For Better or Cursed

by Kate M. Williams

  “This is amazing,” she said, under her breath and without moving her lips. “What is all this?”

  “Brian did it,” I whispered back. A beat passed.

  “Of all the crazy things I’ve heard,” she whispered, as she picked up the phone and began scrolling through it. “Esme, there’s nothing on here but Michael Bublé and John Legend,” she hissed.

  “Use the internet, Janis,” I said. “Figure it out, I have to go.” Two seconds later, I wasn’t surprised one bit when the first few notes of Mariah Carey started to fill the air. Over in a corner, I could see Cassandra talking to Mallory and Ruby, and I wondered whether she was telling them about her fortunate accident today. Brian and Clarissa were by the hot chocolate bar, and he was filling a mug with marshmallows just for her. I had to hand it to Brian—the place looked amazing. It was the classiest Spring River party I’d ever been to.

  But it felt weird. Off. It felt like the Summit had barely even started, and now we were supposed to celebrate the fact that it was over? I still couldn’t wrap my head around that, and the more I thought about it, the more anxious it made me. I decided to get myself a gingerbread-person cookie and a whipped-cream-topped mocha to calm my nerves, and then I was going to force myself to do something that terrified me. I was going to mingle and find out whether anyone else in this crowd of Sitters knew anything about why we were here, wearing cashmere hats and nibbling on peppermint bark when there were demons terrorizing a town. Not just any town—Spring River. My town.

  Halfway across the room, a group of girls had gathered around Pig. Just as I predicted, she was a hit in her reindeer ears, and she gave me the perfect excuse to introduce myself. I had just slugged down half my mocha when the music suddenly cut out. Panicked, I looked at Janis to make sure nothing had happened. She was still behind the DJ station, eyes and face blank, braids tumbling out of her elf hat, standing a few feet back from the DJ booth because Wanda had stepped up and taken the mic.

  The sudden silence had gotten everyone’s attention, and now we were all looking at Wanda. Crap, crap, crap. Whatever was happening, it could not be good. I didn’t want to tear my eyes away from Wanda, because I didn’t like the fact that she was so close to Janis, but I didn’t have to, because Cassandra was at my side before I could even look for her. Wordlessly, we started to weave through the crowd. On the way, Brian caught my eye. He was still smiling, holding a mug, but I could tell by the set of his eyebrows that he was worried too. “Pig,” I mouthed, and he gave a minuscule nod, then started to look for her. I tried to slow my breathing and tell myself that Wanda could be up there for any reason, and maybe she was just going to give a nice little goodbye speech. Deep down, though, I knew that wasn’t true, and I knew that Cassandra and Brian knew it too.

  “It brings me great pain to interrupt what should be a joyous and festive occasion,” Wanda said into the mic. “But something very unfortunate has been brought to my attention.” She cleared her throat. The room was dead silent and my heart was racing. “There has been a theft, and a very precious book has been stolen from the library.”

  The announcement almost made me laugh out loud in relief, and I relaxed to the point that my bones might as well have been made of marshmallows. This wasn’t about me or Cassandra. It had nothing to do with us.

  “Fortunately,” Wanda continued, “we know who took it, and we know where it is. However, until we fully understand their motives, we are taking some precautions.” Each of her words fell through the air and landed on the floor with a thud like beanbags. “I hate to do this, but it is for everyone’s safety.” Then she raised her hands, palms out, a gesture that was both familiar and terrifying, and I felt like I was standing on a sled that was about to shoot out from under me. Wanda moved in a circle until she’d done a complete 360 and was facing us again. I suddenly felt very tired. “As of now, this building is sealed, and all use of kinesis and spells has been suspended,” she said. At this, a collective yelp escaped from the crowd, half, I’m sure, at what Wanda had said, and half because she had just erased the magic of Brian’s party.

  The beauty of a few seconds ago was now replaced by reality. We were no longer standing in an alpine village, but a bleh hotel ballroom studded here and there with a few cheap party decorations, and those of us, like Cassandra and myself, who had donned hand-knit cashmere beanies, were now wearing wigs. I put my hands to my head and felt the synthetic strands of an Orangesicle ombré bob. My heart ached for Brian, as his picturesque sleigh photo op was now a kiddie pool with a couple of inflatable palm trees. Across the room, I could hear someone start to cry and I hoped it wasn’t him.

  “Silence, please!” Wanda yelled. “We are doing this not because it is an issue of magic, but one of inexperience. We want to give you the benefit of the doubt and attribute this theft to youth and curiosity, not to malice. That is why we are giving you the chance to come forward and resolve this with a conversation.” She paused and smiled, then clapped her hands in front of her chest like someone had just presented her with a cake. “Now, if you are innocent, you have nothing to fear, and I want everyone to enjoy what is left of this party. It looks like our ever-competent hosts have provided you with”—she peered over at the snack table—“some corn chips and a tub of hummus! Now, those of you who are guilty, we can work this out, so I beseech you to find me and confess.” She smiled again. “Otherwise, I will find you. Now, the rest of you have fun.”

  I kept my eyes on Janis, who was now clothed in a Grinch onesie several sizes too big, lime-green fabric pooling at her feet. She was still holding the phone, but all of the rest of the DJ setup had vanished. Certainly, this was going to take every ounce of acting skill Janis had to not register something strange was going on at this already strange party, but she just moved slowly and deliberately, and soon started to play Wham!, as loud as she could get it, out of the phone’s wimpy speaker. “What was that all about?” Cassandra held out her hand. “Crap,” she said when nothing happened. “Our kinesis really is gone.”

  Wanda’s words had dropped a downer bomb in the middle of a good time. I was about to ask Cassandra who she thought had stolen the book when it hit me: no one had stolen any book. This was all just an excuse, and now Wanda had us all together, in one room, and no one had any powers. “Cass,” I said, “we have to get out of here. All of us.”

  “If that’s what you’re thinking, then I’m sure you won’t protest when I tell you to come with me.” Cassandra and I spun around with the synchronicity of backup dancers. Wanda was standing behind us, with Deirdre a few feet away. They both wore the inscrutable expressions of potatoes. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking or feeling.

  “Okay,” I said, at the same time as Cassandra said, “No way.” But then we were walking with Wanda and Deirdre toward the door, and Cassandra was keeping pace with me. Our eyes met and hers were wide, but her mouth was shut tight in a line, and that was when I realized it.

  Stop walking, I told myself, but I couldn’t. Something other than my brain or my body was moving my feet and clamping my mouth shut. I could still breathe deeply, though, and with every exhale, I told myself we had done nothing wrong, but I couldn’t say that to the dozens of pairs of eyes watching us as we moved toward the door. Wanda stopped, and I saw Brian look up from where he was panickily dumping Fritos into a plastic bowl, and when he met my eyes, he threw the bag on the table and started to stride toward us. His hat had become an orange mess of a wig, and he looked like Drop Dead Fred.

  “Now, I hope you feel bad that you are going to make your Counsel miss the very party he put so much work into,” Wanda said, “but we need him as a witness to your misdeeds.”

  “We didn’t do anything!” my brain was screaming at Brian, but nothing came out of my mouth. I could tell by the set of Brian’s jaw that he was worried, but it was probably a good thing he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “What’s going on?” he asked, look
ing at Wanda.

  “Something very unfortunate, I’m afraid,” she said. “Now if you’ll please come with me.” Wordlessly, Brian nodded, then held the door for everyone as we walked out of the ballroom. Wanda did most of the talking as we made our way down the hall and toward the elevators. I tried to protest, but whatever spell Wanda was using to make my feet march made my mouth useless as a mouth. My lips couldn’t form words, and my tongue kept hitting the back of my teeth like I was trying to swallow a spoonful of peanut butter—the organic, no-sugar-added kind that I hated.

  “Now, Brian, please understand that we only hold you marginally responsible for their actions,” Wanda was saying, and I strained to hear everything. “You’ve served the Sitterhood well for years, and these girls, well, we would not expect a few months of guidance to make up for a lifetime lacking in it.” Rage zinged around inside me, creating a headache and heartburn, but nothing came out. I wondered if this was how Mom felt, like a mute mannequin in a sea of the loud living.

  At the bank of elevators, Deirdre pushed the Up button. “I see, I see,” Brian murmured, not meeting my eyes and looking confused. “What did they do this time?”

  “They stole a book from my library,” Deirdre said, and my neck snapped around. Every atom in my body wanted to defend itself. I most certainly had not stolen a book from her library. I wanted to ask where we were going but I couldn’t. My tongue was tied with a million other questions. The elevator opened and we stepped on. Deirdre pressed the button for the fourth floor, and I figured we were heading to our room. From the corner of my eye, I could see Cassandra was in the same state as me, silent and staring.

  Brian cleared his throat as the doors closed. “A spell book?” he asked. Deirdre pursed her lips and shook her head.

  “Not just that. It’s Red Magic, I’m afraid,” she said.

  “Part of why we suspected these two from the beginning,” Wanda said, “is, of all the current Sitters, they are the two most closely connected to Red Magic. It’s in their blood, after all. Cassandra, obviously, is Erebus’s progeny. I have no doubt that Circe’s attempts to conceal Cassandra’s destiny were to protect the child from her own father.” I couldn’t speak, but I could bite my tongue, and I tasted the blood seeping between my teeth. I wanted to scream. What if Circe was trying to hide her daughter from you, you Beanie Baby–hoarding hound?

  “And we always had problems with Theresa,” Wanda continued. I wanted to kick her in the shins. Problems with my mom? Who had given everything to being a Sitter? I was sure if Wanda had looked into my eyes, she would have seen the hate pouring out of them.

  Ding. The doors opened onto the fourth floor, and the five of us moved down the hall toward our room.

  “What are we doing up here?” Brian asked.

  “We need to search their room and see if our suspicions prove correct,” Deirdre said.

  “And what if they do?” Brian asked. At this, I saw Deirdre swallow and look at Wanda.

  “Cases of treason are always handled by the Premier alone,” she said, as Wanda nodded.

  Brian stopped. “Treason?” he asked, surprised. “That’s a serious charge for a missing book.”

  “It is,” Wanda agreed. “And it is one that would not be levied for any other kind of book. But with Red Magic, we cannot take chances, especially with two Sitters who already have such close ties to the practice.” I could practically hear the blood careening through my veins, and I could feel Cassandra’s anger radiating like fire.

  “I’m sorry,” Brian said. “You know I would never undermine your authority, but they are hardly close ties. The events of Halloween happened when Esme and Cassandra were relatively inexperienced and unprepared, both of which I take responsibility for. They acted on instinct and were able to save the girl, which should be commended, not punished. If they did steal a book, which I highly doubt, I am sure it was only to satisfy a curiosity that could not be sated anywhere else. This is their family history, after all, and we have given them no information.”

  Wanda reached out and put a hand on Brian’s sweatered arm. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You will be reassigned, and we will make sure you get a position in a much more desirable location. You’ve always loved Minneapolis, right?” She stroked his arm. “And really, we will all be better off.” She glanced at Deirdre and smiled. “We have been working on something that will take care of Spring River for good. Then we can be free of this hellhole once and for all. I have always hated coming here.”

  Take care of Spring River? What the heck did she mean? She was talking like this whole town—full of people—was a decrepit dog she couldn’t wait to put to sleep. I wanted to kick her shins, gouge her eyes out, and spit in her face. Spring River was my home, and I was the only one who got to call it a hellhole.

  We stopped at room 402.

  “You think the book is here?” Brian asked, his voice low and slow.

  “Yes,” Wanda said, shaking her head slowly. “Esme and Cassandra haven’t socialized with their peers much since they’ve been here; they’ve been skipping meals and hanging out just with each other. It’s obvious they were up to something. Erebus and Circe were the same, always thinking they were better than the rest of us, even when I was promoted to Synod. I don’t know why, but I had hoped better for their progeny.” She looked at Cassandra and me with mock pity in her eyes and let out a sigh. “It’s such a shame when people disappoint you, even when you expect them to.” She raised one hand toward the door, and the lock flipped. I hated her.

  Wanda pushed the door open and stepped inside first. Immediately, she shrieked and jumped back. I could hear the sound of flapping wings. Deirdre pushed forward. “Oh dear,” she said, “it’s worse than we thought.” Wanda recovered herself, and the rest of us followed her into the room. Cassandra and I entered last to see one chicken perched on the TV and the other nestled on top of a pillow.

  “Chickens?” Brian asked, looking at me and Cassandra.

  “They were clearly preparing for a sacrifice,” Wanda said. “And the presence of two chickens suggests they were planning two different rituals, or one large one.” I wanted to scream that I was just trying to feed my dog.

  “Wanda,” Brian said, turning to her, his voice pleading, “surely you don’t think…I don’t mean to disrespect, but they’re just girls. This has to be a misunderstanding.”

  “Aha!” Deirdre yelped from behind us. Cassandra and I couldn’t turn to see her, but soon she was standing in front of us, brandishing the very book that I’d tried, and failed, to steal. Yet here it was, in our room, no doubt planted there just an hour or so ago by whomever Janis had heard snooping around. “It also appears they were smoking marijuana,” Deirdre added, “as there’s some spilled on the bathroom floor.”

  Brian was shaking his head and twisting his fingers together. “Wanda, surely there has to be some sort of explanation for this,” he said. “They’re children, and we have to take some of the blame….”

  Wanda shook her head. “If we listened to your arguments—they are just girls, they are just children—we would discount the entire Sitterhood,” she said. “And we cannot take chances anymore. You know as well as I do that we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to Red Magic. It must be eliminated swiftly and without indecision. I live every day with the regret that I showed sympathy toward Erebus and Circe all those years ago. It was my leniency then that puts us in this situation now.”

  I could tell that Brian was growing angry. “Charge them if you must,” he said. “But give them a trial, at least. This is a fascist action, and I can’t let you do it.” He turned, about to stride out the door, when Wanda raised her hand at him.

  “Oh, that’s unfortunate,” she said, as Brian’s body went rigid, his arms clamping down at his sides and his mouth sealing shut. “Because I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”

  Brian
looked like a statue. He was standing as straight and rigid as a broomstick. Wanda walked over to him, and when she poked him on the shoulder with a finger, he fell to the floor, landing with a thud.

  “Deirdre, dear,” Wanda said, turning toward her cohort, “please go back downstairs and let everyone know that everything has been taken care of. I imagine there will be some gossip, so do your best to reassure them and keep them calm. I will be down as soon as I am finished with these two.”

  Deirdre turned, stepped over Brian, and headed out the door. One of the chickens made a piercing squawk as she passed.

  * * *

  —

  As soon as Deirdre had left, Wanda turned to us and sighed. “You know, it really is a shame your mothers aren’t around to see you now. They were such a pain in my butt, it’s no surprise you two grew up to be the same. Still, I’d like to show them, once again, that rebellion within the Sitterhood does not bode well for anyone.” She shook her head. “Cassandra, I still can’t believe that I took Circe at her word when she said her daughter did not inherit the gene, but she cloaked you well. She was one of our most powerful, I give her that.” She was silent for a few seconds, then opened the door and marched Cassandra and me down the hall, toward the elevator. Then, instead of Down, she pressed the Up button. The doors opened a few moments later, to emptiness.

  Wanda pressed the button for the top floor, and when the doors opened again, I wondered whether she was taking us to her room. Instead, she directed us down the hall, to the stairwell, and then up a short flight of stairs to the roof. She gestured for us to follow her, so right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, we climbed like a couple of marionettes.

  I wondered why Wanda was taking us to the roof, but I didn’t have to ask. She answered my silent question almost immediately when she marched us out onto the tarred surface and over to the edge, then forced Cassandra and me to bend so that we had no choice but to look down and see the one inch that separated us from a six-story fall.