If the Broom Fits by Liz Schulte

reconcile things I thought I knew with the things Orion told me—or with any of the house. First off, a truly dark witch wouldn’t want her identity known by everyone. It wasn’t like being evil got you anything special—other than torched by angry villagers. I would have thought she’d hide for as long as possible. Why display everything so openly?
    Most of the human world didn’t believe in magic anymore, but that didn’t mean witches advertised. It wasn’t like we wanted people to suddenly believe that witches had real magic. That didn’t turn out so well the last time (Salem). Not only that, but people who deviated from the norm were often viewed as suspicious. “Maybe we should ask Jessica if she suddenly started feeling gothic while she was possessed.”
    Leslie laughed lightly. “I think it’s still too soon for her to joke about it.”
    That was true. Jessica handled her situation well, but it didn’t take an empath to see she still had things to work through. “What else is down here?”
    Exploring the main floor didn’t lead to much. Just more of the same Halloween props. I tore all the covers off the furniture and piled them by the door, then sat down next to the fireplace and stared into the flames. Leslie sat across from me. I didn’t have to look at her. I could feel the tension in the air that she wanted to say something but wouldn’t.
    â€œJust ask,” I finally said. Even if the question was stupid or annoying or hit too close to home, it was better said and out there than it was hanging around us.
    â€œWho found you when you were living on the street? Who recognized what you were? Are you still in contact with him or her?”
    â€œSy,” I said. “I think he had his eye on me for a while because he didn’t look surprised the night I showed up, and he seemed to know everything right from the start. Well, not everything—but what I was and that I didn’t know. I must have gone past the Office a hundred times without ever noticing it, then one day this…” How could I even begin to explain what I saw when I looked at Sy?
    â€œGod amongst men?” Leslie said, grinning. In their own way, everyone in the coven had a bit of a crush on him. Well, except Selene. He had sort of become our mascot.
    I laughed. “I was thinking frat boy with Peter Pan Syndrome. But whatever. He found me and told me everything: why people can’t touch me, what I was, what my mother had to be, how I could protect myself, and where I could fit into this world. He fed me, trained me, and gave me a job.”
    Leslie smiled. “That sounds like Sy.”
    I nodded. “He can’t resist a stray.”
    Leslie looked down at her lap, brow furrowed. “No one should think of themselves as a stray. We all have purpose; we all have a reason to be here.”
    I ran my thumb over the straight cool lines of the key around my neck as I remembered that day so clearly. “I’d had a really bad night. Like one of the worst of my life. It was winter, it was Chicago, and I had nowhere to go. Out of desperation, I joined some other people under a bridge, but then…” I shook my head. “There were five of them coming toward me, surrounding me. I don’t actually enjoy killing people, you know? It’s not a power thing. If anything I feel more helpless after it happens. It just reminds me that no matter what I do, I really have no control over my life. The curse is in charge and it always will be.”
    Leslie nodded. “You took your gloves off.”
    I nodded. “It was me or them. If I were in the same position now, I wouldn’t do anything different. But then I couldn’t stay. There were five dead bodies and witnesses everywhere. I had to get out, so I ran, but it was so cold and I was so hungry. My muscles felt like they would snap in half. I heard sirens and in my mind they