Phoenix and the Dark Star Read online

  Blaire shrugged before saying, “It depends on the individual and my guess is that a witch or a wizard could go hours… possibly a day even before needing to rest or recharge.”

  “Wow,” Ellen again let out.

  “Perhaps you should do that cloaking spell, Ellen,” Allyson suggested.

  “I’m on this wizard’s radar, and I seriously doubt that a wizard who can emulate God-like powers will allow a mere cloaking spell to stand in his way of finding me,” Ellen countered. “No, the spell that I need to cast, I don’t have.”

  “And what spell is that?” Harris questioned.

  “The spell that activates my power over the beasts,” Ellen replied.

  “And you think a few guard dogs will protect you?” Devon questioned.

  “Guard dogs, hell,” Ellen retorted. “If I had that spell, I would create War Dogs.”

  “You have a plan,” Sadie took note of.

  “Eleanor has already warned me that this wizard will come after me once he learns my location,” Ellen began. “So if I had the spell that would activate my power over the beasts, I would round up as many dogs as I could. Take them to the woods or somewhere where they could hide out of sight, and I would wait as bait for this wizard to show up. I’m certain that this wizard will gloat on how easy he had found me, and while he’s gloating, I’ll give the dogs the command to attack.”

  “That actually might work,” Devon said. “Especially if we were there as well.”

  “I’m not a member of the Tri-Star Confederation,” Ellen reminded Devon, “nor have I decided if joining a coven is right for me. So I don’t expect you guys to risk your lives.”

  “You’re a potential member and we’re here,” Devon replied.

  “A wizard who practices Immortal Magic is also a threat to the Tri-Star Confederation,” Trevor added. “So by helping you to defeat this wizard, we’ll be helping ourselves as well.”

  “Okay, thanks,” Ellen replied in a tone as if she didn’t know what else to say.

  “It’s also good that you have a witch-finder as a friend,” Devon told Ellen.

  “A witch-finder?” Ellen echoed in a confused tone.

  “He’s talking about Everett,” Allyson supplied.

  “Okay,” Ellen said in a tone as if to say, ‘if you say so.’ “Are you guys calling him that, or is that what he is?”

  “That’s what he is,” Blaire replied.

  “King William the First—or William the Conqueror as you might know him by—had a spell cast on a group of very talented archers prior to his invasion of England in order for the archers to spot a witch or a wizard among the apposing army,” Sadie supplied. “When King William the First and his men did invade, those archers were instructed to go after the witches and wizards as they spotted them. What King William the First didn’t take into account is that the ability to spot witches and wizards would be passed down to those archers’ descendants.”

  Ellen gave Sadie the thumbs-up sign while saying, “Gotcha. Now what I don’t have is how someone would perform Immortal Magic… not that I want to do it mind you—I like not being spiritually possessed. I’m just curious on how to do it.”

  “There are a few ways that a wizard or a witch could achieve Immortal Magic,” Blaire began. “The easiest way though is through a sacrificing ritual that will call forth a powerful spirit. The spirit will temporarily combine its essence with the witch or wizard, and practicing Immortal Magic frequently increases the chances of spiritual possession. The other ways are more involved, and since I don’t practice Immortal Magic I don’t know them.”

  “I don’t think anyone knows the more involved ways on achieving Immortal Magic,” Trevor added. “The incantations are very ancient and were most likely lost before Merlin’s time.”

  Ellen gave Trevor a curious look while asking, “Would these incantations be written in languages that only a linguist who studies dead languages could read?”

  “Okay, that doesn’t sound like a random question,” Trevor pointed out.

  “It’s not,” Ellen replied. “Jessica’s grandfather was a linguist and he was reading something from an ancient language before Harris, Jessica and I… faced him.”

  Trevor shared a look with Blaire before Blaire questioned, “Ellen, do you think that Jessica and Karla would allow us to take a look at what their grandfather was reading?”

  Ellen shrugged before saying, “I’ll find out.”

  “Harris feels that Jessica’s and Karla’s beliefs and morals also fall in line with ours, so when you speak with them, the invitation to join the Tri-Star Confederation extends to them as well,” Blaire added.

  Ellen politely grinned before saying, “I’ll pass that along.”

  “Actually, instead of you passing that along to them, we would like to be the ones to offer the invitation,” Trevor added. “As far as you speaking of this with people outside the coven members, I prefer that you didn’t.”

  “Yeah, well, there is at least one person that I won’t hide this from,” Ellen informed.

  “I’m guessing that you’re speaking of Everett,” Blaire said. Ellen just nodded. “Yes, well, the Tri-Star Confederation’s existence needs to remain a secret, and Harris had warned us that you might inform Everett of this secret. We won’t try to stop you, but just keep in mind that telling him could come back and haunt you in the future.”

  “Not telling him could come back and haunt me as well,” Ellen retorted. “In fact, before Everett met me, he thought that all of Merlin’s descendants were evil and needed to be stopped. He had already thought the worst of us, so I told him about us, and after I did he realized that not all of us are evil. He fully trusts me and I’m not going to ruin that or betray his trust by not being straight with him.”

  “Well, as I said, we won’t try to stop you,” Blaire said. “However, if the coven would feel the fallout over your choice, the coven’s meeting locations will be relocated and you will be shunned by the coven. So if you’re threatened by a wizard, you won’t be receiving any assistance from us.”

  “Noted,” Ellen said before gesturing towards her room. “Well, I should take off my costume and clean up.”

  “Before you walk away, you should know that I’ve decided to pass onto you the beast master incantation… the incantation that will activate your powers over the beasts,” Devon informed.

  “You have that incantation?” Ellen asked as her interest piqued.

  “The Tri-Star Confederation has a library of incantations and the beast master incantation is among them,” Devon said. “In fact, two of those incantations that you had shared with Sadie had been added to the library, and for every two incantations you can add to the library earns you the right to receive one incantation from the library of your choice among certain incantations.”

  “So the beast master incantation is among those certain incantations,” Ellen assumed aloud.

  “No,” Devon quickly corrected. Ellen shot him a confused look. “That incantation requires the current leader’s approval—which is me, and your defense plan to defend yourself against that one wizard sounds viable. So I’m giving you my approval.”

  Ellen grinned before saying, “Thanks.”

  “I’ll call Galvin—my second-in-command—and tell him to copy that incantation and to overnight that copy to this address,” Devon told Ellen.

  Ellen thought for a second before saying, “I guess you don’t want to send it via Email.”

  “No,” Devon agreed. “If a menacing wizard or sorceress would get a hold of that incantation, that wizard or sorceress could lead an army of wolves, dogs or big cats. There would be no telling what kind of destruction that a wizard or a sorceress could do before being stopped. So I consider this incantation to be highly dangerous, and therefore, it should not be sent via Email.”

  “Okay, you had just answered something I was wondering about—about why this incantation needs the leader’s approval before being used,” Ellen shared. Devon
and the others grinned. Ellen then gestured towards her room again. “Anyway, I’m going to take off my costume and clean up.”

  “Alright,” everyone said, almost in cadence. Ellen grinned before stepping away.

  Chapter Three

  At 2:20 A.M., at the Hospital, a doctor stepped up to Winona, Riley and Brad—who were waiting in the waiting room—and gave them the news that Bonnie was diagnosed with having a severe case of heartburn.

  “Thank God it’s not a heart attack,” Winona couldn’t help saying.

  The doctor slightly grinned before saying, “Your aunt will be discharged shortly.”

  Winona nodded before saying, “Thanks.”

  The doctor nodded before saying, “Take care.”

  “Take Care,” Winona, Riley and Brad echoed.

  The doctor nodded with a grin before walking away.

  A few hours later at school, twenty minutes before the first class was to begin, Ellen stepped up to her locker. The halls were moderately crowded, and the closest student to her was six lockers away.

  Ellen was finishing up at her locker when Everett stepped up.

  “Good morning,” Everett told Ellen as he moved to his locker, which was two lockers from Ellen’s right.

  “Good morning,” Ellen echoed in a slightly troubled tone.

  Everett caught the tone, and without opening his locker, he faced Ellen and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Ellen deliberated for a moment before taking a breath and saying, “I have an opportunity to be a part of something; something that I think might be worthwhile.”

  “If it’s worthwhile then why do you sound worried?” Everett questioned.

  “I’m worried because I know that you won’t share my opinion,” Ellen explained nervously.

  Everett gave Ellen a curious look while asking, “What’s this opportunity?”

  “Can you trust me that I won’t do anything immoral?” Ellen requested.

  “I do trust you, and you can trust me,” Everett replied.

  Ellen thought for a moment before nodding and saying, “When the Wizard Wars came to an end, the three wizard lines had formed a united coven called the Tri-Star Confederation.” Everett gave Ellen a curious look. “I think that this confederation was formed to help keep peace among the wizard lines as the United Nations was formed to help keep peace among the nations.”

  “Okay,” Everett said in an uncertain tone.

  “Anyway, I learned last night that the Tri-Star Confederation is still in operations today. The members are peaceful with good morals, and Blaire—one of Harris’s cousins… she’s a second cousin actually—is a member of the Tri-Star Confederation. Blaire, two other members of the Tri-Star Confederation and Sadie flew in last night from London, and they…”

  “Wait, your house isn’t big enough for that many overnight guests,” Everett interrupted.

  “They have a couple of rooms at a nearby hotel,” Ellen informed. “Anyway, Blaire and her two coven members had offered me membership.”

  “And you accepted?” Everett quickly asked.

  “Not yet,” Ellen replied as she stared into Everett’s eyes as if she was waiting for his approval.

  “You’re going to though,” Everett accused.

  “I want to,” Ellen corrected as she continued to stare into Everett’s eyes. “I had heard them out last night, and I’m convinced that the Tri-Star Confederation is a moral group. I think that this is a good opportunity for me, but I won’t join if you don’t want me to.”

  “If I don’t want you to join, you won’t join?” Everett asked incredulously.

  “I don’t want to do anything to lose your trust or respect for me, so I won’t join if you don’t want me to,” Ellen replied. “Before you answer though, you should know that Blaire and the others knew what Immortal Magic was, and they are going to back me up if this wizard comes after me.”

  “Okay, well, what is Immortal Magic?”

  “It’s the magic that a wizard borrows from the spiritual world, and the wizard who practices Immortal Magic can emulate God-like powers.” Everett gave Ellen a curious look as she continued with, “And by God-like powers I mean, teleportation, levitation, shape-shifting, alchemy, resurrecting the dead and limb regeneration.”

  “Wow!” Everett let out.

  “That was my reaction too. Anyway, can you accept me if I join the Tri-Star Confederation?”

  “Is Harris joining?”

  Ellen thought about it before saying, “He was invited to join, but I didn’t think to ask or find out if he had accepted the invitation. Oh and the invitation to join is also being extended to Jessica and Karla, so I have to speak to them, except Blaire and the other two want to be the ones to invite them into the coven though. So I guess I’ll just talk to them about coming over to my house tonight… or I’ll take Blaire and the others to Jessica’s house.”

  “Okay, well, what does joining entail?” Everett asked.

  “What do you mean?” Ellen asked.

  “Will you have to move away and move in with the other coven members?”

  “Oh, uh, no,” Ellen began. “There are periodic meetings, but other than that, I would live my life as normal… with maybe one exception.”

  “And what is this exception?”

  “I would assist other members of the Tri-Star Confederation if one becomes threatened by a sinister wizard.”

  Everett amusingly grinned before facetiously asking, “And how is that an exception for you?”

  Ellen smirked before asking, “So what do you say… about me joining?”

  “And you would seriously not join if I didn’t want you to?”

  “Everett, you are more important to me than joining a coven, and I don’t want to lose your friendship or our relationship.”

  Everett grinned, and after a short deliberation, he said, “You respect me enough to allow me to make the choice for you. I also learned that I can trust you, and I trust that you wouldn’t even consider joining the Tri-Star Confederation if you thought that the coven could be sinister…”

  “If I thought that they were sinister, I would be looking for ways to take them down,” Ellen interrupted.

  “You would take on a coven?” Everett quickly asked.

  Ellen grinned before saying, “I have to admit to you and to myself that when I believe in a cause I have the tendency to go all out to fight for that cause—which I guess I’m more like my uncle than I realize.”

  “Great,” Everett uttered in an unenthusiastic tone.

  Ellen caught his tone, and as she amusingly grinned she said, “Oh, don’t worry. Unlike my uncle I would fight my cause legally.”

  Everett grinned before saying, “I believe you, and I also believe in you. So join the coven if that’s what you want and I’ll support you.”

  Ellen pleasantly grinned before giving Everett a passionate kiss. The kiss ended when Danny cleared his throat.

  “I’m going to start carrying a water pistol when I come to my locker,” Danny told them as they backed up to allow Danny to get to his locker.

  Ellen grinned while saying, “We’re not that bad.”

  “Pretty close,” Danny retorted as he moved to his locker, which was the locker between Ellen’s and Everett’s lockers. “Anyway, did you two have fun last night at the party?”

  “We did,” Ellen quickly said. “Or I did anyway.”

  “I had a good time,” Everett added.

  “I saw you two talking to Andie and Robin,” Danny said as he was opening his locker. Everett was opening his locker as well.

  “You know them?” Ellen questioned.

  “I do,” Danny began as he put up what he needed to put up. “Their uncle lives next door to me, and a few years ago, Andie and Robin would spend the summer with their uncle. In fact, last night at the party was the first time in… in two years since I saw them last.”

  “Is their uncle on bad terms with them or with their parents?” Ellen asked.

 
“I don’t think so,” Danny replied while turning towards Ellen and shooting her a confused look. “And why did you ask me that?”

  “People don’t normally change their habits without a reason, and since you haven’t seen Andie or Robin visiting their uncle for two years, it makes me think that they’re no longer on good terms with one another.”

  “I never really thought about it,” Danny said.

  “Of course Andie and Robin might’ve stop visiting their uncle over a reason that I can’t currently think of,” Ellen added.

  “Yeah, well, for whatever reason, they haven’t visited their uncle for two years,” Danny said.

  Ellen nodded before asking, “So where do you live, Danny?”

  Danny shot Ellen another curious look before asking, “Why are you interested in knowing where I live?”

  Ellen grinned while confessing, “Actually, I’m interested in knowing where Andie’s uncle lives. I would like to talk to him.”

  “Okay,” Danny said in a confused tone.

  “I do have a reason for wanting to talk with him,” Ellen assured him. “It’s personal though, and it involves helping Andie out with something.”

  “Alright,” Danny said in an uncertain tone before giving Ellen the address to the uncle’s house.

  When Everett heard the address, he quickly supplied, “He… and Danny only live two blocks from you, Ellen.”

  When Ellen gave Everett a curious look, Everett described how to get to the uncle’s house from her house.

  “Cool that I live that close to Andie’s uncle,” Ellen said. “When I get done with my appointment after school, I’ll go talk with the uncle.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?” Everett asked.

  “I would like it if you came with me,” Ellen said. “But how are you going to get to my house? I mean, I doubt that your dad will swing by and pick you up before taking me home.”

  Danny gave Ellen a curious look as Everett said, “I might be able to tag along with you two, and then I’ll try to get him to drop me off at your house when you’re done.”

  Ellen saw the curious look that she was getting from Danny and volunteered, “I have a doctor’s appointment after school and Everett’s dad is the one who’s driving me to my appointment.”