The Witches of the Glass Castle (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 1) (13 page)

It was late. He wasn’t sure exactly how late, but it was safe to assume that the other residents would all be asleep. Not Dino, though. He hadn’t even been back to his bedroom yet. Not since that morning. In fact, after his dispute with Mia, his mind was fixed on one thing: finding Tol. And it was a mission he did not intend to back out of.

‘Tol!’ he hollered into the emptiness of the night.

There was no response.

Dino cursed under his breath. He had been there for hours now, waiting in the same spot. The reality was that he had no idea where to find Tol, but he figured his best chance would be to return to the place of their first encounter. So that’s where he waited, on the crest of the sloping embankment.

Rapidly losing hope, Dino scanned the blackened forest, searching the darkness for any sign of movement. But still there was nothing. It seemed as though a second encounter was not quite so easy to happen upon.

‘Tol!’ he shouted.

And then, the world began to stir. All around him, the leaves on the trees rustled. It was as though they were quaking, anticipating something terrible.

‘Tol!’ Dino bellowed again. His voice rasped with an aggression that even he was unfamiliar with.

At long last he got his response.

Before he saw or heard anything, he felt it. He felt the hot breath on the back of his neck, and he knew that the man was behind him. But this time Dino was prepared. He showed no fear. He simply turned until their eyes were level.

‘What a surprise,’ Tol hissed.
‘You calling me. How very unexpected.’ The repugnant man seemed even more grotesque the second time around. His beady eyes were void and soulless, and his face, though human, was the face of a serpent. Despite the sizeable distance between them, Tol’s body language was uncomfortably intrusive.

‘I called you,’ Dino agreed audaciously, ‘and you came.’ He hoped that fact would assert his supremacy, but regrettably his Sententia ability showed him that Tol was not intimidated. Not in the slightest.

‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’ Tol inquired with a touch of venom in his tone.

‘You
know why I’m here.’

‘Is that so?’ The man’s voice dripped with predatory curiosity.

‘My sister.’

‘Your sister?’ Tol was momentarily stunned. Then smoothly his expression returned to a malicious leer. ‘What of her?’

‘I know what you’re doing,’ Dino confronted him. ‘Promising her power and tricking her into falling for your lies.’ He was so adamantly convinced that Tol was Mia’s mystery confidant that he had become blind to any other possible alternative.

‘I have no use for her,’ Tol scoffed. ‘It’s
you
I want, boy.’

‘Then leave her alone,’ Dino replied fiercely.

Tol bared his jagged teeth in a sinister smile.

‘What can you offer me for her life?’ he bargained.

Dino’s mouth went dry. ‘What do you want?’ he returned. All of a sudden, he didn’t feel quite so brave any more.

‘You know what I want,’ said Tol. He eyed Dino hungrily, his mouth watering at the very prospect.

‘You want me,’ Dino answered for him.

‘I want you to join my coven.’

Dino stiffened. ‘And do what?’ he asked. He couldn’t believe that he was actually considering this.

‘And become the fourth Hunter. The final piece needed to complete our coven.’ Tol’s breathing started to accelerate in sheer excitement.

Dino backed away involuntarily. Of course, he had presumed that Tol was a Hunter and he already knew what the man wanted from him. But to hear it said so openly was bloodcurdling.

‘I’m not a Hunter,’ Dino told him defiantly.

‘You were born to be a Hunter,’ Tol argued. ‘It’s inside of you. I can see it building, desperate to break free.’

‘The only thing building is my desire to rid the world of you,’ Dino fired back. As much as he hated to admit i
t, Tol’s remark had shaken him.

‘It’s your destiny,’ Tol persevered. He began to claw at his own skin in expectancy. ‘I am your destiny.’

‘Oh, well, if that’s the case then I suppose you should just kill me now,’ Dino jeered, ‘’cause that’s not a destiny I want to fulfil.’

Tol carried on, unfazed, ‘You’re a Hunter. I can taste it in the air that surrounds you.’ He closed his eyes to sa
vour the aroma on the breeze.

Dino balled his hands into fists. ‘I’m not a Hunter,’ he repeated. But his self-belief was starting to falter.

‘Not yet,’ Tol admitted. ‘But I can change you.’ He salivated at the idea. ‘All you have to do is give yourself willingly and I will take care of the rest.’

‘No,’ Dino said in a firm yet quiet voice.

‘Then I’ll take the girl,’ Tol stated simply.

‘No!’ Dino exclaimed.

‘I’m losing my patience,’ Tol said, his face contorting into a snarl.

Dino opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

‘The girl will die,’ Tol declared finally, ‘and you will watch.’ He turned and began to walk away.

‘Wait!’ Dino stopped him.

Hidden from Dino’s eyes, Tol smiled triumphantly. He spun around to face his prey.

‘There must be another way,’ Dino pleaded. No longer was he the bold, confident boy who had summoned Tol to him. Now he was broken and begging for mercy.

Tol mulled it over, dragging out his decision with agonising torment. At last, he spoke. ‘There is no other way. It’s you or her.’

Dino’s heart plummeted. ‘What will happen to me if I join your coven?’

Tol’s snake eyes lit up in corrupt delight. ‘I will unshackle you from your humanity and transform you into the greatest warrior that ever lived. Others will tremble before you while you destroy them. And you will thrive off doing so.’

‘No,’ Dino stammered.

‘I have already seen it. It is written.’

‘No,’ Dino choked. ‘No! There has to be another way. I’ll find a way,’ he stuttered. ‘I can protect my sister from you.’

‘Can you?’ Tol baited him.

‘Yes,’ Dino spat, staring him down.

Tol directed his focus to a nearby tree, its trunk thicker than any other in sight. ‘Watch me,’ Tol barked. He raised his hand, and then, with an almighty tearing sound, the tree trunk cracked along its centre. The dense trunk shattered into two halves, which split and bowed away from each other.

Dino’s breath escaped in a pant
.

‘The girl will
be first,’ Tol warned. ‘But I won’t stop there. I’ll take all of them. I’ll work my way through them until you are left entirely alone. And by then you will
beg
me to take you.’

All of a
sudden Dino couldn’t breathe. There was no way out. In the depths of his mind he heard the searing sound of Tol’s glory.

‘
OK,’ Dino relented, holding his hands up in defeat. ‘Just please, give me some time.’

‘Time?’

‘Just some time to think. You said I had to come willingly, right?’

‘I will give you time,’ Tol mused, allowing Dino a solitary lifeline.
‘Time to think about my offer. On the condition that you tell no one of our deal. If you try to run, or if you speak of our arrangement, then your time will be up. Do you accept my demands?’

Dino nodded h
is head.

Tol went on, ‘And you agree that you’re willing to join my coven? Maybe not immediately, but you are willing to consider my offer?’

Dino nodded his head again, unable to speak.

‘Then say it,’ Tol urged. Although Tol continued to stand at a distance from Dino,
his presence was overwhelming.

‘I’ll consider joining your coven,’ Dino murmured, his voice quivering.

Tol let out a hollow, delirious cackle. ‘Your words have unbound me,’ he declared. And for the first time since their meeting, he stepped closer to Dino. So close that Dino could smell the rank odour of his rotting skin. ‘You see, boy,’ Tol said, now clutching Dino’s face in a crooked hand, ‘a long time ago, a witch’s spell prevented me from approaching anyone like you. But there’s always a loophole, and you just invited me in. I’ve waited many years to do this…’

‘To do what?’ Dino rasped in alarm. Tol held his face so tightly that it felt as though he was clamped in an iron vice.

‘This,’ Tol whispered. In one rapid motion, he trailed his serrated yellow fingernail along Dino’s jaw line.

Dino winced as the skin split and blood dripped over on to Tol’s hand.

Satisfied, Tol relinquished his grip and stood back. ‘Now run away and think, boy. Because the next time you see me, it’ll be on my terms.’

Stumbling over his own feet, Dino raced along the embankment, his heart beating at an impossible rate. He didn’t dare look back, just in case Tol was in pursuit.

But Tol didn’t attempt to follow him. Instead, he remained on the embankment, triumphantly licking the blood from his fingers.

Mia awoke in a bleary haze. The memories of her late-night visitor came back to her in a blur.

Was that a dream?
she wondered, in a state of disbelief. But the spatters of dried blood staining her white bed sheets confirmed it to be true.

‘Dino!’ she called out.

From across the room, Dino groaned. ‘What?’ His voice was muffled and slurred, not quite awake yet.

‘Where were you last night?’ Mia demanded.

Dino hesitated. When he spoke again, his tone was much more coherent, as though he too had been hit with an abrupt reminder of the previous night. ‘Out,’ he answered.

Mia sat up in bed. ‘Out? In the middle of the night?’

‘Yes.’

What was he doing out so late at night?
she mused, naturally suspicious.

Dino sensed her feelings of doubt.
‘It’s not a crime.’

‘I
didn’t say it was,’ Mia shot back, defensively. She listened to the scuffling sound of Dino getting out of bed. Moments later, the bedroom door creaked open and then slammed shut.

‘Dino?’ Mia peered out from behind her bed curtains.

He was gone.

Baffled by his prompt exit, Mia climbed out of bed and inspected the deserted room. It was hard to believe that he had actually left. He barely would have had time to get dressed.

Venturing over to his side of the room, she noticed that the curtains canopying his bed were ajar. She peeled them back and peeked inside. The bed was a complete mess. The sheets were twisted and tangled from what must have been a restless night’s sleep.

Mia pulled the curtains apart and set to work making his bed. She figured he’d probably appreciate it. But as she straightened out the jumbled sheets, she spotted a large patch of dried blood on one of the pillowcases.

The sight was shocking. Instantly, Mia dropped the sheet she was holding and drew the bed curtains closed. For a moment she wasn’t sure how to react. Why was there blood on his bedding? Had Colt been to see Dino, too? She had to talk to her brother.

She
hurried to her wardrobe and yanked out a butter-coloured dress. She threw it on and quickly dragged a brush through her hair before darting out of the bedchamber.

A few Arcana boys were loitering at the bottom of the stairwell. Mia raced past them without a word.

‘Looking for me?’ one of the boys commented sleazily. The others sniggered as though he had made a fantastically witty joke.

Mia grimaced. ‘No,’ she replied flatly. Paying the
m no attention, she began flinging open the doors to the ground-floor rooms. ‘I’m looking for my brother. Have you seen him?’

‘What, y
ou mean the psycho?’ another boy called out to her. ‘Yeah, he passed us. We told him to keep walking!’ The gathering of boys burst into hysterics like a pack of hyenas.

Mia glared at them. ‘Is th
at so?’ she challenged. ‘Well, I’m betting you didn’t say it loud enough for him to hear.’

They looked between one another, evidently maddened that she was testing their masculinity.

‘We’d say it to his face,’ one of the other boys spoke up. ‘He thinks he’s tough, but he’s just a wannabe Hunter.’

‘He is not!’ Mia glared
at them. How dare they speak about her brother in this way!

‘I’d take him on,’ a heavy-set boy added, sneering brashly.

Mia stared at him through narrowed eyes. ‘OK. I’ll tell him to meet you in the courtyard in, say, ten minutes?’

The boy shifted uncomfortably. ‘Nah. I’m busy.’

Mia smiled sweetly. ‘I thought so.’ Content with the outcome, she trotted away and returned to her search. She hated to hear people slander Dino like that.
She
was the only one allowed to talk trash about him.

Eventually she found Dino in the drawing room. He was standing at the refreshment table, pouring himself a cup of witches’ brew. Several other Arcana were dotted casually around.

‘There’s blood on your pillow!’ Mia blurted out. A few of the Arcana turned to look at her.

‘Shh! Keep
your voice down.’ Dino gripped her elbow and steered her towards an unoccupied corner.

‘Why is there blood on your pillow?’ Mia asked again, thi
s time in a hushed voice.

‘I cut myself,’ Dino replied without batting an eyelid.

Mia eyed him cynically. ‘Must have been a pretty severe cut. Your pillowcase was drenched.’

‘What are you doing snooping around in my side of the room?’

‘How did you cut yourself?’ Mia pressed.

‘Shaving,’ he said
.

‘Show me.’

Dino pulled down the collar of his polo shirt and tilted his head to expose his jaw line.

Mia cringed at the sight of the jagged gash that trailed along her brother’s face. ‘That’s a strange kind of shaving cut. What were you using, a chainsaw?’

Dino flipped his collar back up. ‘How would you know what a shaving cut looks like? It’s not like you’re an expert.’

‘Does it hurt?
’ she asked.

‘No,’ he said with an offhanded shrug.

But Mia saw through his lie.

She
decided to give him one last chance to confide in her. ‘Swear to me,’ she said, searching his eyes for the truth. ‘Swear to me that you got that cut from shaving.’ At times like this, she wished that she had his power. It definitely would have come in handy.

Dino didn’t respond. He raised an eyebrow at her, effectively ending their conversation.

‘Fine,’ Mia submitted. ‘But if that’s what happens when you shave, maybe you should think about growing a beard,’ she uttered quietly. Something about this didn’t feel right to her.

Their discussion was cut short as Kizzy and Blue strolled into the drawing room.

Dino called them over, glad to put an end to his sister’s questioning.

‘Blue,’ Mia said abruptly, ‘do you shave?’

Blue took a seat in an armchair and ran his hand along his face. Despite being the same age as Dino, Blue’s skin had a more youthful appearance. ‘Shave? Yes,’ he said. ‘Well, sometimes,’ he added sheepishly. ‘At least three times.’

Mia deliberated. ‘And do you ever cut yourself?’

‘Every time,’ Blue admitted.

‘Drop it, Mia,’ Dino scowled.

She carried on regardless. ‘Ever cut yourself this bad?’ She yanked Dino’s collar down before he had a chance to pull away.

‘Ooh,’ Kizzy winced sympathetica
lly. ‘That looks sore.’

‘I
t does look bad,’ Mia agreed. ‘A little worse than your average shaving nick, wouldn’t you think?’

In the split second that Mia’s eyes were on Kizzy, Dino looked at Blue, signalling for him to play along.

Blue twitched nervously. ‘Well, I-I’ve had s-some bad cuts.’

Mia frowned. ‘That bad?’

Behind her back, Dino locked eyes with Blue.

‘Yes,’
Blue lied.

Kizzy and Mia shared a doubtful look. And, with a satisfied smile, Dino flopped into an armchair and took a swig of tea.

Mia studied him for a moment. ‘Excuse me,’ she said at last, ‘I’m going to the library.’

‘Bye.’ Dino waved at her without bothering to look up.

Mia gestured for Kizzy to follow, and the girls made their exit.

Once they were out of the drawing room, Kizzy held up her hands quizzically. ‘What was all that about?’ she asked. ‘Why was your brother acting so shady?’

‘I have no idea!’ Mia told her. ‘Something weird is going on.’

The girls paced along the dark, winding corridor.

‘No way was that a shaving cut,’ Kizzy deduced. ‘It looked more like he’d been clawed by a wild animal!’

‘And since when does Dino drink witches’ brew?’ Mia pointed out. ‘He’s normally the most anti-vision person here!’

‘I wonder what he’s hoping to see,’ Kizzy mused.

Mia pushed open the door to the library. ‘Good question,’
she muttered.

As usual, the library was empty. Kizzy took a seat while Mia set to work scanning the wall-to-wall rows of
dusty books.

‘What
are you looking for?’ Kizzy asked.

‘A book,’ Mia responded distractedly.

‘Oh!’ Kizzy frowned. ‘What are you going to do with it?’

Mia smiled
. ‘I’m going to read it!’

‘You’re going to read a book?’ Kizzy regarded her sceptically.

‘Yeah. Sure.’

Kizzy paused. ‘All the way?’

‘
Some
of the way,’ she corrected.

Kizzy giggled
. ‘What do you want to read about?’ She tucked her legs up on to the chair, observing her friend curiously.

‘I want to f
ind out about something called Enticement.’ Mia traced her hand along the wall of books, her fingers dipping periodically over their tattered spines.

‘Enticement…’ Kizzy tapped her chin thoughtfully. ‘That’s a Hunter thing, isn’t it?’

Mia glanced at her. ‘You’ve heard of it?’

‘Yeah. I don’t know all the facts, but I think it’s got something to do with blood. If a Hunter takes your blood, he can get inside your head. Do you think that’s what happened to Dino?’

‘Maybe…’ Mia said noncommittally.

‘I don’t think you should jump to conclusions,
’ Kizzy advised. ‘Why do you think it’s got anything to do with Enticement?’

Mia returned her focus to th
e bookshelves. ‘Maybe it’s not Enticement,’ she agreed. ‘But I wanted to check up on it for my own reasons – ’

‘Mia,’ Kizzy cut her off, ‘is this about what I said last night? Y’know, about my vision of Colt and the knife?’

For a second, Mia was taken aback. Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to her that Kizzy’s vision had indeed come true – even though it had not panned out quite as Kizzy had predicted.

‘Because’, Kizzy went on, ‘I really don’t want you to worry about that.
Forget Colt! He’s just a freak Hunter. And I’m making it my personal mission to keep him as far away from you as possible.’ She beamed at her noble declaration.

Mia laughed uncomfortably. She desperately wanted to talk to Kizzy about her meetings with Colt, but how could she when Kizzy despised him so much?

She cleared her throat. ‘You don’t think there might be some good in Colt?’ she asked.

Kizzy snorted. ‘No way! He’s
a Hunter. They’re inhumane, remember? They’re pure evil!’

Mia cast
her eyes to the floor. A swell of sadness crept up on her. It was hard to fathom why exactly, but Kizzy’s remark stung her. She didn’t want to think of Colt as evil. He wasn’t evil. He couldn’t be.

‘Hey, look!’ Kizzy let out a whoop of delight. She hopped off her seat and skipped to a pile of books lying stacked on the apothecary table. Nimbly, she pulled a brown, leather-bound book from the centre of the pile. ‘
Hunters’ Spells
,’ she read aloud, handing the book to Mia.

Mia opened the old book and began flipping thr
ough the musty pages. She settled on one page in particular. ‘Found it,’ she affirmed. ‘Enticement and Entrapment,’ she read out the subtitle.

‘Well? What does it say?’ Kizzy returned to her seat and studied Mia expectantly.

‘“Hunters’ Enticement”,’ Mia continued to read from the yellowed page. ‘“By ingesting the blood of his prey, the Hunter is able to perform the Enticement ritual. If successfully accomplished, the Hunter can lure his victim by calling to them, enticing them to him…” Blah, blah, blah…’ She skimmed over the next few paragraphs. ‘“The only way to break the spell is by draining the blood of the possessor…”’ she trailed off.

‘What does that mean?’ Kizzy pressed.

All of a sudden Mia’s throat went dry. Colt had lied to her. ‘It means that if a Hunter takes your blood, the only way to stop the Enticement is by killing that very Hunter. That’s the only way to break the spell.’ She closed the book and ran her hand through her hair.
He lied to me! He told me that the enticement could be broken through ingesting the blood of the coven
.

‘Well, here’s a
thought,’ Kizzy joked. ‘Don’t let a Hunter take your blood in the first place!’

But Mia didn’t smile. ‘Kizzy, I’ve got to go do something.’

‘What? You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?’

‘No,’ Mia promised. ‘I just need some air.’

‘Sure,’ Kizzy nodded. ‘Do you want company?’

‘No, that’s OK. I think I’m going to work on my power for a little while.’

‘OK,’ Kizzy replied. ‘I’ll catch up with you at lunchtime.’

Mia
mustered a smile. She felt awful for lying to Kizzy, but she knew that if she was going to find Colt, she would have to go alone.