The Cursed Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  And I’d been here before. I knew it with every fiber of my being.

  I saw myself walking barefoot through these fake gravestones. No, no. This can’t be right. I’m just thinking of the séance we did the other night. That’s all. That has to be all.

  “Saffie.”

  I froze and narrowed my eyes, wondering if I’d just imagined it —

  “Saffie.”

  I spun to Cooper. “Did you call me?”

  He frowned. “Uh…no…”

  “Saffie,” that voice whispered again, too low to make out the voice.

  I jumped and grabbed his arm. “There, that wasn’t you? No, of course not. Your mouth didn’t move.” God, what am I saying?

  “SAFFIE.”

  I leaned around the edge of our buggy to Savannah and Gigi, it had to have been one of them – but they were both engrossed in the scene around us.

  “SAFFIE.”

  “There!” I turned back to Cooper. “You heard that, right?”

  He narrowed his eyes and whispered. “Heard what?”

  “My name being whispered…?”

  He shook his head. “No one is whispering anything, Saffie.”

  “Saffie.”

  Cooper’s face remained expressionless, he hadn’t heard it. My friends hadn’t heard it. But I heard it. A strangled groan left my lips. Just like the séance, It’s happening again. But that didn’t make sense. We hadn’t summoned the dead on this ride, why would they be here? Goosebumps spread across my skin. Don’t think about it. Ignore it.

  I forced myself to look at the ride crawling by in front of me. There were gravestones and statues made of foam. Spotlights and holograms to look like ghosts. Fake, stuffed cats perched on fake tree limbs. It was fake, but there was something not right here.

  Blue light flashed out of the corner of my eye. I looked over — and froze. I choked on a scream. My heart stopped. A spirit stood right beside me, wearing a top hat and bowtie. His translucent ghostly eyes stared right at me.

  “Saffie? Saffie, are you all right?”

  I heard Cooper’s voice, but I was frozen solid. The spirit cocked his head to the side then whispered my name. Another spirit, this one in a ballgown, stepped out from behind our wagon and leaned into ours. I gasped and dove backwards, slamming into Cooper.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  I shook my head as spirit after spirit popped up right in front of us. They emerged from behind trees and statues, climbing out of coffins and from beneath the fake dirt. They all chanted my name over and over. No, no, no. Not again. Not AGAIN. Why is this happening to me?

  “Go away,” I heard myself whisper.

  The spirits lunged for me all at once and I scurried backward until I was half in Cooper’s lap. I threw my hands out and waved them around. Stop. Stop. Stop.

  “Saffie, what’s wrong?” Cooper’s voice was firmer and louder, no longer a whisper. He reached out and grabbed my hands then dragged them back to my chest, holding me in his arms. “Just breathe. Nothing in here can hurt you.”

  The spirits all froze at the sound of his voice. Their ghostly eyes widened and their gazes shot to him. There was a brief pause and then they fled. They actually turned and flew out of sight. I sagged against him, my body trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. I heard him whispering to me, but I could not process the words. It was a distant buzzing in my ears. My pulse sounded like thunder.

  The ride turned around a corner and then our doom wagon twirled to face the opposite side of the cemetery and my body turned to ice. A chill colder than anything I’d ever felt slid down my spine and reached into my soul. Because I knew this place.

  The rest of the world melted into darkness and suddenly I was seeing something else. The image was dark and blurry, but it was the realest thing I’d ever seen. It was the man from my nightmare. I could not see his face. I only saw black and mismatched eyes.

  He crouched down until our eyes were level. His big body dwarfed the fake mausoleum I hid in. I couldn’t see his smile but I felt it through the haze. “How do you make promises in your realm?” His voice was deep and velvety, like the purr of a cat.

  “You can’t break that,” I heard myself say in my mind. I felt myself hesitate, like I was weighing some big decision. I was considering something I thought I wasn’t supposed to do. I saw myself crawl to the edge and hold my little pinky finger out. “Like this…”

  He frowned with confusion, and it made his eyes twinkle. He is pretty. I groaned and gripped the handrail in front of me even though my eyes saw things that weren’t there. I narrowed my eyes and tried to see his face but it was just darkness, like something was blocking my view.

  He smiled softly. “I promise on a bed of rose thorns we are friends, Saffie.”

  “I promise on a sea of spider lilies we are friends—”

  “Saffie?” Cooper mumbled against my ear. He squeezed my arms. “You’re trembling. What’s happening?”

  The image wavered and flickered. NO! Show me more!

  “What if I gave you something else to keep you safe and scare away monsters?”

  I nodded as the images came back. Then I felt myself nod again, this time at the man from my nightmare. “Please? I don’t like being scared,” I heard myself say.

  He reached down to his left hand and pulled off something silver and shiny, then he held it out in front of me. “This is a…”

  “Stardust quartz ring!” I heard myself squeal then watched as my own pale hand shot out and snatched the ring from his palm. I felt my face split into a wide grin and my pulse quicken. “Thank you, my friend, T—”

  “SAFFIE,” Cooper half shouted right in my ear.

  I gasped and my body jerked. I leapt out of his lap.

  “Hey, hey, it’s all right.” He rubbed my arms. “Breathe. It’s over. The ride is over.”

  It’s over? I blinked then looked around as our wagon slid into a brightly lit room with a ride attendant standing there. I saw railings and a red exit sign next to a ramp. “I knew that place. I knew it – I was there – I’ve been there – I saw – I don’t remember – but I saw—”

  “Breathe, Saffie.” Cooper slid back over to me then wrapped his big arm around my shoulders. The strength in his arms settled the chaos of my pulse just slightly. “Don’t force it. Just let the memories trickle in. Let them grow. Watch.”

  I stared down at my hand…at the ring on my thumb. The ring I’d just seen in what I had to assume was a memory. That man had given me this ring. To keep you safe and scare away monsters, he’d said. Cooper said something else. I looked up to ask him what he’d said when my gaze landed on a pair of bright golden eyes.

  RIAH. He stood under the exit sign glaring at us. His gaze landed on Cooper’s arm wrapped around my body. His eyes flashed. His hands balled into fists. Muscles in his jaw and neck popped. His lip snarled – then he spun and stormed off, leaving a wall of fiery energy raging in his wake.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Saffie

  It’d been three hours since that ride in the haunted house and I hadn’t been able to shake the uneasy feeling. Since we walked off that ride I’d felt eyes on my back yet every time I looked there was nothing. We’d gone on a couple more rides and those had felt familiar too. Not quite like the haunted house but enough that it felt like salt to the wound.

  And now we were surrounded by clowns.

  Clown sculptures. Clown paintings. Clown themed rides. Actual clowns walking around.

  My skin was crawling.

  I couldn’t stand still. I felt pressure weighing down on me and my chest was tight.

  Why clowns? And why are they freaking me out so much? I didn’t know and I just wanted to leave. None of what I was feeling made any sense, but that seemed to be a common theme for the day. I’d known these clowns before I stepped into the section. My feet had stopped walking and my body had locked in place. And now my gaze kept sweeping over to the same tree-covered alley like my salvation was through ther
e. Yet I’d never been here nor seen the map.

  We just needed to go. But we were twenty people deep in line for snacks. Not that I was hungry, my stomach kept rolling and my legs felt shaky. It didn’t help that I still hadn’t seen Riah. It was just putting my nerves over the edge.

  “Oh for the love of Freyja.” Savannah groaned and glared at the woman taking forever at the front of the line. “It’s popcorn, ma’am. How hard can this order be?”

  “In her defense, they have six flavors of popcorns.” Cooper grinned.

  “They also sell soft pretzels, hot dogs, and churros.” Gigi pointed to the map in her hand. “Now if you can focus, we need to decide which rides in this section we wanna do. There are like four, unless you include the kiddie section—

  Oh God, no. No, no. I can’t stay here. “Can we not do any of these? Can we go? I just really really hate these clowns and I have the sudden urge to burn the whole place to the ground? Can we go?”

  All three of them spun around to face me with wide eyes.

  “Burn the whole place to the ground?” Savannah shook her head. “I’m not against the violence but…you okay, Safferella?”

  No, I am not okay. I didn’t feel like myself. I’d never felt so violent or angry. The clown sculptures were everywhere. I felt all of their eyes on me. They grew bigger and taller, towering over us. I knew they weren’t really, I knew I was losing my mind, but I felt like they were closing in all around me. My breaths grew short and my chest was tight. I had the insane, insatiable desire to break them all with my bare hands.

  Gigi pursed her lips and looked back at her map. Then she looked up at the sky. “Ya know, my phone says there’s a thunderstorm coming and there are like three indoor shows up in that front section…why don’t we just head there so we don’t get caught in the rain?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Yep. Yeah. Saffie says yes.”

  Cooper snorted. There was something in his expression that sent a tickle down my spine but I was too freaked out to think clearly. He grinned and nodded. “That’s fine, just let me get this frozen lemonade here. It’s the only place in the park to get it.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Saffie

  I slid my fingers around the rusty chain-link fence on the side of the Hidden Kingdom theme park and shook it. Looks climbable. I slid one foot into the chain link and climbed to the top of the fence. The rubber soles of my little white sneakers were slippery against the metal but I made it to the top without falling. I threw one leg over the top and the sharp edges of the fence scraped against my bare skin. I hissed. Note to self, jean pants are better than jean shorts. That’s gonna leave a mark.

  I swung my other leg over, careful not to slice myself again, but my shoe slipped and I dropped too fast to catch myself. My feet hit the ground and sharp pain shot up my shins from the impact. I bent over and rubbed my shins.

  This is a terrible idea. I could get arrested for this. If that wasn’t bad enough, I had absolutely no idea what I’d find inside. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. All I knew was I had questions and they consumed me. This was crazy but seemed like the only way to get to the bottom of this. I just needed to look around.

  While on the bus back to the hotel earlier, I’d seen the door now in front of me. The sign on it said crew only, and I just hoped it would actually get me inside and not an express pass to the police station.

  I walked up to the door and gripped the handle. Please open. I turned the knob and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. Then I remembered that I was a witch. I had magic. An idea formed in my mind. No one had said it worked like this, but I figured it was worth a shot. I summoned my golden glittery magic to my palms and waited until it poured out around me. I put my hands on the handle. Open. I turned the knob again, unwilling to give up.

  It popped right open. I grinned and hurried inside.

  Then stopped short. It was completely dark inside. I wanted to use my magic as a light source but that would’ve just given me away if anyone was watching. So I scurried forward until a soft white glow trickled through overhanging tree branches and lit up a brick pathway. Huge trees hung over my head and connected with the limbs on the other side, creating a tunnel that I remembered was spectacular in the sunlight. However, in the low shimmer of moonlight, it was eerie. I swallowed down the rush of fear that prickled my throat.

  Except I knew exactly where I was…and I didn’t think it was from today.

  Why do I feel like this? Why do I feel like I’ve been here? Even in the dark this place was utterly familiar to me, more than the back of my own hand. But it was more than that. I felt like I’d done this exact thing before. I saw it in my mind, breaking into this exact spot of the theme park and standing right here in the dark.

  I’m losing my mind. I must be.

  Why did I come here alone? I should have brought Savannah and Gigi. Or Cooper. Or Riah. No, stop. Focus. The last thing I needed right now was the distraction of Riah.

  Up ahead, the air had a faint orange glow and I knew if I went that way it would lead me to the big fairy fountain. Though I had no idea why or how I knew that. But I went that way anyway. I had to see if I was right. About twenty feet later, the covered walkway opened up into a sprawling courtyard in the middle of a quaint-looking town. Every few feet, there was a wooden bench under an antique-looking lamppost. This was the same courtyard I’d had lunch in earlier and where we watched those shows during the thunderstorm.

  Directly in front of me was that fountain made of fairy statues. It stood about thirty feet tall. Just like at lunch, I stood frozen there just staring at it. The pool beneath it had to be fifty feet in diameter, at least. It had little spotlights inside the pool of water at the base that pointed up toward the fountain and made it shimmer like solid gold. There was a splash, then a soft trickling began.

  I frowned as water poured out of the top. “Why did that just turn on?”

  A cold chill slid down my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood tall. There was something so unnervingly familiar about this. Right down to my own comment. It felt like they weren’t my words at all. I felt like I was telling a story. I shook myself. Maybe this was a bad idea. I’m losing my mind.

  My stomach tightened like I was on a rollercoaster about to hit a drop, I’d learned that feeling earlier but it wasn’t fun unless you were on the ride. I swallowed through the rush of adrenaline pumping through me. I turned in a slow circle, eyeing the area for anything suspicious, but nothing looked out of place. The feeling inside me, the sense of alarm and dread, intensified. It was like my body knew something I didn’t. It was the same feeling I felt all day but worse.

  There were too many emotions inside me to stay sane. They all conflicted with each other. I was scared yet comfortable. Uneasy yet familiar. But the most frustrating was feeling like I’d been here. Like I’d already lived this exact moment. Something isn’t right here. A chill ran down my spine and I shivered. Slowly, I took a few baby steps backward.

  A wave of ice-cold energy slammed into my back. I shivered as goosebumps covered my skin. But this wasn’t Salem, this Florida heat was still nearing triple-digits even late at night. Sweat still beaded along my skin, despite wearing shorts and a tank top. This coldness wasn’t weather. Something was behind me. I felt eyes on my back.

  I spun on my toes and gasped. My body locked in place.

  In front of me, standing silently and unmoving, were dozens of spirits. Ghosts. The not living. A strangled cry left my lips. These spirits were different than any I’d seen before, their bodies were just as transparent but that was where the similarities ended. Instead of blue, they glowed a bright yellowish color. They all had long straight hair hanging down to their elbows and identical strange metal armor covering their bodies. They had pointed ears and sharp cheekbones. Their eyes were see-through yet full of anger and malice.

  And they were all glaring at me.

  My pulse quickened and my fingers trembled. I swallowed and it echoed in
my ears. Not again. Why me?

  They stood in perfectly formed lines like an army, not a single one was out of step with the rest. I took a teeny tiny step back — in perfect unison, they stepped toward me. In one giant whoosh, they all gripped the hilts of the swords hanging from their hips and swung the blades out to the side. They twirled their swords around then held them up at angle across their chests.

  I gasped and leapt back — and they lunged for me.

  I froze.

  Silvery light flashed from my left and all of the fairy spirits’ gazes snapped in that direction. Their eyes widened. They lowered their swords, dropped to one knee, then vanished. I blinked then spun to my left — my breath left me in a rush.

  Riah stood ten feet away, just outside of the shadow of the trees. His golden eyes sparkled like stars. His long pale blond hair swayed in the salty warm breeze. Despite the heat, he still wore his black hoodie, dark jeans, and black combat boots. All of the tension in my body left in an instant. I hated how much he affected me. Yet the relief his presence gave me was too strong to ignore.

  I sighed and that chill left my bones. Riah.

  He arched one eyebrow. “Are you trying to get arrested?”

  I flinched at the harshness in his voice. Wait. “What are you doing here?’

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I asked you first.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Saraphina—”

  “Saying my name all hot like that won’t distract me.” Maybe a little bit.

  The muscle in his jaw flexed and his cheek quivered like he was trying not to smile, but I still saw the twinkle in his eyes as he strolled over to me. “I do believe I voiced the first question, Saraphina.”

  “I do believe that question was rhetorical, Zachariah.” As soon as I said his full name I remembered his story about his deceased brother and his name. I cursed. “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean—I know —your name a—and your brother and —”