The Witch Within

by M. Z. Andrews

  Gran swatted the air. “Oh, nothing.”

  “No, not nothing. What?”

  Gran lifted a shoulder. “You won’t like what I have to say.”

  “I probably won’t, but I’d at least like to hear it.”

  Grant let out a puff of air. “Well, it’s just that Jax is what they call a legacy. She comes from a very long line of witches. You’re a legacy too, Mercy. By all rights, had nature taken its course, Jax should have been born a witch just like you were.”

  My mouth gaped. “Uh! See, Gran! This is your fault!” I glanced over at Jax. She looked like she was about to cry.

  Her big blue eyes were wide as she said in a small voice, “I was definitely going to be a witch?”

  Gran nodded. “Oh yes. No question in my mind.”

  I shook my head. “Gran, this is wrong!”

  Alba looked at Gran intently. “I don’t understand. What does Jax being a legacy have to do with her turning eighteen?”

  Gran sighed and then leaned back. “Simple. If for some reason a legacy doesn’t become a witch by her eighteenth birthday, she’ll never get her powers.”

  “What?!” squealed Jax, looking around the room and then staring at Char for confirmation.

  With a small sigh, Char nodded. “Phil’s right. I’m sorry, Jax.”

  “But my birthday’s in less than a week! If Gran won’t lift the curse, how am I supposed to get my powers within a week?! That’s not enough time to figure out how to reverse the curse.”

  “The curse wasn’t meant to be reversed,” said Gran, her tone more than a little callous.

  I’d just about had enough of my grandmother. “Gran, I can’t believe you. You want your family to come around more often, and yet you refuse to give in, even a little! How am I supposed to want to be a part of your life if you won’t help out my friend, who’s done nothing wrong?!”

  Gran pointed a finger at me and stared me down with a completely serious face. “Because we’re a family. And family sticks together. Especially witch families. Covens are everything to a witch.”

  I wasn’t about to let her intimidate me. “Gran, you can wag that witchy finger at me all you want, but Jax is my family too. All these girls are. And we stick together. If you don’t lift the curse off of Jax I will be forced to do it myself.”

  Gran smiled at me and then leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. “Fine. Do it. I dare you. In fact, I double dog dare you. There’s only one way to lift a curse the size of the one I put on the Stone family. If you think you can do it, then by all means, do it.”

  5

  Leaving the Baileys’ that night, the five of us drove away solemnly. No one wanted to talk about the challenge we now faced. Not only did we have to figure out how to lift the curse, but we also had to get it done in the short week’s time before Jax’s eighteenth birthday. No one wanted to say out loud how impossible that all sounded, so instead of talking about it, we all just went quietly to our rooms.

  The jingle of the door opening brought Chesney, my small chestnut-colored Cavapoo, barreling towards me. I scooped him up and cuddled him against my chest. “Hey, buddy.”

  On the other side of the dining room, my mom leaned on the counter with Detective Mark Whitman seated across from her in one of the barstools. “Hi, Mercy.”

  “Hi, Mom. Oh, hey, Detective Whitman.” I sat down at the counter, holding Chesney over one shoulder. He licked my earlobe, forcing me to finally break out a smile. “Quit, Ches, that tickles.”

  Leaning across the counter, my mom rested her head in the palm of her hand. “Where were all of you girls?”

  “We went to go see Gran. She was over at Char’s place.”

  Mom looked surprised. “You went to see your grandmother? Really?”

  I rested Chesney’s butt on the counter. “Yes, really. Why is that such a surprise to everyone? She’s my grandmother, isn’t she?”

  “Well, yes, but I thought you were kind of upset with her because of…” She trailed off and glanced at her boyfriend and then back at me. “Well, you know. Everything.”

  I lifted a shoulder and nuzzled Chesney against my cheek. “Yeah, well, forgive and forget, isn’t that what you’ve always taught me?”

  “Yes, I suppose, but you’ve never actually listened.”

  “I listen, Mom. You just don’t realize it.”

  Detective Whitman lifted his dark eyebrows. “Well, Linda. I better get going. I’ve got a lot of work to do back at the office.” He pushed himself up and grabbed the paper bag and the Styrofoam cup of coffee off the counter. “Thanks for supper. I really appreciate it. It should make the night go a little smoother.”

  My mom smiled at him as she walked around the counter. “Anytime, Mark.”

  They exchanged hugs, and before they could lock lips, I gave them my back. I didn’t need to see that. Seconds later, I felt Detective Whitman’s oversized hand tousling my hair.

  “See ya, Mercy.”

  “Bye.”

  He waved as he walked away. “Bye, Linda. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Mom walked him to the door. I waited for her, and when she came back, she took her spot behind the counter again.

  “Do you seriously have to do that in front of me?”

  Mom looked clueless. “Do what?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “You know, make out with your boyfriend?”

  “I wasn’t making out with Mark. I gave him a hug and a kiss goodbye. What’s wrong with that? You were the one that wanted us together so badly.”

  “Well, yeah. But you just don’t have to do it in front of me. I mean, I’m not a kid. I assumed that mushy stuff is happening, but I’d rather it be off camera than on, if you catch my drift.”

  Mom rolled her eyes. “Fine. I’ll do my best to keep it off camera. Just for you, sweetheart. Does that make you feel better?”

  “Much.”

  “So things are going good between you two?”

  Mom smiled dreamily. “Couldn’t be better.”

  “And Merrick’s taking it well that you picked Detective Whitman over him?”

  Mom swished her lips to the side and stood up straight, adjusting her apron. “Let’s just say he’s doing his best to get over it.”

  “Yeah? What’s that mean?”

  “Well, he’s sulking a bit.”

  “You’ve seen him?!”

  Mom nodded. “Mm-hmm. He came in earlier for dinner.”

  My eyes widened. The nerve! “No he didn’t!”

  Mom sighed and pulled her apron off. “Yeah, while you girls were gone. Mark got here just as he was leaving. Needless to say, neither was very happy to see the other.”

  “What did he want?”

  “I guess just to talk, and say hello to Reign. He told me he was going out of town for a few days to clear his head. He said he understood I’d made my decision, but he admitted he was pretty lonely in Aspen Falls. I guess he and his sisters don’t really visit that much, and it gets lonely over at their place.”

  “Then he should get a girlfriend, not come sniffing around my mother!”

  “Mercy, you’re not being very empathetic. Reign is his son, and they’re trying to bond right now, so as long as Merrick and Reign both live in Aspen Falls, we’re bound to see each other.”

  My nostrils flared as I pushed my chair back and stood up. “It’s hard to be empathetic where Merrick Stone is concerned. Sorry, Mom. Listen, I gotta go. I should probably do a little studying for finals before I go to bed. I’m a little worried about not passing my Advanced Kinetic Energy final.”

  After hanging up her apron, Mom came around the counter and took Chesney out of my arms. “Only one more week, Mercy Bear. You’ve got this. I have faith in you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I’m glad one of us has faith in me.”

  6

  Later that evening, Sweets sat quietly on her futon, flipping through a cooking magazine she’d gotten in the mail while Alba sat next to me on the bed, channel
surfing. I had a textbook open in my lap but found I was having a hard time concentrating on magic studies. My mind kept rolling back to Jax and everything that Gran had told us about legacies and the ridiculously short amount of time that we had left to reverse the curse. We had until Sunday. It was Monday night!

  With a heavy heart, I pictured Jax sitting in Holly’s room, crying over the news. She had to be upset about Gran not being willing to help us, and about the new information we’d learned. I silently wondered if Holly would be too self-absorbed to make Jax feel better. Mom’s words replayed in my ear. Mercy, you’re not being very empathetic. I sighed quietly. Maybe I oughta suggest we invite Jax over.

  Before I could say anything, Sweets looked up from her magazine. “Guys, I feel like Jax shouldn’t be over there without us tonight. She can’t be in a very good place right now.”

  I looked over at her, bright-eyed. “Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing.”

  Sweets closed her magazine. “Why don’t you text Jax and see if she and Holly want to come over here?”

  Next to me, Alba groaned and flicked off the TV. “Shorty only. I just switched rooms to get away from Cosmo.”

  “Oh, come on, Alba. Now’s not the time to be petty.”

  “Petty!” breathed Alba. “I’m not being petty. All that girl does is primp and take selfies. I’m over it.”

  “Alba! That’s glam shaming,” said Sweets with a knowing nod. “And that’s not okay.”

  Alba looked at Sweets like she was off her rocker. “Glam shaming? That’s a thing? I mean, who invents stuff like that?”

  I rolled my eyes. “She got that off The Bachelor.”

  Sweets giggled.

  “Anyway, Alba, Sweets is right. Now’s not the time to be petty. I’m going to invite Jax and Holly over. We need to make Jax feel better.” Before Alba could object, I fired off a text message to Jax. Hey, Jax. You and Holl wanna come hang out with us for a while?

  I’d no sooner hit Send than my bedroom door flew open and Jax burst inside, followed by Holly. Smiling from ear to ear, Jax wore her long-sleeved black cat onesie, the one with the cat ears on the hood. Her face was covered in a green mud mask and she carried a stuffed unicorn in her arms. “I got your text!” chirped Jax.

  Alba snuffed air out her nose. “Well, that was fast.”

  Holly followed Jax inside, her face covered in a layer of green glop just like Jax’s. Instead of a cat onesie, Holy wore a white unicorn onesie with a twisted purple horn and pink-and-white ears on the hood, an iridescent layer of pink and purple glitter covering the whole thing. The two girls sat down on my bed.

  I wrinkled my nose at them. “What in the world are you wearing?!”

  Holly lowered her brows. “Don’t make fun,” she said glumly. “Jax was sad about all that stuff your grandmother said, so I told her we could have a pajama party and do facials. She wanted us to wear onesies, and I didn’t have one, so she made me wear one of hers.” When we all wouldn’t stop staring at her, she wrinkled her nose. “I was trying to cheer her up.”

  “By looking like an idiot?” said Alba.

  “Alba!” shouted Jax, Sweets, and Holly in unison.

  I crawled between them on the bed and held a hand up in both of their faces. “Okay, okay. This is a fighting-free zone and a fighting-free night. We’re supposed to be trying to cheer Jax up, and fighting is only going to make her feel worse.”

  Jax smiled at me. “Thanks, Mercy. I already know what would cheer me up.”

  “What, Jax?” asked Sweets from the futon.

  “If we figured out how to lift the curse!”

  “Jaaax,” I sighed. “I’d love to figure that out, but it’s going to require some research. We’ll have to hit the books in the Great Witch’s Library tomorrow.”

  Alba nodded. “That’s exactly what I was thinking too.”

  Jax clapped her hands together. “Yay!”

  I winced. Gran had seemed pretty confident when I’d said I would have to lift the curse if she didn’t. It was almost as if she knew it was going to be impossible to do. The thought worried me. What if we couldn’t figure it out by the deadline? “Just, don’t get your hopes up, Jax. Alright?”

  “Oh, I won’t,” she chirped.

  I could tell by the sound of her voice that it was pretty much too late. She’d already gotten her hopes up. I needed to change the subject, I couldn’t talk about it anymore. Between curse reversing and finals, I was too stressed out. I reached over and plucked the remote control out of Alba’s hand. “So, what are we watching tonight? A movie?” I asked, looking around.

  Holly bounced up and grabbed a DVD off of her dresser. She flashed it at the group. “Yes! I just got Dixie Carlton’s new movie. Let’s watch this!”

  Jax wrinkled her nose. “That’s a horror movie, Holly.”

  “I’d watch it,” said Alba with a nod. “You know, I heard Dixie Carlton’s a witch.”

  Holly shook her head. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s just a rumor. I heard that one of her ex-boyfriends was salty about their breakup, so he started telling people that.”

  “You know I hate scary movies, Holly.” Jax frowned and then promptly sucked in her breath. “Oh! I know, how about we start the next season of Glee!”

  Alba and Jax lurched for the remote control I held in my hand at the same time. Alba nearly laid Jax out grabbing it first. “No! I am not watching that crap anymore, Shorty. I don’t care if it’s your birthday week or you’re depressed or whatever. That show is annoying. All they do is sing.”

  Jax plumped out her bottom lip. “But, Alba! I love Glee!”

  “Of course you do,” said Alba, flicking on the television. “How about a little Walking Dead?”

  “Ugh, no,” said Holly. “How about we start Grey’s Anatomy over again? I miss McDreamy.”

  “We all miss McDreamy,” sighed Sweets.

  “I don’t wanna watch Grey’s all over again,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “We binged way too hard the first time we watched it. I literally didn’t get out of bed for an entire weekend after the plane crash.”

  The room went silent for several long seconds. I was pretty sure Sweets, Holly, and Jax were considering it a moment of silence for Lexie Grey and Mark Sloan. But all I could think about was the fact that I probably wouldn’t be in danger of failing Advanced Kinetic Energy if I’d practiced more instead of watching the countless episodes of Grey’s Anatomy well into the early morning hours.

  Finally, Holly broke the silence. “Okay, well, if we’re not going to watch Grey’s, how about Gossip Girl?”

  Alba frowned. “Eww. Don’t make me lose my supper.”

  I pulled the remote out of Alba’s hand and began scrolling through Netflix. “Anyone seen Vampire Diaries?”

  Everyone’s heads shook, but no one said anything encouraging.

  I shrugged. “Sounds better than Glee, don’t you think, Alba?”

  “Slightly,” she grumbled.

  “Diaries—sounds very Gossip Girl–like, right, Holly?”

  Holly lifted a shoulder. “I guess.”

  I pointed at one of the characters on the screen. “Look, Sweets. That’s Boone from Lost. You loved him in that show.”

  Sweets’ eyes lit up as she sucked in her breath. “Ohhh, you’re right! I’m in.”

  “And, Jax, we all know how much you love vampires. What do you say?”

  Jax nodded excitedly. “I’m in too. But can we make popcorn first?”

  “Duh,” I said.

  Holly and Jax leapt off the bed, threw open the door, and ran down the hallway.

  Following them to the door, I looked back at Sweets and Alba, who hadn’t moved. “You two coming?”

  Alba curled her lip. “How many idiots does it take to make a couple bags of popcorn?”

  I could hear Holly and Jax bounding down the stairs, giggling. “Apparently it takes three of us, alright? So shut it. You coming, Sweets?”

  Sweets shook her head. “No, my feet are k
illing me. Bring me a bowl, though, would you?”

  I nodded. “Sure thing.”

  By the time I got downstairs, Jax and Holly already had the box of microwave popcorn out and were singing a Meghan Trainor song, Jax’s new favorite, and doing a little dance to it. I always knew when Jax had a new favorite song because she’d belt it out on repeat in the shower for weeks at a time and then, just as soon as it had appeared, it would be gone, to be replaced by her next new “favorite song.” It was an annoying, yet weirdly lovable, quality of my undeniably quirky roommate.

  I pulled a bag of popcorn out of the box and unwrapped it as they danced around the kitchen, singing wildly. “No worries, guys. I got it.” I was thankful my mother was done prepping for breakfast and had gone to bed. Otherwise, she’d surely ask me to ask them to turn it down a notch.

  After inserting a bag into the microwave and turning it on, I turned around to find Jax and Holly singing into a pair of spatulas that had been left to dry by the sink.

  I hopped up on the counter, waiting for the microwave to beep watching them while they danced.

  “You must have confused me, confused me with…” they sang, sticking their butts out at me while simultaneously spinning the tails sewn to the back of their onesies. “You must have confused me, confused me with…”

  I couldn’t help laughing at them as they sang. And then suddenly, my brother Reign was in the kitchen. I held a finger up to my lips, keeping him from interrupting the little show they were putting on for me. In his army boots, he tiptoed past the microwave to jump up on the counter and sit next to me. The girls kept singing. They hadn’t even noticed his entrance. I glanced over at him. Fresh from his date, he wore dark denim jeans and a long-sleeved button-down flannel shirt over a black V-neck, and his dark hair had been recently cut. I had to admit, my brother was looking his best.

  The girls’ voices hit a crescendo. “Your momma raised you better than that, huh!” The duo spun around with emphasis when they hit the huh.

  Holly’s blue eyes widened the second she saw Reign in the kitchen, watching her and Jax. In horror, her fingers climbed to the green facial mask on her face.