Page 328 of Castings & Curses

“That’s what he said! I swear to God! How does that sound anywhere close tonormalto you?”

But she was gone in the next instant, and both Broody and Luca could hear her footfalls growing fainter and fainter as she clambered up the winding stone steps to the main level of the library.

Moni was still furious as she exited through the centermost of the main library doors and ran out into the campus yard. She could feel her face burning and she was irate, but at the same time she could feel tears streaking their way down her cheeks, making cool trails as she faced into the chilly evening breeze.

She hated them for trying to fuck up her relationship with Sam.

Most of all she hated herself for crying over it.

She felt that Luca and Broody had turned on her, and for no other reason than petty jealousy. She hadn’t done a thing to deserve that, and neither had her twin, Sam.

She decided to ask Sam if she could move into his small, plain single room. She would drag some of her clothing and her mattress down there before Shady or Broody got back.

She was determined to avoid them—not Shady, but Luca and Broody—at least until they apologized for defaming her brother.

CHAPTER SEVEN-REVELATIONS

“They really miss you, you know,”Shady was saying, as she drew in a lungful of the fuchsia color smoke from the imported French cigarette she was smoking and puffed it out in three neat and colorful smoke rings. “They hardly know what to do with themselves since you moved out of the room. They’re like little lost puppies!”

“Good!” Moni found herself saying as she swung her legs. She was sitting on one side of the steps to their dorm, and Shady was sitting back to back with her so as not to blow smoke in Moni’s face. “They need to get a grip. Maybe they don’t understand the bond that exists between twins, but at this point I think it’s deplorable that they made up lies—”

“Luca and Broody wouldn’t lie, Moni!” Shady said, cutting her off. “Believe me when I tell you that even though they like to goof around and play pranks, I have never known either of them to tell a lie… Anyway, aren’t you getting horny? Are you dating anyone else now—wait—of course you aren’t, tending to your brother takes up most of your time still, right?”

Moni sighed. “Yeah, he seems really attached to me but heismaking other friends. Though heisa bit neurotic, like he has to know where I am and what I am doing every minute. He is constantly texting me! It’s like babysitting. I was trying to get him interested in Brandy Tanderell, and I think they actually made a date! Maybe if he makes more friends he won’t be such a stickleburr!”

It seemed to Shady that Sam was behaving more like a stalker than someone with insecurity issues, but she wisely kept her peace, because she was determined not to offend Moni. Moni was the closest thing to a sister she’d ever had, and the fact that she was intensely attracted to her was just a bonus.

“You know what?” she said as if she’d just had a brilliant idea. “You should invite me for a sleepover in your brother’s room tonight. He’ll be out on a date… And we girls can have cocktails and some girl fun! I bet you are in need of a massage, Moni. You’ve had such a tense week. And I don’t know if you remember, but I havemagic hands!”

Moni turned to smile at Shady.

“That sounds perfect. How about nine pm? I’ll bring in some fruity beers and we can relax!”

* * *

“So how isyour Vantablack Level I Course coming?” Shady asked Moni sometime later when they were both comfortably ensconced against a huge bank of damask pillows atop Moni’s comfortable mattress.

“Too slowly,” Moni said, flashing a grin. “And I have very mixed feelings… I had no idea how dark Vantablack is… I’m not a prude but I am surprised they allow Sophomores into such an advanced class! How is your Level II Vantablack Course going, by the way, Miss Advanced Magical Studies candidate?”

“I know what you mean about it being darker but that’s what I like about it,” Shady replied, swilling down her beer and then emitting a small ladylike burp. “It’s exclusive, and different. And it often requires the practitioner to shed a few drops of blood... But, Moni, that’s why it is so much more powerful than other forms of Magic… That’s what makes it unique!”

“I know,” Moni said dreamily, starting to feel a buzz from her second beer. “And I wasn’t going to ask, but… Do you think you could teach me a few tricks from the advanced class? I don’t mean to take advantage of our friendship or make you feel uncomfortable… Please, feel free to say no!”

Shady turned to Moni, her perfect brow slightly buckled.

“If it were Broody my brother or even Luca asking I would have to sayno, she told her. “But I think you have a penchant for it, even agiftfor it… So I will sayyes, on one condition… I will only teach you Vantablack Magical Charms and Spells as youneedthem. I mean,reallyneed them! It is a heavy magic, and can backfire on you if you try to become proficient at it too quickly! Have you ever heard the story they tell about George Tinklemiss?”

Moni shook her head as she uncapped another bottle of fruity beer.

“Well, school legend has it, that he was at the top of the Vantablack advanced studies. He was a whiz at memorizing even the most complicated of spells and casting. Anyway,” she continued. “He got ahead of himself—some say he had memorized even the most arcane Egyptian papyrus scrolls from the House Of Books—well, that’s what the Egyptians called libraries and they just had scrolls up to the 17thcentury. Old George was fascinated by the discipline, and I also think drawn to the mystique and danger of Vantablack Magic, just as I am and you are, but he got ahead of himself when he started Casting to summon dark entities and trying to control them. They say he called one too many of them, lost control, and inadvertently unleashed an evil into the witching world that still exists in the Rebel and Underground Covens.” She reached for Moni’s hand to grasp it.

“Iwillteach you some useful enchantments and spells, because I believe your brother’s abduction sounds like so many others that happen to our auspicious and highly gifted magical families, but you must be careful… If that was the case, they have undoubtedly figured out the fact that any casting by a pair of twins becomes more than twice as powerful… Moni, what if they let Sam return just to lure you back to wherever they were keeping him, so that they could have thepairof you?”

Moni returned Shady’s worried look and asked, “Whatever became of George Tinklemiss, Shady?”

“Oh, they found him face up and stone dead in the Refractory Practice Tower, an area they had set up in one of the towers away from the rest of the school for students to safely practice less manageable magic. Since his death, because they removed most of the more dangerous forms of magic from the curriculum, it is rarely used, and only with permission, however…” Shady slipped her hand into her cleavage and pulled out a copper colored key on a long silver chain.

“I happen to have a key to it! Why don’t we practice every evening right after supper! But in the meantime, let me share a secret that will vaporize any entity in its tracks. It takes three drops of your blood and you must cut yourself and be bleeding when you recite the Spell! Now pay attention, it could save your life someday!

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