Magic on Changeling Mountain
Chapter 24

“I take it I interrupted something?” Tammy said.

“Yes, but I’m almost glad you did. I want to take things slow with Colin but at the same time, I want to say to hell with the world and what anyone else might think or say and just take him to my bed. Lord, that man turns me on when we are in our human forms and we’ve been together all day in our human forms so my pheromones are really high right now plus I’m just getting over my period. He thought my natural scent was perfume, when it’s more than likely that I need to change my tampon.”

“Hahahahaha! I was wondering when it was going to finally hit you!” Tammy laughed as she dropped her overnight bag on the sofa and pulled Carolyn to sit down with her.

“What do you mean?” Carolyn asked.

“The love bug has bitten you. It’s about damned time. For years now, I’ve watched you two dance around each other, but for whatever reason, you both have been holding back. The electricity in the air when you two are within 10 feet of each other is amazing and anyone with eyes can see that you two are perfect for each other.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me but there are so many reasons this won’t work and I’m not entirely sure I’m ready for it either. I mean, I care a great deal for Colin but am I ready to get married? To give up my practice and become a mother? To have only the lord knows how many kids!”

“Is that what it is that has you scared? Are you afraid of having kids? And who says you have to give up your practice? There are doctors all over the place that carry on successful practices and have children at home. There’s no reason why you can’t do that too!”

“But what if I have 3, 4, 5 or even 6 babies all at once?”

“Well, granted that would make things a bit more difficult at first but you have family close by that will be able to help you and Colin doesn’t seem like the type to leave it all up to you anyway. He’s part of this equation too, ya know.

Besides how many changeling females do you know that have had multiple births? Isn’t it true that pigs usually have up to 10 piglets at a time? But I know there are several pig changelings living on the mountain and all of them have had their children one at a time, with the exception of the Neilsen’s twins.”

“That’s true but am I willing to take that chance?”

“AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!! You are so frustrating! Girl, if I had a man like Colin that cared for me as much as I know he cares for you, I would be saying to hell with everything else and have him in front of a preacher so fast even his head would be swimming!” Tammy said. “I can’t even get a damned date with anyone besides the town gigolo and here you are with the most eligible bachelor in the entire county and you are hesitating?”

“It’s just that Colin and I have been friends since we were kids. It feels strange going from just friends to possibly becoming not only lovers but mated for life! We’ve already talked and if we do end up together, it will be as life mates before we enjoy each other physically.”

“Do you know how many mortal human women would kill for a man that they could trust to be their mate for life?”

“Well, we spent the whole day together today and are going to spend the whole day together Saturday. Do you think next Sunday would be too soon to have the wedding?” Carolyn jokes.

“I’m sure your mom could pull it off!” Tammy laughed with her.

“Well, I will say that when he does ask, I won’t say no but I’m kind of hoping that his shyness will stay with him a bit longer. I want us to date a while and take it slow. I’m not going anywhere and I’m pretty sure he’s stable here too. There’s no need to rush.”

“Ok. I know women are having babies at a later age now but you do realize that the old biological clock is ticking!” It was a statement, not a question. It was a subject she had been thinking a lot about for herself as well. She did not want to end up an old witch lady with a house full of cats either.

Ever since she had been to Lucinda and Amelia’s house and met Rudolph, she wondered more and more if maybe her parents had been there before or after her. She was thinking about taking a trip back and talking to him more. Maybe doing some investigating at the county records office. Birth records, homeowners’ records, anything she could think of to find her birth parents. She wanted to know why they gave her up. She had always thought it was because she was a witch. They couldn’t handle the strange things that had always happened when she was around. But now she was beginning to think that maybe they were witches too and had to run away and they couldn’t take her with them. All she remembered of them were shadow images. The scent of lavender always made her think of her mother and this time of year, for some reason, she felt the warm hug of her father. But everything else was just a blur.

Tammy had been left at a church as an infant. The people at the orphanage had told her she had on pajamas with feet with little bunny ears on them and a small stuffed bunny that she still had. It was worn out and had been patched many times over the years but she had managed to hang on to it through all of the foster homes she had been in over the years and there had been many.

Her foster parents, at the time, had moved to Maryland when she was 15. Not long after that she had realized that she really had powers and that the strange things that kept happening to her were her powers acting out her emotions.

She had gone through so much that year. Her foster parents had moved her from Illinois to Maryland because her foster dad had been promised a better job. They had only been there for about 6 months when he got laid off and they decided they couldn’t keep her anymore. They were going back to Illinois and she became a ward of the state again.

For the rest of her high school years, she had gone from one foster home to another, never staying in one for more than a couple of months but at least she had stayed within the same city, if not the same neighborhood. The last place was probably the best of the lot but as soon as she had graduated, with honors, they had kicked her out. Once she turned 18, they would no longer get a check to help support her. She didn’t have a job, so she couldn’t pay them rent so they told her she had to go. They had never developed an emotional attachment to her nor her to them.

Tammy had earned a scholarship for her first two years of college but that only covered her tuition. She had to pay for her own books and school supplies as well as her rent and living expenses. She had never been so glad to meet anyone as she had Carolyn. She had known immediately that she was not what she appeared to be.

After living in the dorms for a while, they had found an apartment together, just off of campus and between their part time jobs, they managed to make it through school together. Carolyn followed her dream and became a doctor, in six years she had her degree and Tammy got her doctoral degree in accounting and business management. Care packages from Carolyn’s family had been a godsend and she willingly shared them with Tammy. Tammy couldn’t conjure things but she figured out she could replicate them. Doubling the things they needed had helped out greatly.

While she was happy for Carolyn and Colin, she was also sad that she was going to have to leave the mountain soon. She liked living here. Having people who cared about her close by. She had come to feel like a member of Carolyn’s family, especially since she had spent almost two whole weeks living in their home when the sisters had been training her.

But now she felt like it was time for her to move on, to go in search of her parents, to learn more about why they had abandoned her and to learn more about her magic. She just dreaded telling Carolyn about her decision. She could see that Carolyn was floating on a happiness cloud right now and she didn’t want to burst that bubble quiet yet so she listened as Carolyn talked about her day with Colin and what they planned to do Saturday.

“Hey, do you think we could apparate down to the mall in Asheville so I could shop for a dress for Saturday? I don’t have anything to wear!”

“We would need a safe landing location and I don’t know of one there. I could take us back to Randolph’s and we could go to the mall in Seattle.”

“Wow, that’s a long way to go just to buy a dress.”

“Carolyn, it would take the same amount of time to go from here to Seattle as it will to go to Asheville. A blink of an eye. Grab your purse and let’s go!”

Carolyn smiled and jumped up to find her purse, as Tammy pulled out her wand. Carolyn pulled on her coat, grabbed her purse off of the counter then took a deep breath as she took Tammy’s outstretched hand. Before she could blink, they were standing in the back room at Randolph’s coffee shop. He seemed to sense that they were there and he opened the back door for them.

“Ah, Tamaura and Carolyn! Is everything OK? I’m surprised to see you back so soon!”

“Hi Randolph! Carolyn needs a dress for a very special occasion and yours is the only safe landing place that I know of so we came back here. I hope you don’t mind?”

“No, no! Not at all. You are welcome to come anytime but in the future, you might want to let me know you are coming so I can make sure the store room is clear. It’s only nice and tidy now because you made it so when you bought your wand.”

“What’s a good signal?”

“Just tinkle the bells.” Randolph said. “Like this!” Randolph taught Tammy a simple spell that caused the bells on the back room door to jingle. “That lets me know someone I know is coming.”

“Great! I’ll remember that for next time.” Tammy said with a smile. She loved learning new spells. “Well, if we are going to get to the mall, we had better get going. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll be here until about 6:30.” Randolph said.

They hailed a cab that took them to the mall and they spent the next two hours searching for the perfect dress for Carolyn’s big date. They finally found it in Marshalls along with the cutest pair of shoes to go with it. Carolyn tried it on and came out of the dressing room to see what Tammy thought.

“Oh Carolyn, you look absolutely fantastic in that! Colin is going to be drooling the whole time. That color of blue suits you and that fabric just invites the touch.” Tammy said as she ran her hand down her arm. The dress was loosely fitted over her torso with a deep wrap over v neckline, a banded waist and then a full skirt that hung just to the knee. It had long loose sleeves that closed at the wrists in a large cuff. The material felt like fine silk but the care tag said it was polyester, which meant she could wash it instead of having to send it to the dry cleaners.

“It’s so light weight that I don’t feel like I have anything on but when I move, it feels wonderful.”

“I saw something that, if you can afford it, will go great with that. You may not need it during the day but it’s been getting cold at night and you might want something to wear over that.” Tammy said, as she showed the sweater coat she had found while she had waited for Carolyn to come out of the dressing room. It was a lightweight cable knit cover-up more than a real sweater and with the darling strappy black boot style shoes she had found, it would really pull the whole outfit together.

“How much?” Carolyn asked. “The dress is $40 and these shoes are another $30. Plus I want to get that coat we saw at Burlington’s earlier. I never did find one when we were here before and I’m going to need one soon. My old coat is worn out.”

“Well, this is only $15 and if you can’t afford it, I’ll get it for you for your Christmas present. You have got to get this to go with that. It just finishes the outfit perfectly.”

“I’ll take it! I haven’t really bought myself clothes in such a long time. I really do need to invest in some new underthings too. Mine have seen better days.”

“Oh, definitely! Can’t be dressed to the nines and then get naked and have him see your holey underwear and worn out bra! For that, you are definitely going to spend some money at Victoria’s! There’s one just a few stores down!”

“Tammy! You don’t really expect me to get naked with him on our first date, do you?” Carolyn laughed.

“Technically, it’s not your first date. Today was! Saturday will be your second date and I happen to know that he’s already kissed you, so no saying you haven’t been to that base yet.”

“Well, I can’t argue with you there but I have no intention of sleeping with him Saturday night. Besides, I have a perfectly good reason to say goodnight at the door and then send him on his way until another day. Or have you forgotten that you will be sleeping at my house for the next few days at least?”

“Well, no, of course I haven’t forgotten but you could always go to his place for the night. And besides, I won’t be staying there for long, so you won’t be able to use me as an excuse for long.” Tammy said. She wanted to talk to Carolyn about her plans but there was time and she wouldn’t do anything to spoil this special time for her friend. Her news could wait.

She had to finalize things with her clients and her landlords before she could leave anyway. She had been planning on telling everyone that she was going to go take care of an elderly relative for a while. Only Carolyn’s family would know why and where she was really going. But for now, she was going to enjoy this time with her best friend.

They paid for their purchases and walked down to Victoria Secrets. Carolyn was going to pick something boring and plain but Tammy talked her into a sexy black push up lace number with lacy black boy panties to go with it and thigh high black nylons that ended up costing almost as much as the outer layers she had bought but Carolyn finally caved and pulled out her credit card and paid for it all.

“Oh, girl, this date had better be something to remember because it’s going to take me a couple of months to pay off this outfit alone.” Carolyn said, as they left Victoria Secrets and headed back to Burlington’s.

“Every woman should have pretty underthings that make her feel sexy. I was going to say go for a sexy nightie too until I saw the price tag! I’m sorry but $120 is a lot to pay for that tiny scrap of silk that would either end up on the floor or ripped to pieces.”

“I know. I’ve already spent more on clothes in the last hour than I have in the whole past year.”

“Then you are long past due! Come on, we’ve only got about an hour left before we have to be back at Randolph’s.”

They quickly found the coat that Carolyn wanted and Tammy found a cape that she really liked. It reminded her of the kind of cape that little red riding hood wore in the stories except it was a deep royal blue. They paid for their purchases and hurried out to the area where the cabs were parked on stand-by, waiting for passengers to come out of the mall. They arrived back at Randolph’s in plenty of time.

There was only one other person in the shop when they entered and Randolph excused himself from waiting on her to greet them.

“Hi girls. Have a seat, I’ll be right with you.” He said and Tammy nodded that she understood. They sat down at one of the small tables near the wall, well away from where they would have to come in contact with the other woman. Something about her was familiar to Tammy but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

Tammy glanced at her trying to see what she looked like but the woman’s face was turned the other way. Randolph seemed to position himself between them and the woman after that. He even walked her to the door, keeping his body between the woman and them.

After the woman left with her purchase, Tammy asked Randolph point blank. “Randolph, who was that woman? Why were you keeping yourself between her and us?”

“Because not all of the witches who come in here are people you should be associating with at any time. But I couldn’t make a living if I catered to just good witches. I don’t sell anything that can be used in black magic, at least not intentionally.

She is a particularly dark witch. She had a strong coven at one point up until about 15 or 20 years ago. Then I heard there was a huge battle and most of her coven was destroyed. The rest of them scattered to the wind. Amelia and Lucinda’s family fought in that battle and lost their parents to her.

They have stripped her of most of her powers but she’s still a dangerous witch. I know she’s been practicing because she’s been in here regularly buying herbs and candles. A lot more often lately, come to think of it.”

“But I thought your store was protected against dark magic?” Tammy asked.

“It is protected from anyone trying to use dark magic to get in but she comes in like anyone off the street. She would not be able to use her magic in here but she might have been able to sense you, if I had not kept my body between you. I just hope she didn’t notice that I was projecting a bit more than I normally do.”

“Well, thank you for protecting us, Randolph but we really must be going. It’s getting late back home.” Tammy said.

“Well, have a safe trip and come back anytime. Remember to let me know you are coming next time.” Randolph said with a big smile and quick hugs for both of them.

“Thanks Randolph! Goodbye!”

The girls went into the back room and after a big breath for Carolyn, they joined hands and Tammy spoke the spell to take them back to the cottage.

“Whew! I can’t say I care much for the actual traveling part but being able to go all the way across the country to go shopping in the blink of an eye is awesome!”

“Glad to oblige. It gives me a chance to use my magic. Amelia told me that to not use it will make it fade or clog and while fading would be a shame, clogging can be dangerous.”

“Well, I can’t say it’s something I can afford to do often but it is nice to get away every once in a while. Can you just imagine what we are going to save on airfare?”

“Hahahaha! Well, let me know whenever you want to go to Seattle and I’ll be glad to take you! I just wish we knew of some other safe places to land. Can you imagine being able to apparate to Egypt or Greece?”

“Oh that would be great! But for now, I think we had better be thinking about dinner and then bed.”

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