High Witch Box Set

by Mona Hanna

  Too risky. The High Witches couldn’t even find out about the spell—if all four of them were together, even though two of them are children, and they knew about the spell, trying to stop them might be futile. Raven’s group might not succeed—they might be too late. The High Witches had too much power. They had to hope the witches would never find out about the spell and ensure the four would never be together.

  They did have to take Julia away. It killed Raven. But it was all they could do.

  He wondered if he would ever feel normal again.

  ***

  “You asleep?” Sean asked.

  “No,” Hallie said softly. “I can’t stop thinking.”

  Sean gathered Hallie into his arms as they lay in bed, putting his hand on her waist. She nestled close to him, resting her head against his chest. She breathed in his scent, immediately feeling better.

  “Sorry I’ve been so miserable,” Hallie said. “Today’s been kind of strange.”

  “It’s alright,” Sean replied. “I was so worried about you when you and Ariel both fainted. It was so weird. I’m glad you’re both physically alright. I don’t want you to worry too much—we don’t know what’s happening. Remember when you had the vision of Ariel being stabbed? That horrified you, and it was horrible when it happened, but it worked out for the best. Maybe trust this will work out for the best too.”

  Hallie reached up and kissed Sean on the neck. “Thank you. For making me feel better. You always know how to make me feel better.”

  Sean laughed softly. “So do you. Erica’s gorgeous, don’t you think? Did seeing her give you… any ideas?”

  Hallie laughed. “Sean, it’ll happen soon enough. It’s not like we don’t practice enough. You know we’ll have a baby soon.”

  “I know, but we’ve been together for nearly a year. I thought you’d be pregnant by now. I want to have a family with you so much. I can barely wait. Do you feel the same?”

  Hallie moved so she was looking at him. “What do you mean? Of course I do! Just because I don’t talk about it much? Darling, of course I want your baby. I know everything would change, but I’d be happy for that. I want what Ariel has—to have a child to love, to care for. For our lives to be so much more. It would be everything.”

  Sean smiled, then kissed her gently. “Good, good. I’m glad you hear you say that.” He moved his hand so it was on Hallie’s stomach. “I long for my child to be in there. Our child. My son.”

  Hallie giggled. “Or daughter. You don’t know.”

  “Yes, you’re right. But we’ll keep trying until we get a son, okay? I have so much to teach him.”

  Hallie giggled again, her heart full and the sadness of the day almost disappearing. “I can see our children. They’re all going to have red hair—I just know it. Everyone in your family has red hair!”

  Sean started to laugh. “It’s a delightful curse and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said, kissing Hallie again. “What else do you see?”

  Hallie bit her lip. “I’m not sure. Maybe blue eyes like me, maybe green eyes like you. I hope they turn out tall like you, instead of tiny like me. I hope our children will be healthy and strong, and I hope they’ll be happy. I’ll love them so much! I don’t know how many I want, though.”

  “Four.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  “Sean we’re not bartering over our children! We’ll see, that’s all I’ll say. We don’t exactly have much control over it, anyway, really. Heavens, we could have twins.”

  Sean suddenly rolled Hallie onto her back, kissing her on the neck. “Twins,” he breathed against her throat. “I don’t care, Hallie, I just want everything with you. What say we try tonight?”

  “Here?” Hallie said. “I’m not sure.”

  “We’ll be quiet,” Sean said. “You want to abstain for three weeks? Are you sure I can’t… convince you otherwise?”

  Sean kissed Hallie’s neck again, much more slowly this time. He nibbled on her earlobe, slipping his hands beneath her nightdress to caress her legs. He kissed the other side of her neck before holding her and rolling her on top of him, so he was on his back. He placed a hand on the back of her neck and kissed her deeply, clutching her waist with the other. Hallie held on to him, becoming lost in the kiss, tasting the deliciousness of his mouth and moaning as his tongue moved with hers. Sean grabbed hold of her nightdress and lifted it over her head, then resumed kissing her.

  Hallie tried desperately to keep quiet as Sean’s hands roamed over her body. He moved her so she was straddling him, making her desperate for them to make love. Soon he was inside of her and she rode him, arching her back from the glorious feeling. Sean held on to her waist tightly as she moved, gasping, urging her on. Hallie knew it wouldn’t take her long to peak. All of her worries washed away as she made love to her husband. The only thing that mattered was him, that moment.

  Chapter 5

  Brayden awoke in the early morning, finding Ariel snuggled up to him, her head on his chest and her arm across him. He sighed, loving waking up with her like that. He stroked her back gently, and soon enough, she woke up, moving her head to look at him.

  She laid her head back down and nestled against him. “Erica slept through the night,” Ariel murmured. “It’s been a while since she’s done that.”

  “I know—almost as if she knew we needed a big rest,” Brayden said. He continued stroking Ariel’s back. “Today’s going to be a big day. You and Hallie casting the locating spell. I hope it works.”

  “Me too,” Ariel said softly.

  They lay together for a while, not speaking. Brayden loved feeling Ariel close to him. It seemed like they barely had any time together anymore, what with taking care of Erica and their work. They were always both so exhausted and didn’t spend as much time just lying together, talking and growing close. Brayden missed Ariel—he knew she was always with him, but he just wanted to hold her, hold her forever. He just wanted to rest with her and relax. He loved Erica—he adored her so much—but everything had now changed. Brayden hoped they could get some of their lost closeness back.

  Ariel moved out of Brayden embrace, lying on her back, gazing at the ceiling.

  He looked at her, noting she appeared to be deep in thought. “What is it?” he asked. “Thinking about what you saw yesterday?”

  Ariel hesitated for a moment. “Kind of—but I’m mainly thinking about Hallie’s reaction to it. She was so upset, and she even told me she wished she didn’t have her powers. She doesn’t see being a High Witch as how she’s meant to be, I don’t think. It’s like she thinks she’s cursed a little. I don’t think she ever recovered from hurting those children when she was young.”

  Brayden lay there quietly for a while. “Do you think she doesn’t see the point? I mean, the point of her being a High Witch?”

  Ariel looked at him. “And what is the point? What is the point, Brayden? I’ve never learned why High Witches even exist. I love being who I am, but I feel like there must be some higher purpose, some reason to have all this power. But I don’t know what it is. And neither does Hallie. I don’t feel the same as her—I like being a High Witch—but I do wonder if there’s any more we’re meant to be doing. I mean, something big. Something that explains why we are who we are.”

  Ariel snuggled up to Brayden again, and he held her, not knowing what to say. Erica began to cry in her cradle across the room. Ariel sat up, then got out of bed and walked over to their daughter. Brayden sighed, getting up and dressed. He looked over at Ariel changing Erica and wondered how he could help his wife. He wished he knew more about High Witches—he wished he had the answers Ariel was looking for. He only knew what his family had told him. He wondered if there was really more to know.

  ***

  Everyone gathered around the kitchen table for breakfast. Erica sat in her wooden high chair while they quietly ate the meal Brayden had prepared. Ariel noted Hallie seemed less distressed. Ariel smiled to herself, wonderin
g if Sean had something to do with that. The couple really did suit each other so well, Sean a contrast to Hallie, more calm, more relaxed. Ariel knew Sean was a very strong person. Hallie is extremely strong too, Ariel thought—she’d more than proven it with all that happened with Nicholas. But Ariel was pleased to see Hallie had Sean to settle her. She thought they matched so well.

  When they’d cleared away the breakfast dishes, Ariel turned to Hallie, standing by the kitchen bench. “I’d like to start brewing the potion for the locating spell, if you’re ready. It takes about two hours to make. Can you help me?”

  “Of course!” Hallie said. “I have no experience with potions, though. You’ll have to tell me what to do.”

  Ariel nodded. She turned to Brayden. “You off to work now?”

  “Yes,” Brayden said, standing near the kitchen door. “I’ll be back in about six hours. Sean, would you like to come with me? You don’t have to do anything for me, but you could explore the town while I work.”

  “That would be good,” Sean said, running a hand through his hair. “Do you need anything from me, Hallie?”

  Hallie shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine with Ariel. Enjoy yourself.”

  Sean smiled, walked over, and kissed her on the forehead. He left with Brayden, and then Ariel was alone with Hallie and Erica.

  Hallie watched the baby while Ariel went to retrieve the two books that had the instructions for brewing the locating spell potion, which she’d somehow never returned to Brayden’s mother, then walked back into the kitchen.

  “I’m pretty sure I have all of the ingredients,” Ariel said. “Ready?”

  Hallie nodded.

  Ariel smiled, placing the books on the table. She was so looking forward to this. To finding the other High Witch, the other girl just like them.

  ***

  Two and a half hours later, the potion was ready and slightly cooled, and Hallie was nervously sitting at the table with Ariel, a map before them. Ariel had put Erica down for a nap, and then she had half-filled two mugs with the potion and had placed some of it in a vial that was tied to a string.

  Ariel picked up her mug, holding on to the string with her other hand. “Okay, here we go. Just drink a mouthful—that’s all you need.”

  Hallie nodded, grasping her own mug. She drank some of the purple liquid. It tasted of spices with a floral note. She sat still afterward, waiting for Ariel’s instructions.

  Ariel took her hand. “Okay. Here’s how I did it last time. I focused on my type of magic. Focus very carefully on the feeling you have inside of you—your magic, how strong it is, how powerful it is, all the elements of it. Focus on that force you have within you and then reach out in your mind, trying to find someone else with that kind of magic. We’ll cast the spell at the same time. I’ll count to three—on three. Are you ready?”

  Hallie frowned for a moment, trying to take in what Ariel was saying, and then she nodded. “Okay. I’m ready.”

  Ariel squeezed her hand, holding the vial over the map with the other one, then began to count. “One… two… three.”

  Ariel shut her eyes—Hallie did the same. She focused very carefully on her magic and how it made her feel, then did her best to reach out in her mind to try to find someone else like her. She concentrated for a long time, hoping desperately that the spell would work.

  At first she felt nothing—then a strong sensation overcame her, like part of her was being pulled towards something. Hallie gasped, feeling the table shake before her, and she heard one of the mugs tip over. Hallie heard Ariel cry out, and then she opened her eyes, seeing a furious white light glowing around them.

  Then suddenly everything went still. The light faded, and the vial was frozen on a spot on the map. But when Ariel looked at it, she groaned.

  “Oh, Hallie, it didn’t work. See? It’s just pointing to where we are. I guess the spell did work, but it just found Erica. That’s such a shame—the spell will do no good if it only ever finds Erica.”

  Hallie let go of Ariel’s hand and rubbed her forehead. “Are you sure it didn’t work? What I felt was so strong. Is what you felt the same as last time—when you found me?”

  Ariel thought for a moment. “No, not really, because last time I was pregnant with Erica, and I felt the magic of two High Witches casting the spell at the same time. The feeling was similar but not exactly the same. Still, the spell was cast—when it didn’t work the times before, I didn’t feel a thing. It just found Erica, though—I don’t see what else it could be.”

  Hallie sat silently, so disappointed. She really wanted to find the other High Witch, to be able to help the little girl. “Should we try again?”

  Ariel nodded. “Yes. I’ll clean up this mess and we’ll try once more. I hope it works next time.”

  Hallie sat back. She hoped so too.

  ***

  “I’m serious—a love potion,” Sean said, as he and Brayden walked through Brayden’s front door. “You’ll sell hundreds. It could be pink water and people will buy it in droves. How many women asked you for one today? And that teenage boy—he stole money from his mother to buy one. Love potion.”

  Brayden smiled at Sean’s words. “Slightly unethical, my good man,” he said. “I mean, such potions exist, but they only do bad things. Create endless infatuation that anyone would want to be rid of. My mother and Ariel try to only brew potions that can be used for good.”

  Sean grinned. “Alright, fine. But you know how to make more money if you want.”

  Brayden closed the door after them, then saw Ariel sitting on the settee, a huge frown on her face and her eyes filled with sadness. He frowned. “What is it?” he asked, sitting beside her. He glanced at Hallie, sitting on the floor, playing with Erica.

  Sean went and knelt beside his wife.

  “The spell didn’t work?” Brayden asked. He listened while Ariel explained what happened.

  “So it only found Erica,” she said. “It didn’t work properly at all.”

  Brayden leaned back, thinking. Something tugged at his mind. He felt there was more to it. “Unless, of course, the other High Witch is here. Nearby. Lives where we do.”

  Ariel groaned. “And what are the odds of that? I mean, really, all four High Witches in the same place at the same time? It crossed my mind, but I dismissed it immediately. There’s no way. The other High Witch is far away, like Hallie was, and I don’t know how to get the spell to focus on her.” Ariel crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, as if she was mad at Brayden for even suggesting the possibility.

  He sat there for a moment, wondering at the stubbornness of his wife. She was almost always right, he hated to admit. But he didn’t think she was this time. “There’s one way to find out if the spell worked ‘properly’ or not,” he said, sitting forward. “One way to know for sure.”

  Ariel stared at him, and Hallie gaped at Brayden too.

  He smiled. “Would you like me to tell you what it is?”

  Chapter 6

  Brayden rummaged in the chest near the fireplace in the front room, pulling out various papers and items until he found what he wanted. He unrolled the piece of paper, holding it before everyone. “A map of our town,” he said. “The more precise the map, the more precise the locating spell can be, right? I mean, if the other High Witch really is close by, it’ll show clearly on this map. Are you willing to try?”

  Ariel stared at him, and Brayden wondered if she would agree. She frowned a little, then looked at Hallie. “What do you think?” Ariel asked.

  Hallie sat there quietly for a moment, holding Erica. “We could try. I don’t know if it’ll work—if the spell will only find Erica—but it’s worth giving it a go.”

  Ariel looked at her hands. “Alright. We’ll try the spell once more. But my heart broke when I thought we didn’t find her, Brayden. I’m not looking forward to it being broken again.”

  Brayden took a deep breath, hoping he wasn’t leading Ariel to more pain. But something inside him told him
the spell worked properly the first time. Maybe he just wanted to believe.

  Everyone assembled in the kitchen, with Brayden holding Erica by the doorway with Sean, while the two women sat at the table. Ariel poured more of the potion into the mugs, and she and Hallie each took a drink. The new map was before them, only showing their town, the different main areas outlined. Ariel and Hallie joined hands, Ariel holding the vial of potion over the map. Ariel counted to three, and they commenced casting the spell.

  Brayden held his breath as he watched them. Every time he saw his wife cast an important spell, it fascinated him. The two women sat silently, concentrating, and then they both gasped, a bright white light appearing around them. Brayden saw the vial freeze upright on the map.

  Ariel opened her eyes and looked at the map. She gasped again. “I can’t believe it,” she breathed. “Brayden! She’s on the edge of our town! We could travel there by carriage—we don’t need to travel by ship. We could be there in a day! I can’t believe this. I was so sure the spell didn’t work!”

  Brayden grinned. “Can you learn to trust your foolish husband more often?”

  Ariel stood up, hurried to him, and kissed him on the cheek. She took Erica from Brayden’s arms and cuddled her closely. “Darling, we’re going on a trip,” Ariel said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. “Baby’s first outing.”

  “Wait—you want to go now?” Brayden asked. “You don’t want to wait a while? It’ll be difficult, traveling with a baby.”

  “Of course we have to go now—we need to go while Hallie’s still here,” Ariel said. “And of course I must take Erica, so all the High Witches can be together. Besides, I can’t leave my darling. Not for one moment.”