Swift (22 page)

“Wait … are you saying that Alex could bring Isaac’s family back … from the dead?” I asked, interrupting his story.

“Yes. Ancient stories have been told that an Astoria—an all-powerful witch—has the power to bring the dead back to life, among other great powers. If a witch were to perform a ritual to take the powers from the Astoria, and then kill them, then that witch would consume their powers. Only every two hundred years does an Astoria exist, so it’s a very rare occurrence. It was prophesied that, at the end of the twentieth century, two Astorias would be born: twins.”

The calculation came up quickly in my mind, and I gasped, knowing that could only mean one thing. Charlotte and I were the two Astorias.

Blake paused, searching my eyes, trying to measure my reaction. But I must not have looked too overwhelmed, because he continued, “When Isaac came back to us that last night, he started to ask specific questions about you. He began to go on and on about a sacrifice that had to be made and then he would have his family back. It was just a few hours after he left that the Witch’s Council called upon us for help.” He finished, his eyes finding mine again.

I sat there stunned, not sure of what to say. As crazy as it was, my thoughts first went to Isaac. The loss of his entire family in one single night had sent him into a tailspin of destruction, and oddly, I felt like I could relate. I didn’t agree with what he was doing, but somewhere inside me, I understood how he felt. If there was some way I could bring my family back, I was not sure what I would be capable of doing to make it happen.

Then my thoughts drifted to Abby. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through. The man she loved had turned evil. Now she and her family were hunting him and ultimately trying to stop him … all in order to protect me.

“I really think you should be getting some sleep.” Blake’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“You’re probably right,” I agreed. “Would you mind if I slept down here with you? I don’t feel like being alone right now.”

“Of course.” He adjusted himself by turning over on his side, giving me the other half of the couch.

It’s not that we hadn’t just slept like that the night before. Could that have only been last night? I thought. It seems like it was a lifetime ago. I snuggled up beside him, our bodies barely touching, but it was enough. My heart began to pound against my chest as he pulled me in closer, wrapping his arms around me, forming a protective cage. When we were finally settled and my heart had calmed, I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

When I woke the next morning, I was alone. There was a faint ray of light coming in from the window, and I knew it must still be early. I glanced around the room and began calling out for Blake, but there was no answer. Then I heard the doorbell.

Who on earth could be here so early? I wondered. I glanced at the clock on the mantle. It was only six-thirty in the morning. I opened the door, and whose face did I see smiling back at me? Abby’s.

“Good morning, sunshine. I did say first thing, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did.” I laughed, trying to be inconspicuous as I looked around her, searching for Blake. But he was nowhere in sight.

“You can quit looking for him. He already left,” she said, entering the house.

“Oh.” I frowned.

“No pouting. He really wanted to be here, but he did not want to put too much pressure on you.”

“Pressure?” I questioned.

“Yes, learning the craft can be very difficult at first. We still have to do the summoning spell just to get your powers. I need all of your focus, and I think he’s quite a distraction for you. But I must say it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my brother this happy. I just hope …” Her voice trailed off before finishing.

“You just hope what?” I questioned, fear running through me.

“Nothing. I’m sure everything will work out just fine. Now, are you ready?” she asked, this time forcing the smile across her face.

I looked down and wondered how she could even ask me that question. I was a total mess. “No, but give me just a few minutes,” I said, sprinting up the stairs.

When I was getting dressed, I couldn’t ignore what Abby had said about the hoping thing. Was she hoping that Blake and I would work out? Did she know something that I didn’t? There was the fact that they came from a different time period, and there was the possibility that one day they would have to leave. I guess I hadn’t even thought about that yet. I tried to avoid negative thoughts, hoping, just like Abby, that everything would work out fine.

After throwing on a pair of jeans, an old T-shirt, and tennis shoes, I ran into the bathroom, threw my hair in a ponytail, and brushed my teeth. I bounded back downstairs and found Abby sitting with her legs crossed on the couch, reading from an old brown leather notebook.

“Just trying to catch up on some of the beginner spells. It’s been years since I’ve even looked in this thing,” she said as she continued to flip through the pages. “You should eat some breakfast. It’s going to be a long day, and I’m not sure we will break for lunch.”

She was really taking this seriously. But she was my teacher after all. I walked into the kitchen, pulled out two pieces of bread, and popped them in the toaster. As I stood there waiting, I couldn’t help but think of what Abby must be going through. Here she was fighting against a person she once loved or maybe still loved, the man she had been engaged to no less. I couldn’t imagine how much that would hurt, to fight against someone you loved.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Her voice made me flinch. I had not even noticed her come in. She was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at me intently.

“Um, it’s nothing really. I’m just a little nervous about today, that’s all,” I lied.

Saved by the toaster. After putting a thin layer of peanut butter on each piece, I wrapped them up in plastic wrap and turned toward Abby. “Ready,” I said. “I’ll just eat on the way. It will save some time.”

She laughed. “No, we will wait until after you finish. Rule number one: no flying and eating.”

“Flying?” I swallowed hard, remembering what it had been like when Blake flew me away from Isaac and then back to the Harpers’. The nausea slowly started to rear its ugly head. “How does that work anyway?” I took a large bite out of my toast and chewed quickly, hoping to dull the queasiness.

“With magic, of course. It’s one of the simplest forms, actually. That is one of the first things we will learn. But we are getting way ahead of ourselves here. Just finish up your breakfast. We will have plenty of magic-talk today. I promise, by the end of the day, you will be begging me to stop.”

She made it sound so simple, and I began to feel a little apprehensive. What if the summoning spell didn’t work? What if they had it all wrong and I was not the great and powerful Astoria they thought I was? They had quite an expectation of me, and I hoped that I lived up to it in the end.

I stuffed the last bite of toast into my mouth and stood up, ready to go.

“Chew and swallow, I don’t want you to choke on the way over there.” She laughed, shaking her head.

I chewed and swallowed, opening my mouth to her just to prove it was empty.

All of a sudden, my world as I knew it was spinning, and I had no control. It continued like that for about a minute or so, and then I could feel myself slowing down and then finally coming to a stop. Even though my body had come to a halt, my head continued to go round and round.

“Whew, that is tiring with two people. I forgot how exhausting that is.” I heard Abby speak, but I could not focus on her face. “Don’t worry; the dizziness—”

“…will fade, just breathe,” I interrupted her. “You forget, this is not my first time flying.”

It took me a few minutes to gain my bearings back and to realize that I was in a place that I did not recognize.

“Where are we?”

“Steer Swamp.” She grinned.

“Wow, that’s impressive. You got us all the way over here in just those few seconds?” I asked, astonished.

She smiled proudly. “Yes, it was actually fifty-eight seconds to be exact, but I’m a little rusty. Can you walk? You don’t look so good.”

“Yeah, I can walk.” I stood up, determined to prove it, but the moment I got up, I stumbled forward.

Abby caught me before I collapsed onto the green grass. “Oh, boy. This is going to be fun. Come on, I have us set up over here.” She groaned as she lifted my arm over her head.

“Set up?” I questioned.

“What did you think, that I was going to fly over here with you and all the supplies? I’m a teacher, not a miracle worker.”

We walked about twenty feet. Behind a large wall of trees, we came into a small open space. We stopped, and she guided me down to a small circle on the ground. It was about three feet in diameter and looked to be made from a mixture of flowers, pine needles, and some type of ash. She sat across from me and asked for my hands. I reached over, placing my hands into hers, mimicking her by crossing my legs into an Indian-style position. Immediately, energy rushed over me. There was a tingling sensation shooting throughout my body, and for the first time, I actually believed that powers did exist somewhere in me.

“Follow my lead. Just relax, let your body open up to the energy and the natural elements. I will take care of everything else.”

She closed her eyes, so I did the same. She began to murmur something under her breath, and I tried my hardest not to concentrate on her voice. Instead, I let every bone and muscle in my body relax. It was difficult at first, but slowly it felt like my body was melting into the earth. I was tempted to open my eyes to see what was happening, but I resisted. Soon I was totally zoned out, feeling like I was having almost an out-of-body experience.

Then there was silence. No wind rustling the leaves in the trees above us, no birds chirping happily, and no more chanting from Abby. I sat there frozen, unable to open my eyes in fear of what I would see if I did.

 “Okay, all done,” Abby said after just a few minutes. “That went better than I could have expected.”

With some hesitation, I opened up my eyes and was shocked at what I saw. Nothing had changed. Absolutely nothing. “That’s it?” I asked, curiously.

“
That’s it?
Is that your way of saying thank you?” she teased. “I will have you know that that was one of the easiest summoning spells I have ever done. It was like the power was about to erupt out of you any second. All it needed was a little guidance.”

“Sorry, I was not trying to insult your work … It’s just that I was expecting something a little different.”

“Like what? Sparks? Or maybe puffs of smoke?” She laughed. “Just be patient. We will be here every step of the way, but it will take some time.”

After a few hours of training, we were finally finished for the day. She was not kidding, either. I felt like I had had a crash course in magic, and I was definitely worn out by the time we were finished. My whole body ached, and we had not even done anything that strenuous—not physically, anyway.  The most exciting spell I had learned was how to move a leaf and rock with my mind. I admit that it was awesome the first, second, and third time, but by the fiftieth time I had done it, I was so over it. I wanted to move on to something I could protect myself with.

We began our walk home, and for once I wished she would just fly us there. It would be so much faster, and I could get home and change quicker.

“So, Blake told me he explained the whole Isaac situation to you,” Abby said out of the blue.

It shocked me. Firstly, I hadn’t thought Blake would tell her that I knew. And secondly, I hadn’t thought that Abby would actually bring it up.

“I just wanted to explain it from my side. I can’t imagine what you must think of me. You must think I’m crazy for loving someone who is now so troubled,” she said.

“Crazy? I think the exact opposite; you’re one of the strongest people I know. It’s amazing to me that you can fight against someone you once loved. It must be ... difficult.” I struggled for the right the word.

She glanced in my direction with a curious expression on her face. “I’m not fighting against him, Meredith. I’m fighting for him. I truly believe I can bring him back to me. It’s the only thing that gets me up each morning.”

“Oh, Abby, I’m sorry. I just thought …”

“Really, there’s no need to explain. I can see where you would think the other way.”

I sighed.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s just that, before I thought you were the strongest person I ever knew, and now I can add bravest to that as well. I just don’t know how you do it.”

“You should give yourself some credit, too, you know. You lost your family at such a young age, and yet here you are, still functioning, strong, and about to be the most amazing witch. It takes more courage and strength to do what you are doing than what I am,” she said.

No pressure, I thought to myself.

“Abby.” I paused for a moment. “How does it all work? Contacting the Council and the other witches that have crossed over?” I hadn’t forgotten what Blake had said about witches in tune with their powers being connected to other witches. The thought of being able to contact my mother excited me.

“I think I know where you are headed with this and I’m afraid it’s not that easy. The council has to have good reason to contact the witches still living. There has to be an immediate danger to the craft or something similar to that. But you may find comfort in knowing that we are all connected and even though you may not be able to see or hear them, they are with us always.” She smiled looking over at me.