The Witch Born to Ignite

by Tanya Milne

  ‘It makes me feel sick. Sick that I don’t know what’s happening to you, or what I can do to stop it.’

  ‘You’re such a good person, Elijah,’ I said, my voice breaking up.

  ‘So are you, Eva.’ Elijah stood and walked to sit on my bed. ‘I will never doubt that for a second.’

  Tears welled up in my eyes and spilt down my cheeks.

  Elijah moved closer and took me in his arms. ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay, sis, I promise. Even though I’m not going through what you’re going through, don’t forget, you are never alone. I’m always here for you, and I know Mum and Dad are too.’

  The control that I had wound up like a ball of wool unravelled.

  ‘Never forget that, Eva. How much you are loved.’

  Chapter Eleven

  The organ was playing a hymn when Mum, Dad and I arrived at the church. I’d admired the simple white structure with a wall of stained-glass windows from the street as I’d walked past, but I’d never desired to set a foot inside, and today was no exception.

  Yet here I was. It was one of the many things I’d agreed to that night, several weeks ago when Elijah and I had our big chat. Not only would it ‘demonstrate’ that our family was conforming and less of a target, but I also knew the subtext: it may just help to keep me away from the dark side.

  Here’s hoping, I thought as I stepped over the threshold and into the church, which was jam packed with other newly minted Christians like us.

  It was an unseasonably warm day, and I was glad to have opted for a summer dress. I scanned the church and there, up at the front, were Elijah, Noah and Anna, waving at us.

  ‘There they are,’ I said to my mum and dad, who were standing behind me.

  We made our way quickly to the seats that were being saved for us. I could feel the sulky stares from the early-bird parishioners. The small town we lived in all of a sudden felt far smaller.

  The three of us squeezed into the small space, and I found myself pressed right up against Noah. I tried to shuffle away, but there was nowhere to go. I could feel his leg and his arm gently pressing into mine. I let out a long sigh and put on my game face.

  ‘Hi there,’ I said, smiling at Noah, Elijah and Anna.

  Noah and Anna smiled brightly, but Elijah smirked. I narrowed my eyes at him, silently cursing myself for agreeing to this.

  I glanced down and saw that Elijah and Anna were holding hands, and Noah’s hands were resting on his lap, close to mine. I wanted to bolt, or at the very least close my eyes and wait this out, but ‘being nice’ to Noah and his family – a well-connected and trusted family in town – was another condition.

  I stifled my groan. It wasn’t hard being nice to Noah, who was undoubtedly one of the nicest people I knew. But it was harder not to give him the wrong idea. So far, I’d managed the tap dance okay, but I had a sinking feeling it wouldn’t last. I looked down at Noah’s waiting hands again, and for a split second I imagined how my hand would feel in his.

  The church fell quiet as Orpheus Blackthorn, dressed in a black suit, strode down the aisle and took his place next to his very skinny-looking, birdlike blond wife – and Ezra.

  How could I have missed him?

  Ezra turned to make room for his dad, and his eyes found mine. My heart spluttered to life and I turned my head, my pink face no doubt giving me away. I’d managed to avoid him at school, but he was never far away from my thoughts.

  ‘Welcome, everyone,’ said the priest, standing to begin the service.

  All through the long hour, I tried to follow others to stand and sit at the right times and attempt the prayers that were projected onto the screen in front of us, but I felt as though I was one step behind the congregation. I tried my hardest not to listen to the sermons and prayers, but it was impossible not to garner their meaning. The judgement, the condemning, the sins weighed heavily in the room. Surely this wasn’t a modern sermon. Surely these words came from another time, another place, where fear lived in the hearts of the community.

  I looked slowly around the church. All eyes were glued on the priest, and I knew then that our town was in trouble. People were falling for this dangerous mumbo jumbo. People were being hypnotised to turn on their neighbours, to behave only in the ways of the most paranoid old Christian laws. It seemed impossible, yet somehow, as the ceiling fans pushed hot air around the room, it had become reality. We’d slipped inside the setting of a nightmare.

  And then it was over. People stood and followed the priest and Blackthorn family quietly out the door. The spell was broken. We made our way outside, and Mum and Dad walked off to speak with parents they knew while the four of us went to stand under a nearby tree.

  ‘You survived, sis,’ said Elijah, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘Just. Did you hear the things that priest was talking about?’ I said.

  The smiles fell from their faces. ‘Careful, sis, someone might hear you.’

  ‘Are you for real?’ I knew the answer the moment I asked the question.

  ‘It’s not so bad, Eva. You’ll get used to it,’ said Anna, smiling as though she felt sorry for me.

  I pushed my lips firmly together, kept in the words that would fall on deaf ears.

  ‘So, you guys still right for the movies tonight?’ asked Noah, looking straight at me.

  I held in my groan. I’d forgotten all about it and had never wanted to kick my brother more than I did in that moment.

  ‘Sure,’ I said, forcing my lips into a smile and blocking out the vision of the dark room, confined space and his eager hands…what he might try.

  Elijah’s smile slipped from his face as he looked up. ‘What does he want?’

  I followed his gaze and there was Ezra, dressed in beige pants and a blue top, striding towards us – towards me.

  ‘Hi, everyone,’ said Ezra. ‘Eva, do you have a minute?’

  I glanced quickly at Elijah and Noah, whose faces were set.

  Staying away from Ezra was yet another condition I’d agreed to.

  But what can I do?

  ‘Sure,’ I said, making my legs walk forward and not run home like they wanted.

  I followed Ezra around the side of the church, away from the crowds.

  Under the shade of a tree, he turned around. ‘I’m surprised to see you here. I didn’t take you as the churchgoing type.’

  ‘I’m not,’ I said. ‘My family are making me.’

  Ezra blinked quickly. ‘Because of my dad?’

  I recalled our conversation on the boat, how controlling his father was.

  ‘Oh, you know, this and that.’

  ‘You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. It’s awful…what he’s doing. I hate it.’

  I glanced around for listening ears, but thankfully we were alone. ‘It must be really hard, particularly starting a new school, which is shitty enough in itself.’

  Ezra peered up at me then, his green eyes watching me as though he’d known me his whole life. ‘You don’t know the half of it.’

  I thought back to all the times I’d seen Ezra at school, either alone or with a bunch of girls hanging off him.

  ‘Hasn’t seemed to affect your popularity with the girls,’ I said, regretting the words the moment they left my mouth.

  Ezra laughed as though he didn’t have a care in the world. ‘You sound a little jealous.’

  I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, glancing every which way but at him.

  ‘And here I was, thinking you didn’t even like me,’ he said.

  Lying was not one of my strong points, but neither was stringing him along.

  ‘Why did you want to talk?’ I said, crossing my arms.

  ‘Oh, right. I wanted to say that I understand if you don’t want to go to the dance, but don’t be a stranger. You seem to be avoiding me.’

  Oh boy!

  ‘Please don’t avoid me,’ he said.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I stuttered out. ‘It’s complicated.’

  ‘Eva, I
know complicated.’

  Inside me sat the truth. The way he stared at me, he was pulling at it. I opened my mouth.

  ‘Ezra, there you are,’ said a voice that commanded attention.

  We turned and there, striding towards us, was Orpheus Blackthorn, his large body dominating all of the space around him.

  Ezra straightened his back. ‘Father.’

  Orpheus came to stand before us and scrutinised me as though I were a bug under a microscope.

  ‘And who might you be?’

  No! No! No! Fly under the radar, Eva. Those are my instructions.

  ‘Eva,’ I said, lowering my eyes.

  ‘A pleasure to meet you, Eva,’ said Orpheus, his voice penetrating my shell.

  I raised my head and met his eyes, which were the palest shade of blue. In them I saw a soulless man – a thirsty, soulless man.

  ‘It’s good to meet Ezra’s friends, know who he’s spending his time with,’ said Orpheus.

  I glanced at Ezra, who looked as if he wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground.

  ‘Lucky for me we joined school at the same time,’ I said.

  Why, oh why, did I say that?

  Orpheus cocked his head to the side. ‘Is that right? And where might you and your family be from?’

  ‘Oh, come on, Dad. Don’t give Eva the Spanish Inquisition.’

  Orpheus laughed, a loud laugh that seemed out of place in this quiet, sacred place. ‘Surely I can ask how she got her black eye?’

  I put a hand up to my eye, which had nearly healed. ‘I was hit by a tennis ball.’

  ‘Got distracted, did we?’ said Orpheus, laughing again, but neither Ezra nor I laughed.

  ‘Think I’m onto something here,’ said Orpheus, has gaze moving between me and Ezra as though we were a puzzle.

  ‘Well, Dad, we should probably let Eva get back to her family.’

  ‘Ah, yes, of course. And which family would that be?’

  ‘Dad, stop it,’ said Ezra.

  ‘Best you don’t tell me what to do,’ said Orpheus, a threat lining his voice.

  ‘The Martinez family,’ I said quietly.

  Orpheus nodded. ‘Good to see you and your family here, Eva Martinez. Hopefully you’ll grace us with your presence next week.’

  ‘That’s the plan,’ I said.

  Stupid, annoying, painful plan.

  ‘I’ll be keeping an eye out for you. And, Eva, it would be wise to be more careful.’

  ‘Pardon?’ I said, my face heating.

  ‘At tennis,’ he said, laughing. ‘What did you think I meant?’

  It was in that moment I saw the type of child he’d been. One that played with other children, picking them to pieces, bit by bit, just to see how they reacted.

  ‘Nothing, nothing at all. Well, goodbye and I’ll see you at school, Ezra,’ I said.

  Ezra mouthed a silent sorry before he said goodbye.

  I turned and walked away, feeling two sets of eyes burning into me – one with light inside and the other, darkness.

  Chapter Twelve

  I let out a long sigh when the lights finally came back on in the movie theatre. The double-date movie night was far worse than I’d imagined. Anna and Elijah were to my left, seeing nothing of the movie but plenty of each other as they whispered and kissed through the entire film. Noah was on my right, his whole body leaning into me, his hand slowly creeping towards mine. To add insult to injury, the movie was a romantic comedy – even more kissing!

  The only good thing about it was that it took my mind off Ezra and his dad, Orpheus Blackthorn. All afternoon I’d thought about poor Ezra, lumped with that vile man for a father. And Ezra’s request of me to not avoid him. In other words, please be my friend.

  I pictured again what it would be like, how it would feel having Ezra in my life, but I stopped myself. The thought was dangerous. For him and for my family. And to think, I’d been so close to telling Ezra the truth; the truth that could cost my family everything.

  ‘So, did you like the movie?’ asked Noah, his eyes bright.

  ‘Not really my sort of movie,’ I said, stretching and looking over at Anna and Elijah. ‘Way too much kissing.’

  Everyone laughed, and we stood and made our way out to the front of the cinema. After an extensive kissing session between the lovebirds and a quick peck on the cheek between me and Noah, we separated and Elijah and I started for home.

  Elijah whistled as we walked down the street, which was slicked wet from earlier rain.

  I zipped up my jacket. ‘I do believe, dear brother, that you are in love.’

  I heard him sigh, and he was quiet for a few moments. ‘I guess you’re right, as always,’ he said. ‘I can recommend it.’

  I groaned. ‘You mean you can recommend Noah?’

  ‘What’s not to recommend? I mean, for a start, have you looked at him? If I were a girl, I’d be in love with him.’

  I laughed and gently punched his arm. ‘Lucky for all of us that you’re not a girl.’

  ‘I’m serious, sis. He’s one in a million.’

  ‘I know, I know, he’s perfect – maybe a bit too perfect for me.’

  The smile fell from Elijah’s face. ‘So, I take it you prefer someone far from perfect then, like Ezra?’

  ‘Ezra is not exactly an option. You know what, my love life, or non-existent love life for that matter, is none of your business.’

  ‘No need to be like that. It’s just at the church, you went off with him.’

  ‘Him and his lovely dad,’ I said. ‘Yes, it was very romantic.’

  ‘But you did get some time alone. What did he want?’

  The air between us turned from chilly to cold. ‘That’s none of your business, Elijah.’

  ‘Since when did you become so secretive?’ he asked.

  ‘Since when did you become so nosy?’

  We walked on in silence, our footsteps loud in the deserted street. I was about to comment on the whole ghost-town thing when we heard a massive bang from the side street we were walking past.

  Elijah and I glanced at each other and stopped. We turned our gazes down the dark street where the noise had come from. People were down there, talking and laughing. The soft street lights lit up Jet and his entourage, who looked to be up to something.

  ‘Come on, let’s get outta here,’ Elijah said.

  ‘Are they making something?’

  ‘Probably best we don’t know.’

  ‘Since when did you become such a chicken?’ I said, starting to walk down the dimly lit cobbled street.

  Elijah caught up with me and gently took my arm, stopping me. ‘Heard of Orpheus Blackthorn? Come on, let’s not get mixed up with this.’

  I shook my arm free and strained to take a closer look. It had gone quiet now, no sign of Jet. But still, it felt as if they were there, watching us from their hidden place. A chill travelled down my spine.

  ‘Let’s go,’ I said. We turned and there in front of us were Jet and three of his cronies. I felt as though I jumped out of my skin.

  ‘Going somewhere?’ asked Jet, raising an eyebrow, the same black colour as his eyes.

  ‘Yep, just heading home,’ said Elijah, pulling his shoulders back so he was at full height, which was considerable.

  Jet looked at Elijah and laughed. ‘But you only just got here.’

  ‘We took a wrong turn,’ said Elijah.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know, it looks like your sister here knew exactly where she was going.’

  A redhead with glossy lips and a black leather jacket stepped forward and draped herself on Jet, glaring at me.

  ‘Looks like you’ve got your hands full,’ I said, an unexpected current of jealousy running through me.

  Jet looked at the redhead and removed her, limb by limb, then turned to me. ‘Not at all.’

  The redhead scowled at Jet. ‘That’s not what you told me last night,’ she said, licking her lips.

  ‘That was last night, honey,’ said Jet.
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  ‘We should go,’ said Elijah.

  ‘Good idea,’ said the redhead.

  ‘Why don’t you go, leave your sister here,’ said Jet.

  Elijah, who didn’t have a mean bone in his body, stepped forward. ‘Never going to happen.’

  ‘Oh, I like a challenge,’ said Jet, stepping forward, not that much smaller than Elijah.

  The group, who’d been lazily standing around, all snapped to attention.

  ‘Oh, come off it, both of you.’ I moved to stand between them. ‘You must know by now that I’m not interested, never will be interested,’ I said, looking directly at Jet.

  A cloud passed through his eyes before he smiled. ‘Never say never.’

  ‘Let’s go,’ I said to Elijah, walking straight through the small gap in the group and heading back up the main street.

  Elijah took a few quick steps and caught up with me. ‘You have to be kidding.’

  ‘What? What have I done now?’ I said, my voice like ice. ‘I’ve agreed to all of your stupid conditions and even went on another double date.’

  ‘Keep your voice down,’ he said.

  ‘What did I do?’ I asked.

  ‘You really don’t know?’

  I let out a groan.

  ‘You like him, don’t you?’ he said.

  ‘What? No!’

  ‘You can’t fool me.’

  ‘Honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  At the top of the street, I stopped walking and faced my brother.

  ‘It’s the way you…look at him,’ he said.

  I opened my mouth to argue, but it would be pointless. As much as I hated to admit it, Elijah was right.

  ‘Eva?’

  ‘Look, maybe you’re right, but I didn’t even realise. Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. I would never go out with him, ever. He’s bad news.’

  Elijah ran his hand through his dark-brown hair and glanced at me and then back down the street.

  ‘What the…?’ he said.

  I turned to where he was staring and froze. One by one the street lights went out, leaving us in darkness. Elijah grabbed me, held me close. Then we heard it, a low howl from down the street we’d emerged from. Then another and another, until it sounded like a pack of wolves howling at the moon. I raised my eyes and there, sitting low in the sky, was a full moon.