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Author's Note: Here's the beginning of something new. Its not a Werewolf or a Vampire story but one with just a tad bit of magic. This is the third part in my DarkRealms triumvirate of species---Vampires, Werewolves and Witches. Things are going to be a little different with this story as you'll see in later chapters. I'd like to thank djkauf for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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ONE:

They were playing football outside and they looked like they were having fun. There were four of them---three of them I knew from school, the fourth was someone from a grade above me. They played every weekend, tossing the ball back and forth down the cul-de-sac. The youngest of the group was Tommy, my former best friend. Unlike me, puberty had been kind to Tommy. Whereas he bulked out and shot up, I stayed pretty much the same. We were thick as thieves once, two dweebs against the world. It was a few weeks before the start of ninth grade when Tommy just suddenly stopped coming around. I couldn’t understand it at first but it soon became apparent that he and I just drifted apart. Whereas I was still interested in comics and MMOs, Tommy was all about football and girls. I tried to get into it----just to fit in----but me and contact sports didn’t mix well.

I sighed as I watched them having fun. It was always like this. Not that I didn’t know what fun was but it always seemed to pass me by. It didn’t help that about fifty percent of the time I wasn’t home to begin with. Mom and Dad were cryptozoologists. If you don’t know what that is then you’re not the only one. Basically they travel around the world and look for “make believe” things---like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. You might think that’s crazy but here’s something that a lot of people don’t know---they actually do in fact exist. They’re just not what everyone thinks they are. They’re actually called Unseen---supernatural beings that most normal people don’t know exist. Instead of documenting them for the world though, my parents try to make sure that no one sees them.

It’s not easy either but it helps when you’re from one of the most prominent witch clans in Americas. All Mom has to do is throw her family name into the equation and it gets a lot of doors open. Humans think they run the world, they think that they’ve got everything figured out but they couldn’t be more wrong. The world is a much bigger place than they think and they only control about half of it. The rest is controlled by us---the Unseen---and those associated with us. We’re a giant network, spanning the whole globe. I’m sure it’s a bit to swallow at first, knowing that everything that goes bump in the night exists in some form but it’s a lot easier to grasp than you think.

I grew up with it.

It was never strange for me to see Mom float the TV remote across the room or for the house to clean itself without her even lifting a finger. There were a lot of natural occurring things in the world and magic was everywhere. Witches were nothing more than people able to tap into the world’s natural magic flow and manipulate it to suit their needs. There are Covens all over the world---some small and some as big as entire nations. They try to keep under the radar though, making their presence known as little as they possibly can. It was kind of cool, if a bit freaky as well.

But I’m going off on a tangent.

Mom and Dad had one of those jobs that rarely kept them home. They would jet here and there---always dragging me along. Last summer we were in South and Central America looking for the Chupacabra. The summer before that it was the Himalayas looking for the Yeti. Neither turned out like we expected either. The famed Goat Sucker was actually a malnourished vamp---yep, those exist too---and the Yeti was a temperamental and extremely territorial troll. There were a lot of other trips like that, too----us going in and quelling the problems that some Unseen liked to cause. You could almost say that my parents were like Monster Cops. Though they didn’t actual carry guns and they tried to dissolve the situations without violence.

Living a life like that has its toll. Mine was that I never got a chance to be a normal kid. Sure, I could speak several languages and I could survive in the jungle with just the clothes on my back and a pocketknife but I just wanted to be normal. That’s how Tommy got so far away from me. We were tight when we were together but those months apart really didn’t help the friendship. Last year after getting back from our latest trip, I came home to a complete stranger of a best friend. Tommy Sinclair---my best bud---was gone; in his place was Tom Sinclair. It didn’t help that Tommy won the lottery over the summer either---the genetic one. Here I was barely five foot whatever and Tommy was sprouting chest hair, muscles and stood close to six feet now.

I finally couldn’t stand the torture of watching them anymore. I turned away from the window and went back to rest in my room. I couldn’t help but sigh. I think half my problem was my inability to grow up and change. I still had the same wallpaper from when I was six---spaceships---my bedspread was Star Wars, I had action figures lining all my shelves and comic book hero posters on the walls. It definitely didn’t look like the room of a nearly sixteen year old. In my defense though, I did have a lot of books, too, more than most kids my age and I was rarely home to do any real redecorating. A small part of me didn’t really want to redecorate either. Well maybe the wallpaper, but I didn’t see anything wrong with the other things. So it was a bit on the kid side but I just didn’t want to change it.

I rolled my computer chair away from the window and over to my desk. I flipped open my laptop, waiting the few seconds for it to boot up. Then I launched right into a game of DC Universe Online, bringing up my badass ice wielder. I was tearing through a slew of Circe’s transformed Amazons on the streets of Metropolis---losing all track of time---when there was a gentle knock on my bedroom door. I paused the game and spun around.

Before I could say anything, Mom poked her head inside. “I’m not interrupting the world saving am I?” she asked.
Unlike Dad, she understood my need for these kinds of games.

I shook my head. “I think the Justice League can handle the world without me for a few.”

She smiled and walked into the room, sitting on the edge of my bed.

Mom was still a beautiful woman despite her forty years of age. I’m not saying forty was old but there were some mothers who just didn’t age well. To look at Mom though, only a few facial lines and some gray hairs betrayed her. Her reddish blonde hair was still as vibrant as the old pictures of her in her youth and she still turned heads when she walked into the room. In most cases, a witch would look a lot younger at her age but Mom wasn’t a full blood---her father was actually human like my own Dad. I’m not sure what my grandmother thought of that but I know she didn’t think much of Dad. He tried to talk Mom into taking his name when he was married, something that witches were not permitted to do---at least the female ones anyway. In the end, grandma won. She always won. That’s the kind of person she was---a true force to be reckoned with.

I’m not sure how my cousin dealt with her twenty-four seven.

Mom looked around my room, frowning. I knew what she was frowning at too so when she said it I wasn’t the least bit surprised.

“You’re not packed?”

I moaned. I was putting that off to the last possible minute. “I thought maybe you could whip your hands into the air and make my stuff float into my bags?” I said with a pleading look.

A look, I might add, that never worked.

She gave me her own look. “You know that’s not what magic is for.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

It was rare for a guy to inherit any magic. I’m not sure why---there was this big long explanation about it but I never really understood that. I just knew that like my cousins Morgan and Jason, I was sterile in the magic department. It kind of ticked me off too. Mom could do all this cool stuff, my sister Jessica could do all this cool stuff, my cousin Carrie, hell, even my cousin Mary could probably whip up some of it now. But me---nope, I was a Dud. That was an actual term too; they called us magic born non-users “Duds”. There were ways around it of course but Mom didn’t want me to have any part in that. No good came out of reading spells from the books and trying to force magic upon myself. When a Dud did that it usually led to bad things.

So I was magicless for the rest of my life.

Mom reached over and squeezed my knee. “Its rough, kiddo, but your cousins don’t complain about it, they accept things as they are.”

If only I’d been born a girl. No, I’m not saying I want to be one. It’s just that girls got all the perks when it came to magic. If I’d been born one, I could be just like Mom. I wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning my room or packing my own bags. I’d just swipe my hand and make it do it all by itself. It kind of sucked that guys got the short end of the stick. It was going to suck even worse in a few days when I kept getting reminded of it.

“So about that packing?”

I groaned this time. “Can’t I do it later?”

“It’s always later with you” she said with a laugh. “You’re a bigger procrastinator than your father, you know that?”

I smiled. “Is that why he’s losing his hair?”

She laughed. “It runs in his family you know, hair loss.”

Major lie. I was pretty certain baldness was a trait that the mother passed on but it was still a scary thought. I ran my fingers through my mop of hair and gulped. I cherished my skater boy look---the hair falling down in my face. It wasn’t girly but it wasn’t exactly boyish either. I guess I skated the line a bit with that which was kind of fun. I liked messing with people, trying to get them to guess which way I was---boy or girl. It helped even more so that my name was Kelly. When I was younger, I used to hate it because after all most people associated Kelly with a girl’s name. The name actually meant “warrior” so I always thought it was pretty cool. Of course, most of the guys who used to pick on me because of it just thought I was a little fairy. “There’s the girly boy with the girl’s name.”

Mom brushed my bangs from my face. “How much more to this level?” she asked.

“They’re not levels in this game Mom, they’re missions.”

She smiled. “Well when that mission is done, I want you to pack your bags.”

I groaned. “Tell me why you guys get to go to Africa and I have to go to the middle of Nowhere-Ville?”

“For your information, I’d give anything to be in the middle of Nowhere-Ville instead of trudging around in the Serengeti tracking Black Crosses.”

Black Crosses was the term they used for Necromancers and Black Magic users. Africa had a huge problem with them and as such, Mom and Dad were going to have to spend several months there tracking them down. It was by far the coolest thing that either of them have done so far. Sadly, it was going to be something they couldn’t bring me along on. Mom was afraid what might happen if one of them got a hold of me. Black Crosses were nasty bastards; they liked to do nasty things to family members, sometimes even going so far as killing them and raising them from the dead as zombies.

“I won’t get in the way, I promise,” I said for the umpteenth time, hoping that I could finally break Mom down.

She shook her head. “You’re going to Nowhere-Ville with your cousin and grandmother and that’s final.”

I groaned. What a way to spend the next few months, getting dirty looks from grandma because I had the wrong anatomy between my legs and trying desperately to dodge all the practical jokes my cousin sent my way. The only good thing about the whole thing was Morgan. At least I could get along with him and if I’m lucky, the two of us might be able to spend a bunch of time together.

“Ravencrest though, Mom” I said with another, even longer groan. “Freak central US.”

“I’m such a horrible parent,” Mom said sarcastically. “I don’t want my son to be turned into a zombie so I’m sending him someplace safe.”

I could never win against that. I couldn’t help but smile. She kissed me on the forehead before getting up and leaving the room.

I went back to my game but my mind wasn’t in it. After a few minutes of playing, I quit. I didn’t have anything against Ravencrest, it was a pretty cool place actually; I just didn’t like the idea of being dropped somewhere. Mom and Dad were off doing something cool and I was stuck with boring crap. There wasn’t a shred of anything fun to do there, save maybe catching a movie or hanging out with Mary’s two friends---Greg and Trevor. The only truly good thing about it was that I was only going to be there for a few months then it was back home. I didn’t have to go to school either, just me vegging around the house. I suppose I could live with my grandmother if I got some perks out of the deal.

I sighed, deciding that unlike my Mom, my bags were not going to pack themselves.

After packing, I just had enough time to ride my bike into town.

It was “Comic Book Tuesday” at our local comic book shop---the day when they got all their new stuff in. What with school and having to pack, I didn’t get much time to swing by like I usually do. It annoyed my father that I spent so much time in the comic book shop. I don’t think he liked the idea that someone as smart as me---his words---spent all my time wasting my intellect on comic books. I tried to explain to him the significance of comic books and their heroes---how they’re like Greek heroes for modern times. Dad isn’t one for the hip or modern thing. He likes things old school. I love my father but he can be a pain in the ass with things like that.

I got to the shop just as it was closing. Jerry---the guy who owned it---was the only true friend I had left these days. He looked like the guy from the Simpson’s, you know the one. A lot of people picked on him because of it but he just laughed right along with him. He was like that, rolling with the punches, taking the laughs. He even threw in a lot of his own, mainly about his weight. Jerry was like that, if he couldn’t make them laugh then they had no business making fun of him. That’s how he saw it. You couldn’t tell by looking at him but Jerry was a pretty badass guy, used to wrestle in high school so he knew how to handle himself if things got too rough.

“There you are bro,” he said, sounding a lot like Kevin Smith. “I was beginning to think you flaked on me.”

I stopped my huffing. I was pedaling fast to make it here on time. “Had to pack.”

“They still sending you halfway across the country little dude?”

I nodded. “I tried talking them out of it but there’s no talking sense into them.”

“Bummer.”

Understatement of the year.

“Got anything to lighten my mood?”

Jerry smiled big. I loved it when he smiled like that. He pulled out his keys, unlocked the door that he just locked. He ushered me inside the shop quickly. I didn’t waste any time. Jerry’s Box---the name of his store---was like a comic geek’s Heaven. It was wall-to-wall comics. Nothing but racks, rows and shelves of them. I’m not sure how he did it but Jerry always seemed to get the best stuff, too. The greatest thing about it as that he always gave me a discount---I was his best customer after all.

He led me down the center row---turning sideways as he did so because he couldn’t quite fit properly. Past the cutouts of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel, the two of us ended up at the cash register. He squeezed his bulk behind the glass counter and disappeared behind it for a moment before coming back with a box. It had been recently opened but it was clear that the comics inside weren’t meant to go on the shelves. I felt my pulse start to quicken as my heart pounded. I loved it when he dipped into the new stuff for me.

Jerry laid his hand on the box. “What I’m about to show you has to stay between the two of us, do you understand bro?”

I nodded. He smiled and took out a box cutter, slicing the plastic wrap on the comics inside. He reached into the box and took out the top one, turning it slowly to show me. It was a DC one, a title I’d never seen before but the character looked vaguely familiar. I think it was the Green Arrow, it was definitely an archer clad in green. But there was just one small problem, it was a cool. I raised an eyebrow, which only made Jerry smile even more.

“What is this?” I asked, confused.

“DC is rolling out with the new stuff. You know how successful the 52 have been?” I nodded. “Well they’re releasing a limited edition run of a new Rule 63 set---7 members of the Justice League. Why they started with Green Arrow beats me.”

Rule 63---I knew it well. I know call it clichéd all you want, the androgynous kid reading gender bent comic books but I didn’t care. I thought it was kind of cool to see my favorite heroes in a new light. Sadly, Rule 63 wasn’t all that popular and it generally didn’t go beyond fan fiction websites and the like but it was still fun to read. I was kind of surprised that DC was releasing something like this though.

I looked back at the comic in his hand. As a chick, Green Arrow looked pretty badass.

“You think I can take a look?”

Jerry smiled then looked around as if he expected we were being watched. Of course we weren’t. “Tell you what bro. I’m going to accidentally leave this one on the counter and turn my back. If someone---not saying who---happens to grab it and walk out of here with it then I’ll never know.”

He winked. I wanted to squeal but instead I smiled.

I took the comic and stuck it in my pack---making sure that I didn’t damage it. Jerry smiled and then the two of us spent another twenty minutes talking about the latest stuff we read. After we extinguished our usual talk, I bid Jerry farewell and headed back out to my bike. It was nearing six but I didn’t really feel like going home. I know it was dinner time but I didn’t really want to eat whatever my father was cooking. My parents liked to alternate meal cooking, Mom was a great cook. Dad not so much. He had a tendency to burn whatever he touched. Mom and I tried our hardest to force down his burnt offerings.

So I decided to head toward one of the local burger joints.

When I got there, there was a small crowd. Most of it were families, people who probably didn’t like to cook. I did the usual wait in line for about ten minutes, got my food and found a booth in the back. It was my favorite place to hide, away from everyone else. The only disadvantage to it was it was near one of the back doors. After eating some of my fries, I reached into my pack and took out the comic. No one seemed to notice it so I think I was pretty clear.

As soon as I started reading, I was surprised that they started from scratch. An origin story with her on the island, peppered with flashbacks to her life before it. The writer clearly put his own spin on it too which I thought was really cool. I liked the idea that Olivia wasn’t rich to begin with and that her mother was the Queen not her father. It wasn’t a very long comic sadly, ending in a nasty cliffhanger but so far I liked what I’d read. As I was finishing up, I heard the ding of the bell on the door. I just looked up to see Tom and his new friends walk in---everyone who’d been playing football earlier. I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose at the smell that came with them.

Apparently, they didn’t bother to change out of their sweaty clothes.

The last one through the door was George Davis. It kind of pissed me off that Tom was friends with him now. George had been our constant tormentor through elementary and middle school. He was big and brawny, played football better than most. He was a year older than us but he didn’t appear to hang out with kids in his own grade. George was an ass, why Tom would be friends with him after the hell he put us through is beyond me.

Unfortunately, for me, George caught sight of me. As soon as he did, this wicked smile spread across his face. The others went ahead but he dropped into the booth across from me. “If it isn’t the little sissy boy,” He said it loud enough so that the other people around us could hear.

Of course they looked. No one said anything though. It was typical of a situation like this, people too selfish and self-absorbed to get involved.

“Get lost George,” I said, thankful that I managed to put the comic away before he sat down.

I would have gotten hell if he’d seen it.

“Little fag boy going to cry now.”

Ok, so he made me cry once and I was never going to live that down. It was when I was in the second grade. We were on the playground at school, a group of us reenacting one of the Star Wars prequels on the monkey bars. George came out of nowhere. He thought it would be fun to drop in with a big ass stick, swinging it like a lightsaber. He caught me in the chin with it, which would have been nothing except for the fact that I was already close to the end of the thing to begin with. I slipped and tumbled backwards, landing flat on my back. For an eight year old, that hurt like hell so of course I was going to cry. George got suspended for a week because of it, which was the first of many abuses from him after that.

George never seemed to let me forget that one. I’m not sure why he was so damn obsessed with it though.

“Come on faggy, cry for me.”

George liked to goad. It was the only way that he seemed to accomplish anything. It amazed me that here he was a sophomore, busting my balls like this. This teasing of his was something that middle school kids did, not seventeen year olds. Yeah, seventeen. George was a bit of a moron. He should have been at least a junior by now but he was held back or something. Me, I was a little bit behind on things because of my traveling. I was technically a sophomore too but I was behind on some things. According to my school district because I didn’t actually spend more than half my time in class, they couldn’t pass me onto the next grade. That was another rift between Tom and myself, he was now technically a grade above me, too.

“Knock it off,” said a familiar voice.

I looked and saw Tom coming over, carrying his tray. I was never happier to see anyone in my entire life, as I was him.

“I was just having a bit of fun with our friend Kelly here,” said George with a smirk.

“No you were being a dick.”

Tom never once made eye contact with me. Instead, he grabbed George’s arm and pulled him from my booth. A year ago, George would have snapped around and punched Tommy in the face for something like that but Tom was different. For one thing, he was a head taller than George and for another; he was starting to get ripped. It made sense I suppose. Tommy had three older brothers, all of whom were huge guys. It was only a matter of time for Tommy to bulk up and lose all that baby fat he had before puberty. I was happy for him, happy that he finally broke out of that awkward phase of his but it still annoyed me that he had to leave me behind to do it. What kind of friend leaves their only other friend behind just because he grew taller and got muscles?

Tom half dragged, half pushed George toward their respective booth. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the bully be manhandled like that. Why Tom hung out with him, I didn’t know but I was glad to see him pushing back finally. I just hoped one of these days my absentee puberty would kick, I’d get some height and muscles and be able to push back a bit myself. I definitely wouldn’t be friends with George though. If need be, I’d find my own friends and try to stay as far away from George as possible---kind of like I tried to do now.

I watched them for a few moments more but they seemed to completely ignore me. They were laughing about something I couldn’t hear. As I turned away, I caught sight of two guys as they came into the place. They were the kind of guys who didn’t belong in a family restaurant. Tall and sinister looking, dressed in black. They didn’t even bother to go to the counter either. Instead, they dropped into a booth. One of them looked around for a moment before his eyes fell on me. Looking at him, I couldn’t help but shudder. He had slicked back hair and a tiny moon shaped scar below his left eye. His companion turned toward me as well. He was even uglier, his face all pock marked and creepy looking. I felt like I was going to throw up looking at him.

I tried not to look at them but it was hard not to. In the end, I finished eating my fries. I couldn’t eat my burger, looking at pock face made me lose my appetite. I took my tray to the trash bin near the door, thankfully the back one. As I was dumping it, I took one last look at the creepy guys. Scarface was now standing, looking in my direction again. A shiver went down my spine. What the hell was this guy’s problem, was he some kind of pervert?

I didn’t wait to find out. I finished dumping my food and left the place.

Our house wasn’t that far from town. In fact, it only took about ten minutes to ride my bike back and forth. Tonight though I was in the mood to take things slow. There was this small road that went from our house to town, a river on one side, woods on the other. Our house was just on the other side of a bridge that crossed the river. Tommy and I used to do some fishing in that river whenever we could. There was this little spot under the bridge that was perfect for it. We never caught much but it was fun to get out of the house every now and then. Sometimes when I rode home like this I liked to stop at the bridge and just think.

I had some things to think about tonight.

Chief among those thoughts were those two guys. They kind of freaked me out a bit, especially the way they looked at me. I’d been stared at like that before, more than once actually. Most of the time it was jackasses trying to decide if I was a girl or a boy. I was short, my sandy colored hair was a cut in a unisex style and I didn’t have an inch of facial hair whatsoever. It didn’t help that I had this baby smooth face and long eyelashes. A lot of people mistook me for an underdeveloped tomboy. More than once while shopping, sales ladies would come up to me and Mom and tell us we were shopping in the wrong section. Most of them trying to redirect us into the Misses Department. I got used to and ignored most of that. It was the other stuff that I couldn’t ignore.

The perverts.

I hated it when guys stared a little be longer than usual at me. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a bit on the cute side. That’s one of the reasons I grew my hair out in the front, hoping to hide my face. All that did was confuse people more though. It was always like this too. In elementary school, I used to buzz my head but the only thing that got were angry teachers, convinced my parents wanted a boy. I would get sent home with notes saying they were going to report them for shaving such a pretty little girl’s hair all off. I didn’t act like a girl though, I didn’t dress like one either and yet all my teachers still thought I was one. In middle school, they actually tried to kick me out of gym class because they thought they’d made a mistake.

By the time I got to high school, I was so annoyed with it that I just tried to ignore it. So I was a bit girly, it wasn’t the end of the world. It didn’t last very long anyway. People would make a few mistakes in the beginning then everything was fine. Occasionally I would be called Miss Daniels but I never bothered to correct people. It was a way of life for me. The only thing I did like about this whole going to Ravencrest thing was that I wouldn’t have to go to school while I was there so I didn’t have to worry about anyone thinking I was Miss Kelly Daniels instead of Mister.

I stopped riding when my cell rang. I groaned. I was halfway to the bridge, almost home. I took the cell out of my pack, not even bothering to check who it was.

“Hi Mom” I said with a sigh.

“There you are,” she said “your father and I were wondering when you’d get back.”

I rolled my eyes. “I was in town, went to the Box.”

Mom lowered her voice. “Tell me you stopped and ate somewhere?”

She was probably speaking softly so my Dad didn’t overhear.

“Of course.”

“Lucky.”

I laughed. One of these days, I was going to have to learn how to cook so that I could relieve Dad of his duties.

My cell beeped in my ear. I looked at the screen, my battery was really low. One of these days I was going to have to learn to charge this thing too---not that I didn’t know how too, I was just lazy.

“Mom my cell is dying; I’m almost at the bridge. I’ll be home in sec.”

Mom clicked off which wasn’t a moment too soon as my phone completely died. I stuck it back into my pack and started pedaling again. I was still taking it slow. Home was probably another six minutes away or so. I thought about picking up speed but I liked these quiet nighttime rides. They were relaxing. They also gave me a little more time to myself. Ever since my sister Jessica went away to college last year, Mom and Dad had been kind of smothering me a lot. I’m not saying that I didn’t enjoy the attention but you can only have so much before it starts to get on your nerves. So I started taking it slower on my way back home so that I could have a little more time to myself. It was nice actually.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one on the road tonight.

Behind me there was car fast approaching. I often ran into cars every now and then. I was pretty good with the traffic safety rules---Dad made me memorize them. I pulled over to the side of the road, hoping the car would pass me by. But it didn’t, in fact it seemed to be slowing a bit. I’m not sure I liked that. I turned to see if I could make out who it was. I knew a few people who drove. This car however I didn’t recognize it. It was black; no one I knew drove a black car. It looked foreign too, maybe a BMW. That was a bit of a surprise, after all this was a fairly small town, who drove a car like that around here?

Regardless of the car, it didn’t seem to want to pass me. I waved it on, hoping it would get the hint. But as the car got closer, a chill went up my spine. I caught sight of the driver; it was the scar-faced guy from the restaurant. My heart skipped a bit as sweat trickled down the back of my neck. What the hell? The car turned on its brights then picked up speed. Shit, these guys were crazy. I started pedaling as fast as I could. The car revved its engine behind me, pouring on the speed now. I’d never pedaled so fast in my entire life.

Thankfully, the bridge was in sight.

Not that really mattered. They were still going to follow me even if I got over the bridge. I’m not sure what their deal was but I knew I couldn’t let them follow me home. I didn’t want two creeps like that knowing where I lived. I needed to lose them and lose them fast. When I got closer to the bridge, I made my decision. There was this little path that went off the side of the road. It dropped down to the river, crossing under the bridge. Tommy and I used to take it down to go fishing. It was pitch black down there so hopefully I could get down there and out of sight.

I found the path in question. The car was nearly on my back wheel. I’m not sure what they were going to do if they caught me and I didn’t want to find out. I put a little more oomph in my pedaling. I made it look like I was going to the bridge and then at the last possible second I turned off down the little path. The car was going so fast that it sped right past me. I whipped down the path, skidding to a halt when the bridge came over the top of me. My heart was hammering in my chest, my palms sweaty, my legs aching. I heard the car screech to a halt somewhere on the other side of the bridge. Two doors opened and slammed. Shit, they were actually getting out. I pulled myself deeper under the bridge, glad there was enough room for both me and my bike. The two uglies were on the bridge now. I could hear them walking.

“Where the hell did she go?” asked one of them.

They thought I was a girl. Typical.

“How the hell should I know?”

“Get a light” snapped the first speaker.

“I’m not going down there,” snapped the second. “These are Italian loafers; you know how much these cost?”

The first one groaned. “We’re going to get such shit for losing her.”

I think one of them leaned over the railing a bit. I couldn’t see his face but his curse sounded louder. Then a moment later, I heard them walking back along the bridge. I didn’t move until I heard them slam their doors and their car peel off. As soon as I knew it was gone, I finally let out the breath I’d been holding in. I pushed my bike back out from under the bridge and walked it up the path toward the road. I stood there for a moment and stared, making sure their car was truly gone. As soon as I was certain I hopped back on my bike and started toward home.

I couldn’t help but think that those guys were after more than I thought, though.

Thinking more about it sent a cold shiver down my spine.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.2, I was going to hold off posting until I got 3 finished but I'm kind of writing slow lol. Hopefully I'll have three done sometime today. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWO:

A huge weight pressing on my chest woke me up. I blinked, the morning sun hitting me right in the face. I would have turned away from the window except the weight was heavier than I thought. I didn’t even have to look to see what was there. Nevertheless, I looked at the huge gray lump that was threatening to collapse both my lungs. I shifted slightly, nudging the big gray cat, hoping I could get him to move. Instead, he turned his head slowly and gave me this lazy look, his eyes half open. The small white diamond on his forehead gave him his name, me I just called him the world’s laziest cat.

Diamond was Mom’s familiar, a prize that every witch cherished. I liked cats as much as the next person I suppose but witches worshiped them or something. Ok, that wasn’t true but it sure felt like it sometimes. Diamond was treated on the same level as my sister and me and he was a cat. With him around it sometimes felt like he was the third brother---or maybe I was the third, I think he was older than me, believe it or not. Witches all over the world treated their cats like children, my grandmother’s cat---Nicodemus---was like the son she never had. I think he was the only guy that she ever really tolerated. How messed up was that?

“Diamond” I gasped. “Can’t breathe dude.”

I shifted my body again, which finally caused the cat to move.

He slid off me but not before doing that lazy stretch thing animals sometimes do when they wake up. Then he sat there and stared at me, giving me this strange look. I was certain if Diamond was human and could talk, he would either be the laziest person I ever met or the most arrogant. He just liked to sit there and stare at me. If I pushed or prodded him though, he’d definitely take a swipe at me.

“Ok Diamond, we gotta get up buddy,” I said, throwing off my covers.

I turned slightly to look at the clock, for a moment I freaked because it was nine. I thought maybe I’d overslept. It took me a second to realize it was Saturday. I couldn’t be happier, either. Yesterday was my last day of school for who knows how long. Usually these trips lasted months but with me going to Ravencrest and my parents being gone for only weeks this time; I had no idea how long I was going to be out of school. The administration knew the drill by now though. I was handed a load of reading and writing assignments, enough to last the few weeks I was gone and when I got back, I was expected to have it all done. That was this time though, other times there wasn’t much they could do but tell me to have a good time. I don’t think they liked my parents constantly pulling me out of school but the nameless and faceless man that my parents answered too seemed to have a lot of pull.

It felt kind of strange thinking my parents worked for someone but it was the truth. I never actually met the guy but I knew he was the one who told them to go here and there. I liked to call him the Answer Man because he was always sending them out to find them. Regardless of who he was though, I loved the guy. He got me out of school and he let me run around the world getting an education that no money could buy. My passport was filled with stamps from all over the world, more than twenty in the last fifteen years of my life. I had more shots and immunizations than a bubble boy. Everywhere I went I was constantly being poked and prodded---it was a small price to pay though to be me. Tommy always used to be jealous about all the places I got to go.

I left my room and started down the hall toward the bathroom. My room was at one end of the hall, my sister’s at the other. Mom and Dad’s room was in the middle of things.

As professors at the local community college, Mom and Dad made enough between the two of them to do fairly well. Our house was a two story Victorian with four bedrooms and two baths. With Jessica now in college, there was some talk of turning her room into an office for Mom---the last room was Dad’s office, after all. I was hoping maybe I could weasel my way into Jess’s room actually, seeing as it was bigger than mine. I’m not sure my sister would like that though, me trying to take over her space. I’d definitely have to redecorate though----Jess really liked her pink. It was bad enough I looked slightly like a girl; I didn’t need a room with pink walls and carpet. Now though the room sat as it was as we all tried to figure out what was best for it.

Diamond was padding down the hall behind me. He would have gone into the bathroom with me if I hadn’t slammed the door in his face. I swear that cat thinks he’s a person. I went through my usual morning routine before stripping and hopping into the shower. My sister liked long hot showers, said they helped her reflect on the day previous. Me, I liked to hop in, wash as quickly as possible and hop out. I also liked them cold, especially in the mornings before school---nothing like a nice blast of cold water to wake you up in the morning. Today however I put the water on luke warm and took my time. I found myself thinking about those guys from last night and couldn’t help but wonder what they wanted. It was clear they were after me for some reason but I couldn’t figure out why. I thought maybe they were perverts but thinking about the car they drove and the way they dressed---expensive Italian shoes---it made me wonder if they weren’t something else.

I was conflicted about what to do about it. When I got home last night, Mom and Dad were in the living room watching some TV. They both gave me strange looks because I was panting but I told them I’d been riding a little faster to get home. I’m not sure why I didn’t tell them about the creeps. Ok so I knew why---I didn’t want them to worry. It was strange really but last night I didn’t really think much of it until I had some time to think about it a bit. Now I was a bit confused about what to do. Should I tell my parents about it or should I just ignore it again? Telling them wouldn’t change anything, other than the fact that they might make me come home before dark. Ignoring it only affected me, too. I was always taught not to ignore my problems.

Damn. Why was this so difficult?

I’m going to tell them. It was stupid to keep something like this from them. That made me feel a look better too. I let out a sigh as I shut off the water and got out of the shower. I left a towel hanging close by and started to wrap it around my waist. As I was doing so, I couldn’t help but get a look at my scrawny body in the shower door. I groaned. I didn’t look almost sixteen, I looked twelve. I hated that I seemed to be allergic to puberty. I should be shaving and worrying about my voice cracking not about people calling me Miss and guys pulling chairs out for me when I wanted to sit. The sandy haired kid staring back at me looked like a little boy, not the man he should have been turning into. It was my father’s fault too. It was his genes after all. My sister took after my mother---both of them had red hair, green eyes and were tall---well, tall for girls anyway. I took after Dad---sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and really short. Looking at my reflection it was no wonder everyone thought I was a girl.

I groaned, taking a peek down below the belt as well. Things didn’t look too good down there either.

I finished wrapping the towel around the rest of me, threw my t-shirt and boxers into the clothes hamper and left the bathroom. Diamond was sitting at the top of the stairs, staring at me. I gave him the evil eye right back as I went back to my room to change. I dressed quickly, pulling on jeans, t-shirt and my usual purple hoodie---yes purple, it was one of my school colors. Mom bought it for me actually, thought I could wear it to show more team spirit.

After I got dressed, I rushed downstairs to tell my parents everything. Diamond on my heels.

But the kitchen was empty.

“Mom” I shouted and a moment later. “Dad?”

Diamond ran into the kitchen behind me and jumped up onto the counter. As he did I saw a note? I picked it up and shook my head. Kel, went to the office to get some last minute things worked out. Will be back before lunch. PS: Take Diamond to Mrs. Braddock across the street for us please. I groaned at that last part. Not that I didn’t like Mrs. Braddock but she liked to talk a lot. She was a good lady though---elderly, her husband having passed away a few years ago. She watched Diamond for us while we went on our trips. It was kind of strange that they wanted me to take him over now because we weren’t leaving until Monday morning.

I shrugged it off. Then waved the note in the cat’s face.

“See that, I get to get rid of you a few days early.”

Diamond just gave me one of his looks again.

I didn’t waste any time getting him all set. I scooped his fat butt up quickly and carried him into the living room. Mom had his carrier and his bag all set up. I swear that stupid cat got better treatment then both me and my sister combined. I stuffed the fat fur ball into the carrier, locked the door and smirked at him through the bars. He let out an annoyed meow, clearly ticked off at his newest predicament.

“Shouldn’t have crushed me this morning,” I said with a smile as I carried the carrier toward the door, his bag slung over my shoulder as I did so.

It didn’t take me more than two minutes to walk across the street to Mrs. Braddock’s. Though a little eccentric, she was one of the nicest people I knew. She was also one of the only ones I knew that didn’t think I was a girl. She and her husband used to run a florist shop in town, after his death she retired and allowed her daughter to run it. Now she spent most of her time at home, gardening and taking care of the pair of cats she had---Boots and Sam. She was more than happy to take Diamond for us when we were away. I think she kind of liked the company. Though her daughter took over the family business, I don’t think they were very close.

I held the carrier in one hand as I opened the little gate that led into her yard. Mrs. B had a green thumb. She grew most of the flowers for her shop at her own house---there was a huge greenhouse in the backyard, actually. But the flowers didn’t stop there. They were all over the front yard too, several different kinds. I knew a lot about them because I used to help her plant them whenever I had the free time. This being California, we weren’t prone to a lot of cold weather except this year. It was unseasonably cold this time of year actually. November was always a bit chilly but I couldn’t remember the last time I had to wear jeans and hoodie outside. I suppose it had something to do with Global warming and the changing climates.

I walked up the little walkway---flowers on either side of me---before reaching the door. I rang the bell once and waited. It sometimes took her a minute or two to get to door. I looked at my watch, counting down the seconds then I rang the bell again. I waited a little longer before knocking. It wasn’t like Mrs. B not to be here. After knocking a second time, I took out my cell and called her house phone. It rang a few times before an automated message picked up:
“This is Kitty, if you want me I’ll be at the shop.”

I groaned. I forgot about that. Even though she didn’t own the shop anymore, Mrs. B liked to go there every Saturday. As far as I knew, she gave the place up but it was possible that her daughter forced her to retire. It wasn’t really my place to speculate. I couldn’t help but groan at my stupidity for not remembering that. I left a message for her anyway, telling her that I’d bring Diamond to the shop. The quicker I got rid of the pain in the ass, the better.
I turned and ran across the street. When I got to the house, I cursed. I not only locked the door but I locked my keys inside. Today was not my day for things to go right.

Diamond made a scoffing sound, almost like laughter.

“Shut it fur ball” I snapped.

It looks like I was walking into town because my bike was locked in the garage as well. I cursed Dad for being so paranoid then started walking down the road. Riding a bike into town was one thing but walking was another thing entirely. On foot, it took about ten minutes to get out of the development and probably another ten just to reach the bridge. I tried to think positively though. Twenty minutes later when I finally got to the bridge, all that positive energy was long gone. I did get a chance to look at where those jackasses stopped last night though. It was pretty apparent where because there was two nasty black skid marks on the road. I looked at them for a few moments before walking over to the railing where I thought the guy was trying to spot me. I looked over the side and down, looking at the river as it trickled on by. I say trickle because it wasn’t much of a river actually, probably more of a stream---at least in this part. The further it went, the wider it opened.

I stood on the bridge for a minute or two before carrying Diamond’s fat butt off on its merry journey.

Fifteen minutes later, I was walking into town.

Carsonville was a small little burg, less than five thousand people.

We didn’t have much going for us either except maybe the mall. There used to be an old tire factory on the outskirts of town but that went out of business before I was born. It was an empty shell of a building now, home to squatters and what not. They had that whole area fenced off actually but that didn’t stop local kids from riding out there and throwing rocks over the fence, trying to bust out windows. Tommy and I used to go there sometimes but we never did anything illegal. We used to try to see who could climb the highest on the fence; the one that got closer to the barbed wire on top was the winner.

I remember getting closer than I wanted once. My sleeve got caught actually, the wire tearing into my arm a bit. It didn’t help to tug either. Tommy had to use this little pocket knife of his to cut me free. I still had the scars on my arm.

Memories like that made me miss him more than I thought.

I tried to put it aside as I turned onto Main Street. It was funny but I was certain that every town had a Main Street. Ours was no different. It was lined with little shops on either side and a lot of empty buildings. It used to be pretty booming---according to Mrs. B but things took a turn for the worse when the mall came in. A lot of places went belly up; most of the shops were now vacant because of it. The only reason Braddock’s Flowers survived was because there was no market to sell flowers in a mall. There were still a few other places standing as well like the Box and the burger place I went to last night---Carson’s.

Braddock’s was actually across the street from Carson’s. It was actually quite busy on a Saturday morning, customers coming in and out. I looked at the little tulip shaped sign above the door and couldn’t help but smile. Two years ago that sign was barely hanging in there and then Dad and I took it down. We spent the afternoon repainting it and putting it back up, it was now as good as new. I started toward the door when I stopped. Walking here left me a bit on the parched side. I looked at Diamond. I knew I couldn’t bring him into Carson’s but they had a soda machine outside. I reached into my pocket; glad I remembered my wallet and walked across the street.

I cut across the street, pulling out my wallet as I did so.

Carson’s had a lot of picnic tables outside, it fit with their summertime theme. I set Diamond’s carrier on the closest one as I fished a dollar out of my wallet. I stuck it in the machine, got a can of Sprite and turned around to find unwanted guests. I groaned as George and two of his yesterday’s football pals come walking up. It didn’t take them look to spot me.

George’s eyes went right to the pet carrier and he smirked. “Look guys, I told you Daniels had a pussy.”

The two jerks laughed. Me, I groaned. Why was it whenever George was around I felt like I was in one of those bad 50's movies. He was a clichéd bully through and through.

I got my drink, holding the can tightly. I tried making a step toward the carrier but George was blocking my way. I cursed my stupidity for at least the third time today. Why didn’t I see the three of them lurking nearby? They were always lurking somewhere and today it just so happened to be my blind spot. I’d gotten pretty good at knowing when there was a threat nearby, but today I was off my A Game for sure. I was off it last night too. First with George and then with those two creeps. Today made a hat trick of stupidness.

“I’m not in the mood,” I groaned to myself and to them I said.

“Back off.”

George laughed. “Someone must be PMS’ing today.”

Ok so I could take being called a girl every once and a while---it didn’t bother me. But I was getting a little sick and tired of his damn jokes about it.

“Why do you care so much what I look like?” I followed that quickly with. “Am I a threat to you? If you think I’m a girl, does that mean that you’re afraid of a girl?”

His friends laughed at that. George looked pissed.

I threw the final dig his way. “In elementary school when guys pick on girls it usually means they like them. So if I’m a girl like you claim, does that mean you have a crush on me?”

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I shouldn’t have said it but I was sick and tired of his crap. In hindsight, it was pretty stupid because it was asking for trouble.

His friends were laughing even more at him. George got that look---the one I was all too familiar with. I saw him ball up a fist and prepared for the punch that was about to follow. He surprised me by grabbing the pet carriage. I cursed, forgetting all about it. I tried to grab it from him but he held it over his head. Did I mention how much I hated being short. I made a jumping grab for it but he shoved me back. His two buddies stopped laughing and grabbed me as I made another lunge for it.

“The little sissy wants her pussy back, let say we leave it for her in a place where she’ll definitely find it.”

He carried the carrier over to the road. His friends dragged me along. I kicked and squirming trying to break their grip. It was one thing to despise Diamond but there was no way I was going to let someone put him defenseless in the middle of the street. George was laughing the whole time, shaking the carrier back and forth as did so. The mistake came when he lowered the carrier to his face in an attempt to mock the cat inside. Diamond had already sounded pretty pissed off. He exhibited that anger as soon as George’s face was in view, shooting one of his paws out through the bars. He caught George across the nose, raking his nails straight across the bridge of it.

George screamed in pain, dropping the carrier. It bounced once or twice then skidded to a halt. No damage to it or the cat inside.

I used that moment to throw my own tactic into the mix. I shook up my can as hard as I could, held it up to the face of the closest jackass to me and popped the top. The white liquid inside gushed forth like a volcano erupting. He stumbled back, letting me go. I drove my heel into the foot of the other guy and then I was free. I ran past George, scooped up the carrier and took off. It didn’t take long for the three of them to give chase. I think I might have mentioned how athletically inclined I wasn’t. I guess I should really get out more, do some running instead of sitting in front of my computer all day. Hell, if I made it out of this alive I would make sure to do just that.

I got a good head start on them.

I ran as hard and as fast as I could. I could feel the burn but sadly sitting in front of the computer was starting to take its toll on me. I had no endurance, no stamina whatsoever. After running for only a block, I started to slow. The only thing that seemed to push me on was the fact that they were right behind me. I used that little bit of motivation to keep on running, hoping that they’d tire faster than me even though I knew that was a long shot. It spurred me on though, fueling what little energy I had left.

Sadly, it wasn’t enough.

I forgot about the bag I had slung over my shoulder. It was a little tote; I put the strap across my chest when I left the house earlier. It was Diamond’s bag---something mom put together for him whenever we left him with Mrs. B. It had treats and vet records---things like that. The bag was my undoing. A hand lashed out and grabbed the strap. There was a violent tug and the next thing I knew I was on my back. Hitting the ground knocked the wind out of me, sent the carrier skidding from my hands. I saw George above me and then the feet came. I threw up my arms as I rolled, thankful I was thinking slightly straight. I saw it in a movie somewhere---rolling into a ball and pulling in close to protect vital organs in a situation like this.

I was a bit surprised that I remembered it actually.

“Get the little freak up” shouted George as his two friends caught up with us.

I tried to get away then but they were too fast. They dragged me to my feet and held my arms. George landed one punch to my gut then another. He was going on the third when a fist came out of nowhere. I didn’t even see the person who threw it until another fist hit George in the face a second time. That’s when I saw Tommy. I’m not sure where he came from but it was like a miracle. George dropped after the second blow then Tommy turned on the other two. They pushed me into him and took off. They didn’t even bother to grab George. It took George a moment to get to his feet after that. When he did, I saw his split lip and the huge bruise that was already starting to form from the first punch to the head that Tommy landed.

“”Reynolds, we’re through” he snapped, blood running down his chin.

Today was not the day for George and facial injuries.

“I’ve been through with you for a while,” said Tommy, puffing up a bit. “The only reason I hung out with you in the first place was to keep you away from Kelly. Look how that turned out.”

“You want the fag, you can have him.”

Tommy took a step forward. “Get lost George before I mess up the other side of your face.”

George didn’t have to be told twice. He turned and took off.

Tommy turned to me with a sheepish grin. “You ok?” I nodded.

It was then that I noticed that he had a black backpack in his hands. A very familiar one actually. I cursed. Last night I’d been so freaked about my encounter with first George and those guys I must have forgotten it. How did I not notice that when I got home? Well my brain was a bit scrambled. I took the pack from him with a smile, wincing at the pain in my ribs. I don’t think they were broken but being kicked and then punched there, it probably left some nice bruising behind.

“I was looking for you,” he said, “I tried your house first but no one was there. I thought maybe you were going to the Box. That’s when I saw you running and those guys after you.”

“Thanks for the save.”

I turned and looked for the carriage. This so wasn’t Diamond’s day either. I walked over and picked up the carrier, taking a peek inside. The cat took a swipe at me too. I managed to pull my head away before getting it in the face though.

“I deserved that.”

Before I knew what we were doing, Tommy and I were walking away from Main Street. It took me a moment or two to realize we were going in the direction of the library. Neither one of us said anything because I wasn’t sure what to say. I was certain he was done with me, that I was some dweeb that he wanted nothing to do with. But it was the complete opposite actually---he was trying to protect me. I’m not sure how to react to that. Here I thought he was abandoning me for the worse ass on the planet and all he was doing was trying to keep that ass from beating the crap out of me.

“I read the comic,” he said after a few minutes. “I know I shouldn’t have but I saw it in there and couldn’t resist. It was really good.”

“You still read them?”

“Of course!”

That surprised me a bit. Here I thought he was Tom now but he was still Tommy just a different kind of Tommy. So maybe people don’t change all that much after all.

We walked a little more in silence.

“So where are you and Diamond going anyway?” he asked, looking from the carriage to the tote and back to the carrier.

I cursed. I’d forgotten about Mrs. Braddock. “The flower shop, actually.”

“Kind of going the wrong way for that” he said with a laugh.

We stopped in front of a bench. If I walked any further in the wrong direction it was going to take me forever to go back. “I should probably head back,” I said, pointing in the direction we just came.

He nodded. “You guys leaving soon?”

Tommy knew the drill. I nodded. “Monday morning. I’m supposed to drop Diamond off with Mrs. B today.”

We started walking again, this time back the way we came.

“Anywhere exciting?”

I shook my head. “My rents are going to Africa and they’re shipping me off to Ravencrest with my grandmother.”

Tommy didn’t know about the whole magic and monsters thing. As far as he was concerned, Mom and Dad did a lot of traveling because of their jobs. It was kind of annoying not being able to tell him the truth but we had rules. The Unseen had rules. No Normals were allowed to know of their existence, if their existence was discovered the Normals were too turned over to the nearest Coven for Evaluation. I’m not even sure what that was but it sounded awful. So even though I wanted to tell Tommy the truth, I just couldn’t let that happen.

“Your grandma is like s scary dragon lady isn’t she?” I nodded.

“Good luck with that.”

We laughed.

It didn’t take us long to get back onto Main Street. We talked a little bit about what he had planned for the upcoming Winter Break. I was surprised when he said he was hoping to play some games with me. That kind of ticked me off. I got my friend back and now I had to leave. Thankfully, it was only for a few weeks this time. I told him that too, we made a promise to meet up as soon as I got back.

As soon as the flower shop came into sight, I sighed. That sigh was very short lived though because out in front was a very familiar black BMW. The color drained from my face at the sight of it. What the hell were those guys doing there?

I stopped dead in my tracks, throwing Tommy off a little bit. He was still walking and stopped to see what had startled me. I grabbed his arm instead, yanking him toward the nearest shop. I pushed him inside, closing the door quickly behind us as I did so. I caught a quick look around, groaning because we were in a girl’s clothing shop. Tommy groaned too but he had more important things to worry about.

“What the hell was that for?” he asked, rubbing his arm.

“That BMW in front of the flower shop” I said.

“What about it?”

“Those guys were in Carson’s last night. They tried to follow me home, nearly ran me off the road.”

Tommy’s eyes bugged out of his head. “Your messing with me right?”

“When have I ever tried to mess with you?”

“Shit.”

“Miss” said a snide voice from behind me. “Excuse me Miss.”

I turned around to see a snotty looking woman standing behind us dressed in a blouse and tight gray skirt, her hair piled high on her head. She had a little silver nametag on her blouse: Doris.

“I’m not a Miss” I said, annoyed.

She ignored me. “You can’t bring that animal in here,” she said, pointing to the cat carrier.

“We’re being stalked,” said Tommy.

Doris frowned. “Well be stalked elsewhere. If you don’t get that thing out of here I’m going to have to call the police.”

I groaned. Seriously. I thought about telling her off but I just didn’t feel like it. Instead, I gave her the finger and pushed Tommy toward the door. She actually stood there and made sure we didn’t come back in. The nerve of some people. Out on the street now, I was vulnerable once again. I cursed, looking around for another place to duck in to. I’m not sure why those guys were at the flower shop but it couldn’t have been good.

Tommy had other plans. He reached into his pocket and took out his knife.

“What are you doing?”

“Evening up the odds,” he said as he walked toward the flower shop.

I couldn’t stop him, Tommy was stubborn like that. Instead, all I could do was go along with whatever it was he was planning to do.

As soon as we got to the flower shop, I figured it out. Tommy dropped down next to the car, making sure that no one could see us. He went to the nearest wheel and stuck the blade of the knife into it. I was shocked. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I never expected him to actually slit one of the tires. I looked nervously into the shop. I couldn’t see much because there were a lot of flowers obscuring the windows. I just hoped that they were in there looking for me and not out here somewhere lying in wait.

Tommy moved around to the other side of the car. He slit one of the front tires there. I looked around again, this time hoping there was no one about to notice what he just did. Thankfully, the street seemed to be pretty vacant at the moment.

“Ok, we’ve evened the odds now can we get the hell out of here?”

He nodded.

He crept along the side of the car and stood up. As soon as we did, I caught sight of the scar faced goon as he walked out of the flower shop. We all froze, just staring. He looked from the tires to the knife to me then back to the tires. I looked only at him, my heart pounding in my chest. In his hand, I saw a photo, a photo of me and my family. It was the one we had on the fireplace mantle. A cold sweat came over me at that realization: these guys had been in my house.

The shock of everything faded a moment later.

Scar face looked pretty pissed off. “That was a really stupid thing to do,” he said, flicking his wrists.

As soon as he did, two curved blades came shooting out of his sleeves into his hands.

“Kelly run” said Tommy softly.

“What?” I asked, not really hearing him all that well.

“I said RUN!” he threw his knife at the guy, causing it to whiz by his head.

Then Tommy did something that was both stupid and brave. Using the knife throw as a distraction, he charged the bastard. He caught him off guard long enough to slam into his chest headfirst. The charging tackle from Tommy took the son of a bitch out, sending the two of them flying backwards. They dropped in a heap. Then Tommy used whatever strength he had to hold the guy’s arms down.

“KELLY!” he shouted “RUN!”

His shouts were loud enough to draw attention. Suddenly Pock Face appeared from out of nowhere.

He and I looked at each other. Then he flicked his own wrists, knives coming out just like his friend. I cursed then took my friend’s advice. I turned and ran as fast as I could. I’m not sure where I got the extra bit of energy from though, especially after running for my life only twenty minutes or so ago. Somehow, I got a burst of speed. I ran away from the flower shop, away from where my best friend was struggling with some knife-wielding bastard. Thinking about that brought tears to my eyes, hoping that Tommy was going to be all right.

I tried not to think about it as I made my way to the end of the block.

Running around the corner, I saw salvation. There was a bus at the bus stop, passengers slowly getting on. I looked at the back; it said SHEPHERDSVILLE, which was the next town over. I sighed in great relief because Shepherdsville was where the college was. If I could get to Mom and Dad then I might have some protection from all of this. I put on the speed as I ran toward the bus. Pock Face was right behind me, I could hear his feet hitting the pavement as he charged after me. Luckily, I had a much bigger lead than before. I’m not sure where all this stamina was coming from now but I felt faster than before.

I got to the bus in the nick of time.

I was the last one on, slipping in seconds before the driver shut the door. The bus started moving. I turned around and caught sight of Pock Face as he slowed down, I gave him the finger, he shot me an evil glare. I sighed in relief as I watched him slowly disappear from sight as the bus picked up speed and turned another corner. As soon as that was done, I pulled out some money, stuck it in the thing and dropped into the nearest seat.

I held up the carrier and looked inside. Diamond still looked a little pissed off.

“I’m not having a very good day either,” I said with a heavy sigh.

The cat said nothing.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's three, sorry for the delay. I got caught up in a bathroom remodel. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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THREE:

The bus was finally approaching the college. I looked at my watch and sighed. It was only twenty minutes since I last looked. The college was about a half an hour from downtown so I only had about ten more minutes. I looked around at the faces of the other passengers, trying not to look so paranoid. I couldn’t help it, though. Every face I looked at was a bad guy to me. I’d been stupid before, not realizing how much of a threat those two goons had been. Now they had knives and were probably on their way after me. What’s worse, I might have put Tommy in danger too. I wanted to kick myself for that one.

Thinking about him, I pulled out my cell. My battery was almost dead. I should have charged it last night but I’d forgotten---again. It was down to a sliver of a bar left, maybe enough juice to make one call. I tried my parents earlier but all I got was their office voice mail. So this time, I tried calling Tommy. The phone rang three times before I got his message:

“This is Tom, you know what to do.”

It beeped. “Tommy, it’s me. Tell me you’re ok?” I paused. “Look in case you get this, I’m going to the college. I need to tell Mom and Dad what happened. I’ll be there if you need me.”

I clicked off. Then I turned to the window, I could see the large brick building complex that was The Morgan. I could also see the town all around it. Shepherdsville was a small town like mine, smaller than mine in fact. The only thing they had going for them was the Morgan P. Johnson Community College---The Morgan to the locals and the students. I’m not sure who Mr. Johnson was but he was someone important enough to get a tiny college named after him. When I was a kid, I used to think it was cool that my parents were college professors but as I grew older, I began to realize how small the college really was. Suddenly it wasn’t so cool that my highly educated parents were teaching at such a nothing place. In the eighth grade---when I was old enough to realize it---I asked my father about it. Apparently, the organization they worked for didn’t like to draw attention to themselves. So instead of being stationed at some big Ivy League college somewhere, Mom and Dad were stuck teaching at Nowheresville College. I suppose that made sense.

“Aren’t you a bit young to be attending college here?” asked the old woman sitting across from me.

I smiled at her. “I’m not a student, my folks work there.”

She smiled. “Such a sweet girl” she said then added. “Why young women your age want their hair cut short like that is beyond me. At least you don’t have one of those nose rings like my granddaughter…”

The old woman then launched into a story about her rebellious granddaughter which led to another story about how her daughter didn’t know how to raise her children properly. I only half paid attention as she rambled on and on. I’m usually pretty polite to the elderly but I was a bit preoccupied at the moment. I just smiled and nodded a lot. I think that pleased her, at least she didn’t say anything to tell me any different. I find that a lot of old people---especially women---like to talk about their lives. I’m not sure if it was because they were lonely or if no one else would ever listen to their stories. It kind of pissed me off a bit, too. Here she was going on about her granddaughter---a girl who clearly didn’t care for her---and this woman seemed like such a sweet and loving person. Why a girl wouldn’t want to be close to her is beyond me?

I’d give anything to be that close to my grandmother.

The bus finally made the turn down the road toward the college. There was a line of trees on either side before we got to the college itself. The Morgan was three buildings, one large one in the center and two others on either side. Mom and Dad had an office in the large building, which housed a lot of offices as well as classrooms. It was a pretty modern college except of course it had no dorm buildings and no library apparently. Shepherdsville had a nice brand new library built about two years ago though, so most students going there used that.

The bus pulled around a little circle, stopping in front of the main building. I excused myself from the conversation with the old woman then stood up, grabbing the carrier. I filed out of the bus as quick as possible. I rushed into the building. There was a flight of stairs right near the main entrance, I took it to the third floor where their offices were. They had offices right next door to one another, joined by a door. They only had one phone for the two of them though. With what little juice I had I tried calling but there was no signal in the stairwell. I cursed as I reached the hall, trying again. I only got it to ring once before the phone finally died on me.

I made a mental note to never leave the house without charging my phone again.

It didn’t matter now because I was almost to the Humanities department anyway. There were six offices up here, cobbled together in one section. The professors associated with each office made up the Humanities department of the college. They were a nice bunch though I was kind of annoyed that the Archaeologist---Professor Wright---looked and acted nothing like Indiana Jones. I liked the secretary though---Donna. She was an older woman with a cheery smile and jar full of suckers on the corner of her desk. She was also one of the only people besides immediate friends and family who didn’t mistake me for a girl.

I entered the main office; Donna looked up from her computer a bit surprised to see me. It was a Saturday after all.

“Kelly dear, this is a surprise.”

I smiled. “Are they in?”

“Your mother is. Your father has been running here and there, filing papers and making sure things are in order. You want me to call them?”

I shook my head. “I’m just going to their offices.”

She smiled and nodded. I walked past her desk and through the little entryway to the offices. Mom and Dad were at the end of the little hall. It didn’t take me long to get to the glass door marked Professor Crawford. In the academic circle, Mom kept her maiden name. She told her colleagues it was the proper thing to do because she had her doctorate under that name but that wasn’t the real reason. She actually kept her maiden name because of the respect it garnered in other circles. Crawford was a powerful name, the name of one the most powerful witch clans in the continental United States. There was a tradition with it as well---most female witches kept their maiden name. It really annoyed my grandmother when my Aunt hyphenated hers when she got married.

I knocked on the door once before entering. Mom was sitting behind her desk, her cell in her hand. When she saw me walk through the door, I saw her visibly sigh. Then she got up from her chair quickly and rushed around to me, wrapping me in a tight hug. Her burst of affection threw me a bit but it was kind of nice.

“You have any idea how worried I was,” she said when she pulled away.

“I’m sorry Mom.”

“I called Mrs. Braddock her home when she didn’t answer I tried the flower shop” she said quickly. “When she told me there were two men in there looking for you…”

I sighed. “They found me actually.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “Are you ok?” She turned me this way and that, doing the Mom thing. “You’re not hurt are you?”
I shook my head. “They chased me but Tommy tackled them. He held one guy on the ground and the other went after me. I managed to outrun him then got on a bus straight to here.”

Mom sighed again and wrapped me in another hug. She held me a bit longer this time.

When she let go I bit my lip. “They were after me last night too.”

“Kelly!”

“Sorry” I said quickly. “I thought they were some kind of pervs. They followed me from Carson’s last night, chased me in their car. I lost them on the bridge.”

Mom frowned. “You should have said something.”

“I know and I’m sorry.”

She smiled weakly, rubbing my cheek. Then she turned away, quickly using her cell. “I found him Marcus. Yes he’s fine; he’s here in the office with me actually.”

Of course, she was calling Dad. While she was doing that, I went to her desk. I took out my own cell, setting it on the desktop as I opened her top drawer. We all had the same cells, it was family plan. Mom always kept a spare charger in her desk. I rifled through the top drawer, coming up empty. I finally found it in one of the side drawers. I plugged it in and the phone beeped, telling me I had a voice mail. I made sure it was charging before I checked it. I recognized the number immediately: Tommy.

“Kel, man I’m glad you’re ok” He sighed heavily. “I held that guy as long as I could but he threw me off as soon as you ran. I’m glad you got away. I’m on the next bus to the college, should be there in a few. I think you need to tell me what the hell is going on.”

I sighed. I was wondering if Tommy was going to ask questions. What was I supposed to say? I didn’t even really know what was going on actually. I assume those guys had something to do with Mom and Dad but I couldn’t exactly tell him that.

“Mom” I said, leaving my phone to charge. “Tommy is coming to the college; he kinda wants to know what’s going on. What do I tell him when he gets here?”

Mom put her hand over the phone, Dad still talking. “Bring him here. I’ll have to take care of it.”

I sighed and nodded. Taking care of it meant a mind whip spell. They were completely harmless but it still freaked me out a bit.
“I’m going downstairs to meet him, is that ok?”

Mom stopped talking to Dad for a second time. She gave me a look. “Your father wants to talk to you for a second.”

Mom handed the phone to me. “Hi, Dad” I said, trying to sound as if everything was fine.

“I want you to describe these men to me.”

I groaned but I quickly told him everything that I could remember. Dad cursed. I couldn’t remember my father ever cursing. He once caught me swearing and scolded me about it. Apparently, educated men---like himself and his son---were smart enough to use other words. So hearing him curse now meant that something really had to be wrong.

“It’s Tommy Dad, not the Inquisition.”

He groaned. “Ok. I want you to get him and come straight back to the office. Don’t screw around.”

“What’s going on Dad?”

There was a long pause. “Nothing that I and or your mother can’t handle.” Then he added a second later. “If anything seems strange or you see those guys, I want you to run back there as fast as you can.”

I nodded even though I knew he couldn’t see me. Then I handed the cell back to Mom. The two of them talked for a minute or so more before she hung up. Then she went to her bag, pulling out a wicked looking knife with a curved blade---her Boleen. Generally used to cut herbs and things, they had other uses that most people didn’t mention. One of them was for protection. Mom and Dad both carried one---even though Dad was a Normal. I tried to get her to let me have one too but she thought I was too young. So I was kind of surprised when she walked over and handed me the blade.

“You know what to do?”

I nodded. “I’m not a kid anymore.”

Not many kids I knew were trained to fight hand-to-hand with a knife. I learned that when I was ten. I took the knife, slipping it in my belt. I just hoped I wouldn’t have to use it.

I found myself back where I’d started. Well, started since arriving at the college anyway. When the bus pulled up, I wasn’t the least bit surprised it was another driver. There were three buses that went back and forth between the two towns. They circled back and forth until about eight or nine. I knew the bus schedule well because I would often take buses to the college if my parents worked late. I would ride up and meet them for dinner then we’d all drive back together. This being a Saturday, Tommy’s bus would probably be one of the last ones of the day.

I was sitting on the bench, trying not to think about the knife in my front pouch. I was fighting back the urge to pull it out, too. A white handled knife with a curved blade might draw attention, even if there was no one currently around. When Dad first suggested I learn how to defend myself, Mom thought he meant martial arts. I would have loved that but when Dad suggested I learn knife fighting, Mom practically flipped. If you were to look at my Dad, he doesn’t really look the type---short and balding---definitely not the kind of man who could teach his son how to use a knife. But teach me he did and he kind of surprised me at how good he was at it. Dad was like that though---there was a lot more to him than meets the eye.

The bus arrived a few minutes later with a hiss. I always thought it was cool when they did that. I sat up a bit straighter so Tommy could see me when he got off---not that he couldn’t see me, I was the only one out here. Several college students filed off first---a combination of full-grown adults and teenagers. That was one of the perks of a community college; they had students of all ages attending. Dad used to say that he loved it when he had someone in the classroom who wasn’t a complete waste of his time. After they were all gone, Tommy came. I was half expecting to see a battered and bruised friend but instead it was just regular old Tommy. Well not completely, ---he did have a little dirt on him---but he wasn’t as bad as I thought.

He spotted me and nodded.

He walked out of the bus and quickly over to me. “Can you tell me what’s going on now?”

I looked around, there were too many people. “Let’s head inside, I’ll tell you there.”

“Your parents in here?”

It was an odd thing for him to ask because he’d been here before with me.

“Where else would they be?”

When we got to the door, he beat me too it, opening it for me. When he did so he had a goofy smile plastered across his face. It was pretty weird but not as weird as the way he was looking at me as soon as we got inside. I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy about the way his eyes kept roving over me. It was like I was a side of beef or something to him. I shuddered slightly, stopping to tie my shoe---or at least I pretended too. I looked at him quickly, trying to see if I was right to suspect something was wrong. I knew the instant I saw him looking at my butt that this wasn’t my friend. But I had to be one hundred percent sure.

“You remember that time you, me and George went fishing. You slipped and fell into the water; we had to drag your butt out. You complained the whole way home because you were soaked from head to toe?”

He laughed. “Not the best memory.”

A cold shiver went up my spine. I’m not sure who it was but this was definitely not my friend. I took a quick look at his face. I could usually tell when someone was using a Command spell; the victim usually had a glassy look to their eyes. Tommy however looked fairly normal so it was either one of two things: a shape change spell or a possession spell. With shape changes, though there was always something a little off, like parting of hair in the wrong way or eye color. It wasn’t an exact match but it was so close that most people didn’t notice---at least not right away. Possessions were different because it was the person’s body but they were really hard to detect. The only true way to know sure was to ask something that only your friend or family would know. Him not knowing that we hated George was a clear give away. This was Tommy’s body all right but someone else was driving.

I had a pretty good idea who as well. I finished tying my shoe then stood back up. My heart was pounding in my chest, my hands starting to sweat. I reached one hand into my pouch, wrapping it tightly around the white handle of the Boleen. It was my last resort. I didn’t want to hurt Tommy----it was still his body after all----but I would if I had to. At least I was pretty certain that I would. It was a horrible thing to think about, turning a knife on the only true friend I had. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been much of a friend to me lately; he was there for when it counted and when it truly mattered.

I knew one thing for certain as we continued walking, there was no way I was leading this imposter anywhere near my parents.

I stopped again at the end of the hall, right in front of the stairs. There were two ways I could do this, the first being to pretend that there was nothing wrong. I could lead him around for a while, taking him this way and that and hope he didn’t catch on. It was kind of risky but I definitely didn’t want him going to Mom and Dad. The second option was a little more straight forward which was to simply run. I might be able to catch him off guard and get far enough away before anything really bad happens. Of course I knew from experience that Tommy was much faster than me and seeing as I’d done a lot of running today already, I definitely didn’t think I had anything more left in me.

“Why are we stopping again?” he asked, a bit of annoyance in his voice.

“I’m trying to figure out the best way to their office, it’s not easy navigating this place.”

He nodded but I’m not sure if he bought it. I know the real Tommy wouldn’t. It felt strange to look at my friend and know that there was someone else in there controlling him. It made me angry too. I found myself fondling the handle of the blade, wishing I could just slice this bastard and run. I mentally cursed. Why did I get Tommy involved with all this mess?

I grabbed the door, pulling it open. For a moment, the slowly closing door separated the two of us. I had that moment to run, that split second or so to make up my mind. My heart pounded in my chest, my hands started to sweat even more. I could get up the stairs and possibly to my parents if I went fast enough. My bit my lip and then had a dreadful thought: if I ran, would they hurt Tommy?

The moment ended as Tommy grabbed the door.

I smiled and started up the stairs. Shit, why couldn’t I make up my mind? This guy riding around in my friend was eventually going to figure it out. I could only stall him for so long before everything fell apart. I should have ditched him, should have taken my chances and made a mad dash for my parent’s office. I’m not sure if I would have made it but at least I would have had a chance. My chest sounded like a drum with all the heavy thumping.

I climbed the first flight of stairs slowly then took the second quickly. At the top of the second flight, I turned to say something until to be startled that he was right behind me. It was kind of creepy; he was so close that our noses were actually touching. Why did this guy think that this is what two friends did? Was he some kind of pervert? Or…I groaned. I remembered what he and his friend said last night, they called me a girl. I’d completely blanked on that. They thought I was a girl and they must have thought that Tommy was my boyfriend. After all, he did attack them and protect me. I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. Ok so maybe Tommy had bulked up a bit and if I was a girl, I might consider it but it was just too gross to think about.

Tommy’s next words did it for me. “Something wrong, babe?” he asked, reaching up to touch my hair.

That was it. I couldn’t take anymore of this charade. I reacted before I knew what was happening. First by batting away his hand then I gave him a slight shove. I think it was the shove that did it. As soon as I shoved him, he seemed to click as to what was going on. As I was bringing my hand back away from his chest, he caught it in a tight grip.

“It was the question wasn’t it?” he asked, his voice turning cold. “I knew it was strange for you to ask it out of blue like that. I failed the test then?”

I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t say anything. I was still kind of shocked that I hit him. What shocked me even more was that it was kind of a girly hit. Ok so men bat away hands but not the way I did it. He did it the proper way, grabbing my wrist. Me, I reacted like a woman. What was up with that?

His face twisted in anger. I’ve never seen Tommy get angry like that. But this wasn’t Tommy, at least not on the inside.

“Answer me you little bitch” he said, twisted my arm.

That did it. It broke me from my stupor. Then I did something so unlike a guy that they should have taken away my Man Card. I slammed my knee as hard as I could into crotch. He doubled over in pain, stumbled down the few steps behind him.

“I’m not a girl you asshole” I said before turning and running up the third flight of stairs.

I rushed through the door into the hall, running as hard as I could. I’m not sure how long it took but eventually I heard him running after me. Why I went to third floor and not the second was beyond me. I think my body and mind were telling me two different things. I wanted to go to the office but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t lead him there. So I went up a floor. In hindsight, it might not have been the best option right about now.

He was getting closer. I was right, there was no way I could outrun Tommy. Why did this always happen to me? What did I do to deserve this crap? Why does everyone want to pick on the guy who looks kind of like a girl? Shit. This whole thing was messed up majorly.

“GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!” shouted Tommy as he pounded faster after me.

I put on more speed but he was practically on top of me now. In a strange bit of reversal from earlier, Tommy grabbed my shirt. I tried to pull free but I couldn’t. I was sure that this was the moment that he got hold of me and pounded the crap out of me or whatever. What I wasn’t counting on however was the arm that shot out of the doorway in front of us. I caught it a second earlier than him, ducking. Tommy wasn’t so lucky. The arm slammed into his shoulders, setting me free and him to his back. I slid to a stop a foot or so from the doorway and turned around to see an unlikely figure emerge from the doorway.

My father.

“Is he going to be ok?” I asked, standing over the unconscious form of my friend.

“Tommy is going to be fine,” said my Dad as he rifled through my friend’s pockets.

I was finally getting over the shock of seeing my father clothesline my best friend. What happened afterwards was a bit of a blur. I thought I saw someone stand up from outside of Tommy’s body. It was a quick glimpse but then he was gone. I couldn’t make out a lot of details but I thought it was one of the goons from earlier. I suppose that made sense, them possessing my friend. What didn’t make sense was what this was all about. Were they after me or were they using me to get to my parents?

Tommy pulled out Tommy’s wallet. He flipped it open and sighed, dropping it on my friend’s chest. “Good, it really is him.”

I groaned. “I already did that test. That’s why I was running from him.”

Dad turned to me. I’ve only ever seen him get angry once or twice before. The first time was when Tommy and I tried to catapult Diamond off my seesaw and into the pool. We were only ten and thought that using a cat was where they got the “cat”. Dad scolded the both of us for that one. The second time was worse. It was right after Tommy and I tried to break into that factory. He caught the two of us trying to sneak in. He saw my pants and the blood and put two and two together. I never saw my Dad angrier. He shouted at both of us before sending Tommy home. I got grounded for two weeks because of that.

The look on his face was a mixture of both.

“You shouldn’t have kept last night from us,” he said, his tone cold.

There was no anger to it but I could tell he was mad.

Dad was weird like that. He could be the nicest, funniest guy you ever met. Then there was this other side to him, this angry, cold and scary side. He didn’t usually show that side to me much but when he did, it sent shivers up my spine. It was this side that was here now as he poked around my friend, nudging him, making sure he was really out cold. It was kind of creepy, almost as if he still didn’t believe Tommy was somehow not involved with all of this---whatever this was.

“I’m sorry about last night; I thought they were two pervs.”

“You should have told your mother and me about them as soon as you came through the door.”

He stood up from Tommy then walked slowly over to me, putting both his hands on my shoulders. It was funny because I was almost as tall as he was. The Daniels men, basketball stars we would never be. I think Dad liked being short, people always underestimated the short guy. Me, I couldn’t stand it.

“I realize that now,” I said as I looked at my friend again. Then asked what I really wanted to know. “So who are they?”

He shook his head. “Not here. They’ve already made the first move, we have to make ours.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” said my mother as she came down the hall, carrying my backpack and the carrier. “That we’re leaving a little earlier than we thought.”

She gave me a hug as soon as she got to me, holding onto me longer than she’s ever held before. When she let me go, she pushed some hair from my face. She stared at me for a while, smiling. It was kind of nice, Mom rarely looked at me like that anymore---I felt like a little kid again. Then she handed me my bag, Diamond’s bag and the carrier.

“We have to get him to some place where someone can find him,” said Dad, pointing to Tommy.

Mom nodded. “You carry him, I’ll do the rest.”

Dad showed his strength as he slid his arms around Tommy’s waist and lifted him from the floor. I followed them as they dragged my friend down the hall. We got into an elevator, taking it to the lobby. I think I knew where we were going. When the elevator stopped, we headed for one of the secretary offices. It was after closing so no one was there. Mom waved her hand over a locked doorknob, it clicked and she opened the door.

It was one of the cooler spells.

“On the couch” she said, pointing. Dad did as directed.

I followed him as Mom looked out the door, making sure no one was around. When she was sure the coast was clear, she came back into the room. Dad had Tommy sitting there. Mom bent down in front of him, rubbing his arm gently. As she did so, Tommy slowly woke. He rubbed his eyes, looking a bit groggy.

“Mrs. D, what’s going on?”

She smiled. “Nothing Thomas.” She waved her hand in front of his face, his eyes taking on a glazed look. “The last thing you remember is going into town and returning Kelly’s backpack. You gave it to him, he told you that we were leaving early and you said good bye. You rode with him out to the college and then you rode the bus back. Do you understand?”

Tommy shook his head.

“Good boy, Thomas” Mom said, letting go of his arm. “Now why don’t you get on that bus and go home.”

“Mom, there is no bus this late.”

She smiled. “He’s not really taking a bus”.

I had no idea what was going on but I nodded anyway. After that Mom took Tommy by the arm, I could do nothing but follow. Dad followed close behind me as the four of us left the building. There was a cab waiting for him. The driver looked rather impatient; I’m not sure how long he was sitting there for. Dad paid him way too much, gave his orders and helped Mom put Tommy in the car. I watched as the cab took off, taking my friend with it. I couldn’t help but wonder if everything was going to be ok. What if the magic didn’t work, what if he remembered?

“He’s not going to remember a thing,” said Mom, coming up behind me.

I nodded. “What about them?”

Dad sighed as he stood beside me. “They can’t go after him anymore, possession only works once.”

“Why’d they do it then?”

“I warded the college, they couldn’t step foot on it by themselves.”

“Then it’s my fault” I said feeling like I’d been kicked in the gut. “I dragged Tommy into this.”

“It’s no one’s fault. If it hadn’t been Tommy, it would have been someone else.”

Dad looked at his watch. “C’mon you two, we can’t stay here. The plane is waiting.”

We didn’t linger around there much longer. Dad made sure I was between the two of them as we went to the parking lot. He kept looking over his shoulder as if he expected someone to jump out at us. I was extra cautious too, gripping the blade of Mom’s Boleen. It kind of freaked me out, moving about the campus at night like this. It also freaked me out that Dad was on such an edge. I’d never seen him like this, not even when we were trekking through some of the craziest places in the world. Dad always kept his cool but now he looked genuinely frightened, as if he was truly afraid something bad might happen to Mom or me.

I felt a lot safer when I saw our truck. Dad refused to drive anything smaller. Mom always joked with him about over compensating for his size.

We didn’t waste any time as we got into the big ass Silverado. I climbed into the back section. Dad went for the whole extended cab package, two door, seats in back. It was all kind of cool. I buckled the carrier into the seat next to me as my parents got in. I bent to check on Diamond to make sure he was ok; the stupid oaf was sound asleep. Only my mother’s cat could sleep through whatever this was.

Dad pulled the truck out of its spot quickly. He tore through the parking lot pretty quick, too. Something told me he was in a big hurry. When we got onto the main road and into traffic, Dad wove dangerously through the cars around us. I found myself gripping the arms of my seat, gritting my teeth. I never knew my father to drive this recklessly.

“Marcus, you might want to slow down a bit.”

“Becky, if I slow down we’re not going to make it.”

They started bickering. They only did that when things got really bad. Like the time we got caught in this wicked Amazonian downpour. We were lost and the two of them started fighting. Just like then, I tuned them out now. Instead, I looked out the window, hoping to pass the time by looking at all the cars as we whipped by. I was staring lazily at them when a familiar car appeared out of nowhere. It was three cars back, trying to look inconspicuous but it was there. I cursed. It was that same damn BMW, the one from last night, the one that Tommy slit the tires of.

“Dad” I said loud enough to get his attention, they stopped arguing. “It’s them.”

“You sure?” he asked, looking in the rear view.

I gave him the duh look. He didn’t ask me again.

Instead, he put on more speed. I turned in my seat wondering if the BMW would speed up to match us. It did. Not only that but it quickly overtook the two cars in-between us. I cursed; neither of my parents scolded me for it. Instead, Mom let out a curse of her own as the car pulled up right next to us. I caught a look into the passenger side window, it was Scar Face. He caught me looking at him, the look he gave me made me think that he might have been the one possessing Tommy.

“I thought Tommy trashed their car”

“Keep your head down,” shouted Mom a second before a bolt of something smashed through my window.

It whizzed by my head and out the other window. A rush of air filled the cab, as well as the smell of ozone. All I saw was a flash of blue light.

I turned my head in time to see Scar Face hanging out of the car, his hands charged up with blue light. He snapped his wrist, sending another bolt our way. Dad swerved and it missed, chewing into the pavement to our left. Asphalt and smoke filled the air. Dad swerved the truck back, catching the little car by surprise. He clipped the front end, sending it careening away. The BMW just didn’t have the power to withstand the Silverado. They tried to get back on our side but Dad wasn’t letting them. He turned the truck into them again, this time slamming hard into the passenger side. Scar Face was still hanging out of the window. When the truck hit, I was hoping to see him fall. Instead, he dropped back into the car at the last second.

It was then that I saw something on his neck, sticking up above his collar. I only caught a glimpse of it; I think it might have been a cross. A black cross. That explained so much now. They were trying to stop Mom and Dad from getting to Africa. It just surprised me that they’d go to such lengths to try and stop them. The Black Cross were annoying but I didn’t think they were killers. Mom used to call them a nuisance, something to be squashed and stomped on until it was no more. If that was the case then why were they going to such lengths?

“Marcus” Mom said with annoyance. “Stop playing with them.”

I looked out the window to see Dad trying desperately to cut them off with the truck. It did look like he was toying with them, letting the BMW overtake us and then knocking it away with a severe bump. It sure was annoying whenever the truck jerked. I think Dad was getting annoyed with it as well because the next maneuver he made was definitely a game ender. He put on the gas, overtaking the car by a few lengths then turned into their path. The BMW had to swerve to avoid him and when they did, they ground along the guard rail before going into a ditch.

I turned and saw smoke billowing from their front end. I couldn’t help but smile.

It was smooth sailing to the airport after that.

Dad surprised me though. I thought for sure we’d head to one of the more well-known airports so when we went off road, I couldn’t help but be a little confused. I was even more confused a half an hour later when we pulled into a little airstrip. There were two buildings, a control tower and a hangar. Mom got out first, followed by Dad. I looked around, not sure what was going on. Then I saw a little Cessna, it belonged to my Uncle Felix. Ok he wasn’t really my uncle but he told me to call him that. He was our usual pilot, flew us all around the world. I figured Felix might be taking Mom and Dad some of the way to Africa but what was he doing here now.

“Howdy mates,” said Felix as he came out of the hangar followed by another guy I’d never seen before.

Felix was Mexican but he was born and raised in Australia. It was kind of strange to see the little Mexican guy with the Australian accent. He always wore this wide brimmed straw hat, which he tipped to people in greeting. He tipped his hat at us.

Mom walked over to him and gave him a big hug. “Thanks for doing this Felix. It means the world.”

“No problem Becky” he said as they released. He shook Dad’s hand.

“Marc”. Then he looked at the dents on the truck. “Have a bit of trouble there, mate?”

“Bugs.”

“Most have been some whoppers,” said Felix with a laugh. He turned to me. “So bud, ready for a cross country excursion?”

I looked at my parents. “What’s going on?”

Mom smiled. “Felix is going to fly you into Ravencrest.”

“Tonight?”

Dad nodded. “I’m sorry about the rush but it’s urgent.”

They didn’t really give me time to argue the matter. Instead, we made some quick and tearful good byes. My parents weren’t much for the mushy stuff, neither am I, truth be told. I was a bit shocked though, them pushing me onto Felix’s plane. I thought for sure I’d be leaving from an airport and that they might actually fly out with me. It was all happening so sudden too. One minute I was waking up with a damn cat on my chest and now I was getting on a plane by myself to Nowheresville.

Dad followed me toward the plane while Mom went back to the truck.

Before I started to climb inside, he took off his necklace. It was this little pendant he wore all the time, something Mom gave him on their wedding night or something. He called it his good luck charm. He took it off his neck and put it around mine.

Then he ruffled my hair. “Be good, kid”

I turned away before he saw me start to tear up. I said I hated tearful good-byes but that didn’t mean I didn’t cry. I climbed into the plane and dropped into one of the many vacant seats. Next to me was the carrier. I picked it up and looked inside. Diamond was still sleeping.

“This is all your fault you stupid cat” I said as the plane purred to life and slowly taxied down the runway.

Ravencrest. Great.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.4 finally. Kelly gets to Ravencrest but not a lot of stuff happens besides that. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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FOUR:

The plane hitting the tarmac jostled me from my sleep. When I opened my eyes and looked around for a moment, I had no idea where I was. I’d awakened many times on this plane, whether it was in the Amazon or in the Congo and every time I was disoriented. I always got a stiff neck too, from sleeping in the chairs. I rubbed it now, turning to look out the window. Daylight shined through, causing me to close my eyes temporarily. I couldn’t help but groan. The last time I looked out the window I think it was about three am when we stopped in Dallas to refuel. I had a vague recollection of that before falling back to sleep.

I reopened my eyes, blinking once or twice. Outside I saw what looked like a little airstrip all around us. I couldn’t see much more than pavement and a tree line off in the distance. I turned to see if I could get a better look through the window across the little aisle but it was shut. I rubbed my neck some more as I took stock of what had happened. Things had been going from bad to worse lately, all within the last twenty four hours. How is it that I was having such horrible luck? First George, then those goons, all ending with me leaving home way too early. The worse of it all ending with me stuck with my mother’s stupid cat.

I looked at the carrier buckled into the seat next to me. I couldn’t help but wonder if the damn cat even knew what was going on. I bent over to peek inside and saw him sleeping soundly. Of course, he was sleeping, that’s all he knew how to do.

“You awake yet, little mate?” asked Felix from the cock pit.

The plane wasn’t very big so all I had to do was stick my arm in the air to let him know I was among the living. After that, I unbuckled myself and slipped into the aisle, giving myself a much needed stretch. I had to pee real bad too but there wasn’t a lav onboard. I walked forward until I was right behind his seat.

“Mind letting me off this thing so I can you know?”

Felix laughed. “I’m not supposed to let you out until your ride gets here.”

I frowned. I looked out the class of the cockpit, hoping to see more than my meager window. I wasn’t disappointed. I saw the hangar off to one side, the main building complete with tower right next to it. I caught sight of a sign too: McClintock Field. I knew only a small part about the town but I knew enough to know that the McClintocks were at the bottom of the food chain as it were. My cousin Mary’s friend Trevor was a Locke---a big fish as far as things went. It was a strange social structure they had, Unseen and Norms living with one another---the Norms completely oblivious to the real world around them. There were a lot of different Unseen in Ravencrest too, a higher concentration here than in most places actually.

“So, your folks step into it again?”

Felix was a rare Norm in that he knew all about the real world. Due to the nature of my parent’s job, Felix was allowed in on all our secrets. Well most of them anyway. There were still a lot of secrets that not even I knew actually. One of the perks of being a Dud sadly----because I had no magic, I wasn’t allowed to know as much as say my sister or my cousin. They said it was to protect me but I’m pretty certain it was because my grandmother frowned upon people who weren’t like her.

“They got themselves involved in something that I really don’t know a lot about actually,” I said, hoping that it was enough of an answer for him.

There were some things that Felix shouldn’t even know about---the Black Crosses being one of them. Hell, I didn’t really know much about them either. I knew what my parents told me when they accepted the mission---that they were a group of black magic users---but beyond that I knew little else. I was pretty certain that those two goons were members though, made apparent by the tattoo I saw. What the group really was or their motives I had no clue. As far as I knew, black magic users were a dying breed, hunted to extinction and slowly being swallowed by history. In the magic history lessons Mom was allowed to share with me, they were like bogeymen. They showed up here and there but they were nothing too serious. The real threat in those stories were religious zealots and groups like the Order of the Sacred Heart.

So it surprised me a bit when they told me about the Black Crosses. It was rare when Mom and Dad were sent after humans and not something else.

“Just a bit strange that they didn’t bring you along, hermano.”

It was strange when Felix spoke, mixing his Australian accent with Spanish words just seemed a bit off to me.

I couldn’t help but agree with him.

We spent the rest of our time talking about the old days---at least that’s what he called it. We swapped stories back and forth, trying to see who could one up the other. It helped me forget about my pressing need. When we were on the fifth story, I caught sight of a large black car pulling up. It had tinted windows and looked like something a VIP might drive around in. It pulled up in front of the building.

“I think this is your ride, bro,” said Felix, who then proceeded to question the car through his radio headset.

He nodded the confirmation to me.

I turned and headed back to my seat, grabbing my meager things. It sucked that I didn’t even have a change of clothes. My backpack, Diamond’s bag and the carrier were the only things I had. Well those and my parents’ things: Mom’s Boleen and Dad’s good luck charm. I made sure I had it all as I filed down the aisle toward the door that Felix was opening. A man dressed like a mechanic pushed a flight of stairs toward the door, which I quickly descended. Instead of heading to the car, I made a beeline straight for the building and its bathroom. It didn’t take me long and I felt a lot better afterwards. As I was washing my hands, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I looked like hell which was a given I suppose, being run ragged the last day or so. I splashed water in my face and decided to pull the hood over my head. What I was wearing was a bit much for California, I was a bit underdressed for the weather here. I wanted as much cover from the cold as I possibly could.

As soon as I got out of the bathroom, I went down a little hall, through an office and back into the building’s lobby. There was a tall older man in a dark suit standing there. He looked at me for a moment, his eyes roving over my body. I felt a little creeped out by that actually.

“Miss Daniels?” he asked.

I couldn’t help but groan. After those creeps, I didn’t want anyone to mistake me for a girl again. “Mister actually” I said, a bit defensively.

He apologized. “I’m Mr. Wilkes. I was sent to bring you into town.”

Wilkes. I’d heard the name but I couldn’t remember where.

I followed Mr. Wilkes out to the big black car. He took my bags, putting my backpack and Diamond’s bag in the trunk. I only managed to grab my cell, which was fine by me. He opened the back for me, which felt a little strange. It wasn’t everyday that some strange guy opened a car door for me. I gave him a funny look but he didn’t say a thing. Instead, he waited until I got in before closing the door. What was most strange was his handling of the carrier. Instead of putting it in the back with me, he carried it to the front with him. I felt a little like baggage after that. How was it that the cat was important enough to sit in the front and I in the back?

I tapped on the partition, which slowly opened.

“Are you taking me to my grandmother’s house?”

“That is the plan.”

“Is there any chance you can bring me to some place to eat?”

I was starving. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten.

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he took out a cell, made a call and talked in a hushed tone. After a minute or two, he turned back to me. “I think we can manage a quick stop.”

My stomach grumbled in response.

He closed the partition then a moment later the car started to slowly move.

Here goes nothing.

Ravencrest was by far one of the strangest places I’d visited. The town always seemed much larger than it actually was. No matter how long you thought it might take to get from one place or another, it always felt like three or four hours more. I didn’t really start noticing it this time around until we were an hour into our ride from the airstrip, a ride that I didn’t expect to take so long. I kept looking out the window to see if there was some semblance of civilization but there was nothing but trees. I tried to remember the last time I was here---I was young, maybe ten---I couldn’t really remember the car ride but I remember thinking that this place was big.

I stopped looking out the window for the third time in a row and decided to try my cell again. I dialed Mom’s number and let it ring. After the fifth ring, her voice mail picked up. I cursed, clicking off. It was my fourth try in the last hour; I’d already left two messages. I cursed, throwing the phone on the seat. Where the hell was she? It wasn’t like her not to answer her phone, especially after yesterday. I was starting to get worried. The last time I saw them they looked on edge, ready to snap at a moment’s notice. It was kind of freaky. My parents never got like---at least not like they were. It was almost as if they were scared of something. It couldn’t have been the Black Cross though, they were fairly harmless. At least that’s what Dad always told me.

I leaned forward and tapped on the partition. “How much farther?” I asked in a loud voice, even though I knew he wouldn’t answer.

Ever since leaving the airstrip, the man was completely ignoring me.

I was still really hungry and it was starting to get pretty late for breakfast. I wasn’t really in the mood for breakfast anyway. Sure, I liked it but I liked the food involved more than the meal. In fact, if I could have bacon, eggs and pancakes for supper I’d be just as happy. We didn’t eat breakfast much at home; Mom and Dad were often gone by the time I climbed out of bed in the morning. Last year---before Jess went off to college---she used to try to cook breakfast for us. I love my sister but cooking was not one of her strong points. Sadly, Jess didn’t have a lot of strong points---not even magic where she was kind of mediocre but I don’t think she really cared about that.

Thinking about Jess got me thinking. I grabbed my cell and quickly dialed her number. She rarely answered but it was Sunday so I was hoping I might get lucky. Unfortunately, it rang more than I wanted and went straight to voice mail too. I cursed. What was with my family today? Instead of clicking off, I decided to call one other person: Mary. I knew she wouldn’t answer but I needed to know that there was at least one normal---well semi-normal in her case---that I could talk too.

I was shocked when she actually answered on the second ring. “Sleeping” she moaned in a groggy voice.

“Mary don’t hang up, it’s me.”

“Me who?”

“Seriously?”

“I know a lot of me’s; you’ll have to be more specific.”

I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was half-asleep or fucking with me. “Your cousin.”

“I know a lot of them too unfortunately.”

Yep, definitely fucking with me now. Mary and I had a very interesting relationship. We never really got a long much as kids. She was one of those girls that went out of their way to make your life miserable. She wasn’t a bully but she sure liked to play harmless little pranks on me. Jell-O in my pockets, mud in my shoes. One time she super glued my fingers together while I was sleeping. As we grew older, the pranks turned into harmless name calling, a little back and forth on the phone and Skype. When she got into her Goth phase, the name calling started to disappear and she just sorta bitched a lot.

I was tired of playing games now though.

“I’m in your little dust bowl of a town and not in the mood so can we cut the crap.”

“You’re here already?” The grogginess dropped from her voice. “I thought you were coming tomorrow?”

Clearly, she didn’t get filled in on yesterday’s events.

“Circumstances beyond my control” I said, not wanting to get into it. “I arrived this morning with only the clothes on my back and Mom’s stupid cat. Got to the airstrip here, got picked up by some creepy guy in a big black car and now it’s taking forever to get to town.”

“I hate that about this place,” she said.

It was strange. We were actually having a normal conversation. Who was this girl and what had she done to my cousin?

“Me and Mr. Creeper are going to breakfast, want to meet us?”

This time she groaned. “I think I’m going to savor my alone time for a little while longer.”

Now that was the Mary that I knew.

We talked a little more, she wanting to know about what exactly happened to bring me here a day early. I started to tell her but then I decided it might be best to tell everyone at once---everyone being my grandmother of course. I’m sure she knew but the woman was a stickler for details. She wanted to hear everything from the person who experienced it---kind of a pain in the ass. She used to do that when Mary played those harmless pranks on me as kids. I used to complain to my mother about it and my grandmother always got involved. She wanted to hear it from both sides and of course, the great Agatha Crawford always took the side of Mary. The woman didn’t just hate me; I think she hated all men. She treated my cousins Morgan and Jason the same way---like we were diseased or something. Mary, Jess and Carrie could do no wrong as far as my grandmother was concerned. She was one of the reasons why I hated going to Ravencrest for visits as a kid. I’m not sure how I was going to stand living with her for a few weeks while my parents did whatever it was they were going to do.

Our conversation was cut short by a loud pop. I dropped the phone, snapping my head around quickly. I’d heard a few guns go off in my time and for a split second; I thought that’s what it was. Then the car came to a grinding halt and I realized when it was: we popped a tire. I took a moment or two to regain my composure before picking up my cell and apologizing to Mary.

“You getting shot at now?”

I laughed. “I think we ran over something in the road.”

“Well why don’t you go see what it is so I can get back to sleep.”

She clicked off before I could say anything else. Definitely the same old Mary that I knew and semi-loved.

I stuck my cell into my pouch, making sure the knife was still there as well. Then I slowly slid to the window and looked out. As I did so, Mr. Wilkes was already getting out of the car. I knew a little about car maintenance myself---Dad had taught me the basics. Changing a tire was something that I could do if I needed too. I opened the door and stepped out, stretching my stiff muscles. I looked left and right, seeing nothing but the open road on either side of us. As I was doing so, Mr. Wilkes opened the trunk.

“That’s going to complicate things,” he said in a low tone.

I walked around and peered inside. Where a jack and a spare should have been, there was nothing.
“You can’t be serious!”

“Clearly someone took it out to make room for something else,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Isn’t this your car?”

He shook his head. “It’s a rental.”

I didn’t even know that had a car rental place in Ravencrest.
“I thought you lived here?”

“I do but it was wiser to take a rental than my own car” He sighed. “At least I thought it was wiser.”

I walked around to the side of the car to take a look at the tire. It looked like we’d run over something. I turned and started up the road, hoping to find whatever it was that we hit. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary though which was strange. I half expected to find a broken bottle or something. I walked about ten feet from the car just to be sure, wondering if maybe the tire was bad or something. You’d think a rental place would check those kind of things though. After my fruitless search, I turned and headed back to the car. As I did, Mr. Wilkes pulled out his own cell. When I got to him, I caught the tail end of the conversation he was having with the tow truck service.

“We’re just outside of town,” he said. “Yes thank you.”

“So what’s the verdict?”

“An hour.”

I couldn’t believe it. “A lot of business for a tow truck in this little town?”

“You’d be surprised about how many crazy things happen around here.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Ravencrest was probably one of the most tame places I’d ever been. The Congo was exciting, this place was as dull as dull can be. So far popping a tire was the most exciting thing I’d ever experienced here, even more exciting than the time Mary dragged me along with her two friends as we tried to sneak into the local movie theater and got caught in the act.

We decided to sit on the back of the car and wait. It wasn’t the smartest idea, it being kind of cold but I don’t think either one of us wanted to sit in the car. I tried striking up some small talk which only scratched the surface a bit. He told me about his granddaughter mostly. She was my age, her name was Maggie. They lived on the outskirts of town in a place called Crowley Manor. I’d heard the name in passing once or twice I think. The Wilkes were the Caretakers there. He started to get into exactly what it was he did there when the loud purr of a motorcycle started to fill the air.

The noise piqued my interest. It was the last thing I expected to hear around here. Ravencrest didn’t exactly scream motorcycle kind of place. I’m sure people had them but I just had this image of one of those little towns like Mayberry. Ok so I guess it was all because I didn’t really want to be here but could you blame me. My parents sent me on the other side of the country to stay with a woman who I didn’t like and who I knew hated me. The only solace in all of this was my cousin---who liked to go out of her way to make my life a living hell.

The bike and the rider were getting closer. I could him now and was kind of surprised at what I was seeing. The rider was clad in leather from head to toe but he was the slightest guy I’d ever seen. I couldn’t see his face because of the helmet but he was riding a really cool bike. I have to admit I don’t really know much about motorcycles---I’m not that kind of guy. Tommy wasn’t either but I bet his new alter ego Tom is.

The bike and its rider got closer. As it did, I noticed it was slowing down. In fact, as soon as it was almost on top of us, the bike was practically at a full stop. Mr. Wilkes and I watched with interest as the rider kicked out the kickstand and slowly got off the bike. It was then that I noticed that the legs encased in those leather pants didn’t belong to a guy. This was all but confirmed when the rider took of his---I mean her---helmet. A cascade of long blonde hair fell around a beautiful face. She was gorgeous, like one of those girls you see on the cover of a magazine. My heart actually skipped a beat, especially when she turned to us and smiled.

“Car trouble?” she asked, setting her helmet on the motorcycle seat.

She was by far the coolest person I’d ever met.

“So they’re off in Africa and they shipped you here?”

“Pretty much”

“That’s gotta suck.”

The girl---who’s name was Sophie---was sitting across from me in this little diner we found. Mr. Wilkes was sitting at a table across from us, silently sipping his coffee. After introducing herself, she stayed with us until the tow truck arrived. Apparently, her parents taught her never to leave anyone in distress. Even though there was nothing she could do, she decided that staying with us was the best thing. So she sat and waited in the cold. When the truck finally arrived, Mr. Wilkes drove with the driver and I got to ride on the back of her motorcycle. It’s strange because I’d never really felt anything toward girls before. They were there and I knew I should have some feelings toward them but it was as if I was a Eunuch.

That is until I met her.

I know it’s crazy because I’ve only known her about an hour but there was something about her. I said she was the coolest person I’d ever met but that was an understatement. Sophie was eighteen, in her freshman year at Ravencrest University. Though she didn’t come right out and say it, I think her family was well off. I’d been around rich people before; there was a certain way they acted. Sophie had that way about her. She did mention how they were always busy though and she pretty much took care of herself. Sophie told me all about her life as we sat there. I’ll say one thing about her, she definitely wasn’t shy. She wasn’t overbearing either but she liked to talk about herself.

“So tell me about your grandmother?”

I groaned. “I’d rather not.”

She frowned. “That bad, huh?”

I sighed heavily. “You ever met someone that really hates you?”

“She’s your grandmother; I don’t think she hates you.”

I laughed. “Oh yes she does. She calls me the Boy; she doesn’t even refer to me by my first name.”

“Are you the only guy in your family?”

“No, I’ve got two other male cousins. She treats them bad too but not nearly as bad as me.”

“Sounds like an Uber-feminist.”

“She’s an Uber-something all right.”

Sophie laughed. Did I mention she had this great laugh?

“My grandmother was the same way when I was younger”

“Did she call you Boy too?”

I couldn’t imagine anyone mistaking this woman for a boy. Yes, woman because even though she was about two years older than me there was no way anyone could call her a girl.
We both laughed.

“Nothing that messed up” she said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “She used to get on my case about not living up to my family’s potential.”

“That’s gotta be rough.”

“You have no idea.”

We tried to change the subject after that. Talking about our families seemed to give both of us this bad taste in our mouths. She told me about her major---which turned out to be psychology. She was really passionate about it, which was cool. Then she asked me how long I was expected to be in town. To tell you the truth I had no idea anymore. I thought it was going to be a few weeks just like before but with yesterday’s events it could be any length of time. Yesterday had never happened before, well nothing quite like that anyway. It was kind of scary, especially now that I couldn’t get a hold of my parents. Of course, I didn’t tell Sophie any of that, I didn’t want her to think I was a freak or something.

She was too cool to think I was a nut.

“So what are your plans for your time here then?”

I shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it actually. School is still in session but Mom told me I wouldn’t have to go so I don’t have that burden. I was hoping to just loaf around the house for a bit and try to stay as far away from my grandmother as humanly possible.”

Sophie laughed. “You could always hang out with me.”

“With you?”

She nodded. “Winter Break is coming up after all; most of my classes are in review for mid-terms. I’ve been kind of bored actually what with my roommate being busy with her hunky boyfriend. I could use the company.”

“I’m just a kid; you wouldn’t want to hang with me.”

She rubbed my arm. “You’re a lot older than you look.”

I knew that was a lie but it was nice to hear.

“Besides” she continued, “I wasn’t going to drag you to a bar or anything. There’s a lot of cool things that you and I could do around here.”

“Can I think about it?”

She laughed. “You are the first guy who has ever asked me that!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. But I definitely believed it. Why any guy wouldn’t want to be around her was a mystery. I was still on the fence though. She was really cool but I didn’t want to bore her to death. There wasn’t much of me, what you see is what you get. Sophie was exciting and fun, me not so much. I didn’t want to drag her down with my mundane presence.

“Tell you what,” she said, pulling a pen from her purse. She grabbed one of the paper napkins off the table. “This is my number; you give me a call when you’re bored.”

She wrote on the napkin and passed it to me. Then she stood up, taking her orange juice and downing the rest of it. I stood up too; it was the polite thing to do. She did something that surprised me though. She grabbed me and wrapped me in a tight hug. It felt kind of nice, especially with her breasts squishing against my chest like that. My heart skipped another beat.

“I gotta go now Kel,” she said, pulling away. “You call me; I’ll drop anything to come racing to you.”

I liked that. I smiled as she grabbed her things and like a whirlwind, she left the diner.

I dropped back down in the seat, mesmerized.

Mr. Wilkes was standing at my table a moment later. “Quite the girl, so full of energy.”

I numbly nodded, he chuckled.

He took a pocket watch out of his pocket. “The car should be ready now, we’re a little late but I think it should be ok.”

He paid the bill and we left the diner, Mr. Wilkes carrying my things. We walked the block or so to the mechanics and sure enough, the new tire was on the car. The mechanic confirmed my theory about it being a blow out which was strange because the tires looked brand new. He promised to call the rental place and handle it for us. I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as I got into the car. I didn’t even think as I got into the back seat. A moment later, Mr. Wilkes got in and the car started moving.

Grandma Agatha’s house wasn’t that far from Main Street if I remembered correctly. It was in a part of town that had a lot of older looking houses. It was a nice enough place but still I felt sick every time coming there. The woman scared me. She had this way about her and not just because she hated me either. She was downright creepy. Mr. Wilkes was creepy but not in the same way as my grandmother. She walked around with her head held high, her back straight and always had this sneer that never went away. She reminded me of Cinderella’s stepmother in the Disney cartoon, except not as old apparently.

When we finally got to the house, I got that sick feeling again.

Mr. Wilkes pulled the car up front, not bothering to use the driveway. He got out first, carrying the bags and the cat carrier. I followed slowly, hoping to put off the inevitable. He got to the porch first and was already ringing the bell. Not that it really mattered because the door was opening anyway. My grandmother was there but she wasn’t there to greet us. She was showing another woman out---a severe looking blonde in a sharp suit.

“I’ll look into it Agatha” said the woman.

She turned and looked at us, her eyes lingering on me a little longer than I wanted.

“Miss DeWitt” said Mr. Wilkes with a nod of his head. The woman nodded her head and left.

My grandmother watched her go before turning toward me. She was a beautiful woman, her red hair finally turning gray. It was funny but she looked exactly the same since the last time I saw her. I suppose five or six years didn’t really change a person that much but still. She gave me the usual look which was one that I can honestly say would turn Medusa to stone. She looked at me long and hard, scrutinizing with her eyes.

“You’ve grown,” she finally said.

“People tend to do that,” I said without thinking.

She frowned. But she didn’t say anything more to me. Instead, she spoke to Mr. Wilkes. “Thank you Gordon, that will be all.”

Mr. Wilkes nodded his head to her then to me. I took the things from him and watched him go. Just like that, he was gone, back into the car. I watched as it slowly drove away and gulped. I turned back to the house; I was alone with this woman now. I took a deep breath and stepped across the threshold.

“Where’s Mary?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t going to be completely alone with her.

“Off with a friend.”

Shit, just my luck. She didn’t say anything more for the moment as she led me into the house. It was a normal looking place except I noticed there was no TV. I groaned. I was hoping that she would have gotten into the twenty first century by now but apparently not. I just hoped that they had a spare computer or else I was going to be really screwed. I looked around the living room quickly as she led me through it. She didn’t stop; instead, she led me up the stairs. I followed, still carrying all the stuff. We went down a hall, passing a few rooms on the way. The house was fairly big with four bedrooms. My mother had two sisters after all.

She finally stopped at the end of the hall.

“This was your mother’s room, I think it will suffice.”

She opened the door and I caught sight of it, letting out a huge sigh. Mom wasn’t overly girly and I was grateful for that. She always told me she was a bit of a tomboy and it was apparent by looking at her childhood room. There was no pinks, no purples. The room was painted a light blue. There was a dresser, a vanity and a desk. I sighed when I didn’t see a computer but I figured that was because they didn’t really have them when Mom was younger. One thing I did groan about was the bed; it was one of those canopy ones. It was probably the girliest thing in the room by far.

“You can put your things in that dresser over there,” said my grandmother pointing.

“I don’t have any things?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll have to add shopping to our list of things to do tomorrow.”

“List?”

She nodded. “I spoke to your mother at length last night. She and I agreed that you might be here longer than originally planned.”

Why did I not like where this conversation was going.

“You’re going to need more than the clothes off your back if you’re going to start school soon.”

Yep definitely not going to like it at all.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.5, I got a lot of time to write this one yesterday. I skip a day or two in this chapter, starting with Kelly's first day of school. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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FIVE:

I took a deep breath as I stood in front of Ravencrest High. I let it out slowly, hitching my purple backpack higher up my shoulder. I was completely screwed; the universe was officially conspiring against me. I wasn’t supposed to be going to school. This was supposed to be my little vacation, a time for me to lie around like a bum and hope that my grandmother didn’t mind. Apparently, she did mind and she had plans. I’m not sure they involved me going to school per se but I’m sure they didn’t involve me being an extended house guest. None of us could have foreseen the Black Crosses making a move like that though. It got everyone scared. After calling my grandmother while I was apparently asleep on the plane, my parents decided to go underground.

They refused to tell anyone where. They also seemed to keep it vague as to when they might be resurfacing. So in the meantime I was stuck in Ravencrest. That’s when Mom and Dad decided it might be best if I tried to make it as normal as possible. So that’s where school came in. Usually a transfer like this took weeks but my grandmother had a lot of pull. Last night after our little shopping excursion---a trip I won’t bore you with---I was officially enrolled as a new student. It was kind of a shock actually. I’m not sure what kind of pull the old woman had but whatever it was, it was amazing.

So here, I was now---two days after arriving in this hole---and already my life was more miserable than when I got here.

The miserableness started as soon as my grandmother told me I was going to school. From there I barely had enough time to complain before she was whisking me off shopping. We took a taxi into town, making a whirlwind trip through the shops she thought I needed to go too. Of course, most of the sales ladies tried to direct me toward the Miss section. After the third store, I got tired of correcting them. Not that I let them pick out girls clothes for me. Sadly, in some places I had little choice. I always had problems with clothes: I was too big for clothes meant for younger boys and the clothes meant for guys my age didn’t quite fit right. So some of my stuff ended up being girls whether I wanted it to or not. Jeans were the real pain in the ass. Though guys, at my size they might as well been girl’s.

After shopping, it was errands. I’m not even sure where we went because there were so many places. My grandmother had a lot to do in town apparently. She went here and there. By the time we were done, it was nearly dinnertime. When we got back home, Mary had finally made her presence known. We grunted a few words to one another before disappearing to our respective rooms. I wasn’t really in the mood to chat.

Sunday---yesterday---I got to be slightly lazy. I did finally manage to get a hold of my sister, though. I gave her the cliff notes version of what happened. I think she was a bit peeved that Mom hadn’t called her and told her firsthand. Jess got like that sometimes---it didn’t matter the situation, she always tried to make it about her. After talking to my sister, I managed to get a hold of Tommy. He was more confused than anything. I’m not sure what he remembered, sometimes memory spells didn’t take---but he seemed to think that he somehow heroically saved me from George. I let him think it because it was technically the truth. After talking with him for a bit, I tried Mom again. Her phone was either shut off or they were someplace that had no service. Dad’s phone was the same and when I tried Felix, all I got was his voice mail. So clearly, my parents were really off the grid at the moment, it wouldn’t be the first time. We used to do it for months but never before was it because someone was trying to kill us. It worried me a bit---not being able to get in touch with them.

The rest of Sunday was pretty dull.

Which led me today, Monday.

First Day of School for me.

I took the stone steps leading into the school two at a time, scaling them quickly enough. As soon as I was through the doors, I followed the main hall to the office at the end of it. Yesterday afternoon, the school sent over a packet of information, including a letter from the Vice Principal. I was supposed to report to him as soon as I arrived. I made my way into the office. The elderly secretary by the door looked up from her computer and smiled at me.

“How can I help you sweetheart?” she asked in a sweet and somewhat condescending tone.

“I’m Kelly Daniels” I said, “I’m here to see a Mr. McClintock?”

The woman smiled. “I’m Mrs. Lee; it’s a pleasure to meet you Kelly. Why don’t you take a seat over there and I’ll tell Mr. McClintock you’re here to see him.”

I looked over to three green plastic chairs against the wall. They were just like the chairs in the office at my own school. I couldn’t help but wonder if the schools of the world got a discount on them. I nodded to Mrs. Lee and took a seat. I set my pack in the empty seat next to me, looking around the room. It looked a lot like my school office, complete with large glass windows and this funky smell----something that reminded me of too much pine sol. My looking around ended up with myself. I was wearing a pair of my new jeans, which were a bit tighter on me than I would have liked. None of the stores had my size so I had to go with the next size below it. They didn’t look all that bad but they didn’t help with the whole gender confusion thing----the jeans made me look more like a girl.

My hoodie didn’t help either. It sucked that my school colors were purple and gray. It also sucked that they didn’t make the gray hoodies in my size so I was stuck buying a purple one. I thought about buying a new hoodie while out shopping but there was something about my old one that made me feel safe. I guess it was because it was the only piece of my wardrobe that still belonged to me. Even my sneakers were new.

“Are you new in town?” asked Mrs. Lee.

“Kind of. My parents are anthropologists. They went to Africa this time but instead of bringing me along like usual they decided to send me here with my grandmother.”

She smiled. “So what do you think of our little town so far?”

I shrugged. “Its nice enough but I’d prefer to be in Africa.”

Hey, she asked. I’m only telling her what I thought. She’s just lucky that I wasn’t being brutally honest and I told her what I really thought of Ravencrest.

She made a tut sound. “A nice pretty thing like yourself shouldn’t be rolling around in the mud over there. I think your parents did the proper thing sending you here.”

And there it was. I should have known as soon as she called my sweetheart earlier. It was the damn jeans; I should have worn my old ones. I wanted to wear them in fact but my grandmother wouldn’t allow it. They were my favorite jeans so they were a little worn, one of knees was starting to get a nice hole and the denim was really faded. At least they weren’t tight and they definitely didn’t make me look more like a girl.

I opened my mouth to correct her but didn’t get a chance because Mr. McClintock chose that time to leave his office. I sized him up quickly. Thin and bald, sorta like I expected a vice principal to be. He opened a manila folder in hands before looking at me.

“Kelly I assume?” he asked, I nodded. “C’mon in my office. You and I can talk there.”

I stood up, grabbed my pack and followed him.

His office was ordinary, save for the fox statue on his desk. I fixated on it as he pointed me to the seat across from his desk. I dropped comfortably into the soft leather. It was kind of nice actually, much better than the hard plastic of the other chair. McClintock took a seat behind the desk. There was something off about him, something that screamed Unseen to me. I’d met a lot of them in my time; Mom and Dad were friends with several. Looking at him, I could tell he wasn’t a witch---his last name wasn’t one of the ones that Mom ever mentioned. He wasn’t the usual sort we encountered either. I looked around the office again, there were foxes everywhere. If I had to guess, I’d say some kind of Were, possibly a fox.

I’d only met a few Weres and they all seemed pretty nice. A little standoffish but they weren’t the vicious monsters that movies made them out to be.

“Your principal at your old school faxed your transcripts over yesterday. I spent last night looking them over. You seem to be a very bright student but you’re not very active. You have no extracurriculars?”

I nodded. “There was a computer club I was a member of for a bit but they shut it down because there weren’t enough members.”

“I see that here.” He closed the folder. “I talked in length with your grandmother last night as well. She filled me on your situation and I can assure you that this school is a very safe environment for Unseen. We have quite a few Unseen students attending as a matter of fact. So you won’t have to feel out of place here.”

I didn’t feel out of place---well not because I was Unseen. I felt out of place because I didn’t belong here, I belonged with my parents.
He started typing away at his desk. “I tried to get you a schedule that fit the same classes you had back in California, unfortunately your previous school had a different curriculum than ours.” The printer behind him buzzed to life.

The sheet fully printed out about thirty seconds later. He spun in his chair to grab it then back around to give it to me. I glanced at it quickly, sad to see my computer science class no longer available. Ravencrest truly was in the Dark Ages.

Mr. McClintock quickly went on to explain everything that his fine school had to offer. He droned on quite some time about it. I caught myself looking at the wall clock more than once. He was extremely proud of his little school. He talked like he was praising a child or something---I suppose it was true in a way. Looking around the room, I had noticed that he had no family portraits of any kind. So it was possible he was a bachelor so this place would be like a family to him. I’m not sure if I felt sad for him or not. He finally finished, though.

“I’ve got someone who shows a lot of my new students around school,” he said to end his little speech. He pressed the button on his intercom. “Kathleen, can you send her in please?”

A moment or two later, the door opened up. I spun around and saw a girl standing there. She was one of those quiet types, short brown hair, pink sweater, grey skirt. She looked like the kind of girl that would work in the office. I didn’t want to say brown noser because that was cruel but she definitely didn’t look like a rule breaker either. She was looking at the ground when she entered---I was surprised that she didn’t trip. When she finally looked up, she caught sight of me.
She gave me a weak smile before turning her attention to Mr. McClintock.

“Maggie this is Kelly, I’d like you to show her to her classes today.”

Shit. Another one.

“Him, sir” I said quickly, hoping to nip it in the bud as early as possible.

“Him, what?” asked the VP, clearly confused.

I sighed. “Never mind.”

Mr. McClintock smiled. “I’ll leave you two to it then.”

I took that as an invitation to leave, which of course it was. I grabbed my back and let Maggie lead me out of the office. We walked together through the main office---smiling to Mrs. Lee as we walked by.

“Good bye girls” she said as we left.

I’m never wearing these jeans again. We walked down the hall in silence for a while. I’d gotten to school early so as to meet with Mr. McClintock as it said to do so in the letter. The hallways were just starting to fill up now. Maggie didn’t say much other than to show me where this classroom was. She was a fairly competent tour guide, taking me to all the wings. The subjects here were separated by hallways, which made it a lot easier for a newbie like me. We were in the Math hall, when she finally stopped and turned toward me. She stared at me for a moment, stared long and hard.

It was kind of creepy.

“Ummm” she said, her voice soft and barely audible. When she spoke again, it was louder. “You’re Mary’s cousin, right?”

That surprised me. “How did you know that?”

She smiled. “My grandfather picked you up at the airstrip on Sunday.”

Her grandfather---oh Mr. Wilkes. This girl was his granddaughter? I squinted my eyes at her; I guess I could sorta see the family resemblance. They had the same bone structure, possibly the same nose. It made me wonder though. If her grandfather knew what I was then did that mean she knew what I was too?

She seemed to be a mind reader because the next thing out of her mouth was exactly that. Well sort of. “My family serves the Coven, has for many years. Every once and a while, grandpa does little things like that.” She paused, biting her lip slightly. “Can you do magic too?”

I sighed, shaking my head. “I’m a Dud.”

She frowned. “I’m sorry.” I smiled. A second later, I think she had a revelation. “Wait that makes you a boy?”

I laughed. “Last time I checked.”

She blushed. “Wow, I mean…you look…I mean…” She continued blushing. “I’m sorry; you just look so much…”

I laughed again. “I’m used to it.”

At least I thought I was. It’s strange but out of all the new people I’d met here so far, Sophie was the only one who could tell I was a guy. The next time I saw her I would have to give her a gold star.

There was silence between us until she asked. “So what’s it like being related to Mary?”

“An adventure.”

We both laughed at that.

After that, Maggie relaxed. The two of us finished our little school tour. She was a lot more open and less shy. She laughed and told me little anecdotes about certain things. She also let me know that a lot of students referred to Mr. McClintock as “Mr. McC” or just plain old “McC”. I suppose it was a lot easier to say---it definitely rolled off the tongue a bit easier. We had a laugh about McC and Mrs. Lee and how they thought I was a girl. I told her about my gender confusion at my old school, how even after I told people the truth they still didn’t believe me.

Maggie was a good listener. She was a lot like me in many ways. Looking at her, I knew that she didn’t have any friends or if she did, she didn’t have many. Kind of like me. I’d never thought of having a girl as a friend---none of them gave me the time of day back home---but Maggie was pretty cool. It helped that we had something in common too: MMORPG’s. Apparently, she lived for them, which was awesome. We talked in length about the various ones we were currently campaigning in. She might have been shy about some things but she sure was passionate about her gaming. Maggie was definitely a diehard gamer girl, which was totally awesome.
Sadly, our tour finally came to an end, just in the nick of time too. We broke up at the ringing of the bell. We both separated, rushing off to our first period classes. We promised to meet at lunch; we had the same period to eat.

I got into my first period class just as the bell was ringing. I dropped into a seat right near the door. There was a pretty blonde sitting next to me. She looked about as confused as I did. She was dressed pretty similar as well---which seemed odd because she was gorgeous; she had one of those bodies that a lot of girls dreamed of. I found it strange that she would cover it up like that.

She saw me looking. “Hey, I’m Mik…Misty.”

I gave her a nod. “Kelly.”

As class started---it turned out to be History---a couple of guys turned to look at Misty. They were giving her these looks, wagging their eyebrows as they did. She tried to ignore them but I could tell it upset her. I felt bad for her, it was clear that they thought she was something that she wasn’t. It now kind of made sense to me why she’d cover up like that. Thankfully, none of them looked at me like that; in fact, everyone in class pretty much ignored me. It was horrible to think but I was kind of glad that Misty was drawing some of the attention away from me.

History class passed without incident, so did my next two classes. During fourth period, however I wasn’t so lucky. I ended up sitting next to this guy who couldn’t help but stare at me. It was kind of creepy. About halfway through class, he leaned over and whispered:

“Hey, I’m Jack.”

I wanted to roll my eyes but I didn’t. I was used to this. “I’m Kelly.”

“Mr. Pratchett” snapped the teacher---who apparently had ears like a wolf. “Eyes up front, you can talk to Miss Daniels after class.”

I groaned. Two more for the girl camp. I think I’m going to get one of those Hello My Name Is stickers, write my name on it and put in big letters below it: I’M A GUY.

Thankfully, fifth period was lunch.

I entered the lunchroom, scanning for a place to sit. I caught sight of Mary with her friends. I recognized her buddy Greg immediately; I was surprised to see him clinging to a girl with curly hair. There were a few others at the table as well; my eyes were drawn to the blonde though. She looked vaguely familiar, like the two of us had met somewhere before. The one person I didn’t see was Trevor, which was kind of disappointing. Out of all of Ravencrest, Trevor was one of the only guys I could really tolerate. Greg was ok I guess but he could be kind of annoying with all the horror movie crap. Hey, monsters existed and they were nothing like how Hollywood portrayed them.

I thought about sitting with them but I didn’t want to intrude.

I looked around the room some more, hoping to see Morgan. I thought all of us had lunch at the same time but I couldn’t find him anywhere.

I scanned the rest of the room and found Maggie. She was sitting at a table all by herself, reading a book. I started toward her when I caught sight of another table loner: Misty. It seemed kind of strange, a girl that pretty not having any friends. She was trying not to be noticed either, practically hiding away in the corner. I watched her the whole time as I walked across the room, finally depositing my butt in the chair across from Maggie.

“Hey” I said, startling her. I apologized then asked. “What’s up with that Misty girl?”

Maggie glanced over her shoulder quickly. She lowered her voice when she spoke. “She’s got a reputation. She’s what you might call a…well…she’s a slut.”

I looked at Misty again. She was wearing a baggy hoodie and jeans. She didn’t look anything like the sluts at my school. “You sure?”

Maggie shrugged. “That’s the rumor.”

That pissed me off. I hated when other people labeled people because of how they appeared to be. Without thinking, I pushed out of the chair and walked over to Misty’s table. The girls at the next table watched me like I had some kind of disease. I ignored them as I walked up to her table.

“Hey” I said, she looked at me and smiled. “You sitting alone?”

She shrugged. “It happens.”

“You want to come and sit with me,” I said, pointing to the table with Maggie. “We’re loners too. It might be fun, everyone needs a little company.”

“I don’t take charity,” she snapped.

“It’s not charity” I said, “I know what it’s like to be given a label. It sucks big time. I thought you might want to rise above it.”

She took a moment before responding. “You won’t get upset sitting with the school slut?”

I shook my head. “I’m the guy who looks like a girl” Her eyes bugged out at that. Great she thought I was a girl too. “Maggie is the quiet type. You’d fit in quite nicely.”

She smiled and nodded. She grabbed her things and followed me back to the table. I made quick intros then the three of us sat and ate our lunch in silence. Hey, I broke the ice with the invite; it’s not my job to start everything. It didn’t really matter; I’m not sure what us three could really talk about. We were strangers after all, maybe in time we’d find something in common besides being outcasts.

When I was done with lunch, I excused myself to take my tray to trash. I tried to keep my head down as I went. I was getting some stares. I’m not sure if it was one of those “hey look at the girly guy” kind of stares or “hey check out the weird girl.” Neither one of them was very welcome but the former was better than the latter. I could deal with the girly guy crap, hell I’d even welcome it. The other stuff was starting to get to me. If there was, one thing I was hoping to enjoy about a new school was a new chance. But it didn’t take long for people to see girl when they looked at me. It didn’t help that my name was Kelly. A few days ago, I was proud of the name, now I wished it could be normal like every other guy.

I dropped the crap off my tray. I was hoping to go unnoticed but that didn’t really work out all that well.

“Hey” said a voice from beside me. “Mr. Stone’s class right?”

It was that guy Jack. I really didn’t need this right now.

“You figure that out all by yourself?”

I hoped that being a “bitch” would get this guy to go away. I found out a long time ago to never reveal my true gender to any guy who hit on me. I did once and got a split lip because of it. So I played the stone cold bitch, hoping that it was enough of a turn off. Apparently this Jack guy was a little thick, either that or he was actually attracted to it.

Jack laughed. “It’s kind of hard not to think about it or you. You’ve been on my mind all day.”

I groaned. I didn’t care if he heard me or not. “You seem like a nice guy but I’m not interested.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“Beat it Pratchett!” snapped a voice as Mary appeared out of nowhere.

Ok so probably not out of nowhere, I just didn’t see her coming.

Jack’s face went white as a sheet. He recovered quickly. “This is between her and me Crawford.”

Mary didn’t skip a beat. “She’s my cousin; do you really want to go there?”

That did it. Jack shook his head quickly, apologized and disappeared. It was almost as if he was afraid of Mary. I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Mary was doing some laughing of her own though. “Did he actually think you were a girl?”

“It happens all the time,” I said with a groan.

Mary dumped her trash. “Freaky.”

I nodded. “It happens, I deal.”

Mary didn’t say anything for a moment. Instead, she looked across the cafeteria. I think she was looking at my table because the next words out of her mouth were pretty nasty. “Misty Curtis?” I nodded. “Stay away from her, she’s bad news.”

“That slut thing has to be a rumor, there’s just no way that girl is a slut.”

Mary shook her head. “It’s not the slut thing, it’s something else. Trust me when I say that she’s a bad person and leave it at that.”

“You’re telling me who I can and can’t be friends with?”

“You can be friends with anyone else in this school except her.”

That pissed me off. “You know Mary, I thought you’d changed and I was right. Instead of being this little punkish brat, you’ve turned into a real bitch. I think our grandmother is finally starting to wear off on you.”

I didn’t wait for a snappy come back from her. Instead, I pushed past her, slamming my shoulder into hers as I did so.

I ended up walking home. Mary only had the one bicycle and apparently, she rode it. I had two options but I definitely didn’t want to spring for a cab. It wasn’t that far from the school actually. It was fairly nice out too, the weather was warmer than it was the last few days anyway. I was still shivering though. I was never going to get used to the weather here. It was fifty degrees and though that was warm to the people here, it was pretty damn cold to me. I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining. It apparently could get as cold as thirty below. I’m not sure what I was going to do then. At home, I would have taken the bus but apparently, they didn’t run buses here. There was no need; the school was in walking distance of the town after all.

The walk gave me some time to think about the rest of the day so it wasn’t all bad. After lunch, I ended up in Gym class. I got a lot of strange looks because everyone thought I was a girl in the wrong class. The teacher wouldn’t let me in the locker room with the other guys even. He made me sit on the bleachers and told me he’d get things sorted out soon enough. I tried to tell him I was in fact a guy but apparently, my pleas fell on deaf ears. I tried to tell him to look at his class list, to see what it said next to my name but apparently, there was some kind of mix up. My name hadn’t even been added to his list.

The rest of the day was kind of a downward slope from there.

A few of the guys from my Gym class were in my next class. They spread it around real quick that I---the new girl---ended up in their class by accident. Suddenly I had every male eye in the room checking me out. It didn’t stop there, spreading to the next few classes. The only solace from it all was my hoodie; I could bury my face in it. It also helped that Maggie was in one of my classes and Misty in another. Somehow, the two of them had latched themselves onto me. Misty had this way about her almost as if she were a bully in another life or something. Even though they thought she was this slut, a lot of guys were afraid of her too.

Maggie just stuck by me for moral support. I hid in my hoodie pretty much for the rest of the day. I practically ran out of the classroom at the end of ninth. I stopped briefly at my new locker before bailing. Now here I was on my way home, freezing my ass off. Tomorrow I was going to try bringing a heavier coat because the wind was going straight through my hoodie. I was still quite a ways from “home” too. There was no way I was going to make it like this. I looked around, thought about stopping. I was just on Main Street now. I overheard some of the kids talking about someplace called Mario’s---a pizza place I think. I started scanning the streets, hoping to find it.

What I found instead was the purr of a Japanese motorcycle. I turned just in time to see Sophie come roaring up beside me. She was dressed differently today, normal I guess in t-shirt and jeans. She was still wearing her leather jacket though. She stopped the bike, pulling off her helmet. Her long hair was tied off in a braid that went down her back. She shook it free, letting it whip around like a deadly weapon.

“Hey Kels” she said, already giving me a nickname. “Why is it that every time I come across you, you’re freezing your butt off?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Just lucky I guess.”

She smiled. “I was going to go and get something to eat, want to join me?”

How could I refuse the invitation of such a beautiful girl? We left her bike there and walked the little ways to Mario’s. I wasn’t that far from it actually. Mario’s was the place to go after school apparently because it was packed. We had to elbow our way inside. It took nearly twenty minutes to get to the counter and order. Thankfully, I only had a coke; Sophie ordered herself a whole pie. WE took a booth---someone would bring her her food.

“So why so glum?”

“What makes you think I’m glum?”

She smirked. “I’m a mind reader silly,” We both laughed. “Seriously though, I have this gift. I can just look at people and know something is up. Clearly something is bothering you.”

I sighed then told her about my day. When I was finished with the whole thing, she laughed. I guess it was hard not to.

“They actually thought you were a girl?” I nodded, she laughed a little louder. “All of them?”

“I’m pretty sure.”

It took her a while to stop laughing. When she finally did, she turned her head left and right.

“Well in the right light you do look a little feminine,” she said with a reassuring smile. “Have you ever worn girls’ clothes before?”

“Not by choice” I said then quickly filled her in about how some clothes didn’t fit me right because I was so small.

At that moment, her pizza arrived. She offered me a slice but I wasn’t really hungry. I was shocked when she tore into it though. I’d never seen a girl her size eat pizza like that. She didn’t seem shy about it either. A few guys from a nearby table watched with their mouths open slightly, I was the same way. Halfway through the feast, Sophie realized she was a spectacle. Instead of being quiet about it though, she drew more attention.

“What” she said rather loudly. “Its like you morons have never seen a real girl eat!”

There were some murmurs, Sophie laughed then went right back to eating. As soon as she finished, we left. She offered to give me a ride home, which I readily took. She made me wear her helmet because she was afraid for my safety. I climbed onto the back of the bike---wrapping my arms around her just like before. On the bike, it didn’t take very long to get to my grandmother’s. I made her stop a few houses down though because I could only imagine what the old woman would say if she saw me pull up on the back of the motorcycle. I thanked her for the ride and the two of us made plans to meet up this weekend.

“See you Saturday, girlfriend” she said with a laugh before taking off.

I ran the rest of the way home. When I slipped inside, I was glad to see that only Mary was there. She was on the couch, Nicodemus and Diamond on either side of her. All three of them stared at me as soon as I walked in. I hated the way cats stared like that. Nicodemus was the worst. He had one of those gazes that felt like he was judging. Those golden eyes were on me now, watching my every movement. Like my mother, it felt like my grandmother had had that menacing black cat forever. He didn’t seem any older though. I didn’t know much about Familiars but was it possible they lived longer than normal animals?

“You stop at Mario’s?” asked Mary, scrutinizing me with her eyes just like the cats.

“Do I smell like pepperoni or something?”

She didn’t answer instead she asked another question. “Who was your friend on the motorcycle?”

I groaned. “You spying on me now?”

She pushed herself off the couch. She glared at me. I could see where everyone at school called her “Malice”. That glare of hers alone was enough to scare even the brawniest of guys. She walked toward me, still glaring. She didn’t say anything at first but she continued to stare. She even walked around me once, like she was sizing me up or something.

“Planning to eat me now?”

She shook her head. “I was just wondering if it’s possible that’s all.”

That piqued my interest. “If what’s possible?”

She smiled. “I’ve been doing some reading. I thought maybe I could help you out.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it for you?”

“Can’t I just help out my cousin in need?”

“Ummm no”

“You’d owe me one,” she said simply, waving it off like it was nothing.

Owing her a favor. I’m not sure I liked the sound of that but at the same time I was kind of curious. “What were you thinking?”

“What if I told you there was a way for you to stop confusing people?”

That definitely piqued my interest. “I’m listening.”

Mary smiled. “I know this spell…”

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Sorry for the massive delay, Real Life got in the way. Real Life in the form of a certain multiplayer addition to a demo I've been playing so I apologize for that. Something happens in this chapter that people have been asking about since the start of this story so I hope that more than makes up for the delay. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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SIX:

“You want to do what now?” I asked, staring at Mary like she’d grown a second head

“It’s a simple spell,” she said waving her hand like there was nothing to it.

I knew all about simple spells. Back when Jess was first coming into her powers, she knew some simple spells, too. One of which was this nifty spell to change the color of your hair. She didn’t want to try that spell on herself though---that would be irresponsible and dangerous. So instead, she made me her guinea pig. Of course, she screwed it up. It was almost a given that she was going to screw up, I should have seen it coming. The spell was meant to change my hair from my dirty blonde to a nice rich brown. Instead, it turned my dull blonde hair into a very vibrant purple. Jess laughed forever, Mom didn’t think it was so funny. I learned two very important things about witchcraft that day, the first being never to let my sister try any more spells on me.

The second was a little more serious. Apparently, one witch could not undo the spell of another. So I spent the rest of the day with purple hair. Thankfully, the spell didn’t last more than 24 hours.

To say that I was a little wary of Mary’s spell was an understatement.

“Explain this simple spell to me?”

She groaned. “I thought I already did” She rolled her eyes. “Ok, one more time then. It’s a Glamour spell designed to help people differentiate your true gender.”

Somehow that sounded too good to be true. Like I mentioned before there had to be a catch, there was always a catch. Magic was something not to be trifled with. I’ve seen Mom use it every day but there’s always a consequence. Little things didn’t cause too much of a problem---like making the bed or washing the dishes---but big things relied on more energy. Lots of the time the energy came from the caster. I’d seen it many times before. Mom would overdo it and have to lie down for several hours afterwards.

She always used to say, “You can’t get something for nothing.”

In the case of some magic, it was time, or more specifically lifespan time. The longer the spell, the more time it took. It was an equivalency thing. Most of it was small time, a few seconds here or there but big spells took a lot---sometimes several minutes. The caster might not think that’s much at the time of the spell casting but come the end of their life it was something they couldn’t afford. So Mom only used magic in very small doses---she taught my sister to do the same.

“How big of a spell is this?”

Mary shrugged. “Ten minutes maybe.”

I shook my head. “That’s too much.”

She made a pish sound. “I do spells that take a minute or two all the time. A ten minute one is nothing.”

Witches had a term for someone who over used magic---they called them Burners. Not that Mary was a Burner but she was getting dangerously close to being one. She was starting on a downward slope, burning through all the minutes in her life. If she wasn’t careful, the Council would take notice and she’d be reprimanded for it. There was a three strike system for Burners, it often happened to younger witches like Mary---new to their power. Mom always made sure that Jess never overdid for fear that she might produce a Burner. I can’t imagine my grandmother allowing Mary to go crazy like this though.

Burner or not, the spell was awfully tempting though. Not that I trusted her in the least but it was getting tiring trying to convince everyone I was something that I clearly didn’t appear to be. At least to them anyway. Maybe a spell was the right thing for me, even if it was a simple glamour. I almost told her yes but there were other factors to consider. I didn’t want to get her in trouble. A ten minute spell was advanced, something I knew a Novice like her didn’t have the grasp of. Spells like that were supposed to be supervised and I knew my grandmother would never do anything like that---especially to help me.

I made a quick decision. “I can’t, I’m sorry but the risk is too great.”

She shook her head. “Can you at least give me a minute or two to show you want I’m talking about?”

I shrugged. “Not that it’s going to change anything.”

She ushered me out of the living room and into the kitchen. The door to the basement was in the corner, it was a place I knew all too well but a place I’d never been before. Every time I visited, the basement was off limits to me. When I was younger---and didn’t know the real truth---, I thought it was because I was a boy. I was only half right; the rest of it was because I was a Dud. My grandmother followed this strict tradition that Duds not be allowed any inkling of the witch’s life. It was a tradition that my mother---and a lot of modern day witches didn’t practice. I think it royally pissed my grandmother off when Mom decided to reveal the family secret to me.

Mary reached for a chain around her neck, pulling it out from underneath the shirt she was wearing. There was a key on the end of it. She looked around the room, catching eyes with Nicodemus. The big black cat was lazing on the counter top, staring at us with this half eye opened look.

“Don’t give me that look Nic,” she said, as she stuck the key into the lock. “It’s only for a minute or two.”

The big black cat shifted his gaze from her to me. Unlike Diamond, Nic freaked the hell out of me. He was one of those animals that really lived up to its name. I’m not sure where the name came from but it was dark and it fit the cat well. He always had this sinister way about him, like he had a deep dark secret that only he knew. Whenever I visited, I always went out of my way to avoid him. It was no different this time.

As soon as Mary had the door opened, I quickly followed her.

The stairs to the basement were a lot narrower than I thought. They were at this wicked steep angle too, making walking down them nearly impossible. At least for me. Mary moved like a pro down them, probably years of practice. When we got to the bottom, the darkness lasted for a moment as she flicked a switch. There have only been a few times in my life that I’d really been surprised by things, I could count them all on one hand actually. Now I was going to have to put one on the other. The room before me was nothing like I was expecting, for one thing, it was well furnished. It was also nothing like I was expecting a witch’s lair to look like. I was thinking stone walls, cobwebs, even a cauldron.

Instead, it was carpeted floors, normal walls lined with shelves, no cauldron. There weren’t any cobwebs either, in fact I didn’t see a speck of dust. I was kind of disappointed actually; I was expecting it to the coolest place in the world, not a clone of the living room.

“Not what I was expecting” I said, looking at the cooking books lining the one shelf.

Mary didn’t say anything. Instead, she walked over to one of the bookshelves, slowly browsing the titles. I looked at some of them myself, they didn’t look very appealing. She found her book though, slowly pulling it from the shelf. It only went about halfway followed by a click. A grinding sound filled the room and the bookshelf slowly moved, sliding to the side to reveal a doorway.

“Grams isn’t without her secrets.”

She stepped through this new doorway, I rushed to follow.

There was no transition room; we went from happy place to a not so happy one. I got my stone walls, my musty smell, my strange bottles and jars. It was the lair I was looking for. I looked around, amazed at what I was seeing. My eyes roamed the room, looking at all the little oddities, including a huge table in the corner lined with potted plants, most likely herbs. Mom had a huge herb garden in the backyard. She wasn’t too keen on potion making but it was something she did on occasion. It was cool to have a witch for a mother, especially when she knew a potion that cured just about any ailment.

My eyes continued to roam, drawn to the central point of the room, which was a large leather bound book on a pedestal. I knew that book well, though I’d never actually seen it in person. It was the Crawford family’s Book of Shadows. Every witch family had one; it was an encyclopedia of all their knowledge, all their spells, recipes and incantations. I’d always wondered what it looked like and was sadly unimpressed. I looked past the book, until my eyes fell across a large wooden chest in the other corner, all by itself. I took a step toward it when Mary put her arm across my chest.

“You don’t want to go poking in there,” she said sternly.

“What is it?”

“Don’t know, don’t care” She said and added quickly. “I just know to stay away from it.”

Sure, let a guy see a forbidden chest and then tell him it’s forbidden.

“We don’t have much time,” she said, walking over to the Book.

“Planning to turn into a pumpkin at midnight?”

She didn’t laugh. “No but if Grams catches us down here we might end up as pumpkins.”

That was a scary thought. “Where is she anyway?”

Mary shrugged. “She and some of the old ladies go out some nights, play cards, read palms or whatever. They never invite me so I don’t really care what they do.”

I thought I heard a bit of resentment in her voice actually.

Mary unlocked the latch that held the book shut, pulling the huge, heavy cover open. I half expected a cloud of dust to rise but there wasn’t. I leaned forward to take a closer look but was disappointed by what I saw. There was a blank page staring back up at me. Mary didn’t seem to be phased by it though. She flipped the page and then flipped another. Soon she was going through it like any other book. All I saw was one blank page after another. What the hell was going on? Was there some kind of enchantment on the book or was it something else? Did it have something to do with magic and because I was a Dud…that kind of sucked.

“Here it is,” she announced a few minutes later. “The Spell of Becoming, oh look there’s a potion too.”

I looked at her oddly. “You mean to tell me you can see something on those pages?”

She nodded. “Can’t you?”

I groaned. Definitely a Dud thing.

“So what else does it say?”

“I can’t tell you that but just know that it’s a simple spell and the potion is easy to make. I can whip it up in a couple of hours.” She pulled a little leather bound book from her back pocket, quickly scribbling down the invisible words.

When she was done, she closed the book, locking it tightly.

“I got it,” she said proudly. “Now let’s get out of here and bribe the cat.”

I laughed. “You think he’s going to rat us out?”

“Most definitely” she said, as she led the way back through the “door” in the wall.

She quickly closed it back up. The room was back to normal. We didn’t waste any time down there, heading back up the stairs. It was just as steep going up as it was down. In the kitchen, Diamond had joined Nicodemus. The two of them stared at us, their eyes shifting between Mary and me. It was kind of creepy.

Mary and I left the kitchen, Diamond followed close behind.

“So what do you think?” she asked, waving the book in front of my nose. “Do you want to unlock your true potential?”

She laughed when she said it. That was about as reassuring as an F on a Math assignment.

“I think I’ll pass.”

“You sure?” she asked, not sounding surprised in the least. “This spell could make you the man you were meant to be.”

It was tempting, far too tempting. But I knew all about spells and I knew when to avoid them. I didn’t want to get pulled into something like that again.

“I’m sure,” I said with confidence.

She shrugged. “You know where to find me if you change your mind”.

She went back to the couch, dropping onto it. Me, I went upstairs with my backpack. I had a ton of homework to do and I wanted to get it done before I fell asleep. It was cruel to give a kid homework on his first day but after the day but it seemed to fit the rest of the day. I trudged up the stairs, into my room and flopped onto the bed.

The buzzing of the alarm woke me. I rolled out of bed, nearly crushing the big gray cat who was slumbering next to me. Why was it that Diamond saw fit to sleep with me of all people? There’s that old saying that animals knew that you hated them so they clung to you on purpose. That was definitely the case with him. I pushed him to my feet so I could swing around and roll out of bed. I was in one of those morning funks as I trudged out of the room and down the hall. I peed, washed my hands and didn’t truly wake up until the water from the shower was falling over me. As soon as that happened, it was like flicking a switch.

I stayed in the shower long enough to wash my hair and body. I used shampoo and conditioner on my hair. It might have been one of the reasons everyone mistook me for a girl because it was so silky smooth but I didn’t care. Just using shampoo felt wrong somehow. The same thing could be said for my body, I hated the feeling of soap so I used a body wash. It made my skin nice and soft---probably another one of my deceptions. As I washed, I couldn’t help but think about the Becoming spell. Not that I wanted her to do it but it did tempt me all night.

The spell could make me look like a guy. I’d finally go through puberty, grow some facial hair, muscles. I might even get a little taller. At the same time, it wouldn’t be real. Glamours were tricky things. They weren’t meant to be permanent things. A lot of younger witches used them, girls like Mary. They changed their hair, eyes, did their makeup. They were simple things, quick spells. The idea of using a Glamour as a long-term spell was nuts. It was even more nuts when I couldn’t sustain it myself. Glamours were personal things, meant for the caster. Mary was just crazy enough to suggest using one on someone else.

I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist and quickly made it back to my room. I ended up wearing a very similar pair of jeans and shirt just like yesterday’s. I topped the look off with my hoodie. Wearing my hoodie didn’t help matters but that school was so cold how could I not. I don’t think I was ever going to get used to the change in temperature here. Back home it barely went down to fifty in the winter but here it was lucky to get above it and it was only November. Winter didn’t officially start until the end of December, I’m not sure how long I was going to be here but I don’t think I’ll be able to last all this cold.

I made my way downstairs after that.

In the kitchen, I was surprised to see Mary already at the table. She was eating a bowl of cereal and smiled when I entered. “There’s some Fruit Loops in the cupboard.”

I wasn’t a cereal person usually but I doubted my grandmother would ever make me bacon and eggs. So I resorted to getting the box, a bowl and some milk. As I was pouring the last of the milk into the bowl, my grandmother came into the room. She was definitely a morning person, as was evident by her lack of tiredness. She didn’t say a word as she walked past me and poured herself a cup of coffee. I sat at the table first.

She didn’t insult me until she sat down. “You’re wearing that ratty sweatshirt again.”

We had a difference of an opinion on the hoodie yesterday morning. It was a little worn because I wore it all the time. It was comfortable so I saw no reason to keep on wearing it. My grandmother thought it was disgusting and told me she didn’t want to see it on me again. I wasn’t about to cave just because she didn’t like something.

“I like it” I said, spooning some loops into my mouth.

“I don’t,” she said coldly before taking a sip of her coffee. “Go upstairs and take it off.”

I didn’t skip a beat when I responded with a very stern “No.”

The look of surprise on both of their faces was priceless. She can bad mouth me all she wants, she can glare at me and ignore me too but there’s no way I’m going to let her tell me what to wear. It was my body and there was no way she was going to dictate the terms of it. She could do or say whatever she wanted; there was no way I was getting rid of my hoodie.

Silence fell over the room. My grandmother narrowed her eyes at me, giving me this evil glare. I continued to eat my Fruit Loops. The silence lasted several minutes before Mary finally decided to break it.

“I got you a bike to use so you don’t have to walk.”

That surprised me. “You serious?”

She nodded. “My friend Tracy. She has more than one, she said you could use one while you’re here.”

I couldn’t help but groan. One way to make people still think I was a girl was to ride a girl’s bike. Maybe I should have taken her up on her offer last night.
Breakfast was a quiet affair after that. Our grandmother left earlier, not saying a word. A few minutes later, Mary and I were out the door. I was surprised to find that the bike in question was a boy’s bike. I was also surprised at how nice it was.

“Who’s Tracy?” I asked as we started heading toward school.

“Trevor’s sister.”

That surprised me. “I didn’t know he had a sister.”

“Neither did he.”

I asked about Trevor. Apparently, he was living in Florida now with relatives. He got real sick a few months ago and the doctor decided a change in climate might help him. It was around that time that his unknown twin sister showed up out of the blue. It was a bit strange---like one of those damn soap operas my mother sometimes watched. It kind of sucked too. I was really looking forward to continuing my comic book debate with him. We started it a few years ago and occasionally Skyped back and forth about it. Lately though he hasn’t been on and now I know why.

We got to school with plenty of time left. We met up with the blonde from lunch yesterday and Greg.

“Hey guys, this is Kelly,” said Mary, sticking her thumb at me.

“I know,” said Greg with a nod.

The blonde looked like she was going to say something but stopped herself. Instead, she said. “Hi I’m Tracy.”

I shook her hand. Now that I looked at her up close, you could definitely see where she looked just like Trevor. It was kind of freaky actually.

“Hey you been reading the new 52?” asked Greg.

“Oh yeah” I said. “I’ve also got this new one, limited series…a female…”

Mary interrupted. “He doesn’t care.”

“Yes I do,” said Greg.

“Well I don’t” said Mary, pushing Greg away from me.

Just like that, Mary was gone, trying desperately to get Greg away. Tracy gave me an apologetic smile before she slowly followed after them. I was left standing there a little dumbfounded. I started to follow a second or two later. I was halfway to the steps when I heard some noise off to my left. I turned to catch a circle of football players harassing someone. I was going to ignore it---those guys were way bigger than me---when I saw the person was none other than Misty. That pissed me off. Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my way over.

“Leave her alone guys” I said, pushing my way through the wall of bodies.

Misty was a bit surprised. Hell, I was a bit surprised.

One of the guys laughed. “Is the school slut going dyke on us?”

“Maybe she is,” I said, walking over to her and slipping my arm around Misty’s waist.

I’m not sure where that came from---my burst of confidence but I was glad. Misty tensed up a little when I touched her though. The four jocks were a bit stunned. I think the correct term is stunned speechless. They stood and stared, not sure what to say. Misty and I didn’t stick around long enough for them to say anything. I shoved past the nearest one, my arm still around her waist. We stayed like that until we got into the building. As soon as the coast was clear, she quickly slipped away.

“Thanks” she said with a smile. “But you shouldn’t have done that. I know those guys, that little incident is only going to make things worse.”

I shrugged. “It’s not like I haven’t had worse.”

Apparently not only was I girl to everyone but I was a butch girl. Well actually, I was considered tomboyish. I was pretty enough to get hit on but not girly enough to date. So being called a dyke was nothing new. Trying to tell people I was actually a guy just confused them even more. So gay, straight or in-between it didn’t really matter.

At my locker, Maggie was waiting. She looked different today, her hair was parted and she was smiling.

“Mr. McC asked me to tell you that he’s straightened everything out with Mr. Douglas, your Gym teacher.”

She went with me to my first class then we parted ways.

Class today wasn’t much different than yesterday. Everyone---including the teachers---thought I was girl. I went through first, second and third periods without thinking too much about it. In fourth period, the teacher gave me a strange look. I think she was really trying to make up her mind. In the end, she just called me Kelly. I guess it was one step in the right direction. Fifth period was lunch where I sat with Maggie and Misty again. The two of them were in the middle of a conversation when I finally showed. It was kind of weird actually, but nice. Who would have thought the school’s reputed slut and the quiet girl would have anything in common.

Throughout Lunch, Mary was casting nasty glances over at our table. Finally sixth period came, the dreaded Gym class. It was strange to have Gym two days in a row but apparently, they were trying something different here. For the first part of the year we had Gym everyday and the second part of the year it would be Health. It seemed like a bit much but I suppose it got the job done. When I got the gymnasium, Mr. Douglas pulled me aside and apologized for yesterday.

“You’re a little girly but don’t worry Daniels, I’ll whip you into shape soon enough.”

He smacked me on the back, which hurt like a bitch.

I fell into line after that with the other guys as we made our way to the locker room. My locker was in the far corner. I was a little conscientious about my body because I was frail and bony. The other guys all had muscles and body hair----things that I was definitely lacking. I hated Gym class because of that and because of the fact that I’d been forced to show it off. Normal gym clothes consisted of an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts---both of which I didn’t like to wear. Well the shorts anyway. Even back home, I never wore shorts to school. I had girly legs and definitely didn’t look drawing attention to them.

I dressed in a hurry. As I walked around the corner, I came face to face with those very same jocks from earlier today. They were laughing about something but when they saw me, they all froze. I’m not sure what they thought. We stared back and forth, for what seemed like an eternity. I was waiting for one of them to make their move. They were like the stupid guys who used to hit on me and then later find out I was in fact a guy. It was usually a lot of nasty looks and name calling---fag mostly---but there were a few who took it one step further. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to be the latter. Name calling I could deal with, getting my ass kicked was something I definitely could not.

“Dude” said one of them. I held my breath. “What’s a chick doing in here?”

And they were the dumbest morons on the face of the planet.

I didn’t wait to respond. Instead, I pushed past them. In the gymnasium, I tried to stay in the back of the group. Mr. Douglas was in front, telling us what we were in store for today. It was basketball, one of my least favorite things to do. Back home, if you didn’t even know a bit of B-Ball you were considered a total outcast. That was me, the outcast. I used to get owned every single time we played in Gym. It was pretty pathetic, especially when some overzealous ass slammed me to the court. The teacher never saw any of that either.

Mr. Douglas split us up into four teams, two per net. As luck would have it, three of the four jocks were on the opposite team of mine.

Just like I anticipated, I got manhandled. I couldn’t shoot, I couldn’t pass and I couldn’t dribble the ball to save my life. I tried though. Back at my old school, you at least got credit if you looked like you were trying. So that’s what I did. I attempted to fake my way through basketball. I was doing pretty good at it too just as long as the ball didn’t go my way. If that happened the best I could do was try to catch it and throw it to someone else as quick as possible.
Faking my way through it must have been tiring because after a few minutes of “playing”, I was starting to sweat. It was strange because I couldn’t remember the last time I’d sweated in Gym. I tried not to think about it but a few minutes later the sweating was followed by this dull ache in my stomach. The ache started to get worse the more I moved. Soon all I could do was stand still to keep it from sending my stomach into cartwheels.

A whistle blew, startling all of us. Mr. Douglas was on the other side of the Gym but was approaching fast. It didn’t take long for me to realize he was coming my way.

“Something wrong Daniels?”

“Not sure sir” I said, wincing when I spoke.

“You look really pale; you need to go to the nurse?”

I shook my head. “Maybe the bathroom, I feel kind of sick.”

“Go then.”

I didn’t have to be told twice. I was happy to get out of that mess. I went through the nearest door, trying my hardest to walk slowly down the hall. If I walked any faster, the pain got worse. I made small steps, holding my stomach as I did so. Thankfully, there was a bathroom nearby. I pushed my way inside and just made it into a stall before I threw up. You know how throwing up is supposed to make you feel better; well it didn’t work in this case. I threw up three more times and only felt worse. After the fourth time, nothing else would come up. I flushed and slowly got to my feet. A wave of dizziness over took me and I stumbled. I nearly fell on my face as I made my way toward the sink.

Grabbing the counter was the only thing that kept me up.

When I pulled myself back up, I knew something was off. First, it was my hair; it was tumbled around my face. I gasped at the sight of it and the length; it was way past my shoulders. The second thing I noticed were my hands---they were smaller than before. The third thing was the most shocking. I was looking into the mirror now and staring back at me was not my face, it was that of a very pretty teenage girl.

A second wave of dizziness overtook me and this time I dropped to the floor, blacking out before I hit it.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Yes I'm alive :) Sorry for the delay I got wrapped up in several different things, one of which was finishing a certain game before its sequel came out---then I got wrapped up in said sequel. Ah, the addiction of video games. Anyway, here's Ch. 7 finally done.I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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SEVEN:

The bright light was shining down on me when I opened my eyes, so bright that for a split second I thought it was the end. You know the saying “bright light at the end of the tunnel”; well I thought this was it. I’d had some kind of brain hemorrhage in the bathroom and I died there. What a shitty place to die; I know but after what I saw there was no way that that was real. Unfortunately, for me, I realized the light was in fact from one of those large halogen lights that hung on the ceilings in schoolrooms. I groaned, closing my eyes for a second. So I was still alive. I’m not sure if I liked that idea. Not that I wanted to die but the alternative at the moment didn’t seem any better.

I looked into the mirror earlier and saw a girl staring back at me.

I reopened my eyes and took a look at my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the sterile smell in the room; it didn’t take a genius to figure out where I was. I was lying on a bed---maybe a cot of some sort. I sat up, ignoring the weight on my chest. I knew what that was, too, but I wasn’t ready to acknowledge that. I looked farther around the room. It didn’t look like a hospital room, it wasn’t white enough. Besides no hospital room that I knew of had cots instead of beds. If I had to guess, I’d say it was the school nurse’s office. I groaned at what that meant. I passed out in the bathroom---the guy’s bathroom---and someone found me there.

The implication of that scared me. It meant someone saw me, saw what I’d become. They already thought I was a girl and now things were just going to get worse. The rumors would start soon: “Hey, the new girl was unconscious in the boy’s bathroom” or “I heard she was actually in the boy’s locker room, too?” Of course, neither of those things bothered me because I was not in fact a girl; at least I wasn’t twenty-four hours ago. I groaned loudly. There had to be some kind of explanation for all of this, guys just don’t spontaneously transform into girls in the middle of the day. There had to be some kind of magic involved and if I were to guess I had a pretty good idea who.

I slipped off the cot, my new chest shifting again. I tried to ignore that as I slowly got to my feet. I took a deep breath before my first step. When I walked, things were a little off. My whole center of gravity was thrown off a bit, my body weighed more in some places and less in others. I thought about making a clean break for the door that I knew was somewhere around here but my bladder betrayed me. Instead, I looked around, hoping that there was a bathroom in here. I spotted another door in the far corner; it was either my intended target or a supply closet. I made a break for it, ignoring the empty desk on the other side of the room.

I pulled up the door and found a toilet, sink and mirror. Without thinking about it, I rushed over and peed. It never even occurred to me that I was sitting down until I was done. Of course, there was no way I could go standing up but it scared me how quickly I adjusted to that. Maybe it was instinctive or something. After flushing, I went over to the sink to wash my hands. As I turned on the faucet, I saw her. It was the same girl in the mirror from before, the same one that scared me so much that I passed out. The surprising thing now was that now that I looked at this new face I was shocked at how much it looked like my old one. It was a bit softer now, my nose slightly smaller, my lips a bit different. But it was the same me looking back, well, a little more feminized than before but still the same. The most drastic change was my hair. It was still the dull dirty blonde from before but now it reached way down my back. I reached up and brushed some of it behind my ear, amazed at the length. My sister used to have long hair like this except her’s was red like my mother’s---like most women in my family actually. Jess cut most of her hair off when she went to college though, something that my mother didn’t really approve of. I think she liked the idea of braiding my sister’s long gorgeous hair.

For a split second, a mental image popped up in my head of my mother braiding my hair. I shook it away quickly.

I quickly splashed some water into my face, shut off the faucet and left. I was bound and determined to make a break for the door, hopefully before anyone saw me. Once I got outside, I was getting my bike and pedaling for home as fast as I could. My grandmother would know what was going on and maybe a way to fix it.

“There you are” said a voice from across the room, startling the hell out of me.

I jumped slightly. Then I turned around. The woman standing behind me looked vaguely familiar, like a childhood friend all grown up. No, not a friend, someone else. I squinted a bit at the brunette beauty and then it clicked. “Melissa?”

She smiled. “In school I think you should call me Miss Williams.”

I couldn’t help but blush. Melissa Williams was Mary’s former babysitter. I got to know her one summer when my parents spent some vacation time here. That was about six or seven years ago. Melissa was in high school then I think, her senior year. She’d been Mary’s babysitter for a few years before that. When I first met, her, my grandmother roped my parents into some kind of job for a few days and left us with Melissa. I can honestly admit I might have been a little smitten with her, a schoolboy crush maybe.

Seeing her now was a bit of a shock.

“I’m guessing you weren’t expecting me?” I shook my head, she laughed. “I’m the school nurse. Just started this year actually.”

I blinked once or twice. She was dressed in a white outfit, a tiny nametag on her left breast. She hasn’t changed much. She was a little older of course but still as beautiful as I remembered. Without thinking much about it, I walked back over to my cot and sat down. She smiled and walked over, carrying a clipboard. When she got to me, she gave me a strange look. I felt a lump in my throat. Melissa knew I was a boy, she’d seen things that made that pretty clear. It scared me wondering what she was thinking, me clearly as a girl sitting in front of her.

“So” she said, dragging it out a bit longer than I would have liked. “Anything new?”

I laughed. “You could say that.”

She smiled. “You and Mary still not getting along?”

She knew all about the harmless pranks that Mary used to play on me. She was present for a few of them actually.

“It’s a little better but then again she’s Goth now so I can hardly tell.”

We both laughed at that.

A silence fell over us after that. I didn’t know what to say. Sitting in front of her---like this---scared the hell out of me. What was she thinking, did she think I was a freak? Did she want to have me committed or dissected? Maybe something worse? My heart started to beat a little faster and my palms started to sweat. I couldn’t help but squirm a bit. I think she noticed because the next thing she did was reach out and gently squeeze my knee. As soon as her hand touched me, I felt a warmness I didn’t expect, then my nervousness seemed to fade. The warmness spread through my body and it felt good, really good.

When I smiled, she nodded. “That’s better.”

When she took her hand away, the good feeling was gone. “What did you do to me?”

“It’s a mild calming spell, it’s usually done on animals but it works on humans too.”

Calming spell? No way. Melissa was a witch?

She laughed. “How much do you know about the families here in Ravencrest?” When I didn’t answer, she continued. “My family has been practicing for a very long time. I’m surprised your grandmother didn’t tell you.”

I huffed. “She doesn’t tell me much.”

Melissa frowned. “She’s still like that?”

“I don’t think she’s ever going to stop.”

Melissa bit her lip then impulsively hugged me. It felt kind of nice and a bit strange too, our breasts rubbed against one another. As soon as that happened, I pulled away.

She saw the look of horror on my face and nodded. “So you didn’t do this to yourself then?”

“I might be girly,” I said, tearing up slightly “but I don’t want to be a girl.”

Melissa nodded. “Well I’ve called your grandmother, she’s on her way. Until she arrives, she’s asked me to run a few tests. I know a few detection spells; I might be able to see what did this to you.”

I nodded. “You have my permission.”

Giving permission was a polite thing to do in witchcraft. Most spells worked a lot better if the intended victim gave permission. There were a lot of spells that didn’t require it but the ones that did were a lot more effective that way.

Melissa raised her hand in front of my face first. The tips of her fingers started to glow blue and she slowly moved her hand about my body, a few inches from my flesh. I didn’t feel a thing. During the “scan”, she made a face once or twice, which was a little worrisome. The scan only took a few minutes, when she was done, she rubbed her chin. Then a moment later, her fingers glowed again, this time green. The second time was about as long as the first. This time though, I felt a slight tingle. When she got to the third test, more glowing fingers---red this time---I was starting to get real worried.

“Is something wrong?”

Her fingers stopped glowing. “No, just confusing.”

“Confusing?”

“Did you mess around with anything; perhaps try a spell on your own?”

“No” I snapped quickly.

Only an idiot tried to mess with magic. I knew what happened to people who tried to do magic without being able to truly control it. There were always a few Duds who tried and it never ended well for them. I didn’t like being a Dud but I knew there was nothing I could do about it. I accepted my status, I didn’t like it but I lived with it.

Melissa stared at me for a second; it felt like her eyes were burning into me. A moment later, she smiled. “Ok, what about Mary?”

As soon as she asked it, I groaned. Mary, of course it was Mary. That stupid spell she tried to do last night, I knew there was something up with that. She was being too nice to me, especially after getting pissed at me earlier. Of course, Mary had to have something to do with this. Sure childish pranks weren’t enough for her anymore, now she had magic and could do some real damage with it.

“Tell me about it,” said Melissa, a slight assertiveness in her tone.

“Mary called it a Becoming spell; she said it was a glamour to bring out my true potential.”

Melissa laughed which was not a good sign. I couldn’t help but frown. She shook her head. “It’s not your fault. A Becoming spell, that’s a new one.”

She got up from the chair she’d been sitting in and walked over to the desk. She picked up the phone and made a call. As she was making the call, the door to the Infirmary opened. I was expecting my grandmother to walk in, what I wasn’t expecting was Mr. McC. He strode into the room like he owned it. He looked around for a second and then his eyes fell on me. Looking at his face, I could tell he wasn’t too happy. He started toward me. He got halfway to me before Melissa stepped in front of him.

“I told you, sir, that she’s in no condition for visitors.”

“So she’s a she then?”

I didn’t like his tone at all.

“At the moment yes.”

“What the hell does that mean exactly Miss Williams?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it then.”

Melissa groaned. “This morning Kelly woke up one hundred percent male, he has been male his entire life. From what I can tell however, someone cast a spell on him to make him female. I was in the process of figuring out how that was done before you rudely barged in here.”

“There are rules and policies,” said McC “this kind of stuff isn’t supposed to happen here. I was told that you people would keep your magic out of my school. It’s bad enough you already threw down one punishment but this too much.”

One punishment? What was he talking about it?

“This is harmless. The user cast a spell as a joke. A better Practitioner than I could figure out exactly what it is.”

“Then I suggest you call one.”

“She already has” said a stern voice from behind them.

I looked toward the door and saw my grandmother standing there. She looked past the two of them and over to me. Our eyes locked for a moment but I couldn’t read the expression on her face. She walked quickly into the room. McC tried to stop her but she brushed right past him. I gulped when she stood in front of me, looking down on me like I was nothing. The woman definitely had the scariness vibe down. She raised her hand and when it glowed---her whole hand turned blue. She didn’t let it roam over my body though; instead, she kept it right in front of my face. A few seconds later, her hand stopped glowing and she lowered it.

“Have you called my granddaughter?”

Melissa nodded. “She should be on her way.”

“So Mary did this?” I asked, finding my voice finally.

My grandmother nodded. “If I were to guess, I’d say she spiked the milk.”

Of course she did.

“This kind of thing is uncalled for,” snapped McC, his face turning red.

“Its none of your concern” said my grandmother lazily.

“The hell it isn’t. I pulled strings to convince my faculty that your grandson was in fact male and now one of my students found “her” in the boy’s bathroom. I think it’s a big concern of mine.”

“The Council will handle it.”

“Just like they handled that other matter.”

My grandmother turned toward him, her eyes narrowing. “What are you suggesting? Are you speaking out against us?”

The color drained from McC’s face. “No, but you witches strut around this town like you own it and you expect all of us to fall into line like good little soldiers.”

“This matter is no concern of yours and neither is the way that we conduct business. I have heard what you have to say and will take it under advisement. Now I suggest you not speak again for your benefit.”

There was a reason I was scared of the woman. She was a real force to be reckoned with. I looked at McC and it seemed like he was smaller than before. Not in the physical sense of course but my grandmother surely let him have it. It was the first time in my life that the woman ever truly came to my defense even if she was defending witches in general. It was kind of nice and I couldn’t help but smile.

The moment was shattered by an “Oh crap.”

I looked away from McC to see Mary standing in the doorway.

Our grandmother turned to her and shook her head. “I think you have some explaining to do young lady.”

Mary went three shades paler than she usually appeared.

“Tell me exactly what you did?”

I’d never seen my grandmother ever get angry at Mary before. But listening to her tone and seeing the way that the old woman glared at my cousin it was something to behold. It was surprising to say the least but not as surprising as the fact that my grandmother held it in for so long. We left school shortly after Mary appeared in the nurse’s office. Melissa was able to convince Mr. McC that it might be better if I took the rest of the day off. He didn’t protest---I think he was afraid of my grandmother’s wrath. We left quickly enough. Neither of them said a thing in the car. I sat in the front with my grandmother---a first for me. She didn’t speak to me either. When we got home, it took a few minutes for my grandmother to say a thing.

“I used a Glamour spell,” said Mary, her voice low and soft like a child who knew they were in trouble.

“I know what you thought you did but I want to know exactly which spell you used?”

Mary shrugged. “It was in the book.”

“Get up!” my grandmother practically barked out the command.

Both Mary and I jumped off the couch.

She didn’t say a word as she stormed through the living room. Mary and I were too scared not to follow. We went right into the kitchen. My grandmother was already going down the stairs into the basement so the two of us had to race to follow. By the time, we got to the bottom of the stairs she was in her secret room. I lingered behind, afraid that I might get hollered at if I went too far. Mary didn’t hesitate though as she walked over to the book. It was like she could read my grandmother’s mind---me, all I saw was this nasty glare.

Mary started flipping through the book slowly---it didn’t take her long. “Here” she said, pointing her finger at the page.

Our grandmother looked over her shoulder. Her face was like a blank slate, devoid of all emotion. I watched and waited. Mary stepped back and looked at her two. We even looked at one another for a moment, waiting for anything. When my grandmother finally spoke, it was words I had never expected her to say to Mary:
“You damn fool of a girl.”

The old woman was full of surprises. First, the glares and now the outright insults. So maybe she hated all her grandchildren equally after all.

Mary cringed at the words. She recoiled slightly, as if they were a nasty whip lashing into her flesh. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, tearing up a bit.

“Tears are not necessary. One should not cry when they make stupid mistakes.”

Mary bit her lip and nodded. The tears rolled down her cheeks but it was clear she was trying to suppress them. I felt vaguely sorry for her. I say vaguely because after all she did turn me into a girl.

“You said you thought this was a Glamour spell?” asked the old woman after a long silence.

“It was supposed to be a joke” said Mary “make him look like a girl to other people but he wasn’t supposed to actually turn into one.”

“No one’s laughing” my grandmother quickly shot out.

A joke? I looked down at my chest, at the two orbs of flesh currently dangling off it. This was supposed to be a joke to her. I’m not sure how turning a guy into a girl would be remotely funny at all. It was cruel and nasty. If this was all because I was starting to become friends with Misty Curtis then it was downright insane. Mary needed to get over whatever her malfunction was.

My grandmother finally looked at me. “This spell, did she ask your permission before casting it?”

“She asked but I refused.”

My grandmother shot more daggers at Mary. “You performed a spell on him without his permission?”

Mary nodded. “He was befriending Misty. I wanted to teach him a lesson.”

“That’s no excuse. You’ve put that poor soul through enough as it is. Punishing her more isn’t going to solve things or make you feel better.”

There was another long silence and then Mary asked. “Is there a way to fix it?”

I wanted to punch her. She did this to me and now that she’s in hot water over it, she wants to fix it. I had half a mind to knock the little bitch on the ground and pound the snot out of her. I know it wouldn’t solve anything but it would make me feel better. Instead, though, I bottled up my anger and glowered in the corner.

“You need to tell me exactly what you did.”

Over the next twenty minutes or so, Mary went through the whole process step by step. I fell into a chair, only half paying attention to things. I knew enough about things to know that Mary screwed up big time. She broke a really big rule of witchcraft: she cast a spell above her level and without permission. Glamours were harmless and usually meant for fun, my sister used to do them all the time. They were quick spells, parlor tricks sometimes. The complicated spell that Mary laid out was anything but. When she got to the potion part, our grandmother had been right: she did in fact put it into the milk.

I groaned at that.

When she was done, explaining Mary asked the question that was kind of on my mind as well. “What did I do wrong?”

It took my grandmother a moment to respond. “You somehow mixed up incantations. It generally happens with Novices as the Glamour and Transformation spells are very similar.”

“So it was a stupid mistake?” I asked.

The old woman ignored me. When she spoke, it was directly at Mary. “It should be fixable. I can talk you through the reverse but it’s going to take the rest of the night and possibly tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!” I snapped loudly, loud enough to get their attention.

I was sick and tired of this being ignored thing. I was in the room too; I was in the house as well. My grandmother might not like it but she was going to deal with it one way or another.

“I can’t walk around like this? I can’t go to school like this either.”

“It’s a fixable setback. In twenty four hours you’ll be back to your old self.”

“I’m surprised you want to rush this thing,” I snapped angrily.

“And what is that supposed to be mean?”

I scoffed. “There’s only women in this house now” My anger was rising. “In fact I’m betting you two planned this whole thing from the start. Let’s get rid of Kelly the only way we can.”

I started to cry then ran out of the room. I stormed up the stairs, slammed the door and barreled my way through the house. I thought about going to my room but I didn’t want to be in the house with them right now. Instead, I went right out the front door. I picked a direction and ran in it, not carrying where I was going. I thought about running to Morgan’s, maybe trying to convince Aunt Grace to allow me to stay with them instead. But that would never work; she’d try to get my grandmother involved. Besides there was still the little fact that I was stuck as a girl and Mary was the only one who could reverse it. It felt like I’d been running forever, well at least twenty minutes or so.

When I finally did stop, I found myself on a street with some big houses. I looked about, trying to figure out how far I’d run. I hated not knowing this place as well as my home town. I thought about turning around, going back home. Mom taught me never to run from my problems, in fact I’m not even sure why I did. I just had this surge of emotion and all I wanted to do was cry, yell and run away. Instead of going back though, I found myself looking at the houses, one in particular. It was big, made out of brick with white columns. Above the door were Greek letters. It was then that I suddenly realized where I was: Greek Row.

This was the street where the sororities and fraternities were.

I stared at the big house in front of me. I wondered if they had a phone, I could use to call a cab. I started for the walkway when something stopped me. I’m not sure what it was but my skin started to tingle and I got this overwhelming sense of dread. I took a step back, looking up at the house as I did. When I did, a chill ran down my spine. I squinted my eyes and when I did, I thought I saw this green shine to it. I shook my head, wiping at my eyes----there must have still been tears in them. When I was done wiping, I looked again and the shine was gone.

“Smart choice” said a voice from the shadows.

I jumped and turned. A girl stepped out from behind one the trees, she long whitish blonde hair with a distinctive blue streak. She looked me up and down. There was something about her. Her pale skin, the way she seemed to appear there without me hearing her, the way her seemingly cold eyes looked at me. I knew in that instance that a vampire was standing before me. I took another step back, my heart starting to beat faster. She wasn’t the first vampire I’d met but she was the first one I’d met alone. I instinctively reached into my hoodie pouch, hoping Mom’s knife was still there. Sadly it wasn’t. Vampires were dangerous things even one alone like this.

“Stay where you are” I stammered, trying to keep my fear out of my voice.

She smiled. “I’m not going to hurt you darling.”

Her voice now had a Texan accent that I swore wasn’t there when she spoke before.

“I know what you are,” I said, finding more confidence.

She nodded. “Then you know why walking up to that building over yonder” She pointed her thumb quickly behind her. “Isn’t really a good idea.”

I nodded. A sorority of vampires, that’s just crazy.

“Why don’t you head on home?” she continued, her eyes turning a bit silver when she did.

I knew that move. It was a Mesmer but I was safe at the moment. I knew from my parents that female vampires could only Mesmer males.

“I’m not sure how to get back there actually. I’m kind of lost.”

“Who’s your friend Charlotte?” asked another voice as a second girl appeared.

The first girl---Charlotte---didn’t give me pause but this new one did. There was something about the way she appeared like that that scared me. She was just as pale but had long black hair that shined like silk. Like Charlotte, she was very pretty but unlike Charlotte, there was something overly sinister about her. I didn’t like this girl one bit, especially the way she was looking at me. Her eyes seemed to burn straight through my clothes, it made me feel sick.

“She was just leaving” Charlotte quickly enforced.

“I thought I heard her mention something about a cab. She can come in, use our phone.”

There was no way I was going anywhere near that house, especially with her around. I shook my head. “I’m good.”

“I’ll walk her home,” said Charlotte, shooting the black haired girl a look. She turned to me. “Where do you live, darling?”

“On Meadow Street, I’m staying with my grandmother and cousin.”

`The black haired girl’s eyes narrowed. “You’re a Crawford?” That surprised me but I nodded. She sighed. “Shame.”

Then she turned and walked away, almost disappearing as she did so. I let out a loud sigh of relief. Charlotte pointed down the road and the two of us started walking. I was surprised she was exposing herself to so much sunlight because I knew how much it made them sick. She didn’t seem to mind however. She kept walking without me like we were two normal gir…people. Neither of us said a thing to one another. I was a little nervous actually. I’d run into a few of them and each time, the vampires tried to kill me. The idea of walking down the street next to one---without her trying to rip my throat out---was a new experience for me.

When we got to Meadow Street, I was surprised how quickly we had arrived. There was no way that was twenty minutes. The strange and weird Ravencrest had struck again.

“You can take it from here?” she asked, I nodded. “Good.”

“Thanks” I said giving her a weak smile.

“Word of advice, don’t go wandering around this town when it starts to get dark and especially stay away from our house. You’re lucky I was watching or else things could have gone a lot worse.”

I didn’t really like the sound of that so I nodded and told her I’d be more careful. Charlotte didn’t stay around after that. I didn’t linger either. I turned and started back toward the house, feeling like a total idiot. I’d never overreached like that. It was kind of strange actually but it felt good too in a way. I’d been bottling up my feelings toward that woman for years and though I didn’t let them all out, yelling at her felt relaxing. When I finally got into the house, I was surprised at how normal things felt. Mary was nowhere in sight, the cats were sleeping on the couch together and I overheard my grandmother on the phone in the kitchen.

I let out a deep sigh, walking toward it. I caught the tail end of her conversation.

“…spell, yes I’ll keep you informed”

She hung up and turned around. “There you are,” she said.

“Sorry for running off like that, my emotions got the better of me.”

She nodded and sniffed. “You smell like death, where have you been?”

I groaned. I was never going to win. I turned and walked out of there, heading up the stairs to my room.

Mary was lingering outside of my door, sitting on the floor. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, her head buried in them. When I approached, she looked up. Her eyes shined with tears. I sighed. I knew this girl; I used to like that girl. She was the standoffish, stubborn kid again; the one who used to cry when she thought no one was looking. I was happy to see that some things never did change. I walked over and dropped down next to her. Neither of us said a thing but she did rest her head on my shoulder. We sat there in silence for a long time.

When she finally spoke, it was so soft I could barely hear her. “Sorry.”

“What was that?” I teased. “Did the bad ass Malice just apologize?”

She shoved me with her shoulder. “It was a stupid prank. I never thought it would turn into this. I just…I just…”

“I know and though I’m still pissed at you, I think I can forget it if you change me back as soon as possible.”

She turned and gave me this evil look. “I don’t know, I think I kind of like you better this way.”

We laughed. She rested her head on me for a few more minutes before making a sniffing sound. She rose up and moved away slightly. “You smell horrible; I think you need to take a shower.”

Now she’s right back to normal. So much for the kinder, gentler side of Mary.

This time I gave her a shove, she shoved back and everything was ok.

At least for the moment anyway.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's 8. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe.

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EIGHT:

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the weight on my chest. I groaned, because I knew whatever they did had failed. I just lay there, my eyes closed; wondering if this was going to be my life from now on. After returning last night, I spent some time in my room wondering what my life was going to be like now---that is if they couldn’t fix it. If I had to be a girl for the time being I suppose there were worse things. Not that I wanted to be one but at least I didn’t have horrible acne or a huge nose. I still looked like myself, if only a softer, more emotional version. I tried calling Mom again, to tell her what happened but I still only got her voice mail. Whatever my parents were doing must have been more important than making sure their child was safe.

If only they knew.

Safe sure, happy not so much. Ravencrest was a messed up place and it only seemed safe to the oblivious. I’m not sure how anyone could consider this a safe place to live. What with witches freely using magic, vampires running about, Weres running schools. Who knows what else was out there. Sure, there were rules and things like that but I’d seen how much the Unseen follow rules. Mary had rules, things she wasn’t supposed to do. She broke those rules as soon as she felt they didn’t apply to her and now I was a member of the fairer sex.

In my room last night, I tried thinking about what she’d done. Sure, I could forgive her but only slightly. Mary does stupid things. Was I pissed, definitely; was I going to hold a grudge the rest of my life over it---probably not. I thought about it a long time and it all came down to living. I’m not sure how long I was going to be here and it was better if I at least tried to get along with them. I’d have a miserable time at things if I was pissed at Mary and glaring at my grandmother. So I’d try to look past their collective flaws and play nice. It wasn’t going to be easy but the alternative was worse.

After thinking for a while last night, I went downstairs.

Mary and my grandmother were in the kitchen, poring over several leather bound books. They didn’t acknowledge me until a few minutes after I arrived. I dropped into an empty chair and waited as they talked. When they did finally talk to me, they told me they think they knew how to reverse the spell. They rambled on about the specifics and made me drink another potion. Nothing happened, of course, but according to my grandmother, it might take time. So after that I went about the rest of the night, trying to be normal. Well as normal as a guy turned girl could be. I ended up feeling a bit off after a few hours and hit bed earlier.

Before drifting off, I vaguely remember hoping that this would be all over with.

Apparently, I wasn’t so lucky.

I finally opened my eyes, blinking a moment or two. The weight was still there, pressing on me. It’s funny because I don’t remember them being that heavy yesterday. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, getting rid of the groggy and groaned. There was a huge lump of gray on my chest. The weight in question was in fact Diamond. Stupid cat. I shook myself, twisting left and right. The cat let out a low meow before jumping off me. As soon as he was gone, I saw a miraculous sight: a flat chest. I threw off my blanket and sure enough, there were no mounds under my shirt. I could have screamed in joy instead I sat up and patted my chest just to make sure. It was confirmed, no breasts. I took a quick peek inside my bed pants; everything was all right down there, too.

I let out the biggest sigh ever. So whatever they did worked like a charm. Thank God for small miracles.

I threw the rest of the blanket off me and crawled out of bed. As soon as I stood, however I felt a slight tickling on my neck. I reached up and felt hair there. My hair had always been a bit shaggy; something my father never truly cared for. It was a pseudo skater boy/Emo look and I liked it but he thought it was too long. I suppose if I did have it a bit shorter people wouldn’t mistake me for a girl as much but I could never bring myself to cut it that short. However, I always made sure that it wasn’t touching my neck, that felt like a little too much.

I left my room quickly, making my way down the hall. I slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Then I rushed to the mirror. Sure enough, my mop was now longer. Not overly long but to my shoulders. It looked a little fuller too and maybe a tad bit shinier. I couldn’t help but groan. At the same time though I was glad it wasn’t down my back. If I’d stayed as a girl there was no way I could have hair that long. I could deal with a little more now just as long as it stayed at my shoulders.

I stripped off my clothes, dropped them in a heap and got into the shower. As the warm water washed over me, I was glad that it was my body and not a girl’s. I’m not sure I could handle washing a girl’s body. Not that there was anything wrong with it but I would feel a little put out. For a guy who still hasn’t gone through puberty, a naked female body did nothing for me. Sure, I recognized them for what they were but I didn’t get the least bit aroused by them. I liked girls well enough but I didn’t fantasize about what was underneath all their clothes. Yesterday I had tried my hardest not to think about what was hidden under mine.

I cleared yesterday from my thoughts---hopefully forever---and tried to enjoy the shower.

As soon as I was done showering, I went back to my room and got dressed. I made sure to wear my hoodie and went downstairs with the hood up. I didn’t want either of them to see my hair. Mary was at the table again, eating cereal. She looked at me when I entered, watching me.
“There’s some cereal if you want it.”

I looked from her to her bowl then to the fridge. “I think I’ll skip the milk today.”

I took the cereal from the cupboard and poured it into a bowl. I sat down and she continued to stare at me. It was kind of freaking me out. After another few minutes or so of the staring, I let out a huge sigh. “Yes it worked.”

“That’s a relief, there’s too much estrogen in this house to begin with” she joked, probably hoping it would make me feel better.

It didn’t.

“Look I comforted you last night because you were a wreck but just because I did it that doesn’t mean we’re friends. What you did was unforgivable.” I held up my thumb and index finger, a few centimeters apart. “I was this close to running to Aunt Grace.”

“I’m sorry,” said Mary, tearing up.

I wasn’t going to fall for that again. Last night I’d been weak, trying to avoid any more conflict. Today I would tolerate it because I had too but I wasn’t going to be happy about it. So I made no attempt to comfort her, instead I continued to eat my dry cereal. A few minutes later, our grandmother came into the room. She took one look at me and nodded.

“I see it worked” I nodded. “Just to be on the safe side, there’s somewhere I want you to go after school today”

“You’re sending him to the Coven?” asked Mary, her shock the same as mine.

Our grandmother laughed. “Hardly. There’s a witch in town who specializes in transformation magic. I want her to take a look at Kelly, make sure whatever it is you did, didn’t have any lasting effects on him.”

She turned to me. “So after school today, I want you to ride your bike to the Drake house, I believe you’re friends with Maggie Wilkes?”

I nodded.

“Miss Wilkes will show you the way.”

It almost sounded like I didn’t have a choice but I wasn’t going to say that. Instead, I nodded my head. After I saw the way she handled McC, there was no way I was going to cross my grandmother. She scared me before but she terrified me now.
Breakfast was eaten in silence after that then Mary and I headed to school.

“You’re not going to talk to me at all?”

Ten minutes into the ride---ten minutes of not saying a thing---Mary got annoyed.

“There’s nothing to say,” I said, which was the truth.

“Look I said I was sorry, can’t you just leave it at that?”

I groaned. “You violated me. Not only did I tell you no, you went behind my back anyway and tricked me. You were pissed off because I was being friends with someone you didn’t like and you wanted to teach me a lesson.”

“That’s not the real…”

“Bull” I snapped, the two of us were stopped by now. “I thought a bit about it last night. Everyone either fears you or let’s you get away with shit. I know what they call you Mary; I see how they look at you. You’re a big bad scary person. You put on this act, all this dark clothes, dark makeup---you try to scare people away with it. I don’t know why you don’t like Misty and frankly, I don’t care. You don’t scare me, you’re not going to intimidate me and you’re NEVER going to pull shit like that with me AGAIN!”

I left her there after that, putting on the speed as I pedaled away as fast as I could.

I didn’t look back once.

When I got to school, I slammed the bike into the bike rake. I set the lock, making sure it was secure. When I turned around, Maggie was standing behind me. I nearly jumped out of my shoes. I took a moment to recover. She looked scared; I think it was the way I approached.

“Sorry, bad morning” I said apologetically.

She nodded. “I heard about yesterday. There’s a rumor about the new girl being found unconscious in the boy’s bathroom?”

I groaned. “That’s all I need.”

“Everyone thinks that you were there to…well…you know.”

Well that’s just great. Here only three days and everyone was labeling me the new school slut.

I rubbed my temples. “Mary decided to dose my cereal with a potion yesterday morning, halfway through Gym class I turned into an actual girl. I realized it in the bathroom and passed out from the shock.”

The two of us started toward the school. I was already starting to get looks---some of them rather nasty.

“What the hell is that girl’s problem?”

I shrugged. “I think she was dropped on her head one too many times.”

We both laughed.

When we got into the building, there were more stares. A few people started mumbling “slut” and “whore” under their breath as we passed. When we got to my locker, there were nasty names written all over it. I absolutely loved the rumor mill. If a girl was found unconscious in the boy’s bathroom, it meant only one thing: she was there for sex. As I was opening my locker door, someone slammed into to me from behind. I ignored it just like the names. I got my books, closed my locker and started for my first period class. Halfway there someone slapped the books out of my hands. They went scattering all over the floor. There was a lot of laughing. The thing that pissed me off the most was the fact that these people thought I was a girl. I could handle the whole slut thing; I’d been called names all my life so it didn’t bother me.

Now I was a female slut. I had half a mind to strip to my boxers in the middle of the hallway and scream I’M A BOY as loud as I could.

Instead, Maggie and I picked up my stuff.

“I got to go to class, I’ll see you later.”

I nodded and she disappeared.

When I got to class, there were a lot of stares. I ignored them and the name-calling. You’d think I was in middle school again or something---this whole thing was overly juvenile. Thankfully, it stopped as soon as class started. Sadly, it happened in everyone of my morning classes. The only sympathetic people were Misty, Maggie and my stalker Jack. Misty kept giving me these sad smiles, out of the three of them she was the only one who could truly understand.

By the time I got to lunch, I’d heard several versions of my bathroom incident. My favorite was that I was found in a stall in my panties, my mouth wide open---supposedly waiting for more. It was by far the grossest rendition and also the funniest. It was amazing how people took things and twisted it one way or another.
In the lunch line, I ran into a problem.

“Hey baby, you want to have a fun time later.”

I only half acknowledged the ass wipe of a jock in line behind me.

“Next period the boy’s bathroom on the second floor is usually pretty quiet. I can reserve us a stall if you’d like?”

I groaned. I turned around and looked at the towering ass. He was one of those typical overly muscled jerks who would have picked on me regardless. If I was a boy to him, I was a sissy and if a girl, I was a dyke. I could never win with these types of people.

“Go fuck yourself!”

“”No, I think that’s your job” he said to his own laughter, joined in by a buddy in line behind him.

I rolled my eyes. “Here’s any idea. Why don’t you take your friend to a stall, I’m sure he’d suck anything you threw his way.”

Neither one of them laughed at that.

Instead, Ass Wipe Jock looked pissed. He grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into him, pressing his lips aggressively against mine. I was a little shocked to say the least. I’d been called a girl more times than I could count but never had any of those blind asses tried to kiss me. He held me for a long time, trying to force his tongue down my throat. I finally started to fight back but he was too strong. When he finally stopped, I was more than disgusted.

“Did that change your mind babe?”

I was still shocked. That faded quickly though, replaced by a rage I’d never felt in my entire life. I shoved him way. He and his friend laughed. I wanted to tear off his head, I wanted to shove my hand into his chest and pull out his innards. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and hope to God that everyone heard it. I didn’t do all those things of course; instead, I stared at him with a burning fire. I forced all my anger into that stare.

That’s when it happened. He and his friend were still laughing. They walked away laughing, their backs turned to me. They got about five feet away when Ass Wipe’s belt snapped. He was one of those jerks who wore pants a size too big. I’m not sure why and it didn’t matter. What mattered was that as soon as the belt snapped, his pants dropped down to his ankles---while he was still walking. Suffice to say seeing a jock asshole get tripped by his own pants was the best payback ever.

It was even better when he threw his tray into the air and it landed on one of those cheerleaders.

The whole cafeteria fell silent then erupted into laughter.

Me, I just stood there and stared, not really sure what just happened.

The rest of the day went by without incident or rather without any ass kissing me again. I did have some problems in Gym class though. Ass Wipe---whose name was Troy Stanton by the way---was there, as were his friends. I think it took a few minutes for them to put two and two together---after all, I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. As soon as they did though, they glared at me through the whole class. It didn’t take long for it to get around that Troy kissed a boy in lunch. They gave me hell too, going out their way to slam me into the wall or trip me up. The funny thing about it was that they didn’t seem to connect me to the new school slut---it was almost as if we were two different people entirely.

Guys were dumb that way.

I don’t include myself in that group because I’m different than normal guys---I actually think before I act.

Things were better after Gym but only slightly.

When I finally got to my locker at the end of the day, I was happy that it was finally over. Maggie was standing there waiting for me with a big smile on her face. She had a nice, warm smile that always seemed to make me feel better. That smile dissolved as I got closer, my slight limp must have become apparent to her. I was hoping that it wasn’t too noticeable but I guess I was wrong. At the end of Gym, Troy got a cheap shot in, stepping on my foot and elbowing me into the wall. Unfortunately, for me no one saw but him and his friends.

“Are you limping?”

So she did notice. “It’s nothing, I stepped wrong, it doesn’t even hurt.”

That wasn’t false bravado either. Though it kind of stung at the time, the pain was all but gone. I was sure by the end of the day it would be a distant memory.

“Can you ride a bike?”

I nodded. She didn’t say anymore about it. Instead, I did some book swapping---put away and take out. Then I slung my pack on my shoulder and followed her out to the bike racks. Mary and her friends weren’t there which I was grateful for. I thought I could get over what she did to me, put it behind me but this morning she really ticked me off. Now if I saw her, I’m not sure how I’d react. I guess it was for the best that she didn’t try to show her face. I’d have to deal with it at home of course but I could at least lock myself in my room there.

We didn’t waste any time getting on our bikes and setting out. Maggie told me a little bit, about where we were going as we rode. The Drakes were one of the first families to settle in Ravencrest, they were here nearly as long as the Lockes and the Crawfords. They lived in a large house on the lake. It was strange but I didn’t even know the town had a lake, apparently a lot of people didn’t. Crowley Lake had been there longer than the town in fact. It didn’t get a name of course until Ravencrest was formed. Before that, she didn’t know much about it. The lake was old though. She said there were books in her library back home---books written before the town was formed---that talked exclusively about it.

The lake was a twenty minute bike ride from the school. It surprised me how big it was and how I never noticed it before. Ravencrest University was practically smack dab in the middle of town. In fact, the town was centered around the old Ravencrest manor, which now served as the main building of the college. Crowley Lake was large enough to actually have part of the college built on it. Some of the dorm buildings actually overlooked it. When we got to the lake---riding down the path that followed its bank---I couldn’t help but look out at the inky black water. Never in my life had I see a lake so calm with water so dark.
It sent chills down my spine.

The Drake house seemed to come out of nowhere.

It was kind of eerie how there was nothing but flat black water and trees and then bam, a house. It was a good size house too, something that one couldn’t exactly miss. I didn’t know much about houses but it looked old. It had one of those wrap around porches, lots of gambles and a widow’s walk, which I always thought were cool. It also had a wheelchair ramp where stairs should have been. That kind of surprised me but no more than usual. Maggie rode her bike up to the large oak tree in the front yard, resting it against it. I did the same.

“I used to come here a lot when I was younger, sometimes Alex would pretend to babysit me.”

“Pretend?”

Maggie laughed. “She was a few years older than me. We both knew the age difference was too close to call her my babysitter so we used to say she pretended to babysit me.”

I think that made sense.

Maggie led me up the ramp to the front door. When she rang the doorbell, I was surprised when the door opened. I realized the ramp was meant for a wheelchair but what I didn’t think was how young the wheelchair user was going to be. It was a kid who answered the door, a kid that was far too young to be in a wheelchair as far as I was concerned. He couldn’t have been more than 12. He looked from Maggie to me then back to Maggie---a smile spread across his face when he looked back at her.

“Hey Charlie” she said in a sweet voice. “This is Kelly; he’s here to see your Mom.”

“That’s a Dude?”

I couldn’t help but groan. I didn’t say anything though; I didn’t want to snap at a kid in a wheelchair.

Instead, Charlie and I stared at each other for a minute.

A few seconds after that, he called out. “Mom, there’s someone here to see you!”

He turned his chair and rolled off down the hall, disappearing around the corner. From that, very same corner came a woman with long brown hair. She looked about my Mom’s age, made apparent by the few visible grays. The thing about Mom was that she didn’t look to be in her late forties; in fact, she looked about thirty at the most. It had something to do with the way witches aged---which was slower than normal humans. Rumor had it there was Fae blood in them but that was a happy fairy tale that all good little witch boys and girls were told growing up.

I’m sure it had everything to do with magic.

The woman smiled as she approached. She had a pleasant smile, nothing like her son.

“You must be Kelly,” she said, I nodded. She smiled. “You’ve grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you.”

Last time? As far as I knew this was the first time.

She laughed. “Becky and I go way back. The last time I saw you though you were small, barely a year old. It’s a shame how two best friends are always busy, never giving one another enough time to stop and visit.”

Best friends? Wow, this was Cassie. Mom often talked about her best friend Cassie, the two of them used to do everything together. I just never made the connection between them. I couldn’t help but smile at this woman, trying to imagine her as the wild girl from my mother’s stories. I probably knew more about this woman than her own children. Mom was a talker about those things; she liked to share a lot about herself when she was young. I think she thought if she told me her mistakes then I wouldn’t race out and replicate them.

“You look like her a bit,” continued Cassie as she stared at me. “Got your father’s eyes though.”

“His hair too.”

She laughed. “A non-red head Crawford, what will they think of next.”

I smiled. I could see why she and my mother were friends.

I was technically not the first non-redhead, my cousins weren’t redheads either. But I think I saw what she meant. It seemed kind of strange though. Why was it that my sister and mother both had red hair but I turned out with dirty blonde like my father? Even yesterday, when I was a girl I still retained my normal dull color. Was I meant to be dull no matter my gender, was it some kind of cosmic joke?

“Maggie dear” continued Cassie “why don’t you go see what Charlie’s doing in the den, I need to speak with Kelly alone for a few minutes.”

“Ok, Cassie” she said and left.

“Is this the part where you poke me with needles?”

She laughed. “How about a drink first?”

She led me through the house to the kitchen. It was a much more modern kitchen then my grandmother’s which kind of made me jealous. I was glad to see a TV mounted on the wall though. I was starting to think that all witches in Ravencrest were like my grandmother, unwilling to accept change. Cassie didn’t seem to be one of them. She pointed to the little table in the corner, which I sat at while she poured two cups of tea. I wasn’t much of a tea drinker but this one smelled really good. A minute or two later, she sat in the chair across from me. I couldn’t resist the tea, picking it up and taking a sip. I was surprised at the taste because it was amazing.

Cassie smiled. “Your mother taught me how to make that you know.”

Mom never made tea for me.

“Has she called you?” I asked suddenly, hoping that at least she’d made contact with someone.

Cassie shook her head. “Your Mom is the kind of person who gets herself involved in her work. She’s always been like that. I’m sure once things quiet down, you’ll be the first person she calls.”

“I hope so,” I said softly.

I was starting to get worried about her and Dad. Not that I said that aloud of course.

“So Agatha told me about yesterday. Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head but then only a few moments later I found myself telling her everything. It was strange really because I didn’t normally open up to strangers like this. I was nearly done with my explanation when I took another sip of that wonderful tea. When I was completely done with the story, Cassie smiled again.

“How does that make you feel? You said everyone mistakes you for a girl, so how did it feel to be one?”

I shrugged. “Besides the longer hair and weight on my chest….”

“You didn’t notice the difference did you?” she finished, I nodded.

Did that make me a freak or something? I’d been trying not to think about it actually but it was the truth. Why didn’t I feel any different? Of course, my emotions were all over the place yesterday but I should have been freaking out. Sure, I was scared but I didn’t hate it. I didn’t like it either but I wasn’t screaming at the top of my lungs. Initially of course, I passed out but I should have been vomiting or something. Guys don’t turn into girls everyday and not only did I do it but I was pretty damn calm about it.

“You’re scared that you liked it aren’t you?” I didn’t say anything so she continued to talk. “It’s ok to be scared; it’s also ok to like it. Many people deal with transformation in many different ways. I’ve talked to quite a few Weres who have had problems after their first initial change.”

It clicked right there. How did I not see it before? “You’re not a transformation specialist,” I blurted out abruptly. “You’re a shrink?”

She laughed. “Your grandmother told you I was a transformation specialist?” I nodded, she laughed again. “Does it bother you that I’m a shrink?”

“No but it does bother me that that woman lied to me.”

“You and your grandmother don’t get along then?”

I scoffed. “She doesn’t even try.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“No.”

Cassie smiled. She changed the subject after that, asking me more yesterday. We talked for a while. She then wanted to know how things had been the last few days, especially how I was handling the Black Cross incident back at home. So I told her all about that too. I found myself opening up to her, all the while shocked that I was doing so. I sipped the tea a few more times too, it didn’t take me long to figure out that she put something into it. I should have been mad about that but I was kind of glad that someone went out of their way to at least try to figure me out. I’m not saying I’m complicated but no one ever really stopped to talk to me. Mom used to do it but lately she’s been so busy at work. Dad doesn’t talk, at least not about feelings.

It was kind of nice talking to Cassie.

I’m not sure how long we talked for but I think I finally stopped to take a breath.

She laughed. “A lot on your mind then?”

“You could say that.”

“One last question and you’re free to go” I nodded. “Has anything strange happened to you? Maybe yesterday or even today? You can take your time before answering; anything you say is strictly confidential.”

I did take a moment to really think about it but I couldn’t think of anything well not at first. Then I remembered what happened in lunch today. I couldn’t help but laugh. “Some guy wouldn’t stop hitting on me today; he even went so far as to kiss me.”

“How did that make you feel?”

“Angry” I snapped.

“Did you lash out at him?”

I shook my head and laughed. “No but as he was walking away, his belt snapped. His pants fell around his ankles and he tripped, throwing his food tray on one of the cheerleaders.”

Cassie and I laughed together. How could you not laugh at something like that?

When we were done laughing she said. “I think our time is up but I’d like to talk to you again. If you want to?”

I nodded. “I think that can be arranged.”

She smiled. “So much like your mother.”

We got up from the table and she surprised me by giving me a nice long hug. I kind of liked that, I think I needed it, too. She led me back out to the living room where Maggie and Charlie were waiting. The two of them were busy playing a game on the Xbox. I knew the game well; I was surprised that Maggie was owning Charlie. She mentioned being a gamer but I didn’t know she was that much of a gamer. It took them a few minutes to realize that we were standing there watching. When they did, Maggie blushed and dropped the controller.

“Don’t be embarrassed Mags, you were doing really good” I said, which only caused her to blush even more.

Cassie took over from there. “Charlie, why don’t you show our guests out.”

He groaned. “I was in the middle of….” His mother shot him a look. “Fine. C’mon Maggie, new guy.”

New guy? Seriously?

Charlie wheeled himself around Maggie’s chair and toward the door. Maggie and I actually raced to catch up.

When we got to the door, Maggie elbowed Charlie. Charlie sighed and reached into his shirt. He pulled out a index card and handed it to me. “Here, Maggie wants you to come, too.”

“Ummm thanks,” I said as Maggie opened the door.

“I’ll see you this weekend Charlie” she said before ruffling his hair and walking out the door.

Charlie shot me a look as I left. Whatever did I do to him?

When we got outside, I took a look at the card he handed to me. There were four words on it: DUD CLUB. BE THERE.

“What the heck is this?” I asked, flashing Maggie the card.

She smiled. “You’ll see this weekend.”

Great, something else to look forward to.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Things are starting to move a little faster with this story now. I promise in the next chapter that things will pick up even more. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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NINE:

The next few days in school were pretty slow. The day after the lunch room incident people were still talking about it. I think a lot of people liked to see the school heroes get knocked down a peg or two. No one remembered what really happened before the “incident”---like who was involved but everyone knew that Troy was completely humiliated. I was kind of glad they left me out of it actually, the less I was in the spotlight the better. The best part about it was that it suddenly drew all the attention away from the new girl slut rumors from the day before. That’s what I loved so much about high school, rumors came and went. As soon as something new came around, the latest thing was forgotten in an instant.

Not thinking about my reputation helped me think about other things. Mainly the index card and this mysterious Dud Club.

Once I got home that night, I did some of my own checking. The Drakes were almost as big a family in Ravencrest as us. Well, a family of witches that is. Meeting Cassie was interesting to say the least. It was kind of fun to finally put a face to the woman from all of Mom’s stories, even if she hadn’t painted her body green and protesting God knows what. Charlie interested me more though. On the way back from the Drake’s I was able to find out that he was just like me---that is a Dud. I guess that didn’t surprise me, after all it was next to impossible to have a male magic user in the family. Knowing that little bit of info. I was able to figure out the Dud Club fairly quickly.

The second day after the lunchroom incident---my fifth day of school---things had completely died down. School almost seemed normal, believe it or not. The lunchroom thing was all but forgotten and the new school slut was yesterday’s news. I guess it paid off to lay low and keep out of trouble. The guys in my Gym class still hassled me but I think Troy and his goons were bidding their time, waiting for the perfect time to strike. I was feeling pretty lucky though, safe in the knowledge that as long as I did nothing too stupid I was scot-free.

Sadly, nothing seems to work out that way.

Day 5 was Friday, finally the end of a very stressful week. I was in Math class when it happened. I was trying desperately to pay attention to the Algebra on the whiteboard when I felt a little lightheaded. I shook it off and it went away for a minute or so but it came back just as quickly. My vision started to blur and the kids around me started to turn into a swirl of colors. I closed my eyes, hoping that maybe whatever it was would pass. When I reopened them, I expected things to be back to normal but unfortunately, things were only worse. Everything was a swirl of colors and the room felt like it was spinning. I bit my lip, forcing back the bile I could feel rising up my throat.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this way before.

I shook my head again but no amount of shaking seemed to get rid of anything. Added to it was this sudden gut wrenching feeling in my stomach. I groaned. I didn’t want to be sick, I couldn’t be sick. Not on my first week of school. It was bad enough people had labeled me first as a girl, then the slut girl I definitely didn’t want to be known as Betty Blow Chunks or something. I tried to talk myself out of it but there was no way that was going to happen. I could feel it, the ick rising through my body, trying desperately to take over. I couldn’t let it consume me; I wouldn’t let it consume me. I tried to soldier on, push through it. It kept getting worse, my entire body started to ach and I think I was starting to sweat. Once again, I tried to fight but it was definitely getting the better of me.

I hoped that no one would notice but that didn’t work out so well.

“Kelly you ok?” asked a voice from somewhere.

I turned and saw a blur; I think it was a person. I tried nodding but I don’t think I did a very good job.

“Miss Ross” said the voice. A girl’s voice. “I’m taking Kelly to the nurse’s office, she doesn’t look so good.”

I groaned but I was too out of it to correct her.

I didn’t hear Miss Ross’s answer. The next thing I knew the girl was helping me from my chair. I remember grabbing my stuff, making sure I had all of it before leaving. Everything was kind of hazy. We talked or rather she tried to get me to walk. My entire body felt like it was jelly except my feet, which felt like they weighed a ton. I’m not sure how long we walked but we stopped way too soon. I knew for a fact that my math class was on the other side of the building from the nurse’s office.

I heard her voice again. “You’re not going to make it.”

She tugged on my arm---at least I think she did.

The next thing I knew I was on the floor, my face in the bowl of a toilet. I threw up, more than once I think. Each time I did so the pain and dizziness went away. On the third or fourth time, the world stopped being so fuzzy. By the fifth time, everything was back to normal. Well as normal as it could get. I leaned back slightly, grabbing some toilet paper to wipe my mouth. As I did so, a cascade of long hair fell in front of me. I froze at the sight of it, my hand on the toilet paper roll. My other hand reached up and grabbed some of the hair, hoping that it was my imagination. It wasn’t. I wiped my mouth and flushed then stood up. I let my hood drop and when I did, I felt the rest of my hair. Sure enough, it was much longer than before.

Then I looked down. There were two slight bumps tenting my hoodie a bit. I cursed.

I was a girl again.

There was a slight knock on the door. “You OK in there?” asked my companion.

I took a deep breath before answering. “Fine.”

Shit, even my voice was different.

Why in the hell was this happening? Did Mary dose me again? No, I made sure to watch everything I’d been eating and drinking. I’d been watching Mary, too. Ever since arguing with her that morning, the two of us barely looked at one another, let alone spoke to one another. We only stayed in the same room for seconds at a time so there was no way she had time to do this. Besides I overheard my grandmother threatening to turn her into a mouse and feed her to Nic if she did anything more to me. So if it wasn’t Mary then who was it? Not my grandmother, she was hell bent to get me back to the way I was. A cure that apparently failed miserably.

I opened the door and saw the smiling face of a girl I didn’t know. At first, I thought she was just some random person before I realized she must have been the one who brought me here. She was pretty enough I suppose with shoulder length brown hair and freckles. I smiled back before pulling my hood back up or trying to at least.

“Leave it,” she said, grabbing my hand. “You have really nice hair; you shouldn’t try to hide it.”

I smiled weakly. “I like hiding it.”

I pulled the hood up and she frowned. How do you tell someone that you’re really a boy and that she was mistaken?

I walked over to the sink and washed my hands thoroughly. I tried to avoid looking at the girl in the mirror but it was hard not to. There she was, staring back at me again. It was a face I never thought I’d see again---a face I shouldn’t be seeing again. What happened? Why didn’t the fix work? I tried to go it In my head but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure it out. Did they do something wrong, did Mary mess it up? I knew that she wouldn’t be stupid enough to mess it up on purpose but maybe because she was a Novice.

“You’re really pretty you know” the girl said as she walked up next to me, leaning against the sink. “You shouldn’t hide it so much.”

“Thanks” I said, hoping she’d go away.

“I’m Katie by the way but my friends call me Kat. We should hang out some time.”

“Sure whatever.”

She smiled brightly. “You going to Dominic’s party next weekend?”

I shrugged. I just wanted this girl to go. Couldn’t she see I was better now? “Who’s Dominic?”

She laughed. “He’s one of the hottest guys in school. Everyone is going to be there. You should come; it might help you meet new people.”

Katie seemed to have one of those one track minds. It was almost as if she completely forgot why the two of us were in here.

“Ummm, I think I’m going to head to the nurse’s office now,” I said, hoping it would give her a hint.

“You’re better now right?” she asked, I nodded. “Good, I was hoping you weren’t sick sick because I sit next to you and that’s the last thing I need.”

She definitely wouldn’t be winning any humanitarian awards anytime soon that’s for sure.

“I think I’m going to go to the bathroom first then head out. I’ll see you in class on Monday?”

“Sure” she said with a smile as I turned around and headed back into the stall I just vacated.

I stood in there and listened. The sound I wanted was her leaving the bathroom and I got it a minute or two later. As soon as she was gone, I left the stall. I was halfway to the door when I realized that I’d been in the girl’s bathroom the whole time---the lack of urinals was a big giveaway. It smelled a lot better though, which was a big plus. I still groaned though, hoping that this was the last time I’d ever visited one. I left the bathroom after that, disappearing into an empty hall. Katie was probably on her way back to class. I turned in the direction of the nurse’s office, carrying my pack on my shoulder as usual. I moved fast, partly because I didn’t want to get caught out in the hall and partly because if anyone could help it was Melissa.

It took me about five minutes to get there. When I walked through the door, I was relieved to find her sitting at her desk alone. She was reading a magazine but looked up when she saw me.

“Kelly is there something wrong?” she asked with concern.

I scoffed. “You could say that” I said, dropping my hood and shaking my long hair.

The look on Melissa’s face said it all.

She was just as shocked as I was.

“You can put your shirt back on,” said Melissa as she removed the stethoscope from my bare chest.

She didn’t have to tell me twice. I grabbed my shirt and quickly pulled it over my head, trying desperately not to look at the two foreign bodies. I did get a quick glimpse and was shocked at what I saw. They were bigger than I thought, bigger than I wanted. I suppose any girl would be proud to have breasts that size but I wasn’t any girl. I didn’t want to be any girl either. I wanted to be me again.

“So what’s wrong with me?” I asked, grabbing my hoodie.

Melissa shrugged. “You’re a perfectly healthy teenage girl.”

I think she realized what she said because she laughed a few seconds later.

“There’s nothing healthy about me.”

She sighed. “I thought something like this might happen.”

“Something like what?” I asked, my voice raising an octave.

“Well after your incident I did some reading. I wanted to see if something like this has happened before and I was actually surprised to find that there have been a few cases over the years. The last one was in the sixties actually. That one turned out OK though, the recipient returned to their natural gender without a problem but there was a case in 1932 that wasn’t so lucky. Just like you, the victim was a young male and just like you, he was turned into a woman by a similar spell. The caster was caught, punished and forced to turn the man back. Everything seemed to go according to plan but a few days later, he turned back into a woman.”

I groaned. “How did they fix it?”

She shook her head. “They didn’t, at least not as far as I know anyway. The man kept turning back and forth until eventually; he got stuck as a woman. Each time he changed he lost a little bit of himself until there was nothing left of his maleness.”

I felt like I was going to cry. “So I’m going to be stuck like this, until I’m stuck like this?”

I waved my hands over my chest angrily.

Melissa sighed. “I wish I knew. The reversal spell your grandmother used should have fixed your change.” She bit her lip. “I’m going to have to contact the Coven.”

A cold chill ran down my spine. “Why?”

“Malicious intent or not, this needs to be reported. The first time was a prank gone wrong but the fact that it happened again is magic unchecked. You might not be now but you could become a danger to yourself or others. I need to inform them about it and see what they want me to do.”

“You can’t” I whined. “They’ll lock me up, dissect me.”

She laughed. “I think you’ve been watching too much TV.”

Melissa left me sitting on the cot while she walked over to her desk. She turned her back to me as she picked up the phone. While she was dialing, I pulled my hoodie over my head. I looked around the room, finding my pack near the door where I left it. As much as I knew she was trying to do the right thing, I was terrified by what that meant. I bit my lip, trying to decide if it was really the right thing, though. There was so much about witchcraft I didn’t know or trust. I understood some of it from what Mom told me but because I was a Dud, they kept me in the dark about a lot of it. I used to hear stories about the Coven growing up and they used to scare the hell out of me. The idea of seven masked figures, sitting there, staring and judging, kind of freaked me out. I’m not sure I wanted anything to do with something like that. I knew it was the right thing to do---going to them but at the same time I had this sinking feeling that if I did that then I’d never get to see the light of day for a long time.

I took a deep breath and made my decision.

While Melissa was on the phone talking---I’m not sure who it was---I made a mad dash for the door. I managed to grab my pack and pull it open before she shouted. I was out it before she reacted. I’m not sure if she followed me or not, I just took off down the hall as fast as I could. I heard someone shout my name, I’m not sure if it was Melissa or not. I just continued to run. It was stupid I know but I definitely didn’t want to go the Coven.

At end of the hall, I saw a teacher. He saw me too, running toward him.

“Hold it right there young lady” he said in a stern voice.

Class was still going so he probably thought I was roaming the halls. I’m not sure why I didn’t stop. Instead, I put on more speed and charged. He tried to stop me by throwing himself in my path but it didn’t work out so well. I’m not sure how I got past him. I just barreled right into him, shoving my elbow into his chest as I did so. Maybe it was how hard I was running or the way I hit him but he went down like a ton of bricks. Me, I kept on going, not even winded. I whipped around the corner after that and made another dash toward the front entrance.

There was no one there to stop me.

I pulled open the front doors and ran down the steps to the bike rack. When I got there, I got the biggest shock of my life. Melissa was standing there, her arms folded in front of her. She frowned and shook her head.

“You can run, I’ll give you that.”

“How in the hell?”

She smirked. “You didn’t honestly think that you could outrun me did you?”

I sighed. “I’m not going to the Coven.”

“I was never going to send you to them. I just had to inform them about what has transpired. They may want to meet with you in the future but you’re free right now.”

I nodded but I still wasn’t sure if I believed her or not.
“So what happens now?”

She shrugged. “That’s up to you I suppose. I could march you back into the school and you could finish out the rest of the day.”

“I’m not going to class like this” I whined.

“Or” she continued. “You and I could hang out for the rest of the day. I’ve already told Mr. McC that I have a family emergency to attend to and he’s given me the rest of the day off. You want to go into town with me?”

I found myself nodding, to which she smiled.

“Stop fidgeting” said Melissa as she stopped the car.

I couldn’t help it. No matter how hard I tried, there was just no way the sports bra was comfortable on me. “I think it’s too small.”

She frowned at that. “Well it will do for now.”

After she stopped me from running, the two of us got into her car. It was a Ford Focus, a nice little car, I suppose. She drove us a few blocks away before stopping and getting a gym bag out of the trunk. She made sure that we were some place where no one was around then made me put on the sports bra she had in the duffel. I tried to refuse but she threatened to drive me home if I didn’t put the bra on so I had no choice. I climbed over the seat and managed as best as I could. I was overly embarrassed when she checked.

Now the two of us were stopped again, outside of a little bistro. I’d seen it a few times when riding to school. It was a quaint little place, kind of quiet too. It definitely didn’t look like the spot that many teenagers would go to eat at though. Maybe that’s why Melissa chose it---after working all day with kids I wouldn’t want to be surrounded by them either. Not that any of that mattered now because everyone was still in school. I felt a little naughty about that, like I was breaking some huge rule.

Melissa gave me a once over. “Before we go in, can you do me a favor?”

“That depends?”

“I want you to lose the hoodie.”

“No way!”

She sighed. “Kelly, until we figure things out, you might be stuck like this for some time. If not this, you’re going to be turning back and forth a lot more frequently. I understand you’re scared but hiding away isn’t going to stop that. You need to embrace this and learn to live with it.”

I bit my lip. “Everyone will think I’m a girl.”

She laughed. “News flash honey, right now you are a girl.”

“That’s not what I meant” I sighed. “This hoodie is baggy enough for me to hide, so that people don’t guess. They see it and me and they wonder but they don’t pry. Its comfortable, it keeps me safe.”

“It’s a crutch,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I think you hide behind it because you’re a lot more scared than you think. You’re afraid of who you are, that’s why you let people guess. I look at you now and I see girl, albeit one in a baggy purple hoodie, but I saw the same thing before, too. You’re too ambiguous in that thing. If you really want people to see you for who you truly are, you need to lose the crutch and let them see.”

I bit my lip. I suppose she was half right but I’m not sure if I was ready.

“Ok tell you what, you take off the hoodie and I won’t tell your grandmother about you skipping school.”

“You were going to tell her?”

She shrugged. “I guess you’ll never know now.”

She gave me an evil smile. I knew that smile, Mary had that smile. I had to wonder if Melissa was the one who taught it to her.
“You have to give me more than that.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to promise that you won’t tell anyone about this, any of this. The changing back and forth thing, the possibility of being stuck. I want to wrap my mind around it before I tell anyone.”

Melissa sighed. “Kelly, people are going to find out.”

“Eventually” I said “but I want to keep it a secret as long as I can.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“Fair enough” she said with a smile. “You take off the hoodie; I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

I took a deep breath and quickly pulled it over my head like ripping off a band-aid. AS soon as it was off, I felt kind of naked. I was wearing a peach colored t-shirt, one that we actually got from the little kid’s department. It fit perfectly fine before but now with my new assets and changed frame, the shirt was kind of snug. My breasts also pulled it up a little more, showing a bit of my bellybutton. I gasped and tried to tug it down but there was no use. Melissa laughed; I think she was enjoying it. After a minute or two, she got me out of the car. In the street, it felt like everyone was staring at me. I wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere. I rushed quickly into the little restaurant. When I got inside it was worse because people did stare. There was only a handful of patrons but it felt like all of their eyes were burning into me. I turned to run but Melissa was behind me and stopped me, pushing me into the place.

“Take a deep breath,” she whispered gently. “You’re going to be fine.”

I did as I was told as the two of us found a table in the corner as far away from the prying eyes as we could.

A minute or two later, a pretty young blonde waitress came to the table. She looked to be about the same age as Melissa.

“Karen, it’s been awhile,” said Melissa, greeting the girl. “How’ve you been?”

“Alive” she said with a laugh.

Melissa laughed too. “Hey, how did that Harper thing go?”

“Better than expected.”

They talked for a minute or so more before Karen took our orders. I couldn’t help but wonder what the Harper thing was. There were a few Harpers in my grade. I had English with a Chris Harper and his cousin was on the cheerleading squad I think. Maggie was talking about her during lunch yesterday. I didn’t really know much about the Harpers, much like the rest of the elite in town. I did know they were pretty well off though, I think they owned the newspaper or something.
When she was finished with the orders, Karen looked at me oddly. “Who’s your friend?” she asked Melissa.

“This is Agatha’s granddaughter Kelly.”

I couldn’t help but wince at that. However at the same time I found myself pushing some of my hair behind my left ear. I smiled at Karen, trying to show her that I was as normal as normal came. Inside I felt like I was going to puke, my insides jumping up and down.

“You must be Becky’s daughter?”

I nodded.

“I didn’t realize Jess had a younger sister,” Karen continued.

“Kelly’s a bit of shut in, spends most of her time hiding away. When I found out, she was staying with Aggie I knew I had to try dragging her out of her shell. That’s why we’re taking this little school break.”

Karen smiled. “You want some coffee girls?”

I shook my head but Melissa nodded. Karen left for a minute and came back with the pot. As she was pouring, I noticed something different about her. I’m not sure why I didn’t see it before but it was as if she was glowing. It wasn’t very prominent or anything but she definitely had a slight glow about her. I couldn’t make out the full color but it was there. It was just like the sorority house the other day but not as bright and this one didn’t go away when I blinked. I looked around the room, wondering if anyone else glowed. Sure enough, other people were glowing as well but none of them shined quite like Karen. When my eyes fell on Melissa, I realized she was glowing as well.

What the hell was going on?

Melissa gave me an odd look. “Everything ok?”

I blinked and the glow vanished. Weird. “I’m good, just a little tired.”

“It’s called too much work honey,” said Karen with a laugh. “I get like that all the time.”

Karen left a moment later, leaving the two of us alone.

“See that wasn’t so bad” said Melissa a few seconds later. “In fact, I think you’re a natural. The way you blushed like that then tucked your hair behind your ear.”

I blushed some more, which Melissa laughed at.

We spent the next several minutes talking. She wanted to know about the work Mom and Dad did. I was just thrilled to be able to talk about it without having to lie all the time. It was kind of refreshing to talk to someone and tell them the truth. I was on our trip to the Himalayas when Karen arrived with our food. I shut up quickly, switching topics.

“Don’t stop on my account,” she said with a wink. “My mother used to regal me with her adventures when I was younger. Did you know she actually apart of the team that went and protected Nessie?”

“Wait, what?”

Melissa and Karen laughed aloud.

“Kelly, Karen is a Holden.”

I felt like kicking myself in the ass over that one. There were seven major witch families in Ravencrest, the Holden’s being one of them.

Mom made me memorize things like that, just in case it ever came up. She said it was good to know who your friends were. There were a total of one hundred and sixteen witch clans out there, and the seven at Ravencrest were pretty damn important. The Crawfords were at the top of the list. It was said that our family could trace their origins all the way back to the Middle Ages----we weren’t the oldest family but there were very few who could go back that far. I didn’t really know how far back the Holden’s or even the Williams could go. I didn’t really know much about them at all actually. The families weren’t enemies but they weren’t always forthcoming either. It always amazed me that such a diverse group lived so close together and that a member of each family sat on the Coven. It must have sucked not knowing which one of your colleagues harbored a nasty grudge on you because they hid under those cloaks of theirs.

“I wanted to be a Magister when I was younger but I didn’t have the stomach for it,” continued Karen with a sigh. “Instead I’m stuck here, bussing tables and making my way through college.”

I often forget that Mom and Dad had an official title like that. Their organization was spread so thin these days that most people didn’t even remember names. At one time the Magisters were big, there used to be one in every town. The world was changing though; more and more Unseen were either going into deep hiding or extinct. There was less demand for Magisters now. There were probably no more than thirty of them left now. It was kind of sad really. Like Karen, I used to dream of being one too. I knew it was impossible though unless I became a Warden.

Duds weren’t allowed to become Magisters.

Karen left us to our food. We ate quietly. Melissa kept smiling at me every now and then though. It was kind of freaky. Me, I tried desperately to see if I could see more glowing. Sadly whatever it was had all but faded now. It was kind of strange though, it just appearing like that. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was another one of those strange Ravencrest things. I tried not to dwell on it too much though, hoping that if I waited long enough it might come back.

“I think you’re a natural,” said Melissa as we were finishing up.

“A natural what?”

She laughed. “A natural girl, silly.”

I’m not sure I liked that.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” she said quickly. “It’s just that looking at you, sitting across from me. It’s hard to imagine that only a short while ago you were in fact a boy.”

“I’m still a boy,” I added defensively. “And will be again as soon as we fix whatever is wrong with me.”

Neither one of us had anything more to say for a while.

We finished our meal and headed back to the car. I retrieved my hoodie as Melissa drove us back to the school. We got there just as the final bell was ringing which was amazing timing on our part. I pulled the hoodie over my head, hoping to avoid any more talk as I got out of the car. Melissa didn’t seem to be done though because she got out with me. She followed me to the bike rack, dogging my heels the whole way.

“You can’t just ignore this you know,” she said, trying to keep her voice down.

“I’m not going to ignore it,” I said quickly. “I’m going to pretend it never happened.”

She frowned. “I thought we were making progress. What happened?”

“I’m not some kind of experiment. You think I want to be like this” I could feel tears burning my cheeks. I snapped around to face her. “I want to be normal; I want to be a regular guy. It was nice to pretend earlier but I’m not a girl, I’m never going to be one. I might look like one and currently am one but I’m not nor am I ever going to actually be one.”

“Kelly I never…”

“Leave me alone ok,” I snapped.

As soon as I did, I heard several loud pops. I snapped around and watched in awe as every bike tire on the rack popped one by one, like a domino effect. It was the freakiest thing I’d ever seen but there was more to it. There was no way all of them could have gone like that, not unless….I shook my head, that wasn’t possible. Melissa on the other hand was looking right at me, with the strangest look. The look lingered for longer than I would have liked, followed a few seconds later by a slight smile.

“I think you and I need to talk about things some more” she said after a moment or two.

“I’m done talking,” I snapped, my anger rising again.

Melissa held up her hands. “Ok not right now. How about Monday. You come by my office first thing Monday morning and we can figure this out. By then I might be able to find some way to reverse whatever it is that’s happening.”

“Fine” I snapped.

I climbed onto my bike and groaned because like the rest, its tires were now flat.

“Let’s put it in my trunk and I’ll give you a ride.”

All I could do was nod. I helped her secure the bike then got back into the car. There was something wrong with me; my emotions were all over the place. I was fine earlier and now I felt like I could bite someone’s head off. What the hell was wrong with me? Was it an influx of emotions or something else? As Melissa got into the car, I tried to concentrate on other things but my mind was all over the place. I found myself looking at the rear-view mirror as we drove away. I watched all the cars behind me, wondering if their drivers had as many problems as I did right now. Melissa was talking but I didn’t notice, I was lost in my thoughts.

So lost I didn’t even notice the black car that was a few cars behind us.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.10, which I believe is the longest chapter of this story so far. Oh and there's a mild cliffhanger at the end for those of you who like that kind of thing. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TEN:

It was strange waking up with breasts. I knew when I opened my eyes and looked at the two little mountains that they weren’t my imagination. They were there and they were going to be there for a while. At least as far as I knew. I thought about that a lot actually. After Melissa dropped me off last night, I did a lot of thinking. I couldn’t help but wonder about that guy in the 1930's, how he was eventually turned into a girl completely. Was that going to happen to me too? I groaned and closed my eyes, hoping that maybe this was all a dream. It felt more like a nightmare though, one that I was forced to live regardless of what happened.

I reopened my eyes but refused to get out of bed. It was Saturday morning after all; the week was finally winding down. I have to say it was by far one of the worst ones ever. A week ago, I was happy at home with my parents, in my hometown, as a boy. Now here I was after being forced to leave my home, my friends and my life. I’ve been chased, nearly stabbed and nearly barbequed. My parents were in hiding, I was stuck in a small town with relatives I couldn’t stand and magic kept fucking with me. I was supposed to be safe here, bad things weren’t suppose to happen. Here I was though, a boy was no longer just a boy with my schoolmates thinking me a girl and slut and my body now no longer my own.

Some week.

I continued to lie there for a while, staring up at the canopy over my overly girly bed. With everything that has been going on, the room was a moot point. I’d been sleeping in it all week and only barely registered its overly girly nature. Sure, I saw it, but given the week I’d been having I hadn’t really paid much attention to it. Now just lying here staring, I couldn’t help but wonder how my mother could have decorated her room like this. I knew my Mom, I knew the kind of person she was now and it was not this. Mom wasn’t tomboyish in the least but she wasn’t a girly girl either. Whoever the girl was that made the room look like this, it made me wonder if she was in fact doing it to please someone.

Maybe an overbearing mother perhaps?

I laid there for a few more minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed myself up from the bed, surprised that Diamond wasn’t trying to mooch off my warmth again. He’d been strangely close the last few days, clinging to me like he’d never done before. Now he was nowhere in sight. Either he got tired of trying to annoy me or else he finally wised up. I didn’t really care; I was getting tired of him being around all the time anyway. I had other things on my mind to worry about then why my mother’s cat wasn’t bothering me anymore.

I walked out into the hall, taking a quick look to make sure I was alone. I made a mad dash for the bathroom and locked the door behind me. The first thing I did was pee as fast as humanly possible---I definitely didn’t want to think about that. As soon as I flushed, I went to the mirror. I was still the same girl from yesterday. Not that that was going to change but a small part of me was hoping it had all been a dream. But there she was, there I was---long hair in a tangled mess, old t-shirt and boxer shorts. It looked kind of strange seeing a girl dressed like that but I was too annoyed to care about how I looked. I quickly stripped out of my clothes and got into the shower, turning on the water as I closed my eyes. Showering was definitely different. This new body of mine seemed ultra sensitive for some reason. Every single bit of it reacted differently to the water, especially my breasts. It was hard not to think about. I wonder if it was like this for all girls. If I was stuck like this, could I get used to it?

Last night after sneaking into the house, I did a lot of thinking. After slipping through the house as quickly as I could, I found myself in my room looking at myself in the big mirror on the wall. It was there that I thought about what to do next. It was clear that whatever spell was used on me didn’t seem to want to go away. There was nothing I could do to get rid of it either. Melissa was looking into it of course, but in the meantime, I was stuck. It was a scary thought, not knowing when I might turn into a girl. That is of course if I was even going to turn back into a guy in the first place. That was even scarier to think about. Looking at that girl in the mirror last night, I tried to imagine waking up to that every morning.

There was no way I could deal.

So I decided that I was going to try my hardest to pretend to be the old me. The great thing about being androgynous in the first place was that my face hadn’t really changed all that much. It was a bit softer and up close there were slight differences but from afar, I looked just like I usually did. I was counting on the fact that no one looked at me for a long period of time. That was the hard part. The other stuff was easy---hiding my curves, disguising my voice. I could do this, I had to do this.

After getting out of the shower, I left the bathroom in a rush. With a towel wrapped around my new feminine body---just like the girls in movies---I went to my dresser. I rummaged through it, looking for clothes that would hide my new shape. I found a baggy shirt---well the baggiest I had. It was the one I wore last week when I arrived here. The jeans I picked out were sadly just like the others. I put those things aside then retrieved the sports bra and ace bandage. I pulled the bra on quickly then using the bandage, I wrapped my chest as tight as I could, hoping to plaster my breasts down. I did this in front of the mirror, turning sideways every few seconds to check my work.

My chest wasn’t completely flat but it was close enough.

After that, I pulled on my shirt; I turned to look at the half-naked girl in the mirror. No matter how I tried to see my guy self all I saw was girl. I tried not to think about that as I pulled on my boxers. As soon as they were up though, they felt wrong. They were too tight in the butt for one thing and there was too much room in the crotch. Damn, why didn’t I realize that yesterday? Another realization dawned on me then---yesterday I had been wearing my old jeans, the ones I came in. Those were a bit baggier than my new ones so I didn’t have a problem. They were in the wash now, so I had another problem: pants.

I tried the pair I got anyway. Sure enough, I couldn’t get them up past my hips. I cursed. How in the hell was I supposed to go out today. A strange thought passed through me which only made me curse real loud. If I was going to go out today that meant I would have to find an alternative clothing source and there was only one of those in the house. I groaned as I left my room---wearing only my shirt---and made my way down the hall. I knocked on Mary’s door, hoping that she was gone already. I overheard her last night talking to Tracy on the phone, the two of them were supposed to have plans today. After my first knock, there was no answer so I tried again, louder this time. When she didn’t answer on the second, I opened the door. I was surprised it wasn’t locked, her being the way she was.

I groaned at the sight of the room. Mary had never been overly girly growing up. She was sometimes more boyish than I was but I never remembered her room being this dark before. What’s with the metal band posters and the dark curtains? I had a hell of a time navigating through it as I made my way to her dresser. I tried the top drawer first, hoping she might have some underwear. I didn’t like the idea of stealing from her but I didn’t have a choice. I gawked at the sight---thongs and bikini briefs. There was no way I was wearing any of that. I closed the drawer quickly and went on a search for jeans. The dresser had four drawers: the second one had shirts, the bottom two were devoted to skirts. The third drawer had short ones; the bottom drawer had long ones.

Nowhere was there any jeans.

How can someone not have any jeans?

Defeated, I left her room and rushed back to my own. I started to pace, trying to figure out what to do next. I suppose I could just call Maggie and tell her I couldn’t come to the club meeting. It wasn’t all that important after all. I kind of figured out what it was about anyway. It was obvious Charlie was a Dud and that this meeting of his was some kind of gathering of fellow Duds. It made sense I suppose---there had to be quite a few of them in Ravencrest. I knew at least two: Morgan and Jason.

I dropped onto the bed. There was no alternative but to cancel. I found my cell, surprised that it was actually fully charged for a change. I flipped it open and quickly dialed Maggie.

“Hey” she said happily. “I thought you were the kind of guy who slept in?”

“Eh, a lot on my mind.”

There was a pause. “Are you ok, you sound funny?”

Shit, my voice.

“I think it might be a cold. I’m not use to the climate change,” I said, trying to deepen my voice the best I could.

“So does that mean you’re not coming today?”

I could hear the disappointment in her voice.

I bit my lip. “I have a bit of a problem.”

“Anything I can help with?”

I was about to say no when it dawned on me. Yes, she could help me. She was a girl. She knew about all this magic stuff too, I was certain she could be trusted as well. I took a deep breath before speaking again.

“If I tell you something do you promise not to tell anyone else?”

“Is it something bad?”

“No, it’s just kind of complicated.”

There was a momentary pause.

“I can keep a secret.”

I thought about how to tell her but in the end it was best if I showed her. “Can you come over, its better if you see?”

Another slight pause. “I can be there in about twenty minutes.”

“Good” I said then quickly added as an afterthought. “Could you bring me some baggy pants?”

“What?”

I cursed. “I’ll explain everything when you get here I promise.”

She sighed. “Ok, I’m on my way.”

I clicked off and groaned. If Maggie didn’t think I was crazy before she sure as hell did now.

Bring me some pants. What the hell was I thinking?

“Holy…”

Maggie arrived exactly twenty minutes after she said she was going to. I was anxious as hell the whole time, right up until the point she rang the doorbell. When I opened the door, I made sure I wasn’t wearing my hood up so she could see my hair. As soon as her shock faded, I grabbed her arm and pulled her into the house. I locked the door behind her just to make sure. We stood there for a few minutes, neither of us saying a thing. She stared at me though, her eyes scrutinizing every single bit of my body---I felt like I was under a microscope.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Yes it’s me,” I said, not trying to disguise my voice in the least.

“I don’t understand” she stuttered.

“That makes two of us.”

I led her into the living room where the two of us dropped down on the couch. She was carrying a duffel on her shoulder, setting it on the cushion between us. She stared some more, her eyes roving from my face to my chest then to my bare, hairless legs. That last bit made me feel a little embarrassed. I found myself tugging on my hoodie, hoping I could stretch it longer than it was. At least I wasn’t as naked as before---having decided on the boxers and my hoodie as further covering.

She opened her mouth to say something but I cut her off. “Mary did it, at least at first. She was pissed about me being friends with Misty so she decided to punish me by turning me into a girl.”

“So you’ve been a girl this whole time?”

I shook my head. “They fixed it or at least they thought they did. My grandmother helped Mary change me back and as far as we could tell, everything was fine. For the next few days, I was normal Kelly. Then yesterday during Math class, I got real sick and tried to go to the nurse, I ended up in the bathroom where I puked my guts out. When it was done, I was this again.”

Maggie surprised me with a hug. It felt nice until her chest rubbed against mine. Even with them bound, I could still feel it. I got a bit freaked after that and squirmed away.

“Melissa and I tried to figure out what went wrong but she’s stumped. She promised to look into though. In the meantime I might be stuck like this.”

“Are you serious?”

I nodded sadly. “There’s been a few cases like mine, in one of them the guy kept transforming back and forth until he was stuck as a woman permanently.”

I started to cry, I couldn’t help it. Maggie went into comfort mode again, pulling me into another hug. This time I didn’t squirm away. I found myself crying into her shoulder. She held me for a long time and let me cry it out. Crying actually felt kind of good. I’m not sure how long I cried for but when I was done, Maggie put her hands on my shoulders and pulled back, taking a long look at me. For a while, she didn’t say a thing, she just stared.

“Umm, Kelly” she said finally. “Where are your new you-know-whats?”

I blushed. “I wrapped them.”

She groaned. “Take off your hoodie and shirt please.”

I did so reluctantly.

Maggie groaned again. “That’s gotta hurt like a bitch.”

“Its not as painful as it looks but it’s not very pleasant.”

Maggie didn’t say anything for another minute or so. Instead, she looked around a bit. I think she was looking for my grandmother. I kind of was too. I’m not sure where she went but it was now pretty clear she was nowhere in the house. The cats were suspiciously absent as well but that was nothing new. Cats had a tendency to crawl under something and sleep away the day anyway. When Maggie was done looking, she pulled her duffel over to her and unzipped it. What she took out of was a pair of pink and gray sleep pants. Jess used to wear them all the time to bed along with a baggy shirt that used to belong to our father. I felt like an idiot. I was certain Mary had a pair of those too---why hadn’t I thought to look for them.

“You’re wearing boxers?” she asked, I nodded. “Well, put these on then.”

I took the pants from her and slipped them on. I was a few inches taller than Maggie to begin with but these pants were apparently big on her because they fit me fine. The soft cotton material felt kind of nice on my legs. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d worn actual pajama pants.

“Ok next I need you to unbind your boobs.”

I blushed at that.

Maggie continued quickly. “Look, you can’t keep them wrapped like that; it’s not good for them. Besides the people at the store might think you a freak.”

“Sore” I squeaked. “What store?”

“The one we’re going to as soon as you unbind yourself.”

“I’m not going out like this,” I gasped.

She didn’t miss a beat. “You weren’t in school yesterday, where were you?”

Damn her.

“Melissa took me to a little bistro….”

Double damn her.

She smiled. “So you’ve already been out like that. That makes this easier then. I want you to unbind your chest, put on your shirt and get some shoes. The two of us are going to get you something better to wear.”

This assertive Maggie scared me a bit. I’d never seen her take charge like this. A small part of me kind of liked it though.

Another part of me rebelled though.

“You can’t be serious?”

“I’m damn serious. You can’t wander around in what you’re wearing and you definitely can’t be cooped up here all day. I suppose you were planning to hide all of this too?”

I didn’t say anything because from the look she gave me she already knew the answer.

She groaned. “We’ll worry about that later. Right now, you and I are going to get you something to wear. We’ll figure everything else out when that’s done.”

How could I argue with that? I suppose I could but there was no point trying. So I dutifully did as I was told. First, I unwrapped myself, then put on my shirt. I made sure to pull the hoodie on too. I’m not sure she liked that bit but there was no way I was going out there without it. As soon as I was done with that, I actually found a pair of sandals in the back of the downstairs closet. They definitely didn’t look like something Mary might own but they fit my feet ok.
While I put on my shoes, Maggie talked on her phone. A minute or two later she was done.

“Who did you call?”

“A cab”

Great. Now there was definitely no way to back out of this.

I didn’t know much about shopping in Ravencrest. I knew where the shops were of course because this wasn’t the first time I’d been shopping. I just didn’t really pay much attention to the kinds of shops that the town had to offer. There were surprisingly a lot of them. When my grandmother and I went shopping last weekend for clothes, we only went to one or two places. Maggie however wanted to go everywhere. When the cab first took us into town, the first place we hit was a Victoria’s Secret knock off called The Top Drawer. I’m not going to bore you with the measuring details but apparently I was the very proud owner of a C Cup. I wasn’t too surprised about that actually because these things on my chest were huge.

I was a bit surprised that Maggie made me buy more than one bra.

“I don’t plan on being this way forever,” I said as she handed me two or three satin ones.

“A girl has to have variety,” she said with a smile.

“I think you’re enjoying this way too much”

She didn’t say anything. Instead, she handed me a packet of underwear. I groaned. I guess it was unavoidable.

“Are we done?” I asked hopefully.

She pulled the tag off a bra and handed it to me. “Take this” she said and grabbed a pair of panties off a rack. “And this and hit one of the dressing rooms, I’ll pay for the rest.”

She took the other bras and panties and headed to the register. Me, I grumbled as I slowly made my way to the dressing room. I tried to do it as quickly as possible, stripping off my hoodie and shirt. When I got to the sports bra, I groaned. Oh how I wished that Maggie would have given me another. This new bra looked wrong somehow, too soft and a lot more comfortable. I didn’t want to be comfortable; I wanted to be a guy again. But seeing as how that probably wasn’t going to happen in the foreseeable future, I slowly took the sports bra off. My new assets were finally able to breathe and I have to admit it felt better to have them out.

Melissa was a lot smaller than she looked.

I looked at my naked chest in the mirror. I’d seen many naked women in movies and things like that. I never really thought much about it actually. I guess it was because puberty hadn’t hit yet but they did nothing for me. Staring at my naked chest now---my huge globes right in front of me---I didn’t feel a thing either. I sighed. This was not how I imagined my life to be. Sighing some more, I struggled with the bra. It was a bitch to figure out. In the end, I clasped it first then pulled it over my head, slipping my arms through the straps afterwards. Then I managed to get my mounds into the cups. As soon as I did, I was shocked at how much better it felt. There was now a pretty girl in a purple satin bra looking back at me.

I smiled then pulled off the sleep pants and boxers. Taking the panties, I pulled them up as quick as possible. I immediately found a difference. They fit perfectly, so snug and comfortable. I was kind of surprised how much different they were to men’s briefs. I haven’t worn briefs for a while but if they felt like this for men then I was definitely going back to them.

Once again, there was a pretty girl there now in a matching pair of purple panties. I couldn’t help but stop and stare for a moment. It was strange because I couldn’t see either my mother nor Jess in the face staring back at me. I know everyone said I took after my father but I couldn’t really see him in there either. As a boy, I had some of the same facial structure as Dad but as a girl, I looked nothing like any of them. I’m not sure what that meant though. Was it possible that the spell had changed me?

A knock on the dressing room door interrupted my thoughts.

“Kelly, you done in there yet?”

“Just a sec” I said, pulling on the rest of my clothes as quickly as I could.

When I opened the door, Maggie was there with a smile. She didn’t say anything but her smile said enough. I smiled back, hoping it would get her to stop.
It did.

We left the lingerie shop after that and made our way to a store called the Teen Scene.

It was one of those generic teenybopper stores that popped up all over the place. There were quite a few stores like it at the mall back home, not that I ever went into any of them. They were usually geared toward teen girls. The Teen Scene seemed to be just like that. As soon as we entered my senses were assaulted by bright vibrant colors, bubble gum flavored smells and horrible pop music. I tried to turn around and make a break for the door but Maggie blocked my path. She pushed me further inside while I desperately fought against her. Maggie dragged me toward an aisle of jeans. She was pulling them out, holding them up to my waist.

“You girls need any help?” asked a perky voice.

I turned to see a girl with bright pink hair. Her face was adorned with pierces, her eyes lined with dark shadow and eyeliner. Her look completely betrayed her voice though. There was no way a girl who looked like that was as perky as she was.

“Umm no we’re ok,” said Maggie quickly and the girl disappeared.

“Crystal Connors” said Maggie in answer to my question. “She is the perkiest girl I’ve ever met.”

“Looking like that though?”

Maggie shrugged. “It takes all kinds”

After that, Maggie dragged me from clothing rack to clothing rack. Eventually with an armful of clothes, she pushed me into a dressing room, telling me try on everything.

“How are we paying for all of this?” I asked as I pulled on one of the tops.

“We won’t buy it all just some of it” she said and added quickly. “I have an allowance that I’m allowed to spend so that’s taken care of.”

“I can’t have you buying clothes for me,” I groaned.

She laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Consider it a gift, you can return the favor later.”

I sighed. I didn’t like it when people did this. “Ok, but you remind me.”

“I will.”

We shopped for about twenty minutes. We only ended up buying me a pair of jeans and shirt. Maggie wanted to buy more but I wouldn’t let her. She did make me wear them out of the store though which was kind of embarrassing. Girls’ jeans were a lot tighter than boys. The shirt was too short, especially toward the bottom. I was definitely glad for the hoodie. I was expecting to be done after that but she dragged me into a shoe store. Thankfully, I was able to talk her into a quick pair of cheap white sneakers.

“When is this Dud Club meeting or whatever?”

We were on the street now, sitting on a bench. It’s funny that we spent a while shopping and yet had no bags. Well I didn’t anyway; she had one that contained the clothes I took off. She refused to give it to me, said it was less tempting that way.

“It’s not really a meeting, it’s more like a group thing,” she said with a laugh. “Charlie gathers all the Duds our age and they sort of sit around and do things.”

“And you’re involved too?”

She nodded. “I’m one of the few humans in town that actually know about the Unseen, Charlie considers me an honorary member.”

“Where do you guys meet?”

“Usually as the Drake house but his sister is doing something there today with her friends so we’re going to meet at the library.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I loved going to the library at home, I spent a lot of time there when I wasn’t in my room reading comics or playing games. I couldn’t have been happier. If it was as cool as the one back home, I might spend a lot of time there in the future. It was better than being stuck in the house all the time, either getting glared at by my grandmother, ignored by Mary or bored out of my skull.

“So the meeting?” I asked, looking for the answer to my first question.

“Oh, we should probably get going. There really wasn’t a set time but it’s about lunch time so that means Charlie will want to leave soon.”

“Lead the way.”

The Ravencrest public library was a large stone building, made of granite and marble. I’m not sure how long it’d been there but it looked old. It also looked kind of creepy, especially with the two griffin statues on either side of the main entrance. I couldn’t help but stare at them as Maggie and I walked inside. As soon as we got in however, the creepiness faded and a sense of ease fell over me. I loved the smell of books; it was like walking into history. That smell lingered here along with a hint of peppermint.

There was a reception desk directly in front of us, an older woman sitting behind it. She was gaunt looking with gray hair and blue grey eyes. When we approached at first it looked like she was a statue like the many that lined the walls. It wasn’t until we got to the desk itself that she seemed to blink and come to life.

“Oh good afternoon ladies” she said.

Maggie smiled. “Hello Mrs. Beck, has Charlie arrived yet?”

“I think he and William are already in the back waiting for you.”

“Maggie!” gasped a small voice from behind the desk.

I saw a streak of yellow and pink before something latched onto Maggie’s legs. Looking down was a little girl, about six or seven. She had blonde hair in ponytails and a pink party dress. Mrs. Beck smiled at the girl.

“Did you come to play with me?” asked the little girl.

“Not today Chloe” said Maggie.
She turned and looked at me. “How about him, did he come to play?”

Him? How did she know I was a him?

Mrs. Beck chuckled. “Chloe, sweetie, that’s a girl” She turned to me.

“I’m sorry dear, my granddaughter gets confused sometimes.”

Chloe giggle. “I know that Grammy.”

She was a cute kid, adorable even. I liked kids as well as the next person but Chloe seemed different too. I’m not saying she was an evil monster or anything but I couldn’t help but feel on edge too. How did she know about me? Maybe it was just a slip of the tongue or maybe she was just playing but something was off. Or maybe I was just overreacting.

I bent down to her level. “I’m sorry kid but we’re here on a top secret mission.”

“Really?” she asked, her eyes big. “Can I come too?”

Maggie stroked the girl’s hair. “We’re doing it with some boys I don’t think you’d like that.”

“Boys are yucky” said Chloe as she pulled away from Mrs. Beck and ran around the desk.

We all laughed.

We left the two of them after that and Maggie led me farther into the place. There were a lot of round tables on our path as well as stacks of books. I was amazed at the size of the place though. The library back home was pretty big but it definitely didn’t compare to the size of this place. It felt like people had been coming here for years and the books were so old. The further we went, the older the books seemed to get, too. It was hard to fathom, a small part of me wanted to skip the whole Dud Club thing and just get lost in the stacks. I loved finding the oldest book---it didn’t care what it was about---and just reading it until my eyes hurt.

Eventually though we found the boys.

I couldn’t help but groan. Boys, I said that like I wasn’t one of them now. I’m not sure if I liked that. Sure, I wasn’t exactly a card carrying member of the male race as a whole but at least I was still a guy. It scared me to think that I was so quick to categorize myself as a girl. It scared me even more to think I might be stuck like this too.

We heard them laughing, there was at least three of them. I groaned at that. I could deal with one or two but more than that, I felt uncomfortable. Guys in groups bothered me because I could never truly say what they were going to do. Call me paranoid but I didn’t have a good track record. When we approached, Charlie was the first one to see us. It helped that the other two had their backs to us. When he saw Maggie, he smiled but when his eyes fell on me, there was a clear scowl across his face. That scowl disappeared completely as we got closer, replaced by a look of pure confusion.

I couldn’t help but smile at that.

“Hey guys,” said Maggie happily. “Sorry we’re late.”

“It’s about time,” said Charlie.

“Yeah” said one of the other guys, the shorter dark haired one.

He turned around and I recognized him as a boy from English class. I didn’t know his last name but I think his first name was Will. He sat next to a really pretty blonde; I think the two of them might have been together. The other guy was taller with brown hair. When he turned around to face us, I nearly had a heart attack. It was Jack, my resident stalker. I wanted to curse but I couldn’t think of a proper word. I think I was a bit shocked. Jack looked pretty surprised too. He stared at me for the longest time. I held my breath, waiting for the pin to drop. I was pretty certain that Jack know knew he’d been hitting on a guy for the last week or so. I was preparing to run so that I could avoid getting my ass kicked.

What I didn’t expect was what happened.

“Dude Charlie” he said, turning to our host. “You said Kelly was a guy.”

Charlie looked even more confused. “I…ummm….”

Shit, seriously. Why did this crap keep happening to me?

Maggie came to the rescue. “Guys, can we get this meeting started already. I have somewhere to be in an hour.”

She winked at me. I definitely owed her.

The boys nodded. Damn there I go again.

Jack stood up. “Kelly, you can have my seat.”

I walked toward the table and deliberately around it to sit next to Charlie. Jack frowned but sat back down. He was a little dense. Why couldn’t he get the hint that I wasn’t interested in him?

Charlie laughed. “What was that you said earlier about being such a ladies’ man?”

He and Will laughed.

Jack huffed and pouted.

The “meeting” that Maggie mentioned wasn’t much of a meeting at all. I’m not sure what I expected but I didn’t expect a group of guys sitting around just talking about different things. I was hoping for some kind of mention of their families, maybe a little bitching about how they didn’t have magic powers. Instead, they started talking about computers and not my kind of computer stuff either. I liked computers but more for gaming, these people were talking about programming and things like that. At least the three of them were, Jack looked about as lost as I did.

When he noticed that, I think he thought it was something we had in common because the next thing I knew his whole undivided attention was on me.

“So you’re not one of those computer nerds then?”

I laughed. “Not like that I’m not. I play games but that’s as far as the nerd in me will go.”

He laughed. “I play soccer.”

“My father tried to rope me into sports when I was younger but it never really clicked. I’m just not all that athletic.”

“So he wanted a son?”

I almost blew it right there and said he had one but it was clear that he’d never believe it. So I found myself playing along and lying.

“The man was cursed with two daughters.”

“Poor him, lucky me.”

My heart skipped a beat. Wait, why did it just skip a beat? There was a burning in my cheeks too as if it suddenly got a few degrees hotter in here. Shit, did that mean what I thought it meant. No, that wasn’t possible.

I had to change the subject quick.

“So you’re a Dud then?”

He sighed. “Mom was blessed with three daughters and one son. I think Dad was just happy that he wasn’t surrounded by women. It doesn’t really bother me though because Dad’s been grooming me to be a Warden like him.”

“Your Dad’s a Warden?”

He laughed. “Most witches marry their Wardens actually. I bet your Dad is one too.”

My Dad a Warden? Holy shit, he was right. How had I not seen that before? It made perfect sense and it also made sense that he was grooming me to be one as well. I couldn’t help but groan at being so dense. That’s why he was teaching me to fight with knives. I hated that they told me so little about the world that we existed in. I felt like an outsider always learning something new. It kind of pissed me off sometimes. It pissed me off even more that Jack---a Dud like me---knew more about it than I did. What made him so different?

“I take it that you weren’t aware that your Dad is a Warden?”

I shook my head. “It makes sense though.”

“What about you? How did you become a Dud?”

I shrugged. “Born this way just like you.”

He shook his head. “I’ve never met any girl from a magic family that isn’t born with the gift. It’s unheard of actually. Doesn’t it piss you off that you can’t do it?”

“You have no idea.”

He started to laugh. The hot feeling came to my cheeks again. I found myself staring at him, looking into those deep green eyes of his. He had such cute dimples. Whoa, what the hell was that? Did I just think about his dimples and use cute in that thought? I suddenly felt real sick to my stomach. I jumped up from the chair, surprising everyone. I felt a little woozy as I stood but I managed to grab the chair for support.

“Kelly you ok?” gasped Maggie with concern.

“Yes” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m just feeling a bit off. I think I’m going to catch a cab home.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Jack, getting to his feet.

He looked concerned too.

“No” I snapped then added quickly afterwards. “I can manage by myself.”

Jack looked like I shot his puppy. Maggie shot him a look and he dropped back down in his seat. I didn’t stay around much longer than that. I turned, clutching my stomach. Hot tears started to burn my face. I started to walk away from them, slow at first but I picked up pace rather quickly. I think I heard Maggie call my name but I was already halfway through the stacks. When I was far enough away the tears really started to flow and I started to run. Running past the reception area, I heard Mrs. Beck yell at me for running but I ignored her. All I cared about was getting out of there as fast as I could, away from Jack as fast as I could.

I ran out of the library and picked a direction. I’m not even sure it was the right one I just needed to get away. Even thinking about Jack made me want to puke. Thinking about guys in general made me want to puke. All I wanted to do was go somewhere quiet, crawl into a corner and cry myself into oblivion. I knew that wasn’t possible but I really felt like it was the only thing I could do. To think that I might…well I wasn’t even going to think about it. Instead, I was going to get as far away from every man that I could.

Unfortunately, fate was cruel.

Running down the street not looking where you’re going is not the wisest thing in the world. It was even worse when you run into someone, especially if that someone was the last person in the world you wanted to do it too. In my case, Troy was walking out of a store and I slammed right into him. There was a lot of cursing, he gave me a shove and then got a good look at me. As soon as our eyes locked, I knew that this wasn’t going to end well.

“If it isn’t the little slut,” he snapped.

“I’m not in the mood,” I said sternly, trying to push past him.

He didn’t get the hint though because he grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. His grip was strong, stronger than I thought it might be.

“You and I have unfinished business you little bitch.”

I wanted to scream, I wanted to kick him in the nuts. I wanted to do anything to get him away from me but nothing came. Nothing except the anger. I struggled but it was no use. So the anger grew until I couldn’t take it anymore. An intense feeling overwhelmed me and before I knew it, I was shoving him. It wasn’t just a shove though. I’m not sure what happened but for a split second, I saw tendrils of light jump from my fingertips into his chest. The shove I gave him was so strong that it pulled me from his grip and threw him about five feet down the sidewalk. More than a few people witnessed it.

Troy looked dazed to say the least. Me, I couldn’t help but stare at my hands. The anger was gone, the intense feeling had vanished but that was the least of my problems. My hands had a slight glow, slowly ebbing away. I continued to stare at them though. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the hell just happened. I’d seen it before. Not quite like that but I’d seen something similar done. My mother did it once to a dog who was trying to tear Diamond apart.

She called it a repulse spell.

A spell as in magic.

Holy shit, I just did magic.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's ch.11, things are moving along pretty nicely. There's a mini-cliffhanger on the end of it. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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ELEVEN:

The gathering crowd stared at me. Their faces were lost to me though as panic took over. There were murmurs, even a few gasps. After all, it’s not every day that some girl pushes a big guy like Troy halfway down the sidewalk. My heart started to pound in my chest and I was beginning to panic. Suddenly it felt as if the whole world was closing in on me. I looked around frantically, hoping for a way to escape but I couldn’t seem to find any. Why were there so many people suddenly? Where were all these people when Troy tried to do whatever it was he was trying to do.

A hand gently touched my shoulder. Then a voice spoke to me: “You OK, sweetheart?”

I didn’t know the person. It was an older woman, the first to speak.

All I could do was nod. Another voice spoke but they weren’t talking to me. It was a gruff looking guy and his words were directed at Troy. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, you little punk?”

Troy was still on the ground, staring up at me. There was a look of stunned shock on his face. It probably mirrored my own. I’d just done magic, a feat that few Duds had ever been able to pull off. Not only that, though, I did it out in the open, in the view of several Norms. If the Coven was going to come down on me now was the perfect time to do so. I wanted to run to the farthest part of the town and hide there for the rest of my life. I would have too, but there were just too many people.

“Hey punk” said the gruff looking man. “I’m talking to you.”

The gruff man had had enough. He reached down and grabbed Troy. He lifted him off the ground by his shirt. Troy didn’t struggle, instead he looked at me. His shocked expression slowly faded away and it was replaced by something I didn’t expect: a cruel smile. That smile nearly broke me. These people clearly didn’t see what had just gone on but he had. I’m not sure what he thought just happened but it was clear that I just used magic to push his ass ten feet from me. I was surprised that no one else seemed to notice. Did I somehow mask it from them or did they only see me push Troy away?

My heart pounded faster. The commotion got worse when I noticed a man in a tan uniform coming this way. It was some kind of sheriff’s deputy. Did someone call the police? I shook my head. No, I noticed him before, I think. He was in the diner across the street. I’m not sure how I remembered that what with all the running I’d been doing. The deputy looked at me for a quick moment before heading over to Troy. I didn’t really catch his words though, as my ears started to burn. There was a rush of noise around me as my head to started to swim. I think what just happened finally got to me. I found myself swaying a bit. Hands held me then turned me away from the scene.

The next thing I knew I was being led away.

I didn’t truly comprehend things until I found myself in that very same diner. As soon as I sat down, the world stopped its spinning. I looked around but there weren’t a lot of people. I think most of them were outside now, trying to see what all the commotion was about. I looked at my rescuer and found it was the very same old woman from before. She smiled as me as she sat across from me. She looked like a sweet old woman, dressed in a pink dress, a kind face. The complete opposite of my grandmother. She had her purse on the tabletop and looked to be trying to get the young waitress’ attention.

Finally the girl---I think she was in one of my classes---came over.

“Abby be a dear and get me some coffee.”

“Sure Mrs. Donovan” said the girl, Abby. She turned to me. “Can I get you anything?”

I was lost for a second. I registered what she asked a second later. “What no, I’m good.”

Abby smiled and left.

The old woman---Mrs. Donovan---smiled. “That was quite the bit of excitement back there. Heaven knows what might have happened if that young man had actually achieved whatever it was he was trying to do.”

I nodded. “He’s a dick.”

She frowned. “That’s no way for a young lady like you to speak.”

I wanted to lash out at her for minding her own business, but I couldn’t. This woman was trying to help me and I was grateful. I was just caught up in the moment. So much has just happened. I took a quick glance at my hands, the blue glow long gone but I could still visualize it. They were glowing only a few seconds ago and I used that glow to throw Troy. The thought was mind blowing. There have been known cases of Duds using magic here or there but usually those Duds were born with some aptitude toward it. You would hear about them floating glasses or making little finger sparks---small things. It was unheard though for a Dud to suddenly develop magic like I’d just done.

I’m not sure if I should be ecstatic or scared.

I think I was still a bit on the shocked side.

Abby returned, carrying a mug and a pot of coffee. She poured the old woman---Mrs. Donovan---some coffee then left.

“Now dear, is there anyone I can call for you?” She took a sip.

“Your parents maybe?”

I shook my head. “They’re in Africa.”

She didn’t look the least bit shocked when I said that though. She just nodded.

“How about a relative? Perhaps the person you’re living with then?”

That was out of the question. I knew my grandmother would probably have all the answers but I didn’t want her to know about any of this. I’d gotten away with hiding my new body from her so far---well actually she wasn’t home when I woke up but that was just luck. I didn’t want her involved. She’d probably make a big deal out of it, drag me to the Coven and I’d never hear the end of it. Then there was Mary. I could only imagine what she’d say about all of this. No, no family. I suppose I could have her call Melissa but I’m not sure I really wanted to intrude on her weekend. It was nice that she helped me out yesterday but I could fill her in on Monday. She might even be able to help me with things but right now, I just wanted to avoid it as long as I could.

Cassie was out of the question too. I had a feeling that she’d go straight to my grandmother. She a nice person but seeing as my grandmother sent me to her in the first place I wasn’t testing my luck.

No, I needed someone not associated with anything magic.

Someone to just talk to. Someone who wouldn’t judge.

It dawned on me a second later and I couldn’t help but smile.

“I think I have a friend I can call,” I said as I took out my cell.

The roar of the motorcycle made a few people nearby flinch and look. Me, I couldn’t help but smile as it pulled up in front of the little diner. Those around me stopped and stared. Apparently seeing a motorcycle in Ravencrest was a strange occurrence. There were actually not a lot of cars. I think most people either took a cab or walked. Main Street was a big place but there was barely any traffic. The sight of the motorcycle was a big deal. The rider was an even bigger one. It was one thing for the motorcycle but for it to be driven by a girl; I could only imagine what the onlookers were thinking.

Sophie killed the engine then dropped the kickstand. She took her helmet off a second later, allowing her hair to whip in the color breeze. She shook it about then turned to me with a smile. The onlookers stared for a moment more before pretending not to notice. All I stared at was Sophie. She was still the coolest person I knew but I was sad to say whatever spark of attraction I felt for her before was gone. That made me a little down. So as a girl, I only had inklings for the opposite sex. That thought still kind of repulsed me. It was a shame too because Sophie’s pants were so tight they looked like they were painted on.

“Hey girlfriend” she said with a laugh.

This time it wasn’t really much of a joke.

She walked up to me and gave me a hug. When she pulled away, she looked at me a little strangely. I couldn’t figure out why until I realized she probably felt my boobs underneath my hoodie. I cursed. I’d completely forgotten that Sophie didn’t know about me changing into a girl. How in the hell was I going to explain this to her.

When she spoke though it wasn’t about her confusion. “So I was wondering if you forgot about our plans, actually.”

Oh right, we were supposed to meet up today weren’t we.

I smiled. “That’s why I called you.”

She looked at me, her eyes narrowing. “You forgot but that’s OK, I’m sure you’ve had a busy week.”

I grunted. “You have no idea.”

“Well let’s go get some pizza and you can tell me all about it”

I nodded then remembered Mrs. Donovan. I turned back to the diner, spying her through the large glass window. She turned and looked at me. I felt bad about just leaving her like this but she smiled and waved me on, giving me the OK. I smiled back and waved. I turned and caught up with Sophie who was already halfway down the street. I had to run a bit to catch up. We didn’t say much to each other until we got into Mario’s. She ordered a big pizza this time seeing as both of us would be eating. We got a booth in the back, lucky to find one because the place was kind of crowded. While we waited, I checked my cell. There were several voice messages, all of them from Maggie. I cursed, feeling really bad now. I just left her so suddenly but I hadn’t been thinking.

I would have to call back later and apologize.

I looked up from my phone to find Sophie staring.

“I think you know that I know your secret” she said with a coy smile.

Shit was it that obvious.

I bit my lip. “I’m trying to hide it, is it that obvious?”

She took a moment or two to respond. She squinted once or twice then shook her head. “Your boobs are a bit too big and those jeans a bit too tight but your hoodie really hides it well. I only figured it out when I hugged you.”

I sighed in relief. “Good. The less people who know the better.”

She laughed. “You kind of stand out a bit but it’s good. How long has it been?”

I shrugged. “It happened early this week but I thought it went away.”

She laughed. “This kind of thing doesn’t go away.”

That surprised me. “You know about it?”

She laughed again. “Not me personally of course but I have a friend back home. He tried to fight it too, but it got the better of him. He was really scared but now he accepts it. She’s one of my best gal pals now.”

That blew my mind. Sophie knew about magic but how was that even possible. Unless…was she a witch too? Should I tell her about me, would she deny everything if I did. Maybe if I went about it in a different way, kind of beat around the bush a bit.

“Umm do you believe in magic?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I believe that there is some things out there that can’t be explained. I suppose that could be considered magic but if you’re talking about that crap on TV---guys sawing girls in half and all that shit---then no I don’t believe in that.”

“What about real magic?”

She shrugged. “It’s possible, anything is possible, I suppose.”

I took a deep breath. “What if I told you that magic made me this way?”

There was a long silence, so long that I thought Sophie was going to get up and leave. Instead, she burst out laughing. It was so loud that a few people at the surrounding tables started to stare. I wanted to crawl under the table and hide for the rest of day.

When she finally stopped laughing, she wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke. “Kelly, can I be totally honest? Look, you were never the manliest man to begin with, even you would agree to that, but it wasn’t magic that turned you into this, sweetie. You’re just naturally feminine. I can see where you might think it was something magical though. When I first saw you, on the side of the road, I thought for a split second “Hey what’s this stupid girl doing?”, and then I realized you were in fact a guy. You make a very convincing girl though, I’ll give you that.”

Wait what?

Convincing girl?

She continued. “My friend Patty is really pretty, she’s gorgeous but not even she’s as good as you. At the end of the day she knows she could never truly pass for a girl but you, it’s amazing. Stuff a bra, slap on some clothes and bam, instant chick. Are you wearing a wig too?”

It hit me like a ton of bricks. She didn’t know about magic, she didn’t know I turned into a girl. I felt like a complete idiot because I almost told her everything.

I inwardly groaned.

She thought I was a cross dresser.

“I offended you didn’t I?” She cursed. “Me and my big mouth.”

I shook my head. “No its OK, it’s difficult.”

“I’ll bet,” she said, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.

OK so she wanted to think I was a cross dresser, so be it. It was a lot better than having to explain the whole witch thing to her. That would have been a big mess.

Thankfully, I was saved from having to talk about it more because our pizza arrived. We didn’t talk much about me after that. Sophie talked though like usual. Somehow, though it got back to me and school. She wanted to know how I had fared the rest of the week and I tried to keep it to a minimum. I definitely didn’t tell her about turning into a girl twice. I did tell her about Mary being a total bitch lately, getting mad at me for being friends with Misty.

“Why should she tell you who to be friends with?”

I shrugged. “She’s like that. It’s like she needs to be in control all the time.”

“I have half a mind to lay into the little bitch.”

I couldn’t help but smile. I wondered who was scarier: Sophie or Mary. Sure Mary scared the high schoolers, but Sophie was a whole new kind of freaky. I would definitely be a match worth watching though.

“So anymore run ins with that Jack guy?”

At the mention of his name I blushed, I couldn’t help it but thankfully Sophie wasn’t looking when I did.

“Some but he’s OK,” I said then added without thinking. “It’s Troy that I’m having problems with.”

“Let me guess... total prick?”

I quickly filled her in on some of my run-ins including the one in the lunchroom and the one that happened today. I edited out some details of course. Talking about him made me angry. I felt this intense tingling and suddenly the table started to shake. I quickly realized what was happening and bit my lip, trying desperately to keep under control. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that somehow my magic was connected to my mood. Anger seemed to be a key factor to it, which made a lot of sense. I suddenly thought back to Troy’s pants falling down and realized that I somehow caused that as well. I was angry then, too, just like now and just like earlier.

Shit, I was going to have to watch that.

“Troy’s a dick. Sometimes I wish he’d just drive that fancy car of his into a tree or something.”

Sophie laughed and raised her glass. “To happy accidents.”

We clicked our glasses together.

Sophie always knew how to make me feel better.

I had a restless night’s sleep. I tossed and turned all night, desperately trying to not think about the day. It was hard though because I was itching with excitement. For the first time since coming here, I felt happy. I know it sounds selfish or stupid but the fact that I now possessed magic made me feel like I was important. When I finally did drift off, I had this strange dream about floating above the town, looking down on it. The people in it were like little ants to me, scurrying about. It was kind of cool. I spotted the little Troy ant zipping about, moving faster than all the rest. It angered me that he thought he was better than everyone else. So I reached down and squashed him underneath my giant finger.

Waking up, I felt a bit disturbed.

The blanket was tangled around my body and I was sweating. I looked around the room, the morning sun streaming through the window. I shielded myself from it before climbing out of bed. As I did so, I noticed Diamond sitting by the door. He was staring at me, his strange eyes watching me. I stood there and stared at him, wondering what he had in mind. Diamond had been strangely absent lately, leaving me alone as far as I could tell. Now that he was back to bugging me I couldn’t help but think, he was a little spy. We stared at each other for about five minutes or so before I grabbed one of my sneakers and threw it at him. I missed or rather he dodged. As soon as he did so, he ran forward and jumped on the bed.

“You get lonely?” I asked, glaring at him.

As soon as I spoke, he did this strange thing with his head, cocking it to the side.

It almost seemed like he understood what I just said.

I shook off that thought as crazy and instead went to the door. I opened it up and peered out into the hall. I wasn’t intentionally avoiding my grandmother and Mary but I didn’t exactly want to run into them either. I’d been lucky so far. Last night after I got back from hanging out with Sophie, I was lucky enough that neither one of them were home. I managed to slip upstairs and hide in my room. My grandmother did check on me when she got home though. I was still wearing my hoodie then and I think I got away with fooling her. She gave me a few strange looks but she didn’t press me about things. She asked about dinner though, I told her I’d already eaten and she left me alone for the rest of the night. Avoiding Mary was easy because the two of us still weren’t talking. I was mad at her and she was whatever it was she usually was. There was no way I was going to waste energy trying to figure her out.

Thankfully, the coast was clear now too.

I slipped out into the hall and ran as fast as I could to the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and once again found myself looking at the girl in the mirror. I was still annoyed at what I saw but I wasn’t as shocked. I was far from accepting my fate, but at the same time, I wasn’t angry anymore. That part scared me a bit. I definitely didn’t want to be stuck as a girl for the rest of my life but at the same time, I somehow knew magic as one. It was a horrible tradeoff. If I became a guy again I’d lose the magic but in order to keep it I’d have to be a girl. How messed up was that.

I stripped out of my shirt and panties. Yes panties, I think I might have mentioned how boxers felt wrong. So last night I slept in my current shirt and underwear. I did it without thinking about it as if it was the most normal thing to do. That bit didn’t scare me then but it sure did now. It meant I was starting to adjust to all this and I definitely didn’t want that. I climbed into the shower trying not to think about it. The water felt nice as it flowed around my body. I closed my eyes and got lost in it for a while.

The shower wasn’t very long---well long enough to wake me up. I shut off the water and climbed out, getting a towel from the linen closet. I started wrapping it around my waist before stopping myself. Girl’s wrapped it around their bodies didn’t they? I groaned at that as I tried to mimic what I’d seen in many movies. Then I picked up my clothes from the floor and opened the door.

I nearly collided with Mary.

Shit.

For a long time, neither one of us said a thing. She just stood and stared, me I was terrified. Here I was dripping wet, wrapped in a towel---as a girl no less.

When Mary finally found her voice, the words out of her mouth weren’t a surprise. “What the hell is going on?”

I wanted to cry but I held it in. “How should I know, I turned back into this after you supposedly fixed me.”

Mary was dumbfounded to say the least. I was at a loss for words too.

“That spell should have worked; I mean I did everything right this time.”

“Well clearly you screwed up” I snapped, not sure why I was being so bitchy. “Again.”

There was a flash of anger in her eyes and before I knew it, her hand charged blue and she slammed it into my chest. I stumbled backwards, stunned by her spell. I didn’t however get blasted down the hall like I should of. That surprised her. It surprised her even more when I redoubled on her and blasted her with my own spell. Unlike hers though I put a little more into it, the result of which sent her flying. She landed on her backside about ten feet away. Once again, I was shocked at what I’d just done. I looked at my hand, the blue slowly ebbing away. My body was completely numb from the experience but I didn’t run this time. I stood my ground and watched her pick herself off the floor. When she got to her feet, the anger on her face was pretty damn clear.

She stormed over to me. “How in the hell did you do that?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know, it just happened.”

“Things like that just don’t happen” She was furious. “Especially to a Dud like you!”

This last bit she said a little louder than I would have liked. Her louder tone was enough to cause our grandmother to come charging up the stairs. She stopped dead at the top of them, staring. I was pretty certain we were quite the sight: angry Mary in her black pajamas and me in my towel, soaking wet. Mary didn’t notice her at first but the old woman wasn’t really looking at her. All her attention was on me, her cold eyes felt as if they were ripping through to my very soul.

“Mary” she said, my cousin flinched realizing that she was there now. “Downstairs now”

Mary didn’t hesitate. Before leaving, she shot me a nasty glance.

Once Mary was down the stairs, my grandmother walked slowly over to me. The expression on her face was cold, so I couldn’t really tell what she was thinking. When she got to me though, her intentions were clear, especially when she put her finger on my chin and lifted my head slightly. I felt like I was six years old again.

“What did you do?” she asked, venom in her voice.

Seriously?

“Nothing” I said, trying not to stammer but it was hard because the woman still scared the hell out of me.

“This isn’t nothing.”

I got a surge of confidence. “You tell me, you’re the one who gave Mary the spell. Clearly you messed up.”

OK, so maybe it was a little bold on my part but I hoped it would sting.

Her eyes narrowed and she dropped my chin.

“Go put some clothes on and meet me in the kitchen.”

She turned and stalked back down the hall, disappearing down the stairs a moment later.

I found myself letting out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

“I just got off the phone with Melissa, she will be here shortly.”

My grandmother walked into the kitchen, taking her usual place at the table. I sat in my usual place too, my breakfast having long since gone cold. It was untouched, too. I didn’t really feel like eating, I was too afraid of what was going to happen next. To say that my grandmother looked angry was an understatement. It was clear that she thought that I was somehow responsible for my new change. How I don’t know, after all she herself gave Mary the spell to change me back and supervised the administration of it. If anyone was at fault here, it was actually her.

“Until she gets here, I want you to tell me exactly how this happened?” she asked, trying a calmer tone when speaking to me.

I shrugged, Mary scoffed. My grandmother shot her a nasty look, which caused her to shrink a bit into her chair.

“It happened during school on Friday. I was in Math class when I suddenly felt sick. A girl agreed to take me to Melissa but we never got there. We ended up in the bathroom instead; I changed complete in the stall.”

“This girl, did she see you change?”

I shook my head. “She just assumed I was a girl already, like most of the jerks at my school.”

Mary laughed, getting another nasty look from my grandmother.

“What happened next?”

“I went to Melissa’s, we talked. She told me that something like this has happened before and wanted to contact the Coven. I talked her out of it.”

I left out the part about trying to run away.

“That was foolish,” said my grandmother. “The Coven could have helped you, sought a way to reverse the change for good.”

“Is there a way?” I asked, hopeful for a good answer.

She sighed heavily. “Maybe but this very irregular. That spell should done the trick.”

She fell silent for a moment before asking me to continue.

“Melissa decided that it might be better if we left the school so she took me to this little bistro to eat.”

My grandmother laughed. I’d never heard her laugh before. “That’s why Karen was a bit flustered yesterday. When she said my granddaughter was a lovely girl I thought she was referring to Mary and told her otherwise” Mary frowned. “When she said it was Kelly I told her she was clearly mistaken and that I only had one granddaughter.”

I couldn’t help but blush.

“So, you’ve been this way since Friday then?” I nodded. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner about it?”

I shrugged. “I was scared.”

“Once again you were acting like an idiot. Yesterday, I assume you roped little Maggie Crowley into this conspiracy too?” I nodded, she let out another sigh. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Is that all?”

I nodded. I was afraid to tell her about the magic thing, I’m not sure why. Mary however wasn’t afraid at all.

“That’s not all,” she snapped. “The little bitch has magic. She shot me down the hallway with it.”

My anger flared. Who was the bitch again?

“You little snot” I snapped, jumping up from my chair.

Mary was on her feet in a snap too, her fists already glowing.

“Girls, that’s enough,” snapped my grandmother, she turned to me with a calculated look. “Is this true? Can you do magic now?”

I raised my hand, letting one of my fingertips glow blue. It took every bit of concentration I had just to muster that. I was a bit perplexed to say the least. Did that mean I could only do magic when I was angry?

My grandmother opened her mouth to say something more but was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

“That must be Melissa,” she said, getting up to answer it.

When she was gone, I shot Mary a look of daggers.

“You had to open your big fat mouth didn’t you?”

She gave me a cruel smile. “Fuck with me bitch and I go all out. I’m not sure why you were trying to hide it though. The way I see it, getting magic must be a blessing to you, Dud.”

I felt my anger start to flare again. Sometimes Mary was the most spoiled little bitch on the face of the planet. We’d had our differences before but whatever had her panties in a twist now was way beyond my comprehension.

I was ready to throw a nasty comeback of my own her way when we were interrupted by the reappearance of our grandmother. She wasn’t alone either; she was followed by a severe looking woman in a gray pants suit. The woman looked from Mary---who visibly paled---to me. When her eyes fell on me, I could tell she was one scary person. They lingered on me longer than I would have liked, making me very uncomfortable indeed.

“Girls this is Miss…,” said my grandmother.

The woman interrupted her. “My name isn’t all that important. Just know that I’m the Inquisitor and that I represent the Coven.”

My grandmother shot her a cold look, one that the woman tried to ignore.

The Inquisitor, just thinking about the name sent a shiver down my spine. Every witch and Dud alike knew about the Inquisitor. She was the Coven’s lackey, the one who investigated when bad things happened. I couldn’t help but feel that somehow this was about me.

The woman took no time getting right to the point.

When she spoke, again my fears were indeed correct. “Miss Daniels.” she said it with a bit of contempt. “What can you tell me about yesterday and an incident involving a young man named Troy Curtis?”

Yep, definitely about me.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.12, the Coven scene as I'm calling it. Sorry for the delay, I was being a bit lazy with this one lol. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWELVE:

“What did you do?”

The question didn’t surprise me; the asker of it did though. Mary was sitting at the table with me, the two of us currently alone. We’d been sitting in silence for so long that I thought she’d forgotten I was there. Minutes after the Inquisitor arrived, Melissa followed. As soon as she got here, the three of them went off to discuss things in private. Mary and I were left alone to glare at one another. It was clear from the look she was giving me that Mary was pissed off but somehow she was trying to play nice over the whole thing.

Talk about confusing.

I decided to answer her question the best way I possibly could: with a shrug.

She gave a disgusted look. “You have to know something; the Inquisitor just doesn’t show up.”

I sighed. “Something happened in town today.”

I quickly told her about the library; then what happened afterwards. But I was pretty certain that no one truly saw what I did. After all, they were all bitching at Troy for attacking me. No one seemed to even notice that my hands glowed and I pushed him on his ass. I guess I was wrong. What didn’t make sense though was the appearance of an Inquisitor. I knew a little about them from my mother and usually they didn’t handle such trivial things as that. Sure, I was in trouble but nothing as severe as sending someone like her to me.

Mary laughed. It was the first time I’d heard her do so since I’d gotten here.

“Man I wish I could have seen his face,” she said.

I smiled and couldn’t help but wonder if maybe my cousin was bipolar. One minute she was a royal bitch and the next she was like this. Looking at her now, I saw shades of the girl I once knew but it was like she was trying too hard to be this other person as well. It made me wonder if something had happened, something that she didn’t want to tell me about?

I didn’t get a chance to ponder it much longer though because a few seconds later, the grownups returned. My grandmother was in the lead. When she walked into the room, she made quick eye contact with me. Before I would have said there was a sliver of human being in her---especially when she talked to me like I was one. Now though---the look she gave me---it was like she was completely forgot about earlier. Not that I was expecting her to give me a hug or shower me with kisses but I was hoping for a shred of respect. I thought I finally had some but whatever shred there was seemed to be long gone. The woman standing before me was the same cold hearted shrew from before, but even worse.

It was the look she was giving me. It was the kind of stare that even Medusa would shy away from.

The Inquisitor and Melissa followed her. There was no way I could read the expression on the Inquisitor’s face because it was the same sour one she gave me when she arrived. Melissa on the other hand was like a book. When she locked eyes with me, there was definite disappointment and something else, sorrow maybe. What was there to be sad about, did something bad happen?

Melissa was the only one who sat at the table. She dropped into the seat next to me and gave my knee a gentle squeeze.

A few seconds later, the Inquisitor spoke.

“Mr. Daniels” she said, putting great emphasis on the mister. “Your grandmother and Miss Williams have just been filling me on your current predicament. I find it very peculiar that this change has happened twice.”

“Neither of which was my doing” I abruptly pointed out.

“So I’m told”

I didn’t like that tone at all.

She continued. “It is also been brought to my attention that as a male you were without any magical talent?” I nodded. “I see.”

I definitely didn’t like the way she said that.

It also occurred to me where she was going with these questions.

“Like I said though, neither of the times that I turned into a girl was my doing.”

“I’ve heard the explanations but I find it hard to believe that you were a Dud before and now miraculously you have powers.”

My grandmother cleared her throat. “That’s not the reason you’re here. I think the Coven would appreciate it if you were to stay on topic.”

The Inquisitor nodded. It was clear that whatever the relationship was between my grandmother and this woman, the Inquisitor seemed to respect my grandmother a lot.

“Now Kelly, can you tell me about Troy Curtis?”

I sighed---I felt like a broken record tonight. So as detailed as I could, I told her everything about Troy. I started with my first encounter and followed through to last night when I blasted him. She listened to the whole story, nodding here and there. When I was done---her floating notebook taking notes the whole time---she waved her hand and the book disappeared.

“You didn’t mention this morning?”

“This morning?”

She sighed heavily. She waved her hand and the notebook reappeared. She flipped it open and read. “At one thirty six am Eastern time, one Troy Curtis was driving rather fast---coming home from a night out on the town. While making the final turn toward home, he lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree.”

“Seriously!?”

It surprised me when Mary asked the same exact thing.

Our grandmother scoffed, the Inquisitor didn’t look amused.

“As enthusiastic as you might be, Mr. Curtis is currently at Brendsen Memorial in a coma.”

Brendsen was the next town over. It was the closest town to Ravencrest even if it was about thirty miles away. Ravencrest didn’t have a hospital, any serious injury was either sent to Brendsen or if it was really bad, they were flown to NYC. If Troy was in Brendsen General it meant he was either not as bad as she was saying or they were waiting to transfer him to the big city.

But all of that meant nothing because the simple truth was that Troy was in the hospital. It was worse than that---well maybe not for Troy----but the Inquisitor thought I had something to do with it. Of course, she didn’t say that in as many words but it was definitely implied.

“You think I did it?”

“You tell me.”

I was about to tell her to go screw herself when I remembered something about last night. Well not last night specifically but about my dream. I was a giant and everyone was a tiny little bug. I remember one of those bugs being Troy and I squashed him. It was just a dream but I could vaguely remember feeling much better. Then there was that whole thing I said to Sophie yesterday about wanting Troy to wrap his car around a tree.

Did I really do it?

The Inquisitor continued. “When a witch uses magic, there is a signature left behind. In most cases, it’s a very small trace, barely able to register. But with young witches, the trace is much stronger because their magic isn’t as refined as a more experienced practitioner’s is. I never would have even bothered if not for the flags that went off.”

She didn’t bother to elaborate on those.

“So I did do it?”

Melissa piped in for the first time. “You don’t know?”

I shrugged. “I had this dream last night where I squashed him but it was a dream right?”

My grandmother and the Inquisitor exchanged a quick glance.

Why didn’t that look good?

“I’m in trouble aren’t I?”

The next person who spoke was my grandmother. Her tone was surprisingly warm given how she kept glaring at me.

“We won’t know for certain until the Coven has a chance to examine the evidence.” She turned to the Inquisitor. “Grace, send for a car.”

The Inquisitor nodded and left the room.

“What’s going on?”

“You need to meet with the Coven”

The ride to the old Crowley house was a quiet one. When Mr. Wilkes arrived, the only person who got into the car with me was Melissa. Apparently, my grandmother would come in another one. I’m not sure where Mary was going or if she was coming at all. Melissa and I didn’t say much, which was fine by me. It gave some time to think. This whole situation just kept better and better. First Mary turned me into a girl then back into a guy. I turned back into a girl and discovered I had magic. That little bit should have thrilled me except for the simple fact that I somehow put one of my classmates into a coma. Not that he didn’t deserve it of course. OK, so maybe he didn’t but a guy like Troy needed to get his ass kicked whenever possible.

I just never thought it would happen.

It scared the hell out of me. I’d never heard of a witch being able to use magic like that. There were all kinds, of course. It wasn’t uncommon for individual families to have specialties. The Crawfords for instance specialized in defensive spells. I didn’t really know much about it except that my mother could cast things like shields and Wards. In Calcutta two years ago we met a witch who could levitate which was really cool. I remember asking my mother if she could do it as well but apparently, a witch had to have an aptitude for certain things. My mother didn’t have one for that kind of magic. I tried to get her to clarify more but she told me that it was wrong to ask those kinds of things. Now I wish I had pushed her about it a little more.

The car came to a slow stop about twenty minutes after leaving the house---another one of those strange Ravencrest rides. I tried to open the door but realized it was actually locked from the outside. I tapped on the partition, hoping to get Mr. Wilkes’ attention. I didn’t want to stay in this car any longer than I had to. I knew about the Coven by reputation only. Because we lived in a Norm town back home, my parents didn’t have to worry about one. In fact, the closest Coven to us was in San Diego. Occasionally they would make trips there to check in. I knew for a fact that there were two big ones in the northeast, one here in Ravencrest and the other in some small New England town.

Major cities like New York didn’t really have a lot of magic concentration to them. There were a lot of Unseen but they had different rules and regulations.

San Diego apparently was one of the rare exceptions to that rule.

“Don’t be so eager” said Melissa as I tugged on the door again.

I huffed. “I want to get this over with as quick as possible.”

I was trying to put on a brave front but truthfully, I was mortified. I tried to run from her the other day for a reason. I’d heard a lot of stories about Covens and they terrified me.

Melissa put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Relax.”

I sighed. “You don’t think they’re going to punish me do you?”

She laughed.”They rarely ever punish anyone. I’m not sure what you’ve heard but they’re not the bad guys.”

“What if I am?”

She took her hand off my shoulder and pulled me into a hug. She held me tight. I wanted to cry; instead, I closed my eyes and rested my head on her shoulder. What I did to Troy was unheard of. I knew something about that dream was off, I should have said something but I stupidly kept my mouth shut. I’d done nothing but stupid things in the last few days. I should have let Melissa tell the Coven about my second change immediately but no, I had to be the idiot. Now here I was in a really bad situation and no matter how much Melissa tried to sugarcoat things, I was in trouble. Public displays of magic were one thing but to actively attack someone---conscious of the act or not---was really bad.

When we finally pulled out of the hug and I opened my eyes, I saw her smiling.

“You’re going to be fine. This isn’t really an official Coven hearing anyway. They’re just going to assess the situation and figure out the next course of action.”

I was reassured by that but only a little.

A moment later, Mr. Wilkes opened my door. “Sorry for the delay ladies.”

It felt weird to be called a lady.

Mr. Wilkes held his hand out and I took it. That felt a little weird. He helped me out of the car and I turned slightly to a look at my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was the large open space. On the car ride over it looked like we were going to the middle of nowhere, in fact it felt like it now. Looking around now it definitely didn’t feel like it. I saw a well manicured landscape complete with hedgerows, flower gardens and marble statues. Turning around I clearly saw a stone wall and iron gate. The car was parked on a road from which a white stone walk led up to one of the biggest houses I’d ever seen. It wasn’t the biggest house in Ravencrest of course but I was never able to see the Locke’s house from the road because of their wall.

So by process of limitation this was definitely the biggest.

It was made of red brick with several peaks---gables---and lots of windows. It was a bit gaudy in places with arches and pillars but I suppose that’s how they liked it back then. I didn’t really know much about Crowley. I didn’t know much about the history of Ravencrest in general. I knew that a lot of the kids used to call this place the old Crowley house and one of the summers I visited, Mary and her friends tried to convince me it was haunted. Looking at the large place in front of me there was nothing haunted about it. Sure, it looked as creepy as hell---it had that haunted house vibe to it---but the lush green vegetation and vibrant colored flowers dispelled any possible haunting as far as I was concerned.

“Right this way ladies,” said Mr. Wilkes.

Melissa and I followed him down the white stone path.

I started to get a creepy vibe the closer we got to the house though. The path was lined with tall hedges and statues. The statues weren’t creepy but the hedges reminded me a bit of the ones from The Shining. That movie freaked the hell out of me. As we got closer to the house though, the hedges dropped away, replaced by flowerbeds. The sweet fragrance of mums and lilies filled the air. I couldn’t but wonder if the flowers were perhaps magicked because they were so bright and beautiful.

When we got to the large porch, the front door opened and a woman greeted us. There was something vaguely familiar about her features. Though in her sixties at least, I could definitely see Maggie in her face. If I were to guess, I’d say she was Maggie’s grandmother at least.

She had a warm smile and when she spoke; her voice had a gentle tone. “You must be Kelly. Maggie has told us so much about you.” She took my hands in hers and gave them a gentle squeeze. “I must say though I wasn’t expecting a pretty young girl?”

I sighed. “It’s complicated.”

The old woman chuckled. “In this town, we’ve seen it all I suppose. You’re not the first new young woman to appear in this house after all.”

Why didn’t that surprise me?

Still holding my hands, she led me into the large house.

I was surprised at the interior. From the outside, I was expecting something grand but things were pretty simple. It was a mishmash of modern and old style, too. There was a lot of old wooden furniture, velvet and elegant but there were also a lot of modern conveniences too. When we passed by the main room for instance the whole arrangement was very modern including the surround sound speakers, giant flatscreen and the large fish tank that dominated one whole wall. The bright colorful fish inside seemed to be the focal point. There was a small boy---maybe five or six---standing in front of it, staring at them.

“Timothy, stop staring at the fish.”

The boy turned and smiled, his two front teeth missing. “Ok, Grammy.”

He didn’t stop looking at the fish though.

Like the older woman, I could see Maggie in his features as well.

The old woman---who finally introduced herself as Joanna---led me further through the house. She talked as we walked, telling me about this and that. Some rooms we went by quickly, others she stopped at their entries and told me about them. One of them appeared to be a small sitting room; it looked like it belonged in the 1900s. Unlike the rest of the rooms, this one didn’t appear to be touched at all by the modern world. I saw a small fireplace, an old wooden desk and bookshelves. There were lots of old leather bound books. My attention though was drawn to the large portrait above the fireplace. It was a youthful looking man with a dull expression.

“Master Crowley” said Joanna “the portrait originally hung in the main room but after the most recent renovations in there, we moved it here.”

I smiled. “You have a lovely home.”

She chuckled. “It’s not our home dear, we’re merely the caretakers.”

After that, we continued our little tour. It ended toward the back of the large house, in what I think was called a sunroom. There was a little table set up for tea but there was no one present except for a large dog. As soon as we stepped into the room, the dog came bounding over. I loved dogs. It annoyed me that we couldn’t have one but Mom didn’t want Diamond to have any disturbances as she called it. A dog would complicate things apparently. Besides that witches had cats, they were the only pets permitted as Familiars.

I bent and started to pet her.

“Buttercup” said a familiar voice from behind me. “What are you doing in here?”

I turned to find Maggie standing behind us. The dog left me and padded over to her before disappearing down the hall. Maggie smiled at me but it was a bit strained. It was nice being at her house but given the circumstances, I could see where she might be a little uneasy.

“I’ll leave you girls alone,” said Joanna as she left.

I sighed. I’d been a lousy friend so far, especially after taking off on her. Then she apparently called my cell like a hundred times, worried sick. I’d been so wrapped up in things that I never once called her back. She probably hated my guts right about now.

Maggie walked over to me and I prepared to be slapped. Instead, she surprised me by giving me a hug.

“What was that for?” I asked when she pulled away.

“I was so worried about you. Then I heard about all of this and I thought something horrible happened.”

“I think it did.”

She nodded. “I heard about Troy.”

“They think I did it and the scary thing is I think they might be right.”

Maggie’s eyes widened a bit and I quickly spoke in a hushed tone, telling her everything that happened after I left the library yesterday. When I was done, she shook her head.

“You can’t be held accountable for something you might have done in your sleep.”

“I’ve heard of stranger things.”

“You want to hear strange. The Coven rarely meets these days and this year so far they’ve met two months in a row.”

“Two months?”

She nodded. “Last month something happened with the Weres. I’m not really sure what but Tracy was here and it was a big mess.”

Tracy, Mary’s friend? Trevor’s sister.

“What did she have to do with it?”

Maggie’s eyes bugged out. “The Lockes are Werewolves, you didn’t know that?”

I shook my head. Holy shit, Trevor was a Were. He seemed so normal. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I didn’t really have all that much interaction with them, Weres, I mean. We ran into them every once in a while during our travels but they were a solitary bunch, kept mostly to themselves. There was also this thing about Weres and Witches, our two races didn’t really get along all that well. I’m not sure why. I was kind of mind-blowing though to know that not only was Mary friends with one but two Weres.

“Did Trevor come too?”

Maggie looked at me strangely. “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

She laughed. “Trevor and Tracy…”

“Maggie” said Joanna behind us, interrupting whatever she was about to say. “Our other guests are arriving.”

Maggie sighed. “I have to get going. I’ll tell you the big secret later”

She gave me a hug then left.

Joanna walked over to me. “This is an unofficial gathering. The Coven doesn’t usually meet under circumstances like this but they’ve made an exception. If you wait here they’re be with you in a moment.”

With that, she smiled, turned and walked slowly out the door.

A moment later, someone spoke behind me:

“Kelly, be a dear and shut the doors please.”

I jumped. Startled I snapped around and was surprised to see that the once vacant table and chairs were now completely occupied. There were seven women sitting there now, one of them---Cassie---was pouring some tea. I scanned their faces, shocked and awed. I wasn’t shocked to see my grandmother sitting there though. I was a bit surprised to see Mrs. Donovan though, the kindly old woman from the diner. I think she was the one who spoke earlier because she was the only one looking at me.

“Kelly; the doors” said my grandmother, shaking me out of my stupor.

I quickly snapped around and pulled the doors shut.

Mrs. Donovan smiled. “That’s good, dear” Then she held up a teacup. “Would you like some tea?”

I shook my head. What the hell was going on?”

I stunned into silence for a moment and when I finally did find my voice, I stumbled out two words: “What, who?”

The collection of women laughed.

Cassie stood up, giving the others a look before walking over to me. “I know it’s a lot to process. We’re definitely not what you were expecting I’m sure but most of that cloak and dagger stuff is for show.”

I was still too numb to move but I did speak. “Don’t tell me you’re the…”

Cassie nodded. “Guilty as charged.”

“Cassandra, you’re just confusing the poor girl more” said another of the women.

“Girl” hugged another. “She’s no girl. She might look like one but it is an enchantment after all Margaret.”

“That’s what we’re here to find out Dolores,” said Margaret.

The two of them started bickering back and forth. It was silenced however when my grandmother stood up. The other six women in the room looked at her. I looked at her too. I realized then that these women seemed smaller when my grandmother stood. Well not smaller in a physical sense of course but it was as if she seemed to tower over them, bringing an air of superiority to her. I couldn’t help but feel a bit in awe of her myself. At home, she was just my grandmother but here she felt like she controlled the whole room.

I felt like a child again.

“Kelly why don’t you have a seat, we have much to discuss.”

I shook my head. “I think I’d prefer to stand.”

Cassie placed her hands gently on my shoulders and led me over to the table. Suddenly there was another chair there which she gently pushed me in to. I didn’t resist in the least. My grandmother smiled as Cassie took her empty seat then she too sat down. As soon as she did, the women seemed to visibly relax.

“We’re not here to pass any kind of judgment today,” my grandmother said, her voice had a gentle but firm tone to it. “We are here to discuss the nature of my grandchild and what must be done about it.”

I’m not sure I liked the sound of that.

“I thought I was here to talk about what happened with Troy?”

Mrs. Donovan spoke. “That incident has already been handled. The young man in question was put into a coma by us. His injuries from the crash were not severe; he will wake in a day or two without any memory of anything from the last few days.”

I couldn’t help but sigh. “Then why did the Inquisitor make it sound like I did it.”

Mrs. Donovan chuckled. “Grace has a flair for the dramatics”. She cast a look at Dolores. “Like her mother.”

Dolores huffed, giving Mrs. Donovan a cross look.

“So I didn’t hurt him?”

“You caused the crash” said Dolores with contempt “but the boy was unharmed.”

“That’s not why we’re here,” said my grandmother.

Margaret spoke. “My granddaughter has already told me all about the change. She’s been with the girl since the second time; she called me the moment it happened. Kelly didn’t do this to herself; whatever brought it about was not within her control.”

All the women cast glances at one another. Then they all looked at my grandmother.

“The tests on the matter have come back inconclusive. We could run more but I fear they’d give us the same results. Like Melissa suggested to him earlier, the changes will keep coming. He could be back to a boy tomorrow and girl a few hours after that. The changes are reckless.”

Perhaps a blocker then?”

The woman who spoke hadn’t spoken before. She was sitting in-between Mrs. Donovan and Cassie.

My grandmother nodded. “I was thinking the same thing.”

She reacted down to a bag at her feet and when she came back up, she was holding a small necklace case. She opened it up and took out the necklace inside. It was a simple silver chain with a little silver pendant on the end. When she held it up, the light caught it slightly. The pendant looked like a little moon. It had a cheap look to it but I could tell that there was some power to it as well. Looking at it, I couldn’t help but feel that belonged to me.

“I made this the night of the first change,” she said as she stood up. “I crafted a bit of your blood and a strand of your hair into the weave.”

She walked around the table and stood behind me. She held my hair and then fastened the necklace around my neck. She dropped my hair a second later. I reached up and touched the pendant, feeling a spark. I pulled away my hand quickly.

“What does it do?”

As soon as I spoke, I realized my question was already answered. I hear it in my voice, no longer the melodious tone it had been before. It was back to a tone I was more than familiar with, my own. I reached up and touched my throat, feeling the Adam’s Apple. Then I looked at my hand, realizing it was no longer as small and dainty as before. Looking down at my flat chest only confirmed it and I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
I was back to being a boy.

When I looked up, I was shocked to see that everyone but my grandmother were gone. I blinked, amazed at the power of magic that these women used.

“Is this permanent?” I asked, surprised at how strange I thought I sounded now.

My grandmother sighed. “Only time will tell.”

She stood up and walked toward the doors. She stopped before pulling them open, turning to say one last thing.

“For what it’s worth, I think it’s better this way.”

She pulled open the doors and left.

I sat there stunned. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I didn’t expect this. Sure, I wanted this but I was certain that there was no going back.

“You OK?” asked Maggie’s soft voice as she walked into the room.

I turned to her and nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Then why are you crying?”

I reached up and touched my cheek, not even realizing it until I felt the wetness. I was crying, how had I not noticed. That scared me a little but not as much as the confusion of the tears. Was I crying because I was happy to be a boy again or was it because I was no longer a girl?

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: See right back to Season just like I promised. Everyone seemed to think I was abandoning this story lol. My Dearest Daughter was something I had planned for a while actually, I was just waiting for Maggie to finish Cindy's story before I could write it. i'm afraid not a lot happens in this one but I promise to have some action in the next. But now that that's out of the way I can finally get back to Kelly. I'd like to thank djkauf for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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THIRTEEN:

It was hard to look in the mirror now and not see my female self. Even now that I was back to being a boy, I could still see her. It didn’t help that after this last change back, my hair was longer again and my face was even softer. I almost had to squint now to not notice it. I still looked a bit like me but there was a lot of her there as well. Even now as I stood here without my shirt, I started to notice other changes as well. My nipples looked bigger and my body was a lot thinner than before. I never really had any muscles to begin with but those I did have were now different. I can’t really explain it. Then there was my hips and butt both of which looked definitely bigger.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening. It seemed every time I turned back I was losing a part of myself to her.

That wasn’t the scariest thing about all of this either. The scariest thing was the fact that I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. It’s been nearly a week since my grandmother and the Coven gave me that necklace and so far it’s been working. I’m me again, the boy I was meant to be. I thought that by changing back things would finally be different. For the most part they were. Everyone at school who thought of me as a girl no longer did, I was back in boy’s PE and Jack had finally stopped hitting on me all the time. In fact, he had started to pursue someone else. My grandmother told me the Coven took care of all that. I’m not sure what they did but it was like the girl me never existed. I thought it would be absolutely perfect, finally being able to be myself. I got to be myself through Thanksgiving, got to sit there and wonder about my parents and worry. Got to be a bit envious of Mary too, she was happy and I felt off.

I felt empty.

My thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the bathroom door. I quickly pulled my shirt on, even though my hair was still pretty damp from the shower. Upon opening the door, I found Mary.

“You know you may be a guy again but you sure spend a lot of time in the bathroom.”

She was back to being a bitch again.

I didn’t respond. Though we were speaking to one another again, we didn’t really have much to say. I think Mary was more thrilled than anyone to see that I was back to normal. It was clear that throwing her down the hall like that really pissed her off. I guess I couldn’t really blame her. I would have been pissed too, especially if my previously Dud cousin was the one who did it. I couldn’t help but sigh a bit, as I thought about it though. For a very small moment, I had magic. The thing I’d dreamed about my whole life and now it was gone. Of course, I tried doing some after I changed back, I tried for hours but there was nothing. So as a girl, I was a powerful witch and as a guy, I was a nothing.

Thanks a lot Powers That Be.

After I finished getting dressed, I headed into the kitchen. My grandmother was sitting at the table, coffee cup in hand.

“Have you thought about what you want to do for your birthday?”

Wow. I never thought I’d hear those words out of her mouth. Sure, my grandmother always sent me a card on my birthday with some money but I couldn’t remember the last time she actually showed up to one of my parties. Frankly, with everything that had been going on, I almost forgot it was coming up. Sure it was in the back of my mind but without my parents around. I figured it was going to go ignored this year.

Mom and Dad talked about a big party with all my friends. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I didn’t really have any.

“Can I have a party?” I asked.

She set down her coffee and stared at me for a minute or so. “If that’s what you want.”

“What does he want?” asked Mary as she came into the room, drying her hair.

It amazed me how quickly she took a shower.

“Your cousin’s birthday is this weekend. We were discussing what he wanted to do for it.”

It was strange to have such a normal conversation with these people. It was almost like we were a real family and actually liked one another.

“So he gets a party?”

“We were just discussing it. Before you complain, I seem to remember you not wanting a party for your 16th birthday, something about Sweet 16’s being clichéd and overrated.”

“But he gets one” she snapped. “He’s a guy.”

For a split second I almost shouted, “I am not” until I realized what she just said. She called me a guy, not a girl. It was a rarity for me. I was glad I stopped myself though because for a split second I actually forgot I was a guy. That little bit scared me. Over the past week, I kept catching myself doing things---like almost walking into the girl’s room, looking at myself in the mirror more. I even mistakenly started gossiping with Maggie at lunch the other day. I got a strange look from both her and Misty and an even stranger one from our new table buddy---Jack. What was worse was the fact that none of them remembered the girl me. Whatever spell the Coven used, it made everyone in town---except me and the witches---forget about female Kelly.

Sadly, I couldn’t forget and that was part of the problem.

“So Kelly, the choice is yours”

A real party, with actual friends.

“I can invite anyone?”

“It is your party.”

I smiled. “I think a party would be great.”

Of course, I didn’t know the first thing about parties. Back at home, most of my birthday parties consisted of me and Tommy sitting around playing computer games. We’d have dinner with my parents, cake and ice cream then a sleepover. It was like that year after year. We did the same thing when Tommy’s birthday came around. Every once in a while his parties would have some of his family but it was usually the two of us, best buds for life. Well it used to be that way. I was pretty convinced that this year was going to be different. It was already different. Tommy was born in July so when his party came over the summer, he neglected to invite me. Not that I would have wanted to go, it was one of those big boy girl parties. Lots of music and dancing---something I wasn’t really interested in.

“We should make a list” sad Maggie as the two of us walked down the hall.

“What for?”

She rolled her eyes. “For your party. Tell me who you want to invite and put them on the list.”

“You, of course, and the other Duds. Misty definitely” I sighed. “I really don’t know that many more people.”

By that time, the two of us had walked into the lunchroom. We got in line, slowly moving along as usual. It was definitely a strange day but no different than the ones I’d been having all week. Though I looked more like a girl than ever before, everyone thought of me as a guy. Whatever magic spell was used to change their minds was amazing. Weeks ago I would have been thrilled by that prospect but for some reason I felt a little let down. I’m not saying I didn’t want to be called a boy---that was a dream come true actually---I was just a little surprised that no one thought of me as a girl anymore. I was so used to it that I didn’t know to react otherwise.

We went through the line and found our usual table. Jack was already there with Misty. He was pouring on the charm like usual. Misty didn’t seem too impressed by it though.

“One date”

“No.”

“C’mon” whined Jack, trying to woo her with puppy dog eyes. “You might really enjoy my company.”

“You’re not my type.”

Misty had come a long way from the cold and quiet girl hiding in the back of the classroom. She was still a little cold but I think making friends with her helped a lot. She didn’t dress as masculine now, either. She wasn’t wearing a skirt of course but she had ditched the hoodie. Surprisingly I did as well. There was no reason to hide myself away now that everyone thought I was a guy. The hair bothered me a bit though---I currently had it pulled back in a ponytail. The strange thing was that no one seemed to notice or they thought it had always been that way. Mary kept scoffing at it though, she being one of the few who remembered what had happened.

When we got to the table, Jack turned to me. “Dude, Kelly, tell her what a great guy I am.”

“I can’t because I’m not prone to lying.”

Maggie and Misty laughed.

“That’s cold dude.”

“Ok guys” said Maggie after she was done laughing. “It’s Kelly’s birthday party this weekend and you’re both invited.”

“Count me in,” said Jack.

“I’m not sure if…” Misty turned and looked across the lunchroom, toward the table Mary was sitting at.

“Screw her,” I said, “she’s not in control of things in our house.

You’re my guest and I want you there.”

Misty smiled at that. “I’ll try to make it.”

After that, Maggie got up and started making the rounds. Ever since the first day I’d met her, she was starting to open up a lot more. She’d been moving through the inner circle of geekdom in Ravencrest High. I was happy for her, too. Maggie had been such a quiet, shy girl at first but now she was really opening up. I found her currently talking to a group of guys I knew from Gym, two of them---Takeshi and Wallace---sometimes sat with us. From there it was onto a table of girls---Ashley, Leslie and Jan. They were a bit outside our social circle but I saw what Maggie was trying to do. She knew that I didn’t really know a lot of people so she was trying to get me as many friends as possible. The last table she went to of course was Mary.

Mary cast me a nasty glance. One of these days, I was going to have to get to the bottom of her malfunction.

Eventually Maggie came back to us.

“Ok so mission successful. I’ve managed to secure Takeshi and Wallace, Ashley is a definite, Leslie and Jan are maybes. Greg said he’d be there and Tracy too but I think your cousin might try to talk them out of it.”

“You think Charlie and the others would come?” I asked, hopeful.

Charlie and I didn’t really hit it off but I was hoping to change that.

“I can ask,” said Maggie, giving me a hopeful smile.

Ok so I wasn’t sure how many people would eventually show up but at least my first successful birthday party was well on its way.

The ringing of my cell woke me. I was lying on my back again---something that I’d been doing since after changing back. I guess those nights as a girl, trying not to squish my breasts had ingrained something in me. When I felt the weight though, I thought for a split second that they’d actually come back. As soon as I opened my eyes, however I was slightly disappointed to see that it was in fact Diamond. Yes, disappointed. It was hard to even think that but it was the truth. What sane, normal guy was disappointed to not wake up with breasts?

I tried to force that thought away as I scrabbled for the night stand. I grabbed my cell, glad it was still ringing.

“Hello” I croaked in a groggy tone.

“Oh sweetie, it’s so good to hear your voice.”

I snapped up instantly in bed, Diamond flew across the room. I think there might have even been a thud when he hit the wall.

“Mom” I gasped, instantly awake.

“I didn’t wake you did I?”

“Yes, but I don’t care” I said, finding tears running down my face. “It’s just so good to hear your voice too, I’ve really missed you.”

I could hear the tears in Mom’s voice too. “I’m really sorry about all this sweetie. Your father and I are glad you’re safe. We were a little worried these last few days. Your grandmother called us after…well after what happened.”

“I’m fine Mom. There was a little strangeness for a bit but it’s better now. I’m back to my old self.”

I felt a bit hollow saying that though.

“You don’t’ sound so sure. Is everything ok?”

I wanted to lie to her but I couldn’t. She was my mother after all; she could always tell I was lying. So I told her the truth, told her about my confusion, about my fear. I finally admitted to her and myself that I kind of liked being a girl. I’m not saying I wanted to be one but something about it felt right. That was the real part of all of this that I was afraid to admit. I was scared of what saying that might mean, I was still scared telling her too. I let it all out though. All my fears, all my joys. It was scary sure but it was a bit liberating too. All week it had been bottling up, most of it I didn’t really understand until it came out of my mouth.

It was so simple though. I was a guy who felt better as a girl.

“Can I ask you one question honey?” she asked when I was finished.

“It’s not bad is it?”

She laughed. “Not at all” I sighed before she continued. “What I want to know is do you feel happy when you’re a girl?”

I wanted to say yes right away but I gave myself some time to think.

Mom took my silence to mean something else.

“It’s OK that you’re unsure. You need time to think about it and I understand that. You and I can discuss it more when I get back.”

“When are you getting back?”

“Soon I hope.”

“Does that mean you caught them?”

Mom took a moment then sighed. “No, it’s strange. The last time we were here they went out of their way to try and stop us but now…” her voice trailed off. She laughed. “You don’t want to hear about this. I don’t want to talk about it either. I called for a reason. My baby is turning sixteen tomorrow.”

“Mom” I groaned at being called a baby.

She ignored it of course. “Your father and I are a bit upset about not being there but I promise we’ll make it up to you when we get back. I’ll throw you a great party. How does that sound?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that my grandmother was already doing that so I told her it sounded great. Hopefully that was one of the lies that she didn’t detect.

After that, she wanted to know everything about my time as a girl. I gave her the cliff notes version. I think she rather enjoyed it. I tried to leave nothing out. I even made the mistake of telling her about Jack. She got a kick out of that one. She laughed for quite a while which was not embarrassing for me in the least. When I got to the part about the magic though, she went real quiet. For a moment, I thought she’d actually hung up on me.

“Mom, is everything OK?”

“I suppose it makes sense,” she finally said. “You had no gift as a boy but of course as a girl your magic would have to manifest itself. I tell me you didn’t do anything stupid?”

I lied again. I’m not sure she believed it or not but she didn’t say anything.

“Mom” I said after another long moment of silence. “I’m kind of scared. I’m not sure what’s happening. I…I…wish you and Dad were here.”

The tears started flowing again.

“I wish we were there too, baby,” Mom was crying again. “When I get back, I’m going to want to braid this new hair of yours.”

“As long as there’s no bows.”

“Deal.”

My phone beeped after that, signaling the fact that the battery was low.

“I love you Mom,” I said, hoping it didn’t die before I got that out of my mouth.

“I lo…”

The phone went dead.

I held onto it for a while, crying. I’m not sure what I was crying about more though. The fact that I missed my mother so much or that I was never going to be a girl again, the one I just realized I liked being. I sat there and cried for a while. When I finally stopped, I got up and put my phone on the charger. With that out of the way, I started my morning routine. In the shower, I found myself taking the time to wash my new delicate and much softer hair. As I was doing that, I couldn’t help but notice that my nipples were a lot more tender than usual. I was transfixed by them the whole time I was in the shower. When I finally got out and looked at myself in the mirror, I realized them were a bit puffy too.

Must be the hot water.

Going to my room to get dressed, I found my pants a bit tight too. It wasn’t that I was gaining weight but it was almost as if my hips had gotten wider. I finally have up on the boy’s jeans and went to one of my shopping bags. It saddened me that Maggie didn’t remember going shopping with girl me. I pulled out one of my pairs of jeans and put them on. It scared me how well they actually fit. It also scared me that I enjoyed wearing them. Thankfully, my shirt went on without a problem. Before leaving, I stopped to grab my hoodie. I realized then that not only did I not need it, I didn’t really want it either. I left the room and headed down the stairs. When I walked into the kitchen, I felt lighter than air.

Mary was sitting at the table. She gave me a strange look when I entered.

“What the hell is up with you?”

“My Mom called,” I said happily, dropping into my usual chair.

“That’s great but the perky is freaking me out.”

Our grandmother came into the room after. We discussed the party, what I wanted to do and what she was willing to give me. It came down to the basics---at least on her end. I was to provide anything else. I was surprised when Mary said she’d help, she could get Tracy to lend us some high-end entertainment equipment. With that settled, breakfast was kind of quiet. After breakfast, the two of us headed outside to get our bikes. I was surprised though when a car pulled up with Tracy behind the wheel.

“Later loser” said Mary, running to the car.

When she opened the passenger door, I heard Tracy say. “Doesn’t Kelly want a ride too?”

Mary responded “No” and closed the door.

So much for things being different.

I went to our garage to get the bike Tracy had so nicely lent me. As I was taking it out, I noticed both tires were flat. I cursed. A small part of me was convinced that Mary did it out of spite. She said she hadn’t wanted a sweet 16 party but she sure was pretty pissed when my grandmother offered me one. I just never thought she’d go as low as popping my tires. Mary was out of control, someone really needed to put the little bitch in her place.

If I still had magic, I would definitely do it.

I could stew on things that might be though. Right now I had to worry about the here and the now. The here was school and if I didn’t get to it I was going to be in deep you-know-what. School was usually a fifteen minute ride by bike every morning, sometimes faster if I wasn’t being so lazy. I’m not sure how long it was to walk but I knew if I didn’t start moving, I was definitely going to be late. It was Friday; I didn’t want to be late because I might end up with Saturday morning detention or something. I know, it’s usually three strikes but that whole stunt of Melissa’s---taking me out of school like that, well it had some repercussions. Sure, I was with her but she did it without permission so we both got penalized for it. I got off with a warning but was told if I did anything like that, again I was going to be punished. I liked McC but he tended to be a little harsh when it came to things like that. It was like the man was an old man living in a younger man’s body; his methods already way out dated.

I stopped thinking about punishment and started walking.

I just hoped that that crazy Ravencrest thing didn’t kick in now. All I needed was to make it to school an hour after I left home. I asked my grandmother about it the other day and at first, she pretended she didn’t know what I was talking about but I pressed her further. She finally confessed it had something to do with the nature of the town. The town itself was built on some kind of magical vortex, that’s the reason there was a large concentration of Unseen here. Any one place in the world has Unseen but Ravencrest had one of the largest populations. There were other magical vortices like this too but not necessarily in the same form. She mentioned a town in New England for example, a place I’d heard my parents mention once or twice.

My grandmother’s explanation made me wonder about this place. Did that mean Ravencrest chose who to screw with? It was strange that one day it would take ten minutes to get to some place and the next it would take forty-five. Or was it just that some people had all the luck and others were just unfortunate enough to get screwed. It was something interesting to ponder but definitely not something to think about as you were trying to get to some place fast.

I picked up my pace, hoping that maybe I could get there at a brisk walk. The worse part of it though was the fact that after leaving our little neighborhood, everything was up hill for about five minutes. Well, five minutes by bike, it was probably going to be more like ten on foot. I tried not to think about that as I pressed on, huffing up the hill. At the top, I could see the school in the distance. I cursed because there were people slowly filing their way inside. Usually a lot of the kids milled around outside for a while and didn’t really start ushering in until it was close to the bell ringing. Seeing the large group going in now told me that I was definitely going to be late.

I started run down the hill as fast as I could.

I was halfway down when I heard the car. I didn’t think anything of it at first because there were always cars coming over the hill. It wasn’t until it got a bit closer that I stopped to take a look. It was the revving of the engine that made me pause. What I saw sent a horrible chill up my spine: it was a black car, a very familiar black car. It was barreling toward me pretty fast, too fast. I cursed and unfroze, putting on speed. The car revved its engine; I could hear it pick up speed. It was those fucking bastards but how did they know I was here. I thought we lost them at the airport, I thought that I was supposed to be safe here.

How safe was this?

I ran as hard and as fast as I could. Sadly, only The Flash could actually out run a car. Any minute I was certain they were going to slam their bumper into the back of my legs and then it was going to be all over. I could feel the car, it was right behind me. I could almost hear those smug bastards laughing. I closed my eyes, tears running wildly down my cheeks. I didn’t stop running though; I just knew it was inevitable. But it didn’t happen. I forced my eyes open. The car whipped past me, barreling down the road a bit before it came to a screeching halt. I knew their plan. They didn’t want to kill me; they were just trying to grab me. It was just like before, back at home on the bridge. I had no idea what these guys wanted but it was clear I was part of their plan.

I came to an abrupt halt as well. I was at the bottom of the hill now; they were about hundred feet ahead of me. The passenger side door opened and Scar Face stepped out. Seeing him sent a sudden chill up and down my spine.

“End of the road kid” he said loudly as he started walking toward me. “Let’s not make this any messier than it has to be.”

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I looked around, trying to find some way to escape. If I could just make it past them, I could definitely run the rest of the way to the school. But they had their car turned sideways in the road. The only way forward was to get past them and that was out of question. Calling for help was out of the question too because stupidly my cell was back home charging. One of these days, I was going to remember to charge it beforehand.

“This is stupid,” said Scar Face, he was almost on top of me now.

“There’s nowhere to go.”

I snapped to the left. The great thing about this particular stretch of road was the fact that there was woods on either side of it. I heard rumors of kids taking shortcuts through them to school all the time but I never really bothered with it because I always had the bike. Now though it seemed like the only option open to me.

Scar Face was within ten feet of me now. I could see the smug look on his face, as he got closer.

I took a deep breath and made a break for the woods. I heard him curse loudly and then he gave chase. I reached the woods first, crashing through the underbrush. A few seconds later, I heard him do the same. Thankfully, the woods were to my advantage. This particular section of it was heavily overgrown and a lot of the trees were closer together. Where I could squeeze through the gaps with ease, I could hear him cursing. It didn’t take long for me to realize he was no longer chasing me but I didn’t stop. I pressed on, tears flowing, heart pounding. When I finally found the end of the forest, I burst through.

I was on the east lawn of the school. The building was looming right in front of me. I took a moment to stop and catch my breath. Then I put whatever energy I had left into run and made a break for it. When I got to the building, I pulled the door open and practically threw myself inside. I stopped and caught my breath for a moment, wiped my tears and headed to class.

That was close. Too close.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Ok so don't expect the next chapter to be up so quickly. I was couldn't get to sleep last night so I ended up writing this. I'm usually not this fast with chapters nor do I have them done so quickly. So consider this a treat :) I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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FOURTEEN:

I snapped awake, panting heavily. Looking around, it took me a moment to realize I was in my room and not back on that road. I’d had a wild nightmare, reliving the events of yesterday. Except this time, the two goons actually got a hold of me and dragged me kicking and screaming back to the car. I tried to fight them but they were too strong. They held me down and tore off my clothes. When they did, instead of being a guy I was back to being a girl. I tried screaming but it was no use. They threw me in their trunk after that and then drove. It felt like I was in the trunk for days and when it finally opened, well that’s when I woke up.

My heart was pounding just thinking about it.

I sat up, allowing the covers to slowly slide off my very sticky frame. I was drenched in sweat. My long hair was matted to my head, my shirt was clinging to my breasts. I sighed heavily, prying the wet clinging fabric away. It wasn’t until I looked down did I realize what had just happened. Breasts, there were breasts on my chest. They weren’t very big---probably an A cup---but they were there nonetheless. A wave of panic swept over me but it slowly ebbed away, replaced by joy. I had breasts again, OK, so they weren’t the same as my previous ones but they were there and they were mine. I quickly pulled off my shirt and got a better look at them. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

I jumped out of bed and pulled off my boxers. Sadly, I was still a guy down there but up top was all that mattered. I ran over to the floor length mirror on the wall and took a good look. I looked like my female self again, save for a few small differences. The pendant my grandmother gave me still hung around my neck though. I reached up and touched it gently. This thing was supposed to keep me as a guy; it was supposed to contain the change. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened. I also couldn’t help but wonder why I was so happy. Sure, I confessed to my mother how much I liked being a girl but at the same time, I really wanted to be a boy.

Well, I thought I did, anyway.

It was strange now, like the flipping of a switch.

I stared at myself for a while before deciding I needed to get ready to face the day. I opened the door and slipped out into the hallway. I rushed to the bathroom, making sure no one saw me. When I peed, I sat down on the toilet not even thinking about it. In the shower, I lost myself to the water. I closed my eyes and let it wash over me, ridding me of all my fears and doubts. My biggest doubt being yesterday, of course. I’m not sure why I didn’t rush off to tell someone. When I got into class after the incident, it was the only thing I could think about. I wanted to rush right off to Melissa’s office and tell her everything, but as class progressed, I stopped thinking about it. Sure, it was scary but they never did anything dangerous. They wanted to kidnap me but they failed. The more I thought about it the rest of the day, the more I realized that they were only trying to scare me.

It just didn’t seem all that important by the end of the day.

Now though, I couldn’t realize how stupid I’d been. Why the hell didn’t I tell someone? Why didn’t I rush right to Melissa’s?

The shower stopped being relaxing. I cursed and shut off the water. I got out quickly, making sure to cover myself properly with a towel. I rushed back to my room and got dressed. I found myself using the ace bandage again. After all, I was supposed to be a guy. I was afraid that my grandmother might try something more drastic to make me that way permanently. I paused at the top of the stairs before going down. I got all my facts straight, even came up with a reason why I didn’t tell anyone yesterday. I took a deep breath and marched down the stairs.

When I got into the kitchen, Mary was at the table in her pajamas. It was Saturday morning after all.

“Hey” she said then grumbled a “happy birthday.”

I dropped into my chair. “Where’s Grams?”

I’m not sure, when I started to call her that, I guess Mary was rubbing off a bit.

Mary shrugged. “She left a note. Said she had somewhere to be this morning.”

Damn.

“Oh” said Mary “that came for you this morning.”

She was pointing to the counter. I looked where her finger led and I saw a brown package sitting there. I walked over and picked it up. It wasn’t a particularly large one but it was long and narrow. It had no stamp on it but my address was scrawled on there, the writing wasn’t familiar though. I excitedly opened it up, delicately making sure I didn’t break whatever was inside. What I found was a beaded necklace, the beads of varying colors. There was also a little silver pendant on the end of it.

“Cute” I said, a little too loud.

I turned around; Mary was giving me a strange look.

“I meant cool” I said, she rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. Just as long as your freakdom isn’t contagious.”

She stood up after that, bringing her now empty cereal bowl to the sink. She rinsed it a few times then left. I found myself instinctively taking the bowl out and putting it on the drying rack. Mary was a bit of a slob. Then I went and got myself some cereal. As I was pouring, the kitchen phone rang. When I answered, an excited Maggie blurted things out in a rush.

“Slow down Mags and repeat”

She took a breath. “I’ve been streaming phone calls all night and this morning. You’re going to have at least thirty people at your party today.” She giggled with excitement. “I’ve already called your grandmother. She said she’d have to make arrangements for a bigger place.”

I was floored. Thirty people. I don’t even know that many people.

“OK, so who’s coming?” I asked as I carried the phone, my cereal and my new necklace to the table.

Maggie started rattling off some names. I recognized a few---like Dana and Cindy---but there were a lot I didn’t. I’m not sure if I was scared or excited about that. I wasn’t used to this many people wanting to do anything with me. Hell, I wasn’t used to one person wanting to do anything with me. Tommy and I did nothing more than hang out in my room, play games together, read comics. Sure, we did other things but the last couple of years things had been pretty dull. It’s strange now that I think about it but it was pretty clear our friendship had been dying long before it actually did.

“You are by far the luckiest girl ever Kel.”

Girl, did she say girl?

“Umm did you just call me a girl?”

Maggie laughed. “I did. I guess I forgot about the whole necklace thing. Sorry.”

Necklace thing? So did that mean Maggie remembered what happened?

“I’m so fricken confused right now.”

“It’s just a party,” she said, laughing.

“Not that.”

I quickly told her everything, about the whole week. About how she and everyone else forgot about the female me, about how I kind of missed being that way. Then I told her about this morning, waking up with breasts. It was clear that whatever happened to me and whatever fix my grandmother tried had failed again. This time though it somehow overrode everything they tried to do including making everyone forget about a female me?

“That really sucks,” she said when I was done. “I can see why you might be confused.”

“It’s really weird.”

Maggie laughed. “If I remember does that mean Jack will too?”

I cursed. I’d forgotten all about Jack. Thinking about him now, I felt a little flutter. No stupid stomach, no flutters. I bit my lip to force that feeling away and it left but not without resistance. I would not think of Jack Pratchett in that way ever again.

“Jack has Misty to bug now.”

“Are you OK with that?”

“I’m not sure I know what you mean.”

“I saw the way the two of you were flirting in the library the other day,” she said with a laugh.

I blushed but quickly added. “I do not flirt.”

Maggie started laughing. She didn’t stop until a minute or so later. “OK well I’m going to let you go. Your grandmother is supposed to call me back when she finds the perfect venue. I’ll see you later tonight?”

“OK, see ya later.”

I put the phone back on the hook and returned to the table. I couldn’t help but think how messed up my life was. First, I was a guy then I turned into a girl. I managed to get back to a guy---something I wanted and became a girl again. After being a girl for a few days and totally confused it was back to being a guy. This week had been the worst week ever for me as I was more confused than ever. Here I was before wanting nothing except to be a guy again and now that I was possibly one forever, all I could think about was being a girl. I looked down at my chest---at my concealed breasts---and smiled. OK, so I was still really confused but I think I finally knew what I wanted.

At least I hoped I did.

I sat in my chair and picked up this new necklace. It really was cute, there was no denying that. It was strange though that there was no return address though. If I were to guess, it looked almost like something from Africa. Was it possible that Mom sent this to me? I checked the package just to make sure, looking for a note but there was nothing there. I shrugged, trying to decide what to do. I reached up and touched the pendant on my neck---the pendant that didn’t seem to be working anymore. I’m not sure why it failed and frankly I didn’t care. All that I cared about is that I was finally starting to understand that maybe I wasn’t meant to be Kelly the Dud.

With that thought, I took my new necklace and dropped it around my neck.

I smiled then started to eat my cereal.

My grandmother ended up renting the local community hall for the party. It wasn’t the greatest venue but it was the best she could get on such short notice. It was fine by me though, in fact it was better than fine. Most of my parties consisted of my living room and dining room at home. The large space of the community hall was like a palace to me. As soon as I heard about it, I wanted to rush right over but Maggie would have none of that. She told me that the birthday “girl” wasn’t allowed anywhere near the party prep. It still felt a little weird being called a girl and thankfully she didn’t say it when others were around. Not that it made much of a difference though---I was back to being seen as a girl by everyone around. The only thing that was different about it was that I was no longer offended. In fact, I couldn’t help but smile.

It took Maggie about two hours to get everything done. She roped some of the Dud Club members into helping. She let slip that Jack was more than happy to help---in fact he did a lot of the work. I’m not sure how I felt about all of that. Sure it was nice that he was being so helpful but it was clear he had an ulterior motive in all of this. It was kind of cute in a way and that thought alone was scary. Sure I’d decided that I liked this whole girl thing but the idea of possibly liking Jack scared me. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for something like that.

Another hour later, I was finally allowed into the big room.

To say I was surprised was a bit of an understatement. I’m not sure how the room looked before but whatever Maggie and Jack did, It was amazing. It was completely transformed: there were birthday banners and balloons, a long table against the far wall laden with food and a pretty impressive DJ booth set up in front. There was also this little stage complete with a karaoke station and large speakers. Around the room were round tables decorated for the festivities and a dance floor in the center. It was better than I could have expected.

“What do you think?” asked Maggie as she slipped up behind me.

I turned to face her, beaming. “I think you out did yourself?”

She smiled. “You can thank Mary.”

“Mary?”

She nodded. “She pulled some strings; it pays to be friends with a Locke. I’m not sure how she did it but whatever it was, it worked. All this stuff was here when we got here, all we did was set it up.”

Mary, who knew.

“So” said Maggie, pulling me into the lobby. “Has the birthday girl decided what she’s going to wear?”

I hushed her. “Boy not girl.”

“What why?”

“My grandmother and the Coven think that this” I grabbed the silver pendant. “Is still working. I don’t want them to find out it’s not. I want to stay like this.”

She nodded. “So will you be able to fit into guy’s clothes?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea but I’m going to try.”

Maggie smiled. “C’mon, we’ve got another hour before your guests arrive; let’s see if we can’t find something that suits you.”

We hit the Teen Scene, not exactly my choice of shopping places but we were in a rush. The girl behind the counter didn’t bat an eyelash as she flew over to assist us. Maggie made her go away quickly. We rushed through shopping pretty quick. We found a pair of black unisex pants and a white dress shirt. Both of which fit me surprisingly well. It was clear though that as soon as I put them on that I had a girl’s body. I couldn’t help but feel a bit different as I looked at myself in the dressing room mirror. I’d been so caught up in this whole “I feel like a girl” that I never really stopped to think about why. It hit me so suddenly, practically overnight actually. Was it the spell or was it something else, something unseen and unknown. Looking at the girl in the mirror, I liked what I saw but was it really me thinking?

“You done?” asked Maggie from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and nodded. “You think it’s weird that I suddenly like all of this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well before I wanted nothing more than to go back and be myself but now being a girl is all I want. It’s kind of scary, like I was mind jacked or something.”

She gave me a long, hard look. “The way I see it is this,” she finally said. “You’ve been this very feminine guy all your life; everyone has mistaken you for a girl. Then fate throws a curve ball at you and poof you’re a girl for real. You want nothing more than to turn back into a guy and eventually you get your wish, you’re happy. Then you start to think, you have these little inklings. As a girl, you were treated no different than before, in fact you might have been treated a bit different. Why; because maybe you were used to it or maybe because you felt right. You didn’t have to pretend, you didn’t have to hide. People saw you as a girl and because you were one, you weren’t fighting it.”

“Yeah but that still doesn’t explain why I’m happy this way?”

“Maybe and don’t get offended by this but maybe you were always a girl you just had the wrong body.”

“That’s crazy.”

Maggie shrugged. “This is Ravencrest, we’re known for the crazy.”

We couldn’t help but laugh at that. We laughed a little louder than I would have liked because the sales girl came over.

“Is there something wrong girls?”

That only caused the two of us to laugh some more.

We left the store laughing actually. When we got outside, we had just enough time to run back to the community hall. Outside, Jack had taken it upon himself to stand at the door to greet people. When we approached, his face lit up in a big smile. I took a deep breath, trying hard not to think about that damn smile of his. I could deal with this girl thing; I definitely couldn’t deal with the hormones that came with it.

“Hey, Mags” he said, addressing my friend before turning to me. “Hey, Kelly, Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks.”

He stepped aside to let us in. In the lobby, Mary and Tracy were mingling. Both of them were dressed for a party---Mary in some black thing with fishnets, Tracy in a cute purple dress. I was a bit jealous of the way she looked in it. She was gorgeous, a Goddess in fact. I found it hard to believe that this girl could be related to Trevor at all. Sure they looked a lot alike but Tracy was so different. She had this class, this sophistication and Trevor; well, he was a bit of a geek. Not that there was anything wrong with that of course but it just went to show how different two siblings really were. Jessica and I were the same. She was a lot more outgoing, even played soccer in high school. It was hard to imagine that the two of us were siblings, hell we barely looked like one another.

“That dress is so killer Trace” said Maggie, approaching the two of them.

“Thanks, I like yours too,” she said, referring to the cute little baby blue dress Maggie was wearing.

Mary gave me the once over. “Going for androgyny again I see.”

“And you’re going for bitch.”

Tracy and Maggie laughed. Me, I couldn’t believe I’d just said that.

Mary cast me a nasty look.

“Tracy, let’s go” said Mary, not waiting for her friend to follow her as she stomped off.

Tracy gave her a long, strange look. “Umm…sure.” She looked at me. “I’ll see you inside.”

“Yeah, thanks for all of this.”

She smiled. “No prob.”

She turned and followed Mary into the main room.

Maggie and I followed right behind them. When we got into the main room, the lights were dimmed and someone had strobes going. There were only a handful of people there but Maggie forced me to make the rounds. She somehow took the host duty or whatever; introducing me to the people, I didn’t know. I was surprised to see my cousin Morgan though, mingling in the corner with his friends. My cousin Jason was over by the dessert table stuffing his face. I locked eyes with Morgan, giving him a long strange look. There was something about him, something off. He was giving me a strange look too. I couldn’t help but wonder if he saw through me. We stared at each for a good minute or so before Maggie pulled me over to Cindy Harper and two girls I didn’t know.

“Kel I think you know Cindy” she said, I nodded to the girl. “This is Dana Stiles and Clara Saunders.”

Dana was a really pretty red head. She was wearing this killer black dress, so tight that it showed all her curves. Clara was dressed in blue, a much darker shade than Maggie’s. We talked to them for a minute or two before Maggie dragged me on. As we made the rounds, more people filed in. So I had to make the rounds again. I talked to Takeshi and Wallace then Ashley and her friends. Ashley was really nice---dressed in pink---her friends Leslie and Jan were dressed in grey and green. I knew all of them from different classes. Ashley was a bit of a strange one. She was gorgeous and pretty popular yet she didn’t run in the popular circle. I kind of respected her for that.

As we talked, her friend Max materialized out of nowhere. From the moment he showed up, he lingered close to her elbow. The two of them weren’t an item but it was pretty obvious that they should have been. I couldn’t help but feel strange about that thought. When did I analyze people like that? Surely, I didn’t do it when I was guy so why was I doing it now.

We made another pass through the room as more people entered. Charlie and Will came in together; Will surprised me because he wasn’t alone. There was a pretty blonde on his arm, her dress sparkled. Will nodded, Charlie barely acknowledged me but he did smile at Maggie. I watched as the three of them made their way to the refreshment table.

After all the passes, nearly an hour and a half had gone by.

I left Maggie to talk with someone from Math class when I too made my way to refreshments.

I was putting food on a plate when I noticed a presence at my elbow.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a guy?”asked a familiar voice.

I turned to see my cousin Jason, shoving his face.

Jason was Morgan’s older brother, in college. Like a lot of the males of witch families, he was a Dud.

“Something like that” I said, trying to ignore the comment.

“Is this some kind of statement or a new lifestyle change that the rest of us don’t know about?”

I groaned. “I’m not sure what it is actually. It sorta happens.”

Jason laughed. “To you and every other guy in Ravencrest.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jason turned me around. He started to point. His first target was Tracy. “Her” he said then pointed at Cindy. “Her” He scanned the ground again, finding Misty looking awkward as she tried to dance. “And her. All dudes once.”

“Bull shit. I know those girls and trust me they’re not guys.”

“Not anymore but they were” he said with a laugh. “Ask Mary, she’ll tell you. In fact, she’ll take full responsibility for the jock.”

“Jock?”

Jason pointed to Misty. “Your friend, the awkward one. She was some asshole jock, did some bad shit to women. Mary got her turned into that. It boggles the mind. I hit on her a few times before I knew who she really was.”

I looked at Misty, I mean really looked at her. There was just no way she could have ever been a guy.

“And how is it that you have such knowledge?”

He smiled. “I have my ways.”

“Hey babe” said a tall, leggy brunette as she slid over to him, rubbing herself against him.

“Diane this is my cousin Kelly, Kelly this is Diane.”

“Oh you’re Jack’s friend. The one he’s been talking about. I’m his sister, I’m not sure if he mentioned me or not.”

She held out her hand and I shook it.

It was clear that this was supposed to be his “source”. Diane seemed like a nice enough girl but it was also pretty clear that Jason would believe anything she told him. I’m not saying she was a liar but there was no way in hell that Tracy, Cindy and Misty were once guys. I turned and looked into the crowd, finding all three. Cindy was on the dance floor, snuggling against a tall, muscular guy. Tracy was off in the corner with Mary, Greg and Dana laughing away and Misty was trying her hardest to not look so out of place. If they were guys once then whatever turned them into girls was the best thing in the world for them because they were so well adjusted that it was scary.

I shook my head. No definitely not guys.

“It was nice talking with you Jay,” I said, grabbing my food and slipping away.

I scanned the crowd again, this time looking for Maggie. It was hard to see her though because the place was starting to get packed. If I had to guess there was way, more than thirty people here. In fact a lot of the faces here, I didn’t even recognize. I suppose that happened, after all Maggie told practically everyone about the party. So there was bound to be people who just showed up. Sadly with all of the people, I couldn’t find my friend anywhere. I mingled into the crowd nonetheless, hoping to maybe bump into her. I didn’t but I did bump into someone I wasn’t sure if I was happy to run into or not.

“Hey” said Jack, the crowd pushed in at that moment.

I found myself awkwardly smushed against him.

“Hey” I said then apologized. “I wasn’t expecting all of this.”

He laughed. “I tried manning the door a bit after you guys came in but they kind of bum rushed me. I take it you didn’t invite all of them?”

“There were only supposed to be thirty.”

He laughed. “Welcome to Ravencrest. We’re a small town, not a lot of teenagers. When someone mentions party at the school, everyone flocks to it.”

“Good to know.”

“Hey you want to dance?”

Shit. I was hoping he wouldn’t say that.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

He took my hand gently in his. Wow, his hands were so much bigger than mine. When he touched me, there was this surge of excitement that went through me too. It was kind of invigorating. A lot of me really liked it.

“C’mon one dance isn’t going to hurt.”

I sighed and nodded. He smiled big and led me toward the dance floor. I passed my plate into the hands of someone standing nearby; I think it might have been Jason. I didn’t care. My eyes were fully on Jack as he led me into the dance. Thankfully, it wasn’t one of those slow ones. We started to thrive to the music. I’m not sure how I knew how to dance but somehow I found myself mimicking the girls around me. It was crazy. I got so caught up in it that I danced through two songs without even realizing it. When it got to the third song, the music stopped for a moment.

“Karaoke time folks” shouted the DJ “who’s the first victim?”

There was surprisingly, a lot of shouts for Ashley. The crowd parted as she walked up onto the little stage and then cheered. She blushed in embarrassment then she took the mike. As soon as she opened her mouth---belting out one of Taylor Swift’s songs---it was like the whole crowd was entranced. Especially the guys. I had to admit she had an absolutely gorgeous voice, it was no wonder everyone wanted to hear her sing. I was so caught up in it I didn’t even notice when Jack pulled me close to him and we started dancing again. This time though it was the way a couple should dance. I found myself putting my arms around his neck and his hands ended up on my waist.

I rested my head on his chest. It was kind of nice. Weird but nice.

“I wish you’d worn a dress,” he said after a moment or two.

“Me too” I found myself saying.

Ashley’s song ended but we didn’t stop dancing. She started singing again, I’m not sure what it was and I didn’t care. Jack and I got lost to the song. It was almost perfect. I say almost because he ruined it when he put his hand on my chin, tilted my head back and kissed me. He took me by complete surprise. For a moment, I was lost to it then it registered exactly what he just did. As soon as that happened, I felt a rush of anger. I pulled away quickly, my fingers tingling. I wanted to tear him from limb to limb; the anger that tore through me was so intense I felt like I was going to pop. Jack actually took a step back, staring dumbfounded at me. I nearly struck him but instead I pushed him away, scared of what I might do.

Tears stung my eyes and I stormed through the crowd. I pushed people out of my way as I went. I heard Jack shout my name but I ignored him. Why is it that he always tried to ruin the perfect moment? Why couldn’t he just let things go as they were. He was a fucking idiot and I hated him.

I found myself in the back of the room. I’m not sure how I got there but thankfully there was a fire exit nearby. Without thinking, I pushed the door open, an irritating buzz sounded and I was outside. It was some kind of alley behind the building. The first thing I noticed was the smell from the dumpster. The second thing I noticed was how damn cold it was. The only thing I didn’t notice was the fact that I wasn’t alone. There was a streetlight at the end of the alley, which cast a dim light down it. For a moment, I was alone to cry and catch my thoughts, cursing Jack for being such an ass then the light was blocked.

I looked down the alley, wondering who it could be.

“Look I’m sure you think it’s really cool to gawk at the miserable crying girl but trust me when I say this, I’m really not in the mood.”

The person didn’t say anything. Instead, he took a step further into the alley. I groaned. Clearly, this guy was either deaf as a doornail or the dumbest, stupidest fuck. Whatever it was, I definitely wasn’t in the mood to deal with it. I wiped my tears, straightened myself and spun to face him.

“Look I told you to fuck off. If you really want to start something, I’m willing to give you everything I have”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said the guy, in a very familiar voice.

That voice sent a chill down my spine.

Shit, it was Scar Face.

He took a step closer and as he did, I saw the double flash of his blades.

“You’re quite the runner Sunshine,” he said as he walked further toward me. “But this time there’s no place to run anymore.”

I snapped around to the door, pulling on the handle but it was stuck. No, not stuck, locked. Who the hell designed an emergency door that locked from the inside? I cursed and decided to look for another way. I turned my back on Scar Face for a split second and found the alley had two ends. I smiled and started to run away from him. I got only about five feet before another figure stepped in my path. It was Baldy, Scar Face’s partner. Shit, I’d forgotten all about him. Baldy raised his hand, a ball of blue flame appeared in it. I’m not sure how these two could do magic like that and right now I didn’t care. Right now, all I cared about was finding a way to survive this.

“You’re done Princess,” said Baldy who was practically on top of me now. “Why don’t you save both of us the trouble and come quietly this time. We promise not to hurt you.”

I spit at him. “Like with my friend. You guys possessed him. What about trying to run me off the road yesterday, trying to kill me and my parents as well. Were you trying not to hurt me then as well?”

Scar Face scoffed. “I told you she wasn’t an idiot. The boss said this one wasn’t a moron.”

The Boss? So these guys were working for someone?

“Taggert, shut it,” said Baldy “or else this is going to find your face.”

“Fuck off Miles.”

Well at least I had names to go with their ugly faces now. Not that it mattered, I was pretty certain neither one of them was going to let me live to tell anyone. I closed my eyes, tearing up again even though I tried not to. I tried to think, tried to remember exactly how I brought forth my magic last time. It had something to do with anger. Jack got me angry, so did Troy. I tried to think about those two, hoping that it was enough to jumpstart whatever it was that I could do. I felt a slight tingle in my fingertips but nothing happened. I tried harder, putting everything I had into it but still nothing. I opened my eyes and cursed.

Baldy---Miles---was right behind me now.

“See that wasn’t so hard” he said, making the fireball go away. “You’re not going to run anymore, right?”

He put his hand on my shoulder, giving it a rough squeeze. It hurt like hell.

I felt an intense anger build up inside of me. The tingling in my body was overwhelming and yet nothing happened. Why didn’t anything happen. Before it always happened, why wasn’t it now. What was different this time? What was holding me back? It clicked the moment I realized it. I knew what was holding me back; I knew what was holding me in actually. I cursed then I smiled as I reached up and grabbed the pendant. It was supposed to suppress things, keep them from whatever. I’d completely forgotten about it.

“You fucks picked the wrong night” I said and pulled the pendant off my neck.

As soon as I did, I threw it at Taggert. He jumped back, expecting something more dangerous. As soon as he did, I felt an overwhelming surge of power. It must have been some kind of buildup because it came out like a blast. I’m not sure what happened but there was this giant flash of intense white light. I screamed out in pain. There was other screaming too, I think it was Miles. He was after all holding me when it happened. The flash only happened for a second and when it subsided, I managed to open my eyes. I snapped around, looking for Miles first. He was on the ground, about twenty feet down the alley. I could see smoke coming off his clothes, I could also smell ozone.

Miles was groaning so I knew I didn’t kill him.

“What the fuck was that?” gasped Taggert. “What the hell did you do you little bitch?”

I snapped back around to his direction.

He was on his knees, his arm covering his eyes.

“You guys couldn’t leave me alone,” I said, advancing on him. “I told you to fuck off and you just didn’t get the hint. Today is my birthday you know and you just made it one of my worst ones ever.”

Anger flared, my fist glowed and I slammed it into the back of his head.

The blow flattened him to the pavement, knocking him out cold.

I was numb after that. I found myself stepping over Taggert’s fallen form, blundering my way toward the end of the alley. Out in the street, I walked toward the front of the community hall. I’m not sure how far I got before I couldn’t take it anymore. I collapsed to my knees soon after, tears and pain overwhelming. I’m not sure who it was but I felt arms around me a second later, someone was talking soothing words to me then I was lifted off my feet. My rescuer was strong. I cried into his chest and the world seemed to melt away after that.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: I tried to get this one written sooner but every time I went to do so something came up. I finally sat down last night and told myself I was going to finish it, no matter what. I achieved that goal :) I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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FIFTEEN:

“You let the other one escape?”

“I was a bit preoccupied.”

Two voices woke me. I blinked and looked around the room blurry eyed for a moment, not raising my head. A quick look was all I needed to tell me I wasn’t at home. Blinking again, my vision came into better focus. The room was big; the furniture I could see looked really old. Instead of the canopy above me, there were four posts. It should have frightened me---passing out and waking up somewhere else but I knew this room. I’d been here before, albeit very briefly. It was the room in the Crowley Manor, the one I stayed in when I was a guest here last week. I couldn’t help but groan at the implication. When I collapsed, whoever found me must have brought me here.

“Preoccupied” said the familiar one of the two voices. “I thought you knew what you were doing.”

I knew that voice, it was hard not to recognize.

The Inquisitor.

“Would you rather I left the girl in the street?”

The other voice was a man, possibly the one who picked me.

The two speakers lowered their voices after that, seemingly drifting off.

I raised my head slightly and realized that they weren’t actually in the room. With that little bit of info, I sat up fully. The first thing I noticed was the shifting of my breasts. I looked down and gasped. What were once tiny A cups, easily concealable, were now back to the C cup size of before. I was thrilled and surprised at the same time. It must have been the necklace or rather removing it. I’m not sure what happened exactly but it looks like by breaking the charm, the rest of my female self broke through. I confirmed it quickly with a hand between my legs; I was fully girl down there as well. I wanted to be elated but the situation I was currently in was keeping me from hopping up and down.

I quickly took stock of the situation.

Last night came back to me. The party, having a good time, then Jack ruining it all. I can’t say that I really blamed him. We both got a bit caught up in things and it went too far. I should never have danced with him then none of this would have never happened. No, that’s not true. If I’d told someone the other day about those asses trying to grab me then none of this would have never happened. No matter how I look at it---no matter the scenario---it’s my fault. I couldn’t help but feel a bit stupid. I’m still not sure why I didn’t run to someone and tell them. It was one of things in the back of my mind but every time I went to do so it was as if something was keeping me back. Not something, I knew what it was: foolish pride.

I slipped out of bed, my pressing need to go to the bathroom overwhelming. I looked around the room, finding another door off in the corner. I rushed to it but found a large closet. Cursing, I looked around. The room was rather big, definitely bigger than my room back at “home”. Last time I was here I didn’t really get much time to explore it now I was starting to see how limited it really was. There didn’t appear to be a bathroom for one thing. Most of the room was taken up by antiquated furniture, pieces from a bygone era. I paid little attention to that and went to the window, pulling open the large curtains. The morning sun poured into the room, nearly blinding me with its brightness. After the spots disappeared from my eyes, I took a look outside.

My room had a great view of the courtyard and the gardens. Lots of brightly colored flowers made it look like a beautiful menagerie down there. I looked for a few minutes, followed the cobble stone path with my eyes until it led to the road. Beyond that, I couldn’t see anything because it was obscured by trees. This place was a mystery and I think that’s what made it so appealing. It was a shame that I only came here when something bad happened, though. It was so beautiful here; if I were Maggie, I would never want to leave home.

I turned away from the window and decided I really needed the bathroom. I rushed across the room to the door only to find it locked. I twisted the handle a few times then banged on it more than once but it was no use. Why the hell would they lock me in? Defeated I returned back to the bed and sat down in a huff. Was I a prisoner here? Was that what that conversation was really all about? They were clearly talking about the incident in the alley, the one that ruined my birthday. A birthday I sadly didn’t even really get to enjoy. If I ever saw either of those guys again I was going to flay them alive.

I felt my anger start to rise, my body tingled. All the lights in the room started to flicker, the tips of my fingers started to spark. I gasped in surprise, forcing myself to calm down but not before one of the light bulbs popped.

Just then, the door chose to open. Melissa stepped into the room. I’m not sure if she saw the bulb pop or not but she frowned as she entered. “I see you’re awake, I also see what the others were talking about.”

I jumped off the door, still angry. “Why is the door locked? Am I a prisoner now?”

My anger caused the lights to flicker again.

“Calm down before you bring the room down around us,” she snapped.

There was authority in her voice, power too. My anger ebbed away in an instant. I felt like a little kid who touched a burner and got scolded by an angry mother. Double burned if you will.

I dropped back down on the bed. “Sorry.”

“That’s better,” she said as she shut the door behind her and walked into the room. “I see that that anger of yours is going to be a real problem.”

“How would you feel if you woke up and found your door locked?”

“Scared.”

I nodded, tearing up slightly. Stupid hormones. Melissa came over and sat down next to me, pulling me into a hug. She held me for a minute or two as I cried. They were little tears though and over pretty quick. When I was down, she tried to smile but it kept turning into a frown.

“You really know how to stir things up don’t you?”

“How bad is it?”

“The one we found in the alley was pretty torn up. I’m not sure what happened but whatever you did to him shattered nearly every bone in his body. He’s in a magically induced coma right now, you’re lucky you didn’t kill him.”

I felt no love lost for him. “I wish I had. He’s Black Cross.”

Melissa’s eyes popped open. “You sure?”

I nodded. “He’s one of the two guys that tried to grab me back home. They tried the same thing Friday morning before school.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” I lowered my head in shame like a dog. “Damn it Kelly, how can I protect you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

Once again being scolded like a child.

“I’m sorry,” I said, tearing up again. “I wanted to tell you, I just… I messed up. I’m not sure what happened. Things got out of control then it was my birthday. I was going to call you yesterday morning then this necklace came…”

“What necklace?”

I reached into my shirt and showed her. “This one.”

Melissa’s eyes popped again. He hand then flew at my neck, snatching the beaded accessory. She tugged with a strength that I didn’t expect. There was a slight burn and then the necklace snapped free. She flung it on the ground. I watched in amazement as it caught fire and turned to ash.

“What the hell?”

“It’s a Snake Charm,” said Melissa, clasping shut the hand she used to pull it off with. “A particularly nasty one too. I’m not sure what it would have done but they’re used by a lot of Dark Magic users. You’re lucky I got to it quickly or else the damn thing would have never come off.”

I rubbed my neck. “Why is this happening to me?”

Melissa pulled into another quick hug before saying. “This is definitely getting out of hand” She pulled away, taking a quick look at her hand before continuing. “Here I thought it was another isolated incident of yours but there’s a lot more to it than we thought. I need to go for a bit but I promise to be back later. Is there anything you need before I leave?”

I nodded. “The bathroom.”

She smiled. “C’mon, I’ll take you.”

The bathroom was just down the hall. I peed quickly and then found myself standing in front of the mirror. I was staring at my neck, more specifically at the spot where the Snake Charm had been. There was a slight red mark there now, I’m not sure if it was from Melissa pulling it off my neck or from the burn I felt before she did so. I reached up and started rubbing, hoping it would go away but it didn’t. I frowned and cursed my stupidity. Thanks to my parents, I’d heard about a lot of things, Snake Charms were bad. They were used by a lot of dark magic users just like Melissa said. What she didn’t say was that they came in all kinds. They were usually items like rings or necklaces and usually created for a specific purpose.

What the hell was I thinking? I should never have put that damn thing on. What the hell was wrong with me lately? First, I neglected to tell anyone about the almost kidnapping and then I stupidly put on a necklace from an unmarked package I got in the mail. Was I losing my mind or was I just being so damn careless that I was missing the little things.

I groaned and splashed some water in my face before leaving the bathroom. Melissa was outside the door and led me back to my room.

“I have to go and talk to a few people but I’ll be back later, ok?”

I nodded and she left.

When I walked into the room, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Maggie sitting on the bed. Her eyes locked with mine for a second then she rushed me, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. She got me crying again, which fit in nicely with her own. We stood like that for a bit before she let me go.

“Never a dull moment with you around is it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t plan these things Mags.”

“You sure?”

I sighed. “I wish I knew.”

She nodded, falling silent. Her silence didn’t last though. “Well it’s a good thing I came to cheer you up.”

She rushed over to the side of the bed, dragging a large garbage bag. She opened it up and I caught sight of what was inside: presents.
“What girl leaves her own party before opening her gifts?”

I couldn’t help but smile, at least I could be happy for the moment. I’d deal with everything else when it came but here and now, I wanted to spend some time with my friend.

We spent an hour opening all my presents. Most of them were cards with gift certificates but some of them were actual gifts. Lots of jewelry and other things. It was nice that people I didn’t know went out of their way to get me something. I surprised myself a bit, as the two of us went through it all. I was giddy with excitement, something I couldn’t remember ever being. I’m not sure what exactly came over me but I was enjoying this. Even when we were all done, I was still having the best time of my life.

“Five hundred and sixty dollars” said Maggie with a smile. “And that’s just the gift cards; I haven’t even counted the cash.”

“Cash? People gave me cash?”

“Hey you’re popular now.”

Popular? How did that even happen? If someone were to use me and popular in the same sentence last month I would have laughed at them. Then again, if I told myself last month I was going to be a girl the next month I would have had myself committed.

“What do you mean popular? No one knows I’m there.”

“That’s part of your mystique apparently. I was talking with a lot of people last night and they all told me you’re cool because you blend in. Everyone knows who you are because of it.”

“That makes no sense.”

She shrugged. “Hey this is high school, stuff isn’t supposed to.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. When did Maggie become the great sage of all things teenager and how did I miss it.

We spent some time counting my actual cash; I pulled in another five hundred bucks. I guess I was definitely a lot more popular than I thought. My eyes were as big as saucers as I looked at it all. I don’t think I ever had that much cash in my life. Well at not that much at one time. Sadly, any money I made in the past went to video games and comic books. I had an extensive collection of both actually but looking at this cash now, I felt like I needed to save it. What I was saving it for I didn’t know but I’d been frivolous with my money in the past, blowing it all like a kid in a candy store.

We started sorting my things into piles. Maggie had a duffel she was going to lend me so I could take my stuff home.

“It’s a shame you didn’t get to go to the rest of your own party,” she said as we were finishing up.

“After what happened, I don’t think I was in a partying mood.”

“It worked to your advantage though. When you disappeared everyone thought you were doing it on purpose, adding to the mystique.”

Great, that’s what I needed. More perverse popularity.

Only in Ravencrest.

Neither one of us wanted to talk about last night. Sure, we could talk about the party but we didn’t want to brooch the alley incident. After I came into the room earlier and she wrapped me in her death hug, we discussed it briefly. She told me how worried she’d gotten last night when I stormed out of there. She also told me she was no longer talking to Jack because of it. She didn’t know what he did but had been convinced he was the cause. He definitely wasn’t my favorite person either. I was trying to enjoy my party and I really was until he butted his head in. The whole thing with Jack was kind of strange to begin with. I couldn’t deny that I felt something for him but I’m not sure why I ended up acting upon it though.

“Jack is public enemy number one for a while,” I said, making it well known.

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”

We laughed a bit. We would have continued to do so if not for the knock on the door. Maggie got up quicker, rushing to the door as she did so. When she opened it, I could already feel all the fun sucked out of the room. On the other side was Melissa holding a white dress, a sour look on her face. Behind her was the Inquisitor. The woman looked as nasty as ever, even more so today than before.

“Kelly” said Melissa before my favorite person interrupted.

“Miss Daniels” she said with some contempt. “It is my duty to inform you that you have been hereby summoned to a council with the Coven.”

Why didn’t that sound like tea in the sunroom again?

Melissa took charge again. “This is an official meeting so you must wear this” She held up the dress.

A dress? I guess it was all in now. I hadn’t really thought about wearing a dress. Sure, I kind of liked this whole girl thing now but I was hoping to take it one step at a time. First shorts then maybe a skirt and finally after several weeks a dress.

“What’s it for?”

Melissa smiled. “It’s the dress that Novices wear.”

“So I’m a Novice now?”

I couldn’t help but feel a bit excited at that.

The Inquisitor scoffed. “Hardly. All young women are required to wear the dress when in official presence of the Coven.” She turned to Melissa. “You have five minutes; I’ll be outside the door.”

She turned and left, leaving me alone with Melissa and Maggie.

“Did someone pee in her cereal?”

Maggie laughed. Melissa smiled.

“Grace is a bit intense. You should have seen her when she was babysitting me as a kid. Even back then she was a bit…well…let’s just say she shouldn’t be in charge of children.”

“Scarlet is cool though” added Maggie “how she ever got that way with a Mom like that.”

The Inquisitor had a daughter, would wonders never cease.

“Ok, cut the chatter,” said Melissa with a sigh. “I need you in this and you need to do something with her hair.”

The two of them moved quickly. I barely had time to take a breath before they were furiously stripping me. I’ve never had someone else take my clothes off before but I could see the rush. When I was down to my underwear, Melissa pulled the dress over my head. It was surprisingly light and airy. I’m not sure what it was made out of but it was really soft too. I found myself absently running my fingertips along the fabric. While I was doing that, Maggie was attacking my hair with a brush. I had to say that hurt quite a bit----I don’t think I ever brushed it. Hell I haven’t really been a girl that long. There were a few tearful moments as she got stuck on a really bad snag.

When the five minutes were up, I was presentable as I was going to get.

“It’s not great,” said Melissa with a sigh. “but it will have to do.”

“Thanks, I think” I said, not sure how to take her words.

“She didn’t mean it like that,” said Maggie, shooting Melissa a glare. “It’s just that with a little more time we could have made you look gorgeous.”

Gorgeous? Did I want to look gorgeous?

“You’re a lot like my sister Darcy,” said Melissa as she put her hand gently on my shoulder. “You’re both really pretty girls but you just don’t know it.”

I couldn’t imagine anyone in Melissa’s family not thinking they were pretty. Melissa was gorgeous; I would kill to have shiny hair like hers. If her sister looked anything like her then she was clearly blind if she didn’t think she was pretty too.

A knock on the door interrupted the moment. Maggie didn’t need to rush to the door to open it. The door opened on its own and the Inquisitor stuck her head in.
“Time’s up ladies” she said, opening the door all the way.

I felt butterflies. They weren’t the good kind either.

“Go, we’ll be here when you get back,” said Melissa giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Maggie gave me an encouraging smile before I took a deep breath and nodded toward the Inquisitor.

The walk with the Inquisitor took me through a lot of narrow hallways and down a few staircases. When we finally got to our destination, we were at the end of a long hallway. Before me was a solid looking wooden door, very ominous and threatening. I would have been less frightened but it’s not every day one gets walked down a corridor that was lit by actual torches. The light only extended a little beyond the torch’s range then it was nothing but darkness. If I didn’t feel like I was in a horror movie before I definitely felt like it now.
The Inquisitor took something from her pocket and laid it gently on the door. I never saw what it was but the door clicked.

She stepped aside as the door opened. “You have to enter first.”

I nodded and took a slow step forward. The room I stepped into once I crossed the threshold surprised me. It was bigger than I thought, rounded on the sides too. There were torches dotting the walls like the corridor and a strange bleacher like structure in the back. The benches there were empty. I turned away from that to the large podium like structure on the other side of the room. I saw seven robed figures sitting there; one was sitting more forward than the other. I locked my eyes on this figure, releasing that it had to be my grandmother. The figure’s head followed me as I walked further into the room, slowly approaching the single chair in the center of it.

“Sit down Kelly,” said the front figure, even though I knew it was her, the voice sounded nothing like hers.

It made me shudder a bit. I dropped into the chair quickly.

The Inquisitor walked into the room. “High Councilor, Members of the Coven. I bring you one Kelly Daniels.”

My grandmother---the High Councilor nodded. “Kelly Daniels, you are brought here today to answer for your actions. Do you have any words before we begin this tribunal?”

Words? “I’m not sure I understand what’s going on? Am I being accused of something?”

One of the other members spoke. “Did you not willingly use magic in the presence of Norms?”

“Are you talking about Troy?” There were murmurs and nods. “You know about that. I thought I was already punished for that.”

“You were. This tribunal will take into account all your actions,” said my grandmother.

“Tell us of the events from last night,” asked another one of the figures.

I sighed. I took a deep breath and in as much detail as I possibly could, I told them what happened. I didn’t start with last night though, I started with back home. I told them about the two men in the car trying to grab me and how I narrowly escaped. Then I told them about the second attempt in the street when Tommy came to my aid. I went into detail about the college, my controlled friend and the chase to the airport. When I jumped ahead to the other day---to the kidnapping attempt on the way to school---I was interrupted.

“You knew these two men were in the town?” asked one of the Members.

I nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t report them. I’m not sure what happened…I wanted too but…”

There was more murmurs.

“You admit to willingly keeping this information from us?”

I shook my head. “I wasn’t keeping it from you. Like I said I wanted to tell someone but I couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”

What the hell were they accusing me of? Did they honestly think that I would willingly keep this from them? Why the hell would I want to keep my attempted kidnaping from them?

“Yeah sure” I said sarcastically. “I wanted to keep this from you so they could come back and try to grab me in a dark alley.”

“The sass is unnecessary”.

“So are the stupid questions?” I snapped.

I knew it was a dumb thing to say but I was starting to get a bit peeved. I was the victim here and they were treating me like I was the bad guy. I could already start to feel my anger rising. I could feel the power at my fingertips, tingling and itching to be let loose.

The Coven didn’t like my snappy reply. They started murmuring again. I found it hard to believe that underneath those robes they were a bunch of elderly women. Well except for Cassie of course. I tried to find her among them but with the dark shrouds covering their heads she could be any of them. Searching their faces, I could feel them probing mine; most likely looking for whatever it is they thought I was guilty of. Was it truly the use of magic when Norms were present---something I knew was a big No No--- or was it something else.

“Miss Daniels” said my grandmother, speaking above the murmurs. “Will you please continue with your retelling of events?”

My anger slowly subsided. I took a moment or two to collect my thoughts before continuing. I told them everything about last night, making sure I let them know how excited I was to have a real birthday party and how upset I was that I couldn’t get to truly enjoy it. They probably didn’t care about that stuff but they seemed to care an awful lot about my retelling of the fight. I really piqued their interest when I talked about tearing off their precious necklace and the wave of backlash it caused when I did so.

“These men” said one of the Members, she had a gentler tone. “They were the very same who tried to abduct you in California?”

I nodded. “Scar Face and Baldy. They both have Black Cross tattoos. I think Mom and Dad thought they were only after me to get to them but that’s clearly not what they wanted.”

“Inquisitor, did you interview the witness?”

Witness? There was a witness?

“I did, High Councilor. I spoke to Mr. Locke for a long time. He told me about being at the party protecting his charge and how he overheard the fight. When he got there, Miss Daniels was already wiped out from the use of magic and one of her assailants had fled. He chose to aid Miss Daniels instead of pursuing.”

She said that last bit with some contempt.

So one of the Lockes rescued me. He must have been the guy who carried me.

“Would he testify this in front of this Coven?”

“The Were is outside if you wish to speak to him. I think it unnecessary” said the Inquisitor “but if you must speak with him.”

She waved her hand and the door opened. I snapped my head around to get a glimpse of him. I could sight of a tall figure, his face hidden in the shadows. I did get to see one of his arms though and noticed a particularly interesting tattoo, long and black wrapped around the whole of his arm. I’d seen guys with simple ink; it was kind of cool actually. I couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“That won’t be necessary Inquisitor,” said my grandmother “I have already spoken to Mr. Locke. He has told me everything that he knows.”

The Inquisitor nodded.

“Miss Daniels, is there anything else you wish to add to your story?”

I shook my head. “I told you everything I know.”

My grandmother nodded. “This Coven has heard all the evidence. What say you?”

“Severe punishment” said one, she had a shrill voice. “This girl has proven herself unworthy of her gift. She deliberately attacked a human in broad daylight in front of several others, she willingly kept important information from us then engaged in another event that cost one man his life and allowed the other to escape.”

Cost him his life? No that wasn’t possible. “He was alive when I left the alley,” I snapped, jumping from my chair. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

“Sit down Kelly” snapped my grandmother, for a moment her spelled voice failed and a bit of her true voice broke through.

It sent shivers down my spine. I dropped back into my chair.

“Your magical signature was all over the alley,” said the Inquisitor “The strength of it was unbalanced. You could not have known what something like that could have done. You murdered the man but it was not your fault.”

I shook my head, tearing up. “He was alive. I heard him groan, saw him move.”

“Accidents happen Kelly” she spoke in a gentle tone, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off.

“I know what I saw.”

“The girl is distraught,” said the very same shrill Member. “Clearly she does not have the prowess to handle the responsibility of her gift. I vote we bind her magic and be done with it.”

A Binding. I felt sick to my stomach. I knew all about bindings. When Black Magic users were captured, they endured either one of two punishments. The really bad ones were killed on the spot, they usually didn’t get trials. The others were given elaborate trials but it always led to the same thing: a Binding. But they had to be unanimous. If they weren’t, then the Vote of Binding could not go through. I knew that much at least.

I stared at all the Members, trying to read which one would dare vote for it.

I knew my grandmother’s hands were tied. Once a petition of Binding was set forth, a Vote had to be made. There was no denying it. However, if four of the seven ruled against it, then the Binding couldn’t go through. I’m not sure what happened after that. It was rare to call a Binding, more rare to call one on a non-black magic user.

“What say you on Binding Kelly Daniels?”

I watched them again. My eyes were on them all. I wasn’t the least bit surprised when the shrill one voted for it. I was surprised when she got another companion to side with her. I felt my anger rise a bit, the tingling tickling my fingers. As the Vote went around though, my anger quickly subsided. First one then another voted against it. Soon it was four to two. I let out a big sigh of relief after that. I visibly relaxed. The Binding Vote had failed. Even if my grandmother were to rule for it, it still wouldn’t pass. Four to Three always one. I couldn’t help but smile though I was still scared. I’d never heard of anyone ever beating a Binding. I’m sure it happened but it wasn’t common knowledge about what happened afterwards.

“The Vote has been made” my grandmother said, “The Binding will not proceed.”

I heard very audible grumbles. I also heard what sounded like relief in my grandmother’s voice. That surprised me a bit. I was certain she would be the first person who would have wanted me Bound.

“With the Binding off the table, there is only one course of action I see fit,” said The High Councilor with triumph. “It is the decision of this Coven that Miss Daniels learns to control her gift.”

There was a scoff. It was ignored.

I’m not sure I understood what that meant.

“Miss Daniels” my grandmother continued. “From this day forth you are now a Novice under this Coven. You will be given a book of your mother’s, a teacher and taught to control and contain your gift. That is the ruling of this Coven and it is final. Blessed Be.”

“Blessed Be” murmured the others.

A Novice? Me?

Now that I didn’t expect.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: I bet you thought I fell off one of those cliffs I'm famous for writing :) Sorry for the massive delay with this chapter, I had a lot of things going on in RL. Stupid things. I think this chapter suffered a bit from that, its not bad but it is a bit shorter than all the others. I hope that doesn't bother people too much. I did have something else planned for the end but I couldn't resist one those cliffs I like to put in there. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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SIXTEEN:

“Kelly would you slow down a second” shouted the voice.

I wasn’t about to slow down though. I recognized the voice well enough and was deliberately trying to avoid it. Jack had been trying to get my attention since first period and I’d been ignoring him all day. I thought he got the hint in lunch when Maggie told him to sit somewhere else. Even Misty had joined us in our mutual hatred of him. She didn’t even know what was going on but it was cool that she was joining in. Jack ended up sitting with Bill Holden and his buddies but he kept looking our way the whole time. Now it was nearing the end of the day with only one period left to go. I’d been successful so far in avoiding him. But apparently, he was a lot more persistent than I thought.

I didn’t count on his speed either. He was fast, faster than me.

I tried to make it to my locker but he managed to get around me and cut me off. Trying to maneuver around him was proving futile, too. He was such a pain in the ass.

“I need to talk to you,” he said, huffing slightly.

I was glad to see that he was at least out of breath.

I groaned. “There’s nothing to talk about” I said annoyed. “Now move or you’re going to make me late for class.”

“No, not until you listen for a second.”

I sighed heavily. Well I couldn’t get around him so I guess I had no choice. “Fine.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry about Saturday; I’m not sure what happened. I thought we were having a good time and then something came over me. It was really strange but I felt like I had to kiss you.”

“It’s called hormones, jackass.”

I was still pretty damn bitter over the whole thing. As a guy, I never really thought about girls all that much. Sure, they were there but I had no inkling toward them. Some of them were pretty---like Sophie---but I never wanted to kiss any of them. I knew how guys thought though, especially ones like Jack. He made it no secret that he was attracted to me and I have to admit he wasn’t bad to look at. I just thought he was better than the rest. I’d been in a guy’s locker room, I knew what they talked about and for a moment, I was convinced Jack was different. At my party, he proved me wrong. He practically forced himself on me and I hated every minute of it.

“It was different than that” he said, “It was like I couldn’t control myself. I wanted to kiss you but I tried to stop myself. When I did do it I was just as surprised as you were.”

“Is that all?”

He shook his head. “I heard what happened,” he said, lowering his voice. “My sister said you were attacked. I was wondering…I mean….are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” I said.

He lowered his guard slightly and I was able to slip around him. I decided to forego my locker because I didn’t have time. I put on the speed, hoping he’d get the hint. He didn’t. He came running behind me but instead of blocking my way, he slipped up beside me.

“Boy, you don’t get the hint do you?”

“Let me make it up to you” he said, grabbing my hand.

I fluttered at the touch but quickly pulled the way. “Not interested.”

“Just one date” he said, pleading. “An apology for what I did. Let me show you that I’m not all bad.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea”

He started giving me this look. It was so hard to resist. I felt myself going all gooey. I’m not sure what it was about Jack Pratchett but I couldn’t help but go weak at the knees when he was around. It scared me a bit. I wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was just a guy not too long ago. A small part of me wanted to punch him the throat but a huge part of me wanted to be held in those arms again. That huge part was the scary one. I didn’t know what to make of it. As a guy, I never had these feelings for a girl but as a girl, I was like a hormone fountain. What the hell was wrong with me?

“One date” He said “Dinner and a movie?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my armor chipping away.

Damn him and those eyes.

“It won’t even be a date date. We can just go as two friends. I’ll pay for everything; I said I wanted to apologize after all.”

“If you pay doesn’t that make it a date?”

“Ok, you can pay for yourself.”

“When is this not a date going to happen?”

“How about Friday night?”

I shook my head. I’d just found out that, my evenings were going to be booked solid. Training to be a witch was very time consuming. My grandmother laid it all out for me this morning. Every day after school from three to nine I was going to be learning with my new teacher. She said it was a little much, but seeing as I was a new Novice, I needed a lot more work. I think that was her way of saying I was dangerous and needed more training than others.

“I have training every day after school, including Friday.”

He sighed. “How about Saturday night? They can’t possibly make you work on the weekend?”

My grandmother never did say anything about the weekend.

Shit.

“How about you call me on Friday after nine and we’ll see what happens?”

“Yes” he said, fist pumping the air.

“That’s not a yes, it’s a will see.”

He nodded. “Ok, I’ll talk to you later then.”

Jack turned and ran down the hall, probably toward his class. I’m sure he wasn’t going to make it. The bell rang a second later. I cursed and ran toward my room, slipping inside just as the teacher was about to shut the door. She gave me a cold look but I ignored it as I found my seat. When I sat down, I couldn’t help but feel the flutter in my chest.

Jack had actually asked me out---even if it wasn’t official.

What the heck just happened?

I stood in front of the gate at Crowley Manor, staring up at the large estate behind it. I looked at the slip of paper in my hand a second time just to make sure. I was a bit surprised to say the least. When my grandmother gave me the note this morning, with the address, I never realized it was going to be here. The note just said that my magic teacher would meet me at this address and that was it. I guess it made sense. What better place to learn magic then here. I couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed too, though. My grandmother refused to tell me who my new teacher was, only that she would be waiting for me after school. If I was meeting her here, it was clearly one of the Coven members. The implication of that wasn’t lost on me.

They didn’t trust me.

I knew that already though. Hell, two of them tried to Bind me. I knew four them at least thought me worthy of being trained but that didn’t really tell me much. It just scared me a bit to think that one of them might actually end up teaching me. I had six possible choices.

My grandmother was the only one I knew wouldn’t have that job.

There were rules and guidelines for Witches. According to those rules, a mother always teaches her daughter witchcraft. If she has two daughters, then another female family member is substituted. There were exceptions of course. If the daughters were far enough apart in age for instance then the mother was able to teach her second daughter as well. I had a bit of a conundrum. My mother was in Africa at the moment so she was out of the question. She would be out of the question if she was here too, because she was Jess’s teacher. My grandmother couldn’t do it either because she was teaching Mary. The only other family member in town was my Aunt Grace but she was teaching my cousin Carrie. So I was officially a Student without a Master.

Well, a blood related one anyway.

When that happened, the teacher was usually appointed by the Coven. That’s the bit that really scared me. I guess I would be happy if it were Cassie but I knew she had a daughter of her own to teach. Mrs. Donovan was really nice; I suppose I could deal with her. The one I couldn’t deal with was Mrs. DeWitt. Her daughter was the Inquisitor and I was pretty certain she was the one who called the Binding on me yesterday. I couldn’t prove it, of course, but she had been a bit of a bitch with me during that tea party meeting a week ago.

Thinking about who might be my teacher was only succeeding in scaring the hell out of me.

I took a deep breath and pushed my bike toward the gate. As soon as I did, the gate opened. I jumped slightly, not expecting that. As it was opening, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some kind of spell on it. I looked all around, trying to see if I could see some kind of camera too. It was possible someone was watching me from a little security room inside the house and just opening the gate, as I got close. I couldn’t see any camera though so the idea of it being spelled was a very big possibility. I pushed on through, trying hard not to think about it. The last two times I’d been here were by car so anything was possible.

On the other side of the gate, I began to follow the road toward the house.

I rode slowly, using my feet on the ground to propel me forward. I was about halfway down the drive, just approaching the first set of flower arrangements when a cat ran out in front of me. It was a good thing I wasn’t going fast or else I might have crashed right over it. I cursed. That’s why I hated cats so much; they had no respect for people. This particular one stopped right in the middle of the road and stared at me. It was a Siamese, with piercing blue eyes. Around its neck was a red collar, a bronze tag hanging from it. Diamond wore a bronze tag too but his was really strange. It had this funky symbol on it, one I had to actually look up on the Internet: the Eye of Bast. When I asked my mother about it, she told me who Bast was and how she thought it was fitting.

“Hey stupid” I said, annoyed. “Move or I’ll run you over.”

The cat continued to sit there. It also continued to stare at me with those eyes. For a split second, I thought about running it over like I threatened. In the end, I pushed my bike around it. As I started to pedal down the path, I couldn’t help but turn to see if the stupid thing was still there but it was gone. I could never see the large fascination people had with cats. I thought they were the most annoying things in the world. As a witch now I knew that was a bit of a conundrum, I just hoped that they didn’t expect me to have one of those. I wonder if I could be like Harry Potter and get an owl instead.

I pedaled down the rest of the drive trying not to think about it. When I got to the house, I left my bike in front of the steps. I wasn’t sure where else to leave it. I took a cautious step forward and rang the bell. I’m not sure how long I waited but when the door was finally opened, a bright and smiling Joanna was there to greet me.

“Kelly dear” she said, ushering me inside. “You look lovely this morning.”

“Thanks Mrs. Wilkes” I said, feeling uncomfortable.

I’m not sure how she thought jeans and a t-shirt made me look lovely but I’m sure she was just being polite.

“Now, I told you to call me Joanna,” she said as the two of us walked through the living room.

The room was vacant this time, no little boys staring at fish.

I followed Joanna through the house. When we got to the kitchen, I found Maggie with her brother Timmy sitting at the table. Both of them turned to me, little Timmy jumped from his chair and ran to hide behind his sister.

Maggie laughed. “Sorry Kel, strangers bother him.”

I gave Timmy the best smile I could muster. He peeked around his sister for a second before quickly hiding behind her again.

“Timothy sweetie” said Joanna with that smile of hers. “How would you like to help me in the garden?”

The little boy poked his head out from behind his sister and nodded. Joanna held out her hand and Timmy rushed over to her, clinging tightly to her thigh. I couldn’t help but smile and wonder. I was about to voice my question to Joanna but she was already taking Timmy out of the room. The little boy clung to her the whole time.

I turned to Maggie. “He saw me before and he was fine.”

She shrugged. “He’s six.”

Once again, Maggie the Wise Sage.

Maggie continued. “C’mon, I’m supposed to bring you to the library.”

I nodded and the two of us left the kitchen.

We started going down the same hall I went down before, the one leading to the sunroom. Right before getting there, though, we turned down a side hall. Maggie seemed to be lost in thought about something so I took the time to look at the various portraits lining the walls. All them looked very old and the men in them very astute. I read off some names but they meant nothing to me. Before getting to the double doors at the end of the hall, Maggie stopped and turned toward me.

“You think going out with Jack is a good idea?”

She knew about that already. How am I not surprised.

“Do you know everything?”

She smiled. “Jack happily told Charlie who called me.”

I laughed. “Talk about a network.”

Maggie was grimacing. “Are you sure that going out with him is good for you, though? I mean, he caused you to spaz out when you kissed. What happens if he tries it again?”

I hadn’t really given it much thought because it wasn’t really a date.
“It’s not a date.”

She laughed. “Yeah, and my middle name isn’t Gertrude.”

“Your middle name is Gertrude?”

She flushed red. “That’s not the point. I just don’t want you to get more hurt is all.”

I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. I found myself wanting to hug people more and more now. I guess it was a girl thing. Not that it was a bad girl thing but guys didn’t generally hug one another all the time. It felt kind of good. This was one of the reasons I was loving being a girl so much. Girls were always criticized for being too emotional but guys are always way too repressed. If we---I mean them---expressed themselves more they might find more fun out of life.

“You’re a good friend,” I said as we pulled away “I promise I’ll be careful.”

“Ok, so when Jack pisses you off again, are we shunning him or are we going to pretend like it didn’t happen?”

I gave her a little shove and we both laughed.

After our tiny laughing fit, Maggie turned back to the double doors. I did as well. Looking at them reminded me the real reason why I was here. I’d almost forgotten for a sec. One of these days, I needed to visit Maggie just to visit.

“Let’s go, your teacher is waiting.”

She took a step forward and slowly opened the doors.

The first thing I noticed about the library was how big it was. I was expecting a small room with walls lined with books. There were a lot of books, loads on the walls and lots more stacked in corners. But the room looked a lot like one of the side rooms in the public library. Save for the large windows along the one wall. The waning light of day was shining through them. I hardly paid any attention to that though, all my attention went to the small sitting area. There was a real large comfortable looking Victorian style sofa and two chairs. In one of the chairs sat a very familiar woman holding an even familiar looking Siamese.

“Melissa?” I gasped out of shock and utter surprise.

She smiled. “Hi Kel.”

I found myself letting out the biggest sigh of relief ever. It wasn’t one of the old crones from the Coven after all. I wanted to squeal in delight and jump into her arms. Instead, I followed Maggie further into the room. She led me over to a little table. There were four chairs around it but Maggie didn’t sit. I stood as well, staring at the school nurse.

Staring at my new teacher.

“I bet you were expecting one of the Coven members?” I numbly nodded my head, she smiled. “There was some talk about it actually but your grandmother felt that someone closer to your age was a little more appropriate. They thought about asking my sister Darcy but she’s a bit busy with a raccoon or something.”

Thank you, Grandma.

Melissa scooted the large Siamese off her lap. The cat dropped to the floor, walking a bit before stopping a foot or so in front of me. It stared at me with those blue eyes again.

Melissa laughed. “She’s new at this, Phoenix. She wouldn’t have known you were connected to me.” The cat meowed, Melissa sighed. “Kelly this is my Familiar, Phoenix. He’s a bit pushy so he wants me to tell you that he’s pleased to meet you but you failed his test.”

Familiar? I looked down at the cat, feeling like a dork.

I should have put two and two together as soon as I saw the stupid thing. Of course, he had to be someone’s Familiar, especially now that I got a closer look at his collar. The Eye of Bast was on it. I groaned. I never really put it together before but I think Nicodemus has one on his collar as well. Three cats, all with the same symbol. How could I have been stupid enough not to notice?

It took me a split second to realize that Melissa had just had a conversation with her cat.

“You can talk to him?”

Melissa laughed. “All witches can communicate with their Familiars. You didn’t know that?”

Oh, crap. It all made sense now. Every time I got in trouble and my mother wasn’t around, somehow she always knew about it. Stupid Diamond was ratting me out, the little bastard. I was so going to get payback.

“I’m not going to get one too, am I?”

“Eventually” she said, “it depends on the Witch. Most witches get their Familiars during their Novice stage of training. Some witches get them earlier than others.”

I guess that made sense. Jess didn’t have her Familiar, for instance. I guess she wasn’t that good of a Witch. I couldn’t help but smile at that.
Melissa stood up and walked over to me. She gave me a quick once over with her eyes before turning to Maggie. She was frowning when she did so. “I’m sorry Mags; this is the part where I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

Maggie nodded. “Comes with the territory. I’ll talk to you later, Kel.”

She gave me a hug and left the room.

As Maggie was leaving, the door lingered open for a second. In that moment, a woman appeared. She looked to be in her thirties maybe and very beautiful. She was very familiar looking too. I couldn’t help myself staring at her then quickly at Melissa, almost like the two of them could be sisters. Was this Darcy? I could swear Melissa said her sister was younger. Maybe she had an older one too.

“Hi Mom” said Melissa smiling brightly at the woman.

Mom? There was no way this woman could be Melissa’s mother. She was way too young for that.

The woman turned to me with a slight smile. “You must be Kelly. I’m Donna Williams; your grandmother told me you were quite the looker.”

My grandmother, surely she was mistaken.

Mrs. Williams---Donna---laughed. “You’d be surprised.”

I blinked. Could she read my mind?

She winked. “Thank you, by the way. It’s nice when someone thinks I’m younger than I look.”

I was really confused now. Melissa and her mother laughed. While she was laughing, Donna ran her hair through her hair. I caught sight of a gold ring with an amethyst in the center. It was eye-catching because the jewel was really big. There were very few people who would wear something so big in public.

“So inquisitive” said Donna. “You’re just like your mother. She was a very wonderful human being.”

“Still is,” I said with a smile.

Donna paused for a moment. “Of course she is.”

“Mom” said Melissa quickly. “I’m not sure she wants to hear about all that.”

“Of course” Donna flicked her wrist, flashing that big ring of hers.

She wasted no time doing whatever it is she came to do. I watched as she walked over to the far wall. I took a few steps to follow, curious about what might happen. The wall looked normal enough. She stood in front of a small space between two book shelves. I looked at the shelves, the books were old and leather bound. The titles on the spines didn’t really interest me in the least. What did interest me was the little indent on the wall. If I hadn’t been pointed to it by her, I would have never noticed. The indent was small and slightly familiar. It took me a second to realize that it was the same shape as her ring. My suspicion was confirmed a second later when Donna made a fist and lined the ring up with the hole.

She placed her fist gently against it and a moment later, it was as if the wall didn’t exist. It vanished in a shimmer of purple light. Behind it was an opening. I blinked a few times, getting a peek of a set of stone stairs.

Donna turned to her daughter. “You know what to do when you’re done?”

Melissa nodded. “Yes mother.”

Her Mom gave her a hug. “I expect to see you at dinner this weekend. Your sister’s got some crazy scheme of hers going. The daft girl wants to adopt a raccoon or something.”

Melissa scoffed. “I’ll see you then.”

Donna stopped at me before she left. “Don’t let my daughter work you too hard.”

She gently stroked my cheek then left the room, leaving Melissa and me alone.

I gulped.

Melissa laughed. “She’s trying to scare you. Everything is going to be fine.”

I looked wearily at the dark staircase.

Sure, whatever you say.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.17. I kind of surprised myself on how quickly I was able to get this out.I guess there some good things about staying up and writing real late. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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SEVENTEEN:

The stairway and the hallway it led to were dark and narrow, much like everything in this place. I was still utterly amazed at the vastness of Crowley Manor. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary house. A large house, but a house nonetheless. Now every time I went into it, there was some new secret it was waiting to reveal. I wonder if the Wilkes even knew such a place existed. Besides the level on top---the house---and the second level where the Coven kept their mysterious tribunal room, this new hall made a third. Three levels, how rich was this Crowley guy anyway. Last week on a whim, a day or so after becoming male for the second time, I did some research in the library on the mysterious Mr. Crowley. I was actually pretty surprised on how little there was about him.

I only found one book and it was a biography on Jacob Ravencrest. In the book, it mentions that Mortimer Crowley was a colleague of his and together the two of them founded the town. There was some mentioned about Crowley’s superstitious nature---how he built his home outside of town but nothing more than that. It was like whoever had written it deliberately left him out of the book. I asked the librarian about it and she told me Mr. Crowley was a very secretive man who cherished his privacy. The only close friend he had besides Ravencrest was Martin Wilkes, Maggie’s ancestor. The lack of information kind of baffled me, especially considering how extensive his house truly was. Why did it have two secret floors? Why were there so many secret passages and things? Why did no one know anything about him?

I was bound and determined to find the answer.

Of course, that would have to wait. Right now, I had my own questions to be answered. Chief among them at the moment was how long this tunnel went and when was it going to stop.

“Is it supposed to be this dark?” I asked.

Melissa laughed, the sound echoing back at me. She was hidden somewhere in the inky black in front of me. How she was able to see where she was going was beyond me.

“There’s no electricity down here.”

“What about a flashlight?”

“Not likely. This far underground, things like that don’t do well.”

“Why not?”

She laughed. “You’ll see.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

I couldn’t exactly argue though because without any lights, I’m not sure I’d know how to get back. I’m sure it was just a straight line but I swore there was a turn or two in there. We’d been down here for about two hours now and walking in the dark that long was enough to get anyone disoriented. My legs were starting to ache and my feet had gone numb a long time ago. The worst part was that I still had no idea where we were going. I thought for sure that spooky staircase was going to lead to some place exciting, instead, it led to more spooky. It wasn’t even the good kind of spooky either; it was the dull and boring kind. The kind of spooky that disappoints at the end of a modern horror movie, something some creative hack like M. Night Shyamalan might pull off.

I wanted to whine like a child. I almost did.

Instead, I trudged on in more silence.

Another twenty minutes passed. My legs were like jello, I couldn’t even begin to describe what my feet felt like. I’m not sure there was such a description for it, actually. All I know was that they were beyond numb if that was even possible.

“We’re just about there,” said Melissa, I think I sensed glee in her voice.

“About where?” I groaned, at least I think I did.

“”You’ll see.”

No I wouldn’t, it was too dark.

Another ten minutes or so later, that didn’t really matter. I’m not sure when I started to see the light but I know that one minute it wasn’t there and the next it just appeared. It was kind of small at first, like the light at the end of a tunnel. Then very slowly, it got closer and closer. It never got any brighter though. The light became a guiding voice for me, urging me on. I wanted to get to the light, I want to stand in its brilliance and be amazed by it. I got invigorated by the light. I’m not sure what came over me but the closer I got to it the less my legs started to hurt. In fact, I felt no pain at all, as I pushed myself onward.

I got closer and closer. The closer I got, the more of the tunnel seemed to light up before me. I saw the moldy stonewalls, the grimy stone floors and Melissa. I was surprised to see that she was mere inches in front of me. The whole time I actually thought she was several feet ahead of me. I guess I felt a little more secure knowing that she hadn’t strayed too far ahead. I paid her little attention though because all I cared about was the light. I nearly pushed her out of the way to get to it. I said nearly because if I had, I think my teaching lessons would be over. Instead I impatiently waited as she led me closer and closer to it, one small step at a time.

When we were right on top of it, the light seemed to vanish.

My feeling of elation went with it. The pain in my legs didn’t return but a hollowness in my body replaced it.

The tunnel had opened up though. We were now standing in a large dome shaped room,. It looked as if it was carved right out of the stone around it. The room was vacant save for a two foot by two-foot hole in the center. A shaft of light dropped down into the hole from above and I could see a rippling reflection dance on the far water probably from the water that was at the bottom of it. I approached the hole cautiously. Had this been the light I’d seen, the one that kept pushing me toward it? As I got closer, I didn’t feel like I wanted it anymore but I did feel something else. There was a pull to the hole, a strange energy I couldn’t describe. It tugged at my clothes, caused all my hair to stand on end. I looked over at Melissa; it appeared to be doing the same to her as well.

I reached my hand toward the light, letting my fingertips barely touch it. When they did, the tips sparked with a blue light. It tingled then burned. I pulled my hand away quickly.

“What is it?” I asked, my hand started to throb.

Melissa stepped around on the other side of the light. “What did you feel when you touched it?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure?”

She smiled. “How much do you know about Jacob Ravencrest?”

I shrugged. “He founded the town didn’t he?”

“That’s what they tell tourists and school children.” She said, reaching her hand out toward the light.

She didn’t touch it though. Instead, she let it stop a few inches away. An arch of blue sparked from it and hit her in the palm. Instead of pulling her hand away, she twisted it, pulling the spark with her. She let it dance along her fingers, weaving it between them like a live piece of thread. Then very slowly, she turned her hand and let the spark return back to the light.

“When Jacob and Mortimer Crowley set out for this land they weren’t seeking a place to settle like the story says, they were actually seeking something much more important” She pulled her hand away from the light. “They were seeking a vortex, a Nexus of magical energy if you will. There are only so many of these Nexi left in the world. Jacob studied his whole life and traveled the whole world in hopes of discovering one. No one knows what led him here but everyone knows what he found.”

I looked at the light and the hole. I think I understood. “Are you saying this is the Nexus?”

She shook her head. “This is merely a portal to it, a hole made to let some of the energy of the Nexus to seep out into the land. In his diary, Jacob wrote how he’d found such a hole and how he was led to it by a brilliant being all bathed in white. At first he thought it was an angel, so he called it a Sacred One.”

I nodded. I knew about the Sacred Ones. They were the Fae. I just never realized that Jacob Ravencrest had coined the term.

“It was one of the Sacred, a Fae Prince by the name of Orin. Orin brought Jacob to this hole, this well and shared its secrets with Jacob. In return, Jacob promised to protect the Well and the Nexus. So he built a town on it, building his home on where the well broke the surface above.”

I looked up, flabbergasted. That meant we were currently under Ravencrest Manor, currently under the grounds of the university. How was that possible? It felt like we’d been walking for hours but I knew Crowley Manor wasn’t that far out of town. I groaned, it was another one of Ravencrest’s mysterious time things. I turned back to look at the Nexus, wondering if perhaps It might have something to do with all that.

“So what is this then?” I asked, pointing to the hole.

She smiled. “The Well of Orin. Of course, the Norms don’t know its name or purpose. Most of them think Jacob built it. Up above it looks like a normal well. In fact if you look down into it, you can see all the coins people have thrown into it over the years.”
I got as close to the light as I could without touching it. I took a quick look down into the water below. Way at the bottom, I could see the glint of silver and copper. I could also see something else; it looked like rubies, emeralds and amethysts. Precious stones. So there was a lot more down there than a fortune in coins.

“So if he was supposed to protect this place like he promised, why did he leave?”

Melissa shrugged. “No one knows. One day, one of his servants went to fetch him from his bed but Jacob was gone. For three days they searched but no one ever found a single sign of him.”

“What about Crowley?”

“What about him?”

I shrugged. “Did he know about this place?”

“If he did, he never wrote about it. Jacob and Mortimer kept a lot of diaries but sadly after founding the town, their friendship seemed to cease. Mortimer became more reclusive and Jacob couldn’t be bothered with him. No one really knows how much the two men shared. After Jacob disappeared, Mortimer grew more reclusive. He died a few years later, his man servant Martin Wilkes by his side. The last word he was said to have uttered was Jacob’s name.”

It was kind of sad in a way. The two of them were friends and it sounded like secrets kind of kept them apart.
“And Crowley Manor was left to the Wilkes right?”

She nodded. “Caused quite a stir. Mortimer had an estranged daughter, Jocelyn. The estate should have been hers but she was a bit of shrewd woman. She only ever cared for her father’s money. When the house and estate were left to Martin, she threw quite the tantrum. She fled back to Germany with her new husband. A couple of decades later, some of her family returned but….well it didn’t last long.”

I smiled. “What about Ravencrest? Did he have any kids?”

She laughed. “You’re joking right?”

I was confused. “Am I missing something?”

She laughed some more. “Your grandmother never told you?” I shook my head, even more confused. Melissa shook her head. “Ravencrest brought his young wife with him. After settling here, they had three children. All girls. Two of them grew up here but left when they married. The third one stayed. She never married but to hide from her famous last name, she took up her mother’s maiden name of Crawford.”

“Holy crap.”

Melissa nodded. “Jacob Ravencrest’s blood flows through your veins.”

I touched my chest. I felt prouder somehow. I didn’t realize just how important this place was to my family.

Melissa fell silent for a few minutes before seemingly looking at a watch that wasn’t actually there. She groaned. “Crap, I didn’t realize it was getting this late.”

Ok a little weird but I’m not going to argue.

“I think that was a very good first lesson,” she added with a smile.

“How did I do?”

“Good, save for the whole wandering in the dark bit.”

She laughed. “You should have seen the first time I did this with my Mom. My aunt did it with Darcy, she bawled like a baby the whole time.” Melissa laughed. “I hear your cousin kind of scoffed and stomped on through.”

That sounded like Mary.

“So all Novices are brought down here then?”

“Yep, it’s the first lesson. It’s meant to show them just how important things really are. It’s by far the coolest thing about all of this.”

I groaned. “And the rest of it?”

“It gets easier eventually.”

That didn’t sound promising at all.

“C’mon” she said, turning away from me. “The exit is this way.”

I stepped around the hole and the stinging light. I felt the tugging the whole time I followed her. There was another tunnel at the other end of the room. When I got to it, it took every bit of will power I had to drag myself from the room. Melissa even gave me a little push. I’m not sure what the Nexus was made of but it was sure powerful stuff. As we walked along the tunnel leading away, I felt it tugging at me for quite awhile. Eventually the feeling stopped but not before we got to another set of stone stairs. I was a bit surprised how quickly they came up. I was even more surprised when we got to the top of them and found a simple door. When Melissa opened it and we stepped through, I got another surprise:

We were in a closet.

Melissa laughed. “Too Narnia for you?”

I turned toward the door we came through as Melissa closed it. As soon as it was shut, the door seemed to blend into the wall. It was cool and freaky at the same time.

“Where are we?”

“Ravencrest Manor, the north wing I believe. This part of the house is mainly administrative offices for the college now. My mother has an office here actually.”

I followed Melissa as she opened the closet door and led me out into a dark hallway. We wasted no time leaving. It didn’t take us long before we were outside in the crisp, night air. I shivered, rubbing my bare arms. I was never going to get used to how cold it got around here in December. Melissa laughed which didn’t help matters. She made a comment about a coat next time. Then she took out her cell to call me a cab.

“Tomorrow I want you to meet me at this address after school” she took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to me.

I looked and nodded. I knew the street; it was a few blocks from my house.

The cab arrived about ten minutes later. Melissa gave me a great big hug.

“This is going to be so much fun,” she said happily.

I smiled as I climbed into the cab and watched her from the window as it slowly pulled away.

I think I was getting a little sick and tired of being handed a slip of paper with an address on it. At least this time I wasn’t looking up at a foreboding house, fearing what might happen inside. Instead it was a pleasant looking blue one with a white picket fence, bright flowers and the feeling that there was a lot of love inside. It was like one of those homes you saw in those old black and white TV shows. I half expected the door to open and for Donna Reed to be standing there. Unlike the Crowley Manor, I wasn’t afraid to approach this place. I was a little apprehensive about things, though. I knew everything was going to be Ok in there but I couldn’t help but feel like there was something really fundamental that I was going to learn today.

Not as big as yesterday but still life changing.

I was still reeling from yesterday though.

After I got home last night, it was all I could think about. I went straight to my room, having missed dinner by an hour or so. I took out my books to do homework but I found myself daydreaming. The main thing on my mind was the Nexus. It was so damn powerful, so amazing. It shocked me that something like that could be under the town and that no one seemed to know about it. Sure, I’d only seen a little fraction of it but it was enough. I had so many questions and no answers. Instead of doing my work like I should of, I spent all night writing down my questions so I wouldn’t forget. I filled up three pages in my notebook about them, bound and determined to get some answers. This morning I tried asking my grandmother them but she told me that not even they knew all the answers.

“The Nexus is a mystery” she said “and sadly Ravencrest didn’t leave an owner’s manual behind for us to follow.”

He was another mystery all onto itself. Who was he exactly? How did he know so much? I thought he was a Norm but it was hard to believe that a Norm could know all he knew about the Unseen. I’d heard stories about what happened to Norms that knew the truth and it never ended well for them. Is that what happened to him, did some Unseen kill him to keep the truth? Was he even dead? I knew enough to know that Ravencrest just disappeared one morning, vanished without a trace. Most believed he went off on one of his adventures and never returned---that’s the story the Norms liked to tell but I couldn’t help but think there was more to it.
More to him. More to them.

Crowley interested me now more than ever. It was strange, really. A month ago, the only thing I’d been interested about was video games and comic books and now I couldn’t stop thinking about all this crazy stuff. It’s amazing what a month and a change of gender could do to a person. I felt more focused now, more whole if that was possible. I was more confident too. I’m not sure when I noticed that, but in class the other day I was actually raising my hand and talking to people. I never talked to people back home. I kind of liked it now, liked the attention. It was like life suddenly opened up for me and I had a passion for it.

I never thought I could ever be passionate about anything.

I let that passion drive me across the lawn and up the walkway to the front door. I took a deep breath and rang the bell. It didn’t take long before the door was opened. What I saw on the other side was probably going to scar me for the rest of my life. Ok, not scar me but it was really something I was never going to forget. There was a girl standing there, probably about twelve or so. She was dripping wet from head to toe and completely naked. She had a goofy, innocent look in those doe eyes of her.

“Hi, I’m all wet” she said happily.

I averted my eyes as fast possible but not before blushing severely.

Holy crap.

“Amanda” gasped a voice, followed by rapid footfall.

I turned just in time to see a girl that looked a lot like Melissa---same brown hair, same facial features. The girl or young woman I guess, grabbed the twelve year old and wrapped her in a towel quickly, pulling away from the door.

“I’m really sorry about that,” said the girl as she pulled the younger girl into the house.

I watched as she pushed her down a hallway and into a room, pulling it closed. When she turned around, she giggled. She walked toward me and I could definitely tell she was related to Melissa.

“You’re Kelly right? I’m Darcy, Melissa’s sister. Welcome to Casa de Williams.”

She waved her hands about in a grand gesture.

“Thanks” I said, still blushing slightly.

If Darcy noticed, she didn’t draw attention to it. “Mel should be around here somewhere. You want me to get her for you?”
I nodded.

“MEL” she shouted up a flight of stairs nearby.

I jumped.

Melissa appeared a moment or two later but not from the top of the stairs. She came walking out of a room that I think was the kitchen.

“Darcy” she said, drawing her sister’s attention.

Darcy turned to me. “See, I got her.” She turned to look down the hall. “Well I gotta get back to my…ummm…well I’m busy.”

Just like that, Darcy was gone.

Melissa sighed. “Sorry about her, mom didn’t socialize her enough when she was younger.”

I laughed. “I didn’t know you had two sisters?”

“I don’t” said Melissa, sounding a bit annoyed. “It’s kind of complicated.”

What wasn’t complicated in this town?

I didn’t press the matter though, it wasn’t my place. Instead, I followed as she beckoned. She led me down the very same hall her sister disappeared too. Instead of stopping at the door, Darcy and the strange girl went through, we continued. We walked exactly two doors down before we stopped. Melissa took a key from her pocket and unlocked it. Once again, I was standing before a flight of stairs leading down. I was never going to get used to that. Melissa wasted no time going down so I obediently followed. When I got to the bottom, I found myself in a spacious room, brimming to the ceiling with books. They weren’t the typical paperbacks you find in someone’s house either. These were old leather bound ones, like the ones back at the Crowley Manor library. Like Crowley Manor, there was also a small reading table. Unlike the Manor though, there was a wooden pedestal in the center of the room.

Resting on it was a large leather bound book just like the one in the secret room my grandmother had.

It was a Book of Shadows.

“Each family has their own Book of Shadows, some date back centuries, while others can be as fairly recent as a couple of decades.” Melissa was in teacher mode again like last night.

“How long has this one been in your family?”

“Long before we were the Williams,” she said. “In fact, this book is over five hundred years old. It’s not nearly as old or extensive as the Crawford one but it’s still pretty darn impressive. My great great grandmother on my father’s side passed it to my grandmother before she died.”

That surprised me. “Your father was a Dud?”

She nodded. “My mother’s Warden, too.”

“Do a lot of witches marry Duds?”

“It’s not mandatory but it happens a lot.” She smiled. “You and Jack thinking about tying the knot?”

I blushed. “We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”

She laughed. “A Crawford and a Pratchett, I suppose you could do worse,” she teased.

I bit my lip, a question forcing itself to be asked hopped from my mouth a second later. “Where’s your Dad?”

Please don’t say dead or else I’m going to feel horrible.

She shrugged. “Currently I don’t know. Two days ago, he was in New Delhi tracking down a rare tome. Before that it was Mumbai.” At my strange look, she elaborated. “Dad’s a rare book dealer. He specializes in the ancient texts mostly.”

I looked around the room. That’s why there were so many books down here. The room was practically exploding with them. The wall shelves were jammed pack to full and those on the floor were stacked so high and so close together it was hard to move. I was surprised anyone could even take a breath in here without knocking one of them over.

“Are all these books about the Unseen?”

“Most of them.”

“Have you read any?”

“Some” she walked over to one of the shelves, pulling off a book. “Here, catch.”

She caught me off guard as she threw the book at me. I barely caught it. When I did, I gave her a cross look. If I had dropped the book, I was going to feel real bad. After getting over that bit of shock, I slowly opened the book. The first thing I noticed was how old and yellow the pages were. The second thing I noticed was that it was written in some crazy language I’d never seen before. Staring at the scribbles hurt my eyes so I had to stop.

Melissa laughed when she noticed. “It’s Gnomish. One of many Fae languages.”

I closed the book quickly. “How many Fae languages are there?”

She shrugged. “Too many.”

I wove my way through the stacks and handed the book to her. She put it gently back into its place.

“You don’t expect me to learn all of them, do you?”

She laughed out loud. “If you did that would be a real feat. No, I’m just showing you some of what the world has to offer. Duds and Norms are drastically different and the same. Duds may know about the world of the Unseen but they don’t really get the chance to interact with it. Unless, of course, if they become Wardens. It’s a shame, really. For years we’ve been trying to change the rules but they’re old and have been set down for centuries, it’s really hard to change things that have been around for so long.”

I nodded. “My mother says my grandmother is a bit of a traditionalist.”

“Each witch has her own way.”

I looked around the room. “So is this lesson number two then?”

Melissa laughed. “No, this is a bit of me showing off. Lesson number two as you call it will begin as soon as I get you a spell book. Sit right here and I’ll be right back.”

Melissa left after that, leaving me alone in the big room of books. I tried to stay patient but curiosity got the better of me. I absently started pulling books from the shelves and opening them. Most of them were written in crazy languages that I couldn’t understand. As soon as I pulled one of them, I quickly put it back. There were a few though that were in English, but I wasn’t sure if I understood their contents. As I was browsing, I suddenly realized I wasn’t alone anymore. I turned quickly and sure enough, I saw Phoenix sitting there. The sneaky little spy was watching me like a hawk, those beady eyes of his following me about.

“Don’t you have a mouse or something to chase?”

Of course, the cat said nothing back.

It kind of freaked me out a bit. Here I was being watched at home all this time and completely oblivious. I’d actually changed in front of Diamond, multiple times. Was he some kind of perv or worse, did he report that to my mother as well? I shuddered at the thought. I shuddered even more when I realized the bastard had probably been in the room when my mother and sister were changing too. It made me wonder if all Familiars were perverts.

I turned back to the books, Phoenix’s eyes on me as I did so. I didn’t pull any more off the shelves in case he ratted me out. Instead, I just looked at the spines, trying to see if I could make sense of some of the names written on them. I couldn’t. Discouraged I turned around and found myself drawn to the Book of Shadows in the center of the room. I’d only seen one of them before. The one in my grandmother’s basement had been big and foreboding but I never actually got the chance to touch it. I licked my lips, tasting the lip-gloss. Strawberry Orange, Maggie bought it for me. After the lick, I took a few cautious steps toward it. Just a peek, what’s the harm in a simple peek. After all, Mary opened our Book and got to look so what says I can’t do the same.

I was inches from it, my fingers almost touching the cover when…

“I have my old book from when I was a Novice” Melissa’s voice trailed happily into the room with her. “It’s a little battered but---DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

I nearly tumbled backwards at her shout. I slammed abruptly into a stack of books, sending them scattered all over the place. Phoenix let out a giant squawk as one of them landed on his tail. He pulled out of the trap and scurried off, hissing at me as he went. Melissa rushed into the room, looking concerned.

“Are you Ok?” I nodded. She sighed. “You didn’t touch it did you?”

I shook my head. She let out another sigh.

There was a moment or two of silence.

“My fault” she said “that should have been lesson number two. I was so preoccupied with showing off; I forgot you didn’t know basic witchcraft 101”

“There’s a 101?”

She laughed. “Well not really but it’s something every witch should know. One of the first is to never touch another witch’s Book of Shadows. They’re very powerful tomes, encoded to the family that owns them. If you were to touch the Book of another family, well you’d be in rough shape.”

I looked at the Book then my hands. Shit, that was close.

Melissa pulled me into a hug. I didn’t know I was crying until I felt the tears on my cheeks.

“Its Ok, you didn’t know. No harm done.”

“I almost screwed up again” I sobbed into her shoulder.

She laughed. “One of the first things I did was turn my mother’s cat blue. My mother was furious. It was all because I got impatient and tried to do something I wasn’t ready for. Impatience is one of the witch’s worst Creeds.”

“Creeds?”

She nodded. “There are Creeds that we follow or rather that we try to avoid. Number One is Impatience. Number 2 is Intolerance and Number 3 is Ignorance. They’re called the Three Eyes for short. Every witch is taught to avoid the Eyes as much as possible. Often times those witches who can’t avoid them tend to burn up real quick. You understand?”

I nodded. “The Black Cross.”

“Exactly”.

I looked at the book and shuddered.

Melissa let me go. “Now as I was saying” She had a happy tone again. “This is the book that my mother gave to me. It’s a bit old and battered but it should get the job done.”

She held out the old, palm-sized book to me. I didn’t grab it though.

“I can’t take your book, its important right?”

Melissa laughed. “It’s the first book of the Witch. A Novice’s training spell tome but it’s Ok, my mother understands your situation. She wanted you to have it.”

I still hesitated. “Shouldn’t you give this to your daughter?”

Melissa nodded. “In time I will, right now I’m giving it to you. When the time comes and you’re finished, the book will return to where it belongs.”

I smiled and nodded, gently taking the book.

“With this Book, I, Melissa Anne Williams formally declare you a Novice Witch in the Ravencrest Order. Do you accept?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Then Blessed Be.”

She gave me another hug. I was crying a bit again but they were tears of joy this time. We held the hug for a whole minute before we separated. I felt excitement flow through me as I looked at the little book in my hand. I used to see my sister doing all her spells from her little book and always used to be so jealous of her. All my life I’d wanted to be just like her, a Witch that could use magic. I knew it was a pipe dream though. I was a Dud and Duds couldn’t do magic. Then the miracle happened and here I was now, holding my very own spell book, one step closer to being the Witch I’d always dreamed to be.

I opened the book, feeling a rush of emotions as I did. All of those emotions ebbed away as soon as I looked at the first page.

“Its blank” I said with a frown.

Melissa laughed. “Of course it is. You didn’t think we actually gave new Novices a fully loaded spell book did you?”

She laughed aloud for quite a while.

Ok, so small steps.

I closed the book and pressed it gently to my chest. There was a slight tingle and I couldn’t help but smile.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Sorry had a bit of writer's block so it took me way longer to write this one. I think the wait was well worth it though. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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EIGHTEEN:

“Princess, get back here”

A white streak darted into the kitchen, right underneath my chair. A second or two later, Mary followed. I looked up from my book as my cousin and her new cat disappeared around the corner. Watching them go I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of guilt. Relief too, but mostly it annoyed me that Mary got a Familiar before me. I tried to ignore it as I went back to reading but it was hard when I could hear her shouting at the cat all through the house. The cat arrived two days ago. I think Mary was shocked more than excited. It was a big deal when a young witch got her Familiar and I don’t think Mary was expecting to get one so soon. I was a bit surprised too. I was even more so when there was no fanfare that followed. I thought for sure my grandmother would make a big deal out of it but the day went on like it was ordinary.

Ordinary for them anyway.

My days were anything but ordinary lately. When I met with Melissa at the beginning of the week, I was convinced that things were going to be different. I was a Novice now, which meant the whole of the magical world was open to me. I was going to be like my sister, like Mary, like my mother. I guess I my hopes rose too quickly though because Melissa shattered my expectations. Sure, I was going to learn magic eventually. It turns out that all witches have different ways of teaching. The Crawfords for instance were a little more hands on. I remember watching my mother teaching Jess a spell on day one. Hell, even Mary knew half a dozen or so spells now.

Me, I was stuck with the boring stuff.

Ok so it wasn’t boring per se, but it definitely wasn’t floating pencils or trying to make seeds grow into tiny saplings. I would learn those things in time according to Melissa but her family was all about the theory of magic first. The night of our first official lesson in the basement of her home, she handed me two large leather bound books. She told me to take them home and read them from cover to cover. I think I might have whined more than once. The books turned out to be on the history of Witches. The first one was specifically about Ravencrest itself while the second---much larger than the first---was about the history of witches throughout the whole world.

I tackled the Ravencrest one first.

I’ve never been much of a reader but it didn’t take all that long to read---about three days. It was surprisingly entertaining. I especially liked the bit where it told about how all the families were partially related. Melissa and I, it turned out, were actually like third or fourth cousins. I’m not exactly sure how all of them worked out though. I was glad to see that Jack and I were like sixth cousins or something. It would have really freaked me out if he was like my first cousin or something. The rest of the book told how the witch families came to be in Ravencrest. Of course, the Crawfords were here because they were directly related to Ravencrest. The other families trickled in after the town was built in the 1860s. It was a surprisingly interesting read, unfortunately it did nothing to quell my curiosity about Crowley. He and his family were almost completely absent from the book. I knew Ravencrest and Crowley were magical families I was just a little surprised that the anonymous writer of the book completely left Crowley out of it.

The second book wasn’t nearly as interesting as the first. It was a dry read. I only started it about a day ago and already I was struggling with it. There were a lot of dates and people. According to Melissa, she wanted me to learn everything. She told me it helped me to become a more well rounded magic user. I guess the Williams thought that if a Novice learned about magic history they could better appreciate it. I guess I couldn’t complain with that. After all, I was pretty certain that Mary or my sister didn’t know anything about magic other than how to cast it.

“So she still has you reading,” said Mary as she walked into the kitchen.

I looked up from the large book to see my cousin walk back into the kitchen. She was holding a white cat in her arms. The cat was squirming, trying desperately to get away. I think I knew exactly how it felt. When my grandmother presented the cat to her I think it was the most excited I’d seen Mary in a long time, her face actually lit up. The cat on the other hand seemed to have other plans. To say the two of them didn’t hit it off was an understatement. The first thing it did was scratch her hand and take off. It spent the night under the couch. It turns out that humans aren’t the only ones who had a distaste for Mary. It only seemed to get worse after that. Not that I could blame it. Mary had it wearing one of those spiked black collars and the name Princess, I’d attack someone too if they named me that.

“You two bonding yet?” I snorted.

“She and I are just trying to find common ground,” said Mary as she dropped into one of the chairs.

The cat let out a yowl, after which it bit Mary’s hand and took off. Mary cursed but didn’t follow. Instead, she looked a little relieved.

“Why Princess?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Why not?”

I was never going to understand her. Here was my badass Goth cousin---the one people called Malice---and yet she names her cat Princess. Talk about a conundrum.

I wonder what was coming next, Mary actually smiling. Hell, maybe even giving someone a compliment.

“So what’s this one about?” she asked, pulling the book across the table.

“I was reading that” I snapped.

She groaned after only a few seconds. “How? This is some of the most boring crap I’ve ever seen. I mean who the hell cares about who married who and who begot who.”

I couldn’t agree more but I wasn’t going to let her know that. Instead, I was bound and determined to impress the hell out of her.

“Actually it’s kind of interesting” I lied. “Did you know that Wizards exactly existed once? They had this group called the White…”

“Lame” she interrupted. “Look I’m sure you’re really into all that crap but real witches could give a damn about something that happened all those years ago” She smirked. “Real witches care about important stuff.”

She waved her hand, causing my class of milk to rise off the table. I watched in awe and a bit of anger. Say what you will about Mary, she had great control of her magic. Me, I was lucky if I could even move a pencil. Trust me, I tried. I spent nearly two hours the other night trying desperately to move a pencil from one end of my desk to the other. I couldn’t even move it a millimeter and here she was raising a whole glass of milk nearly a foot off the table.

It was a good thing that my grandmother chose that particular moment to walk in.

I saw her first of course. She walked into the kitchen with the morning paper, Nicodemus in tow. When she saw what Mary was doing, I think I saw the anger in her eyes before she spoke.

“Mary Alice Crawford” she snapped.

Mary lost concentration and the glass dropped, spilling its milky contents all over the table. I scrambled quickly, grabbing the book to keep it from getting soaked.

“Go get something to clean this up,” continued my grandmother as she walked into the room.

Mary turned a particularly interesting shade of red before rushing over to the counter to get a washcloth. When she came back, my grandmother took up her usual seat at the table. Mary started to wipe furiously. As soon as she was done, I set the book back down. My grandmother caught sight of it and for a split second, I saw a smile curl the corner of her lips. It was quick and fleeting but it was. I thought I was actually going to die of a heart attack. Agatha Crawford actually smiled, what was the world coming too.

“Are you enjoying your studies with Melissa?”

She actually asked me a question and there wasn’t a hint of malice to it.

Two surprises in one day.

It took me a second or two to answer. “It’s not spells and glass raising but it’s interesting.”

She nodded. “Not all magic is about practical use. Each family has their own approach to things. The Williams are more lore based than most but the women from their lines are some of the best magic users to date. I know it might not seem like much now but trust me one day you’ll be glad that you learned all the lore first.”

I nodded. I wasn’t lying when I said it was interesting.

“It sounds boring to me,” said Mary as she dropped back into her seat.

“Don’t you have something to do?” My grandmother was in top form today, I was just glad that it wasn’t directed at me for once.

Mary gave her a clueless look.

“This is a crucial time for you” continued my grandmother. “When a witch first gets her Familiar it’s important that the two of them create a bond as soon as possible if not it could be disastrous.”

Mary groaned. “But she hates me.”

“She only hates you because she’s feeding off the negative vibe you keep on giving her. Try showing her a bit of kindness and before you say anything, no you haven’t. You’ve been giving her falsehood and she knows it. Familiars might have been human once but now they’re tied to their Witch. They pick up things we never can.”

Mary groaned, pushing herself up out of her chair. She didn’t say anything but she was grumbling as she stomped out of the room.

When she was gone, my grandmother sighed softly. “I fear for her sometimes. Her impatience is troubling.”

“She’s always been that way,” I said before thinking.

I cringed, waiting for the backlash that was going to come from insulting my cousin. Instead, I was rewarded with another smile, this one not hidden away.
Wow, two in one day. I wonder if she’d take offense if I touched her head looking for a fever.

We sat in silence after that. I’d never actually been alone this long with my grandmother before. Usually as soon as Mary left the room, my grandmother soon followed. Before I thought it was because she hated me because I was a boy. Now that I was a girl, I was surprised that she still didn’t want to be around me. I’m not sure when it happened but something had changed. Was it because I was a Novice now? I wanted to ask her about it but I was too afraid of her reaction.
“You seem to be adjusting well to things,” she said after a minute or two.

I shrugged. “It’s strange. It’s like I’ve always been this way.”

“Magic is peculiar that way.”

I nodded. “It’s definitely changed my life.”

She chuckled. “It changed mine as well.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t…”

She shook her head. “I was much like your friend Maggie. I was very shy and withdrawn, scared of my own shadow actually.”

I found that hard to believe. “What happened?”

She smiled. “I turned sixteen and the world suddenly opened up to me.”

I knew how that was.

It was kind of strange just sitting here with her talking. I’d never actually just talked with my grandmother before. She always just scowled at me and made me feel like shit. I now felt like I could ask her questions and actually get some answers. I had a lot of questions too but I surprised myself when I actually asked one that didn’t seem to be plaguing me as much as the others.

“Can I ask you a question about Crowley?”

I’m not sure where that one came from.

My grandmother seemed surprised. “What about him?”

“Well I’ve been reading these two books all week and they mention Ravencrest more than once. Mortimer Crowley on the other hand, is only mentioned once or twice. It surprised me because I thought he was one of the founders of this town.”

My grandmother sighed. “That is the question. Frankly, we don’t really know all that much about him. He was a bit of a recluse. He didn’t keep a diary like my grandfather.”

Grandfather? “Ravencrest is your grandfather!”

She smiled. “I thought you knew that.”

I was confused now. “But he disappeared in the 1800s, and that would mean….”

She winked. “That I look rather good for my age.”

I was floored. My grandmother laughed.

“I think that’s enough questions for now. If I remember correctly, don’t you have a date to get ready for?”

Crap. I’d forgotten all about it.

“Wait, how did you know about that?”

She laughed. “We Witches have very few secrets.”

Great.

It felt like a hundred butterflies were fluttering around in my stomach. It was by far the strangest feeling. I know the expression of course but I never thought I’d actually feel it. I just thought t was one of those things people said. I never actually thought it was something real and tangible. I mean who actually feels butterflies dancing about but sure enough it was there. Not real ones, of course, but it sure felt like it. The feeling was definitely uncomfortable. It was a combination of excitement and nervousness but definitely more nervousness. I also felt a bit like an idiot. Here I was waiting impatiently outside my house for my date to arrive. How clichéd did that sound. The girl outside waiting for the boy to come and pick her up. A small part of me wanted to turn around and run back inside but the rest of me seemed to be glued to the spot.

I don’t think I was ever truly going to understand this new girl body of mine.

I mean one minute I loved it more than anything and the next it was my worst enemy. Thankfully I had yet to live the real nightmare of womanhood but it was only a matter of time before that came. I couldn’t help but think there was some mystical force out there, smiling down on me and laughing. I was a bit of a nobody as a guy and now the universe was getting back at me for being such a blight on it. Sure I got to be a cool, kick ass witch but at what price? Here I was this nervous and anxious new girl waiting for some guy I didn’t even know I really liked. Ok so that last bit was only half true. When I thought about Jack I couldn’t help but feel a little warm inside.

Unfortunately, that warmth wasn’t as real as I wanted it to be at this very moment.

I shivered, rubbing my hands over my arms. Even though I was wearing a jacket, it was still really cold. I wish I’d told him to come to the door like a proper date. Of course that would have meant admitting this was a real date, which of course we hadn’t. We were friends, two friends going out to enjoy mutual interests. First, a movie, then dinner at Mario’s afterwards. Maggie and I would probably do something like that. Hell, we had plans to do it next week actually. Yet, I knew going out with Jack was going to be nothing like hanging out with Maggie. I shivered again just thinking about where this evening might lead and possible outcomes of it.

Mainly though I was shivering because of the cold.

I’m glad I decided on jeans. I actually tortured myself over the last few days about it. I wasn’t quite ready to wear a dress of course but that didn’t stop me from buying one. It was on sale at the Teen Scene. Darcy actually helped me pick it out; she said it was a killer that showed off my legs. It was rather hot looking but it was definitely not something one wore to a “not date”. Darcy pressured me into buying it though. I spent the last few hours with it sitting on my bed, staring intently at it. I almost put it on three times before I talked myself out of it. I wasn’t ready for a dress even though I really wanted to wear it. At my birthday party---before things went to shit----it was the one thing I wished I had done more than anything. I couldn’t help but wonder where the night would have led if I had been wearing one.

My thoughts of the cold and dresses were interrupted by the arrival of a red Camaro. It was one of those older Camaro’s. I didn’t really know much more about it than that though because I’m definitely not a car person. I knew it was Jack’s car though because I’d seen him driving around in it. He used to talk a lot about the car during lunch too; it was something of a love of his. The car originally belonged to his brother I think, an heirloom passed to him by his late father.
The car stopped in front of our house. Jack got out a second later, smiling. I was glad to see he was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt.
“I was beginning to think that you were going to make me walk to the theater,” I said, as I followed him around the car to the passenger seat.

“Sorry” he said sheepishly, running his hand through his hair.

I was shocked to see a large bandage on it.

“You ok?” I asked, pointing it out.

He laughed. “The car was giving me problems yesterday. I kind of burned it on the engine block.”

I frowned. “Here I thought you were a mechanical genius or something.”

He laughed as we got into the car. We didn’t really say much to one another on the ride into town. It was this strange awkward silence actually. Yesterday we discussed what kind of film we wanted to see. I think he thought I was all for one of those sappy romantic comedies, there were two currently playing. Truth be told, I wanted something action packed. Hey, I might be a girl now but that didn’t mean my taste in movies had changed.

At the theater ticket booth, a smiling Dana Stiles met us.

“Hey guys,” she said, giving us a coy smile.

I smiled. “Hey”

I didn’t know her all that much actually. I think I had a class or two with her but we didn’t really run in the same circles. She was one of the guests at my birthday though, sadly we didn’t get all that much time to socialize.

“So” said Jack, looking at the selection. “We can see the new Twilight movie if you want?”

I groaned. “Not”

Twilight, gag me now.

I gave the list a quick look. “How about Immortals?”

Jack looked surprised. “You serious?”

I nodded. “Hell yeah.”

There were wild Internet rumors that Henry Cavill---the lead actor---might be up for Superman in a new movie. If those rumors were in fact true, I wanted to see if this guy really had the chops to pull it off. The guy from the last movie they did sucked so bad that even at ten when I saw it I wanted to walk out of the movie theater. What can I say; I’m really devoted to my heroes.

“I hope he doesn’t suck,” said Jack as we made our way to the concession stand. “I mean I heard he might play Superman.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “I didn’t know you were a comic fan?”

“You kidding me!’ he said excitedly. “I used to spend every day after school in the comic shop in middle school.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “Ravencrest has a comic book store?”

“You didn’t know?” I shook my head. He wrapped his arm around me. “Monday after school, I’m so taking you there.”

I found myself enjoying his closeness. “It’s a date,” I said softly.

The first time I’d come to Ravencrest’s little theater; it was the first summer I came here. I remember being unimpressed with it because it was so old and had only one screen. We had a multiplex back home---everything there had been chrome and all shiny, practically new. Standing here now---my umpteenth time in the theater---I kind of missed it. Now when I went to the movies back home I couldn’t help but miss this old little place with its one screen, polished wooden seats with velvet cushions and the people who worked here who actually looked like they enjoyed their jobs.

We found a pair of seats in the middle.

I’d like to tell you what the movie was about but I was so nervous that I barely paid attention. I did find myself holding Jack’s hand halfway through it. The movie went by fast though. From what I did see, I had to admit that Cavill could definitely pull off Superman. As we got out of our seats and started down the aisle, I got a sudden chill I was being watched. I let go of Jack’s hand and turned around, scanning the faces of the people behind us. A lot of the faces I knew because they were fellow classmates. None of them were actually looking right at me though.

“Something wrong?”

I shook my head. “I thought someone was watching me.”

Jack put his arm around my waist. “C’mon, pizza awaits.”

When we got out into the concession area, I had to go to the bathroom.

I stopped myself a split second before walking into the Men’s room. I guess I was never not going to get used to that. I spun on my heel and went into the Ladies’ instead. I peed quickly, wanting to limit my time in here as much as possible. I’d been a girl for a while now but I still felt like an interloper somehow. So as I rushed out of the stall and started washing my hands, I barely noticed when someone came into the bathroom with me.

“Aren’t you two so cozy and sweet” said a cold voice that sent a chill up my spine.

I caught sight of the woman that appeared in the mirror beside me. For a second my breath seemed to catch in my throat. It was the same dark haired girl from the sorority, way back when I was still male me. I’d almost completely forgotten about that, actually. Seeing her now jogged my memory. It was the first time that I realized something had changed about me because I was able to detect the Wards around the house. Of course, I didn’t know that’s what I was doing at the time. I’m not sure why seeing the girl now made me so scared though. There was something about her that made me want to turn and run as fast as possible. She was really beautiful but sinister looking too. Her skin was very pale; her long raven black hair flowed down her back. She was dressed in a simple top and skirt but it looked far too flimsy for the cold weather of tonight.

“You’re Agatha Crawford’s granddaughter aren’t you?” she asked, touching up her dark lipstick.

Not that she needed it; her lips looked really red already.

“You know my grandmother?”

She laughed. “We’re old friends, very old friends. Your name is Kelly right?”

I nodded. “Are you are?”

She smiled. “You’re a sweet and innocent one aren’t you” She turned away from the mirror, stepping close. She sniffed the air. “You smell like lilacs. I always used to have a thing for lilacs when I was a girl your age.”

She gently ran her fingers through my hair. I cringed at her touch, especially because her hands were ice cold. There was something else I felt when she touched me, something familiar and yet very foreign. It was power but a power unlike anything I’d ever encountered before. Sometimes witches were able to sense the power in others. Most witches were on the same level but the girl who stood before me now was so beyond anything I’d ever felt before it was terrifying. Not even my grandmother had a level anywhere near the one I was feeling now.

It made no sense though. If she had so much power, then why wasn’t she on the Coven?

She smiled. “You felt it didn’t you?” I numbly nodded. “You have it too, child. Not as strong as mine but its something. I sensed it the first time we met all those weeks ago. Do you remember?”

I nodded. “Outside the sorority house.”

She smiled. “Yes. A girl like you with that much power, it’s rare. There are only a few like you that come along. The last one was…well a very long time ago. When I met her, I knew there was something very special about her. She and I became fast friends you know” She moved closer, her face nearly touching mine. “You and I can become friends too if you want?”

She was too close. I could feel my body seizing up, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. She reached out and gently put her hand between my breasts. There was a surge of pain, a slight pinch. I jerked slightly as she gently pushed me against one of the stalls. She was something I’d never seen before. I’m not sure where it came from but suddenly I couldn’t resist her anymore. I was numb to everything as she gently started kissing my neck. She moved slowly, until her mouth was right near my left ear.

“So delicious, just one taste.”

She moved away from my face, back to my neck. I felt her mouth open but this time it wasn’t a kiss. There was two slight pricks and then…then the bathroom door slammed open loudly.

“Hey get the hell away from her you fucking nutcase,” snapped a loud and very familiar voice.

The voice shook away any numbness I might have felt. I pushed the woman away from me, turning toward my rescuer. I was shocked, surprised and relieved all at once when I saw Sophie standing there. I was even more surprised to see her holding a gun. It wasn’t a toy either. She held it level with the woman’s chest.

“If you pull a gun, girl you better be prepared to use it,” said the woman, her voice still danced about like a melody.

“You want it in the head or the heart?”

The woman smirked. “Now isn’t this interesting.”

“Kelly come over here,” said Sophie, ushering me to her side.

I didn’t have to be told twice. I pushed past the woman and went to stand beside my friend.

The woman laughed. “Have your moment of triumph but you’ll be back, they always come back. Next time you won’t be so lucky either.”

Her eyes seemed to flash silver---was that even possible? Then she slowly walked past us. She whispered something in Sophie’s ear, smacked me on the butt then walked out of the door. I shuddered as soon as she was gone and nearly collapsed to the floor. Sophie grabbed me and led me over to the sink.

“You ok?” I nodded. “Who was that?”

I shook my head, tearing up. “I only met her once and she scared me then too.”

“You and the people you meet, total freaks.”

I laughed. “You putting yourself in that category?”

“Always, girlfriend”

We both laughed. Sophie helped me with my tears, making my face presentable again.

“Don’t want you looking like a spaz for that cute hunk of yours,” she said with a wink.

“You saw us?”

She nodded. “Does he know about…well … you?”

I was confused for a second until I remembered Sophie thought I was a cross dresser. So I decided once again to play into her misunderstanding.

“He knows and he’s ok with it.”

She smiled. “Then you’re a lucky girl.”

“Luck has nothing to do with it. You always just seem to be around when I need you the most.”

She laughed. “You’re just lucky I downed a whole tub of popcorn and a large drink. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to burst if I don’t well…you know.”

I let Sophie pee. As soon as she was done, she insisted to stay with me until I found my way back to Jack. We found him standing outside, looking worried. When he saw us, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Everything ok?”

“Girl stuff” said Sophie with a smile.

“You ok for pizza?”

“Of course she is” said Sophie speaking before I could. “Our girl is in good form tonight. You better treat her well too, buster or I’m going to make sure you sing soprano for the rest of your life.”

Jack looked down at Sophie’s leather boots, they were clearly steel toed. He gulped. I couldn’t help but laugh. I gave Sophie a hug, thanked her for her help and promised to call her so we could finally do that hanging out we kept on trying to do. As soon as she left, Jack treated me like I was made out of glass. I have to say it was a little annoying but really nice. He kept looking at me the entire drive to Mario’s, well any chance he could get anyway. While we were in the restaurant, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight. It was clear he thought something was wrong. He probably thought that someone was out to get me. He knew all about the alley incident now. The Coven and the Inquisitor have still yet to catch the second bastard.

When he finally drove me, he walked me to the door. I didn’t complain about that part in the least.

“I had a really good time,” I said, smiling happily.

“Except for the mysterious thing in the bathroom of course.”

“Nothing happened I swear.”

He gave me a look that said he knew I was lying. “I’m just glad your friend was there to help you with whatever didn’t happen.”

I laughed. While I was laughing, he moved in. He kissed me. It happened so fast that I didn’t really have time to react. This time I didn’t want to react, well not like I did before. This time I let him kiss me, feeling a bit weak in the knees. It was really nice, a lot better than the first one. It felt like it lasted forever but I knew it was only a few seconds.

“That one was much better,” I said when he pulled away.

“I’d really like to do that again.”

He leaned in but I stopped him with a hand. “One per date mister but there will definitely be a repeat performance very soon.”

He said his goodbyes and I slipped into the house, well before the allotted time. The living room was vacant so I slowly made my way upstairs to my bedroom. As soon as I got inside, I shut the door and locked it. I ran over to the mirror on the wall and checked my neck, the spot where the woman had tried to bite me. Yes, bite me. I saw two tiny little pricks but nothing more. I couldn’t help but wonder what might have happened if Sophie hadn’t shown up. Would the woman have sucked my blood? Would she have drained me dry?

I couldn’t even say the word but it was definitely on the tip of my tongue. It was there for the rest of the night.

When I finally got to sleep, I couldn’t stop myself from dreaming about it. In the dream though, we were in my bedroom, on my bed and both of us were wearing very little.

In the morning when I woke up, I was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

I was scared too. I’d been careless, far too careless. I could have been killed, just like every other time. I was I that stupid, that naive. Ravencrest was a dangerous place and I nearly screwed up again. As I sat there and tried not to remember the dream or the night before, I made myself a promise. I was never again going to allow myself to be the victim.

No one was ever going to do that again.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's nineteen, I wrote this a lot faster than 18 that's for sure. Not a lot really happens in this chapter but things will definitely pick up in the the next one. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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NINETEEN:

“He took you to the comic book shop for your second date?”

Misty was sitting across from us at the table, staring at me like I had a hole in my head. I guess I couldn’t blame her; after all going to a comic book shop probably wasn’t the average date. At least it wasn’t a date that most girls would want to go on but I really liked it.

“He picked me up yesterday afternoon, drove me out there and we spent an hour shopping. Afterwards we went to this little bistro to have lunch and back to my place for a bit to read our new purchases.”

“I think it’s kind of sweet,” said Maggie.

Misty laughed. “I think you’re both dweebs.”

Maggie and I both stuck our tongues out at her, which got all three of us laughing.

Yesterday was well worth it, definitely because it helped me get over the night before. What happened in the bathroom was still fresh in my mind. The first thing I did yesterday morning was tell my grandmother everything. I left out the Sophie saving me part though; I didn’t want her to get in trouble for having a gun in a public place. Instead, I told her some girls came into the bathroom and the vampire stopped. Wisteria stopped. Yes, I know had a name to go with the face. It didn’t take me long to find out about her either. After telling my grandmother, I went straight to Melissa’s. I told her what happened as well and asked if she had any books that told me about the Unseen in town. She was a little reluctant to oblige my request but she brought me some kind of ledger. It listed all the powerhouses and I spent the afternoon engrossed in it----well up until my date anyway.

Misty sighed heavily. “Well I gotta go. Coach Cross wants to see me.”

“You in trouble?” I asked teasingly.

She sighed. “I wish. She’s been impressed with my athletic prowess and wants me to try out for girls’ volleyball team.”

I could see that actually. Misty looked like a volleyball player, she was both tall and fit. She could definitely tear up the court.

“Weren’t those try outs in September?”

Misty shrugged. “One of the girls got hurt, Coach wants me to replace her.”

“Good luck” I said.

She smiled. “Thanks, but I think I’ve got this one in the bag.”

Maggie rolled her eyes as Misty took her empty tray and left.

Maggie looked around quickly; making sure no one was in earshot before she asked. “So what did you find out about the bitch from Saturday?”

“Her name is Wisteria.”

Maggie let out a slow intake of breath. “Shit, it had to be that one.”

I was surprised. “You know her?”

“Only rumors but what I’ve heard is not good. She’s the head vampire here; all her girls are over at that sorority Delta Beta Zeta. She’s really bad news; it’s a good thing your friend showed up when she did.”

I nodded. “Sophie is like my Knight in Shining Leather.”

We both laughed at that.

It was the truth though. Sophie always seemed to be there when I needed her most. It was just a shame that I couldn’t always count on her. Sure, I’d love to fill her in on everything but she was a Norm and I knew the rules. It sucked but what could I do about it. So for now I would just have to be her friend and hoped that was enough. She was cool to hang with too. After my comic book shop date and some much needed “me time”, I called her up. She was busy but she promised to get together with me tonight. The two of us were going to hit Mario’s after my lessons with Melissa, maybe even do some shopping. It was strange really but Sophie was like the big sis Jess should be. Well the big sis I wanted Jess to be.

“She and I are going to hang tonight, you want to tag along?”

Maggie frowned. “I wish I could but I’ve got stuff I have to do. My grandparents want me home tonight, I think that incident with you and Wisteria kind of spooked them.”

I couldn’t blame them; it scared the hell out of me.

It definitely pissed my grandmother off. After I told her about it yesterday morning, she stormed out of the house so fast that I thought I heard thunder. I’m not sure what she said or did but when she came home later that night, she told me that “She’s not going to be a bother again”. I guess the moral of the story was not to mess with a Crawford.

The rest of the lunch period, Maggie and I tried to talk about non-trivial things. She was trying to catch me up on all the local gossip. Well school gossip anyway. The biggest topic was the messy breakup between Dana and Clara. I didn’t even know the two of them were dating but apparently, it had been pretty big news around school. Dana was the school sweetheart, the one that every guy seemed to have a crush on. It was quite the crushing blow when at the beginning of last month; she made it known that not only was she a lesbian but that she’d also been in a four month relationship with Clara Saunders. A relationship---according to Maggie---that hit the rocks when Clara wasn’t ready for all the backlash that came with it. A lot of guys didn’t take too kindly to their sweetheart being gay and harassed the hell out of Clara. Clara got fed up with it and finally broke it off with Dana sometime Saturday night.

It’s amazing what happens when you don’t know it.

Lunch ended quickly enough. As we were leaving the lunchroom, Jack was coming in. I was a little concerned by his absence but happy to see he was alive and well. The two of us exchanged smiles before I somehow found myself giving him a hug. I would have given him a quick kiss, too but the school frowned upon public displays of affection.

“I’m off to class,” said Maggie as she slipped away.

“I was worried about you,” I said, expressing my concern.

He smirked. “It’s stupid really. My hand started to hurt during class last period and the teacher insisted I go to the nurse. “

I looked at the bandage on his hand. I cursed the stupid thing that burned him.

I took his hand and kissed the bandage. I know it was pathetic but it made me feel better. He laughed so I think it made him feel better too.

“Hey, I’ve got this favor to ask.”

“Anything.”

“Well the Club was supposed to meet at the Drake’s this weekend but Charlie’s sister is entertaining some friends. We’re going to hold it at my house and I was wondering if you’d like to come too.”

I frowned. I’d only been to that one Dud Club meeting and it hadn’t turned out so well. It was partly Jack’s fault and it was partly the fact that Charlie didn’t really want me there. I don’t think I was ever going to see eye-to-eye with the boy genius.

“I’m not a Dud,” I said, hoping it was enough.

“I know but I really want you there. I want to show you something.”

“You want to show off?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

I sighed. “I’m supposed to meet with Melissa on Saturday but I think I can squeeze in some time for my boyfriend.”

Wow, boyfriend, did I just say that.

Jack smiled real big. I think he liked that idea, too.

“So I can tell them that you’ll be there?”

I sighed. “Just as long as this isn’t some demented attempt to make me do cheap tricks then yes I’ll be there.”

“Good” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Now my lady, your Knight must escort you to your next class.”

“This lady accepts graciously.”

“I think that looks great on you,” said Sophie as I stood admiring myself in the mirror.

We were in the Teen Scene; Sophie had roped me into trying on several different skirts. The current one was a short jean skirt, if you could even call it that. It was so short and small it barely covered my butt. I had half a mind to berate Darcy for even carrying something like this. Ok so it did look really good, it hugged my butt real nice actually but it was definitely not my style.

I shook my head. “Not a snowball’s chance in hell.”

Her reflection frowned. “You need to break out of that shell, girl.”

Sophie was bound and determined to make me see myself as she saw me. Her words not mine. She and I met at the beginning of Main Street after my lesson with Melissa. She was waiting excitedly for me. I’m not sure, but I think she liked the idea of shopping with me. Last night on the phone, she even called me the sister that she never had. It felt kind of nice actually. Not that I had anything against my own sister of course but there was no way Jess would ever do anything like this with me. Jess was a homebody when not in school. She did shopping but she was never really obsessed with it like other girls. She liked what she liked and never experimented with different things except at my benefit of course.

I was still never going to forgive her for that unfortunate hair fiasco.

Sophie on the other hand was a polar opposite of my sister. She was fun and free, definitely more outgoing and she was not afraid of what others might think. For starters, today she was wearing her leather pants and these boots with a wicked heel; it had to be at least three inches. She was also wearing the tightest top I’d ever seen, the fabric barely containing her boobs. Every time I looked at her, I couldn’t help but hold my breath, waiting for them to bust out. I wasn’t the only one to notice either. A few minutes ago, there was this group of frat guys who took careful notice as well. One of them almost got hit by a car because he was paying attention to Sophie and not where he was going.

“So” said Sophie with a wicked smile. “Tell me about your beau?”

I sighed. “There’s not much to tell. We go to school together. He was a real pest at first and I wasn’t really interested but he kept on bugging me.”

“And you caved” she said, laughing.

“Is that bad?”

She shook her head. “I think it’s sweet actually. It sounds like you might have been interested all along.” I blushed and she smiled. She lowered her voice a bit. “You’re really good at passing, but I’ve got to ask you something. In that skirt, where do you hide your well….”

I panicked. Thankfully, I was saved by the interruption.

“How are guys doing?” asked Crystal as she popped around the corner. “Need anything?”

“We’re good,” I said

“Actually” said Sophie, holding up a pink top. “Do you have this in a normal color like blue or green?”

“Let me go check” said Crystal, taking the top before disappearing.

“How did I become the Barbie Doll?”

While Crystal was gone, Sophie wandered off to find more outfits to stick me into. Me, I continued to look at myself in the mirror. I found myself staring at my neck or rather more importantly at the silver chain currently hanging from it. I looked around then reached into my shirt, pulling out the pendant hanging from it. It was my Dad’s good luck charm, the one he gave me the night I got onto the plane with Felix. I’d completely forgotten all about it until now. I actually wore it the whole time on the plane but once I got to Ravencrest, I took it off and put it in a drawer for safekeeping. I didn’t actually find it until yesterday when I was looking for more room to put stuff. There it was---the tiny silver shield on a chain---just waiting for me.

I put it on immediately.

I couldn’t help deny the fact that it was my father’s good luck charm and hoped that it might just bring me some luck of my own.

“What’s that?” asked Sophie as she came back with an armful of clothes.

I stuffed the necklace back where it belonged---out of sight. “Just something my Dad gave me.”

“That’s cool,” she said and then softly. “I wish I had something of my Dad’s.”

“Did something happen to him?”

She nodded, rubbing her arm. “He died, Mom too.”

“I’m sorry” I said and found myself hugging her. “That’s horrible. So are you all alone? I mean do you have any siblings?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “I had a little…”

“Hey, I found the top” said Crystal, interrupting.

She was holding a top that looked just like the pink one from before but it was gray.

“I couldn’t find it in green or blue but will this do?”

“Perfect” said Sophie, brightening up. She took the top from Crystal and tossed it at me. “You need to definitely try this one on.”

I groaned and slowly went back into the changing room.

In the changing room, I stripped off my shirt as quick as I could. I stopped before I put on the new one though. I found myself staring at the plain white bra I was wearing and wondering. It seemed so strange to be here in this moment, wearing a bra and being a normal girl. I felt nothing wrong with it of course but I just never thought that this was going to be my life. Only a few months ago I was this quiet, introverted boy with no friends to speak of and only his computer to keep him company. Now I had more friends than I could count, I was a Witch in training and I’d barely touched a computer since coming here. It was definitely strange how things could change in only such a short period of time.

Sophie knocked on the door. “You done yet?”

I groaned and pulled the new shirt over my head. As soon as I saw myself in the mirror, I groaned further. It was a baby tee, one that barely covered me. In fact, it was so tight that when I moved, I actually had trouble breathing. There was no way in hell I was going anywhere like this. What with the skirt and now this shirt, I looked like a slut.

“I don’t think this is such a good idea,” I said.

“Why not” asked her voice from the other side of the door.

“I look like a cheap slut.”

Sophie laughed. “Well duh, how else are we going to have a good time?”

Now I was confused.

“A good time where?”

She opened the door, giving me a once over. She didn’t say anything; instead, she pulled me out of the changing room. I felt like a rag doll as she spun me to face the mirror.

“You and I girl are going clubbing tonight.”

“Clubbing?” I squeaked then quickly shook my head. “Sophie it’s Monday, as in tomorrow is Tuesday, a day on which I have school.”

She frowned then groaned. “Damn, I keep on forgetting you’re only a sophomore. You look a lot older than kids your age you know.” She wrapped her arms around me in a sloppy hug. “Well we can always just hang out somewhere.”

I looked at my watch and sighed. “It’s probably going to have to wait until tomorrow because it’s almost six now, I have to get home for dinner.”

“Wow, real life sucks.”

I laughed. “You have no idea.”

“Do we at least have time for some shoes?”

I laughed and sighed. “If there’s some way I can buy the first pair I try on.”

She shook her head. “Guess we’ll have to wait on that one then.”

I fell back into the changing room, taking off my current outfit. As I was redressing, Sophie asked me to stick the clothes under the door. I’m not sure but I think she rushed off to purchase them. As soon as I was redressed and feeling normal, I found her at the register. She was chatting up Crystal, more than one bag in her hands. I couldn’t help but groan at that. I understood that she was excited about this whole shopping thing but I couldn’t help but feel a bit strong armed by it all.

Outside the shop, Sophie called me a cab.

“I’d give you a ride but…”

“Too many bags for the bike” I said, finishing for her.

She smiled then gave me a hug.”So I’ll give you a call later this week?”

I nodded. Hanging out with Sophie was definitely going to be an adventure.

“This the place?” asked the driver as he stopped the taxi.

“Yep” I said, reaching into my pocket and taking out a twenty. “Keep the change.”

He smiled big as I opened the door and got out of the car. I unloaded my bags from the backseat and waved as he drove off. Hey just because he’s a cabbie that doesn’t mean I can’t be polite to him. They were people too, after all. I waited until the cab was around the corner before I started toward the house. I rushed a bit up the walk, afraid that I might get chewed out for being a tad bit late. Ok so it was only a few minutes but my grandmother was a stickler for those kinds of things. I opened the door quickly when I got there, slipping inside.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” I said, walking into the living room.

No one was there.

I sighed heavily, carrying my bags into the kitchen as I did so. I didn’t find anyone in there either. Instead I found a note at my usually place. It was written by my grandmother. I set the bags on the table and read it quickly. Apparently, Mary was out to dinner at the Lockes and she was in the basement. I bit my lip, looking at the door in the far corner. I knew that the basement was kind of off limits but that was back when I was regular boy Kelly. Now I was a witch, I think that meant I was allowed. I took a deep breath and decided, leaving my bags behind as I walked slowly toward the door. I hesitated only for a second before grabbing the knob and slowly opening the door.

The last time I was down here was at the beginning of my stay, back when it felt dangerous to creep down the stairs. A part of me wished that I never let Mary talk me into going down there. If I hadn’t I still would have been a boy and none of this mess would have happened. The rest of me though---the happier part---was glad I did. I was a girl now, a witch and I was the happiest I’d ever been. One of these days, I knew I was going to have to thank Mary.
Not today, though.

I started down the stair, slowly taking them one step at a time. They creaked as I stepped on them and try as I might there was no way I could stop them from doing so. At the bottom, I found myself in the familiar looking basement once again. My eyes were drawn quickly across the room to the bookshelf on the far wall. I went straight to it, slowly scanning the books by memory. I found the one I was looking for and didn’t skip a beat as I gave it a slow pull. There was a familiar grinding sound and the bookshelf moved away just like before. Also just like before I found myself in the musty room with the stone walls and creepy feeling.

This time though the room wasn’t empty. My grandmother was standing over by her potted herbs, looking at me as I walked in.

“I see Mary has been sharing secrets,” she said as I slowly made my way toward her.

“We came down here the night she turned me into this,” I said, waving my arms over my body.

My grandmother frowned. “Is that a complaint?”

I shook my head quickly. “I’ve never been happier, actually.”

She smiled. “I remember the first time your mother came down here. She had this look of awe on her face. I think I mirrored it as well. Her being my eldest and all. I was nervous more than anything though.”

“Nervous?”

She laughed. “I’d never been a teacher before. I was scared I might say or do something that might screw things up. Your mother hung on my every, word though. I could have told her the sky was falling down and I think she would have been just as happy.”

I smiled. “Mom is still like that you know.”

She sighed. “Losing touch with your mother is something I’m going to regret for the rest of my life. After Molly died, I just lost…”

She didn’t finish but she didn’t need too I knew how much it hurt her. I never met my Aunt Molly or Uncle Dave---Mary’s parents----well if I did, I was too young to remember. My mother always spoke well of them though. Molly was the baby of the family. My mother always used to have these wild stories about her and my Aunt Grace, how the two of them used to play horrible pranks on poor Molly. I guess it was kind of poetic justice that her daughter grew up to play such nasty ones on me.

I couldn’t help but smile thinking about it, actually. I couldn’t help but smile at the happiness in my grandmother’s face when she mentioned Molly, too. Here was a woman who I thought was so cold and bitter and truth be told she was just in a lot of pain. I didn’t blame her either. Shortly before I was born, the Black Cross killed my Grandpa Nick. I didn’t really know all the details, only that he was hunting them and they got the drop on him. My grandmother had apparently been heartbroken. Then of course, a few years later, Molly and Dave died in that car accident. It was just one tragedy after another, hardening my grandmother into the woman she was today.

It was strange how I never really noticed any of that until now.

My grandmother finally came back into the present. “You didn’t come down here to listen to me mope,” she said, hardening again.

I shook my head. “I just got back from shopping; I wanted to see what you were up to down here.”

“Doing some research.”

“Research?”

She nodded. “Nothing to concern yourself with.”

There she goes again, shutting me out.

I think she saw the disappointed look on my face because she sighed heavily and said. “There was an incident a couple of months ago and the person involved in it seems to be having a hard time now. I’m trying to find ways to help her.”

“Can I help?”

She smiled but shook her head. “There’s not a lot to be done I’m afraid. Sadly, I think I’m out of my league on this one. I’m going to have to call the Main Archive in London and see what they have.”

“What’s that?”

She looked puzzled for a moment. “Your mother never mentioned it?” I shook my head, she sighed. “Have you ever heard of the High Coven?”

I nodded. “It’s the big witch Coven in Europe right? The one that all Covens answer to?”

“Something like that” she said with a laugh. “Well the High Coven has an Archive of knowledge in London. The scholars there are some of the best we have.”

I had a fleeting thought. “You think they might have information on Mortimer Crowley?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Why so interested in him all of the sudden?”

I shrugged. “I’ve been reading a lot of books lately, more than I’ve ever read in a long while, actually. There’s a lot of info about the town and witches in them. Most of the stuff in there though, talks a great deal about Ravencrest but there’s nothing about Crowley. I just find that really strange.”

My grandmother walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. I couldn’t remember the last time she touched me like that. “It was a difficult time back then. Your grandfather and Mortimer were barely speaking anymore. Then Mortimer got terribly sick and your grandfather became very withdrawn.”

“You make it sound like you were there.”

She smiled. “If I had been that would make me very old indeed.”

The truth was in the smile. I wasn’t sure what shocked me more. The fact that she nonchalantly admitted she’d been alive when Ravencrest had been or that she was actually being this nice to me. I’d like to say it was the former but all I cared about was the latter. I wanted to cry but instead I merely nodded my head. She smiled and then did something I never thought she would ever do, she pulled me into a hug. I found myself returning the hug, even tearing up a bit. I’m not sure how long we stood like that but when we pulled away, I turned quickly so she wouldn’t see my tears.

“Well how about you and I go upstairs and see if we can’t find something to eat.”

I nodded numbly.

My grandmother went first and I slowly followed after.

I couldn’t help but think of our relationship. Months ago, I was that “boy” who she barely even looked at and now here, she was opening up to me and giving me warm hugs. I’m not sure what had come over her but I had to say that I was really beginning to like the change. I didn’t know if it was going to last but I was going to take advantage of it as much as I could. It almost felt like she was proud of me now and I hoped that nothing got in the way of that.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Here's Ch.20. Usually by now Ch.20 is my conclusion chapter, it has been for quite a few of my stories. Season of the Witch however decided it wanted to break that mold. I'm not sure how many more chapters will come after this one but the story is winding itself down. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY:

I never actually realized how close the Pratchett’s lived to us. Their house was only a block or so from us, a few houses down from Melissa actually. In fact, I had ridden past it more than once on my bike. It was shocking to know that my boyfriend lived so close and yet never told me. It was even more surprising on how simple the house looked. Sure, our house was simple looking too, but I guess I was expecting something a little more spectacular. Jack never really talked about his parents but I knew his father was in Insurance. I didn’t really know much about his mother. His sister I met, of course, the little gossip hound herself.
I checked the address on my little paper to make sure I got the right house. A lot of the houses on this street looked alike, save for the color, of course.

For instance, the house in front of me was green, it had several little flower beds in front and this huge tree in the backyard that seemed to loom over the rest of the house. I couldn’t help picturing a young Jack climbing that tree, spending loads of time out there having fun. I smiled at my make believe childhood memory of his before pulling my bike into his driveway. I parked it up front where I found three other bikes. It kind of sucked that none of us were old enough to drive, except for Jack of course. Looking through a garage window, I caught sight of the familiar Camaro, so now I knew I had the right place.

Taking a deep breath, I slowly walked toward the front door.

The door opened before I got there. I was surprised at the woman standing there. Though she was dressed casually in a shirt and jeans there was no mistaking the principal of my school Ms. Craven? It was kind of funny actually because I’d never actually met her, only seen her around school. A lot of people liked to call her elusive because most of the school stuff was taken care of by Mr. McCormick, but Ms. Craven was definitely a woman that most people could not ignore. She was strikingly beautiful, with dirty blonde hair like her children and a pleasant demeanor. Even now when we surprised one another, she still managed to keep that cool calmness that everyone loved.

“You must be Kelly,” she said with a smile.

“Yes ma’am” I said, not sure how to address her.

I was still trying to figure out why she was walking out of Jack’s house.

She laughed. “You don’t have to be so formal dear. We’re not in school at the moment.”

I smiled. How else was I supposed to address her then?

I think she saw my confusion. “Why don’t you go on inside, the others are in the den waiting. It’s down the hall and to the left.”

I nodded, still not sure what was going on.

She didn’t wait around to explain either; instead, she headed toward the Taurus in the driveway. I watched her go before turning back to the house. I shrugged and walked inside. The inside was just as nice as the outside. The layout was very similar to the Williams house actually. Unlike Melissa’s house, this one was filled with teenagers. As soon as I walked through the door, I found Will in the living room on his cell. He was talking to his girlfriend, the one from my party. The elusive one that I still couldn’t get any info about. Maggie didn’t know about her either, which was strange, considering how she’d become quite a social butterfly. All anyone knew was that she went to school with us and that of course she was a really pretty blonde.

I nodded to Will as I passed by but I’m not sure if he noticed.

As I was making my way down the hall, Jack appeared out of one of the rooms in front of me. Like Ms. Craven, we startled the hell out of one another.

“Kelly” he said, after recovering from his near heart attack. “When did you get here?”

“A minute ago. Ms. Craven let me in?”

He laughed. “We call her Mom around here.”

I wasn’t expecting that. “Your Mom is the principal?”

He nodded so I continued. “Then why is her name Craven?”

“It’s her maiden name. Mom decided to keep it while at work so people wouldn’t associate her children with her. She didn’t want the other kids to treat us any different. You know in case they put two and two together.”

I nodded. I guess that made sense. After all, now that I looked at Jack, I could see the family resemblance. He looked a lot like his mother actually. It was nice too, learning a bit more about him. I couldn’t help myself as I slipped my arm through his, taking his hand gently. He smiled down at me, completely forgetting whatever it was that he came out into the hall for. Instead, he led me to the room at the end of the hall where the others were waiting.

When I say others, what I really mean is Maggie and Charlie. The two of them were in the far corner, bent over a computer.

“You’re doing it wrong,” said Maggie.

“I am not.”

“You guys want to be left alone?” asked Jack.

Charlie snapped around, blushing. The blush vanished as soon as he caught sight of me. I’m not sure what I did to this kid but he stared daggers again.

“Anyone want to go and get lover boy out there?”

Charlie volunteered immediately. He pushed away from the computer, rolling his chair across the room so fast that he nearly missed running over my foot. He scoffed as he went by. I wonder if it was ok to hit a kid in a wheelchair. Not punch mind you, just smack him in the back of the head or something.

Maggie sighed. “Did you piss him off somehow?”

I shrugged. “Beats the hell out of me.”

I’d only met Charlie twice. The evil look he gave me the first time was one of pure jealousy. I was a guy back then and it was clear that he had a little school boy crush on Maggie. The second time was at the library, I was clearly a girl then but he still looked at me like he wanted to rip my face off. Was it possible for someone to be jealous of both the male and female me? Not that it mattered anymore I suppose, male me was gone for good it seemed. Not that I wanted him back anyway. Charlie and Will arrived a minute or so later.

“Ok, now the meeting can start.”

Not that it was much of a meeting. Much like the first one I attended, they did nothing. Ok so it wasn’t technically nothing. Maggie and Charlie went back to their computer game and Will dropped down onto one of the many sofas in the room to return to his previous cell conversation. Even Jack seemed to find something to do. He was on another sofa, watching TV. I found myself wandering over to the bookshelves lining the one wall. The books weren’t nearly as impressive as the ones in the Williams basement of course but they still looked interesting. As I was trying to find one that interested me, I couldn’t help but think how my own training was going.

Slow was the only word that seemed to come to mind.

For the rest of the week, Melissa still had me reading. Not that I didn’t enjoy it but I was finding it hard to do other things. Even today was a stretch. I had to convince her I’d work twice as hard on my studies tomorrow if she’d just give me the day off. I don’t think she really liked it, but thankfully Donna was there. She took my side in things and told her eldest that even Melissa had more than her fair share of days off. Melissa wasn’t about to let up though even with her mother’s intervention. The only thing that got her to lay off was when I reminded her that Friday was our last day before Winter Break, meaning I had the rest of December and the beginning of January for her to boss me around.

I think she liked that bit.

Will finally got off the phone. He took a look around the room and let out a loud sigh. “Dude, my little sister finds more things to do with her friends than us.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I decided to take the initiative. “What do you guys normally do at these Club meetings of yours?”

Maggie turned away from the computer. “Ummm.”

I groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well” said an annoyed Charlie, not bothering to turn away from the screen as he spoke. “Not all of us are great powerful witches.”

Boy I really wanted to smack the kid.

I kept my cool and turned to Jack. “The other day didn’t you say there was something you wanted to show me?”

That piqued Will’s interest. “Please Jack, anything to get rid of the boredom.”

Jack shut off the TV, which as far as I was concerned was a blessing to all of us. He dropped the remote on the coffee table and stood up, making a big spectacle of the whole thing. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Hey, I was dating him, that didn’t stop me from getting a bit annoyed at his theatrics. He stretched the theatrics out a little while longer until Will walked over and smacked him in the back of the head. With that out of the way, Jack laughed.

“Ok, you know about my family right?”

The others nodded.

“Am I missing something?”

Maggie stepped up to explain. “The Pratchetts have a Vault; it keeps all the things that the Coven deems too dangerous.”

Now that she said that, I think I read something about it in one of Melissa’s books. Of course, I didn’t realize it was the Pratchetts who were the actual family. The book never said, only that some things were better left locked away. I remember asking Melissa what sorts of things but she was pretty vague about it just like Maggie was now. I was pretty certain that neither of them really knew, only that whatever was in there was definitely not something people should be trifling with.

I turned to Jack. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

He nodded. “It’s pretty cool actually.”

I gave him a look. “What’s the catch?”

He refused to look me in the eye. “Well, only a witch can open the door.”

Damn it. I knew he was up to something. They’d had many Dud Club meetings after the one I attended and never once asked me to join them. I thought maybe Charlie was finally pulling the stick out of his ass but now it was clear that all Jack wanted was a way into the Vault.

I didn’t have to respond because Maggie beat me to it. “No way.”

“I think that’s up to Kelly to decide,” said Jack with a pleading look.

“Oh I agree with her.”

“Oh come on Kelly,” said Will, pleading as well. “We never get to do anything interesting.”

“Not you too.”

Will didn’t look at Maggie. He directed his attention to me. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to be a Dud, especially one in Ravencrest?” He didn’t give me a chance to respond before continuing. “All of us are members of the most powerful witch families around. Our sisters and mothers get to do all these really cool, awesome things and we get to sit around and watch it happen. My older sister Karen thought it would be hilarious once if she used to a spell to animate my toy T-Rex one night. You have any idea what a walking, snarling plastic figure does to a young boy?”

I couldn’t help but cringe. Jess did some bad things to me but never anything that awful. I could definitely relate.

I wasn’t about to relent though. “I’m sorry your sister gave you hell as a kid but I’m not ready to let a bunch of Duds into that Vault.”

Will looked like someone kicked his puppy. He balled up his fists. I prepared myself for whatever might come but instead he dropped back down on the couch, defeated.

Jack wasn’t finished though. “Well we don’t have to go in, maybe just you. Aren’t you even the little bit curious?”

I couldn’t say no because that would be lying. I think Jack saw it in my face because he smiled and pressed the matter.

“I take you to the Vault; you take a quick peek inside and tell us all the cool stuff you saw?”

I sighed. He wasn’t going to let up until I did this.

“Ok one quick look.”

Jack took my hand gently, pulling me into a quick kiss. It bothered me that I was able to cave so easily but I didn’t want to spend the whole afternoon with him bugging me. Besides, I really wanted to take a look into that Vault. I’m not sure why but there was just something about a room full of forbidden things that intrigued me more than anything.

“You guys stay here,” he said, after the kiss was finished. “We’ll be back in a minute or two.”

Still holding my hand, he led me out of the room.

The Vault was in the basement of the house. The basement looked just like the ones at the Williams save for one minor detail, it was completely empty. Well not completely, there was a metal door at the far end of it. Even standing as far as I was from it---about ten feet---I could feel the power coming from it. I found myself actually scared to go any closer. Unlike the Well, the power coming from the Vault was anything but welcoming. There was no pull to get closer, no tingling that made me feel happy. The feeling I got from the Vault was one of complete and udder dread.

I found myself gripping tightly to Jack’s arm.

“I’ve changed my mind; I don’t want anything to do with that thing.”

Jack wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Not even a peek?”

His breath was on my neck and it was so invigorating. I sighed heavily, lost in his embrace. “One little look,” I said softly.

I slipped out of his embrace and with a little trepidation, slowly made my way across the room. The large metal door got more foreboding the closer I got to it. By the time I was standing in front of it, I could barely look at it. The power coming from it was intense, worse this close. I found myself looking anywhere but at the door. Jack seemed to notice my discomfort because I found him holding my hand. With that bit of reassurance, I reached out and gently touched the door. My fingertips barely touched the metal before there was a strange sound. I felt a rush of energy surge through my body and then a blinding white light.
Jack’s grip on my hand disappeared.

When the light vanished, I was no longer standing in front of the door. Confused, I looked around and found myself in a small room with a distinctively chrome polish to it. Metal shelves lined the walls and halogen lights attached to the ceiling made everything extremely bright. It only took me a second to realize that I somehow transported inside the Vault. I blinked a few times, getting used to the new light. When I recovered, I couldn’t help but feel scared. I didn’t belong in this place. I turned around; ready to touch the door to send me back but it was gone.

“JACK” I screamed at the top of my lungs, fear fueling me.

The only response I got was my voice echoing back to me.

My heart pounding, I tried not to panic. There was a way in so there had to be a way out. If not backwards then definitely forwards.

I took one cautious step forward, then another. Soon I found myself exploring the strange room. I couldn’t help but look at the shelves as I passed them. Lots of old dusty books, vials of strange liquids and strange wooden boxes with ornate designs. I was half-tempted to touch them but even stepping close to one, I was thrown for a loop by the darkness coming from them. I tried my hardest to ignore them as I passed. I was no longer here for a peek, I wanted to get the hell out. I tried to keep that thought in mind as I walked further into the room.

The first thing I realized was that the Vault was a lot bigger than it looked. What I first thought was a little room was more like a long hallway. I followed it, looking at the shelves as I passed them by. Everything on them tempted me to look closer but I was able to keep my cool. On one of the shelves was a book that seemed to jump out at me. It was large, leather bound and on a little pedestal. The leather was dyed black and it had silver fittings on the corners, a large silver clasp locking it shut. It looked like the Book of Shadows in my grandmother’s basement. It even had a pentagram stamped on its cover. Something about the book drew me to it.

I reached out for the book; my fingertips brushed the cold leather. I felt a slight tingle then pulled my hand away quickly. I cursed, realizing what I’d just done. I forced myself away from the book, not even looking back as I made my way further down the hall.

My heart was pounding a little bit faster after that. I forced the book from my thoughts though, once again determined to find my way out. Sadly, it looked like going forward was not going to bring forth an exit. I found myself approaching the last wall, an alcove of some sorts. I stopped walked and cursed, turning around. Maybe I missed something. I started to walk back in the direction I’d come when I felt a powerful urge to turn back around. When I did, I found myself staring at the alcove in front of me. Curiosity took over and I stepped forward. As soon as I did, I felt a rush of power and an overwhelming pull. It seemed to tug at me, drawing me closer to the alcove. My feet felt like lead weights as the feeling dragged me closer and closer.

I was nearly on top of the alcove when I noticed the little stone pedestal inside. On top of the pedestal was a circular object covered in a black cloth. Standing so close to the object, my entire body felt like jelly. I tried to turn away but couldn’t. I tried to walk away but it was like my feet were cemented to the ground.

That’s when I heard the voice.

“Come to me witch”

It was soft at first but grew louder as it was repeated over and over again. There was something dark and foreboding about the tone. It sent shivers down my spine.

“Closer Witch. Take off the cloth, come to me”

I shook off the horrible feeling I got from the voice. No matter how much I tried though, it was still there. It was worse too because I found myself reaching for the cloth. My hand acted on its own and no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t stop it. I even went so far as to bit my lip, drawing blood, hoping the pain would be enough to jar me free.

It wasn’t.

“Yes, such power” said the Voice. “I can sense it in your blood, his blood. Take off the cloth, bask in my glory. We can do great things together.”

I found my voice finally. “Who are you?”

“One who knows many things? You have questions and I have answers. I can tell you what you seek, help you understand.”

Questions? Did he mean about Crowley? Sure, I wanted to know more but there was nothing that this voice could tell me that I couldn’t find on my own. I tried to fight the pull but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t break myself from it. I was inches from taking off the cloth when I felt a new pull. It was a tingling at first then a slight burning. It was coming from my neck. The pendant of my father’s burned hot. I winced from the pain then cried out a bit from it. I heard the Voice hiss as well, as if in pain, too. Its hiss broke me from whatever control it had. I pulled back from, the cloth, stumbling backwards as I did so.

The pendant stopped burning.

My heart was pounding a mile a minute in my chest, sweat drenched my body.

I started to cry. I wanted out of this place. I was tired of all these things wanted me to touch them, to take them. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Out, I want out NOW.

When a hand gently touched my shoulder, relief rushed through my body. I opened my eyes and turned around, finding Jack there. I wrapped myself around him and cried into his chest. His arms were around me gently and though he was speaking, I couldn’t hear a word he said.

“Take me home,” I sobbed.

“You sure you’re ok?”

“No” I said as I looked at the image of myself in the mirror. “But I’m better.”

Maggie sighed. “You should have called your friend and cancelled then. I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

I couldn’t agree more but I made a promise. I shifted the cell a bit, grimacing at my reflection. I hardly recognized myself in the mirror. The girl in the hot pink halter and tight black skirt was definitely not me that’s for sure. This was the outfit that Sophie picked out for me though, said it was the only way girls at the Club dressed. I couldn’t help but groan. I’m not sure how I let her talk me into something like this. The Pit sounded like someplace where wholesome girls like me wouldn’t be caught dead. Sophie said it was cool and even though I was way underage, she had a way in through the back.

Wearing this outfit though was only one of the challenges of the night. The first one was going to be getting out of the house dressed like this. I knew for a fact that my grandmother and cousin were both still up. I looked at the little clock on my cell. It was only 11, Mary was probably in her room doing whatever and if I was lucky, my grandmother might have gone to bed earlier. My grandmother liked to stay up until midnight; she said she did her best work then. It was something about the moon. All I knew was that she was either going to be in the kitchen or down in the basement. If I were lucky, it would be the latter tonight.

“Tell me you at least told your grandmother what happened today?”

I sighed and said sarcastically. “Sure I did. I also told her how I went into the Vault and poked around.”

Maggie didn’t laugh. “Promise me that you’ll tell them soon. You have this knack for keeping important things to yourself.”

Maggie was right as usual.

“I’ll tell them first thing tomorrow morning.”

I didn’t add, “as soon as I figure out how to.”

To say that I was freaked by what happened earlier would be the understatement of the century. I was still kind of annoyed at Jack for talking me into it in the first place. I was also a little pissed at myself for stupidly going along with it. I’m still trying to figure out why. I was reluctant to do so until I actually got up to the Vault door and as soon as that happened it was like my mind went on vacation. Sure, I was freaking once inside but first that Book got to me then whatever it was under that cloth. Thinking about that Voice still sent shivers up and down my spine. Whatever it was, it was by far the most sinister thing in there. I’m still not even sure how I got away from it. Was it really my father’s pendant that saved me or did I just have enough will power to break free?

“You still there?” asked Maggie’s concerned voice.

“Yeah sorry” I said then sighed. “Just thinking.”

I could just see her biting her lip. “You know maybe it’s not too late to cancel. You and I could do something. I mean I’m sure your grandmother would let you sleepover or something.”

As fun as that sounded and it really did, I had an obligation to see this through. I wanted to get it out of my system then burn these clothes.

“Can I get a rain check?”

It took her a second or two to respond. “Sure no problem.”

I’m the worst friend ever.

We talked only for a few more minutes after that. Even though it was a weekend with vacation ahead of us, Maggie had to go to bed. We said our good nights and I silently made a promise to do something special with her as well. As soon as I hung up with her, I groaned at the strange girl staring back at me from the mirror. The halter top pushed up my boobs and the heels I was wearing made me look him some hooker. I sighed heavily, wondering how people actually thought it was normal to go out looking like this.

I tried to force my offending wardrobe out of my mind as I grabbed my brand new clutch purse, tossed in my cell and slipped silently out of my bedroom. I crept slowly down the hall, wobbling like an idiot. Whoever invented heels should be dragged out into the street and shot. At the top of the stairs, I took a quick look down into the living room. There was no one there but that still didn’t stop me from moving as quietly as I could. At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and took a quick peek into the kitchen, holding my breath the whole time.

Thankfully, my grandmother wasn’t there.

Letting out of my breath, I made a mad dash for the front door. It was good timing too because as soon as I shut the door, Sophie pulled up on her bike. I wasted no time as I moved down the walk toward her.

“Hey girl” she said, handing me a helmet that matched the color of my top.

“Really?”

She shrugged.”It was the only one the shop had.”

I groaned as I took the helmet and put it on. I slipped onto the bike behind her, grimacing the whole time. This was, after all, my first time on a motorcycle. Well my first time on it wearing a skirt and top, that was barely there. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, trying not to make my grip too tight. She didn’t seem to mind though as she revved the engine and took off.

The Pit was the local nightclub. I’m not sure when it was built but it was frequented by a lot of the college students. It was in a rundown part of the town----surprisingly Ravencrest actually had one of those. When we pulled up in front of the large warehouse, I couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. That excitement disappeared though as soon as I saw the large line in front. Sophie drove her bike to a secluded alley in-between the club and the abandoned warehouse next to it. When we got off the bike though, we didn’t head for the line. Instead, she led me through the alley around the back of the large building.

“Where are we going?”

She smiled as we stepped out of the pitch darkness of the alley. “I told you I had a way to get you in.”

There was a metal door not too far from where we parked the bike. Sophie gave the handle a tug and it opened. As soon as I stepped through, she pulled a piece of tape from the lock mechanism thing. So clearly, Sophie had arrangements with someone on the inside. She followed me in, closing the door behind her. There was darkness again which didn’t last long when Sophie flicked a light switch nearby. We were in some kind of storage room. There were metal shelves and boxes lining the walls.

“My friend Nick hooks me up some times,” she said as explanation for our secret entrance. “He knows how much I hate waiting in line.”

“And what does Nick get out of all this?”

She smiled coyly. “Do you really want to know the answer to that?”

I shook my head, blushing slightly.

She laughed as she opened the door leading to the main club. As soon as the door was opened, the pounding assaulted my ears. If you’re not used to something like it, it’s definitely an eye opener. I found myself putting my hands on my ears as I followed Sophie out into the fray. The club was dark and smelled of sweat and cigarette smoke. There was also the faint hint of stale beer lingering about. The smell was the least of my worries though. It was dark and there were so many people it was really hard to move. The pounding music and flashing lights didn’t help matters either. Sophie seemed to be enjoying it though as she was swallowed by the crowd. I caught sight of her for a moment before losing her again in the sea of people.

I cursed. This was definitely not how I wanted to spend my night.

I pushed my way though crush of thriving people, hoping to find some way out of them. It was pretty hard to navigate when you had people gyrating and pushing into you. I caught sight of a bar then a familiar blonde. I sighed as I elbowed my way through to her.

“There you are” said Sophie enthusiastically.

“I got a little overwhelmed,” I said, dropping onto the stool next to her.

She laughed and gave me a quick hug. She then turned to the burly guy behind the counter and ordered two drinks.

He looked at me. “Is she old enough?”

“Of course she is” said Sophie with a seductive glint in her eye.

The bartender nodded, handing the two of us our drinks. They were both in what looked like test tubes. Sophie downed hers in one quick gulp. I looked at the strange green liquid in my own test tube and sighed heavily. When in Rome, I guess. I downed the drink; it burned all the way down my throat. When I started coughing, Sophie started to laugh and gave me a hug. She ordered us another round, the second time around I didn’t have as many problems. When we were done with our third rounds, she took me by the hands and led me out onto the dance floor.

I have to say I was a little nervous to dance, especially the way Sophie was. Not only that but I think I was starting to feel the effects of those three drinks. The room was spinning slightly and I found it a bit hard to stand. Sophie got lost in the music though, bobbing and thriving with the rest. Me, I found myself stumbling away from the dance floor. Sophie didn’t seem to notice. I fumbled through the crowd, dropping into a chair. The room was still spinning and the music didn’t help any.

A moment later, two girls dropped into the chairs across from me. Both pale looking, one clearly Goth. The other had blonde hair with blue streaks. I groaned. That’s all I needed.

“You shouldn’t be here,” said the blonde, giving me a concerned look.

“Tell me about it.” I said, my head pounding.

The Goth girl gave me a strange look then turned to her friend. “We need to get her home, Char.”

The blonde---Char---nodded.

I didn’t even struggle as the two of them helped me to my feet. I’m not sure why Sophie thought bringing me here was such a good idea but I was never going anywhere with her again. I’ve decided that I hate drinking and clubs more than life itself. I hated them about as much as vampires but right now I’d take anything. The two girls seemed to easily weave their way through the crowd. When we got to the front entrance, a large guy looked down at me with a frown.

“Stu, get us a cab.”

“She doesn’t look so good,” said the doorman.

“She’s going to be worse if her grandmother sees her like this,” said Char with a frown.

I think I might have blacked out because the next thing I remembered was the taxi pulling up in front of our house. Char paid the driver while the Goth girl took me gently in her arms. I was surprised by her strength. She carried me up the walk like I weighed nothing. Char was at our side a second later, opening the front door with my key. How did she get that?

“Can we come in?” asked Char.

“Sure” I slurred and the Goth girl carried me into the house.

I’m not sure if my grandmother was around or not but the next thing I knew I was in my bedroom, being laid down. The Goth girl was still staring at me with a frown.

“Kylie, you see something?”

She nodded to Char and bent down so her mouth was at my ear.“Everything will work itself out”

There was something chilling and yet soothing about the voice. I smiled happily before slipping quietly unconscious.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Rabbit rabbit, hare hare :) Sorry for the delay again, I have to blame a game called Skyrim for it. That's what happens when they release DLC I've been waiting for. This chapter is mostly dialogue but I don't think that draws away from things in the least. I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY-ONE:

When I woke, my head was pounding. It was like a thousand drummers were inside, all banging as loud as they could. I moaned loudly, slowly opening my eyes. As soon as I did the first thing, I noticed was how bright my room seemed to be. Like the pounding in my head, the throbbing of the lights was a little overwhelming. I shut my eyes to get my bearings. Last night was still pretty damn fuzzy; the only thing I knew for certain was that I was never drinking again. Now that I had time to realize what she did, I was pretty certain I never wanted to hang with Sophie again either. Who the hell gives a sixteen year old a couple of exotic drinks anyway? I thought she was supposed to be my friend but instead she got me drunk and left me alone. What the hell kind of friend was that?
I reopened my eyes, the throbbing was gone but the pounding was taking its time going away. I pushed myself out of bed regardless, stumbling through the room as I did so. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and groaned. The girl reflecting back at me looked like shit. It was hard to see myself in the mess of tangled hair and ruffled clothes. I turned away, opening the bedroom door. I staggered out into the hall and down to the bathroom. I managed to make it to the sink before I threw up. As soon as I did however, the pounding seemed a little less violent than before.

I undressed afterwards, climbing into the shower. Letting the warm water wash over me helped a lot with the pain. In the shower, I tried to recall more of last night but it was all still a little fuzzy. I vaguely remembered two girls; I think one of them was that girl I met outside the sorority house. I couldn’t really remember all of it though. Strangely though, I had a dream last night that was really vivid. In the dream, I was back in the Pratchett’s basement, going to the Vault once again. I wasn’t scared either. I’m not sure how I supposedly got into the house but I had no problem doing so. I also had no problem reentering the Vault. I also didn’t seem to have a problem walking right up to that black cloth covered object.

I found myself removing the cloth in the dream and then that’s when I woke up.

I sighed thinking about it. It felt so real. I shuddered, then shut off the water. I stepped out of the shower, grabbing a nearby towel. I toweled off a bit before wrapping it around my body and heading back out into the hall. Back in my room I finished drying off then got dressed. I decided today I was going to loaf around a bit before heading to Melissa’s so a baggy t-shirt and a pair of sweats were good enough for me. With breakfast beckoning, I found myself heading down to the kitchen.

Mary was at the table with a bowl of cereal.

“You look like shit.”

“And good morning to you too, “I said as I dropped into my usual seat.

She scoffed. “Only slightly. I have this pounding headache.”

“I know the feeling,” I said.

Both of us laughed then winced, clearly her head hurt as much as mine.

Looking at her, I couldn’t help but smile at our shared pain. It was like we were having a shared moment, something in common for once.

I grabbed the box of cereal sitting in front of her and started to eat from it. “So where’s grandma?”

She shrugged. “She’s been disappearing a lot lately. You don’t think she’s got a boyfriend, do you?”

We laughed again. Seriously, it was starting to get really scary.

“You weren’t out partying late too were you?”

She shook her head. “No just feeling off late….wait a sec, you were out partying!”

I moaned, rubbing my temples. “Not so loud.”

“Where did you go?”

“Some place called The Pit, I think.”

Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. “You got into The Pit?”

I nodded. “Is that hard to believe?”

“Yes actually. You have any idea how hard it is for high school kids to get in there?”

I shrugged. “I have a college friend; she snuck me in through the back.”

“A college friend?”

“As of last night, a former college friend.”

Yeah, no more hanging with Sophie.

“This the same girl with the motorcycle?” At my look of surprise, Mary smirked. “What, you think I don’t notice. I saw her pick you up last night; I’ve seen her around town too. You said she was a college student?”

I nodded. “Yeah. She told me that when we first met. She’s from out of state.”

Mary gave me a perplexed look. “I’ve seen her all over the place and none of those places have been anywhere near the college. Living in this town, you notice a few things and one of those things is that college students tend to mingle around in the same places. I’m not sure what kind of crap she’s been selling but I can tell you there’s no way in hell she’s in college here.”

Why would Sophie lie?

“Are you fucking with me again?”

Mary sighed and took out her cell. She brought up her call list and dialed a number. A second or two later she was talking. “Hey Scar, it’s Mary. You know everyone who is worth knowing at RCU, right?” Mary gave me an arrogant look then asked. “What’s the name of your friend?”

“Sophie Green.”

Mary nodded. “Do you know a Sophie Green by any chance?” She waited a second or two. “Blonde girl, drives a motorcycle. Seems to be a regular at the Pit?”

She looked at me and shook her head then shut off the phone. “Scarlett makes it her business to know everyone worth knowing. A girl like Sophie would definitely be in one of her social circles and guess what…no dice. Whoever your friend is, she’s not a college student.”

That didn’t make any sense. If she wasn’t a college student then why was she in Ravencrest? I mean this place wasn’t exactly on the list of “Best Vacation spots”. I started to mull things over but was interrupted by the doorbell. I looked at Mary, but of course, she didn’t seem to notice or more than likely, she didn’t care. I groaned loudly as I got to my feet. My head was still swimming from last night but it was definitely a lot better.

I was still thinking about Sophie and why she was lying when I got to the door. As soon as I opened it, I regretted it.

“Miss DeWitt?” I said, confused to see the Inquisitor standing there.

“Miss Daniels” she said, her tone as cold as always.

There were two rather serious looking goons behind her. I say goons because both of them were dressed in dark suits and looked really scary. It surprised me. I didn’t expect her to have any back up, let alone two guys. It surprised me even more that she would bring them to our house of all places.

“My grandmother isn’t here right now, she’s off running errands”

It was a half lie.

“May we come in please?” asked the Inquisitor.

I wasn’t about to let this woman into my house without my grandmother being present.

“Is there something I can do for you?”

“I would feel more comfortable discussing this in private.”

At that particular moment, Mary came into the room. She had Princess in her arms; the cat was struggling to get away as usual.

“What’s the Dragon Lady doing here?” asked my cousin, giving Miss DeWitt a nasty glare.

“This doesn’t concern you Miss Crawford.”

“The hell it doesn’t” said Mary, letting Princess out of her arms. She stormed to the door. “You’re standing in my doorway, demanding we let you into the house with your two thugs. You think I’m stupid?”

I looked from Miss DeWitt to Mary. The Inquisitor was a scary woman but apparently Mary wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

“Miss Daniels” said the Inquisitor, directing her gaze back to me. “We just want to ask you a few questions about a incident that took place last night.”

Last night? Did she know about the club? Oh shit, I was in deep this time.

My heart skipped a beat before answering. “Look I’m really sorry about sneaking into the Pit. It wasn’t my idea, this older girl I know she got us in. I only had two drinks and well….I can’t really remember much after that but I know…”

Miss DeWitt gave me a strange look before speaking. “The incident I am referring to took place at the Pratchett house.”

The Pratchett house?

“What about it?”

She spoke from the doorway; apparently what she was going to say wasn’t as secretive as she was letting me believe. “Last night at 1:36 am, someone entered the Vault in the basement, at 1:48 am, they left. The closed circuit camera in the room was mysteriously disabled but we don’t need it to identify the culprit because we identified the magical signature.”

Why did this sound bad. My body went a bit numb as I took a step back, allowing Miss DeWitt and her two goons to come into the house. Mary gave me an incredulous look. I followed our guests into the living room where I dropped onto the couch. Miss DeWitt sat in one of the chairs, Mary took the other. The two goons stood behind Miss DeWitt.

“Do you want to tell me about it or should we make some guesses based on the evidence?”

I sighed. “Earlier yesterday, Jack and the Dud Club were holding a meeting at Jack’s. It turns out all they really wanted was for me to get them into the Vault. Them being Duds and all they couldn’t get in so they bugged me to do it. After a lot of annoying begging, I agreed. So Jack and I went down stairs to the basement. As soon as I got down there I knew it was a bad idea but there was something about the Vault, it practically dragged me to it.”

“And you went inside?”

I nodded. “But I didn’t touch anything. Everything had this really scary vibe to it, especially this thing. It was under a black cloth, it spoke to me.”

Miss DeWitt raised an eyebrow. “And what did it say?”

“It wanted me to take off the cloth and touch it.”

“And did you?”

I shook my head. “Something happened. I’m not sure what but the next thing I knew, I was outside the Vault and Jack had me.”

Miss DeWitt gave me this look. I knew the look. It was the kind of look someone gave you when they thought you were full of it.
“I swear to God that’s all that happened.”

Miss DeWitt shifted herself slightly. “So tell me if you were so scared of the Vault then why did you go back into it?”

“I didn’t.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Now we both know you’re lying.”

I was too pissed to reply, thankfully for me I didn’t have to.

“What the hell is your problem, you stuck up bitch?” snapped Mary, jumping to my defense. “You prance around this town, thinking you know everything. First, you blame Tracy for a series of murders she didn’t commit and now you’re blaming Kelly for something she didn’t do. You have to be the worst investigator I’ve ever seen.”

Miss DeWitt didn’t skip a beat. “As colorful as usual Miss Crawford but this time you can’t be more wrong”

I turned to Mary and whispered. “What the hell?”

She shrugged and whispered back. “I may not like you but we’re family, we’re not supposed to like one another but we are supposed to stick up for one another.”

“Thanks” I said and meant it.

“But if you try to hug me I’ll punch you in the throat.”

And that’s the Mary I know and love.

Miss DeWitt cleared her throat. “As I was saying, Miss Daniels I’m here right now in an unofficial capacity, I’d like to hear your side of things before I officially charge you with a crime.”

“My side of things? I told you my side of things.”

She sighed. “According to you, you were at a nightclub last night?”

I nodded. “The Pit.”

“And how long were there?”

I shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I had a couple of drinks and kind of don’t really remember much after that.”

“Well then let me enlighten you shall we?” She waved her hand and that funky notebook of hers appeared out of midair. She took it in her hand and read it. “As I said before, at 1:36 am someone entered the Vault and left at 1:48 am.”

“Someone you think is me?”

“Someone we know is you.” clarified Miss DeWitt in that condescending tone of hers. “Your magical trace signature was all over the place.”

“She was in there earlier, she admitted to that,” said Mary defensively. “Of course her trace would be all over it.”

“What about the witness?”

“What witness?” asked Mary and I at the same time.

“Jack Pratchett testified that he saw you running across his front yard, fleeing from the house with something in your hands. He said it was dark but it looked like you were carrying a basketball.”

What the hell? Why would Jack tell her that?

Mary gave me a look. I could see her wavering.

“I have a witness too,” I said.

“Oh” she said, making a pen appear in her hand. “Do tell.”

“My friend Sophie. She’s the one who snuck me into the club.”

“And does this Sophie have a last name?”

“Green.”

“Where does Miss Green live?”

“She’s in college.”

I didn’t add that Mary had supposedly debunked that theory. Mary didn’t pipe in either. I think she knew that doing so would dig me into a hole.

Miss DeWitt nodded and took out her cell. It only took her a few seconds to dial a number. “Can you get me Administrations please?” a second or two later. “Donna, it’s Gloria. I was wondering if you could pull up a student for me, her name is Sophie Green. I need to know her dorm room so I can get in contact with her.” Miss DeWitt turned and smiled at me before a moment or two later she said. “So she’s not a student there, then?”

Mary and I looked at one another. Shit, Mary was right. She gave me a sad smile then gave my hand a gentle squeeze. Going to bat for me was uncharacteristically unlike Mary but I wasn’t soon to forget it. We might hate each other but in the end, there was no way we’d throw one another under the bus. I hope she knew that if she was ever in the shit then I definitely had her back.

She shut off her phone and turned to us. “There is no record of a Sophie Green ever being enrolled at Ravencrest University.”

I wasn’t ready to toss in the towel just yet. “So she lied to me; that doesn’t mean we weren’t together last night.”

“So you and your “friend” were at this club last night?”

The way she emphasized friend made it sound like she didn’t even believe Sophie existed.

“I’m not making her up.”

“So you have witnesses at the club? People who saw you there with her?”

I was about to say yes but stopped myself. There were so many people in the club and it was dark, I’m not really sure. I thought maybe the doorman but we didn’t go in through the front. I almost said the barkeeper but he wasn’t really looking at me. He gave the drinks directly to her not me. Sure, he could say she was there but he never actually saw me.

“She exists,” piped in Mary. “I’ve seen her around town. It’s hard not to, what with her motorcycle and all.”

That reminded me of something. “Mr. Wilkes has met her, too.” I smiled. “When he drove me into town from the airport. Our car broke down and she came along, she was actually the one that brought me into town. Mr. Wilkes actually met her.”

Miss DeWitt nodded and shook her head. “Sophie is not in question here. What is in question is the location of a certain artifact you took out of the Vault.”

“What artifact?”

Before Miss DeWitt could answer though, her cell rang. She excused herself for a moment before answering. “Scarlet? I’m kind of busy right now...what, slow down honey…the dorm building lost power. I don’t see how that’s any of my business” She sighed heavily and got up, walking over to the window. “Yes, I’m going to the window right now.”

We always kept our curtains closed during the day. I’m not sure why, my grandmother was strange like that. Miss DeWitt sighed again as she slowly started opening them. She was in the middle of saying, “What am I supposed to be seeing” when she stopped mid-sentence. I jumped to my feet at the sight. I’m not really sure how to describe only to say that one minute it was a morning and the next it was night. There was no explanation whatsoever either. It was almost as if someone snuffed out the sun. Mary was on her feet too, rushing toward the window.

Miss DeWitt stopped her with a hand. “I see it…” she said into the phone then a moment later. “Scarlet? Scarlet?”

Her voice was frantic. She lowered the phone and turned to one of her goons. “The line went dead.” She quickly dialed another number and shook her head. “The line is dead at the mansion, too.”

One of the goons was holding the receiver of the living room phone. “This is one is gone too, ma’am”

Mary managed to get past Miss DeWitt and was at the window. “If it’s night, where are all the stars.”

I rushed to the window. Sure enough, it was pitch black out. It was strange really because if it had been night wouldn’t the streetlights come on, too?

“Get away from the window girls.” Miss DeWitt spoke in an authoritative tone.

I stepped away but Mary didn’t.

I walked back to the couch and dropped down on it.

As soon as I did, the lights went out.

“I’ve seen this movie,” said Mary’s voice from somewhere in the dark.

A second later, a small light started to glow. The light got brighter until I could just start to make out where it was coming from: Miss DeWitt. At first I thought maybe she was the kind of person who prepared for every situation, you know putting a small flashlight in her purse. But there was no flashlight and the light itself was coming directly from her hand. Well actually it was a ball of light floating in her hand. She tossed it up into the air until it stopped gently on the ceiling, soon bathing the room in its glow.

“Carter, secure the premises,” she said to one of her goons.

One of the nondescript looking thugs nodded and made it for the door, disappearing outside.

“You two are going upstairs.”

“Ummm this is my house,” said Mary, clearly annoyed that the Inquisitor was barking out orders.

Given the situation though, I wasn’t one to argue.

“This isn’t a time to be a little snot” Miss DeWitt unbuttoned her jacket and reached inside.

My mother usually carried her Boleen in her jacket. Miss DeWitt actually pulled a gun. I wasn’t really expecting that.

“Jackson” she said, addressing the other goon. “Take the two of them up the stairs and secure them in one of their bedrooms. I don’t want to see either one of them until I figure out what the hell is going on.”

Mary started to argue but shut up when the Inquisitor gave her a look. The goon known as Jackson motioned for the stairs. I wasn’t about to argue either, dragging Mary along with me as I went. I didn’t look back as the three of us marched up them. The hallway was dark but I managed to lead the way to my room. Mary groaned when I opened the door but she went in willingly.

“You two stay here and lock the door”.

Jackson pulled a gun of his own and left the room. I rushed over to the door and locked it just like he said.

“You can’t be serious?”

“Of course not but seeing as those three originally showed up here to arrest me I think it’s safe to say that they have more important things to worry about. I just thought it might be wiser to have a locked door or two between us just in case we decide to go out the window or something.”

“If I could see you I might actually hug you.”

I laughed. “It’s amazing what brings family together.”

“Yeah, well I was kidding about the hug”

I ignored her. “Help me find my desk; I have a flashlight in the top drawer.”

It’s strange but you would think that I’d gotten used to the room. I mean used to it enough to navigate it in the dark. My room at home I knew like the back of my hand, I could walk through it backwards with my eyes closed. Home huh. Wow, I haven’t thought about it in a long time. Well in over a month anyway. I sorta started to think of Ravencrest as home. Sure, I loved Carsonville but there was something about this place that made me feel like I belonged here. Maybe it was because after all these years I think I actually found who I truly was and was actually happy about it. Sure I liked being the old me but the old me wasn’t the real me. It was hard to explain I guess but I felt more like myself now than ever before.

“Do you miss them?”

“Miss who?”

“Your parents?”

I was about to answer that they’ve only been gone for a month when I realized she wasn’t really talking about my parents.

I sighed. “When I couldn’t get a hold of Mom I was pretty worried. I felt sick to my stomach, weak in the knees. I wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. I actually did cry a few times…” I took a deep breath.

“Do you miss your parents?”

“What no!” she snapped then quickly added in a softer tone. “I barely knew them…I was so young and…”

I’m not sure how I found her in the dark but when I did, I wrapped my arms around her. Mary didn’t resist as I gave her a nice big hug.
“I’m sure your Mom would be really proud of you.”

I think Mary started to cry but it was hard to hear because it was so soft.

I decided that it was time to lighten the mood a bit---for her sake. “Aww, I think we’re having a moment.”

Mary’s shield went up quickly as she shoved me away. “In your dreams.”

I smiled. “C’mon let’s get that light.”

I fumbled about in the dark, banging my knee on the corner of my bed before finding the desk. Still fumbling I opened the top drawer and stuck my hand inside. Something sharp bit my finger and I cursed, pulling my hand away quickly.

“What?”

“I cut my finger,” I said, reaching into the drawer with my other hand.

I cautiously felt around, my fingers gently touching the finely polished handle of my mother’s knife. I grabbed it, gripping it tightly. A centimeter or so away was the little scabbard. I took both out of the drawer, sheathed the knife and stuck it in my waistband. A second or two later, I found my flashlight. I flicked it on and swung the beam wildly around the room, hitting Mary in the face.

“So what’s the plan?”

I walked over to my window. “I’m thinking that while they’re distracted down there, we climb out and get down to the yard. If we’re lucky we can make it to Melissa’s house before anyone knows what’s going on.”

“That’s your plan?”

“You have a better one?”

Mary didn’t say anything so I took her silence to be a no. I handed her the flashlight, instructing her to keep it on me as I tried to open the window. It sometimes stuck a bit, especially with it being so cold right now. People definitely take heat for granted until the power goes out and furnace is no longer working. It was amazing how fast the temperature dropped in the house. My fingers were already starting to go a bit numb being this close to the window. Even with numb fingers, though I managed to get it open. I gave the screen a hard push, knocking it from the window. It slid down the little roof before getting stuck in the gutter.

“Give me the light.”

Mary handed it over and I shined it about, hoping to get a better look at what we were about to step out on to. Thankfully, it hadn’t snowed in a few days so the roof was snow free. However, I could see a thin coat of frost. It would be risky stepping out on there but with the alternative being that we would be arrested by DeWitt and her goons we were going to have to take our chances. Well I was anyway. Mary was innocent in all of this and I definitely couldn’t drag her into it anymore.

I turned back to her. “I’m going out there but you don’t have to.”

She shook her head. “I might not like it but I’m in this.”

“Thanks.”

She scoffed. “You might not want to thank me when you find out that I’m only tagging along because your magic is shit.”

I stepped aside. “Why don’t you go first?”

“Why?”

“So I can push you off the roof from behind.”

So remember that little bonding moment from a little while ago----yeah, totally gone now.

I groaned in frustration then turned back toward the window. I was halfway out it when I heard the screeching of tires. I snapped the light up, just catching three dark SUVs as they pulled up in front of the house. A moment later, their doors opened and several dark figures poured out of them. I cursed, pulling myself back inside.

“What?”

I pulled Mary to the floor, shutting off the light.

“I think we have company”

As soon as I said it, two shots rang out in the darkness.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Look I'm being rather productive as of late. Sadly there's only three more chapters to go after this one but I don't think people will be disappointed. I'm hoping this chapter will help save Mary in the eyes of all her Haters. Oh and apparently, I'm burning through my cliffhangers left and right so I'm going to have to order some more :) I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY TWO:

“What the hell was that?”

“Gun shots”

I was a bit surprised at how calm Mary sounded when she said that. I also didn’t need for her to confirm what I was pretty certain I already knew. I was a little surprised that she knew the answer so easily though. I clicked on the light quickly and shined it in her face, seeing first a look of disgust and then annoyance.

“What” she said with a sigh. “Ok so this isn’t the first time I’ve heard a gun go off.”

Why didn’t that surprise me?

I opened my mouth to ask her how exactly but I didn’t get a chance. More shots sounded. It’s kind of strange really. I’m a kid who pretty much grew up watching action movies. In those movies, there were gunfights and explosions every ten minutes or so it seemed. I thought I’d be one of those people who kept a cool and calm head in a situation like that. After all, it never seemed to bother me when it was in the movie. Sadly, real life is nothing like the movies and hearing the deafening sounds of gunfire coming from your own front yard was not something anyone could possibly be Ok with.

I found myself shutting my eyes with each sound and squeezing Mary’s hand as tight as I could. Hey if they made me a girl, so what.

Mary uncharacteristically held me, letting me bury my head in her chest.

The shots kept going. First, it was in small bursts then they got louder. Just when I thought they weren’t going to end they suddenly stopped. The silence that followed was the scariest thing in the world. I waited a whole minute before letting go of Mary’s hand and another minute before I opened my eyes. I raised the flashlight, letting the beam fall on the door but Mary pushed my hand down. She also slowly slid away from me, motioning me to stay put. Why she got to move was anyone’s guess. She slowly slid across the floor though, inching her way toward the door. I kept my light on the back of her head the whole time.

When she was no more than halfway across the room, we heard the sound of a scuffle. It was followed a second or two later by the sound of running feet. Those feet were on the stairs a moment later, pounding rapidly up them. There was definitely more than one person. Mary stopped moving. When she turned to look at me, there was a look of fear on her face. It only lasted for a moment but it was enough to tell me that even though she was trying to act tough, she was about to piss herself too. I motioned her over to me but she shook her head.

“You out of your mind?” I whispered as low as I could but loud enough for her to hear.

“They come through that door and we’re done.”

Neither of us wanted to confirm who they might be. After hearing those shots though I think I had a pretty good idea who. I knew the Black Cross were desperate, I just never thought they’d pull anything as crazy as this. They actually went out of their way to invade Ravencrest and for what: me. I didn’t even know what these people were after but it was clear that whatever it was it was important enough for them to pull a stunt like this. It made no sense though. First, it was those two guys, pretty low key as far as I could tell, so why did they escalate. Was it because those two morons failed or was this their plan all along? The only thing that was clear was that they weren’t afraid to use force to get whatever it is they wanted.

I panicked. “We can go out the window. We can still….”

Mary shook her head. “Way beyond that point now.”

I didn’t want to admit it but she was definitely right. The best thing we could do was probably sit in this room and hope whoever it was didn’t think to check up here.

Mary had other plans though. She slowly got to her feet and moved toward the door.

“You’re not going out there are you?” I whined.

Yes, I whined. I was scared half to death thank you very much. She turned to me and sighed softly. “Did you ever have a pair?”

She turned back around and reached for the door. Whatever pair I did or didn’t have seemed to kick in at that moment. I jumped to my feet and rushed to her. I didn’t get there in time though because she opened the door. I’m not sure who was more surprised: Mary or the guy standing in the hall. He must have been the one we heard running up the stairs a few seconds ago. In all likelihood, he probably would have passed by this room, at least on his first sweep. I was hoping to be in the closet or out the window by the time he came around again. Mary completely blew that plan.

The two of them stared at one another for what felt like an eternity though was probably only a few split seconds.

He recovered first. He was twice the size of Mary so it was no shock that he was faster. When he grabbed her, I had to force myself not to scream. He spun her around in his arms so quickly. His arms were thick with muscle; one went around Mary’s waist and the other around her throat. It happened so fast. The look of shock on Mary’s face probably mirrored the look of horror on my own.

“You, c’mere” he barked, moving his hand from Mary’s waist to beckon me over.

I was too scared to move.

Mary was like a pro.

The guy never saw it coming. Hell, I never saw it coming.

Mary slammed her heel into the top of the bastard’s foot. He had a second or two to holler in pain but was silenced quickly when she slammed the back of her head into his face. He staggered backwards, letting her go. Mary spun quickly, slamming the base of her palm into his chest. The goon was back in the hall but only for a moment. Mary grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him into the room and straight into her knee. It was so quick and so fluid that if I blinked I would have missed the whole thing. As it was, I stood fish eyed as she dragged her unconscious assailant into the room. She deposited him by my bed.

“How in the hell…?”

She looked a bit sheepish. “My best friend is a werewolf.”

Like that was supposed to explain everything.

“Did Tracy suddenly become a ninja without me knowing?”

Mary rolled her eyes. “She made me take some self defense classes at the Harper Dojo, lucky I did, huh?”

She left it at that.

I wasn’t ready to let it go but didn’t really have the time to argue. A moment later, there was more running and two more bastards appeared. Thankfully, I had the light off because both of them stopped to stare into the room.

“Krueger” one of them snapped in a hiss. “Krueger you in there?”

“No one’s in there” snapped the other, pushing his companion further down the hall.

As soon as the two were gone, I let out the breath I was holding. I turned to Mary, realizing the small window we now had. “C’mon, let’s get the hell out of here.”

“In a sec” she said, bending down over Krueger.

I took a chance and turned on the light. Mary was rifling through the guy’s coat. Her search looked futile until she pulled out a wallet. She flipped it open. She pocketed his cash and took his ID. I’m not sure what the point to it all was but Mary seemed satisfied as she discarded the wallet. After tossing his wallet, she grabbed his wrist and pulled off his watch.

“Ok, now we can go?”

“You wanted to rob him?”

Mary groaned. “Did Melissa teach you anything?”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I wanted to tell her off but now was not the time to argue.

Mary waved the watch in my face. “We can use this to find out who he is, where he came from. Possibly even if he’s working with others.”

I wasn’t about to argue with that.

“Stay behind me” said Mary, taking charge.

She poked her head out into the hall, probably to see if everything was safe. Then she stepped out, ushering me to follow. As soon as I stepped out into the hall, I stupidly used the beam of my light to guide me. I swung it in a quick arc, cursing when I realized what I did. I clicked it off but it was already too late.

“Hey” shouted one of the voices from down the hall.

“Idiot” Mary hissed.

She gave me a shove, spinning toward the two men that were now coming toward us. One of them had a gun pulled.

“Move and I’ll shoot.”

The other knocked the gun down. “The boss wants them alive.”

“Both of them?”

“Bring the girl, remember?”

The gunner sighed and nodded. He quickly holstered his gun. Mary snapped into action at that moment. I’m not sure what kind of spell she used but it was fast. A quick rush of white light shot from her fingers. It hit the first guy just as he was putting away his gun. The light engulfed his entire body. It didn’t disappear though; instead, it seemed to cling to him like a transparent blanket. The guy was still conscious because his eyes were moving but it was like his whole body was frozen in place. Mary had a satisfied smirk. She turned to the other guy to do the same but he was faster. I’m not sure how he dodged her spell but when he did, it surprised her. Mary might be fast but that’s nothing when a two hundred pound man came charging at you.

When he reached Mary, his arm swing connected with the side of her head. The blow sent her sprawling against the wall. It wasn’t life threatening but I heard a snap as she went down.

He was on me before I could react.

The weight of his body slammed into mine dropped me to the ground immediately. The light flew from my hand and skittered somewhere behind me. He had a hold of my wrists and straddled me a moment later. Fuck. With everything that I’d gone through, all the times I’d managed to get away from these guys and now they had me.
“You little bitches think you’re so smart, throwing around your little spells,” he snarled, his mouth inches from my ear. “Where’s your magic now, witch?”

He leaned up to belt out a laugh and there was a loud bam. I never saw the bullet but the blood splattered all over my face a second later. His lifeless body toppled sideways, off me. I turned and looked at him, seeing the bloody hole in his forehead. Then I snapped around, not sure what I expected to see. What I did see was a welcome sight. Miss DeWitt was at the top of the stairs, holding a gun. Her body was half silhouetted in my flashlight beam. Her fancy sports jacket was gone, her hair was disheveled and she looked like she’d been through hell but at least she was alive.

“You girls Ok?” she asked, her voice sounded a bit strained.

“I’m good,” I said after a breath.

I heard Mary groan. “I think I broke my wrist.”

A moment later, Mary was at my side. She was cradling one of her arms close to her chest but she used her other to reach out toward me. I took her hand and she helped me to my feet. I still held that hand as the two of us slowly made our way down the hall toward our savior. I never thought I’d be happier to see her in my entire life. Here was the woman who only a few short minutes ago I was actually going to jump out of a window to get away from and now she just saved my life. How different a few minutes can make things.

“Are there anymore?”

Miss DeWitt raised her gun again and shot the one Mary froze. I didn’t snap around to see if she got him in the head.

“Nope.”

“I knocked one out in the bedroom, actually.”

Miss DeWitt sighed and nodded. She started toward my room, moving with a stagger in her step. The woman looked absolutely exhausted. I didn’t see her go into my room but I did hear the gunshot. I was actually a bit surprised. I thought for sure that she might want to keep one of them alive to question but apparently Grace DeWitt was a “Take No Prisoners” kind of woman. She appeared out of my room a moment later, still slightly staggering. When she got back into the light, I noticed it wasn’t an ordinary type of stagger either. One of her arms hung limply at her side, still clutching her gun while the other was pressed firmly against her side. I didn’t notice it before because I was so preoccupied but her stark white blouse was now covered in red.

Most of it was centered around the patch she was desperately pressing her hand against.

“Holy shit” I gasped, rushing over. “You’re hurt.”

“Its nothing” she said through gritted teeth. “A flesh wound, I’ve had worse.”

It didn’t look like a flesh wound to me.

“You know a spell right?” I asked frantically. “One to stop the bleeding?”

She nodded, wiggling a finger. I saw a slight red glow to it. In fact, the hand that was clutching the wound was glowing red.

“We need to get you to the doctor.”

She shook her head. “No, we need to get you two to the Manor. It’s safe there.”

She staggered again but I was there to catch her. I put her arm around my shoulders and half walked, half carried her down the hall. Mary helped me when we got to the stairs. We made sure to avoid the body in the middle of the hall. At the bottom of the stairs there were two more bodies, one of them belonging to one of the guys who came with Miss DeWitt? I felt a little bad that the man sacrificed himself for me and I didn’t even know his name. Her other goon was in the living room, his body sprawled on the couch. There was a dead bad guy at his feet. A third dead bad guy was in the kitchen. Looking at the mess I couldn’t help but think how pissed my grandmother was going to be when she saw it.

Counting the three upstairs, that made six.

“Who are they?” I asked as Mary and I helped her into one of the armchairs.

Miss DeWitt winced before she spoke. “I thought they might be Black Cross but they don’t have any tattoos.”

I nodded, remembering the ones Baldy and Scar Face had.

I spared a slight moment to look at one of the nearest dead bodies but I couldn’t really see anything. Mary however wasn’t in the least bit squeamish. She walked right up to the body and bent down to take a look. She started rummaging about him, working at his collar. I think she was looking for a tat.

“This guy has this strange tat on his collar.”

“Describe it to me.”

“It looks like a curled black horn of some kind.”

Miss DeWitt cursed. “I was afraid of that.”

“You know the mark?”

She groaned in pain then nodded. “The Black Horn.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“A cult. They claim to be demon worshipers.”

“Demons?” asked Mary “as in actual demons?”

Miss DeWitt nodded again.

“What about the Black Cross then?” I asked.

She sighed. “I don’t think they were ever involved but the Horn wanted us to think they were. I should have known something was off, should have spoken up sooner.” She winced in pain. “The Black Cross has been gone for about fifteen years or so.” She muttered something incoherent to herself before speaking aloud again. “When your grandmother told me what your parents were up to in Africa I knew it didn’t feel right.”

I remembered something Mom said. “They haven’t found anything yet.”

Miss DeWitt nodded. “They’re not going to either. It was a wild goose chase to get them…”

She trailed off.

“Do get them to what?” I asked even though I think I knew the answer. It clicked like a light. “They’re after me aren’t they? They wanted my parents out of the way to get to me.”

“It’s a theory.”

“Why?” I demanded.

Miss Dewitt opened her mouth to say something but all that came out was a moan of pain. She was sweating real bad now and her bleeding was starting to seep through her fingers. Whatever spell she was using wasn’t strong enough to stop it. Mary saw that, too. She rushed over and looked at me, looking real worried.
“Kelly she needs to get to a doctor fast.”

I nodded. Answers could wait until later. We needed to help her.

Mary and I got on either side of her as we gently helped her to her feet. We slowly started to move her toward the door before she stopped us.

“Franklin has keys,” she gasped, barely audible. She pointed to the body at the base of the stairs. “Take his necklace too.”

Mary nodded, slipping away. She went to the guy Miss DeWitt pointed at. First, she pulled something from his neck then reached into his pocket. She came back over jingling keys. I caught sight of the necklace; it was exactly like the one my Dad gave me. I think I finally realized what it was and what its purpose was.

“Put it on” I told Mary.

She didn’t have to be told twice, slipping the necklace over her neck.

We started moving again after that. The front door was wide open so we didn’t have to worry about that. On the lawn, there were two more bodies, bringing the number up to eight bad guys. I looked at their three SUVs and couldn’t help but wonder how none of the neighbors had noticed anything. Sure, it was pitch black and the lights were all out but we just had a mini-gunfight, there were even dead bodies in my front yard.

“What about the neighbors?”

Miss DeWitt shook her head. “Norms, all of them. We have a plan in place….Wards…puts them to sleep.”

“All the Norms?” asked Mary, Miss DeWitt nodded.

Talk about your Contingency Plan.

We dragged Miss DeWitt to the black sedan in the driveway. Mary ran forward to open the back door and we slowly got her inside. I climbed into the back as well just to make sure Miss DeWitt would be ok. Mary ran around to the front, getting into the driver’s seat. She sighed heavily as she got behind the wheel.

“Something wrong?”

“I’ve only driven twice…ummm….I don’t exactly have my license yet.”

I think all the color drained from my face. I made sure my seatbelt was extra tight. I tried buckling Miss DeWitt in but she shook her head.

“Ok, this might get rough,” said Mary as she started the engine.

The first thing she did was drive the car forward, slamming the garage door.

“Whoops” she laughed, putting it into reverse.

“Less crashing, more driving please.”

“Sorry.”

She whipped down the driveway, nearly smashing into the front end of one of the SUVs. She swerved at the last moment. I gripped the armrest for dear life. There was definitely no way I was going to let Mary teach me how to drive. Once out of the driveway though, her driving got a lot smoother.

I turned to Miss DeWitt. “We’re taking you to the hospital.”

She shook her head. “Too late…go to Manor.”

“No, we’re going to get you help first.”

She smiled. Her lips were starting to turn blue. That plus her pale skin and sweating, didn’t look too good at all.

“Mary, drive faster,” I said with some urgency.

“But the speed limit…”

“Fuck the speed limit,” I snapped.

She put on the gas.

I reached over and took Miss DeWitt’s hand, she gripped it tightly. “I wanted to tell you how sorry I was for being such a pain in the ass.”

She shook her head. “You’re a good girl…shouldn’t have judged…not the same.”

“Not the same as what?”

“Family.”

Miss DeWitt’s words were broken and jumbled. She wasn’t even making any sense now. It was clear that she was slipping.

Her grip on my hand started to get loose.

I started to tear up. “You need to stay with us….just a little longer…please.”

“The Orb…” she croaked. “You have to…stop…bad thing…have to stop….”

All the pressure on my hand was gone. I watched as the life slowly drained from the Inquisitor’s eyes.

“Mary” I said through tears. “Mary, it’s too late…we were too late….”

Mary turned her head slightly. “Shit. What now?”

“I don’t know” I sobbed then remembered. “She said go to the Manor.”

Mary sighed. “Ok hold on. If anything else happens, I am so not going to church anymore.”

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, an SUV slammed into the side of car. The world spun around me. Metal grinded on metal as the car flipped more than once. I think I was screaming, I know Mary was screaming. There was a burning pain in my chest then the world went black.

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the fact that I was waking up at all. When someone flips over several times in a car, they don’t generally expect to wake up. The last moments of consciousness I thought for sure I was either going to be a vegetable for the rest of my life or worse, dead. I guess whatever Powers That Be that were out there were looking out for me. I was eternally grateful to them that’s for sure. Unfortunately, all of that hinged on the fact that somehow part of their plan for me involved me being strapped to a bed in some dark and scary place.

It’s definitely not the best way to wake up from an accident.

As far as I could tell I was uninjured, save for the chaffing of my wrists as I futilely struggled against my bonds. Whatever it was that was holding my wrists wasn’t abrasive but it was tight enough to cut into my flesh. It hurt like hell too. I tried to gauge how long I’d been here but as far as I knew it could have been from a couple of minutes to hours. I’m sure it wasn’t more than a few hours though. For one thing, the room was still dark and for another I was certain someone would have noticed those dead bodies by now. Of course, they’d also notice that Mary and I were missing and that Miss DeWitt was…I couldn’t even bring myself to think about it.

There was this hollow pit in my stomach for a woman I despised so much and yet owed my life several times over. I didn’t know if she was married but she had a daughter and if I got out of this, I was going to tell her how brave her mother was. I was also going to give her the biggest hug imaginable. Hell, everyone was getting a hug. I might even hug my mother’s stupid cat. All of that was a mute point at the moment though because I was currently still strapped to a bed.

I tugged on the restraints again but all I got out of it was more pain.

I cursed.

For the umpteenth time I also tried to see if I could see anything. Of course, that was also a mute point because like the rest of the town the room was pitch black. I guess I could have kicked and screamed but that would solve nothing. So I continued to struggle in hopes that I might miraculously loosen one of my bonds. If the miracle were to happen then it was first a way out of this room and second where to find Mary. I might not like her but the two of us were in this together now. There was no way I was going to leave her here to these bastards.

Where the hell were these people anyway? Who captures someone and then completely ignores them?

As if to answer my question, I heard a click behind me. I tried to turn my head but my neck was kind of stiff. Sure, I didn’t get hurt in the crash but I was still pretty sore. The click was behind my head, off to the left maybe. As soon as I heard it, it was followed by the telltale sign of wood scrapping against rock. It was a door opening. I sighed; finally, I was going to figure out what the hell was going on.

“I know you’re there,” I said as I heard faint footsteps enter the room.

The person didn’t answer. Instead, they shuffled closer. There was something off about their movements like they were either walking with their legs together or they were wearing a really long dress. I heard a flick then saw a small light. The light moved up over my shoulder and then got brighter. A second later, I smelt wax burning. Whoever it was just lit a candle.

The person shuffled closer, bringing the candle with them. They were at my side a second later. I saw not a dress but some kind of nondescript black robe. I couldn’t see the person’s face but I saw the hand holding the candle. It was on the smallest like a girl’s and just like a girl’s there was nail polish on the fingernails. I knew the brand too, it was called Sparkle Blue. It was Maggie’s favorite brand actually; in fact, it was the only kind she wore. My heart caught in my chest at that revelation. Maggie was in fact the only person I’d ever known to wear Sparkle Blue.

No it can’t be. It just can’t be.

“Mags, is that you?”

The girl holding the candle shuffled again, this time moving slowly so she was standing at the end of the bed. I saw her whole this time. Her body was small but her face was covered by a large black hood. She reached up slowly with her free hand and pulled the hood away. To say I was shocked to see my best friend’s face staring back at me was an understatement but I was even more shocked by what I saw. It was her all right but she definitely wasn’t herself. Her skin was very pale and her eyes, there was something wrong with her eyes. Her usual blue sparkling eyes looked gray, dull even. Her smile was gone too. In its place was this blank, dour expression. It was the girl I knew and loved but there was nothing left of her that I knew.

“Impressive isn’t it” sad a cold voice from the dark.

I half expected the speaker to come from behind me but instead he stepped out of the shadows in the corner, his tall body framed in the candle light. That freaked me a bit to know that this guy had been in the room with me this entire time.

He walked up to Maggie and ran his hand gently across her cheek.
“Magic is remarkable isn’t it?”

I lunged at him, pulling my restraints to the limit, the leather cutting into my wrists. I think I drew blood.

“What the hell did you do to her?”

He chuckled. “Me, I’m hardly the type. No, Miss Wilkes is not under my spell though I am quite pleased with the results.”

I finally dropped back down to the bed, the pain too much.

“Who are you?”

“Now that’s the proper way to meet someone,” he said, a melodious tone in his voice. “You may call me Talbot.”

“I’m not pleased to meet you.”

He scoffed. “Well that was rude.”

“So is kidnaping.”

He laughed. “Touché”

“So you’re the boss then?”

He laughed aloud, he laughed for quite some time actually. When he finally stopped, he spoke. “I’m a boss of many things I suppose but this operation is not one of them. I’m here as an observer, nothing more. I was curious about you; I had to see for myself what makes you so special.”

“Well what did you find out?”

“You’re definitely special, I’ll give you that. I can see why He wanted you all those years ago, how he still yearns for you now.”

“He? Who’s He?”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” he said, waving his hands about theatrically. “It’s all this and that. We were told to come and so we did. We are also told that if you willingly cooperate then no harm will come to you or your friends.”

“Then let them go.”

He scoffed. “That depends solely on you.”

I knew what he wanted me to say and even though I was going to regret it, what choice did I have. They had Mary and now it seemed they had Maggie as well. Too many people had already died for me; I was going to lose two more.

I nodded. “If you promise not to hurt my friends I’ll do whatever you want.”

There was hysterical laughter in the darkness. It didn’t come from Talbot and it definitely didn’t come from Maggie. A third figure was in the room, one that apparently had been here all along as well. They stepped into the light, wearing another black robe too.

“See I told you she’d cooperate if you pushed the right buttons” said a voice, an all too familiar voice.

The person stepped closer and dropped the hood. “Isn’t that right, girlfriend.”

The face staring back at me was Sophie.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Hi there...I bet you all thought I got lost in Ravencrest forest or something. Sorry for the massive delay, I promise it won't happen again. I had a bit of a struggle with this chapter, I wrote up to a certain but just couldn't figure out how to end it. The other day a few of the author DRU writers got together with me and we hashed out what I needed. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others but its a nice set up for the next one :) I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY-THREE

“Sophie?”

I think the shock of seeing my friend took a few moments to set in. My brain however began to process things a few seconds before my mouth. If Sophie was here, it meant two things. One she was somehow here to rescue me, as crazy as that seemed. Hell, outlandish actually. Which left the second reason, the one that was much more believable but extremely hard to believe. Sophie was here now because she was with them. That thought weighed heavy on me, heavier than any thought I’d had in a long time. Here was this girl---the coolest girl I’d ever known---and she was a backstabbing bitch. She was in league with the very same people who had been after me from the beginning.

Sophie sighed. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“You have no idea what I’m thinking,” I said angrily, pulling at my bonds.

If I could get free, I might have enough time to punch her. It wasn’t much but it would sure make me feel a whole lot better.

“Actually I do” said Sophie, tapping her head. “It’s a bit of a gift---runs in the family. I spent many years honing my craft and I’m pretty good at it.”

Her craft? Did that mean…

“You’re a Witch?”

She smirked. “See I knew you’d figure it out given the right motivation.”

Sophie was a Witch. Was this the day of revelations.

“So what is all this then?”

She opened her mouth but was interrupted by Talbot. He stepped forward, pushing her away from the position she’d taken at my bedside.

“Miss Green” he said, his voice taking on a severe tone. “You will have time for this later. It’s important that things not be delayed any longer.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder. It was apparently the wrong thing to do. Sophie seized up, a look of pure anger and hatred spread across her face. The girl I once knew---the carefree, fun loving nut---was gone. Hell, I’m not even sure if she ever existed. Whoever Sophie was, this was her true face. As soon as Talbot touched her, I could feel the power ebbing from her. I’m not sure how she managed to mask it before, especially from the other witches in town but now it was radiating off her. She spun on Talbot so fast, the man stumbled backwards but staggered to a stop.

“You will give me a moment alone with her”

“We don’t have time…”

Sophie raised her hand, her fingers slowly clenching shut as if she were grasping an invisible object. No, not invisible. I looked over at Talbot and though he was barely visible in the shadows, I saw his body begin to twitch. It was as if someone had a hold of him and was squeezing the life out of him. No not someone: Sophie. This was her power, her craft. Somehow she was using magic to do horrible things to this man. Any given day I would have loved to see him get his just desserts but the pain that he was clearly in---there was no noise coming from him---but it was clear by the look of horror on his face that he was in excruciating pain.

“The mind is a truly fascinating thing,” said Sophie with a laugh. “The brain controls every little bit of your entire body. Control the brain and you control everything. You know what I’m capable of Mr. Talbot; you know what I’ve done and what I can do, so it would be very wise for your sake if you allow me a moment alone with my friend. Don’t you think?”

The man nodded his head but it wasn’t clear if he was doing it himself or if Sophie was making him do it. A second or two later, he stopped twitching. His body relaxed completely and I saw him wiggle his fingers a bit. He was in control again and he took that opportunity to flee from the room as quickly as he could. I watched him go then turned back to Sophie. Her magic---the terrible power she possessed---was the most frightening thing I’d ever seen. On a villainous scale, she made Darth Vader and Voldemort look like kittens. Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but it was clear she was a person not to be trifled with.

She turned back to me, the anger disappeared and she was smiling again.

“Now where were we?”

I decided to take a stab at it. I wanted answers after all. “You were about to tell me what the hell is going on.”

She smiled. “It’s a neat trick isn’t it?” I nodded, not sure what else to do. “I discovered it when I was a little girl. You see most witches don’t come into their magic until their teen years but my family was special. At least that’s what I’ve been told. They had an unnatural affinity for magic, strong magical heritage actually. I’m not going to bore you with a history lesson though. Remind me to tell you about it later though, it’s really interesting.”

“Is there going to be a later?”

She laughed. “Of course there is…at least for you and me. I’m not sure about the rest of the town and frankly I don’t give a damn. You and I though, we’re going to leave this place together. Did I tell you my parents were loaded, my fake ones not, my real ones. MY real ones are deal, well the fake ones are too, but they left me loads of money. It’s amazing what a lot of money can get you. I spent quite a bit of it finding you actually.”

“Me?”

Why in the hell was she looking for me?

“You’re special Kelly, one of a kind actually. It’s not very often that a Dud becomes a Witch overnight.”

I shook my head. “That was an accident, a spell.”

She smirked. “You honestly think that moron you call a cousin did this to you?”

Of course, I did because it was the truth. Maybe it wasn’t the permanent reason why I was like this but it was definitely a contributing factor.

“Kelly I chose you for a reason.”

“And what would that be?”

She smiled, her features growing very soft. She ran her fingers gently through my hair as she spoke. “I need you Kelly. I know I’m not right in the head, I haven’t been for a long time but you’re going to help fix that. With you by my side, I’ll learn to be better. I’m going to teach you everything I know, too. No more reading dusty old books, I’m talking about real magic. I’ve been in your head Kelly; I know what you’ve been thinking. Mary knows real magic and you’re a bit jealous of it.”

I’d be lying if I denied it. I’m not saying I totally agreed with her, of course, but I was angry that I wasn’t learning any true magic. That didn’t mean I was willing to abandon my studies though and run off with some nut job like Sophie. A nut job who…

“Wait, how many times have you been in my head exactly?”

She bit her lip. “A few.”

Damn it. “If you want me to trust you, you need to be completely honest with me” She nodded. “So how many times since coming to Ravencrest have you been in my head?”

“Three or four but the first time you asked me too.”

What the hell was she talking about? “When?”

“The day in the diner, right after Troy attacked you in the street. You said you wished he’d wrap his tree around a car and so I made it happen.”

“You?” A sudden thought occurred to me then. “You used me, didn’t you?”

“I couldn’t do it myself. I didn’t want the Coven to know I was in town after all so I was playing things low key.”

Something seemed to click then. I’m not sure how or why it came to me but when it did it hit me like a ton of bricks. “It was you in the alley that night wasn’t it? At my birthday party when I was attacked. I know I blacked out but Miss DeWitt claimed I was the one who killed that guy.”

She smirked. “A loose end. If he had talked then my secret would have been out.”

“You were their boss!”

She nodded. “They were supposed to get you for me but they failed. When they failed in California that first time I decided to take matters into my own hands, but I also had to keep up the pretense so I kept having the two of them coming after you. They were supposed to push you into your magic, make you use it. I lost all hope until you let them have it in the alley; I was beginning to think that you truly were a Dud after all. I wanted to see if you were Raw like me, and boy did you ever prove it. That’s why I know you and I will be perfect together. It was how it was meant to be. It’s what this whole thing is really about.”

She leaned forward and wrapped me in a hug. “You have no idea how long I’ve been trying to find you.”

When she pulled away, I saw tears running down her cheeks.

Sophie was clearly unhinged but I didn’t want to do anything to set her off. I saw what she could do when she was angry and I didn’t want that.

“So, what about the Black Cross?”

She laughed. “Long gone. They died with my real parents. Mom and Dad ran them, took over from my grandfather. I figured spreading a rumor about them popping up in Africa would get your parents out of the way. I needed you in Ravencrest, I needed you to Awaken. I knew there was no way you could do it back in crummy Carsonville. You needed to be here where magic was strong and where the Real You could be found.”

I nodded. I needed to keep her talking. The more she talked, the longer it would take. It was clear Sophie had orchestrated this whole thing but it was the other guys I was worried about. I didn’t like the way Talbot was talking earlier. It was clear that Sophie thought she was in charge of things but Talbot was definitely running the show here. I’m not sure what he was up too but I had a strange feeling it has something to do with the Vault.

“What about the Vault?”

“The night we went out, I slipped something in your drink. It was harmless but it made you a little sleepy. I was planning to use you right then and there but those vampires got in the way” I could hear the venom in her voice when she said vampires. “When you got home though and fell asleep, I used you then.”

“Why me, though?”

“I needed a witch who I knew couldn’t be tainted by the darkness inside, someone innocent and pure. I could have used Mary but she had this edge to her that wouldn’t have worked. I only used her once and believe me that’s one body I never want to walk around in again.”
Used her? Oh right, the bike tires.

I felt kind of bad for Miss DeWitt now. Here I was denying everything and she’d been right all along. I had done all the things she accused me of. Of course, it wasn’t really me but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that she had been right and now she was dead. Dead because of Sophie. She could think whatever she wanted, but just that fact alone was going to keep me from agreeing to anything. Not that I was ever going to agree to being BFFs with her now.

Right now, I needed to play along because I had one more question.
“The Vault, what did you have me take?”

Sophie smiled; it was a devious one, not like anything I’d ever seen her throw my way before. It kind of reminded me a bit of the look she was giving Talbot earlier---before she got all scary on him that is. She gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“It was a means to an end. They wanted something in return for my help…something special to them. I don’t really understand all of it but they made me get this weird tattoo on my shoulder and swear to secrecy. All I know for certain is that it’s something they’ve been looking for.”

She probably would have elaborated further but I heard the door open.

“Change of plans” said a stern voice as three robed figures walked into the room.

Sophie snapped around, ready for a fight. She didn’t get a chance though. One of them threw something on the ground; there was great big flash of blinding white light. It filled the entire room and all I could do was scream as rough hands reached toward me.

For someone who’s been spending a lot of her time getting knocked unconscious, you’d think I’d get used to it by now. But it didn’t matter how many times it happened, I don’t think I was ever going to get used to the world going all black around me and waking up in some crazy, dark place. So once again, I opened my eyes, half expecting to be in the dark and tied down once again. I didn’t even react to reaching up and brushing my hair out of my face. It was one of those reflex moments that I didn’t think about until a few seconds later. As soon as I realized that, I also realized I was no longer in the same room as before. It was still pretty dark but not as dark as before either. I could see a distant light, very faint; at the end of what I thought might be a hallway.

I bit back the urge to shout for someone.

Instead, I pushed myself to my feet, stumbling a bit in the dark. I was hoping the distant light might be enough to guide my movement but sadly, it was lacking. I took another step or two before realizing I might actually fall and possibly break my neck. I stopped moving to take stock of my current situation. Ok, so it was pretty much the same as before but this time---as far as I could tell---there was no Sophie or creepy robe guys hiding in the dark. I tried to weigh my very limited options. I already agreed to do whatever it was they wanted---I needed to make sure they didn’t harm Maggie, Mary and whoever else they might have grabbed. I also needed to make sure that whatever happened to the town could be reversed. Of course, all of that was a mute point until I could figure out how to get the hell out of here.

Risking another chance, I took a few steps. I didn’t stumble blindly this time. I kept my arms out in front of me, hoping I’d run into something eventually. I was expecting to hit a wall; I wasn’t expecting to hit something squishy. Actually, I stepped on it.

“Damn it,” snapped a voice, causing me to nearly jump out of my clothes.

I knew the voice. “Mary?”

“No, Angela Lansbury, of course it’s me” she snapped.

I took only a second to find her and when I did, I found myself giving her a hug. I know a bit uncharacteristic of me but she wasn’t pushing me away so it was clear we were both happy to see one another. The hug didn’t last long and as soon as it was over, we went back to our respective corners of darkness.

“How long have I been…?”

“About ten minutes” she interrupted. “They dragged you in here and then left.”

“Where is here exactly?”

“Damn if I know,” she sighed heavily. “I was out when they brought me here. When I woke up, I was in this place. I think we’re in some kind of large basement or something. The walls are stone, the floor concrete.”

I guess that made sense. “Any idea where?”

“Only a few places like this,” she said, clearly having given it some thought. “It’s too big to be one of the residential places and the mansions in town are way too modern. If I were to guess I’d say one of those old warehouses by The Pit.”

Did warehouses have basements?

We stood in silence for a few moments. I let what she said sink in for a bit. Whoever these Black Horn guys were, they were pretty organized. To be able to pull off something like this---including finding a base of operations here---had to mean things were well planned out. It scared me to think that a group like them could easily pull something like this off. Did that mean they had someone on the inside, someone here in town pulling all the shots? To even think about something like that made my skin crawl. My skin crawled even more when I realized how close Sophie had been to me all this time.

“I was set up” I softly admitted.

“What are you talking about?”

“I had this friend---Sophie---she kind of turned out to be not much of one.”

“The girl Scarlet said wasn’t at school?”

I nodded, tearing up. “she said she came here for me which doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone do all this just to get to someone. Why am I so…”

I broke down and found Mary’s arms around me. I sobbed into her shoulder. Her compassion surprised me. This was Mary, after all. She held me for a long time, allowing me to get my cry out. I’m not sure how long we stayed that way. She held me even after I stopped, speaking softly and kindly to me. Her words were totally lost to me but the intention was felt: she genuinely cared about me. When we finally parted, I wiped my eyes and cheeks.

“I’m sorry I got you into this mess.”

She scoffed. “I’m sorry we didn’t hail a cab.”

I laughed, it was refreshing. I knew she didn’t mean it of course. Mary was always one to mask things behind her sarcasm. I think that’s where the whole “Malice” thing came from.

“I’m trying to be serious here; we’re in real big trouble in case you haven’t noticed.”

“I’ve been in worse.”

There was no pleasing this girl and clearly no topping her either.

“Are you going to take this seriously? These people are dangerous. Sophie does something, I’ve seen it. She makes Darth Vader look like Mr. Rogers. She’s dangerous. She started choking this guy and there was nothing in her eyes, they were dead. She had this wicked smile too like she enjoying it way too much. Mary, we can’t fight something like that.”

“Maybe you can’t…”

“Damn it Mary this isn’t about either of us anymore. Stop being a jealous bitch for once and try to face reality.”

There I said it. I’d finally said it. I’d been wanting to say those exact words to her for over a month. I’m not sure what was holding me back but now that I’d said it, I felt a little more relieved. Unfortunately, this was hardly the time nor the place to be having this kind of conversation.

“You think I’m…I’m not…”

Her words were interrupted by the sound of metal scraping against concrete. A second later, there was a footfall. She shut up quickly and I felt her grab my hand, squeezing it tightly. The beam of a flashlight swung into the room. It danced slowly across the floor until it fell upon our faces. We couldn’t see whoever was holding the light but he wasn’t wearing a robe like the others. At least I couldn’t see him but apparently Mary recognized him.

“You, I should have known,” she snapped.

The figure stepped forward, lowering the beam. He stopped for a moment until I heard something that sounded like keys jingling. He moved forward quickly. “I had no idea this was going to happen. They threatened me…if…well it doesn’t matter, you two have to leave now.”

I didn’t recognize the voice but somehow Mary must have seen his face.

“This is your club isn’t it?”

He didn’t answer but now I knew who he was. I didn’t know the man’s name but I understood what Mary was implying. We weren’t somewhere near The Pit, we were actually in it. We must have been in the basement, possibly a storage room or something. It made a bit of sense, actually. What better place to hide than in a place where every seems to go. Ok not everyone but enough people to hide safely.

“What the hell is this?”

“They’re going to do something to her,” he said, his keys still jingling, as if his hands couldn’t stop shaking. “I’m not sure what but I can’t stand here and let that happen.”

He clicked on the flashlight again, giving us a quick view of the room as he swept it about. I was right about being in some kind of storage area but was surprised at how much room there. Sure, it was lined with metal shelving units and lots of boxes but here I thought Mary and I were in a tiny space. In truth, we actually had a lot of room to maneuver. WE also didn’t seem to be in any kind of cage like I had originally thought. It just seemed to be the two of us locked up in this room. It wasn’t very smart but then again I don’t think these guys were thinking about us escaping.

“This warehouse used to be used to run rum during prohibition. There’s a lot of tunnels like this underneath it. I know most of them like the back of my hand. I can lead you two down one and get you to safety.”

Still using the light, he beckoned us to follow. Mary didn’t waste any time but I was still a bit reluctant. I didn’t say anything though as he led us toward the entrance to the room. The light at the end of the tunnel I saw actually came from a single bulb dangling in the main tunnel. There was a cone of light that surrounded it but darkness in either direction beyond. It was definitely creepy. Mr. Breem---the Club owner guy---led the way, his flashlight guiding us. We didn’t say a word as we followed him but Mary kept a hold of my hand the entire time. I think she might have been a bit more freaked out about all of this than she was letting on. After all, we’d had a busy night. If following this guy meant it was going to be over all that much faster then so be it. I was happy to do whatever he wanted as long as he got me back to my family and friends in one piece.

Friends…oh Shit.

I let go of Mary’s hand. “Where are we going exactly?”

“Out of here” said Breem, annoyed that we stopped.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said, thinking of Maggie.

There was no way I was leaving my best friend here.

Mary sighed. “We’ll get help, come back. No one is going to get left behind.”

“It’s not your best friend back there,” I said, standing my ground. “I’m not leaving without Maggie.”

Mr. Breem groaned. “I’ll buy you a new one. Now c’mon before they notice you’re gone.”

He angrily grabbed my wrist. I guess I could see it from his point of view---if only for a second. He was risking a lot trying to help us but I didn’t give a fuck. I yanked my arm from his grip. There was no way I was leaving Maggie behind. If that meant he took off without us then so be it. I caught sight of his face in the glow of the light. I saw it in his eyes---that’s exactly what he meant to do. So no more hero for him. He’d rescued the damsels and now instead of staying around to help like the knight he thought he was he was hightailing it out of here like the court jester.

Well fuck him.

“Leave then but I’m not going without Maggie.”

“This is bullshit,” snapped Breem, a little louder than he should have. “You two are fucking idiots. Stay here and get killed, I’m out of here.”

He stormed off down the hall toward his exit, taking his light with him. I watched the beam bounce down the hall. The figure a few feet ahead of him was barely illuminated before a shot rang out. The blast from the gun was pretty loud. It echoed down the hall. I let out a scream as Breem’s body dropped---I know, I’m such a girl now. Mary grabbed my hand and whipped me around; I think she was hoping the jerk didn’t see us. Not that it mattered though. We got about ten feet before we ran into someone. Mary tried to fight but our new friend had others and it wasn’t before long that there were three of them---not including Breem’s shooter---surrounding us.

“Very clever girls” said a voice I recognized as Talbot’s. “But not clever enough.”

I spit in what I hoped was his face.

He let out a low laugh. “I’m tired of waiting. Take her upstairs, we need to get this started soon.”

Two rough hands grabbed a hold of me tightly. I kicked and squirmed but it was no use. They dragged me down the hall and to whatever fate awaited me.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Ch.24 at last...sorry it took a few days, was trying to figure out how to word this chapter correctly. I'm glad I did actually, I found something to add to it that was originally not going to be there. There's one more chapter to go after this one so I thank everyone who has stuck with it this long :) I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY FOUR:

“Get your hands off me, you bastard!”

There was a lot of laughing. Though I couldn’t see her in the dark, I was guessing Mary wasn’t taking too kindly to being dragged. I wasn’t too thrilled about it either, but there was nothing I could do. Sure, I could struggle and put up a fight but it wouldn’t solve anything. These guys were bigger than me and stronger than me. The vice grip they had on my arms was enough to tell me that. Struggle all I want, there was no way I was getting away from them. No, I had to play this smart. There would be a time to escape but I was pretty certain this wasn’t it. We were outnumbered, outmatched and we still had no idea what these bastards were up too. The only reasonable thing to do was to watch and wait.

I’m not sure how long they dragged us, but eventually I saw some light. I’m not sure how these guys navigated the tunnels in the dark but their night vision was clearly better than mine. It made me wonder if perhaps there was a Were or two amongst them. Or maybe they were just wearing those goggles. Whatever the reason they were moving a lot better than I was. I even tried that trick---you know closing your eyes and reopening them. I was hoping it would help me adjust to the dark better but it didn’t.Not that it mattered much because in less than two minutes we reached the light at the end of the tunnel.

The darkness bled away and the light was so bright that I ended up closing my eyes again. When I reopened them, I felt like I was in a different world. Gone were the stone walls and harsh concrete floors. In their place was a modern looking hall, the walls made of concrete, the floor linoleum. I turned my head to look back down the dark tunnel, wondering how two such places could be connected. I know Breem said the tunnels were old; I just never thought that they were that old. It was like walking from the past into the present in a blink of an eye.

“Push the shelf back,” snapped one of our hooded captors.

One of the robed bastards holding Mary let her go and walked over to a metal shelving unit. It looked pretty heavy but the guy was definitely not some lightweight. He gave the shelf a quick shove and slowly started pushing it back in place. All eyes in the room were on him. I guess I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Mary made her move. It was fast but absolutely reckless. She lashed out on the guy still holding her, slamming the palm of her hand into his face. The blow knocked him back. One of the two goons holding me rushed her and she kicked him in the balls, he dropped like a ton of bricks. My other captor kept an iron grip on me. The large guy pushing the shelf finished and engaged her. As soon as Mary started hitting him, I knew her escape attempt had failed. She was landing blow after blow to his chest but nothing seemed to work.

That’s when I heard the click of a gun. It came from behind us. I snapped my head toward a doorway in the far corner, a gun with a pistol was standing there.

“That’s enough of that,” snapped a voice as the gunman walked into the room.

I recognized him immediately---Talbot.

The big guy Mary was trying to conquer swept her off her feet with a single blow.

Mary cursed as the goon roughly pulled her to her feet. Talbot stood in the doorway, training the gun on both of us. I’m not sure which one he thought was more dangerous. We were witches after all, even if neither one of us was trained all that well. Sure Mary could do a lot of cool things but in a situation like this these guys had all the advantage. I think she knew that that’s why she relied on her self-defense training. Sure, it was good before back at the house but only because she caught those guys by surprise; but here it was a different story. They had all the advantages here. I think Mary was finally figuring that out now.

“I underestimated you girls,” said Talbot, keeping his gun trained on only Mary now. “A couple of little witches like you were supposed to be easy pickings. Who would have thought?”

Mary spit in his direction. “Give me a chance and I’ll make you regret those words.”

Talbot chuckled. “You’re an insignificant bystander in all of this Miss Crawford, sit there and look pretty and you might get out of this alive.”

For a moment, it was like you could hear a pin drop. I took a slight breath, wondering what Mary would do next. It wasn’t a wise thing to do---telling her to shut up but then again she had to be smart enough to know that now wasn’t the time to do something stupid. Thankfully, Mary got smart and kept her mouth shut, but I could see it eating away at her. I’m sure there was going to be one of those days where Mary said something she shouldn’t, but today wasn’t that day. Talbot smirked at her, all his arrogance shined through that simple smile.

“Now would you gentlemen be so kind to take our guests upstairs?” he said, still keeping the gun trained on Mary.

There was no time wasted.

The goons got tighter holds on both of us and as a group; Talbot led us out of the little room. There was another small hall, which ended with a flight of stairs. The stairwell was narrow, a nice place to try to escape again but Mary did nothing. She had either learned her lesson or was plotting something else. I personally hoped she’d leave well enough alone. Sure, we were in a bad situation at the moment but her futile attempts to escape were more dangerous. I was sure someone out there was starting to put the pieces together and it was only a matter of time before they came for us. I just hoped that the eventual rescue came before these guys did whatever they wanted to do.

We went up the narrow staircase, Talbot took up the rear. At the top of the stairs there was another goon, this one had a machine gun. He kept it on us the whole time. When we reached the top, my captor gave me a little shove. I spilled out into the main room of the club. It seemed so different now that it was empty. Well mostly empty anyway. There had to be about twenty or so of these robed cultists. They were standing in a circle in the middle of the large, empty room. I looked around quickly. All the tables and chairs were stacked against the walls and the lights were severely dimmed. I scanned the robed faces, hoping to see Maggie. She wasn’t there instead I caught her off to the side and she wasn’t alone. I recognized several of the faces there---club employees, some townsfolk but mainly kids from my school. Will was among them. Like Maggie before, he too had that glazed over look in his eyes; he was also wearing a robe. Unlike the cultists though, Maggie and her group were on their knees, their hoods pulled back. They had two guards, both of whom had guns.

The message was clear: try to do anything and they were all dead.

I cursed. How could Sophie do something like this?

I continued to scan the faces, looking for one in particular but she was nowhere to be found. Where the hell was Sophie? I cast my gaze on the cultists trying to see if she was among them but she wasn’t. It was as if she disappeared or they were keeping her somewhere else. It was clear that whatever they wanted her for was done, but she still had to be around. I knew enough about magic to know that a spell like hers could only work if she was in close proximity to the intended target. Sure, there were ways to extend the range of a spell but not one of this magnitude. She had to be close to keep all those people enthralled. I couldn’t help but wonder though if she was doing it willingly now or was she being forced?

I stopped walking. I wanted some answers.

“Move it,” snapped my captor, giving me a shove from behind.

He was bigger and stronger than me but he only managed to push me a foot or so before I stopped myself.

I snapped around, forcing back the fear as I faced him. “I’m not moving another step until you bastards tell me what’s going on.”

My captor reared his hand back, ready to strike but Talbot grabbed his wrist.

“I think that’s fair,” he said, letting go of the goon’s hand. “Tell me Miss Crawford, what is it you’d like to know.”

“First of all, where’s Sophie?”

Talbot smiled and waved his hand. Two of the robed goons stepped out of the circle, in-between them was Sophie. She was on her knees in her underwear. Whatever they did to her it was clear they had broken her. She looked like hell. Her hair was a mess, she had a nasty bruise on her face and her hands were bound behind her back. The worst of it though was what was around her neck. There was one good thing about all the reading Melissa had me do, I now knew an awful lot about magic. So I knew all about the strange collar around Sophie’s neck.

“Is that a…”

Talbot nodded. “A Monroe Collar, designed by Archimedes Monroe in 1403. Most of them were destroyed ages ago but we were able to find a pair of them in auction several years back.”

“A pair?”

Talbot waved his hand and one of the cultists brought forth a large ornate box, made of wood and highly polished. The cultist stopped in front of us and opened the box. The inside was laid with velvet and there were two indentations. One of them was empty, the other had another collar inside identical to the one Sophie was currently wearing. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where the other one was going. I turned to run but I was blocked off. Someone roughly grabbed me from behind; all I could see of him was the bandage on his hand. He was strong but there was something familiar about the way he held me. I tried to break free from his grasp but the way he had my arms there was no escaping.

Talbot took the second collar out of the box. “Monroe was a visionary of his time you know,” he said, unfastening the collar. “His colleagues thought he was a nut job, how he went on and on about evil witches and their attempts to take over the world. Ok, so he might have been a little off there but he wasn’t off when he created these little puppies. They’re ingenious little devices, designed to channel the magic of the wearer into the collar and back into the caster. The more magic you use, the more pain is forced back into you.”

I struggled and kicked as he put the collar on my neck. Tears ran down my cheeks but there was nothing I could do to stop him. Mary screamed, a string of curses and threats but no one paid her much attention. I knew all about Monroe collars, I also knew that once they were sealed on a person there was no way to get them off. As soon as he latched the thing on my neck, I was going to wear it for the rest of my life. I tried to fight against them but it was no use, I could stop them from doing what was already done. Talbot took great joy in the final steps---latching the damn thing in place. As soon as he did, I felt something. It was a slight tingle, as soon as it was done coursing through my body I felt something else too---empty. It was the only way to describe it.

The guy holding my arms let me go. I fell forward, onto my knees. The tears were flowing freely now. I raised one of my hands and closed my eyes. I’d been practicing a bit, was now able to bring up a little magical charge if I really concentrated on it. I tried that now, opening my eyes to take a look at my fingers. I willed the energy to flow, screamed at it inside my head. I felt the tingling and then immense pain. I screamed out as the collar burned, sending the horrible pain throughout my entire body.

Talbot laughed as he bent down to meet me face to face. “Try all you like but the only way you can use magic now is if we command you to do so.”

It was another little trick of the collar. They weren’t just designed to keep a witch from using her magic. They were designed to control them. There were two stages to the collar; the first was the collar itself. The second was a small ring worn by the person who controlled the collars. With this ring, the person could ultimately control whoever it was that was wearing the collar. I looked over at Sophie, she refused to meet my eyes but it was clear what was going on. Sophie had been in total control before, she practically bathed in it earlier but now it was if they caged her. Gone was the wild, carefree and insane girl from earlier. In her place was a broken shell. I felt kind of bad for her, actually, I felt bad for both of us. I was just learning all of this stuff and now it was all gone for good. I felt angry, the anger rose inside of me, flowed through me and it burned. The collar reacted to it, sending pain surging through my body.

I gasped from it, cried out.

Talbot laughed. “Try all you like, nothing is going to change.” He waved his hand in front of my face, showing me a little bronze ring. “You’re mine now.”

“That’s quite enough of that Joseph,” said a stern voice, one that seemed to echo throughout the room.

Talbot froze. I saw into his hood for a slight moment, looked at the face hidden within. He was an average looking man with an average face. Now though that face---the one I’m sure looked pretty smug a moment before---had a look of fear on it now. I looked from him to the figure that was now slowly approaching. The voice had clearly belonged to a woman and that was apparent by the person who was coming our way. She was short, walked with a cane and her robes while black were trimmed in red. It was clear whoever she was, she was in fact in charge of this little operation.

“Ma’am” said Talbot, fear in his voice. “What are you doing here?”

Ok, so in charge but not in the loop clearly.

“What am I doing here?” she snapped. There was something about her voice, something familiar. “Do you have any idea what this little stunt of yours has done?”

He scoffed. “I’m finally bringing results.”

She slapped him. It was so fast that not even he saw it coming. The blow knocked off his hood, revealing his face for the first time. Like I guessed, he was in fact pretty average. He was middle aged, balding and was currently sporting a nice red welt on his left cheek.

“Results, do you have any idea what this stupid little stunt of yours has done?” There was a fury in her voice; one that I was glad to see was scaring the hell out of my captors. “You killed the Inquisitor, forced the town into lock-down. The Coven is out there looking for all of you, I should be with them myself but they think I’m searching the west end of town. You know how much covering I had to do over this stupid stunt of yours” She snapped her head around, at first I thought she was looking at me but her gaze fell to the person behind me. “And you…I expected better from you. First your stupid brother and now this…I want you out of her immediately.”

Whoever it was that was behind me seemed to leave. I could hear his footfall as he ran.

The woman drew her attention back to Talbot. “What was this…what was it that you were trying to do here?” She waved her hand about.

“I was just finishing what my father started sixteen years ago.”

The old woman laughed---for that’s what she was. I could detect it in her voice.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on right now?” No one said anything so she continued. “The Master has already chosen his new vessel; he’s prepping her right now.” She waved her hand about again, this time the one with the cane. I caught a good look at the top of it, a strange evil looking bird head. It made me wonder where I’d seen it before?

“He can’t do that…we had a plan…”

“Are you questioning the Master?”

Talbot shook his head. “No…I…we….”

I could tell she was glaring at him. “Clean this up now.” She straightened the front of her robe. “I might be able to save face with the Coven, convince them this was an isolated incident but you and your men have to leave this town now. This op is over, when you clear out I want you back at the safe house and we can discuss your actions there.”

“It will be done,” said Talbot, bowing his head.

“Good” said the old woman who turned on her heel and disappeared back from whence she came.

As soon as she was gone, one of the cultists walked over to Talbot who quickly put up his hood.

“What do we do, sir?”

“Do you want to defy her?” he asked, the cultist shook his head.

“Neither do I. So we go with Plan B.”

“Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Start packing up; make sure the men are ready to leave as soon as I give the order.”

The cultist went off to get Plan B moving. I watched him go then turned my gaze back to Talbot. It was clear that he was pissed, after all whatever he had planned was now a bust. When he looked at me, I could see the sneer. I couldn’t help but smile, throwing him a smug look of my own.

“I don’t know you’re smiling you little bitch, you and your friends aren’t getting out of here alive.”

My smile vanished. “You promised.”

“That was before, things have changed. You were supposed to be the Master’s Vessel, his living form in this world. It was your destiny since birth after all but…” He sighed, rubbing his temples. “I can work with this…maybe take the orb and…”

This last bit was more to himself than me. He wandered off, muttering to himself as he did so. He went over to the group and seemingly disappeared into it. I watched as the cultists seemed to break up, each going their own way. As soon as the circle started to disperse, I saw something I didn’t expect---there was a large stone altar in the middle of the room. Next to the altar was a pedestal, on which was a strange orb---I think it was the thing from the Vault. The very same thing that had tried to get me to take it, the one with the creepy voice. Was this what it was all about? Is that what Sophie had me steal from the Vault?

A moment later, Talbot appeared at the altar. He had a knapsack with him. He looked around, as if he was trying to be sneaky. When it was clear that no one was looking, he grabbed the orb and shoved it in his bag. What the hell was he planning? A second or two later, one of the cultists approached him. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about but a minute or two later, they were both heading my way. I quickly turned my head, hoping that they didn’t notice I’d been watching.

Talbot pulled his gun as he approached. “It’s your lucky day, Miss Crawford; it appears someone out there wants you alive so I’m afraid you’re going to be coming with me.”

Two more goons appeared. One of them grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me to my feet. It hurt like hell.

“I’m not going anywhere with you bastards” I snapped.

He smirked. “I thought you might say that” He waved his hand and I heard someone curse only to see Mary dragged over to me a second later. Her captor had one arm twisted behind her back and was holding onto her hair, her head bent at an awkward angle.

“You have two options here. Come with me or watch as your cousin has her pretty little neck snapped.”

I looked at Mary; saw the fear on her face. I think it probably mirrored my own.

“Tick tock, Little Witch.”

Mary shook her head. “I’ll go but you have to promise to let her and the others go.”

He shook his head. “Not going to happen.”

“Then using her as leverage doesn’t work. I mean you’re going to kill her and the others anyway. If I’m going to die then I want to do it with my friends.”

“I’m not going to kill you Miss Crawford; you’re far too valuable for that.”

This time I smirked. “You’re going to have to because there’s no way in hell I’m going with you.”

Talbot sighed. “Marco, kill the girl.”

Mary screamed, me I felt more alive than I’d ever felt in my life. The room fell into one of those slow motion things like in the movies. I’m not sure what was going on actually. I felt this overwhelming surge of anger, more powerful than anything I’d felt in my entire life. The anger burned through my body, all tingles and pain. The collar burned on my neck, scorching the flesh there but my anger was stronger. I can’t really describe what I was feeling but faced with the death of Mary, someone close and dear to me, I think I might have snapped. I felt this great surge of energy and I next thing I knew I was screaming right along with her. My scream was loud and ear shattering but not nearly as bad as what happened to my hands. My arms burst into flames, a mix of black and red fire that erupted from my palms.

The blast caught three fleeing cultists, incinerating them on contact. The rest were thrown back from the shock wave. I was thrown back as well, somehow ending up on the ground several feet away. I was dazed and in severe pain, my shirt burnt to a crisp, my arms scorched and black. I wanted to cry out but nothing would come. Instead, the world danced around me for the longest time. I heard screams and lots of shouting. There was running too and something else, something that sounded like howling. One of the cultists rushed toward me, gun in hand. I didn’t move, I couldn’t move. I was spent, whatever I did had taken everything from me.

He raised his gun, ready to fire when something large and white tackled him to the ground. The world came rushing back to me then. I heard him scream as the large white wolf---it was a wolf---tore into him. His screaming and struggling didn’t last long as the wolf finished him off. It turned to me after that, staring at me with its very human like blue eyes. There was something familiar about those eyes, like I’d seen them before. The wolf stared for the longest time then turned to run off at someone else. I watched it go, too dazed to figure out what was going on.

“Kelly” I heard someone shout, someone who sounded a lot like Mary.

“Over here” I managed to gasp out.

I saw Mary a moment later. Her magic was a mess; her tears having let it run all over her face. I don’t think she cared. She rushed over, throwing her arms around my neck. A moment later, she pulled away and took a look at me.

“Jesus…are you ok?”

I nodded. “No.”

She helped me to my feet. “C’mon we gotta get out of here.”

I smelled smoke and saw the flames. Half the building was on fire. The rest of it was in utter chaos. Three large wolves---not including the white one---were running amok. There were several bodies scattered about, most of them looked like they’d been mauled to death. I spotted the white wolf again, it was coming toward us. Mary turned and locked eyes with it, giving it a quick nod.

“What’s going on?” I asked, as she slipped an arm around her shoulder.

“It’s back up, they showed up just in time.”

“Back up?”

“Hey it pays when your best friend can pick up your scent from a mile away.”

I looked at the white wolf again and suddenly understood. I smiled at her before she turned back into the melee that was going on around us. Mary led me away from the mess. It was hard going at first but we managed to avoid the carnage and the flames. WE got to the front door without a problem and as soon as we got outside, we could hear the sirens. Mary led me away from the mess as the first car arrived. It was a black and white from the sheriff’s department. A deputy rushed out and over.

“Girls are you ok?”

Mary nodded. “There’s people inside.”

“Fire department is on the way.”

As soon as he said that, two fire trucks came blazing in. I scanned the crowd of people that started to come out. I was happy to see Maggie and Will among them, looking dazed and confused but alright. After that, everything was a bit of a blur. More police cars and fire trucks arrived. There was a lot of commotion, people rushing about. Tracy and two big guys appeared a few minutes after; she looked like she’d dressed in a hurry. We caught eyes across the way, smiling to one another. I’m not sure how she knew where to find us but I owed her a lot. If not for her and her fellow Wolves, I’m not sure what would have happened. Mary smiled at her too, mouthing a “thank you”.

My cousin stayed with me while a paramedic tended to my arms. HE treated them as best he could, wrapping them with gauze.

“You’re going to need to go to the hospital miss,” he said, I nodded.

The paramedic left to tend to others.

Mary brushed some hair from my face. “You…well you kicked ass in there.”

I gave her a half smile then rubbed my neck. The collar was gone. I’m not sure how it happened exactly but I burned it right off. I kept rubbing my neck, wondering if it hadn’t been a Monroe after all. I mean no one should be able to burn one of those off and yet…I let the thought fade away. I’d deal with that later. There were bound to be a hundred questions as soon as all of this was officially over. The coven would get involved; people would want to know everything. I was trying best to sort my thoughts actually, figure out exactly what happened. I was confused as all hell though. They wanted me, wanted to do some horrible thing to me. It involved the orb and a stone altar but whatever it was, it was being done elsewhere? That last bit made no sense to me. What was this ritual, who was this Master they kept referring too? Did he have something to do with that freaky voice from before? It made no sense and probably never would. I could probably spend all night racking my brain over it and not come up with any answers.

I sighed as I got to my feet. The paramedic had me sitting on the bumper of the ambulance, a blanket draped over me. I was tired of feeling useless though.

“You ok?” asked Mary, showing more concern than she had in a long time.

I nodded. “Just thirsty.”

“I’ll get you some water,” she said, rushing over.

A doting Mary, who would have thought?

I watched her go as I looked at the crowd again. More people had arrived, mostly parents and loved ones. A lot of the people involved were in similar situations to me, in ambulances, getting looked over. There were six ambulances now and three fire trucks, several cop cars. Ravencrest had a small police force so I’m guessing most were from the nearby town. The name escaped me at the moment. I scanned the group, spotting Maggie with her grandparents, Will with his folks. I smiled at the happy reunions. I was expecting to see my grandmother but I knew how busy she was. There were still a lot of unanswered questions and this night was far from over.

I continued to look at the crows, hoping for a little bit of good cheer to come my way. That’s when I saw her, draped in a blanket, staring at me. She was half hidden in shadow but I knew it was her. I could see the collar still on her neck, saw the look in her eyes. Sophie was too far away for me to say anything to her but it was clear from the look she was giving me that she didn’t want to talk. There was malice in those eyes, they were cold and unforgiving. Clearly, she thought I was responsible for all of this mess, for ruining whatever plan she had for me, for us.

I shuddered to think what that might have been.

She continued to stare at me for a few moments more before turning and disappearing into the shadows. I dropped my blanket, shuddering at the cold but I didn’t care. Sophie was in pain and I needed to see if she was ok. Sure she was nuts but she needed help. I gave chase, pushing my way through the crowd, hoping to get to her before she disappeared for good. No one in the crowd seemed to notice me at first; I was like a ghost because none of them were really looking for me. I finally reached the spot where I saw her but she was long gone. On the ground however was a folded piece of paper. I bent and picked it up, taking a look at the note left behind: SEE YA SOON, SIS. Sis, what the hell did she mean by that?

I looked around, wondering what the hell was going on?

“Kelly” a familiar voice said, shattering my stunned thoughts.

I turned and just saw him before he swept me into his arms, holding me tight.

“Jack” I said softly then more loudly. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard on the police scanner…” he sounded out of breath. “I came to see….I never thought you’d be here though.”

I buried my head in chest, gone was whatever hatred I felt for him after that stupid Vault crap. I missed my boyfriend. I started to cry a bit, glad that he was here to hold me.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, taking my hand and leading me away from the crowd.

I held his hand tightly, rubbing the bandage there. As we walked, I couldn’t help but feel a bit of déjá vu. The touch and the way he held me it felt familiar and yet so wrong now. We started walking more but as we went I let go of his hand. There was something about it---about his appearance here, his bandage---it didn’t make any sense.

“How did you know I was here?”

He turned back to me. “I told you, I heard it on the police scanner.”

I nodded. “But how did you know I was here.”

“I didn’t but I was curious and when I saw you…”

I nodded but there was something still bothering me. “Your hand, can I see…the burn.”

“What?”

I bit my lip, building up courage. “I want to see the burn on your hand. You’ve been wearing that bandage for days now. I’ve been wondering why you haven’t taken it off…I thought maybe it was because of infection but…”

He got a cold, hard look to his face. “You don’t need to see it.”

I shuddered. “I know what’s there don’t I?”

He smirked, running his fingers through his hair. I took a step back, realizing what was going on. How could I have been so blind? Of course, Jack was in on it. The Vault was in his house, he forced me to go into it after all. His family---his grandmother. Oh, God the cane, that’s where I’ve seen it before. It never really registered though. I mean I saw all of them out of their robes of course, at that informal tea meeting. Mrs. Pratchett---Jack’s grandmother was on the Coven---and she had a cane. A cane just like the one the old woman from tonight had. It was Jack holding my arms behind my back and it was Jack who she sent home. She didn’t want him to be here when the authorities finally showed up. The bitch was covering her ass, covering her family’s ass.

“You know,” he said, pulling a knife from his pants. “I was just starting to like you.”

I took another step back. “You don’t want to do this Jack.”

“Of course I do. Do you have any idea what it’s like to be a Dud? To watch as your mother and grandmother and sister do all this cool magic around you and you get nothing.”

“You’d be surprised how much I know actually.”

“Don’t think you’re like me, you're nothing like me.” He snapped, flashing the knife about. “I saw what you did tonight; I’ve seen what you can do. You have all this power and all this potential and me, I’ve got nothing. Did you know my brother was the one who found that stupid orb? He was working a job at the old Crowley place, gardening. He dug the damn thing up and you know what happened. He was weak. The Orb scared him so he took it and threw it in the lake. It would have stayed there too except this summer some stupid little bitch had to find it. As soon as it showed, my grandmother was giddy.

The Orb of Aka Manah found at last after all these years,” he snorted. “She forced me to join her stupid cult, said it was my destiny. Made me follow you around, get to know you. Said you were dangerous, could ruin all their plans. I had a life you know, I had dreams and goals but it was all about the family. What my grandmother says goes. What a fucking joke. You were the only constant thing there for a bit, I actually thought I was falling in love with you…can you believe that. Then Talbot told me about you, who you are, what you were.” He spit. “I threw up when I found out; I’m not some fag you know. So I made a plan. If I kill you here and now, they won’t have special little Kelly Crawford, super freak, anymore.”

He came at me with the knife. It was so fast. I felt the blade cut into my flesh as he ran it into my stomach. The pain was unbearable. I dropped into his arms but he refused to hold me. He let me fall to the ground, a look of anguish and pride on his face. He stared down at me, smirking. Tears ran down my face and something more, something primal. The anger took over, the pain in my stomach fueled me and I lashed out. I lunged out with my mind, finding him pathetic and weak. I grabbed him, held him tight, forced my will on him. All my anger and pain was thrust at him, squeezing tighter and tighter on that pathetic little throat of his.

He gasped and clawed at his neck, trying desperately to break free. I held my grip on him, tried to squeeze the life out of him but I was waning. I felt lightheaded and knew I didn’t have the strength to finish him. As he dropped to the ground, the world started to spin around me before everything went black.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Author's Note: Sorry for the month between chapters here. I was trying to figure out how to word this chapter properly and I was also waiting for Two Sirens to end so that I didn't end up spoiling something. As I'm sure a lot of you can tell this is the last chapter of Season. I've had a lot of fun writing this story, it took a little longer to write it then I would have liked but sometimes things like that happen lol. I'd like to thank everyone for sticking with it to the end, I hope the conclusion of this story doesn't disappoint. Oh and stay tuned for another DRU story coming soon :) I'd like to thank djkauf and Indy for the magical editing and everyone for enjoying this universe :)

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TWENTY-FIVE:

One Week Later:

“You sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more sure in my entire life”

I woke to voices, familiar voices. I didn’t quite open my eyes yet because I wasn’t sure if I actually could. Though I was awake, it felt as if my entire body was still asleep. I suppose that was a good thing because a short while ago I was pretty certain I was dead. After all, it’s not every day you survive a kidnaping, a fire and an attempt at murder. It also wasn’t everyday that your boyfriend tried to murder you. I could still feel the knife as he plunged it into me, the pain something like that caused and the realization that that could have been it. I could have died, I should have died. So how was it that I was alive? I’d seen the TV shows and movies, people who are stabbed in the stomach and left for dead don’t usually survive something like that. Yet here I was alive and I had no idea how it happened.

All of that was lost though as my mind drifted away. When I came back, the voices were talking again.
“What do we do?”

“Nothing for now. She’s still asleep; we don’t have to deal with anything until then.”

“And when she wakes up?”

“We’ll get to that when the time comes.”

I drifted off again. I tried not to but it was hard to stay conscious. The next thing I knew there was someone holding my hand. It was a soft touch, someone who generally cared a great deal about me. I wanted to grip that hand too but there was something wrong. It was as if I had no strength in my fingers to do so. I tried desperately to hold on but my hand didn’t respond. I wanted to cry but no tears wanted to come. Instead, I took comfort in the person holding my hand. I tried to center my entire mind on that feeling, hoping it was enough. I drifted off for what I hoped was the last time.

When I came to the third time, something was different. I was different. What strength I didn’t have before was back. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I did was snap them shut. There was a blinding light around me. It was so intense, so overpowering. I squeezed my eyes shut to keep it away. I kept them shut for a whole minute before trying again. When I reopened them, the brightness was still there but not nearly as intense. I managed to see shapes and then everything started to fade into view. I was lying in a bed, I think, in a white room. There was color all around me. No not color, flowers. There were lots of flowers. I saw stuffed animals too. There was something else too: a beeping sound. I turned my head and saw a machine. It was the kind you see in hospital shows. There was a tube leading from it to my arm.

I was in the hospital. The machine, the flowers. It all made sense now. Someone must have found me and saved my life. They brought me to the hospital and now I was recovering. I sighed heavily, my breath sounded strained, my throat and lips dry. How long had it been? Days, weeks, months? Certainly not years? Oh, God, please don’t let it be years. I’m not sure how I’d ever be able to deal with years. I’d seen those movies as well. The guy or girl gets in an accident and wakes up from a coma only to think it’s been a few hours when it’s actually been a few years. Their life is completely different: parents dead, friends all grown up, loved ones moved on. It terrified me to think that my life as I knew it could be gone and I missed it all.

My heart started to pound heavily. I heard a loud beeping sound. A moment later, there was a great deal of commotion and a blonde woman in pink shrubs rushed into the room. She ran over to the machine, completely ignoring me for the moment. She checked the readings then looked at me. Our eyes locked and she smiled but not before letting out a sigh.

“I see you’re finally back with the living”

I nodded. “Can I have some water?”

She smiled. “I’ll get it as soon as I can but first let me get your doctor and your parents.”

My parents? “They’re here?”

“Of course they are sweetie” she said, brushed some hair from my face.

I reached up to touch the woman’s hands. That’s when I noticed the bandages. My arm was wrapped in them, my whole arm from my elbow up to my fingers. My fingers were wrapped too. I flexed them, hoping nothing horrible happened. They were fine but my other arm was the same.

“What happened?”

The nurse gave me a sad smile. “There was a fire sweetie, don’t you remember?” I nodded. “It was at The Pit, it burned down.”

“And my stab wound?”

The nurse gave me a strange look, almost as if I’d grown a second head. “What stab wound sweetheart?”

I panicked. I fumbled with the flimsy gown I was wearing. I went right to where I knew Jack had stabbed me. I lifted it up, took a good look at my stomach. There wasn’t a mark on it. That was impossible though. I saw it there, I knew what he did. He stabbed me and me…I…I’m not sure what happened after that actually. I remember him stabbing me though and then I must have blacked out.

“I was stabbed,” I said frantically. “My boyfriend…he…he…”

The nurse gave me one of those looks. I bet she thought I was crazy.
“Let me get the doctor.”

The nurse left in an orderly fashion. I continued to stare at my stomach, at the place where there should been something. A scar or a bandage or anything other than what there. I wasn’t crazy, I knew Jack stabbed me. Just like I knew he was involved with all of that somehow. Him and his whole family. They were monsters, first they tried to do something horrible to me, and when that failed, they tried to kill me. Jack was a nut job, told me all these crazy things and then he stabbed me. I knew I didn’t make any of that up. Surely, there was someone out there who believed me?

A minute or two later, a man in a white coat came into the room. The nurse in the pink shrubs followed a moment later.

“Good morning Kelly, its glad to see you’re finally up and about. You gave us quite a scare.”

I ignored his attempt to be pleasant. “Where am I?”

“Brendsen Memorial. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Getting stabbed by my boyfriend.”

The doctor and the nurse exchanged looks.

“I know surviving something like a fire can be a traumatic event Kelly but I assure you that you have not been stabbed.”

“And I know for a fact that I was” I snapped.

The doctor gave me a cross look. “I think I know a stab wound when I see one and I’m telling you that there was none.”

I couldn’t argue with that. I’m not sure what happened to it but it was there. Jack stabbed me. Someone doesn’t get stabbed and not leave a mark.

“I’m not sure what happened but I was stabbed.”

The doctor ignored me, speaking instead to the nurse. “I think we might need a consultation. Miss Crawford is still under a bit of stress. Can you contact Dr. Grant?”

The nurse nodded, turning to leave the room.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” snapped a voice from the doorway, my mother’s voice.

I could have cried. I might have cried. I sure felt the tears. My mother swept into the room and suddenly all my anger at the doctor evaporated at the sight of her. The last time I’d seen either of my parents they were running for their lives. Sure I’d talked to Mom on the phone but that felt like months, but now here she was, in the flesh. She was in full force too as she pushed her way past the nurse. The doctor tried to stop her but he didn’t stand much of a chance. She went right to me and I threw my arms around her, crying into her shoulder. I heard her snap something angry at the doctor and the nurse. Both of them left like little children just being scolded for doing something stupid. I was alone now with my mom, alone to cry away all my sorrows. I cried for a long time too as she held me. I couldn’t remember the last time she held me like that or for that long. It felt good. I felt safe and strong as if there wasn’t a care in the world that could harm me now.

When I finally pulled away, she smiled. She brushed the hair from my face.
“So let me get a good look at my new daughter.”

She took my hands and stared a long time. I felt a little strange. The last time I saw her I was her son and now so many things had changed since then.

“Are you disappointed?”

She shook her head, tearing up. “No sweetie, I could never be disappointed in you.”

I ended up in her arms again. It felt good.

The hug didn’t last nearly as long though. When we parted the second time, I bit my lip.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble,” I said softly.

She shook her head. “No, the only trouble has been our fault. We should have been honest with you from the beginning. There are some things you should know sweetie, some things about you that your father and I should have told you.”

“Things?” I asked, confused and scared. “What kind of things?”

“Something happened when you were a baby. Your father and I managed to stop it but this group, this cult; they tried to do something to you.”

I nodded. I think I knew where this was going. It had something to do with what almost happened to me. I didn’t want to hear it though. It was probably something horrible and stupid but they stopped it. I was still alive and the Cult failed. Sure, they tried to do whatever it was again but I stopped it this time. That is all that mattered now. I was alive and they were gone.

“Mom” I said, “I think I know what happened. I think they tried the same thing at the club but it’s over. I stopped it, they’re all dead.”

My Mom gave me a look. “You stopped it?”

I nodded. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to relive it again. I just want you to know that I’m alive and so happy to see you again.”
I gave her a third hug. This one was the shortest of them all.

When we pulled away again. “Honey I’m glad you’re happy that everything is ok but we really need to talk about this. Your grandmother and the Coven, the new Inquisitor. They really need to know what happened.”

I nodded. “Not today though Mom. Today I just want to hold my mother and feel safe in her strong, wonderful arms.”

My mother smiled. We hugged again and I closed my eyes, feeling the tears once again. I wasn’t ready to talk about it---not yet. I knew the day would come but not today.

“And that’s all of it?”

“All that I can remember.”

My mother gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. The five of us were sitting in the living room. It was hard to imagine that only a few days ago this place had looked like a bomb had gone off in it. I’m not sure how my grandmother did it but the room looked cleaner than before if that was even possible. It was now actually a week since the incident at The Pit, a day since waking up from my little coma. I’m still not sure what caused that, my grandmother says it was over-extension of my magic but I found that hard to believe. A whole week---and what’s worse, I missed Christmas. My mother said none of them really felt like celebrating what with me being in the hospital. We were planning to do something soon though, even if it was just a quick pass the presents. Besides Mom said my waking up was the best present she could ever have.

“And you’re sure it was Matilda Pratchett?” asked the girl sitting across from me.

I nodded. “Jack all but confirmed it to me. I remembered her cane too. It was definitely her with the cult.”

The girl---Scarlet DeWitt---exchanged a glance with my grandmother. I’m not sure of the significance but clearly the two of them knew something I didn’t. It was still a bit hard to even look at Scarlet. When she showed up at the door this morning, I didn’t know what to make of her. It’s not every day that you see a Goth girl with bright red hair, let alone hair in braid locks. It floored me when she was introduced---not only as Ms DeWitt’s daughter but also the new Inquisitor. That last part was the reason I was having a hard time making eye contact with her. Her mother was dead because of me. Sure, it wasn’t my fault but she wouldn’t have been dead if those men hadn’t come after me. It’s hard not to feel slightly responsible. To be fair though, Scarlet wasn’t making eye contact with me either.

I was done telling my side of things. I wanted some answers now. “Something else happened, didn’t it?”

My mother squeezed my hand a bit more but didn’t say anything. My grandmother didn’t say anything either. Of course, Scarlet wasn’t going to say anything.

Mary was the one who finally broke the silence. “You people are cowards” she snapped then turned to me. “Something else happened. It was a day or so after you went into the coma. Those bastards tried again, it was real mess.”

“They came after me?”

“No” my grandmother said calmly. “There was another girl in town targeted. She was Aka Manah’s original target all along.”

“Who’s Aka Manah?”

“A demon” said Mary, cutting off whatever her grandmother was going to say. “He’s what was in that orb thingy. He’s been working away on a girl named Ashley for months apparently. She finally lost it a few days ago. There was another group of Black Horn here and they nearly got her. Tracy’s cousins and a few others managed to fight them. Everything turned out all right in the end.”

I couldn’t help but feel that that was somehow my fault too. If Sophie hadn’t made me take the orb from the Vault then none of this would have happened.

“Don’t even think that,” my mother said as if reading my thoughts. “There was some suspicions surrounding the Coven to begin with. Your grandmother suspected a traitor but had no proof but it’s now pretty clear her suspicions were right.”

My eyes perked up. “Did you catch her?”

My grandmother rubbed her temples. “Matilda and her daughter-in-law went on an extended vacation a day after Christmas. In light of the new evidence, I’m guessing they’re not coming back.”

“What about Jack and his sister?”

“Diane has been investigated,” said Scarlet “she’s a ditz. Sure she might have been involved but that girl doesn’t know her ass from a hole in the ground.” My grandmother gave her a cross look. “I mean….we interrogated her and it’s been proven she had no knowledge of anything her grandmother or mother were up to.”

“You sure Ms. Craven was involved?”

“No but it’s hardly surprising” said my grandmother and she left it at that.

My hands started to shake and I found myself crying. So many lives ruined and I was part of that. Sure the Pratchetts were rotten to the core but if I hadn’t have come here…damn it. My mother pulled me into a hug. I heard her tell everyone that this meeting was over. I didn’t hear any complaints. My grandmother and Scarlet left. I’m not sure how long I cried in my mother’s arms but when I pulled away, Mary pulled me into a hug too. If there was one good thing that came out of all of this it was that Mary and I were closer than ever. According to my Mom, she was at the hospital even more than her. Mary had been sleeping very little and she looked like hell now. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her without all her heavy makeup. When I woke up yesterday, she was one of my first visitors after Mom and Dad of course. It was kind of nice but smothering too. I kind of liked it though.

“I’ll leave you two girls alone for a bit,” said my Mom, slowly getting to her feet.

She headed for the kitchen as quietly as she could.

We sat there for a while, not saying a thing to one another. It was hard to say much, especially after the ordeal the two of us had gone through. There was something I wanted to know, something that had nagging me ever since I woke. I did not really want to know the truth but I had to ask if only to clear my conscience.

“Ummm….about Jack….”

Mary gave me a look. It was a long look. I think I knew the answer before she said it. “I found the two of you. When you weren’t at the ambulance, I went looking. At first, I thought you went home but then I saw you by the trees. You and Jack were lying there. I thought the two of you had reconciled until I saw the blood. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. I screamed and the paramedics came running. By the time they got to you, you were barely breathing. I got into the ambulance when they rushed you to the hospital; there was so much blood but no cuts. They couldn’t figure it out.”

Mary was crying. I held her hand, trying to ignore the bandages still wrapped around my whole forearm. I knew some of that story but I was glad Mary stayed with me for so long.

“And Jack?”

She shook her head. “He’s dead, Kel. The paramedics could do nothing for him. They tried to bring him back but…”

I started to cry. I’m not sure why. I should have been happy that the murdering bastard was dead but I knew that somehow I killed him. Mary was still crying and we started hugging again. We cried and held onto one another for a long time, neither wanting to pull away. When we finally did, there wasn’t much else to say. So the two of us just sat there in silence, staring blankly at the wall. About twenty minutes later, I managed to end up in my room---not sure how. I dropped onto the bed, buried my face in my pillow and cried some more.

My crying was short lived because a few minutes later there was a knock on my door. I didn’t even have a chance to tell whoever it was to go away before my Mom came walking in. She didn’t say anything as she walked through her former bedroom and sat on the edge of my bed. I managed to stop myself from crying, I’d been doing enough of that lately.

“Why didn’t you tell me about Jack?”

She sighed. “Your grandmother thought it best if we left that part out.”

“No offense Mom but Grandma is a lousy parent.”

Mom laughed. “You’re not going to get any argument from me there.”

She gave me a quick hug, no crying this time.
“So are you sad about Jack?”

I shrugged. “I thought I loved him and then he turned into this whole different person. He said some awful things and then he tried to kill me.” I teared up. “Mom I can’t remember it all but something happened. Something I’m not proud of. I think I might have killed him.”

This time I started to cry. I had to stop doing that. My Mom hugged me again and managed to calm me down. After that, we talked about what might have happened. I use might because my mother was convinced that I was under a lot of stress. But I knew stress had nothing to do with it. Jack tried to kill me, he stabbed me and I did something----I killed him. I’m not sure how I did it or what exactly happened but I know I did it. I was going to have to live with that. What I couldn’t live with was the fact that this was his town---his home, me his murderer would be walking around in it, and he couldn’t. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about it. The only thing I wanted was to be home---back in California where I belonged.

Away from all of this.

“Mom” I said softly through my continued sobs. “Take me home, I want to go home.”

It was kind of strange staring out the window---my window. Sure, this was my bedroom and my house but it felt like it belonged to someone else now. I was sitting at my desk like always, staring out at the world as it passed me by. Things were different now though. When I was in Ravencrest---in my mother’s old childhood room---all I could think about was being back here. I wanted to be back here with my computer and its games, my comic book collection and my solidarity. Now all of that seemed so distant to me. Sure, I still liked those things but there were other things I wanted now too. I wanted what I had there: I wanted friends, I wanted to go out to the club and dance, I wanted to laugh and have a good, and maybe I even wanted to be held again. I wanted things that my old life as Kelly the Dud could never give me.

Staring out the window, I couldn’t help but feel like I had been shutting myself out to the world. It was definitely a strange feeling. I was home now and yet I felt like I didn’t really fit here anymore. We’d been home for two days now----it hadn’t been easy to leave New York after all. There were a lot of tearful goodbyes; of course Maggie had to cry which got me crying. I told her everything was going to be ok. We exchanged emails, I told her I’d download Skype so the two of us could talk every night and I told her she wasn’t the same girl she was before. She was different now. Maybe I had something to do with that or maybe she was always that girl, just hiding and waiting to get out. Since I’d moved there, Maggie’s number of friends had tripled. She was even making friends with people she would have never been friends with before. I think she was going to be ok. Mary was a different story. She and I were so different when I got there. Hell if it wasn’t for her I’d never be the New Me in the first place. A relationship that was built on hate and lies was finally starting to turn into something worthy of friendship---maybe even family too. She and Mom talked some and already made plans for Mary to come live with us over the summer. Who knows maybe more permanent arrangements can be made soon.

Things were definitely different.

Except some things were still the same, too. I’d left things here in a bit of a bind. Tommy Phelps had been my best friend since forever. He and I used to do everything together. Then he was mixed up with the wrong guys---to protect me he said---but it still felt wrong. Sure, we handled those guys before I left but things with Tommy were definitely going to be hard. For one thing, I was a girl now. We still hadn’t figured out how to explain that to people. Mom was thinking about magic but Dad thinks he might be able to come up with a more logical solution. I told him I didn’t want to be a distant cousin or a long lost sister but he said there might be a way for me to be me and be my old self as well. I’m not sure what he was thinking but knowing Dad it would be good, he’s the smartest man I know, after all.

That still left Tommy though.

After what happened with Jack and Sophie and even Troy, I decided that I wasn’t going to lie anymore. Sure, I was going to have to stretch the truth a bit with people, but there was going to be no more super lies. I wanted to be as honest and as true as I possibly could be. So that’s why I decided to email Tommy last night. I told him where I’d been and that everything was ok. After all the last time I saw him was at the college---I’m not sure if he even remembered that bit. I also told him I was back in town and wanted to meet. There were some things the two of us needed to discuss.

Now I was trying to get up enough courage to actually leave my room and go and meet him. I’d gotten so far as getting dressed---I decided to go simple. Mom and I spent all of yesterday shopping, she wanted to get me the perfect new wardrobe for when I started school again in January. We went pretty simple actually---tees, shorts, jeans. She was even able to talk me into a skirt or two. No dresses yet though, I wasn’t ready for one of those back home. Now I was wearing a new tank and a pair of jean shorts. I saw a lot of girls my age wear something similar around here. It was probably a little cold for the shorts but after spending all that time in freezing cold Ravencrest I wasn’t going to turn down the chance to finally wear shorts again. Now all I needed was the courage to get out of my chair and out the door.

My cell rang a second later. I jumped at the sound. I spun around in my chair and snatched it off my desk, not even bothering to look before clicking it on.

“You’re a chicken,” said Mary’s voice.

We talked about my plans last night. In fact, Mary had talked me into it. We both decided that if I was going to be honest, I needed to be honest about everything. Even though Tommy’s memories of the last time were altered, according to her he’d never really forget what happened. It was something that happened with Norms. That’s why people claimed to see UFO’s and Big Foot. They were really encountering the Unseen and the rational part of their brain was trying to process it. Some people even remembered everything. Those people were dangerous but were handled in different ways. Mary said she was confident that Tommy could handle whatever was thrown at him. So she have me all the proper nudging I needed to finally email him.

“I’m not a chicken,” I said, pulling my feet up onto the chair.

“You’re in your room aren’t you, sitting there, staring out the window.”

“So what.”

She sighed heavily. “Kelly, you’re not that dweeb anymore. Sure, you may still be him a little bit but you’ve changed so much since then. You can’t let him stop you from having the life you should have always led.”

“Yeah but…”

“No buts” she interrupted. “Get off your ass and go to your best friend. Tell him what you wanted to tell him and honor his reaction, no matter what it is.”

“And if it’s bad?”

“It’s not going to be,” she said then added a second or two later. “But if it is, I’ll send you a spell that gives him the symptoms of PMS for a month; trust me he won’t tell anyone what you said after that.”

She started laughing. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit too.

I sighed and nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. Mary gave me a little bit of a pep talk then I shut off my phone. I took a deep breath and climbed out of the chair. I stuck my phone in my left pocket and grabbed a light jacket off my doorknob. I pulled open my door as quick as I could and bolted down the stairs. When I got to the kitchen, I was glad to see Dad there and not Mom. Dad was easy, Mom could see through me. It was even worse now since my change. It was like we were connected on a whole new level now. When I finally talked to Jess on the plane ride home---after lots of squealing---Jess told me to look out for Mom but that Dad was like puddy. She also told she couldn’t wait to give her new little sis a makeover.

“Hey dad” I said, trying to look as sweet as possible. “You think you can give me a ride to the Square?”

“The Square?” he said, putting down his paper. “Like in the big place where all you kids hang out?”

I nodded. “I want to do some window shopping, maybe get some lunch. Possibly see if I can make some new friends?”

Dad smiled at that bit then laughed. “Who would have thought my so…daughter would want to go to the Square.”

I frowned at that bit. I think Dad was still trying to adjust a bit. It was going to be hard for all of us for a while.
“I won’t be long, just a couple of hours.”

I gave him a look I used to see my sister always give him. It was the look that always helped her get what she wanted. When he saw me give him the look, his eyes bugged out a bit. He caved a few seconds later. He grabbed his car keys and I jumped up, giving him a kiss on the cheek. As soon as I did it, I realized what I did and both of us felt pretty strange afterwards. It felt like the right thing to do though. Dad shook it off with a smile and the two of us headed out to the car. Neither one of us said much on the car ride there. Dad and I had a strange relationship. Sure, he’d been training me to be a Warden like him before but we didn’t really spend all that much time together. He was either working or reading in his study. Neither of us was athletic.

When we finally got to the Square, Dad parked far enough away so that I wouldn’t be seen getting out of the car driven by my father. He used to do that all the time with Jess.

“You need any money?”

I shook my head. “I have some.”

I still had a lot left over from my birthday.

Dad nodded. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours then princess,” he said before catching himself and laughing. “Sorry about that, force of habit with your sister and all.”

I shook my head. “No, I kind of like it.”

We both smiled. Maybe things weren’t going to be so bad with Dad after all. I climbed out of the car and shut the door but not before Dad rolled down the window and dropped the bomb on me. “Oh Kelly, say hi to Tommy for me.”

Shit, busted.

I turned to him, forcing a smile and nodding. Dad laughed before he rolled up the window and drove away. Here I thought I’d charmed the hell out of him. I was so going to kill Mary and Jess for this. I closed my eyes and willed that all away. Right now, I was a girl on a mission and today’s target was Tommy. When I opened my eyes again, I took slow steps toward the Square. It was a local hang out spot; there were a lot of kids my age here today. Everything was centered around a large fountain with a little eatery and shops all about. Some of the kids I passed were from school, a few of them, gave me strange looks. Like they recognized me but couldn’t quite place who I was.

I started toward our agreed meeting spot. Up ahead I saw him. He was sitting at a bench, his back to me. I took a deep breath as I slowly approached. Now or never. I took in all the confidence I’d been learning over the past two months and used all of it to do the unthinkable. I walked right up to the bench and dropped down next to him. To say it surprised him was an understatement. Tommy nearly jumped off the bench. When he recovered long enough, he looked at me and smiled. Though it was bit awkward until he stared a bit longer.

It took him a second or two to place the face.
“Kelly?” he asked, his voice in a low whisper.

“Hey Tommy” I said, moving some hair from my face.

“I…ummm….I….” he stopped and took a breath. “What’s going on?”

I smiled and took a deep breath of my own. “I think you and I need to talk” He nodded numbly. “Ok, so first of all, I might look like a girl but I’m really your best friend Kelly Daniels. You see it all started back at the beginning of November when I was looking out my bedroom window…”

THE END FOR NOW

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF