Witching Tree (Alice Gray Book 1)

51

           

"You didn't disappear," Emily said quickly, before Thomas could answer.

A look of displeasure crossed his face at the interruption. Shifting in my seat, I motioned for her to continue, unwilling to pause eating for anything.

"You passed out, in fact we all did. I came round to find him, panicking like a hysterical cheerleader who can't find her pompom on match night."

I shot Thomas a questioning smile.

"I couldn't wake you. The smell of magic was choking. I knew something was terribly wrong," he said, a touch of panic in his voice at the memory.

"Anyway," Emily continued, cutting him off again. "I came round and fifteen minutes had passed according to my watch. Anne woke up ten minutes after me. We waited for fifteen minutes more, in case it was just taking you a little longer, and then we had to think of something else, because this one had become unbearable," Emily said, gesturing to Thomas.

He looked away sheepishly. My lips twisted up into a grin, despite my best efforts to be stern.

"Anne stopped me calling an ambulance. She didn't think traditional medicine would help. She could smell or sense the magic too. She recognised it," Emily continued.

"What was the source of it," I asked. "Was it the book?"

"The book was gone," Emily said, shooting a suspicious look at Thomas. "Anne said that she knew someone who might help. It took us a while to convince the big guy over there to let us take you anywhere. He had you in his arms, and seemed to think that you, unconscious with him, was better than you away from him, even if that would help bring you round."

I glanced at Thomas, he held my gaze. Heat spread through me.

"Anne took us to the restaurant. The woman, Hazel, was not happy to have you there, and that Jenny, well, what in God's name did you ever do to her?" Emily asked.

"She likes Evan," I said by way of explanation. A look of understanding crossed Emily's face.

"There was an almightily row between Anne and Hazel, but after about ten minutes of yelling, Hazel brought you in and laid you on that tree mosaic. It throbbed and pulsed when you made contact with it. That just set him off again," Emily said, with a nod to Thomas. "Hazel subdued him with a threat to withdraw her help. She called in her pals, including Evan, to help extract you. When Evan got there, he went wild. I thought there was going to be a full on brawl."

"Why?"

"He saw you unconscious, and drew his own conclusions," Thomas said, his tone dark and threatening.

Emily shot Thomas a warning look. "When Evan understood what had happened he had a conference with Hazel, and before we knew it he had passed out too. Apparently, he was trying to reach you somehow, but the coven didn't seem willing to explain their methods," Emily said, eyebrows drawn together and lips compressed into a small, straight line. Her eyes were focussed on the floor, as she sorted through the memories.

"It's a coven Em. You know they don't share," Stephen said, taking over the narrative. "When Evan remained unconscious, it was obvious, even to us, that something had gone wrong. Jenny was frantic, and kept saying that they should just kill you. That's when Hazel pulled rank. Her voice went all deep and breathy. If I had to guess, I'd say she was channelling: 'Our daughter will be saved', she said, and that shut everybody else up."

Stephen shot me a sideways glance. I took the bait.

"Channeling?"

"The coven was established by the Pendle Witch, Alice Gray. I think Hazel called on the ancestors to boost her power."

A sinking feeling of dread filtered through me and settled in my gut.

The ancestors.

That could only mean those scary brown haired girls who'd shook their heads and muttered curses as Jonathan sucked me into his realm.

They were no friends of mine, that was for sure.

"No, it's a good thing," Stephen said, seeing the dejection clear in my face. "The spirits of the coven wanted you out of there, and no one questions their will, not even Hazel. That's what convinced her to start the incantation. The White Paternoster."

"Wait, you guys know about that?"

"Everybody knows about that, it's one of the oldest spells around," Emily said. "A catholic prayer bastardised to destroy its significance as religious doctrine. That's what creates its magical rhythms, its strength."

"That's what makes them Words of Power," Stephen said, as though it was the simplest thing in the world.