The next day was Sunday - the dreaded day. Sage came to The Witch's Closet early in the morning to meet Phoenix and I. We were stuck on stocking duty and our mother seemed intent on keeping us busy, even though it was Halloween. The shop was still open until three in the afternoon, and we were supposed to help. I had tried to get out of it, saying we had extra homework we needed to get done, but she didn't buy it. Or if she did, she knew we had plenty of time to get it all done. Besides, in her mind, the most important things were All Hallow's Eve and the shop.

Sage helped me unload new glass bottles from boxes and situate them on the shelf. A basket of corks sat on the edge of the shelf in front of me, threatening to fall. I moved it back on the shelf before setting another bottle down beside it.

"We're never going to get back into that room, not after he caught us inside." Sage kept her voice so low I could barely hear her, and she stood right beside me.

I nodded, setting an empty box on the floor and hefting up a new one, cutting the tape open on the top. "I don't doubt it. He's not that dumb..." I chewed my bottom lip. I was seeing Sage worry away at her own too much, lately and now I was doing it. Great. "However, we do it, we need to destroy that crystal."

"And I've got an idea on how to do it."

I almost dropped the glass bottle I was holding as Phoenix walked up behind us. I tossed him a glare over my shoulder. "Care to share this brilliant idea?"

My little brother slid between us, setting a jar on the shelf in front of us. It was filled with a bluish-green liquid and sealed with wax. He set his hands on hips and smiled proud of his idea.

Sage and I looked at each other over his head. I rolled my eyes. "What is it?"

He grinned, "It's Greek fire. Well, kind of. The spell is essentially the same, at any rate." His shoulders lifted in a slight shrug, "We get back into the room and throw this at that crystal. It should destroy it."

I stared at my brother. Greek fire was notoriously unpredictable, hardly ever working the way you wanted it to. It got its name from the people who first invented and used it; the ancient Greeks. They used to for warfare, shooting off their ships and wreaking havoc wherever they went. No one knows how they made it, which is why it hardly ever worked. "Should destroy it?"

Phoenix groaned, "Well, I haven't exactly tested it!"

I shook my head, raising the jar to my eye level and sloshing the liquid around. "I thought you were organizing the back room."

"I did. I just also had the time to put this together."

Setting the jar back down, I sighed. "Well, this is great and all but it's useless if we can't get back into that room. There's no way he left it unguarded again. Not to mention we have to stay here until three and then go home for the party. "

He nodded, his hands falling to his sides. "All true, but there isn't going to be a party if we don't stop Brenner, right? I had some time to think - Sage and I can distract Brenner, or whatever he has guarding the room. That way you can sneak in and throw the bomb."

"Absolutely not!" My voice rose a level or two, making more than one customer turn to look at us. Just the thought of my best friend and little brother risking their lives like that was enough to make my heart pound. It was one thing for them to offer to help me in this ridiculous quest, but it was another thing entirely to take the brunt of the danger. No way, not happening, forget it.

Sage glanced at Phoenix before looking back at me. Her eyebrows pulled down slightly, lips pulling into a frown. "Willow...think about this. You're never getting into that room without a distraction-"

"And you aren't going to be it! We'll come up with a different plan." I went back to stocking the shelf, tossing the empty box onto the ground behind me. I wasn't letting them put themselves in that kind of danger. "I'll go to the bay right now and talk to Anthia or Kallais, maybe they can help." There was another way to stop Brenner, there had to be.

"But Willow-"

My mother came around the corner then, interrupting Sage. She was carrying an open cardboard box full of fresh herbs. They were delivered by Gran that morning. She eyed the boxes on the floor and the bottle shelf. "Oh good, you're almost done. I need these herbs packaged and wrapped. Can you girls do that, please?" She deposited the box on the floor, not waiting for an answer. When she straightened, she looked at Phoenix with a brow raised, "Aren't you supposed to be in the back room?"

He smiled, I could see his hand reaching behind him for the jar and snatching it off the shelf. "Already done! I was coming out to see if they needed any help."

My mother did not look convinced. She made a sound in the back of her throat before putting a hand on his shoulder, pushing him towards the backroom. "We'll see about that, did you label the things I asked you to?"

I would've laughed at my brother's "Ummm" that reached my ears but I didn't really feel like laughing right then. Instead, I bent down for the empty boxes and gathered them up. They needed to be taken apart and put in the backroom. As I walked away, Sage sighed behind me.

"Willow, we need to talk about this..."

I nodded, humming in response before I kept walking. Sure, I'd be happy to talk about other ways to get into Brenner's secret room. Ideas that did not involve my best friend and my brother dying in the process.

A few hours later and I had not managed to come up with another plan. Phoenix and Sage were right - there was no other option. We had to get back to the school and destroy that crystal. The shop closed right on time, which meant we had maybe an hour before everyone would wonder where we went. I hated lying to my mother, but I saw little option. Today, the story was that Sage left some things at her house she needed for All Hallow's. We would grab it and then head straight back to my place.

When we headed out of the door, my mom locking it behind her, she sighed heavily. "Now don't take to long, alright? Everyone will arrive by five, but you know some people always show up early to help. And be careful, the veil has thinned. I can feel it already." She looked around the fairly empty street, rubbing her hands up and down on her arms. "If you see any spirits already, just send them on their way."

The three of us exchanged glances, but I nodded with a small smile on my face. "Mom. Don't worry, we'll be fine." That might have been the worst lie I had ever told her.

She smiled stiffly at us, hugging us each before heading for the car parked behind the shop. "Just be careful!"

We waved until she disappeared behind the building, then turned and ran down the street. We would have to go the long way to get back to the school, to make my mom think we really were heading to Sage's house. As the center of town fell behind us, trick-or-treaters were already starting to stop at houses. It was all the little kids; you know, the ones who were still afraid of the dark and were in bed by seven. It was only after that, when the streetlights came on and all things spooky took flight that the real party in Salem started. The people in my town kind of got excited about the holiday.

It wasn't until the footbridge came into view that we paused. A single streetlamp sat on our side of the bridge, but nothing sat on the other side. The sun was already getting low in the sky; it would be completely set by five.

Sage gulped loudly beside me. "We should've brought a flashlight, it will be dark soon."

Phoenix snorted, already walking across the bridge. Did it creak more today or was that just me? "Right, let's just announce to Brenner and his goons we're coming."

I watched him walk onto the bridge for a moment before turning to look at Sage. She had her lip between her teeth again, looking like a deer caught in headlights. I took her hand in mine and squeezed. She looked at me, letting go of her lip and tried to smile. I squeezed her hand again before starting over the bridge, leading her behind me.

I swore it creaked louder and maybe even swayed under our weight. The river rushing be underneath didn't help either. It sounded like it was waiting for us to fall in and sweep us away to our doom. Why had I never found this bridge creepy before?

As we crossed the fields behind the school, the building was dark against the sky in front of us. No lights were on inside, only a few outdoor spotlights had already come on.

Phoenix led us around the lights and towards the darkest part of the building, hidden from the remaining light of the sun. The double doors by the gym didn't have an outside light, but they were also locked.

Phoenix swore under his breath. I didn't even know he knew a word like that. "Great. Will, you think you can get this open?"

Ignoring the language my brother felt he needed to use, I stepped forward and looked at the door. It was a normal keyhole lock, but I didn't know if anything else kept the doors locked from the inside. I guess there wasn't anything left to do but try. Lying both my hands on either side of the door handles, I took a deep breath. Letting the magic in my veins flow down my arms and into my fingers, I tried to picture the inside of the lock. I had never seen the inside of a door handle before, but I hoped the magic would know what to do.

At first, nothing happened. I felt my magic warming my fingers; I knew it was working. But the lock didn't budge. Gritting my teeth, I pushed harder against the door, pleading for the lock to flip. Still nothing. Groaning, I pushed off the door and stepped back. "Sorry guys, I guess--." A click rang out in the quiet. The door swung open.

Revealing a dark gym that was crawling with millions of bats.