Life's A Witch

Chapter Twelve

"Good. Make sure you get some sleep tonight," I warned. "And tell the others to do the same, because tomorrow's going to be a long day. Everyone's going to need their energy for what we'll be doing."

As they left, I thought about how much I wished I could take my own advice and rest up. Instead, I turned back to the now deserted kitchen and placed my forehead on top of the table. The surface was cool against my face and I knew that if I closed my eyes now, I'd be out within seconds.

But there was still too much to do and I'd be lucky if I got any sleep at all that night. Sitting back up, I picked up the notepad I'd been doodling on earlier and began to make a list of all the spells we'd be going over the following day. Two hours and three pages (front and back) later, I had what I thought was a good beginning. And although there were enough spells to keep us busy for months, I had a sinking feeling that it still wasn't going to be enough time to prepare for whatever was coming.

"Okay, everyone, let's do it again," I said, looking around at the exhausted faces around me. We'd been at it for hours now. Going over spell after spell, every last one Jackson had taught us since I'd started attending magic classes. They ranged from basic everyday stuff like protection from harm to deflection spells. Most knew them already, but there were a few the younger members hadn't learned yet.

Jackson had always insisted there should be an order to our learning process and that some of the spells were too intense for the younger witches, but seeing as how we were now faced with a potential danger beyond anything we'd thought was possible, I figured people were going to have to grow up a little bit faster. Besides, if the Parrishables came looking for us, I wasn't going to be able to hold anyone's hand; chances were that the rest of the twitches were going to have to fend for themselves.

So, one by one, we attempted to perfect everything we'd been taught. This proved to be excessively time-consuming, though, as not everyone was catching on as quickly as I'd hoped.

"Everyone get ready!" I yelled out. I watched as each group of two slowly faced each other, standing a few feet apart. As I paced across the backyard, I noticed Fallon mocking me when he thought I couldn't see. Ignoring him for the time being, I went back to the matter at hand. "People on the defensive, relax your body and get ready for the attack. Spell casters, quiet your mind and focus on what you're about to do. Remember, if there's no power behind your words, the magic itself won't be powerful."

I counted down and watched them go.

"Aeromus une cyclenae!"

Immediately, groups all around me gave the spell their best shot. A few came close to having the desired result. Jasmine was the first to perfect it, sending the wind-whipping spell to Sascha. Before Sascha could react, she was immediately caught up in a twister of air, making it impossible for her to see. Once the wind died down again, the look on her face was priceless. To say Sascha was unhappy to be a magical guinea pig was an understatement.

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to get my hair to lie flat this morning?" she screeched through clenched teeth.

"You're kidding, right?" Jasmine asked, a smirk on her face.

"Hadley?" Sascha asked, looking to me to back her up. And to be honest, under normal circumstances I would have. You don't mess with a girl's hair. But this might've been the only time and place where fashion couldn't be our first priority.

"Sorry, Sascha," I said. "Jazzy's right."

"It's Jasmine," the dark-haired girl chimed in.

"You knew we were training, Sascha. Best to ponytail it up in the future."