Introduction: There are many people in the universe of The Wizard and Spells R Us who are not very happy with what he’s done to them. One transformee decides to take steps necessary to eliminate The Wizard once and for all. She gathers a group of equally disgruntled victims of The Wizard’s magic, and they try to put together a plan. Will they succeed?

Our four protagonist discuss what they are going to do in light of what they’ve discovered. They decided to press on. They realize why their parents are trying to kill The Wizard. The three newly blonde bullies and their mothers meet with Dr. Bettencourt, aka The Wizard. The mothers want the best for their bad boys, as long as the boys really want it. Guess what? Two more conspirators drop out.

This story is another addition to The Cynthia Chronicles, Volume II. Cynthia (Cindy) Brewer has graduated from medical school. Randi Lewis at age 18 is starting work on her Master of Science in Chemistry, and Charli Brewer is a freshman in pre-med at UConn. Bobbie Anderson is setting the golf world on fire having now won tournaments on the PGA in addition to her many victories on the LPGA. This story takes place several years before Bobbie and the Glass Ceiling. If you are not familiar with the stories that make up the Cynthia Chronicles, you might want to go back to the beginning with An Incremental Journey

---

 

This work is copyrighted by the author and any publication or distribution without the written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of the characters to persons living or dead is coincidental.

---

 

Cynthia and the Queen of the Knight
 

Chapter 6

“I think this whole idea of ours to include a cave in our ecology study may not have been that good an idea,” Tom said. “We may be biting off more than we could chew. Not only that, there just aren’t that many caves in Connecticut, let alone close to where we are. It takes a bunch of limestone under the right conditions to allow caves to form. There just isn’t that much limestone around here. If we were in Maine, it would be a different matter.”

“What about the map that Mr. Temple gave us,” Ivan asked. “Didn’t he indicate a place that would be perfect for our project?”

“He did. Let me look at that map,” Tom said. “You’re right. He’s put a big red X on a place about 10 miles north of here. I don’t think the geology’s right there, but we certainly can take a look.”

The four had gathered at Tom’s house on Sunday afternoon. They’d discovered that they all enjoyed computer gaming, well Paul not so much. Paul liked the more intellectually challenging games that didn’t require a lot of action. Tom was a bit in between. Pappy and Ivan could really get involved in some of the action fantasy games.

“We have a little time before we really need to get to work; however, we’d better get down to the nitty-gritty. Mr. Temple wants an outline of what our plan is in three weeks. I think we need to check out that area out as soon as possible,” Tom said

“There’s plenty of time this afternoon to at least take a look at the site. I want to make sure it can provide us with the opportunity to put together a good project. Each of us has our set of strengths. We’ll be able to see things from different perspectives.”

“I’ll let the folks know we’re going out for a while. You might want to do the same.”

As Tom said, the drive to the proposed site was not too difficult. The map Mr. Temple provided was quite detailed, and led Tom to a country lane. Just past a small cemetery they found a gravel road leading to a small valley. An official appearing sign indicated “Advent Cave State Park”. In addition to the main sign, an information board at a small parking area posted some rules for visitor conduct. It included admonitions against damaging cave features and littering.

“This is really strange,” Tom remarked as the group looked around. “The geology changed considerably when we left the road. I wouldn’t have expected this type of terrain; however, here it is.”

“What do you mean?” Ivan asked.

“This is karst limestone: perfect for cave development. That looks like a small sink hole over there. That’s a major indicator of cave development.”

The group followed Tom as he led them down a slight hill. They stopped next to a stone building that had a small stream running out of an opening. The stream ran across a meadow and disappeared down the slope of another sinkhole. A nearby sign said “No Unauthorized Entry to Advent Cave”.

They opened the creaky door to the stone house. There wasn’t much to see in the dim light that came through several openings near where the stone walls joined the roof.

“That’s what I thought,” Tom said as he peered around the room. “We’re not supposed to be here yet.”

“I think I know what you’re talking about,” Paul said. “This is magic, isn’t it?”

“No question about it,” Tom replied. “This is all being set up for us, and Mr. Temple is involved somehow. Our parents, that Wizard, those witches, even those three morons are all involved in this. This is really going to be interesting.

“Has anyone gone through those packs we bought the other day?” The others shook their heads.

“Well, I did. It’s impossible to get everything that is in them in them. I half-filled my bedroom with stuff that came out of that bag. There must have been a hundred pounds of stuff in there. It couldn’t possibly fit, but it did, and it weighed only twenty pounds when filled. We could go on a safari with what’s in there.

“Okay, next Saturday we come back with our packs. Believe it or not, there’re hard hats with lamps in there. We’ll need those before we enter the cave.

“Please come in ladies. I’m Dr. Bettencourt. Boys, you will wait in the reception area. Do not touch anything. You may read the magazines and watch TV if you wish.”

Dr. Bettencourt looked very nice in slacks, pressed shirt and lab coat. His long grey hair was in a neat pony tail, and his beard was trimmed neatly close. “Right this way ladies. I can see we have quite a bit to talk about.” He led them to a pleasant office where there were four chairs already set up with a ‘master’ chair facing three comfortable looking chairs.

“From what you told me, Mrs. Mefisto, this whole thing happened rather suddenly.”

“Yes, Doctor, two nights ago I came home to find my son looking like you saw him. I had been pretty sure that he’d been sneak wearing my undergarments, something he freely admitted to me. He said some witches told him and his friends to go get their hair done.” The two other mothers nodded in agreement.

“The funny thing was he seemed to enjoy it. He said it was something that he wanted to do for a long time. As you undoubtedly noticed, he insisted on wearing one of my dresses when he came here. He even wore it to school. The funny thing is that no one but a select few seem to even notice his change. My macho husband hasn’t said a thing. And apparently, no one at his school has noticed anything unusual. He said he’d been in deep conflict, and that was why he’d been such a trouble maker. I didn’t think he even knew what that meant.”

“Let me add something,” Mrs. Davis, Clyde’s mother said. “I came home to find my son looking like a princess. He was checking himself out in the mirror, and he kept saying, “I don’t want to be a girl. I don’t want to be a girl.”

“The thing is, I’m not sure he meant it. Clyde has been a problem ever since his father and I divorced four years ago. If you want to know the truth, he is the real ringleader of our bunch of potential hoodlums. He’s been making Irving do the dirty work because Irving is bigger.”

“I agree with Shirley,” Melvin’s mother added. “Clyde has been the ring leader. Melvin has mostly been looking for a place to belong. I tried to get him interested in more constructive things; however, he seemed to be more interested causing trouble with the other two. When he got those horrid tattoos I was beside myself.

“Then he walked into the kitchen looking like that girl from Grease with his pink tinted blonde hair all up in little curls, his face all made up, eyebrows plucked and nails painted. I don’t recall ever seeing him happier than at that moment.”

“Assuming that the three are not that distressed about what they did. What are your feelings about this?

“Mrs. Mefisto, you may go first.”

“I wish I had known many years ago that this was something he wanted to happen. We might have been able to get him some of the right type of counseling and medical help. I don’t think any transition at this point would be very satisfactory appearance wise.”

“I think we might be able to do something very satisfactory, if you and Irving agree to it.

“Mrs. Davis, what are your thoughts about Clyde?” Dr. Bettencourt asked.

“I would love for Clyde to be happy. He has not been happy for a long time.”

“If Clyde were to become a girl, what would you think about that?”

“I don’t think it’s so much about what would I think. It’s what would Clyde think. I’ve often thought about having a daughter, but I can’t have children. Besides, I don’t have a husband.

“Clyde said some witches made him do what we see. If it isn’t his decision, I don’t see him staying with his appearance like it is.”

“Mrs. Douglas, what are your opinions about Melvin, what has happened to him, and his reaction to it?”

“As I said earlier, I’ve never seen him happier. If something could be done to allow him to satisfactorily become the girl he thinks he is, I would be all for it; however, I could never afford the costs involved.”

“Cindy, what do you think about our current situation?” Dr. Bettencourt said addressing someone who was behind the three mothers.

The mothers turned to see an extremely attractive young woman sitting behind them. She had a very pretty Siamese appearing cat in her lap. The cat had a yellow ear and hind foot that indicated non-Siamese parentage.

“Where did she come from?” Mrs. Mefisto remarked.

“Ladies, this is Dr. Cynthia Brewer. She is currently taking her residency in psychiatric medicine. I’ve known Cynthia for many years, and she is very, very good at what she does.

“Cindy, tell them what you’ve observed,” Dr. Bettencourt asked.

“Ladies, I have had several opportunities to observe your children. As you may have suspected, there is more to going on that what first appeared. In addition to being a doctor, I am specializing in gender studies by the way, I am a witch. I am the one who encouraged your sons to do what they did.

“I have encountered many transgender children and adults over the years; however, this is the first time I have ever encountered three like your three daughters at one time. Yes, I said daughters. Melvin and Irving only needed a little push to let them see the truth about themselves. Clyde is still in a bit of denial, but with the support of his friends and mother, I believe you will find that she will be a lovely daughter.

“Since I was nine years old, I have had the ability to detect when a person’s gender is in conflict with his or her sex. The brain sends certain signals. I can read minds, by the way. Those three want and need to be your daughters.

“Your Wisdom, I think it would be a good idea if you revealed your true self.”

“Certainly.” The Wizards appearance and garb changed to that Cindy had been familiar with for most of her life.

“Oh my,” Mrs. Douglas said, “you’re Albus Dumbledore.”

“Actually, we are just cousins; but he resides in a different universe. I am a wizard, though. I’ve been around for nearly a thousand years. As soon as we settle a few things I’ll let you see my shop the way it really looks.

“Based on the fact you didn’t go ballistic with all these revelations, I am going to assume that you understand quite a bit of magic is being involved in this. I’ll be very honest with you. I can through means that I will not discuss, alter reality in limited ways. I can change your sons physically into functionally perfect young women. I can alter their appearances. They could be natural blondes, if you and they so liked. I could make them physically very attractive. I could make them unattractive. I don’t do the latter very often.

“Under these circumstances, we want only positive outcomes. I could leave them as sixteen year olds; however, Cindy and I agree that they should be given an opportunity to learn what it means to be young girls before they become young women. They are not emotionally prepared for womanhood in spite of their mental genders.

“We feel they should be given a chance to start out at about six or seven. What do you think, Mrs. Douglas?”

“I find it difficult to believe that you can do what you say you can. I think this is all smoke and mirrors,” she said while waving her hand around. “I mean, I would love to have a daughter, especially with what I’ve had to put up with Melvin these last few years.”

“Mrs. Davis, what do you think?” The Wizard asked.

“I want what’s best for my child. If allowing him to become a functional girl would turn him around, I’m all for it. I just can’t see how anything like what you say you can do is possible. He would have to agree to anything we decided if it is possible, though.”

“Mrs. Mefisto?”

“I’m already convinced that Irving would welcome the change if it were possible. I know it would benefit him if he could start over. He’s so immature as it is. I think I could do a lot of good for him if he were to start over as a six-year old girl. I wouldn’t make some of the mistakes I made before.”

“Alright, I think you’re pretty much in agreement that you would prefer that your boy were girls. I guess the only thing we need to find out is what they think.

“Cindy, ask the three boys to come in here so that we may talk things over.”

“Certainly, Your Wisdom.”

Cindy place the little cat, the most beautiful and intelligent cat in the world, by the way, on the chair and opened the door to the waiting room.

“Your Wisdom, I think we have a problem. It appears as if they got into the jelly beans.”

“Not the pink jelly beans?” The Wizard asked.

“I’m afraid so, and I think they finished the entire jar.”

Mrs. Mefisto jumped to her feet and raced for the door. Three six-year old girls were where three sixteen-year old boys had been a short while before. The girls were dressed in almost identical pinafores. Their Maryjane shoes were like new. She could see the resemblance in the little blonde girl to her son, but the tattoos were gone. She was reading a copy of ‘Seventeen’.

“Hi Mommy, something happened to us. I think I like it. I think I’m a real girl.”

Another little girl with blonde hair fixed into two pig tails secured with pink ribbons was working on a coloring book. She briefly looked up and smiled as the room filled with the adults. The third girl stood in front of a mirror obviously placed there for their benefit. She was running her fingers through her long, wavy, deep auburn hair. She was repeating over and over, “I think I like it, I think I’m okay.” She turned to see her mother standing there with her jaw hanging open.

“It’s me Mommy. I don’t know how, but it’s me, and my name is Cleo, now.

“Well,” The Wizard said to the little girls, “see what happens when you don’t do what you’re told to do. I told you not to touch anything but the magazines and the television.”

“But they looked so good, and we were hungry. We couldn’t help eating them.” By this time, little Melanie Douglas had put aside her coloring book and had grabbed her mother’s hand. Her smile was almost ear to ear.

“I think I’m Iris, now,” the previous Irving Mefisto said to his astonished mother. “That pretty lady’s a witch. I think she’s a good witch. What’s Daddy going to say?”

“I know this may be quite a bit for you to take in,” The Wizard said. “However, this is pretty much what they wanted. Dr. Brewer, her sister, sister-in-law and I did a very thorough study. We are very adept at reading minds, and we were certain that deep inside this was what they wanted; well, almost. They did have some images that were influenced a bit by some of their previous male fantasies of some rather well-endowed young ladies. Of course, as we said earlier, they are not ready for that life. It’s up to you as their mothers to take care of their education in that area.

“Speaking of education, they are enrolled in the St. Agnes School for Girls. Your good fortune with the lottery will pay for their education. They should be ready enough by the time they are twelve to face the world and attend public school.

“Obviously, many things will have to have changed, but no one outside this group will ever be aware anything has happened. You will never be able to discuss what happened except among yourselves. The girls’ memories are intact, but they are no longer important to them; their future is. Their changes have gone far beyond what you see just here. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, your girls have always been little girls. There are other changes that will become apparent over the days, weeks and years, but we don’t need to go into those right now.

“One other thing, I will be needing to borrow your little girls every once in a while for a project we have on going. I assure you they will never be in danger. I think they will enjoy it.

“And, Ms. Davis, you need to see your gynecologist.”

When the mothers assisted their young daughters with their baths that night they discovered one other thing about them. Each had a birth mark on her left shoulder in the shape of a small butterfly. Of course they were too young to have tattoos; however, the details were perfect.

Chapter 7

“I see what you meant about the packs. That is certainly another example of the magic we’re dealing with. Somebody has quite a talent with manipulating space and mass. I’ll bet there was close to a hundred-fifty pounds of things, including ropes and harnesses that are probably for climbing cliffs. I repacked it and put the hardhat and flashlight at the top. There’s enough dehydrated food for a month, and some of it looked pretty good.”

Paul was with Tom in Tom’s bedroom, where they’d been working with Tom’s new tablet computer. He’d had spent several hundred dollars on a CAD software program that would allow him to draw in three dimensions. He knew that their compasses should work underground as long as they didn’t encounter any large ferrous masses, and this would allow them to map their underground journey. They’d also purchased a small laser measuring device.

“You seem to know an awful lot about this Advent Cave for not ever having been there before,” Paul said as Tom rebooted his computer, after having installed the CAD program.

“I have been there before, or at least I’ve been to several variations of it. This whole thing is some sort of test for the four of us. It’s more than just a school project.

“The Wizard, His Wisdom as you call him, is at the core of this,” Tom said.

“Without a doubt, he is,” Paul said. “I am considerably more familiar with His Wisdom than you are. I’ve known about him for years. Ivan knows about him, too.

“Before I go any further with this, I need to call Ivan.”

“Hey,” Paul said as Ivan answered the call, “Tom and I have been talking about His Wisdom. I think we need to let Pappy and Tom in on what he’s all about; or at least what we think he’s about. There’s probably a lot more to him than we realize, though.”

“Can we come over there?” Ivan replied. “Pappy’s with me, and I just told him that there was more about me than he’d realized, too. He’s cool.”

“Excellent idea, we’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”

It didn’t take long for the four friends to be together behind the closed door of Tom’s bedroom.

“I need to say something,” Paul said, “before we get into this other matter. Tom has supported me for the entire time I’ve known him, especially after I came out to him. He knows about hormones and the surgeries that are necessary to make someone who is in the wrong body complete. I have been taking testosterone blockers for several years. My mother doesn’t know about it. Maybe if she’d paid more attention to me she might have noticed that my puberty stopped quite a while ago. Tom noticed right away.

“Pappy, you’ve been wonderful, too, and maybe someday we’ll get everything straightened out.

“Now, back to our problem at hand. I think the first thing is that we need to be on the same page about The Wizard. As we said the other day, the main reason we are in Bridgeport is that our parents, at least our mothers, are conspiring to kill The Wizard. Of course, they won’t be able to; however, His Wisdom seems to be content to let them think they can.

“The big question is why our parents and their friends are bent on doing this? After all, murder is rather illegal in this country.”

“That’s exactly what I was wondering,” Pappy said.

“I’ll get to that in just a minute,” Paul said. “I think we all agree that The Wizard exists, as do the three witches. There is no question that there is real magic going on around here. Look at what they made those three morons do. By the way, I haven’t seen them since Monday. Has anyone else?” There were three shakes of the head confirming what Paul had observed.

“Now that we are out to everybody in this room, Ivan and I want to tell you some other things about our parents. We think we are on pretty good ground with this, and it explains quite a bit. The Wizard is probably close to a thousand years old, and he is very powerful. He can travel to alternate universes, and he can on a small scale alter reality. He has the power to change people. He can make them older or younger, and he can change their sex and gender. You saw what he can do on a small scale. Believe me what you saw is nothing.”

“How come you know all this?” Pappy asked.

“For many who are like Ivan and I are, we go to many places for help. The internet is a great tool as you are aware. It is also a source of myth, unsubstantiated information, as well as pure bull shit. It also supports many of us as we can communicate with each other. There is quite a network out there among the LGTBQI.

“The internet was where Ivan and I first learned about The Wizard. At first, it just seemed he was another bit of fiction; however, more and more evidence kept popping up that supported the fact The Wizard may be real. As you know now, he is.

“Enough about that for right now. The important thing is why our parents are involved in this conspiracy. I will put it very bluntly: our mothers used to be men or boys.”

“You’re shitting me,” Pappy said.

“I don’t think so,” Ivan said. “It makes a lot of sense. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tom’s and your fathers used to be women. They have to know what’s going on.”

“So, what do we do,” Tom asked.

“I think you know the answer to that,” Paul replied. “We continue to do exactly what we’ve been doing. He has his reasons for putting us through this. Although, at times I’m not too sure if he is the one in charge. I suspect there are others who may be on a different plane of existence who actually are controlling things. I know this. We are definitely not in control. He might be trying to keep us away from our parents when the shit hits the fan, so to speak.

“Sometimes, I feel he might be tormenting us. Then again, I’m not too sure. Then, there’s Mr. Temple. What does he have to do with all this? He’s definitely in on it, but he can’t be magic. It doesn’t work that way. He’s not a wizard, although he knows him, and he can’t be a witch.”

Their conversation was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

“Yes.”

Mrs. Isaacson opened the door. “Boys, Mr. Isaacson and I are going over to the Knight’s for a while. We ordered pizza for you. It may be a while before we’re back.” She gave Pappy a strange look and shook her head before she left closing the door behind her.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Papandreou, I’ll be out there in a minute. If you have it in your heart, you may give Wolf a wolf biscuit. Marissa Lewis made them especially for him.”

Wolf was nodding his head up and down while wagging his tail rather vigorously. He probably couldn’t control the latter.

“Please,” he begged.

Sherri Papandreou opened the jar and gave one of the rather large bone shaped biscuits to Wolf.

“Thank you,” was his muffled response.

“What do you think?” The Wizard asked as he parted the beaded curtains.

“It is certainly a lot neater than it was before,” Ted Papandreou answered.

“That’s mostly Randi’s doing. She helps me out around here. She’ll be running a branch shop one of these days, but that will be for only high volume periods.

“Let’s go to the back room. It’s much more comfortable back there.”

“I take it you are about ready to abandon Sandra Knight’s project.”

“We already have,” Sherri said. “We’ve been talking about it for a while, and we just don’t see any point in it, and you proved your point quite a while ago. I was so wrong about child birth both from a negative and positive point of view. We had wandered into your shop, not by accident I imagine, and were arguing about having another child. As the husband, I wanted one; however, Ted, then Sherri, said she wasn’t too sure. Dimitri had been a difficult birth for her. I poo-pooed it saying that was a woman’s burden.

“She commented that I wouldn’t have the guts to go through what she did. It was two weeks later, two days after we’d made love that we woke up in each other’s bodies. Three weeks later Ted told me I was pregnant. I was.”

“I will give you credit,” Ted said. “You held up very well. I know Margaret’s birth wasn’t as difficult as Dimitri’s was, but giving birth is seldom easy. You got a good taste of what it was all about. As much as you hated it, you loved it. You liked breast feeding as much as I did.”

“I think Sherri felt angry about what had happened to her, and I felt you had taken the right of motherhood from me. When we saw Sandra’s advertisement, we thought this might be a chance to get back for what you had done to us. The thing was, Sandra’s bitterness began to wear thin with us. We just didn’t see how killing you would serve any purpose.

“I think Alice’s comments really hit home. What did we really have to be angry about? We have a wonderful family, two intelligent and relatively well adjusted children, and a good, secure life. We’re tired of moving, tired of trying to find you so that we can exact an undeserved revenge. We realized what we really want. We want more children. We have several good child bearing years ahead of us.”

“I would say at least ten,” The Wizard interjected.

“I want to be a mother again,” Ted said.

“And I do too,” Sherri added.

“I think that could be arranged. I’ll just fix it so that each time one of you gets pregnant, you will switch. Would that be satisfactory?”

“I think that would work very well,” Sherri said. “I do have another question. What about our children. They’re sure to notice the changes in their parents.”

“Dimitri already has a good idea of what’s been going on,” The Wizard said. “There are four smart young adults out there, and they have just about figured everything out. You should be very proud of them.

“We have quite a while before everything works out, and unless I’m wrong, I seldom am, everything will work out to just about everyone’s satisfaction.

“I don’t understand it. I thought Ted and Sherri were with us all the way,” Sandra Knight was furious. She’d thought the Papandreous were solidly behind her; however, Sherri had called her that afternoon to say that they were withdrawing from the group.

As soon as she’d ended the call she sent messages to the remaining members calling an emergency session. There had to be a way to stop him before he got to their children any more than he already had.

“Myrtle, I think we can dispense with reading the minutes from the last meeting.

“Folks, disaster is looming. That creep has pulled two more from us. As you can see, the Papandreous are no longer with us. We must stop him. Does anyone have any ideas?

“Myrtle.”

“I was just thinking that since he may be influencing the children we might be able to use them as a diversion. I used to be a sniper. I could get in position and, while his attention is elsewhere, take him out.”

“But wouldn’t he hear the shot?” Agnes asked.

“I could take him out from a mile away. He couldn’t read me from that far away, and the bullet travels at about four times the speed of sound.”

“When were you a sniper? We haven’t had any significant military action since Viet Nam.” Glynnis asked.

“I served four years in the Marines. I was a damn good shot when I went in, and I was even better when I got out. I was a paid mercenary in Africa. I don’t know how many people I took out. When the people I worked for decided not to pay me I went to the other side. They paid a lot better, and I took out the guys who wouldn’t pay me what they owed me. I would love to take that bastard out,” Myrtle said with more than a little animosity.

“What sort of gun can shoot and kill someone from a mile away?” Sandra asked.

“I had one before he changed me; however, it went away with everything else. I have contacts, and it won’t be too hard to get what I need.”

“This is beginning to sound interesting,” Agnes said. “Where would you do this? You certainly couldn’t do it in a mall.”

“We’d have to get him outside; somewhere where there’s plenty of open area and still a place to hide.”

“Well, there is that place where the children are doing their research project for school,” Sandra said. “I don’t like that, though. If we involve them in this, there’s a chance they could be shot, too. I imagine a large bullet going as fast as you say could easily penetrate one person and go on to kill someone else in its path. We need to think of something, else.”

“I don’t think anyone has come up with a better idea. If someone else gets hurt, that’s just the cost of war. We need to get rid of that bastard. If we take some losses, so be it.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Myrtle,” Nancy Isaacson said. “You’re not a parent.”

“I don’t want anything to do with the little monsters. I’m surprised to hear this from a woman who used to be a man. What happened to your spine? What sort of wuss are you?”

“Regardless of my origin, they’re our children,” Nancy said.

“I agree,” James Isaacson said. “I will not support any action that might put our children in jeopardy. There has to be another way.”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Barbara Boom-Boom Reynolds said. “I just want to get my mind back.”

Things are starting to heat up. The cave is looming just a little ways off. Things may get very serious, not that trying to kill The Wizard isn’t.