Magic on Changeling Mountain
Chapter 54

Carolyn turned to Tammy and smiled. “I truly found a good one in him. Now, what’s up with you?”

“I don’t know. I’m just feeling so antsy that I can’t seem to sit still. I’ve just about worn a hole in my new carpet pacing back and forth.” Tammy said, her agitation clearly visible.

“Your aura looks like a Christmas tree. You’ve got several colors going on there. What’s got you so upset?” Carolyn asked, becoming concerned.

“I don’t know!” Tammy almost cried. “Ever since my parents left, I feel like the apartment is so empty and echoing, like there’s no furniture in there. Stuart has been working so much that I’ve barely seen him lately. I go from work to home and back again. I feel like I’m in a rut.”

“When was the last time you used your magic?” Carolyn asked and Tammy stopped the pacing she had been doing ever since she stepped through the door to look at Carolyn with a deer in the headlights look. She thought for a moment or two and then said “I can’t remember. It’s been since I brought you guys home from Canada, I think.”

“Maybe you are suffering from build up? Remember Amelia warned you about going too long without using it. We’ve been back for over 3 weeks now.”

Tammy took out her wand and waved it and changed the color on the walls and then looked at Carolyn who shook her head. She waved it again and put it back to the soft sage green it had been. She waved it again and rearranged the furniture and looked at Carolyn, who looked around and then nodded. Carolyn watched Tammy as her aura seemed to be calming down and she had stopped pacing.

“Feel better now?” Carolyn asked.

“Yes. It’s not nearly as bad now. Thanks!” Tammy smiled at her.

“Where is the mirror?” Carolyn asked.

“At home. Why? What’s up?” Tammy asked.

“Well, Colin says he is worried about his mother being alone on the mountain, especially at night but I’m thinking that maybe it’s more that he’s worried about his dad. Do you think we might take a quick trip up there and ask Ben when he’s going to be ready to come down here?” Carolyn asked.

“Sure. Come on. We can go right now. Maybe I will actually get some sleep tonight.” Tammy said and held out her hand. “We’ll just pop over to my apartment and get the mirror and then we can take a look and see what he’s up to.”

“Hang on, let me get my coat on.” Carolyn said and took her heavy coat off of the hook and pulled it on. She made sure her gloves were in the pocket and that the doors were locked before she took Tammy’s hand and then a deep breath.

They apparated over to her apartment and Tammy got the mirror from its hiding place in her bedroom. They stood together as she said the spell and they saw a cabin in the mirror. There was a soft glowing light in the windows and it looked like something on a Christmas card.

“It looks like the wind has stopped.” Carolyn said. Just then they saw Ben coming around the side of the cabin with an arm load of wood. He stepped up on the porch and stopped and seemed to sniff the air and then looked and saw them. The look of surprise on his face was priceless and they both laughed. “Come on. He’s seen us so let’s go.” Tammy said as she slipped the mirror into her coat and then took Carolyn’s hand.

She said the apparition spell and a few seconds later, they were standing at the bottom step of the Noble cabin, smiling up at him. He almost dropped the load of wood he was carrying as he said “Goodness. I will never get used to you doing that. What in the world brings you back here? Is something wrong? Is Sarah alright? Colin?”

“They are both fine, Mr. Noble. Your wife is missing you and Colin is being overprotective but otherwise they are fine. We were just wondering when you are going to be ready to come back to the mountain?” Carolyn asked as she pulled on her gloves. Her hands were already freezing.

“Come on in to where it’s warm.” Ben said as he opened the door and led them inside. He put another log on the fire and then asked if they wanted coffee or something to drink.

“No, sir. We can’t stay long unfortunately. We just wanted to find out when you would be able to come back to the mountain.” Carolyn asked again.

“Well, I guess it really depends more on if Jacques is ready to come here. I’ve been ready to go since the day after Sarah left. I do miss her. You really learn how isolated and lonely it can be out here when you have to live it alone.”

Tammy pulled the mirror out of her coat and said “Let’s see if Jacques is alone.” She whispered the spell and together they all looked at Jacques cabin, just as they had Ben’s.

“Wow. Now that is something. Can you get any closer?” Ben asked.

Tammy stepped forward but the image remained the same. “No, I guess not. We’ll have to go there. Are you ready?”

“Take a big breath and hold it and whatever you do, don’t let go of my hand.” Carolyn told him. Seconds later they were standing in the snow outside of Jacques cabin and Ben let out his breath in a whoosh. “Wow. Not so sure I want to do that again.” Ben said as he gasped for air.

“Well, sorry but it’s our only way back. Don’t worry, the butterflies in your stomach will only last for a minute or two.” Tammy said.

“Butterflies? I feel like I’ve got full grown eagles trying to get out.” Ben said as he rubbed his stomach.

“Come on, let’s go. It’s cold out here.” Carolyn said.

“Wait. Let me let him know we are coming.” Ben said and transformed. He raised his head and howled. It was such a lonely sound. But the cabin door opened almost immediately and Jacques waved for them to come on in.

“Somehow I knew it was you and that you two would be with him. Is everything OK?” Jacques greeted them.

“Yes, everything is fine. Just missing Sarah a whole lot. When will you be ready to take over at the Outpost?” Ben asked.

“You want to go back sooner?” Jacques asked.

“Yes, if you don’t mind. We’ve been gone from there for a long time. I can imagine the honey do list that Sarah must need help with. Hey, maybe I had better stay here as long as I can.” Ben joked. Neither Tammy nor Carolyn said anything about Tammy having already taken care of all the “honey do” chores, well at least the ones they knew about.

“I had a feeling this might happen. Hold on and let me get my bag. I packed right after Tammy dropped me off the last time and took my animals over to Bill Hardgroves place the other day when the wind was quiet.” Jacques said as he walked down the hall to his bedroom. He came back carrying two large duffle bags. “Just need to get my coat and my heavy boots.”

“Because of the weight, Ben, if you can pick up one of those, I’ll take you first and come back for Jacques and the other bag.” Tammy said.

Ben picked up one of the duffle bags, took a deep breath, then he took Tammy’s hand.

“Be right back.” Tammy told Carolyn and then whispered the apparition spell.

Before Carolyn could blink, they were gone. She took a breath and suddenly Tammy was standing in front of her again. “Wow. That really is fast.” Carolyn said.

“Yeah, I think Ben had to go be sick. I had enough of hearing someone throw up when my parents were sick.” Tammy said, looking slightly green. “Whew. Even I need to sit down for a minute. These quick round trips are hard on the tummy.”

Jacques came back into the living area carrying his coat, a pair of heavy snow shoes and a backpack. “Where did Ben go?” He asked.

“Tammy took him back to his cottage with one of your bags. There is a weight limit on this flight as to how many hand carries you are allowed.” Carolyn teased, causing them all to laugh.

“Well, then, I’ll leave the little bag for you and I’ll deal with this one because it is slightly heavier.” Jacques said.

“It’s not so much the weight, it’s more about the number of pieces. Too much swinging away from me, the harder it is to do it, especially if the part that’s farthest away from me is heavy. The most important thing is that you do not let go of my hand, no matter what.” Tammy instructed.

She wasn’t sure what would happen if he were to let go of her or the bag but she could guess that it wouldn’t be a good thing. She really must remember to ask Amelia or Lucinda the next time she sees them.

From what she remembered of the Harry Potter movie, the character Ron Weasley had nearly lost his arm when someone grabbed him just as he was apparating away. It was one of the biggest reasons that they were alone or around people they could trust.

“I’ll try to keep it as close to my body as I can.” Jacques said.

“Ready?” Tammy asked, then said. “Take a deep breath and hold on.” She saw Jacques inhale as she whispered the apparition spell and seconds later they were in Ben’s cabin. She needed to sit down for a moment before going back for Carolyn.

“Whew! I need to rest for a moment.” She said as she sat down heavily on a nearby chair. Maybe the weight has more to do with it than I thought, she thought to herself. This going back and forth and carrying the two heavy men and the bags was wiping her out and she still had two or maybe three more trips to make.

“Do you need something to drink?” Ben said, looking at her with concern.

“Some water, please.” Tammy said as she put her head between her knees. She felt light headed.

Ben handed her a glass of water and saw that her hand was shaking. “This is taking a lot out of you, isn’t it?”

“I’m not used to doing it this much so quickly. Usually it’s one way and then a chance to rest but I’ve made 4 trips in less than an hour so, yes, it’s taking a lot out of me.”

“Well, you rest for a few minutes and then go get Carolyn and take her home. You can come back for me tomorrow after you’ve had a chance to rest.” Ben said. He wasn’t looking forward to apparating again. He was sure that if he had to go again tonight he was going to be sick to his stomach.

“Maybe that would be best.” Tammy said. “Just give me a minute and I’ll be ok.”

“Hey, if you get there and need to stay for a while, just make yourself at home.” Jacques said.

“Oh, I’m sure Colin, not to mention her parents, would freak out if Carolyn was to just disappear. We didn’t let anyone know we were coming here. We wanted to surprise Colin and your wife.” Tammy admitted.

“Well, we can surprise them tomorrow.” Ben said. “I’m going to finish packing.”

Jacques wasn’t sure what he should do. He didn’t want to sit and just stare at her so he went into the kitchen and looked around. It felt strange to be rooting through their kitchen but since he was going to be staying here for a while, he figured he might as well find out where things were.

Carolyn was beginning to get worried about what was taking so long for them to come back. She tried to tell herself that Ben just needed time to pack what he wanted to take. Maybe Tammy had gone ahead and taken at least some of his luggage back to her place.

No she wouldn’t do that. She knew this was meant to be a surprise for Colin and Sarah. She had flipped through the only magazine she could find twice. Field and Stream had some nice wildlife pictures but none of it could hold her attention as the longer they were gone, the more worried she got.

She was becoming more and more certain that something had gone wrong but with the phone out and her cell phone having no reception, she had no way of calling anyone. “How do people manage to survive up here?”

She was extremely worried when almost an hour had passed and they had not returned but she didn’t know what to do. It was over 20 miles to the Outpost from what she remembered of the map they had looked at online and she wasn’t even sure what direction to go in. She had no idea how populated the area was and whether or not she might be seen if she transformed and tried to run there. The wind wasn’t blowing right now but she knew that could change at any moment.

She began to pace back and forth in front of the windows, barely taking her eyes off of them as she walked back and forth. She had barely noticed the sound of the clock ticking on the mantle over the fireplace when she had first arrived but now it sounded overly loud as every minute ticked away. The sound of a log falling in the fireplace caused her to jump and she nearly screamed when Tammy suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Good lord, you like to have scared me half to death! What in the world took so long? Where’s Ben? Did something go wrong?” She had to run her hand down Tammy’s arm to make sure she was real and alright.

Tammy had to sit down and take a few deep breaths before she could answer any of Carolyn’s questions. “First of all, I’m sorry for scaring you. And the only thing that is wrong is I didn’t count on how quickly I would get tired. I’ve barely slept the past few nights and haven’t been using my magic like I should lately and tonight I’ve been apparating heavy men and their equally heavy bags back and forth and I’m afraid it’s worn me out. I nearly passed out when I got there with Jacques. That bag he was carrying must have weighed close to a hundred pounds and he’s not exactly a small man. I’m going to have to come back for Ben tomorrow. I’m just too tired to do any more than get us home tonight and we’re going to have to wait a bit and give me a chance to rest before I can go any farther or we could end up getting hurt.”

“Oh goodness. I’m sorry Tammy. I was so excited to surprise Colin and Sarah that I didn’t even stop to think about how taxing this was going to be on you. I’m sorry if I treated you like a pack mule.” Carolyn said. “Can I get you anything? Do you want to lie down on the bed for a while?”

“A glass of water maybe but no to the bed. I think if I lay down now, I might go to sleep for the night.” Tammy said tiredly.

“What have you eaten today?” Carolyn asked. She knew Tammy well enough to know that when she was stressing out she tended to forget to eat.

“I don’t remember. I think I had a bagel this morning.” Tammy said guiltily.

Carolyn went into the kitchen and opened the icebox, not holding out much hope that she would find anything that she could cook for Tammy but was surprised when she found a couple of eggs and a half a loaf of bread. She hoped Jacques was not going to mind if she cooked them for Tammy. She set a frying pan on the stove and found some cooking oil on the shelf above the stove. She quickly fried up the eggs and toasted the bread. She couldn’t find any mayonnaise or butter so she left it open and put one egg on each piece of bread. She carried the plate of food into the living room and found Tammy with her feet up on the coffee table as she leaned on the arm rest of the sofa and she was dozing in front of the warm fire.

Carolyn hated to wake her up but she knew that if she let her fall fully asleep, they would be stuck there for the night. If she had left a note as to where they were going, she wouldn’t be so worried but no one but Ben and Jacques knew where they were and they were in no position to help them now.

“Here ya go! Jacques sure doesn’t keep much in the way of groceries and I hope he doesn’t mind if I used the last of his eggs but this is all I could find.” Carolyn said louder than she normally would as she tried to act like she didn’t know Tammy was snoozing.

Tammy looked up at her and sat forward as Carolyn put the plate down on the table where her feet had been. “Any chance there is any juice in there? I think I need some sugar in my system.” Tammy asked.

“Let me look. If not, I might be able to find some tea.” Carolyn said. She went back into the kitchen and found some orange juice in the ice box but it smelled tart as if it had gone bad. She did find some tea bags in one of the drawers and quickly set the tea kettle on to boil. She made them each a cup of tea and added extra sugar to Tammy’s cup.

“Here. The orange juice smelled like it had gone bad but I put an extra sugar in your tea. I don’t want to scold you, Tammy but you have got to take better care of yourself or I’m going to put you on vitamins with a heavy concentration of vitamin C.” Carolyn said.

“I know but I get so stressed out sometimes and I just don’t even think about eating and before I know it, I’m run down and so tired but geared up at the same time.” Tammy said.

“Well, I can’t have you getting sick when it’s getting so close to my wedding. I’m counting on you to be my maid of honor.” Carolyn said.

“I know and I’m sorry I haven’t been around more to help the way I should have been but now that my folks are gone, I plan on doing more. Tell me what still needs to be taken care of?” Tammy asked.

“Colin was over earlier and we went through the list. The expenses were getting out of hand and I’ve almost maxed out my credit cards paying for everything and was stressed out to the point I was snapping at him and probably everyone else too. We’ve decided to cancel the flowers except for our bouquets and the boutonnieres. We are going to collect the decoration flowers from around the mountain. That will cut down on the expenses some.” Carolyn told her.

“Why don’t you let me deal with that? You just tell me what you want and I’ll zap them into place. That way you won’t have to spend days trucking all over the mountain picking them and then trying to keep them fresh until they are needed.” Tammy said.

“Wow, thanks! That would be a tremendous help! I hadn’t even thought about how we were going to keep them fresh until we need them.” Carolyn smiled at her.

“Now what else?” Tammy asked and then shoveled another bite into her mouth. “Wow, I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“Well, how is the spreadsheet coming with the names and addresses?” Carolyn asked.

“Oh, I’m all done. That’s what I originally called you for was to tell you that I was all done and ready.” Tammy said. “I came up with two hundred and twelve entries.”

“Great. The invitations are supposed to be ready tomorrow. I’ll pick them up and if you can come over tomorrow night, I’ll let my mom and Mrs. Noble know and we can get together and stuff the envelopes and get them ready to mail. I’ve been dreading that part. I always get paper cuts everywhere.” Carolyn said as she watched Tammy finish the food she had prepared.

“Here, let me have that and I’ll wash it up. Feel better now?” Carolyn asked. Tammy’s coloring definitely looked better but she still looked tired.

“Yes. Thank you.” Tammy said and handed Carolyn the plate and fork. She settled back on the sofa with her cup of tea and stared into the fire as Carolyn carried the dishes into the kitchen. She could hear her moving around as she cleaned up.

“So, do you think you can get us home safely now?” Carolyn asked as she came back into the living room.

“Yeah, just let me use the restroom first and then I’ll be good to go.” She said as she stood up. She handed Carolyn her cup and then passed her to go down the hall in search of the bathroom.

She came back a few minutes later just as Carolyn came out of the kitchen. “There. Except for the missing food, he’ll never know I did anything there. I left him a note telling him we would replace the food when we bring the Noble’s home. I’ll bring him some fresh vegetables too. I bet that’s something he doesn’t get here often.”

Tammy held out her hand and Carolyn took a deep breath and took her hand. Within a few seconds they were back at her cottage. “Do you want to crash here tonight?”

“Might as well. Otherwise, I’d ask you to drive me home ’cause I don’t think I have another apparition in me and that’s how I came over.” Tammy said, as she tried to hide a yawn behind her hand.

“Sure. Go on to bed. I’m going to run my patrol but I won’t be gone long.” Carolyn said. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already after 10 pm.

She left by the back door, after making sure the front door was locked, and transformed as she jumped off the porch. She did her short patrol of just checking between her cottage and the creek. When she got back to the cottage, Tammy was already fast asleep so she quietly locked up before she went to get ready for bed.

She took a fast shower and changed into her nightgown and was just crawling into her bed when she realized that she had missed a text from Colin telling her goodnight and that he loved her. It had come while she was in the shower so she quickly answered him and then plugged her phone in and crawled into bed. She was tired too and quickly fell asleep with a smile on her face.

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