“Does the spell wear off in two hours, Flo? That must be some seriously powerful witch to create a spell that big and potent and keep it up for two whole hours.” Zac was relentless.
A knock at the door, distracted everyone; they all turned to look. In that instant, Zac grabbed Wendy and pushed Flo backwards. Jason ran to open the door to Shane who was surrounded by aggressive prisoners. He was holding Flo’s real body in his arms.
“Surprised to see this?” Jason said to Belinda’s possessed body as Shane came in.
“You people are impossible!” Flo screamed at them.
“No, nothing is impossible. We’re a just a tight-knit fighting machine.” Val went to peer at Flo’s body. She had to admit that, in that state, Flo looked angelic.
“Put her down or Belinda gets the brainwash.” Flo backed into the corner.
“Now you know, we all know, that you need this body. You can live in her forever, but you can’t do that in Belinda’s. So we need to do a swap. You take your body back and leave Belinda without harming a neurological connection in her head, or we destroy this body.”
“You wouldn’t. You’re not allowed to harm humans. I know the rules.” Flo aimed her weapon at them from her corner, she pivoted on the spot, pointing at them one at a time.
“Flo, this little girl is already dead and as much as this situation is freaking me out I will do whatever is necessary to protect one of my guardians.” Val flicked her hand; flames engulfed it. She then walked purposefully over to Shane who placed the child’s body on the ground.
“Are you serious?” Fran was looking from Val to Shane, “this girl was once alive; she deserves some respect.”
“Not the time for this, Fran.” Val raised her hand allowing flames to skip up her arm. Then she brought her hand down towards the little girls dress.
“Stop! Alright, I’ll go,” Flo spat at them. Val pulled her hand back, but only enough to stop her dress singeing. “You’re sick, do you know that?”
Belinda’s body fell towards the counter; Wendy grabbed her, with Zac’s assistance.
They all looked at the real Flo, waiting for her to do something.
“Do you think she’s in there yet?” Val poked the little girl. “God, she’s freezing cold.”
Just then Flo’s eyes opened, like shutters being pulled back. There was no gasp for air as Val had been expecting. Her chest didn’t move up or down as a normal person’s would. She sat up looking at Val with eyes filled with pure hatred. “We will win. You are a waste of space.”
“Tie her up and gag her. You are a very unpleasant little girl.” Val stood up.
“Wait, you said if I left Belinda...”
“I didn’t say I would let you go, did I? You’re a turncoat – that’s what you called it. I trusted you and I nearly got extracted because of you. So now you are going to stay here until we get attacked, and then I will use you as a shield against those thugs out there. Tick-Tock Flo.” Val patted her head.
Jason lifted Flo to her feet and with Shane’s help they carried her to the cupboard to find a chair to attach her to.
“Wendy, is your mum ok?” Val asked.
“I’m sure she’ll survive, thanks to you Val. What do we need to do now?”
“Magic. If Excariot is using a witch to work his power over the prisoners, maybe we can turn it back on him. But first let’s get your mum a drink. Fran, would you mind?”
“No problem and I knew you wouldn’t hurt that little girl.”
“Fran, I’m sorry, but I would have burnt her to ashes before I let Flo take one single memory from Belinda’s head.” She was deadly serious and Fran could see that; she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
“If your mum’s here do you think we stand any chance of breaking that spell before our time is up?” Val asked.
“We can try.”
“You will need to move quickly, the crowd is growing restless.” Zac pointed to the doorway where angry faces were peering in at them. “How long do you think we have left?”
“By my calculations about forty minutes, not long at all,” Val replied.
Belinda spoke for the first time. “Val, I owe you my life. That thing took me on my way to the coven. I remember everything. I’m so sorry, Wendy; I wanted to scream for help, but I couldn’t.”
“Don’t worry Mum,” Wendy hugged her.
“Thank you,” she touched Val’s arm.
“You’re welcome Belinda, but I really wouldn’t thank me just yet as you have been deposited in close proximity to hell. We have four hundred prisoners closing in on the bookshop and no idea what to do. At least we know a spell has created this situation, but it’s obviously a very strong spell. Do you think we can counteract it or break it, using only what we have here?”
“To counteract a spell isn’t difficult. The complicated part is knowing who to send it back to. All we need is a mirror and the name of the witch.” Belinda responded.
“So you’re saying that you can stop this with a mirror? That’s great, but how do we find out who the witch is?” She looked at Zac. “You know there’s only one way we are going to find Excariot’s den. We have to agree to his offer. We let him think that we are going along with his plan so we can find out who this powerful witch is.”
“No. You’re crazy! We’ll never come out of this alive.” Zac was walking away from her towards Fran. “Please tell her to stop talking like this. You are her friend, do something.”
Fran looked at him, feeling as lost as he was. “Do you think that anything any of us says will make any difference to her when she’s made her mind up?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but how does you letting Excariot into the bookshop help us find out who his witch is?” Daniel asked.
“We make him help us destroy Delta before we let him in. We only need a look at her or him; let’s not forget it could be either. I will give myself over to him freely for talks.”
“And how exactly are you thinking of doing that?” Zac asked her.
“Like this.” She walked to the front door and tapped on the glass. A very angry looking man who was picking his nose, stopped to look at her.
“What?” he spat at the glass.
“Take me to your leader,” she grinned. “No time to analyse. Get working on that spell and I will see you all very soon.”
“You can’t do this! It’s insane! She’s lost the plot. Someone stop her,” Fran pleaded frantically, heading for the door.
“It’s the only way, trust me. I’ll be back so get ready.” Val touched Fran’s hand, opened the door and walked into the crowd of prisoners. It looked like a million hands were grabbing her as they led her towards a car that was conveniently just pulling up outside the bookshop.
“I take it he was expecting me,” she said to a finely built man who opened the car door for her, closed it behind her then got into the driver’s seat. He didn’t respond, but just waited for her to put on her seatbelt then pulled off. As they travelled she wondered how this would all turn out. She was worried about the others. The pressure of their safety was starting to get to her. She had genuinely thought they had lost Belinda, and Wendy’s premonition of Excariot killing her was too much for her to live with. She needed this to end and quickly.
Shane came back into the bookshop to silence, Jason behind him. “What’s going on? We have Flo tied up. What’s the deathly hush for?” he asked looking around, “Where’s Val?”
“She has given herself to Excariot so that she can find out the name of the witch. We need the name to break the spell,” Zac supplied the answers.
“Are you serious?” Shane was looking at them in disbelief. They all nodded. He took a deep breath, determined to be positive for their sakes. “Ok, so the stupid girl has gone insane, though from what I have seen of Val, I know that she doesn’t do anything for no reason. She has come face to face with that murderer before and won. So, what does she need us to do?”
“We need a mirror,” Wendy answered him.
“Then do it. Zac, she still has a pin on so you and Jason can track her. Let’s find out where Excariot is. Come on people, let’s not make her choice a wasted one, get moving.” Shane wasn’t sure what good any of this would be, but it was better than everyone falling apart.
Val seemed to have travelled several miles before she felt the car start to slow. To her surprise they were in a suburban street full of nice houses. The one they stopped in front of had a ‘for sale’ sign outside. “Did evil move often?” she thought to herself. The man opened the car door for her; as she climbed out she instantly saw the onlookers. They were in the background but were prominent enough to be a noticeable force.
The front door opened and there stood Excariot; all he needed were slippers and a pipe. This was a joke. Where was the secret hideout, the underground cave? She was completely taken aback by this approach. He almost seemed civil.
“Val, how are you?” he greeted her at the door.
“Freaked out would be a good expression.” She walked past him into the house.
“Why? How would you like me to live? You stole my house and my business; I have to rest somewhere.” He actually sounded sorry for himself.
“So how did you get this house then? Stocks and bonds?” she asked as he escorted her into the kitchen.
“No. I killed the family that owned it and buried them in the garden. It saved on the paper work.” He poured himself a glass of water from a large American style fridge.
“I’m sorry, but you’re crazy.” Val started to head back towards the door, but a large man stepped into her path and held his hand up to stop her. She looked him up and down and decided to turn back.
“I was trying to make this experience pleasant for you. Why couldn’t you just be grateful? No, you just have to moan, just like your whiney little friend, Delta, although I obviously underestimated her.”
“Ex.”
“What?”
“She’s my ex-friend. Now, let’s get down to business. Before we lift the spell on the bookshop I want to know exactly what you have planned, and I want to see the witches you’re going to give me upfront.”
“I don’t remember saying I was going to give you any witches.”
“Yes you did, just before you told me how we are going to get rid of Delta before I hand Lailah over to you.” She smiled.
“DONT MESS WITH ME GIRL!” Excariot bellowed into Val’s face, slamming his glass onto the counter. “I will snap you in half like a twig.” Val could feel his energy pulsating. He raised his hand and her feet were off the ground, her throat tightening under his pressure. Then he stopped, as if he remembered why she was there. “Fine. I won’t need them, when I have her.” He lowered her to the ground, dismissing the situation with a flick of his hand as if it had never happened.
Val was shaken, but she needed to keep it together a little longer. “So, let’s go see my reward. I want to make sure they’re still alive,” she said.
“Very well let’s go.” He signalled the large man to follow them as they headed back towards the front door.
She knew this could work, but she must keep him calm.
The bookshop was a hive of activity. Wendy had the mirror and Belinda was searching for candles. Daniel was guarding the door, ready to call for help if anyone tried to enter.
Wendy walked up behind him. “I’m so sorry you had to be involved in this. I never wanted you to be part of this crazy world. You were supposed to be my moment of sanity.” She looked down at the ground.
“Wendy, I know I have only seen you a few times, but you are the kindest, most caring person I have ever met. I’m the one who’s sorry that we couldn’t have had more time together before all this happened, then it wouldn’t sound so corny when I told you I think I might be falling in love with you.” Daniel placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. “Life throws us some strange situations; believe me I know, but love seems to be able to rise above it all and make even the ugliest situation seem bearable.” She smiled at him and they stood guard together.
Shane, Jason, Zac and Fran were all cramped into the cupboard with Flo. “She was there, Dad.” Jason pointed to a street on the map. “Then she disappeared. It’s just like the time that hallucination thing got her.”
“Summari,” Zac said.
“Yes that thing. Excariot must be covering her signal. So now she’s lost again, and all we can do is wait.”
Shane pulled out his phone and started to text.
“Who are you texting?” Fran asked.
“Sam.”
“I thought he was out of communication, Dad?”
“Son, sometimes you have to break the rules, and this is one of those times. We need to get that signal and he is the only person who can do it.” He sent the message.
Val followed Excariot out into the street. They were walking towards a wooded area. Was he seriously going to take her to his tree house hideout? This got more bizarre by the minute.
“Sometime today would be good, Excariot,”
“Did your father never teach you that patience is a virtue?” he asked.
“No, because you killed him,” Val responded.
“Oh yes. Sorry about that,” he laughed.
The wood seemed dense now she was close to it. As she passed through the trees they started to fade. It was like one of those optical illusions she had seen at school. There was no wood, just a doorway into a huge building. It was like an aircraft hangar. How on earth had they managed to hide something that large on the edge of a street?
“Where are we?”
“In my domain.” Excariot turned towards her. He opened his arms as a woman ran up and dutifully pulled off his jacket. “You have to realise something, Val: on this planet we are gods, we are the elite and no one can touch us. When Lailah joins me she will be my queen and we will rule everything and everyone.”
“Why would you want that?”
“What?” Excariot looked perplexed. “Why wouldn’t you want that?”
“Well, I don’t tend to see many happy politicians on the news, and being a royal seems a tad like hard work, so why would you want to dominate a planet that suffers from famine and wars? People here fight over parking spaces and fences that are a centimetre over their boundary line. Doesn’t seem like much of a catch to me.”
Val surveyed her surroundings. There were far too many prisoners to even attempt to attack Excariot; she would have to teleport out for certain.
“We don’t want your people to live here. Do you know how many prisoners there are on Alchany? We could fill this planet in one fell swoop. You could be part of it.” He was very serious and Val knew that he meant every word.