Chapter 4

Emily and Jane got into the back of Anna's car. Like all the cars on the road nowadays it was an electrically powered car. Long past were the days of the gas car, having been banned from road use. You could still see gas cars at events and races for them. Anna unplugged the lead from the recharge point next to her car and fed the wire and its plug back into its home on the side of the car. She then got into the car.

"Car, new destination entry input." Anna said, to the open space inside the car.

A computer sounding voice replied with. "Ready, please state the address now."

Anna looked at Emily. Ben sent by mind link. "Speak your home address, Emm's."

Emily said the address to the open car. To Ben she sent. "Do not call me Emm's. Damn It!" sending all the anger she could at him.

The computer voice read back the address then asked. "Is this Correct?"

Emily, now following what was going on, but not understanding how it worked, said. "Yes."

"Input accepted, please state common name for address." came back the computer voice.

"Emily's House." Anna said.

"Input of location 'Emily's House' is now complete! Do you wish to set this as destination target now?" Anna told the computer. "Yes." and she started out of the school following the computer's directions.

Emily and Jane chatted about random stuff all the way to Emily's house. Anna pulled the car up to a point outside Emily's house next to Mum's car that could be used for a second car to park and charge up its batteries. All three of them got out and Anna plugged the car in to charge.

Emily showed Anna and Jane inside the house and called out. "Mum, I am home and we got guests."

Mum came out of the kitchen and over to the three of them. "Hi, pleasure to meet you, please call me Mum."

Jane and Anna both looked at Mum then Emily, going back and forth from one to the other at a fast pace.

From the living room Ben called out. "Tell them your real name, Mum, they both know Emily is an Elf. Right now they don't know what to make of you."

"Oh my, right then, let me try that again then, hi, I am Martha Ursula Midland, but please call me Mum, that is Spelt M. U. M. - and not M. O. M. - by the way."

Anna held out her hand. "Well hello, Mum, seeing as I know your full name I better give you my full name, I am Annabelle Sharon Walker, but please call me Anna, and this is my daughter, Jane Annabelle Walker."

"Well, now that's out of the way come and sit down in here." Ben called out from the living room again.

"Likes to boss you about, don't he." Jane said to Emily.

"I also have good hearing." Ben said as they entered the room. Jane looked a little chagrined.

"Right!" Ben started before everyone was comfortable in their seats. "We all have questions to ask, I think the best way is if we each ask one question going clockwise around the room, and pass if you don't have a question at that time. We all ok with that?" Ben asked.

Four agreements to the question and one vote to pick who got to start later, Emily started with the questions. Ben said he would not partake in asking questions but he would give answers.

"Ok, then, now that Mr bossy has had his say. Anna, who taught you magic?" Emily asked.

"That was my mother." Anna replied, as she sat to the left of Emily she asked the next question. "How did you get legit paperwork for yourself going back to the day you was born 14 years ago, when you're not even human and not even born on earth or in that year?"

"Ok, that's more than one question but all on the same subject, and it is an easy one, the spell my mother and I cooked up just for the job that we are calling the 'Age spell'. It was all part and parcel of the same spell. Part A made me fourteen again, Part B made it look like I lived on earth all my life. Magic is good with stuff like that, it fills in all the little details for you if you cast the spell right." Emily replied. Under her breath she said. "It is also why it took 6 damn hours to cast." Only Anna and Ben had heard that.

"Me next," Jane said. "Emily, why at school did you look at Ben and then all of a sudden for no reason you shouted at him."

"A familiar and its master are linked, we call it a mind link, but it is more than just that. A true familiar can tell if something is wrong with its master, what spells are active on the master, what spells are still having some type of effect on the master, even when they're no longer active spells. What happened was that Ben told me something over that mind link that shocked me." Emily replied.

Everyone looked at Mum. "Oh, it's my turn, well does anyone need a drink?" Mum said with a smile. Getting the orders she left the room to get the drinks.

"Ok, my turn again. Anna, did your mother ever tell you who taught her magic?" Emily asked.

"Um." Anna looked a bit lost at the question. "Yes, now that I think about it she said it was her Dad who showed her, I remember her saying to me as a kid that it was the only time she got to see him was when he came to show her more magic."

"Next question, you said you were hiding here from the war, but if you're hiding, why change your age and start going to school? That is not hiding." Anna asked.

"True. That is not hiding. Plans change, and we had to move to plan B, and this was plan B." Emily said, trying to buy a little time before she got into that subject.

Mum came back in with the drinks and handed them around. Coke for Anna and Jane, milk for Emily, and Mum took her tea with her back to her chair.

"Ok, Emily. So what? Are your minds one? You know everything Ben does and Ben knows everything you do?" Jane asked.

"No, you have to put the thought into words in your mind to send it back and forth. On the other hand, a familiar can key itself in to your hearing so that it knows every word you hear and they also know every word you say. You can ask them to key themselves out if you need some privacy." Emily replied.

"Pass." Mum said when everyone looked at her.

"Ok, then. Anna, am I right in saying that your mother was better at magic then you are, and the same can be said for you and Jane, your better than she is?"

"Yes," Anna looked at Emily oddly. "That's right, and it's my turn, why are you asking questions about our magic and how good we are at magic?"

"Ha! And there it is. Should have placed a bet with you, Emily, I would have won it." Ben said. "Took her three questions before asking why you asked."

"What did you see when we cast the ward spell at school today." Emily said.

Mum sat up. "You cast a ward spell at school? What type of ward spell?" she asked.

"You can wait your turn, Mum, and no asking questions, Emily." Anna said.

"Ok, I needed to know about your magic and where it comes from." Emily said.

"My turn, what are you saying? Where it comes from? Same place as all the other kids at school who are in the magic club." Jane said.

"Nope, I am afraid not, you have colour magic, it will only show up on a mid or high level magic cast." Emily said.

"Right, what ward did you cast at school?" Mum asked again.

"That would be the body 'ward of lessening power'." Emily stated. "So what did you see when we cast the ward today, Anna?"

"A yellow glowing light that was joined by a green glowing light, and quite soon after a blue glowing light. They all mixed around you like a rainbow. I have seen the green and blue colours before when Jane and I cast wards at home. And that time the two of us warded the classroom at the start of last year on Jane's first day. But I have not seen the yellow one before." Anna said. Looking at Emily she asked "Ok girl, what are you not telling us? You said we have colour magic, what is colour magic?"