Spell Catcher Chapter Seven (working title)

We never got to make those plans. Mom came home shortly after that and sent Jenna and Sienna home. Mom seemed worried and even more distracted then normal. I watched as she put orange juice in her coffee instead of cream. The containers weren’t even close to being the same. She went upstairs and locked herself in her workroom.1

I paced my room for a couple of hours wondering if she would know we had been in there, but after awhile I decided she was too busy to notice.2

My mother still hadn’t come out. And I finally fell asleep sometime after the sunset.3

My dreams were odd. Sometimes just flashes of colors, other times my arms and legs would grow numb, start to fade and then disappear altogether. I watched as both Jenna and Sienna disappeared in front of me. In the last dream I heard my mother calling me. I searched the house from top to bottom and I could never find her. I found myself standing in front of her workroom, but as I reached for the doorknob the door retreated away from my hand. I ran towards it and still it kept getting further away. I could feel my lungs burning from the stain of running. My legs were tired and they were going to give out anytime. I stumbled with my arms stretched out in front of me ready to catch me when I went down. Which is just what I did, I hit the ground. I lifted my head in time to see the workroom door completely disappear from my line of sight. I set my head down and the wood floor felt cold under my cheek.4

The cold seeped into my face and I slowly became aware that the dream was over. The cold feeling was the wood floor I was laying on. I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of time.5

“I must have been sleepwalking,” I sat up and saw that I was in the same place my dream had lead me to, the workroom.6


I could hear movement inside the room and assumed it was just my mother still working.7

I turned the knob and called, “Mom?”8

The movement stopped. Again I called, “Mom, can I come in?”9

Still no answer and no counts from the room.10

“Ok mom,” I pouted, my feelings were hurt. She had never ignored me before. “If you need to talk I’ll be up in my room.” I turned away.11


* * *12

“Baylee, Baylee!” Someone urgently called as an earthquake hit my bed.13

I groaned and rolled over. “Is it an earthquake?” I asked suddenly frightened.14

I sat up and my mom put her hands on my shoulders in order to keep me from springing up from the tangled covers.15

“No earthquake but something’s happened.” She replied desperately.16

“What?” My voice was still thick with sleep and my head was fuzzy like I’d had too much wine from the chalice.17

Mom got off the bed and walked to the window. Her back was to me as she asked, “Were you in my workroom last night?”18

My head was clearing. “Why do you ask? Mom what’s going on?”19

“Please Baylee answer the question. Did you go into the workroom last night?”20

She had turned at the last part and her stare was hard.21

I blinked rapidly, “No mother I did not go in your private workroom. “ I picked at some imaginary lint on my violet bedcover. “Anyway you were in there. Did you hear me calling to you?”22

Mother’s blue eyes got wide and she shook her head. Her red hair was loose this morning and it swung across her robbed shoulders in waves. “What time, Baylee? What time were you calling to me?”23

I looked up from picking the pretend lint, “Around two in the morning. Why mom? What’s going on?” I asked worriedly.24

I pushed the covers off me and swung my legs out of bed. When I stood in front of my mom I looked at her right in the eye and asked again, “What is going on?’ You’re scaring me mom.”25

The floor was cold beneath my barefeet just like I was cold on my cheek last night. Mom grabbed my hands in hers and squeezed them. “Baylee, why did you come to the workroom?”26

I smiled weakly, “I think I was sleepwalking. In my dream I was reaching for the door and it slipped farther and farther away. You know that dream where something is always out of reach? I was running towards it. I must have tripped. I woke up on the floor in front of the door.”27

“Um hmm…what happened then?” She asked sounding calmer then before.28

I thought for a second or two, “I tired the knob. It was locked so I called out of you.”29

“Is that all?” She led me to the window seat where we sat down.30

“Pretty much, yes.”31

“And why did you think I was still in there?”32

“I heard noises, scrapping and thuds, like books being dropped.”33

“So around two you heard noises in my workroom?’ She repeated.34

“Yes, Mom what’s going on? What’s happened?’ I asked for the third time. I was getting frustrated.35

Mom had turned away from me and she took her time answering. She turned to me and smiled her ‘in front of the council’ smile, which meant she was controlling some emotion she didn’t want anyone to see. “I’m sorry for worrying you I just needed information from you.”36

She sighed like she was tired. She ran her hand across her forehead before she continued, “It seems I’m missing a very special item.”37

The Bowl of Redemption?” I blurted out and them wished I could take it back.38

“How do you know about the bowl?” She asked after the initial surprise.39

My mouth opened and shut but no sound came out. I had slipped and now I needed to get myself out of this mess.40

“I knew the three of you had broke into my LOCKED room yesterday but I didn’t know you found the bowl.” She was angry. The smile was gone and her brows were drawn together at the bridge of her nose.41

“I-it was an accident,” I stuttered. “We knew something was going on and we were being nosy and we heard Elder Graves talking and then those other Elder’s were looking for something and we thought in might be the Amulet of Fertility or the Cup of Life,” I was going on and on and my words were just tumbling out. I got up and paced with my hands flying wildly. “So we looked up stuff and decided to search the workroom and I kinda stumbled on onto it.” I stopped and caught me breath.42

I stood there looking at my mom. All the steam had left me and I felt tired as I waited for her to speak.43

Finally after what felt like ages she spoke quietly, “You three have a lot of guts.” She sighed and folded her hands. “Call them and get them over here. Meet me in the workroom in one hour.”44

She stood up and left, softly shutting the door.45