Witched!

by Rebecca McRitchie

  Cora stared back defiantly at Kaede, a boldness running through her veins.

  ‘You can try,’ she called back.

  Kaede’s face lit up, his eyes gleefully glinting in the night. ‘I was hoping you’d say that,’ he replied.

  Cora waited for him to make the first move, but the syphon just continued to stare gleefully at her. She waited for a flick of a finger or the turn of a wrist. The cold rain began to seep into her bones. Then Cora felt the sand below her boots rumble, and she realised what would come next. She dove out of the way just as the ground beneath her feet shot upwards. Spinning around on her knees in the sand, Cora used the warlock magic to grab hold of part of an old ride sticking out from the sand nearest Kaede, and she threw it in the syphon’s direction.

  It spun through the air, and Cora saw Kaede’s eyes grow wide as the hunk of metal made contact with his side, knocking him to the ground.

  Cora stood up and resumed her fighter’s pose. A flicker of confidence grew in Cora like a flame. Maybe she could do this.

  Kaede rose up from the sand, holding his side with a hand. In the twinkling lights from the rides, Cora could see that his face was scrunched up in fury. She had been too quick for him. He hadn’t been expecting that.

  Kaede shot out his other hand, his fingers wriggling in the air, and Cora felt something wrap around her legs. Looking down she saw that it was actually many somethings. The sand below her had turned into a nest of large, black slithering snakes. Before she could kick them off, they wrapped themselves around both of her thighs, and then her whole waist. The black snakes held Cora in place like knotted ropes. She couldn’t move.

  Kaede walked across the sand until he was within arm’s reach.

  Cora tried to free her hands so that she could use her magic but the snakes had pinned both of her hands to her sides. The snakes held her so tightly, that Cora couldn’t even click her fingers.

  In front of her, Kaede clenched his hand into a fist and Cora felt the snakes squeeze her tighter.

  Cora could see that blood had soaked the syphon’s silver robe where she had hit him with the piece of metal. She also noticed something she hadn’t seen until now. A glinting ice-stone bracelet hung off one of Kaede’s wrists. It looked exactly like the one she used to have.

  ‘Look at you,’ Kaede said. ‘You actually thought you could defeat me?’

  The snakes had made their way up to her chest. They squeezed Cora so firmly that she struggled to breathe.

  ‘You’re pathetic,’ Kaede said.

  Cora thought about her mother and father and everything they had done to keep her and Henry safe. She let the words Dot and Geraldine spoke of them fill her up.

  ‘Your parents didn’t stand a chance,’ Kaede snarled vehemently.

  Then the syphon squeezed his fist and the snakes gripped her even tighter. Cora began to feel dizzy.

  ‘Just like you and your brother,’ said Kaede. ‘I’ll tear this beach apart, find him and do the same thing I did to your parents.’

  Anger flew to Cora’s hands and before she knew it the Jinx magic was in her fists. She pushed out against the slimy snakes as hard as she could.

  Each snake broke into a thousand pieces, which fell wriggling to the sand by her feet.

  Kaede flew a hand up to shield himself from the shrapnel of snakes.

  Cora snapped her fingers. She appeared behind a stall further down the beach, and slid down to the ground, eagerly gulping air into her lungs.

  ‘Running away?’ Kaede cried out. The syphon walked across the sand in the direction of where she sat.

  ‘Of course you are!’ he spat, his voice louder.

  Cora realised that it wouldn’t be long until he found her. She closed her eye as she sat with her back to the stall wall. Think, she told herself.

  ‘You’re just like your parents!’ he yelled. ‘A waste of power!’

  Cora let her anger swirl inside her. Kaede was right. She was just like her parents. She wasn’t going to give up. Like them, she was going to do whatever it took to protect her family.

  ‘And you forget,’ Kaede said. ‘I can sense you.’

  Cora could feel that Kaede had reached the other side of the stall that she sat behind. Before Kaede could make a move, she stood up and walked a few steps forward. Then holding onto the Jinx magic, she ran towards the stall wall. Instead of jumping around it, Cora dove right through it. She launched herself into the wooden shack walls, fists first, only stopping when she hit a surprised Kaede in the chest.

  The syphon soared backwards along the sand from the force of the strike.

  ‘I can sense you too,’ Cora said.

  When Kaede didn’t move, she let out a breath. The rain continued to fall around her. She stared out at where she saw Kaede land.

  And the distinct sound of the syphon’s laughter filled the air.

  Cora watched Kaede slowly sit up on the sand.

  ‘Not bad,’ he said.

  Then jumping up into the air, Cora used the vampire magic to levitate and the princess’s magic to propel herself through the air. She soared like an arrow, and pushing the Jinx magic to her feet, Cora went to kick Kaede into the sand. But he grabbed onto her foot and twisted it to the right before she made contact.

  Cora went crashing down onto the ground, hitting the wet sand hard.

  She groaned as she felt a sharp pain tear through her ribs.

  Before Cora could think, Kaede grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her back onto her feet.

  Holding the Jinx magic, Cora shot out a hand at Kaede, but the syphon threw up his arm, blocking it.

  ‘Come now,’ he said. ‘You have to do better than that.’

  Black sparks flew to Cora’s fingertips.

  ‘The warlock magic again,’ Kaede said. ‘What’s next? The avian magic?’

  Cora had been about to grab onto the princess’s magic. Instead, she clicked her fingers, appearing behind the syphon. But he was waiting for her to do that. He swung behind him, his elbow making contact with her nose.

  Cora hit the ground again, her head dizzy.

  Kaede tutted. ‘Predictable.’

  Cora groaned. It was pointless. Kaede knew all the magic that she had. He knew every move she was going to make before she made it. She realised that she hadn’t syphoned any new magic since she had fought Kaede. He was predicting it all. There were no surprises. And then she remembered. Geraldine.

  Bending down, Kaede grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to her feet once more.

  Cora clicked her fingers and appeared at Kaede’s right. And then dodging the fist that swung in her direction, Cora clicked again and appeared to his left. She then used the vampire magic and levitated in the air, just out of Kaede’s swinging reach. She turned the air around them into a whirlwind and shaping it into a ball, she threw it at Kaede. It wrapped around him, trapping him in a wind tunnel.

  But then his hand broke through it. With an iron grip, Kaede grabbed hold of her neck. His hand was hot like fire. She cried out as it burnt her skin.

  ‘I know he is here,’ Kaede yelled, using his arm to throw aside the wind that trapped him as easily as an unwanted coat.

  His eyes shone angrily as he glared into Cora’s, and then he grabbed onto her hand and bent her fingers sharply backwards.

  Cora cried out in pain.

  ‘I know you found him,’ Kaede said. ‘Tell me where he is!’

  Cora felt like a fool. She had fallen for it. She had found Henry, just like he hoped she would.

  ‘No matter,’ said Kaede. ‘I’ll destroy you first.’

  He lifted up his other hand and pointed it at Cora.

  Cora saw the fire illuminate his palm. It glowed yellow and then orange and then red. The pain in her chest grew steadily. Her fingers bruised and aching. She didn’t have the energy to reach for the Jinx magic. This was it. Kaede was going to win.

  ‘Leave my sister alone,’ came a small voice from behind Kaede.

  Cora’s stomach
dropped. Stepping out from a ride half-buried in the sand behind Kaede . . . Henry walked out onto the beach.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  ‘No,’ Cora choked out.

  She fought Kaede’s burning grasp helplessly and watched with horror over Kaede’s shoulder as her brother came to a stop in the sand. The seven-year-old squared his shoulders and stared down Kaede bravely. He looked tiny compared to the towering frame of the villain.

  Kaede smiled up at Cora. ‘Looks like I was right. He is just as foolish as you.’

  Then the syphon threw Cora down to the ground like discarded rubbish.

  Cora landed face-down in the sand, her ribs screaming in pain and her ankle surely twisted. She sucked down air, and she could already feel the hot burn marks bubble and burst on her neck.

  Kaede swivelled around on his heels to face the boy.

  ‘No,’ Cora managed to gasp again from her place on the ground. What was Henry doing? Where was Geraldine? She searched the beach for a sign of the sea witch.

  Kaede stepped away from Cora and towards the boy, peering amusedly at him.

  Henry stood his ground, a glare in his eyes.

  ‘At last,’ said Kaede. ‘The one that got away.’

  Cora rolled onto her side. She felt each breath of air she took fight through her lungs. But it didn’t matter. She had to stop Kaede. Cora pushed herself up onto her feet. A sharp pain tore through her ankle. She gritted her teeth against the screaming bones and wiped the blood from her nose.

  Henry pushed his hands out in front of him in a fighter’s pose, just like Cora had.

  ‘You’re young,’ Kaede said. ‘The perfect age to be moulded. To be twisted and shaped.’

  The rain had stopped falling. And Cora saw that behind Henry, the sea along the beach began to move back from the sand on the shore like it was retreating.

  Kaede didn’t seem to notice it. His eyes were unmoving from the boy.

  ‘Let me offer you the same thing I offered your sister,’ Kaede said.

  ‘Join me.’ He held out a hand to Henry just like he had held a hand out to Cora in Tynth.

  ‘I destroyed the council so there’s nobody more powerful than us,’ Kaede continued. ‘Which means there’s nobody to stop us. I’ve already done all the hard work.’

  ‘Like killing my parents,’ Henry said.

  Kaede’s smile fell from his face and Cora saw his back straighten.

  ‘They were weak,’ he said. ‘And it seems, so are you.’

  Lightning cracked across the night sky.

  ‘Now to finish what I started all those years ago,’ Kaede said.

  The deadly syphon threw his hand up in the air, and Cora knew what would quickly follow. The lightning bolt. Her heart dropped.

  Henry didn’t know what was coming. How could he?

  Cora clicked her bruised fingers. Appearing next to Henry, she grabbed him by the shoulders as lightning shot down from the sky above them. Clicking again, Cora magicked the pair out of the way as the bolt crashed down into the sand.

  Cora and Henry landed on their sides. Cora looked up just in time to see another lightning bolt shoot out of the sky. Still holding Henry, Cora clicked her fingers and appeared further down the beach.

  Her head dizzy, Cora lost her footing. Henry held her up.

  Another lightning bolt fell near them.

  ‘Where’s Geraldine?’ Cora asked Henry, clicking her fingers and reappearing even further down the beach.

  When they appeared, Henry pointed out to the sea. ‘We should get somewhere high.’

  With a click, Cora magicked them to the top of the tallest stall at the end of the beach. She watched from afar as Kaede threw his hand up once more, Cora was about to click them to safety again when Henry put a hand on hers.

  ‘Look,’ he said, gesturing.

  Cora turned to where the boy was pointing. The sea had risen to become a wave almost as high as the sky. It rolled on its own, curling upwards angrily towering over the beach. And she saw why they had to get to higher ground. But the top of the stall they stood on was definitely not high enough for that.

  ‘Hold on,’ Cora said.

  Grabbing onto Henry, Cora snatched up the vampire magic and levitated upwards. Using the air around her, she pushed herself and Henry upwards, until they were high enough to be out of reach of the wave.

  ‘Whoa,’ Cora gasped as she stared down at it. Then she spotted a figure at the very top of the enormous wave. ‘Is that . . .’

  ‘Gerry,’ Henry said.

  Geraldine stood on top of the gigantic wave, an arm and her staff in the air as she controlled the volatile sea.

  Cora could see that Kaede saw Geraldine, too. And then, before he could react, the wave crashed down with an almighty boom onto the beach, right where Kaede stood.

  The beach shook and shuddered so much that Cora was surprised the ground didn’t break in two. Water filled the beach, covering every inch of sand, all the rides and all the stalls, until it was just a dark blue blanket beneath them that stretched all the way to The Oak Wood.

  Soon the water retreated, pushing back to the sea from where it had come, taking whatever sat untethered on the sand with it.

  When the beach cleared, Cora searched the dark for the syphon. She waited. He was bound to appear somewhere. Minutes passed but Cora didn’t see the silver hair in the night. Cora felt relief wash over her. She floated with Henry back down towards the ground.

  ‘That was very brave, what you did,’ Cora said to Henry. ‘Thanks.’

  Henry nodded. ‘We both have a missing piece,’ he said. The boy turned his head to show her the scar where his ear had once been.

  Cora hugged Henry, her heart growing in size as she did. She only wished that their parents were here too.

  When their feet hit the soggy ground, Geraldine walked over to them on the sand.

  ‘That was . . .’ Cora began, unable to find the words.

  Henry hugged the sea witch.

  ‘Not bad for an old woman,’ Geraldine said.

  Then something behind Geraldine caught Cora’s eye. It was the memorable glint of silver hair in the night. Her heart sank as she looked out at the dark roaring sea.

  Icebergs had appeared on the surface, bobbing up and down on top of the wild waves. And Kaede stood on top of one of them. Then the small icebergs quickly joined together and stretched towards them, making an icy pathway for Kaede to walk along from the middle of the sea, back to the beach.

  Before Kaede had taken two steps, a flash of lightning flew down from the sky.

  Cora pushed Geraldine out of the way, but she wasn’t fast enough. The lightning bolt struck the beach, hitting the sea witch’s leg and sending Cora and Henry flying across the wet sand.

  ‘Gerry!’ Henry cried out.

  Geraldine lay unmoving on the sand.

  Cora jumped up and ran to the sea witch. Henry did the same.

  When they reached her, Cora looked down at Geraldine’s leg. A red and black scorch mark was burnt into her foot at the ankle. It looked painful.

  Cora glanced over at Henry and saw that he was close to tears. She realised, with sadness, that she knew exactly how he felt. Geraldine was his Dot.

  ‘I’m okay,’ Geraldine croaked, her face scrunched in discomfort as she tried to sit up.

  Henry helped Geraldine up and then placing her arm over Cora’s shoulder, the two of them pushed Geraldine to her feet and the sea witch used her staff to lean on instead of her injured ankle.

  Angrily, Henry turned from Geraldine and Cora, and striding out to where the sea met the sand, he pushed his hands out in the direction of Kaede.

  ‘Argh!’ Henry cried out.

  What is he doing? Then Cora watched as further out, the icebergs shattered into pieces, the waves swallowing the ice whole — taking Kaede with it. The syphon was eaten up by the sea. Moving his hands, Henry then folded the roaring waves over the villain, again and again, tossing him back and forth below the surface like
he was a toy in a bath.

  Cora looked at Geraldine questioningly. ‘Henry has sea-witch magic?’

  ‘I had to teach him to protect himself,’ Geraldine said. ‘Now you must take it.’

  ‘What?’ asked Cora taken aback.

  ‘My magic,’ the sea witch said urgently. ‘Hurry, now.’

  Cora wasn’t sure she understood what Geraldine was talking about.

  ‘The element of surprise,’ Geraldine said. The sea witch held out her hand to Cora. ‘Quickly.’

  Cora stared down at the sea witch’s hand. She hadn’t syphoned magic since hers had been out of control. She glanced back at the waves where she knew it was only a matter of time before Kaede would free himself from Henry’s torment in the sea.

  Nodding, Cora placed a hand in Geraldine’s. It was cold to the touch.

  And then the magic shot through her. It sizzled through her body from her fingers, up her arms and down her legs to her toes. Pulling her hand away,

  Cora felt the sea-witch magic move within her.

  Geraldine gripped onto her staff.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Cora asked.

  But before Geraldine could respond, a bolt of lightning crashed down on the sand up ahead of them. This time, Kaede appeared with it.

  ‘ENOUGH!’ Kaede roared.

  Henry came running up to them and Cora reached out a hand to stop him going any closer to the syphon.

  Kaede stood awkwardly on the spot, wet and pale. Cora could see that he was in pain. He swayed, struggling to stay upright. Then he coughed and spluttered, forcing the water from his lungs.

  Cora, Henry and Geraldine moved to stand side by side. The wild sea crashed mightily behind them.

  Kaede was outnumbered. And he knew it.

  ‘No matter. I’ve got something better than sea witches and water,’ Kaede rasped.

  The deadly syphon moved his hands in circles by his waist. Green swirls appeared in the air by his fingers and Cora watched the ground in front of Kaede shudder and shake like an earthquake. Suddenly, a head popped up out of the sand. It was followed by a pair of shoulders, and then arms and legs, until an entire magical being stood in front of them. At least, Cora thought it was a magical being. Its skin hung loosely on its bones and its eyes were dark and hollow. The magical being snarled and drooled like an animal.