Skinned (18 page)

‘
Callum!
' Melissa cried out.

Without hesitation, Callum knocked Melissa sideways out of the path of the ball of energy. Feeling an eerie sense of calm, he braced himself for the impact of the blast, covering his head with his hands, his palms facing outwards as he threw up his shield. Aradia seemed to have put absolutely every bit of energy she had into creating the huge sphere. But this time Callum wasn't going to be taken off guard.

The jolt came, throwing him against the cave wall and knocking the air from his lungs. The bolt of energy crackled up and down his body; Callum's flesh prickled with electricity, as though thousands of needles were brushing him from head to toe. It was ferocious, but not painful. His breath came back to him in choking gasps and he blinked hard.

For a moment, a stillness seemed to descend on the
cave, but as the dust settled Callum saw Black Annis bare her black teeth in a snarl. Before Callum could blink, she launched herself towards Aradia with an otherworldly screech, pouncing on top of the redheaded woman and sinking her teeth into her neck.

Aradia screamed in pain, but managed to wrench herself free and send one last blast of electrical energy at the crone. It was clear that the magician was weak, but it was enough to force Black Annis away from her. The demon recoiled, and Callum watched with a mixture of anger and disgust as Aradia turned and ran towards the tunnel, clutching her neck as blood began to seep between her fingers. A moment later, she was gone.

Black Annis turned slowly towards Callum.

‘
You
, chime child,' Black Annis spat, her voice rasping and cruel. ‘You leave me to do your work – to thwart these pathetic human magicians who seek to destroy me?'

Callum balled his hands into fists, ready for any sudden attack. ‘I think it worked out pretty well, actually,' he snarled back.

With a furious cry, Black Annis flashed through the air with super-human speed and slashed her claws at him. There was so much strength behind the strike that Callum almost felt his bones rattle. But instead of
cutting into him, Black Annis' talons ricocheted off his invisible shield.

‘Callum!'

It was Jacob's bell-like voice, firmly calling out his name.

‘Remember your powers, all your training – you are able to resist her. Do not fear her magic.'

Callum turned his head toward the iron cage the coven had built around the ghost. Cringing away from the touch of the iron bars, Jacob was coming to his aid in the only way he could now: as a guide, as a teacher.

Callum nodded, his breath coming out in bursts as he struggled to maintain his shield against the demon's slashing, gnarled hands. With an enormous effort he thrust the barrier forward, forcing Black Annis to scuttle backwards on her clawed, bare blue feet. Another push of the barrier and she skidded across the floor, crashing into the bars of the cage in which Doom was enclosed. Recoiling from the iron and Doom's snapping jaws, Black Annis rounded on Callum.

‘Fool!' she snarled. She raised her hands once more,
and with a burst of power, launched another onslaught, her claws tearing at the shield with all her might. Callum's barrier kept her talons from breaking through, but he felt a rising sense of panic as his entire body tingled with the relentlessness of Black Annis' attack. Although she couldn't injure him, she was forcing him backwards again and he'd soon be trapped.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Callum saw Melissa move out from the shadows where she'd been hiding from the fight, clutching something in her hand. Before he could shout for her to stop, Melissa ran straight at Black Annis and flung a handful of dirt from the cave floor at the crone's glowing eyes. She whispered something quickly under her breath and the dirt seemed to balloon, enveloping the demon in a cloud of dust.

She'd taken Black Annis by surprise, but the hag flailed her arms, enraged, swiping blindly with her claws. Melissa cried out and stumbled away, and Callum saw gashes all along one side of her face dripping thick blood.

That was all it took.

Callum threw himself forwards, feeling the anger and determination building inside him until his hands burned with the energy he was about to release. He burst through the cloud of dust towards Black Annis with a grimace that almost matched the crone's own. Pushing his hands together he put all his being into creating a blast of power like the one he had used on that fateful day in the alleyway. He felt the energy flowing through his hands, making the air around them shimmer and crackle.

And this time, Callum hit his mark.

The ripples of power slammed straight into Black Annis' chest and she went flying backwards, smashing into the other side of the cave. She fell into a heap and groaned, shaking her head from side to side as she tried to recover from the blast. For a second Callum thought it was over. But as he watched, the crumpled figure gave a shudder. His eyes widened as Black Annis gathered herself off the hard ground. She found her feet, hunched, crouched and then tensed for a leap. The power in her legs was incredible,
and the dead skins of her skirt slapped against her blue flesh. She sailed five feet into the air, talons outstretched, ready to tear and strip. Callum threw his hands out towards her once more, and another blast of energy sent the hag hurtling backwards. This time he refused to relent, putting every ounce of his being into it and holding the beam steadily on her. It pinned the demon to the ground, and she hissed, snapping her putrid teeth, writhing and wriggling in her attempts to get free.

Callum closed in on the demon, taking the initiative as his powers began to take their toll. Reaching her quivering body, he bent down and grabbed Black Annis by her thin blue ankles. She went rigid with pain as the energy radiated out of his fingertips with a crackle and fizz. The hag cried out in anguish, spraying flecks of blue-black spittle, and Callum swallowed bile as his hands brushed against the skins at the edge of her skirt. But he held on, his palms firm against the crone's flesh. Ripples of power flowed from him and spread across her body.

‘Callum, be careful!' Melissa cried out from behind him, but her voice sounded muffled through the ringing in his ears.

With a strangled growl, he sent another wave of energy rippling over Black Annis' body. With the last of her strength, she let out a terrible grating shriek. She twisted this way and that, kicking out at Callum violently, but he refused to let go. He dodged to avoid getting a razor-sharp toenail in the eye, and he could feel sweat pouring off him with the effort of keeping her down . . . but then he saw it.

Smoke.

The energy from his hands seemed to be causing Black Annis' blue flesh to combust. The dried skins of the hag's skirt began to singe and burn. Callum choked, but he didn't let go. In that instant, the swell of power burst from his hands in a blaze of blue-white flame as pure as starlight. Wave upon wave of power surged through Callum's hands. The energy ignited a raging blue blaze that roared like flames in a chimney around Black Annis' body. The fire engulfed the crone, and Callum pulled his hands away, standing
up he let his arms drop to his sides in exhaustion. His work was done. The blaze raged out of control, and he stumbled back and away from the demon, his eyes wide with amazement.

From amongst the flames, Black Annis let out one last, inhuman screech that made the hairs on Callum's neck stand up.

Then she was gone.

For a few long seconds a cloud of ash swirled around the cave, then settled gently to the ground in a harmless heap, like the sand at the bottom of an hourglass.

Black Annis had finally come to rest in her lair.

Callum ran to Melissa's side. She was crouched on the floor looking stunned. One hand was clutching her cheek, and blood seeped in between her fingers. Callum could feel the power still springing from his own fingertips, but this time his intention was to heal. He laid his hand gently against the torn skin at Melissa's temple and along the side of her cheek, making her wince. Then slowly, deliberately, Callum used the energy radiating from his palm to begin sealing the slashes on his friend's face.

‘Does that hurt?' Callum asked.

‘It stings! Like antiseptic.' She grinned at him weakly. ‘How do I look?'

Callum laughed and said confidently, ‘If you can stand it for a few more seconds, there won't be any scars.'

Melissa nodded and, sure enough, a few moments later she ran her hand over her smooth cheek. ‘Excellent work, Dr Scott,' she said with a shaky smile. ‘If the whole chime child thing doesn't work out, I hear there's good money in plastic surgery.'

Callum helped Melissa to her feet. She rushed over to the group of children who were gradually becoming more aware of their surroundings as the coven's spell started to wear off. They began to back away and cower in the corner, clearly terrified. Callum went over to Jacob and Doom. To his relief, the spell that had created the iron cages had also now dissipated, and the Born Dead stood calmly while Doom went to guard the entrance to the cave. The Grim's red eyes glowed and his white fangs were bared and shining in his shadowy muzzle.

‘Impressive, chime child,' Jacob said. ‘You have proven yourself worthy of the title indeed.'

Callum smiled tightly, feeling utterly spent after everything they had faced. ‘I couldn't stop them from escaping though.'

‘Nonsense,' Jacob said, looking Callum dead in the eye. ‘Your task was to defeat Black Annis before the humans could sacrifice her and bring on the full force of the Shadowing. You have succeeded in just that.'

Melissa walked over to them, her face serious.

‘They want to get out of here,' she said, glancing over her shoulder at the children, most of whom were weeping uncontrollably.

‘Doom,' Jacob said quietly, and the Grim moved aside. The children ran blindly down the tunnel from the cave before Callum or Melissa could stop them.

‘They will be all right,' Jacob said. ‘The authorities will find them and they will be back safely with their families very soon. It is best if you are not involved in their discovery; the fewer questions you must answer, the better.'

Callum nodded grudgingly, but Melissa shook her head.

‘I'll ring the police,' she said, pointing to Callum's pocket, which still held her mobile phone. ‘It can be anonymous.'

‘Come on then,' Callum said. ‘Let's get out of here.'

Doom bounded ahead of them, his red eyes glowing in the dark, but then he gave a sudden, urgent snarl that caused all of them to stop. The ghost dog growled, sniffing the air in the foul tunnel. Then he gave an echoing bark at something hidden in the murky darkness ahead of them.

They froze as a deep voice called out. ‘Who is there?'

Cold shuddered down Callum's back. In the blackness of the underground tunnel a small flame appeared. Its eerie violet glow slowly advancing towards them. After a moment Callum saw that it was dancing on the palm of a hand held below a human face – a man's face, handsome and world-weary, neither young nor old. The face, lit by the flame on the man's palm, was frowning and quizzical. Callum swallowed and took a determined step
forward, his fists clenched, the last of his power still ready to be released.

‘Who are you?'

The man glared sharply at Callum and his companions. A look of surprise seemed to spread across his features, before he composed them once more.

‘Chime child? The final of your kind,' the man breathed and then he cleared his throat. ‘I am impressed. But you must know that you're well out of your depth in this place.'

‘Who
are
you?' Callum repeated with angry urgency. ‘Are you their leader? Are you that coven scum's leader? They said you were coming back. Well, guess what? You're a bit late to the party.' He could feel his hands prickle with energy begging to be released.

‘Callum,' Jacob began, his voice sounding concerned, cautionary.

‘I sense you feel some misplaced glory?' the man interrupted, his voice cold. ‘You should know, chime child, that my coven will not be defeated.'

‘Black Annis is dead,' Callum said, his fingernails digging into his burning palms. ‘So you're out of luck.
You're insane, thinking you could bring some demon lord over here.'

The man laughed a callous, short laugh, and stared at Callum with unreadable eyes. The flame in his palm reflected in them menacingly. He ignored Callum's question, but his voice took up a mocking tone. ‘Oh? What's that? Killed the hag
yourself
, did you? But you're not quite as proud of it as you should be, are you? You still feel like a failure, don't you boy?'

Callum frowned, confused – there was something about the way the man spoke that felt as though he was getting strangely close to the truth.

‘No . . . No, there's not much to be proud of, is there?' the stranger continued to probe. ‘A loner, and miserable about it. No one understands you. The weight of the world on your shoulders, and you're not up to any of the tasks being set for you –'

‘You don't know what you're talking about,' Callum snarled.

‘The truth hurts, doesn't it?
If only you could talk to your mother
. . . Ah! If only you could talk to your mother about it, Mummy would know what to do –'

With wave of shock, Callum realised that the man was reading his mind. He had fixed his eyes on Callum's face, but could somehow see straight through him.

‘
SHUT UP!
' Callum cried out in fury. Melissa grabbed her friend's arms to hold him back.

‘Yes, you'd like to see your mother again, wouldn't you? But she's –'

The man stopped suddenly, mid-sentence, as though something had interrupted his train of thought, but before he could speak again, Jacob stepped in front of Callum.