Page 116 of Witch You Would
“Do we have time to—”
“Over here.”
Penelope dragged me to the last lonely cubicle in what used to be a room full of them. She put the walkie-talkie on the desk, standingup so the antenna was clearly visible, then dragged me behind the fabric-covered metal partition. We waited in silence, occasional bursts of static and voices assuring us that the thing was still there.
It occurred to me that we were alone where no one could see us, and Penelope’s back was pressed against my front. Fond memoriesof a similar position in a casting booth gave certain parts of me ideas.
I kissed her neck. She shivered and gently elbowed me. I slipped my arms around her and kissed her again, and she melted intome with a soft little sigh. I nibbled my way up to her ear—
Footsteps. So quiet I almost missed them. We both froze, waiting.
The scrape of plastic on plastic. Someone had picked up the radio.
Penelope tore out of my arms and jumped out. “Aha!”
The person screamed. I peeked over the top of the wall.
A perfectly normal guy stood there, staring at Penelope like she was loca. Brown hair, brown eyes, like a million people you’dpass in a mall any day.
“Got you, Just Manny,” Penelope said smugly.
“You were... looking for me?” Just Manny asked, totally confused. “Did you need something?”
“We’re good,” I told him, hooking my arm through Penelope’s and tugging her toward the soundstage.
“Vindication!” Penelope shouted.
“I think the stress has broken your brain.”
“Wait until I tell Big Manny and Little Manny.”
I looked over my shoulder, intending to apologize, but Just Manny was already gone, disappeared back into whatever dimensionhe existed in when Penelope wasn’t tricking him into revealing himself.
Magic? Nah. People couldn’t teleport or turn invisible. Unless...
A frantic Rachel herded us with her tablet, because apparently we’d made everyone late. Isaac shouted, “Fuck on your own time!”as we passed, and I ignored him, because I was a mature adult. I did imagine cursing him, though, because I was also occasionallypetty.
Felicia and Charlotte once again waited together but not together. Syd and the judges were there already, too, at the frontof the room as usual. Syd, thankfully, didn’t crack a joke about us. Presumably Tori or Isaac had told them our real relationshipwas not part of the show.
Since this was the second half of the round, all Syd had to announce was, “Contestants, you have eight hours remaining! We’rehalfway to the end and the final judgment.”
With that, the timer started counting down again, and off we went.
Penelope checked the freezer spell; no change. We moved on to the rest of our checklist: I had to enchant the rabbit and dovecomponents, and she had to finish brewing the potion that would make the environmental effects along with the critters.
I put the reagents at the correct positions in the chalk circle I drew yesterday, checking to be sure none of the lines orsigils were smudged. All good. Yellow candle at one corner, rabbit fur at another, pure spring water at the third, and a dovefeather at the fourth. In the center, the coin that would be the catalyst. I sat on the floor and lit the candle. Inhale,focus, exhale. I did that a few more times, until I was sure I was ready, then I channeled my intent into the circle.
The chalk lines lit up, sigils floating just above the floor along with the feather. Energy rippled across the surface of my skin. I muttered the incantation Penelope and I had written together. Onthe twelfth repetition, the magic got sucked into the coin, which glowed briefly before fading. I hummed a little tune to discharge any extra energy, cleaned up the used reagents, then got up to check on Penelope.
She was stirring the cauldron and murmuring her own spell, so I didn’t interrupt. I’d need her for the next circle enchantment,but I could start setting it up.
We kept working like that, side by side and together, for hours. I made her stop to eat lunch; she brought me ice water andsome paper towels to wipe up my sweat when I overextended. I rubbed her neck and shoulders when they ached from stirring;she pounded my lower back when it hurt from crouching to draw spell circles on the floor.
Just like this, I thought. This is what I want. The two of us, casting together, bringing each other sandwiches and coffee.Not some big show in LA, not red carpets and flashing cameras. This. Her.
Penelope caught me looking at her and smiled, and I fell in love again. Life was good. It would only get better when we won.
Three hours before presentation time, I was so absorbed in drawing and redrawing a particularly stubborn symbol that the judgessurprised me. Legs burning, I stood up and stretched.
