Alexandria cut her off abruptly. "You were going to practice witchcraft in front of everyone at the party?" she asked incredulously. "What were you thinking?"
"I was drunk," Kat said defensively, avoiding Alexandria's piecing glare.
"That's your excuse? You were drunk?"
"Lots of people were drunk. They probably won't remember a—"
Alexandria whipped up her hand. "Shut up."
Kat was about to object to the hand that materialized just inches from her face.
"Shush," Alexandria hissed, her eyes closing as she concentrated on the sound. "Do you hear that?" she whispered, opening her eyes, her gaze drifting towards the back door of the kitchen that opened out onto the back patio. Alexandria shot up out of her chair and ran out onto the patio overlooking the dark backyard and the gazebo tucked beneath a sprawling oak tree. The gazebo, a wreck of its former self, was propped up by vines, and the light cast from the silver moon filtered through the branches of the oak.
She ran in the dark all the way to the gazebo, the smooth stones in the path glistening in the moonlight lighting her way. When she reached the old structure, she climbed the rotting steps, which groaned painfully beneath each footfall. In the center of the gazebo, an old table pushed towards the back of the gazebo was overgrown by creeping vines. Amongst the vines something glittered, catching her eye. Hastily, she pushed the vines aside and discovered an antique locket. She picked up the chain and held it out at arm's length until the chain had completely unraveled. On the front of the locket was a pentagram, and to her surprise it was not a locket, but a pocket watch, which she recognized immediately.
Breathless, Kat arrived by her side just moments later. "I still can't hear anything. Are you sure you're not just imagining it?"
"I'm not imagining anything. It was a girl. A witch, I think. She's in danger. I could hear her, but…" Alexandria paused.
"But what?" Kat asked, slowly catching her breath. She looked at the pocket watch dangling on the chain. "Where did that come from? Whose is it?"
Alexandria shook her head, ignoring Kat's questions. "I can't hear her anymore." The pocket watch in her hand began to emit a whirring sound, and Alexandria opened the lid to see the hands of the watch whizzing around in an anticlockwise direction. "It's a pocket watch. I found it on the table just now. It was my father's. My mother gave it to him the Christmas before they died."
"So what's it doing here now? Someone must have left it here just recently. It couldn't have just been sitting here undiscovered for all these years. Raymond would have found it and flogged it off in some pawn shop the first chance he got. Thieving mongrel."
"I don't know," Alexandria murmured, lost in thought, then all of a sudden, she grasped Kat's hand in her own and squeezed. The gazebo creaked like old bones beneath their feet, then slowly it began to turn, gathering speed powered by the clasped hands of the two witches.
"Quick. Jump," Alexandria shouted over the whirling, creaking sound of the spinning gazebo, pulling Kat after her. They stood in silence at the foot of the gazebo as it continued to pick up speed, then abruptly fell deathly silent, transforming into a glowing, spinning orb.
"Jesus," Kat said, holding tightly onto Alexandria's hand, the breeze off the orb tousling their hair. "It's beautiful, but what the hell is it?"
"It's some kind of portal," Alexandria said, looking at the pocket watch still whirling in her hand. "This must be some kind of key or a power source of some kind. With our combined powers, I think we can control it."
"Awesome," Kat whispered. "Where does the portal go, exactly? Paris? I've always wanted to go to Paris. Do you think—"
"Or to whom," Alexandria said, looking at Kat and taking a step towards the orb. "I'm going in. I think I'm meant to save the girl. I think that's why I could hear her. It's like she is reaching out to me."
Kat tugged Alexandria back by the hand. "Are you serious? You can't just go charging in there like a bull at a gate. God only knows where you'll end up ... or if you can get back. I've read about these things," Kat said, motioning to the orb with her free hand. "You can't just hop on board and go whizzing around in God only knows what, to end up God only knows where. It isn't a freaking carousel with a bunch of pretty horses that you can get off whenever you feel like it. We should wait for Aunt Mindy. Or Nina, the vamp, witch ... whatever she is." Kat was silent for a moment, deep in thought. "Unless of course you really think we could go to Paris. Just imagine the shoes and—"