by Tanya Milne
Inside me, something stirred. Something ancient and primal. I felt the pull and tried to walk back down the alley, but Elijah held me close.
‘Come on,’ I said.
‘This isn’t right,’ he whispered. ‘I feel it, too, but I know it’s not good.’
We took a few steps away when we saw flames erupt in the dark street. Slowly our eyes adjusted to the darkness, and we made out Jet and his friends walking around in a circle, flames emerging from their fingertips.
‘Witches,’ I whispered, trying to resist the pulling temptation.
‘Witches of the night,’ said Elijah, holding me close.
I felt alive, more alive than I could ever remember. My hands felt hot and I knew that if I went with them, I’d somehow be able to do what they were doing.
‘No, Eva,’ he said, pulling me close as I tried to pull away.
Then their hands joined together, and whatever they were holding onto caught fire.
‘What the–!’ said Elijah.
That’s when I heard the sound of police sirens, getting louder by the second.
‘Run!’ said Elijah.
I snapped from the trance I’d been in, and we ran down the main street towards home. The sirens got loud and louder, and then we saw the police car racing down the street towards us. Elijah grabbed me and pulled me into a small alleyway. We jumped behind a parked car as the police car passed. I let out a long sigh, but then the car stopped, the siren went dead and the car reversed back, towards us.
Elijah stiffened beside me. I grabbed his hand, my heart racing.
Then a light, a bright light, was shining down the street and over the car we were hiding behind. From a distance, two people were talking.
‘You sure you saw someone?’
‘I saw two people – boy and girl – run down here.’
‘Kids most likely.’
‘Well, we’d better take a look. It’s a dead-end street, so they won’t be going far.’
Heat rose to my skin and blistered into sweat.
Yells and laughter broke out from further up the street.
Jet!
‘I’ll call for backup,’ said one of the men before the siren went back on and they were off and racing.
‘Come on, let’s go,’ said Elijah.
A surge of adrenalin exploded inside me and we started to run, faster than we’d run in our lives. With every step, I prayed the backup would take a few minutes to get there and give us enough time to get home and far, far away from whatever it was we’d witnessed.
Chapter Thirteen
The moment we were inside our front door, we collapsed on the sofas and sucked in air. Slowly, our breath returned. I listened for sounds of Mum and Dad, grateful they were still out for dinner, so we didn’t have to face their questions as well.
‘That was a close call,’ I said, sitting up and wiping sweat from my forehead.
‘A close call, is that all you have to say?’ said Elijah, standing up.
‘I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t know that we would run into Jet and his gang, and I certainly didn’t know that they were…witches.’
Elijah rubbed his hands over his face. ‘I know you didn’t mean to, but seriously, Eva, what’s up with you? I had to hold you back.’
There was no point denying it. The feeling of wanting to join into their ritual was still fresh in my mind. ‘I don’t know what’s happening. Perhaps I am a witch who practices black magic after all.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘Why not? Someone has to. I did want to join them, with every cell in my body. And I don’t like Noah, the perfect boy, and I’m attracted to Jet, a witch who practices black magic, even though I know I shouldn’t be. So, what does that make me then?’
Elijah cringed as though I were sticking needles into him.
‘I don’t know what’s happening to you, Eva, but I do know you’re not a bad witch. You have a good heart and that’s all that matters.’
I lay back down on the couch. ‘What do you think they were doing, back in that alley?’
‘Making some kind of statement. Probably trying to send Orpheus a message.’
I remembered the moment when they set fire to something; the feeling of being alive.
‘What do you think they were setting fire to?’ I asked.
‘I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. Nothing has happened here for about a hundred years.’
I pictured the cafeteria at lunch, buzzing with gossip.
‘I wonder whether they caught Jet…and what they would do. I mean, witchcraft is a crime now.’ I swallowed the lump in my throat. ‘I feel like we’ve slipped into the twilight zone. I mean, seriously, who makes witchcraft a crime?’
‘I know it feels that way, but this is real. We can’t leave, so you must start taking this more seriously.’
I glanced over at Elijah, whose pale skin was alabaster white with dark-grey circles hugging his eyes. ‘I will, Elijah, I promise.’
‘No more talking to Ezra or Jet.’
I felt the light grow dim inside me. ‘Jet I agree, he’s trouble. But Ezra, well, he won the unfortunate lottery of having Orpheus Blackthorn as his father. He’s actually a really good guy.’
‘Maybe you’re right, but it’s just too dangerous.’
I let out a long low groan, thinking of the danger not only to our family, but also to Ezra.
‘Eva?’
‘I will try, try my hardest.’
Elijah looked straight ahead, his mind ticking over. ‘You’re going to have to try harder than you are. You’re a magnet for trouble.’
I stood up, faced my brother. ‘Don’t treat me like I’m five, okay. I said I’ll try my best, and you’ll have to take my word for it.’
Elijah watched me for a long moment.
‘If you don’t believe me, that’s your problem. I’m going to bed,’ I said, walking towards the stairs.
‘Eva, stop.’
I turned to my brother, who seemed to be finding the right words.
‘What?’
‘I don’t know quite how to say this,’ he said quietly. ‘But, in my bones, I know that you’re spiralling away from me, and there’s nothing, absolutely nothing, that I can do to stop you.’
The truth of his words hit me hard. I ran and hugged him. ‘Don’t you give up on me.’
‘Never,’ he said, his voice breaking.
That’s when I knew I was in over my head and that a force beyond me, beyond Elijah, was controlling my destiny.
As expected, the rumour mill was in full swing at school the next day. Everywhere I went, people were talking about what had happened in town last night. Of course, no one except Elijah and I knew exactly what went on, and we weren’t about to tell them. But that didn’t stop everyone from guessing. Surprisingly, what did seem to be common knowledge was that an act of witchcraft had been performed.
All through the morning, I heard the word witchcraft whispered in the halls and in the classrooms as though it were some kind of sin. Each time I shuddered, the word reverberating through me.
While no one seemed to know what had happened, there could be no doubt about what was created. In the dead centre of town, amongst the sandstone buildings and cobbled streets, was a large round stone that was suspended in the air, surrounded by a ball of fire that nothing and no one could put out.
Someone had spotted it on their way to school. The police had put barricades all around it, but that hadn’t stopped eager Mark from sneaking down and taking a picture on his phone and sharing it with every student at school. By lunchtime, everyone was looking at their phones, talking about the same thing and asking the same question: who did this – who was the witch?
The table where I sat for lunch was talking non-stop about it. After a while, I zoned out and looked around for signs of Jet and his gang, whom I hadn’t seen all day. So far no one had mentioned him as being involved. Nor did we have any way of knowing whether Jet and his gang had been arrested by the p
olice. Even thinking about the police and how close we’d been to being caught made my stomach churn.
‘Eva, earth to Eva,’ said Anna, rubbing my arm.
‘Huh?’ My face burned as I glanced up to see everyone at the table watching me. ‘What did you say?’
‘Oh, I was just asking whether you’d seen anything on the way home from the movies last night. Tom said he heard the sirens about 10.30, not long after we left you.’
I glanced over to Elijah, who was smiling, but every muscle in his face was set. Lying was not my strong point and he knew it.
‘Nah, we must have just missed all the drama,’ said Elijah without missing a beat. I took a long look at my brother, who put his arm around Anna.
‘That was lucky,’ said Noah. ‘Wouldn’t want to get mixed up with whatever was going on there. I don’t imagine Orpheus will be too happy, not with these new anti-witchcraft laws.’
I remembered how I felt watching the witches perform their ritual, the invisible cord that was pulling me, the heat in my hands, the knowing of what to do without being told.
From the corner of the cafeteria I saw Jet stand and scan the crowd. I knew I should look away, but I couldn’t. His eyes found mine and he smirked; he knew that I knew who he was. Was he willing me to confront him? Had he guessed my real identity?
‘Eva,’ said Noah quietly from beside me.
I turned to look at Noah. ‘Sorry, what did you say?’
‘Are you okay? You seem very distracted.’ He glanced over at Jet.
‘Nope, all good. You have my undivided attention.’
His breath was shallow. ‘As you know, the Easter dance is coming up in a few weeks.’
I nodded and held onto my groan. I knew what was coming.
‘I know you don’t like to dance, but I was wondering…’
My head spun as I tried to think up an excuse, any excuse, to avoid a night of squeezing into a dress and being ‘up close and personal’ with Noah.
Mrs Fletcher’s voice, loud and clear, came over the student intercom, silencing the room. ‘Students, can I please have your attention?’
I swallowed. They never used the intercom at lunchtime – ever.
‘It has come to our attention that there was an…issue in town last night.’
I glanced over at Elijah, whose face was pale.
‘The police would like to question our students to see whether they have any information that may be helpful to their investigation.’
I felt energy seeping from me. Even if I tried to lie, they would see through me in a heartbeat. And there was very little chance that Elijah would be there to save me.
‘Every student will be questioned.’ Mrs Fletcher’s voice faltered, and another voice could be heard barking hushed instructions in the background. ‘Students will be taken, one class at a time, into the office.’
I felt sick, sick to the core.
‘No one is allowed to leave the school before being given permission.’
What kind of hell have we entered?!
The intercom went dead, and it took a few seconds before everyone started talking all at once. I retreated somewhere inside myself and was only vaguely aware of the school bell ringing and everyone moving.
‘Come on, Eva,’ said Noah, waiting for me patiently, but with lines on his forehead. ‘We’ve got Maths.’
Maths and English were torture and by the time the bell rang for History, my breath had fled and I was struggling to retain composure. Noah sat beside me in each class, glancing at me from time to time, quietly talking to me.
As we walked to History, Noah leaned in and whispered, ‘I know you don’t like to, Eva, but you’re going to have to lie.’
I gasped. ‘How do you know?’
‘I know you better than you think.’
And then we were inside our class and there was Ezra, watching me as though he knew I had something to hide. My head went light and dizzy.
‘Now, students, it’s your turn to be questioned,’ said Mr Moore, looking crossly at the police officers who stood outside the room. ‘Once you’ve been released, you can go home.’
The room fell quiet as students rose and collected their belongings.
‘It will all be okay. Just answer the questions honestly and you’ll be allowed to go home,’ said Mr Moore, his face grey.
The mood was low as we made our way out the doors, down the stark white hall and into the office. We’d never been permitted into the teachers’ sanctuary before, and it was strange walking into their staff room and sitting down in their chairs where they sat and no doubt gossiped about us all.
In front of us were three of the special police, two men and one woman, all dressed from head to toe in black uniforms with large guns holstered at their hips.
The special police!
My heart jumped to life as they looked at us, one by one, as though dissecting a heart. I recognised one of them immediately – from the night we were questioned outside the restaurant after our double date. I pictured him circling my name.
Max!
He looked straight at me now, recognising me as I had recognised him.
‘You, let’s start with you,’ Max said, pointing to me.
Everyone inhaled sharply. I felt as though I were getting smaller and smaller and could disappear altogether.
‘Come on, Eva, we haven’t got all day,’ said Max, an eyebrow raised over his mean eyes as he indicated a small room behind him.
‘Now, there’s no need to talk to our students like that,’ said Mrs Field, the school principal, who appeared hot and flushed.
‘My apologies, Mrs Field,’ he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘Ms Martinez, will you follow me please?’
It was in that moment that I pictured my mum’s face as she pleaded with me to keep our witchcraft a secret. I’d thought she was being over the top at the time, but she’d been right all along. Our kind were in real danger.
I stood, held my legs steady so they wouldn’t shake. I walked towards him, my back straight. I couldn’t, wouldn’t show him I was scared and had something to hide.
‘Sure thing, Max,’ I said casually as I passed.
Max’s eyes opened wider for a moment before his face lit up with excitement. That’s when I knew I’d made a mistake; it was as though I’d sat down at the card table and announced, ‘I’ll play.’
Chapter Fourteen
The moment I walked into the small semi-lit room, all my bravado failed and it took everything in me not to turn and run for my life.
‘Something wrong, Eva?’ said Max from behind me. He was so close I could feel the heat from his body. I shook my head, not trusting my voice.
In front of me was a single chair and next to it, a lie detector. I’d never seen one in real life before, only on TV.
Another man, dressed in plain clothes, stepped into the room and arranged the machine – ready for me.
The female officer stepped towards me and guided me to the chair. The door was shut behind us. The moment I was seated, the plain-clothed man began attaching various wires to my abdomen, chest and fingers, and a blood pressure cuff to my arm; immediately my body was covered in sweat.
When he was finished, the female officer spoke. ‘Now, Eva, we have a few simple questions. If you pass, you’ll be allowed to go. I’ll be here, taking notes.’
I bit my tongue to hold back the question I really wanted to ask: And if I fail? What then?
Max stepped forward and asked, ‘Do you want to know what happens if you fail, Eva?’
I took a moment to compose myself and prayed my voice would be even. ‘I don’t think I need to worry about that.’
The machine beside me started up and it spiked, really high. Every set of eyes in the room turned to the computer beside me, which showed about a dozen red spikes.
‘Is that so?’ said Max, coming to sit in front of me. ‘That’s not what the machine says, and the machine never lies.’
CRAP!!!
&
nbsp; ‘Well, of course I’m worried,’ I blurted out. ‘This whole taking people into a room and interrogating them is kind of scary. I just didn’t want to say that.’
Max looked at the lines as I spoke – they stayed nice and even. I let out my breath that I was holding.
Don’t lie – just speak a version of the truth.
Max looked me straight in the eye when he spoke. ‘Where were you last night?’
‘I was at the movies with my brother, Elijah, Noah and Anna,’ I said, not missing a beat. Max picked up a notebook beside him and started to read. Had Elijah already been interviewed? Was he checking out my story?
‘Is Noah your boyfriend?’
What the hell?
‘That’s none of your business,’ I said.
Max laughed, but the smile froze on his face. ‘What you don’t seem to realise, Eva, is that everything is my business. Every! Single! Thing!’
‘I have rights,’ I said, my heart thumping in my chest. ‘But you, you have no right to even be doing this. I’ve done nothing wrong.’
Everyone in the room shuffled uncomfortably. Everyone except Max.
‘No right to ask you a couple of simple questions and clear your name?’ said Max. ‘No right to find out essential information to try and help the police in their investigations? No right to obey our leader, Orpheus? That doesn’t sound very…law abiding, Eva.’
I waited for my heartbeat to settle before I spoke. ‘No, Noah is not my boyfriend.’
The machine stayed nice and steady. I looked at the clock on the beige-coloured wall. In five minutes, the bell would ring for the end of the day. Any other school day, students would be piling out those doors without a care in the world. Not today. Not anymore.
‘Would he like to be your boyfriend?’ said Max.
Sweat prickled on my spine. ‘You’ll have to ask him.’
‘Oh, I will,’ said Max, whose eyes glazed over as a small smile played at the corners of his mouth. ‘But I want to hear you say it.’
Heat started to fill my hands – the kind of heat that would burn him. I tucked my hands under my legs. ‘I guess so.’