Embers & Spells

4 – Peers and Pressure

Things were never easy for me growing up. My mother died just when I was starting to learn who I was and the strength I had. Her death devastated me that I had once lost my power- my black magic, and shut myself down from the world. If it wasn’t for Erin, her bestfriend and my godmother, I would not survive. Erin worked hard onto implanting lessons in my head, making sure I would live up to the clan’s reputation. What my mother failed to teach me, my godmother fulfilled it, molding me into a good witch I was supposed to be.

Witches of Ilkar. Their tribe was one of the oldest, dated back at least five hundred years ago. The only thing my mother left me was a white thick book, with a black title written in their own language- symbols.

The front cover read ‘Whispers’. To translate, it was a book of spells.

The white book had been sitting on my study table for weeks now. I was searching for a way to save Erin. A spell that could snatch her from the underworld. She was too good, too kind, to be imprisoned down there. But no spells could work on the devil. Or maybe, nothing that was written in the white book.

I sighed in frustration, my eyes already heavy, my body too tired. If our spells could not break in the underworld, then I have to start hunting the werewolf. Where would I start looking for the alpha was the biggest question.

Laying my head on the table, I closed my eyes, giving in to sleep. I was mentally exhausted.

The doorbell rang then, snapping me out of my slumber. I felt my heartbeat accelerated, the same anxiety when the Hunter appeared in our house to deliver us to the devil.

Running down the stairs, I slightly opened the door, the lock chains still attached.

“Agatha?”

“Am I disturbing you?” she asked, a wide smile on her face.

I debated whether inviting her inside or not. Seeing a friend visiting the house was a first for me. Erin would be glad, for sure.

“Uh, I’m just getting ready to bed,” I answered, brushing my hair back. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s nine, Tana,” she muttered, looking offended. “Isn’t it too early to sleep? Come on, let’s grab some dinner.”

I contemplated fully opening the front door. But Agatha’s sweet smile seemed to tear down my doubt about her. I unlocked the chains and swung the door open.

Agatha was wearing a crop top and skinny jeans, matching her boots, while I was on my pyjamas- shorts disappearing from my oversized white shirt. What I hadn’t realized was that she was not alone. She had companies.

“Hello again, Tana,” Inigo greeted, standing at the side, his height towering over us.

“Wow, I didn’t know your legs are definitely your assets,” Agatha commented before I could even say hello back. She pushed me further inside, letting herself in and turned to Inigo. “We’ll be out in fifteen.” She then closed the front door.

“What are you doing?” I asked, eyes narrowing at her.

“Come on, let’s go hangout with them. Inigo keep on insisting to invite you, so here we are.”

I let out a laugh. “Why would he want to invite me?”

Agatha shrugged her shoulder. “Maybe he likes you? Or to just hangout? I don’t know, Tana.”

“I’ll take a rain check on this dinner.” I hugged myself. “My godmother’s not home and… It’s just not a good time today.”

Her bright face suddenly looked dim. “Am I being too annoying?”

I remembered what the girl named Claire said to me. That I was Agatha’s new pet. “No. Of course not.”

“Okay,” she mumbled, nodding her head. “Promise you’ll go next time?”

“I will.” I smiled, reassuring her.

She opened the door, waving at Inigo for them to leave. But he lingered on the door, hands on his pocket.

“Sorry if we caught you on a bad time, Tana,” he said, his eyes briefly dropping to my exposed legs.

I felt the wind blew, the cold air making me shiver. He had a shy smile on his lips and the way his shoulders were a bit hunched told me he was a bit reserved than he let on.

“It’s fine. No need to apologize.”

He brushed the back of his neck, stepping back. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Okay.” I nodded, returning his smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Maybe because I was caught off guard that I felt my body fully woken up.

****

I remembered the first time I was able to control my power. I remembered the first whisper, my first spell. I remembered how it felt, how the force and shiver and exhaustion rolled up inside me as I cast the magic. It felt phenomenal back then, as if the world was on top of my palm.

But in every magic I whispered, every flick of my hands, I was being more visible to the seers. The elders of the witch’s tribe. I had not paid attention when Erin told me all about the tribe’s bloodline and how I wished I had listened then.

Friday came as fast as it should, the first week of the semester gone in just a blink. I was still trying to familiarize myself with my new norm while getting a grasp on what had happened to my godmother. Life was something hard to foresee, not even to us witches. I waved my hand, snatching the white book from my desk and made my way out the room.

Walking out the front door, I had noticed, once again, the black butterfly lingering on the street post. Call it delusion or paranoia, but it felt like the butterfly was something else. Honestly, its presence didn’t sit well with me.

“Yaksha”, I whispered, eyeing the black butterfly, wanting it to reveal its darkness. Nothing happened. Huh.

So maybe, it was just a plain odd butterfly.

Pushing the thought of it being an omen, I walked toward the Fourth Block, to wait for the school bus. A loud honk startled me, trailing my steps.

“Get in, Tana,” the now familiar voice called out.

Agatha had the window glass of her car rolled down, her red sedan stopping at the side street. I jogged toward her car and got inside.

Opposite to my plain black hoodie dress and sneakers, Agatha wore a v-neck tank top and tight jeans. She was fashionable in her own way. But what I really noticed was the bruise on her arm.

I looked away, suddenly remembering the day we met at the alley. “You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, of course.” She chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, shrugging my shoulder. “Did you bump into something? Your arm…”

Her smile faded. “Something like that. It’s nothing, Tana.”

I nodded, realizing she didn’t want to talk about it. Whether it was really nothing or she was not prepared to talk about it, either way, I said nothing more. I wasn’t dense. And the least thing I wanted was to impose myself to someone else’s life, especially that I had secrets of my own that I would never unfold to humans.

“Should we hangout later after school?” I heard her say after a while.

“I have work until six.” I sighed, knowing I had to endure being in the same room as Claire, who non-stop chatter about how her day went on, how she was chosen to compete for the next Ms. Michaelson High. “I’m a student assistant, remember? How about on weekends?”

“Dang, yeah, now I remember.” She sighed too. “Are you working with the same office as Claire?”

I just nodded.

“We should hangout at her house on weekend. You’ll love it there, it’s like a mansion.”

“It’s probably not a good idea. I don’t think she like being friends with me.” Whenever we were left alone at the tiny space at COMMS office, Claire would keep herself busy doing nothing and pretended she heard nothing whenever I ask a question.

Agatha laughed. “That’s not you, Tana. She just doesn’t like anyone.”

I glanced at her. “But you’re friends with her.”

“Only because we are in the same circle of friends,” Agatha replied. “Hey, you think I should join this year’s Michaelson High Queen? Harold keeps on bugging me about joining the contest.”

“Sure. But only if you want to.”

Agatha met my gaze, a spark of excitement in her eyes. “Even if I don’t, they would pester me into joining.”

“Look out!” I snapped my finger, gesturing for her to look ahead on the road. As if time slowed down, I was glad to see in my peripheral vision the unattended kids crossing the busy street.

Agatha forced the car to slow down, allowing the kids to cross and a series of honks blasted from cars behind us. She then sped up when all kids were safe on the side street.

I heard her sigh as we neared the block toward Michaelson High. “That was close,” she muttered.

“Tell me about it,” I mumbled, shaking my head.

She fanned herself, chuckling, as she drove inside the campus.

“So, you think I should join or what?” she repeated, unfastening her seatbelt.

“It’s up to you, Agatha. You can always say no to them if you don’t want to do it.” I gazed at her, seeing anxiety in her eyes. She looked troubled but I couldn’t tell if it was because of the competition. “It’s always up to you.”

She bit her lip. “I envy you. You respond well to peer pressure.”

I smiled a little. “Well, there’s no pressure in having no peers, is there? Maybe, that’s the perks of being an outcast.”

Agatha nodded, dropping her eyes to her hands. I felt the air suddenly getting thick, uneasiness creeping up on us.

“Come on, we’ll be late,” I said, breaking the silence.

She looked up, giving me a smile. “Yeah. Let’s go.”