by Mona Hanna
Erica looked at her hands. She loved her parents and didn’t want to lie to them. And she hated disappointing them, especially her mother, after she worked so hard training her over the years. But Erica didn’t want to talk about Gareth to anyone but Julia. It was embarrassing and private, and even sharing it with her best friend made her uncomfortable. She certainly didn’t want to talk about him with her mother! But one look back in Mother’s eyes told Erica she had to come clean.
“I met someone yesterday,” Erica finally said. “Julia and I went for a walk, and I met a boy named Gareth. He asked to see me today, and I said yes. All we did was talk, and we were around other people the whole time—I promise nothing happened and I was perfectly safe. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I was embarrassed. Don’t be mad at me, please.” Erica gazed at her mother with a pleading look in her eyes, and her mother’s expression softened.
“Oh, darling, I was just worried about you. Come sit down and talk to me.” Mother went and sat on one of the settees, beckoning for Erica to sit beside her.
Erica looked at her father, and he smiled, going up to her and kissing her on the cheek.
“No more hiding things,” he said warmly, then smiled once more before leaving the room.
Erica sat beside her mother, then told her about her meeting with Gareth. She didn’t mention her about her feelings for Gareth, but told her about some of the things they talked about and what she knew about him. “He’s nice, and I said I’d see him again on Saturday. I know everyone will still be here, but I’m only taking a few hours away from them, and I’ll spend lots of time with them before Saturday. Can I please go?”
Mother smiled at Erica and gave her a quick hug. “I’m glad you asked permission this time. Yes, you may see him. But at the end of your time with him, have him walk you home so me and your father can meet him.”
“But what if he doesn’t want to! You’ll only embarrass me! Mother, no!”
“Erica, you know I like to meet your friends, and even though you haven’t said so, I suspect this boy is important to you. So I must meet him. You’re my daughter, and it’s my job to look out for you. I’ll speak to your father, and we’ll be on our best behavior. But this is a condition of you seeing Gareth again.”
Erica frowned, looking at her hands, so upset and mortified at the thought of bringing Gareth home. Everyone would be there, she just knew it. All of her family and friends. It would be horrible! But what choice did she have?
“Alright, I’ll bring him here,” Erica finally said. “I promise. Can I go now?”
“Yes, dear. I think Julia’s in your room. Dinner will be in an hour.”
Erica scrambled away as fast as she could and rushed to her room.
Sure enough, Julia was sitting on her bed, reading a book. She threw it to one side and looked at Erica expectantly. “Well?”
Erica beamed and sat beside her.
***
“Do you think he’ll kiss on you on Saturday?” Julia asked.
Erica blushed. “I don’t know. I’m not sure. All we did was talk—I don’t even know if he wants to. I’m so embarrassed!”
“Why? Because your parents are forcing you to bring him here? I’d be more worried about the twins teasing you than your parents. Maybe I’ll bind them up with my magic or something.”
Erica giggled. The thought had often tempted her, but she wouldn’t dare take advantage of people with her powers, even those as annoying as James and Caeden. “Just see if you can stop them from making fun of me and Gareth. I don’t know what he’s going to say when I tell him he has to come here. I hope he’s okay with it. He offered to walk me home today, so I suppose it’ll be alright. I can’t wait to see him again, but I’m nervous about what I’m going to say.”
“You did fine today, I’m sure you’ll be fine again,” Julia said. “If he tries to—”
The door was swung open. “Dinner’s ready,” Merilyn said. “Stop talking about smooching.”
“Shut up, you idiot,” Julia snapped, but Merilyn only laughed and ran from the room.
Julia and Erica stood and walked towards the door, when they both stopped. Erica grasped her forehead. A wave of dizziness overtook her, making her feel ill. She took a deep breath, but the feeling was too strong, and she stumbled. The last thing she saw before falling was Julia falling beside her.
***
“Erica! Erica, can you hear me? Darling, wake up!”
Erica slowly opened her eyes, her vision clearing to reveal her mother hovering over her. She put a hand to her head, feeling a horrible headache. She realized she was lying on the ground and tried to sit up before Mother put her arm around her and helped. “What happened?” Erica rasped.
“You and Julia both collapsed,” Mother said, worry in her voice. “Julia woke up a few moments ago. Are you alright?”
Erica frowned. “I guess so.” She looked over at Julia and saw her sitting on the floor, her parents beside her. Julia met her gaze but didn’t say anything.
“I feel strange, but I don’t know what happened,” Erica said. “One minute we were walking to the door, and the next I’m laying on the floor and you’re waking me up. I…” Erica frowned once more, but this time it was a memory bothering her. Something tugged at her mind, something she felt she should remember. But what? What in the world was in her head?
“You know what this reminds me of?” someone said at the door. Erica looked up and saw Father and Sean standing nearby. Her father continued speaking. “Remember when you and Hallie had the vision about the prophecy?” he said to Mother. “You both collapsed at the same time, and you both had the same vision while you were out. Remember?”
Mother looked at Erica closely. “Darling, did you have a vision? Julia, did you?”
Erica stared at Julia, desperately trying to remember what was tugging at her mind. It was so close but just out of reach. If only she could make it clear! If only she could remember!
“Erica!” Julia cried. “Erica, no!”
“What….” Erica began, but then it flooded into her mind. The vision. A tall blond man in his thirties stood over her. Her clothes were ripped and bloody. The man reached out and took her hand, then said something that tore apart her soul.
“You failed. And now you’re mine.”
Chapter 6
Erica sat on her bed, sobbing loudly, her hands covering her face. The test. Both she and Julia had a vision that she went through the test. And Erica knew the visions of a High Witch always came true.
To make matters worse, the vision said she failed. She would kill someone to save herself, and, therefore, become bound, enslaved to the man who put her through the test. It was the worst thing she could have possibly seen—her worst nightmare. She couldn’t believe it.
“Erica? Tell me what’s wrong,” her mother said, sitting beside her on the bed with her arm around her. “What did you see?”
“Oh, Mother!” Erica cried, throwing her arms around her neck. “It’s horrible!” She wept into her shoulder.
Mother hugged her back, but Erica couldn’t feel any comfort. She was too distraught. She kept crying until finally the tears ceased, and she was able to sit back and look at her parents. Father stood beside Mother, with Julia, Alexandra, and Cameron across the room. Hallie occupied the doorway, and everyone else was gathered in the hall outside Erica’s room.
“I don’t want to tell you,” Erica said. “You’ll be too upset.”
“Just tell me and we’ll deal with it together,” her mother said. “Please darling.”
Erica wiped the tears from her face, then took a deep breath. “Alright,” she said. “I’m so sorry…”
***
“And you know the visions of a High Witch are real.”
Erica stared at Mother after telling her about what she saw. Her mother looked deeply into her eyes, and tears began to stream down her face. She tried wiping them away, but only more came.
Father took her hand and squeezed it.
“Ariel, I…”
“We won’t let this happen,” Mother said through clenched teeth. “My child will not go through this. As I live and breathe, we will stop this. Hallie!”
Hallie hurried over and stood before Mother.
“Hallie, we need to plan. I don’t know what to do, but we’ll find this man, and so help me, I’ll kill him before he lays a hand on my daughter! This will not happen!”
The fear and terror in her mother’s voice frightened Erica. There was a wild look in Mother’s eyes—she seemed truly horrified by the vision. Suddenly Erica couldn’t breathe. She just had to get out if there—she needed space. She stood and rushed out of the room, past all the people in the hallway and out into the backyard. She took deep breaths and tried desperately to clear her head.
She would be okay. She had to be. Mother was right: they had to stop this. But how? How would they find the blond man—he could be anyone, anywhere. They had no way of knowing when the vision was set. It could be in a month or a year. There was too much unknown. The villain might be in another country right now for all they knew. This was a disaster. It was awful.
Just as she was about to lapse into deeper despair, Erica heard footsteps behind her. She turned and saw her brothers, the twins, Julia, and Merilyn all standing before her. She immediately felt better but wasn’t sure what they were all thinking.
“You’ll be alright Erica,” James said. “You didn’t see yourself going through the test—who knows what actually will happen.”
“Yes, and besides, there are four High Witches here. What man could stand up against that?” Caeden said. “I don’t like to say this too often, but you four are scary. Hell, you can kill people just by pointing at them. What about all your mother and ours did when they were younger? You’ll be fine—there’s no way this guy will win.”
Erica managed a small smile. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I’m still really scared, but you all being here makes me feel better.”
“Erica?” Elliot stepped forward a little. “I’ll try and have a vision of your future. You know I’m not very good at it, but I’ll try and help any way I can.”
“Thank you so much,” Erica said, smiling at her brother. “That means a lot.”
“And Julia”—Merilyn shoved her sister forward—“will help too. You had the vision as well. There must be a reason for that. Hurry up and be useful.” Everyone turned and looked at Merilyn. She frowned back, then huffed. “What? If I can’t help with magic, the least I can do is order you people around. There’s a bad man out there. Go get him.”
Erica couldn’t help but smile, shutting her eyes and wondering if anything in the world could scare Merilyn. She looked back at everyone, then walked back towards the house. “Let’s go back inside. No point in standing out here.”
They followed her into the front room, where the adults were gathered.
Erica walked up to her parents, who were sitting on one of the settees. “Can we have dinner?” she asked. “I just want to do something normal.”
“Of course, darling!” Mother said. “Anything you’d like!”
“I’ll get the plates,” Hallie said. “Alexandra, can you help me?”
“Of course,” she said, and the two women walked towards the kitchen.
Erica looked at her hands, hoping those around her wouldn’t be too worried. She knew her mother would be the most concerned, but she hoped her father would calm Mother. Most of all, she hoped everything would work out.
It had to.
***
Gareth tossed and turned in bed. He’d gone to his room early, skipping dinner because he felt too stressed to eat. But he couldn’t sleep either. His worries and anxiety made it too hard to relax. He gave up trying to rest and just stared at the ceiling. He sighed deeply.
She’ll hate you forever. Even though she’ll be bound to you on some level, she’ll always despise you.
Gareth didn’t need to be convinced of this. What he was going to do to Erica was barbaric. Oh, he was told a few things to soften the blow of what he was doing. She wouldn’t be hurt too much—the contraption designed to put her through the test would cause such extreme pain that she would give in quickly. And the person she was to kill, he would be a vile criminal, one of the worst kinds of people who deserved death anyway. So it wouldn’t be too horrible a situation. Gareth would put Erica through the test, the man told him, and she would fail and be bound to Gareth. Then the man would save his father. He would heal him of his illness, ensuring he would survive. That was the only reason Gareth was doing this.
When the man had first come to them and proposed all of this, he had temporarily healed Father. For a very short while, he was free of the sickness that plagued him. Father had said he felt fine—no pain, no agony, no burden. He was free and healed.
But it only lasted a short while, a matter of moments. The man said he could heal Father permanently, but only if Gareth did as he was told.
And so, despite being mortified by the man’s plan, Gareth agreed. He couldn’t lose another parent. Because he knew full well that his mother dying was his own fault.
The man promised Gareth that Erica being bound to him wouldn’t be so bad. After all, Gareth would be in control of her. He didn’t have to make her do anything terrible if he didn’t want. He could give Erica a nice life, treat her well, let her be happy.
But deep down, Gareth knew it couldn’t be that simple. The main thing that bothered him about all of this was that it didn’t make any sense. The man, the innocent-looking blond man in his thirties, didn’t say why he wanted Gareth to put Erica through the test. He didn’t say what he would get out of this. He’d barely told Gareth anything—Gareth didn’t even know the man’s name! The man just gave orders and had proven well enough that he could deliver Father’s healing.
But what did he really want? And how many people would die for him to get it?
Chapter 7
Gareth was sitting with his father at the kitchen table in the early morning, trying to drink a cup of tea, when there was a thundering knock at the door. Gareth exchanged glances with Father, then quickly walked to the door. He was reluctant to open it, suspecting who would be standing there.
The blond man who Gareth hated pushed past him as soon as he opened the door.
Gareth sighed, closed the door, then turned to face the man. “What is it?”
“You’re losing Erica. You have to go to her today. I’ve been watching her family, and they know something’s going on. If you don’t become more involved in Erica’s life immediately, then you’ll have no hope in getting close to her at all.”
Gareth hesitated. “Do they know about me?”
“No. Just something about the test, about Erica potentially being put through it. You’re fine, but you have to get moving on this soon.”
The man stared at Gareth for a moment. Gareth hated his eyes, that piercing dark blue that bore into him. The man ran a hand through his hair, then walked towards the door. “You’ll go to Erica today, or the deal’s off. Understood?” He turned and gazed back at Gareth over his shoulder.
Gareth only nodded. He wasn’t about to argue with the man who held his father’s life in his hands.
The man left, shutting the door behind him. Gareth moved to an armchair and sank into it, dreading seeing Erica that day. What was he going to say? How was he going to explain seeing her again so soon? But worst of all, how was he going to stand lying to her again? He hated all of this.
***
“I think we need to get the coven involved.”
Erica looked up at her mother as they sat at the kitchen table over breakfast. Julia and Hallie were there too, as Mother had said she wanted all the High Witches together to discuss the vision.
“Are you sure?” Erica asked.
Mother nodded. “We can ask all the witches who can receive visions to focus on seeing the man you saw and anything about him putting you through the test. I want us to find him as quickly as pos
sible. I don’t want you to worry, Erica—we’ll get this man—but we need to be prepared and we could use all the help we can get. I was going to bring Hallie and Julia to the coven while they’re here anyway, so we can discuss it then. I’ll send word out today to some of the other witches we want to meet, and we’ll arrange it.”
Erica nodded, and then everyone grew silent. Erica wasn’t very hungry, but she nibbled on some bread. This time with all her friends here was meant to be a joy, but instead it was clouded by the trouble in the vision. But then again, maybe it was best that everyone was here to help. Maybe all this was happening now for a reason. Erica knew her mother believed things happened how they were meant to, so Erica tried to calm herself and hope everything would work out for the best.
There was a knock at the front door.
“I’ll get it,” Merilyn called out.
Erica wondered who it was—she hoped it wasn’t for her. The last thing she wanted was to talk to anyone right now.
“Erica!” Merilyn said, hurrying into the room. “A boy named Gareth is here to see you.” She stood there grinning.
Erica suddenly felt incredibly nervous. What’s Gareth doing here? Erica smoothed her hands over her hair and wondered if she looked a mess. She looked at her mother, who nodded. Erica rose and walked out of the room to the front door. Gareth was standing there, and Erica swallowed. What did he want? She reached him and forced a smile. “Hello,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
Gareth smiled a little. “I just wanted to tell you I can’t see you on Saturday. I’m sorry, but… it’s kind of a long story. Can I speak to you outside?”
Erica turned and saw everyone huddled in the front room. She grimaced and ushered Gareth outside, shutting the door behind them. She gazed up at him, genuinely feeling disappointed that he was cancelling their meeting, but in all truth, she wasn’t sure if she could have kept it anyway, with all that was going on.