Chromium Cauldron

Excerpt from

Chromium Cauldron

 

Prologue

 

Zeus perched upon the edge of Mount Olympus, studying the mortals on Earth. Jealous of their opulent lifestyle and vast wealth. Rage consumed him. They live better than the Gods!

“You summoned me, your Majesty?” Poseidon bowed holding his prized Trident.

“Yes, I’d like to show you something.” Zeus gestured to the edge of the clouds where they could spy on the mortals below.

“Oh my, the mortals live better than us. At least the rich ones do.” Poseidon shook his head in frustration.

“We must do something. I can’t bear to watch them so happy and prosperous. They’ve forgotten us and never make us any offerings or prayers. They now pray to Jesus or Allah. I thought we’d taught them a lesson when you sank Atlantis. But now the lost city is mostly forgotten by the mortals. They think it’s a myth, not a catastrophe caused by the angry Gods.”

“What did you have in mind this time?” Poseidon asked.

“I’ve heard about this new ship the mortals built. It’s the most luxurious ocean liner ever made. Many of the wealthy have booked passage for the maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City,” Zeus explained. He studied the model globe and traced the ship’s planned route.

“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of it. They claim it’s unsinkable.” Poseidon nodded.

“That’s what angers me the most. I heard the mortals boast that ‘not even the Gods could sink the Titanic.’”

 

 

Chapter One

 

December 31, 1911

Manchester Mansion

New Orleans

 

“Grandpa, can you please read me a bedtime story?” Bea, short for Beatrice Manchester, asked her doting grandfather, Bart. Her five-year-old body lay in her pink bedroom. Her long, black hair fanned across a pink pillowcase. The bedroom was once her mother’s room before she married her father, Toliver, the reincarnated spirit of Tutankhamun, Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

“Of course, my dear. Since your parents are out celebrating the new year, I’d love to read you a story.” Bart sat in the wing-back chair next to Bea’s bed. His long, blond hair was tied back in a ponytail with a black, silk ribbon. He stared at Bea with matching magical eyes—one blue and one green.

“Can I have a kitty, Grandpa?” Bea begged.

“Well, of course you can, my dear. But let’s wait until we get back from Florida,” Bart promised.

“Why are we going to Florida for so long?” Bea pulled the covers up to her chin to ward off the chill from the cold December evening.

“We’re staying for the Winter Season. But this time, instead of staying at the Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, we’re going to stay at Henry Flagler’s winter home in Palm Beach.”

“How big is his home?” Bea asked, curious about the wealthy railroad tycoon.

“It’s over one-hundred-thousand square feet. Ten times larger than our Manchester Mansion.” Bart waved his arm around her room.

“Whoa! I guess he has plenty of room for all of us. Are Daddy’s parents coming, too?” Bea referred to her paternal grandparents, Isaac and Manon Waynesfield.

“Yes. In fact, it’s because of Isaac that we are staying at Whitehall. Henry uses Isaac’s new bank in Palm Beach. There are a lot of wealthy Americans who winter in Florida,” Grandpa explained.

“Okay, I guess it makes sense to wait until we get back to adopt my kitten. I wouldn’t want to leave him or her all alone in this big house,” she rationalized.

“You are very wise for one so young,” he praised.

“When will I get my powers, Grandpa?” Bea crossed her arms and pouted.

“I’m sure it will be very soon. You’ll grow up to be a beautiful and powerful witch like your mother, my daughter, Violet.”

“But didn’t Mommy get her powers when she was six? When she found King Tut’s tomb in Egypt?” Bea recalled the story of how her parents found one another in this life with the help of the Cobalt Cauldron.

“Well, we thought she got her first power when she was six because she had a vision which led us to the tomb. But it wasn’t really her vision. It was Toliver using the Cobalt Cauldron spell to fill her mind with visions. She didn’t get her real power of foresight until she was older.” Grandpa Bart held Bea’s hand.

“Oh, well that makes me feel better for not having any powers yet.” Bea smiled.

“Speaking of powers, I thought I’d read you a story from the Book of Cauldrons.”

“Can we read it in the attic? I like going up there at night because it’s spooky.” Bea grinned devilishly.

“You’re are the most fearless witch I have ever known. Yes, let’s go to the attic. I assume you wish to ride on my shoulders.” He knelt next to the bed.

Nodding eagerly, Bea climbed on Grandpa’s shoulders and placed her hands gently on his neck.

Grandpa Bart stood, and his knees cracked. “Ahh, pretty soon you’ll be too big to carry on my shoulders.” He carried Bea up two flights of wooden stairs to the attic. He retrieved the large brass key from his pocket and unlocked the door. After entering the dark attic, he knelt down in front of the fireplace.

Bea climbed off Grandpa and rubbed her arms to ward off the chill. Wiggling her tiny fingers at the fireplace, she envisioned orange flames roaring to life. The fire started, and Bea gasped.

“Grandpa, I just got my first power!”

 

 

Chapter Two

 

“How wonderful, my dear! Your first power, and I was here to witness it. Your parents will be sad that they missed it. It’s a very important rite of passage for witches and wizards,” Grandpa explained.

Beaming, Bea studied the various volumes of books shelved next to the fireplace. Running her tiny fingers across the various spines, she named a few of the books—Book of Spells, Book of Demons, Book of Angels, Book of Trolls and Giants, Book of Monsters, Book of Legends, Book of Fairies, Book of Gods and Goddesses, and Book of Cauldrons. “Ah, here it is.” Bea pulled the enormous volume from the shelf. Its weight strained her.

“Here. Allow me.” Bart grabbed the volume and sat on one of the wing-back chairs in front of the fireplace.

Bea climbed onto his lap and rested the back of her head against his shoulder.

“Where would you like to start, my dear?” Grandpa asked.

Placing her index finger on her dimpled cheek, she said, “Something new and interesting. Something about a cauldron that we don’t have.”

“Ah, excellent idea, my dear. You probably know about all the ones we have—Copper, Cobalt, Jade, Onyx, Iron, Lead, etc.” He flipped the pages.

“Oh, what’s that one? Is it silver?” Bea asked, pointing to the open page of the Book of Cauldrons. The large silver cauldron was the most beautiful and ornate cauldron she’d ever seen. It was enormous and even had handles.

“Not silver, silver tarnishes which changes the property of the metal. This is the Chromium Cauldron. And yes, it is the biggest and most ornate cauldron there is.”

“Have you seen it Grandpa?” Bea gazed at the picture of the cauldron meticulously painted in the Book of Cauldrons.

“No, I haven’t. But I recall our ancestor, Mordecai Manchester, receiving a Chromium Cauldron from his true love.”

“Really?” Bea flipped the page to reveal a colorful painting of a mermaid.

Bart read the carefully scribed words in the book, “It says that the Chromium Cauldron is very rare.”

“What’s its power?” Bea asked.

He continued reading, “The Chromium Cauldron allows humans to breathe underwater. By making a potion with sea water and dragon shrooms, a human can drink from the Chromium Cauldron and be able to breathe underwater.”

“Where does one find a Chromium Cauldron? And why is there a painting of a mermaid?” Bea asked.

“You need to study Latin, my dear. Then you’d be able to read for yourself,” Grandpa criticized. 

“I will take Latin more seriously, now. I want to read all of these books. Why doesn’t someone translate these books into English? We live in America, after all.” Bea crossed her arms and pouted. She wasn’t lazy, but Latin was a hard language to learn, and she only recently began reading and writing in English.

“Since Latin is now a dead language, very few people know how to read and write it. Keeping the books in Latin secures their contents. We wouldn’t want nonmagical humans to learn all about us,” he explained.

“But where are all the Chromium Cauldrons?”

“The mermaids have them. They hid them in the ocean. They don’t want humans to find them and use them to breathe underwater and destroy their aquatic homes.”

“How can humans use a Chromium Cauldron if the mermaids hid them all?” Bea asked.

“Ah, on rare occasions, a mermaid or merman swims to the surface and falls in love with a human. Then the mermaid presents their true love with a Chromium Cauldron so they can breathe underwater. But over time, the mermaids have forgotten the potion ingredients which are required for the Chromium Cauldron spell.”

“But a witch?”

“Ah, you are very bright, Baby Bea. Yes, if a mermaid or merman falls in love with a wizard or witch, the witch can mix the correct potion for the Chromium Cauldron spell.”

“Where is their home?” Bea asked.

“Good question.” Grandpa Bart ran his index finger along the Latin words. “It references the Book of Legends.”

Bea jumped off his lap and searched the bookshelf. “There it is, Grandpa.”

He returned the Book of Cauldrons and removed the Book of Legends.

The pair resumed their positions in the chair in front of the fire and flipped the pages of the enormous Book of Legends.

They stopped on the colorful painting of mermaids in their palatial home under the sea.

“It’s beautiful.” Bea ran her fingers over the golden palace.

Bart studied the text. “Interesting. I don’t think I ever knew this part of the legend.”

“What is it Grandpa? What is this place?” Bea studied the beautiful mermaids.

“The city was once on the surface. It was a lush and beautiful island with modern technology. The Gods grew jealous of this advanced civilization. So jealous that they sank the island with an enormous earthquake and covered it with a tidal wave. The mermaids found it in the ocean and moved in.”

“What is the city called?” Bea asked.

“Atlantis.”

 

Chapter Three

 

“Why couldn’t we Eo Ire Itum here?” Bea asked, referring to the instantaneous travel method available to witches and wizards, named for the Latin word, ‘to travel’. She sat in the horse-drawn carriage with her family. They took the long train ride from New Orleans to Jacksonville, then from Jacksonville to Palm Beach with stops in St. Augustine and Ormond Beach. Now they approached Henry and Mary Flagler’s winter home—Whitehall.

“Didn’t you like the train ride?” Toliver, her father, sat next to Bea on one side while Violet, her mother, sat on the other. Her grandparents, Bart, Olivia, Isaac, and Manon rode in the carriage behind them.

“It was fun at first, but then it got booorrring.” Bea whined.

“Well, we’re almost there, my dear. But I promise that we’ll Eo Ire Itum home at the end of the season.” The horses turned onto a dirt road lined on both sides with beautiful palm trees that nearly reached the sky.

“Whoa!” Mommy pointed to the enormous white mansion with black shutters and huge Greek columns supporting the two-story veranda.

“It’s beautiful.” Mommy turned to Daddy and asked. “How did we get invited here?”

“Through my father and our banking empire. Henry Flagler is our biggest client at the bank. In fact, my father opened a branch in Palm Beach just for Henry,” Daddy explained.

“Are we staying here, Daddy? Or at the hotel?” Bea asked.

“We’re staying here. Most guests stay at the Royal Poinciana Hotel. And if that’s full, they stay at the nearby Breakers. They are both right on the beach. But since Henry and Grandpa Isaac are such good friends, Henry invited us all to stay in his mansion.”

The carriage circled around and stopped in front of Whitehall.

“How many rooms does this mansion have if he can accommodate all seven of us for three months?” Bea stepped out of the carriage and gawked at the enormous white columns.

Isaac stepped out of the other carriage and said, “Seventy-five rooms. Henry built the mansion as a wedding present for his third wife, Mary Lily Kenan Flagler.”

“Three wives?” Bea asked, shocked that someone got married three times.

“Long story. His first wife, also named Mary, died in childbirth. Then his second wife, Alice, went crazy. Henry divorced her, then moved her to a loony bin in New York,” Isaac explained.

“Isaac Waynesfield!” Grandma Manon slapped Grandpa Isaacs’s hand.

“Sorry, insane asylum,” he corrected.

“How much did this house cost, Grandpa Isaac?” Bea inherited Daddy’s and Grandpa Isaacs’s knack for numbers.

“Beatrice Manchester. It is rude to ask how much someone’s house cost, how much money they make, or how old they are,” Mommy scolded.

“Oh, I thought I just couldn’t ask Mr. Flagler directly.” Bea dropped her chin.

“It’s all right, my dear. You’re just curious about numbers. Henry built this house in 1905. It cost $2,500,000 to build and $1,500,000 to furnish and decorate.”

Bea quickly did the sum. “Four million dollars?”

A butler, with a stiff posture and grim expression, opened the enormous double doors of Whitehall.

Bea grabbed one hand of both grandpas and walked through the open doors. A cold breeze blew from the ocean, chilling Bea.

The foyer was enormous—two stories tall. A double staircase dominated the center with wrought-iron handrails and polished white marble. At the base of the staircase sat a man and a woman in matching green chairs. The man was really old, and the lady was half his age. His daughter? 

“Isaac, you’re back.” The old man, presumably Mr. Flagler, stood and smiled with open arms.

Isaac embraced his longtime friend and biggest banking client. “Henry, it’s great to see you again. Thank you for inviting my family to your lovely home.”

“It’s the least I could do after withdrawing millions from your bank to build this.” Henry waved his arm around his palatial winter home. “You remember my lovely wife, Mary.”

His wife? Why was she so much younger? She must’ve married him for his fortune.

Mary stood regally and extended her gloved hand. Grandpa Isaac kissed it.

“Mary, beautiful as ever.” Isaac kissed Mary Flagler’s gloved hand.

Everyone else greeted their host and hostess.

Henry knelt in front of Bea. “Ahh, this must be Beatrice. Your grandfather talks about you all the time. I thought he exaggerated about your beauty. But now I see that he did not. You really do have the most beautiful eyes, like your mother and Manon—one blue and one green.”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Flagler, Mrs. Flagler. You have a lovely home. Thank you for letting us stay here.” Bea curtsied.

“Ah, what impeccable manners you have, my dear.” Mary kissed Bea’s cheeks. “I know just the perfect room for you, it’s pink.”

Bea beamed and clapped her hands excitedly.

“Yes, thank you for letting us all stay in your beautiful home instead of the hotel. Not that the Royal Poinciana and the Breakers aren’t magnificent, but you honor us with your generous hospitality.” Isaac bowed.

“Nonsense, you’re family. I remember when Violet and Toliver honeymooned at the Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Augustine,” Henry boasted.

“Bea was born nine months later.” Daddy winked and squeezed Mommy’s hand.

“Besides, bookings are down this season. Many of our friends decided to winter in Europe and take that new monstrosity of a ship back to New York,” Henry explained.

“Ah, yes, the Titanic,” Isaac said.

 

Chapter Four

 

Bea followed the entourage up the marble staircase to the second floor. The walls were beautifully decorated with paintings and portraits. A long corridor appeared with dozens of doors, each leading to a bedroom.

“This is where you’ll spend the next three months.” Mary escorted Bea into an enormous pink bedroom. A white onyx fireplace warmed the room on this chilly January afternoon. Near the fireplace was a mirrored make-up table filled with perfume and hair paraphernalia. To the right was a meticulously made bed with pink satin pillows and blankets. Pink curtains hung above the head board providing a canopy.

Bea walked to the large window on the opposite side of the room. She stared in awe at the blue ocean.

“Mommy, the ocean!” Bea pointed. “Can I go?”

“Of course, dear. But let’s settle in first, we have a lot of unpacking to do,” Mommy said.

“The servants can unpack for you. Go ahead and see the beautiful beach. Don’t forget a parasol to protect your beautiful skin from the sun.” Mary smiled.

“Okay, be careful. Don’t swim in the water by yourself. One, it’s freezing cold, and two, I don’t want you to drown. And be back before dark,” Mommy warned.

“Yippee!” Bea hugged her parents.

“Violet, Toliver, your room is next door.” Mary gestured to a door adjoining the two rooms.

Mommy and Daddy followed Mary into the green room next door. “Have fun and be safe.” Mommy waved.

Once her parents left, Bea ran to the large pink bed and jumped on it. She didn’t even come close to hitting the ceiling of the tall room.

“No jumping on the bed!” Mommy hollered from the next room.

How did she know? Sighing, Bea slumped. A shiny object caught her attention, literally. Bea walked to the dressing table and sat on the pink cushioned chair. Sitting up straight like a proper lady, she studied her reflection in the mirror. Grabbing the heavy, silver hairbrush, she admired its intricate carvings on the back. She brushed her long, black locks until her hair shone beautifully.

Bea picked up the glass bottle of perfume. Holding the bottle in one hand and the rubber ball attached to the bottle’s tube in the other, Bea sprayed the pungent fragrance. Feeling sophisticated, she admired her reflection in the mirror.

She was pretty, at least her parents thought so. But she wondered how she would look when she grew up. Probably just like her mother, she presumed. Then she wondered who she would marry and what he would look like. Would he have dark hair like her Daddy, or blond hair like Grandpa Bart?

Satisfied with her appearance, Bea walked to the window and gazed at the open sea. Its vastness made her feel as if her life was full of endless possibilities. Thinking of the ocean and wondering about her future husband, her mind recalled the tale from the Book of Cauldrons—the Chromium Cauldron. The cauldrons were in the ocean, protected by mermaids. But where? And a mermaid may present a human with a Chromium Cauldron if they were their one true love. Thinking of mermaids, true loves, and the Chromium Cauldron, Bea was magically beckoned to the ocean.

 

Chapter Five

 

Grabbing her violet parasol and a towel, Bea slowly walked downstairs like a lady. She passed through the beautifully appointed two-story foyer which served as a receiving room, then crossed through gigantic front doors. The creepy butler bowed as she crossed the threshold, closing the door behind her. Once outside, Bea couldn’t run to the ocean fast enough.

Passing the same rows of palm trees when she arrived at Whitehall, she longed to climb them. But how? Without branches, she’d have to hug the tree to pull herself up. Shaking her head, she let the distraction go and vowed to find more suitable trees to climb later.

After passing the palm trees, Violet crossed a dirt road. Another long row of trees lined another dirt path. The cypress trees were tall and skinny, too. But unlike the palm trees, the cypress ones were full of branches, begging to be climbed.

With ease, she climbed the tallest tree to the tippy top and was rewarded with a breathtaking view. Bea admired the beautiful Royal Poinciana Hotel to the left. The Breakers was between her and the ocean. The view on the right was miles of sandy beaches with a few homes scattered along the shore line.

Turning back towards Whitehall, Bea admired the beautiful mansion from this vantage point. Behind Whitehall flowed a waterway. Boats were moored on wooden docks along the waterway. The thought of a sailboat ride with her parents made her glad that she’d spend the next three months here.

The ocean beckoned her, and she turned and gazed at the open water. Sunbathers stood on the beach near tents. They seemed to be packing up for the day. It was nearing tea time after all. The Breakers’ guests walked back to the hotel. The beach cleared out quickly, and Bea enjoyed the view from her vantage point.

Something jumped in the ocean. A dolphin or a porpoise? Sharks wouldn’t jump like that. It jumped again, this time doing a twist in the air. Singing echoed from the creature, like it was glad humans no longer cluttered the beach. On the third jump, Bea got a better look at this creature. The bottom half was the long tail of a scaly fish, but the top half…. Bea had to blink because she thought her eyes played tricks on her. The top half was pale and looked like a human with arms and a head.

A mermaid?

Bea scurried down the tree, then ran to the beach as fast as her tiny legs allowed. Although sore from tree climbing, she didn’t let that hinder her sprint to the ocean. She came to the lobby of the Breakers. Focusing her efforts to not get distracted by shiny objects, she ran past the bellhops, through the lobby, and straight out the back of the hotel to the beach.

“Miss? You can’t run in here. Where are your parents?” a man in a beige suit hollered.

Ignoring the protest, Bea ran onto the sandy beach and stared at the ocean. She scanned the water where she thought she saw a mermaid just a few minutes ago. But nothing but crashing waves occupied the spot.

Sitting on the sandy beach, she unlaced her shoes, then stepped into the cold water of the ocean. “Brrrr.” Covering her arms to ward off the chill of the freezing water, she halted her immersion into the ocean.

Sighing with disappointment, she scanned the water along the shore. The last of the Breakers’ guests vacated the beach. A pile of boulders lined part of the shoreline, jettying out into the Atlantic. Bea climbed the boulders skillfully, and walked out to the furthest point. From this vantage point, Bea admired the ocean and its crashing waves. 

Something jumped out of the water and flipped in the air, making a large splash as the aquatic creature reentered the water. Bea glimpsed the tail of whatever splashed back into the water.

Something moved near her feet, just where the water crashed onto the rocks. Something shined beneath the surface. A blond head submerged underwater. It was a boy! Or was it?

Bea knelt on the rock to get closer to the blond hair floating just beneath the surface. The sun broke through the clouds and shined on the water below. Attached to the blond hair, was the face of a boy.

Was he drowning? Should she jump in and save him? But when he smiled at her, she knew he wasn’t drowning. A large fish tail rose out of the water and splashed back down on the surface. Salt water sprayed Bea’s face and stung her eyes. The boy giggled and swam away. But a few yards away, he jumped out of the water and flipped into the air.

From this close range, Bea was rewarded with a great view of this magnificent creature. He was a little bigger than her, but not much. His upper half was a human boy with blond hair. Arms extended from his shoulders as he flipped back down into the water. A large tail, like a dolphin’s but with scales, shimmered with a teal hue.

He swam out to sea, performing more flips along the way. He was definitely a young merman.