Witchling (Chronicles of Witchood) (12 page)

“Where are they?” I demanded.

“They’ve been taken. It’s not safe here in this house. We need to go before the rest arrives.”

“There’s more?” said Luke. He stood behind Aiden,
color drained from his skin and he looked as pale and grey as the dead Hunters upstairs.

“Yes,” answered Aiden. “That is why, we need to go
, now.”

I couldn’t move. The knowledge that my parents may be dead froze my limbs but Aiden didn’t have time for me to come to my senses. He
placed his arms under my legs and around my shoulders. Without warning, he scooped me off the ground and headed for the front door. Luke followed.

“Hey! What are you doing?” As the words left my lips, I felt stupid having asked the question. It was obvious enough what he was doing. Aiden carried me out of the house and to the mustang parked just outside the house. The door was
splintered and broken, and Luke had to clamber out after us. I have never seen Luke so terrified in his life and I wondered how he managed to keep his wits.

Aiden allowed my feet to touch the ground and he opened the passenger seat doors. He indicated to Luke that he should also get in. Within seconds, I found myself in the front seat and Luke behind me. Hunters circled the sky above us like a swarm of cloaked shadows. Luke and I peered out the window and wondered where t
hey had come from. Ethan was nowhere to be seen.

Aiden turned the ignition key and
drove away from the house. The Hunters didn’t follow. It was as if the mustang was protected by magic and only then did I realise that it was. We remained invisible to them while in the car.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To my house,” Aiden answered.

“What about my parents?”

“They’ll be alright. The Hunters won’t kill them unless they have to.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Your parents will live until…” Aiden’s voice faltered as he placed his foot down on the accelerator. The car zoomed down the street at eighty miles an hour and skidded around the corner. “They’ll be alright.”

I looked at Aiden’s face and saw that even he was not convinced of his own words.

Chapter 12

The Winters’ house stood hidden amongst the trees in the middle of the forest. Luke was as surprised of its
existence as he took note of hits hidden location. My brother stayed close by my side as we entered the house.

Aiden switched on the lights
. Only then did I notice the tear in my pyjamas where the Hunters had swiped. I also realised that I still had the book in my hand. Aiden and Luke didn’t seem to notice it.

“I’ll get you both a change of clothes,” he said and disappear
ed before I could say anything.

Luke stood in the middle of the living room with me, his face in awe of the wooden beauty he found himself
standing inside. The polished wood seemed to glow as the electric light threw its rays on the smooth dark brown surfaces. But the enthralled moment was quickly demolished as the front door opened and someone entered. Luke instantly went to the fireplace and grabbed one of the pokers. He held it up defensively like a sword.

“This is a welcoming,” said Ethan when he entered the room. His eyes dismissed Luke’s presence as he walked up to the table and poured himself a drink. His body was covered in a mixture of what looked like soot and blackened blood, his face much older than how I remembered it and there was tiredness in his eyes. The drink brought back his youth and seemed to wipe away the momentary lines that appeared on his skin.
“Hello, Amelia.”

“Where are my parents?” I asked.

Ethan shrugged. “I was holding off a horde of Hunters. Aiden was supposed to rescue your family. Oh. I suppose he didn’t make it in time. Oh well. At least you still have your brother. Hi.” Ethan waved and grinned at Luke. “I’m your sister’s boyfriend’s brother.”

“What? Aiden’s not my boyfriend,” I hissed.

“Oh? Alright. Just teasing you.”

“This isn’t a time for jokes, Ethan.”

“Relax, they won’t kill your parents yet. Would you like a drink?” Ethan indicated to the whisky set in front of him. I shook my head. He then enquired Luke with the same offer.

“No thanks,” said my brother.
“What were those things?”

“Hunters,” said Ethan. “
Shape shifting demon currently being controlled by someone or something. We haven’t figure out that part yet, except that they’re after your sister.”

“Why?” Luke seemed confused. He couldn’t think of a reason I’m special enough to be wanted dead by a horde of supernatural beings.

“Because she’s a witch, well, the correct term is witchling - uninitiated and untrained. She makes the perfect sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice. You didn’t say anything about a sacrifice the last time I was here.”
It was then that I realised that this was the piece of information that Aiden kept from me, the thing that he lied about.

“Oops,” said Ethan, “I’m going to assume that I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Sorry.”

“A witching?” Luke interrupted. He looked from me to Ethan and started to laugh. “Is this some sort of joke? Because if it is, you are pulling it of very well.”

“Luke,” I said and edged my way closer towards him. Luke tightened his grip on the poker
and held the sharp point up towards my face. Ethan watched with amusement. “This isn’t a joke.”

“Don’t come any closer,” he yelled. “Who are you? What have you done with Amy?”

“For goodness sake, Luke!” I found myself yelling at him.

“I’m not scared of you.”

“Stop freaking out.”

“Stop freaking out? There were things outside our house and he was one of them.” Luke pointed the poker towards Ethan.

“As I said, shape shifter,” Ethan shrugged. “Oh don’t worry, this house is protected, as far as I can tell.”

“How can you be so calm?” I turned and snapped at him.

Ethan shrugged again. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m tired. Or the fact that I don’t really care if you live or die, except my brother does, and he’s the only reason you’re still alive.”

“Aiden?” I said.

“Yes. Him. He’ too…what’s the word for it?” Ethan poured himself another glass of whisky. “Ah, yes, that right, compassionate.”

“And you’re a non-
caring ass?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say it like that.
Are you sure you don’t want a drink?”

“No,” I said while Luke only stared.

“No,” said Ethan slowly with a frown on his brow. “Alright. Oh, here comes my brother. You can ask him about it. I’m going to wash up and go to bed. What time is it? Oh look, it’s almost dawn. You kids will have to miss school today, for obvious reasons. With Hunters all over the place, it’s not safe. See you later.”

Ethan passed Aiden under the archway and slapped his brother on the shoulders.

“Great job, brother,” he said.

Aiden sighed and ignored his brother’s mockery for his botched up rescue. It was clear that Ethan had already found out that he didn’t make it in time to save my parents, and that the Hunters had taken them. Luke held onto the poker, not that it would do him a
ny good against Aiden or Ethan, but he eventually lowered it when he started to believe that the brothers would not hurt him.

“I’m afraid these are the only clothes we have in the house,” said Aiden as he offered us his white shirts and pants. “They’re a bit big but I’ll go and fetch your things when the sun is up.”

“Thanks,” I said and accepted the clothes from him.

Aiden stepped aside. “There’s a spare room down the hallway. Third door your right, and Luke, you can use the room next to it. I’ll make breakfast.”

I nodded and walked passed him. Luke was hesitant at first but eventually complied without protest.

~

Luke loitered outside the room I was in and waited until I came out. Aiden’s white shirt was big enough to be fashioned into a short dress. Luke didn’t want to go and join Aiden in the kitchen alone and I didn’t blame him, after all that he had been through in such a short period time, I would be freaked out too.

“What are they?” he whispered to me.

“Dextris,” I answered. “They made some sort of deal with a fallen angel and now they’re his agents.”

“Great,” said Luke. “We’re in the house of devil worshipers and we haven’t a clue where mom and dad
are, or if they’re even still alive.”

My throat went dry but I wouldn’t allow my brother to discourage my hope. “No,” I sa
id to him, “they’re still alive and Aiden and Ethan are not devil worshipers.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because they’re just not. I trust them and you just have to trust me on this.”

“Why?”

“They just saved our lives, Luke. We wouldn’t have gotten away without Aiden’s help.”

“What about you being a witch?”

“I just found out yesterday. I know about it as much as you do. Come on, we might be able to find out more about where mom and dad are from them.”

Luke was hesitant and it was only when I was half way down the corridor that he finally followed. Aiden was in the kitchen, with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast prepared for us.
Although we didn’t feel like eating at first, the delectable smell could not be resisted and complied with Aiden’s invitation to eat.

“It’s going to be a long day and you’re going to need your
strength,” he said.

“Why are th
ey after Amy?” Luke started, “aren’t there any other witches out there?”

“She’s untrained, which means that she can’t defend herself like the others. Her powers are only just starting to reveal itself.”

“You’re still a witchling,”
said Ethan. He was dressed in a white shirt and dark jeans, his top three buttons undone and it made my heart skip at the sight of him. He grinned at me, proud and filled with vanity. His blue eyes gleamed like gemstones and I turned my face away. “That’s what you are,” Ethan continued then turned his attention to Aiden. “Why don’t you ever cook for me, brother?”

The older Winters
’ brother made his way to the fridge and took out a bottle of milk, then proceeded to the pantry where he fetched a bowl and some cereal. For someone who was supernatural, I hadn’t expected him to also appear so human.

Aiden didn’t reply to Ethan’
s complaint.

“Those Hunters, why are there so many of them all of the sudden?” I asked.

“We don’t know either,” said Aiden. He hesitated to speak as he stopped his thoughts at the tip of his tongue. Ethan watched with amusement while Luke and I waited with expectation.

“Go on, brother,” said Ethan. “She’s already too involved.”

I looked from one brother to the other. “Tell me,” I demanded.

Aiden seemed pained but he eventually mustered up the courage to speak. “We thought that you would know.”

It was not what I had expected and his words caused confusion to rise up again inside me.

“Me? What would I know?”

“You’re a witchling with powers of premonitions,” said Ethan. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“But they’re just dreams and I only see how I die, nothing else.”

Luke lifted his brows and stared at me. “You can see the future? Since when?”

“
No, Luke, they’re just dreams.”

“You mean all those nightmares you’ve been having? The one with the fire?”

“Yes, but come on, this isn’t a medieval witch hunt and…” I wanted to say that magic and monsters aren’t real, but it was hard to deny its existence, especially after they had just attacked us at the house. Luke wanted not to believe as much as I did.

“Say whatever you want, love, they’re still premonitions either way.”

I stared at him and Aiden shifted behind the counter. “What do I have to do?”

“Well, we could…”

“No,” Aiden interrupted.

“Ethan, tell me.”

Ethan held up his hands, as if Aiden’s interjection prevented him from saying anything. I wonder if they were bound by some sort of magic and that Aiden had powers over his older brother, to stop his true nature from appearing. Ethan did make it clear that I should have died, a long time ago, to prevent all this from ever happening, but it was Aiden that stopped him, and that I should be grateful for it.

Aiden wrapped his fingers around his brother’s arm and dragged him out of the kitchen. I watched the display with surprise as all gentleness in his
demeanor disappeared. Ethan grinned and he was forced out of our sight. Luke and I were not allowed to listen and when the front door closed with a bang, we soon found ourselves alone in the house.

~

After an hour, Ethan and Aiden did not return. I checked the front door and found the mustang still parked outside. I wanted to believe that they didn’t go far, but knowing their supernatural abilities made me doubt this very human assumption.

“What are you doing?” I asked Luke when I returned and found him on the second floor. It felt wrong to go about snooping in Aiden and Ethan’s house and I didn’t dare touch any of their things. Luke, however, didn’t have a problem with it at all.
He had pulled out one of the books in the shelves and his eyes darted across the pages.

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s some sort of tracking spell. Isn’t that something that witches can do?”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Aiden and Ethan to come back?” I said as I walked up the steps.

“And then what?
Have you seen the way one of them looks at you?”

“What are you talking about? And which one?”

“Not the blonde one. The other one.”

“You mean Aiden.”

“Yes. Him. He looks like he could snap your neck at any moment but he’s trying not to.”

I stared at Luke and saw that he was right. “Luke, I trust him. I trust both of them.”

“I don’t.”

“They just saved us.”

“For what? You don’t even know them. What if they’re only keeping you alive so that they can sacrifice you to their fallen angel, or whoever it is they’re with.”

“They won’t hurt me, I don’t know why, but I just do. Maybe this is just part of
being a witch, if I’m really a witch.”

Lu
ke shook his head and returned to his reading. I remembered the book I stole from the library, the one no one seemed to notice and I left it in the guestroom. I descended the stairs and went to fetch it.

It remained on the side table next to the bed, exactly where I had left it. The book did not look
extraordinary but the more I flipped through its blank pages, the more I started to feel connected to it. A stray page had also made an appearance in my dream and if anything that Ethan had said about my premonition abilities is true, then this book must have some sort of magical ability.

I closed my eyes and tried to remember the symbol that had faintly appeared when I lifted the page to the light. It was a
pentagram, like the one in Luke’s room. The symbol seemed to have a magical quality to it and I began to suspect that it could do more than just keep the Hunters outside, in fact, it even prevented Aiden from entering the room when he came to save us.