She gazed around the room, and breathed deeply. Cold air filled her nostrils, along with the smell of damp. Her heart beat frantically. She went to the window and opened the curtains. Condensation fogged the glass. She wiped it away with the sleeve of her pyjama top and looked out. She saw trees that were half-bare and their leaves were brown, orange and yellow. Fallen leaves covered the ground, along with a light morning frost. It was autumn.
Lillith breathed in sharply. How long had she been asleep? She couldn’t quite catch her breath. Her breathing was more like sobs, and hot tears began to stream down her cold cheeks, leaving burning trails. Lillith fell to the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest, snivelling.
She vaguely heard a door open. “You’re up, then,” a familiar voice said. “Oh. What’s wrong?”
Lillith managed to control her breathing and tears, then looked up. She blinked a few times to clear the teary fog from her eyes. “Brody?” she asked with uncertainty.
“Who’s Brody?” the voice said.
Lillith’s heart sank. It had sounded so much like him. Her breathing calmed down. Just having someone else there helped to control her emotions. Lillith wiped her eyes with her other pyjama sleeve – the one that wasn’t already wet from the window. She looked at the man again. It wasn’t Brody, although it did look a little like him. An older version, with slightly different features.
“Who are you, then?” she asked. “And how long have I been out?”
The man shrugged. “I don’t know, like six hours or something.”
Lillith shook her head. That wasn’t possible; a whole season had passed. Was she dreaming? “And who are you?” she asked, again.
The man sighed. He looked down at Lillith, sat on the edge of the bed that she’d just got out of, and folded his arms. “Donovan,” he said sarcastically. “Your twin brother.”
Lillith stared at the man, not quite believing it. It was Brody. Just his previous self. How could that be? Lilith stood up. Her eyes caught the mirror on the dressing table and she walked towards it. She stared at the reflection looking back at her. She couldn’t quite believe what she saw. Her reflection didn’t show Lillith. “I’m Lilly,” she said, breathing out slowly.
Donovan jumped off the bed. “Of course you are,” he said. “I’m going for breakfast. See you downstairs, when you’re dressed.”
Lillith continued to stare at her reflection as Donovan left the room. She fingered her older face. She looked thin, and pale. The years hadn’t been kind to her. How had this happened? Was she dreaming? Was it a vivid memory, or had she gone back in time somehow? She longed to be back in the present; her present. She might have been wrong about Tristan. Maybe he wasn’t dead after all. Maybe Uma could heal him, but she wasn’t there to tell her to. Then another thought hit her. Maybe she was dead? A tear rolled down her cheek.
It was hot. It reminded Lillith how cold she was, and she shivered. She opened the door by the dressing table and found that her assumption was right, it was a wardrobe. A rather small one. Not that Lilly needed more space. She only had a few clothing choices, none of which were particularly nice. Lillith eventually decided on some wide leg jeans and a brown, stripy jumper. She brushed her hair. It was shorter than she was used to, and it was dry. No sheen, at all. She looked in the dressing table drawers for some makeup and perfume, but found none. Lilly had obviously lived simply. Her stomach rumbled. She was hungry, and wondered what would be for breakfast.
Downstairs, Lillith knew exactly where to go. She’d been all over this house in spirit form, when Tristan had been under the sleeping spell. She entered the kitchen, and saw someone cooking breakfast. It smelled delicious, and made her tummy rumble again. Donovan was sitting at a large oak dining table in the middle of the kitchen. It was a typical country kitchen, with wood-looking cabinets and benches. The walls were painted yellow, which gave it a bright and airy feel.
The person doing the cooking looked up. She was older, possibly late forties, with jet black hair and dark brown eyes. She was slim, and quite pretty. “Eggs?” she asked.
Lillith nodded and sat down next to Donovan.
Donovan looked at Lillith with a confused frown on his face. “Colourful,” he said nodding towards her chosen outfit.
Lillith looked down at the brown stripy jumper, it could hardly be called colourful. “What colour do I usually wear?” she asked.
Donovan narrowed his eyes. “Black?” he said. “What’s up with you today?”
Lillith debated telling him, but wasn’t sure how much she could trust him, yet. A light overhead flickered and made a crackling sound. Lillith looked up. It was an old-style strip light; the kind you find in a garage rather than a kitchen.
The cook placed two fried eggs in front of Lillith. They were done exactly the way she liked them. There were some similarities between her old and new self, then. Lillith picked a slice of toast out of the toast rack on the table and began to butter it. “Do we have any plans for today?” she asked as casually as she could muster.
“Just a few,” Donovan said, shaking his head.
“Remind me.”
“We’ll be doing what we normally do.”
Lillith bit her lip, and decided not to ask any more. She dipped the end of her toast into one of the egg yolks. The thick, yellow liquid oozed out. Lillith bit the yolk-covered slice of toast. It was delicious. The eggs were fresh and tasted lovely, and the toast was a thick farmhouse white, and was still soft. Lillith went for another dip, and lifted the dripping slice to her mouth. She noticed Donovan staring at her from the corner of her eye. She looked back, bit the slice of toast then mumbled, “What’s up?” with her mouth still full.
Donovan pointed at the knife and fork on either side of Lillith’s plate. “Since when do you eat eggs with your fingers? You usually use a knife and fork.”
Lillith looked at the knife and fork, and shrugged. “Thought I’d try something different, today,” she said.
Donovan folded his arms and sat back in his chair. He eyed her suspiciously. “There’s something up. Are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to drag it out of you?”
Lillith was tempted to act nonchalant, and try to pretend that she didn’t know what he was talking about, but she knew that wouldn’t work. The fact was, she was a different person, and she was doing different things. Of course Donovan would notice. She sighed, wondering how to start, when the cook sat down beside her and stroked her hand.
“Lilly can try new things if she wants to,” the cook said, looking towards Donovan. Then she turned to Lillith. Her eyes were warm. “Well old things. You haven’t worn that for ages, but I like it.” She smiled, picked a slice of toast out of the toast rack, placed it on a plate, and began to butter it.
Lillith frowned. The lady was a little too friendly for a cook. “Thanks,” Lillith said.
Donovan rolled his eyes. “All right, mam, I’ll try to pretend she’s not acting weird.”
Lillith felt the blood drain from her face. Mam? Was this lady her mam?
Chapter 26: Lillith Meets Her Mam
Lillith’s heart pounded in her chest. She stared at the lady, who’d just politely carved a piece of toast with a knife and fork, dipped it in her egg and brought it to her mouth. Lillith watched as she chewed the tiny piece of toast. Her black hair bounced slightly with the movement. Lillith had thought this lady was pretty before, but that was when she’d thought she was just a cook. Now, Lillith looked closer. The lady was in her forties, but had a relatively smooth complexion. She had shiny hair, dark, friendly eyes, and a wide smile, with big lips. Her waist was slim, but she had wide hips and an ample chest. She wore a black dress with a V-neck, and a green pendant hung on a gold chain around her throat.
The lady turned to Lillith, and smiled again. “Are you okay, honey?”
Lillith shook her head. She should have looked away. It must have been unnerving for the lady to have Lillith staring at her, but she couldn’t help it.
“
Mam?” Lillith said, half-stuttering.
“Yes?” The lady replied. Her tone suggested that she was expecting a question to follow. She wouldn’t assume that was the question.
Lillith breathed deeply, and her vision began to blur as her eyes filled with tears.
The lady reached out, and cupped Lillith’s face. She looked worried. “What’s up, Lilly? What do you want to ask me?” Her tone was urgent.
“I’m not Lilly,” Lillith blurted out. She hadn’t meant to, but it just came out. “I mean, I am, but I’m a future version of her. I’ve come back into her body, somehow.”
The lady’s face – her mam’s face – had stopped moving. It was fixed in an expression of disbelief. She pulled her soft hands away from Lillith’s cheeks, and sat back in her chair. She shook her head, then, and a broad smile crossed her face. “It’s October, not April. There’s no need to play tricks on us this early in the morning.”
Lillith leaned forward. “I’m not playing a trick,” she said. “I belong in the future. Or at least, my mind does.” Donovan cleared his throat, and Lillith turned to him. “You said I’d been acting differently. That’s because I am different. My name is Lillith. I was born on 31st October, 1997.” She sighed. “Well, I wasn’t exactly born, but that’s when Lilly became me. It’s all a bit complicated, but I can explain everything.” Lillith paused for breath, and looked from Donovan to her mam, then back to Donovan.
“That’s next week,” Donovan said.
“What?” Lillith asked.
“Halloween. October 31st, 1997. That’s on Friday. Today is Sunday.”
Lillith was stunned. This was the time. Not only had she ended up in Lilly’s body somehow, but she’d ended up in it at the end of her life. The coven were coming to get them, and would end up turning them into babies. Next week she would become Lillith again, but at the start of her life, not the end of it. A thought struck her. She knew it was going to happen. She could change it. Maybe that was why her mind had been sent back here.
Lillith had been looking down while thinking about this. Donovan and her mam were looking at her with extremely confused expressions. She looked up, and began to tell them everything.
When Lillith had finished telling her story, she looked at the bewildered faces staring back at her. Donovan was sitting back in his chair, arms folded. He looked a lot like Brody in that position. Gloria, which she’d discovered was her mam’s name, was leaning forward with her hands cradling her chin.
“That’s a lot to take in,” Gloria said. “Your sense is slightly different. Not entirely different, but it is different.”
“So you believe me?”
Gloria nodded.
Lillith smiled. “Then you agree that there must be a reason for me being transported back here? I’m convinced of it. I’m meant to change it.”
Gloria shook her head. “The slightest variation could cause drastic changes in the future. This incarnation of you in the future wouldn’t exist if you changed it, so I don’t think that’s why you’re here.”
Lillith breathed out. It might be the only way to save everyone. Tristan and the under-grounders. Even Sophie. It seemed like a no-brainer to her.
“You never said what happened to me in this future,” Gloria said, breaking Lillith’s thoughts.
Lillith looked down. She didn’t know. The first she’d heard of Gloria was today.
“I assume I don’t make it past today, then,” Gloria said. Her voice trembled just a little bit.
Lillith looked up, and into Gloria’s glistening, brown eyes. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. Maybe you escape. Maybe you…” Lillith swallowed and hung her head.
“I wouldn’t leave you.” Gloria let the words hang in the air.
After a few moments, Lillith looked up. “Why are we the bad guys?” she asked.
Gloria wavered. “What do you mean?”
“The reason the coven are coming here is because we’re evil. We’ve killed people. Why do we do it?”
Both Donovan and Gloria looked at each other. Gloria turned back to Lillith. “We’re not evil. Everything that’s happened has been in self-defence.”
Lillith frowned. She looked down at what remained of her cold eggs and toast.
Gloria stroked Lillith’s hand. “I think it’s our turn to talk,” she said.
Chapter 27: Lillith’s back story
“You’re two of the most powerful witches in the country, possibly even the world,” Gloria began. “Lillith, you were always powerful. We thought Donovan was powerless at first. We only realised he was an Assan about two years ago. But he’s always accelerated your power, without even realising.” Gloria looked at Lillith’s expression, and seemed to recognise her confusion. “You’re twins. You’re connected, which means you were always connected to his power,” she explained. Her eyes were full of pride.
Lillith smiled. It was nice to hear how powerful she’d been. “Who’s we?” she asked.
Gloria looked away for a moment. “Your father and I,” she said. “He’s part of this story. The problem was that you became too powerful, before you were ready. By the time you were twelve, you could already do more than any witch I knew, but you had so many accidents.”
Lillith furrowed her brow. “What kind of accidents?” she asked.
Gloria chuckled. “Well, one time you blew up the greenhouse while watering the tomatoes.”
“How did I do that?” Lillith asked, her eyes wide.
“None of us were there, but the story you told us was that you had become frustrated with a particular plant, threw your arms up in the air, and the greenhouse came down around you.”
“Was I hurt?”
Gloria shook her head. “No, you didn’t let any of the glass fall on you.”
“How come?”
Gloria smiled, proudly. “You have quick magical reflexes. You simply created a shield around you. We all came running out the house, to see you in a little bubble beneath the shattered glass.”
Lillith was reminded of the shield she and the under-grounders had used on the beach. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, and lowered her eyes to the table and the remains of everyone’s breakfasts.
“It was okay,” Gloria said. “You put the greenhouse together again, stronger than ever.”
Lilith looked up again and smiled. “How old am I, now?” she asked, suddenly curious.
“Twenty-four.”
Not that much older, then. She’d thought Lilly was older than that when she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Donovan sat forward, with a broad smile on his face.
Lillith smiled back. “I guess I learned to control my power eventually, though, didn’t I?”
Gloria’s expression turned serious. “Mostly,” she said. “But you still have the odd accident. Usually when provoked.” Gloria looked down at her fingers, picking at the hem on her tunic top.
Lillith watched solemnly, anticipating the worst.
Gloria looked up. Her eyes glistened. “It wasn’t your fault,” she started. “They were mean girls. Kids can be cruel. They wound you up. You were about fourteen, going through changes in your body and life.”
Lillith looked up, startled. “I killed someone at school?”
Gloria shook her head. “No, not killed, but you hurt her badly.”
“What did I do?”
“You made a car crash into her.”
Lillith’s eyes opened wide. She’d been expecting some sort of fight, with an angry magical explosion, like the greenhouse. Deliberately involving someone in a car crash was completely different. It seemed like a planned, rather than an impulsive accident.
Gloria continued, ignoring Lillith’s startled expression. “You became darker, after that. You went deeper into yourself. I put it down to guilt, at first. Then you did some things to the other girls. You gave one of them, a vain one, terrible acne. She had angry, pus-filled welts, all over her face and body. Another one, you made her hair fall out, until she was c
ompletely bald.”
Lillith shook her head. “I wasn’t a nice person.”
Gloria sighed. “You went a bit far, yes. But they weren’t very nice girls. You could say they deserved some kind of retaliation.”
Lillith looked down. Gloria was making excuses for her daughter, but Lillith didn’t have to. Going ‘a bit far’ was an understatement.
“You drew attention to yourself. Some witches realised what was happening, and threatened us.”
“Threatened us?”
“Told us to stop you, or they would.”
Lillith sat in stunned silence, for several seconds. “Arthur?” she said eventually.
Gloria stared at her, as if contemplating the name. Eventually, she shook her head. “Just some local witches,” she said. “Your father lived with us, then. He was…” Gloria trailed off, and looked up, as if trying to find the words.
“A nasty man,” Donovan said.
Lillith turned to him, a questioning look on her face, but before he could explain, Gloria started talking again.
“He was strict, yes. He was also a powerful witch. He decided that the best way to stop you was to lock you up.”
Lillith looked at Gloria. Tears filled her eyes. This story was not going in the direction she’d expected it to.
“He took you both out of school, saying that he would home school you. He kept you at home, and put a magical barrier around it so you couldn’t escape.”
“Richmond Hall?” Lillith guessed.
Gloria nodded. She looked into Lillith’s eyes. “But you grew up, and you grew stronger and more powerful. Soon, your powers surpassed his.”
Ashes: Witches of Whitley Bay Book 2 Page 18
