Dark Humanity

by Gwynn White

  Cassidy shrugged, shy all of a sudden. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought it might be fun. They always look like they’re having a good time at the football games and pep rallies. Don’t make fun of me.”

  “I’m not making fun of you, it just took me by surprise.” They started walking again. Ariel didn’t know what to say, she was too stunned. But there was one thing she knew for sure. “So what do we have to do to get you on the squad?”

  “You’ll help me?”

  “Of course I will, that’s what best friends do, right?”

  Cassidy’s smile spread from ear to ear. “I need to get Niccolette to like me. I’m pretty sure right now she doesn’t know I exist, so I have to get on her radar. Cheerleader try outs are in a couple of weeks. I have until then to impress her.”

  “Then impress her, you shall. We’re going to have to give this some serious thought.”

  Cassidy threw her arm around Ariel’s shoulders as they walked. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  They conspired all the way home. Ariel left Cassidy’s house and continued on to her own. She walked through the front door just on dark.

  Her parents were waiting for her in the living room, staring at the clock. Ariel thought about creeping past and pretending she was anywhere else, but she knew she couldn’t. She entered the dragon’s den.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Hi Mom, Dad,” Ariel said happily, trying to stay upbeat. “What’s wrong? I texted to tell you I was going to be home late.”

  She was met with silence and stern faces. Her stomach was in a knot, wondering what she was going to get into trouble for now. She thought she had done everything right.

  Suddenly, her parents started giggling, laughter bursting from them. “The look on your face!” Her mother managed to get out.

  Ariel rolled her eyes at their immaturity but couldn’t help relief wash over her. “I thought you were going to ground me again or something.”

  “Well, thanks for not giving us a reason too.” Her father patted her on the back as he left, still snickering to himself.

  “Come and sit,” Mom said, patting the spot on the lounge beside her. “I want to hear all about this prom you’re getting involved in.”

  “It’s not a big deal, it was Cassidy’s idea.”

  “I don’t care whose idea it was, you’re actually in a club. I’m so proud of you. I never thought I’d see this day.”

  Ariel obligingly sat and told her all about the meeting, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice and the enthusiasm in. If making her mother happy was a side benefit of being on the boring prom committee, then she was going to milk it for all it was worth. Any and all brownie points were going to come in handy – especially if they found out about Gabe.

  Dinner was actually pleasant with her parents. Ariel never realized how easy they were to make happy. If she had known she could build goodwill by joining a club, she would have done so years earlier. There were plenty at school, from chess club to dance club. The only reason she had never even considered them before was that she didn’t need them. Her and Cassidy had always had plenty to do, they would find fun things to do by themselves. They didn’t need to officially join a school sanctioned club to do it.

  By the time she was ready for bed, Ariel was exhausted. She was tired of thinking about everything with Gabe and now she also had to mentally work out how to sell all the prom tickets. She wouldn’t normally care, but they needed to make a good impression on Niccolette and contributing towards a successful prom would be a good way to start.

  As she took off her slippers and pulled back the bedcovers, Ariel’s phone beeped with a text message. She considered ignoring it but knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing what it said. She reached across the bed and checked her phone.

  * * *

  Good Night Babe, x Gabe.

  * * *

  She smiled, quickly texting back a good night message of her own. The message might have only been four words long, but it was the sweetest thing she had heard all day. And it was typical Gabe. He once told her that she was the first thing he thought of every day and the last thing he thought about at night. And then she would run through his dreams while he slept. She told him he was making it up but he insisted he was telling the truth.

  She imagined Gabe lying in bed, in whatever town he had moved to. She never actually saw his room in real life, but she had seen glimpses over his shoulder when they video chatted. It was simple and sparse, easily able to be packed up in no time – which was probably the point.

  She climbed into her own bed. Ariel lay back, pulling the covers up to her chin, knowing she had made the right decision. She could finally sleep without her mind whirling around and around.

  “So Niccolette eats her lunch out on the football bleachers,” Cassidy said matter-of-factly. “I’m going to stalk her at lunch and try to catch her attention. I might bring up the prom, see how she’s going with her tasks? Does that sound feasible?”

  “It sounds perfect,” Ariel replied, opening her locker and grabbing the books she needed for her next class. “Once Niccolette knows you, she’ll love you. Just be yourself.”

  Cassidy rolled her eyes dramatically. “I can’t be myself, that’s the whole point. I have to be outgoing and sophisticated, the kind of girl that can’t help but be popular because everyone wants to be her.”

  “That is you already, you don’t need to change anything.” Ariel knew she wouldn’t get through to her, but wouldn’t stop trying. “If Niccolette can’t see that, then she’s blind and you don’t need her.”

  “But I do need her, that’s the whole point.” Cassidy slammed her locker shut to reiterate her point before getting distracted. “Don’t look now, but Spencer is totally staring at you.”

  Ariel’s head shot around to look, despite the warning not to. “What are you talking about?”

  “Spencer,” Cassidy repeated, as if that explained everything. When Ariel still wrinkled her brow in confusion, she continued, “He’s totally got the hots for you. Haven’t you noticed the way he’s always hanging around? For no reason? Staring at you?”

  “I can honestly say I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Ariel tried to remember the last time she had seen the guy. She didn’t want to admit it had only been the day before. He had lingered after history class the previous afternoon, only leaving when Miss Perry gave him the look.

  “Oh right, your Gabe blinkers, I forgot. You can’t see any other eligible hottie because all you’re focused on is the brooding bad boy that you can’t be with.”

  “We’re a couple, Cassidy, I can’t date other people.”

  “Yes, you can,” she insisted. “Spencer is here, right now, and very much not cursed. He might even ask you to the dance if you give him a break. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

  Ariel risked a glance at the guy. He was cute with his messy dark blonde hair and he stood a foot above most of the other guys in their grade. Plus, it would be nice to actually be asked to the prom. To dance with someone all night, wear a corsage, be embarrassed by her parents when they insisted on taking photographs. But he wasn’t Gabe. It would be nice to do all those things with Gabe, not Spencer.

  Cassidy sighed. “Just think about it. Spencer is here, Gabe isn’t and never will be.”

  Ariel didn’t want to believe it, she could never believe Gabe wouldn’t be there. Not if she had anything to do with it, anyway. She closed her locker and followed Cassidy to class, completely ignoring the look she was getting from Spencer.

  Ariel made a point of focusing in her morning classes of English and Science. A sudden drop in her grades would not be good to report to her parents. They would completely freak out about it, probably wanting to send her off to boarding school so she could be properly disciplined.

  If Ariel was being entirely honest, she would have to admit it felt good actually concentrating on just the classes again. For three hours she could feel normal without having
to think about curses and magic. She was just a normal teenager, sitting in a normal classroom, having a normal lesson. Just like how it used to be.

  When the bell rang for the lunch period, Ariel’s illusion was shattered. With Cassidy stalking Niccolette during the break, she faced sitting in the cafeteria on her own. But just like any normal teenager, she knew that was akin to social suicide. Luckily, Ariel had a better idea.

  Sitting outside enjoying the sunny day, Ariel found Kourtney and Karen eating their lunch and sitting cross legged on the grass.

  “Um, hi, would you mind if I ate with you guys?” Ariel said awkwardly. She hoped Miss Perry had spoken to them about her situation, otherwise she was about to die of embarrassment.

  “Sure, take a seat,” Kourtney said happily. “We were hoping you’d speak to us some time.”

  Ariel sat, relief washing over her. “Has Miss Perry filled you in on everything?” She felt weird talking about her situation with Gabe so openly. If they weren’t judging her for choosing to break the curse, she expected them to think she was crazy for even believing there was a curse. To actually have people understand was a new concept.

  Karen nodded eagerly. “Lilia brought it up at our last coven meeting. I think you’re incredibly brave doing what you’re doing.”

  “Or stupid,” Ariel joked. She studied their reaction, trying to work out what they really thought about her actions. Words were one thing but personal thoughts were an entirely different subject. She wished she could read minds.

  “It’s never stupid to follow your heart,” Kourtney said seriously.

  Ariel relaxed a little, perhaps they really were telling the truth and not just humoring her. “Thanks, I appreciate it. Miss Perry said your coven might be able to help me?”

  “We’re excited about it, actually,” Karen started. “When Miss Perry told us the story of the Black Eyed People, we all wanted to help lift their curse. It’s not right they have to suffer like that, let alone all the people they’re harming. By breaking the curse, we’re going to save lives.”

  “They don’t want to kill, it’s the compulsion that makes them do it,” Ariel replied, feeling defensive of the people. She wanted it clear that they wanted no part in actually hurting people. Killing was just a reaction, like a sneeze, it wasn’t something they chose to do.

  “We know.” Kourtney placed a hand on her arm to reassure her. “Which is why we need to work together and free them. Lilia said she was waiting for the final confirmation from you that you wanted to go ahead. Do you think you’re ready to begin yet?”

  Ariel knew she was. “Yes, I just need to tell Lilia. She said to think about it because it involved dark magic. Is it going to be bad?”

  Karen took the question. “Everyone goes on about dark magic like it’s this horrible evil thing. And our elders like Lilia and Miss Perry want to make it sound terrifying so people that don’t know what they’re doing stay away from it. But it’s not like that. Darkness is just an absence of light, it’s not like we’re summoning the devil or anything.”

  “If that’s the case then why is it so much more serious than normal magic?”

  “All magic is dangerous if it’s not performed correctly,” Karen warned. “But dark magic pulls in the power of the moon, stars, and entities of the night such as passion and dreams. It’s stronger than the elements of white magic.”

  Ariel tried to take it all in, she felt like everything she knew about witchcraft could fit onto a postage stamp. “So what are the elements of white magic made up of?”

  “The earth and water, everything full of happiness and light, softer elements than the night.”

  Kourtney picked up on the explanation. “Wiccan beliefs are all about doing no harm, everything we do must be true to that belief. So even when we use dark magic, we can’t hurt anybody. It’s a complete myth to think dark magic has anything to do with the devil or using our powers for evil.”

  “You look overwhelmed, I hope we haven’t scared you,” Karen asked, cocking her head to one side in thought. Ariel was overwhelmed but she couldn’t do anything about it. The only way to get over it was to keep going and hope the panic she felt inside would eventually be replaced with knowledge and certainty.

  “It’s a lot to take in,” she admitted. “A few months ago I didn’t even know any of this ever existed. I thought witches and curses were just fairy tales. I never imagined actually having this conversation with anyone. How did you get into it?”

  “My grandmother was a Wiccan,” Karen said matter-of-factly. “My mother chooses to practice too but she never forced me into doing it. I chose it.”

  “It was Karen that got me involved when we were just kids,” Kourtney added, stealing a glance at the girl. “My parents don’t know about it yet, but I’ll get the nerve to tell them one day.”

  “You’re not scared they’ll find out?” Ariel asked. She pictured trying to tell her own parents she was a practicing Wiccan, she highly doubted that would go down even remotely well. They might even disown her entirely. Or perhaps call in a priest for an exorcism. There would be no end to her parent’s craziness.

  Kourtney shrugged. “It’s my religion, I can choose to believe in whatever I want. They’ll just have to handle it.” Her words were brave, but Ariel suspected it was just a fake bravado. Inside, she was probably terrified about her secret getting out.

  Ariel changed the subject, moving off such a personal topic to something a bit safer. “How do you practice, your um, religion?”

  “We have regular coven meetings, sometimes we meditate, other times we worship. On special occasions such as the summer and winter solstice we have ceremonies,” Karen explained. “It’s all about being grateful for what we have and this wonderful earth we have around us.”

  “That doesn’t sound scary,” Ariel confessed. “Why did they kill so many suspected witches in the past?”

  Kourtney shifted uncomfortably. “Because people are afraid of what they don’t know. If anyone took the time to actually understand the religion, they wouldn’t have done what they did. People are still doing the same thing today, it’s ridiculous.”

  “Every Wiccan tries to do what they can to change the stereotype, but really we just want peace to believe what we want – just like every other religion,” Karen finished. Ariel figured that was fair, it’s what every other person wanted too, really.

  The bell rang as the other students outside started to migrate towards the classrooms. The trio stood, getting ready to go their separate ways.

  “Well, I’m really grateful that you’re going to help me,” Ariel said sincerely. “I promise I won’t tell anyone about your coven.”

  “Thanks,” Kourtney replied. “We’re proud of who we are but we don’t need the hassle of dealing with everyone who thinks we should be something we’re not.”

  Ariel thanked them again and left for her Geography class, although she didn’t know how she was going to concentrate again. The conversation she just had was nothing even resembling normal.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Somehow, Ariel didn’t feel nervous at all knocking on the trailer door this time. She tapped confidently, glad to be rid of the shaking legs for once and for all. The old woman had a name now, she had a niece that was normal, and a nice group of girls to hang out with. She wasn’t just a witch living in a trailer in the middle of nowhere.

  The door swung open quickly. Lilia glared down at her, and just for a moment, Ariel forgot about how confident she was to be there.

  “What do you want?” Lilia barked, her voice no friendlier than last time.

  “I want to tell you that I’m ready,” Ariel replied, trying to keep all emotion out of her voice. She had to remind herself that she wasn’t scared anymore, Lilia was just an ordinary woman. There was nothing evil or demonic about her. The way Miss Perry talked about her, she may as well have been a sweet little grandma.

  “Are you sure?” She stood at the door, not inviting her in this time. Her
arms were crossed as she glared down at the girl.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Really? You’re prepared for all the consequences?”

  “Yes, I want to break the curse, I’m going to do whatever it takes.” Ariel met her stare, refusing to look away.

  Silence lingered between them, neither going to be the first to break it. Ariel stood her ground, it was possibly the most important thing she had ever fought for.

  Finally, the old woman sighed. “I will gather the coven and we will determine the best way to help you. I will be in touch when we are ready.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now go away.”

  Ariel turned and obeyed, feeling lighter than ever as she left the trailer and headed back into town. It was really going to happen. She was going to lift the curse and she had an entire coven of witches behind her to make sure they were victorious.

  When she arrived home, Ariel couldn’t explain her good mood to her parents. All she could say was that she had a good day at school. It was technically true and it seemed to make them equally as happy. What they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, right? She figured so.

  After dinner, she fired up her laptop and tried video calling Gabe. She wanted to hear all about his day, hoping he was in a happy mood too. He answered quickly and his face filled the screen.

  “Hey girl, I was waiting for you to come online,” Gabe said, grinning. His smile still took her breath away, no matter how often she saw it. His blonde hair was messy, like he had run his hand through it one too many times. Ariel could only think how adorable it looked.

  “You know you don’t have to wear your sunglasses when we chat,” she started. “I don’t care about seeing your eyes.”

  “Sorry, it’s a habit.” He pulled off the glasses and Ariel tried not to stare. His black oceans where there should have been whites and irises and pupils were always disconcerting. But she forced herself to still look into his eyes, they were beautiful purely because they were his. “Is this better?”