I really am a witch. It’s true. What kind of powers will I have now that my memories have been unlocked?
Even though the idea excites me, my body is too tired to let me think about it. I just curl up against Owen’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and enjoying the soothing touch of his fingers against my hair.
Chapter 15 - Owen
The next day, I encourage Trina to see Sadie. She’s tired and worn down but agrees, and we meet Sadie in the park in the early afternoon. The girls sit together in the grass, not far away from me, in a little circle Sadie made with her magic.
Trina looks fragile, her skin very pale in the warm light of the sun. It concerns me to see her looking so weak, but I feel like awakening her powers might be the only thing that can help her.
Now that her aunt’s curse is broken, surely she’ll be able to use her magic?
“Okay,” Sadie says encouragingly. “Let’s try that one again. Cross your fingers just like this. Good. Now repeat after me—”
“It’s not working,” Trina almost wails with frustration. “I can feel it inside me, but none of these phrases or hand signals are doing a damn thing.”
“Alright,” Sadie says, trying to sound hopeful. “We’ll figure something out, I promise.”
“Why isn’t this working?” Trina asks. “Is this how you awakened your powers?”
“Well…” Sadie begins a bit hesitantly. “I always had mine. There were lots of small incidents over my life that I thought were coincidences or my imagination getting away from me, but looking back, it was all my magic trying to get free.”
“Well, I’m painfully ordinary,” Trina says dully. “Nothing weird or special has ever happened to me.”
“Didn’t the girls say you had a spooky experience at one of the town’s haunted locations?”
“Oh, that? I’m not the only one who walked away from those places with a bag full of nightmares. There’s nothing strange there.”
“Hmm,” Sadie replies. “I’m not so sure. It could be a sign of your increased sensitivity, and the blocks on your magic made it impossible for it to fully awaken at that time.”
“Does it actually help us right now?” Trina asks.
Sadie shakes her head, sighing. “Sadly, no,” she answers. “Your powers are unlocked, I can tell that much. It’s giving you control of it that’s the problem.”
“Don’t give up,” I say encouragingly.
Trina looks up at me with surprise, and I give her what I hope is an encouraging smile. She tries to smile back, but doesn’t quite manage it. Her eyes slowly move back to her lap, and her shoulders slump as if she’s about to fall asleep right there in the grass. I want to go in and comfort her, but Sadie told me to stay outside the circle in case I disrupted the process.
I wish I could help her. I feel so useless. I can’t help my pack. All I do is screw up with Trina.
Shaking my head, I push the dark thoughts away. I already visited the infirmary this morning, and even though no new cases were brought in overnight, we still lost two people. Every death scars my heart. Another pack member I couldn’t save.
“Okay,” Sadie says, taking a deep breath. “Let’s try something really simple.”
She reaches into her pocket and takes a key from her key chain, and places it in her palm. Then holds it out in front of her.
“Try to move it,” Sadie says.
“What do you mean, move it?” Trina asks.
“Whatever comes first to your mind. You could ask it to come to your hand, or try to make it rise up—I don’t want to blur your head with too many ideas. Just go with your gut.”
Trina sighs and looks at the key. She frowns, and I can feel her frustration rising as she stares into Sadie’s palm. Nothing happens, and Trina looks so deathly pale, I start getting up to go to her.
“Not yet,” Sadie whispers.
Even though I don’t agree, I stay still.
To my surprise, the key shimmies back and forth a bit, then flips over. Trina gasps, her body sagging as if she can’t hold herself up, and I rush into the circle to put my arms around her.
