The Witches of Glass Castle: Uprising (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 2) (3 page)

‘With Mia at the castle, she’s exposed,’ Wendolyn countered. ‘She’s a target. If someone is tracking her, this will be the most obvious place to look.’

‘But we can protect her,’ Dino insisted, glancing at Blue for validation.

‘I-I’ll help,’ Blue agreed. ‘She’ll be s-safe h-here.’ His faltering words didn’t quite carry the conviction of his sentiment.

‘We cannot protect Mia from those whom we cannot see,’ Wendolyn advised them, her voice serene and neutral despite the dismal message. ‘With the threat unknown, we are left blind to the best course of action.’

Mia glanced over her shoulder, half expecting the invisible man to spring from the shadows and drag her into the darkness.

‘But, isolation?’ Dino repeated.

Wendolyn folded her hands in her lap and nodded her head. ‘If that is what’s best, then, yes.’

Mia fidgeted in her seat. ‘Can
I
say something?’ She raised her hand to catch their attention. ‘I am listening, really I am. I know it’s safer for me to hide. I know it was stupid for us to come here at all. It was wrong to run away from home and steal the car. It was wrong to bring all this trouble to your doorstep and put you in danger...’

The two Arcana boys emitted disapproving frowns from across the table. Dino rolled his eyes at her and began to circle his hand in the air, motioning for her to wrap it up.

‘But shouldn’t everyone get scope for one reckless thing in life?’ she hastily continued. ‘I know that coming here was reckless, but I don’t want to turn back now. Can’t this be my one reckless thing? I choose
this
. Please, Wendolyn.’ She looked hesitantly to the carpet, wondering if she should drop to the floor and start begging.

‘Can’t stealing the car be your one reckless thing?’ the fair-haired Arcana boy, Isaac, remarked derisively, his eyes still fixed on his book. The auburn-haired boy beside him sniggered.

Mia pursed her lips. ‘No,’ she said slowly, narrowing her eyes. ‘Stealing the car is
Dino’s
reckless thing.
Coming to the castle is mine.’

Wendolyn reached across the table and took Mia’s hand. The older woman’s skin felt thin and aged, but comforting and warm all the same. ‘Mia, what do you know about the Arx?’

There it was. That word again.

Arx
.

She’d only heard it once before, when her mother had said it with a shudder.

‘All I know is that it surrounds me,’ she answered Wendolyn, ‘and that it makes me a target for all the power-hungry lunatics out there.’
Like my father
, she almost added, thinking back to how the Hunter, Tol, had almost killed them in his thirst for power.

‘What you have is both a blessing and a curse,’ Wendolyn clarified. ‘The Arx is a force-field, something you were born with. It is a remarkable power, essentially making you invulnerable to supernatural attacks. In theory, the Arx makes you invincible.’

Mia sucked in her breath.
I’m invincible?
She momentarily grappled with the idea, barely believing it. In the back of her mind she recalled something her mother had told her after the Tol fiasco: that many years ago, Aunt Maddie had had a vision of one of her sister’s children having incredible power. Was
this
what her aunt had foreseen? Was the Arx the reason Tol had tried to ruin their lives?

‘However,’ Wendolyn went on, “those protected by the Arx are invulnerable to all but
one
kind of supernatural attack.’ She paused and looked intently at Mia. ‘You see, invulnerability is a very seductive idea. It is, for all intents and purposes, the greatest power imaginable. The irony of it is, the power in itself is your only weakness.’

‘Because someone might want to steal it from me?’ Mia guessed.

‘Yes,’ Wendolyn confirmed.

‘And they can do that?’ Mia asked in a weak voice.

‘There is a ritual to steal the Arx, yes. When executed correctly, it will shift the force-field from one inhabited body to another. Of course the Arx can’t last forever inside a body it doesn’t belong, but it will sustain itself for many years before it weakens. Unfortunately, this ritual requires the slaughter of the original vessel—
you
.’

Unfortunately?
Mia stiffened at Wendolyn’s word choice.
Talk about a casual understatement.
She sighed
. It sucks to be a vessel
.

‘In many cases, the Arx force-field will go unnoticed,’ Wendolyn continued. ‘Some witches have lived their entire lives without ever realising they are protected.’

Mia thought back to all the near-death experiences she had narrowly escaped the last time she’d been at the castle. She looked over at her brother, but he didn’t return her gaze.

‘That said,’ Wendolyn continued, ‘if it is exposed that someone has been gifted with the Arx, undoubtedly the word will spread—and quickly.’

‘And I’ve been exposed,’ Mia presumed grimly.

‘So it seems. I imagine your Aunt Madeline has foreseen a threat. Even we, here at the castle, have heard whispers about it.’

‘So what can we do?’ Dino appealed.

‘As you know, the safest option is to keep your sister hidden at an undisclosed location—alone—so as not to draw suspicion. At least until we know more.’

Mia’s and Dino’s faces fell.

‘Although,’ Wendolyn added, ‘the most prudent option is not always the preferred.’ She laced her fingers together before continuing. ‘I should tell you, there is a way to break the force-field without harming its vessel.’

Mia’s attention immediately perked up. ‘You mean, I can get rid of the Arx before some maniac kills me for it?’

Wendolyn nodded. ‘Through an Extraction ritual,’ she clarified. ‘It removes the Arx from the vessel without enabling the power to transfer into another. Effectively it destroys the force-field without harming the person. However, the ritual is notoriously illusive. It is known to have been documented, but finding it is proving to be somewhat challenging.’ She gestured loosely to the discarded open books on the table, and on cue the snowy haired man glanced up again.

‘We
will
find it,’ he said, his voice meek but buoyant at the same time. ‘If it’s here, we’ll find it.’ He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

‘Thanks,’ Mia responded timidly. ‘Mister...?’

‘Wix. Amos Wix,’ he said, nodding to Mia and Dino as he introduced himself.

In reaction to his name, Mia’s eyes shot to the portrait of William Wix, Wendolyn’s late husband. A regal man stared out at her from his painted scene, grainy hills setting the backdrop for his stagnant world.

‘Amos is my late husband William’s brother,’ Wendolyn explained. ‘I requested his assistance with this problem as soon as news of it spread to the castle. His expertise is far greater than mine,’ she added humbly.

‘Not at all,’ Amos responded. ‘It is merely a case of two heads being better than one.’

‘And now, with you in our care,’ Wendolyn said, addressing Mia, ‘all the more reason to enlist the help of others.’

Mia’s heart skipped a beat. ‘I’m in your care?’ she echoed. ‘Does that mean you’re going to let us stay?’

Wendolyn’s hazel eyes twinkled. ‘Like I said, my dear, I’ve been expecting you.’

* * *

Dino jostled the zipper on his rucksack until it eased open. He glanced into the bag before emptying its contents onto his bed. Crumpled white T-shirts tumbled out like snowballs onto the plush gold bedspread. He glanced over his shoulder.

‘Feel like doing some ironing?’ he asked Mia.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor in her red and grey chequered pyjamas, she glanced up at him. ‘I don’t,’ she said. ‘Ever.’

‘Thanks for nothing,’ he grumbled as he did his best to flatten the T-shirts out with his palm.

‘Why do you think Wendolyn is making us share this room again, anyway?’ Mia asked. She nursed a china teacup in her lap. ‘It’s not like the castle is full or anything.’

Dino shrugged. ‘No clue, but she seemed to have her reasons. Maybe she knows that I’m the only one who can put up with your snoring,’ he joked as he tossed a gold throw pillow at her.

‘Hey!’ she shouted, protecting her teacup with her hand. ‘I
don’t
snore.’

‘Why are you drinking that stuff, anyway?’ He frowned at the tea stewing inside the cup. Witches’ brew. It was beyond him why anyone would want to enhance their powers with enchanted tea. It was all he could do just to keep his Sententia powers in check.

Mia leaned back against her four-poster bed, idly toying with a loose thread on the gold curtains that canopied the elaborately carved structure.

‘I like it,’ she said. She took another sip, then sloshed the liquid around in the cup, studying the disturbed leaves as they floated to the top. ‘If you ever tried it, you might start to like it, too.’

‘I
have
tried it,’ he reminded her. ‘And I don’t like it.’

Mia pursed her lips. ‘Don’t like the tea? Or don’t like the side of power that comes with it?’ Witches’ brew was an ancient blend of herbs used at the castle to enhance psychic abilities and bring about visions of the not-too-distant future.

‘Both,’ Dino answered. ‘One power is more than enough for me.’ He immediately sensed her concern, as he did every time he let slip his true feelings about his power, so he quickly changed tactics. ‘Besides,’ he said, ‘I don’t want to know too much about the future. I like to be surprised.’ Picking up on the subtle sound of her concern subsiding, he relaxed. It was no secret that Dino hadn’t wanted his powers, but he was past that now. Or, at least, he wanted his sister to
think
he was past it.

The truth was, he didn’t want to be at the Glass Castle. He’d managed to convince Mia that he was glad to be back, and admittedly he was pleased to see Blue. But simply being there made his stomach turn. It brought up memories of a time when he’d been someone else. He’d hurt people. Worse, he’d tried to
kill
people.

‘I thought she was going to send us home.’ Mia’s voice jolted him back to the present.

Dino took a deep breath before turning to face her. ‘Wendolyn?’ he said. ‘Nah. I knew she’d let us stay.’

Mia rose to her feet and wandered to the window. ‘She’s worried though, isn’t she?’

He shrugged, even though he’d clearly sensed Wendolyn’s anxiety. ‘It’ll be fine. All we need to do is find the Extraction spell, then do the ritual to break your...’ he trailed off and waved his hand in her general direction.

‘I bet Mum and Aunt Maddie are flipping out right now,’ Mia added with a grimace.

‘So? They’re the bad guys here, remember?’

‘Dino,’ Mia sighed. ‘Don’t be mad at them. They were only do what they thought was best.’

This time Dino kept quiet. His relationship with his mother and aunt was like a frayed rope, just waiting to snap—being mad at them was familiar territory.

Across the room, Mia gazed into the dark night, looking out over the hills and distant moon. For a while they were silent. When Mia spoke again, her voice was so quiet that Dino almost didn’t hear it.

‘Do you think he knows I’m here?’

Dino stiffened. Did he have to answer?
I could act like I didn’t hear her
, he thought, not wanting to get into the Colt debate. And there was no doubt in his mind that it was Colt she’d been referring to.

Mia turned her gaze upon Dino now, her eyes charcoal grey in the low-lit room.

‘He must know I’m here,’ she said, trailing her thumb over the rim of the teacup as she spoke.

Dino’s mouth went dry. He had to answer. He had to say something, at least. ‘Maybe,’ he replied before returning his attention to the mound of clothes on his bed.

‘I thought I would have seen him by now,’ she mused. ‘It’s nearly midnight.’

‘Exactly,’ said Dino. ‘It’s nearly midnight. He’s probably asleep.’

‘We’ve been at the castle since before sundown,’ she pointed out.

Dino heaped his clothes together and carried the bundle to a wardrobe at the far end of the room. He began cramming his T-shirts into the bottom of the rickety cupboard. ‘I don’t need the hangers,’ he said, crouching and patting down his clothes. ‘All my stuff can fit on the lower shelf.’

‘They’re just going to end up on the floor anyways,’ Mia grumbled.

There was a short pause.

‘But do you think I should look for him?’ she asked, steering the conversation back to her preferred topic. ‘Because maybe he
doesn’t
know I’m here...’

‘No,’ Dino said, wrestling with the wardrobe doors until they clicked shut. ‘Don’t go looking for him. You’ll see him tomorrow.’
Unfortunately
, he added silently.

It wasn’t that Dino didn’t like Colt. It was just that Colt was a Hunter. And Mia...well, Mia was his sister. Surely there was some sort of moral brotherly code to uphold here? Thou must maintain a simmering contempt for thy sister’s boyfriend...especially if thy sister’s boyfriend is a Hunter. Anyway, regardless of whether Dino liked him or not, he
really
didn’t want to talk about him.