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10:39am
‘You good? You haven’t been to school for the entire week.’
Billy stared at Eddie’s text for a few seconds before putting his phone back on the bedside table. Eddie had started texting him three days after he’d been asked to leave the Kaplan’s household. Normally, he would have been ecstatic that his boyfriend wasn’t scared of him, that he was even worried about him; except that Billy couldn’t bring himself to answer his texts. What if Eddie decided that he couldn’t do this? That he was too weird and too much? Billy couldn’t survive another rejection.
He had spent the first two days just crying. Any time he had tried to do anything else, it felt like the world was pressing down on his shoulders. It was now Friday, five days into his new life and still no news of the Kaplans. Agatha had some groceries in her house but they were now running out, he’d have to get some soon. He didn’t exactly have a ton of money but he could probably cover a grocery run, he’d just need to figure out what people usually bought when buying food. Billy threw the bed cover to the side and swiftly got up and headed to the bathroom. Agatha had told him to use her room since she didn’t exactly need to sleep and he’d been too messed up to disagree.
Agatha had been surprisingly supportive this week, more supportive than she’d been ever since they had met. It unnerved him a little, but he also remembered that Rio had mentioned how Agatha’s coven had turned on her, and then he’d actually seen the way her mom had treated her; maybe she was trying to give him the support she obviously didn’t get. Maybe it was wishful thinking to hope for Agatha to have a heart but he also remembered how she treated him back when he was just Teen. There was no way that all of that had been fake.
“Wow, you look like a drowned rat.”
Billy looked through the mirror’s reflection to see Agatha just as he straightened up, his face wet after washing it. He patted his face dry before answering. “Well, at least, my hair didn’t suddenly turn white and age me 20 years.”
The ghost gasped dramatically. “How dare you?”
“I said what I said,” he quipped back as he applied his eyeliner.
“Hmph,” she huffed before crossing her arms over her chest.
She looked away, clearly baiting him into continuing their back and forth but he stayed silent, which only annoyed her more. A win in his book. Agatha suddenly pointed at him, and while he expected another sassy remark, he did not expect her to flick her hand, using her powers to make him suddenly drag his hand down.
“Agatha!” He complained at the sight of the long line of eyeliner from his eye to the top of his cheekbone.
The woman cackled. “Don’t whine, I think that’s an improvement to your usual sloppy makeup.”
“It’s supposed to be a little messy!”
“That’s more than a little!”
Billy rolled his eyes, grabbed a makeup wipe and started removing the black line on his face. “You just don’t have any taste.”
Agatha gasped again. “Excuse me, I have impeccable taste. You could actually learn a thing or two from me here, something other than my magical knowledge.”
He quickly finished his makeup and headed back to the bedroom. He grabbed a shirt and pants from his duffel bag that he had yet to unpack and quickly changed before Agatha came into the room.
“That’s what you’re wearing?”
Billy looked at his clothes, it was black ripped jeans and a plain black knit shirt, nothing he considered offensive. “What about it?”
“You need a signature colour, ever think of integrating purple in your wardrobe?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Black is my signature colour. Besides, isn’t purple your colour?”
“I can share, if it gives you some kind of style,” shrugged the woman.
“I don’t need a whole new wardrobe, I barely have the money for groceries, which, speaking of, is something I have to get.”
“Oh, you can use my savings.”
Billy stilled at her claim. “You, Agatha Harkness, have savings?”
“Of course I do,” she answered, offended by his doubts. “I’m 350 years old, I gathered money over time, I just moved it around so institutions wouldn’t get suspicious. I can give you the passwords.”
“I don’t even have IDs; everything was linked back to William. There’s no way I can just waltz in and take your money.”
The ghost paused, pondering on their options and Billy took the opportunity to take a few cash bills he had stuffed into his bag after emptying his bank account of the few hundreds he had left from his summer job. He walked downstairs and grabbed the last slice of bread and put it in Agatha’s toaster, an appliance he was surprised she had at all. Then again, his mentor had mentioned that Wanda had been the one to remodel the house permanently when she had trapped Agatha in her own mind. He was midway through his breakfast when the ghost materialized beside him.
“I got it!” She exclaimed proudly. “You can use that chaos magick of yours to modify the IDs you do have and you can fabricate your birth certificate! That way you have your identity and you can open a new bank account and you can take money from mine.”
He swallowed his bite, thinking about her suggestion. “But I’m not William Kaplan, what do I even write on my stuff?”
“God, do I really have to spell out everything?” Groaned the woman. “Just use Billy Maximoff! That is your name after all.”
“And I’m not using it.”
She looked at him, unimpressed before switching her tune. “Then use Harkness, say you’re my nephew.”
Billy thought about it. Agatha was right, he did need a new identity except was this really the right move? It felt really fast, what if the Kaplans called him in a month? What if they decided that they wanted him back after all? But the longer he waited, the more it felt like him grasping at straws. He’d spent his entire life waiting for the Kaplans to find out and now that they had, Billy had to deal with the consequences. Agatha had told him to let them go, that they weren’t worth his tears and that moving on was the best way forward.
Maybe she was right.
Billy looked back at the ghost, who was still waiting for his decision. “How do I even do it?”
Agatha’s grin was wide and satisfied. “I’ll show you.”
***
Three hours later, Billy had a whole new set of IDs and bank cards with his new name; Billy Harkness.
It felt weird, unnatural even, but he didn’t really have any other options. And he figured that if he truly hated it, he could always change it to… anything he wanted. There hadn’t even been a big dramatic circle of candles or a complicated spell, just Agatha making him close his eyes and guiding him into literally imagining them into reality. It freaked him out that he could just do that, but, in retrospect, this feat was a lot less horrific than creating a pocket dimension made out of his coven’s worst fears or resurrecting his brother into the body of a drowned teenager.
By the time he was ready to go get groceries, he realized that he didn’t have a car and neither did Agatha. But then, his mentor of course had an idea.
“Just take Lilia’s, or Alice’s, they don’t need it anymore.”
The idea horrified him. “I can’t do that! It’s so disrespectful. Besides, I don’t have the keys.”
The ghost shrugged. “Alice’s backpack is in the basement. She left it there before the Road. I’m sure you can find her car keys in there.”
So this was how Billy had found himself in front of a small burgundy Toyota car with trembling hands as he unlocked it. The tank was halfway full, and he wasted no time driving to the nearest grocery store, only to find himself stumped on what to buy.
“Come on, you’re 16, you should know how to do groceries!” Complained Agatha after he’d been petrified in the pasta aisle.
“My parents usually did them,” he replied, still wondering what the best pasta to buy was amongst those on sale.
“Vegetables. Meat. Pasta. Bread. Fruits if you’re feeling fancy,” she said, clapping her hands between each word. “It’s not that complicated.”
Billy rolled his eyes as he grabbed a sizable bag of spaghetti pasta. “Yeah, but what about snacks? Or dairy?”
“Snacks?” Gaped Agatha. “You don’t need those, back when I was young—”
“Back when you were young, there weren’t any grocery stores,” he snarked back.
The ghost knocked the bag of pasta from his hands, sending it crashing to the ground. Billy didn’t grace her with a reaction, only picking it up and continuing his shopping. Agatha continued to complain about the price of food, and how ‘vegetables used to be dirt cheap, literally! You’d go to the market and you could haggle with the person who grew it.’
An hour and a half later, he was unloading the car when he was suddenly approached by someone. The man was a little taller than him, dark skinned and bald, and for some reason, he looked familiar.
“Hey there, I don’t think we’ve been introduced yet.”
Billy put the bags back in the trunk to better greet the man, though he remained suspicious. “Hi, and no, we haven’t. I’m Billy, Agatha’s nephew.”
The man’s traits lit up at his introduction. “Oh! I didn’t know Agatha had a nephew, but I guess I can see the resemblance now that you mention it.” He held out a hand. “I’m John, I live just in front of your aunt.”
“Nice to meet you,” he smiled as he took the man’s hand.
They broke the handshake, and John paused for a moment before speaking. “I saw you, the day she woke up from whatever spell Wanda put her under.”
“Yeah, I went to visit her, and I guess it snapped her out of it? I couldn’t tell you. I’m just house sitting now.”
“Agatha saved us, you know,” the man said, eyes focused on him. “She fought Wanda and freed us from her spell. It didn’t end well for her, though, and we were too scared to defend her. We took care of her for three years, it was the least we could do.”
Well that was a new perspective he hadn’t heard before.
John then looked around, as if he was scared of being eavesdropped on before leaning closer. “She’s a witch, right? I mean I saw her do magic and all, but I never got confirmation.”
Billy bit the inside of his cheek before nodding. It didn’t really matter if they knew or not, Agatha was gone anyway. “She is.”
“The night I saw you, there were… monsters in the street. You disappeared inside, as they did, and then the next day, you came out of the house in that… outfit. You were pretty bruised up, but all the weird clouds and lights were gone.”
He kept his eyes down as the man recalled the second worst night of his life. It had been stupid of him to come out of Agatha’s yard in his costume in front of all these neighbours but he’d been so out of it. He had just seen one of the most powerful witches die in front of him in addition to having gone through the Road and losing his entire coven save for Jen and he had just wanted to go home. Billy could only imagine what the rest of the people of Westview had thought of him.
John stared right at him, silently wondering something before speaking up. “Considering who your aunt is, I’m assuming that you’re like her? A warlock or something?”
“Witch, actually,” he corrected before he could stop himself, a quiet flame of anger burning through him at the question. “Warlock means ‘oath breaker’. It’s not a nice term.”
“Oh, sorry about that,” exclaimed the man. “So, you broke the spell, then?”
“I did.”
He nodded repeatedly. “Good.” He looked back at the house and Billy heard the question before he spoke up. “Where is your aunt? I haven’t seen her in ages.”
“On a trip,” he quickly made up. “She never stays long somewhere, the three years here was the longest time she spent in one place in ages. That’s how I knew she was probably in trouble, so I tracked her down.”
Lying.
Lying was so easy. How was he able to spin this whole tale without preparation? He had been lying for years, but this was a new skill, one that was way too similar to Agatha. Three weeks ago he didn’t even know who Agatha was and now here he was, making up this scenario where he was the concerned nephew who had been checking up on his aunt.
Billy cleared his throat and turned back to his groceries. “Anyway, I have to get these in the house before they spoil. It was nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” answered John.
He started walking away with his bags before the man called out to him again. “Billy? We’re a tight-knit community here. If you need anything, you just tell any of us okay? Any relative of Agatha’s is welcome.”
He smiled at the offer, feeling both happy and conflicted. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”
Billy brought the bags inside and deposited them on the kitchen table. He took a breath, the weight of the interaction with the neighbour slowly draining from his shoulders. Why was it that he kept lying about his identity no matter where he went? He looked across the table to see a bored looking Agatha.
“So,” he said. “When were you going to tell me that you’re the town hero?”
The ghost blinked in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I spoke to the neighbour; said you freed them from Wanda’s spell.”
Agatha burst out laughing. “They were just collateral, I wanted to hurt your mom, so making her face the people she hurt was the best way to do that. I can’t believe these fools thought I was saving them!”
He sighed at her cruelty but didn’t say anything. Instead, he started putting everything in the fridge and the cabinets; he’d figure out lunch later. Even now, five days later, doing normal everyday tasks demanded a lot from him; just leaving to get groceries and speaking to John was enough to make him tired enough to crave a nap. Instead of doing that, though, Billy decided to crash on the couch in the living room. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the top of the backrest.
After a bit, he decided that the house was too quiet, and he started looking for the television remote, to no avail. He turned to the spot he had expected the appliance to be, only to frown at the empty spot.
“Agatha?”
The ghost flew in and sat in the one person sofa to his right. “What do you want?”
“Where’s the TV?” He gestured to the spot, where, instead of a television, stood a large fireplace as well as a shelf full of candles and purple flowers. On top of it was the painting that Agatha had kept gesturing to during her interrogation.
The woman narrowed her eyes at him, not out of suspicion, but out of curiosity. “Do you remember a TV there?”
He shrugged. “No, not really. It just… it feels like there should be one.”
“There was one, a long time ago.”
“What?”
“This was my house during Wanda’s Hex, and I babysat you and your brother. You two would sit on the very couch you’re currently sitting on, you on the right side and Tommy on the left.” He looked down in silent horror as he realized that he indeed had chosen the right side of the couch. Agatha continued. “I’d make you lunch and you’d watch TV, which was exactly where you just expected to see it.”
Billy felt sick at the realization. He knew, on some level, that he had been in this town in another life and in another body, but this felt so much more tangible. “But… I don’t remember any of it.”
“Sure, but it doesn’t mean that you might not have some kind of muscle memory,” explained the ghost. “Magick is weird like that.”
“Oh,” he exhaled.
He shot a look at the fireplace before Agatha clapped her hands together loudly to catch his attention. “Now, do you want some lessons? You’re overdue for one.”
Billy was glad for the distraction. “Let’s do it.”
***
3:28pm
‘Can we meet up? I’m worried about you.’
4:02pm
‘I went to your house, what’s going on with your parents??’
4:09pm
‘They said you weren’t their son, that William was dead, what are they talking about??’
[Missed call from Boyf]
[Missed call from Boyf]
One new voicemail
4:47pm
‘Please call me’
Billy stared at his phone as Eddie’s texts lit it up. He still hadn’t answered him, and he honestly didn’t know if he ever would. His boyfriend deserved someone who was honest and someone who didn’t risk killing a bunch of people because he was upset.
Eddie deserved better, and Billy had exactly what he deserved.
“Billy, I’m going to throw that phone down a well if you keep getting distracted.”
He shoved his phone in his pocket and turned back to his mentor. In the past week, Agatha had been determined to teach him all the basics he had mostly learned by himself. She had taught him runes, the general rules when using them and how to mix them for different spells. She wasn’t really skilled in potion making, and one attempt at doing a basic protection potion had nearly burned the kitchen down. After a few more simple spells had ended in disasters, Agatha had figured out the problem.
“Your magick is too strong. It can make the impossible happen without problem but small, delicate things? That’s what’s hard. Your magick is made for chaos and destruction, so of course you’re going to struggle for little stuff. It’s like summoning a hurricane to blow out a candle, it technically works, but there’s going to be damage."
So as of now, she had made him do countless grounding exercises, something they both hated. She had guided him to reach a meditative state, similar to when she had guided him into resurrecting Tommy. The many texts from his boyfriend had completely pulled him out of it, though.
“Sit down,” ordered Agatha. “And close your eyes.”
Billy did as she said, familiar with the routine by now. He breathed deeply and did his best to clear his mind.
“Picture the room, let your magick explore it, let it map out the house.”
The first thing he felt was the circle of candles surrounding him, something Agatha had claimed he didn’t need, but he had still wanted. He then felt Agatha herself, then the couches, tables, and then the walls. He let his magick map out the entire house before Billy started feeling the magick imbued in the structure itself. Agatha’s house was full of runes meant to keep intruders and unwanted people away. It also kept outside minds quiet and he assumed that it would do the same for anyone inside too. That was one of the reasons why he liked her house, even back when he had broken her out of the spell, her house was quiet. Even the fitful sleep he had managed to get, tied up in her closet, hadn’t been as bad because for the first time in his life, his mind had been silent.
“Reach out wider, feel the people in this town but don’t let them into your mind.”
Billy gulped before doing as he was told. They had done this exercise a few times and it hadn’t exactly ended well. He had never done great in crowds, but willingly reaching out to people’s minds had been so overwhelming despite the barriers he’d attempted to build.
‘Okay dinner time, what do we have?’
‘Ugh, I don’t feel like cooking. I wonder if there’s a restaurant open at this time?’
‘I definitely failed that test, let’s hope mom doesn’t ask about it.’
“Focus, Billy,” commanded Agatha, seeing his struggle. “You’re letting them in. Just feel their life signature.”
He breathed in again and the many thoughts started feeling like the dull buzzing of a fan. The first signature he felt was the neighbour’s, John, followed by three more; two adults and a child. More and more people started popping out and Billy could practically see the entire town. He felt overjoyed at his success; finally, he had managed to do this. He had never gotten that far before.
“Careful Teen, you’re breathing too fast.”
Was he? He hadn’t noticed. Except now that she had mentioned it, he couldn’t ignore it. He attempted to calm his breathing but in doing that, his focus slipped; leaving his mind defenceless.
‘Two days until the weekend, I can do this.’
‘Those brats didn’t thaw the chicken like I asked.’
‘Yes honey, I know I’m late, you don’t have to scream.’
‘Less than an hour left before my break.’
‘Still no sighting of Mrs Davis, maybe we should look into it. She’s never been gone that long.’
“Billy, snap out of it.”
“I— I can’t.”
The voices continued, blending in together and filling his head. Thoughts about dinner, about family, about vacations, about work. Mundane things and things that the person deemed important, it continued to pile up and Billy couldn’t rip himself away from the hurricane of thoughts in his mind. This was worse than usual though, he had let them in and now he couldn’t pull back. He was trapped, trapped in a flurry of words and thoughts that he couldn’t even make out anymore, it was only a buzzing that threatened to pierce his eardrums and liquify his mind. He was drowning, he was running out of air and falling down a spiral of darkness that threatened to crush him—
A sharp slap sent him sprawling across the floor.
Billy hit the wooden floor with a gasp, face first, and stayed down, panting loudly for a few seconds. He kept his face buried in his arms as he tried to get his pounding heart back to a semi normal rhythm.
“Still alive?” Asked Agatha.
Billy weakly held his thumb up.
He was dead set on staying on the floor and trying to survive the headache that was currently ripping his mind apart, but the sudden feeling of something soft made him look up in confusion. Senior Scratchy, Agatha’s rabbit, was currently nuzzling on his finger, and as soon as it noticed that he was looking at him, the rabbit hopped closer.
“Hm,” exclaimed Agatha, catching his attention.
“What?” Billy wondered as he gathered Senior Scratchy in his arms.
“It’s nothing,” she dismissed. Except it only took a few seconds of prolonged eye contact for her to start talking again. “Senior Scratchy was my familiar and usually, familiars die with their master.”
His eyes widened in horror. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not, but clearly he’s still alive and kicking, want my theory on that?”
She looked so cocky, and despite everything and despite knowing her game, he still wanted to know. He couldn’t help it. “Yes?”
“You met him, in your previous body, and he liked you even then. It’s rare, but a familiar can sometimes change masters, and I think that’s exactly what happened. I’m assuming you saw him again before the Road?”
“I did,” he confirmed. “I was holding him when the Salem Seven arrived, and I got him inside and made sure he was safe.”
He didn’t particularly like hearing about his previous life, but it was still interesting. Did the rabbit sense that he was a witch or would eventually become one?
“Saving a familiar’s life might be exactly why he chose you, the little traitor,” explained Agatha with slight jealousy in her voice.
Billy looked down at the rabbit, who was currently chewing on his shirt, and he let it do that. So did that mean that he had a familiar now? What did it mean? He never had to take care of an animal; the Kaplan’s dog had never liked him after the hospital. It had always left whenever he entered the room and Billy couldn’t even blame it.
“What does he even eat? How do I even take care of him?”
“You don’t really have to,” shrugged Agatha. “He’s not just a rabbit, he’s a demon in rabbit form. He can take care of himself; you just need to leave him some food every once in a while. Rabbit food should do, but he might kill an animal or two sometimes. He feeds on their flesh and their soul.”
“Okay…” He said, slightly horrified, before letting the animal out of his arms. He then noticed the way the room was darker than it had been when they had started this whole exercise. “Did I blow up the lightbulbs again?”
Agatha crossed her arms, the fabric of her sleeves floating around her. “We’re going to need a budget soon. Seriously, I know a witchling is prone to destruction, but you’re blowing up the lightbulbs and the electricity bill.”
He got up from the floor and cleaned up the chalk and the candles, putting them back in the wooden crate before bringing them back to the basement. Billy spared a glance to the names of his coven engraved into the stone floor as he put back the crate onto the shelf. He took out his phone and stared at Eddie’s texts and unanswered calls. He was itching to answer, itching to run to him and bury himself into his arms and forget how his life had fallen apart. His thumb hovered over the call button, barely an inch away from it when suddenly—
“You shouldn’t do that.”
Billy jumped at Agatha’s appearance, nearly dropping his phone. “Why?”
The ghost seemed awfully serious as she stared at him without amusement. “You left that life behind, don’t shackle yourself to any mortals.”
“But it’s Eddie. We’ve been together for a year and a half, I know he’d understand and I’m sure you’d like him if you took the time to get to know him!”
The woman scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “So much about Coven Two.”
“Excuse me?” He said through gritted teeth.
“I’m just saying,” Agatha replied, arms raised in mock surrender. “When I told you that we’d make a good team, I didn’t exactly picture your boyfriend being a part of the mix. I mean, you told me yourself that a coven is the truest form of sisterhood. I don’t recall mortals being included.”
Billy bit the inside of his cheek as he considered his mentor’s words. He had told her that. “I guess…”
She observed him for a second before sighing. “Look Teen, those are my personal feelings but disregarding those? You’re going to kill people, it’s inevitable with your power. I just think that you should consider who you might hurt.”
He startled at her bluntness, but he couldn’t deny the truth of her words. His first usage of his magick had led to the death of his coven, even if indirectly. It was obvious that it would happen again and did he really want to put Eddie at risk? He deserved normalcy; he deserved a boyfriend that wasn’t a ticking time bomb, or a super sensitive nuclear weapon.
After a bit of consideration, he made his decision.
“Okay,” he conceded. “No Eddie.”
Agatha’s face cracked into a satisfied grin. “Good. Now, how are you feeling? Drained, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah.”
These lessons demanded a lot out of him, especially when they got out of hand. He still had a headache and his bones felt heavy and he was ready to crash despite the early hour. The first time he had been dragged into the spiral of minds, he had felt as though he was being ripped apart, and this lesson had ended with him passing out for 15 minutes. The more they practiced, though, the better he was at staying conscious.
“Well, I have one more lesson for you,” declared Agatha. “One that is specifically made to help you recover your energy.”
Billy perked up at the suggestion. “Oh yeah? What is it?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she reassured him. “It’s similar to mapping out the house and the town, except we’re going to do it in the backyard.”
“Why?” He frowned. “Won’t people see us, or well, me?”
“If they didn’t see the literal fight against Death, they won’t see that,” Agatha said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “And you need to be connected to nature for this lesson. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”
There was something in her eyes and her smile that he didn’t trust, but he did feel pretty exhausted and if being connected to nature would help him feel better, then he’d take the chance.
***
The sight of Agatha’s grave still sent a chill down his back every time he saw it. The mound of flowers was a reminder of everything that had gone down, of the way he had used Agatha’s son against her as a way to survive. It reminded him that, in the end, he and Agatha weren’t all that different. The flowers were unexpectedly well-kept, but he supposed that Rio’s magick had something to do with it.
His mentor had him sit cross legged on the grass and close his eyes, like any other lesson. Just like before, there were no incantations or spells, or any candles, just him following Agatha’s instructions.
“Breathe,” she instructed. “Feel the grass in between your fingers, hear the branches of trees creaking in the wind. I want you to feel the life in all the surrounding nature.”
Billy did as he was told and soon enough, he could sense every single blade of grass in the garden, as well as the overgrown weeds, and all the plants in the greenhouse to the back of the backyard. There was a row of flowers close to the fence that seemed to thrive on their own. He could also feel the flowers from Agatha’s grave. They felt different from any normal plants, they were imbued with magick that kept them fresh and colourful no matter the weather.
“Good,” said Agatha, pride clear in her voice. “Can you feel the life that fills them?”
“Yes.”
He did, it felt like strings. Some felt like thin sewing threads, such as the grass, the bigger strings, those that felt more like yarn, were connected to larger plants like the bushes and those in the greenhouse. The trees felt like thick coarse rope, but what surprised him the most were the flowers from Agatha’s grave. They weren’t strings or rope, but chains. Thick, unbreakable chains that barely budged when he tried to connect with them.
“I want you to grab those links, alright?”
Despite his confusion, he did as he was told. “Done.”
“Breathe. Feel those links pulsate as you do, connect them to you.”
Unsure, he, again, followed her instructions. He wasn’t sure what her end goal was, but the sheer feeling of connecting to nature was fascinating, electrifying even.
“Inhale,” guided Agatha, her voice eager. “Inhale like you’re trying to breathe in all the air around you.”
Billy breathed in, and was immediately hit with a rush of adrenaline. He startled, breaking his focus and letting go of the links. He turned to a satisfied looking Agatha.
“What happened?! What did you make me do?!”
His mentor let out a cackle. “Why don’t you look around you, little witch?”
Billy slowly looked down, a feeling of dread growing in his guts. He nearly gasped as he noticed that the grass surrounding him was now brown and dead. He looked around, panicked at what he saw. Nearly everything in the garden was dead. Every blade of grass, every bush and every weed. The only things spared were the trees and the flowers on Agatha’s grave. Even those, though, now seemed to have slightly wilted, and it scared him to know that he nearly destroyed Rio’s last gift to Agatha.
“Don’t look so horrified, Teen. Don’t you feel better?”
“No!” He gasped out. “I don’t! What did you make me do?!”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Stealing magick is basically stealing a witch’s life force. Your mom managed to steal my magick without any help. I figured it’d come to you naturally as well, and I was right!”
“You— You—”
He couldn’t believe it.
Billy had willingly given his magick to Agatha, and it had gone on for so long that he had begun to accept that he was going to die. He still had the vision of Alice’s wrinkled skin after Agatha had sucked her dry, he could only imagine how the protection witch had felt. Stealing people’s magick was how the woman had killed so many witches over the years, why had she pushed him to do like her?
“Well?” She asked him again, her arms crossed in front of her and a cocky look in her eyes.
Billy glared at her, his jaw clenched in anger. “What are you expecting? It felt horrible! I just— everything is dead!”
“Come on, cut the crap,” snapped Agatha, throwing her arms in the air. “Tell me, how did it feel?”
A sob built up in his throat as he looked at the woman that was supposed to be his mentor, someone he was supposed to rely on to grow into his powers. Had this been her plan? To lure him with simple lessons to get him used to bigger stuff? To darker stuff? He felt so utterly betrayed, what was he supposed to do now? He looked at Agatha, still waiting for an answer and he gulped painfully.
“It felt good,” he choked out before running back into the house.
Billy hated to admit it, but it was true. The weight in his bones was gone, and so was his headache. Not only that, but he felt energized, alive even.
It didn’t just feel good, though.
It felt addicting.