Good Fortune

Year 1020

"Give me the stone Eloise!" Her daughter, Lacey shouted.

"No!" Eloise said firmly. "It wouldn't be right. Part of you has to know that. Part of you has to know that this is wrong!" She pleaded. Her cloak rustled the brown leaves that covered the ground as she positioned herself into a more steadfast stance. Her staff standing firmly in front of her, ready to counter any challenger.

Lacey, the ringleader of the coven's trouble, had been persuaded to the wrong side by a small faction of the coven. Eloise tried to win her back, but eventually succumbed to the fact that her daughter was what she had hoped she wouldn't be.

"Lacey, please." Eloise addressed her carefully, trying not to anger her further. "If not for me, then for Janice and your great-granddaughter."

"No." Lacey paused with hesitation. "You're not going to do this now, it's too late, guilt trips never stopped me before and they won't now."

"Well, I'm tired of running, Lacey, this has to end right here! Tonight!" 

"Precisely, mother. With or without the stone I become High Witch. So either give me the stone and leave here peacefully, never to return again, or, I kill you and take it."

"Okay, Lacey, you can have the stone." Eloise slowly reached into her cloak and produced the bright, lime green engraved stone. She observed it reminiscently. "You know, when you were younger and I told you it was our duty to protect the stone of Good Fortune, you were so ecstatic to be part of something bigger than you and…"

"Enough! Give me the stone, now!"

"All right... All right!" Eloise held out the stone. Lacey approached, sneering, and when she was close enough, Eloise quickly threw the stone toward the treetops, raised her staff, and forcefully and confidently shouted, "Novem fragmentum!" The stone shattered into nine pieces, all of which instantaneously darted off in different directions.

Staring her mother dead in the eye, Lacey's face flushed red with anger. 

"Did you really think I was going to let you destroy the wholesomeness of magic, and the long-standing beliefs of the coven that easily! I'd gladly die before I let that happen, even at the hands of my own daughter."

Eloise knew what was about to happen, she didn't care though, she knew her time had come, no amount of fighting could change what was going to happen. 

Lacey took a few steps back, raised her staff, aimed it at her mother's chest and calmly uttered, "Mortem dolor!" She watched satisfactorily as her mother writhed in pain before passing.

As Lacey walked through the dense woods, her anger turned to disgust. Upon arriving at the coven house Gabriella, her daughter, revealed that a few families had fled, the Coopers, a prominent and well-respected family of the coven, being one of them.

Year 2020

Jim put on his good luck charm necklace and studied the tree engraved on the round, bright-lime green stone before tucking it into the undershirt of his tuxedo. Given to him by his deceased dad when he was 10, he could always be seen wearing it, up until about 15, when he met his wife Agnes. Now, he only wore it when he felt he really needed it and today was one of those days, he had an interview for a big promotion at work.

Bzz bzz bzz

"Call from Agnes" the robotic voice announced. 

Stuck in typical morning traffic he had no problem answering the call. "Hey hun, what's up?" He answered coyly. 

"Just wanted to let you know that a couple packages from your uncle arrived." His mom had passed a month ago and his uncle must have finally gone through her attic. "I'm going to put them in your study. Please take them to the attic later."

"No problem. Have a good day at work, I'll see you in time for dinner. I love you." 

"Okay, sounds good, I love you too."

'What in the world was that all about?' Jim thought on his way home. Having had a good interview, about which he wasn't surprised, he was perplexed about the burning sensation he felt from the stone during the interview.

After changing his clothes and taking off his good luck charm, he made space in his study to go through his parents' things. A few smaller boxes were full of his mother's collectible porcelain dolls, and a large box had some of his father's model cars, a hobby he had taken up when he retired. Jim, his two brothers and their Uncle were gifted them in his dad's will. A couple boxes had various papers in them, receipts, letters from Friends, artwork from his brothers and his childhood, etc. However, the most peculiar item was an old diary of his mother's.

When he began reading the diary, the first entry of which was dated back to his mother's teenage years, he thought it was either a joke or a story his mother had made up. 

"What the hell? Witches, wizards, spells, sacrifices?!" He proclaimed out loud to himself.

"Shit!" In the middle of one of the pages there was a drawing of a stone with eight stars surrounding a tree, identical to that of the tree engraved on his good luck charm. "This is real! What was my mother into?!"

'The stone of Good Fortune' the page was titled. 

'This precious, one of its kind, Stone grants the holder Good Fortune when it is most desired. The stone must be in the holders' possession in order to function. There are no rules of ownership, whoever has current possession of it will benefit from its magic, guard it carefully!' Read the top portion of the page, above the drawing.

Below the drawing were warnings.

'The sisters of the coven have sworn to protect the stone of Good Fortune and keep its origins and whereabouts a secret. Divide the stone if it is believed that its power will be abused. If divided, each piece will still grant good fortune, but not as powerfully as the stone as a whole. If pieces are brought back together, each piece, regardless of distance apart, shall emanate heat, indicating an increase in its magical ability.'

Jim sat in shock and awe at what he had just read before going to his bedroom, where he moved the stone from its place in his sock drawer to a lock box that only he had access to. 

'If someone is putting the stone back together I have to keep it safe, out of the eyes of the public, until I can figure out what to do with it next.' He thought.

He went back to his study and continued reading the diary. There were five other stones; the stones of destruction, well-being, youth, life and death. 

'Where were these stones and why would anybody want to make objects that so blatantly go against the natural order of things?' He wondered silently.

His stomach began to churn after reading about how the coven would sacrifice the fathers of their unborn children, as a way to ensure the child would be born female.

"Wow!" He exclaimed to himself in disbelief, as he placed the diary on his desk. "One more page. I don't know how much more of this I can take." 

He took a sip of water and turned the page. 

One single word, scribbled in bold, centered on the page read 'FAMILIES'.

The next page was titled 'The Johnsons'. It detailed the members of the family and who was and wasn't affiliated with the coven and their roles. The places they lived, their jobs, almost every detail of them and their lives. He began turning the pages quickly, searching for his last name, 'Carrington'. 

Apparently at some point in time the coven stopped sacrificing men because fathers and sons were listed as being part of the coven.

"Rogers', Williams', Craig's, Aberdeen's" he continued frantically "Morgan's, Cortez's, Carr…" His speech slowed before pausing. 

'Carrington' it read ominously.

He couldn't believe how detailed the information was, from his mother's maiden name to details about his brothers and his births, as well as details about the members of his dad's side of the family. He checked the affiliations of his brothers, him and his parents.

Sherry Carrington (his mom): High   Witches 3rd assistant.

Charles Carrington (his father):   Sherry's husband, aware of the coven but unaffiliated

His brothers and him were all listed as his mom's sons with no awareness or affiliation.

Confused, Jim went to close the diary, but stopped halfway when a small side note, within the cluster of side notes, on his family's page, caught his attention.

Shaun and Alice Carrington (his grandparents) in conjunction with Liza and James Cooper, agree to be the first sworn leaders of the 6th sub coven. 

He turned the page and the next family was indeed the Coopers, and listed as Liza's granddaughter, with affiliation, as low witch, was Agnes.

Clink, clank, clung

Agnes was struggling to open the door. When she entered, a whiff of Chinese takeout caused her stomach to grumble. 

"Hey Jim, how did the interview go?" She called out as she made her way to the bedroom. She peered into his study on the way, 'Good, he put those boxes away' she thought. 

"Well," said Jim as she entered. He was in their private bathroom washing up to eat. "I think I will probably get the promotion." He looked at her and smiled big. "Get changed and let's eat! I'm starving! I will wait for you." 

"So what was in your parents' things?" Asked Agnes before taking a bite of orange chicken. 

"Not too much. My mom's porcelain dolls, my dad's model cars, old receipts, artwork from my brothers and I from when we were little, nothing too important really." He said casually.

"Well at least you have something of theirs as keepsake."

"Yes. It is nice to have a piece of them here."

A few days later, on his day off, Jim dropped off Agnes at the dentist office where she worked part-time as a receptionist. He walked her in and gave her a kiss bye. After having read his mom's diary, and now knowing what he did about Agnes, he was skeptical of the place, especially considering that the majority of the staff were female. Planning to talk to Agnes about it tonight, he let his worries go. 

"Good morning Agnes!" Said Gina, one of the nurses. 

"Good morning Gina! Has Isabella arrived yet?" 

"Yeah, she is in her office reviewing today's patients." 

"Thanks."

Agnes placed her belongings at the receptionist desk and headed towards Isabella's office. Agnes closed the door as she entered. "He has the diary now too, but I'm still not sure if he knows. Everything was in the Attic by the time I got home the other day and he acted normal."

Isabella stared blankly at the wall for a moment before locking eyes with Agnes, "Don't worry, I have a plan." She stated firmly and confidently. 

Bzzz bzzz 

Jim peered at his phone on the counter next to the stove where he was cooking. 

'Hey babe, I'm bringing Isabella over for dinner tonight, hope it's not too late.' read the text. 

Jim's anxiety suddenly skyrocketed. He never really liked Isabella that much, and it wasn't like Agnes to make sudden plan changes. Sensing something was very off, he put some more noodles in the almost boiling pot, then went to the bedroom to put on the stone of Good Fortune. 

"Good evening Isabella, please make yourself comfortable while I finish up dinner and set the table." Jim said, welcomingly, as he opened the door for Isabella and his wife. 

Isabella and Agnes sat in the living room chatting and watching the news as Jim set the table.

"What a beautiful Rock!" Exclaimed Isabella inquisitively. 

"I love the lime green color!" Said Agnes enthusiastically. "Actually, Jim, it looks the same color as your stone, and it too is engraved but with a star!" 

"Turn it up, turn it up!" Jim demanded excitedly, rushing into the living room. 

"Now, for some positive news!" The female newscaster announced in that cheerfully annoying way, to try and keep viewers hooked after the real news is over. "A young boy has found a peculiar lime green stone, engraved with a star! Mark has the story for us now, Mark over to you!" She finished with her fake smile and cheerful tone.

"Yes, Regina, thank you. I'm here with a young man who says that after he found this stone," the boy held the stone up as the cameraman focused on it, "good things seemed to occur whenever he had it with him. Young man, could you tell us more about your discovery?" Mark asked as he forced the microphone in the boy's face. 

"Umm...yeah." The boy's cheeks turned bright red as he suddenly became camera shy. His mom, who was standing next to him, placed her arm around him and indistinctly reassured him. This eased him up just enough to tell his story. "Well, I was walking my dog brownie, in the woods, when I saw something shiny on the ground. I uhh… thought it was kinda weird because I walk here a lot so I thought I woulda seen it before. Then the day after I found it, yesterday, I  uhh… just had a lot of good stuff happen to me like, umm... I found a dollar on the ground, umm… the guy at the candy shop gave me my candy for free. He never does that because,' the boy paused to chuckle, 'he's kinda old and cranky. Oh... Man, I don't know why I said that, now he won't let me buy candy again."

"It's okay kiddo, mistakes are easy to make on live TV." Mark reassured him. "Thank you for sharing your awesome story with us and I hope that stone really does bring you luck for a long time. Well Regi…"

Agnes turned off the TV And looked at Jim, his face as red as the boy's before he told his story. 

"Is dinner ready?" She asked calmly, but inside her patience was being tested. Isabella and her really needed the stone and his mother's diary, at least now they won't have to use a spell to find the last piece of the stone of Good Fortune, with Jim's and the boy's that is all nine pieces.

"Umm.. yeah… I just need to grab the forks." He said slowly after not responding for a moment. He had stared at the TV in a trance state after it flicked off. 

'That poor boy' he had been thinking, 'he has no idea what he has in his possession and what potential danger it could bring him'. Jim wasn't even sure what danger would come his way either, if any.

"So, Jim, tell me about this stone of yours that looks like the boys' on the news!" Isabella said curiously, some time after they had begun eating.

Jim's fork slid out of his hand and clattered onto his plate, as he briefly choked on a small noodle.

"It's just a good luck charm my dad gave me just before he passed. That kid wasn't kidding when he said it was lucky, I've had mine for 20 years and it's never failed me. It is cool though that there is another similar to mine, I always thought mine was the only one, it made me feel special," he paused, and looked at Agnes, "like… I knew a secret the rest of the world didn't." 

Agnes figited.

"May I see it?" Asked Isabella. 

"Of course, but you can't touch it." He removed the necklace and held it in his palm, stretching his arm out so it was close enough for her to see.

"Stunning! The tree is expertly crafted!" She pronounced with awe. "Thank you for sharing!"

The first to finish, Isabella excused herself to the restroom.

"Are you okay Jim? Agnes asked. "You seem bothered tonight."

"I am, but I don't want to talk about it right now."

"Ok, I'll clear the table while you finish eating."

"Isabella sure is taking a long time." expressed Jim as he took his dishes to the kitchen.

"You wash the rest of these while I go check on her." Said Agnes.

Knowing Jim would take a while, Agnes met up with Isabella in the Attic. "Was the diary where I said it would be?"

"No. He knows, Agnes!"

"Yes, I do." Jim said, startling the women from behind Agnes.

Agnes flipped around as Isabella spoke up. "We need the stone and diary, Jim."

"No. I get the feeling that you have no intention to use it for anything good."

"Jim, sweetie, please!" Agnes pleaded anxiously. "You don't want to be involved anymore than you already are, you have to trust me."

Sweetie was their code word for trouble, so he conceded to Isabella's request, who left after receiving the stone and diary.

"Agnes, what's going on?"

"She is evil Jim, I have to go and find a way to stop her."

"Well, I gave her a decoy if that helps." He pulled the real stone out of his pocket and put it back around his neck. "I had the decoy made some years ago at my mother's behest!"

"This is perfect Jim! Once she puts all the pieces together the decoy will void the magic and the stones will dissipate, seizing to exist!"

"What happens to you when she realizes it's a decoy?"

"The High Witch, others and I will have to fight her, and there is no way we will lose. Isabella's followers have been dwindling, she doesn't have a chance."

Jim held his wife's hands, "You should go then, everyone must be waiting for you."

"See you in a few hours, just in time for breakfast."