She was moving unsteadily to her feet when a tower of water rose up before her. It encircled her flames and then tumbled down on top of them. Her wall of fire was extinguished and the water continued to surge forwards, knocking Kiera back to the ground.
Bersaba stood before her, lifting her hands towards the ceiling of the cave. The water followed, taking Kiera with it as it flowed upwards. Then it flowed over her so that Kiera was completely submerged. She thrashed around frantically as her lungs tightened. Bersaba was a blur below her.
I am a Daughter of the Earth, Kiera thought determinedly, when I speak nature listens.
She stopped struggling and let herself float, suspended mid-air in Bersaba's tower of water. Then she sliced her arm downwards and the water fell. Kiera fell with it, managing to land on her feet. She instantly took control of the water and sent it spiralling towards Bersaba. It hit Bersaba square in the chest and she was thrown off her feet and skidded across the floor.
Before Bersaba could regain her composure Kiera hit her again with all the force she could muster. Bersaba didn't manage to block it and was knocked backwards. Then for a moment there was deadlock as each blocked each other's spells. Magical energy shot across the cave in all directions as each attempted to gain the upper hand.
Kiera dodged behind a rock. Bersaba exploded it into a shower of stones but Kiera was ready. As she turned to Bersaba she channelled her powers, the powers of all the witches that had gone before her and she could feel them around her as she swung her arms and released her flow of energy at Bersaba. It seemed to burst from her fingertips, a magic so strong that it hit Bersaba like a flash of lightening and caused her to cry out in pain as it lifted her off her feet and sent her hurtling through the air. Bersaba landed and didn't move.
Kiera turned to Jack. The Creature had risen up on to its hind legs and was about to bring its whole weight crashing down on top of him. Kiera focused in her powers and pushed,sending the air flying at the Creature like an invisible wall. She hit her target and knocked it off its feet. The Creature jumped straight back up as Jack ran at it, but Jack swiped his staff at one of the Creature's hind legs as it did so. The Creature tumbled back down. In that moment Jack turned to her, “Get out of here Kiera. Get out and I'll find you.”
The Creature righted itself from the floor with a leap, but Jack jumped at the same time. He jumped over the Creature's head and his feet touched the Creature's back as they were in mid-air. He took a step along it and dug his staff into its lower back.
The Creature let out a cry as it landed with a crash. Kiera had heard Jack but there was no way she was leaving him. She ran to Kitto. She wasn't even sure why. She knew he was dead. She knelt down in the pool of blood that surrounded him and stroked his hair. His eyes stared vacantly upwards.
“Oh Kitto,” she cradled his head.
When she looked back Jack was on the floor and the Creature was on top of him. As the Creature bore down with gnashing jaws Jack strained to push him away with his staff. It chomped down on to the wood as they wrestled, before Jack threw him to the side with a shout.
They each rose again to their feet and stared at each other. Then suddenly Jack turned to look at Kiera. His attention was distracted and his neck was exposed. She tried to call to him because she knew what would happen, but, before she could make a sound, the Creature had seized its opportunity. It threw itself at Jack's neck.
She raised her hand, despite knowing that her magic would be too late. At that moment, keeping his eyes on Kiera and without looking at the Creature, Jack drove his staff into its chest. He had used his neck as bait. The staff pierced the Creature's skin in a way bullets could not. There was enough time for shock to register on the Creature's face, it looked as though it was trying to pull back but Jack pushed his staff deeper.
The Creature let out a cry as it lost control, kicking and flailing before it collided with Jack. Jack disappeared beneath its quivering mass and Kiera raced over. She grabbed hold of Jack's arm and helped to pull him free. Jack rolled the beast over and they watched the two burning flames fade into dust as its last breath left its body; all the souls it had crushed and the lives it had stolen finally appeased.
For a moment they just stared at it, both breathing heavily, then Jack turned to Kiera and she threw herself into his arms. He pulled his staff from the now lifeless body and held her as they climbed to their feet. Then they walked back to where Kitto lay.
“I'm sorry Jack,” Kiera whispered as they stood over Kitto's lifeless body.
Jack nodded but she couldn't read his expression. He bent down and kissed the forehead of the man he had spent the last twenty years with; a man who he had lived with and trained with, his mentor but, more importantly, his family. Jack placed his hands over Kitto's eyes and gently closed them. Then he picked Kitto up. There was no way he was leaving him in a cave.
He didn't see Bersaba regaining consciousness or her anger when she saw that the Creature lay dead. He didn't see her raise her hand and muster up the magic which moved the gun he had dropped. He didn't see the gun rise from the ground and point at him and he didn't see the trigger move.
But Kiera did. She saw it at the very last moment and in the split second that she had to protect Jack, all she could do was throw herself in in front of it. The sound of the gun echoed around the cave. Jack turned in time to see Kiera drop away before him.
She knew the shot was fatal. She could feel her life and her magic seeping away from her, returning to the natural world where it had come from. She conjured the last of her energy and sent it hurtling towards Bersaba. It was the last thing she could do to keep Jack safe. She had to protect him. As her eyes began to close she thought about how she still hadn't told Jack that she loved him and now it was too late.
Chapter Thirty Five
Kiera's aim was off and she missed Bersaba. However, she did hit the rock face above Bersaba and the force caused the rock to fall away. By the time Bersaba realised what was happening, it was too late and she was buried beneath the crumbling rock.
Jack called out but Kiera had hit the ground before he knew what was happening. It felt like time froze around him. Everything fell silent. He dropped to his knees and placed Kitto gently on to the floor. Kiera's eyes closed. It seemed as though she was trying to speak, to tell him something.
“Shhh shhh,” he silenced her softly, “don't speak Kiera. You're going to be okay.”
He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He gave one last look at Kitto before he ran from the cave. He couldn't take them both. Kitto would understand. He had to save Kiera. He emerged from the cave and blinked momentarily in the bright light from the sun. Even though he was briefly blinded he didn't stop moving. He stumbled forwards as his eyes adjusted.
He climbed up a small mound of earth and then looked around. He had no idea where he was. He didn't recognise it and he couldn't see another living soul. His heart sank.
“Hello?” He cried out. “I need help! I need an ambulance!”
There was no reply. His gut told him there was probably no-one for miles. Bersaba would've picked somewhere isolated. He looked down at Kiera. The colour had completely drained from her face.
He shook his head at her even though she couldn't see him.
“No Kiera,” he said firmly, “don't do this. I was supposed to be the one protecting you,” his voice shook slightly as he repeated, “I was supposed to protect you.”
All he could see were clifftops, sand and sea. The small beach in front of him was deserted. He scanned it for a path up to the cliffs. Perhaps there was a road at the top. He could feel her blood running down his arms. Kiera was struggling to breathe. She let out a rasping noise as she fought for some air and he knew that she was taking her final few breaths. She was beyond any doctors, there was nothing medicine could do for her.
A thought struck him. Maybe not medicine but there was something else he could do! He remembered something Kitto had once told him. He had said that the wit
ches of old drew their magic from the raw might of the ocean. He had said the oceans were Mother Nature at her most powerful.
It was a long shot but he began to sprint towards the water. He gripped Kiera tightly to him as he ran. He hit the beach and didn't stop. The sand was soft and it hindered him as his feet sunk slowly with each step. Then finally he felt the cold water lapping at his ankles. He ran until it reached his waist and then he lowered Kiera down. The shock of the icy cold water took his breath away, the salt stung at his cuts and numbed his aches and bruises. But his attention was on Kiera.
“Please heal her,” he begged as Kiera struggled for her last gulps of air.
He stroked her hair and whispered to her, “Don't leave me Kiera. Stay with me. Don't leave me alone.”
There was no response. It hadn't worked. The sky above him seemed to darken, and he realised he couldn't hear the sound of the seagulls anymore, as though the world around him felt his pain and was mourning her loss too.
He placed her head on his shoulder, “It's okay Kiera, I'm here.”
He didn't want her to be afraid.
“And Kitto will be waiting for you. He'll want to look after you but, of course, you'll have to look after him,” he chuckled, despite feeling as though his heart was torn in two.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered as she took one last wheezing breath and then fell into silence, “I'm sorry I failed you.”
He tilted his head and kissed her gently on her lips, something he should have done a long time ago. A single tear slid from his dark eyes and rolled down his cheek on to her.
Then he said something that he had never said to another human being in his whole life. “I love you.”
He held her and let the water lap around them. He noticed the dark water slowly start to lighten in colour. Soon it was crystal clear so that he could see down to the sand on the seabed. The water continued to change until it was a golden colour; it seemed to emanate from Kiera, seeping out into the water until they were surrounded by a gold that twinkled in the dim, winter sun.
Then the water began to bubble and spit. The silence was broken by an eruption of birdsong. Jack stared around him in amazement as flocks of gulls took to the skies above him, calling out wildly.
“I love you too Jack,” Kiera croaked suddenly and Jack looked down at her in shock. She gave him a weak smile.
“But…are…” he struggled for words. He held her out in front of him and tried to examine her wound.
“I think I'm okay,” she reassured him, “I don't know how, but I think I'm okay.”
His face broke into a smile as relief overwhelmed him.
“I thought you'd left me,” he said.
Kiera shook her head, “Can we please get out of the water? I'm freezing!”
Jack scooped her into his arms and waded back towards the beach.
“Where are we?” Kiera asked.
“No idea,” Jack replied. He carried her further up the beach, where she would be sheltered by a dune and then lay her down lightly on the sand. He supported himself on his arms so that he was hovering over her.
Jack gazed at her in disbelief, “I can't believe you're here.”
“You saved me,” Kiera raised a hand and gripped his arm. Then she added mischievously, “After I saved you that is.”
He grinned down at her, “Yer, thanks for that.”
They allowed themselves to be lost in the moment, blocking out all the terrible things that had just happened and the huge loss they had suffered. For that moment they were just two people on a beach, two people who were alive against all the odds.
Kiera held her breath as Jack slowly brought his lips to hers. He kissed her lightly and they revelled in their closeness, a connection which, after the day's events, seemed to transcend all else, rising above the evil and the betrayal they had witnessed. Kiera moved her hands to his hair and pulled him in closer. He gripped her tighter and they knew they would never let each other go.
Then Jack lay himself down next to her. Kiera wrapped herself in his arms and they were still for a while. The sound of the waves as they washed against the sand made them feel almost peaceful.
But it couldn't last. They had to face reality at some point.
“You're cold,” Jack said looking concerned.
Kiera hadn't even noticed that she was shaking. Her teeth began to chatter.
“We should go into hiding for a while,” Kiera said, trying to formulate a plan.
Jack nodded, “We'll go home and get a few things. Then we'll go into hiding until we know what's happening and who we can trust. I may contact the council.”
“Mags was on the council,” Kiera said sadly. She thought of the old lady she had become so fond of and still couldn't believe it had all been an act.
“I know,” Jack said troubled, “I can't be sure we can trust them but it may be our only option.”
Jack looked back in the direction of the cave, “I have to go and get Kitto. I can't leave him there.”
“No Jack,” Kiera shook her head, “let's go home first. What if Bersaba is there? At the moment we're weak, we're cold and wet and tired and injured. We don't even know where we are. Let's go home and then we'll come back for Kitto.”
“Bersaba is buried under a pile of rocks,” Jack hated the thought of leaving Kitto alone in the cave, “and my staff is in there.”
“Bersaba has survived worst,” Kiera pointed out gloomily as she pictured her jumping from the clifftops, “and even if she is dead we can't carry Kitto now. We don't know where we are. What would we tell anybody that we met?”
Jack hesitated.
Kiera took hold of his hand, “Let's go home.”
He turned to her and his expression softened. He nodded.
They surprised the farmer that found them wandering along the clifftops looking for a road. He was even more surprised when they told him they didn't have a clue where they were. It took them almost two hours to get home. It was heart-breaking to step inside the house without Kitto and know that he would never be coming back.
Jack sat on the settee quietly while Kiera made him a hot drink and fetched him something to eat. He felt numb, the day's events not quite having sunk in yet. He listened to Kiera pottering about in the kitchen and smiled. She did a pretty good job of looking after him. They made a good team.
Kiera seated herself next to him and they ate and drank in silence as they each processed their thoughts. Eventually Kiera placed her plate on the table and sighed deeply.
“I miss them, both of them,” she admitted, glancing at Jack, “I know Mags wasn't real but…” She shrugged, not sure how to explain herself.
Jack went to respond when there was a knock at the door. His face dropped.
“Get upstairs.”
Kiera was too tired to argue (dying and then magically returning to life was pretty exhausting). She hovered at the top of the stairs listening intently.
Jack glanced through the window at their visitors and frowned. With his right hand he opened the door without removing the chain, a gun held securely in his left hand.
“Yes,” he said sharply.
On his doorstep were a group of three men and one woman. A man stepped forward. His skin was dark black and he wore a smart suit.
He smiled apologetically, “We are from the council. We know what happened today. It's very important that we speak to you alone…” the man paused “…without Kiera.”
Jack studied them for a moment. They shifted about uncomfortably under his gaze and then he removed the chain and nodded for them to enter.
A tall, balding man spotted his gun and froze.
“I'll keep this with me for our chat if you don't mind,” Jack waved them towards the living room, “no offence but it's been a rough day.”
Once the living room door was closed Kiera crept down and listened. The black man introduced himself as Stephen.
“I lead today's council,” he informed Jack, “I inherited the role from my fathe
r.”
Then he introduced the others. The balding man was David, the other gentleman's name was William and the woman was Alice.
Stephen couldn't look Jack in the eye as he began to speak, which Jack knew wasn't a good sign. He was either about to be lied to or given some bad news.
“We're all devastated by what's happened today,” Stephen began, “none of us had any idea that Mags was…well, lying to us and we are all mourning the loss of Kitto, as I'm sure you are too.”
Jack remained expressionless, “How did you find out what had happened so soon?”
“We have our ways,” Stephen replied, “as the council in charge of witchcraft we have to make sure we are on top of the goings on.”
“It doesn't seem you did a good job,” Jack narrowed his eyes, “you weren't exactly on top of it.”
“No,” Stephen loosened the top button of his shirt, “and that is why we must take decisive action now.”
He glanced around at his colleagues. William nodded to him encouragingly, the other two seemed less sure. No-one could meet his eyes. Jack decided he was definitely about to get bad news.
“Bersaba is an incredibly powerful witch,” Stephen said, emphasizing each word, “from what we know of her she performed some unbelievable magic. With her powers this turn of events puts the whole world at great risk.”
Jack didn't speak. He just wanted them to get to the point.
Stephen cleared his throat, “That is why we have had to come to a very difficult decision. Bersaba's powers were considerably weakened until Kiera's initiation. Kiera brought magic back to the world. As long as Kiera is alive Bersaba will connect with her energy…”
“As long as Kiera is alive?” Jack repeated.
“Yes, we…” Stephen faltered slightly, “we all wanted the return of witchcraft, but the cost is too high. You forget that Bersaba was behind the deaths of an entire village and probably many more. Our options are limited here. There really is only one answer. To destroy Bersaba we must first…” he paused, “Kiera must die.”
Nature of the Witch Page 25