Stolen Halo. Mackenzie Grace
myself.
We call him the Keeper, but he is better known as the Keeper of Souls; he is pure evil. I’m not talking push a kid off a bike and laugh, it’s more like taking the kid’s soul and offer it to Lucifer. But as every other witch coven, we must have a supreme leader, and ours would be the Keeper of Souls.
He creeped me out, for some reason. Whenever I was around him, I felt like I needed to run and scream. I felt like a light turned on, and I had to watch his every step and just to reassure myself I do.
I dragged my focus from Keeper and instead focused on getting ready for bed; just because Keeper would be there doesn’t mean I can’t be excited. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror and brushed my teeth. I put on a night gown and went to sleep with thoughts of keeper and familiars in my head.
When I got up in the morning, it was to a knock on my door. “Come in.” I yawned.
It was Sydney who walked in. “Bella, Lacy sent me in to help you get ready for today. Keeper is going to be here in about two hours.”
“Okay” was all I said. I got out of my bed, and Sydney went into my closet to look for something nice for me to wear. Sydney was a nice girl, she was always really quiet around the others. She is two years older than me and has always been there for me.
“Why don’t you go take your pill, and I will find you something cute to wear,” she said. I nodded and went to my bathroom. I opened the cupboard and popped the thin tan pill in my mouth. The Keeper recommended the pills to me to help my skin not get any lighter. I was considered albino, and the pills just made sure I did not turn invisible. I smirked as I popped the pill into my mouth, thinking, It would be pretty cool to be invisible, I could go out and see the world, and the coven would never be able to find me.
Walking out of the bathroom, I saw my clothes all over the floor. I sighed. “Can you at least try to not make a mess.”
Sydney looked up and smirked. “I have to find the perfect thing.” She continued digging around for something. She stopped when she pulled out a black lace panel dress that was flowy at the bottom. I hated dresses.
I wrinkled my nose. “A dress!” I complained. “Why a dress, there must be hundreds of clothes in that pile, and you pick a dress!” I complained, exasperated.
“Yeah, it’s cute.” She smiled again. “And it’s the dress or nothing,” she continued.
“Says who?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Lacy said to find you one.”
Of course. “Fine.” I rolled out the e. I was acting childish, but I could do that with Sydney. I grabbed the dress out of her skinny hand and went back in the bathroom. I slipped on the dress and looked at myself. Black was a good color on me; it made my eyes pop, and my skin went okay with it. I smiled. I actually kinda liked this dress, not that I would ever say that out loud.
I came out of the bathroom and heard Sydney’s sharp intake of breath. “Wow,” she said, “you look beautiful. Black is a nice color on you.” She smiled at me.
I smiled back. “Thanks,” I said quietly.
She patted a chair, and I went to sit. “What do you think we should do with this mess?” She gestured to my hair.
“Hey!” I laughed. “Don’t judge, we can’t all have perfect hair in the morning.”
“Obviously not!” She laughed. “Just look at this awful bird’s nest on your head.”
“Oh, really!” I playfully smacked her hands away. “Are you going to spend the whole time judging me, or are you going to fix it?” I asked her.
“Fix it, duh.” She picked up a brush, and I turned around.
She spent about an hour and a half on my hair, and when she was done, I wish I could’ve run a lap. Sitting still was not one of my best qualities.
“Finalmente,” I murmured in Italian as I looked in the mirror. She fixed my hair back into a slick ponytail, and she curled my hair in loose curls at the bottom. I nodded. “I like it!”
“Good, because that’s what you’re getting,” Sydney stated and walked into my closet. “Shoes,” I heard her mutter, and as soon as she walked in, she walked out holding a pair of purple flats that matched my eyes. “Okay, put these on, and let’s go downstairs, I’m sure everyone is waiting.”
I slid the shoes on, and we made our way downstairs. I walked behind Sydney because I could sense Keeper was downstairs, I could practically smell the evil from my position on the stairs. Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I stopped to prepare myself for the evil I was about to come face-to-face with.
I turned the corner, and he was there, sitting on the couch with his legs propped up and his arms behind his head, and he smiled flashing, blinding white teeth at me when I walked in. He had black hair and leather skin, and his eyes were all red with no pupils. When he was in his true form, he supposedly had coal-black wings and horns, but I have never seen him in his true form, only his coverup.
“Bella,” he greeted, his British accent thick in his voice, “big day today, eh?”
“Y-yeah,” I said.
He eyed me from head to toe and smiled bigger. “Excited?” he asked.
“Yes, very.” I smiled politely and went to sit down next to Lacy, Sydney followed. The whole coven was roaming around the sitting room, and I was starting to get self-conscious with everyone staring at me. I looked down, fiddling with my hands and tried not to stare at Keeper.
“I think we ought to do the reveal at noon,” said Lacy. “Then lunch?” She looked at Keeper for his okay.
“Well,” he cleared his throat, and all eyes were on him, “I think it would be best if we ate first then did the reveal, can’t have our new heir be hungry.” He looked at me.
I would be that heir. I sunk back into the couch as everyone’s eyes swung to me. They called the people who are trusted with familiars heirs, every magical being gets one—the witches, demons, fae, even angels get them.
“Very well.” Lacy stood on her fragile legs. “Let’s eat.” She left, and we all followed suit. For lunch, we had potato salad and turkey. Keeper basically ate the whole turkey, and we all watched patiently, waiting for him to finish, all the while, waiting made me nervous. Would it hurt? Would it be like waking up from a really good dream or a nightmare?
Keeper hopped up, startling us all. “Okay, let’s get started.” He excused everyone.
I was the last to leave the room, and we all made our way into the sitting room once more. When I walked into the room, everyone was standing and waiting patiently for me to make my way to the middle of the room. I quickly scampered to the middle, wishing more than anything everyone would stop staring at me.
I was met by Keeper and Lacy in the middle. Normally, the oldest witch would be the one to perform the ceremony, but Keeper had higher ranking than Lacy, so he would do it. I looked up into Keepers full red eyes and held my breath as all the lights shut off in the room, and one at a time, red candles appeared and formed a circle.
Keeper lead me to the center of the circle of candles, and I listened as he started the ceremony. “Bella,” his voice echoed off—of what, I don’t know—but it was so loud, my ears felt like they would shatter, “do you feel deep in your heart and soul, a piece of you is gone?”
“Yes,” I said, and I did. I felt like a piece of me was missing, wanting for its second half to come and find it.
Keeper nodded. “We are asking which ever spirits may be listing to help this child complete herself by finding her second half, her familiar,” he went on. “Bella, by accepting the burden of the familiar, you are accepting your second half, and it will survive off of you and you of it, whatever it may be do, you swear to protect it with your life and only yours?”
“I