by Holly Ice
Holly Ice
A Throwback Witch
Wildes Witch Academy Book 1
First published by Black Arrow Books 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Holly Ice
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
First edition
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Contents
Author Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Author Note
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Author Note
Please note that I’m a British author and use UK English spelling and grammar throughout this series.
Chapter 1
I should have stayed home and kept my mouth shut about liking Halloween. With overplayed spooky music and a bar and dance area lit in lurid shades of orange and green, The Witch’s Brew’s Halloween event was more farce than hair-raising.
‘This place is… full on,’ I said. And that was as nice as I could phrase it. Despite the marketing promises, this new club had nothing dark or scary about it.
Finn’s lip-balm-frosted lips sprang into a cheeky grin, and his spiked white icicle hair bounced as he nodded to the chest-vibrating bass. ‘Isn’t it great?’
My heart sank. He liked this travesty.
I suppose I couldn’t blame him for getting it so wrong. Most people loved this kind of thing. But I wasn’t after fake frights. On my stranger investigations into haunted houses, Ouija boards, and fortune tellers, I’d felt an uneasy craving, like there was something real under the surface. I wouldn’t find that here.
But Finn was the picture of a mischievous Jack Frost as he tugged me towards the cloakroom, and, damn it, I went with him. I hadn’t seen him this happy in the whole year and a half since us ex-foster kids moved in together.
Finn passed me the ticket for the cloakroom, and I unzipped my coat.
He looked me up and down, much like he had before we caught the taxi here. ‘Look at you, Bee! I’m so happy you finally agreed to come out. You’ll wow mankind with those toned legs on the dance floor.’
I looked at my amazon-inspired outfit and very high, strappy heels, and then at the dance floor full of grinning students in sweaty masks and slathered-on face paint, and cringed. Gads, I could almost smell the oil and hairspray from the door. Commercialism at its finest.
‘I need a drink. You go. I’ll catch up.’
‘Okay, no problem. See you out there.’
Finn practically ran to join an impromptu zombie dance, hands clawed and up in the air as he staggered side to side. I’d never have imagined the big, pierced, and heavily tattooed playboy could be so dorky. But, with the enthusiasm he threw into every dance move, he’d not notice if I took fifteen minutes getting myself into a dancing mood.
The songs passed as slowly as the service, but I had ordered and downed three bourbons by the time I returned to the dance floor.
I found Finn running his hands over the PVC-clad curves of a pretty redheaded girl in a devil outfit. The skimpy costume wasn’t terribly imaginative, but she had sold Finn. And he clearly didn’t need me here to have a good time.
Finn spotted me and mumbled his excuses into the devil’s ear.
I waited for him to get within earshot, shaking my head. From the way the two of them rubbed on each other, her costume was fitting. ‘That was an eyeful and a half. You’re like a horny fresher desperate to make the most of the first week.’
He actually blushed. ‘Sorry.’ He turned away from the devil’s waving pitchfork.
‘I’m only teasing. You shouldn’t leave her alone on my part.’
‘No, Bee. I said I’d party with you, and you haven’t even danced through one song. We finally got a night off together, and for Halloween! I can’t run off.’
I nudged him back to his dancing partner. ‘Don’t worry about me. We came here to have fun. Go back to her. Hell, go home with her. I know you want to.’
I’d find someone, too, if everyone here wasn’t so young and carefree. First years were only a year younger than me, but I couldn’t connect to their willingness to throw themselves into silly costumes and heavily themed events. It was all so… superficial.
‘I don’t want to ruin your night,’ Finn said.
‘I’m heading back soon anyway.’
‘But you love Halloween.’
‘I ken, but I’m getting a headache. I’ll get a few dances in and snuggle under the covers.’ He’d have a better night without me cramping his style anyway.
Finn stuck out his bottom lip. ‘Fine. But you have to promise me you’ll get a taxi. I want to know you’ll get home in one piece.’
‘Sure.’
He narrowed his eyes. ‘I mean it, Bianca. Straight to the taxi rank.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘I ken you mean it. I’ll get one. Now go!’ I shoved him towards his new lady friend and went back to the bar with a smile.
We’d both worked far too many weekends and holidays in the last year. He needed to let off some steam. And if the devil suited him for longer, all the better.
By the time they served me my next drink, Finn and his devilish lady were headed for the exit, his hand curled around her bum and her nuzzling into his side. I’d not see either of them until morning, at earliest.
I took my drink onto the dance floor and traded dance moves with some of the more talented dancers for a few songs to make sure the new couple were well and truly on their way home, but I wasn’t fitting in. The crowd were into pop music and a pantomime of Halloween, and I… I shouldn’t spend any more money if I wasn’t enjoying myself.
My new acquaintances were probably too rubbered or high to remember me by morning, but I waved goodbye anyway and went to the cloakroom, where a plastic-fanged boy waited behind the window. He was tall and gangly, and those overly large plastic vampire teeth did nothing to help. Still, awful dressing-up props would have been my fate if I hadn’t booked the night off work.
‘What’s your number?’ the boy asked, the words mangled through the teeth.
I spluttered but quickly turned it into a cough. He meant the ticket number for my coat. Credit to him, he didn’t blink at my reaction.
‘Seventy-two, please,’ I said, pulling the crumpled ticket out of my purse.
He checked it, then went through the hangers until he found my coat. ‘Here you go.’
‘Thanks.’ I left the ticket on the counter for him to dispose of. ‘Have a good night.’
Flashing lights made the tight and twisting turns to the exit hazardous, with more than one n
ear miss straight into especially inebriated new arrivals. But I was just sober enough to dodge until I saw the amber glow of the security light outside.
Hot from dancing and toasty under the skin from probably one too many bourbons, the draught had teeth, so I donned my coat.
And then I dawdled on the doorstep by the bouncers and the long queue.
Fog-like rain coated Edinburgh’s old town streets, a light wind bringing the smell of gunpowder to match the distant crack and fizzle of fireworks.
Taxis waited for drunk travellers a one hundred metre walk away. And Finn would murder me if I didn’t take one. But I wasn’t ready for the night to end.
Something about October and its rich, earthy air before the frosts kicked in always left me charged with energy, even when I wasn’t drinking. And after all the wigs, sweat, and fakery inside, I needed something real to cleanse my senses.
So I zipped my coat and walked in the opposite direction. I’d catch a look at the Greyfriars Kirkyard and order a taxi after.
That place was what a good Halloween was about – ghosts and graveyards, mysterious happenings, and chilling histories. And with the stories of a resident ghost leaving scratches and bruises on visiting tourists after a homeless man broke into his tomb years ago, you couldn’t get much better than Greyfriars.
Mist softened the edge of the pavement as I passed wasteland and old, partly blackened stone fronts of shops, bars, and residential apartments. The mist even hid the top of the low arched tunnel towards Candlemaker Row. Though it didn’t dampen the piss stench. That smacked the back of my throat as it always did around here, courtesy of hammered men who couldn’t hold their bladders, or their sense of decency.
Booms vibrated through the tunnel from the bigger fireworks. Between the bangs came quiet barks, yips, and keening howls. The dogs sounded young and scared. Probably hadn’t heard fireworks before.
The barks and growls grew louder as I walked by a hostel on Candlemaker Row, and more frequent. Had someone left their dog out? Or were they walking the dog and it got spooked? They were coming from across the street…
Two taxis zoomed by before I could cross the road.
I couldn’t see anyone. Edinburgh was mostly sleeping. Nothing in the windows of the surrounding houses, shops, and hostel.
The stone wall and arched gate into Greyfriars Kirkyard drew my eye, and my ear. That’s where the barks were coming from. And when I reached the other side of the road, I heard a faint clinking.
I climbed the leaf-covered steps into the grassy graveyard. A familiar niggling tug that always accompanied something worth seeing drew me on. Halloween often highlighted new places to explore, but I’d visited the kirkyard dozens of times without that feeling. What changed?
The mist was thicker here, my phone flashlight reflecting off the water drops rather than lighting the way, so I continued without it.
A swirling wind blew leaves past my head to the ground and buffeted some back into the air, lifting my coat. I pulled it tighter, but the wind burrowed through the fabric’s weave and the zip’s teeth.
Gravestones threw crooked, ghoulish shadows, and I struggled to see more than a few metres. Why was visibility so much worse than the road, and why was it so much colder? It wasn’t much higher up. Was there something to the black mausoleum ghost? Only, ghosts couldn’t affect the weather, could they?
Another dog howled. This one seemed further off, back the way I’d come. I turned but found nothing but an empty path. And that’s when I slid keys through my fingers to make brass knuckles. It felt like I was being lured deeper into the graveyard. But no one else was here, at least no one else I could see.
I peered over the stones, searching for a shadow that didn’t belong, but it was too dark to see anything more than looming crosses, angels, and stones.
A throaty scream split the quiet.
Halloween prank or not, that was enough horror for one night.
I headed for the gate, but my back prickled.
I glanced back.
Twin flames pierced the mist behind me, flickering within a large, bear-sized body, where its eyes should be. A snapped chain dangled from the creature’s manacles, clinking over the ground.
Nothing came out but a squeak. I didn’t think it’d seen me, so I slowly backed away. Keys wouldn’t deter whatever that was. I had to get out of here.
But I only got a few metres before its smouldering eyes met mine. And I knew, from the ice in my bones to the abrasive need to run and not look back, that this might be it. Well over six feet tall with a wide, muscular body, this thing’s huge claws could impale me with a light jab. And with those burning red-and-orange eyes, this creature wasn’t natural.
I heaved in a deep breath and ran, picking up speed as fast as I could in heels. For a few precious seconds, I thought I might be gaining ground. But then the dark creature loped past me, blocked my way, and reared to its hind legs.
Its growl rumbled through my belly, its sharp teeth dripping with saliva.
‘Easy, bear. I’m leaving.’
It fell onto its front paws and lashed at my legs.
I tried to jump aside, but its claws caught my calf.
Pain seared my lower leg. I hit the ground hard and scurried backwards, pushing with my hands and feet. Mud got into my wound, but I didn’t care. I had to get away from this thing, before it did far worse.
The creature lunged again. I rolled, dodging the chain it whipped at me. Not a normal bear.
Another roar rent the air. More of them? I hauled myself to standing and staggered into a limping run for the road, pain biting with every second step. The gates were within sight now, even through the thick mist.
Yet I almost felt the creature’s hot, smoky breath on my back. And then my injured leg misstepped, my ankle overturning, and I fell, face-first into the rough path. Damn heels to hell and back.
My head thunked off the ground, too hard for me to do much more than turn and cover my face.
The creature pounced, slashing my arm. Then it rested on my chest, its eyes burning hot through my coat.
Blood ran down my sleeve. Damp, musky fur overpowered the smell of mud and wet grass. This was real. Very real.
Pinned without the breath to scream, I closed my eyes and willed the creature away. Warmth filled me from the centre out. It’d claw me again any second. But there was no getting out of this. If I moved for my keys, it’d strike a fatal blow.
But no new blow came.
Its weight lifted.
I opened my eyes and found the creature a few metres away, on its back. I didnae ken how it got there, but I didn’t stop to think any more about my good fortune. I got up and ran for the exit.
Voices yelled behind me.
I glanced back from the road.
The fog had cleared enough to spot two men running towards the monster. One waved me down, but I wasn’t going to wait and see if they won their fight. I barely got away the first time.
‘Hey, you! Stop! Get back here!’
‘Chase her. We need both of them.’
Crap. Move, Bee, move! I dashed up the road and flagged down a passing taxi. Please stop. Please stop.
Chapter 2
Each blink took longer and longer. Even sipping the long-stewed black coffee with its sugary shot of caramel syrup that cut into my tongue with over-the-top sweetness, I couldn’t convince my tired, stinging eyes to stay open long enough to go to work for eight hours and get paid.
Of course, they hadn’t wanted to sleep after hours of researching supernatural bear-like creatures, and they’d ignored my pleading to sleep throughout the day. Probably because of flashbacks of the creature I’d tentatively identified as a ‘barghest’.
It didn’t help my clawed skin still throbbed. I’d washed out the cuts and slathered on antiseptics and dressings at three in the morning. I’d been lucky. Much deeper, and I’d have needed stitches.
I shivered. The more I thought about it, the more I thought the barghes
t played with me before the kill.
The door swung open, jolting me more awake. But it was only Finn, his Jack Frost jacket crinkled and askew, and his white spikes now flat and droopy, but his grin was anything but. He was a man full of energy. I almost felt it rolling off him. Shame I couldn’t capture some for myself, like an emotional vampire. I sipped my coffee. Maybe they existed, too.
‘Good night?’ I asked.
Finn reeled back. ‘What happened to you?’
I turned my mug in a circle. ‘Nothing.’
He slid into the kitchen chair opposite. ‘Oh no. Something happened. Did you get a taxi home like I asked?’
I gulped more coffee and scrunched my nose. It was getting cold.
‘You didn’t!’
‘I did. Eventually.’ A passing taxi had let me in, but I’d had to hide my clawed leg and arm in case the driver added an extortionate cleaning charge for any blood spots on the upholstery.
Finn looked me over, shaking his head. Then he rubbed my arm.
I tried not to wince. He couldn’t see the dressing through my hoodie, and I’d rather keep it that way.
‘What happened? Did someone hurt you? Follow you?’ He nibbled on his lip ring. ‘I knew I should have stayed.’
‘This is not your fault.’ I put my mug down and pulled my arm free.
He just stared at me.
He wasn’t letting this go, but I couldn’t tell him a monster mauled me and went from being maybe one swipe away from killing me to being metres away, could I? I hardly believed it myself, and I lived it.
‘I got a few cuts. Not a big deal.’
‘How?’ His brows lowered into a smouldering glower. ‘If someone hurt you, I’ll find them and deal with them.’
I pursed my lips. ‘It wasn’t anyone, okay? Just a big animal. I got away. It’s fine. Leave it.’
‘What kind of animal? And shouldn’t you get the wounds checked out? Animals can have all kinds of diseases on their claws. And that’s ignoring infection.’
‘I disinfected the wound last night. If it doesn’t heal, I’ll see the doctor.’
‘I really think–’