Chapter 9: Everyday I Write the Book

 I woke with a bit of a start on Sunday morning, coughing slightly and feeling like I was smelling a bit like a bonfire. I looked over to where Victoria's bed was, she was standing in front of her wardrobe putting her clean clothes on hangars and rearranging everything around.

'Oh, morning Maddie.' Victoria said to me. 'I've just boiled the kettle if you want some tea?' She said as she finished hanging her clothes up, then made her way over to our small kettle.

'Morning, cheers that sounds great.' I spluttered and coughed as I up-righted myself, having a quick glance at my phone for the time; just gone twenty to nine. I watched as Victoria made me a mug of tea with milk and two sugars and sat it down beside me on my bedside table. I thanked her and graciously took a huge gulp of the sweet, hot tea. Victoria stared at me for a brief moment.

'Did you go out last night? Or go sleep walking or something?' She asked me.

'Wait what?'

Victoria reached over and rustled about in my hair. She pulled out a few twigs and leaves and showed me.

'Oh, I don't know.' I stared at the random leaves and twigs in Victoria's hand. She just shook her head and threw the loose shrubbery in the waste bin.

'Maddie you should really go see a doctor or something. You've not been yourself since we started the new term and you've been poorly too.'

I sighed and nodded at her.

'Yeah I probably should.'

'Anyway I was gonna head over to the dining hall shortly for some breakfast if you wanna come?'

'Yeah I think I might, Auntie M's coming for me soon.'

I dragged myself out of bed and quickly tried to make my duvet look a bit less dishevelled. I drank the rest of my tea and quickly threw on some moderately presentable clothes then hurried in to the communal shower rooms to wash my face and brush my teeth. Fifteen minutes later and I was making my way to the dining hall with Victoria. Weekend breakfasts at the school were pretty relaxed and we could pretty much do what we wanted but they always opened up the dining hall every morning regardless. Some students religiously went to the dining hall during the week but some of us couldn't be bothered and ended up having a morning brew and a slice of toast at our dorm instead. It depended on what day it was really, as the breakfast menu never really changed so we usually went on a Wednesday for Eggs Benedict.

But right now, Victoria and I were tucking in to scrambled eggs on toast with cups of tea and a small glass of orange juice each.

'Does Liam Blakeley fancy you or something?' Victoria asked me under her breath.

'Is he staring again?' I nonchalantly asked her back just as I was cramming some food in to my mouth.

'Yeah, pretty intently.'

'That's it.'

Now I really was in the mood to go over and give him a piece of my mind. I began to rise from my seat but Victoria tugged me back down.

'Hey, Mr Evans just walked in and sat next to Liam.' She whispered. I turned my head ever so slightly and caught sight of them in the corner of my eye. I watched for a few seconds but quickly turned back when I say Mr Evans look at me at the same time as Liam. It was weird and it kind of freaked me out a little. What the hell was wrong with them?

Victoria and I finished our breakfast and made our way outside, just when my Auntie M had come roaring up to our dorm building in her BMW. She turned off the engine and got out, leaning her arm on the roof of the car.

'Morning you two.' Auntie M beamed at us. She shut the door and came round the front of her car and sat on the bonnet. Today she was wearing all black, black boots, black leggings, a mid-length asymmetrical jumper and a black leather jacket. She had her black hair tied back in to a messy bun and her eyes were excessively lined in black also. She looked like she was going through a bit of a Goth moment.

'Morning Auntie M.' We replied in unison.

'So let me be the first to tell you but...' She stalled for a moment. 'I'm your new Chemistry teacher as of Monday!'

Victoria and I squealed and both went to give her a hug. She squeezed us tightly.

'I didn't think they'd fill the position so quickly.' Victoria stated. 'Did they have many applicants?'

'I think they had another four as well as myself. Three guys and another woman from what I can gather.'

So my Aunt was now the schools new Chemistry teacher. I knew of this ages ago because of a daydream; before she had confirmed it and I was pretty sure she had known it would happen too. At least I had my favourite family member closer to me especially after the bombshell she dropped on me last night.

'Well I really don't know how to say it, so I'll just say it. You're a witch Maddie.'

Wow I nearly forgot about that. Auntie M said she would speak more about it today so I guess I could ask her some questions. I felt a bit sick now after I remembered what happened.

We all carried on chatting for a bit when I thought I felt a shift in the air, I could tell Auntie M felt it too as her eyes darted in my direction then straight over to the doors leading in to the dining hall. Mr Evans and Liam were walking out side by side. There was an indescribable heat that seemed to be coming towards us.

'Anyway, I have some studying to do. Congratulations Auntie M. See you later!'

'See ya.' Auntie M and I said to Victoria as she made her way back to our dorm.

'Do you feel that Auntie M or is that just me?' I whispered.

'I feel it. Give me a second.'

I looked at her, the wind was blowing her hair slightly but within a few seconds it had completely gone; almost as if it was turned off with the flick of a switch. The weird feeling in the air though coming from the direction of where Mr Evans was stood was warm, but felt odd like when you were too warm under a heavy blanket. That feeling had lingered for quite a while but much like the windy sensation, it dissipated after a short while.

'He's coming this way. Auntie M why's he coming this way?' I whispered again, slightly exasperated this time.

'Keep calm I've got this covered. Act natural.'

I didn't know what do do so I just grinned and nudged Auntie M in the arm like she had just told a dumb joke or something. She joined in on the feign we were improvising.

'E28 Beemer. Nice.' Mr Evans was commenting on my Aunts car.

'1988 518i.' She replied. Mr Evans just let out a low whistle then held out his right hand.

'Daniel Evans, I'm a history teacher here.'

My Auntie M rose up from leaning on her car bonnet to shake Mr Evans' hand.

'Morrigan Taylor, I'm Madelyn's Aunt. I'll be starting as the new Chemistry teacher here on Monday.'

The two shook hands. I watched as my Aunt and Mr Evans sort of stared at each other in a really bizarre way. It was almost like they had just taken twenty paces and were about to shoot each other. I noticed their hands had stayed connected for a just a few seconds longer than what was comfortable.

'Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Ms Taylor.'

'Morrigan please, we'll be working together Mr Evans.'

'You're right and please, call me Daniel.'

This was probably the most weirdest exchange of words I had seen in a long time. Both of them were quite stand-offish and almost hesitant. There was a moment of silence before Mr Evans shook himself out of his daze.

'Anyway I'd better go, um. I'd better go. Enjoy your Sunday.'

Auntie M and I just smiled and waved, then quickly got in to the car.

'What the hell was that all about?' I wheezed.

'Feel the change in the breeze and the change in the heat before he came over?' Auntie M asked me. I nodded. 'Well that was power suppression. I can do it quite fast so it's barely noticeable sometimes to other magic users but it can take a bit longer for some people.'

'Wait you think that Mr Evans...'

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'Possibly another magic user. I couldn't get a good gauge on him, if he is a magic user then he's either really good at masking it, or he's a bit under powered. I'm thinking the latter, warlocks tend to be a bit weaker than us witches.' My Auntie M explained.

'So male magic users are warlocks and female are witches?' I asked.

'Technically yes and no. Witch is a gender neutral term so anyone can use it if they like. But females are more commonly associated with witch, and guys; warlock.'

Auntie M started the car and it rumbled to life. She shifted in to drive and made her way down out on to the main road.

'I'm sure you have loads of questions, so I'll do my best to answer them.'

I thought I had loads of questions but for the life in me I couldn't remember. I was still trying to figure everything out and convince myself I wasn't crazy and neither was my Aunt.

'I might even teach you some basic spells to get you started.' Auntie M chuckled at me.

We drove for a short while in to town. Auntie M said we could go round a few shops then stop by some cafe for a bit of lunch. It gave me a chance to actually think of some questions I wanted to ask. Auntie M took me in to a really expensive and posh stationary shop but I wasn't sure why.

'Are you getting new supplies for when you start on Monday?' I asked her.

'Nope, we need to find you your own spell book.'

Spell Book. My own, Spell Book.

'Every family has their own main grimoire but we all keep our own individual spell books, I've got quite a few of my own up to now.'

As we wandered around the shops anytime I had thought of a question; if the coast was clear then I would ask my Aunt.

'When was your awakening?'

'I had just turned five years old.'

'Five? How did that happen when you were that little?' I didn't know much about any of this but that seemed like a really young age, especially considering I just had my awakening aged seventeen.

'It's different for everyone, we would consider you a late bloomer but that's no surprise. Your mother never taught you anything or even let you know in the first place. You've not grown up around magic so you've not had as much practice as the rest of us.'

'How old was my mum when she had hers?'

Auntie M stopped looking through some really expensive fountain pens she had taken a shine to, to have a think.

'She was around thirteen I think. Monica had hers aged five like me, Miranda was about ten. Molly and Macy were just about to turn sixteen and Melody was twelve.'

'Melody?' I asked sounding confused.

'Melody is your other cousin, the big sister of Molly and Macy. Anthony is the eldest though but he has no powers. Wow Maddie, you really didn't know did you?'

'I knew I had some cousins but mum never told me anything and I've never been allowed to meet them. You're the only member of her family she let me see.'

I was beginning to resent my mother, well; a bit more than what was normal. She never had time for me any more not since my dad died. And now I was finding out things, major things about myself and my family that I suppose should have been coming from my own mother.

'I can't believe she never told me any of this. Was she even going to tell me?' I looked up at Auntie M and I felt like I was on the verge of tears. I looked down and tried to blink them away but I think one or two drops escaped. I blotted round my eyes with the back of my hand but blinked again when I saw something that just stood out at me on one of the shelves holding notebooks and diarys. I picked it up and admired the cover. It was a dark navy blue coloured A5 sized notebook' a hard cover that was in a strange flocked velour type fabric with an intricate pattern round the edges in silver that looked like it had been embroidered on. I held it out for my Auntie M to look at.

'Why do I feel like I absolutely have to buy this? Like, why am I feeling a sense of doom if I walk out of here without buying it?' That's exactly what I was feeling in my stomach, a sense of dread. I didn't want to put the notebook down.

'Because you do have to buy it Maddie.' Auntie M grinned. 'That's meant to be yours and it's telling you.'

Oh this was getting weird. I hugged the notebook close to my chest as if my life depended on it.

'Listen Madelyn.' Oh Auntie M rarely called me by my proper name with that tone of seriousness. 'I know your mother is not the best person to get on with, Jesus I know that she's my sister but she most likely had her reasons. Maybe not the right reasons but she probably thought she was doing what was best for you in her opinion.'

I guess I kind of had to agree with her on that, it was the motherly thing to do. I nodded in agreement.

'But you're a young woman, you're not a child any more and your awakening was always going to happen whether she wanted it to or not. My only issue is that she's left you totally unprepared, I'm just glad I knew it was happening especially as she made me promise not to tell you anything till your awakening had happened.' Auntie M put her arm around my shoulder and squeezed. 'You seem to be taking this well though I think?'

How else could I take it? I figured out quite quickly that this was happening and I needed to take it all on board and get on with it. I had to do exactly that when my mother sent me to boarding school, there was no way she was having me in a regular school any more and I pretty much lived there the whole time. I had to accept that.

'I'm still a bit pissed off at mum though, she's denied me a family and me knowing what I am.' I told Auntie M. I could totally believe she swore my Aunt to secrecy though.

'Oh don't worry about that girlie.' She squeezed my shoulders tightly again. 'She's never been one for our way of life she fought it for a long time, she just wanted a normal life and I guess she wanted that for you and now her power has dwindled. Your mum is an insufferable shit at times.'

I let out a bit of a laugh at that, mum really was impossible.

'She hasn't really got over dad either.' I added.

'Oh she'll figure it out. You've done well though.'

Another thing I had to accept. My father was gone and he wasn't coming back, a thing my mother couldn't really quite get her head around so she kept herself busy by working all the time. Auntie M was right though. I was getting older now and I should be making my own decisions and choices.

'Anyway you know you'll always have me on your side and you have your cousins now too. And the coven, we are like a big family. That's if you decide you want to take this further? Your choice.'

Did I want to take this further? I think I did at this moment in time. And Auntie M had just said it was my choice.

'So what else do I need to start?' I asked my Auntie M, holding up the notebook I was about to go pay for. She gave me an excited smile.

'Lets get some basic stuff for now. So you have your own spell book, we could maybe get you some crystals, candles maybe even some oils and herbs.'

'So will I be making potions and chanting in rhymes?' I grinned slightly. Auntie Morrigan tried to stop herself from rolling her eyes but I caught it.

'Forget everything you know about witchcraft that you've seen on telly or in films.' She told me. 'After time and lots of practice, we become a prime conduit for energy and intent and we can will things to happen. Here, watch this.'

I watched Auntie M as she shuffled over to a shelf nearby that had a range of individual loose pencils in different hardnesses. She picked a random one up and snapped it in half, holding the two halves in the palm of her hand. I looked at the broken pencil for a brief moment before the two broken edges shot together. Auntie M gave me the pencil to inspect, it looked like it had never been broken.

'Or you could be a bit of a dick.' Auntie M looked me straight in the eyes and stuck her tongue out. As soon as she did that, a row of the lights suspended from the shop ceiling popped; sending the complete aisle in to a strange kind of half darkness. I heard some of the shop staff shout each other asking what had just happened with the lights with replies of "I don't know! Where's the fuse box?" Auntie M chuckled slightly then with her index finger, pointed up to the ceiling and made a slight spinning motion. The lights instantly came back on. I heard one of the shop assistants yell "Never mind!"

'So you don't need to rhyme or make potions to do stuff?' I asked, a little bit stunned at what she had just done.

'For me most of the time no, because I've been doing this a long time and I'm a lot more powerful than other witches. It depends on the situation though, chanting rhymes and using potions serve their purpose; they're great when you're beginning as they help you concentrate but they can also amplify spells and direct the intent more accurately.'

I had just learnt more about my life, my family and my new craft in the fifteen minutes I had been stood in this stationary shop; none of which could be attributed to my mother. I really needed to talk to her at some point and she'd probably not be happy about it.

'Can we go get some lunch Auntie M? I wanna ask you more questions.'

'Sure thing, lets go pay for your notebook then we'll find somewhere nice to eat. Sound good?'

'Sounds good.'

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