Foreword
“She’s living the life of an ordinary fourteen-year-old!” was not what many would say, or even think of saying in passing conversation about Amber Shadows. For you see she was an extraordinary White Magic witch-in-training. Flowing, dark red hair caressed her oval face, her eyes of emerald enchanted those curious about her, and one ruby stud earring in her left ear was never taken out while a chandelier earring dangled from her right. And while she often wondered what it would have been like to experience school dances or un-chaperoned parties, she remained exclusively interested in reading about the unknown and things that she could do magically by experimenting. Above all, journeying beyond her imagination to fantastical places while reading her treasured, fictional books was something she held close to heart.
It was Amber’s fondness for the written word that drove her to writing her unusual experiences in a leather-bound journal. And just as Jocelyn’s journals, this was no ordinary journal Amber kept: faerie wings of rich crimson and emerald hues adorned its front cover; silvery glitter etched her name on the back of the book in a medieval font, and inside were pages filled with sketches and her thoughts. There was only one thing that made this journal different from others (including Jocelyn’s) . . . the pages were enchanted with an invisibility charm.
As soon as Amber was done writing her entries, the ink would instantly dry and disappear upon her closing the book. Anyone trying to read her diary would find empty pages and be naïve to the fact that Amber placed an invisibility charm on its contents that only she could release and seal with a wave of her hand.
Unlike most other households, the Shadows family did not own a telephone and they watched very little television on a small, black and white T.V set.
Owing to the fact that the Shadows did not communicate by telephone, when it came time to send messages the Shadows family used Zappy, the family tabby. He was quite exceptional in that he could transpose into wizard form when need be, and could appear and disappear as he pleased by vapor. This ability made his journeys quite easy when Amber sent him with messages to Marianna Wentworth or Jasper Silverton; her two best friends since the age of five.
Amber, Marianna, and Jasper were as close as three mates could be and were now starting their eighth grade school year. From time to time, several classmates from Candlebury Junior High stared at them as they passed by and made obnoxious wisecracks to whoever was standing in listening range:
“Isn’t it strange how Shadows, Wentworth, and Silverton never attend school functions on the weekends?” a black haired boy with eyes of coal said sarcastically.
Others nodded, pointed, and laughed while the leader of the cheerleading group smirked in reply, “Yeah, they never go out of their way to initiate conversation or make friends either . . . strange is what they are; those three.”
Even though these rude comments happened nearly every day, they got under Jasper’s skin and made Marianna throw daggering glares and think nasty thoughts. Amber learned to brush them off by simply rolling her eyes. And although she grew tiresome of the same routine, she’d pull Jasper and Marianna along; reminding them for the umpteenth time, “Ignore them . . . what goes around comes around. Obviously they have nothing better to do with their time.”
Although this advice took several days for Marianna and Jasper to grasp and practice, they managed to grow thick skin and ignore their ill-mannered classmates, thinking of them as nothing more than sour, outdated milk. When it appeared no one could get a rise out of the three mates, those hanging around the school courtyard stopped staring and whispering unfound rumors.
As school progressed through September, all three mates kept their noses happily buried in some type of Advanced White Magic book (hidden by their text books of course). They ate and studied away from everyone else so that they could chat about anything unusual happening in the Magian world, and after dinner each night, they practiced their Magia Sessions homework: White Magic Spells and Healing Potions.
Of the three, Amber had an unbelievable quirk of craving and memorizing knowledge of magical spells right from the off, a curious nature to extensively study the unknown, and a raw talent for using her endowment of White Magic when needed without referencing her text books.