An Obstinate Witch

by E M Graham

  ‘I’ve managed to free Auld Meg, only she’s really not old at all, and she’s going to bring me to the Ice Kingdom, but we need three witches to make it work, so will you please help me? Please?’

  ‘Umm,’ Fergie said. ‘What was that bit about Auld Meg? You mean the legend?’

  She shook her head, bleary eyed. ‘Whatever it is you need, I’ll do it. Like I said. I’m s’proud of you, and ye’re m’friend. Come on, let’s get a drink. This is a party, y’know.’

  Her drunken logic wasn’t really making sense, but no matter. I’d convinced her to help me, so I could relax. I skirted past the issue of whether drunken consent was really consent at all.

  ‘Cheers,’ I said before I downed the last of my own beer. ‘Now, we have to get you kitted out.’ I stared at the piles of clothing everywhere before picking out a pair of black jeans and a hoody like mine. She could leave the tube top on, there was no way I’d struggle to get a bra on her in this state. With the sneakers I found at the bottom of the wardrobe and her satchel slung over her shoulder, her ensemble was complete. I put the hood up over her hair so she could leave her party incognito.

  THE FOUR OF US MADE IT PAST the partiers and outside to the street. I only had to tell Fergie we were leaving for an adventure a couple of times to get her down the stairs.

  ‘Where now?’ I asked Margaret.

  ‘We’ll need to get to Inverness.’ She glanced up at the moon. ‘Quickly.’

  ‘Inverness?’ Fergie echoed with worry in her voice. ‘I’ve got class Monday morning,’ she said. ‘We’re learning to do highlights. I can’t miss that.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you have a driver?’ Margaret asked me.

  ‘No,’ I said. ‘I don’t have a driver or a private vehicle! And I can’t use the credit card either, the Kin would be on us in an instant.’

  ‘Well, fortunately for you, my dearest Papa left me the trust with all its amenities,’ she declared. With that she closed her eyes and began to intonate loudly, in a language I’d never heard before. Little sparkles of power flashed around her head, like the tiniest multi-coloured fireflies, dancing and pulsing in the air before dispersing into the ether in all directions.

  ‘What is she doing?’ I whispered to Fergie and Trevor.

  ‘It’s Gaelic,’ the goblin replied, his eyes growing wider by the second until I thought they might pop with terror. ‘She’s calling on a Bodach. I thought they didn’t really exist.’

  ‘A Bodach?’ Fergie wailed. ‘What the hell have you gotten me into Dara?’ She turned away from us. ‘That’s it. I’m out of here. I’ve got class, and I’ve got ideas for highlight spells, and I’m not missing out on that.’

  I held her arm. ‘Wait,’ I said. ‘What’s a Bodach?’

  ‘The motor carriage will be here shortly,’ Margaret informed us. ‘Ah, yes! There it is now.’

  We all watched as a large vehicle slowly rolled out of a mist that had descended on Prince’s Street. In the light of the moon, the body glinted red. It was ancient, one of the earliest motor cars I’d ever seen, looking more like a caricature of a car than a real vehicle. I’d seen pictures of Model T’s from the States of that vintage, but it definitely wasn’t of the same origin. The body was low on spindly wheels, the body was elegantly curved and the hard top square and long. It snorted and rolled to a stop in front of us. I couldn’t pick out the driver well, he or she or it was amorphous, grey of vaguely humanoid shape.

  Margaret looked at us impatiently as we goggled at this ancient vehicle.

  ‘Well, open the door for me!’

  I rushed over to the car and found the handle and the door smoothly opened as if the car was still brand new, not over a century old. Margaret swept in and ensconced herself in the padded leather seat, spreading her skirts out over a full half of the bench so that only small amount of room was left for me and Fergie to squish into.

  Trevor jumped in at the last moment, although I tried to block him by shutting the door. He was forced to find accommodation on the footstool opposite us where he sat and glowered at me.

  ‘Why are you coming?’ I hissed at him. ‘I thought you were afraid of the Ice King.’

  ‘Never you mind,’ he hissed back, spittle spraying across the expanse of the car at me. He took the opportunity to sneer at me before he resolutely turned his head away.

  ‘We’re not taking him with us!’ I glanced over Margaret. ‘Just the three witches, that’s all we need.’

  The older witch laughed and flicked her fingers, brushing away my protests. ‘Let him be,’ she said. ‘He doesn’t take up too much room.’

  ‘Ice King?’ Fergie was coming out of her drunken haze a little. ‘Wha’ ye talking about? Where’re you taking me, Dara?’

  ‘We must go to Inverness, Bodie,’ Margaret called to the driver, and the vehicle set off. The interior smelled of leather and wealth, with fine polished wood detail on the window frames and arm rests. I settled into its plummy cushioned seat.

  ‘What she on about?’ Fergie poked my side and hissed in my ear. ‘And who is that gorgeous witch anyway?’

  ‘Margaret, meet Fergie again,’ I said with a sigh. Fergie had forgotten, if she’d even understood, that this was Auld Meg of the legends, but I wasn’t about to explain right now.

  She didn’t look any the worse for the wear considering her century of being locked up underground. In fact, she was positively glowing, as only a powerful woman in the height of her prime and powers can. Confidence and glamour dripped off her with every move of her perfectly coiffed hair, and her long dress, was now immaculate with no trace of dust.

  ‘Is this really the best you could come up with?’ Meg looked at my friend disparagingly. And Fergie was a sight, I had to admit, with her mascara smeared into the remnants of her electric blue eyeshadow. ‘Still,’ she continued, with a roll of her eyes. ‘Needs must. A third witch we need, and a third witch we must have.’

  ‘Wait now,’ Fergie interrupted. ‘What is this? What have you got me roped into, Dara? And don’t say I consented to it, ‘cause a ‘yes’ from a drunk woman doesn’t count. I don’t remember agreeing to do something weird.’

  Meg raised an eyebrow at me, telling me to deal with this, that getting Fergie onboard was my responsibility alone, since it was my quest we were on.

  ‘It’s like this,’ I sighed as I began to tell Fergie the story, giving it the best spin possible. I left out the bits about the Uncommon Forces for I hoped we’d left them far behind in Edinburgh. I also neglected to mention the whole Auld Meg bit too, for I preferred to keep things simple. Her eyes widened, then widened some more.

  ‘Feck’s sake, Dara,’ she said, then she shrugged. ‘Well, you promised me an adventure, and here we are.’

  I sat back in the seat, feeling relieved and just a little guilty at the omissions. ‘So you’re on board?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she said. ‘But I’m starving. Got anything to eat?’

  I gladly dumped out all Hugh’s chocolate from my satchel and stuffed the lot into hers. ‘That’ll keep you going,’ I told her.

  We moved quickly through the night, but not gently, for the car may have been invented before springs were and so we bounced with any slight dip in the pavement. I felt Fergie rustle uncomfortably next to me. I just hoped she wouldn’t get car sick on top of all the booze she’d imbibed previously. Trevor was off in a world of his own, perhaps this was his first ever car ride, he bounced in his footrest seat like an overexcited child, clutching at the window frame as we moved out of Edinburgh, his nose plastered to the window and leaving smeary drips.

  FERGIE FELL INTO A FITFUL SLUMBER, and perhaps the goblin did, too, for soon there was no sound from his huddled form at our feet. The Scottish countryside passed quickly in the dark outside, lit only momentarily from breaks in the trees when I could see the full moon washing over the land.

  I wished I could sleep and forget everything, but the more the vehicle bumped us along furthe
r from Edinburgh, the more I couldn’t avoid the fact that I‘d reached the point of no return. That ship had sailed the moment I’d chosen to go back for Auld Meg’s help the second time. I could have wormed my way around the Kin, maybe, for my little accident on Arthur’s Seat, but removing the witch from her dungeon? No way.

  Cromwell and his Uncommon Forces were out looking for me in full fury, of that I had no doubt, ready to slap me into the prison next to Meg. Or worse. I swallowed, but that hard lump was stuck in my throat like a razor blade.

  Hugh wouldn’t be able to rescue me from this one. I’d been given too many chances already. My only slightest hope was that I could go to the Ice Kingdom, get Mom, return and bring Meg back to her dungeon. With the Chronicle. All in one night.

  Right.

  Yet my actions were justified. I breathed in and closing my eyes, let the power of the Stone wash through me. I could feel the tingle in my extremities, the rightness of the burning in the pit of my stomach like a hearth. It was at its height, yes, but surely it had lessened from last month. And where was my certainty of last month? Where was the knowledge that I was invincible and could never fail?

  And what did this mean for my future? Perhaps the power would lessen each month, as Hugh said it might, in which case this might be my only ever chance to rescue my mother from the clutches of the Ice King, and so I could justifiably argue with myself that my actions were right.

  Yet all those arguments wouldn’t make a whit of difference in the eyes of the Kin and Cromwell.

  And Hugh... I told myself not to think about him, and this would be the only way to get through the rest of this interminably long night.

  I looked at the witch sitting next to me, still amazed at the changes in her from mere hours before when she had been like a statue in that deep dungeon. Although the dust of centuries still clung to her, she held her head high and proud, and she had a glamour about her despite her old fashioned clothes. No one would dare call this woman Auld Meg. No, this was Margaret Forsythe, daughter of a Duke, and she knew her place in society.

  After a few moments, Margaret looked over at me and I was pulled into her gaze. She remained quiet, with just a small smile on her face. I couldn’t tell if it was an angry smile, or a smile at the thought of the revenge she planned on the Kin.

  ‘You’re not dressed for the cold,’ I pointed out to her at last. None of us were.

  She gave a mock shudder. ‘The court of the Ice King?’ she said. ‘Goddess forbid. No, I won’t be accompanying you there. The goblin will help you.’

  Panic threatened to fight its way up through my chest again. ‘How will Trevor know how to guide us?’ I asked. ‘We need you there!’ At least, I was pretty sure we did, for I didn’t have a clue what to expect, or what would be expected of me.

  She shook her head decisively. ‘No, I need to stay behind,’ she answered. ‘To ensure you make it back in one piece. Triangulation, remember.’

  Well, it was a bit of a relief to hear those words, for I hadn’t been able to admit to myself that this was a question looming over the whole strange journey, but it only eased my mind a little. Never mind the terrors of the Ice King, or the challenge of wresting my mother away from him, for if we couldn’t actually leave his dimension to return home, then the whole crusade would be for naught. Worse even, than nothing, because I would have myself stuck out there, along with Mom.

  And Fergie. I darted a look over to her, but she remained fast asleep, her head leaning against the window glass.

  She looked down her nose at me critically. ‘I must ask you. Why do you dress as a hoyden?’

  ‘My hoodie and jeans?’ I scowled. ‘I dress this way because these clothes suit me. I walk a lot. I need to be warm and comfortable. I don’t have any use for high heels and skirts or corsets. Nobody wears those now anyway.’

  My feet squirmed a little inside the Doc Martins, and I tried to shove them out of sight under the seat as I looked down at my hands in my lap. Even in the dark, I could see that they were a little grubby, and I shifted them into the pockets of my jacket.

  ‘But how do you expect to be taken seriously, when you dress as a child? You don’t appear to have pride in yourself.’ She sat back in her seat and shook her head decisively. ‘This will have to change. No matter, time enough to deal with your self-image later, once we’ve accomplished the task at hand.’

  ‘Umm.’ I hesitated. ‘If we succeed...’

  ‘When we succeed.’

  ‘Okay, after we come back, with my mom,’ I said. ‘Well, I’m going to want to spend a little time with her. You know, catch up on the last ten years or so, as you would. So let’s not go making any plans yet.’

  Also, I planned on clapping Margaret back into her dungeon the first moment I could.

  The air around us suddenly dropped ten degrees. The ice was coming from her violet eyes.

  ‘Time?’ she spat, leaning towards me and transfixing me in her stare. ‘You speak to me of time? You are missing a decade with your mother. I am missing more than ten decades of revenge.’ She closed those fearsome eyes for moment and drew a steadying breath.

  ‘Of course you will spend time with Marian,’ she said as she smiled at me when she opened her eyes again, her face now soft and gracious.

  A shiver ran down my spine. How did she know Mom’s name? I wanted to ask her, but I was afraid to. But I had to press on. ‘So you’re guaranteeing that we will return tonight, all of us?’

  She gave a one-shouldered shrug. ‘That remains to be seen.’

  I couldn’t get any more answers from her on this subject, but that wasn’t the only thing I wanted to find out. I had a burning desire to know what exactly were her powers, and was I going to be like her?

  What was my future to be? I thirsted for this knowledge, but didn’t dare ask her for fear she’d turn into some kind of dragon and swallow me on the spot. Figuratively speaking of course. But all that had to wait.

  ‘Are we headed back to Scarp?’ It made sense. We were on the train to Inverness. That was the path I’d taken those months ago – a flight to Inverness, then the bus to the port town of Ullapool, then on by ferry to the Outer Hebrides. And Scarp, that little island off the larger island of Harris, that was where the Stone was hidden in the broch. It also made sense that we needed the larger power of the Stone to send me through the dimensions to the Ice King. If that was the route to his kingdom, of course, I was still very hazy on that point.

  ‘Scarp,’ she repeated, gazing past Trevor through the window to the shadows of the trees rushing past. She gave a rueful smile and turned back to me across the table. ‘No, unfortunately,’ she said, then sighed. ‘But no matter. We will return some day. Just not this day.’

  She seemed deep in thought for a moment before she spoke again. ‘We are heading for Tomnahurich.’

  ‘Tomna what?’

  ‘The hill of the fairy,’ she clarified. ‘It was the last stronghold for the Fae before the Great Reconciliation, when the Kin and the super natural creatures signed the Accord to enable them to share the land.’

  ‘I haven’t heard about that,’ I said thoughtfully.

  ‘No doubt Nachtan is still jawing on about the Greeks?’ She flipped up an eyebrow, and laughed. ‘Yet those ancient men, and the many words they said and their ideas, all that is so unimportant for you to know. You are ignorant of the most relevant things.’

  ‘The Accord... Is this why there doesn’t seem to be the same division between Alt and our reality here? Is it why, like, goblins can just walk down the street in full view?’

  Her mouth drew into a thin line. ‘Alt,’ she said with distaste. ‘What a cruel concept, banishing all the super naturals. Like repressing a part of the very soul of the Kin.’

  ‘But is there an Alt over here?’

  She shook her head. ‘No, we coexist, no need to deny the lives of the others. That’s a very Puritanical concept, this Alt of yours, and only the North Ameri
cans could have taken it to the extent they have.’

  ‘Why?’

  Margaret shrugged. ‘Perhaps the American Kin felt a need to blend in more with the Normals? They needed to deny that the super naturals were equal beings. As far as I’m concerned, it was like cutting one’s nose off to spite one’s face.’

  She continued with intensity. ‘We’re all creatures, every one deserving of equal chances to live our best lives. No one has the right to subvert, or imprison, or in any other way harm another.’

  This would have been the perfect time to ask her how the Kin and the Venerable Nachtan had managed to curse and imprison her, but she had already changed the subject.

  ‘Tonight, with the moon at its fullest, we will climb Tomnahurich and do the ceremony from there.’

  ‘Are there still fairies there?’ I remembered the fairies on the South Side Hills back home, and all the trouble they caused. Nasty, spiteful little bastards they were, and I still wasn’t sure if they’d brought back Jane’s baby, for she had refused to speak to me after that incident.

  ‘We will enter the premises with the blessing of the Fae.’

  ‘Do you trust them?’ I certainly didn’t, and never would trust a fairy. That was like sending a fox to take good care of the hens. Fairies were rotten scoundrels, and that’s the way they were.

  ‘I will thank you to drop your prejudices,’ she said, suddenly very severe. ‘We will be the guests of the Fae, and will act accordingly.’

  ‘But...’

  ‘No buts, thank you. Do I need to repeat myself?’ She smiled graciously again once she saw my reluctant nod. ‘I’m so happy that’s settled. Now, that being said, of course you must be on your guard at all times on the hill. It is, after all, territory belonging to the Fae, and even despite the Accord, they will never change their natural ways. I don’t want to see either of you lured down to their caverns. Leave the gold and food alone.’

  At least these rules were the same everywhere. I nodded.

  ‘So why this place?’