Witchling (Chronicles of Witchood) (5 page)

I froze and listened. Silence filled the house and the only other sound was the gentle heat against the metallic pot of water. Instincts made me grab the rolling pin. There was something upstairs,
except I didn’t know what. It dragged its feet across the carpeted floor. A loud knocking came at the front door. I jumped at the noise and whatever was upstairs fled through an opened window.

I went and answered the knock, the rolling pin still in my hand, but when I threw open the door, there was no one there. Confused, I took a step outside and
looked up and down the street. It was empty, except for the stray sparrow that flew overhead. I didn’t know what to think everything that just happened.

Upon closing the door, I ran upstairs and found that whatever was inside the house was now gone. It left drag marks on the carpet and nothing else. My window was wide open and I quickly went and pulled it shut. I had left it unlocked t
o let the air in and for Ethan and his brother, not monsters. I was certain that what was just inside wasn’t one of them, but something else, something sinister and bad. I felt it in my stomach and all thoughts of dinner disappeared as I lost my appetite.

I turned off the stove, closed every window and waited in the living room for Luke to return. Maybe the creature that was just inside had something to do with the broken router. I wasn’t sure what to think. Perhaps it was trying to lure us out of the house to get inside. My mind instantly drifted towards the boxes in the basement. Perhaps there was something there, so
mething important, hidden away. I sat in the living room and thought about the possibilities that my parents would have some important magical treasure hidden away in their basement. I knew that a chunk of the boxes stored old books – cookbooks, crochet patterns, ancient magazines and old school books from my mom’s teenage years. It wasn’t those boxes the monster wanted, it was something in the others that I didn’t know what was inside.

I got up and went downstairs again.
I walked into the basement and stood in the middle. I closed my eyes and breathed in the dusty air, which only made me sneezed. I tried to sense what was in the boxes, as mad as it seemed, and yet, I knew I could do it. But before I was allowed to fully embrace my weird beliefs, someone pounded his fists against the door again.

“Coming!” I called.

It turned out to be Luke. I hadn’t expected him back so quickly but he was. In his hand was a large plastic bag that contained the necessary portal to the internet. I followed him upstairs and to his room, where he proceeded to reconnect the house to the rest of the web. He threw up his hands when it was done.

I went back downstairs and lingered just outside the basement’s door. Luke came out of his room and passed me on his way to the kitchen.

“What are you starring at?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I lied. “What do you think are in all those boxes? Apart from book.”

“Old stuff no one uses anymore.”

“Yeah, but what sort of old stuff?”

Luke shrugged. He knew as much as I did, which was not much help. “Ask dad. He packed it.”

I continued to stare at the door as Luke went in search for his dinner. I half expected to feel some sort of connection, or pull, or anything that would urge me to believe that there might be something magical in my basement, but what I wanted to feel never materialised. Instead, I felt pulled towards my room, towards my laptop, where the reconnection to the internet now provided a portal to
unanswered questions about witches and premonitions.

“You haven’t made anything,” Luke complained. I snapped out of my thoughts.
He stood at the end of the hallway.

“No. I haven’t.”

“I’m hungry.” It was obvious that Luke thought we had an understanding that upon his return, there will be something he could take up to his room. He wanted to eat in front of his computer again. I wanted to go upstairs and do my research.

“Alright,” I said after half a second’s thought. “But I have things to do so you’re going to help me.”

Luke exhaled and rolled his eyes. He glanced at the clock and judged that I would let him starve if he didn’t help out. I’ve done it before and Luke didn’t want to risk hunger pangs halfway through his game.

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

~

When dinner was cooked and ready, Luke and I each took a bowl of pasta and disappeared into our rooms. I sat at my dresser, the laptop in front of me,
and my dinner on my left. I surf the net as I ate. I typed
premonitions
into the search bar.

A soft tap sounded on my
window and when I turned, my heart missed a beat at the sight of the knocker. It was Ethan. He was at my window, outside, on the second storey with nothing to stand on but air. I quickly went and unlocked the bolts. Ethan didn’t wait for an invitation. He climbed inside and stood in my room, tall, proud and handsome. He grinned at me. It was then that I realised I just allowed a stranger into my room.

“Hello,” he said. His sly eyes danced.

“How did you do that?” I asked.

“Do what?” His eyes darted to the computer screen. “Wikipedia? Is that the best you can come up with?” Ethan sauntered over and scrolled through the page. “Well, I guess it’s not all that bad. What do they teach you in school nowadays? Why don’t you hit the library and take out some books? You know, books are much more reliable than the internet, they’re written by humans.”

“And you’re saying stuff on Wikipedia isn’t written by humans?” I asked. Although he was still a stranger to me, I didn’t feel threatened by his presence. There was something about him, despite his the mischievous light that danced across his face every time he flashed one of his dashing smiles, that he would not hurt me. It was one of those gut feelings that urged me to trust him.

Ethan must have read my mind. “You know, you trust too easily. You shouldn’t
have let me in. For all you know, I can murder you, chew up your flesh and feed it to the sparrow.”

A mixture of horror and amusement mingled inside me. I didn’t know what to think of his
absurd threat.

“You won’t
hurt me,” I said.

“Still too trusting. And what if you’re wrong?
”

“Oh, I don’t know, I’ll throw salt on you.”

Ethan rolled his eyes and snorted. “So primitive.” He took up my bowl of pasta and began eating it. “Not bad. Did you make this?”

“That’s mine.”

“I’m hungry, and I believe I deserve some sort of payment for keeping you alive since my little brother refuses to even acknowledge my good deeds.”

“
Keep me alive? Good deeds? What are you?”

“That’s something you don’t want to know.”

“Well, I’m asking you.”

Ethan rolled his eyes again. He took my bowl of pasta and sat down on my bed. “Comfy,” he said and grinned. I didn’t want to think what thoughts went through his mind. His expression messed with the
rhythm of my heart. To dream of him was one matter, to see him in real life, on my bed and eating pasta was another.

“So are you going to answer me?” I pressed.

“Answer you about what? Oh? What am I? I am what I am.”

“That doesn’t answer anything.”

“Of course not,” he replied. “That was the whole point. But come on, it wouldn’t be much fun if I told you. Besides, my little brother wouldn’t like that. He like to appear, you know, hot and mysterious. Isn’t that what you girls are into nowadays? Dark handsome lads from faraway lands who have deep dark secrets and somehow magically falls in love with you at first sight. I can see it, you and my brother. You in some sort of terrible danger and he, coming out of nowhere to save you. How terribly cliché this is starting to sound.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks with embarrassment. He seemed to have struck a cord and snapped it with his words. Ethan smirked again.

“Stop it,” I snapped.

“Stop what?”

“That eye thing you’re doing.”

“What eye thing?”

Ethan lowered his face and his eyes smouldered in the light. The left corner of his lips lifted up into an alluring half smile. The man was temptation dressed as a human. I didn’t know what to do.

“Stop it,” I told him and turned around. I broke the eye contact but I could still see him in my dressing table mirror. He finished the rest of his pasta and placed it down on my bedside table. Before the awkwardness started to set in, I turned around and continued with my questions. Here was my chance. Ethan was right here in front of me, he was the answer to all my questions and there was no need to go to the forest to search him out.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Keep you safe. Keep you alive. You know, the usual damsel in distress stuff.”

“What are you talking about? I’m not a damsel in distress.”

“At the rate you’re going, you are. Trust me.”

I looked into his face but could not read anything from his strangely calm expression. He wore it like a mask.

“Can I really trust you?”

“You’re still alive,” he replied.

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“Nope. Can’t do that. Not my job. You’ll have to wait for my little brother for that stuff. I’m just the space filler while he’s gone.”

“Where is he now?”

“Out in the forest, doing his thing.”

“What thing?”

Ethan flashed me another one of his smiles. The heat of his handsomeness was starting to wear off as his coyness chipped away at his allure. He felt it too as I placed my hands on my hips and demanded proper answers.

“Things. Why don’t you go back on your laptop and do your research about us. I’m sure
Wikipedia will give you something useful, if not, then an interesting read.” Ethan waved his hand towards my dresser and stood up. He walked over to the window and started to climb out.

“Wait,” I said. “So you’re just going to leave? Just like that?”

“Well, I’m only here because I was hungry,” he said. “And nice pasta by the way. Thanks.” He shrugged his eyebrows at me and clicked his tongue. “Catch you later.”

“No. Don’t go. Not yet. I still don’t know your brother’
s name.”

Ethan rolled his eyes.
“And it’s going to always be about him isn’t it? And not a single question about me.”

“I already asked you what you are but you won’t tell me.”

Ethan nodded his head to the left. “Fine. But can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“I’m bound by oath and I’ll die a horrible death if I tell you.”

He was lying. I could tell
by the nonchalant way he spoke and the ridiculousness of his words. Ethan didn’t seem serious about anything he said to me so far. Before I could say anything else, he jumped out of my window. I followed and poked my head outside. He never landed on the ground, and if he did, I didn’t see him. Ethan disappeared as strangely as he appeared and I was left alone in my room, more confused than I have ever been in my life.

Chapter 5

Karen looked at me as if I had truly gone insane. I sat in her room with Lydia on the bed. Her wounds were healing but it will definitely leave scars. I could see it on their faces that they were convinced that I’ve lost my mind, but it was only a matter of time before I told them what happened. There was no point in hiding it. They already knew about the dreams and the man who turned out to be Ethan. Although Lydia couldn’t remember exactly what her rescuer looked like, the more I talked about it, the more her mind started to free the lost memories from its hiding places.

“And he just came into your room? I don’t believe that. Your window is like, I don’t know, twenty feet from the ground. Unless he used a ladder, there’s no way for him to get in like that,” said Lydia.

“But he was there. I swear I’m not crazy. He was in my room. I don’t know what he is and it was as if he used magic.”

“Maybe he’s a vampire,”
Karen joked. She didn’t believe me and by the expression that Lydia held on her face, neither did she.

“Don’t be silly,” I chided.

“Well, the description you’ve given sounds like it. Mysteriously appearing out of nowhere, ridiculously handsome, persuasive, the only thing he’s missing is sparkles, but maybe he’s the old school type, then you have to be careful. Hey, don’t look at me like that Amy, and don’t say that what I’m saying is stupid, because what you’re telling us is pretty ridiculous too,” said Karen. Lydia agreed with her and I didn’t know what to say. My face dropped and I frowned as I tried to sort out my head.

“Do they wear rings?” Lydia asked. “You know, magical stuff to keep the sun from burning their skin?”

“No. Not that I could see. And they’re not vampires. I’m sure of it.”

“Have you asked them?” Karen asked.

“No. I didn’t get the chance to talk to him probably until yesterday. As for his brother, I haven’t seen him since the forest.”

“Are you sure
it’s not your anaemia playing up?” Lydia asked.

“
Anaemia doesn’t work like that. I’ve checked it up online,” I scowled.

“Maybe
you’re anaemic because they’ve been feeding on you,” said Karen, wide eyed, her voice low and raspy.

“What?”

“Well, isn’t anaemia when there’s a lack of blood in your system, like when there aren’t enough red blood cells in your system.” Lydia shrugged. “What? I’m at home all day and when Karen told me what happened, I looked it up.”

“I’m not going to believe that these boys exist until I see at least one of them,” said Karen. She lifted up her chin defiantly. “Now, if you would excuse me, I’m going to take out my polish kit and paint my nails.”

And that was the end of the conversation. Karen had enough of the supernatural talk and wanted to return to doing normal things. We didn’t talk about Lydia’s parents at all and knew to avoid the topic unless she brought it up herself. For the time being, Lydia was perfectly content with staying at Karen’s place and her parents didn’t seem to mind at all.

As Karen continued with her beauty
regime, I couldn’t help but think about her theory on Ethan and his mysterious brother being vampires. But they didn’t fit the mould and didn’t seem, well, vampiric, at all. Besides, since when did vampires start eating pasta? And there was a large amount of garlic in the sauce too. I didn’t have any bite wounds on me, so it was impossible that they’ve feeding on me.

Karen must have
seen my thoughts played out on my face.

“Relax, Amy,” she said. “I was only joking about the whole vampire thing. If what you’re telling us is really true, then
lets just be normal for today, before all the weirdness sets in.”

As if things aren’t already weird enough, I thought.

“Karen’s right,” Lydia agreed. She spoke before I could make what was in my mind known to them. The attack changed Lydia. I sensed it in the way she looked at me. Karen was the only one left that had not had an encounter with the supernatural. I could see that Lydia believed me more than Karen. “Let’s just be normal before we can’t.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Karen asked. She lifted up her head from her nails and polish. “You know what, I’m going to ignore all this strangeness coming out from you two. Now, Amy, pick a
color or I will pick one for you.”

~

I kept my window open for the next few nights, with hopes that Ethan would visit me again, but he never showed up. I contemplated setting up cameras to catch him in the action, to prove to Lydia and Karen that I hadn’t lost my mind, but the act of filming myself while I sleep seemed a bit too much. I trusted Ethan, I don’t know why, but I did, as much as his mysterious brother.

Since the
brothers’ appearance, I haven’t had that nightmare, which I am grateful for. It was obvious that they definitely had a hand it in.

Saturday eventually came, much to Karen’s delight. We
rendezvous at the mall, where I waited inside on the seats next to the food court. As I cast my eyes amongst the shoppers, I caught sight of Ethan’s brother. He stood out like a god amongst the crowd, slowly edging away from where I sat. I didn’t know if he did it because he saw me, or because he had a destination. Whatever the reason, I certainly saw him, dressed in his black leather jacket and dark jeans, his hair tussled to perfection. I thought his eyes looked darker than usual, or perhaps it was the angle where I saw him. I stood up and followed.

Ethan’s brother was quick but he remained almost out of my sight.
It felt like a game as I followed him, as I if he was doing it on purpose. I moved through the sea of shoppers, past the side exit and out into the underground parking lot. It was completely empty, except for the parked cars.

I frowned. I was certain that I just saw him, but then he is Ethan’s brother, and Ethan had the power to do
extraordinary things. I turned around to return inside.

“Hello Amelia.”

I jumped at the low sultry voice. Ethan’s brother stood behind me, but there was something different about him. His eyes were not his usual color, it wasn’t emerald green anymore, but black as spilled ink. My heart quickened with fear as I realised that something was not right. Ethan’s brother looked at me with a murderous expression as he stepped forward.

“Stay away from me,” I warned as I realised that this person was only a look alike.

The double reached out with his hands to grab my neck, but something else caught his before he could get mine. The loud crack seemed to echo down the concrete covered space and bounce off the hood of cars. My hands went to my mouth and stifled a scream. The body dropped to the ground and behind him stood the real Ethan’s brother.

“Come,” he said and took up my hand. He guided me back inside. I was shaking and as I turned my head over my shoulders, the body remained crumpled on the ground.

“What about him?” I asked.

“Ethan will clean it up. I’ll take you home.”

All thoughts of Karen and Lydia went out of my mind. I had just witnessed someone die and the murderer were taking me home. I didn’t know what to think or do. He led me through the mall and out into a different parking lot. Ethan’s brother drove a black 65’ Mustang, a car that looked like it was made to carry dead bodies. He opened the door for me.

“Please,” he said.

“I just saw you kill someone. Why should I trust you?”

“Because it was either him or you. In the car, now.”

The mysterious boy lowered his face and bright green eyes turned a dangerous shade of grey. My heart stopped as the power of his gaze overwhelmed me.

“How do I know you won’t do the same to me?”

“Get in the car, Amelia,” said Ethan. He appeared out of nowhere and pushed my head down. I didn’t have a choice as he lifted my legs off the ground, shoved them in the car and then closed the door. “There. Done. You’re too nice to her,” he said with his signature smirk.

“Have you cleaned up?”

“Not until one of us leave this place. Now, am I driving or are you?” Ethan asked. He spoke quickly and I sensed the urgency in their voices.

“I’ll drive.”

Ethan walked to the front and slapped his hand on the hood of the black mustang. “Then off you go. Don’t waste any more time, children, I have a body to clean up.”

The mysterious boy plugged his key into the ignition and brought the mustang to life. We passed Rick’s car just on the way out and only Lydia caught sight of me in the passenger seat. She gave me an enquiring look with her eyes, brows furrowed with confusion. Karen turned her head but didn’t see me in time. The mysterious boy had turned the corner and I was quickly out of their sight.

My phone immediately buzzed as a text came through. The mysterious boy checked his rear view mirror but Rick hadn’t followed us. I swiped in the password and surely enough, it was Lydia.

What did I just see?

I began to type a reply but quickly deleted it. I wanted to tell them that I just saw my driver murder someone, but that seemed a bit dramatic, not that it wasn’t.

“This is
not the way to my house. Where are we going?” I asked.

The mysterious boy had taken a highway that went in the opposite direction.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe with me.”

“That’s not reassuring,” I said. “I demand to know what’s going on and where are we going?”

The mysterious boy didn’t reply. I watched him as he constantly checked his mirrors as if we were being followed.

“I deserve to know.”

“Reply to your friend first,” he said.

I looked down at my phone. “What do you want me to say?”

“That I’m taking you home.”

His words felt as if he was testing my trust. He knew that they had seen me.

“Fine,” I said. I tapped out the message to Karen.
Don’t worry. Will explain everything later.
“There,” I said after I pressed the send button. “Now will you tell me what’s going on?”

The mysterious boy remained silent. His lack of cooperation
irritated me. With the car going at almost one hundred miles an hour, for all I know, he could be taking me to my death, but if he did, he would have taken away my phone so I had no chance to call for help. In fact, he could have snapped my neck like he did with his double, but he didn’t. Instead, he simply drove on without a word. Besides, this was not how I was supposed to die. It wasn’t even a full moon. I stopped myself as the thoughts ran through my head and realised that I fully believed that my dreams had some sort of prophetic quality.

“
Alright. Fine,” I snapped. “But tell me your name, at the very least. I can’t call you Ethan’s brother for the rest of your life.”

The mysterious boy did not look at me and chewed his tongue. Behind his grey green eyes, I caught the hint of internal struggle he felt. I didn’t understand why telling me his name was so difficult. He could have made one up if he wanted to.

“Aiden,” he said finally.

“That wasn’t too hard.”

Aiden pulled to the mustang off the road and slammed his foot down on the brakes. My body lurched forward and the only thing that stopped my head from smashing against the dashboard was the seatbelt.

“Get out,” he said.

I blinked with confusion. “What?”

“Get out of my car.”

I stared at him, my head spinning as his words seemed to echo in my brain. I wasn’t sure what to think or how to comprehend his words. But as I looked at him, I noticed how black veins ran beneath his skin. There was something demonic about the sight. I immediately unbuckled my belt and got out.

Aiden didn’t hesitate to drive off and I was left alone on the highway. No other cars passed down the lonely road and I didn’t know what to do. I swiped my finger across the phone’s screen.
I could have called Karen and asked Rick to pick me up, but the problem was, I didn’t know where I was. I scrolled through the names in my address book and stopped when one particular name popped out. Ethan had added himself. I immediately pressed my thumb on his name and rang him.

The ring tone dragged on but he eventually picked up.

“Amelia?” 

“Your brother just kicked me out of his car.”

Ethan paused. I could tell if he was surprised or half expected it to happen. “I see,” he said finally. “Is it possible for you to walk home?”

“What? I’m in the middle of nowhere and you expect me to walk?”

“Yes. Just go back the way you came. It can’t be that hard. Look, I’ll call you back. Talk to you later.”

Ethan hung up his phone and I was left by myself.
I looked down the long road and wondered if I had made the wrong choice to tell Karen that I was alright. I decided to call her. Maybe Rick was still with them and maybe he could come and pick her up. But the idea was quickly demolished as my phone refused to pick up any reception, which meant that I also didn’t have any contact with my parents.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said to myself.
It made no sense. Just a moment ago, I was able to call Ethan and now, suddenly and without any explanation, I was cut off from the rest of the world.