Faithless

Chapter Eleven

"Jasmina what exactly did you see when you got back to the room?" Headmaster Harris asked, looking Jasmina dead in the eye so she would have nowhere to hide. He was a tall, broad man with a mean glare that could bring even the strongest of people to their knees. Unlucky for Jasmina, she didn't consider herself as a strong person, but she did have one trick up her sleeve that she was contemplating using.

"I got back to the room, put the shopping away and I thought we must have left the window open." Jasmina explained, trying her absolute best to sound sincere. Using her magic, she reached into her Headmaster's mind, and she could hear that he didn't believe a word she was saying. "It was only when I walked over to it that I realised it was completely blown out. I have no idea how it could have happened." She finished, then reached further into his mind and tried her best to tell his subconscious that what he was hearing was true. Jasmina had never put this kind of magic into practice before, and Cam had only spoken about it, but she used all the concentration she had and just prayed she could pull it off.

"And you Candice?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Jasmina listened to his thoughts and she could hear he was warming to her words, so Jasmina decided she needed to keep his attention on her. She couldn't be sure on exactly what Candice would say and she was struggling to keep her concentration as it was. She found it easier to convince him to believe her words only.

"Candice was downstairs getting us some lunch. She didn't see anything until I ran down to get her." Jasmina explained. Candice just nodded in agreement. Their Headmaster paused for a while, stroking the stubble on his chin while he was deep in thought. Jasmina did her best to block out any doubts from his mind, but she wasn't exactly sure how to do that. She was relieved when he finally looked back up at the pair, with at least a little less disbelief in them than he had had when they first entered the room this morning. Jasmina was just glad it was a Sunday. At least she would have one more day to get her head straight before she had to go to her classes and face the stares of all the other students.

"So you really didn't see anyone or anything else?" He finally asked. Both girls just shook their heads in union.

"No sir." They both said. The Headmaster sighed to himself and Jasmina heard him thinking about the cost of new windows and whether it would just be best to close the room off and save on the expense.

"Fine. Well if I have any more questions I will send for you. Enjoy the rest of your day off girls and stay out of trouble." The Headmaster said, however his tone of voice suggested he was not happy with either of them to say the least. Jasmina had a suspicion this was not over, which made her feel so nervous she started to feel as if she could be sick.

The girls were finally dismissed and Jasmina silently cursed herself and her lack of control as she headed back to the girls dorm with Candice. The pair of them hadn't actually said much about the incident. Jasmina had told Candice the same story she had told everyone else and just hoped that she would believe her. She couldn't risk telling Candice the truth, as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't take the chance that Candice would react badly.

Candice wanted to head out with Logan, but Jasmina had too much on her mind to go anywhere with the pair of them. She said her goodbyes and headed back up to their new room. Even though they had to share with two other people, the room they now had still gave Jasmina and Candice more space than their previous one. They all had a small wardrobe each with two drawers in the bottom, and a nightstand with a lap. The décor was basic, but it was still comfortable. When Jasmina got inside she was greeted by both Ruby and Maxine who were looking at her expectantly.

"Hey, where's Candice?" Ruby asked, glancing behind Jasmina and at the door.

"She went out with Logan, why?" Jasmina asked.

"I wanted to teach you a few things about magic, if you don't mind that is. Just lock the door behind you and we can get started?" Ruby smiled. Jasmina just nodded, locking the door.

"Please say it's not going to be anything too complicated." She sighed, dropping onto the bed next to Ruby, who just laughed.

"No. It's just a few things that I learned growing up. I just thought it would be nice to show you. But to start with, I need you to try and shield the fire alarm." Ruby smirked, nodding to the ceiling. Jasmina followed her gaze and looked at the fire alarm in the middle of the ceiling. Every few seconds it would flash red to show it was still working. Jasmina sighed to herself, then began her process, creating a shield. It didn't need to be very big, just enough so the fire alarm couldn't detect whatever it was Ruby had planned. She got to work, moulding the shield as closely around the fire alarm as she could. She concentrated harder to try and get the shield to stay in place without her controlling it anymore. It was something Ewan had been pushing her to do in her training but she hadn't managed it so far.

"I think I got it." Jasmina beamed, looking up excitedly at the shield. She had let go of her hold on it and somehow she had managed to get it to stay in place.

"Great. Now let's get to work." Ruby grinned mischievously. She headed over to her bed and pulled out a large box. As soon as she opened it Jasmina's senses were overwhelmed with the smell of incense.

Ruby decided to break it down for both the girls into stages. She had always longed to be able to share her own experiences with magic with someone else and now she finally had two willing participants. Ruby had always grown up with a room in the house, which was used solely for casting spells. That way the room could be kept sacred and no other energies would get inside and mess around with whatever she decided she wanted to do.

Step One: Ruby shut the window and made sure the door was definitely locked before she pulled out the sage from her magic box and lit it with a lighter. She waved it in every corner of the room, making sure to get rid of any bad energy before they began. Doing this was always the first and most important step in any witch's spell. Both Jasmina and Maxine coughed on the fumes but Ruby had grown used to them. Normally she would like to burn the sage for a while longer but as they were at school she decided it would be best to use as little as possible. Once she had let the sage spread around the air she moved on.

Step Two: Salt the entry points of the room. Again, Ruby was used to using a lot more salt but she knew it would be hard to explain, so she made do with a thin line on the windowsill and another at the doorway. The salt would prevent any bad spirits or demons coming into the room while the three girls cast their spell. Ruby knew the others hadn't been told about demons yet so she decided to just shrug and say it would help keep them safe and leave it at that for now.

Step Three: Shut the damn curtains. They were still at the school and the last thing the three girls needed was any attention sent their way, so Ruby shut the curtains to make sure no one could see in and to help darken the room. She always found spells worked best under candle light anyway. With that in mind, she got out various shaped and sized candles and spread them around the room, lighting them with the lighter.

Step Four: Gown up. Ruby had a black cloak with a hood in her box that had been her mothers, before it was passed down to her. She wore it every time she performed a spell. Jasmina and Maxine would need to do the same eventually, but for the spell Ruby had in mind, they wouldn't need it right now. Finally, Ruby was ready for the final step before they could start the magic.

Step Five: Prepare the area. There was enough floor space in the girl's room that they didn't need to move anything to be able to sit in a circle together. Ruby made another thin line of salt around them, to make sure they would be protected before they did anything else. Then she went back over to her box and collected the remaining supplies that she would require.

The whole time Ruby was setting up and talking, Jasmina remained completely transfixed. The whole process both scared and excited her. She couldn't wait for a time where she could do all of this stuff herself. She wanted it to be second nature to herself, like it was with Ruby. Maxine was a lot more apprehensive than Jasmina, but she trusted Ruby enough not to say anything and to just wait and see. Ruby wouldn't get them to do anything dangerous, but Maxine was still worried about what it was she had planned. She grabbed a lump of coal, a rock and four more candles that she lit and placed in the middle of the three girls. She then placed the coal and the rock before taking her seat.

"What is it we're doing?" Maxine asked, tilting her head as she studied the objects in front of them.

"We're making jewellery, wicca style." Ruby winked. "We are going to make three necklaces and enchant them. One will have courage, one for strength and one for cunning." She explained. Maxine just nodded in understanding.

"So how do we start?" Jasmina frowned.

"First we all hold hands and just focus. We need to be in tune with each other. Even our very breathing needs to be in time in order for this to work. Then we will take in turns to say a line of the spell. We'll make the spell as we go and when your turn comes you'll know what to say. I'll go first, then you Jasmina and then Maxine will finish. Once the spell has been cast we all just need to focus on the rock and coal and you'll see what happens next." Ruby explained, smiling the whole time. Jasmina tried her best to push any scepticism aside as she took both Ruby's and Maxine's hand. They focused on each other, taking deep breaths.

Jasmina could feel something growing inside of her. She felt connected to Ruby and Maxine, more connected than she had ever felt to anyone. She didn't question the feeling, she just carried on letting it grow. Sure enough within a few minutes the three girls were completely in sync. Jasmina glanced at Ruby who was grinning from ear to ear as she got ready to say her line of the spell.

"Cold as black, black as night, burn this coal by candle light."

"See the rock, don't let it block, melt it down into a lock."

"Make it shimmer, make it glimmer, make a jewel fit for a winner."

With that, the coal lifted into the air and Jasmina watched as it began to glow red. It rose three feet in the air and got brighter and brighter until it exploded. Jasmina closed her eyes as dust settled all around them. She opened them just in time to see three small diamonds float back down and land in front of them. The rock was next and Jasmina wasn't sure what to expect. It floated in the air and slowly it began to melt. Eventually, the whole rock was liquefied and shining like silver. It split into three balls and slowly began to shape into a chain, with a locket in the middle. The diamonds floated back into the air and moulded into the locket. The one that landed in front of Ruby was in the shape of a moon. Jasmina's necklace was in the shape of a star. Maxine's was in the shape of a cat.

"Pick them up. You'll see on the back which one you got." Ruby explained, reaching for hers. She turned it over and read the inscription. "I got cunning." She smirked, knowing exactly how she planned to use it. Jasmina was next to reach for hers.

"I got courage." She smiled, putting it on and holding it tightly.

"And I have strength." Maxine gave a small smile as she joined Jasmina in putting hers on too.

"Our spell is cast, we had a blast, now we need to let this past." Ruby smiled, and just like that the connection Jasmina had felt faded away. Ruby took off her cloak, letting it fall on the floor behind her.

Once the spell was over, Jasmina was so proud with what they had achieved that she felt giddy. They all grinned at each other from ear to ear. Jasmina almost wished the three of them were forming a coven instead. They had worked well together and achieved something special. It was the first time that Jasmina could truly say she was glad she was a witch. Even if the visions did suck. All three girls were so proud of themselves that they barely even noticed the time, until Ruby opened the window that is and saw Candice outside, heading straight for the girls dormitory.

"s**t!" She hissed, blowing all the candles out as fast as she could and stuffing them back into her box, with wax still leaking everywhere. Jasmina grabbed her cloak and folded it up, stuffing it in the bottom of Ruby's wardrobe. Luckily for the girls, Ruby kept a handheld hover in there for where she wanted to dabble in magic, so Jasmina grabbed that and got to work, hovering all the salt and dust away. Maxine opened up the window to release some of the smell from the sage then got to work helping Ruby pick up her supplies and hiding them back in the box.

"Jas the shield!" Maxine said in a hushed voice, pointing up at the fire alarm. Jasmina glanced up and saw her shield, still there and shining bright blue. She reached out with her magic then dissolved the shield. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the fire alarm didn't go off as soon as it was uncovered. They all knew the room would still smell and they couldn't get rid of all the evidence, but they had done enough for now.

"I'll go stall her." Jasmina said, unlocking the door and heading down the stairs, meeting Candice at the bottom. "There you are." She smiled, giving Candice a quick hug.

"Hey... You smell weird." Candice frowned, pulling away from Jasmina.

"Well thanks." Jasmina said as sarcastically as possible. "I was just going to get something to snack on, do you want to come with?" Jasmina offered, gesturing to the kitchen. Candice nodded, but Jasmina could tell Candice knew there was something going on. Jasmina soon managed to distract her by asking about her day. Candice went into a full blown rant about the amount of bookstores and gaming places she had been dragged to today, all thanks to Logan. She probably would have gotten over it, if it wasn't for the fact that after a full four hours shopping, right until the shops shut for Sunday trading hours, Logan had only managed to by one book and stupid game that Candice couldn't even remember the name of. Jasmina just laughed as she put some popcorn in the microwave and got to work making them both a hot chocolate each. Candice always said Jasmina made the best hot chocolates, especially when she added marshmallows and cream on top.

The girls stayed in the kitchen and snacked while they gossiped, just like old times. They hadn't really been alone with just each other for a long time like this and both of them had missed it. As much as Candice didn't mind having Ruby and Maxine in their group now, she did miss being able to have private conversations with just Jasmina. She didn't trust anyone else to keep all her secrets.

After an hour or two they headed upstairs and Jasmina was relieved that Ruby and Maxine had managed to get rid of any trace of their earlier antics. Without stopping, Jasmina grabbed her pyjamas and a towel then headed for the showers to wash the smell of sage off her. The more she thought about it, the more she noticed she could smell it attached to her hair and clothes. She scrubbed it out as much as possible then put her clothes in her wash basket in their room. She noticed that Ruby and Maxine had done the same. The room still smelt of a mixture of sage and burning coal, but she couldn't see any dust in sight. Both Ruby and Maxine had done well to hide the evidence. The only thing they had left were the necklaces they wore. Jasmina vowed to never take hers off.