Dawn makes a Lot of Fudge (Part 1 of 2) By Story, by L. Dawn Steele Poetry by Ruth Dempsey Saturday, Pre-dawn Dawn hadn't gotten to bed yet. The past fews days had been a nightmare of lost sleep, but she had to keep going. Her secret stash of chocolate covered coffee beans was disappearing rather quickly though. The past hours had been spent divided up into two goals. Figure out what Ruth was trying so hard to tell her, and also to work out just what that spell on the Forever Knight actors was for. After supper she'd done some experiments to base her theories on the spell, but then she'd started going back and forth between the two projects. She had spent the latter part of the evening trying to figure out what Ruth had written down. Dawn didn't know if it happened to all ghosts, but apparently Ruth had lost the ability to communicate clearly. The pages could have been written in code and Dawn would've been able to figure them out quicker. It was worse though. Every single line Ruth had written was some form of poetry. Some poems straightforward, but there didn't seem to be any consistency from one poem to the next. The third one for instance... I sought wisdom in ancient tomes Where only scholars go Where by chance there passed One whose face matched portrait On yellowed page, "Not at all flattering," said he "Look into my eyes," he said O ancient, ancient is his name "Know me for what I am" And ancient, ancient is his name "Dragons live beyond the lives of men," said I "Dragon or devil?" smiled he, "How much do you think you know, wise child?" The child stung and I was not wise "Seven years unknown to the living or dead And Devil or Dragon can the sun regain, So it says in ancient legend." *"Woman you know too much"* Green, green are those soulstealing eyes Hand and thought were not my own "Die for peace," said he. "Protest as a monk, the blame will fall on others." Seven years come to an end soon And war will be an excuse for his rising. Beware, beware his green, green eyes For ancient, ancient is his name. The poem seemed to indicate that Ruth might have been killed by a green-eyed vampire because she knew too much. Perhaps something to do with Nick becoming human again. Perhaps it meant that a vampire would be coming back soon in the midst of a war. Like most poetry, each line could be interpreted in different ways. Most of the poems though, seemed to deal with phrases and images of cults or groups of obsessed humans. Vampires images were intermixed, and some seemed to imply that the vampires were being watched. It was past two-thirty in the morning before Dawn decided to take a break on the poetry. There was that other matter to concern her... The matter of the spell. And just the Die-Hards should do about it. Dawn makes a Lot of Fudge (Part 2 of 2) By L. Dawn Steele It was after 02:30 Saturday when Dawn had left Ruth's poems behind and had gotten back to the "small" matter of the spells... Dawn got out her small blue notebook. It had been given to her by her youngest sister who had drawn a dragon on the front cover. The notebook had originally only contained recipes for some of Dawn's favorite foods, but after the war this past summer other items had been written in. Spells. Spells of protection. Spells to break other spells. Detailed instructions on setting up a basic work area so the spell-caster wouldn't be sucked into another dimension just for mispronouncing one of the words in the ceremony. Now Dawn hadn't exactly been brought up for this sort of thing and she was certainly not a natural talent. Practice did help though and she was able to do the more simple spells with little effort now. Dawn paused for a moment and started to reflect on just how she'd acquired this recent budding talent... Semi-flashback/explanation mode on She certainly hadn't imagined herself practicing sorcery, or witchcraft or whatever you wanted to call it. At the end of the last war though, she suddenly found herself in the possession of a copy of the Abarat. Copies had been flying left and right throughout the war. LaCroix had made a copy, but Dawn got the original. Or at least she had it for awhile. Dawn had been going slowly through the book. Laborously translating page by page. She had managed to copy a few of the spells into her recipe before that unfortunate accident... She had been trying a short spell that she didn't fully understand when the book started to burn... Within seconds flame whose colors ranged from nearly ultraviolet to wine red were consuming the book. The fire didn't even singe the living room carpet, but it was gone in less than a minute. Any hope of Dawn discovering a cure for Nick and slipping it to him was gone with it. She had felt guilty not handing the book over from the moment she received it, but she hadn't wanted to start another war. Explanation mode off Now here she was, trying to remember what little she knew about spells and the general rules they followed. If it was LaCroix who had put the spell on the Forever Knight show, then perhaps one of the general "break" spells would work. Dawn closed her eyes and thought back to her "experiments"... Flashback, Friday evening right after supper The first thing to do was figure out exactly what the spell did. Dawn hated using Tracy as a guinea pig, but she was a Cousin after all. LaCroix wouldn't want to hurt his own... So after supper she and Tracy had sat in front of the TV (Dawn wearing a protective amulet and Tracy exposed to the spell). The show had gone smoothly enough, but as soon as the actor playing LaCroix showed on the screen, Dawn could feel her amulet getting warm. And that wasn't all. Tracy was gushing. Dawn wouldn't have believed it, but it was happening in front of her eyes. Tracy had started to expound on how wonderful LaCroix was, how handsome he looked, and how he was so . Nick was described as being willful, and after one particularly well-acted scene... Nick was now being nasty to LaCroix. Tracy seemed ready to go on for quite some time in quite cruel detail, but then the episode ended and Dawn decided not to show another. Half an hour later Tracy was more even in her opinions about Nick as if some negative influence was wearing off, but LaCroix was still the best thing since sliced bread. The spell seemed to catch peoples attention and make them more sympathetic to LaCroix. If they had any Cousin-ish tendencies, these were brought to the fore. It also seemed to work when Janette was on the screen but not as strongly. Dawn didn't know if that aspect of the spell was weaker, or if perhaps Tracy had more "Cousin" leanings than "Ravenette". Was Tracy's recent conversion to the Cousins forced through spells. Dawn had known Tracy for quick some time and hadn't been surprised at the sudden departure from the Die-Hards into the ranks of the Cousins. Was it fast though? A lot of new Cousins and Corbies had shown up recently. It might not be a coincidence. It didn't really matter who had cast the spell though. People were being "forced" to choose a side. Dawn got queasy just thinking about it. She'd been wearing her protective amulet quite a lot lately. Obviously it had been enough to protect her, but others didn't have that option. The strong willed wouldn't be swayed by a single viewing. VCR's would capture the images the spell. Repeated viewings would intensify the effect. The confirmed Nat- Packers and Knighties wouldn't be paying that much attention to the scenes with Janette and LaCroix in them. That should have protected them from the worse of the effects. The unaffiliated were fair game though. This COULD NOT be allowed!! It went against everything the Die-Hards stood for!! When Tracy went to bed, Dawn leaped into action. Flashback mode off She kept herself in the kitchen. Her only light that of a few candles. She tried one after another of the spells on the videotape she'd brought over from Hamilton. Trying to figure out it the spell was broken took quite some time. After each trial she got out the ingredients and tried to make a batch of fudge. It was a well known fact that fudge turn out well if there was a strong spell resonating nearby. Batch after batch of fudge was made. Spell after spell was cast. The candy thermometer was checked carefully throughout the process. Fudge was a tricky business at the best of times. Batch after batch either solidified into a solid, uneatable crystalline mass or refused to solidify at all... It took five batches, but finally Dawn managed to turn out a delicious penuche and walnut fudge. It melted beautifully in the mouth and seemed to give an almost instantaneous sugar rush. She checked the last spell she'd cast. With a couple of modifications, she might be able to boost it's effectiveness enough to permanantly break the spell. She'd need some help though. Luckily enough, Die-hards would start arriving within a few hours. In the meantime though, Dawn planned on getting a few precious hours of sleep. The fudge would be waiting for Tracy in the morning. Dawn had made sure that one side didn't have any walnuts in it. A New Approach By Caile Donachaidh Kane In which Cousin John tells Cousin Caile of a new approach 29 October, evening Toronto, Ontario, Canada Things have been quiet here at Uncle's pad. No new attacks, and I hadn't been out since my experience at the Raven. Facing Janette's wrath in person had been a sobering experience. Also, there was still the matter of that guy following me... As usual, I rose a little after Uncle had left. He was in and out more than usual, and was keeping closed-mouthed about his business. I knew he'd had a meeting with Jennise and Karin about Susan, but he'd left me in the dark about the rest of his activities. I went downstairs first thing after eating the hot breakfast I found on my table. I got on to the computer and checked the mail. It was almost exclusively for Uncle, but I at last found one for me: From: mx%"jdencoff@polaris.unm.edu" To: mx%"LC@dungeon.com" Subj: for Caile - plots & plans & things Hiya Cousin! I've sent this to all the other Cousins as well, so pay attention. We're planning a suprise visit to the Raven, I'll get back to you with date and time. Also, I need you to pick up a box at the airport. It's in my name, just sign for it, ok? I've made sure you can get it. Thanks alot, and I'll see you at the party! >:> -Cousin John Hmmm. This sounded *very* intersting! I got my coat and called a cab for the airport - I couldn't wait to see what was in this box! Die-hards Dare to Defy Deception in the Dark By Story, by L. Dawn Steele Poetry by Ruth Dempsey Four Die-Hards were sitting around a campfire in High Park. They were a motley bunch and came from all over North America. Kathy had learned of the emergency meeting and had sneaked away from a fencing tournament in Kingston to help. Her coach was still under the impression that she was studying in her hotel room. She had managed to bring along her epee, in case there was any trouble. Kitty Hanks and Calliope Catlin were sitting next to each other. They both had reddish-blond hair, but that's where the similarities ended. Calliope only topped five feet and had hazel-green eyes while Kitty was the second tallest in the group (Kathy was 5'8") at 5'6" and had gray eyes. They had been briefed earlier in the afternoon. Dawn, Kitty and Calliope had gone to Le Marche for supper and had argued over the meaning of Ruth's poetry. They had agreed on several points and also on some other matters. The rest of the list would to be told. Ruth had been murdered because she had known too much. The murderers had learned that Ruth had come to the Toronto area to talk to Dawn. Unfortunately for the murderers Ruth had proved tenacious and refused to leave the material plane without her knowledge being passed on. Sitting around the campfire the Die-Hards planned and plotted. They would go to New York and see what the rest of the list members knew. If it looked as if their knowledge would be needed... they would scatter amongst the groups and pass it on. Knowledge on such a serious subject should not be held in reserve by one group or another. Some groups probably already suspected though... Of course there was the other matter. Dawn had gathered up the needed materials and had briefed them all on their roles. Only one thing was missing and Dawn had high hopes that it would come in time... It was time to get started. [I've got to clear the area of all the garbage camp-goers have left behind.] {Hey Kathy, could you help me get the chalk and dried eggshells mixed together? Did anyone bring a hammer?} "I've gotten the white and gold robes over in the corner. Try them on and make sure you don't trip over the hems." "Probably not. Most spells don't even need a lot of the trappings we put on them. Just the desire of the people casting the spell and the knowledge of what they're doing. Hey I thought we could have a bit of fun with this while we're at it! You're welcome to keep the robes. Hallowe'en is coming up after all." {Knock, Knock} The others stared at Calliope for a second, but then Kitty decide to accept the challenge. {Dawn} {It's dawn, so the vamps better watch out.} Silence reigned for a minute and then they got back to work. [Who do you think cast the spell in the first place?] {My vote's on LaCroix or Janette. Hmm... Maybe both. They both took the desertions very hard during the last war.} "The spell would help to cement loyalties." [Kitty? Have you finished copying the glyphs onto the ground?] "They're supposed to be made out of a expensive type of seaweed. I couldn't get my hands on enough of it today for the ceremony so I mixed in a bit of it with some salt. It dyed the whole batch." Dawn had experimented on the best type of structure to enclose the glyphs in and had finally decided to use the sterotypical pentagon. They spent the next half hour getting ready. Friendly chatter kept them occupied as they started to learn more about each other. The moment arrived. The Die-Hards took their places in the pentagon. Four people went within four of the stars tips. They all turned and stared at the empty spot. It was the moment they were halfway dreading. Dawn had told them that Ruth had stuck around after she died, but they had doubts that she hadn't just cracked up. All this white witchcraft didn't help matters. "Ruth? We're waiting for you. We need your presence to break the spell. You can be our link between the material world and the one beyond. The spirit plane has many borders. Planes of the underworld, and the upper. Planes that cross into the bounds of fiction where LaCroix is only a dream. Planes of reality we wouldn't recognize." "Please come Ruth. We're counting on you." As if only waiting for the invitation, the empty space within the stars' tip began to be filled. Wisps of white were the first to appear and then Ruth's familiar face coalesced. The apparition shimmered and seemed to vary it's demeanor and clothes by the second, but it was there and ready to help. "We gather now in a time which has no time. The clock has struck one, but it is not one. Time has no meaning, and has started to repeat. People's senses are confused. This night has an added hour, and it is ours to use." "A hole in time."