Untitled chapter
The coven
1
Sylvester: One day at the beginning of October, I walked into the music institute with a spring in my step. Playing guitar always brought me peace. The institute was preparing for a concert that was a month away. I sat down in one of the rooms to wait for the other musicians and our instructor. I smiled when I remembered how far I’d come as a musician.
I lived on an island called Lowena, which was in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of a few islands where witches, wizards, vampires, half animals, werewolves and normal people lived.
I took out a bottle of water and took a few sips. A black-haired woman I’d never seen before walked in and sat down. She seemed to be about my age, which was thirty-two.
“Good morning,” I greeted her.
“Good morning,” she responded.
She took her guitar out of its case and tried to tune it, but she wasn’t having much luck. In her frustration, she stomped with her foot and the guitar fell off her lap. There was a dull sound from the strings when it crashed onto the floor.
She gasped.
“Are you crazy?” I asked.
“It was an accident,” she said, horrified. “I’m not crazy. I’m just mad.”
She seemed to realize what she’d said.
I laughed.
I felt bad for her when I saw how frustrated she was, so I put the bottle back in my backpack and walked toward her. She picked up the guitar.
“I can help,” I offered.
“Okay.”
I tuned her guitar and gave it back.
“Thanks,” she said.
“I’m Sylvester James.”
“I’m Cleo Chambers.”
“Why didn’t you ask for help?”
“I didn’t think you noticed how I felt. How long have you been playing guitar?”
“Ten years.”
“Me too.”
“When did you join this institute?”
“A week ago. I used to be at another institute, but it shut down.”
“Have you performed at concerts before?”
“Yes. You?”
“Yes. At first, my contributions were small, but they got bigger as I learned more.”
She laughed.
“Yeah, I know. It’s the same with everyone,” she said.
“I’m glad to see how far I’d come.”
“I know,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “When I first started participating in concerts I used to play pieces that were only a minute long. But then, I got to play more.”
“Right?” I said, smiling.
“You know, I’m not embarrassed to play music in public, but I would be embarrassed to sing in public.”
“Me too.”
We were quiet for a few minutes. When the silence started to become uncomfortable I decided to break it.
“Do you have any siblings?” I asked.
“No, but I live with eleven other witches.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
“Eleven?”
“Yes, one of them is my Mom.”
“And the others?”
“They’re friends. One of them is my best friend, Clover. There’s also Crystal, Ginny, Dinah, Allegra, Clarissa, Ariadne, Arachne, Andromeda and Geraldine.”
“I live with my Dad.”
“Is he a wizard like you?”
“Yes. Why do you all live together?”
“We’re the twelve witches whose personalities are affected by their Zodiac signs.”
I smiled.
“Cool,” I said.
“Ginny found all of us and convinced us to live together. She told us if we live together we’ll be a coven and we’ll be stronger.”
“It sounds like fun to live with so many people.”
“It is.”
“What’s your Zodiac sign?”
“I’m a Pisces.”
Over the next few weeks, Cleo and I got to know each other better. We talked every time we had guitar practice, which was three days a week. I loved talking to Cleo about music and hearing her opinions of my performances. She was very good at playing guitar.
