Part 5

The next morning, Blair awoke confused, as she was still wearing yesterday’s clothes. The night before was such a blur. All she knew was that she felt sick, a horrible pain ripping at her abdomen. She shrugged it off and got ready for school, making sure to change.

She suffered through English, keeping her head down for a good portion of the class. The teacher was oblivious; as she was too busy rambling on about ‘dangling modifiers’. Though, when science came, Blair’s mood lifted a bit. Des greeted her as she came sat down at their desk, and they talked until Mr. Murray announced the beginning of class. Des seemed to enjoy Blair’s presence, and the two got along well, like they were long lost friends re-connecting after years of separation.

After class, Des handed Blair a note and walked out the door without a word. She stuffed the note in her pocket, afraid of what it might say. But she decided she would have to open it at lunch. There was one class period between now and then; forty five short minutes before Blair faced what she was certain would be her death. During math, she was extremely fidgety and had trouble concentrating on her work. All she could think about was Destry and the note. When the bell finally rang to go to lunch, Blair felt as though she was going to throw up. But she marched herself towards the cafeteria and sat at the table with her friends as she normally did. She did not greet them; she sat turned around on her stool with her back towards them. With shaky hands, she unfolded the note. For a second, she was afraid to look. But what it said astounded her, and sent a flurry of happiness through her body. It had Des’s number scrawled on it, along with the words, “Call me any time.” Although, she kept her excitement to herself, not wanting to hype it up to her friends. After all, it might not mean anything.

That afternoon, Blair rushed home and locked herself in her room. But this time, she would be performing a different kind of magic; calling Des. She took out her phone and carefully punched in his number. Taking a deep breath, she raised the phone to her ear and waited for his voice on the other end.
“Hello?”
“Oh, hey Des. It’s Blair.”
“I was kind of embarrassed to ask you this in class… but I really need help in math.”
“Oh…” Blair’s heart sank. She was hoping for something a bit more romantic.
“I know you’re really good at math. So, you think we could meet up after school some time?”
“Sure, how about tomorrow?”
“Sounds good. Thanks a ton, Blair, you just saved my butt.

When they hung up, Blair wasn’t very satisfied. But, at least, now she had something to look forward too.Perhaps this was healthy. Normally, Blair treated love like an affliction, all it brought was pain. But taking risks was what life was all about. Now, if she could only learn to trust him. Past experiences had scarred her trust in humans. She’d been used, mistreated, and beaten. Things she couldn’t talk about to this day.

Now that she thought about it, Blair realized she just needed one person; just one person, who loved her to no end for who she really was. It could be a friend, or a boyfriend. She just needed someone to go to, someone to tell all her secrets to, and someone who would be completely true to her. And if she worked on it, Destry could be that one, that one person who would rebuild her trust in mankind.

The main reason Blair took up magic was because she was looking for an escape from the extremely corrupt world she lived in, where all people cared about was how skinny you were or what brand of clothes you wore. She couldn’t stand it; she lived in a world of plastic, where people cared only about appearance.

That night, Blair lay awake in her bed, thoughts buzzing through her mind. This could be it. Destry could actually have feelings for her. She had a hard time grasping the idea though, as she never felt she was very attractive. She watched the minutes, and then hours tick away on her clock. If she couldn’t sleep, she might as well do something more useful than lay in bed and stare at the wall. So, she threw off the covers, pulled on her black hoodie, and made her way out the back door of the house.

The chill of the December air numbed her feet as she walked down her frozen lawn, but Blair didn’t care. Her soul was alive, and burning with a passion she had never felt before. Though that feeling came from something completely different, it inspired her in her magic. As soon as she was a good distance from her house, she broke into a sprint. She didn’t care if it were a school night; this couldn’t wait. Blair would just have to go to school dead tired.

She darted through the trees, hoping to find that one place she had come in contact with Diana. Maybe it was more than just a dream. Finally, she came to the strange, perfect circle of a clearing she had seen in her sleep. The moon seemed to illuminate the ground she walked on as Blair stepped out of the trees. There was definitely something magical about this place.

“Ajax!” hissed a voice from across the clearing. Panicking, Blair ran back for the shadows of the brush. No longer in control of her body, she dove for a nearby bush and made a loud crashing noise. Two hooded figures emerged from the thick darkness. One of them seemed to be looking right at the spot where Blair was hiding, and her heart pounded in her chest. After a few moments of tension, the hooded figure turned to face its counterpart.
“Right, only a rabbit. See Ajax, nothing to worry about.” The figured pulled off its hood, revealing the face of a beautiful young woman.
“Seda! You must hide your face! We cannot risk being discovered.” The other hooded figured warned.
“There is no one here but the Goddess.” the women said as she gazed at the moon. As soon as Blair heard this, she knew she had found some of her own kind. But she wouldn’t blow her cover quite yet, just to be safe.
“Fine.” the other hooded figured mumbled. He too removed his hood. Compared to the women, he was ugly, almost hard to look at. His skin looked like it was made of leather, tan and wrinkled with many scars. The moonlight shone down on his face, making the man look even more terrifying. Silently, the woman stretched her arms out in the direction of the sky, as if she were trying to summon it towards her. Three more hooded figures appeared in the clearing, gathering around the man and woman. They each pulled down their hoods one by one. The first was an elderly woman with long, coarse grey hair that resembled iron fillings. The second was yet another woman, looking around thirty. She looked a lot like the elderly woman, except she had less wrinkles and a puff of red hair. The third was a young man, whose youthful eyes glistened in the soft light.
“Hello Ajax, Seda…” the redhead breathed. Blair had finally realized that the first two to emerge from the forest were most likely the high priest and priestess of a coven.
“Ah, hello Lona.” said Seda, ad she dropped her arms and turned to face the redheaded woman. “And hello to you too, Piri.”
The old woman muttered something under her breath before shuffling to the opposite side of the clearing. The other two exchanged glances. Meanwhile, the two men were conversing in hushed tones, too soft for Blair to hear. Suddenly, a cry erupted from Piri’s mouth.
“A SPY!” she shrieked. “A SPY! THERE! IN THE BUSHES!” All head turned in Blair’s direction. Her heart seemed to stop, and she held her breath, praying they wouldn’t notice her.
“Are you sure, mother?” Lona asked, raising a brow.
“I may be old, but I’m not stupid.”
“Alright,” Ajax sighed. “I’ll take a look.” The man seemed to glide across the forest floor, his cloak rippling around his feet. Blair shut her eyes tight. Maybe if she thought hard enough, she would become invisible. Blair heard the crunch of leaves, and could sense the large man standing right next to her. She slowly opened her lids, and gazed up into his torn face.
“Who are you?” he breathed, his tone harsh.
“I…” Blair struggled to find her voice. “I am Blair.”
“Why were you sent here?”