Page 57 of Practically Witches

I know that, too.

Elizabeth picks up the scepter, holds it in the air then pulls it down, twists it this way and that way to examine it.After a moment, she tries again. Holds it up to the light. Nothing happens a second time and she screams. Not like a regular pissed off yell. This is the kind of scream that belongs in a scary movie when the heroine is being chased by all the worst fictional villains, clowns, demons, and scary ass dolls Hollywood has ever created.

Every other sound in the room dies and if this was indeed something from Hollywood, we would banter now. She would ask for the power. I would tell her it isn’t hers. She would remind me it isn’t mine, either.

We would go back and forth for a while. That makes for good TV, but this is my life and I can’t think of one witty thing to say to her. Instead, I narrow my eyes, give a slight nod, and the chanting starts back up. The first families sat at my kitchen table last night and created a binding spell so strong, none of them could break it. Four together couldn’t break it. Only five. So, as long as I don’t let her drain another witch before they finish, she won’t be strong enough to break free before I…

I wait until she’s motionless, until only her eyes are a threat to me. And then Zane nods to me.

I should do it right now. But as soon as I do, the magic that let me take the power from the scepter will go back to the scepter.

“RJ!” Aimee is crouched beside Dad and looks up at me. “I can’t help him without magic.”

Dammit. She’s right.

Zane holds the scepter, waiting for me to do what I am supposed to do. They’re all waiting for me.

“You don’t have to do this,” Elizabeth says. “We can share the power. You and me, RJ. You don’t have to give it up, don’t have to give back the euphoria.”

Yes. That is the exact right word for what I am feeling. “Euphoria.”

“Think of the power, RJ.”

I can see them all yelling, see the wind blowing again, and this time it’s me. I’m making it happen. I’ve got power and energy and magic flowing through me for the first time in my life, and I want to keep it.

“RJ!” It’s my Mom’s voice again. “It’s not yours. Give your sister her magic back.” I can see us, me and Aimee on the back patio when we were kids. I was about five, which would have made Aimee about seven. She’s lying back on the concrete, hurt, hand over her chest. She’s breathing so softly I can barely see her chest rise and fall under her hand. Mom is standing over me, her hands on my shoulders, as she gives me a hard shake. “RJ! That magic isn’t yours. Give your sister her magic back.”

When mini-me passes the magic back to her, my mother stands for a minute with her eyes closed and then I feel nothing. No magic. No need for it even. She’d cast a spell. And if she’d done it to me then, why couldn’t we do it for Elizabeth now?

“It won’t return the magic, RJ,” Mom’s voice in my head says.

I know it. The only way they get their magic back is if Elizabeth returns it or if I kill her.

Fuck.

Elizabeth smiles at me. She knows what I feel right now. The pleasure, the need, the magic intoxication. My thoughts are clouded, or maybe it’s that they’re clearer than they’ve ever been and I don’t know how to handle it. “It feels good, doesn’t it? That power.”

It does.

“RJ, please! I have to help him!”

I glance over at Aimee, still crouched by our father, by the man who left us to save himself. And I’m angry all over again. I shouldn’t have to do this because he was too weak to do it a long time ago. I shouldn’t be the one.

Along with my anger, the allure of the magic is calling me, begging me to savor it, to keep it, and I tilt my head back, look at the ceiling, wishing I could be the girl I’m supposed to be. “I’m sorry.”

For a moment, even I wonder who I’m apologizing to, and then I make a decision because I’m finally the person I’ve always been meant to be.

Chapter

Twenty-Six

It’s been two months since that day in the Hall of Greats.

Of course, by now, there’s no evidence that a battle took place. It’s been restored and all the broken statues and relics have been repaired or replaced.

The wands have been returned to the nine first families and the balance of magic has been restored. Once more, the witch population is safe from threat.

“RJ, are you ready?” Aimee calls from outside my room.

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