It might.
Judging from their faces, it doesn’t.
“There are really witches out there, other witches?” Talia’s voice is so quiet, I barely hear her.
I nod sadly. These poor people. To know that Zeta – one of their own – is against them has been hard enough. Knowing the vampires, shifters and fairies had banded together with her wasn’t such a shock. But to know there are witches out there, choosing to hunt and kill other witches, to have known the demons were coming here to hurt the girls.
It’s sickening.
10
Vann stands up. “We don’t have time for this: time to worry or fret or feel betrayal. I can get us out of here.”
“Fairy magic?” Ember closes her eyes with relief. Their magic, as witches, is so all-encompassing and makes so many things easy, they forget that the other species have a magic of their own. Vampires can turn into bats and live forever; shifters can turn into animals at will – some of them into any animal they choose and even humans – and fairies? They are usually very secretive about their magic.
Vann asks them all to step closer and to link hands. It’s not easy to get Talia on her feet but they manage. He is extremely quiet and none of them hear what he says, but all of a sudden the room is spinning, they are all spinning, they are no longer linked, just falling through the air, swirling around and around.
They land with a thud and they are no longer in their home. A shiver passes through them. Although they had chosen to accept Vann’s help; his fairy magic has blasted through all of their magical protections.
“How did you-”
He holds a hand up, stopping Ember from talking. “We don’t share or explain our magic, you know that. Suffice to say you’re safe now.”
“Where are we?”
They are in a room, an empty room, with no windows or doors, no colour or furniture. A square box.
“We aren’t anywhere. Until we decide where we need to go.”
“It’s like a virtual panic room,” Ellis says, running her hands along the wall.
“It is a virtual panic room.” Vann looks pleased. “That’s exactly what it is. Look, we don’t have an awful lot of magic as a species. I can’t magic up a weapon or shoot fire out of my hands. But at any time, if we need to, by saying certain words in a certain order – something we could never say by accident – we can leave a dangerous situation, immediately, and then decide what to do next. Sometimes there’s no time to think, you just need to vanish, but you’re so busy wondering where to go or what to do next or what might happen, you freeze. This solves the problem.”
The witches are all impressed. None of them have ever heard of this before; none of them have ever been in a dangerous situation with a fairy.
“You are privileged to know this.”
They are all silent; giving solemnity to the moment, trying not to smile.
“So where do we go and what do we do?”
“I have an idea,” Fletcher says, and they all turn to hear it. “At the moment they are outside our house. They probably think we’re still there. While they are distracted why don’t we go to Zeta. It’s late, she thinks we think she’s dead, so she definitely won’t be expecting it.”
“I like it. It gives us back an edge.”
“Did we ever have an edge?” Ember asks, sarcasm dripping.
Elodie ignores her. “She might be fairly unprotected too.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Someone needs to go somewhere safe with Talia, she’s still weak from the demon attack.”
“And do we really want to risk Ellis?”
“I’ll look after Ellis.”
“Fletcher, you can’t always keep Ellis safe.”
“We need her to show us where Zeta is.”
“Yes, and then someone can fly her back to the safe house.”
Ellis touches Fletcher’s arm. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
Jane clears her throat. “I’d like to stay with Sally. That’s twice we’ve almost lost her, and I think she needs rest too. And Thea. David will come with you; I’ll stay with the girls.”
Ember nods at Thea who is trying to protest. “Thea, you can’t come. I know you’re better off than Talia, but you’re still beat up.”
“We’ll call the other witches, just in case, for back up.”
“We might not need it,” Fletcher says. “We have us four and Vann. If it’s Zeta on her own...”
“And if it’s not? I’ll call them. There’s no harm in having them ready. Look how quickly Ember brought reinforcements to the portal.”
“Is the safe house safe enough?” Thea asks, remembering the demon attack.
“Safer than our house. There are so many protections on the place, layers and layers.”
“We got out,” Fletcher reminds his mother, making her scowl.
“But nobody can get in. Unless you invite them in for a cup of coffee. It’s fine, honestly.”
Decision made and with Vann’s help Jane takes the three girls to the safe house and leaves them inside with Max, then comes back. Once Ellis leads them to Zeta, Jane will fly her back to the safe house, leaving the others to face up to Zeta.
“Can’t I learn to fly by myself?” Ellis asks Fletcher, keeping her voice down.
He shakes his head, no. “It would take too long.”
Ellis nods and tucks herself into his arms, still her favourite place to be.
“Ready?” Vann asks and they give him the nod.
“Ellis, only you know this. You did it earlier when you took the girls to the portal. Take us to Zeta. Wherever she may be.”
Ellis closes her eyes and concentrates on Zeta, while Vann undoes the magic binding them to this virtual space.
They swirl and whirl and then they are outside a house.
“I don’t recognise this place.” Elodie keeps her voice low. “Ember?”
She shakes her head, no. They turn to Ellis, a question on their faces, but Fletcher holds his hand up. “I’ve been here before. With dad.”
“Are you sure? We don’t want to go bursting into the wrong house.”
Fletcher is sure and then his mother’s magic confirms it. Zeta is in the house. Alone.
“Say goodbye to Ellis.”
The witches stand guard while Fletcher puts his arms around Ellis, holding her tight and kissing her softly. “Stay safe.”
She nods and keeps her eyes on him as Jane efficiently and quickly wraps her arms around her and flies them both away.
Elodie smiles at Fletcher. “She’ll be fine. Jane will look after her, and I promise there’s nowhere safer.”
He tries to smile, but it’s hard. He doesn’t like being separated from her.
“I’ll go around the back,” Ember whispers. “You two go to the front door. Vann, David, stand guard.”
They nod and separate.
Fletcher walks up the steps to the front door, his mother just behind him. “We have to end this. We need to bind her straight away, too. She’s tricky.”
Elodie smiles. That’s one way to describe her.
Fletcher tries the handle and the door opens, he heads in and tries to get his bearings. Having been inside such a long time ago is no help. They are in a hallway with the stairs straight ahead of them and a door to the left.
Elodie nods at him and he opens the door, his mother behind him, both ready to combine their magic to bind Zeta, to overpower her.
There’s a problem. There isn’t just one Zeta in the living room. There are eleven of them. All smiling and all waving.
Mother and son pause, confusion slowing them down; they cannot bind them all at the same time and they cannot risk binding the wrong ones and leaving the real one available to spell them.
“Zeta. Enough!”
One of the Zeta picks up a flowery teapot. “Cuppa?” she asks, pouring the steaming hot drink into a dinky teacup. Fletcher spells her, causing her to freeze.
Another Zeta, this one fanning her face with an elaborat
ely lacy fan, frowns and shakes her head. “Tut, tut, Fletcher. That wasn’t very nice.”
Elodie puts her hands up, placatory. “Zeta, we don’t know which one is you, but please, can we talk? Just talk?”
Another Zeta answers. She’s sitting next to tea pouring Zeta, polishing her glasses. “If you tell this boy of yours to stop his nonsense, maybe. The impetuousness of youth. I gather Efa told you all about me. She’s all vampire that one, none of the wisdom of witchcraft, unfortunately.”
“She did tell us about you. We were surprised. Why didn’t you ever tell us you had a daughter?”
A different Zeta answers, scowling at Elodie and Fletcher in turn. “As if you’d have cared. Banished to Mumbles! Nobody cared what happened to me, nobody understood my upset, or my loss, except John.”
“Hmm, John...”
The Zeta pacing in front of the fireplace answers this time. “What does, hmm John, mean? John is good to me.”
“Maybe. But it’s pretty unorthodox. The crone having a baby with a vampire, keeping the baby a secret and then using the baby to wage war on the all the species.”
All the Zetas are silent now. “So you know everything.”
“We know everything. But we don’t know why.”
“Why. Why is the sky blue, why is the grass green? You have no idea, Elodie, being married to Adam gave you rights and importance and power – none of which you deserved, none of which you worked for. Crones are meant to be revered.”
There is silence for a moment. “So this is all a tantrum. A big tantrum because you didn’t get your own way?”
“Maybe it started that way. Then John changed things. John was best friends with Adam, you know that. He asked Adam, begged him, for autonomy. That’s all the other species ever wanted.”
“I don’t get why it means so much to them. Witches don’t rule in a cruel way, or an oppressive way or-”
“Quiet boy! What do you know? You’re not even head witch, some stupid human girl is, instead. And rumour has it, you’ve fallen in love with her.” She cackles. Then they all cackle. It’s a terrible sound. Then one of them holds up a hand and they all fall silent. “Here’s what I want...”
Ellis
Flying with Sally’s mum is nothing like flying with Fletcher, obviously, but she does the job. I recognise the carpark we were kidnapped from with a shiver, but Jane quickly ushers me away and inside the row of shops, through the magically locked doors and into the safe house.
The twins and Sally are sitting watching TV and Max is reading a book. “All quiet?” Jane asks and he nods.
The girls don’t even answer. They are binge-watching something. I can’t even be bothered to see what it is. I plonk down on a chair far enough away from them that I don’t feel uncomfortable, but close enough that I can see the TV too.
I’m not really watching the programme though, my mind is wandering, my eyes closing, the slump of tiredness taking over me.
There is a bit of me – and it isn’t a tiny bit – that just wants to go home. I want to help line coffins with coloured silk, I want to put blusher on dead skin, make people look better than they obviously are. I want to put their special belongings in the coffin with them and say goodnight to them.
I want to watch my dad try to make jokes and fail, I want to see my mum always laugh, even when he isn’t funny – which is always. I want to roll my eyes to Isaac and watch him smother a laugh. I want to be with my family: uncomplicated, full of routine. We do the same things all the time. We snuggle up on Sundays to watch a film together, eating whatever snack we’ve made together – maybe cakes or flapjacks or just popcorn. We go for long walks every Saturday morning, weirdly to Margam Park, where I became a witch. We would look at the castle, the abbey ruins, Isaac would climb trees, and then when we were tired and muddy-shoed we’d go home, via the chip shop.
I miss them and I feel my eyes fill with tears.
I open my eyes, wipe the wet away and stare at the TV. Nobody noticed me crying, why would they? They care about me as much as I care about them. And Fletcher, who I do care about, isn’t here.
The question hits me then like a punch. Will he care about me once this is over? Once I’m a normal girl again – if that can even happen – will he like me? Want to spend time with me? He won’t need to protect me once we’re all safe again. Or dead. He won’t need to feel guilty, either, which I know he does. He feels like it’s his fault I’m in the middle of this war.
It isn’t his fault, of course, it’s Macaroon’s, but still, he feels bad. He feels responsible.
I feel sad. Waves of it are crashing over me, and I want to sink underneath them. I know this feeling; I’ve had it before. The blues, maybe not fully formed depression – I know how serious that is, how difficult it is to come out of, but I also know I’m on the brink, teetering near the edge of it. I know I was there before, after Molly died. I know how many times I’ve been to see my doctor, how many counselling sessions I’ve attended. I know it’s nothing I can help, and nothing to be ashamed of.
I know everything and nothing all at once.
I tuck my knees into my chest and pull a blanket over myself. I want to hide.
I close my eyes again and think happy thoughts. I list all the things I’m grateful for and refuse to worry about being a witch, or a human, missing Fletcher or worrying if he misses me.
Does he love me? Maybe, maybe not. There’s nothing I can do, especially not now, when he’s not even here.
I think of songs I love, films that make me laugh. My mind is rushing, trying to stay ahead of the sad thoughts, the horrible words, the mean questions. I need to be kind to myself more than ever now that I’m alone – away from my family and away from Fletcher – surrounded by strangers.
I watch the girls surreptitiously. Talia still looks frail, tearful. I’m glad I wasn’t attacked by the demons. I wonder if the attack left her with more than just physical marks; it must have. Her mind must be in turmoil, full of fear and upset.
The other two girls look better, but still not like they were before. Not sassy and sexy and full of their own importance. They look less than they did, like the lights have been dimmed. They all look dimmer than they did. The lustre has gone.
I wonder if I have a lustre now. I’ve noticed how gorgeous all witches are – how polished, how shiny. Even Elodie, who is maybe the plainest of them all – and by no means ugly or frumpy – has a sheen that normal women don’t.
Have I got a sheen now? Might be worth staying a witch if I have. I have never been polished or pretty, especially when next to Molly, I always looked... less.
I want to look in a mirror, but I also don’t. What if I don’t have a sheen? Or what if I do, and that’s the only reason Fletcher fancies me. What if I go back to normal after all this, if I can, and then he doesn’t like me anymore?
The words scramble in my brain and then I feel my eyes roll up in my head. A vision. I try to call the girls to get their attention, but only gurgles come out of my mouth. No words.
I relax and go with it.
I can see Ember standing in the dark, waiting for something or someone, I don’t know. She’s peering through a window, trying the handle on the door, she’s in a back garden. I wonder if this is an old memory or a vision. Right now, she’s inside the house talking to Zeta, with Elodie and Fletcher, as far as I know. Or is she? She turns and heads towards me, even though I’m not there, and then around the side of the house, back to the front. She heads up the steps, it’s definitely the house I left them at. It must be a vision – it must be a look at what’s happening right now. It must be – as her foot hits the top step, someone grabs her. I can’t see who it is, just a pair of arms. One hand covers her mouth, and she’s dragged away from the door, legs kicking.
I come out of my vision and take a gulp of air, like I’ve just swum out from under water. “Quick!” The word chokes out of me and everyone turns to me. Nobody moves, which is telling, but I let it go. “Ember. Someone gr
abbed her, from outside the house we were at.”
“Are you sure?” Jane asks and I nod. I have no idea why or when or what these visions or memories or sights will be, whatever you want to call them, but so far they’ve all been true.
“Mum?” The girls both have panic in their voices, and Sally has gone white. The same as me.
Jane turns to Max. “David and Vann are there. I don’t know why they haven’t helped her...unless something’s happened to them too.”
“Jane, stay here with the girls. Don’t panic. I’ll get back up and go.”
“I should come. David...”
“We’ll be fine, mum,” Sally says. “This place is safe. Both of you go. We won’t do anything stupid this time. We won’t leave. I promise.”
Jane and Max turn to me. I can see the struggle, the battle they are having with themselves and I usher them along. “I’m fine. We won’t go anywhere. We promise. Ember’s in trouble. Elodie and Fletcher don’t know, and I didn’t see David or Vann. I don’t know where they are. But they need you. Go.”
They barely hesitate, looking at me with regret; they have to keep me safe, but they have to help the others too. They eventually nod. “Girls, if you step foot outside of this place...”
We all shake our heads. Sally speaks up. “Mum, I promise. None of us are that stupid.”
And it’s true. We are all subdued, for different reasons. The three of them more than me.
11
Elodie and Fletcher take a breath, ready to hear Zeta’s demands. After everything she has done, all the trouble she has started, what can she possibly want, even think she has a right to demand?
They still can’t figure out who is the original Zeta, though, and so they listen, resigned.
“Before I start, though, did you like my little play? Back at the garage?” She giggles. “I’m a better actress than I thought.”
“Zeta, it was horrific. Seeing you alive, having the hope that you were okay, that they had spared you, then realising that you were a traitor-”
They all bristle at the word traitor but none of them speak.
The Accidental Invitation (The Chronicles of the Accidental Witch Book 2) Page 10