Loctresses

After being thrown into another world, Bailey learns she and her cousins are Loctresses and must defeat an ancient evil with 12 mystical charms scattered across the 12 realms of Restoldor.

                                    Prologue

“YOU WHAT?!" Esmeralda yelled at Jackson, “How could you have lost the charms, when you know how vital they are to our survival?"

“Sorry, but I had several Exons on my tail and I haven't exactly been the best with fighting them since the incident." Jackson apologized, “But we didn't lose them all." The boy began rummaging through his worn brown bag and soon emerged with a necklace in his hand. “See?"

Jackson offered the necklace to his superior. Esmeralda stared at it: a red gear outlined in gold with the darker shade of red serving as the backdrop.

She let out a sigh, saying, “I suppose it's better than nothing." She extended her hand towards the charm, but it retracted, flying out of the young Warrick's palm.

“Why did that charm just fly out of your hand?" The queen asked, pointing to the distant charm that situated itself on the far side of the room and was trying to escape, banging itself on the wall.

“Could it be possible that the Time Charm found the Loctress it belongs to?" Jackson asked.

“Loctress..." Esmeralda murmured to herself, getting an idea. “Jackson, please tell me you're thinking what I'm thinking." The queen said.

“We have the charm lead us straight to the Loctress."

“Exactly!" Esmeralda chanted, "Release this charm from our grasp and to the Loctress near, reveal the holder of ancient power and descendant of Capstone Deer." Esmeralda shot a purple orb at the charm, which spun around quickly before shooting through the wall, leaving a portal in its place.

The queen of Restoldor and the young Warrick in training shared a look. “Ready to meet our Loctress?" Esmeralda asked, her eyes staying on the portal ahead.

“Ready as I'll ever be." Jackson answered before stepping up to the translucent portal and peering inside. He saw two girls, one with brown hair and the other with blonde hair, walking by. He noticed a changing aura around the brunette that always seemed to stay in the blue part of the spectrum, while being red, (but acting the same as the blue), for the blonde. The brown haired one looked directly at the portal and at Jackson, while her friend paid it no mind. The brunette's eyes then glowed blue and Jackson fell back through the portal in shock.

He looks at Esmerelda, who asks, "Jackson, what did you see?"

"Loctresses." He answered.

Loctresses Unlocked

      “And you’re sure you saw two Loctresses?” Esmeralda asked, walking with Jackson through the underground tunnels.

      “Yes.” He answered shortly.

      “Two, not one?”

      “I’m telling you exactly what I saw: the auras around the girls were changing, but they always stayed around either blue or red. I may be new at the whole ‘Warrick’ thing, but I certainly know how to read auras and sense divine power.”

      “The charm, where’d it go?”

      “I can only assume it went to one of them.” Jackson stopped and Esmeralda stopped. They grabbed onto a heavy, metal door and closed their eyes, as the door began to glow a mixture of violet and green. A hole was soon bore into it where their hands were and a box and book floated out of the hole. Esmeralda grabbed the box, while Jackson grabbed the book.

      The queen waved her hand and they disappeared in a violet puff of smoke. They suddenly reappeared back at the portal, where Jackson began flipping through the book, while his superior took a seat and opened up the box, which had placeholders for 12 necklaces, although they all only had the outlines of the charms in the placeholders. Esmeralda looked over to Jackson. “And you’re 100% sure that those were the Loctresses?”

      “Absolutely. No mortal’s aura can change like that, but still stay in one specific color of the spectrum; it’s always changing to a different color. I’d bet my life on it.”

      “I’m glad that you feel that way,” Esmeralda said, standing with the box, “because you’re the one that’s going to find them.”

      “Me?”

      “Yes Jackson, you’re getting our Loctresses here.”

      “Are you sure you don’t want to send someone with more experience? I mean, I’ve only been to earth once, how could I possibly know how to find them?”

      “Aura sensing.” Esmeralda answered simply.

      “But why me?”

      “Because you need the experience and you are part mortal and a teenager, so you can relate to them and get closer than I can.” She telekinetically brought his bag into her hand. She put the box and book in it before handing it to him. “You need to find them and bring them back here immediately; there’s no telling what she’s probably planning right now.” They began walking to the portal, as Esmeralda continued informing Jackson. “Remember: earth time is different from ours by 10 hours. It’s…” She checked her watch, “10:15 P.M. here, 7:15 A.M. on earth. Do whatever you can to bring them here, but don’t reveal yourself until you’re successfully through the portal with them; mortals tend to get all panicky whenever magic’s involved.”

      “But what if the Exxons or worse come after us before I get through? You know I can’t fight anyone magical right now.”

      “That’s just a risk we’re gonna have to take. Find them, find the charm and then get back here; I can’t have my son die on me.”

      Jackson nodded once, determination written on his face. He grabbed the bag and put one strap over his shoulder before turning to the swirling portal. He began to walk through it, when he stopped and faced his mother again. “Don’t worry mom, I’ll be alright; I’ll get our Loctresses back here and together, we will stop Phoebe!” Jackson walks through the portal, which closes behind him, vanishing in a flash of blue light.

       “Jackson, I hope you’re right about this because we’re running out of time.”

      Jackson jumped out of the portal, landing on the sidewalk. He looked around at the urban city of New York, when he suddenly heard beeping and looked forward to see a kid on a bike barreling towards him at full speed. He quickly jumped down to the ground, the biker whizzing past along with the words, “Watch where you’re going!”

      Jackson stood slowly, panting; he was definitely not expecting that. He was looking around the now desolate city block, when he sensed something that stopped him in his tracks; it was an enormous surge of power and in the distance, Jackson could just barely make out an aura. He slowly began walking towards it like someone caught under a spell or being hypnotized. “Could it be one of the Loctresses?” He thought, walking further and further along.

      The closer Jackson got, the more the aura surged in strength and power; it was clear in his mind now that it could be no one else except for a Loctress. Even though he had never sensed a Loctress’ aura (simply seeing the aura and sensing it now being established as two different things), the power radiating off the body was so strong that he could sense it from 3 city blocks; based off of that and what his mom had taught him when she was training him in the “Ways of the Warrick”, no magical being’s aura had been able to really enhance the powers and give more vigor to and of the people in the surrounding area, something that was happening to him; his powers skyrocketed so much that his forever green aura started radiating off him in little wisps, practically shooting of out his pores before vanishing and appearing elsewhere.

      Jackson had finally reached the aura and tapped the shoulder of the person it glowed off of. She turned around, her wavy light brown hair lightly smacking him in the face before he was met with the deepest green eyes he’d ever seen. Her face was like that of an angel; to Jackson, it seemed like something that the Greeks would’ve considered what they had been sculpting in real life; as a matter of fact, it possibly would’ve made Romeo lose interest in Juliet and fall in love her instead. Her eyes twinkled in the light of the lampposts around them; her delicate white skin and brown hair were engulfed in a dazzling display of orange-yellow and changing shades of blue, her aura mixing with the sunrise. The moment she spoke, Jackson could’ve sworn he heard an angel’s choir; her voice so smooth and even, so soft and yet so husky and oh so rhythmic.

      “Hello, are you there?” The girl asked, waving her hand in front of the love-struck Warrick.

      “Huh?” He asked, seemingly back on this earth.

      “I asked what your name was, you didn’t hear me?”

      “My name’s Jackson,” He introduced, going in for a handshake. “Jackson Harsted.”

      She accepted, saying, “Bailey Cuspin, nice to meet you. Uh, are you new here?”

      The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “You could say that…”

      “Well, are you enrolled in the school downtown?”

      “Uh…” Jackson opened up his bag, pretending to rummage through it, while secretly grabbing a blank sheet of paper and non-verbally casting a spell, shooting a green beam at the paper, transforming it to look like a school schedule. He pulled it out of his bag and said, “Yup.”

He showed her the schedule and after a few minutes, she said, “Well in that case, we can just walk there together.”

      Jackson smiled. “Great.” He said, letting Bailey lead the way.

…

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