Vengeful Magic

by TJ Green

  Tiers of rock led up from the beach, filled with wooden barrels bound with iron, old wooden boxes, and chests. Rough tables and chairs, mostly decomposing, were grouped on the far side, behind which was a dark archway that Avery presumed led to another cave or tunnel. The upper levels of the cave were cloaked in shadow.

  Even more chilling were the bones of dozens of men spread across the levels.

  This was definitely the centre of the curse. Avery could feel it drenching the air around them.

  Before Avery could even begin to work out what to do, there was a slow handclap from the top tier, and a glowering figure materialised out of the shadows, fire gleaming where there should be eyes. It was a broad shouldered, powerfully built man, wearing old-fashioned clothing and knee-length boots. He laughed, the sound booming out around them.

  In seconds, dozens of other figures appeared, and Avery froze as a blade was pressed to her throat, a weather-beaten, ghoulish face leering into her own.

  Alex heard shots, shouts, and the sounds of clashing metal. He ran, heedless of the uneven floor and poor light, until he saw a whirling blade slicing through the air.

  He batted it away, and yelled, “Something’s coming!”

  A spectral hand grabbed his shirt beneath his throat and lifted him up, smashing him against the roof. Alex twisted, narrowly avoiding smacking his head, and punched out a blast of pure energy on instinct.

  The ghost vanished, and Alex crashed to the floor, but another spectre emerged as Alex struggled to his feet, furious at having been caught out. The gathering energy was completely throwing him, leaving him unable to detect anything remotely magical or supernatural around him.

  But Ash was already thundering past him, the Empusa’s sword swinging to dispatch the spirit, and then he charged onwards. Newton hauled Alex to his feet and they raced after him, finally emerging onto a narrow shelf of rock at the back of a large cave.

  For a bewildering moment, Alex thought he was underwater, as green light rippled around him, and then he saw Avery, El, and Dylan below, furiously fighting a dozen spirits that surrounded them. Magic flashed, swords clashed, and Dylan blasted his shotgun.

  Alex had a moment of pure relief at seeing them alive, and then horror at their predicament. But Ash, wings outstretched, was already soaring down to assist them. Alex felt a sharp sting across his ear and the shattering of stone as a bullet ricocheted past. A spirit sneered at him, only feet away, with an old-fashioned musket in his hand. Before he could fire again, Alex uttered a banishing spell, satisfied as the spirit vanished with a howl.

  His relief was short-lived, however, as other spirits manifested around them. Before he could attack again, he was aware of Cassie, Ben, Briar, and Newton lining up next to him, advancing as one.

  The next few minutes were bewildering.

  Alex hesitated to think of their attackers as ghosts. They may have an Otherworldly shimmer to them, and could pop in and out of vision, but they had a startlingly strong physical form, capable of touch. He and his friends were weaving in and out, ducking, diving, throwing spells and desperately trying to avoid the quick stab of blades. He was vaguely aware of Ben pulling bottled spells out of his pocket, and felt a blast of fire race past him as Cassie hurled a globe at the nearest spirit.

  “Whoa!” he shouted, rolling to avoid the blast. “Careful where you throw that!”

  “Sorry!” she yelled, breathless, and then out of nowhere, a spirit appeared and threw her down the tiers of rock like a rag doll. Fortunately, she rolled athletically, leaping to her feet again.

  Alex turned away, a flash of movement distracting him.

  A giant man grabbed Alex around the throat and pinned him to the wall. His breath was rancid, and Alex recoiled. Fire burned where his eyes should be, and he rasped in his face. “You made a mistake today, boy! You’ll all die. No outsider breaches my cave and lives.”

  Boy?

  “Screw you!” Alex yelled, convinced he was now fighting Coppinger.

  He pressed his palm to Coppinger’s face, scorching him with elemental fire, and his clammy skin started to slip from his features, revealing the bone beneath. But Coppinger tightened his grip around Alex’s throat. He was horribly strong, fuelled by rage and hate, and his spirit was powerful.

  A resounding blast caused Coppinger to drop him and vanish, and Newton appeared to his right, already reloading his shotgun. “You okay?”

  “Not really,” Alex said, bewildered and breathless. “I think they’re toying with us.”

  “And someone else has just turned up,” Newton said with a scowl, and he pointed to a flurry of activity below.

  Ethan had just entered the cave from another entrance below, closely followed by Mariah and Zane. As Alex stared down at them, Mariah lifted her gaze and smiled at him triumphantly.

  Caspian took a deep breath and looked up at Reuben’s anxious face, willing himself to be patient. “Have you got a way to break this?”

  “No. We’re taking too long,” Reuben said to him.

  “Shut up and keep trying.”

  But he was right, Caspian reflected. They had untangled the spell a good half an hour ago, and he was still no closer to working out how to break it. He’d glared at it, and paced around it, but it refused to give up its inner workings. He’d had one interesting idea, but was worried about the repercussions on his friends.

  That word brought him up short. Friends. He’d never viewed the White Haven witches as that before. Well, Briar maybe, and certainly Avery. But Alex, El, Reuben, or Newton? Never. He blinked and rubbed his brow. He was getting soft in his old age.

  Or maybe loneliness was driving him to it.

  He’d never thought of himself as lonely, ever. But being around Reuben these last few days had made him realise how few true friendships he really had. How sad did that make him? Could he even count Gabe as a friend? Or Shadow? He employed them, so maybe not.

  Annoyed with his sentimental internal waffling, he focussed on the spell, starting to talk it through.

  “Focus, Reuben. This is a big spell, encompassing all of Coppinger’s men, his treasure, his ship, and the deep ocean. Elemental power at its strongest. It uses their greed against them. It has tied their spirits to the treasure, making them forever restless, and Mariah has used that, fuelling their spirits somehow.”

  “Are the spriggans a side effect?” Reuben asked, leaning back in his chair, his hands behind his head. “Or are they part of this spell?”

  “They’re not mentioned, so they are not part of the spell, no. They’re drawn to the treasure, and as natural Otherworldly creatures, they are unaffected by the curse. Anyway, forget the spriggans.” He stared at the spell again, the words shimmering in the air before him. “Curses are hard to break. It took all of us to lift the spell from El. If you remember, that was an earth-based spell.”

  Reuben nodded. “Yes. It suffocated her spirit, burying her alive.”

  “This one uses water in a similar way. It’s like the curse is suspended in deep water. I can sense its weight. You untangled a stream of it from the words, but water is still an integral part of it. I’m wondering, if we can get rid of the water, will the curse crack?”

  Reuben sat forward, leaning his arms on the table. “You’re saying the water is protecting the curse, like a bubble. Which is why my attic felt like it was underwater earlier.”

  “Yes.”

  “But what about the words of the spell? Won’t Coppinger’s spirit still be bound to his treasure?”

  “I don’t think so. Once the water’s gone, so are they! In theory, at least.” Caspian struggled to find the right words. “It’s like letting the bathwater down a plug hole. It will take the cursed spirits with it.”

  “So we need to create a plug hole?” He looked alarmed, his voice rising. “Like a bloody great whirlpool? That’s insane!”

  “I know.” He worried his lips with his fingers, staring into Reuben’s wide blue eyes. “Where would we siphon it to?”

/>   Reuben was silent for a moment, his gaze drifting to the spell again. “I’ve got a better idea! We freeze and shatter it.”

  Caspian blinked with surprise. “I like that idea better. Although, we run the risk of freezing everyone to death.”

  “I think that option is better than sucking them into some great whirlpool of doom.”

  “Of course, we could also superheat the water, turning it into steam and evaporate it.”

  “And boil them to death instead?”

  Caspian grimaced. “Let’s go with the ice thing. I think it’s the lesser of the three evils.”

  “Ya think?” Reuben said sarcastically. He flexed his fingers and glared at the spell. “Let’s get this shit-show on the road.”

  Chapter 30

  Newton scrambled down the rocks towards Ethan, but Ethan had cast him one long, hard look and then ignored him, racing with the witches to the treasure chests stacked at the side of the beach.

  A ghost manifested directly in front of Newton and he shot it, satisfied to see it explode and vanish. He marched through it, firing at another one that appeared right behind it.

  Mariah was focussing on bagging up the treasure with Ethan, but Zane, the weasly-faced witch who Newton had a vague recollection of from All Hallows’ Eve, had paused and faced them. Even from a distance, Newton could see his mouth moving.

  Briar was next to Newton, and she threw a blazing fireball at Zane, but he deflected it and threw one back, causing them both to dive to the floor.

  Then something very peculiar started to happen. The skeletons lying across the cave began to twitch, and as Newton regained his feet, so did they. Every single one of them. And they weren’t animated by the spirits, who, although dwindling in number, were still fighting furiously. Newton could barely keep track of his friends, lost in the melee.

  “What the actual—”

  “Holy shit!” Briar exclaimed. “He’s animated the skeletons.”

  “I can see that!” Newton said, reloading quickly. “How?”

  “Let’s worry about that later.”

  Briar stamped her foot, and a ragged crack split the ground from her feet to Zane’s. Zane was holding another ball of fire in his hands, ready to hurl it, but Briar’s magic caught him off guard. He staggered backwards and the fireball shot into the roof, sending shards of rock flying like shrapnel.

  Distracted, Newton didn’t see the charging skeleton coming at him until it was too late, and the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back.

  El fought her way free of the immediate group of spirits that had ambushed them and stood next to the water’s edge, buying herself a few moments to assess what was happening and where she should go next.

  Ash was still fighting his own battle, his huge wings sweeping back and forth as he laid waste to the spirits and skeletons that were clambering from the wreck. He balanced on the bowsprit, incredibly agile, and El was lost for a moment as she admired his skill. A shout distracted her, and she turned to see Avery struggle under another onslaught, Dylan right next to her. El was about to abandon her position to help them, when a familiar figure appeared out of nowhere with a whirl of magic that scattered the spirits.

  Helena.

  El grinned. She had escaped and now wanted revenge.

  Did that mean…

  El scanned the cave, hoping to see Gil, and to her relief saw him helping Alex fight the hulking spirit of Coppinger on the upper level. A few tiers down Cassie and Ben fought back to back, and on the far side of the cave Briar was hauling Newton to his feet as she threw a skeleton against the wall. Despite the madness of the situation, El felt herself relax slightly.

  The very fact that the spirits had so much physical substance was helping them. Everyone seemed to see them, and although they vanished and reappeared bewilderingly quickly, her friends seemed to be keeping one step ahead. But Alex clearly had no time to banish them, and that was a major problem—especially now that the skeletons were on the move.

  Zane and Mariah’s arrival had further complicated things, and El wondered how best to thwart them. Mariah was gathering the gold coins with Ethan, Zane protecting them more than attacking anyone, and for a fleeting moment, El wondered what they thought they would do with it. They couldn’t possibly think they could get away with it? There were too many people here, witnessing their actions.

  And then she realised there was only one reason for their confidence. They were planning to kill them all. They either thought the spirits would do it, or they had another plan.

  A spriggan suddenly exploded out of one of the chests, showering gold everywhere, and Mariah shrieked as it sent her sprawling. In a split-second its shadow grew, swelling until it was towering above them. It swung its enormous club, catching Ethan in the chest and throwing him into the rotting ship, where he landed with a splintering crash.

  Everyone froze—including the spirits.

  The spriggan didn’t, however, and as the club swung towards her, El ran.

  Avery grabbed Dylan, and without warning used witch-flight to take him to the edge of the cave and the entrance to the tunnel they had entered in.

  He collapsed on hands and knees, retching. “Herne’s balls, Avery! That’s bloody horrible!”

  “Would you rather your brains be bashed in?”

  “Er, no.” He staggered to his feet and then stopped, transfixed as he watched the spriggan sweep his enormous club back and forth.

  Their friends were running and ducking as old barrels and boxes went flying, and Ash flew around the spriggan, trying to distract it. Sensibly, everyone else was scurrying to the edges of the cave, and El appeared next to Avery, breathless from her scramble.

  But something else was distracting Avery.

  It was starting to feel very cold. She could see her breath in front of her, and the green, underwater quality of the cave was turning a glacial blue. Alarmed, she looked at the water, and saw ice forming where it met the beach. In mere seconds it spread across the bay and towards the wrecked ship.

  “Guys, I think Caspian and Reuben are doing something. It’s freezing in here.”

  Looking back to the cave, she saw fingers of ice clawing up the rock walls, across the ground, and over the barrels and splintered wood.

  They needed to leave, quickly. Avery turned to Dylan. “You stay here and guard this exit. This is our only way out. Have you got any salt shells left?”

  He patted his pocket, and immediately reloaded. “Yep. No problem.”

  “Good.” She turned to El. “We need to get everyone out of here—right now!”

  El didn’t wait, and ran towards Briar and Newton, shouting loudly.

  Avery manifested next to Ben and Cassie, halfway up the tiers of rock that were now sheer ice, appearing in front of them so unexpectedly that Cassie yelled in shock. Avery pointed to where Dylan stood at the side of the natural amphitheatre. “Join Dylan, and make your way to the end of the tunnel. There’s a set of steps cut into the cliff face. It leads upwards to safety.”

  “But—” Ben started to object.

  “Look around, Ben! This place is turning into one giant ice cube.” As if to punctuate her point, snow started to fall, and an icy stalactite crashed to the floor next to them, along with Ash.

  “She’s right,” Ash said, and without waiting for Cassie’s permission, he wrapped his arms around her and soared across the cave.

  “You too, Ben!” Avery shouted. “Go!”

  She watched him scramble away, and then looked up to where Alex and Gil were still fighting Coppinger. She grabbed the icy stalactite and flew to Alex’s side, catching all of them unawares, especially Coppinger. She hefted her weapon like a spear, plunging it straight through his chest, and he flew backwards.

  “Alex! Time to leave!”

  He looked at her with a mixture of relief and bewilderment on his face. “But I haven’t banished them yet!”

  “I don’t think you’ll need to. Look around! We’ll end up an ice exhibit if we
don’t move.”

  Snow was falling thicker now, stinging their skin as it hardened into hail. But it seemed Coppinger had no intention of letting them leave. He charged them like an enraged bull, and just as Avery was about to respond, Helena joined Gil and they both shielded Alex and Avery as they faced down Coppinger together.

  Helena extended her arms and flames flickered along her entire body, thick black smoke pouring from her, creating a barrier that Coppinger couldn’t pass.

  Gil turned to them. “We’ve got this. Helena has a lot of anger to burn off.”

  Avery stepped towards him, wishing she could hug him. “Gil! I wish we had more time. Will we ever see you again?”

  He gave her a weak smile. “I’m aiming to retire after this, so I hope not.”

  “But you can’t stay! You’ll be caught up in whatever’s happening here!”

  He winked as Helena screamed like a banshee and launched herself at Coppinger. “We’ll be just fine.”

  He ran to join Helena, and all three of them vanished from sight in the thickening blizzard.

  Alex’s hands were already around her waist, and without waiting another second Avery transported them to the tunnel’s entrance.

  Only El was waiting there, and she sighed with relief at their arrival. “Come on, everyone else is out.”

  “Ethan?” Avery said, catching sight of his twisted body now partially consumed by ice.

  “Already dead.”

  The ice was already spreading down the tunnel, so with one final look at the icy maelstrom, they raced to join the others.

  Reuben stared into the heart of the block of ice, continuing to lower the temperature.

  The pool of elemental water that he’d connected to deep within him was powerful, and he closed it like a fist around the spell, his hands on either side of it as it turned slowly above the pages.