"We don't talk about the Western Gate. Ever! Don't ask me anymore questions!
"Well, I'm going to make the most of this, since who knows when I'll get back in here again," Blue muttered under her breath. She looked around and saw that the antechamber held a few ritual robes -- white with emerald green trim and black with burgundy trim. There also was a cabinet on one side filled with jars of incense, charcoal, a lighter, and jars of other symbolic ritual items. Next to the cabinet was a large farmhouse sink. On the other side of the antechamber was a bookshelf with very old books, several in languages Blue did not recognize. In one corner was a small, staircase that Blue knew led to the widow's walk at the very top of the house. LeRoy hopped onto a shelf and pointed out the correct book to use for a tracking spell. "This is it," he squawked. "You need to undress and put on a robe," said LeRoy. "There's some dragon blood and a few scales from that dragon on his old bandage you stuffed in your back pocket. That will work to connect with them. I'll be back with a locket for you to charm into a tracking amulet." LeRoy flew out of the room.
Blue took the ritual book, and flipped through it, looking for the tracking spell, but a summoning caught her eye. "This looks interesting and will get me in the mood."
Blue chanted the incantation slowly, vibrating the words so they would carry into the astral. It looked like a basic invocation of the four elements and appeal to power from elemental sources. She turned to each quarter and intoned, while mentally drawing a pentagram, in turn:
East, Air, Birds, Breath, To Know, Raphael
West, Water, Fish, Blood, To Dare, Gabriel
South, Fire, Serpents, Skin, To Will, Michael
North, Earth Beasts, Bones, To Be Silent, Uriel
All that is weak go out. (Blue exhaled.)
All that is strong come in. (Inhale.)
All that is trespassing leave. (Blue threw up her arms imagining all trespassers and unwanted entities of any type to leave the area.) Blue then repeated the ritual only for the last line, instead of telling trespassers to leave, she intoned: "By the three sacred hills and the five sacred wells, I call upon the ancient guardians and I dedicate myself to the Temple of the Oak!" Once the guardians were invited in, Blue mentally sealed every door and window in the house.
Followed by:
"Hag of the riverbank,
Hag of the stream,
Washing your plaid,
Come unto me."
Blue knew that the Hag was an ancient figure of celtic legend, often found washing her tartan in a stream. She could be either treacherous or helpful but was best left alone. Also, sometimes the Hag was a shapeshifter, who appeared poor, weak and humble in order to test the character of persons who wished to cross the water. Crossing the water also was more than it appeared. It could mean either a purification or elevation or moving into a different reality -- a magical world.
Warrior of my blood
Warrior of my bone
Mighty warrior full of strength
Welcome to my home."
The warrior was of course a wellknown symbol of strength and might. Often it had to do with protection.
"Guardians of ancient promise,
True to serve unto your clan,
In our greatest hours of need,
When we fight the demon seed."
Blue sensed power stirring. Just then LeRoy fluttered back into the room carring an amulet for the tracking spell.
"Oh no! What the bejeebers are you doing!!!! Banish! Banish Blue!!! Banish fast!!!!
Mist had risen up, as though from the floor, which Blue knew was impossible but there it was anyway. It was taking the form of, well, an old woman and a warrior.
"Shysters! Now you went and did it!," sputtered LeRoy. "You idiot, you just went and summoned the clan guardians, and you have not yet been presented to them yet!"
"The what?" asked Blue, bewildered.
"Oh my god, they're not in the triangle! Im outta here," LeRoy squawked, fluttering out the door as fast as he could go.
From what LeRoy had sputtered before flapping out the door, Blue realized that the Hag and Warrior now in corporeal form before her were bound to the McChesney Clan, and wielded tremendous power. Unfortunately, she had not summoned them into a triangle. This meant they were free to do whatever they wished. Standing before Blue were a bent old woman, blind in one fogged up eye, and a powerful warrior wearing a tartan, leathers on his legs, a helm and a huge smoking sword. Blue could feel the power exuding from both the crumpled hag and the strong warrior. Blue stood there with her mouth hanging open.
"What have we here? Pretty thing," murmurred the hag.
The old woman squinted at Blue. "Ah, the newest McChesney."
Blue recalled seeing glimpses of the hag staring out of mirrors then disappearing.
"Kill it," I say, boomed the warrior. "Its fool enough to summon us with no introduction and doesn't even know enough to summon us into a triangle. It's too stupid to be tolerated."
"Its one of ours," said the Hag. "So we shall not kill it, right away. Ah yes, I know you," the hag whispered. "The youngest and newest member of the McChesney Clan. Born of the witch's daughter and sired by Cormac McChesney."
"How did you know?," asked Blue.
"Let's kill it and go," repeated the warrior.
The hag ignored both Blue and the warrior.
"About time there was a girl. I'm tired of all these men running about killing themselves off. Past three generations it has been only men. Dam foolish they are. Noble but foolish." The hag raised her hand to Blue and made a symbol in the air that looked like a cross with a circle around it. "May you bare many healthy bairns Belladonna Louisa McChesney, witch girl with wolf blood."
"Barns?" asked Blue.
"Not barns! Bairns. Babies! Offspring! Don't let all this modern talk prevent you from realizing that this is the primary business of the female -- bearing and raising young. If you don't do it, the McChesney line will die out. So it's on you to propogate. It's your duty. It is very simple to mate and breed. Very close to the heart. But that is what gives us our strongest power. You will see."
"Why did I not know of you before?" asked Blue.
"You would have in time, as one of the McChesney Clan. Initiations are not made until you reach adulthood, age 18, and are welcomed into the Order. You are the first to ever invoke me who was not an Order member. If you had not been of the McChesney Clan, I would have killed you."
"I still think we should kill it now," huffed the warrior. "Impale it and roast it on a spit over the fire. That will teach it to be impudent."
"Oh be quiet you big fool, killing is not the best solution to everything." Apparently the hag had seniority over the warrior, who now was sulking, though Blue noticed he seemed to be having a difficult time not laughing out loud. What was so funny?
"What powers do you have?" Blue asked.
The hag turned toward the east and raised her hands. Blue felt the wind and saw the hag turn into a beautiful eagle. Next the hag turned west and shapeshifted into a salmon that was swimming in air where the eagle had been flying. South she turned and became a slithering salamander giving off sparks and walking on tongues of fire, then finally North where she stood in the form of a great Stag on a piles of snow, tossing her head and antlers. Finally the stag stood once more in her elder hag form.
"My powers are imparted unto the magus who invokes me. So you gain powers from whatever elemental form suits the mission at hand. Each magus has slight variation as the magic attunes to them. These are merely the outer changes. There also are inner changes. East brings both gnosis and power of the wind and breath. West enables one to dare travel through and learn from the innermost and hidden psyche, swimming those deep inner rivers and streams. South comes with a firmness of will, strengthened like a sword in fire. With north comes silence and knowledge of truth and justice, and power to invoke law. If you are outmatched I may or may not let this big oaf next to me join the fray on your behalf. Depends on my mood and your cause."
The hag then approached Blue, put her hands on Blue's shoulders and turned her around. Blue felt the hag's breath blowing on her neck and a chill ran down her spine. Then the hag grabbed blue's hand and it burned badly. Blue could not pull it loose. The warrior stood in front, raised his sword and inscribed a Celtic cross, a cross with a circle around it.
"We have claimed you for the McChesney Clan," said the hag. You now have the power to summon us as needed. Just squeeze the mark on your left hand and invoke us. Be sure you have good reason for I will not be pleased if you try to use us foolishly."
As suddenly as they had arrived, the hag and warrior were gone in a puff of grey smoke. Blue let out a sigh of relief. On top of her left hand now was burned a celtic cross, a crucifix with a circle around it. It no longer burned.
"Are they gone," LeRoy entered the room, jumping nervously from one foot to the other.
"Yes, they are gone, you big chicken."
"Better a live chicken than a roasted one," replied LeRoy. "Since you are alive, they must have initiated you."
"Yes, I am now initiated into the Temple of the Oak, though I don't understand anything it, and I'm seriously ticked off at Cormac for keeping so many secrets."
Blue took up the amulet, an old locket from her jewelry box.
"Please show me the tracking spell," LeRoy. The old crow fluttered up to the shelves and pulled down a book, then with a muttered incantation it opened to the correct page. Blue quickly performed the tracking spell using the cloth marked with dragon blood, the one she'd stuffed into her jeans earlier, as an object linked to the dragon. Suspending the amulet over a map of Lockport and Niagara, she swung it back and forth gently. Each time, no matter where she held it above the map, the locket pointed toward the old Birdsill Holly factory near the Lockport Cave and old Erie Canal. Her suspicions were confirmed. An infestation of water dragons was living at the old Birdsill Holly plant. The dragons were back again.
There was no time to ponder this. Blue hurriedly got ready for the concert. She barely had time to shower and dress.
Chapter 7
The concert opened with the Niagara All-County Choir weaving a tapestry of notes and images singing "The Winter Snow" a beautiful mix of music by Audrey Snyder and words by Emily Dickinson. The audience sat enthralled and contemplative during the song sung by the high school girls. The All-County Choir was made up of the best high school singers from all across the county. Blue would have enjoyed the moment had her eye not caught movement on the ceiling. Perched on an acoustic tile, peering over the edge, was another little dragon, this second one an azure blue. Blue felt in her pocket. "Dam! I brought the tracking amulet with me and they must have been able to track me in reverse!," Blue thought to herself. Dragons were known for being highly psychic and they also had some magickal powers. The dragon with a hurt wing, Took, could have psychically communicated to his family that Blue had captured him, or the other little dragons might have followed him to her house. They could even have felt the tracking amulet locating them earlier during her spell. The little blue dragon above fluttered swiftly to another ceiling tile and now Blue could see a jade green dragon just behind it. The Boy's Choir walked out from behind the closed curtain and growled out a bluesy rendition of "Your a Mean One Mr. Grinch." Rafe caught Blue's eye as the boy's were walking past and briefly glanced toward the dragons on the acoustic ceiling tiles. "Figures he wouldn't miss it," Blue smiled. She had already filled Rafe in on her encounter with the little dragons that morning. She noticed then that a vent cover was askew at the top of the wall. "So that's how they got in!" After the boys sang their two selections the girl's choir rejoined them for the one song they had selected via vote -- the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Bicycle". Everyone was excited to sing this one since it was the most modern and energetic song they were allowed to have in their collection of mainly classical numbers. During this song a girl dressed in a white athletic outfit left her cello in the orchestra pit and danced with a white bicycle. It was Stella, of course. Then she was joined by a burly trumpeteer who hopped and spun wildly. Next they were joined by Rafe juggling. He tossed multi-colored pins into the air, in tune with the music. The high point was when the girl did a handstand on the bicycle handlebars, feet straight in the air, and the boy spun on his back then his head, also ending in a handstand, and the juggler tossed the pins under his leg then caught them all and bowed. They were then showered with pink and red balloons, inscribed with hearts, that dropped from above, since it was Valentine's Day.
"Stella you were so amazing!" Later in the band room Blue rushed over to her best friend Stella and gave her a hug.
"Great job Stella," Rafe said. "Heh, Talon came to watch. He barely ever leaves the farm."
"Hi Talon," Stella smiled. "I'm glad you decided to come". Talon had moved in with Rafe's family a few months ago, but was very reclusive and had not gone out much."
"Bonjour Stella," Talon gazed into Stella's dark eyes deeply, not smiling. "Your dance performance I enjoyed greatly. Tres bon!" May I present you with this?" Talon handed to Stella a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He had purchased it out in the lobby and had added a few of the heart-shaped balloons.
"Wow!" Stella gasped. "How nice, Talon. Thank you!" Her dark eyes sparkled and her light moca skin showed a tinge of pink. Talon bowed and looked very pleased. Rafe was feeling awkward. He'd bought a bouquet for Blue too, when he saw Talon buying one for Stella. He would have felt awkward not having a bouquet for Blue, but he also felt awkward giving it to her. It was weird somehow to spring that on her now when they were just pals. He didn't know what to say.
"Here ya go, Blue," said Rafe, tossing her the bouquet. "One for you too."