The Jewels The Guardian and The Ghost.
By Kellie Fay
Disclaimer: Danny Phantom and all related characters belong to Butch Hartman. I don't make money out of this. If I did I wouldn't need to work for a living.
Chapter 3: More Magic
Danny dodged the televisions Technus flung at him, looking back over his shoulder. "Man those things are huge I thought everyone was buying flatscreens." He turned his attention back to the spirit destroying the Radio Shack.
"Do we really have to do this at four in the morning?" He complained.
"I Technus master of technology make other people keep my schedule!" Technus shouted back.
Danny sighed frustrated. "Just get in the thermos already!" He made a sharp ninety degree dive spun around under Technus and activated the thermos. Instantly Technus was swallowed by the ghost catching device and the sky was silent.
"Finally," Danny said with relief. It was nearly dawn, and again Danny found he chased Technus all night. He was about to fly home, when some movement away from the line of shops caught his attention. In the back of a little grey cottage style home, moved a familiar figure, Miss Daily. The yard was concealed by a thick hedge sheltering the back yard, but Danny could see his math teacher clearly from above.
So this is where she lives, Danny thought mischievously. Sam thinks she's a witch. Don't witches have all sorts of things in their houses like black cats and cauldrons and broomsticks? Okay Fenton spending too much time watching movies with Tucker, but Sam did say that witches do need some kind of tools to make their magic work more effectively. Gemstones and stuff. I wonder what I'd see if I took a quick peek inside her house while she's out here? Sam would tell him he was crazy for thinking of looking into the house. Tucker might agree with him, but he knew Jazz would side with Sam. Great there not even here and their voting. Well as long as Miss Daily is out there I don't think a quick invisible peek inside of her house would hurt.
He dove for the second floor of the house, and found to his surprise that he couldn't phase thought the walls. "What's going on here?" he wondered out loud. A quick and thorough inspection of the entire exterior showed that there was no way he could get inside the house. In fact he found that if he floated next to the walls of the house some invisible force would gently cause him to drift away from it.
Okay I know Sam thinks that Miss Daily uses magic to make me sleep in class without anyone knowing. Maybe she uses magic to keep ghosts out of her house too. If Miss Daily could keep ghosts out of her home, Danny wanted to know. He felt that he would sleep loads better if he had a way of keeping ghosts out of Sam's and Tucker's homes.
Movement in the backyard reminded Danny to go invisible. Maybe by watching her now he could figure her out. Being very cautious to remain invisible, Danny flew down to watch Miss Daily.
The teacher walked around her garden to each plant and bush watering them and speaking to them as if they were old friends. Okay weird but lots of people talk to their plants. He watched as she slowly moved to a ring of short bushes arranged in a large circle at the center of the garden. With his altitude Danny could see that most of the plants in the garden were shaped into the classic knot design, but in the center was a perfect circle of woody herbs comfortable enough for six people to stand in, maybe ten if they were all good friends.
Miss Daily moved from bush to bush plucking off leaf laden stems from several different plants. Danny could smell the fragrant lavender and sage wafting up as she pinched off the leaves and twigs. Around the circle of plants there were four candles at each compass point. There was a small fire in an grey stone dish in front of the eastern candle. Gathering the herbs she picked into a bundle Miss Daily lit the bundle, and went about lighting each of the four candles. She then placed the bundle onto the stone dish.
Looks like she's going to do some magic now, Danny thought warily. Maybe I'd better back off.
"Actually friend, you'd be better off if you came into the circle with me." Miss Daily said startling him.
Danny thought about making a run for it, but she didn't seem very concerned with him. It was as if she didn't care if he joined her or not. She obviously knew he was watching the entire time and did nothing to stop him so she didn't care if he knew what she was doing. With a shrug and a sheepish grin he became visible, floated down and joined her in the circle. "Do I want to know why it's better if I'm in the circle?" He asked.
"I could tell you," The magical math teacher said wryly. "But it would spoil the surprise." When Danny began to worry that he was being tricked she laughed. "Believe me its nothing bad," she said to reassure him. "In fact you might even enjoy it."
"Can I at least find out what your doing?" He asked. He knew he should be so out of there, but he didn't doubt that being in the circle was probably going to be the better route.
Miss Daily folded herself down in front of the stone dish which still had herbs burning away like a merry campfire. "Oh this is something I do in the morning to get me ready for the day. Sit if you like, float if you prefer, just stay in the circle. Okay?"
Not sure what else to do Danny lowered himself almost to the ground. He hovered a few inches from the floor in case he had to make a quick escape.
Miss Daily finished her preparations she threw some sand on top of the remainder of the herbs and began drawing some symbols in the sand with a twig. Once she was ready she rested her hands on her knees and began to chant. She sang softly at first but Danny noticed that the candle's flames were growing and the very air around him seemed to grow heavier with the scent of herbs and flowers. Something odd was beginning to happen, but Danny couldn't understand what it was. His skin felt prickly as if he were passing through electric wires, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, just odd.
In front of him Miss Daily sang softly to the plate before her.
May the winds from the east bring us courage.
May the winds from the south bring us compassion
May the winds from the west bring us cunning
May the winds from the north bring us strength
Each time she invoked a wind the corresponding candle would flair and Danny could feel the breeze dance in from each direction. It was almost as if each wind was bringing what was asked for, and flowing through his mind and body. Danny felt calm, relaxed, comfortable, and not as tired as he had been earlier. Without meaning too Danny closed his eyes enjoying this warm safe feeling as it seemed to fill up places inside of him that had been empty and hurting for far too long.
Miss Daily continued to chant
May the stars light our path.
May the Moon help us find peace,
and may the Sun grant us it's living energy to start this new day.
Danny couldn't even move now even if he wanted too. The scary thing was he didn't want to. A small rational part of his mind was screaming at him that he was falling under a spell and he should be getting out of there now, but he didn't want to leave. This felt good He definitely wasn't tired anymore. If he had ever felt like this before he couldn't remember it. It reminded him of his favorite ice cream, the first day he learned to fly, when he landed the Space Shuttle after saving it from the gem of life. The best memories of his life flashed before him. There was nothing that could make him unhappy or angry. If he knew sitting here would make him feel this good all the time he probably would never move again.
But the spell wasn't finished yet. The moment the rising sun struck the circle a ripple of energy and power filled the entire area. There was no way to describe this feeling. He could feel not only the warm sun on his skin but the energy seemed to vibrate through his entire body. The smell and taste of the herbs in the air strengthened and intensified. The very earth around him literally hummed with power. When Danny opened his eyes he found that he was now hovering five feet above the circle and he glowed like a miniature sun.
Miss Daily rose from her spot on the floor, and looked for Danny where he sat originally. A pleased and delighted smile played across her face when she found him above her.
"I trust you enjoyed my little morning pick- me- up?" She asked with a laugh.
Danny couldn't speak yet. The sensation of the sheer amount of power that now ran through his body was overwhelming. "I...I wow!"
Miss Daily laughed again. "I'll take that as a yes."
Danny nodded still trying to find words. "How...what did you do to me?" He wasn't tired at all now. In fact he felt charged up. He felt like he could out fly, out shoot, and out ghost Vlad Plasmius right now.
"The Earth and the forces around the earth are vessels of power," she explained. "If you know how you can control and direct that power and use it to charge yourself or other beings who can use that kind of power."
"You mean like me?" When Miss Daily nodded he grinned. "Well I'm charged all right."
"So now that your all charged up would you mind doing me a small favor?" She asked.
Danny knew he should say no, but he felt too good to deny anybody anything right now. "As long as I don't get in trouble for it," he answered.
Miss Daily smiled warmly. "You won't," she answered him. "And it won't take any time at all. Here catch!"
She tossed something at him. Danny caught it instinctively. It seemed to be a clear orb of quartz the size of a shooter marble. The moment he touched it, however, it began to glow the same luminescent green his eyes did.
"That's good, you can give it back now," Miss Daily said.
Oddly enough Danny felt a little reluctant to return the marble, but he tossed it back anyway. "What did I just do to your marble?" He asked.
Miss Daily smiled as she placed with the marble in her hands. "You just charged the crystal with a little bit of your energy," she explained. "Ectoplasm is a little like DNA no two spirits produce exactly the same kind. So now with this little bit of you in here, " she showed him the still glowing marble. "I can reset my wards to include you, and still repel other ghosts."
Well that was news to Danny. Miss Daily obviously knew quite a bit about ghosts. "Wait a minute. What do you mean you want to include me in your wards. What are wards anyway?"
"A ward is a protection against supernatural forces. It kind of works like a ghost shield, but it also can keep out magic, and unlike the shield it can be set to allow friendly spirits in such as yourself."
Danny was still confused. "Me? How do I rate? You don't even know me."
Miss Daily chuckled. And looked him right in the eyes. "I know more about you than you know, Danny Phantom. And as for why I'm including you in my wards, lets just say I know enough about you to know that you are not a threat to Amity Park, and everyone needs a place where they can just be."
Despite the fact that he knew she could influence him, Danny found himself liking this mysterious teacher. "It's nice to know somebody thinks so," he said. "So you are a witch."
To his surprise Miss Daily shook her head no. "Not in the strictest definition of the term. Witchcraft is as much about religion as it is about magic. I do use magic. Magic is often better than science in dealing with ghosts."
Danny decided not to argue with that.
Miss Daily suddenly looked up past his shoulder and said, "I'd love to talk to you more, Danny, but I think you'd better get home before you're missed."
"Huh?" Danny followed her eyes over his shoulder to the rising sun and realized that it was almost time for him to get up for school. Oh man if mom and dad find out I've been out all night they're gonna freak!
"Um I've got to go," Danny said, shooting up into the sky. Then as an afterthought he flew back down and said, "By the way, thanks!" Then he took off for home.
Coming Soon Chapter 4 Discoveries.
Suddenly Valerie dropped her weapon to her side and seemed to be teetering on the hoversled. She shook her head and brought one hand up as if she were in pain.
"You okay?" Danny asked worried.
Valerie shook her head again like she was trying to clear her vision. "Wha...what's going on? What are you doing to me?"
"Nothing I swear!" Danny insisted. Oddly enough he felt a tingle along his skin. Somebody was doing something to Valerie, but it wasn't him. Danny looked back down at the school. Sure enough the whole school was watching them, but it was one pair of storm grey eyes that instantly caught Danny's attention.
It's Miss Daily! She's doing it, but how? Danny asked himself. Unbidden his conscious shot back with How does she keep making you blank out during math class and still get the lesson genius?