Crystal Magic (Clearwater Witches Book 1)

by Madeline Freeman

  If Jodi is suspicious when I ask for the car keys after dinner, she keeps it to herself. Or at least she tries. She thinks I’m going out with Owen. I don’t correct her: I doubt she would react positively to my hanging out with Crystal and Fox and learning how to use magic.

  Fox’s house is just a few blocks from Crystal’s and its year of origin seems to fall somewhere between Jodi’s house and Crystal’s: Its construction is stout and solid, made of heavy red brick. Leaves from the tall tree by the road litter the front yard and the only hint at landscaping is a rather bedraggled garden gnome leaning against the small front porch.

  I park, but my hands remain firmly on the steering wheel. Going into the house would be so simple, but a fear lurks inside me: What if walking in signifies more than I mean it to? Crystal said I wouldn’t have to be alone, and Fox said the circle and I could learn from each other. I don’t want to step in to something I can’t step out of.

  A thump sounds on the roof of the car and I jump, a squeal escaping from my lips. Outside my window stands a guy wearing a soft leather jacket over a gray tee-shirt. His form is slender and his face is hollow and angular. His brown hair is just long enough to fall into his eyes.

  “You the girl Fox said was coming?” he calls through the glass.

  I nod and he steps back from the door. I turn off the engine and climb out of the car, the guy’s eyes on me the entire time. After I slam the door behind me, he jerks his head toward the house and starts for it. I follow. It’s too late to turn back now.

  I feel like I should introduce myself, but he doesn’t seem interested in knowing my name. When he gets to the front door, he opens it and walks right in. I hesitate at the threshold but cross it quickly when he glances back.

  Fox emerges from a door down the hall and smiles. The guy who led me in heads off through the dining room and into the kitchen without a word. Fox raises his chin after the guy when he passes out of sight. “I see you met Griffin.”

  I shrug. “I wouldn’t exactly say we’ve met.”

  He nods. “Yeah, that’s Griffin for you. Not very chatty.” We’re standing in the living room; the curtains are drawn and only the hall light is on, so the room is mostly in shadows. What I can make out is covered in shirts and pants in varying states of cleanliness. There is mail stacked up on the dining room table, along with plastic shopping bags and old takeout containers. Game system controllers litter the area directly in front of the television. He sweeps his hand around. “So, what do you think?”

  I bite my lower lip. He doesn’t sound like he wants my honest opinion.

  He senses my inner struggle and grins. “I know—kind of a bachelor pad. But with just me and Griff here most of the time, that’s what happens. It could use a woman’s touch. Care to volunteer?”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “So, are the others here or what?”

  A rough chorus of laughter from the basement answers my question. I head in the direction Griffin went and Fox follows me.

  The basement is dim, even though a bank of fluorescent lights flickers ominously near the center of the room. The walls are covered in faux wood paneling and most of the space is consumed by two couches and three recliners in varying states of disrepair. Crystal sits on the couch directly opposite the stairs, talking with Zane Ross. Griffin stands off to the side, looking less than politely disinterested as Bridget chats away. When her eyes land on me, she approaches me and links her arm through mine like we’re the best of friends, like we’ve done this every day for our whole lives. She smiles brightly and steers me toward the unoccupied couch.

  Fox settles beside me, a smile stretched across his lips. “Welcome to the club.”

  I shift closer to Bridget. Not that I care to be any closer to her, I just want to put as much space between me and Fox as possible. I still wear the charm Jodi gave me, and so far I’ve felt like myself around Fox, but I don’t want to test its limits.

  When I’m seated, Crystal ends her conversation with Zane and turns so she can address the room. But her eyes fix on me. “Krissa, I’m glad you decided to come.”

  I nod, not sure how to respond.

  Zane leans toward me. “Crystal says you guys tapped into some serious magic the other day.” His eyes are wide, full of admiration. “You think you could show us how you do that?”

  I press back into the couch cushions. “I don’t…” My eyes travel from Zane to Crystal. “I thought you guys were going to help me.”

  From his spot against the wall, Griffin snorts. “No fair not sharing.”

  I shake my head. “It’s not that I don’t want to share, it’s just—I don’t know how to do anything yet. Crystal said you guys could help me control it. Fox said you would help.”

  A broad grin crosses Griffin’s face. “Fox says a lot of things to pretty girls.”

  Beside me, Bridget sniffs audibly.

  “We will help you,” Crystal says. “That’s the thing about the circle. We all help each other. And I’m sure Krissa will show us how she can tap into such strong magic, but she needs to understand how to use it first.” Her hands go to the back of her neck and she unclasps the necklace from which her crystal pendant dangles. “How much has your aunt told you about crystals?”

  I shrug. “A little. She says they’re for harnessing and channeling energy.”

  Crystal nods. “Different crystals have different properties. And some are stronger than others. This necklace is made out of a very old, very powerful crystal.”

  Griffin affects a loud snore. “Boring,” he sing-songs. “How many times are you gonna tell this story?”

  “Krissa hasn’t heard it,” Bridget sneers, and a flash asserts itself in my consciousness. Bridget is desperate for attention from Griffin. She tries all the techniques that usually make guys interested: touching his arm when they talk to each other, laughing at his jokes, wearing her tight, low-cut tops pulled even tighter and lower than usual. But Griffin shows no interest in her. I squeeze my eyes shut and rub my fingers over them briefly as Crystal continues.

  “Clearwater has a long history full of magic, dating back to the founding families. But for some reason, several generations ago, the magic seems to have just disappeared. I’ve tried to figure out why, but I can’t find anything that explains it. Anyway, this crystal has been in my family for generations. It was entrusted to the Taylor line to protect because it’s so full of power. My grandpa was responsible for it, and once he died, my aunt Crystal took it upon herself to look after it. And once she took possession of it, the most amazing thing happened: Magic started returning to Clearwater. There was something special about Crystal Taylor, and once she got her hands on the crystal, she started being able to use magic. And so did some other people.”

  I nod. I had learned as much already from Jodi.

  “Now, magic in its natural state can be wild—that’s the thing about magic that scares you, I think. But if a circle anchors its magic to a crystal, it serves as a kind of tether that keeps the members connected to nature. Having that kind of connection can keep unintended things from happening.” She gives me a meaningful look.

  I glance from face to face around the circle. “How do you know this?”

  Crystal smiles. “I found my aunt’s book of shadows. It’s full of all kinds of information about magic—some spells, some thoughts, some history and understanding. She was trying to convince her circle to anchor itself to the crystal before she died. In her book of shadows, she explains how the anchoring spell would make the magic more accessible and it would amplify the circle’s natural abilities.”

  “That’d be nice,” Zane says, interlacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back into the arm of the couch.

  “Then why don’t you do it?” I ask.

  “Well, we need to find it first.” Crystal holds the pendant again. “This is the only piece I’ve found from the crystal. I’ve gone through boxes at my grandma’s condo and through all my mom’s stuff from when she was growing up.
I even asked Lexie’s dad about it. But no one’s seen the crystal in years.”

  I press my lips together, trying to understand what she’s telling me. “So, if you can’t find that crystal, why not just use another?”

  Griffin throws up his hands. “Thank you. Finally, someone with a bit of sense.”

  Crystal casts him a withering look before turning back to me. “It’s not that easy. Like I said—some crystals are better than others for certain tasks. And some crystals are more powerful than others. This one’s particularly powerful. It was used by generations of witches before the magic went dormant. It needs to be a special kind of crystal for the anchoring spell to even work.”

  “So, you’re telling me that in order for my magic to be less… wild, or whatever… we’ve got to find this crystal so we can all anchor ourselves to it?”

  She nods.

  “And the crystal is powerful, it amplifies abilities?”

  Crystal nods again, smiling slightly. “Yeah, that’s right.”

  I bite my lower lip. “Well, what if we anchor ourselves and it just makes things worse?”

  “Worse how?” Fox asks. “Giving us more power? I don’t see a downside.”

  I shake my head. He doesn’t understand. None of them do. Have they never had something get out of hand, out of control?

  “It takes effort and concentration to connect with the magic,” Bridget says, her voice softer than usual. I wonder if this is her natural tenor, if the voice she uses in public is a show. “It’s hard for it to go out of control. It’s hard to control it to begin with.”

  Griffin crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s why I’m willing to do this anchoring thing to begin with. If this spell will make the magic easier to use, I’m all for it.”

  Crystal turns to me. “You see, we’re not all like you. From what I could tell yesterday, you seem to have a stronger connection to your magic than the rest of us. It takes a lot more effort for the rest of us to do magic at all. The energy is difficult to tap into. Anchoring ourselves to the stone will link us directly to a source of energy.” She smiles. “Then we’ll be more like you.”

  I shake my head. How can they not see the danger in this? “If you’re used to the energy being hard to access, how do you know what’ll happen after you’re anchored? If the magic is easier to access, there’s a bigger chance something could go wrong.”

  “What, like you’re suddenly an expert?” Griffin asks.

  I bite my lip again. Of course I’m not an expert. I consider telling them about some of the incidents that have happened, things I’m only now coming to understand were due to a buildup of magic in my system, the inability to channel it correctly.

  What happens when there are six witches without the ability to control their magic? I don’t want to know.

  “I think it’s a bad idea. I may not know as much as you guys do about how to use magic, but I know more than you do about what happens when there’s too much of it. You guys remember the earthquake at school a couple weeks ago?” One glance in Crystal’s direction tells me she hasn’t confirmed it was my doing. “If one witch can do that, what could all of us do if the magic is easier to access?”

  Zane stares at me open-mouthed before looking at Crystal. “You said you didn’t know whether she did it or not.”

  I can’t help feeling a surge of pride at the awe in his voice. “Yeah. It was me.”

  Griffin leaves his post by the wall and approaches the couches. “I see what you’re trying to do. You’re already tapped into some strong magic and you don’t want to share with the rest of us. You want us to show you how to use yours, but you don’t want us to have any of our own.”

  I shake my head. “That’s not it. I want to be able to control mine so I don’t cause any more earthquakes—or worse.”

  Griffin sneers at me. “Well, help us find the crystal and anchor our magic and we can all learn to control it together.”

  I look from him to Crystal, incredulous. “What, now you’re blackmailing me?”

  “Technically, it’s extortion.” The corners of Griffin’s mouth quirk upward in a humorless smile.

  I turn to Fox. “To think, I almost bought your act. You were so nice to me today, trying to convince me I need the circle like you guys need me and you’ll help me and we can all be a big, happy family. I should’ve known I couldn’t trust you. As soon as I found out about your attraction spell, I should’ve realized you’re not someone worthy of trust.”

  Crystal reaches forward, putting her hand on my knee. “Don’t listen to Griffin. I told you, he’s a dick. But he is right about one thing: We can learn to control our magic together. Even though it’s hard for us to access, the five of us can already cast spells and use magic. There’s no reason to believe having access to more magic means we suddenly won’t have control over it anymore.”

  “Do you know that for a fact?” I look from Crystal’s face to Bridget’s, then to Fox’s, Griffin’s, and Zane’s. None of them meet my eyes. They’re just going along with what Crystal tells them. “What happens if we all get access to more magic and we can’t control it?”

  Crystal’s eyes hold the slightest hint of condescension. “That won’t happen.”

  I snort. “You don’t know that for sure. You’re trying to convince me you’ve got all the answers, but you don’t. You’re figuring this out as you go, just like I am. Sure, you’ve got your aunt’s shadow book or whatever, but that doesn’t mean you know everything.” I stand up, crossing to the stairs. “I can’t help you. It’s too dangerous.”

  Crystal shakes her head. “You’re going to be sorry. The day’s gonna come when you need more magic than you have and you won’t be able to do something. And then you’ll wish you could come back to this moment and change your mind.”

  I start up the stairs. “I’ll take my chances.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  After school Thursday, Jodi has me stocking dried herbs. The names, scents, and uses are becoming more and more familiar to me, and it’s hard to imagine a time when they were completely unknown. As I arrange the bunches, I wonder what it would be like to select herbs to use for magic. Does a person need herbs to cast certain spells? Or do they work like crystals, directing energy whether magic is involved or not? I want to ask Jodi, but I’m not sure if it’s an out-of-bounds question.

  We haven’t discussed magic since the day Jodi first told me and Owen about our abilities. I’ve wanted to, but I don’t think I’ll like what she has to say. Though I’m not on board with Crystal’s circle’s desire to obtain more magic, I’m also reluctant to give mine up before I’ve really had a chance to use it.

  I touch the ring under my shirt. Would things be different if my dad were here? Would he want me to disavow my magical side? In some ways, it seems likely; he worked as an engineer when I was younger, and he liked dealing with facts and figures. He didn’t even like movies with elements of fantasy in them and would leave the room if my mom ever put one on.

  Jodi touches my shoulder and I jump. “You scared me,” I say, releasing a shaky laugh.

  “I called your name a couple times. You seemed pretty deep in thought.” She reaches for my hand and I look down to see a mangled bunch of rosemary.

  “Wow, I’m sorry. I guess my mind was somewhere else.” I hand the herbs to her.

  “It’s okay. I can use these in some tea.” She presses her lips together. “Why don’t you take a break? Go for a walk, get a coffee?”

  I open my mouth to protest but the look on Jodi’s face indicates it’s not a request. I nod. “That’s a good idea.”

  She smiles. “Yeah. And, no rush, but when you’re on your way back, could you bring me a hazelnut mocha?”

  I shake my head. “Oh, I see. You really just want me to support your caffeine addiction.”

  “Am I really that transparent?”

  Jodi shoos me out of the store and I head for the coffee shop, not sure where else to go. I sit down in one of the
armchairs with my drink and replay last night’s interaction with the circle. Did I make the right decision in walking away from them? Part of me is convinced I did; the other part is not so sure. Is the idea of anchoring our collective magic really so bad? What if it’s just magic in its natural state that’s wild? The term anchor implies stability. Isn’t that what I want?

  The problem is the not knowing. If I agree to join the circle and anchor my magic with theirs and things get out of hand, there’s no going back. Sure, according to Crystal, the circle’s magic is limited now. But if the power inside of me gets amplified by whatever is inside that crystal, who’s to say what will happen?

  I want to ask someone if I’ve made the right choice, but the only other witch I know is Jodi, and she might be mad at me for talking to the circle to begin with. Owen is the only other person who knows my secret, but he’s not a witch, he’s a psychic. He might not understand.

  For the first time since moving to Clearwater, I feel as alone as I did before my mother died.

  I finish my drink and order Jodi’s hazelnut mocha. Millie, the store’s owner and Jodi’s friend, chats with me while I wait. As I walk back to the shop, I remind myself things are different here. I’m not really alone. In all the time since I moved in with her, Jodi hasn’t once given me reason to think she’d be furious about me talking to Crystal and the circle about magic. It’s only natural to be curious. Who knows? Maybe she’ll even be willing to show me some simple spells once she knows how much it means to me.

  And if I tell Jodi, I should tell Owen too. I still feel guilty for lying to him the other day. He’s my friend and he deserves my honesty. He’s been nothing but supportive since I moved in, and I shouldn’t reward his kindness with secrecy. He won’t be pleased to know Fox is involved, but if he knows Fox is a witch, I can tell him about the attraction spell—and that I’m now immune to it, thanks to Jodi’s anklet. I can finally give him an explanation for my odd behavior around Fox.

  As I push open the door to the shop, I feel much better than when I left. But all those positive feelings leave me when I enter the store: The whole circle is there, browsing different sections. Griffin is checking out the stones and crystals. Bridget is perusing the books about herbalism. Zane is sniffing around the dried herbs. Fox is weighing different candles. Crystal stands at the counter, chatting with Jodi as she pays.