✓ 𝐖.𝐈.𝐓.𝐂.𝐇. | ʜᴏᴄᴜꜱ ᴘᴏᴄᴜꜱ

𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲

"MAX, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" I screamed, as the winds inside the cottage picked up, swirling in every direction.

How was it even possible for wind to blow from the inside of the house? I tried to reason that maybe it was just some kind of poor craftsmanship from the 1600s, but deep down, I knew it wasn't that simple. The ground shook beneath us, the floorboards creaked, and from the cracks in the wood, thick green smoke began rising, swirling in a way that was more supernatural than any architectural flaw.

I grabbed onto whatever I could, squeezing my eyes shut, praying that this was just some insane dream, that I wasn't going to be sucked into the very bowels of hell. But, of course, my luck wasn't that good.

Suddenly, it all stopped. The rumbling, the smoke—it vanished as if nothing had happened. The air was still and quiet, except for the black-flamed candle now flickering softly, standing eerily beside Max.

I was about to lunge at Max, ready to slap him senseless, yell at him for being such an idiot, when I glanced down at my hand. In my panic, I had grabbed Theo's hand. Not the brightest choice, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring me some comfort. I quickly let go of his hand, not knowing what to do next.

"What happened?" Max asked, blinking as though he hadn't just set off an ancient curse.

Dani sighed, her voice heavy with disbelief. "A virgin lit the candle."

Allison's jaw hit the floor. "You're a virgin?"

I started pacing, rubbing my forehead in frustration. "Oh my god, he's a virgin!"

Theo groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Come on, man. Not even my mom's a virgin!"

Max shot us an exasperated look. "We get it! I'm a virgin!"

Just then, candles all around us flickered to life, burning with a strange, unnatural intensity. I wasn't sure what I was more terrified of—Max's virginity or the fact that we were about to meet the very witches we'd been reading about all these years.

Before anyone could say anything else, the front door exploded inward with a force that sent us diving for cover. Dani and Allison ducked behind the door, while Theo and I scrambled behind a stack of old crates in the corner of the room. Honestly, if those renovations hadn't been done recently, we'd probably be dead by now.

The Sanderson sisters stepped into the room, and I froze. They didn't look anything like I had imagined. For some reason, I always pictured them as young, maybe in their twenties, but these women? They were older—powerful, yes, but far from the youthful faces I'd expected.

And yet, I couldn't help but notice how striking they were. Their clothes were somehow stylish, even for the 1600s. Winifred—at least I thought it was Winifred—wore a purple dress, a color that only nobility could wear back then. It was a subtle but glaring indication of how much power they once had.

"Oh, sweet revenge!" Winifred practically cackled as she looked around the room, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Do you see, sisters? My curse worked perfectly!"

They all began to spin around, laughing hysterically, almost as though they'd just been released from a cage. And even though everything inside me screamed to run, a part of me couldn't help but feel awed by the sight of them in person. After all, they were legends.

My hand was still hanging by my side until Theo grabbed it, squeezing it tightly. Normally, I would've been embarrassed by the gesture, but right then, I knew why he did it. He was terrified, just like the rest of us.

The sisters continued to laugh and reminisce about their glory days. Mary left the cauldron on, Sarah found an old rat tail, which made me want to gag, but I stayed quiet. In some twisted way, it was better to let them have their fun while we had a chance to figure out what to do next.