by Alicia Rades
“Teagan,” Fiona said, leaning into her. “Those names are beautiful.”
Teagan dashed the tears away. We stayed at Ryland’s grave for another few minutes in respectful silence.
Finally, Clarita spoke up. “Shall we?”
We followed her to another corner of the cemetery, where two other figures stood.
“Carla. Adrien,” Sondra greeted, shaking their hands. “We’re so glad you could join us.”
“Anything to help,” Adrien said.
We stopped beside Genevieve’s grave. Clarita sat over Genevieve's body and gestured for the rest of the witches to join her. Carla, Adrien, Sondra, Zoey, Clarita, and I formed a circle in the grass, while the others stood off to the side.
Sondra waved to Fiona. “Come on. You’re a low witch, aren’t you?”
Fiona’s eyes lit up, and she joined us around the circle. “I am now.”
Clarita smiled, then turned to me. “The Owl?”
I pulled it out of my bag and placed it in the center between the seven of us. We’d retrieved it—along with my trinket, bracelet, cufflink, and the Leora Locket—the night of the fight, but with the funerals and everything that followed, we needed to take time to recover before we could perform the spell.
“Do you think we have enough witches to do it?” I asked.
Clarita cocked an eyebrow at me. “The question is not about our numbers. It is about our power. Do you believe we have the power to do this?”
It sounded like a trick question, but I answered honestly. “Yes.”
She nodded. “Then there’s your answer. Everyone, please join hands.”
I took Clarita’s hand on my left and Sondra’s hand on my right. My eyes connected with Venn’s momentarily, and I was filled with a sense of peace. This would work.
“Where did you find the spell to destroy something like this?” Fiona asked Clarita curiously.
Clarita gave a knowing smile. “I didn’t.”
Fiona shot her a questioning glance.
“Magic comes not from incantations, but from inside ourselves,” Clarita explained.
“Which means we can write our own,” Sondra said in realization.
Clarita nodded. “Precisely. I’d like everyone to repeat after me. The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came.”
The spell began as a murmur at first, but as we all began to hear the words, we fell into a harmonious chant.
“The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came. The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came.”
I could feel the magic pulsing through my arms, in through my left and out through my right, around and around the circle.
“The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came.”
The sky began to darken above us, and the air cooled around us.
“The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came.”
Wind whipped by my hair as we continued the incantation. I pushed away the chill and focused solely on the magic inside of me, calling it to the surface and sending it out to share with the other witches around me. Their magic mixed with my own, until I couldn’t distinguish mine from theirs. The pulsing of magic through my body transformed into a powerful, constant hum.
“The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came.”
The owl skull began to rise into the air. All eyes followed it as it rose higher and higher above our heads. Our incantation grew more intense the more we repeated it.
“The Owl’s power is too much to contain. Send it back to hence it came. The Owl’s power is too much to contain! Send it back to hence it came!”
The incantation grew so loud that it seemed to echo in my ears. I raised my voice, and the others around me followed suit.
“The Owl’s power is too much to contain! Send it back to hence it came!”
The Owl continued to spin above our heads, but that was it. We needed more power!
As everyone else continued speaking the incantation, I sent another message out. Genevieve, we’re here because we need you. Your soul is still here with us. You still have power. Complete our circle, and help us finally defeat this magic.
The earth rumbled beneath our feet, and thunder cracked above our heads. Suddenly, bone shattered, sending bits of dust all around us. All that remained was a broken portion of the eye socket. It fell to the ground as the sky lightened once again and the wind let up. The earth stilled.
Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.
The dirt rose to consume the last piece of bone, then swallowed the rest of the Owl whole.
Genevieve?
We’d destroyed the Owl! It was hard to believe that after all the effort we went through to retrieve it, it was finally gone. No one would ever be able to use it again.
A soft breeze brushed across my cheek, and in that moment, I knew. Genevieve had helped us from beyond the grave. And somehow—I could feel it deep down in my gut—that had brought her the peace she’d been looking for all these years.
“We did it!” Fiona exclaimed.
Teagan, Venn, Jenna, and Ronark all looked at us in awe.
Clarita took a deep breath, then broke the circle. “It is done.”
“Wow!” I threw my arms around Sondra beside me, and she hugged me back. “I can’t believe it!”
Sondra laughed and drew away. “I can. We all make an amazing team!”
Fiona leaned over to hug Sondra, too. “That, we do.”
Venn came up behind me, and I rose to my feet to pull him into a hug. He squeezed me tightly. “Are you okay?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed as Jenna stepped up beside us. “Better than okay.”
I kept one arm around him while I drew away, then placed the other around Jenna’s neck. She beamed at me.
“Nothing has ever been better,” I said, pulling them both close to me. “I have my family at my side, and that’s what matters.”
My gaze flickered over to Ryland’s grave across the cemetery. “Though we didn’t all make it.”
Jenna’s face fell, and she dropped her gaze. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was thinking of Mom and Dad. I never stopped thinking of them either, but now, the memories that came to mind were warm and happy—as they should be.
“No, we didn’t all make it,” Venn said in agreement. His eye flickered with a hint of sorrow. He got that look on his face that he always got when he thought about Tyson.
“But you know what?” he said, perking up.
“What?” I asked curiously.
Venn rubbed his hand over my shoulder, then placed a kiss on the top of my head. “I think we’re all finally at peace.”
My heart warmed at the thought, and I smiled. Venn was right. My family may not all be with me in the physical sense of the word, but they were still here with me—in spirit and in memory. And that made all the difference.
As long as I had my family by my side, nothing could ever stop me.
THE END
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About the Author
Alicia Rades is a USA Today bestselling author of young adult paranormal fiction. When she's not getting into magical mischief in fantasy worlds, she's either trying new recipes, exploring the outdoors, or spending time with her son. Alicia lives with her family in Wisconsin, where she's happily addicted to cheese.
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