Chapter 05: Revelations

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A complicated spell such as this, with so many different moving parts, conducted by so many witches, is a bit like a white-water rafting expedition. They had to work together to gently push the boat of the spell out into the open water. Together they had to row in unison, with grace and balance, to safely weave their way out into deeper waters, to the swift-moving current of the spirit world.

One slight imbalance, one errant move, and the spell would collapse. There were countless stories of witches whose psyches were irreparably damaged by spells gone wrong. But with enough skill and patience and wisdom, at last the spell of the boat goes over the falls, and that is when its magic alights, when it is no longer in the control of the witches, but solely a thing unto its own. It will land where it will land, taking them where it needs to take them. 

Just as the spell began to reach that point, Kim noticed the growing pain in her chest. She had felt it a bit earlier, something tugging uncomfortably inside her, when she cast Zayn's shirt into the fire. She had chalked it up to sorrow. But now, with her powers intertwined and bound up with those of the other witches, Kim began to feel it much worse. A tearing in her soul, the universe peeling back the layers of her skin, like it meant to pull her heart out of her body and send it shooting out across the stars. 

Suddenly the pain in her chest was incredibly real. "OW!" she said, opening her eyes. She had been hit with something, right in her chest. She looked around and saw a lumpen shape on the table in front of her. It looked like a combination of crystal and charcoal, and it had a decidedly tortoise-shell tint to it. 

Before she had time to wonder what it was and where it had come from, the answer came flying at her from out of the fire. Another jagged shape rose up fro the flames and her in the chest, falling to the table. This one was a golden-brown color.

"Uh what the heck?" Kim said, just as two more crystal shapes emerged from the fire in rapid succession. One was purple and grey and one was blue and yellow and red, iridescent as the rainbow in an oil spill. They came flying at her, but she was ready now, and easily dodged them. They flew back against the stone wall behind her, shattering into tiny pieces.

She turned and saw the final piece emerging from the fire and coming straight at her. She held her phone up and the jagged crystal stopped suddenly in mid-air, just a second before it would have hit her. She held it there, rotating it slowly, just inches from her body. 

It was dark and jagged and black as a void and it looked, almost, like a kind of lightning bolt.

The spell now broken, Kim felt the other witches staring at her. She blinked, and the crystal fell to the table and shattered. 

It was Beyoncé who spoke first, piercing the deep silence of the room. 

"What do you know about the disappearances, Kim?"

"What?" Kim said. "Nothing!"

"We cast the items into the fire and they returned to you," Taylor said. "That means something. The sacred fire does not conceal. It only reveals."

"Yeah but I don't have anything to do with people disappearing! I love Zayn, I love Michael Clifford, I love Tyler, I love everyone!"

"Love can make you do terrible things, sometimes," Rihanna said.

Something unspoken passed between the other witches. 

"What." Kim said. "What are you accusing me of? Say it."

"It's just rather curious," Emma said. "Since you yourself disappeared once."

Kim turned to her. "I didn't disappear, I was banished, cast away by Paris Hilton. And anyways I came back."

"With your weird emoji magic," Beyoncé said, half under her breath.

"EXCUSE ME?" Kim said. "Check yourself, my magic is not weird."

"Kim," Taylor said, trying to slow the rise of vitriol in the room. "It's just, like, OK, you disappear, then come back with this brand new magic that no one, across any of the covens or councils, has ever even heard of before. It's not mentioned in like any of the ancient texts."

"So what!" Kim said. "We all have our own forms of magic, Taylor. You do all kinds of weird things with raffia and mason jars and you don't see me complaining. And Emma STOLE her magic from H--"

"LIAR!" Emma screamed, lunging at Kim. "I did NOT steal my magic, my magic was stolen from ME." Rihanna put out her hand and stopped Emma before she could advance any further on Kim. 

"So then," Beyoncé continued, "After you disappeared and came back with weird new emoji powers, Paris Hilton disappeared."

The other witches murmured in agreement.

Kim's eyes grew cold. "As she deserved."

"So you admit your involvement in her disappearance?" Rihanna said.

"Freely," Kim said. "She attacked me first. In my own home. Am I not allowed to protect myself? To protect my family? That was a matter between Paris and I alone, and it has been resolved. Every one of you has done the same, or worse."

"It's just that in light of these revelations," Taylor began.

"What revelations?" Kim said. "We have learned nothing tonight. The disappearances are not my doing. There is something else going on here. A darker magic."

"Maybe," Taylor said. "But the spirits have spoken. They have shown us that these disappearances are all connected, and that they all lead back to you."

"That's not true!" Kim yelled. She was crying now, tears streaming down her face. They were all so quick to blame her. How could they all turn against her so easily?

"Enough," Emma said. "This matter requires further investigation. The council will need a new fifth." Emma looked around the room, and the other witches nodded in agreement. "Perhaps we can find Nicki. And then we will perform another ceremony. Without you."

Something cold whipped through the room. "You're casting me out of the council?" Kim asked.

"We are attempting to get to the truth of the matter," Beyoncé said. "We are trying to find our friends. And then we will see what fate awaits you."

"Are you threatening me?" Kim said. "Unbelievable. I should have seen this coming. None of you have ever accepted me as your equal. I know what you think about me and my rise to power. You have always looked down at me, always talked about me behind my back, always acted like I'm not as good or perfect or powerful as any of you. You have never given me the respect I deserve. I'm leaving. I will find the disappeared as I have done everything that I have ever accomplished in my life: by myself, and despite the petty machinations of jealous witches. BYE."

Kim moved towards the stairs but Beyoncé stepped in front of her. "Not so fast, Kim," she said, as the others encircled them. "We think it best if you stay here at the castle until this matter is resolved." 

"What?" Kim screamed. "You have no authority to keep me here! I am Kim of House Kardashian! Vanquisher of House Hilton! Blessed Mistress of Mirrors and Keeper of the Perfect Selfie!" 

"YOU ARE A LIAR AND YOU STOLE ZAYN. BRING HIM BACK. BRING THEM ALL BACK!" Emma screamed. Everyone turned and saw her, shaking furiously, holding her phone out at Kim. She opened her trembling lips to speak. "Crucio--"

"NO!" Taylor screamed, throwing herself onto Emma, dragging her to the floor. 

That was Kim's queue. She'd been thumbing through her emoji, waiting for the right moment, and here it was. With the chaos of Emma and Taylor grappling on the floor and the attention of the other witches drawn, Kim hit the Rocket emoji and was gone, safely back home before any of them drew their next breath.

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WOW. OK that was a long chapter and there's lots to process here. Can you believe everyone turning on Kim like that? And what's up with the spell indicating that Kim was behind the disappearances? What could that mean I wonder. Let me know what you think! Please vote and comment! Thank you!

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