Witchcraft Read online

  Witchcraft

  Genia Arthur

  One

  I looked down at the purple flowing robe that I wore to warm my body as I followed the others to the Circle. We were almost to the the opening in the woods where the ceremony would take place and I could feel the power growing inside of me, almost as if the magic itself was getting excited at the prospect of being close to our connection to the ancestors. I shook my head as I looked down at the offering in my hands, twenty-one roses to symbolize my twenty-one years of life.

  This felt like someone else’s life. I had no idea where I was or how I had gotten here. I had no clue why I was here with these people to perform this crazy ceremony. Yet, at the same time, I knew this was what I was born to do and I knew everything by instinct. It was in my blood to know these traditions and that these were my people.

  We reached the clearing and our leader, the only one of us dressed in white, moved to the center of the Circle as we took our twelve spots around her. One by one we laid our sacrifices down in front of our feet and said our peace to the ancestors. We barely spoke above a whisper as it was our private moment with them yet we knew that they could hear us. I laid my roses down and spoke the words that came from my soul.

  Thank you for helping me to find my true family and my one true path.

  I will not fail you as you guide me.

  I was the final one to place my sacrifice and once it was done, our leader started to dance and chant in the center of the Circle. After a few moments, the rest of us joined her. I didn’t know what we were saying but the words were as natural to me as saying the Pledge of Allegiance or the Lord’s Prayer. It was like I had heard them as a small child and could recite them from memory but I couldn’t recall a situation where I had been told them.

  As suddenly as it had began, the chanting and dancing stopped. I looked around the Circle and realized that everyone was looking at me, watching me. The leader moved towards me in her ethereal white robe. I saw that she had long blonde hair peeking through her hood. I felt nervous and unsure of what would happen next as I was now being singled out. Would they realize that I was not really one of them? Would they know that I was not supposed to be here and that I was simply trying to catch on as it went?

  The blonde woman in the white robe reached forward and grasped my hands. “Fear not, young one. We have searched for you and longed for you. We are now complete because you are here. The ancestors mourned your loss and cried out for you through us. But now you are home. Now you are free to be the person you were always meant to be. With our love and guidance, you will grow to be a powerful witch, just like your mother before.”

  Suddenly I sat up in my bed, fully awake. I looked around the room of my small off-campus apartment and took a moment to make sure that I was still in my own room and not in some crazy backwoods with crazy people professing to witches. This was the third time this week that I’ve had this strange nightmare and it was beginning to feel even more real every time that I had it.

  With a sigh, I laid back against my pillows once again. This was not a good time for me to be having nightmares. Midterms were just around the corner and I needed my focus. I rolled over to grab the glass of water that I always kept beside my bed and took a sip, hoping it would clear my head. I groaned as I glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 3:00 AM. It seemed like I always woke up at 3:00 AM after this insane nightmare. The last thing I needed was to get my sleep schedule off track.

  I put the water back and fluffed my pillows. If I could get comfortable enough to fall back to sleep, I could maybe get four peaceful hours in before it was time to get up and get ready for my Psychology class.

  Two

  I headed across the quad and hoped that I hadn’t forgotten anything in my backpack for my classes. I had been so exhausted from my nightmare that I slept through the alarm and was running late once again. My shower had been more than rushed and I was sure that I looked a mess. Maybe if I sat in the back of my classes, no one would pay attention and I could get through the day somewhat unscathed.

  “Hey, stop! Didn’t you see me waving at you? Madison, wait!”

  I turned around to see David running towards me. David Taylor was my closest friend at college ever since we had bonded at a frat party freshmen year. We both had awkwardly been the only ones not getting stupid drunk and we had laughed together as we stood along the wall watching everyone else make fools of themselves. After that night, we had bonded over late nights of studying with shared pints of ice cream and grilled cheese sandwiches in my apartment or at his dorm. He would complain about his large, smothering family and I would tell him what it had been like to be a foster kid until I had turned eighteen and gotten into college at Robinson King University.

  I waited for David to catch his breath once he finally stopped running. “Sorry, I’ve been distracted this morning. I didn’t sleep well and then I overslept. I probably look like I’ve been run over twice. I’m hoping that if I just lay low, anyone who sees me today will just let it go.”

  David looked up at me from where he was still bent over to try to catch his breath. “Madison, you look fine.” He stood up and readjusted his backpack. “Was it the same dream again?”

  I forgot that I had told David about the dream. It had popped out of my mouth the other night before I could stop it and now I couldn’t take it back. I pulled my braid to the side and fiddled with it. “Yep, same one again.”

  David put his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Madison, there is no such thing as witches. Or vampires, werewolves, druids, mermaids, or fairies for that matter. When we left Netflix on the other night in the background to study, some weird B movie probably came on and got into your subconscious without you realizing it. You’re just stressed about midterms. Let’s order a pizza tonight and we’ll study. It’ll take your mind off of it.”

  I smiled. I had to admit that David made sense. “Okay. That sounds pretty good.” I looked at my cell phone and started to panic for a completely different reason. “Crap! We’re late to Psychology! Let’s run!”

  As we hurried up the stairs to the building, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me. When our feet hit the top step, I paused briefly to turn around and scan the quad with my eyes. There didn’t seem to be anyone looking at me or standing out from the crowd and I gave myself a brief mental shake. These dreams were really starting to get to me and I needed to get my head into the game for my midterms.

  “Madison, what are you doing? Let’s go.”

  I turned around and followed David into the building. This was not the time to let exhaustion get the best of me or to allow silly distractions to ruin my college career. Ever since I had seen the constant injustices of the world thanks to my membership in the foster care system as a child, it had been my dream to get my degree in Criminal Justice and help to find the truth in justice. My future was far more important than a silly stress dream.

  We made our way passed other stressed out students and found our lecture hall. We took our usual seats just in time for the TA to pass out study guides for the midterm. I started to pour over it eagerly and was relieved to find no surprises among the questions. At least now I would have a fighting chance to get a decent grade. That is, if I could keep the horrors in my sleep at bay.

  Three

  The rest of the day passed by much the same. By the time the evening came, I had collected two more study guides but I was also gaining more confidence in my abilities to actually survive midterms. I eyed the pizza on top of the stove and debated stealing a slice of it while I waited for David to arrive. I was just about to give into temptation when I heard a knock on the door and ran to open it.

  “Ugh. It’s about time you got here. I was just about to
starve to death.”

  David rolled his eyes at me as he walked in. “Drama queen, much? I’m ten minutes late. And when you hear why, you’re going to thank me.”

  I felt my stomach rumble as I closed the door behind him. “Fat chance. Anything that comes between me and my pizza does not get a thank you.”

  David laughed as he grabbed the pizza and plates as I grabbed us some sodas and we headed to our usual spot on the couch. “You are the only girl that I know who can eat like a linebacker while still fitting into a size four. Pizza Hut should give you a sponsorship. I swear if it came down to carbs or rent, you would pick cheesesticks in a heartbeat.”

  I leaned forward to grab a slice. “I’m sorry. Did you say that you had news or did you just want to make commentary on my eating habits? Because I’m totally content to polish off this pie by myself if need be.”

  David held up his hands in mock defeat. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Yes, I have news. I was locking up the tutoring center from my TA gig when I ran into Professor Nelson as she was coming out of a meeting. You know how we have been talking about all of those weird unsolved crimes that have been on the news lately? Well, the local police have been getting a ton of pressure to solve them but they don’t have any money to put together a special task force so they have been required to get creative.

  They approached Professor Nelson as the Dean of the Criminal Justice program and asked her if she would be willing to put together a group of seniors to look at the crime scenes and the evidence with fresh eyes to see if they can come up with new theories. It gives the students a chance to get some real life experience before entering the professional world and the police get to appease the public without actually spending any additional funds.”

  I sat back with my soda. “Wow. That’s incredible. How are they going to pick the students?”

  David shrugged. “It’s up to Professor Nelson’s discretion. Of course, she asked me right away if I wanted to be apart of it, which I jumped at. It’s a great opportunity. This is the kind of thing that the FBI and the CIA are going to want to recruit from.”

  I bit my lip as I watched him. This really was an incredible opportunity and David had to know that I wanted in too. “So are you going to make me beg for it or what?”

  David laughed. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I already got you in too. She’s going to ask three other seniors and that will be it. We start on Monday, right after midterms.”

  I squealed and sloshed some of my soda onto my jeans as I jumped forward to hug him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew you’d have my back! This is so exciting! And you were right - this does get you forgiven for being ten minutes late.”

  David reached forward to grab some more pizza as I sat back into my seat. “See, I told you I would be forgiven.”

  I shook my head in amazement. “You were right. This is huge. This could make our careers before we even graduate. And to think only five seniors get to participate out of the three hundred of us getting ready to matriculate. Wow. I wonder what case we will start with first.”

  David swallowed his bite. “I don’t know. But after we finish midterms, we should catch up on all the recent news coverage of the unsolved cases so we can be prepared either way.”

  Four

  By the time midterms were over, I was almost jumping out of my skin with excitement for the first meeting of the task force. I walked into the student conference room holding my jumbo mocha latte and grinned as I saw David already seated at the table. None of the other students had arrived so it was easy to shuffle around the table to take a seat next to him.

  As I sat down, he raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure a coffee was a good idea? You look ready to spontaneously combust as it is.”

  I took a big sip just to spite him and then smiled as I set it down and pulled out my notebook. “That’s just the excitement oozing out of me. I’m ready to solve some crime!”

  Of course that would be when Professor Nelson would walk in. “Well, that’s what I like to hear. I hope that eagerness continues because we have a lot of work ahead of us and now the public’s focus is about to shift from the police to our little group.”

  David looked up from his tablet. “We can handle it. Right, Madison?”

  I nodded. “Absolutely.”

  Professor Nelson smiled. “Great. It looks like the rest of our group is joining us now so let’s everyone get seated and we will start with some introductions.” She waited for the last three students to sit around the table and then remained standing.

  She moved to stand behind a short, mousy looking brunette. “This is Reese Collins. Reese also holds a degree in Psychology from Trinity University and she has published multiple peer reviewed papers on the psyche of criminals.”

  Professor Nelson then walked over to stand behind lanky guy with large rimmed glasses. “Everyone meet Scott Baker. Scott interned last summer for Senator James Perez. Yes, that same Senator that was indicted for taking bribes and using his position to extort industry leaders. It was Scott who uncovered the scandal and helped to bring the Senator down.”

  I was beginning to feel more and more uneasy and inadequate as the professor made her way around the table. Next she stood behind an overweight blonde girl with an acne problem. “This is Emilia Green. I’ll let her show you her special talent.” Suddenly the girl stood up and removed a wig and what apparently was a very realistic mask. But that wasn’t all. She also unzipped a bodysuit and stepped out. In reality, Emilia was a beautiful interracial girl with sparkling green eyes and a very fit body. She sat back down and smiled.

  Professor Nelson nodded. “As you can see, Emilia is a master of disguises. She learned this as a daughter of a foreign diplomat and developed her talents as a teen when her eagerness to ditch her protective detail to have a social life grew.”

  The professor came to stand behind David next. I smiled at him in encouragement. “You already know David Taylor, I’m sure, but I will introduce him anyway. David runs our tutor center and is your class president for the Criminal Justice department. He is also on track to be your valedictorian. He’s shown great promise in every class this department has had and we are very excited to have him as part of this group.”

  As I saw Professor Nelson walk towards me, I suddenly felt a great wave of panic overtake me. I had no business being a part of this group of such extraordinary people. I was a nobody and always had been. “Last but not least we have Madison Jones. I am particularly excited to have her as part of this team. Madison grew up in the foster care system and has seen first hand where the criminal justice system can fail us. She balances out our special task force with unique insight and we would be greatly lacking without her.”

  David gave me a discreet thumbs up under the table as Professor Nelson walked to the open seat at the head of the table. I couldn’t believe that she actually had said something positive about me let alone made it seem like she had wanted me for the team.

  “I guess I should also introduce myself.” She sat down in the seat and smiled shyly as if she was one of us rather than the dean of the department. “In this room, I want you to think of me as a partner, a friend. We are here for a special task and I need to prove myself just as much as each of you. You all know me as Dean and Professor. However, what you may not know is that I got interested in this field as a young African American girl when I found my own mother murdered. I’ve been in the same shoes as the victims and I know how it feels. And I can tell you right here and now that we are not going to fail these victims like the police force has.

  I do not blame the police. They are simply overloaded with cases. They do not have the luxury to focus on one case at a time. However, this task force does. And we are not going to rest until we bring justice to these families. Let’s get started.”

  Five

  Professor Nelson turned off the lights and clicked a button so that the projector flipped on via her tablet. A picture of a happy woman with brunette curls
laughing in a park appeared on the white wall. “This is Jane Phillips. Jane moved here six months ago from Greensboro, North Carolina to accept a job as a sixth grade teacher at Golden Leaf Middle School. According to her co-workers, she was generally happy and always pleasant to be around. She talked about loving her new apartment and wanting to adopt a dog from the local shelter.

  Her parents became concerned when she did not come to visit them as planned over Spring Break and they could not reach her on her cell phone. The police told them they had to wait the requisite waiting period to declare her a missing person before they could force the super to open up her apartment as he was unwilling to allow them to do a welfare check.

  By the time the police were able to get inside the apartment, they found her in her bed with her throat cut. The police have been at a complete standstill when it comes to finding clues. The entire apartment has been wiped clean. All of her electronic devices, including her laptop, tablet, and cell phone, were taken and there are no signs of forced entry. In fact, it looks like the doors and windows were locked from the inside. The complex is in a historical building so there are no cameras and none of the residents nor the super saw anything.”

  I looked around the table and saw that everyone was either rapidly taking notes or typing. I nervously raised my hand.

  Professor Nelson laughed. “Madison, we’re equals here. You don’t have to raise your hand. Do you have a question?”

  I tilted my head. “I’m intrigued by the fact that the electronics were taken. I doubt they were taken to sell because the picture you have up has her wearing large Tiffany & Company diamond earrings but you would have mentioned those if they were stolen. They would have been much easier to transport and sell if the killer wanted to make some quick money without being caught. And if she has earrings like that, she’s bound to have more jewelry in that price range.”