by TJ Green
She flicked through the first few pages, remembering her encounter only a few weeks before with Suzanna Grayling, her witch ancestor and Helena’s direct descendant, and unfortunately the witch responsible for summoning the Wild Hunt on Samhain. Suzanna had started this very grimoire and the new line of White Haven witches, picking up after Helena’s death a couple of centuries before. So much death, so much anger. Avery sighed as she ran her hand across Suzanna’s name written in her script at the front of the book. She still couldn’t believe that Suzanna had managed to time-walk to the present day. The things she must have seen and experienced; Avery had never even had a chance to speak to her about them. Her spells were meticulous, annotations made in tiny writing in the margins, with corrections and recommendations. Nothing had been written in here to indicate her mindset or intentions. What a waste. Avery dearly hoped that whatever may happen to her in the future, she wouldn’t be tempted into such rash and destructive actions.
She shivered, feeling as if a darkness has settled into her attic space, and she roused herself, turning to the shelves behind her to find a couple of black candles to ward off negativity, and a smudge stick to cleanse the room.
Once that was done, Avery returned to the grimoire and searched for a containment spell, pausing every now and again to examine illustrations, archaic writings, and the occasional journal-style entries. Realising she could search for hours, she said a finding spell, and watched as the pages started to move on their own, as if an unseen hand was searching the book. She smiled as the pages fell open at the right place. There it is. A spell that enabled the user to put an enchantment in a box, bottle, or other receptacle. First, she needed to find an object that was suitable.
Behind her on the shelf was a selection of bottles and jars of differing sizes. Some were made of glass, others were ceramic, and she also had a couple of small wooden boxes that might work. She decided to try a petite glass bottle with a screw cap. She placed it on the table, following the spell exactly. She needed to use wards to protect it, and she also needed wax to seal it when the spell was inside.
She worked intently, not even noticing the time until Alex called up from below. She shouted back, “I’m up here!”
He ran up the stairs and smiled, no doubt amused by her very messy workspace. The table was now strewn with objects. “What are up to?” he asked, watching her finish the spell.
Avery grinned. “I have successfully placed a shadow spell into this bottle for Cassie and the others. Something to help with their work. It’s good for stealth, but now I need something with a little more punch!” She showed him the bottle. An inky blue smoke writhed inside, the lid sealed with black wax.
“Ah yes. Spells to help them with things that go bump in the night!” He picked up the jar and examined it. “Very cool. I taught them a couple of simple banishing spells, as well. What else were you thinking of?”
“Maybe an energy bomb, in something like a salt ball. Something that would smash easily when thrown to blast an attacker away.” She frowned. “I’m struggling, actually. It’s a different way to think of using my magic.”
He kissed her as he put the bottle back on the table. “Maybe you should bottle some of that tornado wind you control so well.”
Her mouth fell open. “That’s a brilliant idea!” Her mind began working overtime as she started to plan how to do it.
“No, no, no. I don’t mean now! I’ve brought Thai food, and it’s downstairs waiting to be eaten. Come on. I’m starving.” Alex grabbed her hand and pulled her down the stairs.
Her stomach grumbled as she followed him, and she realised she was starving, too. Alex had set out half a dozen cartons on the counter, and as she started to dish food onto her plate, she asked, “Did you see Zee today?”
Alex smirked as he loaded his own plate. “Yes, I did, and it’s all fun and games at Chez Nephilim.”
They headed to the sofa with their plates and drinks, Avery desperate to know what was going on. “Don’t leave me hanging! What’s happening there?”
“Fey magic can do some interesting things!” he said enigmatically.
“Like what?”
“Shadow is living in one of the outbuildings, and it’s covered in climbing plants in the middle of winter.” He grinned. “Sounds fascinating, but Zee didn’t seem too impressed.”
“Why not?”
“I have no idea. He just grunted.”
Avery chewed thoughtfully. “I think we should go tomorrow. We’re both off, and I’d love to see what’s going on!”
He looked at her with raised eyebrows. “That might not be a good idea. They may think we’re prying.”
“I am!”
“You’re shameless.”
“I know, but so are you.” Avery returned to eating, wondering how to persuade Alex they should go.
“Well, in that case, we better take the others, because Reuben dropped in today for a pint, and he wants to come, too, so I said we’d go together tomorrow morning.”
Avery threw a cushion at him. “So you’d already arranged it!”
Alex laughed. “Actually, Shadow wants to see us.”
“She does? Why?”
“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll soon find out.”
***
Reuben collected Alex and Avery in his VW Variant Estate the following day. El and Briar were already with him, looking very excited. The drive to the farmhouse seemed to take far too long, and by the time they pulled into the courtyard, Briar and El had explored a dozen scenarios of what Shadow could want with them.
It was easy to tell which outbuilding Shadow had moved into. It was a long, low building set back to the left, and looked like an old stable block. The building was made of solid stone and brick, with rudimentary windows and multiple doors, but now it was smothered in a rustling wall of green leaves, and the roof was covered in moss. The greenery hadn’t stopped there, either. Tendrils of growth had appeared on the farmhouse, small shrubs and greenery were thrusting their way through the flagstones, and a delicious honeysuckle smell filled the air.
Avery’s mouth fell open in shock. “Wow. This place did not look like this two days ago. Nothing grew here—at all!”
Briar was wide-eyed in admiration. “Her magic must be very strong to produce so much growth in the middle of winter.”
“Could you do this?” El asked.
Briar shook her head. “No way. I could make one plant bloom for a few hours, but I couldn’t sustain it, and not on such a large scale. But the fey are of the Earth. It is their element.”
“Very true,” a voice said from their left.
They all turned swiftly, hands raised for either defence or attack. For a second, Avery couldn’t see where the voice had come from, and then a tree to the side of the courtyard shimmied slightly, and Shadow stepped out from behind it, her grey and black clothes blending with the stones in the yard. She walked across the courtyard to join them, and once again Avery had the sense of how Otherworldly she was, even though she looked so human.
“Neat trick,” Reuben said, watching the fey intently.
“I know,” she answered. Shadow tipped her head to the side and fixed Reuben with a long, intense stare.
He glared back, refusing to give her any ground. “What?”
“Water. That’s your element. I can sense it moving through you.” She moved closer, lifting her head as if sniffing. “It is untapped, as yet. You’ve barely touched it.”
Reuben frowned. “Yeah, well, I’ve avoided it for years. Go figure.”
“You shouldn’t be scared of it,” she said, before turning to look at El, and leaving Reuben glowering at her. “And you manipulate fire—very well.” She smiled at El, and if anything, it made her look even more Otherworldly. “Sister, I smell metals upon you, and jewels. You wield the old magic into weapons?”
El laughed. “And jewellery, and a few other things.”
“You must show me how,” she said, clearly fascinated by El.
Avery mused on how Shadow called her ‘sister.’ It was strange to hear, but physically they were similar, and she obviously loved her own weapons.
But Shadow was already moving on, turning to look at Briar. “And you are of the Earth. Small and grounded. It wells within you, gathering around your feet, and moving through your sinews and bones. You are stronger than you look.”
Everyone was now staring at Shadow, intrigued by what she might say next, and Avery almost forgot how cold she was, standing in the courtyard with a bitter wind slicing across the moors and fields beyond.
“Alex.” She turned to look up at him and closed her eyes slightly. “You have the Sight, spirit-walker. And you banish those who trespass into this realm.” She shuddered. “You sometimes tread a dark path.”
Alex looked startled, but Avery had barely time to react before Shadow turned to her. It was unnerving to have those violet eyes turned upon her, set within her sharp face with its pointed chin. Her little ears had a slight point to the tops, just visible behind her long waves of silky hair. Avery felt she was being mesmerised. She certainly hadn’t experienced this when Shadow was in the basement only two days earlier. “Mistress of Air, and seeker of arcane knowledge. Interesting,” she said, before swiftly turning, leaving Avery dazed.
“It is cold,” Shadow announced to the group. “Follow me.”
She marched to the door of the outbuilding, leaving the others to trundle in her wake, looking at each other, mystified and slightly confused. Alex mouthed at Avery, “What was that?”
She shrugged and gave him a half smile, hooking her hand into his arm, and squeezing it. The inside of the building was lined with rugs, blankets, and furs, and a few chairs and other rudimentary items of furniture had been brought in from the main house. A smokeless fire burned in a pit in the centre of the room, and Shadow gestured them to the seats placed around it. “This is my home. Welcome.”
Briar sat down, warming her hands over the crackling flames. “Why are you out here instead of in the main house?”
“Here, the space is all mine, and the winged men do not trouble me.”
“And why are we here?” Avery asked, and then worried she might have given offense, added, “Lovely though it is to see you!”
Shadow’s eyes flashed with a challenge, but also curiosity. “You and your kind banished mine. It shouldn’t have been possible. We were stronger, our magic more powerful. We were led by Herne himself, and the finest warriors of our land stood with him. I wanted to know how you did it.”
“We combined our magic,” Avery explained. “The High Priestess of our Coven harnessed our energies to hold you back.”
“If it makes you feel better,” Reuben said dryly, “it wasn’t easy.”
“It does not make me feel better. I am here, alone, cut off from my world and my people.”
Reuben was belligerent. “Well, if you hadn’t punched through our wall—injuring a witch, by the way—you wouldn’t be stuck here, would you?”
A surge of magic filled the air around them, and Avery looked about in alarm, noting Shadow’s hands were clenched.
“Reuben,” Alex said, a warning tone in his voice.
Reuben glanced at him and nodded, dropping his shoulders and taking a deep breath to calm himself down.
“You killed one of my brothers,” Shadow said accusingly.
“Not us,” Alex answered quickly. “One of the Nephilim did, and only to prevent him from killing others. You did come here on the Wild Hunt, Shadow. We protected our own.”
Shadow fell silent for a moment, and the tension rose.
Avery’s pulse sounded loud in her ears, and she gathered her magic, ready to strike in self-defence if she needed to. What is going on here?
Briar spoke next, leaning towards Shadow. “I’m sorry, Shadow. No one anticipated that one of you might be stranded here. That wasn’t our intention. If it was the other way around, and I was stranded in your world, I’d be terrified and very lonely. And I would want a friend, someone to trust. If that’s what you want, we can help.”
“I’m not terrified, I am fey,” she said with an air of superiority that was infuriating. “But, yes, I am alone. I want you to open that doorway again so I can go home.”
Briar lowered her eyes briefly with regret. “It’s impossible. The witch who opened that doorway had planned it for years. She waited for the opportune time, used reserves of our magic, and cast a potent spell to achieve it. We cannot recreate it, and neither can she—we banished her to your world.”
“We told you this the other night,” Avery said softly. “It wasn’t a lie.”
Shadow leapt to her feet, her eyes wild. “There must be a way! I cannot stay here with these half-Sylphs!”
“Half what?” El asked, confused.
“Sylphs. They are fey who fly—creatures of the skies. That is what they are!” She gestured behind her to where the farmhouse stood.
“But they’re Nephilim,” Avery said. “The sons of Angels and humans, born thousands of years ago.”
“I don’t know these words, and I don’t know what Angels are. But I smell fey magic upon them. They are part fey!”
Avery’s mind was whirring with questions. “Okay, half-Sylph, fine, whatever. Isn’t that good? They are half fey—part of your kind!”
“Not my kind. I am an Earth fey.” She softened slightly. “But yes, at least part fey. But they have never known their real land. They are trapped here in this shadow-land, like me.” She sat down again. “You have magic, all of you. They have not. You must help me get home.”
The witches looked at each other, clearly perplexed, and El answered. “We don’t know how, sister. The gateways that opened between our worlds have closed long ago.”
Shadow’s expression was mutinous. “But there must be something! In our world, in the Summerlands, there are special places that can be opened with words of power. And there are artefacts that possess that power, too, held within their metals or pages. That was what I did—well, one thing among many.” She looked shifty, as if whatever it was had been dodgy. Were there any laws in the Summerlands? Were her activities illegal? Avery wondered as her mind went off on a tangent. Shadow continued, “I was a treasure seeker, a hunter of such things. Hired by others sometimes, at other times I searched for me. There must be some of those things here!”
Reuben looked exasperated. “Maybe there are. Through the centuries there have been rumours of arcane objects—mysterious books with unknown powers, and objects that wield incredible magic, but they are probably lost in time, buried beneath the earth. They are myth and legend only!”
“Neither myth nor legend!” Shadow insisted. “They are real, and they are here somewhere. I will find them, and you will help me.”
5
The witches sat around a table in a pub on a country lane on the way to White Haven, eating lunch and discussing their conversation with Shadow.
“She’s nuts,” Reuben said, sipping his pint. “I’m not going to hare off across the country looking for sodding artefacts for her to return to the Summerland!”
“I sympathise with her,” Briar said, “but you’re right. We have businesses to run! What she’s asking is impossible.”
Avery sighed as she gazed into her pint. “I don’t mind doing some research for her. It might actually be pretty interesting! But, it could take ages. There are thousands of references to strange mythical objects and arcane books that hold secrets. Some of it will be utter rubbish! The difficulty will be finding the nuggets of truth amongst the crap.”
“You’re talking about a lifetime’s search, Avery,” El said, thoughtfully. “But we don’t know how long her lifetime is. She’s not human, her magic is different, and the fey are supposed to be close to immortal—if the myths are true. She could well have much longer to search than us.”
“I think it’s a good thing she’s with Gabe,” Alex said. “For all we know, they’ll have a much longer lifespan, too. And what
did she say about Sylphs?”
“They’re mythological Air spirits,” Avery said, frowning. “I’ve heard of them. I’ve never thought of them as fey, though.”
Reuben laughed. “Well, I’ve never believed in God or angels. They are all part of the Christian religion, which, let’s face it, none of us believe in. It’s a religious construct that’s all about control. And Christians hijacked all sorts of pagan beliefs and festivals. Why not Sylphs? If the borders between worlds really were so indistinct years ago, they could well have been in our world. And how weird would they have been!”
Alex shrugged. “God, angels, or Sylphs, what does it matter? They’re just words at the end of the day. Whatever they are, the Nephilim are half-human, half-something. And if Shadow senses fey?” He shrugged. “I trust her to know. And what does she gain by lying? It means nothing to her.”
“It doesn’t help us with how to help her though, does it?” Briar said, frustrated. “Imagine that one of us had been sucked into the Otherworld? I’m horrified just thinking about it!”
“All myths suggest that we would be used as slaves. At least she doesn’t have to suffer that,” El pointed out. “I was wondering if I should invite her down to my shop. She seemed pretty interested in what I do.”
“Yeah, she did, sister!” Reuben said, grinning. “She’s going to be bored senseless. It might keep her occupied and out of trouble.”
Alex drained his pint. “If Gabe’s got any sense, he’ll use her in his security business. That will keep her busy, too.” His phone rang, and he picked it up. “Newton, how’s it going?” He frowned. “Another? Where?” He nodded. "No problem. We’ll meet you there.” He looked at the others as he rang off. “There’s been another death at Harecombe College. He wants us there now.”
***
By the time the group arrived at the college it was nearly three in the afternoon. The sky was heavy with clouds and the day was already darkening. Avery could smell snow, and she predicted that by this evening, the moors would be covered in it.
