As promised, here is the sneak preview to my upcoming novel, Magic Guardians.
*Warning: this draft is still in progress, and there may be some changes in the final product. Any comments are welcome.
Chapter 1
Vernon is a mess. He has been for the past year. It's that elf girl he fell so badly for. He is pining away for her, when he should be concentrating on his college classes. So his grades are floundering, and that's really quite a shock, considering what a super-achiever my brother usually is.
He wants me to take him back. He has to have my help, because he can't do it himself. He doesn't have enough magic to work the portal. He'll be home on spring break tomorrow, and he wants me to take him to Terra for it. I have no idea how he thinks he's going to explain that to Mom and Dad. They are expecting to have him home, so they can spend time with him. Besides, he also seems to have overlooked one other little detail, which is that I'm not on spring break myself, so I would have to miss school. Not that I would mind missing school. But again, Mom and Dad would hardly approve.
Besides, I think it would be a waste of time. He'd go and have his visit, and be happy for that, I suppose. But then he'd be back to missing her again once he came back home. Unless he doesn't intend to come back home...
I hope he doesn't plan to stay there. That would make, like, so many problems. I'd be the one left having to explain to Mom and Dad, and what in the world would I say? Not anything about Terra, that's for sure. I can't say a word about that magical place to anyone. Not a word. I took a powerful oath of secrecy. We all did. It was a binding magical spell, and we can't breathe so much as a hint about Terra, or about the Tree People, or wizards, or even about magic. Certainly nothing about the secret portals we discovered, that help us get over there.
That's why Mom and Dad are completely in the dark. We've never been able to explain to them, or anyone, about our disappearance last year, so they don't have a clue about what happened to us. They've begun to suspect, but don't really realize, how much neither Vernon nor I aren't nearly as normal as they'd like to think. Especially not me.
Of course, it has to be obvious to them that something major is bothering Vernon. Obviously. I mean, he spends all of his time, when he's here at home, sighing and staring off into space. He'll just stand somewhere, maybe leaning in a doorway or something, and not pay any attention at all to what's going on around him. He's impossible to talk to. He isn't interested in anything. I know it especially bothers Mom, because he hasn't confided in her about what's wrong. But the truth is, he can't. He can't tell them anything about her. Not even a hint. But they can't even understand that.
Poor Vernon.
Not that I don't have any troubles of my own. I'm Rita Morris, by the way. And I'm...well, I'm not your typical kind of girl. Not unless you happen to think magic is typical. I know you don't. Nobody believes in magic. Not in this world. But I just happen to be pretty good at magic, as a matter of fact. Even in this world, which really doesn't have much magic in it, for sure, but enough, if you know where to look.
Not only that, but as I've already kind of said, I know how to get to another world. One that does have plenty of magic. So much that everything there, even flowers and little insects, can use magic. It is a totally amazing world. Except it doesn't really have a name, not any more than ours does, besides, you know, the world. I'm not even sure how they say “the world” over there, or I could use that for the world's name. It's not like I can't communicate when I'm over there, but I haven't had to bother to learn their language. What for, when there's always a magical spell to do the translation for you? So I've settled for calling the magical world Terra. That way at least I know what I'm talking about.
Of course, I am practically the only one who does know what I'm talking about, since I can't talk about it. Except with Vernon, and Ricky and Greg. We were all together last summer, and we are all under that oath of secrecy. It's not that we want to blab all about Terra, but the oath does make some problems.
You see, it all started when Ricky disappeared last year. Last spring, actually. When his parents thought he had been kidnapped. That put the whole town in an uproar. Vernon, Greg and I all got involved in the search for him. We ended up following him right into Terra. That's because of the magic talisman I ended up with, that had belonged to Ricky.
What a total uproar the town must have been in once we had all disappeared. But I wasn't there to see it. I do know what it was like once we finally made it back home. Crazy. And everyone wanted to know all about what had happened. But we couldn't tell them, of course. Because of that oath. So we tried to come up with some story going along with the kidnap theme, but that story sort of fell through.
It was a dumb story anyway. I mean, really? Someone who would kidnap all four of us? How? And why? Although, I guess it isn't any stranger than what really did happen to us. How we accidentally blundered into an alternate world, that happened to be full of magic, and were pursued, almost to death, by a crazy wizard. I guess no one would have believed the true story either. If we could have told it.
Which would have left us right where we're at right now. Our parents figured out that we had lied to them. Then we wouldn't, that is couldn't, explain what had really happened. So our parents got pretty upset. Except for Ricky's, of course. Ricky has this way about him. He can explain just about anything to anyone, and get away with it. He has been getting away with unexplained jaunts to Terra for years, and his parents just go along with whatever explanation he feeds them. All he has to do is weave one of his distraction spells, flash that annoying smile of his, and then he has his parents, and everyone else, eating out of his hands. So to speak. He's not really feeding them anything, of course, but a bunch of misdirections, or blatant lies, and everyone just eats it all up.
But I wasn't able to pull that off with my mom and dad, so now they are lots more vigilant than they used to be. They always want to know exactly where I'm going, and exactly when I'll be back. I have to carry my cell phone with me, everywhere I go, and sometimes they call me up on it, just to check on me. I even have to take it when I go on walks in the woods, with my dog, Tansy. It really cramps my style.
On top of all that, I ended up having to take summer school last year. Because of all the time I had missed at school. Even so, we still managed to work in another visit to Terra last summer. For just a week, but it went smoother, because we had time to plan for it, and come up with a cover story. It also helped that we weren't being chased around by a crazy wizard.
We carried it off during the week that we were supposed to go to summer camp. Ricky was the one who came up with the plan. It was one of those camps where they want the kids to have a natural experience, so they don't allow electronic devices. Not even cell phones. Vernon was supposed to drive us, so we wouldn't have our parents around at all. They all thought we left for camp, but Ricky called up the people at the camp and convinced them that we'd all come down with the flu, and couldn't make it. So of course, they didn't report us as missing, our parents thought we were at camp, and it all worked out great.
That's how I know that going back to Terra, so Vernon can see his girl friend, isn't going to do a lick of good, because he was just as bad off after last summer's visit as he was before. Or maybe even worse.
I'm also having problems at school. I guess the teachers have decided that I'm a trouble-maker, because of our poorly explained disappearance. They don't actually give me a very hard time or anything, it's just the way they always seem to especially be watching me. It makes it hard to get away with anything.
I'm not as close with all my friends anymore either. Not really. Except for Jill, she's still my best pal. It's just that, well, everyone knows by now that I'm sort of different. Okay. Quite different. It makes them sort of nervous to be around me. Strange and magical things tend to happen when I'm around. Things that are hard to explain.
It's like what happened in Spanish class. How fluent I am, all of a sudden. Not really, of course. I always struggled in Spanish. Learning another language takes a lot of studying, and there are other things I'd rather do. So I always had sort of lukewarm grades. I still don't study much, and why should I? Not when I have a translation spell to help me out. I try to play dumb, so my trick won't be too obvious, but I accidentally got a few perfect scores in tests. Then in class I got caught unawares a couple of times, and ended up answering like a pro. Now the teacher has become convinced that I can speak Spanish like a native. Which perplexes him because of what a dunce I was last year.
I simply can't help using magic. I try not to be obvious about it, but magic just comes so naturally to me. I've gotten so used to it, I tend to forget how weird the least little magical incidence is going to look like to others.
Anyway, I'm not very interested in doing all the normal sorts of things I used to do with friends. I'd rather spend my free time outdoors, maybe wandering around in the woods with my dog Tansy. Somewhere private, where I can do any magic I want.
I was going to spend today with Jill, since it's Saturday. She's still pretty cool to hang out with. She does give me funny looks sometimes, but a little strangeness now and then doesn't weird her out too much. And she has this new game that we've been into lately. It's about going to a wizard school to learn about magic, and it's a blast. But she had to go shopping with her mom this afternoon, so she's not at home.
Shame, cause it's such a beautiful day today. Or maybe it's just as well. It's one of those sunny, warm early summer days, and I don't really want to spend it inside. I decided against taking a walk; I didn't feel like getting all the permissions I'd have to, so I just took my box of rocks outside and sat at the picnic table in our back yard, to sort through them.
I just like rocks, okay? Everyone teases me about how many I have, but my whole collection mostly fits in the one box. Well, besides a few stashes here and there. And another box which I have for the rocks I found in Terra. All rocks are fascinating, but I only bring home the prettiest ones. Or the ones that have an interesting shape. Or maybe if they have something else especially interesting about them, like maybe fossils, or a special mineral deposit.
People ask what I'm going to do with all of them. But why should anyone have to do anything with a rock? I just like looking at them. And I like their hardness and weight. I also like thinking about them. Rocks are always really, really old. They are pieces of something really huge. Like a mountain, or an ancient ocean floor. Or they've been pushed up from the depths of the earth's crust. They've been around, and they've seen a lot of stuff happen. Well, of course they haven't “seen” anything, but they were underfoot for who knows what all was happening around them.
So I was taking them out of their box and lining them up on the picnic table and enjoying the way the sunlight dazzled off of them. I loved all the colors and shapes. Weather and water had worn some of them, and it's amazing to think about how something soft like water could wear a hard rock smooth.
Tansy stretched out nearby, on a sunny patch of grass, and did what dogs do best: snooze in the sun. It really was a perfectly gorgeous day. Warm enough for me to be out in just a t-shirt, which was a relief after all the bundling up of winter. Birds singing their spring songs filled the trees, and the grass had changed from winter brown to bright green once again.
Just as I reached into my box for my large chunk of rose quartz, I got this peculiar, tingling itch on the palm of my hand. I put the quartz down, so I could look at my hand. I have an impression of a tiny emerald green leaf on my palm. Lesom put it there, and I can use it to call her, when I'm in Terra. Lesom is one of the Tree People, and my friend.
The little leaf was glowing with green light. It had never done anything like that before. I didn't know what to make of it. Was Lesom trying to call me? I didn't even think it would work between the two worlds. And I didn't know what to do with it. The only thing I knew was if I was in Terra, I could place my palm on a tree, then call her name, and Lesom would hear, and come to get me.
I rubbed my hand absentmindedly, while I swung around to look behind me at the woods that adjoined my yard. Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Trees full of birds, bushes all leafy green, Tansy still snoozing in the sun, the sound of kids' voices playing down the street.
Then my hand stopped tingling. I waited and looked at the little impression of the leaf again, but it had stopped glowing. No idea of what I should do. After a moment, I went back to studying my rocks.
The next one I pulled out of my box was brown, with shiny black bands running through it. I had picked it up on a family trip a couple of years ago. It was funny to think how someday I might be old, and showing this rock to my grand kid, maybe, and it would still be looking the same as it did today. Rocks are like that. They don't change much, even when all the world around them does.
That night at supper, I got the tingle in my hand again. Just as Mom was passing around the salad. I finished serving myself, and passed it on to Dad, and then discreetly checked my palm. The leaf was glowing again. Was Lesom in some sort of trouble? That was worrisome. Maybe she was trying to send me a message, but I didn't know what to do.
Maybe once Vernon got back tomorrow, we could go take just a quick peek into Terra. There happens to be a portal right in the back corner of my yard, so that would be easy. I didn't think I'd be able to find out anything that way, but my mark was making me feel uneasy, and I didn't know what else to do.
I suddenly became aware of how annoyed my mom was getting, holding the bowl of beans out to me, and waiting for me to take them. I took them quickly, and tried to pay more attention to the meal. My hand stopped tingling. I passed the bowl to Dad.
It was odd with only the three of us at the table, with Vernon away at college now. I was starting to get used to it, but meals were sure a lot quieter without Vernon around.
“I can't wait until Vernon gets back tomorrow,” I said, just to have something to say.
Mom smiled. “It will be nice to have him home again. Even if just for a little while.” She buttered her piece of bread.
“In body if not in soul,” Dad remarked. “That guy never seems to be all present anymore. Can't hardly get a word out of him.”
Mom pressed her lips together and set her butter knife down. She glanced at me. “Does he ever talk with you, Rita? Has he told you anything at all about what's bothering him?”
I swallowed. O f course I couldn't talk about it. Not any more than Vernon could. I could try a hint. That was all.
“Nah,” I answered. “He doesn't say much to me either. I think it's a girl, though.”
Mom sniffed. “You'd think he could at least mention her to us,” she complained.
I shrugged.
“Hmm. Could be a girl,” Dad commented. “Just be patient, Darlene. Young men don't like to talk about things until they're sure.”
That night, after I was already snug in my bed, and Tansy was curled up on her rug in the corner, I felt my palm tingle again. The tiny leaf glowed greenly in my dark room, and then it began to pulse off and on urgently. I sat up.
This was way too strange. I paced to my window and stared out. Not many stars in the sky tonight because of the bright, full moon. It would be chilly out there, since the day's warmth would have faded by now. But if you had a thick fur coat on, that wouldn't matter much.
I glanced over at Tansy. In the moonlight, I could just make out the way her head was up, and her ears were cocked forward. She was watching me attentively, but with an air of resignation. She knew what was coming next, and knew it wouldn't involve her.
“Just a little wander,” I whispered to her. “I've got to see if I can find out what's going on.”
The leaf on my palm was still pulsing. I pulled the window open. There was a large branch of the tree next to the house that leaned near. Just close enough. I reached under the collar of my nightshirt to pull out the leather cord, which had a raccoon tooth hung on it, that I always wore around my neck. It was my magical talisman. Once it had belonged to Ricky, true, but now it was mine, so strongly bonded to me that I couldn't part with it, even if I had wanted to. I use it to store magical energy, and some special magical spells. Like the one that transforms me into a raccoon. Just one of those little things I can do.
I rubbed the tooth, heard the familiar chime of magic, and the world wavered. Just like that my point of view was shifted to being down on the floor, along with Tansy. I chittered, in my funny raccoon voice, and Tansy thumped her tail once. I turned and sprang up to the window with ease, then leaped out onto the tree branch. I padded easily along its length, until I got to the trunk, and climbed down to the ground.
The night was mine. Full of smells and all the little sounds my sharp ears could pick up. My raccoon eyes could see clearly in the night darkness, even into the dark shadows cast by the bright moon.
Once I reached the edge of my yard, I sat up on my haunches and carefully sniffed the air. Nothing but familiar spring woods scents. Worms in the ground, birds roosting in the branches above. An opossum not far away. Nothing strange.
But my paw still tingled. I thought I could feel a magical pull now, though. A slight inclination to go a certain way. I wasn't sure, but I did my best to follow it. Through the undergrowth, down to the stream and across it, then all the way out to the meadow. I slipped through the tall, dead grasses still standing from last summer, all the way through the meadow, and into the trees on the other side.
There I had to pause. Just in front of me were a couple of figures, perched on a log, hunched together, and whispering to each other. They looked around nervously, then hunched together again. I crept closer to see better.
Raccoons can't see colors, and neither can people, in the dark. But I didn't need to. I already knew what bright green skin both of the figures had, and how blonde the braid was of one of them, tinged with green. My good friend Lesom. The other was cute, bright-eyed, also with blonde hair, that was tinged orange, also worn in a long braid down her back. Belea. Vernon's love.
What I didn't know, was what in the world were they doing here? I fell back on my haunches, and couldn't help my chitter of surprise. Lesom and Belea. Here. In the little woods behind my house. In my world, not in their own, magical world. The two elves turned quickly and spotted me. It was their turn to look surprised.
“A raccoon!” Lesom gasped.
“Oh. What a wonderful sign,” Belea breathed. “Perhaps it will be a guide, to show us the way.”
I inched a little closer and crooned at them questioningly. What were the doing here?
“It is coming closer,” Belea whispered.
But Lesom's eye had fastened on the magical talisman around my neck. “Wait a minute. What is that?” she asked. She crouched a little closer. “Rita? Is that you? Really? Oh, thank goodness we found you!”