Page 1 of Spirit Witch

PROLOGUE

One year ago…

The young womanslept soundly in the back seat of the long, stretched limousine.She was beyond beautiful.Her platinum hair, ivory skin, and crystalline lavender eyes when she’d been awake, had rendered Helga Armstrong, Headmistress of Westwood Academy and current leader of the Council of Covens, speechless.

It was almost a shame she’d contracted her long-standing acquaintance to aid her in hiding the young witch’s ethereal charm.Almost.But with the survival of all magic at stake, vanity was hardly worth it.Besides, the female had no idea where her beauty hailed from.Nor did she know anything at all about the supernatural world.

“There.I’ve changed her hair color and dampened her beauty.But Helga, how can you be so sure she is the one?”the witch asked in hushed tones, interrupting Helga’s train of thought.

She frowned at the sleeping woman.Her hair was now a mousy brown, and her skin no longer shone with that extra bit of beauty she’d been born with.The fades surrounding her winked in and out of Helga’s limited sight.But the answer was yes, the headmistress was sure.This girl was important.

“Can’t you feel it?Her very being vibrates with power, Cornelia.I am surprised you are not able to tell,” Armstrong replied.

“Well, she seems special, but why not simply tell her what she is so she can get on with it?”

“That’s not how it works with magic.You know this.There must be balance.A payment to appease the multiverse,” whispered Helga.

“Yes, I understand.But I hope it does not take too long.All this loss is bad for business.”Cornelia harrumphed.

“Everything will be bad if magic dies, Cornelia.Not just business.”

“Yes, yes, but to leave it all in the hands of a bunch of college girls seems risky.”

“I know, my friend,” Helga muttered, staring down at the still sleeping girl.She would not wake up for a while yet.Just enough time to get her to the portal where Stolbright would see her transported to Westwood.

“You are betting our future on children,” spat Cornelia.

“Oh come now, they are not children.We were their age once and fighting wars to keep the peace, as oxymoronic as that sounds.No, I fully believe in the abilities of these six young women.I know it seems like I am being remiss with our future, but I assure you, I am not.”

“I never accused you of that,” Cornelia replied, packing the tools she used for her enchantments back into a large, ornate carpetbag.

It was the kind of bag normals used a plenty in a bygone age, but it was still preferred by many mages, apothecaries, wizards, and witches like Cornelia, whose practice depended on the use of various tonics, potions, and powders.

“Now, in order for this spell to last the year, get her to drink this.Just add it to boiling water and steep for two minutes before serving.She will need it at least once a month.You got that, Helga?”

“Yes, yes, thank you,” Helga replied, taking the jar of what looked like crushed flowers and tea leaves from Cornelia’s outstretched hand.

“Still don’t see why you cannot simply tell her who she is,” mumbled the older witch as she sealed her bag.

“She must discover her destiny on her own,” Helga replied, rubbing the amulet that hung around her neck.“She and the others need to forge a bond naturally in order to withstand the trials that are coming for them.”

“Trials?”

“Yes, many trials.But we are all tested, aren’t we, Cornelia?In different ways, perhaps.My fate is to bring these witches together, and theirs is to bring magic back to us.I just know it,” she whispered the last.

“Helga, I hope you are right, but I disagree with what you are doing.”

“Do you?I hope you will consider our friendship before voicing your disagreements to the public,” Helga replied, her eyes sharp and calculating.

“Of course, I will keep your secrets as you have kept mine these many years.But if you need me, call,” her friend said, sitting back in her seat, carpetbag on her lap.

Cornelia winked at Helga before she wiggled her nose and shut her eyes tight.Then,poof, she disappeared.There one minute, gone the next.Helga did not startle, having already seen Cornelia’s disappearing act a time or two.She was correct.Helga had kept Cornelia’s secrets for many years, and she trusted the half-witch to keep hers.

She looked down at Enid Morrigan’s face and frowned.The young woman would not recognize herself come tomorrow.She would not recognize a lot of things.Helga placed one hand on Enid’s forehead and the other on her amulet as she recited a spell to cause a sort of brain fog on its subject.

“There, rest well now, child, for tomorrow you are born again.”

CHAPTER1

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