Authors: Fabio Bueno
Our little gang is seated in an unlit, isolated, and forgotten corner of the cafeteria. A very metaphorical table.
Boulder’s rage continues to simmer. “This is not working,” he says, gesturing broadly. He has a cheeseburger in one hand and a box of Muscle Milk in the other.
Priscilla says, “I don’t see what the big problem is. I went from having no friends at Greenwood High to having no friends at Fremont High. Same difference.”
I try to lighten up the mood. “Come on, Priscilla, our non-friends there were much better than our non-friends here.”
“It’s not about friends,” Boulder says, pointing his sandwich at me. “It’s about respect.”
Priscilla sighs. “Again, I went from having no respect—”
“Not true!” Boulder is adamant. “We had respect, Pri. People might not talk to you, but everybody envied your body.”
Sean snickers. “Smooth, big guy.”
“It’s the truth. And they envied my physique too—”
I interrupt him. “Your ‘physique’?”
Sean loses it.
Boulder ignores both of us. “…as well as my personality—”
It’s Priscilla’s turn to interrupt him. “Your ‘personality’?”
This time he stops and stares at her. “Don’t diss my personality, sweetheart. Not too long ago, you were smitten with it.”
“Or maybe I was smitten with your
physique
?”
Sean’s uproarious laugh attracts a lot of attention to our table. But Fremont High is not used to his antics yet. A couple of guys glare at us
; a girl rolls her eyes. Somehow, we drop further on the popularity scale.
Boulder punches Sean on the shoulder, splashing Muscle Milk on me. “You are not helping, Sean,” Boulder hisses. “We need a plan. Some way of getting them on our side.”
Greta and Yara, the witches, enter the cafeteria. Greta waves at us.
Skye, who has been silent during Boulder’s rant, waves back and motions them to join us.
Greta says something to Yara, who shrugs. The two of them approach our table.
“They don’t mind us,” I say. “That’s a start.”
“Oh, please,” Sean snickers. “The Weird Sisters? How are they helping our cause?”
“I didn’t realize we were a cause,” I reply, offended for me and for the witches.
Sean just shakes his head.
Greta arrives and says, “Hey, guys. Got into any fights since the bell?”
Yara just gives a nod aimed at all of us and buries her nose in her cell again.
“Not yet,” Skye replies. “Come on, sit down. I mean, if it’s okay?” Skye looks around the cafeteria.
Greta says, “Well, it
is
the losers table, but the usual losers are avoiding it today.”
“Great,” Boulder mumbles. “We’ve reached rock bottom. Lower than dorks.”
“I can’t imagine why,” Greta replies. “But I don’t care about status.” She sits down.
When did sitting down at a cafeteria table turn into a stand, a gesture of bravery? When Greta does it, there’s a certain dignity to it, even. I become a Greta fan instantly.
Greta pulls down on Yara’s arm, who sits down without taking her eyes off of the screen. Greta turns to Boulder. “I’ve inquired about you. Kids here know you. From football and parties.”
Boulder suddenly becomes interested in what the Weird Sister has to say. “Really?”
“I’ve heard a lot of stories about you,” she says, suppressing a smile.
He grins.
The rest of us are only spectators now. Greta and Boulder are center stage.
“So you have the fame. What you need,” she continues, “is to earn their respect.”
His eyes bulge. He faces each of us in turn. “What did I tell you guys? She gets it!”
She goes on. “So this talk of parties had me thinking. Why don’t you throw a party for Fremont High?”
Boulder opens his mouth slightly. “That’s…awesome! That’s perfect, actually.”
Greta tilts her head to the side and smiles softly as if to say, “I know.”
He drops his sandwich, leans over the table, and clasps her hand with his massive paw. “What did you say your name was, again?”
“I didn’t. It’s Greta.”
“Greta. Would you like to come to a party at my house?”
“Just tell me when, big guy.”
***
It’s almost dusk. Skye is leaving my house. “Are you sure?” I ask. “I can drive you home.”
She shakes her head. “No, I have to stop by the park now.” She lowers her eyes. “Perform a quick ritual, you know.”
“Oh, now I’m more comfortable. Sneaking into the park alone after dark? Did you forget the witch following you the other day?”
Skye smirks. “I can defend myself.”
“I know.” I kiss her.
She pushes me away gently and giggles. “I’ve got to go.” Then she opens the door and walks down the street while I watch her.
My life has become awfully strange.
I stay there for a few minutes, ignoring the chilly breeze. My eyes catch a girl walking toward my house. My little sister Mona. After she gained magical powers, she became gorgeous. She tries to hide her newfound beauty with the black outfits, but it’s still noticeable.
“You just missed Skye,” I tell Mona when she climbs the front steps. “She was worried about you.”
She passes by me and enters the living room. “I’m constantly worried about her well-being too. I mean, she dates
you
.”
“Seriously, Mona. You know that Jane is out there, and she knows you’re the Singularity. And you walk home alone after dark. Couldn’t Pain’s parents give you a ride? You can call me too, you know? I’d pick you up at Pain’s.”
She blinks a little too fast. “Aren’t you too freaked out?”
“I just don’t want to see you getting hurt. Or worse.”
I wish it was a joke. Jane tried to kill both Skye and Mona last month. Jane and the Night covens want to steal Mona’s uncanny powers. It’s just a matter of time before the Night witches come knocking and try to kidnap my sister.
But Mona and Skye think it’s okay to wander Seattle’s streets alone.
Mona drops her black purse on the sofa and leans on the wall. “You’re right, Drake.”
Of all the weird things happening, my sister saying I’m right must be one of the strangest. “Are you serious?” I ask.
She walks away from the wall and sits on the sofa. “I’ve been thinking. Skye gave me Shield and Protection potions, but I don’t know if they’re going to hold up when the Night covens come for me.” Her voice is surprisingly even.
“
If
they come for you.”
Mona squints at me. “No. It’s
when
, Drake. Pain and I have been discussing it for a while. By now, Jane must have told the Night covens that I’m the real Singularity. They must be planning it carefully, in case I create another accidental earthquake again. Or another fire. They want to be ready. Then I’ll be taken, dead or alive.”
Her matter-of-fact demeanor is startling. This is not the Mona I know.
“I’m sorry that you have to go through this, Mona.”
“It’s not your fault.” Her lips smile, but her eyes don’t. “I need to learn more from Skye. I need to use my own magic, so I know how to defend myself.”
“If you use your magic, they’ll sense it immediately.”
“There must be a way of doing magic and shielding the magical signature. If I’m as powerful as they say, I should be able to figure it out, right? I need to fight them on my own. I don’t want to put you all on the line again.”
“I’ll help you. I’m your big brother.”
She nods. “I know. For the record, you’re an okay big brother.”
Greta and I are at Yara’s house again. This time, Yara has closed the curtains on the sliding door. She shows me an orange plastic bag.
“Here’s your order. Goddess, I feel like a drug dealer.”
“Don’t say that,” Greta admonishes her.
Yara looks at her and opens her mouth, but says nothing. She turns to me and removes a blue pillbox from the bag. “You asked for a lot of potions. It’d be a big volume, so I just pressed them into pills. Easy to carry, easy to store, easy to conceal.” She gives me a meaningful look.
“That’s…genius.” I hold up a pill against the light. It looks like a multi-vitamin pill: gray with faint green dots. “I’ve heard of potion pills, but I’ve never seen them.”
“I color-coded them so you’ll know how to differentiate: green are Shield; red are Protection; purple are Stamina; orange are Healing.”
“What about the others?”
“Since I imagined you would be the one taking the protective ones, I made them into pills. But the attack potions have to be delivered in another form. Unless you can force your target to swallow a pill.”
Nodding, I say, “I’ve used Sleep, Decay, and Blinding as throwing potions.”
Greta’s eyes widen. “When?”
I hesitate, but end up sharing. “I had to fight Jane once.”
Yara is surprised, but she continues, “Yes, since they are topical, I guess you can throw them. I mean, if you want to behave like a barbarian. My delivery methods are more sophisticated.”
Greta laughs.
Yara ignores her. “You didn’t ask for it, but I prepared a sampler. A lipstick collection with Sleep, Fancy Me, Forget, and Truth. For the vixen in all of us.”
I smile.
Yara is loving this. “If you can’t kiss the target, you need an alternative. It’s a shame you don’t smoke: I could have prepared cigarettes. I thought about nail polish, but I noticed you don’t use it often. So I created this.” She takes a spray bottle out of the bag. “Same potions in aerosol form.”
“This…this is incredible, Yara.”
“She has a Potions Charm. And she takes advanced chem classes,” Greta says.
Yara beam
s. “Wait, but that’s not all. You also get my little masterpiece.”
“Is that a temporary tattoo?”
“Yes!” she squeals. “Sorry. This is the coolest thing ever. The tattoo ink is laced with a potion. When you apply the tattoo, the potion is protected with a microfilm. If you want to use the potion, just disrupt the microfilm—any scratch will do—and the potion will be in touch with your skin. The best way of sneaking a potion anywhere.”
“You could be stripped naked and still carry a potion with you,” Greta says.
“Thank you, Q!”
The two of them stare at me blankly.
“Q? The gadget guy from James Bond? Never mind. I’m impressed! What’s the potion laced in the tattoo?”
“Dispel,” Yara says quietly.
“You know Dispel?” I’m stunned. This is one of the most powerful potions or spells a Sister can learn. It basically negates the effects of another potion or spell. I don’t even know the ingredients, but I’ve heard they are crazy expensive.
“I went to Salvador last summer just to learn it.”
Greta puts her hands around her friend’s shoulders. “That’s in Brazil. Yara’s grandma is the Eldest Mother there. She taught our little genius.”
Yara’s cheeks become pink. “I’m not a genius at all. I wish I had an Intellect Charm. I have Potions and Allure. I’m actually grounded because my grades are so bad.”
“That, and your piercing,” Greta adds.
“Thank you, Greta, for sharing my few secrets with the world.” She turns to me again. “This Dispel is infused with my own personal magic, so it’s not too powerful. But it should be enough for a regular spell. And you must remember: a Dispel cannot counter a Charm. Dispel only works on potions and other spells.”
“Thank you so much! I’ll pay for the ingredients and everything. And I’ll owe you one.”
She nods
, but gives me a look. “You still didn’t tell me why you need this arsenal.”
The two Sisters become serious.
“They’re for a friend,” I tell them.
***
Again, Mona can’t relax. Who would blame her?
She’s in front of me, trying to focus. Her
goth makeup—white base, black eyeliner, and purple lipstick—goes well with her dark clothes. And when she closes her eyes to meditate, I can see the violet eye shadow. She could be the poster girl for
Seventeen Witch
, if the magazine existed.
We’re alone in my room. Aunt Gemma is out for the day. This is a great chance to teach Mona some basic rituals.
“It’s okay, Mona. We don’t have to do much today. Have you been doing the relaxation exercises?”
“Yes, but this is different.”
“We’ll try to take you to a meditative state, and then let some of your magical energy flow. Just a bit,” I say, showing her my thumb and index finger almost touching.
“I just don’t know how I can feel the magic, and at the same time, not let it out of my body.”
I pat her shoulder. “You’ll be fine. You did it when we healed Drake and Brianna after the fire. Just remember how you did it.”
“Skye, this is different. That time you told me it was okay to let the energy flow a little, because the Sisters thought it was coming from Brianna. But now you’re asking me to not let
anything
out.”
“You’re just afraid to try, but I know you can do it. That night, you were in complete shock. Let me see: you had unintentionally created an earthquake and a fire; you had been kidnapped and almost died. And yet you
still
controlled your magical energy and fed me just the right amount for our commune ritual. This will be easy for you.”
Mona stares at me and nods. She squeezes her eyes shut at first, but soon relaxes her facial muscles. Her breathing becomes steady.
It’s just the beginning. She needs to be trained to use just the amount of magic a regular Sister would.
I give her a few minutes while I put away the herbs I was showing her. Then I wait.
“I can sense it,” she whispers. “I think I can do it.”
Even with True Sight and so close to her, I don’t sense her signature. She’s doing well.
“Okay,” I say softly. “Now, let out just a tiny bit.”
“How? Should we hold hands?”
“No, that was for our commune ritual. Now you must do it by yourself. Focus on a small part of your body. Let it flow slowly from your fingertips.”
I feel it. It’s not overwhelming, but definitely too much. “Easy,” I say. “A little less.”
Instead, the flow increases. Not much, but definitely over a regular Sister’s signature. It reaches me in a sudden burst, and I groan. With my True Sight and the proximity, it hits me hard.
The surge worries me. “Just breathe, Mona.” My calm voice masks my concern. If she loses control completely, we’re done.
The energy decreases slowly. With her so close to me, the energy is still high, but about what an average Sister would release naturally.
“That’s it. Hold it for a minute.”
She does as told. Her control is improving.
“You’re doing great. Now try to rein it in.”
The tingling diminishes rapidly, and then it’s gone.
Mona opens her eyes. “That was incredible!”
“It was. But you still need to control it better.”
Mona’s smile wavers. “I tried to.”
“Sorry. You did exactly what you’re supposed to do. Remember that energy level at the end; that’s how much you should use in your rituals. But you can only do magic if you’re alone: nobody can know you’re a Sister.”
“And when do I learn those rituals?”
“Easy, grasshopper. For today, let’s just practice holding the energy level.”
Mona purses her lips, but nods.