by Fiona Horne
Dean had made me a charm bag containing different herbs he’d gathered locally and dried himself. I squished the lacy purple fabric between my fingers and released a woodsy scent. There was desert sage, I could tell, and something else, possibly sweetgrass.
‘It’s a secret recipe I’ve been working on.’ Dean grinned. ‘It’s a blend that should help you focus your magical powers.’
I opened the top of the pouch. ‘I can feel crystal in here, too.’
‘Yup, clear quartz. I actually chipped it off a rock myself.’
‘Packs a punch,’ Brenda murmured. ‘Use with care.’
If there was one present that had me a bit confused it was Bryce’s. The bag was huge, but when I put my hand in I had to feel around through tons of shredded glittery paper and bits of tinsel.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said as I fished around without finding anything. ‘The lady at the store said they’d run out of small bags.’
Finally my hand closed over a small black box. It looked like it might contain something expensive.
‘Open it!’ the twins urged.
I carefully removed the lid. Lying on black silk, suspended on a glistening chain, was a single silver star with an arrow.
It was beautiful.
I looked down at my wrist: the faded star and arrow Bryce had painted on me a week before when we’d done the cool spell was only just visible.
‘Wow! That’s perfect!’ the twins exclaimed, nodding approvingly.
I removed the chain from the box. Dangling from my fingers in the candlelight, it looked completely magical.
‘Bryce, thank you, it’s amazing,’ I said. I had a huge smile on my face.
He reached over and took it from me, undoing it and gently placing it around my neck.
‘This won’t fade, and it won’t get you into trouble like a tattoo,’ he said as he let go of the clasp.
I felt goosebumps rise where his hands had brushed my skin.
‘I think it’s time for the séance,’ Brenda said, her eyes closed. ‘The spirits are waiting.’
The five of us sat at the points of the star. Brenda sat just inside it, opposite me. She had a giant brass pot filled with burning charcoal in front of her and a bowl of frankincense, myrrh and sandalwood incense next to her, which I had helped her mix up the day before. The two resins would purify the space and the sandalwood would protect us from uninvited spirits.
‘My great-grandmother is here,’ Bryce said. He was chomping at the bit to get started.
‘Great. I can’t wait to finally meet her,’ I said.
‘Hush, everyone. Please hold out your hands, palms facing upwards,’ Brenda said.
We all did as she instructed.
‘Now, I want you to imagine a sphere of white light forming around, above and below us. Not just a circle but a sphere, a ball. Yes, here it comes!’
The familiar buzzing sound started, and I could see that we were indeed encased in an orb of glowing light. I felt warm and secure, like we were nestled in a big bed of silky feathers. My eyes started to flutter shut and I felt sleepy, but I was jolted into awareness by Amelia’s loud voice.
‘Spirits, ghosts and inhabitants of the other realms, speak to us now of your presence!’
Bryce immediately leapt to his feet. His body appeared to shudder and his eyes rolled back in his head. I was about to leap up myself and catch him when he opened his eyes and looked very clear and focused, but also not quite like himself.
It was hard to tell in the dim light, but I could have sworn his eyes had changed colour – they looked dark brown. Then he opened his mouth, and his voice was completely different.
‘You have come so far, my friends.
You have set the powers of the four quarters of the world
to your favour.
Day in, day out, forever more –
you are the life of all things.’
‘Bryce?’ I ventured to reach out and touch his arm, but where I’d thought there would be flesh and bone there was only air. I swished my hand back and forth for a moment. Panic rose within my chest and I threw myself at him. ‘Bryce! Where are you?’
‘Oww, Vania! What are you doing?’
I had knocked him over in the centre of the star. I lay on top of him, and around us the twins, Dean and Brenda snickered. I became acutely aware of his strong body underneath me. It felt good. Until I saw his eyes roll back in his head again.
I shook him.
His gaze focused on me, but his eyes were dark brown, not green. I didn’t like it.
‘Hello, my name is Bessie.’
‘Hello . . . Bessie . . . Are you Bryce’s great grandmother?’
‘Yes, I am, and I wish you a joyous day of birth. But I must leave the boy – he grows weak.’
I shook myself off him – it felt weird lying on top of an old woman. But then I felt Bryce gripping onto me, like he was trying to pull himself back from somewhere. His fingers were digging into my arms, and I could feel his heartbeat. And then his lips brushed my ear.
‘Vania, what did my great-grandmother say? It’s hard for me to remember when she takes over me like that.’
I pulled my head back so I could look at his face properly. ‘She seemed nice, but it was a bit creepy, to be honest,’ I said.
‘All time is here. All power is now. Vania, Bryce, take your places,’ Brenda said. She threw a large handful of incense on the coals, and thick puffs of oily smoke billowed up and stung my eyes.
I felt my legs and arms unfolding in a spindly way, as if someone else were taking them and straightening them out. And then Bryce and I were sitting back on our points of the star.
Was anyone else finding this as crazy as I was? I looked around and saw Amelia lifting her left hand, her palm facing the centre of the star.
‘Focus! There is more,’ Brenda said.
A swirl of mist extended up from the floor, like a genie escaping from a bottle. The mist shifted into the shape of three women in long, dusty black dresses and what looked liked witches’ hats, except instead of having a point, the tops were round. The women were bent over like hunchbacks. One of them pointed a crooked finger at me.
‘You asked of the water,’ she said, her voice crackling like fire.
‘Yes,’ I said, my own voice croaky.
‘What do you want with us, spirits?’ Dean spoke up, and I was grateful for the support.
‘We have a message for the one who calls,’ the second bent woman said in a high, reedy voice, like wind whistling through sharp grass fronds on a prairie plain. ‘But knowledge must be earned,’ she added.
The third spirit stepped forward – or, more accurately, rose up, floating a metre above the others. Her voice was deep and booming.
‘Close is the answer you seek
But treachery abounds and danger will be found
The devil plays with his nettle and binds the worlds
between and around, up and down
The ocean flows before it ebbs
When night becomes day, blood will be shed
Watch out behind you; have your back
Tarry not – for it is time you do not have.’
I shuddered and waved my arms in the air, trying to brush these apparitions away. They started to shriek and scream, and spires of red light formed in the centre of the star. They looked like flames, but there was no heat. It was like we were watching a movie.
The flames became a funeral pyre, and I realised we were watching the three women burn – they were the witches of old we had been talking about only days before.
The red wall of flames leapt up to the ceiling, and I thought for a moment that the roof might catch alight. But then in an instant the witches and the flames were gone. The air immediately felt less dense and sticky.
‘That was intense,’ Alyssa said. ‘It was like they were telling us a riddle or something.’
‘I think they were trying to help us solve the mystery,’ Dean said.
‘Did any
one write it down?’ I asked.
‘I did.’ Alyssa held up a sheet of parchment. ‘I came prepared.’
I sat still and quiet for a moment. It was cool we’d done a séance, but I was feeling quite shaken by the intensity of it all.
‘Maybe we should finish up now?’ I looked to Brenda.
‘I think so,’ she said. ‘Everyone please focus on the sphere of light.’
We hushed, and the light around us started to hum louder as we fuelled it with our attention.
Amelia spoke. ‘Spirits and ghosts, thank you for attending. We bid you farewell and goodnight.’
‘The circle is open but unbroken,’ Brenda said.
The light around us evaporated until we were sitting in the candlelight again.
‘Whew!’ I said, stretching my arms over my head. ‘That was a lot to take in. I’m exhausted.’
‘Me, too,’ said Dean. ‘But I want to work on that riddle. Alyssa, can I borrow the parchment for tonight?’ He looked around the room to the rest of us. ‘That’s if nobody minds me taking a first look?’
Personally I did not want to reflect further on this strange night for now, and there was also a beach party I was supposed to be heading to . . . with Bryce. We all glanced at each other and nodded.
‘Sure,’ Alyssa said, handing it to him.
I got to my feet but noticed Brenda was still sitting on the floor, straight-backed and with an odd expression on her face.
‘Brenda?’ I touched her shoulder and she jumped, shaking her head like she was coming out of a trance.
‘Vania,’ she said in a quiet voice, ‘let’s speak privately for a moment.’ She rose slowly rose to her feet. ‘Birthday-girl chat,’ she said to the others.
She took me by the hand and led me to her small office behind the counter, closing the door.
‘Vania, I had a vision as the séance ended that made me concerned for Bryce,’ she said.
Suddenly it was like a dark cloud had encased us. I felt smothered in the small room.
‘What did you see?’
‘Some kind of accident or misfortune,’ she answered. ‘He needs protection, but we can’t tell him, because if he knows then he might attract the danger to himself. We are being given the chance to protect him – that’s why I was shown the vision.’
My heart was racing. ‘What can we do?’
Brenda opened a drawer in the desk and took out a black wooden box. There was a cross inscribed on the lid with a line through it in red – it looked like blood.
‘What does that mean?’ I asked, pointing at the symbol.
‘It’s a voodoo symbol. It means protection,’ she said and opened the lid. An odd, musky scent emanated from the box. She withdrew a small black pouch and handed it to me.
‘This is a protection amulet. Inside is wolf hair and snakeskin. Do not open the bag. You need to place it near where Bryce sleeps, and in order for it to work he mustn’t know.’
I felt panicked at the responsibility. She thought something bad was going to happen to Bryce, and it was my job to put this smelly bag near where he slept?
‘Don’t worry, Vania.’ Brenda smiled and placed her hand over mine. ‘It’s good I received a warning. Danger can be averted this way.’
The others were tidying up when we came out. The big rug was rolled back over the star, and the tables and chairs were back in their usual places.
Like nothing had ever happened.
I stumbled a little in the darkness later on my way to Bryce’s house. We’d planned to meet there so we could go to Cassidy’s beach party together.
It had been a mission to sneak out of my bedroom window after my parents had gone to bed. Not being allowed to fully close the door had meant I’d had to be completely silent and couldn’t turn on the light. I’d caught one of my legs on a rosebush on the way down, but it seemed worth it when I was standing outside under the faint light of the blooming crescent moon. There was no way I was missing the party. It was going to be just me and Bryce. The twins had said their mother would know if they lied about going, and Dean had said he needed to stay home and keep his dad company. Although I thought they were all just making excuses because they wanted me to have some alone time with Bryce on my birthday. You didn’t have to be massively psychic to pick that up.
I walked quickly down the road away from home. I’d never snuck out like this before, and I did feel bad. But those feelings of doubt went away as I approached Bryce’s house. The French doors of his bedroom were open, the light was on inside.
I tapped on the doors. Bryce was sitting on his bed reading a book. I fingered the amulet in my pocket. I’d wrapped plastic around it, because it really did smell funny.
‘Hey,’ I said quietly and smiled. He looked up.
‘Hey! Took you a while!’ He grinned. ‘No need to whisper – my parents are out.’
‘Oh, cool.’ I relaxed and sat on the bed next to him. ‘What are you reading?’
He showed me the cover. ‘Ghost Hunting.’
‘I didn’t think you needed to go hunting for ghosts,’ I said. ‘I thought they came looking for you.’
‘Yeah, but you can never do too much research,’ he said. He snapped the book shut and stood up.
‘Let’s get out of here. I’ll get my jacket.’
He seemed completely relaxed that no one else from our coven was coming. I was a bundle of nerves. I shook my head. I needed to keep this all in perspective.
He started rummaging around in his wardrobe. This was my chance to hide the amulet. I debated for a second on whether to take the plastic off, but decided to keep it on to stop the smell and stuck it under his mattress as far as I could. I was still bent over when he walked out of the closet.
‘Are you okay?’
‘Sure!’ I straightened up quickly and made a show of shifting from one foot to the other with my arms above my head. ‘Just stretching out my back. I’m a bit stiff from sitting on the floor at the cafe.’
‘Yeah, me too – you nearly broke my back when you jumped on me.’ He laughed and squeezed both my shoulders in a mini massage.
‘Mmmm, that feels good,’ I blurted out.
I could have stayed there all night, but after a few minutes he stopped massaging and gave me a brotherly pat on the back. ‘Let’s go,’ he said.
To say I was disappointed would have been a massive understatement.
I could see a small fire at the end of the beach. As we got closer, I could also see empty beer cans scattered around. I was shocked to see it was just Cassidy and Matt by the fire. Cassidy got up and stumbled over to us as we entered the circle of firelight. She was wearing tiny black hotpants, knee-high ugg boots, a jumper and a beanie. She looked like a Victoria’s Secret model, and I looked like . . . well, me. I didn’t know exactly what I’d been expecting, but it had definitely been something more festive than this.
‘Hey guys, you finally made it,’ Cassidy said, slurring her words.
‘Yeah, we got held up at Vania’s—’ Bryce began, but Cassidy grabbed his arm, cutting him off.
‘Come and sit over here next to me.’ She dragged him to the other side of the fire. I stood there uncertainly for a moment until Matt got up.
‘Happy birthday, Vania.’ He walked over and gave me a light hug before pulling me down onto the sand next to him.
‘Beer?’ He handed me a slightly warm can. I had drunk alcohol before – with my parents. Sometimes my mother would give me a sip of her wine. I hadn’t drunk with other kids before. I didn’t want to let these guys know that, though.
‘Thanks,’ I said, taking the can and popping the top. I held it out and tipped my can against his. ‘Happy birthday to me.’
I took a sip of the beer. It was warm and tasted like crap. I preferred the tangy flavour of my mother’s chardonnay, but I took another sip anyway.
‘So what did you get for your birthday?’ Cassidy called from across the fire. I noticed Bryce had moved away from her a little, but she had
her hand on his leg. He was drinking a beer, too, and looking a bit uncomfortable, I thought – but then I got a grip. Cassidy looked really hot, and whether they were broken up now or not, any guy would want to sit next to her over me.
I fingered the necklace at my throat, but said nothing. I took a bigger sip of the gross beer.
‘Did you get her something romantic, Bryce?’ Cassidy pushed against his leg and then rolled away on the sand, laughing.
‘Cassidy, you’re drunk,’ he said. ‘Vania, let’s go.’
Bryce started to get up, but Cassidy leapt on him, pulling him down onto the sand. She sat on top of him, her perfect legs straddling his hips, and started kissing him.
My breath caught in my chest, and I waited for him to push her off him – but he didn’t. Next to me Matt slowly got to his feet.
‘Hey, Cassidy, cut it out . . .’
I got to my feet, too. I felt a bit dizzy, even though I’d only had a few sips of beer.
‘Matt, kiss me,’ I said. I grabbed his shoulders and moved my face towards his.
But he pushed me away. ‘Cassidy and I are dating, Vania – I’m sorry.’
My head snapped back. I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. I didn’t know why I was so hurt – it wasn’t exactly a surprise that no boy would choose me. My insecurities took control of me again. Jealousy ate at my insides.
Matt walked over to Cassidy and pulled her off Bryce, hauling her up to her feet. She slumped against him, giggling.
‘Matt, I’m sorry, I couldn’t get her off me,’ Bryce said as he got up, wiping his mouth on his forearm.
‘No worries, bro,’ Matt said. ‘She gets like this when she’s wasted. I guess you know that.’
I stood there as the two boys laughed together and Cassidy draped herself over both of them. Deep in the pit of my stomach, in my solar plexus or whatever it was called, the blackness started to churn.
I felt my legs grow heavy like lead, sinking deep into the sand. The crackling of the fire grew until I heard it like electricity in my ears, merging with the roar of the ocean, growing like a tsunami of fury in my head. In my pocket, I grasped the charm bag Dean had given me. I screamed.
