An Arrogant Witch

by E M Graham

  ‘Did anyone...?’ I looked miserably at the carnage all around.

  ‘Die? Not human, no,’ Hugh said shortly. ‘Many people were hurt, though, both by supernaturals and other humans.’

  By this point I was more than ready to have my magic stripped from me, and I burned to tell him to just do it right there and then, perform the necessary dirty business and help me to forget it all. Forget all the pain and suffering I had caused to come about through my actions.

  Yes, my participation in this particular episode that led to the wreckage had been unwilling, yet by going against Hugh’s advice I had placed myself in a position where my magic could be used for destruction. I had thought I could beat Willem at his game.

  Maybe the old me, the one before the veil had been lifted, maybe that Dara would have whined and pleaded for clemency from Hugh, pointing out that she hadn’t meant to participate in Willem’s anarchy, that she had been on a holy quest in search of her mother and things had gotten in her way. That she had played with fire and been burnt, and had now learnt her lesson and so deserved to be forgiven.

  No. If nothing else, I guess I’d matured enough over the past few months to see how the real world worked. I had been arrogant, and Hugh’s elder on that far off Scottish island was right.

  I wasn’t fit to hold the mantle of magic.

  We continued our silent meandering path through the wreckage of the night, pausing at every drop of blood, every burn mark on the trees we passed as if to bring home more fully what I had done.

  Finally our steps took us to the front of the Colonial Building. It at least was untouched, though I could see that the fine iron gate, newly erected, had warped with the power Willem had used to keep the Witch Kin at bay, prisoners in their finery, helpless to stop him.

  A ragged scarf flapped on the now cooled metal, the melted polyester turning to ice on the iron.

  Hugh touched the worst of the fence’s damage thoughtfully, bits of static jumping from his gloved hand as he stroked it, leftover magic burning in on itself.

  ‘Just do it!’ I burst out. I couldn’t stand it anymore. ‘Just do it now and get it over with, if you can. I forgive you in advance, alright?’

  I held my breath and shut my eyes and waited.

  But he only sighed, a small puff of breath into the frozen air.

  ‘It’s not that simple,’ he said. ‘You don’t get off that easily. There will be an Inquiry, of course.’

  I opened my eyes. ‘An inquisition, you mean,’ I said bitterly.

  ‘No,’ he said, a tinge of impatience in his voice. ‘I mean an Inquiry. We need to know how this breach was accomplished so it can never happen again. You will play a major role in this as you were the only one present, apart from Willem de Vriejz, of course.’

  ‘He took off on a boat, a wooden steamship,’ I said. ‘In Alt, not real time. Do you think they’ll catch him?’

  ‘Oh, yes,’ Hugh replied, nodding. ‘Eventually. He’ll want to come back to our time at some point, and the only place he can do that is at the point he went into Alt. So the Kin here will be keeping a close eye out for him.’

  I didn’t tell him that Willem wasn’t bound by that ordinary rule of the veil, that I had seen for myself the sorcerer could flip back and forth without being in the same exact location. It would come out soon enough during the Inquiry. And I had no doubt the Kin would find him and exact their revenge.

  Of course, I wouldn’t be a part of that operation. This half-witch would be stripped of my magic long before Willem dared show his face in these parts or anywhere again. I wondered if I would even remember the sorcerer, after...

  I sighed. It would be trades college after Christmas for me, and my future would hold nothing but pipes and drains. And perhaps Jack if I was really lucky, if I hadn’t freaked him out too much this evening.

  ‘Where and when will the Inquiry be?’ I asked, scuffing through the slush at my feet. ‘Will they at least let me have Christmas here?

  He gave a rueful laugh. ‘The wheels of bureaucracy don’t turn as quickly as we’d like,’ he said. ‘They never do. Yes, you’ll be spending the season here at home.’

  ‘And after?’

  It had started snowing again as we walked, the wind having blown itself out and the clouds settled back over the city. Large flakes were falling now as the temperature of the air rose imperceptibly.

  Hugh shook his head, dislodging some of the snow from his unruly hair. ‘The Inquiry will be held in Edinburgh,’ he said, his green eyes unreadable in the mercury light of the streetlamp.

  A lump had formed in my throat, and I was just then becoming aware of it. Edinburgh. I pictured a row of Elders, powerful Witch Kin, all dressed in severest black and pointing accusing fingers at me. Then would come the binding....

  ‘But perhaps they won’t... Maybe if I explain what happened and tell them everything I know...’

  My life was now in freefall as if I was teetering from a high clifftop, scrabbling at scree, weeds in the grass, anything to stop my inevitable plunge into my doom.

  He paused and turned to stare at me.

  ‘You will tell them everything you know,’ he said firmly. ‘That’s a given. What happens after that, is their decision.’

  He shook his head and set his lips. The look in his eye turned sorrowful.

  There... there was my branch growing unexpectedly out of the rock face. I grasped it with all I had.

  ‘You believe in me, don’t you?’ I said. ‘You really truly believe I could be a witch to your high standards, even if I’ve messed up before?’

  ‘I only know it would be a shame for the world to lose your talent,’ he said, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his overcoat. ‘I have no say in the matter, though.’

  We began to head back to the parking lot, our tour of the carnage completed.

  ‘Is there... is there anything I can do to mitigate matters?’ I asked. I would do it, whatever he asked. This was my life at stake. I took his arms in both my hand, trying to force him to stop and look at me straight on. ‘Before the inquisition, I mean.’

  He refused to meet my eye, staring instead at the trees beyond.

  ‘If there were to be the slightest chance, and I mean the very slimmest, you would have to prove good intention to the Elders,’ he began, his voice slow. ‘You would need to show dedication and humility. And maturity.’

  Hugh shook off my arms, but finally looked at me again. ‘I want to help you, but you... you have to want to help yourself. You have to want this more than anything else you’ve ever wanted, and you have to want it for the right reasons, or else...’

  He spread his hand out to indicate the park where the heavy snow was now filling in the footsteps and covering the shed blood, whitewashing the world clean again.

  I nodded, unable to help the small smile forming on my face, even in the face of my despair. Maybe I still had time to save myself. And with time, there was always hope. Even for an arrogant witch.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  A lot of people helped bring this book about – Karen, Joanne, Alison, and the Gremlins, you all know who you are! My extreme gratitude for the opportunity to be at Moniacke Mhor and to meet all those wonderful kindred spirits, and to Linda Cracknell who helped me over that huge hurdle.

  To all my readers, of course, you are very special. And you know what? You already have the power inside you.

  Did you enjoy this book? Please leave a review on sites where other readers gather. I thank you in advance.

  Also by E M Graham:

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  E M Graham is a voracious reader of all genres and writes out of her home in St. John’s, Newfoundland which she shares with an ever changing menagerie.

  Check out her website www.LizGraham-Author.com to sign up for news on the next release, free books, and contests.

  And on FaceBook – E M Graham.

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