A Tale of Witchcraft... Page 15

  “Actually, I created my own potion,” she said. “I call it an Indigestion Draft! It’s guaranteed to give you the worst stomachache of your life! Would anyone like to try it?”

  The witches glanced inside her cauldron and almost puked.

  “No, thanks,” Stitches said.

  “We believe you,” Sprout said.

  “Good j-j-job, Lucy,” Beebee said.

  Mistress Mara eyed the potion with a doubtful gaze.

  “Congratulations, girls, you’ve both passed your third exam,” she said.

  Lucy knew she wasn’t fooling Mistress Mara, but once again, the witch had let her shortcoming slide. She didn’t understand why Mistress Mara was turning such a blind eye to her failures—unless Mistress Mara had a reason for keeping her around. Whatever the reasoning was, Lucy was grateful for it—she had her own reasons for sticking around Ravencrest.

  Once the potions exam was complete, Mistress Mara took Pip and Lucy into the graveyard by themselves. Stitches, Beebee, and Sprout stayed behind to work on the potion for the Enrollment Ceremony. The invisible butler was waiting for them outside and held a black ceramic vase decorated with the face of a ferocious lion.

  “For your fourth and final entrance exam, we’ll be covering the most important part of witchcraft, and my personal favorite—curses,” Mistress Mara told the girls.

  Lucy and Pip looked to each other with anxious eyes, already fearing what the next examination might entail.

  “Although the word itself has a negative connotation, a curse can be very positive depending on your point of view,” Mistress Mara said. “Fairies pride themselves on rewarding good deeds, healing the sick, and giving to the needy—but not everyone deserves to be helped. On the contrary, some people deserve to be punished for their wicked ways. Too often, the same people get away with the same sins over and over again. When their cruelty goes unchecked, when the law fails to avenge the mistreated, and when the saying What goes around comes around isn’t enough, then it’s up to us to provide retribution. Sometimes a curse is the only source of justice.

  “Curses are similar to jinxes and hexes, but much more complex. They can be applied to the living or the inanimate, and occasionally, an entire environment. Curses can last for as long as you wish, and they are extremely difficult—if not impossible—to remedy with magic. They’re fueled by anger, and the more pain and fury within us, the more powerful our curses can be. While plenty of advanced curses require very specific conditions to activate, the kind we’ll be focusing on today only requires a bit of imagination.”

  Mistress Mara took the black vase from the invisible butler.

  “For the next exam, we’ll be taking a little field trip,” the witch said. “This vase may seem small and unassuming, but it’s a very powerful tool we call a Vex Vessel. With one drop of blood, the vase will bring you face-to-face with the person—or persons—who caused you the most physical or emotional pain. To complete the exam, you must vindicate your suffering by cursing the offenders from your past. It may be surprising to see who and where the Vex Vessel takes you to, and although the three of us will be traveling together, only you will be visible. Confronting the people who’ve hurt us is never easy, but I promise, nothing is more exhilarating than the empowerment you’ll feel afterward. I find it’s rather addicting to hold the corrupt responsible.”

  Mistress Mara raised the vase toward Pip, and the invisible butler handed Pip a pin. Pip cautiously peered into the vase like it contained a poisonous spider.

  “Don’t be scared, dear,” the witch said. “Wherever it takes you, I’ll be right by your side.”

  “Actually, I know exactly where it’s going to take me,” she said.

  Pip took a deep breath, pricked her finger with the pin, and let her blood drip into the vase. The Vex Vessel suddenly became so heavy Mistress Mara had to set it on the ground. As if the vase had turned Pip’s drop into a fountain, a geyser of blood shot out of it with the power of a volcano. The blood swirled through the air, completely surrounding them. Once the graveyard disappeared from sight, the blood returned to the vase, and the girls discovered they had been transported to a different part of the world.

  Mistress Mara, Lucy, and Pip were standing on a hill in the middle of a dry and desolate plain. There was nothing but parched earth for miles around them except for one building that sat on top of the hill. It was a large, five-story structure with crumbling walls, broken windows, and a crooked chimney. The building was surrounded by a tall stone wall with spikes at the top.

  “What is this place? A prison?” Lucy asked.

  “Worse,” Pip said. “It’s the Bootstrap Correctional Facility.”

  Even though it was late, they found a man and woman doing chores in the yard. The man was shaped like an upside-down pear; he wore an unraveled bow tie and was hard at work patching a hole in the side of the building. The woman was taller than the man and shaped like a cucumber. She wore a lacy dress with a high collar and used a hoe to plow the dirt of a wilted vegetable garden.

  The couple looked utterly exhausted—as if they hadn’t had a good night’s rest in years. The man took a break to wipe his sweaty brow and noticed Pip standing nearby. Just like Mistress Mara had said, Pip was the only one the couple could see.

  Mr. Edgar scowled at Pip. “Where did she come from?” he grumbled.

  His wife looked up and a matching scowl appeared on her face.

  “The facility is closed,” Mrs. Edgar said. “We don’t take delinquents anymore. Go back to wherever you came from!”

  The sound of their voices made Pip tense, like she was in the presence of two dangerous predators. She tried to run away, but Mistress Mara stopped her.

  “You can do this,” the witch said. “Make them pay for the anguish they caused you.”

  Pip closed her eyes and gathered up the courage to face them.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Edgar?” she said. “It’s Pip—Pip Squeak.”

  “Who?” the man scoffed.

  “You don’t remember me?” Pip asked.

  Mrs. Edgar folded her arms. “Why should we?” she asked.

  “Because—because I lived here for most of my life,” Pip said. “I was the girl who kept sneaking out at night.… I used to squeeze through the bars on my door and wander the halls.… I used to borrow blankets from your closet—”

  “Oh, she’s one of them,” Mr. Edgar told his wife.

  The woman angrily tossed her hoe aside.

  “How dare you show your face again!” she yelled. “We were kind enough to give you a home! We tried to cure you of a demonic disease! And then you heathens ran off with the Fairy Godmother! You put good people out of work and put an honorable establishment out of business!”

  “Honorable?” Pip asked in disbelief. “You abused hundreds of innocent girls! You starved us and forced us to work like slaves! You filled our heads with lies and made us ashamed of who we were! You’re horrible, horrible people!”

  “You should be ashamed!” Mr. Edgar said. “We lost everything because of you! And now we have to work day and night just to survive! Get off our property at once—um—Skip Sheet!”

  “It’s Pip!” she repeated. “Pip Squeak!”

  All of Pip’s trepidation quickly turned into rage. She’d thought about the Edgars every day since she left the facility and seen their faces in her nightmares every night. Pip would never forget the horrible things they had done to her, and yet, they didn’t even remember her name. She clenched her jaw and stared daggers at the Edgars, and then all of a sudden, the ground started to rumble under their feet.

  “That’s right, Pip…,” Mistress Mara said. “Relive all the painful memories.… Think about all the terrible things that happened here.… Feel all the sadness it caused you.… Let your anger rise to the surface.… And now, unleash it!”

  The ground started shaking so hard the Bootstrap Correctional Facility began to sway. The Edgars grabbed hold of each other and could barely stay on their feet.<
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  “She’s bewitching us!” Mr. Edgar shouted.

  “Lord help us—she’s been sent straight from the devil!” Mrs. Edgar cried.

  Pip let out an angry roar and reached toward the facility. Brick by brick, the building started to break apart, but the structure didn’t collapse to the ground. Instead, the wreckage floated into an enormous pile, and as the pile rose higher and higher, it formed the silhouette of a giant monster. The wreckage came to life and growled at the Edgars. The couple screamed and ran away as fast as they could, but the monster stomped after them, chasing the Edgars into the horizon.

  “Absolutely outstanding!” Mistress Mara said. “Equally victorious and vindictive! Congratulations, Pip, you’ve passed your final exam!”

  Casting the curse had knocked the wind out of Pip, but she was thrilled to hear it.

  “Wow,” she panted. “You were right, Mistress Mara, that felt great!”

  “How long will that thing be chasing them?” Lucy asked.

  “One day for every girl they hurt,” Pip said. “But who knows how long that’ll take.”

  “As a matter of fact, you’ll know precisely how long it takes,” Mistress Mara said.

  The witch gestured to two jack-o’-lanterns that had appeared on the lawn. The pumpkins had lifelike carvings of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar’s faces. Mistress Mara collected the jack-o’-lanterns and handed them to Pip.

  “These are called Curse Counters,” the witch said. “One will appear after every curse you cast. If you’re ever curious about the progress of your curse, just inspect the black candle inside. The candles burn as long as the curse is still active. The higher the wick, the more time the curse has left.”

  “What should I do with— AAAHHH!”

  Pip suddenly dropped the pumpkins and fell on her hands and knees. She screamed in agony as a large bump appeared at the base of her spine. It grew bigger and bigger by the second until something hairy ripped through the back of Pip’s cloak. She glanced over her shoulder and was horrified to see she had grown a bushy black-and-white tail.

  “The curse turned me into a skunk!” she exclaimed.

  “Don’t let the side effect ruin the moment, dear,” Mistress Mara said. “That was one of the finest entry-level curses I have ever seen. You should be nothing but proud of yourself. And I guarantee the Edgars won’t forget the name Pip Squeak after tonight.”

  “More like Pip Stink,” Lucy said under her breath.

  Mistress Mara turned toward her. “That brings us to you, Lucy. Are you ready to prove yourself with the final exam?”

  “I suppose so, but that was a tough act to follow,” she said.

  Unlike Pip, Lucy didn’t know who or where the Vex Vessel was about to take them to. She pricked her finger with the pin, and her blood dripped into the vase. Once again, a geyser erupted from the vase and wrapped around them. When the parched landscape was completely covered, the blood rapidly returned to the Vex Vessel, and they found themselves in a new location.

  Mistress Mara, Lucy, and Pip had been transported to the backstage of a theater. They were standing between a row of cardboard trees and a backdrop of a scenic lake. Ahead of them, two enormous red curtains had been drawn shut, and the girls saw the shadows of seven people dancing on the other side. They could hear the rustle of a large audience beyond the dancers, and somewhere close by, a live orchestra was playing classical music.

  Lucy recognized the venue immediately. “Oh no,” she gasped. “We’re in the Old Spinster Theater in the Eastern Kingdom! They must be in the middle of a show!”

  “Who?” Pip asked.

  Lucy gulped. “The Binkelle Sisters!”

  The music momentarily stopped playing, the dancers struck a pose, and the audience gave the performers a round of applause. As the praise died down, seven tall and lean ballerinas slipped through the curtains. They were all very beautiful and wore elegant white tutus.

  “Okay, girls, we have two minutes to change for act three!” said the tallest one.

  The Binkelle Sisters headed for a rack of black tutus but came to a halt when they noticed Lucy standing backstage.

  “Hey! No fans allowed backstage until after the show!” said the smallest one.

  Lucy gave the ballerinas an awkward wave. “Hi there, Gina, Lina, Mina, Nina, Tina, Vina, and Zina,” she said. “It’s bina long time. Remember me?”

  “Wait a second—is that who I think it is?”

  “Oh my gosh, it is her! It’s Fat Lucy!”

  “She’s still living?”

  “We haven’t seen you in years! Or should I say meals!”

  “We’ve missed you, Fat Lucy! Where have you been?”

  “Besides lunch!”

  The Binkelle Sisters burst into a fit of giggles. Lucy blushed at their mean comments, and her bottom lip quivered. Being near the ballerinas made Lucy feel like she was eight years old all over again. For the first time in years, Lucy’s trademark wit and sarcasm abandoned her, and she didn’t know how to defend herself.

  “No, I don’t perform as much as I used to,” Lucy said. “I was living in the Fairy Territory for a while, but recently I’ve been looking for a change.”

  “Of what? Pants?”

  “So what brings you here, Fat Lucy?”

  “Are you getting back into show business? Or did someone mention dessert?”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t have any openings—that you could fit through!”

  “You could always be a wrecking ball!”

  Lucy’s eyes filled with tears and she looked to the floor. “Actually, I’ve lost a little weight since the last time I saw you,” she said.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find it!”

  “Have you looked under that double chin?”

  The Binkelle Sisters laughed hysterically and couldn’t stop themselves. Unbeknownst to the ballerinas, Mistress Mara strolled to Lucy’s side and whispered in her ear.

  “They may still be predators, but you aren’t their prey anymore…,” the witch said. “You’re not the little girl they remember.… You’ve grown in ways they never will.… You’ve crossed bridges they wouldn’t dream of stepping on.… Now, prove it.”

  Lucy had gone into this exam with deep reservations, but now she found herself agreeing with Mistress Mara—some people deserved to be cursed.

  The orchestra played the opening notes of the third act, and as the music swelled into its crescendo, Lucy swelled into hers, too. She bit her lip and groaned at the chuckling ballerinas. Suddenly, the curtains flew open, the cardboard trees caught on fire, and the backdrop started to melt. The Binkelle Sisters stopped laughing and looked around in terror. The audience thought it was part of the show and sat on the edge of their seats.

  Lucy pointed at the ballerinas one at a time and they started to spin out of control. As they spun, their necks stretched, their legs shrank, and their tutus began to molt. By the time the orchestra finished the climactic song, Lucy had transformed the Binkelle Sisters into seven squawking swans!

  The audience was amazed and gave Lucy a standing ovation. It had been a long time since Lucy felt the warmth of applause, so she took a grand bow and basked in the affection. The audience threw roses at her feet, they cheered until their voices became hoarse, and they clapped until their hands were sore.

  As seven Curse Counters appeared onstage, Lucy felt a tingling sensation on the top of her head. She dashed to a mirror in the wings and let out a horrified gasp. The curse had turned the rest of her hair—and even her eyebrows—into fluffy white feathers!

  “What have I done?!” she shrieked. “Now I look like a daffodil!”

  Mistress Mara appeared in the mirror behind Lucy and beamed with a sinister smile.

  “Well done, Lucy,” the witch said. “Not only have you passed your fourth and final exam, but you also gave the performance of your life. You’re an inspiration to witches everywhere.”

  Lucy was mortified as she ran her fingers over her fully feathered head. S
he was still determined to stay at Ravencrest and stop Mistress Mara’s secret plot, but until now, Lucy had never realized what saving the world might cost her.…

  CHAPTER TEN

  TEA WITH THE PRINCE

  After their argument in the cavern, Brystal spent hours searching for Lucy in the Northern Mountains but didn’t even find a footprint. So she raced back to her office at the academy and looked for Lucy’s star on the Map of Magic. Eventually, she found it in the northwest corner on the border of the Dwarf and Elf Territories, and she immediately knew where her friend was. The discovery left Brystal so heartbroken she had to sit down.

  Lucy joined the witches.…

  And it’s all your fault.…

  Had you kept her in the council…

  Had you just told her the truth…

  She would still be here.

  The next two days were some of the worst of Brystal’s life. Even though she had been purposely keeping her distance from Lucy, not having her best friend close by made Brystal feel like she had lost part of her armor. She didn’t want the other fairies to learn the details of their falling-out, so Brystal told them Lucy had gone to visit her parents, but lying only made Brystal feel lonelier than she already was.

  Not having anyone to talk to about Lucy sent Brystal down a spiral of guilt and self-doubt, and she wondered if she was even equipped to be the Fairy Godmother anymore.

  You can’t please your friends.…

  You can’t protect them from the witches.…

  You can’t stop the Righteous Brotherhood.…

  You can’t prevent the laws from changing.…

  You can’t even think positively.…

  You’re going to ruin everything.

  By now, Brystal was so used to the negative thoughts she hardly noticed the melancholy they caused—in fact, she barely felt anything at all. Brystal didn’t eat or sleep, she didn’t make plans or try to solve her problems, and she didn’t even have the energy to brush her hair or change her clothes. She was depleted of all motivation, so Brystal just sat in her office hour after hour and watched the world go by without her.