Howls and Chants

After several hours of driving, they arrived at the place, which was—“Are we in a different dimension?” Amethyst scanned the area. Fireflies bragged about their rainbow lights to compete with the moon. Hooting owls rested on the branches of tall trees, where they glittered under the moonlight. The orchestra of crickets and other night insects welcomed them with an opening song.Rinari and Thea looked at each other with no trace of amusement on their faces.In front, a stone path waved at them. Amethyst brisked towards it and jumped over. One stone after another shined beneath her feet, like some sort of reactive microorganism get stimulated by the friction at each step.“Cool!” Amethyst whispered to Thea. “This place is extra! I wanna live here.”The pathway led to a steel gate, with clematis and passiflora covering the walls.From where they stood, waist-high fences covered in Bermuda grasses forme

Rinari levitated few inches above the wood floor of the guest room, not wanting to create any noise to awaken the three insentient teenagers. Her face reflected a combination of “I am dead if my daughter finds out” and “I know there is a solution”. She bit her lower lip while deep in thought. That was why when Lucia was trying to get her attention, the effort to do so just blended with the invisible air.“Hlala uthule,” Lucia uttered, and Rinari froze mid-air. “What you’re doing won’t help. Please settle down.”Rinari obeyed Lucia because, although her voice remained soft, subtle annoyance could be traced from her tone.“She must not remember a single thing that happened tonight,” Rinari said. “She saw my ability.”“I know. I’ll try my best to extract some memory from her hippocampus.” She walked towards Amethyst and positioned herself o

The twins stared at Rinari, waiting for her to respond. “Cat got your tongue, Rin?” Herbena asked. Her sour tone could be mistaken as that of a termagant—the opposite of her sweet nature. “Why does your daughter hate witches when she is also one of us?” She gave Rin a sharp glance. Her face turned red like burning chili. The idea of being disliked for an unknown reason triggered her beast mode. “Calm down Bena,” Herben said. “Let her speak. It’s not like she’s guilty of a crime or something.” “It’s because of what happened when she was five,” Rinari began. “It was her birthday when—” She stopped talking because Lucia tapped her forehead. Rinari’s tears streamed down her cheeks. Her expression, blank and drained from all emotions. Lucia mumbled a chant while pulling out a memory bubble from her friend’s head. “You both know she’ll literally shatter to pieces if she is overwhelmed and too emotional. So, stop pressuring her.” If looks cou

Whispering and gossiping voices welcomed Thea and Amethyst as they walked past the girls, who were buzzing like busy bees on campus.“What are they staring at?” Thea mumbled. The way the students stare at Amethyst caused her to flinch as if they were slapping her. Some of them stabbed her with an angry look. Others gazed at her like some sort of plague needed to be avoided.Despite the sizzling atmosphere, the two girls continued their routine. They went straight to the cafeteria to grab some breakfast, but a few staff there even sprinkled salt to where Amethyst passed by. The ones who used to smile and talk to her kept their mouths shut and just nod, without smiling, when she talked to them.“What did I do?”“Don’t mind them.”They sat on their favorite spot, which on that day had been spacious. The tables and chairs that used to be near theirs had been moved at about two meters away. Every table also had

  Nicolai went back to Amethyst’s room after his conversation with Rinari. His eyes adjusted to the dim room lit by a lampshade on the side table next to the bed. He pulled the bedside chair and sat there, examining her like a specimen under the microscope. The mattress, soft under his elbows, supported him as he propped his chin on his hands. He sighed thrice. The first is because of the no-escape-fate situation he had been in. His wolf's form was bound to Amethyst and liked her a lot, but he wanted someone who was easy to handle. Second, because as he stared at Amethyst, his eyes twinkled with delight. Admiration filled his eyes. Even without makeup, her beauty could send him to a world filled with the colors of life that he couldn’t even find words to describe the emotions attached to it. But again, he believed it was his wolf that was dominating him. Finally, because he was disappointed in himself for not recognizing which of his two personal