Night Witch (Book 1) ✔️

6 - To Look Forward

"You're going to learn real quick that people who have power get treated one of two ways and you should be careful of both."

She frowns at me. "Doesn't that mean I have to be careful of everyone?"

I nod. "You learn quick. Had I known about the test, I could have excused you and administered a private test. Most people would have whispered it was because we were worried you didn't have any power to speak of and would have had to become a sorcerer, but it would have likely been better than this." I give her a little glare, but don't press.

"What's done is done and I understand why you didn't tell me, but from here on out you have to be honest with me." I wait for her to nod in response before continuing.

"There will be those who are afraid of your power. Be cautious of them because a scared animal is more likely to lash out. That's likely what happened to the kids at your school. No one in the history of the Downwind has flared strong enough to have a white halo, let alone break the scale." I push back the lose tendrils of hair that escape my ponytail and fall into my eyes.

Kit looks confused. "You always said mom flared off the chart, too."

"Yeah, but she didn't grow up in the Downwind." I wince. "She grew up in Mystica, just like I did. Though she lived with a warden in a lower district rather than with Grandmother."

Kit's eyes widen. "You grew up in Mystica? I thought Grandmother lived out of town. If mom lived there why are we here?"

"Yeah, let's just say growing up there isn't ideal. And you know why we're staying away from Grandmother, though we may not have a choice now." I never thought the bullying I went through as a kid might actually turn out to be the better option for my kid sister.

"What's that mean?" She narrows her blue eyes at me.

Realizing I said too much, I wince. "Let's talk about the future in a bit. Back to the two types of people you'll run into." I gather my thoughts and start again. "So, you have the people who are afraid of you. Some of them will be so scared they'll be polite, but you never know when a cornered animal will snap. Even a weak witch can defeat a powerful one if they aren't prepared for attack or they're outnumbered.

"The other type are the people who aren't scared of you. Be very cautious of people like that, because it means they have power like you do. And they're likely better trained than you which means they're more dangerous."

Kit looks unhappy. "You could just train me and then that wouldn't be an issue."

"Kit, we've talked about this. I can't teach you. I'm not like other witches, I'm sorry. I've given up a lot to keep you away from what I am so don't think I'll jeopardize that now." My anger flares and she flinches away.

I carefully retract my emotions. "You'll learn at school or I'll find you a tutor but that person won't be me."

She's still cowed by my outburst and nods, eyes full of a little fear and a lot of hurt. "So what now?"

She asks the question I've been pondering since I started putting together pieces of what had happened. She's put us in a bad situation, drawing attention to the girl who'd flared off the chart in the Downwind. Clearly a full-blood or half-blood from a powerful family line, though people in Mystica probably don't believe it to be true. Rumors like this surfaced every once in a while and they never turned out to be real.

Except this time, they are.

"Well, I think we give you a week off for suspension and then you have one week in school. If you don't get in any fights we'll make it work here."