Chapter 14: Danger Zone

 'AUNTIE M! I CAN'T GET DOWN!"

My Aunt was sat on her magical forest settee in front of the magical bonfire she conjured up drinking a huge mug of tea; looking up at me precariously balanced on a bright pink coloured broom I had pinched from the girls dorm cleaning cupboard, currently floating up in the air at least thirty feet off the ground. It hadn't taken me long to get the broom up and off the ground and hover about a bit on it, I even managed to go some distance on it too. It was the weirdest feeling flying on this regular household cleaning utensil. Auntie M had suggested I straddle the broom, like I was riding a bike. Apparently it was easier riding a broom this way then after I had mastered that I could go on to riding side saddle.

That was alright for my Auntie M to say that. As I started increasing my height, she flew up beside me and guided me round the trees like she was minding a child riding a bike they just had the training wheels taken off. She could fly. As in actually fly without a broom. Of course she could fly.

'Ive been doing this for well over thirty years Maddie, this is what happens.'

Touché Auntie M. Touché.

I had started to stress out a bit being as high up as I was and not being able to get down.

'Calm down Maddie, take a deep breath and loosen up your muscles.'

I did what my Auntie M told me. I circled my shoulders and my head a few times as I took some deep breaths. I willed myself to land on the ground and after a few severe drops that shook me up a bit, I kept control and didn't fall off thankfully. I got about a metre from the ground and tried my best to land with both my feet on the forest floor. I stumbled a bit but somehow managed to climb off the broom. I was quite pleased with myself that I didn't fall off at all during my flying lesson. I did however have a few leaves and twigs stuck in my hair from when I flew a bit too close to the trees.

I wandered over to the settee and propped the broom up against it before sitting down. Auntie M snapped her fingers and a cup of tea appeared on the table she had magicked in to existence. I gratefully took the hot drink and sipped at it.

'Auntie M, can I ask you some questions?' I said in between sips.

'Of course you can kiddo. Fire away.'

I had been wracking my brain trying to think of questions I could ask and made an effort to remember them this time. Normally something would just pop in to my head that I should ask, but I'd soon forget. I wanted to ask about what was real and what wasn't real about witches, like what films and TV got right or wrong.

'So the witches riding brooms thing is real.' I started.

'Not exactly.' Auntie M replied. I screwed up my face a little just before she continued. 'Brooms are traditional but to be honest you could use a garden rake, a mop. Heck you could even fly on a Dyson if you wanted to. It is however always, some kind of cleaning utensil.'

'Like in Sabrina? The old show?'

'Yep.'

'And I suppose when you get really good, you can fly without the aid?'

'Bingo.'

I "ahh'd" before I continued with my questions.

'What about the three thing? The rule of three is it? Is that real?'

Auntie M tilted her head about a few times. 'It does and it doesn't. Depends on the reason and intent. Causing serious harm or injury to someone never ends well and there are repercussions, same with doing things for excessive personal gain. Your little moment with that Francesca girl, mine as well actually are fine. She has ill intent and exudes negative energy. Teaching her a lesson or stopping her in her tracks is fair game.'

'What about hexes and curses?'

I was beginning to understand a bit better now. Auntie M never told me everything as she said I needed to ask when I was ready.

'Just don't be a total dick.' Auntie M laughed and tried taking a mouthful of her tea but the mug was empty. She glared in to the mug and watched as it refilled itself. She peered over to look in my mug and gave me a magical top up. 'They're reserved for arseholes planning to do harm or are just vindictive and nasty.'

I asked her loads more questions that night. Apparently Glamour spells were real and we could use them on ourselves and use them to disguise things or bring things in to a visual existence without the item even being there.

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'Were your cats your familiars? I mean do we have those?' This one I really wanted to know as I thought it would be cool. That and an animal friend would be nice.

'Most of us do. I haven't had familiars since Teddy died and Rufus disappeared. You remember that?'

Auntie M did have cats at one point, but hasn't had any for a while, maybe just over a year or so because she's been out of the country a lot. Teddy was this big, slightly fluffy grey cat who was part Persian or something like that. He was 18 when he died. Rufus was a slightly smaller cat than Teddy; a tabby shorthair. He disappeared shortly after Teddy died. Auntie M said he had a broken heart as they were bonded together.

'Is it always cats though?'

'Ninety nine percent of the time. I do remember one woman who had a ferret as her familiar. She absolutely stank of ferret piss.' Auntie M mused as she carried on drinking her tea. I nearly choked on mine.

'We should go find ourselves some familiars at some point actually.' Said Auntie M. 'Normally they find you, but there's a lot of cats in rescues or shelters and they can't exactly go wandering about to go looking for their witch.'

I couldn't remember any more questions. I'd probably get in my bed later on tonight and suddenly remember them all at stupid o'clock. Auntie M however was still impressed by how I had managed to pick all of this up as quick as I did. She suggested I continue practising what I knew so I could show the rest of the coven at our next meeting next week, just before my seventeenth birthday in fact. Then if I wanted to join; my initiation would fall on Samhain. Apparently it would involve spells, chants, wine and a buffet too. I'd even get my own creepy black hooded cloak. 

It also meant that I would probably miss the schools Halloween Dance but thinking about it, whenever I went to any school dances nothing really happened. I'd be stood in a corner all night with Katie and Victoria, watching all the other students having fun or making complete fools out of themselves in their expensive costumes and watching the teachers in their costumes; sneakily drinking out of hidden hip flasks. Yeah I think I'd rather be in the middle of the woods. I would be without Kate and Victoria though. Oh, I remembered another question.

'Auntie M, are people allowed to know about us... witches I mean?'

'Not really but sometimes it absolutely can't be helped.'

'So I can't tell my friends then?'

Auntie M looked a bit sad when I asked that. 'You shouldn't tell them. But there's always a chance you'd get found out some way or other.' She tipped her head back as she drank the last of her tea. 'After that it depends how they react and if you can trust them or not. Most times you may be required to cast a spell so they forget. Not everybody is accepting of our gifts.'

So no Scooby Gang like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer then.

'So no Scooby Gang like in Buffy.' Auntie Me chuckled. I nudged her knowing she had just heard me think that. 'And I know what you're gonna ask now.' She continued.

'Are vampires and werewolves and other monsters real?' I said the question aloud.

'Vampires, yes. Werewolves, yes even though they're pretty rare. There's loads of monsters and supernatural beings that do exist, but we keep a lid on them.'

'Woooow.' I exhaled. 'Oh, there is another thing I wanted to ask. What's the deal with warlocks?' This was puzzling me.

'Witches have had a long standing rivalry with warlocks, nobody really remembers why but like some mortal men; they do like taking advantage of women when the chance arises.'

I didn't like the sound of that.

'Witches tend to be more powerful than warlocks which is another thing we're not so sure why it happens. It's probably because magic itself is inherently feminine. Either way, old school warlocks like to try using us to boost their own powers using various disgusting methods, though the younger more recent generations aren't as bad but it depends on their sect.'

So if what my Auntie M believed was correct, that Mr Evans was a magic user and was in fact a warlock; then that meant Liam was probably one too? The witch gene passed down from woman to woman and the warlock gene passed from man to man. If a witch bore only sons then they couldn't manifest the gene and vice versa, it laid dormant till the next generation.

Oh God I had so much to learn. Auntie M must have noticed the slightly bewildered look on my face.

'Don't worry about it kiddo. I'm here and soon you'll have the coven backing you. C'mon lets head back, it's really dark now nobody goes walking at this time of night they'll be wondering why we're out.'

I sighed, she was right. I was never really a fan of the night before but since my awakening I had become quite fond of it. I felt slight reluctance in heading back, night-time is when witches felt the most comfortable and I would've gladly sat outside in the forest all night. It was so peaceful.

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