Chapter 14

[Emily]

Emily and Jane sat up in bed.

"Oh My Goddess! Oh My Goddess! Oh My Goddess! She knows, she knows." Jane said with panic in her voice.

Emily grabbed Jane's shoulder and gave it a good shake. "Of course she knows, she is the Goddess."

Jane stopped and looked at Emily. "Oh, right, you're right." and she started to look a little sheepish.

Emily looked at the clock. "It's 6 AM, let's get up, Anna will have questions."

20 minutes later everyone, even Mum, gathered in the dining room. Both Anna and Karen had their hair wrapped in a towel.

"So I am betting, Anna, you have some questions?" Emily said.

"Well yes, I do have questions. Let's start with, was that real? Did I just meet the Goddess in my dreams?" Anna asked.

"Yes, it was real, and we don't know what to make of it, she calls it a dream but we don't think it is. The second trip there was with Karen, and when we came back me and Karen came back first, but Jane was not in the bed next to us, then Jane just popped up out of nowhere. Wherever we go to meet with the Goddess, our bodies do not stay here." Emily explained.

"Interesting," Anna pondered. "And yet she called it a dream."

"And thanks to Jane we now know that whatever we have on when we fall asleep, is what will turn up on us when we meet her." Karen added.

"You just had to bring that up." Jane said, blushing.

"Ok, so what is the plan for Hannah and Helen?" Anna asked next.

"We don't have one yet." Jane replied.

"I see, so you don't have a plan laid out?" Anna asked.

"Well, all we know was to go slow. Our first plan was to get you your familiar. Now that is out of the way we can..." Emily slapped herself on the forehead. "We need to cast the 'familiars group link' on each other's familiars, so we can contact each other."

After explaining to Karen what the 'familiars group link' was, Emily showed Anna and Karen how to cast it. With Mum to help time the casting of the spell, the four of them cast it on to each other's familiars. Emily and Anna went first, followed by Emily and Karen, who was follow by Anna and Karen, then Anna and Jane, and lastly Jane and Karen.

"There, let's test it." Emily said, and in her mind link she sent to Ben. "Send to all; Hello there, raise your hand if you can hear me."

Jane's, Anna's and Karen's hands raised into the air.

"A successful test, if I do say so myself." Emily said with a smile. "Now to send to someone, just say in your mind link 'Send to', followed by the name who you like to send to, and then your message. Or if you need all of us to hear you, you can say 'Send to all' followed by the message."

"Cool. I can bug Mom in class for help, and no one will ever know." Jane started to giggle.

"No, you will not, little lady, if I find any of you three using this to cheat. I will be on you like hellfire." Anna snapped at Jane.

"Yes, mother." Jane said in a little voice.

"I would never dream of it, Mrs. Walker." Emily replied in a clear voice.

"It would not help me, I am not in the same class." Karen replied in an offhand voice.

Emily looked at the time. "We need to finish getting ready for school. Anna, you need to recast the 'Ward of lessening power', and you will need the seal to do this, come with me. We will do this as fast as we can."

Emily led Anna down to the Magic room.

Deciding that coming to school in the same car was a bad idea. Emily and Karen travelled to school in Mum's car and Anna took Jane in her car.

After spending some time chatting to Hannah and Helen in the playground, it was time for Homeroom. All too soon for Emily's liking, she found herself running around a field track.

[A side room of the Great Hall]

The Goddess looked down in to the seeing pool, and watched as a full school of kids and teachers alike took part in a P.E. class.

A girl, who looked no older then fourteen, walked up next to her.

"So, mother, how does the plan go?" asked the teenage looking girl.

"As well as it can be hoped for, at this time." replied the Goddess.

The girl looked down into the pool. At that moment the focus of the pool was on Emily as she ran around the track.

"Can they do it? Can they open the gateway for me?" the girl asked.

"That, my daughter, only time will tell. You're sure you wish to carry on with this plan. You can still change your mind. Once you pass that gateway you will be mortal. Unless we win, you can never come back."

"Mother, we both know if we are to save all of the realms, this needs to be done. If we fail, then there is no hope left for the realms."

"I know, but you are my only true daughter. If I lost you I don't know how I would cope." replied the Goddess.

"How long do you think before Hannah and Helen joins them?" the girl asked.

"Hard to say, if events carry on moving at the pace they are moving now. Then Monday night they will be invited to a sleepover."

"Good." The girl waved her hand and the image change to Tom. "He is so cute."

"Even in my old age, I have to agree with you." laughed the Goddess.

"Will it work? Does he have the will to make it work?" the girl asked, looking a little uneasy.

"You helped pick him, remember. With Hannah and Helen's help it should work."

"Even you sound like you don't know!"

"Well I don't, the future is not set, I can see many turning points. But the first point has passed, Emily and Jane have seen each other in a new light." replied the Goddess.

"Good, that is good news." The girl got an odd look. "You don't think what we are doing is wrong, do you?" the girl asked.

"I see it as guiding them to a better path. A happier path." said the Goddess, and she waved her hand over the pool, the image changed to Jane.

"Will you summon them tonight?" the girl asked.

"No, I cannot get away with summoning them again right now, if I am asked, I can give a good reason for each time. If I summon them tonight, I do not have one. No, the next time I can call them to me will be to give a gift. I just hope they stay safe until then." Waving her hand again, the image changed to show a split image of the four familiars.

"They seem to work well together."

"Yes, that's good. Teamwork from the familiars will be needed to help keep them safe." the Goddess looked at the girl. "A week, I think you have got a week. You may wish to spend some time with your father, just remember, do not let on what we are planning."

[Karen]

Karen was standing next to Anna's car. School was over for the day, after all Saturdays were only a half day, when all you did was homeroom for 5 minutes to show that you turned up, then down to the field for P.E. Karen had spent today's P.E. class playing netball. She had spotted Emily, Jane and Anna running on the field track. She had sent a message to them saying bad luck. There was no one in this school who liked field track running. Still, the best weeks were when the head mistress of the school had to do field track. After all, it had been her idea to have everyone taking part, she would never back down even when she was wrong.