by Max Candee
I stopped in my tracks and took a deep breath, gathering my magic.
Jean-Sébastien bumped into me from behind, and we held each other not to tumble to the ground. “Anna, what are you doing?” he said. “They’re getting away!”
Unable to speak, I only nodded. I had no time for explanations right now. The darkness was enveloping me, and it was taking all my concentration to control the growing rage in my chest. I’m not a black witch, I told myself. I’m not an evil witch.
Magic blasted from my fingertips in a long stream of cold, blue power. I cried out as the mighty energy tugged at the pit of my stomach, blocking my breath.
I aimed it, not at André or Marie, but at the hedge. When the magic hit, the hedge burst into life. Long, gnarled branches uncurled like arms and fingers. They snatched up André and Marie and held them fast. More branches coiled around their feet, securing the fugitives in place.
Marie screamed.
By the time we’d reached them, her hair was a snarled mess with branches growing through it. She looked at me with pure hatred in her eyes and spat. The branches jerked her head backward. She yelped and held still.
“That was some catch, Anna,” Jean-Sébastien said at my side. I had expected that my magic would freak him out, but instead, he smiled. His eyes shone with excitement in the dark. “You really are a strange girl, but in a kind of awesome way.”
His praise made me blush.
The rest of the gang caught up with us. Squire dropped the bat and sat on my shoulder. I welcomed his warm touch. The shock of the night was starting to sink in, and I was suddenly cold. My stomach buzzed from all the effort. The darkness was still around us, although it hadn’t grown, thankfully.
“You brats!” André growled. “You’ll be sorry…”
I stopped his cursing by wrapping another branch around his face. It bit into his mouth like a gag.
“Be quiet!” I snapped. “You have lost the right to speak here.” I turned to the others. They were a ragged lot: eight dirty children, half-starved, in torn clothing, plus my friends, who had been startled out of their evening routine and had arrived in pajamas.
“What do we do with them now?” I asked.
“Kill them!”
“Cut off their faces!”
“Bury ’em!”
These answers came from the kids who had been held prisoner. I could hardly blame them. How long had the Montmorencys kept them in that horrible dungeon, alone, cold, and in the dark? But children shouldn’t think about killing others, should they? I realized now that those kids would never get over their experience at Irvigne Manor.
“You caught them, Anna,” Luca said. “You should decide what to do with them.”
I shrank at the thought. I could feel the emptiness that had already found a home inside me jumping with glee. “Yes!” it whispered, “Punish them! See how wonderful it will feel.”
I turned toward André and Marie. They were bound head to toe in rough vines. Only their eyes, bulging with fear, spoke to me.
“They deserve it,” whispered the voice inside me. “Remember Mei in the dungeon. Remember the bruise on Gaëlle’s face. Your best friend! They hit her. And even worse, they were going to sell you into slavery. They deserve it. They deserve it!”
The voice pressed on, hissing and insistent. I knew it was the shadow talking, the little piece of darkness I had let into my heart when I had used my magic to hurt people tonight. But the more I listened to it, the more it made sense. André and Marie had to be stopped. No one would believe us. I’d already gone to the police, and look how that had turned out… No, only one person had the power to stop this evil.
Me.
At that thought, magic surged through my veins. The amount of power coursing through me started to hurt… and the only way out of that pain was to release it. All I had to do was shoot my magic into that tangle of branches. It would light up like a bonfire, and André and Marie would be roasted. They would never hurt another child again.
My stomach and fingers tingled with unshed magic. I held up my hands. André’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He groaned.
“Do it! Do it!” the shadow whispered.
“I can’t!” I dropped my hands, gulping down tears of fear and pain. Magic still coursed through me, demanding to be used. I raised my hands and shot a pure blast of energy into the sky. Then I collapsed, wracked with pain and that awful emptiness from opening myself to the darkness.
Squire floated forward and laid his fingers on my shoulder. Only he knew what danger I had truly faced.
The crowd behind me was silent. Sister Constance picked her way carefully through the jumble of roots and vines and lifted me up.
“You did well,” she said. “It’s not your job to save the world. We’ll leave that to the professionals.” She tilted her head toward the house. Many people, some wearing police uniforms, were running towards us, led by my friend, Monsieur Nolan.
I smiled and sank into Sister Constance’s arms.
* * *
“I’ve heard enough,” Monsieur Nolan said after listening to André and Marie’s tearful confession for nearly ten minutes. “Haven’t you, Commissioner Troy?”
The two criminals were still tangled in the mess of vines, and we all stood in a semicircle in front of them. A gentle night wind whispered in the leaves and branches of the maze, which didn’t seem alive anymore.
The Police Commissioner was a tall man with a slight stoop. His long, craggy face was set in a scowl. André and Marie had tried to blame everything on the mysterious Victor, which was convenient since he wasn’t there. But several children spoke up about the abuse they’d received at the hands of the Montmorencys.
“I don’t know about any Victor,” said one tough little boy. “But those two grabbed me off my bike. It was in the park in Annecy. I haven’t seen my mom and dad in months.”
“I believe I’ve heard enough as well,” the Commissioner said. “Enough to make me ill. Take them away.”
Two constables looked at him dubiously. “Uh, sir,” one of them said. “How do we get them out of there?”
“Use your brain,” the Commissioner snapped. “Find an ax!”
I could have helped them remove the vines, but that last release of magic had been a doozy, and I didn’t think I had any power left in me then.
I wasn’t leaving, though. Not until I had seen the Montmorencys safely in custody.
The Commissioner walked up to André and tore away the vine covering his mouth.
“André, I considered you a friend,” Commissioner Troy said. “We’ve played cards every Wednesday. You’ve had dinner with my children. And now I find that you are some kind of… of a monster!”
“I’m not the monster; she is!” André nodded at me. “She’s a witch!”
I rose on wobbly legs and stood right in front of him.
“What’s the matter, André? You said you could handle one little girl,” I taunted.
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You think you’re safe now? Well, you’re not.” His snarl turned into a vicious grin. “I wouldn’t want to be you when your grandmother finally catches up with you!”
Squire jumped off my shoulder and punched André in the face. André yelled as blood poured from his nose. I wondered if Squire had broken it.
I turned and walked away before I did something I’d regret later.
* * *
Back at the house, another constable was securing handcuffs on Ouellette, whose face was a mass of red scrapes from having fallen on the stone pathway. He glared at me, whispering something under his breath.
I had made a few enemies tonight. But I had also saved eight children – not to mention myself – from a dreadful fate. I could stand a few glares in light of that.
“What… What’s going on?” asked a sleepy-eyed Candace, coming out the back door in her pajamas and slippers. “Anna Sophia? What are you doing here? Where are Mother and Father?”
“They�
�re coming,” I said.
For a brief moment, I struggled with the urge to tell her about her parents, to try to comfort her. But then I realized that I didn’t really know how involved she had been with their slavery scheme. I had seen the way Candace treated Mei and the other girls. So… her world was about to change too. She wouldn’t have anyone to boss around. I left her wandering toward the crowd by the hedge. She would learn the truth soon enough.
Lauraleigh found me next.
“That was some show you put on back there,” she said. “I always knew there was something special about you, Anna.” She hugged me, and the tears I’d been fighting threatened to spill out again.
“You’re the kindest and bravest person I know,” she said. “I never believed for a minute that you could murder anyone!”
I smiled a wobbly smile. Lauraleigh’s conviction was sweet but misplaced. I had almost killed two people tonight. That shadow had almost pushed me over the edge, and for a terrible moment, I had enjoyed the murderous power it had shown me.
“Thank you,” I said. “You’re a good friend.”
I could only hope that as long as I had such friends in my life, I would never let the darkness inside me win.
Afterword
Dear Diary,
Today, I watched Lauraleigh and the other seniors receive their diplomas. They all looked so wise and happy. I wish it were my turn to graduate, but I know I still have much to learn before then.
Monsieur Nolan has agreed to find me a special tutor. He won’t actually say the word “witch.” I think it makes him nervous. But one of my mother’s instructions to him was to find me a proper tutor when I had learned about my heritage.
So it looks like I’m going to summer school to learn to be a witch!
That whole crisis with André and Marie really scared me. I didn’t like the person I almost became. Hopefully, this new tutor will be able to teach me how to use my magic without letting in the darkness.
Candace lives at the orphanage now. I almost feel sorry for her. She’s still way too bossy, but now no one pays her any attention.
Little Beatrice isn’t talking to me. Somehow, she blames me for losing what she calls “the perfect family.” I suspect Candace has been filling her head with lies. I spoke to Sister Daphne about it, and she promised to keep an eye on Beatrice. I can’t do more than that. I know how much Beatrice wanted to find a family, but I’m not sorry that I captured the Montmorencys.
They go to trial next week. The evidence against them is overwhelming, and I’m sure they’ll go to prison for a very long time. Ouellette, too. I hear that prison isn’t a fun place for ex-police officers. Oh, well. He should have thought of that before working for criminals.
Other than my new witch school, the summer stretches before me with little to do. Lauraleigh will be traveling across Europe this fall. Before that, she will visit her grandparents’ villa in Tuscany. She offered to take me along for the trip. It sounds wonderful.
My own grandmother has started haunting my dreams. The Iron Queen. I wonder if she really does live in a house that runs around on chicken legs. That seems unbelievable, even for a witch.
No one has heard from Victor, the Black Horseman, but I suspect I haven’t heard the last of him. Every corner I turn in town, I expect to see him waiting for me. That’s another reason why I’m looking forward to getting out of Luyons for a while. Tuscany is sounding more beautiful all the time.
* * *
I dumped my bag in the room down the hall from Lauraleigh’s. The flight to Florence had taken longer than we expected, with delays at the connecting airport in Zurich. By the time we arrived at her grandparents’ villa in the hills outside Pisa, the afternoon sun had splashed the landscape in beautiful soft yellows.
My room was all done in pastel colors, and I felt like I was sitting in an Old World painting. Lauraleigh’s grandmother had been very welcoming when we arrived. She was a big woman with sturdy arms, and when she hugged me, I felt… safe.
We left Luyons in an uproar. André and Marie had been convicted and sentenced to ninety years in jail. They would never see the light of day again. Ouellette had been convicted too, but on the night before his sentencing, he disappeared from his cell. No one could figure out how he had escaped. It was like… well, like magic.
I shuddered, thinking that both Ouellette and Victor were out there somewhere. They wouldn’t let me get away that easily. But I was safe here in Tuscany. Only Sisters Daphne and Constance knew where I was, and they wouldn’t reveal my location. It was all very cloak-and-dagger, but no one would find me here.
Or so I’d thought.
I opened the window to let in the sweet afternoon air, and a crow landed on the sill. I jumped back. The bird cawed and cocked its head, gazing at me with its glistening eye. A small metal tube was fastened to its foot.
Hesitantly, I reached for it. The crow stood still while I opened the tube and took out a small rolled paper. Then it cawed again and flew away.
“What was that?” asked Lauraleigh, who had stepped into the room. Her eyes were wide with surprise.
“It’s a note,” I said in astonishment. “From my Uncle Misha!”
My dear Anna Sophia,
I don’t know if you have received my recent letters. I fear you have not. Forces have been working to keep us apart. Our enemies may have intercepted my mail. But I trust dear Bartholomew, my faithful crow, will find you with this letter.
I’m afraid he brings terrible news though. Your father is missing, and I fear he may have been taken by the Red Horseman. Dark spirits watch my every move, and I cannot go to his aid.
I know you have never met your father, and you may feel that he abandoned you. Nothing could be further from the truth. I promise, Malyshka, as soon as I see you, I will explain everything. You must hurry. Meet me at Mana Bear’s den by the new moon, or I fear that it will be too late to save your father.
Trust Monsieur Nolan, but speak of this to no one else. I cannot wait to hold my little Malyshka again.
Your loving Uncle Misha.
The letter floated to the floor. I looked into Lauraleigh’s worried eyes.
“I have to leave. Right now.”
THE END
* * *
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About the Author
Max Candee is a dad of three curious kids. He writes books for children together with twelve-year-old Ivan, seven-year-old Naomi and five-year-old Maya, who all share their passionate opinions and creative ideas. They even draw in Max's manuscripts, and they love it when professional illustrators build on their suggestions.
In fact, Max only publishes those books which his children loved and wanted to share with their friends.
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