by Rose Pressey
Chapter Thirty
I froze. Should I continue to act as if I didn’t know what she meant, or should I come clean about what I knew?
I tilted my eyebrow up in mock surprise. “What are you talking about?” I asked innocently.
The beginning of a smile tilted the corners of her mouth. “The Book of Mystic Magic. We know it’s here. We know you have it.”
I stared for a moment, but her gaze didn’t leave mine. There was no way out of this. I would have to tell the truth.
I waved my hand through the air casually. “I may have found a book or two here. But they are mine and you can’t have them.”
She held her hands up. “Trust me, I don’t want them.”
I didn’t know how to respond. I thought everyone wanted the powers that came with the book.
“Where did you find them?” she asked.
“They were hidden in various places around the house.”
Her face lit up with excitement. For someone who didn’t want the books, she sure had a lot of questions.
Her tight skirt confined her movements as she leaned forward in the chair. “Well, this is certainly a turn of events for you. I told everyone right away that you couldn’t possibly have performed magic that well without some other type of intervention.”
Her words stung. Maybe I should have tried harder to be better at the magic. Then I could have proven everyone wrong.
“Has anything strange happened since you got the new powers?” She looked at me expectantly.
“Strange?” I choked out.
She quirked an eyebrow. “Yes, have any of the spells been odd? Because there is one special skill that comes with the powers.”
I thought I knew which special skill she was talking about. And the proof that I had that special skill was walking around in high heels upstairs and stuffing her face with cupcakes. “What type of special skill?” I asked.
I wasn’t about to give away any details unless I absolutely had to.
“This is something that only a few witches know about, but your new powers allow you to reanimate the dead. Not to mention the many other powers that you probably only dreamed about having.”
Now she was just being snarky. Plus, I had to pretend that I was shocked at the news about the reanimating. I widened my eyes and attempted my best Oscar-worthy performance.
“What do you mean reanimating?” I tried to conceal my nervousness.
“I mean you can make the dead living again. I’m not sure about all of the details. Like I don’t know how long they stay reanimated, but it’s true.” She waved her hands through the air. “The Coven is buzzing about the news.”
Wow. I was the talk of the Coven and for once it wasn’t because I’d screwed up a spell.
“I know why the book was hidden here.” She smiled slyly.
“You do? How do you know?” My eyes widened.
“Your great-aunt was a part of the Coven. We knew she was friends with the last leader and there was a rumor that she’d hidden the books for her.”
“But why would she do that?” I ran my hand through my hair.
She shrugged. “That I don’t have an answer for.”
“Well, obviously she didn’t tell me anything because I didn’t even know about the book or this Underworld thing,” I said.
“Maybe she meant for you to find it. She had to know you would when she left you the house.” Her voice turned serious.
Aunt Maddy was eccentric but why would she be involved? She had said I was supposed to take my place in the world. But how would she know I would ever find the book? It was probably just a coincidence.
“My mother didn’t mention any of this.” I said.
“She doesn’t know either. You’ll probably want to tell her before she finds out from some of the other members,” Misty said.
This news might really send my mother over the edge.
“There’s something else too…” She hesitated.
“There’s more?” I asked.
Misty looked straight at me and said, “You now possess the power of earth, air, water, and fire. No witch holds all four without the power of the book.”
“What is the power of earth, air, fire, and water?” I asked in a shaky voice. For a witch I didn’t know much about the rules.
She leaned back in her chair. “The ultimate powers. You control who can perform magic.”
This was all too much to take in. And I wasn’t sure I believed her. I had noticed that she was looking at me entirely differently now. It was as if I was someone worthy of her friendship now. Like I hadn’t been in the past. I didn’t need fair-weather friends.
“I’m sure the other Coven members will want to talk with you about all of this.”
“I’m sure they will,” I said drily.
She fingered more of the books, then finally looked at me. “The Coven is extremely happy with your improved skills.”
I hadn’t expected that comment.
“We’d love it if you’d host the annual Halloween Ball here at LaVeau Manor. What better location than this gorgeous place?”
My eyes were probably the size of saucers. “You want me to host the party?” I asked.
She nodded with a smile. “Yes, with your newfound skills, I know you’ll be a perfect hostess. It was planned for the community center, but let’s face it, that place is ugly.”
What was the catch? There had to be one. I couldn’t deny that I was excited about the prospect though. It had always been a dream of mine. Now I would be hosting the ball that all the witches attended. It was the event they talked about all year. So they finally wanted me to be one of them? Would I no longer be an outcast? But did I really want to be a part of their snobby club? It wasn’t like I could say no though. It would break my mother’s heart if I turned them down.
She studied my face for a reaction. “What do you say? Won’t it be fabulous here? It’ll be gorgeous with the dim lighting and lots of candles. Of course the Coven will pay for the catering.” Misty pushed to her feet and walked the length of the room, her heels echoing across the floor.
I was still had a loss for words, but I finally managed to say, “Sure, I’d love to host the Halloween Ball.”
She smiled. “Fantastic. I’ll let everyone know. Well, I’d better let you get to work. The ball is in two days.” She strolled across the room. “I’ll be in touch soon.”
Two days? That was a lot of work to get done in such a short time, even for witches.