The Enchantments: Book 3 - The Key of Sorcen

Prologue: Hidden Memories

The night was clear as shadows cast a soft eerie appearance upon the darkened street. Rays of moonlight shone through rustling leaves and the sounds of fall began to waft through the cool evening air. The solitary figure walked amongst the quiet, her footsteps nothing more than an echo against the silence of the street.

"If I don't hurry these old bones of mine, I'll miss the start, and heaven forbid those two don't see me in the audience, I'll never live it down." The old woman said, realizing to late her voice was too loud.

"Well, I guess you're gonna have to be late." Came a gruff voice from just inside the rickety old gate to her right.

She turned nervously to follow the angry face as it came from the shadows of the small park. "Can I help you son?"

"I am not your son, and yes you can help me. Give me your purse now you old hag!" He spat.

As she moved opposite him she caught another couple of his friends coming from the other side of the street. She walked forward a few steps and stared at the tough looking hood as if he were lower than dirt. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?" She shot back.

"You're right, I should respect my elders... and everything they give me when I rob them blind." He lunged forward moving directly for the purse that hung lazily from her left shoulder. Just milliseconds before he grabbed the bag, she had brought her arm up and swiped the young man's hand away.

The thief looked at her in shock, never before had he had someone this old react the way she did. It didn't take long for his face to change from shock to anger. "That'll be your last mistake!" He hissed.

The others surrounded her in all directions cutting off any hope of her making it to the relative safety of the school. She peered around trying to figure out her options when the unmistakable metallic sound of a switchblade caught her sensitive ears. It was only after the sound died down when the first of the thieves rushed forward.

She knew exactly where and when he would strike and at the last possible moment she shifted to her left and sent the boy flying over her right leg and into the bewildered face of another of the robbers. The two of them folded into each other and caught the fence as they flew backwards.

Without missing a beat the old woman shifted her weight again and sent a well-placed roundhouse kick into the side of another of the boys. He went down like a ton of bricks, holding his side like he had just been shot.

Another member of the gang rushed the old woman from behind and unable to move as fast she was grabbed from behind while her hands were pinned behind her back. The other boy who she had originally seen came forward, a smile plastered to his now hardened face.

"You should have given up the purse lady, now we're gonna have to make this a whole lot worse!" He rushed at her with the knife gleaming in the light of the moon.

With quickness from years of training, she used the boy holding her as a crutch. She lifted her legs off the ground and placed a well-meaning kick from both legs into the face of her attacker. He didn't know what hit him. The force sent him crashing backwards into the other boys who had just gained their footing. They all hit the fence again, this time breaking it beyond repair. As her feet hit the ground again she bent forward and flipped the other boy holding her over her back and propelling him to the concrete.

She rearranged her dress and walked over to the boys moaning behind the fence. "Next time you want to pick on someone, try and figure out if they're good enough to kick your butt. As you can see I've kicked yours. I suggest you leave now before I show you what else I can do."

The boys jumped up and began to run in the opposite direction, all except one. He watched the old lady with nothing short of hatred. As she moved a little farther down the street he came back out of the shadows and with the anger pouring out of him he reached back and threw the knife with everything he had.

The old lady knew the knife was approaching and with a quick spin she faced the knife straight on. The blade whipped through the air whistling as it approached. She reached up and with her hand outstretched brought the knife to a stop just inches from her face. With a flick of her wrist, the knife turned around slowly in the air until it was facing away. Another snap of her fingers she sent the knife hurtling back at the stunned youth where it embedded in a tree just a few inches from where his sweaty face stood.

The look on his face was priceless all at once he forgot the knife and ran in the directions his friends had just left. The old woman smiled and turned back towards the school.

"I haven't done that in years, still good to know I still have the touch." She walked on, her shoes echoing in the silent evening as the applause from the school, not a hundred feet away filled the air with the soft sounds of youth.

The auditorium was crammed from front to back with parents and adoring grandparents. As the old lady found her seat in the middle of the hush, her eyes were glued to the stage and the purple curtain that was slowly displaying the crowd of kids that adorned it. The usual gasps and snickers escaped the crowd as the parents stared lovingly at their children and their friends.

The old woman smiled as she caught a glimpse of Gina and Nikki standing like statues at the back of the stage. They were the most beautiful ghosts she had ever seen and from personal experience she knew. The group at the back of the stage came forward moving their arms in wildly and howling gently as the other kids sat around a pretend campfire.

"...And as we sit here enjoying the fruits of our labor, the spirits of our ancestors gather around us and protect us from the evil spirits that come to take what we have worked so hard for..." Came the voice of a small girl whose mother was standing at the edge of the stage taking pictures. It wasn't until one of the teachers asked her to sit back down for blocking the view for other parents that she sat back down in her seat.

Gina stepped gently around the make believe campfire and smiled brightly, it was now her turn to dance as she was soon the center of attention.

"...Our forefathers protect us with the dance of the spirits filling us with the joy they instilled upon us..." The same girl said. Gina now under the spotlight alone, danced amongst the others who were trying desperately not to look but were helpless not to. She fluttered and dipped with the haunting sounds of crickets and the whoosh of the wind that played over the loudspeaker. At one point Gina completely emerged into the dance and the freedom she felt flow through her body.

The old lady bathed herself with spirit her granddaughter felt, she sensed it, reveled in it. At one point she closed her eyes feeling the soft movements as Gina flowed into the music. She felt the old times coming back as gentle as a warm breeze, then picking up momentum as the balmy feeling of the fire near the valley burial ground took her over again.

'Why do I have to remember that searchagain...why?'