LEARNING MAGIC

Bethany sucked in a deep breath of air and released it. She had decided that her training would take place on the huge lawn that surrounded her home. She had found a spot underneath the shade of a willow tree to spread her blanket and sat cross-legged on it. A cool breeze blew past, washing over her skin and leaving her refreshed. This was the perfect weather for any form of physical exercise.

"Okay! I'm ready!" She called out. All three spirit guides appeared in front of her. They hadn't even started teaching her for the day and they already looked tired. She wouldn't blame them though. For the past three days, they had been instructing her non-stop after school on how to use her powers and to no avail. They had started off with what they had said was the easiest part of her power, summoning spirits. They had done tons of summoning, all were unsuccessful. You see the problem wasn't summoning the spirits but sending them back. Most of the time she was so terrified by the spirits that she forgot the spell to send them back and took off out of the room. The ghosts found this amusing and chased her round the house laughing manically whilst she screamed at the top of her lungs. Once she had because of that gotten herself possessed by a spirit obsessed with pranks. Serenity, Harp and Flare had had a hard time getting rid of the spirit and she spent the rest of the night making up lies to explain what had happened and sending out apologies to all the people the spirit had pranked. It was obvious that if she didn't get over her fear of ghosts she wouldn't be able to master her powers.

"Bethany you already know what to do ju..."Began Serenity.

"Actually I was wondering if we could skip to raising the dead instead." Bethany interrupted her.

SILENCE.

All three women looked completely horrified at her statement and stared at her with eyes as big as saucers. "I was just thinking since we don't have so much time and I don't think I'm going to master spirit summoning anytime soon, why don't we move to the skill that I actually need to save the town." Explained Bethany. The three ghosts stared at each other and stared back at her.

"That is a reasonable idea Bethany, but..." Said Flare. "Absolutely not." They finished in unison. "We're talking about necromancy Bethany." Said Harp. "Even the most advanced of magical practitioners have problems with it and with necromancy, you cannot make mistakes. One mis-performed action could cost you your life. Unlocking that side of your powers requires something that, knowing you, you will be very terrified."

"Maybe it might be scary but don't you think my time will be better spent trying to prepare me for necromancy which I will use to save the town than spirit summoning. Sheriff Cole's been doing a good job keeping the town calm and buying us some time but how long will that last." Bethany gave the three women a look and they began shuffling uncomfortably. They were uncertain and didn't want to make an irrational decision. Yet, Bethany did give a good point. They huddled together and began discussing in low whispers.

"We can't do this. She's too scared, she's not ready for the sea of the dead." Hissed Flare.

"And if something goes wrong with unlocking her powers, like we don't pull her out fast enough, she'll die." Harp added.

"But, if she does manage to make it past the sea of the dead and unlock her power then raising the dead won't be a problem for her anymore." Said Serenity. "Plus if she made it past the sea of the dead it would mean she would've gotten over her fear and spirit summoning will also not be a problem. We'd be killing two birds with one stone."

Flare and Harp considered this for a moment and then nodded in agreement. They all turned to Bethany who had her hands clamped together smiling hopefully. "Come up to your bathroom, we'll set everything up there." Instructed Serenity and they vanished into thin air. Bethany whooped and squealed in excitement and jogged happily towards the front door. It was not until she had done that for a few minutes before she realized something. "Wait, was that a yes or a no."

Five minutes later she stood in her bathroom looking around in awe. The ghosts had placed scented candles everywhere and along the edges of her bathtub they had lined strange purple flowers that Bethany had never seen before. Underneath her bathtub they had drawn a strange symbol. Whilst Flare drew a symbol on her forehead, Harp gave her her instructions.

"Bethany this little ceremony is called the opening or the unlocking. Once you successfully get past this stage, raising the dead should be no problem." Serenity explained. "But the unlocking is not easy. It's actually pretty scary and someone like you will find it terrifying." Said Harp. "This is how it works." Bethany listened intently as Serenity laid down the procedure. "You'll lie in the water completely submerged, don't worry you won't drown that's what the symbol on your head is for. Harp, Flare and I are going to say a spell that will send your subconscious somewhere called the forest of the forgotten in the *hidden realm*. Just walk in one straight line and keep walking till you arrive at a huge mass of water, that's the sea of the dead. You're to dive in and keep swimming till you see a small ball of light, then touch it and you're home free."

Bethany scoffed. "That's it. That doesn't sound so bad."

Harp scowled disapprovingly. "It's not that easy, it's called the sea of the dead for a reason." She lectured. "When you dive in, you're to suppress any ounce of fear that you might feel. Because in those waters are the grapplers. Spirits of those people who when they were alive, were involved in one evil activity or the other and as a result, when they died were sent and trapped there. They smell fear and the minute you start feeling afraid, they'll grab hold of you and try to pull you under. If not pulled out of the *spirit state* in time, you will die in this world and your soul trapped in that one." Bethany's eyes widened. "But don't worry." Harp continued. "We're experts and we will be able to pull you out."

"I'm done." Flare announced flying back to admire her work. "You ready?" Serenity nodded to Bethany. Bethany stared at the bathtub full of water and slowly approached it. Her heart had begun racing inside her chest and she was starting to have second thoughts but she couldn't back out now, or the spirit guides may not agree to do this again. She sucked in a deep breath of air and nodded. "Well then, step in." Said Flare gesturing to the bathtub. Bethany slowly took off her clothes and carefully stepped one foot after the other into the cool water. She closed her eyes and gradually lowered herself into the tub till all of her was submerged in the water.

"Eleftherosi quod siel kai steilete quod weg." She heard them begin to chant. "Sto spiritus ryk to eorum bly."

"Eleftherosi quod siel kai steilete quod weg, sto spiritus ryk to eorum bly"

"Eleftherosi quod siel kai steilete quod weg, sto spiritus ryk to eorum bly"

Their voices sounded like echoes as it penetrated the water and it grew fainter and fainter. She felt like she was falling, slowly but surely drifting down and the voices of the spirit guides had gotten so faint she couldn't hear them anymore. The feeling of liquid around was suddenly replaced by air and she felt like she was lying on something hard. She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was what looked like the night sky. She slowly stood to her feet. All around her was thick foggy forest and in the fog she could hear voices. They whispered and it was almost like she feel the owners of the voices brush past her but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She followed Serenity's instructions and began walking in a straight-line. She didn't know whether she was walking in the right direction but luckily she didn't walk too far before she arrived at the edge of the forest and before her, all she could see was water. It was unusually calm and darker than what she had anticipated. The whispering had gotten louder and she began to feel her heart thumping again. She fought off the feeling of fear and dove into the water.

The water was dark and she could barely see where she was going yet she forged on. Once in a while she would feel something brush past her but she ignored it not wanting to find out what it was and risk getting afraid. Instead she would shut her eyes and open it regularly so she wouldn't swim past the ball of light Serenity had described. Hey eyes were shut when she felt something get caught on her face. She reached out and pulled it off. It felt weird in her hand and out of pure curiosity she opened her eyes to check it out. She nearly let out a scream when she saw the intestine in her hand and it was at that moment the urge to check out her environment set in. All around her they were human body parts. They were organs, toes, fingers, hands, feet and even people's heads. By this time, her heart was pretty much racing. Something suddenly grabbed hold of her foot and she looked down to see a woman with shrunken skin, holes in the place of eyes, in a bloody and raggedy dress holding unto her. Her eyes widened and she began frantically attempting to swim away from the woman's grip. The woman was stronger than she looked and was pulling her down. Her other foot was suddenly grabbed too and she noticed black figures swimming towards her. Now filled with fear, she couldn't hold down her scream anymore and let it rip from her throat. "Aaarrghhh!"

Other figures that shared similar looks with the woman had appeared and were now trying to pull her down too. While she shrieked with bubbles pouring out of her mouth, the beings let out ghastly wails and pulled her down farther till suddenly everything went dark.

"Aaarrghhh!" Bethany screamed once more sitting up on her bed. "Hush, shh, shh." Serenity calmed her. Bethany was panting profusely and her brows arched with confusion as she stared round the familiar room. Serenity sat next to her on the bed while Flare and Harp floated some feet from the ground at the foot of the bed. "You're okay, you're safe." Serenity soothed. Bethany placed her hand on her chest swallowing her own saliva as her heart raced so fast it was almost like it would fly out of her chest any minute. "So I'm guessing you didn't unlock your powers." Said Flare unfeelingly and Serenity shot her a glare. "But at least, now you've experienced the sea of the dead and you'll be better mentally prepared for it next time." Said Harp. Serenity shook her head at how emotionless her fellow spirit guides were and turned to Bethany smiling softly. "How about you rest." She cooed. "We'll try again in the evening."

Bethany didn't reply, she lay in her bed trembling, the memory replaying over and over again in her head. Harp shook her head pitifully. "Poor kid. This is too much for her." She sympathized. "It's not too much, she just has to overcome her fears." Said Flare and all three of them disappeared.

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Sheriff Cole crept quietly through the dark woods armed with a tranquilizer gun and a shotgun that was hung across his shoulders. Behind him, a trail of officers followed each with their own shotgun and tranquilizer gun as well. He stopped, raised a hand with a raised finger and rotated it, a sign for them to spread out. "Fan out." They whispered passing the message to one another before branching out. Charlie and Jim stayed with Cole and they both climbed up the small hill till they arrived at the cabin. This was where the purple light that emanated through the woods was coming from. The men got their tranquilizers ready while Cole stared at his watch. It was five minutes till one 'o' clock and they prepared for action.

"You know when you first told us about this whole thing couple of days back Cole, I thought you'd lost it. Now we've been doing for three nights and I still can't believe it." Charlie was trying to start up a conversation that no one was in the mood for. "Not the time Charlie, when we're done." Said Jim. Cole gave him an appreciative look and turned back to his watch. The minute the long hand was pointed at twelve they heard a shriek they were now familiar with come from the cabin and a black shadow fly within it. Soon the Nightprowler flew out through the roof followed by several others with their shrieks released into the night sky. All officers had their eyes on Cole as they waited expectantly for his order. He raised a finger once more and pointed to the Nightprowlers, all officers pointed their tranquilizers at the beasts and as he snapped his fingers they pulled their triggers. Darts flew into the air and a few moments later with small shrieks the beasts fell from the sky landing on the earth with loud thuds, the force of impact knocking them out. There were flashes of light from Nightprowler to Nightprowler as Drake fed each of them sleeping pills that would keep them unconscious for the next few hours. They'd wake up just before the sun rose and fly back to the safety of their realm so the sun's rays wouldn't hurt them. Once done, Drake stepped back while the officers approached cautiously from their hiding places to inspect the sleeping creatures to confirm that they were all unconscious.

"Okay. Now everyone set a perimeter. You know the drill, we watch these things and make sure that no one gets up before time and anyone other one that flies out of that building is brought down." Ordered Cole and all the officers moved to their positions muttering to one another. Drake walked up to Cole who was accompanied by Jim and Charlie. "Well done kid." Said Cole thankfully. "I should be thanking you and your men for keeping the town safe and buying Bethany some time." Said Drake. Cole gave Jim a look who nodded with understanding. He began ushering Charlie away from the both of them who began grumbling in protest. "Why do we have to go away, we should know everything that happens since we're now a part of all..."

"Have you spoken to Beth?" Asked Cole in a low tone. Drake quirked an eyebrow, how was it that he could remember Bethany's name but not his. "Yeah... she's been having problem learning to use her powers. The last time we spoke she hadn't even started learning to raise the dead yet." Drake informed him. "What!" Hissed Cole. "But give her a little more time." He added quickly. "It's just been three days, it takes way longer for people to master her kind of powers."

Cole let out a sigh. "I would give her a lot of time if I could but this depends on a lot of factors other than me. It depends on how long those things in there can keep coming out here without figuring out something is wrong when they get tranquilized every night, it depends on how long it will take those two spies of his get to the rest of the descendents and the info I gave my officers are enough to get them out here with me every night but for how long."

Drake and Cole surveyed the area staring at the men who had all dutifully taken their posts and were keeping watch. "I wish I had a sure answer to give but I have none. Let's just hope we're given the right amount of time." Said Drake. "Talk to Beth and get her to hurry up training." Instructed Cole before jogging off into the woods.

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Bethany swam desperately as hard as she could but it was no use. That zombie lady's grip was way too strong and she was not only pulling her under but away from where she needed to go. No matter how hard she tried to repress her feelings of fear she couldn't stop her heart from beating as a result more zombies began swimming towards her. They grabbed at her dress, her hair, and arms, whatever they could reach and tugged, tugged her into darkness. "Aaarrghh"

"Don't worry we're here." Serenity stared down at her and she lay on her bathroom floor completely drenched. She coughed and sputtered and scurried back till her back hit the wall. "She recovered faster than last time." Harp noted flying a towel over to her. Bethany collected the towel from mid-air and wiped herself dry trembling uncontrollably. She took off the thin white garment she had decided to wear and squeezed it into the sink. Once dry, she put on a pair of fluffy bunny pajamas hoping its cuteness would keep her mind off the zombies and headed back to her bedroom just in time to hear her phone ring.

"Hello?" She said collapsing into her bed. "Hi Beth how are you?" Came Drake's voice. "Drake! Wow, this is the first time you ever called me. I'm fine." She replied. "How about you? Everything going okay with the Sheriff?"

"As okay as it can be for now. Cole's starting to worry about how long it'll take before the Nightprowlers notice that something is wrong."

Bethany sighed. "Probably not that long."

"But how's your training going? Advanced any further?"

"Well... I did manage to convince the guides to let me skip to raising the dead but turns out that skill is harder than I thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Well in order for me to achieve that power I have to go through something called the unlocking and in order to do that, they send my soul into the hidden realm and I have to swim in the sea of the dead until I find a ball of light that if I touch will unlock that ability. Problem is, I have to do this without feeling any fear because if I do, these... these... zombies show up out of nowhere and try to drag me down with them. If they do that successfully, my soul will be trapped in that place with no means of return and I'll automatically die in this world. This is a very hard challenge for me because I am easily scared and it is not easy swimming in a sea with dead people's parts just floating around. Even though the guides said I won't drown, I unconsciously hold my breath once I dive in."

There was a few minutes of silence from the other end before Drake spoke again.

"Wow Bethany. That's intense, but you have to do this we need you to pull off our plan without there being any deaths. I know you can do this, you just have to believe you can. Besides, the only reason you're afraid is because you let yourself get scared. When I was little I used to be afraid of an animal called the Banderbear. Do you know what my dad did to get me over my fear?"

"Um... No."

"When I was about twelve he put me in a battle rink armed with a sword with the bear. He told me no one would come to rescue me till I killed it, because as people the only way we really feel assured that something we fear is no longer a problem is when we know we can easily kill it. So there I was in the rink, all alone. I ran and I ran with the bear chasing me for hours but when I saw that my dad was serious about me not getting any help. I plucked up the courage and faced it. And guess what! I killed it. I killed it because I convinced myself I wasn't scared of it. You should try it too."

"Wow!" Bethany couldn't think of any other word to say. She couldn't imagine being put in such a terrible situation at such a young age and coming out without being scarred for life. Drake probably didn't know it but he probably was the only kid who would've actually plucked up some courage and killed whatever that creature was. Other kids would probably have fainted.

"I guess I can try that." Said Bethany. "Okay. Night Beth." There was more fondness in his voice than usual. "Night." She whispered and hung up. They were getting closer and it felt nice, because these days she needed as many friends as she could get. She hugged the phone to her chest and smiled.