Chapter Four
“Is something wrong?”
After the weird halo shit that happened, Dad and Uncle Al drew into the kitchen for a ‘private discussion'. They were not being very quiet about it as I heard my name and words like ‘spell’, ‘charm’ and ‘bracelet’.
Frustrated, I leaned against the kitchen door with my arms crossed. They kept quiet as soon as they saw me then looked at each other with raised brows.
“There is no point keeping quiet about it now,” Uncle Al said.
“Keeping quiet about what?” I asked.
“We cannot just tell her. There should be a way to reverse this,” Dad contemplated, rubbing his shaven chin.
“Going back in time?”
“It is against the rules, Albert.”
“Then, we tell her.”
“I promised her mother that I will not have her involved in that part of our lives.”
“What about Mom?” I piped up and ended up completely ignored. Again.
“There is no point saying nothing. She is a growing child and will continue to develop.”
I looked down at my small chest, unable to comprehend where this two way conversation was heading.
“Phoebe,” Uncle Al began.
“No,” Dad cut in. “Let me tell her. I am her father.”
“So am I.”
“Just spit it out!” I demanded.
“You know, you look just like your mother,” Uncle Al teased.
“Phoebe,” Dad began to explain. “You are a witch.”
I looked at the two of them, waiting for them to call off the joke but their serious expression made me think otherwise. “What? Dad, for your first ever joke, this is a pretty good one but dry.”
“No, he is being serious,” Uncle Al said. “We are wizards and our child which makes you a… witch.”
“As in Sabrina the witch? Like in the Charmed series? Like Harry Potter wizards?”
“I don’t know what those are but yes,” Dad replied.
“I told you to keep up to date with the modern world, you idiot,” Uncle Al said, rolling his eyes. “Yes, darling, those sort of things. But those are a bit exaggerated and not in any sense, like the real wizarding world.”
“Okay.” I chuckled. “I have humored you two long enough. Where is the prank camera?”
“In all your life, Phoebe, have I ever lied to you?” Dad asked, his voice growing high pitched.
“You told me you would catch me if I jumped off the tree climber,” I deadpanned.
“Wait, what?” Uncle Al exclaimed. “Why would you do that, Juniper?”
“I was not expecting it. She took too long, crying and whining and you know very well that I cannot use my powers on her when she has that bracelet on,” Dad said with a shrug. “Which is now destroyed by the way and look, she is fine.”
“You are horrible.”
“You guys should not joke about this type of stuff anymore. I am not six anymore.” I turned to leave but could not make it past the door. It was like there was an invisible wall. “What is going on?”
“We are not done talking, young lady,” I heard my father say.
When I turned to face him, all the objects in the kitchen floated in the air. I gasped in horror, backing away.
“Watch the knife,” Dad warned.
“I am not going to stab her,” Uncle Al scoffed.
Sure enough, the cutting knife floated inches away from my face before flying across the room to its original position.
“Do you believe us now or would you like to see another magic trick?”
“Is this a new technology like CGI and stuff?” I nervously asked, unable to fully comprehend what I saw.
“If this were technology,” Dad said in a low voice, his eyes glowing white, “Why did you react so strangely when you touched me? Why are your feet not touching the ground?”
I looked down at myself a few inches off the ground and screamed.
“Put her down, Juniper. You are scaring her.”
“No child of mine should fear!”
“Okay! Okay! I believe you. I am witch and you are a wizard,” I cried. “Please put me down.”
When my feet touched the tiles, I rested against the wall with an overwhelming urge to puke. I think I might have peed my pants too.
In the living room, Uncle Al sat me on the sofa then snapped his fingers. A mug of hot cocoa with marshmallow appeared right out of thin air and landed gently on to my lap. Cautiously, I picked it up and took a sip. It tasted good, exactly how Uncle Al makes it. Unless, he never made it the way I always thought he did. That explains why I was never able to prepare it for myself. It never tasted as good.
“Uncle Al, can you really cook or do you just use magic?”
Uncle Al smiled in a mischievous manner and contoured himself a mug of coffee.
“Even I can’t answer that,” Dad said sitting down with an exhausted sigh. “You are taking the rest of the week off school and any social gathering.”
“Wait what? I can’t. It’s a revision week.”
“Your exam is in two weeks, Phoebe. Now, we will spend the rest of the week watching what other powers will show. Tell me, what did you see when you touched me earlier?”
“You were glowing. There was a lot of light.”
“Aura,” Uncle Al said. “You see aura.”
“What other powers do you think might show up?”
“It is impossible to say since they have been locked away since you were little. They might all come out at once, forcing their way through.”
“Like period cramps,” Dad added. “Awful.”
“Wait what?”
“In the meantime, go change out of your uniform. Wait, did you not mention something about a ball hitting your face? Who did it?”
“Has anything out of the ordinary happened?”For the nth time, I shook my head then raised my hand expecting something magical to happen but nothing did.My father sighed and shook his head. “Did you learn the spells I taught you?”“Well…” I thought to my room in disarray and the dark cloud that formed on the ceiling. “I’m getting better,” I said.“Buckle up.” The car came to life as he turned on the ignition. The sun set behind as the car pealed down the quiet street.This was the first time this week I stepped out of the house. Instead of hanging out with friends, I was learning to ‘defend’ myself from whatever might want to harm me. It was beginning to feel ridiculous repeating spells my father taught me but what I could do with magic never failed to amaze me.“Why are we here?” I asked a
The burn in my stomach dissipated as soon as I ate the chocolate bar which tasted horrible and smelled like the wet mud.After Mama Owen kicked me out, the store sign switched to closed. I trudged down the lit but quiet, dark street. How fast does time go when using magic? I really need to learn that stupid teleportation spell. Perhaps Zoe could give me a ride home. I drew out my phone and tried dialing her number. My relief was short-lived as signal bars refused to come up.What happened to the network? Looking down the empty street, I drew my hoodie closer. Since when did cars not come out at the nine in the night? Why am I so bothered about that all of a sudden? Mama Owen’s words about the dangers danced around my mind. I wonder if I could call my Dad or Uncle Al?Yeah, right. No fucking bars.I hurried along the str
I slouched on the bleachers watching my teammates practice. While the other benchers cheered, I pretended to be fixated with my phone. It was practically useless but it served as a protective shield. I could not bare to look anyone in the eye after losing my cherished position.Why could I not just take it back? I’m back from my random disappearance.“Hey!” I froze in my seat and watched from the corner of my eye as the boys basketball team poured into the court.Fuck! I need to get out here without being seen. This was so mortifying.I rose up and began my descent down the bleachers. I bet they would barely know I left since everyone was too busy fooling around.“Phoebe, where are you going?”I cursed in my head. Who the fuck was that? Raising my head, I pulled a smile on as I faced the teams. “Bathroom. Why?”“Hey.&r
“Aer sit mihi pontis. Mitte quod peto,” I chanted in a loud, clear voice keeping my focus on the spade.The tool shook violently then rose from the ground and flew straight into my outstretched hand. I can’t believe I did it.Finally!“Again,” Mama Owen barked behind me.Rolling my eyes, I repeated the spell and tools flew into my hand, quicker and fluidly with each repeated chant. When training was over for the day, I slumped against the wall, exhausted and sweaty.“Hurry along now, I need to close up shop.” She threw the nasty chocolate bar into my hand. She called it Protein Bars, I call it crap but its energy reviving benefits outweighed my disgust for it.“Exams start tomorrow and I have a lot to catch up on. Can you like teach me a spell to retain memory?”“There is a reason why we forget things, Phoe
“What are you making?” I asked when I found Mama Owen hunching over and pounding herbs in a bowl.“Potions.”“What for?”She stepped aside to reveal small lid bottles with labels. “Foresight, Memory Retention, Invisibility, Keen Smell, Love, Plant Growing, Protection and Truth.”“Huh. How do you make these from scratch?”“Go water the plants.”“You have to teach me how to make these potions. Don’t you want me out of your hair?”“Trying to rush magic will not help you.”“Well, I got that memory spell right. I used my earrings. When does it wear off? Do I have to incant the spell again? How do I stop it?”“You remove the earrings and cleanse them off all spells. Phoebe, the longer you use this spell, the more you would forget important things.”“Why did you not menti
“Phoebe!” He called again.“Go.” The wolf did not wait for another word as it trotted into the night.“Phoebe!”How far has it gone? Was it somewhere safe now?“Phoebe!” I spotted my father in a distance, carrying a torch. He looked in my direction, unsheathed fury in his eyes.“What?” I tried to sound as unfazed as possible and stood up, ignoring the protest in my left knee.“What are you doing out here?”“Just jogging. Wanted some peace and quiet to myself.”“This forest is not safe! Nowhere is safe for people like us and I would not like you putting yourself in danger because you learned some spells.”“It’s funny how you suddenly care. I’ll walk myself home. You can teleport or I don’t know, fly home.” I tried to push m
Morgan guffawed as I jerked her arm off. “Look at your face, dude. Don’t worry, I’ve got better taste,” she said to Reed who sported a stunned reaction.“I would love to listen to your insults more than anything in the world but,” I said, pulling him closer to me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”“Your father told me to get you.”“What are you, my bodyguard?”“Unfortunately.”Unfortunately? I scoffed and shook my head. Wait, what? What was my father up to this time? I grabbed Morgan by the arm and pulled her out of the school building with me.“Hey, easy with the grabbing,” She said when we reached the parking lot.“Get lost with you and,” I stuttered for a perfect word as I regarded her and her masculine appearance. “Whatever this is. Wait, are you male or female?”
You would think after days of Mama Owen’s relentless training, I would know what to do but I shrieked. Demon-Sam grabbed me by the neck, lifting me off the ground and slammed me into a tree. My back shuddered with pain at the impact. I fell limp in her hands as she lifted me again and threw me. I crashed to the ground and rolled until I collided with a tree bark.“Ugh!” I moaned. My face felt warm as blood trickled down my face. The ground trembled as I felt her advance on me again. Was this how it would end? Mama Owen’s potion mixing for demon banishment would be futile at this point. I struggled to remember the spell from my mother’s spell book.Demon-Sam picked me up again and licked her lips. Her fangs drew longer as the veins on her face grew bluish-purple.“Apage daemon. Ad infernum reverteris,” I sputtered and weakly gra