A Witch Like No Other
Page 21
“W-why are you doing this?” whispered Dreamer, staring at him. “Why?”
“Because you’re a witch!” snarled Brown. “You don’t deserve to live!”
“So you’re going to murder me and my family?”
“No,” smirked Brown, shaking his head. “Never your children. Pandora and Marlon are only third class magical beings. You-” Dreamer flinched, Brown finishing “Are the real thing.”
Dreamer was glad of that. She didn’t think she’d make it to the stake if she knew Pandora and Marlon would die with her.
Brown pulled a tiny ball from his pocket, speaking into his walkman.
“Take them to the stadium. Half of the town’s there already.”
Dreamer’s mind was spinning. Brown smiled at her, saying “There is a way out of this sticky little mess, Dreamer.” She looked at him through dazed eyes, making him frown. Her eyes were hardly focused. “Dreamer?”
She didn’t answer him, Brown waving a hand nervously. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was about to self-destruct.
“How many of me can you see?”
“Three,” she whispered, swaying on the spot. Brown’s reflexes were quick: he ran and caught her as she fell, saying “This isn’t how it was meant to be!”
Then he realised that telling Dreamer her mother would die at noon and capturing her family would be a bit much, even if she was a witch. Still, he could make his proposal. Staring down into her face as she struggled to stay awake, he quietly said “Marry me, Dreamer. Choose me, and this can go away. All of it.”
Dreamer’s unfocused eyes suddenly locked on his, making him yelp. She didn’t seem so dazed now. Glaring at him, she said “Never.”
“Fine!” He slammed her onto the carpet, righting himself. “Die at noon!”
He threw a tiny black ball at her side before running out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He’d used a similar ball on Agnes- it would only take thirty seconds.
Dreamer stared as the ball hissed, a blue coloured gas streaming from it’s centre. She gasped as she laid there, unable to get to her feet. Then she saw the mobile. Reaching for it, she whispered “Miriam, help…”
Miriam listened fearfully as Dreamer passed out, hanging up and dialling nine nine nine. Then she remembered it was the police who was behind it all anyway. Who would help her? Maybe she could go next door…? Grabbing her jacket and car keys, she ran outside, crashing into an officer. She gasped, stepping backwards. Were they here for her too?
Staring at Miriam in her pyjamas, the officer gruffly said “Bryant Stadium. Now. Get dressed properly and go. I’ll be back in an hour to make sure you’ve gone.”
Next door people were running to their cars excitedly, saying “Finally we’ll see the witches burn! What about the sorcerer?”
“They’ll never catch Paul,” a guy across the road called as he ushered his family into his car. “Miriam! Isn’t this great? Agnes Black and her daughter Dreamer- we’ll actually watch them die!”
Miriam stared around at her neighbours clambering into their cars. To think she found them nice people! They were cruel, just like Brown. Cruel!
Tears falling, she ran back inside to get dressed.
* * *
“Let us out!” yelled Marlon, kicking the steel door. “Oi! Let us out!”
“They’re not going to let us out,” Pandora said flatly, sitting in a chair. “Stop shouting, you’re giving me a headache.”
Marlon wheeled round to glare at his sister.
“They’re going to kill Mum and Grandma Agnes!”
Pandora shook her head, eyes filling. “They cant- they just cant.”
“They can! And they will,” said Marlon angrily. “Don’t you get it? They’ve got Mum and Grandma Agnes!”
“Don’t shout at your sister,” Ted said wearily, rubbing his hands together. The room was cold, even at ten thirty a.m. They’d been in there for at least three hours, stomachs rumbling. James wanted to wrap his arms around Pandora, keep her warm. She was shaking with cold. But if he did Marlon would make sure he broke at least six of his bones.
“Cant believe they got Grandma Agnes,” muttered Pandora. “How?”
Marlon kissed his teeth. “What d’you mean, how?”
“Come on, you know who she is,” Pandora answered, looking at her brother. “She’s real powerful- you know the stories about her and Grandpa Paul. What did they do to capture her? It must have been big.”
“You ok, Mister Stone?” James asked, and everyone looked at Ted.
He looked calm enough, but his eyes were anything but.
“Dad?” said Marlon uncertainly, and Ted looked at his kids.
“I’m not going to lie, you two. I’m scared. Petrified. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it if a police officer told me Dreamer was dead a second time round.”
That’s when it hit them.
Hard.
Dreamer was going to die.
Pandora leapt up with James, joining her brother. The three of them screamed “Let us out!!” and “Open the door!!” or “You don’t know what you’re doing!!”
Ted just sat there, head in his hands.
Pandora pounded harder than any of them, tears falling. She didn’t get her mother back just to lose her again, no way. No way.
* * *
“Dreamer. Honey, are you all right?”
Dreamer opened her eyes slowly, in a daze. Immediately the thousands below started screaming, awestruck.
“She’s awake, look!!”
Helicopters dipped low for a better look at her, Dreamer blinking slowly.
“What- what’s… I don’t under-”
“We’re tied up, sweetheart.” Agnes spoke softly. “Tied to these stakes.”
That’s when Dreamer realised she couldn’t move. Thick, rough rope surrounded her body, hiding her brilliant clothing. Her hands were tied tightly behind the pole she was fastened to… Dreamer was furious.
“Mama, this gown cost almost six hundred pounds! It’s not refundable!” Then she caught sight of them on a giant screen. “Look at me! I look like something ate me up and spat me out again!”
Agnes chuckled. “My girl, only you would think of your image at a time like this.”
“Yes, well- Ted!” she gasped, staring at the many officers surrounding Ted, Marlon, James and Pandora. They were handcuffed, guns pointed at them to make sure they wouldn’t move. “Mama, look at what they did to my family! They’re being held like criminals!”
“Yes, I know. Now Dreamer, listen to me. Listen,” Agnes said firmly, when Dreamer continued to stare at her family, who stared back helplessly. “Look at me, darling.”
Dreamer dragged her eyes away from Ted’s and looked into her mother’s.
“Flames aren’t something to think lightly about, Dreamer. They are the only way to kill a witch or wizard, properly. No coming back.”
Dreamer swallowed, listening hard.
“You were stabbed but you returned. If they shot at us today we’d probably die, but we’d return. Flames are the only way to do it right, and don’t they know it.” Agnes glared at the crowd. It looked like the Mexican Wave, the way they all shrank backwards row by row. “What I’m saying, little one, is don’t be afraid. Embrace the flames.”
“Embrace- Mama, I think the pressure has reached your brain.”
“It’s an old trick,” Agnes replied thoughtfully. “What will truly kill a magical being is their own fear of dying. Listen to what I say, Dreamer. Embrace the flames, and they become a gun or knife.”
Dreamer thought about this, finally understanding.
“If I welcome death, I’ll come back?”
“Certainly.”
“Then what are they waiting for?” demanded Dreamer, glaring at the massive crowd. “Let them light us!”
Across the stadium, Pandora was talking quietly to her father and brother. James listened, though he had nothing to do with anything.
“We have to call Marshm
allows.”
Ted and Marlon looked at her blankly. “Marshmallows?”
“I cant say their name,” said Pandora through gritted teeth, as the officers watched them coldly. “But you’ll get who I’m talking about soon.”
“How can we call them?” asked Marlon. “We don’t have a phone.”
“Too right you don’t,” sneered an officer. “And you’re not about to get one. So calling this little hero of yours isn’t possible, I’m afraid.”
Pandora ignored him. “Maybe I can try and get Mum to-”
“Hello kids!” said Brown cheerfully, stepping through the circle jovially. “Guess what Uncle Dave is going to do for you!”
“Don’t talk to us like we’re six,” said Pandora icily, and Brown nodded.
“I forgot about that. You’re still kids as far as I’m concerned.”
“What are you going to do for us?” Marlon asked irately. “Let Mum go?”
“Oh no, she’s going to die regardless of what I’ll do for you.”
“And what’s that?” said James angrily, Brown looking at him.
“I’m sorry, who exactly are you?”
“He’s my brother,” Marlon said furiously. “My best mate James.”
“Really? Then I guess James doesn’t mind Dreamer being a witch?”
“Don’t answer him,” said Pandora quietly, looking at James. “He’s setting you up: he’ll throw you in a cell or something.”
James obeyed, Brown smirking as he said “Your girlfriend is smart.”
“She’s not his girlfriend,” spat Marlon, glaring at Brown. “James is like another brother to Pandora, and she’s like a sister. Right James, ‘Dora?”
“Yeah,” they said quickly, avoiding his angry eyes. “Yeah.”
“What’s your offer to my kids?” Ted asked coldly, and Brown smiled.
“You’re included, Ted. We wouldn’t want Daddy to feel left out, even after his little vanishing stunt at the prison.”
Ted scowled at him.
“When the witches are good and dead I’ll let you go,” Brown said, taking on a serious note. “You didn’t need to get wrapped up in this, you lot. All I want is Agnes and Dreamer.”
“What about us?” spat Marlon. “Me and Pandora? We’ve got magical blood running through us too, from our mother!”
“Yes, but there’s only so much you can do,” said Brown gently. “You are third, even fourth class magical beings. You don’t need to get hurt.”
“Thank God,” said Ted, relieved. Brown nodded, understanding.
“Look, you must know what’s at stake. I cant let them live.”
“Ok, I know Agnes has done a lot of wild things in her time.” Ted was shaking with rage. “But she’s calmed down since Paul left, Brown! She’s been at peace with Europe for almost thirty four years!”
“And Dreamer?” Brown said roughly. “She threatened mass murder!”
“Dreamer hasn’t done a thing to hurt anyone,” spat Ted. “She was actually a secret, and she might still be if your father didn’t send an ignorant spy snooping round Agnes and Paul’s home, knowing he probably wouldn’t live to tell the tale-”
“My father knew what he was doing!” snapped Brown, glaring at him. “When you join the police force you’re almost signing your life away-”
“He was foolish to send him- my parents might still be alive!”
“They had a stroke!” said Brown furiously, Marlon saying “Dad, don’t!”
The cutting answer that his parents had actually jumped in front of the spy to save his life as Paul released a deadly curse which killed them almost left Ted’s mouth. He took a deep breath and closed it, Brown saying “Unless there’s some information the police didn’t-”
“Get lost!” snapped Pandora, Brown stepping backwards. Then he said “Well, I’m just telling you that when this is over you are free to go back to your uh… normal lives. Think of this as a fresh beginning,” he added, smiling wryly. “No magic- nice and normal…”
Smiling still, he left them. Officers immediately raised then guns again, forming a tight ring around them.
Pandora locked eyes with her mother, saying “Pa.”
Dreamer frowned, Pandora repeating herself frustratedly.
“Pa, Mum! That’s all I can say!”
Ted clocked what she was trying to do, Marlon as well.
“Pa, Dreamer!”
* * *
“Pa?” Dreamer repeated, looking at her mother. “Mama?”
“They’re trying to tell you something,” Agnes said, staring at her former son-in-law and grandchildren. “Pa, Dreamer. What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, I-”
“LIGHT THE WOOD!!” boomed a voice, and cheers went up.
“YES!!”
“Mama, I’m scared,” said Dreamer, voice shaking as flames erupted almost magically around them. “I cant welcome death a second time-”
“Dreamer, you have to!” said Agnes, fear clutching her heart. “I’m not coming back to find my only child gone for good, I wont!”
“I cant do it, Mama! I don’t want to die again!”
“Dreamer, you must stay calm! I know you’re scared, but-”
“Scared! I’m tied to a pole, Mama! I’m scared for my family, Pandora especially! She’ll most likely take her life when I die-”
“Which is why you must stay strong, Dreamer!”
“Mama, I- ouch!” cried Dreamer, staring down at the flames licking her feet hungrily. “It hurts, Mama!”
Agnes was crying now. She truly believed she would lose her child.
“Dreamer, you must stay calm- stay calm!”
“Mama, I- there’s Miriam!” said Dreamer, staring down at the crowd. Miriam had fought her way to the front for over two hours, claiming she was going to take pictures when she was pushed back.
Panting, she stared up at Dreamer. There was no way she was losing her best friend a second time round. Holding her side, she mouthed Paul.
Dreamer clocked, looking at her children, who were still saying “Pa.”
“Paul,” murmured Agnes, eyes closed as Dreamer said “Pa- it’s short for Papa! Papa, I need you! Help us!”
“What did she just say?” Brown spat, though he read Dreamer’s lips perfectly. Shaking with fear, an officer said “She said Papa, Boss.”
Realising what was about to go down, Brown grabbed the microphone.
“GET OUT OF THE STADIUM!!! NOW!!”
The wind blew harshly, dropping several degrees as the sky turned dark. Lightning flashed across the sky with an ear splitting shriek, thunder rumbling as everyone’s hats flew off their heads, people screaming. Those who were closest to Dreamer or looking at the giant screen could see or hear exactly what she was saying.
“They’re trying to murder me, Papa! Please help me!”
“Run!” screamed a woman, beside herself. “It’s Paul Black!”
“TOO RIGHT IT’S PAUL BLACK!!” boomed a voice, which reverberated nicely with the thunder and lightning. “YOU MORTALS CHOSE THE WRONG TIME TO PULL THIS KIND OF STUNT!!”
Miriam smirked, then her neighbour grabbed her arm.
“Come on, Miriam! Do you want to die?!”
“YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN HURT MY CHILD? SO HELP ALL OF YOU, FOR NOW YOU SHALL FEEL MY WRATH!!”
Forked lightning stabbed the ground at his words, everyone screaming. Dreamer passed out, Agnes screaming as she looked at her only child.
“Dreamer!”
The flames weren’t even hurting anymore, she was that frightened.
“Dreamer, wake up!”
She wasn’t dead- she couldn’t be! The flames hadn’t even reached her waist yet- Pandora saw as well.
“Mum!”
“Mum!” yelled Marlon, as everyone rushed for the stadium exit.
The officers surrounding them wanted to run, shaking in their boots as they looked at Brown. Brown was frozen stiff, staring up at the sky. Everyone looked up, gasping.
“James!” cried a woman, James whipping round.
“Mum!”
“That’s my son!” she screamed, attacking an officer with her handbag. “Let him go this instant! He has nothing to do with this!”
The officer obeyed, the woman grabbing her son’s arm and pulling him with her. James stumbled, looking back desperately.
Pandora and Marlon stared at him incredulously, then they looked away as he disappeared inside the mass of frightened people.
“Coward,” muttered Pandora, Marlon saying “To hell with him.”
Paul Black materialised in front of his sobbing wife, Brown yelling.
“Aaaargh!! Paul Black!”
“She’s dead,” sobbed Agnes, looking at him. “Our only child- gone forever!”
Paul flicked his wand, the flames dying immediately.
“She was calm at first, but then she grew frightened! Paul, help her!”