Chapter Eighteen
Henrietta did not get far. Though she had cast the flee spell, and even though it enabled her to run with frantic speed through the city streets, it didn't take long to realize that someone was following her.
At first she heard something that sounded like rain, and then waves almost, and then, from behind, a jet of water shot out from somewhere and slammed right into her back.
By now Henrietta had reached the industrial section of town, and just as the shot of water slammed into her back, pushing her forward and onto the ground, she tumbled to a halt right in front of a scrap metal dealership.
It had high fences, and the yard was packed with old sheets of metal and junk.
Though she had slammed to the ground with a great deal of force, and though she was wearing the most ridiculous of dresses, Henrietta quickly rolled over and pushed herself up to her feet. She turned just in time to see another jet of water shoot towards her.
She dodged to the side, her skirt snagging against some exposed wire of the fence, and ripping loudly.
She didn't have any time to swear. Just across the street was a bloody water witch.
It wasn't just any water witch either; it was the same one she had faced at the docks, the very night she had first met Hellier.
That night the Witch King had saved that water witch, preventing Henrietta from banishing her.
Now the water witch was back for round two.
She was wearing a black lacy dress, high heels, and her black hair had an indigo tinge to it, and seemed to hang around her face like wet sheets.
The witch opened her mouth and let out a horrible hissing sound. “His Highness wishes to see you,” she said.
It was the first time Henrietta had heard one of the witches speak, and it was a truly horrible sound. It felt like someone was sticking pins in her spine, and Henrietta gave a violent shudder.
It was also the words that made her shudder too.
“You interrupted his party, he wants to see you,” the witch repeated, “he wants me to bring you back, you left early.”
Henrietta bared her teeth, clutched her hands into fists, and ground her heels into the dust to steadier herself.
She forced her fan forward and wrote the words witch hunter.
She transformed quickly.
The witch watched her as she did, but the creature did bring up an arm to protect her eyes, as if the light of Henrietta's transformation was painful somehow.
When Henrietta was finished, and her heels clicked down on the dust-covered pavement, the witch gave another hiss. “He wants to see you; he isn't done with you yet,” the witch added.
Henrietta was back to being a witch hunter. Gone was that incredible white princess dress, and the skirt, heels, and long jacket were back.
Henrietta couldn't deny that they made her feel powerful. All that mess of emotions that had overcome her, all that nervousness, all that worry, it seemed to burn up now that she was back in control.
Wall.
She wrote her favorite spell in front of her just as she ducked to the side, another jet of water slicing out towards her.
The jet of water was so strong and sharp that it managed to cut through the fence Henrietta was standing in front of. There was a cracking sound, and a section of the fence fell forward, missing her by an inch.
With the magical wall in place before her, Henrietta backed off, quickly jumping and flipping through the hole in the fence, rolling on the ground, and then forcing herself to her feet in a snap.
The witch sent another slice of water her way, but fortunately the bulk of the wall protected Henrietta again, though the magical bricks did shake in place.
This water witch really was powerful. Perhaps the most powerful witch that Henrietta had yet faced.
Apart from the Witch King, that was.
“He wants to talk to you,” the water witch repeated, her voice singsong. Then she walked forward, right into the wall. Though the magical wall did repel her, the water witch brought up her arms and slammed them into it.
It began to crumble.
The witch stepped over the remaining magical bricks, a horrible smile peeling across her face.
Henrietta backed off.
Fire.
She cast a fireball, and it shot towards the witch, but the witch easily brought up a hand, and as she did a rush of water followed. The water collected over the fireball, covering it completely until the two spells cancelled each other out.
Dammit. The last time she'd fought this witch, Brick had been at her side, and he had managed to cast a magical magnification spell. In fact, that had been the only reason that Henrietta had been able to cast a fire tornado, a very difficult spell indeed.
But now she was on her own, and if she didn't come up with a solution fast, it sounded as if this water witch would drag Henrietta all the way back to Hellier.
Henrietta could only shudder to think of what would happen then.
She ducked to the side, rolling quickly, then pressing her hands into the ground and flipping several times until she landed behind a stack of metal sheets.
There were still many spells Henrietta had not tried, many words she had been intending to practice if she ever got the time or opportunity.
It seemed that the breadth and range of magic she could cast was only limited by her imagination. Just as long as she got the wording right, she could almost do anything, well, as long as she had the requisite magic.
The spells that were by far the easiest were the elemental ones. Fire, earth, air, water; those came naturally and fairly quickly.
But wasn't there one element that Henrietta had left out? One elemental spell she had yet to try.
Metal.
So Henrietta wrote it. Though she had no idea what the spell would do, she was desperate.
The witch was advancing, sending spurts of water Henrietta’s way with every second, until it felt like there was a lake underneath Henrietta's feet.
The second she finished writing the word, the strangest of symbols appeared underneath Henrietta's boots.
But nothing happened. No metal spikes shot out and towards the witch, but still the light of the spell and the symbol below her travelled up and around Henrietta.
It was almost as if the spell had not been properly cast, as if it was waiting for something more.
The water witch suddenly brought her hands up and then furled them out. Just as she did, a wall of water burst around her, as high as a tsunami, and it travelled towards Henrietta like a bullet.
She had seconds.
A word came to her mind.
She wrote it.
Cage.
Finally the spell at Henrietta’s feet took hold, and several metal poles shot from the symbol, rushing towards the witch. They were fast and there were so many of them that they burst through the wall of water, forcing it to break in half. So when the water did reach Henrietta, it peeled off on either side of her, crashing to the ground, completely soaking her, but not toppling her over with its force.
The metal poles reached the witch, and one by one they slammed into place, then twisted at the top, producing a metal cage around the creature.
Just as Henrietta got to her feet, her whole body sopping wet, she saw the witch begin to pull at the metal bars. The creature was so strong that already she was having success at tugging them apart.
So she had to end this.
The witch was still not weakened enough that she could be banished, so Henrietta needed one more spell.
She had an idea.
Lightning.
It was the first time she'd cast it, and as she wrote the word, there was a violent crackle of electricity from a symbol under her feet, and then an arc of lightning shot out and struck the cage.
Instantly electricity surged over it, down the metal beams, and shot into the wet hands of the witch as she held onto the metal poles.
She jolted backwards, slamming against the cage just as she
let out a high-pitched, horrible cry.
Though water and metal surrounded her, and the electrical discharge from the lightning strike should have translated through to Henrietta, nothing of the sort occurred; the symbol at her feet protected her.
The witch was down, weakened enough that the banish spell would work. So Henrietta did not hesitate. She took several shaky steps forward and wrote banish.
The by-now familiar rush of invisible energy coalesced around her and covered the witch, sending the creature back into the void.
After it was all over, Henrietta the witch hunter walked home. She was weakened, she was tired, and she had a hell of a lot to think about.
Epilogue
Henrietta was on the couch eating ice cream. She hadn’t eaten anything that entire day, and yet when she had gotten home, she had polished off a pack of chocolate biscuits and half a tub of cookie crumble ice cream.
Because she deserved it.
Even though she hadn't thought herself capable, she had gone to that ball, and she had found out what Hellier was up to. And, to top it all off, Henrietta had also taken down a fiendishly strong witch all on her own.
Brick was sitting on the recliner opposite her, and by George did he look proud. He was currently tucking into his own packet of biscuits, and he was even making eyes at her half-finished ice cream.
“Get your own,” she warned him with a growl.
“I would have thought you would be more thankful, considering what I did for you tonight,” Brick said as he crammed another biscuit in his mouth.
“You told me that Hellier wouldn't be able to see through my disguise,” Henrietta pointed out as she waved her spoon Brick's way.
Brick winced through a smile. “It seems I got that wrong. Though we cannot be sure that he saw through your disguise; he may simply have taken a lucky guess. However, we should not dwell on such things, because tonight was a success.”
She pushed her head back into the pillow propped up behind her.
“No one died, we found out what he is up to, and you learnt several new spells,” Brick clarified. “What is more, your sister gave me her number.”
Henrietta spluttered, wiped the back of her hand over her mouth, and straightened up.
Brick was meant to be immune. Brick was meant to be the only man Henrietta had ever met that wouldn't ditch her for her sister.
Brick took a moment, and then he began to chuckle, and it was a very toothy, crackly chuckle.
Henrietta threw a cushion at him. “I am in no mood to play, Brick. Plus, we don't have the time. We might have gotten out of there tonight, and I might have taken down that water witch, but Hellier is still going to run for mayor. And if he gets his way, then he is going to spend all the city’s funds on trying to widen his witch den.”
As Brick bit into another biscuit, he momentarily looked solemn. “This is true. But you are a witch hunter, and I am the warrior monk helper who serves you, and if you have not already figured this out, Henrietta, we will always be busy. We will always be fighting the witches until the shadow war can finally end.”
Henrietta put down her spoon, then she nodded at Brick.
Because he was right.
She had finally accepted that fact.
She was a witch hunter. Henrietta Gosling, former train wreck and uncoordinated wallflower was now the very last of her kind. Capable of powerful magic, and with a trusty if eccentric warrior monk at her side, Henrietta would fight the witches.
It was her destiny. And as Brick always said, she had to grab her destiny with both hands. Which she would, as soon as she’d finished her ice cream.
Thank you for reading The Enchanted Writes Book One
Book Two is currently available.
This series is complete. It consists of five books. You can buy each book separately, or buy the boxset – The Enchanted Writes Complete Series – for a reduced price.