Visions - The Cursed Angels Part 1

Chapter 14 - Clara

My bedroom offered no comfort. My stomach churned every time I thought of what happened. I’m half his. Darkness flows in me. I paced my room, trying to make sense of it all. Grandma’s warning that he’d come for me kept going around and around in my mind. I wouldn’t even know him. He could be anyone.

“Clara, can you come downstairs?” Mom’s voice filtered into my room. 

I sighed. I really didn’t feel like celebrating anymore. The new hair, flawless skin… All that had excited me this morning was now lost in a pit of despair and worry. I slowly trudged down the stairs.

I could be evil.

“Yeah,” I mumbled as I walked into the living room. 

Grandma sat in her chair, watching me cautiously. Mom stood beside the fireplace. “Are you okay?” she asked. 

“Not really.”

They both looked at me. Grandma spoke first. “This is all new to you, Clara, but there’s something I want you to keep in mind. No matter what happens, you must remember that it’s always your choice. You choose what you use your magic for. You choose darkness or light. That is something no one can choose for you.”

I swallowed around the lump in my throat. “But what if I am bad? What if I’m like him?”

“You aren’t,” Mom said. “You don’t have a bad bone in your body, Clara.”

“But I felt it, Mom. The anger. And my eyes…”

“You felt the magic awaken, both dark and light,” Grandma said. “It’s up to you to decide how you use it. If you feel up to it, I’ll teach you some simple spells for protection, healing, and glamour.”

I looked at her, seeing her smile. I nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Let’s go to my office,” she said, waving her hand toward the hall. “No time like the present.”

“I’ll put the kettle on,” Mom said.

I followed Grandma into her office. It didn’t feel as cramped today. “Did you tidy up or something?” I asked, looking around the room. I swore it seemed bigger than yesterday.

“No. You’re starting to see through my glamour.”

“Glamour?”

“Yes. I have this room glamoured to look like an office, but it’s a lot more than that. Would you like to see?”

I nodded. She waved her hands and muttered some words I couldn’t make out. I thought I saw a blue light glow from the tips of her fingertips and the air in front of me rippled. 

I blinked and gasped. “Oh, my god.” 

Her office wasn’t an office at all. It was huge, like something out of an ancient castle. A large stone fireplace took up the entire back wall. A cauldron hung over the flames. Her table, the same one I’d always seen, was still in the middle of the room, but the plastered walls were now solid stone. That was the damp smell. The bookshelves stretched along an entire wall, and there were stairs leading down into the dark. 

“What is this place?” I whispered, my voice full of wonder.

“This, Clara, is my office,” Grandma said and smiled. “It’s where I do my spells and keep everything a witch like me needs. Come. Let me give you a guided tour.”

I followed her around the room as she pointed out everything I’d been blind to all my life. “Those are my spell books and history books. They contain our entire history, along with all the visions seers have had.”

“Wow, Grandma. I had no idea. This place is…” I stopped. I had no words to articulate. It was like something out of a dream. I expected to wake up any minute. “Do you use all those books?”

“No,” she said, waving her hand. “I have my own personal spell book. The others are for reference, should I need them. You’ll learn all this for yourself soon enough.”

The smile on her face was something else. I’d never seen Grandma so excited. 

“What’s down there?” I asked, pointing to the stone steps that led into darkness.

“Come on. I’ll show you. Mind your step, though. It can be a little slippery.”

As we descended, florescent lights flickered on every couple steps. At the bottom, I found myself in another large room. It reminded me of those underground cellars you see in the movies.

“This is my lab,” Grandma said.

Words escaped me. The room was full of workspaces and test tubes, jars of some substance or other, and a smell I couldn’t place. “What’s that smell?”

“A mixture of herbs and a few other ingredients. It’s to keep this location hidden from other witches.”

“Oh.” I walked around, taking everything in. “This is really cool.” My hands glided over every surface, my eyes taking in all the jars on the shelves. In my mind, I imagined eye of newt and tongue of frog. All those strange ingredients I’d heard of in fairy tales. “What’s in the jars?”

“Mostly herbs, flowers, tree bark, dead insects… Nothing too unusual.” Grandma smiled. She probably guessed what I was thinking. “Would you like to test your magic, see what you can do?”

I spun on my heels, eyes wide. “Are you serious? Yes, I would.”

“Right. Let’s go back upstairs and I’ll show you the basics. It’s important that you learn to recognize your magic right from the beginning. After that, it’s just a matter of practice, learning, and improving.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. What if I’m like him? I pushed the thought away, but my frown obviously gave me away. 

“You’ll do great.” 

Grandma placed her hand on my back and guided me up the stairs.

“Okay. Let’s start with something simple. Can you feel your magic inside you?”

I stood beside her at the table. “I don’t know. What does it feel like?”

“Take a deep breath and concentrate on feeling it, then you’ll know.”

I did as she asked. Eyes closed, I sucked in as much air as possible and tried to feel my magic. A moment later, I blew out the breath in frustration. “I don’t feel anything.”

“Calm down. You’re trying too hard. Here. Let’s make it a little easier. Close your eyes.” I did as she said. “Now, focus on your toes. Can you feel them?”

“Yeah,” I gasped.

“Good. How about your fingers?”

“Yeah.”

“Very good, Clara. Now, I want you to feel inside your body, find your magic. It’s part of you, just like your fingers and toes. You just need to focus on it.”

I focused inside my body. Where would magic be? I pictured myself looking around. Stomach, ribs, heart. Come on, magic. Where are you? That was when I felt it, like a second heartbeat. A warm, pulsing, inviting light. 

“I feel it, Grandma.”

“Good. Describe it to me.”

“It’s glowing and warm and it vibrates.”

“Good, Clara. Now, I want you to imagine it growing, filling you up.”

I concentrated, feeling the warmth spread throughout my body, the pulse becoming part of me. I felt so good.

“Great. Now, open your eyes.”

I did and blinked repeatedly, looking at my hands. “Grandma, I’m glowing.” They had a purple glow around them. I touched one hand to the other and felt it—a vibration, almost like a buzzing.

“That, Clara, is your magic. It’s beautiful, just like you. We all have our own unique essence. Mine’s green. See?”

I looked at Grandma. Her entire body was shrouded in a bright green light. “Does the color change?” I asked. “When you did the protection spell on my locket, I thought I saw a blue glow.”

“That was the spell itself, Clara. My essence, my magic is green. It lets me know I have a gift for healing spells and earth magic.”

“What does purple mean?”

“Purple is your starting color. As you work with different types of magic and spells, your talents will show and your true color will appear.”

I was a little disappointed. “Oh.”

“What?”

I looked at my hand again. “Well, I kinda like the color.”

Grandma smiled. “I’m so proud of you, Clara. You’re doing great and taking this all so well. I have a feeling you’re going to be a great witch, too.”

“Thanks, Grandma.”

“How about we try something small?”

“You mean a spell?”

“Not really a spell. You need to build up to those. Learning to use your magic by itself is the first step.”

“Okay,” I said, a little unsure as to what she meant.

“We’ll try some glamour magic. That’s the easiest. What I want you to do is focus on your magic again.”

“Got it,” I said, concentrating on the vibration inside me.

“Okay. Now, I want you to try and move the energy to your hair and think of a different color or hairstyle.”

The vibration thrummed in my mind, but as soon as I tried to think about my hair, I lost it. I sighed and slumped my shoulders.

“It’s okay. Try again,” Grandma said.

I sucked in a deep breath and focused with everything I had. The vibration was strong. I had to figure a way to get it to move from its hiding place behind my heart up to my hair.

Veins. I can picture it flowing around my body like blood. All I have to do is follow it to my hair. Picturing everything clearly in my mind, I followed the purple glow up and around my body, stopping at my hair. Now for a color. I’d always wondered what blonde would look like, so I went with that.

“Very good,” Grandma said. “Hold that thought.”

My body trembled. It was hard work trying to maintain the thought. My muscles burned and I slumped forward. “Did it work?” I gasped.

“See for yourself,” Grandma said, holding out a small mirror.

My reflection startled me. Instead of my usual fiery red curls, my hair now had streaks of blonde through it. Hideous. 

Grandma noticed my expression. “You did great. It takes effort to use magic, but don’t worry. With practice, it will be like second nature to you.”

“How do I get rid of this?” I shrieked, fingering the brassy curls that stood out on top of my head.

Grandma laughed. “I thought you always wanted to be blonde.”

“It’s not funny. Look at me.”

“I am,” Grandma said and laughed again.

I couldn’t help but join in. After all the stress and worry over the past couple weeks, laughing felt amazing. When we’d calmed down, she explained how to remove the glamour. At least that was easier. All I had to do was imagine the magic leaving my head. 

“Are you hungry?” Grandma asked.

“Starving.”

“Let’s get something to eat. Working with magic takes a lot out of you. In the beginning, it’s important to fuel your body. We’ll do some more in a bit. Maybe black hair next time.” She smiled as we made our way into the kitchen. Mom had made pancakes.

“How did you know?” I asked. 

“I have my own special magic. It’s called intuition. Your Grandma told me you’d be looking for food within the hour, so I got everything ready.”

I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. The last thing I needed right now was to find out my Mom had lied about magic, too. I didn’t think I could handle that.

“They smell delicious, Mom.”

“Good. Tuck in. There’s plenty to go around.”

I sat and filled the plate in front of me, then started eating.

“So, how’s she doing?” Mom asked Grandma.

“She’s doing great. Her magic is a beautiful purple color right now, but I have a feeling it will change quickly.”

I sighed. I didn’t want the color to change. The purple was soft, calming, and comforting. It felt right. Not that I knew what I was talking about or how magic was supposed to feel, but something inside told me I was right. Purple was my color.

“Did you do anything fun?” Mom asked.

“I tried going blonde.”

Grandma giggled. “You should have seen it. Terrible. Wasn’t it, Clara?”

“Dreadful,” I said around a mouthful of pancake. “I’m glad it was a glamour and not real. I’d never be able to leave the house.”