The Witch Born to Burn

by Tanya Milne

  ‘Where can I leave the cakes, Mrs Miller? I do need to get back home before night falls.’

  ‘You’re a wise girl,’ said Mrs Miller, taking one last longing look at the chocolate cake before she directed me to the kitchen, which was crammed with women both young and old – not a man in sight. It was bad enough having to cook, but the fact that Melas men were no longer allowed to cook made my blood boil.

  ‘You okay?’ said Anna, who rushed to my side and helped me unload my cakes. ‘You look a little flushed.’

  I glanced around and saw way too many listening ears. ‘I’m good. How are you?’

  She winked as she spoke to me. ‘Oh, you know, who doesn’t love a day in the kitchen?’

  I had to turn away to stop myself from laughing.

  She stepped closer and her soft brown eyes suddenly filled with concern. ‘How’s Elijah? Is he okay after Thursday?’

  I thought back to our walk down the pier where we’d found the dead fish and where I’d made an unspoken promise to Noah about something I wasn’t ready to even consider.

  Anna didn’t need to know the whole truth – how exhausted and downcast he’d been ever since.

  ‘He was a bit tired. Much better today. I know he’s looking forward to seeing you in the morning.’

  Little pink roses appeared on the cheeks of Anna’s pretty face.

  ‘I know someone else who’s looking forward to seeing you tomorrow,’ she said quietly.

  I let out a low groan. There was no point pretending. ‘I don’t know what happened, honestly, Anna.’

  She raised an eyebrow and watched me carefully.

  ‘I don’t want to lead him on,’ I said quietly. ‘I’m not ready…’

  She linked her arm through mine. ‘I think my brother knew exactly what he was doing – he seemed to be the one leading you.’

  ‘Well…’ I said, remembering his hot lips on my neck, his hands on my back. ‘No more Mr Nice Guy.’

  Anna giggled. ‘It looks like all gloves are off and I must say, I’m not unhappy about it. I’m definitely Team Noah.’

  ‘Stop it,’ I said, my face burning. ‘I’m single and I plan to stay that way.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ said Anna before we were interrupted by Mrs Williams, another smiling assassin who started issuing her instructions for the morning bake sale. We nodded away, but both Anna and I froze at her last request.

  ‘Mr Blackthorn has asked that all girls wear white – and only white – to church in the morning.’

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. I could just manage the smiles, the fake prayers and the baking, but wearing virginal white – that was something else.

  ‘Do we have a problem, girls?’ she said, her laser-sharp eyes burning holes into us.

  Anna recovered first. ‘Of course not, Mrs Williams. I was just trying to think of what I had to wear, but I’ve just remembered some nice white pants and a jumper.’

  Mrs Williams looked down her nose at Anna. ‘There will be no pants, Anna. It must be a white dress, preferably to the ground, but below the knee will suffice.’

  I pressed my lips together, afraid of what might come streaming out if I opened my mouth. Anna blinked quickly and I could almost hear the hands of time slipping backwards to another century.

  ‘A pretty young woman like you, dear, must be protected. Those pure white clothes you may well mock will give you just that.’ Mrs Williams looked Anna up and down. ‘If you go around in black jeans and tight tops, then it’s like you’re telling everyone you’re cheap and easy. Not even Mr Blackthorn can help you then.’

  Anna’s pretty face had transformed into something entirely different. It was the first time I’d caught a glimpse of another side to my friend, and it made me like her even more.

  ‘You know, Anna, I have the perfect dresses for us. They’re pretty and pure, just like Mrs Williams asked for,’ I said. ‘I mean, we may be a bit chilly and might even catch a cold, but I’m sure we’ll manage.’

  Anna turned to look at me, her eyes wide.

  Mrs Williams smiled and tucked the ends of her bob up and under. ‘That sounds perfect, dear. A little cold never hurt anyone. I’ll see you both here, bright and early in the morning.’

  Mrs Williams left us so she could prey on other young women. I pulled Anna close and whispered in her ear. ‘Smile and let’s get out of this hellhole.’

  Within a minute, we’d made our way safely onto the street and out of earshot.

  ‘You have to be kidding me,’ said Anna. ‘A white dress. We’re not five and we’re not living in the dark ages.’

  I sighed and took her hands. ‘Anna, we’re not five, but we are living in the dark ages. The only chance we have is to stay on Orpheus’s good side. If that means smiling, baking and dressing like a child, then so be it.’

  ‘You’re right,’ she said, her body shaking slightly. ‘Of course you’re right. What was I thinking? I was about to give her a piece of my mind. What would have happened then? Oh goodness…’

  ‘You didn’t and you won’t.’ I leaned in closer and whispered. ‘And what they don’t know won’t hurt them.’

  Anna giggled. ‘Oh, you are naughty, Eva.’

  ‘You don’t know the half of it,’ I said, looking down the street where autumn leaves were falling, leaving skeletal trees that were fast being swallowed by the darkness. ‘But unless we want to get in trouble, we’d better run home and put our hair into curlers.’

  Anna laughed and hugged me. ‘Thank goodness you’re here. I couldn’t imagine life here without you and Elijah.’

  I hugged her back. ‘We’re the lucky ones. Now go on, get.’

  She laughed before walking off. I turned and set off for home, making myself walk and not run in case it drew attention to me. I was passing school when I heard a voice calling me from inside the school grounds – a voice I hadn’t heard for the last month.

  All of my control seeped from me as white-hot heat entered my body. I crossed the road and went in search of the voice’s owner.

  He was there, behind the deserted office, away from the street, leaning against the building as if he were some kind of Greek god.

  Jet.

  I strode straight up to him. His smirking face sent me over the edge and I put my hands against his chest, shoving him as hard as I could into the concrete wall behind him.

  ‘What the hell, Eva?’ he said, taking my hands in his and stopping me from doing it over and over again.

  I snatched my hands away and stepped back, the world coming back into view.

  ‘How could you?’ I growled, not recognising my own voice.

  ‘Eva,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m sorry. I’ve said I’m sorry a hundred times. I didn’t know what was going to happen.’

  ‘You didn’t think that telling Orpheus Blackthorn that Elijah was out walking in the woods wouldn’t lead to him being arrested and tortured so badly that he nearly died?’

  Jet gasped. ‘What? I’m sorry… I didn’t know.’

  ‘Well, you’re an idiot. Did you know that once they arrested Elijah, Max came back to my house to attack me…to rape me? Did you know that?’

  ‘He did what?’ His black eyes were like steel.

  I took a step back. I’d gone too far.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. It’s none of your business, Jet. Just leave me alone. Leave my family alone, and if you ever so much as mention my name again, I’ll tell the police what I saw in town that night – who was responsible for the act of witchcraft.’

  I realised with a jolt that I was shaking and that nighttime had arrived. ‘Don’t ever talk to me again.’

  As I turned to walk away, he spoke in a desperate voice I’d never heard before. ‘Eva, I’m sorry, okay? So very sorry. I was mad and jealous… That’s all. It was stupid and immature and it’s killing me. I don’t expect you to forgive me, and I don’t blame you if you tell the police what you saw in town, but please know I meant no harm to you or your brother. Please tell him for me.
Please.’

  I stopped walking as his words found their way past the barrier I’d created to keep him out forever.

  ‘Stay away from us,’ I managed to stammer out before I turned and made my way back down the darkened street, tears running like rivers down my face.

  Chapter Three

  I shivered as I walked into church on Easter Sunday morning. It was even colder inside than outside, where the icy winds blew the tarnished and scattered leaves along the streets. Everyone had been saying it was the coldest April for over a hundred years, and as the frosty air crept through the gaps in my virtuous white dress and down my spine, I knew it to be true.

  I felt the stares as our family made our way to the hard benches at the side of the almost full church. This was the first time Elijah had been well enough to attend church since falling sick. I took in the looks of surprise from the congregation as they realised the young man – my brother – was only a shadow of himself.

  Seeds of anger sprouted deep inside, yet again. The thought of having to sit through an hour’s service with Orpheus – the beast that hurt my brother – preaching down at us, spreading his hate, made me angry in a way that I could barely contain.

  ‘It’ll be okay, sis,’ said Elijah in my ear as we sat down. ‘Just think of all that chocolate at home.’ I smiled at my brother, who knew my every thought. If he could deal with Orpheus, then so could I.

  I spread the skirt of my absurd vintage dress around me and pulled Mum’s white fur shawl tightly across my shoulders, releasing my hair, which hung long down my back – completing my innocent, virginal look. I remembered back to our hunt for a long white dress the night before. Finally, in the chest at the back of the cellar, we’d found it. It was a dress that had been passed down from one generation to the next, never intended to see the light of day again. I’d groaned when I saw how its fine silk fabric fell down with a splash to the ground and its thick, tightly fitted satin bodice and long sleeves made me look like an old-fashioned debutante at best. Mum had been more hopeful and spent the rest of the night cleaning it up and locating a simple white heel.

  ‘Stop fidgeting,’ said Elijah quietly so that only I could hear. ‘You look good.’

  I shot him a look. ‘I look ridiculous. I feel ridiculous.’

  ‘At least you’re not the only one,’ he said, a small grin on his face.

  I scanned the church. Apparently word had gotten around. Scattered throughout the church like white flowers were other brides of Christ. All of them looked as uncomfortable as I felt. I leaned back in the pew, the hard timber jutting into my back.

  The mood in the church was different today. It was always a little tense as we waited for Orpheus to arrive, but today it had an unexpected charge about it, as though the congregation knew there was bad news about to be delivered.

  I recalled our last Easter, which felt like a lifetime ago. Our extended family, a coven of witches, had come over to our old home where I’d grown up, for breakfast. We’d feasted on chocolate and hot cross buns. Our home had been full of laughter and love – completely taken for granted. I came back into the church with sadness in my heart and began rubbing my fingers, which were going numb.

  ‘Can we squeeze in?’ said Anna, who was standing at the end of the pew, her voice soft and warm.

  Elijah moved away from me, closer to Mum and Dad, and patted the space beside him.

  Anna laughed her sweet, tinkling laugh while she moved past my parents in her fitted white dress and sat between me and Elijah. Immediately they clutched each other’s hands and started whispering to each other.

  I glanced up and there, standing in the aisle, his brown eyes fixed on me, was Noah. I gazed at the empty space next to me, kicking myself for not spreading out earlier.

  ‘Come, sit down,’ I said, pasting on my smile, tucking the skirt of my dress underneath me.

  Noah made his way along the narrow pew and sat down next to me, his right arm and legs pressing against me in the small space, pushing heat into my body, which was starting to feel like an icicle.

  His gaze raked over me, and my face started to burn.

  ‘Happy Easter,’ he said, raising an eyebrow.

  ‘And to you.’ I inched away so that we weren’t sardined together.

  ‘Going somewhere?’ he asked, smirking.

  I pulled my lips into a tight smile. ‘I wish.’

  He chuckled. ‘All dressed up and nowhere to go?’

  ‘Oh, do shut up,’ I whispered.

  ‘Eva,’ he said, a mocking expression on his face.

  The large double doors opened at the rear of the church, bringing a blast of cold air inside. We stood, ready for master Orpheus to make his grand entrance. My shawl fell down my shoulders. Noah grabbed it and placed it back on my shoulders, his hungry gaze landing on my fitted satin.

  I felt the lick of desire as his gaze trailed along my neck.

  ‘You look beautiful,’ he whispered in my ear.

  My skin felt as though it stained crimson, and I turned to see Ezra’s green eyes penetrate mine as he walked down the aisle behind his father. His gaze grazed over me and then flickered on to Noah, who was still watching me. Ezra turned away, but not before pain creased his face.

  I felt as if someone had taken all the wind from my sails. For the last month, Ezra had not come near me at school. If we happened to be in the same room, he avoided me like the plague. Now, the first time he glanced at me, it looked as if I’d moved on.

  I held onto my groan and turned my attention to the front of the church where the priest stood, Orpheus sitting beside him, glowering down at us all from his throne that had been installed, front and centre.

  The congregation fell silent and sat up straighter as the priest began his service, which got longer and more severe as the weeks went by. Seconds turned into minutes, and by the time Orpheus stood to address us, I was so cold I’d started to shake. Noah and Anna glanced at me and before I knew it, Noah had taken off his thick jacket and placed it over my shoulders; it smelt like smoke from an outdoor fire and its heavy weight immediately warmed me. I moved to take it off, but Anna put her arm around me and whispered in her calming voice, ‘Just leave it, Eva. Your lips are blue, for Christ’s sake.’

  Immediately, I thought back to Orpheus’s rule #303: Never take the Lord’s name in vain. I left Noah’s jacket where it was and turned my attention to Orpheus, who was standing at the pulpit, watching me. He’d spied the whole exchange, and I prayed he couldn’t lip-read.

  ‘When you’re ready,’ barked Orpheus as his gaze left mine and bored into other members of the congregation, ‘I’d like to start by wishing you all a Happy Easter.’

  The word happy hung in the air like an axe waiting to fall.

  ‘Today we remember that Christ is risen,’ he roared.

  ‘Truly he has risen,’ we replied in chorus.

  ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you,’ he said, both hands flat on the podium.

  ‘Truly he has risen,’ we yelled as loudly as we could, making Orpheus’s stone face crack into a smile.

  ‘You may sit,’ he said, motioning us down.

  We all sat and for the next thirty minutes, with Noah’s body pressing against mine and his hand continually brushing against my leg, we endured Orpheus’s rant on the death of Christ and his resurrection.

  I’d started to zone out by the time Orpheus bellowed, ‘Jesus was victorious over Satan.’

  Satan? What the…?

  I swallowed. The church services had been getting stranger by the week, but today had dropped to a whole new level.

  Orpheus stopped and the congregation waited for the final prayers. But not today. Today he was most definitely not finished.

  ‘Before you rush off and turn your backs on Lent and start sinning – gorging on cakes and chocolate – there’s an important community matter I need to discuss.’

  A baby’s cry broke out at the back of the church, its squawking protest echoing mine. As the mother quic
kly hushed her baby, Orpheus began speaking.

  ‘A crime has been committed in our town.’

  People murmured until Orpheus roared, ‘Silence!’

  The baby started crying again. This time the mother stood and left from the side entrance. With the baby’s crying fading, Orpheus spoke again, his face growing darker by the second.

  ‘The fish from our bay, which have fed us since the days Jesus lived, have been poisoned,’ said Orpheus.

  A few people gasped, but as I glanced around the room, I saw many expressions remained neutral. This was not news. But the poison, who would do that? I leaned forward as Orpheus’s voice dropped lower, dripping with venom.

  ‘I thought we were one community, all here to look after and love one another, but it seems we have the devil amongst us. Probably in this very room.’

  Everyone stared at the people they’d known all their days – their lives intertwined through their children and grandchildren. For the first time, they looked at each other like strangers. I wanted to warn everyone not to get sucked in, not to turn on each other, but my words were silenced by our secret.

  I remembered being on the wharf where we discovered the dead fish. Did someone see us? Would we be blamed?

  My breath shortened, and not even Noah’s thick coat could keep out the cold.

  ‘A devil that wants to poison our fish – poison us,’ Orpheus continued, scrutinising the room, which started to feel small. ‘Who would do this, I hear you ask. Who indeed?’

  I kept my face neutral, reminding myself that he no longer suspected anyone of witchcraft – I’d made sure of that.

  Orpheus let out a long sigh and tightened his grip on the podium, his knuckles turning white. ‘You’ll be relieved to know we’re taking this incident very seriously. Investigations are underway. I ask that if you have any information to assist this enquiry, that you don’t hesitate to come forward. Failing to pass on information is now a crime and will be dealt with accordingly.’

  Everyone inside the church sat like statues as Orpheus delivered the final prayer. Then he smiled, but it did not reach his eyes as he invited the congregation to attend the Easter fete to be held on the grounds outside the church. The organ started and the back doors were opened, blasting leaves inside as Orpheus, his family and the priest walked back down the aisle. As they drew closer, I was about to turn away when I locked eyes with Ezra’s mum, Gretel, as thin and fragile as a baby bird. Since that dreadful day, I’d managed to avoid contact with her, but in the fraction of a second, she winked at me. And then she was gone.