Page 99 of The Secret Life of a Witch

“Hush. We can’t let anyone know what happened to you. Not if we don’t want anyone figuring out what we’re up to.” My mom snags ahold of her sleeve and yanks her inside, throwing an anxious glance around the neighborhood before slamming the door shut.

I stay frozen where I float as I watch my fake mom and ex-friend disappear inside the house I once thought of as home. If I didn’t know any better, I’d wonder if perhaps my mom was conspiring with Opal. Opal who betrayed me and Ryleigh by handing over her dead body to the demons so they could get to me. But no, my fake mom would never do that to me. Or, well, at least to Ryleigh, her real daughter. Me, I’m not even certain she ever thought of me as her daughter. Her lack of visits over the last couple weeks more than proves that.

But that’s not the only reason behind my dumbstruck state. No, what’s put me into a state of utter shock is the riddle Opal uttered before my mom towed her inside. The riddle that madeit sound like a demon cursed Opal into a clown. A demon who is obsessed with rainbow trout.

“Freakin’ Max.” My head bobbles back as I grimace.

So, Max turned my traitor ex-friend into my worst nightmare. While I want to be furious at him, I’m not. After what Opal did, she kind of deserves to be forced to endure countless self-giggling and endless riddling. Not to mention those awful shoes and squeaky nose have to be uncomfortable. Regardless, why did Max turn Opal into a clown? As a punishment? Or was he trying to keep her quiet?

“Just what’re you up to, Max?” I mutter as I glide through the door. “And what have you done to my sister?”

The moment I return to life, I’m going to find out. Demons never do anything out of the kindness of their hearts. Well, unless they’re in love with someone. Then they go from being the most selfish creatures that ever existed to the most self-sacrificing, but only for the creature they love.

However, Max isn’t in love with me, so why did he do it? Why change Opal into a clown? Other than to keep her quiet about something.

EVALEE

“We have a huge problem,” my fake mom announces as she whisks into the library in the basement of my childhood home.

Or, should I say, secret library, since up until a minute ago, I wasn’t aware the house had a basement, let alone a massive library with wall-to-wall bookshelves and a domed ceiling, an illusion created by magic. A black and white checkerboard floor swirls in a kaleidoscope of patterns, and a gothic chandelier casts starry shadows across everything. The place is truly badass.

“Why in the sneaky witches did I not know this place existed?” I mutter, turning in a circle.

A heartbeat of a second later, my answer arrives as the far-left bookshelf opens, revealing yet another room. This one is far less awesome and consisting of plain grey walls and a long, rectangular table where my fake father; Hunter’s father, Liam; and a few of my parents’ colleagues sit.

“Oh, the society is here!” Opal claps her hands and bounces on her toes. “Let me tell you a riddle.”

“For the love of all powerful witches, what the hell is that?” Liam gapes at Opal in disgust.

He looks like an older version of Hunter, only his blond hair is cut short and combed neatly. He’s also wearing a button-down shirt and tie, a style similar to what the old Hunter wore. Not the new, apparently real Hunter, who’s kind of Goth mixed with a bit of bad boy.

I blow out an exasperated exhale at the reminder that I may not know the real Hunter. Well, I pretend to blow out an exhale, since ghosts can’t breathe.

My mom sighs as she pulls out a chair. “This is Opal.”

Liam’s jaw drops. “What the hell happened to her?”

My mom massages her temples with her fingertips. “I’m not sure yet. All I can get out of her are riddles, and most of them make no damn sense.”

Opal plops down in a chair and pinches her squeaky nose. “They’d make perfect sense if you’d think bigger than what your brain is expanding to. Just open your eyes and look right in front of you. You’ll see.”

My mom crooks a brow at Liam. “See what I mean?”

“We need to figure it out and reverse the effects before she gets permanently stuck like this,” my dad—fake dad—intervenes, loosening his tie.

I swallow a lump wedged in my throat as I painfully realize something. I need to start referring to my fake parents by their real names, because Mom and Dad, even fake mom and dad, doesn’t work anymore.

Sucking back the tears threatening to pour out, I drift over to an empty seat and sit down. Well, more like hover above the chair.

“You don’t think this has anything to do with Plan Elimination, do you?” my fake mom—I mean, Julie—asks worriedly.

Liam tosses a distrustful glance at the witches and wizards sitting around the table. “The only way that could be possible isif someone outside of our inner magic circle found out about our plan. And the only way that could’ve happened is if we have a traitor in our midst.”

Plan Elimination? Inner magic circle? What the twitchy witches are they talking about?

My fake dad, Greg, absently taps his wand against his hand. “Well, either that or you weren’t cautious enough about the stuff you’ve been saying.”

Liam slants back in his chair with his brows raised. “You’re blamingmefor this?”

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