Auntie M was hungry. Really hungry. And to be honest I wasn't surprised going by the state she was in last night. I was however surprised that she didn't have a hangover.

'Hangover Tea, family recipe. You'll get that when you're legal drinking age.' She informed me with a grin.

Auntie M had driven us in to town to what was now our favourite and regular breakfast place, the American Diner that did all the big breakfasts. They offered a full English breakfast on the menu but really everybody came here to have desert as breakfast. I had my usual and favourite stack of blueberry pancakes absolutely drowned in maple syrup and slathered in butter. Auntie M had the same as I did but also had a breakfast wrap with cheese to start with and a side of hash browns.

'Are you feeling okay Auntie M?' I asked her. 'I mean are you gonna eat all that?'

She just chuckled in reply as she chewed away at one of her hash browns.

'Oh come on now this is nothing. Don't tell me you've not had the hunger?'

The hunger. Yes I think I have had it. The overwhelming urge just to eat anything and everything in sight and still carry on with snacks and God knows what else.

'We need the energy to be honest.' Auntie M gulped at her coffee. 'Using magic can really take a toll on your body if you don't keep it fed properly, so the amount of food you end up eating is usually proportionate to your power.'

Wow another thing I had just learned. That explained why Auntie M ordered large everything and could quite easily make her way through several courses, without having to stop for a breather or loosen a notch on her belt. I guess that's why I could now actually get through a three course meal without skipping a starter or a desert.

'Heh, it's also the reason why your mother got fat.' Auntie M chuckled. 'She stopped using her powers pretty much altogether when your father died so she wasn't using her energy, still carried on eating though.'

'I always put that down to comfort eating.' I stated. I remember my mum was quite slim when I was little but after dad died my mum must have gone up at least four dress sizes.

'It was a bit I guess, but if you keep feeding the beast and don't give it any exercise well...'

I looked at my pancakes as I was just about to cut in to the top one. Auntie M shoved the plate closer to me.

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'You don't get excused from eating, you're a witch in training and you need to keep your strength up. Eat.'

I did as I was told. Auntie M ordered another two pots of coffee for us to wash down our food; every single last morsel was eaten, every last drop was drunk. I had to admit I was feeling full but I wasn't opposed to the idea of a snack. Auntie M had told me we were off out today for a bit.

'So where are we going? Shopping or are we going on a road trip?' I asked.

'Something like that. We're going to visit a friend of mine.'

'Where?'

'New Orleans.'

I shook my head in slight disbelief but soon remembered who I was with right now. Auntie M made it seem like we were just nipping up the road to call in at her friends for a cup of tea and a chat, but New Orleans? Really?

'Are we portalling there?' It was a dumb question but I had to ask. I just got a nod in reply.

We walked out of the diner after Auntie M had paid and made our way back to her car, climbing in to the front seats. She had parked it in a pretty secluded spot and after a quick look to see that there was no-one watching or any lurking CCTV cameras that could monitor us; Auntie M held her hand out for me to grab.

'Hold on.'

I did hold on; for dear life. That weird sensation fell over me again and so did the brief blip of complete and utter darkness; and the moment of being caught in a vacuum like state that made me hold my breath for a second. I had closed my eyes at this point, thinking that maybe; just maybe there was something out there in that darkness that I really didn't want to see. As I opened my eyes and gave them a second to adjust, I found myself stood right in the middle of a large room almost church like in decoration. I say church like as whilst there was a huge altar situated against the back wall of the room; none of the items adorning the altar were church like at all. There were a few pictures of what looked like saints or deities, several figurines both intricate and rudimentary, dozens of lit candles in varying sizes and colours, garlands and beads were strewn across the altar and the centrepiece of the whole thing... two human skulls.

My train of thought over these items was interrupted by the sound of shoes on hard stone flooring. I turned around to find my Auntie M gliding over to a tall black man, maybe in his forties wearing an expensive looking navy blue suit accented with a red paisley patterned cravat, a matching handkerchief in the breast pocket. His hair and beard were immaculately groomed and he had a killer smile, beaming at my Aunt as she walked over to him. They doubled kissed each others cheeks then brought each other in to a tight hug.

'Étienne! Sa fè twò lontan?'

'M ap viv.'

The man and my Aunt both let out a rather gutteral laugh before they turned to me.

'Étienne, let me introduce my niece Madelyn. Maddie, this is my good friend Étienne Guillaume.'

Étienne held his hand out to me and I took it. He clasped his other hand over mine and closed his eyes for a moment.

'It is an absolute pleasure to meet you Madelyn.' Étienne said in English with a very noticeable accent. He had a nice, smooth voice and his hands were warm on mine.

'My dear, your gift is progressing quite nicely. And you're having your initiation tomorrow night too, that is excellent. Come, lets go to the parlour we can talk there in comfort.'