The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) (13 page)

For the next
hour and a half all thoughts of the quest were forgotten, leaving only concern
for Grace. Stella had been re-applying the salve every ten minutes with Logan’s
assistance and Caspian explained that Enchanted Healers found Holy Water and
Heavens Earth, when combined, cure Goblin wounds, however it must be reapplied often
to ensure the burn doesn’t dry it up.
  Grace was still unconscious, but she had stirred numerous times in the last ten
minutes. Gemma had slipped through the door at some stage, joining Drew by
Grace’s side.
  As Grace began to heal, Laura, Leo and Caspian moved to sit around the coffee
table, watching over the Map, trying to decide what they should do while they
waited for Grace to wake up.
  ‘It seems they have stopped in the middle of the ocean, but I’m sure they
won’t stay for long. We need to contact the Flyers. Maybe if they can track
them to their exact location and see how they are moving so fast, we can catch
up with them before they get any further,’ Leo said.
  ‘Flyers? Like Enchanted who can fly?’ Laura asked with wonder.
  ‘Yes, they are the only exceptions to the rule of the Charms, receiving the Charm
of Flight from the Gods upon their ceremony, unleashing the power to travel at
great speeds across the sky,’ Leo clarified.
  Nothing seemed to surprise Laura anymore. After the things she saw earlier
that day, she no longer doubted the Spirit Worlds existence.
  ‘I’ll have to take this to a Flyer not far from here. Those of you who would
like to come, you are welcome to join me,’ Leo said, rolling up the map and shrugging
on his jacket.
  Gemma and Drew didn’t budge, mumbling that they wanted to stay. Stella said
she should also, so she could keep treating Grace’s burn. Laura wanted to stay too,
but she knew Grace was in good hands and she promised herself that she would
come see her the second they got back.
  ‘I’ll come,’ she said, pulling on her own jumper.
  Caspian strapped his dagger to his belt, ‘me too.’
  ‘Logan?’ Leo asked, glancing at the boy.
  Laura could see the indecisiveness in his face, but one glance at Grace had
him shaking his head.
  ‘Okay, let’s get going. We won’t be long Stell.’
  ‘Be careful you three,’ she said sternly, as if it were an order rather than
a plea.
  Leo secured a dagger under his pant leg, giving Laura the idea that having
her own knife in her possession might ease her mind. She was quick to retrieve
it from her room, adding her Fathers Pocket Knife to her boot as an
afterthought. She met Leo and Caspian out the front of the Hotel, and as they
boarded the taxi, she wondering just how much money they had, in fact, spent on
taxi fares.
  ‘What are you thinking about?’
  She jumped, glancing sideways at Caspian, and gave a short laugh, ‘you scared
me!’
  ‘You must be pretty deep in thought then,’ he mused, curious.
  ‘Trust me, I wasn’t thinking about anything interesting.’
  He raised an eyebrow.
  She spoke quietly, ‘I guess I can’t help but wonder what to do after this.
Once I get my mother back. How do I just go back to normal?’
  Something flashed across his face, ‘do
you
want to leave the Enchanted?’
he asked softly.
  The question rolled over in her mind. Did she want to be a part of the Spirit
World? Or would it be better for her to go home once this was all over? Forget
it all. Only how in the world could even begin to forget it? The things she had
seen and learnt, the people she had met. The friends she was beginning to make.
It was growing on her.
  She knew the answer, ‘I don’t think I ever could after this. I don’t think I
would want to either.’
  A dimpled smile spread across his face, ‘once you enter this world, it
is
hard to forget it.’

Drew’s head
was in his hands, his shoulders tense. The others had left to retrieve more ice
for Grace and food to keep them going, but he wasn’t hungry. He couldn’t eat
even if he was.
  He couldn’t keep doing this.
She could have died. Died. And the last
memory she would have of me is of the way I’ve treated her.
 
Was avenging his parents and cousin’s deaths really worth pushing away
the little family he had left?
No.
 
Yet if Grace knew of his plans, her rationality may just convince him not
to go. And he needed to. He had do. If not for his family, but to protect any
future victims. But Grace loved him. And he loved his sister. Perhaps she would
understand. Maybe she would feel the same way.
  But then again, he couldn’t risk endangering her by allowing her to come
along. No matter how fiercely she swore that she could take care of herself,
and Drew knew she could hold her own, she was still his sister, and he still
had to protect her.
  He loosed an unneeded breath, letting his shoulders fall as he did so.
  What should I do?
  ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered.
  Grace let loose a moan.
  He lifted his head, ‘Grace?’
  Her eyes fluttered open, resting on his face.
  ‘Hey little brother,’ she croaked.
  A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and he took her good hand in
his, ‘only by a minute.’
  She smiled back at him.
  ‘How are you feeling?’ He asked, moving to sit by her on the bed.
  ‘Terrible. But I’ll be fine.’ She said, resting her head on his shoulder.
  ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were injured?’
  Grace’s voice was weak, ‘we couldn’t lose any time. Laura’s mum is within our
reach.’
  Drew sighed, ‘you were lucky Grace. This could have been so much worse. It
almost was.’
  She didn’t respond.
  ‘Grace, if I lost you, I-‘
  ‘Hey, its okay. I’m okay.’ She squeezed his hand.
  ‘I’m sorry. For being so closed off. I can’t lie to you Grace, but-’ he cut
himself off. Should he tell her?
  Grace lifted her head, ‘what are you talking about?’
  ‘I’ll be better. I promise Grace. Its just that I have things I need to do.
Things I can’t tell you about yet.’
  He could feel the unasked questions between them.
  After a moment, Grace rested her head back on his shoulder, ‘I trust you,
little brother.’
  The smile returned to his face, ‘only by a minute.’

Leo asked
the taxi driver to return for them in an hour or so before leading Laura and
Caspian to the old brick factory they had been dropped off at.
  ‘Well, this looks like every horror movie destination come to life.’ Laura
whispered to Caspian as they trailed behind Leo.
  ‘I’m glad I don’t watch movies.’ Caspian returned.
  ‘What?!’
  He laughed.
  ‘You’re missing out.’
  Leo lifted the roller door high enough for the three of them to squeeze under
and took off into the dark musky factory.
  Enormous old press machines and stacks of newspapers scattered throughout the
room suggested to Laura that this was an old printing factory.
  ‘Over here,’ Leo’s called, his voice echoing around them, and they finally
spotted him standing before a closed door.
  They loomed up behind him, watching anxiously as he knocked twice, paused
dramatically, then knocked three rapid knocks. There was a sound of feet
slapping against pavement from the other side and someone unbolted a lock
before the door screeched open a fraction. A long nose peeked out, and an
ice-blue eye peered through the gap, studying them.
  ‘Who goes there?’ boomed a deep, raspy voice.
  Leo stepped into view, allowing the Flyer to analyse his appearance, ‘I’m Leo
Mayfire, of the Enchanted, and this is Caspian Falcon and Laura Harmer,
Enchanted students of the Corin Grand Manor.’
  ‘And what is it you want?’ The voice demanded.
  ‘We wish to ask for a favour. We need help in tracking down a friends’ exact
location, and they are moving very fast. We fear for their safety and wish to
catch up with them as soon as possible, so if there was any way you could find
a place we could intercept them, it would be much appreciated. We have a
Markers Map.’
  The fuzzy eyebrow arched, and then the Wizard slammed the door shut. For a
moment, Laura assumed that the answer was no, but she heard the clink of the
chain as it was removed, and the door re-opened wide enough for them to enter.
  ‘Hurry,’ the man’s gruff voice said, looking both ways as they quickly passed
through the door before slamming it shut again.
  Laura studied the man’s leathery skin, caterpillar eyebrows, bushy red beard
and bald head, noticing that he was at least half a meter shorter than Leo.
  ‘Where is the map?’ He grumbled, waddling over to the table and jumping up
into a seat. He didn’t bother with formalities.
  Leo spread it out on the table, asking to see Cara as he went. The green
flicker appeared, nudging its way across the map once more.
  ‘She is moving at incredible speeds and we need to know where she is going,
or at least how she is moving so fast, so we can formulate a plan to catch up
with her. Following them using Human transport isn’t going to work. We need Enchanted
Flyers to trail them.’
  ‘Very well, have you got any form of payment in mind?’ He asked.
  ‘I have learnt that Flyers appreciate gold in payment.’
  The Flyer extended his hand, ‘you have a deal then. I shall have the job done
within the hour.’
  Leo shook The Flyers hand and reached into his pocket, pulling out a lump of
gold and dropping it onto the table.
  ‘Where did he get that?’ Laura whispered.
  Caspian shrugged. ‘Who knows, Leo has his ways.’
  ‘Let me gear up,’ the Flyer said, shuffling towards a door. He disappeared
behind it, and minutes later returned wearing a protective steal helmet, a
woollen coat over his old ragged clothes and steal capped boots.
  He gave them a salute, then hurried from the room without a word.
  ‘What now?’ Laura wondered aloud.
  Leo sat, ‘now, we wait.’

Drew finally
agreed to leave Grace’s side to seek out food, forcing Logan to vow not to
leave her while he was gone. He didn’t really require forcing, he sought some
time alone with Grace.
  ‘I suppose you’re going to tell me how stupid I was for hiding my injury
too.’ Grace said as he settled in the chair by her bed.
  ‘Well, yes. But it was very courageous of you, too.’
  Grace’s eyes brightened with a smile, and Logan was at a loss for words.
  He moved his chair closer, ‘you scared me, Grace.’
  She met his gaze, ‘I did?’
  ‘I thought you were going to die. And it would have been my fault.’
  ‘What?!’ She exclaimed. ‘How could this be your fault?’
  Logan’s head fell to his hands, ‘because I didn’t get between you and the
Goblin in time! I’m meant to protect you, and I failed. And I knew, deep down I
knew, that something wasn’t right. But I ignored my gut, believing you fine,
when you clearly were in pain. I’m meant to notice things like this!’
  ‘Hey,’ she whispered, reaching out and taking Logan’s hands in hers, forcing
him to meet her sparkling emerald gaze. ‘I don’t blame you. It
was
my
own fault, for believing I could just ignore the injury. Logan, you shouldn’t
feel obliged to protect me, as gallant as that is. I don’t want you placing
that pressure on yourself.’
  Logan’s eyebrows rose, ‘obliged? Grace, I
want
to protect you! I
want
to be there for you! I… I care about you Grace.’
  Grace’s eyes widened, and her voice was barely above a whisper as she said,
‘you do?’
  He laughed lightly, gripping her hands tighter, ‘yes, of course I do.’
  The dazzling smile Logan loved so dearly returned as she spoke, ‘I care for
you, too.’
  Logan’s heart beat faster, and he was sure that if he could breathe, he would
be breathless right now. He had dreamed of hearing those words. It was only
now, after facing the prospect of losing her, that he finally felt brave enough
to communicate with her the truth. But for her to return his feelings, left him
happier than he realised it would.
  He entwined his fingers with hers. ‘Well, after this is all over, I’ll have
to take you out properly.’
  She grinned, ‘I would like that.’

‘Are you okay?’
Leo asked gently.
  Laura was wringing her hands in her lap.
  ‘Oh, yeah fine,’ she let out an agitated sigh, ‘just feeling nervous. For
Grace. And, well, this could be it. He could give us their next location, we
will intercept them, get mum back, and it will be all over. But in the same
instance, he could come back with no help at all and we will be left wondering
what to do next yet again.’
  ‘If the latter were to happen, I can guarantee we would not stop until we found
her. We promised you.’ Leo reassured her.
  ‘What am I meant to do after this though? Where will I go?’ Laura questioned,
‘surely my mother wouldn’t be allowed back into the Spirit World, and I can’t
leave her to fend for herself.’
  ‘I’m sure we could organise something with the Courts, perhaps allow her to
stay at the manor, if you are interested in joining the Enchanted. But let’s
focus on finding her. Right now that’s all that matters.’
  Caspian stiffened. Swiftly, he drew his dagger and jumped down from the table,
‘I think someone is here,’ he whispered, watching as the door crept open. Slowly,
a face appeared in the crack. Leo straightened, drawing his own dagger.
  The Flyer fell through the doorway, grunting as he landed with a thud on his
knees. Leo dropped the dagger and the Flyer’s eyes shot to his. That was when
Laura noticed the blood smeared across his face and down his chest.
  Leo was at the Flyers side in an instant. ‘Caspian, help me.’
  The two of them lifted him from the floor, slinging one bloodied hand over each
of their shoulders and carrying him to his bedroom. Laura followed, frantic
with anxiety. They laid him down, Caspian rushing back to the kitchen to
collect water and towels.
  ‘Where are you hurt?’ Leo asked, pulling the woollen coat from the Flyers
body.
  ‘The…side...arrow…’ the Flyer grunted between hiccups of pain.
  His body shook and Laura was frozen in place, unable to do anything but watch.
She had no idea what to do. She had failed to save her father. She couldn’t go
through the same thing again. She couldn’t do it.
I will fail.
  Her own body was trembling as she stared at the broken arrow protruding from
the Wizards side, thick, crimson red blood flowing from it. The Flyer explained
through gasps of pain that he had cut the arrow down so not to move or nudge it
during his flight back, and Laura flinched at the thought.
  Caspian returned, passing Leo a towel, which he took and immediately began
applying pressure to the wound, around the arrows end.
  Caspian found the Flyers phone and dialled a number. ‘Hi, yes we have an injured
Enchanted Flyer with us, we need a healer right away,’ he paused for a moment
before nodding and relaying the address of the factory. ‘They will be here in
less than 10.’ He said after hanging up.
  Laura could feel the colour draining from her face as memories of her father
lying limp in her arms surfaced. His face as he took his last breath. The
blood. So much blood.
  Then, Laura snapped into action. She couldn’t save her father, but she
could
help this man.
  She took a towel, soaked it in the cold water and began cleaning the blood
from the Flyers face. Her eyes flickered to the wound. The flow of blood wasn’t
slowing, despite Leo’s attempts. She turned her attention back to the Flyers
face and continued to dab away the blood. He opened his eyes, and they glazed
over as he peered up at her.
  ‘You...’ he whispered, ‘she…looked…you…’
  Laura knelt down, ‘looked like me?’
  He struggled to nod.
  ‘My mother. You saw my mother?’ she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and
her face composed.
  ‘She…fought…but…they…took…through…portal.’
  Leo’s head snapped around, ‘portal? That’s impossible, only Gods and Devils can
create portals.’
  Laura locked eyes with Leo, and she knew in an instant what he was thinking.
The situation was worse than they thought.
  If the kidnappers had fifteen people who were all willing to summon a Devil…
‘who knows what they are capable of,’ she whispered.
  ‘So they are traveling by portal. Do you have any idea where they are
heading?’
  The Flyer was growing weaker. ‘All…know…is…Alast…’
  ‘So that’s where we should head next to intercept them?’ Leo asked,
reapplying pressure to the wound.
  The Flyer nodded, ‘hurry…’
  At that moment, three Enchanted burst through the door holding bags of
equipment.
  ‘What’s the situation?’ Someone – the Healer Laura assumed – asked Leo.
  ‘He was shot with an arrow – Gold tipped. I can’t stop the bleeding.’
  The healer nodded, ‘all right we will take it from here.’
  Leo stepped aside, his eyes trained on the Healers hands, fast at work.
  ‘Go… you… must… hurry… Wicked… are… getting… stronger… must… stop-‘ the Flyer
choked and blood dribbled from his lips. A wide eyed look of desperation was
sent Leo’s way, and he was almost shouting now, ‘go!.. GO!..’
  Leo reached his hand out for Laura, pulling her from the Wizard, ‘thankyou,’
she whispered to him as she allowed Leo and Caspian to guide her outside.
  She hoped he heard her.
  The taxi was already waiting. ‘Back to the hotel please,’ Leo ordered as they
jumped inside.
  The driver didn’t give the blood on Leo’s shirt or the ambulance a second glance
as he put the key into the ignition and turned it. He was oblivious to what was
really happening.
  Laura watched the factory disappear behind her as uncontrollable nerves flit
through her stomach. Would the Flyer survive? She sent a silent prayer to the
Gods.
  ‘Are you okay?’ Caspian asked.
  She turned to him, ‘I’m worried,’ she whispered, ‘I think the Wicked may be
more powerful then everyone assumes they are.’
  The look on his face was grim and she turned away.
  ‘I’m afraid Caspian. What if they come for me…and I can’t get away,’ her
voice was barely above a whisper.
  Caspian moved closer, forcing her to look straight at him, ‘Laura,’ he said,
‘we won’t let them take you. We will protect you with our lives.’