The Witch Born to Burn

by Tanya Milne

  ‘I’m good, okay. Just studying.’

  Get the hint.

  ‘Right then, well, I was calling to see if you wanted to go mushrooming with me.’

  What?

  ‘Mushrooming?’

  ‘You’ve heard of it, haven’t you? Kind of a big deal around here. Every autumn basically the whole town goes into the woods searching for mushrooms. When it gets dark, we meet for a big bonfire and cook up the mushrooms.’

  ‘Really? I’ve never heard of anything like that,’ I said, stalling.

  The woods…for the day…and night.

  ‘Well, now you have. Will you come with me?’

  My breath turned shallow. Did I want to go with him?

  ‘As in a date?’ I asked.

  ‘I’d like to think so, but we can go as friends. That’s fine too.’

  I held onto my groan.

  ‘That’s a long time.’

  He laughed and I felt my body relax.

  ‘Afraid something might happen out there in the big bad woods, huh?’ he said.

  ‘Nothing is going to happen, Noah–’

  ‘Don’t say no. Say yes. Come on – it’ll be fun, and let’s face it, we could use a little fun around here.’

  I pictured us walking together in the woods, both of us laughing as he reached out and took my hand.

  ‘I’m not sure. I have a lot of studying,’ I said, curling a piece of hair around my finger.

  ‘That’s a terrible excuse. Almost as bad as “I need to wash my hair.”’

  I laughed again.

  ‘Come on, don’t make me tag along behind Elijah and Anna. I couldn’t bear it. Please, pretty please.’

  ‘Stop it… Oh, okay, I’ll go.’

  For a moment, the line was silent.

  ‘Great. I’ll swing past around midday next Saturday to pick you up.’

  Crap! What have I done?

  ‘Okay,’ I said quietly.

  ‘And Eva?’

  Yes?’

  ‘Wear a warm jacket. It gets chilly out there and you may need something to keep you warm.’

  He laughed and said goodbye before the line went dead.

  No! No! No!

  I threw my phone onto the bed and put my head in my hands. I hadn’t even made it clear I was only going as his friend, and now he probably had the wrong impression.

  My phone rang again. I assumed it was Noah calling back to tell me something, so I answered it without checking caller ID.

  ‘Hey, I’m glad you called back. I need to tell you something,’ I said.

  There was a long silence, and I checked to make sure the call hadn’t been cut off.

  ‘Eva,’ said a voice that immediately made my heart thump.

  ‘Ezra.’

  ‘Who did you think I was?’

  Crap.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. Is everything okay?’

  ‘Does something have to be wrong for me to call you?’

  ‘Well, since you never call me, I wouldn’t know,’ I said, annoyed at how hurt I sounded.

  ‘Ouch,’ he said.

  ‘So, if nothing is wrong…’

  ‘Why am I calling?’

  ‘Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to hear your voice.’

  Stop it, Eva.

  ‘It’s nice to hear yours too,’ he said quietly. ‘And if you and Elijah aren’t busy next Saturday, I was wondering if you’d like to come mushrooming with me?’

  I put my face in my hands, my face flushed.

  ‘I didn’t think you were allowed to see me in public,’ I said.

  ‘It must have been that dress you wore yesterday, or the cake you baked that we ate last night for dessert. Anyhow, whatever you did, it worked. Mum suggested I ask you and Elijah, and Dad’s agreed – says you’re from a fine, upstanding family.’

  I sat up. ‘Are you for real?’

  ‘Yep,’ he said, laughing. I pictured his face, the light in his eyes.

  ‘Are you telling me that your mum and dad want us to go out together?’

  ‘As friends. But what they don’t know won’t hurt them. There’s a lot of woods to get lost in.’

  I groaned. ‘You said it was too dangerous for us to be together.’

  ‘If you don’t want to go, just say,’ he said, his words peppered with anger.

  ‘That’s not what I said, but nothing else has changed.’

  ‘I didn’t say it would be without its risks, but life is short. If we play our cards rights, we should be okay.’

  Should be okay.

  ‘What’s worse, Eva – that we’re not together, or that we take a few risks and hide right under the nose of my dad?’

  Little beads of sweat bubbled on my forehead. It was the same logic my family were living by.

  ‘If something goes wrong, your dad would make your life a living hell. Remember last time,’ I said, my voice breaking up.

  ‘The thing is, my life is already a living hell, so that doesn’t matter. It’s you I’m worried about. But if we’re careful…’

  I wiped the dewy sweat from my forehead.

  ‘Look, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Dad wants me to spend time with you and Elijah, so let’s just start with next Saturday and take it from there. What harm can come from that?’

  ‘Sure, yes, that makes sense,’ I said before I remembered Noah. ‘Oh, Ezra – I’m sorry, but I can’t go with you.’

  ‘Really?’ he said.

  ‘I was so surprised to hear from you that I forgot I…already have plans.’

  ‘You mean a date?’

  I cleared my throat.

  ‘You are going with someone?’ he said.

  ‘It’s nothing. Just a friend.’

  ‘A friend called Noah?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’

  ‘It matters to me.’

  I leant forward, rested my pounding head in my hand.

  ‘Look, I have to go,’ he said quickly. ‘I’ll see you around.’

  He hung up and I sat, the phone pressed against my ear, for a few moments. Eventually I came back into the room, which was full of the sunshine from the world outside. Somewhere Ezra sat in a room on his own, thinking that I’d deserted him, given up on him for someone else.

  I dialled his number, but it rung out. I texted him, but he didn’t reply. I stood up and paced the floor. It had been my chance, my one chance to be with Ezra out in the daylight, and I’d blown it. For a boy I wasn’t even sure I liked.

  I stopped pacing. What. Had. I. Done.

  Chapter Six

  Saturday came around quickly – way too quickly. Mushrooming was to be held on the last weekend of school holidays. As the day drew closer, a feeling of dread sat like steel balls in the pit of my stomach. I’d tried everything I could think of to get out of the mushrooming double date, but Orpheus made the event compulsory for every resident under seventy in Melas.

  At exactly noon on Saturday, there was a firm knock on the door.

  I held onto my groan as Elijah walked briskly to open the door and let in Noah and Anna. Their matching navy puffer jackets, blond hair and bright brown eyes made them look especially cute and impossible not to like.

  The moment they were inside, Elijah and Anna hugged, his lips lingering around her ear as he spoke quietly.

  ‘Hi,’ I said to Noah, who turned from the lovebirds and back to me.

  His smile lit up his face, and I found myself smiling back.

  ‘You ready?’ said Anna.

  I tugged my backpack on and picked up my basket and small knife.

  ‘Ready as I’ll ever be,’ I said, not quite managing to keep the sarcasm from my voice.

  As Elijah slid on his jacket, I called out to my parents, who were in the kitchen preparing our dinner we’d eat together later at the bonfire.

  ‘We’ll see you later.’

  ‘Have fun,’ said Mum, for the first time not issuing her military-style warnings that had been fired all morning. ‘See you out there.’

/>   Within seconds we were out the door and down the stairs, with Elijah and Anna lagging behind.

  ‘Did you get my text?’ I asked.

  ‘Yep,’ said Noah. ‘I got your three texts actually.’

  ‘Sorry, a bit of overkill, huh?’

  He let out a short gruff laugh. ‘No, it’s fine. I got the message, and know we’re just going as friends.’

  My shoulders dropped.

  ‘But that doesn’t mean we’ll come home as friends,’ he said, nudging me.

  I nudged him back, hard, and told him to behave.

  ‘I’ll try,’ he said, taking a long look at me before turning back to the path ahead and beginning to make small talk.

  Before long we reached the edge of the woods, where I hadn’t been since that night I’d rescued Elijah. Elijah’s face turned grey as he gazed into the woods where his night from hell had started.

  Every day I watched my brother, looking for the smallest sign of improvement or deterioration. Occasionally, usually when Anna was at our house, he’d get some colour in his cheeks or walk more like he used to. But, more often than not, he walked as though carrying the burden of a hundred blankets on his shoulders. I’d tried everything I could think of to help him, but his body and mind remained submerged under the ocean of heartache.

  ‘We don’t have to go,’ I said. ‘Why don’t we go get hot chocolates instead?’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Elijah, who’d started snapping at me whenever I fussed over him. ‘It’s compulsory.’

  I put my hands up. ‘Okay, just a suggestion.’

  ‘Come on, Anna,’ said Elijah, holding her hand tightly as they stepped into the woods.

  Noah and I followed. It was misty inside, like walking through clouds. The people of Melas were all out and about, talking and laughing as they scavenged for mushrooms. Before long, I forgot about the memories that lingered in the wispy white air.

  I was laughing at one of Noah’s jokes that he’d whispered in my ear when I saw Ezra from the corner of my eye. He was putting the bonfire together and was crouched down, arranging the kindling. It took me a moment to realise that he’d been there all along, watching me and Noah together.

  Our eyes met through the woods and in them, I saw pain, pain that I’d put there. For a moment, I imagined this same day if I’d come with Ezra. I imagined us walking together through the woods that were white and misty, hand in hand, his fingers sliding across the top of my hand.

  ‘Earth to Eva,’ said Noah. He walked around to stand in front of me, blocking my view of Ezra.

  ‘Yes?’ I said, looking up at him.

  ‘Didn’t you hear me?’

  ‘Sorry, what did you say?’

  Noah put his hand on my arm and leant in. ‘I said, we want to get away from the crowds – more mushrooms…more space.’

  More places to be alone.

  I stood back and crossed my arms so that he was forced to remove his hand. I searched for Elijah, but he was already disappearing into the mist.

  ‘Fine,’ I said, following Elijah, not daring a glance back to Ezra.

  We walked deeper into the woods. At first, there were a few people scattered here and there as they searched for mushrooms, but soon there was no one but us in the smoky mist.

  ‘Let’s look here,’ I said loudly, not keen on getting lost in the woods yet again. Anna and Elijah settled at the base of an enormous fig tree and began searching for mushrooms. I glanced around for the trees my parents had taught me to look for while mushrooming.

  ‘Come on,’ I said to Noah, spotting a grove of oak trees.

  I took off like a dog on a scent trail. When we reached the oak trees, I hunched down and studied the area. It had been raining almost non-stop all week, and the cold that had been buried into the wet earth rose up and greeted me, making me shiver.

  ‘Find anything?’ said Noah, crouching down next to me.

  He was so close I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck. My traitorous heart sped up, and I swallowed before refocusing on the landscape around me. I leant forward on my hands and knees and carefully made my way between the trees. Then I stopped and sat back, the joy of discovery making me feel light, just as it had always done since I was a little girl. All around me was a small field of mushrooms, sprouting their domed, malformed heads from the muddy soil.

  Noah gasped as he took in my find.

  ‘Pretty cool, huh?’ I said.

  He turned to me, even closer than before. ‘You’re amazing.’

  It was so quiet in this part of the woods, and for a few moments it felt as though there were only the two of us left in the world. His eyes were soft and warm and I longed to run my hand over his cheek where he’d recently shaved, feeling the bristle against my hand.

  Stop it, Eva.

  I cleared my throat and took the knife from my basket, then sliced the head from the slippery jack mushroom in front of me.

  ‘I’ll wait for you, Eva, for as long as it takes,’ he said quietly, his every word screaming in my ears.

  I didn’t trust my voice, so I continued on and gathered the feathery mushrooms as I’d been taught.

  We worked together in silence, filling our baskets. Old memories emerged as I held the buttery-soft plants in my hands. Every autumn back home, we’d gone mushrooming. It had been a family tradition. Perhaps it was a witching tradition. After we foraged, we’d prepare our mushrooms, dividing them into edible and poisonous. My aunt always disposed of the dangerous mushrooms. Or did she? Perhaps she’d taken the inedible mushrooms and turned them into a potion ingredient. I longed to find my mother and ask her, but I’d have to wait.

  I was so lost in my own thoughts that it took me a moment to realise Noah had sliced the head from one of the most poisonous mushrooms of all and was sniffing it.

  ‘Drop it!’ I took his hand the moment he dropped the mushroom to the ground.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ he said.

  ‘You just picked a death cap, an extremely toxic mushroom.’

  I held out his hand and looked closely at his fingers. Sure enough, a small rash was puckering on his skin.

  ‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We need to get some sage on that.’

  ‘Some what?’

  ‘Don’t worry. Just come with me.’

  Within minutes of foraging, I’d located a drooping sage plant in a sunny patch of the woods. I picked some leaves, placed them on Noah’s fingers and rubbed the tongue-like leaves slowly over his rash until his skin cleared.

  I pulled the plant from his hand and realised Noah was staring intently at me. ‘How do you know so much about plants?’

  Because I’m a witch!

  ‘My parents taught Elijah and me when we were growing up. We lived in the country, so I guess there wasn’t much to do.’

  ‘I thought I could spot a death cap, but clearly I have no idea.’

  ‘Don’t worry, it was the rain. It washed the yellow pigment away, so the death cap looked like all the rest.’

  ‘What if we’d eaten it?’ he said, his face turning pale. ‘They can be deadly.’

  ‘But we didn’t.’

  ‘Thanks to you,’ he said, taking one of my hands.

  ‘It’s fine, really.’ I pulled my hand away. ‘Shall we catch up with the lovebirds?’

  Noah glanced around, small creases appearing at the corners of his eyes. ‘If we can find them.’

  My heart did a little jump as I turned around, realising I hadn’t paid much attention to where I’d been going while searching for the sage bush.

  ‘We haven’t gone far. I’m sure we can find them.’

  ‘I don’t know, being lost out here with you wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.’

  I nudged him before walking off in the direction we’d come from. Before long, we came across Elijah and Anna tucked into the boughs of an enormous tree. We stopped walking and for a few seconds, they didn’t realise we were there. In the misty stillness we saw them unguarded. Ann
a had her head in her hands, crying quietly, and Elijah sat beside her, still, his face pale. When she raised her head to Elijah, her eyes were red and swollen.

  ‘Why can’t you just tell me the truth? I know you’re lying,’ she said, her every word an accusation, before bursting into fresh tears.

  Noah and I started to back quietly away, but Elijah’s head snapped in our direction. His gaze pierced mine and I knew, without wanting to, what was going on. Anna didn’t know our family secret, but it sat between her and Elijah like a thick, prickly blanket that was smothering their relationship.

  Elijah put his arm around Anna and whispered something in her ear. She sat up, looking startled, then wiped her eyes and put on a small smile.

  ‘Everything okay?’ asked Noah.

  ‘It will be,’ said Anna. She stood up, unsteady on her legs.

  ‘You know, why don’t we have some afternoon tea?’ I stepped forward and took off my backpack. ‘We’ve still got cake from Easter. I brought tea as well.’

  ‘Sounds perfect,’ said Anna, smiling at me gratefully before sitting back down, this time further away from Elijah, who was staring off into the distance.

  I set about putting afternoon tea together. Noah started to chat, trying to fill in all the empty spaces as the afternoon light grew heavy. When a light drizzle started, we packed up and headed back to where the group was congregating for dinner.

  The good citizens of Melas were buzzing around a large clearing, preparing the bonfire and cooking their dinners. People were chatting and laughing, and for the first time since we’d arrived, I glimpsed the community spirit I hadn’t been sure even existed. I walked to the communal cooking area, handed over our gathered mushrooms and let the lady in charge know we’d spotted a death cap in the woods.

  Anna immediately found her parents and made herself busy. Poor Elijah stared after her like a puppy separated from its family. When he looked to make no move, I shooed him over to Mum and Dad, who were preparing our meals. Noah was impossible to get rid of, so in the fading light we chatted as we gathered wood for the bonfire, which was soon crackling and hissing, filling the cold air with its warmth.

  I’d sent Noah back to his family and settled in with mine when everyone went quiet. I glanced around and there, standing next to the fire, the king of the world, was Orpheus Blackthorn. He was dressed in a black suit, and his penetrating eyes searched each and every family, one by one.