The Witch Born to Burn

by Tanya Milne

  Ezra leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, whispering, ‘Just leave it alone, Eva.’ Then he straightened and walked to the door.

  ‘See you tomorrow,’ I said as the nurse stepped aside to let him leave.

  ‘Tomorrow,’ he said firmly before leaving my room, his determined strides echoing through the corridors.

  ‘Time for some sleep, dearie,’ said the nurse, her demeanour thawing as she walked to my bed and pulled my blanket up over my short nightie, then played with the machine and turned out the light. ‘Put this dreadful day behind you.’

  ‘Can I have my phone back?’ I whispered. ‘Just for a few minutes.’

  ‘Sorry, dear, I have my orders.’

  ‘Orders?’

  ‘Oops, protocol. You know what I mean. Get some rest.’

  ‘Who told you not to give me my phone?’ I said, my body heating.

  She walked to the door.

  ‘Please tell me,’ I said.

  ‘You should know that your boyfriend’s family are very powerful,’ she said. ‘Goodnight, dear.’

  The nurse closed the door behind her, and I sat up in bed, seething. Ezra was jealous, I got that. But had he – or his father – arranged for my phone to be confiscated?

  Sweat broke out on my skin. Somewhere out there, in this godforsaken town, Jet was being held for a crime from the dark ages. He had no father, no mother and a grandmother who was too old to support him. I doubted his friends would help.

  Who did that leave? It left me and Elijah – the two people whose lives he had saved.

  I gazed over to the cupboard where my clothes were stored. If I snuck out the window, I could head home and get Elijah, and we could start looking for Jet. I tried to move, but my body was heavy. My thoughts started to close in, and I felt as if I were growing smaller and smaller.

  I wanted to scream and shout, but my mouth wouldn’t move. The nurse had drugged me so that I would sleep, so that I would stay in my bed, like a good girl.

  Why would she do that?

  Did Ezra have something to do with it?

  No answer came because I was gone, pulled down into a drug-induced slumber where I couldn’t help a soul and no one could find me.

  When I opened my heavy eyes, the room was full of pale-green light, the first light of the day. For a moment, I forgot about everything that had happened and wondered where the hell I was.

  ‘Eva,’ said Ezra, who moved to sit on my bed, bringing the world back into view.

  I couldn’t keep my eyelids up, but managed to mutter, ‘Did you tell them to drug me?’

  I fluttered my eyes open to see his own widen. ‘No, I didn’t. They said they would make you comfortable, that’s all.’

  ‘What about the phone? Was that you?’ I whispered.

  ‘Yes, I’m sorry. I wasn’t…thinking straight.’

  ‘You had no right,’ I said, then slipped back out of consciousness before he could answer – before I could give him a piece of my mind.

  When I opened my eyes again, bright light shone into my room, which was humming with activity. I rubbed my eyes, every part of me heavy.

  ‘Wakey, wakey,’ said Elijah, sitting next to me, smiling so brightly I let out a groan.

  ‘Well, good morning to you,’ he said before laughing.

  ‘Good morning, darling,’ said Mum, who sat on the other side of my bed, rubbing my arm. ‘Thought you were never going to wake.’

  That’s because I was drugged!

  I glanced around the hospital room, but Ezra was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Don’t worry, lover boy had to head home for a while. Said he’d drop in at home later today,’ said Elijah.

  I closed my eyes again as my heart contracted. Ezra’s jealousy had led him to cross a line – a line that he could never cross again.

  ‘Dad’s gone to get coffee,’ said Mum, looking happier than she’d been in a long time. ‘I’ll go get him.’ She leaned forward and kissed my forehead before walking out the door.

  ‘Everything okay?’ said Elijah. ‘You don’t seem yourself.’

  I dragged my body up to a sitting position.

  ‘Eva…what happened? You can barely move,’ said Elijah.

  ‘Long story.’ I glanced at the bathroom, wondering how I’d get there. ‘I’ll tell you another time. Heard any more about Jet?’

  The smile slipped from Elijah’s face. ‘He’s to be held on trial in the town square at midday tomorrow.’

  ‘What?’

  Elijah turned away from me and stared out the window. ‘I know. What do you think will happen to him?’

  * * *

  ‘What else do you know?’ I asked.

  ‘I don’t know exactly what this means, but I heard that his soul would be cleansed of its sins.’

  The room around me went white for a few moments.

  ‘Eva,’ said Elijah, moving to sit next to me as the room came back into focus. ‘What the hell happened?’

  ‘We need to help Jet,’ I said.

  ‘What?’

  ‘He has no one else,’ I said, putting my arm on his.

  ‘But how can we? He’s under police protection.’

  ‘I don’t know. All I know is that we have to.’

  Elijah’s carefree, happy expression disappeared as lines etched his face. ‘We don’t even know that anything bad will happen to him.’

  ‘Cleansed of his sins?’ I said, dropping my voice to a whisper. ‘You know Orpheus… He’s nuts. Anything could happen to Jet.’

  Elijah’s lips parted.

  ‘And what if we do nothing? Stand by and watch. How will you feel then?’

  ‘Terrible,’ muttered Elijah.

  ‘After everything he’s done for us.’

  Elijah took a deep breath. ‘I don’t see how. I don’t even know where they’re holding him.’

  ‘I don’t know how either, but all I know is that I have to try. Will you help me?’

  Mum and Dad rushed in before he could answer. Within seconds I was in the safety of Dad’s big arms. He pulled back and stared at me. ‘Not looking so great there, kiddo. What’s the matter?’

  My eyes filled with tears. Somehow our family had made it through the darkest of three days and there was no shadow hanging over us. The boy of my dreams loved me. Yet there was another boy. A boy who carried a mask with him so that he could survive in the world. A boy who was all alone while he waited for his fate from a tyrant who wanted someone to pay for his sins.

  ‘Eva, tell me, what’s wrong?’ said Dad.

  At that moment, a new nurse, with dark hair and sturdy legs, came in with a wheelchair. ‘Time for a shower.’

  ‘She won’t need a wheelchair,’ said Mum, who inhaled deeply as though she’d smelt a whiff of trouble.

  The nurse stopped where she was.

  ‘Actually, I think I will,’ I said as I lifted my legs over the side of the bed.

  ‘What’s going on?’ said Mum and Dad at the same time.

  ‘She was given a sleeping tablet to help her sleep. Just takes a little bit of time for the body to wake up again.’

  ‘What did you give her – a horse tranquiliser?’ asked Elijah.

  ‘You’ll need to wait outside,’ said the nurse, her face breaking out in bright red blotches. ‘I’ll let you know when she’s ready to leave.’

  ‘This all seems very unnecessary,’ said Mum, whose chest was puffed up.

  ‘I’ll be okay, Mum. I won’t be long,’ I said.

  ‘If you’re sure,’ said Mum, giving the nurse a death stare on the way out. ‘We’ll be just outside.’

  ‘See you soon,’ I said, then waited for my family to leave the room before I tried to stand, immediately falling down. The nurse caught me at the last minute, her sturdy hands grabbing and placing me in the chair.

  ‘Probably best you don’t try to do too much today,’ she said, steering me towards the bathroom.

  The bubbles of anger that had been building inside me rose to the surface. I w
as not going to sit down and be controlled, not by the nurse and certainly not by Ezra.

  As we pulled into the bathroom, I turned to the nurse. ‘Thank you, but I’ve got this.’

  ‘Excuse me,’ she said, her face set.

  ‘I’ll take my time, but I can manage.’

  ‘I don’t think so. You nearly fell over and I won’t be the one responsible for…you…being injured.’

  Of course – more instructions from Ezra.

  I let out a long sigh. ‘If I fall over, it will be on me, not you. Now, can you please wait outside?’

  The nurse’s face turned blotchy again. ‘You’re not to lock the door.’ She turned and marched from the bathroom, then banged the door shut behind her.

  Anger was hot in my veins.

  Enough is enough! No one is going to tell me what to do!

  ‘It’s so good to have you home, darling,’ said Mum, handing me a hot chocolate where I sat on the couch next to the raging fire under a blanket.

  ‘You have no idea,’ I said, smiling as I glanced around our snug little home that I’d never appreciated so much.

  ‘Now, Eva, what were you about to say in the hospital before the bossy nurse came in?’ said Dad, who was sitting opposite me, next to Elijah.

  The joy I’d felt getting home evaporated. I glanced at my parents’ faces, wishing I could let them experience peace for a little longer. But we’d made a pact – no more lies, and truthfully, I’d need their help to have any chance of saving Jet.

  I settled back into my seat and told them about Jet and why we needed to help him. By the time I finished speaking, I wasn’t surprised to see my parents exchange wide-eyed glances.

  ‘Well, will you help me?’ I said.

  Mum cleared her throat. ‘Even if we did help Jet, I’m not sure how we could get him out, let alone what we’d do with him then. There’s no way out of town – by road or sea.’

  I took a steadying breath. ‘So, you can live with yourselves if we do nothing for the person who saved my and Elijah’s lives?’

  The room fell silent, the only sounds the hiss of the fire and the old clock ticking away on the mantle.

  ‘I can’t live with that,’ I said.

  ‘Neither can I,’ said Elijah, raising his hot chocolate to me. ‘I’m in.’

  ‘Wait a minute,’ said Mum, looking between us. ‘You two can’t just decide to do something like this. It’s dangerous, not to mention that we’re finally in the clear. This could–’

  ‘Save someone who has no one else to help them,’ I said.

  Mum’s breath caught in her throat.

  ‘They’re right, love. If we can help, we should try,’ said Dad.

  ‘But what if…’ said Mum, her face the colour of ash.

  ‘I know, love, it’s risky, no doubt about it. But Eva’s right. We need to try,’ said Dad.

  ‘C’mon, Mum. Between all of us and Ezra, we should have a chance. What do you say?’ said Elijah.

  I wasn’t so sure Ezra would help, but I took a good look at my mother, who’d kept my true witch identity from me out of fear – fear for what it might mean for me and Elijah.

  ‘I know you’re scared, Mum. I am too, but Jet would do the same thing for us, in a heartbeat. He might be many things, but he’s brave…and now we need to be too.’

  ‘Oh…I suppose you’re right,’ Mum burst out. ‘I can try and be brave.’

  ‘I know you can,’ I said, hugging my mum when she sat down next to me.

  ‘Goodness knows how we’ll get him out and what we do with him then,’ she said.

  ‘I have a few ideas,’ I said.

  ‘So do I,’ said Elijah, beaming.

  ‘What? You two have already talked?’ said Mum.

  ‘In the hospital,’ said Elijah. ‘I’m thinking we try and rescue him on his way to the trial tomorrow, use the element of surprise.’

  ‘That’s what I was thinking. We could–’ I said.

  The doorbell rang and I knew who was standing on the other side of the door, waiting to be let in.

  ‘I bet it’s poor lovesick Ezra,’ said Elijah, jumping up. ‘Found him asleep next to your bed this morning.’

  I remembered back to talking with Ezra in the early hours of the morning when I found out he’d asked the hospital to take my phone.

  I stood and grabbed my cane the hospital insisted I use for the next day. ‘I need to chat with Ezra, so I’m going to see if we can go for a drive.’

  Elijah’s face clouded over. ‘That sounds serious.’

  It is.

  ‘Just get the door. It’s going to take me a while,’ I said, ambling to where my coat hung.

  ‘Hey, bro,’ said Elijah, clapping Ezra on the back as he walked in, a dozen red roses in his hand.

  Ezra approached me like a trainer of a filly that might bolt. ‘Hey there, good to see you up and about.’

  ‘Is it?’ I said, unable to keep the snap from my voice.

  Ezra tilted his head to the side. ‘Here, these are for you.’

  ‘Thanks,’ I said dryly. ‘Mum, could you put them in water?’

  ‘Sure,’ she said, jumping from the couch, her face full of unasked questions.

  ‘Let’s go for a drive,’ I said, grabbing my coat and putting it on.

  ‘You sure? It’s pretty chilly out and you’ve just got home.’

  ‘I’m fine. Let’s go,’ I said, slowly walking towards the door.

  Ezra passed my mum the flowers before opening the front door for me.

  ‘See you soon,’ I said, getting struck by the cold winds as I walked outside.

  ‘Take care,’ said Mum, who waited for a moment at the door before closing it behind us.

  I clutched the railing and made my way down the stairs, towards Ezra’s car.

  ‘Can I help?’ said Ezra from beside me.

  ‘No, thanks,’ I said, before sliding into the cool leather seat. Within moments we were driving down the street where the last of the autumn leaves clung onto the branches, waiting on a good gust of wind to blow them away.

  ‘Where do you want to go?’ he asked.

  ‘Let’s go down to the pier,’ I said.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked, adjusting the controls in front of us so that heat blew from the vent.

  ‘Not really,’ I said, holding onto the words that so badly wanted to be heard.

  Ezra let out a long sigh. ‘This is about Jet, isn’t it?’

  ‘No, actually, it’s not.’

  ‘What then?’

  We parked and I got out of the car and slowly started walking along the pier.

  ‘What’s wrong, Eva?’ said Ezra, moving to stand in front of me. ‘I can see you’re angry. Is this about the phone?’

  ‘You can’t control me, Ezra,’ I said so loudly several seagulls took to the sky.

  Ezra gave a little shake of the head.

  ‘First you shoved Jet away yesterday when he was only trying to help. Then you made sure my phone was taken away last night. You probably asked the nurse to drug me, and refused to help Jet, who has no one else to help him. I mean, what the hell, Ezra?’

  Ezra looked as though I’d slapped him across the face.

  ‘It’s true, isn’t it? You can’t handle the fact that I want to help Jet, so you’ll do whatever it takes to stop me.’

  Ezra’s face scrunched up. ‘Tell me you’re not going to try and help him.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Promise me you’ll stay out of it. You and your family are in the clear. Please don’t get mixed up in it.’

  The anger that I’d only just managed to restrain unleashed itself. ‘You can’t tell me what to do, who to see, who to help. You can’t make people do stuff because it’s what you want. You don’t own me, Ezra. This is my life, my decisions and if you can’t accept that, then we shouldn’t be together.’

  Ezra stepped back. ‘You don’t want to be together?’

  I made myself take a deep breath. ‘That’s not what I said
. I said you can’t control me. I am yours, but I am not yours to control.’

  Ezra stared at me as if I were speaking another language.

  ‘This whole jealousy thing you’ve got going on – it needs to be reined in.’

  Ezra looked as though he was going to be speak, but then closed his mouth again.

  The wind from the bay picked up and made the halyards in the boats nearby clatter against their masts. ‘Well?’

  Ezra rubbed his eyes. ‘It kills me every time you look at each other. It’s like someone slices me with a hot knife. It’s making me…do things…I wouldn’t normally do – although I didn’t ask them to drug you, just to make sure you were comfortable. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be controlling. I’ve just never felt this way before.’

  ‘There’s nothing going on between me and Jet – so there’s nothing for you to worry about.’

  His eyes softened and he stepped a little closer. ‘Really?’

  ‘I only want to be with you, you silly, jealous boy.’

  ‘You do?’ he said, wrapping his arms around me.

  ‘I do,’ I said, throwing my cane past the pylons and into the water, where it fell with a splash.

  ‘Good riddance,’ he said, a smile lighting his face. ‘Now you have to hold my hand.’

  ‘Promise that you won’t try and control me,’ I said.

  He rolled his eyes and groaned. ‘I’ll try my best.’

  ‘Promise me.’

  ‘I promise I’ll try my best.’

  I laughed; I couldn’t help it. And before I knew it, his lips were on mine, and the urgency in them caught us both off guard. We pulled away, breathless.

  ‘I want you,’ he whispered in my ear, making my insides twist and turn, ‘to promise me that you’ll keep out of this business with Jet. He’s being treated well and will be given a fair trial.’

  ‘How is any of this fair?’ I said, dropping my hands to my sides. ‘And what will be his punishment not if, but when he’s declared a witch? How will he be treated then?’

  Ezra gazed out across the water.

  ‘Ezra? Tell me.’

  ‘I don’t know for sure, but…’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I overheard Dad on the phone. Says he won’t be needing to go back to the police station after the trial.’