The Power of Witches

by Shay Bencosme

  CHAPTER 16

  The next morning was a Saturday, and it was quite literally the only day any of the kids could sleep in, but this week I didn't bother. I got up with the sun, tucking Lily's blanket back under her chin (the girl was notorious for kicking her sheets off in the middle of the night), and getting dressed silently. I wore my normal—jeans, a t-shirt, and white Converse I thrifted from Plato's a few years ago. I slipped a hoodie over my head to combat the early September chill. There was a cold front moving in this weekend, and then back to the eighties. I grabbed my backpack and stuffed my Grimoire inside of it.

  Gardenside house was silent as I made my way downstairs, stopping by the kitchen first to grab some fruit. I also set up the kettle to boil and began making a cup of tea. Using my newfound herbal knowledge, I used cinnamon for success, burdock for cleansing, and bay leaves for strength. I also used a little lemon for more flavor, my lips tugging into a smile as I remembered one of mine and Lily's first conversations.

  As I waited for the water to boil, I picked up the apple, biting into it and letting the juice run down my face. Today, I was going to conquer the life spell. It was tremendously difficult for me, but I would get it.

  The kettle began to whistle, and I pulled it off the stove, pouring the hot liquid into the waiting mug.

  I left the house and turned right, heading towards the gardens and the river that flowed through the plantation. I wanted to find myself the secret meadow we had performed the circle in. We hadn't been able to make it back since that night, but I was desperate for the solitude and being hidden away from prying eyes.

  The meadow was close to the river's edge, small but still large enough for its purpose. Spanish moss trees caped the meadow into shade, and according to Lily, in the springtime, the meadow came alive with daisies. However now, as the weather got colder, it was just brown and mushy.

  I sat cross-legged in the grass once I reached the meadow, eating the rest of my apple in silence as I watched the sun come up over the river. When I was finished, I tossed the core of the apple into the river, watching it sink. Then I pulled out my Grimoire.

  I studied the intentions for the life spell, the one thing I couldn’t get down. It required access to the darkest part of my soul—the part that was more concerned with taking than giving.

  The one thing Lily stressed was that bringing a human back to life was incredible dark magic, and no coven would dare to practice it. "Besides," she had told me with a shrug, "it upsets the balance of nature."

  I glanced at a dying daisy not far from where I sat, its droopy petals brown instead of white, and the whole body of the flower bent over itself in its final days of life. A flower should be easy enough. I waved my hands over it.

  If anything, the flower seemed to droop even lower. I groaned. I moved out of my cross-legged position and instead laid on my belly, my face getting close enough to the daisy that I could smell the remnants of the perfume it was used to make. I closed my eyes, imagining the daisy come back to life. I imagined the floral scent that came with it, and pictured in my head the flower standing tall. I willed it to be so.

  "I always used to have difficulties with life also."

  I yelped and turned so quickly I instead fell onto my back. My meadow had disappeared, covered now in the thickest fog I'd ever experienced. The sunrise was gone, and I now sat underneath a midday sun, except I couldn't feel its heat, just the brisk dampness of the fog. In front of me was a princess.

  Okay, maybe not, I thought to myself. But she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in person. Her eyes were chocolate, staring innocently down at me. Her dark skin was the color of hazelnut, and she had huge kinky curls framing her face. She wore a simple cream top with fitted sleeves, a copper frilled skirt that hung to her ankles, and a pair of lace-up shoes. Her entire being had an ethereal glow. I couldn't believe my eyes.

  "Hello, Noa," the woman said in a voice that reminded me of soul music. "My name is Rhiannon."

  Rhiannon. I stared up at the woman in awe. The Original Witch. And the woman who, instead of giving Wanda the power, or refusing to lend the power out in general, she caused all of this. The war, Wanda's fate, my life. I grew angry. I hopped to my feet, got close up into Rhiannon's face, and spoke between clenched teeth: "Why did you make this my life?"

  Rhiannon didn't step back. She placed a hand on my shoulder and sighed. "Our people have power that has surpassed its necessity," she spoke gracefully like there was immense power behind her words themselves. "And the Order has grown pernicious."

  "I-I don't know what that means," I admitted.

  "It means that I chose you specifically to be the revolution that our people need," Rhiannon continued. "You might feel as if your current state is malediction, but I chose this life for you to be better."

  I ignored the newest SAT word that Rhiannon spit out, and I frowned. "You chose for me to be raised thinking nobody in this world wanted me? You chose for me to never learn how to control my powers, to accidentally kill people!" I threw my hands up in the air. "You took away my family."

  "To fulfill your duties as the bloodborn,” Rhiannon spit the last two words out of her mouth as if she hated the very idea of it. "I needed you to be this person."

  "I needed my family!" I insisted. I felt tears burn in my eyes, and I let them fall freely. "If you knew we would be here at this very minute, if you knew that sixteen, seventeen years ago, then why do it? Why take my mom and dad away from me?"

  "For this," Rhiannon put both hands on my shoulders and spun me around. The fog has amplified, but in it, I could now see visions. Visions of Lily, Cyrus, and I laughing, learning magic. Visions of the three of us battling something. Using our powers for destruction. I ached to see the future that lay in front of us. "You are the generation that is going to change this world, and it could not have happened unless you grew up like you did, could not have happened unless Lily and Cyrus lost their parents. You grew up in these exact circumstances to end the power struggle between me and the irascible Order. Your life wasn't a series of random events. I saw every moment of your future when I instilled the power within you. And I accept your anger."

  I felt an undeniable sense of calmness as Rhiannon's words flowed through me. I choked back a sob. I never did believe in destiny, but Rhiannon’s words affirmed that everything I'd ever done was purposeful. Supposed to happen.

  "What do I do now?" I asked, closing my eyes and letting the calm flow through me.

  "You follow your heart. Because I am always listening, and I am always here even when you feel your most alone, Noa Rembrandt."

  My knees buckled and I fell to the floor, throwing my hands in front of me to catch myself. I opened my eyes slowly and saw that the fog had dissipated, the warmth from the morning sun coming to warm my body.

  And the field was full of beautiful daisies reaching up towards the sky.

  CHAPTER 17

  I picked up my backpack and began the trek back to the house for breakfast. I felt incredibly drained for some reason; whether it was my conversation with Rhiannon or the fact I brought an entire field of flowers back to life, I had no idea.

  I was alerted to the front porch by the yelling. First, I could hear Elsa. Elsa Montgomery, one, did not yell. It was simply not within her nature. So whoever it was that the yelling was aimed at, they were in trouble.

  Second, two police officers were standing on the front steps. Damn, who screwed up this bad?

  Then I realized they were screaming at each other. The kids weren't in trouble at all, and now I saw a few faces in the window, trying to see what's going on. Elsa was madder than a wet hen.

  "You're not closing this place down!" she screamed. "Where are my kids going to go?"

  "I don't have an answer for you, ma'am," spoke one of the officers, a gruff man with a thick mustache. "I just know we have orders to put an eviction notice on the door for thirty days."

  "This is my home!" Elsa screamed again. "This is these children's
home!"

  "The house is owned by the government, Mrs. Montgomery. And thus, by Mayor Scott himself," said the younger officer, with a clean face and a fresh fade. "Frankly, if you're interested in keeping Gardenside open, then it seems you'd have to purchase the home."

  "I-" Elsa rubbed the brim of her nose. "You know I can't afford to buy this place, Davey." She looked up at Officer Fade with a sigh. "Please, there has to be something you can do."

  "I'm afraid it's out of my control, ma'am."

  I reached the steps slowly, hoping to stay under the radar of the three adults and slip into the house. But, too soon, Officer Mustache spoke to me. "It's impolite to eavesdrop, kid."

  Elsa turned quickly. "Noa, go inside."

  I clenched my fists and turned quickly to face Officer Mustache and his partner. “I’m just coming home. Not my fault you’re standing on the front steps, you idiot.”

  "Noa!"

  I didn't listen. I walked right up to Officer Mustache and pointed a finger in his face. "You tell the stupid mayor and his ugly daughter that there are eighteen kids here, and for most of us this is the first time we've ever had a mom who cared about us, and we'll fight to the very end until you drag us out of this house one by one."

  Without meaning to, I felt the wind pick up, and it was very obviously directed at the two officers, shoving them off the porch with such violence that they stumbled down the steps.

  "Noa, get inside. Now," Elsa's eyebrows raised and she stared at me intently, trying to be authoritative but also looking at her newest foster in wonder.

  This time, I listened. I ran into the house and upstairs to my bedroom, my chest tightening with fear and anxiety. By the time I got to my room, it felt as if my chest was smaller and my lungs were unable to work by themselves. I couldn't tell if it was panic or my lack of cardio lately. The walls were closing in.

  "Noa?" The door opened to a sleepy Lily rubbing her eyes. When she noticed me panicked, she reached down quickly and placed her index fingers on my temples, the rest of her fingers falling into place naturally as she pushed magic into my body and soul.

  Calm.

  "They're gonna close us down," I whispered. Lily reached a hand out to me, and I took it gratefully and stood up. "There were two officers outside. Giving Elsa an eviction notice."

  "Mama will fix it."

  "What if she doesn't?" My own emotions fought hard against Lily's spell, fought to break out and collapse into my world. I followed Lily back into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. "What if this place shuts down and we're separated? Who's going to teach me?"

  "Noa, chill." Lily got back into bed.

  "I can't chill, we have to do something!"

  "Noa, seriously." Lily sat back up in bed. "We're not the only three witches in this place. Mama's powerful as shit, and there's like eight other witch kids, and we have the whole Order on our side. Someone's going to fix it. It's seriously not our problem."

  "What if they can't? What if the Order doesn't care anymore?"

  "Noa..."

  "I talked to Rhiannon this morning."

  Lily perked up, her head tilting to the side, staring at me with her wide eyes. "You did what?"

  "I went to the meadow to practice the life spell. And she came to me, made the place all foggy and cold. Told me that me, you, and Cyrus were meant to be here. How the fuck are we meant to be here and the same day, our home closes down?"

  "You just," Lily shook her head slightly as she spoke, "spoke, casual as hell, to the Original Witch."

  "Yeah, she uses a lot of big words. Also, really pretty."

  "Does she look like in the books?"

  "So much more. Like a goddess."

  "I wish I'd have been there to grovel at her feet and have her instill perfection onto me."

  I laughed. I sat carefully on Lily's bed. "Lil, I'm the bloodborn. I know I don't know much, and I know that there are plenty of other witches here, but I'm by far the most powerful."

  "You still can't do a simple life spell."

  I took out my phone, pulling up a picture of the meadow as I left it. "Look," I said, showing it to Lily. "I did it this morning. Way more than I tried to do."

  Lily took the phone from my hand, zooming in on the flowers. "You lit up the whole meadow. You grew roots from seeds that literally do not exist." She handed the phone back to me. "Girl, I really don't know how much power you actually possess."

  "And that's what I mean," I said. "I'm going to keep Gardenside open. They can't stop me."

  "You're not ready, Noa."

  "I'm gonna have to be."

  With that, I picked up my backpack again and left the room. If I was going to beat the mayor, I was going to have to learn much more complicated magic.

  CHAPTER 18

  I stepped off the midday bus at Gardenside, my eyelids heavy. I had spent the whole week hiding away in the library, sneaking spell books away under the close supervision of Elsa, Kennedy, and Beth. Ever since the police officers’ discussion with Elsa, and my fit of anger, it seemed to me as if Elsa Montgomery knew. Or had some sort of inkling.

  Everywhere I went, there Elsa was. Or Kennedy. Beth was more elusive, but there were still moments where I felt as if I was being watched. I couldn’t even get to the meadow to practice.

  And I had so much to practice. Unfortunately, there wasn’t an “Blood Sacrifice Guidebook” for spells that only I could perform. There should’ve been. Would’ve made life a hell of a lot easier.

  But there were witchcraft primary books, full of history and lore and rules and religion. I would’ve preferred not to have learned that stuff since it was boring, but Lily insisted.

  “Noa!”

  I snapped out of my foggy thoughts, looking down at little Josie tugging on my shirt.

  “Today’s the day, Noa!”

  “What’s today?” I dropped down to Josie’s eye level.

  “I’m a witch today,” Josie whispered, holding her finger up to her lips in an “shh” motion.

  “Happy birthday, Josie!” I ruffled the younger girl’s hair, and Josie giggled.

  “How long do you think it’s gonna take?” Josie asked.

  I shrugged, standing back up and starting to walk up the front steps of Gardenside. Josie followed after me, reaching for my hand. We entered the house together, the smell of baking filling my nostrils. They must’ve started cooking supper already. Were they going to do something special for the twins?

  “Noa, welcome home.” Elsa appeared from the front room and reached a hand out for Josie to take. “Come here, Johanna.”

  Josie responded obediently. I felt a bang of wanting, to be included in Josie’s special day. According to Lily, the witches would have a special ceremony when the mortal kids went to sleep, to celebrate Harry and Josie’s official invitation into the coven. They would cast a circle and spells for protection. Then the witches would wait until their powers manifested, which could take days, weeks, even months.

  Lily stepped into the house behind me. “Can you bake a cake?” she asked, leading me into the kitchen after both dropped our bags in the front room.

  “I’m not very good at it,” I admitted. Lily shrugged.

  “Lucky for you, I have some tricks under my sleeve.”

  Lily had taught me the basics of witchcraft and witch lore, and some about the subcategories of witches. Lily was considered a kitchen witch, which meant that her specialty of magic was very baking and cooking oriented. Herbs and potions were her forte, which was only cemented by the ease that came with Lily’s tea reading abilities and maternal personality.

  I smiled softly. I wanted some sort of niche. Being some blood sacrifice did not count.

  After unsuccessfully getting the first batch of cupcakes to rise, Lily took over baking and instead I sat at the island, feeling left out of the hustle and bustle of the kitchen as the witches arrived home to prepare for the impending celebration. The mortal kids also helped, but they didn’t see the big deal of an eighth bi
rthday. I took this time to really cement which kids were witches and which weren’t.

  Cyrus and Lily. Obviously. Alana. Washington, a kid who was a year younger than me and didn’t talk much, but today he lit up with smiles for the twins. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and stared intently at me often, so I looked away, wishing I could hide myself. Jane, Alana’s younger sister. Taylor, who was Josie and Harry’s study buddy and was as oblivious as any nine year old could be. There were two younger witches not involved in the preparation, Penelope and Myles. They were whisked away by Beth to be with the younger children, as the kitchen was supposedly not a place for anyone under eight.

  Once supper was prepared and the cupcakes iced, everyone came into the kitchen, spilling out into the dining room where there was more room. Tonight being a special occasion, it was very similar to a Thanksgiving supper. Two turkeys, ample stuffing, green bean casserole, potatoes. The whole nine yards.

  The family sang happy birthday to the twins, and Harry and Josie each blew out a candle that adorned a cupcake. Then it was time to grub.

  My favorite experience within Gardenside was mealtime. It was an absolute disaster most days, but it was warm and cozy. The kids fought over where to sit, and plates had to be passed around for everyone to get food. The younger children usually argued over something as mundane as somebody’s elbows were on the table, or a mismatch of silverware.

  I ate plenty, and when I was finished, I sat back in my chair. I’d wished that this was where I was for my own birthday, and I could’ve been just like Josie and Harry, taught to control my magic earlier to avoid any conflict.

  My heart fluttered as Tomás placed his hand on my shoulder. “Would you like to go outside?” he asked softly.

  I looked around at the table and saw that the witches were slowly but surely dissipating, going to prepare for the more secret celebration that I wasn’t invited to. “Sure,” I said finally, standing up and taking Tomás’s hand.