The Accidental End (The Accidental Witch Trilogy Book 3) Page 5

  I want to run away, cry, throw myself on the floor but I don’t, instead I lock eyes with Fletcher, and I stay still. Then I close my eyes for a minute. I cannot allow panic to overwhelm or consume me. This is working, and it’s not so bad – not as bad as getting kicked in the ribs by Efa or having my wrist broken. Elodie is doing this; it’s working. I just have to hold my nerve.

  Then I open them because something is trying to pull my hands away from Elodie and Ember. The air? The wind? Invisible demons? I don’t bloody know.

  I hold on even tighter, gripping their hands until my own hands tingle. I cannot feel anything, but I refuse to let go.

  I can see from the look on their faces they are feeling it too.

  The air is whirling; the wind is thick; the leaves are swirling around us, and the shadowy figures are heading towards us.

  I feel hot from head to toe and then ice cold. The sound of the demon’s screams fills the air and I lock eyes with Fletcher again. I can just about hear Elodie’s voice over the top of it all. “Hold on!”

  She is chanting again, and I hear Fletcher join her, then Ember, and then I am shouting the words with her. Words I don’t understand in languages I don’t speak.

  The sky is suddenly bright white, hurting my eyes, tears stinging as they fall down my face. A demon swoops into the portal and shrieks. Then another follows and the cries sound like nothing I have ever heard on this earth.

  Demon after demon swoops past us, each one filling my head with the screams of death, and each one making me feel faint. They are so otherworldly, so grotesque, but I cannot stop looking at them, even as they fly way, way, way too close to me for comfort.

  The rush of air is back, the wind howling, the screams, shrieks and cries mingling to a nightmarish peak and I can feel tears pouring down my face. I want to let go but I can’t, but the wind is ripping between the four of us, pushing and pulling us, trying to tear us apart from each other.

  I don’t want to let go, but I can barely hold on.

  I can see the strain on the other’s faces, and I know their expressions match mine. My legs are shaking, and the demons keep coming.

  I can hear them whisper my name, the ominous shadows of their wispy bodies pressing against me, their putrid breath in my face. “Ellis... Ellis... Ellis.” Then a maniacal cackle, or barely suppressed sobs. Then I hear my mother’s voice and my eyes fly open. Fletcher heard it too, and he shakes his head at me. I can’t hear what he’s saying and I’m rubbish at lip reading so I just imagine that he’s telling me it’s not really her. Or my father, when I hear his voice, or my brother when I hear him screaming for help.

  It’s sickening the way they mimic people. They cry like a baby that’s in the worst pain; they sob like an abandoned child, then they laugh like a murderer who’s got away with it.

  I hate this.

  I want to cover my ears and drown it all out, but I can’t.

  Elodie is still chanting, shivering, sweating – she looks like she might pass out any minute.

  I want to scream for it all to stop.

  Then it does.

  There’s a final blood-curdling scream that makes me retch, but I don’t vomit, because I’m still holding hands with Fletcher’s mum and aunt and I don’t want to puke on my shoes.

  Elodie lets go of me and I stumble over to a bush and throw up all over it.

  “Done.”

  The smile on her face is just beautiful, the weight of the world gone from her shoulders.

  “Well done.” She kisses Fletcher on his forehead and then me on mine, magicking away all traces of vomit while she’s beside me, and I can’t help but laugh and cry all in one go.

  We did it!

  We banished the demons!

  Elodie busies herself obliterating the portal forever, meaning that the demons won’t ever be able to come back, and nobody will ever be able to use them as a weapon again. Relief floods through my body.

  Fletcher lifts me and spins me round, and we’re all laughing, and then the other witches all rush into the grove of trees, and we are all laughing, joking, whooping, and crying. We did it.

  We’ve undone the nasty work that Zeta and Gregory did, and we’ve banished the demons once again.

  Fletcher kisses me, and I kiss him back, even though we are with his friends and family. I let him kiss me, and I’m crying again that we’re both alive and safe and somehow, we got through this.

  The rebels are dead.

  The demons are banished.

  We are winning!

  5

  The feeling of celebration stays with the witches all the way back through the woods to the open area they can fly away from. There’s a feel of giddy delight in the air, and it’s catching.

  Fletcher squeezes Ellis’s hand. “Can you believe this?”

  She shakes her head. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.” She laughs at his surprised face. “No, it was bad, just not as bad as I thought. Coming face to face with hundreds of demons... I thought I might pass out.”

  “Wasn’t it hard not to let go, though?”

  “Yes. The wind was ridiculous. I didn’t want to be the one who ruined it.”

  “You worked hard.” He brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses it. “We all know how hard this is for you, how brave you’re being. None of us take you for granted.”

  “I’m just embarrassed at being such a rubbish witch.”

  “You’re not rubbish. You’re just new.”

  They lapse into silence. A comfortable silence, listening to the other witches, and laughing at how happy everyone is.

  Elodie joins them. “We’ll head back now, and Ember will go to her team, Griff’s team, orchestrate a final...” She shakes her head. “A final whatever you want to call it. She’ll check the rebels have disbanded, I suppose, and I’ll try to get hold of the council members.” She pauses and looks to Ellis. “Are you okay?”

  Ellis nods. “Unscathed.”

  Elodie laughs. “I’m proud of you. I hope that’s not condescending. I don’t mean it to be.”

  “It’s not.” Ellis hugs Elodie, letting the maternal wave of love wash over her. Elodie is wiping her eyes when they pull away from each other.

  “Right. Let’s go home.”

  The sky is awash with witches, all flying solo, unlike Ellis. They wait for everyone to depart, calling out thank you, and see you soon, and bye.

  Then Fletcher opens up his arms and Ellis steps into them. Head on his chest. His heart beating in time to hers. He kisses the top of her head, closing his eyes and feeling the relief wash over him.

  The council will be a hundred times easier than demons; and the demons were easy. The ancient magic his mother had invoked made the entire thing a doddle. Still scary, still draining, but they were all safe. They’d done it. The council should be more straightforward. They could talk to them, reason with them, and explain all that had happened. He was feeling suddenly optimistic; this might all work out okay.

  “It’s all going to be okay,” he says to Ellis and then they take to the sky, clinging to each other.

  Back at home they sink into chairs and sofas, only four of them now. Ember jumps back up. “I’ll ring the girls. Let them know that we’re okay.”

  Elodie nods but doesn’t answer her sister. “I’ll make lunch. Then I’ll need your help, Ellis. Just tracking the council members or calling them through the fire.”

  Ellis nods. She has to just do as she’s told because she doesn’t know what to do, otherwise.

  Elodie bustles around the kitchen telling Fletcher and Ellis what she needs them to do. They happily pitch in and by the time Ember joins them, food is ready.

  “How are the girls?”

  “Fine. Relieved.”

  “Good. We’re getting there. And you’re ready to go after food?”

  Ember nods, pulling apart a piece of garlic bread. “Yes. I’ll go. I imagine the rebels are no more. But I know we need to be sure... what about that thing you were talki
ng about earlier? About there being a reason the other creatures haven’t had their autonomy... do you really think there’s a reason?”

  Fletcher nods, putting his forkful of pasta back down. “I can’t see why my dad would refuse, especially given his friendship with John. It doesn’t seem right.”

  “I agree Adam was the best. But...”

  “What, Ember?”

  “Well, maybe Adam was just doing as he was told. Keeping things as they were, following traditions, not changing things for the sake of it.”

  “Come on, Ember. Why wouldn’t he give the autonomy back? There must be a reason. I refuse to believe that Adam was as power hungry as the others. Besides which, times have changed, the world has got bigger. The old rules don’t always make sense. There’s something... something we’re not seeing.”

  “Because we’re not head witches.” Suddenly Fletcher looks excited. “Ellis! Do you know why we can’t give the other creatures their autonomy back? Why do we have to stay in charge of them?”

  Ellis blushes and shrugs. “I have no idea.”

  Fletcher looks defeated.

  “Sorry.”

  He shakes his head. “It’s fine. There has to be a reason, Ember, and I will find out it what it is.”

  “Ember, even John asked Adam if he would let the other creatures have their autonomy back. It’s obviously important – even before this rebellion, even before Zeta used their anger for her own end. It’s logical that there’s a reason it’s never happened before.”

  “Ooh!” Ellis exclaims, her eyes wide. “I know something.”

  Fletcher looks excited, Elodie and Ember wary.

  “When we were waiting in the safe house, before Sally let John in, I was down the work end, because...” She tails off and Fletcher steps in.

  “Because the twins and Sally were being horrible to you, and you didn’t want to sit near them?”

  Ellis refuses to look at Ember and nods. “Anyway, there were reports all over the table I was sitting on, and I glanced at them when I moved them. It meant nothing to me, so I only read a line or two, but there was something I remember....”

  “Go on,” Fletcher prompts her.

  “One line jumped out at me, but I didn’t give it another thought... it said...” She closes her eyes, trying to remember. “Undoing ancient magic. Magical rites. Magical hierarchy... I think...” She shakes her head. “I’m not sure. Maybe it’s not important.”

  “But maybe it is. Ember, you find out about the rebels, and us three will go to the safe house.”

  “You think your father was working on this? Trying to find out if there was a way to give autonomy back?”

  “Or maybe figure out why it wasn’t done before?”

  “Only one way to find out. Let’s go.”

  Elodie uses magic to clear the dishes and food off the table and then ushers them all outside. “Good luck, stay safe.” She hugs Ember and kisses her cheek, before gesturing at Fletcher and Ellis. “You two – with me.”

  Fletcher is more than happy to take Ellis in his arms again, and they fly away quickly. Inside the safe house, they head straight to the empty work area. The computers are all switched on, but nobody is there.

  “Mum, did you know about the safe house before all this?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  “But you didn’t know what work they were doing here?”

  Elodie shakes her head. “Your dad just said it was witch business. To be honest, I kept out of it. I let him get on with his stuff, being head witch, and I got on with mine... looking after you, making my pots.” She shrugs. “I had no interest in what he was doing. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell me about the rebels.” She cries, and Fletcher goes to her side, tucking an arm around her.

  “Mum, now’s not the time. You did a brilliant job of looking after me and running a business. We can’t try to understand why dad did what he did, shared what he shared, kept things from you. But you knew him better than me. All he did, he would have done for the right reasons.”

  She wipes her eyes. “I loved your dad, and he was an outstanding man, but I just feel stupid. How did I miss all of this? Rebels, dead witches, Zeta? And your poor dad had to go through it all on his own.”

  “He wasn’t on his own. He had a team of people helping him, and even they didn’t know about Zeta. Stop feeling guilty. Let’s look. Maybe the answers are all here!”

  She stands up and hugs him, nodding and wiping her eyes again. “You’re right. I cannot undo the past, but maybe your dad was trying to change the future. And if he was, then maybe we can continue his good work.”

  “Exactly. Chin up.”

  They each take a seat at a different desk and start shuffling through the papers, reading them, trying to find out if they are useful or not.

  “What am I looking for?” Ellis asks Fletcher.

  “Anything.”

  Ellis

  Anything?

  Helpful.

  I cannot even concentrate on the papers in front of me, looking for anything helpful or otherwise because I am still shaken from the demons.

  It was a thousand times easier than I thought it would be, but now and then a shudder runs through me, and it’s like I can’t believe it’s over. Yes, we faced the demons. Yes, Fletcher’s mum’s magic called them all back. Yes, I didn’t let go of anybody’s hand.

  I think it’s relief that I’m feeling, maybe. I didn’t cock it up. I held on. I faced the demons, and I didn’t let go.

  Go me!

  Okay, so Fletcher and his mum are concentrating on their papers and I need to do the same. No point letting the side down now.

  I pick up a sheet of paper, typed, maybe a report. This is the problem: I don’t know these people, or these places, and so none of it means anything to me. Is it important that Mitchell and Grace went to the penguin house in the local zoo to meet three witches from Neath? Maybe. Maybe not. The report doesn’t go into any detail – they could have been meeting because they love penguins or because they want to steal them and put them into a potion they knock up in their cauldron.

  Next piece of paper. Same. Does it mean anything, does it not?

  Next piece, the same.

  This is less fun than I thought it would be. Fletcher has this bee in his bonnet that his father, as head witch, was a better head witch than any head witch before him and figures that he wanted to give the other creatures their autonomy but couldn’t.

  Why couldn’t he?

  Because the original magic didn’t allow for it.

  The thought pops into my head and I frown. Is that true? I have no idea.

  “Fletcher,” I whisper to him, and he turns to face me, hope making him even more gorgeous: he really wants his dad to be the good guy in all this. “Have you got something?”

  I nod.

  “Show me.”

  I shake my head. “I can’t. I was just thinking about your dad, thinking about this total mess, and something popped into my head.”

  “Like a vision?”

  I shake my head, sorry to disappoint him. My visions aren’t something I can control, but they’ve been useful so far. This doesn’t seem useful. It might not even be true. “No, just a thought....”

  He still looks hopeful and then calls his mother over.

  She looks hopeful too.

  Great.

  “I just thought about Fletcher’s dad and how much we think he wanted to help the other creatures but couldn’t. And I wondered why he couldn’t. And then this popped into my head: because the original magic didn’t allow for it. I have no idea if that’s true.”

  They both sit down, frowns on their faces, and it strikes me how similar they are. I think I’ve disappointed them. It’s too easy.

  The head witches kept hold of the power, because they had no other choice?

  If Fletcher’s dad had wanted to do the right thing, but the original magic meant that he couldn’t, would that have been enough to stop him? Is that what all the oth
er head witches did, just gave up, but Fletcher’s dad wasn’t able to?

  “Do you think that’s true?” Fletcher looks to his mum, but she just shrugs.

  I feel sad now. Sometimes no help at all is better than rubbish help. And then it hits me. “The original magic didn’t allow it because Sadie put a clause in, if someone tried to undo the magic, should a single soul seek to gain their power back, every creature except a true-hearted witch would die in pain, tortured and burnt.”

  Fletcher looks at me, his face shocked, and I wish I didn’t know the stuff I know.

  “She really put a clause in? That’s why the other head witches never gave the power back. Because it would kill everybody?”

  I nod. I think so.

  Fletcher’s mum looks as upset as he does. She’s rubbing at her face, looking exhausted by it all. “You can’t undo magic, but sometimes you can change it. Sadie wanted to make sure nobody changed it. Sadie was an evil witch, and she tricked her way to becoming the head witch, but she wanted to kill all the other creatures. Ellery, an excellent witch, took over from her, and although the magic meant that she was head witch, she didn’t use her power for evil.”

  “But she still had the power?”

  They both nod at my question.

  “And then the power was handed down.”

  They both nod again.

  “And now I have it? And I can’t give it back without killing everybody?”

  More nods.

  This Sadie was an absolute cow-bag. But a thought occurs to me. I might be way off.

  “So, if we went back to when the original magic was made, could we do something? Can we do that? Go back in time?”

  They both look at me like I’m an idiot.

  Maybe I am.

  “Can you go back in time? If the original magic was made so that nobody could give the autonomy back, without killing everybody, could we change the original magic, if we went back to that time?”

  They are silent.

  “I don’t know,” Fletcher says and looks to his mum.

  “I have no idea.” She is silent for a minute, maybe processing my question. “I suppose because we can magic our way out of any situation, I’ve never had the urge to go back in time.”