Tess woke up, laying in a plush bed. She groaned as she rolled to her side. Her body felt like someone had electrocuted it. “Thank goodness you’re okay,” Tom’s relieved voice reached her ears as she opened her eyes to slits. She was back in her own room.

“What happened?” Tess sat up, her whole body aching. She never wanted to move that much power again.

“You disintegrated the siren,” Tom answered, handing her a recovery potion. “Drink up.”

Tess cracked a grin, “Usually I’m the one taking care of you.”

“We’ll go back to that way soon enough,” Tom smiled back.

“How long have I been sleeping?” Tess asked after drinking half of her potion. The sun seemed to be in a different position than she remembered.

“Almost a full day,” Tom informed, following her gaze to the closed curtains on the window. “We buried everyone while you were sleeping. I didn’t want to leave them that way.” Tears formed in Tom’s eyes. “I’ll take you to their graves later.”

“I’d like that,” Tess gave Tom a hug as her body felt better. The potion worked faster than she thought it would. “Have you shown Destru the Last Prophecy yet?”

Tom shook his head. “Destru wanted to make sure you were okay before we did anything. He’s outside watching the perimeter.”

“That’s nice of him.” Tess swung her legs out of the bed. Looking around at her room. All her books and crystals that she had collected over the years, still where she had left them.

Tom cleared his throat as he pulled a package from next to him. “This is the gift mom wanted you to have when we got back. She... She told me about it before we left.” Tom stared at the package, remembering the last time he had talked to his mom. He hadn’t taken her seriously, thinking she was trying to scare him. He didn’t believe her until-

Tess squeezed his hand, bringing him back to the present. “They knew what they were doing,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes as well.

Tom nodded his head, then shoved the package at Tess. “Go on, open it.”

Tess pulled the brown paper away from the last gift she was going to receive from Tom’s parents. She put a hand to her mouth as she saw the gilded leather-bound book in front of her. “This was my parents’ spell book.” She hugged the book to herself and began sobbing. Tom gritted his teeth. He knew full well that this would be her reaction, but she needed to practice her magic more than ever now.

Tom gently lifted Tess’ face to look at him. He wiped the tears away from her face, his calloused fingers brushing against her skin. “I’m so sorry, Tess,” he whispered, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead.

He let her cry as long as she needed; she ended up sitting on his lap as he hugged her tightly to himself. He needed her comfort just as much as she needed his. “Everything will get better,” he whispered, rocking them both back and forth on her bed.

“Thank you,” Tess sniffled as she wiped tears away. Why did it seem like that’s all she had been doing recently?

“Anytime,” Tom gave her a small smile as she got up.

“Should we go find Destru?” Tess asked, picking up her parents’ book. She had looked at it for years, wishing to see the inside, but was always told she was too young. Now this was all she had of all the people she had considered her parents.

“It’s the Little Spell Slinger!” Destru looked up happily as Tess and Tom made their way outside. Tess gave an anxious smile, terrified that her reputation was going to be ruined now. “You did good the other day,” Destru patted Tess on the back.

“Thanks,” Tess answered, regaining her balance. Destru didn’t seem to realize how much stronger he was.

“Did you still want to see the Last Prophecy, Destru?” Tom asked, eyeing the area where they had turned fresh dirt to bury his family. The pirates had helped him construct crude crosses to put at the heads of the graves. “Tess, we can spend as much time as you’d like at the graves once we come back,” Tom whispered into her ear.

Destru gave a nod, motioning for his men to get up. “Lead the way.”

“Make sure you have some water. It’s a good hike from here.” Tom led the way to a deer trail behind the house, leading into the mountains that weren’t far from the house. Tess looked into the trees curiously. She could never go on the trails, because she had been told they were filled with dangerous animals.

The group hiked for a good hour before they made it to a large cave. “It’s in here,” Tom tilted his head towards the entrance. They entered the cave to come to a dead end close to the entrance.

“There’s nothing here,” Tess commented as she looked at the blank wall before them.

“Says you,” Tom scoffed. He took some flint and lit a fire in a bowl decorated with an enormous bird on it, not too far from him. It burst into flame almost instantly as the sparks hit the oil kept in it. “Stand back,” Tom instructed as he shifted into his wolf form. He braced his back feet to prevent him from slipping. His form took up most of the room in the cave. Tom howled at a lower frequency than Tess was used to. The ground shook around them as the back of the cave slowly opened to reveal a hidden room.

“Amazing,” Destru said in awe, walking forward as Tom shifted back. They walked into a room that was unnaturally round. A pedestal stood in the middle, moonlight encircling it. Destru walked gingerly around the floor, inching towards the pedestal. His excitement nearly got the best of him.

“There Are no traps,” Tom laughed. “Since a wilkolak opened the door, they’re all deactivated.”

Tess laughed as Destru got excited and nearly ran to the center of the room. He probably had little times where he got treasure so easily. “What’s in the prophecy?” Tess turned towards Tom as Destru started dancing around, holding a tablet above his head.

“I don’t know,” Tom admitted. “We never read it. We were just told to guard it.”

“Well, how would you know when to reveal it if you didn’t know what it was about?” Tess asked. Destru’s crew began dancing with him in excitement.

“I was always told that I would know when the time was right,” Tom shook his head at the pirate’s excitement. “I guess now is as good a time as any.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Destru, what’s it say?” Tess called, making him come over towards the two.

“Good question, Lass,” Destru turned the tablet so he could read it. He stared at it for a couple minutes, turning it one way, then another, frowning. “I can’t read it.” Destru’s excitement deflated as this realization came about.

“Well, that doesn’t make sense,” Tom took the tablet from Destru, and looked at it. He studied it for a few minutes, then sighed. “It’s written in an ancient wilkolak language.” Tom’s ears rotated in annoyance. “I can translate it but it will take me a bit.”

“Aw, bugger,” Destru looked down, then shrugged. “It was definitely worth the adventure. How long to translate?”

“If we get back to the house where the reference books are, I’d say about half a day,” Tom answered. He looked over the tablet once more. He recognized a few words, but he wasn’t the best at translations.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Destru rushed everyone out of the cave and back to the house.

—--

Tess walked along the graves by the house, her heart filling with sadness. They had given up their lives to not only save Tom and herself, but to protect a prophecy she did not know existed. She felt a hand on her shoulder, making her look up at the person. “Take all the time you need, but make sure you’re inside before dark.” Tom looked towards the graves, then went into the house. Most likely to start translations for Destru.

Tess kneeled down by the closest grave, breathing out a shaky breath. “Mama... Papa,” Tess whispered, envisioning them in her mind. “I don’t know what to say, but I wanted to thank you for taking care of me. I’m sorry I didn’t get to say a proper goodbye.” Tess’ hand glowed as tears streaked her face. She raised it, not sure why it was shining. She hadn’t intended to do a spell. Tess placed her hand on the nearest grave, flowers grew where she placed it. She moved on to the next grave and did the same thing, ending with Theo’s grave.

“You were a wonderful little brother, Theo. It’s too bad you weren’t able to have a full life and get to make potions with me. I’ll keep you in my mind every time I brew your favorite,” Tess whispered. Her hand stopped glowing. She leaned over the ground and cried, allowing all her feelings to release into the earth.

Destru watched Tess from inside the house, a worried frown forming on his face. “Is it okay for her to be out there by herself?” he asked Tom.

Tom pulled a chair out from the table, finally finding the book he had been looking for. “She’s got some things to work out. I’d much rather she got her feelings sorted out now rather than later. Her magic gets unstable when she’s holding a lot of stuff in.” He flipped open the book and began comparing symbols to the tablet, writing the matches.

Destru turned back to the window, watching as Tess grew flowers on the graves, then cried. “How long has she been able to do magic?” Destru asked, not talking to anyone in particular.

“Her whole life,” Tom answered, not looking up. His tail was slowly swishing from side to side as he concentrated. “This is nothing compared to what she’ll grow into. Her real magic won’t come in until she’s sixteen.”

“Why’s that?” Destru asked, becoming intrigued. It was rare that witches weren’t born with their full power.

Tom shrugged. “Mom always said it had something to do with her heritage. Never explained it more than that.”

“Interesting,” Destru continued to watch Tess. The winds of fate definitely had something in store for the two kids. “Well, who’s hungry?” Destru turned and clapped his hands, his crew cheering at the mention of food. “Do you mind if I go through the pantry?” Destru asked Tom, before moving into the kitchen.

“Feel free,” Tom mumbled. The translation was going to take longer than he had hoped.

-----

Tess curled up in the chair in the living room after dinner. She had taken residence there, next to the reading lamp, reading her spell book.

“Anything good in there?” Tom asked, glancing up from the table he had yet to move from.

“I still can’t rush my studies,” Tess answered with a slight smirk.

“Why’s that?” Tom laughed, putting his pencil down and looking towards her.

“Your mom wrote in the margins, yelling at me every time I decide to skip a few pages.” Tess showed him the book to see his mom’s scrawling handwriting on the margins.

“She knew you too well,” Tom chuckled, turning back to the tablet, scratching his head.

“Any luck?” Tess asked, turning the book back to herself.

“I’ve got the first few lines.” Tom rubbed his eyes. It was getting late.

“How many lines are there?”

“Six,” Tom answered. “And the inscriptions aren’t the easiest to read either. How about you? What are you supposed to start with?”

“Protection spells,” Tess leaned back over the armrest of the chair, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation. “It’s so boring!”

Tom smirked at Tess’ exasperated figure. She always liked to do things that could show what she could do. He knew protection magic didn’t always have a way to see that it was working. “It’s a good starting point. You can make sure you’re protected against spells that want to blow up in your face.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tess grumbled as she went back to reading.

Tom went back to reading his dad’s book. He could see Tess attempt to do a few spells as sparks would come from her hand. He wasn’t sure if they were successful or not, but he didn’t hear her groaning about it too much. The moon peaked above the trees, as he looked out the window. Looking back at his paper, he sighed. He hadn’t gotten much farther, but he needed some sleep too. “Tess, I’m going to bed,” he called towards her.

He got up when she didn’t respond. Shaking his head when he noticed she had fallen asleep in the chair. The book propped against her chest like a blanket. “You’re going to hurt tomorrow,” he whispered, as he found a blanket and covered her with it. “See you in the morning.”

-----

The next morning, everyone gathered around the table as Tom finished the translation. Tom smirked as he watched Tess rub her achy neck, then turned his attention back to his translations. “There’s six lines. The rest appear to be washed away over the years. So hopefully, this sounds complete,” Tom explained as he waved his hand over the tablet.

“Well, what’s it say?” Destru asked, his tail wagging so fast it was almost like a windmill.

Tom chuckled, picking up his translation and began reading from it.

“In a time of invisible unrest

The high priestess will be sought

By a group in distress

A hero emerges from the last of their kind

It will take a noble sacrifice

For a sword to be found,”

“That’s it?” Tess asked. “That doesn’t sound complete.”

“There’s a possibility there were a few more lines, but I can’t even make them out.” Tom pointed towards the bottom of the tablet where the symbols had nearly washed away.

“Invisible unrest,” Destru mused, pacing. “How do you know there’s unrest when you can’t see it?”

“The Lass could be the High Priestess,” one of the crew members suggested. “That’s what that siren called her.”

Tess shivered at the mention of the siren. She had no desire to relive that moment. “Doubtful,” she put in her own two cents. “I barely know how to do any spells, let alone what a high priestess would need to know.”

“Aye,” Destru agreed, turning towards Tess studying her. “When will you be sixteen, Lass?”

“In two years,” Tess replied. “Tom turns sixteen-“

“Today,” Tom finished for her.

Tess’ eyes went big as the realization hit her. “Oh, you’re right. That’s today.” She was silent for a moment. “I don’t have anything for you.”

“That’s okay.” Tom slung an arm around her shoulders. “Hanging out with you has enough surprises in it.”

Tess stuck her tongue out, making him laugh.

“Well, what are your plans now?” Destru asked the pair as he donned his coat and hat. Tess knew they would go their own separate ways eventually, but it seemed so soon.

“We’re not sure,” Tom admitted. “But we’ll look you up when we figure out where we’re going.”

Destru nodded his head, motioning to his crew to head out. He gave an exaggerated bow, much like the one when he had met Tess for the first time. “If you’re ever in trouble, howl at the moon. I’ll come find ya.” With a wink, Destru turned and left.

“What trouble could we get into?” Tess teased Tom, who grinned back at her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised with you around,” Tom teased back.