“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” she said.
Tristan just grinned. “We’re in, now. Might as well have a swim,” he said.
He dipped back down and started swimming. Lillith watched him as he swam. His body was pink from the cold, but he looked strong. She looked towards the shore. The water fight had stopped, and everyone was laughing. Lillith smiled, and breathed in the fresh air. Sophie’s death still weighed heavily on her, and she felt guilty for having a good time when Sophie couldn’t, but at the same time, she couldn’t stop her life. She was sure Sophie wouldn’t want her to.
“You coming for a swim?” Tristan called.
Lillith turned back to him. Her body felt like a block of ice. “I’m going to go and lie in the sun,” she said.
He stood up. Water ran down his chest, and he slicked his hair back to stop it from dripping in his face. “Good idea,” he said. He waded towards Lillith and enveloped her in his icy arms.
Lillith flinched. “You’re freezing,” she said. Tristan grinned.
The rest of the day was good. They went to the Rendezvous café for lunch and ice cream. They sunbathed, chatted, and played in the sea some more, and Lillith got to know the other under-grounders quite well.
It was late when they realised that they were the only ones left on the beach. That was strange, because there was still some heat in the sun, even though it was lower in the sky. Usually in England, if there was sun, there were people on the beach. Even kids were allowed to stay up late on nice nights, but there were no kids left.
It was Brody who noticed, first. “Where’s everyone gone?” he said.
Everyone stopped talking and looked around.
Lillith gave a little laugh. “Yeah, when did that happen?”
“Do people usually abandon the beach later in the day?” Charlie asked.
Lillith checked her watch. It was just after six in the evening. She shook her head. “No,” she said. For some reason, her skin bristled. Something didn’t feel right. There was no one walking their dogs, or paddling in the sea. No couples walking with ice creams. It was eerily quiet. She’d never known it like this.
Brody stood up. “There are people down that end,” he said, pointing towards the other end of the beach, the end closer to Whitley Bay Dome.
Lillith stood up. That end was still crowded. It was like there was an invisible barrier stopping people from coming onto this side. Her heart skipped a beat; she recognised this feeling. “I think we’re in a bubble,” she said.
“A what?” someone asked.
“You know, like a magic bubble. Like the one we used when we were doing the broomstick flying in the middle of York. The bubble that stops non-witches from seeing what we’re doing.” Lillith looked back at the under-grounders, who’d all stood up, too. “Why would we be in a bubble?”
Charlie was about to speak, when her eyes caught on something in the distance. She breathed in. “That’s the reason.”
Lillith turned around. There was a group of people approaching the beach from the promenade. They were shadows in the low sunlight. Lillith shaded her eyes with her hand, and stared as the figures began to walk towards them. There were about a dozen of them. One figure walked out in front. Lillith could feel her heart beating. Her palms were sweating and her hairs stood on end. She might not be able to see him clearly, but Arthur’s silhouette was unmistakeable.
As the group drew closer, Lillith was able to make them out individually. They stopped before they reached them, leaving a patch of no man’s land between them.
Chapter 24: Facing Arthur
Arthur stood tall. His white hair blew in the wind. Lillith could see his glowing amber eyes, even from where she stood. He held his staff in front of him. The milky white globe on the top radiated menacingly.
The group behind him was made up of a couple of other locked-up coven members, as well as a few that she recognised from coven meetings. The betrayal punched her in the tummy, so that she felt physically winded. She also saw Matthew; he was smiling like he’d already won. She wondered what had happened to Mavis.
Lillith fingered her amulet. The smooth stones felt warm. She hoped there was enough magic left in them to protect her today. “Why are you here?” she called out to Arthur.
Arthur walked forward, into the invisible no-man’s land. Lillith went to meet him. As she drew closer, she saw the smile on his face.
“I knew you would show your true colours eventually,” Arthur sneered.
That didn’t answer her question, but it answered another. “Matthew told you that I killed someone,” she guessed.
Arthur smirked. “Yes, we’ve heard about it. How do you think I’m out of prison?”
Lillith looked into Arthur’s smouldering eyes. She tried to keep her face as expressionless as possible. “Did he tell you it was an accident?” she asked. It fell on deaf ears. “I guess that doesn’t matter, does it? It proves you right about me, and gives you the proof you need to kill me.”
Arthur smiled at Lillith with those evil eyes. “Stopping you is all I’ve ever wanted,” he said. “You’ve always been bad, and I blame myself for not stopping you sooner last time. Before witches got hurt, and died. I’m not going to make the same mistake this time. This time, I’m going to stop you now, before you get any stronger.” Arthur gestured to the coven behind him. “That’s why we’re here.”
Lillith looked down. The white sand glistened in the evening sun, and she could hear the sound of gently lapping waves above the sound of her own breathing. Lillith looked up. “That time was different. I’m different, and I didn’t do what you think I did.”
Arthur’s smile faded into a frown. “I made all the same excuses last time, and it just gave you a chance to grow stronger. So strong that even I couldn’t stop you.”
Lillith thought she saw genuine emotion on Arthur’s face, and felt a pang of guilt. “How did your wife die?” she asked, as sympathetically as she could.
Arthur’s expression turned into disgust. It felt like his eyes were burning holes into her skin. “At your hands, that’s how,” he growled. He reached towards Lillith’s neck, grabbed her amulet, and pulled hard.
The leather strap cut into the back of her neck, and snapped. Lillith lurched forward as a searing pain burned her nape. She looked up, with tears in her eyes, just in time to see Arthur pointing his staff at her, a malicious look on his face.
Lillith had no time to think about it as she needed to defend herself, and the party behind her. She eyed the sand, thinking frantically. It was her only resource, how could use it? She hoped a barrier would work and hastily raised her arms. Sand rose from the beach like the swell of a wave. It was just in time as Arthur shot an explosion of magic from his staff, just as the blockade of sand reached above Lillith’s head.
The shot struck the sand-wall like lightning, and a long shard of what seemed to be glass flew out of it. Lillith swerved to avoid it, and watched as it pierced the ground like a spear. She turned to the wall again, in time to see Arthur’s face through the hole the shard had made. He was sneering, as if he was enjoying this. He waved his staff and the sand-wall came crumbling down, re-joining the rest of sand on the ground, as if it had never been there.
Lillith aimed for Arthur’s staff next. He’d taken away her protection, so maybe she could take away his weapon. She waved her arm in his direction, hoping that the staff would be yanked out of his hand and fly into the nearby ocean. It nearly worked. The staff was whipped out of Arthur’s hand for a second, but as soon as it happened, Arthur simply pulled it back.
“Nice try,” he called out. “You’ve gotten stronger, but not strong enough.” He smiled, and pointed his staff at her again.
A voice called out from behind her. “Not on her own, but she has our help.”
Lillith twisted to see Tristan and the under-grounders behind her. They were ready to fight. She grinned. Then she turned back to Arthur and tried again, putting all of her magical
strength behind her. She waved her arm at Arthur’s staff. It was tugged out of his hand once again. This time, the under-grounders got to it before he did. Together, they focused, and kept Arthur from regaining it. The staff began to spin in the air as each party tried to pull it toward them. Arthur was strong, but collectively, the under-grounders were stronger. Eventually, the staff came flying towards them.
“Into the sea,” Lillith called.
They all pushed as hard as they could, and the staff flew toward the sea. It hit the water at such a speed that a mini-whirlpool was created as it sunk beneath the surface.
Arthur stared at the sea in disbelief. He turned to the coven behind him. “Now!” he screamed. The coven began to fire magic at them, as Arthur ran to the sea to look for his precious staff.
“Shield,” Charlie called.
Lillith focused on creating a shield to deflect the shots of magic. The shield was invisible, made from the energy in the air. Magic bounced off it, making a sound like rubber balls bouncing off a wall. Lillith wasn’t sure how long they could keep it up, but she also knew that this was a distraction. Arthur was vulnerable without his staff. This would be the perfect time to get him, but she had to act now, before he was re-united with his weapon.
“Cover me,” she shouted at Tristan.
Tristan shook his head. “We need all of us to hold this shield.”
Lillith put her hands down. The shield held. “It doesn’t need me,” she said.
“But you need to stay close behind it. You can’t go down there.”
Lillith smiled. Of course Tristan would know what she was intending, but she had no choice. She turned and ran toward the sea, closer to Arthur, who was standing with his back to them, showing how conceited he was. Lillith shot magic from her fingers. It wasn’t a fatal shot, but it was enough to knock him over.
Arthur twisted around in the air and landed with a bump in the surf. Sea lapped over his white hair. He sat up immediately and looked at Lillith, then behind her, towards the fighting. Even though they must have felt the blow, no coven members had come to protect him. Was that fear she saw on Arthur’s face? Now she had the power, she wondered if she should kill him.
He struggled to get back on his feet, making her realise just how old he was. He had to get into a crawling position before he could stand up. Lillith watched in disgust. She should feel sympathetic, should want to reach out a hand and help him up, but it was difficult to have sympathy for a man whose aim in life was to kill her. Instead, she knocked him over again. This time with her foot.
He lay in the surf, breathing heavily, looking at her with a furious expression.
“Not so tough without your staff,” Lillith spat.
Arthur’s expression turned from fury to amusement. “Don’t be so quick to think you’ve won. I’ve a few tricks up my sleeve, yet.”
Just as he said that Lillith saw movement from the corner of her eye. She spun around to see sand climbing and twirling out of the ground. It grew higher and wider, and swirled faster, like a tornado. Lillith could see it sweeping up whatever was in its path and flinging it through the air, and it was moving toward her friends.
“Watch out!” Lillith screamed, but no one heard her above the noise of the fighting.
She turned to Arthur. He’d stood, and was towering above her again, with a look of delight on his face. His hand was outstretched, reaching for something that was skimming through the water toward him. His staff.
Why had she hesitated? Why hadn’t she killed him when she had the chance? She had a choice: stay, and try to finish Arthur, or run to her friends to save them. The staff was nearly in Arthur’s clutches. With it, he’d finish them all, anyway. She closed her eyes, and gave a big push forward.
He flew backwards into the sea, and his staff kept racing forward. Lillith held out her hand and redirected it to her. She caught it, and paused for a split second, shocked that it’d worked. Then she spun on her heels, and ran up the beach, leaving Arthur staring after her.
Lillith pointed the staff at the tornado, which was now seconds away from engulfing the her friends. She imagined snuffing the tornado out, but nothing happened. She waved the staff, trying to make the tornado move in a different direction. Still nothing. The staff wouldn’t work for her. All she could do now was scream as the edge of the swirling sand connected with them.
Lillith watched in horror as Tristan was the first to feel the wind from the spinning sand. He turned to it, and shock crossed his face as he was swept up into it, disappearing into the middle. Riti was next, then Charlie, then Darren, then David. One by one, they were sucked into the swirling vortex.
Lillith collapsed to her knees. Tears streamed down her face. Then an overwhelming anger consumed her. She stopped crying and stood up. She felt different. Time seemed to slow down. All of a sudden, she didn’t feel like her anymore. She felt like she was everywhere, like she was connected to every particle in the whole universe. When she looked down at her arm, it was just atoms. The same atoms filled the air. Her consciousness could move though them all, and control them in the same way as she could control her arm. She felt like she could be the water, the air and the ground all at once, and she knew what to do.
Lillith didn’t need to reach out her hand. She became the swirling sand, which meant she could slow down and stop. She was the air, which meant she could catch everyone as they fell from the sky, and lay them down gently on the sand. She felt coven members throw magic at her, but it couldn’t hurt her now, because she was the magic, which meant she could snuff it out, without even lifting a finger.
She looked toward the coven members, and froze them. She wasn’t even sure how she did it, but she compelled them to obey her. Only Matthew wasn’t frozen, but he wasn’t interested in her anyway. He was running towards the under-grounders. They were his friends. It made sense. He wasn’t a threat to her at this moment.
Lillith’s consciousness returned to her own body, and she ran toward Tristan who was lying on the ground, not moving. She knelt over his body.
“Tristan?” she said, shaking him. He didn’t move. Sand covered him. It was even in his nostrils. She used her finger to brush it out, but he wasn’t breathing. She shook him again. “Tristan, wake up!”
He still didn’t move. He’d been in the sand storm too long.
“No!” Lillith screamed. She shook him again, and stroked his face. “Please, wake up.” Tears streamed down her face. She tried chest compressions. She tried blowing into his mouth and nose to clear the sand. Nothing worked. She looked helplessly at the rest of the under-grounders. None of them were moving.
Anger welled in her. She stood and turned towards the frozen coven. She focused, and became the sand again. This time, she wouldn’t hesitate. As the sand, Lillith rose up and became a wall, then she became as hot as she could, turning herself from sand to glass. Then she moulded herself into sharp shards, and cooled herself down. She was now a wall of sharp glass, like lots of knives, all pointing at the coven.
Her intention was to fly at them and wipe them all out, but she did hesitate. Could she really kill all those people? They were going to kill her. They had killed her friends, including Tristan. The heart in her body sank when she thought of that, and it dispelled all doubts. She began to move towards the coven as sharp glass shards.
Lillith was vaguely aware of someone calling her name. Her body looked in the direction of the noise, without losing her connection with the sand. She took a sharp breath when she saw her mam running across the beach. Cassandra and Brody ran after her.
They were shouting. “Lillith, don’t do it!”
Lillith paused. She hadn’t realised that Brody had even left the beach, but here he was, with help. Her energy went back into her body, and the wall of glass broke, tinkling to the ground. She breathed deeply, and felt her heart beating in her chest. She realised what she’d been about to do. Is that what her former self had become? Was that the monster inside of her that everyone was afraid
of?
Lillith began to run towards her mam, but a strong whip struck her back. She tumbled to the ground, catching a glimpse of Arthur’s fiery eyes and glowing staff. When had she let go of the staff? Before she could retaliate, Lillith’s world went black.
Chapter 25: Waking up
She woke up in a four poster bed with green velvet curtains drawn around her. It was strange and unsettling, but also kind of familiar, and it was cold. She shivered, and pulled a dark grey, quilt up to her chin. The memory of what had happened on the beach came flooding back, making her eyes swell with tears. She could hardly breathe when she thought of Tristan. She needed to know what had happened to him and everyone else. She reached out to the curtains around the bed, and peeked out. That was when she saw her arm.
She was wearing flannelette pyjamas, the type with a shirt-like top. It wasn’t a pair of pyjamas that she owned, but it wasn’t that that caught her eye. As she’d stretched her arm toward the curtain, the pyjama sleeve had crept up, revealing some writing there. Lillith pushed the sleeve further up to inspect it. Her heart skipped a beat, and she sat staring at what she saw. It looked like a tattoo. She tried to rub it off, but it wouldn’t come off. It couldn’t be a fresh tattoo, because there was no redness, swelling or scabs. Had someone done it magically? The tattoo was all black, and looked like wings coming out of a sword. There was a symbol behind it, and some kind of writing on the blade.
Lillith checked her other arm, but that one was normal, although the skin looked different. It was pale. She didn’t have a tan anymore. Lillith’s breathing got faster. Nothing was making sense. She jumped out of the bed. Her feet landed on a thick, comfortable, grey carpet. She looked around the room, mouth agape. The walls were alabaster, and there was an abstract painting on two of them. There was a window to the right of the bed with green, velvet drapes that matched the bed ones.
A dressing table, sparsely adorned, with nothing but a brush and a single mirror was opposite the foot of the bed, and there were two doors in the room. One was by the dressing table, which she assumed was a wardrobe. The other was to the left of the bed, it was the door out of this room, and she recognised it. She knew exactly where she was. She was in the room where Tristan had been kept when he was under the sleeping spell. Except, everything seemed newer. The curtains weren’t as faded as they were then, which made no sense. Had someone replaced them?
Ashes: Witches of Whitley Bay Book 2 Page 17
