by Sam Short
Millie took a deep breath. "Are you telling me I can never leave Spellbinder Bay? And if I do, you'll be sent back to the awful dimension you came from?"
"Not quite," said Reuben. "If the cottage has accepted you, and revealed its secret, then you can leave. As long as you keep returning, some of your energy will remain in these walls wherever you go on the planet, but if you sever all ties with Spellbinder Bay before the cottage has accepted you, then yes, I will be sent back to the awful dimension I came from."
Millie closed her eyes. Was Spellbinder Bay really that bad? Could she envision a life amongst a paranormal community? Amongst people like Sergeant Spencer, Judith and George? Amongst people who seemed to care for her. Amongst friends.
When she opened her eyes, Reuben was no longer looking at her — his twinkling coal black eyes were fixed on a point beyond her. "You've decided to stay," said the cockatiel.
"How can you tell?" said Millie. "Am I that transparent?"
Reuben shook his head. "Look behind you Millie," he said. "The cottage has accepted you. It knows you're going to remain in Spellbinder Bay.”
Millie turned her head slowly, and stared in disbelief at the new addition to the cottage.
Constructed from thick timber, and with a small circular window set at eye level, the door to the left of the fireplace had definitely not been there before.
“What is it?” said Millie, approaching the doorway and placing a hand on the hard wood, certain the timbers were vibrating beneath her fingertips.
“The real reason for this cottage being here,” said Reuben. “I wanted to tell you about it so badly, Millie, but I couldn’t — you had to make the decision to stay here before the door was revealed to you.”
“What’s behind it?” said Millie. “Do you know?”
“Yes, I know,” said Reuben. “It was behind that door that Esmeralda rescued me from the chaos. The door vanished when she died, but Henry assured me it would reappear when another witch took her place.”
“Of course Henry would know,” said Millie. “Is there anything Henry doesn’t know?”
The door creaked as it opened, and Millie took a nervous step backwards. The familiar face that appeared in the open doorway offered her a wide smile. “There are plenty of things I don’t know,” said Henry, stepping aside and inviting Millie through the door with a flourish of his arm. “But why don’t you come with me and let me explain some of the things I do know. Some of the things which may be hard for you to understand.”
“What’s down there?” said Millie, peering down the steps which Henry stood at the top of. “And how did you get in there?”
“Follow me,” said Henry, turning his back and descending the steps. “Welcome to your coven cavern, Millie Thorn.”
Chapter 30
Bathed in a soft green light, the large cavern smelt like a spice shop. Rough shelves, crowded with books, colourful glass bottles, and bunches of dried herbs, were hewn out of the rock walls, and the source of the green glow rippled lazily in the centre of the floor, contained in a circle of stones built to waist height.
“Another moon-pool?” said Millie, her eyes adjusting to the gentle light.
“The same magic,” said Henry, “but on a smaller scale. Think of it as your cauldron.”
“What is this place?” said Millie, picking up a small cork stopped blue bottle. “What is all this stuff?”
“It’s centuries of magical knowledge and spells,” said Henry. “Every witch who has ever lived here has added to the collection you see before you, and now everything in here is yours to use and add to.”
Reuben landed on an old twig broom, propped up against a rickety book shelf. “I watched Esmeralda doing a lot of magic down here,” he said. He dropped his eyes. “We had some good times in this old cave,” he said. “She pulled me from that very cauldron twenty-three years ago.”
“From the chaos,” said Millie.
Reuben nodded. “I was lucky. When her magic seeped into the chaos searching for a suitable familiar, it found me. It was like being reborn when she manipulated my spirit from that green pool and placed me in the body of an owl.”
Henry stepped towards the cauldron, and cleared his throat. “This cavern is as old as the planet earth,” he said. “The cottage above is a manifestation of the magic contained in the cauldron. The building above us wasn’t always a cottage — it has taken on many forms — an iron age round house, a bronze age hut — it has manifested itself in many ways, but it has always been here to hide the cavern from non-magic eyes.”
Millie studied Henry with suspicion. She still wasn’t sure what secrets he was hiding from her. She began with an easy question. “How did you get in here, Henry?” she said. “Inside this cavern — before the door was even visible to me?”
Henry removed his glasses and wiped one of the lenses on his shirt cuff. “Do you remember when I came to visit you in London — I told you I needed to be in Scotland before the full moon rose — to meet a young man, and you doubted it was possible that I could travel there so quickly?”
“Yes,” said Millie. “I remember, and since learning about some of the people who live in this town, I’m assuming the young man in question is a werewolf?”
“Indeed,” said Henry, “and he’s settled into his new life in Spellbinder Bay with remarkable ease. As for how I arrived in Scotland with time to spare…”
Henry vanished with a sound like a flat bottle of pop being opened, and Reuben laughed as Millie stared around the cavern.
“Where is he?” said Millie.
“He could be anywhere on the planet,” said the cockatiel. “Who knows?”
Another soft fizzing sound came from behind her, and Millie span on the spot to see Henry smiling at her. “I trust I didn’t scare you?” he said.
Millie shook her head. “Where were you?” she asked.
“London,” said Henry. “I’ve been paying a certain con-woman a few impromptu and unannounced visits since she stole your savings and your confidence. I told her I was the ghost of the dead father of one of her victims, and if she didn’t change her ways, I would haunt her for the rest of her days. It seems I’ve scared her enough to reset her moral compass. She’s given up her criminal ways and is working for a charity helping homeless people.”
“You did that?” said Millie. “For me?”
“And her other victims,” said Henry. He winked. “But mostly for you.”
Millie offered the old man a smile. He had her back covered, it seemed. Maybe any secrets he still held from her weren’t so awful. “How did you do it?” she said. “How did you travel to London and back in the space of a few seconds?”
“I’m not like you, Millie,” said Henry. “In fact, I’m unlike anybody in this town, either human or paranormal. I’m not made of flesh and blood. Not as you would understand it.”
“What are you made of?” said Millie. “You look like flesh and blood from where I’m standing.”
“As the building above us is constructed from energy, yet resembles a cottage,” said Henry. “The same is true for me. I’m constructed from energy, yet resemble a human. As Windy-dune Cottage is the manifestation of the magic contained in your cauldron, I’m the manifestation of the magic contained in the moon pool beneath Spellbinder Hall. In fact… you could say I am Spellbinder Hall. Or a portion of it at least.”
“You’re Spellbinder Hall?” said Millie. “I don’t understand.”
Henry gave her a kind smile. “Not many people do understand,” he said. “Spellbinder Hall is much like Windy-dune Cottage, and I’m the human face of it. I’m made from energy, and as such I can travel through energy — the invisible lines of energy which criss-cross the planet. I can be anywhere I like in the blink of a human eye.”
“Does this place get any stranger?” said Millie. “What else am I going to learn about Spellbinder Bay?”
Henry laughed. “Plenty of things, Millie Thorn, I’m sure, but first let us begin with wh
at I was trying to tell you before you ran from Spellbinder Hall.”
“About using my magic to prevent… things from coming through the door to chaos?” said Millie.
“We can begin there,” said Henry, with a nod of his head. “Yes.” He gazed into the green glow emitted by the cauldron. “When the moon-pool was created by ancient magic, so was the door to chaos — think of it as good and evil, or yin and yang — opposites of one another, yet somehow dependant on each other.”
“I understand the concept,” said Millie.
“There was a time when the door to chaos was completely open,” said Henry. “Long before humans roamed the planet. It’s where vampires, werewolves and all the other diverse paranormal people came from. Demons crossed between the two dimensions freely, too, and the world we live in wouldn’t have been a nice place to inhabit all those years ago.”
“Not a nice place at all,” said Reuben, with a shudder. “Believe me.”
“When humans did arrive,” said Henry. “Some of them were able to harness the magic of places like the moon-pool. Gifted people, people like you, Millie.”
“Witches?” said Millie.
“They went by many names in many parts of the world,” said Henry, “but yes, witches. These witches soon learned about the existence of the door to chaos and set about closing it, using powerful magic which has been passed down through a select bloodline.”
Millie looked at the cauldron. “My bloodline,” she said.
“Indeed,” said Henry. “And it is your presence in this cottage which will keep the door closed.”
“My hair?” said Millie. “You need my hair — to put in the place of Esmeralda’s, on the stone plinth?”
“No,” said Henry. “That was only necessary after Esmeralda died. Some of her magic remained in her hair after she cast off her mortal coil. The stone plinth was built with such precautions in mind. We won’t need your hair — all you need to do to keep the door as safe as it can be, is to call Windy-dune cottage your home. Your magical energy will do the rest.”
“As safe as it can be?” said Millie. “What do you mean?”
“No door, magical or otherwise, is impenetrable,” said Henry. “And the door to chaos is no exception. Demons pass through it. Not in numbers large enough to cause devastation to this world, but they do pass through.”
“Most of them don’t survive long,” explained Reuben. “They need a host to live in — just like I do. Some demons find a host quickly enough to allow there presence in this world to continue, but most perish before they can take over a human body.”
Millie frowned. “And what do these demons do in the bodies they take over?”
“Some of the worst dictators and serial killers in the history of the world have been demons,” said Henry. “Others simply become low level criminals. None are beneficial to this dimension, though. They all mean us harm to some extent.”
“You’re not making Spellbinder Bay sound the safest of places to live in,” said Millie.
“Would you rather live here,” said Henry, “with the door to chaos nearby — where you can monitor it. Or out there — in the normal world, never knowing what may have passed from one dimension to the other? Never knowing what evil may lurk in the shadows around you.”
“Better the devil you know,” said Millie.
“Precisely,” said Henry.
Millie approached the cauldron and looked into the swirling depths. She lifted her eyes and smiled at Reuben. “I’ve made my decision, Henry,” she said. “As you know — I’ve decided to stay in the bay. Now I need to know if there’s anything else you’re holding back from me. I got the feeling after you’d shown me the door to chaos that you’d been selective about what you’ve told me — about why I’m here. So now’s the the time to clear the air. Tell me everything I need to know.”
Henry nodded. “What I’m about to tell you may come as a shock to you, Millie. Would you like to sit down?”
Millie stood straighter, drawing her brows together. “No. I’m perfectly fine standing here.”
“Okay,” said Henry. He pointed at a large black metal box, pushed up against the cave wall. “In that box,” he said, “is everything you require to begin enjoying the wealth passed down to you by generations of witches. There are bank account details, stocks and shares, bonds — all in your name of course. The cottage would have seen to that when it showed you the door to this cavern. You’re a rich woman now, Millie.”
“And you own a lighthouse!” added Reuben.
“Is that the shock?” said Millie. “I was expecting worse.”
“There are other things in that box,” said Henry. “Most importantly, a letter. A letter which you were only supposed to open if this cavern was ever revealed to you. That time has come.”
“A letter?” said Millie. “A letter from who?”
Henry crossed the cavern and bent over in front of the box. He lifted the lid and retrieved a thick white book from inside. “It’s better I show you,” he said.
“The photograph album,” said Reuben, fluttering onto Millie’s shoulder. “It’s all Esmeralda’s work! She loved to take pictures. We spent hours looking at her pictures together!”
Henry opened the book, and paused on the first page. “This was the first photograph Esmeralda took when she moved into this cottage,” he said. “It’s a picture of the witch who lived here for two years before her. The witch who wrote you the letter in the box. The letter which she handed to me fourteen years ago, as she lay on her deathbed.”
Millie’s chest thumped, and her breathing quickened. A cold chill spread along her arms, and her stomach flipped. “Fourteen years ago?” she said, her voice trembling.
Henry nodded. He passed the album to Millie. “She asked that you should never know that she was a witch unless there came a time in your life when this cavern was revealed to you. That time is here. For better or worse.”
Millie held the book in shaking hands, and through a veil of tears, stared at the photograph, already sure she knew who it portrayed. The slight bend in the nose, and the happy eyes of the woman pictured standing outside Windy-dune Cottage confirmed it. “My mother,” she whispered. “How can this be?”
“That’s your mother?” said Reuben, from his position on Millie’s shoulder. “I told you I’d seen her face before! She looked older in the photograph you showed me upstairs, but it’s definitely her!”
Millie swallowed, her fingers trembling.
“Yes, she was younger,” said Henry. “The picture was taken twenty-four-years ago, before Esmeralda had rescued you from the chaos, Reuben.” He took a step towards Millie. “See how her hands are closed across her stomach, Millie?” he said.
“She was pregnant,” said Millie, her tongue rasping on the dry roof of her mouth.
“Yes,” said Henry. “She left Spellbinder Bay when she discovered she was with child.”
Millie closed her eyes. She counted to five, willing the rage which was bubbling in her stomach to subside. When she sensed she was ready, she slammed the photograph album shut, startling Reuben, who flew from her shoulder and landed on the rim of the cauldron. “Tell me everything, Henry,” she demanded. “Right now. From the beginning. Or I swear I’ll explode.”
Chapter 31
Henry pushed his glasses higher along his nose, and took the photo album from Millie’s outstretched hand. He placed it back in the box, and closed the lid. “I couldn’t tell you before, Millie,” he said, his voice soft. “Your mother made me promise. She made me promise that you’d only learn the truth if somehow you found your way to this cottage, and ultimately, this cavern.”
“Well, I’m here,” snapped Millie. “So get that tongue wagging, Henry Pinkerton.”
With a sigh, Henry lowered himself onto the box, and removed his glasses. He placed them on the metal lid beside him, and gazed into empty space. “Your mother was like you, Millie. She didn’t know she was a witch until a dead witch’s energy found h
er. When the energy found her, I visited your mother in much the same way I visited you, and she moved here, to Spellbinder Bay. She enjoyed it here, and she threw herself into her new lifestyle.”
“Unlike me,” said Millie.
Henry smiled. “Your mother didn’t witness a murder on her first day in the bay, Millie, but that aside — yes, she did take to it better than you have been able to do so far. She seemed less… nervous about finding out what she was.”
“She always was tough,” said Millie.
“Indeed,” said Henry, “and she fitted in here beautifully — until she became pregnant. Which was when she asked to leave the town.”
“I’m going to come back to the subject of her pregnancy,” warned Millie, with narrowed eyes. “My mother told me that I was conceived during a brief fling, and that she could never find my father to tell him about me. If you’ve got any answers about that, I’ll be wanting them, but right now, carry on — why did she leave when she found out she was pregnant?”
Henry remained silent for a few moments. When he spoke, his eyes had saddened. “When Judith arrived here in Spellbinder Bay with Sergeant Spencer, the story about what had happened — what she’d done to her parents, shocked the paranormal community in the town. Your mother helped them settle in, like the rest of us, but we all struggled to comprehend what that little girl had been through.”
“My mother knew Sergeant Spencer and Judith?” said Millie.
“Yes,” said Henry. “She helped them adjust. As we all did, to the best of our abilities.”
“Okay,” said Millie. “So what’s that got to do with why my mother left town?”
“When she found out she was pregnant,” said Henry. “She did what any expectant mother does — she began worrying about your future. Until Judith came to town, magic had only held good things for your mother. It had never been the cause for tragedy. Your mother panicked, I think. She didn’t want her child growing up around magic — if magic had the potential to devastate a child’s life, like it had Judith’s. She wanted no further involvement in our town, and I honoured her wish. I broke her magical bond with the cottage, and she left.”
