Upon entering the headquarters, the first thing Halle saw was a ball of light fly towards Grace Anansi. She gasped, eyes wide in fear. The light hit Grace square in the chest, knocking her on the ground. Weirdly, though, no one was running towards her, checking to see if she was okay. In fact, Grace stood up seconds later, laughing as if nothing had happened. Halle relaxed, if only slightly.

"I have some things to do," Margaux said from next to her, stirring Halle out of her fascination with what was happening across the room. "Raphael will take you where you need to go."

Halle couldn't form words, could only nod. Margaux turned and embraced her, kissing her lightly on both cheeks. "I hope you hear something that will help you." Before Halle could answer, Margaux was gone, vanishing into thin air.

"God, again with the dramatics," Raphael's voice was laced with laughter. "She's something else, my sister."

Halle laughed despite herself. It was good to have Raphael with her, she decided; he would keep things light.

"Crash course time. There are three branches of magic: practical, mischief, and untamed. Each branch has a Sage, they're like the leader of that part. Got it?"

Halle nodded. "Yeah, sounds simple enough."

"Good. I'm going to have you talk to one of these Sages. They'll be the most likely to know about your family." Raph took off towards, well, somewhere, and Halle had no choice but to follow. She certainly didn't want to be left alone yet.



L. Faba was every bit as eccentric as Raphael had said. With purple hair and ghostly pale skin, she stood out easily in the dark room. She stood behind a giant cauldron, controlling an equally as large wooden spoon without using her hands.

"Go on," Raphael said, directly into Halle's ear. "Talk to her." When she turned, though, to ask him what she should say, he was nowhere to be found. Weird. It was going to take some time for Halle to get used to this whole magic thing.

"Excuse me?" Halle's voice was quiet, too quiet for her liking. "Excuse me," she said again, more confidently.

L. let the wooden spoon rest against the side of the cauldron and looked at Halle, seemingly sizing her up. "Ah, yes," she said. Her voice was gravelly and rough. "There were whispers of you. They said it'd only be a matter of time before you came to me."

Halle didn't even attempt to figure out what that meant. She was running off of pure adrenaline, ready to know something definitive.

"I was told you might know something about my mother."

The witch smiled. "Your mother? Tell me, child, why should I know your mother out of all of them?"

Halle didn't know how to answer. She stumbled around her reply. "My friends brought me here. The Beaumont twins? They told me to talk to you."


"Yes, yes, Margaux and Raphael. You're wise to follow their advice. Now, what do you wish to know?"

"The twins, they think I'm a Spellcaster." At this, L. nodded along. Halle's heart stuttered. "My mom... she died a few years ago, I think she would have been one, too. Colleen Burroughs."

"Burroughs, you say?" If Halle wasn't mistaken, L's eyes seemed to get glossy, unfocused. "I see it. Those eyes. Yes, you are Colleen's daughter."

There, the answer Halle had been looking for. Her mother had been known by a Sage! It was all true, then, wasn't it?

"She was one of my finest students when she was your age. When you were born, magic took a backseat. She loved you so much, Halle."

Halle's eyes immediately filled with tears. She had never even said her name but, somehow, L. knew just who she was.

"I have magic, too, right? Margaux and Raphael knew."

L. nodded, the slightest dip of her head. "We always know."



L. Faba smiled, warm and genuine. "I'll see you soon, young Halle."





Later that night, as Halle was working on her homework, everything she had learned ran through her head on loop. Her dad sat across from her, quiet, almost like he was waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't. She knew she had been acting different, even though she tried not to, and her dad was always observant; he would know that something was changing.

Even Pugsley, normally as close to Halle as he could be, was keeping his distance. Whatever was going on inside of her head, she needed to sort it out soon.





After school, while trying to work on editing a video, Halle's confusion and anxiety came to a head. It was now or never -- for both talking to her father and making a decision on what to do with her own Spellcaster abilities. Shaking herself out of her fog, she headed downstairs, where Ian was relaxing on the couch.

"Dad?" Her voice was quiet and scratchy, like it hadn't been used in a while. "Can I talk to you?"

Ian patted the cushion next to him, inviting her to sit. "Is everything okay, Hal? You've been awfully quiet these last few days."

Halle ran her hands over her thighs, inhaling deeply.

"My mom was a witch. And you didn't tell me," her words were stronger now. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ian sat in silence for a moment, his eyes locked on his daughter's. Halle could see his hands shaking slightly.

"Honey, I know this must be difficult for you," he said. "Your mom didn't want you to know until you were a bit older, and when she died, well... "


"Well what?" Halle asked, angry now. "You just weren't ever going to tell me because she was gone and you could keep me from being what I am?"

"No, Halle, that's not it at all," Ian looked hurt and Halle felt a sting of sadness inside of her. "I'm not magical, not at all, and your mother was going to be the key to everything for you. When we lost her, I had no idea how to handle this whole thing. I knew that moving here would answer some things for you, and I guess I thought that would be easier than just telling you all at once."

Halle's heart fluttered at that thought. She remembered all of the she played with her mom, acting out scenes from Henry Puffer and creating fake recipes for their own special potions. That was all she had now, but she knew she would do everything she could to carry on her mother's memory and magic.

"I forgive you, Dad," she said, standing up. "But I'm ready. To know everything. To start my own journey. And I need you to be there for me and support me."

Ian stood as well, wrapping his arms around his daughter.

"I love you more than anything," he said. "Your mother was always so proud of you. And I know she would be now."