Magic InkChapter 28
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Sara, Sean, and I had been sitting in the cottage worried about how Annie was doing with her exam. We all felt it when she used the spell the 'Book of Dreams' had taught us, and when she activated her rings to suspend the Panel in the air. We were therefore prepared when she called us and already had our swords in our hands. We instantly spoke the spell to join her.
On arriving and drawing our swords, I noticed that the blades were no longer silver in color. Instead they ran with golden light that pulsed along the blade. It was obvious that the examiners were shocked by our appearance and our swords.
There were questions that we answered before Sara told them that the demonstration wouldn't be done here in the Otherworld, and we started the transportation spell that would take all of us to the quarry in Colorado.
"Where are we?" Brian asked in amazement when the shock of being transported had worn off some, and he and the others had a chance to look around.
"We're in Colorado. It's in the western part of the United States," Sean told them with pride.
"But ... but that's ... that's... ??" Master One started.
"About 4450 miles more or less from Ireland," Dad said with a smile.
"But how??" Master Two asked near shock again.
"Just a simple spell!" Sara said with a huge grin on her face. "Well, okay, maybe not quite so simple." All of the members on the Examination Panel just stared at her with a look of disbelief on their faces.
"With ... without a portal??" Master Four asked in an incredulous tone.
"Yes," Annie answered with a smile. "We are very familiar with the destination having been here several times." We then directed the Panel of Masters to stand out of the way of our demonstration before we joined hands again. We had already sent our swords back to their place at our house.
"This first part will be a demonstration of the sheer destructive power of our rings," I told them. We had already begun to glow again as the Magic Forces built around us.
Once again we raised our arms and pointed at one of the large slabs of rock on the floor of the quarry. We activated our rings and thought 'Destroy'. The beams of Magic Power leapt from us and converged on the slab of rock that was ten feet tall, ten feet wide and six feet thick. There was a tremendous 'CRACK' and an even louder 'BOOM' as the slab exploded into thousands of pieces of shrapnel that flew in all directions. Our flames had appeared to protect all of us as the slab exploded. When the pieces stopped falling out of the air, the Masters on the Panel stared at the spot where the slab had been. It was empty except for a number of pieces of fallen debris.
"Good gods!!" several members of the Panel exclaimed.
"The next part of the demonstration will be less destructive," I informed them, as we turned to the lower work face of the quarry. We then proceeded to cut the face for the removal of blocks of stone, as we and our family had done previously. This time, however, we cut the bottom of the block straight across at the base before moving to the side to cut it free of the wall, and then actually lifted the first slab out of the way so Sean and Sara could cut their slab free and lift it to place it next to ours on the floor of the quarry.
"Those slabs, gentlemen, are ten feet high, eight feet wide and six feet deep. They are solid granite, and if my memory serves me correctly that would mean that they weight something over forty tons each," Dad told them in the silence that followed our demonstration.
"Forty tons?" Brian asked, aghast.
"Yes," was all that Dad said in reply.
"There are other less destructive things that can be done with the forces involved with the rings," I told them next as Sean brought out the bowling balls and some large tenpins. We played a little lawn pool and did some bowling to demonstrate the less destructive applications of directed Magic. The Panel of Examiners was even more surprised at this, and the fine control that we had of the forces involved.
When we had finished our demonstration, we moved them all back together and used the spell to return all of us to the glen in the Otherworld. Our Mothers were there waiting for us, and they were greatly distressed.
"Thank heavens you're back!!" Mother Margie said on seeing us materialize.
"There is a problem that requires you're immediate attention," Mother Katie said in a serious voice. "There is a Leprechaun trapped against the wall of your cottage. He's been screaming for some time now. Several others appeared while we were there, but they could do nothing to help him."
"He's caught in the wards," Sean said with a smile.
"You need to free him. He's making a terrible racket, and a crowd has gathered to see what is happening," Mother Margie told us.
"This will be interesting," Sara said with a smirk.
We all headed for our cottage, even the Masters on the Panel went with us. We could hear the Leprechaun well before we reached the cottage and those gathered around it. The crowd made way for us as we approached. Brian had moved up next to Sean and me by the time we arrived at the cottage.
"QUIET!" he ordered the Leprechaun, as we neared him. The crowd had also gone quiet at this command. "So you have been caught in the act, Finley!" he finished.
"I was merely walking by when the wall grabbed me," the Leprechaun, Finley, answered in excuse.
"Bullshit!!" Sean snorted in reply. "Those wards don't function like that. You had to be trying to get into the cottage to be trapped like this."
"Can you release him from the wall?" Brian asked.
"Certainly," Sean replied and used the word that relaxed the wards for a short time. The Leprechaun quickly jumped away from the wall and would have disappeared except Annie and Sara were already reciting a spell to hold him there.
"Finley, I'm greatly disappointed in you!" Brian said tiredly. "You WILL appear before me tomorrow morning to hear your punishment. Leave us now," Brian finished. The O'Neill sisters canceled the spell, and the Leprechaun instantly disappeared.
"I'm sorry that this happened while you are here," Brian said apologetically, still with the same tired voice.
"Don't feel badly, Master Brian. It's what we created the wards for after we arrived here," Annie told him.
"Wait!" Brian asked. "You created the wards after you arrived? You didn't bring a ward stone with you?" He seemed quite puzzled.
"Yes, it didn't take all that long as the building is small, and each of us took a different warding spell," Annie assured him.
"Four wards? Could we touch the walls to see what is there?" Master One asked as the four other Masters had moved forward by now to join our conversation.
"Yes, that won't harm anything or anyone," I told them. All five Masters moved over to the walls of the cottage and laid their hands on the walls. Shortly their faces reflected puzzlement, then consternation, and finally shock.
"How long did it take you to set these wards?" Master Five demanded after a time.
"Only a few minutes each," Annie answered.
"Brian, we need to have a conference to discuss what we have seen and experienced today with these people," Master One said after examining the wall for a time.
"Yes, I think you're correct ... Master One," Brian agreed. "Let's adjourn to my cottage for a meal and our discussions of what we have seen and learned." He then turned to us and our parents who were nearby.
"I'll come to see all of you tomorrow about our decision on how to proceed after I have dealt with Finley," Brian told us before the five Senior Master Sorcerers left for Brian's cottage. The crowd had also dispersed.
It wasn't until we were all inside and had settled down some that we realized how much time had passed and what time it was. It was already late afternoon here, and we had all had breakfast early this morning. Annie and Sara prepared some food for all of us after we cleaned up some.
"Did I do all right?" Annie asked nervously, as we washed our hands, arms and faces.
"Yes, you were fantastic!"I told her, and kissed her still wet face. Annie flowed into me, and returned my kiss with passion.
"I was worried that it wouldn't work," she said, as we came up for air, and she shivered some.
"It's all right, Sweetie," I assured her. "We just have to see what they decide."
After we finished eating, there wasn't much to do. We didn't feel like studying as we waited, or going out to do anything.
"What do you think they'll decide?" Sara asked after we had been sitting in the main room for some time.
"It might be interesting to be a fly on their wall to listen to their discussions," Sean said in reply.
"I wouldn't try that, Sean," I said. "They might detect the spell on the fly."
"I know, but I hate waiting around," Sean said in frustration and got up to pace, leaving Sara seated.
"Does it really matter what they decide?" Annie asked after a minute. "I mean, we already know what we need to do, and whatever they decide won't change that."
"No, it won't change that," Sean agreed. "But it would be nice to be able to say that we are Master Level Sorcerers."
"But it won't make any real difference," Sara said joining in. "We ARE the most powerful Sorcerers in the world.
"Yes, but are we the most knowledgeable?" I asked. "There are many things that Master's Level Sorcerers must know. I don't believe we received all of that knowledge in the five weeks the 'Book of Dreams' was teaching us. It taught us what we needed to know to take care of the situations that we are expected to face, but not everything that a Master needs to and should know," I told them.
"Yes," Annie agreed, "we will all need to continue studying to improve our knowledge of Magic and the more advanced spells that a Master can do." There was a knock on the door. It came just as Annie finished speaking, and I went to see who it was.
"Good evening, Dad," I said on opening the door, and seeing our Dad standing there.
"I need to speak with you Gus - alone - without the others," Dad told me. "Can you step outside for a few minutes?"
"Sure, Dad. Just let me tell the others," I told him and turned to let the others know that I would be outside for a bit. "Dad needs to talk to me for a minute. I'll be back in a bit." We moved away from the cottage before Dad began speaking.
"It's about your Anna," he said.
"What about her?" I asked worried.
"I was impressed with her maturity and the way she handled the examination today," Dad stated. "When you first met her, she was very quiet and not ... self-asserting. Today she was very positive and competent in what she did and the way she handled things and herself. She seemed to have a much more positive attitude about herself."
"Yes, Annie has grown much more confident in both herself and what she can do as her knowledge of Magic has increased," I acknowledged. "But she is still the same sweet girl under all of that."
"Yes, even Sara, who is much bolder in most things, is a very sweet girl at heart," Dad said before changing the subject.
"No matter what happens tomorrow, I want all of you to know that I believe that you did very well today with how you handled things. The Leprechaun getting caught in your wards didn't hurt either," Dad said with a big smile.
"Don't forget to set the privacy spell tonight, and we'll see you in the morning," Dad finished before leaving.
"What was that all about?" Sean asked when I returned to the cottage.
"Dad was congratulating me on the fine job that Annie did today," I told them. "Also on the job that the rest of us did also."
"Really!?" Annie asked in surprise.
"Yes, really, Sweetie," I answered and took her in my arms for a long kiss. By the time we came up for air, the door to Sean and Sara's room was closing.
"Don't forget to set the privacy spell!" I warned him.
"Yes!" Sara answered and giggled as the door closed tight.
"They are going to wear each other out," Amie told me.
"Should we do the same thing?" I asked, already hard.
"Yes!" Annie said with a mischievous giggle, "but with a little more restraint than those two have."
We retired to our bedroom, and I remembered using the privacy spell, but that was the last thing that I was sure of that night. We hugged, kisses, cuddled, and had sex for some time after that. I'm just not sure of what order they happened in, or how many times we did what. I do have a memory of rolling off of Annie just before we fell into blissful sleep for the rest of the night.
In the morning, we were both in need of a little medical Magic; me for the scratches on my back, and Annie so she could walk without a limp. We had awakened early with a need for a long dip in the heated pool on the other side of the village. Annie and I emerged from our room to a still dark cottage. Annie went to wake the others while I lit a candle with a spell.
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On arriving at the Hall for the evening meal, we were surprised to see a larger table set up and that several other guests were already there for the meal. The current conversations all stopped when we entered the Hall. "These are my house guests," Lady Feidhelm told the others. "The young man is Master Kellen O'Connell and the young ladies are the Mac Sweeney Sisters, Airmid and Almha, his Apprentices," she finished. "Kellen, these are my guests for the evening meal: Master Murchadh...
We materialized in the Duke's apartment on the second floor of the Manor house. The lamps there ran on Magic and they were lit. There was a fire in the large fireplace, making it much cheerier than the cell that we had just left. Of course the four girls couldn't see any of this, but they could feel the increased warmth. A large sumptuous dinner had been set out on the large table in the dining area here. It appeared that the Duke and Duchess had been interrupted as they prepared to have...
Mark's Narrative Continues: We didn't see Seamus or most of his people for ten days following dinner that night. Meagan and Maureen did appear for dinner a couple of times during that period, and they borrowed Dymphna for a time as Seamus and Carl had taken Dealla and Cessair with them. Having three Mages in the Ohio country put a strain on our one remaining Mage, Coleen, who was rather busy with two locations to take care of. Things on this side of the Ohio River had not slowed down or...
June slipped into July, and we still hadn't found time to return to the Other Reality to visit the girls still there, and to see how they and the Daughters they were carrying were doing. We had planned on returning several times, but every time that we had, something had come up to prevent us from leaving. Aside from the normal work in the fields on the growing crops, and our work in the printing plant, several emergencies had developed to prevent us from leaving. The first was one...
Because of our late start, there was no way that we could make the fifty kilometers to Gray before dark. We passed through the hamlet of Belleauve that afternoon, and had neared Mirebeau-sur-Beze before deciding to stop for the night. We looked for, and found, a wooded area with a pond nearby, at the edge of an open field. Pat and I had unsaddled our riding horses, unhitched the cart team, and removed their harnesses before we took them out to the pond for a drink. The women were preparing...
Monday started a week of discoveries and amazement for our future wives. While Pat and I hit the books, as the old saying goes, on Monday morning, our Sisters and female Cousins took our girlfriends shopping in Statesboro. They went on the small bus that makes regular trips to town several times a day so that our people can shop or run other errands. The first shock was the bus itself. It's one of the small types of buses that can carry 25 or so passengers, like those used by many churches...
Characters introduced in this chapter: Shannon O'Connell (Shan) Sheena's twin, one of Mike's future wives, 5'-4" tall, 104 pounds, 34C-21-30, 15 years old, long flaming red hair, deep green eyes, some freckles, and terribly cute Sheena O'Connell (She) Shannon's twin, one of Pat's future wives, 5'-4" tall, 104 pounds, 34C-21-30, 15 years old, long flaming red hair, deep green eyes, some freckles, and terribly cute Clare O'Toole Cathleen's twin, one of Mike's future wives,...
At home on Monday we all relaxed for a while except for the need to weed the fields and some maintenance on the new Tractor. Sean and I took Annie and Sara out to show them how to weed with Magic. They were surprised that they knew the spell, and at how easy it was to weed the large fields with Magic. Later our Moms took them out and introduced them to the herbal garden and weeding by hand because many of the herbs and other things growing there would be considered weeds by the Magic spell,...
"Shannon, what are you doing?" Savannah demanded, standing in the hall behind us. Shannon's head came up off my chest, and she turned toward her Sister in a more determined way than I had seen before. "It's all right, Savannah. He will take us with him and will marry both of us," she told her Sister. Savannah gasped in surprise. "Really? Both of us? Are you sure?" she asked in a doubtful voice. "I told Shannon that I would marry both of you. I will be glad to have both of you as...
Annie and I spent a troubled night with thoughts of Weres waking us from time to time, as I was sure others in our family did. We had all heard tales about them, but had always assumed that they were just that - tales, and not anything real. We were about to discover if they were real or not. Annie and I were up early for breakfast and were joined by Sean and Sara, who were up equally early. After breakfast there wasn’t anything to do at our houses, so we went over to our parents’ house to...
Mark resumes the Narrative: I didn't have a chance to return to the barracks room until sometime later. I had checked with all of the Platoon Leaders and the remaining leaders of Olive Hill. I had also created the permanent Portal to Hickory Hill to get supplies in here. Wolf came over to me as I entered the room. He had very hesitantly left the girl that he had rescued, who was asleep on one of the bunks. "I'm sorry that I let you down, Mark, but I ... I just couldn't leave Saoirse....
The sun was already up when we rose the next morning. It was dry and fairly warm in our defensive shell, and the fire that the Eternal Flame had left was still burning. While the women started on breakfast, Pat and I fed the horses. "We are going to take the horses for a drink," I told the women, as we prepared to move the horses through the defensive shell and our wards. They didn't like this, and were always skittish when we did it. "Breakfast will be ready in a bit," Shannon called...
The following Monday, the 4th of September, was Labor Day, and on Tuesday, the 5th, we all started back with our home-school studies. Pat and I were now Seniors in high school. Thanks to the work done by the 'Book of Dreams', Shannon and Sheena were now in their Junior year of high school, while Clare and Cathleen had started their Sophomore year. Gretchen and Petra, because of their late start with the 'Book of Dreams' were only on eighth grade work at present, but were advancing rapidly...
It was July before more checks showed up. It was Wednesday, the 13th, to be exact. On Thursday, the 14th, we returned to Nassau to deposit the latest checks and some excess funds from our parents' regular bank account in Georgia. Our parents were maintaining a large reserve of cash on hand in their house now. They had built it up over the last eleven months. This deposit brought them to over 225 million dollars in the two Nassau banks. It would appear that we weren't the only ones moving...
Mankato's (Robert's) awakening: I awoke next to the woman who had rescued me. From the size of the Talent that I could feel and the amount of Magic energy surrounding her, one would assume that she was a woman of large proportions and stature. In fact, the woman next to me was short with large breasts and a slim but very female figure. In her sleep, her breasts rose and fell rhythmically, and I watched them joyfully for a considerable period of time. At last she awoke and sat up. "How...
Characters introduced in the next two chapters: Lady Caoilinn O'Doherty Master Cahir's Wife, the current owner of Glenveagh Castle, 5'-7" tall, 135 pounds, 36B-24-37, 32 years old, dark blond hair, gray eyes Master Cahir Imprisoned the Mac Sweeney sisters, Lady Caoilinn Husband, 5'-7" tall, 175 pounds, 41 years old, Long brown hair and brown eyes Donough Servant, 6'-2" tall, 255 pounds, 27 years old black hair, blue eyes Sean Og O'Doherty Captain of Guards, Lady Caoilinn's...
I was awakened by Sean's voice as he pounded on our bedroom door a couple of weeks later. "Gus, Gus! Wake up!" he was shouting. I sat up and that was when the knowledge hit me. It was like someone had suddenly opened a door and all of the Magical knowledge that I had been absorbing for the last five weeks plus was suddenly right there in my mind - whole and in exacting detail. I just sat there stunned at the magnitude of it all for several seconds. I was brought back to reality by...
I hated to interrupt the Sisters' fun, but it was getting late in the day, and we needed to come to a consensus on what was to be done. "Would you ladies like to leave here with me?" I asked when they took a little break after exploring the room. "Leave?" they both thought in my mind. "Yes, go somewhere else with me." "We had never considered that we could go somewhere else!" Airmid said in surprise. "How would we do that?" Almha asked. "I can use my Magic to transfer us to...
We awoke fairly early the next morning, as the Sisters wanted to see this new castle. I was worried about what Ken had said, and that they would be disappointed. We quickly dressed in our Wizard's robes, but I didn't know if Ken and the O'Hallinan Sisters were up yet. "Ken could still be asleep," I told my women, who were ready to leave for his apartment. "No, they are awake and up," Airmid told me, confidently. "Are you sure?" I asked wondering how she could know that. "Yes, we...
New characters introduced in the next two chapters: Gretchen Servant, Mikes bed mate, 5'-5" tall, 115 pounds, 34B-22-32, 17 years old, long black hair, blue eyes, a sweet but rather plain looking girl "I'll cover the differences first, as they are marked," Grandfather told us after he had finished his meal, and we all had some more of the excellent wine. "They will allow you to understand the similarities better. Also please realize that all of these events have been caused by the...
Margie resumes the Narrative: Romero New York hoodlum, 5’-8’’ tall, 165 pounds, 36 year old, black hair, brown eyes We moved Mr. Franklin’s concrete mixer, a steam powered Ransome 7 batch mixer with an elevating charging hopper attached to the site of the first house on Monday, the 25th of March. Mr. Franklin was concerned as the mixer weighed some 8,000 pounds, but it really wasn’t any challenge for me at all. My Ancestors had moved much heavier loads longer distances with no trouble. I...
Even before the others had started dinner in the cafeteria, the flashing lights and sirens had appeared outside the defensive shell. They had been preceded by, and were followed by, helicopters of various police and news organizations. Those arriving included: the Fairfax County Sheriff's department, the Virginia State Police, the FBI, and others including local radio and television news reporters. There was a multitude of details to be taken care of before our family would be able to join...