Witchcraft

by Katie M John

  Jeremiah eased the rest of Fox’s body down to the ground. Swan cupped her head in her hands and stroked her cheek, calling her name.

  “We should get somebody,” Jeremiah said.

  “She’ll be alright, she just needs a minute or two,” Swan replied.

  “It isn’t right that she keeps doing this. There might be something seriously wrong.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with her,” Swan snapped back. “You don’t understand, that’s all.”

  “What don’t I understand?” Jeremiah asked.

  Swan shrugged and shook her head. “Leave it. This has nothing to do with you.”

  Jeremiah was cut by Swan’s sharpness. “She’s my friend and I’m worried about her.”

  “Well don’t be. She doesn’t need you.”

  Fox was still not responding. A crowd had gathered around the scene, as much interested in the exchange between Swan and Jeremiah as by the drama of Fox passing out. After a couple of minutes, the crowd parted and Ms. Sky, the school first aider, came busying in whilst commanding the rest of the students to head in for tutor period. The crowd slowly dispersed with the arrival of one of the senior teachers. Eventually, the playground was empty except for Jeremiah, Swan, the teachers, and Thalia Ravenheart, who, seemingly invisible to the staff, stood watching the scene with a cold disinterest. Swan felt Thalia’s gaze fall on her and turned to her. Their eyes met across the distance. An energy flowed between the two girls and sensing it, Jeremiah turned his gaze in the direction of Swan’s.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Just one of the Ravenhearts getting a sick kick out of somebody else’s misfortune.”

  Jeremiah looked again but he couldn’t see anybody. To him the playground looked completely empty. “Where?”

  Before she had time to invent some kind of plausible answer, their attention was drawn to Fox, who was at last, joining the land of the living.

  “Hello!” Jeremiah crooned, flashing her a smile.

  “Hi!” she croaked.

  “Come on, you,” Ms. Sky said, helping Fox up into a sitting position. “You,” she ordered Jeremiah, “sit behind her and take her weight. I don’t want her going again and smacking her head on the concrete; she’s daft enough already.” Ms. Sky continued to ask Fox a hundred different health checklist questions, the answer to all of which was, “No.”

  “This has become a bit of a habit in the last few weeks, Miss Meadowsweet,” Ms. Sky said in the clipped voice of someone who feels they have been inconvenienced and has no desire to hide the fact. “Has your mother taken you to the doctors about it?”

  “No, not yet, we don’t really do doctors.”

  Ms. Sky rolled her eyes. She knew the Meadowsweet family had a reputation for being a little alternative but the thought they wouldn’t use modern medicine was a frustration too far and her tone became increasingly abrupt,

  “Well, I really think she should do doctors in this case. I want to see you tomorrow and hear you’ve been tonight; otherwise, the next time this happens, and there will be a next time, I’m going to phone straight for an ambulance – and I’m sure that isn’t what anybody wants.”

  She unscrewed the cap of a water bottle and shoved it into Fox’s hand. “Drink that and we’ll see how you’re doing. If you’re still feeling woozy then we’ll get the office to call your mother and she can come and collect you.”

  “I’m fine. Really, I’m fine,” Fox said as she tried to get up.

  “Sit down,” Swan commanded. “I’ll wait with you.” She turned to Jeremiah and said tersely, “Thank you for your help, you can go to class now, I’ve got it covered.”

  Jeremiah faltered. “It’s okay, I have a free period first thing and you might want some help.”

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine, won’t we, Fox?”

  Fox looked at her sister and saw the no-argument face. It was always useless to try and fight against that. She turned to Jeremiah and agreed, “It’s fine. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Ms. Sky packed up the last bits of her emergency medical bag and stood. “Come on Mr. Chase, I’m sure there are plenty more damsels in the common room waiting for you to step in and rescue them.”

  When they were on their own, Swan leaned in and took Fox’s hand in hers. “Are you really alright?”

  Fox nodded out of habit and then shook her head, fighting back the tears. “No!” She tried to smile through it but the vision had been too horrid.

  “Do you want to tell me about it?”

  Fox shook her head. “No, not yet. Later, when I’ve got my strength back. I need tea!”

  Swan helped Fox to her unsteady feet and led her off in the direction of the canteen. “You know, we really should tell mum about what’s happening,” Swan said.

  “There’s no need. I think she already knows.”

  Swan looked at her with a cocked eyebrow, “What do you mean, she already knows?”

  “Sometimes you forget the reason we are Witches is because Mum is one.”

  Swan laughed. “I guess you’re right. It’s just hard thinking about her in that way. It’s even harder thinking of Bunny that way – what with her boy-band fetish and her bubble-gum existence. Really, sometimes I think our baby sister was actually a changeling.”

  “Let her enjoy her innocence,” Fox said heavily.

  “Innocence!” Swan screeched, “you should have seen the state of her school uniform this morning, it looked like something from a Gentleman’s Japanese Sake bar! Any shorter and her skirt would have been her blouse.”

  The sisters laughed.

  “Yeah, I guess she could probably teach us both a thing or two about dealing with boys,” Swan said, casting a look at Fox that dared her to spill but Fox wasn’t going to play. Swan had already had enough fun rummaging through her sister’s thoughts.

  You’re going to have to put a stop to that, the internal instructed.

  The process of buying tea offered a welcome break in the conversation and it wasn’t until they’d almost finished their cup that Swan brought their talk back to the morning’s events. Fox told Swan about her vision, moment by moment, not wanting to leave out any detail in case it might be relevant. When she had finished, Swan sat silent for a while before proclaiming,

  “I think we need to go and visit Violet tonight. You need to tell her everything that has happened today and maybe she can help with planning what we should do next.”

  Fox nodded. It would be good not to have to deal with all of this on their own. Knowing Will was away for the week had made her feel surprisingly alone; he was the only other one who really knew what she was going through, and although an unlikely battle partner, she didn’t relish having to move forward without him.

  “You know that they are holding a memorial service for Martha on Monday?” Swan asked.

  Fox shook her head. She’d tried to avoid the college gossip surrounding Martha’s death. The well at the center of the village had become a shrine, with at least a couple of church members holding vigil all through the day and night. Even when she’d driven past in the taxi in the early hours of yesterday morning, the well had been lit with candles, casting light onto hundreds of luminous white flowers and ribbons. There were terrible fears Martha had been murdered by a serial killer who would be waiting to torture the village with yet another gruesome sacrifice.

  During the first few days, the village had been inundated with media vans and reporters. Fortunately, and rather sadly, Fox thought, Martha Paisley was already becoming yesterday’s news, and almost all of them had moved on to the next human tragedy. There wasn’t going to be a funeral for the time being; Martha’s body was still required by the police. A memorial had been planned, mainly as a way of everyone getting together to purge themselves of their fears.

  Nobody thought her boyfriend, Jack, would be there. The story was, he’d been admitted to a psychiatric unit after trying to throw himself off the hospital roof; a reaction to being told what had happene
d to his fiancée. Only his closest college friends had been to see him in hospital or had any contact with his family. Despite having been found in a terrible state, and obviously the victim of some awful crime, there were still those in the village who refused to believe he hadn’t somehow been involved in the murder of the, “Angel Martha.” Even his choirboy status refused to save his reputation. Fox felt sorry for him; she knew he was as much a victim at the hands of the Ravenhearts as Martha.

  “Are we going?” Fox asked.

  “Mum and Bunny are going. You know what Bunny is like.” Swan rolled her eyes. “The Year Tens are making it into some sort of forum theatre trip. I even overheard one group of girls in the corridor discussing which brand of waterproof mascara they thought would be best.”

  They finished their tea and Swan stood up. “I’ve got to go and meet Fred. We’re meant to have prepared a presentation for French this afternoon.”

  This news took Fox by surprise, especially as Swan’s aura flickered to a pale melancholy blue whenever she mentioned Fred. She would have thought her sister would have been keeping Fred at arm’s length, but then again, old habits were hard to give up.

  Fox smiled. “No probs, I’ve got class in about ten minutes, anyway.”

  “I’ll catch you later then.”

  Fox watched Swan walk out of the door and then she scrabbled for her mobile at the bottom of her bag. She tapped in a message and fired it off to Will.

  Hope you are okay? Sorry to hear about your granddad. Sending thoughts.

  She considered adding more, like, “Miss you” or, “Phone me,” but then she thought better of it. She didn’t want him to read too much into it and get the wrong impression. Will was used to girls throwing themselves at him, and she couldn’t bear it if he thought she was like the rest of them. There was another reason, one she was reluctant to accept, and that was she felt she had somehow betrayed him with Jeremiah. She pressed the send button and headed off towards History. She was almost at the stairs when she heard her name called.

  She turned to see Thalia standing behind her. She quickly scanned the rest of the corridor but it was empty.

  “Thalia,” she replied, forcing a smile onto her face.

  “Are you recovered?” Thalia asked.

  “Recovered?” Fox asked, feigning innocence.

  “From your vision this morning?”

  Thalia’s words came at Fox with force and she stumbled over her reply, “I d… don’t know what you mean.”

  Thalia sidled up to Fox until she was in whispering distance. “Of course you do. We both know what you are. What we are,” she corrected. “See anything interesting?” Thalia’s words slid out like the hissing of a snake.

  Fox wasn’t sure what to say for the best. She knew the Ravenhearts had seen her when she’d been scrying for Martha. They hadn’t done anything about it yet for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the Meadowsweets had played it cool and given them no suggestion they were aware of the Ravenheart’s involvement in Martha’s death, and secondly, because they knew as soon as they made the move, the whole of the Meadowsweet coven would strike back.

  Fox decided the best thing to do was to lie. “I’m having fainting fits because of my periods. I don’t have any… gifts.”

  Thalia was surprised by Fox’s reluctance to reveal her powers. Denying your powers was a novelty to a Ravenheart, who believed it was best to let the whole world know exactly what you were capable of with the idea they’d be impressed enough to fall at your feet.

  “Not visions then?” Thalia asked suspiciously, forcing Fox further into her lie.

  “Nope.”

  “Nothing? Not even a few little flashes?” Thalia asked.

  “My gifts haven’t come in yet. I’m not sure they even will.” A silence fell between them, forcing Fox to fill the space. “I guess we’ve all grown weak over the years. Not been much cause for…”

  Thalia sucked her lips in and put her hands on her hips, looking Fox up and down before declaring, “You’re lying.” A nerve twitched in Thalia’s cheek and she hissed, “I know you’re lying! The question is, why?”

  Before Fox had chance to really consider the consequences of her response, she replied, “How do you know that I’m lying? Are you a mind reader?”

  The question wrong-footed Thalia and the power shift was palpable. Just then, the bell rang and the corridors filled with the noisy throng of students for changeover. Fox heard Jeremiah call her name and when she had returned her attention, Thalia had been swept along with the others.

  Jeremiah made his way through the body of Year Sevens and Eights with his hand raised in the air and his body weaving as if he were undertaking some extreme sports activity. Fox couldn’t suppress the smile as she caught sight of a gaggle of disgruntled girls watch his smiley path towards Fox.

  “Feeling better?” he asked, finally stopping.

  “Yes, thanks.”

  “Heading to History?”

  “Thought I’d better. Didn’t want to let my handsome History partner down.”

  Jeremiah was just about to bask in the glory of her admitting she thought he were handsome when Fox undercut him with, “You do know I’ve changed partners, don’t you?”

  For a moment, Jeremiah’s face crumpled in confusion. Aw, bless him, he almost looks hurt, the internal teased. He studied her face, and on seeing her crooked smile, sighed. “Yeah – funny! Really funny!”

  They laughed and it felt good.

  “Want to go back to The Rookeries this afternoon?” he asked.

  Fox looked at him incredulously.

  “The Rookeries! After what happened yesterday, you want to go back to that freak house?”

  “Because of what we saw! I need to go and see what the hell that was all about.”

  Fox thought back to the vision she’d had at Coldstone House and of Paulina and the child falling from the window. She knew she really ought to tell Jeremiah about it but she feared he might not take it well. After all, who would want to know someone had died so horribly so close to where you slept at night?

  “You know, the more you talk, the more I think The Rookeries Asylum for the Insane, is a perfectly fitting location for you,” Fox joked.

  “You sure do have a case of the funnies today, don’t ‘cha!” he said.

  They headed towards the History room and being the first there, took a seat towards the back. The teaching would be minimal today as they were being given time to work “independently” on their projects. Fox guessed half of the class wouldn’t even bother coming, choosing to fool themselves with the belief they’d work better in the local coffee shops.

  “I’ve got to pop into town this afternoon during Enrichment,” Jeremiah said. “I’ve got to do a bit of shopping, but I can swing by and pick you up at half three if that’s good with you?”

  “You got the bus in?” Fox asked confused as to how he would get to town and back to college all before three-thirty.

  “Like I said, I’ve got a bit of shopping to do.”

  “What have you got to get?”

  “It’s a surprise!” He cracked a cheeky grin and tapped his finger against his nose.

  With Jeremiah, it could be anything from a roll of tape to a harrier jet, so it was absolutely no point wasting any time guessing.

  “Oh, I’m really sorry but I can’t, I’ve got to go and visit family. There’s kind of an… emergency.”

  The mention of family piqued his curiosity, especially in light of Uncle Daniel’s e-mail.

  “Oh, you have family who live locally?”

  “Yes,” she answered innocently. “My cousins; Primrose, Rose, and Violet live out in the next village: Mayhill.”

  “I guess all of your family have a name-theme thing going on.” He laughed but there was something else hidden in the laugh, as if the cogs of some great mechanical puzzle were whirring and things were slowly clicking into place.

  “Never really thought about it,” Fox said lightly.

&
nbsp; “Well your sisters are called Swan and Bunny and you’re obviously Fox. What’s your mother’s name again? It was a bird… Wren!”

  “Okay, what is it with you? Are you secretly some kind of crazy stalker?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “I’m just curious; your family are hardly nor…” he let his sentence trail off. Fox looked at him with a mixture of being potentially offended and bursting into laughter.

  “And I suppose your family are totes normal,” she said, her eyebrow raised in challenge.

  He snorted.

  “Nowhere near. My family are a really bad stereotype of the typical Hamptons’ family. My mother has had so much work done, she’s barely recognizable. My father is a classic wealthy capitalist with a smart suit and a traded soul; and my sister is a beautiful but tortured prima donna – literally; she’s just made it into the New York Ballet Corps. Dad spends his time divided between the boardroom, the golf course, the yacht club, and his secretary’s bedroom. Mum spends her day shopping, lunching, and going to the salon. My sister, Lucia, is the only one I have any real time for.”

  Fox was surprised by Jeremiah’s sudden outpouring of personal stuff and she didn’t really know what to say. Mistaking her silence for disapproval, Jeremiah continued, “Yeah, I guess it’s all a bit of the poor-little-rich-boy cliché, you know the one that also includes an overbearing father who thinks of his son as a constant disappointment and a mommy who never knew how to love anything other than her diamonds and toy poodles.”

  Fox smiled and pouted her lips. “That’s not quite what I was thinking. I was surprised, that was all.”

  “By what?”

  “By the way you feel about it all.”

  Fox couldn’t take her eyes off him. She tried to imagine what he’d be like without his money and status – if he’d stayed forever the boy she’d known in her very first impression; funny, too handsome to be good, charming, clever, and not afraid to stand out from the crowd. Was that a boy she could fall for? Of course it is. Then she had discovered Jeremiah’s true identity and that had somehow eclipsed the rest of him. She knew she had been unnecessarily hard on him. It had also made her step away from seizing the chance to kiss him last night.