A Witch's Curse

by Nicole Lee

  She flew past endless amounts of store windows, seeing heaps of clothing everywhere. On the streets, in the shops, in cars that were lined up at traffic lights. There was not a single soul to be found. Clothes were all that was left behind.

  She glided over a frosty lane, staying so low to the ground as to peer into every vehicle that she passed, and soon found herself in front of the Lake Pines shopping mall.

  Rose walked through its two doors. Soon she was on her broomstick again, flying through the vast white foyer. A million thoughts of evil deeds soon took a hold of her. It would be no problem to steal all of the shoes, jewelry, and movies she could get her hands on. She repressed these urges. It would be best, she decided in the end, to only take what she needed. There was no food in her fridge at home, for today was the one part of the week where they were supposed to go out for groceries, or dinner - yet obviously her father was not here, so that left her with only one option.

  There was a pizza parlor in the floor below the main part of the mall, a shopping plaza beneath the main precinct. She could have ordinarily heard the flow of traffic above her, yet on a day like this one all was quiet.

  She strolled into the restaurant, walking into the kitchen and quickly making herself a meal, one topped with every kind of vegetable she could find in the cooks condiment rack. Is this thievery? Rose wondered, sliding the circle into the brick oven. No, she decided. This is survival.

  Rose ate it all and walked out of the cold pizzeria, staring around her at all of the other places underground. Former offices filled with blinking computers and reclining chairs. Clothing shops for the winter filled with small knickknacks and gifts. Finding herself in one of the ski shops, she took a white beanie, discovering that it fit her head perfectly. Again, she chose not to feel any guilt - besides, it was cold out.

  Walking through the main mall again, she saw the ornaments outlet. There were glistening diamonds near the front, yet she calmly walked on. Going into the video arcade, she walked up to the coin machine, pulled out a wand and released a spell so as to get the appliance to break in half. Once it did, a flood of quarters spilled out onto the red and black carpet.

  She cupped her hands together and began stuffing her pockets with money, promising herself that she would return every cent once things became normal. For now it was simply a matter of continued existence, preparing for some kind of emergency situation where money would be needed.

  She sat on a bench outside of a Nike shop and retrieved her cell-phone. She called her friends again. Once more, no answer came. Rose still left messages, more out of the need to give herself comfort, rather than with any hope they would hear her.

  What’s happening here?

  Leaving the mall and walking out into the filled lot, she found herself in mid-flight, weighed down with a pocketful of coins.

  She flew by the Realm of the Out of Print. There was still yellow tape draped across the front the destroyed site. She looked into it, just to make sure, once and for all, that Alexis was not there. Rose landed near the corner, walked to the obverse part of the former book emporium, and sat down on the curb while trying to think very hard about what she should do next.

  She could go home and wait whatever ‘it’ was out, for there was clearly no solution to the second predicament that had befallen the entire town. Finally, she walked past the caution tape and made her way into the bookstore, trying to find an answer. She spent the next five hours scouring through tomes and coming up empty. She went to the computer before discovering that the internet was as useful as the town’s cars.

  Walking outside into what was now nightfall, she wondered if it was best to go home. The only problem was that if there was an enemy who had done this, it was no coincidence that Rose was the only person left in the flesh.

  She reasoned that someone was out to get her, and they would have no trouble finding out where she lived, if they did not already have the address to 922 Meloy boulevard. So, simply for defensive measures, going to her house was not a safe option. She rode her broomstick around many different areas, searching for a cover that was unremarkable.

  The light house near Breaker’s Beach looked beautiful on this night. She flew into the top and set her transportation down in a corner.

  There was no heater, but whoever had the job of operating this tower left behind a few blankets. She grabbed the bundles and then laid down on the floor, waiting for sleep to take her. Her anxiousness would prevent getting any shut eye.

  Within the next two days, she kept herself occupied by flying around town with the blind hope that she would eventually run into someone or something. Rose kept her eye out for any supernatural activity.

  Formerly, she had always thought that any good person deserved a week away from everyone and everything. Now her opinion was beginning to change in that respect. Seclusion became quite the learning experience, in the sense that it disproved this. If everyone had found themselves alone for most of a month once a year, she was convinced that the sanity of the human populace would decrease by ninety percent

  Most of her time during these days were spent seeking out food, a remarkably easy endeavor of course, considering nothing required an actual purchase, yet all the same, it was a bizarre lifestyle. She found herself missing not only her family and friends, but everyday habits. Talking, mere conversing and exercising the jaw and allowing her face to move, was something she never thought she would yearn for so much.

  There were even a few minutes out of the general twenty four hour time period where she would find herself mouthing words, just for the sake of doing so.

  Rose wanted desperately to have any kind of noise to emulate the traffic that she had grown used to, the voices of passing locals and civilians. One evening she walked into the music store and began blasting CD’s, even by bands she did not particularly like, although James would have loved the heavy metal anthems she put on the stereo.

  To fill out her hours of boredom, she would sit in the light house at night and write in her journal, usually about how alone she felt. It took her only a small while to realize how the diary she had kept under her pillow for years, sadly, described the same alienated angst she felt now back then. This helped her form the conclusion that living as a teenager was never easy.

  She flew out of the tower, noticing that it was snowing harder than it had all week. Flakes stung her eyes. The view in front of her stretched out to four feet before becoming obscure and difficult to view. She had to remain a decent length above the lanes, as well as hover in the middle of every road she turned onto, hoping that she would not accidentally bump into a car or building.

  She went into Pete’s, the second grocery store in town. It was near the other end of Lake Pines, but something told her to come here rather than the usual place for dinner. Besides, maybe there was a greater variety of treats to choose from.

  Strolling further inside after brushing the snowfall off her clothes and moving past the front rows of checking counters, she saw that name tags and red uniforms were slung over the desks. She went to the back and found a few cold sandwiches. After dinner, Rose stuffed her coat with treats and candies of every assortment before making her way outside. After searching thoroughly for all of five short yet intense seconds, it came to her that something was out of place.

  Her broomstick was missing.

  Gazing to her left, she saw a trail of very small, child like footsteps. The first person she had seen in a countless number of days was also a thief.

  She walked frantically down Udolpho Road, a wide road squeezed in between two large indigo buildings, scanning everything before her, peering at all of the rooftops and windows.

  In an alleyway to her right, there was a shadow that moved so fast that it disappeared the moment she saw it.

  She felt a hand running down her back. After doing a full turn, she saw a boy dressed very poorly in tattered clothes. He was gripping a wad of money, one she knew belonged to her.

  In the midst of one
of the afternoons since the populace‘s vanishing, she counted out the quarters taken from the arcade and changed it into cash, simply because it was easier to haul around, although she seriously doubted at the time that she would need it.

  She made a dive for the currency. He maneuvered around her, and sprinted down the street, laughing hysterically at her while fleeing.

  Rose went after him.

  After doing this for easily seven blocks, almost slipping on ice more than once, she found the boy turning a corner and going onto a different sort of property - that of a church.

  She squeezed through the two ivory covered gates, running on through the front lawn, which was peppered with headstones across its tundra. She was on the steps before she looked up and saw the bandit she was pursuing.

  He waved before entering the chapel.

  She went inside, finding nothing but endless rows of pews and stained glass windows with antiquated figures leering at her. She walked down the center, wondering how many brides had done the same thing on much happier and regular days.

  The pickpocket was on the stage now, jumping from behind the soapbox.

  “Who are you?” Rose shouted, surprised after hearing her voice at this level for the first time in what felt like years.

  He then vanished into thin air behind a puff of aspherical smoke. Her money remained on the stage. That was before she heard something all too familiar.

  24

  “It’s wonderful to see you again.”

  The voice was crisp and strident. Turning around, she saw her mother sitting in one of the rows. Hemera stood on her feet and approached Rose at a leisurely pace.

  “Glad that you can join me,” Karen said.

  The very first thing Rose felt was being lifted off her feet and pummeled back. She hit a wall, causing a searing pain to move down her spinal cord. Grunting with immense ache, she tried to struggle free. It was no use. She looked down and saw her mother inching closer.

  Rose felt her wand move beneath her own outer black sweater. Soon it was going across the room, far away from her reach. It was removed without even being touched.

  “Where are they?” Rose asked.

  “Who?”

  “Everyone.”

  “They’re held by me. All of them have proven themselves to be lively prisoners. It‘s true what they say, about small town people being closer to one another.”

  “Don’t hurt them.”

  “Well, it‘s a little late for that. Don’t worry. They will have no memory of any of what happened.”

  “Let them go now.”

  “Look at you, Rose. All big and tough. I guess your stubbornness doesn’t come from any stranger.”

  “I’ve inherited nothing from you.”

  “Keep telling yourself that. You’re closer to me than that useless bum you call your father. I told him as much.”

  “Kill me. Get it over with, if that‘s where this is leading.”

  Hemera laughed. “Like mother, like daughter.”

  “Before you do, I have questions I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  “The spell I have you under is called a moment’s ensnarement, if that‘s what you’re wondering. I can teach you how to do it. I might as well, since you only have a little while left before I take you to the same place as where the rest of your friends are. The only difference between you and them is you’re not coming back.”

  Rose gulped, wanting to shake but not able to. Rose felt her body stiffen, as if whatever was holding her above ground suddenly gripped her being with a tighter hold. All the while, Hemera leaned against one of the walls and cocked her head back.

  “I could care less about your magic,” Rose said. “Really, you would be the kind of teacher I’d probably doze off listening to in the middle of the class. I don’t want to spend my last few minutes here on earth bored.”

  “You have a mouth like me.”

  “Why have you been so cruel to us?”

  “To who?” The inquiry was posed with a faux innocence.

  “Me and my father, not to mention, oh, everyone else you’ve ever encountered.”

  “Well, your father was wrong about stealing you from me.”

  “You never wanted me.”

  “Oh dear, that‘s not true. You could have been my best novice. Instead, Damian was the sole parent, and now look at you. A disappointment to both of us. Your Dad just can’t muster the heart to tell that to his precious daughter. He told me that personally.”

  “I’ll skip you trying to change who I am.”

  Hemera walked so close to her that Rose could smell her breath.

  “What’s the point of causing havoc here?” Rose asked, ignoring the last disapproval.

  “It’s as good as any other, is it not?” Hemera turned around and walked a few feet back, which gave Rose great relief. “Besides, we needed an open space to summon him.”

  “Who?”

  “Something you can‘t imagine the dimension of.”

  “Alexis told me about him. I also know all about your hooded goon. I met him outside of your coven more than once. Nice going. They’re right when they say you can pick your friends but not your family.”

  Hemera gave her a scowl.

  “So what’s the point?” Rose asked. “You just want chaos?”

  “Let’s say that witches such as myself have grown sick of humans.”

  “We’re humans. You’re really just a sad sack of bones like the rest of us. The difference is you have a longer lifeline on your palm and a book of spells. There‘s nothing separating a witch from someone who isn‘t.”

  “Shut it before I make you.”

  “Not happening. Families are allowed to argue, right? So, you picked this town as the area to raise forces the likes of which mankind probably has never seen, and if they have it was thousands of years ago, to kill off those inferior humans. All the while forgetting that you yourself are made of skin like everybody else.”

  “I am not,” she said. “I am something greater.”

  “Sure. Go ahead and believe that. So, let’s say you accomplish your goal - to eradicate everyone. What in it for you, after the summoning?”

  “A thousand years of the kind of pleasures you cannot grasp.”

  “I can’t believe you fell for that old lie. Who tricked you?”

  “You’re taxing my patience.”

  “I always did, which reminds me. You never wanted anything to do with who I was, and yet you keep on coming back into my life. What for?”

  “Our bond is inseparable,” Hemera said. “We have no choice. We’re inextricably connected. Not so much by blood as by magic. I made sure, even before you were born, that we could never so far apart that I would never be able to find you again.”

  “Isn’t that wonderful,” Rose said, trying to center cerebral attention on her wand in the corner. “That would be sweet if it was anyone else who did that.”

  “You’re a wasted project, Rose!” Karen‘s voice was irate. “You’re no longer of use to me. I had no doubt that I would get my hands on you. Of course, I never expected you to become the major nuisance that you have. Your birth was a mistake on my part. Yet I was at a point in my life when having a child seemed like a good idea. It was proof of how insane I was back then.”

  “Unlike now?”

  “At least my spells operate the way they should.”

  Rose stopped herself for a minute, deep in thought. “What are you talking about?”

  “I may be having fun with the town. Yet do you really believe I was the one who put them there? Ha! I may be very intelligent, but I’m nowhere near being that smart. You were the one who placed them there. Not to mention your little teacher.”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Your banishment spell flopped and did a reverse. I went to where I was supposed to be, as far as I understand what my location truly was. Have to hand it to you, choosing the red desert was a clever touch. Even the scorpions hate living there
. Yet something happened that you did not expect, and that was how the entire populace of Lake Pines went with me. Good job.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “You wish. Alexis was the one who told me that happened.”

  “Maybe you’re right, but I know something you don‘t.”

  “What’s that?”

  She had her wand again.

  Rose shouted the only spell that she could think of.

  A globular shape of fire protruded from the end of the device, burning the stage beneath her into blackened ruins. The force of it propelled her through the air, and she felt the strength imprisoning her loosen, before failing altogether.

  She landed on her back as someone now unconstrained, but knew that time was precious. Rose pointed the wand in the direction of her mother, and the only thing she could see in front of her was a barrier of white energy. The pews to her right fragmented, and Rose was soon sliding backwards from the force of the detonation. Getting to her feet, she pushed herself upwards with her hands, trying to avoid the fiery flares surrounding her in scorching scraps. The sheen diminished, and it was then she saw her mother scrambling around on the ground, searching for her own lost weapon.

  Rose sprinted a bit closer to her, pointing the wand at her once more before seeing it fly away for the second time. Feeling bitter and hopeless, Rose watched in astonishment as her mother physically lunged at her, clawing at her skin and trying to wrap her hands around her throat.

  Rose was pushed to the flooring. Lifting an arm, she brought it down on the back of Hemera’s neck, sending the woman on her side. Rose threw the hardest punch she could form, and started thrashing about and kicking.

  Standing up again, she had a moment to run up the platform of the church, now out of breath. She looked down and saw that her left arm was bleeding, but there was no pain. Her body was too high on the energy required for the tasks at hand to truly wallow in soreness.