The Truth of Names

In the circles we both ran in, he used to brag that he was untouchable. Curses, hexes, sendings of any kind rolled off of him or melted upon touch. The bastard

My relationship with Gregory started genially enough. We came up in the same coven together, and though he claimed to be my friend he outpaced me at every step. Our work was always compared and mine came up short. He discovered his particular gift when I tried to cut him down to size one day. It was a simple enough spell--make him think he was a guinea pig. He felt this curse touch him and dissolve, but never knew who sent it. Somehow his True Name was protected

Opinions of me in the coven only started to rise again when Gregory left. He'd discovered big new magics and wanted to share them with the world. His coven grew, filled with celebrities and debutantes. We remained as we were, simple hearth-workers or green healers. I tried to turn my talents toward wardings and protection since curses and hexes seemed the only thing I had talent for. But my businesses failed and my clients left, unsatisfied. Meanwhile his star continued to rise.

In retrospect it shouldn't have been a surprise when Gregory publicly came out as Georgie. If you knew her, you'd know she never seemed to fit in the skin of a man comfortably. The role and gender hung on her like an ill-fitting suit. The kinds of people we knew all applauded. They were so happy for her. The Coven sent a letter of congratulations to her and she sent back personalized thank-you notes for everyone, including me.

Of course he still had to get a jab in. I heard about your latest venture, she wrote. I'm sorry to hear it went sour. If you want advice and capital to try again, I'll be happy to work with you.

The gall of that woman.

As I stewed over the insult, I stared at her letter. She signed her name of course. Georgie Stallings. She was uncurseable and she liked to flaunt it by using her government name, what should have been her true name. Her true name...

That gave me an idea.

The hex wasn't a simple one, but this was at least something I was good at. I wove the spell around this new name. Georgie Stallings. A hole cut out for a mouth, a beaker of distilled water. Break the circle and send.

The effects showed on YouTube within days. Famed transgender witch Georgie Stallings and her disastrous lecture on divination for wealth. The quality on phone cameras is really quite good these days. I could see every delicious detail when she opened her mouth mid-sentence and a fountain of water spilled out.

Gushing, flowing, clear water from her mouth every time she tried to speak. The hag left a wet trail as she rushed off stage. I leaned back in my chair and soaked in the sight of it. Beautiful.