"Is this right?" Zoe asked as she drew the last sigil of the intricate chalk circle she was sketching on the floor.
Athena, who sat in the middle of the circle, holding one of her spellbooks, glanced over and gave a nod. The two were in the Devries basement, which was currently only lit by the seven flickering candles they'd lit as part of the ritual. That afternoon's search for the the stone had been a bust and they'd eventually had to leave school. They'd even enlisted Sabrina, Zelda and Trevor for help, although they hadn't told their friends all they suspected was going on. It wasn't that they didn't trust them but more that they didn't really have any proof of what was going on beyond a blue colored branch and Athena's headaches. They'd hoped to get their friend Richie Wright to help too, but for some reason he'd taken the bus home instead of hanging out like they usually did.
Zoe passed the chalk back to Athena so the witch could draw the final sigil that would activate the circle; if Athena was right, this should protect their memories from the reality changing nature of the stone and then hopefully they could identify what changes were happening, and from their track back to whoever was making wishes. It wasn't the best plan, but it was as good as they could come up with at the moment. "We can sleep here tonight, but what do we do about tomorrow? We can't exactly take this with us?"
Athena grabbed the chalk and replied, "I'm working on something that can enhance our natural resistance, but I'll need more materials. This will have to work for now." She went to make the final sigil when another searing headache hit her, almost making her drop the chalk, a sure sign another wish had just happened, but she managed to close the protection zone and she could feel the magical guard wall flare to life. "Ugh, these headaches are getting worse. I feel like Biff and his cronies just trampled all over my head."
"Who's Biff?" Zoe asked, "like the guy from Back to the Future?"
A worried look flashed across Athena's face, "no, Biff Meadows. Quarterback of the football team and class A jerk?"
Zoe shrugged, "you know I don't pay attention to those neanderthal jocks. I only know who's on the soccer team because they're always trotting them out at all the mandatory pep rallies." The Gibson girl was a little surprised Athena knew who played on such a niche sport's team herself.
Athena grabbed Zoe's shoulders, "No, Zoe, you should know who Biff is. You hate the guy. He's Sarah McMillan's boyfriend and like the biggest bully at school after Farber."
Now it was Zoe's turn to look worried, "Athena, Sarah's been dating Rose Black-Winters for like years. The two are nearly as disgustingly lovey dovey as her sister and Vanderfield. Is this, is this the stone?"
"It has to be," Athena decided, thinking deeply, "but why did our memories diverge? My resistance is stronger, but I haven't been able to stop my memories from being overwritten so far..." She smacked her fist in her palm in realization, "they must have made a wish just as I was completing the circle, and the magic must have hit you before it closed!"
Zoe fiddled with her leather bracelet awkwardly, finding the thought that her memories had just been blatantly changed really unsettling. "Okay, but what does that tell us? Did Rose make the wish, or Sarah?"
Athena shook her head, "I don't know. Still, it shows us the magic isn't perfectly instantaneous; it has to spread from somewhere, and based on where you're sitting the wish was made southwest of us. Maybe we could figure out a way to triangulate, or no, that wouldn't work if they're moving around..." Athena trailed off a bit meekly, realizing she didn't have as much as she thought she did.
Zoe shook her head and grabbed Athena's hand, "No, this is incredible, Thena! This means your circle is definitely working, and plus, we have a lead! Maybe Rose wished to date Sarah, or someone who doesn't like this Biff guy wished him to like Alaska or something. Either way it's something to go on, finally!"
