Witchling (Chronicles of Witchood) (15 page)

Ethan and Aiden avoid
ed me, as if they knew that I would eventually as the question. They left early in the morning and when they did return, and only for a brief moment to restock their hunting supplies, Aiden avoided looking at me and Ethan made sure not to be in the same room that I was in.  I thought they discovered something, but my instincts told me that Ethan had informed Aiden of what I told him last night and that there was nothing more to it. They knew that if they crossed paths with me, I would attempt to convince them to let me be the bait, to lure out the thing that wanted me dead, and perhaps lead us to its den. While there was no guarantee that this plan would work, at least I had one.

As the day trudged pass, I started to feel restless, like I was counting down towards an exam I wasn’t prepar
ed for. Luke remained behind to keep me company, but he kept himself busy in the kitchen, melting silver in the kiln and making bullets in the moulds Ethan left him. My brother did everything that Ethan told him to do and without question. While that did bother me somewhat, I was not in a position to protest.

I watched Luke at his work but quickly grew bored and wanted to go outside. The brothers seemed to have anticipated it as they locked all the doors and the only way out was to climb out the window.
The uneasy feeling grew when night fell and I felt as if I just lost a day meandering around the brothers’ house.

It was midni
ght when the brothers returned, covered in Hunters blood. I sat in front of the fireplace, in the dark, while Luke slept in his room thinking that I was in mine.

“Hello boys,” I said when Ethan switched on the lights. Aiden raised his gun at me only to realise who it
is. They hadn’t been expecting me and it was clear that there was no more hiding. “You can’t avoid me forever.”

There was a moment on Ethan’s face that wanted to prove me wrong, but he quickly discarded the childish thoughts. Aiden lowered his face to the ground, he still felt the guilt of nearly killing me. The
events in the dream weren’t meant to seep out into the waking world, but it did, and there was no point in dwelling on what went wrong. What I needed now from them was to help me get my parents back before I ran out of time. I was going to die soon, in six days to be precise. I knew it and so did the brothers.

Ethan exhaled and poured himself a drink.

“You were much better when you were asleep,” said Ethan.

“The blood moon, why is it important?”

“Why do you want to know?” said Ethan.

“I’m going to die on the night of the blood moon, I would like to at least know its significance.”

Ethan remained silent and it was left to Aiden to answer. “It’s second full moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, when the day and night are exactly the same length. For us, the blood moon is also a time of heightened supernatural powers. This means that our powers are stronger and you’re not going to die. I won’t let you.”

“Then let me be the bait,” I said.

Ethan rolled his eyes and emptied his glass. “Told you she won’t give up. Can’t avoid her forever either, brother.”

“It’s too dangerous,” said Aiden. The brothers must have already discussed the matt
er and Ethan did very little to support my case.

“I have six days before I die,” I said.

“We can’t be sure that they’ll take you to the same lair as your parents,” said Aiden.

“How many lairs can these Hunters have?”

“One,” Ethan answered. Aiden closed his eyes and cursed his brother under his breath. Ethan didn’t seem against the idea after all, except, he just wasn’t as enthusiastic about putting my life in danger as I hoped he would be. It thought of it as strange. They both knew that the events in the premonitions cannot be avoided. I didn’t understand why they didn’t want to use it to their advantage.

“You’re my Charge, Amelia,” said Aiden, “do you know what that means? It means that you’re my responsibility and I cannot risk your safety.”

“Either way, I’m still going to die. You were there in my dream, you saw what happened, alright, maybe parts of it.”

“And it nearly killed you.”

“Nearly, yes, come on Aiden, surely, there must be some sort of tracking spell you can put on me. Why is it that you’ll let Luke hunt those things but won’t let me near one? This isn’t fair.”

“Luke is not my charge, he’s Ethan’s responsibility,” said Aiden. “I just need you to be patient, until at least after the blood moon.”

“My parents will be dead by then,” I protested. “Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about that.”

“You can’t be sure,” said Aiden.

“I’m a witch with premonition abilities!” I cried. “You’d think I’d know. I can feel it in my guts, Aiden, please. I would go out there right now and let them take me, but I can’t do it alone.”

“Told you she’s going
to be trouble, brother,” said Ethan.

“You don’t know what you’re asking us to do,” said Aiden, ignoring his brother.
“Your plan is not thought out. What if we can’t find you? What if something goes wrong? We don’t know what they’ll do to you. It’s too dangerous and I will not risk your safety.”

“
What about my parent’s safety?”

“They will be safe, after the blood moon. For now, you are staying here.”

I opened my mouth to protest but Aiden stopped me.

“This is an order,” he said with such force and authority that it surprised and terrified me. Ethan looked at his brother and his face turned grim. Aiden’s skin crawled with black veins and his eyes turned dark.
I had seen him like that only once, when we were in the car and he had just killed that Double Walker that looked like him.

“Amelia,” Ethan said with a low warning tone, “go to your room.”

At first I didn’t move. I sensed that something wasn’t quite right with Aiden as he started to lose control of himself. Without knowing how, I understood that it had something to do with his deal with that fallen angel. Aiden wanted me dead. I saw it in his eyes, and another part of his soul fought against the urge. I was a piece of a puzzle that needed to be destroyed and the only thing that prevented my death right there and then was Ethan’s presence. It was obvious that the brothers weren’t telling me something. I felt annoyed by this knowledge. And yet, something wasn’t quite right about that either. The brothers would never hurt me, especially Aiden, who swore to protect me.

“Amelia,”
Ethan said again.

I stood up and edged around the room. Aiden watched me leave
, his hands clenched into tight fists and for a moment, I thought he would finally lose control and snap my neck. He could have done it in a second, if he really wanted too.

“Please walk a little faster, my dear Amelia,” said Ethan, “your speed is tempting him.”

Their seriousness in Ethan’s tone was new to me and for the first time, I decided to do as I was told. I quickened my pace and soon found myself locked inside my room. I switch on the lights and found the grimoire on the bed. I was sure that I left it on the dresser. The book laid opened, the ink glistened so brightly and beckoned for me to read. I walked to it and printed in green ink was the sacred image of the pentacle. I didn’t know what it meant or what I was supposed to do with it.

Something large hit hard against the door. The wood cracked as whatever outside attempted to get in. The sound of glass smashed against the floor. The brothers were fighting and I could hear them struggling against each other. Aiden lost against whatever force he tried to fight against.
He wanted to kill me since the death of the Double Walker and without Ethan holding him back now, I would be dead.

The double window stood opposite me and I didn’t hesitate to pull down the bolts and unlock it. The room was on the second floor but the ledge provided enough footing for me to climb out and clamber down the vines that grew next to the house. I thought the arrangement seemed rather convenient, as if it was somehow planned, but did not dwell on this fact.

I poked my head out and looked down. If I slipped and fall, I would probably break my neck, yet I knew that it wouldn’t happen. This was not how I would go, I still had six days. I wondered where Luke is. I couldn’t hear him outside or inside his room. But he was somewhere nearby, I just didn’t know exactly where.

“Ethan will take care of him,” I told myself.

Without further hesitation, I grabbed the grimoire and soon found myself on the ledge and scaling down the wall of vines nearby. Barefooted, I ran into the forest without any sense of direction. The moon was large and silvery behind me, though not quite full yet.

I ran as fast as I could, down the path that seemed
uncannily familiar. Just before I started to realise where I was, something grabbed me from behind, a shadowy hand that wrapped its palm over my face and threatened to suffocate me. I tried to scream but was not allowed. As a wave of unconsciousness threatened to take over me, I thought I saw Ethan’s blue eyes glowed like a mischievous cat in the night,  but before I could see the rest of his face, it was gone, along with the forest and everything else around me.

Chapter 15

Whatever knocked me out certainly hit me hard on my head. I woke on the ground, my arms and legs shackled in thick chains. The cage is made of dark iron, the door bolted and soldered closed. I could barely see but there was enough light from the hole in the ceiling to illuminate the space. It looked like a cave and nearby where other cages, stacked three levels high with crumpled bodies curled up into little human balls. They sat with their legs up to their chests, their mangled hair covered their dirty faces. I didn’t recognise any of them.

“She’s awake,” whispered one of the prisoners.
The base of my neck throbbed and when I touched it, I found a long gash across my skin. It would certainly scar, but that was not one of my worries right now.

“Who’s there?” I managed to say.

“Amy?” a familiar voice came from the other side of the cave. I barely recognised the man under the bruises.

“Dad?” I sat up with hope and went over to the door of my cage
. My face peered through the bars. “Is that you?”

“Oh god, they got you too,” he whispered and started to sob.

“Hey dad, it’s alright. I’ll get us out of here. Where’s mom?”

“
Three cages down from mine.”

I couldn’t see her in the dark.

“Amy? Is that you?”

“Mom, I’m fine.”

My heart glowed. My parents were fine and now it was just a matter of getting out. I felt a pang of regret. Aiden was right. I really didn’t think this part through and not only that, I doubted that the brothers knew where I was. It’s been how long since my parents were taken? And they haven’t found the Hunter’s lair. It was obvious enough for me that they would not find me any time soon, or if they would find me at all.

I looked around me and saw that there was no way out. A body laid
unconscious on the cage above me and the one stacked on the third level was empty.

“
Give up hope, girl,” said the first man that spoke. I didn’t know his name or was able to place his face, but it only took me a few moments to realise that he was unlucky traveller from the South, out on a road trip with his friend, who was definitely no longer in one of the cages. I was surprised by the amount of information I managed to get within a short amount of time. “I’ve been here for almost a month now and those things ain’t letting us out.”

“No. Everything’s going to be alrigh
t,” I said calmly. I felt surprised by my tone. “I’ll get us all out of here.”

The man in the next cage snorted.
I cast my eyes around the cave and realised that all these people, except for my parents were unlucky travellers. No one else from the town was here and I guessed that the brothers had done their job in keeping almost everyone safe.

Dark cloaked figures entered the cave, I could see the moonlight’s glint on their talons. They lumbered along the cages, their claws rapping against the cage bars. Everyone awake moved to the back of their cages, their eyes likes terrified trapped cats in the dark. The fear hung like a thick fog and I felt it on my skin.

I counted five cloaked figures. They stopped in front of my cage and stared at me for what felt like at least a good quarter of an hour. Although they looked like deformed Hunters, I knew that they were something else. They moved like shadows in the dark, the steps heavy and weight made them appear ungainly.

“She is the one,” said the cloaked figure in front.

The speaker ran his talon over the soldered lock, slicing through the metal as if it was softened cheese. The metal oozed down the side as he pulled the door open.

“No!” my dad screamed. “Leave her alone!”

“Dad, shut it,” I yelled back and turning my attention back to my jailers, I decided to make the best out of my grim situation. “If I go with you willingly, do you vow to let them go?”

“No.”

My heart dropped. It was a stupid attempt but worth a try. What was I thinking anyway? To attempt to make a deal with those that wanted me dead, or rather, needed me dead on a certain date.

“Alright, I promise not to kill myself before the blood moon if you let them go.”

The head jailer stared at me with his socketless eyes, confused as to how I could come up with such an idea. I could sense it, the momentary feeling of fear, of failing to do whatever it was they planned to do. I was important and we both knew it.

But no amount of bargaining was going set my parents or any of the other prisoners free. The head jailer reached in and grabbed me. I squirmed like a caught animal, biting and scratching at the cloak that seemed to shroud a bodiless creature beneath it. I didn’t know what it was, except that it certainly wasn’t solid, despite the way the cloak hung over its body.

The head jailer dragged me along the floor as I twisted and cried and screamed. I didn’t realise when I was out of the cave into what looked like a corridor. The cloaked figures stopped as a familiar face appeared.

“Aiden?” I managed to choke out. As the boy I thought I knew came and crouch down in front of me, I realised that I had mistaken the copycat as the Dextris that w
as supposed to protect me. The Copycat grinned with Ethan’s mischievous flair.

“How quaint that we should meet like this, Miss Ryans,” he said and offered his hand. I stared at it and pushed myself onto my feet.

The Copycat took a step back as I wiped the blood from my cracked lips. Every part of my body was hurting and my heart throbbed in protest. Although the brothers did a wonderful job with their healing potions, I was not completely free of the scars that I gained from my nightmare.

“What are you?”

“A servant,” replied a copycat.

“Of whom?”

“Of the Master.”

“My, my, you are an inquisitive one. Come, your presentation is not very acceptable.”

I stared at him. His ability to copy Aiden’s appearance was so uncanny that it chilled my limbs. His face, his dark raven hair, his emerald green eyes and even the way he stood, if I didn’t know any better, I would have been convinced that it was really  Aiden.

But it wasn’t and the C
opycat had taken on Ethan’s smirk.

“Come, my dear, we must get you into something that is tidier.”

“We?”

The C
opycat didn’t answer. He stepped aside and held out his arm towards the end of the stone paved hallway. With nothing else that I could do, I complied. There was no point in kicking and screaming anymore, we both knew that it was futile and I decided to conserve my energy for what laid ahead. It was going to be a very long night, but at least I knew where my parents are, and that they’re still safe and alive.

I was led to a room where a lace white gown draped on the back of a wooden seat.
A water basin sat next to it on a small round table, along with a cloth and a mirror. There was nothing else and the room looked more like a cell with no windows. I wondered if I was still underground. There could be no other explanation.

I couldn’t figure out where we were. It certainly wasn’t in any of the buildings in Angels Fall. It had to be outside, perhaps another part of the forest. The brothers managed to keep their house hidden from civilization, these monsters probably used the same method.

A forceful knock
against the door made me jump and was a sign that told me to hurry up. I inhaled deeply and picked up the dress. It looked more like a Victorian lace underdress than what I initially thought it was. I looked off my clothes and wiped the blood off my skin. The water seeped into the wound on my neck and stung so hard that tears grew in my eyes.

Another knock sounded and as the lock outside started to scrape against the metal surface, I slipped on the dress. It was sat snuggly against my skin and the right collar started to stain with blood. I flinched as the lace rubbed against the wound and I attempted to move the strap away but it was no use.

The door open and the Copycat Aiden stood in the doorway. He glanced at me and nodded.

“Good. It is wise that you remain complacent,” he said. “Follow me,
m’lady.”

I didn’t know where all this was leading to or what purpose it had. The
Copycat led me through the maze of tunnels, turning at every intersection until I lost my sense of direction of where the cave where the prisoners are kept. Identical metal doors liked the walls and I felt like I was in some sort of insane asylum.

The
Copycat stopped in front of a door and opened it. Inside was a wooden table with a meal of roast chicken, potatoes, peas and carrots. A pair of tall white candles sat in the middle. Wine glasses and jug of orange juice sat on the further end. The Copycat pulled the chair out for me and I sat down. He filled my plate and then took his place on the opposite side.

“Eat up,” he said and proceeded to start on his food.

“Why?” I asked. The Copycat held up a finger and waved it in the air.

“Do not ruin the moment, my dear, enjoy your meal while you can.”

~

I was given a room and squeaky bed with broken springs in the thin
mattress. There were no windows and the only way out was through the metal door. I could feel the cloaked figures outside, guarding me as their special prisoner. The Copycat refused to answer my question and didn’t seem to care that I was bleeding, not that I cared.

“Mom and dad are alright,” I said to myself. It was the only thing that I could say. I didn’t know where Aiden and Ethan
were and trusted my instincts that Luke is safe back at the house.

I looked around but there was nothing. With nothing else to do, I sat down on the musty bed and stared at the wall. I could have gone to sleep, but I didn’t want to. The dim electric light flickered as an invisible moth fluttered around it.
I was tired, injured, in pain and…

I felt something appear next to me while I was in mid
-thought. I looked to my left and found that it was the grimoire. I had completely forgotten about it and how I had it with me when I ran from the brothers’ house. I didn’t know how it got inside the cell, except that it did, and it sat like a golden ticket that gleamed with black spidery ink.

I picked it up and opened the covers. Inside was a small piece of lavender, tucked between the pages like a bookmark. The page itself wa
s blank and did not seem important at all. I didn’t understand it. The book appeared with a flower but didn’t offer anything on how to break free or vanquish the things that guarded me.

The
Copycat opened the door and I instantly closed the book. His eyes glanced momentarily at it but did not say a word.

“Come,
m’lady,” he said, “the Master wishes to have a meeting with you.”

I blinked. The Master. That must be the thing that wants be dead on the night of the blood moon. I stood up, with the book still in my hands, my h
eart pounded against my sternum. The copycat placed my hand around my waist and leaned down towards my ear.

“There’s no need to be afraid,
m’lady, the Master is kind and will not hurt you, that is, until it is necessary.”

I felt the air squeezed out of my lungs as he spoke the last line. The
Copycat grinned with satisfaction. He wanted to say something more, the bring out the fear in my eyes, but refrained himself, as if he wanted to savour the moment and trickle out the threats rather than let it all out in one go.

The
Copycat walked me down the corridor. The concrete felt cold under my naked feet. The cloaked figures hovered after us. I felt their eyes on my neck, as if they wanted to suck the blood out through my artery. The only thing that prevented them from lunging at my throat was the Copycat’s presence. I was not to be harmed, it was the order. I sensed their restraint as clearly as I could feel the pain of my wound.

The
Copycat led me to a double door that looked like the entrance to a surgery. Perhaps I was in a hospital, one that was abandoned long ago, forgotten about by the people of Angels Fall and protected by magic. The Copycat opened the door for me and I stepped in.

The Master stood with his back turned to me. He wore a black suit and despite taking on Ethan’s appearance, I knew exactly who he
is. The Master turned and smiled at me, his eyes although blue and exactly the same as the eldest Winters’ brother, it was cold and had a tinge of cruelty in it. He was also older than Aiden and Ethan, much older than anything that I’ve ever sensed.

“That will be enough,” he said to the
Copycat, who stepped back, bowed and left. The surgery doors closed behind me and we were left alone in the empty white room, with nothing but the large operation room lights above us.

The Master turned around and observed me. I involuntarily took a sharp intake of breath as I suddenly found him by my side. He pushed my hair away, tilted his head slightly to the side and observed my wound. The Master ran a finger just above my skin and made my insides crawl with anticipation. With whatever courage I had left, I stepped away from him.

He looked at me and then at my chest where I clutched the grimoire. The Master didn’t say anything about it, as if he already knew that I didn’t know how to use the spells inside. I was still a witchling after all, untrained and stupid to the ways of the supernatural world. The Master laughed.