Mariel's Magic Pt. 02

It was a long and frustrating task, but after several months the teams got better at their jobs, and they had uncovered five white magic practitioners in different parts of the country. Each of these was interviewed by Caribe, who verified their powers. They were generally reluctant to admit their powers, fearful of dealing with a governmental organization. However, once meeting with Caribe and recognizing her as one of their own, dialogs began, and these individuals introduced them to others who had power.

One of these was Mindy Theriot, who lived in New Orleans with her partner, Helen. Mindy tried her best to keep her magic out of sight but at the same time used it to make a good living. She used her gift to invest in the stock market. She was not greedy. She earned half a million per year, being careful to lose periodically and never earn too much from her gains. They identified her from regular appreciative comments she had made on Mariel's videos. From her comments, it was clear she recognized Mariel for what she was and would therefore have magic herself.

Mindy received a call one day from Caribe, who was certain by this time of Mindy's power.

"Hi, I'm Caribe Daws, and I saw your comments on Mariel's Friends and wanted to call and say that all of us at the Ranch really appreciate them."

This seemed to Mindy like a strange call to receive, but she replied, simply, "You're welcome. Who are you again?"

"Caribe Daws, but you can call me Caribe. I work with Mariel. Can I call you Mindy?"

By this time, although the call seemed strange, the nonverbal communication was clear, and Mindy said, simply, "Oh, you know about me."

"Yes, Mindy, we know, and we need your help."

Caribe explained the situation, saying that they needed a large number of women with white magic to be sure of destroying the threat from the High Master.

"Will it be dangerous?" asked Mindy.

"I won't lie to you. There is danger. As a group, we will be powerful, but we can't promise this will be successful. All I can say is, until the High Master turned his full attention to Mariel and her friends, they were making a huge difference in the country. You saw the results of the last election cycle. We can't say that was all Mariel's Friends, but the show made a big contribution."

"I know," replied Mindy. "With each video, I could feel the power coming through. I could feel the difference it was making."

"So, right now, Mariel and her friends are hiding in another dimension from the High Master. We want to bring them back. The more of us who support her cause, the greater impact we will have."

"I have to talk to my partner first. I want to join you, but she has to be okay with it."

"I understand. Also, if you have other friends with white magic, please tell them to call me."

The search found another woman, a chiropractor, who used white magic with her clients. Of course, she didn't just realign bones; she used her magic to repair collapsed disks and all kinds of other problems that would normally require surgery. To hide her magic, she sealed the lips of her patients, who could say only that when they came in, they were in pain and when they left, they were not. She also agreed to join the group when Caribe called her.

In this way, they assembled a group of twenty-five women, all willing to fight with the Family against the High Master. Each had seen Mariel's Friends' videos and recognized that the girl had significant magic. They were willing to help when they learned of the danger the Family faced. Some already knew of the High Master, or others like him, and had always kept a low profile so as not to attract his attention. They appreciated that the Family was willing to openly face him, taking that risk to use the media to combat dark magic.

Chapter 12. The Tower of the High Master

While Caribe was recruiting women for the coming battle, the Family was in a different dimension, making plans to destroy the High Master's power. Mariel and her family were also going about their normal activities. Mariel, who was also involved in the planning, spent most of her time with her regular schoolwork and her special studies with Hana. Adriana had started homeschooling Mariel when she turned five. She was now doing fourth-grade work with her mother and advanced work on magic with Hana. Mariel, with the greatest amount of natural power, would take the lead role in the battle and would have to be ready.

Much of Mariel's study in magic involved remembering and reviewing what she already knew. She was aware of her past lifetimes, in which she had wielded both dark and white magic. In her studies with Hana, she was learning the consequences of the decisions she had made in the past. As a young child, she recoiled at some of the things she had done and could hardly bring herself to believe it was her. Hana told her not to feel bad about what she had done, but only to learn from it. "You are only what you are right now," she told the child. "Those things you remember are only that, just memories. They are lessons for you now; that is all."

And lessons they were. She had battled in the past, and she had sometimes won and sometimes lost. "Think about the times you battled dark magic," Hana said. "What did you do right, and what did you do wrong? Use that experience to learn how best to wield your magic."

"I wish I knew who I really am," Mariel said to Hana. "I know it's the past, but it's my past. Sometimes I was bad and sometimes good. How can I know what I will be in this lifetime?"

"My belief," said Hana, "is that we are all heading to the light. We may stumble and find ourselves attracted to the dark. Sometimes we stumble hard and are very, very bad. But mostly, our journey is towards the light. I know that there are seeds of darkness in you, child, as there are in me, but when I look at you today, I only see a person who seeks the light. Those seeds of darkness are asleep, and if you do not seek them out, they will continue to sleep."

Mariel looked at Hana, puzzled but feeling the wisdom in the woman's words. Fear, hatred, and greed were the feelings that woke the darkness, and she would try to avoid these emotions. She would not follow these dark feelings into a pit that she could not climb out of.

While not busy with schoolwork, studying with Hana, or planning the coming battle, Mariel was with her animals, making videos. There did not appear to be any unusual animals in this dimension, although they did not spend much time exploring the strange woods surrounding the Ranch. Her animals were all domesticated, even the rodents that lived there. They had no way to broadcast or post the videos, but that was fine. Once they returned to their own dimension, they would do that. In this dimension, they spent more time than usual on each video, perfecting them and learning to imbue them with more and more magic. Jackson Stall was still producing the videos and was learning to do things to improve them.

Jackson was also writing and producing a feature-length video about the Ranch and the people in it. Trista, who had learned to be a good interviewer, spent time talking to each member of the extended Family, even Forester's remaining guard. These interviews allowed each member of the Family to be introspective about what they were doing and how they hoped it would benefit other people. They never actually mentioned magic, but for those magical people in the world, the video would speak clearly about the battle between light and dark and about the need to choose the right side.

As Caribe's recruiting efforts bore fruit, everyone on the Ranch had a say in the plan to defeat the High Master. Planning sessions sometimes went far into the night as their strategy began to take form. The pure magic part of the plan depended a lot on Mariel's leadership, and her experience in past battles was important. They examined similarities between the current situation and past battles; they used her experiences to make choices about what strategy was most likely to succeed.

When they had five new recruits, they thought it was time to try their power. The plan was for all of them to join together in the dreamscape--the three Doves at the Ranch, Caribe, and the five recruits--and explore using their power by neutralizing a known wielder of dark magic. Their target was a televangelist who was particularly violent in his rhetoric and had been accused several times of molesting young children. This man, seemingly evil as he was, had a large and adoring audience.

Caribe explained to the recruits, "The Doves at the Ranch will initiate a dreamscape and then will call each of us. The time will be midnight tonight. Listen for the call, and then allow yourself to follow it. This should work whether you are awake or asleep. From there, we will try to wipe this man clean of his dark magic." Then she showed a picture of the man, who was known as Judge Darkwater.

"Are we going to kill him?" asked one.

"No, we are going to rid him of his darkness. Don't worry. The Doves did this to me, and it was the greatest gift I have ever received. A man like this... he suffers. He's miserable, as I was. He needs help, not punishment."

"And is there some danger here, for us?" asked another.

"No. Effectively, this is no more than a dream, except that your power will flow through it. Once you are in the dreamscape, you will know what to do."

That night, in their own dimension, the Doves gathered in the meditation room and followed Jennifer's bells into the dream. In this dreamscape, they all sat, with linked hands, around a fire in a peaceful wood at night.

Immediately, they began calling the names of the recruits, one by one. Three of the recruits were sleeping, and two were awake. They all heard the call, and with the call felt their magic stir. They listened, unsure what to do, but allowed themselves to heed the call. The calls continued, and one by one, the recruits found themselves in the dreamscape with the Doves sitting around the fire with hands linked together.

They immediately recognized the young girl from the videos they had seen, Mariel, who was smiling and nodding encouragingly to them. Then Mariel said, "Follow me through the light." A tunnel of light appeared, and they followed Mariel as she got up and walked through it. A short while later, they were standing in a bedroom, gazing at the sleeping Judge.

"Judge Darkwater," said Mariel. "Wake up." The Judge immediately opened his eyes and stared at them, bewildered. "Do not be afraid, friend; we are here to help you."

"Are you angels?" he asked, afraid he had died.

"No," replied Mariel, in her little girl's voice. "We are here to rid you of your darkness. We want you to join us in the light."

As a wielder of dark magic, the Judge now knew what was happening, and his face contorted with evil. He snarled at them and tried to call up his magic, but it was not there.

"What did you do to me?" he screamed, realizing he was powerless.

"You can no longer use your dark magic," replied Mariel. "But we will gladly help you learn white magic. First, we must cleanse you of all the darkness inside."

The women linked hands and let their magic fill the room. They watched as the Judge's body oozed darkness, which immediately evaporated. This went on for a long time, as the Judge writhed as if in pain. They all knew that he was experiencing remorse for all the pain he had inflicted on others throughout his life. Finally, he opened his mouth wide and vomited a dark ball of evil, which darted through the air, this way and that, trying to escape the onslaught of pure white magic that filled the room. It finally exploded, and as it did, the light faded. The Judge lay exhausted, wet with sweat, but peaceful.

"We are done here, Judge Darkwater," Mariel said quietly. "You will now sleep. You will remember the many evil things you have done, but will also know they are not part of you now. Once you are rested, you will want to talk, to rebuild your life. Hana, here, will come to you sometimes so you can talk to her. Also, soon, we will return to our home in Mendocino, and you can stay with us there for a while. When you next talk to your followers, you will speak only of love, kindness, and compassion. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye," said the Judge, weakly.

They left his room and, still in the dreamscape, returned to the woods, sitting around the fire.

Caribe now spoke, "I believe this was successful. Let's see what this man says on television next time. We must practice this method of cleansing dark magicians several more times before we go after the High Master." She looked at the recruits. "Thank you all. You are going to have questions, so let's have a group chat tomorrow."

Then the dreamscape ended.

The following Sunday, Judge Darkwater was a completely different person. He seemed happy, at peace, and his sermon was encouraging. Unfortunately, in the weeks to come, many in his congregation drifted away, finding themselves uninterested in a message of peace and love. He began to attract a different type of viewer, but never again commanded the large audiences of the past.

The Doves took other recruits through the same process. They were wielders of dark magic who were politicians, businessmen and women, investors, a president of a small country, criminals, and others. Mariel and the women were ridding the world of dark magic, slowly, and readying themselves for the inevitable confrontation with the High Master.

The High Master was not blind to what was happening. He knew that the Doves were behind it all but could not reach them.

"Find them!" he roared to his acolytes. They looked at him, bewildered, having no idea where they were or how to look for them. "Find them!" he screamed again, as bolts shot from his hands and exploded in the chests of three of his followers.

"We could attack D47," one suggested. "Caribe Daws is now one of them. We can bring her back and force her to tell us where they are."

"Do it!" barked the High Master.

The next day, helicopters swooped toward the D47 building, landing U.S. army soldiers under the command of a colonel who was controlled by the High Master. They quickly breached the building, racing through the halls, looking for Caribe Daws, but she was not there. In fact, nobody was there. Both Mariel and Caribe had foreseen the attack, and Caribe ordered the building to be evacuated. The attack was all over the news, and the colonel was arrested.

The High Master had guessed this would happen and a spy within D47 was able to track Caribe to where she was hiding. She was captured and quickly taken to the High Master's tower. Knowing how Mariel had escaped from within the ambulance, he cast wards around the room in which she was held, preventing her from escaping.

Soon, he was inflicting as much pain on her as possible, without killing her. "Where are they? Where are they?" his questioners asked. Eventually, she revealed everything she knew of their plans because the questioner was able to delve directly into her mind. What he learned, however, did not help them. They learned that the Family was in a different dimension and was planning to attack him. However, she did not know the location of this dimension or how to get there. She did not even know the locations of the recruits. As soon as Caribe was captured, Hana used the dreamscape to bring each recruit, and their families, to the Ranch for safety. The Ranch was crowded, and food was running low, but the attack on the High Master would take place soon.

The Family now had thirty recruits to join the ranks of the Doves around the circle in the dreamscape. They knew where the High Master's building was and knew that there were hundreds of dark magic practitioners there.

A week after the capture of Caribe, they all entered the dreamscape and targeted the ground floor of the building. There were thirty followers of the High Master there, who were prepared for an attack, and there were wards all through the floor.

The combined power of the Doves, however, was too much for them. The intense magic light flooded every office, bedroom, bathroom, and closet of the first floor, burning away wards and draining the darkness from every living person.

Additional followers rushed toward the first floor, but the elevators no longer worked, and strong wards blocked the stairs. The screams of anguish and remorse rose up from the first floor, and each follower there was neutralized.

After the Doves broke off the attack, the High Master's people could get down to the ground floor again. Many fled the building when the light disappeared, but most stayed there to fight. The next night, the Doves again swept through the ground floor, then the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors, draining the darkness out of any they found. The High Master had forced his followers down to the lower floors to fight off the power of the Doves with dark magic, but it was useless. Those he sent to fight did not have enough power. Many fled to the upper floors, waiting until the Doves broke off the attack.

Dark magicians who had been drained of darkness sat, bewildered, in hallways or went to their rooms in the tower and slept, ignoring the future assaults. They still had magic, but it was weak. Its former power relied on the hate, fear, and greed they carried, and when that was gone, their magic was useless in the fight. The Doves paid them no mind.

The Doves could not sustain a battle for more than an hour at a time, giving the High Master and his followers a chance to rest and refortify their positions. It was only going to get harder as they went higher up the tower.

"We need to change what we are doing," Trista said, as the Doves rested and recovered their power. "We need a sustained assault to reach the top, and that will take several hours. I believe that if we can keep pressure on them for two or three hours, they will collapse."

"Yes," replied Hana. "What you say is correct, but we do not draw enough power in this dimension to sustain such an attack. Also, sending our power across dimensions weakens that power."

"You are saying," said Trista, "that we would do better by returning to our own dimension and pressing the attack from there?"

"Yes, that is what I am saying. It is a risk, but perhaps less of a risk than it has been in the past. The High Master will be busy fending off our attack. He may not be able to locate us and counterattack before we reach him."

The recruits were worried about coming back into their home dimension, but they all wanted to see this through. They had accomplished so much already that they hated the idea of calling off the attack and leaving him in place and able to attack them at his leisure. In the end, they decided to take the risk.

Hana, Trista, and Mariel performed the procedure to move them back into their home dimension, taking only the people. If they brought back the Ranch buildings, they could be spotted easily and trigger an immediate counterattack. When the Doves landed in the meadow, they immediately left that area and hiked to a spot they knew a mile away, and sat among the tall trees, hidden from unfriendly eyes. Sitting there, they could each feel a surge of power coming up from the Earth and were soon ready to renew the attack.

They all linked hands, entered the dreamscape, and surged into the ground floor of the building again. A few dark magicians were still there and were wiped clean of darkness within minutes. Then they moved through the next five floors, spending only five minutes on each, rendering harmless more followers. The seventh floor offered more resistance, but they had been in the building for only thirty minutes and still felt full of power, as the good Earth continued to restore the magic they were using. They surged their power and every part of the seventh floor glowed white with their cleansing magic.