Hex
[Heks]
Noun
1. a magic spell; a curse
“A death hex”

The words slid passed his lips easily, magic coursing through his veins as it manifested itself in the plant before him. At first there was nothing but a mound of dirt in the terracotta pot, but within seconds a small stalk pushed through and grew upwards, sprouting buds that bloomed into soft pink petals. He had done this spell hundreds of times by now, but he couldn’t deny that the quiet power that awakened in him pleased him. He could feel his mana stirring with untapped potential. It made him want to keep on and make everything in this greenhouse grow until it was teeming full of blooming flowers that reached the ceiling. Such a thing would only land him in trouble, though. His family was full of humble magic people. To use his gift just for the sake of pushing himself to the limit would be frowned upon. His family believed they were given powers for a reason, and to abuse such a thing bordered blasphemy.

“Keir! If you don’t leave soon, you’ll be late!” He turned as his mother entered the greenhouse. Since it was so early in the day, she was still in her night grown, robe wrapped around herself to keep out the chilly morning air. She dug her hand into her house robe pocket, producing two pieces of crystal Keir immediately recognized. “Here, honey. Citrine and Amethyst for good luck on your first day.”

She placed them in his hand, curling his fingers around the stones and giving him a small pat. “Make sure you keep them on you now, otherwise it won’t have any effect.”

“Thanks mom.” He muttered, stuffing them in his pocket. “I’m gonna go now. Love you.” He exited the greenhouse after kissing his mother on the cheek and made his way to his car. Misty air clung to everything, making it damp and sticky. The fog also made it difficult to see more than twenty feet in front of him. Great, he could only hope that he didn’t get in a wreck.

Though his family were humble when it came to their magic, it wasn’t like they weren’t well off monetarily. He slid into his BMW and backed out of the driveway, heading towards his new school. Their house was on the outskirts of this small, rural town that just screamed boring. He had hardly had time to explore the place, what with only having moved into the house three days prior. Even now, he could hardly make out most of the buildings. As he entered the heart of town, he did not miss what seemed to be a large cemetery. At least, from what he could see it was large. Grey tombstones and fake flowers lined the ground as far back as he could see before disappearing into the mist.

The high school was just a few blocks over, and he pulled into the parking lot and hopped out of his car. Before his feet even touched the pavement, the teenagers within seeing distance were turned toward him, whispering. They had all heard of the family who had moved into the old Manor outside of town. He passed them quickly, trying to block out their snippets of conversation about him. Once inside, he beelined toward the office to get his schedule and locker information.

The man at the desk handed over his stuff, along with a map of the school. “If you get lost, you can always ask any of the students. I’m sure they’d be happy to help!” The man chirped, overly cheery.

“Thanks.” Keir nodded before leaving the office. Again, almost every head was turned towards him. He felt like it was weird that they were all so blatantly staring at him. He figured it was because they didn’t get many new students and that he stuck out like a sore thumb. His bright, yellow hoodie, light wash jeans, and pastel purple Vans certainly contrasted with everyone’s dark clothes and heavy makeup. Even most of the guys were wearing eyeliner. Had his family moved into some strange, Satanist town?

Keeping his gaze down, he navigated the hallways to his first class, English literature. The school was small, so it only took him a few minutes, but he was already late as the bell had just rung. When he stepped into the class, he immediately wished he hadn’t. There was an aura in this room that completely drowned out all the human ones. Fear trickled down his spine as the presence filled his senses. It was cold and unforgiving, so devoid of any light that it nearly made him dizzy. Whatever it was had to be sitting in a desk. He scared to even glance towards them.

Instead of running like a coward, like he so desperately wanted to do, he forced a smile on his face as he approached the teacher.

“Hello, you must be Keir Delaney. I’m Mr. Johnson.” The teacher greeted with a smile. Keir merely nodded, not trusting himself to speak quite yet. He felt like he could hardly breathe with the oppressive aura that seemed to fill every crevice of the room. He knew humans were dull, but could they really not sense something so strong?

“Here’s a syllabus for the class and the assignment we’re working on right now. It doesn’t seem I have an extra textbook for you…” Mr. Johnson frowned as he handed over the papers.

“He can share with me.” A voice called out, filling Keir with dread. The voice was authoritative and chilling, leaving no room for objections.

He turned towards the voice, meeting the creature’s gaze. His own deep, brown eyes met its pale blue gaze and he knew he was screwed.

His mom must have botched the charm on the crystals, because they certainly weren’t bringing him any good luck.