Before (9 page)

“
I have news,” he spoke excitedly. “Anne is back.”

She dropped her weaving and leapt off the stool, her heart was
already beating frantically anticipating what her grandfather would
say. Was this the news they had been waiting for?

“
Which one?” Cora asked, barely containing her excitement at
the news.

Her grandfather gave her a look before saying, “The
sister.”

She hardly heard her grandmother call after her. Lifting up
her dress so she could run quicker, she sprinted to the dirt path
and up towards Jack’s cottage.

Turning the corner she could see Jack walking towards the
patch of dirt at the front of the field, she caught the smile on
his face which sent heat straight to her belly. Firstly, it was
illegal that he should look so gorgeous. She couldn’t remember the
last time she seen that smile, especially when it had been aimed at
her. And secondly, if he was smiling, surely that was good
news?

She ignored the nerves that were flying around in her chest,
and continued to sprint towards him. What had once been second
nature to visit him, to walk into his home, now felt strange. It
was like she no longer belonged here.

Jack saw her running toward him, the smile on his face turned
into a scowl. That look let her know that she wasn’t welcome
here.

“
What are you doing here?” he hissed as she came to a stop next
to him.

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling dry, and she tried
not to let her nerves show. “Grandfather told me your sister was
back, how is she? Does she know if mother will be out? What did she
say? Is your mother okay?”

She asked a lot of questions but she had so many more. Plus,
she wasn’t sure how long Jack would let her stand here and ask
them. He would tell her to leave soon enough.

Jack looked like he was chewing on a rock. “My sister is still
ill, more so since being in
that
place. We know witches don’t catch commoner
diseases but this is something different, something is wrong.
Mother isn’t with us and we don’t know when she will be back, but
we know who to thank, don’t we?”

“
Jack, I-”

“
No, it’s your mother’s fault. She did this.”

“
How could she? And even if she had, why would she still be
held captive? Has Anne said anything, surely she can clear this
whole mess up.”

“
You wish she could, just so your precious mother could come
back home. No, Anne hasn’t said anything, in fact she won’t talk to
us about it. Whenever we ask what happened, if she was questioned
or tortured, she drops her head in shame. She could only be shamed
because your mother turned against us, we trusted your family and
you let us down. Your mother has done that to her! Anne is nothing
like the woman she was!”

She could only shake her head, he couldn’t think this way, she
refused to believe he thought her family would stoop to this.
Without a thought, she lifted her hand to touch his arm and watched
as he stepped back, disgusted by her.

“
If anything happens to my family because of you and yours,”
his voice became a harsh whisper as he stepped towards her. She
could smell the fresh dirt and the warmth of his body but the
hatred on his face made her quiver with fear. His hand grabbed her
arm and squeezed, hurting her.

“
I will kill you myself,” he spat.

She gasped and reared back from him. What had happened to him?
Where was the charming, sensitive Jack she knew and
loved?

Something snapped inside Cora. All the events that had
happened, Jack’s anger, her mother’s imprisonment, the damage to
her cottage, everything exploded inside her. Her element surged
forward bashing up against Jack.

“
Oh, you want it this way?” Jack snarled.

She didn’t reply, she could feel his energy mix with hers but
this time they didn’t sync together, they pushed against the other
in a power struggle. If Jack had questioned her family then she had
every right to question his.

“
My mother didn’t do anything! I would like to know why your
sister is out of prison. If they found her innocent, why isn’t your
mother with your sister?” She was shouting above the roar of the
wind.

“
They haven’t figured out how the blood line works yet,” he
snapped.

“
Has your sister said something which made sure she was free?
Made sure the others were convicted, my mother, your
mother!”

She realised that what she was saying in the heat of the
moment made more sense than it really should. Was this the
truth?

“
She wouldn’t do that to my mother!”

“
Then why is she out!?”

“
Cora, one day it will come out that your mother is to blame
for our situation and then you will be sorry.”

She threw the wind at him and watched it punch his stomach,
winding him. “Don’t say that!” she yelled.

“
I wouldn’t do that again,” Jack whispered, the undertones of
his voice dripping with a heated anger. “You could get
hurt.”

She let the wind go and watched as it hit Jack in his
shoulder. The impact made him wince but he remained standing, their
powers were equally matched. She knew he could take what she gave
him.

As she lifted her hands to throw another burst of power at
him, her feet were lifted from the ground. She flew back with her
hands flailing in the air before she hit the dirt, hard. Her back
screamed in pain, the bones jarring as they hit.

She quickly stood up, ignoring the throbbing pain. Gathering
her breath, she stalked towards Jack.

“
You will be sorry you ever crossed me!” she snapped
angrily.

“
I’m sorry that I ever knew you!”

With those words, Jack stormed back into the cottage. This was
the second time he’d walked away from her, but this time she wanted
him to. She clenched her fists and stomped back home.

10

25
^th
December 1611

She’d heard no word from Jack. She hadn’t expected to, but
she’d hoped. Hope was such a deadly thing, over the course of
recent months it had been her constant companion. She knew what had
happened between them was bad, the words spoken in anger, the use
of their powers, but they hadn’t been used to intentionally hurt
each other. Again, she hoped this was the case. Although, she
couldn’t deny that at the time she had wanted to punch him. How
could he be so pig headed? So sure that her family were to blame
for this entire mess? She was sure that Jack didn’t mean what he
said. Tabitha wasn’t sure.

Tabitha had expressed her opinion openly, believing that
Jack’s family may be at fault. Tabitha told her that it came down
to Anne’s illness. The commoners were bound to noticed something
not quite right there. Anne had been ill for so long that people
were whispering.

Cora didn’t want to believe Tabitha. She so desperately wanted
things to be right between the two of them again, but she didn’t
know if they could ever get back to what had been. Did she want to,
knowing the little trust Jack had for her and her family in a time
of uncertainty? It hadn’t taken him very long to turn against
her.

Things had changed so drastically.

She assumed that no news was good news. As far as she knew
Anne was still at home but it had been months since she’d been let
go. Why wasn’t her mother home yet? If one had been found innocent,
everyone else would be too. They couldn’t possibly have found
anything, otherwise they would have heard of it, the mobs would
have arrived for them too. She was giving herself a headache trying
to process everything. This whole thing was a mess.

Cora sat at the window watching the glistening flakes float
onto the window ledge. Crisp, white snow covered the landscape
giving it the appearance of a place that was full of magic and
mystery. She watched as a group of children ran through the
neighbouring field. Their squeals of delight echoed in the quiet
evening as snow balls flew in all directions. Cora sighed and
turned her back on what should have been her life. Simple. Easy.
Fun.

Her grandmother had decorated the small room in an attempt to
appear festive. The small evergreen tree sat next to the fire, its
branches filled with paper flowers and foil wrapped sweets.
Underneath the tree lay an assortment of fruit, nuts and several
cakes that her grandmother had baked. Her mother would be the first
to open a cake and eat some, her mouth would be overcrowded, her
eyes glinting mischievously. Cora felt the intense ache grip her
heart. She shook herself trying not to sink into that
mood.

Candles every size imaginable were clustered together along
the hearth and in the corners of the room, throwing off light. The
fire her grandfather had built was burning brightly, the wood
popping and crackling as it was consumed by the flames. Light
danced along the walls sending heat into the room. Along the
fireplace her grandmother had weaved holly, the light from the fire
and candle flickered along the deep green, spiky leaves.

Cora sighed, wishing her mother was here with them for the
hundredth time. They hadn’t thought to celebrate Christmas whilst
her mother wasn’t here, it didn’t feel right. But her grandmother
had wanted to put up the decorations and Cora really didn’t want to
stop her. If her grandmother needed this little bit of normal, she
could have it.

She looked across at Tabitha who sat quietly watching the
flames dance in the fire. The light flickered over her long,
emerald green robe which made it look magical, like a lovely,
swirling potion that had melted against her body. Tabitha was here
because she had never missed a Christmas with her family, and she
didn’t think to break tradition today.

Especially
not today.

Cora knew what Tabitha was thinking about because the thought
had never left her mind. Tabitha’s eyes flickered up to meet hers;
she felt something pass silently between the two of them. Some hint
from those leaf green eyes that told her the witchcraft accusations
would only become worse. She could see the fear on Tabitha’s face,
one that confirmed her suspicions. If Tabitha was afraid, and
Tabitha was unfazed by many things, Cora knew that the situation
was bad. They had to leave. They needed to get out of this village,
but they couldn’t without her mother.

They’d had some cases of flying rocks smashing through their
windows. On one occasion, Cora had been helping her grandmother in
the field and they’d caught sight of the smoke billowing from their
roof. Again, the straw was on fire. The three men who had set fire
to their cottage hadn’t moved. Instead, they’d watched the flames
destroy it whilst they had been trying to throw water on it. They
wanted Cora to know who had done it. They were proud. They stood
watching the flames take hold as Cora had fought the urge to use
her element and fix it. She could manipulate the wind to freeze.
Freezing wind would have doused the flames instantly.

She’d run like crazy to the small stream filling the bucket so
it was brimming. As she’d returned back to her cottage, she’d seen
Jack in his field. He’d watched the events, his face was serious
yet not one hint of sympathy was on there. He didn’t move to help
them. He simply turned and headed back to his cottage. Yet another
thing that sealed the end of what they’d been, what they were about
to become.

Cora stood up to wish her family a good night, she didn’t feel
the need to stay up any longer, what was there to celebrate? At the
moment she opened her mouth to say something, she heard the
commotion outside. A loud roar of anger shook her bones.

“
Get off her!”

Cora rushed to the door, felt her heart stutter at the sound
of Jack’s angry voice. She pulled it open and saw what the problem
was immediately.

She saw Anne in the middle of the crowd that was suddenly
growing louder in their protests. Had they planned to sneak up on
Anne and take her? This sent ice into her heart. If they planned to
do this with Anne, they would do it with her family too. They
couldn’t continue to live life without the fear of this happening
some day.

Anne’s white dress was covered in dirt as it hung heavily
around her feet. The bottom of the dress had soaked up the snow.
She was being dragged along the path by three grown men. Why was it
always the men that came out in force? It was hardly fair on the
women being apprehended as the men were stronger. It was only fair
if they could use their element, then they would be equally
matched. Well, Cora could outmatch any man who attempted to take
her. But Cora was an extremely powerful witch.

Cora sucked in a breath feeling the horror of the situation
grab her throat and crush it. Tabitha rushed to her
side.

“
This is not good,” Tabitha whispered. “Should we help
them?”

Cora looked at Tabitha, understanding the meaning behind the
question. Eli and Jack had walked away from her. They had left her
to fend for herself. That was the kind of people they had become,
but she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t let them do this without a fight to
help them. This was it, crunch time.