by Sarra Cannon
“I’m channeling our energy. The salt helps. Hopefully, they won’t notice us yet.” I kept my right arm extended to the side so the fire illuminated everything.
Sean placed his hand on my forearm and slowly slid his palm under my hand. Even through two layers of fabric, I could feel the warmth of his touch. I shivered.
He closed my hand, putting out the fire. “Now they can’t find us because of the light,” he whispered.
“Right.” My heart raced. He hadn’t let go of my hand yet.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
I raised my head to glance at him, wishing the fire were still lit so I could stare at his beautiful blue eyes, but at the same time, I was glad we were in the dark or I wouldn’t be this brave.
“A little. I’m used to this kind of thing, just not on this scale.”
His fingertips traced my cheek and I inhaled sharply. “The way you just marched in this house and confronted that ghost, it was badass.”
I chuckled. “I think I like that.”
His breath teased my cheek and I gasped. I had no idea his face was that close to mine. Acting on the rush of desire running inside me, I tilted my head back and lifted on my tiptoes—
A surge of power rushed through me, sending me to my knees.
Sean clasped my elbows and pulled me up. “What happened?”
“The cut. It must be opening.”
I reached for the door and Sean pulled me back. “What are you doing?”
“Hiding was never part of the plan. I need to do something.”
He squeezed my hand. “Please, be careful.”
I smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “I’ll try.”
Slowly, I opened the closet door and spied out.
The living room was huge. High ceiling, tall windows, balconies from the second and third floor, another big crystal chandelier, scratched wooden floor, and some scattered furniture—a broken side table, a ripped couch, a tipped bookshelf.
And right beside the chandelier, sparks came to life. The cut in the making.
After looking side to side and making sure no ghosts were out there, I raced to the center of the room and started drawing a circle under the cut. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sean spying from inside the closet, his head darting side to side, looking for ghosts.
Apparently, he didn’t see the one that came from under the floor and knocked me aside before I could close the circle.
“Hazel!” Sean rushed to me.
I groaned as I landed on my side. The ghost, a young woman with empty eyes and bared teeth, hovered over me. I raised my hand and threw a little red powder on her. “Liberi,” I said. She burst into smoke.
Sean extended his hand to me and helped me up. “If you give me some of that powder and I say those same words, will it work too?”
I wiped my hands on my pants. “I’m not sure.” The shrill of more ghosts filled the air. “That sounded like too many. We need to hide and have the advantage again.”
We started for the closet, but another ghost appeared in our way. The same girl from the dorm. Now I recognized her dress. She was dressed like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
“Come with me,” she said, beckoning us to follow.
“You can talk now,” I said. She nodded. “Why should we trust you?”
She pointed to Sean. “Ask him.”
I turned to Sean and he was frozen by my side, pale as the ghost in front of us. “Sean, what’s the matter?”
He blinked. “Lisa. Is that really you?”
Oh.
She smiled. “Yes.” The shrieks of ghosts reverberated again. “Come on. Now.”
We followed her to a hallway, and then into what looked like an abandoned office. I closed the door and rested against it.
Sean stared at his sister. “H-how?”
She looked at me. “There’s a dark witch here. She was here last year too. She is the one opening the cut and ordering ghosts out. She takes them with her.”
“That’s what you were trying to tell me before?” I asked and she nodded. “Why does she take the ghosts?”
She shrugged. “I can only go to limited locations. Here, my old dorm, which is where you saw me earlier, some of my old classrooms, my parents’ house.”
“So you couldn’t follow her,” I said.
She shook her head. “No. I know though that I still haven’t passed to the other side because of her. She caused my death, and now she’ll take me with her once the cut closes again.”
“Oh no, she won’t,” Sean barked. His fists were clenched, his nostrils flared.
Lisa smiled. “Always protective.”
His shoulders sagged. “I didn’t protect you.”
She hovered to him, and I could see her becoming corporal. She held his hands. “What happened isn’t your fault. We came here, we thought it was just a joke, and we played with things much more powerful than us. I’m just glad you made it out.”
He embraced her tightly. “I wish you had made it out too.” Eyes wide, he pulled back and looked at me. “Can you bring her back?”
A pang ran through my heart. “No, Sean. There’s no spell for that, and even if there were, I’m not powerful enough.”
Sean frowned. “Lisa, how about Doug?”
Her expression fell. “He was taken by the dark witch a long time ago. I never saw him again.”
“You have no idea what happened to him?” Sean asked.
“My guess is that he’s still in this world, like me, but working for the dark witch. If she is as bad as she seems, I’m glad I wasn’t taken yet.”
“You won’t be taken.” Sean glanced at me. “Right?”
Lisa looked at me too. “You don’t know me and I have no right to ask you for a favor, but please stop this witch and help me find peace.”
Before I had the pressure of failing and being a disgrace to my mother, to my family. Now Lisa was asking me to save her, and Sean would expect the same. The pressure increased.
I gulped. “I’ll do my best.”
***
The three of us inched back to the living room. The cut was growing, but not quite open yet. I glanced up and saw the dark witch on the balcony of the second floor, her arms open as if trying to embrace the cut. Her power was overwhelming. For a moment, I wondered how she didn’t sense me here, but with such strong magic and focused on the cut, she wouldn’t notice little me sneaking in.
Her face wasn’t pretty, but her features were strong and her eyes huge, shining with darkness—like most dark witches. Or so I was told. I had encountered only one other dark witch. I didn’t remember much. Only that my mother, my sister, and I were visiting my grandmother and a dark witch got in our way while we were out. She almost killed my grandmother, who had come to help us, but then hunters arrived and we vanished before they could get us too.
I leaned into Sean and whispered into his ear, “Close the circle.” I put a piece of white chalk made of pearl powder in his hand.
He grabbed my arms, holding me in place, and turned his head toward mine. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll stop the dark witch.”
“But—”
“I have to. It’s the only way to free your sister.”
He stared into my eyes, concern written all over his pretty features. “Kick her ass.”
I smiled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Sean leaned into me and kissed my cheek. His soft lips made my heart soar. Dizzy, I retreated from him. I scooted along the wall, back into the foyer, and climbed the staircase on tiptoes.
The witch chanted in a low voice, invoking the cut to open and the ghosts to swarm out. Then, she stopped chanting, lowered her arms, and leaned over the balcony, looking down. It was probably because of Sean, running to the circle.
“What the hell?” she muttered.
I channeled the bone’s magic. “Immobilis,” I whispered. The witch stilled. “Converso.” Her rigid body turned around.
&nb
sp; She regarded me with a wicked smile. “Now, now, now. What do we have here?”
I didn’t waste time answering. “Dormio.”
The witch blinked her eyes, trying to stay awake, but the bone magic won, and her eyes closed.
I let out a sigh of relief. That was easier than I thought it would be. I rushed to the edge of the balcony and looked down. Sean stood beside the circle. He looked up and gave me a thumbs up. The circle was closed and the cut was frozen. Then his hand dropped and his eyes went wide.
“Hazel!” he yelled.
The dark witch’s hands closed around my throat. “You really think a sleeping spell is going to contain me?” She cackled. “You’re so naive.”
She lifted me off the ground as if I weighed nothing. My throat burned and I gasped. I jerked on her grip, trying to think through the desperation rushing through me. Which spell could I use?
Before I could come up with something, she threw me off the balcony.
“Volito,” I screamed. My fall slowed down a bit, and I hit the ground on my back. The air rushed out my lungs.
Sean held my arms and helped me up as the dark witch floated gracefully from the balcony to the first floor.
She walked toward us. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
Sean pulled me behind him. “Stay away.”
“How cute.” The dark witch chuckled. “A human defending a white witch. It sounds more like a fairy tale.”
She flicked her hand in Sean’s direction, and he went flying to the left. He hit the wall with a huff and fell forward on his knees.
Lisa cried, rushing at the dark witch. Not even looking at the girl, the witch raised her hand and Lisa stopped in midair, immobile.
“I can’t move,” she yelled. “Let me go, you bitch!”
The dark witch just laughed.
I grabbed a vial of liquid white sage from inside my utility belt. In the process, the dagger fell to the side, but I ignored it.
“Incendio,” I said, throwing the liquid in her direction.
She raised her hand and the drops of the liquid evaporated into smoke. She cackled. “You’re a novice, aren’t you? Still reciting the spells and using potions to help you.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tilting her head back. Then her dark eyes returned to me. “Weak.”
I scooted back. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sean stand and run to the dagger. He let out a cry, and then lunged at the dark witch. Once more, she simply waved her hand and Sean went flying away. But this time he stayed there, his back pressed to the wall and his arms outstretched beside him.
“Let him go,” I said, reaching for the clasp of my belt. “I’ll take off my belt. I’ll be harmless, and then it’s just you and me. But please, let him go.”
“That is even cuter,” the dark witch said. “The white witch cares about the human.” She pointed her finger to Sean. Tendrils of black smoke seeped from the wall and ran over his body. A hissing sound echoed through the living room, as if the smoke was burning his clothes, his skin. He clenched his teeth, keeping the scream in.
“Please.” I took off my belt and threw it in her direction. Several vials fell from the belt and spilled across the floor.
“What’s the fun in that?” She closed her hand and the tendrils seeped into Sean’s body.
“No!” I shouted.
“Now he has only a few minutes until the darkness reaches his heart and stops it.”
“You bitch,” I said through gritted teeth. I lunged at her, not really sure what I was going to do, just knowing I had to hurt her somehow.
Instead, I bumped into an invisible wall. I looked around. I was inside the white circle, my circle. I punched against the wall, but it was as solid as brick.
“Let’s make it more fun.” She snapped her fingers and fire surged from the border of the circle.
Gasping, I stepped to the center. The heat of the waist-tall flames licked against me, and I shuddered. Fire could not only kill witches, but if severely burned, it could also take a witch’s magic.
The dark witch looked up. “Where were we?” She raised her hands over her head, and the cut came back to life, sparking and crackling. It began opening again.
But … the circle? The dark witch must have neutralized my circle. After all, the circle didn’t close the cut; it just stopped it for a moment.
With a loud thunder-like sound, the cut expanded, as big and wide as a basketball player. Beside it, the chandelier’s light flickered—it hadn’t even been on a moment ago. A swarm of ghosts slipped out from the cut, filling the room, the entire house. One of them hovered over me, laughing like a maniac. What? Seeing a witch trapped in fire was supposed to be funny? Another ghost floated toward Sean. He ran his fingers down his cheek, making Sean’s body convulse more.
Think, Hazel, think.
The dagger was in the circle with me, but the potions and the crystals were out of reach. Wait. I had something else. I clutched the bone pendant of Brita’s necklace and focused. I wasn’t afraid anymore. I couldn’t be. I wouldn’t be. I channeled the magic within the bone.
Please, please, let it be enough.
Magic flowed into me, filling my veins, powering my core, making me strong. Holding on to this new magic, I raised my hands in front of me. “Stinguo.” The fire died. I pulled my hand close then let it out, releasing a wave of power. “Stupefacio,” I said.
The dark witch turned big eyes at me. “How—?”
The wave of magic hit the dark witch, throwing her to the other side of the room. I waited, ready to call out another spell, but she didn’t move.
Taking advantage of the magic still in me, I looked up at the cut. “Finis.” The cut didn’t close, but ghosts stopped coming out. I channeled more magic. “Recedo,” I said. The cut begin sucking the ghosts back inside it. They shrieked, trying to hold on to each other, to doors, or pillars, but the magic was too strong for them.
I let the magic do its thing and turned to Sean. His sister moved to the cut, her eyes wide with terror. “Manto,” I said, pointing to her. She stopped moving toward the seam.
“Hazel,” Sean muttered, seeing me walking to him.
“Liber,” I said.
His weak body fell to the ground. He turned on his back and gasped, “It hurts.”
Lisa and I knelt beside him. I put my hand on his chest. “Curo.” I felt the tendrils moving inside him. A little darkness emerged from his skin and clothes, but there was more. I could feel it. I focused on him again. “Curo,” I shouted.
Sean put his hand over mine. “It’s too deep inside.”
“No, no.” Tears brimmed in my eyes. “Curo!” I yelled.
He squeezed my hand. “It’s okay, Hazel.” Then he smiled at Lisa. “I know Hazel will give you peace, and soon I’ll be with you.”
“No.” Lisa’s voice broke. “You’re supposed to live. To be happy.”
He gasped; his eyes rolled back inside his head.
No, no.
Following the magic inside me, I put my arm around Sean’s head and propped him up. I leaned into him and brushed my lips to his. A tear rolled down my cheek. I had wished to kiss him, but not like this. I pressed my mouth harder to his, and he responded immediately, opening his mouth and moving it in rhythm with mine. His lips were soft and warm, and they fit mine perfectly. His tongue brushed against mine and I almost got lost in the sensation. Almost. I focused on my magic. Egredior, I chanted in my mind. Egredior! I felt the darkness moving again, slowly coming to my command. It traveled from his torso to his throat. Noticing what I was doing, Sean tried to pull away, but I used magic to keep him still. I deepened the kiss, again fighting not to get lost in it. The darkness slid from his throat to his mouth, and then into my mouth.
The bone in my necklace shattered, and I felt the magic slipping away from me. I pulled away and picked the pieces of bone from my lap. Damn it. This was Brita’s bone. How could I have broken it? The witch doctor would kill me.
Sean, now better,
sat up and stared at me. “Why did you do that?” He reached for me. “Did you take it? Is it in you?” I nodded and he shook his head. “No, no.”
I extended my hand between us. The darkness I had inhaled emerged from my palm. “Abeo,” I said. The ball of darkness faded away into the air.
“You’re okay?” he asked.
I smiled. “I am.”
Sean cupped his hand around my neck and pulled my lips back to his. Full of energy, he kissed me, his mouth melding with mine, his tongue drawing a happy sigh from my chest. This. This was how our first kiss should have been.
Lisa cleared her throat beside us and I pulled away. Sean kept his arm around me.
“They are gone,” Lisa said. I looked around. “The ghosts. They are all gone.”
I closed my eyes for a second and waited to feel their presence. She was right. They were all gone.
I stood. I drew the star with the hawthorn berry powder inside the circle. After finding the right vial, I poured the liquid on the floor, directly under the cut, and said, “Finis.” The cut shrank into itself, crackling and sparking, until it was just a dot. Then it snapped and vanished. The lights on the chandelier stopped flickering and died out.
“My turn. Please, can you free me, Hazel?” Lisa asked.
“Wait.” Sean stood. “Does it have to be now? Can’t you stay a little longer?”
She smiled. “I’ve been here for a year, Sean. I’m tired. And I’m guessing it’s easier on Hazel to send me when it’s still Halloween night.”
Technically, it was already past midnight and Halloween was over, but she was right. It would be easier on me if I sent her back before dawn.
I nodded.
Sean frowned. “But … we didn’t have much time together.”
“We don’t need it. I’ve been watching you for the past year when I could. I know how you were, how you felt.” Lisa touched his cheek. “Promise me you will let it go. Promise me you won’t feel guilty anymore, that you will move on, and be happy.”
He shook his head. “I can’t …”
“Sean, promise me. Please.”
He sighed and rested his hand on hers. “I … promise.”
She kissed his cheek then turned to me. “I’m ready.”
