Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign (Worlds of the Crystal Moon, Book 1) (27 page)

“What do you think?”

Shalee gasped and thought,
Maybe Bassorine’s fashion sense isn’t so bad after all.
“Trace, it’s beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever met a young man with your talent. I’ll remember you until the day I die. You’ve filled my heart with joy, Mr. Chaslend.

“I’m glad you like it, funny lady, but I better go before my mother gets upset. I’m causing her to be late. Bye!”

“Bye, Trace.” She watched him run away.

When Shalee found the School of Magical Studies, she stood outside for many moments before she walked in. She was nervous, almost to the point of making herself sick. It took everything she had to keep from turning around and going back to the inn.
C’mon Shalee. Stop being such a chicken,
she thought.
You don’t even know what to expect.

The front part of the school was a store. The walls to either side had shelves lined with many things, both creature and plant-oriented. The jars were labeled: Baby Bat Wings, Spider Legs, Mandrake Root, Dragon Scales, Snake Skin, and many other items she had never heard of. She guessed she had an idea what they were used for. One of her favorite TV shows back on Earth was her only frame of reference. The show was about three witches who fought demons in an effort to rid their city of evil. One of the witches had an incredible sense of fashion, but they all used ingredients such as these to make their potions work.

She was not in the store long before an elderly woman, with beautiful, gray hair and soft features, walked into the room holding a staff. The woman’s outfit did not accentuate the curves of her body at all. Shalee thought,
Oh, my goodness-gracious, I need to call the Fashion Police. If I’m gonna train with this woman, she’s got to be fixed. It would be a shame to allow her to squander her beauty by wearing horrid fabrics. Now ... how do I tell her? How do women on Grayham handle tragedy?

The woman’s smile was larger than life when she saw Shalee. She rushed across the room. “You’re my new student, Child!” She clapped her hands, and then she reached out to take hold of Shalee’s arm. “Oh, thank the gods the Peak has arrived. I’ve been expecting you for many, many seasons, and I’ve been looking forward to your arrival. My name is Helga Kolinsky.”

“Hello … I think. Ummm … my name is Shalee,” she responded. “You say you’ve been expecting me? I don’t see how. I didn’t tell anyone that I was coming.”

Helga Kolinsky

“No, no, no, Child. It’s not like that. I have dreamt for most of my life that you’d be coming to study with me. I’ve prepared for this Peak, and I’ve longed for it since the celebration of my eighth winter season. I have so much to teach you.”

Needless to say, Shalee was unnerved by the woman’s confession—so much so that she turned to rush out of the store. But in her haste, she noticed the door was not getting closer. Looking down, Shalee was shocked to see that her feet were not touching the floor. She was frantically moving her legs, but she was not getting anywhere.

Helga laughed as she circled the suspended Shalee. “Oh, Child. I have known you were going to try that since I was a young girl. I was prepared to foil for your escape.”

Shalee went from surprised to angry. “You better put me down, or I’ll—”

“You’ll what, Child?” Helga responded with a soft voice. “You won’t do anything until I let you down, and I’m not going to that until you calm yourself.”

Shalee thrashed about. “I said, let me down, doggone it!”

Helga remained patient and continued to speak in a soft voice. “If you will just think for a moment, Child, you’ll realize that we’ve spoken before. You know who I am. Concentrate. Think of our spiritual visits. They’ve prepared us for this Peak.”

Shalee struggled to the point of exhaustion before she gave up and relaxed. She took a deep breath and then thought back to her dreams. To her surprise, she remembered Helga’s face. This woman had been in a number of her dreams, and she remembered speaking with her. In fact, Helga was one of the few beings that had given her a peaceful feeling. Sure enough, the way she had dressed in her dreams was almost as bad as real life, but at least her visions of Helga’s attire had been a bit more fashionable. Her outfits were nowhere close to the tragic mess she had on now. The rest of her nightmares had been of creatures, wars and angels who were fighting for her affection.

Shalee relented. “I do remember you. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I know you. Can you please let me down now? I’m ready to listen.”

Helga waved her hand, spoke a few words that Shalee did not understand, and then Shalee drifted to the floor. “Oh, Child ... now that we have that bit of awkwardness out of the way, perhaps we could work on something a bit more constructive.”

Shalee shrugged. “Okay. Why not? I brought coin for the lessons anyway, so we might as well.”

Helga smiled and then moved beyond a large bear rug that hung across an opening which led to a room behind the store. She shouted loud enough that her voice could be heard through the rug. “Your coin is not necessary here, Child! You have much to learn, and you’ll need to pay attention, not coin. Bring your staff with you, and we’ll get started.”

Shalee was cautious as she moved beyond the rug. The room was large and spacious. Thick pillows, made of leather, had been stuffed with straw, and they were being used to line the walls. Even the beams in the middle of the room and on the ceiling had been covered. The floor had a different look. Soft mattresses had been placed side-by-side and covered its surface. Shalee grinned.
The only thing missing is some gymnastic equipment,
she thought.

“This is where your training will begin, Child,” Helga said with beaming eyes. “Never mind the decor, it tends to come in handy with a new sorceress.”

Shalee looked puzzled. “I don’t know that I like the idea of being called a sorceress.”

Helga’s brow furrowed. “Why?”

Shalee had to search for a response. “I guess it just sounds wicked. Don’t you think?”

Helga shook her head. “It’s just a name, Child. What else would you call yourself?”

“I don’t know... Just not that.”

Helga motioned for Shalee to join her at the center of the room. “You can call yourself whatever you like. I, however, will call you my sorceress-in-training. You, like any other being on this world, have the right to do whatever you want. But I would guess you’re curious about what your staff does, are you not?”

Shalee nodded and then presented her staff to Helga. “So what do I do with this thing? It didn’t come with an owner’s manual.”

An odd look appeared on Helga’s face. “Owner’s manual, Child. Whatever do you mean?”

“Ahh, nothing. So what do I do?”

Helga laid the staff on one of the mattresses. “First, you must name it, then you must quiet your mind and learn to speak with it. You must learn to feel its power and allow it to flow through you. This can be the hardest part of training for a new sorceress.”

Helga motioned for Shalee to take a seat on the mattress next to the staff. “I’m going to leave and give you some quiet moments to work on this communication. Some women find this experience to pleasurable once they understand what to do.”

Shalee placed a hand to her chin. “So ... all you want me to do is name it and figure out how to talk to it? Sounds easy enough.”

Helga smiled. “Sounding easy and being easy are two different things. There’s one piece of advice I must give you before I go. Make sure you name your staff something simple ... a word with no more than one or two syllables, Child. This is important. One or two syllables only. Don’t forget.”

Shalee watched as Helga left the room. “Well this is weird,” she chuckled. “I’ve never talked to a petrified stick before.”

Shalee studied the room, taking note of every detail.
I feel like I’ve been here before,
she thought.
I know this place. I’ve seen it in my dreams.

Shalee turned her attention to the staff and nudged it with her foot. “Shall we have a ourselves a conversation?” she asked as she leaned forward to pick it up. “I can’t believe I’m talking to a piece of wood. Huh, first things first. I’m supposed to name you. What’s a fabulous one or two syllable name that tickles me pink?”

Shalee thought for a bit and then smiled as she remembered a name that made her feel good inside. She would steal the name of a magical item that she had seen in a movie. The name rolled off her tongue every time she said it. It was the name she had given her favorite coffee cup. No one was here from Earth to object, so why not abscond with it for her own use?

“I think I’ll call you Precious. I like that. How does Precious sound to you, Precious?” She slapped the top of the staff with the palm of her hand and sassily said, “High-five.”

Once the staff’s name had been uttered, Shalee found new admiration for it. “So ... how do I feel your power, Precious?” She giggled at the thought of talking to the stick.

Shalee spent the next considerable amount of moments staring at the staff, waiting for something to happen. She concentrated and tried to feel something—anything. When nothing happened, she fell back onto the mattress, set the staff beside her and then placed her hand on top of it in hopes that her touch would break the ice. All she wanted was the smallest sign or hint that she was doing something right. At one point, she became frustrated enough to sit up and play peek-a-boo with the staff.

Now, fellow soul ... can you imagine a grown woman sitting in a room all alone, covering her face, and then yelling “peek-a-boo” at a large, petrified stick as she peeled her hands away from her eyes? I find Shalee’s playfulness amusing. But enough about how I feel. Allow me to get back to the story. It’s about to get interesting.

Shalee was sure that anyone seeing her display of idiocy would have put her in a padded room and thrown away the key. She had to laugh—she was already in a padded room. The only thing she needed now was a straight jacket.
But it better have lace,
she thought.

It was not much longer before Shalee took her hand off the staff and gave up. She was tired, so she closed her eyes to get some rest. As soon as her mind quieted, that was all it took for the staff to communicate. It was gentle at first, but the sensation grew as it sent waves of energy coursing through her body. The feeling was awesome.