The Thirteenth (33 page)

Wyetta moved towards a small pot in the corner of the room and poured two cups of steaming fluid. She handed one to Val. Val thanked her, lifting it to her lips to take a sip. As the warm fluid slipped down Val’s throat she realised that this wasn’t a cup of tea or coffee, it was sewage. Val choked hard and could see Wyetta’s concerned face looking back at her.

“It’s fine, it just went down the wrong hole,” Val said. She realised from Wyetta’s confused expression that she possibly didn’t know there were two holes.

“One night, while we were playing with you, a messenger came from one of the nearby villages to warn Gabrielle that the witch hunter was close. Excariot had heard about your birth and was looking for you. Gabrielle told me he had to go and promised he would be back by the morning.” She looked at the floor, which was covered in mud, taking a moment to compose herself. “He never came back to us. There were stories of a large battle, that he had met with the witch finder. His life was lost trying to save some of our sister and brother witches.” Val could see this was still raw for her.

“So what did you do?” Val asked.

“I got strong V. I made a decision that if Gabrielle wasn’t going to be with his daughter then Excariot wasn’t going to get you either.” Her face was now determined. “It took you one moon cycle to grow to your age of initiation and the villagers hid you. Excariot seemed to disappear after Gabrielle’s death. Everyone relaxed a little, but not for long, and then it started.” Wyetta’s face filled with anger.

“About a week before your initiation there were witches being hung and tortured all over the area. So many innocents died, V, but no-one would betray the star child. We knew you would bring peace. We readied for your initiation and the night came when you were to be made a full witch. That night is tonight.” Wyetta placed her cup down on a small wooden table. “You never made it to your initiation. Excariot had received news of our place of worship and he was waiting, though he wasn’t prepared for the power we had. Your father gave me some gifts that he knew would come in handy if I ever met Excariot, and I was ready. We fought and I managed to send you to safety.” She looked proud of herself and Val realised this must have been an intense battle.

“So what happened to you and all the others?” Val asked.

“We all died, V.” Wyetta’s expression wasn’t one of fear; it was pride. “You must realise one thing ,V, you cannot kill a witch. If you take her body, her soul will return to be born again. You were the only survivor and as long as the family blood lines of the witches who died on that night continued to live their true lives, then you would be safe. But Excariot must have worked out how to change the destiny of the other twelve, or he wouldn’t be here and neither would you.” She started to walk around, closing wooden shutters and readying herself to leave. “But no one knew I had protected you with the symbol.”

Val wanted to tell Wyetta that it was all her fault, but what was the point? Now all she could do was follow her mother and try to make it all right. “So, if you died, are we in heaven?” Val asked.

“No.”

“So how do you know all this and yet you are still alive?” Val felt confused.

“I know all this because someone from your time came to tell me my fate. They told me to be ready. That the day would come when the witches would live again and today is that day. They said you would come back in time and that the future would be changed, and here you are.”

“Who?” Val asked.

“I cannot say, but all that matters is that you are ready and it’s time.” Reaching into the pocket of her cloak, Wyetta pulled out what looked like a silver bracelet. “V, your father left this for you. He wanted you to wear it for him.” Val took the bracelet. It was shaped like a V and when she pushed it over her wrist it tightened around her skin to fit snugly.

“So what now?” Val stood up.

“Now we go to the others. They are waiting.” Val followed Wyetta as they made their way to the pond. The air was crisp and the night had moved in. The group of men and women looked nervous but when Wyetta met them, they all greeted her with enthusiasm.

“Is she ready?” a man asked.

“Yes brother, don’t worry.” Wyetta had a powerful presence and these people obviously respected her.

“Then let us go and ready for V,” a woman called. They all started to leave. Val joined the back of the group, but a hand grabbed her arm.

“Not you.” Val recognised the voice before she saw the face. It was Sam again.

“But I need to protect them.” Val pulled free.

“No V. You will join them soon.” Seeing Wyetta waving goodbye, Val could only assume that what Sam was telling was the truth.

“When do we go?” Val asked.

“You go when the moon reaches the tops of the trees.” Sam smiled.

“What about you?”

“I’m just your guardian. I am not one of them,” Sam responded looking confused by Val’s line of questioning.

“Do I have any more guardians?” Val was intrigued.

“Yes, one more, a local girl who is gifted with the sight.” Sam was moving in close. Val obviously had a relationship with this Sam and she liked it, but it just wasn’t the right time for messing around.

“Moon looks almost at the top.” Val turned towards the trees cutting Sam off.

“OK, if you are in a real hurry, then go,” he said harshly, obviously feeling rejected, but Val knew it was for the best.

“Right, I’ll get off then.” Val looked at the entrance to the woods, moved far enough away from Sam to be out of range of his grip, and turned to say goodbye. He smiles as she started walking towards the forest that spread out in front of her for miles. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she promised, making phone signs with her hand. Sam looked at her as if she was crazy. It dawned on Val what she was doing and she turned away feeling awkward and confused. She was out of Sam’s sight within seconds, swallowed by the density of the trees and undergrowth. Val knew she needed to move quickly and that she would be expected to arrive on time. The deeper she got into the wood, the more she felt at home. She started to run, jumping over leaves and branches. Then she saw it: sticking out of the ground was the tree root from her dreams. Val smiled. This time it wasn’t going to catch her out.

When she arrived at the clearing, the others were in a circle, chanting. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she knew that this was it. She had made it, no lights, no screaming and no being thrown into the air.

Val walked towards them with a sense of belonging, a feeling of finding her path. She was comfortable with what was happening and just wanted to get on with it. Making her way out of the foliage and into the clearing, she heard a noise. She stopped, frozen to the spot listening. It sounded familiar. She turned her head trying to pick out the noise between the chants of the witches. It was a baby crying. He was here. She knew that was Excariot’s baby.

“Stop! He’s here!” Val screamed, running towards the others. The witches had stopped chanting and turned to look at Val who was now on top of them.

“Run!” she waved her arms, but it was too late. Excariot knocked her to the ground with a flick of his wrist. Striding forward, he created an electrical dome over the others.

Val lifted herself up and ran at the dome. Making contact with it created shocks that ran through her body and she fell to the ground. She knew there was no way in.

“Well V, I’m pleased to see you again, and alive. What a surprise! I’m even happier that you will get to see your true mother killed before I go back to the future and kill your adoptive parents.” Excariot walked around the dome knocking down the witches that tried to attack him.

Val yelled and bashed on the dome in anger, sparks flying with each stroke and intense shocks rushing up her arms.

“I promise I will kill you!” she shouted, unable to contain her anger.

“Not today.” He walked through the last few witches flicking them away to left and right, as if they were ants, until he reached Wyetta. “You! You are the cause of all this trouble. You and your dirty child have stopped me for four hundred years.“ He struck Wyetta across the face and yet she stood firm. “Why Gabrielle mixed with a dirty thing like you is beyond me.” He struck her again.

“I’m going to get in there and you will wish you had really killed me the first time.” Val was sobbing in anger.

“It’s time for my revenge, V. It’s time to fulfil my destiny, so let us have a little quiet please.” He moved in close to Wyetta and peered at her face. “Not so pretty now, are we?” Excariot curled up the corner of his mouth.

Wyetta spat a mass of blood from her bleeding mouth into his face. This threw him into a rage. The dome crackled in response to his anger. His powers were awesome. Val watched, not knowing how she could help the others.

With slight movements of his hands, Excariot was moving each witch into position against the circumference of the dome. When he had finished, the witches were trapped, in positions imitating the twelve points of the clock. Excariot was in the centre. He began chanting and Val sensed that something really bad was going to happen.

His arms began to rise, and as they did, Val noticed he was wearing a bracelet that matched the one Wyetta had given her. Did this have power?

A small ball of sparks formed above his head and he looked pleased with his handy work.

“OK Gabrielle, if you want to help me, now is the time,” Val said looking down at her bracelet. “I wonder?” Val focused her mind and slowly began to push her hand with the bracelet through the dome. It passed through! Val had her hand in the dome. She started to follow with the rest of her body.

Meanwhile, Excariot’s small ball of sparks was now a large ball. Luckily, he was concentrating so hard that he didn’t notice Val entering the dome. When the ball was the size and shape of a doorway, it changed, Beams of light shot from it, piercing each witch in turn. Out of their chests came a return beam of light that hit the sparking doorway. Val threw herself onto the ground in fear.

“At last,” Excariot called out. “Come to me, Lailah. Be free my love. Come now.”

He stepped back and fell silent.

Val looked up and saw wispy figures coming through the door of sparks: one, then another and another. Val knew this was very bad. She couldn’t make out what they were, but they were coming through quicker and quicker, and they were filling the dome.

She had to do something. She looked at her hands; they had always been the source of her powers. She could hold fire, move the earth, and create air. Val knew that anything she touched she could transform, and now she needed to transform the most powerful thing she had ever seen: the dome.

Val crawled back to the side and placed her hand on the dome’s wall. She concentrated on feeling its power, rather than fearing it. She wasn’t going to let this animal get away with hurting anyone else. The stream of spirits wasn’t slowing down and Val realised that time was now of the essence.

Cautiously rising to her feet, she felt her whole body come alive with the dome’s energy. Carefully she moved in behind Excariot.

“Come quickly,” he murmured, basking in the glory of his victory.

“Shut up!” Val shouted slamming her free hand onto Excariot’s back. The dome’s immense power started to flow through her. As she pulled more from it, the more she pumped through Excariot’s body. He was unable to stop her and his loss of concentration was causing the doorway to close. The spirits stopped coming, and Val was draining the dome of its power, causing it to disintegrate around them. Suddenly the witches were free and collapsing to the floor in exhaustion. Val was weakening, but she knew she had done enough to stop them dying.

She was struggling to keep a hold of Excariot who was beginning to fight back, and the dome didn’t have enough energy to help her anymore. Excariot broke loose from her grip and swung around, knocking her to the ground.

“You stupid child.” He was shaken and still dangerous.

Val felt she had given it her all. Looking up, she could still see spirits floating around Excariot’s head.

“You can’t stop me.” He raised his hands again.

He was right. Val had no more power to give.

When she thought it had all been in vain, a beam of light came from the trees and hit Excariot. Val turned and saw Sam. He was wielding a type of stick and out of it came beams of light that hit Excariot over and over again. Sam walked forward confidently; the closer he got to Excariot, the further Excariot backed off, desperately trying to deflect the beams with his bracelet. Sam reached down and pulled Val to her feet.

“So, you want some help?” Sam smiled.

“Well, that would have been good a while ago,” Val responded.

“Sorry, I couldn’t attack until the dome was down.” Sam fired again. The spirits surrounding Excariot become agitated, visibly whipping backwards and forwards.

“Well V, you have been a greater adversary than I would have hoped for. You take after your father,” Excariot said.

Sam stopped firing.

Excariot pulled his arm up grasping his wrist band and aimed it at the sky. “See you in the future if you make it back. I will say hello to your parents for you.” Excariot laughed as he began to disappear.

Sam ran at him firing repeatedly, but it was too late, he had gone; the spirits had all followed.

“He’s going to kill my parents! I need to get back to my time,” Val was spinning in circles looking for Wyetta.

“V, stand still.” Sam grabbed her.

“You don’t get it! My parents, he is going to kill my parents!” Val spotted Wyetta. “Help me, please help me get home,” Val started sobbing. Wyetta seemed incredibly calm. “Don’t worry, V, we will help you, but first we must initiate you.” Val couldn’t believe what she was hearing; her parents were going to die and Val was going to have a party.

“No, this is really bad timing,” Val said.

“V, you need what we have to give. Why do you think Excariot wanted us dead? He knew we could make you stronger than him.” Wyetta called all the others together. “He will not have time to hurt your future parents and we will help you return to your time.” She held Val’s hand and a man grabbed her other one as they started to chant. Sam moved away from the circle.