by Aria Sparke
This was enough for the dhampir gang. They didn’t wait for the next part of the spell. Without a word and with terrified expressions, they bolted down the path back toward the uni buildings.
The arc of electricity between Lily’s fingertips died and she slumped over the circle of chalk, smudging and breaking it. She was unconscious but by falling across it had released me from its confines.
‘Enough, my love, you’ve done enough. Now I will take care of you.’ I gathered her in my arms moments before Martin crashed through the undergrowth over the creek.
‘Will she make it?’ Martin asked softly.
Her face was deathly white under the path’s electric lights and her breathing shallow and ragged.
‘I don’t know,’ I said truthfully trying to stem my tears for her.
We began to run across the university grounds toward our house with me carrying her. It was late, well after midnight, so the highway was empty as we dashed across it. When we reached the front yard of the house I could see the lights on. I crouched behind two bushes protected from the view of the street and the house.
‘I’ll go first,’ Martin said quietly. ‘They may know where we live.’ He sneaked down the drive to the back of the house while peering through windows as he passed them. Moments later the front door opened and Daniel emerged before racing to Lily’s side.
‘Bring her in, hurry,’ he said with his eyes never leaving his daughter. ‘I have equipment to help her.’
I scrambled from where I’d been holding her and raced to the house. I carried her carefully through the front doorway and gently laid her on the sofa before collapsing on the armchair next to her.
Daniel raced from the bedroom with an IV setup. Amazed with his speed and expertise, I watched as he deftly extracted blood from his forearm into a bottle. He gave the bottle to Martin to hold while he inserted a cannula into Lily’s arm. After rigging up tubing from the bottle to Lily, Martin held the bottle above Lily. Within minutes Daniel’s blood was flowing into his daughter’s arm.
We sat beside Lily waiting and hoping that we were not too late.
‘What happened to you?’ I asked Daniel.
‘We headed to Burgmann College and set off down the path. After meeting a young woman, who seemed distressed coming the other way, I asked her if she was okay. She said her friend Lily had been hit by a car on the highway and had been taken to hospital. Although Lily only hurt her ankle, she said it had upsetting seeing the accident.’
‘What did this woman look like?’ I asked.
‘Skinny, small, short brown hair,’ Anya said.
I nodded realizing immediately it was the witch.
‘Of course we returned to the college with her and drove directly to the hospital,’ Daniel said. ‘It didn’t take too long to discover we’d been tricked. We were just about to return to the uni grounds to search again.’
I told Anya and Daniel what had happened. ‘I suspect the woman you ran into was the witch we saw.’
Daniel shook his head. ‘I can’t understand it. They were right under my nose and none of my contacts knew about them.’
‘Strange they should find Lily though,’ Martin said quietly from the other side of the room.
‘Do you suspect one of your contacts leaked?’ I asked Daniel.
He shrugged. ‘I thought I could trust them all.’
When dawn filtered through the blinds, I told the others to get some sleep, but Daniel resisted.
‘She isn’t improving,’ Anya said. ‘Why would that be? She has dhampiric blood in her now. Those wounds should have closed up hours ago.’
I was thinking exactly the same, but I hadn’t wanted to voice my fears. Lily had to live.
‘I think we have to get out of here,’ Daniel said. ‘We’re a target now and we must assume our enemies know our position.’
‘I agree. I think the only reason we haven’t been attacked tonight is that they fear Lily,’ I said. ‘Once their witch knows what Lily did, she’ll bring her band of dhampirs to kill us all. She was powerful. She effortlessly conjured electricity and rain. I haven’t seen witches hurl electricity like her and all the dhampirs were obviously subservient to her.’
‘They could be already gathering help,’ Daniel said.
‘Can’t you call your friends to help us?’ Martin said to Daniel.
‘How can I? There’s obviously been a leak among my contacts. At this point there’s only one dhampir I completely trust.’
‘We have to get Lily out of here. She won’t survive a battle,’ I said.
Daniel checked the drip hanging over Lily. ‘I’ll keep an eye on her if you pack your things.’
Thirty minutes later, we had loaded our gear into the two cars and Daniel had made a phone call to his trusted friend.
‘We can’t stay in motels because dhampirs will check there first. My contact has organized for us to stay in a remote cottage about eight or nine miles away. I’m going to book plane tickets out of here as soon as Lily regains consciousness, but we won’t be able to travel until she does.’
Anxiety rippled through me, yet I didn’t dare ask aloud the question—what if she didn’t recover? I could see from everyone else’s faces, they were thinking the same.
Leaving the house keys on the bench, Daniel locked the door. We piled into the cars with Daniel and Martin leading the way. Anya followed their lead in the second car while I sat in the back nursing Lily’s head in my lap.
Her face was so fragile and pale. I touched her parted lips yet could barely feel her faint breath. Her hands and arms were cold, so I pulled a blanket over her and rubbed her shoulder.
‘Come on, Lily, you have to pull through this. I need you,’ I said softly. I caught Anya’s worried look in the rear-view mirror.
‘She’ll be okay. She’s tough,’ Anya said.
I hoped she was right.
* * *
CHAPTER 14
Lily: The Price of Witchcraft
The last solid memory I had was standing on the path with Flynn at my feet. I remember the terrible pain and the sight of my blood flowing into my sweater and falling on Flynn. But he was safe in the circle with me and that’s all that mattered. I remember the acute relief. They were outside. And yet I knew we were doomed to die together. I was comforted by the thought as the blood ebbed from my body waiting for the witch to return.
Now I remember the witch and her dhampirs.
There was the spell too from my mother’s book. I remember it because it had so many stars beside it. My mother had warned me in blood red script. Be careful with this one, Lily! I can’t recall the rest.
I had clawed the bad spell from my memory in a last desperate bid to scare the dhampirs away. At first there were tingles in my fingertips and then color and sparks. I knew if I went too far with the magic there was a price. I think it was a terrible price, but I’m not sure. I just can’t remember what I read in the spell book.
And yet the other witch had played with it so easily.
For hours, or is it days, I’ve been suspended, warm and content in a sea just below its surface. With no need to breathe or eat or sleep, I just drift with the salty currents. Bubbles float by and fish dart around me, colorful and inquisitive. I want to reach out and touch them, but I’m so tired and can’t raise a finger. I sleep some more and wake again.
Every now and then I hear voices and catch a glimpse of a familiar face above the waterline. I float up and break the surface of the water but can’t connect with those around me.
Someone speaks a name when I briefly emerge. Is he Flynn? I’m not sure anymore. I think I know his voice, but now I can’t picture his face. I’m so confused. He calls me Lily. Yes, that was my name I’m certain. But I can’t hold my head up above the rippling sea long enough to talk to him. I keep slipping below the surface back to the gentle warmth.
Think. The spell—what was the price I read in the book? It all seems so far away and so long ago.
* * *
CHAPTER 15
Flynn: Stasis
She lies in the bed white and still. It’s been this way for two days now. We take it in turns to keep watch over her day and night. How could I have failed her so miserably? Daniel has only one contact now who can help. I hope his old friend hasn’t betrayed him too. When he’s not watching Lily, he sits miserably on the back porch of the cottage looking over the gray-green Brindabella mountain range to the west as though the answer to Lily’s plight lies somewhere out there among the distant trees, white clouds and rocky ranges.
Sitting by her side, I have wracked my brains trying to think of a solution. Not having the power of vampires or the magic of witches, I realized we dhampirs were not very useful.
‘Any change?’ Daniel asked after stepping up behind me.
‘Same.’
‘I wonder if that rabid dhampir had some form of disease and passed it to her,’ he said.
‘Surely our blood would have fixed that.’
Each of us had donated our blood to Lily in the last couple of days in the hope the combination might lend her greater strength to overcome the coma.
Daniel shrugged. ‘Well how do you explain her state?’
‘I believe it was the spell Lily cast. Having been married to a witch, you’d know about the price of magic and its dangers.’
Daniel nodded. ‘That’s why I gave Lily her mother’s books. They were carefully annotated warning Lily of the relative risks of various spells.’
‘Maybe she made a mistake or deliberately risked a spell,’ said Anya, who had crept up behind us. ‘You know how much she loves you, Flynn. Perhaps she wasn’t thinking of her own safety when she cast the spell.’
It tore my heart to think Lily would give her life for mine. I stood and paced to control my emotion.
‘I think we should call Cecilia,’ said Anya as she watched me. ‘She might be able to shed some light on Lily’s condition assuming it had something to do with the spell.’
I shook my head.
Daniel regarded me curiously.
‘It’s a risk if we call home.’
‘What? You’re worried the Berishas might have tapped incoming calls. That’s a bit farfetched even for them.’
I glanced at Anya.
‘There’s more, isn’t there?’ Daniel said. ‘I suspected so.’
‘Our father, Tarek is a serious danger for Lily right now,’ I said, feeling sheepish I was only telling him now.
Daniel appeared perplexed. ‘How?’
We all looked hopefully at Lily as she moaned and rolled over.
‘Before he remarried months ago, Lily narrowly missed being his bride,’ I said.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘My father is a vampire and he chose Lily.’
A look of horror crossed his features before an angry expression settled in.
I knew as a dhampir from a foreign clan, Daniel would naturally hunt and kill my father given any opportunity. Telling him this would increase his motivation if the chance arose.
‘His wife, Mirela, who was also our mother, was murdered by Vela, one of the Berisha vampires. Tarek woke and killed him,’ Anya began to explain.
‘What does that have to do with my daughter?’ Daniel snapped.
‘Bella and Lily were at our house close to the time of the murder because Lily had a vision of Mirela being attacked,’ I explained. ‘As soon as Tarek laid eyes on Lily, he wanted her. It was only a simple circle of protection that saved her.’
Daniel seemed stunned by this news. ‘So he took another for his bride?’
‘Please don’t be angry,’ I said. ‘If the truth be known, I want my father dead too.’
Anya flinched and looked at me strangely.
I sighed. ‘He entranced Bella with his glamour but threatened Lily she would be next. The day Lily left Wicklow, Tarek’s wife, Bella died giving birth to their daughter. We tried to delay him finding out about Bella’s death, but when he did, he took the baby and demanded I bring Lily to him. Martin, Anya and I fled to Australia to protect Lily.’
‘He’s not particularly agreeable when he has his mind set on something,’ Anya said, ‘especially his next wife. He would kill us if he knew we were hiding Lily from him.’
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed and ran his fingers shakily through his hair. ‘Thank you for what you’ve done for Lily and for telling me the truth. I understand the strange path in life we have as dhampirs, keeping loyal to our parents yet so often abhorring their behaviour.’
I nodded as an idea sprung into my mind. ‘Do you know where the spell books are, Anya?’ I asked.
She opened the wardrobe on the other side of the room and took three books from Lily’s overnight bag before handing me the stack. I gave one back to her and another to Daniel. ‘We’re looking for a spell to create electricity.’
Daniel’s face lit up. ‘Brilliant. We can find the price she paid and perhaps the way to bring her back. Great thinking, Flynn.’
We each took our book and settled down to hunt the spell Lily had cast. As dhampirs we were all able to read rapidly, so after half an hour we had narrowed our search to two spells and excitedly debated the likelihood of which was Lily’s spell.
‘Okay this one harnesses blue light but causes burns to the spell caster’s fingers,’ Anya said.
I inspected each of Lily’s fingers and found no telltale marks. ‘No, I don’t think so. I remember she, like the other witch, was casting arcs of different colors.’
‘It can’t be this one,’ Daniel said. ‘It’s a spell for electricity with no colors specified, but it can only be cast on a summer’s day when the weather is hot and dry. It also requires a ritual with a wand and an incantation.’
I shook my head. ‘She definitely didn’t use a wand.’ I started at the beginning of my book and flicked through the pages again more slowly, fearing I’d missed the vital spell.
‘I think I have it,’ Anya said excitedly. ‘Electrical arcs for offensive and defensive purposes. No colors specified and no equipment required. It has to be it.’ She threw the book on the bed open at the page for us to read with her.
Daniel groaned. ‘Elise marked it with five stars as a warning for Lily not to attempt it.’
‘She also warned her in writing,’ Anya said in a dejected tone.
My stomach churned with anguish and I stood and paced the floor unable to read the price for the wretched spell.
Anya glanced at me with an expression of empathy before turning back to read the book. ‘It says here it should only be attempted by elites.’
‘They’re witches who’ve had advanced training that takes at least a decade,’ Daniel explained.
‘Lily’s only a beginner,’ I said as my hopes sank.
‘According to this, creating fine filaments of electricity is safe but when they intensify, it becomes risky. To handle the spell, you must train your mind to resist these effects. If the effort breaks the threshold of the spell caster’s spiritual and cognitive defenses, his or her mind may be damaged sending the witch into stasis.’ Anya frowned. ‘What’s that?’
‘As far as I know it’s like a dream state,’ Daniel explained.
‘Then why can’t we just wake her?’ I said.
He shrugged.
‘If the harmed caster is unable to naturally heal him or herself, only a witch adept in the healing craft can help. The longer the witch remains in a dream state the more unlikely a cure,’ Anya read from the notes. She flicked the page over impatiently. ‘Longer? What does this stupid book mean? A day, week or year?’ She stared at the next page headed with a new spell title. ‘That’s it. There’s no more information about Lily’s spell.’
‘We should burn these books,’ I said morosely.
‘No, that isn’t the answer,’ Daniel said softly. ‘They are Lily’s and she’ll decide what to do with them when she wakes. In the meantime I’ll call Cecilia.’ He sighed. ‘If there’s any witch who’d know what to do,
I’d guarantee it’d be her. When she and Lily’s mother were young, it was always Cecilia experimenting and pushing boundaries with spells whereas Elise was the careful one. She learned many of the healing spells just to pull Cecilia back from the brink. It’s only fitting I suppose that Ces help Lily. Even though it’s a risk to contact her, we have to take it.’
When the others left the room, I sat beside Lily in bed and held her closely. The moon shone on us through the flimsy drapes as I stroked her beautiful face and willed her to wake. When the moon gradually slipped behind the dark ranges in the west, I felt my hope ebbing away with the light and silence. I whispered to Lily in the darkness and felt her twitch as though somehow she sensed me close yet was unable to reach me.
‘Please hang on, Lily. I’m here and I need you. Stay close, my love.’
* * *
‘Cecilia’s coming,’ Daniel said the next morning. ‘I called her overnight and she just texted her flight details. She’ll be here Monday morning.’
‘But that’s almost two days away,’ I said.
‘It can’t be helped,’ Daniel said. ‘I asked her if there was anything we could do to help Lily in the meantime. She said no.’
I nodded despite feeling my last hope for Lily’s life plummet.
The wind was tossing the trees in the surrounding forest as the weather turned gray and overcast. It was as though nature was in tune with Lily’s perilous state. Daniel and Martin decided to make the most of the good conditions by driving to a nearby shopping center to buy groceries. When they left, Anya and I kept vigil by Lily’s side.
‘I haven’t told her yet about what happened to Leah.’
‘Tell her now,’ said Anya with a ripple of sorrow crossing her face. ‘Even though her mind is far away, her spirit needs to know.’ Anya stood and left the room as though to give me space.
‘Lily, can you hear me? It’s me, Flynn.’ I held her close to me. ‘I have sad news. I was afraid to tell you earlier.’