A late-night visitor rattled against our old oak door. Dad’s muffled voice boomed through my walls, waking me from my nightly slumber. I tiptoed out of bed and went to Jake’s door, opening it. Jake and I shared the second floor of a little cabin just on the edge of the mountains in Littleton, New Hampshire. 

Jake’s head popped up. “What’s going on?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. Someone’s at the door.” 

I squatted down and crawled over to the banister, pushing my face through the railing. Moments later, Jake joined me, and our gazes met. A man was standing in the doorway with Dad. His body glowed a slight gray hue, radiating dark intentions. With my body shivering, my witch instincts tingled down the back of my head, alerting me that our uninvited guest wasn’t human. 

“Bill! The war is here. They’re out there looking for you. They know you live in a log cabin. They know you have a daughter. They know everything.”

“No!” My father’s voice boomed through the house. The walls vibrated, and the house flexed inward towards him. His body ignited a vibrant glow of pearl, shards of electricity flowing through his limbs. Dad lifted the man with one arm and trudged to the door, hurling him out. The door slammed, and the house crackled, shifting slightly before settling back down to the ground. Dad’s head shot up, and he glared at us with glowing red eyes. “Go to bed!”

I scrambled to my room and jumped into bed. Restlessly, I tossed and turned as the late-night visitor’s words haunted me. Who do we have to worry about? Why did Dad throw him out of the house? I cocooned myself with covers and closed my eyes.

The next day, I woke up to the sun blazing through my curtains. I shot up in bed and ran over to the window. “Dad’s gone.” I dressed and knocked on Jake’s door. “Jake, get up. We’re late for school.” As I walked down the stairs, the house seemed quieter than usual. Sunshine peeked through the drawn curtains in the family room. I let the light in and looked out into the yard. It appeared to be an average day, but I knew it wasn’t. My instincts alerted me that something was off. The calm before the storm.

Our schoolwork began every day at the kitchen table. I opened my math book and grabbed a pencil and paper. Jake’s footsteps creaked along the hall above my head, and then the bathroom door slammed. I looked up to see him enter the kitchen a few minutes later. We nodded at each other, and I went back to my book. We didn’t speak to each other all morning, and then around three, we both jumped when the phone rattled on the wall. Our gazes met, and I stumbled over anxiously to pick it up.

“Hello.”

“I’m going to be late. Don’t go outside. I have something important I need to do. Don’t go outside!”

“Dad, what’s going on?”

“Adele! What did I just say? Stay inside! Don’t answer the door. I’ll be home soon.”

The dial tone hummed on the other end. I hung up the receiver and looked over at Jake. He stared at me, waiting for me to say something. 

“He said to stay inside.”

“Did he say why? Or what’s going on?”

“No.” I shook my head and sat back down at the table. I stared down at my book but couldn’t focus on the page. I propped my elbows up on the table to rub my face, and acid burned in my stomach as chunks rose into my throat. Swallowing, I exhaled a deep breath. Dad had never yelled at me like that before. I knew then that my instincts were right. Something terrible was going to happen, and it would change everything. I dropped my hands on the table. Glancing up, I saw Jake’s glowing golden chestnut eyes. I stared back at him and felt my lip quiver. Tears welled up, and I gently shook my head. His eyes softened, and he nodded slightly. He studied me for a long moment before he looked away.

The sunlight was slowly dimming through the kitchen window as we sat down to eat dinner without Dad. He was late. Very late. We finished eating, and Jake restlessly started pacing back and forth in the kitchen. I kept looking from Jake to the phone, expecting Dad to call any minute. The clock’s second hand clicked through the silent kitchen like a heavy drum. My parched lips ground together as I tried to swallow. 

I stood up and walked over to the sink to fill a glass of water. My mind raced with questions as I held my cup under the faucet. Where’s Dad? What’s happening? He should’ve come home by now. Before I realized what had happened, glass shattered on the floor, and water splashed my legs. A sudden wave of despair struck me like a bullet in the chest. I sensed the presence of someone with magical abilities standing just outside of our house. 

“Something’s wrong. I feel…I feel them. They’re here.” 

Jake sniffed the air, grabbed his bo staff, and handed me mine. A loud thump against the side of the house sounded in the family room. Jake looked over at me, and his facial features began transforming. A loud crackle echoed through the kitchen as his bones enlarged, doubling in size. A low growl ruptured from his throat, and his nose elongated into a snout. His shoulders and chest broadened as his legs took the shape of an ebony beast. His furry paw grabbed my arm, and we ran into the family room.