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Kitty Sue
“DOMINIC!!” Goddess! This guy gets his Earth magic back and is able to hide like a fucking chameleon! This body of mine is also not used to this much physical activity. I’m sweating like crazy, and I think I might have some kind of asthma. I miss being thin and healthy and able to at least walk in the forest without feeling like I’m dying. “Come on Dom! There is no reason to be scared! Cyrana isn’t going to get you!” I yell again, not really knowing if that’s true or not.
“Lies! Lies! Lies!!” His voice comes from my left. I head that way, hoping to spot his skinny ass amongst the foliage. A tree moves, but I can’t be certain it’s Dom. Just as I’m about to move it, I hear a loud boom, followed by some bright light and the ground rumbling. I turn back toward where the barn is. Where I had left Sophie. The sky is orange, like fire. My heart stops in its place, and suddenly I’m running back to where I came from. Dominic can hide in the forest, but I won’t leave Sophie behind. Not like last time. This body hates running, but I don’t give a shit.
“No!” I think I yell that. I can’t tell, as smoke billows from the inferno that was once the barn. I don’t see Sophie. Now would be a great time for Salem to use her water magic, but I don’t see her either. I run around the fire, looking in the weeds for my friend. I stumble, seeing Cyrana and a henchman. She doesn’t see me as she continues to laugh. Then, like the snap of a finger, she’s gone. Sophie... she must have been inside. I can feel the tears burning my eyes. Cyrana would only act like that if someone died. She’s only happy around death.
“The demon did something.” Dominic’s voice sounds behind me. I don’t look back at him. I’m furious. If I hadn’t gone looking for him... if he hadn’t acted like a child and run off... poor Sophie.
“She died alone.” I whisper, choking on my sobs. “She died because I was out chasing you!” I turn to him, so angry. Tears are running down his pale face. I can’t be mad at him. This whole situation is my fault. I should have told Trinity about my issues when they first happened. But no... I wanted her to enjoy London. I wanted her to be happy. I thought I could handle it.
“The demon knew she was alone. She waited.” Even if that’s true... it shouldn’t have happened. “We can’t use magic, or she’ll come back.” It’s the clearest Dominic has ever sounded. He’s right, and I hate that.
“We should say something. Something to honor Sophie.” I can’t seem to think of any of the words one uses at a funeral.
“Our lives are formed of many others and we form other lives in turn. And when we are here with you after you die, we honor your life.” Dominic says. “It’s the only part I can remember from Trinity’s funeral.”
“I promise to make this right. I promise to get all of our friends back.” I whisper. We head back into the forest, away from the heat. There is nothing we can do until the flames stop. I pull out my shitty phone, texting Salem. She responds quickly. “We’re meeting Sal on the other side of the clearing.” I start heading that way. My heart is heavy. How many more friends will have to die?
I HATE THAT SALEM SMOKES. I hate even more that she does it in the car with us in it. She’s been lighting up back to back since she picked us up, having seen the orange glow of flames from her parking spot. Now, she’s driving us to Goddess knows where. All I know is that it’s in the same direction of the house Sebastian and I share in my old life. Except, instead of turning down the road to where my house was, she continues straight for a few more miles, before taking a sharp right onto a hidden dirt road. If this was a horror movie, this would be where Salem would kill us and hide our bodies.
“Where are we going?” Dominic asks from the back seat. He and LaDay had played an interesting game of rock, paper, scissors for the chance to sit shotgun. I had beat them both. Watching LaDay squeeze his ass in the back had lightened my mood for a moment.
“This girl I know. She’s pretty far out in the middle of nowhere.” Salem answers. She drives out past Pulaski, almost to Sandy Creek. “She used to live in Liverpool, but she moved after the Demons took over. She has kind of like a safe house.”
“Does she have magic?” I can’t help the hopefulness in my voice. Losing one friend, and one source of magic has really put a damper on the plans of getting rid of Cyrana. My heart pinches thinking of Sophie. At least she’s no longer in pain, and if I can get everything to work out, she’ll be alive once again.
“No, and I’d appreciate it if we didn’t involve her too much. She’s a cool girl. I don’t need another dead friend.” Another punch to the gut. Salem stops the car in front of a rundown looking cabin. There are trees growing so close, they could very well be growing through it. A woman, a bit taller than me is standing in the doorway. The dim light from the porch illuminates the blonde and purple highlights in her dark hair. It could be brown, or black. It’s hard to tell. She’s slim, like Salem.
“Luck? Never thought I’d find you pulling up to my house.” The woman says.
“Hopkins... My place kind of burned down.” Salem was living in that Barn? What the hell!? I mean... I guess it’s better than her parents constant screaming... It’s a far cry from the apartment she shared with Trin. “Everyone, this is Aurora Hopkins. Hopkins, these are people you don’t need to care about.” Fucking rude much?
“I’m Kitty Sue. That’s Dominic. Nice to meet you.” I extend my hand to her, but she just stares in disgust.
“She was saying that for your benefit, not mine. I don’t really care who you are.” Aurora sneers as she turns back into her house. “The bedrooms are upstairs. Mine is on this floor. Stay out of it. And unless Luck says it’s fine, stay out of my basement too.” She heads down the hall, not even looking back to see if we were listening.
“Isn’t she just a ball of sunshine...” I whisper mostly to myself.
“Demons killed her family right in front of her. She managed to get away.” Salem shrugs as she heads up the stairs. I follow, looking for a place to crash. I’m exhausted. There are only two bedrooms, so the girls share and the boys share. I don’t even feel like talking to Salem about what happened, though I know I need to.
“Where’d you go? Why didn’t you use your water magic to put out the fire?” I ask, removing my shoes. I wish I had more clothes to change into. I feel gross. Salem doesn’t look at me... doesn’t respond. “I asked you a question!” I get up, shoving her lightly. She whirls around super-fast, making me stumble backward, tears in her eyes.
“I can’t you bitch! I told you I couldn’t. Just like Sophie couldn’t, and Dominic couldn’t. You are threatening our lives. We were fine before you came back. And look what happened! Sophie is dead! How many friends did you come back to kill?” Salem is screaming at this point, causing LaDay and Dom to show up at our door, worried looks on their faces.
“What is it then?” I can feel myself getting angrier by the second. She was supposed to be the one I relied on. The one who wouldn’t be doing something to hinder her magic. “Drugs? Alcohol? What is your fix?” I look to her arms, not seeing any marks. Then I look at her legs, clad in a pair of shorts, she has red marks on her thigh. I had dismissed the markings, thinking they were bites.
“None of your fucking business.” Salem seethes, eyes flashing. She’s done with the tears, straight to pissed off and violent.
“Salem. I think it’s time to cool off.” LaDay’s voice sounds. Salem’s eyes move to look at him, then back to me. “We need to go get ready.”
“Ready for what? Where the hell are you always sneaking off to?” I’m not done with her, even if she thinks she’s done with this conversation.
“Go back where you came from. No one wants you here.” Salem says in the quietest voice, complete contrast to her expression. She heads out the door with LaDay, finished with talking. The fuck she is! I’m going to figure out what the hell she’s doing.
SALEM AND LADAY HADN’T left the house, but they did disappear into Aurora’s basement. Dominic was holed up in the room he was sharing with LaDay, holding onto some book he wouldn’t tell me about. He is pretty upset about losing Trinity’s book, although, I don’t really think it is that big of a deal. I had tried to sleep, but I was too pissed off and sad to get any rest. So now, here I am, pretending to be a spy and figure out what the hell Salem is hiding.
“No, the password hasn’t changed.” Aurora’s voice sounds from the kitchen. I try to hide in the shadows as much as possible. “No, I don’t think there is a need to change location. Everything is already set up. See you soon.” Fuck... something is going on here, and it’s happening in that damn basement. I wait till she leaves the kitchen before heading in there to grab a bite to eat. Can’t be a spy on an empty stomach.
“She’s scared ya know.” Dominic’s voice makes me jump. He’s so quiet when he moves, you would think he’s a ghost too.
“Your empath powers finally come back?” I ask, munching on a cheese stick. Aurora doesn’t have much food here, and I’d hate to be the one to eat it all on her. I wish my magic would catch up to how I am in my real life. This body needs a lot of work, and no time to get there. If I could use the full powers of my mind reading, I could find out what Salem is hiding.
“Are your mind reading powers not working?” Dominic asks, probably feeling my struggle. I keep forgetting how much I hate this power of his.
“It’s spotty... it worked really well when Sophie was talking to Trin, but I can’t get a good read on Salem, or that Aurora woman. It’s frustrating! In my other life it was so honed, I could usually get past most mental blocks if I wanted.” I fill a glass with water. I hope it’s not contaminated. Dominic shuffles his feet. I’m sure he’s itching for a fix. I’m so proud of him for being sober. I miss my old Dom... the healthy one that was getting buff at the gym with Sebastian, and fawning over a German girl. I’m going to hug him extra tight when I get back. “I’m going to go take a walk around the house. You want to join me?”
“No... no, no. I stay inside. I’ll watch. I’ll read.” There’s that jittery talking again. I hate how this Dominic speaks with such paranoia. I don’t argue, I just leave. It’s pitch black out. The only light coming from the sliver of moon, and some lightning bugs. The air is still, and the forest is quiet. It’s so weird in this present. Even if I could make it back, how would we destroy Cyrana? Even Trinity couldn’t so much as scratch her.
“There has to be something I’m missing.” I use my magic to make the dead leaves move, completely forgetting that Cyrana can track me.... Fuck! Then the ground glows a dim ring of gold... a barrier spell. How the hell is there a barrier spell out here, and who put it up? Salem maybe? Before she lost her magic? No... that doesn’t make sense. If she had done it, as soon as her magic failed, the barrier would have too. So, whoever put it up still has magic. I glare back at the house. That Aurora chick has some secrets she’s not wanting to share. With this barrier up, I should be able to use my magic inside without drawing Cyrana out.
“We’ll be back in about an hour.” Salem says as she and Aurora head to the car. LaDay must have opted to stay behind and baby sit me and Dom. I glare at Aurora. She glares back. I don’t trust her, and I’m going to find out what she’s hiding. As soon as the car leaves, I head inside to find Dom. He’s standing in the shadows by the stairs.
“The big man is upstairs. We can get into the basement.” Dominic whispers. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if he can read minds too. “She locks it, but I made a key with a stick.” He shows me the stick in hand. It doesn’t look like a key, but I figure, Dom needs to feel helpful.
“Let’s go then.” I smile as we head to the door that leads to the basement. We really should check her room too. I take a detour down the rest of the hall. Her room door is only a little bit farther than the basement. “I want to check on a hunch. Think your twig can unlock this room?”
“Yes, but we shouldn’t. That’s personal space.” Wow... this is the clearest Dom has spoken since I came back.
“You can stay out here.” I put my hand on the door, trying to feel if there is any kind of magic. I don’t feel anything. I nod to Dom and he inserts his twig. I can see his deep concentration as he twists the stick to unlock the door. It clicks open. I step into the partly messy room. This girl doesn’t like to be very tidy. I step carefully around some books and some piles of clothes. At least I don’t see a bunch of old food or anything. After getting my bearings in the room I look to the Northern corner. That’s the corner most witches set up an altar. I smile seeing the very tiny table that has no reason to be placed there. In fact, it’s the most organized area of the entire room. I step up to it, seeing a small metal deity as well as a pentagram and some used candles. So she does have magic, or at least practices it. I quickly leave the room.
“All done?” Dominic asks, looking behind him and back at me. He’s getting itchy again. He’s too nervous.
“Yup. Let’s check out this mystery basement.” We do the same thing to the basement door we had done to Aurora’s bedroom. This door clicks open quicker. It’s dark, and the stairs look well-worn for wood. I almost wonder if they won’t break under our feet. Maybe as a witch, she does sacrifices or something.
“We must hurry. We don’t want someone to find us in bad places.” Dominic says, walking past me to head into the darkness. I suppose he’s used to it. I feel around for a switch, finally finding it so I can gain some light and not fall down the stairs. My luck, I’ll probably break something.
It’s dimly lit. It’s also ridiculously huge! I’m fairly certain that Aurora’s basement is larger than the entire upstairs. There’s a ring in one corner, almost like one you would see in a boxing gym. In the opposite corner from there is some gym equipment, the next corner looks to be a sterile room of some kind, and the final corner is just a table... so freaking weird. Why the hell wouldn’t she want us down here? As I turn around I freeze... mostly because ice has literally formed around my ankles, slowly moving north on my body. Did Salem’s magic finally come back?!
“If I’d known Luck was bringing trespassing witches into my house I wouldn’t have allowed you in.” It’s Aurora’s voice, and she sounds pissed! Dominic's in a similar predicament, but I see him looking around the basement for something he can use. The floor is concrete. The other version of Dom wouldn’t have a problem with this, but I don’t know if this Dom can break through. “I knew something was off when magic lit up my barrier, but it wasn’t that demon bitch. So, who are you?” The ice is up to my waist. I can feel my teeth chattering.
“I can’t talk if I freeze to death.” I glare, for the first time wishing I had fire magic to melt this shit. She looks like she contemplates my words, but shrugs and the ice continues, constricting my chest.
“I don’t really care. If you’re a witch, you’ll bring that demon bitch. If you aren’t I just saved you from living in this hell hole. Either way, I don’t really give a shit.” Aurora says. Bitch is crazy!
“I’m trying to fix this hell hole.” I gasp, the ice close to my neck. “I’m trying to get back to the past...”
“Time travel is a myth. No witch can do it.” She stares at her nails as if wondering how to decorate them.
“Cyrana did it, and she brought me from a different future. I can hel...” Ice covers my lips... fucking great. As it creeps up to my eyes, I see Dom’s head become engulfed. Well... I suppose this is a better death than I would have received from Cyrana.
BEING FROZEN BY A WATER witch is not a fun experience. I’m slowly freezing to death, but it’s like when you see those shows of people freezing in a freezer. I remember reading a lot about it in Criminal Law 101. It’s slow and excruciating. Your body is slowly shutting down. My fingers and toes are numb. I can’t breathe with the ice over my mouth, so I’m suffocating. The ice moved so quickly up my face that my eye lids are frozen. I couldn’t close my eyes, even if I wanted to. I take back what I said about this being better than what Cyrana could do... it’s much worse. Cyrana would just stab me or decapitate me or something else. Nothing this slow.
“Kitty Sue!” The ice cracks around my head, then melts away. I take a deep breath, and my lungs thank me while burning at the same time. “The fuck Hopkins!?” Salem is trying to pull the ice off me. My eyes are blurry. Dominic?! My mind screams as my mouth is still thawing. I blink as fast as I can, trying to get my vision clear. I try to get my powers to work...
“So cold... I don’t like cold. I like warm. Warm like my trees.” Dominic’s erratic mind seeps into my hazy one. I sigh, shaking some more. Aurora is standing in the same place she had been looking agitated, but not even a bit sorry.
“She’s a witch.” I chatter to Salem as my arms become free and I hug myself waiting for the rest of the ice to melt away.
“Obviously.” Salem glares at me. “No, I didn’t know before right now. No, my magic is not working.” I smile slightly through the cold. I miss her being able to know what I’m going to say because we were so close. Almost like she could read my mind, even though I know she can’t. LaDay is over with Dom, pulling chunks of ice off him. Dom’s skinny stature is shaking like a leaf. Poor guy was probably worse off than me. At least this version of me has some cushion.
“She’s fucking crazy.” I chatter out again, trying my best to glare at Aurora. The bitch just rolls her eyes. I clench my hands, bringing them to me. I’m so fucking over being nice to people. I’m so over this fucked up future! I feel the wind whipping around me, and I let loose. Screw this bitch! Screw Salam for being a letdown. Screw Cyrana for her fucked up idea of a great reality, and screw myself for not being strong enough to stop that demon bitch the first time! I scream, the wind taking it upon itself to knock every person on their ass. Even big LaDay is tumbling into a wall.
“Kitty!” Salem yells, trying to push back against my wind. Good fucking luck. I can see Aurora trying to conjure some kind of counter attack, but that Witch is first on my hit list right now. I turn to her, pulling the wind back... as well as her oxygen. Feel what it’s like to suffocate. She grabs around her neck, falling to her knees. I watch as Salem pushes back against the wind I’ve blown since I’ve turned most of my energy to Aurora. “What the hell are you doing?” She yells again. I look to Dominic who is just taking the abuse and stop. He’s not even trying to stop me.
“Dominic.” I walk over to him, ignoring the others who are trying to help Aurora breath again. He’s huddled on the floor shaking. I don’t know if it’s from fear or from the cold. “I’m sorry Dom. I shouldn’t have caught you up in that.” I kneel down to him.
“So much anger and crazy. So much scared. I’m so tired. I’m so scared. I want to die. I don’t want to be here anymore.” He’s speaking so quickly, and I have a feeling he is really close to a relapse. I reach out to him, but I don’t touch him. I just wait patiently for him to grab my hand. Trinity was always the super patient one. Tobias would tell us how she would be so nice to him and so patient with him. I guess I need to work on that.
“I’m sorry. I need your help Dom. I can’t do this alone.” In the back of my mind I can almost see Salem glaring at me like she doesn’t matter. Without her magic, she kind of doesn’t. She’s only helping me as some kind of repayment to Trinity. He stares at my hand for a long time. So long I almost pull away. Then he reaches out and takes my hand. It’s freezing and shaking. I count to ten in my head so I don’t attack Aurora again. She isn’t worth it.
“We should not be here. We should find somewhere else.” He says, standing on shaky legs. He’s clutching the same book he’s been carrying all this time. I really want to know what it is. He already lost some book Salem gave him that belonged to Trin. I’ll have to ask him when we’re alone.
“Everyone needs to calm down.” Salem voices after I have Dom on his feet. I glare at her.
“Dom and I are leaving. We don’t trust you, or your witch friend. I’ve already got one psycho after me. I don’t need to be watching my back for another.” I grit out between clenched teeth. Aurora just rolls her eyes.
“How about you tell me how you’re still alive with magic like that, and then I’ll tell you how I’m alive, and Salem can explain what the actual fuck is going on?” Aurora suggests. I look to Dom. Whatever he decides is what we are doing. I need him to be sober.
“Outside. We can talk outside so I’m not defenseless.” He mutters. I nod, moving toward the stairs. I look to LaDay on my way. He doesn’t seem the least bit fazed by any of this... interesting.
DOMINIC IS ON THE GRASS, playing with some weeds, creating himself a little wall out of them. Salem and Aurora are standing close to each other, arms crossed with LaDay standing behind them leaning against the house. I’m basically in the middle of everything... so, nothing new.
“Who’s going to start?” I ask, placing my hands on my hips. I can’t help glaring at Salem and Aurora. I sure as shit am not starting. Salem knows my story. No one knows what’s up with this Aurora chick. She rolls her eyes again. I’m really starting to hate when she does that.
“I come from a long line of witches. Dating back to the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 when my ancestor was accused of being a witch. You may know her... Abigail Faulkner?” The name sounds familiar, but to be honest, I can’t remember much about the trials. I learned it so long ago in school, and apparently while most of my memories transferred over to this body, not all of them did. She waves her hand in the air as a sign of nonchalance. “Anyways, she was a witch, and she got out of being hung... as many of the real witches did. Had a kid, who had a kid, and so on. Until me! My mom was a witch, my dad wasn’t. The demon slut that took over the city killed them both. I was able to escape. Found this place, put up one of my ancestor’s barrier spells, and then found you snooping in my basement. That should about catch us up.” Wow... that is a lot to process.
“Okay then... I’m a witch, obviously.” Aurora mimics my obviously. Man I don’t like her... “Dom is a witch, Salem was one. I don’t know about LaDay. Cyrana is a demon that we,” I point to Salem and I, “apparently let loose when we were in high school. She came to the real present, stole something, went to the past and changed it, and now we’re stuck in this fucked up version. That should about cover it.” I mimic her. She glares back. The dislike is mutual.
“Time travel doesn’t exist.” She growls.
“Apparently it does.” I shoot back.
“At least I know why Luck doesn’t have magic, but why haven’t you fought the demon?” I raise a brow. She knows why Sal can’t use magic, but Salem won’t tell me? The fuck is up with that?!
“Please enlighten me as to what happened to Salem’s magic.” Sal’s face turns red in anger.
“None of your damn business.” She spits. Aurora does that annoying as hell eye roll again.
“Because she uses roids... steroids... in her fights.” Aurora informs. I watch Salem turn on her, about to pounce when LaDay grabs her around the middle, holding her back.
“What fights?” Now I’m really confused.
“Pit fights. Like caged matches against other people. She’s pretty good. Usually wins. We have a fight tonight. You should come watch her.” Aurora is smirking. Looks like she just lost a friend in Salem. I glance at Dom. I almost forgot he was there. He’s reading his book, his little wall of weeds creeping up taller and taller. He’s going to make himself a little hidey hole.
“Well... now that we know what’s keeping your magic at bay, we can fix it.” I cross my arms. “Get off the roids and help me, or watch everyone else die like Trinity did, and that stupid cunt takes over the world.”
“Go fuck yourself Kitty Sue.” Salem shrugs off LaDay, turning toward the house.
“So then Sophie died for nothing. Trinity died for nothing. I might as well turn myself over to Cyrana now.” I glare, using the wind to keep Salem from easily walking back into the house. I chance a glance at Aurora. She’s glaring too. I watch her hand move and ice form at Salem’s feet.
“You’re telling me, that you knew how to stop this psycho, and you chose fighting dumbass humans, over fighting a demon? You’re a pathetic excuse for a witch.” Aurora scoffs.
“No... I chose my life over dying for a stupid bitch that left us and let Trinity die.” She stares right at me. That stings a bit... mostly because I didn’t have a choice.
“Well, I’ll help.” Aurora turns back to me, shrugging. “Might as well avenge my parents... and I might have something to help.” She heads into the house, turning to look back at me basically asking why I’m not following her. “Are you coming or not?” She finally voices. I look down at Dominic. He’s still reading. I guess I might as well see what she has.
