Chapter Nine

Magic 101

Sara stepped through the French doors into the study, though just a few minutes before; the French doors had led to the dining room.

Mr. Thompson was seated behind the desk waiting for her. “Welcome back, Sara, I trust your visit with Tiffani was enjoyable? Help yourself to some cookies and have a seat.”

She sat down in the comfortable chair and nibbled on her liverwurst cookie.

“Sara, what do you know about your life before you were born?” She looked up, puzzled. “Hmmm, you don’t remember anything at all?” She shook her head. “I see, and neither your father nor your mother has told you anything about their lives before or about magic, am I right?” She nodded. “It is as I feared. We have a long night ahead of us.” He pressed a button on the phone.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Bradford, would you please record America's Got Talent for me? I may be awhile.”

He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes closed. “I need to decide where to begin. You now know about Tenebrae, correct?” She shook her head. “Let’s talk about magic, shall we?”

“Oh yes, please. You say I am magical? Can I fly? Can I make stuff disappear? Can I turn people into toads?”

“No- I don’t think so, yes and yes- but who would you want to turn into a toad?”

“No one- it would just be neat if I could.”

“The people of Tenebrae have had magic for thousands of years. Legend says it was given to a select few by a magician. Because we were human and fallible, the magician would not give any one person all the magic- it would make them too powerful. She split magic into two pieces, white and black. Some people and creatures were given white magic, and others were given black. The type of magic traveled down from generation to generation through the father. The strength of the magic traveled down through the mother. In time, many of those with the black side of magic became evil. It is believed the magic changed them somewhat. Fortunately, Queens with white magic ruled the Queendom. Two thousand years ago, the good Queen Amelia fell in love with the evil Count Doldunt. Since then, the black magic has traveled through the Queendom, with each successive queen becoming even eviler than the last. It was interesting that you mentioned turning people into toads. Hillary, the current queen, turns people into toads when she is angry with them. It is her favorite evil deed. You were followed by one today, Appleton. They have been hired to search for you.”

“Ew. But, Mr. Thompson, why did no one else notice a toad driving a car?”

“The toads have a magic spell on them. People without magic see them only as an ugly person.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

“Now, to your family. Queen Hillary is your grandmother. Your mother is the next heir to the throne.”

“Cool. I’m a princess. I always wanted to be a princess. Wait a minute, an evil princess? Mr. Thompson, no one calls my mother evil. There must be some mistake. I want to leave right now.”

“Sit down, Sara. Your mother is not evil. I said many of those with the black side of magic were not to be trusted, but not all of them are. Your mother never was bad, though she does have black magic. The magic itself is not dark or white. Black magic can be used for good and white magic can be used for evil.”

 “Okay.” She sat down. “So, once my mother gets the throne, Tenebrae will be good again, right?”

“If your mother goes back to Tenebrae, she will never make it to the throne. Her older sisters will have her killed long before she can take over the throne. They are the ones hiring the toads to find her.”

“Older sisters? So, wouldn’t they be the heirs instead of my mom?”

“Funny detail about magic, it is condensed in the seventh born daughter or son. Therefore, it was declared in Tenebrae a long time ago that any seventh daughter born would immediately become the heir. Queen Hillary was the seventh daughter, and your mother is her seventh daughter. Your mother has some powerful magic.”

“Awesome.”

“Your hot chocolate, Sir.” Bradford entered the door carrying a tray. “And some of those little donuts you like.”

“Thank you, Bradford. Sara, would you like to have some hot chocolate with me?”

“Oh, great, thanks.”

“Tiffani tells us you had an interesting night last night. Would you like to tell me what happened?” continued Mr. Thompson as Bradford stepped out the door.

“I came home from school and sat down at the table to do my homework like I always do. And then….”

“Sara,” interrupted Mr. Thompson, “I think it would be most helpful if you were entirely truthful.”

Sara turned red. “Okay, I didn’t do my homework. I sat down at the computer to check my email and talk to my friends online, but no one was online, so I started playing a game. I kept getting this IM- it said, Sara are you there? It scared me because it was a stranger, and it came back even after I ignored it. I forgot to turn the internet off right away, and the calamities must have gone into it. Even after I turned the internet off, the IM came back.”

“Calamities?”

“Yes. My mother always says if you leave the internet on all sorts of calamities can happen. I left it on, and I battled monsters in the house all night.”

“Where was your mother, Sara?”

“I thought she was in her room with another headache. When I came home from school today, she wasn’t there. Mr. Thompson, I don’t believe she was home at all yesterday.”

“Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

“Well, there was a note saying she was helping Aunt Abigail, but I don’t have an Aunt Abigail.”

“You do have an Aunt Abigail. She lives in Boston.”

“I have an aunt in Boston? The note didn’t look like it came from my mother.”

“Are there any other reasons you think your mom was not there the day before?”

“Well, I left a note on my mom’s bed to say I loved her yesterday morning and it was still there this afternoon. She did not sleep in her bed. And, her purse, keys, cell phone, and sunglasses were on her dresser.”

“Bradford.” Mr. Thompson pressed the button on the phone.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Please send someone over to Sara’s house. I want to know what messages have been on the computer and look for signs of monsters, toads, and rats at the house.”

“Yes, Sir, immediately Sir.”

She started to cry. “Mr. Thompson, I’m worried about my mother. I need my mother right now. Please find her for me.”

“Sara, we will find your mother, I promise. In the meantime, would you like to join me in watching American's Got Talent?” Mr. Thompson handed her a tissue.

They stepped out through the study room door and directly into the TV room.

Later that evening, as Sara left the TV room, the door led to the hallway again.