Chapter 2

Abigail stood outside for a moment longer, then reality sunk in. The animals! Hiking up her skirt she darted toward the barn. She barely made it in when a lightning bolt struck right where she had been standing. “Hey watch it!” she wanted to shout at the sky. The thunder seemed to be reading her mind, for right then it boomed in response! She shuddered and quickly battened down the barn windows and secured the animals. Abigail fought against the wind to close the barn doors. “Ugh!” She exclaimed as the dead bolt slid into place. She ran across the yard and into the kitchen of the Royal Dragon.

“Abigail, where have you been?” Her mother asked “I was getting worried about you.”

 “I was just taking care of the animals in the barn. How are things in the dining room?”

“Okay, other than some broken plates and spilled food. Would you grab a broom and start cleaning up, please? I’ll start cleaning things up in here.” She motioned toward the pots and pans that were spilled all over the floor and counter.

“Yes Mama.”

She picked up the fallen mirror in the dining room, and looked at herself briefly. She stood 5’ 5” in her socks, was average in build with wavy brown hair and vivid green eyes. She once overheard someone say she was “Plain to the point of forgettable”, which was fine by her. Abigail hung the mirror back on the wall, fixed her tousled hair and returned to straightening the room.

As she swept, her mind buzzed with a hundred questions, foremost among them was “What in the world is going on?!”

Tomorrow she would go and see Martin. If anyone would know what this thing was Wizard Martin would!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Lizzie?!” Tallie called across the ruble of trees in what was once a clearing. The earthquake had brought some of the old trees down around the mouse family’s home. “Lizzie?!” Tallie called again.

“Here I am!” Lizzie stood up from behind a fallen tree. Her parents and siblings followed.

“Are you alright?”

“I….I think so. How about you? What just happened?” Lizzie asked

“Oh I’m fine” Tallie smiled “I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

“Well, is there anything we can do?” asked Lizzie

Suddenly Lizzie began hunting around under the fallen tree, gradually becoming more frantic in her search.

“What are you looking for?” Tallie asked

“My book! I can’t find my book!” Lizzie exclaimed.

“Let me fly up and see if I can find it.” Quick as a flash Tallie was in the air, her keen eyes searching the rubble for the book. “Aha! I see it.” She swooped down and plucked it up in her beak.

“Thank you! I’d hate to lose it, I haven’t finished it and the ending seems quite promising!”

Tallie laughed gently. If there was one thing her friend was known for other than being shy, it was her passionate love of books! Lizzie joined in the laughter; they often knew what the other was thinking! Their inside joke was interrupted by Lizzie’s father.

“Lizzie! We’d best be getting into the house, it’s late and starting to turn cold!”

“Yes dad! I’m coming, right away!” Lizzie replied.

Tallie and Lizzie said their goodbye’s and each went to their own homes. Tomorrow was a Saturday and they agreed to meet then.

The next morning after chores and an early breakfast Tallie and Lizzie met beneath the large willow tree near the river, Gorm Domhain, The Deep Blue.

“Last night’s events were so strange” Lizzie was saying. “I keep thinking about what it might have been!”

“I was also!” After a moment of silence Tallie said “I’ve heard there’s a wizard of incredible wisdom who lives near the edge of the forest. Perhaps he would know what it was?”

“Perhaps... You weren’t thinking of going to see him, were you?!” Lizzie asked.

“Not me….US!”

“I’m not sure about this!” Lizzie said. She was becoming more uneasy about this whole idea the closer they got towards the Wizard’s house.

“I’m not comfortable either, but this may be our only chance for an adventure! And I’d like to at least have one!” Tallie replied.

As they walked along the vague path toward the house, they were startled by the sound of rustling leaves to their right. Suddenly a girl appeared.

“Oh!” She exclaimed. A slight smile emerged on her face “Good morning! I’m sorry if I startled you.”

“Good morning” Lizzie replied timidly. She recognized the girl from around the village; she was the tavern keeper’s daughter.

After an awkward moment of silence the girl spoke again “My name is Abigail. What are your names?”

“I’m Tallie and this is Lizzie!” Tallie said quickly, having finally found her voice.

“Nice to meet you! Where are you off to this fine morning?” She asked

Tallie and Lizzie exchanged glances. Should they tell her? Very well, their look seemed to say.

“We’re going to see the Wizard!”

Abigail looked quite shocked “I am also! Would you mind if I walked along with you? I don’t get many chances to talk to people my own age, especially girls!” She laughed lightly.

So the three of them continued on their way to Martin’s house, unaware of what their futures had in store for them.

+++++++++++++++++++++

“Rizon Kandarr!” Master Martin’s booming voice seemed to echo off the walls of Rizon’s small room! It was amazing to Rizon how a man as small in stature as the Wizard could be so loud!

“I’m coming!” He answered groggily.

“I expect you to be dressed and down for breakfast in three minutes or I shall be forced to return!”

Rizon was out of bed like a streak of lightening. The last time he had over slept Master Martin had come into his room with a very hard stick, which found itself squarely on his…. Well, he didn’t wish to relive that!

He was dressed, bed made and at the table in record time; under two minutes!

“Well done Rizon! I hope you shall keep up this discipline in the future!”

After Master Martin blessed their food, Rizon dug into his hot porridge. Master Martin was not the best cook, in fact he might be one of the worst Rizon had ever encountered, but he made a wonderful porridge!

“What are my duties today? What will we be studying? Will I be able to do any real wizarding?” Rizon asked between spoonfuls of breakfast.

Rizon didn’t see the old wizard roll his eyes towards heaven.

“Yes, as a matter of fact you will be learning one of the most important things an apprentice wizard will learn!”

Rizon’s eye’s brightened. After 4 long months of monotonous schooling he would finally be learning something fun!

“What will I be learning today?” he asked with obvious excitement.

“You will be learning………..” he paused for effect….. “the difficult job of learning to NOT TALK WITH YOUR MOUTH FULL!”

Before Rizon could come back with a “cunning” remark, there was a knock at the front door.

Rizon and the Wizard looked at each other.

“Well... answer the door!” Martin said at last.

Rizon begrudgingly got up from his seat, slid the latch from the door and opened it. To his surprise there stood three girls; a three foot tall white mouse, a blue sparrow, and a human girl.

“We’ve come to see Wizard Martin” Abigail said. “Is he here?”

Chapter 1

Abigail dodged a flying chunk of pie and grabbed the youngster by his collar. "Stephan, if you want to be in the kitchen, you need to be a bit more restrained. I did not give you that piece of pie just so you could throw it at Caleb."

"But he stuck his finger in it and ruined it!" Stephan complained loudly over the din of the customers in the room adjacent to the kitchen, desperately trying to wriggle his way out of Abigail's firm grasp. He shot a nasty look at his older brother who was vainly trying to wipe the pastry out of his hair with a rag. Abigail sighed.

"Stephan, one poke doesn't contaminate the whole piece. You could have eaten around it. Caleb shouldn't have stuck his finger in it, but that is no excuse for you to be throwing food at him."

Stephan frowned. "Well, can I have another piece?"

"No, the other pieces are for the customers. Run along now, and find something else to do."

Stephan stomped out of the kitchen, almost running smack into their mother as she entered with a jug of water. She glanced at Stephan as he passed her and then her eyes fell on Caleb.

"What happened?" she asked as she laid the jug on the table and took the rag from her son.

"I stuck my finger in Stephan's piece of pie and he so he threw it at me. Said it was full of my germs." Caleb admitted.

Martha shook her head, vigorously rubbing Caleb's head. "What am I going to do with you boys? I'll go talk to him. But right now, you need to get that pie to tables 3 and 8. One piece for 3 and two for 8. And table 6 needs a glass of cranberry juice.  You can finish cleaning up later, Caleb. There's much to do. Now, shoo!" She gave Caleb's hair one last wipe and then shoved a tray into his hands. Abigail dished up the pie with quick expertise and loaded the plates onto Caleb's tray. After checking the pies in the oven, she poured a glass of cranberry juice and headed out to the dining area.

It was lunch hour at their family's tavern, which was always very busy. The Royal Dragon was a popular stop for the villagers and travelers, famous for miles. Placed along the route to the King's City, it was know for its many diverse customers from all corners of the kingdom and beyond. As Abigail wound through the tables towards table 6, she greeted the customers, many of whom she knew. She approached table 6 where sat Justin the trader. 

"Good afternoon, Abigail!" He greeted her with a wide grin as she handed him his requested drink. "The tavern seems to be doing well."

"Indeed, it is," she replied. "We are very grateful for the business that is resulting from people traveling in for the King's festival next week."

After a few more pleasantries, Justin wiped some droplets from his thick brown beard and stood. "Tell your father I said hello. I'm sorry I missed him. Perhaps I'll happen to catch him on my way back."

"I'll tell him." Abigail promised.

Justin thanked her and headed out of the tavern.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Lizzie laughed as Tallie swooped around her in graceful circles, staying just out of reach with Lizzie's last bit of bread. The afternoon sun highlighted the swallow's beautiful blue feathers as she spun and dove and whirled through the air. Lizzie swiped at her friend but found only air.

"Come on, Tallie, you know you can't eat that 'cause of your allergies. What do you want it for?" Lizzie laughed, gasping for breath.

"Nothing!" Tallie replied. But as her mouth opened, the morsel fell-right into Lizzie's open paw. The mouse maiden grinned.

"Aha!" Lizzie exclaimed! "I've got it!"

Tallia winked. "A wonderful catch. But it was planned. I knew it would drop."

"Sure," Lizzie winked back. "Well, I've got to get back. It will be dinner soon and the trader will be here any minute."

"Alright, then. I'll see you tomorrow!" Tallie flew off with a burst of blue.

Lizzie scooped her book up and set off down the trail through the forest to her home. She was so grateful for Tallie. Both were very shy and had trouble making friends. Among the other woodland creatures, Tallie was her only friend. Lizzie just had a hard time getting over her shyness with the other teens.

The trader's loud, jovial laughter alerted Lizzie to his arrival long before she entered the clearing where she and her family lived. She always looked forward to his visits. Because her family never ventured out of the wood, he brought them supplies that they could not get otherwise, as well as news of the surrounding area where he traveled. Although she was too shy to ask any questions, she loved hearing his stories. She longed to go on an adventure, but because of her parents' fear of the outside world, might never get the chance-or at least not for a very long time.

As she entered the clearing, her family was just sitting down to the table for dinner.

"Ah, there you are, Lizzie! We were just about to send Tommy for you," her father said. Lizzie slipped into her seat between Tommy and Rachel. Her mother was busily dishing out food as Justin narrated his lastest story.

"Streamers were everywhere!" He was saying. "Red, gold, blue, and purple. It was one of the most colorful sights I've ever seen. You would be amazed at how many booths they're setting up, as well. It will be magnificent."

"What is he talking about?" Lizzie whispered to Tommy.

"He's telling about the festival they're preparing for in the King's City!" Tommy replied excitedly. To his father he asked, "Can we go?"

Almost before he had finished his sentence, Jacques let out a strong, "No."

The children knew to ask no further.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rizon stared out the window, Wizard Martin's words barely registering in his brain. He had heard this lecture hundreds, if not thousands, of times before. He had tried to clean the rust from a sword with sugar instead of baking soda and now his master was lecturing him about following directions and not trying to alter the process in any way and experiment, ya-da-ya-da-ya-da.

"Rizon Kandarr!" A sharp rap on the shoulder with the wizard's staff brought his focus back to his master. "You're plotting again, aren't you! How many times have I told you to keep your mind on what I'm saying! A wizard's apprentice shouldn't..."

Once again, Josh wasn't paying attention. Instead, his focus was on a low bank of clouds in the distance that seemed to be growing. He hadn't noticed those clouds a minute before when he had been staring out of the window. They had come up awfully fast...

"Master Martin! Look!"

"Young man, pay attention when I am speaking! I will have none of your nonsense!"

"But LOOK!"

The urgency in his apprentice's voice finally persuaded him to look. He gasped at what he saw. A thick, dark, boiling group of clouds, covering the western sky as far as he could see, was rapidly growing and coming towards them at an unbelievable rate.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A violent tremor shook the tavern, sending several people sprawling to the ground. Over the screaming and shouting, Abigail detected the sound of thunder. She ran outside and stared up at the sky. It was full of huge, purple clouds. To the west, several streaks of lightning shot from the clouds. Another tremor erupted, causing Abigail to clutch the door frame. She had never seen anything like this before. They got storms all the time, but never with an earthquake. This one seemed different.

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

We're Back!

Hello Everyone,

The authors of "Anything and Everything is Possible" are back for Round 2! Stay tuned as we begin a new story set in a medieval/fantasy world.

Enjoy!

An Ending

Our eyes fixed on the window. The figure had disappeared almost as quickly as it had arrived.

“Did you all see what I think I just saw?” Dylan asked

“I think so, I’m not sure” I replied “But we’d better get moving before it comes back.” We quickly entered the castle. It was dark and musty.

“Here are some flashlights.” Tarra said as she passed them around. “Let’s get going, I don’t want to be here all night.”

Just then there was another flash of lightening. Be brave I kept telling myself, just don’t think about the creepy things going on, just be brave. We trudged along through the labyrinth passages.

“How will we know when we find the room?” Dylan asked “And what room are we looking for”

“The study, it’s up stairs and it has a large rectangular window in it.” “That is once we find the stairs” I muttered to myself. We turned the last corner and practically ran into the stairs.

“Found ‘em” I said.

We ascended cautiously. There was a long hallway with several doors, all of which were closed.

“Which way should we go?” Dylan asked

Allie and I exchanged glances

“To the right?” we said in unison.

It didn’t take us long to find the study, it was the second door to the right.

We cautiously entered the room.

Something was wrong.

“There’s something wrong with this room.” I said.

The others looked around. Allie was the first to realize it.

“There’s no dust. There’s dust everywhere else, but not in this room.” She said

“And all the furniture is still in this room. The rest of the castle doesn’t have furniture. So why does this room have it?” I asked aloud.

“I think we should say the ritual, and then go exploring, or get out of here as fast as we can.” Tarra suggested.

“Okay…..Which way is east?” I asked

Tarra pulled out her phone. After a few taps on her touch screen, she showed us a compass on her phone. Pointing to the left she said “That is east."

I pulled out the family journal, and recited “The king gave us this power to help others” he turned and faced the west and continued “I say this ritual now to control my powers that I may do as he planned.” There was a moment of silence and then a flash of lightening that took up the whole sky followed by a boom that shook the very castle. Looking down at myself I saw that I was now completely glowing blue. Then just as suddenly has it had stated it was over. 

 

*****************************************

There were a few moments of silence, which I decided to break by asking the question that was foremost on my mind.

“That’s it? That’s all we had to do?”

“I guess so.” Rhys replied.

“What about that apparition? I know I wasn’t seeing things.” Dylan asked

Tarra had moved toward the fireplace, I followed. She smiled at me and then pointed to the candlestick on the fireplace mantle.

“Our parents had a set of candlesticks just like this.” She said. There were pools of tears building up in her eyes.

One of the candlesticks was moved far off center, I tried to move it back to where it belonged, but it was stuck in place.

“That’s odd” I thought out loud

“What is?” asked Rhys as he and Dylan walked over to join us.

“It’s probably nothing, but this candlestick won’t move.”

“So?” Dylan asked “It probably just stuck, it’s very old.”
“No. It’s perfectly polished, it’s been cleaned and recently, just like the rest of the room. But this stick won’t move it’s like it’s glued into place.” Looking more closely at the design, I saw a slightly deeper outline around one of the roses. I gently pressed it………there was an ominous creaking sound from behind us. We turned in unison and saw the wall behind us had open into a small room.

I flashed an adventurous smile at Rhys; his grin proved that we were thinking the same thing.

We started forward but Tarra caught my arm and held her finger up to her lips. I could hear a gentle creak in the floorboards outside in the hall way, someone was out there!

She motioned us back by the fireplace, and took a spot on the side of the doorway. We all turned out our flashlights.

The door slowly opened, and a small figured stepped into the room. Just as it did Tarra slammed the door and shown her flashlight in the persons face. We all turned on our flashlights, and were shocked to find a girl who looked to be about 12. She was tall for her age, and the way her white clothes engulfed her, she was obviously malnourished. Her brown eyes were large and full of fear, but along with the fear was a cold determination and silent confidence.

“Who are you?”  Rhys asked

She stared defiantly at us.

“We’re not going to harm you; we just want to help you.” Tarra said lowering her flashlight out of the girl’s face. Slowly reaching into her jacket pocket she pulled out a nut bar and handed it to the girl. “Here……. Take this, you look like you need it.” Tarra smiled at her.

The girl just looked at it, then slowly reached out and took it from Tarra’s hand. She quickly devoured the bar, and smiled at us.

“My name is Kathleen.” She said with a heavy Scottish accent.

“Mine is Allie” I said.

After everyone had introduced themselves, I asked Kathleen “What are you doing here? Do you live here?”

“Yes. My parents died from a virus that infected this area about six months ago. So I moved in here. I’ve been living off what I could scrounge from around the castle and surrounding farms. I found a set of lights and mirrors here that were set up to portray me on the window as a ghost”

“That’s explains what we saw at the window. Why would you be living here? Surely you must have some family somewhere? Or maybe your parents left you some money?” Tarra asked

“No. I have no one. They’re all dead, except my uncle McNeil. He wanted to put me in the orphanage, so I ran away.” She replied

We all had the same look of shock on our faces.

“Randy McNeil is your uncle?” I asked

“Yes.”

“I think we should leave…..now. And you….” Tarra said pointing at Kathleen “Kathleen should come with us.”

She recoiled and glared at us, “If I go with you how do I know you won’t just leave me at the orphanage?”

“Why would we do that? Why not just leave you here? I promise that we won’t leave you at the orphanage, but we will find you a good family to stay with. Okay?” Tarra asked

“Okay!” she smiled reluctantly

****************************************

The next few days seemed like a dream. Tarra called the police and with all the evidence against McNeil he was convicted and sentenced to prison along with all his accomplices. He was convicted for fraud, attempted kidnapping, and negligence as a guardian. The people from the lab and everyone connected with them were caught by the FBI smuggling drugs into Arizona, and an extended investigation linked them to the deaths of Alex and everyone else at the Lab.

Dylan was reunited with her grandmother in England.

“We’ll keep in touch” I promised.

“Count on it” She smiled.

It was hard to say goodbye, but I couldn’t wait to get home. Home. Where was my home? The Taylors were assigned as witness protection child parents, back in Washington DC. We landed in California and were met by Allies parents and an elderly couple.

Allie rushed out the gate and into her parents arms, where they exchanged greetings. I stood in the corner watching, when Tarra suddenly appeared beside me, and laid an arm across my shoulders.

“I’d like you to meet my foster parents.” She said motioning to the elderly couple a few yards away from us. She introduced them as the Carlisle’s.

“Rhys, I don’t know what you want to do, but I thought I’d run a few options by you. You could go back into the foster system…..” The horror on my face made her hold up her hands to stop my questions “or…………..” A sly smile crossed her mouth. “I sort of was thinking we could buy the house next door to Allie. The house is on the market, and we’d still be together!”

My answer was obvious.

**************************

 “Dear Journal ~

Six weeks had passed since we got back from Scotland, Rhys and Tarra had moved in to the house next door that her parents bought for them. I had caught up with my parents and found out that Tarra had called her parents to come and take care of my parents and the Taylors. Rhys and I started school today.”

“HA! I finished my math homework before you did” Rhys gloated

I wrinkled my nose and stuck my tongue out at him. “I can still beat you at all the other subjects, and chess.” I retorted.

“Oh is that so?! Well how about we just try that theory out”

“Best two out of three? Loser pays for Ice Cream at The Parlor?”

“Deal, I’ll set up the chess set. But I must warn you, I’ve been practicing!” He smiled wickedly, and I could help smiling. Smiling at my new best friend!

 The End

 

 

A Final Choice

I stared in complete shock at one of the second story windows, drops of rain dribbling down my face. In the window stood a man, light radiating from his muscular…transparent body. Long red hair flowed from his head and he wore…was that…a kilt??

This couldn’t be McNeil….why would he be glowing? I really hope this muscular ghost-dude isn’t another enemy we need to take care of before all of this can be ended…

“Who is he?” I asked nervously. “A guardian?”

“I don’t remember one being mentioned in the book…”Allie muttered.

Dilyn gasped. “He’s beckoning to us!”

I looked up to see the figure’s spectral arm quickly motioning to us. I turned to Tarra. “Do you think he’s on our side?”

She bit her lip and stared up at the window. I noticed that the figure’s face appeared worried, and that he kept squinting at the horizon behind us. Instinctively, I spun around, imagining the worst, but nothing was there. I glanced back at my sister.

“I don’t know if he’s on our side or not, but we need to get inside that castle, complete your ritual, and get out of here before McNeil arrives,” she finally said.

I clinched my fists. “Let’s go.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

                The huge wooden doors of the castle slowly creaked open as we pushed hard against them. With one final shove, the doors slammed back against the stone walls. Thunder rumbled overhead as we stood on the threshold, gazing uneasily down a long stone hallway which ended at a narrow staircase which curled upwards out of sight. An occasional heavy, wooden door lined the walls. Streaks of lightning revealed the brackets for torches along the walls.

Rhys took a step forward to continue down the corridor, but something at the end of the hall made me reach out a hand and stop him. “Rhys, wait. Look.”

We all stared in growing trepidation as a light began slowly emerging from where the steps disappeared out of our view. Before long, the figure we had seen in the window stood on the bottom step. A deep voice rumbled down the hallway towards us: “Greetings, Rhys Stengle, Dilyn Cutter, and companions.”

“Who are you? How do you know who we are?” Rhys commanded. “Are you for us or against us?”

“I am Peter de Berewick, your ancestor.  And of course I’m for you. The real question is: Will you be for me?”

I saw that Tarra had laid a hand at her hip, on the gun that she had taken from Roy. “What is that supposed to mean?” she called.

“I have a little job for you, Rhys.” He laughed, the noise sounding cold and harsh against my ears. A shiver ran down my spine and I remembered that we were dealing with the ghost of a madman. A very powerful madman. “But first,” Peter continued, “I believe there’s a ritual that he needs to complete. On the top of the tower.” We all glanced at each other. Then Rhys began striding down the hall towards Peter.

“Lead me where I need to go,” he ordered.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Rain poured over me as I stood on top of the taller of the castle’s two towers, the wind whipping at my clothes and hair. Tarra, Allie, Dilyn, and Peter were in the room below me, shielded from my view and the reach of the savage elements.

I closed my eyes and raised my arms, turning to face the east. On the way here, I had read the words which I needed to say over and over again, memorizing them perfectly. Now was my chance to take full ownership of my power.

I began chanting the words, softly at first, but I grew louder and louder, my voice rising above the noise of the wind and rain. Thunder boomed overhead and lightning flashed almost continually, but still I pressed on, not faltering in my speech. The words were in a language unfamiliar to me and at first felt strange on my tongue. But soon I discovered that they were rolling smoothly off of my tongue almost without any mental prompt from me. Partway through, I turned around and faced the west for the rest of the chant. Finally, it was finished.

I lowered my arms and stood waiting, my head bowed, eyes closed. It seemed as if all creation was waiting with me. The thunder and lightning ceased and the wind died. Only the wind continued lightly. All seemed still.

Suddenly, electricity began coursing through my body. I slowly willed it to come to my hands, marveling at the ease. Electricity hissed at my fingertips. In a moment of pure triumph, I let loose a stream of electricity into the night sky and held it there, watching it snap and crackle above me. A loud cry of victory escaped my mouth. I had conquered my power. I could finally control it. And no one else could.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When Rhys dropped from that trapdoor back into the room, not bothering to use the ladder, no smile in the history of smiles could have possibly been bigger than his. In seconds, Dilyn and Tarra and Rhys and I were all jumping up and down and crying and whooping ecstatically and hugging each other.

After a few minutes, a gruff cough penetrated the celebration. Peter stood there stiffly, looking a bit awkward. “I believe there’s still one more ritual to complete. Dilyn?”

Dilyn’s eyes shone as she ascended the ladder, her hands shaking slightly. She reached the top and pushed the trapdoor open. For a moment, she paused to look down at us, the moon shining on her long brown hair. Then she was gone, the trapdoor falling down heavily. We waited.

A few seconds went by and we strained our ears for any sound. All we heard was deafening silence. But then we began to hear Dilyn’s sing-song voice sweetly reciting the words that would set her free. She reached the end and we waited again. A few minutes later, although it felt like hours, the trapdoor squealed open and we stared up in amazement.

A bright light shone down on us and we had to shield our eyes with our hands! Finally, it began to die and we could see Dilyn standing there. She climbed quickly down the ladder.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “For a sec, I was worried that it wouldn’t stop.”

Still stunned by how brilliant her light had been, it took us a couple of seconds to come back to our senses. But when we did, our response to Dilyn’s obvious success was just as loud and wild as ours had been to Rhys’s. Finally, the din ceased, and there was silence. Dilyn broke it after a few moments.

“I can’t believe this is all over. We’ll never have to go back to the Lab again. We can stop running.”

“It’s not finished yet, Dilyn,” Peter said, instantly sending a cloud over our jubilant faces as we remembered.

“McNeil!” Tarra gasped. “Rhys, Dilyn, we all need to get out of here as soon as we can before he arrives!”

“Why?” Peter questioned calmly. “If you don’t face him now, you’ll be running from him for the rest of your lives. I thought you wanted to stop running, stop hiding.”

“We do…”Dilyn admitted reluctantly.

“You may now have full control of your powers, but that won’t necessarily stop McNeil. He is a very slippery, cunning man with almost inhuman skills at tracking people down.” This comment made us more than a little uneasy. Peter continued, “If this is to end, it must end now.”

“He’s right,” Rhys said, glancing around at all of us girls.

I knew Peter was right, but I didn’t want to stay.

How could we possibly stand up to McNeil and his men? What if something went wrong and everyone was killed? Including me? Maybe I could sneak off and hide somewhere…

I instantly realized how selfish my thoughts were. The chances of something happening to Rhys and Dilyn and Tarra were high, whether they stayed or left. I didn’t want anything to ever happen to them. Whatever occurred, I knew I needed to stand by them. These were my friends. My only friends. I wasn’t about to leave them.

As I decided this, I realized that everyone was looking at me. Rhys repeated his question.

“Do you want to leave or stay?”

“What’s currently the majority vote?” I asked.

“Tarra and Dilyn and I all are staying,” Rhys answered slowly. “But don’t base your decision on that. McNeil doesn’t necessarily want you. If you stay, something could happen. But you can avoid all of this by leaving. The town of Settle is just a couple miles away. If you cut through the park, avoiding the roads, you should be able to make it there safely.  You can wait there for us to…to come back after all of this is over.”

I looked Rhys squarely in the eyes. “I’m staying.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I wasn’t sure whether I was pleased or annoyed by Allie’s decision. I really didn’t want anything to happen to her. But I did appreciate her stubbornness in standing by us.

“Alright,” I began, “we need to come up with a good plan as to how we can solve this and leave here alive.”

None of us had noticed that Peter had left, but we all saw when the door creaked open and Peter entered, a gleaming sword in his hand. I stared at the weapon warily.

“What’s that for?” I demanded.

“Rhys, I mentioned earlier that I had a little job for you. You should find it rather simple. This sword if for McNeil and his men. It had magical powers and is capable of completely disposing of your opponents without any assistance from you. Just a single point at the opponent and the utterance of the word which controls it will end it all for you in a matter of minutes.”

I found my hand slowly reaching for the sword but I quickly drew it back. I spoke quietly, inwardly fighting the urge to take the sword. “Peter, my goal for today is to leave here with the deaths of as few people as possible. I don’t believe that sword will help accomplish this. I can’t accept it.”

Peter’s eyes burned. ‘The Magmans must die! All of them! I can’t finish the job myself, Rhys. You can. It is your duty as an Ilvan to completely eradicate all Magmans.”

“But why?” I asked. “Why do we need to kill them?”

“Because they are evil!” He shouted furiously.

“I could think of a really evil Ilvan, too,” I heard Allie mutter under her breath.

‘How? What makes them anymore evil than us Ilvans that they must be destroyed?”

‘Rhys. The Magmans. Must. Die.”

I could tell that we weren’t going to get anywhere. Suddenly, we could all hear the sound of a motor. Tarra looked out of the window and I followed her gaze. A sleek, black car was racing up the road, its tires squealing as it recklessly turned the corner. The vehicle slid to a crazy stop by our rental car.

As the first person emerged from the car, I instantly knew it had to be McNeil. Red hair fell to his shoulders and a thick mustache covered the grim mouth. He rose up like a giant, broad-shouldered and intimidating; his brawny figure almost bursting the seams of his spotless black suit. I stared in uneasiness at a large bulge on his hip. McNeil removed his dark shades, glanced at our car and then looked straight up to where we were staring out of the window. He held my gaze for what seemed like an eternity. But then he looked away and motioned for his five burly Scottish sidekicks to head inside. I felt myself gulp.

Peter laid a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see the sword held out to me.

I don’t want to kill anyone! I thought.

But we don’t have any protection, said a little voice in my head. Did you see how burly the men McNeil has with him are?! You know they all are going to have guns. I heard the heavy doors of the castle slam open.

But maybe I can reason with him. Show him how needless this all is. That he can’t blame us for something our ancestors did that we had no part of.

Good luck with that. You’ll probably be shot before you have a chance to say anything.

I realized that Peter wasn’t another enemy. It was his sword. It was Peter’s magical sword which creating this conflict within me between my conscience and my desires and concerns.

I can’t kill anyone. I won’t.

I pushed the sword away. “Keep your sword, Peter.” Ignoring the heavy scowl on the man’s face, I stepped through the door ad began the descent down the narrow stone staircase.

We met in a long wide hallway with tall stone pillars lining the walls. I stood at one end. McNeil and his men grouped at the other.

“At last we meet, Rhys Stengle,” McNeil called menacingly, his thick Scottish accent evident.

“It’s a pleasure, I’m sure,” I responded, my voice dripping sarcasm.

“Do you like my suit, Rhys? I like to wear this to funerals. Like now.”

“Nobody’s died yet, and I aim to keep it that way. McNeil, this isn’t necessary. No one has to die.” I heard the others run up behind me and stop at the sight of our opponents.

“But many did, Rhys!” McNeil cried angrily. “Your ancestor, Peter de Berewick, incited his followers to one of the greatest massacres in the history of the world: a massacre of my people, the Magmans. You and Dilyn and Tarra must die to pay for their acts. You will die.”

Dilyn stepped up next to me. “Why must we die for something our ancestors did?” she questioned. “Only a few days ago, we didn’t know exactly who we were, much less what our ancestors had done to your people!”

“But you have found out, and one day you will turn just like them and come after us. We can’t have that now, can we?”

“We have no intention of killing anyone,” I replied.

“Maybe not now, but the future is almost always uncertain. I intend to make my future-and yours-very certain.”

Randy McNeil is no saner than de Berewick is, I realized. Suddenly, without warning, McNeil yanked out a pistol from under his coat and fired. I heard something clatter to the floor behind me and I spun around. Tarra stood there, stunned. Her fingers were bloodied from a slight scratch by the bullet. The gun lay at her feet.

“Don’t try anything else,” McNeil ordered. “The only shots will be fired by me and my men.” The five other Scots raised their guns and cocked them, following their leader’s example. “You. Will. Die.”

Then came the gunfire. Bullets whistled through the air towards us, strong and deadly. But they never reached us. I opened my eyes in astonishment to see that Dilyn and Allie and Tarra and I were all still standing! Ahead of us, McNeil and his men lay crumpled on the floor, wounded. Four Scottish police officers stood above them with their guns drawn and smoking.

“Randy McNeil, you’re under arrest for robbery, attempted murder, and a whole lot more,” one of the officers stated.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“I still can hardly believe that all of this is over.” Rhys said, running his hand over his arm. He looked up and grinned. “No more needles.”

“No more needles,” I repeated, smiling. “I’m so glad Tarra decided to move the two of you into the house next to us after the Taylor’s left. I was worried I was going to lose another friend.”

“Oh, after seeing how you stuck by Dilyn and me, I don’t think you would let that happen.”

We laughed and it felt great! McNeil and his men were in prison, Peter's ghost had disappeared, and Dilyn was pleasantly situated in England with her grandmother. I was very happy that everything was alright, that everything was back to normal.

The End

Story Endings

Hello Readers!

Well, our story "The Boy *Ahem* Next Door" is finally coming to an end. =(

So that you will not be terribly confused by these next few posts, I thought I'd let you know what's up. =) Each of us will be writing our own ending to this story! We hope you enjoy these!

And do not fear, we are not planning on stopping the blog after this story. If any of you are interested in joining us on the next story, let us know!

Thanks,
~Emily Miles