by R. L. Weeks
I swallowed hard. “I can’t judge.”
He gave me a pointed stare. “I know.”
“Yeah.”
We sat in silence for a few moments before he broke it. “I know you’re still deciding, but I promise if you come with us, we will take care of you. Your uncle wants to help you.”
I ground my teeth. “He disappeared for ten years, Jerimiah. He wasn’t at my dad’s funeral. How can I trust the man?”
“He’s a good man,” Jerimiah told me with conviction. “If you want to practice, I can help you.”
“Begs my next question, practicing magic. Joshua gave me a book of shadows.”
Jerimiah’s eyes flashed black, only for a second. “You’re not meant to have one.”
“Yes. I heard about that. I think I prefer the Black Lily’s modern ways.”
Jerimiah’s gaze narrowed. “If you joined our coven fully, Kate, you would be the high priestess in no time. It is your birthright. You were prophesized to be so.”
“And Nicholas?”
“Him too.”
“You can’t have two.”
“Yes, we can,” he explained. I felt like he was omitting something, but he didn’t elaborate. “Just try some spells with me. Dabble with those powers and see what you think after?”
“I thought John told you to let me make my mind up on my own, no influence.”
Jerimiah shrugged. “We used to be friends when we were kids. I want to help.”
I relented. “Tell me what I need to do.”
We stood over an altar made on my coffee table. He covered it with a cloth and pulled several items from his bag, including a chalice. “It represents the womb of a woman. Birth,” he explained and placed it in the center. Surrounding it, he placed several black altar candles, a pentagram, a small stone statue of Lucifer, a bowl of black salt, and some crystals—each representing the four elements. To the left, he placed the black bible, worshipping Lucifer. I felt anxious when he finished. It looked like how I’d imagine altars to look from the books I’d read. It felt too real.
“What now?” I asked.
He leaned over the table, placing his hands together, and recited a prayer to his dark lord before beginning. I watched with a mixture of fascination and horror. I’d been told my whole life that the devil was bad. How could I suddenly go to worshipping him?
I decided not to think about it like that and instead turned my attention strictly to the magic. I wasn’t worshipping anyone.
Jerimiah finished and started a ritual, one I didn’t see coming. He cut his hand over the chalice and let his blood spill. The drops sizzled when they hit the silver, and a warm breeze circled around us both.
He started a spell, leaving me speechless, and the table vibrated, shaking the items on it. I waited for something to happen. He sprinkled the black salt into the chalice and mixed in some herbs from inside his bag.
After he finished, he handed me the cup. I looked down at the red paste and turned my nose up at it. “I’m not drinking that.”
He looked amused. “It’s not to drink. Take some in a vial with you, and when you wish to teach someone a lesson, draw a cross on their belongings with this blood. Here is a spell bag.” He handed me a black suede bag. “It’s a hex bag. If you want to hurt someone, you can place this under their pillow. I filled this one with maggots, among other things. Just take some of their hair, place it in the bag, and their food will turn into maggots.”
I wanted to throw up. “Why would I want to do that?”
He looked confused. “Don’t want you want payback?”
“You might,” I answered, wide-eyed. “Not me.”
“What about a love spell?”
That spiked my interest. It wasn’t as bad as turning someone’s food to maggots. “How would I go about that?” I stared at the chalice and shuddered at the thought of cutting my hand.
“There’s a store twenty miles from here,” he said. “You can pick your supplies up from there. They know who we are. Show them your tattoo.”
I bit my lip. “What one?” I teased.
He didn’t look like he found it funny. “Your real tattoo.” He rolled his expressive hazel eyes, then scribbled a list of things for me to buy and handed me the paper. “Text me when you’ve got all of this. It’s enough to get you started.”
He said a final prayer before packing everything away. He shook my hand, all too formally, and left. When he was gone, I looked around. I wanted to sage the room. I’d read that it got rid of residual negative energy.
I thought back to the abandoned house in the woods. It would be the perfect place to create my own alter. After all, both covens used alters, so I wasn’t technically doing anything wrong. The house was out of the way, and I wouldn’t have to clog my mom’s house with heavy energy. The abandoned house had enough of its own. First, I needed a ride to the store. He had written the address at the bottom of the list. The store was called Amethyst. Of course it was. I texted Vanessa.
Hey, can you take me somewhere tomorrow?
My phone buzzed back pretty quickly.
Sure. You need to take your driving test, missy. Where are we going? What time.
I texted back.
Pick me up at 9. It’s a little ways from here, outside of town. It’s this store. I’ll explain tomorrow.
I put my phone away and wondered how I could explain why I was visiting a witch supply store all of a sudden. At least I had the evening to concoct my excuse.
Chapter Twelve
Yes Mom.” I said for the hundredth time during our phone call. “I’ll set the alarm every night.”
“Make sure you water the plants too.”
I rolled my eyes. “I will.”
“Okay, well text me tonight. I love you sweetheart.”
“Love you too.” I hung up the phone just in time to see Vanessa through the window, parked outside in her red Corolla. She hopped out. I swung open the front door in time to see her beaming at me. She greeted me with the two words I was fed up of seeing. “Happy Halloween.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes. It is.”
She grinned broadly. “You used to love Halloween.”
“When I was a kid,” I explained.
“Not going to any parties then?”
I shook my head. I was still reliving the embarrassment of the last party I had attended. “I need to talk to you before we go.”
I had pondered on telling Vanessa for some time. She was my best friend and the first to believe in anything that couldn’t be explained, but I had held off because the truth was… I didn’t fully understand it myself. How could I begin to explain it to someone else? Regardless, I had decided to tell her the truth. No excuse I came up with last night had been good enough. She would see through them.
She walked through the door hesitantly and into my kitchen. She sat on a bar stool and swung her legs around until she faced me. “What is it?”
I bit my lip and fiddled with my fingernails. “It’s not something you can just blurt out,” I told her. “It’s… complicated.”
“Oh, come on,” she gushed. “You can’t just go all mysterious on me and then not tell me.”
I mustered up the courage. I was incredibly nervous. “At the start of the school year,” I said, “something happened. Well, it started after my dad died.”
“I knew something was going on!” She pointed her finger at me. “I just knew it!”
“Yes.” I exhaled slowly. “Perhaps not what you think.”
She waited for me to continue. How could I just tell someone that I’m a witch? “Nicholas approached me about not sleeping well and my nightmares. In all my dreams there was a boy, and in his, a girl.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Okayyy.”
“One night, the boy showed himself to me and it was Nicholas, and vice versa in his dream. That’s when we knew something weird was going on.”
She gushed. “Perhaps you’re twin flames. My mom and dad said they’re twin f
lames.”
I narrowed my gaze. “Twin souls actually… how did you know about that?”
She shrugged. “It’s a part of our spiritual beliefs.”
“Well.” I continued. “He also told me I’m a witch. I know that sounds insane,” I said rapidly. “But then he entered my mind and took me back to an old memory with my uncle.”
She was pale and wasn’t saying a word, so I went on.
“Uncle John, my dad’s brother who went missing… Well, he branded me as a part of the coven he was in. The Black Rose Coven. They use dark magic gifted from Lucifer, the fallen angel.” I clarified as if she’d never heard of the devil. “Then the Black Lily Coven branded me too. They use elemental magic. Well, accidents started happening because I couldn’t control my magic.” I left out the part about Amara dying. I couldn’t deal with going into that right now. “Then I found out Nicholas and I were betrothed and prophesized to kill the other until only one coven stood. At least, we think it’s us. Joshua is a high priest, and he wants me to go with him to Ontario to meet the rest of the Black Lily Coven, but I said I was staying until graduation.” I searched my thoughts to see if I left anything out. “Oh, and a wendigo—creatures used by the dark lord—was stalking us, actually protecting me, and it’s out in the forest, and Nicholas wants to kill it. I think that’s it.”
I watched her as she processed all the information. Perhaps I shouldn’t have blurted everything at once. After a few moments, she let out a breath I didn’t realize she had been holding. “That’s a lot of info to process,” she told me slowly. Her gaze darted around like she didn’t know where to look. “Sorry, I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around it all.” She pressed her lips together. “If this is some sort of prank…”
I shook my head. “I promise it’s not.” I rolled up my sleeve and showed her the Black Lily tattoo. Her eyes widened.
“You got a tattoo?”
“I didn’t ask for one.”
“Right.” She paused for a moment. “So, you and Nicholas and Joshua have powers?”
I nodded.
“And there are two covens. You all belong to both?”
“No,” I said quickly. “Joshua belongs to the Black Lily Coven only. Nicholas and I belong to both.”
“How?”
“Nicholas joined the Black Rose one when he first met Jerimiah—”
She interrupted me. “He’s one too?”
I guessed I had left some things out. “Yes, sorry. He’s only with the Black Rose Coven.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked.
“Sorry, Nessie. I wanted to, but I was still figuring it out for myself.”
Her eyes were wild. “I could have helped you.”
She was taking the witch news better than I ever had. I admired that. “Yes. You’re right. I should have told you.”
“I’m glad you did now,” she said slowly. “So, back to the beginning. Nicholas came to you and told you that you are a witch?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Then Jerimiah told you?”
“No,” I explained. “Nicholas knew Jerimiah was.”
She shuddered. “No wonder he was super creepy when we hung out.” She gave me a look. “Sorry. Not that it’s creepy, but he seemed to switch between nice and arrogant. His eyes looked like they would change shape.”
“About that…” I said. “Let me get you up to speed on everything that’s happened, starting with my meeting recently with the Black Rose members.”
After an hour, Vanessa knew everything I did, except for the part about me killing Amara. It was a relief to get the rest of it off my chest though.
“Wow,” she gushed. “That’s so cool.”
“You’re taking it better than I did,” I confessed.
“That’s because you’ve always been cynical,” she teased. “So now you need to go to a supply shop to get things to make an altar?”
“Yes.” I grabbed my purse from the sofa. “Jerimiah gave me a list, but it’s all so vague. I hope they know what to do when I get there.”
“You got the address?”
I handed her the piece of paper Jerimiah had given me. She eyed it and smiled. “I think my parents have been to Amethyst. They got a tarot deck from there if memory serves.”
Of course they did, I thought. “I’m glad you’re coming with me,” I said. “It’s a relief that you know. I don’t feel so…”
“Alone.” She finished my sentence and smiled. “We’re in this together now.”
Her words comforted me as we walked to her car. Freshly carved pumpkins greeted each house along our road, except for mine. Cobwebs hung outside windows, and fake spiders littered the paths. Kids had already started their rounds, dressed in their little outfits and holding bags to fill with candy.
“Let’s go before we’re mobbed by sugar-filled children,” I joked.
The store was buzzing with people. It was a small building, situated in a town tinier than our own Crimson Leaf. Halloween, I could imagine, would’ve been their biggest day for sales. I wished we had gone another day.
We walked inside nervously and looked around. Vanessa hurried to the candles. “Ohh,” she said and grabbed a relaxation candle. “We should light this around Maria.”
I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.
We looked through each shelf. It was like a Walmart for the supernatural, each item priced like it was so normal. I hovered around the divination area. Pendulums hung in different colors off a jewelry rack, and behind them on the wall were a variety of pendulum boards. Spirit boards were showcased inside the glass casing, and next to them, witch stones—runes. A large crystal ball sat front and center. I peered into it, expecting something to happen, but nothing did.
“Can I help you?” a woman with flowing purple hair and big, almond-shaped eyes asked me.
“Yes.” I pulled my shirt up my back and showed her the Black Rose mark like Jerimiah had told me to do.
She frowned. “Ah. Yes.” She hurried away and came back with a basket. “Are you new?”
I nodded.
“You’ll need a starter kit,” she told me and looked at Vanessa. “Are you one too?”
She shook her head but smiled. “I wish.”
The woman smiled. “Many people practice who aren’t born witches. We all have magic buried inside of us. Some more than others,” she explained to Vanessa. “But for now, let’s get your friend the items you’ll need. What would you like to practice?”
I looked around. I felt utterly lost in there. There were so many types of dolls, tarot decks, oils, herbs, candles, stones, and ritual tools that I didn’t know where to begin. “I’m honestly not sure.”
After two hours and hundreds of dollars later – thank goodness for my small savings – I left with eight bags. Vanessa helped me carry them to the car. Inside of them were: purification candles, a divination table, a clear quartz pendulum—Vanessa got a rose quartz one—black salt, sticks of sage, a variety of spell candles, pins, black tourmaline, citrine, amethyst, agate, lavender oil, anointing oil, frankincense, a tarot card deck, totem charms, incense sticks, worry dolls, runes, a bell and mirror, four voodoo dolls, potion and spell bottles, a collection of different herbs, a pentacle, candle holders, a smudge stick, a cauldron, an offering bowl, orisha beads, a charmed amulet, a figure candle, a hex pillar candle, and a small wooden box to put the herbs in.
“What a day.” Vanessa gasped and filled her trunk with the bags. “Who knew it’d all be so expensive.”
I shrugged. “This is all new to me, so I didn’t have any expectations.”
She smiled and pulled out a small brown envelope from one of the bags. She poured seven worry dolls onto her palm. They looked like mini-voodoo dolls to me, but apparently, they weren’t. They were so small. They were made from card, cloth and string, and looked like little people. Vanessa grinned at them. “I love these. My mom used to bring them back from me whenever she visited New Orleans. You put one
under your pillow at night, and by morning, whatever worries are on your mind, the doll will have taken them away.”
I humored her. “Then what do you with it?”
She shrugged. “Throw it out, but honestly, I kept all mine in my drawer. I have tons.”
“I’ll make sure to use them.” I said with a grin.
She placed them back in the envelope and grimaced. She looked at the forest in the distance. “There’s really a wendigo in there, huh?”
I nodded. “I can’t bring it down on my own. Joshua said he’s sending a hunter here to kill it.”
She took in a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’ve dated two warlocks.” She held two fingers up. “So is Jerimiah meeting you tomorrow then?”
“He’s going to help me.”
She looked at me hesitantly. “Be careful, Kate. If everything you told me is accurate, then the Black Rose Coven is dark, and I don’t want you getting mixed up in that.”
“They are my coven though,” I said. “Them and the Black Lily.”
“Can’t you just separate from them?”
“I don’t think it works like that,” I told her darkly. “I can feel the two types of magic battling inside of me sometimes. When it’s really quiet at night. I can feel the tug and pull on my soul.”
She shuddered. “Sounds awful.”
“It is,” I confessed. “I’m hoping if I practice enough, I can somehow control them both.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I can come with you?”
“I don’t know if Jerimiah will be happy with that. I’m not even sure if I was allowed to tell anyone. I don’t know the rules.”
She looked right at me. “Then find them out.”
***
Vanessa finished by painting my nails. She’d had to file them down, as I had let them grow a little long, and she coated all but one nail on each hand—which she had painted a royal blue—in a bright pink polish.
“Why are we doing this?” I asked.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked around. “You’ll be doing a lot of work with your hands, and you want them to look badass right?” She smiled. “Plus, I miss us doing each other’s nails.”
