Modern Monsters Ch. 17&18

Chapter Seventeen:
Hiding Plans.
“Sometimes the best place to hide is where even you don’t know where it is.”
— Words to the Wise

RAIN

MATTHEW AND DIVINITY RETURNED AFTER THREE HOURS of shopping. Looking at the Vamgoyle, I noticed the circles under his eyes and the way he had a hard time staying on his feet. As they walked into camp, the Kaemyns came behind them, the packs on their backs full and the plastic bags dragging their heads toward the ground. Even Matthew and Divinity carried a couple. They came to a stop in front of me and started unloading the Kaemyns. I went to help them.

         I removed the pack from a golden retriever as well as the bag from its mouth. Once it was relieved of its burden, it shook its coat before shifting into a robin and flying away. I opened the cloth bag and found it stuffed with provisions, predominately beef jerky and peanut-butter. Aside from those two main items, there were also a couple of flashlights and cooking utensils.

         I took everything out of the bags and placed them in a pile in front of me before moving on to the next Kaemyn. When I was nearly done, Clair came beside me and silently helped unload the last couple of bags.

         “What’s all this for anyway?” she finally asked as her small fox ran around chasing things. It was amazing the creature was still alive after what’d happened to it out in the woods.

         “It’s so we can survive out here for longer than just a couple of days. Besides, I noticed you guys didn’t have very much in the way of food aside from peanut-butter and beef jerky. We can’t exactly live on so little. Especially with how much I eat,” I stated, shifting the contents of one pile to another. Clair continued to help me in silence as we organized the packs. When all of them were nearly filled, I realized there was enough to fill three more when I only had one bag left. Sighing, I took the last pack and closed my eyes. Reaching into my link with the Magyck, I took a small sliver before muttering, —“Duplicate!”— Instantly two identical ones appeared in front of me.

         “How did you do that?” Clair asked picking one of them up.

         “Umm, well, I think about what I want to make a copy of and say ‘duplicate’ to make it happen,” I replied.

         “Can I try?”

         “Sure,” I answered with a shrug.

         “Here, have her copy this,” Divinity said passing me one of her daggers as she sat watching us. “I’ve lost a couple in the fighting against those idiotic Hunters and since it seems we won’t be going to an armory anytime soon, I’m going to have to start copying my daggers. So she might as well help me with it.”

         Clair took the knife’s handle and inspected it with wary eyes. She closed them and breathed deeply as she reached for the Magyck. Without even opening her mouth, she barked, —“Duplicate!”— Her voice rang in my head as a flash of blinding white filled the air and two daggers fell to the ground, both copies of the one she still held. “Oops,” she said, “I only wanted one.”

         “Oops?! Is that all you can say?” I asked.

         She only stared at me with her blue eyes.

         Divinity leaned down and picked up one of the copied daggers. “It’s perfect,” she observed holding it for me to examine. “It hasn’t lost any of its proficiency either.”

         “Is that a bad thing?” Clair asked uncertainly while glancing between the two of us with worry etched on her features.

         I looked at her with disbelief. “Is it a bad thing? No! It’s not. It’s something no one except the most powerful Magyck users can do. It’s a good thing.”

          “Can you copy anything?”

         I shook my head. “Just dead things and inanimate objects.”

         “So I could duplicate the food we have when we start running low?”

         “And remove the risk of us being attacked by the Hunters like we were at the blood bank,” Divinity stated casually, nodding

         “What?!” I cried. “Why didn’t you say anything about it? That should have been the first thing out of your mouths when you two returned!”

         “They did tell us. Well, everyone else.” Clair said quietly.

         “Yeah. You were off unpacking everything I so carefully packed while we told Clair, Carter, and Alexis.”

         “And why didn’t you get my attention?” I growled.

         “We thought you were listening. It’s not like you were that far away,” Divinity replied.

         “You know how I can be! I’m a do one thing kind of person.”

         “Well, sometimes I forget things like that.”

         “We live with each other! How can you forget something like that?” I accused.

         “Because, Rain, unlike you, I have centuries of memories locked in this little brain of mine!” Divinity shouted, her anger breaking out of her control. Clair took cover as rocks of various size and leaves and twigs began flying through the air as the mad Vampire’s Magyck wreaked havoc with telekinesis. When one of the rocks struck my shoulder, I snarled in anger before lunging at Divinity’s feet and knocking her to the ground. From there we began a furious tussle.

         “Enough!” Matthew yelled. We continued fighting anyway. A weakling like him wouldn’t be able to stop us.

         And then another added weight dragged on my shoulders and back as Clair jumped onto me. Divinity didn’t notice her as she continued to swing her fists at me. I had to get Clair out of this. A blow from Divinity that would only bruise me could break a bone in Clair.

         “Stop,” she pleaded, oblivious to her danger. As Divinity swung to strike me in the arm, I wrenched out of her grip and backed away, Clair still clinging to my back. Divinity rushed forward to engage in the fighting once more, but I looked her in the eyes and said one word, “Enough.”

         She stopped in her tracks and stared angrily at me. “We were just getting started!” she yelled.

         “And I will not fight when someone else can get hurt,” I replied, all of my anger forgotten.

         Divinity finally noticed Clair as she climbed down though she kept a firm grip on my shirt just in case I decided to go against my word and start fighting again.

         Without a word, Divinity turned from us and walked off, her anger smoldering quietly within.

         Clair looked after her with worry.

         “Don’t worry about her,” I said softly. “Sometimes anything can make her mad and start counting her poppy seeds.”

         “Poppy seeds?”

         “Watch,” I replied simply.

         She did as I said and I watched with her. Divinity reached into one of her many pockets and extracted a huge plastic bag. Taking a handful, she started counting the tiny seeds. Normally, when she became angry, she only counted about two handfuls. Today, she counted four. Tossing the seeds at the ground, they hit a small rock, slowly chipping it into gravel. By the fourth handful of seeds, Divinity was no longer counting because she was mad; instead she counted because she wanted to see how many seeds it took to completely destroy the rock. It was one of her favorite pastimes.

         With a shake of her head, Clair returned to packing while Matthew and the other two made dinner.

         “Three thousand four hundred and sixty nine! That’s how many it took!” Divinity yelled jubilantly into the silent camp. Everyone laughed at her excitement for something so simple.

MATTHEW
I

I SAT BACK WITH A CONTENTED SIGH as I set my plate on the pile of other dirty dishes. Though I’d eaten a lot to try and fill the burning ache within my stomach, it’d really done nothing but made me thirst for blood all the more. Groaning I got to my feet and stretched.

         “Anyone for desert?” Clair asked holding up the bag of berries she’d picked. Everyone who ate grabbed a handful and began munching them.

         After I popped the last berry into my mouth, Damien stumbled out of the tent. “Something smells good,” he greeted.

         Rain handed him a plate heaped with food before she went back to sorting the packs with Clair.

         “How do you feel cousin?” Alexis asked as she came to sit next to him.

         “A lot better, thank you for asking,” he replied around a mouthful of food.

         We fell into silence as we did various small tasks that needed to be done while Damien ate his meal.

         Quietly, I walked over to Rain and Clair to see how they were doing. They were just finishing packing the last bag. “Hello Matthew,” Clair said without looking up as she handed the pack to Jane. “We were just about to summon a couple of more Kaemyns,” she added with a bright smile that nearly made my heart stop.

         “I’d help if I could, but I need blood before I can cast any major spells like that,” I stated regretfully.

         Divinity seemed to come out of nowhere. “I was wondering when you were going to say you wanted something more than that human mush you call food.” She handed me two boxes of blood packs, enough for two weeks if I was careful.

         “How did you —?” I asked looking from her to the boxes and back.

         “Oh, you know,” she said with a bright smile. She winked and was gone before I could say another word.
          “What are those?” Clair asked as she got to her feet to inspect the boxes.

         “Blood packs,” I answered simply.

         She looked at me with concern before she realized I was staring at her. She turned away as her face became bright red. “Let’s summon however many more Kaemyns we need before we go to bed. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty tired,” she stated.

         “Okay,” Rain said. “I think we’ll need ...” She paused to count on her clawed hands, “... two more; one for the extra bag and another for the tents.”

         Clair nodded in agreement. “I’ll summon one and you can summon the other.”

         After drawing the necessary circles for both, Clair and Rain closed their eyes and settled within the Magyck. Rain gestured for Clair to go first. In a burst of powerful Magyck that grated against my bones, a new male Kaemyn appeared and revealed his name to be George.

         “Jeez, Clair!” Divinity shouted from the branches of a large pine where she was sharpening her already sharp daggers, “use a little less Magyck next time, will you? I could feel that from all the way up here.”

         “Sorry,” Clair called back.

         Rain shook her head before releasing her Magyck and summoning another male Kaemyn with the name of Fred. After the two new Kaemyns were told what their jobs were, they went off to do them.

         “Well, now that that’s been taken care of, it’s time you and Clair put on new clothes,” Rain said brightly as she took mine and Clair’s hands and dragged us toward the smaller of the three tents.

         “But I want to hear what happened to them,” Alexis complained.

         “You’ll find out once they’ve changed. I can’t understand how they stood wearing those dirty robes for so long.”

         Ten minutes later we returned to the small fire which kept the cooling night air at bay. Garbed in clean clothes, I realized how dirty I really was. I wanted to take a shower as soon as possible. Before I could bring the issue of cleaning, Divinity opened her mouth to speak.

         “All right, Damien’s awake. It’s time to tell us why we’re all out here protecting Clair. All we know is the fact that Lumena is connected to Clair and that the Academy has been shut down,” Divinity stated coolly as she stared at me with her violet eyes.

         So I told them everything that had happened ever since I first started my only week at high school with Clair. The only thing I left out was the time when we’d exchanged blood since they didn’t need to know about it and I was too chicken to tell Clair let alone anyone else. When my mind failed me or I hadn’t been there at the time, Clair took up the tail in a dispassionate voice as she related the things that had happened to her when I hadn’t been there.

         As we spoke, I absently drank a liter of blood to replenish my depleted stock. By the end of our story, the others were stilled into silence.

         Clair, having been the last to talk about the time I’d been unconscious after she partook of my blood, she finally stopped stalking.

         “So, you really can’t see anything?” Alexis asked finally breaking the silence.

         Clair nodded. “Everything we said truly happened.”

         “You can time jump?” Divinity inquired quietly when no one else said anything.

         “Yeah, it’s how we ended up in New York.”

         “Do you know what this means?” the Vampire said animatedly, “it means we have an indefinite amount of time to teach Clair.”

         “There’s only one problem, Divinity,” Clair stated quietly over the excited murmurings of the others, “I don’t know if I can time jump with everyone and the first time I did it, I had to be in water.”

         “Well, that’s easily fixed. I can summon water and hold it around us when and if we need to time jump,” Alexis said with a bright smile.

         “Well, we’ll just have to deal with it when it comes. Now, one thing I didn’t really understand is the fact that Lumena is inside you. How is that even possible?” Carter inquired.

         “We share souls,” Clair replied quietly. “She once told me that to her it felt as if we were two souls squished into one body.”

         The others were stunned into silence. It seemed that was happening to them quite a lot lately.

         “Why is she linked so closely to you though is the question,” Divinity murmured almost as if to herself. We stared at each other with no one to give an answer.

         “Well, now that you know our side of the tale, it’s time to decide where we’re going to go next,” I said into the quiet. “It’s too dangerous to stay in one place for more than a couple of days unless we put so much protection around us we won’t be able to see the surrounding country. Any suggestions?”

         “Obviously, we can’t hide in the large cities with the Hunters crawling everywhere which means we’ll have to stick to the countryside and remote places,” Rain said first.

         “Yes, but who’s to say that they aren’t crawling all over the countryside and remote places?” Damien asked.

         “Then we’ll just have to protect ourselves up to our eyeballs.”

         “Yes, but that doesn’t answer my question,” I said when the others started arguing. “I need names of places. If we’re going to be moving essentially everyday, we need to plan.”

         “Hey, I have an idea!” Divinity shouted. “How about each of us writes our name down on a piece of paper and put it in a hat or something like that and then one of us pulls out a name they take us to the place they’ve got in their mind! That way we won’t have to sit here arguing about the next best place.”

         “There’s only one problem with that, how will we know if where they want to go is a safe place?” Damien inquired.

         “We’ll trust their judgment,” I replied. “I don’t think that there’s any better solution to our problem than what Divinity’s offered. Does anyone oppose it?” No one said a word. “All right then, Rain, can you pass a piece of paper out to everyone?”

         When everyone had one except for Clair since she couldn’t see the words she would have to write, we wrote our names down. Divinity gathered them once we were done and put them into her pocket.

         “There. In the morning, we’ll choose the first place we shall go.”

         “Can we stop at my house again?” Rain asked before we went off to bed.

         “Why?”

         “I just realized I forgot something important,” she replied.

         “What?”

         “I can’t tell you, but it’s something that could change the way this fight goes for us.”

         “Is it worth the chance of putting the MacCormin’s in danger?” I inquired.

         She nodded. “Some things are that important. Besides, we need to bathe, especially you and Clair. I can’t stand the sight of you two looking like that for another day.”

         When no one said anything further, we headed off to bed. Divinity went back to the massive pine and sat on a branch ten feet up. It was nice to have someone who could watch for the entire night without needing a wink of sleep.

Chapter Eighteen:
Hiding Places.
“Hiding isn’t just for hide-and-go-seek and little kids, it can also serve to save you if something bad is chasing you.”
— Words to the Wise

ALEXIS

I WAS HAVING A HARD TIME GETTING to sleep. The things Matthew and Clair had been through! It made the things that’d happened to me pale in comparison. How could they stand to sleep at night? If I’d been in either of their places, I’d have nightmares for months. Sighing as midnight came around, I got out of the tent I was sharing with Rain and Clair and went out to view the night sky. It was perfectly clear, the kind of night I hated when I was anxious. With a twitch of my power, I summoned a breeze of cool air to muffle the sound of my feet as I went off to sit under a pine. The Superior Kaemyn, Jha’nae I think her name was, followed behind me on silent paws. It was slightly disconcerting to have a lion trailing me. I mean, it’s just not natural.

         “Hey, what’cha doin’?” Divinity asked from out of nowhere. I practically jumped out of my skin. Whirling, I caught a flash of my curly white hair as it shimmered in the starlight.

         “Jeez, must you do that?” I wondered.

         “Yes. Its fun watching the different reactions people give me when I sneak up on them,” she replied with a bright smile.

         I stared at her in disbelief. What was with this Vampire?

         “So, why are you up anyway? Can’t sleep? Got a boy on your mind?” she inquired innocently.

         “No!” I nearly shouted before I remembered there were people still sleeping.

         “Easy,” Divinity said holding up a hand to quiet me.

         I glared at her with my black eyes as my hair turned red and frizzed with my anger. I turned away from her and continued on my silent walk around the camp. Honestly, who does she think she is? I asked myself as I left her standing there. After circling the tents about six times, I finally felt tired enough to lie down and sleep.

CLAIRYSSAH
I

KII-HARRAH’S WET NOSE ON MINE WOKE ME from my deep sleep. I groaned and turned over until I was facing the wall of the tent I shared with the other females.

         What? I asked pushing her off my chest.

         “I’m hungry,” she replied as I changed out of the pajamas Rain had let me borrow and put the clothes I’d been wearing the night before back on.

         I sighed in exasperation. You’re always hungry. Together, we left the tent and went to the Kaemyns who were standing watch with Divinity.

         “Well, it’s about time someone woke up! It’s almost seven!” she greeted.

         And a good morning to you, I responded. I continued on my way to the Kaemyns as Divinity jumped down from her pine tree.

         “What are you doing?” she asked as I knelt beside the pack that held the beef jerky. Kii-harrah shoved her nose in front of my hand and grabbed one of the packages.

         Hey! Get back here you little rascal! I yelled after her. She eluded me until I ran after her and caught her around the middle.

         “Jeez, why didn’t anyone tell me you were that fast?” Divinity asked as she came to stand next to me as I tugged the bag out of Kii-harrah’s mouth.

         I wasn’t going that fast.

         Divinity’s laughter rang in my head as Kii-harrah took a large mouthful of food and ran off to eat it. “Not that fast! Yeah right. Kii-harrah will you come here please?” The little fox did as she was asked and sat in front of the Vampire. “Now, can you prove to Clair that she runs faster than she thinks she does?” When Kii-harrah nodded, Divinity continued. “All right, I want you to run as fast as you can to that tree over there, okay?”

         She dashed off as quickly as her four legs could take her toward a tree twenty feet ahead of her.

         “See if you can catch her Clair,” she said with a push that made me stumble forward. Rolling my eyes, I did as she commanded. Three strides later I was ahead of Kii-harrah and halfway to the tree. I instantly stopped and stared at my feet in amazement.

         “See?” she said as she took one stride and came to stand beside me once more. “I told you that you moved fast. You might even be able to outrun the idiot of an Elf if you really pushed yourself.” With a giggle at my surprised face, she left me standing there.

         What happened to me? I wondered to myself. This can’t have happened simply because I’ve started to use my Magyck, can it? I had to speak with Matthew about that first night we’d spent here. I needed to know what had happened between him and I while I lay unconscious in his arms. Before I could turn on my heel and march into the men’s tent, Rain stumbled out of our tent, a huge yawn opening her mouth and showing off her canines.

         “Oh, hello Clair, I didn’t know you’d be awake this early. Did something wake you?”

         I shook my head while trying to keep my anger in check. I didn’t want to talk to anyone else except Matthew right now. Kii-harrah was just hungry, I finally replied when I knew I had my emotions under control. Since I wasn’t mad at her, she didn’t need me yelling at her; Matthew did.

         “Well, since you’re awake, do you want to help me with breakfast?”

         Sure, I said. I needed something to do before I did something drastic.

MATTHEW
II

WHEN I MET HER EYES, I KNEW I was in trouble. I knew I should have told her what had happened even if I was scared to do it. Now she was mad at me.

         “Rain can you handle everything without me for awhile?” she asked not taking her eyes off me for a second.

         “Yeah,” the Werewolf replied distractedly as she flipped the cooking bacon.

         Grabbing my sleeve, she pulled me into the shadows of the trees away from the others. “You lied to me!” she raged as she let go of my shirt and turned to face me.

         “I didn’t want to scare you,” I said backing away as she came closer, her eyes glinting like shards of blue ice.

         “Scare me? Scare me?!” she shrieked. “What kind of girl do you think I am? Don’t you remember what I’ve been through? Is what happened worse than what Nicolas did to me?”

         I stared, speechless as tears streamed down her face. “Clair, I—,” I began, but she cut me off with a look.

         “Spare me your apologies. Just tell me what happened!” she growled, her eyes flashing red; it was probably one of the side effects of my blood flowing through her.

         So I told her what had happened. By the end of the telling, her tears had dried and a look of self-loathing had replaced them.

         “I ... did that to you?” she breathed.

         I nodded.

         From out of sheer shock, Clair sat hard on the damp ground as her mind tried to comprehend what I’d told her.

         “Time to eat!” Rain called breaking the silence.

         Without a word, I helped Clair stand and walked beside her. She sat next to Alexis, a blank look on her face as she thought. Looking at her with worry, I took the plate Rain offered me and began eating always watching Clair to make sure she didn’t do anything. She ate absently as she stared off into the cooking fire. I longed to take back what I’d said, but couldn’t. I hated myself for telling her.

CLAIRYSSAH
III

I GAZED AT THE FIRE UNTIL I saw spots whenever I moved my eyes. Without even realizing it, I finished my food and passed the plate to Rain. I couldn’t believe I’d done what Matthew said. It was repulsive to even think that I’d bitten Matthew let alone taken his blood. It’s not like I’m a Vampire or anything, I reasoned to myself. Maybe I did it because of the venom Matthew injected me with when he first bit me.

         “Well, I think it’s about time we get moving,” Matthew said as he got to his feet.

         Everyone rose as well and began rolling up sleeping bags, pulling down tents, and attaching packs to waiting Kaemyns. Once everything was ready, Rain touched everyone’s temples with her clawed hands. “This is where we’re going,” she said as picture of a large brick house with a dirt drive appeared in my mind. “Aside from the certain thing I need to get, we need to get coolers for the meat. I put a spell around them to keep them from getting warm and spoiling, but it won’t last very long.”

         “Ready?” Divinity called as she sheathed a dagger.

         Unwillingly, I let Matthew take my hand while Damien took Alexis before I felt the uncomfortable feeling of being squeezed into a too small a place. I kept the picture of Rain’s home firmly in my mind until three heart beats later we arrived.

         “Mrs. MacCormin?” Divinity shouted at the silent house. The door burst open and a woman of middle age came rushing out.

         “Divinity, Rain! What are you two doing here?” she asked as she wrapped them in a tight embrace.

         “We needed a couple of things,” Rain answered as she pulled away.

         “Well, come in, come in! Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?”

         “Don’t worry about us not eating; Rain’s been taking care of all the cooking. I think she’s taken it upon herself to make sure none of us starve,” Matthew said reaching out a hand to shake Mrs. MacCormin’s. Instead of taking the proffered hand, she hugged him tightly.

         “Matthew! It’s been forever! I’m so glad you decided to come for a visit.” She turned away from him and saw me standing next to him. “Well, well Matthew, who is this fine young lady next to you?”

         I bowed to her. My name’s Clair Cooper, I told her.

         “Nice to meet you dear,” she responded in return. “Damien Little and Damien Carter! This is a most excellent surprise,” she continued turning her attention to them.

         “Good morning Mrs. MacCormin. I don’t believe you’ve met my cousin Alexis, have you?” Damien inquired.

         “Nice to meet you,” Alexis said holding out her hand which the older woman shook enthusiastically.

         With many hand gestures and ushering, Mrs. MacCormin escorted us into the house. The first thing that struck me was how big it was. I’d never been in such a large house before.

         “Where are the coolers?” Rain asked when Mrs. MacCormin finally took a breath.

         “Out in the garage, why?”

         “We need to use them,” Divinity said. For the first time, I was unable to detect any sarcasm in her words.

         “Well, let me get them for you,” Mrs. MacCormin began.

         “No, we’ll get them, won’t we fellas?” Damien asked to Matthew and Carter.

         With nods, all three of them headed for the garage door before Rain grabbed Matthew by the arm. “Oh no, not you mister; you need to take a shower along with you, Clair,” she said setting her eyes on me.

         “Race you?” Matthew asked cocking an eyebrow in my direction.

         Before he said anything more, I dashed in front of him and easily got to the bathroom first. He hadn’t even moved. After a couple of seconds, he finally noticed me in the bathroom with a grin stretched across my face.

         “How?” he asked in confusion. “I didn’t even see you move.”

         My grin faltered for a moment, but I forced it to remain on my lips. I went behind you, I said turning and entering the bathroom leaving him with a mystified expression on his face. Through the closed door I heard him muttering to himself. “How did she do that?”

         “It’s called your blood running through her veins,” Divinity replied.

RAIN
IV

I HEADED DOWNSTAIRS INTO THE COOL BASEMENT to my room. Inside was a mixed collection of various items I’d gathered over my short lifetime, things like shells and books and rocks. Also, there was a small twin-sized bed, a dresser and a footlocker full of papers and other things. Ignoring everything, I headed for the full length mirror that was attached to the wall across from the bed. Placing my clawed hand palm down on the mirror, I closed my eyes and reached for the Magyck within me. —“Open!”— I commanded. The glass swung open, revealing a tunnel that led off into the darkness. Removing my shoes so the ground would know it was me, I walked down the twenty foot corridor before coming to another door, this time made out of oak.

         “Name yourself!” an aged female voice called threateningly.

         “I am Rain, Daughter of Alpha Male Locust and Alpha Female Summer, foster child to John and Anne MacCormin,” I answered calmly.

         The door swung forward without another word. Reverently, I entered the round room lit with balls of energy that had been burning for centuries. The first thing my eyes fell upon was the portrait of my deceased Grandmother, Thistle. Before she had died, she had called me to her deathbed and had given her responsibility of being the one and only Warden to me. That had happened a scant three years ago.

         My eyes drifted downward and fell upon the things I protected. “The time has come Grandmother. I wish you could be here to see it,” I whispered into the silence. Sighing, I reached out and picked up the two glinting objects that lay in the oak chest. Both were made of the hardest diamonds the earth would ever make, helped along its way to be hardened by Magyck users of ages past. One stretched to the length of nearly four feet and an edge straighter than a ruler. Even the hilt of the sword was made of the diamonds. The other was a matching dagger, though with a serrated edge and a dangerous curve. Both shimmered with thousands of rainbows in the light of the energy spheres. The sight of them filled me with hope.

         With a muttered spell, I hid them from view before exiting the hidden chamber with one final look at my Grandmother’s smiling face.

DIVINITY
V

CLAIR AND MATTHEW WERE ALEADY OUT BEFORE Rain returned from her room. “Jeez
Rain, what took you so long?” I asked.

         “Nothing,” she snapped.

         “Enough,” Matthew warned before we got into another one of our fights. “Now, do we have everything?”

         Everyone nodded.

         “Oh, does this mean you’re leaving?” Mrs. MacCormin inquired sadly as we headed toward the front door.

         “Yes, at least for a little while,” Rain replied.

         “Well, I hope to see you soon,” she said hugging everyone, even the males.

         With waves from the front entrance, we began walking down the drive and out of sight of the house so no one would hear us when we decided where we’d be going next.

         Matthew stopped and turned toward me his freshly washed hair glinting in the sun. “Would you like to do the honors Divinity?” he wondered.

         “Of course; it was my idea after all,” I said brightly. Reaching into my hidden pocket, I pulled out the slips of paper. I held them like a fan and shoved them into Rain’s face just to see her look of anger; she just smiled at my failed attempt. “Want to choose the paper?” I questioned sweetly.

         Instead of answering, she pulled one of them out of hand and passed it to Matthew. Unfolding it, he read it for all of us, “Carter.”

         “Right! Okay everyone, gather round,” Carter said. After we’d linked hands, he reached inside himself for the Magyck and three heartbeats later, we ended up somewhere almost exactly like the clearing where we’d first met Clair and Matthew except the trees were younger and spaced further apart.

Next Chapters: Chapter 19: Several Wonders, & Chapter 20: Several Worries.