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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 10: Target Practice
The group found themselves back among the oak trees with a dull, gray sky overhead. Rain didn't threaten but neither did the sun, which found it impossible to burn off the heavy cloud layer. A light breeze rustled the tree tops, sending down a small shower of dried leaves, a midsummer gift.
All six of the girls practiced what they could, with the new trio casting spells and the golem girls planning and playing at strategy for their magic weapon attacks. Dani kept the golems supplied with a cheap set of metal forks and knives that she bought for them to use as enchanted weapons. It gave the former trio a much needed sense of purpose since they had nothing much left to teach.
When they took breaks, they read books and discussed ideas that would aid them in the coming battle. And like in the wild, play time became informal training. Even Ash got involved. Emma liked playing catch with the salamander. She'd toss a cricket ball to him and he would punch the ball back to her with his nose, improving his coordination. He got to where he could punch the ball hard enough to knock Emma back. She had to stand farther and farther away to toss the ball to him.
Ash liked playing catch with Emma but his favorite game was toasting marshmallow people. Dani created stick figures and stuck large marshmallows to the ends of the sticks to act as arms, legs and a head. She'd toss the stick figures to Ash and he'd use his newly discovered fire breath to toast them. They'd be flaming as they entered his eagerly awaiting mouth. He loved the sweet flavor of marshmallow flames.
Back to work, the three sisters practiced more defensive magic. Dani created shields that could block virtually any projectiles, even bullets. Pat and Simone had fun throwing rocks at their older sister, watching as the rocks bounced off the shield. Next up was a flexible magic shield that not only blocked magic effects like fireballs, it reflected them back at the caster. That could prove to be very useful.
Jenna worked with Dani on using offensive spells in a defensive manner. They talked about spraying water like a fire hose to push back attackers and creating boiling mud points to slow them down as well as slowly cook them — if they didn't have protection from heat and fire.
"Good," Jenna said. "But those are all obvious means of defense, meaning that they're predictable. Predictable is bad. It makes your spell much more likely to be blocked. You have to be creative."
"What about this?" Dani led Jenna over to a small shrub and began weaving a spell involving chi and elemental water magic. She pulled a small amount water directly out of several leaves and one of the branches of the shrub. The water pooled in a ball in the air for a short time before the girl let it dribble on the ground, giving back to the shrub what was taken from it. The targeted branch and leaves wilted but the shrub itself would live. Killing was always done as a last resort.
"That's… different," Jenna said. "However did you think to do that?"
"I once tried adding water to my body and made a mess of things. I gave myself a large belly and tried moving the water up to give myself a manly chest. I ended up giving myself breasts instead. Simone loved that."
Jenna giggled while Dani continued.
"Adding a lot of water to someone would slow them down but there might not always be a good source of water nearby so I thought I'd try the reverse and remove water. The only problem is, I'm afraid of removing too much. It works well enough for a plant with branches. A branch can wither without killing the plant. Losing too much water could be fatal for a person though."
Jenna nodded. "True. I'd only use something like that in a very desperate situation. What else can you think of?"
"What about a wall of ice?"
"Too easily destroyed, or bypassed if it's not large enough. You'd have to have a lot of water to block anything for a fair length of time."
"I could encase something in ice, freezing it."
"Better. What else?"
"A wall of fire?"
Jenna frowned. "You mustn't forget that the Dark Forces will be attuned to fire. It'll be least likely type of elemental magic to have any effect on them."
"But they won't expect it from me."
"True. If we could just use that somehow…." The golem girl looked up and placed her tiny clay hand under her clay chin, deep in thought.
Dani thought it a cute pose and tried hard to focus. Fire magic would be a surprise but not if it couldn't harm any of her enemies.
"I've got nothing," Jenna finally said.
Dani shrugged agreement.
"Too bad," the girl golem added. "That means Ash will be of limited use. You might even want to keep him out of the fight."
The salamander busied himself by stalking a caterpillar when he heard his name. He came running straight to Dani and begged for attention by jumping up on her leg.
Jenna laughed, even when Dani finally managed to fend off the excited salamander and then turned her attention to putting out some smoldering patches on her jeans.
"I don't think I like the idea of leaving Ash behind," Dani said after she'd put out all the little fires.
"Me not like too," Ash said. "Me stay with Dani. Protect Dani."
"I could cast an invisibility spell on him. That might help."
"That's a good idea," Jenna agreed. "The element of surprise can be as good a weapon as the strongest spell. Keep thinking like that and we might just get through this."
Ash thumped his tail. He liked the idea of being invisible almost as much as he liked the taste of toasted marshmallow flames. He imagined being invisible whilst stalking the golem girls. It would be so much easier to catch them that way.
Richard sat at his large desk in his office, deep in thought. He couldn't get the missing salamander out of his mind. He knew it wasn't as simple as Ray believed, that the salamander was chased off by a ghost. It was definitely a loose end and he hated loose ends. He also hated dirty work, but his incompetent minions left him no choice.
The tall man got up and walked over to a bookshelf, pulling out a book half way and looking over at a wall panel. The panel slid back to reveal a safe. He went over, unlocked the safe and pulled out a small wooden box that he carried back to his desk.
Inside the box, sat a large, milky white glass orb, sitting on a dark blue velvet cushion. It looked like a large marble or glass knickknack, but appearances could be deceiving.
The Eye of the Illuminati. Makes for the perfect spy.
He picked it up and cupped it in both hands as he closed his eyes and concentrated on an image of Askern Cemetery. It wasn't long before the image appeared in his mind, but it wasn't just an image. It was like a live camera view, and with a mere thought, a user of the magic eye could zoom in, change angles and even move to other nearby locations. What was probably the best feature, one that Richard triggered, was that it could detect even the faintest traces of magic.
Well. Well. What have we here?
Several very narrow colored trails of earth and fire magic led from three graves to a single point in the nearby wood. He had the eye slowly and carefully follow the trail.
If you want a job done right, do it yourself. I think I might even enjoy this.
The group of six took a brief break in their favorite practice area. They talked about the finer points of spells and magic, enjoying the pleasant weather, with only an occasional breeze to distract them by rustling leaves in the tree tops.
"Remember," Jenna told the new trio. "Each of you can access and use magic. The effects aren't nearly as good by yourself as it would be with a full trio but you can do it. Always keep that in mind during a battle. Any one of you might be attacked and unable to do your part so you'll need to be able to take over for a missing member of the trio just in case."
Simone frowned. "I can see replacing Pat or myself, but what about Dani? She's the only one who knows all the spells."
"True," the golem girl said. "But you and Pat can do enough with elemental magic to escape. You could flood an area, washing away an attacker if necessary. Dani isn't the weakest link though. She can protect herself far better than she can protect all of you as a group. Take my word for it. The Dark Forces will either go for all of you together like they did us, or they'll single out the font or flow."
The younger twin sighed. "You've got most of the experience here so you should know. But I still don't like thinking about losing one of us."
"None of us do," Dani said. "But we have to be ready for anything."
"Speaking of that," Emma spoke up suddenly. "I have a bad feeling... like we're being watched."
Dani flinched and looked around. She didn't see anything with her normal sight so she heightened her sensitivity to magic and the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. "I feel it too," she said.
"Me too," Simone and Pat said together.
A sense of electro magic flowed into the area that Dani could almost see. She was highly sensitive to it since she'd been experimenting with it so much recently. Something serious threatened and Dani was ready for it. She expected it.
"Simone," the fetch said quietly as she maintained focus on the threat. "Gather as much electro magic as you can and send it to Pat for me. But don't gather any magic from the direction of that weird feeling."
"What?" the confused twin said.
"Now!" Dani hissed. "Do it! And mix in some elemental fire, for effect."
Simone gathered the magic and Pat stood up, creating a simple but effective vortex and placing it within easy reach of her older sister.
Dani waited as long as she dared — she had to act while the threat remained active. She took the vortex of electro magic and channeled it into a highly concentrated beam of focused magic that she sent back to the source of the spying spell. She knew she could cancel out the spell but she hoped for more, even though they might never know the exact result. All they could do was watch for a repeat of the spell and prepare for the coming storm.
Richard watched with growing anger as he caught up to the source of all the recent magic in the cemetery. His underlings had failed him and he couldn't decide what to do first, punish his underlings or deal with the latest threat to his plans.
His anger heightened his senses, allowing him to detect a new spell being cast, but that same anger almost became a fatal distraction as his precious Eye of the Illuminati started glowing from a magic overload. Only his reflexes saved him as they kicked in to create a simple but effective telekinetic force field. The force field pushed the magic eye away from him to the farthest corner of his office where the Eye promptly exploded, embedding shards of glass into the wall and creating a significant fireball that set off the fire alarm and sprinklers.
He sat at his large desk, barely noticing the noise and spray of water as he fumed about the loss of his favorite magic item.
It would seem I have another trio to deal with.
The girls watched and waited for something else to happen, some other form of attack, for nearly an hour before Jenna had enough.
"We need to prepare," she said.
"Prepare for what?" Simone asked.
Jenna would've rolled her eyes if she could. "For tonight's battle."
"That soon?" Dani asked.
"Yes, that soon. They'd probably attack now if they could but they'll want to plan first. That and too many of their minions are sensitive to light. They'll be much stronger tonight, and I'm sure they won't wait. Not after what just happened."
"What exactly did just happen?" Pat asked with Simone standing next to her, wondering the same thing.
"I'm not sure myself but I would have to say it was a scouting mission. We've been lucky for too long a time and the Dark Forces aren't stupid. Well... their leader isn't stupid. They've been sending minions...."
Emma interrupted her, "And one of the evil trio members who killed us."
Everyone turned to stare at the golem girl.
"What?" she said. "He spit on our graves and I sent him packing."
Jenna fumed. "And you were going to tell us this when?"
Emma tried to shrug her shoulders but she couldn't move her clay body well enough to do so. She sighed and said, "I just did."
"We need to know things like that! Right away! When they happen!"
"I was enjoying my private little victory and I didn't think they'd be back so soon. Sorry."
"Fine," Jenna said. "We've a lot to do... plans and backup plans, starting with what to do about your parents."
"Oy!" The three new girls said together.
"Hang on," Simone said. "I've got it. They're overdue for a night out together I think."
"Good idea but it's Thursday," Dani said. "They'll want to wait for the weekend."
"Ah, but that's why it'll work. Everyone waits for the weekend. It'll be a lot more crowded and noisy then... not very romantic."
Dani's eyes lit up. "You're quite devious," she told her younger sister.
"But in a good way," all three sisters said.
Mr. and Mrs. Green left the house well before tea time, off to enjoy a pleasant afternoon and evening together. Sue phoned her husband who even managed to leave work early for it. Their thoughtful daughters assured them that they were well old enough to care for themselves and the house. The girls would have everything under control. Mostly.
The group of six — seven counting Ash — met in the sitting room to start their plans.
"We'll be outnumbered," Jenna told everyone. "So we'll have to be clever."
Dani cleared her throat for attention. "Right. I'm guessing that they'll realize we're powerful witches. It's not likely they'll underestimate us."
"We'll need a distraction," Kate added. "Something to hold their attention whilst we attack from behind. Something like that."
"Brill!" Jenna said.
Simone raised her hand then and said in a timid voice, "I volunteer."
"Oy!" Pat and Dani said. Their sister actually caught them both by surprise, something that had been increasingly difficult to do. One of them would have to actively shield themselves from the others to pull it off, otherwise their thoughts would give them away. The sisters could actually read each others thoughts over short distances, just as Jenna's trio managed to do.
"It's no use trying to change my mind. I'm perfect for a distraction. I have it all worked out."
The youngest sister explained how she could shield the cottage with strong, brute force water magic and make the Dark Forces think they were all inside. The cottage would be under a frontal assault, leaving the enemy vulnerable to sneak attacks. It was perfect.
"There is one more issue that I'd like to cover," Dani said. "I know they'll be trying to kill us but I don't like the idea of killing. Isn't there any other way?"
Jenna nodded her tiny head. "Right. Killing isn't the way of the Goddess. We found various ways to protect ourselves without killing but tonight it looks like there might have to be some. We learned that the hard way."
Kate and Emma nodded agreement.
"Right then. I make us all invisible and we pick them off one by one as we can until they're all gone."
"It'd be nice," Pat spoke up, "if we could take out the more powerful enemies first, but we might not get the chance. That means they might notice what we're doing before we get them all. We'll have to be ready."
"I'll be ready," Dani said with a grim look on her face. The others all nodded.
After two hours with Jenna explaining some creative alternatives to killing, they took a break to eat and think about their plans. Dani didn't like the idea of using Simone as bait but she agreed it would likely be safer inside the cottage than out. That only left Simone and Pat to create and charge up as many magic batteries as they could in the time remaining before nightfall. The batteries would make for some much needed magic energy reserves since the fetch and flow would be without their font.
Dusk blended into night and the first signs of the coming battle showed themselves as winged scavengers appeared, waiting for an easy meal. Dry, yellow grass filled many of the nearby unused fields and hundreds of crows lined the power lines, their caws echoing in the distance, giving the village an early Halloween look and feel.
The main invading force consisted of a dozen trolls that lumbered through desolate fields, flanked on both sides by nearly a hundred goblins riding giant wolves and followed by a surprisingly old-fashioned supply line of carts pulled by giant black bulls with glowing red eyes. The trolls shunned technology except when it came to weapons. Giant indistinct shadows glided overhead, occasionally engulfing an isolated, unwary crow for a snack. Whenever that happened, the volume of the remaining crows increased to show their displeasure.
The Dark Forces didn't try to hide their presence. They dared and even welcomed anyone to interfere. They'd love the target practice. It was lucky for the village that the trolls and goblins combined to give off an unhealthy aura that even mundane villagers could feel. Everyone — except the parents of the girls — called it an early night, locking up their doors and windows tight.
Simone sat on the ground floor toilet in Water Works cottage and awaited for the signal that everyone was outside. When she received it in the form of a telepathic communication from Dani, she tapped into the strong source of water magic beneath her and raised an elemental water shield that included water that they'd sprayed all round the cottage with the hose pipe earlier that evening.
The shield covered the home in a translucent box shape that fit the shape of the building. It looked like a fine mist, something not terribly out of place on a cool summer evening in Northern England except, and it would yield slightly to both magic and mundane attacks before springing back and reflecting whatever was thrown at it. Simone planned her part of the battle well.
'Done,' Simone said telepathically to her sisters.
'Right,' Dani and Pat sent back. 'Be well and good luck.'
'Blessed be!' the three sisters added in unison.
Ash and the rest of the girls stood outside. Pat and Ash stayed with Dani while the golem girls spread themselves out to create a defensive perimeter around the cottage.
Dani cast invisibility spells on everyone and supplied the golem girls with enchanted cutlery. She also buried several boxes of the cutlery to be used as needed and cast gentle wind spells to swirl around everyone and the buried weapons to keep anything with a sensitive nose from smelling them.
Pat had suggested magic land mines but there just too many unknowns. They hadn't been sure which direction the Dark Forces would be coming from and they hadn't been sure how easy the land mines would be to detect. They'd needed to spend their time on things that would have a better chance of helping, like the magic batteries.
The fetch and flow both wore two wide crossing straps full of shotgun shells. The shells didn't contain gunpowder and shot though. They held various types of magic that could be tapped into for spells, and the girls both added several belt pouches with complete spells that they could use right away.
Dani went over some last minute thoughts as a reminder to herself just before the enemy forces came into view.
Remember to watch out for aerial attacks and afterward, don't forget the possibility of attracting something like a rogue serpent or two. Now Dani girl, it's time to kick some Dark Forces arse.
Plans were made. Preparations were finished. All were ready to do battle in the next step to either take over the world or save it.
© 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.
