Chapter 21

I spent hours that week skimming every book in the trunk. Nothing was mentioned concerning witchcraft. Nada. Zilch. Zip. I really had high hopes that the Art of War tomes would explain what was happening, but no.

Strangely enough, it was the mysterious wizard "Harold" that I was obsessed with. Other than the obscure reference my birth parents had written, we knew nothing about him. They said he was powerful, but what kind of power? No element was mentioned, and no reference made to him being a war wizard. There was also no mention of just how large the force was that he controlled. Hell, we couldn't even be sure he was still around! We could be preparing for a danger that no longer existed.

I was glad when Friday rolled around. Football took my mind off of my problems, at least for a while. I guess I was angry and frustrated. Whatever it was, I took it out on Glencross. It didn't change much for our team offensively, but defense was a different matter. I had seven sacks, and broke the single game school record. The three tipped passes didn't hurt, either. Two of those had been intercepted by my team mates. The fifty-six to nothing score was decent enough, but the fact that Glencross had minus thirty-six in total yardage was better. I sat out the last quarter and a half this time.

I kind of wished I didn't have to sit on the bench for so long. Playing was an escape from my worries, and sitting still was the reverse. My state of mind was getting worse by the day, and the girls finally had enough of it. I was confronted as soon as we got home, and confessed my fears. Not only of what I was, but of what I might become.

Kelley and Cheryl understood immediately. Especially Kelley. "Look", She consoled, Until I came here, I was called everything from a freak, to the Antichrist. It got to the point that I actually believed them. I know better now, thanks to all of you. We are what we are. It's what we do that determines whether we're good or bad people. Why should you be any different?"

"Yeah", Cheryl added. "So you've found you can do something new. That's a good thing. Actually, I'm kind of jealous. I always thought my grandma was the coolest person that ever lived, and wanted to be just like her. I was kind of disappointed when I couldn't do the things she did. It wouldn't have made me a bad person, just like being a wizard doesn't. Quit worrying about things you don't need to. You have enough on your mind!"

Against my wishes, they decided we would invite Wendy and Robin over. They wanted to get everything out in the open. I guess we did need to find out if the two actually knew anything about the situation, or if they were just parroting old prejudices and superstitions. They were supposed to show up Sunday, for lunch. I kept myself busy completing the portal on Saturday. Dad had picked up our silver plating this week, so I had everything I needed to get it done.

He also found out about the weapons we wanted, but there was a slight complication. The bows, crossbows, and even the swords were available. Teachers for sword use were in pitifully short supply, however. Swords would be little more than fancy clubs, without training. He offered another suggestion, instead.

"Staffs, son", he recommended. "I have it on good authority that unless it's in a crowded melee, someone who can use a staff can overcome a swordsman much easier than a semi-trained person attempting to use the same weapon. You'd have a lot longer reach than they would, and they're quite effective."

When I pointed out that we'd need training to use those too, he smiled and replied "That's the good part. An old friend of mine is a martial arts instructor. He's an expert with the Bo, as they call a staff, and might be able to train you a bit in using swords. From what you've said, I don't know if that will be of much use. A Japanese Katana is a lot different than a medieval sword."

"It didn't say what kind of sword we could take", I explained. "So I guess a Katana would work. I like the staff idea, too. I don't know about that requirement of chain mail, though. Isn't that stuff kind of heavy for the women?"

"Yep", he nodded. "Carrying around an extra twenty to thirty-five pounds would get old fast. That's another thing I wanted to mention. They're just now starting to sell this Kevlar stuff, and it's supposed to do the same thing. They actually call it either body armor, or a bullet proof vest. It weighs a whole lot less, and you could cover it up with something so nobody has to see it."

That sounded a lot better, so I had him order it. The guy he was talking about was Claude Wirtz. He had just retired from the military, and a martial arts expert. Claude had planned to open up a school, or Dojo, but hadn't started yet. I asked dad if he would see if the guy could stay with us for a while, and he said he already had. Claude had jumped at the chance, explaining that it would help him refine his teaching style to one more suited for civilians.

"The one thing that's been bugging me, is why all this is necessary", Dad added. "I mean, if y'all can defend yourselves with magic stuff, why do you need weapons?"

"Beats the heck out of me pop", I conceded. "All I know is that the instructions said to bring them. I've been wondering about that, myself. Even the chain mail doesn't make sense. After all, we have shields. Those are better than any armor I've ever heard of. I was hoping it was just camouflage, to help us blend in better."

"Could be", he agreed. "You'd probably look mighty strange in blue jeans and a t-shirt, too. You might want to get with ma, and see what Cheryl and her can come up with."

I had given that part some thought, but hadn't had the idea of getting mom involved. The way she liked to sew, I didn't think she'd mind. There was one last thing that I thought was a problem, so I asked what dad thought about it. If Claude stayed with us, there was no way he wouldn't find out everything about us.

"I think you'll be surprised", dad answered. "Claude is pretty open minded, and he's seen a lot of strange things in his travels. I doubt if he'll even bat an eye. His boy might, though. Claude is divorced, and his son wanted to stay with him. They're a package deal, so if you want one, you'll get both. I never met him, but Claude seems to swear by him. I trust the man's judgment and I think you should, too."

That was good enough for me. Dad hadn't steered me wrong yet. I just hoped I could get along with the guy. Somebody would need to fly to get him, but dad was looking forward to that. He didn't get as many chances as he wanted. He'd need to take the Beechcraft, because the room was needed for all the things Claude wanted to bring with him. The larger fuel capacity would be nice, but he'd still have to refuel twice. Reno was a pretty good distance away.

After Paul left for the cave, the girls waited until they were sure he was safely out of earshot. Then Bernie asked, "Think he bought it?"

"I hope so", Kelley answered. "After all, it was the truth. The big softy doesn't have it in him to turn into some kind of evil ogre."

"No doubt about that", sighed Denise. "He's always been like that. If anything, he cares too much about hurting someone. I'm more worried about him not being mean enough when he needs to be."

"I'm not", Ann said with a rueful grin. "He's pretty protective of people he cares about, and we'll make sure we're with him. I've got a feeling that, if we're in danger, he'll make Smokey's Hellhound look like a puppy."

"We'll be there to keep him straight", promised Cheryl. And we need to remember that he needs protecting, too. That's our job."

When the twins showed up for lunch on Sunday, the table was already set. There were two candles in the middle of it, and not just for decoration. We had just sat down, when I pointed at them and said "Aldoral, Kineth, Rehanch!". I had used the index finger on both hands, so both of them lit. I guess I should have checked to make sure no one had their mouth full. Wendy was taking a drink of her lemonade, and about choked on it. Robin just looked at me with her eyes bugging out.

After Wendy was breathing again, I looked at them and said "So, does this make me a mutant?"

"I don't understand!", gasped Robin. "Granny said that a person with both abilities would be mentally unbalanced and power hungry!"

"Well", Denise chuckled, "he's not power hungry. Sometimes we're not too sure about the mental aspect, but that's another story."

At least she was smiling when she said that. I think she was joking. It was easier than it might have been, since the twins knew me fairly well. I didn't fit the mold their grandmother had placed people like me in. We talked for hours about the things they could do, and compared them to our abilities. As it turned out, the extra wouldn't be of much use.

It boiled down to the fact that almost everything witches and wizards were capable of, could be duplicated by the other one. The only difference was the way they accomplished the task. There were a few exceptions, but not many. For instance, witches couldn't teleport. In contrast, wizards could manipulate the elements, but couldn't combine them in the same way witches could. Potions and charms were out of a wizard's capability to perform, but they had other ways to do the same job.

To me, it looked like their way was slower. We did get the recipe for that shield dust they showed us, along with the weird incantation that activated it. That was the one thing I really wanted, so I headed off to do the chores after testing the spell out.

When I got back, the girls were in a snit again. "They still won't join us!", Kelley complained. "It's stupid!"

I'd had about enough of the recruiting, and let them know it. "Stop the matchmaking ladies, and I mean right now!" I demanded, before softening my tone. "Look, Denise and I always knew we were supposed to be together. Nobody pushed us that way, we just knew. The same was true when the rest of you joined us. Did anyone here need to be talked into anything? Think about it, that's all I'm asking."

They looked stunned for a moment, and then Ann said "He's right. As soon as they got off of that plane on the day we met, I did know. It was the same with Bernie, Cheryl, and Kelley. Whoever the last two are, it isn't them."

Once her words sank in, the rest of them agreed. That was a relief! It's not that I didn't like the twins, but I just didn't feel any connection with them. Besides, the reprieve felt good. Five women were plenty!

Monday, we checked some books out of the library on medieval history. Some of them had pictures and descriptions of clothes in them, so we dropped those off for mom to look at. She told us to stop by after school the next day, and she'd probably have a list of stuff for us to pick up in town. Dad was taking the trip to Reno that weekend, and she was going with him. She promised to get started as soon as they got home. There was no way she was staying behind while dad went to a big city. I guess that larger plane would come in even handier than dad thought. They probably had a lot of really big stores in that place.

We did as she asked, but not before convincing her that velvet was not an option. That stuff was just too hot to wear. Eventually, we got our way. Cotton and leather would make up most of it. I thought the leather jerkins would cover the vests dad was getting pretty well. We'd have to have the boots made, but it wouldn't take long. We'd even have time to break them in good.

One thing really ticked me off. I searched and I searched, but couldn't find any reference to a hat that didn't look goofy as all get-out. I wanted something to keep the sun out of my eyes, not flop all over the place like some darned Santa outfit. If I had to, I'd wear my Stetson and forget it. It was bad enough that I'd have to learn to do without a zipper for a while.

Mom took the fact that the girls would be dressed as men better than I thought she would. I guess she realized that dresses weren't very practical for our trip. We were traveling on horseback, and none of them would ride sidesaddle. We couldn't carry much with us, either. We'd be lucky to manage two changes of clothes, and our travel rations.