She looked up at the sky and frowned. “Maybe. It wouldn’t be a good idea to have the fire tonight, that’s for sure.”
“It’ll blow over us. They always do, right?”
Mom nodded, but her forehead was still creased. “I hope so. Something about this storm feels funny.”
I looked up at the sky, but it just looked stormy. Soon I had forgotten what Mom said as I struggled with the storm shutters. I had never helped hang them before, and it was tricky, heavy work. When we were done, I headed around the corner of the house, keeping my eyes on the ground. Mom usually put away her gardening tools, but I spotted her yellow trowel lying at the edge of the flower bed. Picking that up, I detached the water hose from the side of the house and dragged it over to the shed.
“What are you doing?” Rochelle had slipped up behind me, and I jumped, startled. I hadn’t heard her come up, but the wind had started blowing harder, so that wasn’t surprising.
“Getting things cleaned up. Mom says there’s a hurricane coming.” I handed the hose to her, but she made no move to take it.
“So?”
I looked at her, annoyed. “So I have to help get things put away. Shouldn’t you go home and help out, too?”
She shrugged, smiling a strange smile. “My folks will be fine.”
Glancing at the purple clouds, I shook my head. “I don’t know. It looks like it’s going to be bad.”
“My storm will not harm them.”
For a minute, I didn’t understand her words, but then I turned, surprised. “What do you mean, ‘your storm’?”
She smiled smugly. “Darlena , did you really think you were the only one who could fool around with weather?”
I felt a chill creeping across my neck. “What did you do?”
“Why, I did what you did! I used a map as a focus, but unlike you, I didn’t try to fight the forces of nature. I helped them along.”
Was this all a big joke? I stared at her, confused. “Rochelle, why would you do that? My mom says this storm is going to be dangerous.”
Her laugh was harsh. “I told you, Darlena, you shouldn’t waste your power. Other Witches would love to have control over chaos.”
A terrible suspicion formed in my mind, but I tried to ignore it. “But Rochelle, you’re a Black, not a Red.”
“But I have friends, Darlena. Friends you ignored. And they seem to think that I would be a better Red Witch.”
Her eyes were fiery, and I took a step back without realizing it. She snarled, and I realized then that I wasn’t hallucinating; Rochelle had betrayed me.
“Too late to be afraid, Darlena. Once this storm hits, there will be nothing left of your house to hide behind. And there will be nothing left of you, either.”
I said the only thing I could think of. “But we’re best friends!”
“But we’re best friends!” she mocked, her voice bitter. “What did you ever do for me? You took power, you could have mastered the world, and did you ever once think to teach me any of it?”
“Red magic is dangerous. There aren’t supposed to be more than three Red Witches at a time. I couldn’t have told you anything!” I kept backing away from her, frantically trying to think of a way to get out of this situation without harming Rochelle. No matter what, she was still my best friend.
“If you had cared enough, you would have. How do you think it feels”—her voice broke, but even her sob sounded frenzied—“to have a friend with so much power?”
I reached out to hug her, but she crossed her arms. I tried reasoning with her. “But Rochelle, you’re a strong Witch, too.”
“I’m just a Dreamer! My parents are Nons. I’m nothing! But you—you’re a Blood Witch, and Hecate singled you out. It’s not fair!” she shrieked, and I realized that while we had stood there talking, the wind had risen. I had to shout to be heard.
“I still don’t understand. Why would you create a hurricane just to destroy me?”
She laughed. “You won’t be the only corpse! And she promised me that if I made enough offerings, I could take up your vow instead.”
My heart turned to ice. “Who promised you?” I thought I knew the answer, but I didn’t want to believe it.
“Who do you think? Hecate!” Rochelle laughed wildly. “You should never have defied her, you know. But I’m glad you did. She didn’t want me until you swore to Aphrodite.” She shook her finger at me. “That wasn’t very smart, you know. It’s a bad idea to piss off a goddess like her.”
I stared at her, openmouthed.
“But your bad luck was good for me. Because once you’re gone, I’ll be the next Red Witch!”
Lightning ripped across the sky, and Rochelle laughed, raising her arms. “The storm is almost here! And what a tragic accident. You got caught out in it. No one could have predicted that lightning would hit that tree, or that it would fall to the earth, crushing you beneath it.”
My thoughts raced. Rochelle had betrayed me to Hecate. She wanted to kill me. My best friend wanted to kill me.
“You brainwashed my parents, didn’t you?”
She laughed. “It wasn’t hard to do. They wanted to believe that you were still their perfect little girl.” She sighed. “For some reason, Justin didn’t want to believe any fantasy. His mind clung firmly to the fact that you were a Red. I had to use other methods to convince him to desert you.”
“It was you, wasn’t it? You burned the coffee shop.”
“I had to! You were getting stronger. If you lost Justin, I thought you’d lose your own power. You were pathetic when you guys broke up before; I figured you’d crumple again like the weak little girl you are.”
I edged away from her, trying to scoot around the side of the house. Rochelle laughed.
“It’s too late, Darlena. You’re not going to live through this storm. And then I’ll be the one with all the power.”
I paused, tense and waiting for my chance. Rochelle turned to look up at the sky, and I moved quickly.
I threw the garden hose toward her and felt the tingle of Red magic course up and down my arms. The hose sailed through the air like a boomerang and wrapped around Rochelle. She stumbled back, stunned, but I could see her lips moving to form a curse. I still didn’t want to hurt her if I didn’t have to, so I turned and sprinted toward the front of the house, aware that she wasn’t far behind.
I raced up the porch and tried the door, but to my surprise it was locked. “Come on, come on!” I jiggled the handle, pounding on the door. Why didn’t Mom hear me?
“She’s not there. Poor Darlena, nobody here to save you.” Rochelle spoke from behind me and I tensed, flexing my palms and trying to ready myself for whatever she had planned.
Suddenly, my stomach clenched. “What did you do to her?” If Rochelle had harmed my mom, I’d make her pay. Wild rage filled me, and I struggled to keep the Red magic from erupting uncontrollably. I didn’t turn around, but I could see Rochelle’s blurry reflection in the glass of the door. She grinned wickedly.
“Why do you think I would do anything to your mother?” Her voice dripped with venom, and she took a step closer to me. “Your sweet mother, who never liked me, who wished you would find a new friend. Now why in the world would I want to harm her?”
I took a deep breath. My palms were tingling, but I knew that when I turned I would have to act fast. Once Rochelle could see my eyes, she would know what I was planning. “My mom was worried that you’d be a bad influence on me. But she never did anything to you. You wouldn’t harm her!” I tried to speak with more confidence than I felt, but my nerves pulsed, waiting for Rochelle to confirm or deny my fears.
“Wouldn’t I?” Her voice was soft, and her reflection loomed closer.
“What about the threefold law, Rochelle? Are you really prepared to get three times as much pain as you’ve dished out?”