Black Wood (A Witch Rising) (10 page)

“Sam? Is that you? I’m so sorry,
dear,” she heard Aurelie say. Emily frowned. She had expected some
serious screaming, maybe a few flowerpots hurled at her brother, or
Aurelie chasing him with a broom, but not this reaction. Aurelie
opened the door wider and stepped aside. “Come in.”

Sam grunted and gawked in her
direction. Raising his hand, he beckoned her to approach. Should
she show herself? Emily bit her lower lip, thinking, when the
second hunched shape appeared next to her, tugging at her torn
sleeve. She jumped up and shrieked, her heart racing in her chest,
as she gazed into a pair of red, glowing eyes.

The creature took hold of her
arm and pushed her, gently but firmly, toward the house.

“You’re here too?” Aurelie said,
but Emily paid her no attention. Her thoughts were swirling around
the claw-like hand wrapped around her elbow. She was so scared, she
could barely breathe as she stepped in.

Aurelie switched on a lamp and
closed the curtains. “Just in case someone’s watching. One can
never be too careful.” She sat down on a sofa. “Would you like a
cup of tea?”

Emily’s throat felt dry and
scratchy. She could do with a nice cuppa, but she remembered
Aurelie’s dreadful brew. “No, thank you.” She brushed a strand of
hair out of her eyes and lowered herself down on the far end of the
sofa, relieved to see the cloaked figure dropping down on the rug
beside Aurelie’s leg.

“Clifford, you know you’re not
supposed to sit on the floor,” Aurelie scolded. Clifford rose to
his feet and removed his cloak, revealing a pale face with wrinkled
skin like that of an old belt and hundreds of freckles. The mop of
hair on his head was long and shaggy. He muttered something that
sounded like ‘sorry’ and sat beside her with a groan. Aurelie
turned toward her, smiling. “Now that you know you probably have
plenty of questions.”

Emily swallowed hard, trying to
snap her attention away from Clifford’s laboured breathing. “What
happened to them?”

“Sam and Clifford have been
cursed to walk earth as children by day and trolls by night.”
Aurelie’s smile disappeared. “You’re lucky the queen hasn’t turned
you into a troll, too.”

Emily blinked, remembering her
dream. “Did you say ‘trolls’? But why would Muriel do such an awful
thing?”

Aurelie took a deep breath.
“Well, Muriel’s not who you think she is.”

“She said she’s a queen,” Emily
said.

“That’s right.” Aurelie nodded.
“She’s the Queen of Black Wood. But, you see, she’s also the most
evil witch in this world.”

“How come she hasn’t turned me
into a troll, like them?” Emily pointed at her brother.

Folding her hands, Aurelie
sighed. “You probably didn’t eat or drink anything she
prepared.”

Emily gasped. Of course. The hot
chocolate. Muriel had prepared it every day for a whole week, but
she didn’t touch any of it. Sam always finished it to the last
drop.

“What’s she doing here?” Emily
asked, peering at Clifford who tried to hold a cookie between his
oversized fingers. It fell apart into tiny crumbles that dropped on
the soft carpet.

“She wants to build a huge
empire, but for that she needs slaves. Several times, mighty, good
witches like your grandma imprisoned her. Muriel gathered her
powers and broke free. Now she’s trying to take control of
Ravencourt Manor and its powers so she may never be imprisoned
again,” Aurelie replied. “And it’s your calling to stop her.”

Was she serious? Emily stared at
her, wide-eyed. “But how could I possibly beat an evil witch queen?
I don’t know anything about witches, and Dad just won’t kick her
out of the house.”

Aurelie shook her head. “Doesn’t
matter. You carry your grandmother’s legacy and I’m here to help
you.” She paused for a minute, regarding Emily with a wicked smile.
“You’re a witch yourself, you only need to learn to use those
powers.”

So she was a witch. Emily
couldn’t believe it. Okay, she had always wanted to turn her
Science teacher into a toad, but that didn’t make her a witch, did
it?

“I know you don’t believe me.”
Aurelie rose from her seat. “Your grandma passed those powers on to
you. You just need to learn to zap into them. She wanted to teach
you herself but—”

But she was gone now. Emily
swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat. “Was Grandma really a
witch?” she asked, remembering the clutter and weird books.

“She was one of the most
powerful ones. Years ago, Muriel befriended her to steal her powers
and the magic diary.” Muriel stopped to shake her head with sadness
in her deep blue eyes. “Your grandma banned her and put a spell on
the magic diary, but something went wrong. Maybe Muriel bewitched
her, because soon after, your grandma fell sick and never
recovered.”

“I wish she was here,” Emily
said.

Aurelie clapped her hands and
smiled. “I promised her I’d take care of this. Let’s start with
your first lecture. If an evil witch prepares you a cup of tea or
offers you cookies, don’t eat or drink anything. If you do, you’ll
most likely end up a troll, like those two.” She winked and pointed
at the boys.

Emily had forgotten all about
Sam and Clifford. She glanced in their direction. “Muriel made me
hot chocolate, but I didn’t touch it. She also tried to push me
into the mirror.”

Aurelie nodded. “That makes
sense. She wanted to get rid of you. Most who enter Black Wood will
get lost. Only a few find their way back, the rest are eaten by the
silverfurs sooner or later.”

“What are silverfurs?” Emily
asked. She remembered her grandmother mentioning them in her
leather-bound book.

“They’re ancient wolves and the
most vicious creatures living in Black Wood. And the place has
plenty of evil beings like dragons, huge water snakes and
wizards.”

Emily turned to see Clifford
scratching on the door to the backyard. Aurelie stood and opened
the door. The boys shuffled out into the first rays of light.

“They need to turn back,”
Aurelie said. “They can only change in the sunlight. Without it,
they’ll remain trolls.”

“Why don’t you help them?” Emily
asked. “You’re a witch too.”

“I can’t.” Aurelie shook her
head. “Muriel’s powers are much stronger than mine.”

“But what will happen to
Sam?”

Aurelie hugged her tight. “I
don’t know. But everything will be all right, you’ll see.” She
opened a jar and offered Emily a chocolate-chip cookie.

Emily pulled her nose and bit
into her cookie, chewing slowly. It tasted moist, yet crunchy. She
licked the crumbs off her fingertips and helped herself to another
one.

Aurelie raised her eyebrows.
“What did I tell you about not eating and drinking anything from a
witch?”

How could she forget? With her
mouth full, Emily put the half-eaten cookie down.

Aurelie laughed. “You’re lucky
I’m one of the few good ones out there. But you need to remember
what I’m teaching you, Emily. Otherwise, our quest is lost before
it has even begun.”

Emily swallowed and, returning
the smile, she picked up her cookie. It was one of the best she’d
ever had. “I’ll try to remember.”

“Good.” Aurelie walked to a
drawer and retrieved a brown, leather-bound book. “I know your
grandma had one of those.”

Emily nodded.

“You need to find it and start
learning all about spells and potions every free minute of the day
because there’s not much time. Luckily, your Christmas holidays are
starting soon.”

“I know where the book is,”
Emily said. “Muriel tossed it on the floor, but I found it.”

“Good,” Aurelie said. “She can’t
hide or destroy it because it has a spell on it that burns her
hands whenever she touches it. Now, you must use the magic diary to
keep your father busy. Wish him plenty of work, so he won’t start
asking questions.”

Emily puffed. That shouldn’t be
a hard task. Her father was working most of the time anyway, and
her mother was still in Switzerland. “Got it.”

“Okay, and now for the most
important part.” Aurelie breathed in and clasped Emily’s hands,
squeezing them as she looked deep into her eyes. “Tomorrow we shall
start the preparations for your journey to Black Wood."

Did Aurelie want to get rid of
her too? Emily stared at the other woman when the doorbell
rang.

“That’s probably your father
looking for you,” Aurelie said. “You should take the backdoor and
I’ll see you after school.”

Emily remained seated on the
sofa. “I’m not leaving until you tell me more about Black
Wood.”

Aurelie sighed, her bony fingers
switching off the lamp. “Okay, you wait here while I get rid of
whoever’s out there. Pretend to be asleep.”

As she walked out of the living
room, leaving the door ajar, Emily lay down and wrapped a thin
blanket around her body. She kept her eyes open, listening to the
hushed voices in the hall.

“Edgar, how lovely to see you,”
Aurelie said. Her voice was slightly raised, maybe a little too
jolly for an early Friday morning.

“Sam said Emily’s with you.” Her
father sounded a little hesitant. Emily could picture him avoiding
Aurelie’s gaze as he looked around.

“Poor thing had a nightmare and
came to tell me. She’s sleeping on the sofa now. You wouldn’t want
me to wake her now, would you?” Aurelie asked.

Another pause before her father
spoke. “Actually, I would, please, otherwise she might be late for
school.”

“As you wish, Edgar,” Aurelie
said. “However, I think you should let her stay home. Now, I would
never allow my Clifford to truant, but Emily seems a little unwell
today. She’s had so much to deal with, the poor thing needs some
rest.”

Emily smiled. It wasn’t even a
lie. She really didn’t feel that great. What with all the news
about being a witch and having to save Ravencourt Manor, her
stomach was in an upheaval. Or maybe she ate too many
chocolate-chip cookies. When her father spoke, she tuned back in to
the conversation.

“I need to see she’s okay.”

“Please follow me,” Aurelie
said.

As footsteps moved closer Emily
pressed her eyes shut and held in her breath.

“She’s asleep,” her father
said.

“And so she should be, Edgar. I
told you she’s had a terrible nightmare. She needed someone to
comfort her. Now let her sleep. Why don’t you just pick her up
after work? I’ll inform the headmistress she’s poorly.”

Emily peered from under her
eyelashes as Aurelie escorted her father out of the room, slamming
the entrance door shut with a little too much fervour.

“He’s gone,” Aurelie whispered
when she scurried back. “You really need to use the magic diary to
make your father too busy to notice.”

Emily sat up and helped herself
to another cookie. “Okay, I’ll get it after he leaves.”

Aurelie plopped down next to
her, shaking her head. “I’ll retrieve it. You stay here. Muriel
doesn’t know how advanced your witchcraft is, which is a good
thing. It makes her hesitant to act, but also more conniving.
Better avoid her.”

“But if something happens to
you, who’ll teach me then?” Emily asked.

Aurelie patted her hand. “Don’t
worry about me. Muriel has no idea who I am.”

“I’m not going to Black Wood,”
Emily said. “I’ve seen it in my dreams and it’s way too
freaky.”

“I wish I could go instead of
you. But I can’t because your grandma chose you as the keeper of
Ravencourt Manor’s powers.” Aurelie squeezed her hand as Emily
sulked. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Think of it as an honour
rather than a burden. Your gran would be so proud of you.”

Emily sat up straight and raised
her chin. “I guess you’re right. But I don’t get any of this. What
am I supposed to do in Black Wood?”

Aurelie smiled. “You’ll have to
enter Black Tower and destroy the Black Heart to ban Muriel
forever.”

***

It was almost eight when they
heard tyres screeching on gravel.

Aurelie took a deep breath and
rose from her place on the sofa. “Time for me to go. You stay put.
If someone knocks on the door, don’t open. If you hear your name,
don’t respond. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can.”

After Aurelie left, Emily tried
to keep busy but her thoughts kept circling around her earlier
conversation. Her brother turned into a troll and she was a witch.
So Aurelie knew a lot about what was going on. But could Emily
really trust her? What if Aurelie and Muriel worked together? And
what if she didn’t find her way out of Black Wood?

By the time she heard the front
door open and close, Emily had prepared a pot of tea and her mind
had cleared a little. With the bright rays of sun seeping through
the white curtains, her distrust toward Aurelie evaporated. After
all, Aurelie seemed to have known her grandmother quite well, and
her grandmother wouldn’t trust just anybody.

“Did you find it?” Emily stood
from her seat as soon as the blonde woman bolted through the
door.

“I did. And look what else I
brought.” Aurelie spilled the contents of her handbag onto the
kitchen table: a pair of jeans and a shirt, three dusty books, the
magic diary, a dagger encrusted with rubies and other gemstones, a
silver goblet and a black shawl.

Emily picked up the shawl and
wrapped it around her shoulders. “What do we need this for?”

“That’s to fool other witches
into thinking you’re nothing but a little girl,” Aurelie said.
“It’s how witches can live in towns and cities without people ever
suspecting.”

“And this?” Emily pointed at the
dagger.

“Don’t touch it! The tip’s
poisoned.” Aurelie jumped up and pushed Emily’s hand aside. “If you
come across a silverfur, you point the tip to its heart and whisper
the magic words. “Argentus lupus, anihilo te!”