An Errant Witch Page 18

  ‘But what?’ I shot back at him.

  ‘She’ll be no use to us in the long run, Dara. Don’t you realize? It’s all about the stone,’ he said urgently. ‘Open your mind. Think of the possibilities if we could wrest control of the Crystal Charm Stone.’

  ‘But we only need to know how to do it, we’re not actually going to take the stone,’ I said, yet his eyes were like steel, cutting into me. The huge kitchen had suddenly turned icy cold on my back, and I became conscious of the sound of a clock ticking slowly somewhere in the depths behind me.

  ‘What? Are you seriously thinking of really taking the stone? Sandy, it’s just a game, we don’t have to go that far to prove ourselves. Theoretical, I believe were Johanna’s words.’ I tried to search the shadows in his face to see if he was having me on.

  ‘We can go further than that, though, don’t you see?’ His voice was a fervent whisper. ‘We can take down the whole lot of them.’

  ‘We? Them?’ What was he on about?

  His eyes widened just a little in response. ‘We, Dara, you and me,’ he quickly said. ‘You know you have incredible power, don’t you? That gate spell down in the tunnel, I could only sense it, feel the strength of it, that’s how I knew it was there. But you actually saw it, physically. That’s pretty amazing. Think what we could do, together, if we had access to the stone.’

  His face was glowing with the fervency of one who believes impossible things, thinking he had found the solution for all of life’s earthly woes. I was becoming scared for him, and of him, too.

  ‘What? What would we do?’ I was becoming mesmerized by the force of him, fascinated by what I saw in his eyes. I also felt that Sandy was dancing on the lip of the well of insanity. One misstep and he could be lost to us forever.

  ‘We can return the stone to its rightful owner.’

  ‘Sandy. What are you talking about? Why would we want to do such a thing?’

  The idea of even touching that terrible power made me shrivel inside, yet I’d felt the longing, like a moth to a flame. Only a suicidal fool would dream of doing this, and for what purpose? Who was the rightful owner anyway? Sandy, as the last of his clan? Or should we go further back in time, and pass it to the Ice King?

  Oh.

  The Ice King. What would happen if, say, someone stole the stone from Scarp and presented it to the Ice King? Would he allow that person’s mother to be free? I stared at Sandy. Yeah, he might be crazy, but sometimes genius could be mistaken for insanity by those who didn’t know any better, couldn’t it?

  But even if I could get through the barrier, and take the stone and escape the island alive, how would I find my way to that northern kingdom? Willem had said you couldn’t get there by the normal routes. There were no sea lanes or reindeer roads that could lead you there.

  Unless the stone would know to find its own way home.

  ‘We can take back the island,’ he whispered. ‘It’s not just me, there’s a whole army of us, tired of living under the iron fist of the Kin. We’re all over the world, and we’re just waiting for that moment of time to rise up. You, Dara, you could be part of that. You have the power to save us all.’

  His eyes gleamed fervently in the light of the dying coals. And I could save my mother. We stayed that way for a long moment, the two of us looking at each other, private dreams running through our minds.

  But I’d been down this road before, and even if he were right about being able to steal the Crystal Charm Stone, especially if he was right about it, I wanted no part in his schemes. This route led only to trouble and binding of magic. Right there and then, I had an ominous presentiment that this would not end well.

  No way. This witch was going to keep her head down and play by the rules. Even if it meant her mother had to wait. At least that’s what I thought I wanted to do.

  I left him then, left him sitting alone in the chilly cavernous kitchen, for I couldn’t take that brand of crazy anymore.

  WE DIDN’T find out who had followed us into the tunnel the previous night, but I knew it had to have been one of the Fearsome Four – Oliver, Timothy, Pauline or Win. Sandy thought it had been Timothy, because the person had disappeared by the time we reached the top of the stairs, and he had the longest legs. I laid bets it was Pauline, because she was such a horrible nosy parker who already suspected me of some kind of chicanery.

  We still hadn’t told Fergie about the Crystal Charm Stone. I wanted to, but Sandy insisted we keep it to ourselves for now.

  ‘The more people who know about it, the more chance that someone will ruin it for us,’ he hissed when I cornered him before he went to look after the animals.

  She must have known something was up, I could see the hurt on her face when Sandy and I had our frequent whispered huddles. Even now, she was watching us, her large mouth downturned at the corners, her eyes all bruised and sad, and beneath that a little angry, too.

  ‘It’s only Fergie,’ I said. ‘She won’t tell, the others don’t talk to her.’

  ‘Absolutely not. She’d do anything to keep in with the Kin.’

  ‘Well, someone already knows, because they followed us into the tunnel last night,’ I confronted him. ‘We’d better act fast or they’ll take the idea. I’m sure all of those Kin know how to take down a barrier spell or two, especially as it’s just theoretical. The more brain power we have on our side the better, and we need to do it sooner rather than later.’

  ‘No, the time’s just not right yet.’ His forehead scrunched up as if he was worried.

  ‘You’re not seriously thinking of... doing what you talked about last night,’ I said. ‘Sandy, are you?’

  Right there and then I made him promise that we would keep this on a theoretical level, though I didn’t think the promise was worth much. And it turned out I was right.

  PHYSICAL MAGIC CLASS was not grabbing my interest that day, I was impatient for it to finish. It seemed to go forever; I impatiently played with the coin as I waited for him to finally clue up. Sandy and I had agreed to hang back after Rasmussen’s session. We were going to try to pick his mind.

  ‘I’ll meet you later, Fergie,’ I said to her as she lingered by my bench after all the others had left the room. I put the coin down as I stood up; Rasmussen was packing up his papers and we had to catch him before he left. ‘You go on.’

  ‘No, I don’t mind.’ Her expression and tone were rather surly, she obviously did mind about something, and had chosen this moment to discuss it with me. She stood in my way, blocking my path to Sandy, her arms crossed pugnaciously. ‘I’ll wait. I want to talk with you.’

  I could feel Sandy’s glare from across the room. We really needed to speak with Rasmussen; I had to get Fergie out of the way, even though the whole thing would be much easier if he would agree to let her board. I’d work on that, but until then, I couldn’t let her overhear the conversation we were going to have with the Professor.

  ‘Maybe,’ I suggested, thinking wildly. ‘Maybe you could do me a favor? I need the big black book that’s on the table in our room. Would you mind getting that for me?’

  ‘What, the Arte of Engines? Whatever do you need that for?’ The sneer on her face told me she knew this was just a ruse, for the book was an incredibly long and boring explanation of the mechanics of a steam engine that Rasmussen had suggested I make myself familiar with. I tried to read a little each evening before sleep, but alI I was getting from it was a solid eight hours of shut-eye every night.

  ‘I need to ask him about some points in it.’ We had a stare-down; both of us knew I lied. ‘I’ll keep him occupied till you get back. Please?’

  I could see the storm clouds gathering on her face and I thought she was going to refuse to go, but then she turned on her heel and stomped out of the room, yelling over her shoulder as she did so, ‘Go get your own book! I can take a hint and I’ll not stay where I’m not wanted!’

  The idea of running after her flashed through my mind,
she was my friend and I’d done her wrong. But this drama would have to be dealt with later, and I pushed her out of my mind for now. I needed to join Sandy who had cornered the professor and was in the process of drawing knowledge from him.

  ‘Barrier spells, eh?’ Rasmussen was rubbing his chin and watching Sandy with a sharp look in his eye. I held my breath. He must know why we were asking.

  ‘Theoretically, of course.’ I jumped in to the conversation as I joined them, giving Sandy a good poke in the ribs with my elbow as I did so. ‘How would you theoretically take down barrier spells?’

  ‘Ah, the theory of it all,’ Rasmussen said. ‘That is an interesting question, for there are many types of barrier spells which can be erected. Perhaps you want to tell me more about the spells themselves?’

  I thought for a moment. We couldn’t come right out and say we wanted to know how to take down the gates guarding the Crystal Charm Stone, for that would be cheating according to the rules of the Competition and I knew Rasmussen would be fully aware of this, and would refuse to help us.

  ‘Um, like a wall of spells, or a curtain...’

  ‘Ah. And is this curtain made up of a lot of little spells, all built on each other like building blocks?’ Rasmussen was trying to help us. ‘Or one large spell, comprised of many little spells within it? For either of those, you would need to look at each small spell individually, and remove them that way. It is a lot of work.’

  ‘More like a lot of small spells, all woven together.’

  ‘Ah, that is a different scenario then! In that case, you would need to unravel the whole at once.’

  ‘Unravel?’

  ‘Yes, if you can see the weaving of the spells?’

  I nodded.

  ‘Interesting. Then that must be handled very particularly. For if you do not unravel the whole all at once, say if you just pick at the warp of the spells one by one, then you are left in a situation where the weft spells are unbalanced, and that can rebound on you if you are standing close to them, which of course you must be, if you are attempting to undo the spells.’

  He beamed at us. ‘Does that help solve your theoretical problem?’

  ‘Um,’ I looked at Sandy with my eyebrows raised. I knew next to nothing about the weaving of spells, so he had to pick up my slack.

  My friend was shaking his head. ‘Not really,’ he said, his voice full of doubt. ‘That would take a hell of a long time to do, wouldn’t it?’

  Rasmussen laughed. ‘It would take the weaver of the spells a long time, yes, for they would know the nature of each spell woven into the whole. For someone who did not have this prior knowledge, it might take a lifetime.’

  His bright eyes shone like flint in the sunshine behind his rimless spectacles. Sandy and I looked at each other, and he shook his head. Rasmussen hadn’t been as much help as he has supposed, except to highlight the impossibility of the task. I pictured again the curtain of spells stretched across the entrance to the cavern which held the stone. The whole was a solid weaving, with a heft like a heavy curtain or drapery.

  A solid curtain of fabric, but not a solid brick wall. Curtains were made to be pulled back.

  ‘Could one...’ I began, then hesitated, looking for the right words. ‘Could one simply pull aside the net of spells? I mean, bypass the whole undoing of the spells, because you wouldn’t necessarily have to go to all that trouble.’

  I felt Sandy start at my side.

  Rasmussen stared at me for a long moment. ‘If one could do that, then going to the trouble of weaving the net of spells would be quite pointless, don’t you think?’

  I put my head to one side, and shrugged. ‘It was just an idea. I guess I didn’t think that one out.’

  ‘Perhaps one should think about that idea a little more in depth,’ Rasmussen said, his bright eyes boring into me. ‘Theoretically, of course. If one could actually see the net of spells in a hypothetical barrier, well then, one has a distinct advantage over any who cannot see the net.’

  I met his eyes with a thrill of excitement and thought quickly. ‘So one could hold aside the curtain,’ I said.

  He nodded. ‘If one could see where the anchor points were, then it should be easy enough,’ he said. ‘But of course, that course of action involves holding the spells in one’s hands, and could lead to third degree burns.’

  Rasmussen laughed again. ‘It would take more than one witch to hold off that damage from occurring,’ he said genially. ‘But of course, it could be done. Theoretically.’

  He grew quiet, and continued to bore into me with his pebbly eyes. I felt like he could see right through my intentions. ‘One would need the aid of a strong medium in order to work this magic,’ he said. ‘If one does not have a medium that is closely aligned, it would be a very difficult task for any witch. And that is why Physical Magic is a more useful tool than Pure Mind.’

  ‘WE ABSOLUTELY need Fergie on board,’ I hissed at Sandy once we had exited the round tower room and the heavy door was safely shut.

  ‘No.’ Sandy headed down the stone steps rather than take the corridor which eventually led to the Common Room, and I hurried to keep up with him.

  ‘But don’t you see?’ I persevered in a whisper. ‘It would take at least two people to loosen and pull back the gate, while the other slipped in to take the stone.’

  ‘We can’t get her involved.’

  ‘But Sandy, remember how Johanna said team work would be necessary?’ He picked up his pace without answering. He was almost at the bottom of the staircase.

  ‘We can’t win the stupid competition alone!’ In my need to get him on board, I forgot to keep my voice low, and he stopped immediately, staring straight ahead.

  I clattered down the stairs and caught up to him, saw the look of horror on his face and immediately after that, saw the reason why. Timothy lounged against the stone wall just around the corner, a sneer on his face.

  ‘Oh, someone has hopes of winning the Competition, do they?’ His long dreadlocks glittered in the morning sun from the window. He must have put a shimmer on himself. Timothy stood up straight and crossed his arms, effectively blocking the way to entrance to the hallway.

  ‘No,’ Sandy replied shortly as he attempted to push past him. ‘Give over, Timothy. What sort of game are you playing at?’

  ‘I’m playing to win, my friend,’ the other said. ‘And I think you might have information you’d like to share.’

  ‘I’ve got nothing for you.’ Again Sandy roughly tried to push him out of the way, but Timothy had the advantage of height and an athletic torso which refused to move.

  ‘So what?’ Timothy sneered down at the short Scotsman. ‘You’d work with a half-blood? Share your glory with the likes of her?’ He flicked his dreadlocks and glitter floated in the sunlight, as he pushed Sandy in the shoulder.

  ‘Stop it, I told you!’ Sandy’s face was suffused with rage, and his shoulders hunched like a football player ready to burst through the opposition’s line. ‘If you don’t get out of my way I’ll feckin’ kill you, you bloody Sassenach!’

  ‘Give it up already, you guys!’ I attempted to come between them before someone’s blood got smeared on the walls. I stood directly in front of Timothy, daring him to touch me, counting on his being the perfect English gentleman who would never raise a hand to a woman. And if he did, well, that was his own lookout, for I’d learned to fight dirty in the back streets of my hometown, where we never pulled our punches.

  Timothy must have seen that in my face, because he turned and haughtily sniffed, and generally acted as if he’d lost interest in the affair.

  ‘We’re watching you,’ he said, as he slid his eyes over me. ‘There’s to be no cheating. And that means you, half-blood.’ With that he turned and left us.

  Chapter 17

  SANDY AND I WALKED slowly through the castle, in the unused corridors where there were fewer corners and nooks for anyone to lurk behind and overhear us. Stil
l, we kept our voices low.

  ‘Who followed us down there last night?’

  He shook his head. ‘It couldn’t have been Timothy after all,’ he replied. ‘That one would be stupid enough to tell us if he knew about the stone.’

  I kept my disagreement to myself. ‘At any rate, we’re going to have to finish working out the plan of how we would theoretically hold back the curtain of spells,’ I said. ‘Someone saw us, and it’ll just be a matter of time before they work out the puzzle.’

  ‘No,’ Sandy spoke quickly. ‘It’s not time yet.’

  ‘You said that before. What are we waiting for?’ Out of habit, I reached for the coin in my pocket to play with it, to occupy my hands while I thought. ‘Sandy, we’re not going to take the stone. That’s just plain nuts. Have you wondered how we’re going to lift it? You just going to sling it into your knapsack and toss it over your shoulder? It’s overkill, we don’t need to prove we can actually do it, just on paper.’

  He set his mouth in a grim line.

  ‘Besides,’ I continued. ‘We can’t do it between the two of us. We need someone else on board, and Fergie is the natural choice. I don’t know enough about spells and things, and she, well, even if she is just a Hedge Witch as you say, she’ll be a hell of a lot more useful than me.’

  He gave a sigh. ‘I don’t trust her. I never have.’

  ‘Between the two of us, we can’t figure out the barrier spells,’ I insisted.

  His eyes were shadowed. ‘But you don’t know the whole story.’ He set his mouth grimly and refused to explain what he meant.

  I WAS starving, but it wasn’t yet time for lunch. The porridge had been on the thin side that morning, with no berries or cream or other fruit to help fortify us for the day.

  But I now knew the route to the kitchen.

  ‘I wouldn’t.’ Sandy shook his head. ‘You won’t be welcomed there, not when the staff are working. You could go to the Common Room to see if there’s any biscuits leftover in the tin.’ He didn’t sound hopeful.