by Mona Hanna
Brayden rubbed his face with his hand. “This will be so messy. I’m glad you’ve found the girl, but just breathe for a moment. We at least have to plan the journey carefully. It’s not like last time when we just up and went to find Hallie—we have a child now. And our work is more demanding now. Think for a moment.”
Ariel frowned at him, then kissed him on the cheek once more. “Alright, I’ll think. But I still want to leave soon. Don’t you, Hallie?” Ariel said, turning to her.
Hallie nodded. “Yes, I really do. This is so important. I’m so glad we found her! To think, she’s been nearby all along.”
Ariel sat, her child still in her arms. “Yes. She’s been in my heart all this time, and she was only around the corner. It’s a sign—a sign things are going to work out. I don’t want any of us to worry. Whatever’s going on, we’ll sort it out. Everything’s on our side.”
Brayden smiled a little. He believed in Ariel, in Hallie. He believed good was on their side.
But not everything.
From what he’d seen over the last year and a half, not everything.
***
Alexandra arrived at her sister Nina’s house in midafternoon, knocking on the door with one hand while she held Julia up with her other arm. She was glad her sister only lived a few streets away.
After a short while, the door opened and Nina smiled at her. “Come in,” she said. “How’s my niece?”
“She’s fine. A bit tired today. I have to leave for work in a moment, but can we talk for a bit?”
“Sure. Sit down.”
Alexandra sat in an armchair in Nina’s front room, her six-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter playing with toys on the floor. Nina took Julia into her arms, Julia immediately putting her arms around Nina’s neck. Nina sat, flicking her long, curly hair over her shoulder, and Alexandra wondered how to begin her tale.
“Cameron came to my place last night,” she said, deciding to be direct. “He showed up out of nowhere, saying he wanted to talk.”
Nina gaped at her. “Did you throw him out? Did you kill him? Where’s the body?”
Alexandra smiled. “It wasn’t that bad. I did slam the door in his face at first, but he was persistent. He actually apologized. He said he wanted to be in Julia’s life, that he couldn’t live with himself after having abandoned her. He gave me a huge pile of money and said he wanted to help with his child. It shocked me, not just him wanting to be involved with Julia, but he said he’d gotten a normal job and that I could rely on him. Rely on him! We’ll see. I mean, I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“You don’t think he’s being sincere?” Nina asked. “Did you let him see Julia?”
Alexandra thought for a little while. “I do think he’s being sincere, but whether he’ll follow through with it remains to be seen. I let him look at Julia while she slept, but I didn’t wake her. He wanted to come back today—today!—to help me with her magic, but I said no. It’s too much, too quickly. He’s coming back next week, though. We’ll see what happens then.”
Silence settled between the two sisters, the only sound being the children playing. Alexandra looked at her younger sister, twenty-seven, two years younger than her, and wondered what she was thinking. Probably the worst, like her. Nina truly hated Cameron for what he did. Alexandra doubted Nina would ever warm to him.
“Do you think he wants you back?” Nina finally asked. “Do you think he wants to be with you again?”
“No!” Alexandra exclaimed, louder than she meant. “No, not at all. I didn’t get that impression in any way. This is about Julia. Besides, even if he did want me, there’s no chance of anything happening. I wouldn’t let it.”
Nina raised an eyebrow. “I remember what it was like, last time he was here. I’ve never seen you fall for someone like that. I know you resisted him at first, but you fell hard, Alex. When he left, it took months for you to get over him. Do you really think you can be around him, the man you were so in love with, and not feel anything? Don’t you think you’d fall for him again?”
Alexandra looked away, not wanting to talk about it. She hated to admit, even to herself, that she’d thought about Cameron all last night. That she’d dreamed about him. Her dreams brought back so many memories of nights spent with him, of being held, being kissed, and so much more. She wasn’t about to let Cameron walk all over her, but how was she going to protect her heart? How was she going to keep herself safe?
“I have to go now. My shift ends at eleven, so I’ll pick up Julia first thing tomorrow morning. Julia’s things are in the satchel.” Alexandra put the satchel she had brought with her on the table, then stood and walked over to Nina. She leaned down and kissed Julia on the cheek. “Mama will be back soon,” she said, rubbing Julia’s back. “Be a good girl.”
“Mama!” Julia said, reaching out her hand to her.
Alexandra’s heart melted. “Back soon, my darling,” she said once more, squeezing her daughter’s hand, then turned and walked towards the door. She heard Nina’s footsteps behind her.
“Alex, wait. I wasn’t trying to upset you. Just be careful, okay? Watch out for yourself.”
“I’ll be fine. Just leave it, alright? See you later.”
Alexandra quickly left, not wanting to discuss things anymore. Her sister knew her too well. But Alexandra hoped Nina was wrong. With all of her heart.
***
Raven gazed out of the window of the carriage as it sped past the countryside. They were still two days away from where Julia lived. He sat in silence with Ewan, neither of them having spoken in an hour. Raven glanced at his travel partner—Ewan was reading a book, not seeming disturbed in the slightest. Sometimes Raven envied Ewan’s belief that they were doing the right thing. The way Ewan didn’t seem to feel any remorse, any guilt, over what they were about to do.
“Ewan,” Raven said, his voice slightly croaky.
Ewan looked up from his book to gaze at him.
“Do you… do you ever wonder if this is right? If we’re doing the right thing?”
“If the prophecy is correct? Of course I believe it is. I thought you did too—with no doubt.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I believe in the prophecy, but sometimes I just wonder if there’s any other way to interpret it. The High Witches are good, at least what we know of them. Two are babies, you can’t judge a baby, but Ariel and Hallie are good women. Sometimes I wonder if they did cast the spell, if things would be as disastrous as we think.”
Ewan slammed his book shut. “Now you listen to me. You can’t be doubting at this stage. We’re two days away from doing something huge—you can’t be wondering if it’s right, or we’ll never be able to carry this off. Our forefathers have been over the prophecy, over and over it—we’ve been over and over it. Trust me, it’s right. There’s no other way to look at it. If those four witches cast the spell, it will only lead to disaster—what do you think the words, ‘a dark force will be unleashed’ could possibly mean, other than something horrible for all of us?”
“A dark force they’re supposed to battle,” Raven said. “The prophecy says they’re supposed to battle it.”
Ewan snorted. “It says they’ll have to battle it—it doesn’t say anything about them succeeding. You’ve read the words, read the description of the ‘dark force.’ Do you think they can defeat it? Do you think it’s fair for it to be unleashed on the world? People will die. There’s no doubt. No matter how powerful the High Witches are, they won’t be able to stop the darkness, and people will lose their lives. We have to stop them from coming together. It’s the only way.” Ewan turned away, gazing out of the window.
Raven stared at his hands. He knew he was going to be admonished, but he was going to say it anyway. “You know, they’d have help,” he said softly. “You don’t think, with the help, that they could win?”
Ewan glared at him. “Are you with us, Raven? Are you still with us?”
Raven looked at his hands again. “Honestly
, I don’t know.”
Chapter 7
Ariel leaned against Brayden as they sat together in the front room. He put his arms around her, sighing deeply. She was truly exhausted—she felt they all were. Erica had been crying virtually nonstop for the last few hours, until she finally went to sleep. Ariel loved her child, but the crying was awful. She longed for when Erica’s teething phase would end.
“How do you cope with it?” Hallie asked, sitting in Sean’s lap while he held her. “How do you deal with it every day?”
“I don’t know,” Ariel said softly. “It’s difficult. Sometimes she sleeps for ages, and other times she won’t settle. It’ll calm down eventually, but I feel like I’m always tired. But she’s healthy, though, so that’s the most important thing. I’m glad she hasn’t really been sick yet.”
Everyone sat quietly for a while. Ariel thought they all just wanted to go to sleep now. It was only late afternoon, but Ariel felt she could easily drift off. She nestled close to Brayden, resting her face against his neck. She felt comfortable at least.
“Would you like me to make dinner for us?” Hallie asked. “I wouldn’t mind. Just tell me what you’d like.”
“That would be lovely,” Ariel said, sitting up a little. “We still have pies left in the larder—we just need one of them heated up. We also have fresh bread and cheese and fruit. Do you want me to help you get everything ready?”
“No, I’ll be fine. You just rest. I’ll ask Sean if I need help.”
Hallie left to go to the kitchen, and Ariel settled back down. She smiled as she saw Sean lean his head against his hand and shut his eyes—he seemed to find Erica’s crying especially tiresome. Ariel knew Sean wanted children, but she imagined he’d be quite shocked with how difficult it is. But she hoped Hallie would be pregnant soon. She’d love to celebrate that with her.
There was silence for several moments, peace while everyone rested. Ariel shut her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Brayden’s strong arms around her. She felt like she wasn’t enjoying as much time with her husband as she’d like. They both worked a lot, and looking after Erica took so much out of them, especially Ariel. She just wanted to lie in Brayden’s arms, spend hours talking with him like they used to. Now they just went to sleep. They’d resumed making love a few months after Erica was born, but not as often as before. Ariel had lost most of the weight she’d gained during her pregnancy, and Brayden constantly told her she looked beautiful, which helped her to feel alright about how she looked. But she missed their intimacy. She missed their closeness.
After a while, Hallie walked back into the room and said dinner was ready. “I made everything like you asked,” she said. “Let’s hope Erica sleeps through dinner.”
Everyone laughed softly, careful not to make too much noise, and then they all went into the kitchen and sat around the table. They ate the warm chicken and vegetable pie, along with the bread and cheese. Ariel was grateful for the peace—not just Erica not crying, but the peace brought by being with her friends.
Ariel didn’t really have many friends. There were a couple of girls she used to spend time with and invited to her wedding, but she didn’t see them much anymore. She was very close to Brayden’s mother, which delighted her, as she’d never had a mother of her own, only raised by her uncle. But Hallie and Sean were her closest friends, next to Brayden. She adored them. It warmed her heart so much that they were there.
“I—I don’t want to bring this up if it’ll upset you,” Hallie said, breaking the silence. “But I was wondering how we’ll find out more about the prophecy. Do you think there are books discussing it? If so, where would we find them? Are there people we can ask about it? Do you know anyone, Brayden?”
Brayden swallowed a mouthful of food, then shook his head. “Not really. I can ask people in my family, but I’m sure they would have mentioned a prophecy to do with High Witches before now. I’m not saying we do nothing, but I don’t know how we’re going to find out more. I’ll check with my mother and grandmother, though, just to see if they know anything.”
Hallie smiled at him, then looked at her plate. Ariel knew Hallie was trying to be strong and she loved her for it. Hallie was stronger than she realized. Had more bravery than she knew.
“I think we should focus on visiting the fourth High Witch first,” Ariel said. “Then we’ll research the prophecy from there. After all, we know it concerns her too—it’s to do with all four High Witches together. What I’d really like is to find those men, the men we saw, discussing us and the prophecy. I’m a little afraid of them, but I’m angry that they mean us harm. I’m very tired of men wishing me and those I love harm.”
Ariel clenched her fist, images crossing her mind of showing those men just who they were dealing with.
Brayden reached out and put his hand on her arm. “Try to stay calm, Ariel,” he said quietly. “You know what happens when you don’t stay calm. Remember the hurricane you started in the front room?”
“Oh, hush, you,” Ariel said, grinning. “It was only a whirlwind.” She laughed, then looked down, embarrassed.
Brayden chuckled, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. “But seriously, I don’t want you to become stressed. We’ll sort this out, whatever it is. All we can do is take one day at a time. I was thinking, once we sort out what to do about work, that maybe we could leave tomorrow evening to find the other High Witch. If we travel at night, we could be there by morning, and hopefully Erica will sleep most of the way. It’ll be difficult traveling with Erica, but it’s not as if people don’t travel with babies. If they can do it, so can we. What do you think?”
“Oh, Brayden! That’s perfect!” Ariel exclaimed. “I’ll start getting ready tonight!”
“Don’t bring too much—it’s only a short trip, and we can’t be away too long. I don’t know where we’ll stay when we get there, but bear in mind we’ll be arriving on the doorstep of the poor child’s mother without warning. She might not want us around long.”
Ariel frowned at Brayden. “She’ll be glad for the help, won’t she? I mean, I imagine her child is using her powers at her age. I don’t want to impose on the poor woman, but it’s important she knows who her daughter really is. But…” Ariel stopped, thinking about how serious everything was. “But we won’t mention anything about the prophecy. I don’t want to scare her. Alright everyone?”
Sean and Hallie nodded.
“Good idea,” Brayden said. “Oh, Ariel. This is going to be exhausting!”
Ariel giggled at him. “Oh, my love. This will be perfect! It’ll be perfect!” Ariel truly believed that with all of her heart.
***
Raven sat before the other three men in his group, Ewan, Christopher, and Garrett all staring at him closely as they stood in front of him. They were in his room at the inn they were staying at that night. Raven had felt uncomfortable since his conversation with Ewan in the carriage earlier that day, and had suspected the others would confront him. He stared at the three older men, fear running through him, wondering what they were going to say.
“You’re the junior member here,” Christopher began, the tall man running a hand over his long white hair, tied back at his nape. “You’ve been with us for a long time, with those of us who know of the High Witches and the prophecy. None of us truly believed the prophecy would come true, not after all those years of nothing. But now we are faced with the reality. The fact is, Raven, we don’t know if you’re able to deal with this. Deal with what needs to be done to ensure the prophecy doesn’t come true. I think you have been sincere all these years, but now, now that things are ugly, I don’t think you can handle it. Which leads us with a bigger problem.”
Christopher looked at Garrett, and the short, stocky man continued for him.
“You’ve become a liability,” Garrett said. “Even if what you said earlier was just minor doubt, even if all the signs of remorse you’ve been having don’t mean you’ll betray us, we can’t take that risk. You can’t work with us a
nymore, Raven. And if you’re not with us, you’re against us. So we have to… ensure you don’t interfere. I’m sorry, but…”
Raven stood up quickly, knocking back his chair in the process. “No.”
“Get him!” Ewan said.
Christopher reached forward and grabbed Raven’s arm, ensuring he couldn’t transport out of the room without taking Christopher with him. Raven stared at the men, knowing they were going to hurt him, knowing whatever methods they had of subduing him would be dangerous, even fatal. He only had one option.
Raven lurched forward and punched Christopher full in the face, making the man holler and release him. Immediately Ewan tried to grab him, but Raven punched him in the stomach and transported out of there, just barely feeling Garrett’s fingers grasping for him as he left. He arrived in a dark street in a village they had passed earlier, and leaned over, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
He hadn’t realize it had come to this. He hadn’t even truly decided to betray the others. But in his heart, he knew he would have.
Raven stood, gazing at his surroundings, wondering what to do. There was only one thing for it, really.
He had to save that little girl.
And for that, he needed the help of a High Witch.
Chapter 8
Hallie stood in Ariel’s bedroom, helping her gather some things together for their trip. They were going to leave very soon. Brayden had arranged for someone to cover for him at the market place for the next week, and Ariel had spent time preparing a stock of potions with Brayden’s mother so there would be supplies. Hallie had watched over Erica with Sean that day, until Brayden and Ariel joined them in the afternoon. They had spent the rest of the time talking about meeting the fourth High Witch and how they would discuss things with her mother. Now it was evening and time to leave.
“We’re bringing more things for Erica than the rest of us combined,” Ariel said, as she packed away cloths for changing Erica and extra clothes for her child. “Do you and Sean have everything ready?”