Katelyn and The Witch Party

Chapter 10: Voices

The wind had been blustery, tearing at the tender surface of her bare arms. She should have been wearing a sweater or even a coat since it was late October and the snow would soon be on its way, but she had left her sweater in her school locker in her rush to get away from school. The tall grasses had brushed against her grey jeans and she had closed her eyes to try to feel their movements and emanate their softness.

She had rushed to the bathroom as soon as she had gotten home and looked in the mirror. Her eyes had been tinged red with red circles around her eyes. She had pressed her hands into her eyes and cried and then drawn her hands to the necklace that Victoria had given her. It shimmered slightly. Something felt wrong about it, yet she could not decide exactly what.

She had stood still staring into the mirror for a long time before Victoria returned from the rally. Victoria had put her arm around Katelyn and repeated that same question that Miss Corinne had asked, but her eyes were soft, their grey emanating the slightest mist of rose.

"The voices," Katelyn had responded staring at her trembling hands as the red lines swirled up her fingers. "They won't leave me alone."

Victoria had crafted a glass dish with her pink magic and instructed Katelyn in mixing butter, insect wings, and spider web with Katelyn's red magic. She had then told Katelyn to mix in the honey. Katelyn had applied it to her hands and then the voices had quieted and her vision had sharpened.

Victoria had worn a weak smile as she clutched her inhaler and a glimmer had passed over eyes for a moment so brief it seemed to only be a flash of light, but knew the flicker was fear. She had always been afraid of Katelyn from the moment Katelyn had noticed her necklace. She had not faced her death with no fear at all, but she had not turned away from it either. She could have saved herself but she did not.

As soon as the rain stopped and the sun began to shine through the dark clouds, Naji herded Katelyn from the office and to her car. Katelyn bowed her head. Of course, they were going to the police. Katelyn should have told the police immediately. Didn't Victoria deserve that? She considered, but still she felt foreboding. Victoria could not have possibly accepted her fate if she knew Katelyn would do nothing, but Katelyn still found it hard to believe that her parents had done it. She wished time would stop and she would be stuck in the painful moment between no one knowing and everyone knowing.

The ground still shimmered with the water still dusting its surface even as they stepped out of Naji's black Mitsubishi. Ki was still behind her but he would never understand the pain Katelyn felt so often. Maybe, Victoria had not understood it either but at least she knew how to ease it. She knew about the voices somehow. Katelyn had not heard them in a while, but they were still there in the shadows beyond her mind. Victoria had not encouraged fear, especially not allowing it to affect her actions, but she had wanted Katelyn to keep the voices back and she had not explained where they came from. She had understood their power and the way they affected Katelyn's own thoughts and feelings somehow.

A police officer looked up from the service desk as soon as they entered. "Greetings, Ma'am," he spoke calmly to Naji with concern in his hazel eyes.

Naji glanced at Katelyn and then Ki. "There has been a murder," she informed the officer, her voice pausing on the last word and raising in pitch as it lowered in volume.

The officer fixed her with sharp eyes, "Did you call 911?"

"Well, I was not there, sir," she responded glancing at Katelyn once more. "This is Katelyn Valedette."