here? Someone who we can’t see?” The girl fearfully shot Ellen a ‘caught red handed’ look. “I assure you, you’re among friends. So if you see someone… or some spirit that we can’t see, we will believe you.”
The girl hesitated before nodding and saying shyly, “I can see ghosts, and a ghost had come in with you.”
“A ghost had come in with me?” Ellen asked in a surprised tone.
The girl glanced at the invisible someone before saying shyly, “Yes, and she’s here now.”
“Is she my Great-Grandma Gloria?” Ellen quickly asked.
The girl glanced at the ghost before saying shyly, “Her name is Eleanor…”
“Eleanor?!” Ellen echoed in a surprised tone. “Eleanor Thorne?”
The girl glanced at the ghost before nodding.
“Who’s Eleanor Thorne?” Karla asked.
“She’s my ancestor who had lived in the 1400s,” Ellen said as the girl made a gesture as if she was listening to Eleanor. “I had just started reading her volume last night, which her volume is actually the oldest original volume in my collection out of three originals.”
“Eleanor says that there’s a cloaking ritual in one of the volumes that you have,” the girl said shyly.
“Wait!” Ellen strongly requested. “What all has Eleanor told you?”
The girl glanced at the ghost before saying shyly, “You like to begin by telling the person who you are informing that you’re related to Merlin and allowing the person to form his or her own conclusion before continuing on.”
“So you know what I am?” Ellen questioned.
“You’re a sorceress,” the girl said shyly. “And Eleanor wants you to cast that cloaking ritual before that wizard in New Orleans discovers your location.”
“Hold up,” Ellen requested. “Before we continue this discussion, I would like to know your name.”
The girl stared timidly at Ellen before saying nervously, “It’s… it’s Andie.”
“Nice to meet you, Andie; I’m Ellen,” she began before pointing out the others. “Meet Everett, Jessica, Karla and Simon.”
“Hi,” Everett and Simon told Andie.
Jessica and Karla just waved.
“Allen is a part of our group too, and he’s at the food table while getting something to eat,” Ellen continued.
“Okay,” Andie said shyly while glancing towards the food table.
“Now getting back to the cloaking incantation,” Ellen began. “There are actually two in my family’s volumes. One is for a large group and it has a one-minute duration so the incantation has to be continuously repeated to be effective. I’m very doubtful that, that incantation is the one that Eleanor is referring to.”
Andie glanced at Eleanor before agreeing shyly, “It’s not.”
“Now the second cloaking incantation is a permanent one and it’s for individuals,” Ellen continued. “Jess and I learned about it during our cram-session to learn as many defensive incantations as we could in one night. There’s also a warning notation next to it that was written out by one of my ancestors that the incantation has side-effects; side-effects that I’m not willing to live with, so that’s out.”
“What kind of side-effects?” Everett quickly asked.
“One-fourth of the wizards who had cast that incantation had undergone a severe personality change after the incantation was cast, and I like my personality the way it is, thank you very much,” Ellen informed. “Plus, the attraction that the animals have for me would be lost, and I’m not willing to give that up.”
“That wizard will find you if you don’t cast that incantation,” Andie warned shyly.
“Good,” Ellen retorted. “He’s hurting people, and he needs to be stopped, so it just means that I won’t have to hunt him down.”
Andie glanced at the ghost before saying shyly, “Eleanor says that what you are planning is a mistake.”
“Since I’m the one who has to choose on if I listen to someone’s advice or not, the outcome of the advice solely rests on me and no one else,” Ellen began. “So if it’s a mistake not to cast the incantation, then it’s my mistake. And hey, if this mistake kills me, then it kills me and not a polar likeness of me.”
“Eleanor says that you are a fool,” Andie said shyly.
“Yeah, well, me being accused of being a fool isn’t going to change my mind,” Ellen retorted. “And out of curiosity… Grandma Eleanor. Are you the one to give me those missing pages through Spencer?”
Andie nodded before saying shyly, “She says, ‘yes.’”
“I thought it was my Great-Grandma Gloria,” Ellen said as if to herself. She then saw that Andie was acting as if she was listening to Eleanor. “Is Eleanor saying something else?”
Andie nodded before saying shyly, “Your Great-Grandma Gloria was killed by the Dark Ritual, and nothing of a person survives that ritual.”
“What does that mean?” Ellen questioned in a confused tone.
Andie looked towards Eleanor before saying shyly, “The body and soul are both changed into energy and that energy gets absorbed by the wizard or sorceress performing the ritual.”
“I didn’t know that,” Ellen said sullenly while giving Jessica a remorse look.
Jessica saw the look that Ellen was giving her and replied, “My dad had filled Karla and me in on the terrible things that our grandfather had done. So as far as I’m concern, when we performed that Dark Ritual on my grandfather, we did what we had to do to survive.”
Ellen gave Jessica a sympathetic nod before turning her attention back to the current matter.
“Anyway, Grandma Eleanor,” Ellen began while looking at no one. “Thanks for the warning, but I’ll come up with another defense other than casting that cloaking spell.”
Andie listened to what Eleanor had to say before saying shyly, “She says that before you, she had found ways to help the others who had ownership of her volume; however, not one of them was as difficult as you are being.”
Ellen slightly grinned before saying, “Your solution is unreasonable, Grandma Eleanor. So find another solution… a reasonable solution and I’ll consider it.”
Again Andie listened to what Eleanor had to say before saying shyly, “The wizard in New Orleans practices Immortal Magic, and the only solution for you not to be killed is that cloaking spell.”
“Well, that’s one solution that is definitely out,” Ellen began. “And what in hell is Immortal Magic, Grandma Eleanor?”
A
