The Witch Born to Burn

by Tanya Milne

  The dark forces of nature!

  Heat built in my hands and I placed them on a nearby tree root. Immediately it wrapped itself around my hand, but I released my heat, and the roots recoiled and retreated from me and Elijah.

  ‘Quickly! Climb out!’ I screamed, trying to grab his hands, which were still just out of reach.

  The ground grumbled and opened up further, taking Elijah further away. I screamed as terror exploded inside me. The roots encircled Elijah, and I moved back before they found me.

  ‘Come and get your brother, Fire Queen,’ said a mesmerising voice from the earth.

  I felt a magnetic pull. One step and I’d be with my brother… Taken to a place that waited for me. A place I’d never been before… A place that would never let me go.

  ‘Oh no you don’t,’ said a voice in my ear as I was pulled back from the edge.

  I turned and there was Jet, his black eyes wide as he took in the scene before him. He gazed at me and suddenly he knew all there was to know about me.

  ‘Eva! Wake up!’ he said, rousing me from the spell I’d been under.

  I emerged from the fog and turned to Elijah, who was enclosed in tree roots, unable to move or speak.

  ‘Elijah,’ I screamed.

  ‘You get rid of the tree roots and I’ll grab him,’ said Jet. ‘Now! Do it! Now!’

  I closed my eyes, made myself breathe and tried to find my centre, but my mind was spinning.

  ‘Hurry up, Eva!’ said Jet.

  My hands remained cold as my powers deserted me. The roots wrapped themselves around my hands and started to pull me forward. Jet held me in his arms, stopped me. Elijah continued to slide further into the ground where his life would be taken, and my heart would turn to darkness, making me the Fire Queen.

  Then I remembered Violet’s words, ‘Fight fire with fire.’

  ‘You can do it, Eva,’ said Jet. ‘I know you can.’

  I sank further into myself and there, in the darkness, I found my strength – my powers – my fire. Heat built in my hands until they were piping hot. Then I sent it into the roots, which released me and Elijah. Boy held onto Jet’s jacket, and Jet quickly leaned forward and pulled Elijah from the earth, then took him some distance before they collapsed on the ground.

  I sat still and watched them, and turned back in time to see the tree roots come up and out of the ground – straight towards me.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As the tree roots came for me, I had no time to find my fire. Jet grabbed me and snatched me away moments before they reached me. This time I didn’t hesitate – I hurled a fireball into the exposed ground. The tree roots recoiled and the ground closed up, and it looked as though nothing untoward had happened.

  ‘That’s pretty cool,’ said Jet in my ear.

  That’s when I realised I was lying in Jet’s arms, which were wrapped protectively around me. I sat up, but he didn’t release me.

  ‘Let me go,’ I said, turning to Jet, who was alive and happy.

  He removed his hands, and his warmth left me as I moved to sit beside my brother.

  ‘Now that was something,’ said Jet, who was grinning. ‘I mean, I suspected you were witches and all, but not in my wildest dreams did I think you were the friggin’ Fire Queen.’

  ‘What?’ I said, realising that Jet knew our secret and the prophecy.

  ‘No point pretending,’ said Jet.

  I turned from Jet’s beaming face to Elijah’s fatigued one.

  ‘Are you all right?’ I asked quietly.

  Elijah nodded, but he looked as far from okay as was possible. His head was drooping and he could barely keep his eyes open. I placed my hands on his arm closest to me and sent some heat into him. He blinked quickly as he gazed down at my hand.

  Jet whistled before saying, ‘You really are the complete package.’

  ‘Shut up, Jet.’ I turned to my brother. ‘Come on. Let’s get you home.’

  Elijah nodded and tried to stand, but stumbled forward. Jet and I jumped to our feet and grabbed hold of him.

  ‘I’m okay,’ said Elijah quietly, trying to stand. ‘Let’s get to the hospital.’

  ‘What? Why?’ said Jet.

  ‘None of your business,’ I said, my tone sharp.

  ‘Oh come on, there’s no secrets between us now.’

  The reality of Jet knowing everything started to sink in, and it made my stomach turn.

  ‘There are plenty of things you don’t know about me,’ I said, removing the smile from Jet’s face.

  ‘Eva, leave the poor boy alone. He just saved my life…saved your life,’ said Elijah.

  ‘In case you’ve forgotten, Jet dobbed you in to Orpheus, who nearly took your life,’ I said.

  Jet’s breath caught in his throat, and I didn’t have to see his face to know the look I’d planted there.

  Elijah crossed his head. ‘Remind me not to get on your bad side, sis.’ Then my brother gazed past me to Jet, who was staring off into the darkness. ‘Thanks, mate – for saving me back there.’

  ‘Don’t mention it,’ said Jet.

  Elijah put his hand out, and both Jet and I stared at it.

  ‘I think we can safely say we’re even. All forgiven, hey,’ said Elijah.

  Jet met Elijah’s eye and I watched, lips parting, as Elijah forgave Jet for what he’d done.

  ‘Thanks, mate,’ said Jet, his mask gone. ‘That means a lot to me. I’m so sorry about dobbing you in. I never meant for that to happen to you or Eva. Truly.’

  ‘I know,’ said Elijah, stumbling forward again.

  ‘Hey, for once I think your sister is right. We need to get you home.’

  Elijah opened his mouth to argue, but I stepped in. ‘Best idea you’ve had. You take him home and I’ll go to the hospital.’

  ‘Come on, buddy. Let’s leave this witch to get on with her secret business,’ said Jet.

  ‘No one can know,’ I whispered.

  ‘You might think I’m the Big Bad Wolf, but a secret is a secret and if I recall, you protected mine,’ said Jet.

  I remembered back to the day I was questioned by Max at school when he’d hooked me up to a polygraph to try and find out who’d performed witchcraft in the centre of town.

  ‘Do you know what would happen to us, if anyone were to find out?’ I said, my voice hoarse.

  Jet jerked his hand across his neck as though he’d cut his throat. ‘We’re in this together, come what may.’

  The truth of his words sat heavily on me. Elijah swayed again and Jet grabbed hold of him.

  ‘Come on, buddy – let’s get you home,’ said Jet.

  ‘Be careful, sis,’ said Elijah before Jet grabbed his arm and started walking away.

  ‘Keep Boy with you while you can,’ said Jet. He glanced down at Boy, who stood by my side. ‘And stay close until we leave the woods.’

  ‘You know Boy?’ I asked.

  ‘Well, I never knew his name, but of course, me and Boy go way back.’

  My mouth dropped open and Jet laughed. The last thing he said to me as he led Elijah away was, ‘There are so many things you don’t know about me, Fire Queen.’

  I left Boy at the clearing and started towards the hospital. In the distance, under the streetlight, I watched Jet helping Elijah walk home. It was not a sight I thought I’d see in a million years. Yet a few hours ago I could never have imagined that Jet would learn our family secret. He was not someone I trusted with anything, let alone my life, and yet I had no choice.

  I tried to swallow what felt like a stone that sat in my throat. I’d hoped that Jet would fade from my life, but after tonight he was front and centre – and I sensed it was only the beginning.

  I let out a long sigh and kept moving, head down. The image of Elijah only moments from disappearing into the earth continued flashing with neon intensity. My breath caught in my throat.

  The snake, the panther, now this!

  It was the proof that I really was the Fire Queen. Until now, I’d ch
osen to believe in the power of coincidence and the possibility that it was a myth.

  But what if it was true? What if I really was the leader of a dark force? I tried to imagine what this meant, who they were, but I couldn’t wrap my head around it. If it was true, they’d need to turn my heart to darkness before I could be their leader. That’s why they were trying to kill my brother. They knew I would never recover – that all the light in my life would snuff out. And they would be waiting…

  Goosebumps broke out on my skin. I was right. I was being hunted, and my brother was too, but not for the same reasons. I stopped and watched until Jet and Elijah were out of sight, my heart contracting.

  When would they strike again? Would I be there next time? Would Jet be lurking close by to help us?

  Every part of me longed to run after my brother, but I would have to trust that Jet would help Elijah again. I resolved to find out all there was to know about the prophecy of the Fire Queen and how to keep these dark forces from getting to Elijah.

  I turned towards the lights in town. In the night ahead, I had to face the horror of the hospital, where the smells of rot and death had penetrated every particle of the building. In hours some people would start dying. If I did nothing, I could never live with myself knowing I’d held the key to their recovery.

  I got out my phone and sent Ezra a text.

  I have it. Meet you outside hospital in 10. X

  Within seconds, my phone beeped.

  I’ll be there. Stay safe. X

  I imagined his face when I told him what happened to Elijah…and Jet. I groaned. That was not a conversation I was looking forward to. Taking a settling breath, I focused my mind on the task ahead.

  It was deathly quiet in the streets, and not even the wind stirred. With Orpheus out of action, the special police department had fallen apart. All the rules and decrees had been abandoned. No one would be arresting or reporting me. Not tonight.

  Before I knew it, I was on the grounds outside the hospital and there, in the dark shadows under a large tree, was Ezra. I ran the last few steps and he opened his arms to me, held me tight.

  ‘You okay?’ he asked, looking me over.

  I nodded, unable to trust my voice.

  ‘What happened?’ he said, his eyes narrowing.

  ‘We can talk later. Right now, we have work to do.’

  He opened his mouth to argue, but I put my finger against his lips. ‘Later.’

  Ezra glanced up at the hospital, lines creasing his forehead.

  ‘How bad is it?’

  ‘Bad,’ he said. ‘Mrs Archer is only just holding on. Not expected to live till morning.’

  ‘And your dad?’

  He shook his head, his voice breaking. ‘Not good. I can’t believe it… His liver is failing. They say he’ll fall into a coma soon and after that…’

  I put my hand on Ezra’s arm. ‘We’re not going to let that happen. Still happy with our plan?’

  Ezra nodded. ‘There’s only a skeleton staff working. I’ve told them you’re coming in to help me check on the patients to give the nurses a rest. If we work quickly, we should be able to get the potion into the drips before daylight.’

  Every single part of me felt exhausted, and I craved sleep the way parched ground craved rain, but somehow, I would have to find the strength to get me through the next few hours. Ezra searched in his pockets, found a muesli bar, placed it in my hand.

  ‘Thanks,’ I said, ripping the top of the packaging.

  ‘When this is over, I’m taking you somewhere we can forget this whole mess.’

  Would this ever be over? Somehow, I doubted it. If Orpheus recovered, it would only be days before he was back at the reins, spreading his fear and hate into the people of Melas.

  Ezra took my hand and we walked towards the bright lights of the hospital, where the fates of so many souls rested heavily upon us.

  We’d had to wait for Orpheus’s security guard to go on a coffee break before I could enter his room. The putrid stench inside made me gag, and it took every bit of me to walk in there.

  In front of me, lying on his back like a dead man, was Orpheus. He was attached to so many machines with wires running in all directions around his body. His heart rate beeped slow and steady on the monitor beside him.

  A white sheet was pulled up over his large body so that only his head was exposed. I approached slowly. His face was as white as the pillow it rested on, and his beady little eyes were shut. His breathing was laboured.

  In the last few hours, Ezra and I had treated many patients together. He’d kept a lookout at the door while I’d put the potion in their drips. In that time, I’d stared into many deathly-sick faces. Some of them, I’d barely recognised. Without their make-up and pretences, they were as exposed as the faces of newborns thrust into an unknown world. Every time I’d looked, I’d lingered for a moment, seeing them for who they really were.

  The face in front of me now had lost its supreme confidence, its anger, its hate for all things, even himself. What was left was a boy who was lost and alone, remembering only the bad deeds he’d done and terrified for the price he would pay.

  Ezra stood outside, glancing up and down the corridor. His presence was easy to explain to the security guard should he return early. Less easy to explain was why I was in Orpheus’s room alone – something expressly forbidden. Every person entering his room was required to be accompanied by his personal doctor.

  I retrieved the potion from my jacket and carefully measured three drops into the drip. We had no way to be sure how much was needed, or whether it would even work, but as there was only enough for a couple of drops for every person, we had little choice.

  I quickly unscrewed Orpheus’s IV and readied my dropper. One small squeeze and it would be done. But my hand wouldn’t move. All I could think about was what he’d done to my brother and what he continued to do to his only son. I glanced through the window at Ezra, who was looking away. I could put the dropper away and Ezra would never know. No one would ever know. The power of this knowledge ran through my veins like a junkie’s drugs. For a moment, I imagined life without Orpheus.

  I’d been so busy staring at the dropper that I hadn’t realised Orpheus’s pale-blue eyes were open and staring at me. He blinked in recognition and tried to speak, but there was a tube down his throat.

  My fingers hovered above his IV. The weight of his destiny was in my hands. Orpheus let out a long groan and Ezra turned towards me.

  ‘Hurry, the guard’s coming back,’ he said.

  He turned his back on me again. Now was the moment.

  Chapter Fifteen

  My hand trembled and the precious drops wobbled at the tip of the dropper. If I put them away, Orpheus would die. All of my problems would go away. This beast of a man would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

  But then, a little voice whispered to me.

  What would that make you?

  Who would you become?

  I knew the answer straight away – I’d become as bad as Orpheus and the leader of a dark force. I’d lose my family. Ezra would never trust me again. I’d be a killer.

  I squirted the drops into Orpheus’s IV, and by the time I screwed the top back on and reattached it to his trolley, Orpheus had closed his eyes.

  Will he remember me? Will he remember the dropper in my hand? Will he ever know of my hesitation?

  Ezra called me sharply. I found my feet and within seconds, I’d slipped out the door and we’d turned the corner, out of sight, moments before the guard returned to duty. We ducked into a small kitchenette and closed the glass door.

  I nodded, and Ezra let out a long sigh before he hugged me tight.

  ‘I won’t lie. I did think twice,’ I said, knowing I couldn’t hold onto that burden of truth.

  Ezra’s eyes opened a little wider.

  ‘I don’t know what that makes me,’ I said, watching Ezra closely.

  ‘You wouldn’t be the first,’ he said dryly.
‘And I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind at times.’

  ‘Really?’ I said, placing my hands on his arms.

  ‘Only a few times, when…’

  ‘When what? Tell me.’

  Ezra raised his green eyes to mine, and in them was the story of suffering.

  ‘He’s tough on me, but he’s far worse to my mother.’

  My breath caught in my throat as I glimpsed an insight into his private hell. I waited as he found his words, his breath.

  ‘He controls her every move, her every thought… She’s–’

  ‘Trapped,’ I said, recalling the frail woman who’d kept my secret not once, but twice.

  He nodded, his eyes filling with tears. I pulled him into a hug and held this beautiful, damaged boy close. His mother was not the only one trapped. This boy – my boyfriend – whom I held in my arms was yet another prisoner of Orpheus Blackthorn, the man whose life I might have just saved.

  Outside, it was getting lighter and the clock on the wall showed it was nearly 6.00 a.m. I gently pulled myself away and rested a hand on the side of Ezra’s face.

  ‘Hey, it’s nearly morning and we have a couple more patients to see.’

  Ezra rubbed his eyes and stood tall. ‘Let’s go.’

  We worked quickly and finished administering the drops to the last sick patient as the day shift arrived. We said our weary farewells and hand in hand, we left the hospital and walked outside, where the sun was rising against the red glow that hugged the horizon. It was one of those beautiful, crisp mornings that erased all that had come before. It was also freezing cold, and I snuggled against Ezra as we walked back to his car in the car park.

  ‘I can’t believe it. We actually did it,’ said Ezra.

  ‘We did, didn’t we?’ I said, recalling one of the longest nights of my life.

  ‘When do you think it will start working?’

  I felt as if someone had winded me. All my thoughts had gone into getting the potion ready and administered. None of them had been about when it might work.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ said Ezra as we arrived next to his car.