Albuquerque

What to Do

Pretty soon, everyone arrived at Cedric's house.

"We're going to my workshop," Gina said. She moved a heavy wheel that was covering a hole and crawled in.

The royals followed Gina downstairs, and it was a long way.

"It's a long way down," Amber remarked.

"I know, but it's the only way to keep everything perfectly safe and a secret," Gina declared. "When Queen Morgana took over the kingdom, she banned all magic except her own."

"So there are no wizards or sorcerers in Albuquerque?" Kathy asked.

"Not anymore," Gina declared. She started gathering wands and books. "My grandma hid all my grandpa's stuff down here, but my mom never wanted anything to do with it. It sat here all locked up until I found it, and I've been teaching myself magic ever since. I just need a few things."

Gina lit up candles and set out a rug. "Sit here—we're going to summon my grandpa's chanul," she declared.

The royals sat down on the rug.

"What is a chanul exactly?" Gabe asked.

"A spirit guide," Gina declared. "They usually tell us what we have to do when it comes to magic. This is my first time summoning a chanul, so it might not work for the first 8 or 9 times—maybe 10." She picked up a wand. "Appear to us, spirit guide of Cedric. Illuminara Cedric Wayoel!"

The candles went out, and a ghostly fox appeared.

"It is I, Marian—the spirit guide of Cedric," the fox declared.

"Hello, Marian, we need you," Gina declared. "This is Princess Kathy. She's going to free Athena from the Amulet of Albuquerque."

"Really? Okay, so here's what she has to do," Marian said. "First, she needs the wand that put Athena in there."

"Queen Morgana's wand?" Kathy asked. "That won't be easy."

"No, it won't," Marian agreed. "Then you have to wrap the Amulet around it and put them on the crown of Azalena."

"Who?" Gabe asked.

"Azalena—he was a great healer who could undo any spell or curse," Gina said. "There's a statue of her in the ancient Maruvian temple. It's like a hospital for magical mishaps."

"But how can Kathy get Morgana's wand?" Amber asked.

"That's up to her to decide," Marian said. "Let me give you a little advice. Just because you're the one, it doesn't mean you're the only one. That's not supposed to make sense now—you'll get it later. Right now, Kathy needs to get that wand." Then she disappeared.

Kathy thought about it, and she got an idea. "We'll visit Morgana at the palace, and I'll dance with her," she declared.

"But she banned dancing," Amber said.

"Well, Mama still taught me the sambarossa though," Gina declared.

"We've gotta get to the palace, so we can get that wand," Kathy said. "Let's just tell Morgana that we're unexpected visitors."

"Okay," Walter said.