The Witch Is Back (32 page)

It was more mean than weird for me, but I didn't say so. Because I knew that they all must be restraining themselves. They were
trying
to fight the magic and that was no easy feat. I was going to have to cut them a little slack until we were able to do a counterspell, which I was already starting to formulate in my head.

“We need to figure out who's targeting the Cleri and why. And then we have to stop them,” I said.

“No offense, but if this is a Cleri thing, why is
she
here?” Fallon asked, pointing at Colette. Blunt as always, Fallon once again hadn't thought about what he was saying before he'd put his foot in his mouth. I scowled at him, hoping it would be enough to make him apologize. But Colette jumped in before he could take anything back.

“Um, they nearly used me as a human piñata tonight. I think that earns me the right to find out why,” Colette said. It was the first time I'd ever heard her even remotely forceful. Nearly dying could do that to a person. And I liked the new her.

“Fair enough,” Fallon said with a nod and then let it go.

“Should we maybe tell the Cleri elders?” Sascha asked.

“I think we've already established that we're more powerful as a group than the elders are, Sascha. Besides, there aren't that many left that we could go to,” I said, thinking about my dad. He'd sent me to camp, thinking it would be a safe place for us. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he'd sent us right into the belly of the beast. He'd never forgive himself. “We handled things on our own once, and we can do it again.”

“Should we all go home? Just leave camp?” Colette chimed in.

I shook my head. “We tried that with Samuel, but he just followed us. Location doesn't matter. If someone wants us gone, they're coming at us wherever we are.”

“How do we figure out who's doing this?” Jinx asked. She'd been quiet so far, and at first I'd worried that she was freaking out. But as I studied her face now, it wasn't fear she was feeling. It was something else. Resolve maybe? No, stronger than that. And then it clicked.

Jinx was
angry
.

And I was almost positive it wasn't directed at me. It was anger toward whoever was messing with us. I almost smiled as I realized that the perfume had worked its magic. Jinx was back.

“Every time I've seen you guys under the spell, there hasn't been anyone else around obviously controlling you,” I said, slowly. “We need to do something that will catch the person in the act.”

What I really meant was that we needed to catch Brooklyn in the act, but I knew by now that they'd have to see it to believe it. So, I left the blame out.

“How do we do that?” Asher asked.

I wondered if he was finally ready for the truth. That sometimes people just turn bad. Would it destroy him all over again? Would it make him less likely to trust another girlfriend? Or has he known, deep down, this whole time, but just didn't want to admit it?

“I'm gonna need to make another trip into the woods for more supplies, but by this time tomorrow you
will
be able to defend yourselves against this spell. No matter who's casting it,” I said.

What came next would be much harder.

I headed out just as the sun came up the next morning, set on getting all the ingredients I'd need for the protection perfumes before our classes began. Colette offered to go with me to help, which I appreciated. The more hands, the quicker we'd get back. We'd all agreed it would be best if the others stayed behind; no use in their trying to fight their feelings of hatred toward me while the spell was still working.

I gave Colette a crash course in herbs and plants, and then we spread out to find everything that was on my list. When we'd plucked the last flower, we both went back to the cabin, and I set out right away to make perfumes and colognes for all of us. I figured the sooner everyone was protected, the better. Once everyone was wearing their new concoctions, I'd be able to breathe again.

But that sense of ease didn't last, because as soon as I'd finished the potion portion of my morning, I was reminded that the Brighton Challenge was beginning. Today.

The universe couldn't have had worse timing.

“I'm
so
not ready for this,” Sascha said as we waited for the counselors to show up at the amphitheater. “I'm horrible at tests.”

The perfumes had started to work almost immediately after they'd been put on, but the girls said the urges to hate me hadn't disappeared completely yet. So they were all keeping a safe distance, despite the fact that they weren't shooting death stares my way anymore.

“I don't think this is the kind of test you can study for, Sascha,” Colette said, popping from one foot to the other nervously. “It's all instincts and natural skills.”

“Which you have experience with already, because of our battle with the Parrishables,” I said. “You know how to handle yourself in a crisis.”

“I guess,” Sascha said, halfheartedly. “But there are so many more talented twitches here. There's no way I can compete.”

I didn't want her going into the challenge thinking she was going to fail, though. I wanted all the Cleri to do well today. Even if I ended up winning the whole challenge.

“Please. You know you're awesome, Sash,” I said encouragingly. “You're strong, talented, totally hot, and way powerful. You're a Cleri.”

“Just go in and do the best that you can,” Jinx added, giving her a supportive squeeze.

“Hello, twitches!” a voice rang out through the air, commanding all of our attention.

We turned to see the three counselors standing up onstage. They were each wearing red, but their outfits were as different as could be. Miss Peggy had traded in her usual vest for one in a candy-apple color. The pins had been transferred over though, which made it almost difficult to see the fabric underneath. Mrs. Jeanette was wearing jeans and a crimson blazer, buttoned up over a black shirt. And Mrs. B was flashy as always in a form-fitting, bloodred cocktail dress with ruching around the midsection and bodice. If she hadn't been standing in the middle of camp, you'd think she was going to a Hollywood party. But for Mrs. B, every day was a party.

“Is everyone ready for the Brighton Challenge!” she yelled out to us. About half the crowd screamed back like they were at a rock concert. The rest of us were just eager to get on with the festivities.

“Are you sure we shouldn't tell them what's going on?” Colette asked as we watched the three women attempt to pump up the audience.

“I thought about it,” I admitted. “But at this point, we don't know who we can trust. And believe me, I've been on the wrong end of an angry adult before—so much worse than being grounded. Better to deal with this ourselves until we know who we're up against.”

“Gotcha,” Colette said, turning back to the stage.

“Okay, let's get started!” Miss Peggy yelled out, motioning for us all to take our seats. Once we'd quieted down, the three women summoned chairs for themselves and then relaxed as they explained what was about to happen. “As you know, this will mark the first annual Brighton Challenge! The obstacles you will compete in today are designed to test your power levels, casting ability, strength of character, reaction time, accuracy, intelligence, creativity, and execution of skills. We encourage you to use a mixture of your human instincts as well as your natural magical drives. It's a balance of the two that will propel you forward in this competition.”

“Not only will you be graded on your ability to finish each obstacle and make it to the end, but we will be monitoring how well you execute each. If you fail to complete any challenge, you will automatically be disqualified,” Mrs. Jeanette said with little feeling.

“Mrs. Jeanette sure knows how to suck the fun out of everything, doesn't she?” I said under my breath. Sascha and Jinx snickered, but Colette was too focused on what was being said to get my joke. She was probably the only other person who wanted the apprenticeship as badly as I did. Of course, our motives were totally different, but we both knew the opportunity would be life changing.

In fact, Colette might actually be my biggest competition here.

“Each of you will be equipped with special gear for the duration of the competition. A wristband will track your progress, as well as act as an alert to the movements of your fellow twitches,” Mrs. B said. “If you are disqualified, either by cheating or failing a challenge, all the jewels on your wristband will glow red until it has been disarmed by one of us. That will be your sign that it is time to head back to home base.

“Of course, if you're a competitive person like me, you'll want to know how your competition is doing.” She winked at us conspiratorially. “So, to keep you all up-to-date on the progress of your fellow campers, each time a competitor is sent back to camp, a jewel on your wristband will light up with a golden hue. It will stay lit until either you are disqualified or have returned to camp at the end of the competition. Also, if another camper completes the course, a jewel on your wristband will glow green.”

“In the end, those who complete all the obstacles set in front of them will then be scored by the three of us, leaving only one girl and one boy at the top,” Miss Peggy said. “Those will be the two to win an exclusive apprenticeship with the witch of their choice.”

“How will you know how we're doing?” Eve blurted out.

I looked over in her direction, but my eyes fell on Brooklyn who was lounging in the chair next to her. She was wearing a pair of short shorts, which showed off her Amazonian legs. I had a great figure myself, but Brooklyn's stems extended all the way to her armpits.

When Brooklyn noticed my staring, she gave me a challenging look. I shot a confident smile back at her and then turned my attention over to the counselors, who were already answering Eve's question.

“We've enchanted the forest to make it so we can see what's happening to any of you at all times,” Mrs. Jeanette said. “You won't be able to see us watching, but we
will
be.”

“We can even do instant playback!” Mrs. B said excitedly, raising her arms in the air like a cheerleader. “The NFL has nothing on us!”

“Yes. That's right,” Miss Peggy said, trying to get back to the matter at hand. “Are there any more questions?”

The trio looked around until they spied someone with their hand up and pointed to a place just behind where I was sitting. We all turned to see that the hand was attached to Abby.

“Yes. You there,” Miss Peggy said, pointing to her.

“What are the obstacles and how many are there?” Abby asked. I couldn't tell by the inflection in her voice whether she was excited about the competition or dreading it. Apparently, just because she was being more vocal didn't mean that she was turning into a whole new person.

“We can't tell you exactly what the obstacles are, as that would take away from the spontaneity of the challenge. But we
can
tell you what you might be able to expect while you're out there,” Miss Peggy said.

“There will be a total of five obstacles you must pass in order to finish the course. Each one will grow in difficulty, and it is up to you to discover how to pass them all. Your wristband will glow purple for exactly five seconds once you have correctly finished the obstacle. That will be your sign to move on to the next challenge,” said Mrs. Jeanette. “Though we will not tell you what each obstacle is, it will be clear when you come up against it. Move straight through the woods until you reach the end and your wristbands alert you that you've completed the course. If you veer into another camper's designated area, a force will block you from entering.”

“You're all very talented witches—you wouldn't have been accepted into Brighton if you weren't—so, we're not going easy on you. We're trying to find the best of the best by celebrating the talents you possess as witches, and the challenges you're about to face will reflect that,” Miss Peggy said ominously. I was so used to her constant bubbliness that hearing the dip in her voice was unnerving. “Please keep in mind that at no point will you ever be in
real
danger. Though your circumstances might feel dire, we have safeguards to ensure your safety at all times. We're taking this competition seriously, but not at the expense of your lives.”

A hush fell over the group as we all took in this information. Given the weirdness at camp, I was beginning to get a bad feeling.

“But above all, remember to have fun, dolls!” Mrs. B said with a twinkle in her eye. “And let the best witch win!”

“I know it's because of a spell, but it's super annoying that you look good in everything.” Sascha pouted as she looked down at her own clothes. She had on plain black leggings and a blue tank, both of which flattered her figure but didn't exactly make her stand out. I tried to tell her to just zap herself another outfit, but she'd explained that she didn't have the same eye for fashion that I did.