By: Raevyn Maxwell

'Mom and dad won't be home until next week,' she thought. 'Their timing could not have been more perfect. It's time to try this spell.' Grabbing a red elastic tie, she pulled her waist length black hair into a ponytail. Reaching into the top drawer of her desk, she pulled out a letter envelope. The 'to' and 'from' address locations were written in a loopy writing, and the post office date was marked at about one week prior. Pulling out the paper inside, she read the short letter and spell once more, still convincing herself it was real.

"Arianna,

When we were together, I watched you admire the birds, your longing to be with them shown in your eyes. This will guide you too them, and will help you find yourself. Remember what I told you about setting everything up. Here's the spell.

Signed,

The Head priestess of the Avre temples."

Below the note was the incantation.

"Here goes nothing." she thought.

Everything was ready.

She sat in the middle of a red pentagram, candles all around, illuminating the dark room.

She could see her bed and window against one wall, her dresser and desk with her computer against another, and her bookshelf and door on another.

She crossed her legs and read the sheet of paper in front of her.

"By the spirits of heaven and earth,

Especially those of the sky,

I wish to feel the wind above and below,

Oh I how I wish to fly

Please make me as light as a bird,

Strong as an eagle,

Wise as a hawk,

And able to soar with the clouds

By the spirits of heaven and earth,

Especially those of the sky,

Grant my wish"

For a single moment, she held her breath, waiting, even though she didn't know what she was waiting for. After a moment more, she gave a disappointed sigh.

"Well, this sucks." she muttered, "It was just to good to be true." She started to get up.

Suddenly, the window burst open and a harsh wind blew out all the candles. A moaning was heard amid the gust that continued to trash her room. Papers flew everywhere, including the spell she had just recited. As she held her long hair down, she watched the spell fly out the window.

The wind stopped. All the candles were out, and the pentagram had darkened from red to black.

Silence fell once more,

She sat there, staring at the mess of her room,

"That was weird. All that spell did was make my room a mess." Suddenly, her back started burning, right between the shoulder blades,

"Shit!" she swore through clenched teeth, and fell to her forearms and knees,

"What the hell is going on!?" She started sweating profusely and it felt as though someone was massaging her back from the inside, pushing out. All of a sudden, something sprouted from her back, causing her t-shirt to rip off. It felt like they were tearing out of her, and a scream wretched itself from her throat.

To escape from the pain her body passed into a blissful dark.

~*~*~*~*~*

When she woke, the sun was glaring into her eyes, and her alarm was buzzing at her.

"Stupid piece of shit," she muttered, resisting the extreme urge through something very hard at it before she turned it off.

She wiped her sleep-filled gray eyes and looked around her room. The first thing she noticed was that almost everything had been knocked to the floor. Papers were strewn all over the place, books were overturned, and her window was open. She looked down where she remembered putting the pentagram and candles. The pentagram was gone, and the candles were wax lumps in their holders. While looking down, she was also reminded of the fact her shirt was torn off. The pain she had felt from the night before was now a dull ache. Afraid of what might be there, she reached a hand to the place between her shoulder blades.

Nothing. Just sun-warmed skin.

"Weird,"

Her wandering eyes glanced at her clock, 7:15.

"SHIT! I'm gonna be late!"

She threw on a blue halter-top and the first pair of shoes she could find. Running down to the first floor of her house, she grabbed her backpack and an apple from the fruit bowl. She locked up the house, got on her bike, and pedaled as fast as she could through the summer heat to her high school.

~*~*~*~*~*

A/N well, here's the first chapter. . . PLEASE leave a review, but keep in mind the story is already finished.