And then, just when he thought he had made it through another day, the first drops of rain began, and it broke him. For it wasn’t normal everyday precipitation. It was her rain – Mia’s rain. It was saturated with her scent and spilling relentlessly from the bulging purple rain clouds.
Colt recoiled in anguish. He pressed his body flat against a tree trunk, desperate to shelter himself from the onslaught of water. But there was no escape. The droplets trickled over his face and body, soaking his hair and clothes. Like a wounded soldier, he crumpled to the ground in defeat. He trembled as the drops of rain rolled over on to his lips and leaked into his mouth.
In a desperate attempt at fighting it, he used his power to command the water away from him. But it was too great to combat: he could not keep up with the downpour.
For the first time in his life, Colt was scared.
In the solitude of the library, Dino slouched in an armchair, staring off into space. He felt like he hadn’t slept in weeks. And perhaps he hadn’t. In all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure – it was such a blur. Each night Tol would call to him, and, like a devoted dog, Dino would comply. He would trudge miles along the forest borders until he reached Tol’s camp. Every night Tol would offer him power, and every night Dino would run from it.
But it wasn’t the exhaustion that had left him so dazed, because he was beyond tired. It was the confusion. Somewhere along the way, he had lost sight of everything. What was he doing? Why was he doing it? He had even lost sight of who he was. It was as though he existed solely for the purpose of his nightly conflict with Tol. And gradually, he could feel Tol’s presence taking up roots in his subconscious, whittling away until Dino was too weak to fight any more.
Numb, Dino wondered if giving in was really such a bad idea. Why was he resisting anyway? Tol had been right – Dino was craving the dark power to be bestowed on him. And in a warped, senseless way, he sometimes actually found himself looking forward to standing on the triangular symbol and absorbing its phenomenal energy. After all, during those few brief minutes per night, he was a god.
‘I think I’ve got something,’ Blue’s voice jolted Dino out of his reverie.
‘Huh?’ Dino glanced at him, only mildly interested.
‘Read this.’ Blue thrust an open book into his friend’s hands.
Dino grimaced. ‘Do I have to read it? I’m tired.’
‘OK.’ Blue rolled his eyes. ‘I’ll read it to you.’ He took the book back.
‘Whatever,’ Dino yawned. He propped his feet up on the apothecary table. The disused library had become more of a bedroom than his own room was.
Blue cleared his throat. ‘“Coven Laws,” he read the heading aloud: ‘“Young witches’ powers are undecided until they are sealed. However, unless a witch has been born into a Hunter coven, it is most likely that those who lived as civilians will settle as Arcana. In some cases there is ambiguity, as the use of power is always free-willed, and occasionally a witch will choose to cross over. Any coven – Hunter or Arcana – can offer a place to whomever they desire. But their offer must be accepted willingly. To deflect an unwanted request, the sought-after witch must perform a ritual of refusal. Through this ritual, the witch is protected from unwelcome advances, spells, or attacks commanded by their opponent…”’
Dino closed his eyes, barely listening. ‘What does that mean?’
‘It means that there’s a ritual to protect you from Tol,’ Blue explained. ‘And it also says here that a Hunter can’t p-prey on hallowed ground. Do you understand what that means?’
‘Nope.’
‘Dino, the Glass Castle is hallowed ground! It belongs to Wendolyn. It means that Tol is magically bound from harming Mia while she’s on Wendolyn’s land. I’m guessing that there’s a pretty big chance he was making empty threats in a ploy to lure you into his coven. We’ve got him!’ Blue cheered.
Since his friendship with Dino, Blue’s stammer had reduced drastically. It seemed that, as his confidence rose, his stutter dropped.
Dino appeared marginally more enthused. ‘How can you be sure his threats are weightless? And what if he somehow gets to Mia when she’s not on this hallowed ground thing?’
‘You need to talk to Wendolyn about the details.’
‘OK,’ Dino replied, as casually as if he had been asked to post a letter.
Blue furrowed his brow. ‘What’s the matter with you? This is what we’ve been researching for weeks! If we do this ritual, Tol can’t call on you anymore!’
Dino gave another sleepy yawn. ‘And how is that, again?’
Blue stared at him. ‘I just t-told you. You perform the ritual of refusal to seal your alliance to the Arcana. Tol’s threats are just a trick to entrap you. He can’t touch Mia while she’s at the castle.’
‘OK,’ Dino said lethargically. He mulled it over in his mind – or, at least, what was present of his mind.
‘Tol can only change you into a Hunter if you offer yourself willingly,’ Blue added.
‘And how would I go about doing that?’
Blue gawped at him.
‘Relax. I’m not gonna do it,’ Dino reassured him. ‘I’m just wondering.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Right.’ Dino picked at his teeth with his fingernail. ‘So, what’s this ritual?’
‘The refusal ritual?’ Blue looked nervous, as though he feared that Dino might have actually been asking after the ritual to accept Tol’s offer.
‘Yeah, sure. That one,’ Dino agreed, indifferent.
‘It’s here,’ Blue told him. ‘In this book. There’s an incantation, in Latin I think. You need to g-gather a few herbs and plants. I can help you.’
Dino closed his eyes complacently. ‘Yeah. Whatever.’ In the dim candlelight, dark, sunken circles had formed beneath Dino’s eyes.
‘Shall we speak to Wendolyn now?’ Blue pressed.
‘Nah.’ Dino opened his eyes and gazed blankly around the library. ‘I think I should do it by myself. Personal, you know?’
‘Oh.’ Blue shrank back. ‘S-sure.’
Dino outstretched his arm. ‘Can I take a look at the book?’
Clearly relieved to see him showing some sign of interest, Blue handed over the musty leather-bound book.
‘This is the ritual?’ Dino asked, pointing at the page the book was open to.
‘Yes, that’s it. Everything we need to know is on that first page.’
‘Cool.’ Dino swiftly tore the page from the book. As it broke away, dust sprinkled from the old paper like crumbling bones.
‘Whoa!’ Blue winced. ‘You’re not supposed to rip the pages out! These books are hundreds of years old.’
Dino shrugged. ‘Oh, well. Who’s going to know? Besides, I want to take it away to look it over properly.’
Blue bristled. ‘O-OK,’ he stammered.
All of a sudden, the library door heaved open and Wendolyn peered into the room. Dino discretely slipped the yellowed page into his back pocket.
‘Time for lights out,’ she informed them with a kind smile.
Blue looked expectantly at Dino. But Dino said nothing. He simply matched Wendolyn’s smile and hopped to his feet, extinguishing the candles as ordered. All but one.
‘Goodnight, Blue,’ said Dino, hinting for his friend to leave.
Blue frowned. ‘Aren’t you going upstairs?’
‘In a minute,’ Dino replied. ‘I just want a moment to myself to look over this ritual.’
‘Right,’ Blue said slowly. He left the library and set off along the narrow corridor.
The door fell shut with a thud, leaving Dino alone in the library. He stood in the flickering light of the one remaining candle. He pulled the crumpled page out of his pocket and unfolded it. It was scrawled with a jumble of words that made no sense to him. Dino scowled and, with a hardened look in his eyes, he held the page over the flickering candle flame, watching with morbid fascination as the paper shrivelled and disintegrated into silver ashes.
> Chapter Twelve
Mirror Opposites
Mia awoke to a tapping sound. She squinted against the flood of morning sunlight swimming through her bedchamber. Fuzzily, she realised that someone was knocking at the door.
‘Dino?’ she murmured, half asleep. When there was no response, she tried again, a little louder this time. ‘Dino?’
There came three distinct raps against the bedroom door, followed by the softer sound of Kizzy’s voice. ‘Mia?’
‘Kizzy?’ Mia replied in a groggy slur.
‘Yeah, it’s me,’ the voice returned to her. ‘Are you awake?’
‘No.’ Mia paused. ‘Come in,’ she beckoned.
The door swung open and Kizzy skipped in, bright-eyed and full of zest.
‘Good morning!’ she sang out. Her blonde hair was twisted into two braids, each secured with long red ribbons.
Mia buried her face into the pillows. ‘It’s not a good morning,’ she grumbled.
Kizzy perched on the bed and cautiously peeled back the covers. ‘Are you still miserable?’
‘Yes.’ Mia yanked the covers back up over her head, hiding herself from the world.
‘Come on,’ Kizzy sighed, ‘you can’t mope around for ever.’
‘Why not?’ Mia disputed.
‘Because it’s boring!’ Kizzy persisted with the bedcover tug of war.
Eventually Mia gave up. She rolled to the edge of the bed and draped her arm over the side, letting her fingertips skim the ruby carpet.
Kizzy folded her arms. ‘I knew nothing good would come of you falling in love with a Hunter.’
Mia sucked in her breath, aware that they were not alone.
‘Dino?’ she called out, warily.
‘Sorry,’ Kizzy mouthed. She peeked out from behind the bed curtains. ‘It’s OK,’ she confirmed. ‘He’s not there.’
Mia reflected for a moment. This wasn’t the first time that Dino had been out of the room before she’d woken up. It was coming to be a habit. In fact, over the past couple of weeks, she hadn’t seen much of her brother at all. He would come to bed late and wake up early, and during the days he would generally keep his distance from the other Arcana. Mia presumed that he’d been working on his power in solitude. As it happened, it was no concern to her – she wasn’t feeling much in the mood for company either.
‘Forget about Colt,’ Kizzy insisted, returning to their original conversation. ‘He doesn’t deserve you.’
There was nothing she could say to cheer Mia up. It had been days since Mia had sent her catkin message, and still Colt was nowhere to be found.
Mia muttered something quietly and let out a forlorn sigh.
‘That’s not true!’ Kizzy consoled her, despite clearly having no idea what Mia had said. ‘Now, get up. Wendolyn’s called us all to the drawing room. Group meeting or something like that.’
Mia stretched out her stiff limbs. ‘What’s the meeting about?’ she asked, rubbing at her eyes.
‘Dunno. Something about something.’
‘I wonder if it’s important,’ Mia mused out loud.
‘Don’t try to weasel your way out of it! You’re going!’ Kizzy replied flatly. ‘If I have to go, then you have to go, too.’
Mia pulled a face. ‘The last group meeting we went to was the one about the Athame – and look how well that turned out!’ The memory of her frightening attempt to wear the Athame dagger was still fresh in her mind.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Kizzy giggled. ‘Why did we ever think that was a good idea?’
‘Beats me. None of our ideas have been good ideas.’
‘We really need to start making better choices,’ Kizzy decided. ‘And you – I mean we – can start by going to the meeting.’ She tugged at Mia’s bedcover again.
Mia sighed. Reluctantly she hauled herself out of bed and got dressed. She threw on a pair of jeans and a charcoal-coloured top. Her warm-brown hair fell in loose waves over her shoulders.
Once she was ready, the girls made their way downstairs to the drawing room.
By the time they strolled into the room, the other Arcana were already there. All but Dino, that is. Wendolyn stood at the front while the girls quietly took their seats.
However, before Wendolyn could begin the meeting, the drawing room door burst open and a familiar breeze swept in. The Hunters marched through the doorway and lined up in formation at the back of the room, just as they had done at the first of Wendolyn’s meetings.
Mia felt her cheeks grow hot. It hadn’t even occurred to her that the Hunters would be present. She snuck a glance at the back of the room. Colt was there, standing like a soldier, his eyes trained on Wendolyn.
She hastily returned her gaze to Wendolyn, unsure how to react to the situation. She had waited for weeks to see Colt again, and now here he was in the very same room, yet she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. It was utterly nerve-wracking.
‘Thank you all for coming,’ Wendolyn announced.
Mia barely heard the older woman’s voice above the deafening sound of her own racing thoughts.
Wendolyn continued: ‘I apologise for the abruptness of my request to call you together, but I fear that the issue cannot wait any longer.’
He’s just…standing there! Mia thought in disbelief, resisting the urge to turn around and stare at him.
‘For some time now,’ Wendolyn was saying, ‘I have been aware of intruders at the Glass Castle. A Hunter coven.’
Surely he sees me. I’m sitting right in front of him! She nudged Kizzy. ‘Has he noticed me?’
Kizzy subtly craned her neck. ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered. ‘He’s looking straight ahead.’
‘We are faced with a threat,’ said Wendolyn, ‘and we are dealing with it as best we can. Our Glass Castle Hunters are covering the forest boundaries. I warn you, though, there is still an element of danger. Please, Arcana, stay within the castle grounds until the risk is eliminated. I’m not entirely certain why the trespassers are here, but I will employ every means possible to ensure your safety.’
The audacity! Mia fumed, outraged. I don’t even exist to him!
From across the room, Blue raised his hand. ‘Are they h-here f-f-for an A-Arcana?’
A group of boys sniggered in the corner.
‘B-b-b-buttons!’ one of the boys mocked, encouraging the taunting laughter.
Blue bowed his head. He sat alone with only an empty seat beside him.
Kizzy spluttered in fury. ‘Can you believe those morons?’ she muttered to Mia. She turned in her seat and lobbed her pen at the cackling boys.
‘Hey!’ one of them moaned as Kizzy’s pen clunked against his head.
Wendolyn eyed them sternly. ‘That’s enough!’ she scolded the boys. Then her voice softened. ‘No, Benny,’ she said, answering Blue’s question. ‘It’s not likely that a Hunter would want to recruit an Arcana. I imagine they are here to take up residence on our land. But our Hunters are skilled and accomplished warriors, and will guard the territory until the threat has passed. In the meantime, however, I would like the less experienced witches to stay in the designated castle grounds.’ She turned to the Hunters, who were hidden among the shadows at the back of the grand room. ‘And you,’ she said, addressing Lotan in particular, ‘I ask to keep your wits about you, and good luck! Any questions?’
For a moment, Blue looked as though he were trying to speak up, but his voice failed him.
‘Thank you,’ Wendolyn concluded. ‘You are free to leave.’
Mia had never moved so fast in her life. She was out of the room and into the hallway in the blink of an eye. No way was Colt getting past her! She watched tensely as the Hunters marched out in single file.
As Lotan passed her, he gave her the look of a savage animal, warding her off. But she met his stare fearlessly. He was not the one she was waiting for.
‘Why have you been avoiding me?’ Mia blurted out the second Colt stepped out of the drawing room. The statement had sounded a lot cooler in h
er head.
Colt glimpsed around furtively, conscious of his coven lingering within earshot. ‘I have no further business with you,’ he replied simply.
Mia felt a stab of pain in her heart. Of course, it was what she had expected, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear.
‘Oh, don’t do that,’ Colt groaned quietly.
‘Do what?’
‘Look all sad and pathetic.’
‘I-I,’ she stuttered, now insulted as well as hurt.
‘Oh, Lord!’ Colt rolled his eyes melodramatically.
‘Don’t roll your eyes at me!’ Mia exclaimed. ‘I’m angry at you.’
‘I suppose it can’t be helped,’ Colt replied. ‘I seem to anger people easily.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me.’ Mia turned away from him. ‘I don’t know why I bothered stopping you.’ She sighed. ‘Just go.’
Colt looked over to his coven, which loitered stiffly at the castle entrance. ‘I didn’t plan on upsetting you.’
‘It’s OK,’ Mia said softly. She glanced to the main entrance. ‘You should go. Lotan is waiting.’
‘So he is,’ Colt noted with a hint of a smirk.
‘Go, then,’ Mia repeated. ‘If you have no further business with me.’
Colt pursed his lips. ‘Perhaps one more meeting wouldn’t be the end of the world,’ he deliberated in a hushed voice, more to himself than to Mia. ‘Would that please you?’ he asked her.
Mia thought about it. ‘Maybe,’ she admitted.
‘Not here,’ Colt said under his breath. ‘Spangles.’
In response, Mia smiled.
Colt rubbed his hand over his mouth and jaw in an attempt to conceal his own forming smile. Abruptly, he shook it off and spun around, striding away in a prompt exit.
In the thick of the graveyard, Mia weaved through the stone slabs towards Spangles’ plot. The birds chirped overhead and the summer sun broke through the trees, dancing on the ground like spilt glitter.
The Witches of the Glass Castle Page 15