by Tanya Milne
‘You must,’ I said, my breath jagged. ‘Nothing can happen to you.’
‘The same way I won’t let anything bad happen to you.’
‘If you try anything, they’ll brand you a witch as well. What would we do then?’
‘We would fight together.’
The images in my head grew darker and darker, and a deafening clap of thunder made us jump.
‘Come on, we can argue later,’ he said. ‘We’ve got work to do.’
‘This conversation is far from over,’ I said, following him down the river that sat lifeless and stagnant beside us.
We stopped in a wide clearing beside the river as the world around us grew quiet in the calm before the storm.
‘This will do,’ he said, his gaze darting in every direction.
‘Tell me – what are you going to do?’ I asked.
Lightning flashed above us and Elijah glanced up at the sky, a sly grin on his face. ‘I’m going to borrow some power from the heavens above.’
‘What?’ I said, fear seizing me as it began pouring.
Before I could stop him, Elijah walked into the river and raised his arms above him.
I screamed and ran after him, but it was too late. The lightning, which had been looking for a target all night, found one. I watched in terror as a bolt of lightning came down from above and struck my brother, its white light pummelling into him and radiating shock waves through the water.
I tried to run to him, but wind picked me up and threw me back on the ground, then held me there.
‘Elijah!’ I screamed, over and over, but my brother was lost to me.
The lightning bolt disappeared in a zap, and my brother placed his hands into the water. For a few moments, it was as though the world stopped breathing.
Then, from Elijah’s hands emerged the same white light he’d funnelled from the lightning. It burst from him across water like a spider’s web. Soon, the water bubbled up like an enormous spa.
The wind that had been holding me down disappeared and my brother fell forward, dropping like a sack of potatoes into the river.
‘Elijah,’ I screamed, running into the river where Elijah was floating, head down. In a few short steps, I had my hands on him, and was about to turn him over when something grabbed him from underneath and pulled him below the surface.
White-hot horror stabbed me as my hands desperately searched the water, but he’d simply disappeared. In a tremendous bang, thunder and rain arrived, making it impossible to see. Pain unlike anything I’d felt before pierced me, and I screamed for my twin who’d been taken from me.
Then hands grabbed my feet and pulled me down into the water. The moment I was under, they yanked me swiftly through the water until my breath was tight in my chest. I struggled against whatever held me, but I couldn’t move against the currents of the water.
My chest became unbearably tight and my head went light and dizzy. Somewhere out there, my brother – my beautiful brother – was succumbing to the same fate.
The dark forces of nature were claiming us.
Chapter Twenty-Two
As I started to lose consciousness, memories of Elijah flashed through my mind. Playing in the gardens as children – our first day of school – every birthday – every sickness – every single day he was there, by my side, the same big heart and goofy smile. Not once had he turned away from me. And now, in my greatest hour of need, he’d put his life on the line.
I pictured him under the water – his body lifeless, his breath gone. Red-hot flames consumed me like fire. I opened my arms wide, and in the moments before I lost consciousness, I released my fire into the water.
I stopped moving as the hands released me. I dug deeper than I’d ever had to and swam to the surface, where blessed air travelled down my raw throat. The water around me was the colour of fire, but rain was teeming down.
‘Elijah!’ I screamed, scanning the water.
For a few moments, I couldn’t see a thing, but as lightning flashed in the sky, I saw my brother floating, face down, a short distance away. I screamed and gasped in air as I swam to my brother. Using the last of my strength, I rolled him onto his back, held his head from the water.
His body was stiff and his face blue.
I swallowed the bile that rose inside me.
Focus, Eva!
I glanced to the shore, but it was almost impossible to see. By the time I made it, he’d be gone forever, if he wasn’t already. My tears mixed in with the rain as I started to pull his large body to shore, but it was impossible to keep his head above water and move him forward at the same time.
Helplessness saturated me, and I mustered the last of my strength to call out to Ezra.
‘Eva!’ screamed Ezra nearby.
‘Ezra!’
The sound of a motor grew louder until it was next to me.
‘Take him!’ I screamed. ‘He’s not breathing.’
Ezra reached into the boat and in one movement, hauled Elijah into the dinghy. Before I knew it, he’d grabbed me and pulled me in beside my brother. Immediately, I checked his pulse and breathing – neither were there.
I pushed back the tentacles of grief and placed my hands on my brother’s unmoving chest, pushing everything I had into him. For the longest moment of my life, nothing in him stirred. My hands turned cold and lifeless. I let out a deep growl, closed my eyes and dug deeper than I’d ever done before. There, somewhere deep in the place of death, I found my brother. My hands pulsed with heat and life that no longer came from me.
Tears ran down my face as I gave Elijah an energy – a life force I barely understood. Eventually, my hands went cold and he remained still under my hands.
‘Come back to me,’ I sobbed. ‘Elijah! Elijah! Elijah!’
A stupendous clap of thunder exploded above us, and Elijah opened his eyes and stared, wide-eyed, into the sky.
‘That was…something,’ said Elijah before grinning.
My heart, which had folded itself over and over again until it was just a speck, burst open and I threw myself on Elijah, sobbing.
‘Hey, watch the hair,’ he said, laughing.
But I didn’t let go. While the little boat rolled around in the bay and the storm raged, everything inside me settled into being whole again.
Even with the heating in Ezra’s car up to its highest setting, my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering.
‘What’s going on up there? You’re putting my teeth on edge,’ said Elijah from the back seat before bursting into laughter.
I turned and gazed at him.
‘Yep, I’m still here, like I was a minute ago,’ he said, his face beaming the same way it had ever since he’d returned to the land of the living.
‘Sorry…just…can’t…believe…it,’ I said, my whole body shaking.
‘You’d better believe it, since I’m going to be around to continue to annoy you for many years to come.’
‘Never…thought I’d say this…but annoy me…forever,’ I said, glancing at Ezra, who was concentrating on the road.
‘How did you know…to…come?’ I asked, remembering the moment he’d arrived in his boat.
‘I broke the automation system when I heard the lightning strike. Boy and I took off…saw you both in the water…and then you were gone,’ said Ezra, his voice cracking. ‘The only thing I could think to do was find the boat.’
I placed my hand against the side of Ezra’s face. ‘I don’t know…how to thank you. Without you…’
‘Let’s not think about it,’ he said, taking my hand.
‘Yeah, thanks, man. I owe you, big time,’ said Elijah.
‘You owe me nothing,’ said Ezra.
‘Hey, what’re the chances you could drop me at Anna’s?’ asked Elijah.
‘You can’t go there now,’ I said.
‘Why not? It’s only eight and I need to see her.’
I turned around. ‘But you’re all wet, and Mum and Dad are expecting us.’
‘Actually,
they’re not. Top marks to me for leaving my phone in the car, because I texted them and let them know everything is okay. I told them I’m going to Anna’s and you’re spending some time with Ezra, so everything is cool. Unlike you, I’m not an icicle.’
‘But–’ I said.
‘But nothing. This is the best I’ve felt in, like, forever, and I really need to talk to my girlfriend. It’s the first left.’
‘If you’re sure?’ I said.
‘Never been surer of anything in my life.’
I opened my mouth to protest, but realised it was because I didn’t want to let my brother out of my sight. He really did need to talk to Anna and make things right.
‘So, do you think it worked?’ asked Elijah.
‘You mean getting yourself struck by lightning…so you could channel its energy into the water…and kill yourself in the process?’ I said, hoping the memory would one day fade.
‘Umm, yeah,’ said Elijah.
‘I guess we won’t know until tomorrow, but whatever happened back there…it was major,’ I said.
‘Including the part where you set the water on fire,’ said Ezra. ‘That’s something I won’t forget for a while.’
‘Hell yeah, sis,’ said Elijah.
‘What…was the thing that took you?’ asked Ezra.
I remembered the hand on my leg and shivered even more.
‘I don’t know…exactly what it was…this time,’ I said.
Ezra glanced at me for a long moment before turning back to the road.
‘The dark force of nature…’ said Ezra quietly. ‘Hunting you?’
‘That would be the one,’ said Elijah.
‘What the hell,’ said Ezra, slowing the car down and putting his indicator on. ‘How do we stop it?’
‘Not sure you can stop a prophecy as old as time, but it’s worth a shot,’ said Elijah.
Ezra pulled up in front of Noah and Anna’s picture-perfect house, which was gently lit up inside. The curtains were drawn and no one could be seen. Inside somewhere was Noah, whom I’d unintentionally hurt. I’d given him hope when I shouldn’t have, and then I’d hurt him and not put things right. My breath tightened in my throat. When these tests were over, I’d try to talk to him.
‘Don’t wait up,’ said Elijah, who was out of the car and up the driveway in seconds.
‘Would you like me to drop you home?’ said Ezra, rubbing my arm.
‘You have…a promise…to keep,’ I said, unable to stop my teeth from chattering.
‘And so do you, if I remember rightly. Only problem is how do we stop you from getting hypothermia?’
‘I can think of a few things,’ I said.
‘Oh, Eva, what am I going to do with you?’ Ezra smiled as he pulled the car back onto the street. Neither of us spoke as we drove quickly through town and down to the docks, where Ezra turned off his car.
‘Come on. I’ve got some spare clothes in the boat you can wear until yours dry.’
‘Always the gentleman,’ I said.
‘Don’t push me, missy.’
I rolled my eyes, and he laughed as he got out of the car, opened my door and led me down the empty wharf to his yacht, which rolled around in the swollen waves.
Ezra unlocked his boat, and we slipped inside the dark cabin and closed the door behind us. Ezra swiftly set about pulling the blinds down before turning on the power, heating and lamps.
‘God, Eva, you’re almost blue,’ he said, hunting in his cupboard before producing a towel, tracksuit and thick socks.
I looked for a place to get changed, but even the bathroom was too small.
‘I’ll make us hot chocolates while you get changed,’ he said, busying himself in the little kitchen.
I hurriedly stripped off my clothes and dressed in Ezra’s navy tracksuit, which was enormous on me, but thankfully warm. I sat down, slid on my socks and undid my braid while Ezra placed my clothes near the heater.
I sat at the little table and Ezra placed a steaming hot chocolate in front of me, along with a tray of biscuits, kissing me on the top of my head before sitting next to me.
I wrapped my hands around the mug, and slowly but surely, feeling returned to my body.
Ezra smiled before taking a sip of his drink.
‘What’s so funny?’ I asked.
‘You look so cute in my clothes,’ he said. ‘Particularly now your lips are pink again.’
I turned to him. ‘Is that right?’ I said, pouting.
He ran one of his fingers along my bottom lip, making my heart stutter. ‘I could get used to this.’
Before I could reply, he pulled me close and kissed me softly for a few seconds before his lips became urgent. My body responded and I kissed him back, demanding more. We pulled away, breathless.
‘Eva,’ he said in a whisper, sitting back, making me want to scream.
‘We need to talk…’
What?
‘You promised, remember?’ he said.
‘So that was my kiss – my one and only kiss?’ I said, trying and failing to keep the sulk from my voice.
‘If you play your cards right, I might give you another one.’
I crossed my arms. ‘And maybe I’m no longer in the mood.’
He laughed. ‘Oh, come on, Eva, I was joking. Try and stop me from kissing you again.’
That’s better.
‘What do you want to know?’ I said, letting out a sigh.
‘Tell me everything that happened after you left me at the front of the town hall, and I mean everything.’
My thoughts drifted back to a time I’d rather forget.
‘Please. I need to know so I can try and help,’ he said.
‘What does that mean?’
Ezra swallowed, appearing to search for the right words. ‘Well, from my dad’s perspective, you’ve failed two tests. Officially, you should be considered suspicious.’
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would form.
‘Dad doesn’t really believe you’re a witch, but he’s conflicted.’
‘Conflicted?’
‘It would have been fine, except for Max. He was fuming after Jet decked him and he was blaming both of you, calling you witches.’
All of a sudden, the natural act of breathing felt almost impossible.
‘I could kill that arsehole,’ he said, his face dark. ‘So, if you tell me everything that happened, I’ll report that idiot and put an end to his games.’
‘But I am a witch. Don’t you see, there will be no end to it.’
Before Ezra could control his face, I saw a flash of something. Truth. Recognition.
‘Tell me what happened. Please.’
I focused on the lamp on the other side of the cabin as I told Ezra everything that had happened. My body altered between hot and cold as I relived the humiliation and helplessness. By the time I was finished, Ezra’s face was like white stone.
‘Say something,’ I said.
His hands clenched into fists and he stared straight ahead.
‘Ezra,’ I said.
‘He will pay for this,’ he said, his eyes filled with a rage I’d never seen before. ‘Touching you…seeing you… How DARE he.’
‘I’m okay,’ I said quietly.
‘Nothing about this is okay. He wants you, and he’ll keep trying until he gets you.’
‘He’s never going to…have me,’ I said. ‘If he ever tries to touch me again, I won’t hold back.’
‘That makes two of us. Now I understand why Jet decked him.’
I remembered the look on Jet’s face when he saw me with no clothes.
‘He’s seen you too,’ he said, grimacing. ‘Hasn’t he?’
I dropped my head, my face blazing.
‘Don’t,’ said Ezra, moving closer and raising my head to the same level as his. ‘I might have a few jealousy issues, but none of this was your fault.’
Tears sprang to my eyes. He wiped them away and gently kissed my face and neck, and then hi
s lips found mine. This time, neither of us pulled away. Before long we were standing, and he pulled me towards his bed under the stars.
He released me and sat on the edge of the bed. A feeling of power surged through me and I pulled off my jumper. I pulled off the tracksuit pants I borrowed from Ezra, and his lips parted.
He stood up in front of me. ‘Close your eyes.’
I closed my eyes and my other senses sharpened. He cupped my face and kissed my eyelids, my lips. He ran his hands slowly through my hair, which fell long down my back.
‘So beautiful,’ he said, his hands travelling slowly but surely all over my body.
‘All mine,’ he said as heat exploded inside me.
‘Yours,’ I whispered.
‘No one else will touch you. Ever.’
I opened my eyes, and his green ones were gazing intently into mine.
‘No one,’ I said, not realising my words committed me in ways that I couldn’t possibly comprehend, but someday would.
Every part of my body wanted him, was ready for him, but with a jolt I realised that my heart would never recover if I were taken away tomorrow, never to be with him again.
‘I don’t want to wait any more,’ he said. ‘Tonight, when I thought I might lose you…’
I put my finger on his lips. ‘Let’s wait until this is over,’ I said, knowing that if we went further, neither of us could hold back.
He blinked quickly at me, and watched me closely as I stepped back and slipped his tracksuit back on.
‘Right,’ he said, his cheeks blazing. ‘Would you like me to take you home?’
‘No, I want you to hold me,’ I said, taking his hands.
We shuffled back in his bed and slid under his doona. I found my way into his arms and we gazed up through the glass roof into the universe above. The storm had passed, leaving the world clean, the stars sparkling like glitter.
‘Whatever happens tomorrow, know that every time I look at the stars, I will think of this moment. No one can take that from us,’ I whispered.
Ezra froze for a moment before pulling me closer and whispering in my ear. ‘I love you, Eva.’
I turned to him and there he was, my true love, every part of him exposed and vulnerable and full of love.
