The Enchantress (Wicked Book 1) (6 page)

The Harmers
farm loomed into sight before Leo and Stella, and they circled around the house,
directing their motorbikes towards Wimerack Mountain.
  Taking the long way around the city extended the trip by an hour, but the two
were use to long treks. Deciding to go while Laura was occupied was a unanimous
decision, both of them believing it would only upset her if she knew the Wicked
had come back to her home.
  They slowed their bikes, eventually bringing them to a stop in the bracken by
the hillside. Turning them off, they hid them under the trees and snuck through
the bush, coming as close to the house as they could without leaving the
concealment of the trees.
  They weren’t surprised to find the Wicked were still there, and watched the
two Wizards cross the dirt road from the house to the shed. There wasn’t a lot
of cover between them and the house, so they waited for the Wicked to enter the
shed before they made their move.
  Treading carefully so as not to make any noise, Leo took the lead. They
crossed the final paddock and climbed the fence into the house yard. Now the
house was between them and the shed, providing them with enough protection to
peek around the corner. They couldn’t see the Wicked anymore.
  ‘What do you want to do about them?’ Stella asked her husband.
  ‘Wait for them to go, then search the place. We can’t risk killing them, we
don’t want to let the leader of their mission to know we are on to them.’ he
replied.
  A gritty voice behind them laughed, ‘it’s a shame you won’t live to do that.’

Leo didn’t
have time to draw the dagger from his belt before he was tackled to the ground,
but Stella was there, her blinding purple light latching onto the Wicked’s
back, searing his skin as he shot from Leo’s body.
  He landed with a thud in the dirt and staggered to his feet, preparing to
fire his Lightening back at Stella.
  Before he could, Leo was up and electrocuting him with his Lightening. The
screams leaving the Wizard’s lips were sickening, and his body jittered and
shook, before slumping to the ground with one final shudder.
  His companions arrived then, already shooting fiery red blazes of light at
Leo. Stella intercepted as best she could, but not before one of the blasts hit
Leo in the shoulder.
  He cried out, rounding on the Wizards and sending one of them flying with his
power. Stella was still in battle with second Wicked, their lightening
interlocked, sending sparks flying. She bared her teeth and let loose a cry as
she pushed forward with all her power, forcing back the red blaze of lightening
generating from the Wicked’s hands.
  He drew back his Light and lunged sideways, dropping to the ground, Stella’s
Lightening shooting straight over the top of him. She, too, drew back her power
and watched as the Wicked jumped up and scuttled off towards the car, dragging
the body of his friend behind him. The third Wicked was already behind the
wheel, engine roaring to life. The Wizard shoved his friend into the back seat
and dove in behind him as the driver screeched off down the driveway, wheels spinning.
  ‘They are so poorly trained,’ Stella said as the dust began to settle.
  ‘Lucky for us,’ Leo remarked, wincing as he inspected his injury. Stella tore
the hem of her shirt off, tying it around his injury.
  ‘I’ll treat it the second we get home.’
  ‘What do we do now? The Wicked will be on to us.’
  ‘Nothing but hope to find a lead soon.’ Stella said.
  The two of them made their way through the Harmers house, searching for
anything that could lead them to Cara. They turned the house upside down,
checking every nook and cranny, prying up floorboards, removing paintings and
photos from the wall in the hopes to come across a weak spot in the wall. They
came up short, not a single clue left behind, and the disappointment was
evident in them both.
  In a silent agreement, they decided not to say a word of their visit to
Laura. It would only upset her, and there was no point doing that. No, they
would have to go about the situation differently. In Leo’s mind he was already
formulating a plan.

After
freshening up, Laura made her way to the library. The paintings sparked an
interest in her mind and new questions were nudging their way into her brain,
begging to be asked.
  As she entered the Library, she found Logan resting by the fire place
reading. He must have heard her come in, though, because he looked up and
flashed her a smile.
  ‘How was training?’ He reached up, brushing his dark hair from his eyes.
  ‘I’m still alive so that’s a plus.’
  He chuckled, ‘so what brings you here?’
  ‘I was hoping I could find the answers to some questions. Just little things
I have been wondering.’
  He happily closed the book, tossed it to the side and gestured to the seat
across from him, ‘sure, fire away!’
  Laura crossed the room, and as she sat down, the title of Logan’s book caught
her eye. Treasure Island. She was suddenly struck by the memory of her father
spending hours upon hours reading this book to her and she was overwhelmed by
the pain, the sadness, and the guilt that was consuming her.
  ‘Laura? Are you okay?’ Logan asked.
  She swallowed, meeting his kind eyes, ‘I will be.’
  ‘It’ll get easier,’ he said.
  She felt like burying her face in her hands and crying. Crying because she
wouldn’t see her father again, never hear his laugh, never go rock climbing
like they had planned, never play another ridiculous game of cards. Instead,
she drew on the strength he had given her, and straightened up, braving a
smile.
  ‘I was wondering what the strange
W
mark in those paintings was about?’ She asked, focusing on
both the question and the portraits, not allowing her mind to wander.
  ‘It is called the Identity Mark. You don’t receive it until the final
ceremony. If we stay an Enchanted we will receive a silver ‘
W’
on our wrist. But if not, we will
receive a gold one.’
  He sat forward in his chair, straightening his sweat pants, ‘they awaken the
power within us. If an Enchanted breaks the law, the Minor Courts are able to
destroy the marks, stripping them of their power,’ Logan explained.
  ‘So by destroying a person’s mark, you destroy them? And by receiving a mark,
you receive your Lightening power?’
  ‘Yes, although the power is always coursing through our veins, our decedents
and Gods simply established a way to control it with the mark.’
  Laura frowned at this, ‘what about when a mark is actually destroyed? Can you
ever get that mark again?’
  ‘The short answer is no. Once destroyed, you lose your Lightening altogether.
You do not, however, lose your ability to fight, and to protect the human race.’
  ‘That reminds me, what if humans see us. I mean, surely you can’t always hide
your weapons or the creatures out to kill humans.’
  ‘You will learn that there exists such a thing as Dark Magic. While we don’t
wield this magic, the Courts do. There are only three Charms they have the
right to use. No other Charm that exists within the world of Dark Magic is
legally available.
  ‘The three Charms can be easily remembered as the charm of invisibility, the
charm of truth, and the charm of memory. The first is used for good. The Courts
allow enough of the Charm to appear in our mark, so should a battle commence,
or we’re on a mission and our weapons and gear is required to be worn, we can
speak the Charms name and hide ourselves and our target. We are not permitted
to use it unless absolutely necessary. The Courts use the charm to conceal as
much of the Spirit World as they can without causing suspicion. The second charm
is usually used during trials, only ever by Court members. The last is
forbidden, unless a human indeed see’s something they shouldn’t.’
  Laura sat back in her chair and blew out a breath, ‘there is so much I don’t
know.’
  Logan smiled at her, ‘In time, you were learn it all. I suppose you noticed
that you mother never seemed to have the ‘
W
’?’
  She sat forward again, curious, and nodded.
  ‘It is because if you leave our world, you forfeit the right to obtain the
power we do.’
  ‘You mean, she was stripped of her mark?’ Laura inhaled with shock.
  ‘Indeed.’
  ‘And all to keep me from this world.’
  Logan looked down at his hands, ‘she chose to leave before you were ever
brought into the world. Don’t blame yourself.’
  They were silent for a moment before Logan spoke. ‘Anything else you would
like to ask?’
  Laura thought for a moment, knowing she wanted to change the subject yet
again.
  ‘Yes,’ she finally answered, ‘how did you come to this place? I mean
why
this
place?’
  ‘This is the Corin Grand Manor. There is only one in Corin and I didn’t want
to have to go back to my home city. Too many memories.’
  Tears prickled Laura’s eyes, ‘I’m sorry about your parents.’
  He shrugged, ‘don’t be sorry. It was years ago. I have come to terms with it
now. Enough to get through the days, anyway.’
  ‘Does the pain ever go away?’
  Logan smiled at her, ‘I think you will always feel pain when you remember you
have lost a loved one. But it slowly grows into the happy memories you shared
together.’
  And then, she choked. ‘I don’t want to feel this way forever.’ Tears welled
up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
  ‘I know,’ Logan said, reaching a hand out and grasping her own, giving it a
tight squeeze, ‘If you
ever
need to talk, I will be happy to. Anyone
here will be.’
  She was touched by his kindness.
  ‘Laura?’
  She lifted her eyes to see Stella entering the room. She wiped her cheeks and
felt that they were, thankfully, still dry. She didn’t want Stella to have to
deal with a sobbing mess yet again.
  Stay strong
.
  Her father’s words echoed in her mind and she nodded lightly as if he was
right there, watching her and waiting for a reply. So, she squared her
shoulders, put on a smile and rose from the couch.
  ‘Yes?’ She asked.
  We were wondering if we could ask you some questions about the people who
took your mother.’
  ‘We?’ Laura frowned.
  At that moment a man in a black suit and tie walked in. He held a top hat in
his right hand and a curious looking walking stick in the other.
  ‘I’m Wizard Wilford Stark, detective within the force, and leader of the Corin
Spirit Troops. My men and I have now been put in charge of the search for your
mother.’
  ‘Oh of course! I will tell you anything you need to know. I want to assist in
any way possible.’
  ‘Laura if you follow us down to my office, we can begin the interview,’
Stella said.
  ‘Sure, see you later Logan,’ Laura said over her shoulder as she left the
room. ‘And thank you.’
  He waved as the doors closed behind her.

Drew
finished sharpening his silver Crescent blade and fastened it to his belt.
Until he received his Identity Mark, the only way he would be able to fight was
with the weapons surrounding him.
  At age twelve he had been given the sword by his father, and when he turned
fourteen he was forced to leave his home, his old life, everything he cared
about, and come to the manor.
  It happened almost four years ago, and in less than five months he would
finally receive his mark. Then, after hours upon hours of training, long nights
of planning, and years of waiting, he would finally avenge the death of his
parents. The end was in sight.
  He had been planning his revenge since the second he landed at the manor and
nothing would stand in his way once he possessed the power of a true wizard. He
was going to do anything and everything he could to make sure his families
murderers got exactly what they deserved.
  After what he had seen and been through, not to mention the horrors that fell
upon his cousin, he knew that this was what had to be done, not only for him or
for his family, but for Grace. What she had witnessed was something more
horrifying than any fourteen year old should ever have to see. The evil
creatures behind it would pay the price for their mistakes. A big price at
that.
  Grace did not know of his plans, and he knew the only way to protect her from
suffering the same fate of their family was to keep it that way. He knew she
would try and convince him to not do it; to leave them alone. Then, when he
refused, she would insist on coming along, which again would not only place her
in grave danger, but it would lead to more arguments. He loved Grace, and that
was why it had to be this way.
  ‘Are you all right?’ Came the unmistakable voice of his sister from the now
open door.
  He turned, locking eyes with his twin. She was tall now. Almost as tall as
him, her short jet black hair reaching just past her chin and her emerald eyes
sparkling with kindness. She stepped into the room, closing the door behind
herself.
  ‘I’m fine.’
  ‘How was training with Laura?’ She asked, perching herself on the edge of the
bench, innocently swinging her legs back and forth.
  ‘Fine.’
‘Drew…’
  ‘I’m
fine
, Grace,’ he said, heading for the door.
  ‘You have been shutting me out more and more each day. I barely even know who
you are any more Drew. Remember when we were so in sync that we could finish
each other’s sentences? What happened to that?’
  ‘I grew up,’ he snapped and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
  He stopped as he did so and leant his back against the door, burying his face
in his hands. He hated doing this, but it was the only option that seemed
logical if he truly wanted to keep her safe.

Grace jumped
down from the bench and crossed the room. She placed her hand on the door
handle, then paused. She sighed, resting her head on the doorframe and
squeezing her eyes shut.
  Everyone around her put on a happy face as if nothing was wrong, but that was
far from the truth. The amount of pain surrounding her was overwhelming. The
nightmares, the horrors that hid in the deep, dark depths of their minds,
haunting them, was becoming too much. She didn’t even know what happy felt like
any more.

‘Take a
seat, Laura,’ Stella offered as Mr Stark smoothed down his pants before seating
himself in the chair behind Stella’s desk.
  Stella leant herself against her husband’s desk, arms crossed, watching on.
  Laura sat down and flashed a brief smile at Estella to reassure her that she
was not afraid. But, deep down, she was. She was finally doing something that
could help her mother and she didn’t want to screw it up
  ‘Ah, Laura, I would like to start off by giving you my deepest sympathies for
the passing of your father. Oliver was a loyal mortal. It is, indeed, a
terrible loss.’
  ‘Thanks,’ Laura whispered, unable to do much more.
  ‘Now, as for your mother. We all want to find her, and bring her home. That
is our main objective at this time. So, in order to make progress in the
search, I will need to ask you some simple questions about your past,’ Mr Stark
said, pulling a voice recorder from the inside pocket of his jacket and
switching it on.
  Laura fidgeted with her hands, then gripped them tightly, forcing herself to
stop, ‘sure, what would you like to know?’
  ‘For starters, did you... how can I put this? Did you’re parents ever do
anything that could have possibly angered someone?’
  ‘No, gosh no. My parents were always kind towards everyone they met. I mean,
we didn’t have a lot of close family or friends or anything, but we didn’t have
enemy’s either.’
  Her palms were sweaty and she inconspicuously wiped them on her jeans.
  ‘And you’re sure of this?’
  Stella’s forehead creased slightly with a frown, but Laura nodded.
  ‘Ah, well, good, good,’ he nodded then continued, ‘did you’re parents ever
show you anything as a child? Of this world and our abilities?’
  ‘No, I honestly did not know anything about the Spirit World until now. I
mean, obviously my parents kept it from me, I’m just not sure why.’
  ‘Ah, do you think it could be because of the people who took your mother? The
Wicked we suspect?’ Mr Stark inquired.
  ‘Maybe. I guess,’ Laura responded.
  ‘But you don’t remember your mother or father ever coming in contact with any
of these people?’
  ‘Well, no. I don’t think so but-‘
  ‘You don’t think so?’ Mr Stark cut in, raising an eyebrow and briefly glancing
over his shoulder at Stella.
  ‘I didn’t get a very good look at the people who took her.’
  ‘So your parents could have come in contact with them, then,’ Mr Stark
pressed on.
  ‘I guess so. I wouldn’t know unless I saw their faces. Then maybe I might
remember if I have ever seen them before,’ Laura was feeling flustered and her
hands again clammy with sweat.
  ‘Was the car they arrived in familiar?’
  ‘No, I had never seen it before.’
  ‘What did it look like?’
  ‘Uh it was a white car,’ Laura answered.
  ‘A white car-‘
  ‘no, actually it was silver.’
  ‘Silver. Are you sure?’
  ‘Yes. Silver. I’m sure of it.’ Laura confirmed.
  ‘And did you get the number plate? Or any other details that could be
useful?’
  ‘No, I was too far away to see any real details on the car or the people
behind the wheel. There were three of them though. That I remember.’
  Mr Stark looked back at Stella and she nodded, as if confirming that this was
correct. It was Laura’s turn to frown.
  ‘Ah, now, Laura,’ Mr Stark paused as he made eye contact with her, and she
knew what was coming next, ‘I need to ask what happened after that. If it is
too hard for you we can come back to it another time, just let me know.’
  She didn’t falter like she thought she may have. She had to, yet again, be
strong. She took a deep breath, ‘I had climbed the small mountain at the edge
of our property, so I sprinted as fast as I could down it, but on the way I
tripped or fell or something, I can’t really remember and that’s where I
received most of my injuries. Then I managed to get to Dad. He was bleeding
really badly, but he wouldn’t let me call an ambulance because he said I needed
to run. He said that they would be coming for me and then he-’ she sucked in a shaky
breath. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. ‘And then Drew showed up.’
  ‘And did you notice anything out of the ordinary once you reached your
father’s body? Any clues that could contribute to our search for your mother?’
  Laura was about to shake her head, when suddenly she thought of something.
‘He was shot..’ she whispered.
  ‘What was that?’ Mr Stark asked.
  Laura raised her eyes and stared at him. ‘He had been shot. Drew told me that
not a lot of Enchanted or Wicked use guns because the bullets are hard to come
by.’
  ‘Yes, that’s true… But I don’t quite understand your meaning.’
  ‘Well, obviously, these Wicked must be, I don’t know, rich or high up or
something if they were able to get themselves bullets.’
  Mr Stark’s didn’t respond. Instead, he moved on. Maybe that information
wasn’t useful at all. Maybe they used a normal bullet. Laura mentally cursed
herself for being so stupid.
  ‘Thankyou Laura, just a few more questions and I promise we will be done,’ he
gave her a genuine smile, ‘well, now Stella said you had a map to the manor,
where did you get this map?’
  ‘Dad told me that there was this place that I needed to go to and that the
people there would help me. He was talking about the Manor of course. He told
me that there was a map and some other things under the desk draw in our
house.’
  ‘Ah, so they were prepared for this day to come,’ Mr Stark said thoughtfully.
‘And do you know how he or your mother got this map?’
  Laura shook her head, ‘no, I just assumed it was like any other map they had
picked up from the information centre.’
  ‘Well, it is certainly not that. The description Stella has given me leads me
to believe that the map you came to have in your possession is what we call a
Markers map, and they are very rare indeed. It allows people to seek out every
living
Witch, Wizard and Warlock in the country, with or without their marks, by
simply speaking their name, and if in the wrong hands, this map could be very
dangerous. So how your mother managed to get her hands on one of them,
considering she lost her marks a long time ago, is a mystery to me.’
  Laura stared at him for a moment. The dream from the night before came to
mind. She sat forward in her chair, eyeing the recorder, making sure to word
her sentence carefully.
  ‘Mr Stark, is it possible for people to use their powers without their marks?
I mean are they able to train themselves to unlock that power from within?’
  Mr Stark looked at Laura for a long moment before replying cautiously, ‘ah, well,
as far as I know no one has done so, but that’s not to say it isn’t possible.
Why do you ask?’
  The image of Laura’s mother showing her younger self the power she held was
still in her mind, blocking out her other thoughts. The black Identity Mark was
bold on her wrist. She hadn’t had time to analyse her dream yet and she forced
herself to believe that it was just that, a dream. But if it wasn’t, she was
sure her mother could be in a lot of trouble.
  Laura smiled at Mr Stark, ‘no reason, just curious I guess.’