by Mona Hanna
Ariel stood and started walking towards the kitchen. She frowned, knowing she loved her husband but wanting to kill him right now. She picked up the broom to sweep the floor. She could move the broom with her magic, but it would take less effort just to sweep the floor physically. She heard footsteps approaching and saw Brayden standing in the doorway.
“What do you want me to cook?” he said softly, defeat in his voice but warmth in his eyes.
Ariel thought for a moment. “Pies. Chicken and apple and beef. You’ll need to go to the market. Get eggs and butter and…”
“I know what goes in a pie, dear,” Brayden said, smiling. “And we’ll need a hundred other things. I’ll write a list. You keep cleaning. I’ll try to be back soon…”
Erica started to cry, making Ariel cringe. She covered her face with her hand. “Oh my darling. Why won’t you sleep?”
Brayden groaned. “When Hallie and Sean get here, it’ll be two more people to help with Erica. Then we can sleep. You did tell them in your last letter we only invited them here to give us a rest?”
Ariel half-smiled but was too worn out to laugh. She walked back into her bedroom to tend to her baby. Her heart leapt, though, at the thought of seeing her two closest friends. Even though they lived halfway across the world, they were everything to her. It would be wonderful when they arrived. It would be perfect.
***
Hallie sat on the bed in the small room she and Sean had rented, in the town where their ship had docked. They had only just arrived and still had to travel for a couple of days to reach where Ariel and Brayden lived. After three long weeks aboard a filthy, rocky, cramped ship, they just wanted to wash and rest. Hallie rubbed her neck, every inch of her feeling sore and weary, and flopped back on the bed.
Sean put their bags by the door, then went to the bed and lay down beside her. “It’ll be great to relax and have a meal that is edible,” he murmured. “I’ve been spoiled, living on land for almost a year. Forgot how awful it could be on a ship.”
“It’s probably different when you’re working on one,” Hallie replied, almost falling asleep. “Oh, Sean, I want to lie here for a week. I’ve never been so exhausted.”
Sean chuckled softly. “Oh, my darling. You’re spoiled too. Never mind. Not exactly the trip away I’ve been promising you.”
“Hardly,” Hallie said. “Not how I wanted to celebrate us getting married. But seeing Ariel and Brayden will be celebration enough. I still wish they could have seen the wedding. Just like I wish I could have been there when Erica was born.”
“The traveling is too much, Hallie,” Sean said. “Erica was only born three months after we last saw Ariel and Brayden, and there’s no way we could have gotten away. And our wedding was when Erica was only a couple of weeks old, so that ruled out them visiting us. We’ll tell them all about it. The main thing is our other friends and family were there, so it was still the day we wanted.”
Sean hesitated for a moment. “I’m… glad you were willing to go back home to get married. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m so grateful you were willing to do that. It meant so much more that my parents were there, and it meant something to me that your parents were there too. I know you’re a long way from being close to your family, but they were so happy to see you, Hallie! I’ve never seen your mother hug you like that.”
Hallie looked away, moisture forming in her eyes. She remembered her wedding day, a small ceremony with her and Sean’s close family and friends. Her mother had indeed hugged her when she arrived home—something that surprised Hallie. Her mother had also wept, babbling about how long it had been since Hallie had been home. Hallie had been touched, warmed by her mother’s tears. She still wasn’t close to her family, but the barrier between them had partly been broken down. At least Hallie knew now that her mother cared for her. It was sweet. It was lovely.
“Thank you for asking me, Sean,” Hallie said, turning to him. “Thank you for convincing me to go back home. It was all so strange—I mean, the wedding was lovely, but it was strange, people coming together to celebrate it, when all I’d experienced in that town was rejection and fear. It was only a small number of people, but it was still beautiful. I was happy when we arrived back at our house, but I am glad I went back home for a while.” Hallie put her hand on his chest, and he covered it with his own.
Then he stood. “I’ll tell the people that work here to prepare a bath—maybe you could arrange to have our things washed? The sooner we take care of that, the sooner we can go to bed. Oh hell, a proper night’s sleep. I can’t wait.”
Hallie smiled, also rising. She ran her hand over her dishevelled hair, knowing it was a horrible mess. A good night’s sleep was just what she needed. Then in two more days, she’d see Ariel! She was so happy.
***
“Julia! Julia, no!”
Alexandra dusted the dirt away from her young child’s hand, stopping Julia from spreading it all over her clothes. Julia began to cry, sitting on the grass next to the basket of washing her mother was hanging out. Alexandra sighed and squatted beside her. “Do you really want to be covered in dirt, my dear?” she said, smoothing some of her daughter’s silky black hair away from her face.
Her child’s dark skin was very close to her own, a deep olive tan, Julia’s just a couple of shades lighter. Their eyes were a matching shade of brown. Julia’s hair was soft and straight, though, while Alexandra had to contend with long, very thick, wavy hair. She gradually calmed her wailing daughter by giving her a toy to play with, and then she returned to hanging out the damp clothes.
Moments later, Julia wandered across the yard, heading towards the trees at the other end. Alexandra kept a careful eye on her. She thought about how much Julia had changed since she turned one a few months ago. Walking, talking more, seeming to understand so much. Although looking after her daughter mostly on her own was very difficult, she adored her child, loved her with her whole heart. It was a blessing, however, that her parents and sister lived close by, as they were able to help a great deal. Alexandra received no help from Julia’s father—and never would. She scowled as she thought of the devil.
He’d arrived in town out of nowhere, handsome, charming, seemingly wealthy, and had a confidence about him, brought on partly by his ability with magic. While warlocks and witches were often frowned upon, Cameron was proud of being a warlock, amusing those in the town with shape-shifting.
He’d pursued Alexandra, who was working at the local tavern as a waitress. Men never pursued her—an unmarried woman close to thirty was viewed as odd, strange, an outcast. People suspected there must be something wrong with her, although she’d have wiped the smile off their face if they’d said it to her directly.
But Cameron went after her as if she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and Alexandra couldn’t help but succumb to him in the end. They had a glorious handful of weeks together, but when Alexandra told him she was pregnant, he disappeared, just like that.
That’s when she discovered he wasn’t wealthy—he’d conned his way into everything he’d had. He was nothing but a charlatan, a fake, and Alexandra felt like such a fool for falling for him. In the end, though, she had Julia, and she couldn’t ask for anything more. She still worked as a waitress, with her mother or sister watching Julia when she had her shifts.
There was only one thing, however, that always worried her.
Julia was a witch. A powerful one. Alexandra knew nothing of magic. But the spells she’d seen her daughter cast, without even trying—spells of every kind, just pouring out of her—it was a concern. How was she going to raise a witch?
And why in the world was Julia’s magic so strong?
Chapter 2
Ariel flew to the door when she heard a loud knock, threw it open, and grinned when she saw Hallie and Sean standing there. She enveloped Hallie in a huge hug, wrapping her arms around the shorter woman. “You’re here!” Ariel exclaimed, and then she turned and hugged Sean.
B
rayden gave Hallie a quick hug and turned to Sean. The two shook hands, and then Brayden helped Sean with their bags, and Ariel shut the door and ushered everyone within.
“Sit, sit,” Ariel said, glee in her voice. She was ecstatic to see Hallie and Sean. They sat on the settee, and Ariel hurried over where Erica was sitting on the floor and picked her up. Her baby squirmed slightly in her arms as she walked over to Hallie. “Would you like to hold her?” Ariel asked, and Hallie held out her arms.
“Yes! Oh, yes,” Hallie said, gathering Erica into her lap. She gazed at her in adoration, holding her closely. “Ariel, she’s so big,” Hallie said. “And she has so much hair! And such big blue eyes. Oh, she’s lovely. I love…”
Hallie laughed as Erica took a fistful of her hair and shoved it into her mouth. “Darling, no, don’t do that,” Hallie said, trying to pry the strands out of the girl’s fingers. “Oh dear.”
Ariel picked up a cloth and went over to Hallie, taking her hair out of Erica’s hand and wiping both Hallie’s hair and Erica’s hand with the cloth. “Don’t worry, she does that to me all the time,” Ariel said, sitting in an armchair. She smiled at Brayden, sitting across from her. “Me and Brayden have been waiting so long to see you,” Ariel said, turning back to Hallie. “Was your trip alright?”
Hallie groaned. She recounted her and Sean’s time at sea, then talked about her wedding, still holding Erica in her lap. “You know almost everything from my letters,” Hallie said. “I just wanted to talk about it with you in person! If only you had been there, Ariel. It was the only thing that was missing. But we’re here now, and we can stay for a few weeks. I’m so happy to be here!”
“And you can take that time away from your work?” Ariel said. “Your employer doesn’t mind?”
“He does mind, but Amos said my job will be there when I get back,” Hallie said. She smiled a little. “Amos said the man who replaced me when I left my job last year was awful, so he’s desperate to have me work for him. I only took a week off when I got married, so he consented to allowing me time off again. I hate disappointing him, but I had to see both of you! And little Erica.”
Hallie gazed back at the child and kissed her on the forehead. “Ariel, tell me everything. About the birth, about everything since I’ve last seen you. You said Erica hasn’t used her magic yet?”
Ariel thought for a moment, and then she shook her head. “Not that I’ve seen. I’m a little surprised, because she was using magic so much in the womb, but I guess she has so much to take in. I imagine her magic will show up soon, though. It’ll happen when it’s meant to.”
Ariel smiled. She was so eager to talk to Hallie about so much, since Hallie was her best friend, next to Brayden. She settled back and began recalling the time when Erica was born, while Brayden went and got them all mugs of tea. Everyone spoke for a long time. Brayden talked about what it was like to be a father and how the potions he sold at the marketplace, which Ariel and his mother brewed, were becoming more and more popular. Sean mentioned his work as a carpenter in the town where he and Hallie lived and how he’d gotten used to living in the town, getting to know new people. Soon enough they’d talked until it was dinner time, and Ariel stood.
“Erica’s just woken from her nap,” Ariel said, commenting on her daughter grumbling in her cradle in her and Brayden’s room. “I’ll go and feed her while Brayden shows you the spare room. You two can settle in while we get dinner ready. Hopefully the room is good enough for you!”
As Ariel walked to her bedroom, suddenly a wave of dizziness overtook her—she stopped, taking deep breaths, trying to overcome the feeling. Gradually she felt like normal again. She shook her head, wondering what had happened. She looked over at Hallie. The girl looked as pale as she felt. “Are you alright?” Ariel asked.
Hallie put a hand to her forehead. “I just felt really dizzy for a moment,” she said. “Are you okay?”
“I…I…” Ariel stopped, the dizziness returning and this time overwhelming her. She felt the room swimming around her, the sensation like she was falling, and then everything went black…
***
“Hallie! Hallie, wake up!”
Hallie opened her eyes, finding herself lying on the floor with Sean leaning over her. She blinked a few times, then tried to sit up, her head still slightly woozy. Sean helped her sit, looking at her with concern.
“What happened! You and Ariel both fainted. What’s going on?”
Hallie looked over at Ariel, sitting on the floor like her, Brayden beside her. Hallie rubbed her forehead, feeling like she should be remembering something, but not sure what. She slowly rose and went to an armchair, settling down.
Sean stood over her. “What happened?” Sean repeated. “Are you feeling alright?”
Hallie shook her head, not understanding what was going on. Ariel sat on the settee, being held by Brayden, her face very pale and her brow furrowed in concern. Ariel met Hallie’s gaze, both of them not speaking, trying to make sense of the situation. Hallie still struggled with thoughts on the edge of her mind, something she needed to remember, like a half-forgotten dream. The memory tugged at her mind, telling her to concentrate, focus. She shut her eyes, trying to bring the ideas forth. It was no good. Nothing.
“Could you get me a drink of water?” Hallie said, and Sean nodded, heading for the kitchen. Hallie sighed deeply, resting her head in her hands. She was so confused, so worried. If only she could remember! If only she could…
Then she gasped, a flood of images pouring into her mind. She looked at Ariel and saw a wild look in the other woman’s eyes as she seemed to be remembering something too. Hallie’s hands flew to her mouth. “Oh, Ariel,” Hallie said. “Did you see it? Did you see it?”
Ariel shut her eyes for a moment. She turned to Brayden and took his hands. “Brayden, what’s the Prophecy of Innea?”
Brayden stared at Ariel in confusion. “The what? I—I don’t know. I don’t know what that is.”
Ariel looked back at Hallie.
Hallie nodded. “I saw it too.”
Ariel frowned at her. “I think something’s terribly wrong.”
***
“Start from the beginning. What exactly did you both see?” Brayden asked.
Ariel stood and paced the room. She had tended to Erica briefly, then returned to them. Hallie watched her with Sean standing by her side, hoping Ariel could explain it better than her. It was difficult to comprehend. More a number of images and one name than anything else. How could they describe that?
“It was—it was like seeing scenes running through my mind, one after the other,” Ariel said. “I saw me and Hallie. I saw Erica. And I saw a little girl with dark hair standing beside her mother. I saw a blazing ball of fire, a white-hot flame, flickering over what looked like a hole in the sky. And I saw four middle-aged men discussing the Prophecy of Innea. They said it mustn’t come true, at any cost. They were talking about us—the High Witches. All of us—all four of us. I didn’t get much of what they said, only really the name of the prophecy and that they wanted to stop it being fulfilled. But they were very serious—very serious, indeed.” Ariel walked over to Brayden and sat, taking a deep breath.
Hallie cleared her throat. “I saw the same thing. All of the High Witches—I assume the little dark-haired girl is the fourth High Witch, but I guess we can’t be sure. I saw the fire and the men talking. I don’t know what any of it means, I don’t understand it at all. But it was awful! Oh, it was horrible.”
Hallie began to cry quietly, hating what she’d seen. She hadn’t learned very much, but the images were terrible. It scared her. She just wanted to spend time with Ariel, not be thrust into new trouble. She just wanted to be normal! She just wanted a normal life.
Hallie stood and walked over the window. She had control of her power now. She knew how to manage it, how to stop it from controlling her. She knew who she was. But sometimes she wished she was an ordinary witch, or not a witch at all. She didn’t want all this po
wer! Why did she have it? What was the point? She could see why Ariel was a High Witch—she was a leader, she was strong, she loved her power. She used her power in her work, brewing potions. But Hallie didn’t see why she was a High Witch—why her?. What was her purpose? And now, with this new trouble, with this new threat—all she wanted was to hide.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Ariel standing beside her.
Ariel put her arm around Hallie. “Don’t worry. You know the reason we have visions—it’s to help us, to prepare us. We’ll be alright, Hallie. We just have to work through whatever this is.”
“I don’t want to work through it—I don’t want this!” Hallie whispered, tears forming in her eyes again. She wiped her cheeks. “I don’t want any of this! I just want to be normal—be with Sean, go to work, be ordinary. I love you, Ariel, but if I could take away being a High Witch, I would. I can’t go through any turmoil again. The whole thing with Nicholas was awful—I don’t want to suffer again. I don’t want any trouble! Why can’t we just be left alone!”
Ariel hugged her, holding her tightly, and Hallie wept against Ariel’s shoulder. “Darling we’ll be alright,” Ariel said quietly. “I love you too. Please, be strong for me. Please. I need you, Hallie. I can’t do this on my own.”
Hallie looked into Ariel’s deep blue eyes. She wiped more tears away from her own. “I’ll be there for you,” Hallie said. “But if I could take away my power, I would. I really would. But I’ll help you any way I can.”
Ariel nodded, letting out a deep breath of relief. Ariel covered her face with her hands.
Hallie watched her, knowing this was hitting her hard too. Hallie had to be strong. She couldn’t break down. She couldn’t let her loved ones down.
She had to be strong.
Chapter 3
Alexandra settled down to read a book after dinner, enjoying the peace since Julia was asleep. The days were longer now that it was spring, so it was still light enough to read without candlelight. She was just starting to get back into the story when there was a loud knock at the door.
