I wish I could say that night Asena learned her lesson and everything turned out okay, but it didn’t. Asena called the police after I left and gave some bullshit story which they thankfully ate up like candy, but the witches were a different story.
They all had been summoned into the ridiculous nautical living room of Twila Grimm while Asena slipped sweetly into nightmares. Her nightmares were riddled with images of skeletons and bodiless apparitions haunting her, and while I would’ve liked to soothe her for old times sake– I didn’t. I let her tangle in her sheets, alone, in her nightmares.
Downstairs, the English were absent due to the obvious circumstances while the rest had arrived. Even the young witches, Willa, Selene, and Rory were present. Having the young present meant that the witches had uncovered some serious shit, so of course I was also in their company. I leaned against the door, my arms crossed over my chest nervously as I waited for the witches to begin.
The Master sat haphazardly next to Twila on the edge of the fireplace with one leg tucked while the other was sprawled out on the floor. They were grinning like a cat at me while they waited for everyone to get settled in for the news.
“One of our own is dead,” I heard someone whisper.
“The necromancer is awakened,” another whispered, like that hadn’t already been discussed.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Twila began, hushing the entire room; “I’m sure you all have heard the news and understand the importance of this meeting.”
“I’ve heard reports that Asena found him, is that right?” Rory asked. “I figured she was going to the cemetery when I heard her leave tonight.”
“Jeremiah was in the cemetery locking up the mausoleum tonight so it’s possible they ran into each other, yes,” Twila confirmed flippantly. “But his cause of death–a natural death–could be a sign of the necromancer.”
All color drained from Rory’s face.
I cursed under my breath but kept listening.
“We know very little about this curse,” Twila admitted, a coy smile on her face; “so it’s entirely possible that this could’ve been the work of the necromancer. I have spoken to the gods and they are in agreement.”
“She means me,” The Master whispered to me from across the room.
“I figured,” I grumbled back.
Twila spread her arms wide. “If this is true then we have found our necromancer. Only one was present in the graveyard tonight and would’ve been capable of taking a life,” she beamed. She clapped her hands and in the center of the room, an image of Asena tossing and turning in her bed just upstairs.
I felt my blood turn cold. I whirled to the Master who was giggling and clapping their hands with glee.
“Inexperienced. Uncontrolled. If Asena Black were given the powers of the necromancer then she wouldn’t know how to control them.”
“Didn’t one of the prohasies mention that the individual would be reluctant to use magic? Who’s more reluctant than Asena Black?” Emery Wisp sneered.
“She’s been against magic since the children’s sacrifice of 1997,” the history teacher Matthias agreed. “She wouldn’t even do a levitation spell when she was a child, let alone practice controlling her abilities.”
Elizabeth Good stood up. “She wouldn’t be capable of such a thing,” she argued. “As you’ve said, she couldn’t do a levitation spell let alone make a death look natural.”
I looked across the room at the Master, my nostrils flaring in fury. “This reeks of your schemes.”
The Master shrugged and waved me off. “I might’ve given Twila the push she needed to see the truth, but everything else was Asena’s doing. I mean, really, being out in the cemetery alone?” Their face shifted from a smirk to a full on grin. “But she wasn’t alone, right? She was with you. How’s her remembering her past going? Is she coming around to her old self yet?”
My fists shaking at my sides as fury overwhelmed me. If I were able to choke the living shit out of the Master, I would have in that moment.
“You’re going to have to get creative with this one, Finn, dear,” The Master purred. “Because how can you train her when all eyes are going to be on her and Rory now?”
“On Rory?” I turned and low and behold, the other witches were surrounding Rory, overwhelming her with questions.
“You’re losing, Finn. You’re always losing against me,” they said, their grin widening.
“Just you wait,” I snapped, getting to my feet. “I still have time–”
“Do you?”
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