They walked down to the main entrance, where they were to meet Antonio to get ready to board the plane. Katy and Deen stood around just waiting when they saw the Air house sixth years as they walked by. Suddenly Katy locked eyes with a tall boy he appeared to be about sixteen possibly already seventeen. He wore black pants with a golden yellow shirt and black tie, his cloak had a golden yellow lining and where Katy’s had a Salamander on flames his had a Sylph holding a wand pointed up with three spirals around him, and he was also wore a golden hat with a black and white version of his Sylph emblem in the center. Katy locked eyes on his piecing dark brown eyes, they were almost black, and they were a little too round. The lock only lasted seconds, as he put on a pair of sunglasses with blue lenses, they hid his eyes from view. He had brown curly hair, and a larger nose, there was a scar that went across it. There was an American bald eagle sitting on his shoulder. “Deen, who is that?” Katy asked as she pointed to the boy she saw. She felt like he was still staring at her.
Deen took a moment to look at the person who Katy pointed out. “That is Riley Solomon, and you see those guys standing next him?”
Katy had not noticed them, but they had black hair and they stood on each side of Riley. Riley had also been joined by a female. She was petite only about five-foot-tall maybe a few inches taller. She had light silvery blonde waist length hair, which she had braided, and blue eyes that were as light as Riley’s brown eyes had been dark. They were exact opposites, but she looked up at him with love in her eyes. “Who are they and who is the girl?” The girl was dressed in a grey skirt with a dusky violet shirt and grey tie, her cloak was lined with a dusky violet color with an Ondine sitting on a wave holding a cup emblem on it, and had grey knee high socks.
“Those are his two goons, they have to be the dumbest people at the school, but they will do just about anything he asks, they are his cousins, Blake and Damien Ebony. And the girl is Haley Sommer, she is Randall’s sister. She is a Water elemental. Randall said that he overheard Haley telling her friends that your father is not happy about the relationship, something about relationships never working if the two people are of two different elements. But Riley seemed to tell him to shove it or something like that. Haley found Randall hiding out and slammed the door in his face, so he didn’t get to hear anymore.”
Before Katy could respond the rest of the Fires joined them. And the conversation again turned to Eleball. The three other Fire girls still did not talk to Katy, but that was okay, but Oscar had started to act a little odd around her and he stayed and talked to the other girls today. Katy made a note to talk to him when they got back.
“Okay first years,” Antonio started to speak as he walked over, he handed Katy her bag, then turned back to address them all. “Time to come with me to the airport, we are going to put five in a carriage today come on!” Antonio ushered them to the carriages, Katy shared hers with Deen, Randall, Rory, and Russell.
Katy didn’t say much on the way to the airport, except every so often to give her opinion on the Freedom Warriors, who were just a few wins away from getting a chance to play for International Championship, and on the plane she talked with Deen about how to approach her brother. When they landed each agreed to remain in touch Deen said that his mother had an owl that could deliver the letters, it is much more reliable then tapping the letter, unless of course you are ordering something.
Katy kept mostly to herself once she got back the MacCathmhaoils; she read her books, shopped with Sandra, who tried to figure out what was wrong. “Katy Lily, dear, what is wrong?”
Katy responded quickly “nothing just missing my friends.”
“Okay, dear.” But Katy could tell Sandra did not believe her, but Sandra did let it drop.
It was just a couple of days before the start of the second term when Antonio came up and knocked on her bedroom door. “Katy Lily may I come in?”
“Yes.” Katy sat on her bed as she read the book she had checked out of the library; absently she petted Starlight who was curled in her lap.
“Katy Lily, you have been really quiet these past couple weeks.”
“Just missing my friends.”
“Yeah, that is what Sandra said you told her.” Antonio sat down on the chair next to the bed. “I don’t believe it. Deen and you have written each other every single day. I can’t imagine what the two of you are planning. So, what is really going on?’
Katy kept her defenses up; she was a very fast leaner in Telepathy and was very good at blocking. “I…” Katy did not know if she should tell him or not, it would mean she would have to admit she knew the Custos spell that was not supposed to be taught until they were older, like when they were starting to come in their next burst of magic at seventeen older. She learned in healing that there are magical inheritances, so to speak. At birth, then ages four, nine, eleven, fourteen, seventeen, twenty-one, and then as the master each discipline they have chosen.
“Katy Lily you won’t be in trouble. Just tell us what is going on please?” Antonio pleaded, he was very worried about the Young Child.
“I know the Custos spell, I overheard you talking to the Headmaster.” Katy blurted out and then hung her head, her eyes full of tears.
“I thought so. I overheard Deen saying something about learning extra spells. And you went quiet right after that.” Antonio came and sat on the bed, Starlight meowed at him and jumped down and walked out of the room, and Antonio pulled Katy into his lap. “Don’t cry Katy Lily. There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn. I just wish you had told me you had heard what was said so I could have explained.”
“But I didn’t…”
“Want to get in trouble. I know. I really wish you hadn’t overheard that; I know you have self-esteem issues. Totally unwarranted of course, but still.” Antonio turned Katy to face him. “Katy Lily look at me, there is nothing wrong with you. With the world?” He asked as he tilted his head to the side. “Yes. But with you no, there is nothing evil about you, there is nothing wrong with you. You are a good and lovely child and Sandra and I are considered lucky that we get to help you become the woman you will be.”
Katy’s eyes filled with tears again and she just hugged him, since she could not find the words to express the feelings she felt inside.
“Look, your biological father, his name is Richard Solomon, he is suspected as being as bad as his brother, Wesley. I am sure Deen had told you about him?”
“Yes, I talked to Deen about it, he says I am better off, and I agree, but…”
“You want to know why your mother and you were on the streets, why if you had a father he allowed you to fend for yourself after your mother died, why nobody came for you.”
“Yes.”
“Deen told you about the trace?”
“Yes.”
“We knew of you; we just didn’t know where you were. We had heard of your mother’s death, only though passing. Nobody seemed to be able to tell us where she lived. There isn’t much known about your mother, other than her name Senka Solomon, her maiden was Poe. She was only seventeen when she got pregnant with her first child, your father and she seemed happy. That was until she became pregnant with you. She filed for divorce and disappeared, just days after you were born. At one time we had feared that the magical community had lost you as well, as you had not been found. At least until the trace picked up.”
“Is Riley my brother?”
“You know about Riley?” Katy nodded her head. “Yes, I suppose you would, Deen’s family is really high up, they would know a lot, and of course the parents would talk around the kids.”
“Well, is he?”
“Yes, for some reason, we don’t know why, your mother left him and took you. In fact, she gave you a different last name, making it hard for us to know of your existence. If it wasn’t for your father, we may have never known about you. He listed your mother and you missing after she ran off with you. But I am only sure he did that to cover his tracks. At first, we thought he had done something to the two of you. The Guardians kept an eye on him; finally, someone said they had spotted your mother and you living in Dallas. But before reports could be confirmed the two of you disappeared again.” Katy sat and absorbed all this information. These were some of the answers she looked for.
“Why did she die?” Katy asked before she could stop herself.
“We don’t know, we thought you would have been told, but it is clear you were not. Normally witches and warlocks don’t come down with the ailments of normal humans. We have our own and any one of them could have been present, that could have suppressed her magic, causing her to die in that explosion. I am sorry, we just don’t know.”
“Deen said Riley is bad too.”
“We don’t know that. He does seem to be following in his father’s footsteps. We don’t know if he knows about you, so it may not be wise to seek him out. But I am not going to tell you what to do when it comes to this. I know you and Deen have been talking about it. I got a call from his mother, saying that her owl is acting more like a mail man then her familiar, and she got curious, Deen said it was nothing, but she read them. I think it is fair to give you fair warning, Deen’s next letter will probably explain it all.” Antonio got up and picked Katy up. “Come on, Sandra will have dinner ready. We are having crab tonight.” With that they went down to dinner.
And like Antonio thought, Deen’s letter the next day was apologetic about how his mother went through his room and read their letters, but he got her to promise not to tell anybody, and she told him that it was smart to try to work ahead, it would be good for him to get use to extra work if he wanted to be a Guardian.
Katy wrote him back and told him it was okay, and she could not wait to show him some of the spells she taught herself, and that she had figured out to transfigure cute little salamanders out of thin air, but they were really tiny.
Before she knew it, she needed to prepare to go back to school. Sandra helped Katy pack that morning and transfigure all her salamanders back into nothing, except for one, her largest, which was only about an inch long but a fiery red color. Sandra said it is okay for her to keep it. Starlight saw it as something to try to catch when Katy let it out, so it stayed in the little aquarium that Sandra had bought her on their last shopping trip.
“Katy, have you named your salamander yet?” Sandra asked.
“Yep, I have named him Shadow.” Katy said and smiled, as she finished packing her books.
Tony walked in, smiling, “why Shadow?”
“Because he came from nothing.” Katy said with a smile as she ran and gave him a hug, she had barely seen him all break; he had spent the time with his Pyrokinesis master.
“Well, then it is a good name. I didn’t know they were teaching you how to transfigure out of thin air yet, I thought that would be fourth year at least.”
“I taught myself. And guess what your dad says it is okay, but Sandra says I shouldn’t show off, I can show Deen but I shouldn’t go around showing off.”
“Well, yes mom would consider that rude. But then in the next breath she will be bragging to all the other medicine people that you are transfiguring salamanders out of thin air.” Tony said with a wink.
“Well, of course I can brag, all the other medicine people have young kids still, and they brag all the time. Not that I don’t brag about you Tony, but Katy is something new for them to hear. They get a little tired of Tony this and Tony that. I plan on making them a little tired of Katy too, but that is what all mother figures do.” Sandra said with a smile and picked up the small aquarium and handed it to Tony as well as Starlight’s basket. “Here, you take the pets, and I will take Katy and meet you at the airport.
Tony gave Katy another hug, and then grabbed the basket and the aquarium. Then said goodbye to his mom, then teleported from the room. Within moments Sandra and Katy followed.
Kris Charles - Author 