The Dark Witch: The Nox Haven Series

Chapter 22: Before The Ball

Alix's POV:

The whole school had been buzzing about the Winter Ball for the past week, whereas Caddie and I had been dreading it. Since my parents were the leaders of the New York Coven, our family had been invited.

There were girls who were willing to kill for my spot next to my brother at this ball. Only the elite of our society were allowed to go.

The whole event was centered around the council members and their heirs. Those who didn't have families that lead covens or were related to the council members would be watching the ball from their couch.

I wished I could be like the others and sit on the couch watching the men and women dance under sparkling chandeliers.

My mom didn't seem to care about what I wanted. Once rumors sparked about the event, she sent me five dresses and told me to pick the one I liked the best. I tried to send them all back but that didn't work out. Finally, I decided on a black, form fitting dress. My mom liked that one the least, so naturally it became my favorite.

I felt a shock run through my fingers. I stared down at my hands and remembered the task at hand. The event was still hours away, and at that moment, I had to focus on keeping a small ball of electricity balanced between my fingers. For the next forty-five minutes I was stuck in Mr. Rimmel's Simple Spells Class.

So far, the class was anything but simple. I had been absently staring at a poor boy who accidentally zapped himself in the forehead. Drool had been seeping from his mouth, and I couldn't tell if he was knocked out or dead.

My brother was sitting next to me, but he was also incoherent. Not because he had accidentally short-circuited his brain, but because he and Mira's cousin, Bethany, were telepathically arguing. At least I hoped so; I couldn't actually know for sure, but they were staring at each other with stubborn expressions.

I was about to start counting the ceiling tiles when Caddie had appeared in the doorway. She walked over to Mr. Rimmel and handed him a note. He skimmed through the note before looking at me.

"You have an early dismissal, Miss Slade," he informed me and then returned to his paperwork.

I resisted the urge to do a victory dance and walked over to Caddie. I hooked my arm through hers and skipped out of the classroom.

"Care to tell me why you got me out of class?"

She averted her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm scared," she told me, "What if I mess up?"

I had seen Caddie nervous before, and normally it was over something petty like a math exam or a pimple. But I've never seen her scared.

"I know you by now, and if it's something important, you'll push past you fears to do what's right."

She trembled slightly but nodded. We walked back to our room in silence. Both of us had things to think about.

I had to figure out a way to avoid my mom, and she had to try to win over hundreds of witches and warlocks. It was going to be a difficult night for both of us.

We walked into our rooms, my eyes traveling to the two dresses lying across our beds. The dresses were still tucked away in their garment bags. I hadn't seen Caddie's dress yet, but she looked afraid when her gaze landed on the bag.

"What's really bothering you?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She turned around to face me; the rims of her eyes were red. She rubbed her face and started to pace.

"Before you met me, what did you think when you heard about the Dark Witch?"

I hesitated.

I had first heard about the Dark Witch when I was seven at a coven meeting. My parents were whispering about Heidi visiting the coven. They described her to be soulless and unnatural. They believed that the Dark Witch should be destroyed, and they weren't the only ones. But no one would actually say that in public. For longest time, I was used to whispering the Dark Witch's name. Now I could see that the rumors weren't true. Caddie wasn't evil at all.