Witch Emerging (High Witch Book 2) (11 page)

“We’ll figure it out, Sean,” Hallie said, wanting to quell his anger. “Sometimes I think I should just magically transport back to his house. I know it would be stupid in case he’s there, but I don’t know how to find the place otherwise. We know it’s close by, or else he couldn’t have transported me there in the first place. We just have to keep trying to find out more information, but the
waiting
is
killing
me.”

Hallie groaned, sick of the anxiety in her stomach. She and Sean sat in silence for a while, then Hallie brought in their food and they shared their meal. They didn’t speak while they ate, both of them dwelling on their troubles, Hallie presumed. The stress was starting to take a toll. Hallie could see the tiredness in Sean’s eyes, and she felt weary herself. Something had to change soon. They had to have a breakthrough. Something had to happen.

She just hoped, whatever it was, it wouldn’t hurt them.

***

Brayden and Ariel walked into the room they’d rented at a small inn in the town where their ship had docked. The place was a few days from the town where the other High Witch was. They didn’t know the woman’s name but were going to worry about locating her once they’d reached her town. For now, they needed to rest and recover. It had been a very difficult few weeks’ travel.

“I feel disgusting,” Ariel said, sitting on the bed in the small room while Brayden put down their bags. “That was the worst—the most filthy—the most
revolting
experience of my life. I’ve never… ugh, I need to bathe ten times. And then another ten times. And the
seasickness
.”

Brayden sat beside her, feeling revolting himself. The living quarters aboard the ship had been cramped and dirty, with all the passengers squeezed into a small space and at least half of them suffering seasickness. The food was awful, and the trip very bumpy and rough. He and Ariel had been so relieved to finally be able to leave the ship.

She had suffered far worse than him, though, between the seasickness and her pregnancy finally starting to show. She was now just over five months, and it was astonishing how much her stomach had grown just in the last month. She’s had to wear the larger-sized clothing she had brought with her, and she said she was feeling some discomfort from being so much bigger. Ariel’s steadily growing bump didn’t bring her the joy it normally would have, as she had been worried her nausea was harmful for the baby. There was nothing they could do, though. She didn’t have the magical strength to heal herself, which was something that greatly worried them both.

“We’ll get cleaned up and then have a huge sleep,” Brayden said. “I’m so sorry the trip was so bad for you. Maybe we should rest here a few days, give you a chance to recover before we head out again.”

“No. No, we’ll leave tomorrow,” Ariel said. “I haven’t traveled this far to stall finding the other High Witch. I don’t want to delay it in any way. Besides, I think I’m okay now. After I wash, I’ll feel much better.”

Brayden left her to bathe while he arranged for a woman who worked at the inn to wash their clothes. A long while later, they were both clean and lying in the soft, large bed, warm and comfortable. Brayden wrapped his arms around Ariel, the scent of soap and flowers wafting from her freshly washed hair, the sound of her slow breathing making him feel drowsy.

He put his hand gently on her belly, her bump definitely noticeable. Ariel had been perpetually touching her stomach since she’d started to show, something she had done before but was doing more now. Their child was becoming bigger. She was growing, blossoming, coming to life. Only four more months and they would get to meet her. Their little Erica. Their little darling.

They just had to get through helping the new High Witch out of the danger she was in. Ariel hadn’t had any more visions about the girl, so they were no closer to figuring out who the man that looked like Julius was. They were both certain the man wanted to turn the other High Witch and only hoped she had escaped him. What if she hadn’t? Were they too late? Was the High Witch safe or was she still in huge danger? They didn’t really know anything. Just that they had to get to her, and fast.

Chapter 15

“But you’re still healing. You still need medical attention.”

Nicholas finished doing up his shirt, then stood and started to walk from the room full of patients.

Thomas, the healer, moved in front of him, blocking his path to the door. “At least let me give you some salve for your wounds. I don’t know why you’re so eager to get out of here, but not taking care of yourself will only ensure you get worse, not better. You may be doing well, but you’re a long way from being fully healed.”

Nicholas took a deep breath, looking down at the middle aged man. “I’m fine. I’ll send payment for your care. I don’t need any more help.” He pushed past Thomas, walked out of the room, and left the building. He began to walk briskly down the street, feeling a little winded at his first time properly exercising in weeks, and decided to just magically transport home. He stopped, shut his eyes, visualized his home in his mind, and instantly arrived within his house. He sat down in a chair at a table and leaned his head against his hand, sighing. Everything had fallen apart. So much for his plan. So much for his revenge.

He still hated Ariel. Still hated everything she stood for. Because of her, the one he loved most was gone, and no one even cared. No one even cared! He didn’t want to hurt Hallie—she was nothing to him. It was Ariel, young, beautiful, powerful—everything a man wanted and
everything his mother was killed for
….

Everything his mother was killed for.

But no one cared that Nadia was dead. No one cared that she was used, taken advantage of, a
slave
for over twenty years to his
pig
of a father. None of that mattered to anyone. Her death was forgotten, nothing, of no consequence. Nadia was slaughtered
in front of all those people
and everyone had just moved on.

No one even made a move to stop Julius killing her, the men who worked for his father had said. The men who had been there the day Julius put Ariel through the test. Ariel had saved her lover, saved her family, but they’d all left Nadia to die. Julius ruthlessly murdered his mother so he could have Ariel, and they’d let him to save themselves.

Julius was already dead, and his hatred for his father was sated by the fact the man had been killed. He was almost grateful to Ariel for wiping the man out, something he’d never been able to do.
Almost
grateful for her hating Julius as much as he did.

But Nadia still had to be avenged for being sacrificed for a younger woman.

He wasn’t going to rest until he’d killed Ariel.

And anyone who tried to stop him.

***

The blood. The blood.

“ARIEL! NO!”

***

Hallie shot up in bed a few days later, breathing heavily, her heart racing. She tried to hold on to her dream, to what she’d seen, but it was slipping out of her mind quickly. She had glimpses—a blonde young woman and a man screaming her name, the flash of a knife, sticky and bright red with blood—but the images faded. All she had left was the feeling. Her heart gradually slowed down and her breathing returned to normal, but the feeling in her stomach was horrible.

She told Sean about the dream over breakfast.

He froze, gaping at her. “Do you think it was actually her? Ariel?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“Who else could it be? Hallie, did you have a vision? Do you get those? Was Nicholas in the dream?”

“I don’t know, Sean, stop pressuring me! I don’t know what I saw, just that it was a dream and it was awful. No, I don’t get visions—at least, I don’t think I do. I’ve never been able to figure out what my power is. Witches or warlocks who receive visions don’t have other powers—that’s their core gift. I can do… other things, so I don’t think….” She groaned, shutting her eyes, feeling so terrible her teeth hurt.

Sean grasped her hand. “I’m sorry, it’s just so huge if it was a vision. I don’t want you to be upset.”

Hallie looked at him gratefully, then nearly jumped when there was a knock at the door. She frowned, not expecting anyone, not knowing who it could be. She rose and walked towards the front door.

Sean immediately moved to stand beside her. “Just in case it’s someone dangerous.”

“Nicholas isn’t likely to knock,” she replied but wasn’t really admonishing him. She half-smiled, then opened the door a little way. She saw two people standing there, a blonde young woman and a man with light-brown hair. Hallie froze, unable to think clearly. She gulped, then slowly opened the door wider.

The woman looked at the man and nodded. She took his hand and appeared to take a deep breath. “Is your name Hallie?” she asked. “My name is…”

“Ariel,” Hallie whispered.

Ariel looked at her in surprise. “How did you know?”

“How did you know who
I
am? Who are you?”

Ariel bit her lip. “I’ve been looking for you,” she said. “I think… we have something in common. May we come in? We really need to talk. I don’t want to alarm you, but I really need to tell you something important. It’s about… your power.”

Hallie nearly couldn’t breathe. She put her hand over her mouth, feeling tears well in her eyes. She choked out a sob. “Ariel, what am I? What’s wrong with me?”

Before she knew it, the taller woman had her in a hug, holding her closely while Hallie wept against her shoulder. She felt like a fool, like an idiot, crying in the arms of a stranger, but she couldn’t help it. The relief, the fact that she nearly had answers—it was like a dam had burst, with all her years of holding back and hiding who she was coming to a head. Maybe she’d finally learn the truth. Maybe she could finally stop being afraid.

***

They all assembled in the front room of Hallie’s home, Ariel and her husband Brayden on the settee while Hallie and Sean sat in the armchairs on either side. Everyone had introduced themselves but were now sitting in silence. Hallie noticed Ariel was pregnant, something which made her dream even more alarming.

Ariel finally spoke. “About six months ago, I learned something about myself that I never knew. I’m a witch—I’ve always known that—but my powers were always… unusual. I didn’t just have one core power like other witches—controlling fire and water, being able to call things to myself, being psychic or whatever. I was able to do a bit of everything. But the strangest thing about my power was that I couldn’t control it.

“Whenever I tried to cast a spell, it would always be bigger than I intended, be dangerous, something I couldn’t manage. And my powers didn’t just come out when I tried to use them. Every time I was upset, I would accidentally perform magic, as if it was just pouring out of me. Eventually I learned to just not use my powers, but my magic still came out sometimes. I didn’t know what was wrong with me—why I was so different—but then I met Brayden and he explained everything. He told me I was a High Witch.” Ariel looked at Hallie closely, as if waiting for her words to sink in.

Hallie felt nervous, astounded that so much of what Ariel was talking about made sense. She swallowed loudly. “What’s a High Witch? I’ve never heard of that.”

Ariel smiled a little. “I hadn’t heard of it either. But Brayden is distantly related to a High Witch, so he knew what I was and was able to explain it to me. A High Witch is a rare kind of witch. There are only ever three of us in the world at once. A High Witch can perform any kind of magic other people can do, and a great deal more. And our power is also much stronger, much more powerful, and needs to be carefully managed. We can tap into nature, control the weather, cast spells of fire and light. We can do practically anything. I keep saying ‘we,’ Hallie, because I think… I had a vision where I saw you cast a huge spell. I don’t know much about you, and I didn’t even know your name until yesterday. But I think you’re a High Witch too. Does any of this make any sense?”

Hallie stared at her hands for a long while, overcome with all of the information. She looked up at Sean sitting across from her, and he was looking at her in wonder. She put her hand on her heart, knowing he was so happy Ariel was there, telling her who she was. She felt a sense of relief but was still very sad. She looked at Ariel. “Can a High Witch… can she….” Hallie paused, not wanting to talk about this but needing to know. “When I was much younger, I cast a spell. I didn’t mean it—I didn’t want to. But a lot of people got hurt, and I’ve tried to not use my magic ever since. Some people had me cornered, and I made a green wave of light pour out of me. It knocked them all back, then somehow there was lightning and thunder, and… people got hurt. I don’t know how I did it, but it was horrifying, and if that’s what a High Witch can do, I don’t want to be one! I just want to be normal! How do I make it stop? How do I get rid of this?”

Ariel looked at her sadly, then sat forward, reached out, and took Hallie’s hand. Her eyes were filled with pain, and Hallie just wanted to hide and not hear all of this. Ariel squeezed her hand gently. “Hallie, it wasn’t your fault. I’m willing to bet no one has trained you to use your magic, and if you were only a child, you can’t have been able to control it. It’d be like handing a child a sword in a battle and then getting mad at them for not being able to wield it properly. I don’t know why our powers are so strong from such a young age, but it’s just the way it is. That’s part of the reason I wanted to find you. I wanted to find the other High Witches, tell them who they are, and teach them to use their magic. How I found you is a very long story, but I’m here now and I’ll do anything I can to help you. To protect you.”

Ariel released her hand and sat back, then looked at Brayden. Hallie wondered what she meant by protect. Did Ariel know about Nicholas? How? And wouldn’t Ariel be more worried about herself in that case? She was about to ask when Sean spoke up.