A Witch In Winter

by Ruth Warburton

  ‘No!’ I shouted back, tears springing into my eyes out of a mixture of rage, frustration and pain.

  ‘Anna!’ He caught up to me, even though I was half running by now, and grabbed at my shoulder. ‘For God’s sake, let me take you home, Anna.’

  ‘Stop it!’ I screamed. He fell back at the sight of my tear-stained face. ‘Seth, please just go away. I mean it. Go!’

  ‘OK.’ He held up a hand. His face was white with hurt, and he half turned away. For a minute I thought he was going – but then something seemed to wrench at him, like a fish-hook in his flesh and he turned back. ‘I’m sorry, Anna, but I can’t just … Look, will you let me drive you home? I just want to—’

  ‘No!’ I couldn’t bear a second more, just the sight of him twisted at my insides like a knife. A sob rose up inside me and I choked out, ‘Please, Seth. Just – just leave me alone.’

  He didn’t say anything after that. He just stood and watched as I hobbled painfully up the long cliff road. After about twenty minutes I risked a glance back, and he was still there, his tall silhouette blurred with my tears. It began to rain and I hobbled on, feeling his steadfast gaze on my back, my tears mingling with the rain.

  It started to thunder just as I got to the house. Dad’s car was gone from the drive, so I knew he was out. I slammed the front door with relief and stripped off my wet shirt, shivering in my bra and jeans. There was a pile of laundry by the foot of the stairs and I grabbed a towel off the top of the heap and wrapped it round my shoulders, scrubbing my wet hair with it. In a flash of lightning I saw my face illuminated in the hall mirror. It gave me a start – I looked so gaunt and ghostly, with draggled rats’ tails of sopping dark hair and eyes just pits of shadows. There was a smear of mud on my cheekbone. Then the thunder answered, making me jump again.

  My teeth chattered uncontrollably as I retrieved the spell book from its hiding place. I crouched by the fireplace, trying to wipe my tears away enough to read the words. I wanted this over, as soon as possible. I wanted Seth back to normal and life back to normal and this whole twisted, bloody mess sorted out.

  The thunder and lightning came again, closer together this time, and Chis stood the ashes in the grate were being slowly pitted by raindrops from the chimney. As I turned the pages with numb fingers I heard a tap-tap at the window and leapt convulsively, expecting to see Seth’s pale, rain-drenched face at the glass. I jumped up, ready to scream at him, to force him once and for all to leave me alone. I’d threaten to call the police if that was what it took.

  But there was no one there, only the crow, hunched on the window sill. I stood, my hands shaking with cold and nerves while it watched me with expressionless eyes. It tapped on the glass again with its hooked black beak, as if asking for entry.

  ‘Shoo!’ I shouted, furious with myself for being scared. Then I beat on the glass so that the window shook in its frame and the leaded panes rattled. The crow rose, flapped its great wings, and wheeled away.

  I watched it go, dissolving into the storm-wracked sky like a dot of black paint swirling into water, then returned to the book with a shudder. It had fallen open at the page I was looking for, and I smoothed out the instructions with trembling fingers.

  To lift a Spelle – let this incantation be rede in the place of bewitchement.

  Hagorúne.

  Hagorún.

  Hagorú.

  Hagor.

  Hago.

  Hag.

  Ha.

  H.

  This was it. The tingling rushed through me again, like pins and needles in my blood.

  I drew a breath and then I said the words. My teeth were clenched with cold and I couldn’t stop myself shivering convulsively as I spoke. My chattering teeth made the words sound even eerier, the last strangled ‘H!’ coming like a shuddering gasp of desire, or fear.

  I finished, and there was silence for a few seconds. It was so quiet that I could hear the rush of blood in my ears and my own gasping breaths. Even the rain seemed to stop, and then came the most stupendous crack of thunder, accompanied by other noises from above – a roaring crash, like the roof was falling in, and what sounded like screams.

  Something huge and heavy was coming down the chimney, sending great gusts of soot choking out into the room. Thuds and cracks sounded from the hearth, a mushroom cloud of ash spewed up from the grate. The room was filled with a sound like thunder and thick gouts of smoke and ash obscured my vision so that I was blinded as well as deafened. For a minute I thought I saw the crow’s dark shadow, its wings beating at my face.

  And then a searing pain in my head, a flashing brightness that tore across my vision, and a slide into darkness.

  Everything was a jumble. My head was throbbing, and in time with the throbs a broken voice was saying, ‘Anna, oh God, please wake up, Anna.’ And then a gasped, ‘Oh God!’

  More thuds, rocks shaking the floor, making my head pound with each thump – something crouched over me, shielding me bodily. Then, as the dust settled again, strong arms reached around me, and there was a moment’s agony as my head lolled and throbbed. Hands hot on the cold skin of my back … the sound of feet crunching on stone and a catch of breath as I was lowered carefully to the ground again. Pain like an electric shock rocked my body as my skull shifted against the hard ground and my muscles went weak and liquid.

  Then I felt a rough hand stroking my cheek … and slowly my muscles relaxed from their tense agony into something nearing content. The cold abated slightly, kept at bay by the warm arms around me. I felt I could sleep … almost. If only my head would stop pounding.

  I became aware that hot liquid was trickling down past my ear. It tickled unbearably, but my limbs were far too heavy to lift a hand to wipe it away. There was a low groaning sound and the voice said with a catch, ‘Thank God! Anna, I know you can hear me. The ambulance is coming. There are people coming to help. Just hang on, please just hang on.’

  The moan came again, and I wondered who was in so much pain. I felt very sorry for whoever it was. Then I realized it was me.

  I woke to a confused babble of noise and a host of uncomfortable sensations – damp, gloved hands poking and prodding me, the chilly metallic kiss of a stethoscope on my bare chest, a strange, new voice insistently saying, ‘Anna, Anna, Anna.’

  ‘I had to move her,’ said the voice. ‘There were more rocks coming down.’

  ‘You did the right thing; don’t worry. You did really well to get hold of us so quick. If you hadn’t been here it could have been a lot worse.’

  ‘But will she be OK? All that blood, and she was so white when I found her, I thought …’ His breath caught in his throat. ‘I thought she was dead.’

  Who was the voice? It was familiar and comforting but I couldn’t place it. Not Dad …

  ‘Anna, can you hear me?’

  I was reluctantly yanked out of my introspection by two cold fingers pulling up my eyelids and a bright light searing my left eye.

  ‘It’s OK,’ said the strange voice. ‘She’s coming to.’ Then, over his shoulder to someone behind him, ‘Breathing and circulation both good. BP a bit low but otherwise her obs are fine. Anna, Anna, can you hear me? Do you know C Dogloved hanwhere you are? Open your eyes please, Anna.’

  ‘Owwww …’ This time I recognized the husky moan for my own voice. My head was throbbing viciously. I opened my eyes to the blurry dazzle of the room and put a trembling hand up to the pain. It came away warm and sticky with crusted blood.

  ‘Wh-what’s happened?’

  Someone bent over me and took my hand; my eyes were too dazzled to see properly but the familiar voice said, ‘Anna, everything’s OK. Don’t worry, I’ve called your dad.’

  ‘Anna, lie still please, don’t try to move. You’ve just hit your head but you’re fine,’ the other voice said. ‘There’s an ambulance here waiting to take you to hospital.’ I blinked. The blurry images shifted and resolved a little and I made out Seth, two paramedics behind him. I tried to sit up but f
ound I was strapped to something, and the paramedic stepped in.

  ‘Don’t try to move, Anna. You’ve got a head injury. Can you tell me where you are?’

  ‘H-home,’ I managed.

  ‘What’s your full name?’

  ‘Anna Winterson.’ My voice was a thread and everything hurt.

  ‘Very good, and what day is it?’

  That was harder. I shut my eyes and moaned as the pain throbbed again.

  ‘Anna, don’t go back to sleep. Anna, do you know what day it is?’

  ‘Tuesday,’ I whispered. The paramedic nodded.

  ‘Very good, good girl. We’re going to lift you now, just stay relaxed.’

  I found I was already strapped to a stretcher and one paramedic moved efficiently to each end, counting the lift. As I was being manoeuvred out of the door I heard Seth say, ‘I want to come too.’

  Oh God, couldn’t the guy take a hint? I tried to shake my head but it seemed to be wedged in place by some kind of pillow and the first paramedic said, ‘I’m sure that’s fine. She’ll do better with a familiar face around. What’s your name, son?’

  The second paramedic leaned over me and said slowly and clearly, ‘Anna, we’ve called your dad, and in the meantime your boyfriend’s going to come with you, so you won’t be alone.’

  ‘He’s not …’ I tried to say through thick lips, but the words were slurred.

  ‘I’m just a friend,’ I heard Seth say, but the paramedics weren’t listening. They were speaking into their radios, discussing what route to take to the hospital.

  Cl.

  In the ambulance they tucked a blanket around me. I shut my eyes, and everything, even the wail of the siren, began to take on an oddly distant quality. Even Seth’s hand gripping mine wasn’t enough to anchor me, and I slipped slowly into sleep.

  When I woke up again Dad was sitting beside me, gently stroking my hair on the pillow, and Seth was nowhere to be seen. My throat was burningly dry and everything hurt, including my head.

  ‘Thirsty,’ I whispered, and Dad jumped.

  ‘Anna! Oh sweetie, thank goodness.’ He got up and reached for a jug of water, holding a paper cup to my lips. Most of it spilled down my front but I managed to sip enough to ease the hoarseness in my throat and I smiled up at Dad with weak relief.

  ‘What happened?’ I croaked. Dad gave a shaky laugh.

  ‘I should be asking you that! All I know is what your friend Seth told me. You’ve got a lot to thank him for. Do you remember the thunderstorm?’

  ‘Not sure,’ I whispered.

  ‘Seth said that you forgot something on the way to school and had to go back. He was waiting at the end of the lane and heard a clap of thunder followed by an almighty crash. When you didn’t reappear he was worried enough to go after you. It looks like the living room chimney collapsed – God knows how – and some of the stones ricocheted down the flue. One of them hit you on the head and knocked you out. When Seth found you, you were unconscious in a pool of blood. He called the ambulance – and here we are.’

  Memories were starting to come back. One of them was so unbearable I shut my eyes. Yes, I was lying in a pool of blood, in my bra. I moaned again and Dad put a concerned hand on my cheek.

  ‘Oh, sweetie, is it very painful? I could ask for some more painkillers if you need them.’

  ‘It’s OK,’ I whispered huskily. I felt surreptitiously under the sheets. I seemed to be wearing a hospital gown now, from what I could make out. Would I ever live this down at school?

  ‘Well, they’ve done an X-ray and some other scans and it looks like you’re fine, but they want to keep you in overnight in case there’s concussion.’

  At least it looked like I wouldn’t have to face Caroline for another day or two. Every cloud, and all that.

  ‘I’m furious with the surveyors,’ Dad was saying. ‘They said the house was perfectly structurally sound. I know there was a thunderstorm but there’s no evidence of charring or anything to indicate a lightning hit, that I could see. From what I can make out, the tremors of the thunder just caused half the stack to collapse spontaneously. And there’s a huge crack down the side of the house.’

  ‘Will it cost a lot?’

  ‘Probably, but it’ll be covered by insurance. It’s mainly the risk to you I’m angry about. The stack went right through your bedroom roof. If you’d been upstairs you’d almost certainly have been killed! As it was it’s a miracle there’s no skull fracture. You’ve got a lot to thank Seth for, you know. If he hadn’t dragged you clear and called the paramedics when he did, things could have been a lot worse.’

  ‘Has he gone?’ I wasn’t sure what answer I was hoping for.

  ‘Yes, he stayed with you until I turned up and then left. But he must have been here a good five or six hours. I’ll have to speak to the school to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble for missing classes. He’s been a very good friend to you, Anna.’

  ‘I know,’ I whispered.

  It was almost a relief when Dad was gone. I asked the nurses to pull the curtains around my cubicle and lay on my unhurt side, letting my tears leak into the pillow.

  Seth didn’t deserve this. He deserved real love, not this unwilling, hypnotized, obsessive mockery – loving in spite of himself, loving against his true inclination. I might as well hold a gun to his head and force him to say the words, they would have had as much basis in reality.

  I’d done protesting. I no longer believed it was coincidence. We had set something off with our meddling. No, that wasn’t right. I had set something off with my meddling. Although the others had been there, although they’d said the words too, it seemed pretty plain that, for some reason, only I’d caused harm. Harm to poor, unsuspecting Seth. And now more harm with the collapse of the chimney – although at least the only person to suffer this time was myself.

  I thought of the book with a shudder, the charred pages full of destructive, pent-up power. And I thought, too, of that other witch. The one who’d put the book there. The one who’d been stoned, burned, drowned, and driven away from Winter like a pariah. What good had her spells done her?

  But I couldn’t just leave matters as they were. I’d started this off, so I had to finish it somehow, I couldn’t abandon Seth to his sentence of false love. Who knew when it would wear off. A month? A year? A lifetime?

  As my tears dried, I made myself a promise. I would try one last spell to release Seth. And if that didn’t work, I’d admit defeat. I’d burn the book and never meddle again. And somehow, somehow, I’d persuade Seth to leave me alone, even if that meant exercising a self-restraint I wasn’t sure I possessed.

  CHAPTER SIX

  ‘Anna.’ Dad put his head around the bedroom door. ‘How are you fee F="1emcauling?’

  I groaned and put down my book. ‘For heaven’s sake, Dad. It’s been a week, nearly. Could we move on from the twice-hourly checks?’

  ‘Well it’s just I might need to go out for a bit – could you manage? I’ve hit a hitch with the bathroom and I need a new connector for the loo. It might take a while.’

  ‘People have been known to survive several hours without fresh-pressed juice and cold flannels, you know.’

  ‘Weeell … If you’re sure.’ He held me at arm’s length and gave me a searching look as though he could detect brain swelling just with the power of his bifocal glasses. ‘I feel a lot happier since we’ve had the phone line installed, I must admit. It really chilled me that Seth had to go to the main road to call 999 – you owe him your life, you know.’

  ‘I know, I know. I could’ve bled to death, blah-di-blah.’

  I didn’t mean it to sound as petulant and teenagerish as it came out, but I was fed up of hearing for the millionth time how wonderful Seth had been and how much I owed him. Dad seemed to think I was being criminally ungrateful by refusing to return Seth’s calls. And by any normal standards I was, but Dad had no idea how hard it was for me to keep Seth at bay, and how much harder he was making it by rubbing my ing
ratitude in my face.

  ‘Well,’ Dad said, ‘I’ll take my mobile, but if you need anything urgently you can call this number.’ He passed me a post-it with a local number written on it, alongside the name Elaine Waters. I frowned.

  ‘Who’s this?’

  ‘Oh, lovely lady. I met her at the Crown and Anchor. She owns it actually. She’s offered to keep on standby in case there’s any emergency or you don’t feel well.’

  ‘She’s Seth’s mum, isn’t she?’

  ‘I believe so.’ Dad put up a feigned nonchalance.

  ‘For God’s sake, Dad, please don’t meddle!’

  ‘I’m not meddling!’ He looked offended. ‘Look, I met her well before all this business with the chimney. I do have a life while you’re at school you know. Anyway, I happened to ring her the other day, and she happened to volunteer to keep an eye out for you if I needed to go away.’

  ‘Dad …’ I said warningly. He put up a protesting hand.

  ‘Yes, I admit it, part of the reason I contacted her to was to ask her to thank Seth for everything. I do think you should have returned his calls, but hey, what do I know? I’m just your dad.’

  ‘Yes, you don’t know, so please butt out.’

  < K he al/div>

  ‘I wasn’t butting in, young lady. I’m entitled to thank him on my own account. He probably saved the life of my only child and, strange as it may seem, I am rather grateful for that fact.’

  I said nothing, but only clenched my teeth. Dad sighed.

  ‘Sometimes I think that chimney really did knock some of the sense out of your head. I’m sure you were never this difficult in London.’

  ‘Oh, Dad, come on! That’s not fair.’

  Perhaps the hurt in my voice got through to him, even without knowing what was behind it, for his face softened and he patted my hand.

  ‘Sorry, I know it’s not really. And I know I shouldn’t interfere in your life; you’re old enough to make your own decisions. Whatever’s going on with you and Seth, I promise I won’t interfere. But I do like Elaine on her own account, so please be polite if she phones.’