Witch out of Time

by Elle Adams

  I dropped the herbs, backing away from the figure who’d appeared floating over another row of graves not far from the Wildflowers. She was so faded that all I could tell was that she wore a dress and had long curly hair.

  “Did you come here to disturb the dead?” She gave the herbs a disapproving look. “We’re disturbed enough by this disruption as it is.”

  “Have you seen the ghost of Tanith Wildflower?” I asked. “That’s who I came to see.”

  “Who? Oh, that one.” Her gaze went to the gravestones beside me. “No, because she wasn’t buried here.”

  “Where was she buried, then?” I didn’t expect an answer from a strange ghost I didn’t know, but something compelled me to go on. The grave the new spirit had appeared above was so unkempt and overgrown, I couldn’t even read the name on it.

  “They took her, didn’t they?” she said quietly.

  “They?” I echoed. “Who?”

  The spirit faded away, leaving nothing behind but the grave. I moved to the spot where she’d vanished, trying to make out the name on the stone. She knew my mother… but who took her? The hunters?

  I picked up the herbs I’d dropped and rubbed my chilly hands together to warm them. Drops of dew from the weeds clung to my hands, along with… glitter. I glanced down and saw a thin trail of purple leading among the headstones.

  “Is someone else here?” I walked down the row of graves. The glittery trail grew thicker as I approached the massive tomb that belonged to the Grey family.

  What’s a fairy doing here?

  Wait… my dad had implied that the fairies were supposed to be more active on Samhain. Like the ghosts. That didn’t give them a reason to hang around a cemetery, unless…

  “Hey,” I called. “Pixie. Is that you?”

  He appeared in a flash of purple light, making alarmed chittering noises.

  “What are you doing here?” I stepped towards him.

  He flew down and into my face, forcing me to stumble backwards. His tiny hands pushed at me, his hands flailing, his mouth making noises I couldn’t understand.

  “What are you doing near Alissa’s family’s tomb?”

  Ignoring him, I approached the mausoleum. It was certainly fancy-looking, with engraved artwork all over the exterior. The smell of fresh flowers hung around the place.

  I took the heavy door handle and pushed inwards.

  My instincts were right: the tomb wasn’t empty at all. A short figure stood on the stone tiles, and she held the sceptre.

  Sammi turned around, saw me, and let out a shriek, dropping the sceptre. “You promised nobody would disturb me!”

  “You did it?” I looked at the pixie. “Since when were you friends with Sammi?”

  And since when had she had reason to be a thief? Let alone murder—no, she couldn’t have killed Grace or Shannon. Something more was going on here.

  The pixie didn’t answer, but he flew towards her, avoiding my gaze. He’d been with Sammi all along? Even when he’d delivered my dad’s message?

  “You let her steal the sceptre?” I said to him. “Or—no, you took it for her, didn’t you? You used your glamour to hide and fly it out of the house right in front of the Head Witch.”

  She, unlike me, couldn’t see through glamour. I’d taken the glitter I’d found in the bedroom and on the windowsill to be my own, but it wasn’t. The pixie had already been in the flat, knowing I’d never suspect him of stealing from me after all he’d done to help me keep in contact with my dad.

  The pixie fluttered in agitated circles, his tiny face flushed with shame. Sammi stood defensively in front of him. “He was trying to help me.”

  “This is the same pixie who once tried to ‘help’ me by crashing a dinner party at my boyfriend’s house and throwing glitter everywhere,” I said. “I thought you didn’t like fairies.”

  “I didn’t say that.” She scrambled to pick up the sceptre. “I’m going to give it back as soon as I’m done, I swear. I didn’t mean for all this to happen.”

  “Two people are dead,” I said. “The Samhain ceremony is tonight, and your grandmother is under intense pressure trying to figure out how to do it without the sceptre. Not to mention the ghosts. You did that, didn’t you?”

  “I wanted to raise her. My mother.” She swallowed. “But it didn’t work. I followed the instructions and the veil opened and all these ghosts came out, but not her.”

  “So you stole the book, too,” I guessed. “To see if it could tell you what you did wrong.”

  She hung her head. “I wanted to undo it, but my magic isn’t powerful enough.”

  “Well—look, do you have the book with you?” As annoyed as I was with her, she was still just a kid. Look at all the mistakes Rebecca had made. “Maybe we can both figure it out.”

  She shook her head. “It’s too late. I don’t think the ghosts will go away until after Samhain is over. I can’t make it stop…”

  “Maybe Aveline can,” I said. “Since she’s still its owner—until tonight, anyway. We should go and hand it back to her.”

  If she was willing to listen at all. Unless she’d killed Shannon or Grace…

  “My grandmother is going to ground me for a lifetime.” Her eyes brimmed over. “I just wanted to see my mum. I don’t understand what the fuss is about. This is the time of year when spirits from the other side are active in this world anyway.”

  “Yes, but that’s not what the sceptre is for,” I said. “I wanted to do the same, you know—summon the ghost of my mother. But life and death… it’s not for us to control.’

  She rubbed her eyes with one hand. “Then what do I do?”

  “Hand the sceptre to me, and I’ll take it along to the ceremony so the new Head Witch can be chosen.”

  Sammi swallowed hard, then she extended a hand, the sceptre glowing under the dim ceiling lights of the tomb. My hand closed around its base, and footsteps came from behind me.

  “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” said a voice.

  Grace stood in the entryway to the tomb, very much alive. On either side of her stood one of the twins—and all three of them pointed their wands at us.

  14

  For an instant, Sammi and I stood frozen, the sceptre suspended between us. Then I secured my grip and turned to face the three newcomers. Grace’s bright pink hair was unmistakable, while the twins wore identical grins as though pleased with themselves for their deception.

  “Give me that,” said Grace. “You have no idea what you’re doing with it, either of you.”

  Sammi looked from me to them, confused. “Are they with you?”

  “Definitely not.” My grip tightened around the sceptre’s base. “How did you know we were in here?”

  I darted a look at Sammi, wishing there was another way out of the tomb so she could make a run for safety. But there was only the front door, and the three other witches blocked the way. I wouldn’t put her in the path of harm if I could help it.

  “Lucky guess,” said Grace. “You’ve led us on a wild ride, girl. Clever of you to keep the sceptre hidden in your room. I doubt your grandmother ever thought of looking there.”

  “I didn’t do it to help you.” Sammi was shaking. “I’m not trying to hurt anyone. I just wanted to bring back my mother from the dead—”

  “Oh, that?” said Grace. “That’s the least of what you can do with that sceptre. I’m more than happy to give a demonstration.”

  I looked between them. “So you figured out she stole it and thought you’d take it for yourself, did you? And you faked your own death so nobody would suspect you?”

  “At least one of you has some intelligence,” muttered Grace. “It’s a waste. Give the sceptre over to us and I’ll spare your life. You can’t handle three of us at once.”

  Sammi made a choked noise. “You’re murderers. I won’t help you.”

  I gripped the sceptre, wishing I knew how to use it without risking hurting Sammi.

  “You killed Shannon
, too,” I said. “Why?”

  “She worked out that I borrowed some of her ingredients to make a potion,” said Grace. “A potion that slows the heartbeat and mimics the appearance of death. It was hidden in one of my hair dye bottles. I should have been more careful about hiding them. I suspect your friend Alissa will have worked it out by now, but no matter.”

  “And you used the walking stick to kill Shannon and throw us off the trace?”

  “It was too easy,” said Grace. “Aveline will die in her own time. The sceptre would never have chosen her again. As it is, there’s only one possible choice.”

  “You won’t take it.” I raised the sceptre like a shield, but in truth, I had no idea if it was even possible for me to wield its power. It was much heavier than a wand, and I didn’t want to risk bringing the whole tomb crashing down by accident.

  Instead, I went for my wand, but the three of them got there first. Three spells slammed into me, sending me flying off my feet. The sceptre clattered to the tiled floor, and Sammi made a frantic grab for it.

  Grace waved her wand and my body froze, every muscle locking. Sammi stiffened, too, her hands inches from the sceptre. Her eyes bulged, her hand reaching out, but like me, she was unable to move an inch.

  “I should finish you both off.” Grace strode over to us. “But I don’t need to worry about everyone knowing I stole the sceptre now. And I take no pleasure in killing children. Or… whatever you are, Blair.”

  Her hand closed around the sceptre. No.

  “By the way, I have to thank you.” She turned the sceptre over in her hands, as though admiring the way the purple gem on the end caught the light.

  I managed to speak. “For what?”

  “That werewolf potion of yours, of course,” she said. “I recognised it for what it was immediately. It would have been wasted on Aveline, but it helped me prevent anyone from interfering. It even worked on the cat.”

  A gasp escaped. “You fed it to my cat?”

  “Your cat will be fine, Blair. Pity I can’t say the same for you.”

  She pointed the sceptre at me. The air trembled, and my frozen body screamed in terror. Think, Blair. Nobody would hear us cry for help. It was up to me to get us out, but there was only one exit and neither of us could move a muscle, not even to use magic.

  “There’s no reason to look so frightened,” said Grace. “Someone will come and find you eventually, I don’t doubt. But we have a job to do, so… I doubt I’ll be seeing you again.”

  My fingers inched towards one another, bit by bit. Then with a snap, I glamoured myself invisible. Another snap and Sammi vanished, too.

  Patience let out a curse. “Where did they go?”

  “Must have used a spell.” Grace looked at the spot where we’d vanished, scowling. “A fairy trick, maybe. Is she still there?”

  I held my breath. Sammi didn’t move an inch either, not that either of us could. But if they thought we’d escaped, they might hesitate before using the sceptre.

  “What if they got out?” said Charity. “They’ll go right for that meddlesome Madame Grey.”

  “Then we’ll get to her first,” said Patience. “It doesn’t matter if either of them is still there—they won’t undo that spell in a hurry. We need to catch up to the procession before the ceremony.”

  “We do,” said Grace. “One way or another, one of us will wield the sceptre by the night’s end. All that’s left to do is remove Madame Grey.”

  The ceremony. No.

  She waved her wand. There was flash of light, then all went black.

  Glitter woke me. Glitter, and the pixie’s bony finger poking me in the face. My eyes flickered open. The little pixie flitted about in front of me. I tried to reach out, but I was still immobilised.

  A groan came from next to me. “Sammi?”

  “Am I dead?” Sammi asked.

  “No, I glamoured you.”

  “You did what to me?”

  “Turned you invisible. It’s a type of fairy illusion spell,” I explained. “I hoped it would buy us time, but they left us anyway. How long was I out for?”

  “I don’t know.” She sniffed. “I can’t move.”

  “I can’t move, either.” Grace and the others were on their way to threaten Madame Grey and wreck the ceremony, and here I was stuck in a tomb and frozen on the spot. “Hey, pixie, can you undo the spell on us? Please?”

  He flew down to my shoulder, making odd chittering noises. He cast a guilty look at Sammi and shook his head.

  “Sammi, do you know what spell she used?”

  “I think so,” she mumbled. “It’s a Grade Five spell. We don’t learn that sort of magic for another couple of years.”

  “Well, it can’t last forever.” I twitched my fingers. “Pixie, can you please find someone to get us out? And call reinforcements. We’re going to need them.”

  If it wasn’t already too late. The three Rosemary witches didn’t need to worry about hiding their goals, not now they had the sceptre. My guess was that they’d planned to murder Aveline and steal it from the start, but Sammi had got there first, forcing them to rethink their plan. But now they’d successfully taken the sceptre on Samhain, the worst possible day for it to be in the wrong hands.

  “Where in the world is Vincent?” I muttered.

  “Probably sleeping,” said Sammi.

  I tried to crane my neck to look at her. “You were at the vampires’ place the other day, weren’t you? Why?”

  “I just wanted to ask them a few questions about summoning the dead,” Sammi whispered. “Whether ghosts could hurt people, things like that. I did prepare before taking the sceptre.”

  “There’s no such thing as too prepared when it comes to an object like that,” I said. “I’m not blaming you, though. If you hadn’t stolen it, Grace and her daughters would probably have killed Aveline on that first night.”

  “They still got it, didn’t they?” There was a sob in her voice.

  The door opened. I held my breath, but it wasn’t one of the Rosemary witches. Instead, a witch around Sammi’s age shuffled into the mausoleum. As the light fell on her face, I recognised her.

  “Rebecca?” I said.

  “Blair? Are you there?” She squinted into the darkness. “I can’t see you.”

  “Right—the glamour.” I snapped my fingers and turned myself and Sammi visible again. “How did you know we were here?”

  “I came looking for you,” Rebecca said. “When you didn’t show up at the eremony. I asked Vincent, but he said his people were asleep. He said someone spiked their blood supply with a potion.”

  I swore. “Grace must have slipped them the werewolf potion, too. I never would have used it if I knew it would give her ideas about how to ensure nobody stopped her plan.”

  It wasn’t Rob’s fault, either. The Rosemary witches were resourceful, and had been prepared for any possible scenario.

  Rebecca looked between me and Sammi. “Blair, did they give you the potion, too? Why are you on the floor?”

  “No, they used a Grade Five freezing spell which I don’t know how to undo,” I said. “Neither of us can move.”

  Rebecca stiffened. “I—I think I know that spell. My… my mum used it on me, and I saw Blythe undo it. But I don’t know if I can do it from memory.”

  “It’s worth a shot,” I said.

  Rebecca’s face paled. “What if I mess it up? I’ve never tried.”

  “First time for everything,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m fine with being a guinea pig.”

  She took in a deep breath and pointed her wand at me. A flash of light ignited, and she winced. “Not quite that. Let me think…”

  “Blair, are you sure you trust her?” Sammi’s voice came from beside me.

  “I do,” I said. “Go on, Rebecca.”

  Her expression cleared, and she flicked her wand. At once, sensation came back into my limbs. “Nice going.”

  Her face brightened. “It worked?”

&nb
sp; “It did.” I straightened upright. “Can you stay here with Sammi while I catch up to the Rosemary witches? They have the sceptre. It’s not safe out there for either of you.”

  Rebecca bit her lip. “Okay. I’ll stay here.”

  Time was of the essence. Even Madame Grey might not be able to stop three witches with a sceptre on Samhain if she didn’t know it was coming.

  “Wait,” Sammi blurted. “In my pocket—the book. You might need it, if you want to deal with the sceptre. I’m not sure even the Rosemary witches have read it.”

  “I forgot.” I held out my hand and she gave me the book I’d seen on Madame Grey’s desk. “Do you have any idea what they might be planning to use it for?”

  “No,” whispered Sammi. “Please be careful, Blair.”

  Okay. I guess I’m winging it, then—literally.

  I snapped my fingers, transforming into my fairy form. As the two young witches gawped at me, I flew out of the tomb and vanished.

  15

  I flew through the foggy cemetery. Even with wings, I collided with several headstones on my way out. The vampires’ headquarters was silent. I can’t believe the Rosemary witches used that potion on the vampires. Grace must be confident the sceptre would give her more than enough power to escape unscathed. She and her daughters had fooled everyone, even Aveline and Madame Grey. Using a potion that mimicked death would have got around all the extra spells that the police used to check whether a dead body was actually dead or not. I just hoped the pixie had kept the Rosemary witches distracted for long enough that they wouldn’t reach Madame Grey before I did.

  The fog had darkened as evening approached, meaning the ceremony would soon be underway. I glamoured myself invisible once I came within hearing distance of the procession on the hillside. The chatter of students filled the air, a reminder that there were a lot of innocent people here, unaware of the three vipers in their midst.

  I flew through the fog, having to stay higher in the air than I’d have liked or else risk flying straight into the procession. Blurred cloaked figures appeared in the fog below. Madame Grey would be at the front of the line, but it appeared to have no end, a flood of witches and wizards smothered in endless whiteness.