Trios

The ghost girls get a new look.

Dan and his younger twin brothers, Pat and Simon, live in a fairly ordinary Yorkshire village and enjoy a mostly quiet life. The only unusual thing about them is their strong affinity for water, which has something to do with the special cottage in which they grow up. The cottage just so happens to sit over a natural source of magic that saturates the three brothers and primes them to reach their true potential. All they need is a magical makeover and they'll have a chance to make a difference in the endless conflict between good and evil.

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Trios
by Terry Volkirch

Chapter 7: Golem Girls

The lucid dream session had gone well that night. Jenna had mostly focused on teaching the one spell that they'd need to allow her to communicate with the boys. She'd soon become a golem.

That sounded worse than it was. Her spirit would be transferred to a small, animated clay vessel with a roughly humanoid shape. She'd be doll-size to save on energy and materials, and to minimize the chance of detection since the spell involved a small measure of elemental fire. The clay shell wouldn't make for a very flattering appearance but it was all they could think of doing, and it would work at least.

The golem was actually a form of magic item that could hold magic as well as a spirit. Jenna had explained that magic items were fairly common since witches couldn't easily cast powerful magic on their own. Some items were simple and could only be used once. The more sophisticated ones like a golem could be recharged and used indefinitely. The items became a type of magic battery that could substitute for a font and flow.

She'd also tantalized her pupil with talk about powerful magic items, like the Eye of Horus that her teacher showed her. The Eye could protect against all physical attacks and during a time of great need, it could shine as brightly as the sun and destroy all enemies near it. Jenna's teacher told her that it took a magic ritual that lasted three days to create it.

Her pupil was impressed.

Dani, as everyone now called Dan, needed some supervision when it came time to casting the spell, and that required a good rain shower so Jenna could communicate with them. Luckily, the weather forecast called for occasional heavy rains around mid day and the weather cooperated. The two trios made it to the usual stand of oak trees and waited less than an hour for a decent rain.

'The Goddess still shines on us,' Jenna said just after it started raining heavily.

'This heavy downpour can't last long,' Dani said. 'We'd better get started.'

And started they did. Simon lined up all the different types of magic they'd need and Pat stood ready to channel it all to his new sister. It took some getting used to thinking of Dani as a sister. She might still be just as much boy as girl but her appearance definitely leaned more towards the girl side, especially with her new clothes. Sue wanted to get her daughter some clothes that fit properly, and she insisted on Dani wearing a bra. No more chest binding for her daughter. It wasn't comfortable and it wasn't healthy.

Mother and daughter hit a couple clothing shops hard and fast earlier that morning, soon after the shops opened. Sue felt a little disappointment that her daughter didn't want to shop for more than a couple hours but she understood. It took years to reach the level of master shopper. She laughed to herself. The mother of three vowed to teach her new daughter and two soon-to-be daughters well. Simon transitioned where it counted but still looked to be more boy than girl so he stayed in the boy category for the time being.

Dani actually felt relieved to wear a bra. It was a lot more comfortable. She had to admit it to herself. It also allowed her much better concentration, something she needed to cast the golem spell.

Earth and water formed the clay material and shaped itself into the golem. Air and fire moved together to add that spark of life to animate the clay. The last ingredient, chi, could then bind Jenna's spirit to the whole package. When everything came together, Jenna positioned herself near the golem, ready to move and be sealed inside with a liberal amount of chi.

The dark gray figure lay on its back with a crude smiley face etched on a smooth, round head. All of the major joints were deeply grooved to allow for easy movement. The hands and feet were kept simple with a single crease across the palms and soles to allow for some bending.

The girl spirit looked down at it and wrinkled her nose.

Ew. That is one ugly golem.

She couldn't be choosy, though she did make a mental note to have Dani try to improve her appearance later. To go from a cute blonde spirit to clay dud didn't do much for a girl's confidence.

With the spell completed, Dani took some deep breaths to relax. The spell took a long, nerve-wracking thirty minutes to cast. She walked over to the golem and spoke to it as a test.

"Jenna? Can you hear me? Are you in there?"

Ten seconds passed. Then another ten before the golem's arms and legs twitched. Something was happening. The head turned its crude smiley face towards Dani and opened its mouth. Watery mud dribbled out and the golem seemed to cough and splutter. When its mouth finally emptied, it cleared its throat and spoke a single word. "Yuck!"

Dani sighed with relief and shouted back at her brothers. "She's alive! Alive!!"

"Ha ha," the golem's rough, high-pitched voice oozed sarcasm and Dani had to laugh.

~o~O~o~

Life as a golem didn't agree with Jenna. It took her a couple hours to get proper control of the vessel just so she could walk around. Even so, she couldn't move very quickly and it tired her out mentally. She had to rest frequently for long periods of time. Meditation helped, and she thought of a couple ideas that might help. She should be able to make the transition easier for Kate and Emma at the very least.

"Are you okay?" Dani asked her.

She looked up at him with the goofy smiley face that was etched on the golem but inside, she scowled.

Dani could sense her mood a mile away. "Sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I did think of one spell that might do the trick. It involves more elemental fire though, so we'll have to be careful. That's another reason why we can't cast the golem spell again today."

Dani nodded. Kate and Emma would have to wait another day for their chance to become golems. The chance of detection was too great to cast more than one golem spell since it also required elemental fire magic.

Jenna decided she'd warmed up her new body long enough so she started teaching the new spell that she had in mind, transferring a thought form to Dani, who created a simple type of fire magic battery and inserted it into the body of the golem so Jenna could tap into it. As a golem, the girl couldn't use magic directly but she could use enchanted items now that she took on a physical body. She briefly wondered if she might ever get a new human body. If she did, she thought she'd be able to cast spells again. She had to stop that line of thought however. It teased and tormented her, distracting her from more important things, like getting back to teaching Dani.

Just as she turned to walk back to Dani, Ash suddenly loomed in front of her. The little salamander wasn't so little any more. It grew to the size of a Labrador retriever and took a great interest whenever Dani used a significant amount of elemental fire magic in her spells.

Jenna took a step back and Ash lunged forward, sniffing and then licking the little golem. The salamander then backed off and jerked its head from side to side.

"I think it wants to play," Pat said, smiling at the scene.

"Well, call it off, Dani," Jenna snapped. "I'm a little busy here."

"Are we really too busy to give Ash some attention. I can't help feel like we've been neglecting the poor thing. All I've done is feed it and give it a few strokes on its back… when I forget about how hot it is." Dani winced as she thought about the burns that she continued to receive from the salamander.

"Yeah!" Simon said. "We need a little fun once in awhile."

"Or we'll likely go mad," Pat added.

Jenna turned to the two former partners of her trio and they shrugged. They couldn't exactly play, and they couldn't communicate with the twins any more. The rain had lightened up by that time so they could only communicate through Jenna. The girl golem still maintained her telepathic link to the two spirit girls.

"Okay," Jenna said. "You've got ten minutes for play time." She didn't know exactly what they'd want to do but there was one thing she failed to realize. She'd have to be included. Ash wanted to play and it wanted to play with her. As she turned to walk over to an oak tree for a little rest, she found herself pushed on her face by a forceful nudge from behind.

"I think Ash wants you to move faster," Dani said. "Try running. Think of it as a test of the battery."

"I bloody well won't!" she snapped as she slowly got back to up on her feet. She turned to look back at Ash and sighed.

The salamander violently wagged its tail and had a mischievous glint to its eye that Jenna most definitely didn't like. It unnerved her to the point of wanting to run, just to be rid of it. So she ran. Or tried to.

At first, Jenna couldn't run very fast. Ash caught her from behind several times, knocking her to the ground, before she got serious. She didn't want to drain her energy reserves too quickly but if it meant escaping from a mad salamander, she didn't care. She sucked down a large amount of elemental fire and took off, leaving a little trail of fire behind her.

Ash looked confused at first. The fire distracted it. Then it looked ahead to see the golem and gave chase.

The hunter and prey looked to be evenly matched. Just when Jenna surged ahead, Ash would put on a burst of speed to make up lost ground. The girl golem tried running round a close group of trees but the salamander wouldn't give up.

"Dani! Do something! This is ridiculous!" Jenna shouted. "I thought you wanted to play! Why am I stuck entertaining this overgrown puppy!"

"I don't know what you mean," Dani said. "We're all having great fun watching you and Ash." Dani and the twins laughed.

The girl golem steamed, literally. She aimed herself right at Dani and jumped into her arms, followed immediately by Ash with predictable results. The three of them ended up in a heap, splashing round a mud hole caused by the recent, heavy rains. The sound of sizzling could be heard as Ash's body heat boiled out the water content.

Dani shrieked when she saw herself caked with mud. "My new outfit!" she cried.

"Hah," Jenna said with an obvious smirk to her tone of voice. "Spoken like a true girl."

Dani looked shocked. She still hadn't really thought of herself as a girl and wasn't too sure she liked it. "I only meant that clothes are expensive. What if I can't get them clean?"

"Again, I say, spoken like a true girl. But seriously, Dani. Next time, let's not have fun at my expense. I'm trying hard to adjust to a new body, just as you are."

The new girl blushed. "Sorry. I didn't think of that." She looked over at Ash, licking the steaming mud off itself. "I guess we just needed to let off a little steam." She smiled but the joke fell flat.

"What are you laughing at?" Jenna said when she noticed Kate and Emma. "You'll be soon next. Not today… but soon!" She forgot for the moment that they couldn't hear her voice. She could only communicate with them mentally. "Oops." She tried again once she realized her mistake.

'Sorry, Jenna,' Kate said. 'It was kind of funny to watch. I'm sure if we recorded it, you'd laugh at the video.'

'It'd go viral over night,' Emma assured them. 'If only from the sight of a salamander chasing a golem. You don't see that everyday.'

'Fine. I guess it would make quite a sight. But can we please get back to teaching magic now?'

They all agreed. Even Ash. The salamander didn't especially like being coated in mud. It tickled and itched. The salamander ended up burning large sections of bark off the base of some oak trees as it rubbed up against them. Dani finally noticed Ash's discomfort and sprayed the suffering creature with water to clean it.

Ash loved the water, which turned to steam and felt great on its skin, more than making up for the mud. Dani had to suffer then as Ash thanked her with some loving nuzzles, whilst the rest of the group looked on with only a few snickers.

"I'll heal myself later," Dani said, frowning. "Let's get on with the lessons."

~o~O~o~

With lessons finished, and after much practice, the group split up for the day. The two girl spirits headed towards the cemetery while the living went back towards the house. That only left the golem girl, who couldn't decide where she belonged. She let out a piercing wail that had Dani racing back to the trees where they left her. The twins continued on with Ash as Dani suggested.

"What's wrong, Jenna?"

"I don't know where to go. I no longer feel a pull towards my grave. My spirit is no longer bound by my remains. It's bound to this… this… hideous clay shell." She gestured towards herself and shuddered with revulsion.

"You can come home with us." Dan paused before adding with a smirk. "I think Ash would like that."

"No, thank you. I think I should stay with Kate and Emma. But I don't know how I'm going to do that. I can't phase out and go back underground. Not with this body."

"We could sneak into the cemetery after dark and I could dig a small underground chamber over your grave."

Jenna thought about it for about two seconds before she mentally shivered. "That sounds creepy. But I guess it's my only option, isn't it."

"No. As I said, you could come home with me. You'd be easier to sneak into the house than Ash."

"Ah. Yes. I wondered about Ash." For once that day, Jenna's mood matched the goofy smiley face on her clay body.

"I don't suppose you could teach me an invisibility spell. It would come in really handy for certain large salamanders."

"It's a very advanced spell, Dani. And though I think you might be able to handle it at this point, it takes too much magic to cast. I'm afraid it would attract the wrong kind of attention."

"Right. Hang on here for a bit longer then whilst I fetch a spade. That is, if you're sure you won't come home with me."

"Yes. Thanks for the offer but please do fetch the spade. And include a large, sturdy bag to hold the dirt."

"Oh. Right. Hadn't thought of that."

Jenna leaned back against an oak tree to wait for Dani to return. She tried humming a few songs but it sounded odd to her ear, more like walking with gravel crunching underfoot than humming. It almost felt like she had a mouth full of gravel.

Being a golem felt more strange than anything else. It wasn't exactly unpleasant, just strange. After getting used to moving herself, it still took time to adjust to the mental aspects of being the size of a doll and made out of clay. Still, it was better than being dead; perhaps even one more step towards coming back to life. A girl could dream anyway.

After what seemed like hours but was really just a few minutes, Dani returned with the spade and a Hessian cloth bag.

"Shall we go then?" Jenna asked.

"There's still over two hours before sunset. We can't exactly go digging up the cemetery while it's still light."

"Oh. You're right. I'll wait here with you until dark then."

Dani sat down next to Jenna and leaned back against the same tree. After a short, awkward silence, Dani decided to volunteer something that had been bothering her recently.

"Dad isn't so happy with his oldest son becoming a girl, and he doesn't know about Pat and Simon yet. I don't know what'll happen after Mum tells him about the twins. I keep thinking the worst and I hope Pat, Simon and I will be able to stay in our cottage. We've grown quite fond of it."

"Oh," Jenna didn't know quite what to say to that.

"Just thought you should know. In case we have to move."

"I see. I'm assuming you know your cottage sits over a strong source of water magic then."

"It does?"

Jenna shook her tiny head. "You didn't know? I'm sure that's part of the reason the Goddess chose you three to replace us. The water magic in your cottage is very strong. Your bodies are all saturated with it so it must have had a strong effect over the years. You couldn't really tap into it as boys but as girls, you're becoming quite gifted."

Dani gave a faint smile. "I suppose I should be flattered. It's still a little much to watch your body slowly change into a complete stranger."

"Come on. You don't look so different. And you're still the same inside, mostly."

"Mostly. So far. But I expect more changes before I'm done. I still like girls though. I still find you attractive. Er… your true form that is."

Jenna gave him a playful slap with her tiny clay hand.

A more pleasant silence passed before Jenna had to ask, "Don't you have to be home for tea?"

"I'm not hungry. I told Mum I'd have a snack later."

"If you're sure." Jenna actually felt a surge of happiness that she'd have some company for the moment. She didn't look forward to spending the night as a golem in a cemetery.

"I'm sure. A girl's got to watch her figure after all."

Dani's attempt at humor got an ever so slight chuckle out of Jenna and Dani finally felt that her new best friend would be okay.

~o~O~o~

The two girls had a nice chat, with Dani learning more about telepathy. Jenna and her two former trio mates worked magic long enough to form a strong, telepathic bond. It was something that happened as a natural side effect from casting spells together for so long. Magic formed the telepathic bond, though no magic was actually needed to communicate once the bond formed.

They both wondered if Dani and the twins were already beginning to form the same kind of bond. The new trio spoke in unison quite often, and they could easily finish each other's sentences. That's how it started, and at the rate they were learning, it wouldn't take long before they Dani and the twins could communicate without saying anything. That included body language, something they were also picking up quite well. As boys, they missed a lot of the more subtle physical cues but as girls, reading body language seemed to become second nature.

Dusk came and went, and still the two chatted before getting up to walk together through the trees. It was quite dark by the time the two of them ended up at the cemetery. Dani could see well enough to dig by the light of a nearby street lamp, neatly slicing out some sod to use as a trap door. Then she dug out a hole just wide and deep enough to hide Jenna's clay body. They couldn't dig too large a hole or someone might step in it. Not everyone was respectful of graves.

Dani said her farewell to her mentor and good friend and headed home for the night. She woke up the next day with a smile on her face as she thought about the strong friendship that had been developing between them, between all of the girls, and soon-to-be girls.

The oldest Green child got out of bed and checked herself out in her new full-length mirror. Her newest habit became a near obsession as she lifted her nightie and mentally catalogued her progress towards becoming a girl. Her waist had narrowed significantly over the past two weeks, enough to notice without measuring anyway. Her breasts were only slightly larger. At least they seemed to be nearly finished. Except she still had the potential for several more years of natural development. She groaned when she thought about having a larger bust size. She thought a B cup was more than enough. She didn't know what she'd do if they got any larger. Her male bits hadn't reduced in size. That disappointed her for some unknown reason. She turned sideways and noted that her derriere seemed to looked a little larger and rounder as the weeks wore on, though her new shape had pretty much already been confirmed by how well her new clothes fit. She sighed. "I'm going to be all girl… eventually. Get over it."

The new girl tried to give herself a smile in the mirror but it looked a little sick. She decided she needed one of her favorite foods to cheer herself up. It was time to treat herself to some eggy bread.

Dani threw on a dressing gown over her jim jams and glided downstairs to find herself beaten once again by the twins. She couldn't remember the last time she'd beaten them to the breakfast table but she privately vowed that she'd do so again soon. It was a sibling rivalry thing.

"Hello you two. What's for breakfast?"

"Eggy bread," Pat replied alone, but only because Simon's mouth was full.

Simon's eyes said, 'No fair!'

Pat ignored his twin and finished telling Dani there were some slices of eggy bread kept warm in the cooker. It appeared as though the three of them shared cravings as well as thoughts.

The older sister smiled and began to rethink her vow to be first to breakfast, not if it meant an easy, instant meal once in awhile. She helped herself to a few slices, spreading a little butter on them and dribbling them with golden syrup. They tasted better than ever, though the joy was short-lived.

A tap-tap-tapping at the kitchen window quickly got Simon up out of his chair to check out the noise. It was Jenna, standing outside on the dust bin so she could reach the window. She seemed rather anxious so Dani went out to check on her while the twins got dressed.

"Morning, Jenna."

"Morning, Dani."

Dani paused, waiting a good minute for Jenna to explain her early visit before prompting her for answers. "Um… don't you think it was a little risky coming over?"

"No. Not this early in the morning."

Dani looked in through the kitchen window to see that it had just gone half seven. That spooked her a little. It felt much later, though in retrospect, it shouldn't be all that surprising. She found herself going to bed much earlier lately. Learning and practicing her new craft seemed to take a lot out of her.

Even without a glance at the clock, the early hour should've been obvious. The house was too quiet for one thing, with the television set volume turned down low. Sue sat half asleep in her favorite recliner in the sitting room, slowly sipping some tea whilst trying to watch the Breakfast program. That morning was especially rough on the mum of the house after getting the odd request for eggy bread. She worked herself a little harder than usual in spite of getting help from Simon. She normally passed work day mornings much the same way after seeing her husband off to work.

"What's the occasion then?" Dani asked after Jenna had gone quiet again.

"Nothing. Just the usual. Saving the world and all that."

Dani rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Dani. We should get an early start if we're going to be dealing with fire magic. I'm fairly certain that the leaders of the Dark Forces aren't early risers. We should be able to cast a second golem spell at the very least… if we hurry."

"Right then. I'll go hurry the twins and get ready myself. See you soon." She nipped inside and, after a quick word with Pat and Simon, trotted a few steps and changed to walking upstairs to her bedroom, anxious to slip into a bra.

~o~O~o~

The group arrived at the usual stand of oak trees and immediately got to work. All four types of elemental magic flashed to create the golem, with Dani taking more care to create a more realistic face at Jenna's urging. The sun just started to work its magic, evaporating dew from the tall grass in steamy fingers of mist as Dani finished.

Emma had a good look at the figure lying on the ground and shook her head. The golem's face looked very much like her own and she didn't like that. Her intuition told her she should be last. Though she wasn't sure why she should wait, she always listened to her intuition.

'Jenna?'

'Yes, Emma?"

'I need to go last. Please have Dani change the golem's face to look like Kate.'

'But we're all ready to go now.'

'I know. Sorry.'

'Sorry? You don't sound sorry. But really, Emma. You've been brooding too long. I think you need a body, even if it's only a golem.'

'Not gonna happen. Kate needs it more than I do. Think about how depressed she'll get if she's alone as a spirit.'

'True, but….'

Emma's eyes flashed with anger but she restrained herself. 'My intuition is telling me to go last and we both agree it would be better for Kate to go second. Please.'

'Okay. I get it. Are you sure you'll be okay going last?' Jenna had to ask. She didn't like the look in Emma's eyes.

'Yes,' the girl spirit snapped. 'Just do it!' She turned and faded out, going back to the cemetery to recharge.

Jenna would've cried if she could, but she relayed the new request to Dani and sat down against an oak tree to watch.

After only a few minutes, the golem looked quite a bit like Kate, and it wasn't just in the face. Dani added some solid chunks of clay to the head and fashioned them into what approximated short curls of hair. She also added a slender, feminine shape to the legs, arms and torso, and even created two sets of four tiny fingers for each hand. The fingers only had two joints each but they were a big improvement on Jenna's flattened round blobs that she used for hands. At the very least, the golem looked very much like a girl.

Kate seemed less reluctant than Jenna had been when hovering near the clay figure. She only hesitated a few seconds, and did so more out of concern for Emma than her own slight distaste. Emma could be quite stubborn though, so Kate made the decision and jumped into the golem to complete the process. After getting a good feel for all the joints and coughing up a bit of watery mud, she croaked her first word. "Disgusting!"

A second golem was born, like a sister to Jenna, though they looked nothing alike. Dani offered some cosmetic surgery to Jenna but the first golem girl declined. They didn't have time for any more frivolity. That still didn't stop Kate from giving Jenna a fierce hug after she finally managed to stand and walk around a little.

Being an intelligent creature, Ash had learned its lesson after messing with Jenna. The salamander gave Kate's golem a look of longing and went to sleep, dreaming of the chase.

Dani chanced adding an elemental fire energy battery for Kate after getting yet another warning from Jenna. The day had progressed to late morning and using fire magic then was never a good idea. The Dark Forces typically favored the night and slept late — if they slept at all — making them more likely to notice any significant use of fire magic later in the day.

"Don't forget to avoid the cemetery," Jenna said. "Even if our fire magic is detected, any spies would most likely start out there. They wouldn't be able to pinpoint our location so they'd start at the cemetery."

"What about you?" Simon asked. "You and Kate are golems now. Won't you be easily detected?"

"Good question," Jenna said. "But no. Golems are mostly creatures of earth with some significant fire added to the mix. It's exactly the blend that already permeates our remains. Nothing will seem different than when the troll visited."

"Right then," Dani said. "You worry too much. Nothing's going to happen. Can we resume our lessons?"

If Jenna had a tongue, she would've stuck it out at Dani. As it was, she kept quiet and fanned the flames of her paranoia. She had a bad feeling.

~o~O~o~

 © 2013 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.