The Witches of the Dark Power

by Gabriella Lepore

  Dino’s jaw clenched. ‘Feels like we never left.’ He unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out into the courtyard, letting the car door fall shut behind him.

  With a vague sense of apprehension, Mia joined him outside. The air here felt static, charged, as though it were waiting for something extraordinary to happen. She glanced across the courtyard to a hedge archway—the gateway to the grounds and the forest beyond.

  Hunter domain, she thought, immediately conjuring an image of Colt in her mind. The forest was his territory. His presence loomed over her. It was present in the air, grazing her skin.

  Her heart began beating a little faster.

  ‘Come on,’ Dino muttered, breaking through her reverie. He began towards the castle entrance.

  With one last glance to the hedge archway, Mia followed her brother.

  At the castle, Dino twisted the brass handle on the towering oak door. It opened with a weary groan, scraping across the stone floor as it granted them access.

  They crossed into the subdued candlelit entryway, where shadows were thrown across the dark flagstone floor. The familiar scents of the castle stirred around them, welcoming them. It was the scent of lingering candle smoke and log fires—the scent of the place where their lives had changed irrevocably.

  Mia followed Dino along the narrow corridor, their footsteps echoing in the cavernous building. She’d never known the castle to be this empty before. It felt abandoned and hollow, devoid of life.

  ‘Where is everybody?’ she wondered aloud. Her voice reverberated off the high ceilings.

  Dino shrugged. ‘Your guess is as good as mine.’

  Mia frowned. She knew that most of the people who came to the castle would only stay for the summer, but Wendolyn, the four resident Hunters, and a few of the consenting civilian witches—the Arcana—stayed all year round. Surely there should be some sign of life?

  They reached the drawing room. Dino pushed open the heavy door and they ventured inside.

  Just like the corridor they’d come from, this room was empty too. Candles jutted from sconces on the walls, their flames flickering anxiously. Gold-framed oil paintings hung beside one another like an army of eyes guarding the chamber. Dotted around were pieces of well-worn furniture and tall windows looking out over the courtyard.

  Dino moved carefully across the room, his steps mirroring the hushed tone of the castle. ‘Maybe nobody’s here.’ He gazed beyond one of the windows, watching the dull orange blushes of the day dance across the stone courtyard outside.

  Mia wandered through the room, running her fingers along the furniture as she passed each piece. She stopped at a green, crushed velvet sofa. She’d been sitting here on her first day at the Glass Castle—the day she’d met her friend Kizzy, a free-spirited Seer gifted with the ability to glimpse into the future. It felt like a lifetime had passed since that day. Her world had changed drastically since then. She’d first come to the castle at a time when her relationship with Dino had been strained at best, and now . . .

  She glanced at him. He was her brother again. The same brother who had taught her to ride a bike when she was six years old. The same brother who had stood up to the school thug, Billy Driscol, when he’d pushed her over in the playground. And worlds apart from the brother who had fallen under a spell and tried to kill her just four months earlier. The difference was, that brother—the occasionally homicidal brother—was the brother she’d almost lost. The brother who had been deceived and manipulated by a man they should have been able to trust. By a man who, as it turned out, was their father.

  But that may as well have been a lifetime ago. Their father, Tol, had been defeated in his quest for power, and Dino was back to being Dino again. At nearly eighteen years old, Dino still retained the spirit of his childhood self—the same self who had confidently removed the stabiliser wheels from his little sister’s bike and sent her free-wheeling down their terraced street . . . then had looked on sheepishly when she’d toppled over and hit the concrete.

  ‘Ouch,’ he’d uttered, wincing for her. ‘You okay, Mia?’

  Mia could still remember the shock she’d felt as her knees had smacked down on the pavement. As senseless as it may have sounded, she’d been more than okay. Actually, she’d felt great! It had been a landmark in her young life: the day she’d ridden her bike without training wheels. Grazed knees were merely battle scars in a war she’d boldly won. And her brother, Dino, had been right there with her, on the front lines.

  Now, in the dim light of the drawing room, Dino turned to her. The afternoon sun spilled in through the imposing lead-framed windows and caught in his brown eyes, warming them with coppery tones.

  Dino gave her a strange look. ‘You okay, Mia?’ he asked, echoing the past.

  ‘More than okay,’ she replied with meaning.

  Perplexed, he furrowed his brow. ‘Okay . . . Wanna check the library?’

  Mia nodded.

  Side by side, they left the drawing room and emerged into the corridor once more. They followed it as it wound through the Arcana wing of the castle. Brass candlesticks hung from the walls, their flames sprouting guiding lights to map a course through the windowless passage.

  A short distance away, the library door was ajar. Its tall, solid oak structure cast a shadow into the room beyond.

  Mia and Dino slipped through the shadows and surfaced in the library.

  Countless rows of books lined the walls in a sea of autumn colours. They stretched right from the floor and crept all the way up to the double-height ceiling. The very highest row of books was only accessible by a ladder that was tipped against the top shelf. In the centre of the room, a dozen or so high-backed leather chairs were arranged around an apothecary table. The five people seated around it looked to the doorway in surprise as Mia and Dino entered.

  Wendolyn was the first to speak. ‘My goodness!’ she cried, rising from her seat and hurrying to greet her guests. Her silvery hair had been woven into one long plait that tumbled over her wine-red winter dress.

  In one of the other chairs, Benny Blue dropped his book with a thud and leaped up. ‘Dino!’ he exclaimed at the sight of his friend. ‘What are you d-doing here?’ There was a trace of a stammer evident in his voice as his words tumbled out. His honey-coloured eyes were wide with delight as he bounded across the room.

  ‘Blue! What are you doing here?’ Dino returned the question with equal surprise.

  ‘I’m staying at the castle full time,’ Blue explained hurriedly. ‘I would have called, but . . .’ he held up his hands, ‘n-no phones.’

  Dino smiled. ‘It’s good to see you.’

  ‘It’s good to see you, too.’ Blue pushed strands of sandy blonde hair away from his brow. ‘And you as well,’ he added, turning to Mia. ‘I’ve missed you both.’ He cast a quick glance towards the apothecary table, where two boys and an older man were seated. ‘It hasn’t been the same around here without you guys,’ he finished.

  ‘We’ve missed you, too,’ Mia told him. ‘All of you.’ She waved enthusiastically to the trio at the apothecary table.

  As they stared back at her strangely, Mia realised that she’d never actually met any of them before. There were two teenaged Arcana boys whom she vaguely recognised from the previous summer, and one much older, snowy haired man whom she didn’t recognise at all.

  ‘I’m Mia,’ she told them with a sheepish wave.

  ‘I gathered,’ muttered one of the boys grouchily.

  ‘Isaac,’ Blue mouthed, swapping a peeved look with Mia and Dino.

  However, Mia didn’t have time to dwell on the boy’s unfriendly reaction because the elder man jumped up from his seat and smiled jubilantly at her, accepting her warm reception as though it were intended especially for him. His eyes were like cool crystals, almost as light as his hair, and he wore wire-rimmed glasses that looked far too small for his jolly, rounded face.

  ‘But why are you here?’ Blue pressed.

  Dino cleared his throat and straighte
ned his shoulders. He turned to Wendolyn. ‘It was suggested that we come to you,’ he began vaguely, leaving out the part about it being Mia’s suggestion. ‘To seek advice,’ he continued, as though reciting the words from carefully prepared flash cards. ‘Our mother and aunt were at a loss as to what to do in regards to this . . .’ he hesitated, gazing at the wall of books while he tried to remember his line, ‘particular matter,’ he went on. ‘So Mia and I offered to drive here and . . .’ He fell into another pause as he grasped for words.

  ‘Seek your counsel before we take the necessary action,’ Mia finished for him.

  Good one, she congratulated herself silently. Nice save.

  ‘Yes,’ Dino confirmed, seeming pleased. ‘Seek your counsel, and all that.’

  In other words, Mia thought to herself, we ran away because we didn’t like our mother’s plan.

  ‘You ran away?’ Wendolyn echoed.

  Dino scowled at his sister.

  She cringed. ‘Sorry. I can’t help thinking—it just happens! Your speech sounded great, though.’

  ‘No, I’m sorry,’ said Wendolyn distractedly, lines deepening on her aged face. ‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have read your thoughts without permission. I suppose as a Reader I’ve come to rely on my power as the quickest way to learn the truth. You ran away from home?’

  ‘It’s not how it sounds,’ Dino assured her. ‘Well, maybe it is how it sounds, but it’s not as bad as it sounds. In the grand scheme of things,’ he added.

  For a moment Wendolyn seemed dazed, but she quickly regained her composure and beckoned them to sit down. While they huddled around the apothecary table, the other three politely returned to their books. Their eyes may have been on the text, but there was no sound of pages turning.

  ‘I think I know what this is about,’ Wendolyn confessed. She glanced briefly at the snowy haired man, who looked up from his book with an apologetic smile. ‘And I had a feeling we’d be seeing you before long.’

  ‘So we did the right thing coming here?’ Dino ventured.

  Wendolyn smiled kindly. ‘That’s not what I said.’

  Dino leaned forward in his seat, knotting his hands through his hair. ‘We had to come,’ he said. ‘They were going to send Mia away to some middle-of-nowhere Alcatraz!’

  Blue’s eyes widened at the thought.

  ‘Oh, now, come on,’ Wendolyn placated. ‘I’m quite certain your mother and aunt have Mia’s best interests at heart.’

  ‘Yeah, right,’ Dino snorted. ‘Cassandra only cares about her own best interests.’ The room prickled with tension at the curt remark. ‘It’s the way she’s always been and she’ll never change.’

  ‘That’s not true,’ Wendolyn replied calmly.

  ‘It’s not in Mia’s best interests to be abandoned out in the sticks on her own,’ Dino argued. ‘If someone’s after her, then sending her into isolation is the last thing we should be doing, right?’

  ‘With Mia at the castle, she’s exposed,’ Wendolyn countered. ‘She’s a target. If someone is tracking her, this will be the most obvious place to look.’

  ‘But we can protect her,’ Dino insisted, glancing at Blue for validation.

  ‘I-I’ll help,’ Blue agreed. ‘She’ll be s-safe h-here.’ His faltering words didn’t quite carry the conviction of his sentiment.

  ‘We cannot protect Mia from those whom we cannot see,’ Wendolyn advised them. Her voice was serene and neutral despite the dismal message. ‘With the threat unknown, we are left blind to the best course of action.’

  Mia glanced over her shoulder, half expecting the invisible man to spring from the shadows and drag her into the darkness.

  ‘But, isolation?’ Dino repeated.

  Wendolyn folded her hands in her lap and nodded her head. ‘If that is what’s best, then, yes.’

  Mia fidgeted in her seat. ‘Can I say something?’ She raised her hand to catch their attention. ‘I am listening, really I am. I know it’s safer for me to hide. I know it was stupid for us to come here at all. It was wrong to run away from home and steal the car. It was wrong to bring all this trouble to your doorstep and put you in danger . . .’

  The two Arcana boys emitted disapproving frowns from across the table. Dino rolled his eyes at her and began to circle his hand in the air, motioning for her to wrap it up.

  ‘But shouldn’t everyone get scope for one reckless thing in life?’ she hastily continued. ‘I know that coming here was reckless, but I don’t want to turn back now. Can’t this be my one reckless thing? I choose this. Please, Wendolyn.’ She looked hesitantly to the carpet, wondering if she should drop to the floor and start begging.

  ‘Can’t stealing the car be your one reckless thing?’ the fair-haired Arcana boy, Isaac, remarked derisively, his eyes still fixed on his book. The auburn-haired boy beside him sniggered.

  Mia pursed her lips. ‘No,’ she said slowly, narrowing her eyes. ‘Stealing the car is Dino’s reckless thing. Coming to the castle is mine.’

  Wendolyn reached across the table and took Mia’s hand. The older woman’s skin felt thin and aged, but comforting and warm all the same. ‘Mia, what do you know about the Arx?’

  There it was. That word again.

  Arx.

  She’d only heard it once before, when her mother had said it with a shudder.

  ‘All I know is that it surrounds me,’ she answered Wendolyn, ‘and that it makes me a target for all the power-hungry lunatics out there.’ Like my father, she almost added, thinking back to how the Hunter, Tol, had almost killed them in his thirst for power.

  ‘What you have is both a blessing and a curse,’ Wendolyn clarified. ‘The Arx is a force-field, something you were born with. It is a remarkable power, essentially making you invulnerable to supernatural attacks. In theory, the Arx makes you invincible.’

  Mia sucked in her breath. I’m invincible? She momentarily grappled with the idea, barely believing it. In the back of her mind she recalled something her mother had told her after the Tol fiasco: that many years ago, Aunt Maddie had had a vision of one of her sister’s children having incredible power. Was this what her aunt had foreseen? Was the Arx the reason Tol had tried to ruin their lives.

  ‘However,’ Wendolyn went on, ‘those protected by the Arx are invulnerable to all but one kind of supernatural attack.’ She paused and looked intently at Mia. ‘You see, invulnerability is a very seductive idea. It is, for all intents and purposes, the greatest power imaginable. The irony of it is, the power in itself is your only weakness.’

  ‘Because someone might want to steal it from me?’ Mia guessed.

  ‘Yes,’ Wendolyn confirmed.

  ‘And they can do that?’ Mia asked in a weak voice.

  ‘There is a ritual to steal the Arx, yes. When executed correctly, it will shift the force-field from one inhabited body to another. Of course the Arx can’t last forever inside a body it doesn’t belong, but it will sustain itself for many years before it weakens. Unfortunately, this ritual requires the slaughter of the original vessel—you.’

  Unfortunately? Mia stiffened at Wendolyn’s word choice. Talk about a casual understatement. She sighed. It sucks to be a vessel.

  ‘In many cases, the Arx force-field will go unnoticed,’ Wendolyn continued. ‘Some witches have lived their entire lives without ever realising they are protected.’

  Mia thought back to all the near-death experiences she had narrowly escaped the last time she’d been at the castle. She looked over at her brother, but he didn’t return her gaze.

  ‘That said,’ Wendolyn continued, ‘if it is exposed that someone has been gifted with the Arx, undoubtedly the word will spread—and quickly.’

  ‘And I’ve been exposed,’ Mia presumed grimly.

  ‘So it seems. I imagine your Aunt Madeline has foreseen a threat. Even we, here at the castle, have heard whispers about it.’

  ‘So what can we do?’ Dino appealed.

  ‘As you know, the safest option is to keep your sister hidden at an und
isclosed location—alone—so as not to draw suspicion. At least until we know more.’

  Mia’s and Dino’s faces fell.

  ‘Although,’ Wendolyn added, ‘the most prudent option is not always the preferred.’ She laced her fingers together before continuing. ‘I should tell you, there is a way to break the force-field without harming its vessel.’

  Mia’s attention immediately perked up. ‘You mean, I can get rid of the Arx before some maniac kills me for it?’

  Wendolyn nodded. ‘Through an Extraction ritual,’ she clarified. ‘It removes the Arx from the vessel without enabling the power to transfer into another. Effectively it destroys the force-field without harming the person. However, the ritual is notoriously illusive. It is known to have been documented, but finding it is proving to be somewhat challenging.’ She gestured loosely to the discarded open books on the table, and on cue the snowy haired man glanced up again.

  ‘We will find it,’ he said, his voice meek but buoyant at the same time. ‘If it’s here, we’ll find it.’ He nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

  ‘Thanks,’ Mia responded timidly. ‘Mister . . .?’

  ‘Wix. Amos Wix,’ he said, nodding to Mia and Dino as he introduced himself.

  In reaction to his name, Mia’s eyes shot to the portrait of William Wix, Wendolyn’s late husband. A regal man stared out at her from his painted scene, grainy hills setting the backdrop for his stagnant world.

  ‘Amos is my late husband William’s brother,’ Wendolyn explained. ‘I requested his assistance with this problem as soon as news of it spread to the castle. His expertise is far greater than mine,’ she added humbly.

  ‘Not at all,’ Amos responded. ‘It is merely a case of two heads being better than one.’

  ‘And now, with you in our care,’ Wendolyn said, addressing Mia, ‘all the more reason to enlist the help of others.’

  Mia’s heart skipped a beat. ‘I’m in your care?’ she echoed. ‘Does that mean you’re going to let us stay?’

  Wendolyn’s colourful eyes twinkled. ‘Like I said, my dear, I’ve been expecting you.’