by M. K. ROZE
clear her mind the best she could until they arrived.
As they drove around the lake, Adelyn looked at Spell
Mountain, trying to remember a landmark she saw in the
vision. When she spotted two unique dips in the mountain,
she glanced across the lake and pointed. “She’s over there by
those clusters of trees and the large rocks.”
Brittany drove there, and before the truck came to a full
stop, Adelyn opened the door and jumped out.
“Adelyn!” Brittany yelled out.
Adelyn walked over to where she thought she saw the
cave, but it wasn’t there.
“Did you find it?” Brittany asked out of breath and
stood on the side of her.
“No,” Adelyn said and scanned the brush for an
entrance. She stepped closer to the edge and looked at the
water, wondering if it was the right place.
“It’s over there,” Brittany said and ran over to the other
side of Adelyn, pointing.
Adelyn ran up behind Brittany and watched the water
vanish into a hole. She kicked her sneakers off and dove into
the murky water, then swam to the surface for air.
“Adelyn,” Brittany yelled out.
Adelyn ignored her and rubbed her arms and clenched
her jaw, trying to stop her teeth from chattering. She felt
around for an opening, submerged herself under the water,
and entered the cave, where she came up for air, spitting out
the fishy taste—inhaling a deep breath of the musty air.
“God, it smells awful in here.”
Adelyn wiped her eyes and opened them up to pure
blackness. She lifted herself out of the water and crawled
around the cold cave, feeling for Sula’s bones. When she
touched a skeletal foot, Adelyn yanked her hand back and
screeched. She calmed down, knowing it had to be done, and
toughened up. She felt for the foot again and followed the
bones up to the skull. “Got you.”
Adelyn quickly took her shirt off and placed the bones
into it. She tied the shirt into a knot, securing the bones, and
went to turn around, but she couldn’t. Can this get any worse?
She shook her head and began crawling backward, dropped
back in the water, and swam back out.
Brittany grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the
water. “Nice bra.”
Adelyn managed to smile. “Walmart.”
“Wow. Did you get all her bones?”
“Yeah, I think so. I didn’t feel anymore.”
“I hope you did.”
Adelyn gulped. “Why, what if I didn’t?”
rittany had a worried look on her face. “Then, the
spell won’t work.”
Adelyn sighed, hoping she got them all. “I’m
sure I did. Now what?”
“Since you’re weak, I will summon her back to her body,
and then we need to burn her bones. And if I can’t do it
alone, you will need to use your powers to force her here.”
Brittany paused and looked at the bones. “I’ve practiced
voodoo, which never worked by the way. But I never did
anything like this before. I might not be your best candidate.”
“You’ll have to do.” Adelyn untied her shirt and shook
out the bones on the ground. “What about Marissa?”
“We can find her later. Unless—” Brittany stopped
herself and looked out at the lake.
“She’s dead. I know.” She put her shirt back on. Let’s
do this.”
Brittany opened the book and looked at Adelyn. “If you
can, try to focus on Sula and imagine her here as I read the
spell, okay? Let’s just hope she brings the mirror.”
Adelyn nodded, worried she might not. “I’ll try.”
After Brittany took a few deep breaths, she began
reading the spell.
Adelyn closed her eyes and zoned Brittany out—her
muffled words fading. She focused on Sula, imagining her in
front of her with the mirror in her hand.
When a cold breeze blew Adelyn’s hair back, she knew
it was Sula’s apparition. Her eyes snapped open. She looked
at Brittany and a black shadow flew through her, causing her
knees to buckle.
“She’s here. Ignite the bitch’s bones,” Brittany yelled.
“That’s not happening!” Sula flew through Adelyn,
knocking her down.
Adelyn jumped to her feet—breathing heavily. “Where
is Marissa?”
“Dead,” Sula replied. “And you will never find what I
didn’t care to eat from her bitter corpse.”
Adelyn’s heart pumped a mile a minute—her eyes filled
with rage. “Where is the mirror?”
Sula cackled. “You will never know.”
“Fine, then it’s time to go back to hell.” She raised her
hand—holding Sula’s apparition in place, as she looked at
her bones, imagining them igniting.
“Adelyn, don’t kill her,” Brittany yelled. “We still need
to find the mirror.”
“I don’t care about the fucking mirror. She’s going back
where she came from for killing my friend and for making
me kill all those innocent people.”
“No!” Sula screamed. “I can’t be burned alive again.”
“Too bad.” Adelyn forced Sula into the flames with her
mind. “Brittany, read the rest of the spell before she
escapes.”
“Stop!” Brittany yelled and fell to her knees.
“Read it,” Adelyn bellowed.
Brittany stuttered the rest of the spell.
Adelyn focused until Sula lay on her bones.
Sula let out a guttural scream as her soul got sucked back
into her bones—the bones exploding into ash.
Adelyn dropped to her knees and looked up at Sula’s
ashes falling onto her face. She found Brittany glaring at her.
“Why was that so easy?”
Brittany got up. “What have you done?”
“I did what I needed to do.”
Brittany walked up to her. “You just killed all of us.”
Adelyn calmed down, regretting killing Sula before she
found out where the mirror was. She broke down crying.
“I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.” She thought about
Marissa’s dismembered body lying somewhere. “Marissa, I’m
sorry.”
Brittany pulled her close. “I’m sorry you lost your friend,
but we need to find another way for you to locate the mirror
before you become Muma.”
Adelyn looked down at the pile of ash—sure it wasn’t
possible to find the mirror now that Sula was gone. “I don’t
want to live anymore.” She walked over to the water and
looked at Spell Mountain, remembering what the detective
did to his sister.
“You don’t mean that. You’ve come this far, and Muma
will kill us if you don’t get that mirror back to her.”
Adelyn whipped around. “Maybe that’s what needs to
happen. This world sucks.”
Brittany stepped back. “What about your parents and
your other friends? You wouldn’t want Muma to kill them,
would you?”
Adelyn thought about what Muma could do and she
cringed thinking about it. “Don’t you get it? Sula is gone, an
d
now I will never find the mirror, so we’re all doomed.” She
walked toward the truck.
Brittany caught up to her and walked alongside her.
“Just try to use your power to locate it.”
“I’m too weak, and it probably won’t work.”
Brittany grabbed her arm. “Please. I don’t want to die.
And maybe you can find Marissa too.”
Adelyn stood there for a while, wondering if Brittany
was right. She walked back over to Sula’s remains and
grabbed a handful of her ashes. She closed her eyes and
focused on Marissa, but stopped herself, not wanting to see
her dismembered body at that moment. She knew she
couldn’t handle it and focused on the mirror. After a few
minutes, she let out a low sigh. “It’s not working because
Sula’s gone.”
Brittany grabbed Sula’s ashes and dumped them over
her hands. “Try harder. Please.”
Adelyn took a deep breath and grunted from the pain
she got on her face.
Brittany’s eyebrows raised. “Um, you might want to
hurry up. You just got a huge black, hairy mole on your
chin.”
Adelyn closed her eyes, knowing she had hours left. She
could feel Muma taking over her body. Adelyn calmed her
breathing and erased her thoughts. After some time, the
mirror, which was hidden behind a large rock, came into
focus. She looked around to see where that rock was located,
but she lost the vision. “Come on, dammit.”
Brittany rubbed her arm gently. “Try to stay calm. It will
come to you.”
Adelyn cleared her mind and concentrated until images
of a familiar tree came into focus. Her eyes shot open and
she looked across the water at Spell Mountain. “Sula hid it
where the detective’s sister’s shallow grave is.” She looked at
Brittany. “Come on.”
“This shouldn’t have worked if Sula was truly dead.”
“Maybe Muma’s powers are stronger than her.” Adelyn
walked away, hoping Sula was dead and she wasn’t playing
tricks on her.
Brittany grabbed her book of spells, and they got into
the truck.
When they arrived at Spell Mountain, Adelyn got out
and ran over to the shallow grave. She pulled the mirror out
and gasped, glad her vision was true.
Brittany ran up to her. “Thank God you found it.”
Adelyn lowered the mirror and looked at the shallow
grave, wondering why the hole was filled back up.
“What’s that sticking out of the pile of dirt?” Brittany
asked and pointed.
Adelyn took a closer look and saw what looked like a
shoelace sticking out. “I don’t know.” She thought about
Marissa and dropped to her knees, frantically removing the
dirt with her hands. “Help me,” she yelled, hoping it was
Marissa.
Brittany got on the side of her, digging at the dirt until a
leg appeared.
Adelyn gasped and jumped to her feet, crying. “Oh, my
God. It’s Marissa.”
“How do you know?”
“Because those are my pants she’s wearing. I can’t look
at her mangled body. Please pull her out. She can’t stay in
there like that.”
“Okay,” Brittany said in a shaky voice.
“Adelyn, she’s still intact. Help me. She might still be
alive.”
Adelyn dropped to her knees and helped Brittany pull
her limp body out. She frantically wiped the dirt off of
Marissa’s face. “Marissa,” she cried as she cradled her head
in her arms. “Please wake up.”
Brittany checked her wrist for a pulse and shook her
head.
Adelyn didn’t want to believe that her best friend was
dead. “No! She can’t be dead. Sula lied. She’s not
dismembered like she said. Maybe she placed a spell on her.”
“Adelyn, she’s not breathing,” Brittany choked. “I’m
sorry.”
Adelyn shook her head. She grabbed the mirror and
looked into it. “Muma, I know you can hear me. Bring my
friend back to life, now. If you don’t, I won’t take your
fucking mirror back. You will have no choice but to suffer
along with me.”
When Adelyn got no response, Brittany pried her hands
off of Marissa. “You don’t have much time. You know
Marissa would’ve wanted you to save her parents. Your
parents. Your friends. Everyone. If you don’t want to take
the mirror back, then do it for her. She deserves that much.”
Adelyn’s trembling lips found Marissa’s cheek, where
she kissed it gently. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I lo …
lo… love you,” she had to force the word out. She lay
Marissa’s head down and let out a guttural scream—her
voice echoing through the valley.
Brittany wiped her tears away and embraced Adelyn.
Do as I say, Muma said.
Adelyn’s eyes widened and she backed away from
Brittany. “Okay, what do I do?”
“What?” Brittany said, confused.
“Shh. I’m talking to Muma.”
Place your mouth on hers and exhale until all your air is gone.
Adelyn wiped the dirt off Marissa’s lip’s, took a deep
breath, and placed her mouth on her iced-cold lips. After she
blew all her air into her lungs, a white light illuminated
Marissa’s body.
“Whoa,” Brittany said and fell back.
Marissa bolted upright, coughing up dirt, and Adelyn
hugged her, crying.
Now, bring my mirror back before I reverse the resurrection spell
on your friend. And don’t you dare threaten me again, or you will pay.
Adelyn stood. “Thank you for allowing me to bring her
back.”
“Who are you talking to?” Marissa asked.
“Muma.”
Leave now before I end up stuck there.
“Why can’t you just take the mirror now? Sula’s dead.”
Because my mirror needs to be brought back where it lay, or I will
have to pay. Now go!
Adelyn pulled Marissa up. “We have to go.”
“What did Muma say?” Marissa asked.
Adelyn told her.
“Wait, did an evil witch resurrect me?”
Adelyn nodded.
“Um, hello,” Brittany said. “Florida is over seven hours
away. You guys might want to get caught up on what
happened later.”
Marissa turned to her. “What is she doing here?”
Adelyn smiled. “If it wasn’t for her and her mom
helping me, you’d still be dead.”
“Is being in shock a good excuse to thank you later?”
“Don’t bother.” Brittany walked toward the truck.
Adelyn shot Marissa a nasty look. “Not funny. She’s
actually a nice girl.”
Marissa ran after Brittany, stopping her. “Hey, I was
kidding.”
Adelyn followed Marissa and stood behind her, hoping
they could work out their differences before they were stuck
in a truck together for several hours.
Brittany turned to Marissa with tears in her eyes. “How
do you still have sarcastic humor after
dying?”
Marissa shrugged. “It felt more like a dirty nap.”
Brittany smiled and held out her arms. “Do you want to
hug to a new friendship?”
“Sure.” Marissa hugged her. “Thank you for helping me
and my best friend.” She peered over her shoulder at Adelyn
and winked.
Brittany giggled. “Don’t worry, I only steal men.”
Adelyn smiled. “Nice comeback. Okay, come on. We
can hang out after the real me is back.”
“What’s the rush?” Marissa asked.
“If I don’t hurry, I will become Muma, and—”
“We’ll end up in your best friends’ stomach,” Brittany
interrupted.
Marissa rolled her eyes. “I’d rather be buried alive
again.”
“Come on.” Adelyn got into the passenger seat and her
stomach grew, ripping her pants and stretching her shirt out.
“Hurry up and get in.”
Marissa got into the back seat.
Brittany got in, looked at Adelyn, and gasped.
“What?” Marissa asked.
Brittany pointed at Adelyn. “That.”
Marissa leaned over the front seat and looked at Adelyn.
“Holy shit!” She fell backward onto the seat. “She’s turning
into the Hulk.”
“Hurry up,” Adelyn said and grunted from the pain in
her stomach.
“Marissa, do you want to drive,” Brittany asked.
“Hell, no.”
“Just come on,” Adelyn yelled.
Brittany hesitated then got in and started driving back
down the mountain.
Out on the main road, Adelyn glared at her. “You need
to drive faster. It will take us fifteen hours to get there at this
rate.”
“If I drive any faster, I’ll get pulled over and we won’t
be going anywhere but jail.”
“Just outrun the cops,” Marissa said.
Adelyn knew Brittany was right. “Who has a cell
phone?”
Marissa handed Adelyn her cellphone. “Who are you
calling?”
Adelyn ignored her, blew off the dirt, and called her dad.
“Marissa, are you okay?” Dad asked frantically.
“Yes, she’s fine,” Adelyn said in Muma’s voice and
cleared her throat.
“Oh, shit.” Marissa jumped into the third row.