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"Selena! Hurry up!" her mother called.

"Coming!" Selena called back down to her mom. She was just sitting on her bed, doing nothing. Her room was bare, and all her furniture packed away in the moving van. There was nothing here, but she still didn't want to leave it.

Aquene and Orenda had said their goodbyes yesterday. Selena longed to call them, to hear the familiar, chattering voices of her best friends, but she didn't want to go through all those tearful goodbyes all over again.

Why do we have to move? She thought bitterly to herself. Just when she had made best friends, and the magic had brought them all closer together - now she had to leave this place. Probably forever.

"Selena!" her mother yelled again up the stairs. "Lena, we have to go!"

Selena sighed, and, casting one last look around her empty room, went downstairs. She got into the car without saying a word to her parents or older brother, and they pulled out of the driveway.

She glanced back one time, back at the house where she had lived, where so many memories - of friends, of magic, and everything else - still lived. She was leaving everything behind.

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"Stonehill Middle School," announced her father as he pulled up beside the school. It was a week since they had moved in, and school was starting.

Lena and her brother, John, exchanged dismayed glances. Neither wanted to face the prospect of an entirely new school, new friends, new everything.

"Come on." Lena said finally, climbing out of the car. They had to go to school sooner or later. Although later was more preferable . . .

John, who was one year older than Lena, followed, slamming the car door. "Why did we have to move?" he whined. "I liked it back there. Here it's too . . . too . . ." unable to think of a good descriptive word, he fell silent.

Lena looked around. Girls and boys her age were filing into the middle school. They were all talking and laughing, and comparing their summers. She felt a pang of homesickness, and she missed her two best friends. If she hadn't moved, she would be at her old middle school, with Aquene and Orenda, and they would be laughing and talking, and whispering about the magic.

I bet no one here has the magic, thought Lena scornfully. Maybe that's why I don't like it here. I miss the magic.

Even though her magic powers were always with her, she hadn't used it once since she had moved to Stonehill, Pennsylvania. It just wasn't the same without people to share it with. And she would never share it with anyone in her family. Only Aquene and Orenda could understand.

She watched enviously as all the girls her age broke into separate groups of friends. A giggling, whispering quartet passed by her, talking excitedly.

Lena turned around to say something to John, but couldn't find him anywhere. He had disappeared into the crowd.

Well, Lena thought ruefully, John always did make more friends than her. More easily than her, too. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the crowd of students, which swept into the school.

Within minutes, the crowd had dissolved, all the people going separate ways. Most of these people knew where the classes were situated.

"Um, excuse me." Lena said timidly to a girl with raven-black, glossy hair. She was wearing a black tee that said, "Warrior" in sparkly stones.

The girl swung around, and Lena saw that she had been talking to another, auburn-haired girl. "Oh, hi."

"Sorry." Lena said hurriedly, "but I was wondering if you knew where room . . . F15 is?"

"It's that way." The girl pointed to her right. "Take a turn, and it's the second class on the left. Are you new here?"

"Yes." Lena said. "I just moved here a week ago. My name's Lena."

"Adriane," replied the girl, smiling.

"I'm Emily," offered the auburn-haired girl whom Adriane had been talking to. "I know what it's like to be new. I was new here a while ago, too. I moved from Colorado."

"I'm from Connecticut," said Lena.

"What do you think of Stonehill so far?" asked Adriane.

"It's scary. Different." Lena agreed. "I'm not used to it yet."

"Don't worry. Stonehill is really nice. You'll love it soon enough." Emily assured her with a smile.

Somehow, Lena doubted that, but she was glad to have finally made some friends.

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It was lunch, and Lena hadn't seen either Emily or Adriane all day. It seemed that they had totally different schedules.

She got on the lunch line, and then spotted both of the other girls talking with another girl, who had blond tresses and sparkling blue eyes.

Lena hesitated a moment, then crossed over to them, hovering nearby, waiting for them to finish their conversation with the other girl.

She overheard snatches of their conversation as she stood there, listening.

"Lyra says there's a new evil," the blond girl said urgently.

"I know, Kara, but we really have to wait until something comes up. The Dark Sorceress wasn't finished yet, even when we defeated her a second time," replied Adriane in a low voice.

"Ozzie's trying to calm down the quiffles and other animals. They all sense something. Like they sensed the manticore the first time." Kara said.

Lena stood stock-still. They couldn't be talking about what she thought they were talking about, could they? Magic? Was it possible - could it be possible that there were more mages, here in Stonehill?

"Shh!" Emily said suddenly. She looked up, and saw Lena. "Oh, hello, Lena. I don't think you've met Kara?"

Kara gave Lena one of her brilliant smiles. Lena smiled back, although she was uncertain what to think of everything.

"Um . . . by any chance, were you talking about quiffles? And manticores?" Lena asked finally, unsure of any other possible way to word it.

The three other girls all exchanged glances. "Yes." Kara piped up. "We were."

Adriane shot her a warning glare, but Kara sent her back an I-know-what-I'm- doing look.

Lena waited.

"You see, we had a play a while ago, and there were unusual characters there. And there was one wacko kid talking about magical creatures, and something like quiffles." Kara said smoothly.

Even Adriane looked impressed with the quick thinking. Lena wouldn't be able to find them out - she hadn't been there for the play.

"Oh." Lena said.

"Hey, do you, uh, want to sit with us?" Emily asked brightly.

"I'd love to." Lena said gratefully. She followed them outside, with her tray, and the four of them found seats under a large tree. Three more girls joined them.

"Hey, nice outfit!" exclaimed one of them, a redhead, to Lena.

"Thanks." Lena said uncertainly.

"Let me introduce you to Lena." Kara said to the new girls. "Lena, this is Molly, Heather, and Tiffany."

"Nice to meet you," chorused the three girls.

"Cool necklace, too," added Tiffany.

Lena fingered her necklace, which was one she had woven herself. She had attached her own magic stone, the Wind Crystal, to it. Aquene and Orenda, back home, had identical necklaces, with their own magic stones, the sun stone, and star jewel.

"Thank you." Lena said sincerely. She saw Emily, Adriane, and Kara glance at her necklace, and saw Adriane choke on her food, Emily drop her milk, and Kara's eyes widen. Emily's drink spilled onto the table, causing Molly, Heather, and Tiffany to squeal and jump backwards to avoid the milk.

Emily and the other managed to clean it up, and Emily apologized.

"Where did you get that jewel?" Kara demanded.

"I - found it." Lena answered vaguely.

"Where?" Kara persisted.

"Oh, I got it from a friend, for a present." Lena lied, trying to avoid the questions.

The other girls fell silent. They were all thinking their own thoughts. Who was this new girl? Why did she have a magic jewel? And what did this mean?

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A/n: Done with this chapter! Love it? Hate it? R&R it!!