Reign of Witches Page 11

  “Yes mom. Annalise shows great promise in her magic.” She leaned into my space and tapped her chin. “Go on child.” Phew. Her scowl softened a little and I continued.

  After the talk, she called me to her. Well, actually, Tailya since Tay was now me. Geez, I had to get with the program! I kept reminding myself of who I was and what the plan was. Tay was in there for a long time, acting as me. I started to worry about her until the door opened.

  Fawn and Tailya came out laughing. I was beside myself and I started to panic. I began to think Tay was on Fawn’s side all along. Fawn patted Tay on the head, saying her farewell, but not before she gave me a cold glare.

  “What was that about, huh?” I looked at Tay with a look of betrayal in my eyes. Tay looked saddened. “Annalise, we are in this together. I’m on your side, and guess what?” I crossed my arms. “What?” She dug out the object from her pocket. “We got it!” she shouted, and my eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

  We had Fawn’s wand!

  CHAPTER 23

  After finding out how strong the wand was and what all it could do, we put our heads together to devise a new plan. A plan to rescue the ones stuck here who had been changed against their will. In order to do that, we needed to stop Fawn from whatever evil scheming she was up to.

  Tay and I met back up with Starbeam. Wow, she really did a magnificent job turning him into a human. He waltzed up to us, running one hand through his gorgeous blonde hair. My heart leapt in my chest. “Annalise.” My mind wandered. I was in some sort of trance. All I could focus on were those incredible biceps of his. Then everything faded when I heard Tay scream at me. “Annalise! Stop drooling over Starbeam! Focus! He’s a unicorn, remember? Geez…get a grip.” Starbeam looked over at me and my face was red as a tomato. My mind filled with fury and animosity toward Tay.

  “Why would you say something like that? I wasn’t staring at him like that. I was simply admiring your handy work!” I growled at her. But I was lying. I had totally been drooling. I leaned over to Tay and whispered in her ear, “Don’t ever embarrass me like that again. We’re supposed to be friends.” Tay’s eyes blinked rapidly. I could tell she was hanging on my every word.

  She looked at me with remorse in her eyes. “Anna, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. We do need to stay focused, though.” Tay grabbed her wand, pointed it at Starbeam and said, “piso sta FYSIOLOGIKA!” Starbeam began to transform back to a unicorn. “Gosh, Tailya, you couldn’t let me be a boy for a little longer? I was just getting used to my legs.”

  I nodded at Tay for getting rid of my distraction. She winked at me and whispered in my ear, “He did make it hard to focus. Perhaps I should make him ugly with warts next time.” We both snickered. My eyes got wide and Starbeam stared at us. He couldn’t figure out why we had suddenly burst out laughing.

  “Hey, what’s so funny?” he whined. Tay and I just shook our heads. “You’re too young. We’ll tell you when you’re older.” Starbeam stamped his hooves up and down and huffed. After his temper tantrum was over, he joined me on the ground near the tree stump. “What is she doing?” Tay was over by the tower pacing back and forth, tapping Fawn’s wand against her temple and talking to herself.

  “What is she doing?” Starbeam asked again. I didn’t have any answer for him.

  “I’ve got it!” Starbeam and I rushed over to see what Tay was going on about. “Hey you guys! I’ve got the plan!” she bellowed. “Well, come on now, spit it out!” Starbeam was leaping in circles around us. My heart raced, my body became electrified and I couldn’t help but indulge in his hyped-up enthusiasm for Tay’s plan. “Yeah, come on Tay, tell us the plan!”

  “I’m not telling you two until you calm down!” Tay growled. Our excitement left us suddenly. Starbeam lowered his head and I copped a squat on the grass. Tay began.

  “This is to be taken seriously, Anna.” I put both hands in my lap, giving her my undivided attention. Tay sat down with me and Starbeam laid beside us. “Okay, I’m sorry. We are ready to hear you out.” Starbeam nodded along with me. Tay took a deep breath.

  “This is what I’ve come up with so far.” She didn’t sound very reassuring when she told us. The shivering in her speech led me to believe she was terrified. Tay went on about the proposal she had conjured up. Starbeam and I looked at each other and shook our heads. “Tailya, this is never going to work,” Starbeam said.

  “I don’t see why it won’t. She is a fairy with fairy magic, you know,” I said to him as I reassured Tay that her plan was a good one. Tailya wanted to use a potion on Fawn, the ogre and Yurika. Starbeam glowered when he found out that he had to trick his mom into drinking a truth serum. His mom was wise, and she didn’t fall for much, so he was stumped on how he was going to get her to drink it.

  “Maybe I could just pour it in the pond,” he said. “That is not a good idea,” Tay said while rubbing the back of her head. “Why don’t you just smear it on yourself and when you get your bath, she’ll consume it.” Tay’s retort was brilliant. “I wouldn’t have come up with an idea like that in a million years,” Starbeam said as he bowed his head in gratitude toward Tay.

  She winked at him and said, “If you don’t succeed, we’re toast.” He straightened his body. He couldn’t think clearly when she frustrated him. “Wow Tay, a bit harsh don’t you think?” I said with a crude glare at her. Starbeam hung his head down low. He didn’t want to show his tears. “I’m sorry, Starbeam. I didn’t mean it. This is the scariest thing I’ve ever done, or at least I think it’s the scariest I’ve ever done,” Tay said while patting his head. “I am really scared. We all should be.” Tay was right. We should not take this lightly.

  Starbeam headed home back to his mom. “I hope he can do this,” Tay said. I got up off the ground and stared straight into her eyes. “He will not fail. Why are you so frightened, Tailya?” After growling my opinion at Tay because she had no faith in our friend, I decided to quiet down and listen to what she had in store for the ogre.

  “Listen, the ogre’s an actual man.” Frustration built up inside me because she was telling me something I already knew. I squinted my lids at her, and she didn’t even notice. Tay went on and on before she revealed to me that the ogre was Fawn’s other half.

  I jerked my head to the side and said, “So does that mean he’s evil?” Tay shook her head. “No, he wouldn’t become evil, so she turned him into something dark and creepy instead. That way, he’d never be able to do anything good ever again.”

  Tay hesitated. “Anna, there is something I need to tell you and please don’t wig out.” I saw the despair in her eyes, and I shrugged. “My dad is the ogre.” Tay started to sob. My eyes bugged out. “So, that means…” Tay stopped me mid-sentence. “Absolutely NO!” she shouted. I guess the thought that Fawn could be her mom shocked her to her core.

  “I don’t know what she did with my mother. She kidnapped my father and me when he wouldn’t do what she wanted. She turned me into this.” Tay pointed to the wings behind her. “I’ve thought of all the ways to change my father back and get us out of here, but nothing has ever worked.”

  Tay sniffed and wiped her tears away. “We have her wand. We have the portal to escape. Now we can be free.” I opened my hand for her to flutter onto. “Stay still, ok?” She nodded and smiled. I grabbed my wand and then Fawn’s. Her eyes went wide as I roared, “Pleko!” Tay watched as the two wands intertwined with one another. “She’ll pay for what she’s done.”

  Tay jumped up and shouted. “She doesn’t stand a chance!” I winked at her and gave her a huge grin. “I need you in human form while we go rescue your dad.” She nodded and glided herself to the ground. Tay was grateful that she was going to be reunited with her father, but I could still see her grief because she wanted her mother as well.

  Her saddened eyes made me think of the castle. My mind left me for a moment. I wondered what my father was up to. I sure did miss my brothers, and I even hoped my mother was well.

&n
bsp; CHAPTER 24

  After I transformed Tailya, she was eager to set off for the mountain. Climbing the rocks beneath her, I started to think about what it was going to be like for her and her dad to reunite.

  Tay shimmied and shuffled above me and rocks began to free fall. “Ouch!” I let go of one stump to hold my head. The pebbles split the skin above my eyes and wetness started to dribble down my face. Soon, all I could see was red.

  “Are you alright down there?” Tay yelled. “Oh my gosh, Anna! You’re bleeding!” Tay rushed down to me and put her palm over my cut. “Hold still,” she said, as a bright light came from her hand. “Wait, what are you doing?” “Shh…just hold still, Anna.” Before I could blink, my cut was healed, and I could see again.

  Something strange had just happened. Tay had healed me with her bare hand. No wand, no spell. I was completely baffled. I had to know how, but I wouldn’t bother her until we rescued her father and were safe.

  We continued up the mountain, dodging the falling rocks that seemed to be aiming for us. “This doesn’t feel right,” Tay said as she pulled me up to the top with her. It was dark, yet the sun had just been beaming on us over the cliff. “Yea, I agree Tailya. Something isn’t right.” Tay locked her hand over mine and jerked me toward the dark, gloomy cave in front of us.

  “I don’t wanna go in there,” I whimpered. Tay grimaced. “Don’t be such a girl, Anna. We have Fawn’s wand, remember? We’re untouchable.” I felt a little foolish because I had forgotten our weapon of protection for a moment. Needless to say, some things never change. I was still scared of the dark.

  We trudged through the entrance and found a torch lying by a pile of dirty rags. “I think this is Dad’s cave,” Tay said as she lifted the stick. She grabbed a rag and wrapped it tightly around the top of the torch. We needed light. I grabbed the woven wands, pointed and said, “Anavo”. The rag lit with fire, giving us light to see. We locked elbows and tip-toed down into the cavern.

  As we turned the corner to explore more of the cave, we froze.

  ROAR!

  Tay dug her nails into my arm. “Wh…wha…what was th…tha…that?!” she stuttered. “I think that’s your dad,” I said while pulling her claws from my skin. “Sss…sorry, Anna”.

  “Come on this way,” I said as I pulled her toward the deafening sound. “He sounds like he’s in pain,” Tay said as she scurried behind me with her head hung low.

  CHAPTER 25

  Starbeam saw his mom down below. She was preparing dinner like usual. He hovered over her, thinking to himself and wondering how he was going to get Yurika to take the potion. Could he really just pop the bottle in the air and let it drench him? Would that really work? He contemplated all the possible ways to get her to take the elixir, but none of them seemed like they would work. He knew she would certainly smell it on him. Tailya and Anna had no idea how powerful the sense of smell was with a unicorn. He shook his head as he continued thinking of how to make this work.

  Yurika walked away from the pot full of berries. He knew this was his chance. Starbeam also knew he would be taking the serum as well. There was no way his mom was going to let him pass on dinner. Starbeam quietly lowered himself and dropped the bottle into the pot, quickly squishing it down to the bottom to get rid of the evidence.

  He was thinking to himself how much easier this would have been if Tay would have let him do this task in human form. Starbeam shook his head to clear the distracting thoughts. “Oh hi, Mother,” he said as Yurika turned back around. “Good heavens, child, where have you been?” Yurika squinted her eyes at him, shifting her glare up and down. Starbeam forgot he’d been gone for almost three days and hadn’t bothered checking in.

  “Mother, please, I am so sorry I worried you. I was hanging out with Tailya and Anna. I lost track of time.” “Days too, apparently,” she replied sternly. Starbeam lowered his head, hoping she would take his apology. He didn’t want to hurt his mother, he just wanted to help his friends solve their mystery.

  Yurika smiled at him. “Oh son, what shall I ever do with you?” Starbeam grinned. His mom returned a small smile. “Come on, let’s eat,” she said as she pushed her face into the pot of berries. Starbeam watched his mother closely. “I must’ve used a little too much seasoning. The berries are a little pungent,” she said, smacking her lips. Starbeam watched her scarf down her dinner for a little bit longer, in hopes the serum would get fully into her system. Tailya hadn’t told him how long it would take for it to go into full effect.

  Starbeam laughed at his mom. She had berries coming out of her nose. “Geez, momma, slow down! I don’t want you to choke!” He sat down, ready to take a bite himself. It was time for him to dose up along with his mother. Time for them to let out all their secrets.

  Starbeam stared at Yurika. She was still indulging, and he knew for sure she’d had plenty of potion. “Mom, do you know who Fawn is?” He wanted to get straight to the point. No beating around the bush. There wasn’t time for it. He needed to get back to Anna and Tay as soon as possible. Yurika dropped her gaze.

  “Starbeam, Fawn is very dangerous. I’ve known her for years. All she’s ever wanted was to rule over everyone. She was my best friend when we were growing up. We used to do everything together. That was until I found out what her motives were. Why do you ask this?”

  This truth thing was hard. He didn’t really get anything important from the question. He’d have to ask for something a bit deeper if he was going to get anywhere. He took a deep breath and thought maybe he’d ask her something about his friends.

  “Mom, who are Tay and Anna, really?” Yurika sighed. “Tailya is a little girl, no more than the age of 10. Fawn captured her from another dimension. She also took her father for mere sport, just because she knew no one could stop her. I remember Tay’s mom. Her screams and wails of torment were agony to my ears. I was with Fawn when she took Tay’s family.”

  Starbeam’s eyes started to burn. Though he didn’t like what he was hearing, he knew he needed to dig for more information. “Why did she take them? What is so special about Tailya, and why were you with Fawn if she was so horrible?” Starbeam realized he’d just vomited a line of questions toward his mom and hoped she would still be able to answer each one.

  Yurika’s eyes went wide at the eagerness of Starbeam’s curiosity about Fawn. However, she was still under the potion’s spell, so she had to answer truthfully.

  Starbeam looked up at his mom and wouldn’t let his gaze waiver. He needed answers and he needed them fast. Yurika sniffed strongly and cleared her throat. “Fawn wants to be the most powerful in all the worlds. Tailya and Annalise come from the power that she wants. In order to gain it, she has to persuade both girls to do some very dark magic. Fawn told me she would make me as powerful as her. I knew being like her meant no worries for the rest of my life. So, I agreed.”

  Starbeam held his gaze, only it was starting to grow cold because he couldn’t believe his own mother would choose power over life. Yurika focused on his glare. She couldn’t comprehend why she was telling him all of this. Starbeam shook his head, and his mom continued.

  “Tailya and Annalise are what you call ‘Light Magic’. It comes from the Father’s bloodline. Fawn and I used to come home every day after school and study the different bloodlines of magic. I always suspected Fawn knew more than she let on. We devised a plan to steal all the light power and turn it dark. I liked dark magic at the time. Making things float was fun and exciting!”

  Yurika continued, “We would play with candles and chant things, then we would wait and watch the spell come into play. Fawn seemed to get more and more powerful with every spell we cast. It was amazing, to say the least. But then something scary happened.” Yurika quivered and Starbeam placed his head against hers to calm her. She took a deep breath.

  “I heard a deep growl and then it spoke my name. It came straight out of my best friend’s mouth. I was petrified. I couldn’t move. I tried to run for the door and it just laughed at me.
It growled ‘You’re mine now, Yurika. There is no escaping.’ The voice was loud and over-powering. Before I knew it, I was a prisoner. Fawn made me do horrible things.” Tears started pouring down her face. She coughed a little.

  “I couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted me to kill those little girls and their parents. When I didn’t cooperate, she brought me here and turned me into this unicorn.” Starbeam was about to ask her one more question when he realized she wasn’t done. He stopped himself and let her finish, only to find out the most frightening thing he’d ever heard…

  “Starbeam, you are not my son.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Starbeam jerked up from Yurika. His mind started to overload. He’d thought his whole life that she was his mom. He’d known Tailya for as long as he could remember. Why would she keep this from him? Who was he? Where did he come from? All these anxious thoughts started to overwhelm him, and he began to tear up.

  Yurika moseyed over to Starbeam to try and comfort him. Her touch was gentle and inviting to him at first. But then he shook his head, reminding himself that she wasn’t his mom after all…she was a stranger. He couldn’t help himself. He had to ask Yurika one last question.

  “What does Fawn want with me?”

  Yurika’s body started to shake. It was weird. This must’ve been the secret of all secrets and her body was rejecting the question. As she started to speak, Starbeam stared deep into her eyes. She opened her mouth. “You’re Tailya’s brother and you are the…”

  Yurika’s body started convulsing violently. Her body was really trying to fight the serum. Either that, or it was starting to wear off. Starbeam had to act quickly if he was going to find out who he was.

  Yurika choked on her saliva, then coughed out “King” before she passed out.