by Mona Hanna
Hallie clenched her fists. “He’s going to die,” she whispered. “He’s going to die.”
“No,” Ariel seethed under her breath. “No one’s dying today but Nicholas.” Ariel took a resolute step forward, taking a huge breath. “This won’t bring Nadia back,” she said firmly. “Killing me won’t bring her back.”
“Stalling won’t save Sean,” Nicholas said. “But you don’t care about Sean, do you, Ariel? You don’t love him, so you don’t care. He’s not your family, so you don’t care. Everyone else is nothing, pawns to be played and used. You let people die so your family is safe. That’s how you play it.”
“I was strapped to the machine when Julius killed Nadia!” Ariel cried. “How could I have stopped him? How could I have saved her?”
“You could have killed him before he bound you to it!” he yelled. “You could have slaughtered him and everyone would have lived! Didn’t you see Ariel? Didn’t you think?” Nicholas clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He was shaking in anger. “You think that if you’d killed Julius while Nadia was still alive, she would have killed Brayden’s mother, but didn’t you stop to think that maybe my mother’s bond to Julius would have been broken? Didn’t you think that if you killed Julius, maybe my mother could have been free? She could have lived—you all could have lived! She could have survived, and the only death would have been that filth, that pig of a man who deserved it. But you didn’t think, you just let your blind love drive you into a stupid plan you could have escaped. You’re so stupid, Ariel, and for that, you must die. You didn’t think. You didn’t care. You didn’t even bury her!”
Nicholas stood there, the whites of his eyes showing, spittle in the corner of his mouth, his entire body rigid. Ariel was frozen, silent. Hallie frantically looked at Sean, his eyes filled with horror as the spikes drew ever closer to him.
Click, click, click.
“That’s not how it works, Nicholas,” Ariel called. “Once you’re turned, you’re forever turned.”
“Do you know that for a fact? Do you know that for sure?”
Once again Ariel was silent. Hallie grasped her arm, looking at her with pleading eyes. They had to do something. Anything. Ariel stared at her, stood still for a long while, her expression unreadable. She frowned, then seemed to come to a decision within herself. She leaned close to Hallie and whispered something in her ear.
Hallie was shocked. “Ariel! Are you sure?”
“It’s the only way,” she said. “I have to believe in what you and I saw. You can play your part?”
Hallie gulped. “Yes. I’ll do anything.”
“Good.” Ariel shut her eyes for a moment, putting her hand on her stomach and seeming to concentrate. Then she looked at Hallie and nodded.
Hallie glanced at the clock—it was so close—and nodded back.
Ariel drew herself up and stepped forward. “Alright,” she called loudly to Nicholas. “I’ll go to you. You have to release Sean once this is over.”
“Ariel!” Brayden yelled. “No! What are you doing!”
Ariel turned to him and gave him a hug, whispering quickly in his ear.
“Ariel,” Brayden pleaded when she’d stepped back. “Ariel, please.”
Ariel gazed at him—Hallie hoped Brayden would be able to survive the next few moments—then Ariel faced Nicholas again. “Promise me you’ll release him.”
“Yes,” Nicholas said. “I will.”
Ariel remained still for a moment, taking deep breaths, then she stepped forward. “Work with me, my darling,” she whispered as she walked towards Nicholas.
***
Hallie swallowed loudly, frightened and nervous and anxious and she didn’t want to do this. But she had to. To save Sean. To save Ariel. She looked at the sky while Ariel continued walking. She held out her arms, calling her magic from within her. Letting it out, she focused on the fluffy white clouds in the sunny sky, on the gentle breeze wafting around them, and on the sun and the dirt and all of nature. She spread out her magic to the elements, reached out, and took hold of the forces around her.
The breeze grew colder, the clouds started to grow bigger and darker, and the air filled with moisture. Hallie knew she couldn’t hold back. She had to do this, had to do the one thing she’d dreaded her whole life in order for Ariel’s plan to work. She gritted her teeth and began the storm.
The wind howled around them as Ariel reached Nicholas. Hallie glanced at the clock and saw it was nearly at twelve. The sky became very dark, lightning streaking across it, and then the thunder came.
Nicholas grabbed Ariel’s arm and forced her to her knees. He pulled a blade from his clothing and held it before her.
“Not my stomach,” Ariel cried. “Please. My last request.”
Nicholas glared at her and forced her to turn around, holding her by the hair. Hallie saw him press the blade against her back.
Keep the storm building.
“Ariel!” Brayden screamed, hysterical. “Ariel!”
Nicholas tightened his grip on the knife, hesitated, started to shake, and then he looked at Hallie. He seemed concerned, but then he looked back at Ariel. He shook his head and gritted his teeth. “Say you’re sorry,” he hissed. “Say you’re sorry you let her die.”
Ariel shook as she knelt there. “Please, Nicholas. Please.”
“Say you’re sorry! Say you’re nothing, you only care about those you love, you let Nadia die to save who you cared about!”
“I’m sorry, Nicholas!” Ariel cried, weeping. “You don’t have to do this. Please, it won’t bring her back!”
“I know it won’t bring her back!” Nicholas screamed. “Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think I know it’s all over? But that’s just it Ariel—it’s all over. I’ll never be with her. I’ll never see what she was like without being turned. And I’ll never experience that because of you!”
Nicholas pressed the blade farther into Ariel’s back, and she cried out. He screamed himself, shaking, hesitating. Brayden began to run towards Ariel, yelling her name. Nicholas watched him, and then he made a final scream in agony.
He plunged the blade into her back.
***
“ARIEL! NO!” Brayden screamed. He fell to his knees, wailing.
Ariel collapsed in a heap on the ground. The knife stuck out of her, sticky red blood oozing from the wound.
Hallie felt an intense wave of nausea run through her. She started shaking but only had moments to finish this. She had to act fast. She had to finish the plan.
The weights were nearly at the bottom.
“Release him!” Hallie screamed, hurtling towards Nicholas and grabbing his shirt. “Free him! You promised!”
“Why is there a storm—what are you doing?”
“Free him, or so help me, I’ll rip out your insides and feed them to you. Free him!”
Nicholas looked so pale and shaky that Hallie didn’t know if he was still sane, but he hurried to the device and withdrew a large metal key from his pocket. The spikes were only a few inches from Sean, spinning, screaming, and he was crying out in terror. Nicholas put the key in a hole in the center of the clock and turned it three times. The disc still moved forward, and Hallie was petrified it wouldn’t stop. But the winding gradually slowed down, the screeching grew quieter, and finally the machine halted.
Hallie let out a huge breath and looked to the sky, calling the weather to be at its most fierce, and then she hurried towards Ariel. There was no time to lose.
The storm screamed around them, the thunder rumbling so loudly it was almost deafening. Lightning streaked across the sky, and the wind whipped over everything and made it hard to stay still, let alone focus. Hallie prayed Nicholas would be distracted enough for the final part of their plan.
She knelt beside Ariel, Brayden already with her, having pulled the blade out of her back. Hallie took Ariel’s hand. “Ariel! Are you still alive? If you are squeeze my hand!”
Ariel lay still, but there was a ver
y slight pressure in Hallie’s hand.
She sighed with relief, then squeezed back. “The healing spell. Now. With all your might, Ariel.”
Hallie stayed still, waiting for Ariel to act. Ariel had to have the strength to do this—even the smallest amount of power. Ariel’s breathing was shaky and ragged, her eyes shut, and her skin deathly pale. She lay there, barely holding on to life, and then she managed to open her eyes and look at Hallie. Hallie gazed at her, desperately hoping, and Ariel finally clenched her teeth and cast the spell.
Hallie could tell Ariel was trying but it wasn’t enough. The healing spell needed twice the strength. The power of two High Witches. It was a long shot. Maybe it wouldn’t work. It was beyond Ariel’s control. But Ariel believed in good, that if you sacrificed yourself for others, you would be rewarded, and she’d told Hallie the spell would work. Hallie watched Ariel desperately, and finally, a faint glow appeared above her stomach.
Erica joined her mother in casting the healing spell.
Hallie released the final part of the storm. Rain poured down, drenching everything, making it nearly impossible to see. Brayden gazed at his wife in horror, but the glow at her stomach grew brighter and brighter. The magic of the two High Witches worked together, Ariel’s weaker because she was hurt but Erica’s at full strength. The glow wavered, flickering, but then the brightest, strongest light Hallie had ever seen shone from Ariel’s belly. Hallie and Brayden had to look away. The light was fiery and blinding.
Color began to return to Ariel’s skin. Her chest rose and fell with her strengthened breathing. Her blue eyes became brighter and focused. She looked at Hallie, relief in her eyes, as the glow finally faded away. She looked at Brayden, and he began to weep, leaned down, and hugged her. Hallie cried too. Oh, how she cried.
Then she noticed Nicholas was watching them.
He was glaring at them, his fists clenched. He reached for the key in the clock.
Hallie narrowed her eyes. “Oh, no you don’t,” she seethed. The storm hadn’t distracted him long enough, but she had an answer for that.
She held out one arm and pointed at him.
His eyes widened in shock.
She wiggled her fingers.
Lighting struck him full in the chest.
Chapter 20
Eventually everyone returned to Hallie’s home. Brayden and Hallie cut Sean down from the machine, which did indeed take them a very long time. There was no way they could have done it before the time on the clock had run out. Sean could barely walk, so Hallie held him up and transported him home while Ariel took Brayden. Sean immediately went to bed, unable to speak from shock, and Ariel went to rest in Hallie’s spare bedroom. A healer from the town was brought to the house to check on Ariel and Sean. He said Sean was not physically wounded, apart from red marks on his skin where the ropes had bound him, but needed to rest from the trauma. And Ariel was almost perfect.
Beneath the dried blood on her back, there wasn’t even a wound—her skin wasn’t even broken. The healing spell had reversed the injury completely. Ariel was shaken up, but she said she just felt tired, not hurt.
Brayden lay next to her in bed and gazed at her, his heart still aching from what happened. He couldn’t believe what she’d done. Couldn’t believe the risk she’d taken. “You could have died, Ariel,” Brayden whispered, holding her before they went to sleep. “What if you hadn’t lived? What if I’d lost you?”
Ariel smiled at him a little, touching his face. She kissed him gently on the lips, settled back, and touched her stomach. “I had to believe in the visions,” she said softly. “I trusted my vision of me with Erica when she’s older, but I also felt Hallie’s vision was correct. She saw me being stabbed, so I knew it was going to happen. But I believed I would live. It was a risk, but what else could I do? I couldn’t leave Sean to be killed, and we had so little time. I didn’t think we could get him out of the machine quickly enough, like Nicholas said—after all, it took you and Hallie ages to cut him down. And if I’d just killed Nicholas, then Sean would have died horrifically. It was so panicked, so rushed. Maybe I could have threatened Nicholas and forced him to free Sean, but I don’t think the threat of pain would have done it. He had us trapped, so I let the visions guide me. I knew what had to happen. I just had to believe it would all work out.”
Brayden looked at her fondly, unable to believe how strong she was. He lay his head down and cuddled her, just wanting to hold her.
She laughed softly.
“What?” he asked, wondering what brought her amusement.
She giggled again. “I told you binding our baby’s powers was a bad idea. I should have listened to my gut. I knew it was a bad idea. Erica was never going to hurt me, or anyone. She can cast whatever spell she wants.”
Brayden chuckled. “Yes, yes she can. What a story we have to tell her. The day she saved your life, before she was even born. I can’t imagine how amazing she’ll be. I love you both so much.”
They drifted off to sleep, the bloodshed and hatred and violence of the day fading from Brayden’s mind. He loved Ariel with his whole heart. He adored Hallie for working with his wife, for destroying Nicholas, for being so strong. Hallie was like Ariel’s sister. He imagined their bond would last forever.
***
Hallie woke up, blinking her eyes, her mind cloudy and vague. She turned and looked out the window and saw it was evening. She must have slept all day. She looked over and saw Sean fast asleep, still and silent, and her heart broke all over again and what he’d been through. Her love. He hadn’t said anything when they’d arrived home, but she knew he must be traumatized. She’d do anything to make him feel better. Anything in the world.
Hallie didn’t want to wake him, so she quietly got out of bed and walked into the front room. There was no sign of Ariel and Brayden—Hallie assumed they were still sleeping—and she was pleased they were getting some rest. She sat on the settee and thought about all that had happened. She could hardly believe it.
She didn’t know how she would ever thank Ariel for what she had done for Sean. Hallie couldn’t think of anything to repay her. Ariel had risked her life to save Hallie’s love. Her belief that she would survive aside, it was still a huge risk, still a huge danger. She might not have lived. Sean would have been saved, but Ariel might not have lived. But she did it anyway. The woman was astonishing.
Hallie wanted to do something for her, anything, and sat there thinking. What could she give Ariel? What did she want that she didn’t have? Hallie didn’t think there was much she could do. She truly loved Ariel, just like family, and would go to the end of the world for her. If only there was something she could give her.
Then it hit her.
The journal.
***
Ariel stood in a wide space filled with white light. She couldn’t see the ground beneath her because a glow covered her feet. She looked around her, not seeing anyone but feeling a warm presence surrounding her. She felt the presence grow nearer, filling her heart with love and joy and the feeling that she was watched over and protected.
Then a soft voice sounded out, firm but gentle, calling her name. “Ariel. Ariel listen to me.”
She looked around, but no one was there. “Who are you?”
“I am the One,” the voice called. “Listen to what I have to say.”
Ariel remained still, feeling completely at peace. She waited calmly.
“I am very proud of you, my child. You have sacrificed yourself not once but twice to save those you love. You are worried about your child—worried because she is a High Witch—and you don’t know how she can exist when there are already three of you. You worry for her and for the other High Witches, as you fear one of you may die when Erica is born.
“But don’t worry, Ariel. Your vision was true—the one where you saw Erica with you as a girl. She will be fine, as will all the High Witches.
“It is true that there are only ever three. But you passed the test, Ariel, enabling
there to be four. You passing the test broke the rule—your child being a High Witch is not an abnormality, not going against the order of things, but instead a reward to you for giving up your life for Brayden. Your gift is a child of power and beauty, and she will join you, Hallie, and the other young girl who is a High Witch.
“All along you have thought Erica was not meant to be, or that one of the High Witches will perish upon her birth, but this will not be so. There will be four, as there was always meant to be. Erica was meant to be. Your sacrifice was seen in advance, Ariel, and I rejoiced in the love in your heart. Be at peace, my child.”
Ariel felt such joy fill her heart she could barely contain it. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” she asked the unseen being.
“I have told you when it was right. To teach you to believe things will be alright, even if you can’t see how. Be at peace, my child.”
And then the presence left, and Ariel was alone. But she knew she would never truly be alone again.
***
Ariel awoke in the late evening, her magnificent dream lingering in her mind and heart. She felt so much better; she wasn’t even tired anymore. She kissed Brayden on his cheek repeatedly until he woke up.
He smiled at her and kissed her back. “Hello,” he said, still grinning. “I like it when you wake me that way. How are you feeling?”
“Really good,” Ariel said. “Really strong. I don’t feel weak at all anymore. Oh, Brayden, I had the most wonderful dream. I can’t wait to tell you, but I want to tell all of us together. Let’s get up. I’m starving, and I’m dying to talk to Hallie. I haven’t really spoken to her since we got back.”
She got out of bed, and Brayden followed. They got cleaned up and headed into the front room. Sean was sitting on one of the armchairs with Hallie in his lap, kissing her deeply. Ariel smiled and looked away, glad he seemed to be feeling better. She noticed Hallie and Sean had put out an assortment of food on the table and thought that was so sweet of them. She and Brayden stood for quite a long time, smiling at each other, waiting for the other two to finish. Brayden started to laugh, and Hallie broke the embrace.
