Unruly Magic (26 page)

“And it’s amazing that she’s lasted that long. A lesser witch would have been destroyed by now.” Étoile didn’t sound overly optimistic and I wanted to ask more when David got to his feet and, after helping Seren up in a gentlemanly gesture, took the few steps towards us.

“We’re ready,” he said, looking over his shoulder at the almost conjoined circles. “Here’s what we need to do.”

We stood in a circle like hyperactive teens who couldn’t face sitting down while David explained what he wanted from us.

Bringing Chyler here was, apparently, the simple part. This time we weren’t going to practise a summoning spell. Instead, Étoile and Seren were to send Evan a message using their telepathy while the rest of us would wait in our assigned stations around the perimeter of the circles. While the potion David and Seren had daubed in the circles would ultimately act as a catalyst for his spells, we would link together, simply by holding hands, so he could draw on our collective power to fuel the spell that would separate the spirit from Chyler and then hold them both within the circles. It felt like we were a bit like the United Nations of Witches with our motley meld of spell casting and blood magic working in harmony. I hoped it would work.

When I moved to take my place, David motioned to me with a nod of his head to follow him. It was then that he explained the most dangerous part of his plan, the part meant just for me, the part no one else could know about, her murmured as I absorbed the enormity, the danger, of what he was asking me to do. I wanted to tell him he was crazy, out of his mind crazy.

“It’s the only way,” he said in his low voice and I could see how worried he was. “You don’t know it yet, but you’re going to be more powerful than any of us. We can all see it, Étoile, Seren and I, and that makes you important here. If I could ask any of the others, I would.”

“I understand,” I said, trying not to let my fear show. “I’ll do it.”

From my position I could see that outside long shadows were being cast from the house over the lawn and that the full moon hung low and heavy in the sky. I hoped fervently that Annalise and Gage had stayed away from home tonight. It was bad enough that my house was serving as the venue for all this, but I didn’t want them stumbling across something they shouldn’t. Certainly something I couldn’t explain.

I didn’t know if it was even okay to talk about what I was, never mind acknowledge that someone else knew what we were. Gage had said that they each recognised each other for what they were but Étoile hadn’t given me the wolves and the witches talk yet. There simply hadn’t been time, and, as far as I knew, my friends still didn’t know what I had discovered virtually on my own doorstep, all on my own.

I barely noticed the rustle of movement outside as I turned my back on the window and took my position. I concentrated on the circles. The six of us – Étoile, Seren, David, Chyler’s two aunts Victoria and Hayley, and me – formed an odd perimeter around the conjoined cages. Étoile and Seren were next to each other, to my left, and they linked hands first, their silence telling me that they were sending their message to Evan. With a nod from the both of them we all quickly linked hands. It was with a sudden rush of air that I realised Evan had shimmered into my home seconds later, depositing Chyler in a heap in the circle closest to me, before hurtling forward at such a pace that he didn’t stop until he crashed into the living room wall. I realised David must have left some kind of get out clause for Evan so he wouldn’t be caught too, or maybe the magic was just aimed at witches. I couldn’t be sure.

While I couldn’t follow the chant that David was giving in his low baritone, each word said forcefully and clearly, I could complete the circuit so the magic could flow through me and channel into the spell casting. The wards were so strong that, to me, the air seemed to vibrate in columns the longer David spoke. It was like looking ahead on a hot day and seeing the heat wave in the air. Here, all I got was a cold chill.

“We can break the circle,” said David at last and I blinked. Chyler had stumbled to her feet and was turning around and around in her circle, bouncing off the invisible walls. Eventually she ceased spinning and dawdled to a stop, staring at each of us in turn, her face anything but happy. She looked tired and drawn, like she had a severe case of anaemia, and her unfocused eyes had the glossy patina of someone not quite there.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hissed, picking us each out in turn.

“To whom are we speaking?” asked Étoile.

Chyler smirked. “Chyler Anderson, of course.”

“Oh, we know that’s not the truth.” Étoile’s voice was soft but strong. She leaned in and whispered, taunting, “You’re clearly not a very clever witch.”

“Not a clever witch? I’ve been a witch for years. My family was revered.” Chyler turned again, assessing her surroundings as if she was just joining us for afternoon tea and wasn’t too pleased at the spread. “My family would have ruled the council if it weren’t for yours,” she said, stopping turning so she could focus on Étoile.

“So you’re a Lawley?” Étoile’s eyebrow arched as recognition struck her. I watched Hayley and Victoria exchange glances. They obviously recognised the name even if I didn’t. I leaned in to Seren, “Fill me in?” I asked in a whisper.

“The Lawleys were an old and powerful family but they had a habit of dying out early. Spells gone wrong, illnesses, that sort of thing, not to mention that there was a long running feud with our family that didn’t work out so well for anyone. Dina Lawley died twenty years ago when she performed a spell that backfired.”

“It didn’t backfire,” snapped Chyler. “I was murdered. And now I’m back.”

“So you
are
Dina Lawley.” Étoile pursed her lips like she had just said something quite unpleasant. “How on earth did you get into Chyler’s body?”

Chyler smirked. Or rather, Dina smirked with Chyler’s face. “Like I’m going to tell you that.”

Étoile put her forefinger to her lips. “Let me guess,” she murmured. “Chyler’s dabbling in dark magic somehow brought you back into the world and you’re just hanging on by the barest of threads.”

“Something like that.” Dina shrugged. “But let’s not dwell on it. Chyler let me in and I want to stay.”

“You can’t stay in Chyler’s body,” hissed Hayley, stepping forward.

“I remember your family.” Dina looked at Hayley with scant regard. “Never liked you. You were always kinda whiny. Now Chyler, she’s fun. She always wants to try out fun stuff.”

“She would never have wanted this,” Hayley protested. “She’s only a kid. She didn’t know what she was doing.”

“Who cares?” came Dina’s answer from Chyler’s pouting lips.

“Regardless of all that, you won’t be squatting in Chyler’s body any more. Actually, you should probably say goodbye now,” interrupted Étoile.

Dina’s eyes widened in surprise then she rolled her eyes. “That is not going to happen. I need this body.”

Thanks to David’s plan it was time for me to step in. Our plan wasn’t great but it was a one shot wonder that stood a slim chance of working. If it didn’t Dina would stay in Chyler’s body, clinging on with all that she had, while Chyler continued to reject her. Eventually that fight would weaken Chyler and they would die. Even if Dina did succeed she wouldn’t be allowed to live as a parasite. Either way, Dina would return into the ether or the afterlife, but wherever it was that she went, she would be right back to square one. No closer to life than she had been since her death. The only compromise was to offer her something that she wanted more.

“You can have my body,” I said and took a moment to enjoy the surprise etched across her young, borrowed, face. “I’m stronger than Chyler and I won’t fight,” I added, tempting her further.

“I know you. You’re Stella Mayweather. I knew your father. He was at school with me,” said Dina. “I heard you had been found.”

“Oh, really?” How, I wondered, was she getting news updates when she technically didn’t exist. I couldn’t be distracted now. I held firm, saying, “The offer’s there. Make your choice.”

Dina shook Chyler’s head. “It’s a trap.”

“There’s no trap. It’s an offer. A take it or leave it offer,” I emphasised, David nodding in support. I hoped to hell his plan worked as Étoile and Seren looked at me in concern, Étoile just barely shaking her head.

Dina looked around at us, trying to fathom what the trap might be, but all she got were hopeful expressions from Chyler’s aunts who had no interest in me anyway, and a lot in their niece’s safety, and stone cold expressions from my friends. But the clincher for her was the fear that I could see, over her shoulder, in Evan’s brown eyes.

“No, Stella.” He shook his head desperately. “You can’t sacrifice yourself.”

“I can.” I stiffened my jaw and refused to look at him.

“How’re you going to do it?” Dina asked, peering at me.

“You know I can teleport?”

“Right, that thing you do. It’s in Chyler’s head.”

Ick. I tried not to think about them sharing brain space. “Well, I can shimmer my consciousness out of my body. When I’m out, you’re in. Simple.” I tried to not look at Evan. I fixed on Chyler and kept my gaze even.

“Nothing’s ever that simple.”

“This is.”

Étoile stepped in before I could start to shake with the effort of being brave. “You’ve got twenty seconds to agree or turn us down,” she said.

“And what if I don’t?”

“We’ll kill Chyler.”

Chyler’s aunts started and Étoile had to shout above them to be heard. “Don’t think that I won’t.” She checked her watch and looked at Dina expectantly, mouthing, “Tick tock.”

I watched Dina weigh up her options. She had twenty seconds to decide whether to stay in a body that was about to die, and she couldn’t risk disbelieving because if she was wrong she would lose her one real shot at a second life. Or she could try and take my body, even though we could be lying about that too. Only one of those options gave her a slim chance of life.

She took it. “I’ll do it.”

“Stella, take your place in the other circle. When I give you the go ahead, shimmer out. Dina, that’s when you leave Chyler’s body. This is a one chance only offer. Understood?” said David, stepping forward.

“Fine,” said Dina, her eyes fixed on me.

I stepped into the empty circle and faced the innocent exterior of my enemy. A thousand things were going through my mind and most of them were on the not okay end of the emotional spectrum. But most of all there was fear, and somewhere in the middle of that, hope.

“Stella, it’s time to go,” said David with a solemn nod, adding sadly, “Thanks for doing this.”

I nodded and braced myself, summoning everything there was in me and the electric feeling crawled all over my skin. I visualised and just as the room grew hazy, I blinked and the shouting started.

Thirteen

Seconds can feel like a lifetime when your life is hanging in the balance. In the moment that I left my living room, I felt my essence as it was caught and dragged in the slipstream of something amazing and terrifying that lit everything around me in flames of gold and red. Just as quickly as it came, just as I felt the heat lick at my skin, it was gone and I was blinking, trying to adjust my vision to the low-lit room. I was on my side, on the floor, the cool wood pressed against my cheek but I was in my own damn body. Well, hallelujah! I shuffled awkwardly until I was sat up, heat still prickling my skin. With a strange sense of déjà vu, I suddenly realised that this had been exactly what I’d envisioned when we were sat in the restaurant when I’d had my first vision. Evan had saved me, saved me from Dina Lawley, and it was an experience as frightening as it was a relief.

I was surrounded by chaos. In front of me, I could see a new thick chalk line drawn between the circles, splitting them. Seren sat panting on the floor, strands of hair flying out from her ponytail and settling around her face. Chyler’s aunts were knelt to her left, on the floor next to the circle in which Chyler had slumped in a heap again. The thick prison of magic undulated around both circles now, but stronger in the one that appeared empty. I shifted to my knees so I could lean in closer for a better look. Just as I started to topple forwards a strong pair of hands landed on my shoulders and stopped me face-planting on the floor.

The apparently empty circle was anything but on closer inspection the air seemed thicker. Something buzzed inside and it was angry. Very, very angry.

“That was a stupid thing to do,” Evan whispered in my ear, his voice hard, as he held on to me, his strong arms like a vice around my torso.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me die,” I whispered back, dragging my eyes from the scene so I could look at him. My skin felt scorched from the heat that accompanied the way he teleported. A vague part of me hoped for a tan as compensation.

“You should have told me. I had a second to realise what you were doing. A second, Stella!”

“How could we say anything to you? For Dina to take the bait your reaction had to look real. Besides, you’ve been gone for days.” I couldn’t resist slipping in angry words as I turned my head away, too close for comfort right now. I was both grateful and furious and I couldn’t look at him. Saving me clearly outweighed any slight over the last few days but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a damn good sulk. A part of me felt guilty that we, David and I, had relied on Evan’s ability to teleport as extra protection for me. He had wrapped himself around me just as I’d shimmered, body and soul, and transported me through a plane Dina could never reach. We’d tricked Dina, but only just.

“I deserved that,” Evan said after a moment and I could feel his warm breath on my neck. He didn’t move his hands but he didn’t try and hold me either. I could have wriggled away from him if I really wanted to, but I didn’t.

“What happened to Chyler?” I asked, changing the conversation so I wouldn’t have to think to hard about whether I was mad at him, or angry, or relieved, or... anything.