Witching Tree (Alice Gray Book 1)

40

Sweet chimes tinkled from some distant place. It took a few seconds for me to recognise the memory. They were in my head, and they were reminding me that I wasn't alone. I wasn't powerless.

There was no way in hell that I was letting this happen. Fear had made me into that timid, helpless woman; the character that I'd assumed to trick Evan.

That ended now.

As I embraced the song of the silver leaves, it morphed into the old family lullaby. The silver web that consumed Evan's life-force stopped multiplying. It pulsed once, and then the DNA-like strands shifted.

The sequence was still visible, but the outer strands floated out aimlessly, disconnected from the solid web that had held them firm before.

Evan froze. The lurid expression left his face, and was replaced by nothing. His eyes were vacant pools, his expression slack and blank. His body immediately relaxed and I could sense his determination seeping away as quickly as the adrenaline left his system.

I wriggled out from under him and straightened my dress. Without looking back, I ran to the door. The concrete floor was still covered in glass shards. I turned, desperate for another escape.

Evan's head tilted to the side, as he listened to some silent command. Getting off the bed, his movements mechanical, he stood watching me, arms crossed over his chest.

The free strands of silver webbing slowly knitted back together. The particles were no longer multiplying, and the connecting threads were loose.

But the sequence held firm.

Something deep inside me revolted against that pattern, whilst all the time its beauty continued to draw me in. The warring sensations added one more layer of confusion to the already jumbled mess of chaos in my head.

The chimes had faded to almost nothing. Their music no longer resembled the prayer-like song. Silver leaves tinkled chaotically like mocking laughter.

The bastard was smirking.

"Fuck you Evan, let me out of here."

I knew that I was helpless to escape, but I couldn't keep the anger and panic out of my voice.

"Somebody wants to see you first. And after that we can take up where we left off."

Evan approached slowly, enjoying my increasing panic. Backing away from him, I yelped in pain as a glass shard cut into my bare foot. His arm snaked round the middle of my back. I twisted away, but with the glass in front of me, and my escape back into the room blocked, I had nowhere to go.

"Unless you want to walk down that corridor with bare feet, you'd better come to me," he said. "It would be such a shame for you to get cut up."

My options were limited. There was no way that he was going to believe my passive act now. I'd blown my cover.

"Come on now Alice, he won't wait all day."

Evan crooked his finger and slowly beckoned to me. He wanted to break my spirit. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction. I'd find an avenue of escape wherever he was taking me, with or without the magic that lay just beyond my grasp.

Straightening my back, smoothing out my face, I strode to Evan.

"There we go, that wasn't so hard now was it?"

Evan placed his arm around my back and scooped my legs up effortlessly, cradling me to his chest. Those familiar blue eyes smirking down at me, I hated him more for every second that he enjoyed this.

I averted my eyes and kept my body rigid. There was no way that I was acknowledging his victory.

The shards parted in waves from Evan's feet as he walked into the corridor. With each step, the glass rushed away from his foot, and then moved back into place. The tide of glass washing away his footprints.

The once grandly decorated hallway had paper peeling down, and damp patches around the coving. The smell was that unpleasant combination of musty and damp that permeates unused buildings.

We continued in silence until we reached an opening with grand staircases leading up in three directions. Ornate marble pillars still stood, their creamy hue shaded with years of dust. The old building must be huge. Plenty of room to keep a secluded bedroom tucked out of the way. Glancing up at the fancy classical coving, a shiver ran through me when I spotted a scowling grotesque peering down, a gargoyle marking our progress through the maze of halls.

"This is the end of the line for me," Evan said. "But don't you worry, I'll see you again later."

He didn't put me down.

I looked up into Evan's face for the first time since he had taken me in his arms. A range of emotions flickered in his eyes. Desire, regret, anger and fear alternated in his expression; his tainted life-force buzzed with each changing emotion.

It was that last one that worried me the most.

If Evan was a pawn, who the hell was the grandmaster?

Finally he placed my feet on the ground, with more gentleness than I expected. With his hands on my shoulders we faced one another.

He smoothed my hair and tucked it behind my ear before his hand hovered over my swollen lip. His eyes filled with regret as they methodically travelled over every inch of my face, lingering again on my lips.

Finally he placed his hand back on my shoulder.

"He won't hurt you," Evan said. "He promised. And then we can be together."

"What the hell are you talking about Evan? You just assaulted me, you bastard," my voice came out low and scratchy.

How dare he talk to me as though we were friends; as though he cared for me. The mean smirk flashed across his face suddenly, before a placid smile smoothed out his features.

"Silly Alice."

He patted me on the shoulder, a chuckle echoing around the cavernous hall.

Taking me by the shoulders, he turned me so that I was facing a door that hadn't been there a second before. The air moved as he walked back down the corridor.

I glanced over my shoulder to see him retreating. The glass parted for his feet, and then moved back into place. Evan turned back and waved at me cheerfully before disappearing around a corner.

As I stood, deliberating my next move, the glass gathered around my feet, pressing in. I would have to take a step, and the only way was through that door.

We've made it to chapter 40! Thanks so much for reading.
Who could be directing Evan?
Read on to find out and don't forget to ⭐️ if you like it!