Visions of the Witch - [Whispers 04]

by Tara West

  I snapped my fingers. “That’s what she called it.”

  “She was powerful. Benjamin says her spell book in the wrong hands could have been catastrophic.”

  “So if Gordon wanted her book, he must have been a witch, too.”

  Krysta shook her head. “No. Benjamin says he was a devout Christian who publicly cried out against witchcraft.”

  “That doesn’t mean he wasn’t after her magic,” I said, tapping a finger to my lips. “Maybe he wasn’t motivated by jealousy. Maybe he was motivated by greed. I don’t know about you, but every time we do magic, it feels like flying. He could have wanted that.”

  “So Cobbet is haunting a cave where he thinks Maura hid her Book of Shadows.” Krysta rubbed the worry lines between her eyebrows. “Where do we go from here? Without Maura, we have no guidance.”

  “But we have magic.” I grinned. “I’m going to call Tony. We need to find that cave, and we need to call Maura Stamp. Think you can do it, like you called Benjamin?”

  Krysta stared at me. “I can try.”

  ***

  Krysta

  While AJ went downstairs to call Tony, I ran my thumb over the cover of Temperance’s book and stared at Benjamin. “Was this your house?”

  He laughed. “No. But my cottage once stood on this land. The house is a bit younger than I.”

  “You’ll have to take us to the cave.”

  Benjamin inclined his head. “Yes. I will. For Maura.”

  “You loved her a lot, huh?”

  “More than I loved life.” He chuckled, holding up his transparent hands. “Obviously.”

  I forced a laugh, my fingers still moving over the book of spirit magic.

  Benjamin sat beside me. “You are nervous.”

  I nodded.

  “Why?”

  “I only just started reading this book today. It was easy calling you. I already knew you, and knew you were earth bound. But calling Maura? She’s been dead hundreds of years!” I gasped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  He held up a hand. “It is fine. Do you think you cannot do it?”

  “I’m scared.”

  Sif jumped up on the bed, sparing a single glance for Benjamin before she lay down at my knee.

  “Can you see him?” I asked, surprised.

  She blinked at me. Of course. Your power is my power.

  “Krysta?”

  I looked up at Benjamin, wondering how on earth my life had turned into talking cats, summoning ghosts, and dealing with magic on a daily basis.

  Benjamin’s hand snaked across the bed, and I felt his feather-light touch on my arm. He smiled. “I believe in you.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sophie

  The only thing I hated worse than school was school lunch. It wasn’t necessarily the food. The processed meat products tasted somewhat better than the processed whatever products at my old junior high school. It wasn’t the lunch period. By the time lunch hit after fourth period physical education, I was famished. It wasn’t that I had nowhere to sit. There was an open bench beyond the courtyard, in a narrow, shadowed hallway by the science lab. The smell of formaldehyde was strong enough to get my attention, but not overpowering. I’d driven away those few students who’d tried to sneak back there to buy or sell pot by telepathically convincing them the place was under surveillance. So basically, I had the entire hall and stone bench to myself. I could eat without other students bothering me, but I still hated lunch time.

  I hated it because each day I sat by myself, I was left alone to dwell on my past life. The life I had before my powers got complicated and AJ and Krysta moved away.

  Sure, after AJ and Krysta left, a few of my former friends from junior high tried to get me to sit with them, but after denying them for over a week, they stopped bothering me. It took them long enough.

  As if I needed to sit there listening to their stupid brains while I tried to digest my ham sandwich. Did I really care that Brooke was getting her braces taken off next week or that Skyler’s parents were planning a trip to Disneyworld? No, I didn’t. I didn’t care about their stupid little lives when I had much bigger concerns.

  After Alessia and I had talked the other night, I thought my life would finally get better. And sure, my cat could teach me how to control my powers, but she could also teach me how to strengthen those powers. After what I’d done to Vanessa yesterday, I didn’t think strengthening my powers was such a good idea.

  “Hey!”

  I practically jumped off the stone bench as I looked up to see Ethan smiling down at me holding a tray of cafeteria food. His dark hair was as messy as ever, but this time it all seemed to lean to the right. He was smiling down at me with a huge goofy grin, his blue eyes somehow managing to sparkle even in the dim light.

  I swallowed my meat substitute and artificial mayonnaise product, and set my tray on the bench beside me. I took a sip of my soda, as my mouth had suddenly gone dry. “What are you doing here?”

  He looked at me with a knowing smirk. “What are you doing here?” Then his gaze swept the darkened hallway. “By yourself.”

  I shrugged, taking another drink of my soda. “I like being by myself.”

  “Really?” One dark brow arched. “In the smelly science hallway?” Then he shook his head before sitting down on the bench beside me. “You must really miss your friends.”

  “How did you know about them?” I asked. A jolt of dread shot up my spine. No, I’d already come to the conclusion Ethan wasn’t a mind reader. But, I couldn’t escape this feeling that maybe Ethan knew more about me than he was letting on. I clutched my soda cup between my hands. Despite the condensation clinging to the paper cup, it did nothing to quell my body’s rising temperature. What was going on with me?

  “I remember when your one friend was in that accident.”

  “AJ,” I said as I released a pent up breath. Oh, yeah, AJ and Krysta had been in Mr. Sleznick’s class with Ethan and me.

  His brow furrowed before he dropped his gaze to the tray of food in his lap. “I remember how stressed you and your other friend were.”

  “Krysta,” I breathed. How odd it had been only a few weeks since AJ’s accident, yet it felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

  “What happened to them?” Ethan asked.

  I turned away from him as I felt the rising tide of emotion well up in my throat. Why was he making me think about them when all I wanted to do was forget about the friends I’d lost? “They moved to Salem.”

  “So you’re pissed they left you behind.”

  It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Ethan knew I was angry with my friends for leaving, but what he didn’t know was why. How could he understand what it’s like to be a lone witch? Not only did I have nothing in common with the other kids at school. I had nothing in common with my family. I had no one, except a cat, who understood what it was like to be me.

  I shook my head as I grabbed a bread crumb off my plate and balled it between my fingers. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “My dad left when I was three. My mom surrendered me to the state when I was nine.”

  I turned back to Ethan and my heart sank when I saw how his eyes had darkened.

  “I’m sorry.” I barely choked out the words. Even though I felt like my relationship with my mom was strained at the moment, I could never imagine losing either of my parents.

  He flashed the briefest of smiles before heaving a sigh. Then, Ethan leaned his head back and clenched his hair by the roots before brushing the strands back and settling his fists by his sides. Oh, so this was why he had such messy hair.

  “I was really angry for a while, but you know,” he said, “I couldn’t stay angry forever.” He looked at me with an expectant smile. “You get what I’m saying?”

  “Yeah.” I shrugged. I knew where he was going with this. He was expecting me to get over it, and I guess it was kind of hard to tell him “no” after everything he’d been through. He made my problems seem m
inor in comparison.

  His smile widened, and the radiance returned to his eyes. “My foster-parents adopted me last year and things have been a lot better.”

  “That’s great,” I said, feeling warmth creep into my chest and inflame cheeks, as I let myself get lost in his bright gaze.

  “So I guess my point is you can find other friends.” He nudged my arm. “You, know, like the drama club.”

  Ugh. Drama club. Why did he have to remind me? I didn’t know if we still had a drama club, after the little trick I pulled on Vanessa yesterday. After Vanessa’s hysterics, Ms. Jahns had cancelled rehearsal. She still hadn’t seen me act out my scene. I had no idea if I’d get the part.

  “I don’t know if I’m in the play,” I said in a shaky voice.

  “Don’t worry.” Ethan blew a strand of hair out of his eye. “As soon as Ms. Jahns sees you act, you’ll get the part. All this Vanessa stuff has been getting in the way. It sucks that Ms. Jahns might cancel the play.”

  Cancel the play? Omigod, what had I done? All I’d wanted to do was humble Vanessa a little and hope a little dash of humility would teach her to be nice to people. I had no idea Ms. Jahns would want to cancel the play. At that moment, I felt like a total jerk. All because I couldn’t control my stupid powers.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as my shoulders fell.

  “It’s not your fault Vanessa went psycho. What was up with her yesterday?” he laughed. “I pledge allegiance to my butt?”

  Every nerve ending in my body tensed as I felt more heat infuse my face. “That was pretty strange,” I said, averting my gaze.

  What the heck had I been thinking yesterday? Oh, yeah, I hadn’t been thinking. I’d been so mad at Vanessa, words started popping out of my head and through her mouth. I remembered the look of horror in Vanessa’s eyes as she recited the pledge to her butt, the laughter of the other drama students, and the odd choking sounds coming from Ms. Jahns. I would have had her sing a few twisted nursery rhymes if I hadn’t been laughing so hard. But when it was all over, and I chanced a glance at Ms. Jahns, my heart sank to my gut. Though I didn’t know the drama teacher very well, based on what I’d seen, she was a good person. And I had made her cry.

  After I let Vanessa have her mouth back, she raced to the back room with tears streaming down her face and Ms. Jahns cancelled practice. The joke was no longer funny, and nobody spoke as they filed out of the classroom.

  “I heard her parents are going to put her on meds,” Ethan said. “If the meds work, then maybe we won’t have to cancel the play.”

  “Meds?” I gasped. Oh, crap. Now I really felt like a heaping pile of crap. Vanessa was going to be put on meds for something that wasn’t her fault.

  Ethan elbowed me before laughing. “Maybe the meds will make her nicer, especially to you.”

  “Maybe,” I muttered, not knowing how to respond.

  “Hey, guess what?” Ethan slowly stood and set his tray down on the bench next to me. That’s when I noticed his tray only held an empty, upside-down milk carton. Why had he carried out an empty food tray?

  “What?” I asked as I scrunched my brow.

  “You wanted to eat lunch alone and I made you eat with me, anyway.” He smirked as he bent over and picked up his tray. “We’ve still got fifteen minutes left. Come sit with the drama club. I promise I won’t let Finn bite.” He wrinkled his nose before nodding toward the hallway behind us. “It doesn’t smell like pickled animal parts in the cafeteria.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Alright,” I agreed.”

  When Ethan flashed a huge grin, a strand of his tousled hair again falling over one eye, I couldn’t help but smile back. Maybe I needed to get over my anger and just maybe I would like sitting with Ethan and his friends. I guess it did kind of stink in the science hall, anyway.

  Drama club! My gut twisted and a heavy feeling settled in my chest when I realized Vanessa might very well be sitting with the drama club. What would she say when I showed up at her table? More importantly, if I couldn’t learn to control my anger, what would I make her say?

  ***

  Thankfully, it turned out Vanessa had a different lunch period than me, so I was spared her sarcasm at the lunch table. I actually had fun sitting with Ethan, Finn, and a few other drama students. I’m ashamed to admit it, but watching Finn beat his old record by stuffing twenty-four French fries up his nose was the height of my day. Everyone made me feel like one of them, like I belonged. I hadn’t fit in with anyone since AJ and Krysta left. It was kind of nice.

  Something else that was kind of nice was the way Ethan subtly smiled whenever he looked at me. A few times I even thought I saw his face flush, and for some reason, I felt my face redden in response. Of course, I was staying out of his head, so I had no way of knowing for sure if he liked me, but Finn and the others sure thought so. Not that I jumped in their heads much. I left Finn’s head altogether after listening to him complain about his burning nasal passages. Served him right for salting the fries before he stuffed them up his nose.

  By the end of the lunch period, I had summoned up enough nerve to ask if they wanted to come to my house to practice for the play. My mom and dad were usually cool about me having friends over. Mom had always said she’d rather my friends came over to our house than me go to their houses. With the exception of AJ’s parents, my mom didn’t trust other parents to supervise us. Besides, it saved me from the huge embarrassment of Mom insisting she meet their parents first.

  Finn was the first to speak up. He wanted to know if there’d be brownies. When I told him my mom loved to bake, he was all for practicing at my house. Everyone else seemed interested, too, even Ethan. I breathed a sigh of relief when he agreed to come over, then I mentally slapped myself for caring. I had no business liking this guy. No business liking anyone when I knew it would never work.

  ***

  Mom always had an afterschool snack ready for me after I got off the bus. She was awesome like that, always trying to feed me. Of course, as I got older, I had to insist she cut back on the baking and buy me fresh fruits and vegetables. My mom’s cooking was partly why I was such a chubby kid. I was sure she’d be excited when I told her my friends were coming over. She loved any excuse to bake.

  I sat on a stool at the kitchen counter watching as she prepared food for the family. Even though my oldest sister was away at college and my other sister only brought my twin nephews over on weekends, my mom still cooked enough food to feed two families. Though she had a pretty successful career in real estate, I think cooking was what she was best at, and being a mom. Yeah, she was a great mom, kind and loving and she pretty much spoiled me rotten. I just wished her religious beliefs were a little more forgiving. Every Sunday she insisted I go to church, and every Sunday I tried to get out of it.

  For the most part I didn’t mind going, until my mom’s minister started preaching about the devil, labeling everything that wasn’t connected to the church as satanic. What would the church do if they discovered I was a witch? What would my mom do?

  It was getting harder and harder to sit in the church pew on Sunday and listen to all that talk about hell and the devil. How could I feel like I belonged, when I knew that had the setting been during the Salem witch trials, I would have found myself hanging from a noose?

  “Something troubling you, sweetheart?” Mom set a heaping pile of spaghetti and meatballs in front of me, smiling as she waved the aromatic steam from her homemade sauce in front of me.

  I looked into her big brown eyes, framed with heavy eye shadow and thick lashes. Though the corners of her eyes were drawn down with the slightest sign of age, I still thought my mother was beautiful. And loving.

  I couldn’t help but smile back. She knew I couldn’t resist spaghetti and meatballs with her signature sauce. Darn her. My jeans were snug enough during my time of the month. But at the moment, the sauce won out. I twirled the spaghetti around my fork and then moaned after I took the first bite. Parmesan cheese and
a heavenly blend of tomato and spices melted on my tongue.

  After a few meatballs and forkfuls of noodles, I gulped down my tea and cleared my throat.

  “Some friends are coming over later. Could we use the den?”

  Her eyes lit up as she clasped her hands together and I knew my mom was mentally planning a menu. “Friends? What for?”

  I shrugged, trying not to make too much of a big deal out of it. I loved my mom, but at times, she could get a little annoying with the questions. “We’re practicing for the play.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and for a second, she looked like she’d just seen a ghost. “You’re in a play?”

  “Yeah. I think so. I’m not sure if there will be a play, but I want to prepare.”

  “That sounds great,” Mom said with a little too much exuberance as she walked over to her spacious pantry and began pulling out sacks of flour and sugar. “How many kids?”

  “About ten,” I said while repressing a smile. My poor friends would each be ten pounds heavier by the time rehearsal was over.

  “I think it’s wonderful you have friends coming over,” she practically squealed as she pulled a few baking pans from a drawer. “I’ll bake cookies.”

  “Cookies?” My dad set his briefcase on the counter as he walked into the kitchen and gave my mom a hug. He turned to me with a wink before dipping his finger into the pot of bubbling spaghetti sauce on the stove. “Ouch!” he cried before sticking his finger in his mouth and sucking off the sauce.

  I laughed at my dad. I couldn’t count the number of times he’d burned himself in the kitchen while trying to sneak samples of Mom’s cooking, when all he had to do was use a spoon like a normal person.

  “Sophie’s theater friends are coming over,” Mom said as she began measuring flour into a cup.

  “We’re practicing for a play,” I told my dad as he scooped a heaping pile of spaghetti onto a plate.

  “What play?” he asked.

  I swallowed, my gaze flitting nervously to my mom. I suppose they’d find out sooner or later I was doing a play about witches. “The Crucible.”