Witching Tree (Alice Gray Book 1)

52

"What?"

"Look, religion and magic require the same components to thrive, initially belief and then devotion," Emily said, settling in to deliver a lecture. "It doesn't always matter what the idol is as long as the practitioner is true to their cause. Everything is a balance between good and evil, God and the Devil. In Alice Gray's time witchcraft was considered a crime because even to do good, you had to make a pact with the devil, and that was treason against the King as God's representative. Religion, politics, belief, control, that is what magic is born from. It doesn't matter that these things don't hold the same significance now, only the intent and the fundamental dichotomy, good and evil, matter for the magic to thrive."

"Ok, so it's the balance of good and evil that counts, got that. But where does my mother's song fit into all this, and how the hell do you know about it? I thought you were in security."

Emily looked at me as though I was an idiot. "We're good security because we know our shit. I wasn't lying about my research position at the university when we first met. We weren't just idly trailing after you Alice. We were researching the origins of that manuscript. Your origins."

"That's beside the point," Stephen interrupted sharply. "The White Paternoster represents the Pendle Witches' only crime: the subversion of religion for magical gain. It's sacred now through centuries of use. Those words hold strong magic. Old magic."

"Right. But what do they do?" I screeched, frustration seeping out of every pore.

It wasn't just that they were running me round in circles with their academic answers. I suspected that Emily had been on the verge of telling me something important, and Stephen had cut her off.

He was still keeping things from me.

Things that were my business to know.

"That's the problem. It's one of the oldest spells but also one of the most well-used. And like magic itself, it's versatile. The words aren't what matters, it's the intent that counts. Only the caster can tell you what it means each time it's spoken."

"Great, so out of all that, there's nothing to help me. Next time just say you don't know ok?"

I knew I was being unfair, that I was losing my temper, but we were getting nowhere, and I had places to be.

Evan was still with Jonathan. Flashes of his agony splintered my mind every time I blinked. I had to get back there. And soon.

Stephen pierced me with a hard look, "We went back, back to where it all began. We finally found something in the archives at Lancaster Castle. A seventeenth-century written charm. Traditionally the song was used to lift curses, but in Pendle, four hundred years ago, a young witch used it for something else."

"Who, Alice Gray?" I interrupted, unable to stop my impatience bubbling over.

"No, not Alice."

"Who then?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is what she did. This young witch planted written charms in sills and doorframes around the castle's courtroom, creating a circle to enclose the trials. Within its confines, she was able to destabilize the entire coven with just one spell, stripping their power and leaving them vulnerable to the authorities."

"The White Paternoster?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Right. And that's what we think the coven did to bring you back. They chanted that prayer for eight hours, until you popped back into consciousness, eyes blazing silver, wind whipping round you, all Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings film. And that dress. I didn't even see your clothes change. Where were you for all that time?"

All the eyes were trained on me, as though I should just be able to absorb it all and begin answering their questions.

I wasn't about to hand over control of the situation that easily. Knowledge is power, right?

And for once I was the one in the know. What happened with Jonathan was my secret, for now at least.

I shrugged, "I came round in a room filled with light and noise. Somebody came for me, but I passed out again. When I finally woke I was being held captive in an old building. His name was Jonathan. He wanted me to stay there with him. Then I popped back into the restaurant."

At the mention of Jonathan, Emily looked at Stephen, a flicker of recognition crossing her face.

"You know him?" I asked.

"The caseworker that gave us the assignment. He answered his phone during one of our meetings. His caller was a man named Jonathan." Emily said.

"It was him then. He must have hired you to watch me!"

"It wasn't him. At least not directly. There're no witch assets in the field at the moment."

"That's irrelevant. This Jonathan. What did he want with you?" Thomas snapped.

"Just for me to stay. He had my pendant. He said I wasn't safe anywhere but with him. Look guys, I need to go back there to get it. I obviously can't trust the coven without it, they might have brought me back, but at the end there, they were using those words against me."

"You will not," Thomas said, the arrogance in his tone being contradicted by the wild spark of panic in his eyes.

"Don't worry big guy," Emily said. "I don't think any of us wants to deal with you if she goes back in there. Maybe Hazel can send me through. It doesn't sound like Evan got there, but that doesn't mean we can't try again."

"Em, you call them and sound it out," Stephen said. "You saw the way they reacted to Alice. She's right. It's not safe for her to be with them until she has the pendant back. They're susceptible to...whatever it is that she does."

"What are you going to do?" Emily asked.

"I've got some research to do. That tree. It's not what we thought" Stephen said, shaking his head, worry etched in the lines on his forehead.

"Ok, what am I going to do?" I asked.

"You're staying here," Emily said, "I'll have a better chance to convince Hazel to help me if her mind isn't clouded by lust."

"Hey, it's my life-force that she wants, not my body," I said defensively.

Stephen looked at me with a half-smile and shook his head.

"You'd better behave yourself vamp," Emily said, on her way out. "And don't let our medieval princess over there do anything stupid."