High Witch Box Set

by Mona Hanna

  She started to shake a little but kept the battle going. Hallie concentrated on raising one of the apples in the air. She surrounded the magical force with her own power. One of the apples hovered in the air, and then the other two flew up, and the chairs on either side began to hurtle towards the ceiling. Hallie cursed, her palms sweating, her entire body quivering. She became angry, made the wave of power controlling her magic stronger, and the chairs slammed down on the ground.

  She narrowed her eyes and told herself she was going to make one of those damn apples come to her.

  “Breathe, Hallie,” Ariel said quietly. “You can do it.”

  She blew her hair out of her eyes and focused. One of the apples hovered in the air again, then slowly floated towards her. She still struggled, still had to concentrate so hard to stop from making half the furniture come forward. But finally, the apple landed in her palm. Hallie collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

  “I never want to see an apple again,” she said, breathing heavily. Sean knelt beside her, drawing her into his arms, whispering how proud he was in her ear. Hallie rested against him, spent. She just wanted to sit in his arms for the rest of the day.

  “You did so well, Hallie. That was wonderful. Now you just have to do it again,” Ariel said, walking over to stand beside Brayden.

  Hallie looked at Sean, and he gazed at her fondly.

  “I knew you could do it. Soon you’ll be able to control it perfectly. I love you so much.” He kissed her, only briefly, before holding her again.

  She sighed against him, resting her face on his neck. She truly was exhausted. But so, so happy.

  ***

  Nicholas watched as the men he’d hired brought piles of wood and metal into the garden behind his home. Others carried ropes and tools. He’d had to revise his plans. Hallie was stronger than he thought; he couldn’t use her easily like he’d hoped. He had to face the fact that to confront a High Witch—two, in fact—he’d have to be prepared. Have to be ready. Had to have everything in place.

  He’d send the men on their way once they’d delivered everything. He could build the contraption himself.

  Papa had taught him a thing or two about torture…

  Chapter 17

  Hallie sat with Sean on the settee after Brayden and Ariel had left them. It was late evening, and Hallie was extremely tired. Ariel had trained her for the rest of the day, working on trying to bring something to herself. By the end of the day, she was able to do it a great deal easier. Brayden and Sean had cleared the mess the broken table had made, and the group had shared lunch and dinner together. Ariel said they would come back the next morning, and now Hallie could finally rest. She snuggled up to Sean, his arms around her, and sighed deeply, feeling contented.

  “She’s wonderful,” Hallie breathed. “I like Ariel so much. To think, they traveled all that way just to find me. And she’s pregnant. That must have been so difficult for her. I like Brayden too. He’s so kind to her.”

  “They are good people,” Sean murmured, kissing her hair. “We didn’t tell them about your vision, though. Do you think you could tell them tomorrow?”

  Hallie paused. “Yes, it’s just that I don’t even know what I saw. I will tell her, though.”

  “Alright,” Sean said. He didn’t say anything for a while, then spoke up again. “It’s weird how Brayden is related to Julius. And Nicholas, too, really. Which means their child is related to Nicholas as well.”

  Hallie frowned, the fact not having occurred to her. It really was odd, how connected everything was. To think, Julius was related to Ariel’s husband. If there had been no Julius, then Brayden wouldn’t exist. But Hallie couldn’t imagine a worse person. “I hadn’t thought of that,” she finally said. “It’s strange. Ariel’s so lucky she found Brayden, though. She must love him so much… to think what she did for him. What she went through. She’s astonishing.” Hallie felt Sean tense, his arms rigid. She looked up at him. “What is it?”

  He gazed at her with an intense look in his eyes that took her breath away. He kissed her briefly, holding her to him again. “I don’t want anyone to ever do that to you,” he whispered, pain in his voice. “It’s disgusting. It’s barbaric. I don’t want you to suffer like that, Hallie. The thought kills me.”

  “But Nicholas doesn’t want to turn me. I don’t think we need to worry about that.”

  “I don’t trust the word of a madman,” Sean said. “Even if he doesn’t want to turn you, he’ll still have something horrible in mind. The sooner Ariel trains you, the sooner we can confront him, and I want this to be over. None of us are safe while he’s alive. I know you and Ariel are both strong, but Julius managed to capture Ariel because of her love for others. I don’t want Nicholas to do the same. I hate him so much. I hate him, Hallie.”

  She couldn’t stand how sad he sounded. Hallie kissed him deeply, wanting to wipe out the pain he was feeling. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kept kissing him, feeling him respond and clutch her tightly. They moaned in each other’s arms, the tension of the day releasing as they touched and tasted each other, and Sean kissed her neck. Hallie gasped, her tiredness forgotten. She just wanted to feel for a while, not think, not concentrate, not focus. Just be overcome with sensation.

  They kept kissing, Sean slipping his hands beneath her blouse and touching her hot skin. Hallie wanted to feel him against her, her skin against his, and before she knew it, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

  He laid her down and looked at her with such fire in his eyes she nearly couldn’t breathe. “Tonight’s about you,” he whispered, his mouth on hers again. His tongue moved in her mouth, his hands roaming over her body.

  She clutched his shirt, so aroused she couldn’t keep still. She moved against him, gasping as they kissed, desperately wanting him.

  But then Sean stopped, gazed at her fiercely, and moved down her body.

  Hallie quivered with anticipation as he pushed aside her skirt and started to kiss, suck, and lick. She arched her back as his tongue went inside of her, almost crying out from how good it felt. She clutched the sheets, barely able to stop from screaming, writhing before him. Finally, she hit her peak, glorious waves flowing through her as his mouth sucked on the sensitive bud, driving her wild. She did scream his name then, the pleasure rippling within her, making her lose her breath. She couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt.

  But he wasn’t done with her yet.

  It was the most amazing night of her life.

  ***

  The next morning, Ariel and Brayden arrived at Hallie’s house quite early, ready to train her again. Hallie worked on calling things to herself, making an object appear instantly in her hand from somewhere else, as well as trying to create fire and water. She stood in her back garden to cast those spells, not wanting to damage anything inside. She was able to create balls of fire above her hand but struggled with what to do with the fire after that. Ariel taught her to steer the ball away from her and throw water at it. It was tricky and it took her several tries to do it properly, and Ariel had to step in sometimes to stop Hallie from setting things on fire. The main thing she was focusing on was control—she could always perform magic but had no control. But she was learning very quickly.

  Everyone sat at the table in the front room at lunchtime, ready to eat the hot meal Brayden had prepared. Hallie was very hungry from all the training and devoured the lamb and vegetables at a rapid pace. She felt so comfortable around Ariel and Brayden—they didn’t seem like strangers at all. She dreaded telling Ariel about her vision, but Sean said she shouldn’t delay it very long.

  When everyone had finished, she took a deep breath and looked at Ariel. “Ariel there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” she said, her voice slightly shaky. “Do you remember how when you came to the door yesterday, I knew who you were? You asked me how I knew but I never told you. I-I want to tell you now. It’s awful, though.”

  Ariel looked at her wi
th concern, then gazed at her plate. “What is it, Hallie? Tell me.”

  Hallie turned to Sean, dreading saying anymore. He squeezed her hand, and she finally started. “I had a dream of you the night before you arrived here. I don’t know if it was a vision or if somehow I was just able to dream about you… I don’t know anything. I hope it was just a dream. It was you. Oh, Ariel, I don’t want to tell you this. It was you being stabbed. I saw a knife and you were wounded, and Brayden was screaming your name. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Hallie put her hand over her mouth, horrified that she’d said it. Ariel kept looking down, not speaking. A few tears slipped from Hallie’s eyes, the thought that she could lose someone she cared about so much breaking her heart.

  Ariel looked at Brayden, and he gazed back, then stood up and cuddled her from behind. He kissed her hair, whispering to her. Ariel furrowed her brow, and Hallie was concerned she might cry. But she shut her eyes, breathed deeply, and asked Brayden to sit back down.

  “It’ll be alright,” Ariel finally said. “I don’t think I’m going to die. I had a vision where I saw myself with my daughter when she was six years old. I’m not pretending I’m not terrified, but I believe I’ll live. I believe it. I don’t know what your vision means, Hallie, and there must be some meaning to it. But I don’t think I’ll lose my life. I’m glad you told me. I need to be prepared.”

  Everyone was silent for a while, sadness surrounding them. “Did you see Nicholas stabbing her?” Brayden asked. “Did you see him?”

  “No,” Hallie said. “I only saw the knife. I’m sorry I don’t know more.”

  “It’s alright, Hallie,” Ariel said. “I’m glad you told us. You shouldn’t feel bad.”

  But she did feel bad, terrible, awful, and couldn’t shake her fears that Ariel would get hurt. But she had to just keep working on her magic. Hopefully everyone would be alright. Hopefully they would win.

  ***

  Over the next few days, Ariel trained Hallie further, helping her control her magic and learn to let it out without causing destruction. On the third day, they went to a field nearby so Hallie could work on casting larger spells. Ariel and Hallie stood in the middle of the field while Sean and Brayden sat on the edge.

  Ariel squeezed Hallie’s hands as she looked at her. “Alright, I want you to focus on controlling waves of light. You have the ability to release light, but I want you to be able to manage it. Focus on everything you’ve learned and give it a try.”

  Hallie took a few steps away and looked across the empty field, frightened about doing this. Gradually she hadn’t needed to concentrate so hard when using her magic; it was slow, but using her powers had started to become more natural, so the intense focus she needed initially gave way to instinct. She still used the same principles, but it was becoming more like second nature instead of a huge chore. But waves of light… She’d created a wave of light the day she’d hurt the other children. It wasn’t something she imagined she’d want to do on purpose.

  “Hallie?” Ariel said.

  “I’m going to do it, just give me another moment,” she said. She sighed, took a few more steps away, and then held out her arms. She quivered slightly, memories of all the times light had poured out of her haunting her. She didn’t want to do this. She really didn’t, but she gritted her teeth, focused on letting her power out but controlling it at the same time, and released a silver wave of light. It didn’t storm out of her, didn’t completely take over, but instead was a calm glow going across the field before disappearing. Hallie looked at Ariel sadly, pleased she’d done it but upset it had taken her this long.

  “That was very good,” Ariel said. “Now I want you to try something else. Please consider it before you say no. I want you to try to control the weather.”

  “No!” Hallie exclaimed. “No, no, no! I’ll never, ever do that again! And you can’t make me!”

  “Hallie, tapping into nature is part of who we are. If you don’t learn to control it, it could control you. Please, listen to me….”

  But Hallie shook her head. “You don’t understand. You haven’t been through something like I went through. You said your magic came out when you were upset, but I nearly killed people, Ariel! I don’t want to tap into nature and I’m not trying it. You don’t know what it’s like to cast such a destructive spell.”

  Ariel looked at her sadly, then nodded. “You’re right, I don’t know what it’s like. I can’t pretend to understand the trauma of what happened. I’m so sorry you went through that, Hallie. I really am. But, to be honest, I think I did cast a destructive spell at one stage. I just don’t remember it.”

  Hallie looked at her in confusion, and Ariel carefully sat down on the ground, motioning for her to join her. Hallie waited for her to speak as she sat cross-legged on the grass.

  “When Brayden and I were first together, we were wondering how Julius found out I was a High Witch. While Brayden could tell what I was by seeing me use my magic when he first tried to help me, the only way Julius could have found out about me is by asking others and hearing stories about witches with unusual power. I’d never met him before, so he couldn’t have seen me use my magic. And while my magic did come out without my control sometimes, I never really did anything I think others would have remembered. But there was the day my parents died.”

  Ariel looked at her hands, going silent for quite a while. She finally spoke again. “I was three when my parents were killed. We were in a carriage accident, but somehow I survived. I don’t remember it at all, and my uncle, who raised me after that, didn’t know much about what happened. But maybe, given how distressed I would have been… maybe I accidentally cast a huge spell then. I wouldn’t have known what I was doing, but if my power used to come out if someone laughed at me, imagine seeing my parents die in front of me. My magic might have poured out of me in a huge way, in a way someone would have remembered. It’s all I can think of. It hurts not knowing. And I’ll never know.”

  Ariel met her gaze, and Hallie felt so sad for her. She hadn’t known Ariel was an orphan. It made her fractured relationship with her parents not seem so bad, since at least they had each other.

  Hallie reached out and touched Ariel’s hand. “I’m sorry your parents passed away,” she said. “That must have been horrible for you. You’re going to start a new family, though. You can have the family you missed out on. Your child will be very lucky with you and Brayden as her parents. She might be a witch too, or a warlock. That would be lovely!” Hallie smiled, but her expression changed when she saw the look in Ariel’s eyes. She grew worried. “What is it? Is your baby alright?”

  “Yes, she’s fine, but it’s complicated. I don’t want to worry you—you have so much to deal with already.”

  “No, tell me. We can’t keep secrets from each other, especially with what we’re going to face.”

  Ariel chewed on her lip for a moment, then nodded. “Alright,” she said. “It’s strange, though. I can hardly believe it myself. It’s both sad and wonderful.” Then Ariel told Hallie about her child. That she was a High Witch. How Brayden thought that was possible. That the baby had been able to use magic from within the womb. That when Ariel had cast the locating spell, her child’s magic mixed with her own. And, finally, Ariel told her about her decision to bind her child’s powers, to prevent her magic from causing danger.

  “So my magic is actually weaker than normal,” Ariel said. “I’ve still been able to train you, show you a lot of spells, but I haven’t cast a spell with my full strength because I can’t. And I can’t heal myself. I was seasick on the ship, but normally I can use my magic to make my pain go away or speed up the healing process if I’m hurt. I can’t do that now.

  “I’m sorry—I should have told you—but you’ve had to take in so much information, I didn’t want to overwhelm you in the first couple of days. I’m still strong. Together we’ll win. But I’m not at my most powerful. I’ll be relying on a you a little.”

  Hallie’s hands flew to her
mouth. “And I told you about my vision, and all this time you knew you couldn’t heal yourself? I don’t know what I really saw, Ariel, but there was a weapon and you were hurt. What if it’s real? You have to be okay—you have to be!” Hallie hugged Ariel, so desperate for her to be alright. Then she sat back, something occurring to her. Ariel’s child was a High Witch? But… how… “What about when your child is born, Ariel?” Hallie asked. “There’ll be four of us then. How can there be four?”

  Ariel gazed at her in sadness. “I have no idea.”

  Chapter 18

  A few more days went by until it was a week since Hallie had first met Ariel and Brayden. Ariel kept training her, and Hallie was astounded at how quickly she was learning. She really did gain a tighter grasp on her magic, but she still wasn’t willing to cast any spells with the weather. She wasn’t ready for that. She didn’t think she ever would be.

  The group had long talks when there was a break from training, and Hallie learned about when Ariel and Brayden first met and how scary those first weeks were. Ariel talked about how happy she was to be pregnant, the joy she felt, and the bond she’d already formed with her child. Her pregnancy was steadily growing; Hallie saw a change in the short time they’d known each other. Ariel had said she didn’t show for the first four months of her pregnancy, but now that she was nearly six months along, it was obvious she was heavy with child.

  None of them knew what would happen when Ariel gave birth or what it meant for the existing three High Witches. Hallie was scared and confused, trying to take in so much information at once she could barely stand it. But one thing that brought light to her heart was when Ariel told her more about her vision.