Bewitched

Chapter 13 - Elvira

The sound of the door closing echoed deep within my chest. For a moment, I sat there, frozen in place. Every second of the past few days moved through my mind, nailed me to the bed. The way she'd smiled at me when she 'saved' me at the witch trials. Her winks. Her words. Her hands on my skin.

All of it had been a lie.

If they'd arrested Asha instead of me, Malise would have taken her, made her disappear. When she didn't get what she wanted, she used me.  She played me and manipulated me to serve her coven.

She'd made me forget why I hated witches.

But now I remembered.

I jumped up from the bed, a fire igniting within me. I stepped into the kitchen, to the table that was filled with her dirty magic.

I'd trusted her.

She'd been my friend.

No... More than that. 

I grabbed one of the bowls and threw it against the wall, shattered the ceramic until it looked the way I felt.

I'd always known not to trust witches. It had never been a question. But then I stopped. And look where that had brought me.

I had one goal, one job in life. I was all Asha had and our parents had trusted me with keeping her safe. Me. A complete idiot.

And now I'd lost her.

I swiped the books off the table, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. I'd promised to keep Asha safe from magic. And instead, I'd let it in, let it get to her, and now she was gone.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, not seeing anything but my parents' disappointed faces. "I'm so sorry... I failed..." My nails dug into my palms. A scream erupted from me that I hardly recognized as my own.

Asha was in danger. The witches wouldn't kill her - probably - but if I didn't get her out in time... What would be left of her?

What if she'd become like Malise? Cold. Calculating. Hurting people, breaking up families because her coven asks her to. She'd become a monster, just like them.

I looked at the books that lay discarded on the floor; everything I'd learned trying to protect Asha. 

I'd gotten too comfortable with magic. And that had been my downfall.

I wouldn't let Asha pay for my weakness.

I grabbed the books from the floor and opened them again on the table. I wasn't a witch, but surely I could use some of the spells? I'd studied magic for years, after all. It'd be a shame to let my knowledge go to waste.

I flipped through the pages, sorted out the spells we'd created.  Some required magic, so those weren't possible. I briefly regretted that I didn't let Asha learn more magic so she could protect herself. But the less magic in our lives, the better.

It'd taken too much from us already.

I looked over the things Malise and I had prepared together. The smoke spell from the witch trials. That one required magic. Some small explosions. Those I could make work. I'd have to come up with something to replace Malise's share. The spells that were made by her, while she sat at this very table just a few hours ago... And the things I'd thought about her...

I'd burn it all down.

They'd regret ever laying a finger on Asha.

The spells I could use were mostly simple distractions, activated by ingredients reacting with each other. There were some potions that, if I managed to evaporate them into a mist, would interfere with magic abilities. It wouldn't be much, but at least the witches' spells wouldn't be immediately lethal anymore. Overall, I'd have to rely on stealth - not force - to make it in and out.

But I didn't need force to start a fire. 

There was no way I was up for the task. A whole coven of witches, and one human? I'd probably die. But if I didn't try, what kind of life would I have, having given up on Asha? 

If I'd die, the least I could do was drag them all down with me.

I'd build a pyre for all the witches to burn on.