I waved at Alison as she walked away before turning back to Uncle Frank. He held out his arm, formally. I shifted the candy haul enough so I could link up with him for the walk home.That act alone eased some of my concern. If he was really mad at me, and he was never mad at me, he wouldn't be so casual about it. I relaxed and sighed away some of my tension."Are you okay?" he asked."Yeah," I said. "I'm glad you are, too. Did Mom tell you Sassy's missing?"Frank's eyes scanned the street as we walked. I wondered if it was a vampire thing or if he was being cautious after everything that happened."I'm sorry, kiddo. But don't count him out," he said. "He's been around a long time. You never know with Sassafras.""Yeah," I said, feeling a little better. "For all we know, he could be shielding himself to stay safe, right?""Anything is possible," Frank said. "Even the weirdest things. Like, say, a whole houseful of kids getting food poisoning all at the same time. That's weird. Do
I guess the coven had more serious things to worry about than my indiscretion because I slept through the entire night without being hauled from bed to be burned on a pyre for breaking the rules.They really didn't do that kind of thing anymore, but I worried they might resurrect it just for me.In fact, when I went downstairs for breakfast, I could feel the house was empty. Aside from a note on the fridge from Mom that instructed me to practice my shields, there was nothing. I had my bowl of cereal in privacy and silence on the porch as I slowly and carefully practiced over and over, so into it by the time I took a bite my crispy bits were soggy. I returned for a fresh bowl and instead used the time to let what happened the day before sink in.No, I hadn't done anyone permanent damage or anything. Not this time. I shuddered as I considered what my demon may have done if I told them all to drop dead. Not a nice thing to consider. I was pretty sure nothing would have happened, but no
The very fact I managed to get Gram in the driveway amazed even me. I should have been alarmed by the number of cars outside our house but I was so focused on getting my grandmother safely inside before she did something we'd all regret, it wasn't until I had her physically in the kitchen that I saw there were more people in my house than there were when I left.At least a dozen coven members had a mixture of surprise and relief on their faces. Mom rushed forward, hugging us both at the same time. We both fought her, but for very different reasons. Gram managed to extract herself and stood there, weaving and humming, lost to all of us. Mom hugged me harder. I stopped struggling."Oh, Syd," she whispered."It's okay, Mom," I whispered back.She gave me one more squeeze and let me go. Mom went to Gram who picked her nose, a huge, happy grin on her face."Mother," Mom said, pulling her hands down. "How do you keep escaping?"Gram ignored her, making smacking noises with her lips, ey
Several hours and dozens of witches later, we had no more answers than when the twins collapsed in the first place. Mom tried to remain as the focus, but I saw her wavering, leaning on Batsheva Moromond who arrived in a flurry shortly after the incident, claiming she felt it down the block. Erica didn't seem happy her position as second was taken over by the loud and portly woman, but I was happy as long as Mom had someone to lean on until she had her feet under her again.I hunted privately for a hopeful thread of the green magic but there was nothing left, nothing to follow and since I really had no idea what I was doing, I quickly abandoned my search but not my frustration.The attack took a huge toll on my mother to the point where she was not only physically drained, but her power limited as well. By the end of it, Batsheva supplied most of the magic guiding the search for the women's missing spirits.She turned to Mom, round face crimson with effort, lipstick running into the
I held Mom's hand as she cried for a time before pulling herself together. When my mother looked up at me again, there was more strength there than ever before."Syd," she said to me, as serious as I had ever seen her, "I need you to do something for me.""Anything, Mom," I said, and I meant it."I need you to take care of your sister," she answered. The urgency in her voice did nothing to slow the pounding of my heart. "No matter what happens, no matter what you see or what I do, please make sure you keep Meira safe. Promise me."I thought I was afraid before. "Mom," I started, but she shook her head."Promise me, Syd." Cold blue flames filled her eyes as she called her power. I felt it crawl across me as she cast a spell of intention and protection.I knew what I was doing. I was allowing her to bind me to my word, a binding that would even survive her death. Potent magic that made me shudder from it while I hoped I'd never need it. "I promise I will do anything to keep Meira s
I tried talking to Mom that morning, but she seemed very preoccupied with Meira so I let it go. I left her with some reluctance, carrying unfinished homework and a whole load of anxiety about the coven. But as much as I wanted to play hooky, Mom insisted I go to school, so to school I went.I was bummed about soccer but brushed it off. After the disaster the week before the coach would have benched me for the last game anyway. The way things were going in this town the chances of us being around for the spring season were slim to none.In that confused and worried state of mind, trying not to jump at shadows and keep my cool as well as my shields, I entered my high school and headed to my locker. I glanced up before I made it there and spotted Brad coming toward me. I flashed him a smile, remembering the warm, fuzzy feelings from the day before.He glared at me like I did him some horrible injury and kept walking.I felt like I'd been slapped. I almost turned around and went after
I paced the day away, wearing a track from my room to the kitchen as I spent the next several hours waiting for someone, anyone, to come home. Even Meira's bus passed our house without stopping.I fretted over trying to find my mother. Why couldn't I ever convince her to carry a cell phone? If it had anything to do with computers or technology, Mom was way old fashioned. Which meant I was stuck in the dark, soon to be literally, with no idea what was going on. My tentative tries to reach her with my mind found nothing which meant she was either heavily shielded or I was doing it wrong. And since my telepathy was fed by my air magic, something I'd never really learned to use long range, I knew I was pretty much out of luck unless I stumbled on the answer by some happy accident. Trouble was, most of my accidents had nothing to do with happy.I did call around to Meira's normal friends, but no one had seen Mom or my sister.When the sun set, I expected Uncle Frank and Sunny to rise. At
When I felt Mom trying to stand, I helped her. I stood next to her as she faced the coven and, more specifically, Batsheva. I tried to feed her but she blocked me, so I stopped. She wavered as she stood there, but her shoulders sat square. She was herself. I couldn't ask for more than that."Well?" Batsheva demanded, voice throbbing with emotion. Her face twisted to a mask of grief. I thought she was laying it on a little thick. "Explain yourself! Explain this horror!"Mom faced her, calm and poised. "I cannot," she said.A breath rippled through the coven, a regret. Batsheva seized it and used it like a weapon."You are our leader," she spoke to them as she did to Mom. "You were to keep us safe, protected. This cleansing was your idea! We warned you," she said, "attempting a spell so powerful this close to Samhain was dangerous. But you wouldn't listen!"The witches who could muttered, anger growing, accusations building. I held on to my mother and prayed I could protect her if i