An Errant Witch

by E M Graham

  It reminded me a little of the library back in our family home, how it used to be in the days when Mom was still around before the house started falling apart, but Johanna’s room was much grander.

  Still dressed in her black robe, Johanna sat behind the biggest desk I’d ever seen, folding down the cover of a lap top as I entered. So there must also be wifi here along with the iffy cell reception, a fact I stored away in my mind for later consideration.

  ‘Good morning, Dara,’ she said. There was no trace of welcome in her severe Scottish accent, but there was no anger or distaste or mockery either. ‘Please sit.’

  I took the large leather armchair she indicated; it was a high winged one, the kind that sort of hugged you when you sat in it. She regarded me silently for a long moment.

  ‘You must have many questions,’ she said finally.

  I nodded dumbly, unable to trust myself to speak. Oh yes, I had a lot of questions and they weren’t all about the island and the Competition and how my complete lack of training in all things magic was not in my favor. I wanted to know what she, as Cate’s friend, had planned for me, and why she had really brought me here. I had to know if she hated me as much as Dad’s wife did. But I didn’t know how to broach the subject.

  ‘I understand Hugh did not have the opportunity to explain about Scarp yesterday,’ she observed. ‘The bus and ferry schedule did not allow for delays.’

  She continued on, not giving me space to air my questions. ‘You see, what Hugh perhaps did not have a chance to tell you, is that Scarp is a holy place for the Kin,’ she continued. ‘It is the center of our world. In my position of Chief Elder of the Scots Kin, I am also the Master of Scarp.’

  Johanna was watching me very carefully as she spoke. ‘This is... a very special environment here. A very magical place,’ she added. ‘Which is why we allow our most promising young witches to study here, in order to absorb the island’s atmosphere.’

  ‘I thought it was all about the Competition,’ I said cautiously. The Competition were my biggest worry for first Hugh had warned me, then Fergie. If Johanna really was in cahoots with my father’s wife, then it seemed entirely rational that she might have gotten me here with the sole intent to have me killed or worse, even if she said there was to be no violence.

  ‘Oh, yes, that’s an important part of the Scarp year for many,’ she said with a slight smile. ‘Every year, as I said last night, PANEC takes on apprentices from all over the Kin world, and we choose our delegate from amongst those attending Scarp. Of course, only one can apprentice, but everyone here has the opportunity to do whatever they wish with their lives once they finish their term. Time spent at Scarp is a ticket to any career you wish in the Kin world.’

  She was making it sound like a positive thing for me to be here on the island.

  ‘Hugh said only the best and brightest of witches come to Scarp,’ I said, still hesitant, fearful of hearing mocking laughter in response.

  Johanna nodded. ‘And you’re wondering why, with your lack of training, you are here?’

  ‘Instead of having my magic bound for the things I did, yes.’

  Even though I was looking down at my lap, I could feel her cool gray eyes on me.

  ‘Dara, what you did... how can I say this? Yes, you made wrong choices, but I didn’t feel we should allow that to define the rest of your life. You show great promise, a wonderful and unique power, and can contribute much to our world. That is one of the reasons why, in the face of considerable protest, I made the decision to bring you here.’

  These words made me sit up straighter. I lifted my head, and could see that she wasn’t being mean or sarcastic or making fun of me.

  ‘In your particular case, the Kin is certainly taking a risk,’ she said. ‘Under normal circumstances and for a witch who had the benefits of a classical education, the incidents of last December would call for immediate action on our part to prevent a similar occurrence. Indeed, there was one such, years ago... and we didn’t take appropriate action at the time. That was a very sad story, but it is relevant to your experience, and it goes a long way toward explaining the backlash against my decision to bring you here.’

  She drew in a deep breath before continuing on a different vein.

  ‘This sorcerer, Willem de Vriejz,’ she said slowly. ‘During the Inquiry, you gave evidence that he entered your mind, burrowed in to it, so to speak.’

  I nodded, swallowing. Willem, the failed sorcerer who had gotten me into that whole mess in December. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be settled away on Hugh’s family estate, learning the basics of magic properly. Well, okay I had gotten myself mixed up with him, but I was only guilty of making bad choices, as Johanna so kindly put it. My heart was beginning to thaw towards her.

  ‘A similar thing happened, as I said, years ago, to a witch with more experience than you,’ she said. ‘Different times, different players, but we weren’t aware and the outcome was... bad. Sorcerer’s magic can be a terrible thing in the wrong hands, which is why they are so strict with their moral regulations.’

  ‘Willem didn’t make it through,’ I said. ‘He’s not a licensed Sorcerer.’

  ‘No, he was caught cheating, and that is unforgivable to the Sorcerer’s Guild,’ she agreed. ‘However, he is a sorcerer in all but name, with the full power and training behind him, yet not bound to their moral code. He’s been on the run for years.’

  She sighed as she looked at the fire, and a look of irritation crossed her face. ‘I do wish the Sorcerer’s would clean up their own messes instead of leaving it to the Kin each time.’

  ‘At any rate.’ Her face was calm again when she turned back to me. ‘I believe Hugh explained about your need to heal from your encounter with that wizard. Willem burrowed himself deeply inside of you, and we will do extensive testing after you’ve had sufficient time to get well, to ensure that there are no lingering holes under the scar tissue. What he did to you was reprehensible.’

  I nodded in agreement, a little embarrassed, truth be told, although I’d already laid all out in painful detail for the Inquiry. This was a more intimate setting, just me and Johanna, and I had to look her in the eye.

  ‘About the Competition,’ I said, partly to change the subject. ‘I guess I’m not expected to take part in it, right? I mean, look what I’m up against.’

  And Fergie said people had died in these wars.

  ‘Of course you will,’ Johanna replied, her eyebrows raised in surprise. ‘You need this atmosphere, all of it, as I said. I think you will find the competitive atmosphere will spur your learning.’

  She must have sensed my discomfort, for she leaned forward. ‘Just concentrate on developing your own self,’ she said. ‘Don’t worry about the politics.’

  I nodded again, but without conviction. It was easy for her to say, perhaps, but she hadn’t witnessed the warm-up exercises in the Common Room last night.

  Johanna sighed and sat back into her chair. ‘I am well aware that you were wronged by Jon, your father,’ she said. ‘He of all people, should have recognized the need to help you deal with your power.’

  ‘I think Cate had a lot to do with that.’ The words were out of my mouth before the thought registered in my brain, but I didn’t try to take them back or lessen the sting. Johanna might be a friend to the bitch, yet I had to lay blame squarely where it belonged.

  ‘Perhaps.’ Her voice was heavy with regret. ‘There is still a lot of prejudice against half-blood witches in your home country, I believe. That’s unfortunate. However, I feel that Scarp is the best place for you to recover, to allow that part of your mind to scab over, so to speak, to let it heal from within without disturbance.’

  So I was to heal while at the same time learning how to wield my power and competing against my terrifying classmates? I didn’t see how it would be possible.

  ‘And I am staking my own reputation on your rehabilitation and performance, based on my assessment of you.
’

  Was it in fact her own assessment, or was it Cate’s sly suggestions whispered down the telephone line?

  ‘You don’t feel too pressured, then? You realize that, at any hint that this is not successful, we will be forced to renege on this agreement,’ she said. ‘And that means returning to the recommendations of the others of the Kin Council from yesterday.’

  Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t, in other words. There was no way I could win in this situation; either I would be destroyed in the Competition by those vicious Kin, or I would prove myself to be unworthy. Why not just bind my magic now and have it over with, I wondered bitterly even as I realized that my entire future lay in the hands of this woman.

  ‘But on the other hand,’ I said, not wanting to give that dark possibility a chance of life. ‘If I survive the Competition... and can develop my powers, do everything I need to do, I could actually find a place working with the Kin?’

  Johanna allowed herself a small smile. ‘Oh yes. Provided also that you fully heal from your entanglement with Willem.’

  ‘How will I know? I mean, if I’ve fully recovered?’

  ‘He won’t be in your brain.’

  ‘Hugh said there might be residual ... illusions.’ Like the auditory hallucination I’d experienced on entering the island.

  She nodded. ‘Yes, more than likely. Have you experienced anything so far?’

  If I told her the truth right now, what action would she take? I could tell her that I’d felt the whispers in my head right before I entered the castle, just the previous evening. It may have been just my imagination, a side effect of all the magic in the air combined with my own exhaustion. I could tell her, but then what would happen?

  ‘No,’ I told her. ‘There’s been nothing.’

  Besides, Hugh said the hallucinations would only be temporary and harmless.

  She cleared her throat discreetly and opened her laptop again. ‘Well, if that is all...’

  ‘Just... one thing?’

  Johanna looked back up at me.

  ‘Last night, the others were talking about different kinds of magic. Dragon Magic, Mind, Hedge Witchery even, and I can’t remember what the others were. Seems like they each have an affinity to one or the other. I’d never heard of all this before.’

  She looked at me long and hard before continuing in a very kind voice. ‘These special affinities are mostly a result of nurture, as opposed to nature. A witch is usually trained in one or the other from their early years, depending on the background they come from, so this will be the magic form they practice as an adult.’

  ‘Do you... do you think I have one? A special affinity?’

  ‘Have you noticed anything yourself?’

  I thought about it, then shook my head.

  ‘Because of your special circumstances, you have not yet had the opportunity to delve into the reaches of your innate power. This exploratory work is usually done in the early years, and I fear you will have enough on your plate with learning the basics here on Scarp. I expect that any special talents you have will arise in the course of your work. But you are a peculiar case, having had no training. It will be interesting to see which form of magic you gravitate towards.’

  She stood then, indicating that my interview was over. ‘Anything further?’

  I stood too. ‘Yes, one more thing,’ I said, then hesitated. She hadn’t bitten when I’d blurted out Cate’s name before, but I still needed to know what part my father’s wife had played in having me sent to Scarp, to find out if there was a nefarious reason behind her action. Why had she wanted me to come here? There had to be an ulterior motive; I had to sound her out somehow.

  ‘Cate said to send her best regards.’ I kept my voice casual.

  The small smile on Johanna’s face changed not a whit; I could not read her expression at all.

  ‘Dear Cate.’ And she left it at that, and I had no way of telling if Johanna was friend or foe.

  ‘Oh, also,’ she said as I opened the door to leave.

  I turned to face her.

  ‘I will remind you that you should use no magic here on Scarp, as the ley lines will interfere with it. The only exceptions are in the specially sanctioned areas with your tutors,’ she said. ‘And that means none. No charms, no... hiding spells, for example, nothing.’

  I froze. Did she know? I was left speechless, searching her face but it remained blandly pleasant, no clue as to whether she was aware of Fergie’s magical help.

  ‘Is there anything you’d like to tell me?’ I realized I had been standing before her for a second too long.

  I could only shake my head and mumble something about understanding, but after I’d left her office, I sank down on the nearest hard chair in the hallway.

  Why had she so pointedly added that - was she even now aware of the coin’s existence, or of the spell Fergie had cast to hide it? I broke out into a sweat in that chilly corridor, although it was such a small thing, really.

  Small, but not unimportant, for if Fergie’s hiding spell were discovered, the consequences could be dire for both of us. I could take responsibility for myself, but there’s no way I could allow Fergie’s future to be compromised. This was her ticket out of the slums of Glasgow, and I was determined to help her in any way I could.

  Or at least, I would try my best not to screw things up for her.

  I FOUND her in the library, seated at a table flicking through a thick book in a listless, woebegone manner. She seemed happy enough for the interruption.

  ‘Listen.’ I repeated Johanna’s last words to me. ‘I think she knows about the coin, and the hiding spell you put on it.’

  Her face had slowly blanched as I spoke. ‘Damn,’ she said, her shoulders bowing. ‘I can’t risk that. How the hell’d she find out? I had it covered up pretty well. Unless...’

  She shot a suspicious look at me. ‘Did you tell her? Dara, did you rat on me?’

  ‘No! I wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘Did she... read your mind?’

  ‘Fergie, I promise she didn’t get anywhere near my mind, I swear. Believe me, I know what that feels like.’

  I sure did. It had been bad enough when Hugh could read my mind like a TV screen – I’d learned to shut that broadcast down pretty fast. But when Willem had wormed his way into my head last month, touching me with his cold little fingers, searing a part of me deep within that might never heal, that responded to him even when I saw the depths of destruction he’d wrought in my home town – well, yes, I would know if that happened, and Johanna had not crossed any boundaries.

  ‘Right,’ Fergie replied slowly, suspicion warring with fear on her face. ‘I doubt that. You must have given her some reason to suspect, and you’re no match for the likes of Johanna.’

  She slammed her book shut. ‘What possessed me to put that stupid spell on it in the first place? What was I thinking?’

  ‘You were helping me,’ I pointed out.

  ‘Yes, and then it turned out you didn’t need my assistance, you’ve got enough power of your own if you would just bloody well use it!’ She stood up. ‘Well, you’re going to have to find something else for that medallion, I’m no longer involved in this.’

  With that, she withdrew into herself, and after a moment opened up her eyes.

  ‘That’s it then, not my problem anymore. The hiding spell’s totally erased.’

  ‘Just like that? No hocus-pocus with the cloth, you just blink your eyes and it’s gone?’ Kin magic could be so quiet, so unimpressive, unless you knew what was happening.

  ‘Shouldn’t even be a smidgeon of my magic on it anymore.’ She lifted the book from the table and turned to go.

  ‘I need to hide it now, can you help me find a spot where it won’t be found?”

  ‘What, in the castle?’

  ‘Or anywhere on the island. There must be some out of the way little spot I can put it till I leave again.’

  ‘
As if!’

  ‘What, you won’t help me now?’

  ‘No!’ she said. ‘I’m not getting my magic prints on anything illegal here on Scarp. I shouldn’t have done it in the first place. I don’t even know if I can trust you!’

  ‘Maybe there’s somewhere outside, come with me to have a look,’ I cajoled her. Yes, I was begging her.

  ‘As for the rest of the island, I haven’t a clue. I only know there are sheep out there, and that’s enough to make me stay within the grounds.’

  ‘Don’t tell me you’re scared of sheep!’

  ‘I’m no’ afraid of sheep,’ she hissed at me. ‘But the damn things are evil. Can’t you see it in their eyes? Niver cross a sheep, they’re the devil’s own breed.’

  Chapter 8

  MY BLOSSOMING FRIENDSHIP with Fergie appeared to be withering before it had a chance to thrive, and I knew it would take some work to get her back on side with me. However, I had to prioritize, and hiding the medallion was the most important thing on my list right now.

  Sandy. He would help me, not that I wanted to involve him, but I had no choice; he knew the island. It was just a matter of finding him.

  The winding castle passages eventually led me back to the room I shared with Fergie, and I dug deep into my carry-on where I’d buried the medallion.

  Even before I touched it, I could feel the power it held now that the hiding spell had been removed. Here in this land where magic was all around us, the metal glowed through the mess of clothes in the case.

  Yet it didn’t burn my hand – the golden medallion pulsed as if with a life of its own, and it was warm and almost liquid on my skin, the letters and figures impressed on it now clearer than ever, as if I was looking at it through a magnifying lens.