by S. A. Carter
I drop the phone. White hot anger finds its way to the surface and I can’t contain it. The chair legs start to knock against the floor, slowly at first and then quickly, building in tempo. The cupboards start to open and close. I can hear the clinking of cutlery being thrown around inside the drawers. A symphony of chaotic sound is playing out all around me and I see nothing but the erratic sound waves bouncing around the room.
‘Jo!’ I hear Aunt Lily yell. ‘Jo, quickly!’
I can’t move. My body has given itself over to the power within.
Uncle Jo runs through the back door. He braces himself against the onslaught of sound and the unstable vibration beneath his feet. I turn my head towards him slowly, as if in a dream, and see him holding onto the side of the bench. Behind him a dark shape looms large and is headed toward me fast. I don’t have time to respond. It hits me at full speed and I go down in a tumble of limbs, my head cracking against the floor as darkness sweeps over me.
I feel someone wiping my brow. ‘Jo, she’s coming around.’ I hear Aunt Lily’s voice in the distance. Magi licks my cheek and my eyes flutter open, causing me to wince in pain.
‘What happened?’ I ask confused.
‘You had an episode earlier and cracked your head against the kitchen floor. You took a bit of a hit,’ Aunt Lily says, while still keeping the wet cloth against my forehead.
‘Do you remember what happened?’ Uncle Jo asks.
I try to remember. I’m able to push through the pain inside my head to start forming a picture. The phone call. I try and sit up and Aunt Lily pushes the cushions up behind my back to support me. ‘There was a phone call,’ I say quietly.
Uncle Jo straightens. ‘Who was it?’ he demands.
‘It was…him.’
Aunt Lily puts her hand to her mouth in shock. I can sense Uncle Jo’s anger. ‘What did he say?’ he growls.
I try and recall his exact words. It hurts to remember. ‘He said that I may have bought some more time for myself but that it wouldn’t be for long.’ I grimace at the pounding inside my head.
Uncle Jo storms out and I hear him pick up the phone. He is grumbling to himself, and by the sound of it he is using some very colourful language.
‘I’ll just go and freshen up the washcloth.’ Aunt Lily stands up and moves towards the kitchen.
‘How did I hit my head, Mags?’
She shows me. I see her running hard towards the back door, sensing I was in danger. She flies through it and rushes towards me. My eyes are blazing red and my hair is swirling around my body, as if a strong wind was blowing through. The kitchen around me is shaking uncontrollably and my feet have levitated off the floor. Magi doesn’t stop running. She hits me with full force. We both go tumbling down and that’s when I crack my head.
My body feels heavy with disbelief. Who was that girl? I didn’t recognise her. Tears start to form in my eyes, the image of who I became repeating itself over and over like a bad record.
Magi nuzzles my cheek. ‘It’s okay, Mags. I know you were trying to help me.’ I feel her hot breath against my skin and I close my eyes.
Outside I hear a car pull up. ‘Oh no! Phoebe.’
Uncle Jo gives me a hard stare before opening the front door. I hear him walk towards the car and the sound of voices echoes back to me. A few minutes later I hear the car pull away and the sound of Phoebe talking to Uncle Jo travels into the house.
‘Right where is she?’ I hear her call out as she crosses the threshold.
I put my hand up and she turns and sees me sitting on the lounge, propped up by cushions, holding my head.
She walks quickly towards me. ‘What happened?’ She sits down on the end of the couch and lifts my feet onto her legs. Uncle Jo leaves us, not looking in my direction.
‘I just cracked my head that’s all. No big deal.’ I shrug.
‘You are such a bad liar, Elena Wisteria Moonheart Cole,’ she says in response.
‘How did you…?’
‘Yeah that’s right, I know your real name missy. I asked your uncle. I have to say it’s pretty cool. I mean mine is just plain old Phoebe Ann Campbell, not much can be said for that, but yours…well…why wouldn’t it suit your witchiness,’ she says.
‘Are you having the day off too?’ I ask her, trying to change the subject.
‘Yep. I told Mum you weren’t well and convinced her to let me take the day off with you, so I could look after you. Which just so happens is the truth now isn’t it?’ She pats my feet and grins wickedly.
‘You seem to be getting some pleasure out of this, Phoebs.’
‘Well, it is sort of ironic. I mean the Venator can’t even get close enough to hurt you, but a knock on the head takes you out. Pretty funny really.’ Her smile widens.
I gently kick her leg.
‘So, what are we going to do today?’ she asks looking around the room, as if she’s already bored.
Before I decide whether I should tell her or not Uncle Jo walks in.
‘Right, so are we still on for today?’ He claps his hands together and the sound reverberates through my skull. I wince. ‘Ooh, sorry, Ellie,’ he says through clenched teeth.
‘It’s okay. I’ll get over it. Just give me a second.’ I sit up further and place my feet on the floor firmly. ‘Balatha helenta gar.’ The healing spell flows in and around my body, mending my aches and pains.
Phoebe watches the bump on my head shrink back to normal size with wide-eyed wonder.
‘Whoa! That was so awesome! Can you teach me how to do that?’
I laugh softly. ‘Sorry, it’s a Cole thing.’
‘Typical!’ she says sarcastically.
Uncle Jo is still standing there, waiting for an answer.
‘Am I able to tell her?’ I ask him.
He nods. ‘May as well. She’ll find a way to be part of it anyway.’
‘Uh, are you talking about me? I’m right here you know, no need for covert ops.’ Her hands wave madly around in the air.
He glances at me and rolls his eyes. ‘See you outside in ten then,’ he says.
I nod my head and explain to Phoebe what the plan for today is. I fill her in on the teleporting practise, and the answers that we seek being found in Egypt, but I keep quiet about Isis and anything else that she doesn’t need to know about.
‘Man. This is all so surreal.’ She pauses for a moment. ‘I’m in! What do I do?’
‘Well first I have to eat and then we can go outside and begin training.’ I get up to move.
‘Oh goody,’ she says, visibly pumped.
I fix myself a cheese sandwich and grab us each a bottle of water from the fridge before walking towards the barn.
The sky is overcast with the appearance of rain clouds off in the distance. The pungent scent of gardenia drifts out from the garden. I search the perimeter of the property, remembering the Venator’s warning. Is he out there right now watching me? My instincts tell me no, but I stay alert nevertheless.
‘Okay, so the same as yesterday, Ellie. Really focus. Are you feeling alright to do this now?’ Uncle Jo asks.
‘Yep. I’m all good to go,’ I respond.
‘Good. Alright then. Phoebe, you may want to stand back a little.’ Phoebe takes a few steps back, her eyes shining with enthusiasm.
I relax and let myself feel the flow of nature around me. When the area I want to teleport to is clear in my mind I reach for the kuthun.
I open my eyes and smile. Looking back towards the barn I see Uncle Jo pointing in my direction. Phoebe’s eyes follow his finger and I hear her shouting at the top of her lungs. I repeat the same action and am back in front of them again.
Phoebe grabs me by the shoulders and shakes me violently. ‘OMG, E! I can’t believe how unbelievable that was. Woohoo!’ She does a little dance on the spot— resembling a monkey trying to do the Macarena.
We can’t help but laugh at her antics. She is the funniest person I know.
It takes a few minutes for her to calm
down, her feet unable to stay still. ‘Can we do it again? This time can you take me?’ she asks excitedly.
Uncle Jo puts his hands up. ‘Now wait a minute, we don’t know if that can be done safely or not yet. Ellie has never done this before, so we need to be cautious.’
I feel my belly stir with anticipation. ‘I can do this.’ He gives me a sharp stare. ‘I can. Just let me try okay?’
Phoebe is nodding her head vigorously in agreement.
He takes his time before responding. ‘Alright. But do not overexert yourself. If it becomes too much, then stop.’
Phoebe and I smile wickedly at one another.
‘Girls, focus!’ he says.
I touch his arm. ‘It’s fine, Uncle Jo. I feel like I know what I’m doing.’
‘Like in the kitchen?’ he says bluntly.
His words hit a nerve. ‘That was different. I was protecting myself and my emotions took over. That won’t happen here, I promise.’
‘What happened in the kitchen? I thought you just hit your head,’ Phoebe enquires.
‘It was nothing. Let’s do this.’ I walk to my spot of focus and start to breathe deeply. ‘Phoebe, take my hand.’ She walks towards me and we clasp hands. ‘Now try and calm your nerves, and clear your mind.’ I hear her breathe deeply and when I sense her body is relaxed I reach for the kuthun.
This time isn’t as quick. This time it takes a lot more of my power to carry us through space to reach the destination on the other side of the property. I’m straining a little under the pressure. When I feel that we are there I release the kuthun and open my eyes. My head is fuzzy and my legs feel slightly wonky. I can see that we missed the spot by about fifteen metres. I squat down, feeling a little light-headed.
‘Wow, Ellie, that was so great,’ Phoebe whispers, while rubbing my back.
Uncle Jo and Magi run up to us. I stand back up, having regained my balance, and give Phoebe a hug.
‘Phew, I’m really glad that worked,’ I say relieved.
‘Me too. I wasn’t sure if I was going to end up in Switzerland, so I’m pretty happy about just getting to here in one piece.’
I smile.
We spend the next few hours practising, with a few breaks in between for food and water. The more I teleport, the stronger I become. I convince Uncle Jo that I would like to try teleporting to Phoebe’s house. He could see that my energy was still up and agreed to let me try, on the condition that I immediately come back.
I envision the greenhouse that sits at the back of Phoebe’s yard, which is sheltered from prying eyes. We’ve clocked up many hours sitting in there amongst the plants, sharing secrets and talking about life. We have a permanent picnic blanket snuggled up in one corner of the greenhouse, underneath the plum tree. At least twice a month we hang out there, light candles, and eat amongst the twinkling stars that hover overhead.
The image is clear in my mind and I shut my eyes.
The tomato plants and passionfruit vines are surrounding me on my arrival and I reflect on how utterly amazing this ability to teleport really is. My adrenalin is buzzing and I take a few moments to just breathe before I head back.
I return to the barn in one piece and am greeted with hugs. I keep teleporting back and forth, my magic intensifies with each trip, and by the end I’m able to take Magi and Uncle Jo as well. I finish off feeling pretty satisfied that I could achieve something so remarkable.
I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the kuthun though.
Uncle Jo looks down at his watch. ‘I think it’s time we called it a day,’ he says. ‘I have a few errands to run in town, so how about you girls come with me and help out?’
‘I could use some time away from here so I’m in,’ I say.
‘Yep, me too,’ Phoebe answers.
We plan to wash up and meet back at the truck.
Chapter 16
Driving into town I see thunder clouds off in the distance. ‘Rain’s coming,’ I say.
‘Do you have the power to predict the weather too?’ Phoebe asks.
I laugh. ‘No. You can see the clouds over there.’ I point to where the dark clouds are gathering behind the mountains.
‘Oh. Right,’ she says. ‘I knew that.’
We drive into Maine Street, passing Holden’s Mechanical, where Uncle Jo has spent a mini fortune on tractor and car parts over the years. He is such a valued member that they even had a card made up for him with VIP discount access. He was a happy man that day.
We pass the local Post Office—its red exterior resembling a fire hydrant, and Sally’s Pizzeria, where on a Friday night her restaurant is teeming with teenagers all wanting a taste of her gourmet pizza range at the cheap price of two dollars a slice.
We pull into the car park of the market warehouse. Magi stays in the back of the pickup while we venture inside. We are following Uncle Jo up and down the aisles, filling the trolley up as we go, when we bump into Phil Walden—the owner of Walden’s restaurant.
‘Hey, Phil. How are you?’ Uncle Jo shakes his hand warmly.
‘I’m good, Jo. Girls.’ He nods his head in our direction. We smile and say hello back.
‘How’s business going?’ Uncle Jo asks, even though he knows from our dining experience there the other night that business is booming for Walden’s.
‘Busy. We can’t seem to keep up with the numbers at the moment, and with my new kitchen hand injured I’m in need of someone else to help out.’
My ears prick up. The image of the muscle bound hottie carrying the bucket of dishes flashes through my mind. Phoebe nudges me in the ribs, reminding me of it also.
‘Oh, what happened to him?’ Uncle Jo asks curiously.
‘Apparently he had a skateboarding accident, but from what Maisy Dodge says it looked much worse than just a skateboard that did that to him. She saw him the other day from across the street and he looked pretty banged up. His arm was in a sling and there were cuts covering his face. I’m not sure what really happened, but either way I am one man down and I need someone to hunt me down another kitchen hand soon before those dishes stack up any higher.’
An ill feeling settles over me and all of a sudden I don’t like where this conversation is going. Hunt me down. Those words take on a menacing form and I remember why he looked so familiar from the other night.
In my mind I see him walking back towards the kitchen, carrying the heavy bucket. He was wearing a white shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves, where I caught a flash of black inked into his forearm, revealing the letters: guinem. His height and bulk were probably enough to give him away but the real clincher, the part of him that should have stood out clearly, was his forearm and where I remember having seen those letters before.
I knew he looked familiar! I knew it! I feel disgusted at myself for not picking up on it sooner.
‘Hey, are you feeling okay?’ Phoebe whispers to me.
I make myself nod and try calming my nerves before my emotions take over. I can’t believe I missed it. No wonder I could feel someone watching me from within the restaurant the other night. It was him all along.
Uncle Jo wishes Mr. Walden the best of luck and turns to find me in a state of agitation. ‘What is it?’
‘Mr. Walden’s kitchen hand wasn’t in a skateboarding accident.’ I see him frown. ‘He was in a car accident.’ I wait for him to catch my meaning.
He clenches his fists. ‘The Venator?’ he asks.
I nod.
‘Whoa, wait a minute. Are you saying that the cute kitchen hand is the Venator?’ Phoebe says aghast.
‘That’s exactly what I’m saying. I can’t believe I missed it. I knew he looked familiar.’ I could kick myself.
‘But aren’t you supposed to feel these things?’ she asks.
Her words hurt. ‘Yes. I am. Maybe the atmosphere being so busy the other night dulled my senses or something, I don’t know, but it won’t happen again.’
‘Or maybe it was because there was chemistry between
you two?’ She leaves this last statement hanging in the air.
I start to feel nauseous.
Uncle Jo’s face darkens. ‘We need to finish up here and get home, so I can track this guy down.’ He looks off down the aisle.
I touch his arm softly. ‘You can’t go after him.’ He glowers at me as if I’ve lost my mind. ‘I know you want to, but we have to find the light. That is the only thing that will stop this for good. If we kill him now they’ll just send another one eventually. I want to end this curse once and for all and I can’t do it without you. Please?’
I don’t want to beg but I know he is desperate. So am I. I feel like time is running out and if we don’t find the light we may not know the truth. And I have to know. Nothing is more important than the truth right now. With it, I may be able to find out what happened to Mum.
He pinches the bridge of his nose. ‘Alright, Ellie. But we need to move fast, otherwise I cannot guarantee that my resolve won’t be tested.’ He gives me one last glower before he storms off, pushing the trolley with a vengeance.
Phoebe and I rush to catch up, looking at each other nervously.
We get everything we need in town and drive home in silence. Phoebe and I hold our breath just in case any unusual air currents set off Uncle Jo’s temper. He lets us off at the front door, and without saying a word he continues driving up to the barn.
Magi is watching me from the back of the truck, telling me she’ll watch over him. As we walk inside I hear the truck door slam harder than usual.
We walk into the kitchen and make ourselves an afternoon snack. Aunt Lily hears us come home and comes out of her bedroom looking sleepy-eyed. She yawns.
‘Are you feeling alright, Aunt Lily? You look tired,’ I say, taking in the extra lines around her eyes.
‘Just a little worn out that’s all. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.’ She gives me a knowing look and sits across from me at the table. ‘Where’s your uncle?’
‘Oh, ah…he’s in the shed,’ I respond hesitantly.