Embers & Spells

5 - Beast Within Us

“Falling into 9th Hell.”

I heard someone muttered over me, a large shadow hovering. Looking up, I saw someone I least expected to see. Inigo.

“Hey, you,” I said, closing the book. I was in the library, on my usual spot near the exit door.

“You don’t look like you will read something like that, Tana,” he commented, inviting himself to sit beside me. My other books were scattered on the table, my bag sitting on one of the mono blocks.

“You know what they say, don’t judge the book by its cover.” I smiled, wanting to stir the topic away from the book. “Uh, do you need something?”

Inigo propped his arms on the table, leaning closer to me. He looked neat on his plain brown hoodie, his perfume lingering on me, which smelled musky and wood, fresh and masculine. “Why do you think I need something? I just want to say hello.”

I reached out for some of the books I pulled out from the shelves, trying to clear the table, making my hands busy. “Okay.”

Silence.

Inigo chuckled, getting the attention of some students near us, their heads turning in unison, as if all were orchestrated. He sure knew how to be on the spotlight. “I figured you’re not a fan of small talk, huh?”

“You figured it right,” I answered, stacking the books, ready to return them.

He nodded his head, considering my answer. “If you like that book then I guess you’d like A Witch’s Pact. Forgot the name of the author but it’s a real ancient book. Classic.”

My brows furrowed. “I haven’t heard that one before.”

Inigo showed his dimpled smile. “It’s a real classic. It’s about a witch who sworn an oath to protect a tribe, vowed to give her life for them to live. But she fell in love with the tribe man, bewitching him to return the love. It’s a forbidden love, so chaos dawn on the tribe. The witch ran away, not knowing that the pact she made with the tribe will haunt her bloodline forever.”

He told that in all seriousness that I had to bite back my laughter. “You seriously read that kind of stuff?”

Inigo shrugged his shoulder, his brown eyes piercing. “It’s a good story, really. Lots of plot twists and whatnots. Should have been a movie.”

“Sounds promising,” I muttered, humoring him. “But I don’t think people believe in witches. Like, they would believe in any other character tropes but not witches. As if they’re too creepy to be real.”

“They would probably like vamps and werewolves more than witches.”

I suddenly remembered Erin, who loved watching TV series with those kinds of characters. And she would tell me a story about how they really were in reality, how savage they could be, how there were no ounce of romance. Well, not always.

“Who wouldn’t? I mean, people love the idea of having someone who can be their superhero. Their fantasy-turned-into-reality kind of love.” I looked at him, noticing his straight posture and mesmerizing eyes. Eyes that were focused on mine. Suddenly, I felt my cheeks heated. “But witches are boring. They don’t make good romance story.”

Inigo gently nudged me, brows drawn together. “Hey, I like witch-characters. They’re strong and dependent and do not give half a s**t. They can easily snap werewolves. Plus, they are alluring.”

I didn’t know which felt odd. Him talking about how he liked witches or me giving too much meaning on his words. He didn’t even know he was talking to one. “You’re watching too much paranormal series, aren’t you?”

“Nothing much to do at home. Which brings me to this thought. Do you know a good museum down here? My cousin’s up to art and she’s bothering me to find one.”

Right. He was a newcomer and probably still trying to explore the little town of South Lox. “Tip Café. It’s in 8th Street. It was originally a school but got burned down. The only thing left was their museum.”

Inigo’s eyes narrowed, maybe trying to picture out the place. “And they decided to just close down the school and retain the museum?”

I nodded, remembering I used to frequent that place. “Yes. It actually became like a tourist spot. It’s like a perfect ruin. You’ll see when you come. They got loads of great arts too.”

“If it isn’t too much to ask, will you go with us, Tana?” he asked, tone low and soft. “My cousin’s a real addict when it comes to those things, and not really my cup of tea. But I just promised to show her around and find her a museum.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected that. “But, won’t a stranger make her feel uncomfortable? You barely know me.”

Inigo nodded. “And isn’t that how people become friends? By hanging out and knowing each other?” When I said nothing, he composed himself, squaring his shoulder. “But of course, only if you want to. And if you’re free anytime tonight.”

Making friends. Wasn’t this one of the things I always wanted? I felt like the moment I turned eighteen, too many doors had opened for me, showing me different kinds of life beyond what I knew of. Places I had never thought I would go to, people I have never imagined befriending with and strangers who casually made me feel that I wasn’t an outcast.

“Yeah, okay.” I nodded, my stomach tensing. Nervous? Excited? I didn’t know but it was a mix of both, for sure.

He smiled. Before he could even respond, a girl appeared before us. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” She was holding thick papers, hugging it to her chest.

Inigo gave her a smile, gesturing his hand over to me. “I’m sorry, Amy. I saw a friend and thought I’d say hello.”

The girl called Amy barely turned her head toward me, not even bothering to spare me a look. “I’m done with our research. The only thing left is the reaction paper for the Merry Saturday movie. Should we catch the show later tonight?” She sounded hopeful.

Inigo focused his attention to her. “Can we do it tomorrow instead? I already have an important plan tonight. I’m free all day on Saturday. Plus, we can figure out how to deliver the report after the movie, if you’re up for that.”

“That’d be cool!” she replied, almost a shriek. Again, heads turned toward us, the librarian shushing us from a distance. She covered her mouth, waving a goodbye to Inigo. “See you tomorrow, Inigo.”

“You just made her day,” I mumbled, grabbing my bag from the chair beside me.

“Well, you made mine.”

Glancing over at him, his chocolate brown eyes was on me, a soft look on his face. I could feel my cheeks heated. Was he just being friendly?

“I gotta go,” I said.

He stood up, mirroring me. “You need help returning the books?”

I gathered everything in my arms. “Nope. I got this. See you.”

“See you later, Tana.”

I just nodded, wanting to calm my speeding heartbeat.

****

Time at the COMMS office dragged like forever. Every tick of the clock felt like it was slowing more, the echo bouncing in my ears. Add that Claire kept chattering to the secretary, making me want to just end the day. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the magic to speed things up. All I did was to whisper a spell to tone down Claire’s voice, as if building an invisible soundproof wall between us. I rarely do magic in school. Whenever I did, it was for me, and always harmless.

I laughed in my head. After all the patience I had built, all the silly things I endured not to snap my fingers to hurt my schoolmates, I still got my soul ended up in torment.

I could still taste the bitterness of my destiny. How could this happen?

Once I got home, I prepared for the trip with Inigo and his cousin. Yes, a trip. Another first for me and I tried my best to be nonchalant about this but I couldn’t help myself feeling excited. I ran down the stairs after spraying Erin’s perfume all over me, leaving a stack of my clothes on my bed and settling on a peach, fitted v-neck sweater and jeans.

The moment I opened the front door, my steps halted, seeing Agatha sitting outside.

“Agatha?”

She turned around, her mascara smudged off, making her tears black. She was still wearing the same clothes from earlier in the day, only now she had her cardigans on.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, sensing her trouble.

I kinda expected her to nod, her usual response, but then I was relieved when she slowly shook her head. Stepping back, I took the bag beside her, my other hand reaching out to her arm to guide her inside the house.

Unintentionally, like a habit, I waved my hand, switching on the lights. Fortunately, Agatha was covering her face with her hands, unable to stop her sobs. I saw some bruises on her neck, a new one, figuring it wasn’t there before. When she calmed, I handed her a tissue, quietly sitting beside her.

“Did you bump again into something?” I asked, unable to refrain myself from wanting to know what happened. Friends share their troubles, don’t they?

“Denny,” she started, her voice cracking up. “He- he sometimes gets physical when he’s upset. And, well, I’m the punching bag.”

I grew up knowing how to take care of myself. Even I was an outcast at school and being at the receiving end of the silly acts, I had never once allowed myself got physically hurt.

“He’s my mother’s new husband or whatever. An alcoholic waste. I just can’t stand him hurting my brother, you know. Every time I step up, this happens. And I swear, Tana, I swear to the devil, I do want for him to take him away and burn his body.”

Wow. Her voice sounded rough, not the usual sweet tone I heard from her. Only if Agatha knew the weight of her wishes, how a soul burned and tormented, she would be careful.

“Does your mother know?” I asked.

“She’s deaf to our cries and numb to our freakin’ pain. They’re both a total waste.”

And here I thought she had a grandeur life of a teenage girl. She totally had a different persona at school.

“Is your brother okay?” I asked, forcing myself not to overreact at her situation. When she nodded, that calmed me a bit. “You should stay here for a while. I mean, if you want to.”

Agatha’s face lighted up. “Thank you.” She looked away, wiping her tears, smudging her mascara more to her cheeks. “I would go to my other friends but I just don’t want them to know about my situation. I mean… I’m just not afraid to show myself to you. This side of me. Isn’t it weird that I feel most comfortable showing you my ugly side when we just literally started talking a few weeks ago?”

A smile curled my lips. “My godmother said that the best kind of friendship are the ones that happen in the oddest way. Because then, they’d already have a memory, a connection, a bond born out of extraordinary way. And that’s what holds them together.”

She smiled for a moment before her lips began to quiver again.

“I’m sorry for being a b***h to you the past years, Tana.” She inhaled, catching her breath, biting back her tears.

I considered her words and remembered her actions before. “Yeah, you were.” I bit my lip, tilting my head to the side, gazing at her, seeing her blotchy eyes. “So you really can’t blame me doubting you when you said you wanted to be friends.”

Agatha smiled a little, nodding her head.

“I guess that’s you trying to prove to yourself that you are strong and that nobody could ever break you.”

She wiped her tears, pulling more tissue from the box. “That’s me hiding myself. And then… that day, I just needed someone I can hold on to. Then you just appear at the right time.”

We both fell silent. Did she remember how the man got hit by the motorcycle, almost ending his life on earth.

“Let bygones be bygones?” I muttered after a while, trying to console her.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I pulled her in, embracing her, which made her cry even more. Another first for me.

“We should tell someone about that Denny. He shouldn’t get away hurting you and your brother just because he’s upset,” I said after a while.

“Okay. I will. I’ll figure it out.” She sighed, letting out a sob.