An Errant Witch Read online

  Johanna gave a small laugh and took a seat. ‘Yes, you all want to know the details of this year’s Competition. As you know, we debated about holding the Competitions this year after last year’s fiasco.’

  She looked at me. ‘A student died, Dara. And another was badly injured, possibly to the extent he will never practice magic again.’ She let that sink in.

  Jesus. What was I in for? Me, who had never been taught the basics of magic before, and she had thrown me into this pack of wolves with the stakes so high?

  ‘That will never happen again,’ she continued calmly, folding her hands before her. ‘Instead, you may be happy to hear we’ve decided to keep the competition on a theoretical level.’

  The entire table relaxed a notch and began to breathe again.

  ‘I’m not sure I understand,’ Oliver spoke out. He alone seemed a little disappointed. ‘If it’s only theoretical, how can we prove our abilities and stamina?’

  She turned a sharp glance at him. ‘We’re looking for brain power, along with an understanding of magic principles.’

  The others were casting sly eyes at each other, already sizing up the competition in the light of this news.

  ‘What is the nature of this challenge?’ Win burst out as if she couldn’t hold it in anymore. ‘And how meaningful can it be if it has no practical application?’

  ‘Oh, it definitely has practical application.’ Johanna gave another small secretive smile, then she leaned forward.

  ‘I want you to try your best to divert the magical power of Scarp.’

  A collective gasp went through the room. She looked around, satisfied that she had delivered the unexpected. No one could have been prepared for this one or seen this challenge coming.

  ‘How...’ Timothy had turned pale.

  ‘That’s for you to decide,’ she said briskly. ‘As I said, this does have a practical application. Much like hiring computer hackers to test a security system, we have decided to allow you free reign, theoretically, to take over, hijack, whatever, the power that is Scarp.’

  ‘How could such a thing be imagined?’ Pauline looked shocked and horrified. ‘Scarp is holy, it’s inviolable, nothing can get through the barriers erected by the Kin.’

  ‘So we’ve believed,’ Johanna observed. ‘But nothing is totally safe, not in this day and age. Not with the sophistication of the enemies of the Kin. And don’t fool yourselves, they are out there. The Kin has created powerful opponents through the ages.’

  She stood up. ‘Remember. This challenge is theoretical. I don’t expect anyone to injure themselves trying to divert the power of Scarp, that will be unnecessary and we don’t want further bloodshed on our hands. It will require thinking outside of the magical box, and most likely, teamwork. Whatever it takes, I set you this challenge. Any questions?’

  Sandy spoke out. He wore rather a smug smile on his face. ‘How long do we have to figure this out?’

  ‘The Gateway term spans four months. This is the length of time you have too. The winner is not necessarily the first to pass the finish line, but the most ingenuous solution to this problem. I wish you all the best.

  ‘You have Sandy to thank for suggesting this idea,’ she added, smiling at him with what could have been fondness.

  Johanna stood silent for a moment more, looking at each of us in turn, then gave a sharp nod. She had delivered her message and knew we understood what would be expected of us all. Her demeanour relaxed.

  ‘Now, Dara, I will interview you in my study directly after breakfast tomorrow morning, in order to determine your strengths and your weaknesses,’ she said. ‘You will find my office at the top of the staircase in the new wing.’

  IN THE silence that followed her departure, the air felt thick with suspicion as mistrustful glances slid around the table, no one meeting another’s eyes. Johanna expected teamwork from this group?

  Yet I for one was silently rejoicing – if there was to be no bloodshed, I would at least survive the whole Scarp experience. This was one less thing for me to worry about.

  Not that I had any serious intentions of competing – no, none at all, not even with the prize I dearly wanted, for I knew I would perform inadequately compared to any of the others; I was happy just to keep my head down and stay out of their line of fire. It was true what I had told them earlier. How could I hope to compete with any of these witches? I was a half-blood, as Pauline had pointed out, so my magic should be diluted compared to theirs, not to mention the fact that I’d been actively discouraged from using my power all my life.

  The prize, though; I yearned for that, and had since I’d first met Hugh. To work alongside him in the Pan European Council, doing whatever it was he did, that was still my dream. Even if it I knew it could never happen now, at least not as a result of my efforts in the dreaded Competition. I didn’t even know what made Scarp so magical – how could I ever hope to learn to control the power of it?

  My eyes fell on Fergie across the table, where she sat listening to Timothy’s boasting with an ingratiating smile on her face. She wasn’t such a complicated soul, really; I just hated that I could understand her position so well. With her common accent, she was obviously not from the same class and background of the others (I didn’t count Sandy – he seemed to be in a league all of his own). Having been subjected to the snobberies and arrows of the Witch Kin kids myself, I knew where she came from. Not only could she not afford to show any support for me, the hated outsider, in front of the others – but she’d thrown me in their way as a decoy, to divert their unwanted attentions away from herself.

  I shrugged to myself. None of it was important in the big scheme of things, anyway; not the Competition, not Fergie’s friendship, not even working in PANEC alongside Hugh, despite how much I desired it. For me, what really mattered, what remained my ultimate goal, was to find my mother. The medallion was my only clue as to my mother’s whereabouts, and finding her was my priority.

  And for that, I only had to make it through the Scarp experience alive.

  SANDY had been the only one not to take part in the bitching over supper, and it was he who took me in hand afterward. Everyone quickly left the table, including Fergie who had disappeared in Timothy’s wake, and I must have looked rather lost as to what to be doing next. A cry and a nap in that order would have been lovely, but I wasn’t quite sure how to get back to our shared room.

  ‘Want to go for a walk?’ he asked as he came up beside me. ‘I figure you might be feeling the need for some support right about now.’

  I nodded gratefully. Fresh air, a chance to stretch my legs and a friendly face suddenly sounded like a much better idea.

  ‘There’ll be cake and tea in the Common Room in an hour or so,’ he said. ‘Until then we just hang out, work on our practice, or whatever.’

  ‘Practice? Is that for the Competitions?’

  He nodded casually. ‘Oh, yeah. You may have noticed, we’re a competitive group. I’m sure most of us are hoping to nail it down within a week.’

  A week? Dear God. How was I supposed to be in a position to compete with any of these witches with less than a week to learn what they’d learned over a lifetime? Win was right, I should just give up now.

  I followed him outside into a walled garden. The unexpected rush of fresh air was like a balm to my senses, warm in comparison to the dank chill of the castle’s interior, and the scents of oregano and other spices rose to greet us. I breathed in deeply, forgetting my exhaustion and confusion and feeling misplaced as we walked over to a wooden bench against one stone wall. The entire garden lay spread before us.

  Silvery moonlight highlighted four statues of white marble, each standing on a quadrant of the space marked off by meandering walkways. Between the gravel paths and the plinths, plants grew, all contributing to the scents which filled the air. I sniffed the air again and recognized mint and rosemary and some others that I was familiar with in the overgrown and neglected herb garde
n back home.

  ‘This is my favorite spot,’ Sandy said. ‘I like to come here and just sit, sometimes, and think.’ The wool of his kilt rustled as he lifted his right leg over his knee and leaned back into the slats of the bench. There was no wind in this enclosed space, yet the taller plants swayed ever so slightly to a rhythm of their own.

  ‘How long have you been here?’ I had assumed the others had arrived not long before us as this was the start of the Gateway Term. It would hardly have given him time to find a favorite garden.

  Sandy turned to face me, the pupils of his pale eyes huge in the reflected moonlight. ‘This is my ancestral homeland.’

  ‘You live here on Scarp?’ I couldn’t help the shiver that went down my back at the thought of living permanently on this isolated island; the comfortless castle, the lack of central heating and hot water, and the constant cold dampness of the stone walls. I couldn’t imagine a place in the world where I’d less want to dwell.

  He laughed softly and lifted his face up to the bright silver moon and breathed in deeply. ‘No. I arrived two months ago. I wanted the time alone on the island, to prepare, and I’ve also volunteered to help with the sheep and livestock. They couldn’t say no to me.’

  ‘Oh. Is your father an elder, too?’

  ‘Like Pauline’s? Hardly.’ He grimaced. ‘You see, my family lived on Scarp for hundreds, thousands of years. Due to our historical association, the McClouds are the only clan to have a free pass to Scarp. The Kin can’t deny me access to the island ever, no matter what spells and magic barriers they erect, for the island welcomes my blood, like iron to a magnet.’

  Sandy paused then looked at me again. ’Of course, there aren’t many of my clan left in the Outer Hebrides. I’m the last, the only one in this generation. But aside from that, I also earned my place here on Scarp, you know. No family connections to pull strings for me.’

  ‘So when you were offered a place here, you jumped at the chance?’

  ‘I could come here any time I wish, which is why I was allowed to come early,’ he replied, a small boast creeping into his voice. ‘Because of my clan’s history. But yes, I wanted the chance to study and have access to what Scarp offers.’

  A wisp of cloud passed over the moon right then and the silvery light shivered.

  ‘This island has many secrets, and I may be the only witch who knows them all,’ he said, a sly look coming over his face, then he whispered in such a low voice I almost didn’t catch it. ‘The Kin have forgotten that, arrogant fools that they are.’

  Before I could ask him what that bit of creepiness meant, he turned back to me with his usual sunny smile. ‘Let’s give you a little tour before cake in the Common Room!’

  WE returned to the castle through a different door, a smaller one rounded at the top, with an arch of stones set all around it. When he opened it and stepped back to allow me to pass through first, I could see only that it led into a darkened corridor. I held back, and let him go in first into the windowless space. He closed the door behind me, then scared the hell out of me when he flicked his fingers twice and sconces flared into life along the short passage.

  ‘Hey – are we allowed to just... I don’t know, use magic whenever we want?’ I stood and stared in awe at the flames that had seemingly come from nowhere. What a wonderful thing magic could be. Perhaps there also existed a spell to magic hot water out of the castle’s taps.

  He laughed and shrugged. ‘Some rules were made to be broken, don’t you think? We’re not allowed to use magic on big things, you know, spells that require a lot of juice, because that’s when the ley lines can really mess things up. Little fire spells like I just did, well, that was pretty straight forward, with not much room for shag-ups.’

  To ask outright how he’d done what he considered a simple spell would be to admit my almost total ignorance in all things magic. On the other hand, everyone already knew I was a half-blood with no training, so it’s not like it would be a great surprise to him.

  ‘How’d you do it?’

  ‘What, light the sconces?’ He paused and looked over at me with his broad grin as if he was waiting for the punch line. When I remained silent, the smile slowly faltered, beginning with his eyes, and he gave a short whistle. ‘They really didn’t prepare you for this, did they?’

  ‘Please, can you show me how you did that?’ Although I spoke steadily with my head held high, I could feel my cheeks burning in anticipation of his mockery.

  He paused as if to gather his words. ‘You know, Dara, you don’t need to feel embarrassed. I’m really not like any of them,’ he told me in his oddly deep voice. ‘The Kin.’

  ‘Are you saying you’re not part of the Kin?’

  ‘I’ll tell you about it some time,’ he said slowly, then smiled. ’But first. You asked how I did this, so we’ll have a lesson. Physical Magic 101. How much have you been taught of the Elementals?’

  I let my blank face answer his question.

  ‘Oh Lord, you’re not going to make this easy for me, are you? Alright, then. There are the Four Elementals – Earth, Water, Fire, Air. Correct?’

  Before I could answer that I didn’t have a clue, he held up his hand as if to ward off my objections. ‘I know, this is a very naive representation of the Elementals, but let’s just keep it simple. Agreed?’

  I nodded.

  ‘The basis of elemental magic is how they are combined in different ways. Sort of like chemistry, but using the elemental forces. Do you follow me so far? Let me know if I’m being too simplistic.’

  ‘No, you’re good,’ I said. One of the few science things I liked in high school was Chem Lab, so I could sort of see what he meant.

  ‘So – to light a torch on a wall, we require Fire, naturally, along with Air. A little Earth to keep it grounded, but Water, not at all.’

  ‘And how do you mix them? I mean, you didn’t have Fire and Air in your hands or anything, it looked like you just thought it and it all showed up in the right proportions.’

  ‘Exactly. The thought, or Intention, is what does the trick. Despite the name, Physical Magic usually requires Mind at all times.’

  This was ringing a bell, for last September Hugh had discussed intention as the basis of all magic. ‘So, I intend on creating the fire, and it happens?’

  Sandy barked with laughter. ‘If it could be that easy, the whole world would be witches,’ he said. ‘No, it’s much more complicated. Intention can be the very devil, you know, for you may think you intend something, but your mind doesn’t actually interpret it that way.’

  ‘You’re losing me again.’

  He sighed and thought about it for a couple of seconds. ‘Okay, the best way to do it to let you experience it yourself. I’ll turn one of these off, and you re-light it.’ He clicked his fingers once and half the light in the corridor disappeared.

  ‘Now, you need to hold the balance of the necessary Elementals in your mind, while simultaneously Intending the sconce to light. Don’t worry if you’re not successful in the beginning, for you will be eventually, and after that a lot of things will come more easily. And if necessary, I can give you an incantation, that often helps.’ He stood back, well out of my way.

  I tried to do it as he said, but I guess I didn’t have enough understanding of the Elementals and the Intending that he was talking about, and I really didn’t have a clue how to balance them. Nothing happened, a state which continued for too long, and after a full and intense two minutes, I let out a grunt of frustration.

  ‘Oh, just light, would you?’ I glared at the lifeless sconce as I clicked my fingers, like he had done.

  And to my utmost surprise it worked. With a whoosh of flame and a distinct smell of burning oil, the sconce exploded into a brilliant flare, with a cascade of blue sparks rising from it like spray from a waterfall. I stepped back involuntarily and gasped, for I hadn’t done it at all in the way he’d instructed. I looked over at Sandy to gauge his reaction.<
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  He was staring at the burning torch with his jaw opened wide until the flame settled back down to its normal slow burn, then he wrenched his eyes to look at me. I could almost swear I saw a look of annoyance flash over his face.

  ‘Really,’ he said, his tone flat and devoid of emotion. ‘So funny, aren’t you? You had me going there, thinking I could help you.’

  His reaction wasn’t so different from Fergie’s when she thought I’d flown, earlier that afternoon. I couldn’t let him get mad at me, too.

  ‘Sandy,’ I said, grabbing him by the arm as he made to turn away. ‘Wait. I’ve never done that before, I never thought it was possible, and I didn’t do it the way you told me to, I just... I don’t know...’

  He shook off my arm and leaned back against the stone wall, and looked across at the sconce I’d just lit, and then looked at me again moving only his eyes.

  ‘For some reason, against all logic, I find myself believing you,’ he said slowly. ‘But it just doesn’t make sense, any of it.’

  After a long moment he asked. ‘How did you do it?’

  I bit my lip and tried to think. ‘I was really annoyed that it wouldn’t work for me, and I really wanted it to, so when I clicked my fingers I sort of sent a stream of ... pissed-offness at the sconce.’

  After he thought about it for a while, he nodded slowly. ‘Yeah, okay. Alright.’ After another half minute he asked, ‘Can I give you some advice, Dara?’

  ‘Anything,’ I said. ‘Anything to help me get through all this.’

  ‘Don’t tell anyone what just happened,’ he said. ‘If any of this crew find out you’re a bloody Wunderkind, your life may be in danger. Yes, they are that competitive. Stick with me, and I’ll help keep you safe.’

  Our eyes met, and in the wavering light of the sconces I could see that he was deadly serious. He was silent for a long moment after dropping that bomb in my lap, but then roused himself as if with a new purpose.