Page 1 of Magical Sass for Three
Chapter 1
Hanna cursed the darkness as she stumbled her way along the beach. The moon wasn’t full, which made the quarter moonlight work against her and create even more shadows. It was her fault. She easily forgot simple pleasures could save her life. Sure, she could bring forth a magical ball of light with a simple incantation, but that was basically sending a “come catch me and kill me” beacon to the people after her. The witch trackers after her weren’t on their way for a friendly talk.
Stupid mistakes were what got crazy witches killed. She may have been a crazy witch, but she wasn’t stupid. She had too much time learning the tricks of the trade and fending for herself. If she didn’t think quickly on her magical feet, she would have been dead a long time ago. No thanks to her mother. She wasn’t going to think about that woman. Her head needed to be clear before she could perform the spell she needed to cast.
“I will not step on a crab,” she said out loud. “I will not step on a damn crab.” Those little suckers were everywhere this time of year, and the last thing she wanted was to be pinched at night. That alone would probably send every local to her location. When it came to pain, she could openly admit she was a wimp.
You’d think with magical and other supernatural creatures in the world, someone would have come up with a pain-free potion, invention, or something, she thought to herself.What good is having magical powers without getting rid of life’s annoyances every now and then?
At least the cave she planned on doing her spell in wasn’t that far out. It had been her one hideaway when she grew up in the small coastal town of Vella Cove, Florida. She’d sneak books out of the library and read them until it got dark and she had to go home. Home to a place where she wasn’t wanted.
Her mother had been wary of her as soon as she caught six-year-old Hanna making her teddy bear collection float around her bedroom. Although her mother was a descendant of witches, she wasn’t a practitioner. In fact, she feared all things magical and called it unnatural. After she noticed Hanna’s powers were increasing with age, she’d become cold.
There were numerous times Hanna would ask about her father, hoping he’d be able to help her understand her magic, but that only aggravated her mother until she took to giving her the silent treatment.
Hanna became good at hiding her magic from her mother. She made sure not to practice anything at home and found solace in her cave on the beach. She dubbed it her cave, even though was accessible to anyone who discovered it. Although dark and ominous by nature, there was a comfort inside the walls of the cave that she couldn’t find back at home, even if she tried.
It was when Hanna was nineteen that all levels of Hades broke loose. She’d been dreaming, the most beautiful dream she ever had her life, she felt her body fill with power. She dreamt that she was running through the woods on her bare feet, searching for someone. It was a sense of need that she couldn’t describe, but she knew that she had to find them. Everything depended on that. The moon wasn’t dark then. It was a full bulbous light that guided her way. She was close. Her entire body felt the presence of someone else and it lit her on fire from the inside.
That’s when a high-pitched scream startled her awake. It had come from her. She woke up to her comforter covered in flames. She choked on the smoke as her mother stood still in Hanna’s doorway and did nothing but stare.
Hanna had to stomp the flames out on her own. She stared down at the singed comforter. What if she hadn’t woken up?
“That’s it,” her mother had said. “I want you out of here in the morning.”
“What?” Hanna was still processing the fact that she almost became a crispy witch and her mother hadn’t made any attempt to save her.
“You lit your bed on fire, Hanna! What if you hadn’t woken up? Mariana and I could be dead.” Her mother always used Mariana’s full name, although most people called her Riana.
Why would she ever do anything to hurt her mother or little sister? Despite her mother’s hostility, she’d never harm her family.
“What about me? I almost died, and now you think I did this on purpose?”
“If you didn’t, that’s even worse. I won’t have magic in this house. First thing in the morning, I want you gone.”
“Fine. You want me out, I’m out.”
Hanna didn’t need to wait until morning. She took two large book bags from her closet and stuffed them. She wasn’t going to let her mother be the one who kicked her out. Hanna was happy to go, even though she only had a few hundred to her name from tutoring. She didn’t need the daily bitterness from anyone. Before she left, she made sure she told Riana goodbye.
“Where you going?” a sleepy Riana had asked her.
“A cool witch adventure,” Hanna had said.
“That’s not a thing.”
“It totally is a thing. Besides, if mom keeps calling me one, I might as well embrace it.”
Riana yawned. “You’re lucky you got powers.”
“I don’t feel so lucky.”
Riana was already falling asleep again when she said. “You better call. Lots of times.”
“Go to sleep, Mari Bug,” Hanna said. She kissed her sister’s forehead before she left and made a mental promise to call whenever she could.
She didn’t have to worry about how her mother treated Riana. Her little sis was the favorite. Always had been, but Hanna could never get bitter over that.
She brought herself back to the present. What was with her and reminiscing tonight? She blamed it on the shock of being back in her hometown. That had to be it. She wasn’t the type to get all nostalgic.
