Chapter 4
WINDY
Ordinarily, I would be a girl’s girl but this is no ordinary circumstance. I need a true love kiss — three times! And if Wallace is a way to break the curse, then so be it. Plus, I do really like him.
I’m sorry, Charlie.
Just as I am about to send Wallace a text, a raven slams into my window.
That can’t be a good sign.
Mom always said I had a familiar as a raven, but I have no memory of it. I open my window, the bird righting itself mid-air, before swooping into my room.
I scream, dodging the wicked winged beast.
Why the fuck did you open that window, Windy?
“Are you okay?” Charlie calls out.
“I’m fine!” I snap.
Guilt floods my system as the raven perches itself on my desk. I go to grab my guitar, the biggest, scariest object in my room to shoo the bird back out. Its long talons move their way to my open laptop and its beak seems to point to it.
“What are you?” I whisper. “What do you want?”
Suddenly, I feel as if I am being pulled under, as if the ground beneath me has become an ocean and I am drowning. My vision becomes static until everything is black. I now stand in an empty room filled with smoke, no, not smoke — fog. In the center of the room sits the raven. It screeches, but something else does too. The voice screeches over and over again.
A scene plays before my eyes. Something I’ve never seen before, or heard about either. As a voice tells me a story.
350 years ago, the town of Spells Hollow, founded by witches in 1610, accepted everyone into the community and they looked after each other. It was peaceful.
The coven’s high priestess had a group of lovers, one from each witch family within the coven, but she rejected a powerful sorcerer because of how selfishly and dangerously he used his magic. Your ancestor was Niall Doyle of Ireland.
He was allowed to remain in the protection of the coven, but she didn’t love him.
Enraged, he used every ounce of his power to curse each family of the high priestess’s lovers one by one before the final curse killed both the sorcerer and the high priestess.
The witches all fled Spells Hollow in different directions to try and escape the curse, but it was too late, and the curses have remained for generations.
It is now time to come home, Winifred Wren Weaver! Once each family lifts their curse, the sorcerer’s powers will be destroyed and the high priestess will be at peace in the afterlife once and for all.
I am suddenly back in the room again where the raven sits, watching me from the center. It screeches, but something else does too. The voice screeches over and over again.
Spells Hollow.
Spells Hollow.
Spells Hollow.
“Shut up!” I cry out, closing my eyes, and holding my hands over my ears. When I open my eyes up, I am back in my room.
“Fine!” Charlie snaps. “I’ll leave you alone!”
“Not you,” I say, but I hear her door slamming across from mine.
What the fuck was that?
I stand up and see a lone long black feather lying atop my laptop.
“Spells Hollow,” I whisper, standing up and pushing the feather aside as I type the words into Google.
Spells Hollow is an abandoned town located on the outskirts of New York State, shrouded in mystery and unsettling tales. Situated amidst desolate landscapes, its ruins stand as a testament to a bygone era, seemingly out of place amidst the modern surroundings of New York. The town’s eerie ambiance has left an indelible mark on those who have ventured near, evoking feelings of unease and foreboding.
Urban explorers and enthusiasts of the macabre have been drawn to Spells Hollow over the years, lured by the town’s haunting allure and the promise of uncovering its dark secrets. However, it is rumored that many who have dared to venture into its abandoned streets and dilapidated buildings have not returned. Those who have emerged from the town’s shadowy depths appear as mere shadows of their former selves, their spirits seemingly drained by the oppressive atmosphere that permeates the area.
The surrounding woods, once teeming with life, are said to be tainted by the darkness of Spells Hollow. Trails that once echoed with the sounds of nature now lie eerily silent, inhabited only by predators that roam the worn-down paths. The pervasive sense of dread that hangs over the town seems to extend into the forest, casting a pall of fear over anyone who dares to explore its depths.
Despite its obscurity and the ominous tales that surround it, Spells Hollow continues to capture the imagination of those intrigued by the unknown. It remains a place of mystery, its haunting allure drawing in curious souls while warning them of the dangers that lie within its forgotten streets and shadowy woods.
Have you explored this forbidden town?
“Not yet,” I say as if the computer cares to hear my answer. “But I suppose I will have to.”
My phone rings. It’s Wallace.
We’re sitting outside the coffee shop on his lunch break. I sip my cold brew — the last thing I should be consuming with my anxiety reeling this much.
I consider telling him about Charlie, but I feel as if I am betraying her by sharing a secret that isn’t mine to share, even if it's what has me all over the place. One second, I am flirting and the next I am pulling away, feeling as if I am breaking my friend's heart. But this is too perfect not to be meant to be.
“Where is your mind?” Wallace asks gently.
“Spells Hollow,” I blurt out.
“You know about Spells Hollow?” he asks, and he seems tense.
Confused even.
Why?
“Kind of. Why?” I ask.
“No one knows about Spells Hollow.”
“Well, I do. Are you one of those weird ghost hunters who visit that place?”
“Weird, huh?”
“Oh, no! That’s not what I meant!”
He laughs as he swoops his long locks into a man bun that would look laughable on anyone else but him. “No. I’m not. I’ve just heard people talk about it. Did you want to go?” he asks.
“Go to Spells Hollow?” I ask. “There’s nothing there…” I almost add that it sounds dangerous, but I feel like this would intrigue him even more.
“If there is nothing there, why do people keep going?”
He winks.
“Oh, Wallace, I don’t think this is a good —”
Before I can finish my sentence, a raven lands in the middle of our table.
Wallace blinks. “Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one up close before. It doesn’t even seem to be bothered by us… and it keeps staring… at you.”
“Maybe it’s a sign,” I say sadly. I don’t know why, but it feels like this so-called familiar of mine is bringing with it a sadness that I can’t quite pin. “We should go.”
“To Spells Hollow?” Wallace asks.
“Yeah,” I confirm.
“Okay, well, who am I to deny a magic bird sending us on a mission?”
“It’s not magi —”
“I’m taking the rest of the day off,” Wallace shouts to the barista who is walking out with an order for a customer whose name she has been shouting through the speakers for the last two minutes.
She rolls her eyes. “Of course, you are. Is Charlie going to cover your shift?”
He shrugs. “Maybe? Call her?”
Charlie is going to kill me.