Air

Darkness

"I didn't see it coming."

-Tegan and Sara, "Feel it in my Bones"

It is now December. Mapa, Carl, and Darren are freaking out. Yule is coming soon, and things are a mess in our house in Goldenvalley. Sarafina has been very disobedient. She hasn't done a chore in forever, and her homework has been coming in super late. Mom's pregnancy hormones have only been making her powers stronger. 

Last month, she was able to control the weather and use telekinesis on human beings. Now, she can light things on fire, and break glass with her mind. It seems as if whenever someone angers her, a piece of furniture is destroyed completely. I can't believe pregnant witches are so terrifying! 

"Carl! Where is the big white candle?!" Mapa yells upstairs. 

"I don't know!" Carl calls back down. 

Mapa puts their hands on their temples. They sigh. "Why the hell is everything going awry?" They ask.

I rub Mapa's back. I look them in the eyes. "Well, I guess we're all just stressed about school," I say. "I mean, we do have finals coming up soon." 

This is a lie. This is such a lie. Sarafina has been going down on Arielle every other day. I know, since I can see her sneak out at night in her fanciest outfits. I've also caught her giggling while she was on the phone with Arielle. It seems like her whole world revolves around Arielle. She hasn't even taken the time to do her chakral healing so she can love other people.

Mom and I are also very stressed out. James hasn't been talking to me lately. This worries me, what with Aria's threat to release a demon and Arielle's mystery hex. I'm afraid he's being hurt. Half the time, I worry that he's dead or dying. 

Without contact with James, Mom and I won't be able to find a way to break the curse. Sarafina should be helping us, too. But she isn't. She's too busy having sex with her stupid girlfriend. 

And don't even get me started on Carl and Darren. Sure, Darren has been good to me since I took him to buy a CD. But he has been fighting with our other brother non-stop about the stupidest things. They are always yelling at each other, hitting each other, and sometimes, even hexing each other.

Their arguments always get completely out of control. Mom, Mapa, and I try to intervene, but nothing ever works. They just argue more intensely when told not to. 

"Alright," says Mapa. "I'm stressed, too. Yule is right around the corner, and we haven't gotten a thing done!" They smack their hands on the counter. This frightens me and causes my body to tremble and shake. 

Mapa points to their altar, which is in the den next to the kitchen. Bags of incense, a crystal ball, a couple of wands, and some potions all lie on a brown table in front of an open window. It hasn't been changed much in appearance. "My altar is not even ready to welcome the sun!" Says Mapa. "There are no blue ribbons or candles. We need some goddamn candles!"

I sigh. Why is Mapa freaking out about decorations? We clearly have more important things to focus on. My boyfriend might be dead right now. And I don't know if I can help him. 

"Look, Mapa, you need to calm down a bit," I say in a quiet tone. 

I hear something drop on the floor upstairs. This is followed by a series of shouts exchanged between two pubescent boys. Darren and Carl have started to argue. They are loud enough for actors in Hollywood to hear. 

The energy in this house is so bad right now! And with every second that passes, the air only becomes more and more negative. This isn't how it's supposed to be! It's almost Yule! We're supposed to be bonding as a family, not arguing about decorations, and other petty things. 

Suddenly, I hear a giggle come from upstairs. I listen in. It's coming from my room. The laugh can't belong to anyone other than Sarafina. And there is no doubt about who she is talking to--Arielle. 

Darren and Carl stop yelling for a minute. I can hear another voice in Sarafina's room. So she isn't just talking on the phone with her girlfriend. Her girlfriend is actually here. 

Oh, my God. This is amazing! Just what I need! If I can squeeze in a conversation with Arielle, maybe she can tell me about James. I need to know how he is doing, so I can break the curse when Aria sets it. 

"Hold on, Mapa," I say. "I'll be right back."

I run upstairs. I open the door to my room. There stand Arielle and Sarafina, right next to our altar. They kiss passionately and pet each other heavily. I wish I didn't have to see this, but I walk in anyway. 

I am stealthy. I make sure my footsteps are quiet. I can't be seen or heard in this state of entrance. That would only jeapordize my whole plan. I shut the door, sit on my bed, and clap my hands. 

At this sound, Sarafina jerks away from Arielle. "What the hell?!" Yells Sarafina.

"I knew that would get your attention," I say. "I need to talk to Arielle."

Arielle rolls her eyes. "This better be important," She says. "We're kind of in the middle of something. Something that you interrupted." 

"I need to know a few things. One of them is, what the fuck is going on with James? He hasn't been answering any of my calls, emails, or texts. I'm getting really concerned for him," I say. 

Arielle walks over to me. When she reaches me, she looks down at me with sad-puppy eyes. Her lips are pouted, and her shoulders are dropped. She looks sad and sympathetic, but knowing her, she really isn't. "Oh, honey," She says. "Maybe your little boyfriend wants to break up with you."

"That's not funny, Arielle!" I say. "He told me about the threat Aria made. He told me she has been intending to literally raise hell."

Arielle rolls her eyes. She grunts. She places her hands on her hips. She paces around the room. "I thought you didn't believe in hell, Wiccan."

"Yeah, well beliefs can change," I say. "What's going on?!"

Arielle blinks slowly. Her facial expression changes from sarcastic to serious. She sighs. I can tell she is about to deliver some news. I can also tell this news won't be good. Nope. Definitely not. She covers her mouth, clears her throat, and says, "Aria already rose the demon. Last I heard from James's mom, the demon invaded his body. We still don't know where James's soul is."

Tears drop from my eyes. "No," I say, "No, you're lying."

"I wish I was," Says Arielle. "James has been my best friend since I was 2." 

"What do we do? How do we fix this?!" I ask her anxiously. 

"We're going to need a lot of power," Arielle answers. "It'll take more than the power that the three of us would have combined."

"How are we supposed to get that extra power?!" I ask.

"Well, there is one source in this house. She is thriving with the strongest power from the element of Air," Says Arielle. "And that's your mom. We're going to have to take her powers away while she's asleep."

"WHAT?!" I shout. "We can't do that! That goes against the Wicca rede!" 

"Sometimes, rules were meant to be broken," Says Arielle. "In this case, we need to break the rules of Wicca. This is a life or death situation for James."

I purse my lips. This is the worst situation I've ever been in. 

"Do you want James to die, Anna?" Asks Arielle.

I shake my head. 

"Alright. Then I will go give your mom a sleeping potion. I will then take away her powers while she sleeps. We'll all get to share her powers afterwards, when we perform a binding spell," Says Arielle. "Then, we'll head to James's house and take care of business."