The Witches of the Glass Castle (The Witches of the Glass Castle Series Book 1) (15 page)

A little unsure, Mia lay down on the moss beside him. She looked up into the clear blue sky.

‘Are you alright?’ Colt asked her.

She tilted her head to look at
him. This close to him, she could see every detail of his face; the deep green of his eyes, his straight nose, and the flicker of a smirk on his lips. Lost for words, her cheeks flushed.

‘You can sleep if you want to
,’ Colt told her. ‘I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.’

‘I won’t sleep,’ she said softly, ‘but I’ll shut my eyes. Just for a minute.’

Colt chuckled quietly. ‘OK, darling.’

The melody of wind chimes gently woke Mia from her slumber. She opened her eyes blearily to find that she was alone in the graveyard. The sun was still
high, but there was a bite in the air.

Sitting
upright, she glanced around for Colt. He was nowhere to be seen.

And then she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

‘Colt?’ Mia called out.

As the footsteps neared, Kizzy came into view, pacing across the graveyard clutchin
g a vial of translucent liquid.

‘I’ve got the remedy!’ Kizzy declared, beaming in triumph.

Mia groaned. ‘Kizzy, I’m so sorry,’ she said. ‘I should have gone to find you, but I guess I fell asleep. He’s OK. We didn’t need the potion.’

Kizzy came
to a halt and dropped down beside Mia, leaning back against Spangles’ gravestone. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand; her cheeks rosy from running.

‘That’s
a relief,’ she admitted. ‘I’m not sure how well this would have worked.’ She held up the vial for closer inspection. ‘It’s not so easy to do the reversal ritual. But how did you manage it without the potion?’

Mia cringed at the memory. ‘Do you really want to know?’

‘I doubt it. But go ahead and tell me anyway.’

Mia
touched her tender elbow. There was a high chance that Kizzy would be appalled by what she had done, but she didn’t want to lie to her again.

‘I had to give him blood,’ she confessed. ‘
My
blood.’ Her gaze wandered down to the ground, avoiding Kizzy’s eyes.

‘Eww
!’ Kizzy shrieked.

‘Yeah. It was
gross.’

‘Eww
!’ Kizzy wailed again. ‘This is totally my fault, Mia! If I hadn’t shot him, you never would have had to do that.’

Mia looked up at her
. ‘It’s not your fault. It’s my fault for not being honest with you.’

Kizzy gave her a quick
hug. ‘Don’t sweat it. You don’t have to tell me everything, you know. Although I’m surprised you didn’t tell me about Colt.’

‘I wanted to.’

‘What stopped you?’

‘I don’t know.’ Mia gazed distantly at the wind chimes as they swayed in t
he afternoon breeze. ‘I was embarrassed. He’s a Hunter and…’

‘You don’t need
to be embarrassed – I’m not going to judge you!’

‘I know,’ Mia sm
iled. ‘Thanks.’

‘You must really like
him,’ Kizzy guessed.

‘Maybe. Not at first,’ Mia mulled it over,
‘but now I think I do. I
know
I do.’

Kizzy chewed on her thumbnail. ‘Good. Well, kind of good. I mean, I’m glad you’ve met so
meone you like. It’s just unfortunate that that someone is Colt!’

‘Believe me – I was as shocked
as you are!’ Mia laughed. ‘But I know him. He’s not who we thought he was.’

‘He’s still a Hunter though, Mia,’ Kizzy pointed out gently.

‘I don’t care. I’m not afraid of him. They say Hunters are heartless and inhumane, but he isn’t. I know he isn’t those things.’

Kizzy exhaled in submission
. ‘Listen, I’m on your side, whatever happens. Just be careful, OK?’ Her blue eyes clouded. ‘I don’t want to see you get hurt.’

‘Thanks,’ Mia said again. ‘And thanks for today. You know, for coming to my rescue and all.’

Kizzy grinned. ‘Any time.’ She paused. ‘Sorry I shot your boyfriend.’

Mia held up her hands
. ‘It happens.’

‘So, does anyone else know? About you and Colt, I mean.’

Mia shook her head. ‘No way. You think I’d tell Dino? He’d have a fit!’

‘Good point,
’ Kizzy agreed. ‘Well, your secret’s safe with me. Just promise to watch out. I know you’ve got close to Colt, but there might be another side to him. One you haven’t seen yet.’

A hazy cloud drifted overhead, blocking out the sun and shading the graveyard. The girls fell silent as they contemplated the dull shadows loom grimly over the graves.

That evening Dino and Blue retreated to the library. Alone in the musty room, Blue worked on his power while Dino leafed through a stack of aged books.

‘What exactly ar
e you looking for?’ Blue asked, frowning at his friend.

Dino kept his eyes fixed on the yellowed pages of his current book. ‘Anything I can find on Hunter covens.’

‘Why?’ Blue pressed.

Dino flipped through a few more pages and then slammed the book shut in frustration. ‘Damn it!’ he cursed.

‘OK, what’s g-going on?’ Blue demanded. ‘You’ve been acting w-weird all day. And you still haven’t explained about that c-cut on your face. I covered for you, remember? You at l-least owe me an explanation.’

‘I can’t explain,’ Dino replied vaguely.

‘Does this have to do with that guy you met? Tol?’

Dino’s coffee-brown eyes darted anxiously around the poorly lit libr
ary. ‘Shh!’ he hissed, despite the fact that the room was completely empty.

Blue
lowered his voice to a whisper. ‘Either you’re insanely p-paranoid, or something else has happened.’

Dino groaned inwardly. Tol had warned him not to speak of their arrangement, so how
could he possibly share his worries? More than anything he wanted to talk to Blue about his predicament, but it was far too risky.

‘I can’t tell you,’ he said after a suspenseful pause.

Blue frowned. Waves of sandy blond hair fell forward over his furrowed brow. ‘Why can’t you t-tell me?’

‘Because I can’t.’

‘It has to do with Tol again, doesn’t it?’ Blue guessed.

‘Shh!’ Dino hissed again.

‘Then tell me!’

Dino raked his hands through his hair and sighed. After a moment of silent deliberation, he
pushed his book aside and leaned forward in his chair. ‘It
is
about Tol,’ he admitted. ‘But you can’t go shouting that around, OK? This guy is serious.’

‘I won’t say a word,’ Blue reassured him.

Dino took a deep breath. ‘I saw him again. Last night. And I was right – he is trying to get to my sister.’

Blue’s nose twitched nervously.

‘He’s given me an ultimatum,’ Dino went on. ‘It’s me or her.’

‘You or her for w-
what?’

‘He wants me in his coven.’

Blue swallowed. ‘Hunters?’

‘Yep. Now I need to know whether being a Hunter is really that bad…’

‘Yes,’ Blue cut him off, ‘it
is
that bad. You’re n-not a Hunter; you’re an Arcana.’

‘Am I?’ Dino questioned. ‘Because Tol seemed to think I was a born Hunter.’ At the mention of Tol’s name, Dino’s voice reduced to an almost inaudible level.

‘You’re not a Hunter!’ Blue protested. ‘Why w-would you believe anything h-he has to say?’

‘A
rgh!’ Dino slouched back in his chair, defeated. ‘I hate this.’ In the shadow, his hair and eyes appeared even darker than usual – more Hunter-like.

Blue picked up a book from Dino’s pile and began skimming through the pages. ‘There’s got to be something in here to deflect him. He can’t threaten you like that.’

‘He can, and he is,’ Dino responded glumly. ‘And there’s nothing in these damn books that can help me. It doesn’t seem like it’s all that common for a Hunter to recruit an Arcana.’

‘It isn’t,’ Blue agreed. ‘So why does he want you?’

‘I don’t know.’ Dino shrugged helplessly. ‘Maybe he needs my power to complete his coven?’

‘But you’re not the only Sententia around here.’

‘He thinks I’m a Hunter. Maybe I am…’

‘You’re not! What about s-
speaking to Wendolyn? Maybe she can help.’

Dino shook his head. ‘No
. Tol made it crystal clear that, if
I
start talking,
he
’d start killing.’ His stomach lurched at the thought.

‘Then we n-need more t-
time to find a way around it,’ Blue reasoned. ‘There’s got to be a way to stop…’

His sentence was interrupted by the strained moan of the library door. Wendolyn swept into the room, her long white hair flowing loosely over her apple-green dress.

‘Time for lights out,’ she told the boys.

Dino glanced at his watch.
It’s only ten o’clock!
he thought irritably. At home he had no bedtime or curfew at all.

But without debate Dino returned the books to the shelves and extinguished the flickering candles.

‘Don’t worry,’ said Blue once Wendolyn was out of earshot, ‘you’ll be safe here tonight. Tomorrow we’ll come up with a plan.’

Th
ey left the library and trudged along the narrow dark-wood hallway.

‘I hope so,’ Dino muttered under his breath.

‘It’ll be OK,’ Blue promised him.

Their conversation simmered as they ascende
d the staircase. There was nothing more to say. Tol had Dino in checkmate, and finding a way out was a bleak hope.

In the upstairs hallway, the boys went their separate ways. Nodding a quick goodbye to Blue, Dino quietly slunk into his bedroom. The lights were out, leaving only the moonlight streaming in through the window as a guide.

‘Mia?’ Dino called out in a stage whisper.

A muffled
response came from behind her bed curtains.

Dino took a step closer and peeked through a gap in the curtains. Mia was curled u
p beneath the blankets, waves of brown hair fanned out over the pillow and her eyes barely open.

‘What is it?’ she mumbled sleepily.

‘Nothing,’ Dino replied, his voice dropping to a low murmur. He touched her head with his forefingers. ‘I love you, OK?’

Mia opened her eyes and Dino realised that he had never said those words to her before.

‘OK,’ she said softly. ‘I love you, too.’

‘
I know.’ Dino stepped back. ‘Goodnight,’ he said as he retreated to his own bed. Not anticipating sleep, he lay on top of the covers, fully clothed. How could he sleep when all he could think about was Tol and the terrifying decision ahead of him?

Dino lay on his bed
for almost two hours before something alien entered his subconscious.

‘Come to me,’ a voice said, so sleek and commanding that it was impossible to ignore. Mesmerised and unaware of his actions, Dino rose from his bed and strode out of the room.

‘Come to me,’ the voice chanted over and over again. Hypnotically, it drew Dino out of the castle and across the grounds towards the forest. It was an unmistakable voice; it was the voice of Tol.

Dino walked over the cut grass, trampling the flower beds unseeingly. The midnight sky was clouded with a purple fog that had swallowed up the stars.

He descended the embankment, but did not head directly into the forest. Instead he walked along the edge of the forest mist, never quite venturing through it. He walked for miles until eventually the mist dissolved away. Only then did Dino step into the forest.

The moment he crossed the boundaries, Tol was upon him.

‘How lovely to see you,’ Tol sneered. His tongue flickered in and out of his mouth as he eyed Dino eagerly.

The uncut sound of Tol’s voice jolted Dino out of his trance.

In confusion, Dino glanced around at the pine cage he now found himself in.
How did I get here?
he wondered in alarm. He distantly remembered walking – remembered the simple motion of the act – but he could not for the life of him fathom
why
he had done it.

‘I called for you,’ Tol said, unwittingly responding to Dino’s thoughts, ‘and I think you will be glad you came.’ His beady eyes bore into Dino malevolently. ‘It is time you see who you truly are.’

Out of the trees, two other shadowed men emerged. They surfaced from the darkness as though they had materialised out of thin air. Both men were of a similar robust build, and both were shrouded in dark robes which covered all but their gaunt, skeleton-like faces. They circled Dino with a heavy yet weightless stride.