The Accidental Invitation (The Chronicles of the Accidental Witch Book 2) Page 7

  “What?” She grabs my shoulders, hard, sensing how close I am to hysteria.

  “I can see them – Fletcher – the others. At the portal. It’s open and things – demons – I think are coming out.” I shudder again and Ember actually pulls me close, reassuringly hugging me. It must be bad.

  “They’re in trouble?”

  I nod. I know it.

  “Girls!” She yells it so loud the single word has about three syllables. The three of them run out of the twin’s room and stop short when they see me, eyes darting between me and Ember.

  “Sally – call your parents. We need to go to the portal. The others are in danger.”

  I have a shudder that is so extreme it’s almost a spasm. I can see them all again, and I can see what’s happening a little clearer.

  “Mya is dead.”

  “Are you sure?”

  I nod. “Her throat’s been slit. The rebels are there. Peri, Efa, Layland. I’m not sure if they opened the portal.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be there really quickly. Sally – tell your parents to alert everyone on their s.o.s list and I’ll do the ones on mine. We need to be quick.”

  I zone out again. “Ember – one of them isn’t on our side. Not the fairy man, the other one.”

  “Gregory?”

  I nod, I know that’s his name as soon as she says it.

  She’s quick and ready to go in no time. “Girls – I cannot emphasise this enough.” Her voice is scarily stern as she eyeballs her twins and Sally. “Regardless of personal feelings, Ellis is the head witch. I have to leave, but she has to be kept safe. Do you understand me?”

  They squeak their answers, and I’m awful glad that I’m the head witch. I would maybe fear for my life being left alone with them otherwise.

  I can tell they’re not happy, but I choose to pretend to ignore it.

  We follow her downstairs.

  “Be careful.” The girls are both petrified that their mother is heading into danger.

  “I’ll be fine – you need to put the protections into place as soon as I leave. Do you understand?”

  We all nod, caught up in the drama.

  “About Ellis?”

  They nod and I feel sick.

  She shuts the door behind her, and I’m faced with the three witches who hate me and who I embarrassed earlier, and this time when I smile, I know I look constipated.

  Thea puts her hands up, straightaway, like she’s warding me off. “I don’t want any drama. Ellis, go back upstairs and we’ll stay here. Sally!” Her voice is sharp, and I dart a look at Sally, wondering what she was about to say or do, but she looks as strained as the rest of us. She shrugs, feigning an expression of innocence.

  I am happy to go, happy to leave the three of them, and feeling tired from my visions. I cannot explain the tiredness that comes over me afterwards; it’s as unnatural as the visions themselves.

  I slip under the covers in Fletcher’s room again. I cannot help, I cannot assist them in anyway. I’m the most useless head witch there ever was. Embarrassingly rubbish, actually.

  I close my eyes, so tired and hopeless, and scared that Fletcher is in danger. I picture him in my head, each detail of him. His hair, his face, those lips that have kissed me and those hands that have held me, his arms that have surrounded me. The feeling when we fly. The feeling when he lets me go.

  And it hits me.

  I cannot live without him and I cannot stay here, useless, while he faces such a threat.

  If I can’t convince the girls to come with me, I’ll go on my own.

  7

  “Unbind them,” Gregory commands Elodie, as the demons exit the portal, a slithering, menacing mass of shadows and shapes, without flesh or bone.

  Griff nods at her, fear colouring his face. “We need to get out of here.”

  Elodie hesitates, she does not want to run away; she does not want to give in so easily. But as they wait to take action the demons multiply, and more demons mean more problems. For now, they congregate behind Gregory. He called them out and they need his command to do anything, but once under instruction, they are an army to be feared. They have no conscience – they will not falter or hesitate like a human might do, or any supernatural creature would do.

  “Mum.” Fletcher’s voice carries the same warning that Griff’s did; he too hates being helpless and weak; but demons are like no other enemy. Witchcraft doesn’t always work to best them. Spells might work against them, but they might not, and there’s no rhyme or reason for it. It’s one of the reasons everyone was happy to banish them. They are tricky for any species to deal with.

  Four against four would have been easy. If it was a fair fight, Fletcher would love to punch Layland again in his smug face, and with three witches amongst the four, there’s no way they could lose. But four supernatural creatures and a pack of demons? An ever-increasing pack of demons. They don’t have a hope.

  “You two need to go first,” Elodie says, her tone urgent. “If we unbind them altogether, they will turn on us. You two go to safety.”

  Griff shakes his head. “You’re right and we don’t have time to argue. Adam would never forgive me if I left you here. You two go and I’ll unbind them. If I don’t make it, I have no children to miss me, no other half to mourn me.”

  “We would mourn you.” Elodie’s eyes fill with unshed tears. She doesn’t always see eye to eye with Griff; he’s so very different from his brother. While Adam was always good and kind and fair, Griff has always been the opposite. But now, she couldn’t bear to lose him too.

  “Hurry up!” Gregory’s voice is harsher, the demons waiting behind him making him a little nervous.

  “Thank you, Griff,” Fletcher says, taking his uncle’s hand. “Mum, you know he’s right.”

  “Elodie. I’ll be fine. I don’t plan on laying down and dying, rolling over and letting them win. But I need you two to be safe.”

  The look of pain that covers Elodie’s face is stark, but she nods. She kisses Griff on his beardy cheek, giving Gregory a look that makes it completely plain that if she had the resources, if she could use her magic to attack him and the other demons en masse she would, and then follows Fletcher through the undergrowth, away from the clearing, tears streaming down her face.

  She pauses, eyes glancing back, even though she cannot see anything because of the trees. She knows Griff is there, and he’s there alone. Will they hesitate before killing him, or will they just delight in the murder of another witch? She shudders because she knows the answer.

  “I want to go back.”

  Fletcher touches her arm. “Mum, we can’t. You know it. The second he unbinds Peri, Efa and Layland, then it becomes four and a bunch of demons against one.”

  “Then we should have stayed...”

  “We all would have died. You know it. Demons are unpredictable. You can’t guarantee killing them, whatever spell you use. Three of us wasn’t enough and you know it. Don’t do this. Don’t feel guilty. Griff is one hell of a fighter. If there’s a way to survive it, he will. If not, at least we’re not all dead.”

  “You sound just like him.”

  “It’s not always an easy choice, mum – not always a simple decision – but you know it and I know it and Griff knows it. We wouldn’t have won against demons, mum, not just with three of us.”

  “What about with all of us?”

  They turn with shock and then delightful hope, at Ember’s voice. She has hundreds of witches lined up behind her. All ready to go to battle.

  “How-?”

  “Ellis. She had a vision. Where are the bastards?”

  Elodie is crying as she answers. “Back through there.” Elodie points and they all follow her lead, running, pushing branches and brambles out of the way as they rush back to the portal, back to fight.

  Back to... an empty clearing.

  Empty except for Griff’s unmoving body.

  And Mya’s.

  Elodie cries out and drops to th
e floor beside him, her tears wetting his clothes. “We were only gone a few minutes.”

  Ember crouches next to her. “It only takes a second.”

  “When is this going to end? How will it ever get sorted out. Demons? How can we win against demons?”

  The witches are silent, hundreds of them, making no sound at all. Their grief is encompassing, and the air is thick with it, but there is nobody to take their anger out on, they have disappeared, and nobody can answer Elodie’s impossible question.

  “You had to leave him,” Jane, Sally’s mum says. “You couldn’t have fought demons alone.”

  “I wish...” Elodie trails off. There really is nothing to say. She’s sobbing and Fletcher hugs her – he cannot bear the effect this is having on his mother. She has been so different since his father passed away. Far quieter, more serious, so lonely. And now this. It’s the bleakest time that any of them have had to face. And it isn’t over. Not yet.

  “Let’s go.” Ember tucks her hand under Elodie’s elbow, lifting her up.

  “I don’t want to leave him here. By himself.” She keeps a hand on his unmoving chest. “We need to bring Mya back as well.” She sobs.

  “We’ll take them.” Jane turns to her husband and he nods. There are plenty of strong witches here. They can easily carry Griff and Mya and fly them back to Elodie and Ember’s house.

  “Come back to ours, everyone. We need to decide what to do next.”

  “I cannot even think. How do we defeat demons? We don’t even know where they are.”

  “We don’t know, but we can’t stay here. They might come back.”

  “They wouldn’t dare. Not with all of us here.”

  “We need to go.”

  Fletcher ushers his mother back the way they came, along the overgrown path, through the forest and back to the clearing.

  “I’m sorry. I feel like I’ve failed you all,” Elodie says to the witches who can hear her.

  Fletcher’s voice is sharper than he intends. “Mum, I’m the failure. I should be head witch by now. I should be in charge, keeping us all safe, making the tough choices, not you.”

  Sha shakes her head, but it’s Ember who reassures him. “Fletcher, you aren’t a failure. None of this is your doing. Let’s go.”

  With a nod they all fly home. Only a handful of witches come inside with them – the rest return to their homes and loved ones. With demons on the loose, they have no way of knowing what will happen next or how bad the war might get.

  Ember undoes the protections on the house; Elodie is in a daze of grief mingled with terror, and they troop inside. They lay Griff upstairs in the guest bedroom where he’s been staying, surrounded by his things and Mya on the bed next to him. Elodie closes the curtains, kisses his forehead and touches Mya on the arm.

  Fletcher follows them up and goes to his room, looking for Ellis. His room is empty, but his bed is rumpled; she’s been in here.

  “Mum, are the girls down there?” He calls on the way to the twin’s bedroom. He doesn’t even knock before going in, but the room is empty as well.

  The house is too silent. They had been caught up in the grief over Griff’s sudden and nasty death and the sight of all the demons spilling out of the portal, ready to do Gregory’s evil bidding, and none of them had noticed anything amiss when they first came in. A house with four teenage girls in, isn’t a quiet house. It’s a noisy house. Even if three of them don’t like the other one. It’s not silent. Unless something bad has happened.

  Ember is coming up the stairs calling for the girls, as he is heading down calling for Ellis. “They’re not up here.”

  “Well they’re not down there either.” She sighs, a look of frustration on her face. “Where the hell could they be? The last thing I said to them was that they had to stay here and keep Ellis safe.”

  In the kitchen Elodie is sitting in a shock of upset, her face blank.

  Fletcher is trying not to panic; it’s not working. He knows that the girls don’t like Ellis and that she’s wary of the girls. “Mum, the girls have gone. Ellis is gone.”

  This is enough to snap her out of her reverie. She groans and rubs her face. “Where would they go? Do you think they’re looking for us? None of them even know where the portal is. Was the house locked up when you left?” She looks at her sister, an accusation clear on her face.

  Ember scowls but nods. “The last thing I said to them was to keep Ellis safe, and I asked Sally to lock the house up straight away, to put all the protections back. There was nobody outside. There’s no way anybody took them. The rebels were with you.”

  “So that means that they chose to leave?”

  Ellis

  I take a deep breath and knock on the twin’s door.

  Nobody answers but I hear them whispering and one of them giggling. Really?

  I knock again. “Please let me in.”

  I hate this. But I have no idea what to do or how to do it without their help.

  Sally opens the door, even though it’s not her room, and it’s not her house, she just wants to annoy me.

  I smile.

  She steps aside so I can go in the room, and it’s lovely. Definitely not what I was expecting. I’m not sure what I was expecting – maybe a cage with some poor children locked in, some creepy relics and an altar for satanic worship – but it’s pretty, and pink. Not hot pink, pastel. I never had them down as pastel pink girls.

  They are all looking at me – open hostility on their faces...well, I can’t blame them I suppose, after what I did, but.

  I take another deep breath. “I want to go to Fletcher. I want to help.”

  Thea and Talia laugh out loud, shaking their heads. “No way. Our mum would kill us, our aunt would kill us, Fletcher would probably kill us, and there’s nothing you can do either. You’re a shit witch.”

  Eloquent.

  “Thanks, but I need to. I can’t stand waiting around here, being kept safe. I’m the head witch – there must be something I can do.”

  Again, Thea and Talia are shaking their heads, looking at me like I’m the biggest moron they ever met, but Sally, Sally is quiet. Maybe I can talk her into it.

  I turn to her and she smiles, flicking her long red locks. “Girls, maybe Ellis is right.”

  Now they are looking at Sally like she’s a bigger moron than me.

  “She is the head witch.”

  “And we have to keep her safe. Remember. The pretty fierce warning my mother gave us before she left. All the protections that are in place. How special she is, to us and all the other species.”

  I don’t care for Talia’s tone. She sounds pretty narky and sarcastic when she talks about how special I am. I can’t help being head witch. It’s not like I chose it.

  “I know you girls don’t like me, and you know the feeling’s pretty mutual, but don’t you wish you were helping, that you were involved? Fletcher’s gone. Don’t you feel like kids just sitting here, safe, while everyone else is fighting?”

  I have touched a nerve. I knew I could.

  Thea sighs. “I do hate you, but you are right.”

  Weird but the truth stings. I feel a bit picked on. I stay silent, give them a chance to argue amongst themselves, as I look around their ridiculously pretty bedroom. It’s just so girly. And it smells nice. I bet my room smells like a pigsty.

  “Well?” I’m fed up of waiting. It’s pretty uncomfortable, the four of us in such a small space.

  Sally speaks first. “I’d like to go. I’m seventeen too. It’s pretty pathetic that they just left us here.”

  Thea and Talia exchange glances. “True. But we’ll be in a world of trouble if we leave. And if we take her. And if anything happens to her.”

  I feel a shiver at her words. Am I being stupid? Why go after Fletcher? Why risk my safety, when I’m quite safe here? I know why. And I want to puke. The answer is because I love him. I know, gross, but I do. I cannot stand being here without him, and because I love him, I want to impress him. I
want him to think I’m brave and capable and not some ridiculous damsel in distress. I want to prove worthy of being head witch, worthy just of being a witch will do.

  Worthy.

  I hate having to ask the three witches for help, but they aren’t looking at me like they were. They don’t look like they think I’m stupid. They look like maybe they should be fighting to come too. Maybe they should be trying to be brave, or courageous too. I definitely hit a nerve.

  I can’t imagine any of us want another adventure like the one we had yesterday – I think we all genuinely feared for our lives at more than one point, but also, sitting here, waiting, helpless, hopeless, is sad, and more than a bit pathetic.

  Thea tries one last argument. “We don’t even know where the portal is.”

  “Ellis will be able to find it.”

  I almost smile at Sally, then I catch myself.

  It was easier than I thought and then we are standing at the front door and I feel sick. Sally is undoing the magical protections and we are about to step outside. But I won’t have Fletcher to protect me or guide me and I won’t have Elodie to be a grown up and make sure it all works out. I’ll have Thea and Talia and Sally.

  Well, I never said I was the brightest.

  We step outside and I can sense us all take a deep breath, as though waiting for an attack or something to go wrong. It doesn’t. The street looks the same and I remember how close I am to my family. I cannot wait for my imaginary college trip to be over, so I can go home. “Who’s going to fly with her?” Sally asks and I feel sad and pathetic again. A bit picked on.

  I might be head witch, but I cannot even fly by myself. Talia nods and stands in front of me. I knew Sally wouldn’t do it, but I still feel like I’ve been picked last for the team.

  “Ellis, when Talia holds on to you, you have to take us to the portal. Do you understand?”

  I nod. I’m not completely thick, thanks, Sally. Portal, portal, portal.