Lillith’s interest was piqued. “Really?”
Matthew sat tall, like it was something to be proud of. “My parents had stopped practising witchcraft,” he began, then held his hand up dismissively. “Long story, that’s for another day.” He chuckled to himself. “Me and three other friend-witches decided to create our own coven. It had to be in secret, and behind our parents back. We looked up how to do it and everything.”
Lillith was slightly in awe. She wouldn’t know where to begin creating a coven.
Matthew smiled. “It’s actually quite easy,” he explained. “There’s a bit of a ritual to perform, and a spell to chant.” He bobbed his head from side to side, as if thinking. “That’s pretty much it,” he said, then brought his focus back to Lillith. “Anyway, we were only young. I was fourteen, the oldest was sixteen, we were all boys and we weren’t the most mature of teenagers. Our first spell as a coven was to make ourselves more attractive to girls.”
Lillith gave a small laugh. “How did you do that?” she asked.
“Just a basic attraction spell, that’s all. We only had one book of shadows and it didn’t have many spells in it. Thinking back, that was probably a good thing; we might have been dangerous if we’d had more.”
“Did it work?” Lillith asked.
It was Matthew’s turn to laugh. “I like this girl,” he said to the group. He turned back to Lillith. “Most people are horrified to hear that, but you just want to know if it worked.”
Lillith felt heat rise to her cheeks. Was she supposed to be horrified? She shrugged, and chewed on her lip.
“Yes, it worked,” Matthew said. “A bit too well. The next day at school, girls were asking us out, fighting over us, following us to classes, trying to kiss us in the middle of classes. Jamie, the sixteen-year old, got four bras and six pairs of knickers that day.”
Lillith frowned. Now she knew why people had been horrified to learn he’d used this spell.
Matthew didn’t seem to notice Lillith’s expression change, and carried on with his tale. “I lost my virginity that week. To a really stuck up, prim and proper girl. When I didn’t call her afterwards, she was devastated.” Matthew grinned a wicked grin.
Lillith felt her stomach turn. She’d been wary of Matthew in the museum; now she was appalled by him.
He grinned wider. “Then, when I slept with her three friends, she was a wreck. That got her back for what she did to me in primary school.”
Charlie came back to the table, two pints in her hand. She thrust one at Matthew, and placed the other on the table. “He’s disgusting, isn’t he?” she said.
Lillith nodded.
Matthew just laughed, and threw his hands up. “Hey, I was fourteen. I didn’t know any better.”
“It’s still rape,” Charlie spat.
“Not in the eyes of the law. I was a minor, too.” Matthew grinned, thinking that was a good enough defence.
Lillith was sickened, but she wanted to hear why he was now coven-less, and against covens. “So what happened to make you break up the coven?” she asked.
“Well, some other things happened, and long story short, there was some trouble with a girl that Jamie had been leading on.”
“Some trouble?” Charlie said, almost spitting out the mouthful of lager that she’d just drank.
“Okay, a big scandal then,” Matthew said. “She slit her wrists, and left a note saying that she didn’t want to live if she couldn’t have Jamie.”
Lillith gasped. “She killed herself?”
“Tried. They found her and got her to hospital in time, but it was a bit of a wake-up call for us.”
Lillith felt her heart beat heavily.
“We tried to reverse the spell, but made a hash of it. Eventually, our parents realised what we were doing and they intervened. They broke our bonds, and split our coven up. It was for the best.”
Lillith agreed. In this case, it certainly was. “Have you never wanted to join another coven?” she asked.
Matthew shook his head. “Now, I remember how it felt to be connected to the others. It’s like being under a spell yourself, and having desires that are not necessarily yours. If one of us really wanted to do something, the rest of us really wanted to do it, too, even though it’d never crossed our minds before. It was like we were brain-washing each other without realising it.”
Lillith was puzzled. “I thought that the connection was only there for the big things. You know, like if someone is hurt or being attacked, the others feel it and can come to help them.”
Charlie chuckled. “The connection is always there, otherwise you wouldn’t feel the big things. What’s big, anyway? Four young boys, driven by their libido, and unable to control it. That’s big for them.”
Matthew laughed. “I also wasn’t aware that I was feeling their desire and not my own. It was only when the connection was broken that I realised I didn’t really want this or that. I guess, I learned that being part of a coven influenced me without me realising. Over time, it could have changed who I am. That thought scares me. I’d rather have a lobotomy than join a coven and have that happen to me.” Matthew took a large swig of lager.
That thought also scared Lillith. She hadn’t realised that the link between coven members was so strong, and that just by becoming a member, she could lose her identity. Although, she did think a little positive influence from the right coven might be good for Matthew. She drank the last bit of her cider.
“I’ll get you another,” Tristan said, getting up. “Anyone else want a drink?” he asked.
“I’ll have one,” a girl cooed. She looked at Tristan over long, false eyelashes, and smiled coquettishly.
Lillith watched as the girl pushed a wine glass towards Tristan. She was attractive, but heavily made-up. Her blue eyes were hidden behind smoky makeup. Her cheek bones shimmered with highlighter, and her lips pouted with cerise lipstick. She had blonde, highlighted hair, brushed straight and smooth. She wore an off-the-shoulder, pink top, which skimmed the top of her breasts. Lillith imagined she could have anyone she wanted, and she looked like she took full advantage of that. She was still smiling at Tristan, which made Lillith’s skin prickle.
“Prosecco, please,” the girl said. She pushed her chest out, and cocked her head to one side, coyly.
Tristan appeared not to notice, he picked up her glass, without looking in her direction. “No problem,” he said.
The girl then looked at Lillith, and her smile faded.
“Do you want to go next, Sophie?” Charlie asked.
The girl shrugged. “Not much to tell,” she said. “I went to join a coven, and didn’t like it.”
Charlie openly sighed. She turned to Lillith. “Sophie was supposed to join her parent’s coven, but found it too restrictive.”
Lillith frowned. What did that mean?
“I never said restrictive,” Sophie said. “I found it too limiting.”
“Same thing,” Charlie said.
Sophie rolled her eyes, then focussed on Lillith. “I didn’t like all the rules. You can’t do this, and can’t do that. Why does magic have to have so many rules? Why does it have so many limits?”
Lillith hadn’t stopped frowning. She wasn’t sure she liked this girl very much. “Do covens put limits on magic? Or does magic just have limits?” she asked.
Sophie glared at her, and Lillith felt like she’d just said the worst thing in the world. Heat rose to her cheeks.
“Magic doesn’t have limits. Witches stop trying because they think they can’t go any further, that’s all.” Sophie stuck her nose in the air.
Lillith heard a few groans from the group, but Sophie was right. Lillith had an Assan for a brother, and she’d been regressed to a baby again. Magic could definitely stretch further than witches thought it could. Maybe witches were limiting themselves by not accepting that. She opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by Tristan returning.
Tristan placed another pint of cider in front
of her, and a glass of Prosecco in front of Sophie. “There you go,” he said, squeezing himself onto the seat next to Lillith.
Lillith smiled. “Thank you,” she said.
“Thank you, Trissy,” Sophie clucked.
He smiled at Lillith, and ignored Sophie.
Lillith heard more stories. She met Jennifer and David, both of whom had never tried covens, but they’d heard bad things. Last to tell his story was Darren. He was a plump witch, who looked older than the others, with a round face, and light brown eyes.
“I was in a coven for a few years,” he began.
That surprised Lillith.
“I didn’t have a problem with the coven, but they had a rivalry with a coven from a neighbouring town. That’s what I didn’t like.”
Lillith frowned. “What do you mean by rivalry?” she asked.
“Full on rivalry, like fights every weekend kind of rivalry.”
Lillith imagined something like the Jets and Sharks from Westside Story. “Sounds bad,” she said.
“It was. And everyone’s right about this connection thing, because when I was in the coven, I hated them, too. When I got out, I realised they weren’t that bad.”
“Did you ever get into a fight with them?”
Darren shook his head. “Not me, I’m not a fighter. Made me realise just how controlling being in a coven can be, though.”
By the time Darren had finished his story, it was late; too late to go to any of the livelier pubs, so they just headed back to Charlie’s. Lillith wasn’t too disappointed, as the evening had exhausted her. How, when all she had done was listen to stories, was a mystery. Maybe it was all the new information. Maybe it was the huge decision she’d eventually have to make.
Charlie had offered everyone a drink of something before they retired for the night, but Lillith had just wanted to climb in bed, snuggle up with Tristan, and go to sleep. She was there now, but she couldn’t sleep. Her mind kept replaying conversations in her head.
Lillith turned to Tristan. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t breathing deeply yet. “Why don’t you want to be in a coven?” she asked.
Chapter 11: Tristan’s Story
Tristan opened one eye and looked at Lillith, who had her head propped up on her hand. She was ready to chat, not sleep, and she hoped Tristan was, too. Tristan sighed and opened his eyes fully. He rolled over to face Lillith.
“I didn’t even know coven’s existed until I came here,” he said.
“Your parents weren’t in one, then?”
Tristan shook his head. “No.”
“But you knew you were a witch?”
“We didn’t perform a lot of witchcraft. We lived fairly poorly, I guess. Although I didn’t think so at the time.”
Lillith listened with interest. So far in their relationship, it’d all been about her and what was going on. It was nice to hear about him.
“I grew up on a farm. You know that. It was a good farm. We had a few animals, and we grew things. Corn, mainly. I had my own vegetable patch, and my own pig, who was my responsibility to look after.” Tristan smiled as he remembered. “Paul, I called him. Paul the pig.”
Lillith smiled.
“I didn’t go to school. My mother home-schooled me. I didn’t have friends my own age, but it didn’t bother me, because I didn’t know any different. We didn’t have television or a computer. My life was on the farm. I played with the animals and I learned how to farm. My mother taught me to read and write, but she didn’t teach me about the world.”
Lillith’s smile faded. He’d been isolated.
Tristan stroked Lillith’s face. “Don’t be sad. I had a good life. I had a whole farm to play in, and my parents were great. They loved me, and they played with me. My childhood was different, but I didn’t know that, so I didn’t want for anything.”
Lillith smiled again.
“We only used witchcraft when we needed to. My mother taught me a lot of defensive spells, and we had protection talismans all over the farm. That’s how I learned how to use crystals, I suppose. Although I learned most of that when I got here.”
“Oh?”
“Charlie’s nose stud. When I first came here, she was drinking some potion to block out her empath powers. It wasn’t nice, and goodness knows what it was doing to her insides. I knew crystals would help, but I had to find the right one, and put the right spell on it. So I did a bit of studying.”
A warmth of love tingled though Lillith’s body. Tristan was an amazing person. Instinctively, she fingered Tristan’s other crystal creation: her protection talisman, in the form of a necklace. Her amulet had prevented a spell cast by Arthur from killing her. If she hadn’t been wearing it, she wouldn’t be here today. Lillith shuddered at the memory.
“Anyway,” Tristan said, bringing Lillith back to the here and now. “I was fifteen when my parents died. I tried running the farm on my own. We had farm hands to help with the actual farming, but I didn’t have a clue how to do things like negotiate best prices, or reconcile bank balances. My mother would have taught me all of that eventually, but she thought she had plenty of time for that. Someone offered to buy the farm. I was reluctant at first. What was I going to do without it? It was all I knew, but as time went on, I realised I was ruining it.
“I agreed to sell. So I was sixteen, I had money in the bank, but I was completely naïve. I had no idea about technology, I had no idea how to deal with people, even. There was this big world that I knew nothing about. I decided to get out of Ripley, but I had no idea where to go. Eventually, I found myself in York. It’s a scary place for a sixteen-year old with no idea about anything. Luckily, Charlie found me and took me in. If she hadn’t, I don’t know where I’d be now.”
Lillith had been holding Tristan’s hand. She squeezed it now. It was funny hearing his story; it was un-imaginable, growing up without anything. Tristan was so together now that it was hard to envisage him like that. He squeezed her hand back.
“Do you know why your parents lived so simply?” she asked.
Tristan’s eyes had a glazed appearance, but he blinked when Lillith spoke, and looked at her, refocusing his attention. “I think they were hiding,” he said. “My mother spoke to me about a witch who’d tried to kill me, once. She said we were safe on the farm, and that’s why we couldn’t leave it.”
“Do you know who she was talking about?”
Tristan shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t think it was real. After all, I did leave the farm, and no witch came for me.”
Lillith stroked Tristan’s arm. “Were you worried that one would?”
“I keep up my defensive spell practise, just in case.”
Lillith fingered her necklace again. She was pleased he had. “I’m sorry I’ve never asked you about this before,” she said.
Tristan shook his head. “I wasn’t ready to share it before. You’ve had enough on your plate. I’m just happy I was there to help.”
“Well, I’m going to ask you more about your life, now. I want to know everything.”
Tristan laughed, and squeezed Lillith’s hand again. “There’s not much more to tell,” he said.
“You’re nineteen, now. There are three years to fill in.”
Tristan’s smile faded. “Not tonight, though,” he said. “Let’s get some sleep.”
Lillith bowed her head. He turned over, and closed his eyes again.
She put her arm around him. “One more question,” she said.
“What?”
“Why do you not like covens?”
“I never said I didn’t like them. Your coven is the first one I’ve had anything to do with. I just wanted to show you a different way, before you made your decision.”
“Right.”
Tristan yawned. “Let’s go to sleep.”
Lillith turned over and closed her eyes, but she didn’t go to sleep. She’d heard a lot tonight, and all of it was circling around her head, not making much sense at the moment. Were covens goo
d or bad? Like anything in life, nothing suits everyone. What one person loves, another hates. She felt like she needed to speak to her mam about it, and decided she would ring her in the morning.
Chapter 12: Tour of York
It was late when Lillith woke. She wasn’t sure when she’d fallen asleep, but it’d been long after Tristan. She turned over and found Tristan’s side of the bed empty and cold. She sat up and listened. She heard voices, smiled and climbed out of bed.
She found Tristan, Charlie and Riti chatting in the sitting room. Everyone was still in their pyjamas. Tristan smiled at Lillith, which made her heart flutter.
Charlie turned to Lillith and grinned. “Morning, sleepy head,” she said. “We’ve all had bacon butties. Fancy one?”
Lillith’s stomach growled at the thought. “I’d love one,” she said.
Charlie put her thumbs up, and got up immediately, disappearing into the kitchen. Lillith curled up next to Tristan, who put his arm around her. For the first time in a while, Lillith felt peaceful. There was no one lying to her here, there was no impending event that worried her, there was no pressure for her to do something, or be someone, or learn something. She sighed contentedly.
Riti smiled at Lillith. “Did you sleep well?” she asked.
Lillith shrugged. “When I eventually got to sleep.”
“Mind racing too much?” she asked.
Lillith gave a small laugh. “Yeah.”
“Want to do anything today?”
Lillith looked at the time. It was already eleven o clock. “How about we do some sightseeing?”
Riti chuckled. “If that’s what you want to do, let’s do it.”
It was after midday before they were all ready, but that still gave them several hours. Charlie, Riti and Tristan regaled Lillith with stories from history and their own experiences as they wandered around York. They visited the impressive York cathedral, walked along the old city walls, and went shopping down The Shambles, an old cobbled street with buildings that leaned towards each other as if they wanted to kiss. They also visited the York dungeons, which turned Lillith’ stomach, and stopped for afternoon tea at the famous Betty’s tea rooms.
Ashes: Witches of Whitley Bay Book 2 Page 8
