‘Right as rain, darling.’
Aiden sighed, his face serious. He nodded, too, and then he was out the door.
It only took him a minute to catch up with the others. Charley grabbed his hand when she saw him, relieved to have him back by her side.
‘Hey,’ she said, squeezing his hand. ‘Everything okay?’
‘Everything’s fine,’ he replied. ‘So what happens when we find Jess?’ he asked Marcus. ‘What do we do then?’
‘Haven’t thought that far ahead. We could kill my mother, I guess that would work.’
Charley’s jaw dropped. ‘You can’t just kill your own mother.’
‘Why not? She’s about to try and kill your sister.’
‘But . . .’
Marcus stopped for a second. ‘It’s probably going to be the only way to save Jess. My mother won’t remove the nost, end of story. She wants Bud back and what my mum wants, she usually gets. She has to die, Charley, I don’t think there’s another way.’
‘Quick question,’ Dru intervened. ‘How?’
‘How do we kill her?’
‘Indeed. She’s practically invincible.’
‘There’s always a way,’ Marcus said, heading once again for Charley’s house. ‘We just need to work out what it is.’
‘Couldn’t she just create an army of nosts to kill the lot of us?’ Quinn asked, suddenly feeling queasy.
‘Nosts don’t exactly work that way. You need to have a good reason to summon one, it’s not something you can just idly do.’
‘She has a good reason to kill us,’ Dru said. ‘We’re trying to stop her from getting her daughter back. Surely that’s enough?’
‘You can’t conjure up more than one at a time, it takes too much out of you. She could probably pick one of you at random, but to be honest I doubt it’s even crossed her mind.’
Charley thought back to the night in the alley. ‘You didn’t have a good reason to summon one for me.’
‘Sure I did,’ Marcus shrugged. ‘You were in the way.’
Charley went rigid.
‘You’re telling me the world’s strongest demon can only make one nost at a time?’ Aiden said doubtfully. ‘I thought she was meant to be this all powerful being.’
Marcus just shrugged. ‘I guess there are some rules that can’t be broken.’
‘What about Chambers?’ Aiden asked. ‘You said your mother doesn’t like her. What if she sets a nost on her?’
‘Something tells me a nost wouldn’t work on Charley,’ Marcus smirked, but Charley only gawked at him.
‘What makes you say that?’ Aiden frowned.
‘Just a hunch. Anyway, it doesn’t really matter. Nosts don’t work straight away and if we do the job right, she’ll be dead pretty soon. Bang, spells broken, nosts disappear.’
‘And if we don’t?’ said Charley. ‘Do the job right, I mean. What happens then?’
‘Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.’
When they finally reached Charley’s house, she burst through the door, the rest of them in close pursuit.
‘Jess? Mum? Hello?’
‘In there,’ Marcus said, pointing into the living room.
‘Mum? Oh my God, what’s wrong with her?’
Linda was lying on the couch, her breathing heavy and her eyes closed. Charley ran to her side and shook her vigorously, but Linda didn’t stir.
‘It’s a sleeping spell,’ Marcus said darkly.
Charley got up. Her legs felt as though they might buckle beneath her. ‘But that means . . .’
‘Judith,’ Aiden murmured.
‘Where’s Jess’s room?’ Marcus said, his mind going into overdrive.
‘This way . . .’ Charley stumbled up the stairs, lurching into Jess’s bedroom. ‘We’re too late.’
‘Mum must have taken her.’
Charley fell to the floor. She couldn’t breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt as though it might burst from her chest.
‘I was too late,’ she whispered, a tear running down her cheek.
‘Not necessarily,’ Marcus said. ‘I could try an attachment spell, although I can’t guarantee it’ll work. I’ve never done one before.’
‘What does that do?’ Charley asked.
‘I need something that belongs to Jess, something personal. It doesn’t happen straight away, but if I can connect myself to the item, I should be able to tell where she is.’
‘How long does it take?’
‘Honestly, I don’t know. It’s worth a shot.’
‘Why does it have to be you?’ Aiden growled. ‘Why not let Chambers do it? You said yourself she’s powerful enough.’
‘Charley can do it if she wants,’ Marcus snapped. ‘You can do it for all I care, but it might work faster if I do it. I’m not trying to take your sister away from you, Charley, but Jess and I share the same blood; it might be enough to make a difference.’
Aiden crouched down beside Charley, his hand on her back. ‘Chambers, you don’t have to–’
‘Marcus is right,’ she interrupted, ‘Jess is his sister. Besides, if I try I’ll probably start throwing up again.’
‘What are you talking about?’ Marcus frowned.
‘Jess,’ Quinn said, taking a step into the room, ‘she makes Charley sick.’
‘Any idea why that is?’ Aiden grunted, looking accusingly at Marcus.
‘She’s reacting.’
‘Reacting to what?’
Marcus wandered over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers, pulling out the diary. ‘Jess’s demon side is surfacing. Charley’s body is subconsciously trying to reject it. Let me guess, sickness, fevers, your magic going haywire?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘I’m guessing that’s why you were so sick the day we went for that walk.’ Marcus grinned at Aiden, who only glared back in contempt. ‘To be honest, I’m surprised it’s stayed dormant this long. Your magic must have shielded Jess from it, prevented the demon inside her from materialising.’
‘Until now,’ Charley murmured. Even after hearing Jess and Marcus were related, the concept of Jess being a demon hadn’t occurred to her.
Marcus nodded. ‘Until now.’
He looked at Aiden, waiting for him to say something hostile. He didn’t.
‘Can I use this?’ Marcus asked, holding the diary in the air. Charley nodded.
Marcus opened the diary and laid his hand flat, his fingers stretching across the pages.
‘I call on thee, to aid me now, to help me see, to show me how . . .’
‘Doesn’t it have to be in Latin?’ Charley asked, but Aiden shook his head.
‘All incantations are different,’ he replied, as Marcus continued to chant.
Once he had finished, he opened his eyes, the rest of them staring in anticipation.
‘Well,’ Aiden grilled, ‘did it work?’
Marcus shook his head. ‘I don’t think so. I’m sorry Charley.’
All of a sudden though, the book began to glow, a dull reddish hue, the same colour that had come from Marcus when he threw Aiden against the wall.
Marcus inhaled sharply, a huge burst of energy exploding inside him. ‘It did work . . .’
Charley gasped. ‘You know where she is?’
‘Not yet . . . I will.’
‘But we have no idea how long that’ll be,’ Dru complained. ‘We can’t just sit around and do nothing, waiting for your psychotic mother to do away with the kid.’
‘Dru’s right,’ Charley said, pulling off her school blazer. She rushed through to her own room, grabbed a jumper and hurried back, pulling it on over her head. ‘We have to do something in the meantime. We need to at least try.’ She looked at each of them in turn. ‘We need to split up. Marcus, you and Aiden go check
your house, see if your mum took Jess there. I’ll go with Quinn and Dru.’
‘Why do I have to go with him?’ Aiden demanded crossly.
‘Because it’s either you go, or I do.’ Charley raised her eyebrows at him.
‘I’m cool with that,’ Marcus smiled.
Aiden glared at him. ‘In your dreams.’
‘Can you two please try and get along? Marcus, the second you know where Jess is, you call me, okay?’
‘Of course.’
‘I don’t want to leave you,’ Aiden said, putting his hands on Charley’s shoulders.
‘Aiden, I’ll be perfectly safe. I’ll be with Quinn and Dru, they’re probably more powerful than you and Marcus put together.’
‘Where will you go?’ he asked. ‘You have no idea where to look.’
‘I don’t know . . . we have to start somewhere.’
‘Check the industrial estate,’ Marcus said. ‘She used to go there when she was casting a spell she didn’t want my dad to know about. Or the forest . . . she likes forests.’
‘That’s right,’ Dru murmured. ‘That’s where she asked me to meet her, one of the forests in Oakshore.’
‘What’s she on about?’ Marcus pointed towards Dru.
‘Your mother and I have history,’ she replied, her voice cold.
‘There’s a forest on the edge of town, we could start there,’ Charley suggested, and Marcus nodded.
‘Let’s do it then. We’ll check the house and if we don’t find anything, we’ll meet you in the woods. Here, take this,’ Marcus said, throwing a tiny jar of powder in Charley’s direction.
‘What is it?’
‘It’s frostbite.’
‘What?’
‘It’s a magical dust. If you find her, throw it at her. If you manage to hit her, she’ll freeze. Not for long, but it might buy you some time.’
‘Why do you have this?’
Marcus winked at her. ‘Always come prepared.’
‘Shouldn’t you take it?’ Charley asked, turning the bottle around in her hand.
‘I’d rather you had it.’
Charley smiled at Marcus in understanding, then she put her arms around Aiden and kissed him passionately, his hand gently cupping the back of her neck.
‘By the way,’ she whispered softly, pressing her nose to his, ‘I love you too.’
He smiled. ‘Glad to hear it.’
Marcus rolled his eyes. ‘I hate to break up this little love fest, but shouldn’t we be going?’
‘Be careful,’ Aiden said sternly.
‘I will.’
He kissed her again, then began striding towards the door. ‘Come on,’ he said stonily to Marcus.
‘Who put you in charge?’ Marcus huffed, following him out the room.
‘That will be interesting,’ Dru chortled from the door, watching the two boys fight their way down the stairs.
‘Come on,’ Charley said, ‘let’s go find Jess.’
Marcus and Aiden walked along the street bickering, matching scowls on their faces.
‘I still don’t know why I had to get stuck with you,’ Marcus grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.
‘Believe me, the feeling’s mutual.’
‘Guess Charley couldn’t trust herself to be alone with me,’ Marcus smirked. ‘You never know what might’ve happened.’
Aiden sighed and shook his head. ‘Give me a break, Marcus. Charley’s with me.’
Marcus looked despondently towards the ground. He didn’t give Aiden the sarcastic remark he’d been expecting. In fact, Marcus said nothing at all. Aiden turned to look at him, his eyes wrinkling as he frowned. ‘You care about her, don’t you?’
Marcus laughed. ‘Just figured that out have you?’
‘Are you in love with her?’
They weren’t far from Marcus’s house, and Aiden didn’t have long. He needed to know.
Marcus couldn’t have lied even if he’d wanted to; his eyes said it all.
He nodded. ‘Yes, I’m in love with her. Just unfortunate that you got there first,’ he joked. ‘Might have been in with a chance if she hadn’t gone and fallen for a straight-laced loser with goofy hair and no sense of humour.’
Aiden choked back a laugh. ‘Yes, because trying to murder her sister is the perfect way to woo a girl. Are you completely deranged? Even if I wasn’t with her, she would never look twice at you.’
Marcus smiled. ‘You keep telling yourself that. Tell yourself that the kiss meant nothing.’
‘It didn’t.’
‘Why didn’t she tell you then?’ Marcus beamed smugly, but Aiden didn’t say anything. ‘Why’d she keep it from you if it meant that little?’
‘I’m done talking to you about Chambers,’ Aiden yelled, losing his temper. ‘I don’t know why she didn’t tell me and yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, I can see that there’s something between you. But I also know that we have something, something you could never dream of having with her. What do you think is gonna happen? You attack Charley, try to kill her sister and she’ll what, run off into the sunset with you? Doesn’t work like that.’
‘I didn’t attack her. Charley is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, I showed her that. I showed her how much endurance she has, how much potential. Despite what she might tell you, she enjoyed that night in the alley. She was in her element.’
Aiden let out a contemptuous laugh.
‘I don’t expect wedding bells, Aiden. Heck, I don’t expect anything. But I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for what I did to Jess. I can’t take it back, but I’ll try to make it right.’
‘And if we do save Jess, how do you think she’ll feel when she finds out her brother tried to murder her? Maybe she won’t be quite so forgiving.’
Marcus looked to the ground, his expression woeful. ‘Charley hasn’t forgiven me, nor should she. I did something inexcusable.’
‘I couldn’t agree more. She will though, because that’s who she is. For some reason she thinks you’re worth saving.’
Marcus felt a twinge in his chest, of what, he wasn’t sure. Hope?
For some reason she thinks you’re worth saving.
For the first time in years, Marcus felt like more than just a demon.
‘No time like the present,’ he said to Aiden when they reached his house.
The boys hurried inside. It was quiet, apart from the ticking of the old grandfather clock and Peewee barking, scampering around Marcus’s feet.
‘Scram, Peewee,’ he said, shooing the dog away. She ran outside and scurried off down the street, but Marcus didn’t go after her. They had more important things to take care of.
Despite the circumstances, Aiden smirked. ‘Peewee?’ he said, raising his eyebrows.
‘Oh, shut up,’ Marcus groaned. ‘I didn’t name her.’
They walked on quietly, Aiden staying a couple of steps behind Marcus.
‘Mum?’ Marcus called, pushing open the kitchen door.
‘That’s right,’ Aiden said mockingly, ‘just shout out her name, let her know we’re here.’
Marcus punched him in the gut and Aiden doubled over, gasping as he clutched his stomach. ‘What’d you do that for?’
‘Think I’m due a couple of hits. You nearly broke my nose that day in chemistry class; would’ve spoiled my handsome good looks.’
‘Yeah, you’re a sight for sore eyes.’
Marcus pulled a face and they walked into the kitchen to see Garth sitting at the table, sorting through files from his briefcase.
‘Dad?’
‘Hello, Marcus, where have you been?’
‘Where’s Mum?’ he asked when he realised his father was alone.
‘Not sure, son, why?’
‘We need to find her. She’s . . . she’
s got something we need.’
Garth ran a hand through his thick hair. ‘Oh, I see. Sorry, Marcus, I’m not sure where she went.’
Suddenly a bright light flashed before Marcus’s eyes, a girl and a woman appearing in front of him. They were surrounded by trees, the girl lying motionless on the ground.
Jess.
The woman – Judith – was smiling to herself, a tattered brown teddy with a spotty bow tie gripped in her hand.
Marcus quickly turned to Aiden.
‘The spell . . .’ he began, ‘. . . it worked. I was right, she took her to the forest.’
‘What are we waiting for then? Let’s go.’
‘I’m afraid I can’t let you boys do that,’ Garth said, pushing himself off the stool.
‘Dad, we don’t have time for this,’ Marcus replied, but suddenly he was hoisted towards the ceiling as his father raised an arm into the air.
Garth smiled wickedly. ‘This won’t take long.’
The wind picked up as the girls walked towards the forest, each one feeling more apprehensive the closer they got. Charley was chewing anxiously on her thumb nail, the thought of coming face to face with Judith only just beginning to sink in.
‘What if she’s not there?’ Charley asked, nodding in the direction of the woods.
‘What if she is?’ Quinn worried, her hands trembling. She’d had dealings with demons before, but none as powerful as Judith Gillespie.
Dru’s face was blank and neither of them could tell what she was thinking.
‘Dru . . .’
‘Hmm?’
‘What’s our plan? We’re not just marching in completely unprepared are we? Because–’
‘Quinn, we don’t even know if she’s there yet. Right now, the plan’s to find out exactly where they are, then we think strategies. If all else fails, we hit her with that dusty stuff. That should give us a little time at least.’
Charley frowned as she checked her pocket, finding it empty apart from her phone.
‘Eh, guys, I can’t find the frostbite.’
‘I thought you put it in your pocket,’ Dru moaned.
‘I did. It’s not there though. It must have dropped out. You two go on, I can run back and get it.’
Charley Chambers Page 29