Another late arrival burst into the drawing room, interrupting Wendolyn once more.
‘Welcome,’ Wendolyn said, her eyes full of warmth.
Mia and Kizzy turned towards the door just as Dino swaggered in.
‘That’s him!’ Kizzy cried. ‘That’s the Hunter I saw in my vision.’
‘That’s not a Hunter,’ Mia laughed. ‘That’s my brother!’
Dino walked into the room with a self-assured stride. He slumped casually into a seat beside a boy with sandy blond hair. The boy, who had been previously sitting alone, glanced at Dino, then quickly looked away.
Mia watched Dino for a moment. He seemed confident and powerful – just as powerful as any Hunter. But to her disappointment, it didn’t feel as though she was looking at her brother; he was more like just another stranger.
An hour later Wendolyn brought the meeting to a close and hung the Athame from one of the wall-mounted brass candlesticks. One by one people began to leave. But not Dino. Even when Wendolyn suggested he join the rest of her students for a meal in the dining room, Dino declined. He wasn’t hungry. He remained casually slumped in an armchair as the room slowly emptied.
Mia walked past him. They looked at one another briefly, but said nothing.
Soon the room was completely empty apart from Dino and the sandy-haired boy who sat beside him.
‘What’s your name?’ the boy asked.
Dino petulantly rolled his eyes. Couldn’t this boy tell that he didn’t want to chat?
‘No name,’ Dino replied brusquely. He didn’t dare look at the boy for fear that he would connect with the intensity of the stranger’s emotions.
The boy blinked at him through round, honey-coloured eyes. ‘Oh, right. S-sorry,’ he muttered self-consciously. He stood up to leave and accidentally dropped his notebook.
Oh, man! Dino thought irritably, but also a little guiltily. He picked up the boy’s notebook and handed it back to him.
‘Listen,’ he said with a reluctant sigh, ‘I didn’t mean any offence. I’m just not looking for a buddy. OK?’
‘Yeah. No pr-problem,’ he stammered nervously, clearly embarrassed by the whole exchange.
Dino raked his hands through his hair. Great. Now I feel bad! he thought tetchily. ‘Well, now I can’t be a jerk to you,’ he said, frankly disappointed by the revelation.
The boy furrowed his brow. ‘Huh?’
‘You know,’ Dino snuck a glance at him. ‘Because…you know.’
‘Because I have a stammer?’ the boy finished the sentence for him.
Suddenly Dino felt like the worst person in the world. ‘Well, yeah,’ he replied honestly.
‘Just b-because I have a stammer doesn’t make me any less of a man than you are,’ he snapped. ‘You think you’re not a j-jerk? Well, I’ve got news for you – you are. A jerk, I mean,’ he added, just in case it wasn’t clear.
Dino held up his hands in defeat. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry,’ he apologised, and not just because of his small-mindedness, but because this boy was genuine. He liked him. ‘My name’s Dino,’ he relented.
‘I’m Benny Blue,’ the boy replied. He offered his hand for Dino to shake.
‘So, Blue, what wonderful power have you been cursed with?’ Dino asked snidely.
‘I’m a Conjurer,’ Blue told him.
‘Oh, yeah?’ Dino became marginally interested. Being a Conjurer sounded a lot better than his own power. ‘What exactly can you conjure?’
‘Um…’ Blue sat back down in his seat. ‘I think s-some Conjurers can make anything they want.’
Dino’s dark eyes glinted at the world of possibility. ‘You’ve hit the jackpot, then!’
Blue smiled uncertainly. ‘I dunno. I’m still working on my power. It’s been a y-year.’
Dino let out a low whistle. ‘A whole year? You must be pretty good. Show me what you can do.’
‘OK,’ Blue said tensely. He dug through his jeans pocket and pulled out a translucent vial packed with what appeared to be grains of dirt.
‘What’s that?’ Dino asked, his eyes on the tube-like vial.
‘It’s ciron thistle extract.’ Blue sprinkled some of the granules into his palm and closed his hand to make a fist.
Dino observed him with curiosity.
Blue mumbled something under his breath and tapped his fist with his other hand. Then he cautiously opened his fingers and displayed his palm to Dino.
Dino peered at the contents. ‘It’s a button,’ he said, impressed but confused. ‘Cool.’
‘Thank you.’ Blue shoved the vial and the little brown button into his jeans pocket.
‘Wait!’ Dino stopped him. ‘Don’t put it away yet. What else can you make?’ For the first time, he was actually seeing the benefits of being a witch. Of course he was envious of not having the power himself, but at least it was entertaining to watch.
Blue reluctantly brought out the vial again. Half-heartedly he repeated the procedure and then opened up his hand to show the finished result.
‘Another button,’ Dino noted.
‘This one’s different.’
‘How?’
‘It’s a different colour,’ Blue told him.
Dino squinted his eyes. ‘Is it?’
‘Yes. This one’s m-more of a reddish brown. The other was a much d-darker shade.’
‘Oh. Right.’ Dino cleared his throat. ‘So, what else?’ He decided to be a little more specific. ‘Can you make a bar of chocolate or something?’ He had been craving a sugar fix all day, and Wendolyn’s nutritious biscuits weren’t quite satisfying his taste buds.
‘Maybe one day,’ Blue answered.
‘OK. So, what exactly can you make?’
Blue looked down to the carpet. ‘Buttons.’
‘You only conjure buttons?’
‘Y-yes.’
In any other circumstances, Dino would have burst out laughing. But deep in his mind, the sound of Blue’s shame and disappointment echoed noisily.
‘Hey,’ Dino said brightly, ‘that’s still cool. I don’t know anyone else who can make a button out of thin air. And everybody needs buttons, right?’
‘It’s, um, it’s not thin air. It’s ciron thistle,’ Blue corrected.
‘Yeah, sure. Whatever.’
‘Thanks,’ Blue smiled bashfully. ‘So, what about you? What’s your p-power?’
‘I can hear people’s emotions.’ That was the first time he had actually said it out loud. It was strange to finally admit it.
‘A Sententia?’
‘I think that’s what the kids are calling it, yes.’ Dino shot him a wry smile. ‘You’re pretty clued up on this magic thing, huh?’
Blue shrugged. ‘I was here all last summer. I’ve read a lot of books.’
Dino pictured the library and its walls lined with dusty, aged books. Reading them was definitely not on his list of fun things to do. ‘Is that how boring life gets around here?’
Blue laughed quietly. ‘No. There’re plenty of other things to do.’
‘Like what?’ Dino pressed.
‘I’ve seen some of the other guys take dirt bikes out. They play lots of sports around the grounds. I don’t really know what, though,’ he confessed.
Now that sounded more like Dino’s idea of fun. ‘Don’t you join in with them?’
Blue shook his head. ‘No. They don’t w-want me to.’
‘Why not?’ Dino couldn’t help but feel a little angry at the idea that Blue was being excluded.
‘I don’t really f-fit in with those guys.’
‘Well, then, neither do I,’ Dino said loyally. Suddenly he realised that the sympathy he was experiencing was in fact his own sympathy, as opposed to someone else’s that had forced its way inside his mind. He could still pick up on Blue’s emotions, which were tapping away at his subconscious. But it wasn’t quite as painful as it had been before. In fact, in contrast to Dino’s own feelings, Blue’s were reasonably quiet.
‘Are you OK?’ B
lue asked, noticing Dino’s strange expression.
He exhaled loudly. ‘I hope so.’
After supper, as night settled over the Glass Castle, Mia and Kizzy wandered through the gardens, their path lit by a chain of lanterns.
‘Do you think they’ll come after us?’ Kizzy asked absent-mindedly.
Mia sat down on a garden bench. ‘Maybe not,’ she said, knowing that Kizzy was referring to the Hunters. ‘Not if we keep out of their way.’
‘With pleasure!’ Kizzy laughed. She joined Mia on the bench, gazing up at the stars. ‘Besides,’ she added, ‘twice in one day is more than enough!’
Mia shuddered at the thought of Colt’s penetrative eyes. All evening she had been haunted by the memory. Never before had she seen a look of such hunger and dominance. It was chilling.
‘Whoa!’ Kizzy gasped. ‘How did you get that?’
Mia frowned. ‘Get what?’
Kizzy blinked at her. ‘I think I just had a vision,’ she murmured. ‘I saw the Athame around your neck.’
‘The dagger?’
‘Yes! The one that Wendolyn showed us!’
The girls looked uncertainly at one another.
‘Weird,’ Mia commented. ‘I suppose that means I’ll be using the Athame at some point in the future. But I’m guessing it’ll be a long way into the future, seeing as though I don’t even have a power yet.’
‘Or maybe…’ Kizzy paused. ‘Maybe it was advice.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Well,’ Kizzy elaborated, ‘maybe the Athame is the key to tapping into your power.’
A feeling of uneasiness washed over Mia. ‘Maybe,’ she agreed. ‘But Wendolyn made it perfectly clear that we aren’t ready to use it.’
Kizzy was quiet for a moment. ‘You’re probably right.’
There was a beat of silence between them.
‘But…’ Mia held up her index finger, deliberating it further. ‘But, the Athame is used for channelling powers, right? And maybe that’s exactly what I need to do – channel my powers.’
Kizzy peered up to the sky. ‘Well,’ she reasoned, ‘I did see you wearing it. Surely that means you’re capable of controlling it?’
‘It does imply that…’
Kizzy picked at the snagged wood on the bench. ‘And,’ she said, a little nervously, ‘I must have had the vision for a reason.’
‘A reason,’ Mia repeated. ‘Or a hint,’ she said, as though the two words were one and the same.
‘So, where exactly are we going with this? You want to find the Athame?’
Mia met her eyes in the dim lantern-lit garden. ‘I don’t know. Maybe. I really want to find out what my power is,’ she rationalised. ‘There’d be no harm in looking for it. Wendolyn had it in the drawing room. We could walk past, and if it’s still there, then…who knows?’
‘Sure,’ Kizzy agreed. ‘It’s probably not even there anyway…’
The girls swapped a quick smile and rose to their feet. They began walking swiftly back towards the castle.
They crossed the dark courtyard and heaved open the sturdy castle door. Fortunately, the corridor was quiet and deserted, so they were able to creep along it unnoticed. At the drawing room, they pushed the door ajar and peeked inside. The grand room lay dim and empty, with only a handful of the candles now flickering with a warm orange glow.
‘Spooky,’ Kizzy remarked. Her eyes drifted over the lifelike oil paintings hanging on the shadowed walls.
Mia tiptoed to the head of the room where Wendolyn had stood hours earlier. At once she caught sight of the Athame, which was draped over a wall-mounted brass candlestick. She stood before it, so close that the blazing candle flame reflected in her eyes like fire on ice.
The razor-sharp blade glinted, beckoning her. Mia obliged, edging forwards until she was near enough to make out every inscription and symbolic mark that had been engraved on to it.
‘Kizzy,’ Mia whispered, transfixed by the Athame. ‘It’s here. What should I do?’
Kizzy trotted over and inspected the dagger, full of awe.
Tentatively, Mia reached out and touched the smooth blade. It sent a wave of electricity through her fingertip. She recoiled in shock.
‘Did it hurt?’ Kizzy asked, looking down at Mia’s hand.
‘No,’ Mia responded in an eerily detached voice. ‘It felt…good.’ Without thinking, she lifted the Athame’s chain up over the candlestick.
Kizzy swallowed.
‘I love it,’ Mia whispered. ‘I feel as though it belongs to me.’
Kizzy giggled nervously. ‘OK, let’s not get carried away…’
‘I’m going to put it on,’ Mia told her. Without waiting for a response, she twisted her hair to the side and slipped the chain over her head, letting it drop around her neck. The Athame rested against her chest, its blade cold through her thin cotton top.
‘Now what?’ Kizzy asked in a choked voice. ‘Do you feel any different?’
Mia nodded her head slowly. She did feel different, but she didn’t feel powerful. Nor did she feel as though the Athame belonged to her anymore. In fact, she felt extraordinarily weak – as though she now belonged to it.
‘Mia?’ Kizzy’s face clouded with concern.
‘I need to take it off,’ Mia rasped, gripped by the sensation of suffocation. It was as though the air was being squeezed out of her lungs. ‘I need to…’ The words caught in her throat.
She tried to lift her hands, but she was too weak even for that. The Athame burdened her, draining the life from her. It was far too strong for her.
Kizzy grabbed the chain from Mia’s neck, but a spark shot out from the Athame and sent her hurtling across the room. She collided into the wall with such immense force that the impact cracked the mahogany wood. Slumping to the floor, Kizzy lay unconscious on the dull-red carpet.
Mia staggered backwards, gasping for air. The Athame clamped tighter to her, burning through the material of her top and attaching itself to her skin. As its essence flowed through her, it erupted into a flood of emotion – a flow too intense for a human to handle. Mia’s head whirled and her eyes overflowed with anguished tears. It was if all the pain, all the fear and all the power of the witches who had ever handled the dagger were being transmitted to her in a single, searing moment.
The Athame had taken control of her, overpowering her and absorbing her life force. She felt herself begin to lose consciousness. As her vision started to speckle and blur, she glimpsed the distorted sight of the drawing room door opening.
At an unnaturally swift speed, Colt was upon her. He clasped the Athame from her chest and raised his free hand, directing his palm towards Mia. An inexplicable gust of air exploded through the room, propelling Mia backwards and snapping the chain from around her neck. Her head clipped sharply against a brass candlestick, and she dropped to the floor with a thud.
Colt clenched the Athame in his fist, the broken chain dangling down like the tail of a mouse caught in a cat’s jaw.
He let out a vicious growl. ‘Fool!’ he spat.
Mia cowered on the floor, a hot trickle of blood dripping down from her temple.
Lotan appeared on the scene, stalking across the room to Colt’s side. He took the Athame from Colt and slid it into a sheath on his belt. Lotan’s eyes were vacant, but even in the darkness Colt’s eyes flamed with wild rage.
‘Argh!’ Colt gripped his head with both hands, as though he were battling a ferocious demon inside his mind. His fingers became entangled with strands of his raven-black hair. ‘I can’t stop it,’ he seethed. ‘I’ll kill her.’
Lotan said nothing. He simply stood and watched patiently. The new glint in his eyes showed that he was anticipating a bloodbath. And that he would relish in it.
Mia looked up at them in horror. Her face was ashen, striped with tears and a solitary trickle of blood. She had been freed from the Athame’s hold only to come face to face with an equally dangerous threat: Hunters.
She glanced at Kizzy
, who lay motionless on the other side of the room.
Then Lotan spoke for the first time. ‘Give in to it,’ he said to Colt in a low, fluid voice.
Until that moment, Colt had been resisting something unseen, but on Lotan’s command he dropped his hands from his head. Raising his left hand, he turned his palm to face Mia. He no longer battled with inner conflict. He had slipped into a serene trancelike state.
And then Mia felt a coil of air close in around her throat, seizing her as though it were a solid mass, as though it was an invisible snake. Somehow Colt was manipulating the air to strangle her.
Their eyes locked intensely as he relentlessly wrung the life out of her.
Chapter Four
Cometo Me
Consumed by fury, Colt held his hand steadily, his palm facing Mia. He commanded the air to close in around her throat, tighter and tighter. Mia coughed and wheezed, clawing at the invisible snake, but her attempts were useless. There was no turning back now. He would kill her.
And then something collided into him, snapping him out of his trance and sending him crashing into the furniture.
Thoroughly disoriented, Colt pushed his attacker off of him.
It was Dino.
Before Lotan could descend on him, Dino scrambled over to Mia and hauled her upright.
She staggered and gasped for air.
In a split second Colt was back on his feet. He swiftly sliced his hand through the air and a strong gale blasted through the room, knocking both Dino and Mia to the floor.
Lotan circled them, his eyes narrowing vengefully, his body like a lion ready to pounce.
Colt looked on, hesitantly. ‘Lotan!’ he barked. ‘Not here!’
Lotan continued to slowly circle his quarry. But his eyes flickered to Colt. The boys seemed to be communicating silently.
And then in a flash, Lotan lunged at Mia. But he didn’t harm her – he simply licked the trail of blood from her temple and then darted out of the room. Colt was hot on his heels and in the blink of an eye they were both gone.
Mia and Dino looked at one another in horror.