by Alicia Rades
The tree was huge and took five people hugging the base to reach all the way around. It reached up so high that you couldn’t see the top when you were standing beneath it. The gnarly, twisted branches spanned so wide that the small clearing was completely shaded. The branches were heavy and hung low enough to climb onto them, though it was considered disrespectful among the coven to climb the tree. Huge leaves bigger than my hand fluttered gently in the breeze, and an assortment of acorns littered the ground. Several park benches were placed around the clearing. In the fall, the tree turned a rich, beautiful orange. It was the most beautiful tree in all of Octavia Falls.
“Wow.” Nadine finally looked to me, and her expression was incredible. It was like I’d just given her the best gift in the whole world. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s sit.”
Nadine seemed relieved as we took a spot on one of the park benches. She took her hat off and set it beside herself. The park was completely empty at this time of day, so we were alone.
“This is the Protection Tree,” I told her, gazing up to its twisted branches. “It holds the power that fuels the protection spell around the town, which keeps out anyone who’s not of Miriamic descent or preapproved into the coven.”
“That’s why it let me in,” she guessed. “Because I have Miriamic blood.”
I nodded. “So it sounds like Professor Richards left off with Mother Miriam’s death?”
“Yeah, that’s all I know so far.”
“After she died, Mother Miriam’s descendants spread across Europe,” I told her. “A lot of them were accused of witchcraft, which led to mass hysteria and marked the beginning of the Burning Times.”
“The witch trials?” Nadine asked.
“Right,” I confirmed. “It lasted hundreds of years, and a lot of innocent people were burned or hanged for witchcraft.”
Nadine dropped her gaze to her hands. She looked sad.
“The Miriamic people came to the States around 1600 to escape the trials,” I continued. “But the trials only continued here. To protect themselves from further persecution, her descendants banded together and formed Octavia Falls in the early 1700s.”
“Was that when the tree was planted and the protection spell made?” she guessed.
“The tree wasn’t really planted,” I clarified.
She tilted her head in question. “What do you mean?”
“The tree wasn’t grown from seed,” I told her.
Her eyes sparkled with intrigue.
“Ever wonder why we call our town Octavia Falls?” I asked her.
“I thought about it,” she admitted. “Where exactly are the falls?”
I shook my head. “It’s not falls, as in waterfalls. It’s falls, as in a verb. Years ago when the town was formed, five priestesses came to this very clearing to perform the protection spell. But it was a very complicated spell, one that required the magic of four priestesses to flow through the fifth—the Curse Breaker. Her name was Octavia Barrows. The spell required more magic than she could give, and so she gave it all. Octavia fell right here in this clearing. The earth claimed her body, and out of her grave grew the Protection Tree, which activated the spell. She died to protect the coven.”
“Wow,” Nadine breathed. She looked back to the tree, and complete wonder crossed her eyes.
I noticed her shift a little. “What’s wrong?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around all this. Some days I wake up and forget that magic exists.”
I smiled. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, isn’t it?”
Nadine looked up to me with those bright eyes, and I knew I was done for. I just wanted to reach out and touch her.
No. Yes.
Do it!
I didn’t know what possessed me to do it. It just happened. I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. As I pulled my hand back, I conjured a quarter, then held it up to her.
Nadine placed her hand over her mouth and snickered at me. She was obviously amused. “Oh my God. You’re a real magician.”
I rolled my eyes. “Warlock, but yeah.”
Nadine seemed to relax as she dropped her hand from her mouth. “Thanks, Lucas.”
I furrowed my brow. “For what?”
“For telling me about our history. It all makes more sense now. I just have one more question.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
A grin slowly spread across her face. “What should I wear to this party?”
It was ten o’clock, and I still hadn’t spotted Nadine. The party was down at the lake, and the beach was packed, so I could’ve just missed her. But believe me, I’d been keeping an eye out. Grant and I sat in camp chairs close to the bonfire, and I’d been keeping watch for everyone who came and went from the parking lot. Music boomed across the beach, and the moonlight glistened across the water.
“Dude, you have to chill,” Grant insisted, leaning back in his chair and taking a sip of beer. “They’ll make it eventually.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Says the guy who just asked me for the third time in ten minutes if I’d spotted Talia.”
We were both obsessed. Might as well admit it.
“I just hope they show up—” I started to say, but my words halted in their tracks when I saw her.
I’d told Nadine to wear a dress, since most of the other girls would, but I didn’t expect her to come looking like that. My dick was practically trying to tear its way out of my jeans.
Fucking virgin, I chastised myself.
Nadine walked down the hill from the parking lot in a tiny black number that left very little to the imagination. It hugged her curves and showed so much skin—boobs, legs, and everything. There were even slits in the sides covered by see-through black fabric that showed the smooth skin along her torso. She wore her brown hair down in waves and fancy black sandals.
Grant stood. “Wow, she looks amazing, doesn’t she?”
I was almost drooling. I swear I wasn’t trying to objectify Nadine, but my dick kind of had other plans. It would not calm down.
“Yeah,” I said breathlessly, rising to my feet beside him. “Nadine’s really hot.”
Grant elbowed me in the side. “Not her, lover boy. Talia.”
I’d been so enamored by Nadine that I didn’t even realize Talia was walking beside her. She was all dressed up and had on a dark pink dress, but she couldn’t compare to Nadine.
“Hey, guys!” Talia called. She waved as they approached, then stopped in front of us. “Uh, Grant. You have a little something… there.”
Talia touched the corner of her lip. Grant snapped his jaw shut and wiped the drool off his face.
I cleared my throat as Nadine met my eyes. "Glad you could make it."
"We're glad you invited us," she said, tugging at the bottom of her dress. She looked a little uncomfortable. I noticed Talia elbow her in the side. It was obvious Talia had made her wear the dress.
Out of respect, I forced myself not to look downward at her cleavage, which was fucking hard because her boobs looked amazing in that dress.
"Do you want something to drink?" I asked.
"Uh, no. I'm fine," Nadine said.
"Sure!" Talia answered at the same time.
Grant led Talia over to the coolers to get a drink, while I pulled up two chairs for the girls.
"Have a seat," I said. "The fire's nice."
Nadine took my invitation and sat. She crossed her legs, then uncrossed them, looking like she didn’t know what to do with them. I quickly stripped off my hoodie and handed it to her. “Your legs look cold.”
She blushed a little and took it. “Thanks.”
Nadine draped the hoodie over her knees. I could tell she was only using it for modesty. I didn’t want her feeling uncomfortable—ever.
Nadine relaxed into her chair and turned to me. “So, what are we celebrating?”
I took a sip of my drink and
shrugged. I hated beer, so I’d mixed some vodka with soda. It wasn’t very strong, though. “Do we have to celebrate something to have a party?”
Nadine smirked. I wanted to kiss the smirk off those lips.
Good Goddess, where had that come from? I wasn’t even drunk yet. And I could not kiss her.
“Usually,” she teased.
“I don’t know,” I said. “We’re celebrating the first week of school, I guess. Ask Cody White. His parents are mega rich, and he hosts one of these parties almost every weekend.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And no one gets caught? I mean, most everyone here is under age, aren’t they?” She glanced around to take in the crowd.
I shrugged. “Everyone just kind of looks the other way, I guess. We won’t get in trouble. Is that why you don’t want a drink?”
“Oh, no,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I just… don’t drink.”
I tilted my head a little to the side. “A witch who doesn’t drink? That’s a new one.”
Nadine perked up as a new song came on over the speakers. Her eyes went a little wide at the upbeat tune. “Hey, I actually know this one.”
I listened for a few seconds and realized what it was. I groaned. “Seriously? They play this at every party. It’s getting kind of old.”
Nadine poked me in the shoulder. “Love Potion Number Nine is a classic.”
“You can’t even dance to it,” I argued. “And it’s basically an insult to actual love potions.”
“Oh, come on,” Nadine said. “It’s fun. And you can dance to it.”
I raised a challenging eyebrow and leaned closer to whisper. “Then prove it.”
Nadine pressed her lips together, contemplating my challenge. Finally, she grabbed my hoodie from her lap and handed it to me as she stood. And holy fuck, I was glad she did. I needed something to hide the boner that was quickly forming. When Nadine danced, it was like magic of its own. She held her arms in the air and got lost in the music as she swayed her hips from side to side. Her hands traveled down her body and landed on the side of her hips on the beat. She slowed her hips to make a circle as the song rang out its signature line.
Nadine winked at me as the song transitioned into the next verse. She moved in a slow circle. When her back was to me, she threw her arms out on the beat, then shoved them into her hair in the sexiest display I’d ever seen while she shimmied her ass in my direction.
Was she trying to turn me on? Because it was working.
Nadine glanced back to assess my reaction, and she totally lost it. She went into a laughing fit.
“Woohoo!” Talia called as she and Grant returned. “Shake that thang, girl!”
Nadine’s face turned beet red, but she shook her butt one last time for show. She clammed up when she noticed she’d started drawing some eyes. She quickly returned to her seat.
“Hey, don’t stop for us,” Grant teased. “Some of us were enjoying the show.”
“Well, it wasn’t meant for you,” Nadine shot back playfully.
Grant held up a hand in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t say I was the one enjoying it.”
I kicked him hard, though the girls didn’t notice. I mean, he didn’t have to blurt out my crush on Nadine and scare her away.
Though, maybe that was best.
“Forget it,” Nadine said. “The song’s almost over anyway—”
“What are you doing here?” a female voice sneered from behind us, cutting Nadine off.
The four of us turned to see Chloe standing a few feet away, though she wasn’t talking to us. Camille and Gwen stood on either side of her, each of them wearing a matching look of disgust. Chloe was dressed in her usual attire—a dark dress and heels—and she was staring down a girl I didn’t know. The girl had light brown skin with red undertones, stick-straight black hair, and dark brown eyes. She seemed to cower under the weight of Chloe’s stare.
“I, um, I…” the girl stuttered.
“I thought I told you not to come, you slut,” Chloe growled.
Nadine’s jaw dropped from beside me. Even I was a little shocked. Chloe was mean, but she usually kept her bitchiness in check around other people.
“You can leave me alone now,” the girl said timidly, not meeting Chloe in the eye. “Ryan and I broke up.”
“I don’t care, Mandy,” Chloe sneered. “It doesn’t change that you slept with him.”
Mandy’s lips tightened. It was obvious she hated Chloe but was having a hard time standing up to her. “Yeah, well, that was his choice, not yours.”
Chloe’s hands curled into fists. She looked like she was about to start a girl fight. “Leave now.”
Mandy’s whole body shook, but she stood her ground. She lifted her head and looked Chloe straight in the eye. “Or what?”
Chloe didn’t give second warnings. She raised her hands and shoved Mandy so hard that she stumbled backward and landed on the ground. Chloe reached down and grabbed Mandy by the ankle and started dragging her through the sand. “Then I’ll make you!”
“Ow! Let go of me!” Mandy cried.
I leapt to my feet, but Nadine was faster than me. She rounded her chair so fast that it fell over, and sprinted over to Chloe, where she shoved her away from Mandy. I was only halfway there before Chloe was tumbling to the ground, kicking up sand.
“Leave her alone!” Nadine shouted.
At the same time, someone else had rushed over. She must’ve been one of Mandy’s friends, because she helped Mandy to her feet like they knew each other.
Camille and Gwen turned their wicked gazes on Nadine. They looked like they were about to jump her. I threw myself in front of her, and they quickly backed down.
Chloe immediately recovered and pushed herself to her elbows. Shock crossed her face when she realized who’d tackled her. She pointed a manicured finger at Nadine as she got to her feet, like she willed a curse upon her or something. “You need to take a fucking seat, because this isn’t about you.”
Tons of people had stopped to look. Even though the music continued to play over the beach, and the bonfire crackled, all chatter had died down.
Nadine shoved her way past me to get up in Chloe’s face. I wasn’t going to lie, it kind of turned me on.
“Look at my face.” Nadine’s voice remained calm and steady as she pointed to her expression. “Does it look like I care? No. Because rule number one of the coven, we protect each other. So when I see someone being pushed around, I’m going to take a stand. That’s what witches do. So maybe you need to take a damn seat and think about that for a minute.”
Chloe’s nostrils flared, and her lips tightened. It looked like the only reason she hadn’t already punched Nadine was because so many people were watching. She held her head up high and said, “Bitch, this isn’t even your coven. You’re an outsider, and everyone knows it.”
Nadine narrowed her eyes. “Oh, really? We’ll see who the coven accepts when I’m the one standing up for them instead of beating them down.”
“Okay,” I said quickly, reaching for Nadine’s arm. “That’s enough.”
I pulled Nadine away and stepped in front of her, creating a barrier between her and Chloe. “Chloe, this beach is big enough for everyone. Chill.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Nobody asked you.”
“Yeah, well, they didn’t have to,” I snapped.
By now, Grant was by my side, and Talia was right behind him.
Camille stepped forward and grabbed Chloe’s elbow. “Let’s go. This party’s lame anyway.”
Chloe didn’t move for several seconds. She eyed me up and down, then shot daggers at Nadine. “You’re not going to make it far in this coven. Sooner or later, everyone will see you for what you truly are.”
“Fine with me,” Nadine shot back.
Chloe turned on her heel and walked away. Camille and Gwen followed closely behind.
As soon as Chloe was gone, Nadine whirled around and went to Mandy’s side. Mandy was standing bes
ide her friend, looking relieved.
“Are you okay?” Nadine asked.
Mandy pushed her dark bangs out of her eyes. “I am now. Thank you.”
Nadine offered a friendly smile. “It was no problem.”
Mandy turned to the girl beside her. “Amy, this is Nadine. We met in The Hearse.”
“Hi,” Amy said with a wave.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Nadine replied. “Why don’t you come sit by us?”
The girls glanced at each other and shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” Amy answered.
We found two more chairs for the girls and formed a circle not far from the fire.
“So, what’s the deal?” Nadine asked boldly. “With Chloe, I mean?”
Talia leaned in a little closer to hear the gossip.
Mandy sighed. “It’s dumb, really. I started dating her ex over the summer, and she’s had it out for me ever since. We broke up because…” Mandy trailed off and looked to Amy.
Amy chuckled. “Because Chloe tried to turn her into a toad.”
Grant’s eyebrows shot up. “Did she really? How’d that go, considering she doesn’t even have magic yet?”
Amy rolled her eyes. “She wanted me to do it, since I’m a Second Year. But I went to warn Mandy before Chloe could slip her the potion. It’s how we met.”
Mandy nudged her. “Yeah, and now you’re not going anywhere. You’re my soul sister.”
“True,” Amy replied with a smile.
“Anyway,” Mandy said, “when I told Ryan, he laughed and said it would’ve been funny. So I broke up with him on the spot.”
“That a girl!” Talia cheered, lifting her drink in celebration.
The other three girls joined in.
After about an hour, the girls were all getting a little tipsy, except for Nadine. But when Talia insisted they dance, Nadine joined them. The girls crowded around each other as they swayed their hips to the music. I just sat back and watched, because I wasn’t much of a dancer. Plus, Nadine looked really nice.
“You gonna get in there?” Grant asked without taking his eyes off Talia.
“Nah,” I said, sinking a little further into my seat. “You know how I feel about dancing.”