The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) (15 page)

Delilah
thumped to the ground and the black figure left the room.
  Laura smothered her mouth with her hand, muffling her screams as she fell
backwards into the wall. Her companions rushed into the hall, Leo moving
quickly to her side. She was breathless, bile rising in her throat at the image
that was before her. One look down the stairs was enough to make even Leo turn
away, pulling Laura with him down the hall.
  ‘There is someone down there. He hasn’t heard us yet but we need to get out,
now.
’
  Laura was vaguely aware of someone shoving her bag onto her back, before
stumbling down the hall. Leo led them into another bedroom, sealing the door
shut just as the sound of footsteps could be heard ascending the stairs.
  ‘Over here,’ he whispered, hands searching the wall for something. He found
it and pressed hard.
  A panel slid sideways in the wall, revealing a dark tunnel and Stella ushered
everyone inside, Leo taking up the rear. He pulled the panel shut after them, and
all was quiet.
  Stella moved to the front, pulling a torch from her bag, and led them down
into the dirty abyss below. Laura’s body shook uncontrollably, and she could
barely concentrate. She was grateful when she felt Caspian’s arm rest around
her shoulders, guiding her through the tunnel.
  ‘Every house in Alast has an escape route like this. Unless you know
exactly
where to press, it could take days to find.’
  Laura knew he was trying to reassure her of their safety. However, it wasn’t
helping. Not after what she had witnessed. She was rattled to the core, and
still felt sick. Death. She had seen too much for such a young age, and all in
such a short amount of time.
  Soon, the tunnel opened into a large room, with twenty odd similar tunnels
leading out of it. In the torchlight, Laura could see a mound of supplies in
the centre. Water, ration packs, rugs and batteries for their torches, were all
among the pile.
  ‘We shouldn’t stop,’ Leo said firmly as they rushed to the supplies. ‘Grab
what you need, then keep moving.’
  They filled their arms with bottles of water and food before Leo led them down
another tunnel. It wasn’t until half an hour later that they finally reached
the end. Leo pressed his hand into the dirt wall and the wooden panel before
them opened up to reveal daylight and bush. They left the stale darkness of the
tunnel and Laura inhaled deep breaths of fresh air, feeling calmer now. Leo
pushed the door back into its place, watching the grass knit back together.
  Now that they were safe, Stella drew Laura into a hug.
‘Oh you poor girl,’ she whispered, and Laura could feel Stella shaking in her
arms. Remembering that Delilah was Stella’s close friend, she tightened her hug.
  ‘I’ll be okay,’ Laura insisted, ‘Delilah was hiding us to protect us from
that man. I assume he was one of the Wicked.’
  ‘She was always the type to put everyone before herself.’ Stella released
Laura to wipe the tears from her face.
  ‘What do we do now?’ Gemma was looking at Leo expectantly.
  Leo regarded each of their worried faces, before resting his eyes on his
wife’s. ‘We find out what it is they want. Then we find it first. We use that
as a bargaining chip to get Laura’s mother back peacefully.’
  ‘What about their plan for Laura?’ Drew asked.
  ‘We won’t let them get her, simple as that.’ Leo replied, once again observing
the teenager’s standing before him, ‘I know you are all young, but you are warriors
now. You’ve been training your whole life for this. Now, its time to fight. Are
you sure you’re prepared to do that?’
  Not one Witch or Wizard stepped down. In fact, a new sense of determination
settled upon them as they straightened at his words. In that moment, Laura knew
that she could never leave the Spirit World. Not after all they were willing to
risk to help her. Enchanted were dying for her. And so she, too, would stand
tall and be brave. Like her father told her, she would stay strong.
Proudness shone in Leo’s features, ‘let’s do this.’

The hilt of
Laura’s sword peeked out from her bag, and she pulled it free, securing it to
her hip as her companions had. She felt safer, having it there.
  They made their way back to the city, and Laura noticed the Enchanted wore
their weapons proudly. Cross-bows strapped to backs, swords hanging from belts,
daggers secure in boots and leg holders, throwing stars sewn into jacket pockets,
and even guns slung casually in holsters, despite the rarity of bullets.
  They passed inconspicuously through the streets, Laura peering into every
store. Nearly every third shop was some form of weapons depot, a number of
buildings had wooden signs issuing different fight classes, and looming up on their
left, across from the fountain, was an enormous three story brick building with
‘Training Centre’ plastered across the wall. As they approached the cities
centre, bakeries, supermarkets, hardware stores, and even a gift shop, came
into view.
  ‘I want to ask about Delilah,’ Stella whispered to her husband, then hurried
off. Leo led the rest of the group into a small hotel down an alleyway.
  ‘You have half an hour to freshen up, put your things in your rooms and get something
to eat before we meet Stella,’ Leo told them as he passed out the keys, ‘I want
everyone to stay close, and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.’
  Laura rushed to the showers, wanting to wash the mornings sickening events
from her body. She scrubbed her skin raw while she tried to force Delilah’s
decapitated body from her thoughts. She felt better once she had dressed in her
battle gear, weapons secured to her body.
  The Enchanted wore this uniform on a daily basis, and she wanted to fit in.
But it wasn’t just that. The feeling she received as she buckled her vest into
place and secured her sword onto her hip was unlike anything she had ever felt
before. At first, she couldn’t pinpoint it, but as she passed the mirror,
glancing at her reflection, she paused, and suddenly knew what it was. For the
first time in her life she felt truly brave. The black brought out the colour
in her skin, and her wildly messy hair cascaded down her back, framing her face
and bringing out the gold in her eyes. She looked older, somehow. She looked
fierce. And as the horrible events of the past week flew through her mind on a
continuous loop, she knew that she was ready to fight. Fight for her mother.
Her father. The Flyer whose name she didn’t even know, and Delilah. Everyone
who had died at the hand of a Wicked would finally receive their peace, and she
was going to take part in bringing them that closure. She felt like a warrior.
No. She
was
a warrior.
  Laura made her way out onto the street, and noticed a boy with his back to
her, dressed head to toe in his own battle gear.
  Drew turned, and Laura held back a gasp. The black blended with his hair, but
his emerald eyes shone as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. She
watched as his eyes rake over her own battle gear, coming to rest on her face.
  ‘You scrub up nice, Ace.’ He said
  ‘You don’t look so bad yourself, Jack.’
  ‘Jack?’
  She shrugged, ‘you call me by a card, so I shall do the same for you.’
  He let out a laugh, and Laura couldn’t help but smile. His laugh was nice.
  ‘I would have preferred King, but Jack will do. Hungry?’
  ‘Sure,’ she nodded and they crossed the road, entering the bakery. Drew paid
the owner for two bread rolls and they sat out on the curb, nibbling at them.
  ‘How are you? After… this morning,’ Drew asked gently.
  ‘I still feel sick. I’ll never be able to get that image out of my head. But
I will be all right,’ she answered, keeping her eyes on the ground.
  ‘It will get easier. Dealing with these things.’
  Laura looked at him, ‘you mean I will see more things like that? More
murders?’
  ‘It’s a part of the job, as horrific as it is.’
  She didn’t reply. Killing was one thing, but watching innocent people being
murdered
while she watched helplessly was another. That was why she was going to
fight back, she had to learn not to be so helpless. But did that mean she would
have to kill, too? Good or bad, she didn’t know if she could live with blood on
her hands.
  Laura and Drew finished their rolls in a comfortable silence, and Laura’s
eyes began to wander. Enchanted mingled along the cobblestone path, some
rushing past, others causally chatting. As she peered further down the road,
she caught sight of a head of chocolate hair pushing through the crowd.
  She sucked in her breath, ‘mum?’
  Her jeans were torn and stained with blood. Her shirt hung loose on her body.
Her hair was a tangled mess. But it was Cara.
  No one seemed to cast her, nor the hulky figure pushing her along from
behind, a second glance. He was dressed in the Enchanted Guards uniform, Laura
realised. To any of them, he was just doing his job. How had he got a hold of
that uniform?
  It took every ounce of Laura’s being to hold herself back from charging through
the crowd and collapsing into her mother’s arms. Without realising, she reached
out and took a firm grip of Drew’s arm as she forced herself to remove her gaze
from them and turn away. Once they had passed, Laura and Drew rose from the
ground.
  ‘What are you going to do?’
  ‘Follow her,’ Laura said plunging into the crowd.

Stella
walked calmly towards the receptionist of the Force’s station, ‘hi there, I’m
here for Delilah Fitzpatrick? I’m a close friend of hers and I heard she passed
away this morning.’
  ‘Of course miss, we are very sorry for your loss. Delilah Fitzpatrick was
found in her house early this morning after her neighbours heard screams coming
from her home. The Forces are looking into the murder, but unfortunately we
can’t reveal anything else until all witnesses have been interviewed. I’m sorry
I couldn’t give you more information.’
  Stella could feel the tears burning in the back of her throat, clouding her
vision. Her childhood best friend was gone. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend
it.
  She was overwhelmed by the grief that was consuming her as she stumbled from
the office and into the trees. Her knees buckled and she buried her face in her
jacket as she sobbed. She had lost people before, but never someone so close,
and suddenly the realisation of what her students were
really
going
through dawned on her.
  She had been in the house when her closest friend had died. She had been
there, yet she hadn’t even known that as she slept, Delilah was lying to keep
her safe. The guilt over her inability to save her best friend set in as her
shoulders heaved. Her throat was dry by the time she managed to calm herself
down enough to raise her head. She knew now that whatever was happening around
them was much bigger than they initially assumed. It was not just a kidnapping.
It was something else entirely. And she would end those behind it.

Drew trailed
after Laura, his hand hovering over his sword as he cast his eyes around,
searching for other Wicked. They followed Cara to a tiny cottage at the edge of
the city and crouched in the bushes, watching as the Wicked threw her through
the door, slamming her into the wall. Laura flinched and Drew rested his hand
on her knee, hoping to reassure her.
  ‘We will get her back,’ Drew whispered as the door slammed shut.
  Her eyes settled on his face and she inhaled, ‘okay, how do we do that?’
  Drew led Laura around to the back of the house. They ducked down low and
crossed the yard, taking cover under the kitchen window. They peeked over the
sill, and Drew felt Laura shudder as they watched Cara wipe blood from her
face. She dipped back below the window, and Drew heard her suck in a number of
deep breaths.
  The only door was guarded, and Cara’s escort had her pinned to the chair by
her shoulders as another Wicked bound her wrists and legs. She didn’t struggle.
Then he turned his eyes to the Wizard leaning against the sink, grinning at
Cara. Drew ducked below the windowsill, shock vibrating through his body.
  ‘What?’ Laura breathed.
  ‘James.’ He stuttered, taking a moment to steady himself enough to form a
coherent sentence. ‘That was James, the guy who once trained at the manor. Oh
god. My god. Damn it! He was probably the one who told the Wicked where you
lived. He was there when Cara came to the manor. Damn, how could we be so
stupid? We can’t trust anyone!’
  Laura stared at him for a moment, ‘okay, all right, calm down. There is
nothing we can do about it at the moment. Let’s just listen.’
  They peered up over the sill again, listening closely.
  ‘Feel anything, Cara dear?’ James asked, his silvery eyes narrowing in on
her. He crossed his bony arms over his chest, his dirty chestnut hair falling
into his eyes.
  ‘I told you, I can’t locate it,’ she growled against her restraints.
  ‘Oh Cara, Cara, Cara,’ James tsked and shook his head in disappointment, ‘you
have an abundance of Black Magic within you, yet you can’t trace one simple
little soul.’
  ‘This soul is far from little,’ Cara spat, ‘I only paid for the Charms I would
need to protect my daughter.’
  ‘Ah, yes, dear little Laura,’ Drew tensed as her name left James’ lips,
‘sweet girl isn’t she? I wonder what she thinks of her mother now that she
knows the truth.’
  Cara glared at him, fire in her eyes, ‘my daughter has nothing to do with
this.’
  ‘Oh but she does, sweet Cara. He wants her. He needs her strength, her power,
to complete his plan. Without her, his army will never rise.’
  Who was he?
  ‘Now, Marco here will accompany you back out. When you return, you better know
where it is or your night will not be pleasant.’
  Cara’s escort, Marco, stepped forward, untying her and forced her to her
feet. Cara broke free of his grip and lunged at James, gripping him by his
shirt, ‘James, if you dare lay one hand on my daughter I’ll-‘
  ‘You’ll what?’ he spat and Marco grabbed her by the collar, pulling her from
James.
  ‘I’ll kill you,’ she hissed through her bared teeth.
  Marco dragged her through the door.
  ‘Come on, we have to go,’ Drew whispered and took her arm, tugging her across
the yard and through the streets.