Ashes: Witches of Whitley Bay Book 2

by Katherine Heason

Sophie held out the broomstick in front of her. “We just need to push the Heka underneath it, and keep pushing to make it hold the broomstick in the air.” Sophie let go of the broomstick, and sure enough, it stayed in the air on its own. Lillith gasped. She could still be shocked by witchcraft.

  “It won’t hold there with you on it, though,” Angela said, sounding sceptical.

  Sophie looked up. Her concentration was broken and the broomstick fell to the ground. “Don’t you think I’m strong enough?” she cooed.

  Angela shook her head. “I don’t think anyone is.”

  “Well, you’re right actually, which is why Matthew, Darren and I did it together.” Sophie looked at the two boys. “Let’s show them,” she said.

  Sophie straddled the broomstick. Concentration lined her face. Darren and Matthew held out their hands towards the broomstick.

  Lillith watched Sophie’s feet. One of them left the ground and hovered in the air. The other began to rise, heel first. Then Sophie lost her balance and toppled over.

  Angela sighed and folded her arms.

  Sophie got up, and patted grass off herself. “Okay, maybe I’m stronger off the broom. Darren, you did it before, do it again.” She thrust the broom at Darren.

  Darren was short but stocky, and probably had two stone or more on Sophie. Lillith failed to see how he could do it when she’d failed.

  Darren took the broom and straddled it. “Maybe you could all join in. See how strong we are together?” Darren suggested.

  Angela laughed. “I’m not sure it would help.”

  Matthew grinned. “Maybe we only need one of them?” he said.

  Lillith’s heart skipped a beat. Were they talking about Brody? Did they know he was an Assan?

  “Lillith,” Matthew said, “you’re a strong witch, right? And you’re powerful with nature. Maybe you’re all the witch we need.”

  Lillith glared at his. She was relieved that they didn’t know about Brody, but she was suspicious. What trick were they playing? Why had they really brought them here? She looked around, and found some comfort in her friends’ faces. Her group was twice the size of theirs, and probably more powerful. They wouldn’t attempt anything this time, would they?

  Lillith folded her arms, and stared at Darren straddling the broom. He was looking at her, too. He was smiling, and his eyes were begging her to help. She was curious as to whether it was possible. Angela was adamant that it wasn’t – but maybe, just maybe? Lillith felt a hand on her arm.

  “You can do it, Lillith,” Brody whispered in her ear.

  Lillith turned to Brody. His eyes told her everything she needed to know. He was going to help her. He was going to link his Assan powers with hers, to see what they were capable of. Lillith smiled, and watched Brody smile back, and even give her a knowing wink.

  She turned back to Darren. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

  Chapter 20: Impossible Magic

  Sophie squealed with delight. She, Matthew and Darren all started talking at once. Through their excited chatter, Lillith heard enough to know what she had to do. She had to push the energy, or Heka, underneath the broomstick, so that it pushed the broomstick and its occupant into the air. She didn’t think it would be that difficult. After all, a force-field of energy had kept her trapped inside a pentagram. Surely it could push someone on a broomstick into the air.

  Lillith concentrated. She stared at the space under the broomstick, and imagined re-directing the flow of air upwards. She felt Brody place his hand on her back discreetly, and smiled slightly. She imagined energy flowing from every direction, to underneath the broomstick, then gushing upwards, like a water fountain. She felt a breeze brush over her skin and through her hair. It was working. She was pulling the air from the edge of the grass, now.

  Darren wobbled. “Woah,” he said as his feet lifted off the ground.

  Lillith smiled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Angela turn towards her. Was she shocked? Impressed? Still sceptical? She didn’t look, in case it broke her concentration. Instead, she willed more energy to flow under the broomstick and lift it higher into the air. Wind whipped past her, now. Her hair blew in front of her face, but she carried on. Darren was above their heads, and she had to look up at him. Lifting him was one thing, but could she make him fly?

  Lillith willed the energy to move, carrying the broomstick with it. She flew it around in a circle above their heads. It enabled her to get a glance at everyone as she did. They were all staring, mouths agape. She also realised that Sophie and Matthew weren’t doing anything. This was all her, with a little bit of help from Brody. Lillith stopped flying, but held Darren in the air. She looked towards Sophie and Matthew. “Is this what you did before?” she asked.

  They were still staring at Darren, suspended seven feet in the air on a broomstick. Matthew lowered his gaze first. He looked at Lillith with wide eyes and shook his head. “No. This is…” He paused, and looked up again. “Something else,” he said.

  Sophie didn’t take her eyes off Darren. “Go higher!” she yelled, excitedly.

  Lillith felt like she was being tricked, somehow, but she was also curious to see how far she could go. She looked back at Darren, who was holding tightly to the front of the broomstick. “Are you okay?” she called.

  Darren looked towards her. He nodded tentatively and looked a little scared, but his eyes were bright and his mouth was smiling. He looked like he was enjoying it. Lillith smiled herself, focused again. This time, she reached for as much energy as she could, and pushed it under the broomstick.

  A gust almost knocked her over, and whipped her hair around her head. The broomstick rose higher into the air. Lillith willed the energy to move, and Darren flew above a tree. Lillith moved forward, intending to follow Darren and make him fly forwards, instead of around in a circle. As she did, she moved away from Brody’s hand.

  She hadn’t realised how much Brody had been helping her. Without his contact, her connection to him was weaker, and her control of the Heka pushing the broomstick upwards was lost momentarily. It was enough to make Darren drop, and he hit the top branches of the tree. Lillith felt Brody’s hand touch her back again, and she threw her hands in the air to push Darren back up, but it was too late. Hitting the branches had made him wobble, and turned the broomstick over. Lillith’s extra push just spun it around, so that Darren toppled off the broomstick and started falling.

  Lillith gasped. She moved the Heka away from the broomstick, which clattered through the branches towards the ground, then moved it under Darren to catch him. It worked. Darren lay suspended in the air. Lillith gently moved the energy downwards, and brought Darren safely to the ground. She felt the wind die down around her. It was as if it had been holding her up as well, and as it subsided she dropped to her knees. Tears sprung to her eyes. Relief that Darren was okay washed over her.

  Lillith felt arms around her, and shouts of, “Well done,” and, “Are you okay?” but they all sounded so far away. She tried to speak but her mouth wouldn’t open, and everything went black.

  At first, Lillith thought she was in bed, dreaming. Then the memory of what had happened returned, and she opened her eyes. The sun blinded her, and she closed them again.

  “She’s awake,” Lillith heard someone call.

  She opened her eyes again, squinted and blinked. She made out Angela. “What happened?” Lillith asked.

  “You passed out,” Angela said.

  “For how long?”

  “Just a couple of minutes. But I’m not surprised – that was some pretty strong magic.”

  Lillith sat up, and saw that everyone was sitting around her, looking at her. Tristan held out a bottle of water. She took it gratefully, took a sip.

  “Is it usual to pass out after performing magic?” she asked.

  “Not really,” Sophie said, folding her arms.

  Angela glared at Sophie and scoffed. “Have you ever performed magic like that before?”

  Sophie unfolded her
arms, and shook her head. “No,” she said, sheepishly.

  “Then how would you know?” Angela said, maintaining her glare. Sophie looked down. Angela turned back to Lillith. “You just did something that I never thought possible. I mean, I still don’t think it would be possible to do it to yourself, meaning witches can’t ride on broomsticks, but I’ve never thought levitating a person was possible, either.”

  “And I don’t think it should be done again,” Charlie agreed.

  Lillith sighed. It had been dangerous. If she hadn’t caught Darren, he could’ve been seriously hurt. She looked around the group for Darren, and found him sitting next to Matthew. “Are you alright?” she asked him.

  Darren smiled widely. “Absolutely, that was bloody fantastic.”

  Sophie stood up. “See, everyone’s okay. Why couldn’t we do it again?”

  Charlie looked up at her, with a look of disbelief on her face. “Why would you want to?”

  “Because we can,” Sophie said. “And it’s fun.”

  Charlie shook her head. “We can’t. Only she can.” Charlie pointed towards Lillith. “And it doesn’t look like it was fun for her.”

  Lillith looked at Charlie. Actually, it had been exhilarating at the time. If she hadn’t moved away from Brody, she would have been able to keep Darren in the air much longer. It was fun, finding out what she and Brody were capable of. Another thought struck her. Maybe with some practise, she’d be able to do it without Brody. She was a powerful witch, after all, and the full extent of her powers weren’t known to her, yet. Maybe Angela was wrong. Maybe she could ride on a broomstick. Maybe she had to stop thinking of herself as having the usual limits that other witches have. Maybe she had to start trying the impossible.

  Lillith stood up. “I’d like to try it again,” she said.

  Sophie shot her arm in the air. “Me next,” she squealed excitedly.

  Lillith felt a hand on her shoulder. “That’s not a good idea,” Tristan spoke in her ear.

  Lillith turned to Tristan and gave him a wide smile. “I want to,” she said.

  “You’ve just passed out. I think you need a break.”

  Lillith shook her head. “I’m okay, honestly.” She turned to Brody and looked at him with pleading eyes. Brody gave a little shake of his head. Her stomach sank. She wouldn’t be able to do it without him. Maybe after some practice she would, but right now, she couldn’t. Lillith looked down.

  Sophie wanted her turn and wasn’t going to give up. “One little go,” she said. “Just up and down, not high and not even any flying around.” She pouted. “Well, maybe a tiny circle. Like how you did with Darren before you went higher. You seemed to be okay with that.”

  Lillith’s friends started saying no, and giving reasons why she shouldn’t. Lillith looked at Brody again. It was his decision. If he was prepared to help her, then she could do it. She didn’t need their permission. Brody raised one eyebrow and gave a half shrug.

  Lillith smiled. He was in. She turned to Sophie. “Okay, one little turn,” she said.

  Tristan, Angela, Charlie and Riti all groaned, and started telling her why this was a bad idea, but she wasn’t listening. She beckoned for Brody to touch her back again and focused on the Heka, magically forcing it underneath the broomstick and Sophie. A breeze stirred past Lillith, and she knew it was working. She aimed it underneath the broomstick, just as she had with Darren. The broomstick wobbled and lifted into the air. Too fast.

  Sophie screamed as she was lifted into the sky. “I can’t stay on,” she cried. “It’s not steady enough.” The broomstick flew well above the tree.

  Lillith wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong. She hadn’t realised that she’d used so much force. Darren was heavier. Was that it? Lillith tried to reduce the amount of energy pushing the broomstick, but that just made it even more unsteady. She could hear instructions being screamed at her from everyone on the ground, but nothing worked.

  Her heartbeat quickened. She remembered what she’d done with Darren before. She’d moved the Heka from the broomstick to him. Maybe that’s what she had to do here. Stop flying the broomstick, and fly Sophie, instead. Lillith focused all of her attention on Sophie. She reached out, and flowed as much Heka as she could underneath Sophie. It didn’t seem to make a difference.

  Sophie was still screaming. She was holding onto the broomstick somehow, but she was all over the place. It was thrashing left, then right. Down at the front, then the back. Eventually, Sophie slipped. Her legs came off the broom, and she let out a blood-curdling scream. She managed to hold onto the broomstick for a few seconds, and dangled there.

  Lillith held her breath. Why wasn’t this working? She could feel the energy flowing upwards. Lots of it. It was holding the broomstick in the air, so why not Sophie? Lillith gave one last push. She focused on bringing all the energy she could muster to flow underneath Sophie. Lillith’s hair whipped in front of her, and she couldn’t breathe from the wind now surrounding her. It was like standing in the middle of a tornado. Yet it wasn’t making any difference.

  Sophie couldn’t keep hold any longer. Her hands lost their grip and she came tumbling towards the ground. Still screaming. Lillith kept trying. The broomstick shot into the sky and out of sight, but Sophie still fell.

  She landed, Lillith heard a sickening, crunching sound, and the screaming stopped.

  Chapter 21: Impossible Magic Goes Wrong

  The wind circling her died immediately, and she struggled to breathe, or hear, from a constant ringing in her ears. Lillith watched as the group ran towards Sophie. Tears streamed down her face, and blurred her vision. What had she done?

  Someone called an ambulance. Sophie was taken away, and Darren went with her. She was unconscious, but breathing – just. The crunching noise played over in Lillith’s head, and made her feel sick. They told the medics that she’d fallen out of the tree. The medics had asked a few other questions, and seemed satisfied with the answers.

  Lillith hadn’t spoken. She’d been slumped on her knees, watching it all. Her head was cloudy, her ears rang, her heart drummed, her breathing was shallow, and her vision was blurry from tears. Every now and then, her stomach rolled, which started her sobbing again.

  Brody sat beside her. He was quiet, but Lillith could hear his breathing. It matched her own. They both watched as the ambulance drove away, sirens and lights announcing their emergency. Lillith reached out her hand, and touched Brody. She saw his face turn towards her. His eyes were full of tears.

  “I’m sorry,” Lillith whispered. “I made you do it, and I shouldn’t have.”

  Brody shook his head. “We didn’t know that would happen,” he said.

  Lillith looked down. She still didn’t know how it had happened. She’d done exactly the same with Sophie as she had with Darren.

  “How did it happen?” Brody asked.

  Lillith didn’t look up. “I don’t know,” she said. Her eyes filled up again, and she closed them.

  She felt an arm wrap around her, and smelled a familiar smell. It was Tristan. He would be angry with her, she knew it, yet here he was to comfort her. She leaned into his embrace. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “I told you not to do it.” It was Angela’s voice. Harsh and scornful.

  Lillith opened her eyes, and looked up. Angela was standing over her, arms folded. Charlie, Riti and Matthew were there, too.

  “I told you it wasn’t possible. There’s a reason witches don’t fly on broomsticks; it’s dangerous, and not doable.”

  Lillith studied Angela. She was right.

  Matthew spoke next. “But it worked with Darren,” he said, his voice sounded confused. “Why wouldn’t it work with Sophie?”

  Lillith shook her head. If that was a question for her, she couldn’t answer it. Lillith felt a hand touch hers. She looked forward, and saw Riti sitting in front of her.

  Her face was warm, and full of compassion. “Are you okay, Lillith?”

  Lillith half-smiled. “It’
s not me you should be worried about.”

  “It is. You can’t blame yourself. Sophie wanted to do it. She knew the dangers.”

  Lillith looked into Riti’s eyes. She was too nice, but Lillith did blame herself. She’d got carried away; she’d played with someone’s life, just to find out how powerful she could be. This was her fault. “You all told me not to do it, but I ignored you,” was all she said.

  Riti stroked her hand. “We tried to stop you, because we thought it was dangerous for you. We saw you catch Darren when he fell, every one of us thought you’d be able to do the same for Sophie.”

  Lillith sobbed again. “Me, too,” she said. “And I don’t know why I couldn’t. I pushed the energy towards Sophie to catch her. I swear there was enough – more than I used on Darren. But it just didn’t work.”

  Charlie crouched down, then. “Of course!” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Lillith asked.

  “You tried to perform magic on Sophie,” she said, as if that explained everything. “You can’t perform magic on Sophie. Or Matthew.” She paused, expecting the penny to drop, but it didn’t. “Because of the Repulsion spell.”

  Lillith breathed in sharply, and stared at Charlie. The Repulsion spell. She’d forgotten about that. “But that was to protect Sophie and Matthew, so I couldn’t hurt them.”

  “It was to protect them, so that your magic wouldn’t affect them. Magic doesn’t make choices. It either works, or it doesn’t.”

  Lillith stared at Charlie, then moved her gaze to Matthew. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think.”

  Matthew shook his head. “Neither did we.”

  Lillith looked down. She felt relieved, knowing that it wasn’t that her magic hadn’t worked. She was still as powerful as before. If it wasn’t for the Repulsion spell, everything would’ve been different. Lillith stood up. She had an idea. “My mam is a healer. Maybe she can fix Sophie.” She reached for her phone.

  Matthew covered her phone with his hand. “It’s okay, we have healers down here as well.”