I decided to put myself together a tad before heading out to see Paris. I walked outside and smelled the fresh air I had no idea what was up ahead for me, I just knew that something epic is on the horizon. Epic how? That remains to be seen. I smiled at the dark night, and would have made a wish if a star had fallen. For now I am going to go on instincts and gut feelings, and yeah a little bit of magic.
I walked into the garage and unlocked my Mazda with my keychain. Then I stepped into my car and I was off. I drove down the 91 to the 15 freeway south. I got off in Lake Elsinore and made my way to Ortega Highway.
It was a pretty scary ride at night. I went about fifteen miles below the speed limit. I wasn’t flying off any mountain. Not without a broomstick. But that would probably be an advanced lesson from Paris.
In about twenty minutes, I got to the coven camp. I pulled into the driveway and I could see Paris waiting for me by the entrance to the chapel.
I got out of my car and I walked over to her.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Paris said. “I have a surprise for you.”
How any of this had to do with the spells I didn’t know.
Paris took my hand and guided me to a cabin that was about forty feet into the woods.
She went up the steps and I followed her.
“You ready?” Paris said. She was standing in front of the door. “We were assigned a cabin. I’ve been getting it ready for us all day. We are going to do some crazy magic in here.”
Paris opened the door and I was instantly overwhelmed by the colors, the music, and the incense. She had designed the room in a way that totally fit my personality. It was clear we had two different sides of the room. My side had a lot of giant books in it.
“You can decorate your station any way you like. I just put some colors together that reminded me of you.”
The color scheme had purple, black and red. The same three colors that were in my hair.
“Why are you showing me all this?”
“Because you’re close, Sahara. Very close. I wanted to show what you we’re fighting for.”
“Fighting for?” I asked.
“I want to show you what you can have, and will be, once you come out ahead of this little love triangle that has developed between the two men in your life. Once you get a hold on that, I will be ready to train you to be a Most High Witch.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Sahara. I’ve seen a lot in my day. You’re a natural. This is your calling.”
“Thank you for showing me this,” I said.
Paris looked at me, and said, “I wish you would ask me questions and then I would be forced to tell you the answers.”
“Forced to tell me? What the hell aren’t you telling me?” I asked.
Paris looked at me and her eyes were so sincere. She said, “I have kept what I’m about to tell you from you only because I felt you should have judged this guy on his merit.”
“Judge who?” I asked.
Paris looked at me and said, “Robert.”
“What about Robert do you need to tell me?”
“Robert is a very inexperienced warlock.”
I laughed because that sounded absurd. “He couldn’t have kept that a secret,” I said. “I think I really know this guy.”
“Robert is a warlock,” Paris said plainly. Now I knew she was being dead serious and just the thought of Robert being a warlock seemed maddening to me.
“Why now? Why are you telling me right now?”
“Because you’re at a point where you need to choose. You know it and I know it. I wanted you to have all the information, so you can make the best decision possible.”
“Are you kidding me, Paris? Now you tell me? Now, you tell me?”
“He is not dangerous. He is on our side. He’s not one of our best, mainly because he hardly practices.”
“Why not?”
“He’s very Creator driven.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“He believes in a Creator and therefore, he feels guilty about doing any kind of magic.”
She knew an awful lot about Robert all of a sudden? There was a question I needed answered.
“Did you know Robert before I had a date with him at Knott’s Berry Farm?” I asked Paris.
“When you asked me about it the first time we met, you weren’t an official witch yet.”
“So, in other words, you could straight-out lie to me.” I was taken aback by her deception.
“I was protecting the situation for both of you. He has no idea you have become a witch either.” Paris looked at me and she had love in her eyes, but I didn’t know if I could trust her. She had lied to me.
“Oh, this is not a timely way to tell me things,” I complained. I knew she did this for me because it came from a good place. But, I wasn’t sure if I was on the right side anymore. “And if you’re helping Robert, then why did you bring Donovan into the picture?”
Paris smiled and said, “I couldn’t let Robert not have someone to compete with. It’s our code. You always have a choice. It was for his own good that I brought Donovan into the situation. Also, it was for you. It was a chance for you to really see what happiness is. I’m not saying it’s with Donovan. What I am saying is, you have two great men to choose from.”
“And one of them is a warlock,” I said. “Wait, is Donovan a warlock?”
“No, he is not. I know that for a fact. He is what we call ‘oblivious.’ That means he has no clue about anything magic and what the spirit world is doing.”
“I think you’re nuts,” I said to Paris. “I think you and apparently Robert invited me into a world I am now wishing I had never been brought into.”
“You know that is not true, Sahara. Look all around you. You know this is who you are. You know that deep down in your heart that you and magic were long-lost friends. You feel how intoxicating magic is.”
“When did I become an official witch?” I asked. “You said earlier that I wasn’t an official which yet. When did I become an official witch and when were you planning on telling me?”
“Your powers surpassed mine from the very beginning. I didn’t want to scare you by putting too much on you.”
“Are you telling me I have been a witch from the very beginning of all this?”
“Not until you did your first aura spell. From that moment on, I knew there was nothing you couldn’t do. What happened to you only happened to one other person.”
“Abigail?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I repeated.
“I wanted you to try harder and I wanted to see how strong you could become and still remain on our side. You see, your heart is so good, Sahara, that I know that you will never choose the other side.”
“Are you trying to manipulate me?” I asked Paris.
“I would never do that. Not to you. Not to what you and I have built as sisters in the craft.”
“I have to go,” I said. “I have to make two decisions tonight. Because, tomorrow I want to know exactly who I am and what I’m about.”
“What are you saying, Sahara?”
“I have looked into Black Magic,” I said. “Now, I’m wondering just because the phrase ‘Black Magic’ has the word Black in it, it might not be the wrong side. Black has always been beautiful to me. It’s a comforting color. Maybe, Black Magic and me are lovers, not just long-lost friends?”
“Please don’t say that, Sahara,” Paris said. “Please look deeper than what is on the surface. Try to remember who you were when you were a little girl and just wanted to be happy. Try to remember her. She knows that my side is the good side and Black Magic is an unpredictable, awful side.”
I felt Paris crying out to me, but I didn’t know how authentic her intentions were. “I can see how people can abuse it, but I also see its power.”
“Sahara, I need to take you into the chapel where The Book of Shadows is. You need to experience that power again. I still see an evil around
you, and I now know why. Curiosity has gotten the best of you and you began to dabble in the black arts.”
“Dabble? I take Black Magic seriously.”
“You’re not the only good witch this has happened to. It has happened to all of us who crave power. But endless power only subjects itself to abuse. This is why I have the chosen the Magic of Good.”
“Are you good? Or is Abigail? I wouldn’t know because I don’t remember a damn thing that has happened or that she has taught me for that matter.”
“She doesn’t want you to. She wouldn’t teach you unless you were sold out one hundred percent and I know that didn’t happen.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Sahara, you know at the heart of who you are that you are an incredibly giving and caring person. Life has beaten you up a little bit, and you’re a little bitter. I could see how the other side would seem attractive because you still have unresolved issues with life. That doesn’t mean Black Magic is the answer. Please spend some time with The Book of Shadows.” Paris looked at me and tears were dripping from her eyes. No one could have faked that.
“Okay, I said. “Let’s go to the book.”
Paris reached out her hand for me to take. I reached out and held Paris’s hand like a sister. I knew Paris loved me. It might be the only genuine thing that has happened to me.
Chapter Thirty-five