by Gwynn White
“So do we just sit here all lunch? Or is there more to your master plan?”
“We sit and then we leave just before the bell rings. We make sure to walk by them and make some small talk about the prom. We can ask how the catering is turning out,” Cassidy explained. Ariel nodded, it would be easy enough.
“Shouldn’t we be selling tickets?”
“People know who we are, they can find us if they want the tickets bad enough.”
Ariel smiled to herself, so much for being the queen of the tickets. She settled into her seat on the cold metal bleachers and tried to study Niccolette without it being noticeable, just like Cassidy was.
The lunch break dragged by impossibly slow. It would have been better if they were in hearing distance of the cheerleaders, at least then they could eavesdrop too. But apparently that would have been too obvious, as Cassidy pointed out.
“Damn it, they’re moving early,” Cassidy said in a panic. “The bell hasn’t even rung yet.”
Ariel watched at the girls stood, picked up their things and crossed the field back to the school building. “I’m sure they still noticed you sitting here.”
“They didn’t even look this way.”
“We’ll get them tomorrow then. Or you can talk to them in the hallway or something. There will be other chances.”
Cassidy crossed her arms, groaning in frustration. The bell rang and they trudged back to class. Ariel said goodbye and went to her Computer Science class while Cassidy went in the opposite direction to get to French.
Ariel felt bad for her friend, she was trying so hard to get Niccolette’s attention and as far as she could tell was getting nowhere. She wished she could do something about it, but it wasn’t like she held any clout in the school. If she approached Niccolette herself, she would probably assume she was just the new girl. Despite the fact they had gone to school together since they were both little.
She reached the computer lab and took a seat, waiting for the teacher to issue the assignment for the class. Mr. Benet rarely stood up and gave a lecture, he preferred to dish out a task and then sit in the corner until the bell rang again. Everyone thought he was a poor excuse for a teacher but nobody really cared, at least it was an easy class to pass.
“Take one and pass them along,” Mr. Benet said as he issued every row with a stack of papers. Ariel took hers and glanced over it. The task of the day was to find twenty unique facts with references for the Statue of Liberty. They had to be from different websites and verifiable as true. Simple.
Ariel got typing and flew through the assignment. She stuck to only official websites, nothing from wikis. She knew Mr. Benet hated those websites and always marked them wrong even if they were really right.
She finished the task with more than half an hour left of the class. Looking around, all the other students seemed engrossed in their own assignments. Ariel opened up the search engine and typed in Shadows, hoping to find out more about the creatures Kourtney spoke about.
It was a difficult term to search for, considering there were practically billions of references to shadows. She narrowed the search by adding Wicca. That halved the references.
Ariel clicked through to some of the sites, but only the ones that seemed to be discussing true Wiccan beliefs and not the Hollywood version of witches. Everything she had learned so far about witches was that there was a big gap between the two versions.
She read one of the entries for Shadows. The term Shadows refers to beings that live in the darkness. Feeding off negative energy, they interfere and cause mischief. Given enough power, they can be dangerous beings. However, Shadows are also largely believed to be myths with no verifiable accounts in history.
Myths? Ariel wondered if there was a point to being scared about something that was considered a myth. But, then again, just because something was unverified it didn’t mean it didn’t exist. Nobody had verified that aliens existed but people continued to see them on a regular basis.
She moved on to another website, clicking through the pages until she reached a discussion on Shadows. She read through. Creatures that dwell in the darkness are known as Shadows. Fuelled by negativity, they will interfere with the work of a Wiccan and can manifest in the image of a dark creature. Beware of the Shadows, they will cause damage. If you are experiencing Shadows, your coven must eliminate the negative energy or they will only grow stronger.
Ariel thought that explained why Kourtney was so adamant that Cassidy couldn’t return to any of their meetings again. If it was a Shadow that had made the water explode like it did, then she wouldn’t want to see it grow even stronger. The impact it had was bad enough.
But surely Cassidy couldn’t be the sole reason why the Shadows had appeared? She was just a teenage girl and she wouldn’t intentionally harm anyone. It was true that she didn’t want to be there and was worried about what the witches were doing, but that was only out of concern for her friend. She wasn’t really negative, just skeptical. Surely the Shadows would know the difference?
Ariel continued on through the websites, clicking everywhere she could to gather information about the Shadows. All the sites she visited said variations about what she already knew. Most websites stated that Shadows were just myths, kind of like folk tales that witches could tell to their new members – a tale of warning to remain positive or the Shadows would get you. There were no first-hand accounts of them being real and visible.
Still, Ariel continued. She craved more information, she needed to know exactly what the creatures were so she could be better prepared next time. She didn’t want the witches shielding her from any of the details.
“Miss Cole?” Mr. Benet’s voice came from directly behind her. Dread filled her with those two words. “That doesn’t look like research on the Statue of Liberty.”
She turned slowly to face him, noticing all the other students stared at her too. “I’ve finished my assignment, I was just goofing around to fill in time. I’m sorry.”
He leaned over to see the screen better. “The Witch’s Temple? That doesn’t seem very goofy to me. Congratulations, you’ve scored yourself detention for this afternoon. I hope you didn’t have any plans.”
“But I’ve finished my assignment. I don’t-”
“If you were so efficient then you should have told me. I would have been more than happy to give you another one to keep you from being bored in my class. Detention, this afternoon, don’t forget.” Mr. Benet walked to the front of the class, flopping down into his seat. Ariel just stared after him, her mind racing.
In her entire sixteen years, she had never been assigned detention before. She hadn’t even got into trouble with any teachers. Ariel’s permanent record was perfect, unmarred by any punishments or incidents. Until now, anyway.
And what if her parents found out? They were already watching her like a hawk after the library incident and now detention? They would be ready to ship her off to military school to get her back on the straight and narrow.
Ariel felt sick with it all. She didn’t even know what people did in detention. Would she be allowed to do her homework at least? Or would they have to write lines over and over again? I will not surf the internet in Computer Science. I will not surf the internet in Computer Science. It would be so boring – and pointless.
To make it worse, Ariel felt for sure everyone else in the class was happy to see her downfall. They knew she was a do-gooder. They were probably so happy to see her finally get into trouble for something. She could feel all the eyes on her, just watching to see her humiliation.
She craved for the bell to ring just so she could get away from them all. When it finally did go off, she packed up her things and fled as quickly as possible. She could only go to her next class but at least there were different people there, students that didn’t know about her detention. It was going to be a long afternoon.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The seconds ticked by like they were minutes, the minutes like they were
hours. Ariel could do nothing but stare at the clock and will it to go faster. Detention sucked, it was official. It could even have been worse than her parent’s punishment of taking away her privileges.
As it turned out, they did allow you to do your homework in detention but that’s all you could do. So when Ariel flew through her homework for the day, she had nothing left to do except watch the clock.
She still had twenty minutes to go but it may as well have been four hours for the amount of time it would actually take for the teacher to let them go. Ariel felt like such a loser amongst all the others. She didn’t know any of the delinquents well, only their reputations. Most of them she wasn’t surprised to see when she had turned up. If they were surprised about her presence, they didn’t show it.
In fact, the students rarely even acknowledged each other. A few gave a head nod as they entered but most just sat at a desk with a groan. Some muttered something under their breath – probably for good reason. Ariel had never felt so out of place before and that was something considering how out of place she had been over the last few months.
Movement at the door caught Ariel’s attention. She only had a moment to recognize Miss Perry before she was in the classroom and whispering to the Deputy Principal that was supervising the detention class.
Ariel watched as they had a quick and quiet discussion before both turning to look at her. Miss Perry indicated for her to come to the front. Ariel grabbed her bag and followed the order.
“I need a student to help me with some papers,” Miss Perry explained sweetly, the way she always spoke when being polite. “Would you be willing to assist?”
“I would like to help.”
“Good, come with me then. You will stay with me for the rest of your detention.”
Miss Perry led her out and they walked down the hallway until they reached her History classroom. She closed the door behind them and indicated for Ariel to take a seat at her desk. They both sat.
“I thought you might have been bored,” Miss Perry started. “There is nothing worse than sitting in detention all afternoon.”
Ariel had to agree. “How did you know I was there?”
“I heard Mr. Benet talking in the teacher’s lounge about a girl looking up witchcraft in his class. I put two and two together, figured there was a good likelihood that it was you. Is there anything you want to talk about? You know, something you didn’t get from Google?”
Ariel didn’t want to get Kourtney into trouble for saying something she shouldn’t so she didn’t mention the Shadows. She skirted around the issue instead. “I wasn’t sure if your coven was going to help me anymore so I wanted to find out if there was anything I could do to lift the curse myself.”
Miss Perry smiled warmly, it encouraged Ariel that perhaps it wasn’t all doom and gloom. “We’re not going to give up on you just because we had one setback. We think it’s important to lift this curse just as much as you do.”
“But how will we do it?”
“After you left last night, we all spoke and agreed that we need to bring in someone more powerful than us. What we are dealing with is strong magic so we’re only going to be able to fight it with something even stronger.”
Ariel could feel goose pimples on the back of her neck. First dark magic and now they needed something even stronger again? The whole thing seemed to be getting further and further away.
She asked the question she didn’t know whether she was prepared to hear the answer to. “Who’s stronger than a witch?”
“Lilia once knew a warlock that held a vast amount of power. So much so that he gave up magic because he was worried about what he could do.”
“He gave up because he could actually do magic?” It seemed counterintuitive. If you actually got good at something, why just walk away from it?
“Power is a dangerous thing,” Miss Perry explained, just like she was teaching one of her classes. “It can go to someone’s head and they can lose themselves in the rush. This warlock was headed down the wrong path but he stopped himself before he reached the point of no return.”
“What’s the point of no return?”
“Killing innocents.” Miss Perry paused to let her words sink in. “He ceased using his powers and hasn’t practiced magic since.”
“Why would he help us now then?” Ariel asked, picturing yet another hurdle in her path.
“We don’t know if he will yet, but we are going to try. He and Lilia used to be very close, she might be able to convince him when nobody else can.”
Ariel wondered just how close Lilia and this warlock actually were. She pictured the old woman romantically involved with someone and instantly shuddered at the thought. Perhaps their relationship was just one of friendship? That seemed more plausible.
“So what can I do to help?” Ariel needed something to do, to know she was contributing to breaking the curse in some way. If she did nothing, she would only go crazy thinking about it.
“For now, just wait. Everything hinges on Lilia being able to speak with the warlock.”
“When will we know what he says?”
“Soon,” Miss Perry offered apologetically for not having something more definitive to tell her. “The curse has been in place for centuries, we can’t expect to break it overnight. Everything is a process.”
Ariel nodded, knowing she shouldn’t be impatient. Yet every day spent away from Gabe was one too long. It meant he couldn’t start living until they were successful and she could only imagine the torture he was going through waiting. If it were her in his situation, she wouldn’t have even lasted this long.
With five minutes to go before her detention technically ended, Miss Perry let Ariel leave – providing nobody saw her. She snuck out of the school and walked home, formulating something she could tell her parents.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried to think up an excuse, it didn’t come.
“Why are you late home?” Her mother asked, the moment she was through the door. “You know you are supposed to call or text if you’re going to be late. I need to know where you are or I worry. You know this, Ariel.”
She was too tired to argue and too ashamed to tell her they didn’t allow phones in detention. “I’m sorry. I got caught up with the prom committee stuff and forgot. I didn’t do it intentionally, I’m sorry.”
Mom stared at her, hands on hips, while she considered the answer. Finally, she relaxed. “Just remember next time, I worry about you. How’s the prom coming along?”
“Good.”
“You’re going to need a dress.”
“I’ll just wear something out of my wardrobe,” Ariel replied, sighing. Why was everyone so caught up in her clothes today? First Spencer and now her mom, it was beginning to look like a conspiracy.
“Don’t be silly, it’s the prom. I’ll take you shopping and we’ll get something wonderful. No arguments.” The idea of dress shopping seemed to cheer her mother up so Ariel didn’t refuse. For now, she was just grateful of the distraction from her tardiness.
“I guess we could go shopping.”
“I think pink would suit you. Or perhaps a light yellow. You could be Cinderella or Snow White or Rapunzel. Oh, we’re going to find something so beautiful you’ll be the belle of the ball.”
Ariel watched as her mother returned to the kitchen, muttering to herself about colors and lace, sleeveless or strapless. Ariel hoped she would forget about the whole dress shopping thing, perhaps by some miracle anyway. Otherwise they would really have to go clothes shopping, which wouldn’t be fun.
She traipsed upstairs and turned on her laptop, hoping Gabe was online. She needed some cheering up and he would be the only one who would suffice at that moment. She waited before scrolling through the list of names in her chat account.
He wasn’t online. Refusing to give up, she sent him a text, telling him to get online if he was home. It took Gabe a full ten minutes before he flashed green on the screen. A chat request popped up onl
y seconds later.
“Sorry for being pushy,” Ariel said in greeting. “I needed to speak with you.”
“Anytime, you know I’m always available for you. Did something happen?”
“I got detention today, for the first time ever.” It felt good being able to tell someone and know they wouldn’t judge her for it.
“Welcome to the club,” Gabe grinned. “I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been given detention.”
“Yeah, but how many times did you actually go?” Ariel had witnessed firsthand Gabe’s disregard for teacher’s orders. He had left her speechless on many occasions when he just did whatever he wanted.
“Good point. I bet you went to detention, right on time, and did exactly as you were told,” he teased. It instantly brightened her up. “What did you do to start your juvenile delinquency anyway?
“I was looking up things called Shadows in my Computer Science class and Mr. Benet caught me.”
“Shadows?”
“Yeah, they’re apparently these creatures that feed off negative energy or something. I didn’t really find anything useful.”
Gabe pursed his lips in thought, tossing up whether to continue or not. He came to a decision. “How do you know about Shadows?”
“The witches said they were responsible for mucking up their scrying session. You know what Shadows are?” Ariel asked, wondering why she hadn’t asked him about them in the first place. It could have saved her a wasted afternoon in detention.
“They’re mainly just pests but you need to be careful. Once you’ve got a Shadow hanging around, they can be difficult to get rid of. You need to make sure they don’t attach themselves to you.”
“You mean it could have followed me home or something?”
“Or it could have followed you there.” Gabe pointed out. Ariel remembered the earlier night when it had felt like a million eyes were staring at her. Could that have been the Shadows? Could they be right there with her now? She looked around nervously, expecting to see a face in every shadow of her room. “I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m sorry.”
