Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  “Oh, Honey, why were you dancing with someone else and not the one you really liked?” She pulled her close so Ariel was cradled against her. It always worked when she was a child.

  “Because he wasn’t there then and I really wanted him to be. Everyone was having such fun, I wanted to dance too.”

  “Did you explain that to him?”

  “Not really, he didn’t give me a chance.”

  Her mother sighed. “Well, it seems to me that this boy doesn’t know how lucky he is to have you. If he doesn’t even let you explain, maybe he’s not as nice as you thought he was.”

  Ariel didn’t have the energy to argue and list all the wonderful things she knew about Gabe. Like the way he always listened when she told him about her day, no matter how boring it was. Or the way that when he smiled, his left cheek dimpled but not the right one. And even the way he always said her name like it was funny and he wanted to laugh. There were so many things she loved about him, but none of it seemed to matter. He thought she was cheating on him, that’s what it all came down to.

  “I think I just want to go to bed,” Ariel finally replied. Her tears had temporarily stopped but she knew they would start up again soon.

  “Okay then. Make sure to hang up your dress so we can get it dry cleaned. I’ll see you in the morning.” She leaned down and gave Ariel a kiss on the forehead. “If you need me, you know where I am.”

  Ariel didn’t bother changing. Once the door was shut, she lay down on her bed and closed her eyes as the tears fell onto her pillow.

  Sometime in the night, she must have fallen asleep as it was morning when she awoke. For just one blissful moment, she thought everything was wonderful. Then it all came flooding back to her.

  She dragged herself to the shower, wincing as her sore and blistered feet hit the water. They stung more than her swollen eyes.

  Unfortunately, the water didn’t wash away her anguish. Ariel checked her phone for the hundredth time, wishing there would be a message from Gabe. She tried his number again and just got voicemail. She didn’t bother leaving a message, he probably wouldn’t listen to it. Knowing him, he was probably a world away by now and trying to forget about her. He ran away, that’s what he did best.

  She couldn’t stand being indoors and doing nothing. The four walls were threatening to close in on her and she was going to scream with frustration. Ariel hurried outside, on a mission to track down Cassidy. She had to talk to someone who knew everything, even if she didn’t want to hear it.

  Cassidy answered the door with a yawn, leading Ariel upstairs to her own bedroom before she could talk openly. “My mom’s home,” she explained. “She completely went off at me last night because I got home ten minutes after my curfew. Can you believe that?”

  “She’s tough,” Ariel agreed. “Are you grounded?”

  “I don’t think so. I stormed off before she could dish out any punishment. If I didn’t hear it, it doesn’t exist.” Ariel shrugged, it seemed reasonable to her. “What happened to you last night? I tried calling you like a thousand times.”

  “Gabe turned up,” Ariel said, pausing to let it sink in. “He saw me dancing with Spencer and now he thinks I’m cheating on him.”

  “All the more reason to be with Spencer,” Cassidy replied casually. It all made perfect sense to her. “At least now you don’t have to break up with Gabe, you can avoid the whole conversation.”

  “I don’t want to break up with Gabe, I love him. We’re so close to breaking his curse-”

  Cassidy cut her off with a roll of the eyes. “There will always be something with him. Don’t you see? He attracts problems. Even if you break his curse, there will always be something else. You are completely better off without him.”

  “I love him. Once we break the curse, everything will be normal. We’ll just be a normal couple,” Ariel insisted. She needed to believe it, otherwise she couldn’t go on with it all.

  “I don’t know, Ariel, he’s just bad news. You need to get-” She stopped abruptly as the door opened. Cassidy’s mother stood in the frame. “What happened to knocking?”

  “I’m your mother, I don’t need to knock,” she replied sharply before noticing Ariel. “Oh, hi, Ariel. Cassidy, you need to clean your room and then we need to talk about last night.”

  “Oh my gosh, Mom, seriously,” Cassidy said. Ariel sat there awkwardly watching the encounter. It was nothing new, she had seen it play out time and time again before.

  As they argued about the merits of a curfew, Ariel noticed something she had seen a thousand times before. But now she saw it with new eyes. Cassidy’s mom wore a necklace, she always had. It was a triangle with a circle in the middle of it. Ariel’s mind flashbacked to the woods and the witches scrying in the lake. It was the exact same symbol from the rock pool.

  “Cassidy, I need to go,” Ariel interrupted. She couldn’t stay there a moment longer. She hurried out with any further explanation, she could fill her friend in later. More than anything else, Ariel needed to get home because she was certain she had just found the three Morbose descendents that lived in the town.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Ariel’s fingers flew so fast over her keyboard that she couldn’t see the individual digits anymore. She was emerged in research, tracing the lineage of the Morbose people down to the current generations.

  None of the names had made sense before, no matter how many branches she went down. But now, with Cassidy’s mother in mind, she understood why. She had changed her name when she married Cassidy’s father, and then again when she married Eleanora’s father. Ariel never knew what her maiden name had been.

  Yet, sure enough, the branch became clear. Cassidy, her mother, and baby sister Eleanora were the three witches in Central Heights. The evidence was staring her in the face. With the tree branch complete, Ariel could see exactly how Cassidy was a direct descent of the original witch.

  She checked the information for the third time, sure she must have made a mistake somewhere. Cassidy wasn’t a witch, she probably wouldn’t even believe her if she told her it was true. When she had joined the coven in the woods, she had completely scoffed at the idea of witchcraft. Cassidy was never in a million years going to believe it.

  Ariel started pacing after printing off the tree and research. She had no idea how she was going to convince Cassidy she was the one she had been looking for. Her search had been going on for weeks and it was all going to come down to being able to convince her best friend to break the curse.

  Lilia said the descendent would know what to do when the time came. There was no way on Earth Cassidy would have all the answers. And she couldn’t ask her mother, the woman scared her. She was likely to tell her own mother and then all hell would break loose.

  And, of course, there was the fact that Cassidy hated Gabe. Why would she help him? She always warned her away from Gabe, she wouldn’t make it easier for them to be together.

  Ariel suddenly realized why Cassidy hated him so much. It wasn’t the fact she really loathed him, it was in her genes. Her ancestors had hated the Black Eyed People for centuries, why would they stop now? It was all starting to make sense to her, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it earlier. But, then again, you didn’t expect your best friend to be a witch either.

  Ariel was torn and more confused than ever. First, she would have to somehow convince Cassidy she was a witch. Second, she would have to get her to break the curse. It all seemed impossible.

  She fell backwards onto her bed and lay there, staring up at the ceiling. If she told Cassidy about everything, she probably wouldn’t want to talk to her anymore. Plus, Gabe was already not speaking with her. The club of people she alienated seemed like it was only going to get bigger.

  Ariel wondered whether she should just walk away from it all. Clearly Gabe didn’t want anything to do with her anymore. No matter how many times she checked her phone and email, there was nothing from him. She sent him a text explaining everything but she doubt
ed whether he had read it. Or believed it.

  But, if she did give up, the curse would remain. Ariel knew she couldn’t live with herself if she had the knowledge to stop it and did nothing. Innocent people were being killed and the Black Eyed People were suffering because of the curse. She knew she didn’t have any option except to keep going. She just wished it was easier.

  Walking into school the next morning, Ariel still hadn’t decided exactly what she was going to do. She had no plan except to keep at it. It was the only way she could have got out of bed that morning and to school on time.

  As she took her books out of her locker, Ariel waited for Cassidy to arrive. She didn’t have to wait long.

  “What happened to you yesterday?” Cassidy demanded. “You just ran out like the house was on fire. I know my mom’s crazy, but really.”

  “Sorry, I had to do something. Can we talk about it after school? I’ll explain everything.”

  “Fine. It’s not like we have any more of those horrible prom committee meetings to attend.”

  “Good. See you then,” Ariel said as she saw Spencer over Cassidy’s shoulder. He was next on the list. She hurried to catch up with him, worried he might be angry with her for disappearing on him at the prom. She didn’t really have a good excuse to give him so she was planning on just throwing herself at his mercy.

  “Hi Spencer,” she greeted him cheerily as she approached. He swung around to face her, not nearly as cheery.

  “Hi Ariel,” he replied, his hands in his pockets. The silence was painful between them.

  “I’m sorry I left so quickly at the prom, I didn’t mean to leave you like that.” She watched him carefully, trying to gauge what was going on inside his head. She couldn’t work it out. “I, uh, wasn’t feeling well so I called my dad and he picked me up.”

  “I was worried when you just disappeared.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d notice.”

  Spencer lifted his eyes from the floor to look at her suddenly. “Of course I noticed. I was having fun… with you.”

  There was no way Ariel could go on lying to him. She couldn’t lead him on, not when he was being so nice. Even if Gabe didn’t want anything to do with her anymore, she wasn’t ready to move on. Not yet and not this way. Not with the guy that Gabe thought she was cheating on him with.

  “I was having fun too, but I think I just need a friend now. Is that okay?”

  The pain in his eyes hurt her but she couldn’t change her mind. He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess that would be okay.”

  “Good, I like hanging out with you.”

  “Maybe we could catch a movie this weekend?” Spencer asked hopefully.

  Thankfully, Ariel was saved as the bell rang. “I’ve got to get to class, I’ll talk to you later.” She hurried off faster than she needed to. It wasn’t like she was going to miss anything in Geography.

  For the rest of the morning, Ariel’s mind was elsewhere. She counted down the time until lunch where she could find Miss Perry. She was the only person who might be able to give her some answers to the myriad of questions she had.

  “Miss Perry?” Ariel said as she knocked on the door. The class was gone, leaving just the two of them.

  “Ariel, come in. How are you?” She perched on the edge of her desk, intent on giving the girl her full attention. “Have you made any progress on your project?” She whispered the last word, like someone could overhear them.

  “I think I’ve worked it out, actually,” Ariel replied as she stood next to the whiteboard. “I saw this symbol somewhere.” She proceeded to draw Cassidy’s mom’s pendant on the board. “Does it look familiar?”

  “That’s the same symbol we saw when we scried. Where did you see it?”

  Ariel ignored her question, not willing to give up Cassidy and her family if it were for nothing. “Do you think this is the symbol of the Morbose people?”

  Miss Perry nodded. “I do. I was very specific when I was scrying. The symbol can’t be anything else. Lilia said as much too. Where did you see it, Ariel?”

  She stopped, considering the implications. Ariel figured she had to come clean, she wasn’t going to be able to convince Cassidy alone – or perform the ritual. “It was on a necklace around Mrs. Rawlin’s neck. Cassidy, her sister Eleanora, and her mom are the three witches living in Central Heights.”

  The teacher gasped, visibly surprised and shocked by the news. “Are you sure? Did you trace their heritage right back?”

  “I followed the family tree right down to them.”

  Miss Perry started to pace, unable to keep still any longer. She always thought better when she walked. “It makes sense. Marilyn Rawlin was always completely against everything supernatural when we were at school. She couldn’t even handle the existence of ghosts.”

  “You went to school with Cassidy’s mom?”

  “Right through until we graduated,” Miss Perry explained. “We weren’t friends or anything but we were in the same grade. It explains why we couldn’t perform our rituals with Cassidy around, she would have been blocking us with the protection spell.”

  “Cassidy has no idea,” Ariel said quickly. There was no way her best friend could have been purposefully sabotaging their rituals.

  “She wouldn’t know it consciously, but it would be in her genetic makeup. Her guardian spirits would have recognized what we were doing and they would have used her as a vessel to stop us.”

  Ariel sat on the desk at the front of the class. “How does Cassidy break the curse so we can get this finished?”

  “She’ll know what to do.”

  “This is Cassidy we’re talking about. She’s barely going to believe me when I tell her anything about this.”

  Miss Perry smiled, already imagining how that conversation was going to go. “The truth is, Ariel, we don’t know what she has to do to break the curse on the Black Eyed People. All we know is that her instincts will kick in and she will figure it out. That’s what all our folklore says.”

  Ariel threw her hands up in defeat, was nothing simple? “Great. Will you help me convince her?”

  “I can try.”

  It was enough, at least she would have some kind of backup. Ariel left the History classroom and ate lunch by herself in the cafeteria. She saw Kourtney and Karen eating with their friends and considered joining them but decided against it. She couldn’t hold a normal conversation and wasn’t ready to talk about the curse again. Too much hinged on the discussion she was going to have with Cassidy after school.

  The afternoon classes dragged by but at least it gave Ariel more time to think and plan. She figured out what she needed to tell Cassidy but had no idea how she was going to take it. If anything, she hoped she would just listen and hear her out. They had been best friends for a long time, she should at least give her the benefit of the doubt.

  As Ariel waited in the bleachers by the football field, enjoying the sunshine while her stomach churned, she checked her phone. There were no messages from Gabe. He was still completely ignoring her. She didn’t bother sending another text to him, if the ten beforehand didn’t work then neither would the eleventh.

  “Hey,” Cassidy said in greeting as she joined her. “Matt wants to know if you and Spencer want to double date this weekend? I know you’re probably going to say no, but I think you should seriously think about it. It’s going to be fun.”

  “Spencer and I have agreed to be just friends,” Ariel replied, figuring it wasn’t a complete lie. She said they should be friends and he hadn’t exactly scoffed at the idea. “But thanks for the invitation anyway.”

  Cassidy shrugged. “Fine, I told Matt you would say that but at least I tried. So what’s going on?”

  “I don’t know how to say this, but how much do you know about your family heritage?”

  She sat on the bleacher beside her, confused. “I don’t know, not much I guess. Why?”

  “Remember how the witches said that only a descendent from the Morbose famil
y could break Gabe’s curse?” Ariel paused until she nodded and murmured a yes. “Well, I finally finished tracing the family tree and it ends with you. You’re a direct descendent of the Morbose people.”

  “Sure I am,” Cassidy replied with a roll of her eyes. “What’s this? Like a joke or something?”

  “It’s not a joke, I’m serious. I need you to break the curse so the Black Eyed People can be freed.”

  Cassidy stood. “This is ridiculous, you’ve gone completely off the deep end. Did Gabe put you up to this? He’s probably tricked you or something.”

  “Will you just hear me out? I can show you my research.” Ariel feared she was losing her and once that happened she would never listen to her again. Ariel needed to convince Cassidy before she lost her best shot at breaking the curse. “Just give me this afternoon. If I can’t convince you by then, I promise I won’t ever bring it up again. Please?”

  Cassidy stood, watching her carefully. Finally, she sighed. “You really promise?”

  “Cross my heart.”

  “Fine. But for the record, you’re not going to be able to convince me. I’m not a witch and I’m certainly not someone who can break curses.”

  Ariel nodded, knowing it was going to be an uphill battle. Still, at least she had her backup. “We need to go to the woods.”

  Cassidy rolled her eyes but trailed after her anyway. It was the moment Ariel had been waiting for ever since she met Gabe.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  When Ariel had arrived in the clearing at the woods, she hadn’t expected to see the entire coven waiting there for her. Apparently Miss Perry was more excited than she had let on in the classroom. Even Reggie was eagerly awaiting their arrival.

  It had taken twenty minutes, but Cassidy was starting to believe them. Everyone had tried to convince her, but now it was Reggie’s turn.