Enchanter

Chapter 10

Cash began to laugh hysterically, "Strip me of my powers, your just an old hag." Her eyes once again began to glow red, "That it the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. No one has that power, if they did it would cause havoc."

Joan began to say something but was interrupted by Kristi, "Don't worry Joan, of the arches, I can handle this by myself." Kristi began to drink her wine, her eyes turning gold, and without looking flicked her hand outward toward Cash.

Cash began to scream, "My heart!" As she gasped for air a mandala formed in front of her chest, filling with red and crystalizing in the shape of a rose. The bright red in her eyes slowly began to fade more and more as she screamed in pain. "Stop it," she pleaded, "it hurt so much."

"I'm sorry," Kristi said still not looking at her, "I'm still not hearing you properly. You know once you hit thirty it's incredibly hard for us hags to hear." Kristi was smiling, this wasn't just fun to her, it was pure bliss.

"Please," Cash said her eyes turning black. "Please stop."

Kristi's eyes became hazel once more as the mandala and crystal disappeared. "Congratulations," she said as Cash fell back into her chair, "I think that you just learned a new word." Kristi began to clap her hand, "Now that everyone has taken their seat, we can finally get started with our meal."

Several butlers came out at once, holding nothing but silver plates. As the butlers placed the plates in front of people food formed filling the air with many different aromas. However as the plate was placed in front of Cas nothing happened. "Eli," he knelt over and whispered, "Mine isn't working."

"That's because you have to think about what you want and then it will form." he said. "Watch," Held held out his hand and waved it on top of his plate. Suddenly fried fish formed along with leafy greens and thick fries.

"Fish and chips," Cas said surprised. "You could come up with anything and you decide to eat fast food."

"These are just 'fish and chips,'" He said taken aback as if insulted. "This is the first meal that I had while on the road for my disposition ceremony." He was smiling, "My mentor and I were in the British Isles trying to locate a demon make deals with the townspeople that he had visited." There was nostalgia in his voice as if they were better times, it was the first time that he saw his mentor truly smile.

"Ok then," Cas smiled, "Let's continue the tradition." Cas closed his eyes and waved his hand over the plate, forming the same plate of fish and chips as his mentor. They only looked at each other for a moment before they began eating their fish and chips.

Even after the moment of confrontation with Cash, the room was filled with chitter chatter about the upcoming ceremony. Even Kristi turned out to be funny, making poor jokes about the current policies that are be forced into place. The siren brother pretend that no one else was in the room and flirted the night away. The only person who was grump throughout the night was of course Cash, eating solemnly like a dog with wounded pride. Even Joan ignored her and instead talked to the siren brother's mentor who was actually very relaxed about her two initiates dating and even quoted it as "shipping it."

By the end of the night everyone, except Cash, was happy and filled to bursting. However with all things, it had to come to an end and Kristi was the one to decide it when she clinked her glass. "Thank you one and all for coming, even though I know you didn't have a choice in the matter."

Everyone looked at each other and began to murmur amongst one another. "Settle down," Kristi said, "I must get this done and over with so that you can start your real adventure." She smiled as she pulled out a small wooden box from her pocket. "In here are your tasks to prove yourself, not only to the rest of the community, but to the very balance itself." She looked down, "I know that it isn't a big secret that right now there is someone out there threatening our balance, but we must continue to move on. With that said your tasks will be some of the most difficult that we've had since the balance was created nearly a century ago." She took in a deep breath and opened the box, "Initiate Luke, the mid-Land encoder, please stand alongside your mentor."