司氏姐妹 第23章：土气火水

“情况不对，”玛拉说道。

当姐妹们走近塔玛尼巷尾，司家住宅显得诡异的黑暗。通常法妈在家时总是灯火通明，虽然她们的房子从外面看起显得破旧不堪。

“你们看！”米娜说，指着屋顶。 “阁楼上有光”。

这是一种奇怪的光，不象蜡烛或灯泡一样是黄色或白色的。相反，光线是黑暗的，尽管可以肯定它是亮着的。不管什么，姐妹们一致认为， 她们的母亲最有可能在那里。

“也许她在做某种咒术在寻找我们，”玛丽说。

“请不要弄出太大的声音，”玛拉说。 “以防万一。我有一个非常奇怪的预感。”她推开门，姐妹们蹑手蹑脚地爬上楼梯，来到阁楼，诡异的黑光从门下方的裂缝中流出。里面，可以听到两个女人在轻轻地聊天。

“好吧，如果你想做就快做吧，”一个说。

“这是妈妈。”摩根小声说。

“谁是另一位呢？”米娜问。

 “哦，不用担心，司法妈...我会的...” 另一个声音说：。 “不要不耐烦......毕竟......死亡只能有一次......”

此时，摩根推开了门，四姐妹冲进去。亨特夫人从法妈坐着的木椅边向后退了一步，法妈仿佛被一条无形的绳索捆绑着，她转身面对姑娘们。一圈黑色火焰把她们包围起来。

“你！”摩根呸的一声。

“从我们妈妈边上滚开！”米娜喊道。“

“对，”玛丽说道。“ 原来是你......我简直不敢相信。你真变态！ 你杀了自己的儿子！而让玛拉在所有这些时候感到有罪。”

玛拉沉默不语，她绿色的眼睛对着黑色火焰闪烁着愤怒。

“啊......姑娘们......真是惊喜，”亨特太太说。“但请平静下来，没有必要这么不礼貌。我不希望任何人受到伤害......”

阁楼的窗户被一阵强风吹开，亨特夫人站着的地板也震动起来。她踉跄了一下，试图稳住身体，仍然倒在木桌上。黑色的火焰熄灭了，法妈用一个突然的姿势站了起来，仿佛突然从绳子的捆绑中挣脱。一会儿蜡烛上燃起自然的光芒，她站在女儿们前面，抬起手臂保护她们。

“你可以做任何事来对付我，”她说。 “但是你敢对我的女儿们动一个手指，不管是玛拉，还是其中任何一位。全镇的人将听到真相！”

亨特夫人恢复了平衡，一圈黑色火焰又围住了司氏全家。她对着窗户挥了挥手臂，窗户砰的一声关上。然后，她放下她的手，稳稳地对着地面，直到地颤停止。

“哦，一场多么好的表演啊！”她说。她对米娜点点头。“我看你也已经开始小鸡学飞了，小不点。而你，”她对玛拉说，“我最亲爱的媳妇，已不再哭哭啼啼，是吗？为什么，难道悲伤是如此短暂？还是你从一开始就不爱他呢？”

说完最后一句话，亨特太太弯起嘴唇，咧牙咆哮，并把她的手指向玛拉。玛拉的婚纱下摆飞扬起来，缠住她的脖子，勒紧了她。玛拉跌倒在地，拼命用双手拉扯着 缠在脖子上的布，又一阵强风吹过阁楼，吹起桌子砸向亨特太太的头。摩根和玛丽帮她们的姐姐拉松衣服，并帮玛拉站起来。

“我当然爱他，你这个巫婆，”玛拉说道，房子开始摇晃。“我爱他远比你任何时候都多。我从来没有像你这样想拥有他！“震动把亨特夫人推向对面的墙上，而姐妹们也紧贴着这边的墙壁，互相支撑着。

法妈看着玛拉，抚摸着她的头发。 “亲爱的，如果你不停止，我们所有的人要与这房子一起倒塌了，”她说着，抓住玛拉的手。晃动颤抖着停了下来。亨特夫人站了起来，围着司氏全家的黑色火焰燃烧得更高。

玛丽扯了扯母亲的胳膊。

“我们的手镯！”摩根说，“可以暂时推迟我们的处罚时间吗？这是一个紧急情况。”

法妈微笑的看着她红头发的女儿，拥抱了她。 “真是很高兴你回来了。是的，你是对的，让我摘下这些手镯。”她把手镯轻轻地从玛丽和摩根的手臂上褪下。当摩根的手镯刚滑过她的手指的那一刻，明亮的红色火圈在亨特夫人周围燃起，对映着她们周围的黑色火焰。玛丽召来了一条水带，想把周围的黑色火焰扑灭。有一时刻，火焰咝咝作响的降退。然后，很快它们再次上升，比以前更高。

亨特夫人在房间的另一边笑了起来，她的眼睛在火光照耀下透出红光。她打了个响指，瞬间摩根的红色火焰被她自己的黑色火焰所取代。她轻松地走过它们，笑着一步一步地向司氏家人逼近。

“聚会时用的小把戏，”亨特太太说，她的嘴唇卷缩成一个微笑。 “它们真的很不错。我必须说，如果你们姑娘们没有碰到这件事，它们有一天真的会非常有用...也许在马戏团，与一个演出队一起..真可惜...这么好，这么漂亮的小姑娘要被浪费...你知道，我刚才告诉过你的母亲，当你一直在练习你的聚会用的小把戏时，我一直在控制着整个城镇......你根本无法与我相配......即使你们大家一起来......”

火焰把司氏全家周围的空气烤得更热，并慢慢推进，姐妹们不得不紧紧地挤作一团。亨特夫人走向姐妹们，用她那软软而懒洋洋的语气说着。 “我在想......”她说，“悲剧的火灾烧光了司氏住宅...现在看起来可能太可疑......啊，但是不管怎样，谁会来关心质疑呢...它只会让全镇的人放下一个巨大的包袱...是的...这不是最漂亮的方式，但是......“

法妈把她的女儿们靠得更紧，闭上她的眼睛快速思考着。她知道她们应该有些办法。魔术是为了帮助善者和惩治邪恶而创，自从她是一个孩子，她已知道这点。必然有某种魔咒存在......她的手指触摸到她手中冰冷的翡翠手镯。即使在热烤中，它们仍然像石头一样冰凉。她想到了另外两个放在盒子里的手镯，那两个早些时候被亨特夫人拿起过的手镯。是的，这些手镯体现了魔术的法则。制造这些手镯时，加进了魔咒，来预防女巫们可能会让她们的权力欲－－她们控制世界的欲望－－来控制她们自己。它们的作用是驯服本性善良的人们头脑中可能的邪恶思想，警告那些还不知道自己魔力限制的年轻女巫。那么对那些已经成长，但仍还未学好功课，吸取教训的老巫婆有什么办法呢？一定会有什么办法去驯服她们 …法妈努力思考着－－如果她能把她的魔法经书背得滚瓜烂熟该多好啊！但它现在正躺在黑色火环另一侧的地板上。

然后，她突然想到。是的！那个魔咒就在她用来做这些手镯那个的后面......其实，她相信她可以利用这些手镯 …她伸出手去拿那个放着其他两个手镯的盒子，盒子唆的一下透过火焰向她飞来。随着咝咝几响，木盒子化成灰烬，但两只手镯却完整地掉落在地，当法妈捡起它们时，它们与她拿着的其他两个一样冰凉。

“土，气，火，水，”她低声说，在手里转动着手镯。她的女儿们看着她，知道​​她在想着什么东西，等待着她的指示。同时，黑色的火焰越烧越热。 “土，气，火，水，”法妈重复了一遍。她转向她的女儿们。 “做好准备，”她说。 “当我说出你们的元素名称时，把你们的元素加进去混合。”

“加进去什么？”摩根问。

“嘘，”玛丽说。“你看着办吧。快点，妈妈！”她的脸泛着粉红色。

法妈把4个手镯扔向空中，它们漂浮在那里，一个叠着一个，像是一只厚厚的玉手铐。它们在空气中旋转着。亨特夫人停下脚步，好奇地看着它们。

“这又是什么新把戏？”她说。 “请尽量上演。我很感兴趣看......”她双臂抱肩等待着。

法妈站得高高的。虽然她是一个矮小女人，但她说话时似乎盖过了亨特夫人：

“行使魔术的法力是大自然给予的一份礼物。魔术不属于任何人。它属于上天和大地。它应该只是偶尔使用，去创造，去带来快乐和喜悦，而不是去摧残或逼迫。像你这样使用魔术，亨特太太，是滥用。你不配得到你所给予的，你肯定也没有挣得它。魔术是属于大自然的，因此，它应当被大自然收回。”

法妈闭上眼睛，开始背诵一首中国古诗，她的女儿们知道这首诗也是一个咒语。翡翠手镯飘向亨特夫人的头上，浮在那里。

“土和气，”司法妈说道，碰了碰玛拉和米娜。窗户被风吹开。玛拉和米娜将目光集中在漂浮在亨特夫人上方的翡翠手镯上。这是今晚第一次，她看上去显得害怕。也许是因为她不明白对方在说什么。也许是因为，站在手镯的下面，她不能动弹。泥土从窗口飞旋进来，在旋转的手镯周围形成了一个旋涡。

“火与水，”法妈继续说。摩根和玛丽把她们的目光转向了​​手镯。一舔火焰加进了风尘的旋涡，一条水带也旋进了混合物中。

“大自然的元素，”法妈说着，手镯飞速转动着，四种元素在亨特夫人头上的一个小旋涡里混搅着，直到手镯变成一个闪亮的光球而消失无踪。

“拿回属于你的东西！”法妈喊道，在一瞬间里把她的胳膊往下移动。光球快速扩张，直到包围住亨特夫人。一声细小的尖叫声划破了阁楼上的空气，黑色的火焰熄灭了。

法妈深深地吸了一口气，重新举起她的手。光球暗淡下来，随之熄灭。亨特夫人站在阁楼的中间，似乎毫无损伤。她的头发稀疏垂落，她的眼睛泛着暗淡的蓝光。她曾经高耸的颧骨显得柔软而下垂，突然之间，她看上去像是一个老太婆。即使她曾经的金发，看起来也是灰白多于金色。在她的脖子上是一个沉重的翡翠颈环。

亨特太太看着她的手，手上的皮肤突然变得满是皱纹，青筋爆突。显然她也用魔法保养着她的美容。她眨了眨她的眼睛，眼泪从眼角流出来。 “我已经老了......”她说，捂着肚子，抽泣着。

司法妈和司家4​​姐妹一起舒了一口气，大家抓着对方的手，无法相信自己的眼睛。她们沉默地站着，看着面前哭泣的老妇人，直到玛拉离开大家，小心翼翼地走向亨特夫人。她扶起那把被打翻的椅子，轻轻地扶着亨特太太的胳膊，带她坐在椅子上。

“请坐，婆婆，”玛拉说。 “现在告诉我您对我的丈夫做了什么。”

Chapter 23： Earth, Air, Fire, Water

Something’s wrong,” Mara said.

The sisters were approaching the end of Tamany Lane, where the Switch residence was eerily dark. Even though the house did look dilapidated from the outside, when Fa was home the lights were usually blazing bright.

“Look!” said Mina, pointing towards the roof. “There’s a light in the attic.”

It was a strange light, not yellow or white like candlelight or a lamp. Instead, the light was dark, even while it was definitely lit. Whatever it was, the sisters agreed that it was most likely where their mother was.

“Maybe she’s doing some kind of spell to find us,” Marie said.

“Let’s not make too much noise,” Mara said. “Just in case. I have a really weird feeling.” She pushed open the door, and the sisters tiptoed up the stairs to the attic, where the strange black light was flowing out from the crack underneath the door. Inside, two women could be heard softly chatting.

“Well, if you’re going to do it just get it over with,” said one.

“That’s Mom!” whispered Morgan.

“Who’s the other one?” asked Mina.

“Oh don’t worry, Fa Switch…I will…” said the other voice. “No need to be so impatient…after all…death only comes once…”

At this, Morgan pushed open the door and the four sisters burst inside. Mrs. Hunter stepped back from where Fa was sitting on the wooden chair, as if bound by invisible ropes and turned to face the girls. A circle of black flames surrounded them.

“You!” Morgan spat.

“Get away from our mom!” Mina shouted.

“Yeah,” said Marie. “You’re…I can’t believe it. You’re sick! All this time you’ve been making Mara feel guilty and you killed your own son!”

Mara was silent, her green eyes shining with fury against the black flames. 

“Ah…girls…what a surprise,” Mrs. Hunter said.  “Settle down though…no need to get impolite. I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt…”

The windows in the attic blew open with strong gusts of wind, and the floor shook where Mrs. Hunter was standing. She stumbled, trying to catch herself, and fell into the wooden table. The black flames went out, and Fa stood up in a sudden gesture, as if breaking free from ropes. In a moment the candles were lit with natural light and she was standing in front of her daughters, her arms raised to protect them.

“You can do whatever you want to me,” she said. “But don’t you dare raise a finger to my daughters. Not Mara. Not one of them. The town will hear the truth!”

Mrs. Hunter regained her balance, casting a circle of black flames around the Switch family. She swept her arms over the windows and they slammed shut again. Then, she lowered her hands, steadying them over the ground until the trembling stopped.

“Oh, what a nice show,” she said. She nodded towards Mina. “I see you’ve started dabbling too, little girl. And you,” she said to Mara, “my dearest daughter-in-law. No longer sniveling, are you? What, is grief so transient? Or did you never love him to begin with?”

With her last words, Mrs. Hunter’s lip curled into a snarl, and she threw her hands at Mara. The skirt of Mara’s wedding gown flew up and wrapped around her neck, strangling her. As Mara fell to her knees, tugging at the cloth with her hands, another gust of wind blew through the attic, lifting the table up and throwing it against Mrs. Hunter’s head. Morgan and Marie tugged the dress loose on their older sister, and helped Mara to her feet.

“I did love him, you witch,” Mara said, as the house started to shake. “I loved him more than you ever did. I never wanted to own him, like you did!” The shaking ground pushed Ms. Hunter to the wall opposite the sisters, while the sisters clung to the walls, supporting each other.

Fa looked at Mara, stroking her hair. “The house is going to fall with all of us in it if you don’t stop, dear,” she said. She clutched Mara’s hand. The shaking quivered and stopped. Mrs. Hunter stood up, the black flames around the Switches flaring higher.

Marie tugged on their mother’s arm.

“Our bracelets!” Morgan said, “Can we temporarily postpone grounding time?  I would call this an emergency.”

Fa smiled at her red-haired daughter and hugged her to her chest. “It’s so nice to have you back. And yes, you are right, let me take those bracelets off.” She slipped the bracelets off of Marie and Morgan’s arms. The moment Morgan’s bracelet slipped past her fingers, a bright red circle of fire lit up around Mrs. Hunter, mirroring the black flame around them. Marie conjured a streak of water to put out the own circle of black flame. For a moment, the flames sizzled. Then, they rose again, higher than they were before.

Mrs. Hunter laughed from the other side of the room, her eyes glowing red in the light. She snapped her fingers, and in an instant Morgan’s red flames were replaced by her own black flames. She stepped through them easily, laughing as she advanced towards the Switches.

“Party tricks,” Mrs. Hunter said, her lips curling into a smile. “They are really very nice. I must say, if you girls hadn’t gotten in the way they really would have been very useful one day…in a circus, with a performing troupe, maybe…such a pity…such nice, pretty little girls going to waste…you see, like I told your mother earlier…while you’ve been practicing your little party tricks I’ve been controlling an entire town…you are no match against me…even all together…”

The flames heated the air around the Switches, edging so that the sisters had to huddle closer together. Mrs. Hunter walked towards the sisters, speaking in her soft lolling way. “I wonder…” she said, “Tragic fire burns down Switch residence…now would that look too suspicious…ah but no one would care to question anyhow…it would all just be a huge relief to the town…yes…it’s not the prettiest way, but…”

Fa gathered her daughters close together, closing her eyes and thinking fast. She knew there was something they could do. Magic was made to help the good and punish the evil, she had learned since she was a child. There must be some sort of spell…she fingered the cold jade bracelets in her hands. Even in the heat, they remained cool like stone. She thought about the other two bracelets in the box, the ones that Mrs. Hunter had picked up earlier. Yes, these bracelets were manifestations of that law. The bracelets had been forged with a spell that knew witches could let their powerlust—their desire to control the world—take control over them. They were meant to temper the evil in people who were fundamentally good, as a warning for young witches who didn’t yet know the limits of their power. And what about old witches, grown witches who had learned their lesson too late? There must be something to temper them too…Fa thought hard—if only she could read through her scroll! But it was on the floor, on the other side of the ring of black fire.

Then, it came to her. Yes! It was the spell right after the one she had used to make these bracelets…she believed she could use these bracelets in fact…she reached out her hand to the box that held the other two bracelets, and it zoomed towards her through the flames. The wooden box sizzled and turned to ash, but the two bracelets dropped neatly onto the floor, and when Fa picked them up they were as cool as the other two she held.

“Earth, air, fire, water,” she whispered, turning the bracelets over in her hand. Her daughters looked at her, knowing that she had thought of something, waiting for their instructions. Meanwhile, the black flame burned hotter. “Earth, air, fire, water,” Fa repeated. She turned to her daughters. “Get ready,” she said. “When I say the name of your element next, add it to the mixture.”

“Add it to what?” asked Morgan.

“Ssh,” said Marie. “You’ll figure it out. Hurry, mom!” Her face was glowing pink.

Fa tossed the four bracelets into the air, where they floated one on top of each other like a thick jade cuff. They rotated in the air.  Mrs. Hunter stopped walking and looked curiously at them.

“What trick is this, now?” she said. “Please, do perform it. I am so interested to see…” She folded her arms and waited.

Fa stood tall. Though she was a small woman, she seemed to loom over Mrs. Hunter as she spoke:

“The power to perform magic is a gift given by nature. Magic does not belong to anyone. It belongs to the Heavens and the to Earth. It should be used discretely, to create, to bring pleasure and joy, not to destroy or to coerce. To use magic as you do, Mrs. Hunter, is abuse. You do not deserve what you have been given, and you certainly have not earned it. Magic is given by nature, and so it shall be taken back by nature.”

Fa closed her eyes, and started to recite a poem in Chinese, a poem that her daughters knew was also a spell. The jade bracelets moved above Mrs. Hunter’s head and floated there.

“Earth and air,” Fa Switch said, touching Mara and Mina. The windows blew open. Mara and Mina focused their eyes on the jade bracelets floating above Mrs. Hunter. For the first time that night, she looked afraid. Perhaps it was because she could not understand what was being said. Perhaps it was because, standing underneath the bracelets, she could not move. Dirt swirled in from the window, turning in a cyclone around the rotating bracelets.

“Fire and water,” Fa continued. Morgan and Marie turned their gazes to the bracelets. A lick of flame swirled with the dust and wind, while a streak of water twirled into the mixture.

“Elements of nature,” Fa said as the bracelets turned quickly, the four elements mixing together in a small cyclone above Mrs. Hunter’s head until the bracelets disappeared in a glittering ball of light.

“Take back what is yours!” Fa shouted, bring her arms down in a flash. The ball of light expanded until it surrounded Mrs. Hunter. A thin shriek pierced the attic air, and the black flames went out.

Fa breathed deeply, bringing her hands up. The light dimmed and went away. Mrs. Hunter stood in the middle of the attic, seemingly unscathed. Her hair fell limp and her eyes were dim and blue. Her once menacing cheekbones softened and sagged, and she looked, suddenly, like an old woman. Even her once blonde hair now looked more white than blonde. Around her neck was a heavy jade ring.

Mrs. Hunter looked at her hands, the skin on them suddenly wrinkled and spotted with veins. Evidently she had used magic to preserve her beauty as well. She blinked tears out of the corners of her eyes. “I’m old…” she said, clutching her stomach and sobbing.

Fa Switch and the four Switch sisters let out a collective breath, clutching each other’s hands, unable to believe their eyes. They stood silent, looking at the crying old woman before them, until Mara detached herself from the group and walked gingerly to Mrs. Hunter. She pulled the chair that had been knocked over up and touched Mrs. Hunter’s elbow gently, leading her to sit in the chair.

“Please sit, mother-in-law,” Mara said. “And tell me what you have done with my husband.”