cult community and were in the biggest trouble of their relatively short lives. Ellie summed it up succinctly in her mind. They were in the deep stuff!
"So much to look forward to," Beth offered dryly without any real humour.
"Shall we go," Allana questioned, obviously finding both girl's attitudes difficult to fathom.
Neither Ellie nor Beth paused to consider. Both of them understood that this had become a game now, despite their unwilling participation. So they would need to play to win. It was a game that they could not afford to lose if they were to have any chance of ever getting out of this place.
6
Okay. Witch Town. The name says it all doesn't it? Don't ask me what is going on here because I haven't got a clue. All I know is that we need help really badly. And no one here seems ready to give it. I haven't seen Zack or Luke for hours and Beth is really struggling to cope. But then, so am I. Who wouldn't? Like I said, this is Witch Town. Just your average kind of place where witches hang out. When I get out of here I'm heading straight back to therapy. It's clearly where I belong!
The sky was darkening. Ellie had almost forgotten about time. It had lost all meaning for her. But now she realised that it was getting late. How long had they been here?
She slipped her hand into her pocket, trying to seem casual and slid out her mobile.
Still no damn signal.
Both girls had left their bags in the boot of the car. But there wasn't much in them that would help them now anyway.
They walked along a wide street. The buildings stood ominously either side. Ellie didn't know the first thing about architecture, but they were all in a style that screamed of the past. In fact everything here seemed curiously old fashioned, right down to the way the people dressed and even the way that they spoke.
Allana was giving them a guided tour of Witch Town. But Ellie's mind kept wandering. She thought about the things they had been told. About The Testing. She searched her memories. Had she ever felt anything...unusual within herself. The truth was she had always felt odd. She had never really fitted in. Hence, the therapy sessions. That was a bit of a giveaway. She almost smiled to herself.
"There is our library. Many of the books have been written by our own people over the centuries." She pointed out the building opposite "And we have our two schools. One for the Daughters and one for the Sons." The girls nodded politely, despite the fact that it was all too weird for words. "You have already been within The Council of Five," Allana was saying, gesturing at the imposing building before them. "Here the five Covens convene to debate and judge. The Covens are defined by their colour. Blue, White, Green, Red and Black. There are also five levels of ability that can be obtained, although only a Head of a Coven can become a Five. I have reached level two so I wear the scarf that signifies my status. Level one wear a ribbon, level three a belt, while level four wear a sash. A Mother who attains level five wears a cloak," she added with obvious reverence. "You will learn these things better in time."
The two girls listened attentively now.
"Levels?" Beth queried. "What do the levels mean?" She was interested, despite herself.
Allana nodded as if this was a very reasonable question and one she was used to answering.
"The gift of the Word has five levels. A Mother must master the Words to be worthy of that name. It is our birthright."
"So these words, what are they? I'm guessing some kind of magic?" She felt stupid for even saying such a thing, but how else could she phrase it. These people were witches for God's sake!
"The power of the Word could be called magic. In the past..." A cloud of sorrow and perhaps fleeting anger passed over her face now, "it was called witchcraft. But it is ancient power. Passed down by our ancestors."
Ellie tried to take this in. "Ancestors?" she questioned, "Who were they exactly?"
"You have heard of the witch hunts of the past, have you not?" Allana asked with an intensity that was startling. "They killed many of us. And many of their own because of their blind stupidity." She looked down, her emotions too great for her, before continuing in a more subdued tone. "Of course we fought back, but our numbers were too few. But in the end, a bargain was struck. A binding contract that meant we could live unprovoked and free of persecution. Witch Town was the solution. Hidden from the outside world by our power and so protected from their ignorance and their blood lust. And the Lords of the outer world left us alone and we in turn remain here." She paused as if in thought. "For the most part anyway."
Ellie and Beth didn't know what to say. "Those pendants you wear, what are they?" It was Beth who eventually asked the question.
The woman absently touched the translucent stone at her breast. "The Spirit Heart." She said this with a quiet sense of awe. "Through this we channel our power." She pulled back her hair from her neck and turned slightly to show the two girls something that caused them both to gasp involuntarily. The chain around her neck had some kind of metallic tube connected at the back of her neck and it was buried deep within her flesh. There was no sign of a wound or scarring.
"What is that!?" Ellie managed to whisper.
Allana let her blonde hair fall back to cover her neck again. "Every word of power carries a cost. Through this we pay the price to wield that power." Ellie just stared in disbelief. The woman's attitude was so matter-of-fact now. "It is our heritage, we of the old ways. Daughters to Mothers. It has always been so."
"Are you all like that?" Ellie could hardly bring herself to accept what she had seen. It seemed so brutally invasive.
"All Mothers wear a SpiritHeart. Each amulet is unique. After The Testing you may have the privilege yourself."
Beth just gawked at the woman. "You have got to be joking."
"It is no joke," Allana stated sternly.
"So these levels," Ellie asked, trying to get her head around it all. "Is everyone equal, you know, on each level? Does it work like that?" Something within Ellie really wanted to know, something buried deep within. It was as if her need to understand was rising up, hungry for knowledge.
"Even those who attain the same level can be stronger or weaker in different ways. Some excel in combat, while others have a greater aptitude for Words of influence or healing. Some also have far more resistance against the power of the Words themselves. We all aspire to become as accomplished as possible. But some of us are blessed with a greater gift of the spirit than others. Some...," a small frown passed swiftly across her features, "never progress. Their talent is small." The young woman nodded as if affirming something to herself. "But this is the way it must be."
"And what about the men?" Beth pressed, wanting to know more, finding everything she was hearing horribly fascinating.
"The men know their place," retorted Allana. "They have their purpose. They farm, they build. They provide us with offspring."
Beth gazed back at the woman with a growing sense of uneasiness. "You're not much into equality here are you!?"
Allana made no response, as if Beth's comment was irrelevant and she walked on and began to talk about other buildings on the street.
But Beth couldn't shake what she had just heard from her thoughts. What were those disgusting pendants that had somehow been connected to their flesh. It was horrible. And what was it with the status quo in this place? It was women's lib gone nuts and she actually considered herself to be a bit of a feminist. She wondered how the men really felt about it. And for that matter, what this meant for Zack and Luke. She really missed them, especially Zack. But now was not the time for pining. Now was the time for concentration and deliberation. She would not roll over and die. Even if she was in a constant state of shock and dread.
She and Ellie were together. That was at least something.
"Tomorrow we will find work for you," Jeremiah was saying. It was dark outside now and Zack was debating whether he should just push past the man and go and search for the girls. He sized up his obstacle and thought he had a fifty-fifty chance of getting past
him. But with Luke's help it should not be a problem. True, Jeremiah was older and certainly appeared fit and well built, but two against one was promising odds.
"You know we aren't going to just go along with this, don't you?" It was Luke who said it. As ever he was in tune with Zack's thinking. Despite the fact that the two boys were very different in so many way, they had always had a bond in terms of the way they saw things. It was a mutual understanding of how things worked and what needed to be done.
Jeremiah looked at them both in turn. "I will not try to stop you, if that's what you are asking." He said this matter-of-factly.
This caught Luke by surprise and he wasn't at all sure how to respond.
"So we can just walk out of here?" Zack asked, knowing full well that something didn't add up.
Jeremiah just went and sat down at a table. "As I said, I won't try to stop you." He hesitated, placing his hands on the wooden surface. "But others will."
Both Zack and Luke couldn't help but feel a chill at these words. "The women you mean?" Luke offered, feeling more and more uncertain and edgy.
"The Mothers, yes. They will not let you leave. Not that you could without their power anyway. But they will not allow you to disobey. They will hurt you if you resist. As they already have done." He gestured briefly towards Zack.
Now each of the boys felt very stupid for having believed they could