Ellie shook her head, trying to ease the alarm that was thudding through her body. Thinking quickly, she hauled off the heavy jumper she’d been wearing and, clad in just a t-shirt and her tracksuit pants, quietly opened her bedroom door. Peering around, she tiptoed down the hallway towards the kitchen. It was the middle of the night, and the house should have been dark and sleeping, but before the closed door Ellie stopped, surprised by a chink of light that cut along her feet and the swell of braying voices.
What’s going on? Ellie hesitated, and then hurried back through the hallway to her bedroom. There. The hag stone and the green-orbed ring were lying on the bed where she’d left them. Ellie closed her eyes. They both pulsed quietly, two magical tools of immense power, and they were hers. Feeling stronger, Ellie shoved them both deep into her pockets. Now, whatever happened, she was ready.
✽✽✽
No one noticed Ellie as she surveyed the room. The kitchen was full, humidity dripped from the yellow walls, and in the centre the table was laden with glasses, mugs, a pot of coffee, and a can of kerosene. Voices were loud, and Ellie recognised most of the guests. Mrs Beatty was there with her husband from the congregation. Near her, Ben stood within a circle of young men, talking with shining eyes. Ellie heard an exuberant chink of glasses.
A party maybe…? Ellie wondered. But it was so late - maybe they’d had a midnight prayer meeting or something…
Catching her father’s eye, she gave a hesitant wave. He nodded in response. By the stove the steam had cleared enough, and she could see Rose examining the contents of a large pot with a frown.
Smiling now, Ellie began easing through the knot of guests towards her friend, when a hand reached out and gripped her arm tight.
‘Ellie, it is good to see you.’ The Reverend Matthew Hopkins greeted her, ‘I apologise if we woke you. How are you feeling?’ His pale-blue eyes glinted with questions.
Ellie pulled at her arm. It hurt and he frightened her. Matthew seemed to have changed. Gone was the bitter, defeated air that had hung around him like a shroud; instead he seemed taller and somehow stronger, energy sparked off him clear and sharp and it sizzled into the very air.
Quickly, Ellie averted her eyes.
‘We have been worried. Your father reported that you had succumbed to some sort of flu?’
‘Uh-oh, I’m better now thanks. What are you-’ confused, Ellie glanced around.
‘What are we doing here?’ Matthew chuckled.
Ellie flinched, the sound was weird, she doubted she’d ever heard him chuckle before.
‘But you know know why we’re here. Don’t you?’ He glared, his tone changing.
‘I-I don’t-’
Matthew cut her off. ‘Don’t lie to me Ellie Malone. You have seen our work.’
‘What work?’ She stared at him.
‘Ellie,’ Matthew’s grip burned. ‘You cannot win.’
‘Let me go! I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘You don’t? Tell me, who are you seeing in the forest? I know you pretend to be ill. But the truth is revealed with every lie you utter.’
Ellie shook her head. The kitchen was becoming unbearably hot. Someone brayed with laughter right by her ear.
‘Let me go.’ She snapped again, louder this time. She fought to free her arm. ‘It’s none of your business who I see.’
The kitchen door was only a few steps away, but it may well have been a mile as Matthew moved his body, blocking any avenue of escape.
He smiled. ‘It is my business when you consort with known witches.’
Ellie froze. ‘You don’t know what I do.’
‘Oh yes I do.’ Matthew bent closer, his breath hot on her skin. ‘Ellie, I know evil when I see it.’ He whispered. ‘I know you sneak down into the forest and consort with the devil himself, and his harpy.’
‘That’s a lie!’ Ellie couldn’t contain herself. ‘You are insane!’ She pulled her arm free, shouting in a white-hot blaze of anger.
‘I do not lie.’
‘You do.’ The hum of party chatter fell abruptly silent, but Ellie was beyond caring. ‘Everything you ever do and say is a twisted version of the truth! You have them all believing you, but it’s a lie-’
‘Hey,’ a hand dropped on her shoulder, small and light. ‘What’s happening, Ellie?’ The voice was soft. ‘You’ve been sick.’ Rose glared up at her father. ‘What did you say to her, Daddy?’
‘Leave me alone.’ Ellie shook her friend away. ‘All of you are being duped by everything he says. It’s crap. Rose, you of all people should know it’s all lies.’
‘But Ellie,’ Ben appeared by Rose’s side. He held his hand out. It had been such a long time since her brother had looked at her so gently. ‘Stop freaking out, none of us are being duped.’
‘Yeah,’ Rose smiled. ‘We’re winning. All of us. And Ellie we’ve been promised so much. Don't fight it.’
‘But it’s all bullshit!’ Ellie cried in frustration. ‘You never believed any of this!
‘She does now.’ Brian’s deep voice rumbled over her. ‘Ellie, Rose has come to her senses. She has left childish rebellion behind.’
Rose was standing with her hands clasped, clad in a light brown cotton dress buttoned tightly to her neck, her deep golden eyes were warm with concern. Ellie stared, sometimes her friend reminded her of someone else, someone different but… Ellie shook her head.
‘Are you even listening?’ Her father snapped.
‘I’m sorry.’ Ellie raised her hands, bracing herself for a familiar burst of anger. ‘Look, Dad…’
‘No Ellie, you look.’ He cut her off. Her father’s eyes looked red and raw, and his voice wasn’t angry. It sounded deeply sad. He was dressed in his Sunday best, freshly scrubbed, despite an inky black smudge on one side of his cheek. He took a step towards her.
‘Dad...’
‘Ellie, we don’t want to leave you behind.’
Her heart dropped, and Ellie knew suddenly, right now, she had to choose. She swallowed, and her heart fluttered with panic.
‘We have been promised. And it is coming.’ Her father’s voice tightened. ‘We the faithful will be taken fully in body. Ascension is nigh.’
‘Join us,’ a voice murmured.
‘We don’t want to do this.’ Ben advanced, as did other men in the congregation, closing in on her like a net.
‘You can’t fight us, Ellie.’ Rose smiled, reaching out her hand. ‘Join us.’
Around her, the small group from church began to join hands.
‘Join us.’
Mrs Beatty stepped forward from behind her husband, leaving a space opened wide behind her.
Ellie clenched her fists. ‘I can’t.’ She whispered, ‘Oh Dad, I’m so sorry.’
In less than a heartbeat, Ellie bolted through the backdoor and ran out into the garden. With her heart thudding in fear, Ellie wrenched her bike out of the shed, and tore off the driveway and onto the road.
Ellie glanced back.
The front lawn was bathed in light. Matthew stood on the centre, his expression creased into a tight smile. Beside him Rose was huddled into his side, and Ben was close. Ellie couldn’t see her father’s face; he was in shadow, standing alone, with his arms folded over his body.
TWENTY-EIGHT
The road blurred beneath her wheels. Ellie gripped the handlebars tight and leant forward. Her eyes stung and she squeezed them, blinking rapidly. Her throat ached.
At the top of the hill, Ellie lifted her feet off the pedals and free-wheeled down the long road out of town. As the last of the houses fell away, she began to cry, great gulping sobs for the family she had left behind.
Miles later, the streetlights petered out and the paved road gave way to a dirt track. Ellie brought her bike to a stop and wiped her eyes. She was on the final crest, scrubland stretched out before her, miles of gorse and windswept trees. The moon edged up into the night, its leading edge just visible over the expanse of darkness. Ellie shivered.
She felt exposed out here, alone on the high plateau. No one knew she was here ... no one knew where she was headed. Ellie swallowed. In the shadowed growth, she could see shapes reaching out to the sky, like animals frozen in pain, their sinuous, misshapen limbs thrown in stark silhouette.
Quickly, she turned her bike lamp away. ‘They’re just gorse bushes,’ Ellie murmured. Calm down…
Steadying herself, Ellie had her foot on the pedal, when something else stopped her. She listened hard, but she heard and saw nothing. Around her the night held not even a light breeze to disturb the calm, and yet a distinct sense of unease prickled over Ellie’s skin.
In the distance, the moon rose higher, its belly almost full. A gibbous moon, Ellie remembered its name - though instead of having a gentle radiance, its face was dull and lopsided and its shape was obscured behind a thin, hazy veil.
Ellie frowned, that was weird too. Despite the lack of wind, the cloud layer appeared almost alive, rising, twisting out of the dark, and becoming denser with each passing moment.
Ellie didn't hesitate; she rummaged through her backpack and pulled out the hag stone.
‘Show me.’ She whispered and held it up to her eye.
At first Ellie didn't see anything different, but as her breathing calmed and her vision cleared, she saw an enormous eagle above the strange, coiling cloud, flanked by a pair of shadows – a trio, black on black, flying high against the night.
Ba Set.
Ellie stared in surprise and two things seemed to happen at once. A quick and sudden gust of wind barrelled towards her from the darkness and the three beings dropped - the eagle first, straight into the centre of the cloud.
Ellie only had time to cover her face with her hands as the tempest burst through the surrounding gorse, splintering the brittle branches. It was chaos. The wind snatched at her hair, pulling at her clothes, propelling a sharp rain of twigs into the sky. After only a few moments it was over. The fierce outburst streamed away over the scrubland, trees bending and swaying in the onslaught.
Crazy... Ellie dusted off a handful of twigs. The weather was just crazy. With a sigh, Ellie hauled her bike back to the path. She should be used to it by now.
In the distance, the layers of billowing cloud had thickened and the moon now shone a baleful, ugly red. That was weird. Frowning, Ellie licked her lips; the air smelled different, like the sudden squall had brought with it a sharp, acrid stench she could almost taste.
That smell... Ellie hesitated.
She studied the gorse for a moment and then dismissed the thought; gorse didn't smell like that. Intrigued, Ellie watched the cloud swirling over the moon for a long moment and closed her eyes, as the sharp scent caught at the back of her throat. She coughed.
Of course...
Kerosene. The bite of kerosene overlaid with the bitter stink of burning. Ellie watched as the amber tinged cloud undulated above the moon, its slow curves seeping into the darkness of the night.
That’s no cloud,’ she whispered. No… It was smoke - manmade smoke, and it was coming from the forest.
✽✽✽
Ba Set’s cottage was unlocked. Ellie let herself in and as she closed the door to the living room, the gust of air caused the candles in the window to blaze.
Shadows of magnified patterns - feathers, twigs, and pillars of stone streamed across the walls. Ellie dropped her rucksack on the floor and sank wearily onto the sofa to wait.
When she opened her eyes, sunlight flared through the trees. Ba Set was seated in the smaller chair by the window, a black robe wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and her golden eyes trained on the day outside. A jug of water sat on the table, with a plate of food.
‘T-they’re burning the forest,’ Ellie burst out, fear making her voice shake. She struggled to sit up. ‘Ba Set, what are we going to do?’
Ba Set didn’t respond at first, then she turned and Ellie gasped in horror. The old woman’s honey-brown skin was disfigured, swollen by an angry red mark that cut from the top of her hair line, down the side of her face to her jaw, and disappeared into the folds of her cloak.
‘Oh my God, are you all right?’
‘Ellie, calm yourself.’ Ba Set murmured.
‘No, we should get you to a hospital.’ Ellie cried. She’d have to get home, to raid her mother’s well-stocked first-aid kit. But oh God if I’m caught... Ellie’s heart sank at the thought, but the burn was puckered with blisters - she had to help, she had to do something…
Ah. She could get back in a flash.
Ellie reached into her pocket.
‘Stop.’ Ba Set’s tone was firm. ‘You need to rest. This is not the hag stone’s function. The hag stone focuses. But, Ellie, any splitting of space, time and matter, the sacred trinity of all corporeal existence, draws enormous amounts of energy - energy from both spirit and one’s very essence. And your essence is already depleted. Sustain your body, or your mind will slip so far from it, it will not be able find its way back.’
‘But Ba Set-’
‘Sit down, Ellie. You are not here to look after me. The best treatment for a burn of this kind is rest, and fluids. My skin will heal, and there are many plants that will ease the worst of the discomfort. We’re not invincible, Ellie,’ She gestured to the plate of food. ‘None of us are. Please … eat.’
Gathering her cloak, Ba Set rose from her seat. As she moved, Ellie could see the tightness in her gait, and the way she favoured the left hand side of her body.
Ellie reached for a sandwich.
‘It is true.’ Ba Set’s voice was quiet as she stood and gazed over the forest below. ‘Those who seek to destroy all we love have a new tactic. Most fires are easy to put out. But there are times when embers catch in the hollow of a fallen tree and lie, gaining in strength. That fire is more difficult to check. And this is my work.’
The air shimmered and two sinewy creatures, as insubstantial as smoke, appeared on either side of Ba Set. They seemed to be supporting her, propping her up, their knotted forms as black as char, as though burnt in a raging fire.
She smiled at them. ‘And as you can see, in that I have allies.’
‘I saw them,’ Ellie gasped. ‘Last night. My God, what are they?’
Ba Set thought silently before she answered. ‘Powerful magical beings, of the kind I casually dismissed in the arrogance of my youth.’ She smiled softly. ‘I was so proud, I made so many mistakes… But they forgave me.’
With a sigh as muted as shuffling paper, the black-hued faeries crowded in close.
They are so beautiful, Ellie thought, gazing at them. The Watchers, as she thought they should be called, kept close to Ba Set, focused on the ancient shapeshifter like a pair of faithful companions.
‘But Ellie, we have little time.’ Ba Set turned and eased herself onto the end of the sofa. ‘Are you rested? You have had less time to recover than you need. But events are moving quickly. Are you ready to return and continue your work?’
Ellie looked away, shielding herself from the sudden intensity in her teacher’s gaze. ‘But Ba Set, what work exactly? I don’t know what I am meant to do? I’ve found them, I’ve found the weather workers, but so what? They didn't know what they were doing either!’ Ellie bit back a hysterical giggle, fearing if she let herself laugh that she would never be able to stop. ‘It’s chaos there!’
Remembering something, Ellie reached into her pocket and pulled out the hag stone. ‘And what about this?’ She thrust it forward, almost angrily. The Watchers tensed. ‘Miss Dorothy has one just like it and says they’re very common. You said this was special,’ Ellie’s voice rose. ‘But it’s just the same as her’s.’
Ba Set answered softly. ‘Calm yourself, child,’ she said. ‘The stone is one of many, but it is also unique, and the only one of its kind. As we all are. Magic works better in paradox, don't try to prise it open with your mind too closely. Feel from your heart and you will know the answers.’
‘But I don’t have the answer
s, Ba Set.’ Ellie blurted out, desperation making her voice sharp. ‘How can I? I need to bring back rain, and save the forest, but how?’ She dropped her face in her hand. ‘It’s impossible. How am I meant to do it…?’ She gasped for breath; and to Ellie it felt as though she was floundering, being sucked under by an enormous pitiless wave.
‘There is no easy answer, Ellie, trust, this is your task. The hag stone has chosen you.’
‘But why me?’
‘Perhaps because there is no one else.’
Ba Set settled back on the very edge of the sofa and seemed to sink into herself, dimming her energy down until her outline seemed to waver, black on black, cloak to feather and back again. She closed her eyes. ‘You have a choice, Ellie,’ Ba Set said softly. ‘You could turn away, even now.’
Ellie swallowed, her belly knotting painfully, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of expectation. Her heart skipped erratically in her chest, almost painfully, as the chatter of self-mockery redoubled in her mind. Stupid … what if I fail?
Ellie clenched her fists.
It took a long moment, but at last her breathing had calmed and she felt stronger.
Ellie reached for the hag stone. ‘Okay.’ She whispered quietly. ‘You are unique and you are just one of many.’ And we're in this together.
Ellie lay back and held the hag stone to her body. It felt cold and its chill hardness seeped into her skin and spread through the muscles of her belly. Breathing slower now, Ellie lifted her hand and shifted her attention to the ring she wore securely on her middle finger. Trembling, acutely aware of the spectres of anxiety prowling at the edge of her consciousness, Ellie peered into its deep green centre.
Her heart pounded. The ring stone loomed large, its emerald orb beckoning, drawing her closer. The pinprick flared and Ellie tumbled into the dark.
TWENTY-NINE
New Forest, England, 1944
The sky was black. The moon, mottled and three quarters full, hung low, one edge swallowed by a bank of rolling clouds. A crashing sound, like a large hollow pot being hit, echoed into the night. Ellie hung in the air, high above it all, her hair streaming, buffeted by a wild, squalling wind.
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