Miss Midnight

Chapter Two: Welcome to the World of Magic

Chapter Two: Welcome to the World of Magic

Ever since the day I learned I could see the Neighbors, I had witnessed a lot in my life. Adorable things, beautiful things, and things that were terrifying beyond belief. But out of all the fairies I had encountered, I had never met something that truly petrified me, until one fateful spring night.

That night was what changed everything. After making so many charms, I got the moxie to try casting a spell. The description for it in the book was too faded to read, but that wasn't going to stop me. I shouldn't have, but I was a stupid kid. I didn't know any better. With everything I'd been through up to that point, I was convinced I was some kind of wizard or something.

On April 30th, which was also my birthday, I drew a pentagram in the backyard, lined it with salt, and followed the rest of the spell's instructions to a tee, even placing out the offering of food it had asked for, a slice of the charlotte cake I had for my birthday just hours before. It also required a piece of my body, so I snipped off a lock of red hair and placed it within the circle. The conditions were perfect. The sky was clear and cloudless, and a full moon gleamed in the heavens. According to the book, the spell had to be performed on the night of April 30th.

Any other night, and it would do nothing. What the significance of that date was aside from my birthday, I didn't know.

But that was just it. I didn't know what the spell would do, which was why I had to do it. When you're an adult, you avoid things you don't know because they could be dangerous. But when you're a kid, the unknown is an exciting, tempting thing, something cool just waiting to be discovered.

Once everything was prepared, I knelt down in the grass at the center of my magic circle. I clasped my hands together, tilted my head to the sky, and recited the verses of an ancient, arcane spell:

Goddess of souls, queen of the aether, hear my call.

Breathe life into my loved one and bring him to me.

My loved one, my familiar, give his life to me.

Titan of the otherworld, please hear my words.

Grant my wish, on this one Walpurgis Night, Night of Witches.

Give my lifelong guardian to me.

The effects were instantaneous. As soon as I ended my chant, an icy, howling wind swirled around me. The rest of the trees beyond the circle were still, so this phantom wind surrounded me and me alone. I clenched up, bristling with chills as snowflakes began to fall. Yeah, snowflakes. In the middle of spring, snow falling right in the center of the magic sigil. At first, I was too stunned to be afraid, but fear soon rose up in me as my surroundings grew dark.

Swirling shadows whipped back and forth, enveloping me in a funnel-like trap. I knelt there, heart racing, staring up and shivering as a swirling purple vortex materialized above me, licked by wisps of flame. The center was darkened by a growing shadow. It looked humanoid, with a pair of wings spreading from its back. The black figure bolted toward me, knocking me off my feet. Long, claw-like fingers tightened around my small body. I let out a scream.

The creature burst from the vortex and dragged me high into the air, circling the yard for a few seconds. Cold wind whipped through my hair. I sucked in hollow breaths, screaming for help as I clawed at the beast, but it held me firm.

The monster perched itself up in a tree and pinned me down with one hand. Its grip was like an iron vice. It gazed at me with hungry eyes. It was a male figure, at least ten feet tall, at a glance. He clutched me in his huge hands like a doll. He was dressed in a long black tailcoat, like butler's clothing, and he stank of an odd-smelling perfume or cologne. The jet-black wings opened up like a bat's. He had short, wispy black hair, and sharp, jagged teeth poked out behind his lips. Despite that, I couldn't see much of his actual body. He was a pitch-black, vaguely human-shaped figure, with no real features or traces of skin. It was as though he was made of shadow.