Witch's Shadow (The Hemlock Chronicles Book 1)

by Emma L. Adams

  Leila let out an enraged cry, throwing the psychic to the side and yanking the knife free. “It’s a fine evening for blood magic,” she said, spitting out blood. “Let my blood open the veil. Speak the words, Evelyn. Let us mend this rift between us and use the Hemlocks’ magic for its real purpose.”

  “With pleasure,” said Evelyn.

  No.

  Light glowed at my palms as her magic rose to the surface. I felt its echo inside me, even here.

  I can still use it.

  I raised my own transparent hands, and drew on the magic myself. It was as much mine as hers, and I wouldn’t let her win this.

  Threads of sheer white magic poured from my hands, clashing with Evelyn’s. In the spirit realm, she glared at me, two grey-black eyes staring from a void of white chaos and terror. A shade. I couldn’t rid myself of her—but I could bind her.

  I cast the binding spell, pouring every inch of power I could conjure into it. Like the ward on the hotel, every second made it stronger, and I felt its resonant hum through the spirit realm, the mortal realm, and every world in between. Even a ghost could be bound, if you had enough magic. And the Hemlocks’ power was limitless.

  Evelyn’s ghostly form hovered behind my body, trapped in a web of shimmering glyphs. She screamed in rage, but all I heard was blessed silence.

  Then I floated down, and blinked awake in my body again. It’s over.

  24

  The Hemlock magic faded as I lowered my hands. Being able to feel the aches and pains of battle brought a rush of relief so giddying, I could have danced.

  The psychic stirred beside Leila’s dead body, trembling all over, while Keir, Isabel and Lloyd all stared at me.

  “Is that you, Jas?” Lloyd asked uncertainly.

  I managed a nod. “Yeah. It’s me. I locked her out.”

  “Thank god.” He stumbled forwards, and Isabel moved in to catch his arm before he fell on his face.

  “Let me get the rest of that spell off you,” she said to him. “It was a tricky one.”

  “Hang on, I can help.” I walked to her side, tapping into the Hemlocks’ power. “Sorry, Lloyd. I didn’t know the vampires would take you from the guild.”

  “Actually, it wasn’t them,” he said, shaking one leg as I freed it. “I got away from the vampires, but then I ran into another trap because of that damned girl.”

  “Who?” My hands stilled on the spell. “You mean the girl you’ve been ‘seeing’ on the side, against the guild’s rules?”

  “I know, I know. I hardly thought she’d have made friends with a bunch of masochistic vampires, did I?”

  I finished the spell and his other leg broke free. “Don’t trust the dead. Any of them.”

  “You really think I’ll ever trust any of them after this? Forget it.” He ran forwards and hugged me. “You’re covered in blood.”

  “I know. We should destroy these bodies. Burn the whole place, even. Right, Isabel?”

  “Is the witch definitely gone?” Keir wanted to know.

  I nodded. “Yep. Permanently dead. She didn’t see that one coming.”

  Neither had Evelyn. How long had she been planning to seize control over my body? Probably from the moment she’d awakened. And the forgotten Hemlock had almost given her that chance.

  I’d never trust a single one of them again. Cordelia included.

  Once we’d thoroughly destroyed the bodies of the fallen witches, I approached the psychic. She was smaller than she’d seemed in battle, barely five feet tall. Her features suggested Asian heritage, and I’d guess she was in her late teens at most. “What’s your name?”

  “Mackie,” she whispered.

  “Okay. You’re going to have to come with us. Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

  “Not to the guild,” she said. “Absolutely not. They’ll have me locked up. I attacked them.”

  You’re not the only one with that worry, believe me.

  Wait. She knew my secrets—she’d read every one of them from my mind. Everything, from Cordelia’s ultimatum down to Evelyn’s betrayal.

  “You saved me,” Mackie said, her dark eyes meeting mine. “I won’t betray you. But the guild—”

  “They know you exist,” I said. “If you turn yourself in first, they’ll see you were used against your will and they’ll spare you from punishment. If not, they’ll keep hunting you. Trust me, it’s better this way.”

  “I can back you up,” Lloyd added.

  She looked at the floor, mumbling, “I’m not great at following rules.”

  “Look at Lloyd and me,” I said. “Do we look like we’re following the rules? Really?”

  A smile tugged at her mouth, briefly. “All right.”

  The five of us limped up the road to the guild twenty minutes later. I’d spoken for most of the walk back, while the others had listened in slack-jawed silence as I’d told them what Evelyn had done.

  “So the spirit was bound to yours to fulfil the role as heir, only to decide she wanted to steal the power for herself?” asked Lloyd.

  “Yep,” I said. “I can’t destroy her, because we’re permanently bonded. If one of us dies, so does the other.”

  “That is fucked up.”

  Isabel looked like she agreed, and while Keir didn’t meet my eyes, I was sure he must be thinking the same. As for Mackie, it didn’t matter if she heard our conversation or not. There wasn’t any point in keeping secrets from someone who could read minds.

  “But she’s gone now, right?” asked Isabel.

  I shook my head. “I still have her magic, but I bound her, somewhere in the spirit realm. She’ll be pissed if she ever gets out, but I’m not planning on leaving this body unattended for the foreseeable future.”

  Until I figured out how to sever the connection without ending up dead myself, keeping her locked away was the next best thing.

  Keir paused outside the guild’s doors. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go in there with you.”

  “Why not?” I said. “Trust me, they’re going to pin at least some of the blame for this on the vampires.”

  “They have bigger concerns than me,” he said, with a glance at Mackie. “I’ll come and talk to you tomorrow, if you need me.”

  I was far too tired to take in the double meaning in his words until Lloyd nudged me, once we’d passed through the guild’s doors.

  “What?” I said.

  “Just ask him out if you want to.”

  “Look, we’ve a potential catastrophe to avert. Where’s Lady Montgomery?”

  I really hoped the senior necromancers would be merciful. Mackie looked terrified, staring at the cloaked figures huddled around the bodies laid out in the lobby. The necromancers had recovered for long enough to gather the dead, led by a tall figure in robes adorned with badges. Lady Montgomery caught my gaze and turned in our direction. Ah. Maybe I wouldn’t get to rehearse my piece after all.

  Leaving the novices, she swept towards us. “I already sent out two rescue parties looking for you, and I have people scouting the spirit realm as we speak. I take it you caught the person responsible?”

  Mackie shifted next to me. Lady Montgomery turned to her with a questioning look in her eyes.

  “They kidnapped her,” I said quickly. “The enemy attacked the guild by forcing her to use her power.”

  “So you’re the one responsible,” Lady Montgomery said, giving Mackie an appraising look. “You must be a high grade psychic. Who trained you?”

  Mackie’s fists clenched at her sides. “I trained myself.”

  “Take her to Ilsa Lynn,” Lady Montgomery said to Lloyd. “We only have one resident psychic at the moment, and I wouldn’t say he’s particularly ready to be a mentor.”

  “Morgan?” I said. “Ah. Yeah. She’s seriously powerful. She needs guidance. None of this was her fault, though.”

  “Lady Montgomery!” said a frantic voice, and a group of novices waylaid her. “We need you upstairs—urgently.”

/>   “I’ll be with you shortly.” She turned back to me. “You’re to come to my office as soon as I finish dealing with this. That’s an order.”

  “I’ll be there,” I said.

  “I’ll go back to the hotel,” Isabel said quietly. “Your defences are still active, and it’s nowhere near the spirit line.”

  “If you’re sure.” I walked back to the guild’s door, and to my intense surprise, found Keir standing outside. “I thought you were leaving.”

  “I just wanted to make sure you were safe,” he said.

  “I should leave,” said Isabel, getting the vibe that he wanted to talk to me alone. “Thanks for your help in the fight, Keir.”

  He blinked in surprise. “You, too. You fight well.”

  “I’m going to speak to the Hemlocks first thing tomorrow,” I said to Isabel. “They have a lot to answer for.”

  “They do,” she said. “I’ll see you then, okay?”

  “Take care.” I waved her off, then I faced Keir. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

  “The Hemlocks,” he said. “I figured I owe you an explanation.”

  “You mean… how you heard of my coven.” Please, no. I didn’t have the energy to deal with another betrayal, not after Evelyn.

  “The Ancients were the ones who took my brother.”

  My mouth dropped open. “What? I thought your family died.”

  “They did. Except him.” His words were calm, but laced with an undercurrent of anger. “They took him, and I’ve never been able to track him down. Not even through the spirit realm. I’d know if he died. He’s alive, and he’s with the Ancients, wherever they are.”

  “But… that’s impossible. The Ancients… they can’t come to earth.” Not if they were all like that monstrous beast the Hemlocks’ magic kept contained. Right?

  “I only know what I saw,” he said. “I wasn’t at home when they took him, but he warned me through the spirit realm. He said, ‘the Ancients are coming’. Then he vanished.”

  “How—how long ago was this?”

  “Eight years ago,” he said. “I’ve been searching for him since then, and the only clue I ever found was that the Hemlocks knew the Ancients. I assumed that if I found a Hemlock, I’d be able to find them. But now I’ve seen those dimensions…”

  “I don’t know how to find them,” I admitted, an inexplicable rush of sadness constricting my throat. “The only Ancient I’ve ever seen, if you don’t count the furies, is a monster imprisoned inside a void. Nobody could survive there.”

  “My brother wouldn’t lie, Jas.”

  I shook my head. “The Hemlock Coven—their magic, our magic, is used to protect the world against these… Ancients. I don’t know how to get into their dimension, if it’s even possible. The other Hemlocks have been holding that dimensional rift closed for years.”

  “I only know what he told me,” Keir said. “As for why I’m not the biggest fan of the mages, they dismissed me when I went to them to help. Knowing what I do now, about the Hemlocks, I suppose I’m correct in assuming the mages don’t know of your coven’s existence?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.” I said. “Except Lady Harper, and I’ve no idea what she or the Hemlock witches are going to say when I tell them. I don’t think even they knew she’d turn against their own cause.” My phone buzzed. “I’m gonna ignore that.”

  “Wise idea.” His hand closed over mine. Despite the coldness of his touch, I wanted to lean in and forget the horrors I’d witnessed tonight, just for a moment.

  The buzzing continued, insistently. “Right. I’ll just see who it is.”

  Lady Harper. She didn’t waste any time.

  I took in a breath. “Best get this over with. Fair warning: there might be shouting involved.”

  “I’ll keep my distance,” he said, not moving.

  I raised the phone to my ear. “Lady Harper.”

  “What in the Sidhe’s name was that?” she demanded. “I felt the spirit line—your spirit line. Every necromancer in town is shouting about it.”

  “Just the usual,” I said. “A witch calling herself a Hemlock joined forces with Evelyn and tried to break into the forest through the spirit line. I stopped them.”

  A long pause followed. “Excuse me?”

  “Talk to Cordelia. Does the name Leila Hemlock ring a bell?”

  There was another pause, a shorter one. “She died.”

  “Unfortunately not,” I said. “She hid in a liminal space, recruiting witches and vampires on the fringes, and finally kidnapped a psychic and forced her to break into people’s minds until she found out who I was. Then I got to witness a lovely family reunion. If there are any other family members I should know about, then I swear—”

  “None should be alive,” she said. “Jas, are you sure you didn’t misunderstand Evelyn’s intentions?”

  “The part when she told me she wanted more power, not just the Hemlocks’, or the part where she shoved me out of my own head and started to help Leila open the spirit line?” My fist clenched over my phone. “She wrested control over my body and would happily have booted me out for good while she used my magic to break through the spirit line along with Leila, her supposed enemy. I have every right to bind her where she can’t hurt anyone. If you don’t believe me, then screw you.” I hung up without waiting for a response, breathing heavily.

  Keir remained where he stood, inches away from me. “Feel better?”

  “Not really. Guess I won’t be welcome home anytime soon.”

  “I thought this was your home,” said Keir. “Unless you don’t want to stay at the guild?”

  “I need the law on my side. You know why.”

  His fingertips trailed along my cheek—cold, but not unpleasantly so. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”

  I shivered, leaning into his touch—both physically and otherwise. “What, be a rogue like you? Tempting offer, but no thanks.” Despite my words, I tilted my head to meet his, and shivered when his lips teased mine.

  “Sure?” he murmured against my lips.

  “Positive.” I kissed him back, warmth spreading straight to my core as his hands, chill to touch, gripped my shoulders. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you again.”

  “Let me get back to you on that.” His lips lingered over mine, his hands slow to release me. “I only had a taste of you, and I want more.”

  The feeling was mutual. Unfortunately. Why couldn’t I like normal, steady guys who didn’t have entirely too lax a relationship between the dead and the living.?

  Probably because of that extra soul of yours.

  I booted the thought clean out of my head and kissed him again. “You’re making it really difficult to leave,” he murmured.

  “Unless you want an all-night interrogation from Lady Montgomery, you should probably go. But I’ll text you later.” At least something good had come out of tonight.

  “See you around, Jas.” He released me as Lloyd pushed the guild door open behind me.

  “Are you done?” he asked.

  “For now,” said Keir, and gave me a wave before walking off.

  Lloyd crossed his arms, propping the door open with his shoulder. “Really? You nag me about ghosts, and then make out with a vampire?”

  “He’s still one of the living,” I said. “Relatively speaking, anyway. And didn’t you say you were swearing off ghosts for life?”

  “Being stuck in there with that witch kind of put me off lost spirits, to be honest, even if that girl hadn’t tried to get me killed.”

  “I’d be worried if it didn’t.” I followed him back into the lobby. “Let’s go and deal with the boss. Then… we’ll have our zombie film night tomorrow?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  Isabel and I walked back to the train station first thing the next morning. The ruins looked no different to last night, though the witches took pity on us this time around. Within seconds of stepping onto the bridge, the world faded
out, to be replaced by the Hemlocks’ cave.

  “Jacinda,” said Cordelia. “We owe you our thanks for defending the spirit line.”

  “And I owe you no thanks for leaving me at Evelyn’s mercy.”

  There was no need to explain the battle. The forest would have read it from my mind the instant I’d entered. The witches couldn’t fake ignorance. They knew exactly what she’d done.

  “You sealed her away?” Cordelia asked me.

  “Yes, I’m unhurt. Thanks for asking.” My nails bit into my palms. “I don’t know if you spent your living years letting someone use your body as a host, but it’s no picnic, let me tell you. Lady Harper says she didn’t know Leila Hemlock was still alive. Did you?”

  “No,” she said. “We haven’t left this forest in over thirty years.”

  “She’s been hiding in a liminal space pretty much on top of you since the invasion, at least, and nobody caught or stopped her.”

  “There is nothing any of us could have done without leaving, and thus damning the world to destruction,” said Cordelia.

  “That’s precisely what just happened, or close enough.” My voice shook with anger. “The spirit lines are vulnerable, and she just exploited a major weakness. People died.”

  “I offer my sincere condolences. Casualties are an unfortunate side effect of this war of ours.”

  “Of yours,” I corrected. “I didn’t ask for any part in this.”

  Instead of offering a response, she turned her pitch-dark eyes on Isabel. “Have you anything to add?”

  “No,” said Isabel. “Jas pretty much said it all. I know you’re stuck here, but you could have done more than hide away while people died. And if I was Jas, I’d be figuring out a way to permanently get rid of that spirit. She’s not coven leader material, that’s for sure.”

  “Yeah, most covens frown on casual slaughter, let alone trying to rip power from between the worlds to practise blood magic,” I said. “Did you think binding her to me would make her happy to hang around for decades without ever being able to interact with the waking world again? It’s not surprising she snapped.”