The Opal Witch

Chapter One: Foresight

Lux

Lux Godelieve was mostly, an average teenage girl. It was the part that wasn't like the most that got her into trouble. At sixteen, she already had her ten-year plan mapped out, along with a contingency plan or two, should things deviate for some unforeseen reason. Not that she had many unforeseen events in her life due to an uncanny gift she possessed. Yet somehow she always got off track.

"Mama, your phone is about to ring!"

"Lux! What have I told you about that?" Her mother asked with exasperation as she came barreling down the stairs in a pencil skirt and modest heels.

No one could tell from the outside that Bella Godelieve remained in a constant state of frazzle. Hair the color of loamy soil and skin like cream, people often mistook her for Lux's older sister, not her mother, a misconception Bella never felt the need to correct.

"I can't shut it off," Lux grumbled, shoveling a spoonful of cereal into her mouth and staring woefully at the impressive figure before her. Her own hair, just a shade lighter than her mom's and kissed with cinnamon, was hanging over her shoulder in a messy braid. On some girls, the mess would look purposeful. Lux was not some girls.

"Darlin," her mother began, just as the cell phone she'd left sitting on the kitchen table rang. Sighing, she picked it up and hissed over her shoulder as she left the kitchen, "We will talk about this later. Hello?"

"Actually, we won't cause you're gonna have a flat tire and get home from work late," Lux told the empty room, feeling somewhat smug about her mother's impending predicament.

Catching the time on the microwave, she let loose a curse. Once again she was running behind. Tossing her bowl and spoon in the sink with a clatter, she bounded up the stairs, skipping the one that squeaked.

"Mama, let Kitty in," Lux shouted before stripping out of her pajamas and slipping into her bikini and cover-up. She saw no point in showering when her plans consisted of swimming in the Willoughby's pond or sweating in the sweltering Mississippi heat.

"Lux!"

"Just get the oomf... Mama, just get the dang door!"

"Hey Kitty," her mother's words were barely audible. "Lux is upstairs changing."

"Thanks Mrs. Godelieve."

"Hey Kit, I'm almost ready," Lux said as she swiped clear gloss across full lips.

"Girl, have you watched the news?" Kitty demanded, entering the room like a tornado. She plopped on the bed, her blonde curls forming a chaotic halo around her sweaty face.

"Yes, because I always start my day with a heavy dose of negativity and lying. No, what do you think?"

"They found Corinne Bailey!"

Lux dropped her hairbrush and spun around, her heart thudding to her toes and remaining there as the room tilted. "She's dead."

Kitty's blue eyes widened as she nodded. "It's still creepy how you do that. But yeah. They said she had a stab wound right below her heart, and someone had drawn weird symbols all over her body. Like cult crap."

Kitty's words barely registered. Lux didn't need her friend's description to see how the poor girl looked when she'd been found. Sometimes Lux's gift came to her like thoughts. An acknowledgement of something about to happen. Other times, it came to her in sensations and images. Like now, when Lux could feel Corinne's terror as her hands were bound. See the black oil marks upon her flesh as the murderer chanted, making her skin sear with each symbol she drew. And finally, the relief when the knife slipped between her ribs and ended her life.