The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 23

"Because, you know, when the first time you try to impress a girl by summoning the dead doesn't work out, the logical next step is to try again... on Halloween," Cassie sighed.

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Duplantier House, Willow Creek, 2000

Edwards drove us all back to the house, pirate-Alexander having looted and pillaged Foundry Cove for all the candy he could carry. Poor Edwards. Bella was still at work, so he really had no choice but to stay with Alexander when I announced that I was heading over to Duplantier House with my friends. I know he wasn't happy about it, but I wasn't going to be stopped.

So, still dressed in our Halloween best, we trouped over to Carmilla's and headed up to the seance room. I think her grandmother was at some charity event and her mother... I seriously wonder if she was ever at home. 

At least we weren't in our underwear this time.

"Clear your minds," I commanded. "Focus on the sound of the rain - tapping against the window like phantom fingers. Focus on the wind - blowing through the bare branches of the autumn trees. Focus on the smell of the dried flowers - the smell of sweetness and death. Open yourselves to the Netherworld."

I could feel the magic filling me up... cold and dark and hungry. The magic of the Netherworld. 

"Claude René Duplantier Guidry, we call you," I chanted. "Here, in your house. Here, with your blood. We call you!"

I could feel the Veil around me, a tattered lace curtain lashing in the cold wind of that power. My power.

"Claude René Duplantier Guidry, we call you," I repeated. "Come to us. Come to us. Come to us."

"You don' need to shout, cher," said a rich, accented voice. "I heard you. Everybody heard you. This is the problem."

"You're... you're here!" I gasped.

OK, I admit it. I was actually stunned. The seances I'd performed with my father had made the lights flicker, knocked over the occasional knick-knack and called up the spectral voices that babbled nonsense more often than offering Otherworldly wisdom. We'd never actually called up a genuine, full-bodied ghost. Much later, my father would confess to me just how much he had held back.

"Who's here? You mean Guidry's here? Where?" Molly asked, looking around. "What are you guys looking at?"

Not everyone can actually see ghosts. I could. Gwen could, naturally. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Carmilla could. Molly couldn't.

"Of course I'm here, cher," Guidry said. "I live here. Well, I don't live here, obviously. I'm a ghost. I haunt here. It is my family house after all. Have to haunt somewhere. Usually, I don't make a fuss about it. You hardly know I'm here at all."

"You didn't appear the last time we called," I said.

"Well, cher, it didn't seem it would be gentlemanly of me to pop up with you all in your lovely night clothes," Guidry smiled, then grew more serious. "But that night's why I'm here now. Your lovely friend has the right of it... you've caused quite a disturbance."

"I told you," Gwen said softly.

"What do mean, we caused a disturbance?" I asked, feeling a sudden chill.

"The last time you called me, you fairly shouted down the walls of the world," Guidry said seriously, "and tonight, you've gone and finished the job. The Veil is thin here at the best of times. Now, cher, the Veil is torn."

"Torn?" I blinked. "What do you mean? Why would a seance tear the Veil?"

"An ordinary seance shouldn't, but you're not an ordinary bunch." Guidry looked significantly at all of us. "You didn't just brush the Veil aside. You punched clear through it."

"The balance between the World of the Living and the Netherworld has been disturbed," he continued, "and it's only going to get worse. Otherworldly objects are already starting to appear here. Specters - the manifestations of forgotten dreams and old nightmares - will follow. As more and more come through, the situation will get worse. The Netherworld will bleed through... and that's dangerous for all of us. The Realms of the Living and the Dead aren't meant to coexist."

"Oh," I said weakly. I broke the world. Well, that's one way to impress a girl.

"So, what can we do? I mean, you can fix this, right?" I said.

"I can't fix it, cher. I'm dead," Guidry said. "But, like I said, you're not an ordinary bunch. You can fix this. You need to restore the balance between the worlds and heal the breach."

"Restore the balance. Heal the breach... between worlds," I repeated, a little stunned.

"Before the situation gets out of hand," Guidry nodded.

"So, we ripped a hole in the world and now we have to fix it!?" Molly demanded.

Guidry, his dire warnings given, had disappeared. Stunned, we'd all gone downstairs and tried our best to explain everything to Molly, who by that point was feeling very left out.

"That's about it, yes," Gwen nodded.

"How do you fix a rip in the world?" Molly asked. "Do you have a cosmic sewing kit laying around?"

"Well, no," Gwen smiled. "Unfortunately, I don't know much Netherworld magic. It was an elective at my old school... and I took Art instead."

"Right," Molly said skeptically. "What was your old school again? Hogwarts!?"

"I started reading one of those books," Gwen mused. "I didn't like it. It felt like there was a meanness in the writer." 

"Anyway," I cut in before we got sidetracked. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Absolutely," Carmilla said. "It's like Guidry said... we're not ordinary. We can do this."

"How?" Molly pressed.

"Well," I said, taking a deep breath. "Oh... I know. Guidry said we need to restore the balance between worlds. My father's talked about a balancing ceremony, for handling spiritual disturbances..."

"And you know how to do this balancing ceremony?" Molly asked.

"No," I admitted, "but I'm sure I can figure it out."

"I may be able to help," Gwen said.

"I thought you said you didn't know much about the Netherworld," Molly said.

"I don't," Gwen smiled, "but I know someone who knows a lot more magic than I do. I'm sure he'll help."

"Great," Carmilla said. "Cas will figure out this balancing ceremony and Gwen will reach out to her friend for help. We'll meet back here tomorrow night and fix this. No problem. We've totally got this."

We totally didn't have this.

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Author's Note: So, the Hogwarts reference... This story is set in the year 2000, albeit in an alternate world, but still when those books were both popular and acceptable (and there are several references to them in the Sims game). It wasn't until 2018 that the author outed herself as an anti-LGBTQ+ bigot. So, it seemed appropriate for Molly to bring them up. It also seemed appropriate for Gwen to dismiss them. Gwen's comment concerning the "meanness" of the author is meant to be reflective of her sensitivity... she recognizes something most of us missed at the time.

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 22

 "Halloween," Cassie said. "It's funny how when things really start to happen, they happen all at once..."

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Ophilia Villa, Willow Creek, 2000

Father and I had done our annual séance to contact my mother the evening before, but my heart hadn't been in it. I felt none of the strange, heightened awareness or dark, shivering energy that had come over me during the séance at the sleepover. Instead, as my father reached out to the Netherworld, I was thinking about Roac's message, my mother's Book and my magic... it's hard to believe it had only been about a week... and I was thinking about Gwen.

Foundry Cove, Willow Creek, 2000

The next day, Halloween itself, father was off to Del Sol for some meetings with the studio about the Raven Academy movies. Bella was off working too, doing something I assumed was incredibly boring for TransWorld (which shows what I knew).

That left me and Edwards to take Alexander trick or treating... not that I minded. Carmilla, Molly and I always dressed up, and now Gwen was joining us. With all the strange things Gwen didn't get, she totally got Halloween.

So, all of us dressed in our best costumes, Edwards drove us over to Foundry Cove to pick up Gwen.

"What do you think?" Gwen asked, as she showed us her costume.

"You're... an elf princess," I said, smiling.

"Well, I couldn't decide what to wear, and you kind of suggested the idea yesterday," Gwen said. 

"You put that together since yesterday?" I said, shocked.

"Lilian did most of the work," Gwen admitted. "She had lots of the bits and pieces laying around. She even helped me with my hair."

"How did you do the ears?" Molly asked. 

It was the first time any of us had seen her with her hair back. The first time I saw the way her ears taper to a point. 

"What do you mean?" Gwen looked puzzled.

"I think you look gorgeous," Alexander said with a smile. 

"Thank you, Alexander," Gwen gave him a brilliant smile. Then she pulled my little brother into a warm hug.

I might have laughed nervously, but any suggestion that I was struck by a sudden wave of jealousy toward my 12-year-old brother is not open for further discussion.

"I really like your costumes," Gwen said, "but Molly... what are you dressed as?"

"I'm a Rebel pilot," Molly said. "You know, from Star Wars."

"Star... wars?" Gwen said, puzzled. "When did those happen?"

"It's a movie," I said hastily.

"Come on, we have candy to get," Alexander insisted.

We followed Alexander and Edwards, and Molly enthusiastically explained the plot of Star Wars to Gwen... laying the foundation for Gwen's future secret geek-ness.

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"I like Star Wars," Gwen said serenely. "Wise, Yoda is."

"Seriously?" Mariah laughed.

"I swear, half of early magical training was 'do or do not, there is no try'," Miranda smiled.

"Anyway..." Cassie said, shaking her head.

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While Molly told Gwen about events 'A long time ago in a galaxy, far, far, away,' Carmilla shared some things of more pressing concern.

"I think it worked!" Carmilla told me.

"What worked?" I said, confused. I was thinking about Gwen, and I was pretty sure nothing I had said or done had worked.

"The séance!" she explained. "The one we did at the sleepover. I think we really called up Guidry!"

"No," I said. "Nothing happened."

"But it has," Carmilla insisted. "Come on, I need to tell you guys all about it."

We let Alexander and Edwards continue around the cul-de-sac while Gwen took us over to Foundry Cove's little park.

"So, I was just telling Cas," Carmilla started again, "I think our séance worked. We really called up Guidry."

"I knew something weird happened," Molly said breathlessly.

"I'm not sure," I said. I just wasn't happy with how 'interested' Gwen seemed to be in what Carmilla was saying... or was she just interested in Carmilla.

"No, hear me out," Carmilla insisted.

"Ever since the sleepover, I've been hearing weird noises in the night," Carmilla said. 

"Well, you know how old houses are," I countered.

"Yes, I do," Carmilla said, unphased. "This is totally different. Lights flickering, footsteps and whispers... when there's no one there!"

"Whoa," Molly breathed, awed.

"What does it feel like?" Gwen asked. 

"Like someone is watching me," Carmilla said. "Like they're just around the corner or... sneaking up behind me."

"I knew it," Gwen said. "I said it to Cas... we disturbed something that night."

"You think it's Guidry?" I said, trying to sound tough and clever and not at all jealous that Gwen seemed to be hanging on Carmilla's every word.

"I'm telling you I can totally feel his presence in the house," Carmilla said. "The séance called him, and he came."

"Are you sure it's Guidry?" Gwen asked. "Because... well, are you sure the presence you're feeling isn't angry?"

"Maybe he's frustrated," Carmilla said. "Maybe he couldn't come all the way through... but tonight, tonight is Halloween. Maybe he'll finally be able to manifest!"

"I don't know much about Netherworld magic," Gwen admitted, "but tonight is Samhain... one of the liminal times when it's easiest to pass between worlds."

"I know," Carmilla smiled. "We could totally call him up this time!"

"Yes, I could," I said firmly. After all, if the first séance had contacted Guidry, it was because I was leading it. So, I was the one who could do it again... and then Gwen would be giving me that look.

"So, let's do this!" Carmilla said.

The Raven's Apprentice - Third Interlude, part 2

TransWorld Office Building, Magnolia Promenade, 2000

"You do know that Bond films don't count as training videos, right?" Bella laughed. "For either agents or dating..."

"Yeah, but training videos are boring," Felix answered. "How's it going, Hans?"

"Director Bridges is expecting you," the director's administrative assistant said with a sigh. "Go right in."

"Agent Goth, Agent Light, take a seat," Director Bridges said cooly. "We need to discuss the current status of Operation Blazer. Your latest report is causing concern in certain quarters."

"There's no need for anyone to be concerned," Bella replied. 

"Your report indicates there have been dramatic spikes in psychokinetic energy at a Willow Creek residence... Duplantier House... and the start of these spikes coincides with the subject's activities there three nights ago," Director Bridges pointed out. "That's not cause for concern?"

"With respect, Director," Felix put in, "PKE spikes in Willow Creek are like earthquakes in San My... small scale events are pretty much daily, or in this case nightly, occurrences. In fact, there's a theory that the underlying causes are analogous... a kind of psychic fault line running through the town."

"I'm familiar with the theory," Director Brides replied. "I believe Agent Goth's husband is one of its main proponents, in fact."

"That doesn't make it less valid," Bella said calmly. 

"The opposite, in fact," Director Bridges nodded. "Research considers Mortimer Goth a respected expert in the field. None of that changes the fact that the readings you have recorded suggest these are not 'small scale events.'"

"Well, it's like earthquakes," Felix said. "Most you don't even notice, some you do, a few rattle the table."

"You want me to go back to the Committee with 'a few rattle the table'?" Director Bridges said skeptically. "They're going to want more than that. Was the subject involved or not?"

"Well, Director, we... uh... don't know for sure," Felix admitted.

"We didn't have eyes on the subject's activity on the night in question," Bella sighed.

"Why not?" Director Bridges said.

"I felt, and Agent Goth agreed, that a large black man peeking through the windows at a teenage girls' slumber party might be misinterpreted by the Willow Creek police," Felix smiled. "And I'm too pretty for jail."

"There are these things called cameras," Director Bridges suggested.

"We had placed several inside the residence," Bella said. "They all failed, which is not unusual. PKE disturbances routinely wreak havoc on electronics. Agent Light was monitoring from outside with infrared, but there is nothing unusual on the recording."

"Yeah, it was pretty tame," Felix said. "I was hoping for at least... you know...  a little woo if not the full hoo."

"That will do, Agent Light," Director Bridges said coldly.

"Yes, Director. Sorry, Director." Felix had the courtesy to look abashed.

"Do you have anything else to add to Agent Light's inappropriate comments, Agent Goth?" Director Bridges said.

"Agent Light may benefit from sensitivity training," Bella started.

"Not again," Felix groaned.

"But I specifically requested him for this op," Bella continued, ignoring him. "Not only is he a surveillance expert, he has one of the highest ESPer ratings outside of Section 6. If Felix says these PKE spikes aren't cause for concern, I trust his judgement and I would say so to the Committee."

"Alright," Director Bridges sighed. "Continue to monitor the situation. I want regular updates, especially if there are more significant 'tremors' around this girl."

The Raven's Apprentice - Third Interlude, part 1

TransWorld Building, Magnolia Prominade, 2000

To the casual visitor, should one be granted access, TransWorld's fitness room would probably seem surprisingly well equipped. That same casual visitor might also notice the general level of fitness and athleticism among the employees, especially the field representatives. Still, lots of companies encouraged fitness.

Bella wondered what that hypothetical observer would think should they learn about the "field reps" marksmanship scores. 

Her feet hit the treadmill in a smooth, tireless rhythm. Even among the field agents, she was considered exceptional. Enhancement had its advantages, including increased stamina...

Classified Research Facility, Undisclosed Location, 1978

"... increased strength and accelerated healing, which will likely be accompanied by increased longevity provided no other factors intervene," the medical technical was telling Doctor Key.

He was an odd one, the medical tech, Bella thought. The physical exam he'd given her had been so dispassionate that she'd deliberately tried to entice him, without much success. A flicker of interest but nothing more. Still, even that made him seem a little more normal than Key.

"Her health?" Key asked coolly.

"Frankly perfect," the medical tech replied. He'd called himself Smith, Bella thought with a scoff. "No sign of cancer or other abnormalities."

"Cognition?" Key continued.

"Excellent," Smith said. "She scores high for abstract reasoning and memory. Her ESPer score is within normal range for Natives, but on the high side. It's probably for the best. Almost all subjects with higher ESPer scores also showed significant mental instability."

"Subjects with physical enhancements showed a high risk for cancers," Key mused.

"Terminal within the first year, for 93.4% of subjects," Smith agreed, "but as I said, she shows no signs or precursors."

"A success for the program," Key said. "Even with the low ESPer rating." 

"I wanted to talk to you about that, Senior Researcher," Smith said hesitantly. "A stable hybrid of this quality is exceptional. The Pollination Board will want to examine the subject."

"Your superiors want to know what they did right," Key scoffed. "No. You're free to show them your results and I will provide a reasonable number of samples on request, but the subject is mine."

"I imagine they will insist," Smith said.

"Imagine? An interesting word, PT9553. One might imagine you were going native," Key mused. "As for the Pollination Board, remind them that the Leadership has given me complete authority over Section 6 and its... members. I have designated Bella Bachelor as a Section 6 member. That is the end of the matter."

TransWorld Office Building, Magnolia Prominade, 2000

 A deep rich voice called Bella back to the present.

"Bella. Hello, Bella. You in there?"

"Sorry... thinking," Bella said. "You should try it sometime, Felix. A change of pace can be good."

Felix chuckled, "Why mess with what works. The boss wants us in her office, ASAP. Grapevine says our latest report's getting attention... the kind we don't want."

"Damn," Bella breathed.

"Tell her assistant we'll be up in 15," Bella continued, climbing off the treadmill. "I'm grabbing a quick shower. Bridges wants to see me, not smell me." 

"You need any help washing your back?" Felix leered amiably.

"At ease, Agent Light," Bella smirked. 

The Raven's Apprentice - Chapter 21

"It was a couple of days before Gwen and I had a chance to get together," Cassie said. "She was busy with her advanced art projects while we were at school, and outside of school Bella was getting in our way. She was subtle about it. I mean, she didn't act like I was in trouble or anything. She just insisted that I come straight home after school."

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Foundry Cove, Willow Creek, 2000

She couldn't keep it up though. My father and Edwards were both on my side.

In the end Edwards just announced that, that afternoon after school, he was going to stop and see Mr. Brown. Since that would be right after picking me up, I had to go along. He'd bring me home straight after. My father had agreed that that would be fine. 

Whatever Bella thought of that, she'd clearly been outmaneuvered by my father the chess master.

"Hello, Cas," Mrs. Brown said. "Gwen's out back... being imaginative as Doug says."

I wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but honestly, I didn't care. I had lots of things I wanted to talk to Gwen about. Her being somewhere on her own, away from adults, would surely just make things easier. 

Walking around the Browns' house, I was more nervous than I was prepared to admit. Over the past few days, I'd been playing this conversation over and over in my head, imagining what I was going to tell Gwen. 

How was I going to explain to her that magic was really real? What could I show her to prove it (that didn't involve setting anything on fire... which I had semi-seriously considered doing)? What could I do to make her think I was girl she should be interested in? Was that even what I really wanted? Finally, what would I do if, despite all the odd things she said, she didn't believe me? 

As I rounded the corner, I heard Gwen's voice singing what sounded very like the magical words from my mother's Book of Shadows. (In fact, that was exactly what they were... she just had a better idea of how to pronounce them.)

She held a short, gnarled stick in her hand, and it moved in a graceful arc as if it was an extension of her own arm. Even as I watched, her enchanted song reached a crescendo and a shower of sparks exploded from the tip of the magic wand, like tiny fireworks.

The small, blue, glowing, winged figure hovering over her shoulder chimed in what sounded distinctly like approval.

"G... Gwen," I stammered. I was completely floored. Every part of my practiced conversations vanished from my mind, which was just as well as clearly most of them weren't important now anyway. 

"Oh, hi Cas," Gwen smiled brightly, as if magic wands and tiny, glowing winged people were just a normal part of her afternoon.

"I... what... who... how?" I stammered on.

"Oh, this is Bluebell," Gwen said, nodding to the tiny, flowing winged person. "She's an old friend of the family."

Bluebell chimed a greeting at me that I could almost understand, which did nothing to make me feel better.

"Hi," I replied weakly. 

"That's a... she's a... she's a fairy," I said. 

"Yes," Gwen said, nodding patiently as one might to a nervous child. 

"... and that was... magic," I continued, shock shifting into growing excitement. "You... you do magic."

"Yes," Gwen nodded again. "I thought I should get some practice because I really think we disturbed something..."

"Oh my God," I laughed, not really listening. "You can do magic! This is so great! I mean... I can too! My mother's book... the one the raven told you about... it's a magic book and I've been trying to learn the spells and I can do magic and youcandomagic and wecanbothdomagic! Real magic!"

I don't really know how long it took me to calm down, but it felt like either seconds or hours.

("It was probably a couple of minutes actually," Gwen offered).

In my defense, I wasn't the only one of us who was excited. Gwen was just as eager to have someone to really share things with. Anyway, once I did calm down, we actually managed to start talking.

Gwen told me a lot of her story and how she came to be in Willow Creek... which, since we spent the last few hours talking about that, I won't repeat in detail. I did have some questions about it, however.

"So, let me get this straight," I said. "You're a witch... from, like, one of the leading witch families... and your family were killed in a feud with vampires. Vampires are real? Like really real?"

"Really very real," Gwen nodded, "and not nearly as cool as Carmilla thinks."

"So, vampires, witches... are other... um, things, real?" I asked.

"Oh yes," Gwen said. "Fairies, obviously, and ghosts. Gnomes, mermaids, werewolves, svartalves..."

"Smart elves?" I blinked.

"Svartalves," Gwen corrected. "They're... artificers. Builders. Scientists and engineers, I guess you'd say. They're from another Realm, like witches were. In fact, in the old language, we were originally called alfar... so, when we encountered them, we called them svartalfar."

"Alfar... wait... you're an elf?!" I gasped. "You're an elf princess on the run from vampires?!

"I'm not a princess," Gwen scoffed. "I'm just the heir of one of the First Families... which I guess puts me in line for a seat on the Council and... oh, crap!"

"You're an elf princess on the run from vampires," I insisted. "It's like something out of one of Alexander's games." 

"Wait... am I an elf?" I added.

"Almost all born witches have some alfar heritage," Gwen said, "but our people have been intermarrying with madr... mortals... for centuries. From what you've told me, your mother was a witch, and your father has some witch ancestors, so you were born a witch. It's just taken until now for your powers to start to manifest."

That was about the time Edwards interrupted us. "Cas, it's time to... what in Heaven?" 

"Hello, Edwards," Gwen said, standing to greet him. 

Behind her, Bluebell streaked off like an errant blue bottle rocket. Whatever lack of concern the fairy felt about being discovered by me clearly didn't extend to Edwards.

"Is it time to go?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. 

"What was...? Um... yes," Edwards stammered. "Yes, we don't want to make your mother too cross."

"Good point," I sighed. "This has been... amazing, Gwen."

"We've got lots more to talk about," she smiled at me, "but we can do that another day."

Another day. 

After all, we had time.

It wasn't like anything bad was going to happen.