The Accidental End (The Accidental Witch Trilogy Book 3) Read online

  If you’re decisive enough to banish the demons – against their will – then have the courage of your convictions and make sure the bastards can’t get back out.

  Thick.

  I compose myself, glad that they can’t hear my thoughts. I love Fletcher and his family, I really do, but if some people had had as much sense as they did magic, way back when they banished the demons, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now about to start some dodgy ritual in a room full of candles, which has got to be a fire hazard, if nothing else.

  “Close your eyes. Do not open them until I say.”

  I do as I’m told, and straight away my eyeballs are itching, and I want to peek – like when you have to close your eyes in school assemblies when it’s time to pray, but you open them anyway, and can’t have a row, because if someone sees you looking, then they are looking too.

  But I’m not a kid anymore, and this isn’t primary school. This shit is real.

  I keep my eyes closed and focus on what Elodie is saying.

  “Secrets of the book are ours to know. Secrets of the book are ours to know. Secrets of the book are ours to know.”

  Ember and Fletcher join in the chant, so I do too, stumbling over the words a bit, but trying my best.

  The room goes chilly, and even with my eyes closed I can tell that the candles have gone out – the room is darker, and I can smell the distinct burning smell you only get when they go out.

  We are still chanting, but Elodie is shouting something else, loudly, above our voices: “Secrets of the book are ours to know, ours to use. We need your help. We need to call the demons to the portal and banish them again. We need you to show us how. We need the evil magic of the past, to help the good magic of the future.”

  She is silent, and I stop too, I can’t help it, I feel a shiver, a prickle of unease all along my spine, I would swear someone was running a sharp knife all the way along it. I shudder.

  And I open my eyes.

  Why did I open my eyes?

  I am too scared to move and too scared to make a sound.

  The candles have gone out, and the room is full of ghosts. I think they’re ghosts – I’ve never seen one before, which I always thought meant that they weren’t real. I live in a funeral home, with so many dead bodies, surely if there were such a thing as ghosts, I’d have seen one by now? Law of probability.

  But here they are. Very different from demons – I can see that now.

  They are exactly like you see them in the films, wispy, see through, floating through the air. There are hundreds of them, swimming, flying, whatever ghosts do, through the air. They are passing through each other and us.

  I take a huge breath as one swoops down and goes through me. I turn to see it float up to the ceiling. This is weird.

  But not scary. Now I can see them, I can see that they are friendly ghosts. They are smiling and swooping, and I cannot take my eyes off them.

  I wish the others would open their eyes and see this, this gathering of spirits. The feeling in the room is lovely too, warm, gentle, weirdly peaceful.

  And then I wonder why I felt that prickle of unease? What made me feel uncomfortable when all I can see are friendly, kindly ghosts.

  I cough, trying to get Fletcher’s attention, but he doesn’t flinch.

  I smile as I watch the ghosts mill around. They must be bringing the secrets of the book to us. They are so kind. This is just a delight, I’ll be honest.

  And then I see her. Them.

  The prickle of unease is back.

  I can see Zeta and Efa in ghost form – a little less transparent than the others, maybe because they are freshly minted ghosts. Newly dead.

  Ooh, they don’t look happy. These two look mad.

  They are mad. They aren’t floating gently around, swooping through the air like graceful jelly fish. They are darting around, knocking the other ghosts out of the way; I bet it was them that snuffed the candles out.

  Even dead, they are both horrible.

  The other ghosts are trying to shoo them away, trying to fight back – but they’re all ghosts. I’m not sure what capabilities or limits any of them have. But the friendly ghosts look scared. They look uneasy, and instead of swooping, they have gathered into a little huddle near the fire.

  Zeta and Efa are ushering them towards the flame, shepherding them that way. This doesn’t look good. They are cackling, and the ghosts are whimpering. I know they want to hurt them; to stop them helping us, and I can’t let it happen.

  There’s a hiss and a flurry of black smoke as one ghost hits the flames and turns to ash.

  “Fletcher!” I need to break the spell. I need to stop the ghosts being turned into ash. I need to help.

  “Fletcher! Elodie! Ember!” I scream as loud as I can and then I reach across the gap between us, over the book, and grab Fletcher.

  And it breaks the spell.

  Elodie, Ember and Fletcher open their eyes, all three of them frowning at me, and I look around the room in surprise. The candles are still lit; the ghosts have all vanished and so have Zeta and Efa.

  I shake my head.

  “Ellis, what’s wrong?”

  I close my eyes. Have I ruined this? I should never have opened my eyes, but I have to admit it, so they know what went wrong, so they can, hopefully, fix it.

  “I opened my eyes.”

  Elodie looks crestfallen, disappointed in me, Fletcher looks frustrated and Ember just looks angry.

  “What did you see?”

  “The room was full of ghosts. Then Zeta and Efa were here, trying to push the friendly ghosts into the fire. And they did, one of them turned to ash, and-” I stop. They are looking at me like they want to wring my neck. I stare down at my lap.

  Elodie takes a deep breath, and looks at Fletcher, eyebrows raised.

  “That’s why you’re not supposed to open your eyes. The book plays tricks on you if you do.”

  “So none of that was real?”

  He shakes his head and I feel like an idiot.

  “Close your eyes. Don’t open them until I say.”

  Elodie tries again, and this time I bunch my hands into fists and hold them over my eyes as we chant and the book does its thing, so I can’t ruin it again.

  4

  The spirits from the book fill the room. The magical ancestors they need help from, and a thick, pulsing thrum in the air; the magic itself.

  It doesn’t take long for the help to come, to summon the answers, especially when they all keep their eyes closed.

  Elodie opens her eyes, a look of calm on her face, where there had only been anxiety before. “We’re ready.”

  Nobody questions her, they all just rise from the floor, stretching and smiling.

  “We’ll fly to the portal. It won’t be pleasant, but at least I know what to do now. I need you all to hold your nerve.”

  They all nod. Ember and Fletcher, far more experienced than Ellis will ever be, look serious and determined. Ellis is pale.

  Fletcher takes her hand. “Just do what my mum says, and you’ll be fine.”

  “I’m scared.”

  “We all are. We haven’t done this before. You imagine how happy the demons were when they came out of the portal – they had their freedom again. So imagine how angry they’ll be at being forced to go back.”

  “But, the portal is open, so will any of them try to get out?”

  “I think we have to summon them, but I wouldn’t put it past them.”

  “We must be on high alert,” Ember says, plastering her lips in bright red lipstick. Ready for battle.

  Elodie smiles at the three of them. “I’m very nervous. If this goes well, it’ll still be frightening and harrowing. If it goes wrong... well.” She cannot even finish her sentence, but then she nods. “If it goes wrong, Fletcher, you must do everything, anything, you can to get Ellis out of there. We need her there, for the re-calling, but we need her to survive. We’ll be next to the portal, a circle of four, so much more power
ful than a circle of three. The other witches will circle us in rings, moving outwards, powerful witches, withes who can help if it all goes wrong. They know to get Ellis away too. We might not survive this. I need you to know.”

  They all huddle together, and the weight of her words has them all serious and sombre. “Ember, if you survive, you’re to take the other witches, the ones you and Griff worked with, and make sure there are no other stragglers, no other rebels still working. This has to end.”

  Ember nods. “I’ll find the council members too. I have an idea where they might be.”

  Elodie smiles at her sister, touches her arm. “Thank you. I love you.”

  “I love you too. We can do this.”

  “Fletcher. You need to figure out why nobody has given the autonomy back to the supernatural creatures.”

  “What’s this?” Ember asks, a frown on her face.

  “Just something Fletcher asked me the other day. Ember, you knew Adam. Wasn’t he the kindest man you knew?”

  She nods, unsure where this is going.

  “So if he could have, wouldn’t he have given the creatures their autonomy back, removed our leadership over them, undone the magic?”

  “I think so, but-”

  “Exactly! Fletcher realised that there must be a reason the head witches have never given the other creatures what they want the most, what they always ask for. These are our friends, so... anyway, it’s not something we need to worry about today. It’s a puzzle for another day. We have to get through this first.”

  They all nod, realising that they cannot put this journey off any longer. Elodie checks her phone. “The witches are on their way to the portal. It’s time to go.”

  Fletcher tucks Ellis into his arms. “I promise to keep you safe. I’ll do everything I can.”

  “Thank you. I want to run away.”

  “Please don’t. I need you there. You give me strength.”

  “Do I?” She looks pleased and Fletcher kisses her in reply, then follows his mum and aunt out of the house.

  “This might be the last time we do this,” Ellis says as Fletcher slips his arms around her, ready to fly.

  “Don’t say that. We’ll be okay. We have to be.”

  Ellis presses her head against his heart and keeps quiet. Fletcher kisses the top of her head and then they are off.

  It takes no time at all before they land, joining hundreds, maybe thousands of other witches, just beyond the portal.

  The mood is serious, but there are lots of hugs, smiles, kisses, and people catching up quickly, aware that there is work to do, but also giving comfort and support to each other.

  After ten minutes of greeting friends and distant family, and giving out orders, Elodie gathers Ember, Fletcher and Ellis and brings them to her side. “It’s time.”

  They follow her lead, walking to the portal, as the witches they leave behind get into formation, circle after circle after circle, each one strengthening the entire group.

  The portal looks the same, beautiful, with the ominous black rip in it, made bigger by Gregory.

  “Ember, did you kill Gregory?” Fletcher asks, kicking at some bones with the toe of his boot.

  She looks surprised at the question, but recovers quickly, nodding her head. “On the pier.”

  “Ready?” Elodie asks, shaking out her hands and feet, like an athlete before a run, or a footballer before a penalty.

  They all nod.

  She shows them where to stand, the portal between them. “We need to link hands and we cannot let go. Even if it feels like you have to.” She looks particularly at Ellis, who blushes but nods. “Eyes open or closed it doesn’t matter, but the demons will pass through our linked arms, through our magical circle, into the portal below. You might not like what you see, do you understand?”

  They all nod.

  “Again, once we link hands, you do not let go. Eyes open or closed. They will be close to us. Don’t panic. If I do everything properly, then no harm will come to any of us. Don’t let go. Do. Not. Let. Go.”

  They link hands. Elodie holds onto Ellis and Fletcher. Fletcher holds onto his mum and aunt. Ember holds hands with Fletcher and Ellis. Fletcher nods to Ellis and mouths the word ‘okay?’ She nods back, taking a visible, deep breath. Fletcher closes his eyes, and Ellis follows suit. Ember and Elodie keep theirs open.

  Elodie nods at her sister, who nods back. They are ready. If they can get the demons back in the portal, it will be a huge win for them. With Zeta and Efa gone, the other rebels dead or leaderless, losing the demons will mean that things have a chance of going back to normal.

  The air turns colder as Elodie chants. She is speaking in several languages, allowing the words to come to her, the commands to come to her, via the familial magic they invoked at the house.

  She pauses, looking to the sky, same as Ember, looking for a sign of incoming demons. She shakes her head and begins again, her words more forceful, her tone more strident, the words themselves louder.

  There’s a rustle of leaves as a wind whips through the middle of them. Elodie chants again, calling the demons forth, almost taunting them, ridiculing them, refusing to give up.

  The evil magic got them out of the portal, it’ll get them back in. She changes her tone, calls out to the darkest of magic to help her, opens up the place in her heart which is closed to evil magic and lets it out.

  There’s a shriek in the quiet, a manic, echoing shriek. The hairs on the backs of the witch’s necks rise collectively.

  There’s another rustle as the wind whirls through.

  Elodie’s calls get louder, her chants get louder, her tone is harsher, the shrieking intensifies, other voices joining it; a cacophony of shrieks, screams, cries. The wind is like an entity now, rushing through them, lifting their hair, ruffling their clothes.

  The portal is pulsing.

  Ember nods at her sister, encouraging her to keep going.

  She does.

  She calls. She taunts. She teases. She scolds. She swears. She yells.

  The screams answer her. Unworldly, unearthly, and not human.

  Elodie stamps her foot. The sky is still empty; despite the noise, there are no demons close. Not yet.

  Ellis

  Good lord. I am glad I am holding onto Fletcher’s mum and aunt’s hands, otherwise I’d have fallen to the floor.

  Elodie – who hates swearing and is prim and proper – is swearing like a sailor, goading demons, who as far as I can tell, haven’t even shown up yet.

  I keep itching to open my eyes, but I know what happened last time I did that – Zeta and Efa paid me a visit.

  But the darkness of my mind is making this even scarier than maybe it is.

  A shriek, a cackle, a howl. The hairs all over my body stand on end, and I feel that talon make its way down my spine again.

  I do not like this.

  Another scream. It’s like being in a nightmare. Some cries sound like they are coming from children and it’s making me want to cry. Are they the cries of the demons themselves, or the souls they have murdered? I have no idea.

  Christ, why did my parents buy me a stupid dog in the first place? Without Macaroon, I wouldn’t have got roped into this palaver and I’d be sitting in my bedroom crying over Molly and my pathetic life.

  Instead, I’m in the middle of the woods, next to a portal, trying to conjure demons out of thin air, listening to the bloodcurdling, gut wrenching, stomach churning screams of unidentified monsters.

  Aaaaaarrrrgggghhh!

  I open my eyes. I cannot bear the darkness, the images my imagination is showing me. Maybe reality will be better.

  Elodie spots me and smiles, despite the filth spewing from her mouth, and Ember nods, her face a picture of serious business, eyes going back to the sky.

  Fletcher’s eyes are closed. Sensible boy.

  Despite the noise, the woods are empty. Only us, only the portal, only the wind.

  Another scream followed by a nasty insult fr
om Elodie. She’ll need to wash her mouth out after this.

  Then the sky turns inky. Not like dusk, not like the sun going down, but like someone turned out the lights. I yelp, I cannot help it. I feel Elodie and Ember tighten their grip on my hands.

  It’s starting.

  The dark is moving, tiny lights are flashing through the woods – fireflies? Fairies? Anything is possible in my new reality.

  The wind rushes through again, but this time it feels different, it has weight to it, it’s pushing us, shoving us. I brace myself, feet apart, still holding hands, never letting go, wanting to scream, wanting to add my voice to the mix, but biting my lip so I don’t cry out again.

  This is nasty.

  The darkness lifts. It’s not full daylight again, but it’s not pitch black either. I can see Fletcher. He’s opened his eyes. He smiles at me, but it doesn’t hit his eyes. His eyes look like I imagine mine do – petrified. He keeps his gaze on me though, silently conveying something. I have no idea what. I’m too scared to figure it out.

  The wind is still butting at us; the darkness has lifted, but the sky is filling with shapes. Demons?

  I don’t know.

  Elodie is still cursing, sweating too, and she looks exhausted. I can see Fletcher’s concern for his mum, and I know why she warned us not to let go of each other.

  He wants to go to her side, to support her, hold her and help her. I feel the same, but the grip that his mum and aunt have of me mean that I couldn’t let go, even if I wanted to.

  And I don’t want to. I don’t want to be the one who spoils this. This is serious.

  There is a screech, louder than any of the others, and the shapes in the sky swoop down. They are demons.

  Human-ish. Ghost-ish. Horrible.

  The air changes again, getting hotter, and I don’t know how to describe it. Hostile? The wind was foul, pushing and shoving at us, but the air is crackling around us, attacking us. I can hear a humming, feel a beat of evil in the air, like a drumbeat, or the beat of my heart.