"Are you sure about this?" Ivy asked skeptically for about the tenth time while Kay drew a circle out of some unknown blue powder on the floor of the library around Ivy's wheelchair. She still couldn't believe that she had let her daughter talk her into casting a spell to get Sam back!
"I've told you, I've done this sort of thing before, and I've really made things happen," Kay assured her mother, not mentioning to her that she had previously accidentally turned herself into a panther, and unwittingly unleashed a succubus that had nearly destroyed the entire town. That wouldn't exactly inspire a vote of confidence, and besides, Kay was certain that there was no room for error this time. She had slipped into Tabitha's attic with little trouble, and had found the perfect spell almost immediately.
Ivy was still not fully convinced. "I don't know. Spell casting? It's hard for me to believe that something like this could really work."
"Nothing is too weird for this town," Kay asserted. "You were there when Charity's closet became a portal into hell, and when my old house fell into the earth."
"That's true," Ivy admitted, "and when Grace put that curse on me, there was lightning and the ground shook."
Kay immediately dropped the herbs she was shredding, mouth ajar. "She cursed you?!"
"Yes, after the tabloid came out and she was in the hospital because of the miscarriage, I visited her, and she lost it! If I remember correctly, she said, 'I curse you, Ivy Crane, to a life of hell on earth,' for me and all my family. I didn't believe that anything happened then, but now I'm not so sure."
"Hah! I knew it! I'm so horrible, but let her lose her temper, and she invokes the dark forces for punishment! She does have power, Mom, but don't worry; we'll see who's more powerful in the end: her or me."
The cold anger in Kay's voice caused Ivy to shiver a little, but she let Kay proceed with the spell. Her daughter had a point about all of the seemingly supernatural occurrences, and she'd already tried just about everything else, so why not this? "So, this will make Sam fall in love with me again?"
"Not quite," Kay answered. "Magic can't do that sort of thing. Believe me, I know. No, when he sees you again, he'll think of you as the girl that he was in love with, with all of the feelings from that time back with full force. You'll have to do the rest."
Ivy grinned in anticipation. "That I'll be able to work with! Are you ready?" David was supposed to be checking in again in less than an hour, and she didn't want him to catch her in such an odd situation.
"Just about," Kay finished, and smeared a paste she had made by mixing the herbs and water on each of Ivy's cheeks. "I'm going to say the incantation now. It's very important that you don't say or do anything to break my concentration."
Ivy nodded, and Kay stepped outside of the circle. Holding the Book of Spells, Kay began reciting the incantation in an even tone:
To Lost Love Remember'd, So Fair and So Pleasant
May She Be as She Was, the Former the Present!
She repeated the verse twice more, her voice rising each time. When she finished, a cloud of white smoke permeated the room, leaving her unable to see. After the smoke had mostly dissipated, Kay spotted Ivy, head and shoulders slumped, unconscious.
Kay ran over to her mother, noticed briefly that the streaks on her face had vanished, and attempted to revive her. As Ivy remained insensible, Kay tried to ignore her growing fear. What if Ivy didn't revive? Had Kay done something wrong? "Please, Mom, wake up," Kay pleaded, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.
For an instant, Kay was certain that her mother was dead, but Ivy finally opened her eyes and looked around the room, startled confusion evident in her expression. Overwhelmed by relief, Kay hugged her, crying, "Thank God, you're okay!"
When Kay pulled away, she realized that Ivy was staring at her with a complete lack of comprehension. Eventually, her mother said, "Where am I?! And who are you?!"
Oh, no! This wasn't what Kay had expected to hear. "What do you mean? You're in the library, and it's me, Kay, your daughter!"
Ivy gawked at her, and then laughed derisively. "Did my sorority sisters put you up to this? Are you a pledge, supposed to make me think I've lost my mind?"
Kay didn't know how to respond to that. "I-I don't know what you mean," she said, thinking that something must have gone horribly wrong. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "'Sorority sisters'? How old are you?"
"Why do you want to know?"
Kay didn't have time for this. "Please, just answer me."
Ivy considered this for a moment, and then replied, "Fine. I'm nineteen, of course."
Kay could tell by her mother's tone that she was telling what she thought to be the truth. Well, she was right, and something had gone wrong with the spell. Exactly what, though, she wouldn't be able to determine on her own. No, she'd need to go and get outside help.
"Okay, I know you have absolutely no idea who I am, but, please, you have to trust me right now. Stay right here, I'll be right back, and don't go anywhere!" Leaving a highly perplexed Ivy staring after her, Kay ran as fast as she could towards the only person that she knew of who could help her.
*****
Mansion-bound until nightfall, Cassandra occupied herself, as usual, by reading and waiting in her suite. One didn't get to be three-and-a-half centuries old without learning a little patience.
Feeling a bit peckish, Cassandra grabbed the stray cat that she had picked up the night before and drained it dry, relishing its squeals of pain. She would have much preferred human blood, but Harmony was such a small town that any killings would be big news, and Cassandra couldn't afford to be so reckless right now, not when she had so many hopes. Still, she consoled herself, whenever the craving got to be too strong, she could always make a trip down to Boston to feed on some derelict.
Unexpectedly, Cassandra was thrown back several feet, and left gasping for the breath she didn't need. She had just sensed a great surge of power; more, in fact, than she had ever felt in her unlife. Someone, a very powerful someone, had just cast a spell of some sort. It wasn't the spell itself that had sent her reeling, though. The actual enchantment had been quite average in magnitude. No, she decided, it was simply that the individual's use of magic had served as a beacon to her senses. Concentrating with all of her might, she attuned her senses, and attempted to locate the source of the disturbance…
Kay! So, I was right about her after all. Since the second she had laid eyes upon her, Cassandra had felt that this one was special. She had picked up on the raw potential brimming just under the girl's exterior. What's more, the child was driven by rage and hate, emotions that Cassandra could work with. Even better, she could feel an intangible quality about the girl, as if she were destined for great things. This magical outburst was the final confirmation that she had been waiting for. There was no longer any doubt about it: Cassandra had found her True Heir at last!
*****
Sheridan awoke slowly, still groggy from whatever had happened to her. What DID happen to me anyway? Sheridan wondered. She remembered heading for Luis' car, and that was it. What had happened since, and where she was now was a complete blank. In fact, it wasn't even until she tried to straighten herself out that she realized that she had been tied up, her hands fastened behind her back and a rope wrapped around her body binding her to the chair she was sitting in.
Looking around her frantically, she spied Luis and Antonio in the dim light, also coming to, tied up on either side of her. She tried to call to them, but found that her mouth had also been gagged. Horror at the situation rose as her mind cleared, and though the room was dark, she managed to catch the roaming eyes of both Luis and Antonio, and she knew that they were just as bewildered as she was.
Frantically, Sheridan attempted to memorize the room that they were in. It was quite small, and sparsely furnished and decorated as far as she could tell in the limited light. It was as if the room was not being permanently occupied by a person or business, but was rather only being rented for a short time.
After a good length of time, the door opened and the bright light from the outside silhouetted a man appearing to be of medium height. Although she could not see him clearly at all, his mannerism immediately suggested a boastful swagger. He laughed harshly, gloating over the position he had the three of them in. Finally, he spoke. "Well, I see the three of you are awake now. Two of you I already know, though the third is a mystery to me."
There was something so familiar about that voice! Sheridan knew she had heard it before, but couldn't quite place it. She didn't have to wait long though, because the man then turned the lights on, and Nick stood smirking at her!
*****
"Ghoulish gargoyles! I'm here, already!" Tabitha yelled, eager to stop the incessant banging on her door. Whoever it was had better have a very good reason for carrying on like this. Before she had even opened the door all the way, a distraught-looking Kay stormed in.
"Why Kay!" she exclaimed, shifting into sweet old lady mode. "You look a fright! Do sit down and tell me what's wrong. I've barely even seen you since it came out you're a Crane, and—"
Kay was in no mood to exchange pleasantries. "Let's cut to the chase, Tabitha. I figured out quite a while ago that Reese was right and you're a witch. It was pretty obvious: the Book, the weird occurrences, Zombie Charity hanging out here a lot, Timmy. Don't worry; I'm not here to threaten you with anything, but I do need your help with a spell I've cast!"
Dropping her façade, the witch asked, "Fair enough. What did you do?"
"I put a spell on my mom, so that she could get my old dad back, only something went all awry and she doesn't know where she is, who I am, and she thinks she's nineteen!"
Tabitha had a delicious inkling of what it could be, but wasn't quite sure. "I need more information. Exactly what spell did you use on her?"
Kay told Tabitha everything, and when she had finished, the witch roared with laughter. "My poor Kay! That incantation you used wasn't to make Sam think of Ivy the way she was. It was to actually make her that way!"
The girl tried to process this. "You mean, she thinks she's still nineteen? Like some kind of amnesia?"
"If only it were that simple!" Tabitha replied. "Amnesia as a result of a spell is simple to reverse. No, Ivy doesn't merely believe that it's over twenty years ago. Your spell actually took the very essence and soul of the girl back then and brought them to the present. For all intents and purposes, she IS the nineteen year old version of herself, only trapped in her present-day body."
Kay gulped. "What can I do about this? How do I fix her?"
"I'm not sure you can! This kind of spell has no clear reversal, and even if you can work it partially, you may never get her back completely. It will take a while, at any rate. For the time being, if I were you, I'd get back to the mansion as soon as possible. Your mother's most likely scared out of her wits right now, and you certainly don't want her to say anything revealing to someone else, do you?"
After Kay had looked at her, alarmed, for a second, and then dashed off, Tabitha chuckled happily. "Oh, Kay, you've really made my day. Sitting back to watch this fiasco will be supremely entertaining!"