The church has gone dark and cold. This is some awful magic we are witnessing, some nasty business.
Sadie pushes the fairy to the floor and goes to the head shifter, Laila, was it? This time the church turns darker and colder and the sparks that fly out of Sadie’s wand are brighter. It takes a little longer, too, whatever unholy magic she is performing.
I shudder again and clutch at Fletcher’s arm. I want to go home.
A witch calls out to Sadie: “Sadie, what was Laila’s great, great grandmother’s name?”
“Elsbeth.”
They all laugh, and I want to vomit and kill them all. What a horrible bunch of nasty, power hungry monsters. I hate that I’m the same as them, that I’m a witch too. I know they are checking if the power of her species, the legacy of her line, the secrets of her lineage have been passed over to Sadie, but I hate it, and I hate them.
Sadie finally stands in front of Jones. She’s looking at him like she’d like to eat him up. He is a handsome devil.
Really?
The magic she is performing is strong and dark and probably illegal, and she knows it. I know she knows it; she just doesn’t care. Hateful woman.
She is crossing all the lines that have ever been drawn in the sand between the different species and how they share the world of humans and interact with each other. What she is doing is an absolute horror, and she loves it; she’s revelling in it. She feels so powerful that nothing could stop her now. It’s written all over her pretty face.
I turn to Fletcher, not wanting to watch. I tuck my head into his chest, and he holds me.
“And so it is done.” I hear her words and although I cannot see the look on her face, I shake, literally shake as I cry into Fletcher’s chest.
What a horrible thing we’ve had to watch. I only hope there’s something we can do to change this magic, change the future that we are a part of, because of what this woman did.
There’s a round of applause from the witches for what Sadie has done and I turn around to watch them help the magical creatures back to consciousness. There is so much confusion, anger and hostility, but they are helpless. Poor things.
Sadie stands before them all, full of her own importance, and speaks.
“I proclaim myself Queen of the supernatural here in Britain. I have everything I need and more, and I will punish any of you who tries – dares – to stand against me. Magic is always the most powerful weapon – I can summon it with ease, and use it to your detriment, with only a thought. Do not dare to test me. From this moment on, I am invested with the magic of our four species, and I am four times more powerful than any of you. I do not intend to rule unfairly. You may all go back to your quiet lives, and do as you please, as long as you remember who is in charge.”
Nobody speaks; there is nothing to say and Fletcher’s mum holds up her wand, mutters something and the scene before us freezes. I hold my breath, and then Fletcher clears his throat, so I know I’m safe to move and talk. “That was awful.” I’m crying again, and Fletcher comforts me. He turns to his mum, who is crying.
“Now what?”
8
Elodie takes a deep breath. “So, there’s no mention about everybody dying if they try to undo the magic, so she must add it in, sometime between now and when she dies. That’s when we need to intervene.”
“And we can’t change any of this?” Fletcher gestures at the frozen figures in front of them, even though he knows the answer.
“It’s horrible just watching it play out and not stopping it. It feels like we’re condoning it.” Ellis is still crying, and Fletcher hugs her.
“I’ll wake them all up, and then we stick to her, like glue. It’s the only thing we can change without undoing years and years of history and causing who knows what problems.”
They all look sad as Elodie undoes the magic, and everybody moves again.
“Get closer to her,” Elodie tells Fletcher, and together with Ellis, he moves behind Sadie.
Sadie beams at Ellery and Fletcher and Ellis hang on every word.
“Ah, Ellery, Ellery, why did I doubt you?”
Ellery shrugs, and Sadie pulls her in for a hug.
“I guess I’ll need your help even more now.”
“For what?”
“For what? You’re a clever witch, Ellery, but an innocent. The next phase, of course.”
“The next phase of what?”
Fletcher squeezes Ellis’s hand. They already know what the next phase of Sadie’s plan is.
“Well, what’s the point of being in charge and having all the power if you do nothing with it?” Sadie asks and Ellery remains silent. “Oh, Ellery, I’m so excited and I have you to thank for it all.”
Ellery smiles thinly. “Tell me about the next phase.”
“I will. I’ve been planning this for years. So, step one, kill off the fae. I know, I know, your sister is half fairy, but we’ll keep her.”
Ellery coughs and Fletcher wishes he could reach out to her, to give her some comfort. Imagine thinking you were helping your species and then realising that you’d set something so terrible in motion?
Sadie continues outlining her demented plan. “But the rest of them? Urgh – they’re too good, too perfect, too kind. We don’t need them, and I don’t want them. It’ll be easy enough to round them all up – quietly – we don’t want the other countries of the world catching on and making us stop. Then we’ll kill them.”
“How?”
“What does it matter? Quickly and quietly.”
Ellery nods. “And then?”
“The shifters are slippery – if you try to have them do your bidding they’ll just shift into a bug and
