Chapter 21
Debut
Vigau, Arielle, Bonaventure
There was a large pentacle in the center of the club room. At each point stood a candle in the center of a little magic circle and behind each candle sat one of the girls. Except for Netty, of course, who was sulking off to the side.
With her eyes closed, Jenny held out her hand over her candle and said, "Let's get started."
She started to chant, and one by one, the others followed. It was a short chant, but she had to repeat it five times before energy swirled around the wick, condensed and then came to life a bright red flame. Then came Angie's, orange. Bernie's, green. Amelie's, blue. And lastly, Margot's, purple.
Jenny opened her eyes and looked approvingly at their little rainbow of flame.
"We did it," she said.
An excited Angie hugged Jenny, squealing, "We did it!"
"We did it," Amelie repeated in her usual lazy way.
Margot would have liked to be as excited as Angie was, but the longer this went on, the worse her paranoia became. She was sure she had seen that one creepy Witch-hunter lurking around outside the school. She could feel the noose tightening around her, but Jenny seemed utterly heedless. Only Bernie showed some sign of sharing Margot's concern, but she never did much to try to rein in Jenny.
It might be a little too early to describe Jenny as being drunk on power, but she was fast on her way.
Springing to her feet, Jenny held up her fist and declared, "We're gonna do it, girls. We're gonna make our debut as true witches."
Angie, who had been thrown off when Jenny got up so suddenly, was rubbing her injured rear as she asked her, "How?"
"The play," Jenny said. "We'll prepare spells for all the effects. It'll be great."
A chill ran up Margot's spine. It was one thing to fiddle around with lighting candles and such in the relative privacy of the club room, but to make a public display was insane.
Careful not to contradict Jenny directly, Margot said, "Won't that be dangerous? What if we mess something up?"
Bernie, the only one besides Margot with much appreciation for the danger, asked, "What about the Witch-hunters?"
Jenny only scoffed at the suggestion, saying breezily, "The Witch-hunters aren't going to be at a lycée play. It'll be fine."
Margot did not share her confidence, but it was a fine line to walk to express anything other than the Gospel according to St. Jeanette.
"I don't know, Jenny. Maybe it's too soon to try something so big."
Jenny was riding so high from their little experiment that Margot's concerns did nothing to put a damper on things.
"Oh, you worry too much, Margot. We've got three days to practice. It doesn't have to be anything that big. Even if we just do the candle trick, it'll be enough for starters."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Bernie said, adjusting her glasses.
Angie started bouncing excitedly, saying, "Ooh, ooh, I can't wait for my mom to see!"
"Sounds good to me," Amelie added.
Margot realized that nothing she could say would sway Jenny and trying to dissuade her would only get her ostracized from the group.
"You're all gonna get caught."
It was Netty. She looked like a whipped dog, but the sort that had been whipped one too many times and would tear into you if you got too close. She had taken a lot of abuse from Jenny and Bernie, so much more ever since they first got the Witch Crystal. Angie would go along with it. Amelie did nothing one way or the other, but Margot tried to be nice to her. It was not enough, though.
"You're all gonna get caught," she said again. "The Witch-hunters'll get you and I'm gonna laugh."
"You shut up," Jenny said harshly. "I swear to God, I'm gonna turn you into a toad yet."
Uncharacteristically, Netty responded by laughing, an unsettling, broken sort of laugh.
"What's so funny!?" Jenny huffed.
It took Netty a while for her laughter to settle down enough to actually say anything.
"You," she said breathlessly, "it took you three weeks just to learn how to light a candle. Good luck turning me into a toad."
"Don't even think about squealing to the cops," Jenny warned.
"I don't have to," Netty said. "You're gonna get yourselves caught."
Jenny stormed over Netty and slapped her.
"Jenny!"
Jenny shot an accusing finger at Margot and said, "I don't wanna hear it, Margot. She had it coming." She looked back to Netty and told her, "And you'll get worse if you keep it up."
Netty was holding her cheek, There was a bit of blood at the corner of her mouth. She did not try to hit Jenny back. Instead she just smiled and said, "Not as bad as what you're gonna get."
Jenny would have hit her again, but Margot pulled her away.
"Let it go, Jenny. It's not worth it."
Jenny struggled against Margot a little before shaking her off and going back to her place. Margot stooped down to offer Netty her handkerchief, but she just batted it away.
"Don't try to play both sides, Margot," she said bitterly. "You're one of them and you're gonna get it just like the rest of them."
She was right. Margot knew it and it terrified her, but she did not have the willpower to defy Jenny. It seemed like she was damned either way. She wished she had the courage to do the right thing, but she would take the coward's way and keep her friends until it all caught up with them. By the sound of it, they had three days left.