A Time and Place for Magic Read online

  It was at this moment she began to speak the ancient words of power conjuring the energy she would use to save their future. It hummed between them, and around them, a soft blue light grew. It was at this crucial point that Raspiria began to bend the magic to her will. As their love making intensified, so did her spell until she found herself separated from her body. While her physical form continued its climax in Thrall’s embrace, the spirit part of her walked into the fire and through to the other side. When she stepped out from the flames, she found herself before a primitive altar where Miranda and Gordon were making love, surrounded by a small group of women.

  Chapter 3 – The Gift

  As the Great Rite began, the coven formed a protective circle around the couple with their backs to them. Jade alone faced the fire doing her best to avert her eyes. When Raspiria’s figure emerged from the fire, Jade startled and backed up instinctively. Despite her initial fear, Jade sensed that the woman meant them no harm. Maybe it was the way the little creature stood so regally. She was no taller than a child with pointed ears, and an angular face that flowed smoothly into a pointed chin. Her eyes were a stunning blue, like a dazzling jewel. She wore only a thin gown that barely reached her thighs. The thin straps of cloth did little to cover her upper torso and the unusual, raised designs on her skin. As she drew closer, Jade realized that they were colored patterns covering her body. Her slender arms and dainty hands were offset by the pointed nails at the end of her fingers.

  Raspiria, hearing the couple climax, turned her attention from Jade to Miranda. She raised her hands and a blinding light exploded from them knocking Jade to the side, like a leaf in the wind. Lying on the ground she could see Raspiria silhouetted against the night sky. The light streamed from her into Gordon and Miranda’s locked bodies. Both were arced and frozen in their moment of climax. The light continued to pulsate and flow into them. The intensity of it caused Jade to shield her eyes with her hand. The night air roared with the sound. After a few more seconds, it started to ebb, and finally the light receded, flowing back into Raspiria.

  Still aglow with her power, she walked over to Jade and extended her ghostly palm. As if responding to some unconscious command, Jade reached up placing her hand in Raspiria’s. Instantly, she was flooded with a stream of power and knowledge. It was too much to take in all at once. Jade tried to pull back but found she was unable to move or resist in any meaningful way. As the light infiltrated her body, the little woman kept pushing further and further into her mind, keeping hold of her hand until Jade collapsed into darkness.

  Raspiria was both elated and confused by the night's events. Her baby was now safe. Only a mother could understand the true pain of giving up a child, but it helped ease her mind to know that the child would be born of two good parents who would nurture and care for her. What had taken her by surprise was the presence of true magic. She sensed it in all of them having touched them one by one. They possessed it in abundance, but it was oddly restrained by basic disbelief in their own capacity for personal power. She had done more than simply nudge their magic out into the open. She had smashed through their self-imposed restraints and in the process imparted knowledge and experience to each of them so that they would be capable of protecting her child. Her understanding was that Earth had been bereft of all magic many centuries ago during the time of separation. To have found such power still alive and well, gave her hope for her little girl's survival.

  Her trip back through the fire was quick like stepping from one room into another. Emerging into her world, the temple was there to greet her but so was the sight of Thrall shaking her lifeless body on the stone altar. His fear had grown into tears of confusion. Her attendants stood quietly around the altar, far enough away to give him space. It was time to re-enter her body and finish her final task. The salvation of all her people depended on it. This temporary solution would give her child time to grow into the savior she knew her daughter would become.

  As she walked towards Thrall, there was a feeling, a kind of internal warning in her mind and over the centuries she had learned to trust it. She turned and sent her senses out into the dark night where she could feel them. The Dark One’s armies, crawling and scurrying over the collapsed city walls. They were coming for her. There would not be time if she re-entered her body now. They would certainly kill her in the fragile state she would find herself. She had planned to use all of her energy to perform her final spell but now she was out of time. Her only hope would be to finish her work in her current state. She realized the dire consequence of this choice would leave her trapped forever between life and death. Her sacrifice would prevent her from ever crossing over to rejoin her ancestors in the afterlife. For the first time she hesitated. Was it enough that her people had a savior? Would they survive the coming years in the last forest? The Dark One’s power grew every day, and with every season, more and more of the land lay desolate and dead.

  Determined, she straightened and squared her shoulders. She had always put her people first, even before the man she loved. Raspiria began to hum the sacred notes and as she did her life force grew brighter. Thrall released her body from his arms as he caught sight of her spirit form. Even her attendants stood in awe at the sight of her ghostly appearance. She walked calmly over to the altar and placed her hand upon her body’s forehead looking at Thrall. Her eyes pleaded for him to understand. From her body, she drew new energy. One by one, she pointed to and activated the wards on the temple floor until the designs themselves glowed and hummed with the sacred song. The statue of Akril seemed to smile down upon her, and for this, she felt grateful.

  The dark mass of forms drew close, but Raspiria continued to focus her energy. In her mind's eye, she started to pull and tug at the very threads of time and space that surrounded the forest. She began where her people dwelt high above the temple and worked her way down, carefully including the temple in her work to make certain Thrall and her attendants survived. Slowly and gently, she pulled away the bindings, and then ever so carefully, Raspiria nudged them out of sync. When the dark creatures crested the last wall leading up to the temple, there was only a vast and empty mountainside for as far as the eye could see. The Dark One’s servants screeched their frustration, but there was no one left to hear them.

  Thrall watched Raspiria sing her last note. Her eyes grew wide, and her lips parted mouthing his name, but her energy was fading fast and with it his only love. Thrall moved towards her, leaving behind her ashen body. He called her name, looking into those unfathomably blue eyes which had held him captive for so much of his life. They held only tears now. As she reached for his face, she vanished from his sight. He screamed her name into the sky, but no echo answered him. Having been overwhelmed with the pain of his loss, Thrall failed to notice that there was no night sky, no stars, no light, only gray. The gravity of what had transpired was completely lost in his moment of anguish.

  Chapter 4 – The Way Forward

  Miranda awoke to the sound of Gordon rummaging through kitchen cupboards. Her head throbbed as if she had drank too much wine the night before. The sunlight that shone through the gaps in the blinds only amplified the vice-like pain behind her eyes. She groaned as she rolled over, placing her feet on the soft beige carpet of their bedroom floor. Her hair was matted to the side of her head. Memories from last night kept rolling through her mind in bits and pieces. She had dreamt about many strange things, the most alien being the face of an elf queen speaking incomprehensible words. The images were stretched and convoluted by her mind in a vain attempt to make sense of it all.

  She placed her hand on her stomach, where somehow, she felt a new life growing inside her. This much had been made absolutely clear to her. She would give birth to a daughter. The joy she felt at knowing she would finally have a child was mixed with fear by the warnings Raspiria had given. Even now, the visions of the Dark Lord’s armies were fresh in her mind. Raspiria had shown her memories of countless battles. She’d shown her how the Elves were driven back until their only chance at survival was to stay hidden in the last ancient forest. While she knew that Raspiria intended to return and perform a final act of magic that would protect the Elves from the Dark Lord, the details of it had been kept from her. One side of her mind struggled to comprehend it all. The other had difficulty believing any of it had really happened.

  Gordon walked into the room being careful not to make too much noise. She could tell by the way he stepped softly he was hoping she wasn’t as bad off as he feared. In her best attempt at a smile, a kind of tilted grin crossed her face. Gordon smiled back doing his best to imitate her which made her laugh. Instead of a laugh what came out sounded something more like a dry sputter. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her gently.

  “We’re finally going to have that family we always wanted. I can tell you’re ecstatic... well, at least your hair is.”

  Dodging her elbow, he laughed and pulled away. She made a sad face and soon his arm was there, pulling her back into his protective embrace. His big hands rubbed consolation into her sore shoulder muscles. She nestled herself between his grasp and the bed, laying her head in his lap.

  “Did it really happen?”

  He replied, stroking her hair. “I know what you mean. If we hadn’t both been there, I would wonder myself.” Pausing, his eyes seemed to focus far away. “I can tell you for sure she wasn’t human. She said things to my mind that I still can’t quite put into words. One thing I do know, she was telling us what she believed was the truth.”

  Miranda shook her head in acknowledgement. She didn’t need to say a word. She knew he was right.

  Sitting up abruptly, she pulled away from Gordon, “I need to get going and I should see Jade today.” She stood, uncertain for a moment. Her thou
ghts centered on Jade and the rest of the coven. She desperately wanted to know if their experiences had mirrored her own.

  “That’s fine. I have coaching this afternoon and our giant lawn to mow out front, so I’m booked anyway.” He watched Miranda as she steadied and headed for the bathroom.

  Later that morning, Gordon waived as Miranda drove off in their little white sedan. One thing that he didn’t like about being married was all the time he spent tending feelings and repeatedly discussing them. Regardless, he loved Miranda and he did what had to be done to make her happy. He had no regrets, but it was these few hours alone that he relished. It was time he could spend in his head. He preferred the outdoors and the fresh air. He didn’t have to worry about saying the right thing or being the perfect husband.

  Gordon started his afternoon by finding the mower and maneuvering it out of the garage. The lawn was growing at a good clip with unseasonably warm weather. Their dogs, Toby and Judd, lay next to the back porch enjoying the shade. Both watched him lazily as he started to sweat in the hot sun.

  He positioned the mower at the side of the yard looking out over the property. Taking a deep breath, he bent down and pulled the handle on the mower. It sputtered and died. So, the next time he gave it a little more muscle and the pull snapped right out; again, the motor sputtered and died. Now, he stood holding a broken cord next to a useless mower. He slapped the handle angrily, and the metal handle broke too. Gordon stomped off to the garage to retrieve his tools, throwing the useless cord on the ground. He needed to fix the old mower again, and this time he would do it up right. Upon reaching the garage door, he turned the doorknob, and it snapped right off in his hand. He stood there holding the weathered brass handle, the ball rolling around in his hand like a child’s toy. He swore under his breath and opened the door by the hole where the handle had been.

  He made his way around his old pickup truck and noted the familiar musty and oily smell of the garage as Raspiria’s words bubbled up in the back of his mind.

  “I call on your strength that you may serve and protect. Your gift is that of a provider and caretaker. Your strength shall never falter even if it may seem impossible, you shall overcome.”

  Gordon dropped the door handle into the small tin garbage can. It clanked as it hit the sides and settled at the bottom. He proceeded to search the shelves for the tools he would need to fix the mower and maybe attempt something with the door handle. Again, his mind drifted to what Raspiria had said, but he had a hard time believing that she had meant literal, physical strength. Could she have made him stronger? Stopping for a moment he flexed his arm muscle feeling its circumference with his other hand, but he couldn’t tell. While he did lift weights regularly to stay in shape, he had no way of telling if he was suddenly stronger, but something did feel different. He just wasn’t sure what it was.

  Chapter 5 – Choices

  Miranda’s sunglasses dampened the sun’s glare as she drove to Jade’s place. It was only ten short minutes from her house. She glanced in the mirror at her hair combed and styled down the middle. Her hair was not quite curly but not straight either and her small, rounded nose matched her ample cheeks that had a natural rosy hue. Her dark brown eyes were the only thing that hinted at her Native American ancestry, even though her grandmother’s skin was dark as chocolate and her hair was black as they come. It was funny how quickly blood lines faded into commonality. It seemed like everything in life just faded into sameness, which in a way had been a tale of her own life up until recently. She married Gordon just out of high school which was no surprise to anyone since they had been together from the beginning of their Junior year. The only abnormal thing about their perfect marriage had been her inability to have children, but that too would be erased, another tick on her average life chart.

  At that moment though, something clicked in her mind. A vision of Raspiria, a beautiful Elf with long pointed ears and eyes of ice blue. Would her own child look like Raspiria? Would she have to explain or even hide her child? Suddenly the excitement and the idea of being completely normal faded, and with its departure, anxiety swept in to take its place.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the big yellow house that belonged to Ebony Pera. Ebony and her husband Jake were horrible people. Once Ebony caught wind that she had joined a coven, there wasn't a soul in town that didn’t know about it within days. For a while, Ebony and Jake had the nerve to call her out in public places. The worst of it happened to her at the grocery store one Saturday afternoon. Miranda had just rounded the corner leaving the bread aisle in Straughsby’s grocery store and there they stood.

  With Ebony’s usual fake smile and better than you smirk, she said, “So you’re a witch now huh? What are you going to do, turn us all into crickets and eat us?”

  Her tall gangly shape was disguised under her form fitted summer dress of pale blue. Her short hair was bobbed and the highlights in her garish brown hair seemed as fake as her smile. Her hands were at her hips, and she leaned a little too far forward which made her seem even more menacing.

  Jake, with his chubby square face and pronounced, bushy eyebrows, shook his bloated finger at her. “You know witches are of the devil and you will go to hell for it.”

  The self-righteous glint in his eyes enraged Miranda, but that was exactly what he wanted. She had been caught so off guard that she just turned around. Her face grew red, and tears started to well up. To her shame, she hadn’t said one word in her own defense. When she noticed the people around her had stopped to listen and stare, the tears flowed over and down her cheeks. She abandoned her grocery cart and nearly ran out the front doors.

  It took some time for the talk about their coven to finally quiet down, but Ebony and Jake still took great pleasure in denouncing the witches at their church. A sympathetic friend would often relay to her the latest trash talk from Ebony and Jake. He took great pleasure in reminding their congregation about the dangers posed by the local witches. She told herself she didn’t care anymore and had more important things to worry about than what Jake or Ebony might say about her and her friends.

  After a few more minutes Miranda pulled into Jade’s place. It was a little brown one-story bungalow that was barely visible through all the trees and bushes surrounding it. The miniature jungle stood proudly as a testament to her tender care. Miranda felt a little bit like a kid again each time she walked up the natural stone pathway that led to Jade’s front door.

  As she made her way, she ducked under a branch of an over laden pear tree and dodged sunflowers that hung a little too close. After ascending the front steps, a faded white door stood square in its frame. Miranda knocked gently remembering that she had not called prior to coming over. Jade never seemed to mind, but Miranda hated unannounced guests herself; so, she hoped the circumstances surrounding her unexpected arrival would make it okay.

  There was the sound of giggling and several pairs of footsteps behind the door. It opened to reveal Claudia, Lacy and Atrea all whispering and talking so that she couldn’t quite make out what was being said. Claudia, as if remembering that she had to play the adult, welcomed her with a big hug, while Lacy and Atrea simply stared at her.

  “Ignore those two,” Claudia said, giving them a dismissive look. “They are still a little fuzzy from last night’s wine... well that and maybe a little bit... let’s just say they’re happy for you.”

  “Come in,” both Lacy and Atrea said, pulling her by the wrists into the house that smelled of fresh pumpkin muffins. Jade was the eternal baker and never failed to fill her home with the aromas of old-fashioned cooking. The entryway led past the cozy front room with a cast iron stove quietly waiting for winter to arrive. The small couch and sofa were littered with blankets betraying Jade’s love for sleeping or curling up with a good book.