I thought I'd post more of Enchantress, since y'all gave me such positive feedback on the prologue. (And thank you so much, by the way!) Now, please note, this has not been edited yet, so there are sure to be typos, and I know for a fact that there a few threads started here that I accidentally drop in later chapters. Please forgive me for that, and I hope you enjoy it. Don't forget to give me your honest feedback! If after reading the prologue you were disappointed by this chapter, please let me know. I appreciate your thoughts on it!
Chapter 1
It was only after Everlyse had the dream the third time that she woke up. Three times she had thought she had heard a knock at the back door, and had got up to open it. But right as she opened it, the vision disappeared, and she was back in bed again, hearing the knocking.
She knew when she awoke for real because there was no sound of knocking – just plain silence. She lay huddled under the covers for a full minute, staring at the ceiling, just trying to reassure herself that this wasn’t another dream. She was about to go back to sleep, when for an instant she became fully awake and her mind cleared. Of course, she should have known – a dream repeated three times could not be an ordinary dream.
Everlyse rose, wrapped herself in the old green jacket that she had draped over the back of her desk chair, and quietly tip-toed through the house to the back door. She paused as she rested her hand on the knob, thinking of how foolish it was to act upon a dream, but then reassured herself that if there was nothing there, she could just go back to bed and forget about it.
She opened the door, and at first the dark figure outlined against the stars made her jump in surprise. She took a step backwards in surprise, nearly falling down the stairs at her back, before she realized who it was.
The young man in the black cloak bent so that he could speak through the screen. “It’s Andrew,” he said. “Can I come in?”
Everlyse was puzzled, but she saw he was shivering and opened the door. He stumbled in, nearly collapsing in a heap on the floor, and started rubbing and blowing on his fingers.
“Please, shut the door – my hands are nearly frozen,” he whispered. He shivered, and then sighed. “Oh, it’s so warm in here. Thank you.”
Everlyse silently continued to watch him rub his hands together for another minute, sizing him up, before she spoke.
“Andrew, what are you doing here?” she asked in an irritated whisper. “It’s the middle of the night, for pete’s sake! You, a grown man, would come here in the middle of the night to visit me, a teenage girl? Methinks I shouldn’t have let you in!”
Andrew winced. “I know,” he said. “I knew you would say that, and I am sorry. I didn’t want to come, but I ran into some trouble.... and I was wondering if you could help me.”
It was only then that Everlyse noticed the blue bruise on his left cheek. Instantly, her tone changed. “What happened to you?” she asked, concerned. “You didn’t get yourself into trouble, did you?”
Andrew shook his head. “Not exactly,” he said. “Just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and run into the wrong kind of people. Don’t worry, they didn’t hurt me too bad or take anything from me – magic is helpful in that regard. But they did manage to give me a few scrapes before I got away.” He sighed. “I guess the inner city is just not the place for me.”
“Inner city! What on earth were you doing there?” Everlyse asked in surprise.
Andrew lowered his head a little bit. “If you want to know, I was playing a bit of a prank. But it cost me, and I won’t do it again, I swear. At least, not the exact same thing.”
Everlyse shook her head. “Andrew, you are your own worst enemy, aren’t you?” she sighed. “Now, what do you need help with?”
Andrew pushed up the sleeve of his coat to his shoulder. “This,” he said. “I need you to bandage it up, if you could.”
Everlyse couldn’t see very clearly, but what she did see was a long, dark streak running down his upper arm. “Dear me,” she whispered. “You did get in a bad straight, didn’t you?”
Suddenly, the kitchen light was flipped on. “What is going on?” a deep voice asked suspiciously. Everlyse turned to see her father standing in the doorway of the kitchen, his arms folded, a half-angered, half-worried look on his face. He stared at Andrew. “What are you doing here?” he growled. “Don’t you know it’s indecent to go visiting teenage girls in the middle of the night?! What are you doing?”
Andrew’s face went white, and his attitude instantly became repentant. “I am most sorry, sir,” he stammered. “It’s really not what it seems, and I didn’t want to....” he scrambled, at a loss for words.
Everlyse walked over to her father. “He got beat up, Dad. He just wants me to bandage up his cut.” She looked over at Andrew’s arm, and gasped in horror. “Oh Andrew,” she cried. “It is bad! If it’s as deep as it looks, we need to take you to the hospital!” She went up to him and reached for his arm, as if to search the wound.”
“It’s nothing,” Andrew protested. “I – please don’t touch it.” He pivoted on his foot so as to be out of her reach. “You really don’t need to go to all that trouble for me. Just put a bandage on it, and it’ll be alright.”
Everlyse’s father still looked suspicious, but his face had softened. “Young man, that wound is worse than you think,” he said gravely. “We really ought to get you to a hospital. Something as large as that could easily get infected, especially since you got it in a fight. How did you end up in a brawl like that?”
“No fault of mine,” Andrew said in defense. “Downtown is not exactly a nice place.”
“And you walked all the way here?” Everlyse asked, shocked. “Andrew, don’t you know to use a phone when you’re in trouble?”
Andrew pressed his lips together. “Phones work fine,” he said. “But they’re expensive these days, you know. Besides, I’m used to walking.”
Both Everlyse and her father stared at the young magician. “You’re broke, aren’t you?” Everlyse said.
“Same as always,” Andrew said mournfully. “Being a street performer doesn’t pay as well as it used to. People have computers and movies, and they don’t need wonders. They have mp3 players, and they don’t need music. It’s shameful the way the world has gone.”
“Why not get a job?” Everlyse’s father asked, as if stating the obvious. “If you would work, then you would have money to support yourself, and you wouldn’t get in such deep trouble.”
“I know.” Andrew sighed. “But I’m afraid of being trapped behind a counter or a desk, and besides, I have more important work to do.” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled shyly. “It doesn’t pay in money, but it has a chance of giving the world a future it won’t have otherwise.”
Everlyse’s father nodded gravely. “I understand,” he said. His face became concerned suddenly. “Sit down, please, before you fall down! What a fool I am to keep you standing while you’re wounded.”
Andrew smiled gratefully and sank into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.
“Now,” the father directed, “get some peroxide, Everlyse, and the first aid kit. If this man wishes to risk getting an infection by staying out of the emergency, then I won’t get in his way. But the least we can do is bind it up.”
Everlyse ran to do as she was bid, and was back in a minute with the requested objects. She found her father bending over Andrew’s chair, inspecting the wound with his fingers while the magician looked the other way and try not to flinch or cry out.
The girl set down the things she was carrying on the kitchen table and looked at her father. “If you would like,” she began, “I could try…”
Her father looked up at her, as did Andrew. “Do you think you could?” he asked. “Or would that tax you too much?”
Everlyse hesitate. “I don’t know if I could heal the whole thing,” she said. “But I think I could help it along.” She thought for another minute, and then shook her head. “No, not the whole thing. I haven’t been at my full strength ever since two days ago, when I… but never mind that. It’s not important.”
Everlyse’s father nodded. “I’ll clean the wound and bandage it, and after that you can do as much as you feel inclined to do.”
He proceeded to do just that. Andrew looked away during the whole procedure, and to distract him Everlyse pulled up a chair and sat where he could look at her easily and converse with her.
“This isn’t the only reason I came to you, you know,” he said. “I found something important out today, and I thought I should tell you.”
“Really?” Everlyse leaned forward. “What is it?”
Andrew licked his lips nervously and looked around. “I don’t think I should tell you here, or now. Not that I want to keep you out of the secret, Mr. Hannigan, but….I’m sure Everlyse has told you the importance of secrecy in this matter.”
“Yes,” Everlyse’s father said. “She has.”
“Oh,” Everlyse’s eyes went wide. “You mean…”
Andrew nodded. “Yes, news of that nature.”
“Oh,” Everlyse said slowly. “Not bad, I hope.”
Andrew bit his lips and didn’t reply. His knowing gaze was suddenly interrupted as he winced with pain and gave a small cry.
“There,” Mr. Hannigan said. “I’ve finished wrapping the bandage. Now I leave you to work you magic, Everlyse.”
Everlyse rose and took her father’s place beside Andrew.
“Now remember,” she said. “No guarantees.”
She wrapped her fingers around the bandage and closed her eyes in concentration. After a minute, she released her hands and looked up at Andrew.
“There. That’s about half of it, but I can’t go farther. Does it feel better?”
“Yes.” Andrew smiled. “Thank you, Enchantress.”
Everlyse smiled back at him, and then looked concerned. Without speaking, she rose, went over to the cabinet, and pulled out a bagel. With Andrew looking on hungrily, she toasted it, covered it in a thick layer of cream cheese, and then set it before him.
“There,” she said, “Eat it. I know you’re hungry.”
Andrew looked up at her, his large, pale-blue eyes full of gratefulness, and then dived into the bagel, relishing it as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
Everlyse would have been content to watch him eat it, but she saw her father looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and when she looked at him he motioned her into the adjacent room. Everlyse followed him, and they moved to the far end of the room where Andrew would be less likely to hear them.
“What is it?” Everlyse asked.
Her father glanced toward the kitchen to make sure Andrew was still busy eating. “What do you think we should do with him now?” he asked. “Does he have a place to stay?”
“No,” Everlyse said. “Not that I know of. If we let him go, he’ll probably end up sleeping underneath some tree.” She bit her lip. “I don’t know. What do you think we should do?”
“With that arm of his, I don’t want him sleeping out in the open,” her father replied. “I’m inclined to let him stay here for the night – but I’m not sure if that would be a wise decision.”
“Just for tonight,” Everlyse said. “He could sleep in the basement on one of the old couches. He would be content to sleep on the floor.”
Her father nodded. “All right, then.” He sighed. “I don’t completely trust him, Everlyse – as I could never completely trust any young man who comes to our house in the middle of the night asking for shelter – but I am inclined to think that, despite his strange habits, he is honorable.”
“He is,” Everlyse said. “He just hasn’t gotten used to the world. It’s always going just a little too fast for him, and yet in some ways he’s always a step ahead of it.” She shook her head. “At least he came to us for help this time, instead of trying to bear it all by himself. He’s done that before, and sometimes it’s nearly cost him his life.”
“Yes,” her father nodded. “How did you know to get up to open the door for him? I didn’t hear anything, and you know how lightly I sleep.”
Everlyse smiled, her eyes thoughtful. “He used his magic to influence my dreams. He talked about trying that trick before, but I’ve never actually seen him use it until now. It was quite interesting.”
“Hmmm. Interesting.” Her father looked like he had more to say on the subject, but he kept silent. “For tonight, then – or what’s left of it.” He glanced at the clock, which read 1:30 am. “We’ll send him on his way in the morning.”
Everlyse nodded. “I’ll go offer that to him now.”
**Note: As my story is still in the making, all names, places, and events may be subject to change.** Copyright 2008 Cherise A. Do not reproduce at all without my express permission. If you like what I do, you can link to me instead. | 
