The sky was overcast with a deep greyness. The large ash clouds, swelled with rain, cast out the moonlight and dropped the damp earth to darkness. Winds raced through the barren trees, stripping them of any leaves, still crisp from the autumn chill, that clung on dearly to the thin, silvery branches. The grass was dark, with no light to illuminate the raindrops that drowned each small blade. Cutting straight through the waterlogged ground was a narrow dirt track. Large puddles formed in the indents left by the many wheels that had travelled the path before. The rough stones vibrated as the horses hooves hit the track. Their milk white manes flowed with the water, tracing the edges of their harnesses. Behind, the colourful wooden caravan shuddered and shook as it was lugged along the track, bobbing the shielded driver up and down together with each sharp movement so that their large wet hat shed a thread of drips each time.

  

 The sounds of travel changed as the caravan entered a small village. The track was softer and wider making the horse’s steps quieter. The few large boxes tied to its roof stopped making noises and so each individual drop of rain could be heard. The village seemed deserted. Every door was shut, every window was dark. The only signs that people still lived there were the few livestock that stood under shelters, the smell of the horse stables and the one single lantern that hung over a cross roads. A shadow leaked into the small orb of light emitted by the dim candle.

    The caravan stopped in front of a blonde-haired girl who stood drenched carrying nothing but a single leather bag that dripped more water than the sky. The driver raised their sodden hat to reveal the porcelain face of a gypsy woman. ‘Where are you off to?’ She asked with a satin soft accent that rolled with every word, to the girl who stared up at her timidly.

‘I haven’t the faintest idea.’ Girl spoke loudly to be heard over the heavy downpour. The woman smiled warmly through the sharp wind. ‘That doesn’t sound too good.’

‘What does it matter?’ The girl asked with a forced aloofness. She was alone in the middle of a village in the dark of night and did not want any trouble. ‘Well I can’t very well leave a young girl out to wander around lost at this time, in this weather.’ The girl struggled to see the woman properly through the rain, but if she could she would see a kind face, with only the purest of intentions beaming from her tender green eyes. Kindness she thought, was a very rare thing to find in this world and yet she was cautious to accept it. ‘Why pick up a stranger you just saw on the side of a road?’

‘My name is Alexandria.’ The woman said with a soft chuckle. ‘Now we are no longer strangers.’ The girl still looked doubtful but the woman was determined to help. She leant her head down so she could speak lowly. ‘Child, this is a bad place, full of bad people. You may not think you need help, but I am giving it to you. Don’t be afraid to take it.’ Her voice was soft and warm, the sort of voice the girl imagined mothers had, when they read stories to get their children to sleep, or when their children had a nightmare and needed comforting. It was a voice that could calm a storm. The girl looked around at the dormant village and the forest that sat as its backdrop. From somewhere far away came sounds of wolves howling that made her hold her breath in startled fear. She turned back around to the woman who still waited for her answer. The girl had never come to know such stubbornness to help someone she’d barely met, but something told her that the woman was relentless, and so with a weak smile she gave in. ‘I-I’m Maia.’ She stammered from the cold. The woman stepped down from her shielded bench on the caravan, her smile still present only larger. ‘Come Maia, you can stay here.’ One of two doors at the rear of the caravan was opened for her and carefully, she stepped inside.

    It was warm inside, and dry. A small lantern sat on top of an old chest, radiating a meagre flickering light. Beautiful ornaments hung from shelves and from the ceiling, that the girl could see would swing when the caravan moved. There were many books scattered around and plants put in a multitude of different and odd, makeshift containers. The floor was covered by many elaborate rugs in varying sizes and colours, so that the wooden boards could barely be seen. It was a fairly large caravan, but still seemed quite small as the space was sectioned off in what could only be presumed the centre of the caravan, by a large colourful curtain. The woman gestured to the girl to come to the side of the caravan. The girls eyes inadvertently stared at the curtain. ‘Come. It is only my family behind there.’ She moved the corner of the fabric a small fraction so that the girl could see two sleeping children lying on what looked like shelves suspended by chains from the wall. ‘Don‘t worry about waking them.’ She half-whispered as she let the curtain fall back into place and moved back over to the side where she moved a few items to reveal a large wooden plank of wood hooked flat to the wall. Dismounting it from its hooks, the woman let the plank fall carefully open so it was fully suspended by two chains, like the ones the children slept on behind the curtain. ‘This is for you.’ She said handing the girl a patchwork blanket and pillow. ‘Now I really must go. I left the horses unattended which is always a bad idea.’

‘Thank you.’ The girl whispered gratefully and before leaving the woman smiled at her and gently ran a hand down her golden hair. ’My pleasure.’ She stroked the girl's chin with her thumb before walking back through the door into the cold rain. The girl wasn’t sure, because of the extent of the rains volume, but she thought that she had heard the woman wish her to sleep well before closing the door. The girl felt the jolt of the horses moving again and the ceiling chimed with the sound of the ornaments hitting each other as they swayed idly.

There was one small window on the opposite wall, which showed the dark dismal sky. Reflected on the glass, she thought she could see something moving. ‘Hello.’ The girl looked up to see the head of another girl, with her burgundy brown hair tied in a loose bun, staring down at her from another large shelf above her. In the dimness she hadn‘t even noticed the other shelf that hung high above hers. It was so far up that if the girl raised her head slightly it would hit the ceiling. ‘Hi.’ She whispered shyly. Her eyes dropped to her wet clothes as a dark patch was beginning to form in the rug around her feet. The other girl caught on to her worry and shook her head. ‘That’s ok, watch out.’ She chuckled as she slid herself off the shelf and landed on the floor almost soundlessly. ‘Here.’ She searched through a small chest and pulled out a plain woollen shirt and some brown trousers which she handed to the sodden girl. ‘I’ll just sit over there facing the wall while you change.’ She walked over to the other side of the caravans and stared up at it’s wooden walls. The girl laughed as she watched her cross her legs and actually stare at the wall as she had said. ‘You didn’t have to move all the way over there. Turning around would have been fine.’

‘I like walls, they’re interesting.’ The other girl chuckled. ‘I’m Charli by the way.’

‘I’m Maia.’ She was just finishing buttoning up the shirt.

‘That’s pretty. Can I call you Mai?’

‘My mother used to call me that.’ Her voice was solemn.

‘Died?’

‘Yea.’

‘Mine too.’ She looked over her shoulder and saw that Mai was dressed. She met her eyes and smiled.

‘I’d hate to break you and your wall up but you can come back now.’ Charli laughed.

‘Oh don’t worry I’ll be back.’ She leapt up onto her feet and smiled.

‘Thank you for the clothes.’ Mai twisted her wet hair timidly.

‘No problem. Are you hungry?’ Charli raised an eyebrow. Mai rolled her hands together nervously but nodded which made Charli chuckle softly.

Walking over to a locked cupboard, she flicked a small metal piece and unlatched one of the doors. As she did, the caravan shuddered over hard terrain, shifting a few things that almost fell out of the cupboard. Charli flung out her arm to stop them moving. Suddenly it was obvious why they were locked in the first place. When the shuddering had stopped, Charli reached in and pulled an apple out of a bag and chucked it at an unsuspecting Mai. ‘Think fast.’ Mai only barely just caught it. ‘Thanks.’ She half-laughed. Giving it a good rub on her clean shirt, she held the apple to her mouth and took a large, loud bite. She covered her mouth, aware of the noise. ‘Don’t worry, you won’t wake that lot.’ Charli gestured to the curtain. ‘They could sleep through a hurricane.’

‘That wouldn’t be very good.’ She said between chewing. Charli laughed warmly.

‘I guess not.’ Mai had now finished her apple and was holding the core in a manner that asked where she should put it. Charli pointed to a small window on the wall opposite their suspened beds. ‘Just throw it out there, nature will take care of the rest.’ She skipped over with her to open the tiny latch. The sounds of the horses was no longer stifled by the solid wood and the sound of the sharp whistling around the caravan as it travelled slowly but carefully against the autumn winds. Mai threw the core awkwardly into the night, where it landed softly in the wet grass. The rain had stopped and its clouds had dissipated so now the bright silver light of stars bejeweled the sky.

Mai let out a long yawn, which Charli soon caught. ‘We should really get some sleep, tomorrow’s a big day.’ Mai raised an eyebrow to show her confusion. ‘It’s a surprise.’ Charli grinned before beginning a feat of gymnastics to get back up to her shelf-bed.

Mai curled up in the patchwork blanket the woman, Alexandria, had given her. ‘Night.’ Charli whispered down from above her. ‘Good night.’ Mai repeated. As she closed her heavy eyelids, she thought about the kindness of these strangers and wondered if she would do the same in their place. The thought lingered long into her mind and seeped into her dreams for when she would wake up, she’d know that she’d owe a great debt of gratitude towards her hosts, for her dreams were filled with the horrors of endless scenarios of how anyone - or anything, could have been welcomed by picking up strays.

 

The caravan came to a steady stop. It was now morning through the tiny window and Charli could hear the hustle and bustle of a crowded market square. She leaned over her little shelf. Mai was curled up on her own shelf with a colourful blanket wrapped around her, snoring softly. Listening carefully she could tell that the other side of the curtain was still all asleep too. Carefully Charli threw herself off the suspended plank and landed as quietly as she could onto the hollow wooden floor. The small shudder it caused woke Mai who lifted her head up slightly, her golden hair plastered to her face. ‘Mai wake up, we’re in Whitewood.’

‘What? What’s in Whitewood?’

‘Just the most amazing market you’ve ever seen.’

‘What?’ Mai rubbed her face clear of hair and sat herself up to stretch.

‘We’re going to the Trade Fair.’ Charli fumbled around the boxes and chest looking for something.

‘Trade Fair? I think I’ve heard of that.’

‘Found it.’ She held up a leather bag which she threw over her shoulder. ‘Sorry.’ She whispered before continuing. ‘The fair is great. The Heller’s make it a thing to come here every year. They have a stall where they sell blankets and jewellery and little pretty things.’ Mai stood up and stretched some more before yawning.

‘So I guess this is my stop then?’ Charli looked at her, puzzled.

‘What do you mean?’

‘They probably want me to go now. It was nice enough of them to have taken me this far already. I don’t like to be a bother.’ Charli chuckled.

‘Oh they’re not going to kick you out.’ Now it was Mai giving her a quizzical look.

‘How can you be so sure.’

‘I’m still here.’ The sound of an opening door came from the other side of the caravan and Alexandria popped a head inside and smiled as she held out some sweet breads on a small metal tray. The music of the market was heard louder and more distinctly. ‘Come on, I’ll explain after breakfast.’ She chucked her a coat from a hook by the cupboard and took one for herself. ‘You’ll need that.’

‘Why?’ But she got no answer. Instead Charli just grabbed Mai as she tied her barely dry shoes back on, and pulled her out into the soft sun.

 

    The Trade Fair was alive with colours, sounds and smells. The rain had stopped midway through the night allowing the temperature to drop and now snow coated all the tents and huts set up in all directions. On one side Mai could see a crowd gathered around a food stall which was cooking up something warm and pungent. On the other side she could see a woman selling coats and trinkets in front of a caravan similar to the Hellers’ but much smaller. ‘So she took you in just like that?’

‘Yep.’

‘How could she have know you weren’t some supernatural.’ Mai lowered her voice as if merely to speak the word was frightening.

Charli cocked her head slightly thinking on the word. It was a term used to describe those magically capable, and varied from warlocks to spirits. ‘Alexandria knew my parents briefly before they died. Besides, she’s not scared of the netherworld beings. She told me a story of when she and her husband met a witch once and she was lovely towards them.’

‘It can’t be true then. Everyone knows They are dangerous.’

‘Maybe so, maybe not’ Charli went silent for a while, stuck in her own thoughts. They both walked on, in awe of the fair around them.

‘What happened to her husband? I haven't seen him.’

‘I don’t know, she never talks about him.’ Another silent moment passed as Mai thought of a good way to ask an awkward question.

‘So how did your parents die? If you don’t mind me asking.’ A sadness cast itself over  Charli’s face like a shadow under the midday sun, but she hid it so well that Mai barely noticed. She put on a weak smile and still answered her question.

‘They caught the Autumn sickness, yours?’ Charli stopped to admire a jewellery stall and ran a hand along all the hanging necklaces.

‘I never knew my father.’ Her voice held a longing sigh. My mother was born in a brothel and died in one. She didn’t want the same for me, she used to talk about running away with me when she had enough silver to travel. But she fell short before we could, so I left when she was gone.’ Mai began to wander towards a different stall.

‘So I guess were not so different.’ Charli’s whisper was almost inaudible

 

‘How come they let you stay so long,’ Mai wandered further out of the sea of people and sat down on a low, snow topped wall. Charli followed and they both stared over the tents and the people, over towards the forests edge, where the trees were white cotton flowers with long grey stems.

‘I don’t know really. It hasn’t been that long actually. I’ve only been with them for a few months.’

‘But you talk about them as if you’ve known them for years.’

‘Everything I know about the Hellers is from the stories they tell me about their adventures. Alexandria has some pretty wild ones, but others are really beautiful. She gave me this necklace after telling me the story about the nether world being destroyed, when all the nether beings came into our world. Its her son’s favourite story so she tells it a lot.’ Charli reached into her shirt and brought out a silver chain with a red, rod shaped stone that was enwrapped skillfully in swirls of thin silver, that hung as a pendent.

‘Its so pretty.’

‘I want to tell my own stories one day and hope that someone will listen with as much excitement and fascination as I did.’ Charli played with her sleeves as her breath froze at every word.

    

As the girls continued to talk, a hooded figure paced through the thin snow, leaving small tracks of delicate feet behind it. The figure walked quickly, too quickly and slipped and fell into the wall that the two girls were sitting at. The hood had slid off to reveal a pale girl with bright red hair shooting out in soft managed curls. ‘Oh I am so sorry.’ She apologised as she tried to regain her balance. ‘Its fine, are you ok?’ Charli stood up to help her.

‘Yeah, I’m naturally clumsy, so I’m used to falling a lot.’

‘Ouch’

‘You sure where in a hurry. Snow doesn’t play fairly when it comes to being late.’ Mai laughed and helped Charli brush off her cloak.

‘Oh I wasn’t late. I was actually hoping to pass through unnoticed.’ The redhead tucked her curls back into the hood of her cloak.

‘Well, we’re sorry to have noticed you.’ Charli said jokingly. ‘I’m Charli, this is Mai.’

‘Now that’s not what I meant, but nice to meet you two, I’m Kathleen, but you can call me Kathy.’ She turned her head to look behind her before holding her hood tightly to her head.

‘Wait, Kathleen as in Kathleen Whitewood?’ Charli asked with all excitement.

‘Yes, my family owns this land, or parts of it anyway.’ Constantly checking behind her and holding her cloak very tight, she seemed very on edge.

‘Are you alright? Anything we could do to help?’ Charli asked a little awkwardly.

‘Oh no…well actually, could you?’ She took another look behind her and saw two uniformed guards nosing around a few stalls on the far end of the market.

‘I need to find somewhere to hide A.S.A.P, do you know a place?’ Kathy looked to Mai who looked to Charli who raised an eyebrow back. Kathy seemed nice enough, and to live by Alexandria’s legacy, she should help.

‘I guess there’s room for one more in the caravan.’ She said cheerily. Kathy squealed and clapped her hands rapidly in excitement. ‘Ok lets go!’ She hurried them both forward until the guards were no longer in sight.

 

    As the three girls walked back they discussed the strange circumstances at which they each found themselves living with the Hellers in their caravan. But then the conversation quickly changed back to Kathy and her lustrous lifestyle. ‘Well I  had 8 nannies raise me from birth until now. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any parents either.’ Both Charli and Mai were very much interested in how life with 8 nannies could be like. ’Well my fifth or sixth nanny- I lose track, tried to drown me because I wouldn’t do as she said.’

‘That’s a little harsh.’

‘I hope she got some punishment for that.’

‘Oh she was a witch so you know, she got more than some.’ Kathy said plainly.

‘How did they know she was one?’ Mai asked with a frightened curiosity.

‘Well because we were outside and our only pond had dried up and been filled in the year before last.’

‘So where did the water come from?’

‘She was a witch.’ Kathy said with a slight disbelief of how quickly she had forgotten such an important fact. ‘Oh right, right sorry.’

The conversation trailed a bit before returning back to Charli and the Hellers. ‘Alexandria and her family are really lovely people, don’t worry they’ll be more than happy to help you.’

‘Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.’

‘I said almost the exact same thing.’ Chuckled Mai as the three continued to wonder seemingly aimlessly through the grand crowds.

2: The Supernatural

The sky was now darkening into evening and the three girls sat outside, huddled by a cooking fire Alexandria had set up. Nearby, the two children, Sian and Valerie play-fought with large sticks, giggling endlessly as they chased each other around the now empty market square. ‘Don’t wander too far!’ Alexandria called after them as she walked out of the back of the caravan holding a large cauldron of ingredients she had prepared inside. Charli helped her mount a tall metal stand to hang it over the fire. ‘There we go. Can you girls watch the pot while I go chase up my little rascals?’ The girls all agreed simultaneously and watched her jog into the night calling after both children.

    Alexandria had left out some wine for them to help themselves. Charli hardly touched it, she didn’t like it much. Mai and Kathy on the other hand, may have just had a little too much. ‘So then I fall into you two and see the guards right behind me and think, oh crap what do i do now. And then you guys brought me here and thats my story.’ Mai laughed hazily.

‘You nearly squashed me flat.’ Kathy gave her a hard slap on the arm.

‘I wouldn’t of done that, I’m a lady.’ Charli sat quietly observing the tomfoolery before her.

‘No I meant why were you running in the first place?’ She said rather impatiently.

‘Oh that.’ Kathy said with a tone of disgust. She shook herself into seriousness for a second, where she seemed almost sober, almost. ‘Well, you see my family is a little eccentric when it comes to, well, just about everything. However, they’ve always accepted my choices,  even when they thought they were a little strange.’

‘How strange?’ Charli interrupted.

‘Well I once got offered a doll but instead I wanted a toy alchemy set and then I set the lunchroom on fire.’

‘Wow’

‘Now can you save the questions until the end, you’re distracting me.’

‘Oh sorry’

‘Right, so yesterday they tell me that they found me a suitor and naturally I was just stood there thinking, what! The guy was really weird and I’ve heard rumours about his family, but that’s not the reason I didn’t want to marry him.’

‘Was he abusive?’ Charli questioned.

‘Did he do weird things or did he just look weird?’ Mai asked almost simultaneously.

‘Was he a warlock?’

‘A spirit?’

‘Don’t tell me he was a faery.’

‘No, no, no, no and why would you even think that?’ Kathy looked at Charli for that last part and so did Mai who gave her a puzzled look.

‘He could’ve been a faery.’ She muttered defensively.

‘Didn’t I say no more questions?’

‘Oh yea, sorry’ Charli and Mai said in chorus.

‘Anyway, it wasn’t anything like that.’ Kathy was struggling to pull words out of the air. ‘It was more that he was a he.’ The level of awkwardness shot up at that point and suddenly even Mai was sober.

 

‘Oh.’

‘Alright then.’

‘I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.’ Kathy tried to smooth over the freshness of the conversation.

‘Oh no, don’t worry.’

‘No no. Go on.’ Mai took another sip of her last cup of wine.

‘Oh right, yes, well, obviously my parents didn’t take that too well and they basically told me never to speak of it again and I think it sort of sealed my engagement rather than break it.’

‘So you ran away and now they’re looking for you.’ Charli was catching on.

‘Well they can have fun trying. Mai fill my glass please, I want to forget this day.’ She thrust her empty glass into Mai’s arm making her almost spill her own drink. ‘If you want to forget then you’ll need something stronger than that.’ None of them had noticed that Alexandria had returned a while ago and sat her children inside to clean up. She reached into a leather pouch buckled to her leg and brought out a small flask. ‘Try this.’ She chucked it at Charli with a smile, knowing she was the only one who would have been able to catch it. Charli stared at the flask, curious of its contents. ‘Try it, go on.’ Charli gave the woman a funny look before opening the top and taking a sip. ‘Woah, now I’m all warm inside.’ She said with a shiver. Alexandria raised an eyebrow as if impressed. Charli passed the flask to Mai and Kathy who took long swigs. A chorus of coughing and spluttering came from them both, their eyes watering heavily. ‘What- what was in that.’ Mai managed between coughs. ‘Its a little something I picked up from my travels. It’s how those who live where winter does not rest keep warm.’ She laughed at the two girls, satisfied with her little prank. She walked over to the cauldron that was now boiling and stirred it with a long spoon that she had hung on the same stand. She picked up a pile of bowls that she had left out and began to ladle the contents of the cauldron into the bowls. ‘You are going to need some food in you after that.’ The bowls were passed around until each girl had one and Alexandria balanced three in both hands and called the two children outside.

Everyone ate quickly and in silence. Valerie had taken a great liking to Kathy and had asked her to make her hair pretty like hers. So Kathy now sat with an excited Valerie in front of her as she plaited her hair intricately. Sian on the other hand stared intensely at Mai, who was beginning to feel uncomfortable. ‘Sian, staring is rude.’ His mother scolded as she put away the bowls. ‘You’re pretty.’ Sian sighed as he continued to gaze dreamily at her. Mai didn’t know how to respond, but shuffled slightly more towards Charli and further from the gaping five year old. ‘Sian!’ Alexandria snapped. ‘I think it’s high time you two went to bed.’ Valerie moaned. Her hair was now all plaited up and tied with a ribbon from her dark blue dress. ‘Now.’ Her mother pressed. She picked Sian up and put him under her arm as she led Valerie by the hand into the back of the caravan.

    ‘So where are you guys off to next?’ Kathy asked casually. ‘I want to see the world.’

‘Wherever the wind takes us.’ Charli gestured dramatically.

‘I thought you only said that on boats.’ Mai corrected, but Charli only shrugged.

‘Not anymore.’

‘That sounds exciting.’ Kathy squealed in excitement. She didn’t know if it was the wine talking, but something in the bad of her mind grabbed on to the uncertainty, the wonder of the unknown and she knew she would never let go.

‘Haven’t you ever travelled?’ Charli asked curiously.

‘Are you kidding, my parents wouldn’t even let me into the garden until I turned twelve.’ Mai sniggered a little from behind her hand. ‘Well, you’ll stay then?’

‘If thats alright.’ Kathy added, suddenly aware that it wasn’t her decision to make. Charli laughed. ‘Of course.’

‘Why stay with us if you’ve only just bumped into us on the street?’ Mai asked an obvious question that everyone had overlooked.

‘You’re here aren’t you.’ Kathy said rather rudely but Mai only burst into laughter, spreading it to Kathy and Charli as well.

    Alexandria tiptoed out of the caravan and watched as a wave of yawning took over the three girls, who sat illuminated by the fire under the starry canopy of the night sky. ‘Maybe its time you three went to bed too.’ The three girls nodded and stood up. Kathy wobbled slightly and held onto Mai. Charli laughed at the two as they almost pushed each other onto the floor. ‘I’ve set up a little space for you Kathy, make yourself at home.’ Kathy thanked her as she followed the others inside.

    The night air let out a swift chill breeze. Alexandria shivered a little. She packed up everything that was outside quickly and quietly as not to wake anyone up. She looked out into the horizon and saw the tiny lantern lights far in the distance. It was the camp where the rest of the market salesmen and women stayed, but Alexandria knew why she had kept her caravan separate. Despite how she presented herself, she was wary of crowds of people. In the day when she can see them, she was alright, but as soon as the darkness of night boded its blindness she was skeptical of everyone. Too many sense flew around when there were many people. It was one of the reasons she didn’t like to sleep much, Charli had never found it strange and she would never tell her why even if she did. Looking up at the stars she wondered how long she had left. The constellations were clear, the sky had its own story to tell.

    

Clouds appeared in the corner of the sky. They were dark and foreboding, a deep purple with a storm in their midst. Alexandria watched them. They were no ordinary clouds. It was there, bright as day. The sign she had been awaiting. She looked at the caravan and thought of her two little ones, sleeping soundlessly inside. Opening up her coat she drew a tarot card from the pocket. Sweeping it with her thumb it fanned out into three cards. On it were three names, Sian and Valerie on one, her own name and the last read, Davion, her and her three children. She stroked Davion’s, he was the only one who knew of her secret and it had drove him away from her. He was all grown up, and braving the big bad world alone. A tear ran down her cheek, it was filled with a lifetime of treasures. The clouds drew ever closer so she took a breath and held up Sian’s card, the eight of wands. Weaving the card through her fingers it set fire. The flame burned green, unlike any natural flame and it never burned her, not even as the flames turned the last edges to ash.

The sky began to rumble with thunder. Charli woke up from her light dreamless sleep. Something felt strange. She climbed down, aware that Kathy and MAi still slept. Something drew her to the curtain where the children slept. She drew it back suddenly, the two little ones were gone.

Outside, Alexandria was on the next card, the sun. She watched it burn with the same green flames.

Charli woke up Mai and Kathy. ‘Sian and Valerie are gone!’ Something felt wrong, something felt very wrong. Kathy and Mai could feel it too, they sat frozen, still half-asleep and groggy from before. Panicking, Charli ran to the door to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. ‘We’re locked in!’

‘what’s going on?’ Kathy screamed as a huge thunderclap resonated through the air.

Alexandria was on her last card, hers. She didn’t need to know what awaited her on the other side to know what was coming. Her time was almost up.

A lighting bolt shot to the earth, but instead of leaving behind blackened grass, a darkly-dressed man stood where it had hit. Another lightning bolt struck, bringing another man and another and another. Alexandria didn’t flinch, but only stood tall, her expression strong as stone. ‘Where is it?’ The first man blared towards her. Two others grabbed onto her arms. ‘I don’t have it, and I’ll make sure you never do.’ The man snarled at her.

‘It’s here and you will give it to us!’ Alexandria knew that this one was a hot-head and she wasn’t going to let him get any information out of her. She knew what she had to do. ‘Or what? You’re just a pawn in their games, nothing more than a weak, spineless simpleton.’ He was fuming, his meaty hands balled into fists. ‘How dare you!’ His breath reeked into her face but Alexandria remained her calm and collected self. The sky was now at war. Thunder rolled and lightning flashed as the winds picked up and the empty stalls that had been struck now burst into flames. ‘How dare I what? Tell you the truth.’ The man took his anger further away, he could see what she was doing, and he wouldn’t let her win. ‘You never did have the courage, did you Mavric?’ There it was- the line, and she had crossed it.

    Charli’s shoulder was beginning to hurt from trying to knock down the door. Mai and Kathy were plastered to the tiny window, they had been watching the storm, when suddenly a few figures stepped into view. ‘Charli, look!’ She leaped over to the window and pushed the two out of the way abruptly. She could see a group of men, holding onto Alexandria. ‘What are they doing? We have to help her!’

‘Well if you can bust down that door on your hundredth try then I’m all for it.’ Mai nudged herself a section of the window to look out of.

    The man, Mavric as Alexandria had called him, was now a few feet away from her. He looked angry, but she couldn’t have been more calm. He turned away but she said something that made him stop and turn slowly. Emerald flames formed in his palms in perfect orbs. ‘Warlocks.’ The words barely escaped Mai’s lips. Alexandria closed her eyes as he sent the glowing fire soaring in her direction. ‘No!’ Charli screamed. The green blast pulsated through the earth and sent the caravan rolling. The girls were flung from wall to wall, hitting ornaments and breaking furniture. The were beaten and bruised as the movement settled. As if to mock them, the doors fell open.

    The dark clouds rounded together for one last lightning bolt to strike the ground. Its flash resonated through the darkness. A younger warlock, not much older than the girls appeared. He glanced at the chao around him, not obviously surprised. ‘Mavric!’ He barked at the burly man in dark leather, who still stood, the realisation of what he had done still present on his face. The younger man- no, boy, could not have been more disappointed. ‘How are we meant to find the stone now?’ He said, constraining his anger. Mavric said nothing, but dropped his head. ‘I’ll remember this next time I need someone to lead a mission successfully.’ Still he didn’t move. ‘James will not be happy if we come back empty handed.’ The boy said plainly, his anger now receded. Mavric raised his head, which caught the boy’s attention. He looked to the rolled over caravan, and the other followed his gaze, curious.

    The boy signalled for Mavric to stay when the burly man began to follow. He sauntered towards the broken doors that hung, barely attached, on one hinge. Peering inside he saw the mixture of breakage and beauty that scattered itself everywhere. Shattered ornaments, overturned furniture, among them; two girls were unconscious on the floor of the caravan, covered slightly in debris, one fair-haired and the other with fiery red hair. He was about to signal for assistance to check on the two girls when he heard something. Glancing around he saw her, a girl nearly his age, her burgundy brown hair spilling over her knees as she hid her face in her lap. She didn’t move, nor did she want to, but he could hear her slow laboured breathing. She could feel his footsteps come closer to her, but she wasn’t afraid. No, it wasn’t fear that she felt, but anger. The world around her was nonexistent to her angry, resentful thoughts, she could sense him getting even closer and suddenly a wave of exhaustion flowed over her. The only way she noticed that she was being picked up was the sharp pain in her arm as the boy lifted her up against his chest. She would have said something, fought back, screamed, but she couldn’t. Her eyes got even more closed each time she blinked heavily, until all that was apparent was the darkness of her own mind.    

 

Charli had never heard of a kind warlock, but when she would close her eyes and open them later, still alive, she’d reconsider.

 

3: Hate is a Strong Word

The room was spinning.

    Mai held onto the wall for support and was surprised to find it soft to the touch. When everything had settled into place she raised her head, which throbbed painfully. She was sat in what looked like the inside of a carriage, but its windows were barred. Everything else seemed normal to a carriage’s interior. The seats were made of soft leather and the walls were lined with a lustrous velvet. She leaned over to touch the dark velvet and realised her hands were bound with thick string. A sudden rush of memory came over her and she threw herself into an upright position. The carriage stopped suddenly and almost sent her flying forward into the opposite seat.

Voices came from outside, one travelling closer towards her and the carriage. Mai’s heartrate was so fast it could have raced laps around the moon. The door swung open and hit the side of the carriage loudly making all the colour drain out of her face. A mess of hair leaned its head inside. Mai’s eyes were wide with fear, her heart felt as if it would break straight through her chest as she watched the warlock grin at her. ‘This one’s awake.’ A voice from the background said something Mai didn’t quite catch and the man stepped into the carriage. Mai screamed and pushed herself into the furthest corner as she began to kick at the warlock who cursed as he took a blow to the gut. He grabbed her knee and wove his hands in between the ropes that bound her wrists and chucked her, as he would a heavy sack, over his shoulders. Mai was still kicking and screaming, her blonde hair dancing wildly, all the while the man was growling at her to be quiet. He brought her out into the evening air and sat her down at the feet of a large fire. ‘Quit your yowling!’ He demanded pointing a thin blade at her cheek. ‘Wouldn't want to ruin a pretty face like yours.’ Mai sat shivering, her eyes fixed on the blade. Satisfied the warlock sheathed his dagger and paced over to the other men all huddled around, talking loudly and drinking something incredibly pungent. Mai wrinkled her nose at the acrid smell. She recognised the smell from her childhood behind the bar of the inn that her mother worked in. It brought back the memories of the foul, bitter men that came in regularly, drunk too much then were led by her mother or one of the other women to a secret room in the back, where she was never allowed to go.

Another man walked Kathy out of a different carriage with a knife poised intimidatingly in his hand to motivate her cooperation. He put a heavy hand on her shoulder to sit her down next to Mai. Her hands were also tied with the same thick string, so that as she sat down Mai could see sore red patches of skin around it were Kathy had tried to struggle out of the bind. ‘Stay quiet you two, or there’ll be trouble.’ The man traced the path of the previous warlock who had escorted Mai and joined the group in their foul drinking. ‘What’s going on? What happened?’ Kathy tried to make her whispering as inconspicuous as possible. ‘I would have thought the big oafs with knives and the fact that we’re tied up would have been a big clue.’ Mai almost hissed at Kathy’s obliviousness. ‘I’m not an idiot you know.’ She snapped back. Mai was about to respond but one of the men in the group looked over at them and she kept still. When he had looked away, Kathy spoke before Mai could. ‘Where’s Charli?’ The question almost stunned Mai, who turned around to look at her surroundings. There were tents set up a few yards away near the carriages, a forest lurked in the distance and then it became apparent to Mai that they weren’t in Whitewood anymore. The horizon was clearer and more sparse of towns and people. A single city was barely visible in the distance, the tall spires of a gothic castle raked through the light evening mist. Kathy looked more towards the huddle of warlocks, hoping to see some sign or clue, but Charli was nowhere in sight.

 

A muddy canvas draped loosely, shaking with every slight breeze. Large wooden support poles criss-crossed all along the rustling walls. Charli blinked rapidly, the crisp air caressing her cheeks. At first everything was a blur, but when it settled Charli saw that she was tied to a bed, except for her arm which was wrapped in clean, white bandages and pulled close to her with a plain sling. She tried to move it and was surprised to feel no pain. The sling it was cradled in was tied so tightly that she couldn’t remove her arm from it’s gentle support. Her other arm was tied at the wrist to the side of the bed, similarly to her ankles. Her head and back were raised slightly with a few large pillows, so that instead of lying flat, she was more of in a sitting position. Around her was a large, opaque curtain, on the other side of which she could hear the sounds of casual chit-chat and the maneuvering of items.

Soundless footsteps made their way towards the curtain. If Charli hadn’t of been concentrating on them, she never would have heard them. She quickly tried to loosen her wrist from its bind, but to no avail. A figure slid through the closed curtain and stared at Charli. By the look of his dark attire he was a warlock, but he was a lot younger than any of the stories described them to be, he was no more than a boy. His hair was a natural dark brown and his eyes were a stormy grey, which incidentally, matched his whole warlock look. Charli recognised his sense, it was strange, she could remember feeling that electric reverberation before.

In the carriage, the thought struck her suddenly. He was one of the warlocks that killed the only person that she had ever looked up to, the person who took her in, who filled her head with hopes and dreams. He was one of the warlocks that cast a shadow over her face and leaked darkness into her veins. With that electric spark, he had started a fire in her chest that could not be extinguished. And nothing comes away from fire unchanged.

The young warlock saw the red rings beginning to appear on her wrist around the bind. ‘That’s a really effective way of escaping if you don’t mind losing a hand.’ His voice was smooth, warm and almost sarcastic. Charli was confused, he was the bad guy and he was trying…..to be funny? She didn’t say anything, but she held her sharp gaze firm. The warlock darted his eyes from her to his right. ‘Not the talkative type then I’m guessing.’ She couldn’t wrap her head around what he wanted. ‘Why would I talk to you?’ The boy seemed almost relieved and a smile played on his lips. ‘I don’t know, you’re doing it now.’ He thought he was so funny, but Charli wasn't amused. ‘Fine, why wouldn’t you talk to me? That’s a better question.’ He took a seat on the edge of Charli’s bed. ‘You’re the bad guy.’ The answer sounded so obvious to her, but the boy didn’t seem convinced. ‘I didn’t know we were taking sides. Are you one of the good guys then?’ He didn’t try to mask his immaturity as some would. He was probably the youngest warlock here and yet he seemed to enjoy that. ‘I guess it does.’ Charli’s tone was sour.

‘Oo. Someone has an attitude on them.’ His mockery was making her angry, which frustrated her as she couldn’t do anything about it tied down to a bed. She tried to move but a sharp pain shot up her bandaged arm. She winced. ‘Don’t hurt yourself.’

‘I wouldn’t have to if you let me out of these stupid ropes.’ Charli’s temper was starting to show as she snapped at the young warlock viciously. ‘Why didn’t you just ask.’ He said almost too smugly. A faint crackling came from the ropes as a small gap burned away, leaving them loose. Charli batted them off and sat up. The boy still sat on the edge of her bed, a playful smirk stitched onto his face. ‘I don’t think people tell you this very often,’ Charli began casually, sparking an interest from the boy, ‘but you're an idiot.’ His face sharpened, along with her attitude. ‘You’re right,’ He copied her initial tone, ‘they don’t tell me very often. Actually, they don’t tell me at all.’ Charli found his irritating mimicry trying at her patience. She slid her feet inwards and then turned so they hung off the side of the bed, before untying the sling that held her arm with no objection from the boy. ‘Well they should because its true.’ He got up to help her, but she stood up without any need for his help. He stood very close to her, leaning over her to emphasise his height, but she was a tall girl so he didn’t have to lean far. He held onto her wrists as she distracted herself from his close proximity by staring at the floor. ‘Is that so?’ He half-whispered and stepped back slightly. Charli’s hands were bound together. She took in a deep, irritated breath. ‘Yes, it really is.’ He cocked his head and shrugged, satisfied with his trick. He grabbed the upper part of her non bandaged arm and led her out through the curtain, to reveal the busy inner workings of a medical tent. ‘Let’s go meet your friends.’ He smiled as he almost dragged her alongside him.

    

‘There!’ Kathy nearly yelled as she spotted a young figure bringing Charli out of a large tent. Mai spun around almost immediately. ‘Who’s that?’ She whispered as the pair were attracting to attention of the nearby huddle. ‘I don’t know, is he a warlock?’ Mai shook her head. ‘He’s too young.’

‘But he’s dressed like one.’

‘I don’t know then. Shh! they’re coming over here.’ Mai leaned over on Kathy as they watched the figure pulled Charli over to them.

‘Ouch!’ She protested as he practically threw her down by the other two. ‘Sorry sweet pea, I’ll be more gentle next time.’ His tone was now more cynical in light of all the older warlocks. ‘Idiot.’ Charli muttered under her breath as he sauntered away.

‘Sweet pea?’ Mai questioned with an odd look on her face.

‘I don’t even know.’ Charli gestured frustratedly.

‘Where were you?’ Kathy asked with concern.

‘The medical tent, tied to a bed.’ Charli replied bluntly. Kathy didn’t really have anything to say after that. Mai looked at Charli’s arm before squeezing it gently with one of her two bound hands. ‘Does it still hurt?’ Charli watched her fascinate over her arm.

‘Not really.’ She replied plainly. Her gaze kept straying back to the huddle of warlocks.

The sky was now completely dark, dotted sparsely with tiny silver stars which hid shyly behind a velvet mist. The air was chill and crisp, so that every breath froze into soft clouds and drifted away into the cold breeze. Even in the radiance of the fires warmth, Charli shivered relentlessly. Mai and Kathy were perfectly warm, huddled by the fire, Kathy still having her cloak and Mai still in her coat. Charli’s coat had been taken off to bandage her arm and now she was missing its absence.

They had been sat around the fire for ages now. The only sounds being the crackling of the warm fire and the ruckus that came from the huddle, who had now brought out a large wooden table and many chairs so that all of them had a seat. Mai had the idea to huddle up to Charli, in the hopes it would help keep her warm in some way. Kathy joined in too, but their wrists were bound and so little could be done. In the time that had passed, one of the warlocks had come over to give them something to eat, which the girls picked at cautiously but ended up scoffing down their throats, famished.

The table in the background quieted down, people were leaving their seats and heading towards rows of tents. A few stayed behind to take the first watch. Something about it made Charli laugh. They were supernaturals and even here, in their secret camp in the middle of nowhere, they had an enemy to fear.

A little time passed and the handful of men on watch had fallen asleep in their seats. Kathy and Mai had made a cute little pile of themselves on the floor, with Mai curled up with an arm over the leg that Kathy had rested over her. They snored softly, unaware of how completely ridiculous they both looked.

There was that electric aura again. Something thick and soft was put over Charli’s shoulders. She started slightly and glanced to her right to see the young warlock sitting himself next to her. ‘You were cold.’ He stated rather than asked. She had been shivering pretty obviously and was somewhat grateful for the added  warmth. However, her hostility towards him remained strong. He was the enemy, she had to remember that. ‘Being outside in the dead of night with no coat will surprisingly do that to a person.’ He took her words as if they were a challenge and returned them with his own entry. ‘Really, I hadn’t noticed. I could’ve sworn it was the fire’s fault, but you’re probably right.’ Charli rolled her eyes, everything just had to be a game with him. But something about him made her think back to a previous thought she had. He was more considerate than the other warlocks, in his own special way, he was kind, and that confused her.

‘Why do you do that?’ She asked almost angrily. The boy looked perplexed, he hadn’t the faintest clue as to what she was on about. ‘What would that be exactly?’

‘You’re the bad guy, you’re not meant to be nice.’ He quite literally almost burst out laughing, but constrained himself last minute so he wouldn’t wake the whole camp up and ended up just giggling into his sleeve. He tried to say something, but his giggles came back and he just ended up hiding his head all together. ‘Why are you laughing? I’m being serious.’ Charli was on the verge of catching his laughter, but restrained herself, reminded that she was being serious. ‘So you’re saying I’m a not-so-bad bad guy.’ He finally managed.

‘No.’ Charli protested. ‘I’m saying you’re really bad at being a bad guy.’

‘Ok then, try this. Give me one really good reason- apart from the whole prisoner thing- as to why I’m a bad guy.’ Charli stared at him for a while, trying to see what he was trying to prove.

‘You’re a supernatural. There’s no better reason.’ He seemed almost contempt with her answer.

‘You see, there it is. You think all supernaturals are bad.’

‘They are.’ She persisted.

‘That’s funny considering you were one of Alexandria’s.’ Charli’s face hardened.

‘How dare you talk about her after what you did!’ She nearly yelled at him, but a thought haunted her. ‘Wait, how do you know her?’ The boy just looked at her blankly, almost in disbelief.

‘You really haven’t put two and two together yet, have you?’ His smug expression was back and his smile was as wicked as his powers. ‘Alexandria was a psychic. She was a supernatural, one of us. A ‘bad guy’ as you so kindly put it.’

Charli’s expression had no name. It was a mixture of shock, horror, disbelief, anger, betrayal and disappointment all rolled up in one. ‘That’s not true.’ She denied strongly. But the look her gave her wasn’t contempt, not smirk or cynical in any way. It was more pity than anything else, she hadn’t the faintest idea of what she had been dragged into, which meant she was of no use to James or any of them. ‘Not all supernaturals are bad, just as much as not all mortals are good.’

It was all too much for Charli, whose newly built world had just been shattered around her, just like her last. She stared angrily at the floor, hot tears rolling down her cheeks and steaming into the night air. ‘Then why am I here? Why are wehere? We’re not like you and we don’t know anything about this.’ Charli was referring to Kathy and Mai, who stirred gently at her coarseness of her sore voice. ‘I couldn’t go back empty-handed.’ There was something about his bluntness, his hard factual phrasing, the fact he expected better, that made something in Charli burn brighter and more fiercely than the fire before her.

‘That’s it. That’s why you dragged us all the way out here, tied us up and left us in the cold, just so that you could run back home to mother and tell her you’re not a complete failure.’ The young warlock watched her wipe her tears let them stain the cold ground. He didn’t know why, but he felt a little uneasy. ‘You don’t understand.’ He tried to quiet his conscience.

‘I understand. I just hate you for it.’ That packed an unseen blow.

‘Hate is a strong word.’ There it was, his humour crawling back to defend him. He stood up.

‘Then its the right one.’ Charli copied him, letting the blanket slide off her shoulders. He took a step closer to her. ‘Well then sweet pea, I guess you were right.’ He grabbed hold of her arm firmly. Charli felt a cold surge flow through her and found herself being supported by his hold. ‘Maybe I am the bad guy.’

The world vanished into a dark haze. Charli’s sleep was heavy, plagued with nightmares and restlessness.

 

4: The Prison Escape

Everything from then on was a blur.

 

Charli’s eyes opened into slits. Faint voices spoke in the background, their words slurred and incomprehensible. She blinked.

The ride was bumpy, so rough that the carriage rocked slightly with every turn. Her eyes closed again, still heavy and sore. She slept a while longer before she became aware of her surrounding again.

They were stopped. A door opened which blinded her with early morning light, but not for long as a shadow stepped forward and loomed over her. Her tiredness quickly made its return. She was being carried, swaying with the movement of slow, careful steps. There was that electricity again, but it faded as she fell once more into a dark sleep.

 

Kathy was the first to wake up. Her cell was small and filthy, with a thin layer of damp hay lining the floor. There were bars to her right and bars in front of her, but to her left was a cold slimy wall, with nothing but a barred slit near the ceiling as a window. She felt groggy and numb, as if she had been drugged with some sort of sleeping potion. Her head throbbed intensely, almost like it was punishment for sleeping too long. She sat herself up.

Her light blue dress was now all muddy and her cloak seemed to be missing from her shoulders. A mess of red, wild hair hung, untamed down her back. She took one look at it and sighed, and yet strangely, even after all this, she still felt no longing for home, no need to have her old life back. On the contrary, she felt excited, just buzzing to know what they’ll do next. Kathy ran it over in her mind, they’ll….they. She almost gasp in realisation. Where were Mai and Charli?

Mai was in the next cell, and Charli in the one next to that. Kathy could see them through the bars, a continuous row of small cells, all packed against one wall. The other wall was blank, except only for the dim, candle torches that sat idly in their holders and a single small, arched hole high up near the ceiling. Kathy reached out through the thin bars and shook Mai. ‘Wake up!’

She scared her so much at Mai woke up screaming. ‘Kathy? Why would you do that?’ She shouted angrily. ‘I needed to wake you up somehow.’ Mai was about shout out some obscenity but decided to drop the issue and instead sat herself up.  She too was now a mess, her woolen shirt no longer clean and patches of mud staining her trousers. ‘Where are we?’ She asked, but Kathy was no less clueless than she was. ‘In a dungeon of some sort.’ Both girls turned to the next cell where Charli sat rubbing her eyes. ‘I’m guessing anyway.’

‘Well thank you for that obvious statement, but why are we here?’ Mai wasn’t in the mood for Charli’s games, but what she didn’t realise was that Charli wasn’t playing.

When she sat up, she sat much straighter and tenser. Her face was no longer warm and filled with childlike wonder, it was like she had grown up overnight, hardened and toughened what was already strong inside her. To Mai she could have been completely different to the girl that she had met leaning over a shelf in a stranger’s caravan, friendly, kind and with a playful nature that you couldn’t find in most people who’d lost everything they’d ever had.

‘Are you ok Charli?’ Mai asked, her concern getting the better of her.

‘Never been better.’ But her voice was as cold and as sharp as icicles, dripping from a window frame on a blustery winter’s eve. Mai took the hint and didn’t press any further into it. ‘What do warlocks want with us? By all logic we should be dead by now, why keep us alive?’ Kathy’s question was surprisingly insightful. Charli held the answer, she knew that the warlocks hoped that they’d have some sort of information, about Alexandria and her psychic ways, but they didn’t so they weren’t useful and things with no use aren’t kept for long. ‘We need to get out of here soon, before they start asking themselves that and then decide that we do die.’  Mai gulped, all this talk of death was starting to worry her.

‘How do we even get out of here?’ Kathy gave her iron bar door a shake, but it didn’t budge. Mai squinted one eye through the keyhole of her cell. ‘This is a pretty easy door to open, anyone got a few hairpins?’ Both Kathy and Charli gave her a quizzical look. ‘You grow up behind the bar of a brothel, you learn a few things.’ Mai raised them an eyebrow cockily. Suddenly the sounds of a heavy door opening echoed down the narrow corridor.

Kathy had the idea first, she layed back down, pretending to sleep and soon both Mai and Charli copied. The loud vibrations of footsteps drew ever closer, but neither girl dared to move. The last cell was opened and something dropped inside, then an ear-splitting creek came as the door was shut, it’s rusted hinges wailing. ‘What about them.’ It was a hefty male voice, that Charli realised, was referring to them. ‘Leave ‘em for now. They ain’t gonna last long with James anyhow.’ Mai felt her heart pound against her rib cage. Kathy heard them too, but was too preoccupied with not moving to let her fear betray her. The footsteps receded down the corridor as the two men left the small dungeon. After some time, the girls decided the coast was clear and so sat back up slowly.

Charli was the first one to notice the elderly man, battered and bruised, collapsed on the floor of the cell before the empty one next to her. He was obviously in pain, and if it wasn’t for his slow, laboured breathing, Charli would have thought him dead. Kathy and Mai both spotted him at the same time, when they followed Charli's gaze. They didn’t know what to say, they didn’t know who he was or even if he was dangerous, but Charli was feeling brave. ‘Hello?’ She called out into the silence. The man stirred softly, propping himself up on the wall, his hand held tightly over his side. He sat facing the row of cells, where only Charli sat in plain sight. ‘I-I didn’t think I had company.’ His voice was hoarse and raspy, but his tired eyes were kind and warm.

He looked at Charli, almost surprised to see that his company was a young mortal girl. ‘I was expecting someone else to be here, although its a good sign I suppose. It means they haven’t found her yet.’ Something sparked in Charli’s mind, it was ridiculous and purely coincidental, but she thought she knew about who he was talking about. ‘Alexandria?’ She questioned. The man flicked his gaze back to her intensely and confirmed Charli’s suspicions. This man was no mortal. ‘She was killed.’ Charli was surprised by her own bluntness. The elderly man’s eyes widened, his jaw fell open with no words to say. ‘T-they can’t have it. No….no they can’t.’ His breaths were becoming more laboured each time.

Charli leaned onto her knees and squinted at the man, her face pressed into the bars, something metal hitting against them, making them chime. ‘Have what?’ The man looked at her, but noticed only one thing. Her necklace had fallen out of her shirt and was the thing hitting against the bars, it’s deep redness flickering with the torchlight. ‘The stone.’ Charli followed his stare to her necklace and she felt a strange sense of embarrassment almost, like she was never meant to have it out in plain sight.  Then she remembered that it was Alexandria who had given it to her, had she purposely given her the necklace to hide? She quickly slid it back into her shirt. ‘What about it?’

Kathy and Mai had slowly revealed themselves from the shadows and were watching intently, fascinated by the news. They had put two and two together, faster than Charli had, which irritated her somehow. It was like it was obvious to everyone but her. ‘You can’t let them take that stone, it’s more important than anything at this point.’ He spoke with a desperate tone, an alarm in his eyes that the stone was here, that it was so close to them. ‘Please, they’ll be back soon, you must leave here.’

‘We can’t just walk out.’ Kathy interrupted.

‘I can pick the locks but we don’t know how many guards are out there.’ Mai also added in her own opinion. ‘The brownie, you must be careful of the brownie.’ All the hassle of the stone was taking its toll on the man, who was now knocking on deaths door. ‘A brownie?’ Kathy questioned. But Charli just sighed, now everything made sense. ‘Why do you think they left us here unguarded?’

‘Because we're young, inexperienced, inept, oh and yea, the big metal bars that keep us from walking out the door.’ Kathy snapped.

‘Good guess but no.’ Charli picked a small stone from the floor and threw it into the empty corridor.

A small creature shot after it and shot back to its hiding place high in the wall. Both Mai and Kathy stared at the tiny cavern in the wall. ‘A brownie. There’s only one I think.’

‘What’s a brownie?’ Kathy asked again, still absolutely clueless.

‘They are tiny terrors. People say that they nibble off your toes and crawl inside your mouth and pull out your tongue.’ Mai shuddered as she spoke while Kathy just looked shocked.

‘I don’t think so.’ Charli almost laughed, but her stone external shell remained. ‘They basically look after places, they tidy up, fix things and run and tell you when your prisoners have escaped. Quite handy really.’  

‘That’s right.’ The man half-whispered from his side of the corridor. He was still hanging on barely. ‘Oh that’s not what I was told.’ Kathy sniggered from her cell, but Mai just chose to ignore her. ‘So what do we do about it?’ She asked the question everyone was thinking.

‘We have to shut it up.’

‘And how do we do that?’ Kathy shot in the question almost competitively.

‘Well normally you can bribe them. They like to be given gifts in return for their services. So if we give it something then it will help us.’

     Everyone fumbled around in their pockets for something to give. Only Kathy stopped suddenly at looked at her left hand. ‘You found something? If not then keep looking princess.’ Mai retorted.

‘Actually,’ Kathy began with a bitter tone aimed just at Mai. ‘My engagement ring. I sure as hell don’t need it anymore.’ Charli raised her eyebrows and even Mai looked impressed.

‘That could work. I’ll call him over’ Charli picked two more stones from the wall. She threw one to attract the brownies attention and when it shot down from its cave she threw the other one straight at it. She stood back and admired her awesome throw.

    It sat slightly stunned in front of Mai and Kathy’s cell. For the first time they managed to get a good look at it. To Mai it resembled a rat she once saw in the street and Kathy saw a hairless dog-cat hybrid. ’Hello there…Brownie.’ Kathy could hear Mai sniggering from behind her ‘Oh revenge is sweet.’ She thought she heard her mutter. Charli looked at her confused. ‘What's with all that?’ She asked, referring to the competitiveness and Mai’s talk of revenge ‘Someone woke up in a mood.’ Kathy purposely shot a look at Mai, who sat with an expression of offence plastered on her face. ‘She decided that she was going to scare me to death this morning!’ They were beginning to sound like children bickering to Charli, but she had to admit what Kathy was doing was pretty funny. ‘Just get on with it Kathy.’ She nodded and turned back to the dazed creature. ‘Do you like this pretty ring.’ She slid the ring off her finger and crouched down as she extended her hand through the bars.

The brownie, still slightly dazed, moved slowly towards her hand. Just as it was about to touch the ring Kathy closed her fingers over it. ‘Ah but, if I give you this ring, you have to go back into your cave and stay there no matter what. You can’t tell anyone we’re gone, understand?’ The brownie just stared at Kathy blankly for a while. She felt like such an idiot sat there talking to this creature like it was some sort of child. It didn’t help that all Charli and Mai were doing was laughing at her. But then the brownie jumped up and rested its two front paws onto Kathy’s fist and made a movement with its head that faintly resembled nodding. ‘Ok then, off you go.’ She opened her hand and let the brownie shoot away with her ring.

    ‘Think he kept his promise?’ Mai said mockingly.

‘Oh will you just open the door.’

‘I need-’ Before Mai could finish Kathy combed a hand through her hair and pulled out two gold hairpins.

‘You need these, yes I know!’ Mai’s eyes widened with surprise and shock as Kathy thrust the pins into her hand. ‘Ouch!’

‘Just open the door Mai and Kathy sit quietly in the corner, you’ve done your bit for now.’ Charli played mother from the other side of the bars. Kathy and Mai exchanged menacing looks before Mai began to work on the door.

    Soon all three girls were out, but as Kathy and Mai proceeded to run down the corridor, Charli ran to the last cell, where the elderly man was barely breathing anymore. ‘We have to help him too.’ She called after them. The man stirred.

‘No….I’m already a lost cause…. y-you just need to get that stone to Eastfort, you’ll find all the answers you seek there.’ He batted Mai away as she jogged back over, the hairpins in hand.

‘But we can’t just leave you.’ Charli insisted. The man removed his hand from his side. It was all bloody and revealed an open gash that began to bleed all onto the floor. With that hand he pulled out an amulet and handed it to Charli, who reached in through the bars to get it. ‘Just ask for Esmour.’ She took the warmed metal of the amulet and looked at it. It had a pentagram shape raised design on its surface and it curved on its edges so they were smooth instead of cylindrical. a noise came from the distance. ‘Go! They’re coming.’ Kathy and Mai tugged at Charli’s arm until she nodded and followed them as they ran down the corridor as quickly and quietly as they could.

 

Once they were out of sight a group of warlocks strode down the corridor from a different direction, so the girls had avoided them completely. Among them were the young warlock and a tall, older warlock, whose leather was just that bit shinier than the others, his goatee just a little more cynical than the others’ stubbled beards. ‘Esmour my old friend, what a state you’re in. Are you ready to tell us where it is?’ The elderly man simply laid back on the floor, a small pool of red liquid surrounding him. ‘Ah James…. once again, y-you’ve underestimated your own impatience.’ A smile played on the old warlocks lips as he closed his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible under his breath. The man with the goatee fumed, he demanded the door be opened but it was too late, the man disintegrated in a freak emerald flame, leaving nothing but ashes and a pool of crimson.

The door was finally opened and the young warlock took a step inside. ‘Nevermind, he still proved useful.’ He took a glass vial out of his pocket and removed its cork while crouching to be closer to the floor. Holding it just above the crimson fluid he waved a hand over the vile and it began to fill itself slowly. He straightened himself and replaced the cork. James had calmed down and was now stroking his goatee. ‘Maybe, but I’m beginning to think that if you hadn’t failed me in the first place that we wouldn’t be in this situation.’ The boy lowered his head slightly as he handed him the vile, but James was no longer interested.

He had extended his neck fully to see over the other men and was infuriated at the emptiness of his dungeon. ‘Where are they!’ He bellowed at the men. They young warlock spun around immediately. It was true, they girls were gone. ‘Get the others and check the corridors. Block all the exits and entrances. Round up a group and scout the area. Find them.’ Each individual warlock raced to follow their order. James put a hand on the boy’s shoulder as he tried to follow. ‘Nicholas, you’re getting sloppy, I don’t like sloppy. It makes me wonder who’s side you’re on and I’ve been here for you since you were knee-high- do not disappoint me.’ James was like a volcano, just waiting to erupt, on edge and angry trying to keep calm but failing.

It made the young warlock wonder sometimes, when he stood there next to him, if what he had said to Charli was ever true, was he truly the bad guy or was he merely the shadow of the real evil in this world? He shook it off and ran after the other warlocks, leaving James alone in the dimness of the dungeon.

5: Esmour's Aprentice

The girls ran their way through the corridors almost straight into trouble a few times. But eventually they sneaked their way out of whatever place had been holding them and hitched a ride on the back of a market wagon that they had overheard the driver say was going to Eastfort.

None of the girls said anything, each held a thought to themselves. Charli picked up her necklace and took a good long look at it. It had elegant swirls encasing the red stone delicately. It didn't look very special to her, but a thought came to her. Why did the Hellers give her this necklace if it was so special? Alexandria would never have given her the necklace if it would have put her in danger, would she?

 

The rest of the ride had been in silence for no one had anything to say. They had arrived in the city of Eastfort only to be welcomed by a group of uniformed men fighting what had looked to be supernaturals, maybe shapeshifters, it was hard to tell. ‘I’m loving this place already.’ Mai had groaned as they walked past it.

They did as the elderly man had told them and asked around for ‘Esmour’. The directions that were given led them to what was either a small mansion or a very large house. Either way, with ivy climbing up its rusty iron gates and the front gardens with piles of rubble and rubbish scattered everywhere looking like a tornado just hit made it look very run down. ‘Well at least we know he wasn’t a gardener.’ Mai said flatly.

‘Hey, he must of been something special. This could be a really nice place if it was ever cleaned.’ Kathy pointed to the grounds. ‘A table there, a balcony there. If I could redecorate this place would look great!’

‘We’re not here to redecorate.’ Charli walked over to the rusted gates and gave them a strong push. The metal hinges cried out with disuse, so loud that it could have woken the neighbours - if there was any. The house sat quietly on the end of a long cobblestone road to which the regular homes only reached half way. That left a wide stretch of emptiness to surround the building. There was a large tower attached to the side, looking very out of place. It’s spire had been the one that Mai had seen back at the camp in the distance, which now just seemed like a bad dream.

    ‘I’m not knocking on the door.’

‘I don’t want to knock first.’

‘Oh seriously you two stop whining.’ Charli jumped up the small creaky steps and banged loudly on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again but louder. A small panel opened up in the door and two little eyes peered out. ‘Who are you and what do you want?’

‘Who are you?’ Charli questioned.

‘That depends, who are you?’

‘I’m Charli and I’m here because an old man told me to.’ She sounded almost sarcastic.

    The panel slid shut. Tumblers clicked somewhere in the inner-mechanisms of the door and it opened a crack to reveal part of a short boy with a bowl-cut hairstyle wearing a brown robe of some sorts. ‘Old man? What old man?’

Mai was growing impatient. She didn‘t like this city, she didn‘t like this house and she wanted everyone to know that. Reaching a hand into Charli’s trouser pocket she brought out the amulet.

‘We were told to ask for Esmour.’ Her tone was cold and blunt. The boys face lost all colour.

‘No, no, no. Esmour…what have you done.’ His voice fell to a whisper.

‘We’re sorry but we barely escaped the warlocks that killed him and I thought we could find answers here. I was told that this is somewhat important.’ Charli brought out her necklace and the boy’s eyes widened so much it was as if he’d seen a ghost. ‘You’d better come in.’

    The house’s interior was just as, if not more, dishevelled than the exterior. ‘Excuse the mess, we don’t get many visitors. Actually I think you’re the first.’ The boy kicked a stack of books to one side to make more room for them to walk through. ‘Who’s we?’ Mai asked with a sudden nervousness. With all the books and strange trinkets and ornaments it didn’t look like a mortal’s house to her. ‘Well, I guess its only me now.’ He said solemnly. ’I’m Arthur though. Esmour’s nephew and apprentice.’ Mai’s heart froze.

‘I think he’s a warlock Kathy! Why did we just walk in here?’ She whispered frantically to Kathy who was eyeing a glass jar of some dark liquid that sat on a bookshelf. ‘Oh what have we walked into.’ Kathy started as a small frog-like creature through itself into the side of the jar of dark liquid. Both girls stared at the small creature for a while before it blinked its glassy eyes and sent them squealing to run and catch up with Charli. ‘Um Charli, a word please.’ Mai’s eyes were locked on the boy, any sudden movement of his and she would quite happily run. ‘What is it Mai?’ Tucking a blonde strand of hair behind her ear, Mai whispered her theory to Charli.

    Arthur watched them awkwardly. ‘Um, well I am a warlock, but not a full one. I was in training, hence the fact I’m only an apprentice. Or was rather.’ He looked to the side of the room distantly but shook himself out of it. ‘But don’t worry. I’m not an Offcut, I won’t hurt you. Not that I could if I wanted to.’ The girls looked both confused and shocked. Mai looked as if she was about to faint. ‘Oh, I’m part psychic on my mothers side, so I can read surface thoughts, vaguely.’ After a moment, Charli dropped the silence. There was a time where that would have surprised her, but not any more. ‘What’s an Offcut?’

‘Oh they are the supernaturals who pledge themselves as the remnants of the old world, who seek to return home as heroes. But in the meantime they terrorize mortals.’ He explained quite calmly.

‘So you’re not dangerous and you don’t kill people?’ Mai questioned to confirm. He nodded. ‘Then what do you do?’

‘That, is a very good question. I protect this world.’

‘So what, you fight your own kind?’ Kathy looked disgusted by the idea.

‘There is more than one way to protect something, and my way doesn’t involve violence. Well not on my part anyway.’

‘So why did this Esmour guy send us here if you can’t help us?’ Charli followed the boys gaze to her necklace.

‘That stone contains the power of the old world. When the nether world fell, the elders collected up the rogue power into that very stone. It is the key to reviving the old world and so must never fall into the wrong hands.’

Arthur looked up at Charli ‘I’m sorry I’m lecturing you.’  He walked over to a large pile of books and began to toss them carelessly to one side until a book holder was found, holding a very large, heavily decorated book. ‘If Esmour was killed by supernaturals as you say, he had probably found the book. Which is terrible news as it means the Offcuts most definitely have it now.’ He picked up the large book and blew on the cover. A cloud of dust rose up leaving him in a fit of coughs. ‘What does this have to do with us?’ Mai demanded whilst still keeping her distance.

‘Another good question, you are just full of them.’ Arthur smiled, trying to reassure her. ‘I am not capable of retrieving that book myself, and since you girls are already in possession of the stone, maybe you could help me, help everyone?’ Charli gestured for him to continue. The offer interested her for a reason she could not grasp. ‘There are three things that they need to be able to bring back the nether world. The stone, the book and the blood of a direct descendent of the original elders. Esmour was one so they have that and they also have the book, they’ll be looking for the stone.’ Charli clutched the necklace tightly. Arthur noticed and continued with a grim tone. ‘The book they have is a very old, very powerful spell book, which just so happens to have a spell to locate the stone.’ Arthur looked at them all pleadingly. ‘I need your help to get that book back, or else they’ll come for the stone and reawaken the old world. I’m sorry but you can’t escape this.’

     Kathy, who had been listening timidly from the back of the room took her stand. ‘Hold on just one second.’ all eyes turned to her as she stepped forward. ‘I have been forcibly engaged, kidnapped, nearly killed, came here on the back of a wagon and here is where I draw the line.’ She gestured to Mai and Charli. ‘I have been called insane before, people tell me I’m not right in the head, I do things that are considered crazy. However, I only just met these people and I don’t even know why I came this far, and running into the mouth of the beast unarmed and unskilled, probably to my certain death is not how I pictured this to end, its too crazy even for me. Just the other day I’d never even heard of a brownie let alone an entire other world of powerful beings, that may or may not be trying to kill me. So I’m very sorry to all of you but screw this! I can’t do this! I won’t do this! And that’s all I have to say on the matter.’ Kathy took a deep breath and crossed her arms. She was pleased with herself for putting her foot down. She flicked her fiery, red hair away from her face to try and look less flustered. ‘I never thought I’d say this, but I agree with the princess over here. This is too much. I don’t trust supernaturals and I don’t trust him.’ She pointed coldly at Arthur who couldn’t help but look slightly offended. ‘Look I know you’re both scared and you have every right to be. This is scary business. But the very survival of our world depends on this, it depends on you.’ Charli had a flashback of the desperation Esmour had shown for the stone to be taken away and hidden well. ‘If you will not step up, who will?’

    For a reason the other girls couldn’t fathom Charli left the room suddenly both angry and upset. ‘Please, will you think about it. You can stay here tonight if you’ve no place to go. We have a guest room upstairs that’s fit for company, its big enough for all of you.’ Arthur began to walk over to the staircase to show them up. ‘What makes you think we’d stay here, in a strange place with someone we don’t know, that could still, by my books, try and kill us.’ Mai and Kathy both put a hand on their hips stubbornly.

‘Fine then, you want to sleep outside in this city, be my guest. If you’re still there in the morning, come and tell me your thoughts, my offer still stands.’ Arthur continued up the stairs. The girls exchanged pensive glances. They decided they didn’t really have a choice and so followed reluctantly after him. ‘Charli, if I don’t wake up tomorrow, I’m going to kill you.’ Kathy shouted into the house, but she got no reply.

    

    The room Arthur showed was indeed very big. It had a four-poster bed against the wall and a few odd pieces of furniture here and there, including a chair that was placed in a corner for no apparent reason. ‘It’s only got one bed but I can bring in some blankets and pillows for you. There’s also a nice bathroom just through that door, I think there are towels and things in there already but if not just give me a shout. You’re welcome to anything in the wardrobe, you’d be surprised at what you can find in this house.’ He gave them a little bow and then made his way back down the corridor. ‘He did say bathroom right, I’m dying for a nice bath.’ Kathy ran straight for the bathroom door.

‘Well, thank you for offering the first bath to someone else. That was really nice of you.’ Mai mumbled angrily to herself.

    As she heard the sounds of running water Mai decided to snoop around the room a bit. She found a dressing table with a large oval mirror hidden behind a random panel of wood. The mirror itself was dusty and clouded so that her reflection was fuzzy and distorted. There was a small drawer that she couldn’t open for one reason or another. Looking back into the mirror she could see something high up behind her. She turned around and Charli was sitting on top of the wardrobe. ‘Charli, how did you get up there?’

‘I climbed up.’ She replied shortly.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Charli muttered something that Mai didn’t quite catch. ‘What?’

‘Never mind.’ Charli said loudly.

‘Come on tell me.’

‘I said that so you know me well enough to know when something’s wrong but not well enough to team up and save the world.’ Mai opened her mouth to speak, but realised she had a point.

‘Sorry I don’t fight armies of supernaturals.’

‘What if it was an army of brownies? You could fight them’ That made Mai laugh in a way she hadn’t in a long while. ‘Well, as long as they don’t climb in my mouth and pull out my tongue.’

‘Why won’t you stay then?’ Charli looked down at Mai with the sad longing eyes you might see on a puppy.

‘Because I can’t.’

‘You think you don’t have a choice but you do, you always do.’ A grim expression fell over Mai who decided to sit down and chew on that for a while.

In the meantime the bathroom door opened and out came a singing Kathy, tightly wrapped up in a white towel. ‘Hello ladies. I feel so much better after that bath.’ She walked over to the wardrobe that Charli was sat on and opened the doors. There was a wider selection of clothing than Kathy was anticipating. After flicking through each individual piece, she found a large white nightdress and pulled it from its wire hanger. ‘This is nice.’ She looked around before receding behind the panel of wood that Mai had moved to change. What Mai hadn’t realised was that the panel folded out into a proper screen. ‘You can go in now Mai, its quite lovely in there.’

‘Oh why thank you for permission to use a bathroom that doesn’t belong to you, how thoughtful.’ Mai remarked sarcastically. Kathy didn’t respond to it, but rather popped out from behind the screen fully dressed. ‘Ta-dah!’ Charli merely sighed. She waited for Mai to be in the bathroom before she began questioning Kathy. ‘So why do you want to leave?’

‘What? Oh that. Look its been fun and all but I’m too young to die. There’s so much of the world I want to see.’ Kathy was raiding drawers and cupboards of every piece of furniture in the room. Finally she pulled a hairbrush from one of them. ‘So you think you can have all that back home?’ Kathy paused for a second, with the hairbrush mid stroke. ‘No, but I won't go back there. I’ll travel around.’

‘By yourself, in a city of supernaturals, unarmed and inept at self-defence.’

‘I resent that comment, I can defend myself.’ Charli raised an eyebrow.

‘I’m serious. I can if I wanted to.’

‘Then prove it. Stay, and if you beat up a supernatural that’s attacking you then win,  I’ll admit I was wrong.’ Kathy smiled deviously.

‘I know what you’re trying to do and its not going to work.’

‘You wanted to leave home so badly, you were willing to come with me and Mai after bumping into us on the street. We’ve come so far in such a short space of time, imagine if we had more time?’ Kathy looked down at the floor in thought. ‘Haven’t you ever wanted to do something important? Have people depend on you rather than the other way around? Haven’t you ever wanted to save the world?’ Kathy threw her hands over her ears. ‘Stop it. I’m not listening.’

At that moment Mai came out of the bathroom in her towel and stared at Kathy. ‘You’ve broken her already.’ Charli just smiled happily at the thought. She swayed her head a little with boredom. As she did something caught her attention in the corner of her eye. Turning around she screamed. ‘Spider!’ Mai and Kathy had never seen someone leap off the top of a wardrobe so fast. Charli fell on her feet by some stroke of luck and so aced the landing by falling straight onto the hard floor. ‘You fell flat on your ass. Why were you on top of a wardrobe anyway?’ Kathy teased. ‘Trying not to fall off.’ Charli moaned from the floor.

‘Ah, you’re doing well so far.’

    After Mai had gotten changed and Charli had gone in for a bath herself, after much persuasion from the other two. A knock came at the door, it was Arthur bringing up a silver tray with a few bowls and bits of bread. ‘I thought you might be hungry so I brought up something to eat. Its nothing fancy but its hot and edible which is just about the limits of my cooking skills.’ The girls thanked him for the dinner and let him go on his way.

    They ate ravenously until the tray was completely empty, with not even a crumb left to waste. They all sat together on the bed chatting away idle conversations until the matter of staying arose again. ‘Look Charli, don’t you see the position you’re putting us in?’ Mai ran her hands through her hair in frustration.

‘I don’t understand how you can just throw it aside, without even a care for the safety of our world, the one we live in.’

‘I owe too much to my past to throw it all away on some reckless task.’

‘I’ve lived my entire life hiding from my past, because every time it finds me again I feel helpless towards it. Everyone always tells me there’s nothing you could have done and there’s nothing you can do. Well here it is, a way I can finally do something. I’m tired of hiding while I watch everything I love die.’

‘Its not that I feel helpless.’

‘Then what?’

‘I-I’m scared, ok.’ She didn’t know if it was the lack of sleep or Charli’s persistent quizzes, but she finally let herself explain. ‘I’ve always had someone there for me. Even though my mother died, the owner of the brothel had known me my whole life, he helped raise me and when she was gone he made sure I didn’t follow in her footsteps. He kept me behind the bar and never let anyone lay a hand on me. He protected me, until one day when supernaturals decided his establishment was a disgrace and burned it to the ground. He helped me get out, even though it killed him and I’ve been running away, alone ever since and I don’t want to die now. My mother always wanted better for me, she tried so hard to get me out and I’m finally away from it all.’

‘Isn’t this better?.’

‘Why? You don’t even know me that well, why would you care?.’

‘Why don’t you realise that this is bigger than you? Those warlocks killed the last piece of family I had left, I’m not going to let them win.’

‘So that’s what this is about, revenge.’ Charli stopped for a second and checked herself. Was that really all it was? ‘Maybe, but not just. When those supernaturals attacked your family, hadn’t you wished there was someone there to have helped you, helped them?’ Mai looked away, knowing she was right. ‘But I can barely look after myself, let alone other people.’

‘Well me and Kathy are still alive, so are you, so I’d call that a success.’

‘But that wasn’t me, that was luck.’ Mai rested her chin on her hands as she laid herself down onto the bed. ‘I don’t believe in luck.’

Mai looked down at her hands. She didn’t know what to think anymore.

    Charli turned to Kathy who had kept quiet this whole time. ‘What about you Kathy?’

‘I just don’t want to risk everything for nothing.’

‘What exactly are you risking?’

‘I want to go out and take the world by the reigns. I want to have fun and be crazy and spontaneous, something my parents never let me be.’

‘And saving the world isn’t spontaneous and crazy?’ Kathy smiled at Charli’s stubbornness.

‘I guess it is, but maybe it’s a little too crazy. I don’t want the spontaneous part to be death, thank you.’

‘What kind of fun is not-so-crazy.’

‘The not-so-fun kind.’ Kathy admitted, her argument now sounded pathetic. But a question played on her mind, something she had noticed very obviously with Charli, even though she hadn’t known her long. ‘Why is it that one minute you’re storming off all angrily and then the next you’re playing around, climbing up wardrobes and trying to convince two people you barely know to save the world?’ Kathy had already made herself comfortable. Mai was already asleep at the foot of the bed, and now Kathy was beginning to feel the limits of her exhaustion. Her eyelids were getting heavy, but she still wanted an answer. ‘I’m sort of passive aggressive.’ Charli just smiled at her as she closed her eyes. ‘Goodnight.’ But there was no reply as everyone was beyond words.

So Charli too laid down on her share of the bed in the middle as Mai was on the foot of the bed and Kathy at the top. She fell asleep to the soft sounds of breathing, until Kathy started snoring, at which point she gave her a little kick and she shut up. She let her mind wander as the night carried her into a light, dreamless sleep.

 

6: The Story of The Wardens

Morning came all too soon.

No one had thought to close the curtain and so the early light illuminated the entire room, causing the girls to wake up. They had, had a restless night by the looks of things. Mai had fallen onto the floor somewhere in the middle of the night and Kathy was sprawled all over her end with her arm and head hanging off the bed. Only Charli woke up as she had fallen asleep, curled up and in the middle of the bed. ‘Urgh, who turned on the sun?’ Charli groaned, shielding her face with her pillow. Kathy raised her head unaware that she was dangling and made her weight shift, tumbling off the bed.  ‘Ouch.’ She didn’t seem to be too bothered and just curled herself up as if to sleep some more.

On the other side of the bed, Mai sat up, realising she was on the floor and wondering how she got there. It took each of the girls a while to remember everything that had happened. ‘Oh I was hoping I dreamt it!’ Kathy complained from the floor. ‘Quit your whining. I’m not in the mood to put up with you.’ Mai said sharply. Kathy sat up momentarily just so she could mock her by mimicking her mouth moments. ‘You guys are so mature.’ Charli mumbled sleepily. ‘Says the girl who climbed up a wardrobe.’ Kathy laughed at Mai’s retort.

‘Someone’s really not a morning person.’ Her laughter was met with a firm throw of Mai’s pillow to her face.

Charli forced herself out of the bed and tried not to stand on Kathy as she and Mai began to play throw-the-pillow. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the dusty mirror and saw the cotton trousers and shirt that she had put on after her bath. She was never one for nightdresses, they made her feel uncomfortable. As her mind landed on the subject, she decided it would be a good idea to change and so shuffled over to the large wardrobe. ‘Don’t sit on there again.’ Mai paused her game and stared at Charli.

‘I wasn’t going to, I‘ve learned my lesson.’ Charli mimicked her mocking tone.

‘Spider’s still up there isn’t it?’

‘Yes.’ Charli muttered ashamedly. She flung the doors of the wardrobe open dramatically and ran a hand along the row of clothes. There was nothing in there that she’d particularly want to wear. It was full of mainly pain men’s clothing, with only the odd dress dotted between them. Unsatisfied with her findings she closed the wardrobe doors disappointedly.

‘Look.’ Mai pointed to a pile of freshly washed clothes that were folded and left on top of an old chest by the door. ‘Arthur must have washed our clothes while we were sleeping.’

‘He came in here while we were sleeping!’ Kathy exclaimed with revulsion.

‘That is a little creepy.’ Mai agreed. Charli on the other hand seemed perfectly fine with it. She was used to little random acts of kindness from the Hellers and so to her, this was just a lovely gesture. Going through the pile she found the embroidered tunic and grey trousers she had been wearing yesterday and flung them over her shoulder. Just as she was setting the pile down, Mai and Kathy both decided to be lazy.

‘Can you throw me mine, please.’

‘Mine too.’ Charli rolled her eyes at them and threw the woollen shirt and brown trousers in Mai’s direction.

She found there was a soft blue dress left in her hands. ‘That’s mine.’ Kathy called from the other side of the room. Charli couldn’t even remember when Kathy had lost her cloak and she wasn’t even aware that Kathy had been wearing blue.  Realising it wasn‘t all that important, she chucked it carelessly back to Kathy.

    All ready and dressed, Charli stood in front of the oval mirror and brushed her hair thoughtfully. She started to come to the understanding that today could be the last time that all of them we’re together. It was strange to think that she needed two people that she had barely just met so badly. But she had formed an emotional bond with them over the last few days. They had stuck by her and helped her escape. Without them she would be either dead or still locked in a cell. The thought troubled her so much that in the end, while tying her hair back, she asked them about it. ‘Can I ask you guys something?’

‘Sure.’

‘Go ahead.’ Both girls stopped what they were doing and focused on Charli.

‘Back in the cells, you guys let me out. Even after I had almost got you killed and I was even in a different cell to you two. You could have very easily just left me in there, and anyone who had almost died at the hands of a person would have left them. Why didn’t you leave me?’ They thought for a moment until Mai was the first to respond. ‘Because that would’ve been unfair. I chose to stay, so in a way, me being in there was my own fault.’ Kathy nodded her head in agreement. Charli sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow. ‘I’m sorry for expecting you guys to just jump into this with me. I’ve already put you through enough and you’re probably getting sick of me.’

‘That’s not true.’ Kathy interrupted softly. ‘You’re fun.’

‘That’s true.’ Mai ‘s moodiness seemed to be fading as she chuckled at the thought. ‘I don’t know of any other person that would climb a wardrobe and then jump straight off after seeing a little bug.’

‘You just won’t let that go will you.’ Charli laughed with her. After the moment had died down, Kathy walked over to the mirror and gave herself a little spin. ‘Right, lets go down there and give that twisted Arthur a piece of our minds.’

    Downstairs the girls could hear noises coming from what could have been the kitchen. Walking in they saw a small creature that looked part, dog, cat and rat pushing a large pot into a cupboard. It stopped and stared timidly at the girls. Kathy and Mai screamed as they ran out, while Charli continued to stare back, shocked, as it waved awkwardly at her and continued pushing the pot into the cupboard. She returned the wave, still slightly in shock and chased up the others who had bumped into Arthur and sent the pile of books in his hands flying. ‘Arthur!’ Kathy screamed. ‘There’s a creature in your kitchen.’ Arthur looks at her both confused and dazed. ‘Oh you mean Edgar! No he’s not dangerous, he’s the houses brownie.’

‘Another one?’ Kathy yelled, irritatedly. Arthur was confused, he had no idea about the brownie she’d had to handle in the dungeon. ‘Oh Kathy, looks like you’ll have a friend here.’ She glared at Mai with a sharp intensity, but Arthur was the only one to pick up on the hidden meaning.

‘Wait! Here? So you’re staying?’ Charli’s face lit up at Arthurs questions. Mai and Kathy exchanged knowing glances. ‘Yep.’ They said together. Charli jumped on them both in a tight embrace.

‘When did you decide that? I thought you didn’t want to die.’ She said excitedly.

‘Well you convinced me to stay and then of course, Mai didn’t want to be the only quitter. Also we’re not the ones with the precious stone that they need to destroy the world.’ Kathy explained calmly. ‘And we wouldn’t leave you like a sitting duck, waiting for them to come and kill you.’ Mai just loved to look on the bright side of things.

‘Because that wouldn’t be fair.’ Charli laughed and hugged them tighter. Arthur decided to jump in on the action and wrapped his arms around the three girls. ‘Oh this is just so beautiful, we’re just like one big happy family.’ Kathy looked distraught.

‘Arthur, let go.’ She said in warning. He released his grip and stood awkwardly ruffling his hair.

‘Sorry.’  

‘So what do we do now?’ Charli asked curiously. Arthur smiled and grabbed the large dusty book he had found earlier. ‘Have you ever heard the story of the wardens?’

 

‘Years ago, there was a world which magic ruled. It was purely supernatural, and in all it’s glory it was home to the most powerful beings. It was known as the netherworld. It was governed by a council of elders, who incidentally were the most powerful of them all. But there was a forbidden darkness to the powers of the netherworld, it was home to spirits and creatures that do things that were dangerous and irresponsible. The council had outlawed that misuse of power. However, as always, there was one who chose to defy the council. He was a powerful warlock for his time and was only so powerful because he used this forbidden power. He had invented a way of harnessing the power of these spirits and creatures using an ancient ritual, which required the blood of a council member, the presence of the spirits and creatures and a spell of his creation. With that power he created more spells and so recorded them into a single spell book of immense power. But in his experimentation he lost control of his stolen powers. It caused chaos throughout the netherworld as the spirits sought vengeance. The warlock could not control them and they brought about the end of the world. The elders made a rash decision, they would leave that world and use it as a prison for the rogue spirits that laid waste to it. It took all the power they had to open a path into our world, but they did it. But they couldn’t just leave the spirits there in a world full of magical power for them to play with, so they syphoned it all into a single stone which they made sure was hidden well to prevent it falling into the wrong hands. The supernaturals were not welcomed warmly into their new world, the natives were scared and aloof. They hunted them and killed them in the most horrible of ways, so not much has changed. So with that in mind, some supernaturals wanted better. They believed they were the superior beings and so sought to harness the power of the rogue spirits and summon them so that they could so to the mortals, what the mortals did to them. They called themselves the Offcuts. After their first attempt almost succeeded, the elders decided to create a system of protectors known as the wardens. These were people who swore to protect the new world from facing the same fate as the old world suffered. They were initiated using a sacred oath and then were branded with the symbol of supernatural power, the pentagram, using the elder’s amulets. Wardens could only be initiated by an elder, and when they faded, their children and their children’s children carried on. However, new wardens were rarely initiated outside of their family genealogy, it was a handed down honour and because of this there are hardly any left today.’

 

Arthur closed the book heavily, creating puffs of dust that dissolved into the air.

 

‘So what do you need us to do?’ Charli felt like she was repeating herself.

‘I need you to become wardens. It was never a job designed for mortals but the fate of the world rests on this and it was said that the initiation enhanced their skills. No offence to you girls, but you’re going to need all the help you can get.’ Mai raised an eyebrow. Enhanced skills? that sounded slightly interesting. Finally, an upper-hand in the battle between supernaturals and mortals. To Kathy it sounded exciting and spontaneous, but also reassured her slightly, she’d have something to prevent her from getting killed instantaneously. Which left Charli to be the doubtful one this time around. ‘What does the initiation involve again?’

Arthur took out the amulet Mai had showed him yesterday at the door. ‘Well, it needs to be done by an elder, or in this case an elder’s descendant, which would be me. You girls must swear the sacred oath, and then I charm the amulet and brand you with the symbol.’ He ran his thumb over the raised design of the golden disc. Charli looked quite worried. ‘Branded? As in burned, with that. Won’t that hurt, like a lot?’ Arthur swayed his head softly, trying to word it so it wouldn’t sound too bad. ‘Well… Yes and no.’

‘What do you mean by that? Give us a straight answer!’ Now Kathy was getting a bit nervous, she had a very low pain tolerance and was pretty sure that being burned willingly was not an option. ‘It’s complicated, you see it’s not really a mortal thing, so I have no idea what it will be like for you three.’

‘You know, you really could’ve mentioned this before.’ Mai narrowed her eyes at him as he shrunk slightly into his robes. ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t be too bad, I can have Edgar get some ice from outside?’

‘That doesn’t make me feel better at all.’

Arthur didn’t really know what else to say so he just shrugged and gestured awkwardly. ‘The amulet is charmed, so maybe I could find a way of making sure it doesn’t hurt.’ Kathy let out a sigh of relief.

‘Do that then, quickly.’

‘So that means you’ll definitely do it?’ Mai still looked doubtful but Charli nodded and so they all followed. They weren’t going to let her have all the fun. ‘Oh good! Thats wonderful. Um, maybe you’ll want breakfast, or lunch rather, its midday. Help yourself to whatever you can find, I think Edgar’s finished tidying up. I’m going to go and read up on charms, see you later, or whatever.’ He waved and scuttled his way through the mess of books that littered the floor. ‘Bye.’ Kathy blurted before checking that the brownie was truly gone from the kitchen.

‘Does anyone know how to cook?’ Charli held up a strange utensil that she could not name. ‘Don’t you?’ Mai asked while Kathy wore a look of disbelief to support. Charli raised her shoulders ‘No.’ She said with a tinge of embarrassment. The other girls just burst into a fit of giggles. ‘Don’t laugh, I’m serious.’ Charli said defensively.

‘How can you have not learned to cook yet? Your a girl.’ Kathy made it sound as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Charli crossed her arms. ‘I am not, nor ever will be a housewife. I don’t care what people say about girls, I am not an inferior gender.’

‘Are you saying we are?’ Mai teased and picked up a wooden spoon and hit Charli with it gently.

‘Hey!’ Charli used her unnamed utensil and hit her back. Mai was about to retaliate but Charli blocked her spoon in one swift movement, as if it were a sword. ‘Oh, you want to play this game. Kathy grab something, you're on my team.’

‘That’s not fair!’ Mai just stuck out her tongue jokingly as Kathy stood beside her with another spoon, this one made of metal. ‘Life is unfair.’ Mai retorted with a smile, but Charli just picked up another utensil and grinned mischievously. ‘Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you two.’ She leapt forward and startled Kathy so she took a step back, then hit her spoon so that it flew out of her hand. Mai on the other hand went straight in, squealing and managed to block Charli’s utensil attack. But Charli just manoeuvred herself almost expertly and got Mai to drop her spoon and then pushed her over Kathy, where she tripped on the red-head’s legs and fell backwards. ‘I win.’ Charli said cheerfully, as if she had won by nothing more meagre than by default.

    At that point Edgar shuffled slowly into the kitchen again and stared at the two girls that had taken each other to the floor. He blinked blankly and made his way over to the large metal oven and laboured himself onto the handle so that hispetite weight could make it open. A burst of heat filled the chilly kitchen and sent a shiver down Charli’s spin who hadn’t realised how cold it had been until then. The brownie slipped both hands into a large worker’s glove and pulled out a piping hot tray of sweetbreads. Charli helped Kathy and Mai up from the cold granite floor, but their eyes remained glued to Edgar. They watched him slid the sweetbreads from the oven tray onto a serving tray and then again as he put the oven tray away to cool down. He shuffled over to them with the silver serving tray as if offering them the sweetbreads.

Charli was the first to bend down and pick up one of the still-hot pastries. ‘Thank you Edgar.’ She said sweetly and the brownie made a movement with his head, acknowledging her thanks. After Mai and Kathy had plucked up the courage to go get some themselves the girls wandered back into the cluttered living room in search of Arthur. When he wasn't there they decided to search for him elsewhere. ‘He’s got to be done by now.’ Kathy sighed impatiently as she followed the girls into the dimness of the hallway.

 

‘Right. I think this is it.’ Arthur stepped around a large pile of books with his nose already stroking the page of the one in his hand. ‘Finally!’ Kathy jumped up from her seat on the soft armchair and enjoyed the stretch. She had been sat there for hours waiting after the girls had found Arthur digging through his library, or maybe it was his study, still searching for the right charming spell. Charli yawned, she had very nearly fallen asleep on the large sofa, but Mai kept her up with her constant chatter, which Charli had tuned out after the first ten minutes. ‘So when is this happening?’ Mai asked a little nervously from her spot of the sofa.

‘Well the sooner the better I should think. I need you trained as well and we don’t have much time left until the last full moon of Autumn.’

‘Why the last full moon of Autumn?’ Charli questioned with her sprawled tiredness.

‘They can only find the stone accurately on the last full moon of a season, and Autumn is already in motion.’ Charli sat herself up and paused as the blood rushed to her head too quickly. Kathy paced the room, trying to wake her sleeping legs. ‘So now?’ She asked with an uncanny eagerness that made the other girls look at her in shock. ‘What?’ She responded to their melodramatic expressions. ‘If this is happening I want it over and done with quickly, otherwise I’ll just stress out and you really don’t want to put up with that.’ Arthur mumbled something about today being a new moon and about clearing some space for the ritual as he wandered off into his ocean of books.

‘Do it, do it now.’ Mai joked, although, she was a little shaken by the thought of an even more irritating Kathy and so was quite happy to let her go first. ‘I’ll go next if that's fine with Charli, I just don’t want to be last or I’ll run out from watching you two screaming.’

‘Thank you for that Mai, I appreciate it.’ Charli snapped sarcastically. She narrowed her eyes as Mai quivered her lower lip like a pleading child. ‘Fine!’ She raised her arms in exasperation as Mai celebrated by wrapping her arms around her tightly. ‘Thank you!’

    Arthur cleared his throat to get their attention. He had prepared a table while the girls bickered. It was covered in lit candles and spell books, with a white powder drawn into a pentagram, like the amulet, in the centre of it. On the edge of the table was a padded block of wood that had been clamped to the hard table, two leather straps were folded neatly over it. The whole ambiance of it made Charli shiver, to the extent where it felt like even the chill of the air burned her lungs. ‘So Kathy,’ his smile was weird as he stared at the short red-haired girl, a luminosity in his eyes, ‘are you ready?’

7: The Morning After

, Kathleen Whitewood swear with the heart of my soul,

the soul of my being, my being of this world,

that I will protect the mortal realm from supernatural control.

 

The amulet.

 

‘The pentagram, the union of elements, the key to magic, the symbol of the elders. Do you accept their quest?’

 

I will take on the elder’s burden,

 

The charm.

 

‘By the elder’s symbol and the elder’s blood, bound by fire is the elder’s burden,

and so by fire I mark your powers’

 

Hot, gold metal pressed into cold skin. A power radiating from it, not heat, but an ancient magic.

 

‘Welcome young warden.’

 

‘That totally didn’t hurt.’

‘Mai it’s your turn.’

‘How could it not have hurt?’

‘It just didn’t, now stop acting like a whimpering child and have your go.’

 

‘Just do it like Kathy did and you’ll be fine.’

 

I, Maia Daye swear with the heart of my soul,

the soul of my being, my being of this world,

that I will protect the mortal realm from supernatural control.

 

‘Oh be careful with that Arthur.’

‘Kathy!’

‘Sorry.’

 

‘The pentagram, the union of elements, the key to magic, the symbol of the elders. Do you accept their quest?’

 

I will take on the elder’s burden,

 

‘Arthur be careful!’

‘Kathy be quiet!’

 

‘By the elder’s symbol and the elder’s blood, bound by fire is the elder’s burden,

and so by fire I mark your powers’

 

‘Wait what if it hurts?’

‘It won’t, Kathy was fine, she’s just irritating.’

‘I can hear you!’

‘Then you’ll hear me telling you to button it.’

‘Fine, just let me look away.’

‘It’s already done.’

 

‘Welcome young warden.’

 

‘I seriously felt nothing, how strange.’

‘You sound disappointed.’

‘Well next time I’ll be sure not to waste hours of my time finding a painless heat charm when you ask for one.’

‘I’m glad, its just odd.’

‘Now Charli, it’s your turn.’

 

I, Charli Mauntell…

 

‘You need your full name.’

‘That is my name.’

‘I thought it was short for something, like Charlotte.’

‘I’m just Charli.’

‘Ok, then try it again.’

 

I, Charli Mauntell swear with the heart of my soul,

the soul of my being, my being of this world,

that I will protect the mortal realm from supernatural control.

 

‘The pentagram, the union of elements, the key to magic, the symbol of the elders. Do you accept their quest?’

 

‘She hesitated!’

‘Kathy shut up!’

‘Don’t be rude Mai.’

‘Says you.’

‘Girls!’

‘Sorry.’

‘She started it.’

 

I will take on the elder’s burden,

‘By the elder’s symbol and the elder’s blood, bound by fire is the elder’s burden,

and so by fire I mark your powers’

 

‘Kathy calm down, I can hear you breathing like a dog.’

‘Am I not allowed to worry about my friends?’

‘Not like that.’

‘Shut up you two. Arthur just do it.’

 

Charli hadn’t even made it through that. She stared at the raw burn on her inner forearm with resent. The pain had been too much for her, the burning too intense and all she remembered was screaming before the world faded to black. It was odd, what had happened, it was nothing like the others’. When Arthur had tied Kathy’s arm to the padded block with the leather straps she hadn’t even flinched. Her’s had healed almost instantly, with only a thin red scar to mark its existence. Mai’s had been virtually painless, the wound not even red with the heat. Both girls hadn’t even whimpered during their initiation, yet Charli’s had been no different in method.

Kathy paced her way into the room carrying a ball of cloth that dripped with water. ‘I brought you that ice. Edgar had to go all the way out to the old cellar at the bottom of the garden where the ice box is to fetch this so here.’ She dropped the bundle carelessly onto Charli and rubbed her white fingers. ‘It’s really cold.’ Charli was in no mood for Kathy’s naivety.

‘It’s ice, what did you expect, it to warm you?’

‘No need to snap at me.’ She looked over at Charli’s burn. ‘It looks pretty bad.’ Charli shot her a look that could kill. ‘Looks?’Kathy frowned at the sharpness of her tone.

‘Well I know it’s painful for you, I’m just saying that if it hurts as bad as it looks then it must be pretty bad.’ By the unchanged expression on Charli’s face, Kathy’s empathy wasn’t helpful.

‘I’m fine.’ She tried to shoo her away subtly.

Kathy reached into the pockets of her dress and retrieved a white bandage and a glass pot of something that Charli couldn’t identify. ‘Could I at least bandage it up so that it doesn’t fester?’ Charli was about to refuse, but the image of a grotesque, unhealed wound was disturbing. ‘What’s in the pot?’ She decided to question before letting Kathy anywhere near her burn. ‘Just a little something I made.’ Charli raised an eyebrow at her warily. ‘You made this?’ Kathy avoided her gaze.

‘Well, Arthur was taking ages to find that charm, so while I waited I read a few of his books and I found this really neat medicinal ointment recipe. The thing is that those recipes are really old so I mixed some other things in and made it my own a little, but it should work a lot better.’

Charli opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, speechless. She sucked in a quick breath. ‘You want to try some random thing you found in a book, that you changed, on my burn to see if it works?’ Kathy kneeled down by the sofa that Charli was sprawled across.

‘Please? I promise it won’t kill you, I told you I used to play with these sorts of things when I was younger.’ Her eyes were wide and sad as she pleaded the expressionless Charli.

Finally, she softened her stone look and let Kathy apply her pot of pink gunk, reluctantly onto her arm. ‘You’ll see. It’ll heal up in no time.’ She bandaged the liberal dose of pink with the white bandage and tied it tightly, making Charli wince. ‘Sorry. Too tight?’ Charli shook her head.

‘It’s fine. Thank you.’ She half-whispered as she stood up. Having been laid down all that time had made her legs go numb and now they tingled uncomfortably with every step she took. She stroked the pink-stained bandage with open fingers, it was the same arm that had been bandaged before. There wasn’t much time to reminisce before Kathy grabbed a hold of her other wrist and dragged her out of the door. ‘Come on, Mai’s been preparing dinner.’

    DInner wasn’t actually bad at all. Charli was surprised at how skilled Mai was at cooking, she had made a delicate roast with perfectly boiled vegetables. It was the first time she had been fully satisfied by a meal. Charli couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten something as well-prepared and appetizing. She thought about her own cooking skills and how nice it must be to know you can actually make something that’s edible and easy on the tongue.

    Arthur had sent Edgar to do some tidying up upstairs and so the girls now had a room each. As Charli stepped into hers the first thing she noticed was how dark it was. Heavy black curtains were drawn over a large window that faced over the garden and out into an empty meadow. Charli thrust them open in one strong movement to reveal the star-lit sky. It was a beautiful view, completely clear and unobstructed. It made for a little more light to get in from the moon which was angled almost directly over the window. The room was still dim and gloomy, so Charli lit a large oil lamp and placed it on a small bedside table.

The meagre spill of orange light allowed her to see that the room was much bigger than it had first seemed. There was a door in the corner that she assumed led to a bathroom, a large wardrobe was just opposite against the wall and there was a large bed set against the same wall. Charli noticed, that unlike the other room, this one had torn wallpaper in an ugly shade of yellow that made it look old and mouldy. ‘Well I’m going to have to change that at some point’ She said to no one.

It had gotten very late all of a sudden, and after dinner Arthur had told the girls that he had a surprise for them in the morning. Charli changed into some night clothes and drew the curtains together with the same ease as before. The loud scraping of the wooden loops on the banister almost startled her, she hadn’t realised how quiet this room was. Thinking about it, Charli remembered that it was the furthest room from the other girls. That was probably lucky considering Mai and Kathy’s tendencies to argue, especially early in the morning.

She raised her hand to her mouth as she let out a long yawn. Running her hands over the soft, scented duvet she lifted it up and slipped inside. It was surprisingly cold at first, but soon warmed up as Charli let herself drift off into possibly the first deep, soundless sleep she’d had in a long while.

 

She woke up to a loud banging on the door. ‘Charli, wake up its almost noon!’ It was Kathy knocking frantically on the solid wood. Charli sat up, was it really that late already? She threw the duvet off of herself and shuffled over to the door, still feeling half-asleep. The lock opened but before Charli could do it herself, Kathy thrust open the door. ‘Come on! Breakfast is getting cold, well actually its lunch now.’ She looked Charli up and down and frowned. ‘You’re still not ready? Hurry up! Arthur won’t tell us the surprise until we’re all downstairs and its killing me!’ She shook the tired girl by the shoulders to emphasise her need to know. Charli felt like slamming the door in her face, but decided against it. ‘I’ll be there in a minute.’ Reluctantly, Kathy turned on her heels and ran back down the corridor as Charli closed the door.

With a tired sigh, she made her way over to the wardrobe and opened it, expecting to find the same sort of things as the wardrobe in the other room. She was shocked to discover that it was in fact filled with numerous items of clothing that were picked almost specifically for her. She took out a pair of leather trousers and a beige white shirt that draped loosely on her, as if it were too big. She also took out a red leather vest with fringed edges that she put on over the shirt. Tying her hair up into her usual messy bun she finished getting ready and made her way out of the door.

Arthur was busy piling books up as Charli walked slowly into the room, she was still getting used to the grandeur of the house and found herself forgetting where she was going a few times. ‘Good morning.’ Arthur waved from behind a wall of books. ‘Morning.’ She returned his greeting and made her way into the kitchen.

She was surprised to see Kathy and Mai leaning against the counter eating something yellow and fluffy from a glazed plate. ‘Charli! Finally she has awoken. You have got to try this, its amazing.’ Kathy handed her a silver fork before shovelling some more of the yellow stuff into her mouth greedily. ‘What is it?’ Charli cringed slightly, watching Kathy’s surprising lack of manners, considering the fact she came from a noble background it was quite a change. ‘Scrambled eggs.’ Mai said plainly, as if Kathy had been overreacting about its amazingness the whole time.

Charli made a gagging noise and wrinkled her nose. ‘Why ruin perfectly good eggs by scrambling them?’ Mai’s eyes shot wide open.

‘You don’t like scrambled eggs?’ She made it sound like it was the most treacherous crime, maybe worse than mass murder. ‘No.’ Charli said matter-of-factly. Mai’s expression changed from shock to sadness. ‘How can you not like scrambled eggs?’

‘Easy, you look at them and then look at vomit and they are almost one and the same thing.’ Charli stepped over to the oven and took out a silver tray with the leftover breakfast that Edgar had made that morning, that she had ultimately missed.

Kathy had finished off the plate herself after Mai had stopped to talk and now the two were bickering. ‘Girls please, don’t you want to see your surprise?’ Arthur strode in with a wicked grin. Kathy’s attention was instantly drawn. ‘Show me now, show me now!’ Kathy kept at his heels as he walked the girls into the living room.

There was a large table that had been covered with a thin cloth so that odd shapes poked out from what hid underneath. ‘What is that?’ Mai asked with a sprinkle of caution in her voice. Arthur’s grin widened, there was a glint of excitement in his eyes. ‘Well now that you’re wardens, you have to learn to how to protect the world from supernaturals. I thought that maybe these would help.’ He grabbed onto the edge of the cloth and jerked it straight off. Charli’s eyes widened as she gasped with amazement.

On the table was an assortment of weapons, of the like of which neither of the girls had ever seen before. ‘Oh my goodness! These are awesome!’ Charli admired them with an awed expression. Arthur seemed very happy with her reaction. ‘I made them all. They are specially designed to take care of different kinds of supernaturals in a wide manner of colourful ways.’ Kathy stared at a set of strangely shaped knives with an expression of horror. ‘You mean we have to killpeople?’ She blurted. Arthur looked at her blankly. ‘Well I certainly wasn’t going to invite them round for tea.’

Charli was surprised when a shrill laugh escaped her mouth. She quickly stifled it with her hand when Kathy shot her a sharp look. ‘Well I can barely kill a fly let alone a person.’ Arthur raised his hand as she spoke, indicating a pre-thought answer.

‘That’s why you’ll be training with them, every day from sunrise to sunset, until you’re ready to get the book back before the last full moon of Autumn.’ This time it was Mai that interjected.

‘I don’t know how to use a weapon!’ She said with a mild alarm.

Arthur picked up a large bow, weighed it in his hand and held it out to Mai. ‘I’ve designed them to be easy to use, but it’s not just that. The initiation is rumoured to give you enhanced skills, so you girls are already ready for this even without knowing it.’ He gestured for Mai to take the bow, she shook her head at first but he insisted until she plucked it unwillingly from his grasp. ‘Just try and pull it back fully, be careful though it’s quite taught.’ Mai pulled the the tight string back with an incredible ease.

‘Wow thats really easy!’ Arthur looked baffled. He took the bow off of her quickly and attempted it himself to an unsuccessful end. ‘What did that ritual give you? The strength of an elephant?’ Mai looked at her hands in shock, but then a huge smile crept onto her face. ‘This is so cool!’

Kathy stepped forward and pinged the string with her finger to test it. ‘What can I do then?’ She asked with a mild disappointment. Charli tore her attention from the table for a second to answer when Arthur hesitated. ‘Well, you managed to be able to re-create stuff from Arthur’s medicine books, maybe you have actual alchemy skills now?’ Arthur looked at her, perplexed.

‘You read my books?’ He asked Kathy with more curiosity than anything else. She flushed, embarrassment taking hold of her. ‘Only one and it was medicinal, not magic, and I didn’t stick to the recipe much, it was really dated and needed improving.’ She replied sheepishly. Arthur just nodded his head, he was clearly impressed. ‘You modified a recipe and it worked?’ Kathy shrugged, she hadn’t checked Charli’s arm yet and so didn’t know. ‘That will come in handy, I’m going to need some help with spells and things soon, considering Esmour’s no longer with us.’ Kathy had expected some sort of sorrow to be in his voice, but he seemed to have gotten over his grief.

He picked up an unloaded crossbow and handed it to her. ‘This should suit you well, it doesn’t require a lot of effort to handle. Don’t get offended, you just don’t have superhuman strength.’ Kathy raised an eyebrow at that last part and took the crossbow from his outstretched hand. It was heavier than she had thought it to be, which made her realise that Arthur made a good point so she nodded in agreement.

‘What about you Charli, have you got your eye on anything you want?’ Charli pulled a mischievous half-smile and picked up a pair of identical long blades that were shaped oddly, with a slight curve towards their tapered point. She held them both in one hand while picked up a much smaller and straighter blade that she threw up into the air and caught after it spun gracefully a few times. The others blinked at her blankly, sharing an expression of utter amazement. ‘I think I’ll take this set right here.’ Her voice touched on mystery with a dangerous undertone.

‘Alright then.’ Arthur said plainly to end to silence. ‘Now you’re ready to start your training.’ The girls looked at him, as if to say where on earth would that be happening? Reading their faces, as well as vague surface thoughts, he smiled and turned into the hallway. ‘Come on, let me show you the practise room.’

8: It's Justice, Not Vengence

The practise room was a large, domed hall at the very base of the grand house. It took up almost the entire foundation floorplan, where in a regular house you’d find a small wine cellar or basement. Tall wooden torches lit the endless stretch of walls with bright, dancing flames. Suspended from the ceiling were a few hay-stuffed dummies that looked newly set up. They were painted with red targets in damaging places such as the heart, torso and head. Further down the hall was a thick archery target with a full quiver of silver arrows hung neatly over a corner. As well as this, in the very centre of the room a large red circle was painted on the soft dirt floor. All along the free rows of wall, hung hundreds of varieties of weapons and safety gear, for easy access when they’re needed. To Charli, it looked like home. ‘Welcome to the practise room. Mai, you’ll be using your bow over there, Kathy you’ll be trying your hand at the dummies there, and Charli, I think you’ll like what I’ve set up for you.’ He paced his way over to the centre of the practise room and stopped just at the edge.

He gestured for the girls to look up, where they saw an elaborate assortment of different crystals, bound together by a curved wooden frame, with mirrors angled all around them. ‘What does it do?’ Mai asked quietly. Arthur revived his wicked grin from earlier.

‘I am so glad you asked. Charli would you step into the circle please?’ She looked at him in puzzlement, but took a reluctant step into the marked space. ‘Don’t worry, nothing’s going to happen yet, but just take this sword for the time being.’ He handed her a simple longsword, with a bound leather handle, that he had taken off of the wall earlier. It felt heavy in her hand, but not the bad kind of heavy, it was the kind that made it feel sturdy and reliable, almost as if it was made for her hand.

Arthur walked over to a small set of wheels on the nearest wall and turned one a little and angled one of the mirrors. ‘Right, now this is really amazing, even if I do say so myself. I found a moving shadow spell and was instantly inspired to make this projector. What happens is that when you activate the spell, the crystals cast shadows and the mirrors reflect them as they would light, so the shadow moves across the room and can be set to target anything within the circle. So Charli is in there now, so I’ll activate it quickly and show you one shadow. It will appear and head straight for her, it can’t hurt her but the shadows do stain skin, so she knows when she’s been hit.’

Arthur paused to allow for questions and of course Kathy was the first one to criticize. ‘It stains skin?’ She sounded horrified. Arthur rolled his eyes, he was expecting better questions. ‘Only temporarily, they fade after a few hours.’

‘But she can hit the shadow back right?’ This time Mai had her say.

‘Oh yes, the whole aim of this is to simulate a real fight. She has opponents that she has to, in a way kill, so that she doesn’t get hit, and I can increase or decrease numbers and things so it’s really good practise.’

Charli’s eyes widened. ‘So this thing makes real moving targets.’ Arthur nodded, happy with her enthusiasm. ‘Do it, I want to try!’ She held the sword steady. Arthur clapped once and the crystals started to glow in their frame as it spun slowly in a full circle. A beam of almost transparent greyness hit the mirror and reflected just a few paces from Charli. She could feel her heart start to race with a small amount of adrenaline, not from fear, but excitement. Her sword came up as the shadow formed into a vague shape and followed its target. She waited until it was close enough before swinging the heavy metal straight through it. The shadow disappeared in a cloud of shadowy ash, leaving no trace of itself.

Charli stood their for a while in the silence, motionless. ‘That...was so awesome!’ She shrieked excitedly. ‘I will have so much fun with this.’ Arthur turned off the projector with a single snap of his fingers. ‘I’m glad you like it, but it can only be used while I’m in the room. So I’d just acquainted with some of the other things in here as well. I can have another target put in for throwing knives if you like.’ Charli agreed ecstatically as she handed the sword back over to Arthur, who mounted it back on its wall. ‘Alright then, shall we get started?’

 

They trained, as Arthur had said, everyday for the whole day, for days on end. Mai could now hit the centre of the target from the complete opposite end of the hall, the arrow hitting it perfectly and penetrating the target straight through. Kathy could reload her crossbow, ready to fire, in under a second and her aim wasn’t too bad either. Charli had practised with the projector so much that she could sense every movement in the air as countless shadows swept for her, her twin blades slicing right through their smoke skin. The other girls had also learned how to use a short sword and daggers as just the necessary basics, but neither of them could use them like Charli. She had tried out the set of throwing knives when Arthur had installed a new target for her. She couldn’t throw them like Mai could shoot and arrow or slid them into her hand as fast as Kathy could load her crossbow.

Arthur had made Kathy some miniature versions of her crossbow, the only difference being a large barrel central to both pieces which meant that they loaded themselves. They weren’t very good long ranged, but were excellent for any supernatural that moved fast and stood close. Mai had been given a selection of easy to reach daggers for close range fighting, so that the transition from bow to blade was swift. Charli had asked for numerous blades for hiding in numerous places and Arthur had delivered. She now had tight fitting vambraces that released a small blade which would lie flat against her arm until she flicked back her wrist, so that it would protrude into whatever creature was unfortunate enough to have been fighting her. She had double leg sheaths that could hold a number of throwing knives, it attached to a weapons belt that held a single sword and a handful of different sized daggers. On her back would be the two curved blades that she had picked initially, as soon as Arthur was done with making a sheath to fit them in.

But it wasn’t just weapons they had trained with, Arthur had been teaching them all he knew on hand-to-hand combat, that he had learned from Esmour. The other girls had been wary of unarmed fighting at first, afraid that they had nothing to protect themselves with, only Charli had been genuinely interested, and so equally skilled.

 

Every night the girls would go to bed exhausted, but Charli would still be in the practise room, perfecting a move of some sort or the other. Mai and Kathy would hear her come up quietly at ridiculous times of the night and yet she was always the first one up. She hardly ever stopped, sometimes skipping meals and other times arriving to eat and then bolting off again to train some more. Even through all this she seemed to be at the happiest that either girl had ever seen her. She enjoyed spending all of her time fighting shadows and throwing knives and boards of wood and neglecting her friends.

Mai and Kathy were beginning to see a change in Charli with each and every passing day. She had dropped her sweetness and vulnerability and taken up an authoritative attitude and the only times they saw the old her -and seeing her in general was a rarity because she trained longer than they did- was with her signature playfulness. She was still a child inside, but the rest of her seemed to have just matured so quickly. It concerned Mai and Kathy, who were worried that she was getting a taste for revenge.

Mai decided to bring up the subject one morning when they were sparing together. ‘Charli, can I ask you something?’ She groaned as Charli sent her to the ground for the umpteeth time. ‘Now?’ She didn’t seem very willing to break her focus but Mai persisted.

‘Please?’

‘Fine, we can take a little break I suppose.’ She offered a hand to help Mai off of the dusty floor. Shaking herself free of dirt, Mai led Charli by the wrist to sit down in the corner. ‘Don’t you think you may be going a little overboard with the training?’ Charli wore a puzzled expression.

‘Not really, I want to be able to fight off those supernaturals. Its the only way to get the book back, Arthur said so.’ She dropped her attention to her loose shoelace. Mai was reluctant to believe that.

‘Are you sure thats the only reason?’

‘If they get that book, then they can find me, after which they’ll probably kill me. So yes, thats the reason.’ Mai narrowed her eyes.

‘Then why don’t I believe you?’ Charli shuffled backwards in offence.

‘Why shouldn’t you believe me? I’m not lying.’ She began to raise her voice. Alarm bells rung in Mai’s mind but she pushed them aside and pressed the subject further. ‘Charli don’t sit there and tell me you haven’t changed since you first heard that there was a way to fight the supernatural. I’ve seen it. We’ve seen it.’ She gestured to Kathy who had come to join them after finishing with her crossbow.

‘How can you say that?’ Charli stood up. She looked to Kathy for her opinion, who just looked to the side and rubbed her shoulder. ‘You have been acting a little…different.’ She tried to sweeten her voice to no avail. ‘And what’s wrong with that. We have two more days until Arthur wants us to get the book, so sorry if I’ve been working like crazy to make sure I’m prepared for anything!’ Her apology sounded insincere and almost sarcastic, making Mai stand up also. ‘So what, we haven’t? You’re here almost every second of everyday. Me and Kathy stop because we have to. We are exhausted from all this, but you’ve never been more enthusiastic, it’s worrying!’

‘I didn’t ask you to worry, I’m fine, maybe it’s just that I’m more aware of what the consequences are if we fail!’ She balled her hands into tight little fists.

‘Don’t you mean if you fail?’ Kathy added in with an unusually low volume, completely unlike her in these situations. Charli was stricken aback. ‘We know why you’re doing this, we had just hoped to hear you admit it. You’re worried that if we don’t defeat those warlocks you will have failed. All you want is revenge, you don’t even really care about the book!’ Charli was speechless, Mai had never talked to her that way, even Kathy was acting strange, being all quiet. It made her furious that they just didn’t get it, how could they just say that to her, so bluntly, knowing everything that had happened. ‘You don’t understand.’ She whispered, holding back tears and ran out of the practise room with such speed that it drew the door closed with a loud slam. Now it was Mai who was speechless. ‘Do you think you were a little too strong there?’ Kathy dropped Mai a disappointed look and went back to her target practise, leaving her staring coldly at the door, as if it too, might get up and leave her at any moment.

 

Charli slammed the door of her room so hard that the walls shook. She leapt straight for her bed and buried her head into a pillow to restrain a frustrated scream. She laid like that for a while before sitting herself up, her eyes sore with restricted tears. How could they think that she was as petty as to seek out revenge, sure she was angry at them for killing the thing she could happily call family, but she wasn’t vengeful. No, she wanted justice, justice in the form that she would get the book and she would stop their plans and then watch them fall apart, knowing that they had been defeated by a simple youth, a girl at that. Thats what she wanted, not revenge, never revenge. Revenge eats away at the soul and kills the being inside, her soul was bound now, to the elder’s and she wouldn’t be the first to fail them so simply.

Thats what she had wanted to say, thats what she had tried to say, but Mai was so set on her idea that Charli was the bad guy, not the supernaturals. How could she defend them, after all they’ve done, to all three of them, it just didn’t seem fair.

A knock came at the door, which opened a crack until Arthur was visible on the other side of it. He stepped inside. ‘I heard commotion down there and then a loud slam up here and decided to come see if you were all right.’ He sounded sincere and genuinely concerned, which surprised Charli because, to her he was still sort of a stranger. ‘Leave me alone Arthur.’ She said plainly, hoping her bland tone was enough to send him away but it wasn’t. ‘Charli, I know you think that you’re doing everyone a favour, but you can’t take on those warlocks alone, no matter how hard you train or how good you become. You three girls are a team now, you need to work like one. Thats the only way you’ll get that book back.’ Charli didn’t look at him. Instead she played with the laces of her boots while resting her head on her knees. She heard him sigh. ‘They’re only looking out for you you know. Mai and Kathy care, whether you want them to or not, they do.’ Now he was making her feel guilty.

‘I didn’t say I didn’t want them to care. I just want them to get it, get why we have to take down those warlocks, everything they did, they deserve-’

‘-vengeance?’ Arthur interrupted quizzingly.

Charli narrowed her eyes, he was starting to irritate her too. ‘Justice.’ She corrected sharply, as if any other answer would be instantly wrong, especially Arthur’s. ‘There’s a fine line between the two, just keep that in mind. The things that you think are bad, might sometimes surprise you and do good.’ Charli raised an eyebrow at that last part. What was he talking about, supernaturals or the warlocks that killed Alexandria? How could the latter surprise her? They didn’t do good, that much she knew was certain. Arthur turned slowly and left her alone to wallow in her thoughts. For a person of his age, Arthur had a lot to say about wisdom.   

 

9: Flint and Steel

It was the next morning and Charli was again the first one up. An early sunrise was filtering into the horizon from her window as she opened the door and made her way to the practise room.

She was met by a cold emptiness. It was dark, the torches had been put out and that just made it feel even emptier. Charli was alone, as always, Mai and Kathy wouldn’t be down for a few more hours.

    Unwillingly, her hand fell to her necklace. It was warm from the touch of her skin, sheltered in her shirt. It was hard to believe that something so small could be so powerful, that that little stone was potentially the death of her and everything she loved. Although, that list was now cut short. A pang of sharp pain stuck her chest, she didn’t realise how fragile she still was, it wasn’t good. What that thought in mind Charli unsheathed a thin knife in between two fingers and threw it at one of the suspending dummy. It hit with such force that the bundle of hay swung backwards and began to spin slowly, the blade lodged in the centre of the ‘heart’ target.

 

    By the time the other girls had come down, Charli had moved herself outside into the garden where Arthur had set up an obstacle course to teach them how to dodge strikes and improve their agility and speed in general. Mai had been practising with Kathy when she had discovered her skill. Kathy hadn’t even known what hit her, Mai had picked her up by the edges of her jacket and before long her feet had been dangling in midair. It definitely explained her skill with the bow, her mortal strength had been enhanced, but not too incredulously, she could lift Mai and pull back a very taut bow and throw things very far but it wasn’t like she could pick up a building. Kathy had taken to Arthur’s books when she wasn’t training and had, to her surprise, found out that she could actually understand them and use them.

She was showcasing something of her own invention to Arthur with Charli in the background, repeatedly going through the rigorous course. Arthur had rigged it up with a few more of his improved projections, with Charli wearing a vest with an embedded crystal so that the shadows could follow a fast moving target. From what Kathy could hear, she wasn’t having any luck with the last quarter, where the shadows would attack in crowds. She could see that Charli was already stained with grey marks all over her, some darker than others.

‘So what are these?’ Arthur held up a small hard-shelled sphere. Kathy gasped and took the sphere out of Arthur’s hands so quickly that he barely noticed until it was gone. ‘Be careful!’ She yelled at him, as if he had been holding the most precious and delicate of treasures. ‘What does it do?’ He asked again. Kathy just gave him a mischievous look before shaking the sphere vigorously in her hand and then throwing it high into the air. Halfway across the garden, soaring through the soft breeze it exploded into a loud, bright cloud of smoke and ash.

Arthur jumped out of his skin, even Charli turned to look, completely shocked, before a shadow brushed straight passed her and caught her attention back. ‘You made that? That was amazing!’ Kathy lifted her chin triumphantly. ‘Of course it was.’ Arthur looked beyond impressed.

‘You really do have a gift for this don’t you?’ Kathy gave him a smug smile.

‘More like an enhanced skill.’ He raised an eyebrow, it made sense, Charli had been right in what she had said before.

    The thought made him turn to look at her, still putting the full force of her effort into her training. It made him wonder what her enhanced skill could be, if it was endurance or her seamless fighting skills. She was incredibly talented in a fight, like nothing he’d ever seen before, which made him suspicious of how much of that talent was actually hers. ‘Charli, can I have a word?’ He clapped his hands to stop the projections and beckoned her over, she went reluctantly. ‘Why did you do that? I was this close to beating that last quarter.’ She gestured with two fingers to show just how close it was, but he just rolled his eyes. Charli huffed and threw down her sword so that it stuck out of the ground, reverberating with the force of her hand.

‘What do you want?’ Her tone was a lot ruder than she had intended it to be, but Arthur didn’t seem to notice. ‘You were right about Kathy’s skill, she can do alchemy, but don’t tell her. Right now she thinks she can just change the science of spells and I don’t want her messing around with magic.’

‘What’s wrong with that? Did you really just call me over here to keep a stupid little secret?’ This time, he definitely noticed it. ‘Charli I get that you’re not exactly in the brightest of moods but I’m serious, if Kathy messes with magic she could get hurt. Magic is dangerous.’ She didn’t look him in the eye, but rather turned her attention to the fascinating patterns the grass blades were making. ‘Look, you’re beginning to concern me. You’re initiation wasn’t like the others, and you’ve been acting differently. No one can train so hard for as long as you can, it’s not natural.’

‘What are you trying to say?’ She interjected sharply before he could continue to anger her.

He was concerned, Mai and Kathy were concerned, everyone was concerned and Charli didn’t like it. She was fine, in fact she’d never felt better and anyone can say is that they’re concerned. She hadn’t heard one word of praise and it just made all of her effort feel wasted, but it wasn’t wasted and she hated that it made her feel like it was. ‘I’m asking if I can just run some tests, I want to know you’re ok and then I’ll praise you all you like.’ She forgot that he could read surface thoughts. ‘Urgh! Stay out of my head!’ She yelled at him and he put a hand up apologetically. ‘I’m fine, that's all the proof you need.’ And with that she stormed back into the house, slamming every door she passed by.

It was strange, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been this angry, in fact, she wasn’t sure she had ever been this angry. In all logic she had every right to have been really angry before, when her parents died, when Alexandria was killed, but she hadn’t been, not like this. Maybe there was something in her to worry about, that ritual had changed her, unleashed something that should’ve stayed caged. It was like she’d never had pride before, because it took a lot out of her to walk calmly back over to Arthur and ask for help.

 

Arthur was in his study upstairs. He didn’t hear her come in until the hard soles of her boots met the solid wooden floor with a loud, hollow sound. Looking up he was almost startled to see it was Charli. She was hugging both arms at her elbows, her eyes darting from the floor to the walls, until she forced herself to look at Arthur directly. ‘Maybe there is something wrong with me.’ Her voice was hoarse and quiet. Arthur sighed with relief. ‘I was beginning to think there was going to be trouble. I’m glad you came around, it’s very big of you.’

‘Don’t patronize me.’ She felt that anger bubble its way back up, but she swallowed it and took a step backwards. ‘I’m not. Why don’t you sit down, I can start by looking at how that mark is healing.’ Charli walked over to the small armchair and sat down, whilst Arthur pulled up an ordinary wooden chair opposite.

    Kathy had insisted on changing the bandage regularly and when she saw that her pink mixture wasn’t working she began to test out other ones. It was a stubborn wound, she knew that much.

Arthur unwrapped the clean white cloth carefully, yet Charli still winced. It was impossible, it was so raw and red that it still looked fresh. ‘This should have fully healed weeks ago. I don’t understand, Kathy said that she had tried a number of the medicines in that book, they should have worked.’ Charli pulled a flat smile.

‘Should is the right word, because obviously they didn’t.’ Arthur just ignored her and continued to examine the burn. ‘Here, I’ll try something.’ He got up, went to his worktop and started grinding a mixture of ingredients into a marble bowl.

    His version was more of a paste in consistency and was spread over thickly onto the mark. Wrapping a new bandage around her arm, he stood up. ‘That should do it.’

‘Should’ Charli muttered sarcastically under her breath.

‘Now for the real test.’ Arthur walked over to a crowded shelf and picked out an empty glass vial and something else that Charli couldn’t see. When he sat back down he was only holding the vial. ‘Is that bandage too tight?’

He reached out for Charli’s arm, but instead of checking the bandage he simply flicked his hand across her upper wrist, just below the bandage. ‘Ouch!’ Charli gasped and tried to pull back her arm btu Arthur was holding it by the wrist, the vial placed just below the small cut that he had given her, collecting the small trickle of red that oozed from it. He put down the small blade on the table. ‘You couldn’t have just asked?’ Charli said a little irritatedly.

‘Would you have let me?’ He looked at her knowingly.

‘No, that hurt.’ She admitted with the fraction of irritation still present in her voice.

    Arthur put a cork in the vial and slipped it into his pocket. He spread a bit of his mixture over the cut and it healed instantaneously. Charli gawked at it in shock. ‘It really does work.’ She couldn’t believe her own eyes. ‘Its a small cut so it heals fast, the burn might take an hour or two.’ She stood up and turned to walk over to the door but before doing so she turned her head to Arthur. ‘I’m sorry for yelling at you before, you just want to help, I get that, thank you.’ He bowed his head, accepting her apology. ‘You’re welcome. Just be careful tomorrow, it’ll be tough.’ She began walking towards the door. ‘I know.’ She whispered as she walked down the stairs.

 

Mai was downstairs in the practise room, launching arrow after arrow at the red-marked hay. After each hit she would be too impatient to wait and so with every arrow the dummy swung higher and higher from its rope. Kathy was sat in the corner, quietly reading an old science book. ‘I mean how could she just not see it? There’s no way she would have acted this way before, when we first met her. How can she not notice that she’s changing and yes it’s worrying!’

Mai was ranting as she shot another arrow that hit the dummy square in the chest. ‘I’m sure its just the trauma catching up with her, she’ll be fine, you’ll see. After we get that book we’ll get our old Charli back.’ Kathy didn’t even look up from her book, it was obvious that Mai had been complaining to her for a while now and she was just beginning to tune her out. ‘I hope so.’ She drew back her arrow with extra effort and then watched as it sailed through the dummy’s heart and into the target at the end of the hall. ‘Shouldn’t you been training? Arthur wants us to get the book tomorrow, it’s our only chance.’ Mai put down her bow and sat next to Kathy, her breathing becoming less laboured and rapid. ‘Yes I know. It’s the only time they’re in town for their meeting of whatever. How Arthur found that out I’ll never know, but I am doing something useful.’ Mai gave her questioning look.

‘Oh really?’

‘I’m researching the science behind my next project. It’s an improvement on my old one. I’m hoping to get it to-’ but Mai interrupted her mid-sentence.

‘I really don’t care.’ Kathy glared at her spitefully before hitting her in the arm with her book.

‘Next time don’t ask.’ She held her glare as Mai rubbed her arm soothingly.

    Charli walked in just as Mai was standing back up, reaching for her bow. They didn’t notice her in the dimness of the hall. The torches hadn’t been lit yet and the day was turning the evening through the tiny slits of windows at the very join of the wall to ceiling, where there was enough space from all the weapon rails to have windows. She reached over onto one of weapon units on the wall and drew out a flint stone and a curved bar of steel.

She slipped the steel into her hands, where it hugged her fingers together inside its cold metal ‘C’ shape. With the flint in the other hand she crept silently towards the first torch and struck the metal with the stone. She felt the reverberations flow through both objects. She felt the heat and energy of the strike. A flash of bright sparks jumped from on contact and onto the torch, lighting it up in a single flickering flame. It startled both girls at the end of the hall, who spun around so quickly that they gasped in chorus.

Charli didn’t look at them but just walked down to the next torch and repeated the process. And thats how it was for a while, until Mai finally went back to her arrows and Kathy to her book, secretly grateful for more light. Mai began shooting at the still target at the back of the hall and became frustrated when the arrow kept missing the dead centre mark by less than an inch below each time.

‘The arrow dips because it doesn’t have enough force to fly straight.’ Charli wasn’t looking at Mai, she hadn’t even glanced over to her once, but she could feel the arrow arch towards the end. The way it cut through the air changed when it dipped, that’s how she knew. Mai didn’t say anything but pulled the string back as far as it would go and the arrow soared straight into the dead centre mark and through it. She took a step back in shock.

Only Kathy was staring at Charli, uninterested in the arrow but in the fact that Charli knew exactly what was wrong with Mai’s technique, when she had never used a bow and had not even been looking at her when she was practising. Charli lit the second to last torch, a small smile curling up on her lips. Kathy closed her book and stood up, her eyes never leaving Charli. ‘How did you know that?’ Charli looked for the right wording as she lit the last torch. As she stared down at the flint and steel she knew exactly how. It was crazy, maybe impossible, but it was like the spark, the heat, the energy.

‘I felt it.’

‘What?’ This time it was Mai that spoke. ‘You felt it?’ Putting the flint and steel back in their hiding place she looked at both girls for the first time. ‘Yes.’

‘How?’ Kathy was baffled by the mere idea that there was even a remote possibility that, that could happen.

‘You were right, there is something wrong with me.’ Her smile was gone. Mai’s concern blanketed her face. All that time she had spent complaining about how she was right, and now hearing it she realised that it was at the price that now, there was truly something to worry about. ‘Arthur’s checking it out. I’m sorry I yelled at you, maybe you’ve been right this whole time and I just didn’t want to listen.’

‘What do mean?’ Kathy walked over to her as she stretched out her arm.

‘Arthur thinks it has something to do with the initiation. I reacted differently to mine than how you both did and now my mark won’t heal.’ Kathy ran a hand over the bandage.

‘Arthur put something on it to try and get it to heal before tomorrow but I know it won’t. It was meant to have healed already but I know it hasn’t, it still feels sore.’

Mai had walked over as well and was leaning over her arm aimlessly trying to see it but then realised the bandage was there. ‘What it’s nothing wrong with you, but its your enhanced skill?’ She said quite self-contradictorily.

‘What kind of skill was that before though?’ Kathy brought a hand to her chin pensively.

‘Could’ve been a natural skill for sensing things that got enhanced. It’s not impossible.’

‘Thats not really a skill though is it?’

‘It could be, in a way.’ Charli retracted her arm, uncomfortable with all of the attention, but glad that there could be a logical explanation for what was happening to her. But Kathy’s theory couldn’t explain her sudden anger and mood swings.

    ‘It’s getting late, we should go up for dinner.’ Mai led the way to the door as the other followed. Charli stared at the empty practise room, illuminated by the flicker of the torches it looked alive. Tomorrow would be the day, or rather the night. She would have to come back in the morning, she had to make sure she was ready, she had to be ready.

 

    Lying in her bed Mai thought about what she was about to wake up to. The very thing she had been running away from since she could remember. The idea seemed so stupid now, how could three girls, with a few weeks training be any match for who knows how many warlocks that’ve had their whole lives to train. Not to mention that they were supernaturals, even with her enhanced strength she was just a mortal.

But then her thoughts took her to Charli, the way she believed so strongly that if she worked hard that she could actually stand a chance, and maybe she could. No one could fight like her, it was like she knew exactly what the other person was about to do next, where they would strike, what direction they would step in. Mai sat bolt upright. That was it, that was how she could do it. She could feel where her opponent would strike next, that was her upper hand.

Laying back down Mai thought about long and hard about it. Maybe three girls weren’t so helpless after all. If only she could convince her opponents of that.