‘I’ll go get us some lunch,’ said Jet, leaving me alone with my thoughts and feelings that felt as stirred up as the souls we’d summoned last night – and planned to call again tonight.
Chapter Eleven
The sunset left the sky blushing like a young lady’s cheeks as she flirted with her first crush. Neither Jet nor I spoke as we watched the last of the sun fade away over the ocean and the darkness descend. Since our chat this morning, neither of us had been in the mood for idle chit-chat. The day had dragged and nighttime had brought relief, but also trepidation.
Tonight, Jet would be teaching me the second stage of dark magic – how to get the dead souls to follow commands.
‘Ready?’ said Jet, jumping up and offering me his hand.
‘Can’t wait,’ I said, taking his hand and starting to walk back along the path that would lead us well into the bush where we planned to practise.
‘You don’t have to do this,’ he said for the umpteenth time, following me and whistling to Boy, who quickly fell into step behind his master.
‘Yes, we do,’ I said, my patience finally snapping.
‘The thing is, this magic, it may change you, Eva. Is that what you really want?’
‘Well, I’m still the same after last night, aren’t I?’
‘That was just the first step.’
‘Come on, Jet, we’ve been over this. We’re going to need to use every bit of magic we’ve got. I can handle it.’
‘If anyone can handle it, you can. But remember how you felt when you were poisoned – well, that’s how you might feel…all the time. There’s no cure for that – if you choose that pathway.’
I stopped and turned to Jet, my ready words vanishing as his truth washed over me.
‘What do you mean, no cure? Surely, if I stop practising dark magic, the darkness will go away at some point.’
‘Like all witches, I know about the prophecy of the Fire Queen. For you to become the Fire Queen, your heart needs to be turned to darkness. As you know, if you become the Fire Queen, there’s no turning back, no returning to your old life. You will want to be their leader; you will want to do bad deeds…kill people.’
Goosebumps broke out on my skin. ‘I have many faults, but I’m no killer.’
‘Not now, but…if you were the Fire Queen – there would be no goodness left in you.’
The warmth from the spring day flew away, and the bitter cold returned with a bite.
‘The lessons I’m giving you basically teach you how to become the Fire Queen. The more you dabble in this kind of magic, the more chance you have of it changing you…forever. I would never wish that on you, not in a thousand years. And I would hate myself knowing that I’d helped do that to you. We can stop now and there’s no harm done.’
A fine film of mist grew in the trees around us.
‘What would it take to turn my heart to darkness?’ I whispered.
‘Knowing you the way I do, I’d say it would mean losing someone you love, or killing someone.’
I cleared my throat as my mind became crowded with dark thoughts.
‘I don’t want to be the Fire Queen. But I know I have to do whatever it takes to become powerful…to help my family. Please teach me, Jet.’
The weak moon had risen in the sky, and Jet turned his face up towards it.
‘I will only teach you because I promised, not because I think it’s a good idea.’
‘Thank you,’ I whispered.
‘So long as you don’t forget your promise to me. And you need to be careful, really bloody careful, because I couldn’t stand it if…’
‘A promise is a promise,’ I said, taking his hand.
‘Come on, let’s get this over and done with.’
Jet led the way, his knowledge of the bush making him at one with the landscape and the perfect guide. We walked in silence, but my thoughts were loud as I contemplated a possible future where I would command the dead – where I would want to kill.
A few weeks ago, the very thought would have felt unreal, as though it would never truly happen, but after being poisoned, I knew it was very much possible. Every time I dabbled in dark magic, it became more likely. The most sensible thing to do would be to stop now, focus on becoming stronger and learn as much white magic as possible. But I knew what Orpheus was capable of. The only real chance we had of saving my family was to fight him with everything we had – even if that meant risking turning to the dark side.
Tonight, we climbed even higher than the night before until we stood at the peak of the largest mountain. The night was dark, the clouds stealing the thin light from the moon. We stood in the middle of a rock clearing that felt as old as time itself.
‘This place is creepy,’ I whispered, rubbing my arms.
‘You think it’s creepy now,’ said Jet.
I stopped myself from gazing at the sloping rock grounds that would soon be filled with the dead who thirsted for me.
I cleared my throat. ‘What do I do once the dead are here?’
Jet rubbed his whiskers before fishing a jar from his pocket.
‘What’s that?’
Jet whistled for Boy, who was standing at the edge of the clearing, on guard. Within seconds, Boy stood beside Jet, who gave him the command to sit and stay.
Jet removed the lid from the jar. ‘This is smoky quartz crystal that I’ve ground up.’ Immediately Jet sprinkled the crystal in a large circle around where we stood. ‘This should help…prevent them from getting to us.’
Should?
‘Why didn’t we use it last night?’
Jet turned to me. ‘Last night I could stop them, but tonight – even I won’t be able to.’
‘What? Why?’ I asked, my heart skipping a beat.
‘Well, there’s one thing – apart from the Fire Queen – that the dead thirst for.’
Jet
