Henry looked up at Cora. ‘You’re a syphon, too?’ he asked.
Cora nodded at the little boy wanting to tell him everything. Instead, she hurried after the sea witch. She didn’t like the thought of being a beacon to Kaede. ‘But . . . what about Dot?’ she asked. ‘She has to come with us, too.’
Geraldine didn’t break her stride. ‘You will only be putting her in more danger,’ she said over her shoulder. ‘She will be safer without us.’
Leave Dot? Cora thought. Again? It was true that if Dot hadn’t found Cora in Brug, she wouldn’t have been injured by Kaede. But she couldn’t leave her again. Not after everything that had happened.
Cora stopped still in the sand.
‘We have to get Dot,’ she said, her voice firm. ‘It won’t take long.’
Tick and Tock fluttered next to Cora, nodding in solidarity.
Geraldine turned around and stepped over to Cora, worry in her eyes.
‘We must keep moving,’ Geraldine said urgently. ‘Now that you are here, with your protection spell broken . . . Henry is not . . .’
Cora realised what she had done. By finding her brother with Kaede still hunting her, she had put him in danger. Just like she had done with Dot. It was like the Jinx curse. Only this time it was Kaede.
‘We can go get Cora’s Dot,’ offered Tick.
‘She’s in The Oak Wood,’ said Tock, pointing behind Geraldine.
The rain had begun to fall harder on top of them. Cora peered through the curtain of droplets to where the fairies were pointing. Ahead of them, instead of seeing a waterfall, mountains and a ravine, she saw the silhouetted tall trees of The Oak Wood standing in the distance. Salty Harbour was no longer hidden by a waterfall.
Geraldine nodded.
But just as the fairies were about to magic themselves away, there was a different POP! of magic beside them.
Everyone spun towards the sound, their magic at the ready.
They watched as a fairy stumbled across the sand towards them.
‘Father!?’ exclaimed Tick and Tock at the same time.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
King Clang, the fairy king of The Hollow, limped over to them. He took two steps before falling. Moving quickly, Cora caught him in her arms. Looking down at the fairy king, she could see that he was breathing heavily, his eyes fighting to stay open.
‘I’ve been . . . searching for you . . . for hours,’ King Clang said.
Tick and Tock hovered by their father, their eyes wide as they stared down at him.
‘Father . . .’ said Tick, eyeing the fairy in Cora’s arms.
‘What happened?’ asked Tock
Even in the dark, Cora could see that the fairy’s legs were blistered with red, blotchy burns, and his drooping wings were singed at the tips.
‘The council was . . . attacked,’ King Clang said.
Tick and Tock glanced at each other, and then at Cora.
‘I’m sorry . . .’ King Clang said. ‘I should never have let them . . .’
Tock grabbed onto his father’s hand.
‘We have to get you to a fairy fountain,’ said Tick.
King Clang nodded.
Cora and the fairies helped the king of the fairies stand.
‘I have to tell you . . .’ the fairy king said, ‘the council are . . . they’re gone . . . all gone.’
‘What do you mean gone?’ asked Cora.
‘The syphon . . .’ King Clang said. ‘The one with silver hair.’
Cora’s stomach churned like the waves on the beach. Kaede.
‘He attacked the northern towns,’ King Clang went on. ‘Bilg . . . Borlg . . . Yop . . . Troll Town . . .’
Troll Town? Cora thought of the two trolls, Ogg and Dann, who had helped her control her magic, stopping her from becoming a Havoc. She hoped they were okay.
‘And then The Hollow . . .’ added King Clang.
Tick and Tock gasped.
A sinking feeling swirled in Cora’s stomach. She remembered what had happened to Princess Avette and the avian kingdom. And now Troll Town and The Hollow. If only she had stopped Kaede when she had the chance in Tynth, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
‘We had no choice but to . . .’ King Clang said. ‘But . . . it was a trap. He was waiting for us.’
Then the fairy king grabbed onto Cora’s arm.
‘I’m sorry . . . You tried to warn us,’ he said. ‘And the warlock tried to warn us . . . but we didn’t listen.’
Cora was surprised that Archibald had warned the council about Kaede. She thought back to when they were hiding in the warlock’s study. Archibald was injured, angry at Kaede and he had left to warn someone. But if Archibald was no longer working with Kaede, had the syphon attacked the towns and the council by himself?
Geraldine let out a hard sigh. ‘We have less time than I thought,’ she said.
The fairies and Cora turned to the sea witch.
‘He is stopping everyone who can stand in his way,’ said Geraldine. Then the sea witch glanced pointedly at Cora.
Not everyone, she thought.
The fairy king grimaced in pain where he stood.
Tick and Tock looked at Cora, indecision in their eyes.
‘Go,’ Cora said to the fairies.
‘But what—’ began Tick.
‘We’ll be okay,’ Cora replied.
The fairies nodded, and in two POPs! of magic, Tick, Tock and King Clang disappeared from the beach.
Cora stared out at the wild, dark water of the sea. She thought about the avian kingdom. She thought about the syphons in Tynth. Kaede was going to keep taking what he wanted . . . unless he was stopped.
‘You should go,’ Cora said earnestly. ‘Take Henry and get as far from here as you can.’
Cora’s mind searched for what she would do next. Getting Dot from Belle’s house was no longer an option. What if Kaede was already close by? Or what if . . . Cora glanced up at the lightning that split across the sky.
Geraldine shook her head. ‘When your parents found me that night, Henry was only two years old,’ she said. ‘It was only after I had given you to Dot that I realised that he was still sleeping peacefully in his crib. With Kaede in Urt, it was too risky to go searching for you and Dot. I needed to get Henry far away and fast. So I brought him here with me and this has been our home for five years.’
A twinge of guilt ate at Cora. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said to Geraldine. ‘You were safe before I arrived.’
Geraldine shook her head. ‘As long as Kaede is out there, nobody is safe,’ she said. ‘It is time to put a stop to this. Isn’t that right, Henry?’
Henry folded his arms over his chest, his face determined. ‘Right.’
Then with a muttering of a few words, Geraldine waved her hand and the lights on all of the old, broken-down and half-buried rides and stalls along the beach, switched on. Some of the rides played music that stopped and started like Dot’s gramophone did sometimes when she accidentally bumped it.
Now that the beach was bathed in a twinkling soft glow, Cora could see further in the night. She searched the rides and the stalls as she tried to think of a plan. Geraldine and Henry knew the beach better than anyone. But how much time did they have?
Cora thought back to when she had found the waterfall. When she had fallen through it to the hidden beach. And then she remembered something else. The thing that made her search the waterfall in the first place. Suddenly the tickling feeling she felt when she was close to other syphons doubled in intensity. It was strong. Almost as though . . .
‘Geraldine,’ Cora said, realisation colouring her thoughts. ‘How often do you leave Salty Harbour?’
‘Never,’ she said. ‘Not if I can help it.’
‘And Henry?’ Cora added.
Geraldine shook her head. ‘Why?’
She glanced at the sea witch’s bare feet. And then she glanced at Henry, who also wore nothing on his feet. But Cora had found a shoe print on the cliff near the wat
erfall. If it didn’t belong to Geraldine or Henry, then who did it belong to?
Then her stomach dropped as she realised.
Kaede wasn’t on his way.
He was already here.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
There was no time for a plan.
‘Hide,’ Cora said to Geraldine.
The sea witch didn’t move.
Looking in her eyes, Cora could see that even though it was the day she had hoped would never come, she wanted to face it. To face him. Then Geraldine’s words floated into Cora’s mind.
‘The element of surprise,’ Cora said. It was all they had.
Geraldine nodded and then grabbing Henry’s hand, the pair darted across the sand and into one of the nearby shacks.
Truthfully, Cora wanted Geraldine and Henry somewhere safe. Kaede was here to destroy the remaining syphons. And Cora wasn’t going to let that happen.
Thunder barrelled heavily above her, the waves crashed roughly against one another, and the rain continued to fall, soaking Cora’s clothes through. As Cora strode further down the beach, the tickling feeling was so strong that she felt it in her toes.
Cora wiped the rain from her face and turned around on the spot, searching the darkness for the glinting colour of silver hair to appear amongst the night and the sparkling lights of the abandoned rides.
The fear and worry that she had felt grow in her chest over the past few days like a ball of heavy mud, slowly slipped away from her like the rain on her skin as she stood alone on the sand. She thought of her parents. She thought of Henry. Of Dot. Of Princess Avette. Of Artemis the avian. Tick and Tock. King Clang. She was ready. Geraldine was right. It was time for all of this to come to an end.
Finding the princess’s wind magic that she had syphoned from Artemis the avian, Cora held onto it with both hands. And waited.
Lightning split across the night sky once again. It was just a quick flash, lasting no more than a few seconds, but it was enough to light up the whole beach.
And it was enough to reveal a figure standing on the sand ahead of her.
Quickly, Cora grabbed the air around her, and turning in a circle where she stood, she pushed the air into a roaring wind and let go of it with a shove, throwing the roaring ball of force at the figure on the beach.
She knew she had to be quick. Kaede wasn’t going to give her any chances. Before she knew whether or not the wind had made contact, she ran as fast as she could. Not away from the figure, but towards it, the Jinx magic already in her fists.
Lightning lit up the beach again, and as it did so Cora saw the figure standing before her clearly. And the sight almost knocked the breath out of her. The figure that had been hit by her magic and fallen onto the sand wasn’t Kaede . . .
It was Dot.
The sight stopped Cora in her tracks, she skidded to a halt in the wet sand.
‘Dot!?’ Cora called out over the rain and sound of crashing waves. Instinctively, she put her magic away as she raced over to the fallen old woman. She held her hand up to shield her eye from the falling drops. Was she seeing correctly? The wind howled by her ears, but ahead, amongst the twinkling of the lights, she could see the outline of a person sit up on the sand.
Cora slowed her steps as she got closer, her heart thudding in her chest. What was Dot doing here? How did she find her way from Belle’s house?
She watched the old woman stand up with ease. But there was something about the way Dot moved.
And the ball of wind Cora had thrown was strong. How had Dot not been injured by it? Thunder beat against the sky like a drum and a prickling feeling crept along Cora’s skin.
Dot walked into view.
‘Now Cora, that’s no way to greet someone,’ Dot said.
Cora stared up at the old woman’s familiar face. Everything about it was the same. The creases by her mouth. Her grey hair. Even the way she held her hands.
‘Don’t I get a hug?’ Dot asked. She opened her arms out wide, walking towards her.
There was something about the way Dot walked that made Cora stay where she was. Something wasn’t right.
‘W-what are you doing here?’ Cora asked. ‘Where’s Belle?’
‘I came to find you,’ said Dot.
Cora wasn’t sure that she had even told Dot where she was going.
‘Children shouldn’t be wandering around alone,’ said Dot.
That was very unlike Dot.
‘Especially during a storm,’ Dot added.
By now, Dot would have told her to get out of the rain or she would catch a cold.
‘Where’s Belle?’ Cora asked again.
Cora glanced around the beach for a sign of the hobgoblin.
‘She had somewhere else to be,’ Dot said.
Lie, Cora thought. Belle would never have let Dot out of her sight when she was so ill.
‘A hobgoblin festival or something,’ Dot added with a wave of her hand.
Another lie, Cora thought.
It was obvious now that the Dot that stood before her wasn’t the real Dot. It was someone else. But there was only one way to be sure.
‘I fulfilled my promise,’ Cora said, knowing full well that if this person was the real Dot, she would remember Cora’s promise. ‘Do you remember it?’
‘Of course I do,’ said Dot. ‘You promised to find your brother.’
In fact, Cora had promised Dot that she would find Geraldine. Not her brother. Dot had never mentioned Cora’s brother at all. The only person who wanted to find him besides Cora was Kaede.
Cora did her best not to let her reaction show on her face as she nodded at Dot.
‘So . . .’ said Dot, putting her hands together. ‘Where is he?’
‘Oh,’ Cora said. ‘He isn’t here. I thought he might be but it turns out he left.’
‘When?’ Dot asked.
‘Many months ago,’ Cora replied.
‘Don’t play tricks with me,’ Dot growled, her words were harsh and very unlike Dot. ‘I’ve searched every—’ she broke off.
There it was. Kaede had revealed himself.
The warlock magic inside Cora instantly flew to her hands. Black sparks sizzled at her fingers.
‘You’re the one playing tricks,’ Cora said.
Dot glanced down at Cora’s hands and her smile morphed slowly into a snarl.
Another thing that was very unlike Dot.
‘Now, now,’ said Dot. ‘You wouldn’t hurt me, would you?’
Dot stepped across the sand, closing the gap between them, until the old woman was within arm’s reach of Cora.
Cora looked up into Dot’s eyes. But she knew what she would find. They weren’t warm and soft like they should be. Instead, they were dark and cold like shadows.
‘You’re not Dot,’ Cora said firmly.
Dot laughed a very un-Dot-like laugh. ‘Why, of course I am. Now tell me where that brother of yours is. I know he is here.’
‘Take it off,’ Cora said, an anger rising in her chest.
Dot tilted her head at Cora. ‘Take what off, dear?’
The sparks at Cora’s fingers crackled threateningly and the wind in the air began to swirl around Cora. ‘You’re not fooling anyone . . . Kaede.’
Kaede’s snarling smile fell from Dot’s face and was replaced by a familiar cold and deathly stare. ‘Oh, you mean this?’ she said, gesturing to herself. ‘You don’t like it?’ The old woman did a slow spin on the spot. ‘I think I might actually wear it for a while longer.’
And quicker than Cora could react, Dot’s hands lashed out like snakes and grabbed her arms.
Instantly, Cora felt her skin burning. Her hands felt as though they were made of fire.
Cora cried out and letting go of the warlock magic, she pulled on the magic of the Jinx. She pushed her arms outwards, breaking Dot’s scorching hold. Then without missing a beat, Cora used her freed hand to bring back the warlock magic and threw the black sparks into the old woman. She went flying backwards, backfli
pping into the air before landing further down the beach with a thud.
Cora paused, breathing heavily. She looked down at her arms and saw that her coat was singed from Dot’s grip, and beneath her coat tiny blisters appeared on her skin.
‘As you can see,’ Dot called out to her. ‘I’ve picked up some more magic since we saw each other last.’
Lightning lit up the beach again and Cora saw that halfway down the shore, Dot was already back on her feet. She then pushed her arms out in front of her and two streams of flames shot out of her hands, roaring along the sand.
Cora swallowed as she stared at the hot flames.
‘Cool, huh?’ Dot laughed.
Chapter Thirty
In the glow from the firelight, Cora watched Dot’s face twist and bend like her skin was made of taffy. Cora remembered where she had seen such magic before. It was just like the magic Rash and Dash used, the pair of old-men shapeshifters in Brug who had changed themselves to look like Tick and Tock. Only this time it was Dot who flickered and stretched on the spot. Her cardigan and dress morphed into a silver robe, her slightly hunched back straightened as she grew a head taller, and her hair fell from its bun, past her shoulders, in long shimmering silver strands, until eventually the old woman had completely disappeared, and the person Cora knew it to be all along stood in her place.
Kaede.
The wind howled along the beach as Salty Harbour was hit by the full force of the storm. The fire Kaede had thrown onto the sand was quickly extinguished.
Cora planted her feet in the wet sand, bracing herself against the wind that whipped coldly across the waves, and for whatever Kaede had in store.
‘Tell me where that snivelling child is,’ Kaede yelled, his hair lashing like knives in the wind. ‘Or I’ll force it out of you.’
Cora swiped the pelting rain from her face. As long as Kaede couldn’t sense Henry, he was safe. She couldn’t let the seven-year-old syphon without magic get anywhere near Kaede. He needed to stay far away from the deadly syphon. Cora put both of her hands out in front of her in a fighter’s pose to show that she wasn’t going anywhere. She knew now that this was where she was meant to be. Everything had been leading up to this moment. Urt. The Jinx curse. Archibald. The council. Almost becoming a Havoc. It was all for her brother. It was all to save her family.
Witched! Page 14
