To Catch a Witch

by Sharon Booth

  'I saw no reason for that to happen. You were under the illusion that if I returned, I would marry Jennet and your line would never start. I knew Jennet and Bevil were the ones who intended to marry, and your line was safe. Why would I want to return otherwise? If I'd married Jennet, you would never have existed and wouldn't have been there to guide me to the future. It made little sense. It couldn't happen.'

  'A paradox,' I said, remembering Bob's words all those months ago. 'Like in Doctor Who.'

  'If you say so.' He rubbed his head and groaned a little.

  'Are you okay?' I asked, then cursed myself for caring.

  'Still a little sore,' he admitted. 'It says a lot about you that you still ask after my health. You know, you really do remind me of Jennet. You look like her, you're a powerful witch, just as she was, but you're also kind. Jennet was always kind.'

  'When did you remember?' I asked dully.

  'I recalled little things almost from the first, but it was sketchy. Your face was familiar, obviously, because of Jennet. The mention of Bevil brought many flashes of the past to me. But it was when Sirius started telling me about the sallyports that it all flooded back. I remembered that night, that fateful night.'

  'And what you'd done to Mother Clipson,' I said bitterly.

  'You know about that?'

  'Hector told me. He saved her. How could you?'

  'I never wanted to harm her,' he said, sounding genuinely contrite. 'She was a good woman. The one thing I'm glad about in all this is that she survived. I suppose, after all, I have one thing to thank Hector for.'

  'Did you know he was a Guardian?' I asked. 'I thought witches couldn't detect them.'

  'I had no idea,' he said.

  'Then why were you so rude to him from the start?'

  He shrugged. 'I don't know.'

  'Just showing your real self, I suppose.'

  'Probably.' He sighed. 'If I'm honest with myself, I was jealous. I didn't like him hanging around you. I could tell he liked you. More than liked you. And you were supposed to be mine. As far as I was concerned, he had no right to you.'

  'You were jealous?'

  'Plus, I needed you to love me. If you didn't, how was I ever going to persuade you to help me?'

  'My God,' I said, astounded at his arrogance. 'You really are a piece of work.'

  'Of course,' he said, 'I figured it out in the end. Who and what he was, I mean.'

  'How?'

  'I knew someone had taken my magic. Time travel would always play havoc with my memory, I knew that. It was a risk I was prepared to take. But my magic? No, it should never have affected that. Someone had to have taken it, and only a Guardian could have done that. I realised the white bird of the prophecy must be a Guardian, but I had no idea who he was. When you told me Hector's surname, it finally made sense.'

  'So, you got me to lure him here to force him to restore your powers.'

  'I knew he'd do anything to save you,' he admitted. 'He couldn't hide how he felt about you. I realised he'd sacrifice anything for you, even his own life.'

  'And it was worth it, was it? All this death and destruction? It was worth it?'

  He stared at me as if he couldn't believe I was asking the question. 'I could have taken all that knowledge back to my own time. Can you imagine the difference I would have made? Can you imagine the power I'd have had?'

  'And never mind the chaos you'd have caused,' I said bitterly.

  'You think small,' he said. 'You have a great mind and amazing powers, but you're too concerned with your family and this stupid little town.'

  'The bracelet,' I said. 'You took it from the hotel on your first day in this time, when you had no memory of who you were. Why?'

  He attempted to shrug, then winced in pain. 'I honestly don't know. I saw it lying there on the bedside cabinet, and it seemed the sensible thing to take it while I could.'

  'So, your instinct was to steal and harm.'

  'My instinct was for self-preservation,' he said. 'I was in a strange place, out of my time, surrounded by strangers. Strangers who had magic. It seemed wise to take a means of protection when I had the chance. Wouldn't you have done the same?'

  I didn't answer him, and he sighed. 'Of course not. You're perfect. I quite forgot.'

  'Did you ever care about me at all?' I asked him, wondering why I needed to ask.

  'Do you really want to know?'

  I looked away from him, unable to face him any longer. 'I think I already do.'

  There was a tap on the door, and Zephyr and Hector entered the room.

  'Well, well,' Zephyr said heavily. 'The great Blaise St Clair. How are the mighty fallen.'

  'I suppose,' Blaise said, 'that it's too much to hope you're here to return my magic?'

  'Arrogant to the last,' Zephyr said.

  'Am I to be executed?' Blaise said, sounding surprisingly casual about it all.

  'Good heavens,' Zephyr blustered, 'you're not in the seventeenth century now, you know. We don't do that sort of thing here.'

  Blaise looked astounded. 'Then what? What's to happen to me?'

  There was the question.

  'What do you think, Celeste?' Hector asked me. 'He hurt you most of all. What would you like to happen to him?'

  I looked from him to Blaise. Blaise's eyes held a wary expression, but there was still that spark of pride, defiance, confidence. In a way, I thought suddenly, he was as much a victim of fate as I was. Mother Clipson had foretold a long time ago these events would come to pass. I'd been caught up in them, unaware and helpless. So had Blaise been in the same situation? Had he followed the path that destiny had mapped out for him, with little say in his behaviour?

  'He was genuinely sorry about Mother Clipson,' I said. 'I know that doesn't excuse him, but it shows there's a spark of kindness in there somewhere. And Bevil,' I added. 'He loved Bevil so much he wanted the legend amending immediately. He was desperate to restore his brother's good name. He can't be all bad. Can he?'

  Zephyr tutted. 'And Genghis Khan fed his horse extra carrots, I suppose. No one's all bad. It doesn't mean they should get away with the evil things they do.'

  'It's just, he has such a bright mind,' I said sadly. 'Blaise, I mean, not Genghis Khan. He's so clever and enquiring and it seems such a shame not to make use of that.'

  'So, what do you suggest?' Hector asked.

  'If only we could guarantee somehow that he would use his intellectual gifts for good, and give up any thoughts of time travel, or of causing a disturbance in the timeline,' I said with a sigh.

  'Perhaps we can do that,' Hector said thoughtfully. 'It wouldn't be too difficult.'

  'Now hang on—' Blaise said, struggling to sit up.

  'I see what you're thinking,' Zephyr said, nodding at Hector.

  'What?' Blaise demanded. 'What are you thinking?'

  'I could go into your mind,' Hector explained. 'I could remove your old memories and plant new ones. Create a whole new identity for you. You'd become a new person, with a new purpose. A purpose for the good of the world. You have great gifts, and it would be a pleasure to see you use them.'

  'But I wouldn't be me!' Blaise protested.

  'I'd call that a result,' Zephyr said.

  Hector sat on the edge of the bed and folded his arms. 'Look, Blaise,' he said kindly, 'this is entirely your decision. If you don't want me to wipe your memory, I won't. If you don't want to use your brain to spend your life researching, working on something that would benefit the world for a change, you don't have to.'

  'And what,' Blaise asked, suspiciously, 'would happen to me if I refuse?'

  'You would stay with me,' Hector said. 'You could come and go around the town as you pleased, but you'd be guarded day and night. You'd have no magic, but that will apply whichever path you choose. And I'd prevent you from studying anything you could harness to cause damage. You'd be free in a way — but not free to change and develop and grow into the person you're capable of becoming. Either way, the Blaise St Clair
you are now will be no more. But you could be someone else, someone new. Someone amazing. If you choose it.'

  Blaise lay still and quiet, and I could see his brilliant mind turning the choices over, as he sought the best way forward.

  'You're lucky you have the choice,' Zephyr reminded him.

  'He knows that,' I murmured. 'Give him time, please.'

  Blaise looked at me, with eyes that were suddenly gentle, and more like the Blaise I'd seen glimpses of during the last few months. 'I don't need any time, Celeste,' he said.

  He turned to Hector. 'I want the chance to learn,' he said. 'I need to be that person. I would rather die than limit my mind.'

  'Very well. You realise that, when you awaken, you'll be in a different location? Zephyr and I will take you somewhere you'll be safe, where you can start again. You will believe yourself to be someone new, and you'll have a different past, and papers to support that past. All this — 1669, Castle Clair, even your brother, will vanish from your memory.'

  Blaise's eyes glistened with tears. 'I understand. God willing, Bevil will wait for me, and one day we'll be reunited. I only hope he forgives me.'

  'You have many years left to make amends,' I said, realising I was crying, too. The sight of Blaise displaying such emotion had quite choked me.

  'It's best you leave us to it now,' Hector said kindly.

  Reluctantly, I stood. 'Goodbye, Blaise,' I said, staring down at him. My hero. The man who had once been everything to me.

  Hector squeezed my hand, understanding, and I nodded tearfully at him, then headed for the door.

  'Celeste!'

  I turned around, hearing the plea in Blaise's voice. 'Yes?'

  'I never asked you that favour.'

  'No, you didn't,' I said tensely. 'What is it you want?'

  'Will you promise me you'll do all you can to restore Bevil's reputation? I don't know how. I don't care if you trash mine in the process. Just, please, make sure this world knows the truth about my brother. That he was a good man. The finest man I ever knew.'

  I relaxed and smiled. 'I promise you that,' I said. 'I'll do everything I can.'

  'Thank you, Celeste. You know,' he said, 'in another time, another life, I could have loved you properly, as you deserved. But for this time, right now, you belong to someone else. Mother Clipson was wrong. You were never mine. Not really.'

  Through my tears, I saw him smile at me, and I swallowed down a sob and left the room, knowing I would never see Blaise St Clair again.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Star's cheeks bulged as she devoured a fat slice of chocolate fudge cake. Mrs Greenwood watched her, beaming.

  'That's right, dear, you enjoy yourself. There's plenty more where that came from,' she said.

  'All those calories,' Sky gasped. 'I never thought I'd see the day when Star would care more about cake than her weight.'

  'She can't help it,' Mrs Greenwood said. 'It's all those pregnancy hormones. Oh, I had such cravings when I was expecting Susie. I couldn't get enough mushy peas and sprouts.'

  'Crikey,' Sky said, wrinkling her nose, 'bet your husband loved that.'

  Star swallowed the last piece of cake and dabbed her mouth with a napkin. 'Thanks, ever so much, Nan,' she said. 'I really, really enjoyed that.'

  'That baby will come out coated in chocolate icing,' I said, giggling.

  'Ooh, I can't wait to meet him or her,' Mrs Greenwood said, clapping her hands in delight. 'Imagine! Me, a great-grandmother. How wonderful. Benedict's such a clever boy.'

  Star rolled her eyes. 'Yes, it took ever so much hard work,' she said sarkily. 'I don't know how I can ever thank him.'

  'Anyway,' Mrs Greenwood said, 'at least you won't be arguing over that witch bottle any longer. That's something. Thank goodness you didn't destroy it, Star. Benedict would have been doomed if you had.'

  'It would have served him right,' Star said. 'Fancy following Hector like that! Idiot.'

  'It was all terrible timing,' Mrs Greenwood said. 'If Celeste had rung Hector five minutes earlier, he'd probably have believed her about the Yorkshire parkin, and would have gone off to the Lodge with no worries. As it was, he was standing right here in the shop with Benedict and myself, and of course, he knew perfectly well that I hadn't given you the parkin at all, because I'd just told him it was upstairs in the café, waiting for her.'

  'He must have been worried sick,' Sky said. 'He'd have realised straight away you were in trouble,' she told me.

  'Oh, he did,' Mrs Greenwood confirmed. 'So much so he confessed everything to Benedict and me. He wanted to make certain, you see, I hadn't given another cake to Celeste. He got so jittery and nervous when I said no, definitely not, that we wanted to know what on earth was wrong with him, and that's when he told us who he really was. Benedict wanted to go with him to the Lodge, but he refused point blank. He told Benedict he was perfectly aware Star was a witch, but that didn't give Benedict superpowers.' She sighed. 'Benedict was so brave,' she said proudly. 'He insisted Hector might need his help, and that he'd be perfectly safe because of the witch bottle.'

  'But Hector still refused,' Sky said.

  'And Benedict ignored him,' Star finished crossly. 'Fancy running the long way around to prove what a hero he was.'

  'It wasn't like that at all,' Mrs Greenwood chastised her. 'He was worried about Celeste. He cares about her deeply, and he knows how much you love her. He said to me if anything happened to her it would devastate everyone, and he couldn't stand by and do nothing.'

  'Hector was furious when he arrived on the doorstep, just as he was about to knock on the door,' I said. 'But it was too late by then, so he had to hope Benedict was right, and that no magic could hurt him. Once Blaise pulled the knife, he had a whole new problem to worry about.' I gazed out of the window, blinking away tears. The mention of Blaise could still upset me, despite everything. Where was he now, I wondered?

  Safe, Hector had assured me. And happy, too. I needn't worry about him, he said. He's not alone. He's got a Guardian, taking care of him, and he's already making new friends. He's a charismatic character and will always draw people to him.

  Even so, it was hard to let him go entirely. He'd been my life for so long.

  'How did Trinity cope with everything?' Mrs Greenwood asked, and I looked round, glad she'd changed the subject.

  'Exceptionally well, all things considered,' Star admitted. 'It took us a while to convince her life wouldn't always be like this with us. She got on ever so well with Aurora, you know. I think they have a lot in common. Aurora may have a family, but they're far from close to her. And Trinity has no one. She seems to have settled into being part of our family quickly. We all had Sunday lunch together, and she soon reverted to her usual affectionate, positive self. Even Castor seems fond of her.'

  'But she'll be going back to New York soon, won't she?' I asked. 'And what will happen to Sirius?'

  'She's not going back to New York,' Sky informed us. 'What?' she added, as we all stared at her. 'Didn't I mention that?'

  'No, you didn't.'

  'Oh, well, she's not. She loves it here in Castle Clair, and she's decided to set up her own business. Go freelance. She has a brilliant reputation and I'm sure she'll easily find clients. Her mother still has family in the York area, and she'd like to get to know them. She has dual nationality, so it shouldn't be a problem. She's happier than she's ever been, she says, soaking up the history, sightseeing, researching her family tree.'

  Hmm, I could save her plenty of time there. Still, why spoil her fun?

  'And what about her and Jethro?' Star asked. 'You were a bit jumpy about the two of them, as I recall. I take it you were barking up the wrong tree.'

  Sky looked shifty. 'Um, yes I was, in a way. They were keeping a secret from me, but not what I thought. It turns out, they'd got new ideas for the book and were taking it in a whole new direction.'

  'What was such a big secret about that?' I asked.

  'Er, they didn't want me to know just
yet. Jethro was terribly nervous. You see, they'd decided the story would be much better if they turned the legend on its head and — um — made Blaise St Clair the villain.'

  We all stared at her.

  'You're joking?' Star said.

  'No. And it was such a radical idea that it terrified them to tell me, in case I got all offended and upset. They thought Sirius and the rest of us would insist they changed it back, and they were trying to figure out a tactful way to break it to us.'

  We looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

  Sky smiled at me, relieved I was taking it so well. 'So, you're not angry about it?' she asked. 'I know he did turn out to be the villain, but I wasn't sure you'd want it made public.'

  'Actually,' I said, 'it's what Blaise wanted. He desperately wants us to restore Bevil's reputation, so if Jethro's book can help bring that about ...'

  'We could plant little pieces of evidence that would back up the new version,' Sky suggested. 'It would become an even bigger legend, because there's a double bluff and a new twist. I think it would fascinate people to know the truth, and once Jethro's book's published, there'll be lots of publicity, so Bevil's name will finally be cleared. And the good thing is, that will bring more crowds to the town, so the café owners and other businesses won't suffer. I'm sure Hector could get us the supporting evidence.' She sighed longingly. 'It must be wonderful to travel backwards and forwards in time with no consequences.'

  'Still a lot of responsibility, though,' Star said. 'Benedict always liked Hector, but now he's totally in awe of him. It's also helped him feel more comfortable about the whole magical world. Knowing his best friend is part of it, too, has relaxed him. Good job, because if this little one turns out to be a witch, he'll have a steep learning curve, and he'll need all the help he can get.'

  'Oh, he'll be a marvellous father,' Mrs Greenwood assured her. 'You need have no fear of that.'

  'Just think,' Star said, giving me a steely look, 'if you and Father had bothered to confide in Sky and me about the little talk you had with Aveta, I'd have told you Hector's surname ages ago. Maybe it's karma. You should have kept us in the loop instead of treating us like children.'