I don’t like the sound of this, or the look on her face, she looks worse than sly. She’s positively gloating, and nothing’s happened yet.
That head to toe tingle is back.
She stands up, and I jump, and actually shriek a bit.
“Relax, funny little one. I haven’t even offered you my proposition yet.”
She perches on the little table that’s between our two seats. “Are you a good witch, Ellis?”
I nod, and she shrugs. “I’m not. Never have been, never will be. I want what I want, and I really don’t care who I hurt to get it. I matter, only me, and I’ll step on anybody to get to where I want to go. If you get in my way, I’ll kill you, and I’ll sleep like a baby afterward. I really am a wicked witch.”
I look at her pretty face, sneering mouth, cold eyes, feeling like this might be a trick.
“Shall I change my little plan?”
I try to nod, but my neck won’t move.
“I wanted to add my sneaky little caveat, but I won’t.”
I grin, and she holds up a finger with a pointy nail. “If you will allow me to make a minor change.”
“Go on...”
“I will alter my spell, but instead of killing everyone – except the true-hearted witches, as was my original plan – I will amend it, to only kill the weak-hearted, feeble-minded head witch who defies my wishes and gives autonomy back to the masses. I will sacrifice one but save the rest. What say you?”
I nod, finding it hard to swallow but glad I’m sitting down, because if I wasn’t, I would have fallen. Fletcher, an image of his gorgeous face, flashes through my head and I know how much pain, distress and heartache this whole business has brought him, and I know what my choice is, because if I can save him one more minute of upset I’ll gladly do it. Sadie smiles, as happy to kill one person as a million of them, unstable as she is, because what she doesn’t know, is that as head witch, I will be the one to defy her wishes and undo the magic.
I will be the sacrifice.
9
She throws open her arms and magical sparks burst from her fingertips, filling the room with light and heat. Ellis remains sitting on the chair, unable to help herself, and unable to do anything without the help from Elodie and Fletcher.
Sadie chants and magical swirls of smoke fill the room, the air gets dark and the bright tendrils of smoke and the electric sparks coming from Sadie’s fingers are the only form of light.
Ellis holds her breath and she can tell when the spell is cast: the room grows freezing cold and then boiling hot and a rolling thunder fills the room, exploding into a cacophony of firework like blasts.
Ellis shivers and Sadie grins, looking at the young witch, not knowing what she has cast for Ellie and her future.
“So, it is done.”
Ellis shudders and closes her eyes, tears running freely down her face. When she opens her eyes, Sadie has vanished, the room is empty; the door is open and Fletcher and Elodie rush inside. Fletcher takes her in his arms, panic making him hold her too tight.
Ellis smiles and wipes her tears before he sees them. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I did it.”
Elodie and Fletcher wear matching expressions of confusion. “You did?”
Ellis nods, keeping the smile plastered on her face. “It’s done. It must have been a head witch thing, but as she started the spell, I spoke to her, and she was in a daze, and I told her the changes I needed her to make and I asked her to repeat them back to me, and I willed it, and wanted it, and sparks were coming from my fingertips and somehow, the magic was altered. She was furious and thinks one of the other witches in the coven interfered. That’s where she’s gone.”
“So we can undo the original magic?”
“She’s undone it. It is no more. When we go back, we’ll be able to give the other creatures back their autonomy.”
Fletcher whoops and then covers his mouth. “We need to get out of here. We’ve pushed our luck as it is, and if she’s furious, she’ll be more suspicious.”
They rush out of the coven house, being careful not to jostle any witches or cause a draught or make a noise. Elodie takes Ellis by the hand. “I’m so proud of you. It sounds as though the head witch magic finally came into play. It’s a strange thing. Only head witches know what it’s like, and it must have been so scary for you. You did a wonderful job. Thank you.”
Ellis lets herself cry and then the three of them hold hands and leave the past behind. They land on the floor, in the front room, sitting cross-legged on the floor, and if anyone walked in, they would assume that they had been that way the whole time.
Fletcher shakes his head. “Did that just happen?”
Elodie nods her head, yes. Ellis remains silent. “Are you okay, dear?”
Ellis nods at Elodie but doesn’t answer. “In shock, probably. Fletcher, get her some pep. She needs it. It might take a while for you to feel normal – after all, your bodies have just travelled hundreds of years. Imagine jetlag and times it by a thousand.” She laughs and stand up. Ellis remains on the floor.
“I’ll ring Ember, see if she’s made any progress with the leftover rebels, and then we’ll undo the original magic.”
“You’re
