I am SO SORRY! I have been updating on Wattpad, but I completely forgot to here, which is odd, because I actually LIKE posting here. You guys actually review and give feedback! Nothing, but crickets on Wattpad. So, as an apology, I'm giving you guys 2 chapters, and I can promise I am working on the other chapters as well! Thank you, guys, SO much for all the reviews and favorites! Please, don't give up on me!
I also realize that I haven't been giving disclaimers! I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM!
Danny turned the brass knob on Sam's bedroom door and timidly peaked in. He'd never been in a girl's bedroom before, except his sister's. It was exactly as he expected it to be. Dark, yet elegant. The room smelled lightly of incense. A beautiful four poster bed stood in the center of the room, the dark purple comforter made up neatly. Her walls matched, with the occasional bouquet of dried flowers hanging. The curtains were drawn over the large window.
Danny chuckled. It suits her.
He stepped into the bedroom, his reflection strolling up in the tall standing mirror in the corner.
"Tucker!" He heard his sister cry. "Stop that!"
"What? I'm just looking!"
Danny saw his friends and his sister in the reading nook in the far corner of the bedroom. There were four gigantic bookshelves overflowing with books and trinkets. There were also two plush, black armchairs, which Jazz and Valerie were sitting in. Tucker was busy going through the shelves.
Danny rolled his eyes. "Dude!"
"Oh, c'mon, we're in a witch's bedroom! Who knows what kind of cool stuff she's got in here," Tucker snickered. He slid a beautiful, royal blue book off the shelf. "You think there's a spell in here that can turn Dash into a frog?"
Valerie crossed her arms. "We're not saving you if Sam decides to kill you."
Danny scoffed and sat on Sam's bed. He took in more of her room. Little curios were here and there: a piece of rose quartz hung on the mirror, a little sachet of lavender rested on one of her pillows, a purple and black jacket hanging on the back of her desk chair, candles and small terrariums were everywhere.
Danny's heart fluttered a bit. Her room highlighted her charm and uniqueness. A small smile touched his lips, until his gaze fell on a photo; it was sitting on her nightstand.
He took the frame in his hand. It was a photo of five girls; he recognized Sam instantly. She looked to be about 13 or 14. The four other girls sat around her on what looked to be a sea wall. It was a selfie taken by the blonde haired girl; a wild smile graced her red lips, followed by a girl with olive toned skin and dark, wavy hair. Next to her was a girl dressed in blue, straight black hair, and dark eyes. Sam sat next to her; she was the only one in the photo not smiling. Even back then, her violet eyes were guarded and beautiful. The last girl next to Sam had long, curly auburn hair and a freckled complexion.
A feminine giggle hummed in his ear. "You looking through my stuff, too?"
Danny nearly jumped and turned to see Sam smiling down at him. The frame nearly tumbled from his fingers. "Ah! Ah, Sam! U-um…"
He glared at Tucker when he heard him impishly snicker. Danny cleared his throat and set the picture frame back down on the nightstand.
"I-I didn't hear you come in," he stammered as he stood up off the bed. "Um, are you…okay, now?"
Sam sighed and sat down on her bed. "I'm managing. I'm just really tired."
"Here," Danny said, as he gently helped Sam into bed. "Are you in pain anywhere?"
She smiled and nestled against her pillow. "No, I just need to rest for a minute. I'll have my strength back soon."
Danny delicately laid her comforter over her and sat on the bed in front of her.
"Meow," Nyx chirped gingerly as she leapt up onto the bed. Surprisingly, she gently rubbed against Danny's shoulders before burrowing into Sam's lap.
Danny fiddled with his thumbs, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. "I'm really glad you're okay. Y-you really gave m-, us a good scare."
Sam gave him a melancholic smile. "I'm sorry. It's my own fault. Gramm is right; a simple salve wasn't enough.'
"Which reminds me," Danny chimed. "Did you know? About your grandma being a witch?"
"I always suspected it," Sam said. "She was always a bit on the odd side, absolutely nothing like my father. But I could never bring myself to ask. Fates forbid, I was wrong."
The bell-like rattle of a glass jar sounded from the bookshelf.
Tucker was intensely studying the contents of the glass container. Inside were tiny, light beige seeds.
"Sam, what's in here?" Tucker asked, his eye still on the jar.
Sam snickered, despite the obvious exhaustion in her lilac eyes. "Just some Eye of Newt."
"AGH!" Tucker shrieked as he fumbled the jar in his hands. God forbid he should drop it.
Both Jazz and Valerie lean away in disgust. Danny quirked an eyebrow with an uneasy look on his face.
Tucker finally managed to scramble the jar back on the shelf. "Sick! Sick! That is sick!"
Sam clutched her chest as she tried to stifle her laughter.
"I'm kidding, Tucker," she choked. "It's just mustard seeds."
Tucker placed a hand on his chest and sighed in relief. He glared at Sam. "Clearly, you must be feeling better if you're to make cruel jokes like that."
Danny and Sam both laughed; the air was so light.
But it was cut short when Jazz came over to sit on the other side of the bed.
"Sam," she said. "Now that you're better, you're going to have to explain what that was at school."
Sam nodded. "I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. Never before have demons sent an outward message like that."
Tucker brought up the picture of the chalkboard and her desk on his phone and brought it over to Sam. "Can you translate it? I've never seen a language like that."
Danny watched Sam carefully as she clenched her hold on the phone. "It's written in Theban. A secret language among witches to conceal themselves and their practice."
Danny leaned over to see the screen. "What does it say?"
"Upon the Hunter's Moon, land shall crack and churn," Sam muttered. "All flesh that is mortal shall burn."
Danny, Jazz and Valerie all shuttered. Tucker swallowed, thickly.
"W-what the hell does that mean?" Tucker stammered.
Sam's gaze turned steely. "It's a warning. The Hunter's Moon is another name for the full moon in October. We have until then to find the rift that has opened and close it."
"Close it? Like seal it?" Danny asked. "Well, that doesn't sound so hard. We close ghost portals all the time!"
"I'm afraid the demon realm won't be as simple," Sam whimpered. "Closing a rift between this world and the world of demons requires immense power, especially when this area in particular is so supernaturally charged."
"Sam, I think we can handle it," Danny said confidently. "After all, we have you, and you said you've done this before. I'm sure if we…"
"Having me isn't nearly enough. It took all five members of my coven to close it last time," Sam snapped, her gaze locked with his. "And it doesn't make it any less dangerous."
"So, your sisters? T-they can't…" Danny stammered, uneasily.
The sharpness in Sam's eyes dulled down solemnly. "No. I'm afraid they can't help us. Sealing the rift in New Orleans took everything we had and more," she grasped the photo on her nightstand. "Hayley is probably strapped down in a padded room somewhere in New York. Selene probably wouldn't recognize me even if she fell over me due to getting amnesia. Barbra has been left in a wheelchair, and Zoey…"
She paused as she clenched her jaw and desperately tried to swallow the traitorous lump in her throat. Danny's eyes widened as he immediately got the message; he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Just trust me. This isn't something we can rush into. We need a plan."
"Well, then, where is it, anyway? That's probably a good start," Valerie spoke, fiercely. "How did you find it in New Orleans? It can't be that hard."
Sam sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I've been searching for weeks. I've looked almost everywhere! The problem is that I can't pick up the revolting energy a rift can make. Even my artifacts haven't been able to help."
"Artifacts?" Danny questioned.
Sam groaned as she struggled to reach over to her bedside drawer. She pulled open the drawer and held in her grasp Zoey's gold compass and her silver pocket watch pendant.
She held them out for the others to see. "Special items that every witch has to act as her guide. This pocket watch is mine. It keeps me focused and keeps my powers grounded."
"Is it normal to have two?" Jazz asked, gently taking the compass in her grasp. It glistened under the candles' light.
"No," Sam said, with a somber smile. "That compass is my coven sister, Zoey's. She was the first of us to receive her artifact, in fact. I've gone all over town with it; it can point in the direction of the rift. But no matter where I look, nothing."
"I wonder why," Jazz pondered. She fiddled with one of her earrings as she puzzled. "If it worked for you before, why should now be any different?"
"I have one thought; it's the only thought I have, actually," Sam said, running her thumb over the engravings on the compass's metal surface. "Someone is concealing this new rift. I assume it's probably the same person who opened it in the first place."
"And here I thought this was going to be easy," Valerie rubbed her temples. "So, what do we do? If it's hidden, how can we possibly find it?"
Sam, with an unsure glint in her eyes, opened her mouth to speak, before the sage tone of her grandmother spoke from the door.
"Perhaps this calls for transdimensional travel?" She said as she brought in a tray of tea.
Sam's pupils fearfully shrunk.
"What dimensional what?" Tucker asked.
"Transdimensional travel," Ida replied as she gently set the tray on the nightstand. She delicately poured a cup for Sam and handed it to her, clearing ignoring the terrified look on her granddaughter's face. "It's a form of spiritual travel that allows a witch to move within the medium of her powers. It will allow you to breach the concealment of the rift."
"Seriously?" Tucker exclaimed. "You guys can do that? That's freaking amazing! Damn, witchcraft is even cooler than I thought!"
"Well, I can't do it, anymore," Ida clarified. She laid her crinkled hand on Sam's. "Transdimensional travel is much too strenuous for an old witch. It's best performed by a youn-"
"G-Gramm," Sam stuttered as she yanked her hand away. "I can't! Not again! The last time was so…"
Horrific.
Traumatizing.
Pure nightmare fuel.
Her grandma took her hand again and firmly held it. "You have to, Button," Ida said, sternly. "You're the only one who can, and as you can see, we are very low on time and options."
Sam chewed on her lip. Intense fear rocketed through her veins.
"A witch's duty comes before her fear, Samantha," Ida said.
Sam looked at Danny, Jazz, Tucker and Valerie. They looked at her, awaiting her answer, seeing as they truly had no other plan.
Sighing, Sam resigned herself. "Alright. Only because we don't seem to have any other way."
Ida nodded and hobbled out of the room. "Agatha and Maria have already started preparing the garden for you to travel through the growth. Bring the grimoire with you."
Sam's eyes widened to hear grandma's knowledge of her main power, but she supposed she shouldn't be too shocked. For all she knew, Gramm probably knew of her powers before she did.
Sam collapsed back on her pillow, sighing deeply. She couldn't stop the quaking in her hands and desperately tried to keep her breathing steady.
"Sam…" Danny asked. "A-are you okay?"
Sam clutched onto the front of her nightshirt.
"No."
Dusk had passed, only leaving a dismal cloudy night sky. The wind moaned an unholy howl, like a man begging for death.
The only light shined from the various candles placed all around the garden. Streams of smoke rose from the bundles of mugwort, rosemary and sage Maria had just finished lighting.
Sam stood with her grandmother on the back porch, the grimoire and Zoey's compass held tightly in her arm.
"All is prepared, sister," Agatha hummed, she turned to Ida and Sam "We must hurry. There's no telling what malicious beings might be watching."
"Yes," Ida said softly. She held onto Sam's shoulders to keep her steady, and guided her to the stairs. "Come, Button."
Sinking her bare heels into the smooth wood, Sam gulped down the bile that rose in her throat and whispered to her grandmother. "G-gramm, I can't do it…last time…it…there was a Heat Fiend…a-and it…"
"You and your sisters didn't take the proper precautions," Ida scolded. "I witnessed it in my dreams, my little witch. Transdimensional travel requires much more than a grimoire to be performed safely. This is what happens when children play with advanced techniques."
Sam was too scared to come up with a retort. "Gramm…"
Ida grasped her hand tightly. "You must not move through the growth with fear, Button. It will cloud your way, leaving you open to the darkness and making you easy prey. Trust where you want to go, and the growth will take you there."
After finally gaining control of her breathing, Sam gave a weak grin. "You make it sound so easy."
Ida scoffed. "It is if you go in with the intention to make it so."
Clutching her grandmother's hand, Sam relented and walked down the porch steps into the garden. All the curtains to the house were drawn, but she could feel the eyes of her friends peeking through the curtains for the back door.
She walked towards the large circle of candles placed on a patch of grass in the middle of the garden.
She handed the grimoire to her grandmother. "I-I'm ready."
Ida nodded with a soothing smile on her face. "We will be right here, Button."
Maria guided Sam to the circle, and gently had her lay down on the soft grass. "Just relax, dear. Control your breathing and embrace the Earth with perfect love and perfect trust. If you do so, she will never lead you astray."
This is so different from the last time with her coven. It looked, sounded and smelt different. She and her sisters were all nervous and jittery, without a single clue of what they were stepping into.
Gramm and her coven are so calm and in control. I feel so…safe.
Sam held on to the compass, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She took in the smell of burning herbs, the sound of the water in the pond and the wind in the trees. The grass was soft and cool underneath her form. She felt her muscles relax as her pocket watch necklace left comforting weight on her chest.
"All Mighty Earth, protect this child."
Sam heard her grandmother speak, but it was becoming very muffled. She felt her very soul vibrating as she drifted in a familiar meditative state. Her senses grew null.
Even the grass beneath her began to fade as she felt herself sink, like she was being submerged in warm water. Before she could gather what was happening, all sounds and lights beyond her eyelids vanished, leaving her in an inky blackness.