by K E O'Connor
Odessa leaned across the table. “Could it be the darkness? Have the troubles reached Luna?”
“And now it’s messing with us,” Storm said. “But why do that? What purpose does it have in sending a ghost that looks like Luna to talk to us?”
“To throw us off its scent,” I said. “We’ve been poking around to see what we can find out about Luna and the ghosts bothering her. That could have stirred something up. Maybe we got too close to the truth, so needed to be distracted. And what’s more distracting than your best friend vanishing and then showing up as a ghost?” I shuddered and drank more hot chocolate.
Storm nodded. She grabbed a cherry pie and took a huge bite.
I hovered a hand over the tray and chose a chocolate orange truffle cake. I took a bite. “And then there’s Albert. Why isn’t he devastated? He was almost dancing with joy as we walked back here. Luna was his life. He loved nothing more than to make her happy, yet he’s acting like it’s a relief to find her dead.”
“Maybe he’s another victim of this darkness,” Storm said.
“Um, Indigo. We have a problem.” Odessa stuffed the rest of her brownie into her mouth and pointed over my shoulder.
I turned and gulped. There were half a dozen customers in the bakery, and they were glaring at me. I’d been so focused on the shocking discovery about Luna, that I’d forgotten I was top of the most wanted list in Witch Haven. I hadn’t even thought that coming into the bakery was a dumb idea. It was an idea I now regretted.
“Grab the food, we can get out the back way,” Storm said.
“It’s too late for that.” Odessa pointed at the back door that led to the kitchen, the toilets, and the alleyway. Two stern-faced guys stood there with their arms crossed over their chests and magic sparking on their fingers.
Albert seemed unaware of the growing tension in the bakery as he placed cakes in boxes and rang up a sale. He was laughing and whistling to himself.
“Hey, Albert. We could do with some help over here,” I said.
He looked up and laughed. “You’re fine. You’re exactly where you need to be. Eat up.”
My stomach gurgled and my head grew heavy. I staggered to my feet. “Does anyone else feel weird?”
“I feel fine,” Nugget said. “But then I haven’t been gorging myself on sugar.”
“I don’t think it’s that.”
Odessa gripped her stomach and winced. “Now you mention it, I don’t feel so good.”
I staggered forward, trying to get to the door, but was pushed back by a customer.
“I just want to leave. I need some fresh air.” I tried to get past the woman, but she shoved me back, this time harder.
Nugget hissed at the woman.
“You’re not going anywhere, witch. It’s time you paid for what you did,” she said.
The rest of the customers around her murmured their agreement.
I tried to object as my knees gave out. I sank to the cold tiled floor, the room spinning and my stomach turning over.
Hilda scuttled along beside me, while Russell flew overhead, cawing his distress as I crawled back to the others and grabbed the edge of the table. My hand hit the tray with the food on.
Oh, crud! The cakes and the hot chocolate. Had Albert put something in them to weaken us?
A bitter taste flooded my mouth, and I fought nausea.
I shuffled around to see the others. Storm was slumped down, not moving, and Odessa’s face was contorted in pain as she gripped her stomach and groaned.
I looked at Albert as black dots appeared in my vision. “What did you do?”
Chapter 16
Wood smoke filled my nose as I slowly resurfaced back to consciousness. I was outside, lying on my back, and it was dark.
I took a deep breath. There must be a fire burning nearby, because the air was smoky and burned down my throat as I swallowed.
I blinked several times, trying to figure out exactly where I was.
The last thing I remembered was being in Albert’s bakery, eating cake and talking to Storm and Odessa about Luna’s ghost.
The cake and the hot chocolate! Of course. Albert did something bad to us. But why? Had Luna’s death driven him insane?
“She’s awake,” someone shouted.
I peered into the gloom and tensed as a crowd of villagers appeared. None of them looked happy to see me. What were they doing?
My head wouldn’t stop spinning, and my limbs felt like they were made of stone. I could barely move. Whatever magic Albert had performed on me had left me weak. I was never buying another cake from him again.
“Get her on top of the pyre,” a guy yelled.
I scrunched my brow. What was he talking about? He couldn’t mean... I turned my head and groaned. To my right was a huge pile of wood. Stuck in the middle was a pole. You didn’t need to be a genius to work out that I was about to be tied to that pole. These villagers planned to have themselves a little witch burning.
Two huge guys I didn’t recognize grabbed my arms and dragged me to the pyre. They hauled me up and tied me against the pole. I was too weak to resist and didn’t even try to struggle.
“You’re making a mistake,” I said. “You don’t have to do this.”
They both grunted and hurried away.
“Indigo Ash. You’re a dangerous witch. It’s time your reign of terror ended.”
I recognized that voice. It was Cornelia Norwood, the owner of the local inn. The last time I’d seen her, she’d been in her late thirties and a real vixen.
The same couldn’t be said for her now as I picked her out from the crowd. She had on an eye patch, and a messy scar ran down one side of her face. A scarf covered her once striking amber hair.
I grimaced and looked away. I knew exactly where she got those injuries from. “Cornelia, you have to listen to me. I’m innocent. Whatever you think I did, I didn’t do it.”
“You’re telling me you didn’t help to murder sixty-six people in this village?” Cornelia pointed at her scarred face. “You didn’t do this to me? You didn’t try to burn down my business and ruin my life?”
I struggled against the bindings, but they were too tight, and my brain was too confused to try a spell to help get me free. “Yes, but I’ve paid for those crimes. I was in prison for a long time, and then in rehabilitation. I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m trying to help Luna Grimstone.”
“You’re not helping. You took her.” An old woman with a hunched back pointed a finger at me. “We all know you’re behind this. You’re behind the problems in this village.”
“I’m not. I’ll hold my hands up to what I did when I was younger, but all the other stuff has nothing to do with me. There’s a problem in Witch Haven, and I’m figuring out what that is. I plan to stop it.”
“So do we,” Cornelia said. “And we can do that by getting rid of you.”
“You killed my mom,” a woman in her late twenties yelled at me. “And you laughed while you did it.”
“And you burned down my house,” a guy shouted. “I had everything taken from me because of you.”
The crowd continued to hurl accusations at me until tears clouded my vision and my chin dropped to my chest. They were right. I was a killer. Maybe I deserved to die. Prison wasn’t enough for someone like me. If I could be controlled by dark magic once, it would be easy for it to catch me again. And what’s to say the next time I wouldn’t stop? I’d kill everyone in my path.
Since coming back here, I’d tried so hard to be normal and accepted. But the truth was, I wasn’t. I was weak. I’d let the darkness consume me, and innocent people had been hurt.
Albert bounded over, a smile on his face. “Hi, Indigo.” He waved at me.
“Albert, help me. Make everyone else see sense. I’ve been trying to help Luna. You know that.”
He nodded and then turned to Cornelia. “She must die. Can I be the first to light the fire?”
“Albert, wait! You’re not yourself. You don’t w
ant me dead.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me. But I’ve not felt happy in a long time,” he said. “Now we’ve captured you. Finally, the village can get some peace.”
“What about Luna? Why aren’t you sad about losing her?”
“Oh, I am. I’m devastated by my loss, but your death will make up for that. I demand vengeance. A life for a life. Although Luna was worth twenty of you, and she didn’t deserve to die.”
“I agree. She was an amazing friend. I’d trade my life for hers in a heartbeat if it brought her back. And I want to find out what happened to her.” I squirmed in the bindings, my head slowly becoming less woozy. “Albert, listen to me. I’m not convinced Luna is dead. The ghost we saw, maybe it wasn’t her.”
“It was. It looked just like her.”
“But it didn’t act like her. Luna would never have behaved that way. Sure, she’d have wanted to make sure we were doing well and wouldn’t miss her too much, but she wouldn’t have taken her sudden death so lightly. She’d have wanted to know what happened to her.”
“You can’t claim to know Luna. You’ve not been around for over a decade.” Albert turned to the watching crowd. “And we all know why that is.”
They all grumbled an agreement.
“Don’t you want to lay her to rest?” I said. “You don’t even know where Luna’s body is. You can’t get closure until you find her. I’ll help with that.”
“No, all I want is for you to die. It’s what you deserve. You killed my Luna.”
“No, I didn’t. And if you’d listen, you’d realize I was making sense. That ghost wasn’t Luna. She could still be alive. We have to find her. Albert, let me go.”
Albert ignored me and danced around the fire, waving his arms and laughing.
Some of the other villagers joined him, while the rest stood in front of me and continued to yell insults.
I narrowed my eyes and stared into the darkness. A red mist was creeping through the crowd. I couldn’t see it unless I blurred my vision slightly, but it was there. Was this the darkness taking over? Could this be the work of the witch coven that wanted control of the village? They were here and slowly infecting everyone with hatred and fear so they’d be easy to manipulate.
“Burn the witch! Burn the witch!” The chant grew all around me as more and more villagers joined in.
My head was slowly clearing, and magic sparked on my fingertips. I could blast my way out of here, but if I did, people could get hurt, and I wanted no more deaths on my conscience.
There had to be a non-lethal way I could escape. I looked around, trying to find a friendly face, but all I saw was anger. There was no-one here to help me. And there was no sign of Odessa, Storm, or my familiars. What had happened to them?
“Albert, since you’ve been recently wronged by this terrible witch, you may have the honor of lighting the witch pyre once we have completed our rituals.” Cornelia walked to a metal can. She pulled out a long stick and sparked a flame on the end, before handing it to Albert.
“I won’t let you down.” Albert took the burning stick and bowed, before turning to me. “We will cast you and your evilness out of Witch Haven for good.”
A part of me wanted to scream and blow this place to smithereens, but I also knew I deserved this. Perhaps this was my fate finally coming full circle. No one should get away with killing so many people. How could I expect anything other than long held hatred and resentment bubbling in this village?
Maybe that’s what all the problems people were facing were about. They couldn’t forget the crimes I’d committed. With me gone, it would give them peace so they could move on. My death would make them happy.
“Bring out the others,” Cornelia said. “I want this witch to see the true impact of her behavior. She must suffer.”
“The others?” My head shot up as the crowd parted.
Storm, Odessa, and my familiars were carried out by a group of villagers. They were thrown down at the bottom of the pyre.
Cornelia stood over them, a wicked smile on her face. “We plan to kill your accomplices and smite out all the evil in one go.”
Horror struck me like a spiked sledgehammer as I stared at my friends and familiars unconscious on the ground. The people I most cared about were at risk. And I really did care for all of them. I wanted my life back in Witch Haven more than anything. I needed to be surrounded by my friends and my familiars and have the chance to help others. There was no way I was going to lose that.
“Get them on the pyre,” Cornelia said. “We’ll burn them all at once.”
“They’re not involved.” Panic made my heart ricochet in my chest. “I take the blame for everything. Let them go.”
“They’re not innocent. We know you’ve been spending time with Storm and Odessa,” Cornelia said. “You may think you’ve been clever, hiding as you infect us with your magic, but we’ve grown wise to your dark ways. You fooled us once, but you won’t do it again. Everyone you’ve associated with since you returned must be destroyed.”
“But not me,” Albert said, his sunny disposition faltering. “I was tricked by her, too.”
Cornelia patted his arm. “Of course not. You’ve had a great grievance done to you by Indigo. We’ll set that right. Luna’s murder will be avenged.”
I struggled in my bindings as Storm and Odessa were tied to the pole. An unconscious Hilda was placed on my left shoulder, Russell was tucked inside my jacket, and Nugget hung around my neck.
I nudged Hilda with my chin to get her to wake, but she didn’t move. I did the same with Nugget, wincing as I saw a deep gash on his head. His claws were also shredded, suggesting he hadn’t gone down quietly.
I may be guilty, but none of them were. It was my fault they were in this mess, and it stopped now.
Albert did another staggering dance around the pyre, growing closer as he dabbed at the wood beneath my feet and laughing as it began to smoke.
I grabbed Odessa’s arm and squeezed. “Wake up! We’re in trouble.”
Odessa didn’t stir.
I tried to reach Storm, but she was tied with her back to me, so I couldn’t even see her.
The amethyst necklace I wore heated against my skin. My magic was ready to flare out and protect me, and I wasn’t sure how much control I’d have over it.
“Everyone get back!” I yelled. “You’re in danger.”
The crowd ignored me as they encouraged Albert to start the fire.
I tried to calm my speeding heart. If my emotions got any more out of control, my magic would become unstable, and then I’d do people real damage.
I repeated my calls for people to get out of the way, but it was as if they couldn’t hear me. They were so fueled by their bloodlust, and all they wanted to see was me burned to a crisp.
An air of defeat sunk over me as the smoke intensified. I was about to lose everything, and I’d only just gotten it all back. I had my amazing friends, my familiars, and a home I loved. Now it was being taken. I’d had a glimpse of something amazing, but who was I kidding? I was a broken witch. I deserved to be stuck on top of this pyre.
But my friends didn’t. There had to be a way I could help them get free.
“Begin the fire ritual,” Cornelia said.
Albert halted from stabbing at the wood. “Can’t we just burn her?”
“We will. But we must observe the proper rituals. Everyone join hands and we’ll offer this witch and her accomplices to the darkness. It will take them and leave this place. The flames can consume what’s left.”
Albert glared at Cornelia. The lit stick he held dangled dangerously close to the wood beneath my feet, and embers dropped onto the pyre.
“Albert, join with me.” Cornelia held out her hand. “We must do this right.”
“There’s nothing right about burning witches,” I said. “Don’t you know your witch history?”
Albert laughed at me, then danced over to Cornelia and grabbed her hand.
A groan had m
e jerking my head around. Odessa was finally stirring.
“Hey! Wake up. We’re about to be flambéed,” I whispered.
Odessa flopped her head around, her eyes fluttering open. “Urgh! I feel terrible. What’s going on?”
“We’re about to go up in flames.”
“Huh? Is that what I can smell? Are we on fire?” She shook her head and looked around. “What are we doing up here?”
“The villagers have revolted. And I think Albert put something in our drinks to make us pass out so they could bring us here.”
“He wouldn’t...” her words died as she continued to look around. “Is this a witch pyre?”
“Yep. And we’re the main attraction.”
“Ooooh! This is bad,” Odessa said. “But Albert would never drug us.”
“He must be sick. This is all my fault. No one else should be up here. I deserve this, but you and Storm don’t. I tried to reason with the villagers to get them to let you go, but—”
“What are you talking about? You don’t deserve to be burned at the stake.” Odessa wriggled beside me until her fingers wrapped around my arm. “Why would you say that?”
“Because of what happened when I helped kill all those people, coming back here to deal with Magda’s house, and then everything going wrong with Luna. I’m responsible. Let the villagers burn me. It might make them happy.”
Odessa dug her nails into my arm. “You hang on just a minute. Indigo, you’re a good witch. I’ve always trusted you. Your magic is the strongest and most powerful I’ve ever felt. You’ve got good running through you.”
“I did until my goodness was corrupted. I’m not such a good witch, anymore. What if it happens again? The villagers are right. Get rid of me and solve the problem.”
“You must have had a knock to the head if that’s what you truly believe,” she said. “It’s the village that’s dark. Feel it!”
“What am I supposed to feel, other than abnormally warm feet?” The fire ritual was still going on, but the wood was already smoking. It would only be a few minutes before the fire ignited.
