Amaranthine (Editing)

Chapter 15 - Back to School, Kinda

The Alter had five white candles in a circle surrounding a bowl that held different types of stones. She knelt down to lift the table cloth and took out a stack of leather bound books, then grabbed a black silk bag and began placing everything from the alter in it.

Once done she stood up and turned back to me, "Okay all set."

I decided to finally break the silence in the car after driving for five minutes. "So...you have troubles with your mother too huh?"

She chuckled lightly, "You could say that, my dad has been in Iraq for the past two years and my mom has been drunk ever since. She just stays home, drinks and bakes. She doesn't even eat what she bakes because she is too worried that she will get fat." And I thought I had it rough...

"I'm sorry Stacy."

"Nah it's okay. She's not a mean drunk so it's not so bad. She also hasn't set the house on fire yet so that's a bonus. Oh! I love this song!" Her turning up the volume of Dogs Days by Florence and the Machine meant this conversation was now over.

I looked in the rear view mirror to see if Liam appeared yet, which he had not. Liam took off when Stacy and I left for her house. He still had this thing about not telling me where or what he was doing, only left me with corny one liners like "Patience is the companion of wisdom" first of all...who says that? And second...what the hell does it mean?

We spent the rest of the drive singing along to today's greatest hits on the radio and by the time we reached my house my stomach was growling. I sure wish Stacy would have grabbed some of the baking from her house, it sure smelled delicious.

"How about I make us some lunch before we get started?" I asked as I kicked the front door closed with my foot.

"Well we do have twelve hours."

"T-twelve hours? Why can't we do it now?" I really just wanted to get this over with, and get everything moving. This turtle like speed was really beginning to get to the impatient part of me.

Stacy plopped herself down at the kitchen counter and began flipping through a Cosmo magazine I had left there. "Because a witch's power is always strongest at midnight, and I am going to need all the extra help I need to pull something like this off."

"So you believe me then? About Liam, I mean." I didn't mean to come off as a hopeful child asking her parents if they believed her about her imaginary friend, but that is exactly how I sounded.

"Well yeah...I guess so. I mean, I've seen many strange things since becoming a witch that it would be silly not too."

"Right...that's good then." I replied as I began cutting up pepperoni for a pizza. "So, tell me Stacy, when and how did you become a witch?"

"Well it's not a very exciting story really. My grandmother is a witch, and so is my mother...although right now she has a bind on her powers...my dad going across the ocean to a war zone really sent her over the edge, so her powers became unstable - long story short began blowing things up in the house." Stacy grabbed a knife and began chopping up green peppers, "I found out about my heritage on my thirteenth birthday, that's when all witches begin getting their powers so from then on I worked with my Grams. She has taught me everything I know. Which by the way isn't all the much, since I'm still new, so please don't get your hopes up about tonight, okay?"

"That is, pretty cool. Up until a week ago, I was completely oblivious to the supernatural world. I mean really phantoms and witches? What else is out there? Vampires? Oh! Werewolves? Fallen Angels?"

Stacy snorted, "It really wouldn't surprise me, I mean if witches are real - which they are...clearly - then why can't other supernatural myths be real?"