Secrets and Sorcery

Chapter 1

"Hey, have you ever considered body slamming him?" I asked, turning to my friend. She glanced up at me, her knees pulled close to her chin, black eyeliner streaking down her chubby, pale face. A faint grin crossed her lips, but she quickly shifted to a glare when she realized she was smiling.

Her three-year-long boyfriend had just broken up with her.

"Oh! I love that idea, Poppyseed," Karma replied, taking a sip of her milkshake.

We were having a sleepover, just the four of us: Sophie, Karma, Filly, and myself. It was a girls' night out, so to speak.

Sophie sat there, tears streaming down her face, while Karma and I tried to console her. Filly, on the other hand, was busy making pizza from scratch. We had offered to help, but Filly banned us from the kitchen after the incident involving popcorn and caramel.

Sophie sniffed and rubbed her eyes, a curse escaping her lips as the mascara smudged. Frustrated, she covered her face with her hands, throwing her head back. A whimper slipped through, followed by silent tears. Her hands reached for her hair, but Karma gently guided them back to her knees. Sophie sniffed again and let out a sigh.

I let Sophie lean her head on my shoulder. Karma then leaned her head on Sophie's shoulder and hummed softly.

"He was such a jerk! I mean, who breaks up with someone at their favorite restaurant? Talk about the asshole of the year!" Karma exclaimed, and we all hummed in agreement.

"More like the dickhead of the year." I voice which carried to the kitchen. I glanced over and saw Filly sitting, watching the pizza cook. Filly looked at us, her eyebrows furrowing, before glaring at her cellphone.

" I agree." Filly said with a harsh tone.

"I just... I thought he was my soulmate," Sophie said sadly, and I couldn't help but feel for her.

I was a hopeless romantic, a firm believer in true love and love at first sight. But stories of love falling apart, partners cheating, abusing, or leaving made me wary.

Love was something I thought should be cherished. Yes, there are ups and downs, but that's okay.

I sighed, hating to see my friend so sad. But what could I say? "He'll change his mind"? "There are plenty of fish in the sea"? She didn't need suggestions; she needed friends.

"We could put a curse on him!" Karma exclaimed excitedly. I heard a small gasp.

"Are you crazy? Curses of that magnitude can get you in trouble, even banned, or worse, land you in prison! I'm not sure which is worse, but..." Sophie started panicking, only for Karma to chuckle.

"I was just joking," Karma said, although her dark brown eyes hinted at some malicious intent. I rolled my eyes.

"Besides, can you even do curses? Only high-level witches can pull them off without backfiring," Filly interjected. She pulled the pizza out of the oven and set it on the stove, then leaned against the brown wooden table, raising an eyebrow.

"You should know, Filly! I'm a level 3 witch!" Karma declared proudly showing off her witch's mark on the lower part of her back. It consisted of one large circle with three smaller circles surrounding it, the orange color indicating her witch level.

"And you're also a hafie," Filly pointed out, showing her witch's mark on her right wrist: a large orange circle surrounded by four smaller circles, signifying that she was a full-blooded witch.

Though I didn't know much about witches' culture, I did understand that being a half-breed meant losing the smaller circles around the big circle. However, the big circle remained, regardless of one's witch lineage. It meant that even a tenth-generation witch could still have a witch's mark.