The Lost Witch (24 page)

"Burn 'em!" someone yelled. "Burn 'em fer the devils and witches they be, before more
harm is done!"

"Burn 'em!"

"Uh oh!" Martin pressed closer to his friends. "Any ideas, Carole?"

Her staff gripped firmly in her hands, Carole scanned for the thinnest concentration of
people. "Follow my lead," she whispered. "We go on--"

The church bell began clanging wildly.

"Pirates!" The shout came from the bell tower. "The ship's already docked!"

Most of the people ran off. The rest looked towards the harbor, or kept their attention on
the Prophet and his captives.

"You four." The Prophet pointed out three men and the blacksmith. "Take these kids ta
the church fer their protection, but don't ye hurt 'em none, see. The rest of ya, go home and
secure yer houses from the pirate horde."

Just then a rough and tumble group of men rounded a corner and came marching up the
main street. The pirates, seeing the men gathered in the square, stopped dead in their tracks.
Neither townsfolk nor pirates said a word or moved a muscle.

Zack hooted into the silence, "The pirates! Get 'em!"

"If it's a fight they wants, it's a fight they'll have," one of the pirates yelled. "On to
'em!"

With a roar, pirates and townsfolk ran at each other.

"Come on, while there's still time." Carole hopped the railing into the park and ducked
into the tall grass.

They attacked the barbed wire and sandbags furiously. Soon sandbags were scattered
across the ground and the well was completely exposed. Carole peered inside.

A vortex, small as a ditch culvert, churned slowly within, but she couldn't see anything
which might be considered a connector. She sat back on her heels and nibbled her lip. What
now?

"Uh, Carole? I don't suppose you've figured things out, yet?" Zack said. "'Cause the
fighting's stopped. They're coming our way."

"The tunnels here, but no connector."

"I figure you've got about sixty seconds to find it."

Suddenly from windows, rooftops and around corners, high-pitched screams erupted as
children began lobbing water balloons at every grownup in sight. As the first volley exploded,
people were splattered with paint, ink and honey. L'il Bart had been as good as his word.

In the midst of the pandemonium, Carole heard a loud rumble. "Look!"

A stampede of hogs thundered into view, with Runt and Smoky leading the charge.
Runt, grinning from ear-to-ear, was squealing at the top of his lungs.

Pirates and townsfolk scattered in all directions, while the children hooted and
hollered.

Carole raised her staff and gave a sharp whistle. Runt turned and came towards her. The
porcine army followed in close formation.

A moment later she realized her mistake. The hogs weren't going to stop.

"Come on!" She stumbled over the strewn sandbags.

"Where to?" Martin shouted above the din, as he, Lilly and Zack scrambled after
her.

"The vortex!"

The hogs smashed through the fence.

"Jump!" Carole screamed, and leapt into the well.

Martin, Lilly, and Zack dove after her. A heartbeat later, Runt and Smoky, followed by
the entire herd of swine, tumbled over the brink.

She felt as if she was caught in the center of a tornado, but somehow Carole was able to
steady herself. Ahead she saw what appeared to be a bunch of sparking wires. On instinct she
hooked them with her staff. Instantly she felt a buzz of energy.

"Of course." Directing the snout of her staff outwards, she shouted, "Home!"

The solemn graduates climbed the worn path spiraling up from the valley floor. Their
destination was the unadorned yet all important platform resting on the peak of the Celestial
Nexus. This was to be their first transdimensional leap.

For a select few it would be a time of great celebration and victory. They would earn
their colors and become fledgling leapers, able to continue along the path of those great
transdimensional multitaskers of the past. However, for most it would become a time of bitter
disappointment but also of reflection and acceptance. Although one path would close, many
others would remain open and inviting.

Surrounding the platform was the entire Hub community, young and old having come
out to witness the event, for here celebration and disappointment were shared by all.

Today Professor Snively Hotspot was the dignitary overseeing the occasion. As the last
of the graduating class crowded onto the platform, Hotspot stepped forward, raised his arms in
salute to the leapers, and turned to face the murmuring crowd. Voices quickly stilled as all
strained to hear what the esteemed orator would say.

Hotspot dropped his arms and began. "It is with great hope and expectation that these
young graduates stand before us, preparing to test their mettle, their training and yes their luck.
They will put all unabashedly on the line, in the hopes that they may move forward in their lives
to become transdimensional leapers."

The onlookers broke into enthusiastic applause, and Hotspot again raised his arms for
silence.

"As we are all fully aware, these students have devoted themselves to years of struggle
and study, giving heart and soul to the task. Even so, despite dedication and sacrifice only a few
will be chosen. Such is the way of the multitasker. For ours is a very select lot, and our
transdimensional leapers an even more elite body.

"It is our profound hope that in the very near future, the last dimension shall again find
itself attached to our land, and with it the cosmic perturbations will once and for all be put to
rest. Indeed, there has been talk of little else since the discovery that the Sylphwood child is alive
and well, though stranded on that dreadful monobrain world. We cannot but feel for the poor
child and the horrors which she must be enduring, for have we not ourselves experienced the
damage those less evolved, those of monobrain mentality, have done to the very fabric of
existence? And so, to you graduates who are about to embark--"

With a flare of light, the Boar's Head Staff sliced through the air and speared into the
ground inches from Hotspot's nose. Moments later a kaleidoscope weave of lightning bolts
rained down from the sky and exploded onto the mount, scattering students and onlookers in all
directions, and sending Hotspot careening head-over-heels down the hill.

Carole tumbled out of the tunnel, followed by Zack, Lilly, Martin, Runt, Smoky, and
hundreds of hogs of various shapes and sizes. Jumping to her feet, she looked around in
bewilderment, before recognizing the very place that she'd dreamed about so often in the past.
She was home.

"Reet, Reet, Reet!" Runt complained, weaving about in a game attempt to reach
her.

"Runt! Smoky! Snowy! George! You're here! You all made it. You actually made it!"
She ranged amongst the dazed herd, hugging necks, scratching ears and brushing aside her own
tears of joy.

"Ugh, I never ever want to do that again." Martin lay on his back, staring into the jowly
face of a wizened old hog.

"That was definitely not fun." Green-faced, Zack agreed, as he got slowly to his knees.
"I can't believe I'm not puking my guts out."

Lilly was leaning against a battle-scarred boar. "Uh Carole, is this where I think we
are?"

"Yes, The Hub!"

"But we didn't... You said the last monobrainer who came here almost destroyed the
place. How come we..."

"Because not only is Miss Sylphwood an extremely talented jumper, she is obviously a
good judge of character as well." A tall, cadaveric looking man with the most extraordinary
eyebrows was pushing his way through the tide of pigs. "She has succeeded in reestablishing a
permanent link to your monobrain world, and thereby has put an end to The Great Conundrum.
In so doing she has added a great deal of spice to the monobrain debate.

"You three are here because you no longer think like monobrains, hence you no longer
act like monobrains. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you are no longer monobrainers at
all. Perhaps a few paces shy of being considered true multitaskers, but certainly well on your
way."

"Philamount!" Carole gave the specterish man such a squeeze that his cheeks bulged out
past his eyebrows. "I really ought to give it to you for dumping me like you did."

"I did nothing of the sort," the man wheezed. "Your very presence is proof that you had
sufficient information to get the job done, though your choice of placement for the monobrain
tunnel does leave a little to be desired. I mean really, Miss Sylphwood, the Celestial Nexus of all
places?"

"Now Miss Sylphwood. Go!"

Carole and Martin bolted from the stairway, scurried beneath the platform and across the
hilltop to where the monobrain connector was still rooted to the ground. Grabbing Martin's hand,
she activated the tunnel and without breaking stride, stepped in. The wild ride lasted only a
moment before the two burst out the other side. She looked around.

"That's my house," Martin said, indicating a building on the far side of the stream,
beside which they were now standing.

"Are you sure about this? Things will probably calm down soon enough."

"I don't know, Carole. That Hotspot character sounds like a real loser."

"Yeah, well it's too late now. He already knows about Lil and Zack. Anyway, I'd best
get back. Philamount looked about ready to have kittens."

"Guess he's not used to all this cloak-and-dagger stuff."

"Are any of us?"

"Right. I'll be off, then." Martin took a step towards the stream before pivoting around.
"Listen Carole, you guys are welcome to visit anytime."

"Won't you be going back to the academy?"

"I've had enough of boarding school."

"What about your folks?"

"I think I can swing it," Martin grinned. "I've got a plan."

Carole grinned back, "I'll let Zack and Lil know. They'll be tickled. Take care, Martin."
She gave the boy a quick hug before stepping back into the tunnel.

The professor was crouched beneath the platform, waiting for her. "What took you so
long, Miss Sylphwood? The guards will be here momentarily. Quickly, into the shadows until
they pass!"

In addition to being a writer, I am a visual artist, a doctor of Chiropractic, and a former
member of the Canadian National Diving Team. I also hold degrees in Biology, English, and
have formal training in Fine Arts, Media Arts and Prehospital Emergency Medicine. I live with
my family in the village of Greensville, nestled atop the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario,
Canada.

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