WitchLove (9 page)

I glanced down at the words scribbled in the book, memorising them, holding the coin between my palms as she’d shown me to. Closing my eyes I whispered the words. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see my aunt watching me from across the room.

‘Try again Jess. You have to
feel
the words, believe in them. Sense your power running through your veins. It is a gift from your mother, and I’m going to help you to harness it. Now try again, and concentrate.’

I did, and again nothing happened, but by the sixth time I had sort of given up and subsequently let go, relaxed, and that’s when I felt it. It started with a tingling in my palms, morphing into a sudden heat zipping down the veins in my arms. I imagined it would look like tiny white orbs of light zipping around my palms before concentrating into one mass. I opened my eyes in surprise, looked down at my hands and squealed as I saw the growing wad of ten pound notes pushing my palms apart. As soon as I lost focus the magic stopped and a few notes gently fluttered to the floor.

‘Very good, but next time you need to remember that we’re in America. British notes won’t get you far here,’ she said smiling. ‘But regardless, I am very impressed. It takes most young witches a lot longer to understand how to work manifestation spells.’

‘Yes, but I bet they are about twelve aren’t they, when they’re learning this?’ I asked.

‘Well, most witches come into their powers with the onset of puberty, which is why Luke would have been placed near you from that age. For some it comes much sooner and for others, it takes a while longer.’

‘How come the angels knew who I was, and yet you hadn’t been told?’ I asked.

‘The angels are our ruling body, if you like. They govern everybody and everything. They often find things out and were probably alerted to your presence when Laurie gave birth and the power split. They would, however, take her wishes into consideration and obviously decided to watch you and find out first if you had powers which needed monitoring. If only they had chosen a different path for you, things could have been so much simpler for you now.’

‘What, taking me from my family as a baby and letting you raise me?’ I asked.

‘Yes, we could have initiated you at puberty and you wouldn’t have been exposed to the vampires,’ she said, failing to keep the distaste from her voice.

‘I
had
no powers until I was turned, that’s what triggered them,’ I said.

‘Oh they were there, Jess, and we could have brought them out. It would have been much easier for you.’

‘No, it would have been much harder; never having a mother or a father. Your sister might have been my
mother
, but she was not my mum. She
chose
to risk death. She knew what would happen. She deserted Dad and me. My
mum
was amazing. She adopted me and loved us both until she died of cancer. She didn’t
choose
to die.’

‘Laurie didn’t choose to die either, Jess. She may have known the risks of giving birth to you without the proper care, but she wouldn’t have expected it. I miss my sister every day… and now you come here, and you look so much like she did those months before she ran away.’ I looked down at the table and she carried on, her voice quieter. ‘Yet you have the pale skin of a vampire, you forget to breath, you drink blood and have so much power it scares me… but I
will
try to do my best by you, for Laurie’s sake. Here, wear this now, and practice in your own time,’ she said, walking over to me and threading a red leather thong through the coin and looping it around my neck.

‘Thanks,’ I whispered.

‘Let’s have a break. I’m going to make myself some lunch. You may find the photo albums in the salon interesting,’ she said, as I stood up from my chair. ‘Try the green one. You’ll see your mother before she left us.’

I sat in the salon, which was one of my favourite rooms in the house. It was a smallish living room right next to the kitchen with the same amazing views of the forest. I opened the album at the beginning and found myself staring at twin girls, their arms wrapped around each other, aged about thirteen. Both had long straight blonde hair, sea blue eyes and wide, smiling mouths. Was my mother a twin? I quickly flicked through pages of prom pictures and family celebrations, until I recognised the girl becoming the teenager from the picture in the hallway. The girl that would become the woman in my photo, that Eva had discovered in my father’s attic. But in this album, the photos stopped and the last few pages were left blank.

‘She was your twin,’ I said to my aunt, walking back into the kitchen.

‘Yes, she was,’ Sarah answered, her eyes failing to hide the pain.

‘Didn’t she tell you she was leaving?’ I asked.

‘No, we had been bickering. The role of High Priestess can cause many petty jealousies and just as much as she didn’t want the role, I regret to say that I did. It is my biggest regret.’

‘But I don’t understand, if she didn’t want it, and you did, then why were you fighting?’ I asked.

‘It’s not that simple. Laurie was still the eldest, if only by fifty-five minutes and the elders decision is never questioned. I hated that she dismissed such an honour.’

‘So she left, so you could be High Priestess?’

My aunt nodded and turned back to the stove. I watched her move around the kitchen and smiled nervously as she sat opposite me with a bowl of piping hot chowder. As I watched her eat, I wondered what it would have been like if my mother hadn’t run away. What would it have been like growing up here, being trained to become a priestess myself? I knew from the photos that my aunt wasn’t an identical twin, but we all shared the same eyes and hair. This woman could easily pass for my mother and I her daughter. It felt strange and slightly uncomfortable.

‘As you did so well with the money spell, I thought we’d move on and challenge you with a Level Four spell this afternoon,’ my aunt said, rinsing her bowl out.

‘Okay… is it the disappearing one?’ I asked, grinning, instantly cheered by her praise and up for a new challenge.

‘No, not yet,’ she said with a laugh. ‘Come’.

I followed my aunt out into the garden, past the gate and into the forest. The weather seemed to have changed along with the season overnight, and even though the sun still shone brightly, there was an autumnal crispness in the air. She led me straight to the coven’s circle, and I followed as she darted swiftly between the trees into its centre.

‘Now I know my youngest has a love of manipulating nature, and as you won’t tell me what she’s been up to, I thought we could at least see if we can give you some pointers in the same direction,’ my aunt said with a smile. ‘Now take off your sneakers and socks and place them there on that log.’

I did as she said, feeling the soft, mossy forest floor beneath my feet.

‘Now watch,’ she said.

I stood a short distance away from her and watched as she too removed her pumps and gently dug her toes into the ground. Looking at me and smiling, she held out her arms and with her palms facing up began to slowly rotate her hands. As she did so the leaves around us began to dance on their branches and the fallen ones flew up to greet them, swirling about us in an imaginary whirlwind.

‘Wow! Can I do that?’ I asked.

‘I don’t see why not. I brought you here because it will be easier for you to harness the natural power in the circle and use it to aid you,’ she said.

‘I thought you said not to come here?’ I asked.

‘No, you can come here whenever you wish. You are part of our family, but there is considerable power here so until I know you can control it, I don’t want you spelling here without help.’

‘Okay, so what do I do?’ I asked.

‘Be still, breathe, and feel the earth Jess. Feel the cool dirt under the soles of your feet and feel nature’s power flowing between you both.’

I nodded and wiggled my toes in the damp earth.

‘I’d say breathe slowly, but I’m not sure you’re breathing at all. It bothers me somewhat,’ she said, a half smile hovering around the corners of her mouth.

‘Sorry, I was just concentrating,’ I said, remembering to breathe again.

‘Now, close your eyes if you find that easier and concentrate on the nature all around you. Reach out with your soul, in the same way that you do when you travel the ley lines. Feel yourself become a part of nature. Once your soul is at one with its surroundings, you can manipulate it. Feel the leaves around you, Jess. They are an extension of your soul; you can move them.’

I did as she said and felt my body extend and grow. My arms became the trees surrounding us, my hair became the leaves blowing gently in the wind. I exhaled and my breath became a gust of wind. I felt the power of the earth rise up and swell beneath my feet, shooting up into my legs and filling me with a burning sense of wonderment.

‘Open your eyes,’ my aunt whispered.

I did and saw the leaves from the ground swirling around me, faster and faster.

‘Calm down, Jess, just try and still them. You’re taking on too much earth power.’

I closed my eyes and breathed once more, imagining the leaves stilling, and opening my eyes once more I looked straight into my surprised aunt’s face. I looked about me. The leaves had indeed stopped whirling, but they were still under my control, not affected by the rules of gravity. Instead they simply hung in mid-air, frozen.

‘Let go Jess, let them go,’ my aunt commanded.

‘How?’ I said. ‘I’m not doing anything.’

I shook my hands as if trying to shake water droplets from my fingers, but not only did they
not
drop gently to the ground as intended, but instead they shot across the clearing and dashed themselves against the trunks of the surrounding trees.

‘I think that’s enough for today,’ my aunt said, her voice quiet.

‘But what did I do wrong?’ I asked.

‘You did nothing wrong, you merely have a lot of power to control… maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.’

‘Of course it is. I need to learn how to control it. You know that!’ I said, my frustration rising.

‘But I have no experience with your kind…’

‘You mean half witch, half vampire? But who does? You are the best person to teach me.’

‘As the firstborn child of the eldest sibling,
you
Jess should be the successor. As High Priestess, the majority of the circle’s power should have stayed with me, making it safe for you to practice here, but it jumped to you as soon as you connected with it. That coupled with your own natural strength is going to make it dangerous for us to continue,’ she said, quickly bending to collect her shoes and moving off towards the hidden entrance.

‘No,’ I said. It wasn’t fair. ‘It’s not my fault I have this power, but it’s your duty to show me what to do with it.’

She paused and looked back at me and I could see wonder flash momentarily in her eyes, but then she turned back and headed across the clearing. But I hadn’t finished yet. I could still feel the circle’s power within my body and I knew exactly how to get her to listen. I would do as Saffy did. I wouldn’t let her leave.

I thrust my arms out ahead of me and with my hands pointing towards the two guardian trees I pulled them together with a snap and smiled as the entrance disappeared. My aunt whirled around to face me.

‘Jess! What are you doing?’ she said, her face both horrified and disappointed.

‘I err… I wanted you to listen to me. I
can
do this. I
do
have control. See…’ I said as I released the trees and let them part for her to pass through once more.

‘Jess, you should never force your will onto somebody like that. You imprisoned me. That is dark magic. I
will
listen to you child, but back at the house and I suggest you begin learning our laws. Come now and release the circle’s power.’

‘Aunt?’ I said, as she left the circle.

‘Yes?’ she called back.

‘Errm, how do I…?’

‘Just mentally tell the circle that you wish to release its power and send it back into the earth.’

I closed my eyes and mentally washed down my body, sending the excess power back through my feet. I felt cleansed, my skin tingling all over and I looked for my aunt, but she’d gone. I sank down onto the mossy earth and lay back, enjoying the feel of the dappled September sunlight on my skin. Where the sunlight broke through the leaves it almost scorched my skin, but not enough to hurt. Instead the heat made me feel human and I closed my eyes and thought about all my aunt had shown me, and everything that she had said.

Before it had all kicked off with Cole in London, Daniel had warned me that the witches may want me to train to be coven leader. There was always that chance, yet I didn’t feel that Aunt Sarah wanted me to take on that role. She seemed more concerned that I would take it from her, and I certainly didn’t want that!

Chapter Eight

I’d been studying magic for the last five days non-stop and had yet to meet anyone else from the coven, or indeed see anyone other than Brittany, my aunt and Luke. Even then I only got to see Luke in the evening, as joining them for mealtimes just felt awkward… them eating, me watching. As the coven’s magic practices were apparently top-secret Luke disappeared in the day, so it was lucky that being a vampire meant I didn’t need too much sleep. Plus Luke was used to staying up through the night, from the times when he kept watch over me through Daniel’s windows; otherwise we wouldn’t have seen each other at all. On the Sunday, he was due to return to Manchester to prepare for his move to York, and I wanted to spend the last day with him, without my aunt quizzing me on the threefold law and making me conjure an endless array of unimportant items.

‘Aunt Sarah? After you told me about the coven’s history yesterday, I thought it would be interesting to go and visit Salem. I’d really like to go and have a day there, take a look around and get a feel for the place. I thought perhaps Luke and Brittany could come with me on a day trip, before Luke goes home?’ I asked, after they had finished breakfast.

Sarah looked up and smiled.

‘What an excellent idea. I think it will do you good to have a day off as well, although we have much to do over the next couple of weeks in preparation for the Equinox. There are also a few supplies you can get me from town whilst you are there.’