Dear Readers,

A couple of months ago, I uploaded a series of chapters that I titled "Witch." It received a strong response, so I naturally started writing more of the story. Since I'm about halfway done, I wanted to upload a second part.

It will be uploaded to Amazon as an e-book after I'm done posting it here for your reading pleasure.

Leslie
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Chapter Eleven
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Two days later, Becky insisted we take the L after practice, travel around, and hang out with her witch friends. She told me not to worry, that it would be safe. She reminded me that these women were all wonderful and said I’d get to meet Pumpkin.

Both of our Familiars hovered around us as we rode the elevated railroad. All of Chicago was new for me. It was the first time I’d ever traveled in a city. Of course, now I realize why Mom kept me a hometown kid where she could control everything. But this place was amazing. I couldn’t get over how big it was. And it was clean. No garbage, no bad smells. I imagined that this is what a city of the future would look like, with tons of people, rivers, cool high-rise buildings, and this elevated old-fashioned train running all over the place, which made me feel like I was a little kid. Everywhere you looked was another adventure to explore!

I found out later that the garbage, auto traffic, and big trucks were on a different level below where we walked. Whoever thought of that was a genius.

As we rode on the L, I felt like a kid at an amusement park. The train was two stories up in the air, suspended over sidewalks, streets, and waterways. As we rode along, I was looking down at all the people on the sidewalks. The L moved slowly, all rattles and squeaks. But it was fun.

Our first stop was a small bakery no bigger than the one we had at home back in Albany county. They had a sign saying bakery and a stripped awning. There was a long line of people waiting outside the front door and down the sidewalk. Looking at the line, I shook my head and turned to Becky. ‘Seriously, are all these people waiting to buy baked goods?’

‘Yep. The owners use a bit of magic to make things extra delicious. Over the years, they’ve developed quite a following.’

‘And no one knows that they’re Witches?’

‘Right. People believe it’s just a family business spanning five generations. No one worries too much because their stuff is so delicious. They’ve been written up in a bunch of magazines. C’mon, just follow me.’

We walked in the opposite direction from the storefront and up an alley. A very clean alley, not like my dream alley when my whole world fell apart. When I told Becky about my escape, she said all the cats I'd seen that night were my Coven’s Familiars, keeping us safe.
About halfway down the block, a solid steel door opened for us, and suddenly I was in the back of a large commercial kitchen. It looked just like the ones you see on TV, full of people in white coveralls, bustling around big ovens with large trays of dough and finished baked goods.

The smells were incredible. Sugar, fresh bread, donuts frying, fruit cooking down into glazes and fillings, pies, and I stared at something that smelled like pizza but looked like a cake with a thick crust and bubbling sauce.

Becky grinned. ‘Deep dish pizza, a Chicago specialty! And don’t start talking about that New York style thin crust. We’re not living in caves! You’ll think differently once you’ve tried it.’

I just shook my head. ‘Sure. All these smells are making me hungry.’

Becky got utensils, plates, and napkins. Then one of the bakers brought them a pie. We looked at the hot, melted cheese, the sausage, and the rich, thick sauce and I felt my mouth water.

“Let it cool or you’ll burn your mouth.”

I used a fork to cut into the crust, then blow on the small piece. After popping it into my mouth, I felt my eyes grow big. “Oh. It’s different, but so good!”

As we ate, I looked around. ‘Are all of these people Witches?’

‘Nope. Just the family that owns the business is enchanted. Everyone else here is a human, happily working and making a paycheck. They don’t know anything about the magic that goes into each sticky bun.’

A teen girl appeared. She was beautiful, with caramel-colored skin and dark, curly hair. She gave me a big grin and opened her arms for a hug. I didn’t realize how much bigger she was until her arms wrapped around and pulled me in closer. “Come here, girl. Becky has told me that she’s already in love with you and that you’re a great kisser.”

I looked up to see this new person. She had to be six feet tall and had the biggest smile I’d ever seen.

“Anna, this is Camilla Gonzales, and her family has run this shop forever.”

Camilla smiled. “Over a hundred years!” She laughed, then spoke inside my head. ‘Everyone in the family still comes to work every day. But we’ve kicked Gran out of the kitchen and made her supervise and handle all the office stuff. The fact that she doesn’t age would confuse the customers and our workers. We’ve celebrated her hundred and fortieth birthday.’

I watched our new friend grab a big cardboard box and fill it with all sorts of cookies and cakes. We were both wide-eyed over the pastries. Then, she signaled that we should follow her. She turned to me and smiled. ‘You know that Becky always starts the Witchy tour here with a special snack.’

Becky laughed, kissing Camilla. “You know I like to start with something delicious to nibble on.”

We followed Camilla upstairs to meet her grandmother. If no one had mentioned the word “gran,” I would have assumed this was her mother. The woman was fashionably dressed in a Dior grey business suit. Her hair was perfectly styled.

“Lois, these are my friends, Becky and Anna.”

She stood and smiled. “Hi, Becky. Back for the treats, I see.” Then she turned to me. “Welcome, Anna. I was looking forward to meeting Polly’s granddaughter. I knew your mom when she still lived at home.”

I was trying to swallow the bite of the chocolate chip cookie so I could talk and figure out just how old my Mom was. “Hi, Lois. It’s nice to meet you.” I’d already learned not to say mom, grandmother, or any other family titles, because it confused the humans around us. Lois kinda looked thirty-five. But she was the youngest, prettiest thirty-five you could imagine.

“Anna, I was looking forward to meeting you. Just remember that I said hi to Polly and your mom when you get a chance. You have the sweetest family!”

Sweetest? As in my grandmother, who looks twenty-one and has little patience with incompetent people. Not.

Lois smiled, probably hearing my thoughts. “Anna, my family has always been hamster-free. We’ve gotten along with everyone in the Chicago community. I think that treating people respectfully is important. But enough of having to listen to me talk. Camilla, take your friends and make the rounds. And don’t forget to share some sweets with everyone! Oh, and take a big box home to share with Polly and your mom!”

Becky and I followed Camilla out to a large SUV parked in the alley. A man stood there, waiting for us. He opened the doors, and we all climbed into the back.

As we drank soda and munched on cookies, we drove a mile or two and ended up in a cul-de-sac with four big homes staring down at us. As we were stopping, another girl flung a front door open and squealed her hellos. I got introduced to Audrey Dayton. I stared at her bright blue eyes and the palest skin imaginable. She saw me sizing her up and spoke inside my head.

‘Hi, Anna. My family originally came from Norway and then moved to Minnesota. That’s where all my genes are from. But now there’s a big family debate because my sister has fallen in love with a young Warlock from Jamaica. They make a cute couple. But there's a lot of friction because everyone in the family loves her boyfriend and wants to have babies with him. So we have a pool going on which of them gets to be impregnated and have those beautiful babies.’

I smiled and shook my head. ‘Oh, wow. Sounds like everyone in your family is having fun. Please forgive me. I’m just getting used to all this mind talking, and well, my head feels overloaded with so much conversation. Help!’

Becky laughed. ‘You’ll get used to it soon enough. Your brain learns to adapt.’

I looked at the driver. ‘Does he hear what we’re saying?’

Camilla shook her head. ’Nope. There’s a soundproof glass partition separating us from him. But we just have to remember that he’s human. We don’t do magic that he might witness.’

And reader, you’re probably asking yourself what do teenage Witches talk about? Well, if you guessed boys, you were right.

The conversation immediately turned our moms’ obsession with having Vampire lovers. I had to admit that the idea grossed me out until I came face-to-face with Derek, and I was immediately overwhelmed by the ghoul. I speculated on the effect a Vamp would have on a human.

Audrey shook her head. ‘Don’t laugh. But Vamps have no problem taking advantage of human women, too. Witches have a moral code, but the Vamps and even Warlocks just see everything as theirs for the taking.’

‘So you’re saying that Vamps charm human females for sexual favors! Well, I’m still having a problem dealing with Derek's overwhelming Mom. He seems so slick. I think he’s taking advantage of her.’

Camilla shook her head. ‘Come on, babe. Derek is five hundred years old and has had lots of time to practice becoming charming. I think that these days, he just does it naturally to any female.’

I was getting angry. ‘It just doesn’t seem right. I don’t like him taking advantage of her.’

Becky laughed and patted my shoulder. ‘Uh, your mom is one of the most powerful Witches everyone knows. Derek knows who he’s making love with. Your mom could end Derek’s existence if he displeased her. She’s just enjoying the ride he’s providing.’

Camilla shook her finger. ‘Don’t make fun of those women falling for a Vamp or a Warlock. They’re not being coerced or forced into some sexual slavery. Ask them, and they’ll admit it. Everyone loves the romance.’

Becky was nodding her head in agreement. ‘Camilla’s so right. There’s a real thing about falling in love with someone who has an air of power about them. Vampires have all that mystery about them. Remember, they are demons.’

I shivered with all the comic book mindset I grew up with. But I fist bumped her. ‘Hey, not me! After that first meeting with Derek, I’m doing my best to draw a line. No Vamp pheromones are taking over my brain!”

Audrey smiled. “Not! I’m sure you were doing your best to inhale anything he was offering when you were around him. You know just a few drops of his magic will give you sweet dreams for a month. Just ask Becky. She’s routinely exposed to that beautiful Vamp who loves her mom every night when he pleasures her.’

I suddenly shivered, realizing it was true for all our moms. Even though Derek was far away in another wing, I was getting wisps of erotic excitement as I slept. And I did sleep well. But here’s where the conflict came in. For fourteen years, I was a red-blooded American boy. A human boy! And should teenage guy get all sexed up over getting close to some GQ male model? ‘Uh, Becky. Do you think Derek’s presence will cause me permanent brain damage? Is this dangerous?

Becky laughed. ’Oh, honey. If that were the case, every Witch would be tipping over and spinning out. No! All our moms and all the Witches welcome Vamps into their beds. It’s the best way to enjoy a long life. Very few can flaunt it like your mom does because most Vamps are hard to control. But your family is so much more powerful than the rest of the Witches. Your mom controls Derek, not the other way around.’

Audrey smiled. ‘My Mom has a Vamp, but he’s a bit out of control. He’s always cheating on Mom, and then they have these great fights. I can hear them while they’re making love and arguing at the same time. It’s something else how they both love each other, but Vamps are just Vamps. Let me tell you. It’s a three-ring circus in my house. But I’m sure that they love their make-up sex.’

I noticed that we were slowing down and looked outside through the tinted window. It looked like we were parking. ‘Where are we?’

Audrey smiled. ‘We’re at the Oakbrook Mall. A nice place to shop for good stuff and to cruise around looking at the rich and famous. I need some winter leggings and maybe a cute guy to flirt with.’

Inwardly, I shook my head. This was all pushing me outside my comfort zone. Mom knew I was going for a ride and meeting with Becky’s young Witch friends. But cruising a mall and flirting with humans might be crossing a line. I wondered if I could handle strange guys coming on to Anna. ‘I think my mom would lock me away if she knew I was misbehaving.’ I was dead serious when I said that.

Audrey gripped my hand. ‘Oh, Anna. We all know your story. You need to get up on the horse and learn to ride, baby! You’re a fourteen-year-old Witch, and you definitely need some socialization. You can’t learn everything from your grandmother and your mom. We can teach you what your mom has forgotten. And as far as your family goes, we can give you a quick lesson in privacy shields.’

I knew I had a frightened look on my face.

Audrey took my hand and held it firmly. ‘C’mon, girl. Don’t close me out. I’m coming into your head right now to show you how to shield. Look out, girl. Here I come!’

One minute, I’m alone, and a second later, Audrey’s right there inside my brain with me. This was the second time that somebody had been sharing my head. Polly and I did it earlier so I could show her my Zone. Now, Audrey was in there with me. It was still the strangest feeling.

Audrey’s voice echoed a little as she talked. ’Now watch and feel what I’m doing.’

There was a humming sound that set my brain vibrating. There was a quick shift, and suddenly I knew I was shielded because all the background noise stopped. Once my shields went up, I knew that my thoughts were my own.

Audrey’s voice was still in there with me. It still had that echoing sound. ‘Now you have to let me out of your mind. You have to drop your shields to let me go.’

I did, and she left. Suddenly, I was all by myself again, but unshielded. I really liked the feeling of being shielded. I tried raising the shields, but then I realized I couldn’t hear what my new friends were thinking.

Audrey smiled. ‘You can adjust your shields. Open them enough to just let us talk to you.’

I played inside until it worked. There were no levers and dials, but it was just like adjusting the temperature of the water in the shower.

‘Now you can hear and talk with us and close your shields whenever you want.’

Audrey was all breathless as she talked to everyone. ‘Anna’s mind is seriously huge, and I could feel her power swirling all around. Compared to her, I’m a lightweight. That girl is packing a punch.’

Everyone was staring at me after Audrey made that pronouncement. I was blushing. I had no way to deal with that idea that I was Super Witch.

Before I could say anything, my cell phone rang. I picked it up. “Hi, Mom.”

Her voice was strained. “What happened? Are you okay?”

“Sure. Why?”

“You stopped transmitting. I thought you were hurt!”

“No. Just learning how to use my shields.”

“Well, stop that.”

I could sense Mom was talking to me like I was six. And I guess I responded stupidly. “No.”

“No! What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just learning about my shields. I’m not trying to be disrespectful.”

There was silence. I realized my mom was trying to peer inside my brain to see what was happening. I tightened my shields like the six-year-old I was acting like.

Mom shouted through the phone. “You’ve done it again!”

“Mom, I’m safe. Luna is by my side. I’m with my friends. I think that I’m allowed to have my own private thoughts, too. I respect your privacy.” I opened my shields enough to flash her an image of Derek entering her bedroom.

Again, there was silence.

“Just leave your phone turned on.” Her voice sounded frosty. Then she hung up.

I looked at everybody. ‘Well, I think I pissed off my mom. She didn’t like me using my shields to shut her out.’

Everybody talked at once, but the gist of it was that they all thought that maybe my Mom should give me some leeway and treat me more like a young woman than a child. I knew they were right, but I knew that if I did that, I was losing the privilege of running to her whenever I needed help.

Becky spoke. “Hey. I get where her mom’s coming from. She was responsible for hiding Anna and raising her as Doug for fourteen years. Now, everything is out in the open, and she’s freaked out that Anna is becoming her true self.’

I spoke. ‘My Mom doesn’t have a mean thought about me. She’s been great. I think that you’re all right, and I really want to be able to make mistakes and learn. I don’t want to live inside a bubble. But everything is confusing, and I’m not sure what to do.'

I saw a lot of nods. ‘I’m really insecure about how I should be acting. Doug knew where he stood. Sure, he was a little nerdy, playing video games and getting all caught up in sports. But Doug didn’t worry about what everybody thought and having to please all these people. Everyone’s watching me, expecting something great to happen. I don’t think I can meet those expectations.’

I got a lot of pats on the back.

Becky wrapped her arm around my shoulder. ‘I’m here to help you get through the new stuff. And even if you trip up, no one knows you. We can always tell Luna to eat someone who’s giving you a hard time!’

All four of us walked in through the main doors, and I instantly heard the sounds of arcade games. My eyes lit up, and I got excited. I guess my enthusiasm spilled over because Carmella gave me an elbow. “Okay, hot stuff. You pick the game, and I’ll wipe your ass. You’re not the only one who knows their way around an arcade.”

The first thing I saw was Match Racing, two big race car seats, and huge video screens. I picked the Ferrari F-50, and Camille went for an open-wheel Formula One race car. She had big speed and handling on her side, but the Ferrari definitely looked and sounded cooler.

We raced, and I lost, but it felt so good to lose myself in the game. My worrying brain had shut down, and all I did was use all my senses to focus on the game. By the time we finished, we’d attracted a small crowd. I looked around and noticed Audrey talking to a big, handsome guy. She seemed really pleased with herself. Naturally, this guy had a friend, and Audrey and Camille said they’d find us in a while.

As the four of them disappeared, I talked to Camille. ‘You used magic to win, didn’t you?’ I heard her laugh.

‘Oh, course, I did, Rookie. You’re way too good otherwise. And I promised to beat the snot out of you, and a Witch always keeps her promises.

Becky heard what was happening and did her best to distract me. She whispered, “Let’s go try on some clothes. We can make out in the dressing room or a bathroom!”

I shrugged. My Doug brain would have killed to have Becky as a girlfriend. Besides being incredibly beautiful, she liked me, too. But it still seemed strange. I could have easily fallen for her. Inside, I was trying to decide whether I should say no. But then I decided I might need a break. “Yeah. Good idea.”

We shopped for lingerie, comparing the underwear we liked. I didn’t know much, but I tried to imagine Becky wearing everything. I told her, and she giggled until I realized she was doing the same. We looked through the sales racks and saw some cute dresses. After we picked out a few, we went to the dressing rooms only to find a sign, “14 and under need to be accompanied by an adult.” We left all our choices behind and just walked away.

By the time we heard from Audrey and Camille, they were ready to go. Camille said her driver would pick us up at the front entrance.

Well, so nothing terrible happened. Audrey bought leggings, and the two guys walked with them. After leaving Camille’s bakery, Becky and I took the L home. She ate at my house.

We did get to study in my room, which led to some kissing, decimals, and percentages. I knew all about that and helped Becky with her ratios. When her mom came by to pick her up, I waved as they drove away.
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Chapter Twelve
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The next night, I was making popcorn in the microwave. Judith, Polly, and Mom were sitting around, talking and getting ready to watch a movie. As I set the big bowl out on the table, I turned to my Mom during a break in their conversation. “Mom, what other haters do I need to watch out for? Who’s next on your murder me list?”

My Grandmother Polly’s voice grew low and seemed to rumble from her chest. “Anna, it’s only funny when it’s fantasy. But this is real. Probably, the worst danger is Demons. There are many supernatural demons and most contain incredible strength. Some are evil and hunt for sport. They don’t eat their victims, but absorb the fear and pain as their victims die. In the past, a demon would be known to track and observe a Coven for years until one day, it would attack and slaughter everyone.”

Listening to her talk horrified me. The girl side of my brain was taking control and getting upset. I knew Doug would have just said, Cool.

“Why would some demons do that? Isn’t Derek a demon?” I gasped.

Mom grabbed my hand. “There are some types that do it because they’re demons. They take pleasure in killing.”

“Why don’t they kill humans?”

“The answer is simple. Demons report to the Devil. And even the Devil has to answer to God. Humans are God’s project until they are judged. Then, they either go on to heaven or the demons lead them straight to Hell.”

“But my Familiar is a demon.” I looked down as Luna climbed into my lap, and I absentmindedly scratched her behind the ear.

Polly was quick to explain. “There are many types of demons. Luna is a protector and will give herself up to safeguard you. But she is smart and if she can help you flee and save herself too, that’s what she’d do. That’s what happened back in New York, even though you never knew she was there.”

Luna was batting my fingers with her paws. I heard her talk in my head. ‘Polly is right. Those demons your grandmother is talking about would kill me, too. Even though I’ve lived for thousands of years, all things can end.’

After that, I hugged Judith, then kissed my grandmother and mother goodnight. Walking to my room, I thought about how much had changed. Each day I’ve spent in Chicago has been a roller coaster. Even though it was only nine o’clock, I was tired. I stopped, turned, and smiled. “How about one more bad group before I go up?”

I heard Polly chuckle and say, “Here we go.”

Mom frowned. “Well, there’s a group made of scientists working with our military. They have a special department hidden deep within the Pentagon. Their mission is to search for supernatural powers that would give the military an edge. They chase after UFOs, aliens, Bigfoot, and the Yeti. And they include Witches. They want to capture us and use our powers as weapons.”

I smiled. “You touched on that earlier. That idea sounds like it’s straight out of a graphic novel.”

Mom shrugged.

“But has that worked?”

Mom looked at Polly.

I watched Polly smile and nod. “Go on and tell her.”

Mom took a deep breath. “There’s a Witch who’s joined in with the government secret lab. She jumped ship and joined up with the enemy.”

I was surprised to hear that. It seemed incredulous. “A Witch that works for the government in their hidden research lab?”

“Yes.” Mom had an uncomfortable look on her face.

I shook my head. “What happened after they captured her. Have they been able to control her powers?” I pictured a lab full of mad scientists in long white lab coats and soldiers in full-body armor dashing around deep limestone caves lit by huge halogen lights. Just another crazy lab scene gleaned from the movies. I was thinking of Marvel blockbusters.

Mom grinned at my vision. “No, she voluntarily does things for them and has made herself more valuable alive. It seems like she’s stable, maybe even happy.”

“How?”

“Well, we know that she loves to kill. The government treats her like royalty. Whether she eliminates groups of terrorists, insurrectionists, or enemies of the state, this Witch helps them strategize and carry out evil deeds. They love her.”

I motioned towards them. “How do you know all of this?”

Polly tapped her head. “We still have an open channel into her mind and see through her eyes. Her mind has been seriously fractured, but we get glimpses of what takes place.”

“Did this Witch help them locate other Witches?”

Polly shook her head. “No. She knows that striking out against her own kind would condemn her to a painful death. Imagine all the Covens in the world focusing all their power against one mind. No one could survive. She walks a very fine line. We believe she’s convinced them she’s the last Witch.”

“Why would she want to work for the government?”

“It’s a complicated tale that involves a very sad story. We believe she had a mental breakdown almost a century ago. That’s when she left her Coven, denounced all of us, and abandoned her Familiar. We thought she’d gone off and died.”

“Fourteen years ago, that same Witch resurfaced and joined the science group. They treat her well, and she basks in the adoration.”

I straightened up and looked at my grandmother. “You know the Witch.”

Polly nodded as she stared into my eyes. “Gladys is my sister. She’s chosen evil over good.”

This was really turning into a graphic novel. Of course, who was I to talk? I was just another cliché, a girl who was hidden at birth and disguised as a boy for fourteen years. Fourteen years? I closed my eyes. “Wait! Did my birth create all of this?”

I looked down at Luna, curled up in my lap. “Was Luna her Familiar?”

I looked down at the fancy long-haired cat sitting in my lap. Luna was purring, with her eyes closed. She looked content.

So now I realized that all this time, Polly had been witnessing her sister’s breakdown. “We shared a strong bond as sisters for about fifty years before she began to fall apart. I had heard rumors about her deteriorating mental health—some Witches just don't live very long. But when she vanished, I searched the entire world for five years, hoping to find some sign of her. But I came up empty and finally had to give up.”

I looked down at the cat and picked her up like a baby, gently rubbing her belly. She playfully batted at my hand.

Then Luna spoke to everyone in the room. ‘We all knew that your mom was pregnant with a powerful Warlock’s baby. There was a lot of excitement because you would need to be hidden away at birth. Polly sought me out and asked if I wanted the job. I hadn’t been anyone’s Familiar since Gladys disappeared. So I’ve been hiding by your side all those years, waiting to be introduced.’

I just stared at my cat and then at all the faces watching me. This timeline was coming at light speed. Gladys gave up her Coven. She disappeared. Then fourteen years ago, she reappears working as an assassin for the government.

I like history, but had trouble imagining that Polly had lived through the Civil War, and all of this happened a long time ago. I guess Polly was reading my mind.

Polly grinned. “Boom,” was all she said with a smile.

I shook my head. “All those years and no contact. Were you able to track other Witches, Warlocks, Vampires, or demons?”

“Oh, Anna. I lived through all of those times, but never kept track of Vamps and Witches. But I know some Covens that did, though mostly for self-protection. Finally, after butting heads and skirmishes, a peace was brokered. Over a hundred years ago, Vampires and Witches had a Council to find common ground between their kinds. By banding together, they hoped to keep demons at bay.”

“A question?” I waited for her to nod an okay. “If you get hazy glimpses of your sister, Gladys, now, why couldn’t you track her for all those years that you were looking for her?”

My Grandmother smiled. “That’s the million dollar question. And I don’t know.”

“If you can see her mind, can see yours? Or Mom’s, or mine?”

Polly frowned. “I don’t see clear pictures of her mind, just fragments. I don’t know what she sees. I do know that she’s not the same.”

Everyone got quiet and munched popcorn. We watched the movie. After it was over, I blurted it out. “Why do some Witches have Vampire boyfriends?”

Polly laughed. “Oh, Anna. We all do. They make the best lovers. And you know what?”

I shook my head, still trying to imagine this beautiful twenty-something woman was my grandmother, and talking about sex.

My grandmother grinned and shouted, “They can’t get us pregnant!”
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Chapter Thirteen
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I stood in the shadows waiting for Becky. I spotted her on the steps outside the school. I was excited because today was our first soccer game. We had to wear our uniforms. It felt good to be part of a winning team, even though I was just a substitute on the Junior Varsity. But I felt it was important to walk with Becky and not walk by myself.

“Hey, Anna!”

I looked, and it was Olivia, another striker on our team. I waved and walked over to where she was standing on the steps. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I wouldn’t be the only one wearing a uniform. I knew I’d just die if I was looking like the odd one who didn’t know the rules. It was so strange to think like that. Doug never cared what he wore or even how he smelled.

As I got closer to Olivia, I saw Becky, too. My mind gave Doug another thought, and I tried to examine him. He was very handsome, but he wore rumpled clothes, and well, he did smell. Very boyish, with that sweaty, hygiene-lacking image. I was amazed that his girlfriend tolerated that. In the back of my mind, I remember Erica scolding him to clean up his act or else.

Mom had not mentioned the shields once since I came back from the mall. She never knew where we went, but it suddenly dawned on me that Luna was probably reporting back to my mother that whole time.

‘Luna, did you tell Mom what I was doing when I closed my shields, hanging out with the girls?’

I heard my Familiar sigh. ’I wasn’t aware of shields. I don’t think a demon has trouble reading your mind anytime. Why don’t we have a test? Put your shields up and name what you plan on giving me tonight for dinner.’

I closed all my shields and thought of the meal she didn’t like.

Luna looked at me and arched her back. ‘You know I don’t like liver. Ugh. Not something I relish. Think of something else.’

I thought of New York strip steak, medium rare, in a pepper cream sauce.

‘That’s so much better. And the cook does an excellent job. Now, don’t forget.’

I had a Familiar with gourmet tastes. ’I won’t. So what did you tell Mom about the girls’ trip to the mall?’

‘Oh, everything.’

‘Why’d you do that? I put my shields up so she wouldn’t find out.’

Luna stared at me. ‘I’m not a witch, and witches’ shields do not affect me. I see and hear everything. You are my charge, and your grandmother and mother are my queens.’

I realized Luna was my Familiar, but she treated my mom and Polly as her bosses. I should have figured that out, but I was naive. Then I realized that I could never go up against those powerful Witches. My Gran and Mom were forced to be respected.

‘Just out of curiosity, what did your last charge, Gladys, feed you?’

‘Nothing. She told me to feed on my own.’

‘No broiled fish with parsley or steak au poivre?’

‘Nothing. But for the fourteen years that I escorted Doug, your mother gave me whatever she fed to you.’

When Mom asked me what the best part of my week had been, I smiled. “It's been a long roller coaster ride that was pretty scary to start. But turned out to be okay. Everything I worried about never happened. And so many good things did. The team has been great, and no one has been in trouble. All I could picture were scenes from Bad Girls, where the school was run by jealous, mean-spirited, spoiled brats. And the new Witches I met were great. It’s fun to have someone who’s kinda like me. And I’ve found the best friend in Becky.”

It was so strange how much time I spent talking now. Doug never felt the need to share all his feelings, but Becky and I would talk for hours. It definitely was a girl thing.

“I’m very glad to see that you think you’re adjusting. It’s good to hear the positive tone in your voice. How are your classes?”

“Easy! They're doing the same stuff we did in Math last year. And the guy who teaches Literature is nice, but he might be a bit of a perv, always smiling at me. Becky is helping me with Chemistry, and I'm keeping up.”

“No problems?”

“Well, it's kinda strange. I've been accepted by everyone. It's like a little bit of magic is surrounding me.”

Mom smiled. “Well, we did put an aura around you to affect anyone who came in contact with you. It told their brain to behave in a friendly manner.”

I was nodding. “Wow! Thanks for that. And it’s working. Everyone has been nice. It was so strange starting a new school where everyone seemed to stare. And you know how nervous I was.”

Mom hugged me. “Well, I lied. There was no spell or aura. You did that on your own. I made up the aura thing.”

“So that was all just me? Nobody did anything mean or rude. Becky said that it was just cause I didn’t act all snobby. But honestly, I didn’t do much talking, just saying hi and smiling.”

“Was that hard? Did you feel like you were acting?”

I grinned as I shook my head. “No. Everything happened too fast to be acting.”

“You’re attractive. You’re friendly. You smile. That’s what caused everyone to be nice to you. People sense honesty.”

I shrugged.

Becky called me on Thursday night to give me a heads-up on what to wear for Friday's big soccer game. “You definitely have to wear your jersey, but I always pair it with a long-sleeve T-shirt. And yeah, those stupid pleated skirts. I wear tights under mine. And sneakers. Leave the pads, cleats, and all that in your locker.”

Dressing for school each day was a big puzzle. I did my best to dress like everyone else. I’d watch and copy the other ninth-grade girls. I checked out their makeup, jewelry, and hairstyles. I was getting used to asking my mom to help me with things I liked but couldn’t handle.

Finally, I’d reached the point of frustration. “Grrr. This is not easy. How does anyone expect me to master all of this?”

Mom hugged me. “Well, I agree that it’s all coming at you quickly. But it’s okay. You’re making a successful transition because you’re not fighting it. I’m watching. Everything you’re doing is becoming increasingly feminine. Your voice, your expressions, your manner are all falling into place.”

I was curious. “How’s that happening?”

Mom held my hand. “Remember that you’re biologically female. You’ve always been female. You might have been under a spell that disguised you as a boy, but your genetic history never got lost. Now it’s moving to the surface, and nothing is holding it back, especially now that the shields have been whisked off.”

I shook my head. “Fourteen years wasted.”

“Well, don’t get too full of yourself. Without your cloaking spell and without Doug, you would have been sought out and murdered. You would never have made it. Demons love to kidnap female Witch children. Witch Hunters would have been celebrating the chance to hold you as bait just to wipe out a whole coven.”

“Well, that’s reassuring to hear. So what happens now? Are those threats still active?”

“Well, yes. But not as much. Now you’re just a fourteen-year-old Witch trophy. On the surface, no one can see your potential or value. We’re all taking a deep breath, knowing you’re safer here in Chicago.”

“Great to know. I’m only in half the danger now.”

Mom laughed. “Wah! Poor baby. All Witches are trophies. Remember that Witch Hunters dream of burning me at the stake, too. But you’re learning to protect yourself and fight back. Just pay attention to what Polly shows you.”

In the meantime, Friday was fun. All the soccer players were wearing their jerseys in school. It was impressive to see the varsity girls and guys, all wearing their bold white numbers on their black jerseys. Even though I was just JV, I felt like I belonged.

Finally, the office announced that all soccer players needed to leave afternoon homeroom to get ready. By the time I changed, I had two knapsacks, one with my street clothes and my regular backpack full of workbooks and my computer. Becky and I walked out onto the field with most of our team. We gathered around the coach, and she named the starters. It was cool that Becky was starting!

We cheered. The Tigers from across town were evenly matched with our Panthers. I played for a quarter and had a couple of shots on goal.

The JV soccer field is on the other side of the school from the varsity fields. Our crowds are smaller, with parents, brothers, and sisters cheering us on. But speaking of brothers, one of our players’ brothers, Kelly, kept looking over at me. Her name is Olivia, and she’s real nice. She’s a striker, too. This Kelly guy seems a few years older and was there to watch his little sister play. But I knew I caught his eye.

I wasn’t quite ready to think about boys as dating material, but he was handsome. ‘Becky, Olivia’s brother keeps staring at me. He’s cute, but he’s human.’

‘That’s okay. Don’t count on dating young Warlocks. Humans are good training material for when you get your first Vampire.’

‘Are there any young Vampires?’

‘Hmm. Well, all the more reason to play with a human. If he has a friend, we can double date.’

‘Becky! No! That’s not for me. Dating?’

‘Give it time, girl.’

I looked across the field to the bleachers and saw my Mom talking to two men. I realized one guy was Derek, and the other was a stranger. It dawned on me by the end of the game that the other man might be my Father. I watched carefully to see if a Warlock and a Vampire might be getting all territorial.

Naturally, Mom read my mind.

‘Not around me, Anna. Both these guys listen and have pretty cool temperaments. They respect me.’

‘And my Father’s not jealous of Derek?’

‘No. Your Father and I chose our own paths almost fifteen years ago. We had our moment, and I got you. Richard is cool about it.’

‘So no ripping off limbs, throwing magic fire, or whatever?’

‘Sorry to disappoint. Come meet your Father when everything’s over. I’ve already read Derek the riot act. He will be on his best behavior. He knows.’

‘Are you always reading my mind?’

‘Well, unless you use your shields. But it was more fun when I read Doug’s.’

‘Luna confessed and admitted that she’s been telling you everything.’

‘Honey, I’m your mom, and well, maybe I’m being overprotective and too controlling. But considering everything that’s happened in the past week, well, I’m still nervous.’

‘You said it! I heard the words overprotective and controlling.’ And in turn, she glared at me.

‘Anna. Stop being a baby and try to see my point of view. I was overprotective of Doug for fourteen years. It’s a habit that’s hard to break.’

I nodded and promised to lighten up if she did. Then she flashed me a mental picture of me kissing Becky. Speaking of kissing, I didn’t want to say anything to Mom, but I was looking forward to the rush I got from being exposed to Derek’s scent. Even though Becky and I were going to the mall later for a movie date with those high school boys, I knew that the guys we were going to be hanging with were not going to do anything to rev my motor. It’s still so weird worrying about getting heated up over boys! So not Doug! Then I considered having a T-shirt made that said SO NOT DOUG.

‘Anna, sex on your mind? Young lady, please show some control!’

‘Grr. I wish I had the power to read your mind, Mom. I’ll bet you are having those same thoughts. And I’ll bet you had those thoughts when you were fourteen. I’m going to ask Polly.’

‘Anna, let’s change the subject. I’m not ready for this whole hormonal change that you’re going through.’

‘C’mon, Mom. I’ve only been Anna for a little while, but I am enjoying the attention I’m getting. Doug was never the center of attention.’

‘Well, enjoy it, but don’t succumb to social pressure and feel an obligation to lose your virginity.”

‘Gross. That part of my body is pretty private.’

‘And see, no one has questioned whether you’re female?’

‘Naw. You were right. I was overreacting and letting my fear control my thoughts.’

‘Are you feeling better now?’

‘Sure. The school thing is okay. I only have to worry about a few outside groups who want to murder me.’

‘Stop it. And here we come.’

I looked up and saw my mom and Derek. We’d already established that my mom is a ten and that Derek is movie-star handsome. Just the two of them would turn heads as they approached the team bench. But my father was even more beautiful. He was tall and rugged-looking. He wore cowboy boots, jeans, a Brooks Brothers dress shirt, and a dark-blue Chicago Bears varsity jacket. Now I knew where some of my coloring came from. We shared the same skin tone, eyes, and smile.

Becky immediately called me. ‘OMG, Anna. Your mom is holding two tornadoes by their tails. Both of those guys are too much.’
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Chapter Fourteen
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I reached out and hugged the man. After all, a handshake seemed too impersonal. And if what he said was true, and he couldn’t find me for fourteen years, then I would give him a pass on abandonment. Why not be the big person here? We both deserved a fresh start.

I introduced Becky and her mom, who said that she remembered my Mom from years ago when they were both growing up in Chicago. As we were standing around, my father smiled. ‘I’ve heard that Polly has started your training.’

I nodded. ‘She gave me a good report. Told me I had potential.’

‘Well, that’s good to hear. But you have Lawson family genes, too. And I would love to join you and Polly and see if we can unlock those powers. I keep trying to imagine the potential you might have.’

I smiled. ‘I hope that you’re not disappointed.’

Mom leaned in. She whispered, “I think we need to talk out loud when people are around. And that should help filter what we talk about.”

Derek was looking around at all the parents, and honestly, Becky was so right. He was like a bull standing in a herd of cows. The man looked alert, smiling, and ready to pounce. A hound. I smiled at Mom, and she shrugged. I saw her whisper in his ear.

He kissed her and smiled. Just watching the two of them together gave me a feeling of the current he was buzzing her with.

The Warlock and the Vamp were both teasing all of the soccer moms. Making pleasangtries, complimenting everything about them. They were having fun. Everything was fairly stable until the Varsity joined us. Now there were thirty juniors and seniors gravitating toward the two men. And more moms appeared, also seeming mesmerized.

Becky and I could both feel Derek dropping his shields slightly. But the impact he was having on the high school Varsity girls and their moms was noticeable. We looked at each other and laughed.

“Oh, he is so yummy. And all those females are going to stampede him.”

But then it all stopped, and I realized that my father had just put a shell around Derek and frozen his pheromones.

We knew what he’d done. Derek frowned and stared at my Dad. The Vampire had been having fun, and the Warlock had shut it down. My Mom came up and grabbed both their hands, pulling them both towards me.

“Say your goodbyes, boys. Neither of you is going to be turning these poor women into your sex slaves. No pheromones, no magic.”

Mom hugged me, and both guys smiled. As they were walking off the field, Becky whispered, “Your cred has just skyrocketed. All these women knew that you and your mom were beautiful, but your mom’s two escorts raised the temperature out here. All of them are going to want to know everything on both of them.”

I grinned and whispered to Becky with a smile on my face. “Those two should never be allowed out. Both of them are lethal weapons.”

As we stood there, suddenly we were surrounded by the varsity captain and her starters. They were all seniors and still staring at my Father and Derek as they walked away. Looking around at these sweaty women, I realized they were all ready to have a shot at both of these men.

The captain was the spokesperson. She came right up and stared me down. “Okay, Bradford. I'm Phoebee with two e’s.”

I’m sure she was showing off her status by emphasizing the special spelling of Phoebee. I didn’t want to sound smart and point out that her name used three e’s, so instead I nodded. Doug would have loved her immediately. She was very attractive, but she really emphasized the jock before the beauty. She even had tattoos! Since she was in charge, I shut up, wishing Polly would just turn her into a field mouse.

“Give me the rundown on those two guys hanging out with you. Now that I’m thinking, I realize that was your mom. Yeah, you’re both pretty.”

Phoebee, with three e’s, was saying the word pretty, dragging it out to make a point.

Phoebee was a hoot. She just kept talking. “Yeah, you must know them since they were hanging out with your mom. Is your mom like an actress cause she’s a Hollywood 10?”

I burst their bubbles when I explained. “Well, the cowboy is my Dad, and the other guy’s my Mom’s boyfriend.” I did spook them when I explained that my Mom never married.

They kept glancing at me, wondering just how strange my home life was. I smiled, thinking if I could just share! BOOM!

Phoebee laughed. “Well, Anna Bradford, both of those guys are male models, Hollywood stars, way too beautiful. But it just doesn’t seem fair that you know them both. I think the solution is that I become your best friend, and you invite me to family gatherings, like barbecues.”

I tried not to laugh in her face, which Becky was naturally doing inside my head, teasing me about suddenly being part of the elite.

I just played it straight and dumb. “Oh, that’s great. Give me your number. We live with my cousin Polly downtown. And the next time we have something going on, well, I’ll invite you and your friends over.”

That seemed to satisfy her, and Derek’s scent was rapidly fading. I knew she’d come to her senses soon. But of course, the Warlock and the Vamp would leave fragments of their presence inside each of their heads for a long time.

Becky was laughing. ’You could have so much fun with that. I’ll bet that Derek would love a romp with the soccer girls.’

‘Mom said that sex with a five-hundred-year-old Vamp would ruin me for life. Imagine the cruel prank we’d be playing on them.’

Unfortunately, Mom was still listening in on our conversation and interrupted. ‘You will do nothing of the kind. First, we are not going to have humans wandering around the house, sticking their noses where they don’t belong. And you know that Polly lacks a sense of humor when it comes to all of that. Imagine what she’d do to a horny Vampire or your father.’

I laughed. ‘Could we find the soccer team a young Vampire?’

‘Not funny. Your fourteen-year-old sense of humor needs to be reined in. And maybe you and Becky need to be grounded from this burger-and-a-movie thing you are sneaking out for tonight with those human boys. And remind Becky not to practice her magic on either of them tonight! Right, Becky?’

‘Yes, Mrs Bradford. We will curb our silliness. We will behave.’

‘Good. And I’d rather see the two of you kissing each other than with some mindless, clueless, horny human boy!’

After my Mom was done lecturing us, Becky looked pale. “Jeez. I hope that your Mom has a sense of humor about all of this. I don’t want to become a gerbil.”

I smiled. “Hamsters are cuter, and it would give Luna something to toy with before she gobbles you down.”

We needed to change, so we walked to Becky’s house first, since it was closer. We were lucky. Her mom was working, so I lay down on her bed and looked at my phone while she showered and changed. Neither of us wanted to fool around after talking to my Mom. It was like having a full-time camera following us.

Becky looked nice. She was wearing jeans and a cotton top. I looked twice and realized that she was wearing a padded bra. I looked at it and smiled.

She stared at me, then grinned. “What? Sure, it’s padded, but how am I supposed to compete with you, Miss B-cup? You know both those boys will be staring at you all night if I don’t enlist some help.”

I shook my head. “Hey, I had nothing to do with the body that was developing behind a spell. I just look at my Mom and figured that’s what I’m going to look like.”

Becky turned sideways in the mirror. She looked at me. “Is your mom using magic to enhance her beauty?”

I nodded. “I honestly don’t know. I wonder. But you should meet my grandmother, Polly. I’m supposed to refer to her as my cousin because she looks like a twenty-one-year-old.”

Becky frowned and shook her head. “I’m afraid to piss off your Cousin Polly. I don’t want to be a hamster for Pumpkin to play with. But seriously, do you think that she’d do it?”

I shook my head. “I just remind myself to be on my best behavior when I’m around her. You know that she’s training me in all sorts of Witchy things.”

“You learned anything yet?”

“Well, I have started to learn to control stuff, but Polly told me not to talk about it or demonstrate anything I’ve learned. She reminded me that everything we do still has to be stealth.”

Becky smiled. “Mom has shown me a few things, too. But she said I won’t come into my full powers until I’m eighteen. So I guess I’ll wait.”

I nodded and didn’t say anything about waiting until I was eighteen because I’d already left that rule behind. Deep inside, I wondered if these rules were made by Witches or nature.
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Chapter Fifteen
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Boys. Well, not really, boys. We were all ouside the mall. Walking along, I was a child compared to the size of these brutes. And I’m 5’7”! Upon closer inspection, they shaved and had serious muscles. When I leaned in to shake, I put my hand on Greg’s arm and got the surprise of my life. This guy was a solid rock. I think I might have shivered just being close to this much mass. I kept repeating John and Greg in my head so I wouldn’t forget. My guy was Greg. And John was just as big and broad.

I smiled at Greg. I read somewhere that the way to handle a guy was simply to get them to talk about themselves. “Hey, Greg. I’m hungry. Why don’t we go buy me a burger, and you can tell me about yourself?”

Greg steered us to a cozy diner that was attached to the mall. But before we went in, the guys bought tickets to a movie.

John turned and asked, “What would you ladies like to see?”

Becky chose a rom-com, which I thought was a mistake. I didn’t think it was a good idea to see a sappy movie that might put me in some romantic kissy-face kind of way. I was determined not to do anything that could send a message to Greg. I mean, seriously. I’d been a young woman for what, a New York minute? Just the idea of this Hulk perving on me was strange. But last week, Doug would have vomited on himself if he knew he was going to the movies with some big dude who was calling it a date.

Doug, Doug, Doug. My past fourteen years were just memories, and now Anna was the one going on a date. I kept reminding myself that I had always been female, just not raised that way.

After getting tickets, we went inside the mall diner. We got a booth and talked as we looked at the menus. So, while deciding what burger to eat, I found out that John and Greg had been best buds since fourth grade. They played football, wrestled, and played baseball. I really wanted to talk sports, but sensed it would be better to ask girl-like questions.

Becky was funny. She asked the dumbest question. It was so phony, I was surprised neither of them knew that we were spoofing. “I’ve watched a lot of football games, but never understood why so many players go on and off the field between plays.”

This, of course, was a ridiculous question, but it seemed like a way to get them all mansplaining about their love of sports. And as I pretended to listen, I was talking to Becky.

‘So we’re going to a rom-com and my hormones are all going to be pumping thanks to my exposure to Derek. I’m afraid of what might happen. I don’t want to get all soft and girl-like for this guy. I know he’s going to see an opening and slide himself in there.’

Becky swiveled her head and laughed. ‘I hope you don’t really let him slide in there!

Becky was smiling and nodding her head. She was saying so many stupid girl remarks like “Oh, wow! You know so much about football, and I don’t know anything about it.”

I almost wanted to slap her. ‘Stop it! You are acting like it’s the 1960’s and you’re just a stupid girl!’

‘Well, he’s buying me a burger. Does that deserve a kiss or two or a snuggle up during the film? I really like cuddling, and this guy certainly fits the bill. He’s all big and hunky.’

‘No, no, no. You’re saying you're going to make out with him?’

Becky was nodding. ‘Sure, why not?’

‘Aren’t you worried about your reputation?’

‘I’m not doing anything more than that. But I keep coming back to your image of wanting to sit in Derek’s lap and make out. Don’t you think that would be cool to do?’

‘Becky! Kiss a guy! A week ago, I was that guy who’d be creaming himself just to kiss you! How am I supposed to kiss another guy?’

In the meantime, my guy Greg was telling me about all the different teams within a football team. He was so proud to be a defensive back, guarding against the run and the pass. He was enthusiastic and really excited about football, and we hadn’t even started talking about wrestling or baseball.

I smiled, “What position do you play in baseball?” Well, you would have thought the guy was shot out of a cannon.

“I’m going to be the starting catcher, and I’m batting fifth.”

Of course, playing the part of the stupid girl, I asked, “Is that good?”

While he was brimming over with excitement telling me all about the batting order and how important he was, I talked to Becky. ‘He is cute when he gets all talking about sports. He reminds me of a big Golden Retriever, all happy and excited. But I am not kissing a dog!’

Our food came. I ordered a cheeseburger and fries. And when I started pouring ketchup on the burger and the fries, Greg got all crazy. He pointed straight at my plate, which I thought was rude.

“Wow! You must really like ketchup!” He looked excited, but very cautious, like I was going to put ketchup on him, too.

I smiled, remembering that Chicago is not about ketchup. I twirled a big fry and dipped it deep into the pool of ketchup that I made on the plate. “It’s an East Coast thing. Heinz Ketchup is made from Jersey tomatoes mixed with high-fructose corn syrup. It kinda becomes an addiction. Of course, I like mayonnaise, too.”

I twirled a fry in front of his face, dipped it into ketchup again, and dangled it in front of him. I watched him tentatively reach out and use his mouth to take it from my fingers. I smiled while I said to Becky, ’See, he’s a really well-behaved Golden Retriever.’

I smiled and made a kissy face. “Good boy. Want to try another?”

He nodded, and I repeated my doggie act. He was eating out of my hand. I patted him on the cheek and picked up my burger. I dipped it in ketchup and took a bite. I eagerly chewed it and then dipped it again. I held it out right in front of his face.

The guy shyly bent down and took a soft bite from my burger. I watched him chew and smile. ‘He’s cute. I want to scratch him behind the ears. He’s just a big, fluffy dog.’

Becky was laughing inside my head. ‘Stop feeding him. Pat his cheek and tell him he’s on his own. If you continue to feed him, he’s going to want to follow you home. Build some walls, girl. And watch your pheromones. I don’t want to see these boys acting all crazy in heat.’

I did pat him on the cheek and gave him a pinch. I realized that I was being such a girl that it frightened me. I looked at my burger and suddenly realized that I was becoming so female. I was watching Doug slip away. I looked into Greg’s eyes, and he was grinning. I dipped the burger into my ketchup and took another bite.

I finally took the paper off my straw and sucked down part of my chocolate milkshake.

Greg smiled. “You know, Anna. I’m so impressed with your appetite. I was expecting you to order a salad and tell me you’re watching what you eat.”

I shook my head. “Nah. I did a lot of running this afternoon with the JV soccer squad. I burned up some calories.”

Greg smiled. “You are perfect.”

I reached over and placed my palm on the top of his hand, which was resting on the tabletop. “Does that mean you’ll let me steal one of your onion rings? They look good.”

He smiled. “Only if you let me feed it to you.”

I shrugged and bit off pieces as he held it out to me.

Becky started laughing inside my head. ‘And you were worried about crossing the line. C’mon, honey. Feeding each other like you’re at a wedding party. Slow down, girl!’

I was having fun playing with the big teddy bear sitting across from me. ‘But, he’s just so cute, and we’re really getting along.’

‘Right. Until he’s French kissing you and cupping your boob.’

I didn’t want to admit that the same thought crossed my mind, wondering if he could make me feel as good as pleasuring myself in my bubble bath.

My phone rang, and I looked at the screen. It was my Mom. I smiled and picked it up. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
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Chapter Sixteen
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“What’s up! Well, I’m watching you from Luna’s point of view, and I’m not happy with what I’m seeing. You’re moving pretty fast on this muscle-bound jock.”

I shivered listening to her voice. Mom was throwing a bucket of cold water on me. “Uh-huh.”

“Are you going to do better, or do I have to come get you right now?”

“Right. Well, thanks for calling. I’ll see you after the movie.”

I got off the phone and stared off into a blank space where Luna was hovering. ‘Traitor. My Mom didn’t need to see a live broadcast. I was just having fun.’

I wasn’t surprised when Luna didn’t respond.

I calmed down after that. Or maybe it was just me taking a deep breath after hearing my mom’s voice after judging my behavior. I did occasionally pay Greg some attention and asked him lots of stupid questions. The big lunk never asked me about soccer or what I was interested in. I realized that I was setting myself up to get nothing from this guy except disappointment. He really had no idea who I was. He did learn about ketchup. I tried again. “You know I play sports, too.”

Greg stared at me like I was talking Chinese. “Yeah, it’s great that they offer girls' sports.”

I squinted. “Title Nine.”

“Title what?”

“A law that requires all schools to offer women's sports, too.”

“Really? I guess that’s cool. What sports did you say you played?”

I felt like screaming since I already told him once. Grrr. “Me? I’m playing soccer now and maybe some softball in the spring. We’ll have to see if they have room on the team for me.”

It was obvious that Greg was getting bored listening to me. I sighed and talked to Becky. ‘I’ve lost him. Should I pull up my top and flash him to get his attention?’

Becky looked at me. ‘Yeah, I get it. Your innocent fun sounds really good to you, but that big guy is thinking that you’re ready to wrestle. And once you get him all revved up, well, he’ll be impossible to turn off.’

I sighed inside. ‘Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe I should just date you.’

I was lost in my disappointment when Luna spoke to me. ‘Has your Mom or Polly taught you how to cloud minds yet?’

‘Becky, have you ever done that?’

After Becky shook her head, no, I called out to my Mom. I had to wait for her response. In the meantime, I listened to these two high school mutts ramble on about tomorrow’s game. I pretended to be totally engrossed in Greg’s every word. Just for fun, I stared at them both with big eyes.

Mom finally answered. ‘Yes, Anna. Luna was suggesting you could cloud the boys' minds. Why do you want to do that?’

I outlined what I had in mind.

‘The two of you are skating on thin ice. I’m not a fan of your idea, and clouding minds should be left to the experts. You just want him to have enjoyed his evening, but not remember you sitting in his lap, curling up, and making out. Is that what you’re saying?’

‘Yes, please. The guy’s a mutt, a nice big Golden Retriever, but not somebody I want to date. I want to get an experience making out with a guy, but not having him go back and ruin my reputation among his muscle-bound friends.’

‘Luna’

‘Huh? What’s that mean?’

‘Ask her nicely.’

‘Luna can do that?’

‘If you ask her nicely.’

‘Thanks, Mom. I can guess what you’re doing.’

‘Don’t get too carried away, young lady.’

‘Yes, ma’am. Thank you for responding. And tell Derek I said hi.’

After she broke the connection, I smiled at Becky.

Becky glanced at me. ’I don’t know if I could talk to my mom like that. I’m afraid of what she’d do if I just came right out and spoke truths.’

I shrugged. ‘I think a lot of it has to do with Mom turning my whole world upside down on Friday. I was a perfectly normal human boy who liked his life. Then, suddenly, I’m flipped, revealing me as a fourteen-year-old female Witch. There’s a lot of guilt involved.’ Turning my attention back to the pups, they were noisily debating how to defend against a quarterback who uses the run-pass option. I smiled and looked at them both. “Isn’t that usually when you power in at him from the corners, maybe a blitz, shutting down his options? You know, forcing a quick release or the obvious run up the middle?”

In the fraction of a second it took them to figure out that I said something intelligent about football strategy, Becky stood up. “Will you look at the time? We’ve got a movie to go see!”

Greg was nodding. “Okay. But how about dessert?”

I slid my hand into the crook of his arm and whispered. “Mmm. I was thinking that you would have me for dessert.”

‘Luna, are you going to help me out here?’

‘Quid Pro Quo, Anna’

I giggled. ‘Luna, what would you like in return?’

‘Larger portions.’

‘Done! Now, here’s what I want. I don’t want either of these mutts to remember details of our experience. They’ll have a feeling of an okay time, but overall, maybe a little boring because these two girls were beautiful, but only fourteen. They’re going to go off thinking what do fourteen-year-olds know?’

I felt Luna laugh. ‘Of course. All of your behavior will have been forgotten. The only problem will be that your family will know.’

Inwardly, I smiled. I was still fourteen, just starting to learn about boys and dating. I felt sorry for Doug. After all, this was not going to be easy for him to witness. But after Derek had opened his shields at dinner that night in the restaurant, I had left feeling so different. And ever since then, I’d been getting some bits of his pheromones as he and Mom had been making love each night.

I don’t think I wanted all of that, but it left me curious about how much power I had over human boys. I liked flirting, and maybe treating Greg like a test subject was a bit cruel, but I wanted more. I wanted to see if this could push my buttons and make me feel a little more turned on, the way I felt about being close to Derek. But then Mom spoke up.

‘Okay. Just remember that Luna and I are watching. After everything you’ve been through, I think you’ve earned the right to flex your powers. My advice is to go slowly and stay in control. After all, a movie theater is a public place. Luna is going to fog both those human boys’ minds. But Greg is still walking away from this, knowing he had fun.’

We got popcorn and sodas and snuggled in for a hundred minutes of rom-com warm feelings. I wasn’t ten minutes into the show when I moved Greg’s arm over my shoulder so I could get in closer. Then I discovered that this guy was a rock. It was like his chest was solid muscle, and well, it made me feel comfortable. I leaned into him resting my head on his shoulder and nuzzling his neck.

Greg got the hint and turned his head and kissed me. I really thought I’d be grossed out and Doug would vomit up the burger and fries, but Doug had disappeared. Instead, Anna kissed back and opened her mouth to receive my Golden Retriever’s tongue. He did a nice job of kissing without a lot of sloppy saliva.

We worked at that for a while, and I guessed I kinda forgot myself. I know I was getting warm and felt really good in a spacy way. Before long, I had slid into his lap and was cuddling against his body. I hadn’t heard from Doug and just assumed he was in the backseat napping.

Greg was starting to take liberties with his hands. I liked it when he squeezed me tightly. He was being careful and just cradling me and not trying to fracture any bones. I wasn’t watching the movie, but was starting to get warm inside. I wondered what would happen if we were on a blanket under the stars, instead of in the stale, air-conditioned movie theater. I also wondered how it would feel to have less clothing on, so I could feel his body everywhere.

At this point, Greg’s hand was rubbing my shoulder, and he was brushing his palm over my breast. He was being almost too gentle, and my first impulse was to get him to rub me harder when I realized that we were heading down the wrong path. The second notice I received was Greg’s member responding against my thigh.

Even I wasn’t ready for any of that. I think if I could have directed him, it would have been better, but red flags were popping up in my head, interfering with the fireworks that were also going off.

So, sadly, we had to go in the opposite direction and reverse course. I knew I could put out the fire quickly by letting a little soda and ice spill onto my Greggy, but that seemed excessive. Instead, I moved away and took a deep breath. This gave me a chance to tip the straw towards his mouth and he obdiently took a big sip. While he was drinking, I slipped off his lap and reached out for the popcorn bucket.

I started to feed him one kernel of corn at a time, giggling and kissing him after every couple of bites. He was behaving so well that I started kissing him again.

Okay, so I knew I was behaving poorly. But this was so much fun that I didn’t want to stop. I was teasing the poor boy, but knew that Luna was going to help him forget all the starts and stops.

‘Luna, will Greg remember kissing me?’

‘No. The whole experience will be clouded out from the beginning of the evening onward. I’m afraid that he won’t have any longing for you at all.’

Thinking about this, I guess Luna’s wisdom won over.

When the movie was over, we all meekly filed out, and the guys dropped us off and motored on their way. Luna had already done her job, and so Greg was content with a peck on the cheek. I was so engrossed in my experience that I barely had time to watch Becky.

The whole evening was a success. Becky and I both agreed that cuddling in the movie and a few kisses were okay. We both agreed that we’d had fun but not lost our minds.

Becky made a good point. ‘Human boys can be fun, but need to be kept under control. We should teach them the words No, Stop, and That’s Enough.’

I smiled and agreed. It was a fun time, but it was one-and-done. I think that my Mom was right. We’d be better off just making out with each other.

Both of us went to watch the football game on Saturday. Our school won. Can you believe that the other team turned the ball over four times? You’d have thought we had magic on our side! Becky laughed and said that Luna and Pumpkin should have been carried off on the team’s shoulders for their contribution.

Greg texted me on Sunday afternoon and thanked me for a nice evening. From then on, I’d smile or even occasionally stop to say hello in school. But the two of us were just friends.

I knew that Greg didn’t remember me flirting at dinner or climbing into his lap to smooch in the movies. I really expected to hear something from my Mom on Sunday after Polly had worked with me.

We were sitting together on my bed while Mom was helping me with the finer points of braiding my hair. At that moment, I turned to her. “Are we going to talk about Friday night?”

“What would you like to talk about?”

“I was thinking you’d be scolding me about my behavior with Greg.”

Mom smiled. “You want the mom version?”

“What’s that mean?”

“Okay. So it became quite clear that I have been overprotective of you. You realize that Becky’s Familiar was not reporting back to her mom, right?”

“Yeah. That came out. But Becky appreciated Luna’s fogging the guy’s brains.”

“Well, honey. I still want to make sure everything goes well for you. Your circumstances are different, and I’m interested in you making a proper adjustment. So, I’m going to stop spying on you. I think you’ve earned it by demonstrating that your brain came through all of this transition in good shape. I’m proud of you, more than you can imagine.”

“Thank you. I hate how I’m ready to start crying with happiness. This is so embarrassing. I hate acting like a baby!”

“You mean you hate acting like a fourteen-year-old girl?”

“Well, yeah. That too!” All I kept thinking was, where was Doug when I needed him? Then I realized Doug was still there but just holding his breath. Who knows? Maybe Doug was having fun being inside Anna.

“Well, you’re acting responsible. You behaved well among your new friends, and you and Becky get along well. And after seeing you toying with your food on Friday night...”

“What’s that mean?”

“Greg was on the menu, and you treated him nicely while you were testing the waters.”

“Okay. I see. Playing with my food, right? I guess he really was my test dummy.”

“Did you learn enough?”

“Well, it was fun to feel his hard body, and well, when he touched me, my heart started beating faster. But you're right. I just wanted to experiment without any strings attached. All these girls' feelings are confusing. How can I survive?”

Mom frowned. “You can’t expect to master everything instantly. Interaction with another person is complicated. When you and Becky play with each other, you’re both smart enough to understand what’s going on. Greg is not Becky.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I enjoyed myself, but Greg is…”

Mom filled it in. “Just a guy.”

I grinned, which was better than crying. “After Friday night, I gave it a lot of thought. I’m dedicating my life to others and joining a monastery.”

“Right. Good for you. Of course, if you think that playing with yourself in the tub or making out with Becky are exhilarating, wait until you have full-blown sex with someone that you’re attracted to.”

“Well, I hate to confess, but I like knowing that you and Luna are watching over me. It’s reassuring.”

Mom spoke calmly. “No one is kicking you out of the house. I’m just telling you that you’ve earned some personal freedom.”
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Chapter Seventeen
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On Monday, Becky and I were running laps at soccer practice and talking. ‘I gather that Pumpkin does not give your mom a full report about what you do.’

‘Pumpkin has never spied on me. Yeah, I was surprised how tight a leash your mom has you on.’

‘Well, evidently, I’ve earned my freedom. Mom and I had a good discussion on Sunday, and she’s taken the chains off.’

Becky laughed. ‘Knowing the Luna was going to fog the boys' brains made the whole experience pretty relaxing. I’ve never played around with a guy before, and well, that was my first date, too.’

I smiled. ‘Mom inferred that fooling around with you was much smarter than with a human muscle boy. I have to agree.’

Becky looked at me and smiled. She sent me a flash of the two of us in my bathtub together. I might have stumbled a little, but oh, wow. ‘You think of that, too?’

Becky laughed. “All the time, Anna. I want us to have a sleepover as long as Polly doesn’t hamsterize me.”

I started laughing so hard I lost my place. Fortunately, we were just finishing up.

The coach had us gather around and showed us some strategies we could use on the field. “Okay, today my strikers are going to be my defenders, and vice versa. I want to see you play in someone else’s shoes.”

We scrimmaged for thirty minutes, and I got totally soaked running around trying to keep the other squad from scoring.

“Okay, Anna. What did you learn?”

“I was wasting a lot of my energy running and not thinking. I was not being a team player, either.”

One at a time, Coach went around asking each of us what we learned. It was a good exercise.

After we all talked, Coach was grinning. “Good. I hope you all realized that a whole team is much stronger than a single individual. Also, you need to practice, practice, practice until everything becomes automatic. Now, time’s up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Becky and I were walking away, the coach signaled us over. She turned to Becky. “Your friend, Anna, is going to start the next game with you. I know everyone realizes how good she is, and no one will mind her moving up. She’s earned it.”

Then she turned towards me. “Don’t get all swell-headed over this. If you’re starting, that means you need to play twice as well as anybody without becoming all full of yourself. Starters lead by demonstrating, not giving orders. You got it?”

I nodded.

When we were headed to the lockers, Becky gave me a big hug. ‘I am so glad!’

As we were hugging, another teammate looked at me as if to say we were queer and beneath her. All I could do was smile and start making kissy faces at her. She turned and stomped off. We laughed.

Back home, I showered and dressed. I was getting a ride over to Becky’s and told my mom that I’d be home before bed. “We’re going to study together, and her mom invited me to stay for dinner, if that’s okay with you. It’ll give Luna and Pumpkin a chance to hang out and hunt.”

Mom hugged me. “I saw how you’re bribing Luna with extra meals. She likes the love and attention. All Familiars need to be reminded how important they are.”

Polly had been doing her best to help me release my power but keep it under control. She’d been showing me how to throw electric. It made me feel like a double A battery, sending tiny sparks out of my fingers.

Polly loved teaching me. “Eventually, you’ll find more power, but control is important. When you start throwing lightning bolts, you’ll need to focus your charge and direct it.”

I never told my grandmother that I was showing Becky everything I was learning. The greatest thing was that my friend could do what I did. Her power wasn’t as strong as mine, but it encouraged her to keep going.

The first chance we had to test our powers came on a Saturday afternoon. We were on our way back from the mall, waiting for an Uber. Out of nowhere, an unmarked van pulled up, and three men jumped out and pulled us both inside. Luna and Pumpkin were ready to take them on, but Becky said, ‘Let’s have fun before we let our girls swallow these guys.’

We called off our Familiars and decided to give our powers a workout. I’m sure that none of our parents would have approved of our behavior, but we had two very powerful demons right there protecting us.

There were five of them, two up front driving and passing a liquor bottle back and forth. And the three in the back were latched onto us using their strength to restrain us. It wasn’t hard to figure out what they had in mind because one guy got directly in my face. “Behave, little girl, and you won’t have to die. We’re going to make it easy for you to walk away with your life.”

Another guy laughed. “Well, I don’t know how much walking away they’re going to do when I get done with them!”

Obviously, they had rape on their minds. I’m sure when they were done, they’d have to kill us so we couldn’t be witnesses. Of course, these guys never realized that the game was over for them before it got started.

After stuffing a rag in my mouth and tying me up, one guy started pulling my jeans off. I turned to Becky. ’Hey. I really don’t want to explain how my clothes got trashed. How about you?’

Becky laughed. ‘I’m just playing the role of frightened girl.’ She whimpered aloud. “Oh please don’t hurt me, mister. I’ll do whatever you want!”

At this point, the van turned off the street and into an open garage. I heard the garage door open and close behind us. There was a whole bunch of guys circling the van and eagerly trying to pull us out.

Maybe I panicked a little seeing so many men and took a deep breath. Luna entered my mind. ‘Let me help you a bit here.’ Suddenly, a few of the guys in the back shadows disappeared. Luna and Pumpkin were keeping the numbers down for us.

Becky gleefully shouted out to them. ‘Thanks, girls! Extra servings this week.’

I turned to Becky as two guys grabbed my arms and tried to lift me. ‘Uh, I want to try out some shock treatments. Let me see what happens!’

There were two guys gripping my arms tightly when I sent a shock their way. And suddenly they weren’t holding me! Then I smelled something. I looked down at their bodies. But they disappeared. Our Familiars were working hard to keep the numbers down for us.

After seeing what I’d done, I said to Becky, ‘I used too much electricity. I made a mess, and I was just trying to shock them.’ Even though I’d electrocuted both of them, Luna and Pumpkin were taking care of the evidence.

I looked over to see Becky grab the two guys who were trying to undress her. She reached for their arms, and suddenly, they lost their balance and crashed into each other. Their eyes rolled into the back of their heads as they fell out cold on the concrete floor. Becky pointed at them, and cold blue flames shot out from her hands, electrocuting them. Poof, a second later, they disappeared.

We looked at each other and smiled. I don’t think any of them sensed what was happening. There were only a few guys left when I spoke to Becky. ‘I want to try something.’ I mentally enveloped the big van in a cube of power and kept shrinking it until it slowly compacted. Because it was inside a cube of power, the crushing metal didn’t make a sound.

The remaining men stopped and watched their big panel van fold up and compact. The remaining guys froze. Their faces showed they wanted to run. I watched as Becky surrounded them with a wall of blue light. She shrank their wall until they were crowded there together, screaming their heads off.

Becky looked at the last of our group, smiled, and spoke. “Oh, please don’t hurt me, Mister. I’ll do anything you want.” And with that, she turned off her power wall. We watched as our Familiars swallowed them up.

The two of us looked around at the empty garage. Except for a small cube of compressed solid metal, the large garage was empty. We hugged each other, and suddenly both our brains were filled with voices.

‘I don’t know whether to applaud or ground you!’ That was my Mom.

‘Becky, your friend has been a powerful influence, and I’m not sure if she is doing you any good.’ Obviously, that was Becky’s mom talking.

But Polly stopped the discussion. ‘Well, I’m impressed with how your Familiars let you have fun without either of you getting hurt. I’m glad you took at least ten bad guys off the street, but I am a bit worried. I didn’t like you using yourselves as bait. And that three-ton block of metal you are leaving behind is too full of DNA and potential clues. Keep the shape but melt it down into a solid block and polish the surface clean. And thank your Familiars for covering both your butts while you tested out your powers. I’m sending a driver down to pick you both up so you can shower, and then we’ll all have a celebratory dinner. I’m taking everyone out.’

Neither mom said anything after Polly finished.
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Chapter Eighteen
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Whenever Polly spoke, it was more of a declaration or command. It was not debatable. So when Polly said she was taking everyone out to dinner to celebrate, she wasn’t kidding.

That night, we were all going to a private room at Sepia, a very upscale restaurant in downtown Chicago. Mom suggested how to dress and offered to help me do my hair and makeup. After I laid out fancy lingerie and a new dress on the bed, I thought about putting everything on.

I started having a Doug moment. Sure, I would look good, but inside, my Doug brain was shrinking. I kept getting flashes of Doug and how he would have reacted to wearing these clothes. To start, Doug was never a fan of clean clothes.

But all my thinking ended when Mom appeared. She looked so beautiful that she took my breath away. Her jewelry was all gold and diamonds. I was babbling about how good she looked and then realized why she was dressing this way.

“Derek’s invited, isn’t he?”

Mom hugged me and whispered, “Is that going to bother you? Polly has invited James, and I know that your friend’s mom is bringing her Vamp, too.”

I was having some self-doubts. “I don’t know, Mom. I worry about keeping myself in check. I have to be truthful when I tell you that I know when you and Derek are making love. His pheromones drift through the house, and well, I have the most wonderful, sexy moments.”

Mom smiled. “Sure, I get it. But we need to work on your screens. You were learning how to use your screens with your friends, but their instructions were sloppy. What you need to learn is how to open and close your screens to let certain things in and keep others out. You can be selective.”

I was nodding, half understanding what she was saying. “Can I learn this quickly because I’m going to need it tonight. Seriously, I’m worried about putting all those Vamps in one room. Don’t they get strange hanging around with each other like that? What keeps them from losing it and fighting each other?”

Mom smiled. “You still have that comic book brain. Vamps have no reason to fight. And they all know that having a Witch for a girlfriend is the best.’ She held out her hand to show off a tennis bracelet and smiled. Then she touched her necklace. I immediately knew who these were from. “Honey, if any of them were to start arguing or even raise their voice, well, Witches can take a Vamp down to their knees. Sure, they might be older and wiser, but no one is more powerful than Polly.”

“Okay, I hear you. But help me out. How do I get selective with what I want to let in or screen out?”

Mom took a deep breath. “Okay, time for a simple lesson. Let me in.”

When Mom arrived inside my head, her voice was soft and comforting. ‘Okay. What you let into your brain comes through your eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. But the brain processes it. Okay?’

‘Sure.’ I was trying to keep up.

‘Now, let’s make a physical path for things to come through from the outside. We’ll create a small window. Outside your window is the whole world, everything that you’d hear, taste, touch, and smell. But we’re going to have to include something else, too. Feelings.’

I just listened and nodded.

‘I’m going to use Becky as my example. See, all I have to do is say her name, and you immediately picture her. You know how she smells, sounds, feels, tastes, and thinks. Right?’

I nodded. Just by saying her name, my heart beat faster. I found myself crying. ‘Mom, you’re in here and can see that I’m in love with Becky. Does that make me gay?’

I heard her chuckle. ‘No, baby. First, you should love her with all your heart. Second, you have a big heart, and there’s room for love for many. Third, you’re a Witch. We’re different from humans and don’t try to fit their crazy cultural rules or perceptions.’

I took a deep breath. ‘Okay, thanks. But we were talking about filters.’

‘Look at that window we’ve just built. You can add curtains, shades, screens, and storm windows. You can open the window completely or just a crack. A regular screen filters about thirty percent of what comes through a real house window.’

‘I’m confused. This is all imaginary, right?’

‘Right. But it’s a metaphor. The window is the opening through which your mind takes it all in. You’ve already learned how to shut yourself off completely, right?’

I recalled learning that with the girls when we were going to the mall. I also learned to open it enough to communicate with them. ‘Okay. I get it. But how do I shut out Vampire pheromones and keep myself sane?’

‘Imagine putting a special screen on that window designed to keep out pheromones. All pheromones. You’ve learned how to control your own pheromones. Right?’

I remembered Polly and Becky helping me with that. I thought building those shields would be easy. ‘It would be great to experiment with that before dinner tonight.’

‘Sure. Derek’s on his way. We can test it all out with him.’

OMG, Derek. My brain immediately started spinning. My brain filled with questions. Where does he live? Did Mom call him? Did he fly like a bat through the air?

Mom laughed and ticked off the answers on her fingers. ‘He’s got a beautiful condo, he owns several vehicles, and I let him know what we’re talking about and asked him to come by.’

My brain was overloading! ‘I’ve got to go clean up!’ I hurriedly dashed back into my room to finish making myself presentable for Mom’s dreamboat. I heard her laughing as I ran back into my room. I was deciding what to do.

‘Take your time, honey. We’ll be downstairs waiting.’

Naturally, I was thinking of showering, washing my hair, and brushing my teeth. So I’d need toothpaste, conditioner, shampoo, and makeup. That’s when I wished I could do Mom’s trick with glamour.

‘It’s not a trick, Anna. It’s simple magic that only works on humans. You’re not going to fool Derek.’

Oh, my god. Derek. I lusted every time I thought of him. Sure, fourteen doesn’t mean much to an adult, but my contact with him bordered on shades of obsession. I’d given up trying to figure out how I’d lost Doug’s boy sensibility overnight and embraced something new and so dangerous. Every night, I sensed Mom’s lovemaking with him. Shades of their pheromones had crept into my brain and body. Nothing crazy, but just a constant reminder of what my new body was made for.

It was so much easier when I lived inside Doug’s brain and body. I loved the phrase, “rub one out.” These days, even a hot bath didn’t completely erase Anna’s lust. It seemed like I was affected down to my core.

So today, we’d be screening out the source of what was nibbling away at my brain. My big question was whether I wanted to or not. Derek was becoming my addiction. I wondered if I could just steal a bit here and there.

Thirty minutes later, a freshly turned-out me showed up downstairs to see Mom and Derek. The Vamp, always the gentleman, stood and shook hands. Even his touch made me shiver.

He smiled and wrapped me in his warm, hypnotic voice. “Viv tells me that you’re working on controlling your shields, and I’m your test dummy. I was told that my pheromones are making it hard for you to concentrate. So, right now, all my shields are in place, and hopefully they’re not interfering with your concentration.”

Derek was right. I was staring at his beauty and admittedly being turned on, but not into a pit of overwhelming, out-of-control lust. “Okay, thanks for the shield control. Now give me a minute, and I want to practice filtering and adjusting my screens.”

I visualized my window and closed it firmly. Then I installed a heavy-duty screen that would filter out more than fifty percent of what would come through. ‘Mom, can you hear me?’

‘Yes, but it’s a little fainter.’

“Derek, would you mind opening your screens to maybe a quarter of your usual power?”

I was immediately struck by his blast. I was the moth attracted to the bright light. So I went back and put on a thicker screen until his blast was acceptable and I could concentrate. ‘Can you hear me, Mom?’

‘I can still make your voice out. But I’m imagining that you’re clamping down pretty tightly.’

‘I think I’m about seventy-five percent shut down.’

I turned to Derek. “Okay. How about a fifty-percent blast?”

I braced myself, but was surprised that there wasn’t any difference between fifty and twenty-five percent. ‘Mom, Derek increased his strength, and I’m not being bowled over. Why?’

‘You’ve adjusted your screening to specifically stop Vampire pheromones. You simply have to memorize that setting, and you should be good for tonight against all the Vamps.’

I heard Mom look at her lover and speak. ’Derek.’

“Yes, Vivian?’

‘Give her your full power, please.’

When Derek opened his screens, nothing happened. Mom was right. I’d dialed in a screen to simply block his scent. I did a little testing of my own by thinning out my screen so I could talk to Mom and everyone else. Derek’s blast was still blocked.

‘Do you block Derek’s pheromones, Mom?’

‘When I want. But sometimes, I like him to bathe me in his power, and lose myself.’

‘Mom! I think that’s too much information.’

‘Well, now that we are done using Derek, I think he needs a reward for his work.’

‘Mom, what do you offer him?’

‘Darling daughter, that is a conversation for another day. Maybe when you turn eighteen.’

I watched the two of them holding hands and walking off up towards Mom’s wing of the house. As they got further away, I slowly lowered my shields until I could feel Derek’s power. But I noticed that there was another pheromone working that I never paid attention to before, and suddenly realized that Mom was stoking him with her power, too.

I gazed at them and wondered what power Mom held over Derek that made him so domesticated around her. I still didn’t know what was true or untrue about Vampires, but I assumed they must have had a reputation based on their power over the centuries. I still had visions of raging Vamps tearing limbs off, blood and gore everywhere, as they swallowed the life source from innocent villagers.

I was starting to wonder what was true and what was fiction about all the mythological creatures out there. I’d already gotten confirmation about Familiars, Vamps, and Witches, but I was interested in some of the others, like Werewolves, Shapeshifters, and Zombies.

Two hours later, we were all seated in a private room at an exclusive restaurant, where the staff called Polly by name, Ms. Bradford. I was surprised there were no menus, but the waitstaff kept bringing out delicious food and wine.

Becky’s mom and her boyfriend sat down next to my mom and Derek. The Witches talked about old times and were pretty engrossed with what Chicago was like when they were young. I watched the Vamps and wondered what they were thinking. I squeezed Becky’s hand. ‘What do you think the Vamps are thinking about while the Witches gab?’

Polly shot back. ‘Vamps have the ability to relax in a meditative state. For the older ones, this can replace sleep and allow their bodies to heal.’

I shook my head. ‘So no need for darkness and coffins full of dirt?’

Polly laughed. ‘Oh, honey. You are so brainwashed! Vampires are not human men who have been transformed. They are their own species and choose the form they present.’

So Vampires were Shapeshifters! Suddenly, nothing made much sense, and I felt panicked. Once again, I was ready to run to the bathroom and heave.

Then I felt a strong hand wrap around my wrist, and a voice entered my head. ‘Anna, with strength and power comes responsibility. I see that you’re having a tough time adjusting to the real world around you.’

I realized that Polly’s Vampire, James, was speaking to me. ‘I get how difficult it is to have to learn about another world that’s always been there. It’s unsettling, frightening, and you want to run away from everything that’s happening. Let me help.’

Suddenly, James shifted my mindset. Okay, so Doug had gotten high with the guys and could handle it. But this was different. My brain was still sharp and aware, but everything around me had stilled. I spoke to James. ’What’d you do? Did you freeze time?’

I heard James chuckle. ‘Just a bit. I removed the two of us and went backwards to a few minutes ago, before you started having a panic attack. Since you know what’s coming, you can choose what you want to do this time.’

I blurted out, ‘A do over!’

‘Yep. Do you really want to throw up, or can you ride this out?’

Suddenly, I was back where Polly was telling me about Vamps being a different species.

I swallowed and continued our conversation. ‘Vampires are more like Familiars than humans! Are they demons?’

Polly smiled as she leaned over and kissed James. ‘We are lucky to have good demons in our world. Now, I was telling you that they can hear everything, yet use only part of their brains. But they’re still able to respond much faster than we can.’

I looked at Derek, and he winked at me. I opened my screen a small amount, and he sent a blast at me that lasted for a millisecond. It was just aimed at me, and I know I dropped my fork. Fortunately, I didn’t spill anything or draw any attention. I watched my Mom look up.

She grinned, stared at me, and then at Derek. She shook her head. ‘Don’t poke the bear, honey. Even in a relaxed mode, Derek is well aware of what’s going on here and outside.’

When I opened my screens, I’d been blown away by an overwhelming body-slamming reaction. It was like all my self-stimulation experiments rolled into one mind-blowing orgasm. It felt like my underwear was drenched. And all I wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

Mom smiled. ‘I know you went looking. I get it. But Derek only sent you a tiny bump. He knows you think you’re hot stuff, and he wanted to remind you that he’s a lot more powerful than you believe.’

‘Mom, I only opened my screen a tiny bit and only for a millisecond. How’d he do that?’

‘You know that Vampires don’t live in a fixed timeframe. Derek saw what you did with your screen, then went back in time and waited for you to open it. He was prepared to release his power towards just you.’

I looked at him. ‘I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to think that I could take advantage of you.’

Derek smiled, and his fangs glinted. ‘Three years and two months from now.’

I was confused until my Mom kind of kicked me under the table. ‘Derek is waiting until you turn eighteen. You’ll be ready then.’

I know I blushed deep red with embarrassment. It seemed like everyone knew what was happening except stupid me.

In the meantime, my screens blocked out all their pheromones in the room. I watched three Vamps charm the restaurant people so that everyone couldn’t have treated the handsome men any better. It was true. Each of them was more beautiful than the other.

I wondered what their true form looked like.

I leaned over to Becky and whispered, “Mom showed me how to adjust my screens to filter out the Vampire pheromones. Now, I can just relax and enjoy these men for their beauty and not their bewitching powers.”

Becky grinned. “I just let a tiny bit of their scent in. No one really knows just how much fun a tiny little orgasm can be when I’m surrounded by these guys.”

I looked at her and grinned. “Does your mom know?”

Becky giggled. “I finally got permissions when I turned fourteen. Mom showed me what to do. She saw it as a learning process.”

I just shook my head. “Then maybe you can tell me about Werewolves and Zombies. Are they real?”

Becky shook her head. “No Zombies. Totally invented for the movies. I think yes on Werewolves, but they are deep-forest creatures and not civilized. I guess you’re already realizing that all demons are shapeshifters. But I’m surprised you didn’t ask about pixies, fairies, elves, and dwarves, too. You know, all of that Lord of the Rings stuff.”

I stared. “For real?”

Becky kissed my cheek. “Nope, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. It’s just that they haven’t been spotted. I think if I were an imp or a pixie, I would fear for my life and hide away forever.’

We ate, and everyone behaved. I was very interested in watching three Witches and three Vampires interact.

‘Mom, are you surprised that everyone is behaving?’

‘Nope.’

‘Why?’

‘Polly is here, and everyone knows her strength.’

The next day was a Saturday, and Polly called me directly. ‘Anna, are you ready to learn about casting spells today?’

‘Yes, ma’am.’

‘Good. It’s a nice afternoon. We’ll have lunch outside on the patio first before we head to the library.’

I immediately sought out Mom and told her what Polly had said. “What do I do?”

“Wear something that a fourteen-year-old respectful young lady would wear.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Skirt and blouse or a dress.”

“Seriously?”

“Sure. But you have a nice pair of dress jeans that Polly bought you. She’d like to see those.”

“Mom, Polly has bought all my clothes. And now that she knows my sizes buys me stuff regularly. They’re always on my dresser top when I come home.”

“Do you like what she buys?”

“Sure. But Becky says that the snobby kids are watching me carefully, trying to decide whether to start socializing with me because all my clothes are expensive.”

“Is that what you want?”

“I don’t think so. But I really don’t know anybody yet except for Becky and a couple of kids from the team to say hi to in class.”

I watched Mom shrug, turn, and walk away. I flashed back on standing there inside the spell, bleeding with my first period. I was doing the math, trying to figure out when the next one would arrive. ‘Mom, when’s my birthday?’

‘November twelfth.’

‘So I’m going to be fifteen really, really soon. Do I get some extra privileges?’

‘How about some extra responsibilities?’

‘What things can I do around the house?’

‘You can use your magic to keep the grounds in order. You can make sure you keep your wing neat and tidy.’

‘Wait! I have a wing?’

‘Look around. You have a study, a living room, your bedroom, and a small kitchenette. Open some doors and explore.”

‘Seriously? Do we have a swimming pool?’

‘Inside and out.’

‘Can I get an electric bike?’

‘No. No bike. This is Chicago, not the hills and valleys of upstate New York. Luna can’t protect you from bad drivers.’

I sat down to eat lunch out on the patio with my grandmother, Polly. I think she looked a little younger since we had our dinner together. Oh, yeah. Her boyfriend, James, helped me at dinner by helping me with panic. He gave me a do-over. He is gorgeous and really is more beautiful than either of the Vamps we sat with. He’s taller and more muscular, and he’s got an English accent! I definitely owed him for reaching out.

Lunch was grilled cheese with ham and tomato. Naturally, when you live in Chicago, no Ketchup bottle was in sight. At least there was brown mustard, not that bright-curb-color yellow stuff. And the chips were obviously cooked in-house and couldn’t have been better. I had to be careful not to plow into my meal and throw it all down. I took my time and appreciated that we had iced tea, too.

Polly looked at me carefully. “How is school going? Are you learning anything new?”

I shook my head. “No, but that’s a good thing. I’m not feeling any stress and can concentrate on the fine points of being a female ninth grader.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

“At first, I was frightened that I’d just be Doug and flounder through life. But it seems that my female brain is having no problem ruling.”

“I know you have a movie date with a sixteen-year-old human boy. How was that?”

“Well, it was okay once Luna promised that she’d be able to fog his mind. It gave me a chance to be a flirty girl without worrying about messing up or ruining my reputation.”

“Reputation?”

“Well, I’ve seen Becky a lot, and she’s on the soccer team and plays softball, too. So I guess everyone is just expecting me to be like her. Which is good.”

“And she introduced you to some young witches?”

“Yep. We all went to the mall together.”

Polly made a face. “I’m not a fan of malls. Too crowded, too loud, and no controls. Not for me, but it really is perfect for you high school kids.”

When we finished eating, Polly led me down a corridor and a flight of stairs. I sensed we were below ground because of the lack of windows. But the whole area seemed brand-new and in perfect condition.

Polly explained. “We run air filters and do a constant check on temperature and humidity. Some of the manuscripts we store here came from Europe long ago, so we are the keepers of the flame.”

I looked around and saw a lot of glass doors holding shelves of books, a lot of books.

Polly was still talking. “This afternoon, we’re going to test your power and potential. I’ve invited a reputable Vampire to assist us today. Anna, I’d like to introduce you to Walter Issacs.”

I reached out and shook his hand as I tightened up my shields. I’ve come to realize that Witches and Vamps share one common trait. They all look young, so it was hard to guess how old Walter Issacs was.

“Anna, it’s nice to meet you. Your grandmother has filled me in about some of the powers that you demonstrated last weekend. As she said, it’s been a while since we’ve had someone with your gifts in our midst.”

They led me into a side room set up like a medical laboratory. I got a chill wondering how they were going to examine me.

The vamp put on sterile gloves and picked up a needle. “This is not going to hurt, just a little blood draw.”

Walter was right. It was painless, and I watched as he took six large vials of my blood. I wondered how a Vamp could be around my life source and not be tempted.

Walter smiled and answered my thought. “It’s always been a challenge to keep myself calm when I do this part. Being close is very tempting, and that’s why I took the sixth vial.” He smiled and then swallowed it in one gulp.

Polly stood there watching. She looked at me and nodded. “Walter does earn his vial of blood, but young blood is especially sweet.”

I stood up and pulled my sleeve down over the bandaid. I was going along with the flow, especially with Luna left behind above ground on the patio. I knew that Mom and my Familiar were both monitoring what was going on through Polly’s eyes.

Walter put each of the vials into different machines for analysis. It never dawned on me to question Polly’s decisions as I watched the machines chugging along.

Polly smiled. ‘Ask anything. Walter is truly one of us. He cares.’

“Are we going to work on solving my Zone situation, too?”

Polly looked at Walter. “This young lady has the ability to go to another world that she calls the Zone. I went in there with her and have never seen anything like it. I was hoping that we could do a deep dive into the old books and see if we could find any references.”

Walter smiled. “In the old books, there are many references to hidden worlds.”

I watched him tick off some on his fingers.

Walter continued. “I’ve read references to an island passage, the center of another world, and many other places. But they are just references. I don’t think anyone has ever recorded a scientific exploration of an unknown world. It would be amazing to think that Anna has the power to go there.”

Polly was nodding. “She took me with her to the doorsteps, but we went no further. I wanted to read as much as possible before we went in there again. I want to make sure that we can return here and not be trapped over there.”

Suddenly, I got this chill all over. Never return? Lost forever? I wondered what passageway I had stepped into by myself and then with Polly. It was another world. Everything was so different. The air, the light, and those golden fireflies were all something new to me. The strangest thing that I could remember was that I wasn’t frightened or afraid of what was happening.

Polly turned to Walter. “Anna has a very interesting lineage. She comes from two different powerful families and it’s possible that she’s one of a kind. Even her upbringing as a human boy sets her apart from any Coven Witch. She is a blank slate.”

I’d once read about the Tabula Rasa in a fiction book. But when my grandmother called me that, I was quietly subdued, trying to imagine myself as special.

If we were to mount a scientific expedition into my Zone, and sacrifice me for the good of the Coven, my one last wish would be to have a night with a Vampire. I wanted to go out with fireworks.

Walter and Polly chuckled and I realized they had read my thought.

As we walked through this part of their collection, I discovered that the oldest books weren’t really books but scrolls of parchment or goat skin with ancient writing. We stood there for a minute staring at a wall of scrolls, that all looked like old diplomas. Before we entered, Polly insisted that I put on a Tyvek suit, gloves, and booties, and a breathing hood connected to oxygen bottles. Once that was done, we went through a chamber that was meant to decontaminate us completely from any organism that could further damage the scrolls.

After being sprayed with a fine mist and then dried with fans, we stepped into a second chamber that scanned us with ultraviolet light to see if we still carried anything. After that, the door quietly slid open, allowing us to enter.

We stood there for a minute and took in the collection of the most ancient documents on Earth.

‘Anna, do you sense anything? Are you drawn to any scroll or group of scrolls?’

Surprisingly, I was. And while I wished I had used the toilet before I suited up, I felt a strong magnetic pull behind me to a dimly lit wall of paper rolls. As I walked in that direction, Polly called out for me to stop.

‘Why? Is there something wrong?’

Polly shook her head. And when I looked at her face, she looked frantic and worried. ‘Those are the scrolls of the Damned.’

‘Damned? What does that mean?’

‘They are all the oldest, and each one is written on human skin. A lot of people feel that they are cursed.’

I immediately blurted out, ‘What if my powers were dangerous and I would lead our Coven towards black magic? What if my powers were wrong?’

Polly stood in front of me so that we could see each other clearly from inside our suits. ‘Well, we don’t know. And we’ll never know if we stop and run away. If this is your destiny, we will tackle it together. But we need to talk to your father and possibly your grandfather, who might give us more insight into all of this.’

‘Mom?’

‘Yes.’

‘I am glad that you’re listening. I need to tell you how much I love you and thank you for being my Mom for the past fourteen years.’

‘Well, I don’t feel like a great mom right now. I lied to you all your life and hid you inside a bubble. And now that the bubble broke, I can barely keep up with your power. I love you more than you can imagine.’

I turned to Polly. ‘Should we open the scroll that is beckoning me?’ Wait, did I just say beckoning me? This whole experience is starting to freak me out.

Walter interrupted. ‘Every scroll has been photographed and transcribed. If Anna tells us the number, we don’t need to touch it.’

A number immediately came into my head, and I blurted it out. ‘24UD.’

Polly looked at me. ‘What other numbers come to mind?’

The numbers flashed up so fast, leaving a burned imprint on my brain. ‘R788, GPQ1, and one that says the number ten on it.’

Walter spoke. ‘I will have copies of each of these out here where we can look at them without damaging the originals. While you are decontaminating, I will call them up from the files so that we can look them over.’

Polly spoke. ‘Walter, I want you to find out everything you can about where they were discovered, and any information. I’m wondering what these four scrolls are trying to tell us.’

When we took off our suits, I felt exhausted, as if I had run the track for too many miles and hit the wall. At least the bathroom was nice and clean.

Polly and Walter led me back to a very comfortable chair in front of a large touchscreen computer. We watched as Walter turned on the system and brought up the first scroll.

“This is number ten. The info tells us this was the first scroll found in the Karoo Desert, south of the Sahara.”

What appeared on the screen was a tiny piece of a larger document. I studied it and spoke. “What language is this?”

“We believe it’s in the Khoisan language. We do not know what it says.”

I stared at it. And words came floating up into my brain. “I think that it’s a recipe for a cooked liquid. I don’t know if it’s food or something to do with ritual magic.”

Polly and Walter both looked at me. I shrugged my shoulders as if to say that was all I knew.

For the next thirty minutes, Walter showed me a scroll, and my brain translated it. At the end of the session, I put my head down on the computer table and closed my eyes.

Walter shook his head and indicated that he’d send an audio file to go along with the photographs of the scrolls. Polly woke me and helped me back up to the outside patio, where we had iced tea.

Mom was there, and I was awake enough to tell her everything that happened.

I watched Polly shake her head. “Each of these four scrolls was discovered thousands of miles apart and in unique ancient languages. Yet Anna translated each one seamlessly. It was as if she fell into a hypnotic fugue before she read each one.”

“Did the passages mean anything together? Were there witches involved, maybe witchcraft?”

It was Polly’s turn to shrug. “We have no clue. Right now, the smartest Witches in the world are seeing everything we saw. Walter even sent them a transcript of our conversations.”

“We have no idea what we’re doing. But it will be interesting to see if anyone sees some sort of connection.”

“Anna?”

“Yes, Mom?”

“Please be cautious about what you do outside of school. And it might be good if Luna had some company. I might lend you Fluffy.”

“Your Familiar?” Fluffy is a short-haired black cat who has no patience. I think that her Familiar has been around my mother for so long that it’s affected its personality. I simply try to stay away from her.

“Yes. It’s okay, and I’m not going far. I’m pretty safe in here. Judith is coming for a long weekend. She’ll have Ruggles with her. I think one Familiar will be good enough.”

I turned to Luna and covered the phone. ‘Fluffy?’

Luna shrugged. ‘Sure, we can make it work. If it helps your mom feel comforted, send her along to watch over you; consider it done. I’ve known Fluffy all the time I was waiting for you to come out of the cloaking spell. We are fine together.”

Little did I realize that having both Fluffy and Luna watching over me would prove to save my life.
.
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Chapter Nineteen
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I forgot about the scrolls and everything else that went along with the Zone and the Library because we had a game coming up. Being a starter was so great. Back home, Doug was always a starter because he was good. But now, Anna had to earn her spot.

And it wasn’t that easy. Our coach was great and was always happy to show us how to improve. We had won more games than we lost, and at one point, Becky had told me that if we won today, we’d qualify for the tournament.

“How come nobody told me?”

“Doofus. ‘Cause everybody knows those things, and I guess they just assumed you knew. Why do you think you’re a starter now? We want to win.”

“But we haven’t won that many games. We’re like 7 and 5.”

“Right. But we play a lot of teams outside our division. We play a lot of better teams that do beat us, but it doesn’t count for our league record. We’re 7 and 1.”

I grinned. “Wow, that’s more like it.”

“No pressure, Anna. But from now on, we can’t afford to lose.”

No pressure, right? Becky was knocked down in the first minutes of the game, and I saw it happen. She was challenging their star scorer just past the halfway line. As Becky came up to slow her down, the older girl checked her with a hip, but then smacked her with an uppercut to her throat. I saw Becky drop instantly, and the girl went on to score.

Because of the penalty, it didn’t count.

Becky had to be helped off the field. I was supporting one side of her and using a little magic to heal her throat. All I had to do was touch it and apply a little heat from my palm to get her breathing back to normal.

I was cursing about how the girl was only called for a yellow card. It was a serious penalty, and she should have been ejected.

“It’s okay. I can play.” Becky shrugged off any medical attention. She was not going to let herself be intimidated. “I can show that cow she can’t hurt me.”

After the injury time-out, we all walked back onto the field. I whispered in her ear, “I got this.”

Becky grabbed my arm. “Don’t do anything stupid where you’ll get disqualified. We need you on the offense.”

I shook my head. “It’s good. I have a plan, nothing dumb.” I immediately called out to Luna. ‘Can you trip her?’

‘Sure. I saw what she did. Pumpkin was ready to bite the girl’s legs off.’

I laughed. ‘Nothing too obvious. I want her to break away toward our goal, but she ends up knocking herself out against the goal post. I’m thinking concussion.’

‘It’s done, Anna. I’m going to let Pumpkin trip her, and I’ll direct her into the post.”

As the brawler passed Becky again, she cursed and threatened her. I called her a few choice names, too. She was so pissed, she glared at me and said, “Watch this, asswipe.”

She leaned in and pushed me down with an elbow. I went down and rolled. But before the ref could warn her, she raced down the field singlehandedly to score. As she lined up to kick the ball, I guess she must have slipped. The ball went wide, and she plowed right into the post.

Everyone heard the thunk and moaned. She hit the post so hard that her forehead split and she started bleeding. She tried to rise, holding her forehead, and fell back to the ground. It almost looked like she was pushed down. Now, the back of her head hit the goal post. She got up to her knees, and her coach rushed out and wrapped her head in a towel.

The ref called a stoppage, and we all stood there and watched as they led her off the field. She kept telling everyone she was fine and that somebody had tripped her twice.

Of course, that was impossible because no one was even close to her when she lost her balance, and her face went directly into the post.

The game resumed with her sitting on the bench. I scored one of the goals that finally put us up 3-1 and sealed the win.

Becky smiled and, from across the field, talked to me. ‘Pumpkin and Luna should both be given some credit for the win.’

‘I agree. But now, with the concussion protocol, she’s out for at least two weeks. So that team will have trouble winning without her.
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Chapter Twenty
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As we were walking off the field and headed towards the locker room, I felt strange and suddenly lightheaded. I stopped for a minute and steadied myself against the cinder block wall that supported the bleachers and the public bathrooms. I took some deep breaths, thinking I was dizzy from all the excitement.

I closed my eyes to see if the dizziness would slow down, but suddenly everything started spinning around me. Not just me, but the air around me, like I was caught in a tornado. I reached out to steady myself against the wall, but it wasn’t there anymore. When I opened my eyes, that’s when it happened. I was moving rapidly straight up into the air. It was terrible, and I knew that if it didn’t stop soon, I would throw up.

I realized we’d move high and it was pitch black, no light, nothing. It wasn’t natural. And everything happened so fast, I couldn’t get my bearings.

I couldn’t move. My arms and legs were wrapped in bands that were too strong to budge. I tried to speak, and nothing came out, as if my mouth was paralyzed. For a minute, I thought maybe the other team was responsible for this, but I realized it was too magical for humans to do.

But just as suddenly, I was back under the bleachers. I heard a familiar voice. ‘Anna, can you hear me?’

I looked around and saw nothing but felt the presence of two Familiars, Luna and Fluffy. My mouth came unglued. ’What just happened?’

‘We think something tried to kidnap you, a magical spirit.’

‘What kind of spirit?

‘We don’t know. Whoever it was, they were trying to take you alive. You were already in their grasp when we snagged you.’

‘What did you see?’

‘I’m not sure, but Fluffy thinks it was a Witch. We were interested in getting you back, not identifying what creature was trying to get a hold of you.’

Fluffy spoke directly to me. ‘Hey, Anna. I’m glad we were able to free you and get you back so easily. When we got to you, whoever had attempted to grab you was fleeing. Neither of us saw anything, but I need to talk to your mom and Polly. I’m wondering if it was her sister who grabbed you.’

‘Gladys?’

Luna spoke. ‘I can’t be sure because she only left a faint signature when she ran off. I was her Familiar long ago, but this wasn’t exactly her scent, so I can’t be sure. We need to contact all our Witches.’

‘Everything was off. I sensed nothing while it was happening.’ I addressed my grandmother. ‘Polly, do you think it was your sister who tried to kidnap me?’

‘It’s a possibility, but I doubt it. Your Familiar worked with my sister for a long time and would have gotten a much stronger confirmation. And signatures are all unique, like snowflakes. Not that my sister is a snowflake. A flake, yes. And I have to ask myself why she would do that? What does she have to gain by taking you?’

‘My power?’

‘Yes, you are powerful. But so is my sister. It’s not like she could eat you and gain your power. And she has no purpose in killing you because it would enrage all the witches in the world.’

‘What’s your theory?’

‘Honestly, I don’t have one.’

And that’s where we left it. Becky called and wondered where I’d gone. I told her that there was an attempt to kidnap me, but Mom’s Familiar and Luna had interrupted it and brought me back.

“Back from where?”

“Luna referred to it as a void. She didn’t think that my Zone and this void were connected. But I don’t know much. I do know that it gave me a case of Vertigo and paralysed me, too.”

“Damn, girl! That’s harsh. Wonder what they would want with your ass?”

I laughed. “Maybe to get me off the team.”

“Doubtful. I don’t think they have any Witches on their squad. But they have that steamroller. I’ve decided to call her Red Card.”

“Good name, I like it. Will we see them again?”

“Nope. Our matches will be against tournament teams other tournament teams. Those other teams will be a challenge. Kidnapped! Oh, wow! I’m glad you’re still with us.”

“Yeah. Me, too. I can’t imagine being kidnapped. But what happened to Red Card?”

“After she hit her face and the back of her head, it was all about the Concussion Protocol. She’s done for the season. But next year, she’ll be coming for us.”

“Bring her on. I ain’t afraid of no bully.”

Instead of celebrating our win and moving into the state-wide tournament, I went home and took a bath. I ached all over and didn’t know whether it was from the game or from being kidnapped. It really didn’t make any difference. After soaking, I wrapped myself in towels and lay on top of my bed until my Mom woke me.

As she was helping me wash up for bed, she smiled. “You’ve come a long way.”

I realized that a month had passed since that first Friday when Anna had come alive. “This is great. I can look forward to another period and a birthday.”

“Your cycle will get easier to handle with experience. And we need to start planning a grand celebration!”

Throughout the weekend, we had visitors. Well, actually, I had visitors. A group came on Saturday afternoon to talk to me about the scrolls and my Zone. Polly had said that I shouldn’t offer to take anybody into my Zone.

“I’m not sure about any of what is happening. We know that you are unique. The fact that you are able to connect scrolls, even the damned ones, is a big breakthrough. My grandparents were the ones who gathered all the scrolls into one location and built a repository to hold them long ago in England. They came here just after the Revolutionary War. The story is that they bought the ship and brought all their people with them on several voyages. One of those adventurers, they smuggled the scrolls into the New World.”

“Your family must have been very wealthy back then.”

“My family were experts at predicting trends and investing. Even back then, Witches and Warlocks used their powers wisely. My family got rich and stayed rich. But the scrolls still belong to everyone. That’s why we’ll be getting a lot of visitors.