“But…” I stuttered.
“We would make better partners for our soul-matches if we actually experienced life. The world expects us to revive the witch race. How can we do that without setting foot into the modern age?” Theo said.
Admitting that he was right, even to myself, was hard. None of us were ready for love. The men only flirted with women, no commitment ever involved. We had no experience of socialising with the opposite sex on a one to one basis, never mind leading an independent lifestyle. Finding our soulmate was our lifetime purpose. We needed to be ready for that. It seemed that the more I thought about being a soulmate, the less I wanted to carry out my mission.
“We do need to stick together,” Alex said. “However, we promise to give you more freedom. We really do know how you feel. It’s time for change. Our lives can’t be governed by Mother any longer. We need to grow.” Alex pressed the buttons on the phone.
The distant sound of ringing filtered to my ears. He frowned when someone answered.
After some awkward banter, Alex went straight to the point. “Mother, it’s time for us to become independent. It’s time to let us go. We need to start living a normal life, so we can find our soulmate in a natural environment. We’re moving on.” After a long silence, she hung up, leaving Alex hanging. “We should have done this years ago.”
Relief flooded through me, the force of it making my stomach churn. We had finally taken charge. We would be free to make our own choices, free to bring back the witches our way.
The others reacted in different ways. Lee high-fived Alex. Theo just grinned, shaking his head at Guy.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
They became silent and avoided looking at me. I knew they had been hiding something, I had suspected for months. It was another reason why I’d wanted to get out.
“We have another house set up. We’re all going to live there.” Theo took my hand.
I blinked as I tried to wrap my head around what they were saying. They had obviously been thinking about defying Mother for a while.
“We need to see the world without someone breathing down our necks,” Alex said.
Nodding, I agreed. The house we lived in was more like a prison. “Great. When do we move?”
“As soon as we’re all ready. Here, take this.”
Alex handed me a small business card with an address printed on it. Clapham Common, London.
He smiled and shrugged. “A good place to keep a low profile.”
I shook my head. As if the boys could ever be discreet. They always found themselves in trouble. I couldn’t help the small smile that came to my lips when I thought of their escapades.
“We’ve set up a pretty amazing place. You’d have your freedom there.”
My gaze traced down to look at the card. I wanted my freedom, but if I was honest, I was still scared. Okay, I’d had a couple of weeks living with Kat, which had been nice. It had been different though, I’d been alone, able to make my own choices. This time, we would still be together, living without the constraints of our mother.
Would the boys be discreet without those rules? Not only that, each one of us had a magical ability that we had to keep hidden. We had always looked out for each other. If anyone outside our family discovered that I could breathe underwater, like Kat did, I would be turned into a science project. Would we still have one another’s back if we had too much freedom?
“Come with us,” Lee said, fiddling with one of his blond spikes. “Everyone’s packing. If we go there now, we can be the first in. If you don’t like it, you can leave. We’ll come back tomorrow to pack our remaining belongings. Okay?”
Giving a smile, I bit my lip as flutters bounded in my stomach.
“Let’s go,” Clarie said, coming out of our room with Theo, who had gone to gather the girls.
They stared at me, their eyebrows raised. Why did they feel the need to ask my permission? Just because I was the serious one, didn’t mean I wasn’t laid back too. Sometimes.
Rolling my eyes, I spun away. They were probably trying to predict whether I was going to melt down in tears or just get on with it. They wouldn’t get any tears from me. I was ready for this.
“Let’s go!” Theo called from the end of the hallway.
We were leaving the safety of the nest. This time, I wasn’t attempting to make it on my own. Going with the others made it more real somehow. Although we were still going to live together, it would be different. We would finally be free from our parents.
“Let’s hope neither of them will find us now,” Lee said, picking up my suitcase and throwing it on his shoulder.
I followed him to his room where he put on a coat and grabbed his own suitcase. Taking up his much loved guitar, I slung it over my back. He was right. If we wanted to be free to live our lives, we had to hide from them both. Father had allegedly wanted to harm us, and Mother just wanted to control us. It was time to leave. Time to grow up.
Everyone met in the hallway before the boys shepherded us into the living area. Alex droned on as he explained the new plan. Now that Father had reappeared, we were going to move to a new home.
As we readied ourselves to leave, I looked around the rooms that we had called home for most of our lives. There were no sad goodbyes, I was ready to leave the past behind. I had held on for too long.
It was time to start again.
Chapter Four
“Keep running.” Clarie panted behind me.
After spotting the men at the station, we had managed to sneak out before they saw us. It had been a month since we’d moved. We had known that Mother would send someone to try and find us. So far, we hadn’t seen anyone. Until now.
They wore suits and talked into their phones as they looked around them. I had recognised one of her bodyguards. That had been enough to make me grab Clarie and get out of the station.
We ran on the concrete path, alongside the river Thames, huffing hard. Trying to act normal, we glanced at one another. There wasn’t a lot of people around during the middle of day. Most of them were still at work.
It was cold. My breath huffed out in a puff of white mist as I tried to get more air into my lungs.
“I think they saw us. A car just skidded over there,” Clarie called.
Looking over my shoulder, I swore as my hair swept into my face, blocking my view. Pushing past a tourist group, I apologised when I bashed into one of them.
“Penny, jump in!” Clarie called.
I spun to see Clarie pointing down to the river. Nodding, I waved as her body changed, liquefying into water. Her spell had taken only seconds to perform, could I be that quick?
The shower of water that was now Clarie hit the ground, making a splashing sound.
Wishing I was fitter, I grabbed the green railing and lifted my leg over it. A shout from behind made me briefly look back. I recognised the man’s face as he ran towards me, but I didn’t have time to place him. Had he been one of our bodyguards when we were younger? He didn’t look old enough.
Jumping into the river, I thanked the universe that it was high tide. The iciness enveloped me as my mouth flew open. I inhaled deeply, not choking as the water flowed into my lungs.
Our magic was weak, which meant that each of us only had one power. Mine had come to light when I was a toddler. Mother had left me in the bath on my own, and I had gone underwater for a long time without dying. Taking water into my lungs had been instinctual, and although the memory was a blur, I would never forget that first time.
Kicking my legs, I forced myself down when I started to float to the surface of the river. I put my hands in front of me and pushed through the water. The water was so murky, I struggled to see where I was going.
My long coat pulled me down, which actually helped to conceal me. My bracelet caught my eye as I pushed my arms forward. The silver of my charm sent a bolt of annoyance through me. I hated being tied to my mission.
After swimming for a while, I allowed myself t
o float upwards. Water poured from my mouth and nose when my head broke the surface. I was on a quiet part of the river, the buildings more industrial.
Pulling myself out when I made sure no one was around, I sat on the mud bank, shivering.
“Are you okay?” Clarie asked from behind me.
She had a weird way of knowing where someone was. I nodded as I stared at the water lapping against the bank.
When I looked at her, I squinted from the sun. How was Clarie dry, not soaking wet like I was?
“How did you get here?”
She grinned and pointed at my boots. “I attached myself to your feet.”
Shaking my head, I got up and wrung out my brown hair. The length of it was heavy when it was wet.
“We need to get you out of those clothes,” she said, taking the arm of my coat.
“Are you okay?” The voice was deep and sent chills up my spine.
The man that approached was tall and slim with dark shaved hair. My skin flushed when he looked at me and smiled.
“I’m fine,” I replied, attempting to look normal. “I just fancied a swim.”
I glanced down at my hands when his gaze met mine.
His eyes had twinkled. “Well, that’s commendable. Although, a bit crazy too,” he said.
Taking off his coat, he wrapped it around me. I shivered even more when his hands brushed my shoulders.
“Penny, we need to go.” Clarie stepped in front of me and grinned up at the man.
Tempted to push her out of the way, I cleared my throat. My agitation would only make her worse. She loved men and they loved her.
“Penny, that’s a rare name,” he said, ignoring my sister.
The man seemed to be focused on me. That was unusual. They usually spoke to Clarie once she turned on the charm. I was far too quiet for them to take notice.
“It’s pretty,” he added when I didn’t say anything.
With a huff, Clarie grabbed my arm and started to pull me away.
“Wait. Where can I find you? So you can return my coat?” he called.
I was usually shy, but for some reason, a rush of confidence propelled me to turn back to him. Mother had told us to look for signs around a possible soulmate. The immediate surge of confidence was one of them. It was a pretty big sign.
“Meet me in that coffee shop in an hour,” I said, pointing to a café that peeked through two buildings.
He nodded and smiled as I ran to catch up to Clarie. She had given up on me and legged it. Apparently, my sister didn’t like me talking to men. As fast as she ran, my longer legs carried me to her quickly.
“Why did you do that?” I puffed when I reached her.
“You’ve got to be careful,” she said, swiping her blonde fringe out of her eyes.
“You can talk. You’ve spoken to loads of men since we moved.”
She laughed, and I realised what the problem was. Clarie was actively looking for her soulmate, and she hadn’t found him. I was just getting used to my own little piece of freedom, instead of being focused on the search, and I had just met a good looking man.
“He’s probably not the one,” she said, grabbing my hand to bring me to a halt.
My muscles started to shake. It was the end of winter, and I was still soaking wet.
“You don’t know that. I think he may well be,” I replied, just to defy her.
Okay, so he probably wasn’t, but her attitude made it hard for me not to push her. There was a flutter in my chest. Was it a good omen or a bad one?
Turning serious, Clarie looked to where I dripped all over the floor. “Be careful. You know how easy it is to get hooked in.”
I glanced back the way we had come, searching for the mystery man. He had already gone. Why did I have to be careful? I didn’t want to be careful. I wanted to find love. Standing there, dripping in the freezing cold, wasn’t going to make that happen.
“Let’s go.” I hugged my sister awkwardly, laughing when she moaned and pushed me away.
“You’re soaked! You’ll die of hypothermia before a bloke can sweep you off your feet.”
Running between two buildings, we chanced upon a high street. Smiling to myself, I slipped into a clothes shop and managed to sneak into the changing rooms without being seen. Clarie brought me two dresses and a towel she had taken from the home department. I dried myself as best as I could before deciding on a dress.
The assistant jumped when I came out, grinning when I did a twirl.
“I’ve just met a man, and I’m going on a date. Can I wear this now?” I smiled sweetly as a look of excitement flashed over her face and she agreed.
Giving Clarie the dress so she could pay for it, I stuffed my wet clothes in a plastic shopping bag.
“All done,” Clarie said, handing me the dress when she returned. “You owe me.”
Shoving the dress on, I skipped out of the changing room and walked back through the store, Clarie tagging behind me.
“You’re really going to do this?” she asked.
As we headed back to the coffee shop, I looked down at the man’s coat. I’d put it over my dress in an attempt to look cute. What was wrong with me? I smiled a secret smile, although Clarie knew me well enough to know what I was thinking.
“You’re going to make it impossible for him not to see you again because of the coat. You could’ve bought one but you didn’t.” She shook her head. “You’re as bad as me!”
Laughing, I handed her the bag of wet clothes. She rolled her eyes before she muttered a goodbye and left for home.
A part of me knew that I was immature when it came to dating. What did I expect? I had been sheltered my whole life. It was no wonder my heart thumped hard in my chest as I walked into the coffee house.
At first I couldn’t see him as I searched the tables, but when he stood and waved at me, I made my way over.
He raised his eyebrows as I approached. “Glad you came back, I’m Will. Nice dress,” he said, smiling.
Glancing over at the waitress, I froze when I caught sight of another man sitting in the corner. Quickly shaking my head, I smiled when Will gestured for me to sit.
I lowered myself into the chair, my back straight against the rigid wood. I wasn’t sure if I had recognised the other man who sat in the corner, but I thought it might be the same man we had run from only moments ago.
“So, what made you jump into—?”
“I told you,” I interrupted, in case anyone else could hear. “I’m a bit weird.”
He smiled as he sipped from a mug of tea. The waitress came over, taking my order of a hot chocolate. When I glanced over to the other man, my eye caught his gaze, but he quickly looked away.
“I always like to help a damsel in distress,” Will said, resting his arms on the table.
“And do you have a lot of damsels in your life?” I didn’t know what had made me ask about the women in his life. Silly immature Penny, always putting her foot in it.
A flush of heat crept over my cheeks, warming them. Will laughed as he raised his eyebrows. His humour put me at ease so I relaxed, sitting back in the chair.
What was wrong with me? Why was I worried whether he was the type of man to pick up a lot of women?
“I’ve rescued my fair share of damsels, yes.”
I had to be frowning because he started to squirm. Mentally shaking myself, I put on my best smile. It was the small talk again. Hard for me, yet part of the whole process.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I whispered.
His eyebrows rose. I quickly realised what I must have sounded like.
“No, I meant… for a walk, or something,” I said, backtracking.
Grinning, he nodded, although I doubted he believed me. Apparently, I was a crazy woman who had the dating expertise of an eight year old.
Getting up from our seats, we made our way to the door. As we left, I caught the other man watching me. He was probably a spy for Mother. I never imagined that we would feel threatened b
y our own parents.
Mother had told us that the warlocks may appear anywhere, at any time, and now it seemed we were running from our parents’ spies as well. How had we all of a sudden become enemies with the parents that had raised us?
“Where are you from, Penny?”
We walked along the Thames, taking in the scenery of the river. Glancing up at him, I debated telling him about myself. Was he trustworthy?
He was clean cut and wore a smart suit. He must’ve been cold as the wind whirled around us, but he didn’t show it.
“I’m from here.”
Unsure whether I actually felt comfortable with him, or was just rebelling, I bit my tongue. I was tempted to spill the beans, let him know who I was. However, I couldn’t give too much away. Maybe I could tell him a bit. It would be nice to be open and honest about who I was.
“Is that all? You don’t want to tell me the district?” he said as we stopped and looked out over the water.
Was he the one? If I kissed him, I might be able to tell. Ugh, the teenager in me was playing a dangerous crazy game.
Tucking my arm in his, I looked up into his eyes, smiling gently as he leant towards me. Was he seriously going to-
His lips attacked mine in a slimy wet kiss. Okay, so I might have had the thought, but I hadn’t invited him with just a look. Had I?
Only able to bear a moment of his sloppy lips, I pulled away and wiped my mouth, cringing at the excess saliva he had left behind.
“You’re keen.”
“S-sorry, I…” Will stuttered.
I wanted to step away from him, to turn and run and never look back. Mother’s words about going with the flow came into my mind. I had never been patient and had literally just met the man. If I was honest, I had no idea what I was doing. Regret started to envelop my whole being. Why the hell was I messing with a random stranger?
“Do you want to go back to my place? It’s not far from here,” he said.
Freezing, I stared at him, not quite sure what to do. Scrap that, there was no way I was going anywhere with him. What had I been thinking?
Chasing Magic: The Last Witch Coven Book 1 Page 3