"So let's go find the manufacturer," Danielle said.
Her mother sighed and said, "It won't be easy. You see since reality has changed it
means Kat never bought this stone and so couldn't have the name of the shop written
down. I'm surprised this stone is still here as it should have went somewhere else the
moment Kat dropped it."
"You mean..." Danielle began with a look of horror on her face.
Her mother nodded and said, "We shouldn't even have the opportunity to track the
manufacturer down."
"I don't see what the big deal is," Kat said shrugging her shoulders. "I can find the shop
again. I know what it looks like."
"Oh really," her mother said with a scowl, "then perhaps you can describe it."
"Of course," Kat said smiling. "It's... err... I know that it has a... err... It's on... err... Oh
why can't I remember now?!"
"Because you never went to that shop Kat," her mother practically spit. "I told you that
you needed to go slow and learn the basics first. But noooo you had to try some
advanced magic."
"But you can locate the manufacturer by scrying for them," Kat said.
"You didn't pay much attention to how the stone is made did you Kat?" her mother said
sighing angrily. When Kat shook her head she continued, "Enchanter's reserves always
have an anti-scrying jinx and anti-focusing jinx on them to prevent someone from using
the stone to find them by scrying or using the stone as a focusing object to cast spells
on them."
"You can still find them though can't you?" Danielle asked scared that she would
remain this way for the rest of her life.
"I can't," her mother said shaking her head. "Even if it wasn't so low on energy I would
have to go around looking for the right magical signature which could take years."
"Years?" Kat and Danielle asked together. "I can't wait that long to get my magic
back," Kat continued.
"And why is that?" her mother asked in a dangerous tone.
"Well because I'm supposed to have it," Kat said.
"That's all you care about?!" her mother exploded her face turning red. "You don't even
care about your once brother now sister and that she may be stuck like this! You don't
deserve to have magic! After this is fixed I'll be transforming you into a boy so you'll
never be a witch again!"
"But I didn't mean for all this to happen," Kat said starting to cry. Her mother made a
small gesture while Kat continued, "Dan and I never got along. I thought that if I
transformed him into Danielle that we would get along better. I only made her a bunny
girl as a little prank. I meant to change her back into a human but then she had to
tattle and you wouldn't give me the chance to explain. I was so mad that I was thirteen
again and didn't have my magic. I blamed Danielle for it and wanted to punish her for
tattling. I never meant for things to go this far."
"Oh Kat," her mother said softly and kneeling down hugged her. "Why didn't you tell
me this before? We could have worked it out before this even started. And I'm sorry
that I didn't give you the chance to explain."
"Mom?" Danielle asked confused.
"She's telling the truth," her mother said. "I cast a truth detection spell when she
started crying. It wouldn't prevent her from lying but I would know if she was."
"So that's how you knew we were lying when we did before," Danielle said looking
down.
"Yes and now that you know that I will be able to tell if you're lying I expect you to tell
me the truth," her mother said. "Now we need to find the manufacturer and see if
they're skilled enough to undo this. Fortunately I know someone who may be able to
help." She took out a wand and muttered something. A wisp of blue smoke came out
of the tip and quickly dissipated.
After a few moments a door appeared and opened revealing an eighteen year old girl.
The girl smiled and walked into the room letting the door fade away. "Nice to see you
again Jill but your message sounded urgent," the girl said as she hugged Jill.
"Well Rick," Jill began but then stopped. Sighing she asked, "What name are you going
by now?"
"I chose Emily this time," the girl said.
"Well Emily Kat used an enchanter's stone to try and change Danielle after she had
already changed her," Jill said sighing.
Emily shook her head and said, "Mixing magics like that. I would almost say she was
your niece instead of your daughter if I didn't know better. I guess you need me to try
and find the manufacturer."
Jill nodded but before she or Emily could say anything else Danielle asked, "Mom, who
is this?"
"Oh I should introduce you since you were only a baby the last time she stopped by,"
Jill said. "Emily these are my daughters Kat and Danielle. Girls this is Emily. She's a
hunter and one of the oldest witches alive."
"What's a hunter?" Danielle asked.
"How old are you?" Kat asked nervously.
"Well Danielle I'm a witch hunter," Emily said smiling. "I hunt down witches who have
abused their powers and either imprison them or kill them if I'm forced too. Fortunately
I haven't had to kill a witch in three hundred years. As to your question Kat I knew
Circe before she started turning men into pigs." She must have seen the fearful look
on Kat's face because she said, "Yes Kat I'm too old for a novice witch to change my
memories. I know Danielle was born Daniel and so will the council if I decide to tell
them."
"Y-y-you won't tell th-th-them w-w-will you?" Kat asked shaking in fright.
"That depends on what I find out here and what happens," Emily said frowning at Kat.
She turned to Jill and said, "I'll need the enchanter's reserve." She held out her left
hand and Jill placed the stone in it. After looking at it for a few seconds her eyes went
wide. She closed her hand around it and waved her other hand making a door appear
again. "Come with me quickly," she said as she opened the door and stepped through.
Kat and Danielle looked at each other with confused looks but their mother said,
"Come along girls. I don't know what's going on but Emily's waiting for us." Indeed
Emily was waiting just on the other side of the door looking impatient and probably
getting angry. Danielle decided she didn't want Emily mad at her and followed her
mother through the door. Kat must have been thinking the same thing because she
was right behind Danielle.
They were in some sort of weird dungeon or something like that. There walls were
stone and torches were set at regular intervals along them though these torches didn't
give off any smoke even though they were lit. There were cells along the walls and part
of a silver circle engraved with mysterious symbols in front of them. One cell had what
looked like a dome of pink light over it though the pink light could barely be seen.
Emily walked over to a block of stone against one wall that had several silver circles
with those symbols engraved into them on it. Some of these circles had that same
barely seen pink light dome over them and objects in them. There were a couple dolls,
a small wooden horse, a small jade elephant, and a fairy statue. Emily placed the
stone in one of the empty circles and then touched the circle. When she did the barely
visible pink light rose from the circle and formed a dome over it in the blink of an eye.
"Well she won't die now and I can finally tell the council I found her," she said sighing.
"Why did you say that stone was a she?" Danielle asked.
"Because this isn't an enchanter's reserve," Emily said gesturing to the stone. "It's
actually a witch I've been hunting since you were born. Her name is Tanya
Moonstone."
"You mean she has been that stone for sixteen years?" Jill asked.
"Possibly," Emily said with a smile. "Though I suspect it's been less than that."
"Why did you say that she wouldn't die now?" Kat asked.
"Because if you're transformed into an inanimate object your life force will eventually
start to fade if not in a circle," Emily said. "If you're a witch who's been transformed
into an inanimate object and someone taps into your magic then the process speeds
up."
"How close is she?" Jill asked worry in her voice.
"Well if I remove her from the circle it's likely that she'll die in minutes," Emily said.
"The good news is that it seems she transformed herself so I should be able to
transform her back. I just need to construct the proper circle in which to do it."
"What about my daughters?" Jill asked putting a hand on their shoulders. "Do you
think you can change them back?"
"I'll need to know the exact spells used and then I'd need to study them for a bit,"
Emily said rubbing her chin and looking at Kat and Danielle. "You know how delicate it
can be to undo another's spells."
"I know," Jill said looking sad.
"Is that you Julian?" a woman asked from the occupied cell. "Why haven't you brought
your children to see their Aunt Mary before now little brother?"
"Is that our aunt?" Danielle asked looking at the woman in the cell. She did look like
her mother except older. "And why did she call you little brother?"