“Calumnia mode,” Binx announced. “Wow. That was super-mature of you.”
Aysha smirked at Binx, taking in her yellow outfit. “Says the girl who’s dressed like a Minion. Or is it SpongeBob SquarePants? You’re really pushing the fashion envelope today, Beatrix Kato.”
Binx fake-smiled so hard that her teeth hurt. Aysha knew better than to call her by her full name, which she loathed (seriously, why should she suffer because of her father’s obsession with an olden-day bunny-ologist?). But Binx herself knew better than to act like she cared, especially around the Triad, especially around Aysha, who took no prisoners.
“Yeah, I was going for Bart Simpson, actually. We need to discuss that shadow message you guys wrote.”
Mira wrinkled her nose. “What shadow message?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Seriously, I don’t!”
“Is this a joke? Are you messing with us?” Aysha asked Binx suspiciously.
Binx hesitated. Mira and Aysha both seemed legit confused. Or were they just legit lying? Knowing them, likely the latter.
Her phone buzzed with a text. She glanced at it quickly. It was a message from Ridley:
Where are you?
Binx wrote back:
Vending machine room near the cafeteria. With the Triad minus D.
Ridley and Greta appeared seconds later.
“Calumnia?” Greta whispered to Binx, who nodded in response.
“Yeah, so, they’re claiming they didn’t write the shadow message,” Binx explained to her coven-mates.
“We didn’t!” Mira insisted. “What is this shadow message, anyway?”
Greta reached into her backpack and pulled out the clear bag that contained the note plus a sprig of rosemary. Ridley cast an anxious glance into the hallway, then positioned herself next to and slightly behind Greta, to block the view of the shadow message from any passersby.
Aysha and Mira checked it out.
“That’s not from us,” Aysha said immediately. Mira nodded in agreement.
“Liars. That’s your handwriting, Mira!” Binx exclaimed.
“That is not my handwriting. I always do my Ys with those cute little loops,” Mira said, tracing the shape in the air.
“Look, we know you wrote this, so you’d better just—”
Binx stopped. Something was climbing onto her shoulders. No, not climbing… slithering.
It was a snake. A big, long, white snake. It wrapped itself around Binx’s neck until its silver eyes were just inches from her brown ones. It flicked its tongue and made a hissing noise.
Binx knotted her fists to keep from screaming. Her skin grew icy cold—with fear? Or had the creature already injected her with poison, and she was about to die? Or…
“Guys? A little help?” she whimpered to Greta and Ridley.
“Help with what?” Ridley asked, confused.
“Um, the giant deadly reptile?”
“They can’t see it, Beatrix. At the moment, only you and I have that pleasure.”
Div sauntered up to their group, leaned against the vending machine, and smiled. Or sneered. Or a little of both. With her all-white outfit, long platinum hair, and ghostly pale complexion, she matched her familiar’s albino palette. Binx barely registered Div’s use of her full name; at the moment, she was too terrified about her impending demise.
“Why are you bothering my girls?” Div asked Binx. Her voice, as always, was deceptively soft and silky.
“I’m not! They’re the ones who started it! With the stupid shadow thing!” Binx protested.
“Div, what are you doing to Binx? You’re not using Prada against her, are you?” Greta demanded.
Sighing, Div reached out, patted the snake, and whispered to it in some foreign language… or maybe it was a spell? The terrible creature loosened its grip on Binx and slithered onto Div’s arm, then settled contentedly around her shoulders before becoming invisible again, or invisible to Binx, anyway, since no one else had been privy to its appearance, apparently.
“Seriously?” Binx gasped as she rubbed her neck.
“Div, that’s not cool,” Greta said angrily.
Div turned to Greta and cocked her head. “Greta. You haven’t been sleeping well, have you? I can see it in your face. The puffiness, the black circles. I’ll text you a recipe for my new relaxation tea. It’s quite… powerful.”
“Your last ‘recipe’”—Greta made air quotes—“turned my skin blue and it took three days to wear off. So, no thank you! Binx, are you okay?”
“No, I am not okay. I was just trying to get to the bottom of the note drama, and—”
Div plucked the bag from Greta. Her snakelike green eyes fixed on the shadow message inside.
Then she pulled something out of her white leather backpack and held it up for the other girls to see.
It was the exact same shadow message. Even the handwriting was identical.
“Wait, what?” Binx exclaimed.
“I found this in my locker just now,” Div explained. “It looks like you and I have a common enemy, Greta.”
“Can you guys put those away?” Ridley said nervously. “Calumnia only works on what we’re saying, remember?”
“Yes, thanks for the reminder,” Greta said, complying.
Div rolled her eyes but complied as well.
“Now do you believe me?” Mira said to Binx.
“Not particularly,” Binx shot back. “You still could have written the shadow message. Shadow messages, plural. You know, as some sort of super-prank 2.0?”
“You could have done that, too, Kato,” Aysha accused.
“Can we please consider for a second that it wasn’t any of us?” Greta pointed out.
“Maybe we should try some scrying spells,” Div suggested.
“Maybe we should just burn them,” Ridley said.
“What about—”
“You girls are blocking the vending machine,” a voice interrupted.
The six witches spun around. A guy stood nearby. A junior… Brandon something. He gestured impatiently at the vending machine.
Then Binx’s gaze landed on his black T-shirt.
An Antima shoulder patch.
Whoa.
Had the calumnia spell held, or had it automatically cut out when Brandon showed up? Had he seen the shadow messages before Greta and Div hid them out of sight?
Before anyone could say anything, Div coughed into the crook of her arm and at the same time whispered: “Praetereo.”
A memory-erase spell.
Brandon blinked and frowned. His brown eyes looked muddled. “Did I… Are you all in line for the vending machine?” he asked, confused.
“We were, except that it’s out of order. Isn’t it so annoying when that
