Ellis white-knuckled the wheel as they approached an old truss bridge. The original metal was covered in spray paint and rust. Sam couldn’t make out what the graffiti read but he didn’t care, it was still art in its own way. The bridge cut through a coursing river, the sort that had white rapids rushing around jagged rocks. It was a pretty view but familiar. Drawing in a sharp breath, Sam tried to place the bridge in his mind but all he came back to was the vague memory of flowers laced between railing. In the rear-view mirror, Sam noticed Fletcher's focus shifted to outside the car. His eyes stayed fixated on the edge of the bridge until they drove out of sight. The only thing breaking the tension was Roman snoring.

An impromptu visit wasn’t Sam’s idea of a good time and yet Ellis and a near death experience managed to convince him otherwise. The clock slowly rolled on, marking the third hour of their journey. Ellis drove and God, Sam hated his driving. Ellis drove more with his emotions than logic; If he was angry, his driving was erratic. At the moment, it was tame but Sam wasn’t about to push him. Fletcher sprawled across the backseat and over Roman. He was talking to himself. Technically a ghost, but it didn’t change how it looked.

“This is a bad idea.” Sam announced for probably the thirtieth time since leaving Emmerson.

“Anything is better than bumbling around in the dark.” Ellis countered in the same tone of a condescending babysitter. “You really should get over it.”

“Get over my feelings being ignored while you relentlessly hounded me for an entire week until I agreed to take you to a place you have no business being?” Sam said with little energy in his voice.

“He’s your brother, it’s not that bad.”

“He’s nearly thirty and I’ve only seen him during the summer and holidays since I was five. I hardly know him”

“Are you forgetting the part where we all almost died?” Fletcher chimed in. “Meaning Helga’s potion didn’t work.”

“No- is Roman sleeping?” Sam turned around in his seat and swatted Roman’s knee to no avail. “You know he could fall asleep anywhere.”

Roman’s head was tilted back, his mouth hanging open. He was sprawled out across the backseat invading Fletcher’s personal space. Sam thought he looked peaceful while Fletcher causally tried to push him back over to his side. Ellis looked at Roman briefly in the rear-view mirror then to the empty road behind them.

“Is his seatbelt on?” Ellis asked no one in particular.

“Nope.” Fletcher answered. “Do you want me to wa-”

Ellis slammed on the breaks causing Roman to jolt forward; his face slammed directly into the back of the driver seat. Sam pulled back on his seatbelt and adjusted it so it wasn’t locking him to the seat so tightly.

“The fuck was that for?” Roman spoke almost a mile a minute.

“If you wore your seatbelt that wouldn’t have happened.” Ellis smirked although Sam was fairly certain Roman couldn’t tell.

“You’re a prick. How far are we now?” He said as he buckled himself up.

“About an hour. You missed Sam trying to convince us to turn around for the past two and a half hours.”

“Why?”

“Sam hates the concept of family.”

It was a baseless accusation. He didn’t hate family or anything like that; It was the complexity of family that bothered him. There was an overbearingness that seemed to only affect him. Probably, because he was the youngest but the judgement that weighed on him was beyond exhausting. Every decision he couldn’t make for himself because no one believed he was capable of knowing what was best for himself. If given the chance, he’d have left Emmerson and his brothers behind him. Sam couldn’t help but feel the irony in having absentee parents and overbearing siblings.

“It’s complicated.” Sam rolled his eyes as he spoke. “I don’t enjoy people questioning everything I’ve ever done.” He assumed out of anyone Roman would have understood that.

“It’s your family. They’re entitled to question your life choices.” Of course, Ellis would be the one to say people are entitled to have opinions on his life. “It’s not like you make the best choices.”

Sam considered replying or saying something that would cut Ellis deeply which considering how sensitive he was, wouldn’t have been difficult but it wasn't worth his time. Ellis couldn’t be bothered to see his perspective because all he had ever known was people’s judgment and expectations. It was as natural as breathing for him but for Sam it was like being poked with a needle.

“Only one more hour.” Sam said in a mocking sing-song voice.

The remainder of the drive was mostly Fletcher’s back and forth with his ghost stalker and Roman trying to sleep while Ellis kept him awake. Finally, the drive ended with the boys arriving at the red brick building that looked like it was formerly a manufacturing factory of some sort. An old shamrock tobacco logo was still painted on the side although very aged. Stretching his legs, Sam got out of the car. His back arched and his head spun a little as he tried to shake off the stiffness.

Sam couldn’t think of anything he wanted to do less than confirm Alden’s superstitious beliefs. His heart sank to his stomach as he slowly dragged his feet towards the entrance. The lobby left much to be desired with its paint chipped walls and cracked tile floor. Clearly, they hadn't hired a cleaner in some time. It looked how Sam imagined Holloway Academy would have been if the school didn’t care so deeply for preserving history. Thumbing the call button, Sam summoned the elevator.

“We can still turn back.” Sam mentioned quietly.

“Too late now.” Ellis said as the elevator arrived.

The elevator had no door, only a scissor gate that screeched when Sam slid it to the side. Piling into the cramped space, they rode the elevator to the sixth floor. With each hiss, groan and rattle Sam grew more anxious. Roman didn’t seem to notice the rickety ride at all, instead doing a small dance to the monotone elevator music.

Walking down a long corridor that seemingly went on forever, Sam focused on breathing. Patience was a virtue Sam reminded himself as he prepared himself for an onslaught of overly personal questions and judgement. When he reached the large sliding door, he pounded on it until there was a vague reply from the other side. Sam grabbed the handle and slid the door open revealing Alden’s loft.

Unlike the rest of the building, the loft was well kept and clean albeit filled with books. The brick walls were strategically covered with articles and drawings which Sam chalked up to being another piece of Alden’s thesis paper he was constantly working on. Even the large single pane windows had snips of writing with what Sam hoped was a washable marker. The space itself was fairly minimalistic compared to the last time Sam visited with only a couch, a bed and a few bar stools for furniture.

Alden sat at the kitchen island typing away on his laptop, barely acknowledging Sam. Unlike most siblings he knew, Sam and Alden didn’t look alike. Alden was tanner with hair the color of mud and eyes to match. The small similarities between them were too much for Sam. Even a visual association with him was too much.

“It’s cold.” Roman said as he pulled at his jacket sleeves.

“Always is.” Alden replied, still typing manically. “Surprised ya’ll decided to come. Sam isn’t one for visiting.”

“Me too.” Sam mumbled as he grabbed two knitted sweaters from the dirty laundry and began pressing them into the bottom of the window. “You know, you could insulate these.”

“I like the cold. Helps me think.” Alden closed his laptop. “Wanna order food?”

“Can we get Chinese?” Roman blurted out as he nestled himself into the couch.

“Yeah, just give me a minute.” Alden swiped his phone off the kitchen counter and stepped out of the loft.

With Alden out of the room, the boys almost instantly jumped to digging through the papers, books and anything else he had left in plain view. Roman flicked through a stack of papers before picking up a large deck of purple and gold tarot cards. Taking the top off he stared down at it before flipped it around to show the other boys. Squinting, Sam inspected the card and recognized it as the hanged man although he had no idea what it signified.

“Looks like you.” Ellis muttered as he opened a book.

“Does not.” Roman replied, looking at the card again. It looked a bit like Roman, same hair and eye color.

Creaaaaak! The door whimpered as Alden swung back into the loft. They simultaneously tried to look natural, all failing except for Roman who couldn’t be bothered to stop snooping. If Alden cared about the invasion of privacy, he didn’t show it. He simply patted Roman’s head, almost like he was a child and drifted around the room grabbing any item that was moved and shuffled them back to their rightful place.

“One of you guys want to pick up the order?” Alden phrased it as a question but it was more of demand.

“I’ll go.” Sam snatched Ellis’s keys off the table.

“Not happening.” Ellis held his hand out expectantly. “Fletcher, Roman? Do you want to join me?”

“Yep!” Roman said, rushing over while Fletcher waved off the offer.

Defeated, Sam dropped the keys into Ellis’s hand before joining Fletcher on the couch. Crossing his arms, he sank into the coach until Roman and Ellis headed out. Fletcher hunched over his phone in some sort of coping mechanism to avoid eye contact.

“You call mom lately?” Alden asked.

“Every Tuesday, like she asked me too.” Sam nodded tightly as he tried to bite back a comment.

“Just checking. I know you’re forgetful. So why did you want to visit? You mentioned something about my research on the phone”

“Yeah...Ellis was curious about-” Sam started.

“You know Helga Merrick?” Fletcher interrupted but didn’t lift his head to speak.

“I do.” Alden said with an odd tone of diplomacy. “Why do you ask?”

“So, you know magic is real?” Fletcher and his honesty were once again his most infuriating trait. “We’ve got ourselves in a bit of a mess.”

Carefully, Alden watched Sam trying to gage his emotions but Sam kept tight-lipped and expressionless. Alden adjusted himself before launching up and grabbing a thick weathered book called ‘The Abridged Vade Mecum of Magic’. I’d hate to see the unabridged version, Sam remarked silently.

“We’re being haunted by a ghost. Sort of trying to kill us for the most part.” Fletcher tucked his phone away and grabbed the book “We also have magic powers.”

“You’re witches?” Alden tilted his head. “How’d you figure that out?”

“Well, for starters I can see dead people. It only started a couple weeks ago. Ellis has gold tears and visions. Sam-”

“Sam has powers?” Alden cut him off but directed his attention to Sam who shrugged and rolled his eyes.

“Healing, I guess.” Sam flipped his hand around to show the white faded scar before getting up.

Awkwardly, Sam made his way around the kitchen, looking in each cabinet for anything that may contain caffeine. He settled on coffee. Pouring the grinds into a filter, he half listened as Fletcher explained any small observation of magic. Sam was just thankful he hadn’t mentioned Davis. Alden seemed fascinated with him, hanging off Fletcher’s every word. In a desperate attempt to ignore them, Sam focused on the sound of the water boiling but couldn’t help but tune in when the conversation shifted.

“So does Roman have magic?” Alden started flipping through his book.

“I guess his family, like forever ago.”

“Yeah, there were a few Davenports who were well known mediums, I think a few were experts in transfiguration.” Alden chewed on his words for a moment as he was building up to something audacious. “Do you think it’s possible that Roman’s mom cheated? Maybe his dad isn’t a Davenport?”

“Yeah, no. Roman is certainly his father’s son.” Sam replied, sipping his coffee. “Now, what can you tell me about what’s going on with us?”

“Loaded question but I can start with you and Fletcher. I’ll explain Ellis’s bit when he gets back.” They were taking an oddly long time. “Magic generally breaks down into 12 branches. Yours being druidic, Fletcher’s being mediumship. There are also bloodline witches which basically means they are a direct descendant of the first coven. That includes you, Ellis and Roman. The only real difference compared to a regular witch is your powers are stronger. Do you want to know something more specific?”

“What can I do?” Sam asked.

“Druidic is a nature-based magic, so talking to animals, healing, stuff like that-”

“You can do Helga’s bird thing!” Fletcher exclaimed. “What about me?”

“You can talk to the dead. That’s about it. Bloodline witches are cooler for mediumship because they can act as a vessel for ghosts. I should warn you though, ghosts who’ve met a particularly violent end tend to want you to die too.”

“Maybe that’s why you have a little ghost stalker.” Sam reasoned but realized Alden didn’t understand. “Fletcher has a dead eight-year-old follow him everywhere he goes. Usually hangs around the school.”

The fact struck Alden as odd. Reached over the back of the couch he pulled out an old tattered map of what vaguely resembled Emmerson. Pulling a pencil out from behind his ear, he scribbled down a mark around the school ground which was still labeled Holloway. Sliding his pencil across the map, he drew a nearly perfect circle.

“Ghosts have tethering points so they can’t travel anywhere they please. There is no way anyone you could see at the school should be visible here. You guys didn’t do a spell or anything like that?” Alden inquired but Sam shook his head.

As if on cue, Roman and Ellis barraged back in carrying Chinese food. Ellis was laughing hysterically, barely holding on to the bags while Roman was shouting behind him, his face a scarlet red. Ellis dumped the food on the counter and doubled over laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Roman hissed.

“You got propositioned by a sixty-five-year-old and you almost said yes.” Ellis wheezed

“I didn’t know what she meant!” Roman immediately started drowning his embarrassment in spring rolls and soy sauce. “How was I supposed to know that?”

“She asked you-”

“Don’t!” His voice cracked

“I want to know.” Fletcher whined as he grabbed a spring roll from Roman “Come on, it couldn’t be that bad.”

“She asked me if she could take me out back for a two for one special-”

“Yeah, don’t forget the part before that where she called you a handsome young man and patted you on the behind.”

“Am I not a handsome young man?”

“You’re a three on a good day.” Sam said. “Two if you dressed yourself.”

Roman let out an offended squeal before shoving another spring roll in his mouth. The boys continued their banter mostly directed at Roman who took it mostly in good fun. It was a nice relaxed meal save for Alden carefully watching how they all interacted, probably forming hypotheses about their dynamic. Sam wouldn’t have been surprised if he got a text message about Ellis and Roman’s codependency and his own distance from the group.

As Alden started to clean up the food, Ellis started jotting down notes from one of the many books. In a way Sam regretted not talking to Alden sooner. Things would have been cleaner that way but Sam suspected the other shoe would drop soon and there would be requests for magic or at the least evidence of it.

“So, you cry gold, Holloway?” Alden said as he tied a trash bag.

“Yep, visions too.”

“Congrats, you see the future. Makes you a visionary, prophet, clairvoyant or whatever the hell you want to be called. Your visions could be symbolic or literal, that’s probably the hardest part about being what you are.”

“Future is wet.” Roman summed up.

“I’m going to round up some books, send you home with them. Should help your transition period into magic be a little less scary. Oh! And I will set up the air mattress for you guys.”

There was no way in hell Sam was sharing any form of bed with the other boys.