A Different Kind of Witch

by Carol A. Robi

  Miss Myra made them confirm on a list on her clipboard the colour team they now belonged to.

  She then lead them to a storage room in the back of the sportshall, and issued them with their sports kit with the correct colour and size. They each got a pair of t-shirts in their team colours, as well as navy blue shorts or skorts for girls. Some silly Werecat boys reached out for the skorts just for kicks, but just one gaze from Miss Myra, and they immediately stopped fooling around.

  Miss Myra still expected them to have a proper P.E. lesson thereafter, and not just a clothes' fitting session. They were sent off to the changing rooms in the sportshall with only five minutes to change, and thereafter drilled outside with track and field activities.

  P.E. was the final lesson of the day.

  Sophie chose to remain in the com rather than go to take a shower like her mates chose to right after the class. She didn’t want to miss Sheila this time, and planned on waiting for her for however long.

  Sophie picked out a couch at the center of the room where she was likely to be noticed, took out one of her textbooks from her stuffed backpack and began doing her homework.

  ¨Kid, don't you think it is quieter to work in your room or the study room rather than in here?¨

  Sophie looked up slowly with a scowl for whoever it was that just called her kid.

  She faltered though, for a handsome and much older student, probably a senior, took a seat by her with a game controller in his hand. His buddy, another very good looking senior, as was typical with Faeries, sat to her other side too with a controller. They both had green eyes, and she hoped they weren’t her cousins.

  The two picked out a game, NFS, and started playing on the large screen.

  ¨This is a recreational room, not a study room,¨ his buddy pointed out with a kind smile, though his eyes were glued to the screen ahead.

  ¨What if I am here for recreational purposes?¨ Sophie asked mischieviously.

  ¨Then you wouldn’t have your books open.¨

  ¨Maybe I just didn’t know where the game controls were.¨

  ¨Do you game?¨ He asked with spiked interest.

  ¨I bet I could kick your butt at NFS!¨ Sophie exclaimed confidently.

  ¨No way!¨ He argued good-naturedly. ¨You are on after this round.¨

  Sophie closed her books and shoved them back into her very full bag, since her uniform was still in there. They must be crumpled now, so she’d have to use the other ill-fitting set for tomorrow. She’d been to the school seamstress already, but the old Witch had complained that she was backlogged, and Sophie would have to get back to her next month.

  Sophie had nearly screamed with frustrations, certain that she’d die of embarrassment in the oversized skirts before the month was up.

  The boy Sophie had wagered to play with was actually quite good, and Sophie feared he might be hard to beat. She, however, was an ardent gamer. She and her father would spend hours on end gaming, especially NFS or Nascar Heats. Her mother would practically drag them out of their gaming binges, an act best done with threats of starvation.

  Sophie picked up the controls when their game was done. A small handful of students had crowded around them to watch the guy that introduced himself as Calvin get beat by a newbie.

  And what a game it was! Their cars raced furiously, shoving and bumping into each other. He played just as dirty as she did, each of them equally running the other off the tracks or cutting them off.

  None of them won in the end, as when Sophie had been busy driving him off the bridge, another car had sped past them and taken the lead. He came in second, just barely beating her with the nose of his car, and she came third.

  ¨Damn, Newbie! You're good!¨ Calvin admitted.

  ¨You are ok,¨ she teased him, and he mocked her with a barred fist. She then spent quite a while playing after that, as most of the older students wanted to race against her.

  She finally scooched from the sofa when an Avalon that came over to Rhiannon com with his Faery friend beat her, and decided to play against the Faery that had bet against him. She and Calvin head to another couch to the side and watched the gaming from there.

  ¨I want a rematch by the way,¨ she told him.

  ¨Definitely. I went soft on you this time. Next time you won’t even see the dust I leave behind.¨

  ¨Very funny. It was I that was soft on you, because dad is always telling me about guys and their egos!¨ She laughed.

  ”You wish!”

  ¨Hey Calvin,¨ she started, a thought coming to mind. ¨Now that I almost won and was a considerably good opponent. Shouldn't I get a prize of sorts?¨

  ¨Name your price.¨

  ¨Information,¨ she said.

  ¨Now I'm intrigued,¨ he said tapping the tips of his fingers together like the cartoon depictions of excited antagonists coming up with evil ideas.

  ¨I want to find out what my parents were up to when they were students here..¨ Sophie started, trailing off when she saw his face light up knowingly.

  ¨You’ll be needing the records' room then, my lady,¨ he mocked with an old British accent. ¨Every student here has tried to break into the records’ room, but only few have actually made it.¨

  ¨How could that be?¨

  ¨The record room is a hidden room in the administrative corridor on the first floor of the academic tower. To get to the admin corridor, you have to make it past a very attentive and super mean Witch. Once at the corridor, you must remain hidden from all the staff using it. You then have to find the hidden room that needs a special kind of magic for the door to be revealed. A certain spell then has to be made to open the door, and Voila! You are in.¨

  ¨Have you ever been?¨ Sophie asked, now starting to doubt if she and Boke could make it all the way through.

  He shook his head.

  ¨I never had the kind of Witch friends that can perform the kind of magic that reveals the door.¨

  ¨What kind of Witch friends?¨ She asked, apprehension creeping in her voice.

  ¨Now that is information enough for you, newbie.¨

  Sophie thanked him anyway, for he’d already told her most of what she needed to know.

  A quick glance at her watch revealed that it was already a little over 6pm. If she hurried, she could manage a shower just before dinner.

  She thanked Calvin for the game and rushed out of the com room.

  Chapter 13

  Sophie was ecstatic to be pouring herself a cool freshly squeezed glass of orange juice that morning. Her mind told her that she ought to be frightened instead. This was crazy, she barely knew Boke and what she was about. She should stay away from her.. but reason had never really been her strong suit. She’d always been a dive first worry later kind of girl.

  Boke saw her glass of juice and must have understood her message, though not even a flicker of recognition crossed her face, and she turned back to the warm porridge she was having this morning. She was probably the only one in the whole school that drunk the murky dark liquid.

  The day crawled by unbearably slow, and there never arose a good opportunity for Boke and Sophie to talk.

  Sophie found that she was the one squirming the most with impatience, for Boke held herself quite calm and still all day. They didn’t have HB today, so their original plan couldn’t work.

  When the last bell of classes sounded, Sophie jumped off her chair and ran out of class before her friends could corner her, just managing to slip a note onto Boke's lap.

  Sophie hurried towards the Herb gardens, for she doubted any student would willingly go there after classes.

  She didn’t have to wait long, for soon the tell-tale sounds of approaching footsteps alerted Sophie of her arrival. Boke stopped a few meters away from her, the slight twitching of her hands before she knitted them together behind her finally betraying just how excited or anxious she too was.

  ¨Did you find out?¨

  ¨I did,¨ Sophie confirmed. ¨But..¨ Sophie started again. Boke nodded for her to
continue. ¨It'll be quite hard to break into the records' room.¨

  ¨Why do you say that?¨

  ¨First of all, because it is in the administration corridor. We have to get past the receptionist whom I hear is a true angel,¨ Sophie stressed that last part, needing Boke to catch her intended sarcasm. She did, for she frowned a little now.

  ¨We could just go at night,¨ Boke said offhandedly.

  ¨It's locked at night,¨ Sophie said, remembering the keys the head-prefect had used to lock them in during their tour on their second night at the school.

  ¨I’m sure I can manage to unlock the door regardless,¨ Boke shrugged quietly.

  “Oh yeah, there is that,” Sophie said. “I keep forgetting that you’ve been practicing magic for a while and probably have a good handle on it.”

  “Good enough,” Boke said with another shrug.

  She loves her shrugs! Sophie thought to herself.

  ¨Well, in any case, the record room is hidden, and I was told only a special kind of Witch can reveal the door, as it requires a special kind of magic.¨

  ¨No problem,¨ she said quietly.

  ¨What do you mean- no problem?¨ Sophie asked, narrowing her eyes, Keira’s warning and cryptic conversation now bursting into her mind.

  ¨Because I can practice every kind of witchcraft there is,¨ Boke answered, still speaking in her very quiet way that both puzzled and scared Sophie.

  ¨What exactly do you mean?¨ Sophie asked, not sure she liked her last statement.

  ¨I'm a special kind of Witch,¨ is all Boke said.

  If she thought she was getting away that easily, she was gravely mistaken.

  ¨What special kind of Witch?¨ Sophie was on high alert now, her eyes narrowed and mistrusting. Boke saw the change in her, and braced herself.

  ¨Mchawi,¨ Boke said. Sophie raised her brow at the foreign utterance.

  ¨A Wailer,¨ Boke repeated in English, and Sophie gasped at hearing that word.

  “I see you’ve heard of Wailers,” Boke said in a resigned tone, already expecting a bad reaction from Sophie.

  “Some, I’m still uncertain on what to believe.”

  “Mgalla muue na haki umpe,” Boke said, foreign words yet again, and Sophie shook her head puzzled.

  “It’s a Swahili proverb I’m particular fond of. As you listen to nightmarish tales of my kind of magic, be sure to also look for the good tales.”

  ¨Then you tell me exactly what a Wailer Witch is!¨ Sophie said firmly.

  ¨It's special kind of Witch,¨ she began. “Very powerful, but not all powerful people are evil.” She sounded so sad, that just this one time, Sophie decided to stop questioning her on it.

  ¨So you can reveal the door?¨

  ¨Yes,¨ she answered. “Yes, I can.”

  ¨We could try tonight..¨ Sophie suggested, a little too excited, as she too hoped to read her parents' school records and see what kind of trouble they got into while in high school.

  ¨Yes, tonight,¨ Boke confirmed, bending over to pluck a couple red leaves off one of the ugliest plants Sophie ever saw. And she had seen the plant before, it was one of the bushes in her parents garden that she was never allowed to touch. They’d claimed it poisonous.

  ¨Be careful,¨ Sophie warned her, ¨I think that's poisonous.¨

  Boke smiled patiently, like grownups do to kids when they think them very cute in their ignorance.

  ¨It's very poisonous, when mixed with water.¨

  ¨But.. what will you use it for?¨

  ¨A spell,¨ she said condescendingly.

  If she kills anyone tonight for magical powers, will I be an accessory to murder? She wondered to herself, but then brushed the thought aside as foolish, as the girl standing before her couldn’t possibly have such a hard heart as to kill someone.

  ¨We have to break in after lights out,¨ Sophie suggested.

  ¨Later than that,¨ Boke said. ¨The matrons patrol around the building every three quarters between 10pm and 12am to ensure that all are in bed.¨

  Sophie chuckled at this, picturing Boke crouching behind a column or statue in pitch darkness and studying the matrons’ routine at night. Only Boke fit in that picture perfectly, especially with her cat eyes.

  ¨What time then?¨

  ¨Could you meet me behind the horrendous statue in the main lobby at 12:15?¨

  Sophie found herself giggling at the description. Boke meant the H.C. Andersen statue standing on the southeast corner. H.C. Andersen might have been a brilliant author, having created many of the fairy tales she’d loved so much as a child, and still did, however, he'd also been very unattractive. Turns out even little miss Witch here noticed that.

  ¨I'll be there!¨ Sophie confirmed. ¨We’ll probably need a flashlight..¨ She broke off when Boke shook her head.

  ¨Too bright,¨ Boke said.

  ¨But..¨ Sophie was cut off from arguing about how dark it’ll be when Boke created a low glowing fireball in her palm.

  Of course! Sophie thought to herself.

  ¨Soft light,¨ Boke said quietly. Sophie nodded.

  ¨See you later then,¨ Boke said.

  “See you,” Sophie said, then walked away, leaving Boke walking around the gardens picking up more herbs and roots.

  Chapter 14

  Her heart thudded loudly against her chest as she crept out of bed at ten past midnight.

  ¨Keira,¨ she called softly. Not a single stir from her cousin.

  Drachenburg fort was one creepy building to crawl around in the dark. Spooky sounds resounded from creaking floorboards, and the howling winds outside swept against the massive glass windows mercilessly.

  Sophie’s worst experience was at the main staircase in Rhiannon House, where the winds beat against the thick windowpanes soundly. The bright moonlight cast coloured eerie shadows onto the shone granite stairs to reflect chilling images that had Sophie’s heart beating wildly and irregularly. She pulled her eyes away from the cruel play of light, and instead concentrated on staring right ahead.

  She didn’t meet with anyone, though she heard a giggle or two from somewhere, which let her know that Boke wasn’t the only one to have studied the night watch routine in the school.

  Sophie found Boke crouched behind HC's statue as agreed. Her eyes were all Sophie saw of her, gleaming yellow eyes staring back at her.

  Sophie could swear they glowed, for there wasn’t that much moonlight in here to cause that kind of reflection.

  Boke took out something that rustled from her omnipresent leather bag. Though Sophie couldn’t see what Boke was doing in the dark, a low glow light in her balled hands and the distinct smell of sage blew over them, so Sophie wasn’t kept wondering for long.

  ¨Now we can speak freely,¨ Boke said suddenly, causing Sophie to start at the contrast of the sound of her voice against the pin drop silence they had been enshrouded in upto a few seconds ago.

  Boke chuckled then, and Sophie found herself blushing.

  ¨Come on,¨ Boke said, her still warm fingers clasping around Sophie’s wrist as she pulled her from behind the statue.

  The two scampered across the marble-floored lobby, being sure to keep to the shadows. It was trickiest when they had to cross over to the doors leading to the administration corridor, because that area was easily visible from all the balconies above, being an atrium, and also very well lit. Should anyone be about on the above floors, they would be spotted immediately.

  Boke remained pressed to the shadows against the cold stone walls, holding Sophie back with her boney fingers. She used her left hand to pull out something that sounded like sand from her bag, and threw a handful across the brightly lit floor before them.

  ¨Mchanga nitunze, uwe kioo changu!¨ She exclaimed softly, and then the sprinkled sand on the brightly lit stone floor before them slowly began to smoothen out into a mirror, reflecting the floors above.

  Boke had managed to create a mirror of sorts from the scattered sand crystals on the floor, from which they could see if the
re was anyone in the vicinity on the floors above. It appeared to be crystal clear for the moment.

  Boke walked normally forward, her sandaled feet noiseless against the cold stone floor.

  Sophie had on her converse sneakers, and she puzzled over the low muffled sound they made, now sounding even louder when contrasted to Boke’s soundless footwear.

  They were soon standing before the doors leading into the academic corridor. But though they were standing in a very exposed position, Boke was doing nothing.

  ¨What's wrong?¨ Sophie whispered, unable to speak freely for fear of being overhead, despite the silencing spell Boke had cast over them. Sophie was still too new in this world of magic and the supernatural to believe all she’s told.

  ¨The door,¨ Boke said, sweeping her hand before the knob.

  Sophie edged closer, peering over Boke’s shoulders, and noted that with the wave of her hand, Boke was casting a dim yellow glow over the keyhole revealing markings that were otherwise invisible.

  The markings were made up of intricate patterns in dark ink, probably writings in an old language.

  ¨What are they?¨ Sophie puzzled curiously.

  ¨Maandishi,¨ Boke answered quietly but audibly.

  ¨Runes,” she corrected, when she remembered that Sophie couldn’t understand Swahili. “They prevent the door from being opened by magic. Only a key can open these doors.¨

  ¨What!¨ Sophie groaned, crouching back into the blessed shadows with the smaller girl in tow.

  ¨Yes. Whoever wrote those Runes is also very good. There is no way around them.¨

  ¨How do you know? Maybe..¨

  ¨My grandmother taught me. She was one of the greatest Witches in her time.¨

  ¨What do we do now?¨ Sophie asked when they were back behind HC's statue. It was the best place to hide in the large lobby, as it was placed far into the corner and was blessed with deep shadows, being in the darkest spot in the lobby.

  Boke took her time to answer, first burning another sage leaf and waiting for it to burn out before attempting to proceed.

  ¨We can't get in without a key..¨

  ¨I know that!¨

  ¨We must steal the key.¨