The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) (20 page)

‘Drew, come
on, it’s nearly dark, we need to stop for a moment.’ Gemma wined.
  Everyone was tired. Even Drew’s pace had slowed. At Gemma’s request, though,
he spun around, fire flaring in his eyes.
  ‘Stop? STOP!? If you had kept your mouth shut we wouldn’t be chasing after Laura!
This is your fault,’ he stormed down the line of people, ‘this is all
your
fault.
Stella already told you that this was
not
just about Laura. That this
was war. In case you have forgotten, Laura saved you back at that house. And
she risked herself to save me from that Goblin Caspian and I fought. She
killed
someone for us, and she is struggling to come to terms with that. Did you
know that? She is a good person. She has just lost everything. Her last hope is
to find her mother safely. I can’t imagine how alone she must feel, especially
with people like you treating her so awfully. I saw the way she looked when
Caspian went missing. She already blamed herself for it. She already blamed
herself for all of this. But it’s not
her
fault. It’s the Wicked! It’s
James! God Gemma, if only you could grow up and take a look around at the damage
you do.’
  Drew didn’t wait for a reply. He was already gone.  Gemma stood there, tears
stinging her eyes as she stared after Drew. The thing was, he was right. She
didn’t really mean what she had said. She didn’t blame Laura. She didn’t even
hate Laura. She had let her emotions, her fear, get the better of her, and in
turn, she took it out on Laura. She felt stupid.
  Gemma blinked back tears and stormed through the group after Drew. If she
wanted to change their minds about her, then she needed to find Laura and apologise.
  Grace hurried after her, comforting her, insisting that this was taking its
toll on everyone.
  Logan, Stella and Leo were all too exhausted to say anything.

As they
reached the mountains peak, Drew turned to his companions.
  Their face’s shared the same expression as his own. Fear.
  For the tower before them was consumed by fire. And in that tower, was Laura.

Laura awoke
with a start.
  She sat upright. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she took in her
surroundings.
  The room was dark, save for a crack of moonlight glistening through a small
barred window. There was a door to her right and a basin in the left corner. She
lay on an old wooden bed, dirty sheets draped over her body.
  She swung her legs over the beds edge, her head pounding at the sudden
movement. The wood creaked as she stood, stretching her limbs and ensuring she
had no severe injuries.
  All her possessions were gone, her sword, her dagger, even her watch. Then, a
thought struck her. Leaning down, she felt inside her boot. Sure enough, her
hands closed around her only weapon of defence left, her pocket knife.
  Straightening, she crossed the dirty floor to the window. Smoke seared her
nostrils and fear flooded her thoughts.
  This was the Lost City.
  She was at the top of a tower at least four stories high, with no escape, and
fire licked at the stone buildings side.
  She hurried to the door, knowing she would find it locked. She was right. She
assessed her position, thinking through what she needed to do next.
  If she could figure out a way to escape, then maybe she could find her mum
and Caspian nearby.
  There was a click and the door handle began to turn.
  The familiar feeling of fear gripped her body, controlling her mind, body and
soul. She was only able to stagger backwards a few steps as the door opened,
revealing James.
  His voice was gruff, ‘how are we, lovely?’

The group stood
at the city’s edge, staring out at the crumbling stone buildings, alight with
fire. Despite the heat of the flames, the fire didn’t seem to be moving
anywhere.
  ‘Another charm to scare us,’ Logan said.
  Leo reached out to stop Drew before he could take off for the tower, ‘Drew, I
think we all know what has happened to Laura. We need a plan, we can’t just run
in head first. Then we’ll be caught too and that won’t do anyone any good.’
  Drew gave a quick nod.
  ‘All right. We don’t know how many people are in there, or what they are
capable of, but what we do know is that they are willing to do anything to have
Laura’s power. We need to find her before they get a chance to do anything to
her.’
  ‘And how do you propose we do that?’ Gemma asked, her voice seriously.
  ‘I think we need to spread out through the city and work our way to the
tower. They probably have guards hiding and if we all walk in together we will
all be caught. But if a few of us are caught, while others are still coming
into the tower from the other side, well that’s better odds.’
  Stella squared her shoulders and looked her husband in the eye, ‘let’s get
going. We may not have much time.’
  Leo gave his wife a smile, and took her hand, squeezing it tightly, ‘okay,
everyone set out in different directions. If you get caught, tell them nothing
and hold on until the rest of us find you. If you find someone, get them out,
okay? Be careful.’
  They gave each other a quick hug, whispering words of good luck. Then, each
of them set off for the tower alone.

‘What do you
want?’ Laura growled.
  ‘What do I want? Hmm, I want a lot of things. I want to be rich. I want to be
the most powerful Wizard on this planet. It’s unfortunate how hard it is to
obtain those things.’
  She snorted, retreating backwards until her back was pressed firmly against
the wall.
  ‘You are too much like your mother. Too… gullible. Too easily persuaded.’
  ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
  ‘Well, how do you think we got you here? All we had to do was leave out a
little coal and you came straight to us.’
  Laura scoffed.
  He glared at her and then continued, ‘we heard your little quarrel with your
friend at the camp. Of course, we never expected you to leave the rest of them,
but it good luck for us that you did.’
  ‘You’ve been watching us?’
  ‘Of course I have! We decided to leave you wandering along for a while, tire
you out a bit. It worked too. You gave in much too quickly, it almost wasn’t
fun,’ James closed the door and took a step towards her. His eyes were stone
cold as he stared down at her.
  ‘What about my friends? You didn’t hurt them?’
  He laughed viciously, ‘who cares,
they
weren’t who we wanted.’
  Laura was struck by hope. She didn’t allow it to show, otherwise James would
surely send Wicked after them.
  ‘But they are your friends too. How could you do that to Estella and Leo?
They looked after you! Helped you whenever you needed it. And Caspian, he was
your friend!’
  This time
he
snorted, ‘when I told the Devils about you I was promised
something much more important than petty friendships.’
  She was disgusted, ‘you are horrible.’
  He shrugged and moved closer to her.
  ‘Why did you decide it was time to bring me to you?’
  Now was the time for answers.
  ‘Because we had all we needed. Besides you, of course.’
  His voice sent shivers down her spine.
  ‘I don’t understand.’
  He sneered, ‘of course you don’t. You don’t know anything about us.’ He stepped
closer to her, ‘you see, our leader has despised the Enchanted since his birth.
He has craved power, has yearned to rule the entirety of this world. When he
heard about you from me, well, let just say he realised that his desire would
soon be fulfilled. With power like yours, he would be invincible.’
  ‘So you did all those experiments on innocent people?’ Laura felt sick.
  ‘They were weak. You were our last resort.’
  ‘I still don’t understand,’ Laura stammered.
  James’ grinned. ‘Our leader has been locked away for a long time, only able
to communicate with us through the Devils. He told us that it was time for him
to rise up. For him to take up his rightful place as leader. Starting to make
sense yet?’
  ‘The soul,’ breathed Laura.
  ‘Very good. But we didn’t know how to find his soul. The Devils wouldn’t
relay that information for we had no payment to give in return. Your mother
though, she has just about every Charm there is. We knew taking her would not
only allow us to seek out the soul, but provide us with a body for the soul to
possess for the time being.’
  ‘Wha- How? You must be on the brink of death to be possessed by a soul? And
my mum isn’t.’
  James was edging closer to Laura still, ‘I wasn’t talking about her.’
  ‘Then who?’
  But she didn’t need to ask. She knew.
  ‘I’m not sick either.’
  ‘Fortunately, Cara has access to a possession Charm. The second out leader
takes your body, he will wield your power.’
  Laura stepped sideways along the wall. ‘But what
power
do I have?!
Everyone keeps telling me I have power. That I am valuable. But what is my
power?’
  James paused, ‘that is something I cannot answer. He never relayed that
information to us. All he said was he needed you for his plans.’
  ‘But
what plans
?’ begged Laura.
  He laughed a wickedly evil laugh, ‘you are quite ignorant, aren’t you? My
dear, he plans on raising an army of Wicked, ridding the Spirit World of the
Enchanted, and taking the Human World for himself.’

Gemma’s
strides were quick, her eyes flickering about, searching every part of the
night for any sign of movement. The fiery tower loomed up on her right, its flames
warming her skin. She slowed to a stop and peeked around the corner of an old
stone house. Sure enough, a Wicked Soldier sat in the dark corner, watching the
tower intently. Soundlessly, she whipped her head back and drew her sword.
  This was what she had been trained to do. Defeat evil. Once again, she had
the chance to prove her strength. Her courage. Her ability to not cower like
she did with the Goblin, but to stand and fight. This was what she was
born
to do, and she was going to live up to her family name, and the fierce
reputation they had earned.
  She spun swiftly to face the guard. He wasn’t alert like he should have been,
so his reaction was slow, sluggish.
  That was all she needed.
  She lunged for him, slashing his arm severely as he stumbled to his feet.
  His mouth fell agape, but he swallowed back his screams. He used his uninjured
hand to draw his sword and the battle began.
  Gemma could have finished him off easily, but she was like a cat chasing a
mouse; keen to play with its meal first. So, Gemma gave a slight hesitation
that allowed him to draw the sword. As he whipped it through the air, she swung
her own sword up, jarring with his and sending bolts of lightning sparking into
the sky.
  She loved the fierce feeling of power that overtook her whenever she fought
with a sword. It made her heart leap as the blades burned silver and gold light
into the sky.
  Their swords clashed again, and she was able to knock the blade from his hand
with the fiery power of her own.
  He lacked the training she had. Wicked didn’t live like the Enchanted and most
barely made it to twenty. Only a few who grew up as Enchanted and were soon
found to be Wicked had the same training she did.
  Gemma kicked the Wizard’s legs out from under him, forcing him to his knees.
He slumped back against the stone wall, the fight in him lost.
  She held the dimming sword to his neck.
  ‘Do it,’ he hissed
  ‘With pleasure.’
  She pulled back her blade and slammed it through the Wicked’s hand, pinning
him to the ground.
  ‘Follow me, and I
will
kill you.’
  She yanked back her sword and took off for the tower.
  Despite the mercy shown, the soldier had other plans for her.

All was
quiet as Logan jogged along what he assumed was once the main street. He passed
by old stone houses and stores, wooden signs still hanging from their windows. The
road was wide, made of gravel, and in the middle of the street was an old
cracked fountain, the water having dried up long ago.
  He was careful to stop at every sound he heard, movement he saw, and shift in
the air.
  The tower stood before him, Charmed Flames still consuming it.
  The closer he drew, the heavier the soldiers grew in number. He had already
fought off three, and he didn’t want to resort to killing more.
  Cautiously, he edged his way along the sidewalk, keeping to the shadows. The
moon was full and light flooded the streets, giving him a clear view of his
surroundings without having to use his torch and risk being caught.
  As he closed in on the tower, he slowed his pace. He could see Wicked
Soldiers; guards, patrolling the building. He guessed more were situated
throughout the houses encircling the tower, ready to catch anyone who dared to
approach.
  One wrong move, and not only would he be caught, but the soldiers would know
that they were coming for Laura, Caspian and Cara. One wrong move, and it was
all over.
  He couldn’t risk it. Despite what Leo told them, they all knew deep down that
if one of them was caught, all those still free would be in serious trouble.
  He stopped, crouching behind a rotting barrel, peeking around it at the
tower. He watched the guards carefully walk the parameter of the structure,
unafraid of the flames. A few stood with guns raised, the rest held swords.
  As Logan glanced up, an idea struck him. A building stood relatively close to
the tower, its roof almost directly in line with one of the third story
windows.
  His father had always told him during training that most people never check
above their own height. If he was going to succeed with his plan, he was
counting on the Wicked abide by this.
  Quietly, he set out for the building, ready to put his plan into action.

Sweat dripped
down the back of Grace’s neck as she scurried along the forest’s edge, rounding
the city in the hopes of finding a back entrance to the tower.
  She was afraid,
that
she could admit to herself. She wasn’t often
afraid, but at that moment, as she ran along in the dark, alone, with only the
moonlight as her guide, she felt absolutely terrified.
  Not just about what lay ahead, or what danger she would soon be facing, but
she was scared for Caspian and what they had done to him. She was scared for
Laura, and what they were going to do to her. She was even scared for Laura’s
mother, despite not knowing her.
  She hurried along, ensuring to keep the tower in constant view. She had
chosen this route in the hopes of not having to fight any Wicked Soldiers.
  As she weaved through the trees, she knew that she, too, would have to transform
into a soldier. A warrior. A fighter. Because, as scared as she was, she had to
do this. She had to stand up for her friends, fight for her rights, protect her
race, and she knew her family would be proud of her for doing so.
  For the first time in
such
a long while, she didn’t feel empty. She
didn’t feel so sad, so alone, so useless. She felt like she had a purpose, and
like maybe, just maybe, she’d be able to move on with her life if she worked
hard for that purpose.
  The shadows hid her well, so when she spotted the guard surveying the city’s
perimeter, she carefully drew her sword and attacked.
  He was unprepared, which showed how little training the Wicked had, so his
defeat was quick. One slash of the sword and he was unconscious.
  She didn’t second guess her decision not to kill him. She wasn’t a cold
blooded murder, though there were no rules in war, and war was certainly what
seemed to be looming up on them now.
  As she closed in on the tower, a figure atop a building caught her attention.
Their stance was familiar.
  They backed up and took off at a run, diving into the air. The silhouette disappeared
into the window with ease.
  There was no cry of discovery, no shouts for back up, no shots ringing out or
swords being drawn. Nothing but silence. The Wizard had made it.
  She knew who it was. With a grin, she hurried to the building, knowing that
Logan’s tactic would likely work for her too.