Zahid Nasir and the Wicked Whisperers

Prologue and Chapter 1

"To be a candle is not easy:

in order to give light,

one must first burn."

-Rumi

Prologue

"Holy Hera's high-tops!" Vida said in an awed hush. "This place is magical."

She surveyed the cave. Light from the full moon filtered through a small opening in the ceiling. The uneven surfaces of the dripping stone walls sparkled in the glow. The pebbly floor was littered with glistening stalagmites. The smell of damp, earthy minerals filled the air.

It looked like an ordinary cave.

But the power! she thought. The raw power!

She could feel the invisible magic as if it were smoky tendrils caressing and curving around her arms, up her spine, and around her neck. She breathed it in.

What could I do with this kind of power? she wondered.

She giggled at the thought and took in another breath, closing her eyes and relishing the deliciously dark energy that surged all around her.

"Vida," Crystal's voice called out as she came stumbling into the chamber. "Do you feel that..."

She trailed off as she paused next to Vida. Her mouth was hanging open as her head spun to take in the cave.

"Whoa," Crystal exhaled. Then she hushed her voice and said, "The magic. I can feel it. I can almost see it."

Crystal's face had paled – if that were even possible. The girl was always as white as a ghost beneath her multitudinous freckles. But now, it looked like she would wet herself.

Vida giggled again. "Isn't it amazing?" she said.

Crystal nodded, but Vida could tell that she was scared. Since the fateful night when they had become witches, Crystal always needed an extra push.

"Remember that first spell we did to attract money?" Vida reminisced as she took Crystal's hands. "When we both thought we were just having fun and that magic wasn't even real? And now look at where we are."

As if on cue, the cave sprang to life. Wispy, smoky forms blurred all around them with hushed whispers. Crystal clutched Vida's arm and Vida had to stifle yet another giggle.

"It's okay," Vida encouraged her. "They're our spirit guides, remember? And they led us here for a reason."

Crystal nodded and reluctantly let go.

Vida held her arms out dramatically. "Oh, great spirits!" she called out. "We are here to honor and serve you. We will do whatever you say if you will only grant us your power."

The whispers of the spirits grew louder and their forms all gathered over a single spot in the cave.

"Draw," they whispered in multiple voices and echoes. "Draw the mark."

Vida immediately set to work. She pulled the dagger from her belt loops – the one she had secretly bought online without her parents' knowledge – and knelt down. The gravel dug into her knees, but she didn't mind the pain.

Crystal watched from a few feet away as Vida carved the symbol she had received in her dream. It was the sigil of the "Great Lord."

For weeks, she had been drawing it all over her books and notebooks, her locker, and even her skin until she got it just right.