. "But seriously though, we need to keep you from being noticed too much. That old hag told me things when you were out of it. I'm a little concerned. You may be the first normal person to ever make it here. They may notice right away."

"Oh, because they'll be able to sense my non-magic-ness."

"I think so."

"It can't be so bad. Maybe people dress up like normal people for fun."

Fira sighed. "I don't know." She stressed. "I never left my hometown for long enough to find any of this out." She noticed something odd. Just as Torbst had stuck out, Willy stuck out as well. Instead of feeling a power in a world without it, she felt a void in the magic around him. "You should hide during the day. Tomorrow night we can fly to my home and I can get someone I trust to help you. I should be able to fly with us both on a broom. I've never tried, but who knows."

"I want to explore." He pouted.

"You sound just like an eight year old."

"I am."

"It was nice when you didn't show it."

Fira decided to calm him by letting him explore with her while it was night. She wanted to scope out the town and find where the broom store was. She didn't have any money, but there was always a chance they would take pity on her.

They carefully dropped from the roof onto a second floor balcony, and then dropped to the ground from there. The lights from the crystals brightened when they landed near one. They ran into a shadowy side street and waited for it to dim.

Signs hanging above doorways showed that they were in the shopping part of town. Fira made her way down the street making note of what was available.

"This is so much bigger than my town." She whispered. "All our shops are houses where someone might do something for you. I wonder where we are?"

A sign hanging over a central square answered her. Welcome to Morator it read.

"Morator." She said. "That sounds far."

The largest crystal of all stood fifteen feet high in the center of the square. It gradually changed colors. Eight streets came off of the square. Fira took a peak down each one, eventually finding a general store.

"What's in a witchy general store?" Willy asked.

"General stuff, I guess."

The sky began to lighten slightly. The first doors opened and closed somewhere in the distance. A few people milled about. None took much notice of the kids.

"Let's go. We need to hide you."

"Do you really think anybody's going to notice me?" Willy asked.

"I don't want to take chances. We can all sense magic. There's a void around you. I don't want to know what happens to normal people who make it here. You might be the first one."

"That's cool. I should get a prize or something."

Fira ignored him. She examined the square to find some place to stash him. A man looked over at them. Fira grabbed Willy and started to pull him away when the man suddenly appeared in front of them.

He was on the young side of old with a pointed beard and white hair. He wore a long white robe.

The little witch smiled warmly and nodded. "Nice morning." She said, her voice rising in pitch unintentionally.

He stared at Willy with an odd frown. It didn't look mean, exactly. He pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to the boy.

"Yida's robes and cowls, boots and more." He bellowed for the whole, almost vacant square to hear. "I see you've been on a journey young man. Let Yida's be your first stop for all your clothing needs. Rid yourself of those old muddy clothes and get yourself a new robe or cloak. We have ponchos; they're coming back in style. All the kids wear them."

Willy looked at the card excitedly. Fira pulled him away.

"How about the young lady?" He called after them. "We make the best drape's."

"Aw, I wanna look around. That sounds fun. I can blend in." Willy complained.

Fira pulled him all the way into a side street before letting go. "That was close."

"So can we get me a poncho?" Willy bounced on the balls of his feet eagerly.

"That would be great if we had any money."

"I have—"

"That money won't work here."

"Oh, yeah."

"Now, if I can just figure out how to keep you hidden."

"So every magical person wears dresses?" He asked, leaning against the wall and staring upwards.

"What?" Fira said, not fully paying attention.

"That man was wearing a dress. Does everyone here?"

"Robe." She corrected.

"What's the difference?"

"It's—well—there's a big difference, alright?"

"It's a long, one piece garment. Looks the same to me."

"That's because you don't know anything."

"I think it was a dress." He whispered to himself.

"But he was right." Fira noted. "We need to do something about all the mud. We look awful."

Willy sighed. "Any creeks nearby?"

Fira didn't respond. She was looking out of the alley for a hiding place. "It's too dangerous to go anywhere. Why don't you stay here, and I'll be back as soon as I can with a good sized broom. With any luck I can steal it when no one's looking."

Willy gasped. "Steal it?"

Fira closed her eyes and tried not to get mad. "We have no money." She said slowly. "We need to get to Windelwind so I can get you home. Unless you know a great place where we can exchange your money for ours, I'm going to need to steal something."

Willy shrugged. "If you don't come back, I'll assume you're in jail."

"That's fine."

Willy sat down in the shadows and put his head on his knees. "I'll have fun in this magical place by sitting in one place and not moving."

"You do that."

The little witch walked briskly through the square towards where she saw the general store. She passed the clothing man again, and had to tell him 'no' about ten times for him to understand that she did not want to try on a thirty layer skirt.

The store, called Nuru's General, wasn't open yet. As she searched the shelves through the window, the storekeeper came up. "I'm here—I'm here, don't worry."

She swung the door open and let Fira in first.

The shelves were packed with a number of magical items that Fira had never seen before. One shelf had magical toys that moved around on their own. Fira grew up having to make her own toys. These looked oddly unappealing to her.

"Here you are." The young storekeeper, presumably Nuru, said, putting a small bottle on the counter.

Fira looked at it quizzically.

"It's stain remover."

"Yes, thank you." Fira said awkwardly.

"You're the first costumer of the day; let me give you a sample."

Nuru uncorked the bottle and splashed the contents down Fira's front. The little witch jumped backwards, but then watched in amazement as all the mud vanished instantly, leaving her dress clean and smelling great.

"That's amazing!" Fira said, looking herself over.

Nuru waved her hand dismissively. "I made it myself. I make all the potions."

Fira's eyes lit up. "Is it hard?"

"Not if you know what you're doing."

"You wouldn't happen to know how far Windelwind is, do you?" Fira asked, fearing the answer.

"Pretty far, I think." Nuru said.

Fira grimaced. "How far on a broom?"

Nuru looked slightly distrustful. "A day, perhaps. Its straight east of here. Didn't you come this far with someone?"

"Yes." She said quickly. "It's just that they think I should get the experience firsthand . . . of going back . . . alone. Do you happen to have brooms?"

Nuru pointed to the corner near the door where a barrel full of wooden broom handles sat.

Fira grabbed the longest one she could find.

"That one's pretty tricky. I don't know if you're ready for one that size."

"I'll manage."

"That's thirty gold, please."

Fira put the broom back. "I think I'll look around a bit more first. We don't have a store like this in Windelwind."

Nuru didn't take her eyes off Fira for the longest time. The little witch wanted desperately for her to go in the back or for someone else to come in and distract her, but neither seemed likely. If only she hadn't come off as so suspicious.

After pretending to look around for what felt like an hour, Fira took a deep breath and went up to the counter.

"Do you have any old brooms that you don't need anymore?"

Nuru briefly looked like she had been proven right about something. "No money?"

"No." Fira mumbled.

"Windelwind, you say? Do you know a woman named Ailith?"

Fira's head jolted up. "Ailith? How do you know Ailith?"

"She's known realm wide." Nuru said matter-of-factly. "She's the best thought form designer working today. I stopped in there once and she designed my cauldron for a great price. It took her about a minute to get it just right."

"How did I never know that?"

"So you do know her?"

"She's my sister."

Nuru looked doubtful again. "You came out here with her?"

Fira sighed. She didn't want to tell her story, but she felt she had no choice. She left out several important details—primarily that of her entering the nonmagical realm. Instead she made it out like she had accidentally teleported herself from the stage to Morator the night before.

"Teleporting's really hard." Nuru said. "I'm surprised you only went this far."

"Me too."

The storekeeper bit her lip. "Fine, I'll give you a little broom. In exchange I want your sister to design me another cauldron when I go there next. I'll probably make it later this year."

"Absolutely. Come on by whenever."

Fira left with the broom, thankful that everything worked out so well. This was the first thing that worked out better than she expected since she stepped on that stage.

All the good feelings drained away when Willy was nowhere to be found. She went up and down that alleyway with no trace of him. The void he gave off couldn't even be felt. She racked her brain for where he could have gone. The image of Torbst disappearing with him kept coming up, but then she remembered the clothing man.

He still stood in the square, harassing everyone that passed by.

"Tell me where the store is." Fira demanded.

"Ah, you've realized that you need a good pair of mittens that warm up when you say snow? That's what I like to hear."

"Just tell me where it is."

He pointed down one of the streets. "About halfway down there. Tell them that I sent you and you'll get a free Yida's tote bag with purchase."

It was the largest building in town. It rose up four stories, each one full to the brim with clothes. She couldn't go three feet without someone trying to sell her something.

"Have you seen the gloves . . . a lovely new dress for such a lovely young lady . . . stylish helmets for flying, only 25 gold . . . ponchos, they're back!"

Fira squeezed her way through the racks and up the stairs. She was beginning to lose hope when she found Willy looking over the robes on the fourth floor. Three salespeople were gathered around, trying to show him different things.

The little witch grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away. "Why did you leave? I thought Torbst had you."

"Who's Torbst?"

"That—" She dropped her voice, "that evil guy."

"I couldn't help it. A pack of them came and pretty much kidnapped me. I had to go with them. Oh, you cleaned up." He added. "So did I, they spilled something on me."

It took a long time for them to get out. Salespeople materialized out of thin air to impede their progress. When they finally made it out, Fira led the way into another alley.

"Did you—uh—you know?" Willy asked, looking over the broom.

"No. The lady gave it to me."

"Good. She didn't have a bigger one?"

"This is all she would give me."

Fira and Willy climbed on. It barely fit both of them.

"Try not to fall off, alright?" Fira said.

"I don't think I'll have a choice."

The hope of getting home helped drive all thought from her mind. She concentrated on the broom lifting off the ground. Just like with the one before, she felt the broom become familiar. It gradually lifted into the air. It was difficult with Willy on. She focused even harder on it going up. The power drained from her with every little bit of altitude. By the time it cleared the buildings, she was having trouble catching her breath. It only strengthened her resolve. Windelwind was closer than ever. All she had to do was get there.

A rush of magic burst forth. The broom moved forward at a leisurely pace. She turned until she faced the sun, still rising.

It was extremely difficult to keep the thing airborne. Every time she hesitated even slightly from intense concentration, it dropped several feet. Willy tried to keep quiet, but every time the broom jolted he inhaled sharply. That only made it harder on Fira.

Time passed extraordinarily slowly. Fira kept her eyes closed most of the time; only opening them to make sure they were high enough to miss trees or fences. There wasn't much scenery. The ground looked barren except for a few trees here and there. Another surge of power erupted from Fira when she noticed mountains in the distance. She assumed they were the same ones around Windelwind.

The broom dropped significantly. They bounced off the ground and shot into the air again.

"What was that?" Willy cried out.

Fira didn't hear him. She looked wildly around. She had felt it—Torbst's power, or stench as she was beginning to think of it. It had appeared so suddenly and then dissipated just as fast.

And then it appeared again, directly above them.

Willy let out a strained yelp. Fira didn't want to look for fear of it becoming real if she did. Without meaning to she glanced up.

Torbst flew about twenty feet above them. He did not have a broom.

Something zoomed only inches from them. She didn't need to see it to know what it was. It felt of death. A few more zipped past, all narrowly missing.

The little witch's instincts took over. The broom shot through the air at an intense speed. Willy grabbed on to Fira's neck for dear life. She tried to tell him to loosen his grip, but couldn't get her hands off the broom or the words out.

The balls of death came more frequently. The broom zigged and zagged to avoid them. Fira didn't know if it was the broom on its own, or if some unknown ability of hers was controlling it.

Torbst appeared in front of them a good distance ahead. The largest death ball of all formed in his hands. It could have easily swallowed both kids up.

Fira tried to imagine Windelwind in her mind. Teleporting away seemed like the only option.

Torbst let the ball loose. It careened toward them.

Windelwind was there, in her mind. It was clear as day.

The immense sensation of death grew ever closer.

They didn't teleport. Windelwind didn't suddenly appear below them. Fira pushed the handle of the broom down as hard as she could. It plunged toward the ground. The death ball passed directly overhead. She pulled the handle back up, and it lifted back into the air just before crashing.

Fira looked to her right. Torbst soared right next to them. He pointed a long finger at her; it came within an inch of her face. A glowing pinpoint of light appeared. She couldn't take her eyes off of it. Exhaustion crept in. The broom slowed. Torbst slowed with it. Fira couldn't even think to duck.

Everything happened so quickly. Torbst's face suddenly contorted in agony. His hand clutched his chest. He bolted away from the broom and disappeared, his power with him.

Fira managed to somehow ease the broom toward the ground. Her magic gave out completely and they fell the last few feet to the dusty, dry ground.

She collapsed, unable to sit up. Willy ran back a ways, picked something off the ground, and came back. He looked shaken up, but otherwise alright. He smiled smugly, tossing his little amulet up and catching it.

"It works." He announced proudly.

Fira tried to say something, but couldn't get anything out.

"Did you see his face?" Willy continued. "It really hurt him. I don't know what he was going to do to you, but when I saw that finger glow I was like: 'don't you dare, Mr. Meany'. I threw this at him and he took off. Ha! That was great!"

Fira managed to pull herself into a half sitting position. "Thanks." She said breathlessly.

"It looks like I came with you for a reason."

Willy kept an eye out while Fira recovered. After about ten minutes she determined that she could walk. They kept east on foot while she recuperated.

"He'll be back." She said darkly as they shuffled through the dusty landscape.

"If only I had more of these." Willy said, refusing to let go of his amulet.

"If only he didn't want to kill us."

The dry nothingness went on forever. The mountains in the distance never seemed to get closer. There was no sign of life apart from a dried up bush or tree. The sun beat down on them as it made its slow journey across the sky.

Fira didn't know how long it would take to recover enough magic to fly again. The longer she walked and the more the hot sun shined on her, the worse she felt. A half destroyed house stood stark against the flat earth. They made their way over to it for the little shade it provided.

Willy looked the place over while Fira rested. It had been stripped bare, with only a few broken pieces of pottery to show that someone had once lived there. The roof was almost entirely on the floor or the ground outside, and one wall had collapsed completely.

They stayed there for much of the afternoon. Willy opened the sack of food Clarice gave them. There were several soggy sandwiches, which they ate quickly. They only ventured out again when the sun was less hot and Fira felt she could fly again.

They climbed back on the broom and took off. The little witch couldn't go too fast or too high. It took less energy to stay near the ground.

A large cavernous pit came into view. It was larger than anything Fira had ever seen. The other side was at least a mile away, as was the bottom. Coming out of the pit, almost making it to the surface, was a gargantuan tree. The trunk was thick and short, with most of the height coming from branches that rose and curled through the pit. It was so large that wooden buildings could be seen all over the branches. A cluster sat neatly in the center, on top of the trunk.

"That's a big tree." Willy said sensibly. "Suppose anyone there can help?"

"They can at least let us spend the night . . . and hopefully keep us safe from Torbst."

"Someone there ought to be able to stop him." Willy said.

Fira didn't respond. She doubted anybody could do that.

  8. The Korrigan

Fira flew the broom down to the bottom of the pit where a small stone road led up to the trunk. She looked back. The road continued on underground, lit every few feet by torches. The road ahead sloped upwards into the cluster of buildings that she had seen.

The problem now was figuring out what to do with Willy. Surely a town in a giant tree would have people that could feel his non-magic-ness.

"So I guess I should sleep somewhere hidden?" Willy said as if reading her mind.

"No, we'll figure something out."

"Good, because—oof!"

Fira wheeled around, feeling around for Torbst. He wasn't there. Willy had just fallen over.

He got up and shook his head. "That was weird. It felt like . . ." He tried again. He jerked to a stop as if hitting an invisible wall. "There it is again."

Fira felt around in the area. There didn't appear to be anything there.

Willy felt around and did feel something. "It's right here. There's a wall, I think."

"I don't feel anything." Fira said, putting her hands right through the same place.

A good natured laugh came from behind them. They turned to see a young man coming up. He had a large pack floating beside him.

"Watch out there." He said. "Someone's gonna think you don't belong."

He walked right past them without a problem. He then stopped, held up a finger, and looked hard at Willy. "Hey, there's something off about you. You—no—you couldn't be magic-less could you?"

Fira shook nervously. She couldn't think of anything to say.

"It's true." Willy said sadly.

Fira almost smacked him upside the head she was so angry and shocked.

"I over exerted myself once and it went away." He continued. "It was when I was really young. My parents trained me too hard for my last-nine-day party. I've never been the same."

Fira had no clue what came over him. Every possibility of him getting home could have vanished right then and there.

The man nodded sympathetically. "Had an uncle who went through the same thing. He couldn't do magic for three years after he accidentally blew a hole in the family house. It scared him so bad it just vanished." He snapped his fingers. "Like that, it was all gone. He still has trouble today."

Willy sighed long and deep. "That gives me hope, thank you."

"No problem little man, you hang strong."

The man moved his pack along and continued up the road.

Fira stared at Willy, unsure of what just happened.

Willy smiled mockingly. "Boom, gettin' us out of trouble."

"That could have gone so wrong." Fira pointed out.

"Eh, I'm on a roll today."

"Stay on it." Fira said, smiling despite herself. "Now let's figure this out. He made it sound like only magical people can get in."

"That doesn't make sense." Willy said. "Who else is here to try to get into town?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of this. We don't really need to get in. We could just continue on."

Fira's head momentarily swam and her body tensed up. Torbst was nearby, she could feel it.

"No—no—no—no."

"What, what's happening?"

"I can feel him."

"The bad guy?!" Willy said, spinning around.

"It's weak, but it's getting stronger. He must be able to—"

"To what?"

"I think he can sense me from far away. I think that's how he found us. Now that my magic is coming back, he can find us."

"Then put it out again." Willy demanded.

"I don't know how."

"Then what do we do?!"

"Breath." Fira told herself. "I can figure this out. First let's get into town. He might not be able to distinguish me when we're surrounded by other magic. And I doubt he'll attack us if there are a lot of people around." She looked up at the town in the tree. They were still far enough away that Torbst could kill them and not draw too much attention. "I have an idea."

"Do it, whatever it is."

"Alright," she said hurriedly, "when I was little I was able to enchant one object to look like another. Both objects felt like me."

"What?" Willy said. "What do you mean they felt like you?"

"It's a thing with magic!" Fira snapped. "I can make other objects feel like me—my magic—if I enchant them. I'm going to enchant you, alright? That way you will be surrounded by my magic. That will hopefully get you through this—I don't know—invisible gate thing."

"Will it hurt?"

"Um," Fira started.

"Never mind, just do it."

Fira shut her eyes. She imagined turning Willy into her. Torbst's power grew stronger. He was getting closer. She didn't have time to think too much. She spread her palms and let loose her magic over Willy.

"Whoah." He said.

She opened her eyes. For a split second it looked like she was looking at another copy of herself. Purple dress, wild hair, he looked like her. Something was off. Just as she was never able to fully morph a tree branch or rock, Willy looked slightly different from her.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Finally my inability to make a perfect copy comes in handy."

Willy was too busy looking himself over to notice what she was saying. "What'dya say?"

"You look like me, but not exactly like me. You could be my twin."

"Ooh, I wanna pick out a name."

"You still sound like yourself. How do you feel?"

"I don't feel any different. I just look different. I think I shall be called Iguoria."

"Nobody in the world has that name. Stick with Willy. We can say its short for . . . uh . . . Wil—"

"Wiguoria."

"Stop with that, it's horrible."

Torbst's power grew ever stronger.

"It doesn't matter now. See if you can go through."

Willy gingerly put his hand forward. It went through. He jumped forward. It worked.

"Ha, not so smart, are they?"

They took off up the road, refusing to stop until they made it up to the top of the trunk. Fira looked back. She could see Torbst standing right where they had been. He looked angrily up at them.

"As long as he doesn't come any closer, we're ok. As long as he doesn't come any closer, we're ok . . ." She kept repeating it over and over until he vanished. "Oh, thank goodness. We're safe for now."

"Hey, Fira." Willy said, holding back a laugh.

"What?" She said, unable to comprehend how he could possibly think about laughing.

"I'm wearing a robe."

Fira rolled her eyes, and either through relief or actual humor, she tried not to smile. "You need help, like seriously."

"I wonder if it changes colors like yours does." He scrunched up his face to look oddly like an annoyed fish.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting angry. I wanna see it turn."

"You have to really be angry for it to turn." She looked down at her own dress. "You know what? I haven't noticed it in a while. I guess I'm getting better at controlling my emotions."

"Then you didn't see it when that mean guy was throwing that sludge at us. It was flying through colors faster than we were flying through the air."

Fira ignored him.

A sign above their heads told them that they were in Florin. All the buildings were tall, thin, and hexagon shaped. They fit together neatly in bunches. The small streets curled between the bunches of buildings, there wasn't a centimeter that went straight. They were crowded with all sorts of people milling about.

Fira and Willy made their way through the streets looking for some place that they could spend the night. She doubted very much that there were some free beds someplace, but she wanted to be sure.

The other people took little notice of them. Willy looked at each and every one of them, though. He noted the strange dress, the way they talked, and he was always on the lookout for someone using magic. He pointed frantically at a couple of little kids who threw water at each other from buckets without ever touching it.

Fira's eyes were glued to small signs on some of the buildings that told what they sold or what services they provided. Nothing on the base of the tree looked helpful. They trekked up one of the branches and found an apothecary, a potion ingredient store, and a few more houses.

It was hard to make it up to higher branches on foot. Some were off limits, with a force field that not even Fira could not get through. One went straight up about a hundred feet before extending out horizontally. They climbed a thin old ladder all the way up. When they reached the top Fira had trouble catching her breath.

"Keeping you like that is wearing me out." She said. "I'm gonna have to keep it up, though. I fear that you may disappear or worse if the magic leaves you."

"let's hurry up, then."

This branch had more interesting destinations than the others. One hexagon building's sign read: Mystic Creatures: On Display Now. It was too intriguing to miss.

Inside were a few cages with some of the strangest creatures they'd ever seen. Willy went right up to a cage with a little man only six inches tall. He had a long nose, long ears, and a rather sour expression.

"What is this thing supposed to be?" He said.

The bored looking attendant gave him a strange look.

"Oh, uh," he cleared his throat. "Huh!" He said in a high pitched squeal. "What is he?"

The attendant gave Willy a stunned expression, and then went back to looking bored. "It's a korrigan." He said. "Says so right on the sign."

"And what is that?" Willy asked, continuing the fake voice.

"It's a . . ." the attendant waved his hand around airily, "an elfy thing."

Willy turned to Fira with wide eyes. "You have elves here?" He whispered.

She frowned. "I've never seen one before."

Willy gave her a doubtful glower.

"I've never left my town on my own before. I think we've established that I don't know much!"

"Sorry." He grumbled.

The korrigan walked lazily to the front of the cage. "I know that smell." He said, his voice was low and husky. "You're a straight-right-normal aren't ya? Good disguise. I didn't even think to smell ya at first."

Fira swallowed hard. There was an actual smell difference?

"Ya smell of machines." The korrigan continued. "Machines like they ain't got here." He winked at Fira. "So's do you, but it's less."

The attendant either didn't care or wasn't paying attention. He was busy digging something out of his fingernails.

Fira got down on her hands and knees, her face only inches from the korrigan. "I need you to keep that a secret, alright." She whispered. "No one can know."

"D'ya think I care, little miss?" He said, wiping his long wiry bangs out of his eyes. "I got more important things on my mind. There's a darkness nearby. A right-fowl-fowler with vicious thoughts. He's marked ya. D'ya know it?"

"What do you mean marked?" Fira asked, her voice shaking.

The korrigan smiled ominously. "When ya got it, it don't go. It's forever. It's a tracker mark. He's gotya everywhere. Ya smell of death, too."

Fira grabbed the bars.

"Watch it!" The attendant said without looking over.

"How do I get rid of it? Can you sense that, too?"

"Witchies sense. We smell."

"And what else do I smell like?"

"Strong of witch. Slight of machines. Much of death. And," he breathed in long and deep, fully enjoying himself, "of the border. A sweet smell—border."

"Border? You mean between the realms? I've been between realms."

"No." His little eyes grew large, reflecting the little witch. "Border's not a past smell. That's a future smell. I smell it on the future."

"Future? Are you telling me—"

Willy nudged her. She shook him off.

"That's not important now." She said. "How do I get rid of the mark?"

"I tolds ya. It's forever. The only way is death. It's one of those. Either maker or marker."

"Hey," Willy shook her shoulder.

"What?" She spat, looking up at him.

He motioned toward the attendant, who was watching them rapturously.

"That's neat." He said.

"What is?" Fira asked innocently.

"Your dresses, they're gray."

Sure enough, both Fira's and Willy's dresses had turned an ash gray. Fira tried to calm herself. Slowly they both turned back to purple.

"Huh." The attendant said. He went back to studying his hands.

Fira got back down with the korrigan. "There has to be a way to get rid of it."

"It's close." He said. "It's very powerful."

"But—but my future. You felt it, right? He can't kill me if I have a future."

He shrugged. "That's all."

"What do you mean? Help me! If you help me I can get you out of here."

The korrigan disappeared with a pop, and then reappeared behind them. He waved, and then teleported back into the cage.

"I'm not trapped here. I get paid."

"You can teleport? Can you teleport Willy home?"

"I can only teleport me."

"Then tell me something—something to defeat Torbst. I need to know."

The korrigan appeared to be having far too much fun with their predicament. "I'll watch. I like watchin' witchies die."

Fira squeezed her hands between the bars and clutched the creature's dirty vest. "If you can smell it, then you have to have some information. If you don't tell me—"

He teleported just out of reach. "It's closer and closer."

Fira pulled her hand back through the bars and jumped up. "Let's go." She said to Willy. They ran from the building, the korrigan laughing from its cage after them.

The little witch didn't know where to go. Without thinking, she ran up the branch until it narrowed too much for them to continue. They were so far up they could barely make out the specks that were people on the road down below.

"We're gonna die." She breathed, holding her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, but we're dead."

"Don't worry about it." Willy said calmly. "Did you forget?" He pulled the amulet off his necklace and held it high. "He won't stand a chance."

"Sure it scared him off once, but it's not going to kill him. Unless . . ."

"Unless?"

"The witch!" Fira exclaimed. "Remember how she died?"

"You dropped a statue on her, right? It was one of the protective ones."

"Exactly. She burst into flames and disappeared. If we could do that, we'd be set."

"Just one problem—and you've probably already thought of it—we don't have the big ones here."

"I know that." Fira said. "The little elf guy said that I had a future border smell. Maybe I can go back and forth and don't know it yet."

"Do you really want to believe that thing?"

"He was right about you."

Willy shrugged. He couldn't argue with that.

"If I could get one and bring it here—Or just go back. He'll follow."

She noticed Willy staring at something. She looked over as well.

On the very tip of the branch stood one of the tall thin hexagon buildings. There didn't look to be any room for it as the branch was only a few inches thick there. And yet the building stood perfectly.

"Did that just appear there?" Willy asked. I didn't even notice it."

"This is a magic town." She reminded him.

They went as far as they could on the branch until it became too thin to continue on foot. The building was still out of reach. She could make out the sign on it, though.

"Teleporting service?" She asked incredulously.

Fira blinked and looked again. Sure enough, the sign on the door said: Portimer's Teleporting Service, since: old.

She put her hands on her hips and nodded toward the sign. "What are odds of that?"

Willy copied her. "We're twins."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a little annoyed that you're so calm about this."

"I have protection."

"Whatever. Let's go see what it's about."

Fira and Willy climbed back on the little broom and flew over to the building.

The door opened on its own with a creak. They went in and dismounted the broom. It was empty save for a small square rug in the center of the room. An extremely old person appeared next to the door. Fira jumped back in shock.

"Are you Portimer?" She asked.

The person nodded. Fira couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. They were mostly hidden under a long black garment and hood. Only their deeply wrinkled chin could be seen.

"How does this work?"

The person stepped over to the small rug and pointed at it.

"I stand on that?"

They nodded.

"And I think about where I want to go?"

They nodded again.

The closer Fira got to the square, the more she felt something wasn't right. This old person didn't feel evil. In fact, they didn't feel like much at all. It was a very neutral magic. The square didn't give off anything either, but there was still something about the situation that didn't sit right with her. She looked at the square for a long time. The old person kept pointing at it.

Finally, she stepped back, unsure of what to do.

"No thanks. I think I'll fly instead."

The power came like a bolt of lightning. All at once Fira fell to the ground. Her sight and thought vanished for an instant and then returned. The usual pressure she was beginning to know well pushed in harder than ever.

Willy stood still, not sure what was going on.

The black cloak of the old person rose into the air, revealing that nothing was beneath it. In a powerful gust, it disappeared and Torbst took its place.

Willy tried to run, but the door slammed shut.

Fira got to her feet gingerly, refusing to take her eyes off the tall, thin man.

"Now, I want to say a few words first." He said, pacing the room. "I know that you think of me as bad, but let's look at things from the other way. I tried to give you an easy way out. I told you that I would take you home. Instead of taking me up on that generous offer, you murdered my mother. What I'm getting at is—I'm not the bad guy here."

"She tried to eat us." Fira said quietly. "You tried to kill us."

He shook his head pityingly. "And none of that would have happened if you took my offer at the start." He hunched over and looked Fira dead in the eye. "You did the first evil thing by killing someone."

"She tried to eat—"

"Attempted eating is not evil. I need to punish you for your crime to my family. And I will do that by killing you. That will make us even."

Fira tried to teleport, to get away, to do anything, but she couldn't move.

"However," he said, straightening up and looking over at Willy, "I will make one more offer. Allow me to kill the boy here, and I'll let you go."

Willy backed into the wall, clutching his amulet. "I'd me more worried about yourself." He snarled. "I have your weakness."

"That stupid thing you threw at me? That's cute."

Willy pulled the amulet from his necklace and threw it as hard as he could at Torbst. At first the man smiled. The amulet hit and he screamed out in pain. Fira felt the power subside momentarily. She went to Willy, pulled the door open, and together they ran outside.

They slipped off the thin branch and hurtled toward the ground. Fira, who thankfully still clutched the broom, got it under her, grabbed Willy, and eased down to a lower branch. He got on the broom behind her, and she took off. Instead of going up and away from the tree, she steered the broom down, toward the dark underground road.

The torches' light didn't reach up to them. It was too dangerous to fly into the unknown darkness so Fira landed just out of reach of the light.

Torbst hid his power again. They had no way of knowing where he was.

The little witch's power was exhausted. Willy turned back to normal. She could only hope that she was too weak for Torbst to find them.

"This can't go on." Fira said hopelessly. "He's going to kill us eventually."

"I shouldn't have thrown it." Willy said, his voice shaking. "It's gone."

Fira noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Feeling a little jumpy, she jolted away from it.

It wasn't Torbst and it wasn't torch light. It was a soft blue glow far away in the darkness. Minute specks soared out of the light and lazily drifted toward them. They felt strangely inviting. The first one to them began to speak.

"Fira of Windelwind, come and have a rest."

  9. Fairies and Death Balls

More arrived. They fluttered about making peculiar noises that sounded something like laughter. The one that spoke stayed very still before them.

"Come along, Fira and Willard, into the light so we can speak."

Willy pulled at her arm to go in the opposite direction. Instead, the little witch went toward the alluring blue light.

"Really? After everything, you're just going to follow them?" Willy nagged. "This could be bad."

"Do not worry, Willard." The light said. "We can help with your peculiar predicament."

Willy wasn't about to go off on his own, so he followed at a distance. The other lights bounced off his back to make him move faster.

The blue light really was a good distance away, and it took them quite a while to finally reach it. Fira stepped into it and disappeared. Willy held his breath and did the same.

They came out in a blueish bubble with several bright green trees and a small pond in the middle. The lights turned out to be tiny humanoids with transparent wings. They fluttered about until the one that had spoken to them, who was the largest of the lot, calmed them with a wave of its hand. They all gathered about, hovering just over the pond.

"Here you can rest." It said, it's voice high, yet soothing. "Your power will return faster than out there."

"Where are we?" Willy asked, admiring the blue tint the bubble gave his skin.

"This is a fairy orb." It said simply. "Now, Fira, we feel your fear. It is not well to focus on such things."

"Sorry." She said shortly. "But I'm being hunted right now, so if you could cut to how you can help—that'd be great."

"The man Torbst has determined to kill you for what you have done to his family."

"I know that." She said, growing annoyed. "He literally just told me."

The fairy raised its palm. "Let me finish. Torbst knows powerful witchcraft. He is very talented at harnessing the darkness in his mind. It may seem hopeless now, but always remember that you can win."

"Because good is stronger than evil and all that." Fira said dully.

"Oh no, evil is twice as strong as good. That's why it is so tempting."

Fira's mouth dropped open. "Why would you tell me that—don't tell me that. I don't want to know that. You're supposed to tell me that good is great, and that I can win by being good."

"You can." The fairy said.

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

The fairy sighed as though dealing with a trying child. "Let me finish a thought."

Fira folded her arms stubbornly.

"Here you can regain your power." It said again. "When you are stronger you can prevail, but not without help."

She waited for it to continue. It looked at her expectantly.

"Do you want me to ask for your help?"

"No, we cannot help. Fairies cannot help you. We only watch and occasionally cause mischief."

Fira gave Willy a sideways glance. "So then what am I supposed to do?"

"We told you. Seek out help."

"You don't say?" She snapped. "Why didn't I think of that? Hey Willy, will you help me defeat Torbst so we don't die horrible deaths? No one's gonna help us with this unless I can get home. Do you think anyone in the tree is going to want to risk their lives for a couple of kids they don't know? Why did I even come in here? let's go."

"You may notice," The fairy said. "that your power has completely returned."

"You know what? That's actually not what I wanted. I wanted to lay low for a while."

All the fairies smiled evilly.

"We know." The head fairy said. "That's why we brought you in here. We love a good fight to the death."

An intense blinding rage filled Fira's whole body. Her magic boiled up inside, and with a flick of her hand she sent all the fairies crashing into the pool of water. She held them down as they splashed, trying to get their heads above the surface.

"Fira." Willy said coolly. "That's enough."

She wasn't listening. She had been through too much that day to allow a group of fairies to aid in her death.

"I know your angry." Willy continued. "They did a terrible thing, but it's time to let them go."

The rage dissipated. Her hand fell to her side. The fairies climbed onto the banks of the pool, coughing and sputtering.

They didn't seem phased at all.

"See," the leader said, "your power came back so fast. You're stronger than you look."

She turned and started for the edge of the bubble.

"Wait." The leader called out. "We have something for you."

"Go kill someone else." She said.

"No, something that really will help."

Fira stopped and took a deep breath. "What?"

A piece of wood about a foot long appeared before her. The center had a knot that looked eerily like an eye.

"And this is?"

She picked it up. It lengthened. Bristles sprouted out the end. It became a broom. It was longer and sturdier than their other one.

"Look into the eye when you use your magic. It will concentrate it—focus it."

"It'll blow up or something when I try to fly on it, right?"

"Oh no."

"Then why give it to me if you want me dead?"

"We want a death match. It won't be much fun for us if he snaps his fingers and you die instantly. Give him a fight . . . on us."

There were so many reasons why Fira should have thrown the broom back at them. And yet, she needed all the help she could get. If it really could help them, then it was invaluable.

"Thanks, I guess."

The leader of the fairies fluttered over to her. "Give it all you've got, kid. I'm not rooting for you, but I'm not rooting against you either."

"I hate you." Fira said simply. She nodded and together the kids left the blue bubble.

The light immediately disappeared, leaving them in total darkness.

The little witch stood tall, feeling the two brooms in her hands, while also attempting to sense Torbsts's power. It was faint and far away, but it was there.

"I think I have an idea." Fira said boldly.

She put down the large broom and held the small one with both hands.

"I wonder . . ." She whispered.

She willed as much power into the small broom as she could. It felt warm to the touch. Between the remnant magic on Willy, and the magic emanating from the broom, it would be hard to tell which one of the three was the real witch.

And then her focus shifted. She imagined the broom soaring across the sky. It didn't move. It occurred to her that she didn't know how to move an enchanted object.

She let it go. It floated just above the ground. With all the focus she could muster, she willed the broom to move. It flew about ten feet and then fell to the ground.

"I'm not good enough."

"What were you trying to do?" Willy asked, running to get the broom.

"I thought if I could enchant the broom and put a lot of my magic in it, then Torbst might think it was me flying and attack it instead. It was stupid. He'd figure it out."

"It was a good test." Willy said.

Fira shook her head. There was only one thing left that she could think to do. If it didn't work, then Torbst would surely win.

"This is it." She said boldly. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you home."

"It's not over yet." Willy said.

"There's one more thing." She said. "I think I came up with a pretty good plan when I was drowning those stupid fairies. It may just work."

She felt a pat on her back.

"What can I do?"

Torbst's power grew slightly closer.

"My mother was a very powerful remote viewer." Fira began, feeling a hint of pride along with all the fear. "I remember this one time when one of the other witches in town—a real old one—wanted her to see what her grandkids were up to. They had been on a journey for a long—you know it doesn't matter. My mother would hold hands with the old witch because it strengthened her remote viewing. She obviously didn't know her grandkids and holding hands allowed them to use each other's knowledge to get the best view. The old woman would provide the knowledge of the grandkids, and my mom would provide the viewing. That's a long way of saying that I need you to help me get back to your realm. If you ride behind me, then I can try to teleport us back to your realm where all the statues are."

"Is now any different than before?" Willy asked. "I mean, are you sure you can teleport safely now?"

"No." Fira said. "But I have a feeling that I won't have time to overthink anything. If I use the eye on the broom, and him, I might have a chance."

"Use who? The evil guy?!"

"If I can get close—"

Her words caught in her throat. The pressure returned. Torbst was very close.

Fira looked in the direction it was coming from. The tall, thin man was clearly visible standing on the road, right next to one of the torches.

"Get on, quick. And hold on to that, we might need it."

They clambered onto the new broom. Willy held the smaller broom tight to his chest, his other hand firmly on Fira's shoulder.

Not wanting to make the first move, the little witch watched Torbst wearily, waiting for him to do something.

He merely stood still, watching them.

The seconds passed and nobody moved. And then, all at once, Fira kicked off from the ground. Torbst rose up as well.

In a flash he streaked toward them. Fira shot through the air. This broom was indeed much better than the other one. It moved effortlessly, almost without her consent. They pelted out of the darkness and up towards the tree.

"Not too close!" Willy yelled.

She remembered just in time. Fira looked into the knot that looked like an eye, imagined Willy as her twin, and looked back to see him in a sickly green dress with a face that was not unlike her own.

Torbst flew alongside them. "It's time to choose." He said quietly, though his voice carried to them despite the wind. "Him or you. I'll take either."

Fira flung the handle to the right. It took off through the branches. The people down below looked up in wonder.

Torbst wouldn't be so easily avoided. He kept up no matter how many turns and twists Fira made.

"In that case. I'll take both of you."

He pointed both index fingers at their heads. A speck of light erupted from his fingers. It felt of death.

This was her chance. She looked into the eye, and, while feeling his evil power wash over her, concentrated on the wall with all the statues along it. She hoped Willy was doing the same.

The magic erupted from her. Together the three of them blasted off through a bright tunnel. It was too bright to see the details. A second later they came out. Bright blue below them, Fira looked up to see Eastgate. She righted the broom. The wall was right below them. Torbst looked momentarily stunned. He looked this way and that, attempting to figure out where he was.

The little witch pelted down toward the statues along the wall. Torbst couldn't be shaken. As they neared, the evil man noticed what was happening and flew back into the sky. Fira landed the broom right next to one of the largest statues, a lion.

"Whew, we're safe." Willy said, dismounting the broom.

"No, not yet."

Fira couldn't let anything in her mind. She concentrated on the smaller statues nearby. One by one she sent them soaring at Torbst. He avoided them easily. He didn't disappear. It was clear that he wanted this to be the end right now as well.

A dark mass of smoky sludge exploded from him. It looked to be the same stuff that came from the first book Fira opened. It covered him completely in a sludgy ball. Tentacles of the dark mass formed, lashing the ground and the wall. He may not have been able to get close, but this darkness could. It weakened considerably when it came in contact with the statues, but it was still strong enough to knock them to the ground, where they broke apart.

The statues were the least of their concerns. Willy shouted. Fira couldn't make out what he said, but did notice what he was looking at. The tentacles tore through the houses of Eastgate. Torbst was going to take out as many as he could.

Fira jumped back on the broom and burst from the top of the gate. She didn't have a plan yet, and hoped one popped into her mind before she got to him.

The tentacles lashed more violently. They turned their attention to her. She flipped and spun away from them. Each time one got close she could sense the death on them. It took all she had to avoid them. One came dangerously close. She twirled through the air. While upside down she saw the pieces of black stone littering the ground near the wall.

She turned her attention back to the eye on the broom. Another tentacle came too close for comfort and she had to turn her attention back to them. The ball of evil came up before her. It emanated the foulest, most malicious feeling she ever felt.

The tentacles retracted, paused, and then all thrashed out in her direction. She was too close. They came too fast. There was no way to avoid them.

Everything seemed to slow. The mass of evil came ever closer, but she now had time to see the detail. Five feet, four feet, three feet away. Right before it made contact and ended her journey for good, something flew between her and the sludge. Whatever it was, she couldn't tell at first, repelled them back. Time returned to normal.

Willy, now back to normal, hung in midair, holding on tight to a three-foot-tall eagle statue with one hand, his other clutched to the small broom he was flying. Fira didn't have time to think too much on this. The tentacles were already lashing back at them both.

Fira looked into the eye of the broom, focused, and let her power loose.

The sludge came at such a force that they knocked the statue out of Willy's arms. He careened out of the way.

The shards of broken statues rushed between them and the sludge. It stopped them in their tracks.

With a great gust of emotion and magic she turned the shards onto the foul sludge. Wave after wave sped through the air, penetrating the evil ball. It burst into smoke. The shards wrapped their way around a struggling Torbst. He fought hard to resist them, to no effect. They covered and attached themselves to his body until it looked like he wore a black suit of stone.

Anguished cries, more wicked than anyone had ever heard, grew loud, and then dimmed out as the shards filled his mouth.

Orange bursts of flame erupted through the cracks in the suit. Torbst shook and twitched brutally, no noise escaping. The flames died down, the twitching lasted only a few seconds more, until he hung limp in midair.

The shards fell away. Only a light puff of smoke remained.

Fira let the broom down. It lazily floated to the ground. Willy zoomed around up in the air, celebrating with whoops and shouts. He flew the broom back down and jumped off a few feet from the ground.

In that moment Fira didn't care how any of it happened. She honestly had no clue how she was able to do what she did.

"We did it!" Willy shouted, giving Fira a big hug.

She laughed with relief and shook Willy. "It's over. We survived!"

The sound of running met their ears. People from Eastgate ran toward them. This wasn't the time to try and explain why they were flying or what Torbst had done to them. She feared that they would be angry, but instead . . .

"You saved us!" Someone said.

"That thing tried to destroy our town and you defeated it." Another said.

"Yes!" Willy shouted over everyone trying to talk at once. "We did. Some witches are good. Many are actually. And you have this one to thank." He pointed at Fira. "She just saved all of you!"

"We both did." She corrected.

"Whatever." Willy said. "Let's get out of here."

They got back on their brooms and flew up to the top of the gate.

"I guess this is it." Willy said. "I guess I'll get on home."

"Not yet." Fira said. "I want you to see Windelwind. Come on back with me. And then I'll teleport you straight home."

"You sure you can?"

"More sure then I've ever been."

Willy flew over and grasped her hand.

Fira looked into the eye and imagined Windelwind. The bright tunnel appeared, and within a few seconds they hovered above the ground in the forest right outside of town.

  10. The Do-Over

Fira could see the familiar hills and buildings set on the sides of them. The trees whispered excitedly. It felt like home. It took all she had not to run as fast as she could to anyone she recognized and hug them. But before she could do that, there was something she needed to know.

"How?" She asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Willy smiled smugly. "I would like to say that I finally came to terms with the fact that I am indeed a wizard, or witch, or Mr. Witch. What do you call male witches here?"

"Witches."

"Oh, alright. I would like to say that I am one," he gave the small broom a loving grin, "but I can't. I don't really know how it happened. I think there was still so much of your magic in it that I was able to use it. That's all, I'm still not special."

"Well thank you for saving me, however you did it."

"Eh, It's what I do."

"Now then," She breathed deep, "let's go."

Together they walked into town.

At first no one seemed to notice. A few witches were out, going about their business as usual. It wasn't until her home came into view that someone finally recognized them.

"Oh," A shocked Vornay said. She gripped her broom in her arms, staring longingly at the one Fira held. "You're alive. We all thought you blew up. Where were—"

"Vornay!" Fira said excitedly. "I can't believe it, but I'm happy to see you. You know, all of the things we used to say to each other—none of it matters anymo—"

"I wish you had." Vornay said, looking put out.

Fira shook her head, smiled, and walked right past her nemesis toward home.

"That was rude." Willy said.

"It's Vornay. I wouldn't expect anything else."

The house was dark, only lit by one candle sitting on the table. Ailith was on her knees, her head in the closet. She stood up when she heard the door. She stared at Fira for several seconds, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I—I thought—"

"That I blew up. I know; it's ok."

Ailith dropped the small cauldron she was holding and ran to her sister. They hugged for a long time, Ailith incoherently attempting to apologize for ever thinking that Fira could be dead.

"I—I knew you w-weren't. How could you be? Mom and dad kept telling me that you weren't there, but I just didn't know."

"Its fine, Ails." Fira laughed, patting her sister on the back. "I'll tell you all about it." She broke away from her sister's hold. "This is Willy. He helped me get back. In fact, without him I'd still be wandering through the non-magic realm." She paused to see Ailith's reaction.

It took a few seconds. Ailith wiped her eyes, and then she frowned, tilting her head to the side. "Did you say, um . . . non-magic realm? You went there?" Her mouth dropped open, a scared look spread across her face.

"Yep, and Willy's a non-magical—no, a normal—we really need a better name for that. He's completely normal." She looked back at him. He shifted uncomfortably from the doorway. "No, never mind. He's not normal. No normal little kid would ever help a lost witch, keep his cool when being hunted by an evil force, and fly a broom to save the day. He's Willy, the most magical non-magic person I've ever met."

Willy waved his hand for her to stop, looking rather pleased with himself nonetheless.

"We have to tell everyone that you're here. Maybe the mayor will throw a party. No one has ever left like that and come back."

"What about . . ." Fira bit her lip, "what about my last-nine-day party? I failed, right?"

"Well, you didn't really fail. You just took a detour. No one can say that you didn't do something great." Ailith lowered the pretense. "We were all shaken up when you disappeared. It looked bad. A bright flash of light and then you were gone. The mayor sent everyone home. He came by the next day and told me how sorry he was. Nothing like that had happened for a very long time. I think we should go over and see him. He can tell you what happens next."

The three of them made their way across town towards the mayor's house. The news spread quickly. Everyone they passed gasped dramatically. A group amassed around them, so many voices asking questions at once. They pushed through the crowd and sought protection in the mayor's house.

He seemed thoroughly pleased and surprised to see her.

He invited Fira to sit and explain everything that happened. She then proceeded to tell the entire story, starting with standing on the stage, and ending with defeating Torbst and arriving in Windelwind.

The mayor folded his arms and thought for a bit before speaking.

"First off, we are glad to have you back. I'm sure you can imagine that we thought the worst. That's some story. You have proven yourself far beyond your years. I think what really happened, was that you had the most extraordinary—and longest—last-nine-day party on record. Congratulations, I will happily perform the switching of the hats ceremony tonight on the stage. We'll then have the party as we would have that night."

Fira mulled it over quickly. "No." She said. All eyes fell on her. "I want to do it again. I want to have a proper last-nine-day-party. I want to prove myself. I think I may know something that I excel at more than teleporting. It just occurred to me."

"If that's what you want, then it's fine by me. The stage will be ready this evening."

The mayor went outside and announced that an impromptu last-nine-day party was going to happen, and that everyone needed to get ready.

Fira took Willy and showed him around town. It was nice to show it off. Normally, she didn't have anyone to talk to, except for Vornay.

As they passed the statue a squeak made them stop. Rupall sat on the head of Windelwind. He jumped onto her shoulder.

"Have you been there the whole time, Rupe?"

The black squirrel chattered happily.

"I'm so sorry. But you know you didn't really have to wait for me to come back?"

He made a few more noises and swished his tail around.

"Oh, you're such a good boy. I will never leave you like that again. Here, meet Willy."

The squirrel ran down her outstretched arm, sniffed the boy cautiously, and then jumped on his shoulder.

"Oh my," Willy said, giggling, "you're really cute."

Rupall hopped from one of Willy's shoulders to the other as they wandered through town.

It didn't take long for them to come to the misshapen house of Ms. Bleedmere.

"Doesn't this look familiar?" Willy asked.

"Yes. Her sister tried to kill us. I really should tell her what happened." Fira grumbled. "Eh, Maybe later. I don't want to accidentally kill her too."

The day passed eventfully, as the little witch showed Willy around. As the party that night was so suddenly called for, there was no shortage of magic to watch. He got a kick out of watching Mr. Jorna make food grow quickly, or Ailith using thought forms to make anything Willy wanted to see. A few dirty looks came his way as the other witches noticed his lack of magic. Some even came up and scolded him for daring to be in a magical town. Each time Fira told them to back off, that he was the only reason she was alive, and that he had every right to be there.

"I can see how you felt in my town." He said quietly after one particularly old witch hissed at him.

"Don't worry about it. Hopefully this won't be the last time you're here."

"What do you mean?" He asked, growing excited.

"You'll have to wait till tonight and find out."

At long last the sun set and Fira took the stage. Willy and Fira clapped enthusiastically from the front row. Vornay stayed completely quiet.

It wasn't as nerve wrecking this time. She took a deep breath, put her hat on, and smiled.

"For my do over; I would like to do a multipart show to reveal what abilities I have chosen."

There was a slight murmur from the crowd at the word 'abilities'.

"But first, I would like to invite my assistant Willard up to the stage."

Willy looked taken aback. He gave Fira a worried glance and tried to back away. Ailith caught him and pushed him forward. He crept slowly onto the stage in full view. There were several boos.

"Willy here has helped me to see an ability that I didn't know was possible. As many of you can tell he's not of this realm. And yet, with my help, he can fly."

The crowd grew louder, more willing to voice their annoyance.

Fira ran to the edge of the stage and came back with the broom with the eye on it. She handed it to Willy. He got on and gripped the sides real tight. With one last look of fear, he kicked off from the ground.

The broom soared into the sky. The crowd all gasped as one. He twisted and turned, showing off for all to see. After a minute he came back down, looking a little less scared.

"I have enchanted this broom to be able to fly with my magic, but without me. As long as my magic is in it, even someone without magic can fly."

"Who cares?!" Vornay yelled from the crowd. Several others agreed.

"Thank you, Vornay." Fira called back. "You bring up my next point. I can also teleport between realms. With both of these skills, I can bring the magic of broom flights to the normal realm."

The crowd stood in a stunned silence.

"It's been a long time since the war that separated us." Fira continued. "And I think that it is about time that we mend the division between us. I will show you this ability in action."

Fira shut her eyes and disappeared.

For a few minutes everyone looked at each other in disbelief.

"She's done it again." Someone said. "Will she be gone for days this time, too?"

She reappeared. The loudest gasp of all rang through town. Fira stood on the stage patting the head of a black statue with gleaming red eyes shaped like a large dog.

No one caught fire. No one even seemed to know what it was.

"This is a statue that the normal people used against us all those years ago. It has the power to repel or kill any evil magic user. I've seen it in action myself. But as we can all see, it's not affecting any of us. That proves that we are not evil. In time we can show them that, and maybe unify once again."

She bowed. The audience clapped unenthusiastically, except for Ailith and Willy, who clapped enough for everyone.

The mayor came up to the stage and removed her hat and placed the adult witch hat on her head. It had a wider brim and embroidered stars going up one side.

"That was some presentation." He said quietly. "Don't worry too much; it's going to take time for any of this to happen. It probably won't even happen in our lifetimes."

"I know." Fira said, pulling the brim down on her hat. "I don't expect them to change. I don't even really want it. I just figured it'd be a unique way to make them remember me."

"Well you certainly accomplished that."

The party lasted for hours. Fira stuffed herself so full she wasn't sure she'd be able to walk all the way home. Willy spent the night telling anyone who'd listen about how he helped defeat an evil force greater than any the world has ever known.

Sometime in the early morning it was time for it to end. Almost everyone had gone off to bed by that point. Fira and Willy slowly made their way back to the stage.

"It's about time I get home, I guess. I shouldn't have stayed this long, I'm sure my mom will be home soon with my dad, if they're not already."

"Tell your dad thanks for making that amulet of yours."

"I will. But hey, did you really mean it? Will you really let us normal people ride brooms?"

"Maybe someday. I can imagine it now—Fira's broom rentals! When I'm done with my training I'll have to come by and open up shop. You can be my first costumer."

"I can't wait."

Fira patted Willy on the shoulder. "This is finally it, then, the end of the adventure."

"I suppose. Don't take too long training. Come and see me sometime."

"I will. You ready?"

Willy held out his hand. Fira grabbed it and closed her eyes. A second later they both disappeared.

