by A. N. Sage
A light laugh burst from my lips and I looked around to make sure I was still alone in the room. When I was satisfied that no one had witnessed me perform a spell, I sunk back into the tub and closed my eyes.
The peace I felt lasted only a brief moment before my mind was full of gruesome images of the murdered student. I could see the girl as clear as day; her ashen, dry skin, and sunken cheekbones that were once full of life but were no more. She was no more.
My eyes burst open and I gulped a breath of air, realizing for the first time that I’ve been holding my breath. This was it, this was why I came here. The High Coven shunned me for my mistake and hid me away but maybe there was a way to get back into their good graces? I splashed water over the edge of the tub as a renewed sense of hope engulfed me. I had to find out what happened to that student and if my hunch was correct and this was an act of a witch, I would be the one to find her and bring her to the coven. It was the only way for me to get back home.
Decided
Our calculus classroom was colder than an ice tray and despite having my leather jacket zipped to the top, my teeth chattered while I tried to take notes to keep up with the lesson. Math has never been my strong suit and I hated every droning second of this class. My eyes continued to shift to the clock over the door as I counted the minutes to lunch. Five more to go, you can do it, Billie.
Mr. Abbot, our teacher, spoke in a monotone voice with little pause between sentences which made it even more difficult for me to stay focused. To my left, Peyton sketched in her notebook, winking at me to let me know she was just as bored. The other students seemed oblivious to the lesson except for Savannah who raised her hand to answer questions so many times I wondered if she’d pull a muscle by the end of class. Today, she opted for a skin-tight miniskirt and a geometric print top which was no doubt chosen strictly for the point of showing off her upper assets. I looked down at my ripped, boyfriend jeans and frowned. Someone should tell this girl school isn’t a fashion show.
A few seats ahead of me, Abigail giggled and tossed a wad of paper at Tyler who swatted it effortlessly out of the way. Their affection and ongoing flirtations drew me to River. With his back to me, I had nothing else to stare at than the wide-set build of his shoulders and heat rushed to my neck each time he rearranged his weight in his seat. I was staring so much; I had to wipe drool off my chin.
I was still ogling his semi-sheer white tee when the bell rang and I jumped from the sound. River’s head swung in my direction and I sank back into my seat, pretending to rearrange my books. Not that I was shy around guys, quite the opposite, but something about River made me think he was way out of my league. Though that could have been the nerves talking since the last guy I hooked up with was in college and forgot I existed as soon as a better piece of ass caught his attention. Let’s just say my ego was more than a little bruised at this point and River had trouble written all over his hotter than hell body.
“Having fun?” He purred, flashing his pearly whites my way.
“Oh, yeah,” I moaned, “time of my life.”
He laughed and got up to stand, tossing his bag over his shoulder. As he opened his mouth to say something, Savannah pounced on his desk to draw his attention to her. She flipped her curls over her shoulder and though I couldn’t be sure, I was convinced her arms pressed closer together to amplify her already way too exposed cleavage. “Finally!” She said, “Lunchtime!”
Dragging him by the arm, she led River out the door with the rest of the hyenas without giving me so much as a nod. The hairs on my arms rose and I fisted my hands as I watched them walk away. Are they a thing? Is that why she hates me? Because her boyfriend was nice to me? The idea of Savannah and River dating made my stomach turn. What a surprise, the one hot guy I found in this stupid school that was actually nice to me was already taken by the worst person I’ve ever met. Just my luck.
“Yo, B!” Peyton knocked my shoulder to snap me back to the room. “You alive?”
I cleared my throat. “Yeah, sorry. This class put me to sleep.”
“Every class puts me to sleep.” she laughed. “Come on, let’s go!”
I followed her out of the room to the courtyard, eyes scanning the halls for River as we walked. We weren’t even past the lockers when I spotted him leaning against the exit doors with one foot hiked up on the frame. Man, whatever they’re feeding this kid, it’s working! His eyes met mine and he waved me over to join him. I was so taken aback that I had to look around to make sure he didn’t mean someone else but it was just me and Peyton in the hall now so unless he was talking to his invisible friend, he was definitely waving at me. Peyton tugged at my sleeve to pull me back but I flashed her a reassuring smile and ushered us forward. My smile widened as we approached and my breath quickened. River’s single dimple glared back at me as he widened his smile and my neck flushed in return. This guy had some effect on me I couldn’t explain and I liked it. It’s because he was nice, I told myself, nothing else.
“Hey,” I said when we reached him.
“Wanna join us for lunch?” River asked with a grin, “We’re going down to Main Street to hit up a coffee shop, this place is in a serious need of better lattes.”
“Oh, um…” I looked to Peyton who shrugged. “Sure, I guess.”
“Oooh!” Peyton said, “We could pop into Crystal Cauldron while we’re there so you can have a look around!”
Loud heel sounds tattered behind us and I swung around to find Savannah standing with her hands on her hips, her eyes shooting daggers my way. Next to her, Jayden shuffled from foot to foot, oblivious to her fury.
“You have got to be kidding me!” She snapped. “We don’t hang out with the weirdos, River!”
“Cool your jets,” River blurted. “It’s just coffee.”
Savannah stomped my way, looking me up and down before turning her back to me. “You can’t be serious. Peyton Ling and this thing? No thanks!”
“You’re acting like a bitch.” River sighed. “Give it a rest.”
My cheeks puffed and I held all my breath for fear of lashing out at her. Who the hell did this chick think she is? My fingers tingled and the anger made my magic rile like a hungry snake. I could sense the silver of my moonstone ring cool the heated skin of my palms and tried to will myself to calm down. What I wouldn’t give to find out Savannah is shadower so I could smoke her right here in the middle of the hall; nothing would give me more pleasure.
Beside me, Peyton crossed her arms and looked away as though she had grown bored with the conversation. I had to give it to her, unlike me, Peyton sure knew how not to hold a grudge. I could only imagine what Savannah and the hyenas have put her through all these years for being different. I had no words, well, that’s not true, I had many words, but none that would justify this behavior. Savannah wasn’t just a bully, she was evil through and through and I’ve had enough of it.
I turned to Peyton and nodded to the door, stepping around Savannah close enough that I bumped her shoulder and shoved her forward. Her head spun my way and she blew out a breath so low it sounded like a hiss. “Excuse you!” She wailed, regaining her balance.
“Sorry.” I smirked as I passed her. “Didn’t see you there. Guess my mind is on more important things right now.”
With that, I pushed past her and walked out, not bothering to look back at River. If this was the type of girl he wanted to be around, I did not need this guy in my life.
My steps quickened and when the cool chill of the outside air hit my face, I could all but feel my tense muscles relax. Peyton ran to catch up with me and we made our way to our regular spot under the trees. With a grunt, I tossed my backpack on the grass and kicked it for good measure.
“She is unbearable!” I screamed. “I mean, seriously, who talks to people like that!”
“She’s just jelly, don’t worry about it.” Peyton smiled and sat down.
“Of what? She clearly thinks she’s the best so what’s to be jealous of?”
&n
bsp; Peyton arched an eyebrow. “You’re joking, right?”
“Huh?”
“Um, girl, River? He obvi likes you.”
“He is just being nice!” I yelled, quickly realizing how loud I was being in front of at least two dozen other students. “She could learn a thing or two from him about not being mean to the new kid.”
“Shit, I keep forgetting that you’re new here.” Peyton sighed. “One thing you have to know about Savannah is that she’s had a crush on River since like third grade.”
I loosened the zipper on my jacket and sat down next to Peyton, pulling my pack to my chest. From here, I could feel the edges of my grimoire press into my ribcage and their familiarity slowed my racing heartbeat by a few notches. “So what does that have to do with me?”
“Cause you’re like the first girl River paid attention to,” she said. “Savannah has to hate that. If she can’t have him, no one will, or whatever.”
“Well, she can have him!” I railed, “Cause I don’t want him!”
“Yeah.” Peyton winked. “Right…”
I shot my friend the dirtiest look I could manage, but it was hard to stay mad with Peyton around. Something about her personality exuded positive vibes and I couldn’t help but smile when she was nearby. I wished more people were like that in this school but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would never belong here. Not in the Chandlers’ posh home, not in this academy, not even with Peyton maybe. These were regular kids with regular problems and I was something else entirely. I had zero urge to worry about petty things like mean girls and hot guys, no matter how hot they were. I had a mission and I’d be damned if I strayed from it.
Shadowhurst was not my home.
My home was back with the High Coven. It was with the witches and the dangerous nights of Stamwick’s alleys. My thoughts landed on the dead student again but I pushed them away; nothing would make me mess up again. Looking into the murder would only put me in a position I didn’t want to be in and I couldn’t afford that right now. I had to keep my head down and stay out of trouble so I can be out of this place and back with my family. So I could be back home where everything made sense.
My mind was decided.
I reached into my bag to pull out my lunch but my hand jerked back when Peyton’s fingers dug into my arm. I turned to her, eyes widening as I followed her finger scroll the phone, face paling with each word she read.
“Peyton?” I asked, “What’s wrong?”
She tossed the phone in my lap. “You gotta read this!”
As I skimmed through the text on the screen, my stomach dropped. I felt the blood rush from my head and my legs get heavy under their own weight, pulling me into the grass below.
This couldn’t be happening…
Evil is Afoot
“Shadowhurst Academy student found dead in Gentry Park early this morning.”
I read the article, again and again, hoping each time that the words would rearrange themselves to spell out something more cheerful but there was no use fighting what I knew was true. Another student was dead and I was having trouble accepting it. The article didn’t disclose the student’s name but all around us, people whispered and guessed, taking inventory of who was in school to figure out who’s missing. Since I only knew a handful of people, I didn’t bother joining in. Instead, I pressed my backpack closer to my chest in some hopeless attempt to tap into a calming spell in my grimoire through the thick fabric. Forget the no magic rule the High Coven forced down my throat, I had to get my hands on some supplies before I lost my mind in this town.
“Who do you think it is?” Peyton asked.
Heat swam through me and I turned to my friend, eyebrows kissing. “I literally only know you and the hyenas, so you tell me,” I retorted.
“Clay wasn’t in biology today,” she said, “but I think his dad took him camping for the week. I don’t know, maybe Chloe?”
“Who’s Chloe?”
“Some girl I used to chill with.” Peyton sighed and I got the sense there was a story here I’d like to hear more about later.
“We’ll probably find out more later,” I said. I’ve had my fair share of hunting down the news in Stamwick when I was hunting shadowers to know that information is always withheld in the initial stages. “It just happened so I doubt they’ll write anything about it in the papers for a while.”
Peyton’s shoulders rose and she froze. “You think it’s a serial killer?”
There was a loud screech downhill from us and I looked over to see a few students arguing. A boy that looked to be in one of the younger grades ripped a football from another boy’s hands and ran off with it before tossing it back. Were these people seriously more worried about a game right now? A kid was dead! Someone they knew! Anger riled in me and I tried to keep it under control. I didn’t know these people, for all I knew, a student dying was standard operations in this weird town.
“Is this out of the ordinary here?” I asked bluntly.
“A murder? Heck, yeah!” Peyton chirped. “I don’t think Shadowhurst had this many murders since, you know, the witches.”
Her words hit me like a loose air-conditioner falling from a second-story window. Whatever saliva I had in my mouth evaporated and I found it difficult to catch a breath. I crossed my legs, dropping my backpack in my lap. “What witches?”
“Girl, serious?”
I nodded, my eyes straining to refocus.
“You know the history of this town, right?”
“I really don’t,” I said, my jaw tighter than a vice.
Peyton rearranged herself to sit more comfortably in the grass and turned to face me. “Shadowhurst is like one of those witch-burning towns, from way back when. Like Salem, or whatever.”
Well, that explained all the references to magic and the town’s love of the occult. Why the hell did the High Coven not warn me about this? It was like they wanted me to fail.
“They burnt witches here?”
Peyton’s smile dropped and she pointed a purple lacquered finger to the bell tower above the Main Hall. “Yep, right up there actually. They built this whole school on the same spot they used to do it on. It’s pretty gross if you think about it. We are literally going to school on top of some big old murder fest.” She crossed her arms, “I have an idea!”
With a quick hop, Peyton jumped to her feet and pulled me up with her. Her red-streaked hair blew in the wind and I barely had time to snatch my backpack before she had us running downhill toward the parking lot.
“Peyton wait!” I shouted, “Where are we going?”
“We’re getting out of here,” she said, tugging harder on my arm. “You and I will find out who this kid was and what happened to them.”
Twenty minutes later and we were whipping through Main Street in Peyton’s Jeep with my hands white-knuckling the seatbelt. As we drove, Peyton’s mouth worked faster than a motor while she spewed every bit of history on Shadowhurst she could remember. To my surprise, my friend was quite the history buff when it came to Shadowhurst and I sat in silence, taking in every bit of information I could that the High Coven disclosed from me.
Turns out, Shadowhurst’s past was dark and gruesome when it came to witches. Outsiders, a group of European descent had originally formed Shadowhurst, or at least that’s what the town’s archives stated. No one knows what became of them but from what Peyton had gathered, they disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving only a handful of the founding families to run the place. Everything was fine and dandy until rumors of witchcraft spread and fear trampled the small streets of Shadowhurst, spreading like a disease. At first, the town’s members attempted to live together with the so-called witches but after a while, they drove them out, which was how Carriage Hill was formed. From what I could recall of the map I studied on my drive in, Carriage Hill was still up and running just a short distance from Shadowhurst to this day.
My memories flashed back to when I first drove into town. “That
explains the creepy gate on the way in,” I mumbled.
“Yep!” Peyton said. “Carriage Hill has one just like it but those tools are always flexing like they’re better than us.”
“So all the witches ran off to Carriage Hill?” I asked when Peyton took a breather from talking.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “At least at first.”
“At first?”
She turned the wheel, whipping the car to the left and I held on for dear life while the wheels smoked and screeched as she leveled us off. “I think they were all still scared over here so they started forming some creepy little groups that would go into Carriage Hill and bring witches back here. To burn them. Isn’t that cool?”
Peyton’s eyes danced and I found myself fighting the urge to vomit on the dashboard. Our ideas of cool were very, very different. “I guess,” I whispered and swallowed hard. “They burnt them in the bell tower?”
“Yep.”
“And no one ever found out what happened to the Euros that created the place?”
“Nope. They disappeared into thin air. Like magic.”
Like magic, right.
“People don’t just disappear, Peyton,” I said and lowered my eyes to the ring on my finger. Well, some people do. Like dads—dads definitely disappeared sometimes.
Peyton’s eyes widened and she turned to stare at me, oblivious to the road. “That’s what I said!” She yelled and I had to nudge my friend’s attention back to the windshield. When she finally looked away and I could breathe again, she tapped her index finger on the wheel and smiled. “Wanna know what Ms. Broussard told me?”