Chapter 32 #2
“We have three great acts for you tonight. As bittersweet as the evening is, we’ll try to make it fun with final goodbyes, treats, and time to spend as our own little coven. First up, a fire dance from the Apple Blossom cabin!”
Everyone cheered as a group of witches stepped into the spotlight. With ease, they manipulated their magic to juggle balls of fire and create flaming animals that bound across the air. I’d never seen anything like it. They would make a killing if they ever decided to join the circus.
The second group showcased their water skills, a perfect contrast to the act before them.
The theme of balance and harmony was highly emphasized, and yet, I only found it slightly cheesy.
Maybe sometimes, in small doses and under the right circumstances, cheesy was fun.
I thought about the first time I’d walked into this hall and how unsure I’d been that I’d fit in, but aside from the few interactions with Astrid, I felt like I’d found the balance of who I was and who I’d been waiting to become.
For the water works finale, the three witches created a fine mist over the room as one of the fire-wielding witches from the previous act came out.
She clasped her hands together, strobes of light escaping from the spaces between her fingers until she felt it had concentrated enough to release.
The light collided with the droplets in the air to project hundreds of rainbows into every corner of the room.
The crowd gasped and cheered. Yep, someone call Cirque du Soleil. That was the best show I’d ever seen.
The last group was from the Midnight Moon cabin, who filed in after the others had taken their seats. I was expecting something earthy, but instead two witches tied silk scarves into the rafters overhead.
Then, in death-defying feats, their cabinmates wrapped themselves in the silks until they were high in the air, then let go. Their bodies spun and twisted before halting inches from the floor. I lost count of the number of times I gasped and covered my eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Faith leaned over to whisper. “There’s an invisible safety net that will catch them if they fall.”
“Is that the magic they’re showing off?”
“Nope. This is more of a way of paying tribute to the practice of ordinary magics.” She pointed up to the place where the silks were tied.
“See the knot? That’s for protection. And the way they trust the fibers to hold them?
That’s like paying tribute to the strength and durability of the universe. ”
“It’s beautiful.”
“A lot of witches end up working at ren faires and carnivals.”
I nodded my head, my suspicions confirmed.
Their act finished with a final freefall that left me breathless and on my feet, clapping with the rest of the camp.
Then Iris crossed the stage, giving the group her congratulations, her words drowned out by the crowd. “That marks the end of our show—”
“Wait!” A voice cut through. Astrid and two of her friends bounced up onto the stage. Astrid whispered something into Iris’s ear, then paused. Iris looked over to Dagmar, who shrugged.
My stomach churned.
“I guess we’re in for a surprise.” Iris gave Astrid and her friends a wary look before she stepped away and gave them the floor.
Astrid smiled wide, and some people clapped for her as if compelled by her bullishness to do so.
I’d forgotten for a moment that I wouldn’t be rid of her after the summer was over.
She was going to be a major Maple Hollow thorn in my side, I was sure of it.
But if enduring her presence meant I could learn more about myself and my magic, it would be worth it. And maybe I’d be stronger for it.
“The Harvest Moon cabin has put together a skit for you!” Astrid announced to a growing smattering of applause.
One of Astrid’s lackeys took out a baseball cap and fake mustache and slapped it onto her top lip. Astrid and her now gender-bent accomplice turned their backs to the crowd. The lights narrowed in on the last witch, who put her hands over her face and pretended to cry.
Astrid turned toward her, and with a flourish of her hand, she declared, “I’m done with this life. I don’t need anyone or anything but my man.”
She faced her “man” and batted her eyelashes, swooning like an old Hollywood damsel.
The witch portraying the sobbing character lowered her hands and loudly proclaimed, “Don’t be a coward running away in the middle of the night with him.
If you turn your back on your coven like that, you’ll never be able to come back.
” She turned and stared right at me. “Not even if you send your spawn to Lake Nevermore one day out of desperation. You’ll always be an outsider. ”
What in the actual fuck?
Faith gripped my forearm. “Are they for real?”
I looked around at the shocked crowd, all of us too stunned to do anything other than gape.
“I don’t care,” Astrid said with a dramatic pout. “I’m too good for this small town, anyway. And besides, I’m terrible at magic. Any daughter of mine would be useless to the coven. I won’t even tell her she’s a witch because all she’ll be is useless.”
“No kid of mine will be magical,” cut in the last witch, who I realized far too late was supposed to be my father.
My hands started shaking, and I could feel the heat of my anger rising up my neck.
Fuck these bitches and their ridiculous play.
“Come on.” I heard Faith’s voice, but it felt like I was underwater. “Gwen, seriously, let’s go before I turn her into a rotten pumpkin.”
In an instant, we were on our feet. But before we could reach the door, I heard Astrid scream.