W.i.t.c.h.: Illusions and Lies

Adapted by Elizabeth Lenhard
Published by Volo
May 2004; $4.99US/$6.99CAN; 0-7868-1795-X

The magic of friendship has transforming results!

Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin know all about illusions. Since they discovered their powers as Guardians of the Veil, they have kept their secret hidden. While the girls use deception only to protect people, Cedric uses lies to turn the girls against one another. It is not until Will's life is put in danger that the other Guardians discover that the one thing that is not an illusion is true friendship.

Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from the book W.i.t.c.h.: Illusions and Lies - Book #6

Adapted by Elizabeth Lenhard

Published by Volo; May 2004; $4.99US/$6.99CAN; 0-7868-1795-X

Copyright © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

One

Taranee Cook groaned as she crept across the lawn on her hands and knees. She just knew she was getting grass stains on her favorite purple jeans. What's more, her round glasses kept slipping down her nose, and the beaded ends of her long braids trailed in the dirt.

I would give anything to abandon this mission, Taranee thought with a sigh. If only I could!

And what is my mission? Taranee thought, flicking a ticklish blade of grass away from her nose. Conjuring up a fireball in the palm of my hand, perhaps, to toss at some slimy, blue monster? Or using my magic to close a gateway between earth and a faraway, evil universe? Maybe I have to escape the clutches of Elyon, a girl who used to be my friend, but is now this otherworldly princess of darkness.

Or maybe, Taranee thought with a rueful laugh, I simply have to save the world.

It could have been any of the above. Not too long ago, Taranee had been transformed from an ordinary girl -- your average shutterbug and shy new student at the Sheffield Institute -- into a Guardian of the Veil.

This Veil was not bridal nor made of lace. This Veil was made of bigger stuff. In fact, it covered the entire world! It was a cosmic barrier that separated earth -- otherwise known as home of the good guys -- from Metamoor, an unknown, primitive land populated by reptilian creatures. Many of the creatures looked like massive lizards, albeit ones who dressed in suede tunics. Others were blue giants with craggy, rocklike horns upon their heads. Still others had red eyes, dreadlocks, and stolid bodies clad in rhinoesque armor.

It's like a bad horror movie, right? Taranee asked herself with an incredulous, dry laugh.

Not really. Many of those creatures were as kind and caring as any human. They cooked meals, raised their kids, and built thatched-roof homes, like any other old-fashioned townspeople. The only difference between them and the residents of Heatherfield -- the hip, seaside city where Taranee lived -- was in their form of government.

Make that dictatorship.

A cloud of oppression kept Metamoor in gloomy shadows. The person responsible for that state of affairs was a brutal prince named Phobos -- a young man so vain only a select few were allowed to gaze upon his face.

With nobody to rein his evil self in, Phobos used Metamoor for his own pleasure. He hoarded all the planet's natural resources to create an Eden for himself. He left his people to toil in hardscrabble villages. He stole not only their sunshine but their hope.

And was that enough? Not even. Phobos and his evil minions also wanted a piece of earth.

Boy, Taranee thought as she shifted her position on the grass. If I thought Metamoor was hard to conceive of, Candracar is positively preposterous.

Candracar existed "in the middle of infinity." Taranee's image of it was filled with clouds, looming temples, and beatific specters in gossamer cloaks. But that was all speculation. Taranee had never been to Candracar. It was as fantastic to her as fairyland.

The Veil was proof that hope existed. Someone in Candracar had created the Veil. And for centuries, it had kept Metamoorians away from earth, and vice versa. Nobody could stop the dawning of the millennium. When the year 2000 struck, the Veil had weakened. Twelve fissures had opened in the barrier. Eventually, those cracks had become portals, which were sort of cosmic superhighways between earth and Metamoor.

Taranee shuddered at the thought of those strange tunnels running from one galaxy to the next. She had traveled through a couple of portals and, each time, it had been an exceedingly rough ride!

The problem was, Taranee wasn't the only one traveling by portal. Some of Phobos's followers had been using them, too -- to try to invade earth.

That was why Taranee had been anointed with magical powers. She had been given the role of fire starter, able to whip up flames, redirect a rocket, or quell a forest fire, all with little more than mere determination.

Taranee's best friends had been brought on board, too. Irma was all about water, and Hay Lin was all things air. Cornelia controlled the earth, and Will was their leader, the keeper of the glowy orb called the Heart of Candracar. Whenever she unleashed the glass pendant's powers, the girls were transformed into beautiful, knowing, young women -- complete with mod, winged, purple-and-turquoise outfits. Their club even had a cool title: the names Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin, spelled W.i.t.c.h.

Some parts of being a Guardian, Taranee had to admit, were fun.

I mean, she thought with a shrug, at first I was freaked about being, well, magical. But soon, I realized conjuring fire was kinda . . . cool!

Of course, with magic powers came magic responsibilities -- daunting ones, at that.

Their job as members of W.i.t.c.h. was to close every portal that had erupted between earth and Metamoor. And with monsters constantly breaking through those openings, the task wasn't always that easy!

Copyright © 2004 Disney Enterprises, Inc.

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