A Witch's Curse (24 page)

It took them a solid hour to clean up the mess, retrieving brooms from the closet and collecting all of the grime that had settled on every inch of the chalet. After Rose had finished with her last scoopful, throwing it in the trash, she then went into the backroom, slipping into the new pair of clothing, her newest masquerade. It was another leine, like the one she had worn the night of meeting Hemera’s coven for the first time. She applied different makeup in order to make her skin white again.

When she stepped out into the living room, Alexis offered to change Rose’s voice once more.

“
Drink this,” she said, handing Whelan a vial of crimson liquid.

Rose nodded before downing it in one gulp.

“
Hello?“ Rose said as a test run, amazed at the audibility of herself. This one was the kind of sound she preferred, for it was less huskier than the last pair of vocal chords she had been given. A part of her wished this could be the way her voice sounded all the time.

“
Let’s go,” Alexis said. “Are you ready?”

Rose confirmed that she was, as they made their way outside into the mountain air. The sun was lowering behind Auster’s peak, casting a purplish miasma across the jagged tops of the frosty crests, and she could not help but yearn to talk to her Grandfather once more, wishing that her Dad could know about the transcendentally given conversations that had happened only yesterday.

“
So, what are our plans?” Alexis asked.

“
I’m going to cast the banishment spell when they are partaking in their ritualistic practice over the fire, when their backs are turned and it’s safe for me to do so. When I cast the incantation, I will also try to search within and find forgiveness towards my mother, so as to add much more strength to the hex.”

“
That’s right, and what will you do if the other witches begin to retaliate?”

“
I call on you.”

They hugged each other for a brief moment, and when they released each other, Rose found herself staring glumly at the ground, needing to express herself and yet finding it difficult to speak a truism that had been inside of her for quite some time.

“
Alexis,” Rose said, as her teacher made her way closer to the vehicle.

“
Yes?”

“
Whether this sounds like me saying something over the top or not, I hope you know that I truly mean it. You’re the closest thing I have to a real mother.”

Harvey smiled, closing the car’s door, beckoning Rose to do the same.

As they were driving along the empty highway, the night’s darkness draping every hill in its bleak shadows, Alexis rolled down the windows briefly to let in a bit of cold air before saying something.

“
I know why you sleep walk,“ Alexis said. “I know it through careful studying. There are a lot of things about the universe you and I will never understand, dear. What I do know is that some people’s ethereal organisms are not necessarily subjugated to one vessel. There is a bifurcation in every one. Some forms are different than others. It only makes sense that your own inherent differences would be at war with one another, particularly if it’s dependent on the nature of the moon. Every witch who dabbles in the magical arts is far more in touch with lunar cycles than the average person, but you’re a different case. You always leave your bed when the moon is full. Once we banish your mother, then your tendency to sleep walk will also no longer bother you.”

“
The lunar cycles are responsible for when I sleep walk,” Rose said.

“
Correct.”

“
Does that make me a luna - tic?”

“
By definition, yes. Of course we know better.”

“
I was going for humor, Ms. Harvey.”

“
Oh. Right. By the way, you may want to look in the back seat.”

She turned around and saw two broom sticks laying horizontal on the leather interior.

“
You made one?” Rose asked.

“
Of course.”

She grabbed the one nearest to her, and felt its handle. There were many inscriptions.

They were in the center of Lake Pines. Everything seemed asleep. All of the shop lights were turned off and all of the businesses closed.

They found a safe place to stop the car, only one street away from Blume Park. After parking, Alexis gave her a concerned look.

Rose opened the latch, preparing herself to get out and make the sojourn there, through the black woods and dark flat lands.

“
Rose?” The name sounded overwrought when murmured. “Please, come back safely. I‘ll know if you need help.”

22

Blume Park was situated next to the lake. She met up with the coven. They were all standing in a circle, their robes as dark as the shadows surrounding them.

“
Sit in the outer edge and observe us,” Hemera said, pointing a scraggly and rather malformed finger in the direction she wanted Rose to remain immobile in.

The ceremony then went through four stages, each divided by ranks.

The first was the Dedication. Every one spoke aloud their vows to the gods, with eyes closed and hands together in front of them, as if they were praying.

One particularly struck Whelan with a sort of curiosity. Tawaret sajd, “I somberly swear to set aside all personal ethics bestowed upon me in my formative years prior to taking up the practice, and replace it with creeds initiating me into the lifestyle that I am given, rather than one I personally requested. It is up to me to be conventional within the limitations of the accepted rules, which I am more than obliged to be a part of.”

The second phase was the Neophyte commitment. Each witch had to perform an act that proved they were not imposters.

One witch had to hold a ball of fire in her hand, no matter how much it burned her flesh, singing her brows, melted her makeup, thereby causing a searing liquid to fall onto her clothes and the rest of her form. It looked agonizing. The true trial given to her was not to scream. The first degree of initiation was when they soon declared a high priestess. Hemera was picked to be the new clergywoman. They all clapped and bowed before her. Rose even did so to fit in, although she felt sick to her stomach while making herself do this.

Their stretched out loop soon became closer knit, with each one holding another’s hands while moving into the form of a tighter circle. In the very center of the sphere, the black cloaked man emerged.

He stared at her for a second that felt much too long. Rose hoped that this would not be the last moment of her disguise. Not after she had come so far in becoming an emissary in pursuit of the secrets of their warren. Soon, the one wearing the robe vanished into a tree’s outstretched branches, causing a thick patch of gloom to settle on the ground

One reached into a nearby bag that looked to be quilted from some archaic cloth, and abruptly retrieved a lantern. Another was soon in view, and it was only a matter of time before each and every person in the assembly was holding a kerosene light.

“
Are you learning anything yet?” Tawaret said, turning around and giving Rose a smile with her wilted, hollow and black teeth.

“
Yes,” Rose answered, tightly gripping the wand beneath her heavy gown.

They raised the objects high, before Rose figured out that her mother was no longer even in the circle, but behind her.

“
Oh!” Rose said, startled, attempting not to show too much distress. “Hemera, what’s happening? Do you want to make me part of the ritual?”

“
You could say that,” she said, looking at Rose from head to toe. “Tell me, what’s your real name?”

“
Turgenev,” she said off the top of her head. naming a Russian author that she had read over the summer.

“
Ah. Tell me, Turgenev, what interested you in our group? All of the ladies seemed to like you immediately, but no one has thoroughly questioned you. I would like to know what attracted you to this coven.”

“
It’s very interesting. I’m a beginner in magic, and I wanted to learn the basics from elders who are well-experienced in this kind of training. Not to say that you’re old.”

Hemera smirked. “You didn’t answer me. A true witch would know that there are countless groups spread out all over the county, particularly the sort of witchcraft that people your age are interested in. This tells me one of two things. Either you arrived here out of your own naiveté, an obsequious desire to try and commingle with others far above you, or you’re not who we think you are.”

Rose felt her felt her palms becoming clammy. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here because I’m genuinely curious. That’s why.”

Hemera leaned in closer. “Conspirators have never been treated well in the past times I’ve lived.”

“
What makes you think I could be a conspirator? I idolize you.” Again, Rose felt her insides turn.

“
Some people have been skilled by us in the past. Many of them went on to pursue better things. Of course, we eventually cursed them, because no one can just leave our group. Which reminds me of certain times in my life when I saw many a defector’s insides ripped out and put on display for the village.”

“
I assure you, I’m here for instructive purposes. I told you that I was lead here.”

“
True, but by whom?”

It took a few seconds before the final act was issued.

Hemera shouted to the coven, reaching underneath her own robes as Rose did the same. The next few seconds were a blur, with her running backwards and pulling out the wand, pointing it at her mother.

She was catapulted backwards. Falling on the grass and sliding four feet in reverse, she was soon on her feet again and greatly disoriented. The world was spinning faster than it ever had. It took a small while to even regain the focus it took to point her magic weapon on the right course. Having her mother in sight while coming at her and ready to attack, she muttered a spell under her breath. An ice flurry emerged from the tip.

Hemera prepared to make another assailment, closing her eyes quickly. What she seemed to be ignorant of was that the spell had just started. An enormous gust of wind kicked in and knocked the witch off of her feet, propelling her into an almost deadly flipside.

The other members of the coven neared her. One reached for Rose from behind, gripping her shoulders and throwing Whelan to the ground. The agony of the concrete walkway hitting her elbow sent a shooting pain through out the arm. Soon, what felt like a thousand feet began kicking her everywhere. The pain was already too much.

The first tear fell on one of the ancient practitioners black leather shoes. She tried to imagine something burning in her mind’s eye.

A flame, small as a spark, emerged in sight, and before long all Rose could hear was screaming.

Within seconds, she was using all of the adrenaline pumping through her veins to push her legs up, wanting to run far away from the fire. When a good distance apart from the blaze, she saw the rest of the group fearfully backing away from it.

“
Get her!” Hemera hollered. Rose did not have to think twice; she still had enough enchantment to create a wall of flame in front of her, which she then formed into a wide circle, so as to stand in the center of it without worry of being burned.

“
Anyone who enters this ring will turn to dust.”

They stared at her blankly, before Nekhbet raised her hands.

Rose was in disbelief as a sudden downpour of torrential rainstorm fell. Though the perspiration was great, it still took a few seconds before the inferno was fully extinguished.

Rose slung out her wand again after reaching into her pockets and retrieving a handful of dust, and decided how now was the time to cast the banishment spell.

Before the incantation could be completed, the stick was thrown out of her hands by a strong wind. Grunting, she stared in dismay at her last chance lying on the ground yards away from where she was standing. The group was too close, for they would surely apprehend her before she had a chance to get the needed object back in her hands.

A scream exploded in the reserve beyond.

“
Am I invited?”

All heads turned to look and see where the noise was coming from. Grady was standing on a hill top with his coat off, peering down at them not from twenty feet off. With him was Alexis, Melinda, and James.

Alexis was the first to make a move. She pointed her wand downwards, and it was not too long before a hail of coals emerged from the sky. Hemera bawled in frustration while the rocks fell all over her, smearing their black ash around where she was standing.

All of her friends soon came rushing off the mount, and when they were on the ground’s level, the sleet of dark rocks had ceased to plunge. Rose viewed Alexis as she successfully fended them off, creating an unseen blockade to prevent them from getting closer. While a few broke through it, they were soon slung and overturned where they originally stood.

James and Melinda were picking up the coals and throwing them at the group. Grady was trying to get to the forefront while Alexis held him back.

“
Banishment, Rose!”

She ran over to where her wand was lying and picked it up hurriedly, along with dust from the exile’s island that had flown with it. Concentrating, she pointed the wand once again, and blew the sand over the edge of the object’s end.