Melanie, a Fenrir, Magic, and Light.

So here are the next two chapters of Melanie's adventure. This is the original rough draft so keep that in mind. Melanie has a lot to do with Norse tales and I try to keep her magic light and fun. I hope you enjoy these chapters as much as you all have enjoyed the previous ones. Her adventure continues!!

Chapter 27

Melanie went to pick Lucious up from school. He ran into her arms. He resembled his father so much. She held him tight and he wiggled saying “Mom let go!” Melanie snuggled tighter, tickled him, and put him back down. She loved holding him, but he was going to be four soon and he said he was getting too old for that. On the walk home, Lucious told her all about his day. He told her about art and music. She loved that he loved music like his dad did. He bounded into their home and he noticed all the mistletoe. He did not remember seeing it from last year so she explained what it was for. He began to run from one doorway to another yelling “Catch me and kiss me!” Melanie laughed and chased him a little while. They both fell pooped onto the couch. Melanie had cleaned up the entire place so that Lucious did not know they were violated. She did not need her little man feeling threatened in his home. She put on the Christmas music again and they danced and giggled for a while. Then the doorbell rang and dread leaped onto Melanie’s face. Lucious was behind her so he did not see, but he ran for the door to see who it was. Melanie had told him repeatedly never to open the door for anyone. Then a knock and grandma calling out “Is anyone going to let me in or I am just standing out here with all this food and eating it myself?” Lucious and Melanie tore open the door and let her in. She went straight to the counter to place the bags on it and instantly could smell the lavender mixture Melanie had made. She stopped for a second, took in why he daughter had done a mixture and nodded at her as in agreement. Melanie hugged her mom and told her not to worry.  Lucious tried to tear at the bags of food because he was hungry. Melanie teased him and said, “When are you NOT hungry?” They both laughed and grandma placed all the food out. She said I thought we would try Mexican today. She placed out burritos, tacos, Mexican rice, queso, and chips. Lucious looked curiously at the food, but he was game. Grandma made everyone a plate and they all took a stool at the counter and ate. There was a dining room table, but since the first time grandma showed up with the food they all ate like this. Three generations eating at the counter together.

After dinner, they talked about holidays past. They told Lucious about his dad and how his dad did the holidays growing up. Lucious proudly smiled and said I wanna be just like dad. Lucious starting singing along to the Christmas CD but had no idea what the words were. It made Melanie feel happy. After Melanie and her mom got Lucious bathed and into bed with three bedtime stories about his dad, they went into the living room to talk. Melanie told her mom about her seeing a shadow and worrying. She asked if Gerd was secure in the realm they placed her. Her mother assured her no one has ever come back from there. She told her about the mistletoe and love and how she was going to stop seeing Ryan for a while. Melanie’s mom just nodded and supported her. Melanie felt the need to protect herself and her family and with one man dying, another in jail, she was pushing the third one away. All Melanie’s mom could do was agreeing even though her heart was breaking for her daughter. 

After they watched some TV Melanie’s mom said she needed to head home. She glanced at the birdcage and asked if it had been ok. Melanie nodded. Her mom took her in her arms and hugged her. Theirs were not an easy life, but with family, it made it so much better. They both let go and Melanie locked the door after her mom went out. Melanie turned around, glanced at her home, turned out all the lights, and sat on the couch just watching the fire. She genuinely missed her fiancé. They would be happy with just the three of them locked up for Christmas. Melanie could hear her heartbreaking further and she knew she was in deep despair over his death. His passing had haunted her for years. She wanted to bring him back, she wanted to die with him, and she was lost in a continuing wave of grief with no way to escape the current. Maybe the shadow she had seen was her own misery and not something from the Dark Realm after all. She lay down to sleep on the couch, she pulled a blanket over her, her lavender pillow on her eyes, and then she slept deeply.

Chapter 28 Fenrir

Six months later things were dark. Melanie and her mom had seen more shadows, felt more chills, and detected something evil was about to come to a head. Haunting music played through the witch’s life. It was a soundtrack of evil, darkness, and a continuous chasing of demons, or being chased by them. Their nerves were always alert, even when they tried to relax. The birdcage had spewed out a continuous array of items from the dark realm. Melanie tried a purification spell on it, but it still did not work. The birdcage was only for wishes and Melanie tried to wish the darkness away. The birdcage spits out her wish like it was poison on its tongue. The birdcage had gone dark and was now working for the other side. 

Melanie and her mom met regularly to discuss who saw and felt what. Neither left any minute detail out. Melanie’s mom had said she checked on Gerd and she was still in a suspended state in another realm. She was not underfoot here. All the minions had been vanquished by now, so who? Melanie and her mom were discussing this and Griffin, Melanie’s cat, rubbed Melanie’s let. Melanie wondered if he knew something, so she bent down to pet him, asked him, and he purred. He then began to speak, Melanie should have been surprised but knowing he was a Griffin in a cat’s body, nothing surprised her anymore. He told her of an old lore about Fenrir. That he would one day break the ribbon that bound him and he would finish off humanity. The lore spoke of the Fenrir devouring the witches first so that the destruction of mankind would be easier for him to achieve. As far as Griffin knew he was still in captivity, but he had an ill feeling that the Fenrir would be coming through the birdcage. That he thought it was using it as a portal to her world and if it succeeded her and her mother needed all the help they could get in surviving his attack. 

Melanie and her mom filled their homes with heather, eucalyptus, and other herbs for protection. They worked on spells to destroy the Fenrir when and if he appeared. They conjured up elixirs for healing so they could be stronger when they struck the Fenrir because they knew it would fight back. Lucious did not know what they knew about what was happening and coming, but he knew something was up. He began taking his mom’s herbs when she was not looking. He began his own spells in his room. He was four, but he was a powerful witch. His gift of light illuminated the dark and he was sure he could handle this Fenrir himself. He was such an intelligent young man in so many aspects, but in others, he was still naïve. He mixed basil with fennel to concoct a combination of courage. He and his family, he felt, we're going to need it. Since their defeat of Gerd, they have all been second-guessing their powers and now more than ever with the loss of grandma they were undecided to summon more witches into this battle or not. 

Both generations Mother and daughter, and daughter and son were busy mixing and assembling new spells, new tinctures without telling the other. Grandmother kept the family united and though they tried to work together there was still a noticeable tear in the family cohesion. They were going to have to repair their disbeliefs in each other and trust they were still as strong without grandma or the human race was doomed. Melanie called her mother and asked her to come over. She had noticed her herbs going missing, so once her mother arrived she summoned Lucious from his bedroom. She gathered them to speak of their future. They were three generations of Kellyn’s and they needed to repair the rip grandma’s death had made. She knew both were up to spells and tinctures alone and she told them both it had to stop. They needed to collectively assemble and pour them spirits into their spells together. No one spell by one person alone would stop this imminent attack. They all could feel it coming. More shadows have been haunting them, more spirits being awoken from beyond the dark realm, and they needed to be ready. Both Melanie’s mother and her son agreed. They went to get what they had been working on and gathered later that day for dinner, spells, and working their Kellyn magic together.

As they ate they told each other what they thought would work best. Lucious said he had been working on courage for them all. They both hugged him. He was going to be a great witch one day. They talked about how they attacked Gerd and how they joined hands to let the powers flow through them. Melanie was not sure about Lucious being involved in this, she did not want to lose her son too, but she knew he was the only real reason they defeated Gerd and she knew if she told him no, he would do it anyways. They agreed it had to be all three of them, but they would need some backup. They asked Penelope to help, and Penelope said her whole family would help then Penelope called her girlfriends who were witches too and everyone said yes! The dark power was strong. A Fenrir is born of Gods and would require many witch bloodlines uniting. Melanie was thankful for her friends and family who would forge their powers together to demolish the dark God. 

Thanks for reading :D

your storyteller/poet

xoxo

Debbie