The Heart of Arima.

by Emma V. Leech

  I threw a spell that hit the roots of a massive pine tree that towered beside the creature and it exploded, sending dagger-sized splinters and sap in all directions. I hit the ground, face-planted in the mud as they flew over my head and screamed as one embedded itself in my thigh. I didn’t have time to investigate the damage as I heard a tortured groan and looked up to see the tree heading to the ground. I gasped as I realised the beast wasn’t the only one about to get crushed and I pushed myself away as fast as my injured leg would let me, slipping frantically on the wet ground. There was a deafening crash as it shook the ground. Pain flared in my shoulders as a branch slapped down on top of me, pinning me to the ground. Needles poked at my skin from ankles to scalp and I groaned as I tried to take inventory of the damage.

  I could hear the creature roaring- in pain I hoped -and thrashing about. Not dead then, I thought miserably. I could almost see Cain’s disapproving face in my head… Must try harder.

  Miraculously I didn’t appear to have broken anything, though my shoulders ached painfully and the wound in my thigh was throbbing like a bitch. I grabbed hold of a branch that was still waving dramatically about a foot from my head, and pulled myself out. A broken branch snagged on my leggings, ripping the material and grazing my calf. I yelled in frustration but kept going until I’d pulled myself free.

  I could see nothing but pine tree, though the beast’s roars were becoming louder as it tried to free itself. I stood on the tree trunk and could see that it was pinned by the weight of the trunk, though apparently unhurt as it struggled madly to gain purchase on the muddy ground. Through brute strength it was actually beginning to make some progress and I knew this was my best chance. I clambered over the tree and backed as far from it as I could get before sending a volley of fire spells.

  The fire hit the pine tree and the sap and went up with a roar that sent flames tearing into the sky. The heat was incredible and I bolted away as my skin burned. With a sinking heart I realised that, whether the creature was dead or not, I was still in deep trouble as the fire hungrily began to consume the trees on both sides, the blaze roaring with such intensity that the noise was deafening.

  Once again I used the water spell, frantically drawing on any available water sources to try and douse the flames. Guiltily I realised I must have found a lake as fish rained down with the water, flapping madly until they disappeared into the fire.

  Once I had the fire contained, I thought just for a moment that I was safe but the bloody thing emerged from the flames blackened and howling in pain and heading right for me.

  I turned and tried to run but stumbled in the mud and fell to my knees, I heard a roar right behind me and screamed, scrambling away as the monster lunged at me, great hands grabbing at my feet. I kicked my way free and tried to crawl away when I heard a groan and a thud and watched in disbelief as its head hit the floor. The great tongue lolled forward from the beast’s mouth and rolled out like a fat carpet until it just covered the tips of my toes. I squealed in disgust and scurried back out of reach, but it was definitely dead.

  “Jéhenne?”

  Talk about timing! I turned to see Cain looking at the massive corpse with interest; he was breathless, like he’d been running.

  “A yellow troll,” he said in surprise.

  Of course it was.“A what?” I gasped, wiping mud and soot from my eyes.

  “A yellow troll from the sulfur mines in Tartarus. I’ve never seen one cross to this world before. You killed it with a fire spell?”

  I nodded, feeling quite proud of myself. OK, I was covered in crap - what else was new - but I was alive, and it was dead, and judging from Cain’s expression he was going to be joining it any minute.

  “You bloody little fool, it comes from Tartarus, talk about doing things the hard way. These things are incredibly strong but have a brain the size of a gnat! Why didn’t you use the elemental spell I taught you the other day? You could have sucked the breath from its lungs in seconds!”

  I stared at him with detached fascination, I could see his mouth moving but his words had disappeared into an annoying buzzing sound that came alongside the red haze that seemed to envelope me. Before I knew what I was doing or he could react, I had lunged at him and knocked him to the ground. I hit him as hard as I could, yelling incoherently. “Bastard… How dare you! Miserable… bossy… arrogant… sonofabitch… Who the hell do you think you are… hate you… wish I didn’t have a brother!”

  After a few moments, I realised he wasn’t fighting back and I stopped.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I blinked and looked at him. “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Jéhenne.”

  “Oh.”

  I clambered off him and sat on the cold ground, shivering miserably. Cain pulled himself upright and shuffled over to sit beside me.

  “I heard the fight. When I saw the flames, I was afraid I wouldn’t get here in time…again.”

  I was surprised to hear the pain in his voice. Cain didn’t do emotions, well, apart from angry. He had angry down to a fine art.

  “What do you mean, again?”

  “When that bastard took you, when--when you were Jéhnina, I followed, I tried to help you, Jéhenne. I swear it. I have lived so very long with the weight of it on my conscience.”

  I looked at him in shock, realising he was talking about my past life, almost two thousand years ago.

  “But you were just a little boy, Cain, there was nothing you could have done.”

  He shook his head. “I should have tried harder, I should have saved you. I watched while they burnt you, Jéhenne.” His voice broke and he shook his head miserably. “You’re right, I’m a crap brother.”

  The all too familiar feeling of guilt cut into me, I felt like I was stuck in a loop, destined to screw up every relationship I touched.

  “You’re not a crap brother.” I sighed, though I wasn’t sure I was being entirely truthful.

  He snorted. “You’re a terrible liar, Jéhenne.”

  I grinned at him and shook my head. “Believe me, Cain, this is not news.”

  He was quiet for a while though I felt he was building up to say something so I kept my mouth shut.

  “I know I’ve been hard on you,” he said eventually.

  I raised my eyebrows. “Hard doesn’t quite cover it.”

  He nodded. “Yes I know, it’s just…”

  I waited for him to continue, not daring to prompt him. This was the first time he’d really spoken to me, other than just barking orders that is.

  “I have felt guilty for letting you down for so long and…well, I missed you.” He scowled and I suppressed the urge to smile. he obviously hated talking about such things. “I will protect you with my life, I promise you this, but I need you to be able to protect yourself in case… In case I fail.”

  “That’s why you’ve been doing the commando training thing?”

  He nodded. “You were lucky the last time you went to the underworld, Jéhenne, you have no idea of the things we could encounter down there.”

  I flinched, my visit to the underworld had been a terrifying experience, and the idea that I had been lucky was not comforting. “You do though? You have an idea of what we’ll meet?”

  “Oh yes, and creatures like this are little fluffy kittens in comparison.”

  “Fluffy kittens?” I repeated faintly, fighting the urgent desire to run and hide.

  Cain got to his feet and held out his hand, I took it and he hauled me to my feet. Looking me over critically he inspected the wound on my thigh and then jerked out the massive splinter. I yelled indignantly.

  “Fuck, Cain! A little warning would have been nice.”

  He shrugged. “Wouldn’t have helped.”

  He took a small vial from the belt around his waist and sprinkled some green powder over the wound, muttering under his breath, and I watched in surprise as the wound closed over, leaving a pink mark.

  “It won’t scar,” he assured me.

&n
bsp; I raised my eyebrows at him; Cain was covered in scars, almost head to foot. He caught my look and laughed.

  “I only found the spell last century. It was too late for me by then. I’ve often envied the vampires their healing abilities. I wonder why I got your powers when you died but not the ability to regenerate.” He grinned suddenly and it lit up his face, reminding me of a time when he had freckles scattered across a button nose. “I guess I’m a freak of nature.”

  “Well, certainly a freak.”

  He chuckled, obviously knowing that would be my answer and suddenly I felt a surge of affection for the pain in the arse that was my brother.

  “Do you want to go home?” he asked.

  I glanced at the hulking corpse in disgust and felt my insides tie themselves in a knot. “No.”

  Grinning broadly, his green eyes sparkled. “That’s my girl.” He chuckled. “Come on, let’s go destroy something.”

  Chapter 7

  I grabbed some lunch with Cain, watching stupefied as he demolished a whole Camembert, five thick slices of ham, and two baguettes. He looked up at me and shrugged. “I was hungry.”

  “When was the last time you ate?”

  He frowned and shrugged again. “Don’t remember.”

  I shook my head and finished the last of my lunch. I swallowed and made the decision that had been occupying my mind all morning.

  “Cain? Before, when I was Jéhnina, was ... Was there anyone else? Other than Corvus I mean?”

  He looked at me curiously. “A man you mean? No, no one. The men were all too afraid of you, they knew what you were. I used to see them watching you. I remember it made me angry, the way they would look at you, the things they said. But they were all shit scared.”

  “But Corvus wasn’t scared?”

  “Corvus didn’t know ...not until it was too late.”

  I gasped, shocked at the idea. “He didn’t know I was a witch?”

  “Not at first, no. I think you told him but he didn’t believe in such things, not to begin with at least.” He looked at me curiously. “You still don’t remember any of this?”

  “No. Hekatê showed me a little of my life, but just a little. Other than that, no, nothing. Sariel said it would come back to me but so far ...nothing about Corvus.”

  He frowned. “But there are other memories?”

  I nodded cautiously, I didn’t want to tell Cain about the child or about the voice in my head; the man who said he was coming for me ... Not yet, not until I could figure out some more for myself. I was too afraid he’d go asking Corvus questions in his quest to find answers. “Yes but nothing that makes any sense. Did--did I ever have a child or maybe take care of one?”

  His frown deepened. “You certainly never had a child. You did care for children though, you cured many when you were Jéhnina, that’s why the people had always kept your secret, that and the fact they feared you too much to go against you. Why?”

  My heart sank and I looked into eyes that gave nothing away but saw far too much, and I shrugged like it didn’t matter. “Like I said, it doesn’t make sense to me either.”

  He pursed his lips, pensive. “Why a yellow troll?” he said, puzzled.

  I snorted and rolled my eyes, relieved that he wasn’t going to pursue it further. “You’re asking me? How the hell should I know?”

  “Hmmm.” He stared at his empty plate, lost in thought.

  “OK, I’m going over to see Inés.” I’d told Cain about the dead woman and Inés’ conviction that Heloïse was to blame, and he’d just held up his hand and told me he didn’t want to know.

  “If you want to live, Jéhenne, stay out of disputes between witches.”

  “But they’re our family, and they’re sisters!”

  “Especially then,” he’d said.

  “What do you think of Heloïse?” I asked as I shrugged my coat on.

  He was still frowning at his plate but he answered. “Wouldn’t trust her any further than Inés.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”

  I drove over to see Inés and found a big battered four by four in the driveway. I parked next to it and ran into the cottage, wondering who was paying her a visit. Pushing open the door with some force as it always stuck worse in the winter, I practically fell into the kitchen to find Inés being confronted by a man wearing an expression of fury. He towered over Inés and was trying to use his impressive bulk to intimidate her which immediately put my back up. Of course Inés was more than capable of looking after herself but he was human and couldn’t know that. Her hands were behind her back, out of sight but I could smell the magic and knew she was having trouble containing her anger.

  “What’s going on here?” I demanded.

  The man turned to look at me and seeing another petit woman, he just snorted. “Stay out of this, if you know what’s good for you ...or are you another sorciere?”

  I felt a tremor of unease as I realised this must be a relation of Georgette. “I’m her gr-- I‘m her cousin but I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “This ...” To my astonishment he grabbed me by the wrist and hauled me into the herb room. “This is what I’m talking about. Witchcraft!” he said, gesturing around the room at the bottles and jars of herbs and other slightly more bizarre items, though there was nothing on view that would look out of place for an herbalist either.

  I yanked my wrist from his grasp and feigned a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous, Inés works with homeopathic medicines. If that’s witchcraft you’d best go and interrogate the chemist, they sell enough of it.”

  He loomed over me and leaned down so that his face was close to mine. I could see dozens of little thread veins in his florid face and instinctively knew this was a man who drank too much and lived on a short fuse. We had to get him out of here. “I know what she is, and if you’re related to her, maybe you’re the same ... A family of evil. I won’t rest until you’re all driven out. Do you hear me?” His voice was low and menacing and I could smell alcohol and garlic on his breath. I wanted to retch and had to hold my anger back hard to stop the magic flaring at my fingertips.

  “I think you should leave now,” I said, with as much ice as I could muster when all I wanted was to burn him to a crisp.

  He snorted and looked at me in disgust. “Oui, I’m leaving, before you can put some sort of hex on me, but this isn't the end of it.”

  He spat on the floor and turned but before he left the room he swept out his arm and cleared the top of the dresser, sending everything crashing to the floor. He went out, leaving the front door wide open, and we stood looking at each other in shock as the roar of his car could be heard leaving the driveway.

  Inés flew into a volley of language that would make a sailor blush to his toes, raging around the house, sparks flying from her hands and threatening to send the entire place up in smoke. I went and closed the front door and took the broom from the cupboard while the detailed description of what she wanted to do to him grew ever more inventive.

  “I’m really not sure disemboweling him and feeding his entrails to the wildlife is going to help us any,” I said, ten minutes later when I was still clearing up the mess and she was still ranting.

  “No but it would make me feel better.” She stood looking out of the kitchen window, arms folded, the tension and frustration rolling off her.

  I chucked the last dustpan full of debris into a black sack and went over and gave her a hug. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before hugging me back. Inés really was the least huggable person I knew.

  “I know it’s frustrating but he can’t prove anything and no one is going to take him seriously.” She looked unconvinced but didn’t say anything. “We should tighten up the wards though, put a keep out spell around the property.”

  She sat down heavily at the kitchen table. “Oui, will you help?”

  “Of course.”

  She nodded and I could see the worry in her eyes.

  “It’ll bl
ow over, don’t worry.”

  “Peut-étre.”

  “You don’t think so?”

  She sighed and ran her fingers through her thick hair. “This is always how it begins, the next thing you know there’s a crowd outside with burning torches.”

  I swallowed nervously. “Oh, come on. It’s the twenty first century; surely people are a bit more enlightened now?”

  “Ah oui, did he look enlightened to you?”

  “Well ... OK, fair point but surely the rest of the family ...”

  “They agree with him.”

  “Oh.”

  I put a pan of water on to boil as Inés didn’t own a kettle, and started to make a pot of coffee. “I don’t understand how this happened. I mean, you’ve only been making this potion for a few months as far as they’re concerned; before that it was Gran. Why would they be so convinced you’re a witch when they’d dealt with you for years and years as an old lady with no problem? If the doctors are sure it’s natural causes why are they so adamant it isn’t?” I paused as Inés shifted uncomfortably. “What did you do?”

  Inés rolled her eyes. “Rien! Nothing you’d disapprove of anyway.”

  “Oh?” That sounded highly unlikely.

  “When they called me they were hysterical, they said Georgette was possessed by devils. I got there as fast as I could but she was dead when I arrived. They said she’d been screaming about retribution and revenge and--and she said ‘thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!’”

  “Nice,” I said with a grimace and took the water off of the stove. “But at this stage they still weren’t accusing you?”

  “They were very upset obviously and Florian, that’s the imbecile who was here, he was demanding to know what had been in the potion, he said it began after she drank it, so I asked to see the body.”

  “OK ...and?” I looked around for the cake tin and Inés gestured to the dresser top. She always had cake.

  “She wasn’t there.”

  “What do you mean? The body was gone?”

  “Non!” Inés huffed impatiently. “Her soul, her soul wasn’t there.”