The Ravens

by Kass Morgan

  A few of the decks were familiar to Vivi from her mother’s readings, with bright, lurid art and figures in exaggerated poses. She reached out to run her fingers along a deck with lavender backs and delicate, black-and-white line art. But before she could pick up the cards to examine them further, something glinted in the corner of her vision. It was a stack of rich brown cards with gold-leaf drawings that shimmered like jewels, although there was barely any light for them to reflect. She brushed her fingertips against the top card and exhaled as a strange, soothing sensation spread through her, like sinking into an unexpectedly soft bed.

  “Shuffle the cards and then place the top two figures face-down on the table,” Scarlett ordered. The pledges did as they were told. “Now turn them over.”

  With slightly trembling hands, Vivi flipped her cards over to reveal the Fool and the Empress.

  “Holy shit,” Bailey whispered next to her. Vivi glanced over to see the same two figures in front of her. The pledges exchanged excited, nervous looks as they realized what had happened. They’d all drawn the exact same cards.

  “The Fool represents an innocent, naïve being at the start of a journey. That’s you all,” Scarlett said, clearly unsurprised by what had just transpired. “The Empress is the goddess incarnate. These are the two major arcana forces you’ll need to channel to cast your first spells, though I’m going to give each of you a different challenge, depending on your respective suits.”

  “Will we always need the cards with us to perform a spell?” Bailey asked, still transfixed by her new deck.

  “No,” Scarlett said. “The most powerful Ravens can summon the magic of any suit. And, with practice, all of you will be able to perform your own suit’s spells without the cards. At least, those of you who become full-fledged Ravens.” She caught Vivi’s eye. “Because some of you probably won’t make it that far.” She turned to Sonali. “Okay, Sonali, you’re up first. Please turn over a third card.”

  Sonali did as she was told, revealing the Queen of Swords, ​the same card she’d drawn last night. “Ready to conjure the magic of a Swords witch?” Scarlett asked. “Repeat after me: ‘I call to the Queen of Swords, wise and fair. Lend me your power to summon the air.’”

  Her voice quavering slightly, Sonali repeated the words. Nothing happened.

  “It’s okay,” Scarlett said, sounding unusually kind. “Right now, they’re just words. In order to turn them into a spell, you have to speak with more than your lips and breath. You need to feel the words come out of your heart.” It was something Vivi could picture Daphne saying while trying to con one of her clients, but here in Kappa House, it was enough to make Vivi’s skin tingle.

  Sonali took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was steady and sonorous. “I call to the Queen of Swords, wise and fair. Lend me your power to summon the air.” The temperature in the greenhouse seemed to drop, and the air became heavy, like it did right before a thunderstorm. Vivi could’ve sworn she felt a breeze on the back of her neck, but that was impossible; all the greenhouse windows were shut tight.

  Yet to Vivi’s amazement, the plants around her began to sway as a soft but unmistakable wind blew through the greenhouse, building slowly until Sonali’s hair flew out behind her.

  No one spoke. No one even breathed until Scarlett smiled and said, “Well done, Sonali,” as if she’d just returned a tricky tennis serve instead of bending the rules of nature. “Bailey? Please turn over your third card.”

  It was the Queen of Wands, the Fire sign Bailey had drawn during the first test. “For centuries, new Wands witches have started their magical training with a simple fire-summoning spell,” Scarlett explained. “Now focus your energy on one of the candles and repeat after me: ‘I call to the Queen of Wands. Show me your might by giving us light.’”

  Bailey took a deep breath and said, “I call to the Queen of Wands. Show me your might by giving us light.” The final word had barely left her mouth when smoke began to curl up from the wick in front of her, and a moment later, the candle sparked to life. Bailey stared at it in disbelief, then her face broke into a huge smile. “I still believe that worked. How the hell am I supposed to go back to physics class after this?”

  As Scarlett made her way around the circle of pledges, Vivi’s heart began to beat so quickly, it was hard to catch her breath. She was desperate to try her first spell and utterly terrified that it wouldn’t work, that’d she be revealed as a fraud, forcing the Ravens to wipe her memory. She couldn’t go back to her normal life after getting a taste of something so extraordinary.

  When it was finally Vivi’s turn, she flipped over her third card to reveal the Queen of Pentacles. Even though she’d expected it by this point, the power of the cards still made her shiver.

  Scarlett reached into her basket and produced a small pot filled with dirt. “You’re a Pentacles, so your magic is rooted in nature,” Scarlett said, handing Vivi the pot. “I planted a seed in here. I want you to make it grow by repeating after me: ‘I call to the Queen of Earth. Show us your power over death and rebirth.’”

  “Okay,” Vivi said, trying to steady her nerves. “I call to the Queen of Earth. Show us your power over death and rebirth.”

  Nothing happened.

  “Try again,” Scarlett said. “And take your time. You’re casting a spell, not ordering at McDonald’s.”

  Vivi took as deep a breath as her nerves would allow and repeated the words more slowly. The dirt remained resolutely still.

  Scarlett crossed her arms and looked exasperated. “Do you know what it feels like to tap into your magic?”

  Vivi thought back to the moment the sparkler crackled to life, to the energy that flowed through her veins. Another memory sprang to mind on its heels, unbidden. Mason touching her arm. That same spark. Throat tight, worried Scarlett might be able to peer inside her head and see her traitorous thoughts, Vivi forced herself to nod.

  “Summon that feeling again.”

  Vivi shut her eyes, trying not to care if she looked ridiculous. She reached for the memory of the sparkler once more. She thought about the way her fingertips had tingled. The same way they had when she’d touched the tarot card last night.

  It felt like a static shock or that time she’d accidentally touched the low-level electrified fence around the pond by their house in Oregon. It made her scalp tickle. The itch crawled down the back of her neck, ran along her arms and down her spine, like millions of goose bumps all at once.

  “Now focus it,” Scarlett said. It sounded as though her voice came from somewhere far, far away. “Think about what you want to see happen. Believe that it will happen.”

  Vivi felt something vibrate in her chest, and when she began to speak, her voice sounded rich and powerful. “I call to the Queen of Earth. Show us your power over death and rebirth.” The pot trembled slightly and Vivi gripped it tighter. She could almost sense a faint pulse, like a heartbeat, and an image flashed through her mind—a quivering seed with delicate roots unfurling.

  Vivi opened her eyes. Her hands felt shaky, her energy drained, as if she’d just run a long, hard sprint. But in front of her was a tiny sapling, no taller than her pinkie finger, with a single green leaf on top. A plant she’d grown through magic.

  * * *

  Vivi was on such a high after their lesson that it took her hours to stop beaming. Even Scarlett’s chilly attitude toward her couldn’t dampen her spirits. It was one thing to be told you were a witch. It was quite another to perform real magic. Her already goofy grin widened as she tried to imagine what else she could do with her powers. Could she create gourmet dishes without ever learning how to cook? Transform her dorm room into the height of luxury? Turn her roommate invisible?

  But now, as she sat with the other girls in the science library at three a.m., she felt her buzz beginning to fade. For the second part of their training session, Scarlett had sent them off to study spell books that had been enchanted to look like dull, dog-eared organic chemistry t
extbooks to non-witches. “You have twenty-four hours to memorize every spell in this grimoire,” Scarlett had said. “Tomorrow night, same time, meet me back here for your next test.”

  Unlike the rest of the historic campus, the science library was a modern, soulless, fourteen-story rectangle. Each floor was painted according to the pH scale. They were at a table on the first floor, the only students in sight. No one else had to pull an all-nighter during the first week of school. Even the librarian had gone home.

  “It’s humanly impossible to memorize this in one night,” Reagan said as she shut her book with frustration.

  “It’s much more fun than real organic chemistry, trust me,” Bailey said, staring at her grimoire in awe. She pointed at a spell printed in gold ink above a trio of gem-toned tarot cards that reminded Vivi of an illuminated medieval manuscript. “This is a spell to silence the voice of your enemy. Can you imagine?”

  “I wonder if I can use it on my roommate,” Reagan said as she leaned over for a better look. “She calls her boyfriend in Texas every night and spends hours recounting the banal details of her pointless life.”

  “That’s a little mean, isn’t it?” Sonali said.

  Reagan fixed her with a glare. “She tells him everything she ate that day. Literally everything, like ‘I went to the dining hall and had cereal with half a banana, and then for lunch I went to that bagel place but they were out of cinnamon raisin, so I—’”

  “Oh God, make it stop,” Sonali cut in as she rubbed her temples. “You’re right. That’s insufferable.”

  “I don’t even know what language this is,” Ariana said groggily as she frowned at her grimoire. “Is it ancient Greek?”

  “I think so,” Sonali said, leaning in for a closer look. Unlike the others, she’d seemed to grow more wired as the night went on, muttering to herself as she pored over the spells. “My mom was a Raven but she never said anything about memorizing an entire spell book overnight. Maybe she blocked it from her memory?”

  “Or maybe she didn’t want to scare you away from pledging?” Bailey said as she closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders back a few times.

  Sonali let out a snort. “Hardly. It was, like, the number-one topic of conversation. She made it pretty clear that if I didn’t get a bid, she’d disown me.”

  “This is a waste of time, trust me,” Reagan said, then yawned. She stretched her arms over her head, causing her crop top to rise up even higher. “My mom and aunts are all brilliant witches, and I don’t think they ever memorized any spells. Once you learn how to harness your magic, you don’t ever have to look at a book again.”

  “What was it like, growing up with witches?” Bailey asked, suddenly alert again.

  Reagan shrugged. “I never knew anything else.”

  Just then, Vivi’s phone buzzed, startling her. No one called her, ever. Especially not in the middle of the night. But when she saw the name on the screen, she snatched her phone and hurried toward a bank of chairs on the other side of the room.

  “Mom?” she whispered as she rushed away from the table and turned into the dark hallway. “Is everything okay?”

  “Honey, I just got your voicemails.” There was a crackling sound on the other end of the line that sounded like waves. “Sorry I couldn’t call sooner. I’ve been trying this new immersive meditation technique that—”

  “Mom,” Vivi cut in. “Why didn’t you tell me I’m a witch?”

  There was a long pause.

  “Mom, are you still there?” She stepped closer to a window, hoping for a better cell signal. This side of the library faced a thick cluster of trees and a small quad edged with administrative buildings.

  “I did tell you, Vivi. You just weren’t ready to hear it.”

  You’re special, Vivi. You’re full of magic. Daphne had spent Vivi’s whole childhood repeating phrases like that. Vivi just hadn’t known it was real. “Does that mean you’re also a witch?”

  “I have some . . . heightened abilities, but my powers are nothing like yours, darling.”

  “Why would you keep all this a secret from me?” Vivi snapped, suddenly shaking with frustration. “There’s an entire sorority here full of witches and I might not make the cut because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

  Daphne was silent for so long that Vivi wondered if she’d hung up. “Mom? Are you there?”

  “Vivian, listen to me: There are many ways to be a witch. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there is only one path forward.”

  “Their path is looking a whole lot better than your path.” Vivi knew that would hurt her but right now, she was too angry to care. “These girls are incredible. They’re going to run the world one day. I think some of them already are.”

  There was another long pause. “You need to be really careful, Vivi. You don’t know what power does to people. I’ve seen it. You can’t trust any of those so-called sorority witches.”

  Vivi felt a surge of anger burn its way through her foggy exhaustion. “At least they took the time to tell me I was a witch. Right now, it seems like they’re the ones looking out for me.” Furious, she ended the call.

  The Ravens weren’t the problem. Daphne was, just like she’d always been.

  Vivi was about to rejoin the other pledges when something screeched outside the window. Startled, she wheeled around and craned her head for a closer look but saw nothing except for the shadowy outline of tree branches.

  A few seconds later, the screeching noise came again, but there was still no sign of movement among the branches. “What the hell?” Vivi muttered. She was starting to inch forward when something slammed against the glass with a gruesome thwack. Vivi leaped back, heart pounding. She realized with a start that it was a moth, the largest she’d ever seen. It was banging furiously against the glass, so hard the pane rattled. Its wings were light brown, and there was a white shape in the middle.

  A shape that looked exactly like a grinning skull.

  Vivi gasped and dropped her phone, which skidded across the smooth floor. Before she could reach for it, the dim ceiling lights flickered and went out, shrouding the hallway in darkness.

  “Shit.” With a groan, Vivi crouched down and began to feel her way along the floor, praying that the next thing her fingers brushed against would be her phone. “Sonali?” she called. “Ariana? Are you guys in there?” Perhaps the other girls had been still for too long and the sensors had turned the lights off. Except that the large windows were also dark; the lights on the quad had been extinguished, and the lights illuminating the bell tower were out too. An eerie feeling settled over Vivi as she waited for her eyes to adjust. But the dark was too heavy, too complete; it was like she was locked in an underground vault. “Ariana!” she cried.

  A chair scraped in the distance. “Vivi?” Ariana called. “Where are you?”

  “In the hallway. I . . . I don’t think we’re alone,” Vivi called back, her voice quivering. She remembered the girl who’d arrived at Kappa House the night before, the madness in her wide eyes. “I dropped my phone and can’t see anything.”

  “Stay there. We’re coming!”

  But before the pledges could reach her, the front door to the library banged open.

  “Who’s there?” Vivi shouted, pressing her back against the wall. “What do you want?” She groped around wildly, trying to get her bearings. Then hands grabbed her shoulders roughly, and Vivi screamed at the top of her lungs.

  “Happy Hell Week, witches!” a chorus of voices shouted in her ear.

  All at once, the lights snapped back on. Scarlett, Tiffany, Mei, and Dahlia stood before her, along with the rest of the sorority’s upperclassmen. The older girls were all grinning while Vivi and the other pledges, who’d just burst into the hallway, stood dumbly, blinking in the bright lights.

  “This week, you’ll be asked to do impossible things,” Scarlett said. This time, her smile was bright and genuine. Contagious.

  In spite of her still-racing pulse, Vivi
started to smile too.

  “If you can’t hack it, you’ll never be able to so much as mention magic again.” Scarlett’s gaze settled on Vivi. “But if you survive this week? Maybe we’ll make a witch of you yet.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Scarlett

  “You want me to do what?” Vivi gaped at her.

  Scarlett eyed her calmly and explained. “Dean Sanderson reprimanded Hazel for protesting the male-only lineup of speakers on Class Day.”

  “That’s terrible, but that doesn’t sound like cause for . . . I mean, couldn’t we just paint the admin building pink? Boycott Class Day?” Vivi asked.

  Scarlett paused dramatically, then went in for the kill. “We protect our sisters above all. Which is why I want you to bring me the dean’s heart.”

  “I thought we weren’t supposed to harm anyone,” Vivi said carefully, watching Scarlett with wide eyes, like someone afraid of upsetting a deranged killer.

  Scarlett couldn’t help it. The corners of her mouth twitched into a faint smirk.

  Vivi sighed as her cheeks flushed bright red. “Oh. That was a joke.”

  Scarlett burst into laughter. “You should’ve seen your face.” She doubted there had ever been such a naïve witch. And for what felt like the thousandth time, she wondered how someone so freaking simple could have made Mason forget their date. Part of Scarlett knew she was being unfair, but something about the girl rubbed her the wrong way, and it was more than seeing her talking to Mason. She was too eager, somehow. Too innocent, too . . . free. She’d lived a lifetime without the weight of expectation. This was all new and exciting to her. Scarlett couldn’t tell if she envied her or hated her for that. All she knew was that she was going to enjoy every second of Hell Week.

  Scarlett pointed to the staircase. “Second floor, third door on the left. Do be thorough.”

  “What?”

  “Our bathroom. That’s your task.”

  The embarrassment on Vivi’s face faded away, replaced by a glare. “Let me guess: I have to do it with nothing but a toothbrush?”