Chasing Magic: The Last Witch Coven Book 1

by Rachel Medhurst

  “Leave!” my father barked, pushing me out of the room.

  Standing outside, I clenched my hands into fists and took a deep breath. Why had someone been shooting at us? How had the warlocks found me already? I hadn’t even met my soul-match yet.

  “Come with me, love.”

  Father’s new wife, Bev, came up the stairs and led me down them. I let her guide me, grateful for her company. She had been kind since I’d arrived, taking care of me. I had kept my distance, unable to believe that my father had moved on from Mother.

  “He’ll be okay,” Bev said, sitting me in the library. “He’s been through worse.”

  The bookshelves that surrounded the room had sent thrills up my spine when I first saw them. I had set my sights on them already.

  A memory of Father in the old house came back to me. He used to read to us from a book that explained our mission.

  I stood as an image of the cover came into my mind. The chair tipped, clattering to the floor. I ignored it as my gaze roamed the bookshelves.

  “Here you are, dear.” Bev handed me a mug of tea.

  “How much do you know about me?” I asked, righting the chair and taking a seat on it.

  Father would know where the book was, I would ask him as soon as he was free. It was time I took charge of my own mission and learnt what I was supposed to be doing.

  “Everything…”

  I glanced at her as she smiled, nodded and left me alone with my thoughts. Was she more than Father’s new wife? Was she an elder, too?

  “Antony’s recovering,” Father announced, walking into the room. “The doctor has taken the bullet out and stitched him up.” Going over to the desk, he fiddled with the paperwork on it. “He’s been very brave. Will you take care of him while he recovers? I have a meeting in New York and need to leave later today. Derek will be here to keep guard, and Bev will need to run the house, so you’re the only one who can look after him.”

  “Yes, I’ll do that,” I said, only partially peeved at becoming the bodyguard’s babysitter. “I’m so relieved Antony’s okay. We had such a shock…” I swallowed down the lump that suddenly rose to my throat and changed the subject. “Are you sure we’ll be safe with you gone? The shooter could come back.”

  A small sad smile crossed Father’s mouth. “The shooter will never see the light of day again. Penny…” He stared at me, his gaze intense. “My magic has grown stronger the last week or so. I believe it’s because things are about to change. I’m going to invoke an invisibility spell at the same time as increasing security.”

  “Can I watch?”

  Our parents had shown us a few spells when we had been younger, always making sure to keep us focused instead of fascinated.

  Shaking his head, my father glanced down at the papers on his desk. “It’s best you don’t. You’ve got a lot going on, you don’t need to worry about magic yet. That will come.”

  The tight expression on his face warned me not to push him. I had learnt long ago that my Father’s word was to be respected. And rightly so, he was one of the remaining two witch elders. I wasn’t about to pick a fight with him.

  “Fair enough,” I said, dropping my gaze when he raised his eyebrows. “Do you remember the book you used to read to me?”

  He went completely still. If I reached out and pushed him with one finger, he would’ve fallen sideways. Swallowing, he looked away from me as he grabbed up his passport.

  “Of course I do. Although, I’m surprised you remember,” he said.

  “Can I have it? It’s time I learnt about my mission from an adult’s point of view.”

  The smile that lit his face was so big, I wondered what I had said to make him happy.

  “I’m not surprised you’re the first one.” He came over and pulled me into a hug.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, my voice muffled against his suit jacket.

  “Only when you’re ready to learn will you seek what you need to find.” He stepped back and put his hands on my shoulders. Looking into my eyes, he nodded once and turned to the nearest bookshelf.

  “You’re not that special, Penny.” Holding up a finger, he shushed me before I could speak. “Hear me out before you get offended,” he said. “Everyone on Earth has a purpose. It’s just that yours is a bit harder to forget about. People have free will when they come here, but I’m afraid when you signed up to do this, you gave up most of yours. The Last Witch Coven, as I like to call you, have that extra special mission. Rebuilding a whole race isn’t going to be easy and the first bit, finding the right human with dormant witch blood, is only the start.” Father took out a book from the shelf and handed it to me.

  The first thing I noticed about the book was the picture of the entwined couple on the cover. Light radiated from their heads and showered them completely. Magic revived. It spoke to me. The beauty of the cover sank into my veins. I was a sucker for beautiful things.

  “You’ll read that book several times and still not know everything. The whole purpose of life is to learn from experience. You can have feelings when you read, especially with your emotional intelligence, but it won’t integrate until you experience it in reality. Remember that and you’ll be fine.”

  His words resonated, making my stomach flip. I hadn’t experienced much in life so far, so how would I know how to find my witchy soulmate?

  I traced my finger over the male on the cover, hoping it would give me the answer.

  “It’s not about trying to find something, Penny, it’s about allowing it to find you at the right time.”

  Hugging me again, he turned me towards the door. He would be gone for a few days. In everyday life, he was a businessman with branches all over the world. He was a top executive of a green energy company. When we were young, he’d often go away on weekends for work.

  “Why did you leave us?” I blurted.

  The pressure of his fingers on my shoulders tightened as he sighed.

  “The pain was too much. She’s my soulmate and we fell apart. We failed in our own relationship.”

  The weight of his hands lifted. There was nothing I could say to his confession, he had abandoned us because of his own heartbreak. With a shake of my head, I left the room without questioning him further.

  “Antony’s asking for you,” Derek said when I came out of the library.

  Tucking the book under my arm, I went upstairs to my room. Insecurity made me want to hide the book before Antony could see me with it. It was special to me and I needed it all to myself. I itched to start reading, but I didn’t have time.

  Antony looked a little groggy, his eyelids drooping. The doctor had obviously given him strong painkillers. The old man was shutting his bag, so I took the opportunity to hide the book in the drawer of the dressing table.

  “He’ll need to take these four times a day. I’ll be back tomorrow to check the wound and change the dressing. He needs to stay in bed for a couple of days to let the stitches settle.” The doctor handed me a bottle of pills.

  Seeing him out, I thanked him for all that he had done.

  When I came back into the room, I settled on the chair beside Antony. “I’m sorry you got shot,” I said, wringing my hands together.

  “Did you arrange it, then?” His lip rose into his cheek and revealed a dimple.

  I shook my head, a little tempted to hit out at him. “Yes. I can’t believe they were such a rubbish shot,” I joked.

  He laughed, cringing when the movement jolted his shoulder. “You saved my life, anyway,” he said, his gaze meeting mine.

  Stillness surrounded me. I couldn’t breathe as he reached out and pulled me towards the bed.

  “I’m not sure I did,” I whispered as he tugged on my hand.

  I knelt on the carpet next to the bed, my heart thumping in my chest as he reached up to stroke my cheek. “You breathed air into me when we were underwater.”

  His hand found its way to the back of my neck. What was he doing? Was he high from the meds? Woul
d he remember this when he was well again?

  “I’ve never seen anything so amazingly…”

  I smiled as he pulled me closer.

  “Weird,” he finished.

  My body froze as the words hit my chest like a dart. Ripping out of his grasp, I pushed myself up.

  He frowned, blinking as I turned to the window and looked out. I knew I was weird. I didn’t need him to confirm it for me.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing,” I replied, gripping the windowsill as I watched a tractor in the distance. Just because he had an injury, didn’t mean he could mock me.

  “Don’t lie.”

  I huffed and tried to loosen my shoulders. “When’s your birthday?”

  The question was my feeble attempt to distract him, but it fell into a silent room.

  He didn’t answer for a moment. “I’m not telling you,” he eventually said.

  “Fine,” I spat, going to the drawer and taking out my new book.

  “Where are you going?”

  “You need to rest,” I replied, slamming the door shut behind me.

  Chapter Eight

  The book made no sense at all. It didn’t speak of true love and happily ever after and the witch race returning. It spoke of opening and surrendering to allow love and magic to enter. I had no idea what that meant.

  Huffing, I threw it across the grass and blinked to clear my vision. The sun had set and the sky had turned navy. The cold air suddenly filtered through the blanket that I’d wrapped around myself. My whole body shivered, and I hadn’t even noticed.

  “Dinner time, love,” Bev announced through the kitchen window.

  The swing moved as I stood up and retrieved the book. It was stupid being offended by Antony’s comment. My ego was easily bruised and his careless words had hit home.

  “Did Father tell you any more about the shooter?” I asked as I came into the dining room.

  Derek and Bev were waiting to eat so I sat quickly, apologising for my delay.

  “Not anything that I can share,” Derek replied despondently, digging into his roast beef rather greedily.

  Bev hit Derek on the arm with her fork, frowning at his unpleasant table manners. Shrugging without remorse, he looked down at his plate and carried on eating.

  “Penny, it’s best that we don’t get involved. What’s important now is that Antony recovers. We don’t want him getting an infection, so after dinner, you’ll spend the night with him to make sure he doesn’t get a fever. The doctor couldn’t very well do much to prevent it considering Antony isn’t in hospital. Private doctors can only do so much.”

  My eyes must have popped out of my head. I hadn’t considered that Antony would stay in my room or that I would have to be in there with him.

  “Have you got something I can sleep on?” Arguing would be useless.

  Bev smiled and nodded. “It’s already done, dear.”

  The sigh that escaped me didn’t go unnoticed. Both of them raised their eyebrows and looked at one another. I was nervous about spending the night in a room with a man who—

  “How are you getting on with the book?” Bev asked.

  “What book?” Derek interrupted before shoving a Yorkshire pudding into his mouth.

  Bev looked at me, her lips pursed in disapproval. I rolled my eyes, sharing a bemused look with the mysterious woman. She shrugged as Derek turned back to his food, interest in the book quickly forgotten.

  “I’m not that far into it yet. I’ve read a few chapters…”

  The small woman smiled when my sentence trailed off. “It will all become clear soon.”

  “What if it doesn’t?” I blurted, allowing my fear to show.

  Our whole lives, we had been told that the fate of the witch race rested on our shoulders. If we didn’t find our soul-matches and unite with them – in order to ignite the magic gene in humans and bring magic back to earth – witches would die out altogether. And it all started with me. It was no wonder I was a little stressed.

  Bev reached forward and put a hand on mine. “It will.”

  It fell silent as I tried to finish my food. I usually loved roast dinners, but the day’s events had thrown my appetite out the window.

  “Go to him,” Bev said.

  Thanking her, I left them to it. As I walked up the stairs, I heard Derek speak. “What the hell are you lot on about?”

  My head was buzzing as I entered my bedroom.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” Antony said.

  I didn’t respond at first. Instead, I put my book away and turned to him once the drawer was closed. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Where’s the warm, fun Penny gone?” He gestured for me to go to him.

  “She only comes out on special occasions,” I said, grabbing my pyjamas and escaping to the bathroom.

  Once inside, I stared at myself in the mirror. My brown eyes were extra dark tonight. I wondered what depths lay beneath them. I didn’t know how far down the soul was or how to reach it. Bizarrely, it felt like Antony was trying to push his way inside, and I didn’t like it.

  And yet, he wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary.

  My skin was pretty smooth, until I looked up close. When you focus too much on things, they seem to conjure up all sorts of problems. My eyebrows were naturally bushy, too large for my face. Luckily, Clarie plucked them for me. I had never had the patience.

  Looking down at my hands, I studied my neat fingers. If only my hips were as small as my extremities.

  “Is someone in there?” Derek shouted from outside.

  Being harassed when in the bathroom was something I was used to. Putting my hair into a ponytail, I shook myself free of my insecurities and went back to my bedroom.

  “You look nice with your hair up,” Antony said.

  Going to his bedside, I picked up his pills and helped him to take them. He was able to hold the glass of water to swallow them down. I tried not to make eye contact, looking above his head as I took the glass back.

  “Are you seriously going to sleep down there?” he asked when I turned to my makeshift bed.

  I didn’t answer him as I eyed the jumble of blankets that were thrown on the floor.

  “There’s plenty of room on the bed,” he said quietly.

  Freezing, I glanced over my shoulder, frowning.

  “You are kidding?” I laughed, picking up the first blanket and laying it on the floor. “I don’t even know you.”

  “What have I done to upset you?”

  Making my bed kept me distracted as heat travelled over my skin. A flashback of the day he had almost kissed me on the train came into my mind. The feel of his arms around my body in the lake shot through me and I vigorously shook the blanket.

  “Nothing,” I said, eventually lying on the floor and facing away from him.

  “Fine. When you come out of your sulk, let me know.”

  The muscles in my back tightened. I fought the urge to get up and stamp out of the room; as tempting as it was, I refrained. I had no idea why he affected me so much. I had known the guy for only a few days, and yet, something about him made me bristle.

  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. There was only one thought in my brain as I tried to force myself to sleep. It was time I made the effort to get out so I could meet my human witch soulmate and forget about Antony.

  *

  The sound of glass shattering jolted me awake. I scrambled up and tried to look around. It was pitch black, the curtains blocking out any moonlight that might have illuminated the room. Rustling bed covers alerted me that Antony was awake.

  “Are you okay?” I whispered.

  “I knocked the glass over trying to get a drink. I’m cold.” His teeth chattered.

  It would be just my luck that he had a fever. How was it even possible in this day and age? Of all the lifetimes I had lived, I was sure that this was the best one for medicine.

  I blinked as the thought flashed through my mind. It had
been a while since I had thought about my past lives. I often had dreams of times gone by. My mother had informed me that I was remembering times of the past when I had been someone else.

  My soul had inhabited many different bodies to gain experience and try to bring back magic. Each dream was just a snippet, a small screenshot of that lifetime. I could never piece anything together because I wasn’t supposed to remember. There would be too much pain, too many memories. A part of me longed to connect to a past life so that I could make more sense of the now. Another part knew that it was best to let the journey unfold naturally.

  “I’m going to turn on the light.” I tried to feel my way to the lamp on the dressing table.

  Somehow I made it without bumping into anything. When light flooded the room, my eyes traced the glass on the floor. A big chunk was next to where my head had been. Phew, that had been lucky.

  I stepped around the broken glass and went to the other side of the bed. Antony watched me, his eyes glazed and sweat lining his forehead.

  “Shall I ring for an ambulance?” I whispered.

  He shook his head. “No, there’ll be too many questions. Just do what the doctor said.”

  I touched his forehead, and although it felt hot, he still shivered.

  “He said to look out for a fever. He didn’t say what to do if you had one.” I knelt on the bed next to him.

  “Just hold me. Use your body heat to warm me,” he whispered.

  I hesitated. I had never been that close to a man before and the thought of it scared me. Plus, didn’t people only do that sort of thing in the movies to create romantic tension?

  “Do you want to help me or not?” His teeth chattered harder.

  Sliding under the cover, I wrapped my arm around his waist. He lifted his good arm, and I nestled into the crook of his shoulder, resting my head on his bare chest. His heartbeat vibrated against my cheek, making my insides quiver.

  “That’s better.” He sighed as my body heat started to sink into him.

  His skin was hot against mine, warming me. He relaxed, his eyes fluttering closed as I swallowed, trying to stay completely still. It didn’t take long for his breathing to become shallow.