by X, Alice
Instinctively, Ava willed herself into stillness too. She didn’t know why, and she couldn’t even begin to explain it to herself. All she knew was that if she blinked, the moment would pass, and they would both snap out of their unexplainable daze. Thomas would move across the room again, and the distance between them would be re-established. Ava sat there, painfully aware of the fact that if Thomas moved away from her now, she would not be able to bear it.
Seven Weeks Ago
Ava put the container of juice back into the fridge and walked outside into the back garden. She hadn’t been able to enjoy the last few days, because she had been cooped up inside pouring over research for her final assignments of the year.
She stood in the middle of the garden and stretched out her hands as her eyes closed in response. She could feel the cool breeze caress her face, and it made her feel infinite. Ava wasn’t sure how long she stood there, but when she opened her eyes, she realized she was airborne. Her feet were only inches from the ground, but she had allowed herself to get carried away.
At the very same moment, she heard a distinct sound from the garden next door, though the fence obscured her vision. She dropped to the ground immediately and moved towards the fence. Standing on her tiptoes she peered onto the other side.
“Oh, hello there, Ava,” Victoria Wayne said cheerfully. “Just got back home, did you?”
Ava’s heart skipped a beat. “I did.”
Victoria looked unconcerned and oblivious as she pruned her rose bushes while keeping up a steady flow of small talk. “How’s college life?” she asked as though she were interested.
“Good.”
“You’re almost done aren’t you?”
Ava swallowed. “Two years left.”
“Where does the time go?” Victoria replied. “Declared a major yet?”
“History,” Ava replied. “With a minor in anthropology.”
“Very interesting,” Victoria replied. “Well, I won’t keep you.”
She gave Ava a big smile and turned back to her rose bushes. Ava gave her a wave and ran back into the house. The kitchen was no longer empty. She found her parents sitting at the table with cups of coffee in their hands. Ava’s heart was beating fast and, despite Victoria’s normal behavior, something was grating at her.
“Mum, Dad,” Ava said shakily.
Their expressions turned serious in response to the panic in her voice.
“What is it?” Gregory asked standing up.
“I… I think Victoria Wayne might have seen me levitate,” she choked out.
She saw the color drain from her mother’s face. Gregory moved swiftly out of the room and towards the cupboards at the base of the stairwell. Ava and Lillian followed him, both in a state of panicked confusion. “Dad?” Ava asked tentatively. “What are you doing?”
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Gregory said with resolve in his voice.
“What?” Ava exclaimed.
“We have emergency bags packed,” he said. “It’s time to use them.”
“Dad,” Ava cautioned. “I’m not sure if she really saw. I don’t think….”
Gregory turned to her. “We can’t take that risk,” he said placing a sturdy hand on her shoulder. “If she saw, she will most definitely inform on us. There’s no time to waste. We’ve got to move. Now.”
“But, Dad….”
“Now!”
Ava turned from her father as dread threatened to choke her and reached into the cupboard under the stairwell. She dragged out the bag she had packed when they moved into the house. She had hoped at the time that she would never have to use it. She lifted it onto her shoulder with a heavy heart.
“Harry’s not here,” she pointed out.
“He’s at Malcolm’s,” her mother said. “We’ll pick him up.”
Ava nodded, feeling like her world was caving in. They were walking towards the front door when they heard the knock. Everyone froze and the feeling of doom in Ava’s stomach magnified tenfold. She knew who it was, and she knew why they were here. She saw her father take a surreptitious glance out the window.
“It’s Victoria,” he mouthed as he came up to them. “Hide the bags. We have to play this out. Act normal.”
He went to answer the door as Ava and Lillian stashed the bags and moved into the kitchen. Ava heard her father greet Victoria and invite her into the kitchen. She took a deep breath and rearranged her face into a smile she hoped looked natural.
“Victoria,” Lillian said smoothly. “What brings you here?”
“It’s such a cliché,” Victoria laughed. “But I needed to borrow some eggs.”
Everything seemed to happen simultaneously. Lillian smiled and moved towards the fridge. Victoria’s head bent down as her cell phone rang, and Gregory came up behind her and smashed his hand against the back of her head. Victoria fell to the floor with a dull thud. Ava stood frozen in place, unable to move. She looked at her father in shock. It was only then that she realized he had a gun clutched in his right hand.
“Don’t move,” Gregory whispered. He bent down next to Victoria’s unconscious form and turned her over so that her back was to the ground. He examined her neck and drew a hidden pendant from the inside of her shirt. It was small, metal and had a ball of fire on its face tinged a burnt umber.
“She’s a witch hunter,” Ava breathed.
“Which means we may have only minutes,” Gregory said calmly. “Lillian, Ava, get the bags. We have to leave now.”
By the time they were speeding down the road, away from their house, Ava had swallowed the harsh reality that her world was never going to be the same again.
Chapter 4
Ava kicked at the blank walls of her holding room. Her sleep had been plagued with nightmares, and she had woken with the image of her brother’s dead body cradled in her arms.
She had been pacing all morning, wondering when Thomas would show up. She didn’t know the time, but somehow she knew he was late. When he finally walked through the door, instead of the relief she had expected, Ava felt angry.
“How are you?” Thomas asked oblivious to the turmoil dancing chaotically inside her head.
“How am I?” Ava asked incredulously. “How do you think I’ve been? I’ve been locked up in this cell for months and….”
“Twenty six days,” Thomas corrected her immediately.
“Only?” Ava asked in shock.
“It might have felt like longer if you didn’t have me,” Thomas said lightly.
“Don’t think for one second that you mean anything to me, soldier,” Ava said throwing him a look full of daggers.
“You’re in a bad mood today,” Thomas pointed out.
“Am I expected to be happy?” Ava asked angrily.
Thomas sighed. Ava noticed for the first time since he had walked in that there was something different about his expression today. Something was not right.
“What am I doing here, Thomas?” Ava demanded. “Did you change your mind? Are you planning to force the serum on me?”
“No,” he said. He actually sounded wounded by her words.
“Then what is the point in keeping me here?” Ava asked.
She saw his face fall a tiny measure, and the cold truth sent chills through her skin. She took a step away from him.
“Are you… handing me over to someone else?” she asked, forcing the words out.
Thomas looked down at the floor for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “I don’t have a choice.”
“I believed you could help me,” Ava hissed through her teeth. “They’ll force me to drink the serum. They won’t give me the choice.”
“I’m not allowed to give you the choice either,” Thomas said as his head snapped up. “I’m supposed to have administered three vials of the serum already. And since I can’t seem to do the job….”
“You’re going to palm me off on someone more sadistic,” Ava finished for him.
Thomas turned his head to the side as tho
ugh he were looking for a way out. “At some point they will realize that I haven’t been doing my job,” Thomas said calmly. “When that happens they’ll remove me anyway. I’m just doing the inevitable. I have no choice.”
Ava came up to him and grabbed the front of his shirt. Thomas looked as though he wanted to shake her off, but he kept his hands down and his eyes lowered.
“You do have a choice,” Ava said urgently. “There is a way out of this.”
He looked at her in confusion. “There is no way,” he said firmly.
“There is,” Ava insisted. “You can get me out of here.”
Thomas turned to her with defeated eyes. “Ava,” he said dejectedly. “Don’t ask me to do that.”
“You could do it.” Ava said. “Couldn’t you? You could save me if you wanted to.”
Thomas shook his head and moved across the room away from her. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
Ava sank down onto her thin mattress. “You’ve spent the last month with me, Thomas,” Ava said softly. “I am a witch. I am the monster you hunt. Now tell me honestly. Do you really think I’m a monster? Do you really think I would hurt anyone intentionally or willingly?”
There was a beat of silence.
“No,” Thomas said finally.
“Then how do you justify keeping me here?” Ava asked. “How do you justify Cleansing me?”
“It’s not going to hurt you, Ava,” Thomas said almost pleadingly. “You’ll feel the same afterwards.”
“What if someone put you in a chair and held you down and took half your memories?” Ava asked him softly. “Afterwards you’d be normal; you wouldn’t be hurt. And yet, a part of you will be gone forever. It doesn’t matter how you try and explain it away. There’s no escape from the fact that you are stealing a part of each person you Cleanse.”
Thomas looked down. His eyes were filled with competing emotions. Ava understood that he was fighting against everything he had been brought up to believe.
“Please, Thomas,” Ava said as she got up and walked towards him. “Please help me.”
“Ava,” he said, his blue eyes were somehow brighter. “I want to help you. But… I have people to answer to….”
“Your father,” Ava said.
“Yes,” Thomas said in defeat. “He’s Joseph’s right-hand man. He has a position of trust here, and that extends to me.”
Ava sighed. “Who are you going to hand me over to?” she asked in resignation. “Collins?”
Thomas gritted his teeth. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“You should go, Thomas,” Ava said. “There’s no reason for you to come here anymore.”
Thomas hesitated, watching her through veiled eyes. He was about to speak when a commotion outside diverted his attention. He opened the door slightly and let the sound in. Ava could hear shouts ringing through the walls of her holding room. After a moment they softened and she was able to make sense of them.
“What’s happening?”
“… Just been caught.”
“How many?”
“Two men. One is a confirmed witch.”
Ava’s extremities went cold. Thomas shut the door and turned back to her. She saw from the look on his face that he suspected the same thing.
“They’ve caught two more people,” Ava said.
“Yes,” Thomas confirmed.
“Two men?” she asked desperately.
“Yes.”
“Oh, God,” Ava said falling against her bed as her legs gave out. Thomas came forward, but Ava cringed away from him. “Don’t touch me.”
He recoiled as though she had slapped him. He stood over her for a minute as though he were calculating. “We don’t know it’s them,” he said.
“It’s them,” Ava said quietly. “I can feel it in my gut.”
“You’re just scared,” Thomas said calmly. “And you’re panicking.”
“Oh, God,” Ava repeated again. “This can’t be happening. I’m losing everything.”
Thomas fell to his knees and grabbed her around the arms. His movements were so fast that he was holding her before she could tell him not to. The pressure of his hands was strangely comforting. Ava could only stare at the deep blue of his eyes hoping that his next few words would save her.
“You are not losing everything,” Thomas said confidently. “Now breathe.”
To her own surprise, Ava listened. She took a deep breath and exhaled when Thomas instructed her to. His nearness and touch caused her pulse to race. She found herself reaching up to touch his scar and trace the line of his jaw.
“You have been kind to me. It seems we are both caught in a war that is caused by misunderstanding and fear,” Ava shrugged. “I wish we could find a way to get others to see that we witches are not harming anyone. I think you might believe that too.” Ava looked into his eyes seeking confirmation.
“My whole life has been about the Orion Task Force and fighting the powers of witches.” Thomas took several deep breaths before continuing. “I have manipulated many witches into trusting me to find the secrets my father seeks about the Akkadian Society.”
“Yes,” Ava murmured. “And, I have spent my life hiding from witch hunters in the Orion Task Force and from the witches in the Akkadian Society.”
“We believe the Akkadian Society will not stop until all humans are under their spells, so they will control everything we have.” Thomas seemed to be embarrassed by his statement.
A snort of laughter escaped Ava’s lips. “If only our spells could be that strong. Most of us can only use powers to move an object or levitate for a short time. We also are known as white witches, meaning we use what powers we have for good.”
“That’s not what I’ve been told,” Thomas said gently.
Ava moved her hand down Thomas’s chest and rested her hand on his heart. “What have you observed for yourself, Thomas?”
“I’ve seen objects fly through the air, including seeing a witch knock a weapon out of a soldier’s hand.”
“What about spells? What do you believe about spells?”
“I believe you have cast a spell on me, Ava.” He placed his hand over hers resting on his chest and slowly traced her fingers, moving his other hand to caress her hair.
“Thomas, I am afraid for my family. I don’t understand why we are being targeted. I don’t understand how life became so dangerous. When you are with me, I feel safe. I shouldn’t. You have told me so yourself.”
“I don’t hurt anyone. I just try to get information,” Thomas said soothingly.
Thomas moved his arms to hug Ava closer. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling warmth spread through her. Thomas kissed her ears, her neck and then her lips. Ava kissed him back, feeling his tongue caressing her lips. She opened her lips to let his tongue in her mouth. As their kiss grew deeper, their bodies moved closer. Thomas moved forward, gently pressing Ava into a prone position. She felt herself moving under him in response to a need she hadn’t experienced in her young life. She felt a heat within her that built quickly into a fire. Her mind knew she needed to keep control, but her body felt driven.
Thomas was not inexperienced with women, but he was surprised by his response to Ava’s kiss and body. He felt a connection— a trust in her— that was a new feeling. If he hadn’t known the spell blocker was in place in the Orion headquarters to protect them from witches, he would have believed Ava had cast a spell over him. He felt his need pushing him out of control.
Thomas and Ava simultaneously pushed away from each other. They sat up and looked at each other in confusion. Ava reached out for Thomas’s hand.
“Ava, I… I’m sorry. This is not… I’m… sorry,” Thomas stammered.
Ava was trembling, but she knew it was not in fear. Was Thomas trying to trick her into trusting him? She couldn’t believe that. She felt safe with him… against all she had been taught about witch hunters.
Within minutes she could feel her heart rate slow. Only then was she
able to notice that she could no longer hear anything from outside her cell. Her thoughts snapped back to the conversation overheard about the recent capture of two men.
“Where will they take them?” Ava asked.
“First, they will be tested. Then they’ll be taken to another holding room like this one,” Thomas replied.
“Will they be kept together?”
“No,” Thomas shook his head.
“What happens if they find that one of them is human?” Ava asked.
“He’ll be released if that is his choice.”
“What does that mean — ‘If that is his choice'?”
Thomas hesitated for a moment. “Every human is asked whether or not they want to join the Orion Task Force.”
“And if they refuse?”
Thomas shook his head and rose to his feet. The absence of his hands sent cool air rushing around Ava’s arms. “We release them,” Thomas said impatiently. “You accuse me of believing you are a monster. But you’re no different.”
“I never believed you were a monster,” Ava corrected him. “But I believe the men you follow are. And that makes me question what kind of man you really are.”
Thomas turned and walked out of the cell.
Six Weeks Ago
Ava turned over onto her back and opened her eyes to the thin blue ceiling that had been her home for the last week. Her spine throbbed and her body was sore. She was feeling the onset of a headache. She tried to stretch within the tight confines of her tent and ended up with a cramp raging down her left leg.
“Morning, Dad,” Ava greeted as she emerged for the day. “Slept well?”
He didn’t answer her at first. Ava noticed the dark circles under his eyes. She could see red veins running through them. His beard had come in with a vengeance, and he was starting to look less and less like her father.
“Yes,” he replied shortly, preoccupied with his own thoughts.
“Where are Mum and Harry?”
“They decided to do some scavenging,” Gregory replied. “They should be back soon. And when they do….”