Witchfog

by Isobel Robertson

  When the door handle finally rattled, I was so on edge that I jumped to my feet with a scream, the wine bottle still dangling from one hand.

  “Lily! Calm down, Lily, it’s only me.”

  Theo, his hands warm on my shoulders, his face close to mine as he smiled down at me.

  I exhaled in a sudden sigh of relief, resting my face against his chest.

  “She was here,” I told him. “Mrs Pender. She came and spoke to me.”

  Theo stiffened. He eased back to look down at me.

  “Did you let her past the gate? Into the house?”

  His voice held steady, but I saw the fear bright in his eyes.

  “No,” I said. “I left her standing at the wall. She was speaking lies.”

  “She always speaks lies,” Theo said gravely. “I am sorry I left you alone all day. I went to make arrangements with Elspeth and the journey took longer than I expected.”

  “I guessed that was where you had gone.”

  He looked down, noticing my wine bottle for the first time. He laughed.

  “And I didn’t even leave you food! Come, let’s prepare something. I have this lovely fresh bread from Elspeth.”

  He hefted a loaf of bread in one hand as he walked into the kitchen. I trailed after him, bringing my wine.

  “How did you cross the moor so easily? She was out there, watching.”

  Theo stopped, turning to me with a thoughtful expression.

  “It’s the strangest thing,” he said. “But I don’t think they are interested in me at all. They must know who I am by now, what I can do, but they don’t seem to want me.”

  I heard the words he was not saying.

  “They want me,” I whispered.

  Theo didn’t look at me, keeping all his attention focused on the task of slicing the bread. How could he cross the entire moor for a loaf of bread while I could barely step out of the door without attracting danger?

  “Theo, why do they want me?” I demanded.

  Theo sighed. “I don’t know. There’s been something strange about this entire affair since you first arrived. That day on the road. Witches are active enough in these parts, yes, but that was something different. They want you, Lily, but I couldn’t say why.”

  Mrs Pender’s words echoed in my mind. You raise the dead… I thought of that corpse in the abandoned wing, that beautiful, still face, the very echo of Mrs Pender’s own. Did the witches know what I planned to do with Monsieur Lavelle? I shook my head vigorously. They could not have known before Mrs Pender read my notes at the Hall. They could not.

  “Calm down, Lily,” Theo said, a joking note in his tone. “You’ll shake your head right off.”

  He reached out to stroke my cheek in a calming gesture. I couldn’t help but close my eyes and sink into the warmth of his touch.

  “I need to make us some food,” he said, his voice a little shaky. When I opened my eyes, he was staring at me. “Why don’t you sit down at the table and wait?”

  Suddenly feeling somewhat dizzy, I settled down gratefully in a chair. I watched Theo as he cooked, admiring the graceful way he moved and the careful touch of his hands. Should I feel embarrassed about the night before? I didn’t, somehow. Not with Theo.

  Dinner was ready at last; some sort of simple vegetable stew. I would no doubt have turned my nose up at such food in London, but here in our cottage on the moors, it tasted wonderful. I wolfed down an entire bowl, almost forgetting my table manners in my haste to drain every delicious drop. Theo opened another bottle of wine, placing his beside mine on the table. He swigged from the bottle as well, meeting my eyes as he did so. I blushed at the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. Perhaps an entire bottle of wine for a second night in a row was a bad idea when so much lurked outside for us to worry about. But I could not bring myself to let go of this time together. I did not want to acknowledge that Theo and I were here for any reason other than each other’s company.

  As dinner ended and Theo turned to begin washing the dishes, I could no longer stop myself from touching him. I reached out to stroke one hand along his spine, loving how he stiffened at my touch. Then I stepped forwards, slipping my arms around his waist and pressing my face against his back, inhaling his wonderful scent. He laughed, half-lifting his hands out of the water before shaking his head and continuing his task.

  “I would never have expected you to be so affectionate,” he said, a wry twist to his words. I laughed.

  “Only with certain people, Mr Amberson. Consider yourself privileged.”

  He spun around, catching me tight in his dripping wet arms.

  “I certainly do,” he murmured, his voice so low it was almost a growl. I felt the washing water soaking through the fabric of my nightdress, but I still wasn’t cold. I reached up on tiptoe to kiss him, bracing my hands on his shoulders. Catching me around the waist, he lifted me up and me on the kitchen table. He settled between my legs as my arms wrapped around his neck. I do not know how long we stayed there, touching and kissing and holding each other close.

  When he finally broke away, he looked down at me with such wonder in his eyes that I almost cried.

  “Shall we go to bed?” he asked, holding out his hand to me.

  I nodded, not trusting my voice, and took his hand. And so, for a second time, we went upstairs to bed.

  Secrets Revealed

  Once again, I awoke alone.

  But this time, I felt in the air that something was wrong. There had been a change, deep and terrible. I looked around the room, exactly as it had been before. What about it suddenly seemed threatening rather than safe? Foolish notions. The last lingering traces of a bad dream, no doubt. I wrapped my shawl over my now-filthy nightdress and made my way downstairs.

  Already, a very different morning. The study door stood ajar, and I saw the glow of a candle, faint but bright in the dawn gloom. Theo must be preparing for our departure. I felt an unexpected pang of sadness at the thought. This little cottage had been a haven such as I would never have imagined.

  I pushed the door fully open and slipped into the study.

  “Good morning, Theo.”

  I smiled in anticipation of seeing his face. But as he looked up at me from his position by the desk, I let the smile drain from my face. His own expression was blank - no, worse than blank. A darkness hovered in his eyes.

  “I read your notes,” he told me, his voice flat and expressionless.

  I noticed for the first time that he held a bundle of papers in his hand. My notes, the ones I carried everywhere. I had brought them with me, shoved in my little bag, and then promptly forgotten about them. But why this change in his mood?

  “They are eccentric, I admit,” I said carefully. “But I’m glad you found them. They are very precious to me.”

  “You lied,” he said, his voice soft and vicious.

  I started in surprise, stepping back from him. Where had this dark, angry Theo come from? I stared at his face, desperately looking for a trace of the man who had held me as I fell asleep.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Bringing back the dead with science? I was a fool to believe it. I wanted you to be everything you claimed to be. I pictured some elaborate machine with cogs and levers, something that would force a heart to beat again. But this? This is no science. This is magic, of the strongest and darkest kind.”

  I gasped, unable to stop my mouth dropping open.

  “How dare you! There is no magic in any of my work. This is science, tried and tested, based on the soundest of theories. There is no nonsense or superstition in anything I do!”

  “Then you do not chant?” Theo demanded. “You do not draw shapes or lay circles?”

  “We prepare our working spaces and recite the necessary phrases to create a clear mind!” I shouted at him. “There is no magic in my work!”

  “You are a lying witch!” he shouted back. “No wonder they wanted you! A brand new witch, ready-trained - what a gift for any coven! They must have smelled y
ou the minute you stepped foot on the moor! I should have left you for them on that first day. I can’t believe I didn’t see it then.”

  “You’re wrong! I am not a witch! I have nothing in common with any of those women. How dare you accuse me of such a thing!”

  “Can you deny your mother was a witch?”

  “My mother was a good, respectable woman!”

  I may have few memories of my mother, but I knew for sure she had been no witch - no wicked creature of the night like Mrs Pender and her ilk.

  “Get out of my house,” Theo said abruptly, turning away from me, my notes crumpled in his hand.

  “What?”

  I did not understand. What had happened? What was going on? My mind could not jump from the tender lover of the night before to this wild fury of a man.

  “I want you out of this house,” he said, his voice flat. “Perhaps the damage has already been done, perhaps you’ve already weakened my defences enough to let them in, but I’ll take no more risks. I give witches no mercy. Get out of my house.”

  “You don’t know what you’re saying, Theo,” I tried. But he swung around to face me, such fury in his eyes that I staggered out of the room, stumbling over my own feet.

  “Get out!” he said again, his voice rising to a scream.

  This time, I obeyed. Driven by mad panic, I scrambled out into the yard, panting hard as I slammed the door behind me. Then out through the gate, not even bothering to close it as I fled onto the moorland path beyond. Which way to the inn? Would Elspeth refuse to take me in, or would I arrive before any word from her brother? I did not remember which way I should go. I ran, my skirts tangling in the bracken, and I prayed like I had never prayed before that I would find the inn before the witches found me.

  Escape

  I do not know how long I ran for, stumbling over bracken and heather as my legs wearied. I had no shoes - how could I have left without shoes? - and so my feet collected scratches and bruises. Yet still I ran, desperately hoping to see the inn ahead of me. Darkness closed in, and with it my fear grew. It must be evening already. Curse these short autumn days and their long nights. My feet felt like lumps of ice, clumsy and useless.

  By now, I knew that I had gone the wrong way. Although I could have sworn that Elspeth's inn lay in this direction on the map, I came across no trace of human habitation. Miles of endless moorland swept out on either side of me. I was utterly lost.

  When the fog began to swirl up around me, gentle at first, then thick and heavy, it came as no surprise. It had only ever been a matter of time before they found me. I slowed, spinning about in place, watching for where the first witch might come from. Where were the voices, the clutching hands? Nothing.

  And then I heard a howl, low and distant, and my memory flickered. The monster. The hideous beast that had chased me back to the house. I was a long way from those boundaries now - if they still held any power to protect the Hall. I drew a deep breath. I was on my own here, with nothing but my wits to help me.

  The inn. I still needed to find the inn. Without it, I had no hope of safety. If those witches dragged me through the fog to a cliff, as they had done before, I would have no Theo to save me. There was no knowing what else they could do. I suspected they would not hesitate to inflict a terrible fate on whoever got in their way. I tried to stop, to think. If I had not reached the inn within a day’s walk, it must not be in this direction. I had to turn back, following the edge of the high, curving moor. Just because I could no longer see in the fog did not mean I could not find the inn.

  But right or left?

  I chose left, and swung around, stumbling down the hill, praying that my intuition would not fail me now. The howl came again, closer. Every inch of my body trembled in fear, but I forced myself to keep moving. Where were the witches? Why had they not yet come for me?

  I reached the drystone wall that marked the edge of the moor. I placed one hand on it, a comforting presence as I made my way along. If I followed this wall for long enough, it would lead me to the road and thence to the inn. I was sure of it. But how far would that be?

  The ground was slick and muddy underfoot, coating my bare feet and calves with its icy thickness. I fought back a sob as I tripped yet again, catching myself on the sharp stones of the wall. The fog was so thick now that I could barely see my own feet. I knew I would not reach the inn before they came for me. I thought, for a second, that I heard my name called out on the moor, but nothing moved in the fog. Just my imagination. I struggled onward.

  Then the howl again. Closer. Too close.

  I froze, my back against the drystone wall. The monster came slowly, its great shaggy muzzle appearing out of the mist. Thick slobber hung from its heavy teeth, and I whimpered in disgust. But no time to cry. No time for fear.

  “If you let this creature hurt me, I will never reveal the secrets of death,” I called into the fog. There was no reply - but the giant beast came no closer.

  “I do not have my notes, but I can write them again,” I continued. “It is all in my memory. Let me die and you will lose the knowledge of how to bring back your queen.”

  The monster stood frozen as if suspended.

  “Send your beast away,” I said, calmer now. “I will not discuss my experiments until he is gone.”

  And then, so fast that I barely registered it, the beast whipped around and vanished off into the darkness. I knew they would come for me now, so I ran. The first shape began to coalesce in the mist ahead of me, but I was ready this time. I chanted the Old English words I had learnt from Theo, thankful for the education that helped me understand and memorise them. The witch shape snapped backwards, reeling, and I ran on past.

  Another shape, and another. They loomed out of the fog, their hands reaching for me. I scraped painfully against the stone wall, but I kept screaming the words of the chant, and those hands did not touch me. My body, weak and trembling, radiated pain from every inch, but I did not stop until my hand touched something new. I spun to face it. A sheep skull, placed on top of the wall, stared sightlessly back at me, and I screamed in fright.

  A distant cry answered me.

  “Lily! Lily, where are you?”

  Voices in my head? I ran again, skirting around that terrifyingly blank skull until the wall was clear. I could once again lean against it as I ran, trusting it to lead me true. The last of the light faded, and I ran on through the darkness.

  And then the wall came to an abrupt end, replaced by a gate, the first sign of human habitation I had seen all day. I had reached the road. I half-fell through the gate, my feet steadier as I stepped onto the rutted earth of the lane. Was this one of the old ways Theo had mentioned? Would I be safe now? The fog seemed lighter. I scarcely believed I had found the strength to hold the witches off and run straight past them. The young woman I had been in London could never have done such a thing.

  I limped onward, the fog clear enough now for me to see twinkling lights appearing in the distance. The inn. I had almost reached safety.

  “Lily! Oh, thank God you’re alive!”

  Theo came running along the dark road toward me, his face full of agony in the moonlight. I let him come, barely changing my pace. He was forced to walk awkwardly beside me, stepping backwards as I continued implacably onward.

  “Lily, please stop and let me talk. I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I acted in fear and anger. I didn’t understand.”

  “No. You didn’t understand at all,” I told him, and kept walking. I had no energy left for anger or resentment. Every scrap of my consciousness was focused on reaching the inn.

  “Please forgive me,” Theo begged. “I realised straight away what a fool I’d been, but I could not find you. I’ve hunted for you all day, desperately hoping you would be safe.”

  “As you see, I have managed perfectly well without you,” I said, my voice stiff and cracked.

  “Let me help. Let me make it up to you.”

  “Leave me alone,” I told him. No anger, just
exhaustion. The lights of the inn rose up ahead of me as we turned the last bend in the road.

  “I’ll never abandon you, again,” Theo swore. “I’ll never doubt you.”

  But I was too tired to listen. I half-walked, half-fell into the inn courtyard, Theo gripping my arm to keep me upright. He opened the door and lifted me over the threshold, the warmth and light falling over me like a blanket. And then I felt blackness swooping up to settle around me, and I remembered nothing more.

  The Hunt

  I awoke to blissful quiet and a sense of calm. I knew at once I was in Elspeth’s inn. The place had such an air of safety, the air of a safe harbour in a terrible storm. Whatever strength and knowledge Elspeth’s lineage brought her, she clearly did everything possible to protect her inn. I soaked in that safety for a moment, but it could not last. I sat up on the bed, plans whirling through my head. Theo wanted me to leave, to return to safety in London. I wanted that too, of course - but not until I had found the stone. I could not return to London without it.

  That meant I had to get back into the house without Theo knowing. And I would have to find that stone in a single try. I drew in a deep breath. Difficult, perhaps, but surely not impossible. I felt certain now that it lay in the abandoned wing, in one of those locked rooms. I needed to steal the keys from where they hung in the kitchen. The fact that the housekeeper was a witch need not stop me; I would just be more cautious. I understood her true nature now. I was prepared.

  But first, I must gather my strength. I tugged on the bell pull beside my bed, delighted when the same maid as before arrived with a tea tray. She had a neat dress draped over her arm, compliments of the landlady. It must be morning already, and the inn beginning to serve breakfast. I ordered a bath and settled back into bed to wait. It was a delightfully fluffy mattress, one which I would have had no complaints about even in London. Elspeth certainly kept an excellent inn. I could hardly believe I had not guessed at the family relationship between her and Theo. Both so thorough, so diligent.