20. Predictable

The house was quiet when I came through the front door. I opened my mouth to call out and then thought better of it. Something had me feeling pretty on edge about being here. I held my hand out, palm open, and conjured my fire before taking another step into my own home.

I moved quietly from room to room; no one in my room, no one in the kitchen. I was surprised to see that my door frame was still fucked up. I figured Seth would have fixed it in my absence.

I heard the floor creak and spun around, arm raised and ready to lob my fireball at someone. Ana gasped, and I immediately quenched the flame and crossed the room to hug her. Before either of us made a move to speak, I felt tears well up and spill out.

She hugged me tighter. "Are you okay?"

I just sniffled. I wasn't sure what my answer would be to that, and apparently I needed a good cry.

"Come on," she said as she shifted and led me back to her bedroom. We laid down in the bed, cuddling together while I let out of my eyes what I didn't have words to express.

"Where are they?" I finally asked.

She sighed in return. "They're running, I guess. Something weird is going on around here."

"What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Seth had me pack you a bag and hasn't been back since. Josh... I went to see him yesterday at work and he seemed perfectly fine. He apologized about losing his temper for no reason, was really sweet, he even fucking ate me out in the car. Then he comes home from work and starts acting really weird again. He was so pissed for absolutely no reason, said he felt like his skin was crawling and he was losing his mind, so he left. Haven't heard from him."

My eyes narrowed and I sat up. "He was fine at work but was acting crazy when he was here?"

"Yeah..."

I wiped my face with my sleeves and stood up. "I think... I mean, this is a total shot in the dark, but I think maybe there's something in this house that's having a bad effect on them."

She arched an eyebrow at me. "Before we even start to discuss how weird that statement was, are you planning to explain how in the fucking hell you were standing in the kitchen holding fire in your bare hand?"

"It's a pretty long story at this point, so for now just know and accept that magic does exist, I can do it, and I'm pretty sure it's being used against everyone in this house via our boyfriends. The rest will have to wait."

She stared at me for a few seconds. "So... how do we find the possible something that's doing it? Where do we even start to look?"

"In and around the house... It has to be something close." Problem was, I had no idea what the fuck I was even looking for. It could literally be anything. "Maybe..." Fuck. I wish I wasn't so hungover, both on emotions and on alcohol. I needed to think, and my brain wasn't cooperating.

"You're a witch now, right? If there's something magical around, maybe you could feel it."

"Ugh!" I fell backwards onto the bed and closed my eyes, trying to feel it. I didn't think there was any way it would work right now, but I could immediately sense the magic in the air. It was almost like a smell more than anything else; the scent of wonder with this unpleasant kick. "Outside."

She helped me up and we made our way out through the backdoor. I followed the odor down the stairs and across the yard, but Ana started dragging me a little because I was going so slow. "What's the deal, Liz?" she finally asked.

"It's just... it stinks and I feel sick," I grimaced. I took a few more steps, released Ana's hand and leaned down, pinning my hair up with my hand as I puked. The rain started to pick up a little, and it felt incredible against my overheated and sweaty skin. I gathered myself and finished the trek down into the trees beyond my yard. "Here," I finally said.

"What? This?" She grabbed a handful of fern.

I pushed my foot around until I was scraping at bare earth. "Something's been buried here."

"Do we even own a shovel?"

I raised my hand, pulling some type of cloth sack up and out of the ground without even coming into contact with the dirt.

"Well, okay then. What's in there?"

I was afraid to stick my hand inside of the bag. I opened the ties and stretched the fabric wide. "Looks like a rock and some leaves?" The smell was so potent right in my face that I wanted to puke again. I held the bag out as far away from me as my arm would reach.

"What do we do with it?" Ana took the bag gingerly and stepped back a little ways from me.

"My first thought was to burn it... but the only problem with that is if it doesn't work, we're totally screwed."

She sighed, turned and started back towards the house. "I think you need to wake up and figure this stuff out."

I almost laughed. "I'm sorry. Look, let me get some food and a shower so I can think straight."

She turned and smiled. "Go ahead and take a shower. I'll make you something to eat."

I sat at the little breakfast bar chowing down on my hamburger and fries while Ana braided my damp hair and finally texted Seth. He didn't respond and I hadn't expected him to; he probably didn't have his phone. I just hoped that by the time we had this sorted out, he and Josh came back and things went back to normal.

"Are you sure about this? Ana asked for at least the third time.

"I don't know what else to do. And I'm fairly certain that these are the good guys."

"What if you're wrong and they just fucking slaughter us?"

"I can protect us a little," I shrugged. "I can set their building on fire and fly away with you."

"At least part of that is a felony," she laughed. "Have you thought about what else you might be able to do?"

"Somewhat. I've barely had any time to think about anything since this shit started."

She leaned over my shoulder. "Try something."

"Like what?"

"I don't know... just make a wish or something."

I laughed. "I'm not a genie."

"Just try!"

"Okay." I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and concentrated. "I want... two kilos of Colombia's finest white stuff," I joked. "Be like Tony Montana in this bitch."

"Holy shit!" Ana yelled. I thought she just found my joke really entertaining, but when I opened my eyes my smile turned to surprise.

I poked the clear bundle and watched closely as my finger dented it slightly, listened intently to the crinkle of the cellophane. I pulled out my pocketknife and made a small slice, removing just a bit of the white powder as I removed the tip of the blade. I sniffed it, then took a tiny taste off of my finger. "Legit," I said. "And holy shit is right! What the fuck am I supposed to do with all of this?!"

"Why'd you ask for it if you didn't want it?" she giggled.

"I was just fucking around! Do you want it?"

Her eyes and smile grew wider. "Hell yes I do."

We both did a line before we left.

Being in the car all hyped up with that bag sitting in the trunk was not having a nice effect on me. After about an hour, I was sitting there fuming, my skin an unattractive shade of pink and as hot as Seth's. The rain was hammering down as Ana drove us to our destination and I knew it was me, but I couldn't even attempt to calm down.

"Thing is like a fucking horcrux," Ana remarked as we pulled down a dirt road surrounded by nothing but forest. "Are you sure this is right?"

"Yes," I managed through gritted teeth. I had maneuvered myself as far away from the sick smell and whatever negativity was radiating from that bag to the point that I was almost in the floor of the passenger seat.

The road rounded out and ended with a structure that looked oddly like a barn. There were no cars outside, but there were lights on inside and when I threw my door open and panted in the fresh air, I could hear voices. I could feel the people inside.

I yanked the trunk open hastily, grabbed the bag and trudged angrily towards the building, flinging my hand at the doors. There were at least ten women inside and only one man, and every one of them lurched to their feet and stood on edge as I stopped just inside of their door, sopping wet and probably looking like I was seconds from ripping someone's head off. I held the sack up and threw it down to the floor. "I need your help," I announced for the second time in as many days.

"She can't come in here," a middle aged woman said, nodding behind me.

Ana froze in her tracks, deer in headlights.

"She stays with me." That one was a hard limit for me. No way was I letting Ana out of my sight in this place.

"She's not one of us," the woman argued. Another woman started walking towards us like she was going to physically remove my best friend.

I took a step to the side, eyes locked with the younger woman. "Touch her and see what the fuck happens to you." There was too much going on inside of me now for it to not come out. Lights started flickering as a significant portion of my body erupted in flames, first red and yellow and then suddenly a vibrant blue.

"So angry," the first woman said casually. "And you don't need our help. Light the bag on fire. The hex will be destroyed as it is."

I had to work to calm myself down. The fire dissipated, starting in my center and moving outwards until I was me again and not a god damn matchstick. Everyone watched me intently, I could feel their eyes on me but the only one I was focused on was the woman who had spoken to me. She was powerful, more so than anyone else in this room... aside from me. She was their leader.

"Thank you," I finally said. I was regretting not lighting the sack on fire back at home and saving myself the trouble of riding with it for over an hour. That was just bullshit.

The woman stepped forward and gestured to the bag. "May I?"

I just shrugged in return.

The bag slid across the floor then floated up to her hands. She widened the mouth of the pouch and pulled the contents out one by one. "Wolfsbane,"she said before dropping it into a large metal pot in front of her. "Bloodstone... chicken bones, runes. This is very old magic. Messy stuff." She looked back up at me and crooked her finger. "Come on, fire starter."

I crossed the space and focused on the items in the pot, immediately enveloping it all in flame. "So, that's it?"

"Well... for now," she answered. "You're being targeted. This won't be the last you see of them."

"What can I do?"

She sighed. "Let's take a walk," she said before holding her hand out to me. "I'm Cecily, by the way."