office, their conversation low and serious, judging by their faces.
"It seems logical. How else can we find out if one of us could be the star sister?"
"I guess. It's the quickest way to find out if this prophecy means us. I just..."
"I know." Astra didn't need to finish her sentence. I knew exactly what she was going to say: I just can't quite believe it. I thought the same thing after Étoile announced her idea. That was after we were all silenced by the news of The Brotherhood sighting. It made sense to eliminate all of us as potentially being the bearer of the magic, but I wasn't sure Étoile's suggestion of performing a spell would cut it. Privately, I suspected she believed the spell would indicate one of us was the superwitch, planting hope in her mind of ending the war before it even began. If anyone else thought the same, no one said anything. I could have mentioned our search for the talismans was bearing fruit, but I knew Étoile wanted a quicker solution. At least, Astra's research wasn't for nothing, and I wasn't chasing a fool's errand.
Étoile and Seren broke apart, their faces deadly serious. "Here's the plan," began Seren. "Étoile, Astra and I will start the spell with a circle of three since we're blood relatives. If it's one of the three of us, that should become apparent very quickly. However, it might not. Stella can step in next and join the circle, adding her power to the group, since we know our mothers performed a star sister spell with us in mind. Next, Clare will join us as the final star sister. But it might not work until all five of us are together in the circle."
"Then how will we know who it is?" asked Clare, looking puzzled and more than a little sceptical.
"Seren added a page of Athene's writing to the spell ingredients, since it's the only thing we have of hers. However, she altered it slightly so that the page itself will be attracted to the superwitch."
"Smart," said Astra, nodding approvingly.
"There's something else," said Étoile. "We want the spell to enhance our bond. My sisters and I all feel more powerful together than when we're apart. We've noticed an increase with Stella’s presence too."
"But not with me?" asked Clare.
Étoile shook her head. "No, not with you."
Clare shrugged. "I expected as much. I don't feel any power changes, or surge in my magic when I'm with any of you either. Not even now, with us all together."
"What does your magic do anyway?" asked Astra. "I've never been able to ascertain it."
"A little bit of everything. I guess you could call me your common garden witch," Clare replied without any hint of being disappointed at her limited abilities.
"It could be because your mother didn't fulfill the obligations of the spell – by giving you a star name – that left you unconnected to us, and not as our mothers intended us to be. It's not your fault," added Seren. "However, this spell could change that. It might ultimately connect us all."
"Will we be bound together?" I asked. I'd read about such things during my job to digitally archive old Council files but hadn't paid it much notice.
"No, we'll always be ourselves, if that’s what you mean, and in control of our own magic; but we could all experience a power boost when operating together. It will always be a matter of choice," Étoile added.
"I'm happy with that. It sounds advantageous," said Astra.
"Any advantage could help us win this war," agreed Seren.
"Are we all agreed then?" asked Étoile, looking around and taking in our expectant faces. One-by-one, we nodded. "Go ahead," she instructed Seren.
"I'll need a few minutes to prepare." Seren turned to rummage in her bag. Moments later, she extracted a large, pink candle swirled with white wax and tipped with a thick wick. She directed us to clear the area in the middle of Étoile's sofa and chairs, and we began pulling them backwards and pushing the coffee table to one side to leave a space for all of us to stand. Snapping open a bag of
"It seems logical. How else can we find out if one of us could be the star sister?"
"I guess. It's the quickest way to find out if this prophecy means us. I just..."
"I know." Astra didn't need to finish her sentence. I knew exactly what she was going to say: I just can't quite believe it. I thought the same thing after Étoile announced her idea. That was after we were all silenced by the news of The Brotherhood sighting. It made sense to eliminate all of us as potentially being the bearer of the magic, but I wasn't sure Étoile's suggestion of performing a spell would cut it. Privately, I suspected she believed the spell would indicate one of us was the superwitch, planting hope in her mind of ending the war before it even began. If anyone else thought the same, no one said anything. I could have mentioned our search for the talismans was bearing fruit, but I knew Étoile wanted a quicker solution. At least, Astra's research wasn't for nothing, and I wasn't chasing a fool's errand.
Étoile and Seren broke apart, their faces deadly serious. "Here's the plan," began Seren. "Étoile, Astra and I will start the spell with a circle of three since we're blood relatives. If it's one of the three of us, that should become apparent very quickly. However, it might not. Stella can step in next and join the circle, adding her power to the group, since we know our mothers performed a star sister spell with us in mind. Next, Clare will join us as the final star sister. But it might not work until all five of us are together in the circle."
"Then how will we know who it is?" asked Clare, looking puzzled and more than a little sceptical.
"Seren added a page of Athene's writing to the spell ingredients, since it's the only thing we have of hers. However, she altered it slightly so that the page itself will be attracted to the superwitch."
"Smart," said Astra, nodding approvingly.
"There's something else," said Étoile. "We want the spell to enhance our bond. My sisters and I all feel more powerful together than when we're apart. We've noticed an increase with Stella’s presence too."
"But not with me?" asked Clare.
Étoile shook her head. "No, not with you."
Clare shrugged. "I expected as much. I don't feel any power changes, or surge in my magic when I'm with any of you either. Not even now, with us all together."
"What does your magic do anyway?" asked Astra. "I've never been able to ascertain it."
"A little bit of everything. I guess you could call me your common garden witch," Clare replied without any hint of being disappointed at her limited abilities.
"It could be because your mother didn't fulfill the obligations of the spell – by giving you a star name – that left you unconnected to us, and not as our mothers intended us to be. It's not your fault," added Seren. "However, this spell could change that. It might ultimately connect us all."
"Will we be bound together?" I asked. I'd read about such things during my job to digitally archive old Council files but hadn't paid it much notice.
"No, we'll always be ourselves, if that’s what you mean, and in control of our own magic; but we could all experience a power boost when operating together. It will always be a matter of choice," Étoile added.
"I'm happy with that. It sounds advantageous," said Astra.
"Any advantage could help us win this war," agreed Seren.
"Are we all agreed then?" asked Étoile, looking around and taking in our expectant faces. One-by-one, we nodded. "Go ahead," she instructed Seren.
"I'll need a few minutes to prepare." Seren turned to rummage in her bag. Moments later, she extracted a large, pink candle swirled with white wax and tipped with a thick wick. She directed us to clear the area in the middle of Étoile's sofa and chairs, and we began pulling them backwards and pushing the coffee table to one side to leave a space for all of us to stand. Snapping open a bag of
Similar Books
