Chapter 4

"Breathe," I say to a now hyperventilating Morgan.

"Zel do you realize that this is all just so messed up," she says, frustrated, throwing her hands up in the air.

"I know." Well, what else was I supposed to say? 'Morgan I have been doing this for years now and I don't even understand how it fully works.'

No, that will freak her out even more.

When I glance over at her, she is walking with her head down. Think lines etch its way onto her forehead as she stares hard at the concrete.

She picks her head up to speak, opening her mouth slightly to talk, but when I look at her with expectation, she puts her head back down again. She does this a few times before I start to get frustrated.

"Morgan just spit it out," I blurt impatiently, and she lets out a ragged breath.

A breeze drifts past us and she shudders wrapping her arms around her body. "Here take this," I offer her the hoody I had wrapped around my waist. She takes the hoody and pulls it over her head, slipping her arms through the sleeves.

She gives me a small smile as she hugs the hoodie closer to her body. "Thanks. So..." she trails. "Have you ever saved me from a nightmare?" She asks, playing with her fingers in anticipation.

I know Morgan is afraid after I told her everything. I have been friends with her long enough to know that when something bothers her she starts to play with her fingers.

I don't judge her for being afraid. Who wouldn't be afraid knowing that there is a possibility of them being killed by a demon in their dreams.

If I leave her like this she will try not to sleep because she's afraid. I can't let her go through this. I can't let her live her life in constant fear.

She needs to forget.

"No I have never saved you from a nightmare," I say with a humorous smile as an attempt to bring light to a horrible situation.

"So you can do magic too huh," she says, kicking at the stones in front of her.

"Yeah, but I only know a few spells that work in this realm. Besides doing magic here is tricky." She nods, running a hand through her hair as she processes all of the information. "Are you okay now?" I ask her and she shakes her head.

"You lied to me Zel," she says, causing my eyes to widen in confusion.

"Technically speaking I didn't lie. I just kept a secret. Everyone has secrets, Morgan."

"I thought we were best friends I thought we told each other everything," she argues.

"Morgan," I say pinching the bridge of my nose. "I'm sorry okay, but I couldn't have told you even if I wanted to."

"Then why are you telling me now?" she asks stopping in her tracks.

I stop in front of her unable to face her as I speak. "I needed you to walk home with me so I can have my aunt erase your memory," I guilty admit.

"Erase my memory...." She repeats and starts hyperventilating again. I turn around and take in the appalled look on her face. She is looking at me as if I'm a monster. "No," she says in disbelief, running a hand down her face. "Zel how can you do this to me?" she practically yells.

"I won't take away all your memories just the last few hours," I try to persuade her and she looks at me with fear evident in her eyes. "Only the last few hours of today. I promise Morgan." The blood has run out of her face and she stares blankly at me.

I turn away from her, unable to look at her in the face any longer. "It's best if you forget and you know it too."

"Just tell me one more thing Zel," she says, her voice cracking.

"What is it?"

"Did you erase my memory before?" I startle at the question at first not because I did erase her memory, but because I can't believe she'd think I did something like this to her before.

"No, I'm careful in this realm and this is the first time I got caught using magic."

She sighs. "Fine if this is the first time," she says, thinking. "I'll let you erase my memory if you can promise me one thing."

I bite my bottom lip. "What is it?"

"If you ever use magic in front of me again, you have to tell me the truth about everything and allow me to live with it," she grunts.

I look at her and can tell she's serious. "I promise."

When we reach my house I open the door ushering Morgan, inside first. I walk into the lounge and find my aunt sprawled out on the couch watching her favorite show Downton Abbey.

Klara looks up and sees Morgan standing next to me with her head hung low. "Hi Morgan, how are you?" she tries to greet but Morgan looks up with tear-filled eyes.

I give my aunt a small smile not knowing how to tell her what I did.

"Zelenia, what did you do now?" She sternly asks and stands.

"Well... um, Morgan saw me ...uh." I try to think of a way to say this without getting myself in trouble but each solution I think of will end with me being in trouble.

"Morgan saw what?" she repeats, with raised eyebrows.

"Morgan saw me use magic to fix my locker and now I need you to erase her memory," I blurt out, and by the look on my aunt's face, I'm ready to run.

Run to Canada.

Klara's eye begins to twitch. "Just tell me why you were using magic in this realm. I know you don't like to because it drains your energy so why?" my aunt roars.

"Madison pushed me to the brink and I lashed out and punched my locker denting it. Then I realized what I had done and used magic to fix it and Morgan saw me."

Her eyes visibly soften."What did this Madison do to make you so angry?" she asks, and this time the anger in her voice is replaced with concern.

"Nothing in particular. She just started talking some crap about how no one wants me around and how my parents..." I trail unable to repeat Madison's words.

Somehow they just won't come out of my mouth but my aunt's eyes widen and I think she gets it.

Madison knew she was going to get a rise out of me by talking about parents.

"Zel," Klara says calmingly. "It's not a big deal Morgan saw you use magic. I will erase her memory."

"Hello," Morgan interrupts, waving her hands around frantically. "Can you guys not speak as if I'm not here. I mean I'm freaking out here. The least you could do is try and put me out of my misery faster," Morgan says waving her hands in front of her. I get that she is afraid and I know I would be too if someone told me they wanted to erase my memory.

"I'm sorry Morgan, and I promise you will never be in this situation again," I say and she closes her eyes taking in deep breaths.

"Let's just get this over with," she says and I look at Klara.

"Time for your world to go back to normal," my aunt says stepping up to morgan and placing a palm to her forehead. "Chróno na xechásoume," she says the incantation, and her palms immediately start to glow with warm yellow light, and Morgans eyes close. I see that Morgan starts to wobble and before she can fall I catch her and lay her on the couch.

"She will forget she ever saw you use," my aunt says.

"Thank you," I say to Klara and she smiles at me reassuringly.

"Please be careful, learn how to control your emotions because if you lose control of your emotions you lose control of your magic. You have no idea how powerful you are Zelenia," she says and a look of worry clouds her face.

"I will try to keep my temper in check," I assure her.

"Good, Morgan will be awake in an hour. So think of something to tell her as to why she is here," she says and I nod.

I take a seat next to Morgan's sleeping body on the couch. I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve a friend like Morgan and an aunt like Klara but one thing I do know for sure is that my life wouldn't be the way it is now without them in it.

I want to try and come up with something to tell her as to why she is here when she wakes up. I don't want to tell her something far fetched so I will keep it as close to the truth as possible.

I look at her sleeping body realizing that she is not going to wake up any time soon. I cover her with a thin blanket that's already on the couch and I push the hair out of her face. She starts snoring and says something in her sleep I can't quite make out.

*******

After watching a few episodes of the Simpsons. I hear Morgan yawn, next to me. She stretches her arms and legs. When she sits up on the couch her eyes widen.

Did the spell work?

"Where?" she says looking around the lounge and then her eyes settle in on me.

"Hey sleepyhead", I say and she smiles sheepishly at me.

"I'm so sorry," she stifles a yawn. "I was just really tired all of a sudden."

No Morgan I'm the one that's sorry for doing this to you.

"Yeah I know, it was a tiring day. Oh and thank you for helping me get out of trouble because of that whole Madison accusing me of breaking my locker thing."

Morgan looks at me in confusion at first. "She is psycho. I'm glad you didn't get in trouble."

I feel guilty no I feel horrible for having to lie to one of my best friends

"No shit," I say and she cringes away at my choice of language. She never liked it when I swore.

"Um, yeah I guess it was a tiring day," she says rubbing her head. "I should go now," she says, trying to stand up. My aunt walks in just in time to witness Morgan try to stand and fall back on the couch weakly. "My legs feel like jelly," she chuckles.

"Morgan, you should stay for dinner," my aunt says to her and she nods.

After Morgan eats and I do the dishes by myself, because that's my punishment. Chores.

Klara agrees to drive Morgan home and I make myself comfortable in front of the TV, stretching my limbs out on the couch.

Something crashes loudly and it sounds like glass breaking. I jump up from my seat immediately and look in the direction of the kitchen.

I walk slowly towards the entrance of the kitchen.

Did Klara come in through the back?

"Klara is that you?" I call out, but no one answers.

"Whoever it is you better leave or I promise you'll be in a world of pain," I threaten before I walk into the kitchen.

Instinctively my palms already start to glow ready to unleash whatever spell I can think of.

I walk into the kitchen to see that the window is open and that there are shards of glass on the floor. Stepping around the glass I move to close the window.

I hear another crash from behind me and I turn around to face whatever it is. Narrowing my eyes in on the intruder making all the noise I let out a deep sigh of relief.

"I see you chose to seek refuge in my house," I say to the sparrow hopping about on the kitchen counter. I walk over to the kitchen door and pull it open. "Feel free to leave whenever you want," I say and walk out of the kitchen to go find a dustpan to clean up the glass.

"Zelena..."

"Huh". I stand still listening closely to determine if I heard right the first time. It was like a blur and then suddenly I was standing at the steps leading to the basement.

The door attracted me like a magnet. I could feel it in my magic that there was something in there.

Not this again.

It's just junk. Listen to Klara.

I turn to walk away but the voices come out louder to the point I feel my eardrums are going to bust.

"Zelenia...Zelenia...Zelenia," I cover my ears and try to think of anything else but the voices. The voices get louder and it's like it's inside my head now.

"No stop."

"Come find me..." The voice says and I run down the steps to the basement. That's it, I have had enough of this. I stand in front of the door and it has a bunch of locks on it.

"Abierto cera," I say an incantation and move my hands up and down in front of the door. My hands begin to glow with warm yellow light.

I release the magic and watch as it impacts the door, but something strange happens it's like the door is absorbing the magic. The spell backfires and comes hurling back to me at a rapid pace that I can't dodge. I groan in pain when impacts with my stomach, sending me flying back into the staircase, but I don't give up that easily. I stand and walk up to the door again. "Díghlasáil ovaj porte." The spell bounces off the door and comes straight for me again. Before the spell can hit me I duck out of the way as I watch the spell hit into the wall behind me. I break my knuckles in determination as I prepare to do my next spell. "Cremar....."

"What in the realm," I hear my aunt say from behind me and I turn around to face her.

"You open this door right now or I will complete the spell," I say holding my glowing hands up to the door.

"There is an enchantment on it that needs to be broken first," she says ignoring my threat and walking down the stairs to join me.

"Say your magic words then," I say and she shakes her head. She puts her arm around my shoulders and leads me back upstairs.

"The room is filled with cursed relics that are probably playing tricks on you. There is nothing in there that can hurt you," she says and takes me back up the steps.

It's not that I don't trust my aunt, I do, but seeing is a huge part of believing, if there is nothing behind that door she should open it up and let me take a look. I can feel it in my gut that there is something in that basement she is keeping from me and I want to know what it is.