Witches in Wonderland

by Lauren Quick

  The spell intensified and a prickly, searing heat washed over everyone, but Clover took the brunt of the deadly spell. Honora recognized the earth magic from her time up north in the ice and cold. It was a variation on a strengthened warming spell and was doing a number on Clover. Her cheeks were bright red and sweat poured down her face. Clover countered the powerful spell with a protective ward that sizzled quickly before collapsing.

  Trying to recover, Clover mumbled a binding spell, which was strange, because a binding spell would hardly help in her current situation. She needed to go for an attack spell or at least another ward to protect herself. Honora cringed. She hated seeing her sister like this. A binding spell seemed pointless. What was Clover up to? The fairy witch scoffed and even smiled rudely like a pompous witch. Clover’s hands shook; blood dripped from her nose. She uttered the binding spell again and stared at the statue of Hazel. But she was too weak and her spell faltered. The fairy witch continued to weave her spell through the air, her earth magic too foreign for Clover to counter.

  Clover pulled the stone from her pocket in a last-ditch attempt to challenge the witch and tossed the charm breaker into the air. The witch screamed as the stone exploded on contact and shattered the earth spell. Clover slumped to the ground, but the witch wasn’t done. The witch attacked with a furious spin of wild energy, thrusting her wands at Clover and shooting a freezing spell that hit Clover in the chest and sent her body into spasms. The cold shock after so much heat was too much for her to handle.

  “This is over,” the witch said. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. Just take a knee, bow to my power, and this is done.”

  Honora’s fists clenched, her fingernails digging into her palms, so she didn’t do anything stupid and punch that arrogant fairy witch in the face. She hated to watch Clover struggle, knowing she would hang on to the bitter end, no matter how painful it got. Even if Clover lost her match, they would still be tied. Honora gritted her teeth and focused on the statues surrounding the edge of the garden. And then it hit her what Clover meant when she said, “Our coven is made of stone.” She was right they weren’t alone. They were literally surrounded by witches and wizards. Seven to be exact and when you added seven to six, you had a full thirteen-witch coven.

  Clover hadn’t been trying to bind the fairy witch’s magic by casting the spell at her opponent. She was trying to bind herself to the statues and send a message to her coven, her family, telling them to bind themselves to the seven statues, using the likenesses to draw upon their latent power. That was why the Darklander had the statues here, not out of homage, but to use their strength—dead or alive, a witch’s life, memory, and history had intense power. But the fairy’s magic overwhelmed her before she could finish the spell.

  Clover wasn’t the strongest Mayhem by a long shot, but she was the cleverest. Honora stepped from behind the protective barrier, seeing clearly that she needed to take control of the situation. Rules be damned.

  “What’s going on?” Kat demanded of Honora. “You aren’t allowed to aid her. It’s not your turn.”

  “They’re desperate,” the Darklander said, but he had to know what was going on. It was his garden.

  Kat’s brow furrowed and her gaze darkened as she launched herself toward Honora. “Fine. Clover’s lost her fight anyway and now it’s you and me, flyer.”

  Honora’s one mission, win or lose, was to get Kat to use black magic against her and flood the area with its telltale signature. Shouldn’t be too hard. Instigating others was a valuable fighting skill to draw witches off balance and she’d honed it over the years.

  “Honora!” Henrietta yelled and motioned to her dress, the heirloom.

  Honora sent a pulse of magical intention into the gown, which sparked and tingled against her skin. The fabric twisted, the fibers transforming into magical armor. Cool! This was a dress she could embrace.

  Reenergized by her tough witch heirloom, she pulled two salt bombs out of her pockets and tossed them into the air as she rose a foot above the ground, towering above Kat as the two witches circled each other in the sparring area.

  Kat sneered. “You think you scare me? Hardly. I did my research into you and I brought a special weapon.” She pulled a huge metal ax from behind her back. It was so much like the axes Honora had seen in the North Woods and almost took her breath away. Honora swallowed hard. This wasn’t a death match, but the Red Queen was playing dirty by bringing the deadly weapon. The carvings in the magical blade sprang to life, glowing as Kat muttered a spell and heaved the ax at Honora. She ducked just in time for the blade would have cut her head clean off if she hadn’t moved out of the trajectory.

  Honora dove out of the way and tossed a salt bomb at Kat. The sphere hit her in the shoulder and exploded in a stinging spray that temporarily dulled her magic.

  Kat recovered quickly, the ax boomeranging back to her hand and she didn’t hesitate to charge Honora and take a swing at her. Honora blocked the blow with her arm, the blade grazing the sleeve of her dress, causing sparks to fly as the magical fabric held. Next, Honora threw a few punches at Kat, hitting her in the face, before dodging another swipe of the ax. Honora shot her body backwards to give herself more room and she tossed the other salt bomb, but this time at the ax and not at Kat. The salt exploded and hissed as it hit the magical blade. Kat cursed and dropped the ax, pulling her wand out of her sleeve.

  Again the two witches circled one another, waiting to strike. “You’re losing.” Honora heckled Kat with a devious grin. “You’ll never beat me. You’re too weak, too classy to get down in the mud with a witch as strong as I am. Being on the council’s made you soft,” she taunted.

  Anger rose in the flush of Kat’s face. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

  “Why don’t you show me? Show me your skill, tough girl.” Honora chuckled and launched a series of shredder spells ripping Kat’s signature red cape and slicing right through the fabric. Nothing angered a witch more than destroying her clothes. It was low and Honora didn’t let up. She pummeled her with stinger and shredder spells until her cape was in tatters and red welts and blisters appeared on her arms, legs, and face. Honora easily knocked down any counter spell Kat spun.

  Honora couldn’t remember the last time she’d fought this hard. She wasn’t just trying to win; she was humiliating Kat, pushing her to her breaking point.

  Kat’s head rose and the look in her eyes was murder. A dark shadow crossed her face and the words that spilled from her mouth were made of sheer evil, darkness, and deception. Black magic spun in the air thick with the stench of brimstone. Kat launched a series of sinister spells that ripped through the air and when they hit Honora, they tore right though the defensive ward that Honora threw up in the last second.

  Even lessened by the ward and the protection of her dress, the black magic felt like fiery venom had exploded through her system and she plummeted from the sky and hit the ground in a hard thud, knocking the wind out of her. The stench of brimstone shot through her nostrils. Honora raised her head wearily and muttered another ward to protect her weakened body. She took another hit, the ward shattered, and Honora screamed in agony as the spell shot through every nerve and rattled her bones. She gasped and rolled over onto her side into a ball.

  Honora screamed again, only this time it was Clover’s binding spell that echoed from her mouth. She had to complete the spell and send her coven a message. She crawled to her knees and kept repeating the spell.

  “Is that a wail of surrender I hear?” Kat asked, highly pleased with herself.

  Honora nodded. “It’s over,” she said, head bowed. “You win.”

  Clover picked up Honora’s cue and spoke the spell with Vivi, Elspeth, Henrietta, and Elsie. They chanted the binding spell over and over. Honora stumbled to her feet and rose into the air, lifting to the center of the garden, high above them in
the air. The Mayhem coven chanted the spell with Clover and a glowing orb rose up around them, encompassing the Darklander’s garden. Next, Clover uttered a summoning spell and sent Rusty running around the garden again, linking all the statues, drawing on the latent magic of the witches and wizards, and sealing the spell.

  Once Clover bound the circle and cast the enclosure, they would all be sealed inside, which was why Honora had flown to the top, so she would be outside the sphere and able to fly off and alert Hex. All the magic inside the sphere would be detectable, especially Kat’s display of black, brimstone-soaked magic. With their testimony, it would be enough evidence to have Kat banished from the council for using black magic against Honora. The binding spell and the power drawn from the full coven gave them enough magical energy to seal the Darklander’s entire garden.

  “They’re sealing us inside. Why, when we’re winning?” the fairy witch asked.

  “It’s a trap!” Kat yelled, her face suddenly pale. “I’ve broken the sacred order. This isn’t fair! I was crushing you pathetic witches!”

  “Hardly.” Honora hovered above her. “It’s only a trap because you used black magic, which is against the law in Everland. You couldn’t beat me without it and you know it. Now the council will see you for who you really are—a dark and deceitful witch.”

  The witch lashed out and threw a spell toward Honora, but it was too late, for the magical dome was up and Honora was on the outside. The spell bounced back and hit Kat’s wizard in the leg, causing him to wail in pain. Vivi pulled out two potions and launched them right at Kat before she could get a ward up. She staggered and then slumped to the ground. Elspeth ran to secure Kat and bind her wrists while the aunties kept an eye on the rest of Kat’s coven. They’d gone docile after they saw their leader was down, and the Darklander just stood back and watched the fallout. Honora watched it all from above.

  Clover turned to Vivi. “You knocked out Kat and made her smell good.”

  “It’s one of the potions that the aunties used in those croquet balls. They mix up some serious knockout potions. Remind me not to play with them anytime soon. Your binding spell idea was brilliant, Clover.”

  “I knew the statues were important. I just hadn’t put it all together until we were all standing around them and it felt like they were here with us.”

  Honora held her hand against the magical sphere. They’d pulled it off. Not exactly as planned, but they’d done it. Her gaze met Elspeth’s. Pride filled her mother’s face. She held up a strong fist and tapped her heart as a sign of love and strength to her daughter.

  “Go!” Elspeth yelled. “Bring back Hex and let’s finish this.”

  “You got it,” Honora said and dove head first into the night sky.

  23

  Sitting with a group of witches and wizards after they’d lost a magical battle wasn’t fun. Kat Keene and her coven were surly, to say the least. The coven argued loudly, turning on each other. Currently, Elspeth and the aunties were standing guard over the catty group, making sure none of them tried to escape. According to Elspeth and her knowledge of Everland law, the coven members were not responsible or liable for Kat’s actions. Technically, Kat Keene was the only witch who had done anything illegal by using black magic, and the other witches and wizards in her coven couldn’t be held once the orb came down. That included the Darklander, but then, he probably knew that.

  Clover kept her distance, sitting at the feet of the statue of Hazel while Rusty curled up in her lap. Her spontaneous idea to use the statues to draw up more magical power had worked. She’d hoped that Honora or her mother would figure out what she was attempting and luckily Honora did.

  Just the thought of the Darklander seemed to draw him toward her and she had to fight off a wave of annoyance as the wizard approached. He’d shed the coven’s signature red cape and was back to his black attire, sleek as a reptile.

  “I underestimated you,” he said, gazing up at the statue.

  Clover stroked Rusty’s soft fur, his body tensing at the Darklander’s presence. “Happens all the time. I’m used to it. I don’t mind actually, gives me an advantage.”

  “I wondered what strategy your family would devise to fight Kat Keene, but I didn’t think you’d use the statues. I expected raw magical firepower from Honora and your mother or some kind of magical trap using antiquated magic from your great-aunts. Good job. I’m assuming using the statues was your idea,” he said casually as if nothing had just transpired between them. He’d fought against her and her family. He’d clearly chosen a side.

  “Why did you join her coven?” Clover asked. “You knew we were going to challenge her. You even encouraged it, and then you turned around and helped her. You say you’re with the order and then you fight to help Kat in her quest for the coin. I wasn’t expecting help, but I assumed you’d remain neutral. So sorry if I’m not in the mood to chitchat.”

  “Oh, Clover. Did I hurt your feelings? I told you that I’m a dark wizard and that’s what dark wizards do. I fought to protect my self-interest. Plus, Keene contacted me after you so wisely planned your battle in my garden. She wanted to secure my loyalties.”

  “You had to protect your cover. I get it.”

  “I’m not stupid. I couldn’t count on your coven winning and one more infraction under the council law and I would have ended up in The Banishment. I’m not one who would do well in prison.”

  “Really? I thought someone like you would have lots of friends behind bars.”

  “And lots of enemies. But by joining Kat, my reputation is still intact, as is my cover for the order, as you put it.”

  Never say the Darklander didn’t cover his bases. But there was one topic Clover was still curious about. “What about Charles Atticus? My aunties had to realize with Kat arrested she’d be in no position to make good on the deal we had for her to free him. What will happen to him now?”

  “The law will take its course, I suppose.” He shrugged, sliding his hands into his pockets.

  Sympathy for the father she hardly knew welled inside her. “What about his work with the order? That has to mean something. You have to help him. He’s not a murderer.” At least she hoped not. Someone else had to be behind Jack Rabbit’s death, and Kat Keene was the most likely suspect.

  “The harsh reality is I can do nothing. The order will do nothing obvious to assist him. They will try to work behind the scenes, but how they will do so is not my concern.” Icy detachment oozed from the Darklander.

  Clover glared at him. “I guess it’s up to us Mayhems once again.”

  “You’ll figure out a way. You are resourceful witches.”

  Clover made eye contact with Vivi, who stood and put her hands on her hips. “Hey, enough chitchat over there. Clover, don’t listen to him. Come over here.” She nudged her mom who glided over, wand clutched in her hand.

  The Darklander stopped Clover before she could walk away. “You and your sisters still possess the coin?” He arched his brow.

  “Don’t you worry your little head about the coin. We’ll take care of it.” Clover patted his chest and glided away with Rusty fast on her heels.

  Clover’s stomach lurched when a portal suddenly erupted, and Honora, flanked by a team from Hex Division led by Rye Finn, descended on the Darklander’s garden. It didn’t take long for Rye and Hex to sort things out. They documented the use of black magic with numerous magical detection spells, taking samples of the air and soil captured within the dome. Statements were taken from everyone in both covens, and it was clear that Kat’s coven was crumbling, giving testimony against their leader.

  The Red Queen had obviously not instilled the value of loyalty within her coven. Perhaps they saw the writing on the wall and that, with Kat’s arrest, she’d no longer have the status in the council to gain influence. Rye arrested her, slipping magical handcuffs on he
r wrists and assigning two guards to watch her. Details about the other coven members were noted and recorded by Hex. They were now on Hex’s suspicious witch list and would be watched in the future.

  Once finished processing the scene, Rye marched up to Honora as the Mayhem coven stood around waiting for the crime scene to be released, so they could get out of the Dire Woods.

  “Coin,” he said, holding his palm high.

  “Fine.” After digging it out of her pocket, Honora placed the portal coin in his hand. “That coin is awesome. I’d love to get my hands on one. Can you imagine having a portal at your disposal anytime to go anywhere you wanted?”

  Rye cocked his eyebrow. “Unfortunately, yes. And so can every criminal and lowlife in Everland. Since it’s too important to destroy, this coin is going back where it belongs, under lock and key.” He pulled a slim black case from his jacket, secured the coin inside with a spell, and snapped it shut.

  “I guess you’re right. But it was still fun to use it, even if I was just going to get you after we solved this case for Hex,” Honora said with a cheeky grin.

  “Keep telling yourself that, Mayhem.” Rye turned to Clover. “With this coin in our possession, all charges against you are dropped. You took a huge risk at personal expense. You helped us get the coin back, and I appreciate it, but don’t ever do anything like that again,” he said.

  Clover nodded. “I’m returning to my quiet life in the Meadowlands immediately.”

  Hovercrafts arrived and Rye collected his team. They quickly loaded up their detainee, a seething Kat Keene, and disappeared into the night.