by K E O'Connor
Olympus looked down at the papers in front of him. “This is out of my hands.”
“Of course it is. There’s no reason you’d want to help me, even if you could.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked up at me. “I admired the Ash witches.”
“If that’s true, then how about you let that admiration do me one tiny favor?”
“You’re in no position to request favors.”
“Call it a soon to be shadow witch’s last request. I’ll forego my final meal if you do this for me.”
He pursed his lips. “What is it?”
“I’ll accept my punishment, whatever it is, but since the judge won’t be here for three days, give me an extension so I can sort out Magda’s house. I can get it cleared in that time. The Magic Council want their money. If I get it on the market, whatever it sells for, it’s all yours. My debt to you will be paid. Doesn’t money always make the Magic Council happy?”
“Keeping the world safe from rogue supernaturals makes us happy.”
“You’re not a tiny bit interested in the cash? That house will fetch a great price.”
“Not with its dark past.”
“Everyone loves a little danger in their lives.”
He snorted a laugh. “That won’t work. Besides, the decision has changed regarding what will happen to your stepmom’s house.”
I glared at him. “When were you going to tell me about this change?”
“I’m telling you now. The house has been scheduled to be destroyed at midnight tonight.”
My cheeks burned and my eyes blurred with angry tears. “You can’t do that! All Magda’s things are still in there. I haven’t had a chance to move anything out. And her familiars live there. You can’t destroy the house with them inside.”
“They’ll be moved out, so long as we can find them.”
I pressed a hand against my stomach, not sure whether I wanted to puke or scream. “At least let me get back in there so I can grab what I can carry.”
“That’s not happening either. You’re staying under the Magic Council’s custody from now on. You can’t be trusted.”
“You’re locking me up?”
He nodded. “I have a space here that’s suitable.”
“Was that your decision?”
“It was a joint decision. It’s to ensure the safety of the village. You must understand the risk you pose.”
I sank into the chair and closed my eyes. I understood just fine. I was speeding along on an out-of-control broomstick, which was on fire, while an enraged dragon chased me toward an angry hoard of gremlins, and there was nothing I could do to stop the collision. My time as a witch was almost over, and I was about to lose everything.
Chapter 14
The night had felt painfully long as I’d lain on the single bed in the room Olympus had left me in. I say room, but it was a cell, just without the physical bars. There were plenty of magic wards to stop me breaking out and causing trouble.
I’d watched the time as it ticked closer to midnight. I’d had to force myself not to cry as it hit that fated number, and the house I’d been raised in was destroyed by the Magic Council. All the history and knowledge gathered by Magda was reduced to rubble. It was such a waste.
Why could no one see there had once been a good witch living there? They only judged her on the last few weeks of her life. And sure, those weeks had been the worst imaginable, but Magda hadn’t always been bad. And neither had I.
It was barely past dawn, and I’d been awake for a couple of hours. The room was dull, with only a small window at the top to let in light.
I was bored, angry, and just a little furious with the world. I also had nothing to lose if I broke a few more rules. So I cast a light spell.
I didn’t expect it to work, given the wards surrounding me muted magic, so I was surprised when a near-perfect ball of light formed over my head.
That had been too easy. My magic never worked that well these days.
I cast another one, and it did the exact same thing.
A mild warning from the wards tingled against my skin, but I ignored it. When I cast spells these days, they went wrong. So what had changed?
It should be harder in here to get any magic to activate, but I’d barely felt the impact of casting those spells.
I sat up and ran through a list of basic spells I’d been taught when I was younger. A light spell, a warmth spell, and a protection spell. They all worked. What was going on?
I climbed off the bed and peered out the window in the door. No one was around to sense I was doing anything wrong. After Olympus had locked me in, he’d disappeared. I figured he’d gone home to celebrate catching the evil witch of Witch Haven.
I turned, blocking the window so no one could see in, and cast the first elemental spell I’d tried since I’d gotten out of prison.
A gentle breeze floated around the cell, lightly kissing my skin, before vanishing.
“No way,” I whispered. I shouldn’t be able to do that. Controlling the elements was beyond my current powers.
I looked at my hands. My magic didn’t feel at full-strength, but that was most likely because of the wards. But it was there, simmering beneath the surface.
I’d doubted my ability to cast reliable spells for such a long time that I always expected them to go wrong.
Maybe there was something to be said for being careful what you wished for because it could come true. I’d just wanted to be invisible, and it had happened, along with my ability to cast magic.
But I did notice a shift in my magic when I joined energies with Odessa and Storm. I’d ignored it at the time, so certain that I’d fail. Could that be the reason my power was working again?
I was used to doing things on my own and muddling through, that I’d forgotten what it felt like to join energies with other witches. It always intensified the power of spells.
I shook my head. Even if my magic liked being here, it was too complicated to remain in Witch Haven. I couldn’t stay.
A small tapping on the outside window had me raising my gaze. It was high up, so I couldn’t see out, but it sounded like someone was outside.
I stood on my tiptoes and saw something black moving against the glass.
A dark shape flew past. Was that Russell? How did he know I was here?
Two long spidery limbs waggled at me through the glass.
A grin split my face. “Hilda, is that you?” I glanced behind me to make sure no one was in the corridor, then hurried over to the opposite wall. “Can you hear me? Tap if you can hear me.”
There was louder tapping on the window.
I backed up again to see what she was doing. This time, Russell was perched next to her. He tapped his beak against the glass and lifted his head a couple of times.
A few seconds later, the glass splintered and blew inside.
I dodged just in time as it showered down beside me.
Russell wiggled through the gap, followed by Hilda, who abseiled down on a string of webbing.
Russell flew around me before settling on my shoulder.
Hilda ran up my leg and touched my hand. “We had to get you out. We heard what happened from Odessa when she came to the house and didn’t think it was right.”
“I appreciate the escape effort, but you’ll get in trouble being here.”
“We don’t care,” Hilda said.
Russell cawed his agreement.
“The Magic Council caught me breaking the rules. They’re going to punish me.”
“Did you fight your corner and tell them why you did it?” Hilda said.
“In a way, but I knew they wouldn’t listen to me.”
“You give up too easily.” Nugget stood on the window ledge. “You never used to be such a quitter.”
“You’re not the first one to call me that since I got back here.” Everyone seemed to know me better than I did. “I’m surprised you made the effort to break me out. I figured you’d be glad I was out
of your fur.”
“I was. And I still think you’re an idiot, but you’re our idiot, and we need to look out for you. Especially when you do stupid things and get caught by the Magic Council.”
A laugh shot out of me. He’d called me an idiot, but I was his idiot, and it felt good to be wanted. “That’s the best compliment you’ve given me since I got here.”
“Stick around and I’ll give you some more. But we need to get out of here, before someone notices a broken window and a magnificent magical cat silhouetted in the early morning light.”
“Err... we have a problem. There are magic wards on the door, and I can’t fit through that window,” I said.
“You won’t have to,” Hilda said. “Russell, go deal with the lock and the wards.”
Russell lifted off my shoulder and flapped in front of the lock, before jamming his beak inside. There was a shower of multi-colored sparks, and something clicked. He then dropped two red stones on the floor.
“You’d better stand back,” Hilda said. “They’re full of a diffusion spell. That always creates a lot of smoke.”
I backed away as the stones hummed. Orange smoke filled the room, and the air buzzed with magical energy.
There was a pop, and the smoke vanished.
I hurried to the door and tried it. It opened easily. The wards were gone. “Wow! Russell, that was impressive. Nice job, my feathery gladiator.”
He settled on my shoulder and tapped his beak against my head, before preening his feathers.
“I’ll go ahead and make sure no one’s around,” Hilda said. “When I wave my legs at you, that means it’s safe to move. When I freeze, you do the same.” She scurried down my leg and out the door.
Nugget dropped to the floor and walked over to me.
“I’m still not sure this is a great idea,” I said.
“I told them we shouldn’t waste our time on you, but they never listen to me,” Nugget said.
I risked ruffling the fur on his head. “I know you like me, really.”
“I don’t hate you.” He flicked his tail. “Let’s start with that.”
I peeped out the doorway. Hilda was almost at the end of the corridor. She turned and waggled her legs.
“Unless you’ve gotten used to your new accommodation, let’s get out of here,” Nugget said.
There were only three other doors along the corridor, and I tiptoed past them until I reached Hilda. “Is there any sign of anyone from the Magic Council?” I whispered.
Hilda touched my leg. “The coast is clear. That’s why we came early. We figured there’d only be a skeleton staff working. But we should hurry. If anyone notices there’s something wrong with the magic wards, they’ll check your room.”
I propped open the door at the end of the corridor, wide enough for Hilda to get through and so I could see her progress.
She scuttled along for about thirty seconds and then froze.
A second later, two male voices filtered toward me.
I eased the door closed and backed away. I tried the other doors in the corridor, but they were locked. The only place I could hide was back in my room, and I didn’t want to end up trapped in there with a broken window to explain. I ducked behind the main door and waited.
The voices grew fainter and then vanished.
I blew out a breath as I eased open the door again.
Hilda was on the move, heading away from us. She turned and waggled her legs.
Nugget went through first, and I took up the rear with Russell still perched on my shoulder.
Hilda froze again.
I was right by a door when she stopped moving. Although I had no idea what was on the other side, I yanked it open and stepped in. Nugget dashed in with me, and I was whacked in the face by a wet mop that had been stood up to dry.
I gagged and shoved it out of the way as the smell of bleach and dirty water filled my nose.
“Quiet,” Nugget hissed. “You’ll give away our location if you keep crashing into things.”
I jabbed a finger at the filthy mop.
He gave a snort. “You should have looked where you were going.”
I grabbed the door handle and held it. If someone tried this door, maybe they’d think it was locked and go away.
Footsteps stopped right outside, along with my heart.
I closed my eyes and pressed my lips together. This was it. We were about to get caught. My escape attempt would give the Magic Council another reason to take away all my magic. Not that they needed any more.
“Blast them with a spell,” Nugget whispered.
I shook my head. No one was getting hurt because I was being an idiot and trying to escape.
The footsteps started up again, moving away from the door.
It felt like I hadn’t breathed for a couple of minutes and was lightheaded as I eased open the door.
Hilda was right outside. “Let’s go. We had a lucky escape. That was the janitor, but he was called away. We just have a small office to get through, and then we can escape out of the main door.”
Olympus’s voice hit my ears, and I tensed.
“Eek! Change of plan,” Nugget said. “This way.” He raced along the corridor in front of me with Hilda.
I sped after them, running on my tiptoes to make as little noise as possible. “Where are we going?”
“Out the back,” Nugget said.
“There’s a back way in?”
“Most likely. We just need to find it.”
“You don’t know? We could be heading along a dead end. What if there’s only one way in and out of this building?”
“We’re about to find that out,” Nugget said.
I glanced over my shoulder, but no one was following us. I started trying random doors, hoping one led outside. I found two offices and another storage closet.
“I smell fresh air,” Nugget said. “Follow me.”
I shoved open another door and stumbled out into the early morning light. I eased the door shut behind me, then took a few seconds to get my bearings. We were in a back alley, and there were trash cans by the door we’d come out of.
No one else was around. It was still early and would be hours before the stores in the village opened. We’d done it. I was free, for now.
“Thanks for getting me out of there,” I said.
“We’re your familiars. We’re always going to help you.” Hilda had scuttled up my leg again and was touching the back of my hand. “Let’s go home. You need rest and food. I expect they didn’t look after you in there.”
My stomach felt hollow as I shook my head. “Hilda, wait. All of you need to listen to me. You’re not my familiars. I have no claim on you. And while I do appreciate the help, you’re free to go where you like.” I didn’t want them getting attached to me. I had no worries about Nugget, he just about tolerated me, but Hilda and Russell were a concern.
“You’re wrong. We’re yours,” Hilda said, a finality to her tone.
“No, you’re not. And we don’t have a home anymore,” I said. “You must have seen the house get destroyed last night.”
“We saw the Magic Council arrive,” Hilda said.
A cold ache settled in my gut. They’d really gone through with destroying the house. There was a tiny part of my brain unwilling to believe it had happened. “Then I have no home here. And it’s time to leave while I have the chance. The second Olympus knows I’m on the loose, he’ll come after me.”
Russell squawked and leaped off my shoulder.
“Shush! Keep the noise down. We’re not out of danger yet. Let’s get away from here,” I said.
“Hey, not so fast. You’re not going anywhere,” Nugget said.
“We have to move! The second they realize the cell is empty, they’ll come looking for me.”
“Tell us your grand plan now we’ve gotten you free,” Nugget said.
“I have to get out of Witch Haven. I can’t stay. There’s nothing here for me.”
“You
don’t think there’s anything here for you?” Hilda ran down my leg. “What about us?”
“You can’t leave us,” Nugget said. “We just saved you, and this is how you repay us? You’re walking away?”
“I don’t know what you want me to do. Give you a few cat treats as a thank you?”
Nugget snorted. “I knew this was a mistake. We wasted our time helping you, and now you’re abandoning us.”
“I’m not abandoning you. And until a few days ago, I didn’t even know you all lived at the house. You’ll find somewhere else to go. I can even help you look for a new place if you like.”
“We don’t want a new place,” Nugget said. “We’ve got a home. We’re happy there.”
“If I don’t go now, I’ll be arrested.”
Hilda shot out a long string of webbing, slid to the ground, and scuttled away.
“Hilda! I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d care about what I did,” I said.
Russell gave another loud squawk and flew away.
“Look what you’ve done. You’ve upset Hilda and Russell,” Nugget said.
“I didn’t mean to. And I am grateful you got me out, but you have to see this makes sense. If I stay, I’m toast. The Magic Council are bringing in a judge to pass sentence on me. They’re going to take all my magic. I’ll be a shadow. I won’t belong here. I won’t belong anywhere.”
Nugget hissed at me. “I don’t see why that worries you. You like being an outcast.”
“I don’t! I’ve just... adjusted. I had no choice after what happened.”
“You did. You chose to retreat from the world of magic. You acted like you had no ability left and wanted nothing to do with the community. You turned your back on us.”
“Witch Haven turned its back on me. I don’t blame them for doing that, but coming back here has shown me I made the right decision to stay away. As soon as I’m back, people get hurt.”
“Of course, they get hurt. Life happens to us all. It’s messy and complicated and sometimes causes problems. You just chose not to know about it. Luna’s been in trouble with that ghost for a long time. You’d have known that if you’d reached out and made contact once you got out. Instead, you retreated to lick your wounds.”