Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin
Cover art copyright © 2020 by Sweeney Boo. Cover design by Marci Senders and Angelie Yap. Cover copyright © 2020 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
Little, Brown and Company
Hachette Book Group
1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104
Visit us at LBYR.com
First Edition: July 2020
Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
ISBNs: 978-1-368-02876-9 (hardcover), 978-1-368-04593-3 (ebook)
E3-20200530-JV-NF-ORI
Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
PROLOGUE
PART I: CALLING THE QUARTERS
1: CATEGORY FIVE FREAK-OUT
2: FLUFFY BUNNY
3: TECHNOMANCER
4: A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME
5: HOT AND COLD
6: SMACKDOWN
7: CHOICE OF EVILS
8: OBFUSCATORS
9: BROWNIES, MILK, AND MAGIKARP
10: THE DREAMLESS ONE
11: DEAD WITCHES
12: RESCUE ME
13: RETAIL THERAPY
14: THE SEARCH FOR LOLLI MCSCUFFLE PANTS
15: SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS
16: THE COOL TABLE
17: REVOLUTION
18: PUMPKIN SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE
19: TRANSCENDING TIME
20: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN
PART 2: A MURDER OF CROWS
21: SYSTEM CRASH
22: SLEEPYHEAD
23: (UN)FAMILIARS
24: SECRETS
25: VIP
26: ODD WITCH OUT
27: WITCHES DON’T BELONG HERE
28: DRESS CODE
29: HEARTLESS
30: TEA FOR TWO
31: THE FATE OF ALL CROWS
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DISCOVER MORE
To everyone who has ever had to hide their light
Explore book giveaways, sneak peeks, deals, and more.
Tap here to learn more.
Every flight begins with a fall.
—GEORGE R. R. MARTIN
March 12, 2016
To whom it may concern:
Please read this message quickly, and in private. I have posted it to a few select sites in the hopes that it will reach like-minded souls, and I will be deleting it shortly.
I am a descendant of Callixta Crowe. For those of you who don’t recognize the name, she was one of the most powerful witches in history. Perhaps the most powerful. She lived and died in the late 1800s; she perished as part of the Great Witch Purge of 1877.
Other than that terrible event, which has been written about in history books, the subject of witchcraft is shrouded in much mystery. Witches make up a very small percent of the population. They practice in deep secrecy (if at all) because of societal prejudice—many non-witches consider them to be abnormal, freakish—and because of the anti-witchcraft law of 1877, also known as Title 6 of the US Comprehensive Code, Section 129:
Whoever engages in or promotes the practice of Witchcraft may be punished by Death or term of imprisonment or any other penalty the Court may deem appropriate.
I wish to begin to unshroud the mystery now, for reasons I will explain in a moment.
Here are some things you may or may not know about witches.
The majority of witches—at least, known witches—seem to be female, although there are male witches as well. Magical powers are hereditary, often skipping generations. These powers manifest at puberty, although in rare instances, they manifest earlier or later. Some people may live out their entire lives without ever realizing that they have powers. Even those who do discover their abilities may never learn how to use them, especially given the near-total absence of spellbooks and other resources. Or they may choose not to use their abilities—because of 6-129, because of anti-witch prejudice, because they’re afraid to reveal their true selves to their friends and families. Because they want to fit in.
Fortunately, the years since the Great Purge have been relatively “kind” to practicing witches. Some (some) non-witches have become more tolerant and accepting, at least in private. Enforcement of 6-129 has grown more relaxed, and the penalties, too. No witches have been executed since the Great Purge. Sentences have decreased over the decades, from “life in prison” in the early 1900s to “six to twelve months” more recently.
Younger violators of 6-129 were once reported to the juvenile police, but this convention gradually ceased after the 1960s. Now a teen or tween witch caught practicing at school might receive a suspension or expulsion or similar, depending on the school’s policies. At home, that witch might be grounded, have privileges taken away, or similar, depending on the family.
However, the tide seems to be turning back toward the Great Purge times. I believe that a new and dangerous intolerance is brewing in this country. Anti-magic voices are emerging, and because of them, witches may face renewed prejudice, punishment, and peril. Some of this intolerance may be connected to the patriarchy feeling threatened by powerful women, as with the Great Purge. Although this is likely not the whole picture. I am still investigating.
I could be wrong about this disturbing regression; I sincerely hope I am. But in case I’m not, I wanted to make sure that my ancestor Callixta’s legacy doesn’t die, that magic doesn’t die. I wanted, too, to prepare all witches out there for what may be coming.
To this end, I am including a link here to a manuscript Callixta left behind. It is an opus consisting of spells, potion recipes, and many, many words of wisdom (including her theories regarding witch genetics, gender, etc.), and as far as I know, it is the only such compilation available. (Despite its uneven enforcement, 6-129 continues to have a chilling effect on books, websites, and other means of disseminating
