Ten, eleven, twelve… and thirteen!

Finally! I had gathered all thirteen parts for the spell.

Ever since my grandmother had stepped down as the high priestess last month, the responsibility had fallen on me—the next witch in line. She had been preparing me, of course, but it didn't make it any easier. And it didn't help that things went wrong most of the time for me. I had to get this right on the night of October 5th. For the past thirteen nights, I’d been busy collecting one material each day, just as I had seen Grandmother do all the times before.

Every evening, I couldn’t resist counting them over and over, terrified I’d overlooked something. But tonight it was final. All the thirteen objects lay before me.

If I failed, it wouldn’t just be me paying the price. The balance of the season depended on this spell. October 5th was no ordinary date—it was the one night when the veil thinned just enough for witches to cast the spell of Harmony to steady the world before the chaos of Halloween arrived.

And I couldn't let my grandmother down, for this was my first official spell as the high priestess.

I just had to hope I didn’t jinx it.