Chapter Eight

Vicky walked into her next class, taking her seat next to Rachael. She smiled brightly. “Hi, how are you today?”

Rachael looked away, shrugging. “I saw you.”

Vicky raised an eyebrow. “You saw me? What did you see?”

Rachael stared at the floor. “Everything.”

“You’re going to have to tell me what exactly you saw that’s bothering you.”

She picked at her cuticles. “I was with that group in the parking lot. I saw you use your magic on Chuck.”

Vicky closed her eyes and counted slowly until she calmed down. Opening her eyes, she tried to reach Rachael’s hand and she moved it away. “Rachael, I was just trying to stop a fight. I wouldn’t have hurt Chuck. I wouldn’t do that. You do believe me, don’t you?”

She timidly shrugged her shoulder, refusing to meet Vicky’s eyes.

Vicky crossed her arms while she tried to think of a way to get through to Rachael. “I told you yesterday that I was a witch and that I want to be your friend.”

Rachael nodded sadly. “You don’t believe that I want to be your friend?”

No response.

Vicky placed her hand on Rachael’s shoulder aghast when the girl cringed away.

Pulling her hand back, she sighed. “Is that it? Is this cold shoulder due to what happened in the parking lot this morning?”

Rachael shook her head and sniffed. “No.”

Vicky sat back in her chair. “Then something else happened to upset you.

What?”

Rachael looked up, tears pooling on her bottom lashes, threatening to spill. Her beautiful blue eyes reflected pure misery. “You told me that you were going to get even with Sara for what she did to me.” She reached up, pulling on a few strands of her lush auburn hair for Vicky to see. “It took me almost a year to get all my hair back. No one at this school will talk to me because of her.” She blinked and the tears fell down her cheeks. “I saw you. You treated her like a friend, even after what she’s done to me.” She buried her face on her arm. “I thought for once, I was truly going to have a friend in this godforsaken place. I couldn’t believe that you could betray me almost as quickly as you made the promise.”

Compassion gripped Vicky’s heart. An overwhelming need to cry swept over her. “I’m truly sorry. I know it must have seemed that way to you, but believe me, Sara is not my friend.”

Rachael wiped the tears from her eyes and frowned. “I saw you wave her away from picking up that pen.”

Vicky sat up straight, frowning back in alarm. “How do you know about the pen?”

Rachael sniffed. “When no one talks to you, you have a lot of time to yourself. I have learned to see everything and I saw those spiders coming out of that pen. I can’t believe you stopped her from picking it up. She deserved to get bit. She’s probably the one who cursed it in the first place.”

“Luke thinks so too.” She shook her head. “But honestly, Rachael, I’m not so sure.”

“Don’t fool yourself,” Rachael said, glaring. “Sara will stab you in the back if you don’t watch her.”

“I didn’t get a chance to talk to you yesterday, after lunch.” She scooted her chair closer and lowered her voice. “I was on my way to my next class when Sara grabbed me from behind and yanked me into the girl’s bathroom. I hit the back of my head pretty hard when she shoved me against the wall.” Rachael’s eyes grew very wide as Vicky rubbed the lump on the back of her head. “She thought she could intimidate me. I proved to her that she couldn’t.” She laughed softly. “I popped a few light bulbs, made the floor shake, and rattled a few of the metal stall doors. I threatened her and told her if she didn’t leave me and everyone else in the school alone, she would have to deal with me. I left her in the bathroom cowering in the corner.”

A ghost of a smile lit Rachael’s face. “I would have loved to have seen that.” “I’m not proud of what I did. I wasn’t raised that way.”

Rachael shifted uneasily in her chair. “I wasn’t either, but after what she put me through . . .”

Vicky gave her a sad smile. “Believe me, I do understand. Sara can be pretty mean and vindictive. She put you through hell. I had my own bit of trouble last night, and I was furiously tempted to put all the blame on Sara.” She placed her hand on Rachael’s shoulder. “She seemed the likely culprit, but I don’t want to do anything unless I’m sure, although it was very tempting.”

Rachael gave her a look of concern. “What happened last night?”

Vicky looked around to make sure no one was listening, and dropped her voice to barely a whisper. “Someone tipped off a vigilante group that I was a witch. They kidnapped me and tried to burn me at the stake.” Rachael’s mouth dropped open as Vicky continued, “Luke and his family rescued me. I wanted to immediately blame Sara, but she seems like the type of person who would brag about what she did, just to hold it over your head to see you squirm. When I saw her this morning, she didn’t seem surprised to see me—she seemed to fear me.” She shook her head. “I just don’t know.”

Rachael nodded at her statement. “You’re right. I’ve heard her brag about what she does to people. As much as I hate to say it, if she were responsible, she would be rubbing your face in it.”

Vicky's shoulders slumped. “I’m at a loss. I desperately need to find out who’s after me. At least now I know she, or he, is a witch. That cursed pen was a sure sign.”

Rachael’s eye lit up. “Not necessarily.” She shrugged. “There’s an occult store tucked away in the back of the only book store in town. This place is full of witches.

That’s where they buy the things they need to conjure spells and stuff. Someone may have purchased a cursed object from them. They probably told the shop owner that it was for a practical joke or something.”

Vicky tapped her index finger on her chin. “You might have something there.

Maybe I’ll get Luke to help me check it out.”

“Vicky Phillips!” Father Turner snapped. Vicky closed her eyes, slumping down in her chair. “Although it is nice to see that Rachael finally has a friend to talk to, you both are disrupting my class! Is another trip to see Father Thomas in order for this afternoon?”

“N-no, Father Turner.” She looked down at her desk, swallowing hard. “I’ll stop talking.”

He glared icily. “This is your final warning for today.”

“Yes, thank you, Father.”