In Shadows of Magic

by Alison F. Prince

  Dylan’s baby blue gaze caught hers. They moved to the beat, eyes locked. She couldn't believe this college guy seemed interested in her. Brianna's lips stretched into a smile so wide her cheeks ached. Dylan leaned his head forward so their noses almost touched. Boldly, she moved her face a little closer. Millimeters separated their lips. He was moving in to close the gap. Then his head snapped around.

  "Who's that?" Dylan's hands dropped from her waist as he gravitated toward the center of the dance floor. Hypnotized, he walked away, leaving Brianna mortified and alone.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mandy and her clique arrived at Club Ice to find a line long enough to cover the length of a football field.

  "Ugh," Giselle groaned. "We are going to be standing in line all night."

  "Follow me," Mandy said. Penny and Giselle trailed behind as Mandy marched to the front of the line.

  A college-aged bouncer with curly dark hair and a boyish grin was checking identifications by the door. Oh, this is going to be too easy.

  "Sorry girls," the bouncer said. "You're cute, but you're going to have to wait like everyone else."

  Mandy flipped her hair and flashed her best dazzling smile. The bouncer did a double take. His eyes fixed on her as though he were mesmerized. Entranced, he opened the club door, allowing all three girls to enter without checking their IDs.

  "Wow," Penny said, as they stepped inside the dark room with flashing lights and loud music. "You are amazing! How did you do that?"

  Mandy laughed, glowing with satisfaction. Influencing people had become second nature to her. Sometimes it felt like the world was in the palm of her hand. Anything or anyone she desired could and would be hers. Tonight she wanted to be adored, even if it wasn't real. At least it was something. At least for the moment, the pretense was enough. Mandy had come to accept that nothing in her life would ever be real. As long as she would always be fake, she might as well enjoy it as much as possible. Mandy accessed her powers and ignited the flame, letting it roar.

  "I want to dance! Let's go, girls!"

  As Mandy and her posse swaggered through the club, boys openly gaped. Club-goers stepped aside, creating a pathway to the center of the dance floor. Mandy moved with the confidence and agility of a seasoned dancer. Drawn by Mandy’s invisible force, hordes of college-aged guys encircled the witch and her friends. They were like celebrities in the middle of the dance floor.

  Her brilliant smile captivated a tall boy who approached her. His blue eyes looked dazed as he staggered over, already intoxicated by her presence. Using her index finger, Mandy motioned him closer. The tall boy wrapped his arms around her waist, and they began to dance. Surrounding male admirers glared as he pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

  "Hello, I'm Dylan."

  Chapter Fifteen

  Devastated, Brianna ran out of the club and down the sidewalk toward the end of the strip mall. Once the club's line was out of sight, she stopped and leaned her forehead against the dirty glass window of a pet store. She could no longer restrain her tears. A few drops escaped her eyes. Chad had only been the first. Every guy in the world liked her twin better than her.

  Although Brianna heard footsteps behind her, she didn't turn around. A hand stroked her upper back and shoulders. She knew who it was. Only Valerie would have followed her. Dylan was so enthralled by Mandy, he probably didn't even remember her name. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn't stop crying, even though she should be used to it by now. She should be stronger.

  After a few minutes, Brianna broke the silence. "It's not fair. She already has Chad. Why does she need to bewitch everyone else too?"

  "Because she's selfish and greedy. She wants to have everything and everyone else to have nothing. She did that on purpose tonight."

  Brianna whirled around. "What do you mean, on purpose?" Brianna wasn't sure she wanted to hear what Valerie had to say.

  "I saw the whole thing. Mandy saw you dancing with Dylan. Then she purposely used her witchery to lure him away."

  Brianna felt as if she had been stabbed in the gut. Tears poured from her eyes. Her nose was so stuffed that she couldn't breathe. She opened her mouth and gasped for air. Valerie reached into her pocketbook and offered Brianna a tissue. After Brianna blew her nose, she struggled to find her voice. "Is that true? I can't believe my sister would go that far."

  Valerie met Brianna's eyes and nodded, her expression earnest. "It's true. I'm sorry, Bri. Your sister…the power has corrupted her mind. I know she wasn't always like this. Every year she gets a little worse. She's so used to having everything she wants, she feels entitled now. She doesn't consider anyone's feelings anymore. Not even her own sister's. It's so sad."

  "I hate her!" Blood boiled in Brianna's veins, but underneath the anger, there was something more, something worse. Knowing this wouldn't be the last time. Mandy would continue to do this to her again and again.

  Valerie nodded. "I understand. Remember what I was talking about earlier? About the evulsion? It's not a bad idea. We could make her see how it feels. Give her a dose of her own medicine."

  "I'd like to take her for whatever she's worth."

  Valerie's smile revealed her satisfaction. "Tuesday night. The book says the spell works best during the full moon. Do you want me to call a taxi to pick us up?"

  Brianna nodded. She felt exhausted, emotionally drained, and she had to work in the morning.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The following evening, Valerie called Brianna to inform her of the materials needed to complete the evulsion. Brianna had just returned home from work and was curled up with Batman on her zebra-print sheets.

  "We need a lock of her hair, a drop of her blood, and something she loves."

  "And how am I supposed to get those things?"

  "You live with her. I'm sure you can find a way. Oh, and my brother invited us to a house party this Friday. There should be a lot of cute, older guys, and zero chance Mandy will show up. Are you in?"

  "For sure." Finding a boy that had never met Mandy was Brianna's only hope of ever having a real or lasting relationship.

  "So just get those three things, and then I'll pick you up at the bottom of your driveway on Tuesday at midnight. It has to be late so we aren't seen. According to the book, if the evulsion is successful, there will be some bright lights."

  "I'll do my best. Two days doesn't give me much time."

  ****

  On Sunday, Brianna spent the day with her band. By the time she got home, it was late and she was too tired to start snooping around.

  On Monday, Brianna returned home from school and found a note on the refrigerator from her mother, requesting that the twins start dinner preparations. She retrieved a cutting board and a sharp knife from the cabinet. While slicing a tomato, Brianna devised her plan. After she'd finished chopping the vegetables, she would search Mandy's room. Her sister was always at practice until at least six o'clock.

  A few moments later, the front door opened and shut. Mandy chatted loudly on the phone. "Oh, that's so sweet."

  Of course, the one night she actually comes home. Think fast. "Hello!"

  Her twin appeared underneath the archway of the kitchen. "Hold on." She lowered the phone to her side. "Were you talking to me?"

  "Yes." Brianna did her best to sound casual.

  Mandy raised the phone to her ear. "I'll have to call you back, Dylan. Aw, I miss you too. Yeah, can't wait to see you either. Pick me up in a half-hour. Bye-bye now." She disconnected the call and acknowledged her sister. "What's up?"

  "I was just saying 'hi.'"

  "You never just say 'hi' to me." Her twin’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Her neck seemed to shrink into her shoulders.

  "What's the problem? Can't I say 'hi' to my twin sister?"

  Mandy's shoulders dropped. "Yeah, whatev. It's just you never do, so I started to think… I've just been so paranoid lately. Sometimes people don't have the best intentions."

  Brianna's heart thum
ped. She knew her sister was powerful, but she wasn't a mind reader, was she?

  "I guess I've just been a little uptight recently," Mandy said.

  Brianna's breathing slowed, and her heart rate returned to normal. "Mom asked us to help prepare dinner." Brianna gestured to the note. "I thought you could give me a hand."

  "I'm not eating here. I'm going out to eat, on a date. I met the hottest college guy this weekend." She pivoted toward the doorway.

  Fury raged inside Brianna with the intensity of an ocean being hit by a hurricane. "Wait," she said. Mandy slowly rotated until she faced her twin. "Could you at least help with the salad?"

  From the look on Mandy's face, Brianna might have asked for her left kidney. "Seriously? You know, I have a life. I have things to do, places to go, people to see."

  "Yeah, I know. You're so busy with your cool friends, you don't have any time for your own family. I guess we just aren't good enough for you anymore. I've heard you are nice to those select few that meet your rigid criteria. I wouldn't know from personal experience."

  "Ugh, whatev!" Mandy stomped over to the refrigerator, flung open the door, grabbed the vegetables, and slammed them down on the counter. Brianna eyed her sister’s closest hand, palm down on the bag of celery. Even though Brianna realized this would be obvious, she didn't care. Mandy was rarely within arm's reach of her twin. This might be her only shot. Using a controlled motion, Brianna swung her arm sideways, cautiously grazing the back of her sibling’s hand. Dark red blood began to spill.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Brianna grabbed a napkin off the counter and wiped the blood dripping down her sister’s fingers. Mandy stared at her hand, her face frozen in shock.

  All of a sudden, Brianna struggled to catch her breath as the wind was knocked out of her. Invisible hands picked her up and slammed her against the wall. Pain shot through her spine.

  "You crazy witch! Are you trying to kill me? I would give you two black eyes, but it looks like someone already beat me to it! Oh, that's just your makeup, you freak! You better stay away from me if you know what's good for you!"

  Mandy stared at her bloody hand. The broken skin began to fuse together, and within seconds it was healed. Brianna wished she had cut her deeper. Mandy whirled around and stormed up to her room. Grasping the bloody napkin in her fist, Brianna smirked in triumph. One down, two more to go, she thought.

  Twenty minutes later, her twin left. Brianna presumed that she was going on her dinner date with Dylan. Brianna ventured into her sister's immaculate bedroom. Her pink-painted walls were decorated with photos of Mandy and her friends. A wooden vanity and matching dresser were pressed against the left side of the room. On the back wall, white shelves displayed countless trophies, ribbons, medals, and various other accolades.

  Okay, easy part first. Mandy's hairbrush was on the top of her vanity. Brianna cleaned out the brush, removing a small clump of blonde hair. She put the hairball in her pants pocket next to the red-stained napkin.

  Now, the hard part. What does she love? Brianna's eyes surveyed the space. She couldn't think of anything her sister loved other than herself.

  Does she love these trophies? Brianna eyed the shelves. There were so many. Which one should she choose?

  Standing at the dresser, Brianna lifted the top of a beautiful crystal heart-shaped box. It couldn't be. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her. She reached inside just to be sure. Brianna held the beaded necklace in her hand. She hadn't seen it in years. Red and yellow beads alternated on either side of the centered white alphabet beads. The black lettering on the white beads spelled out the words Best Sister.

  Moisture built up in her eyes as the memory unfolded in her mind. A treacherous storm had shaken the trees with wind and flooded the earth. After a fitful night's sleep, the twins had jetted down the dirt path carrying a box of treats, some leftover chicken, and a few cans of kitten formula.

  As they'd approached the abandoned shed where the kittens slept, Brianna noticed there was a gaping hole where the door had been blown off. The old door had come completely off its hinges and was lying inside the shed. Batman's mother wailed as she pushed her paw beneath the door. Rambo and Cheshire watched from close by, uncharacteristically still.

  Mandy lifted the door, revealing Batman's small, unmoving form. The impact of the door on his delicate body had crushed his bones. He had been suffocating for hours, gasping for air while pinned under the weight of the broken door.

  Brianna lifted up the kitten's small form. She felt her own heart breaking, knowing his tiny body wouldn't recover from the trauma.

  Brianna had begged Mandy not to heal him. As she watched, she knew her twin was harming herself. When the feat was done, Mandy's eyes rolled back into her head, and she dropped to the ground, a pale heap on the floor, gasping for air and fighting for consciousness—while Batman was revived, running helter-skelter around the shed, alive.

  Mandy had never loved Batman the way Brianna did. Brianna knew that Mandy had done it for her. For three weeks, Mandy couldn't lift her head from her pillow. She missed school, the twins' birthday party, and the state gymnastics meet. But even through all the pain, she'd never seemed to regret saving Batman. During her twin's convalescence, Brianna handcrafted the necklace.

  Brianna smiled at her memory and proceeded to examine the beads hooked between her fingers. Why did Mandy keep it right here, all alone in this beautiful box? She probably just threw it in there a long time ago and forgot all about it. But the memory still evoked emotions for Brianna. She couldn't do anything that had the potential to harm her sister, ever. Under no circumstances, no matter what type of person Mandy had become.

  A morbid rock song played from Brianna's phone. Valerie's name posted on the caller ID.

  "Hello," Brianna answered.

  "Did you get the stuff?"

  "Ummm, some of it. I don't think I can go through with it, Val."

  "What? Why not?"

  "I just don't think I can do it. She’s my sister."

  "You can't be serious! Even after what she did to you on Friday night? What's wrong with you? What about the college party on Saturday night? I'm going to be pretty mad at you if you don't even try this."

  Oh, the college party. Well, maybe there was nothing wrong with humoring Valerie a little bit. "I'll try to get the stuff, Val. I'll do the best I can."

  "Tomorrow, midnight."

  "See you then."

  Brianna placed the memento back in the crystal box. Then she opened the large wooden jewelry box beside it. The pink, velvet-lined box was filled with costume jewelry. She removed a ring shaped like a pair of entwined hearts, forged of sterling silver. My sister will never notice this is gone, Brianna thought, placing the ring in her pocket.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The following night, Brianna and Valerie strolled down the wooded path behind the high school. In the dark of the midnight hour, the thin beam of Valerie's flashlight illuminated the night. The brightness of the full moon was hidden by the tall trees surrounding the dirt trail.

  "There's a good spot," Valerie said, scanning a small clearing with two large, flat rocks. The full moon shone down from overhead, casting an eerie yellow glow on the open space. Valerie sat down on one of the rocks. "Let me see what you brought."

  Brianna handed her the napkin, the clump of hair, and the silver ring. Valerie examined the materials. "What's this?" She held up the double-heart ring.

  "Something Mandy loves," Brianna said firmly, trying to sound convincing.

  "This?" Valerie's eyes narrowed as she ran her fingers over the piece. "I don't even ever remember seeing her wear this."

  "That's because she loves it so much," Brianna fibbed. "She's scared of losing it."

  "Bri, this is the most important part of the spell. According to the book, the more the person loves the object, the greater the chance that the spell will work. Are you sure she loves this?"

  "Yes," Brianna said. "I'm sure." She didn't feel guilty about lying
. Valerie was using her to try to obtain power. So if she used Valerie to go to a party and meet a cute boy, then they were even.

  "Okay." Valerie shrugged. "It's all we have tonight, and it's a full moon, so it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work, then we can always try again."

  Brianna took a seat on the flat rock across from Valerie. The night was eerily quiet as Valerie reached into her bag and removed five black candles. Her green eyes gleamed demonically in the moonlight.

  "You are doing this spell alone. I will watch, but I'm not involved. I wrote down the words you have to say." Valerie unfolded a sheet of white paper.

  "Why?" Brianna was puzzled. This was contradictory to Valerie's acquisitive nature.

  "Well, because you're a witch, and I'm not. The power will go into you more easily. Then, once you have the power, you can transfer some to me."

  Brianna nodded, still not convinced of Valerie's true motivations.

  Valerie arranged the five black candles in a large circle. Once they were lit, the three items were placed in the center of the circle.

  "Okay, Bri. It's all ready. Stand in the circle and say the words. But be careful. When you pull the power into you, don't overdo it, okay? It could be hard on your body to take too much at once."

  Oh, now it made sense. Brianna realized why she was to be the one to take the power. There was some risk involved. Valerie had elected Brianna as the guinea pig. Whatever. Brianna was just humoring her, anyhow. This would never work. Mandy couldn't care less about that silly ring.

  Then, why was she so nervous? An almost palpable sense of foreboding pervaded the night air. The white paper glowed in the moonlight and trembled between Brianna's shaky fingers. Relax, it couldn't possibly work.