"Serafina, I'm feeling a little queasy," said Calysta. It was a couple days later, and the girls were sitting in Serafina's room. The guys were outside on the beach, playing some twisted version of football.
"Me too," replied Serafina. They both looked at Sebrena.
"Yeah, I don't feel so good either. But this feels so familiar. Like I've had this feeling before," included Sebrena.
"Let's go outside. Maybe fresh air will make us feel better," said Serafina. The 3 girls walked out onto Serafina's balcony and jumped down to the ground.
"Heads up!" yelled AJ. The football came flying towards Calysta. She caught the ball and threw it back to AJ.
"Lucky for you, I can catch," yelled Calysta.
"Well, lucky for you . . . lucky for . . . you . . . umm . . ." stuttered AJ.
"Having problems with your comebacks, AJ?" asked Sebrena.
"So? Your point would be?" asked AJ.
"I think she thinks that you're losing your touch," said Calysta.
"I do?" Sebrena asked.
"I don't think you really think that she thinks that I'm losing my touch," countered AJ.
"Wha?"
"Before this gets out-of-hand and confusing, what are those?" asked Howie, pointing behind us. We turned around to see what Howie was talking about. Standing there were three flickering images. They resembled Sebrena, Serafina, and Calysta, only slightly older. But nothing more definite than that could be determined because the images were pale and ghostly and they seemed to flicker in and out of being. At first, you couldn't even be sure if something was there.
"Those would be our grandmothers. I wonder why they didn't message us before-hand?" pondered Calysta.
"Your grandmothers?" repeated Kevin.
"That's what we said. They're dead, but they're witches, too. They occasionally come and visit us. Most of the time they give us advice or help with our magic," explained Sebrena.
"You guys, I don't think those are our grandmothers," whispered Serafina, backing away from the advancing images. "I just remembered where I've felt that queasy before. Mr. Hartman's class, in 8th grade."
"I thought we banished him," said Calysta, backing away as well. The images advanced even closer. The girls backed away, pulling the guys with them.
"Apparently it didn't last," said Sebrena. "You wouldn't possibly remember how to banish him, would you? Anyone?"
"Nope. I think we've got a big problem," said Serafina.
Halt! said familiar, warm, and comforting voices. You will move no further. We order you to leave this place. Go back to your creator. Bother us no more.
The advancing images disappeared with a high-pitched scream. One that the girls had only heard once before.
Hello children. We meant to warn you, but there was an accident on the exit ramp. The ambulance took a little too long to make sure everyone was okay. Sometimes Heaven can be trying on one's patience, said a voice, or voices known all too well the girls.
"Thank goodness you came. I think they were about to freeze us. And who knows what would have happened after that," said Calysta.
"So, are these your real grandmothers?" asked AJ, shying away from the flickering images.
"Yes, these are our real grandmothers. I don't know how those projections were made so well. Heartless must have some new technology," said Sebrena.
"Heartless?" repeated Brian, confused.
"Well, there's this demon, goes by the name of Heartless. Demons aren't very creative in the naming process. He was made to torture and destroy witches, or at least turn them to darkness. We ran into him in the 8th grade. He was our American History teacher, Mr. Hartman. As I said, demons aren't very creative in the naming process. We tried to banish him, but I guess it didn't work," explained Serafina.
"He must be somewhere in the area. Hopefully we can fully banish him this time. Otherwise, there could be some major problems," said Sebrena.
We were on our way here when the projections intercepted us. Now that you know that Heartless is here, we need to tell you the spell to banish him for good. The first spell was missing an ingredient, but now we have found the full spell, so Heartless can be gotten rid of.
"But, the last time we tried to do this, we nearly got destroyed," pointed out Alex. "I really don't want to go through that again. Not something I'd put in my 'Fondest Memories' Photo Album."
Well, now you are much more experienced in your magic. It shouldn't be hard to banish him this time.
"What ingredient were we missing?" asked Serafina.
Wormwood. There isn't very much around here, but there are a few places where it can be found in the wild, and it is much more potent than what is in those so-called coven stores.
"Any idea where we can find some?" asked Sebrena.
We don't have much of an idea, but we do know it's in the area. Worms are also good at sensing it, hence the name.
"Then, we'll get to work on it," said Calysta.
Good luck. We'll be seeing you soon. The images disappeared.
"So, we have to go look for some Wormwood. Joy. It shouldn't be too hard to find," complained Sebrena.
"You guys split up the other ingredients, and I'll find the Wormwood. I'm sure I could find a snake to help me," said Serafina.
"Oh yeah, you take the easy part," said Sebrena.
"Sebrena, there aren't that many other things to get, and they aren't that hard to find," said Serafina.
"Fine," sighed Sebrena.
"We're not needed, are we?" asked Howie.
"Nope, we'll be fine on our own," said Calysta.
"Let's go get this over with," said Sebrena, grabbing Serafina and Calysta, and pulling them down the beach towards Serafina's house. The guys went back inside as Sebrena continued to pull them down the beach.
"Sebrena, you really didn't have to pull us away," said Serafina, brushing the sand off of her, after Sebrena had stopped pulling them, and let them walk on their own.
"Well, since Cal was making goo-goo eyes at Howie, I thought it might be good if we left before it got serious, and I would have to pull the two of them apart before they fainted from lack of oxygen," she said.
"I would not do that!" protested Calysta. "I would pull away before I fainted," she added quietly.
"See, this is what I'm talking about. She's pathetic already, and they haven't even had five minutes alone," said Sebrena.
"You think I care?"
"Both of you shut up!" yelled Serafina. "We need to find the ingredients for the spell, now."
"Fine, fine, fine. We'll get the ingredients, just stop yelling," said Sebrena.
"I wouldn't have to yell, if you two wouldn't fight so much."
"Look, can we just get this over with, so that I can get working on my love life?" asked Calysta.
"What love life?" asked Sebrena.
"Exactly."