Witch Test, page 15
“To be like Cameron tonight…and Felicity. Bold and uncaring about what others think.”
“I don’t know if I can.” Her shoulders sag even more.
“Then we pretend.”
Daya gives a hesitant smile. “Fake it till we make it.”
“Exactly.” I return her smile with a big one of my own and offer her my hand. We shake on the promise of being our true selves tonight and not caring what anyone—not even Abby—thinks of us.
Chapter 36
Crow Wings
Cameron knocks on the door and we let him in to work his make-up magic. I see why Daya mentioned Cameron’s wig earlier; it’s piled high with short curls and ridiculous, thick bangs. But the most outrageous part is the color. It’s orange!
He squeals with delight when he sees my mom’s old vanity. “Oh my god, Liza. This is fabulous. Your mom really found this at an estate sale and restored it?”
“Yup.” Pride for my mom raises a smile on my face. So often, I keep what little I know about her to myself. Abby never asked me much about my mom. The most memorable thing Abby ever said about my mom was “you’re almost as pretty as she was.” A compliment for my mom was somehow an insult for me.
I blow out a breath that erases the smile and try not to think of my ex-best friend.
As Cameron examines the painted flowers on the vanity, his face is so close to them, I’m not sure how he can see them. “The details are amazing. It’s like little fairies painted them.”
I lean over next to him and take a good look. I’ve examined them myself, but I’ve never actually thought of the skill and time it must have taken to paint all those tiny brush strokes. I wonder what kind of paintbrush my mom used, and if it’s somewhere in the art studio.
“Umm,” Daya says from behind us. “We should probably get started.”
Cameron opens the make-up case and takes out the tools of his trade. “Daya’s right. It’s getting late. You’re both gorgeous already, but I do need time to make your faces match those costumes. You’re up first, Daya.” He brandishes an eyeshadow stick like a wand and gestures for her to sit on the vanity bench.
My armpits sweat under the layers of my costume, so I crack open my dad’s bedroom window to get some fresh air. Laughter and shouts and the faint smell of campfire rise up from the corn maze.
A big Halloween moon peeks out from the line of trees across the street, brightening the country road, which has no streetlights. That dark road was probably a factor in the accident that killed my mom, though the drunk driver might have hit our car with or without streetlights.
But tonight is not for such thoughts, and I’m working on breaking out of my bubble and being in the moment. “The moon is so bright, we may not need our flashlights tonight.”
Cameron belts out a proper witch cackle. “A full moon on Halloween, how perfect for us witches.” He takes a step back from Daya and examines her face. “I think our Morticia Addams is ready.”
Daya turns on the bench to face me. “How do I look?”
Cameron has shaped her eyebrows almost to a point, like they’re asking a question. He’s enhanced her already long eyelashes with thick false ones and has given her a smoky eye. Instead of going for the typical pale Morticia Addams look, he’s highlighted Daya’s natural skin with gold tones. But it’s her blood-red lips that stand out the most. With her sleek black hair and tight dress, she is a sight.
The effect literally makes me gasp. “Gorgeous doesn’t even begin to describe how you look.”
Daya looks down at the ground modestly. “Thank you, Cameron.” She carefully hugs him so as not to smudge her make-up.
“You’re next, my pretty,” Cameron says in a good impression of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Instead of watching what he does to my face, I stare at the flowers winding up the side of the mirror. I grow more nervous the longer he brushes, blends, and blots. It’s one thing to sit here and play dress-up with my new friends; it’s another thing to walk outside as a witch and face Abby and my old friends.
I’m finding it hard to hold still, but I force myself to. I’m relieved when he instructs me to close my eyes. It gives me a minute to find a calm place within myself.
“Okay, you’re ready,” Cameron says. I keep my eyes closed as he turns me on the bench. “Morticia Addams, what do you think of our Morrigan?”
I open my eyes to a wide-eyed stare from Daya. I can’t tell if she’s impressed or horrified, until she says in an awed voice, “Oh, wow.”
“You know it.” Cameron kneels in front of me. “Hang on! I can’t believe I forgot the lashes.”
He plucks open a plastic container with thick black eyelashes just like the ones he used on Daya. It takes a few minutes of sticking and squeezing for him to finish. “Now you’re really ready. You want to see yourself?”
I nod hesitantly.
“Stand up first,” Daya says, “and put your arms out like this.” She spreads her arms out to the side, the lacy sleeves hanging like cobwebs
“Good idea.” Cameron is grinning as I follow Daya’s instructions. “She’ll get the full effect of the costume this way.”
Once I’m in position, he spins me around and I can’t believe what I see. If Felicity’s cape was impressive when I first saw it, there are no words to describe what it is now that it’s on me.
“Felicity is a genius,” Cameron says in a kind of awed reverence.
“Pure genius.” Daya gently runs her hand along one wing.
That’s what Felicity managed to do, give me wings. As I slowly move my arms up and down, the movement is so birdlike that I think I might actually be able to take flight.
Cameron’s make-up only makes the illusion more real. He went with heavy blacks for my eyes that remind me of the shiny, beady eyes of a crow. But once again, it’s the make-up on the mouth that is the star. He shaped my lips into black triangles. As I open and close my mouth, it looks like I’m snapping a beak.
I can’t stop gawking at my image in the mirror, which doesn’t feel like a reflection at all, more like a window into another world. This amazingly strange creature can’t possibly be me.
I finally look away to find my friends are spellbound as well. “Cameron, you are a genius.”
His grin is more pleased than ever. “I know. It’s hard not to be with such perfect canvasses as the two of you.” My face warms, not that anyone could see the blush under all my make-up. He shoos us away from the vanity. “Give this genius some room to work on his own face.”
I glance at the alarm clock on my dad’s nightstand and realize how late it’s gotten. “I hope your genius look doesn’t take too long. It’s almost time to get down to the maze.”
Cameron completes his look with a whole lot of green eye shadow, false eyelashes, and orange lipstick.
I shut the window, blocking out the sounds of the corn maze and the growing cold. But it doesn’t block the sharp caw of a crow somewhere out there in the night. A shiver of excitement runs through my spine as I catch my reflection in the window, no longer a girl but a witch in bird form.
Chapter 37
Trio of Witches
Endora from Bewitched, Morticia Addams, and the Morrigan slip out my front door to a night illuminated by the full moon. We are witches, bold and uncaring about what others think of us—or at least pretending to be—and ready to have a magical night.
We create quite the silhouette as we walk down the porch stairs, Cameron’s and Daya’s arms linked and me right next to them because I can’t link arms with my wings. We cut through my yard and down the hill to the dirt parking lot. There are a few young kids and their parents hanging around the cars, but most of the crowd is middle schoolers.
I stop halfway across the parking lot when I remember that this will be my last year in the maze on Halloween night. The years of the maze with Abby were filled with squeals of delight as we crept around corners to scare whoever was on the other side—friend or enemy. This year was my last chance to do that with her, and I turned down her offer earlier today. Was that wrong of me?
A pit of conflicting emotions settles in my chest. I’m missing my ex-best friend on what would have been our last Halloween in the maze together, but I also know she isn’t the kind of person who makes for a good friend.
Daya and Cameron, arms still linked, realize they have left me behind and turn together.
“You okay?” Daya asks.
I swallow down the thought of ditching my new friends and run the few steps it takes to catch them.
We’re late enough that the line is long, snaking from the stand, across the front of the maze, and extending deep into the parking lot. Most of the cars aren’t parked but coming and going as parents drop off their kids. The crunch of tires on dirt mixes with giggles and shouts.
Felicity said she and Candy would be at the booth, but the light doesn’t reach far enough inside for me to see who is in there. They’d probably let us cut the line, but I don’t want to start any trouble. This trio of witches is conspicuous enough.
Our classmates stare at us as we make our way to the back of the line, some of them nudging each other and whispering. Cameron seems oblivious to the attention. Daya’s watchful eyes tell me she is as aware as I am.
I squeeze her shoulder and mouth “fake it.” She gives me a steady nod that puts an extra pep in her step.
The good news is I don’t see Abby or any of my old friends. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m uncomfortable being with Daya and Cameron in our extravagant costumes.
As we find the back of the line, their arms remain linked and I’m behind them. Every so often they look at each other and giggle. It’s like they’re synced up in a way I’m not, and I realize it’s because they’re best friends. I used to be like that with Abby.
A lump rises in my throat, and I fight falling into my bubble. It’s Halloween and I have an amazing costume; I don’t want to float through tonight.
When Daya and Cameron look back at me in unison with big grins on their faces, I fake a smile. It’s the best I can do, and it helps pull me back to where everything around me feels real again, less muted.
That makes it all the more terrifying when Cameron’s eyes get wide and he elbows Daya. Her gaze falls somewhere behind me and a fearful look crosses her face.
I don’t have to hear the voice to know who’s behind me, but it comes anyway. “Liza! Are you covered in feathers?” A high-pitched cackle follows the words.
Abby, Mia, and Gabrielle have joined the line right behind me. Mia and Gabrielle shrink back when they see my face, probably horrified by my beak, but Abby’s sneer merely turns gleeful. The three of them are dressed up as characters from their favorite show, just like they planned.
“What are you? Some kind of bird?” Abby peers at my face a little too close for comfort. I don’t know what I’m more disappointed in, the fact that I thought Abby’s earlier plea for me to join her might have been real or the fact that I considered it.
When all I can manage is to open my mouth and let out a sort of caw—truly sounding like a bird—Cameron comes to my rescue. “She’s the Morrigan, the crow witch. Harbinger of battle and death.”
He and Daya have severed their connection and are now standing on either side of me. This is what real friends do, they have your back. There was a time when no one messed with me without having to deal with Abby. Now that Abby’s the one messing with me, she has to deal with Daya and Cameron.
This reversal of roles shifts something in me. A piece of a puzzle I didn’t know I was making with my new friends clicks into place, leaving no space for the pieces I used to have with Abby.
Mia and Gabrielle stay a step behind Abby and exchange a look, watching what is happening but not coming to her defense. I’m not sure my friendship with either of them was all that deep. And it seems they have each other’s backs but do they have Abby’s? Maybe she’s the odd one out this time.
After all that she’s done to me, it wouldn’t be wrong of me to find joy in her aloneness, but all it does is fill me with sadness. My heart hurts over what we’ve both lost.
“Whatever,” Abby finally says. Her mean smile falters for a second as she glances back at Mia and Gabrielle, but she quickly plasters it back on. “You look ridiculous, Liza.” The smile turns to a challenge as she narrows her eyes. “But, my offer from earlier stands. You should totally ditch these weirdos and hang out with me.”
The use of “me” instead of “us,” leaving out Mia and Gabrielle, is so typical of Abby. For so long, it’s been about Abby, and only about her.
I’m ready to speak my peace, but I find I don’t have to because Daya steps in. “Weirdos? Like we’ve never heard that before.”
Cameron appraises their costumes and gives a pitying shake of his head. “Such a lack of originality. It’s sad really.”
From behind Mia and Gabrielle comes a shout. “Hey! You’re holding up the line.” Anthony Rodriguez, dressed as Captain America, strikes a pose like he’s trying to push us forward with his powers.
“C’mon, Liza.” Cameron takes my hand and swings me around. Daya’s hand is sweaty as she grabs my other one, but I don’t care. I squeeze their hands to let them know how much I appreciate what they’re doing.
As we close the gap that has formed in the line in front of us, I glance back at Abby to find her arguing with Anthony. I find I can breathe better now that her attention is elsewhere. We make it to the booth, and Daya and Cameron let go of my hands to turn in their tickets.
Warm air tickles my neck. “You’ll pay for this,” Abby whispers in my ear.
A shot of fear pierces my stomach, but I try not to show it. Faking a pitying expression, I say, “You’re the only one losing something tonight.”
Then I step up to the booth and leave Abby behind for good.
Chapter 38
Into the Maze
When Candy and Felicity spot me, they squeal with delight and insist on coming out of the booth. Felicity hastily starts grabbing tickets from the kids behind us. Abby shoots me murder eyes as she goes by, but she doesn’t dare say anything in front of my aunts.
Felicity takes two more tickets and the last of the other middle schoolers enter the maze. The darkness quickly swallows the bob of their flashlights. Their squeals and shouts take a little longer to fade into the background before quieting altogether.
A breeze blows through the parking lot and rustles the dry stalks. The sound is familiar but eerie in the night now that the crowd is gone. Candy guides us to the maze border and takes a bunch of pictures with cornstalks as the background. Then we take some silhouetted against the bonfire. Cameron hams it up and helps direct us into pose after pose, each one more elaborate than the last.
“It’s time,” I say after about the millionth photo.
Candy holds up a finger and looks at the sky. “One more. The moon is in just the right spot.”
I glance up as well and see the big, round moon hanging heavy in the sky, a perfect complement to the Halloween scene. Candy takes a few steps back, and us witches strike the perfect poses. I give myself enough space to raise my arms for the full crow effect, Daya does a sleek runway lean, and Cameron holds up a finger like he’s about to cast a spell.
“Perfect,” Candy and Felicity say at the same time. They exchange an adorable grin and look so much in love that it makes my heart ache. I wonder if my mom and dad ever looked like that. I try and shake off the sadness before it puts me back in my bubble.
Felicity hands me a map. “That has the phone number to call in case you can’t find your way out or you get into trouble.”
“We’ll stay out of trouble,” Daya promises.
“Hmm.” Candy bites her bottom lip and looks at each one of us in an appraising way. “Three witches on Halloween night under a full moon. I sense trouble may find you.” She squeezes my arm. “Do you want me and Felicity to wait for you at the house?”
I’ve read enough about real witches to know what this night must mean to Candy. It’s her New Year; it would have been my mom’s, too. I shiver when I think of the Halloween ritual my mom wrote about in her diary and the summoning of Elizabeth Treat. Whatever my aunts have planned, I won’t interfere with that.
“No.” I give Candy as much of a hug as my costume will allow. Then I hug Felicity and whisper, “Thanks for an amazing costume.” My throat suddenly feels lumpy, and I’m not sure where these emotions are coming from, but I try and tuck them away.
At the entrance to the maze, I turn to find my aunts waving. Moonlight spills over them and across the parking lot. Behind them, a single crow stands where the moonlight meets the shadows, watching us. It’s my crow; I know this with a certainty I can’t explain. I give it a slight nod and plunge into the maze behind Daya and Cameron.
Even with the full moon overhead, the paths are steeped in shadows, so we flick on our flashlights. We go single file, Daya in the lead with the map and me at the back.
Everyone else has enough of a head start that we don’t run into them, though laughter and screams drift our way from time to time. We reach the end of the entrance path and have to make our first decision.
Before we can, a moaning comes from behind me. I whip around to find a zombie staggering her way toward us. Her green-tinged face, messy hair, and bloody clothes have quite the effect in the flickering shadows of the cornstalks. Despite knowing the volunteers won’t actually touch us, my heart beats heavy in my chest.
Daya studies the map, but the zombie is getting closer, so Cameron hisses, “Just pick a direction.”
“Left!” she shouts, and we run in that direction, leaving the zombie behind.
Once we’re out of fake danger, Daya makes us stop. With Cameron holding the flashlight, Daya draws a pencil line on the map, starting at the exit and quickly zipping her way to where we are.
“How did you solve that so quickly?” I ask in amazement.
She shrugs. “Mazes are easier if you do them backward, so it’s a matter of backtracking to where we are and figuring out which direction from there.”
