While Nora and Jade were witches who came into their powers, I never would. Our mother had another witch strip our powers from us when we were little. She explained she did it to keep us safe. She wanted us to grow up normal and have every opportunity that the other children would have.
I never felt like a part of me was missing until now. Feeling that tingle going over my entire body felt like a missing puzzle piece was coming home. But I didn’t understand how. She had another witch take it.
I remembered that drive to the witch’s house. Her name was Ruth. She was a powerful woman and a close friend of our mother. I was only four, and Hazel was two when we went. Our mom told us the entire drive that we had to do this. That we were going to be moving to a new town, and that she wanted us to settle in. She wanted us to have the life she never got.
Hazel cried the entire time because she felt it. She felt her powers at a young age, and she didn’t want to part with them. I just remembered staring at my little hands, wondering if it even mattered.
When we arrived, Ruth had her kitchen set up for us. It was like walking into an operating room. She had her book of spells out and a few vials on the table. Ruth explained she would take some of our blood and lock our powers into it. After that, she would burn them so they would return to the Earth.
Hazel screamed. She begged our mother to reconsider. She didn’t understand why we had to change.
I shook my head, clearing the memory away, because after that, we did have a good life. We moved to the town we grew up in, and we did blend in. People hardly noticed us, and we lived semi-decent lives. It wasn’t until we moved here that people suddenly started talking about how we were original settlers of the town, but that we moved there.
I pulled the book free and sat down, sliding it into my lap. I held it, just staring at it, letting that feeling soak over me. How was this even possible?
I opened the book, staring at the pages. They were worn from use, but you could tell they were cared for. The binding on the books was holding steady; it was the pages that showed damage from all the years of being flipped back and forth.
I felt a warm spread over me, like a blanket had been dropped onto me. I sank into the feeling, hating how it felt right.
I reached for another book, still feeling that tingling with it. I decided to try to read a little. I needed to make sure this was real and that my mind wasn’t just tricking me.
I flipped through books, reading pages about spells. I scanned, looking for something about what happened with Hazel and me. If we had our powers stripped and returned to Earth, I shouldn’t be able to do anything. But maybe you couldn’t take this feeling away.
I felt my eyes burn as I read over different information. There was history about witches, and journals some had left behind. There were witches making potions and trying different techniques to learn new spells.
I slammed the book shut and pressed my forehead against the bookshelf. I felt like I was getting nowhere with this. Even if I did have magic, no one could know. I would be looked at like a dark witch, and people would talk. And I know that things would only get worse than they were.
The silence was broken by Marium. “Westley, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. What brings you in?”
My body tensed up, and I looked around me. The piles of books, half open. The pages were scattered all over. It was a mess.
I quickly started shoving everything back, not needing anyone to know I was here. I knew if Westley found me, he would start asking questions that I didn’t have answers for.
I slipped out of the area and hurried back toward the stairs. I felt my heart racing as I moved, trying to get as far away from that area as possible.
I looked over toward the counter. Westley leaned on the counter, talking to Marium. He smiled that charming smile, and I watched Marium roll her eyes. He probably told her a joke, and she chuckled.
I made it down the stairs, and I watched his eyes flick over to me. I stiffened, knowing I had nowhere I could run.
He said something to Marium before he rounded the counter, coming my way. I swallowed, not sure what I was going to say. My mind was a mess between what happened yesterday and what had just happened upstairs. I felt like I was losing my mind.
“Hey, I didn’t see you this morning.”
I shrugged. “I slept in.” It was an easy lie and kind of the truth. I slept in an extra hour, but still I had enough time to run into him before he left.
He frowned, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I want to apologize for last night.”
I felt my mind seem to pause. Was he apologizing for what happened between us when we got home? Was he regretting what happened?
“Oh?” I felt my voice break, and my heart seemed to stop beating.
“I should have controlled my anger better. You are right to be worried that they would bother your sister. I know if I hadactually gotten my hands on either of them, it would have ended badly for everyone. You and your sister included.”
I felt my shoulders sink a little, relieved. A part of me wasn’t sure what I would have done if he had been apologizing for what happened at the house.
“Well, thank you. That means a lot. But you weren’t wrong either. You’ve done a lot to help us, and I should have told you more. You weren’t wrong that I clearly haven’t been handling things well.” I needed to figure out what I wanted. A distraction, maybe, to get my mind off everything for a while.
An idea sparked. “How about dinner. As a thanks for everything that you’ve done.”
