Emma and Morgan kneel on either side of the Sacred Circle and clasp hands. The morning sun filters in through the broken windows of the abandoned house, patterning ethereal shadows on the dusty floor. “Are you ready?” Emma asks breathlessly.

“You forgot to light the candle,” Harry says from the mildewed armchair in the corner, where he’s reading the Guinness Book of World Records.

Morgan snatches up the matches and goes through four before she gets one to catch flame, her hands are shaking so badly.

Candle lit, the two girls grip each other’s hands again and whisper the incantation: Sala maste sala nicht sala infinito veni

The candle blazes, fire arcing to the ceiling. Heat washes through the room. The girls shriek.

A face appears in the flame. “What mortal dares disturb my rest?”

“Are you…a spirit from the Great Beyond?” Emma chokes.

“What are you kids doing? You should be in school.” The fire pours back into the candle and winks out.

“They can’t all be winners,” Harry says without looking up.