The Witch Born to Burn

by Tanya Milne

  The heat in my hands grew and I pictured laying them on him, burning him to a crisp.

  ‘There’s a good girl. Would you like to hear what you could do to make me rip up this little piece of paper, so you can go back to being Ezra’s perfect princess of a girlfriend?’

  I stood up. ‘I don’t think I do.’

  Max stood and blocked my path as I tried to walk to the door. He grabbed my arms and moved so close I smelt stale coffee on his breath.

  ‘I think we both know what I want,’ he said.

  I tried to push him away, but he gripped me harder. I screamed at the same time Ezra yanked open the door.

  ‘What the hell is going on in here?’ Ezra said, his anger flashing like a beacon as he took in the situation.

  ‘Police business that doesn’t concern you,’ said Max.

  ‘Like hell it doesn’t. Get your hands off my girlfriend,’ said Ezra, grabbing hold of Max’s jumper.

  ‘She failed the test,’ said Max, letting me go.

  Ezra cringed and my heat left me. I was in trouble.

  ‘I stopped reading once and stumbled over a few words in a whole page, that’s all,’ I said.

  ‘You made her read a whole page?’ said Ezra, shaking Max.

  For the first time, Max was lost for words.

  ‘She only had to read a paragraph, you idiot. But you knew that, didn’t you?’ said Ezra.

  ‘Like I said, this is police business, and none of your concern,’ said Max.

  Ezra pushed Max and he fell backwards. ‘Rip up your report and let Eva read one paragraph again.’

  ‘Eva had her opportunity to do the test again, and she chose not to,’ said Max.

  ‘What?’ said Ezra, looking as if he wanted to press Max into the ground with his thumb.

  ‘Is that right, Eva?’ asked Ezra.

  ‘I guess he would have given me another chance if I’d done what he wanted.’

  ‘And what would that be? What could you possibly want from my girlfriend?’

  ‘That, my friend, is none of your business,’ said Max, pushing roughly past Ezra as he walked away, then saying casually over his shoulder, ‘I have to register Eva’s test results.’

  Ezra’s face turned red, and I quickly stepped in front of him and placed my hands on his chest before he charged at Max.

  ‘What did he want?’ Ezra growled.

  ‘Let’s go outside,’ I said, then took his hand and pulled him from the room and out the back door.

  The cold air struck the back of my throat. I stopped leading Ezra, and he steered me across the deserted square until we stood beside the bay, out of earshot. Tears sprang to my eyes, and Ezra pulled me into a bear hug and held me tight.

  When my tears subsided, I pulled away to see my family walking towards us, their looks of satisfaction telling me they’d passed. One look at my tear-stained face removed the smiles from their faces.

  ‘What happened?’ asked Mum, spider’s lines forming around her eyes.

  I tried to speak, but I felt powerless as I remembered Max’s arms holding me against my will.

  Ezra spoke for me, told them what had happened. When he finished, Elijah turned to the town hall, his voice gruff. ‘I’m going to get that weasel if it’s the last thing I do.’

  ‘Elijah,’ said Mum, her eyes widening.

  I gazed at my white-witch brother, who in the past never had a cross word to say, but not anymore. My twin witch was back, and he wasn’t the same person as before.

  ‘Max isn’t worth it,’ said Ezra.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ I said.

  ‘That’s my sis,’ said Elijah, a smile spreading across his face.

  ‘Stop it, both of you,’ said Mum.

  I glanced out across the bay, which sparkled like diamonds in the morning sun. How could something so bad be happening somewhere so incredibly beautiful?

  ‘Don’t worry, he won’t get away with this,’ said Ezra. ‘I’ll be reporting him and asking whether Eva can do the test again.’

  ‘No,’ I said firmly. ‘All that will do is draw more attention to me. It’s just one test. I have to fail all three before I’m…named a witch. Surely I won’t fail all three.’

  Mum and Dad exchanged glances, while Elijah stared at the ground. Ezra looked completely pissed off.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ I repeated.

  A loud banging noise came from the hall. I turned to see Jet storming out, then heading across the square towards the park. He glanced in our direction before pulling up his jacket collar and turning away.

  ‘Looks like someone else failed,’ said Elijah. ‘Poor guy. And it’s not like anyone at home will care.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I asked, Jet’s figure growing smaller as he strode beneath the towering trees, their flaming orange-and-red leaves unspeakably beautiful in their demise.

  ‘Jet’s parents died in a car accident when he was just a boy,’ said Elijah. ‘He lives with his nan, but she’s really old and he looks after her more than she looks after him.’

  What? The carefully constructed image I’d formed about smart-mouthed Jet was blown into a million pieces, leaving my heart aching. What must he feel like now, a witch all alone, knowing he was one step closer to persecution?

  Ezra cleared his throat. ‘I think it’s best if I spend the afternoon with my dad – try and find out more about the test tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s a wonderful idea,’ said Mum, staring at Ezra as though he were her new favourite person.

  ‘I’ll call you later, okay?’ he said, then kissed my cheek before farewelling my family and heading back to the town hall, where an insane, archaic test that had no place in 2025 was being performed on terrified citizens.

  ‘Come on, let’s go home,’ said Dad, taking my arm.

  Home? Is that where we were? My old home, with its cosy nooks and family dropping by uninvited, bringing gifts of figs, apples, freshly baked cakes and stories to share, made my heart ache.

  I pictured our old home, doused in morning light, empty, waiting for us. Our extended family hiding out in their homes, under investigation. I tried to picture us living there again, but our house remained empty, forgotten and lonely.

  It was in that moment I knew one of the dark times of history, when witches were burned at the stake, had been resurrected. Evil had stirred it from its grave, and it was rising from the dead wanting only one thing – to be repeated.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I heard Ezra’s car pull up out front of our house, and every inch of my body turned fluttery. After yet another sleepless night and being no closer to finding out what the second test involved, I felt as though I were floating just outside my body.

  I walked to my bedroom window and watched Ezra get out of the car. He normally bounced out and was up the stairs in no time. Not today. Today he took his time. Today he glanced up at our house as if it were a ghost house. Today he looked as though he was at the last place he wanted to be.

  I swallowed. Had it gotten too much for him? Was I too big a risk? Was he better off without me?

  I was staring off into space when he knocked on the front door, making me jump. Mum’s rapid footsteps dashed across the floor downstairs before she welcomed Ezra into our house. I listened to their muffled conversation, but I couldn’t hear their exact words. Ezra had spent all afternoon at the town hall, but hadn’t learnt a thing. The tests were being kept a secret from everyone – including Orpheus’s own family.

  ‘Eva,’ yelled Elijah from downstairs.

  In another life, I’d be running downstairs, eagerness in my steps. Instead, I felt as though my legs were part of the timber floorboards.

  Outside, several neighbours made their way out into the blistery day where they would be tested for witchcraft. Ezra assured me about a third of the community had failed the first test along with me. So far no one was on the watch list, especially not me.

  Orpheus had apparently laughed when Ezra had told him about my failure. Orpheus h
ad not laughed, however, when Ezra told him about Max’s behaviour towards me. Against my wishes, Ezra had appealed to his dad on my behalf, complaining vehemently about Max’s intimidating and predatory behaviour. For a long time, his dad had said nothing, but then his dad told him jealousy became him and walked away.

  I remembered Ezra’s face when he’d told me last night. If looks could kill, his would have done it. I’d reassured him, thanked him for trying, but nothing had erased that look on his face.

  I heard Ezra’s light and determined steps on the stairs and I turned to see him standing in my doorway, his eyes burning.

  ‘Hi,’ I said softly.

  ‘Hi yourself,’ he said, walking to me and taking me in his arms, kissing my forehead. ‘Nice room.’

  I let out the breath I was holding and felt myself soften.

  ‘You ready?’ he asked, putting his finger under my chin so that I had no choice but to look into his eyes.

  No!

  I found my voice. ‘You don’t have to do this, you know.’

  His hand dropped and his eyebrows pulled together.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘This…us.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s too risky…for you.’

  ‘Is that all you’re worried about?’

  ‘Is that all? Ezra, Orpheus is your dad and if I fail these tests, well, what will that mean for you?’

  Ezra let out a long breath. ‘You had me worried there for a minute.’

  ‘I can tell you’re worried.’

  ‘I am worried – about you, not me. Watching what this is doing to you and your family…to so many…it’s torture. It’s my father doing this…’

  My frozen heart thawed and I held him close. ‘We can’t choose our blood family, but I choose you.’

  He pulled back and whispered in my ear. ‘I choose you.’

  For a short, precious moment I forgot all about the crazy, mixed-up life we lived. But the tinkle of Pearl’s bell as she strutted into the room and launched herself onto my bed brought me back with a resounding thud.

  ‘Don’t suppose you heard any more about the test today?’ I whispered.

  ‘Not a word,’ said Ezra, checking his watch. ‘But we’d better make a move.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said, realising we had fifteen minutes to make our appearance. I gathered my belongings and took one last look at Pearl snuggled on the end of my bed, her gaze transfixed on me. I gave her a parting pat, whispering, ‘See you soon.’

  For a split second I pictured the same scene tomorrow, but this time I could be saying goodbye to Pearl for the last time. Tomorrow I could be named a witch, and my sin would be cleansed from me, by whatever means possible.

  ‘It’s going to be okay,’ said Ezra, taking my hand.

  Is it? How do you know?

  The line outside the town hall was longer than yesterday. The sky was crystal clear again, but the air was colder, and white breath blew from people’s mouths. My family pulled up next to Ezra’s car, and we silently made our way down to join the line.

  Word must have got around that a third of the community failed the first test because not a sound could be heard. Pretty much everyone knew or loved someone who must pass the test today to not be considered suspicious.

  Everyone was too busy staring at the town hall to notice our arrival. Everyone except Noah, Anna and their parents, who were a few metres ahead of us in the line. Noah scowled at me before turning his back on us. Anna smiled and waved but stayed where she was, and Elijah stared after her wistfully. They still hadn’t put things right between them, the unspoken truth creating an ever-expanding void.

  The line moved slower than yesterday, meaning the test was taking more time. My mind flitted through all the different possibilities of what they were testing for, but like the last two nights, I came no closer to knowing.

  When the sun reached the midday point in the sky, we stood at the front of the line. Ezra, who was behind me, leaned forward and whispered in my ear. ‘I made Dad promise Max won’t come near you today.’

  A mixture of relief and anger coursed through my blood. I’d asked Ezra not to interfere, knowing it would only draw more attention to me, but the relief that Max wouldn’t intimidate me won out.

  ‘Thanks,’ I said quietly.

  ‘I’ll meet you outside. Deep breath, okay?’ he said.

  The door in front of me opened, and the same female police officer who’d helped me take the lie-detector test at school walked out.

  ‘Eva?’ she asked, her gaze skipping between me and Ezra.

  For a moment, I forgot her memory of me had been erased by the memory-altering potion and my heart skipped a beat.

  ‘Officer,’ I said, attempting a smile.

  ‘Call me Carol,’ she said, smiling back. ‘You’ll be with me today. Why don’t you come inside?’

  I turned to Ezra and my family one last time and managed a raspy goodbye before I followed Carol into the overheated town hall.

  This time Orpheus was nowhere to be seen as we made our way into the domed part of the building where lights were glowing from five offices, but no police officers were about.

  ‘This way, please,’ said Carol, whom I followed across the open space and down another corridor to a room at the darkened end of a hall. She opened the door and bright light streamed out, making it difficult for me to see.

  My breath shortened and my legs wouldn’t move.

  ‘Come on in, Eva,’ said Carol kindly.

  Still, they wouldn’t budge.

  Carol walked to where I stood. ‘Everything okay?’

  ‘Sure,’ I croaked, my vision clearing so that I made out an ordinary, run-of-the-mill office – with no Max.

  I stepped into the office, where there was only a partition and no desk.

  ‘What’s the test?’ I asked.

  The moment before she spoke, Carol lost her look of self-assurance. In its place was a woman who didn’t want to say what she had to. That’s when I knew the test was going to be bad.

  Carol closed the door to the office and turned to me. ‘Eva, today we’re testing for the marks of a witch.’

  ‘What?’ I said.

  She blinked quickly and looked a little lost for words.

  ‘For us to identify who are the witches in our community, we all must undergo this test. I promise that I’ll be very discreet and fast, and it won’t hurt at all.’

  I knew without being told what she meant. I would have to take all my clothes off so that she could check my skin.

  ‘That’s an invasion of privacy, not to mention completely nuts,’ I said, pulling my jacket closer around me.

  She almost rolled her eyes. Clearly, I wasn’t the first person who’d had an issue.

  ‘I know why you feel like this, but trust me, it’s in your best interest to get this over with. Anyone who refuses must explain themselves to Orpheus.’

  So, that’s where he was. Snowed under with complaints.

  She lowered her voice. ‘What other people don’t know is that if they refuse the test, they automatically fail.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said.

  Two fails. Permanently under suspicion.

  ‘Shall we just get this over with so you can get out of here?’

  I took a deep breath. Carol seemed like a nice enough lady. One quick check of my skin and it would be over.

  Then I remembered. I had a mole, right at the base of my back. One ordinary-looking brown mole that I’d never thought twice about, but which would be considered the mark of a witch and might jeopardise my life.

  ‘Everything okay?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure,’ I whispered.

  ‘Okay, I’ll leave you to undress behind the partition and then step back here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.’

  ‘Right,’ I said, my face burning.

  ‘Look, everyone else has to take all their clothes off, but you don’t need to. Keep your underwear on and I’ll be back,’ she said before leaving the r
oom.

  For a few moments, my mind spun in all directions.

  Think, Eva. Think.

  I took a deep breath. I could do this. By some stroke of luck, my knickers were high cut and black. If I could pull them all the way up, I might be okay. I darted behind the screen and stripped my clothes off as quickly as I could. I walked out from behind the partition, turned around so my back was to the door, and pulled my knickers up as high as possible. It was touch and go. If I moved, I’d probably expose my mole.

  The door opened and closed behind me. There had only been a few times in my life where I’d felt exposed and terrified, and this was definitely one of them.

  If I don’t move, I’ll be okay.

  I listened to Carol’s breathing as she walked across the room towards me. I waited for her to speak, to reassure me that we would be done in no time, but she remained silent. Every part of me wanted to turn to her, but moving would risk exposing my mole.

  ‘Carol,’ I said, but she didn’t reply. She stepped closer until I sensed her behind me, could feel her breath on my skin.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ I asked, breaking out into a cold sweat.

  I shuddered as I felt a cold finger on the base of my back, only centimetres from my mole. Her fingers traced up and down my back, over my buttocks and down my legs, then rose again until they unclipped my bra, which fell to the ground.

  ‘I didn’t think we needed to do that,’ I said.

  There was no reply and her fingers continued down again. This time they grabbed hold of my knickers and pulled them down. I turned around and there was Max’s leering face taking me in. Heat burst through my hands, but I used them to pull up my knickers and cover my breasts.

  ‘GET OUT!’ I screamed.

  He put his hands up. ‘Just doing my job and to be fair, you don’t seem to mind where Ezra touches you.’

  ‘WHAT! You spied on us, didn’t you, you…sick and twisted pervert,’ I hissed. ‘Where’s Carol? She was supposed to do this.’

  The door opened and there, standing on the other side were Carol and Jet, their mouths dropping open.

  ‘Officer McCann, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,’ said Carol, stepping inside.