Page 21

Hannah

“The second meeting of the Witch Bitch Spicy Book Club is now in session!” Autumn yells when she walks into I Touch My Shelf that evening. Her bangles jangle as she lifts her canvas bags of cocktail mixers high, showing them off.

Everybody cheers, including Naomi, who teleported in from Faerie to join in on the fun this time around.

Autumn hurries over to the table that holds the shop’s coffee maker, and Skye slides her tray of cupcakes over to make space.

They start work, Autumn mixing up cereal-milk cocktails while Skye sprinkles matching cereal toppings over the cupcakes. It turns out the group likes a pretty even mix between the cinnamon, chocolate, and fruity options, so they’re streamlining things to get the meeting going more quickly .

“Can I help?” I ask.

“Nope.” Skye shoos me away. “You update everyone.”

I hide my wince. After the first trial, I used our group text to let the other witches know how it went, but that’s not the same as admitting in person how epically I failed. My cheeks burn in an obvious blush as I finish describing my fall and how utterly I ruined the Faerie silk dress.

“It’s not your fault,” Naomi says. “You were sabotaged.”

Shocked gasps come from the group, and everyone leans forward as my bestie tells them all about Meloria and what she did.

Skye sits on the couch beside me, pressing a cupcake into my hand. Autumn settles on my other side, handing me a drink.

I take a big gulp of my cocoa puffs white Russian right as Naomi finishes and everyone makes outraged noises.

“I can’t believe that asshole cheated!” Kayla yells loudest of all, the gamer in her hating cheating. Tonight’s T-shirt says, Stop staring at my tits , with the writing located directly over her boobs.

“Girl.” Jasmine leans forward and grips my knee. “You stop beating yourself up, right this instant.”

Violeta nods vigorously. “We’re going to make sure you kick that puta’s butt.”

“Thanks, guys.” Tears prickle my eyes. As positive as I always try to be, even I waver. But having friends like these makes all the difference. “You’re the best!”

Everyone gets up to grab their cocktails and cupcakes before retaking their seats.

“I have happier news,” I say, then raise my voice. “Finn. ”

His orange nose sticks through the crack in the stockroom’s door to shove it aside. Then he prances into the bookstore, his bushy tail held high like a flag. “Hello! You’re honored to meet me, I’m sure.”

I’m the only one who laughs, but I double check. “Can anyone else understand him?”

A chorus of noes.

“He talks?” Skye squeals. “That’s so cool!”

“Of course it is.” Finn shoots her a fox smile. “It’s me. I’m very cool.”

“Does anyone else have a familiar?” I ask next.

More noes. Then Willow and Abril both make come-here kissy noises that get Finn to trot over for pets.

“I don’t get it,” I say. “We all became witches at the exact same time, when Naomi opened the door to Faerie. Why doesn’t anyone else have a familiar yet?”

Naomi huffs in amusement. “Yeah, sorry to break the news to you, but logic and magic aren’t exactly bosom companions.”

“Speaking of magic,” Autumn says, “did anyone find anything that can help Hannah?”

“My aunt let me have this. I’ve been wearing it every day, but so far nothing.” Jasmine pulls off a crystal necklace that looks exactly like Naomi’s and hands it to me.

I balance my cupcake on my lap and grip the crystal, squeezing it tightly for several moments before giving up. “Nothing, sorry.” I hand it back.

“I found this in an old family diary from the Puritan days,” Violeta pulls out her phone and reads from the screen: “Father locked me in my room, telling me dancing is wicked and I must repent my sins. So I sang and sang as a storm raged around the house. Father came into my room, shouting that the devil was in my voice. He whipped me, demanding I never sing again.” Violeta looks up.

“I skimmed ahead, but couldn’t find anything else.

Either she was too scared to do it again or too scared to write it down. ”

“Try it.” Autumn says. “Sing something and see if you do magic.”

“What do I sing, though?” I ask. “Was she singing anything she wanted, or was it a spell?”

Violeta glances at her phone and shrugs. “No idea.”

Rachel suggests “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga, and everyone agrees it’s the only thing they can think of with witchy words. I make it through all of the lyrics I can remember twice, but nothing happens.

“Fruity bites,” Finn says, bumping my hand. With permission from Autumn, I grab a crunch berry from her cupcake and toss it to the floor, and he dives onto it with an excited yip.

A wry smile curls my lips. At least someone’s happy. I look up at the other witches. “Anything else?”

“I asked all my gamer friends and got more wands.” Kayla pulls them out of the little backpack she carries instead of a purse.

I take a couple of pieces of cocoa puffs from my cupcake and rest them on my thigh. One after the other, I swish the wands through the air, first silently, then saying, “Volito,” which means float in Latin. The cereal pieces remain completely still.

“The books I ordered through library loan are still on their way,” Skye says with an apologetic shrug. “All of the ones that sounded promising are too old to have electronic versions, and snail mail is slow.”

“I couldn’t find anything to help. All of my parents’ old commune friends talk about being one with the land and have a lot of farming tips but nothing actually witchy,” Autumn says. “Sorry we’re not much of a coven yet.”

“Hey, none of that.” I give her a side arm hug. “You guys found out you’re witches less than a week ago. Be realistic.”

“I could say the same to you,” Naomi says. “You haven’t known that long either. Cut yourself some slack.”

“I will.” But even as I say it, I realize it’s a lie. My go-getter personality comes with a downside—I can be pretty hard on myself.

And it’s not like I have a lot of choice. Time’s ticking away. I only have a couple of days before the next trial.