by Alicia Rades
I waited another beat, and then I heard the sound of a vehicle approaching at high speed. The headlights flickered past trees in the forest, and the vehicle twisted and turned with the road. I expected the driver to slow, but they didn’t. They just kept picking up speed. I knew that if they didn’t hit the brakes soon, they wouldn’t make it past the turn I stood at.
I have to stop this, I thought.
That was the answer to the test, right? Professor Daymond wanted to see if I’d save them.
Except there wasn’t anything I could do. There wasn’t enough time. I began running up the road. My heart slammed against my rib cage. I began to wave my hands in the air.
“Slow down!” I cried, even though the driver couldn’t hear me. “There’s a turn up ahead. You won’t make it!”
The car sped by me so fast that it was there and gone in the blink of an eye.
“No!” I cried hopelessly, running out into the middle of the road as I watched the car speed away.
Horror struck when I spotted the license plate. It was so familiar, and it left this gaping hole in my heart. Professor Daymond had dug into memories he shouldn’t have!
“Mom! Dad!” I screamed.
I could hardly hear the sound of my own voice over the screech of the tires. Red brake lights lit up the night—a color that I sensed would haunt me for many nights to come.
It was already too late. The car lost control and slammed into the guard rail. My stomach ached so badly, it was like the car had hit me.
The guard rail crumpled like a piece of paper, and the car launched over top of it.
“STOP!” I screeched. I threw my hands over my ears, but the sound of my parents’ screams filled the vision. I heard the car hit the water, and then… silence.
My ears rang, and my vision blurred. I didn’t want to witness the aftermath, but my feet moved beneath me involuntarily. I stumbled toward the edge of the cliff. Somehow, I made it to the guard rail, and my hands splayed across the cool metal to steady myself. I leaned over to look, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Bile rose to my throat as I squeezed my eyes tightly shut.
“Stop it!” I cried. “I want out. Get me out of here!”
“Nadine? Nadine!” Verla’s voice sounded just feet away from me.
I felt the weight of Isa in my lap again, and I opened my eyes to see I was back in Verla’s office. Sobs bubbled out of my throat, and my head pounded.
Verla shot Professor Daymond a hard look, but he wore an expression of indifference.
“That was horrible,” I spat.
“What did you do, Professor Daymond?” Verla demanded.
“My job,” he told her simply, before turning to me. “Believe me, Miss Evers. If you can’t handle a simple vision such as this one, you won’t pass your Evoking Ceremony.”
My hands trembled. “I doubt Mother Miriam would be so heartless. That’s not something anyone should ever witness.”
Professor Daymond smirked. “This just goes to show you’re not ready, Miss Evers.”
I shot out of my chair so fast that Isa fell to the ground. “Who are you to judge that?” I snapped. “You’re cruel!”
“Nadine, calm down,” Headmistress Verla said softly. “Let’s discuss what happened.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing except a sob came out. I covered my mouth with my hand. I thought closing my eyes would help get rid of the image I’d just seen, but it only made it worse. The vision of the car falling off the road assaulted me. Then came flashes of other memories—real memories. I saw the caskets, then the gravestones, then the empty house.
Even if I wanted to talk about it, I couldn’t. My chest wound so tightly that I couldn’t get a word out.
“Nadine?” Headmistress Verla pressed.
All I could do was shake my head. This was so embarrassing. I just wanted to hide in a hole. It felt like I was being buried in one already.
“I’m sorry,” I managed to get out. “I-I can’t.”
I whirled around and ran for the door. Isa followed at my feet as I flung the door open and stormed out of the room.
“Nadine!” Headmistress Verla called, but I ignored her.
Lucas was leaning against the wall outside her office. I’d almost forgotten he was waiting for me.
He straightened when he saw me and reached out for my arms. “Nad, what’s wrong?”
I heard the sound of Headmistress Verla’s heels against the carpet, and I knew she was on her way across the room to follow me.
I grabbed Lucas’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Lucas didn’t inquire any further. He followed me as we rushed away from Verla’s office. It wasn’t until we turned two other halls and I was certain we’d lost her that I finally slowed. Isa purred and rubbed herself against my leg.
Lucas turned to me and took my face in his hands. “Nad, what happened?”
I wiped my nose and sniffled. I tried to keep my voice steady, but it cracked. “Professor Daymond showed me a vision. It was supposed to be like one of Mother Miriam’s tests, but it was awful.”
Lucas frowned. “I’m so sorry, Nad.”
I took a breath, but I could hardly breathe. “Lucas, he made me watch my parents die.”
His eyes went wide, then he wrapped me into a tight hug. His spicy scent surrounded me, and his chest felt warm against my cheek. After a few moments, I felt like I could breathe again.
“I wish I could make it better, Nad,” Lucas whispered.
“You are making it better,” I replied. “Just being here with me is enough.”
My heart rate slowed, and I finally drew away to look up at him. “I’m sorry I freaked out. I didn’t mean to.”
“Don’t apologize,” Lucas said. “You’re allowed to feel upset over this.”
I sniffled and wiped my nose again. “Yeah, but if I can’t handle this, how am I going to handle the ceremony?”
Lucas squeezed my hands. “One step at a time, Nadine.”
The sound of heavy sobs came from down the hall. Lucas and I looked up to see Amy and Mandy walking our way. Mandy was hunched over and sobbing uncontrollably, while Amy supported her.
“How did this happen?” Mandy wailed.
“I don’t know.” Amy’s voice cracked. “We’re going to get answers. We just need—”
Amy lifted her gaze, and she stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Lucas and me. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.
I glanced around the hall briefly, wondering if she really had seen a ghost. The hall was empty.
“Hey, guys,” I said. “What’s wrong—?”
I barely got the question out before Mandy squealed and raced over to me.
“Nadine!” She flung her arms around my neck and drew me close.
Amy came up beside her and pulled me into a group hug. “Goddess, Nadine! You’re okay!”
I drew away from them. Lucas looked just as confused as I was.
“I’m fine,” I assured them. “What’s going on?”
Amy and Mandy exchanged a grave look.
My face fell. “What did Chloe do this time?”
Mandy wiped her tears. “We’re not sure if it was her, but considering you’re standing right here…”
Lucas crossed his arms impatiently. “Will you guys tell us what’s going on?”
Amy hesitated. “It’s probably better if we show you. Just… don’t freak out.”
Yeah, because that was totally the way to stop me from freaking out.
“We can’t make any promises,” I told them.
Amy and Mandy led us toward the foyer. When we got there, we saw that the front doors were open. Cold air rushed into the room, and the flames in the fireplace flickered. A huge crowd had gathered outside, and we couldn’t see anything beyond them.
I craned my neck. “What’s going on?”
Mandy took my arm. “Come on. They’ll make way for us.”
Mandy led me out the front doors an
d through the crowd. People murmured quietly, but they went dead silent when their eyes turned toward me. The sound of a woman’s wail traveled across the yard. Above us, the clouds were dark, and the air was so cold it made me shiver.
“Mandy, what’s going—?”
I stopped dead in my tracks. The crowd parted enough that I finally caught a glimpse of what was happening. Two figures knelt at the base of a large oak tree. They were both sobbing. That’s when I realized the wailing was coming from Talia.
For a split second, I didn’t realize why she was crying, or why Grant was next to her, trying to comfort her. Then my gaze lifted, and I saw what everyone was staring at.
I saw the boots first—black boots, just like mine. Then came the ripped skinny jeans, then the leather jacket, and then finally… my own face.
I didn’t know how it was happening, but my body hung from a noose in the tree. I was standing right here, and yet my lifeless body was spinning in the tree. Isa hissed and ducked behind me.
I got so suddenly nauseous that I could hardly stand. I braced myself against Lucas, but he seemed equally weak on his feet. He turned his gaze away from the hanging body and kept his eyes on me. I was almost certain I’d just witnessed my own death, but it didn’t make any sense.
“It isn’t real, Nad,” he said, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
“Is this another test?” I asked. “Did I ever leave the vision?”
“This is real,” he assured me, gesturing between the two of us. “We’re standing here for sure. But whatever that is…” He pointed to the hanging corpse, but wouldn’t look at it. “That’s not you.”
“Then how is this happening?” I asked, my heart racing. I wasn’t sure which was worse—watching my parents die, or seeing myself hanging from a noose. Both were equally horrifying.
“I don’t know,” Lucas whispered.
I swallowed hard and looked back to Talia and Grant. Their backs were to us, so they hadn’t spotted us. It broke my heart to hear Talia cry like that.
“Give me a minute.” I stepped away from Lucas and walked over to Talia. I didn’t know how to break the news to her that I was still alive. I feared I’d only scare her, but she had to know this wasn’t real.
I stopped behind her and cleared my throat. Grant turned first, but he more or less looked through me. He turned back to Talia to comfort her, before doing a quick double take.
“Nadine!?” he cried.
Talia turned, and her sobs instantly ceased. She went totally still, like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. After a moment to let it sink in, her gaze darted between me—the real Nadine—and the other me—the fake, dead Nadine.
Her eyes grew wide, and she scrambled to her feet. “Nadine! What’s going on?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I told her.
She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me so tight it practically choked me.
Grant got to his feet beside her and wiped the tears from his face. “We thought—”
“I know,” I said, cutting him off. I didn’t want to hear him finish that sentence. “But I’m here.”
Talia’s eyes darkened, and she looked out toward the crowd, who still hadn’t taken their eyes off us. There must’ve been a hundred people gathered around, like my life was some sort of freak show.
“Who did this?” Talia demanded. I’d never heard her talk in such a loud, stern voice.
Nobody responded. They all looked as shell-shocked as we did. Isa growled at the onlookers.
Mandy’s nostrils flared. “You fuckers better start talking!”
She stomped up to the nearest guy, whose face was hidden in his jacket. She grabbed the back of his hood and yanked it down, then got up in his face. “Are you enjoying this, Gregory?”
He was a lanky guy with glasses and messy hair. His hands instantly shot up in surrender, and he cowered away from her. “I don’t know anything, I swear.”
Lucas crossed his arms and loomed over Gregory. “What do you know about this kind of magic?”
“Nothing!” he repeated. “I said I don’t know anything.”
A muscle popped in Lucas’s jaw. “Come on, Gregory. You know everything.”
Gregory’s eyes twinkled for a second, like he appreciated the compliment, but it was gone a moment later. He shot a dark look at Mandy, who still had a tight hold on his hood. “Let me go and I’ll talk.”
Mandy narrowed her eyes at him, then finally dropped him. As Gregory straightened out his jacket, Mandy looked out to the rest of the crowd.
“Well?” she growled. “What are you all still doing here? Show’s over!”
The crowd started to disperse. We turned back toward Gregory, awaiting his explanation.
“M-my guess is it’s an illusion,” Gregory stammered. “It’s the only explanation.”
“Witches can’t cast illusions,” Lucas stated bluntly.
“No, but the Arcanea can,” Gregory reminded him. “The school’s got enchanted objects from all over the world. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a fae object from Malovia that could do this sort of thing.”
“But why would anyone want to make it look like Nadine…?” Grant started to ask, but he trailed off. The six of us looked at each other, and it was as if we all already knew the answer.
Talia’s hands curled into fists, and her nostrils flared. “Chloe,” she snarled, like the name was poison.
“I thought you guys were keeping an eye on her,” I said.
“We were,” Talia replied. “Then this happened, and…”
Her eyes locked on something toward the front doors, and her features darkened. I turned to see the Lucky Three standing in the open doorway. Chloe’s hands were on her hips, and she stared toward the oak tree with unadulterated pride on her face. I bet she fucking loved watching my friends and I squirm like this.
Chloe’s proud stance lasted only a moment, just long enough for us to spot her and pin her as the evil mastermind behind the illusion. Once her eyes connected with mine, she turned back into the school, her two side bitches following behind her.
Amy gasped from behind me, and I turned to see the illusion was gone. A stuffed dummy hung from the tree, but my face was no longer on it. It wore clothes like mine, but that was it. There was no hair or face—just stuffed canvas.
“She’s not going to get away with this!” Talia yelled. She started across the lawn faster than any of the rest of us could react.
We hurried behind her, but Talia sprinted so quickly she was inside the school before I made it halfway back. When the rest of us reached the doors, Talia was running up the grand staircase behind Chloe. She flung herself forward and grabbed Chloe around the neck, then yanked her back.
My hands flew over my mouth as the two went tumbling down the stairs. Gasps traveled around the crowd that continued to linger. The two girls landed at the bottom of the stairs, but Talia barely seemed fazed. She scrambled to her knees and pulled her arm back, like she was about to pummel Chloe’s face.
But her fist never made it. She just froze.
Her face contorted in anger, like freezing up wasn’t of her own free will.
“You think you can threaten my best friend like that!?” Talia shrieked. “You think you can go around doing whatever you—who the fuck is doing this to me!?”
Several things happened at once. Grant, Lucas, and I rushed over to Talia the same time Ryan stepped forward with a proud smirk on his face. He held his hands up toward Talia, and I knew he was the one controlling her. Poor Talia was so petite that she wasn’t strong enough to push past his telekinetic hold. Before I reached her, Ryan twitched his wrist, and Talia’s fist shifted course, slamming straight into her nose.
At that, the room broke into utter chaos. Chloe scrambled backward, laughing like a maniac. I grabbed Talia and dragged her behind the stairs, and Isa followed. Grant threw his arms out around us and acted like a human shield. I couldn’t really see what else w
as going on, though I saw purple sparks erupt from Lucas’s hands.
Screams filled the foyer, and footsteps pounded above us on the stairs as students scattered. I heard the sound of glass breaking and people screaming. The sound of cats screeching and hissing came from all angles. Isa crouched in front of me, like she was standing guard. Her tail stood on end, and a low growl came from her throat.
A figure ran from the fight and ducked beneath the stairs with us. I didn’t realize who it was at first until he spoke.
“Talia, babe. You okay?” Cody pushed past Grant and cradled Talia in his arms.
She curled into him. “I’m fine. But I need to get back out there and kick Chloe’s pretty little—”
“No,” Cody said sternly. “I’m not letting you go back out there.”
Grant shot Cody a look of disdain. My heart hammered. I wanted to get back out there, too. I couldn’t let Lucas fight by himself. I started to get up, but Grant grabbed my hand.
“Nadine, stop. You don’t have magic.”
“I have to do something!” I didn’t care what it was. All I wanted was to get back at Chloe.
I ripped my arm out of Grant’s grip and rushed out from beneath the stairs before he could catch me. My eyes locked on Chloe, who’d ducked into the corner. I barely noticed magic flying around me as I stomped over to her. She didn’t notice me at first, as she was preoccupied by the fight, but I sure as hell got her attention when I grabbed her by the shirt and shoved her up against the wall. Isa came streaking out from under the stairs after me. She stood at my feet and hissed at Chloe.
“What the hell is your problem?” I snapped. “Come after me. Don’t hurt my friends.”
Chloe shoved me, and I stumbled back a few steps. “Get off me, bitch!”
“I’m the bitch!?” I snapped. “I didn’t start this!”
“You did!” she yelled. “The second you came to Octavia Falls.”
“I didn’t do anything to you,” I growled.
“You didn’t have to,” she spat. “It started long before either of us were born.”
Was she fucking serious?
“I know our grandpas had it in for each other, but that’s no reason for you to act so evil,” I snarled. “There’s enough room in Octavia Falls for both of us.”