by S. A. Carter
After escaping her grasp we head inside and she begins to cook up a storm. She is happily opening drawers and getting food out of the fridge while grinning from ear to ear. Uncle Jo watches her with amusement.
I leave them to it and head up to my room, needing a shower badly. As I walk in I see Ama sitting at my window, hugging her knees and looking out at the garden below. Her face is creased in concentration.
‘Ama?’
She looks up and smiles. I see a flash of surprise cross her face and just as quickly as it appeared, it is gone. I walk towards her and she stands to hug me.
She cups my face and takes in my features with new interest. ‘You look beautiful,’ she says.
I blush. ‘Ama, you’ve seen my face a million times.’
She nods, smiles and hugs me again. ‘I am so glad you’re safe, Shem.’ She kisses my head and steps back. Her form starts to fade. ‘I have to go. I’ve been here too long. I just wanted to make sure you got home safely. I’ll be back soon.’ She vanishes before I can say anything.
I frown. It’s not like her to be so…abrupt.
I make my way to the bathroom and spend the next twenty minutes cleaning away the stuffy, cavernous residue that was cloaking my skin. As I am drying my hair and the steam lifts, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Is that me? I rub the mirror with my towel and take a step back. That can’t be me.
The girl staring back at me has changed. Where there was innocence about her only days ago, there is now wisdom reflected in her eyes. Where there was awkwardness in her movement, there is now gracefulness. I reach up to touch my face and trace my finger around the now defined cheekbones that give me a more womanly appearance. I trace my eye-line, where my once light green eyes have now deepened in colour, and then I touch my cheek, where my skin that once held the blemishes of teenage hormones now flawlessly enhances my softened pink lips.
I smile briefly before remembering that I’m not who I was. There is no turning back now. An uneasiness settles within me and I quickly push it aside.
I finish drying off and get dressed into my comfiest pair of black jeans along with my favourite vintage top.
I smell my way downstairs and into the kitchen. Uncle Jo glances up from his newspaper and his eyes flit across my face before he lowers them again. Aunt Lily is humming away while flipping pancakes on the stove.
‘Hey there. All cleaned up?’ She looks up from the stove and her mouth hangs open.
Uncle Jo says, ‘It’s alright, Lil.’ He grins and winks at me before returning to his paper.
Aunt Lily closes her mouth and forces a smile. ‘Do you want to help make the butter sauce, Ellie?’
I smile, knowing they’ve noticed the changes in me. ‘Sure.’
We spend the next half an hour cooking and eating and chatting away with one another like a normal family, forgetting for a moment that our world has shifted slightly.
Magi comes through the back door looking like she’s eaten a horse. As she waddles past she gives me an I-ate-too-much stare and heads into the lounge room.
I’m on the couch reading when the phone rings.
I hear Uncle Jo answer, his voice quickly taking on a new edge. ‘Calm down, Nina. It’s going to be alright. When did you see her last? Uh huh, okay. Did you ring the school? Uh huh.’
I jump out of the lounge in a hurry and run to the phone. His eyes darken as he glances at me and all of a sudden I know.
Something has happened to Phoebe.
‘Nina, listen. We are going to do everything we can. But first I’m coming to pick you and Tom up and I’ll bring you back here for extra safety. So pack your bags and I’ll be there in a minute.’ As he puts the phone down I can hear Mrs. Campbell sobbing.
‘Don’t even think about it, Ellie,’ he warns, sensing my anger. ‘We do nothing until we know more, okay?’
I don’t respond.
‘Jo, what’s happened?’ Aunt Lily asks worriedly.
He runs his hand through his hair angrily. ‘Phoebe hasn’t come home from school yet.’
‘What?’ she asks, looking back and forth between us.
‘The school said she left as usual. Nina thinks there may have been someone lurking about. Apparently Tom saw a man across the street from their house yesterday, while he was playing outside.’
‘This is all wrong,’ I say angrily. A wet nose nuzzles my hand.
‘Ellie, we don’t know what happened yet.’
‘Oh yes we do. It’s him.’
‘Him? As in the Venator? Oh my God!’ Her hand finds its way to her mouth in shock.
‘I’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t go anywhere until I get back. I mean it, Ellie. If he’s taken Phoebe then it’s only to flush you out.’ He waits for my response.
I nod angrily.
He storms out, but not before I see him grab the knife from the kitchen cupboard and put it in his back pocket.
Aunt Lily touches my arm and we sit together on the couch and wait.
Mrs. Campbell’s face is distraught and red from crying. Uncle Jo leads them into the lounge room. Tom looks scared, his small hands keep rubbing together in nervousness.
‘Hey, Tom,’ I say.
‘Hey,’ he whispers, looking down at his hands.
‘Do you want to play one of my Wii games?’ I ask.
He looks at me. ‘What do you got?’
I smile. ‘I have Wii sports and the new Super Mario galaxy?’
His eyes light up. ‘Mario galaxy,’ he says.
I set it up for him on the TV, at least distracting him for a while. Magi keeps him company.
I look over to Aunt Lily, who is comforting Phoebe’s mum on the couch.
‘I don’t understand,’ she sobs. ‘What is happening? What does he want with my daughter?’ She covers her eyes and weeps.
‘I need to make a couple of phone calls, Nina. I’ll be right back,’ Uncle Jo glares at me.
I follow him into the kitchen. ‘We need to find her.’
‘I know. But he’s using her to get to you, so we need to be smart here. No silly moves, Ellie. Let me make a couple of calls and then we’ll talk about it alright?’
‘Fine,’ I say anxiously.
He touches my shoulder. ‘He won’t hurt her. He wouldn’t dare. He only wants you, so she is safe for now.’
I hope he’s right.
He walks down to the study and I hear the door close behind him.
I go up to my room and try to ring her on the phone but I only get her voicemail. The sound of her voice causes me to tear up. I start pacing the room, swallowing back the lump in my throat.
Thinking that they’re must be something I can do I grab the Book of Cole off the bed and unlock it. I turn the pages, looking for the one spell that might help and after a few minutes I find it—the spell of lost and found.
I envision Phoebe’s face: curly blonde hair; lively brown eyes; and gap-toothed smile. I cast the spell, ‘Demefusa mae tolnawa.’
I feel my mind’s eye leave me, heading towards the ceiling and then beyond. It soars into the air, giving me a bird’s eye view of our farm. It weaves back and forth over the surrounding properties and then heads into town, passing over Maine Street.
People are going about their daily business with no indication that anything is wrong in their little country town. My mind hovers over Walden’s, trying to sense the Venator, but with no luck. It then heads back west towards the school, and as it gets closer it slows down, sensing something.
I see the brown brick facade and the old, worn rooftops of the main building. My mind stops directly above it, uncertain about the exact location of Phoebe, but sensing her presence there nonetheless. I pull my magic back.
Uncle Jo steps into my room. ‘Right. That’s done.’
I close the book, hearing the familiar sound of the locks falling back into place.
‘What is it?’ he asks.
‘I know where she is.’ He comes to sit beside me. �
�She’s being held at the school.’
‘Are you sure?’
I nod.
‘Okay, listen to me. This is going to be really dangerous, Ellie. We need to be ready.’ He shifts his position slightly. ‘I think it would be better if Magi and I go there first and scope it out.’
‘No!’ I stand up abruptly. ‘There is no way that I am not going in there. No way, Uncle Jo! Phoebe is my best friend.’
He sighs wearily. ‘Alright. But we need to have a plan. Meet me in the shed in ten.’ He is already moving towards the doorway.
I stand there looking after him, thinking about what I have to do, and then my spine tingles.
I turn around. ‘Ama!’ I fall into her arms and hug her fiercely. ‘He’s got Phoebe.’
‘I know, pet. I know.’ She strokes my hair.
I step back. ‘This is it, isn’t it?’
She nods and smiles sadly. ‘Yes my love, it is. This is your moment.’ Tears well up in her lovely green eyes.
‘Ama, I haven’t told you what happened in Egypt. I…’
She shakes her head, her dark hair swirling around her shoulders. ‘I already know, Ellie.’
‘What! How?’ I ask perplexed.
She is fiddling with my hair, putting strands gently behind my ear. ‘I was able to gain access to the Screening Room.’
‘The Screening Room?’
‘Yes. It is a room where we can revisit the choices we made while we were alive. It’s supposed to help us learn from our mistakes, so we can do better next time around.’ She folds her hands together neatly, knowing I have questions coming.
‘But…so…you saw what happened to me?’
‘Yes. Although, to be perfectly honest, I wasn’t supposed to. Technically,’ she makes the sign of air quotes with her fingers, ‘I wasn’t allowed. But what do they know. I snuck in anyway.’ She shrugs, like it was just a normal day rebelling on The Other Side.
‘So you saw everything?’
‘Not everything. Just the part where you were talking with Isis, you drank her life-force, and you found out that you are the chosen one to be her vessel.’
‘Oh. Then you know what I have to do with the Venator?’
She nods. ‘Yes. And it isn’t going to be easy for you. To get close enough to pour the drops into his mouth means that you can’t kill him, which I know under the circumstances will be hard for you, but you must restrain yourself. Just injure him enough that he remains still.’ She puts her hands on my shoulders. ‘You must stay strong, no matter what he tells you, or…what he thinks he knows.’
I frown. ‘Alright,’ I say hesitantly. ‘Ama, what else do you know?’
She looks distractedly at my rumpled bed. ‘Nothing, pet. This is now your journey. I just wish I could go with you.’ Her concern ripples through me.
‘I will get Phoebe back.’
She smiles at me. ‘I know you will.’
I need to tell her one more thing. ‘Ama, I think I saw Mum.’
Her eyes light up. ‘You did? Where?’
Ever since Mum died I have always hoped that Ama would tell me she is alive and well on The Other Side, but for some reason Ama hasn’t seen her yet. I believe now that Mum has stayed on this earthly plane so she could help and guide me through all this. She knew things we didn’t. She must have known.
‘She was in Egypt. She was helping us, or at least…helping me.’
Her face softens. ‘Did Josiah see her too?’
I nod. ‘He couldn’t talk about it. It seemed to pain him too much.’
She nods again and glances away. ‘It would. When he lost Evelyn, he lost a part of himself. It was harder for him than any of us knew. I suppose it would, being that they were twins.’ She sighs.
‘Twins!’ I exclaim. ‘Uncle Jo and Mum were twins?!’
‘Yes. She was born only a few minutes after him. They were inseparable as children.’ She looks away thoughtfully.
Twins. The pain Uncle Jo feels makes so much more sense now. No wonder he finds it so hard to say her name. ‘Why didn’t I know this, Ama? Why didn’t anyone tell me?’
She shakes her head gracefully. ‘Sweetheart, there are some things you just don’t know about our family. I understand that frustrates you at times, but you have to remember that this family holds many secrets, some of which aren’t ready to come out just yet.’ She touches my shoulder. ‘Your uncle loves you. When he is ready, he will talk about it. Until then, you must have patience.’
My shoulders sag reluctantly. ‘Alright, but I’m getting a little tired of all the missing pieces in my life.’
‘I know, Shem.’ She stands in front of me and takes my hands in hers. ‘I need you to know something.’ Her voice catches slightly. ‘I need you to know that…we all love you, Elena. Remember that when the light seems dim. Be strong now.’ She squeezes my hands and fades out before I can respond.
I am left with an empty feeling in my stomach. What did she mean?
I shrug off the dark cloud of uncertainty and focus my attention back on Phoebe. My hands are shaking as I grab the things I am going to need: my Kevlar vest, which I probably won’t need but which I know Uncle Jo will make me wear anyway, and the vial—which is the most important weapon I have at my disposal.
As I walk downstairs I hear Aunt Lily talking gently to Mrs. Campbell, reassuring her that everything is going to be alright.
I sneak out through the kitchen without attracting their attention and within seconds Magi is by my side. We walk towards the barn and the air suddenly feels different. There is a heaviness to it that reminds me of a storm brewing.
Chapter 23
Uncle Jo is pacing within the barn doors, his shoulders are tense and his aura is projecting the colours of red, purple and yellow.
‘I’m ready,’ I say somberly, as I think of all the things I want to say, but can’t.
He stops pacing. ‘Come over here, I want to show you something.’ He walks over to the wooden bench. On it is a large piece of paper with a sketched drawing of a building. He points to the paper. ‘This is a blueprint of the school.’ He flips his hand up at me. ‘Don’t ask.’
I close my mouth.
‘Here you can see the main building, the shed, and the outer structures. Now point to where you felt Phoebe was being held.’
I point to the main building. To the east wing. ‘There. Somewhere in there, I think.’
He takes a pencil and scribbles some lines across the paper. ‘We should go in through here.’ He points to a side entry. ‘But he’ll be expecting that, so we need another way in.’
We search the blueprint for another alternative.
‘There’s nothing,’ I say.
Magi sends me an image.
‘There is another way in. Magi says there is an old wood-fire chute in the back of the west wing, near the car park.’
‘Are you sure?’ he asks.
‘Yes,’ I reply confidently. I show him where it sits on the map.
‘Okay, well that’s our entry point. We go in through there and then make our way up the stairs towards the east wing. I’m expecting some surprises, so we need to be on our toes.’
‘Uncle Jo, I’ve been thinking. I could just teleport us there, right inside, so there’s no hassle.’
‘No, it’s too risky. He may be hoping for that. If you zap into the wrong room, and he’s left a trap, then it’s all over.’
I nod, knowing he’s right.
‘But you can take us to the car park. That will save us being detected.’ His eyes are hooded for a second and then he shakes his head. ‘Let’s get to it. The sun is setting and we don’t have long.’
He walks over to the tool wall where hammers, saws and screwdrivers hang. He pushes aside a poster of the band Credence Clearwater and I see that there is a pin pad on the wall. He puts in some numbers and the wall opens up.
Astonished, I slowly walk towards him.
He steps into a steel room, similar to a bunker. Fluorescent lights
blink on revealing the shelves and brackets that line the walls. They are filled with all sorts of weapons, trinkets, gadgets, and papers. In the corner is a small wooden desk and chair, and on it I can see more papers and drawings; a walkie-talkie; and an old oil lamp.
Who is this man?
‘Some bat cave you’ve got here, Bruce Wayne,’ I say sarcastically.
He smirks and grabs a handful of what looks like bullet shells. ‘Not quite. But it does the job.’
When he has gathered everything he needs we exit the lair.
I start to feel nervous. ‘Do you think she’s alright?’
He stops packing the army green duffel bag. ‘He wants you, Ellie, remember that. Phoebe is safe as long as you are still alive.’ He senses my concern. ‘I would be more worried about him. Can you imagine what sort of cheek she would be feeding him right now?’
I smile. ‘You’re right. She would be giving him hell.’ The thought of Phoebe mouthing off and slaying sarcastic insults at this guy makes me feel hopeful.
I can’t believe I thought he was cute.
‘So what do you want me to do?’ I ask.
He puts a couple of night vision goggles into the bag.
‘Uh, I won’t need those,’ I say.
‘Ellie, it’s getting dark. You’ll need them to be able to see, especially in that old school.’
‘Actually, I can already see in the dark,’ I say shyly.
He stands up and puts his hands on his hips. ‘Isis?’ he asks frowning.
I nod.
‘Okay, well one for me then.’ He glances at me curiously as he takes one pair out. He zips up the bag and sheaths the green-handled knife into his pants. ‘I think that’s everything,’ he says. ‘Oh, one more thing. Here.’ He hands me a small cream object that looks like a jelly bean.
‘What’s this?’ I ask.
‘It’s an earpiece, so we can talk to each other without attracting the attention of you-know-who.’
‘Oh, right.’ I put the earpiece into my ear.
‘Can you hear me?’ he says.
I hear his voice inside my head. ‘Yes, I hear you. Over and out.’
He smiles. ‘It’s working.’ He bends down to put Magi’s Kevlar doggy jacket on her.