She
exhaled deeply,
think
ing
that she d
id
n’t
really
have
much in the way of
powers
,
but
she
wishe
d
she did.
She closed her eyes and imagined herself as a powerful witch. She visualized herself casting spells and mixing potions. The
latter thought made her giggle.
But still, her grandmother seemed to have confidence in her abilities.
“Practice…I need lots of prac
tice.”
Alistair gazed at her
intently
with his ro
und, green eyes,
and then
re-
commenced licking hi
s paw with great concentration.
She decided to practice her witchcraft. So far she had lessons on divination
and attraction and banishing spells.
She had practiced divining with Gran’s garden hat. And a
t the dance, she had practiced her attraction spells by bringing it to Arthur’s attention that he should ask
Felicity
to dance.
She figured the
main
thing she should pract
ice now would be the banishing.
“Focused intent.”
She gazed at the
graniteware bowl that sat on the table. She
had
used it to gather eggs. She focused on it
and tried to push
i
t
away with no result. “Go!” she shouted. The
bowl
wobbled, but remained in place. She sighed.
Again.
She held her breath and stared at the
bowl
.
“Go! It’s time for you to go!”
She closed her eyes and when she opened them the
bowl
had disappeared. “Oh, no!” She hadn’t thought it would evaporate. She just wanted
to move it a few inches. “Oh, no!” She stood up and looked around.
Where did it go?
She peeked under the table to see if it had fallen on the floor but there was no sign of it.
Mercy took a deep breath. “Well, how about that? I banished it.” A nervous giggle bubbled up from her insides. “But where did it go?” She glanced at
Alistair
. “C’mon Al
i
stair. You’re an old hand at this witching business. How does this work?”
“Whatever do you mean, M’lady?”
She made a guttural noise, snorting her impatience. “I’m the newbie here. Just tell me how I get it back? How do I make the
bowl
return?”
He made a purring sound that degenerated into a snicker. “I assure you that I haven’t the foggiest. I always leave the witching business
to my dear Lavinia.”
“But how will I get the
bowl
back? I need it to gather the eggs.”
“Perhaps you should have thought of that before selecting the
bowl
for your banishing spell.”
Mercy pressed her fingers to her temples. “But I had no idea it would work
like that
.”
Alistair
sent her a decidedly skeptical glare. “And just what did you think ‘banishing spell’ meant, pray tell?”
“Oh…Well, I thought it was…Like sending something away…but maybe just a few feet away…Not away away.”
“Thank you for that elucidating explanation.”
“Help me! How do I get it back? That was Gran’s favorite
bowl.
”
“What part of, ‘I’m not a witch and can’t reverse your spell’, do you not understand?”
A queasy sensation in her stomach caused her to sit down at the table and bury her face in her hands. “This is all just so confusing. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Alistair
stretched and jumped down from the chair. “I might suggest that you tune in for another lesson…and quickly before things get out of hand.”
He headed for th
e door with a flip of his tail.
Mercy watched him slip through the narrow opening as only cats can do, with a slithery motion that was both reptilian and feline at the same time.
“Like this isn’t out of hand?” she
called after him, but silence was the only response. She straightened her spine and
brushed her hair back
. “Okay, I’m tuning in.” She located the remote and
clicked the television on.
“This is Darynda bringing you another fabulous lesson on WTC,
the Witch’s Training Channel.”
Mercy sucked in a deep breath. “I’m here.”
“And did you practice your divining?”
Mercy considered Alistair’s medallion
and Gran’s garden hat
. “I actually did practice divining, but
the first time
was an accident. Does that count?”
Darynda quirked her head to one side. “I think you get extra points for that. It’s supposed to be a sign that you have exceptional natural talent. Whatever that means.”
Mercy expelled a deep breath. “Good. I think I’m going to need it.”
“Are you ready to get started? I need your full attention.”
“Yeah, I’m ready to roll.” She faked a smile.
Darynda leaned toward the camera. “Today is your introduction to
Intermediate
Spell Casting. This is very important, so listen up.”
“Yes. I will.” Alistair hopped onto the sofa beside her and placed a paw on her thigh. She stroked his head absently. “Don’t talk to me, Alistair. I have to pay attention to this lesson.”
He purre
d his acquiescence.
A heading appeared on the screen.
Spellcraf
t
. “You
r last lesson introduced this subject and you have hopefully practiced the techniques. Or you
may have already experienced some inadvertent spell casting. Sometimes this is manifested as having your conscious thoughts become tangible in the real world.”
“I don’t understand,” Mercy said.
“Have you ever wished something and had it suddenly come true? Or thought of someone just before they call
ed
you on the phone?” At Mercy’s nod she went on. “These were just minor instances of your wishes manifesting themselves. Can you imagine what would happen if you could harness those powers? That’s what spell casting is all about.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
Darynda tilted her head to one side. “Spell casting becomes second nature to an accomplished witch. Like breathing in and out.”
“Well, I can’t imagine. I focused my power on a banishing spell and my grandmother’s egg bowl disappeared. I have no idea where it went, but I need to find it.”
Darynda covered her mouth with both hands. She appeared to be stifling a giggle, but managed to look contrite
when Mercy glared at her
. “Oh, that’s too bad. You must always have a destination in mind when you banish something or someone. That way you know where to retrieve them, if it becomes necessary to do so.”
“Now you tell me.” Merc
y planted her chin on her fist.
“How did the other thing work for you?”
“Other thing?”
“The Orb of Enchantments? Did you
investigate
its special talents?”
Mercy frowned. “I forgot. It warmed up a couple of times, but that’s about all. What was I supposed to do with it?”
Darynda looked annoyed. “I thought you would explore a bit. I mean, you should have enjoyed seriously enhanced powers.”
Mercy considered. “I did make a boy ask a girl to dance.”
“That’s a start. What else?”
“I think that’s all, other than banishing the egg bowl.”
“Try to be a little more creative this next week. The orb’s power boost will only last through the
following
weekend.”
Mercy nodded. “Good to know.”
“This lesson is on intermediate spell casting.
Let’s get started.”
“What’s an intermediate spell?”
Darynda cocked her head to one side. “Spells are rated on the basis of
complexity
. Intermediate spells are a
bit
more difficult, but don’t let that frighten you. It just takes a little more concentration.”
Mercy considered her brief experience with spell casting. “I thought my brain was going to
explode
when I made a boy
get up out of his chair and ask my friend to dance.”
“Awww…That was nice of you.”
Mercy shrugged. “I just wanted her to have a good time.”
“And this is why you are a good witch.” Darynda favored her
with a huge smile of approval.
Mercy sucked in a deep breath. “Ooooh, does that mean there are really bad witches?”
Darynda did an elaborate eye roll. “Of course. There are horrible witches. There are evil witches. There are vicious, eat-your-face-off witches.”
An involuntary shiver ran the length of Mercy’s spine. “How come some witches are good and others are bad?”
“It’s genetic.
B
ad witches spawn more bad witches.”
Mercy bit her lower lip.
“Don’t worry,” Darynda said. “Lavinia is one of the best
of the good witches
.”
“I knew that.” Still, Mercy was relieved
to have her thoughts validated.
“Okay, let’s get down to business. Intermediate spells include turning one thing into some
thing else. Let’s start there.”
Mercy nodded. “What should I do?”
Darynda leaned close to the screen. “Watch and l
earn
,
my little newbie
witchlet
.” She turned to the counter behind her and when she
twirl
ed back
around
she held a tray covered with a cloth. Several items must have been hidden under the cloth because it was bumpy. “First, something simple.” She uncovered a
bright yellow tennis ball
. “I’m going to change th
is
ball
into
another form
. Watch me.”
Mercy watched attentively. Darynda observed the
ball
for a few moments. She appeared to be
giving it her utmost
concentrati
o
n
. She
squinted and pursed her lips. The
tennis ball
turned into a muffin.
Darynda picked it up and took a bite. “I was hungry,” she mumbled with he
r mouth full.
“Wow!” Mercy breathed. “That was fantastic! How did you do that?”
For the next half hour Darynda drilled Mercy on the fine art
of transformation
spells.
By the end of the lesson, Mercy had a headache from clenching her jaw while concentrating.
“Relax, kiddo. You’re doing fine.” Darynda gave her a double thumbs up.
Mercy drew a breath and let it out. “It’s so hard for me.”
“Oh, wah! Don’t be such a cry baby.
” Darynda arched an eyebrow. “You are doing so much better than anyone I’ve ever worked
with.”
Mercy sat up straighter. “Me? You mean it?”
“Lavinia is right. You do have natural talent.” She put her hands on her hips. “Now get out there and use it. Promise me that you’ll practice every day
.
”
Mercy nodded. “Yes, I will. I promise.”
“Okay. The lesson is over. Tune in next time for Simple Elixirs.”
Mercy started to respond
,
but the screen went dark.
Practice. I’ll practice tomorrow. My head hurts too
much
now.
She walked purposefully to the mirror and gazed into its depths. At first all she saw was her own reflection
,
but a mist seemed to form in the background and slowly her grandmother’s face appeared. A wave of relief washed over Mercy. She reached out to touch the mirror and placed her hand on the spot where Gran’s hand rested on the other s
ide.
“Oh, Gran, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I’m always here for you, my dear.”
Mercy sighed. “I know, but I wish you were here on this side with me.”
Gran
hesitated a moment, as though searching for the right words.
“Sorry, dear. I wish I could
be there with you, but there is something I have to do...something important."
"I...I don't understand," she said.