The Opal Witch

Chapter Nine: Misadventure

Lux

"How are you doing?"

Kitty's shadow drifted over Lux while she was sunning on the deck at the Willoughby's. Toes, painted neon pink, wiggled nervously in front of her face, and she contemplated reaching out to smash the little piggies with her fist. Violent reactions were not common to her, but she didn't feel the smallest ounce of guilt at the thought of Kitty howling in pain.

"How could you not tell me?"

Kitty plopped her pool bag down and spread out her beach towel before answering. She stretched out beside Lux, drawing attention to the emeralds shining on her bracelet. They seemed brighter, more intense than before she knew the truth, and she wondered if that was a trick of her mind or a result of the magic funneling through them.

Kitty picked at her fingernails. "I couldn't tell you. My family doesn't even know."

"Wait, how is that possible?"

"My great, great something grandmother was second in command in the First Circle, and she followed Emma's example and bound her the magic of her daughters. She hid the family grimoire and left instructions for the binding of future daughters. As luck would have it, I'm the first daughter born in several generations.."

Everything about this new world was confusing. She stared across the pond as she contemplated the explanation. A sudden thought struck her, and she turned to Kitty, asking, "So, is your father a sorcerer?"

"It doesn't work like that. Not in a witch family. Magic is passed only through the girls. If a son is born, they inherit nothing. Phoebe sought me out right before I turned seventeen. She said she'd been waiting to guide me into my powers because she knew there was no one else. She told me about you, and it totally made sense. I mean, we've always joked about you being a witch, but I would've never guessed I had such power."

"Memaw said your power is tied to the earth," Lux gestured towards the emeralds, remembering the sense of calm that had spread over her when she'd dug her hands into the soil. Could she also be an earth witch?

Kitty beamed. "It is. Which is crazy, right? Because I've always appreciated nature from afar, but I find it easiest to cast spells when I'm outside, my feet planted in soil."

"Show me."

"Here?" Kitty scanned the area. "I guess I can do something that's common to all Trueborns. A little telekinesis."

The blonde reached for a leaf twirling on the surface of the pond. The gems on her bracelet glowed, the shine burning Lux's retinas if she looked at them too long. The damp frond shuddered before lifting slowly into the air and moving toward the girls sitting on the dock. Kitty beamed as she made it dance and twirl before it settled into her outstretched palm.

"That was amazing," Lux whispered, touching the leaf, hoping to find something special about it, something to give logic to what she'd just witnessed. But the waxy service and the tiny veins revealed no secrets. "And I can do this too?"

"Yes. With a little training, you'll be able to call forth any object with just a thought. Oh Lux, you don't even know how amazing this world is. It's like I've needed glasses my entire life, and I finally got them." She cupped her cheeks and shook her head. "I'm not making any sense."

"You are," Lux replied, sitting up and placing her arms on her knees. "I just wish someone had been honest with me. My mother made me feel like what I did was wrong, and the entire time, she knew exactly what I was experiencing. She experienced it."

"I wanted to tell you so many times. I begged Phoebe, but she refused. And to add insult to injury, she made me make a Vow."

"A vow?" Lux asked, hating the seed of jealousy that was growing inside of her. Kitty held all of this knowledge that Lux now thirsted for, and her Memaw was the teacher.