Author:
Audience Rating:
Publication:
Character Age:
Other Keywords:
Permission:
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.
NOTE: Comments have been disabled for this story. If you do read it, please consider clicking the kudos button, and if you feel moved to comment, private messages are always welcome.
Trios
by Terry Volkirch
Chapter 18: Going Home Again
Dani kept Ash and Herself invisible, and kept both of them levitating whilst finishing Her business with Richard. She formed the spherical prison around the minor god, adding a magical outer layer to protect the iron from rust before rolling it over into the Seine to cool it off. Before it had even stopped steaming, She continued rolling the sphere down river at a fairly rapid pace until She got to the English Channel. She rolled it straight out from the mouth of the river to keep from giving away Her ultimate destination from the prying eyes in the helicopters that followed, and only when She was sure the helicopters had given up did She turn the sphere east towards the North Sea. She sent the sphere on its way, magically programming it to continue until it found the deepest point in the North Sea. Once there, it would embed itself in the silt at the bottom and stop, forever still until Richard or someone else moved it. Richard would eventually develop enough power to free Himself, though it would take Him several dozen millennia, thanks to the stasis spell that the Goddess used on Him.
Still levitating over the English Channel with Her companion, Dani canceled the invisibility spell and prepared for yet another powerful spell. But before She cast it, She had to be sure of something.
"Ash?"
"Yes, Dani?"
"Are you okay with helping me trap Richard?"
The salamander paused briefly to think about it. "I think so. He bad man. You… we stop Him but not kill. That good. Right?"
"Yes. I think so. Thanks, Ash. He needed to be stopped and we did it without killing Him. I'd say we did a good thing."
"What about now? Will He die underwater?"
Dani shook Her head. "He'll be fine. He's a minor god now. It'll take a lot more than being trapped underwater for several millennia to kill Him."
He looked a little confused for a moment and then gave Dani a faint smile.
"Okay, Ash. Prepare yourself for travel again," She said. "We need to hurry back to our sisters so I can get us all home. We're already two hours overdue. Mum will be worried."
"Oh! Yes. Uh… Mum worry… much." He hesitated to think of Sue as his mother but found he liked the idea. With his eyes closed and a smile on his face, Dani, as the Goddess, used Her considerable power to teleport them back to the River Thames near London Bridge where Her twin sisters waited with a friendly undine, who was fairly powerful in her own right.
The ancient water elemental, or undine, that saved the twins had needed a little help keeping the girls warm underwater. She wasn't gifted with the ability to manipulate elemental fire so she had to make due with skimming off the warmer water near the surface of the river. That worked well enough during the day with the sun shining but nighttime proved more difficult.
The twins were able to pull down a little elemental fire from the air above the surface and use it to warm the water around them. It wasn't quite enough though. By the time Dani and Ash arrived, their teeth chattered from the cold. They could've gotten out of the water, and they would've had to soon, but they were still under the protection of the undine and she could best protect them if they stayed in the water.
Dani sensed the problem immediately and quickly warmed the water in the area until it was equivalent to a hot bath. The twins sighed with relief.
'Hi Dani! Hi Ash!' both twins sent telepathically, sensing their sister levitating in the air right above them with Ash.
'Hello, my beautiful sisters. Ash sends his love too.'
The salamander wasn't able to communicate telepathically with anyone but the Goddess, at least for the time being.
'Oy!' the twins said, though Pat was ahead by a fraction of a second. The two girls were a little out of sync as they were slightly shaken by Dani's divine presence. They could sense it.
'Yes,' Dani said. 'I'm one with the Goddess now. I won't be staying this way but I have several more tasks to complete so I will likely be this way for another day at the very least.'
'Cool!' Simone said, with Pat nodding.
'Right then,' Dani said, leaving Ash in the air and slipping into the water. She turned Her attention to the undine, who formed a roughly humanoid outline in the water to define her presence. 'Who might you be?'
'Goddess,' the undine said, slightly bowing her watery head to show respect. 'My name is Nivia.'
'Thank you very much for watching over my sisters, Nivia. It is very much appreciated.'
'It was my pleasure, Goddess. They're both delightful creatures.'
'Please, Nivia. Call me Dani.'
'As you wish, Goddess Dani.'
The Goddess went on to insist that the undine be rewarded for her effort with a small gift. It took some time to figure out exactly what to give though. Undines weren't known for being materialistic and Nivia was no different. The ancient undine had seen centuries pass with very few things persisting into the present. Only the heavy stone of some buildings and statues could endure the test of time.
Being divine helped though, as Dani eventually came up with an idea and talked to Nivia about it. 'You must spend the majority of your time in bodies of water but that prevents you from interacting nicely with anyone other than the occasional undine. Fishes make poor conversationalists so I would imagine you'd be happy to be able to interact with people. Is that true?'
Nivia paused to think about it and agreed. She hadn't realized how lonely she'd been until Pat and Simone called upon her for help and spent several hours together, communicating telepathically underwater.
'Well, Nivia. I think I have the perfect gift then.'
After the Goddess sent thought forms that instructed the undine in the use of chi and earth magic for a spell, the undine processed the information and nodded. She then splashed just enough water for what she'd need onto the nearest bank of the Thames and started casting the spell. The undine had enough power and knowledge to accumulate all of the magic and materials she needed. After nearly an hour, she created a living, breathing human body and moved her life force into it to complete the spell. For the first time in her very long life, the undine stood on land as a solid living being.
"Fantasic!" she shouted out loud, getting the attention of several people.
Dani acted quickly to create clothing to cover the immodest undine and Her gift was complete.
The twins soon followed, crawling out of the river and spitting up water so they could breathe air again.
"Dani? Could you please dry us?" Simone asked, speaking for Pat and herself.
Before Dani could act, Nivia spoke up. "Please, Goddess Dani," she said, marveling at her voice. "Allow me. It is my specialty after all."
Dani nodded and the undine removed all of the water from the hair and clothing of the twins. The water went back to the river from which it came. While the twins were being dried, Ash drifted over and landed on solid ground to complete the group.
"One last thing," Dani said, sending a visual map that Nivia could follow to one day visit them. The undine could easily travel down the Thames, out and around the North Sea and then up the River Humber, keeping right to the River Ouse and then left at Goole up the River Don to Doncaster for a visit. Once in Doncaster, Nivia could create her human body and mentally call out for the sisters. At that distance, they'd be sure to hear and answer her and they'd get their Mum to drive them to nearby Doncaster for a visit.
"Thank you, Goddess Dani," Nivia said, crying a few happy tears that rolled into the corners of her mouth to merge back with her.
"You're quite welcome, dear, and remember. To return to your true form, all you have to do is inhale water to fill your lungs. Your solid body would quickly dissolve and you could separate the water from what's left and flow away. Now if you don't mind. We're late and must be going."
"Of course, Goddess Dani. Good bye."
Dani, Ash and the twins all gave their thanks for the undine's hospitality and said their good-byes. Nivia backed away and Dani teleported everyone else directly to the front garden of Water Works cottage. Their arrival at home would greatly surprise their parents but the time for secrets was over. They needed to tell their parents everything.
Ash and the twins stood on the grass of the front garden of their home, blinking and rubbing their eyes. It usually took a little time to adjust after teleporting, especially when doing so over such a long distance. Dani had no trouble at all though. She marched up to the front door and tested the door handle. The door was locked but that didn't slow Her down. She magically unlocked it and entered, calling out to Her parents.
"Mother! Father! We're home! Come at once, please!"
Sue arrived first, running and reaching out to hug her oldest daughter. "Where have you been?! I've been so worried! Shootings in London! Paris burning! And you lot missing! The whole world's gone mad!"
Dani stroked Her mother's hair and offered words of comfort. "There, there, Mother. We're all fine. And we have some important things to talk about. Shall we all go to the sitting room?"
Ash and the twins had entered by that time. George and Wanda also arrived to uncomfortably fill the tiny entry way of the cottage so they all filed into the sitting room with George in his recliner and Sue and the girls all crammed onto the large sofa. Ash sat on the floor to keep from damaging any of the furniture with his considerable heat.
Sue finally noticed the stranger in their midst, not recognizing Ash as being the human male who sat on the floor. "Who's this then?" she asked, pointing at him.
Dani smiled. "He's one of the things we need to discuss. This," She said, pointing at him, "is Ash. You know him as a lizard."
Sue gaped like a fish. She couldn't bring herself to speak.
"He's the one who you caught opening the kitchen door with his mouth. The one you researched on the Internet. You thought he was something like a large lizard but he's actually a salamander."
"But...," she spluttered, "salamanders are small... and slimy. They're not... boys. I don't understand."
"Mother. Father. Please prepare yourself," Dani told them.
She didn't know any other way to broach the subject of salamanders and magic so She combined them by changing Ash back into his true form. George fainted before Ash had finished transforming and Sue felt a little lightheaded herself.
"That's... impossible," their mother whispered, in awe of what she just witnessed.
Ash thumped his tail once on the floor, happy to be back to his old self. "Hi... Mum," he said.
That did it. Sue joined her husband, both of them unconscious for the moment.
Dani shook Her head and spoke more to Herself than Ash and Her sisters. "That didn't go very well, did it? I should've seen that coming. I did see that coming… but only after I started the transformation. Being the Goddess is hard work."
With Sue and George revived and sipping tea, Dani tried again. "I'm sorry," she said. "I sort of knew that would happen but I don't always listen to myself. I'm not used to being the Goddess."
"The what now?" George asked, not believing what he heard.
"Actually, I'm one with the Goddess. Here...," She said, moving to touch Her father's right shoulder. "You injured your shoulder way back at university, playing rugby with your mates. It still plays up when the weather turns cold."
George nodded and his eyes went wide when he saw his oldest daughter's hand glowing along with his shoulder.
"There," Dani told him. "All better now. Test it out, please."
George shrugged once. Twice. He swung his arm round in a wide circle and stopped. "It... it feels great!" he shouted and gave his family a big smile. "First time in years I could swing my arm round like that. But really, Dani. Aren't you just winding us up? Glowing a little and making my shoulder feel better doesn't make you a goddess. It's just a trick. Right?"
If She wasn't a goddess, The Goddess, She would've growled in frustration. As it was, She patiently worked Her way up to more impressive feats of magic. Changing Ash had been too much to start with. She understood that well enough. She had to start small and move up gradually. After levitating George in his recliner, giving Her mother long pink hair and then making Herself seven feet tall, She had them nearly ready to believe. But it wasn't until She teleported them all to Hawaii for a sudden, quick holiday that She soundly convinced them without causing them to faint again.
The Green family, including Ash and Wanda, all looked down at the remote Green Sand Beach on the southern tip of the big island of Hawaii, and they were all dressed appropriately with sunglasses, shorts and loudly colorful Hawaiian shirts. Dani had never heard of the beach before becoming one with the Goddess. Being divine made all the difference in the world though.
George laughed and briefly threw his hands up before he followed the trail that led down to the beach. "Right then. You got me. You're a goddess. My daughter's a goddess!" He shouted the last bit and laughed some more. He wasn't going mad. Not really. He just needed a bit of an outlet.
Sue took everything quietly. After rubbing her eyes and shaking off the effects of the long teleport, she cried a little and moved to hug her divine daughter, whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry I doubted you... Goddess."
"Please... Mum. I'm still Dani. I'm still your daughter."
"Right. Are you off to Olympus then? Will we be able to visit?"
Dani smiled. "Wrong pantheon, Mum. Actually, I'm not part of a pantheon. I'm one with all living things. I'm more like Gaia. Have you ever heard of Her?"
Sue nodded, her eyes tearing up again. "My daughter, the Goddess. I don't think I can get used to it. I'm sorry."
"I won't be staying this way, Mum. I have two more tasks to complete and I'll be back to being just an ordinary teenage witch."
Sue gently pushed away and raised an eyebrow. "What was that again?"
"This all started with magic on a much smaller scale. Pat, Simone and I have been slowly changing into girls because of the Goddess... before I became one with Her. We had to change gender to become powerful witches and we've been learning magic to fight the Dark Forces. That's what all of the shooting and fires have been about. We had to stop some bad men... an army of darkness... from taking over the world."
"And you didn't think to tell your parents until now?!"
"I'm sorry, Mum. It wasn't safe for you to know."
"What if you were killed down in London?! What then?!"
"We left a magic message that would've told you everything. We thought it was best that way. Sorry, Mum. Knowing what I do now, I would've done things differently."
Sue sniffed once, long and hard. "It's okay, Dani. Goddess. I... I forgive you. You're all safe and sound now... and we're where now? In the states? On a tropical island? Let's have a bit of fun and forget it all for awhile."
Dani smiled. "That's the spirit, Mum."
The Green family arrived on Hawaii in the very early afternoon and decided to stay for a couple hours to take in the warm air and sunshine. Being in a remote location, they weren't actually lucky to have the beach all to themselves. Dani checked various locations before She teleported. She liked the idea of having Her family visit Hawaii and their current location was one of the few beaches that wasn't packed with people.
After they all scrabbled down the steep trail to the beach, the Goddess magically changed their clothes into swim wear and they all had a little fun in the water, even Ash. The salamander didn't stay long in the waves though. He created so much steam that it made him sneeze. He sighed and contented himself with watching his family frolic in the water.
Wanda noticed Ash watching them and decided to join him. She'd had enough of the water in spite of its relatively cool temperature. She hadn't yet developed an affinity for it like her sisters, but that would come as she grew up in Water Works cottage. The magic under the cottage would bubble up and saturate her body, enough that she'd develop some magic potential along with an appreciation of water in general.
"It too hot here," she complained as she approached Ash.
"Me like it," the salamander said.
Wanda stuck her tongue out at him and he sneezed a little fire, not having gotten all of the steam out of his nose. The fire sent the little girl squealing and running back to take her chances with the waves, though with Dani around, she'd be safe enough.
Dani actually kept the surf fairly calm for Her family. The waves could be a little rough, especially when the tide reached higher on the steeper part of the beach.
After they had their fill of water, they lounged on the peculiar green sand that gave the beach its name and got a little sun. Sue was a little concerned about sunburn but again, Dani kept them safe, creating a filter in the air over all of them that acted like sunscreen lotion. The filter reduced the ultraviolet rays enough that they'd only get a very slight tan.
"This is nice," Sue said to no one in particular.
"Yeah," Pat and Simone said together. They were back in sync.
Dani smiled at Her family and soaked up the love that they all shared. She loved being the Goddess. How could She not?
When they reached their third hour in Hawaii, Dani told them all to prepare for teleportation back home.
"Do we have to go?" Simone said, half whining. "I'm finally getting a bikini tan line."
Pat rolled her eyes but smiled. She silently agreed with her twin but she wasn't going to let anyone know that. She wasn't going to fully embrace her inner girl until she could hold a certain ceremony that she promised herself, a ceremony to mourn their male selves.
Dani picked up on Pat's thoughts and felt She should talk about it. She took both twins aside and spoke quietly to them so none of the rest of the family would hear. "Would you like to be boys again? I think I know the answer but I wanted to give you the chance. I can change both of you back to boys easily enough. I can't really change myself though. I'd get stuck somewhere in between genders if I tried. I'd lose my connection to the Goddess before I could finish."
"That would be awful!" Simone said.
"I think so too," Dani said. "But since becoming one with the Goddess, I've come to fully accept and even enjoy being a girl. I don't think I'd want to go back to being a boy even if I could."
"Really?" the younger twin said. "Because I feel the same way. I want to stay a girl."
"What about you, Pat?" Dani asked. "Still not happy being a girl?"
"I can't really be an identical twin if Simone stays a girl and I go back to being a boy. And I do so love the connection we have. Besides, I feel like I haven't given this girl thing a chance. I'd like to stay a girl, I think."
"You think?" Dani teased. "You're still not sure? It sounds like you might be better off as a boy."
"Okay. You got me. I'm sure. I want to be a girl. There. Are you happy?"
Dani smiled. "I'm... content, brave sister. We'll all stay girls. Mum will certainly be happy."
"Can't say the same for Father," Pat said and the three of them laughed.
Staying girls would allow the three Green sisters to keep their magic ability and keep their trio intact. As a powerful trio, they could both protect against any future Dark Forces and help discourage evil creatures from joining forces in the first place. The good trio's reputation would be passed along by the trolls and others who might be tempted to fall in with the dark side. It was a good plan.
Only one more magical task remained for the Goddess. She had three sad little golem girls that needed attention. After a quick late night snack and a good night's rest for Her human body, She woke up completely refreshed and ready to complete Her task, except for one little problem. As Her gurgling stomach reminded Her, She still needed to eat. Her human body required nourishment and it made sure to remind Her of that fact.
There hadn't been much time for eating anything except for a couple snacks and a little ice cream the day before so Dani had cheated. She'd magically created glucose and had added it to Her body in small increments throughout the day as She had time. It hadn't been very satisfying for Her stomach but it'd kept Her going well enough.
"Okay, little one," She said, talking to and patting her tummy. "I'll follow my nose to the kitchen then. It smells like someone's celebrating our victory with a favored breakfast."
She looked over at Wanda, who now slept on a small bed in Dani's room. The air bed had been replaced whilst the trio had been away in London. Dani quietly walked over and smiled at the young girl.
"She looks so cute and peaceful," She said to Herself, knowing that the girl was awake and could hear Her.
Wanda opened one eye and glared up at the Goddess. "I not sleep now. I wanna sleep but me only sleep at night since we talk. No fair. Me love the night."
"Perhaps when you're older, you can find a night job. But for now, you need to fit in with your new family and we only sleep at night, except for the occasional nap."
"Okay. Me hungry anyway. We eat now?"
"Yes, Wanda. It's time for breakfast. Let's go."
The two of them held hands as they made their way downstairs to the kitchen and found Pat and Simone ready and waiting to serve them with eggy bread. Both Dani and Wanda smiled and sat down next to each other at the dining room table with Pat being the chef and Simone acting the maid. The girls all had a good time.
"What's this?" Sue said as she joined the fun. "Got room for one more?"
"Yeah!" all four girls said in unison, surprising everyone… except the Goddess.
Dani got everyone involved to help with the golem girls, except Her father of course since he had to go to work. She had Her family gather materials for a grand spell that She hoped would put everything right. It didn't take long.
When all of the materials were collected, Ash stayed outside the house as a guard and all of the females moved to the dining area. They'd cleared the room of its table and moved the chairs to the kitchen and open doorways on the edge of the dining area.
Pat and Simone hoped to have the spells cast under their favorite stand of oak trees but Dani sensed too many people around who might see them. The spell would take nearly an hour to cast and it needed to be cast once for each golem girl. That made interruptions too likely, and interruptions could prove dangerous for the golem girls. That's because they were getting new bodies and the final part of the spell to transfer their spirits to the new bodies could be tricky.
The first step was to magically create a stone bath with an indentation in a roughly human shape. The bath would hold just the right amount of warm water to which was added a balance of organic compounds, just as Dani had shown Nivia. The Goddess would be creating three human bodies and the golem girls were in shock. Never in their wildest dreams would they ever guess that they'd be brought back to life, but here they were, ready to return to the land of the living.
First up was Emma, the flow of the deceased trio. She went first since she was last to become a golem. Dani mixed the compounds into the stone bath and chanted, causing the water to glow. That was the cue for the golem girl to step forward.
Dani picked the golem up and gently placed it on the rim near the part of the bath that represented the head. She finished the spell by adding copious amounts of chi magic, binding everything together into the shape of a teenage girl.
For nearly a minute, Pat, Simone and Sue didn't breathe as they watched the body after it finished taking shape in the stone bath. They waited for some sign of life and they finally got it. The new girl's eyelids twitched and opened to reveal a very surprised pair of hazel colored eyes, and seconds later, the girl shouted her first word.
"Toilet!"
Dani's human body couldn't quite measure out the perfect balance of water and solid compounds for the new girl's body. She added too much water and the new body needed to remove the excess water.
After moving the lifeless golem, the Goddess helped Emma up and conjured up a robe that She draped around the girl. She also supported her as they walked together to the bathroom and gave the girl some privacy after carefully setting her on the toilet.
On her second try, Dani got the balance right for Kate, the font of her trio and next one to become human. The Goddess found a way to compensate for Her imperfect human body.
Kate didn't say anything for the longest time after gaining full control of her new body. She simply cried as the Goddess held her. After several minutes, the new girl was helped up and covered with a robe. She went to sit beside Emma who'd returned from the bathroom.
Last was Jenna, the fetch and leader of her trio. She formed after the required time and soon said her first word.
"Finally."
"Yes," Dani said. "Congratulations. You endured."
Jenna's eyes went wide as she heard Dani's last word. "You… you know!"
"Yes, of course. I wasn't the Goddess then but I'm one with Her now. I know it was the last word She said to you before you were killed in the explosion. She asked you to endure and you did. Thanks for listening." The Goddess smiled and Jenna started crying.
Kate and Emma quickly got up to join their trio mate in a group hug full of tears.
Dani let them cry themselves out before She gave them the bad news. There had to be consequences after their original bodies were killed. That meant they couldn't keep their original faces, as they did for the moment. The Goddess had used traces of their original DNA to create copies of their original bodies. That meant that they had their original faces. But if they kept those faces, they'd have some difficult questions to answer. Mundane citizens wouldn't be able to accept the girls as coming back from the dead. They wouldn't trust them, especially with the current popularity of zombie movies.
"I'm afraid you'll have to permanently change your faces. You'll still have the same DNA. Your children will still be related to your family, but you won't be able to look like your original selves, at least not in public. I'm sorry."
Jenna sighed. "Our faces are a small price to pay for our lives. Thank you so much, Goddess." The girl bowed.
"Please!" Dani said. "Don't bow. I'm not exactly the Goddess and you know it. I'm just one with Her."
Jenna smiled. "So modest. You're more than just an avatar, and you're much more than just a small extension of Her. As you are now, you are the Goddess. I can see it in your eyes. I can hear it in your voice even though you're mellowing out your normal commanding voice."
Dani bowed Her head in defeat. "I concede that I speak with Her voice and see with Her eyes. But please realize that I still act with an imperfect human body. I make mistakes as I did with the balance of Emma's bodily fluids."
Jenna's eyes twinkled. "You're right, of course. You're the Goddess and the Goddess is always right."
Everyone laughed. It was a good day — a very good day.
The Goddess properly clothed the three new girls, helped them create new faces and new names that they could live with along with official identification. And She sent them home to their families after a round of thankful hugs and a tearful good-bye. The trio of girls would visit each of their families in turn so they could work magic together and temporarily change their faces back to their original form. They had a lot of explaining to do and a lot of stories to tell. Like the Green sisters, the time was right to let their families know about their magical heritage. Dani wished them well but as the Goddess, She knew the outcome would be favorable.
The resurrected trio would easily integrate back into the area with their families. They'd also help to play an important part in deterring the Dark Forces along with the Green sisters. The world would be a magically safe place for generations to come.
Dani's last task as Goddess was a solemn one. She presided over an informal funeral for the Green brothers after George got home from work. The Green sisters were well on their way to becoming all girl. They left their boy selves behind and Pat especially needed closure. So did their father. They prepared everything and held a private funeral for their immediate family. That included Ash and Wanda. The two newest additions were just as much a part of their family.
They moved their dining room table and chairs outside in the back garden to take advantage of the warm late afternoon. And they added decorations, but instead of black, the decorations were all white. The white celebrated the good side of the natural balance of life and it encouraged the family to look on the bright side of things. They still had their love to keep them together. Even Wanda, who was once part of the Dark Forces, could appreciate the good things in life, and love was the best.
No one except their father said anything, and all he said was a simple, "Good bye, boys. I appreciated the times we spent together and I'll always remember you fondly."
Sue and the twins cried a little at that. Even Wanda sniffled once.
Ash kept quiet and silently vowed to do manly things with his adopted father. He hoped Dani could give him human form once in awhile so Ash could go places too. He had his dreams. He meant well. He was a good salamander, just as Wanda made a good little girl. The two new additions to the family were originally thought of as inherently evil but they proved that to be untrue.
Dani couldn't help hear Ash's thoughts. She smiled and walked over to the salamander, giving him a last hug. She hugged him tightly and as She shed Her first tear for Her former male self, She lost Her divine connection. She was no longer one with the Goddess, though she did hear her inner voice give her some parting words.
'You've done well, child,' the Goddess told her. 'Be well and know that we'll become one again in your later years. So will your sisters and Jenna's trio, but please don't tell them. If they know they'll try too hard and make their journey more difficult. They have to follow their own path.'
'I understand,' Dani said. 'And I look forward to it. Blessed be!'
'Blessed be, child. I love you and remember that I'll still be around. Listen for me and you will hear.'
With Her last words, the Goddess slipped away, but not before tapping Dani lightly on the shoulder to remind her of a little problem.
"Oy!" Dani cried as Ash's skin burned her. She no longer had the power of the Goddess to protect her.
The fetch had to use a powerful healing spell to repair the burn damage. It took her nearly thirty minutes with the twins' help but that was okay. The ceremony was over. It ended when she hugged Ash and shed a tear for the Green brothers.
The Green family said good bye to the boys. It was time to move on and celebrate their daughters, including Wanda. And it was time to welcome Ash too. The family had something stronger than any magic. They had love.
© 2014 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.
