《The Witches Hut》 Getting Out of Dodge Part One Getting the Hell Out of Dodge The world of magic was a bit like the wild west. Replace the guns with wands and spells, and the bandits with dark magical assholes and yeah, pretty much the same. And that is why it was time for Maggie to get the hell out of Dodge. This plan had been brewing inside of her for a long time. While every other kid was all starry eyed and dreaming about getting a letter inviting them into the magical world, Maggie had been reading the newspaper and dreading the day some schmuck with a skeleton face and a raspy voice tried to persuade her to join his righteous cause of ridding the world of normies. In these head fantasies she¡¯d refuse and then a battle would ensue where she was obliterated by this psycho or one of his psycho minions. Thus, these fantasies further cemented her desire to be exactly where these pricks weren¡¯t going to be. ¡°Are ya all packed, honey?¡± Her rosy-cheeked father asked. He was of course grinning like a fool because today was the day, he was finally free of his earthly burdens. A lifetime of good financial decisions had landed he and Maggie¡¯s mom in a position to retire early and with Maggie now going off to school, they¡¯d have nothing holding themselves back from living out their dreams of traveling the country and visiting all the locales on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The thought that their precious little daughter could be disintegrated by a bolt of lightning from a knock-off Ozzy Osbourne had no bearing on their consciences. ¡°All packed, dad.¡± Maggie said cheerily. ¡°And is the tuition account setup?¡± Her dad looked around the room, spotted some packed bags and hefted one up with a grunt. ¡°It is my dear, and of course your personal stipend so you can live a little.¡± Maggie hated goodbyes. Like, despised them. Not that she hated seeing people go or leaving loved ones behind, she just hated that awkwardness of deciding how many hugs, and I love yous¡¯ was enough. How much time to spend fawning over one another. Making promises to write or call. The unneeded advice like, ¡°Take care of yourself,¡± or ¡°Don¡¯t do anything I wouldn¡¯t do,¡± and her personal favorite, ¡°don¡¯t forget to lock the car doors so the homeless can¡¯t open them at red lights.¡± So when her dad finished maneuvering his ridiculously sized RV into the parking lot at Penn Station she readied herself to make a mad dash away from her parents. ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Her father shouted. Always the master of stating the obvious. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you couldn¡¯t just fly, taking the train seems dreadful. So much rocking and bouncing,¡± her mother chimed in. As if she hadn¡¯t noticed how rocky and bouncy the RV ride was. Maggie shrugged, ¡°Who knows, mom.¡± But she in fact did know. She also knew that her mother knew. Magic and electricity weren¡¯t friends. Each would interfere with the other. This of course helped normies feel safe in their cities filled to the brim with massive electrical systems and gave the electrical operators someone to blame for their own negligence. Oh, the power is out? Must be some wizard or witch conducting a sinister ritual. Yeah, right Texas, we all know your grid sucks balls. But it also meant you couldn¡¯t carry any magical paraphernalia through airport security. They were definitely not going to risk a plane going down because some jackass wanted to warm his drink using a simple heat incantation, and Maggie¡¯s bags were filled to the brim with every novice magical device and book her parents could afford. ¡°I like it,¡± her father said with a smile. ¡°Adds a bit of mystery to the experience.¡± Yep, trains, the epitome of mystery. Who could ever unravel the sacred arts of steam powered locomotion? ¡°Um, Maggie,¡± her mother said. Maggie turned to her, ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I have something for you.¡± Her mother reached into the pocket of her coat and brought out a long silver chain with a silver circular pendant on it. ¡°It belonged to my¡­ Helena.¡± ¡°Grammy¡¯s?¡± Maggie asked, pausing in her flight. Her mother nodded. ¡°Come here and let me put it on you.¡± Maggie acquiesced. Lowering herself before her mother as she slipped the silver chain around her neck. ¡°You know, she was a bit of a witchy woman herself.¡± ¡°Cracked in the head more like,¡± her father grunted out. A sharp look from her mother banished him back to the driver''s seat. ¡°She had magic?¡± Maggie asked. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think like that. But she always believed. She felt a kinship with the moon. When I was a little girl there would be many a night, she would drag me out of bed, half-awake to stand out in our yard staring up at the full moon and bask in its light.¡± Her voice began to quaver as her eyes welled with tears. Long ago memories not often visited threatened to overwhelm her. ¡°And she always wore this.¡± and her mother tapped the moon shaped emblem on the necklace. ¡°I don¡¯t think there is any real magic in it, but your Grammy loved it and she¡¯d be pleased as punch to know you¡¯ll be carrying on her legacy.¡± For once in her life Maggie was at a loss for words. Instead of speaking she did something she had so rarely done as of late and just embraced her mom. They stayed there like that, locked in a moment between mother and daughter until her father finally spoke up again. ¡°We best head into the station now, or you¡¯ll miss your train.¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Her mother pushed her away but held her at arm¡¯s length and stared into her tear-filled eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so proud of you.¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± Maggie demanded. ¡°You¡¯re going to make me cry.¡± Her mother looked away. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay here. I¡¯m not one for goodbyes.¡± ¡°Oh, come on now. You two are acting like this is a funeral,¡± her dad chided. ¡°It¡¯s ok dad,¡± Maggie said with renewed resolve. ¡°Let¡¯s go. You can walk me to my gate.¡± She spared one last glance back at her mom, suddenly wishing she had said more, done more, to get to know the woman who had literally given her life. She resolved then to write often. Maybe she would spare her the details of her actual plan. Yeah. Wouldn¡¯t want to worry her more. -Break- Trains, Pains, and Bespelled Her mother had of course been right. Trains were terrible. Maybe not all trains. Maybe newer fancier trains were better, or those high speed bullet trains in Japan. Yeah, those were probably great, but old timey steam powered trains without all the accouterments of modern technology, yeah, they kind of sucked. That was Maggie¡¯s thoughts before the train left normal society. After the train gained a far enough distance away from the city, the magical inscriptions kicked in. It took every ounce of strength and dexterity Maggie had to not flail around the train cabin. How the pale girl across from her managed to sleep through this vexed her. Maybe she was dead? And then it stopped. Maggie stuck her hands out to the side ready for another wave of shaking but nothing happened. Overhead a runic symbol illuminated in a blue fluorescent color and cold air washed down from the rune blanketing the cabin. Ah, sweet delicious AC. A green looking symbol alighted on the wall and a female¡¯s voice spoke through it. ¡°Thank you for your patience. While we have distanced ourselves far enough away that we may activate our inscriptions, please refrain from any unnecessary use of magic. Please be reminded that combat magic is strictly prohibited on the train and the use of it will result in immediate expulsion.¡± From the train, or from the school, Maggie wondered. ¡°Ah, I timed it perfectly.¡± the girl who has been sleeping said. She stretched and yawned and cracked her back so loud that Maggie was sure that couldn¡¯t have been healthy. Maggie remained silent. Maybe if she didn¡¯t acknowledge her, she would not have to engage with her for the remainder of the trip. ¡°The sleeping elixir, if you were wondering. I get terrible motion sickness. I knew that the train¡¯s stabilizing runes would kick in eventually, but I didn¡¯t think I could make it without barfing all over the cabin. I didn¡¯t think anyone would appreciate that, so I took some precautions. You¡¯re really quiet by the way. My name¡¯s Celeste, I¡¯m a second year¡­¡± ¡°HI!¡± Maggie interrupted before the girl could go on anymore. ¡°I¡¯m Maggie,¡± she said gently. ¡°Maggie. Are you a Margaret, a Magdalena or maybe a Magnolia? Hm, I guess you could be a Marjorie, oh or even a Margarita.¡± ¡°Just¡­ Maggie,¡± she said, rubbing her temples. ¡°Oh, do you have a headache? I brought some medicine. Some mundane, but also some that I brewed myself. Would you like one?¡± Celeste asked cheerily. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Maggie sighed. ¡°Has anyone ever mentioned to you that you talk a lot?¡± Celeste laughed. ¡°All the time. So, you¡¯re a first year right. You seem a little old? Was that rude to say? Hm.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I delayed my acceptance as I wasn¡¯t ready to leave mundane school.¡± Why was she bothering to answer this girl? Celeste¡¯s mouth twisted thoughtfully. ¡°That¡¯s weird. You¡¯ll be with the younger kids, and boy they can be annoying.¡± ¡°I can only imagine,¡± Maggie said. ¡°Anyways, I don¡¯t plan on sticking around. This is just more of a means to an end.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not staying? But then, why come?¡± asked Celeste. Before Maggie could avoid explaining this over-convoluted scheme, she had concocted to live on her own, a knock sounded at the cabin door. She was expecting maybe a food cart, but boy was she wrong. Instead, it was exactly what she was trying to avoid. Some dickbag in a black robe with greasy hair that hadn¡¯t been washed maybe ever. ¡°All students must report to Car 3,¡± he said with a sickly smile. Celese looked like she was about to do something, but Maggie cut her off with a quick shake of her head. Please don¡¯t get me fucked up in this place trying to be a hero, she thought. ¡°Lead the way,¡± Maggie said. The students were all herded like cattle into an open train car that had little in it. Maggie wasn¡¯t sure of the purpose of it honestly, but she also didn¡¯t give two shits at the moment either. Sketchy dude that escorted them to the car went and joined his sketchy posse and who Maggie could only assume was the magical asshole leader. ¡°Greetings children,¡± the front man of the band hissed out. ¡°It has come to our attention that some of you have been naughty boys and girls.¡± This drew some snickers from his groupies, though Maggie didn¡¯t know why. ¡°But do not be alarmed,¡± the man continued, ¡°a simple test will tell us all we need to know about the culprit and the rest of you can be on your merry way.¡± He seized a shaggy haired boy and whipped out a wand holding it to his forehead. There was some muttering and glowing and then the boy fell back into the ground which stopped him from crumpling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. ¡°Next,¡± the man said with a grin. And then it happened. ¡°You¡¯ll not get away with this,¡± Celeste shouted out from my side. Fuck me. ¡°Who said that?¡± the man growled. And boy did that crowd part like the red sea. Apparently, they were a lot smarter than Maggie because she was still in the phase of processing why in the hell this girl had a death wish when Celeste herself whipped out a rod. Not a wand, no, this thing was thick as hell, like a shillelagh and pointed it at the dude. She grabbed Maggie¡¯s hand as if she were steeling herself and Maggie tried to pull away because the last thing, she wanted to do was get caught up in some magical dark wizard plot. The next thing Maggie knew was ringing ears and blurry vision and hands grasping her and someone shouting in her face as she¡¯s being dragged to the side and when she gets a semblance of her senses back there is a giant hole in the side of the train car and Celeste is engaging in combat with this assclown. So yeah, Maggie¡¯s mom was right, riding the train was dreadful. -Break- That little bitch, Caelum thought. I¡¯m going to make her suffer a thousand deaths. A million. I¡¯m going to find her family and make her watch me bleed them dry. They are going to sing songs of the tragedy that I¡¯m going to deliver unto that family. And that other one with her, who the hell was that? No matter, she was as good as dead too. Where in the hell was, he? He had been flung from the train by that bitch¡¯s spell, cast out and slamming into the ground and only stopping after several rolls across the rocks and earth which left his robes in tatters and his ego bruised¡­ and his ass bruised. He limped a few feet before sighing and slumping back to the ground. What was he going to tell his Master? That he was defeated by a handful of upstart children? Who in the hell gave that brat a blasting rod? And how in the hell did two amateur brats¡¯ power such a thing? He rubbed his aching leg absently, fuck it was throbbing. Well, nothing to do now. Soon that train would enter the protective barrier of the school and be far out of his reach. But it didn''t matter. They had agents inside the school as well. Celeste and her little followers would pay dearly for this insult. He smiled at that thought. Torturing people always made him feel better. Magic School Drop Out She was a bit ruffled from the train encounter. Note to self, do not mess with that Celeste chick. Whatever ¡°spell¡± she had cast was the mundane equivalent of a M4 Sherman battle tank, or something equivalent, Maggie¡¯s only source of military information was her father who like all fathers had some weird obsession with World War 2. In any case she had sent those goons to the shadow realm Exodia style. And her bedraggled appearance would aid her in her next goal, which was to formally withdraw from this hellhole. It took a while for the headmaster to see her. She wasn¡¯t surprised, this was induction day and the man had loads to do, but she was able, through sheer persistence, to corner the man. She was invited into his office, which was a lot more modest than she assumed it would be based on what she knew about these head wizard types. There was of course the classical wooden desk before him, what appeared to be a workbench littered with papers, and what she assumed was some sort of alchemical setup, and behind him a miniature hut sitting on a pedestal with a fat frog sticking out of the front door. It looked at her and licked its eye. Cool. For such a busy man, he did not seem to be in a rush. He reviewed some notes in a folder, made some harrumphs, and some nods and then settled the folder down after his alchemical set started to whistle and scream. ¡°Tea?¡± he offered. Maggie instinctively swallowed, feeling the dryness of her throat. ¡°No thank you.¡± ¡°So¡­ you want to withdraw?¡± Headmaster Mugwart stated. He waddled back to his desk, tendrils of steam rising from his piping hot cup of tea and retook his place behind his desk. ¡°Yes,¡± Maggie agreed. ¡°In light of recent events I just don¡¯t think I¡¯m a good fit for this institution.¡± Mugwart stroked his bushy white beard, eyeing the documents in the manila folder in front of him. ¡°It says here that you passed your entrance exams with flying colors. Your public-school records are without a blemish. Student exhibits an aptitude for herbology, alchemy and inscriptions; By these accounts you seem like a prime candidate for our school.¡± Maggie was, of course, eyeing documents of her own. ¡°Have you seen the newspaper today, sir?¡± Mugwart waived a dismissive hand. ¡°I must confess I have not. So much fake news and misinformation I¡¯ve lost all stock in the media.¡± Maggie placed the newspaper before him, ¡°Page one, dark wizard,¡± she flipped the page over, ¡°page two, demonic cult, and here,¡± she said, flipping another page. ¡°Page three, young prodigy of illustrious school for magical arts missing after attack on school by dark coven.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Mugwart cocked an eyebrow at her. ¡°And?¡± ¡°And¡­ to top it off even on the train ride here I was almost murdered? I don¡¯t want to spend the rest of my life struggling against power hungry maniacs?¡± Maggie answered. ¡°Ms. Rainbolt, life is a struggle. Whether it be mundane problems or magical ones. Studying in magical arts is a path to power, and it does draw in those who would use that power for ill. But they are no more atrocious than the billionaire mundanes who pay their workers slave wages and keep them in poverty. To struggle is to be alive. You cannot run away from adversity.¡± Watch me, she thought. Maggie pointed to the banner hanging behind Mugwart. It depicted a Dragon sitting atop a horde of books with words written on several spines of the books. ¡°Courage, Honor, Integrity, Commitment, Discipline¡­ I don¡¯t even need to finish that list to know that I¡¯m not cut out for this.¡± Mugwart released a long-suffering sigh before taking a sip of his tea. He made that sucking sound that people make when they bite into a too hot slice of pizza to cool it. ¡°What is it you plan on doing if not attending our school and developing your abilities? Is there some mundane institution that has drawn your eye? Chemistry or Chemical Engineering perhaps, given your record?¡± Maggie shrugged, ¡°My parents sold their home in New York, but we still have some family land on the west coast. I suppose I¡¯ll go there.¡± Maggie smiled broadly and added ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll become a hedge witch.¡± At this revelation Mugwart spit his tea all over his desk. ¡°You intend on practicing magic unsupervised?¡± ¡°Well, just the basics. Enough to get by really, maybe earn a little money for myself. I of course won¡¯t be delving into any of the more advanced spells, formations, or incantations.¡± ¡°Well, I would certainly hope not,¡± Mugwart harrumphed. ¡°But I can see your mind is set on this course of action, and since you are withdrawing before the start of the actual year we won¡¯t hold this against you. Should you decide, you can always re-enroll next year.¡± And with that Mugwart slammed a stamp down on the papers in front of him. ¡°You are dismissed.¡± Before she rose Maggie asked tentatively, ¡°would it be alright if I used the Ley Station?¡± Mugwart stroked his beard in mock consideration, ¡°my my, the Ley Station is for students and staff and as of this moment you have withdrawn your enrollment¡­ But I suppose I could delay filing this paperwork for a few more hours.¡± Hell yes. If she could access the Ley Station at the school, she could save herself days or even weeks riding on a train out west. ¡°Please, professor. I would be in your debt.¡± ¡°No need for all of that. But, if you do change your mind about attending school, please consider us first. I do think someone with your talents could do quite well here.¡± Maggie agreed, why would she not consider them. Even though she didn¡¯t care to attend the school, it was still one of the highest rated institutions in the United States. Sure, you might find more prestigious, older schools across the lake, but age and prestige didn¡¯t always mean better. The Right Way Maggie didn¡¯t know all the technical ways a Ley Station worked, but as far as she could gather there were the magical Ley Lines which crisscrossed all over the world and were essentially mana pathways. Mana being the energy used in magic. Well, some Einstein of the wizarding world had learned how to tap into those lines and bring two points together and yada yada yada you could step instantly from one place to another if you had proper clearance to go there. She was somewhere in Massachusetts right now, but if everything went according to plan by the end of the day, she would be stepping out somewhere in Oregon. Hells yeah. The attendant at the Ley Station could charitably be described as a hairless ball sack. All skin and folds and yeah, completely hairless. There were eyes somewhere in those folds and a mouth she assumed because as she walked up to the man, person, thing? It said, ¡°Student Identification Card,¡± in a deep gravelly voice. Maggie handed him her card and it reviewed the card briefly before placing it on the table before him in the center of what appeared to be some form of magical inscription. The inscription lit up and he removed the card and offered it back to her. ¡°Destination?¡± It queried. ¡°Um, Pacific Northwest? Oregon if you have a location there, Washington State if not?¡± It fidgeted with something under its desk and then a wrinkly hand revealed a wand that it swooped around in the air in front of Maggie and produced a translucent map floating before her eyes. ¡°These are the locations that meet your criteria. Please select one in green, as those are the ones open to public traffic.¡± ¡°And the red and yellow ones?¡± Maggie asked out of curiosity. ¡°Red is restricted to only those of the highest order and yellow ones are generally those belonging to a specific wizarding household. You¡¯d have to be family or have prior authorization to use those Ley Ways.¡± ¡°Got it, um,¡± Maggie said, eyeing the map. ¡°I guess the closest would be¡­¡± damn what are the odds they had one of the Ley stations smack dab in the middle of the town she was trying to get to? Sure enough, several bright glowing lines intersected there. Myrtle Creek, Oregon. ¡°Here,¡± Maggie said pointing. It wasn¡¯t where her family''s property was, but it was damn close. The dude, yeah dude was a species neutral term, right? then directed Maggie to which doorway she would step through and offered her some words of advice about how to handle the transition feeling. She wasn¡¯t too concerned with it because she had never gotten seasick or car sick so she would be fine, probably. ¡°Hey, I never caught your name,¡± she said before leaving him. ¡°Oh, uh I¡¯m, well actually, folks around here just call me Walnut on account of,¡± and it gestured to its wrinkly body. ¡°But my real name is Weatherford.¡± ¡°Well, thanks Weatherford. I appreciate all the help.¡± ¡°Anytime young miss,¡± it responded and then it fished around under its desk again and produced a small volume and offered it out to her. The title read ¡®Introduction to Ley Lines and Traveling, by S.V. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°For me?¡± Maggie asked. Weatherford nodded. ¡°A loaner, be sure to return it to me some time,¡± he rumbled out. ¡°You got it,¡± Maggie said with a big smile spanning her face. Just goes to show you, you can¡¯t judge a book by its cover. She approached what she could only describe as a swirling vortex of doom and inhaled a deep settling breath. Then she entered. And then, she vomited. Someone had amazing foresight however because immediately through the portal into the next room there was a large metal bucket where Maggie vacated her stomach. Still better than trains, she thought, as she spit lumps of chewed up food from her mouth. -Break- For the second time in one day Mugwart had a young girl sitting in his office. Of course, he knew Celeste, quite well in fact. It was to his great shame that he had to manipulate students the way that he did. In the days before the veil was pulled off of the world, when the two worlds remained separate, he would¡¯ve taken a more direct approach to those rogue witches and wizards who stirred up trouble, but now, now it was all public relations and with the mundanes forming their own policing force, this, Supernatural Victims Unit, well, they had to be ever more cautious. If a child was caught up in one of these incidents, that could be explained away due to their lack of experience, or children will be children, but the last thing this school needed was its headmaster caught up in a plot. ¡°So, he took the bait then?¡± asked Mugwart. Celeste nodded behind her cup of tea. ¡°Yeah, he took it, right to the chest too.¡± Mugwart smirked at that. ¡°Good girl.¡± Between the pair, on Mugwarts desk, lay the charred remains of the blasting rod Celeste had used in her battle. ¡°Not good enough though, given that he got away,¡± Celeste said with a pout. ¡°Still though, you did well. And this too may even be to our advantage. There are lessons to be learned in both failure or success,¡± Mugwart supplied. ¡°And the other girl, Maggie?¡± Celeste asked, changing the topic. Mugwart gave her a considering look, ¡°As I said before, she unenrolled from the school.¡± ¡°Did it rattle her that badly?¡± asked Celeste. ¡°I am not certain. Perhaps it did, or perhaps she had other motivations for not wanting to be here.¡± ¡°But you felt it right? Her mana was so¡­ dense?¡± Mugwart smiled, ¡°I¡¯m glad to see your scrying lessons are paying off.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t need to scry to feel it. When I touched her, when I took her hand, it just¡­ came. Like a dam breaking. I thought I was going to be swept away. I don¡¯t know, headmaster,¡± and she gestured to the rod on the desk, ¡°it just ate right through the rod.¡± That had surprised Mugwart, true the rod was only that of Journeyman quality but still, an Apprentice level witch and a witch not even ranked should not have been able to supply enough mana to damage the thing, let alone ruin it completely. ¡°Your concern is duly noted, I will keep an eye on Miss Rainbolt, and you, well I have other tasks to occupy your time.¡± Celeste¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Advanced Combat Magic?¡± ¡°Diligent note taking,¡± Mugwart countered. Her smile died. When Celeste departed Mugwart remained seated at his desk. When had he gotten so good at manipulating his students? He supposed his own master¡¯s lessons had paid off. Prophecy was a powerful tool when properly used. The trick was to know which students would believe it and charge ahead full steam to fulfill the prophecy and which students would buck against the system and prove the prophecy wrong. Celeste was the former, he of course was of the latter, his own Master had laid out a vision for him of his desire for power overtaking him and leading him down dark paths and conducting dark deeds, but now he was headmaster and a far cry from the evil wizard the prophecy would have painted him as. In the end we are what we choose to be, he mused. Something Familiar It had been a long time since she had felt this familiar tug, this gravitational pull directing her towards somewhere, someone. This internal need to seek them out. Nyx hated it. She sat atop her domain licking a dark paw and gazing out over the forest before her. Why should she go? Whoever it was would just use her and then abandon her. Just like her previous ward had done, and the one before that, and well, everyone before that. She guided them and protected them and taught them what she knew and as soon as they could they cast her aside without a second thought. Still though, the feeling would not subside. She recalled old conversations with her last ward, painful memories for her. Promises and departures. ¡°I need you to stay here and guard the place,¡± her ward had requested. ¡°This place needs a good caretaker, and I can think of none better than you,¡± the woman had told her, stroking her fur. She of course had agreed like a fool. She was left to prop this place up, she was Atlas holding the world up by her lonesome. Her ward never came back. She leapt from the roof of her domain, landing softly on the ground below and began her patrol. The Crepe Myrtles on the property were in full bloom filling the air with a calming fragrance. Water collected on her fur as she wove through the too tall grass, wet from the rains that had come the night before. She happened upon a puddle and caught a reflection of herself that drew her up short. Her dark eyes settled on the collar around her neck, and the moon shaped pendant dangling from it. She muttered some curses as her own reflection judged her. She wanted to stomp around like a petulant child. ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± she said to the reflection. It stared back at her unblinking. ¡°They¡¯ll just leave us again.¡± Nothing. She hissed. ¡°I hate you.¡± The reflection remained impassive. She marched away, muttering curses under her breath, but heading decidedly away from her domain. -Break- As it turned out the room where Maggie had ended up was deep underground. Probably had something to do with getting around the electrical interference of the city above. It made sense but damn did walking all those stairs with a reeking bucket of vomit suck. The building above was an antique shop being run by a nice old lady named Elenore. She was a bit surprised Maggie had popped out from the ¡°basement¡± as she called it because apparently that Ley Way had not been used in quite some time. She directed her to a washroom where she could clean up and when Maggie told her she didn¡¯t really need anything else she let Maggie go on her way. Nice lady. She had started this plan cynically and while she hadn¡¯t changed how she viewed most people in the magical world, the encounters she had so far, barring the dick bag on the train, were nice. People helping her on my way and not really asking for anything in return. She had the sudden realization that being rude to people herself would just be perpetrating the exact same dickish mentality she was trying to avoid and while she hadn¡¯t necessarily been rude to anyone, she recalled her own thoughts about her parents and their obliviousness and her general world outlook and frowned. Something to work on, she thought. Her luck ran dry when it turned out no place in town was going to rent a car to a teenage girl. She found a local library and did some web searches and learned very quickly she wouldn¡¯t be walking out to the property. Then she remembered her mom mentioning that there were caretakers who took care of the property routinely. Only problem was she didn¡¯t remember if she had ever said their names and she definitely didn¡¯t have any random email giving her that information¡­ that would¡¯ve been too easy. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Not a problem though, how many landscapers could be in this area? Three as it turned out. She called the first one, a Simpson¡¯s Landscaping and they hadn¡¯t the slightest clue who was managing the property. Neither did the second¡­ or the third. Maybe it wasn¡¯t landscapers who handled it? Maybe a handyman or something. She wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but she was hungry and had plenty of time to make calls after she ate and besides her bags were getting kind of heavy to lug around, she could do with a break. The benefit of living in a small town is that everyone knows everybody. The waitress who worked at the diner Maggie had dropped in knew of the place she wanted to go and knew that the only people that ever went that way were a local farmer and his family. ¡°Yeah, Mr. Joe and his family live out that way. Just him, his wife and daughter. Well and the animals of course. You might be able to catch them coming to town, or maybe find out how to contact them from the Feed and Livestock Store, they probably have to call him to make pick ups. Maybe even they make some deliveries out that way. Why you wanna go over there anyways, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard the stories?¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually my family''s property,¡± Maggie stated. The woman laughed, ¡°your family owns the old Fain house? Yikes.¡± ¡°That bad, eh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of a local legend around here. You know, classic abandoned haunted house type stuff. Kids daring each other to stay an entire night inside of it, the works.¡± She made some gestures with her hands, wiggling her fingers at Maggie menacingly ¡°beware beware Endora Fain, cross not into the witch¡¯s domain.¡± She paused briefly, ¡°ah hell, I forgot the rest.¡± Maggie frowned at this revelation. ¡°My parents told me it had a caretaker. Would they really let random kids enter our property?¡± The woman scratched her neck. ¡°I haven¡¯t been out that way in a hot minute, but from what I remember the place was in shambles. But maybe it¡¯s been fixed up?¡± She didn¡¯t seem confident in that. She thanked the woman profusely and gave her a generous tip. It couldn¡¯t hurt to be on friendly terms with the local gossip. She got the very odd feeling that someone was watching her, but a quick scan of the area revealed no one. All the other patrons were deep into their own conversations and cups. She shrugged it off. Maggie was hoofing it down the road and wishing idly there was the magical equivalent of an uber, or even just a regular cab service in this tiny town, when she got that tingling feeling on the back of her neck again. She picked up her pace just a smidge and with great speed spun around and shouted ¡°Hah!¡± to an empty sidewalk. She scratched the back of her head. Maybe the ladies'' story about a haunted house was getting to her. Stupid, she thought. She had never really been bothered by scary movies or anything. I mean, her real greatest fear was being locked up in an insane asylum while being totally sane and then trying to explain to the asylum people that she wasn¡¯t crazy, but only sounding crazier while she kept telling them she wasn¡¯t crazy. She shivered just thinking about it. That and dolphins, the little rapists. Ding, the bell chimed above the door to the Feed Store. It was standard for a general hardware store. A bit rustic, but nice. It had the smell of well-oiled tools and saw dust which Maggie appreciated. Her dad was a hobbyist woodworker and she had spent a lot of time holding flashlights for the man while he grumbled about dovetails not fitting together properly. The man working behind the counter was helping another customer, so Maggie waited patiently until her turn came. ¡°Help ya miss?¡± The man asked. He was a tall bloke with a thick mustache and eyebrows to match. Face weathered and sun beaten, definitely a working man. He was sporting a name tag on his shirt that read ¡°Cliff¡± Maggie let her pack slide to the ground and leaned up on the counter. ¡°I sure hope so. I¡¯m looking for a man.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do much match makin round here,¡± Cliff grunted out. Maggie snorted, ¡°a Joe Ginson?¡± ¡°Whatcha want with Mr. Joe?¡± The man asked. ¡°My family owns the property out by his farm, and I was maybe hoping to catch a ride out that way if he was going to be coming into town anytime soon?¡± ¡°Hm,¡± the man said. ¡°Or maybe I could pay for a ride from you if any deliveries were going to be made out that way?¡± she offered. ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say I¡¯d be divulging any of my paying clients'' information to strangers. Not good for business, yeah? But if you¡¯re needing a ride, well, the delivery boy might be making rounds that way tomorrow. You¡¯ll have to be here early, round six I suspect, but I¡¯ll mention you tagging along.¡± ¡°That would be stellar. I¡¯m Maggie by the way.¡± ¡°Well Maggie, you any good at lifting 50-pound bags of feed?¡± Cliff asked with two raised brows. Wards Nyx was terribly unimpressed with the girl. She followed the pitiful thing as she bumbled around the town all cheery and happily speaking to people. She would be God awful at scaring away encroaching visitors. Not a hint of ire or malevolence radiated from the scrawny, dark-haired girl. If this were the days of torch and pitchfork, they¡¯d have this poor girl strung up to a burning stake as fast as you like. She would absolutely need her help, but she doubted very much that she DESERVED it. Nyx caught her own reflection staring back at her in the store window. That blank dead-eyed stare. She rolled her eyes and huffed. She found the girl first at a diner and followed her to a store and now to a mundane domain. She expertly scaled the building and made a brief survey of the area finding no immediate threats. Through the window she spotted the girl flinging her bags to the floor and then collapsing on the bed. She wasn¡¯t going to fall asleep without setting wards, was she? That was begging to be accosted. She waited for her to rise and set the wards to ensure she would be protected. She waited some more. Irritation built up inside of her, tensing her muscles as she eyed this ¡®Maggie¡¯. Unable to take it anymore she leapt from her perch covering the distance from the neighboring building to the girl''s windowsill and landed with a soft thump. The girl didn¡¯t move. Nyx held up a paw and produced a razor-sharp mana infused claw and began to carve into the glass. It wouldn¡¯t be a powerful ward, she hadn¡¯t brought any of the reagents that would power a true ward, but it would serve to ward off minor threats and wake the girl if any true danger approached. It was the best she could do in these circumstances. After she finished the inscription, she pushed just a fraction of her own mana into the circle which caused it to flash briefly before settling down and then vanishing completely. Satisfied that the ward was set correctly she buggered off. Not too far away an elderly woman stood outside of a store with a sign swaying above her which read ¡®Antiques and Artifacts¡¯. She knelt with a grunt and placed a small saucer of warm milk on the sidewalk beside the door and then returned inside, smiling. -Break- Maggie was bone tired. It honestly felt like this day would never end and here it was at the end of the day, and she couldn¡¯t fall asleep. On a positive note, shortly after she had collapsed on the bed that feeling of being watched finally went away. Small victories. It still bothered her that the place hadn¡¯t been taken care of. In her mind she showed up to a well-tended property and just kind of lived with the money she had and maybe took odd jobs here and there to make up for any deficiencies while she practiced her magic, but she was ill equipped in knowledge and skill to repair a rundown shack. She¡¯d go see it anyway she decided. Maybe it wasn¡¯t as bad as it seemed. She did have a habit of blowing things out of proportion or worrying unduly. She sighed, wrenched herself up from the tight grip of the warm bed and took a shower. She always felt more positive when she was clean. Sleep came later, and it was peaceful. No dreams that she could remember good or bad and that was pleasant. Her dreams had been fitful as of late and not having any after arriving here gave her renewed confidence that she had made a good decision in choosing this road. She awoke to a knock at the door. It was still dark outside as she groggily made her way over. ¡°Yeah?¡± she called. ¡°Ss..sorry miss. You had a wakeup call, and the phones weren¡¯t working for some reason,¡± a male voice said back. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°I¡¯m awake, thanks,¡± she answered. Hm that was a bit odd. She made sure not to put her bags anywhere near any electronics or outlets just in case they would cause some minor interference, but oh well, sometimes electronics were just finicky as hell. She had asked for the wake up around five in the morning knowing she would have to get dressed and then haul her things back down to the store. She should¡¯ve asked Cliff if the delivery guy could¡¯ve picked her up, but they were already doing her a solid and she didn¡¯t want to be a choosing beggar. Downstairs in the lobby they hadn¡¯t quite set up for a continental breakfast, but they did have some bagels and stuff laid out, so Maggie took one and a granola bar and hustled out and down the road. She spotted a flatbed delivery truck idling outside of the store and made her way over. There was a dude sitting in the driver''s seat, he had it kicked back, and his hat pulled down over his face, definitely the delivery man. She knocked on the window and he spasmed. ¡°Fuck! I mean shit, I mean. You scared the hell out of me,¡± he said. So not a man, a delivery boy. Light hair, light eyes, a bit of a goofy face if Maggie was being honest. ¡°Sorry!¡± Maggie said, cringing. The boy placed a hand over his pounding heart and took a deep breath. ¡°You¡¯re good. Hop in, we are already running a little late.¡± Maggie held up her bags with a cocked eyebrow. ¡°In the back, they¡¯ll be fine. No rain today,¡± he said. She finished stowing her things away and plopped down in the passenger seat. ¡°Maggie, by the way.¡± ¡°Ward,¡± the boy said. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re good, I would¡¯ve freaked out too.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got to make some stops first, but we should be able to get you where you¡¯re going,¡± Ward said. Maggie reclined her chair back and mimicked Ward¡¯s earlier position. ¡°Works for me, boss.¡± Ward chuckled as he kicked the truck into drive. Neither of them noticed the black cat which rested on top of the bags of feed in the back of the truck. There were a few stops that needed to be made before Ward could get her out to the property, but honestly, she wasn¡¯t in any rush. Sure, it would have been nice to just get out and access the place, but she really had nothing on the agenda. It was a bit freeing not having some crazy schedule or deadline to meet. She just wanted to go with the flow. She learned very quickly that she wouldn¡¯t have been very useful on a farm. Bags of feed are heavy as hell and her and while she wasn¡¯t a couch potato, she had never been asked to do hard manual labor either. She had a runner¡¯s body, good for long distances, not throwing heavy sacks around. But she was also determined to help even after Ward kept protesting so she did her absolute darndest to haul as many bags as possible to the edge of the truck so Ward could easily grab them. It was hard and hot work, sweat trickled down her brow and back and she was going to need a long bath at the end of this day. That routine continued for a few stops. Ward pulling in somewhere, talking to the owners, introducing her which drew some cocked eyebrows and then the unloading. It was sometime around 10:00 when they finally started making their way out towards the Ginson¡¯s farm. Maggie had the window rolled down letting the wind whip her hair around wildly and just breathing in the fresh air of the countryside while the sun warmed her face pleasantly. They chatted in the moments between silence. Ward had apparently graduated last year from High School and was working so he could save up for college. Agricultural Science was his field of interest which Maggie thought was cool as hell. Her image of farming was somewhat dated, but he explained with great passion about all the new inventive ways that technology was changing the farming landscape. It was always nice to talk to someone passionate about something. She enjoyed seeing that spark in their eyes. The Ginson¡¯s weren¡¯t home. Maybe they had gone into town for something or maybe they were out on their property working. Ward had made enough deliveries out to their place that he knew where to stick their stuff and they had enough trust built up that he wasn¡¯t worried about having anyone signing a delivery receipt. I was disappointed. I really wanted to meet my new neighbors and let them know I¡¯d be around. Not just to be neighborly either, I wasn¡¯t na?ve. I was going to staying out here a lone and I would feel a lot safer knowing I could come ask these people for help or anything, but, that time would come too. ¡°Next stop, your place,¡± Ward said as he slid back into the drivers seat.