Flames in the Midst (The Jade Hale Series)

by Reckenwald, Sarah

  I thought about Giles Corey, the man who refused to stand trial. They piled rocks on top of him until he died. When they asked him to enter a plea, he simply replied, “More weight.” The accusations and hangings escalated quickly after Corey’s death. We had to act now. I lifted the quill, took a deep breath, and signed my first contract as a witch. Cameron signed the contract as well. It bound us all, so there could be no double crossing on anyone’s part. I had just agreed to a deal with the devil.

  Chapter 16

  Once we had sealed our fates, Cameron and I left the Hale house. I looked back at the neat, wooden, two-story house and thought of my ancestors etching out their daily existence in this time. I was not only protecting Stefanie by entering into this contract; I was protecting Sarah and her children. I was protecting the people who would be able to continue their lives, never knowing how close they had come to being accused and facing the gallows.

  We walked nearly two hours to reach the place where Cameron and Evan were camping out on the outskirts of Salem Village. I looked around their quaint camp. There was a small cabin set behind some trees. I knew instantly they had not toiled relentlessly under any burning sun to build it. Evan had been the one to design the spell on the bar to mask the spacious hideaway behind it. He had certainly conjured up this little place for the two of them to wait for my arrival. It lay well off any traveled path, but they probably had spells on it so no one wandering off the path would notice it.

  Evan waited for us inside the cabin. I did not see Stefanie anywhere, but I had no choice but to trust she was safe and I would see her when this was all over. They were bound by our contract the same as me.

  “I thought she might have declined,” Evan spoke to Cameron first. “Well, let me see it.” He held out his hand for Cameron to hand over the signed contract. Cameron passed him the paper condemning me to hell. Who agrees to help their mother’s murderer—regardless of the circumstances? I felt like I should be among the accused of Salem awaiting the gallows.

  The sight of Evan brought with it a wave of emotions. I wanted to plunge a knife into his flesh and watch him die in agony. I wanted to localize my gift and burn him bit by bit so he could suffer for what he had done. I wanted to back out of the contract so I would be free to do these things and worse. I didn’t feel this intense hatred for Cameron, but his father’s presence immediately invoked it. I sensed why Amy had worried for me. This was the type of hatred that could consume a person so completely as to leave him changed for all eternity. I could feel the danger of becoming someone else, someone I didn’t want to become, if I simply stepped over the precipice in front of me and let the anger and hatred swallow me up.

  I didn’t want to help Evan, but a small part of me was thankful I had signed the contract. At least for now, I could set aside the temptations of giving in to the evils of pure revenge. I had no choice now because I had made the decision when I signed the contract.

  “So, you didn’t go for my first offer, then?” Evan asked me. There was an edge to his voice, and I noticed him glaring at Cameron. Did he doubt Cameron had made another offer?

  “No,” I replied. “I could not live with myself if I helped you beyond this place. It will be hard enough to live with myself as it is.” I glared at him, but he knew there was no power in my stare since he held the contract protecting him in his hands. I decided to get right down to business.

  “So, when do we go after William?” I asked.

  “We’ll go after him tonight. I will let you know when we’re ready to go. Make yourself comfortable,” he sneered. Cameron had been leaning against the kitchen bar. Although the house was a quaint cabin from the outside, the inside contained all the modern conveniences a real witch from the twenty-first century could desire. Evan beckoned to Cameron to leave the room with him; they departed into a sort of library off the main room and closed the doors. I imagined Evan would be hiding my contract as he hid all those others. I wondered if the contracts he had rescued from the fire were in that room, but I was certain I would not be able to enter it. I could hear the sounds of arguing coming from behind the huge oak doors, but no matter how close I got, the voices did not become distinct enough for me to make out the particulars of their discussion.

  I gave up, went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. There was another sitting room off the back of the kitchen, smaller than the one in the main room, but further away from the library and its inhabitants. I would have to work closely with them later in the evening; I could use a large bubble of personal space until then.

  I sat on a black leather sofa facing a large window. I watched the unadulterated forest dance to a light breeze. If I weren’t here to destroy an evil witch and save my friend, I might actually enjoy being in a time when so little of the natural landscape of our continent had been damaged. The people of Salem Village had a growing fear of the forest, due in part to Native Americans and in part to the chaos William was causing among them. Yet, the forest did not appear dangerous to me. It held a beauty and a life of its own. I could almost feel the cool breeze and the warmth of the late afternoon sun on my face. I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them, I was sitting outside on the ground actually feeling the wind and the sun. The only problem was I hadn’t meant to do that. I turned around to make sure the cabin was still there, that I had only performed the parlor trick the traitor Garrett had taught me and hadn’t accidentally left the time period entirely. I let out the breath I had been holding in when I saw the cabin behind me.

  I focused on the couch, closed my eyes, and ended up falling on the floor to the right of the couch instead of transporting myself to the comfort of the couch itself. My focus was off, and we were about to go up against a witch who had caused hundreds of deaths. This could not be a good combination. At least I came close to the couch. Would close be good enough? I doubted it, but what choice did I have? I was locked into this.

  As the sky outside began to darken, I found myself struggling in a losing battle with my eyelids. They finally won, and the next thing I knew, Cameron was gently shaking my shoulder and telling me to wake up. For a moment, I thought I was waking in my lagoon. I smiled at his touch and slowly opened my eyes. Reality came rushing in on me like an avalanche.

  Cameron had smiled back, but quickly replaced his smile with the blank stare of a department store mannequin. Evan stood in the doorway.

  “It’s time to go,” he said coldly.

  “I’m ready.” I stood up and followed them out the door. Cameron carried the satchel that had housed my choice of contracts. I figured he was carrying the new contract for William. I caught the glint of a blade tucked in Evan’s belt. I shuddered and pushed back the thoughts of my mother’s final moments.

  The moonlight cast an eerie glow over the empty, desolate forest. No one else traveled through the forest at night. I listened to the crunch of our feet on the forest floor and the sound of insects buzzing all around us. I could still feel a light breeze blowing through the trees, gently caressing each one as it passed through. It kissed our cheeks on its way through the forest, and I felt a slight chill. Whether from the cool evening air or the sense of doom in the atmosphere, I couldn’t tell.

  We traveled only about two miles northeast of the cabin before we came across William’s camp. The spell around it was stronger than the one around the coven’s property back home. I could feel it when we came within fifty yards of its outer edge. It became difficult to breath. My chest felt tight, as if we were on top of Mount Everest trying to breathe without an oxygen tank. As we walked closer, my feet began to feel like heavy boulders. Our pace slowed to the speed of a sloth. We inched our way along until we could go no further. The edge of the spell, a circle about twenty or thirty yards in diameter with William in its center, proved impossible to penetrate. Evan had apparently been aware of this, as he seemed entirely undisturbed by these events. We were well within William’s sight at this point.

  “I’m not planning on letting you
enter, Evan,” William said without looking up. He was cooking some sort of meat over an open fire. He had a much more primitive camp than Evan, but he also did not have the luxury of a time traveler. He had probably never even seen most of the modern conveniences Evan and Cameron had inside their little cabin. He had a small lean-to built nearby, but his fire was a safe distance from the structure.

  “I think you may want to reconsider,” Evan answered confidently.

  “And why, pray tell, would I wish to reconsider the likes of you? I will not be signing another of your contracts. I relish the destruction around me far too much. I don’t know how I got out of the first contract, but I can promise you there will not be another.”

  “I’d like to introduce you to my new friend,” Evan continued confidently as he gestured towards me. I scowled at Evan. I was a temporary prisoner of circumstance, but not a friend. William looked up and caught my scowl.

  William had deep eyes that I swear held a hint of crimson in their pools of brown and black. His dark hair, the shade of charcoal, was long and unkempt. He might actually possess lighter hair, but he had probably not run a brush through it in years. He had it tied back in a loose ponytail. His beard and mustache he kept up with in a slightly neater fashion than his hair, but these still had a wild, untamed look about them. The man was lean and muscular looking, but more than anything, he was frightening. There was no remorse in his eyes. He knew he was causing the deaths of innocent people, and that was exactly what he wanted. I could see where Cameron could be confused about his father’s merit when compared with a man like this. Evan had logic to his madness; he thought it was all for the greater good. From the outside, I knew he was wrong and hated him for sacrificing my mother for his cause, but Cameron had been raised by his father. His ability to discern the truth in his father’s character would always be marred by their history.

  William was different. If ever a person were pure evil, William would be it. Despite the knowledge I could use my gift to defend myself against a creature like William, I found myself shuddering. William sensed my fear or maybe he just saw it in my eyes; he laughed at Evan’s presumptive confidence.

  “It doesn’t matter whom you have accompanying you, the answer will forever be no. You may leave whenever you like,” William called in our direction as he turned his attention back to turning the meat over his fire. Juices dripped from the meat like the sweat I could feel accumulating on the back of my neck and forehead.

  Evan didn’t falter for a moment against this ominous witch.

  “I’d like to introduce you to Jade Hale,” he said, placing extra emphasis on Hale.

  William paused over his fire before looking up. My name had his attention, but I wasn’t sure why.

  “Jade Hale?” he asked, stressing my last name. “As in related to Sarah Hale?”

  “Yes, she is a descendent of Sarah.”

  “Ahh, a descendent. So we have another time traveler in our midst, do we?” His attention was on me now, and I felt very uncomfortable—like a child with stage fright on opening night of the school play. As he stared at me, I felt less like a child and more like a mouse being stalked by a rattlesnake. I had to let him know I was no mouse.

  “I am more than a time traveler,” I said, trying to sound more confident and imposing than I felt. The spell protecting William’s camp made it difficult to speak. I had to focus my breathing to get enough oxygen to speak above a whisper. William ignored my mini-speech and talked to me as if I had not said a word.

  “You know,” he said, “I talked with Sarah. She is quite a witch, and she is wasting it as if she weren’t one. I assured her of her safety. I don’t intend to rid this world of witches as Evan here does. We don’t agree on principles, you know.” William was trying to get me on his side. I didn’t want to be on anyone’s side. I just wanted this nightmare to be over.

  “I don’t agree with either of your principles. I’m here to put an end to this.” I took three deep breaths before I spoke. This time I had a bit of actual confidence in my voice. I was tired of these men and their missions to rid the world of witches or people or whatever they were busy loathing.

  William shrugged. He didn’t look particularly disturbed by our continued invasion of his space. His spell held up, and we couldn’t step any closer to him anyway.

  “Perhaps I was wrong about Sarah and her family. Maybe she should have a little encounter with these witchcraft trials.” William smiled sinisterly and began a silent incantation.

  “No! Stop! What are you doing?” I cried.

  “He’s going after Sarah, now. We already know she is accused. This must be why.” Cameron was practically whispering in my ear we were standing so close.

  “Let’s give him a sample of what you can do, Jade,” Evan spoke up, but William did not stop with his spell. I focused my panic and energy on William’s lean-to. It burst into flame instantly. William froze, but I didn’t know how much of his spell he had completed. I hated to think I was the reason for Sarah’s accusation and death.

  “A firestarter?” William laughed nervously. “So, you have brought one weapon I cannot shield against. Nevertheless, my original contract was destroyed. I am going to guess this firestarter had something to do with that—seeing she doesn’t seem to like either of us. So I wonder where will her loyalty lie?”

  “She is contracted with me,” Evan answered, as if this settled everything.

  William snickered. He pointed to Cameron while his lips moved again in a new incantation. He finished quickly and addressed Cameron.

  “Well, go ahead and bring me the contract. It appears your father has me in checkmate,” he conceded. Cameron looked to Evan who nodded. He stepped towards William while he reached into the satchel for the contract.

  Cameron was able to move through the spell without resistance. Evan and I were stuck where we were. I watched as Cameron moved towards William, and I held my breath unintentionally. It was like watching the hero of a crime show moving in towards a ticking bomb. Something was bound to go wrong.

  William bent down close to his fire as Cameron approached. His fingers curled around a solid mass, a rock with a jagged edge. As Cameron held out the contract, William cried out and swung upwards, hitting Cameron across the cheek with his first blow.

  “Unlike your firestarter, I am not under a contract!” William howled. Maybe he believed I would be on his side without the contract. Maybe he believed he was freeing me by fighting for his abilities. Maybe he just wanted to hurt Evan by hurting Cameron. It didn’t really matter why he made the choice he did. As I saw Cameron lurch backwards, blood already dripping from his face, horror swept over me. I didn’t even think; I just reacted.

  William hit Cameron a second time, knocking him to the ground. He raised the rock up high, getting ready to bring it down again on Cameron’s head. The rage I felt burst out of me, and William did not have the chance to deliver a third blow. He stepped back and looked at me in surprise before he screamed. The flames engulfed his body so completely that for an instant it looked like he was breathing fire. The rock fell, hitting the meat on the spit over the fire and knocking the whole contraption over. William fell to the ground and writhed for only a minute. He appeared to be dead before his body stopped moving, like a chicken with its head cut off or the tail of a lizard.

  “Well done,” Evan congratulated me, patting me on the back. “He wasn’t going to sign the contract.” Evan stepped over William’s charred remains to help Cameron up—the spell to keep us out of the circle no longer viable without its caster.

  I stood in shock. I had hoped we could persuade William to take another contract. When I met him, I doubted it would end well. This I had not been prepared for. Regardless of what I wanted to tell myself or what I would tell anyone else, deep down I knew the truth. I had killed William to save Cameron. I hadn’t done it to get Stefanie back or because I had signed a contract. I hadn’t done it to end the madness in Salem. I saw Cameron in danger, and I reacted. I
saved him. He was one of the men I held responsible for my mother’s death, and when he was about to be bludgeoned to death, I couldn’t stand by and let it happen. I couldn’t watch him die.

  I walked back in stunned silence with Cameron and Evan. Evan managed to stop Cameron’s bleeding with a spell, but his wounds would have to heal on their own. A gift for healing was among the rare gifts I had yet to see. Cameron stumbled a few times on the way back, and I found myself wondering and worrying about whether or not he may have a concussion. I focused on getting Stefanie back and pushed my thoughts for Cameron out of my head.

  I didn’t want to go back to the cabin with them, but I didn’t know where else to go. When we entered the cabin, Evan retreated to the library room. Cameron collapsed on a couch just inside the front door. I began to head back to the room I had been sleeping in earlier in the evening when I heard Cameron call my name. My desire to respond pulled against my desire to make believe I’d heard nothing. In the end, my curiosity won out. I turned and walked back towards Cameron.

  “Thank you,” he told me. “I’ll get Stefanie for you in the morning. I need to rest first.”

  “You’re welcome, but I didn’t do it for you,” I lied. He lay on the couch with his eyes closed.

  “It will be nice to get out of here finally,” he said.

  “What will happen to all of the people in Salem?” I thought about Sarah.

  “It will take a while for the effects of William’s spell to wear off. There will probably be more hangings before the effects are fully dissipated.”

  I sighed. I hadn’t saved everyone, but it was the best I could do. Cameron did not speak again. After a few minutes, I assumed he was asleep and retreated to my own space. I didn’t sleep, but went outside to look at the night sky free of ambient light. The stars, even as the night wore on into early morning, looked more amazing than anything I had ever seen. They shone brightly and crowded the sky with more stars than I had been able to see in my lifetime in the modern world.