Page 49

“Maybe not,” Gladys agreed, with a sceptical glance at me, before her eyes fixed on Ally, “Your turn Forg…Ally.” I smiled a little as Gladys corrected herself before saying the wrong name.It seems like Ally has made an impression on her, I thought to myself as Gladys motioned Ally back to where she’d originally told her to sit and I watched as she complied.

“Now relax and find a time or place that makes you feel safe,” Gladys’ voice took on the same calm tone as it had with me and I watched as Ally closed her eyes. “Have you got it?” Gladys asked. I watched amazed as Ally nodded and Gladys’ eyes closed as she stood above her. I felt the air warm and a sense of calm washed over me as Gladys was enclosed in a white glow.Is that real?I thought, seconds before I was shoved backwards.

Blinking my eyes open, I wondered briefly when I’d closed them and couldn’t remember doing so. It took me a moment or two to get my bearings as I stared upwards at the white wisps that danced above me.How pretty,I thought briefly, before turning my head to the side. Blinking, I stared at the world around me wondering,where the heck I was?

Was I even still in Gladys’ garden?I asked myself, staring at everything around me as I pushed up until I was sitting.When had I laid down?Everything looked almost right except it was like someone had used a damp cloth and rubbed away any bright colour. Long white wisps—almost like smoke—drifted around my bare feet and multiplied when they shuffled. It was so similar to the real one, if you could ignore the fact that she was alone and the strange hazy whisps.

“Hello?” I asked softly, afraid to shout too loudly and disrupt the peace and tranquillity that infused me. “Dina? Ally? Jace?” I called, worried that somehow we'd been separated and they were as lost as I was.

“Merry met Daughter,” a kind, yet confident voice interrupted the quiet. Whipping around, my gaze landed on a young woman who stood behind me. She had long, dirty blonde hair that floated in a wind I couldn't feel and eyes similar in colour to my own. The long grey skirt of her dress floated around her ankles, showing off her bare feet, and she was smiling kindly at me.

“Do I know you?” I asked, confused. Was she the mother who had abandoned me as a baby?

“No, I would think not. But we are connected, you and I.” She answered cryptically, raising more questions in my mind.

“Do you know where my friends are? They were here with me moments ago.” I glanced around, double checking they hadn't magically appeared alongside the woman.

“They did not follow you here,” she told me, her voice calm and quiet.

“What?” My gaze returned to her, as my eyes narrowed in suspicion, “And where is here?” I snapped, while the fingers on my left hand tapped against my thigh.

“You have no need to fear Daughter. No harm will befall you in The Inbetween.”

“The Inbetween? What's that?” My questions made the women's stoic face change. Her eyebrows lifted and her eyes widened.

“You are a Witch, are you not?” She challenged, taking a slight step back.

“Well, yes, I suppose I am,” I answered, uncertainty making my voice quieter.

“What do you mean?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked me up and down, “you have the aura of Our Witches, however you sound unclear.”

“I was raised a human,” I said honestly, wondering if the woman could tell if I lied and not wanting to chance it, “until a month ago I didn't even know Witches existed.”

By the time I'd finished, the women's eyes were as round as dinner plates and filled with sadness, “Why?”

Her one word question was one I'd asked myself since I'd been old enough to realise I was an orphan. “I don't know.”

Looking closer at the woman before me, I noticed her dress looked to be from a time long ago instead of any current fashion brand.

“Who are you again?” I asked, realising she still hadn't told me.

“I'm Eilidh, I was the first,” she said, with a sad smile that barely turned up the corners of her lips.

“The first what?” I asked as my eyebrows met in the middle at her response.

“The first sacrificed to the prophecy.” She said, her expression never changing, even though her words sounded unbelievable.

“What prophecy?” I pushed, feeling like I already knew what she was referring to, but wanting to hear what she’d say.

“From an ancient line will come twin flames both born and blessed, to set our world on a different path. Separated their paths will be long and hard, as light turns to dark, love to hate. Familial bonds will be broken but our salvation or destruction will be decided by their hands. Ancients shall heraldtheir arrival as they return to wage new battles upon our fields. Burnt bridges may be remade as gates long closed will open. All will hail the Gatekeeper.”

Eilidh’s voice was hypnotic as she recited a longer version of “the prophecy” than Gladys had told me.

“And how many have come to you here, in…” I paused remembering the term she’d used for wherever this was, “...The Inbetween?” I finished, incredulous that women had been killed over the years, all because one woman claimed they would have a power that would be fearsome.

“You are the fifth who still lives but the thirteenth whose soul is tainted by the prophecy.”

Wow, that's a lot of people.“And were they all female?” I asked, needing to confirm I understood that part of the prophecy like I thought I did.