WitchLove (11 page)

The woman took us through the slightly dusty-looking shop interior and into a cosy back room, with floral covered armchairs and an old wooden coffee table, which reminded me of home.

‘Here, sit. I’m just going to make you a nice reviving blend of tea.’ The woman gently pushed me into a chair and I sank down relieved, whilst my friends immediately started chattering.

‘Jess, where did you go?’ Brittany started.

‘What happened? I couldn’t get in. I knew something was wrong when you didn’t come straight back out, so I…’ Luke began.

‘I was suddenly all alone in the shop. It was so weird. I mean you were there, but you weren’t there. It was seriously freaky. Both…’ Brittany said.

‘I banged on the door a few times, but nothing, and there was no one around…’ Luke was saying.

‘So whilst you and the witch were both playing statues I had a look around the shop and that’s when I knew we were in trouble,’ Brittany babbled on.

‘So I realised we must have found the wrong shop, which also meant that the right one must be somewhere nearby,’ Luke said.

‘Nearly all of the ingredients in her shop were linked to dark spells, most of them illegal, I reckon,’ Brittany said.

‘…and then I found it. The doorway just kind of shimmered initially. That’s how I knew it was the one. I went in and that’s when I met Liz. She knew your aunt and was expecting us,’ Luke said.

‘And there’s this really weird force-field or something in a room in the back. I left it alone and came back to you and that’s when…’ Brittany said, smiling at me.

‘That’s when I arrived on the scene and got you out of this nasty mess,’ Liz said smiling. She bent down and looked into my eyes. ‘Here child, drink this,’ she said, passing me a mug of sweet-smelling tea.

‘I can’t drink tea,’ I said.

‘This will help. Try it.’

I sipped it and instantly felt worse. My emotions became sharp daggers stabbing at my soul, hungry and needing a release. I sobbed as my throat began to swell, swallowed and let the tears fall.

‘I thought you said it would make her feel better?’ Brittany said, darting over to me and kneeling by side as I cried, my body jerking with the emotion pouring out.

‘She
will
feel better once she’s let it out.’ Liz said. ‘Morgan filled her with so much negative emotion, the only way she can recover from it is to let it escape.’

I don’t know how much time passed whist I sipped my tea and sobbed. I cried for my mum, cried for my dad, for myself and for the mother I never knew. I cried for the others who had been attacked, who I felt responsible for, and I cried for Daniel. By the time I emptied the mug my sobs had subsided and I curled up in the chair exhausted, Luke perched on the arm and Brittany curled up at my feet.

‘That’s better, now drink this. I believe it will help,’ Liz said, passing me yet another mug. This one was filled with something else; its scent pulled at my heart and awoke my senses.

‘Ugh! Time for me to retreat to the other side of the room,’ Luke said, his nose creased in disgust.

‘Me too,’ Brittany said grinning.

The blood sucked me in and its rich chocolatey scent revived me like nothing else. Three gulps later and it was gone. I looked up and smiled.

‘Where did you get that?’ I asked.

‘I always carry a very limited supply, seeing as any supernatural may enter my shop and I never know who might be a little too hungry or desperate,’ she said laughing.

‘Thank you,’ I said. ‘I have a list from my aunt. Just a minute… here you go,’ I said, handing it over.

‘Okay, I’ll get these together for you. You just rest, you’ve been through a lot, and please girls don’t go entering any
interesting
-looking shops again!’

‘So, are you going to forgive him?’ Luke asked me, a couple of hours later as we sat under a tree in a local park, on a rug Brittany had manifested for us. She had wandered off to do some shopping with the promise to stick to the human owned shops on Essex Street, so Luke and I could have one final chat before I returned to the house and Luke to England.

‘Who? Daniel?’ I asked, even though I knew who he meant immediately.

‘Who else. Jess? How many other men do you have desperately waiting for your forgiveness?’ he said with a sad smile.

I shrugged and pulled at the tassels on the rug.

‘I don’t know what to suggest, Jess. I don’t like the guy, as you’re well aware, but then I don’t like vampires either… apart from you,’ he paused and grinned. ‘And I don’t like how jealous he gets.’

‘Neither do I,’ I said. ‘I’m not going back to him. Let him stew.’

‘You’ll find someone else you know,’ he said, reaching forward and tilting my chin upwards so I wasn’t staring down at the ground anymore. His eyes shone turquoise like the Mediterranean Sea, eyes I had once readily dived into and lost myself.

‘Here, I want you to have this,’ he said, as he reached behind his neck and untied the black crystal angel he had always worn on a thong around his neck.

‘Your dark angel,’ I said with a smile.

‘It’s not a
dark
angel. It’s snowflake obsidian. Obsidian is protective and the white flecks remind us of our lineage; we all wear them.’

He leant forward and tied it around my neck, so it fell next to the Chinese coin my aunt had given me.

‘It’ll protect you,’ he whispered, still leaning in close.

‘From dark witches?’ I asked, smiling.

‘Maybe not dark witches,’ he said.

We paused, unsure what to do. The air felt heavy, and the park suddenly seemed isolated and silent. He looked down nervously and fidgeted.

‘Jess?’

‘Yes?’ I whispered.

‘I’m sorry.’

‘What for?’ I asked, confused. The guy kept saving my life, so what did he have to be sorry for?

‘I’m sorry I had to lie to you all those years. Believe me there were times I wanted to tell you who my family were, who
you
could be. I’m sorry I was mean to you. I shouldn’t have called you a leech…’ he trailed off and pulled up some grass.

‘You hate vampires,’ I said shrugging. ‘It’s not personal…’

‘I don’t hate
you
though,’ he said.

I swallowed, my throat had suddenly becoming dry. Luke was so easy to love, so simple.

I leant forward.

Luke’s lips met mine.

They felt hot against my cool skin, soft against my strength, velvety. Our lips parted and our tongues touched gently.

I opened my eyes in surprise and noticed he did the same. We pulled back slightly and grinned.

‘Weird, huh?’’ he said.

I nodded.

The spark had gone. The air seemed lighter again, fresher.

‘Maybe angels and vampires aren’t supposed to be together after all,’ I said.

‘I just thought seeing as everyone else seems to think we’re an item… well…’

‘I know, and I love you, I do, but that was strange. Not like it used to feel… when I was alive,’ I said, lying back on the rug and looking up into the trees, trying desperately not to compare it to the way Daniel used to kiss me.

‘It was a bit like kissing my…’

‘Don’t say it, please. I don’t want to be likened to kissing your sister or your mum or whoever, okay? Let’s just agree it didn’t work.’

‘Back to the conversation before though… you will find somebody,’ he said, lying back next to me and staring straight up.

‘As will you,’ I said. ‘And I know someone perfect for you.’

‘Oh no. You’re not going to set me up with Brittany are you? She’s too young. I’m nineteen remember,’ he said frowning.

‘No! Doofus! Think a bit harder,’ I said. ‘Now, don’t go into denial already. I saw the way you looked at her the other day.’

‘Caoimhe?’ he said, quietly. ‘She’s just a friend.’

‘But she could be more. She likes you; she cares. She’d be good for you,’ I said.

‘We’re just friends,’ he said, shrugging his shoulders and avoiding eye contact.

‘Okay. Well anyway, I suppose we’d better go soon. What time is it?’ I said, knowing I’d planted the idea in his head. That was enough to send him home with.

I fingered the little crystal angel resting on my throat and smiled. He’d be fine, and I’d found a temporary home for Brittany. Now I just had to sort myself out!

Chapter Nine

Another week passed and Brittany and I had still failed to meet any other coven members. Franny had popped in a couple of times and even taken over a couple of my lessons, but other than that we’d seen no one. My aunt was in super-efficient mode and the preparations for the Autumn Equinox were well under way. We were both being prepped daily for our roles within the ceremony and the spells I would need to understand, and so far it had all been quite simple.

‘Jessica, I don’t want to worry you, but I think you are ready to try the Level Five protection spell now, and I think it wise that you have a full arsenal of protection at your disposal…just in case,’ she muttered, wandering across the kitchen.

I looked at Brittany and raised my right eyebrow. She grinned back and shrugged.

‘So do I get to disappear, finally?’ I asked.

‘No, but you do get to create a lovely, shimmering orb of power,’ she said. ‘Brittany, do you want to demonstrate?’

With a nod, the girl at my side flung out her arms as if stopping an oncoming bus and then swiftly swept them around herself. Immediately a large, bluish-tinted bubble sparkled around her.

‘Now Jess, you try and touch her,’ my aunt instructed; but of course I couldn’t. It was rock solid and completely impenetrable.

‘Would you not be able to penetrate it with a spell?’ I asked.

‘With serious dark magic maybe, but it should rebound most grey spells,’ she said. ‘Let’s see shall we? Brittany are you ready?’

‘Urmm, I think so,’ Brittany said, her smile wavering slightly.

My aunt hesitated for a moment before suddenly shooting her arms out to face Brittany, her palms facing out, and though it would be much too fast for human eyes, I could see the energy jets stream out of her and race towards my friend.

There was a loud crack as they connected with the protection field, but the shield held and they bounced straight back towards my aunt, who thankfully knew how to reabsorb them, unlike me in my fatal first attempt with magic. I smiled as I remembered the ball of energy which had whizzed its way across my Manchester bedroom, almost decapitating Eva, before shattering all my bedroom windows.

‘Excellent,’ my aunt said. ‘Now you can take Jessie into the woods and show her how to create one. I have rather a lot to do today and Noah said he’d be popping round later. It’s about time you two met him.’

Noah was Susannah and Saffy’s brother. My cousin. Aunt Sarah had told us previously how he lived in New York and only came home occasionally. We had yet to meet him but based on photos in the albums, he was definitely worth meeting, so much so that Brittany was already planning an outfit!

Apart from a brief pause whilst Brittany grabbed some lunch, I spent all day perfecting the protection orb in the woods. The weather was still mild and I loved the dappled sunlight, revelling in the added SPF protection provided by the trees. Until I’d mastered the spell and could control the added power surge, my aunt suggested we found somewhere other than the clearing to practice in. So Brittany and I had wandered much further from the house, down a different path which twisted and turned, deeper into the woods, farther from the road. After a mile or so and a slight scramble we found ourselves in a natural clearing. There was a pond and some large logs which were perfect for eating the picnic Brittany had brought along.

The spell was tricky, and
that
Brittany said, was why it was a Level Five spell. However, if I mastered this I’d have more chance of getting my aunt to begin teaching me the Level Six spells, which I needed to pass my certification. There were two problems I had to negotiate. Firstly, I had zero motivation for protecting myself. I was in possibly the most peaceful place I’d ever been and the only other person sharing it with me was my new best friend, and let’s face it, when your best friend is also your teacher, it results in a whole lot of laughing and not much learning.

My second problem was speed. By lunchtime I’d mastered the mechanics of the spell. I had managed to project the orb around myself. It was a little thin in places, but it was there all the same. However each time I’d managed it, I’d had to tune everything out, close my eyes and concentrate; and even then it had taken a good five minutes to materialise. Somehow I doubted my opponent would give me five minutes meditation time when I was being attacked for real.

‘Come on, let’s take five,’ Brittany said. ‘You’re getting frustrated and that’ll make it harder.’

‘I just can’t get it to materialise quick enough. How did you learn? You didn’t even have a teacher?’

‘I did. Well not a proper one, but whenever a new girl got sent to our school, we’d soon suss out her background, and some of the girls who came were nearly sixteen and ready to take their exams. They could teach us…in secret of course,’ she said, turning her head away from the nightmares I knew she still had and giving me a quick smile. ‘Now I’m hungry and I don’t want to think about it. Here, I brought you lunch too. Are you hungry?’ she asked, lifting out a blood pack from the picnic bag.

‘Nah,’ I said, shaking my head. Actually I was a little hungry, but not for the sterilised blood I’d been living off these past weeks. ‘Thanks, but I’ll eat later.’

In truth I was jealous. The smell of their cooked meat and my aunt’s hotpots always made me feel slightly nauseous and I’d soon learnt to halt the breathing process when I was near the kitchen, anytime from four onwards; but the idea of being able to enjoy different tasty meals each day made me yearn for normality… or at least a meal I could enjoy. I left Brittany to enjoy her sandwiches and went for a wander deeper into the woods.

I found a new path which looped back towards the house and soon, without even realising it I was running, running at vampire speed, laughing, whilst my hair lashed out behind me. I stopped suddenly as I realised I’d come to the end of the path much sooner than expected and was now standing at the edge of the driveway, looking out at the front of the house. I was about to turn around and jog back when I heard a car rumbling down the bumpy track. I paused, stepped back into the treeline and waited.