‘The wand is powerful and it will help you in all of your magic. But it will make you desire dark magic; it will make you want to kill.’
My eyes opened wide as dark feelings grew inside me like ghosts on Halloween.
Jet continued, ‘Once the wand is cleansed, the killing curse is simply a word. The difficulty is resisting the wand’s power and thirst for dark magic.’
My breath came in fits and starts, but my voice sounded like a demon’s. ‘What’s the word?’
Jet took a step back.
‘Tell me!’
Boy started barking at me.
‘As you like to say – a promise is a promise,’ I said, stepping forward, anger burning through me, red flames dancing on my skin.
‘Do you remember your promise to me, Eva?’
The sun broke free over the horizon and its rays shone on me. I raised my wand high in the air, and the energy from the sunshine filled the black crystal until it turned clear and drained the darkness inside it. My lips parted as I stared at the opaque wand. Power rushed through me, but now it was filled with light and love.
‘I promise,’ I said to Jet, whose gaze flickered between me and the crystal.
‘I’ve never…seen that before.’
I brought the crystal back down, held it close, never wanting to be parted from it.
‘The word?’
Jet’s face was the colour of chalk.
‘Trust me, Jet.’
Finally, my words were my own; I had returned to being me.
Jet looked me in the eye when he whispered, ‘Dolofonia.’
I longed to play with the word on my tongue, to commit it to memory, but I knew better than to say the killing curse while Jet stood only feet away.
‘Thank you,’ I said, placing the wand in my jacket, its pure energy restoring me.
‘You seem like your old self again,’ said Jet, watching me closely.
‘I feel like I used to,’ I said, then smiled, realising that even my worry for my family and my heartache for Ezra had lifted, leaving me energised and ready for what lay ahead.
‘You will feel like you do now until sunset,’ said Jet sadly.
I turned to the sun, which was fast rising in the sky. By sunset, the crystal would be turned to the darkness – I would be turned to the darkness; we would belong to each other.
Chapter Thirteen
As our dinghy moved out from the rough seas of the cove and into calmer waters, Jet and I gazed back towards the little cove where we’d both found shelter.
‘I never thought I’d say this, but I’m going to miss it,’ said Jet.
He was completely different from the boy who had arrived here after narrowly escaping Orpheus’s death penalty. Gone was the smart-arse boy hiding from a terrible past. Beside me was a kind yet tough young man who’d faced his demons and was stronger for it.
Jet met my gaze and didn’t turn away. ‘It’s good to have you back…for a while at least.’
I smiled. Not even his reminder about the night ahead and what the blackened crystal would do to me could bring me down. The healing energies of the white crystal were boosting me, protecting me, restoring me to the best version of myself.
I steered the dinghy around the headland, and the cove disappeared from sight. Jet immediately began scanning the waters with his binoculars before creating mist that would hide our re-entry into Melas.
‘All clear,’ murmured Jet before reaching down and patting Boy, who was tucked into the bow of the dinghy alongside a rather disgruntled-looking Pearl.
‘Good news,’ I said, throttling the engine and heading straight for the woods where we would hide our boat, along with Boy and Pearl while we attempted to rescue my family. Boy would hate not being with us, but there was no way he could make it through the manhole and down the ladder into the underground tunnels.
I checked my watch, and it was right on three. We were bang smack on time.
Jet continued scanning the waters. As we neared the woods, I stopped the engine and Jet began rowing.
‘Do you think…Anna will be followed?’ said Jet, voicing his concern, yet again, about meeting up with Anna.
‘Anna is smart. She’ll be careful.’
Jet pressed his lips together. Contacting Anna had been the one thing we’d disagreed on. For Jet, he saw it as an unnecessary risk. For me, seeing Anna, letting her know of our plans, was essential. Anna and Elijah loved each other, and she deserved to know what was happening, that we were leaving.
‘I hope you’re right,’ whispered Jet before he produced more mist and let the boat gently slide onto the pebbly shore.
My senses switched to high alert. For a few moments we sat in silence, my every sense straining. Orpheus’s security would be at its height today. He would be hoping the trial of my family would flush me out from hiding. His henchmen would be everywhere, including in these woods.
The wind lightly threaded its way through the tops of the trees, but otherwise the woods were quiet, watchful.
Jet pulled on his large backpack before leaping from the boat, Boy following close behind him. Together they walked into the woods, then returned a minute later.
‘All clear,’ he said quietly.
I put on my backpack and jumped from the boat. Together we hauled our boat and the second dinghy that was attached behind ours into the woods, then hid them in the undergrowth.
‘I wish we could take Boy,’ said Jet, placing his hand on his shadow.
For a moment I remembered the days when Boy had belonged to me and only me.
‘Come on, let’s make a move,’ I said before stepping into the woods, where I hadn’t been for some time. Memories leapt from their hiding places. Amongst the leaves and the trees, I remembered my times with my brother…and with Ezra.
Seeing Ezra, knowing he wanted to help, that he still loved me…that he wanted to come away with us had reopened a tender wound.
