“When do we start?” Maggie asked, thinking there couldn’t possibly be enough time for her to master everything Edna needed to teach her.
“I think first thing in the morning will be soon enough,” Edna answered.
“What’s her name, Auntie?” Maggie questioned.
“It’s Brielle,” Edna said.
“Do ye know her?” Angus asked.
“Aye, I do. I’ve met her once, a long, long time ago. I’ve not seen her since.”
“Is she from this time, or does she belong in the past?” Maggie had so many questions, she didn’t really know where to start.
“She is from the past, but she has her own relationship with our bridge and the time travel. That is how we met. Many years ago she tried to cross the bridge and I wouldnae allow it. She has held a grudge against me ever since. She does not normally seek out trouble, but she has a mischievous side that enjoys creating it. Richard has taken advantage of that and has asked her to help him in his quest to rid the world of the MacKenzie clan.”
Maggie didn’t understand the whole ‘Richard vs. the MacKenzie clan’ dynamic. She had heard all the stories about Lady Irene and what happened to Ashley, but why did he persistin wanting to destroy them? Why didn’t he just move on with his life and forget about them?
“Until Richard finds someone new to love, he’ll continue down this path,” Edna explained, apparently reading Maggie’s mind.
“If he would just open his eyes and see that the world is full of possibilities to find love, maybe he’d give up this nonsensical vendetta.” Maggie responded, thinking about Dylan. She was positive he was her possibility. She wouldn’t let anything come in the way of that, especially not a conniving witch.
“I’d have to agree with ye. But Richard has to come to that conclusion on his own, my dear.”
“Couldn’t Brielle make him love her?” Maggie hoped that if Brielle and Richard had a love connection, Brielle would leave Dylan alone.
Edna laughed out loud. “Brielle is not interested in love and believe me if Richard has seen the real Brielle, he’s not interested either. No, she gets immense satisfaction out of creating a whirlwind of trouble and then walking away and into the lives of her next victims.”
“I don’t like the sounds of that,” Maggie uttered. “I have to fix this.”
Edna smiled softly at Maggie. “That’s my girl. Ye work on Brielle and I’ll work on Richard. I believe with a little magical intervention, I can make him see the error of his ways.”
“Are ye sure yer telling us all of it,” Angus asked. He sounded skeptical.
“Of course not, love. I’ve told ye all ye need to know.” Putting her arm around Maggie’s waist, Edna walked with her to the dining room to set up for their evening diners. As they left, Maggie glanced back to see Angus shaking his head in apparent disbelief as he prepared to man the front desk.
***
The next morning Maggie began her training, bright and early. She started with Edna, who taught her the basics—or Witchcraft 101, as Edna liked to call it. Maggie learned how to create fire out of thin air. Of course, she already knew how to create a fire in the hearth, but she always had fuel to work with in those instances. This fire was definitely different, but she could see it would be useful to understand how and when to use it. She also learned how to levitate items and move them from one spot to the other. She was a quick study and Edna seemed pleased with her progress. It only took a few tries for her to master the magick Edna was showing her. They worked well past lunch, which Maggie’s grumbling stomach could attest to, but knowing how important it was for her to be armed with a thorough knowledge of witchcraft, she ignored it.
Maggie had known she was a witch from an early age. Her mother had tried to steer her away from it, but Aunt Edna insisted it was her duty, as a member of the MacKinnon family, to learn to use her skills for the good of those around her. Ellen, Maggie’s mother, had not been verra happy about this pronouncement and she had moved her family to a nearby village and opened a teashop, in the hopes of keeping Maggie away from any witchcraft. Try as she might, Ellen couldn’t dissuade Maggie from what she had begun to see as her destiny. Any chance she got, Maggie would visit with Edna, wanting more than anything, to follow in her footsteps.
In deference to her sister, Edna hadn’t given Maggie any training during that time. She hadn’t wanted to upset Ellen, so instead, she had merely given Maggie a glimpse into her world, showing her what she could do, but not how to do it.
When Maggie had tired of working at her parents’ teashop, she had come to live at the inn, with the hopes of becoming a full-fledged witch like her aunt. Up until today, she had only learned how to run the inn, not how to cast a spell. Shewas excited; finally, she was learning the one thing that had fascinated her for as long as she could remember.
“Now, Maggie, I’d like to teach ye some things that will help protect yerself and those around ye from any spells Brielle may cast.”
Maggie thought that would be most useful, although she secretly hoped she would never need it. Maybe Brielle would go away and leave everyone be, before she even got there. Then she could spend all her time with Dylan. That sounded a whole lot better than fighting Brielle.
“Maggie, are ye paying attention?” Edna raised her voice and woke Maggie from her daydream about Dylan.
“Aye. I am. Yer about to teach me a spell of protection.”
The lessons went on for the rest of that day and into the next. Edna gave Maggie a book of spells, to read and memorize. Maggie was exhausted both mentally and physically, and she still had her lessons with Angus coming up, but she had progressed way beyond Witchcraft 101. Maggie liked to think of it as a college course, one that she was passing with flying colors. One thing was definite, she was going to need a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s lessons with Angus.
***
“Alright, my dear, I’ve set up a course, which we will work our way through. Once ye’ve mastered one thing, we’ll move on to the next. How does that sound?” Angus seemed quite excited to get started. He had prepared the back garden with hay bales, scarecrows, used tires and wooden poles. “Edna has provided ye with a sword, a dirk and a bow—charmed fer yer protection, but we’ll start off with practice equipment, so that neither one of us ends up being injured.”
