The Embered Eye

Chapter Two

"You can look at my palm and see the storm coming."

- Mary J. Blidge

Every year, they did the same thing.

Cindy would force her to pick a cute dress for her birthday. Jazmine would pretend to be oblivious, insisting she only wanted a slumber party with her girls. Then, Alyx would swoop in with the real fun.

It was a ritual that never got old.

Jazmine, Cindy, and Alyx would get together and gossip in her bedroom, nestled between mountains of blankets and shoes. Then, they'd order plenty of junk food and prank call people in Woodcrest, primarily Ruckus, after playing a few rounds of truth or dare, and then, on night two, they snuck out to do something crazy for Jazmine's actual birthday. It was tradition.

In sixth grade, they'd snuck out to the hill and stargazed all night, too nervous to wander far from Jazmine's house. In seventh, they'd gotten bolder, sneaking to the other block so that Cindy could finally get her first kiss from Wesley Payne. In eighth grade, they'd evaded city limits and headed to Chicago in Cindy's first car, attending party after party, dancing until they'd nearly dropped from exhaustion.

After getting over the fear of being caught, Jazmine felt something in her shift. Instead of checking to see if her parents were walking past to kill her, she'd begun looking for people to dance with, and sometimes on, instead. She made memories with a cute guy or two by chatting them up, getting a few numbers, and then squealing about it with her friends in her dad's car, rushing home to return it before her parents woke up.

No matter how much she protested, Jazmine loved it. She'd been half-hoping to get into her first bar tonight, courtesy of Alyx, the milk chocolate queen of fake IDs.

Her birthday was the one time a year that she let loose, and lately, she'd been trying to do more of that every day, instead of waiting for the week of her birthday to pop out.

That's why she was standing in her bedroom with her birthday dress on, her silver platform heels in her hand. She needed to get out now more than ever. After everything that had happened yesterday morning, Jazmine needed to feel normal, to forget everything that had just happened.

And thinking about being a witch with crazy powers? It was anything but normal.

"Girl." Alyx gave her a onceover and handed her a purple monogrammed robe. "We're really just doing the sleepover thing this year. That party stuff is so played out. By the time we get to college, we'll be sick of clubbing!"

Jazmine blinked, surprised to see both her friends laid out with their robes on. "Wait, really? We're not going out for my sixteenth birthday? Then, why did that makeup lady give us full glam mode looks earlier? And what was with all the shoes and outfits? I thought you two were planning something big, honestly."

"Nope. Just a trial run for prom next year. Plus, you'll need those dresses whenever you do get with Vince." Cindy shrugged, flipping through the channels until it paused on The Craft. "You said you wanted to stay home, so that's what we're doing. We'll look at Nancy walk on water and shit."

Jazmine flinched at the selection and shook her head. "Uh-uh. Pick something else."

"I forgot you hate scary movies!" Cindy laughed. "But this one isn't that bad. It has makeovers, powerful women, and a dope ending. It's fun."

"It's Jazmine's birthday." Alyx snapped her fingers. "So, turn the station."

"Snap at me one more time, and you won't live to see the rest of Jazmine's birthday!" Cindy quipped, flipping to the next station and lighting up when Deliver Us From Eva started. "This better?"