Chapter 4
"Alyssa. You must wake up."
Alyssa's head felt like it had been smacked with a tree, repeatedly. She opened her eyes and they met the silver eyes of Crystallus.
"Where are we?"
"We are in the year 2006 in the American city of New York."
"What? Why are we here?"
"In this place, magic is the stuff of myths. No one will suspect you of being a witch, and no one will try to kill you because they suspect it either. Here, in this city and this time, you will be able to strengthen yourself magically until you have been called upon by the others who will join you on your path."
"Okay, but where are we going to stay while I'm getting stronger magically?"
Crystallus waved her free hand and the robes she was wearing were replaced by pants and a shirt. Then she waved her hands at Alyssa and the dress she was wearing was replaced by a similar outfit.
"To all of the people of this time, I am your grandmother. We are going to get what this time period has named, an apartment. We will live just as these people do."
"How long will we be living here?"
"Until magic calls us again."
6 Years Later
Six years. It had been six years since they had come here. Alyssa had been practicing her magic the whole time. She was 20 now and Crystallus didn't have to pretend to be her guardian anymore. She had taken to this place rather easily, all things considered. She loved the food, the clothes, and especially the fact that women could do what they wanted now. Men weren't in charge the way they had been where Alyssa had been born. Women didn't have to wear dresses and stay behind while the men did everything. Here women had just as much power as men. But, as much as she liked this new place, Alyssa still missed her real home. And, behind Crystallus's back, she'd found and practiced a spell to take her back.
She had found the spell almost three years ago. At first she had thought that it might be a fake, but she whispered the words of it out loud, without adding any magic to it, and she had felt the power in the words. She had felt the raw truth and energy that they provided. So, Alyssa had finally found a way home. Now all she had to do was think of her brother at the same age as her and the magic would guide her to where ever he was.
Which is why now, she was sitting in the public library reading everything she could find that had her brother's name in it. Her stress level was just going through the roof because every time she found another reference to her brother, she also found another story about how he had killed King Arthur, and then been killed himself. Alyssa couldn't believe that her brother would do such a thing. Yeah, the Penndragons had been killing magic users for a long time, but her brother was a kind person. Mordred would never kill anyone, but according to the legends it had been his destiny from the beginning. And that is why she had to go back and talk some sense into her stupid brother.
She had been practicing the spell whenever she could without Crystallus there to stop her. The problem was that now she had to actually do the spell, which required time and no interruptions. So, she had to find a way to get rid of Crystallus, or at least to distract her long enough. And she had a very good idea of how to do just that.
Alyssa walked into the apartment and locked the door behind her.
"Crystallus. I think we might have a small problem."
The crystal around Alyssa's neck glowed and Crystallus came out in her jeans and sweater. She preferred the new outfit to her robes.
"What happened?"
"I used a little magic at the book store and there is a slight chance that my boss saw me, but I'm not sure and he hasn't said anything. Is there any way that you could just do a little surveillance and find out?"
"How could you be so careless? You know you're not supposed to practice your magic in front of mortals!"
"I know! Now please?"
"Fine. But don't leave this apartment until I get back."
"I promise."
And in a flash of purple light she was gone and Alyssa was getting started on the spell. It was very complicated. She drew a circle in the middle of the living room with salt and stepped inside. Then she put four stone bowls at each of the four cardinal directions. The north one was filled with dirt and stones, to symbolize earth. The south one had a small fire in it. The east bowl was empty to symbolize air, and the west bowl was full of water. She sat down in the circle with her legs folded under her and began the incantation.
"Et virtutes elementorum testor me ut vadam magica," the salt circle began to glow with the silver light of Alyssa's magical energy. She felt the pull of the earth and closed her eyes to continue her spell. "Mitto me in virtutibus tempore magicis suis Camelot Arthuri!"
And, with that, the pull of time tore her away to her destination. Camelot.
Translations:
Et virtutes elementorum testor me ut vadam magica- I call upon the powers of the elements and magic itself to take me where I must go.
Mitto me in virtutibus tempore magicis suis Camelot Arthuri- I send myself to the time of Camelot and King Arthur.