The Witch Within

by M. Z. Andrews

  After the dust settled, Poppy took the microphone once again. “Now that we’ve presented all of the Powers Unleashed certificates for the graduating class, it is time to address the upcoming second-year students. Typically this is the part of the ceremony where first-year students are told whether they’ve been approved to move into their second year. If so, they are asked to declare a major. Unfortunately, this week we’ve had some, umm…” She glanced over at the Council and Sorceress Stone, who sat in Poppy’s seat. After being brought back to life, Sorceress Stone had been too weak to conduct the graduation ceremony, and therefore Poppy had taken her place. “Technical glitches. So the last few days of finals were postponed, and the exams will be held tomorrow and Tuesday. This means that while witches may declare their intended majors, report cards and pass/fail status will be handed out next week.”

  Groans went up around the student section from everyone, including Holly and Alba. Jax looked at me sadly. I knew that, though she was happy her mother was now alive, she was also sad that she wouldn’t be declaring a major. I felt horrible that we hadn’t been able to get her the one thing she’d wanted more than anything for her birthday.

  Then, one by one, Poppy Ellabee called each of the first-year students up to the podium. Late to arrive to the ceremony, the Witch Squad occupied the very last row of student chairs and had to wait for Poppy to call every single other witch’s name before she finally got to ours.

  “Alba Suzanne Sanchez,” said Poppy in a slow deliberate tone.

  After walking up to the stage, Alba stepped up to the podium and looked out into the audience. “I declare that I will major in mind control and minor in kinetic energy.”

  The audience applauded before she pivoted and walked down the other side of the stage.

  “Holly Elizabeth Rockwell.”

  Holly followed Alba to the podium. “I declare that I will major in clairvoyance and minor in aesthetics.”

  When her applause died down, Sorceress Stone called my name out. “Mercy Mae Habernackle.”

  My brother gave out a hoot and a holler from the crowd, making my face immediately heated.

  As I took the microphone, I looked out over the crowd. It was filled with lots of familiar faces. Mostly students. But I also saw my teachers listening intently, excited to hear what all of us first-year witches would be majoring in next year. And then, of course, there were the families of the second-year students. Towards the back row, I saw my brother sitting next to Sweets, who gave me a little excited wave. Brittany Hobbs, who had nearly fainted when she’d seen Sorceress Stone follow us to the ceremony, was seated primly in the front row, dotting her eyes with a handkerchief. And then I noticed the one face I hadn’t expected to see.

  Houston Brooks.

  He looked at me intently, like I was the only person in the room. My heart raced and I felt blood rushing to my face. Suddenly, my brain turned to mush and the words I’d been practicing in my mind seemed to disappear. “Umm. Yeah,” I said awkwardly into the microphone. I cleared my throat. Think, Mercy, think. Your major declaration. Oh yeah… “I declare that I will major in ghost studies and minor in kinetic energy.”

  The audience applauded, and I let out the breath I’d been holding. As I made my way off stage, I heard Poppy call the next name.

  “JaclynRose Stone.”

  Jax and I passed each other in the aisle, and any lingering questions about why Hugh was in the crowd disappeared completely. Instead, Jax’s long face and tear-filled eyes nearly broke my heart. I’d failed her. What kind of a witch was I that I couldn’t even help my friend?

  Jax tromped up to center stage with a wrinkled nose and a face that was all mushed together as if she were fighting a sneeze. I knew Jax well enough to know that was the face she made when trying to keep from bawling. Her squeaky voice was shaky as she began. “I declare that if I pass my finals, I will major in animal spirits.” Her head bobbed as if that were that. Then it tipped sideways. “Or maybe invisibility studies.” She thought about it for another second and smiled. “Actually, maybe I might want to be a medium, or even major in atmokinesis because it would be really cool if I could control the weather.” She paused again. “But you know, now that I think about it, I’ve always wanted to learn to animate inanimate objects, so maybe I should major in that, and then maybe I’d minor in potions. Oh! Or flying. I think I could be a really good flier, even though heights kind of scare me.”

  Poppy cleared her throat.

  Jax looked over at her and smiled shyly. “Oh, sorry. I can’t really pick just one thing. I want to do it all.”

  I glanced over at Sorceress Stone, whose eyes were cast downwards, concentrating on her hands in her lap.

  Poppy gave Jax a slight nod and then stepped towards her and whispered something in her ear.

  Jax grinned from ear to ear, nodded her head eagerly, and then looked out at the crowd. This time when she spoke, her voice was much more buoyant. “I declare that if I pass my finals, I will major in general magic studies.”

  The crowd let out a collective laugh. Jax’s broad smile and unwavering optimism lightened the sadness I’d felt only minutes before. However, knowing that I had no way of making her dreams a reality, even Jax’s smile of acceptance couldn’t remove the heaviness I felt on my heart.

  44

  After the ceremony was over and all the students and their families had gone their own way, all that remained was the Great Witches Council, Sorceress Stone, the members of the Witch Squad, my brother, Libby and Cinder, and Brittany Hobbs.

  Sorceress Stone pushed herself up off her chair and looked down her nose at Poppy Ellabee. “Poppy, I appreciate you conducting the ceremony for me. After everything that happened, I-I just wasn’t up to it, but I’m pleased that we were able to see the graduation through. I am, however, disappointed that finals were delayed until next week. It’s unfortunate that all that time was wasted while I was unconscious.”

  Poppy gave Sorceress Stone a tight smile. “SaraLynn, I do think it’s time we discussed the events of the week with you. Perhaps you don’t understand the severity of what happened. You weren’t unconscious. You were dead.”

  Sorceress Stone’s brows knitted together. Her hand went to her heart. “Surely you don’t actually mean…”

  Poppy shook her head resolutely. “No, I actually mean dead. You were gone.”

  “But…how in the—”

  “Stella Blackwood,” cut in Alba. “Recognize the name?”

  “Yes. Of course I do. Stella was on the Council. I met her just the other day.”

  “And that was the first time you’d ever met her?” I asked.

  “Yes, it was the first time I’d met a few of the Council members. Why?” She was starting to look annoyed.

  “Stella’s maiden name was Stella Smith, Mom,” whispered Jax.

  “Smith?”

  Jax nodded. “She’s Grandpa Samson’s daughter.”

  “Grandpa Sam—JaclynRose, Samson Smith is not your grandfather. He’s just an old man that contributed to your DNA. Please do not refer to him as your grandfather.”

  “His title doesn’t matter,” said Alba. “Samson Smith and Harlow Crandall married. Did you know that?”

  The look on Sorceress Stone’s face told us that the marriage didn’t come as a surprise. “Perhaps I’d heard that once or twice as a child.”

  “And they had a kid together,” added Alba.

  Sorceress Stone looked appalled. “They did no such thing!”

  Alba’s shoulders and eyebrows lifted simultaneously. “I don’t know what to tell you, but they did.”

  “Surely I’d have known if my biological father had had another child.”

  “How would you have known?” asked Reign. “If Auggie didn’t want you to have anything to do with your father after their divorce, do you really think she’d want her children interacting with Harlow’s?”

  Sorceress Stone had to chew on that for a moment. “What of all of this, anyway? I
s there a point here somewhere?”

  Gemma Overbrook strode over to the fountain. “Stella Blackwood took your life, SaraLynn. That’s the point in all of this.”

  “You’d all have me believe that some sister that I’ve never met came all the way here from Alaska just to kill me?” She shook her head. “That’s preposterous!”

  I shrugged. “It might be far-fetched, but believe us, it’s the truth. We’ve got no reason to lie.”

  Daphne Fletcher nodded from her chair on the stage. “It is true, SaraLynn. And what’s more, these girls and that young man over there went to a great deal of trouble to solve the mystery surrounding your murder.”

  “But why would she do such a horrible thing?” asked Sorceress Stone.

  “She was jealous of you,” explained Holly.

  “Jealous? How could she have been jealous? I’d never met the woman!”

  “Using the time machine we made, we went back in time and saw your father and Harlow together,” said Reign. “Samson constantly compared Stella to you. It was like he had you up on a pedestal and Stella could never measure up. The way he spoke to her was terrible. It seems she endured that type of mental and verbal abuse for years. She finally snapped. She wanted to hurt your father.”

  “Were you aware that Harlow was on the previous Council?” I asked, suddenly curious if Sorceress Stone realized she’d met her stepmother.

  Sorceress Stone lifted a brow. “Yes, Harlow and I were aware of each other’s presence. We never spoke of our personal connection.”

  “Stella got her mother to load the Council with people that aren’t your biggest fans, so everyone else would look guilty,” explained Cinder.

  Sorceress Stone’s icy-blue eyes flicked up to look at the rest of the Council.

  None of the older witches were able to meet her scornful gaze.

  “I see,” snapped Sorceress Stone. With her lips pursed together tightly, she glanced over at Jax. “And if my half-sister did as is charged, how is it that I stand before you today?”

  “I can answer that,” said Elodie, standing up from her seat. “When we discovered that you were dead, we knew that it was someone on the Council who had committed the horrendous act. Fingers immediately began being pointed in all directions, and then these girls showed up. Once they understood what had happened, they demanded to be in charge of the investigation, and because none of us knew who did it and therefore who was to be trusted, we felt obligated to let them take over. They spent their entire week using their powers and their wit to hunt down the answers needed to solve the case. Because of them, the police were not only able to apprehend the murderer, but also to clear all of our good names.”

  Sorceress Stone cast a small glance in our direction.

  Elodie continued. “And when we tried to understand why these girls would have gone to all that trouble, we discovered it was because of their friendship with your daughter. They didn’t want her to lose her mother, and from what we understood, part of their mission had been to reverse a curse that has plagued your family for decades.”

  Sorceress Stone looked down at her hands again. “Yes, that curse has been an unfortunate burr in my saddle, and it’s been my daughter who’s paid the price for sins of the past.”

  Daphne nodded. “We decided that we owed these girls and this young man something for their trouble. We settled on rewarding your daughter by making her a witch finally.”

  Sorceress Stone’s chin lifted and her head snapped over to stare at Jax. “JaclynRose! You’re finally a witch?!” Hope filled Sorceress Stone’s eyes.

  Sitting cross-legged on the lush carpet of grass, Jax swallowed hard and looked away. It was obvious she didn’t have the heart to disappoint her mother.

  “No, as a matter of fact, she isn’t,” said Alba bitterly. “She gave up her one and only chance to be a witch.”

  Sorceress Stone sucked in her breath. “JaclynRose! Why on Earth would you do such a thing? You’ve wanted to be a witch for as long as I can remember!”

  Jax’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She snapped her mouth shut and lowered her head again as tears fell to the grass.

  “She gave up her chance to be a witch for you,” I said.

  “For me?!”

  “She asked that instead of them granting her the chance to finally be a witch, that they’d use her any wish fulfillment that she had coming to her to bring you back to life,” said Reign. “She gave up her chance to be a witch for you.”

  Sorceress Stone’s eyes flicked over to her daughter. “JaclynRose… I-I’m stunned. I don’t know what to say.”

  Jax stood up from the grass she sat on and walked over to her mother. She threw her arms around her mother’s waist. “I wasn’t ready to have a Mother’s Day without you in my life. I’d do anything for you, Mom. I love you. Happy Mother’s Day.”

  Sorceress Stone’s mouth gaped as she looked down at her daughter, clinging to her midsection with Jax’s head buried in her chest. Sorceress Stone’s usually cold and rigid demeanor relaxed slightly, and for the first time since I’d met her, I saw her eyes glisten with dampness. She put her arms around Jax and hugged her back, quietly whispering into Jax’s ear, “I love you too, JaclynRose.”

  A lump in the back of my throat made it hard to swallow. Behind me I heard sniffles and turned to see Sweets and Holly clinging to one another and bawling like babies. Reign had a dumb smile on his face, and even Alba and the twins looked like their eyes had unshed tears in them.

  “I—I don’t know what to say,” said Sorceress Stone finally. “I guess I owe you all a thank-you.” She looked over at the Council. “Thank you for granting my daughter’s request and for bringing me back to life.” She looked over at the Witch Squad. “And thank you all for doing what it took to find out the truth about Stella. I know I probably didn’t deserve your efforts. I haven’t been the kindest to you all.”

  “That’s the understatement of the year,” said Alba.

  Sorceress Stone nodded. “I know. I know. And I promise I’ll do better in the future.”

  Gemma Overbrook cleared her throat. “SaraLynn, surely you haven’t forgotten what we’d spoken about in private before your untimely event.”

  Sorceress Stone’s brow furrowed. She looked more than slightly stunned. “You mean those are still your wishes? I thought that after everything that happened…”

  Gemma glanced over at the rest of the Council.

  Elodie Goodwitch nodded her head.

  Poppy pursed her lips and nodded as well.

  Daphne cleared her throat. “Yes, SaraLynn. Our feelings haven’t changed.”

  Sorceress Stone looked defeated. “Oh. I see.”

  Alba stepped forward, holding her hands up on either side of herself. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are we missing here? What’s going on?”

  The Council all exchanged uncomfortable glances while Sorceress Stone sucked in a deep breath.

  “I’ve been asked to leave the Institute,” admitted Sorceress Stone. “Apparently there have been complaints about my leadership style. Perhaps my discipline style is unorthodox.”

  “Perhaps? Puh!” breathed Alba. “Ya think?”

  Sweets elbowed her in the ribs. “Alba! Now’s not the time.”

  As the news sank into Jax’s head, she let go of her mother’s waist and looked up into her eyes. “Wait, Mom? You’re leaving the Institute?”

  Sorceress Stone nodded. “Unfortunately, I have no choice. The Council has offered me a suitable buyout. I was asked to leave after graduation, but since finals aren’t completed yet, maybe I’ll be here for another week?” She glanced up at the Council.

  “We’ll handle finals week,” said Gemma curtly. “There are only a few days of school left. It shouldn’t be a problem for a few of us to stick around to handle Institute business until we can find a suitable replacement.”

  Sorceress Stone glanced down at Jax. “Then we’ll be leaving as soon as I can get our belongings packed.”

&nb
sp; Jax looked like she might cry even more now. “We?! I have to go with you? But, Mom! Without powers, I can’t go to the Institute in the fall, and it’s summertime. I don’t wanna leave my friends yet!”

  “We can discuss it at another time, JaclynRose.”

  “Discuss it? But today’s my birthday! I’m eighteen now. When do I get to start making my own decisions?”

  “Today’s your…” Sorceress Stone seemed to run out of words. She shook her head sadly. “I’d almost forgotten it’s your birthday,” she murmured under her breath.

  “Well, it is!” said Jax. “And I don’t want to leave my friends. I wanna stay in Aspen Falls! I know I’m not a witch, and I know I won’t pass my finals, but I wanna stay. At least for the summer.”

  “JaclynRose, it’s Mother’s Day…”

  Jax pounded her fists down on either side of herself. “I know it’s Mother’s Day, Mom, but—”

  Sorceress Stone held up a hand in front of her. “Let me finish. Please?”

  Jax gave her a tiny nod and mashed her lips between her teeth.

  “As I was saying, it’s Mother’s Day, and I’m finally realizing that I don’t deserve to be your mother. I’m not cut out to be a mother. Maybe this all goes back to the curse and the fact that you never became a witch. But despite the fact that I’ve treated you poorly your whole life, you continue to amaze me, JaclynRose. You’ve got a big heart. I know all you’ve ever wanted in life was to be a witch, and when you were finally given the opportunity, you decided to save me instead of getting what you always wanted.” Tears trickled down Sorceress Stone’s face as she spoke now. “I don’t deserve that kind of unconditional love. I’ve been unkind to you. I’ve been unkind to your friends. And it’s all caught up to me. Karma has come back around to me.”