by Holly Evans
No one was within sight. My muscles relaxed and the chaos that had filled my mind dispersed to be replaced by the calm knowledge that I was safe. Lowering my eyes, I gave a small nod of respect to the image of the moon goddess that was etched into the wall behind a pristine white marble altar. Elise almost caught me off guard as I found myself becoming lost in my own thoughts. Quin’s going missing was making me realise just how much I’d given up and lost over my relatively short life. I couldn’t lose him, I’d shatter.
Elise looked as though she was gliding in her floor-length white dress. It tumbled down over her slight form and fell off her shoulders to expose her flawless pale skin. Her long white hair cascaded down her back, almost reaching her hips; she couldn’t keep the large smile from her soft blue lips. Her make-up was ritualistic and striking, adding to her ageless appearance. She was born a few days before me and Quin, yet she seemed ancient and young all at once.
The powder-blue lips and pale silver eyeshadow were striking against the pitch-black eyeliner that highlighted her silver eyes. She couldn’t keep the delight from her face. I opened my arms and returned her grin. She might have been my only friend, and I was grateful for a familiar face.
She pulled me tight against her small frame. I felt as though I was going to crush her, but I knew that she was far stronger than she looked. The moon goddess required much from her ladies, and Elise had never failed her. She held me at arm’s length and looked at me, worry lines formed around her eyes and her mouth tightened.
“Oh, Evie.”
Her soft voice carried all of the meaning the two words lacked. I tried to give her a smile, to hold back the flood of emotion but it crashed against my defences. She cupped my cheek in her hand.
“When did you last see him?”
I didn’t know if she could read minds, or if she just knew me that well, but I’d never been able to hide anything from her.
I sighed heavily. “I’m not entirely sure. Two nights… He was just putting down a rogue lycan.”
Her face darkened at that; she had a tense relationship with the lycans. They were her goddess’ creation, but they had never truly knelt to her and accepted her guidance. They had clung onto foolish pride and turned from her, and that resulted in their partial banishment and lack of control. Only two lycans had even knelt before the goddess that I’d ever known. She led me through into her private quarters at the back of the church. [ describe]Our footsteps echoed around us on the dark tile.
She practically pulled me down onto the small heather grey sofa, her hand remaining fixed to my lower arm. “Tell me everything you know.”
Her voice remained quiet, soft, but there was the clear edge of a command there.
12.
I told her everything I knew. She smiled at my brief description of the alchemist; I felt the warm rush spread over my cheeks. She squeezed my hand before she stood slowly.
“Everything is fine in the city. There are neither angels nor demons wandering the streets, although I will see if my lady will shine some light on things.”
“Thank you, Elise.” My voice sounded small and strangled.
She nodded and whispered something to herself as she glided out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more. I knew better than to follow her. I had tried to once many years ago, when she was freshly anointed as a priestess. The fire in her eyes burnt through me; I had barely stepped foot over the threshold. Her voice had been icy as she sent me away. I caught a glimpse of what she’d become, and it scared me. She had come to me a little while after and explained in her quiet soothing tones that the room is sacred. I should have known better, but I was curious. She didn’t blame me, and somehow that was worse.
The room was small and comfortable. The grey sofa was large enough for two people to sit on comfortably, and the low table before us had a number of coasters with varying maps printed onto them. On the far side, a triptych of paintings from Prague’s famous landmarks sat on the off-white wall. They stood bare and exposed under the pale white light that hung beneath the brushed steel fixture. I had to smile when I caught sight of a romance novel on the narrow bookshelf that was tucked up in the far corner near the kitchenette.
Elise had confided in me that that was her only regret at becoming a priestess: She wouldn’t be able to choose her life-partner. The goddess would send one when they were both ready; she didn’t even know what gender they would be.
A crash came from outside. I leapt out of the chair and ran through the narrow passageway out to the back entrance. Elise was there before me, a pair of silver daggers in her hands and fire in her eyes. The dark wooden door shuddered before it burst open to reveal the creature I’d seen that morning near the castle. I drew my own blades and went to put myself in front of Elise, to protect her. Her mouth tightened and she gave me a dark look; the goddess had trained her in many arts.
The creature stood and stared at us, wide-eyed. Its dark hair clung to its forehead. After a tense minute, it collapsed down to its knees and began mumbling incoherently. Words spilled from its mouth, half formed and jumbled. Its partner had frozen to the spot. Broad shoulders heaved, muscles corded up its strong arms. After a moment it ran back where it had come from. I went to chase it down, but Elise held me firm, her small hand on my arm. Her eyes never left the one that was knelt before us.
I gave her a questioning look, but she ignored me and tucked away her daggers. Slowly, she approached it, her upper body low and her hands open before it. The creature continued to mutter and ramble, but the words became clearer, crisper. Elise knelt before it and looked into its bloodshot eyes. It snapped its attention to her. Its body went rigid. I prepared to defend Elise, but she simply smiled at it.
He heaved a great sigh before he started repeating, “The women, the women, the beautiful women. They, they, the women,” over and over.
Elise stroked its hair, whispering some form of soothing chant. The breeze picked up outside, rustling the branches on the trees that were eagerly awaiting spring proper. A chill crept into the air. The creature calmed and took a long breath between words.
It managed to choke out, “The women did this. They did this. To. Me. Broke.”
It gave a strangled cry and fell backwards, where it started convulsing. Elise stepped back, her eyes wide in horror. A cracking sound emerged from its chest; all at once its ribs bent outwards and it screamed, an ungodly sound that tore through me. A large, black fur-covered paw reached out from his chest as he gurgled his final breath. The paw fell limp onto his bloody abdomen. I swallowed hard and couldn’t tear my eyes from the body. What the fuck had just happened?[ Expand description of the beast as his part of the scene proceeds]
13.
Elise pulled the door closed and left us alone in the dim light with the corpse. She knelt at its side and gestured for me to do the same on the other side. Her hands sat quietly in her lap while she lowered her head and whispered quiet prayers in a language I understood nothing of.[ describe] I bowed my head in respect and waited patiently for her to finish. A soft sigh punctuated her prayers. I slowly raised my eyes, unsure what I was supposed to do. I was in a religious sanctuary with the mutilated body of what had once been a man. She gave me a half smile; her silver eyes shone with the essence of something more.
“Help me carry him out back, there is a small private space there. He will be buried with dignity; my lady has chosen that for him. He was your answer, Evie. Speak to Serena, she’s the strongest witch in this city.”
Words blurred on the tip of my tongue; what did she mean that he was my answer? That wasn’t Quin. Had he become one of those abominations after all? Her hand stretched across the blood-stained wreckage of the man’s chest and rested on mine.
Her eyes bored into mine. “My lady does not believe in giving people answers on a silver platter. The creature will be put to rest now, but do not forget him. Now, help me lift him.”
Her voice had a cutting edge to it that made the serene tone fuzzy an
d eerie. I complied without question. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was far more than the girl I’d grown up with. We each took an arm and a leg; it was awkward, but we shuffled down the wide hallway out into the small space out the back of her church. Stone walls encased it; they must have been some fifteen feet high. We carefully placed the man down just in front of the back wall. I wanted to run my fingers along the divots and feel the secrets the rock had held for centuries. I didn’t dare. Elise watched my every move with a porcelain mask of peace. I was beginning to feel as though I’d been thrown into something far bigger than my dear twin having vanished.
She ushered me back into the doorway before she turned her back to me and held her arms high, turning her face towards the sun. A bright light and a deep humming filled the air. I closed my eyes and calmed myself. I wasn’t supposed to be there. The knowledge that it wasn’t my place filled me and urged me to turn and run. I remained rooted; I would not leave my friend. I would not flee.
“Evie, it’s ok.”
I opened my eyes and found myself kneeling before the white altar. Elise’s hand sat between my shoulder blades; her hair fell against my cheek as she pulled me close to her.
“The creature is at rest. Go and speak to Serena. Find Quin.”
I hugged her tight and stood slowly. My legs were stiff and aching; it felt as though I’d been kneeling for hours. My ribs tightened, the familiar dull pain of the bruising covered them. We didn’t believe in goodbyes; I simply turned and left. The bright spring sun sat low in the sky and stung my eyes for a moment while they adjusted to being outside again. I’d been in the church for a few hours. A determination swept over me as I realised I’d been kneeling before that altar for most of that time. The air felt light and crisp; I hadn’t realised how heavy it had become in the church.
Serena was far from my favourite person in the city, but she hadn’t screwed around before. We had something of a grudging respect for each other. I mentally pulled up a map of the trams and metro around the city as I made my way down through the park. She was on the far side of the city. A glance up at the sky told me that I had a couple of hours before the sun set. I wasn’t going to have another night without my twin. Tourists laughed and enjoyed intimate conversations while they walked through the park, no doubt enjoying their holiday. I made my way between them as quickly as possible, my hands thrust into my jeans and my head down. I had places to be; I had no patience for their happiness. [ Her reaction to the happy tourists can be expanded to incrtease character development and likability]
People at least had the decency to give me space as I made my way across the city. My mind wandered to Quin[ Weave this in with the reaction to people rather than having it standalone]. He was all I had left in the world. Our parents had vanished when we were eighteen, at midnight the night after our birthday to be exact. There had been no warning, no one knew what had happened. Or if they knew, they didn’t tell us. We’d grown up as hunters, our parents had been hunters, so we threw ourselves into what we knew best. That didn’t take away the sense of betrayal, though. I wasn’t going to lose Quin, too.
I tried not to roll my eyes as I crossed the busy road to the small estate filled with McMansions. The houses were built in every conceivable style apart from the local one.[ expand] A red-bricked monstrosity with faux marble pillars stood at the entrance to the estate. It looked flimsy and tacky, as though the pillars were made of papier-mâché. I made my way past an attempt at an elegant Mediterranean-style villa and finally came to the most reserved of the lot. Serena’s house.
Black wrought-iron gates stood before me, the metal twisted to form a pair of grand oaks. Strong trunks stood proudly at the centre of each gate, broad flat metal with bark texture pressed into them. Thick boughs spread outwards, gradually splitting and narrowing into slimmer branches before they exploded into the distinctive oak leaves. They seemed very fitting to Serena. Classy, strong, and imposing without any effort. I pressed the small buzzer and pushed aside the anger and frustration to at least try and sound polite. A long minute passed before I pressed the buzzer again.
A faint crackle came from the button pad and Serena’s voice came through. “Evelyn, is that you?”
14.
Serena’s voice held a faint Spanish accent despite her having lived in Prague for a couple of decades. Her polite demeanour couldn’t hide a slight waver; she was scared, and it wasn’t because of me. The tall iron gates slowly opened inwards, allowing me to make my way down the short white gravel driveway. Her house rose up between mature trees that clustered around the perimeter and hid it a little from the neighbours on either side. Large windows filled the bottom floor, with neat straight lines of pale grey stretching up over three stories. The house was minimalist and modern, topped with a grey slate roof as opposed to the more traditional red tile the city so adored.
The glossy black door opened as I stepped onto the veranda. Serena looked me up and down in my practical high-street fashion; her lips pursed a little. I smiled sweetly as I couldn’t help but wonder how many thousands of crowns her designer outfit had cost her. The figure-hugging skirt stopped just above her knees, and I wasn’t sure how she managed to walk in the pointed stilettos. Her eyes kept flitting around the manicured front gardens, where not even a blade of grass was out of place. The door practically slammed behind me the moment I stepped into the expansive foyer with dark wood floors and heather-grey walls.
“You’ll join me for tea, I assume,” she said tersely.
“Tap water, thank you.”
I didn’t care how rude it may have seemed; I wasn’t taking anything, least of all the risk of her tea being poisoned. She shook her head a little, but turned and walked into the kitchen. The blood-red hair slide used to pin her hair up in some elegant do was inscribed with runes; the small bump at her lower back gave away what appeared to be a small dagger. I ran my fingers over my own weapons. She’d never shown any concern for her safety before.
She waved at one of the wooden stools around the large blond-wood table in the middle of the airy kitchen. I glanced around the powder-blue cabinets and looked out the window looking out over the expanse of grounds at the back of the house. There weren’t any weapons close at hand, not even an expensive knife block.
“What’s going on, Serena?”
She threw some leaves into a strainer that sat on the edge of a porcelain cup.
After a long moment she turned to face me and said, “I don’t know what you mean. What brings you here, Evelyn?”
I ground my teeth together and glanced out the window once more. Faint hints of pink were starting to form around the edges of the clouds. Nightfall was coming. I answered as calmly as I could muster; I hated these games.
“Quin has gone missing.”
She paled a little and pushed a large glass of tap water over to me before she sat opposite me while her water boiled.
“I’m sorry to hear that, but that doesn’t explain why you’re here.”
I leaned closer to her. “An abomination showed up earlier.”
Her mouth fell open for a brief second before she busied herself making sure her hair was as it should be.
“An abomination? What are you talking about?”
“Serena, cut the shit.”
Her eyes hardened before she growled, “I had nothing to do with that or Quin.”
“The abomination kept talking about a group of women; you’re the strongest witch in this damn city.”
She pushed the stool back and poured the hot water over her tea. Her free hand clenched. She practically threw the kettle down once she was done with it. She slowly turned to face me and leaned back against the kitchen counter.
Her eyes remained fixed on her steaming cup of tea. “I no longer hold that title.”
It took me a second to process what she had said. She clutched at her cup of tea as though it was going to save her from some unseen darkness. Serena was the strongest witch that I’d ever met; my father had mad
e a point of making sure that we remained on good terms with her. Quin and I had spent a few hours a week with her while we were growing up. She’d told us about witches and given us both etiquette lessons. As witches went, she wasn’t a bad woman. [ Describe body language]
A tear tumbled down her cheek; she wiped it away and muttered about ruining her make-up. She took a deep breath and looked at me expectantly.
I bit the bullet. “What do you mean you no longer hold that title?”
She lifted her chin and pushed herself off the counter top. “Another has taken my place; my coven has fled in fear, leaving me here awaiting my fate.”
I frowned. Serena was a very old witch; she had full blessing of the hag and a strong coven around her. She swallowed down more tears, her voice shaky as she stretched a hand across the table to me.
“Help me, Evelyn. I can’t leave this house.”
I wasn’t convinced by her fragile act, but I couldn’t deny what I’d seen. Something was scaring her. I sat up straighter, ignoring her hand.
“In return, you tell me about the new witch and the abominations. I need to find Quin.”
Her eyes brightened, and she smiled. “Of course, I’ll tell you everything you need.”
I took a sip of the water as I wondered what I’d got myself into. The kitchen was getting darker; whatever it was would get me one step closer to Quin. It had to be done.
She settled down onto the stool opposite me and said, with far more calm and confidence than she had a few seconds prior, “I need to make a protective amulet so that they can’t harm me. I require the middle finger from a powerful witch. There is only one in this country; fortunately for you she’s in a mausoleum in the Olšany Cemetery.”