Apris Academy

2. The Flower Witch

From the perspective of Diana.

I close the cell door as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake the people above me. Or the ghosts around me.

I set my leather bag down and start pulling out my materials. Bags of crushed flowers. Red for anger. Blue for melancholy. Yellow for euphoria.

I pull out the small black bowl my mother gave me, and the blue pestle Mr. Maxwell gave me for my 19th birthday. I organize the tools on my wooden tray, along with the crushed flowers.

Finally, I pull a book and some new flowers that I collected on the nature hike out of my bag. The book's title is "Ae Flower Witche's Guide to Spelles and Such." And no, it isn't available in your local bookstore.

The flowers I picked are purple and green. The purple ones are a standard procedure: crush and bag. The green ones, however, I'm not sure about. This is the first time I've seen this species ever at Apris Academy.

I flip to the last few pages of my book and search the Flower Guide. "Green. Chrysanthemum. Emotion: Disgust. Cut off the stem and bag the petals; do not crush; keep in a dry and dark place to store for future use."

I do what the book says and add the flowers to my collection.

I have to get to work.

First, I grab the bag of yellow crushed flowers (Dandelions) and put a pinch of them into the bowl. I look at the bag. Just one spoonful of the powder, and I would be happy for a whole day. No more crying or regret or anything else.

I close the bag and put it back onto the tray. I wouldn't do that to myself. I know the consequences of bliss: the more you have, the worse it'll hurt when it ends. I will not end up like the author of the book I am holding. I will not end up like Adeline Ardently, one of the founders of this school and the only other known flower witch.

I take a handful of dried orange petals (Marigolds) and place them into the bowl. Orange is for passion.

I can't remember the last ingredient, so I flip to the dog-eared page in the spell book. "Love Potion. Ingredients: A pinch of Dandelions, a handful of Marigolds, and two tears shed from a previous lover."

That would be me. I once loved the boy this potion is for. He's different now because of the love potions I've been making. Obsessed with the girl who pays me to make them.

I know this amount of potion isn't good for Theo. But I get paid more than money for my spells.

It isn't hard to bring tears to my eyes. All I have to do is think about my home.

Even after the two tears have fallen into the bowl, I continue crying. I can't stop. I move my head away from the bowl so as not to ruin the spell.

When I'm done, I wipe my eyes and grab the pestle, mixing my potion together. The yellow and orange color mixes and grows darker, creating a vibrant crimson red.

I bag the potion and put my materials back into my backpack. I pull my phone from my pocket. It's 11:56 PM.

I have to get to the pool room. We meet there every night.

I walk up the dungeon steps, using the torches on the walls as my guide. I exit into a small hallway and walk into the commons. When I reach the pool room, I know something is wrong. When I open the door, I gasp.

I see Deimos dead on the ground, blood pooling around him. I see the new kid kneeling over him. And I see, standing off to the side, my loyal customer: Christina, my half-sister.