The tall gaunt man stood before her with malice in his eyes.

"I will be back woman. This I guarantee. You can not stop me from my destiny."

"But I can slow you down. Don’t doubt that my friend." She brushed back long strands of flaming red hair and smiled. "I can shackle you down for the next twenty years."

"And how is that?"

She smiled again, but wider this time. The waves pounded the shore behind her and washed two tiny flowers up near her feet. One was purple and white, the other just purple. "This is how." She handed him the flowers and he looked at them curiously.

"I don’t understand."

"Of course you don’t, but you will know when you arrive back in your own dimension. On their twentieth birthday they will have to decide whether or not to continue their new existence, but that is in the future. If you neglect them you will die. Now be gone with you." She incanted. A tiny grey swirled globe resting on her chest began to glow vibrantly.

The man before her started to fade from view and she grinned, satisfied that she and her world would be safe for now.

"Sarah?" He called to her from the porch of her house.

It was a sprawling three story Victorian manor not even counting the attic. There were oriental carpets and ancient furniture in every room. David always loved coming here as it was a nice change from his mother’s small two bedroom apartment. There were at least ten bedrooms in this house, all of them filled with beautiful antiquities that Sarah’s eccentric mother, Becca had purchased.

Sarah’s room was her domain. She had very modern furnishings except for her four poster canopy bed. Her room was on the corner of the house on the second floor. It had a lovely bay window looking out onto the front lawn with a built in seat, of which she was gazing out this very moment.

He could see her little brown haloed head popping out of the frame. She had this cute little, round face surrounded by short, chin length page-boy style hair. Her eyes were brown like her hair and always seemed to be in mirthful laughter. She had this lovely tan year round without even trying that accented her round cheeks and full lips.

"David?" She responded. Yeah, it’s him, she thought. She could never mistake anyone else that tiny. He was short for a boy, and extremely thin. He had golden blonde hair crowning his glowing face and bright azure eyes. His face was so small she felt like she could hold it in one of her hands. He smiled up at her with the unmistakable McCoy grin, big and toothy.

She ran downstairs from her room and opened the door for him.

"Hey. How’s it going girlie?" He said as he stepped into the foyer.

"It’s going. I found this on my front porch this morning. I was afraid to open it." She said while handing him a plain paper wrapped box.

"Hmm. That’s strange. Is there no address on it?"

"Nothing except this little note attached to it."

She handed him a crumpled piece of lined note paper. Written on it in elegant calligraphy were the words: Sarah Jones. It was in green ink.

"Sarah Jones? Well, that’s you. Why don’t you open it?"

"It could be a mail bomb!"

"Oh come on, what are the chances that somebody would send you a mail bomb?"

"I suppose you have a point." She said while eyeing the package. David tossed it back to her. She screamed and nearly didn’t catch it.

"David Quinn McCoy! Do you want to kill me?"

"I’m telling you, it’s not a mail bomb."

Slowly and timidly she began to open the strange package. Her hands felt tingly and her stomach was turning over and over again. She ripped the paper pulling back slightly trying to avoid the shrapnel that she expected to fly at her. Fortunately there was no bomb hidden in that brown paper.

She opened the box revealed beneath. Inside was tissue paper surrounding her anonymous present. She lifted the flimsy white paper and found a pale tan, knotted stick, like a wand.

"What is this?" She said, lifting it to show David.

"It looks like a magic wand."

"If I believed in that crap I’d agree with you."

"Well, you know me, witch extraordinaire."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I do. I’ve seen and done some weird things you know. I think people take magic for granted really. We all make magic, everyday. It’s just that people think of all the mumbo jumbo voodoo stuff when they hear the word ‘magic.’ I mean, that’s an aspect of it too, but it doesn’t always require a ceremony to shake things up."

"I suppose, you know me, the scientist. I never believe anything until I see it first."

"Why not feel it? You know, it doesn’t always take sight to prove something. You can’t see atoms and molecules, yet you believe in them."

"I don’t know."

"Use all your senses. Try holding that stick for example. If you feel something from it, it means it’s communicating with you."

"Please. Enough already." She added uncomfortably.

"Ok. No pushing. It’s your call." David always forgot that Sarah had a hard time dealing with his religion. He honestly didn’t mean to shove it down her throat. He just wanted to share with her, like they used to when they were kids. They used to share everything.

"Ok. I’m putting the stick away for now." She said while setting the stick back in its box and putting the whole package on the window seat. "It’s too nice really to throw away."

Jess stood in front of Bailey Hall preparing to unpack her truck’s contents. Her third semester here at Preston State University, her second time unpacking her truck into her dorm room. This year to her relief she would have no roommate. She had enough trouble with the first one, Lauralee; who listened to country music on a regular basis, went to bed around 9PM every night even on weekends, and reminded her vaguely of Marsha from the Brady Bunch.

Considering that they two lived completely different lifestyles, they decided not to room together again. Lauralee didn’t really care for Jess’s eclectic clothing and alternative music. Nor did she like the fact that her roommate was quite frankly a witch. She burned candles on a regular basis and chanted spells almost in her sleep sometimes. She stood before her car caught up in her silent memories, trying to forget the hassle named Lauralee.

Her best friend Robert snuck up behind her. He loved the way she just stood their gazing up at her second floor window. She had lived in that room last year too. It had the nicest little bay window that faced the street. She had one hand placed firmly on her hip and the other was brushing back strands of long, curly black hair from her short, plump frame. He could almost see the way her hazel eyes looked up scrutinizingly at her window.

"Jess!" He yelled.

She jumped up and yelled at him. "Rob, I could kill you."

"And all the girls on campus would then kill you for it."

"Go ahead and live in denial then."

"Hey! I happen to know the ladies love me."

"When they’re so drunk they can’t stand up and need someone to carry them home."

Rob grinned at this. He’d become the designated carrier at all the off campus parties. He’d carried at least twenty co-ed women home since he started school here. He was a big guy with thick muscles and huge shoulders. He had the cutest little face though. He had these almost mournful blue eyes that no girl could resist and sandy brown hair. His presence was rather foreboding from the back, but to Jess and every other girl that knew him he was just a big bunny rabbit.

He’d known her since second grade and they’d even decided to go to college together. They were now in their sophomore year and taking several classes together. It was weird having so much in common. They were like brother and sister with this odd attraction thing thrown in there.

They were even working towards the same degree, a masters in radio communications. Eventually Jess wanted to continue on for her doctorate and teach at the college, but Rob just wanted to get on the air waves and quick. They both worked on the college radio station all of the time.

Right now they were gearing up towards getting the station up and running for the semester before all the students got back. It was true that the station ran over the summer for limited hours by all the students that stayed around Preston during the vacation, but they would soon start broadcasting during normal in session hours. Jess was the assistant to the programmer this fall, so she would help decide which shows got on the air and which shows didn’t. Rob was just a disc jockey for the time being, but he was going to try to get a position on the board of directors for the next semester.

"So what’s the plan for tonight?" He asked her.

"Well, I’d like to finish up sorting last years files with Jenny. Most of the scheduling is done, we just have a few spots open for freshmen and we don’t have to schedule them until at least next week."

"That’s good. Dinner off campus?"

"Certainly. Meet me by the truck around six-thirty?"

"Sure, parked out back?"

"Don’t I always park behind Bailey?"

"It’s almost as guaranteed as the weather here." They both laughed and he helped her hoist up a box. "We should get you unpacked first though." He added.

"That sounds good to me."

Sarah and David had graduated from high school not two months ago. Pretty soon they would be going to college. Sarah had chosen an institution not too far away. She would be going to the community college so that she could live at home. She was an only child and her mother couldn’t stand her leaving from home for very long.

Sarah couldn’t stand it either and got homesick very easily. It had been just her and her mom since before Sarah could remember. Her own father had died in a fatal car crash not long after she had been born. It was rather devastating for Mrs. Jones and she became attached to her only child.

David’s family life was much the opposite. He had two mothers, his biological mom Elana McCoy and his step-mom Ariel, plus five sisters and a brother, two from the original marriage and four from the second marriage. His father and mother divorced after having three children, David, Liza, and Cara in order of age oldest to youngest. Cara was only two at the time with Liza at four and David at five years old. Two years later his father married again to Ariel with three children of her own: Donna who at that time was 6 years old, Margo 4 years old, and little Claire who was only 3 years old. Pretty soon Ariel was pregnant again and gave birth to David’s new, first and last little brother, Colby.

It was tough on David to be the oldest of so many siblings. For awhile both his parents lived in the same town, sharing custody of their three common children. His biological mother took full custody of him when his father moved across state, but his younger sisters wanted to move with their dad. So it was just David and his mom in a two bedroom apartment for the last three years. David often visited his dad and his six siblings especially during summer vacation.

Sarah and he had been very close during childhood, since their mothers were best friends. In fact it was Mrs. Jones who had helped Mrs. McCoy through her divorce. Every time Mrs. McCoy would go over to Mrs. Jones house she’d bring David and her daughters along and the kids would play together. The roughest spot that Sarah ever helped him through was the custody battle. He was old enough to know what was going on and spent many late nights talking with Sarah about it, just as his mother was talking with her mom in the kitchen over steaming cups of coffee.

"I don’t want to leave, Sarah. If my dad gets custody I’m screwed. I’ll have to pick up and start all over again. I just started high school, just got adjusted."

"I know. It’ll all work out you know." Sarah would answer quietly. They would look at each other timidly and smile shyly. Sarah always felt safe around David. Something about his manner was comforting. The only thing that really bothered her was his religious beliefs.

During the court battle he lost his faith in the gods of his parents. He decided to take a look at alternative religions, something his father discouraged, but his mother let him do it anyway. Eventually he found that paganism suited his whims, and much of the beliefs followed his own intuitive feelings.

Pretty soon he was studying chaos magic and started to get into witchcraft. It scared Sarah to see him so into something she couldn’t understand or share with him. Eventually he told his mother all about it and she actually laughed at him.

"You know David, your grandfather always used to tell me that he was a wicked wizard and if I didn’t behave he would cast an awful spell on me. I never believed the old goat until one day he actually did it. I was mouthing off to him and he said ‘that’s enough Elana. I’m going to prove it to you once and for all.’ Then he did some weird chant and for the next three days I couldn’t talk. I believed every word my father ever told me after that incident."

"Is that why you let me look into magic mom?"

"Well, your grandfather always told me when you were little that you were born with the charm. He said he could see it in your eyes especially. He loved your eyes kiddo."

David smiled and Elana patted her son on the head.

"Your father never did like my dad." She continued. "He said that the old man always gave him the creeps. My dad always saw the charm in you. He saw it in your sisters too, but never so much as with you."

"What about you mom? Do you have the charm?"

"Nah, dad said I did, but I never cared to learn. He’d be so proud of my little witch. Although he’d ask why you chose witchcraft over wizardry."

"Mom." David said just a little embarrassed.

"Sorry kiddo, you know I have to pick on you right?"

"I suppose."

After three years of living with his mom he was going away to school, about a two hour drive north from his home. It was a small state run college with tree lined streets and ancient dorm buildings. He fell in love with it immediately. His mom was a little sad to see him go, but Mrs. Jones offered her a room anytime she got lonely.

Then they were off. David, his mom along with Sarah and her mom drove him up to school in Mrs. Jones mini-van (she had a big car to haul around her big antiques) and David’s clunker. He pulled to the side of the road two hours later in front of a big dorm labeled Bailey Hall.

"This is it." He said turning to Sarah who was his passenger.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said in a faraway tone.

"Hey, where are you kid?"

"I’m just a little sad to see you go. I never expected you’d leave."

"Hey, I’m not that far. Besides I’ll come to visit on the weekends a lot."

"I think... I think I might join you next semester."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I sent in all the paperwork and I’ve been accepted. I told admissions I wanted to wait a semester though. I’m pretty sure your mom’s going to move into my place you know."

"You think?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah, I think. And then they’ll have each other so mom won’t need me around anymore."

"Are you sure you’ll be ok? I know you Sarah. It’s not just your mom that needs you, I think you need your mom just as much."

"Shut up!" She said laughing gently. "I feel like I’m going to cry." She added quietly.

"If you cry girlie, I cry."

"Ok." She agreed.

They stepped out of the car and took in their surroundings. The air was soft and chill. It was early fall and a little colder up here.

"Well kid, I bet you’re going to have a great time at school." His mom started. "You be careful though. I wouldn’t tell too many people about your wizard status. You know how rough Sarah took it and she’s practically your best friend." She whispered to him.

"I won’t tell anyone mom."

"Ok sweety. Have a good time and don’t cause too much of a ruckus."

"Sure thing mom."

"Well let’s get you unpacked darling." Mrs. Jones said.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Hey Jess, have you seen the new kid in our science class?" Rob hailed Jess.

"You mean the one with the white hair?" Jess replied. She did notice him. He was kind of cute in a weird freaky way. He had a near perfect complexion. His skin was pale white matching his alarming hair. But the most arresting aspect of this boy were his bright violet eyes. They were deep purple, like the clouds when the sun is setting just right.

"Yup. I think his name was something like Thistle." They were walking back to their dorm. It was a nice crisp day in early fall. They were used to this kind of weather. It was pretty mild around this time on campus. The trees always had sweet blossoms on them at this time. Soon enough the campus would be coated in colorful dead leaves as they dropped off the sleeping trees. Jess always thought this time of year was pretty sad, but then for her favorite time of year, winter. It would get extremely cold and windy, since the college wasn’t too far from a lake. They would be covered in blankets of snow for months. And it was the same every year, never fail.

"Thistle. That’s an interesting name." She pondered.

"He’s an interesting guy."
"We should ask him to sit next to us during the next class. I’d like to get to know him."

"Yeah, get to know him." Rob taunted. Jess tossed him a dirty look and he smiled back. "Don’t even try to fool me." He chided. "I should know you better than anyone."

Jess blushed. "Well."

"Well. I know you go for the weird type. You always did."

"Shut up." She answered jokingly.

"Ok, ok."

As they were walking they passed a thin blonde boy looking around in the grass. He seemed rather pensive to find what he was looking for and groveled on his hands and knees. Jess decided it would be a nice gesture to stop and help the poor kid.

"Do you need help?" Jess asked him.

"Yes." He replied not even looking up. "I’m searching for a piece of jewelry I dropped."

"What kind of jewelry?" Rob asked.

The boy looked up and finally took in his new assistants. Before him was a huge guy maybe twice his size. Standing beside him was a devilish looking girl with long, curly black hair and these haunting pools of hazel for eyes.

"Hi." He said at last. "Thanks for the help. Uh, the jewelry I’m looking for is a little glass ball hanging on a thin silver chain. It’s rather important to me. I don’t know how it fell off my neck."

"You wear a necklace?" Rob asked a bit taken aback.

"Yeah. I didn’t know there was anything wrong with it."

"Ah no. It’s just that I’m not used to guys other than myself that wear necklaces." He smiled and pulled a thin gold chain out of his shirt. It had the exact same kind of charm as the one David was looking for.

"That’s the charm." He exclaimed. "It’s exactly like that but I wear mine on a silver chain."

"That’s weird. I’ve never seen another like mine before." His voice had a curious edge to it that belied to David a sense of familiarity.

The charm had been given to him by his mother shortly after he told her about studying the finer arts of magic and witchcraft. She told him that it was his grandfather’s charm and that she just knew she should give it to him.

"Dad would insist." She said gently to him.

"But what is it?"

"I’m not sure. He told me once that his mentor gave it to him once he was initiated as a wizard."

David shook off the memory and continued his search. The grass felt soft and fresh beneath his probing fingers. He could feel the earth beneath him moving, full with life. It was something he’s always done. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent for a moment. The air was heavy with the strong scent of autumn.

"Ah. I think I’ve got it." Jess turned to him with the chain dangling from her fist.

"Thank you so much. You know, I don’t even know your names." He said as she handed him the charm.

"I’m Jess. Jessica Lee." She said.

"I’m David McCoy, freshmen." He laughed.

Jess smiled. He seemed oddly familiar to her. Maybe it was those pale golden eyes. They were so strange to her, but inviting and friendly.

"And you are?" Dave turned to his titanic helper.

"Oh, Rob." He answered breaking off his reverie. He was thinking back to when he was given his pendant. His father standing gargantuan before him was passing a dagger around the circle. The flames licking away at the night sky, and the chants of the circle cutting into the silence surrounding him. Rob stepped forward in a long black cloak with a hood hiding his gentle features.

His father, William Simms, stepped from his place in the circle. He pushed the cloak back from his face and the flames illuminated his blue eyes. They shadowed his features, the same soft face of his son, but they looked harder in that red light. He smiled and pressed a cold unfamiliar object into his son’s hand.

Rob looked down and saw there a gold chain; hanging on it was a small glass ball with grey stripes encircling it.

"And now my son," he said ceremoniously "it is time for you to become a wizard like your father and my father before me."

Rob opened the delicate clasp and wrapped the chain around his neck. The ball hung down from it like a tiny pendulum, swinging back and forth as he moved about the circle to receive his blessings. The flames faded in his memory and his mind returned to the present.

"Uh, Dave?"

"Yes." David replied.

"Where did you get your pendant?"

"Well, my mom gave it to me. That was so long ago. Almost three years I think."

"Oh." He sounded almost disappointed.

"You have an ulterior motive don't you?" David asked suggestively.

Jess shot Rob a look that read ‘not now.’ Rob raised an eyebrow. That was enough to confirm David’s suspicions.

"You too?" He asked lightly. "It’s been three years almost. You know, I lost faith back then. My mom had a rough divorce when I was much younger. We all had a rough custody battle a few years later when dad wanted to move. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I started looking. I found it. Then my mom gave me this." He said lifting the ball in his tiny hands. "It belonged to my grandfather back in the day."

Rob smiled. Jess looked between the two young men, not sure what to make of their conversation, though she knew full well what it meant. Both of them, both of these boys had the magic charm, a young boy into witchery and another into wizardry.

Sarah lay on her bed thinking about her best friend. It had been nearly three weeks since he had gone to off to college and she hadn’t spoken to him once. David McCoy. Bright, sunny, fair haired David.

He was her favorite person to be with. He was always bluntly honest with her. He never failed to make her smile. David. She wasn’t sure why, but she picked up that ridiculous magic wand.

It comforted her. Holding the soft, smoothly knotted stick in her hands. Turning it over and over again, examining it. It was light in color and weight. It fit nicely in her hands, about 12 inches in length and an inch in diameter.

She looked at it and became suddenly angry with herself. "Damn you David. You’ve got me clinging to silly magic talismans." She threw the stick towards her door and shook her head at the thought of it. "No. I won’t even think about it."

She laid her head on her pillow and pouted for a bit. Slowly but surely she began to fall asleep.

David was standing in the corner of her room. Hanging from his neck was that grey swirled glass ball that he always wore on the silver chain. He had this sweet irresistible smile on his face.

He opened his arms to her and she stood from her bed. She felt drawn to him and very soon, without knowing how she was wrapped within his embrace.

"Sarah." He whispered gently. "Sarah, listen to me. You have the magic inside you. You always have. I think you’re just scared of getting hurt again."

"Again?"

"Don’t you remember?"

"No."

"Oh Sarah. Look back into your past. Think of when you were very young. Do you remember? Do remember what waits for you in the attic?"

"No, I don’t want to remember. Don’t make me remember. Damnit David! Why can’t you just let it go? I can’t be like you. I can’t be a witch. I can’t be a witch!"

Some time later she picked up her head and looked down towards the floor. Fragments of her dream were still fresh in her head. What was it about the attic that he said she needed to find? Lying there on her bed she remembered what it felt like to be in his arms. The warmth of his body pulsed into hers. He squeezed her tightly.

David had only ever held her like that once before. It was just after Sarah’s first boyfriend had broken up with her. They’d dated for nearly three months and she was very attached to him. She was devastated when he said he’d had enough. David was her sole comfort. He held her tightly to him and let her cry into his chest for hours on end. He loved her and she loved him, but neither of them knew how to say it. Eventually they both forgot about that night and moved on.

She was staring at the wand. She stared at it so hard that she almost thought it was moving towards her. She looked away, becoming dizzy from the energy she was pushing onto the switch of wood. She caught her breath and looked back down.

The wand had moved three feet from her door to her bed.

It was to be another Saturday evening for David at Bailey Hall. He didn’t like to go out to the parties off campus, nor did he like going to the school functions that were held every weekend. He spent most of his time now with Jess and Rob, but they had a specialty show together on the radio Saturday nights. They invited him to join them as a special guest, but he felt like a burden whenever he did go.

Tonight he decided to celebrate his first month of college by calling Sarah. They hadn’t spoken the whole while he’d been away. He thought maybe it was because she was too scared to talk to him. He was far away now and things might start to change. He was a little scared too.

The phone rang six times before anyone picked up. Mrs. Jones didn’t believe in answering machines.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sarah?"

"Yeah it’s me." Her tone was downtrodden and the line crackled.

"What’s up?"

"Not much."

"Oh..." He paused for a moment. Something must be wrong. "Um... there’s not much going on here either. How’s school?"

"It’s ok." She said.

"Yeah, same here."

"Listen I gotta go."

"Sarah?"

"What?" She asked annoyed.

"What’s wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong."

"Oh don’t feed me that line of bullshit. Something’s wrong."

"David, I don’t feel like talking about it."

"Ok. Well, I’ll let you go then." He didn’t feel like pressing the issue any further. Her attitude wasn’t a good one and he wasn’t used to it.

"Ok, goodnight."

"Night."

She hung up first and David stayed on the line for a minute listening to the irritating buzz. What could be wrong with Sarah? So wrong in fact that she didn’t want to tell him.

As soon as Jess and Rob’s show was over he assaulted them and dragged them back to his room.

"Do you think you guys can help?" David asked nervously.

"Well we can try." Rob said.

"You’re really worried about her aren’t you?" Jess asked in return.

"Yes. She’s never acted like that before. She’s always been able to tell me everything."

"Well, let’s brainstorm for a bit. Maybe we can come up with a spell to see what’s on her mind." Rob suggested.

"Sounds like a plan to me." David replied.

"Me too." Quipped Jess.

Three hours later they had a plan. They were going to try a spell, working together for the first time. It was to be a spell where they could see and feel what it was that Sarah was going through.

"Well, I must say I’ve never actually worked a spell with more than just myself." David said.

"At least you have spell-casting experience. Most people in these parts don’t even have that much." Rob said.

"Hmm. I remember when I first came up here. You can tell other witches and such from the average crowd. They just stick out usually." Jess mentioned. "You know, though, I couldn’t tell that you were a witch right away. It took me awhile groveling around trying to find your charm to actually figure it out."

David laughed. "I hide it well. My mom warned me and I figured she was right. I can keep it pretty well secret."

"It’s really not that bad up here. People are pretty used to college students doing and being odd things. They’re actually pretty opened minded."

"That’s cool. I wasn’t sure really. Even my best friend took it kind of hard."

"Sarah?"

"Yeah. I can feel the power within her, but she doesn’t want to admit to it. I don’t know what she’s so afraid of."

"Well, maybe we can find out during the course of the spell." Jess said. "All right. I’ve a basic idea of what to do and what will happen. For twelve hours the three of us will literally fall into Sarah’s head. Each of us will take an individual shift of four hours. During that time anything she feels or thinks will be impressed onto our minds."

"Ok, but why so long? Isn’t twelve hours overdoing it?"

"Well, you can’t expect to find what she’s thinking right away. It’ll take some time and I think if we all help we’ll find out what’s wrong."

"I hope so."
"We will." Rob added. "Well, let’s get started."

Sarah was sitting on her little bay window seat staring out into the rainy afternoon. It was a miserable day for she had spent most of it reading up for her classes. Saturday night had been a restless one as had the entire week. Sunday afternoon was beginning to be no better.

There was a slight tug at her back and she felt a presence standing behind her. She stood and looked around her room. She felt spooked like the neighborhood dogs before a big thunderstorm.

"Who are you?" She said aloud. She went to her door and opened it, looking up and down the hall. She picked up the wand which was still lying on the floor from the last incident. She didn’t dare touch it and left it where it had stopped.

"Who are you?" She repeated. "I’m getting a little frustrated here. I don’t care if you stay or go, just tell me who you are."

The tugging didn’t stop and Sarah began feeling nauseous. "Please, you’re making me sick. What do you want?"

The answer formed in her mind. Whoever it was wanted to know what was wrong.

"Why do you want to know?"

"He’s worried." Said a soft feminine voice behind her.

"Oh my god." Sarah said in shock. She sat back down on her window seat and paused for a moment. She had never dared to believe before and yet here was her evidence. "Who are you?"

"I’m a friend of someone very close to you. Please, what are you worried about?"

"I... it’s nothing."

"Please, he’s so scared for you. He’s lost and he only wants to help."

"Will you tell him for me that I’m ok. I’m having a tough time dealing with this you know." Sarah said brandishing her wand. She swung it in front of her in a wide arc.

"You wield it well." The girl laughed. "Please, it’s for him. He cares for you very much."

"Thank you." Sarah answered. "I don’t think he’d understand it though."

"I bet you that he would."

Sarah’s frown deepened for a moment. "I don’t know what to do."

"Well, maybe I can help you. I won’t tell him anything you don’t want me to."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Sarah smiled shyly for a minute and started to speak slowly and surely. "It all started when I was very young. My dad, he died three months after I was born. Mom told me that he was a wizard or something weird like that. I always thought she was just telling me that because I was little and needed to have some sort of wonderful, miraculous father. She took me to the attic one afternoon and showed me something she had kept hidden from me for the first five years of my life." She paused a moment, plagued by the pain of her memory, but glad to release it at last.

"It’s ok." The girl said gently. "Take a moment to rest, this must be hard for you."

"Thank you. It is hard, but I think it’s better that I tell it." Her composure now regained she smiled bravely and squeezed the wand in her hands. "So, I was standing in the attic with my mom. She lifted this box out from under a pile of her old junk. She’s the type to keep everything you know; she doesn’t ever throw stuff away."

The girl laughed at Sarah’s light jest. It was oddly comforting this exchange. For Sarah, she couldn’t see who it was that she was speaking to, it was almost like she was talking to herself but she knew someone was listening. She didn’t have to deal with the embarrassment of looking her companion in the face. For Jess, as that was who the girl was, it was getting to know David’s best friend that helped.

"In this box that my mother held before me was the truth of my father’s life. Who he was, his childhood, his career, his secret. They were all hidden in this box, hidden by a frightened mother who refused to raise a child into magic, as her husband had so insisted. She handed it to me and I held it in my tiny, pink hands. I opened the lid and inside that box was..." She trailed off and buried her head in her hands. She felt a hand resting gently on her shoulder. She looked behind and saw that nothing was there, but the feeling that the girl was indeed there grew stronger.

"I’m sorry. This is just so hard."

"Take your time Sarah. You’ll find, I think that it’ll become easier the more you say, but by all means take as long as you need."

Sarah breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the fresh, moist air from her window. "Inside that box were many things. The most important thing was this." She said while rising from her perch. She opened the top drawer of her dressing table and fished around in it. When she pulled her hand back out a brass chain was dangling from her fingers. On the end of that chain was a delicate glass ball inside of which there were deep red swirls.

"This was grey when my father wore it, or so my mother told me. She said that when they retrieved my father’s body from his wrecked car that this necklace was the only thing on his person not broken, but that the swirls turned to red. They returned it to my mother before they buried him, and she buried it in that box. She told me the truth in that attic. Why my father had to die and why it wasn’t just an accident. I’ve never told anyone this before, not even David. Just like my mom, I kept the truth from myself and forgot all about that day."

Sarah unclasped the necklace in her hands and held it around her neck. She felt Jess’s able hands taking the thin, brass chain ends and clasping them together securely for her. She felt the first hot tears slip down her cheek. The girl behind her stepped before her and suddenly Sarah could see her.

The girl was short and plump. She had a sweet face with the same sort of mildly eccentric look her mother had always worn without knowing. Her black hair was swept up into two braided pigtails resting gently on her bosom. She had this beautifully uplifting smile and Sarah fell into her arms instantly.

"It’s time to stop running away." Sarah said pointedly. "I can’t hide from it anymore. I am what I am and I am a witch."

The girl rubbed her back and patted her hair.

"What’s your name?" Sarah asked. "You never did tell me."

"I’m Jess. I go to school with David."

"So I’ll take it that you’re a witch too?" Sarah asked as she pulled away from her guest.

"Yuppers. Dave was real worried, so we decided to help."

"We?"

"Oh, myself and my bud Rob. He’s a chaos wizard."

"Oh. So are you really here?"

"At this very moment, yeah. I didn’t think I could actually do it, but I figured you needed someone to comfort you. I thought really hard and then bam, here’s Jess."

Sarah laughed. "Thank you. I did need someone desperately. This is kind of weird."

"I agree. Oh, I have a question."

"Sure, anything you want to know."

"When did you remember all of this stuff if you’d buried it so deeply in the past?"

"About a week ago. I had a dream that David was telling me to look in the attic. Something was waiting for me there. I was staring at the wand when I woke up and it moved three feet across the room to my bed. I went up into the attic the next day and shuffled through the mires of mom’s garbage. That box was lying under a heap of old dancing costumes and pictures from when I took ballet. It struck me as odd and I opened it up. It all came flooding back to me and I couldn’t stop it. I’ve been sulking around since then trying to figure out what to do."

Both girls stood observing each other. Jess noticed that Sarah’s charm was changing as she wore it. The red swirls shifted and bent around the miniature globe. When they finally came to rest they were grey in color.

"Sarah, did you just..."

"Yeah I know what happened to the necklace. I suppose you’ll need a ride back up to school."

"Uh, yeah. Thanks."

"Thank you."

David and Rob had helped Jess finish the incantation. They decided since it was mostly her idea that she should go first. She was going to hitch a ride in Sarah’s brain for the next four hours. She assumed that during the course of the spell the person entering Sarah’s mind would simply go into a trance and recite aloud every feeling or thought that occurred to their host.

Jess was wrong. She actually ended up falling into a trance, but she didn’t recite anything aloud. After a half hour of this silent reverie she began to fade from the boys’ view. Soon after that they received a call from her.

She was fine and in Sarah’s room. Sarah was going to drive her back up to school this afternoon and she would be there before long.

The boys sat in stunned silence.

"So everything’s ok?" David asked her nervously.

"Yes, I swear to you. Sarah’s..." She paused and looked over her shoulder at the girl behind her. Sarah smiled warmly and Jess continued. "She’s good."

David breathed a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Yeah. So we’ll be up to school in no time. Just hang in there guys!" Jess laughed and hung up.

"Well?" Rob asked.

"She said everything’s good. I hope she’s not just saying that for my benefit."

"Damn that Jess. She’s never done a spell accurately in her entire life."

David laughed and touched the grey mass hanging from his neck. He felt a sort of melancholy as he caressed the tiny ball. His grandfather, the man he hardly knew wore this for years before David even knew it’s purpose.

He remembered seeing that little ball resting on his papa’s chest (for that was what he called his grandfather). He played with it when he was very young and would sit on papa’s lap for hours, fascinated by the grey globe. His papa would laugh robustly and set him on the floor.

"That boy has the charm Elana." He heard him say to his mother.

"Dad, you know how I feel about it. If he’s meant for it he’ll find it someday on his own."

"I know, but I think he should be raised to it."

"Dad, I want my son to grow up able to make his own decisions. I think when the time comes he’ll be called to it."

"I suppose he is your son Elana. Raise him however you will."

"Thanks dad."
David shook his head. How come he couldn’t remember that before? He looked over at Rob who was sitting in his own dream world in front of the computer desk. These young men were bonded because of the glass resting above their hearts. Why? David thought to himself. Why are we so bonded? What greater purpose do we serve?

Rob’s eyes were glassed over. He felt nearly like he was going to cry. Waiting for Jess had been rather nerve wracking. He never could deal with her unpredictable spell-casting. They’d known each other for so long. He met her when she poured blue paint all over him in elementary school.

Fortunately for Jess blue was his favorite color. From that moment on they were best friends. They went through their adolescent years together as insane as that was. They learned how do to do spells with each other, testing them out and seeing what worked for them.

Rob’s father insisted on helping Jess with her witchy trade, since her parents didn’t know anything about it. Jess’s father helped build their tree-house in Jess’s backyard. That tree-house is where they spent the majority of their shared childhood.

That girl had caused him so much trouble and worry. He couldn’t help but love her like a sister, and even more so to worry about her constantly. It had been his habit to be a big brother to her since he had no siblings of his own and Jess’s brother and two sisters were already in college by the time she was born.

David heard a soft tap on the door.

"I’ll get it." He said to Rob, who barely heard him.

He looked through the peep-hole to see Sarah and Jess standing impatiently outside. He opened the door and Jess rushed in all a twitter.

"Can you believe this?" She asked breathless.

"Um... well, I kind of have to." He replied.

She laughed and walked over to Rob, still seated in the desk chair. She kneeled in front of him and finally he snapped back to reality. He embraced her warmly, refusing to release her plentiful body from his grip.

"Sarah?" David asked shyly.

"I’m sorry sweety. I never meant to worry you. I’ve got a lot on my mind right now and I’m not sure how to deal with it." She lifted the charm out from underneath her pale colored shirt. "Especially this piece of my past."

"I..."

"I told you so would be sufficient." She relented.

He smiled lovingly at her and she jumped into his open arms. She was finally going to admit it to herself. David’s little Sarah was a witch indeed.

"Are you going back home tonight?" He asked her.

"No. I still have all my sick passes left, so I’ll skip Monday classes. I figure I can head out later tomorrow afternoon. I’ll tell mom that you freaked out and I drove up here without even thinking. Do you have a phone I can borrow?"

"Yeah no problem."

"Do you have a roommate?" She asked curious at the room’s set-up. The two beds were pushed together on one wall with an extra large comforter covering them both. His desks were set together to make an L-formation on the other side of the room. His computer was set up on one of the desks and she spotted a phone on the other one.

"Uh, no. I lucked out this year and next year Rob and I are going to bunk up together."

"That’s convenient." She said lightly.

David slugged her jokingly and she practically bounded over to the phone.

As she waited for the rings to stop and her mom to answer, David observed her. She was more beautiful than he remembered. Her hair sparkled in the carmine light from the setting sun, now streaming through the large window and turning the room into a blaze of crimson, mauve, and golden hues. Her arms hugged her slight frame, pushing her delicate breasts upward. He noticed how her legs ran down to the floor in an elegant line of tanned flesh. His eyes rose to her rounded visage and her light brown eyes stared back at him. He looked quickly away, a blush rising to his proud cheeks and he nearly giggled at his own behavior.

"Ah yes, mom?" She said quickly. "I’m ok mom, really... No, I’m with David... Well let me explain... He’s been having some girl problems mom... No mom... Would you let me finish... Ok. He called me this afternoon very distraught. I told him that I’d be right up and that I’d help him through this little crisis... I have enough sick passes to skip out of classes tomorrow. I’ll be home later tomorrow afternoon... Yes mom, I’ll get the notes from someone, would you stop worrying... Love you too. Bye."

"All set?"

"Yeah. I can barely get a word in edgewise with that woman. I love her more than cheese but she’s a pain in my ass!"

"More than cheese?" Rob asked confused.

"That’s a long story." David laughed. "By the way Sarah, this is Rob."

"Nice to meet you Rob." She said while stepping forward to shake his extended hand.

"I’ve heard way too much about you. Dave tells me you have quite a revealing relationship." Rob joked.

"David shouldn’t take his foot out of his mouth." Sarah smiled tritely and sent a poisonous look in David’s general direction.

Rob laughed. They acted just like he and Jess did, but there was something a little more behind their familial mannerisms with each other. There was a deeper emotion that he couldn’t quite shake, almost like they were in love with each other, but didn’t know it.

"Are you sure you don’t want me to pull the beds apart?" David asked Sarah as they were getting ready to settle down for the night.

"No. It’ll be fine." She answered in a chipper tone, even though her heart was beating anxiously in her chest.

All four of them had eaten dinner together and spent much of the evening talking about Jess’s miraculous spell. Sarah asked all varieties of questions about magic, witchcraft and wizardry. David was happy to learn of her newfound excitement and curiosity. Eventually Jess and Rob both found reasons to head back to their own rooms and left Sarah to David’s care.

"Here." He said handing her a pair of his shorts and a t-shirt. "For pajamas, right?"

"Oh thanks. Is there a bathroom nearby where I can change?"

"No, that’s ok. I’ll go change in the bathroom, you change in here."

Sarah smiled as he fished for a new t-shirt. She knew he always slept in the nude, he’d told her a thousand times over that it was so much more comfortable. Was he actually going to keep his clothes on for her benefit? He opened the door in a flourish and ran down the hall to Rob’s room, which was on the same floor.

Sarah slowly began to undress herself. Yeah, she still loved him. She always had, but just like her father’s charm she hid it away only to be found and reclaimed on this fateful night. She was afraid though. She and David were meant for other people and she knew it. Her father had written her a letter the night of the accident and hidden it in that box.

"Dear Sarah." It read: "I love you very much my little daughter. But on this night I must leave you in order to protect you. Death will knock many times on your door but you will be needed to protect the future of our world and others as well. Don’t be afraid I will be here to watch over you every step of the way. Please for my sake, don’t get involved with your best friend. I know you will love him very much, but I can’t save you from your fate if you do. That boy will inadvertently be your demise. Love always, Dad."

She remembered crumpling that piece of paper in her hands after she read it. How could she face David after reading such a thing? She decided though that she would risk it anyway and get involved. Even though her dad couldn’t protect her in this case, she could pull out before she got too deep.

David was in a state of panic too. Sarah would be sleeping in his bed tonight. Her voice ran over in his head again and again. "No. It’ll be fine." She said.

"Rob?" He called as he banged the door repeatedly with his tiny fist.

"Coming. Settle down."

David heard the click as the handle swung up and the door creaked open.

"Oh it’s you." Rob said.

"You sound disappointed."

"No. I thought you were the RA for a second there. He always comes round this time of night just to bust my balls. What’s the deal?" Rob asked as he ushered David into the room.

Both men sat on Rob’s bed and David started to gush.

"Sarah is in my room right now, changing into pajamas. She’s going to sleep in my bed of all places. I asked her if she wanted me to push them apart and she said ‘no. It’ll be fine.’ What am I supposed to say to that?"

"Congrats my friend. You’ve got that girl hook, line and sinker."

"Huh?"

"Oh please. You two are in love. Don’t even try to deny it."

"Well, I don’t know. I never really thought of Sarah..." He trailed off. He’d always thought of Sarah that way. Even when they were little kids playing in Mrs. Jones’ backyard. He’d always had the biggest crush on her. Then there was that time just after her first boyfriend left her. He was so close to telling her as he held her in his arms that night.

"See, what did I tell you?" Rob taunted lightly.

"What do I do?"

"Well don’t keep her waiting by wasting your time talking to me!"

David laughed nervously. "I’ve never even admitted this one to myself, let alone her."

"Just wait until the timing is right. You’ll know when to tell her. Now go." Rob said while pushing David out the door.

His friend stumbled down the hallway and changed his shirt while walking back to his room. Sarah, he thought. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Hook, line and sinker.

He pounded the combination lock until he heard the familiar pop and pushed open the door. Sarah was changed into his shirt and shorts, which clung to her body like plastic wrap. She was resting readily on his comforter in wait.

"Well all set?" He asked as he began to remove his pants down to his boxer shorts.

Sarah smiled, looking down shyly as he stripped. What was she doing? She asked herself again and again. Well hey, she justified fate is fate, why avoid it?

David turned off the lights and waited for Sarah to move over.

"You’ll have to climb over me." She said. "You know I don’t like to sleep next to the wall."

David stood there for a moment nervous. Then he slowly put one knee on the edge of the bed and swung the other leg up to straddle her. She giggled. He pushed off with his knee from this position and fell down beside her, breathless.

"David?" She asked.

"Sarah. I have something to say."

"Me too." She said quickly.

"Well, you first." He offered.

She cleared her throat and he could see her turning towards him in the moonlight peeking through the blinds of his window. She was shaking in fear, sweat running down her face and pooling at her neck. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but she was going to try.

"David... I..."

"I love you." He rushed in before she could even start.

"You do?" She asked surprised.

"I always have."

"I was going to tell you the same thing. I love you." She laughed.

The two of them giggled for a bit, trying to shake the nervousness. David slid his arm around her waist and she snuggled up to his chest. They fell asleep listening to the slow, even rhythm of each others’ breathing.

Thistle sat in the very back of his science class regarding the girl with the long, black hair and her gigantic male companion. He knew that these two had strong magic boiling within them. He wasn’t quite sure how to broach the subject, but he was curious about their powers, for more than one reason.

His father was actually the one who wanted to know everything about them. Perry was not the type to let things slide. He wanted to know who had the magic in the area and all the details. How strong were they and how well did they control it? How long have they been here and how long were they staying?

"Well dad." Thistle muttered under his breath. "I’ll do what I can."

Once the class was dismissed Thistle jumped up to run after Jess and Rob, who were already outside the door.

"Hello?" He called to them.

Jess turned her head but Rob seemed not to notice and kept walking on.

"Yes, I was wondering if we could meet some time. I was admiring the report you did a few days ago for class." Thistle said. He stood an entire foot and a half taller than Jess, almost as tall as Rob, but he seemed to have less mass.

"Oh, thanks." Jess said. "That was really a last minute thing. I’ve never been very good at public presentations. I couldn’t believe that Rob and I pulled that one off." She also couldn’t believe that he was actually talking to her.

Thistle had a deep, earthy voice. As if the ground itself could speak through him with a gentle, quiet, strength. Those lavender eyes squinted in the late afternoon sun, bright as the dawn with her glorious colors streaming through the fresh morning clouds.

"What’s your name?" He asked softly.

"Jess and you are?"

"Thistle."

"Nice to meet you." Jess smiled. "Now where did Rob go off to?" She added as she noticed her friend’s disappearance. Rob was no where in sight.

"Well, you’d better go find him. I’ll see you during the next science class?"

"Sounds good." She said.

He bowed to her politely and a giant smile spread across her face.

"See you then." He said.

"Ok."

Jess ran back along the path they usually took to get back to Bailey Hall. She didn’t see Rob anywhere along the way, but she did run headlong into David.

"Oh, hey Dave. Did Sarah get home ok?"

"Yeah she called a little while ago. Where’s Rob?"

"I was wondering the same myself. Have you seen him?"

"No, not since last night."

"That’s so weird. It’s not like him to run off and not say anything. We were leaving science class and that cute guy stopped me wanting to talk. I stopped but apparently Rob didn’t."

"I’m sure it’s no big deal." David offered.

"I hope so. Well, I’ll see you for dinner right?"

"Sure thing kid."

She watched after him as he walked towards his next class. He always bounced when he walked, almost like he was too light for gravity to keep down. Her and David had become rather close over the past few weeks.

They were spending a lot more time together. He was more than happy to accompany her to the radio station and helped her do odd jobs. They enjoyed each others company a lot. He called her every night at the same time for dinner and they went out every weekend.

Jess was afraid that things might change now that it was heating up between him and Sarah. She’d lost so many of her friends to significant others. She didn’t want to lose Dave too.

Sarah seemed nice enough, but Jess could feel something a little off. She knew that the girl was hiding something from David. It was something big to be sure. She broke off from her thoughts and continued plucking her way back home.

She looked around her surroundings again, making sure she didn’t miss Rob.

Where had he gone? She went back to his room and pounded the door repeatedly with no luck. She decided to try and call him, but to no avail. The phone rang again and again with no answer. Finally his voice mail picked up.

"Rob, this is Jess. Where are you? I stopped to talk to Thistle and you just disappeared. All right, give me a call when you get back."

Rob looked around finding himself in a completely strange place. He heard a humming sound coming from near his chest and looked down to see his charm glowing a vibrant, scorching white. The tree lined sidewalk from campus had been replaced by a pale strip of beach.

There were no people here, save for one. A young woman kneeled down to the ground, picking up shells and pebbles as the waves pulled back from the shore. She looked up at him and smiled, her dark eyes veiled from the sun by a delicate hand.

Her hair was more brilliantly red than anything he’d ever seen. It lapped about her face as the wind whipped it into a furor. She stood from her place and started walking towards him. She was graceful and thin as a dancer.

Her skin was well tanned, like she spent hours searching for tiny keepsakes from the shore. Her limbs were long and he caught a glimpse of her perfectly formed legs as they swayed underneath the fabric of her thin grey dress. It was wet and clung to her, revealing much more than he supposed she would want to.

"Where am I?" He asked her, finally able to find his voice.

"You are in a strange place my friend." She said in a tone that reminded him of water cascading down the side of a cliff. It was tinkly and rough at the edges, but calming to listen to.

"Well obviously. One second I was walking home from class with Jess and the next minute here I am with you."

She smiled on at him, as if he had said nothing at all.

"So where am I?" He tried again.

"A magical place. It’s lovely though." She cooed. She lifted the ball on his neck into her hand. "I suppose this brought you here?"

"I don’t know. I guess so."

"Hmm. You silly mortals don’t realize what you play with."

"What do we play with?"

"Where did you get this?" She asked, dodging his questions once more.

"My father. What is it?"

"A very special thing indeed. Lovely."

"Listen, I need help. What is the deal here?" He asked, losing his patience at last.

"This..." She answered slowly. "This is very special. It is part of a larger whole. Many smaller fragments broke off of the larger piece. We discovered that the fragments had special properties. It was decided that the majority of the world couldn’t handle such power. They were distributed among small circles of well minded individuals. Eventually the stones worked their way into the hands of witches and wizards and the sort. The type that actually knows what they’re doing with such things." She paused, looking Rob up and down.

"What does this have to do with me?"

"It brought you here, didn’t it? You and your friends have some amazing powers. I’d like to meet them."

"I have to get back first." He mentioned sardonically.

She laughed. "Good sense of humor, I see. I’ll show you how to get back. But first, follow me."

Five hours after Jess first called Rob she heard a light rap on the door. She leapt up to the sound and threw it open. The sight before her made her jaw drop.

Rob was standing in front of her, his face deadly white. His expression was weak at best and seemed almost as if he’d just been through hell. Dangling from his fist was what looked like a chain of bronze and on the end of it was another of those glass ball charms. In his other hand was a short sword in a red velvet sheath.

"This is for you." He said softly, holding out his fist.

"My god Rob, what happened?"

She rushed over to his side. He leaned all of his weight on her as she placed her arms around him. They barely made it to her bed before he collapsed. She helped him onto the mattress and he immediately closed his eyes, falling into a deep slumber.

She picked up the phone and punched in a number. "David. I need you here, quickly."

Jess noticed the necklace which Rob still held in his huge hands. It was definitely not his own, as the chain was different and she could see he was still wearing his. She took it from him and pushed it into her jeans’ pocket. She took the rapier he held and set it on the desk next to him.

"What have you gotten yourself into now?" She asked of the sleeping hulk on her bed. It would take them the rest of the semester to come even close to the truth. While they were piecing together what happened to Rob the days kept rolling by.

Rob’s memory of the whole event was rather shoddy. He vaguely remembered the strange woman with the red hair and some sort of beach. The rest was just a ball of fog.

"A beach? It’s mid-winter boy-wonder!" Exclaimed Jess.

"That’s what I remember. Well, and of course she gave me the charm for you and the rapier for me."

"Right." Jess said, pushing out her large bosom to proudly display the little, grey ball at her neckline.

"So all four of us have these charms now." David said.

"Yup. And I’ve got a magic rapier. She didn’t say much about its use, but she said I would know when the time came."

"Do you remember her saying anything about the rest of us?" David asked.

"Vaguely. I remember her saying something about having the power of all four quarters and that it would be easier to find the other stones now."

"Huh?" Sarah looked at him under a mask of confusion. She was up on one of her many weekend visits. She spent a lot of time at Preston University for the benefit of David. He missed his new girlfriend more than anything in his curious existence.

"Oh, the quarters. It’s a term used often in magic. A lot of times when a group does a spell they have four people represent the four main elements. You call the quarters or the elements and ask them for help. It is believed that when you do so you have their power behind your spell." Jess explained.

"All right, let me understand this. The four elements are wind, water, fire and earth?"

"Yes and each one correlates to a point on the compass. In this town a lot of people associate north with earth, south with fire, east with water and west with wind. Of course, this changes where you go because of how people associate with their surroundings. There is too the problem of the fifth element." Rob confirmed.

"The spirit, right?" David interjected. "There is no point on the compass for that, but in a lot of Wiccan ceremonies they have two people represent the goddess and the god. Depends on where you go."

"Everything depends on where you go, huh?" Sarah hypothesized.

"Paganism is fifty percent tradition, fifty percent improv." Rob cajoled.

"So what’s this about the other stones?" David asked.

"Oh that. I nearly forgot. She said... God, it’s so foggy in my brain. It’s like I blundered my way into a thick patch of mist and there’s no way out."

"Take your time." Sarah eased.

"Well, I remember something about these little charms being pieces of a larger whole. She said that we could find the bigger pieces now and put it all together."

"Odd." Jess stated under her breath.

"You’re telling me. I don’t know. I mean, she was so weird. She kept saying that everything was lovely. She had a great body though." Rob rambled.

"Piglet." Jess chided.

"What my father would say now." Sarah wondered.

"What would he say?" David asked curious. She was pretty tight lipped about her father, especially his death. It always caught him off guard when she spoke of him. He knew that Jess knew more about that then he did, but he didn’t ever push Sarah to reveal more than was her plan.

"Well, I think he’d yell at me something fierce for hanging out with you clowns, but he’d be proud. My mom, you know was too scared. Dad always wanted to raise me into magic, but she never did. They always fought about it. She’s still having some problems with the whole deal, but what parent can be prepared for their child to say they’re a witch?"

"Point taken." Rob replied. "My problem wasn’t that my dad couldn’t accept it, but that he never thought I was good enough at it. I just wanted him to be proud of me."

"That’s tough." David said gently. "I just wanted my dad to leave me alone. He could never keep his nose out of my personal life. So I decided to live with my mom after the divorce."

"I just wanted a dad." Sarah added quietly.

"Sorry." Rob said.

"Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Nope, it was his own damn fault."

David’s jaw dropped. "Sarah?"

"Listen sweety." She started gently. "I’d rather not go over it now, but what happened to my father was all a part of his plan."

David looked at her in stunned silence for a moment. It bothered him a great deal that she wouldn’t tell him more about her father. She had secrets and he wanted to know more about them.

"How about you Jess?" Rob asked, trying to smooth over the uncomfortable silence following Sarah’s statement.

"Well." She said slowly. "I don’t like to rub my good fortune in others’ faces, but I had a great childhood. My parents and I are very close. We always had a strong relationship. They had no idea about magic and witchcraft at first. Rob’s dad helped me with that until I was ready to tell them. They were surprised, but once I explained everything they were cool with it. They supported me in my every decision."

"That’s wonderful." Sarah said. "My mom and I are like that in most things."

Thistle grinned at Jess. They were out for the fifth time since they’d met. They’d become quite the item as of late. It was almost the end of the semester and everyone was getting ready to go home.

"Where did you ever find a necklace like that?" He asked lightly. He was still gathering information for Perry, but at this point he was beginning to take a personal interest. He had taken Jess to the movies twice now, two cafes, and one restaurant. This was their second time to the little cafe just off campus. It had a wonderful view of the snow covered landscape and served all variety of hot beverages to heat anyone up after a jaunt into the cold.

"My friend Rob found it for me. Beautiful isn’t it?"

"Very much so."

"Hey listen, I want you to meet the rest of the gang. We’ve become pretty close over the course of the semester and I think they’d like to meet you."

"I’m intrigued."

"They’re an interesting bunch. Anyway, Sarah will be up this weekend. It’ll be nice and convenient. You can come over to my place Saturday night."

"Sounds fair, since I’ve dragged you back to my room every other time."

"It sucks that you live so far away on the other side of campus. It’s weird how they designed the place. One street of dorms, two blocks of academic buildings and then another full street of dorms on the other side. It’s like they intended to segregate the two halves."

"One would imagine. It’s lovely though."

"Hmm."

"Were you thinking of something?" He asked her intently.

"Just going back over something Rob said. He visited the beach a while back." She laughed.

"Dare I ask?"

"I wouldn’t recommend it. It might make more sense when you meet him. He’s an off the wall character."

"Now I’m scared." He said in jest. "Would you like to meet my family sometime?"

"I didn’t know they lived nearby."

"Well. Dad’s kind of an eccentric, odd... how best can I put it? He’s an old cuckoo."

Jess laughed. She put her hand over his on the table. He blushed and turned his hand over to entwine his fingers in hers.

"He owns a giant mansion on the other side of town. He made barrels of money while researching drug companies during his later college years. He invested in the stock market and the rest is history. He offered to let me live on campus last year since I just got tired of living at home. He offered the same to Orchid and she accepted without giving it a second thought."

"Orchid?" She asked.

"My sister." He replied slowly.

"I didn’t know you had a sister."

"She’s the black sheep really. Well, we both are. I mean look at me. The white hair, the purple eyes. Genetic freaks of nature. She’s my fraternal twin."

Jess looked at him for a moment. He was serious enough. "Don’t be so hard on yourself. I like the way you look." She squeezed his hand tightly in her own.

"I am too hard on myself I guess. It can’t be helped."

"I think you’re beautiful."

He blushed again, brightening his cheeks to the tiniest hue of salmon pink. His eyes seemed brighter now than they ever had before to her. Every bit of him had kept her fascinated and coming back for more.

He was intriguing and entertaining. He kept her guessing. He had the best stories to tell of his high school high-jinx and childhood pranks. He seemed to take an active interest in her as well.

It had been so long since her last boyfriend. She didn’t remember having such attention lavished on her. He treated her like a princess, and she was starting to feel like a princess.

"So when do you want to do this?" She asked.

"Well, I’d definitely like to meet your friends this weekend. How about this, you have dinner at my place with my family Saturday night and then we come back and hang out with your friends for the rest of the evening? We’ll get it done all in one fell swoop."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Oh, I’d nearly forgotten." He said while producing a green velvet box from his pocket. "This is for you."

She carefully opened the box and sitting on a thick cushion of green was a tiny, silver Claddaugh ring.

"I figured it was safe to assume you liked me. I thought I’d spoil my princess some."

"Your princess thanks you. This is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen." She held it in her hands, examining it scrutinizingly.

The ring was thin, so thin she was afraid she might snap it in two if she applied even the slightest of pressure. The detailing was fine and decidedly done by hand. There were delicate little hands holding an exquisitely carved heart above which rested an intricate tiara. The tiara was studded with tiny gemstones of amethyst, crystal and emerald.

"This must have cost you a fortune." She said placing it back on its little, green pillow.

"Well actually, it was given to me by my grandmother. Why don’t you put it on?"

"Oh. I didn’t even think." Jess flushed and smiled in embarrassment. She took the ring back out of the box and slid it onto her ring finger. It was a perfect fit.

"Thank you so much. It’s more than I could’ve asked for."

"That’s good, because that’s the best that I can give you." He laughed easily.

She grinned amiably. "Well, we’d better be getting back to campus."

"Ok."

They walked back along the ice strewn sidewalk, the folds of Jess’s long, navy blue skirt swimming in undulating waves around her ankles. The sun had already set, as the days were growing shorter all the time for the impending deep months of winter. The moon was set high in the sky, sparkling on the clear expanse of chill air. The sky mimicked the star studded pattern on her favorite frock, bespeckled with tiny silver stars and moons.

"I’ll pick you up in front of your dorm Saturday around five o’clock. Ok?" He asked as they stood before Bailey Hall.

"Yeah, that’s good for me. Thank you for the ring and a wonderful evening."

"Thank you." He said and squeezed her in a strong hug. He bent down close to her and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He was about to pull away, but she grabbed him jerking him back into her arms.

"You’re not going anywhere yet." She giggled and kissed him square on the lips.

He looked at her in surprise and laughed. "I think I’m going to love you Jessica."

"Well, well, well, miss Jess." Rob taunted.

"What’s your damage?" Jess asked sarcastically.

"Look at you blush. You’re glowing you know. Beaming to make the very moon jealous of your radiant beauty."

"Oh stop."

"No really. You do look lovely tonight." He said soberly enough.

"Everything’s been lovely since you went to that beach, eh?"

"Eh? You’re living too close to the Canadian border. So how was the date?"

"Can’t you tell? It was wonderful." She held up her hand to display her new ring.

"By goddess Jess. He must really like you."

"That’s my hope. My last boyfriend was two years ago, and he wasn’t the brightest apple in the book if you ask me."

"The brightest apple in the book? Never mind, I don’t want to know."

"In any case, it’s been awhile. He’s such a sweet guy."

"So when do we get to meet the illustrious Mr. Thistle?"

"Saturday night. I hope Dave didn’t have anything planned for Sarah. I want him to meet everyone. He’s so wonderful."

"Stop, you’re gushing. I just cleaned this carpet yesterday you know."

Jess smiled in a daze of bliss. "Whatever you say chief. I’m checking out. I need sleep."

"All right. I’ll walk you to music history tomorrow?"

"As always."
"Of course."

"Night." She said as she walked through the door.

"Pleasant dreams sweet cheeks." He laughed.

She turned around, stuck out her tongue and slammed the door in his face.

"Somebody’s moody." He said to himself in a snotty tone. "Oh what to do on a Monday night when everyone you know is sleeping or drunk."

"Why don’t you visit me again?" Said a tinkling voice from behind him.

He turned to see that woman from the beach resting on his bed. His mouth hung open for a second as he started to formulate what to do. She giggled, resounding like a thousand tiny bells in his head bouncing around on his grey matter.

"How’d you get here?" He asked, stepping cautiously in her direction.

"I have a stone too. Did you honestly think I’d give my only stone to that lovely Miss Jessica?"

"I don’t know."

"Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about how I got here so much as why."

"Why then?"

She scrunched up her little nose and looked at him distastefully for a moment. "What is that smell?"

"You’re in a guy’s room. Men in this world tend to stink."

"I can smell that!" She agreed.

"Why are you here? You always dodge my questions. You never even told me your name. I can’t remember half of what happened last time we ‘visited.’ What is the deal?" He listed angrily.

"Settle down killer." She smiled at him vaguely. "My name is Scarlett. I’m a sorceress from another dimension, don’t ask, you’ll only get more confused. I used to live in this dimension, but it got pretty boring. I decided to leave and haven’t been back since, well except for this little visit."

"So I went to your dimension last time?"

"Sure did. It’s one big beach there. I rather like it. There are others, dimensions that is. I’ve visited quite a few. You can only travel if you have a stone."

"That’s another piece for my puzzle, thanks."

"My pleasure. Why I’m here is another reason all together."

"Ok. Why?"

Scarlett tossed a lock of ruby hair over her shoulder. "I see Jess has been fraternizing with the enemy."

"Thistle?" Rob asked warily.

"That would be the one. It’s not him really. His dad’s the one you should be worried about."

"And?" Rob asked.

"And what? That’s what I came to tell you. Warn Jess about Thistle’s father. End of story."

"Why should we be worried about him?"

"If the gods intended you to know everything, they would’ve given you psychic abilities."

Rob rolled his eyes at her statement. "I guess you’re free to go then."

"I’m free to go anytime I like Robert." She said in a dark tone. "I’m leaving now."

"Enjoy your trip, Scarlett. Feel free to come back if you get another brilliant flash of vital information."

She looked at him for a moment. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of his character. He was brave and kind, but angry at something. Something she couldn’t put her finger on just yet.

"One more thing dear. Beware of this weekend. Don’t let Thistle’s father know that you’re all meeting and that you’ll all have your stones. You’ll have the power of the quarters, which should help a little, but don’t depend on it. Perry always was good at manipulating the elements."

"Perry?"

"Thistle’s father. I’ve got to go now. Good luck kid. Have a lovely weekend."

"I’ll try." He said forcefully.

Scarlett’s stone began to glow white hot, hurting Rob’s eyes in the process as he stared at her. She faded into her other world and left his room seeming emptier than it had moments ago. This weekend, huh? He thought to himself.

Jess stood in front of Bailey Hall in an apprehensive mood. Rob was adamant about Scarlett’s vague admonition and refused to hear otherwise. Jess was to be their secret agent as it were and find out as much as she could about this Perry character.

It was difficult for her to even think that something bad could be related to Thistle, biologically or socially. She’d become rather attracted to the idea of him and her dating. She didn’t want something like this to put a damper on things.

She would put her nose into it nevertheless. She loved her friends more than anything in the world and would protect them at all costs. She realized too, that she was involved and included herself among those endangered. She reached up to touch her stone charm, but realized that she wasn’t wearing it. Considering the power it might hold she decided that it would probably be best to leave it with Rob for the night.

Thistle placed a warm hand on her cold cheek and she jumped back.

"Oh, Thistle." She said breathlessly, a puff of steam rising from the warmth of her lips. "I didn’t even see you coming."

He smiled, chipping a little away from her cold block of nervousness.

"Are you ready?" He asked her gently.

"Oh yes."

He eased her into a large, green truck. Green seemed to be his favorite color. He usually wore something of that color, or had an object of that color. She remembered this as she was dressing and pulled out an old, pale green dress from the back of her closet.

She hadn’t worn it since tenth grade in high school. Four whole years that dress sat in her closet gathering dust. She was surprised it still fit. It was her favorite kind of material, cotton, but thinly weaved so it breathed well. It had an empire waist which only accentuated her well rounded chest and elegant hour glass figure. She always felt at her best in dresses like this, because they made every plump curve look all the more inviting.

It was cold out on this fine winter evening and snow was beginning to fall in delicate, wispy flakes. It collected on her long winter cloak, a hooded, black creation that she was given on her birthday two years ago. She began to brush off the pools of melting snow as Thistle kicked his truck into gear and pulled out onto the road.

She looked at her feet nearly the whole time, partly because she hated traveling when the roads were so slick and also because she was nervous. What if Thistle caught onto her espionage? She wondered if he would be more mad or curious.

"What’s up?" He asked after a few minutes of silence. They were stuck at an intersection waiting for the red light to change.

"Nothing really." She tried to sound convincing.

"You just seemed... I don’t know."

"I’m fine really. Honestly. I’m just a little nervous about meeting your family."

"I’m a little nervous too. I hope I make a good impression on your friends."

"I’m sure you will." Jess said, forgetting her own situation. Thistle had this odd power over her. Whenever he was near, Jess would forget about her problems and worry more about his. She still couldn’t decide if this was a good thing or not.

"You know, this will be the first time Orchid, dad and I have eaten together in at least eight months."

"That long? That’s like a crime in my family. Mom, dad and I always had dinner together every night. Whenever Peyton, Celeste or Thomas were home they’d have to eat with us too. We’d have to schedule around each other to do it, but we managed."

"Who are they?"

"Oh, my big sisters and brother. God, Peyton was twenty-two years old when I was born. Celeste I think was 21 and Tommy was 19 at the time. Every single one of them was in college while mom was pregnant for me. I guess she tried and tried to have another kid right after Tom was born but it didn’t happen until she stopped trying. I was a surprise for them. The older kids are all married now. Hell, they have kids of their own. I’m auntie Jess from now on."

The light changed, illuminating the truck in a faint green glow.

"Do you really think they’ll like me?" Jess asked.

"Don’t worry sweety." He consoled. "They’ll love you just as much as I do."

Jess smiled and stared at the conviction written across his pale face. He seemed so determined that she should be perfect for his family. Perfect.

Thistle guided the vehicle into a long lane, surrounded on either side by apple trees. The apples, of course were gone now and replaced by icicles, rocking in the drifting, snow laden wind. At the end of the drive, which seemed to go on for hours, was a huge mansion.

It was made of light, orangy brick and looked oddly summery in the dead winter weather. There were three stories to the place not including the attic, exactly how Sarah had described her own house. The neatest part for Jess was the little balcony over running the porch. It had wrought iron fencing painted black, much like the gates they had passed to enter the lane.

There were windows adorning each floor straight up to the attic, almost too many to count. Every light in the house was ablaze, which seemed a little off key at first, but Thistle warned her about his father’s eccentricity. Keeping all the lights on was just the sort of obsessive-compulsive behavior she should have expected.

She realized that she was gawking up at the expansive house before her, as Thistle waited calmly at the door.

"You got sick of living here? I’d sleep in a new room every night. I think that should keep me busy for at least a few months without any repeats." She joked.

"I did that one year. It took me exactly three months, not counting the kitchen, living room, dining rooms and bathrooms."

"Dining rooms, plural?"

"Yeah. We have a really huge hall for entertaining lots of guests and a smaller one for occasions like tonight. Although knowing dad I’m assuming that he’ll have us eating in the big room."

"Wow."

Thistle laughed at Jess’s amazement. Her eyes were wide, like a small child in a toy store or a grown man in a car dealership. He shook his head gently and took her arm in his. This was going to be an interesting night indeed.

As predicted, Perry had set up the large dining room for their guest. He was all decked out in a tailed tuxedo, much to Thistle’s embarrassment and the entertainment of Jessica. Orchid wasn’t home yet, but Perry postulated that she would be joining them soon enough.

"It’s so nice to meet you." Perry said raising Jess’s hand cordially to his lips. "I’ve heard nothing but good things. He didn’t tell me that you were this ravishingly beautiful though."

Jess blushed, as was her habit of late. "Thank you." She said, honestly flattered.

"You can call me Perry if you like. Or Mr. Gardener will be fine."

"You can call me Jess." She said teasing.

"I think I’m going to like this girl." Perry said turning to Thistle.

Perry was a tall man, much like his son. But there the similarity ended. He was very well tanned, as if he spent hours on end outdoors. He had twinkly blue eyes, looking mischievous and playful. He was completely bald, and as Jess would learn later, he made many jokes regarding his premature hair loss. He was rather gaunt, and thin. His face was lean and his cheeks looked like badly hung curtains. She was certain that if a strong enough breeze came along they would flap freely from his face. For his assumed age though, he had no wrinkles or any aging marks of the sort other than the baldness.

The three sat down at the table and were served drinks by an old woman, who smiled crookedly at them.

"What will you have miss?" She asked in a crotchety tone.

"Uh..."

"She’ll have an ice tea, Dolores. Thank you." Thistle interjected.

"Thank you." Jess said. "I’m not used to being served."

"It’s ok. You get used to it quickly. I abuse the privilege when I’m home. It’s the only time I get waited on hand and foot."

"So tell me more about yourself Jessica." Perry inquired.

"Well, there’s not too much to tell. I lead a fairly boring life."

"Oh, I’m sure you have a story. Everyone has a story." He folded his long fingers into a bundle and rested his elbows on the table. He leaned on his newly formed chin rest, pushing his skinny face over his drink, closer to Jess.

"Ok. Um... Where to start. I guess I was raised as an only child. My mom had already had three children, Peyton, Celeste and Thomas, but they were all in college by the time I was born. My parents weren’t quite expecting me, but they kept me anyway. So for as long as I could remember it was just me, mom and dad with the occasional visit from an older sibling. We’re a pretty close knit family. We do nearly everything together, when we can all get together."

"That’s fascinating." Perry purred from over his glass. It was a rather non-descript type of liquid, but Jess could smell it from across the table. Decidedly some sort of strong alcoholic beverage. "I was raised as only child myself, but that was because I was an only child."

Jess laughed gently. "Well, my best friend Rob acts as my older brother. We’ve known each other since the second grade. I poured paint all over him. Luckily it was favorite color and we’ve been bosom buddies ever since."

"Is this the same Rob I’ll be meeting later tonight?" Thistle asked.

"That would be the one. He’s quite the character."

"So what church do you attend?" Perry asked quite suddenly.

Jess looked at him blankly. He smiled at her, his thin lips stretching into an oddly formed smile.

"I didn’t mean to catch you off guard." He said quickly. "I know that there are a lot of churches in the area and each one houses a different school of thought. I’m very curious on matters of religion. I’m rather a connoisseur if you will."

"Oh. Well. I’m sorry. I’m not very articulate tonight."

"You seem fine once you get going. It’s just those first few words, right?"

"Yeah. My religion’s rather a sensitive subject of late. I’d rather not get into it if you don’t mind." She lied uncomfortably.

"That’s fine." He said easily. He had plenty of time to figure out what this girl had up her sleeves. He knew now that she wasn’t a stupid girl by any accounts. She seemed nervous, but in control of herself.

Jess didn’t share his sentiments on the other side of the table. If she had a choice she would’ve gotten up and ran. She rarely lied if she could help it, which had gotten her in trouble before, but not like this. Everyone else was counting her and she refused to let them down. She put forth as brave a smile as she could and tried to change the subject.

"So Thistle tells me you made your fortune in research?"

"That I did." The older man admitted. "I did a lot of medical research. How they put those animals through such torture still boggles me, but it’s better than putting some deadly poison on the market in the guise of some cure-all."

"I never did like animal testing." She said softly. "I always thought if you made something from things we understand, like herbs and such you wouldn’t have to test it. Herbal medicine is under-rated, I think."

"I agree with you my girl." Perry spouted. "I still don’t remember where most of the money came from, but I compiled much information on the drug industry. After awhile I started to invest and before you knew it, I was rich. Absolutely rolling it. I don’t know why the kids never went off to some big, fancy school. No, they wanted to stay right here. It’s not like I couldn’t afford an Ivy League."

"You know why I stayed, father." Thistle said through gritted teeth. His anger was almost palpable and Jess actually found herself pulling away from him. She’d never seen him so frightening. He noticed and apologized silently with reproachful eyes.

"Speaking of sensitive subjects." Perry taunted.

Thistle shook his head, rolling his eyes easily once more. At least they were smoothing it over for Jess’s benefit. She thanked them both silently.

Orchid arrived some time later, waltzing into the dining room grandly. In the meanwhile Jess had learned that Orchid and Thistle were actually adopted at birth, a fact that shocked her more than anything else. Their real mother was nowhere to be found and it was assumed that their biological father was dead.

Perry had been a lonely bachelor and wanted desperately for children of his own. No one else would take the odd looking babies from the state, no one wanted them even for foster homes. Since the man had connections anyway, he worked it out and took home the curious babies for his own. He named them Thistle and Orchid, the rest being history.

As Orchid stood before her she understood partly why. She had the same brilliantly purple eyes as her brother. Her hair was cut short to frame her face, and challenged her eyes for every strand was a deep, shining lavender. She too was pale, the same way Rob described his beach.

Apparently the twins had been born looking as they did now, but a whole lot younger. Each of them had those haunting purple eyes and a full head of hair as they came into the world. Jess might have felt the same about adopting them, but she would’ve kept them if she had been their birth mother.

Orchid smiled at Jess warily, not quite sure what to make of the buxom raven-haired woman before her. She herself was dressed in an elaborate ensemble of layers. It seemed that she liked green as well.

Her under-shirt was dark green and was visible through a looser shirt of black cotton. She had a long, green skirt on that was similar to Jess’s navy blue number, with silver stars and moons plastered on it. There were at least fifty silver bracelets adorning her bare arms, as she had pulled up the sleeves of her midnight over-shirt. Resting on her neck were a string of malachite beads and a similar string of jade beads. Jess could tell she was wearing black tights under her skirt. Along with that her feet were dressed in a well worn pair of combat boots.

Her expression was one of humorous curiosity. She smiled upon Jess with one eyebrow raised comically. "You must be Jess." She said in a mellow tone. Her voice was smooth and rich like cheesecake, yet sweet like the juicy strawberries coating it.

"And you are Orchid?"

"That would be me." She smiled and curtsied politely.

Jess smiled and extended a hand for her newest counterpart to shake. Orchid accepted her hand and filled it with her own. An electrical shock was building up under their feet as they were shaking hands. Both girls were knocked slightly backwards by the force of it.

"It’s electric. Woogie, woogie, woogie." Jess joked.

Orchid laughed. "Eeekkk. I’ve never felt a shock that huge!"

The giggled easily with each other for a few moments in their oddly shared experience.

Thistle smiled at the two girls he loved most in the world. His freakish sister and his witchy girlfriend. He was extremely pleased that they were getting along quite well.

As they ate their dinner they shared many more stories, a few from Thistle and Orchid’s past and a few from Jess’s. Perry sat quietly observing the course of their discourse over the meal. They seemed to be getting along very well indeed.

"Well gang." Thistle announced in a booming radio announcer tone. "Hate to break it up, but we’ve got people to meet."

"It was very nice meeting you." Orchid turned to Jess. "I’ll give you a call some time, maybe we can hang out."

"That sounds wonderful." Jess replied enthusiastically. "It was nice meeting you too and you Mr. Gardener."

"My pleasure Miss Jessica."

"Thank you for dinner. It was lovely."

Perry looked at her strangely and seemed to make note of something in his head. It was as if he were doing long hand calculations in his head. The concentration on his face was almost too much to bear watching.

"Good night." She said suddenly nervous again.

"Good night." Orchid smiled.

Thistle wrapped Jess’s long cloak around her shoulders and they were back out into the cold night.

"So how did you like them?" He asked as he slammed the driver’s side door.

"I really like Orchid. She’s amazing. Your father made me a little leery, but he seems to be ok."

"Wonderful. I know they liked you. Especially Orchid. She has a tough time getting to know new people, so she doesn’t have too many friends. It says a lot when you get along with her within the first five minutes of meeting."

Thistle stared out into the snowy night. The roads were no worse than they had been on the trip to his house, but he was the nervous one now. He was thinking much the same as Jess, what if they find me out? What if they realize I’m spying on them for Perry’s benefit.

The headlights looked wanely into the darkness, reaching out meekly to light the way. His stomach was churning now, dinner rotating and spinning in nauseous waves. He placed his foot lightly on the gas peddle, afraid to go faster for his poor stomach’s sake.

"Jess?"

She heard the apprehension in his voice. Damn, she thought. He can’t possibly still be nervous about meeting everyone.

"Yes?"

"I..."

"Still nervous?"

"Yeah, that’s it."

She wasn’t convinced. She liked him so much, she didn’t want it to be spoiled by Perry’s scheming. She decided to play along for now and pretend rather then ruin what they had. "Don’t worry darling. I’m certain they’ll take to you like duct tape and a cat."

"Duct tape and a cat?" He asked half scared of the answer, half curious.

"Childhood memories. Rob’s cat Killer was terrible to me. Scratches, bites, cat hair everywhere. One day I got a hold of some duct tape and showed her a lesson. That’s been Mr. Simms favorite saying ever since. Have you ever heard a cat scream?"

"No. I can just imagine."

"Ok, take the most high pitched squeal you’ve ever heard times three and add in the fact that cats do not scream in tune. So add the worst off key singing you’ve ever heard times four. That should come pretty close."

"That is just sick."

"Needless to say, Killer never came near me after that day. Poor cat had bald spots until the day it died. The things we do when we’re young."

"I suppose." Thistle laughed. "I needed a good laugh. Breaks the ice."

"That’s my job."

He squeezed her hand. He pushed the peddle down a little harder, his stomach lurching as he did but he ignored it. We will make it for Jess’s benefit, he thought.

For this evening they would be watching some ancient horror flick that David rented.

"It’s my favorite. I insist." He said anxiously.

"But if it sucks you’re off video duty for the rest of your life." Rob warned.

"This might work in my favor."

"Oh come on David, you’ve never picked a bad movie." Sarah said.

Jess and Thistle entered David’s room arm in arm.

"Everyone, this is Thistle." She announced proudly.

"Nice to meet you all." Thistle smiled shyly.

"Well, introduce yourselves!" Jess commanded.

"David." Said the little, blond boy.

"Sarah Jones." Said the beautiful brunette next to him.

"I’m Rob." Said a giant hulk of manhood seated on the bed.

"Oh, Rob. I’ve heard a lot about you."

"You didn’t tell him about the homemade porn did you Jess?"

"Oops. That one slipped out. It’s really good porn." Jess said turning to Thistle.

"Is that what we’re watching tonight?"

"You wish." Rob teased.

Thistle felt easier already. The whole bunch of them seemed comfortable with each other. Rob stood up from the bed and handed a necklace to Jess.

"Still in one piece. You know, it’s a pain in the ass to play hockey with a puck that small. You’re lucky Dave sucks, otherwise you’d be out of a necklace."

"Fuck you." She enunciated as she placed the small globe back around her neck.

"That’s the last time I baby-sit jewelry for you."

"Oh, I’m so sad. I don’t have a baby-sitter for my necklace now. Oh can you hear that? It’s crying. It misses you already."

Rob looked at her this time defeated. "Just you wait. It will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine."

"Let’s get on with the movie." Jess said, sticking her tongue out at him.

She and Thistle grabbed the bed closest to the wall, with David and Sarah sharing the other bed. Rob settled into the desk chair and gazed at his Jess for awhile. When did she get so beautiful? He couldn’t answer his own question. His ‘little sister’ had grown up and he couldn’t quite deal with the implications.

The movie started and everyone groaned as they recognized the title.

"Dave, this movie isn’t even scary anymore!" Rob bemoaned.

"You don’t understand. You’re not supposed to scared by it anymore. It’s a classic. One from the vaults." David explained.

"And it should be put back in the vaults." Sarah teased.

"Ok, let’s take a vote. Who here thinks David should no longer be allowed to pick videos?" Jess offered democratically.

"Oh, oh me!" Rob said performing the pee-pee dance and raising his hands in anticipation.

"Me too." Jess said.

"I agree." Sarah added.

"I don’t know." Thistle said contemplating. "He is right. It is a classic. One of my favorites."

"I’m going to like this kid." David said. "A true gentlemen not turning on his fellow man."

I’m in for an interesting night, Thistle thought.

Orchid called just as she promised late one Friday afternoon. It had been a week since Thistle meet everyone. He seemed to get along just swimmingly.

"Hey girly. Some of the other girls and I are having a movie night tonight. What do you think?" Orchid asked invitingly.

"Wonderful. Where are we meeting?"

"Oh don’t worry, I’ll hijack Thistle’s truck and come get you. What’s your room number?"

"239 Bailey Hall."

"I’ll be there around six-thirty."

"Great."

One more week left until school was out for winter. Jess would return to her homeland, a township just outside Dannemora called Bell Grove. Rob of course would be packing it in, also returning to their oh so beloved home.

She couldn’t wait though. Celeste would be visiting for the first week of vacation with her new little babies, Justin and Daniel. Twins, both of the elder Lee girls had given birth to twins. Celeste having hers only months before now and Peyton having two cantankerous five year old daughters, Leigh and Bethany. Good thing for Leigh that Peyton’s last name changed.

Peyton would be up for Christmas and Thomas should be there for New Year’s Eve. Thomas had one child, a little girl named Teira. He and his wife Gail were working on their next child. Teira wanted a new baby brother or sister more than anything.

Family was a wonderful thing to Jess. They were amazing. Always supporting each other. Always loving each other. This vast network of people connected by births, deaths and marriages all clinging to each other.

There was a lot to think about for the coming week. She had studied hard for her finals and her last test of the semester was scheduled for Wednesday. She figured she’d start packing her essentials Wednesday night, since she could leave most of her stuff in her room at Bailey over the break, and head home either Thursday or Friday. At this point it depended on what everyone else had planned for the end of the year.

Her planning was interrupted by a knock. She looked at her alarm clock. It was already six-thirty?

She answered the door and standing before her was Rob. He looked pale again and once more barely made it to her bed before collapsing. Jess heaved him up as best she could.

"Robert Simms. I can’t keep up with you. What now?"

He whispered something non-intelligible to her and giggled. The only other time she heard him giggle like that was when he was drunk. Why was it that Rob was always off on the wild adventures?

She dialed up David, as was standard procedure of late.

"Dave? Yeah it’s Jess... No, Rob’s done it again. I’m hanging out with Orchid tonight though. Would you mind watching him? He’s fine I think he’s just had another run in with Scarlett... Ok thanks... Yeah, bye."

Rob had more than one encounter with Scarlett since her Perry alert. Either he would fall into her world or she into ours. Rob would always come back pale and incoherent, barely able to remember a single word. He would wake up fine afterwards, but it would take him two to four hours on average.

David punched the combination into the lock of Jess’s room and swung open the door.

"You’re lucky Sarah’s not coming up this weekend. If she was the excess baggage would be yours for tonight." He said pointing at Rob.

"She’s not coming up after all?"

"No. She realized yesterday that she has a huge test tomorrow morning. Cram session tonight with some kids from her class I guess."

"Eeekkk."

"Yeah, she’s freaking out, but it’s all good."

"I hope she does all right."

"She will. Don’t worry." David paused a moment and then continued. "I was planning on calling the giant redwood anyway. I had nothing else to do tonight."

"Thank you so much."

"No problem sweet heart."

"Oh hey, can you hold onto my necklace for me. I’m still a little leery of Perry."

"Sure thing." He said as she dropped it into his cupped hands.

"Thanks."

Another knock resounded on the door and Jess opened it to find Orchid, resplendent in her odd layering. This time the outfit was mostly dark blues with a few tinges of periwinkle here and there. Jess noticed a little glass flower resting on her cuff. It was a light opaque purple color. She hadn’t seen her wear it before then, but she feel in love with it immediately.

"You ready hot stuff?" Orchid queried.

"Sure am." She said quickly, grabbing her cloak and racing out of the door.

"Who’s that?" Orchid asked glimpsing the little blond boy hovering over the gigantic male resting on Jess’s bed.

"Oh, Rob and Dave. Rob’s a big drinker and he went a little too far tonight. Dave’s on drunk duty."

"Oh. So you’re all set?"

"Yuppers."

"Good, cause the truck sets sail now." Orchid ushered her guest out quickly and hurried down the stairs. "You might get stuck at my place tonight." She said in a rush. "It’s getting rather stormy out there, but you simply can’t miss movie night. You don’t mind do you?"

"No, that’s fine with me."

"Great. You can use some of my p.j.’s. We’ll be taking over the largest bedroom in the house. It has two jumbo sized beds, a gigantic TV and VCR set-up, plus a mini bar. Of course it’s stocked with only the finest. I have some of the most terribly fattening chocolate concoctions stashed all around the upstairs. It’s every girl for herself."

Jess laughed as they hopped into Thistle’s big, green truck. "Who else will be there?"

"Rhoza and Jenny. Rhoza lives two houses down from me and Jenny lives on campus. I think she really lives at the radio station though."

"Jenny Carter?"

Orchid nodded her head.

"I know her. We work at the station together. I’m her assistant programmer."

"Wonderful. I hope you get along well."

"Oh, like duct tape and cat."

"That was a disgusting story. Thistle told me all about it, don’t even bother to explain it again." She giggled.

"So is anyone else coming over?"

"No, it’ll just be us girls."

"By the way, where did you get that little flower on your sleeve?"

"Oh, it was something I was given by my birth mother. She made certain that I would be able to keep it. I don’t wear it often because I’m afraid to break it."

They were turning down the long tree lined lane already. The stubbly apple barren trees reached up to the sky with tiny jagged claws breaking the white expanse of snow. The icicles were thicker and longer than they had been a week ago.

Orchid parked in a long garage Jess hadn’t noticed before.

"The cool thing about this garage is this little trick I learned." Orchid said as her echoes bounced around inside the cement enclosure. She stepped down into what looked like a break in the pavement. "Come on." She called, popping her head out and motioning for her comrade.

Jess followed her down into the supposed crevice to find that it was actually a staircase leading into a long well lit hallway.

"Amazing isn’t it? It goes underground, beneath the driveway and straight into the basement. Easy escape route if ever you want to go out late at night."

"This is amazing." Jess affirmed. "Did your dad build it?"

"No, it was here before he was even born. Just a part of the deal. It came with the house no strings attached."

"Interesting. I bet this house has a great history."

"I’m not sure. I know there’s a lot of stuff in the attic. Are you a history buff?"

"No, I actually hate history. I’m interested in old houses though. I like to know about the lives of the people that lived in them. You can see how time changes, but the situations remain the same through out the history of a house and it’s families."

"That’s kind of romantic."

"I am a romantic at heart."

"I always heard that this house was haunted."

"Really?"

"Yeah. There is one room that we can’t open. It’s locked and even the master key won’t work. We’ve tried locksmiths and everything. Once, dad tried to have the door physically removed. You wouldn’t even imagine how many things went wrong with that operation. Whatever it is behind that door doesn’t want to be found."

They reached the basement and started the climb back up to the main floor.

"We’re back Dad." Orchid called while opening a door into kitchen.

"Ok, Orchid." Perry called from the vast living room. "The other girls are already up stairs."

"All right kid. You’ve only seen maybe two rooms in my house. Wait until you see the rest darling."

Jess followed her timidly through the widely arched hallway. Every room they passed had a Victorian feel about it. There were pastels in use and a lot of pinks and mauves for the palette. The furniture was what struck Jess as most interesting. The living room was pretty well updated and modern, but the smaller parlors off the side had ancient, antique pieces. Sarah and her mom would be having a shopping spree in here.

The best room was one that they took a detour to see. It was off the main dining room, behind two French doors. Jess hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings during her earlier meal here, but she gave them her full attention now.

The room she was standing in was an elegant ballroom at the very back of the building. One entire side of the room was fully window. The ceiling was actually an extension of these full length windows leading up to the side of the house. It was adorned with three elegant crystal chandeliers. It was covered in snow at this point, but she could imagine the view of the stars on a clear summer night.

The best surprise came to her when she looked down. Below her feet was the most beautiful tiling she’d ever seen. There were dark green and creamy white tiles alternating all across the floor forming intricate little patterns of jagged vines in light and dark.

"Well we’d better get upstairs."

She followed Orchid up an amazing staircase that led to the second floor. It stood in the middle of the hallway, dividing into two sides as it snaked its way up the building.

Orchid turned left on the staircase, and continued up to the third floor. She took another left off the staircase and into a long hallway. Just before the end of the hallway she opened a door to the right and Jess followed her in.

Before her was a room decorated in soft, muted tan tones. It was quieting and Jess could see instantly why Orchid liked it so much. The room was lit with at least fifty white taper candles. Seated on one of the gigantic beds were Jenny and presumably Rhoza dressed in their finest silky pajamas.

Rhoza was brushing Jenny’s long multi-colored hair. Jess was surprised at first how someone as quiet as Jenny could have such loud fashion sense. Her hair was never the same color for very long and this month she was sporting three shades of blue, which looked amazingly good in her brown curly locks.

Jenny looked up at Jess with glee filled brown eyes. Her numerous facial piercings gleamed in the candle light of the room. She had one in her tongue, two little ones in her eyebrow and one on her chin as well as five in her left ear and three in her right ear. Jess didn’t care to ask about body piercings, but she assumed as much.

Rhoza smiled at her kindly. She was a medium built girl, a little on the plump side like Jess herself. She had pixie short hair that was dyed to a purply-red color. She had the brightest green eyes Jess had ever seen, that were only all the more accentuated by her flaming red hair.

"You must be Rhoza?" Jess inquired.

"Oh yes. You’re Jess?" She replied in a soft alto.

Jess nodded her assent. She walked over to the bed and plopped down next to her friend. "Nice to meet you." She said turning to Rhoza.

"Same here. So what do we have for movies?" Rhoza asked Orchid.

"Well we have any number of romance flicks, one or two horror, a few pornos. I think I even have an action thriller."

"So many choices."

"Whatever is fine with me." Jenny giggled.

"Yeah same here." Rhoza laughed.

"What’s so funny?" Jess queried.

"Well, honestly?" Orchid asked rhetorically. "Um..."

"We never end up watching the movie is what Orchid’s trying to say." Jenny interjected.

"Then why do you call it movie night?" Jess asked, not quite sure what to make of her situation.

"We start with the intention to watch a movie every time. We just never get around to it."

"What do you do? Talk the night away?"

"Sometimes." Rhoza said in her mildly soothing deep voice.

Jess raised an eyebrow and attempted a half smile. She felt a little like a joke had been played on her. What was the punch-line?

Orchid sat on the huge bed, pushing Jess over gently. She placed a light hand on her new friend’s thigh. "Jess. I know you’re a witch."

"Oh. Is it that obvious?" She tried joking.

Orchid’s face cracked into a big smile. "You know full well that witches can tell other witches. We all knew."

"You’re all witches? Even you Jenny?"

Jenny nodded sweetly. "I never knew how to tell you. I figured you’d find out eventually."

"Wow. And I thought I was the only one. Now everyone I know is coming out of the broom closet."

"We want to ask you to join our coven." Orchid asked.

"You have a coven?"

"Yeah, it’s just the three of us." Jenny said.

"We get together and do spells a lot." Rhoza added.

"Why now? You know I’ll be going home in a week." Jess asked.

"We figured we’d ask you now and give you vacation to think about it. Maybe show you a little of what we do and leave it at that." Orchid explained.

"Ok. I’m interested."

"Would you like to see a stunning display of witchery?" Rhoza announced.

"Show me what you will, ladies."

"Excellent." Orchid sighed, easily.

"So how is your get-together going?" David asked Jess over the crackling phone line.

"It’s going to turn into a slumber party dear. The roads are too bad to head back out."

"Oh, so you leave me on Rob duty for the duration of the night?"

"He’s not up and about yet?"

"He was up for a bit but then he fell asleep. He was really drained this time."

"Anything new?"

"No. He was confused as ever. Mumbling something about an origin stone. I’m assuming it’s the bigger piece that our necklaces came from."

"Well, you can leave him where he lays. I won’t be home until tomorrow when the weather clears up."

"Are you ok? You sound a little shaky."

"I feel a little shaky." Jess admitted. "I’ll tell you all about it when I get home."

"All right kid, as long as you’re sure. Have a good night."

"I will, thanks."

David hung up the phone and looked over at Rob. "I suppose it couldn’t hurt. Night Rob." He turned down all the lights and headed back to his room.

What was Jess up to now? More espionage he assumed. It had been a week since he’d meet Thistle. He’d liked the kid enough, but there was something a little off.

He had sensed a strong undercurrent of power within him. David felt it the entire time they spent together watching the movie. It was a strong tingling sensation that felt nice, but there was something dark at the core of it. Something that David feared.

He sat upon his bed for awhile thinking about Jess. She was a sweet girl. He really liked her and felt like Rob, like a big brother to her. He was afraid that Thistle was going to cause some trouble for them. He could sense his apprehension at meeting them. Thistle didn’t want them to know the truth of what was going on in his life.

What could be wrong? Something about him didn’t seem quite real. It was almost like he was a shell of a man with no real soul. But there was a soul there, a confused and lost soul.

Jess looked at her companions warily. The three girls before her were dancing and chanting in a delirious fashion. The magic they were calling was ancient and strong.

One goddess after another, they called upon them. The room’s air started to feel a little stagnant. The power was circling inside of them now, fully unleashed.

Orchid bent down to the ground kneeling into a little ball Rhoza and Jenny followed her lead and all three girls stayed curled up for several minutes, their hair being whipped about by a breeze that came from inside their circle. Jess saw a change coming about them as they sat there. Finally they began to rise in rhythmic unison.

Orchid’s hair was long and flowing down to her knees. It was pale blonde, standing out oddly against her complexion. Rhoza and Jenny had the same blond hair swirling around them.

Orchid turned to her and smiled gently. She was changing as Jess watched on, too rapt to move. Her eyes faded into a pale blue, her skin bronzed instantly. She was growing taller, her hips moving in and her breasts moving up. Her satiny pajamas fell loose about her new frame. Rhoza and Jenny went through the same changes, holding each other and writhing in passionate frenzy.

"What is this?" Jess asked.

"We can change our appearances for a time by calling upon certain goddesses." Orchid announced in her silken voice.

"How long does it last?"

"It’ll end in the morning."

"Wow. I couldn’t tell you apart if it weren’t for your voices. You all look identical."

"We can take on different appearances if we like." Rhoza said. She was still clinging to her look-a-like Jenny with her arms wrapped about her waist.

"I’m impressed."

"Thanks." Orchid purred. "So what do you think?"

"Is this the only kind of spell you use?"

"We use the glamour to escape ourselves for a little while. We do other things. I try to avoid love spells and the such, but we can make our lives easier."

"I don’t know."

"It’s ok. We all have moral conflicts. Trust me though we never do anything that would hurt someone else." Rhoza added.

"That’s comforting at least."

"Listen." Orchid began. "Take the break to decide. You can run every conceivable possibility through your head and weigh the consequences."

"I’ll do that." Jess said easily. She looked down and thought about her life up to this point. Her mother and father never had the gift of magic and she didn’t quite understand how she did.

Mr. Simms always told her that it didn’t matter about the gift. Magic could be taught to and learned by anyone. He took a special interest in her because she took to it so quickly, as if she had been born with it, but he knew she hadn’t been.

Why now? After all these years she was faced with some tough decisions. College had been so easy before and now it was growing rougher by the hour.

To join the coven? To stay with Thistle and risk her friends’ safety? To befriend his uniquely beautiful sister? What would she do?

"I think I need to sleep now." She said softly.

Orchid patted a spot on the colossal bed, welcoming her. "You can sleep here. You don’t mind if I crash next to you?"

"No that’s fine by me."

"Ok. Good night Jessica."

"Night." Jess said as she lay her head on the cotton coated pillow. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep. Sweet oblivion at last.

"I’ll be glad to come home." David breathed into the receiver.

"I can’t wait until you get here." Sarah answered excitedly. "Your mom is going to need help moving into my house."

"Do they know we’re dating?"

"Of course they know. They’re a little leery of all of us moving in together, but they’re both excited."

"How were your tests?"

"All good except for that Saturday test. I think I did ok, but it was really last minute for me. Who the hell schedules a test for a weekend?"

"Apparently a lot of colleges do it. I didn’t know that either until I looked at the finals schedule for Preston. I lucked out. I finished my test on Monday and the two I had on Tuesday with one more to go tomorrow. My other class had a final project instead of a test which was sweet."

"What did you take this semester?"

"Oh you know: anthropology 101, psych 203, theater 210, bio 101, and library skills."

"Library skills?"

"Yup. They require it of all students. I think I’ve decided on a major though."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. The theater department here isn’t the best I’ve seen, but the students are enthusiastic. I think I’ll give it a whirl."

"Sounds..." She was lost for words. "That doesn’t sound like you David." She was doubtful.

"I’ve changed Sarah. You know that. You were here most of the semester to see it happen." He felt exasperated at her hesitancy.

"I know. I always saw you as the teacher though. I never thought you’d pursue the theater after those silly high school plays."

"Hey, those were some pretty good plays." He shot back mildly annoyed. They hadn’t had this sort of conversation before. He could never get mad at her at least not for very long and his annoyance surprised him.

"Yeah right." She said trying to smooth it over lightly.

"So what have you decided on for a major?" He asked, deciding to turn the hot seat on her. Why should he take all the heat here?

"Nothing yet. I’m still undeclared."

"Any interests?"

"I was thinking of teaching. Maybe elementary school."

"Makes sense, you were always good with little kids." He admitted

"Thanks." She said pleased that he was in a better mood.

"Well listen, I’d better get going. It’s almost time for dinner. I’ll give you a call before I leave on Friday."

"All right honey. I’ll be waiting by the phone."

He laughed. "Ok. Love you."

"Love you too." She said as she hung up the phone. It was unsettling to her how David sounded. There was something bothering him. Maybe she could get down to the bottom of it when he got home.

Apparently a lot had happened since she last was up at Preston. It had been nearly two weeks. Thistle it seemed was really into Jess and she into him. And Jess was hanging out with his sister, Orchid.

Orchid it seemed was a witch too. Jess was wary at first, but she thought that the girl had only good intentions. The girl asked Jess to join a coven with some of her other friends. The jury was still out on a decision, but Sarah was certain Jess would know by the end of the break.

She hadn’t learned too much about Perry, except that he was very rich and that he adopted his two children. Jess said that they seemed on the whole to be a regular family, but she thought that there was something more to it than that. She remembered how Jess described Thistle’s anger at his father’s suggestion of leaving Preston.

Perry had ulterior motives to fill.

She rested her head on the edge of her mom’s favorite couch. It was a gift from an old friend who moved to California several years ago. It had gilded wood and a lovely brocade upholstery dressing it. It was a little divan type sofa, with a low back and low arm rests on either side. It was colored in the most delicious aquamarine with gold detailing.

This was her favorite seat in the house. She would sit her for hours doing her homework, listening to the gentle tick of the numerous clocks embellishing the walls. She convinced her mother to put the phone nearer to this particular corner, since she loved to curl up on it while talking to her friends.

She sat here now, gazing out the lace covered window onto the snow covered lawn. The eves of the windowsill were cloaked in shiny icicles. Not even her favorite chair could comfort her unease. Something was going to happen soon and she didn’t like the prospects.

"But I can slow you down. Don’t doubt that my friend. I can shackle you down for the next twenty years." Her words ran through his head over and over as Perry paced about his living room.

She said that "On their twentieth birthday they will have to decide whether or not to continue their new existence, but that is in the future. If you neglect them you will die. Now be gone with you."

It had been almost twenty years since that day. Perry had harnessed enough power to skip into another dimension and did so quite happily. He was ready to take over until that damn meddling sorceress got in his way.

She had cursed him to twenty years with those little flowers. Orchid and Thistle. They knew the truth of their conception, that they were nothing more than petals and leaves transformed into human flesh.

Thistle cursed his father every moment of every day for this sad existence. Orchid on the other hand enjoyed it. They both faced a decision now. Would they return to their true dimension and become the flowers that once washed up on the shore or would they remain in their human flesh for the rest of their lives?

Perry looked around himself suspiciously. He knew that Thistle’s new girlfriend had some sort of power. He knew that she had one of the stones that could transport you into another dimension.

He didn’t have that kind of capability when he was younger. For him it was luck and perseverance which lead to his travel. Twenty years of child shackled guilt. If he for one moment neglected his new children he would die. Of that the sorceress was certain.

He could feel the energy now palpable in the air around him. Something was going to happen.

What would Jessica do now? He wondered what this bright little witch was up to. "Damn you Scarlett!" He yelled accusingly. "Damn you."

Jess stared out at the snowy road tumbling below her tires. Her truck was all packed up for the winter vacation. Back to Bell Grove once again.

She had said good-bye to Thistle the night before. He seemed sad enough, but there was something bothering him. She too had felt some unease in the air.

She accounted it to finals and going home again, but she knew it was something else. She hated feeling this way. Her stomach pulled into a tangle of knots, her brain racing to find an answer, but all the while she knew it was Perry.

That man had caused enough unrest in her life. Then again she thought, what if it isn’t him at all? What if it was her imagination gone wild? No, it was too real. She could almost taste the tension in the air, bitter, foul tension.

Three hours west to her home town. She had barely pulled out of Preston and already she was counting down the minutes. Rob should have been her navigator for this trip, back-rest driving at her side.

"Oh no. I’m all set Jess. I’m going to spend a week at David’s place and then he’s going to come out to Bell Grove for a week." He said.

"What about me? I have to drive all alone now genius."

"Oh come on Jess. You’re a big girl. Pop in a tape and you’re good to go."

"Sure." She relented, sighing heavily. So now she was heading home with a mixed tape of random music to keep her company. Rob had made it for her at the station.

It had anime songs in Japanese, lounge songs, cheesy eighties music, even some heavy metal. When he said mixed, he meant heterogeneously. No two songs sounded remotely alike on this tape, and Rob himself announced them. She’d have to thank him and then beat him senselessly for this one.

"What the hell am I doing?" She asked herself She had to go back. She turned her truck around and drove down to the lengthy lane leading to that dreaded house. She took off her little necklace and carefully packed it away in one of her bags resting on the seat next to her.

She stopped short and opened her door. Running up to the house she started to think twice about her actions. What if something bad happened because she turned back? It was of no consequence. If she started something then she was going to finish it now.

"Thistle? Orchid?" She called, opening the door and darting around the hallway.

"They’re not home." Came a dark voice from the living room.

"Oh. I didn’t really get to say good bye to them. I thought I’d stop by on my way out."

"You’re going home today?" Perry asked, walking into the hallway.

"Yeah. Everyone else left already. I saw David and Rob off about an hour ago."

"Orchid went out with Rhoza. I think Thistle went skiing."

"Oh."

"It’s rather cold out today don’t you think?"

"Very much so."

"Why don’t you sit down and have a cup of tea with me. It’ll warm you up before you head out. I’m sure you have a long drive ahead of you."

"Thank you very much, I think I will." She said, surprised at herself.

He smiled cordially and offered a seat in one of the numerous parlors. This one was decorated in cream and peach with a sky blue carpet. The sofa she seated herself on had a low back, much like Sarah’s favorite divan, but it was larger and longer. It was peach velvet and decadently plush.

He handed her a tiny saucer with a tea cup decorated in light blue flowers. The tea smelled sweet and orangy. She ventured a sip. It flowed over her pursed lips in a tide of delirious, smooth heat. The toasty liquid was a little on the sugary side, but she didn’t mind it for the more she drank the more she wanted.

Perry refilled her cup diligently as he talked to her about school.

"So you enjoyed this semester at Preston?" He asked.

"Very much so." She said, feeling a light swoon come over her. Too much sugar, but it tasted so divine. "May I have some more?" She asked looking into her empty cup.

"My pleasure." He smiled, lifting the china pot delicately.

Cup after cup he poured without mercy. Cup after cup she drank without thinking. She felt dizzy and far away.

"What’s happening to me?"

"Oh nothing dear. You’re probably catching a cold." He said absentmindedly. It was working. His sleeping tea was working at last. He had tested earlier versions of it on Orchid, but he never had very good success.

Jess laid her head down on one of the lace fringed pillows. "May I lay down for a bit. I just feel a little woozy."

"Certainly my dear. Rest up." He said coldly staring at her as her eyelids began to flutter.

The last image she remembered seeing was of a pale Thistle bending down and touching a cold hand to her cheek. She anchored her dizziness to that simple gesture and leaned into his hand. She drifted into a deep sleep and remained there for three days. She dreamed of many things, but the dream that stuck out most in her mind was the one of Rob’s beach.

"Hello my lovely." Said a beautiful woman with long red hair.

"Who are you?" Jess asked.

"Scarlett." She replied.

"Scarlett? Rob’s told me about you."

"I know. Do you know where you are?"

"No." She said looking around at the bright sun and the pale sand. The waves pounded the shores, licking at the sand by their feet.

"You are dreaming on my beach, but you are in Perry’s house."

"How did I get there?"

"You decided to turn back. You wanted to say good-bye again to Orchid and Thistle."

"I don’t remember." Jess said quietly placing a hand to her forehead, pressing her hot temples with the cool, salt sprayed skin.

"It’s the tea. Shake it off honey."

"The tea. Perry’s tea."

"Yes. He tricked you into drinking it. You need to escape."

"How?"

"I will help you."

"When?"

"When you awake. They will be too busy fighting. You need to sneak down the stairs and into the basement. Go to the hallway and follow the path under the drive. Find yourself in the garage. Get to your truck and drive as fast and as far as you can. Go to Sarah."

"Sarah?"

"Yes. She can help you better than anyone else can. She has the wand. Rob will be there too with the rapier."

"You gave her the wand?"

Scarlett smiled. "Yes."

The dream began to fade and Jess could feel a pounding in her head. When finally she raised herself off the bed it was to the sound of shouting voices.

"What have you done father?" Thistle screamed.

"I need her to avenge myself."

"For what father? Your failure?" Orchid taunted.

"That will be quite enough. I need her and her stone to get back to the other dimension."

"Don’t you think her family will miss her?" Thistle asked.

"I’ve already called them and explained that she would be staying with us for a few days. I told them that she was out with you two, but that I would have her call soon. Besides, you helped."

"Very tricky." Orchid said. "I didn’t think you two would stoop to this."

"Don’t put me down at his level." Thistle added.

"You did a good enough job of that yourself." Orchid accused.

"I said that will be quite enough." Perry intoned.

Jess knew from the sound that they were sitting in the big living room. She looked at her surroundings and realized she was in one of the smaller bedrooms on the second floor. She could chance it and run down the stairs. If she could get to the kitchen unnoticed she’d be ok.

She slipped on her coat which was lying beside her on the floor and crammed her hands into her mittens. Her feet were bare and she couldn’t find her shoes. She pushed the slightly ajar door fully open anyway. She squished her body against the wall and started to work her way down the hall.

She pattered down the hallway barefoot, sinking into the lush carpeting. Her respiring was erratic as the argument downstairs continued. "I shouldn’t have come back." She said under her breath.

She started down onto the stairwell. Her feet padded gently on the naked wood and she held her breath at each new step. She was afraid that a deadly creak might give her away. It felt like hours, but she was standing at the base of the stairway in a few short minutes.

They were at it again. Perry raised his voice yelling at Thistle. "You know where that damn stone is don’t you?"

"I have no idea." Thistle shouted back. "She isn’t wearing it."

"Where does she keep it when she’s not wearing it?"

"I don’t know. I think she gives it to one of her friends."

"Well her friends aren’t here anymore. We have to find it."

"I’ll look in her truck later this afternoon, ok?"

"Fine. Make sure you find it Thistle. I need your help in this matter."

"Like you’ve needed my help every other time?"

"I’ve had quite enough of your gibberish this afternoon."

"Gibberish?" Thistle continued.

"I’m leaving gentlemen." Orchid said lightly. "There’s only so much of this that I can handle."

Jess eased into the hallway and tiptoed into the kitchen as her captors bickered. Orchid veered into the hallway from the living room and stopped wide eyes staring at Jess. She started walking again as if nothing happened and rushed the girl into the kitchen. She opened the basement door for her and pushed her down the stairs, following suit. Once they were safely in the long hall Orchid began to speak in a quiet hurried voice.

"Take me with you?" Orchid asked.

"Why do you want to come?"

"I have to get out of here. Please."

"If you’d like, but he’ll miss us both a lot sooner."

"He won’t come after us. He’ll wait until we come back."

"You’re certain?"

"Yes. He doesn’t realize he’s going to need more than just your stone to achieve his ends."

"How do you mean?"

"I’ll explain once we get on the road."

The girls climbed the stairs into the cement crevice. They rushed about the garage and slowly pushed open the side door. Jess’s truck was still parked where she left it twelve feet from the garage.

"Looks like we’re going to have to make a run for it. Are you ready?" Jess asked.

"Set."

"Go."

They both ran to the truck full speed. Jess’s feet were nearly frozen after her little adventure in the tunnel and the ice covered drive was no help. They opened their doors as quietly as they could and Jess revved up the engine. They were down and out of the driveway before Perry even knew what was happening.

"So what’s the story?" Jess asked her compadre as she steered the truck onto the highway. She turned the heat onto full blast and started to thaw her frostbitten tootsies.

"It’s a long and tedious story." Orchid warned.

"We have two hours, tear it up killer."

"I thought you lived farther away than that."

"I do. We’re not going home just yet."

"Where to?"

"Sarah’s house. Something tells me she’ll be more useful."

"Oh. Do you know how to get there?"

"Somewhat. She gave me directions if I ever wanted to come over."

"That’s mildly comforting."

"Hey, can you dig in my bag and pull out my necklace?"

"So that’s where you hid it."

"Not very clever, but it was sufficient. I’m surprised they didn’t search my truck sooner. Then we’d really be screwed."

"Well, you’re lucky I guess."

"I guess."

"So, here’s the story." Orchid started as she reached into Jess’s bag. "Perry as I’m sure you know is not a very nice wizard. He tried to take over another dimension. There are lots of them, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"There was a powerful sorceress in this particular dimension trying to protect her people and her world. It was like a big beach there. California expanded to cover an entire world if you will. Perry loved it there and he was nothing here at the time. He decided he wanted into this new frontier and he thought that he might as well try to rule things."

"So he tried to take over?"

"Yes. But this sorceress was much quicker than him. She found a way to send him back into his own world, but before she did she cursed him. She gave Perry two children. He would have to care for them at least until their twentieth birthday. She meant to shackle him down so that he couldn’t come back and take over her dimension. So nearly twenty years have come to pass since then."

"How did he get there in the first place? Did he have a stone?"

"No. It was sheer will power that got him there. He learned that some of the stones had been placed in this dimension, mostly in the hands of witches and wizards. He’s been trying to find them ever since he was sent back."

"So she sent him back with you two?"

"In a matter of speaking. She sent him back with two tiny flowers. One an Orchid, the other a Thistle."

"Oh my."

"You’re telling me. Here’s your necklace." She said holding it out for her.

Jess took the necklace from her and pushed it into her pocket. "So you turned into a boy and girl when you got back here?" She wondered aloud.

"Pretty much. That was the sorceress’s plan."

"What happens when you turn twenty?" Jess asked.

"We have to decide whether or not to remain human or return to being little hum-drum flowers."

"Have you decided?"

"No. I don’t know what I want. I always thought that Thistle would decide to go back to the flower patch. He hated being a boy, until he met you. Now I’m not so sure what he’ll decide. I’m not sure myself what to do. I enjoy life very much, but I don’t feel real."

"You’re real to me." Jess said.

"Thank you."

"Honestly, I’d miss you. But don’t let me waver your decision any."

Orchid laughed lightly. She would miss Jess too. Maybe she would stay.

"So how does this all involve me?" Jess asked.

"Well obviously you have a stone. Perry wants to go back and get revenge."

"Does he know it takes more than just one stone to transport someone safely?"

"I don’t think so. Have you ever traveled?"

"No but Rob has. He always comes back sick with little or no memory of what happened. I assume you would need more than one stone to get there in full force."

"Well, let’s keep that a secret for now. He doesn’t need to know anymore. So I’m assuming all of your friends have these stones?"

"Rob, Dave, Sarah and myself. Scarlett has one too, but she’s already in the other dimension."

"Scarlett?" Orchid asked with alarm.

"Yes, do you know her?"

"That’s the sorceress that banished my father. Has she been helping you?"

"I think so. She told me how to escape while I was dreaming. She warned us to keep an eye out for Perry too."

"Amazing how twisted our lives become."

"So how about that flower? Is it just a charm?"

"Well, like I said, my birth mother in a way gave it to me. It was a gift from Scarlett. It has some intense magic. If I touch it while I touch another person that person becomes wrapped in the vines. They’re hard to break free from once bound."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, I have it with me. So we’re heading to Sarah’s?"

"Yuppers. Sarah’s mom seems to be a wonderful woman from what she’s described, so I think she’ll put us up for awhile. The boys are there already. Rob went home with Dave, so you’ll get to the meet the whole gang."

"They sound like an interesting bunch."

"Oh trust me, they are. I think you should like them."

"I hope they like me."

"They should." She consoled remembering how Thistle has said the same thing.

Sarah knew that whatever trouble she sensed earlier had broken loose. The knot in her belly eased at last and her body could rest. But her mind could not. She wouldn’t feel comfortable until she knew what had caused her tension.

She looked out her bedroom window from her little perch. She sat there waiting for something. She didn’t know why, but she was compelled to remain there.

The clouds cleared, revealing the brilliant icy sunshine. It nearly blinded her reflecting off the snow. She shielded her eyes in time to notice a small red truck pulling into her driveway.

She ran downstairs, curious as to who had arrived. She opened the front door and stood on the porch. Standing in front of her was the bedraggled pair, Orchid and Jess.

"You two look like hell." Sarah commented.

"Thanks so much." Jess answered belligerently.

Sarah laughed. "Are you Orchid?"

"Yes."

"What’s going on here?"

"We ran into a little snaggle." Jess answered. "Can we crash here for a few days?"

"Sure. It’s going to be a little hectic around here though. David and his mom are moving in."

"That’s good then. We can help out."

"If you insist." Sarah smiled. "Here, let’s get you in out of the cold. Where are your shoes?"

"Still at Perry’s house. I have some more in the car though. I always pack a spare pair. You never know."

"Good call."

The three girls walked out of the cold and into the warm embrace of Sarah’s house. The heat circled them lovingly. Jess curled her toes on the soft oriental carpet.

"Your house is lovely." Orchid commented.

"Lovely? I’ll take it you know Scarlett then. That’s her catch phrase." Sarah laughed.

"In a matter of speaking Scarlett is my mother."

"Ok, I missed something."

"We’ll explain later. Where’s the bathroom?" Jess danced aggravated.

"The pee-pee dance. Aw yeah. You go sexy. There’s one down here, straight down the hall and it’s the second door to the left."

When Jess came back they sat down at the kitchen table over cups of cocoa. Orchid helped Jess fill in all the blanks of her story and they started to formulate a plan.

"Well let’s not encourage him by going back." Sarah stated.

"We can’t run away forever. He’ll find a way to get back to Scarlett’s world with or without us." Orchid added.

"Us?" Jess asked smiling.

"I’m one of you now honey. There’s no way I’m helping him conquer an innocent world."

"What do you want to do?" Sarah asked.

"I was thinking we could go to this other world before him. Get in touch with Scarlett and give her the heads up. Maybe she could help." Orchid hypothesized.

"I hope." Sarah sighed. "Let’s call the boys."

"Good idea."

Sarah stepped out of the room for a minute to dial up David and Rob.

Orchid turned to Jess with a shy smile. "I think I’ve decided."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Jess put her hand over her friend’s hand. The two girls sat looking at each other for a moment. They would muddle through this mess together and come out better for it in the end.

Thistle looked at his father angrily. Perry was preparing for Jess’s return. He was mumbling under his breath as he mixed potions in the basement.

"I should have known she would outsmart us. She’s not a stupid girl you know."

"Dad, make this stop. Why can’t you just be a normal dad and live a normal life? You have everything here."

"I have nothing." Perry sputtered. "Besides, she hurt my pride. I have avowed myself to go back and no less than my integrity is at stake here."

"What integrity?"

"And you should talk. Tricking that sweet girl into your arms in order to spy for me."

"I love her." Thistle defended.

"As I love revenge. Hand me the witch hazel please."

"What is this for?" Thistle asked examining the bottle.

"I need some tea."

"She won’t fall for that trick again." He said as he handed him the container.

"No, but you never know. It could be useful."

"Isn’t witch hazel poisonous if ingested?"

"Could be. Never hurt me before." He poured the contents of the clear bottle into a large bowl and mixed the concoction with a wooden spoon.

"You’re inhuman." Thistle raised an eyebrow.

"And you’re human?"

"Enough already. What have you got planned?"

"It would be wasteful to go after them. I’m going to wait until they come to me. In the meanwhile I will prepare a barrage of spells and such to help us in our cause."

"To help you, not us. I refuse to be aiding and abetting."

"Have it your way." Perry said as he walked over to open a book on the end of the table. It was a big red book, coated in ancient symbols. The pages were gilded in gold on the edges, which shined in the wane light as he turned each one.

Thistle noticed that Jess’s boots were sitting on the shelf. "What are those for?"

"A trick I learned from a voodoo priestess." Perry smiled. "She was a fascinating woman."

Thistle breathed heavily. He didn’t want his father to hurt the woman he loved. He didn’t want to help Perry succeed in his plan for inter-dimensional domination.

How could he stop him? He could try to take Jess’s boots. He could drive his truck down to Sarah’s home and warn them. He could stay here and try to sabotage Perry’s plans from this end.

He could just quit and go back to his flower patch. Only a few more days before he had to decide. Only a few more days before Perry could return to Scarlett’s world unshackled. He couldn’t go on living after what he did to Jess.

He had betrayed her and tricked her. His main objective for dating her was espionage. As he went along though he came to love her. How could he atone for his crimes?

"I couldn’t decide at first, because I didn’t feel human. I had the body yes, but I didn’t feel like I had the heart of a human." Orchid looked from one to another of her new friends. "I can’t leave you now though. I realize that this feeling inside of me, this love for you all, this desire to protect you, that’s my human heart."

Jess grinned up at her lovely friend. She always received a wonderful feeling from this girl, as if her very soul were filled with sunshine and it were shining through to greet her. She loved her very much and wanted nothing more than to protect her.

They’d been formulating all night long with the boys. Mrs. Jones and Mrs. McCoy looked at them all curiously. Becca was obviously frightened for her daughter, but Elana comforted her. Elana always knew that her son would get his tiny fingers into something big and difficult, but she never knew what or when. This was it and she was going to help her little boy as best she could.

Jess could feel a sadness tugging at her back. She realized it was Thistle. Orchid and she pieced together that he’d been dating her in order to find out what she had planned. Perry knew she was special, but he didn’t know how special. Thistle had told him that she had one of the stones on a necklace and that she obviously removed it whenever she came over to the house.

She wondered if everything he’d said and done for her was just an act. "Did he really like me?" She asked Orchid as they got ready for bed.

They were going to share a room for the night, since most of the house was filled with David and Elana’s unpacked boxes. It was a big room right next to Sarah’s furnished with some of the loveliest antiques Orchid had ever seen. She looked around as Jess finished pulling on the flannel pajamas Sarah’s mom had supplied for her.

"I think he liked you." She answered quietly.

"Why so shy?" Jess demanded of her friend.

"Maybe I’m jealous."

Jess smiled. "Of Thistle?"

"I think maybe because you love Thistle."

"I don’t know if love is the word." Jess suggested. "I do love you. I know that."

"Right."

"No, I do. You’ve become one of my best friends. I liked you right from the start. It was almost as if..."

"As if we were meant for each other?" Orchid finished for her.

"Exactly."

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you bothered by another woman being attracted to you?"

"No. I’m actually quite flattered by it. Why are you asking?"

"I’m finding myself treading the line in matters of sexuality. You were the first woman that I was attracted to, but I found that I was attracted to others as well and just never noticed it."

"I think I’m treading the line too." Jess said softer than ever. "I’m a little scared to act on my impulses though. I always think sex ruins relationships. My last boyfriend was dumber than a warped board. He left me for a girl with a tighter ass and bigger sexual appetite."

"Sorry. I’ve never actually dated on either side of the fence. I was afraid that one day they would find out the whole truth behind my life. Who would want to date a flower?"

"I did." Jess laughed. She shook her head at the thought of the white haired boy.

Orchid giggled as she sat herself on the edge of the bed. It wasn’t nearly as big as some of the beds in her own house, but it was sufficient for two people. She hoped Jess wouldn’t be uncomfortable now knowing how she felt about her.

She was taken aback as the other girl sat down next to her and wrapped a loving arm around her shoulder. Jess rested her head on Orchid’s bosom. They both tried to breath slowly and in time with each other.

They lay together snuggling on the bed for hours before they actually fell asleep. Neither of them felt like talking, as if it would ruin this perfect moment they were having. Jess listened to Orchid’s heartbeat as she drifted into her own dream world.

"So you plan on going back there?" Elana asked her son.

They were sitting in Sarah’s kitchen again. Most of their boxes were still lining the halls, but at least the last of them had been moved in. David and his mom sold their apartment and it was finished.

"It’s obvious that he won’t come for us. It’s time for us to face him once and for all."

"You will be careful?"

"As careful as we can be." Jess said. "He’s a dangerous man, but we can take him down."

Orchid smiled. "We’re going to leave the stones with you. It would just be stupid to bring the thing that Perry wants most with us."

"That’s a good idea." Mrs. Jones said.

"We need to warn Scarlett. Do you know how to get back to that beach Rob?" Asked David.

"I have no idea. It always just happens without warning." Rob replied.

"Hmm. That could be a problem." Jess started. "Oh wait. When I dreamed about Scarlett she said something about the wand and the rapier too."

"My wand?" Sarah asked.

"Yes. She said that you could help me better than anyone else because you had it."

"I don’t know how to use that thing."

"Maybe we could help you." Rob suggested. "I’ve got the rapier in David’s car."

"Did she say where the wand came from Jess?"

"She gave it to you." Jess answered. "We should take it with us on all accounts and the rapier."

"Agreed." David said.

"I have my flower too." Orchid chimed in.

"You flower?" Sarah asked.

"Yes it can wrap people in vines that are nearly impossible to break."

"I think we should pick our elements. She said we had the power of the quarters behind us now. We should use it to our advantage." David said.

Orchid laughed. "You don’t pick your element silly. It picks you."

"How do we know which one has picked us?" Sarah asked.

"Trial and error. It took Jenny, Rhoza and I several tries before we got it right. Sometimes you have more than one element and you’re missing a few. Sometimes your element even changes on you. I’ve been water and earth on many an occasion. I think though that we have all the right stuff."

"Well how should we find them?" Jess asked.

"Do you have a big basement?" Orchid asked turning to Sarah and her mom.

"Yes. It’s all cleared out too." Mrs. Jones said.

"Wonderful. We’ll get to work right away. Everyone downstairs." She ordered. "You ladies can stay here if you’d like, it might get a little messy." She cringed gently, turning to the moms.

"I think I will if you don’t mind."

"I’ll stay too." Elana offered.

"See you in a bit." Orchid laughed.

She joined the others in the sunlight basement. Enough light was streaming through the windows to set the basement ablaze in early morning sunshine. Just as Mrs. Jones had promised the basement was a giant room with all the boxes stashed to one side. Perfect for what they needed to do now.

"Ok gang. I suppose you and Jess have called the quarters?" Orchid asked Rob.

"I have. I don’t know about Jess."

"I haven’t." She threw in.

"What kind of self respecting witches are you?" Orchid joked.

"The kind that have done a lot of spells, but obviously not the kind that you’ve done."

Orchid smiled. "That’s ok. I think we should each randomly pick a quarter and just do it. We’ll figure it out once we get going."

"How do you want to start?" Rob asked. "I usually have everyone stand in a circle and call their particular quarter."

"Sounds like a plan. Do you have any chalk Sarah?"

"Yeah. A big tub of sidewalk chalk."

"Can we write on the floor?"

"Sure thing. Let me go get it." Sarah mounted the steps hurriedly.

"What’s the chalk for?" David asked.

"We can write the elements on the floor and stand above them. It’ll make the whole deal a little bit easier." Orchid explained.

"I see what you’re getting at now."

Sarah returned only moments later toting a children’s beach pail filled to the brim with a variety of chalk. Orchid picked up a thick powder blue piece and kneeled down. She started to write the word ‘water’ and drew a set of curvy c-shaped waves beneath it.

Rob got the idea and grabbed a piece himself. He got down onto his knees about two feet away from Orchid and wrote ‘fire,’ drawing flames underneath the word. She stepped around him and wrote ‘wind’ across from ‘water’ drawing plain waves below it. Rob hopped around her and chalked ‘earth’ onto the floor at a weird angle leaving room for the fifth element. He drew straight lines below this word and waited for Orchid to finish.

She took her chalk and sketched ‘spirit’ into the cement. She stood up contemplating for a moment trying to decide what to draw. Then it washed over it like the tide of Scarlett’s ocean had so many years before. She eased onto her knees again and drew a heart underneath.

She stood up and dropped her chalk into the little bucket, slapping her hands free of the dust. She placed them on her hips and sighed at a job well done. They all looked on the rough pentacle they had drawn with amazement.

"Well gang, pick an element and stand on it." She suggested.

Rob picked earth, David water, Jess fire, Sarah wind and Orchid was left with spirit.

"I’ll start." Rob offered. "I call upon you earth gods and goddesses. We need your help on this day. Please attend us in our hour of need."

"I call upon the spirits of water." David said. "We would like your presence in our need."

"I call upon the power of fire. Lend us your fiery passion that we may conquer our fears and find our way." Jess waxed poetic.

"Wind." Sarah said quietly. "Wind come to us now for we need you more than ever."

"I call upon all the spirits." Orchid began. "We have strength and power yes, but certainly not enough to complete our task. We need to find you and how we belong to you. We can only protect you from one man’s greed if you give us the power to do so. Thank you spirits. We will now close the circle." She nodded to Rob.

Rob lead the circle in closing and each followed suit.

"Thank you for joining us earth."

"Thank you water."

"Thanks my little fire."

"Thank you wind."

"Good morrow spirits." Orchid finished.

They looked at each other a little dazed.

"How was it for everyone?" Orchid asked.

"It didn’t feel right." Sarah said.

"Me either." David added.

"I felt pretty good." Rob said.

"We clicked." Jess smiled.

"How about you Orchid?" David asked. "You seemed pretty comfortable as spirit."

"Yeah. It was good. Why don’t you and Sarah switch? We’ll try again."

They continued with the same process. This time Sarah was water and David was wind. For whatever reason this arrangement worked out a lot better.

"We got it on the second try." Rob marveled.

"We were meant to be." Orchid philosophized.

"How do the wand and sword work their way into all of this?" Sarah wondered aloud.

"I’m not sure, but we’ll figure out how to work with them." Rob said. "We could probably conjure up more help with them."

"I’m scared. Really scared."

"Me too." David and Jess chimed in.

They all laughed at each other easier. This was going to be the true test. The question was really whether or not they could succeed.

Thistle stared at his father, hatred oozing from his every pore. Perry had sensed his son’s dissension and rather than risking it, he bound him to the basement wall.

"I hate you."

"I realize that. Do you honestly think I would’ve tied you up if you loved me?"

"You never can tell. You are one sick bastard."

"Oh stop, you’re making me blush." Perry teased.

"Fuck off."

"You got yourself into this mess my little turncoat. First you spy for me and help me to capture that little wench. Then you have a moral conflict and decide that you’d rather not participate anymore. I just don’t get it."

"Not all people are completely bad or good. There is some in between."

"Well I realize that. I just don’t think people should go through their lives as confused as all that. Make up your mind." Perry complained.

"I’ve decided good this time."

"And you’ll waver again. You and I both know it. There’s something evil at the core of your being. That’s why you didn’t leave when you had the chance. You were afraid it would get out and reek havoc. I would have welcomed it. It’s a nice change from your sister’s goodness. She’s sickeningly sweet."

"She’s perfect."

"Blah, blah. She’s perfect in her goodness. I’m perfect in my evil."

"Why do you care what I think?"

"You’re my son, right?"

"That has nothing to do with it." Thistle said frustrated.

"It has everything to do with it. I raised you. What you say matters."

"You never heed my advice."

"It said it mattered, not that I would follow it."

"So why bother listening if it’s not going to affect your decision any?"

"I’m interested in collecting opinions. People are fascinating creatures."

"I’m not exactly what you would call a person." Thistle said darkly.

"Picky, picky. In any case you’ll just hang out there until they come back. Well, until I get the stone. Then you can come down."

"As if it mattered. They’ll stop you before you get the stone."

"I doubt that."

"You underestimate your enemies."

"You underestimate your father."

"Did you ever love us?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Orchid and I. Did you ever love us as your son and daughter?"

"Of course I did. I was rather forced to, but even the prickliest thistle can grow on you."

"Thanks so much."

"I try. You are my responsibility. If anything happened to you I would die. And as I treasure my life I treasured yours. One day I couldn’t differentiate anymore. Your life is still very important to me. That’s part of why I chained you up boy. If I let you down you’d do something stupid and get yourself killed. That’s the last thing I want."

Thistle cast his eyes downward. He hated his father, the man who raised him. This man was as much an enigma to him as he was when they first returned to this world. He couldn’t understand why he wanted to do this.

"I would still love and respect you if you gave up." He tried.

"You don’t love me now."

"I do. Children are dogmatically forced to love their parents, just as you were forced to love me. After awhile we start to resent our parents as we go in our separate directions, but we still love them as faithfully as the day we were born. How could we not love someone who bothered to care for us for so many years?"

Perry looked at his only son for a moment. "Suppose I were to let you down now. What would you do?"

"Don’t bother. I would get myself killed."

"Take care kids." Elana shouted from the porch.

Becca held on to her friend for support. She waved good bye to her daughter, hoping that it would not be the last. She felt weak with tears, anxious for Sarah’s safety.

The wizard and four witches pulled out of the drive in their various vehicles, Sarah’s little four door, David’s clunker and Jess’s truck. Jess took Orchid, Sarah took Rob and David flew solo on this mission.

Every one of them were feeling the anxiety washing over them as they drove into the icy frontier. They were facing their first opponent of evil. Hopefully their last, each one thought.

"Jess?" Orchid asked as they pulled away from Sarah’s house. Two hours to go.

"Hmm?" She hummed softly, staring out at the stop sign in front of the truck.

"I’m sorry."

"What for?" Jess asked as she veered into traffic. She was trying to drive so that all the cars stayed together. She didn’t understand why they all didn’t just pile into Sarah’s car, but they insisted on taking all of the cars and she relented.

"I feel like I got you into this mess." Orchid said.

"You did not. If anyone it’s me. I could always let Scarlett defend for herself. We don’t have any obligation here."

"Thanks all the same, but I still feel responsible."

"You didn’t trick me into dating Thistle did you? You didn’t spy on me. You didn’t disguise yourself to be something you weren’t."

"That is Thistle. He tricked you, yes, but he’s always like that. He has this inner conflict between good and evil. Neither side ever wins and it pisses him off."

Jess laughed. "I suppose."

"So did you ever call your parents?"

"Yeah. They still think I’m at your house. They thought it was odd, since Celeste’s home and I wanted to see her little babies, but they shrugged it off. I hope they don’t get worried."

David hummed to his radio this time around. It was crackling with distortion; the signal from this station was terrible. He hated it when they didn’t have good reception.

He started thinking about all the things he and Sarah did in their youth. Playing out back until their mothers called them in from the dark. Talking for hours on the living room floor during the custody battle, celebrating the outcome. Holding her when her first boyfriend left. Falling in love with her and the worst part of all, beginning to doubt her.

He remembered the very first time they met.

He knew his daddy was leaving his mommy and he resented him for it. He was five years old and very angry at the world already. Luckily for him he found Sarah.

Mrs. McCoy packed up her three children and drove them over to a strange new house. He knew the older woman, Mrs. Jones, as she had visited his house before. He looked at her doubtfully. David had trust issues early on.

Sarah peeked out from behind her mother’s legs. She was a pretty little girl with long brown hair pulled back in a headband. Her eyes were shy and scared.

The mothers pushed their children together. "David this is Sarah." Elana said.

He held out his hand for her to shake. She looked at him funny and decided to kiss it instead. He recoiled citing the classic: "Eww..."

She chased after him the entire night threatening to kiss his hand again. After the first few visits they settled down and actually played together, rather than their usual antagonism.

He felt like it was all falling apart on him. His whole existence crumbling around his tiny body as he stood there helpless. He felt the tears building up inside his eyes. He let them drop onto his cheeks and down his chin. The warm salt actually felt refreshing.

What the hell was she hiding from him? He hit the steering wheel in frustration. He couldn’t hear what she was telling him anymore. He couldn’t bear to hear her lies about her father and he couldn’t tell if anything else was a lie as well. How could he resolve this one?

Rob and Sarah were in deep discussion driving behind the clunker. They had chosen to ride together so that Rob could tutor her in wand usage.

"Why don’t you wield it?" Sarah asked.

He laughed at her. "She gave it to you for a reason."

"I know. I just don’t want to let you guys down. What if I suck at it?"

"It’s hard to suck. You’d actually have to try in order to do that."

"So how do I hold it?"

"However feels comfortable. Grip it two handed. It’ll help."

"What then?"

"Some simple incantations. Nothing too special." "Any I should know?"

"No, you can make them up as we go along."

"I’m not the poetic one here."

"They don’t need to rhyme dearest." Rob taunted.

"Whatever you say."

"Honestly. My dad used to have a wand years ago. He taught me a little bit of wand magic. He concentrated mostly on ritual magic where I was concerned. He never thought I was good enough for much else."

"Rob, I’m sure your father loves you very much."

"I know he loves me. He just doesn’t respect me."

"I’m sorry."

"No, it’s past now. He doesn’t talk to me about magic anymore. His coven disbanded a few years back and he’s still pretty disgruntled about it. Talk about bitter. That man could hold a grudge until hell melts!"

Sarah laughed. "Want to know a secret?" She asked seriously. She wasn’t sure why, but she was compelled to tell Rob everything about her father.

"Sure."

"Not even David knows this one." She paused. "My dad died to protect me."

"I thought he died in a car accident."

"That’s what it was made to look like."

"What happened, if you don’t mind me prying?"

"He was trying to protect me from some awful fate that he saw for me. My dad was pretty psychic I guess. I’d only just been born. Mom told me that he held her close to him that night and he lifted my little body from the crib."

She paused, looking left then right as she crossed an intersection. They should be hitting the highway soon, unless Jess was taking them the long way. You never could tell the way that girl drove.

"He told her that he had to die in order to protect me. He would be one of my guardian spirits. His great sacrifice for my life. Otherwise I would be killed before I could help you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve barely escaped death. The fates have a vendetta against me, but good old dad has stopped them thus far."

"Wow." Rob said.

"Yeah. That’s what I said the first time I heard the story at five years old. What scares me most though isn’t that I might die if dad lets up his guard. It’s what he said about David."

"David?"

"Yeah. He didn’t know about him yet, but he knew that I would become involved with my best friend years down the road. He warned me not too, that he couldn’t stop my fate if I started a relationship with David."

"But you started one anyway?" Rob asked wide eyed.

"I love him. Besides, I’ve decided that you can only avoid fate for so long."

"I suppose. Good luck to you."

"Thanks." Sarah laughed. "I think I’m going to need it."

Thistle peered down at his father from the wall. He’d been hanging up there for at least two days now. He could sense that Jess and the others were heading back. They were coming.

He thought tranquilly on this as he hung there. He hadn’t had a calm thought since Perry started preparing for their return. Thistle was one disturbed boy.

His father had feed him on the wall and let him down to relieve himself, but other than that he left him there, suspended in his bonds. He’d gotten used to the dim, musty atmosphere of his new room. Perry had refurbished it solely for his magic purposes, so the decor was limited.

The walls were painted in a deep purple shade, Perry’s favorite color. There was a wooden strip running across the center of the wall to break up the monotony a little. Thistle had helped build some oak shelving along the walls to hold the various trinkets. The furniture was sparse but for an oak altar that Perry built himself and a giant pentacle etched into the cement floor. This particular corner of the basement had been separated from the rest with a wall that the two men had put up only a year or so ago.

The rest of the basement was a pale grey and had support beams running through it. There were storage boxes here, but not so many as were stashed in the attic. This was mostly just a crossing point for the tunnel from the garage to the house.

Thistle spent a lot of his childhood in that tunnel. It was cool in the summertime and if he brought a blanket down it was ok in the wintertime too. He was always bothered by the house. He thought there were too many upset spirits there for him to deal with, especially behind that locked door.

He promised himself to never hang out in the basement again once this ordeal was over.

Perry himself had been indisposed upstairs with more preparation. The house was a veritable fortress at this point. He had barred the doors and the windows but for the front door. He figured once he got Jess there it would be a good idea to keep her there.

He was mildly anxious since he didn’t know how many others she would have to help her. He knew at least that his own daughter had turned on him and he expected his son too do much the same. He wasn’t going to let him down for fear of having to hurt him. He would try his damnedest not to hurt Orchid too.

He finished all of his incantations and spells the day before and now all he had to do was wait. He had the radio set in the living room and was listening to a public radio station that played classical music. He sat there sipping tea and relaxing to the orchestral tunes pulsing out of the stereo.

There was no need to worry just yet. He would wait patiently for the knock at the door. He could feel that they were coming. It was tangible to him. They were on there way, anxious as well.

He had his plan of action thoroughly mapped out. He would trap Jess and incapacitate her just as he had hung his own son on the wall. He was going to steal her stone and venture into Scarlett’s world, if he could only remember how. When he was done he would be the ruler on high of both dimensions and any other dimension he could get his hands on.

Orchid looked pensively at her friend. They were about to pull into the long driveway leading to her house, the house she had grown into. It loomed on the horizon, big and deadly in her imagination.

She could feel the pull of her brother, knowing that he had been tied in the basement days ago. She’d always been able to tell where he was and what he was doing. They had a sort of psychic bond. Orchid boned it up to the fact that they’d always been so close to each other and also since they were once flowers growing in the same patch.

She wasn’t sure where Perry was or what his plan of action would be. She could tell that Thistle didn’t know anything since he spent the whole while tied up.

"I think we should pull over here and walk up to the house." Orchid said.

"Sounds like a plan." Jess pulled over and everyone followed her lead.

"He’s waiting." Orchid said lowly.

Sarah had her wand tucked into her belt. Rob was holding his rapier in sheath at his waist. They all looked at each other mildly in fear, mostly in trepidation.

The group began to walk up the path timidly, darting back and forth underneath the craggy trees. They rushed into the garage and crawled into the crevice, climbing slowly down the stairs. They reached the ground level and journeyed into the tunnel.

Jess and Orchid noticed right away that the tunnel was much dimmer than it should have been. It was as if Perry had taken out the lights and replaced them with lower watt bulbs. They found their way into the basement and noticed a grunting noise coming from the far corner room.

"That’s where Thistle must be." Orchid whispered.

"I’ll go get him." Rob offered.

"I’m not sure that’s a good idea. He might be a decoy."

"Hmm. We can’t be sure what side he’s playing for." Jess said.

Jess snuck up to the door and peeped around the corner. She saw Thistle hanging from the wall, eyes closed looking paler than ever. Ghastly shadows played upon the eggplant walls, dancing away from their various colored candles.

She saw her boots sitting neatly on the top shelf. She wondered if she should venture in to retrieve them. "Guys, Thistle’s out cold. I’m going in. You go upstairs and find Perry."

"If you insist." David said softly. "But I insist that one of us stay down here with you."

"Fine, come on in." She said.

David signaled to Sarah, Orchid and Rob to head upstairs.

"Is this really the best plan?" Sarah asked Rob quietly.

"I don’t know, but once Jess has a plan in her head it’s hard to break her of it."

"Well gang, let’s head upstairs." Orchid said.

David tiptoed his way over to Jess and pressed his body beside her own. He saw how she looked raptly in on the sleeping Thistle. He seemed peaceful there in his shackles.

Jess started to move slowly into the tiny room. She paused before the lank boy on the wall. She stared at him, her eyes boring in to him as if she could find the truth during his repose. She eased herself up to a wall of shelves and stood on her toes to reach a pair of black boots on the very top. She pulled them down with success written on her face.

David smiled as she walked back to him, once again pausing momentarily before Thistle.

"What are you thinking kiddo?" He asked lightly of her.

"I don’t know. It’s been tough you know. You think you know someone and then you find that the whole time they were lying. I don’t know if I can trust a single word he ever said to me."

David looked at her through sad blue eyes. "I know how that goes." He sighed.

"How do you mean?"

"Sarah’s dad. He died just after she was born. I know it was a car accident and that’s what Sarah reaffirms every time I ask. But I know she’s hiding something from me. She doesn’t want me to know how he really died."

Jess put her arm around him. He was mildly comforted by the sweet gesture and returned it with a warm hug. They stood there for a moment looking at each other surprised by the warmth of the other’s body.

David blushed and looked down. "I haven’t been this bad since junior high school."

Jess laughed. "Rob and I are like this all the time. It’s hard to tell where the friendship dissolves into a relationship."

"Yeah. I don’t know what to do about Sarah. I really love her, but I don’t know. It’s almost as if the fates were working against us. They don’t want us together."

"I could feel that." Jess agreed. She hadn’t noticed it much before, but they did seem a little odd together. There was a feeling about them, almost an unrequited feeling. She knew that they both loved each other very much, but there was something missing.

She looked back at Thistle longingly. She was caught between Orchid and him. She knew that they would eventually choose for her, since she could never do it, but that wasn’t the least bit comforting.

"What now?" David asked.

"I’m not sure. We should get upstairs and join the others. I’m sure Perry tied Thistle up for a reason and far be it for me to go back on his decision."

"That’s fine with me." He said. He motioned ‘ladies first’ and she laughed. Leave it to David.

David and Jess bounded up the steps and found much to their dismay no sign of their companions. They searched the whole of the downstairs with no luck. However they found a warm pot of tea in the living room and the radio was on, tuned to some classical station.

"Maybe they went upstairs." Jess said doubtfully.

"Maybe."

A loud crash upstairs caught their attention. "Yup." Jess yelped.

He followed her to the stairs and they ran up to the second floor. Jess looked around the left side and snuck onto the landing. She looked down the other side of the staircase as well. She peered down both hallways with no results.

She stopped and listened and found that she could hear voices on the third floor. They ventured up the stairs and crouched down on the top step.

"She isn’t here with us." Sarah said clearly.

"We left her home." Rob said.

"I don’t believe you." Perry replied.

"Well we did." Orchid continued.

"Stop, stop. I’ve heard enough. I know she’s here. I can feel her very presence."

"How’s that?"

"The stone. She has the stone."

"Sure thing killer." Rob joked.

"So Orchid is my little turncoat this time around." Perry said in a low tone.

"Perhaps." She said in return.

"I always thought your brother was bad and that you were good. I figured that you would turn on me. I didn’t plan on his betrayal."

"So he did turn on you?"

"Certainly did. I tied him to the wall and left him there. Maybe he’s decided to come back to me."

"I doubt that. He’s so confused he can’t pick a side."

"I think I could persuade him."

"With what, your good looks and charm?"

Jess could almost see the grisly smile spreading on Perry’s face. "You never know. He was always afraid of people. I can help him in that department."

"He’s not stupid enough to fall for that line."

"Whatever you say dear." He said to his daughter.

Jess shifted uncomfortably on her perch. She slid into David’s arms and he held her close to him. He smelled her hair, so sweet and fragrant. He squeezed her tightly.

"We’ll think of something." He whispered.

"Yeah." She sighed.

They slinked back down the stairs all the way down into the basement. They journeyed to the tunnel and stopped in the garage. Jess sat herself on the hood of Thistle’s truck. David leaned against the wall his thin arms wrapped across his chest.

"What’s the plan girly?" He said, at last ending the silence.

"I don’t know what to do now. It seems as though we’re at a stalemate."

"Do you think we could enlist Thistle?"

"I’m sure he would be appreciative to get off that wall, but I don’t know if we can trust him."

"I say we give it a try. And if he does turn on us, well hey, it’ll be a fairer fight."

"Yeah five to two." Jess laughed.

There was a soft low sound coming from the corner of the garage. They both jumped back a little frightened.

"What now?" Jess exclaimed.

A glowing light formed there and Scarlett began to materialize into their world.

"Hey there." David said taken aback.

"Hello. Lovely garage, don’t you think?" She said thickly.

"Sure thing. David this is Scarlett." Jess introduced.

"Nice to meet you."

"My pleasure." She said.

She was a vision in a long green gown thinly veiling her fine features. Her red hair was twisted into a little knot that flowed into a ponytail down her back. She had a long black cape draped over one arm along with a sheath containing what he assumed to be a dagger. Her other arm held a thick walking stick, pale tan and knotted like Sarah’s magic wand.

"Where is the other?" She asked.

"The other?" Jess asked in return.

"Yes. There is one more. He is ill, but he will do well in combat. I’m sure of it."

"She must be talking about Thistle." David said.

"Hmm. We should get him down from the wall." Jess added.

"Yes. We should." Scarlett smiled. "But before we go I want to give you these."

"What are they?"

"Magic gifts from my world. They were crafted by some of the finest people that would like to help you in protecting their world."

"We’ll have to thank them."

"We’ll save that for another time. But here is your dagger Jessica and your cloak David." She said while handing them their presents.

"What do they do?" David asked examining his cloak. It was long, maybe all the way down to his ankles. It was a soft cottony material and lined with the finest looking red silk. It had one silver clasp at the very neck.

"Your cape can make you invisible. It also acts as a shield and will protect you from anything thrown in your direction. You just have to turn it around and wear it inside out."

He turned it over in his hands and opened it up, black side facing in. He placed it easily on his shoulders and closed the clasp. Instantly he vanished, exclaiming loudly that he couldn’t see his own hands anymore.

"Amazing." He said astonished.

"Oh yes, and any object you hold will also appear invisible. It will give you incredible strength as long as you are wearing it. The only fault is if the clasp somehow gets undone. Then it goes back to being a normal cloak until you can get it clasped again."

She turned to Jess. "This my dear is for you." She handed her the green velvet sheath.

Jess touched it and already she could feel its power. She pulled the shining new dagger from its casing and admired the delicate glass blade. It was swirled with grey swipes just like her charm. The handle was bronze, also like her necklace.

"Is this a part of the stone too?" Jess asked.

"Yes. It was crafted from a larger piece. You can use it to open up a dimensional door."

"Would I want to do that?"

"You’ll know when. You’ll need to at some point." She heaved up the walking stick from her side and said: "This is for Thistle."

"Well, let’s go get him."

They walked once more through the chill, dim tunnel and stepped into the purple room. Thistle remained there still pale as ever. He looked up at them in the wane light and ventured a weak smile.

"How’s it going?" He said in his deep basso.

"Fine and how are you?" Jess asked.

"I’m ok. A little tired. Is that you Scarlett?"

"Yes. I’m here." She said.

"Nice to see you again."

"This is for you." She said holding up the rod.

"What is it?"

"The thunder rod." She enunciated as Jess and David began to untie him. "You can call upon the forces of the storm with it. Be careful with it, it can sometimes get ahead of you. Very powerful."

"Understood." He said stepping down from the wall and leaning on David for support. "Thank you. I’m on your side now."

"Let’s hope you stay that way." Jess said looking away.

"I’m sorry Jess, for everything."

"Hey, it happens, right?"

"It shouldn’t happen." He said. "In any case I plan to rectify everything I did wrong. I’m going to help you as best I can."

"Good." David said. "We need all the help we can get. We’re going up to the third floor. That’s where Perry’s keeping them."

"That’s odd. I would’ve thought he’d keep you all closer to this room. This is where all his power emanates from."

"Hmm." Jess frowned.

"Did you take your boots?" He asked noticing their absence.

"Yes. I put them on." Jess said. Before they had gone upstairs earlier she had traded her shoes. She loved these boots and was rarely without them.

"I would suggest taking them off."

"Why?"

"Perry told me he was going to use them for an old voodoo trick. You never know."

"I’m leaving them on." She replied. "These are my favorite boots. He’s not going to take anything else from me damnit."

"Ok. It’s your call. I suggest though we get upstairs while he’s still dealing with the others."

Perry had them all now. He had used Orchid’s own magic against her and the whole lot of them were now tied up tightly within her vines. He had grabbed a hold of her and taken that delicate little flower from her cuff. Before any of them realized what happened they were bound together in a tight little cluster.

She grimaced at him, trapped by her own means. They’d all been arguing for some time now, hoping that Jess and David were still safely downstairs. They weren’t sure that Perry had bought their decoy, but they tried to keep up appearances.

"So what will you do with us now?" Rob asked.

"Well I don’t know yet. I’d hate to kill you all. Maybe I’ll send you into an alternate dimension. Something where I’ll never have to see you again, eh?" Perry answered.

"I always was fond of traveling." Rob retorted.

"Are all of your friends wise-asses Orchid?"

"Only the good ones." She answered.

Jess, Thistle and David stepped into the same third floor bed-room that the girls had their slumber party in. Jess had her dagger unsheathed. David’s cloak was ready to be clasped. Thistle stood poised with the thunder rod ready to go.

They observed the situation for a moment. It wasn’t looking good, what with everyone tied up. They all hoped they could pull this one off.

"So good to see you. I’m glad you could make it." Perry smiled

"Only too pleased." Jess curtsied.

"Thistle." Perry nodded to his son.

"I’m not here for you."

"I wouldn’t suppose you would be now. Damn fools you and your sister. That’s all right. I never did trust either of you." He turned to Jess. "So where’s your necklace?"

"Do you really think I’m that stupid?"

"You tell me."

"Of course not. I didn’t bring it. I thought I’d just kick your ass first."

"Hate to disappoint you." He said reaching for her.

"Look out!" Orchid yelled. "The flower is on his cuff."

Jess ducked and Perry missed, landing on the wall instead.

"Now!" Thistle ordered.

David turned his cloak around and clasped the neck. He rushed at Perry knocking him off his guard. The boy having incapacitated him for the time being stepped off and turned the cloak back around.

Thistle pounded his stick on the floor and shouted: "I call upon thunder." A deafening clap of thunder shook the entire house, threatening the hearing of its residents.

Jess tried to break through the vines with her dagger with no luck. Rob pointed to his rapier which rested on the floor a few feet away. She grabbed it and cut through the vines with ease. She pointed at the wall with her own sword. "Open a safe portal for temporary passage." She yelled. A glow formed over the wall and she pushed Rob through it with Orchid in tow. The portal closed before anyone else could escape.

Sarah pulled her wand out of her belt and waved it around. "I challenge you Perry. I call upon all the powers that my father once held. I call upon them to take you down." She pointed the wand at his chest and he could feel a terrible warmth spreading there.

Perry clutched the trunk of his body, the pain spreading into his limbs. He writhed on the floor, clambering towards her. He was building up energy to strike her down as he crawled to her.

The unsuspecting Sarah jumped up in jubilation. "It’s working." She said.

David stepped over to her as she continued pointing. "Oh honey. You’re wonderful." He said.

"Thanks sweety."

Perry’s lips spread into a deadly smile. He wouldn’t kill Sarah, he’d kill the most important thing in the world to her. He got himself up to his knees. He would kill David and in the aftermath he would steal Jess’s dagger and transport himself out of this miserable world.

He leapt up as soon as he could and lifted his arms in pirouette form. He seemed almost like he would dance his way into another dimension, but instead he began to chant. He was calling upon all his powers.

Jess could feel the strength emanating from the house. It was strong and fierce climbing along the stairs now and veering down the hall to join them. Her boots began to feel heavy and hot. She could barley move them and squirmed in pain. The power Perry had called gathered in misty rivulets of smoke around his ankles and traveled up his body to his waiting fingertips.

"Duck!" Jess yelled.

Sarah dived in front of David as a bolt of energy flew from Perry’s body. It hit her full force and she fell to the tan carpet. Jess ran at Perry her dagger pointed forward, trying to fight the pain caused by her constrictive boots. Damn voodoo magic, she thought. She drove the miniature sword through him much to her surprise and he melted away before them. Thistle ran to her side as she held the glistening knife in trembling hands. David was holding Sarah in his arms and crying into her hair.

"Why did you do that?" He yelled at her.

"It was the changing of the guard." She said wearily. "Dad wrote me a letter before he died. He died to protect me you see. If he didn’t help me out the fates would’ve cut the string long before now. He told me to watch out for you, since you’d be the death of me. Looks like he was right."

"Damnit Sarah." He said. "Why couldn’t you just run away from me if he told you to?"

"You can’t stop love." She gasped. "I’ll watch over you now."

He could feel her fading fast. She turned her head to him one last time. He kissed her cheek, where a tear had just landed. She went limp in his arms. He nearly choked on his sobs.

Jess placed a loving hand on his shoulder and Thistle rested on his knee next to him. There were no words to comfort his loss. No gesture could heal the hole she had left in his heart.

"I think I should bring the others back." Jess said quietly.

"Yes." David said turning to face her. "Let’s."

Jess pointed her dagger back at the wall again. "Temporary hiding place now dissolve, return things as they were."

The spot on the wall started to glow again and its occupants were ejected from it.

"What happened?" Rob asked seeing David leaning over Sarah.

"Perry’s last attack." Thistle said darkly. "He’s gone now."

"Gone?" Orchid asked surprised by her own grief.

"Forever." Thistle replied.

Scarlett’s dimension was safe now. She appeared to the ragged crowd before her.

"Thank you so much." She said softly. "I truly am sorry about Sarah, but her father told me it was time."

"You know her father?" David asked.

"Yes. She’s with him now. She is watching over you."

David smiled bravely. "Thanks."

"She tells you good luck, especially you and Jess." She added curiously.

David, Jess, Rob and Orchid held each other for a time with tear streaked faces and runny noses. Thistle sat away from them, contemplating his fate at last. It was decided.

Some time later it was said that Perry and his son Thistle went missing, but no one ever cared to look for them. Perry’s riches were given to his mildly distraught daughter. She knew the truth about their disappearance. Perry was dead, having been vanquished by Jess’s swift dagger. Thistle had decided that he couldn’t handle the guilt anymore and returned with Scarlett to their former world. She learned that he returned to his flower patch and died only a few hours later, a broken pathetic thistle flower.

"My patch is my sepulcher." He said to her quietly before he left. "But it’s the right thing to do. It’s the only thing I can do. I love you. Tell Jess the same."

Orchid actually slapped him and chastised him for leaving her.

"But you have Jess now. She loves you very much and there’s no me to stop either of you. Good luck to you." He waved one last good-bye as he and Scarlett fell back into their world.

Orchid had decided to stay and pick up the broken pieces of her life. She would continue to live in that big lonely house, but she had invited Jess to move in with her. Jess gladly accepted the offer, pleased to be on her own in a way, and happy to banish the darkness with her new love.

Rob did an amazing job of coping with the situation. He moved on easily as if nothing had happened. For him it was almost a type of closure. He didn’t care anymore what his father thought of his life. It just didn’t seem to matter, so long as he tried his best. He eventually got around to finding a new love interest. A sweet girl named Rhoza, a friend of Jess and Orchid, stole his heart.

Jess herself having moved in with Orchid was enjoying her new life. She was pained over Thistle’s departure, but she finally knew the truth. He did love her. She was still confused over what happened with her and David that day. She figured someday Orchid and herself would drift apart and maybe then she would ask him about it. She could see them as a couple, David’s arms wrapped around her as he did in the basement. She shrugged it off and left it to the future.

It was found after doing an autopsy that Sarah actually collapsed after a massive heart attack. "It’s odd in a girl that young, but it does happen." Said the doctor to Sarah’s devastated mother. Apparently her father had heart problems before his death as well, but that wasn’t what killed him. David knew now that it was free will.

David plugged away for some time, depending a lot on Jess to help him, but she didn’t mind. He continued on with his theater major and did quite well. He even joined the radio station and started his own talk show about magic.

"Magic is a part of every day life. It happens every time we wake up in the morning and every time we go to bed. The most important kind of magic, I think, is love. I would give nearly anything to have that kind of magic again. I think sometimes maybe I could’ve helped my dear friend who died to prove her love for me. I would kick her in the head if she were alive now. Just don’t forget, for Sarah’s sake, that we all have the magic. Don’t neglect it, don’t ignore it. Feel it, welcome it, learn it and trust it. It could very well save your life someday. This is David McCoy signing off for the night. Have a good one kids."