High Witch Box Set

by Mona Hanna

  “Sean!” she screamed, knowing he was there somewhere. “Sean!”

  She ran to one door and opened it, then felt Nicholas grab her arm and pull her back. The room was empty. She turned and slapped Nicholas hard, shoved him back, and then she ran to the next door. She hurled it open, but once again it was empty. She ran to the next door and found it was locked. She whirled around to face Nicholas. He was staring at her with a look of fear. She was about to yell at him to unlock it, but then she placed her hand on the doorknob and funneled her anger and pain down her arm towards it. The handle burned hot in her hand, the metal turning bright red, and then it clattered away. She shoved the door open.

  Sean was sitting on a chair, bound by ropes and with a cloth covering his mouth. His eyes were filled with pain as he looked at her.

  She began to sob. “Oh, my love,” she whispered, hurrying towards him. Strong hands pulled her back by her upper arms, and then Nicholas wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against his chest. She squirmed—any second he could transport her out of there, away from Sean. She cried out, tears pouring from her eyes, knowing she was going to do it, but she didn’t want to.

  She lowered her head and screamed, her skin starting to burn, a white heat radiating from her. The light shone bright and searing, and Nicholas cried out in agony as he fell backward and writhed on the floor. His skin was burning. Hallie wailed and threw herself at Sean, transporting him with her, chair and all, back to her home. They arrived in the front room and then Hallie fell to her knees, screaming and crying. She didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t mean to hurt him.

  ***

  Ariel shut her eyes, about to try the locating spell once more. She took a deep breath, concentrating on her type of magic, focusing on finding someone else who had the same power. But it was different this time. The previous times she’d felt nothing. This time she felt a tingle from within her belly, almost an ache. She focused on the spell once more, and the feeling inside her grew.

  She felt the table starting to shake. She heard the mug of potion tip over, liquid dripping into the floor. She clutched the table with one hand, still holding on to the string with the vial, almost crying out from the searing pain inside of her. She bent over the table, then suddenly threw her head back, feeling more magic pouring out of her than she’d ever felt before. When she opened her eyes and lowered her head, a fiery golden glow was emanating from her stomach. And the vial was frozen, standing upright on a spot on the map.

  She looked at Brayden, who was gazing at her with his mouth open. She took a deep breath, the room becoming silent once more, everything still. The glow at her stomach faded. She was herself once again. It was very difficult to breathe.

  “Brayden?” she said, releasing the string in her hand.

  He swallowed loudly. “Yes?”

  “The baby and I just cast a spell.”

  Chapter 12

  Hallie finally stopped crying and looked up at Sean, still bound to the chair. She wiped away her tears and hurried to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and returned to the front room. She began cutting away at the ropes, first the ones over his torso and then the ones at his feet.

  Sean undid the cloth binding his mouth, and Hallie threw down the knife, gazing at him sadly. He took her hands in his and bundled her in his arms, holding her in his lap and burying his face in her neck. She gently kissed his head, stroking his hair, whispering she was sorry. He finally lifted his head to look at her. “You saved me, Hallie. You have nothing to be sorry about.”

  “I’m sorry I pushed you away,” she said. “I’m sorry I told you to leave. I’m sorry I thought for one second that we shouldn’t be together. I didn’t mean it—I swear I didn’t mean it.”

  Sean kissed her on the forehead. “Good. Good. Go sit on the settee—I’ll be back in a moment.”

  She nodded, getting of his lap and watching him go down the hall. She sat down, breathing deeply, glad their ordeal was over. Although she knew it wasn’t really over. But she wasn’t going to think about the rest now. She just wanted to be with Sean.

  He walked into the room a while later, barefoot, holding a glass of water. He smiled at her, then sat beside her, putting the glass on the small table nearby. He kissed her neck. “Oh, Hallie, I want to lie down for a month. And I want to kill that idiot. What’s going on? What did he want with us?”

  Hallie did her best to explain what she knew, which wasn’t much.

  Sean frowned when she was finished, running his hand through his hair. “So this is all about him killing Ariel? And because Ariel is looking for you, you were going to bring her to him? Why is she looking for you?”

  Hallie chewed her lip. “I think… I think she’s like me. I think we have the same kind of power. That’s why Nicholas isn’t just going to her—he wanted to lure her to him so he would have the upper hand. Otherwise how could he hurt her, if she’s strong? Maybe she has control of her power, unlike me. I don’t know what she wants with me, exactly, but I think that’s why she’s seeking me.”

  Sean looked at her closely for a long time and then his lips formed into a smile. “This is amazing.”

  “What! No, this is terrible!”

  “No, Hallie, don’t you see? This is what I want—someone to help you with your power. Someone to explain to you why you’re different. To help you not be afraid of who you are. I hope she does find you. I don’t know what we’re going to do now, though. I can’t imagine Nicholas is just going to forget about you. We’ll have to face him when he heals.”

  Hallie frowned, knowing he was right. She looked at her hands. “I don’t know what to do, either. I don’t really want to go back to work now, not with all this going on.”

  “Can’t you just take some time off? You’ve worked there long enough.”

  She nodded. “I’ll send word to Amos that I’ll have to be away for a while. I don’t know if I’ll have a job when I come back, but I’ll have to just wait and see.”

  Sean kissed her on the cheek. “You can get a job anywhere. You’re amazing. Right now, I need to sleep. Come on, let’s go to bed.”

  Hallie smiled in spite of her sadness, and Sean raised an eyebrow. He took her hand, brushed it with his lips, and then led her to her bedroom. She shut the door and walked to the other side of the bed, then saw Sean take off his shirt and begin to undo his trousers. “Sean!” she said, but he only grinned.

  “What? You’ve seen me naked already. Hell, you saw me naked when we were children.”

  “That was different,” Hallie said, stating the obvious.

  He only smiled again. “I just want to be comfortable,” he said, pushing his trousers down and kicking them out of the way.

  Hallie watched him climb into bed, her eyes roaming over his muscles, taking in how tall and perfect he looked, and then she looked down at her hands. He lay under the covers, watching her. She blushed. “Alright,” she said, her fingers shaking slightly as she began to remove her dress. She avoided Sean’s gaze as she let it pool on the ground, then got into bed wearing only her thin beige undertunic. Sean wrapped his arms around her, snuggled her close to him, and pressed her up against him. She lay her hand over his heart, kissing his chest, breathing in his scent.

  He moaned slightly. “Oh, Hallie, I was so worried I’d never see you again,” he whispered, smoothing his hand down her hair.

  She held onto him, kissing his chest once more. “I wasn’t going to just leave you there,” she said. “I had to get us out.” Her voice broke on the last word, remembering what she’d done to Nicholas. She didn’t think she’d hurt him badly enough to kill him, but she’d still wounded him.

  Sean moved so he was looking at her. “You had to do it, Hallie,” he said, holding her face in his hands. “You had to. Don’t feel guilty. Don’t do that to yourself.”

  “But… I hurt him…”

  “And if you hadn’t, he might have killed us! I love you, my darling, and I promise you, you didn’t do anything wrong. I promise
you.”

  She looked into his deep green eyes, her heart filling with emotion. “You love me?” she whispered, so quietly she wasn’t sure if he’d heard it. But he smiled a little, and she knew he had.

  “I love you. I’ve loved you my whole life. I just want you to love you.”

  She kissed his soft lips, then wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you too,” she said. “You mean so much to me. I never want us to be apart.”

  “Then all you have to do is not leave,” he said, “because I’ll never leave you.”

  She felt a few tears fall from her eyes, and she kissed him again, passionately this time, feeling his hands roam over her body as he clutched her to him. Her heart soared in her chest as they embraced, so happy to be back in his arms. They settled down, holding each other, and fell asleep in a warm hug.

  She loved him so much. She had to protect them both.

  Chapter 13

  When Hallie awoke, it was evening and the house was dim and silent. She looked over at Sean lying next to her on his back, with his arm across his stomach. She snuggled close to him, put her hand on his bicep, and watched him sleep. He looked so handsome, so peaceful, and she hated that he was brought into the whole mess with Nicholas. All because of her! Or really, in the end, because of Ariel.

  Hallie wondered about Ariel—wondered how old she was, where she lived, if she was indeed looking for her. Was Ariel really like her? How had she learned to control her powers? Had she found someone to help her, or was she just better at it than Hallie—just naturally good at controlling her magic, unlike Hallie, who couldn’t do a thing right with it. The memory of Nicholas’ screams when she burned him ripped through her mind, making her scrunch her eyes shut in pain.

  If she was a real witch, she could have gotten herself and Sean away without hurting anyone, could have cast a spell with finesse and control, which could have saved them both. But she wasn’t a real witch. She was cursed with strange powers, which only brought stress and misery and pain to her and those around her. What had Nicholas said, that she was both blessed and cursed? Something about the wrong kind of person hunting her? What did that even mean? She sat up, brought her knees up to her chest, and rested her head on them, so very, very confused. She wanted answers. She wanted to be normal.

  She felt Sean moving beside her and looked to find him rolling over in bed and opening his eyes. He blinked a few times, rubbed his face with his hand, then reached out and pulled her towards him by the waist. He brought her into his strong arms, resting her against him, and then settled back down. Hallie placed her hand on his chest while her head rested at the base of his throat.

  He kissed her hair. “You alright?” he asked, and the memories of all the time he’d asked her that over the years flooded back to her.

  She pressed her lips to his collarbone. “Fine, now that we’re back together,” she said quietly. He rubbed her arm gently, his other hand on her back. She felt his warm breath on her hair.

  “We’ll be okay, Hallie,” he said. “We’ll get through this. Can I…” He paused for a moment, and Hallie wondered what he was thinking. “Can I stay here? Just for a while.”

  She smiled. “Of course. As if I’d want you anywhere else.”

  He laughed softly, holding her tighter. “I’ll go to the tavern I was staying at and get my belongings later. I didn’t bring much—I didn’t know how long I’d be in your town. I really did expect you to be back home.”

  Hallie frowned. “I had to get out. You know how horrible it was for me. I was never going to have a real life there.”

  Sean was silent for a moment. “Your parents seemed like they really wanted to see you when I asked them about you. Your mother said you hadn’t written or visited them in months, and she became kind of teary. Your father didn’t say much, but I could tell he was upset too. I understand you wanting to stay away, but I don’t think you should ignore your family forever. I know your parents made your life difficult, but I still think you should see them. Maybe when this is over.”

  Hallie didn’t speak, wondering over Sean’s words. She was surprised her mother was sad about her. Her relationship with her parents had always been cold, distant—it was always as if they didn’t want her, found her inability to control her magic strange and a burden. Her parents didn’t have magic, so she felt separate from them anyway, as if they only tolerated having a daughter who was a witch. A witch or warlock born to both parents without magic was rare and strange. Then, when the incident happened when she was eight, her mother virtually shut down, keeping her at arm’s length and telling her never to use her magic again.

  On that they agreed, but Hallie had needed her parents’ love and support after everyone except Sean turned against her. But all her mother kept saying was how the whole town hated them but they couldn’t afford to leave, so they had to put up with the stares and the talk and the people telling them Hallie should be locked up.

  It took years for that to die down, but Hallie never grew any closer to her mother. Her father was mostly silent and always had been, but it was her mother—and her judgment—that kept Hallie from visiting them. But her mother was sad about her not visiting? Really? She didn’t know what to think. It was too much to take in right now.

  “I’ll think about it,” she finally said, “but let’s just take one day at a time. I have a fair amount of money saved up—I’ll be alright not working for a while. I just want to rest.”

  “Me too,” Sean said. “I just want lie here and hold you. You feel so good in my arms, Hallie.”

  She smiled, nearly purred, and nestled close to him. He ran his hand over her body, up and down her back and her side, then turned to face her and began to kiss her neck. She wondered where he got all his energy, but she barely had room for a coherent thought as he began to kiss her passionately. His hand rested in her hair, cupping the back of her head while he held her by the waist with the other. She began to grow excited, craving his touch all over her, wanting more of him, wanting all of him.

  He didn’t disappoint her.

  ***

  “Are you ready?” Brayden asked.

  Ariel looked at him beside her on the bed in the dim light of evening. She took a deep breath, then nodded. “I’m ready. I know this will be strange, but it’s time.”

  She took his hand, looked at him earnestly, and then shut her eyes. She was about to bind her baby’s powers. The spell the healer had explained to her was relatively simple: she just needed to take some of her power and use it to stop her baby from using magic. It would be as if her power would be confining her baby, binding her so she couldn’t release her magic. The thought broke Ariel’s heart, but she had no real choice.

  When she cast the locating spell, her child’s power had joined with her own, making the spell amazingly strong. Ariel was convinced the spell wouldn’t have worked without the extra magic her child provided, but it also meant every spell she cast had the potential to be unstable. She couldn’t take that risk. When her child was transporting her across the house or making her feel some pain, she thought she could handle it, but she would be endangering other people if her spells became out of her control. She already had to be careful with her magic anyway, since her magic was so much more powerful than other people’s. She had to carefully control it and concentrate to make sure her spells didn’t overpower her, didn’t destroy things around her. But the power of two High Witches in a spell and no ability by her to control her baby’s magic? It was far too dangerous. So she finally agreed binding her baby’s powers was the right thing to do, though it broke her heart.

  She squeezed Brayden’s hand as she finally cast the spell. It wasn’t difficult, and it was over in a matter of moments. Just focus on what she needed to do and it was done. But the difference.

  “Ariel?” Brayden asked.

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. She nearly couldn’t breathe. She chewed on her lip, wanting to explain what she was feeling. “I don’t feel… the same.
I’m weakened.”

  “Is the baby alright?” Brayden asked. “Are you okay?”

  “The baby’s fine, as far as I can tell. But it’s me. The healer had said my power would be lessened because I would be using some of it to bind my child’s powers. I can feel it. I’m not as strong magically. The baby’s powers are bound, but I’m weakened too. It’s… strange. I’ve never felt like this before. I wonder if this is what an ordinary witch feels like?”

  Brayden smiled a little. “Do you really think your power is lessened that much? I mean, you should still be able to do magic no ordinary witch or warlock can do. I imagine you feel weaker, but I still think you’re ten times as strong as anyone else. As opposed to twenty times.”

  Ariel smiled, loving that Brayden was trying to reassure her. She found him so sweet, and he calmed her so much. She supposed it was just a shock, feeling so different. She should still be able to do what she needed.

  She hoped.

  ***

  Ariel and Brayden sat at the kitchen table eating dinner a short while later, not saying much. They’d packed a bag each for their trip to find the other High Witch. The girl lived in a country quite far away. They would have to travel for over three weeks by ship to get to her. Brayden had asked around all day and found a ship leaving in a few days going to their destination, and it was taking passengers. They would have to travel to two days by carriage to arrive at the port where the ship was departing, so they were going to leave tonight. Ariel was very nervous.

  “I hope we don’t get seasick,” Brayden asked. “Although we’ll never know until we get on the ship. It’s weird, both of us having never been on a boat before.”