by Aria Sparke
To be honest I was having trouble thinking at all. ‘That’s a lovely idea.’ I hoped lovely was the right word when you were talking about death and grief. Maeve didn’t seem offended.
Nick and Cheng approached us and embraced Maeve and me in turn.
‘I miss Jack so much,’ Maeve said as tears filled her eyes.
‘We all do,’ said Nick, putting his arm around her again. ‘He’d be so happy to know his friends were here doing this for him.’
‘Even though you’re new to our circle, you’re such a good friend, Lily. Thank you, it means so much to me to have you here,’ Maeve said.
‘You can walk with us,’ Nick said to me.
Cheng nodded. ‘Yes, we’d love you to come.’
‘We can’t let you drift away from us now that Jack’s dead,’ Maeve said.
I felt warmed they were reaching out to me. I knew I didn’t want to disappoint them, yet I left their invitation unanswered.
‘I’m sure he would’ve been thrilled to know everyone cared so much,’ Cheng said.
‘You’ll come, won’t you, Lily?’ Maeve begged me. ‘My parents were going to come but my mother has a headache and they left a short while ago. I think it was all too much for her—she misses Jack so much.’
‘How long do you suppose you’ll be?’ I asked.
‘Not long,’ Cheng said. ‘We haven’t too many boats to sail.’
‘Okay, but I can only stay for an hour. My friends are expecting me.’ I glanced at my phone, but my eyes were blurred. I’d text Dad after I got some fresh air and the effects of the drink had worn off.
‘I’ve written this for Jack,’ said Maeve giving me a pleading look. She held out a page of handwritten notes. ‘You knew him. He would’ve liked you to come. And if you’d like to you can say some words.’
I nodded and put my cup down. Even though I was going with a large group, I knew I had to keep my wits about me outside in the dark.
Maeve clapped ‘It’s time!’ she called to the gathering, which had dwindled to about a dozen people. ‘Let’s do it for Jack.’
Worryingly, Cheng poked a few bottles of beer in the boxes holding the candles and paper boats before loading them in his car. ‘I’ll meet you at the lake,’ he called as he climbed in the car.
As I suspected this was going to be an excuse for a prolonged drinking session by the lake once the boats had been set adrift. If it proved to be the case, I knew I could quickly text Dad or Flynn to rescue me. By that stage, no one would notice me quietly slipping away.
‘We’ll see you there,’ Maeve called back to him.
He waved and beeped his horn before driving off.
We set off arm in arm from the college down a path beside Sullivan’s Creek toward the lake. It was dark on the back oval, so a few of the students switched on their torches. A mournful cry from a bird high in a shadowy tree made me shudder and wonder if this was a good idea.
When we reached the lake, the moon was high in the sky casting more light. We walked along a bike path to Black Mountain Peninsula which was a small park that jutted into the lake with picnic tables and fireplaces. On the other side of the park, we reached a small sandy beach. Everyone sat in the sand while Cheng brought the boxes from his car and distributed candles and matches for us to light.
‘Sit with me please, Lily,’ Maeve said after she’d sprawled on the blanket she’d carried.
I shivered in the chilly conditions as my head began to clear. I regretted having traipsed down here for someone I’d despised, so I nudged Maeve and nodded at her notes to encourage her to begin and get it over with.
She scrambled to her feet and read from the paper telling us about his short sweet life and how much she had loved him. I wanted to draw her aside to reveal the truth and tell her not to waste her tears on him, especially when she made him sound like a sensitive saint. Once she had read her tribute and the others had released the paper boats on the lake, the students built a bonfire and sat around it sharing the bottles of wine.
‘I have to go and pee in the bushes,’ I said to Maeve glancing at her drawing something in the sand. I froze for a split second.
‘Do you want me to come with you?’
‘No, I’m fine thanks,’ I said trying desperately to sound nonchalant. ‘I’ll only be a few minutes. Keep the blanket warm for me will you please.’
‘Sure, shout out if you run into any wildlife.’
I staggered toward a group of trees and bushes a few hundred meters away while trying not to look as though I wasn’t panicking. Crouching for a few seconds, I texted Dad with shaking thumbs: Need help. With witch and maybe dhamps at Black Mt Peninsula. Will run to bike path and along S. creek to uni.
Maeve had drawn spell symbols in the sand. How stupid and careless had I been? I had no doubt she’d been more closely bound to Jack than I could’ve ever imagined. Terrified all the people on the beach were dhampirs, I had to escape now. If I could make it to the bike path, I might be able to draw a circle of protection. I knew my life depended on it. My cante dangled from a thin leather strap around my neck and across my shoulder. Without a torch, I only had the moonlight to rely on, but the clouds were gathering overhead and a fine mist of rain had begun falling.
Panting as I crossed the open land of the peninsula, I reached the perimeter road that led to the bike path. As I sprinted up the road, I heard voices calling my name. The rain was heavier now. If I replied and they were dhampirs, they’d track me in less than a minute. It was too dark to stop on the bitumen road, but I knew the bike path, which although sheltered by trees, ran beside a highway lit by overhead lights. When I reached the bike path, I sat on the ground and fumbled in the dim light for my chalk. I drew the circle around me, switched to another chalk and began the first symbol. By the time I’d started on the second, the chalk was running in the rain. Frightened by voices coming up the road, I’d run on moments before, I picked up my bag and threw the chalk into it, turned and ran.
I could hear laughter and jeering from down the path. If they were dhampirs they weren’t coming at full speed. I was panting partly from effort but more out of fear, as I cut across the highway to the uni grounds. Why weren’t they catching me?
I ran along the pathway next to the creek twisting around every few moments, petrified the group would spot me. It was then I saw them between the trees like ghostly flashes. Cheng, Nick and the others were running along beside me. This was a feral game to them. They were toying with me and enjoying my terror as they shadowed me.
The rain had eased and the path was dry, so I sank to my knees, plucked the chalk from my bag and feverishly began to draw the circle of protection symbols while speaking the incantation in a breathy voice.
I could see them approaching me from all directions. Why so slow and measured? Where was Maeve? I then realized they were waiting for her. Of course, being a witch she couldn’t move as quickly as her dhampirs. Finally she reached me on the path just as I had lit a candle and uttered the final words.
‘What has the bitch of a witch done now?’ she screamed.
I turned within the circle and folded my arms to stop myself shaking. ‘You should know.’
‘Tell us how you murdered Jack,’ she said angrily.
‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.’
‘I know you killed him.’
‘Me? For all I know if he was murdered, you’re the most likely suspect,’ I said. ‘Tell them how you were fighting the afternoon he died.’
Cheng and Nick looked curiously at Maeve.
‘Liar,’ she screamed and let loose with a barrage of spell words. Light flew from her fingertips but snuffed when they hit the perimeter of my circle.
I was safe unless it rained again. Just then a crack of lightning split the sky and thunder rumbled in the distance making me tremble.
‘I had nothing to do with his death.’
‘You were with him.’
‘That afternoon he asked me to dinner and told
me you’d fought and he was ready to part with you.’ I could see fury gathering in her eyes. ‘I turned him down because I had a boyfriend. Maybe he was sick of you and wanted to replace you.’
She spat more words and fired more arcs of electricity at me, but my circle held. ‘He told me he was a dhampir and that he was in the hunt for a new witch,’ I lied.
She howled with rage and flung more blue and green sparks before sitting on the path opposite me and drawing a strange set of symbols like nothing I’d ever seen.
I was anxious now with no sign of my father or the triplets. I’d attempted to wear her down so she’d accumulate effects from casting magic, yet so far, she seemed unfazed by her efforts. She obviously knew her magic. Running out of taunts, I realized I needed something heavy duty.
‘I suppose I should come clean,’ I said and saw their curiosity. ‘We kissed that afternoon and more, Jack and me. He was a good lover, I’ll give him that.’
‘How dare you.’
I smiled at her while the dhampirs listened in confusion to our catty exchange. ‘Why would I murder someone who I could count on at uni for a good time?’
‘I’ll kill you.’
‘He told me you were the clingy sort and jealous too.’
Her eyes were crazy with fury. ‘You filthy piece of excrement! You’ll pay.’
I steeled myself to be smashed by a bolt of lightning, but instead, she whispered a string of quiet words and sat back on her haunches while smiling sweetly at me.
Puzzled, I frowned until the rain began to fall as drizzle but only within my circle of protection and nowhere else. Steadily it grew to a rain shower and then to a downpour. I marveled that she had harnessed the rain to fall only over me. Drenched and horrified, I watched as my circle of chalk disintegrated and its fragments floated and spilled in rivulets down the path and into the running creek beside it.
‘You really are a green witch, aren’t you? Did you honestly think spouting lies at me would cause me to lose control over my magic?’
I could barely open my eyes or breathe in the deluge.
‘You have so much to learn,’ Maeve said. ‘Pity it’s all too late for that now unless of course you’re so gifted you can do it in death.’
She glanced at me before nodding at Cheng. ‘Finish her off slowly and painfully—as a tribute to Jack. I’ll meet you back at college.’
She swept up the path but paused for a moment. ‘Don’t leave any bones or skin behind, will you my dear dhampirs? We don’t want to make work for the university janitors.’
It was then I noticed Maeve’s accent had changed in the last few minutes becoming distinctly American.
‘Goodbye, Lily.’
* * *
CHAPTER 13
Flynn — Dark Search
From her late night text to Daniel, I knew immediately Lily was in desperate trouble. Fifteen minutes had passed since Daniel dropped Martin and me at the peninsula and he had headed back to Burgmann College with Anya. Our plan was to set out in opposite directions and hopefully find Lily in the middle somewhere. We found a still warm bonfire and empty bottles on a sandy stretch by the lake on the small peninsula but no dhampirs. After Martin and I passed the remnants of a chalk protective circle where the bike path met the peninsula road, I held grave fears for Lily. Why had she risked coming out here tonight?
Battling to remain calm, I hurried with Martin. We ran together, not talking, just scouring the bushes and trees either side of the bike path. As we searched, I forced my dark thoughts deep and tried to stay positive.
‘Do you smell that?’ Martin asked.
‘The bushes are scorched here, but there’s no sign of life.’
‘Someone may have cast a light spell to see in that grove of trees,’ Martin said. ‘Lily?’
‘No, she was running away. Her text to Daniel mentioned a witch. Even if she could create light she wouldn’t have for fear of being seen. I’m certain it’s a dhampir pack with a witch in tow.’
We sprinted harder down the path until we reached a set of lights and a crossing leading to the university. When we sighted a creek in the uni grounds, I felt my spirits lift.
‘That has to be the creek she mentioned in the text,’ I said. A flash of green light sparked at the corner of my vision. ‘Did you see that?’ I pointed to the far side of the creek. ‘Someone’s down there.’ I looked around, but Martin had moved away from the creek up toward the university’s perimeter road. He was too far away to call out to.
I sneaked along my side of the creek hiding behind trees until I saw dark figures across the creek further along the path. My heart dropped when I saw Lily on her knees on the path and a woman facing her. Around her were several men—almost certainly dhampirs. Stunned, I saw the woman cast fiery electricity from her fingers at Lily. I almost cheered with relief when Lily’s circle held. The magic wielder was obviously a witch. Lily was defiantly talking back to her and the witch was growing more agitated. Gushing water in the creek muffled their words. Clever Lily. I knew she was trying to goad her into casting more magic while hoping the price of it would see the witch suffer. If I weren’t so terrified for her, I would’ve clapped. She was singlehandedly holding these animals at bay with a simple circle and her brains. As I watched the witch though, my glee began to crumble.
She drenched Lily with a shower of rain which was making the circle wash away. I watched powerlessly as I saw how small and frightened Lily looked. The witch laughed and spoke again to Lily and then the dhampirs before taking off down the path. She wasn’t going to kill Lily, but I could see about ten intent dhampirs slowly closing in on Lily.
Horrified, I looked around for Martin. There was no sign of him. I couldn’t wait. I burst through the undergrowth and leaped over the creek to the path down from where Lily was kneeling. Startled the dhampirs turned to face me.
‘What do you want?’ an Asian man asked in a threatening voice.
‘I want to know if the young woman is okay.’ I turned in Lily’s direction. ‘Are you?’
I could see the relief in her face.
‘If you’d like to take a seat on the grass there,’ a dark-skinned male said in a singsong voice, ‘we’ll get back to you as soon as we’ve assisted this young lady here.’
The other men chuckled.
‘After you, Nick,’ the Asian man said.
‘Why thank you, Cheng.’ In a flash, Nick leaped on Lily and tore at her neck, biting and sucking in a rabid frenzy.
‘Leave us some,’ a broad-shouldered, blond-haired youth yelled.
I lunged at the dhampir who was attacking Lily and tore him away from her before hitting him in the face. Hearing Lily moan with pain, I set upon him punching him over and over until he was senseless.
‘Now you’ve really spoiled the atmosphere,’ Cheng said in a menacing tone.
Lily crawled on her hands and knees back to the path toward her bag. I had to distract them to give her time.
‘You started it,’ I said as I saw Lily reach for her chalk and begin to draw. Despite her pain, she was courageously using my distraction to scribe her circle again. The rain had stopped and I knew her circle would hold if she could finish before they turned around. Grasping her neck with blood seeping into her sweater, she grimaced and pointed at the circle before beckoning for me to come to her.
Cheng shrugged. ‘I’m afraid you’re next, my friend and we’re all rather peckish.’
I chuckled. ‘But you’ll have to catch me first.’ I sprinted uphill, widely to their right and away from Lily. Two men, one of them Nick, who was groggy, remained with Lily while the others pursued me. I ran along the slope and dodged between trees but could see their shadowy forms dogging me at the same pace. I bolted down the slope and cut back sharply to the path again. Given any chance, I was certain they would circle and surround me. Holding my breath to hear how close they were, I dashed along the bike path until I saw Lily sitting in her circle beckoning me. I heard shouts of fury behind me as the dhamp
irs anticipated my action. I leaped the final few metres and landed beside Lily. Clutching her neck, she chanted the final element of the circle of protection. We hugged as the dhampirs came running toward us.
For now we were safe until a dhampir returned to college to alert the witch. Once she returned and cast her rain spell, we were doomed. Even if Martin, Anya and Daniel arrived, they would be no match for this large group and a powerful witch, especially as we had an injured mortal with us to protect. I looked into Lily’s eyes and she smiled at me calmly as though we were miles away from this desperate situation. At least we would die together.
The dhampirs arrived moments later and shouted abuse at the two men who’d allowed me through to the circle. Now I knew they were all dhampirs as not one of them attempted to cross the chalk circle Lily had drawn.
Lily staggered to her feet.
‘Sit down, Lily. You’re losing blood,’ I murmured.
‘Yes, don’t waste it, Lily dear,’ said Nick, who had obviously recovered from my beating.
Lily ignored me and began to recite an incantation through gritted teeth. She accompanied the spell with dramatic arm gestures. I had no idea what she was brewing, but fear was growing in the eyes of the men.
‘Careful, Lily,’ I whispered, terrified of what the magic might do to her especially while losing blood.
She nodded determinedly as I crouched to give her space and supported her legs to help her remain standing. Splotches of her blood fell on my head and arms, but I knew this was our only chance. I dared not check to see where Martin was because one glance might be enough for these dhampirs to sense someone else was close. With a renewed and final effort, Lily tipped her head back and chanted loudly while holding her arms outstretched until fine electric filaments spread from the fingertips of one hand to the other. Amazed, I watched as the filaments grew in color and number until I could hear them fizzing and snapping.