A part of me wished that they would understand and accept my decision. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be around them, I just needed space. My new bedroom was an improvement. I had to be grateful for that, but even that wasn’t quite enough.
The boys woke me at night when they came in late from a night out in the city. Clarie was always letting herself in and borrowing my clothes. Sometimes, I just wanted to be alone.
“I need to be with Father. He’s our guardian, our witch elder” I replied.
“What about Mother?” Clarie said.
“I want to be with Father right now.”
What else could I say? I couldn’t tell them that Father had always been my favourite. For some reason, I trusted him more than Mother, especially after Mother told us that he was a threat when all he had wanted to do was protect us.
I loved them both equally. However, Mother was trying to control us. My intuition told me that something wasn’t right with her. Not that I knew what was wrong.
Hopefully Father’s absence hadn’t made him want to control us, too. The last of the witches were at stake, surely both of them should have our best interests at heart. I hadn’t had the opportunity to ask him where he had been for the last five years. I needed to find out.
“We all miss him, but he did abandon us.” Verity stated the obvious. She was the other serious sister, able to cause earthquakes with her earth magic. She was often too busy fussing over whether the apartment was tidy enough to worry about much else.
“He initially left because Mother wouldn’t let us have a life. We know that, we saw that.”
We had lived in the same house our whole lives. We’d watched our parents’ marriage break down because of us. There was a point when we’d plotted to leave so they could have a chance to rekindle their love, but we hadn’t had anywhere else to go.
“He did have you kidnapped, right?” Theo asked.
Alex’s knuckles turned white as he grabbed the wooden table surface. “That’s not right.”
“Not exactly, I did exaggerate a bit there. Antony showed me a video from him before I agreed to go. He said that he knew none of us would listen if he just turned up.”
Alex let go of the table and thumped it with his fist. “He still went about it the wrong way.”
“You can talk, Mr Lover Man,” Lee said.
I glanced at my brother and he winked. Lee was the clown of the group and could always be counted on to try and lighten the mood.
“Shut it.” Alex glared at his best friend.
Looking down, my eye caught Alex’s bracelet. It had been ripped. I reached out and touched the thick band, tracing the fire engraved on the leather. The men’s bracelets were chunkier on their wrists, the silver charms a bit bigger.
“I caught it on something,” he lied, pulling his arm away.
I had tried to cut mine off several times, too. In fact, I was sure that we had all attempted to remove them in our younger teenage years. Being the last witches in the world put pressure on us. Eighteen now, we had finally started to relax into the knowing that we had a battle ahead. Being older, and having more freedom, had helped us to accept our fate. We had to fall in love, as cheesy as that sounded, and then go from there.
“What does he mean, Alex?” Lili said, leaning forward on the table.
She was a feminist, one ready to fight for a good cause. I often wondered how a man would tame her. Then I remembered how she didn’t need to be tamed. She could be as wild as she wanted and the right person would love that about her.
“He pulled two women last night, not giving either of them his phone number.” Lee sat back and rested his legs on the table.
“That’s so…” Lili started.
“Wrong,” Lee said, “I agree. He could’ve at least let me have one.”
Lili hit his arm when he raised an eyebrow at her. She was strong, but his muscles absorbed the impact of the blow.
“Pack it in,” Alex grumbled.
I got to my feet, ready to get on with my day. The others rushed to do the same.
“Sit down!” Alex’s voice thundered through the room.
They did. I didn’t. He glared at me, his gaze boring into my skin. The full force of his fire energy poured into that look, and I stepped back just before his hands burst into flames. His temper created fireballs and he often threw them. Apparently, he was able to keep control today. Taking a deep breath, he absorbed the fire back into his body.
“Someone’s winding Alex up,” Lee sang.
Theo kicked out Lee’s chair leg. The blond man flew across the floor as the seat fell, landing in a heap by the fridge.
Alex’s lips broke into a smile as I lowered myself back into my seat.
“What did Mother say about winding Alex up?” Clarie asked Lee as he lay on the wooden floor.
“She said that I would get burnt… literally,” he mumbled.
“And you did,” Alex said.
I glanced at Lee’s arm. He had a burn scar on his right wrist, just above his bracelet. It made him look tough now, but he had been in a lot of pain when he was twelve. He had paid heavily for tripping Alex with his foot.
“Can we just get on with it?” I wanted to go back to Father’s house and get started.
Once I had something in my head, I was impatient. I didn’t hesitate, I went for it. It took me a while to make a decision, but once I did, I instantly acted on it.
“There’s nothing we can say to persuade you to stay with us?” Theo asked.
My hair flicked out as I shook my head. They knew me well enough not to push. If they did, I would shut down and not speak to them for days. I didn’t want that to happen.
“You trust him?” Clarie piped up.
“Yes, I really do.”
The others sat back. The ones who had stayed quiet had already accepted that I was going. The rest of them sighed or nodded as I stood.
“I’m leaving now. I’ll be back when I can. Don’t panic,” I said when Clarie went to speak. “I’ll let you know what’s going on.” I bit my lip as I headed across the kitchen. “And thank you for all that you have done for me.”
I had said goodbye once before, when I moved in with my flatmate, but it was different now. We all knew that if I found my soulmate, the man with dormant witch blood, I probably wouldn’t come back to live with them. The thought of having my freedom and doing my bit for the witch race sent a chill along my arms.
I was the only one that cared about moving out. The rest of them were happy to just get on with it.
“Who do you think her soulmate is?” Clarie asked as I walked away.
Alex’s chair scraped the floor as he pushed away from the table. “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
I had to laugh when I heard his coarse answer. The men were less convinced about the whole soul-match mission. Most of them didn’t want anything to do with it, although they did often talk about the magic that would return when there were more witches in the world.
It was a surprise they still lived under the same roof as the girls. We had assumed that Lee and Alex would run away as soon as they could. Instead, they’d stayed. Theo was the only man that had never let us know his true feelings. It was something I was used to. I was similar. People were only allowed to see a part of me. There was a lot more to me than any of them knew. Maybe I would be able to show my soulmate who I really was.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving us again.”
Theo followed me into my room and sat on the bed as I packed. A tiny part of me wanted to let him wrap me in a hug. My brothers gave the best hugs when we were young. We were getting too old for that now.
It had often fascinated me how eight men and women managed to live together so easily. We were always fighting, admittedly, but it had never been bad enough to separate us. The dynamic of our sibling relationship was weird. Although we weren’t blood related, we had grown up as a family.
“Don’t you think this is all a bit… strange?
” I asked, taking out my journals and putting them in my suitcase.
“What, Father coming back?” He ran his hand over his shaved head.
“No, the way we’ve been brought up together, waiting for the moment we were old enough to fall in love.”
He shook his head and fell back on the bed. “Yeah, it’s weird.”
I probably wouldn’t get any more than that from him.
“I want to fulfil my mission. I want to be in love so we can repopulate the witch race and bring magic back to the world, but I’m blinded by the fact that I’ve not lived yet.” Once the words were out of my mouth, I had to face them. Did I really feel that way?
“Then go and live. They taught us not to go looking for love because it’s not just about that, so just go and live. When it’s supposed to happen, it will… or whatever.”
He grunted as I laughed. Putting my clothes into my suitcase, I zipped it up, wondering if it would be the last time. I didn’t need all of my stuff yet. I was only going to stay with Father until the first part of my mission was complete. Once I had united with my soul-match, we would have to work together to track down the warlocks.
“Are you scared?”
His question made me pause. His eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed as he waited for an answer. Sitting next to him, I lay back on the bed, letting my eyes close, too. His hand gently took mine, the touch making me jump.
“Yes, I’m scared. I have no idea what love is or what it will look like. I don’t want to fail, Theo. We’ve been here too many times.”
He squeezed my hand and let go. “I think we’ll be okay this time round.”
The bed moved as he got up. Squeezing my eyes shut, I refused to open them. The door clicked shut behind him as he left. A lone tear escaped and ran down the side of my face. I could do this. I was prepared for love. I was ready to fulfil the witch prophecy. Or that’s what I thought, anyway.
The wrench in my gut told me otherwise.
Chapter Seven
“Come on!” I cried, running towards the water.
“Wait up.” Antony laughed as he started to sprint.
I didn’t slow down. I was ready for the cold splash of water as I jumped straight into the deep lake. Opening my mouth, I allowed the water to flood me. A smile spread when the sensation of drowning gave way to a different type of breathing. My whole soul expanded as I floated underwater.
Arriving at my father’s the night before, I had settled quickly, learning all there was to know about what he’d been doing the whole time he’d been away. He had been a little cagey, telling me that the warlocks had been searching for us. They had tried to use divination to cast a tracking spell on my father. Luckily for him, he was able to use his residual magic to detect threats from the outside.
When he had felt the presence of dark magic, he had sought me out. The prophecy that had been given to our parents by the very last witch elder mentioned the return of darkness before the witches commenced their mission. It seemed that time was here.
“Penny…!”
The shout from above was muffled by the water so I pushed myself to the surface.
Antony blinked rapidly when water gushed from my mouth and nose. My cheeks heated at the way he almost cringed. I hadn’t thought to hide myself from him. Maybe I should have considering he was a human, unused to our witchy powers.
“That’s pretty gross,” he said, staring down at me.
Laughing, I shook my head. Maybe I shouldn’t be so bothered about how I looked to others. Yes, I had to hide my supernatural heritage from the rest of the world, but Antony was different. My father obviously trusted him to keep me safe.
“Thanks… well—”
A gunshot sounded, cutting me off mid-sentence. A small splash next to me made me squeal as Antony ducked down and looked towards the fence that lined the garden.
Another shot rang out. He grunted and pitched forward, falling into the lake. He had been hit.
I dived under as his body started to sink. His eyes were open, his cheeks puffed out with air. He tried to kick to the surface, but only one of his arms moved. Blood swirled and swelled within the water, coming from his shoulder.
My heart beat in my ears. What did I do? I didn’t know what to do. He opened his mouth, and I panicked, knowing that water was about to fill his lungs. Grabbing his face, I placed my mouth over his. Steadying myself with a hand over his heart, I breathed into him. The rise of his chest made me feel better as we floated to the surface and broke through. He spluttered as a bit of water came from his mouth and he was able to pull in a breath.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, that worked.” He panted.
Treading water, we looked towards where the bullet had come from. We couldn’t see the shooter from such a low vantage point. The pop of a gun sounded again so Antony grabbed me and pushed me underwater.
Holding onto his good shoulder, I pulled him down with me. There was no way I would let him take more bullets for me. I wrapped my legs around his waist and took his face between my hands. He held his breath, and for a second, we gazed into each other’s eyes. When his eyes widened, I breathed into his mouth again.
As we floated to the surface, I took my hands away. He grabbed my waist, holding firm as he sucked in another deep breath when the cool air hit us. My legs were still around his waist, which was totally inappropriate, especially when my skin flushed with heat.
“It’s okay,” Derek called from somewhere nearby. “I’ve run the shooter off.”
I tried to pull away from Antony before his brother could see us, but he held on.
“Your shoulder…” I whispered as he looked at me.
My hands rested on his chest, feeling the vibration of his racing heart. Why was he gazing at me so intently? He had known me for all of five minutes. He must have been in shock.
And still, he didn’t say anything.
“Are you okay?” Derek called, his footsteps sounding nearer.
Antony shot me an apologetic smile as he let me go. Clearing my throat as my own heartbeat slowed, I took his good arm and dragged him to the edge of the lake. It was deep and didn’t slope out like most lakes.
Derek came into view, a gun in his hand. Tucking it away, he grabbed hold of his brother and dragged him out.
“He was hit in the shoulder, I think,” I said, pulling myself onto the grass.
Water ran off me as I got to my feet. Ignoring it, I turned towards the men, my insides quivering as I checked around to make sure there were no more bullets flying towards us.
As soon as he was upright, Antony’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started to slump. Derek caught him just in time, putting one arm under his shoulder. I went to Antony’s other side and did the same, helping him through the garden and into the house.
“What happened?” Father came out of his library.
“Antony’s been shot,” Derek said as we took him up the stairs.
Swearing – which was very unlike him – Father grabbed his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll ring the doctor and go check it out.”
“He was hanging over the fence at the rear of the garden,” Derek called back down the stairs. “Looked like he had a dark red jacket on.”
“Where was he shot?” Father called.
Hovering, I grunted under the weight of Antony. Couldn’t Derek catch him up in a moment? I wasn’t that strong.
“In the shoulder,” Derek replied, glancing at me. “We’d better take him to your room.”
Frowning, I did as I was told.
“Why have we brought him in here?” I asked when Derek put him on my bed.
“Because it’s the only room with a sink and a double bed. It will be easier to sort him out. Plus, our room is a pigsty.” He turned the tap on and let it run hot.
“My side isn’t.” Antony’s voice was quiet.
He was awake. He winced when he tried to lift himself up, so I crouched on the floor next to the bed, taking his han
d to stop him.
“Stay still. Father has called a doctor. Although,” I said, looking at Derek. “…why hasn’t he called an ambulance?”
Derek came over with a pair of scissors and started to cut away Antony’s sopping wet T-shirt. I swallowed as smooth ridged muscles and bare skin came into view.
“They’d ask too many questions.” Antony squeezed my hand. “I’ll be okay, it doesn’t feel too bad. Just a graze, maybe. Bloody lucky, if you ask me.”
Derek rolled him and ripped off the rest of the shirt, apologising when Antony groaned. I couldn’t help but trace his body with my gaze. He had a couple of tattoos. A black and grey phoenix up his side and an unrecognisable symbol on his arm. Jeez, why did the man have to be so sexy?
“It’s not too bad,” Derek said, studying the weeping blood.
I was no expert in gunshot wounds, so I didn’t add anything to his diagnosis.
Using a soaked flannel, Derek squeezed water over the wound. The blood washed away to reveal a hole where the bullet had gone in, the skin puckered at the edges. Biting my lip, I winced. The poor guy was braver than me, I would’ve been crying.
“Is he okay?” Father came into the room, followed by an older man.
“Let me see,” the doctor said, stepping forward and taking over from Derek. “It’s quite a clean entry wound. I just need to take the bullet out. It’s lodged beneath the skin’s surface, not too much of a problem. He was lucky.”
“Is it safe out there?” Derek whispered to Father when the doctor turned to get his instruments ready.
Nodding, Father cleared his throat. “The warlocks hire ex-military to find me. I’ll have to use my magic to put up a better barrier spell. It’s obviously grown weak.”
I gasped, my hand coming to my mouth. I had no idea my Father could cast a barrier spell. Magic was sparse, and although he was an elder, he must have been stronger than I realised.
“Penny, I think you should go downstairs.” Father pulled me away.
“But—”
I wanted to stay and help. Antony had been hurt because of me, and I needed to make sure he was alright.
Chasing Magic: The Last Witch Coven Book 1 Page 6