Witch awakening

"This is my friend, Elena Korkis. She knows a lot about magic and will be a great help to us," Aurora said, introducing her friend with a smug look. She bet Hayley was impressed by her connections to the magic community.

"I don't care. Your friend can help elsewhere," Hayley responded firmly.

Aurora frowned at her sister's reaction. "Did you eat gunpowder? She is my friend, and she is here to help! Show some respect!"

"I don't care!" Hayley repeated.

The two sisters argued in circles, one insisting on the necessity of Elena's help, the other refusing to let her inside the house.

"Maybe I should come some other time?" Elena suggested in a small voice, feeling unwelcome.

"No, stay. I don't know what problem my sister has. I want you to..." Aurora began.

"Shut up, Aurora!" Hayley interrupted. She couldn't believe her sister could be so irresponsible as to bring someone else into their home. An invitation was the only thing keeping them from getting attacked again. What was Aurora thinking?

"Hayley!"

"Shut up!" Hayley opened the door and dragged her sister inside the house. "And you, get lost!" She shut the door, leaving Aurora's guest outside.

"Hayley, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? I should ask you the same question. What is wrong with you? You leave me alone in the city when there are demons who want to kill us, and then you want to invite some random girl inside the house. You know we will be safe if no demon enters the house..."

"She's not a demon!"

"How do you know? Is it written on her forehead?"

"She's a friend."

"That still doesn't answer my question. How do you know your friend isn't a demon?"

Aurora didn't have an answer. Elena had been her friend since moving to the city. She never bothered to introduce them before because she thought it was useless. However, Hayley's reaction proved her wrong.

"Elena knows a lot about magic. She can help us. Following the attack, Elena had helped me understand the supernatural world. She can explain everything we need to know and help us analyze our future path. I brought her home after careful consideration, you have no reason to doubt her. I'll invite Elena in, and you'll see. She's safe."

"I TOLD YOU NO!" Hayley shouted at the top of her lungs.

Aurora was shocked at Hayley's outburst. Her sister had always been good-tempered, sometimes even gullible. Although they argued a lot, Hayley always gave in. It was the first time Hayley refused to change her mind.

"Okay. I will tell Elena to come some other time," Rory said, trying to soothe her sister. She hoped that giving Hayley some time would calm her nerves.

"She won't. I don't want her inside the house now or ever."

Aurora rolled her eyes and went outside to talk to Elena. "Elena, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to my sister. She doesn't want to let you inside the house. Maybe we could go somewhere else to work out a plan?"

Hayley's anger reached a new peak. She laughed hysterically. Since the attack, Aurora had stressed how dangerous their situation was and how they needed to be cautious. Nonetheless, Aurora was also the one who disregarded her own warnings, making her a higher threat than the demons outside. It was ridiculous.

Hayley glared at her sister and Elena. She stood on the doorstep with a stern expression, like a guardsman. Her arms crossed in front of her chest. Her intention to bodily prevent them from getting in the house was clear.

Elena pulled Aurora's arm as the latter's face darkened even more. "Let's go." She dragged Rory away from the house under Hayley's gaze.

Making sure they were really gone before heading back inside, Hayley trembled from the stress of the ordeal. She couldn't deal with it anymore. She retrieved the spell book from Aurora's bed and took it to her room.

She had enough of letting Aurora explain things to her. Even with a dictionary, she had to understand the book.

Late at night, Aurora returned home. Hayley didn't know where she had been. And she didn't want to care.

She was still reading the spell book in her room. Despite many things being hard to understand, she noticed that she didn't need to. The book was foolproof, literally.

Spells to kill demons had pictures of the demons, written descriptions, and instructions on how to kill them. Every page had explanations and illustrations so that even an idiot could become a witch.

On one of the pages, Hayley found a description of an exercise to grow the Orbis Vitae, tailor-made for their family. What the hell? Aurora had lied to her. She had said the book didn't have it.

Hayley tried to remember their previous readings. How did she conclude that the spell book was hard to read? It wasn't, so why? As memories rushed back, she realized she had only read one page chosen by Aurora.

Whenever she raised questions, Aurora would belittle her. She insinuated that she should understand every word; otherwise, she was losing her time.

Hayley was confused and angry. She didn't understand how things came to this.

That night, Hayley had difficulty sleeping. Her mind wrestled to understand what was wrong with Aurora. The following morning, she had dark circles under her eyes and felt listless. She had no choice but to speak to Aurora. The answers she needed were too important to avoid the confrontation.

She waited for Aurora to wake up. She sat at the kitchen table, staring at the sumptuous breakfast she had made when she couldn't sleep at four in the morning. She had gone overboard trying to calm herself down by cooking.

At nine, she heard noises upstairs. It seemed like Aurora was awake. Hayley fidgeted, fearful of the impending confrontation. Tension built with each noise her sister made. Her heart jumped each time she thought Aurora would come down the stairs. Nervousness gripped her. She couldn't do it.

Hayley rushed to her bag and went out the door. She only relaxed when she couldn't see the house anymore.

She went to a nearby park; she sat on a bench, holding her head between her legs. She couldn't believe she fled the house; it wouldn't resolve her troubles.

Hayley straightened herself, took deep breaths, and grabbed her phone. She couldn't have the conversation face-to-face with Aurora. Then, She would try by phone.

She waited with bated breath for Aurora to answer. She couldn't even imagine how the conversation would go.

"Where's the book?" Aurora demanded as soon as she answered.

Hayley didn't respond, letting Aurora rant about her irresponsibility. It wasn't the first time. However, it was clear that most of Aurora's remarks aimed to put her down rather than genuine concern.

Before, she would have made excuses. Now, she saw everything for what it was. She had always thought of herself as easy-going. The heartbreak showed her she had just been numb. After the anger and confusion left, only pain and disappointment remained.

"Hayley! Where's the book?"

"Why did you lie?" she asked mechanically.

"Lie? Lie about what?" Aurora's confused voice came through the phone.

"You said there was no training exercise in the spell book. You said we should stick together. You said we should let no one come into the house. You said we were in danger. Everything you said was a lie." Hayley's tears fell hard as she confronted her sister.

"You're ridiculous. I didn't lie. I don't know what you've been thinking, but it's not helping. You know it's not your forte..." Hayley sobbed harder. Her sister's explanation was to disparage her again. She shouldn't be surprised.

She let Aurora talk for a long time. She didn't say another word. The tears dried up in her eyes, her breathing became calm, and her eyes lost brilliance as Rory talked.

"...You have to tell me where the book is." Hayley had hidden the book the previous night. It was still in the house, somewhere she was sure Aurora wouldn't find.

"Hey! Hayley, right?" A sudden voice pulled her out of an emotional abyss. A familiar woman with long black hair stood in front of her. Reflexively, Hayley hung up the phone and greeted her, even though she couldn't remember where they had met.