Sarah had retrieved Dimitri’s keys from somewhere, and she was now having a conversation with several other witches in hushed tones as they rifled through the keys and selected one.
I stood there and let Bridgette’s words wash over me. Though on the face of it, they sounded like they were out of a Disney movie and were so saccharine sweet they’d give me cavities, that would be denying the power they had on me. Bridgette was categorically one of the strongest people I’d met in this magical world. And though I wasn’t the kind to be starstruck, if there were one witch I’d like to be like, it would be her. She was possessed of such singular will, such incredible strength. And her magic was frankly amazing. So if she thought I was the one person who could get them through this, that counted for something.
I’d been on the back foot ever since I’d become a witch. Blame it on the fact my first experience with magic had been when Max had tried to slice me through with a sacred knife, but I’d always felt as if I were just reacting to this situation, not creating it.
That thought brought a dull kind of smile to my mouth. It summed up the situation perfectly. Ever since I’d been thrust into this world, I’d been used by my abilities, I hadn’t used them. Whether it was through Max leaving photographs around and threatening to take me to the police station every other day, I’d always been reacting, never creating. And weirdly, if there was one thing that had summed up my life as a fake fortune teller, it was that I’d always been creating. Sure, my fortunes had technically been lies, but they’d also been carefully crafted gifts to people, telling them exactly what they wanted or needed to hear. People came to fortune tellers to get peace of mind, to be promised that love was just around the corner, that their friends and family who’d passed on were still present in spirit, and that everything was okay. Maybe my fortunes hadn’t been the truth – okay they’d definitely not been the truth – but that wasn’t the point. In saying them, I’d given people hope. I had created goodwill.
That thought sent the smallest of smiles curling my lips. I didn’t have time to enjoy it. Sarah walked over to me and offered me a tight nod. “It’s ready. We have to get out of here,” she said. She dipped her head up suddenly, and her expression changed completely. Though it had been tight with worry seconds before, I watched it shatter right in front of me as if someone had taken a brick to her face.
I felt my own cheeks pale. “What is it?” I snapped as I ignored my injuries and practically jogged over to her.
“He’s here,” she said in a harsh whisper.
There was no question who was here. I heard an almighty bang from the front of the store. It sounded as if somebody had just chucked a car through the window. The floor beneath me shook, and I was almost thrown from my feet.
“God, we have to get out of here now. Move. Everyone move,” Bridgette screamed, her voice echoing through the room.
Sarah pushed off on her sweet white heels, her skirt swinging around her legs. She threw herself at the door.
I could hear somebody pounding down the corridor behind it, and though I couldn’t see their face, I knew who it was based on that sound alone. When McCain walked, it sounded as if a mountain was shifting toward you. It wasn’t just the way his footfall echoed, it was the sense that pervaded before him like smoke before a wildfire. This sense that told you no matter where you tried to turn, no matter where you tried to run, you would never escape him.
I stood there, stock still, frozen cold with dread. There was nothing I could do as I watched Sarah fumble with the keys, one hand locked on the handle as if she were using all her strength and magic to keep it closed.
“Chi,” I heard McCain bellow from the corridor.
My heart skipped a beat as I heard him close the distance to the door.
There was an echoing thump as it sounded as if he struck both his fists against the door. It buckled inward, but it didn’t open. Sarah was intoning something under her breath, and though her voice shook and sweat dribbled down her brow, she didn’t stop. She didn’t let go of the handle, her knuckles tightening to the point of popping from her skin.
Finally, she shoved one of Dimitri’s keys into the lock and twisted. Just as she did, I heard McCain give a terrifying scream, and he struck the door once more. The wood almost splintered. Almost, because just at the right moment, the spell took hold. The door swung outward. It didn’t reveal McCain’s fearsome face. Instead, it showed a field.
“Oh my god, it worked,” Sarah said in a shaking voice as she took a step backward, slammed a sweaty hand on her dress, and sucked in breath after breath. She didn’t allow herself long to enjoy the moment. She twisted hard on her foot and started to wave at her witches.
They took Max and Bridgette between them and hurried through the door. Sarah sprinted over to me, but before she locked an arm through mine, I pushed away. “I can run,” I said.
I pushed forward, knowing I had just enough time. But that would be when I realized something.
Although the door had just opened out onto a field, that didn’t mean much. The walls of this room were still connected to the store. Max could still make it through.
The wall beside me shook with such pounding force it cracked.
“Move,” Sarah spat in
