Darynda gave her a pitying smile as if to say,
how could you be so simple
?
“On to the next elixir. This one is a drinkable.”
“What does this one do?”
“What do you want it to do?
“Is there something to bring my grandmother back?”
“I’m afraid that one is beyond me. She’ll be back w
hen she’s supposed to be back.”
“You’re just saying that. You don’t know either.”
“Maybe…”
Darynda shrugged. “Maybe Lavinia is on a very important mission. Maybe she’s trying to save someone. Maybe her mission will keep you safe.” There was a flicker of light
ning
and a static sound. Darynda flinched. “Oops, I’ve said too much. Let’s just get started on this next elixir.”
"Wait! What about my grandmother's mission? What does that mean?"
“Get another bowl. Chop-chop! We don’t have all day.”
Mercy started to protest, but Darynda waved an imperious hand and pointed toward the kitchen. Mercy found a small plastic container with a lid and scooped her new face cream into it. She washed out the bowl and spoon and returned to face the television screen
to find that Darynda was wearing her usual face again and her hair was glossy dark, as usual.
“Ready?” Darynda asked.
“Should I be writing all this down?” Mercy asked.
“Duh! It’s all in the manual.”
“But it wasn’t in there…earlier.” Mercy’s voice trailed off as she recalled Darynda’s promise that her lessons would appear as she learned them. Maybe if she believed that, she could believe in Darynda’s promise that Gran would be home when she was supposed to return. And what was this important mission stuff? She knew that Darynda wouldn’t say anything more, especially after the attack by lightning…but she would definitely ask Gran about it when
they were
able to talk again.
During the rest of the lesson, she learned to concoct an elixir to ward off evil spirits and one to
bring about
the appearance of invisibility.
“How does this work exactly?” Mercy poured the clear liquid into an empty mayonn
aise jar and tightened the lid.
“You need to put it in a spray bottle when you get ready to use it. It doesn’t make you truly invisible, but it makes everyone around you believe that you’re invisible. A little goes a long way, so be careful where you spray it.” Darynda gave her a sharp glance. “Are you ready for the last one?”
“The last one? You mean there are only four elixirs?”
“There are zillions of elixirs. They’re coming out with new designer elixirs every day. These are just to get you started. All the recipes are in Lavinia’s potion book.”
Mercy made a mental note to re-examine the books on her grandmother’s shelf more carefully. “Okay, what next?”
“This last one is called the
E
lixir
of Truth
. When someone ingests it, they have to tell the
absolute
truth.”
“Oh, my! That sounds odd.”
“You need to keep it refrigerated
until you’re ready to use it.”
Mercy held out the cleaned bowl and Darynda began the process of sending ingredients her way. The scent was nice, somewhat like limes and pineapple and maybe a little ginger. She stirred and leaned her face close to the bowl to inhale the aroma. “Nice.”
“Yeah. How else could you get someone to drink it? Couldn’t have it smell like dirty feet, now could we?”
Mercy giggled at the thought. “No, I suppose not. When would I ever need to use this?”
“You will know,” Darynda pronounced
with a severe tone. “When the time comes, you will know.”
Mercy stored the elixir in a plastic soda bottle she had rinsed out. She set it on the refrigerator shelf and pushed it to the back before returning to Darynda.
“Well, that’s it for today. I think these elixirs will get you through for a while, but check Lavinia’s potion recipes for new inspiration. Remember, these elixirs are very powerful and should be used with care.
A little goes a long, long way.
”
Mercy nodded and the screen went dark. She washed the bowl and spoon again and thought about the four mixtures she had concocted. A face cream, an elixir to ward off evil spells, an invisibility spray and a truth elixir.
Why she would ever need those particular items was beyond her, but then again, so many things were way out there beyond her grasp. She just hoped that Gran would return soon, from whatever her ‘mission’ might be
,
and that things would return to normal…
If ever there can be a normal again
.
At school the next day, Mercy felt as though she had grown
reptilian
scales. It might have been her imagination, but it seemed that everyone was giving her a
plenty of room
. No one jostled her in the hallway. She didn't have to walk slowly behind gobs of students, laughing and shoving. They were abnormally silent and stepped aside to let her pass. She twirled the combination to her locker and felt hundreds of eyes glued to her.
I should have brought my invisibility spray.
She
felt a pang when she reached for her
E
nglish and
h
istory books, knowing she hadn't done her homework and was completely unprepared for class.
"Hey!"
She jumped and whirled around to find herself face-to-face with Greg. He was grinning fro
m ear-to-ear.
"Hey," he said again, in a lower voice. "I was worried about you when you didn't come back to class yesterday. What did the principal want anyway?"
Mercy tried to smile
in return,
but her lip trembled. "The sheriff was there. He questioned me about the disappearances." She felt a shiver race down her spine. "Lindy and...and Amy and Becca."
Greg frowned. "Why on earth would he ask you about those three
Loony Tunes
? You're not even in their little clique."
"No, but you know...the
spilled
punch incident at the dance. I guess he heard about that and wanted to know what happened afterward."
She twirled her combination and turned back
to Greg, managing a fake smile.
He
lean
ed
closer and made a grab
for her books and tucked them under his arm.
He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, drawing her nearer. "Don't worry. Everything will come out all right. Whatever happened, we know that you had nothing to do with it."
She tried to stifle a little gurgle of nervous laughter.
"Yeah, we know that."
They walked together toward her first period class. She saw the other students turn a
round
or cut their eyes away as she passed by. She heard them whispering among themselves and thought she heard the word witch. The back of her neck tingled with apprehension as she wond
ered what this day might bring.
"I'll see you at lunch," he said, breakin
g into her thoughts.
She reached for her books. "Thanks, Greg." She turned and went to her desk with her eyes cast down at the floor. When she
lift
ed her gaze, one after another of her classmates quickly glanced away.
They're afraid of me. They know I'm a witch
.
The bell rang and Mercy busied herself in reading
the lesson she should have taken home with her the previous day.
The teacher, Miss Flynn, wrote something on the board while Mercy skimmed the chapter. When Miss Flynn turned around her eyes lit on Mercy and widened slightly. She blinked and quickly looked down at the papers on her desk. She silently checked her roll bo
ok and then took a deep breath.
Oh, my God! She's afraid of me too
.
Mercy
recalled Darynda's words
, "It’s your power and you’ve been handing it over
on a silver platter for years."
She sat up a little straighter and raised her eyes to give Miss Flynn a cool stare. Then she let her gaze travel around the room, slowly meeting the eyes of every person. One by one they looked away, unable to stare her down.
Be careful. Don't piss me off or I might banish you
. The thought stunned her.
Or turn you into a toad. Isn't that what witches are known for?
Miss Flynn cleared her throat and began the lesson. At the end of class the bell rang, but no one moved from their seat. Mercy rose and gathered her books. At the door, she turned and cast her gaze around the classroom again. It looked as though everyone was frozen in place. She
twirled around and departed, feeling a little sad as though she had lo
st something precious.
At noon, she slid her tray on her usual table and watched as the other kids gave her sidelong glances in passing. Only Felicity and
Kelli
joined her, which wasn't unusual. What was out of the ordinary was that almost the entire cafeteria full of students seemed to be talking and it was obvio
us they were talking about her.
"Do you know what they're saying,"
Kelli
asked? "They're saying that you're a witch. They're saying you made Lindy disappear."
Felicity nodded furiously. "And Becca and Amy." I heard it in my French class, and then again in Math lab."
Kelli shoved her glasses up on the bridge of her nose with a vengeance. "Well, that is just the dumbest thing I ever heard. How could anyone think Mercy is a witch?"
Mercy felt a twing
e of conscious.
"Ridiculous, right?" Felicity said, peering at her anxiously. "I mean, there's no way you could suddenly be a witch."
Mercy took a deep breath.
She
wasn't in the habit of lying, but then again, she had to keep her secret.
"Yeah, right," she snorted. "If I were a witch, I would turn this whole school into a mass of quivering Jell
-
o." She looked around the cafeteria. "Because that's what they're acting like."
Kelli and Felicity laughed
,
but Mercy was wondering just how much focused intent she
could muster.
"Hey, Mercy." Greg plunked his tray down beside her. "Min
d if some of the guys join us?"
Arthur
came to the table and
stood beside Felicity grinning down at her. Felicity blushed with pleasure and moved her purse off the chair.
He slid his tray on the table beside her and sat
down
. "Hi," he said.
"Hi," Felicity said back.
Ah, good. Let' all pretend like I'm normal.
Mercy smiled at Greg as he took his chair. He jerked his head at a couple of the other baseball players who came over to the table and joined them without any other invitation. They began a noisy conversation, completely oblivious to the fact that a
witch was sitting amongst them.
~*~
CHAPTER NINE
Later that afternoon, when she was in her
home
room class,
the door was thrown open so hard it banged against the wall and the panes of glass rattled. Startled, Mercy
dropped her pen when she heard
the
crash. She looked up as
a dark figure
loomed nearby.
A large and livid female form filled the door frame. Her entire being pulsed fury like a lightning storm pulses electricity.
It was Mrs. Boyd, Lindy's mother.
The teacher arose and approached her cautiously.
“Can I help you?”
"Where is she? Where is that little she-d
evil who abducted my daughter?"
All heads swiveled to
point toward
Mercy. She felt herself shrink
ing in her seat.
"Me?" she squeaked. "I had nothing to do with it."
"That's not what I heard. You..." she pointed an incredibly long claw-like talon at Mercy. "You were picking on my baby girl at the dance. You were about to attack her when the Assistant Principal intervened."
"Mrs. Boyd, you really need to calm down..." the teacher began, but was silenced when
the long talon was pointed at her.
Mercy felt a swarm of outrage gather in her chest and just as it was ready to fly out her throat, Kelli leaped up from her seat.
"No, Ma'am. That's not the way it happened. I was there."
Mrs. Boyd turned on Kelli, sucking in air between her teeth with a hiss. "No one asked you, young lady."
Kelli rocked backward with the force of venom in Mrs. Boyd's voice. "No, Ma'am," she repeated. "But, Lindy was the one trying to start a fight. She almost kicked down the toilet stall on me and was about to tear into Mercy when Mrs.
Sanders
came in and
saved
us
."