· Ashley's POV
What struck me most were her eyes. They shouldn't of. I mean, it's not like they were different from how they usually were, but somehow I couldn't get that particular image out of my eyes. Her hair a curly mess behind her, her expression unforgiving and unrepentant, but her eyes… Turquoise and angry, fierce and defiant, and somehow, unreasonably… exultant. A look that said she was free and dangerous and that she glorified in that fact, in how the others turned tail and ran before her. It was a look as dangerous and as beautiful as the flames she controlled.
There was a reason Kali had been the head of the freshmen class before.
She was certainly powerful, but apparently weak-willed. I couldn't imagine why else she was pandering to a bunch of weakling pixies and wannabe heroes. I'll admit, I was a touch disappointed with her; I had expected her to be much better than that. Wasn't it just last week we were complaining about the rotten do-gooders together? Now out of nowhere she was hanging out with the fluttering morons and making out with some pathetic hero. Luckily for us, Lindsey was willing to forgive Becca and I for siding with Kali against her so now we were spending our time with Lin although less fortunately, we were still required to room with Kali. Not that Becca or I had spoken a word with her since that day in the park. Most of the girls have been avoiding her actually, hesitant to piss off Lindsey by fraternizing with her rival, but even more hesitant to piss off Kali. She was still the most dangerous witch in the freshmen class, a title I personally doubted Lin would ever win off her. Not that I would tell Lin that.
Kali had actually been spending most of her time with Marianne nowadays, a fact Becca would have loved to use as ammunition against her if it wasn't for the fact Kali would've sent her through a wall or something. Which brings me to the next point, Lin may have made her point in the park, proving Kali's betrayal to the rest of us, but Kali had made her point too. Pick a fight with me or my friends and I will end you, and she hadn't had to repeat it. With no title to maintain and only one person in the school not at odds with her, she could afford to do… pretty much anything she wanted to those who offended her. It's not like the professors would stop her anyway; this isn't Alfea, and she had used that newfound freedom to full effect convincing everyone to stay away from her while officially putting Marianne under her personal protection. No one dared mess with the geeky little bookworm now. A pity, really, but it's not like I'm willing to risk it. I'll leave getting blasted to Becca or some other idiot who doesn't think her actions through enough. In fact, I think that that'll make an excellent show. Amusing, you know?
· Kali's POV
"Hey Mari." I called as I walked into the potions lab, my book bag slung over my shoulder. I tossed it onto our table and slid into my seat, as she looked over, smiling at me. I leaned back casually crossing my legs as I asked her, "So what's new with you? That guy from Red Fountain text you back last night?"
She grinned confidently before answering, "Good morning, Kali. He actually had a dragon wrangling exam to study for last night so we didn't chat much, and other than that nothing is really too new. It's all same old, same old. Although, that essay for the headmistress was less than fun, did you get it done?" She scrunched up her nose a bit, as she complained about the homework load as if she didn't find it easy. I resisted the urge to laugh at her for that. Something that had become apparent when I befriended her two weeks ago was that she was infinitely brighter than I was. She breezed through the theoretical classwork that left me blinking, confused. Although I still topped her in practical applications. It also turned out that I was right about all her needing was a confidence boost. After we started talking and I made it clear to the others that picking a fight with her meant picking a fight with me, she had perked right up proving to be an intelligent, entertaining, and capable companion. Brighter and kinder than Rebecca or Ashley. Although, I made a mental note to talk style with her later. While her quirky taste was very her, a wardrobe change could help her in a few ways. Not that she looked bad by any means, just a little… overly cheery. At least for a witch. Her long brown hair was kept in pigtails while she wore decal t-shirts that said things like "It's Leviosa not Leviosa…" and "Don't make me get my flying monkeys…" with tennis shoes. Not to mention, that it certainly didn't help that her preferred color shades were periwinkle and tickle-me-pink.
I am very glad that Mari and I had become friends; it was nice not to be totally alone in class, and I'll admit that that was what I had expected to deal with. After everything, I highly doubt any of the others will ever even speak to me again. A thought that was both relieving and depressing. Nice because I wouldn't have to pretend to agree with their crazy prejudices (a mind view Mari shared with me), but also lonely. Not that I could bring myself to regret anything, of course. So I slipped from class to class silent, but happy with myself, and if the others hissed too loudly at my passing I'd give them a threatening look and keep walking. I spent most of my school time either in class or in the library with Mari and any time I could get away from CT I met up with the others to hang out. It was actually nice, better than the beginning of the year even because it meant no more faking and no more lies. Of course, things weren't all settled yet. There was no doubt in my mind that my mother had heard about this madness by now, but I wasn't going home for Spring Break so she'd have plenty of time to get over it. Or get angry about it, I guess, but I don't want to think about that. Especially not after our last fight.
As I headed from Dueling to Charms I passed Rebecca and Lindsey in the hallway. They stopped, eyes narrowing, but I wasn't looking for a fight at the moment considering I'd spent the last hour working my aggression out on the poor girls in my Dueling class. However, it seemed regardless of my attitude they were looking for a fight, and they knew they could get one from me.
"Oh look, it's Kali. How is our little traitor doing? Off to hang out with the usual trash?" There was Rebecca, her eyes manic and excited, eager for a battle of wits.
I hid my anger replacing it with a mask of confident amusement, trying to show her that she didn't bother me. "I'm doing well, thanks, but how could I be hanging with the usual trash? You and Ashley aren't even talking to me anymore." I replied, a snide turnaround for her insult. Nothing like calling your ex-best friends, trash, right? Or not…
Lindsey, always temperamental, narrowed her eyes and stepped forward as if she was going to take a swing at me, but Ashley who had appeared behind the others like a shadow held her back, her expression guarded. Rebecca wouldn't be stopped though she smiled cruelly and spat, "You think you're so clever, don't you. Well don't worry. You'll get what's coming to you soon enough." Her expression was manic as she laughed at me; I kept my own expression under control as I rolled my eyes and stepped past the trifecta of prissy witches. They wouldn't dare fight me again, and if they won't then they aren't even a big enough deal to be considered enemies. Although, if they did fight me they would lose. They couldn't take me without way more magical support than they currently had, and that much, I could accept.
· Lindsey's POV
Kali. That pathetic traitor. Not to mention her lovely new friends. It's as if the girl had suddenly forgotten all the persecution I was sure she had faced, the persecution we all had. Fairies were the pretty, popular, well-liked ones and witches were hated. As if we all had a choice in the matter, really. I mean, sure, a girl could choose to switch sides once she got old enough to choose for herself, but girls were born with the same magical alignment as their mothers' and that's how they were treated and raised. Besides, how many girls were willing to essentially give up their families, because most would never accept their choice. Now sure, Kali and I were rivals, but I had thought we were still on the same side, and her betrayal still stung, and went against… everything. I just couldn't believe her. Willing to play nice with the same people who had always been so cruel to the rest of us; making friends with people who will never accept who she was born to be. Stupid, stupid, little girl.
This couldn't stand.
Someone needed to remind her who she was, who she was dealing with, and exactly what power she was throwing to the wayside, and Ashley had found just the thing to do. See, the three of us probably couldn't take Kali in a fight, and we definitely couldn't handle her if she had backup so we need a little more power in our corner. This is where Ash's plan comes in; she had found a book in the library that briefly mentioned calling upon the Ancestral Witches in the basement, something about how their presence was particularly strong inside the Crypt. It had taken her awhile to find directions down there, but she had eventually managed it and the three of us were planning to go down there after class. All we had to do was summon the coven and then we could get help or advice from them. I was sure that they would help us. After all, Kali was quickly becoming a disgrace to the title of witch. They would help and then we would remind Kali what she was really doing. It was foolproof, really.
The three of us walked out of our last class of the day with excitement. We turned the corner into an empty hallway before Ashley got out the map she had nicked from the library to show us the way to the Crypt. It was down in the tunnels beneath the school. It only took us a few minutes to get down there, of course, but finding our way through them was a bit trickier.
Rebecca, "Are you sure you know which way you're leading us, Ash?" she asked her voice impatient. She eyed the dirty, reddish walls of the caves with distaste.
Ashley for her part seemed vaguely insulted by the idea that her information was anything less than stellar, "Of course I know where we're going. I wouldn't have come down here myself if I wasn't confident." I was reminded of something Kali had remarked upon once that seemed to fit Ashley especially, something about how you never knew when an honest person would be honest, but how you could always trust a dishonest person to be dishonest. It seemed fitting. If Ashley wasn't sure of her own success in this venture she would have just sent us down. She wouldn't have been willing to risk anything by coming down herself.
"Oh shut it you two, the door's right there." I said and then smiled, pleased with our success, I headed for the door calling behind me, "Come on!" The two shared a glance for a moment before quickly following me down. The first thing I saw through the door was a long grey spiral staircase. It circled the outside of the room leaving a gaping hole in the center that seemed to glow with a threatening red light. Before I could take a step further, Ashley stopped me.
"Wait." She said her voice steady, after a moment, I saw why she had stopped us. Tendrils of creeping vines were growing up from the side of the hole squirming closer to our ankles. With a quick wave of her hand, she froze the vines in time preventing them from attacking us. Now, I suppose I should mention, my forte is electricity, Ashley commands time, and Rebecca's specialty is acid, which always seemed particularly fitting for her. A short pause as Ashley waited to see if anything else would attack us, but then she relaxed saying, "Ok. I think we're good to go."
I took a few careful steps before pausing to look for other traps. Failing to find any, we continued down the steps with more confidence, the dank, earthy tunnels lit only by the ominous red light that shone from below.
The stairs seemed practically endless, but eventually we reached the bottom and the three of us crept softly through the steam-filled room looking for the right place to summon our future allies. Then Becca called out, "I found it!" My neck snapped towards her, as did Ashley's. I could just barely see Becca's golden hair through the smoky gloom of the place, my view slightly obstructed by a thick support column. The three of us converged where Becca had sensed the energy shift, an oddly shaped grate that seemed to emit the smoke filling the room.
It was time. I took my place between Ash and Becca and we all looked at each other for a short moment. A quick double check. Are you ready? Are we ready? Then, bracing ourselves, we grasped hands and the girls chanted spells of summoning and evocation while I called for the Great Witch Coven to speak with us. According to Ash, the girl in the biography she had read hadn't had to officially call on the witches, but they had had a reason to speak to her. The Witches had no real reason to speak with us, but we'd give them one soon enough. I smiled sensing a shift in the magical energies of the room.
I could feel their presence more strongly now, watching, not malevolent, but not benevolent either, just waiting to see what we would do. Three shapes formed out of the smokestack in front of us. Three women with auras of pure dark magic, then the leader, Belladonna, spoke with a voice like nails on a chalkboard and knives being sharpened.
"Who are you to call upon us?" she called.
The girls had stopped chanting now and I took a deep, steadying breath as I answered her, "We are witches seeking your assistance and council in an important matter. One of us, the strongest witch in the school, has turned her back on us and befriended a bunch of heroes and fairies. To make matters worse it's the children of those same do-gooders who stopped you in the past." I added the last bit to get their attention, confident that even if they thought our goals were petty they would still want vengeance against their enemies.
Sure enough, "Do-gooders?" one of the sisters, Tharma, questioned her curiosity piqued.
I smiled, convinced of my success, "The children of the Winx Club and their hero flunkies. Kali's even dating one of them; it's a disgrace to witches everywhere." I emphasized the word witches, aiming to appeal to their sense of pride, a thing every witch has plenty of, but they didn't react as I had hoped.
I watched Belladonna tilt her head slightly as Tharma and Lysslis circled around surrounding us. Ashley snapped to attention prepared for a fight although obviously frightened, Rebecca recoiled from where one of the spirits passed too close to her backing herself closer to Ash and I as if we could protect her.
"What are you doing?" I demanded as masterfully as I could, as if I could intimidate them into backing off. I should have known better. I should have known! My breath was short now, my movements jittery as cold fear and racing panic entered into my blood, tearing the breath from my lungs. The last thing I heard before the end was the cackling of the three sisters as they rushed upon us, Belladonna pushing herself into me until I seemed to lose feeling in my body. I couldn't move, couldn't even seem to breathe, it was as if someone was holding my heart still, but I couldn't yet die. As painful and panic inducing as being caught in one of Ashley's time stopping curses.
Then my hand seemed to raise itself up in front of my eyes, clenching and unclenching itself. My jaw opened and closed before I heard someone say in my voice. "Well sisters, let's go see about our enemies sweet little children. Shall we?" Rebecca and Ashley chuckled darkly, the expressions on their faces foreign and unfamiliar to me as Belladonna walked my body out of the crypt and up the stairs. Inside my head, I started screaming, but no one could hear me.