“Mother ran so you wouldn’t kill me. Did you kill her?”
“NEVER!” Richard screamed in outrage. “I loved your mother; she was the only true feeling of love I have ever felt. She made me feel as there was a different life out there. Then she had to run off just so she could save you. You would have destroyed our way of life! She would have had other children, why she was so attached to you I do not know. But you were just one little child. She died, so you could live. Yet, it was for naught as you are here, and about to die. You were born Katherine Lillian Solomon and as such as you shall die.” Richard raised his wand to strike the deadly blow.
Katy did not know how but she summoned so much power she had her counterattack upon him before he could get out the first syllable of the death curse. Katy’s blow did not kill him, but it sent him across the room, his body engulfed in flames, but they did not burn him. There orders to only bind him; it was to prevent him from taking another chance to deal out the spell to kill her. Katy turned just in time to see Wesley as he started to throw the spell her way.
Katy took every ounce of power she felt within her, the power of all the elements, of everything she had learned in class, everything she had read, and the pain and hurt she felt and threw up a shield, closing her eyes as she did so. If they asked her later how she did it, she would not know. But the shield that formed was made of all five elements, the Fire enclosed the power of the winds of Air, the rumbling of the Earth, the sparks of the Spirit, and the waves of Water, they protected her from the evil that was shot toward her. The evil that was intent on ending a spark of pure light, one of few sparks of pureness left in the Solomon bloodline.
Katy heard a gasp and she opened her eyes just in time to see the death curse from Wesley hit the shield she had formed and the power from the shield absorb it and then push it back to rush toward him. The rare power of Katy’s rage, power, life, soul, and heart knew that even though it was wrong to do, the man before her could not live to hurt others, could not be allowed to live to take more innocent lives.
As the last of the power hit him and the last of his breath left his body, Katy saw spirits of the ones he had killed pass before her, to hold her up, so she seemed steady when she stood against her father. They were all talked to her, told her their stories, gave her their gratitude, asked her to seek their families, to tell them they had found peace at last. And Katy made a mental note to do so, though she would not have to make that note.
“What have you done?” Richard fell to the floor as Katy was too weak to keep his binding in place.
“I have done nothing but defend myself from a man of pure evil. As I will defend myself against you if I must.” Katy knew it was a bluff as she had nothing left. But he did not know that.
Instead of trying to issue a blow, he turned to run. “You will be sorry witch, I will destroy you, and just you wait and see, your days are numbered! I will avenge my brother!” As he reached the top of the stairs he teleported out of his own house, he left Katy alone in the place she thought of as the dungeon of death.
Katy sank to the floor and watched as the spirits that she had released with the death of Wesley Solomon, leave towards their next great journey. Once the last one had gone a journal fell at her hands, inside the names of Wesley’s victims, and their last message to their family. Katy smiled and tucked it away in her cloak before she laid on the cold hard concrete. She did not know how long she stayed there, or what day it was, she only knew she needed to get out of this house and back to the school.
It was the only place she would be safe while she recovered from this ordeal. She only stopped to think about Riley. How he was told lies too, how he was deceived to do what his father and uncle wanted, how he was betrayed by the ones he trusted the most. And at once she was glad that she had Tony and Deen and their parents as her family. She knew she would never have to feel that sting of betrayal. And at once she made up her mind what she would do about Riley.
She did not know how she did it, but she made it to the top of the stairs as soon as she reached the landing she knew she could teleport. She took what was left of her power, she knew was spent, and concentrated so hard on the town outside of the school, outside of her home. Where the carriages met them at the beginning of each term, she only hoped someone was there to find her. The last thing she knew she felt snow upon her cheek and then nothing but blackness.
When she awoke it was black out, for a moment she panicked, worried she had not escaped. She sat up quickly and reached for her wand. Before she could find it, a hand reached out for her. She stiffened, fear filled her.
“Don’t worry Katherine Lillian, it is just I. I found you at the edge of the school.” Katy knew the voice, it was Headmaster O’Cuinn. She let herself relax against the pillow on her bed.
“How are Deen and Tony? Do you know where Riley is?” Katy asked worried for all, even though she did not know why she felt she must worry about Riley.
“We have not found young Riley as of yet, but we are looking. Deen and Tony are gaining strength and have awakened from their comas. But they are still very weak, that is why they have remained here after the end of term. They are to stay until they are well enough to travel. They both set themselves back as every other hour of the day they tried to leave to find you. And before you say anything, Sandra and Jane have been particularly good about yelling at them each and every time.”
“Umm… how long have I been back? What day is this?”
“You just got back only a few hours ago just as dusk set, I have yet to tell any of the others as of yet, because I have to ask you some questions first. And today is the seventeenth since it is now after midnight. Can you please tell me what happened?”
Katy looked at the headmaster for a moment and she did not know what came over her but she heard herself say “Only if you don’t expel Riley, he is going to need a home. I don’t think he did what he did by choice. I think Wesley and Richard Solomon were forcing him. The way he spoke to himself during my capture, how he reacted to the true prophecy that our father had, how he ran, so pale. So afraid.” Katy saw him clear as day in her mind, and knew she made the right choice in forgiving him.
“Fine, you have my word, Riley Solomon will not be expelled. He shall get his second chance. Now please tell me, young witch.”
Katy told him everything. From the beginning of the first term until the last moment she remembered before she woke up in the hospital wing. It took forever to tell her story. To tell him every detail, so that she would only have to tell it to him once. The dawn started to turn the sky pink by the time she finished her side of the story. Katy sat there on the bed and waited for Headmaster O’Cuinn to speak. Instead she saw a small tear escape from his left eye, before he spoke.
“You have had to overcome many obstacles and trails this first year, I am sorry you had to suffer because of that. If I could have prevented it, I would have. I was hoping that the Solomons would have waited, but they must have wanted power more then they wanted to be viewed as a good family. This will destroy the image they have spun since Wesley got out of prison ten years ago. Now if you excuse me, I must go and report this, as well as inform everyone that you are safe and back here. I just have one more question. How did you create that magic that protected you and destroyed Wesley?”
“Headmaster, I do not know. All I know is that when he died all the souls of those he had killed finally could move on, they are the ones that held me up when I turned to face the man who is my father. He ran for now, but he won’t give up on destroying me. Headmaster, this is only the beginning. Headmaster I have one request. The journal that was with me; it has the names of the people Wesley killed and their last messages to their family. Please find them. Let them know their loved ones are at peace.” Katy said and laid back down, she still felt totally drained.
Oeric O’Cuinn looked at the young witch in front of him, a young girl who had to grow up to quickly who was so pure, and he wished the words he had to say were not the truth. “I am afraid that you are correct. Now rest Katherine Lillian, you will need it.” With that Headmaster swept out of the room, and Katy drifted back into a dreamless sleep.
Katy was awakened just a couple hours later with a shock as her cat and Deen jumped on her bed.
“Katy! Oh my God, I overheard the headmaster telling my father what happened. You are okay?”
“I am fine. You? Tony?”
“We are good, a couple more days and we can go home. Hopefully, we get to go home before your birthday it would suck to have to celebrate your birthday in the hospital wing.” Deen said and moved to sit cross legged at the foot of bed as Katy sat up; he pulled out a sugar wand and started nervously chewing. “Oh hey, we got our grades and school supply lists for next year. I need a lot of ceramic clay, other than that, mostly we just need new potion supplies and our new textbooks.”
Katy looked down at the list and noticed almost all her classes, but a few, needed new books. Again, the list looked expensive. The letter was simple:
“Congratulations on successfully completing your first year. Here is the list of books you shall need for year two. Your teachers have also included a list of supplies if needed:
Spells- White Spells Year 2
Potions- Defensive Potions and Antidotes
Creatures- The Truth to the Myths
Thaumaturgy- Magical Household Guide Book 2
Telepathy- Mind Control Facts and Fiction
Languages- Languages Year 2
Healing- Immediate Healing
Transfiguration- Changes You Make Year 2
Defense- Defenses against Black Magic Year 2
Pyrokinesis- Controlling the Flame Within
Herbology- A Deep Study of Herbal Antidotes
Mythology- Native American Beliefs
Elements- Elemental Powers Year 2
Divination- Divining Powers Year 2
Necromancy- Alternate Means of Communication: Defending against the Darkness
Archeology- The Seven Magical Wonders of the World
Sincerely,
Lua Notte-Preto
Assistant Headmistress
Vive Pura Maxia Dentro
Katy did not even look at supply lists, as they just listed the potions ingredients and the plant seeds needed for Herbology. “Deen, do we need new books every year?”
“Yeah, sucks huh? Well, after our fifth year only a few classes will require books, almost everything is hands on by our sixth year.” Deen said but his mind had already gone back to the previous topic.
Katy knew what he wanted to know and told him everything she wanted him to know, she kept some of the worse parts out. She did not want him to worry anymore then he already was, and when she finished, she felt drained again. She hoped this would not last too much longer, and she wondered how many times she would have to tell her story.
As it turned out she only had to repeat it twice more, once to Tony and once to the MacCathmhaoils and the Hepburns. Tony seemed to know she left bits out of her story, she had told everything to the headmaster, but she could not bring herself to burden these good people with the truths she had found out. She wanted to move on, but she knew until Richard Solomon was dead, she would always have to be on the defensive side of the battle; right now to go on the offensive was not an option. Tony and the rest of them knew there where holes and she knew they knew, but they let it slide and did not press her.
The day before Katy’s birthday Nurse Rice said that everybody could go home. The Hepburns had invited the MacCathmhaoils and Katy to spend the break with them, as it seemed Katy and Deen were going to be inseparable for a while, and that was fine with all involved.
They went down to the town outside the school and teleported to Deen’s home, which was in the Hamptons. It was a huge mansion; it had like a million rooms and was state of the art on the outside. But on the inside, it felt warm like a home should be. Deen and Katy were going to have rooms next to each other, as they had been invited to stay until the beginning of the new term. And for the first time since she found out about this world, she felt a weight lift from her chest, and for a moment, just for a moment she felt at peace.
Kris Charles - Author 