Witch Haunted in Westerham

by Dionne Lister

  “That could actually work.”

  I smiled. “The only other option is disappearing the factory so everything inside is exposed, and I doubt we have enough power for that.”

  Imani sniggered. “Ah, yeah. Your deduction is correct.” She pulled a gun from a holster under her jacket. “We’ll find a way in. Follow me. Stop when I stop, take cover if I take cover, etcetera. Don’t do anything unless I say. Don’t go anywhere unless you’re following me, or I tell you to. Understood?”

  “Yes.” She needed to keep her mind on the job without worrying about what stupidity I was going to unleash. At this stage, I planned on doing as I was told.

  She ran towards the factory, hunched over like you see in the movies, so I did the same. It was a dangerous game of follow-the-leader. Our footfalls seemed to thunder and echo in the quiet night. The frigid air sawed in and out of my throat, pluming white in front of my face when we halted to check out a gap in the wire further along the street.

  Without a word, Imani approached the fence and slipped through a hole that had been cut out of it. The factory was about fifty metres further into the block, but three industrial-sized metal bins stood to our right. Imani sprinted to them and hid behind one. I crouched next to her and listened. There was no sound. I was taking that as a good sign—no one had confronted anyone yet. We were hopefully in time.

  “Now what?” I whispered. Even though everything seemed to be peaceful, Will was in there somewhere, at the mercy of a group who hated us, and they were hurting him.

  “We’ll move closer to the factory and find where they went in. It’s risky, but that’s all we can do.”

  “Hey, why don’t I just take a photo?” I stood and slid my phone out of my back pocket. The magic I used with my talent was mainly from my own reserves, so it shouldn’t be enough for anyone else to feel. “Show me where Ma’am went into the factory.” I leaned out from the cover of the bin and pointed my phone camera at the massive rundown building. Hmm. I ducked back behind the bin. “Nothing. They must have gone in around the back or the other side that I can’t see from here. Why don’t we pop out over there and hug the fence line? The row of trees should be fairly good cover.” I pointed to the fence that was to the right as you faced the property. A line of pines followed that boundary and blocked some of the light from the street. The only other illumination was in the actual factory—a yellow glow came from two windows on the second floor. The rest of the grounds were shadowy and indistinct.

  “Okay. No mucking around. Let’s go.” She jumped up and ran for the fence, me at her heels. When we were about ten metres from the factory, Imani put her back against one of the trunks and held her gun at the ready as she surveyed the factory. She gave me a quick nod. I pointed my phone at the factory and whispered, “Show me where Ma’am entered the building.” Thank God. There she was at a door near the back of the factory. James must have already gone in because there was only one other person with her, unless my brother had gone in a different way. “Show me James entering the building.” Nothing. So he had gone in somewhere else. I swallowed my concern—worrying about it now would only divert my attention from where it needed to be.

  I leaned close to Imani’s ear. I didn’t want to show her the photo, as the light might give us away. “She went in that door there, near the corner. But James didn’t go in that one. I don’t know where he entered. Should we split up too?”

  She shook her head. “No way. You don’t leave my sight.”

  I let the statement roll over my head. I wasn’t a trained agent, but it still stung that everyone thought I was helpless. Whatever. Get over yourself, Lily. This isn’t about you. While I was having a pity party, Imani set off, and I had to sprint to catch her. She was staying along the boundary. She halted without warning, and I did my best to stop but ended up ploughing into her. We both stumbled but managed not to lose our footing. She frowned at me. I shrugged. Neither of us wanted to speak in case someone heard. The less we talked, the better.

  I lifted my phone and pointed it at the other side of the factory, which was visible from our new vantage point. I quietly said, “Show me where James entered the building. Crap.” Far down the other end of the building, a dark figure held tight to something on the wall with one hand and his legs as he leaned across to grab the second-storey window frame with the other hand. My mouth close to Imani’s ear, I murmured, “Top floor, far window.” She nodded.

  What would she decide? I wasn’t in any condition to climb buildings like Spiderman, and we couldn’t use magic. I had no doubt that Imani was capable of the climb though. “You should go through the window. I’ll go through the door. I know you didn’t want to split up, but maybe we should.”

  “No. How many times do I have to say it?”

  A shockwave—there was no other way to describe it—of power came from the factory, knocking both of us to the ground. I hit the ground bottom first and rolled backwards, ending up facing the factory on my knees. Geez that hurt. I rubbed my bum. Imani was rising after landing on her back. We looked at each other. “What the hell was that?”

  Her eyes were wide. “I have no idea, but we need to get in there.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. We ran for the door Ma’am had gone in. I pulled out my Taser, just in case, but now that the hum of magic thrummed over my scalp, we could use ours too, and no one would be the wiser.

  All the lights had gone out when the explosion of power happened, so when we silently entered, we did so into inky blackness. Stale dust and the thick stench of oil coated my nostrils. The ancient mechanic’s shop my dad used to take his car to had smelt like this. My pulse hammered loudly in my ears until it was drowned out by yelling that came from whoever was beyond the room we’d entered. I put my hand on Imani’s shoulder so I wouldn’t lose her. She felt her way through the space, and I stuck my hand out too, feeling a table and wooden boxes as we went. Based on the noise, the next doorway was straight ahead.

  Imani reached it and stopped. We both listened, and I didn’t know about her, but I held my breath, desperate for as much information as possible before we stumbled blindly into the fray. Imani held her gun out in front with both hands. I didn’t know how effective that was, or even safe since our friends were in there, and we couldn’t see a damned thing. If I tried to contact Will again, surely no one would be able to tell where I was. Maybe I could pretend to be far from there. But it took a fair bit of magic to do what I’d done before, and could I even replicate it? It’d kind of been an unconscious thing.

  Imani moved forward one slow step at a time. I could sense objects to my left and right. A cold breath of air puffed over my face, and I flinched. There was space in front of us, but anything could come out of it at any time. Being blind was not my favourite thing. Goosebumps slithered over my arms. I ran my hand down Imani’s arm, letting her know I was going to crawl the rest of the way. The vulnerability of walking unseeing was too much, and if the lights did suddenly come on, I wouldn’t be as visible down low. Imani must have agreed because she dropped down next to me.

  “Give it up, DuPree. This is one battle you can’t win. If you don’t leave now, we’ll kill him. Better to leave him with us and save yourself. This is the last offer you’ll get. Stay, and we’ll kill you and your two agents, but we’ll leave William alive—the boss isn’t finished with him yet.” The man laughed. The voice was coming from somewhere in front of us, and high up. Ma’am stayed silent, not falling for his threat, not that I’d expected her to.

  Something scraped to my left. A flash and loud crack followed by darkness. It left a negative of the area in my eyes. Box shapes, which I was going to assume were stacked boxes, an old car, and clutter. High on what might be a walkway, where you’d expect a ceiling to be, was a figure. They would have been concentrating on wherever that shot of lightning had gone and wouldn’t have seen us—thank God we were on the floor. I had to wonder why he cast a spell when everyone likely had their return-to-sender spells activated. Maybe this guy t
hought he was stronger than everyone else? I shuddered. Maybe he was.

  A screamed echoed from somewhere further into the building. The man spoke again. “Hear that? The longer you stay, the more William will suffer. We’ll be careful to keep him alive, as I’ve said, because where would the fun be in torturing a dead body?”

  My heart constricted, and my lungs seized. Will. What were Ma’am and James doing? Why was it taking so long? From what I could hear, there were two bad guys in here—the one talking, and the one torturing.

  A scream filled the place again, and I started crawling towards it. Imani grabbed my ankle, stopping me from going further. She squeezed hard. I stopped, pretending I’d gotten the message that I was not allowed to move. As soon as she released her grip, I’d be off.

  “Okay. We’re going.” Ma’am from behind us. Was she at the door? And where were James and the other agent? They couldn’t be giving up. Knowing them, they definitely had a plan to get Will out of here, and they were buying time.

  “Let me hear your other two agents. I wasn’t born yesterday.” The man’s voice had moved—he was still up high but to my right. If only Imani would get her hand off my ankle. I sat back, forcing her to move her hand or have it squashed by my bottom. She complied. I was also hoping she’d think I’d given up on the idea of going anywhere.

  “I’m here.” James.

  “So am I.” The other guy.

  “If you hurt Agent Blakesley after we leave, we’ll bring every agent we have to destroy this place. We’ll hunt you and your friends down and lock you up for eternity.” Oh my God, Ma’am really sounded like she was giving up. But surely she couldn’t be. It was her job to be convincing, to have the goal in focus. Even if she wanted to stay and get Will, it wasn’t going to be easy. Imani and I would have to play our part.

  A raw-throated howl from Will twisted my stomach, leaving me wrung out. The man’s matter-of-fact tone made me want to strangle him. “Just a reminder what awaits our beloved William if you stay. For every minute you’re here, we’ll give him another moment of pain. How many more will you force him to suffer?”

  Jesus, these guys were evil. My breath came faster, and anger waltzed with fear, enlivening my blood. This was unacceptable. If I had to listen to him being tortured again, I’d throw up.

  “We’re leaving,” Ma’am called from behind us. Her retreating footsteps were joined by two other people, who must be James and the other agent. The guy on the rafter-space walkway chuckled. There was something sinister in that understated show of mirth.

  My mouth dropped open. “No!” I screamed and jumped up.

  But I was too late.

  The room we’d originally entered, the room Ma’am and my brother were in, exploded. I was thrown backwards and slammed into a solid stack of something, probably timber crates. Pain erupted through my skull on impact. I groaned and ran my fingers over my scalp. No blood. Good.

  Orange light flickered and glowed, colouring my skin. I yelled to Imani. “Save them.”

  She was stumbling to her feet. Our eyes met, and she nodded, her face set with determination. I spun around and looked up. The fiery luminescence bathed the empty walkway. Damn. He’d gone. As soon as he or his accomplice grabbed Will, they could leave via a doorway, and we’d never see him again. I opened the portal to the river of power and drew it in, till I was bursting with it, my veins almost crackling like the fire behind me.

  “Witches travel via magical doorways. All such doorways in this building lead to me for the next five minutes.” My magic shot out and swirled around. I couldn’t see it, but I could sense it the same way I sensed Will this afternoon. I stood with my back against the crates, Taser poised. I was torn between running around to find Will or waiting for them to turn up here—surely their first instinct would be to leave. If they didn’t turn up in another sixty seconds, I would go and find Will.

  A splash, sizzle, and hiss came from the fire. Imani was magicking a fountain of water on it. Would Ma’am and James be okay? I stared at the doorway, trying not to cry or run towards them. I had to stay the course here. If I tried to help, I might miss saving Will, and maybe lose everyone.

  The river of power surged within me, gushing out of my hands. My legs became heavy, jellylike. I pressed my back against the boxes, refusing to sink to the ground. I flicked the safety off and held the Taser out.

  Will was shoved out of the air in front of me. His eyes widened when he saw me. He let whoever was behind him keep pushing forward. I held up the Taser and jerked my head to the side, indicating he needed to get out of the other guy’s grip as soon as he could.

  When the man came out of his doorway, Will fell forward, out of his grip. The man saw me, maybe realised where he was, and he stopped and flung his hands up, probably about to cast a spell. That was my cue. I pressed the Taser button and fired. The wires shot out and hit his throat. His eyes shot open, and his shriek came from a convulsing body. He collapsed, rigid and shaking.

  I quickly checked his aura. Any spells he may have been holding onto were gone. I smiled. Looked as if Tasers were good for shocking spells from witches. I imagined the man falling asleep, then drew power and sent it towards him. “Make him sleep for ten minutes.” It was wise to put a time limit on it, or I could possibly send him to sleep for years, although that would probably take more magic than I had. His eyes shut, and I breathed out a rush of relief. One problem down, one to go. I was about to turn to see if Will was okay, when he limped past me to Imani. He must have known what was in there.

  I pressed my lips together and blinked tears back. Please be okay. I hurried to where Imani had just been before she disappeared through the doorway into smoky haze. The flames were gone at least. The only way Ma’am and James would still be okay is if they’d managed to throw up some kind of protection spell before they’d been overcome. I didn’t like those chances though. I mean, there was no way they could have been ready for the explosion. Maybe they’d been knocked out before they could do anything.

  I walked into the smoke. My burning eyes watered, and not just from the acrid haze. I coughed, closed my mouth, and pressed my arm against my nose. It was impossible to see anything. I stopped and steadied myself. Drawing one more pulse of power, I imagined a gust of wind blowing through the room and clearing the smoke. A wave of fatigue hit me the same time as the breeze.

  My wobbly legs threatened to collapse. Not now, damn you. I breathed the fresher air, but now the fire was out, darkness had taken over again, and I couldn’t see anything.

  A ball of light winked into life next to me. “Lily?” Will croaked out.

  I smiled as my eyes filled with new tears. “Where’re Ma’am and James?”

  “Imani found James. She’s dragged him out. Ma’am was blown clear. She’s outside, unconscious but alive. Beren’s on his way. Imani’s making a temporary landing zone.”

  “That guy who had you. He’s asleep inside, but only for a few more minutes.”

  “Okay. I’ll deal with him.” He hurried outside and returned shortly, a pair of PIB cuffs in hand. He smiled at me as he passed on his way to the bastard on the floor in the factory.

  I moved to the door and watched Will handcuff the guy, who was still asleep. I didn’t want to let Will out of my sight now. Surely we didn’t still have to pretend to be apart anymore. His cover was well and truly blown.

  Someone groaned. Oh my God, the other agent! I turned and followed the sound. Only a skerrick of Will’s light made it in here, so I hadn’t noticed him before. He lay slumped against the wall. It was too dark to tell, but it looked as if his face was covered in blood. God, the poor man. I steeled my tired body and hooked my hands under his armpits and dragged him outside, through a hole that was much larger than the original doorway. That had been a powerful explosion.

  Just as I’d crossed the threshold, Will found me. “Here, let me.” I tried to protest, but he easily bumped me out of the way. I found where James lay, and I made my way to him and plonked o
nto the ground, exhausted. His eyes were closed, face blackened with soot. “James, can you hear me?”

  His eyes slowly opened. “Lily?” He sounded confused, and he probably should have. Imani and I had managed to keep our presence a secret.

  “I’m here. Where does it hurt?” I grabbed his hand and held it whilst trying to see where he was injured.

  “My head hurts, my leg.” He shifted and cried out. “Shit. I think it’s broken.”

  “Beren’s on his way. You’ll be okay. I promise.”

  His jaw bulged as he gritted his teeth. He eventually relaxed enough to suck in a shallow breath. “But what are you doing here?”

  “Imani and I snuck in, but I’ll tell you later. We’re both okay, and Will’s out, alive.”

  “What about Ma’am?”

  I looked over to where Imani sat. Ma’am was lying on the ground, her head on Imani’s lap. “I’m not sure. She looks about as bad as you.” I called out, “Imani. How’s Ma’am?”

  “She’s alive.” And that was the extent of her response.

  I looked over at the other agent, who Will had dragged outside. Beren stepped through his doorway at the same time. He looked from Ma’am to James to the other agent and went straight to the other agent. He did look to be in a bad way—burnt, unconscious. James was injured, but I didn’t think he was burnt.

  Will finally came outside again, the snake guy slumped over his shoulder. Ten minutes was a long time in a disaster. It felt as if I’d put him to sleep an hour ago. Will’s weary steps continued till he reached James and me. “I’m taking this guy back to the cells.” I frowned. He’d lost weight, and there were dark shadows under his eyes. His haunted gaze wasn’t what I was used to. What had they done to him? I wanted to jump up and hug the hell out of him, but James needed me, and Will had an armful of bad guy. “Lily, we’ll catch up tomorrow. Okay?”

  I nodded but couldn’t speak, lest I bawl like a big baby. Were we good, or had too much happened? Was he even okay? James, even in his broken state, squeezed my hand. He knew me, knew I was heartsore.