Page 12 of Dark Desire
“Now, we have a reenactment of the witches’ fall from the wonderful Yule Acting Company. They would love for you to join in with the play by being a participating audience. Placards are being handed out if you wish to join the witch hunt.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw the handwritten signs being passed around the crowd, with bold, red lettering set against the white card, making the words glare in the dim lighting. An uneasy feeling swelled in my gut and I squeezed my hands into fists as I tried to stay calm and keep my attention on the stage. It was a surreal experience to be a witch about to watch a reenactment of my kind’s cruel fate.
The man continued, “In 1563, St Wythren’s Cove was alive with magic. Not the pretty, picturesque scenery we have today but a different kind of magic. Witchcraft!”
Six women entered the stage wearing white sheets and crowns of twigs and leaves. I stared at their faces as they twirled around the bonfire with theatrical movements, chanting softly.
The town was under the control of witches, hiding in plain sight. To the ordinary eye, they looked like everyone else, but they harboured a dark, twisted secret. The magic they wielded was malevolent. They preyed on the vulnerable and weak, andevery year on the night of the solstice, they performed a human sacrifice to gain more power.”
As he spoke, the women acted like evil sorceresses, tugging a man into the middle of their circle and pretending to slit his throat. Evie grumbled next to me about how inappropriate that was, seeing as there were a few children present. I didn’t disagree.
"But the world was waking up to the evil lurking in the shadows. Witchcraft became a capital offence, and the penalty was death.” Suddenly, men and women dressed in 16th-century clothes stormed onto the stage with pitchforks, grabbing the women, resulting in a dramatic struggle. Each woman was tied to a wooden post, their head tilted back as they looked up at the sky while men lit a fake fire around their feet. The paper flames flickered around their bodies in the breeze. My pulse quickened. “Legends say that one witch even escaped her fate, vanishing behind the flames by magic.”
A sudden throb in my temple flared up, and I struck it with my hand, scrunching my face in pain as my vision blurred.
No. No. No. This couldn’t be happening. Not tonight.
“Darcie? Are you okay?” Evie asked with concern. I forced my eyes open wide. Everything swayed. Elaborate masks shifted and distorted. Flames roared in my ears against the screams of the women on stage. A cold sweat broke out across my skin as I stumbled backwards into the crowd. Hands supported me to stay upright, but I couldn’t tell who they belonged to. The sounds merged into one persistent, ear-splitting white noise. I spun around, trying to escape the mass of bodies as I felt heat rising and my breathing came out in harsh pants.
“Darcie! Where are you going? Wait!” I heard Evie’s fading voice behind me, but I couldn’t focus on it. I just needed to get away before it happened. I needed to get to the moors.I slammed into bodies, being flung back with every few steps forward. Placards swayed above everyone’s heads.
Burn the witch.
Murderer.
You’ll pay for your sins.
I know what you did.
I stopped fighting my way through when my eyes landed on that last one. Mainly because of who was holding it. Beryl.
The old woman was staring at me from the side of the road, with the same sadistic grin on her face as she raised the placard higher with both hands.
I know what you did.
I couldn’t breathe. I needed to reach the moors. It was the only thought I had. I started to run, pushing past people walking in only one direction as I hurried towards the back of the village. As soon as I reached the gate, I paused and looked back to check I was alone.
Hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when I saw a large, dark figure leaning against a lamppost. Wearing all black and one of those sinister-looking devil masks beneath his hood, he epitomised malevolence. My heart pounded and all colour drained from my face.
Shit. They’d sent another one already?
The terrifying man tilted his head to the side in an eerily menacing gesture, causing me to let out a small whimper. This couldn’t be happening. Not tonight. My temple throbbed again, reminding me I had a more pressing matter to worry about than some masked assassin before I squeezed my eyes shut.
Not tonight, freaky dude. I am not dying tonight.
Opening my eyes, I cast one last glance at him as he took a large step onto the road, then I ran. I didn’t dare look back as I stumbled my way up the hill towards the trees. Was it a bad idea to run into the woods while a masked man chased me? Of courseit was. I wasn’t an idiot. But I really didn’t have any other choice. I had to reach the spell circle I’d set up. When I got to the trees, I glanced over my shoulder. He was following, striding up the hill at a leisurely pace, as if he knew I could never outrun him. He must be supernatural, but from this distance I couldn’t tell what he was, and he wasn’t giving anything away. My heart pounded and another wave of pain hit my temple, causing me to lean against a tree for support before I managed to straighten up.
Come on, Darcie. Focus. You can fight it a little longer.
As soon as I reached the spell circle I had hidden deep in the thick woodland, I snapped my fingers to light all the black pillar candles and began to draw the demonic symbols into the dirt. The book I had borrowed (because I fully intended to return it) from the old witch museum in town flicked open at my command and fell to the page I needed. A summoning curse.
Adrenaline coursed through me, knowing I didn’t have time to do this the way I would have liked. Casting this spell was now a race against my impending doom. I grabbed my knife from my handbag and quickly sliced the palm of my hand, chanting the forbidden spell to call to the Underworld. A twig snapped under a heavy boot somewhere behind me, and I spun around to see his dark figure approaching. I couldn’t defend myself once my spell was in full use, so having no choice, I had to stop my spell and send a powerful ball of dark energy in his direction. His body moved faster than any human’s and dodged it easily. Fuck.
A dark chuckle echoed through the trees, the sound so wicked and strangely intriguing. My heart flipped as my eyes searched the darkness for him. He was relishing this. But I really didn’t have fucking time for this shit.
“Look. I know why you’re here!” I shouted into the dark forest. Another twig snapped to my left, closer this time. “But please, come back and kill me tomorrow. I really, really have important shit to–ahhh!”
I fell forward as a sharp pain spiked through my temple and made me grit my teeth. I slammed my bloody hand into the dirt, fisting the leaves and mud. I was running out of time. It was going to happen, and I couldn’t stop it. Frustrated tears sprang from my eyes as I fought against the magic within me. The magic that had always controlled me.
