Chapter 2 - Preparation

Over the next few days Gwen read through each of the books, between sight seeing. She was in a better mood than she had been in a while. The spells needed to recharge the Keystone were all there in the second book along with other interesting information. She knew that recharging the Keystone meant that the spell to recreate the Charms of Bezel could be cast again, but since Hex and Charmcaster had been drained of their magic, she wasn't worried.

According to the book, it would take three spells to fully recharge the Keystone. The first had to be cast during a full moon, which would be tonight. She could hardly contain her excitement.

"Grandpa, do you think we can find a park to camp in tonight?"

"Sure. Any specific reason?"

"Not really. I just wanted to get a good look at tonight's full moon."

Ben was trying to read the first book but wasn't getting anywhere with it. She had tried to keep it away from it at first, but then decided it couldn't hurt, as long as he was careful with it. Now she could see she was right. He had no talent when it came to magic. He couldn't manage even the simplest spell. She had a lot of fun teasing him with it. It was payback for all the times he had teased her with his powers.

Later that night, while Ben and Max were sitting around a campfire, toasting marshmallows, Gwen was a ways away preparing to cast the spell. The first spell was simple. All it did really was prepare the item for the next spell. Luckily, it didn't require anything strange to cast. It did take a lot of concentration to remember all of the words though.

Ben and Max watched from the campfire as Gwen began reciting the incantation. They couldn't really hear what she was saying, but they could see the effects of it. The Keystone was floating in front of her and it was glowing. They looked at each other. "Grandpa, do you think this is alright?"

"I don't know, Ben, but I wasn't sure it was alright for you to have the Omnitrix either. I don't have any right to deny either of you the chance to improve yourselves. I can only help you to use your powers responsibly."

"If you say so."

Ben and Max weren't the only one's watching as Gwen finished her spell and ran back for some s'mores. In fact, two other people were watching from two other places.

"That was easy," Gwen said with a laugh. "The next spell won't be though," she added more seriously. "I need to find a source of magically energy to charge the Keystone with."

"Mmnmnph..." Ben began, before he had finished his bite of s'mores. "What's a 'source of magically energy' anyway?" he finally managed.

"Well, according to my research, there are three types of sources. There are magical places, like ley lines. There are magical times, like the solstices. Then there are certain things that are basically magical batteries. I need to find one of these before I can cast the next spell."

Elsewhere, "Should we stop here before she can recharge the Keystone of Bezel?"

"No. We'll let her have it and see how she uses it. It will be a good test."

"And what of Hex?"

"Keep an eye on him, but we'll let her deal with him, if she can."

"I've been thinking about this. Since I can't find any places of power or items of power any time soon I should try to use one of the magical times. The summer solstice is coming up soon, so I should be able to use that. I just need a wide open area where I can get a good view of the sky at sunrise."

"Uh-huh," commented Ben. Gwen scowled at him. He was too busy playing his game to pay attention.

"How about the beach?" Max asked from the front seat.

"That's perfect Grandpa, and afterwards we can have a beach party." The solstice is still a few days away, so I should have enough time to prepare, she thought. At sunrise I need to cast the second spell and then at sunset, the third, and then I can be Lucky Girl again.

Before dawn on the day of the solstice, Ben and Max were setting up their spot on the beach while Gwen was drawing a magic circle in the sand. Ben and Max were getting used to having a sorceress in the family, so they did their best to not disturb her. As the sun began to rise, Gwen placed the Keystone in the center of the circle and began the incantation. After 30 minutes, she was finished, but exhausted. She sat down in the sand to catch her breath and then passed out.

Ben saw her fall over and ran to her side. "Gwen! Are you all right? Gwen?"

After a few seconds she regained consciousness. "Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. It's just that that took a lot out of me. I just need to rest. Just don't touch that circle. It has to remain undisturbed all day for it to recharge as much as possible."

Ben helped her to her feet and they walked over to their rest spot. All throughout the day Ben and Gwen kept an eye on the magic circle to make sure it was undisturbed. Despite this, they managed to have a good time.