by Alicia Rades
I tried to ignore that. “What happened? Did I pass out?”
That had to be it. I hadn’t passed out in years, but with my lupus in flare-up, it wouldn’t surprise me.
Grammy set her stirring spoon aside on the counter. She looked at me with a grave expression. “No, honey. You fell and hit your head.”
“I—I think I remember,” I said cautiously. But no way was I remembering everything right. I must’ve imagined that ghost part when I’d hit my head. “What is it you need to tell me?”
Grammy took a deep breath, but she didn’t speak right away.
“It’s time, Helena,” Lucas pressed.
Grammy shifted her weight between her feet. “I wanted you to rest first, since this might take a long time, but…” She sighed. “You’ll find out one way or another, and I’d rather you heard it from me.”
“What, Grammy?” I demanded, sitting up a little straighter. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Grammy gave me that look—the one Mom always had when she needed to talk over something serious. I half expected her to give me the sex talk right then and there.
Sorry, Grammy. Mom beat you to it.
The seconds ticked by at a snail’s pace as I waited for Grammy’s big reveal. She was obviously a woman of many secrets, but what could be so serious that she was looking at me like that?
“There’s no easy way to say this, Nadine,” Grammy started slowly. “You’re a witch.”
I was half tempted to make a Harry Potter joke and ask in my best British accent, I’m a WATT!?
But Grammy was looking at me like she was dead serious. So instead, I lightly scoffed and said, “Yeah, okay.”
In the back of my mind, I was freaking out. I mean, I grew up reading about sparkling vampires and binge-watching supernatural shows on Netflix. The paranormal wasn’t a completely foreign concept to me. But it wasn’t real.
“Nadine,” Grammy scolded. “I’m being serious. This town, Octavia Falls, has a secret. We’re all members of the Miriamic Coven, and so are you.”
She spoke with such honesty that it was starting to scare me. Did she seriously think she had magical powers? I looked to Lucas to see what he thought of this, but he wore the same serious look as Grammy did.
Holy shit. They weren’t playing games.
“So, you’re all Wiccans?” I asked, trying to make sense of what she was saying.
Grammy shook her head. “No. Wicca is a completely different religion from ours.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“Octavia Falls is home to a coven of four different classes of witches and warlocks,” Grammy explained.
"Five, technically," Lucas muttered.
"Yes," Grammy agreed, "but only four left. We can do magic, and so will you.”
Now it was time for me to give my look. I scrunched up my brow and gazed at her sideways. Was my grandmother suffering from some sort of dementia episode? I didn’t even know she had dementia.
Lucas caught my expression and said, “Your grandma’s telling the truth.”
“Oh, really?” I raised a challenging eyebrow. “Then prove it.”
Lucas smirked proudly, accepting the challenge. “Okay.”
He held his hand out, and a glowing white orb formed in it from out of nowhere. I recoiled, nearly falling out of my stool.
Holy shit! How did he do that?
I couldn’t do anything but stare. Lucas tossed the orb into the air, and it burst into a hundred smaller orbs. They floated above our heads like lightning bugs, all orbiting in a uniform circle.
“What the…?” I was so entranced that I couldn’t finish my sentence.
He watched the lights beside me. “It’s a simple spell. Any witch or warlock can create orbs.”
One of the lights floated in front of me. I reached out to touch it, but pulled back at the last second.
“Go ahead,” Grammy encouraged. “It’s not going to hurt you.”
After a moment of hesitation, I reached out for the orb. It was warm, but it didn’t hurt as my fingers went right through it.
“What is it?” I asked in wonder, still trying to convince myself what I was seeing was real and not just a trick of the light.
“They’re magical lights,” Grammy explained.
Lucas twisted his fingers, and the rotation of the orbs shifted to his command. They swirled around the room, weaving in and out of one another in a beautiful lights display. They blinked on and off, then joined and split like a kaleidoscope. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
Lucas waved his hands again, and the orbs floated toward me, surrounding my body but not touching me. I gazed at them, completely starstruck by what he could do. He closed his palm, and the orbs disappeared from where they hovered mid-air. He wore the slightest of smiles, like he enjoyed watching me view magic for the first time.
It took me a moment to find my voice. “Show me something else.”
Grammy cleared her throat and held out her hand. In the blink of an eye, a box of chocolates appeared in her palm.
I nearly shit myself. “Grammy! What the hell? You can make chocolate appear out of nowhere?”
She chuckled. “Kind of. It’s another ability all members of the coven have—conjuration. You’ll learn all about it in school.”
“School?” I balked, nearly choking on my words. I was still trying to wrap my head around the whole my grandmother is a witch thing! “There’s a school?”
Lucas nodded. “Miriam College of Witchcraft. I’ll be a sophomore this year.”
“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “This is insane.”
Except I just saw my grandma materialize a box of chocolates from out of nowhere. And now she was eating them.
“Want one?” she asked, holding the box out toward me.
I eyed it skeptically. “Not really. What does magic chocolate do to you?”
Grammy laughed. “It’s not magic chocolate, Nadine. It’s normal chocolate. All I did was conjure it.”
“Oh,” I said flatly, because I didn’t know what else to say.
The crazy thing was, I didn’t just believe them. I wanted to. I mean, this was magic. If there was even the slightest chance they were telling the truth—which I still wasn’t sure of, even though they’d just shown me things beyond explanation—I wanted to be a part of it.
“So, um... what else can you do?” I asked.
Grammy seemed pleased to see I was warming up to the idea. “We can all perform simple incantations and defensive magic, as well as use Ouija boards, read tarot cards, summon demons—”
“Summon demons!?” I cried. That sounded scary—and dangerous.
“Yes, but I highly advise against it,” Grammy said firmly.
“What about séances?” I tapped my fingers against the counter, and my heart pitter-pattered as I eagerly awaited an answer.
Grammy’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I know what you’re thinking, Nadine, and the answer is no.”
“But Lucas and I did one earlier!” I cried.
“And you got hurt,” Grammy reminded me.
I raised a challenging eyebrow. “They’re not going to hurt me.”
She knew who I was talking about, but I was purposely vague since Lucas was sitting right there.
Grammy sighed and gazed at me with a soft expression. “We’ll talk about this later, Nadine. Anyway, back to our discussion. Each Cast has a unique set of abilities.”
She knew she could distract me by piquing my curiosity.
“What kind?” I asked.
Grammy cleared her throat, then picked up one of the bottles of herbs. She grabbed a pinch of dried leaves, then tossed them into the cauldron. The thick, milky solution bubbled more, then a puff of smoke rose into the air and swirled into the shape of a cauldron. It hovered in the air like a hologram.
“I’m an Alchemist.” Grammy pointed to the tattoo on her wrist. “That’s what my cauldron tattoo means. Alchemists infuse magic
into potions to create things like magical medicine or love potions.”
Ooh, love potions!
“Alchemists also grow their own magical herbs,” Grammy explained.
My jaw dropped. “That’s why you garden.”
Grammy nodded proudly.
“So… Mom has that same tattoo,” I pointed out. “Does that mean she was…?”
“An Alchemist, like me,” Grammy confirmed.
I was so shocked I could hardly move. My mom… a witch?
“What other Casts are there?” I asked, eager to know more about all this.
Grammy tossed the herbs in again, and the smoke shifted into the shape of a skull.
Lucas leaned in closer, his elbows on the counter. He looked from the skull to me, then gave me this look I couldn’t read. All I knew was it made my insides dance. “Mortana are known as the Death Cast. Their abilities vary, but they all have to do with death.”
“Like necromancers?” I asked brightly. That’d be badass.
Grammy nodded. “Yes, some Mortana can reanimate the dead. Others might see how a person is going to die, or can read the auras of a location to tell if death has occurred there.”
“And the other Casts?”
This time when Grammy tossed the herbs in the mixture, an eye took shape in the smoke.
“Seers are the Psychic Cast,” Grammy explained. “Like Mortana, their abilities vary. Seers can get visions of the past, present, or future, talk to spirits, read auras, or get feelings through touch. It’s the broadest Cast of them all.”
She added more herbs, and the smoke turned into the shape of a tree. Grammy looked to Lucas, inviting him to finish the story.
“The last Cast is Mentalists,” Lucas told me. “They can do anything relating to the mind.”
“Like, read minds?” I asked. That’d be a cool ability to have, but I didn’t want anyone else reading my mind. There were some dark and dirty thoughts there that I never wanted to escape.
“Yes, but it’s rare,” Lucas said. “Most Mentalists have telekinesis.”
My jaw dropped. “Shut up! They can move things with their minds?”
Grammy and Lucas both nodded. I glanced to Lucas’s wrist, trying to see which mark he had, but he wore that gray hoodie and his wrists were covered. I didn’t see a mark anywhere else on him.
I shook my head. This was all too insane and fantastical. But I had just seen Lucas create light from nothing and Grammy conjure chocolate from out of nowhere.
My next question came out slowly as I calculated each word. “So, I’m going to have some of these powers?”
“Yes,” Grammy said, tossing more herbs into the cauldron. The smoke transformed into tiny human figures. One of them lay down with five candles placed around them in a circle, while the other stood outside of the circle. The figures were so detailed that they were nothing less than a work of art. I was so entranced that I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene playing out before me.
“On the eve of your nineteenth birthday, you will undergo an Evoking Ceremony. You will contact our goddess, Mother Miriam, and she will assign you to the Cast best fit for you.” Grammy waved her hands, and the figure in the candle circle began to levitate. “She will awaken your powers, and you will receive your tattoo indicating your Cast.”
“Receive your tattoo?” I asked. “How?”
She made it sound like you didn’t just walk into a tattoo parlor for it.
“It appears once your ceremony is complete,” Lucas explained.
Interesting… but I had so many other questions.
“So your goddess… she gives you magic?” I asked. “Can anyone get magic from her?”
“Yes, but it becomes a bit complicated,” Grammy answered. “You must marry into the coven, and then you become eligible to join on the first anniversary of your marriage. You would be welcomed as a full member of the coven, but without Miriam’s blood in your veins, your powers would be limited. Even so, you’d be eligible to live with Mother Miriam and our ancestors in Alora.”
“Alora?”
“Our afterlife,” Lucas clarified. “Think of it like our version of heaven.”
I paused for a moment, absorbing everything they were saying. “So, if you don’t marry into the coven, how do you join?”
Grammy brightened, like it was a good question. “You’re born into it. All witches and warlocks born into our coven are descended from Mother Miriam. We are born with magic in our blood, which has the potential to become any type of magic—like a stem cell. But it’s suppressed until your Evoking Ceremony. After that, it’s up to you to exercise it. Like a muscle, it can be strengthened and improved upon.”
“Are you the only coven with magic?” I was eager to know what else was out there—if anything. Witches had been mentioned all throughout history, even as far back as biblical times. What if there were others?
“There are many different magical societies around the world, each with their own gods and their own types of magic,” Grammy told me. “We all remain secret, as exposing ourselves could lead to very dangerous consequences.”
Lucas scoffed. “Yeah. Just look at the witch trials.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Your coven was part of the Salem Witch Trials?”
“Those weren’t the only ones,” Lucas pointed out. “Our coven dates back before the Burning Times in Europe. And Salem’s just one of the trials here in the states. The first execution for witchcraft in America took place right here in Connecticut. Fifty years later, and eleven people in our state alone were killed for witchcraft.”
“All from your coven?” I balked.
“No,” Grammy said firmly. “That’s one of the reasons why we came together and formed Octavia Falls, and surrounded it with a protection spell. Just our mere existence caused fear and chaos. Innocent people were being hurt in our name. So… we went into hiding.”
I went breathless for a moment. It was hard to wrap my head around everything. “I’m sorry you all feel like you have to hide.”
Grammy waved her hand, like it wasn’t a big deal. “Don’t worry about it. We have two rules within the coven. One, do whatever pleases the Goddess. And two, protect the coven. If you follow those two rules in this life, you will be rewarded in the next. It’s no inconvenience at all to protect our own people.”
She sounded so noble when she said that.
Silence settled for a few seconds. I was still taking it all in, and they were waiting for my next question. I couldn’t believe I was born a witch and would get magical powers in just a few months. It was like a fantasy I’d dreamed of my whole life, minus the sexy vampires. That said, I was sure this town had plenty of sexy warlocks—namely, the one sitting beside me.
“I just have two more questions,” I said.
Grammy leaned in, looking eager to answer them.
“Why did Mom leave the coven?”
Grammy’s spine straightened, and I didn’t miss the fallen look on her face. She stilled for only a moment before quickly relaxing. “She met your father, and the rest is history.”
There was a thickness in the air that left me feeling a little uncomfortable.
“What do you mean?” I asked, sensing there was something she wasn’t telling me. “Couldn’t Dad have stayed here with her?”
“They didn’t want to. That’s all,” she assured me. “Your mother fell in love and followed him.”
I guess it made sense. My parents weighed every decision carefully. They must’ve thought our family would be happier outside the coven.
“What’s your other question?” she asked.
“This school… Miriam College of Witchcraft.” I could hardly believe I was entertaining the idea that it was a real place. “That’s the college you enrolled me in?”
A smile formed across Grammy’s face. “Yes. The college was formed to ensure all Miriamic people have control over their magic and know how to use it, so we can avoid magical accidents. All students begin studying the yea
r their magic will awaken, to prepare them beforehand and then teach them after.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to be studying magic.” Even as I said the words, it felt like some make-believe role-playing game, not reality. But it was. I couldn’t tell myself otherwise. It was like somewhere deep inside of me, I always knew I was a witch. It just made sense.
“It’s nothing to be afraid of,” Grammy assured me. “Besides, Lucas will be there to show you around. Won’t you, Lucas?”
He looked shocked for a moment, but he quickly relaxed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll show her around.”
“Well…” Grammy spoke in a brighter tone as she turned the burner off. The cauldron stopped bubbling, and the smoky figures disappeared. “It’s past lunch time. Are you hungry, Nadine?”
“Famished,” I said quickly.
Lucas stood. “I think I’m going to go.”
“Nonsense,” Grammy insisted. “Sit down and eat something, Lucas.”
He took a step away from the counter. “No, really. I’m not hungry. I should be getting home anyway.”
Grammy frowned, but she didn’t protest further.
“I’ll see you two around.” Lucas waved as he headed down the hall.
I hesitated a moment. There were still things I wanted to ask him. He reached the front door. If I was going to catch him, it was now or never. I scrambled out of my seat and down the hall.
“Lucas!” I called when I got outside.
He’d already started down the street. He turned to me with an expectant look on his face. “Yeah, Nad?”
No one had ever called me Nad before, but for whatever reason, it sounded good coming out of his mouth.
I stopped on the sidewalk in front of him. “How do you know my grandma? You two seem to like you’re close.”
They were on a first-name basis after all. The last thing I needed was for him to be my second-cousin or something.
Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced toward the house. “I guess you could call her my therapist.”
Therapist? Was this guy hiding a deep, dark past or something? Not that I had any right to ask.
“Therapist? Is that what my grandma does?” I asked.
“She’s more of a… magical pharmacist,” he admitted. “She makes some of the best magical medicines in town.”