Nature of the Witch Read online

  The driving lesson with Jack had strengthened her resolve to bring her dad back. Although it had ended pleasantly enough it had also reminded her that it should have been dad taking her out on her first lesson (the one where she crashed into the garden fence didn't count; it only counts once you make it off the drive).

  Eventually, she would pass her driving test, but it would be just another milestone that she would have to celebrate without him. Furthermore, Christmas was approaching which would be her first Christmas alone.

  She had been given her powers for a reason and she felt sure that the reason was to bring back her dad. What point was there in having powers if she couldn't help her loved ones? He needed her. He had been snatched from the world cruelly and too soon. But now she could bring him back and they'd be a family again.

  Christmas loomed closer. Not that that you could tell in their house in the hills. No decorations were put up, no tree was erected, there was no sign of presents or mince pies or anything remotely Christmassy. At first, Kiera didn't mention the lack of Christmas cheer, mostly because she wasn't feeling particularly cheerful herself. However, even though the thought of Christmas didn't make her feel warm and fuzzy as it had in previous years, she soon found it strange and, a little too gloomy, not to acknowledge Christmas at all.

  She began to wonder whether perhaps they had actually forgotten what time of year it was since Kitto kept them to a pretty tight schedule. Jack seemed to be either training or locked away in his man-cave. He always checked in on her though, sometimes she spotted him and sometimes she just knew that he had been there. It was his job to make sure she was safe after all (a situation which still made her a little uncomfortable).

  She had watched Jack and Kitto training with their staffs one evening and had been completely blown away by it. They moved at such speed and with fluid movements, like some sort of strange dance. And when they attacked she could see the strength behind the blows as though it was a visible force, knocking each other backwards as they blocked and lunged around each other. She had held her breath, afraid that the ferocity of their attacks might cause serious harm, but finally it ended. Kitto won by catching Jacks legs and sweeping them out from under him. He hadn't seemed to mind and bowed to Kitto graciously. She didn't know Jack very well but she had an inkling that he was holding back a little, out of respect for his teacher, and she admired him for it.

  In the mornings when she rose to meditate she often saw Jack leaving with his surf-board, and then he would return before breakfast. She had never tried surfing and had wondered briefly whether he might take her with him one time, but then she remembered her first driving lesson and shuddered. Not that the lessons were as bad anymore. Jack had been taking her out in the car every other day and had managed not to shout at her once. Sometimes she could see him gritting his teeth and taking a deep breath before speaking, but, all in all, they were learning to get along with each other.

  She spent most of her time honing her powers. It had been difficult at first without Mags; her confidence wavered amid images of collapsing apartment blocks, burning vegetable patches and broken light fittings. But soon her confidence returned and, under Kitto's tutelage, she performed her first proper spell.

  With Mags the main focus had been learning to control her powers. She had learnt to channel them by focusing on an end goal. This had been fruitful. In the right frame of mind she could do such things as telekinesis and grow flowers, but with this broad approach many specific purposes eluded her.

  With Mags she had tried a couple of the spells out of Mags's books but hadn't had much success. One spell was meant to turn an object to the colour green. They had tested it on a wooden chair in Mags's kitchen. They had followed the spell exactly but the best they could do was a murky, dish-water grey.

  They had also tried a seeking spell when Mags lost one of her reading books. The book said it was specifically for items lost in the home.

  The spell told her to place a pair of glasses on a flat surface facing north. She had to say a few words that weren't in a language she understood and then pick up the glasses and look through them.

  It sounded straight forward enough, yet, all that had happened was that Kiera ended up with square eyes trying to squint through Mags's reading glasses, and eventually after many failed attempts they lost the glasses too so had given it up as a bad lot.

  Kitto picked her out a transformation spell. It turned any object into a cup, which seemed like it could be very handy if you were thirsty and stuck in a location with a lack of cups. All that Kiera had to do was hold her hands over the object she wanted to change (they decided to use an old plate) and read from the book.

  And it had actually worked. The plate began to move; first it wobbled slightly, then it began to curl upwards, making a cracking sound as it did so, as though it was going to splinter and break. Only it didn't break, it continued to curl upwards and inwards until it had moulded itself into a cup with a handle. After it had formed the shape of the cup, any cracks or imperfections smoothed over until it stood before them, a shiny new cup.

  Kiera was very proud of it and would drink tea from nothing else from that moment on. Kitto had also been pleased as he gripped her shoulder and smiled at her proudly, “Magic is back at last.” She saw him dab at his eyes as he left the room.

  Kitto told her that many of the spells from the books called upon Mother Nature. Others used the elements and called upon the power of the sun or, spells which had to be done at night, used the moon. Some didn't mention nature and instead simply called upon the witches own strength and powers. He taught her to speak the words clearly, even with the spells that weren't to be said out loud, such as the spell to bring silence to your location (she imagined it would be handy if you lived in the middle of a city) which specifically said to think the words but not say them aloud. She learnt that magic wasn't simply about the strength of her own powers. It was an art form and a very precise art form, for indeed the slightest mistake during a spell, and instead of bringing peace and quiet she might bring down a swarm of wasps. Magic took concentration and lots of practice.

  Kitto took her to the beach and told her to focus on the choppy waters. He said the power of the ocean would help her hone her own powers. She could feel it working, feel it making the magic bubble in her blood. She sensed her ancient sisterhood around her, supporting her and giving her strength.

  Kitto was a knowledgeable and patient teacher. It didn't take Kiera long to grow fond of him. He had a placid manner, nothing seemed to faze him, and yet he had an air of eccentricity that kept herself and Jack on their toes. Like Mags, he seemed to enjoy looking after them. She had a feeling that, like Mags, he knew too well the depths of loneliness, living in their pretty but secluded houses with no family and few friends. Both had devoted their lives to a cause, and so had made sacrifices along the way. She phoned Mags most days to see how she was and to keep her updated with her training.

  Christmas was a particularly difficult time without her dad, but she started to feel determined that they were all going to make the most of it. So, as Christmas neared and still no-one had mentioned it, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She scoured her books for a spell but couldn't find one that fitted. She wanted to put up a few decorations. She mused over doing it the old-fashioned way, i.e. buying some decorations and putting them up by hand. However, that seemed too much like hard work. Despite not finding a spell she wasn't deterred. After all, she had been practising so much lately and was feeling pretty confident.

  She sat on the rug in the middle of the living room and placed her hands gently on her knees. She slowed her breathing and cleared her mind of all other thoughts. She felt her powers, imagined them running throughout her veins like blood. She took a moment to feel them, there was only her and her powers, everything else disappeared. Then she thought about Christmas, she thought about the decorations they used to have when dad was alive. She saw the way the tree sparkled, she remembered the eve
nings they had spent decorating Christmas trees over the years. She recalled how much she used to love Christmas, the build-up in the weeks beforehand, the excitement, the presents, the food, the fun. But most of all she thought of dad. She saw him bursting into her bedroom Christmas morning to tell her Santa had been, she saw them opening presents together, eating Christmas dinner and flopped on the settee watching Christmas movies. She saw him carrying her up the stairs to bed at the end of the day when she was too full and tired to move. With that she let out a sob and her powers released.

  She held her breath and didn't dare to open her eyes. She had lost control of her powers again. It didn't sound like the house was collapsing around her. In fact, was that the sound of someone singing 'Jingle Bell Rock?' Slowly she opened her eyes and her mouth fell open.

  She hadn't destroyed the house. It was worse, much worse.

  “What the…?” she heard Jack exclaim from outside the door.

  It was as though the cheesiest version of Christmas had exploded inside the house. She had turned it into a winter wonderland, except without as much wonder. Lights flashed from all corners of the room, tinsel and Christmas banners adorned the ceiling and walls. A tree so large that it took up almost half of the room looked like a three year old had decorated it, but the worst bit by far were the ornaments. Santa was everywhere, he was laughing, he was singing, he was riding his reindeer. He stood, almost life-size, by the living room door waving mechanically and shouting, “Ho ho ho, merry Christmas everyone!”

  She had wanted Christmassy and she had got Christmassy, and it was so cheesy it was making her feel ill. Judging by the commotion she could hear outside the whole house was the same. Finally the living room door burst open and Jack and Kitto stood in the doorway staring at her in bewilderment. Jack looked completely aghast.

  She smiled up at them sheepishly, “Erm…merry Christmas?”

  They worked quickly to remove most of the decorations. Jack and Kitto started with the ones adorning the outside walls. One of the best features of the house was that it was tucked away out of sight. Kiera's spell had lit it up like a great neon sign in the hills. Kiera started in the living room.

  “She wants to celebrate Christmas,” Kitto said, stroking his beard as though completely baffled by the whole thing. He looked at Jack, “Have you ever celebrated Christmas?”

  “No,” Jack shrugged, “I've never really done the whole Christmas thing.” He paused, “Perhaps we could send her to Mags for the day?”

  Kitto frowned, “No, we'll do something here. Tell me what I need to do and I'll do it.”

  “I think all you need to do is cook dinner,” Jack informed him, “and perhaps buy her a present.”

  “Oh,” Kitto looked relieved, “is that all? I can do that.”

  They left a few of the decorations up. The life-size Santa definitely had to go and so did the enormous tree, but Jack drove out and picked up another one. Then he watched as Kiera showed Kitto how to decorate it. In the evening they sat quietly. The only light was from the fire in the hearth and the lights on the tree. As Jack watched the flames cast out shadows, which danced along the walls, he felt contentment wash over him. He glanced at Kitto and Kiera side by side on the settee next to the newly decorated Christmas tree. They were bathed in a soft glow from the tree lights as they sat, like him, silently enjoying the ambience. For the first time since Kiera had moved in Jack realised that it felt right. Life was as it should be.

  One frosty December morning, as Kiera browsed through the books in the library, Kitto entered and took a seat in the chair by the fire. It had only just been lit and for a moment he just sat and watched the coal glow and spit as the fire attempted to take grip. He stroked his beard thoughtfully as he watched Kiera leaf through books and place them back on the shelf and pick up another.

  Suddenly he jumped to his feet as though he had reached a decision and needed to act quickly before he changed his mind. He strode over to her and reached up to the highest shelf. He felt around for a moment on a part of the shelf which looked to be bare. Then he brought down a small box which was covered in dust.

  He gently blew at it and Kiera saw that the box was red beneath the layers of dust. He held it out to Kiera.

  “What is it?” Kiera asked, taking the box from him.

  “Open it,” he said quietly.

  Inside she found a small and rather plain looking knife. She looked at him questioningly.

  He sat back down with a sigh.

  “It was given to me a long time ago,” he paused, “Bersaba gave it to me. She…” he was obviously struggling and Kiera crouched down beside him and touched his hand softly. Kitto gave a deep, sad sigh, “We were living peacefully in a small village along with her sisters and their Gwithiaz. She gave the knife to me as a present, it wasn't anything fancy but we didn't have much money. I took it into the woods with me one day when I collected firewood and I must have dropped it. Bersaba came with me to look for it and that was when they came. We had all been in hiding for so long and one day…one day they found us, the Creatures.” He looked away from Kiera and into the fire, “The Creatures killed them all, not just her sisters and the Gwithiaz but the entire village, men, women and children. We were the only survivors. And the only reason we survived is because we were out looking for this knife. I'm not sure why I kept it but now it's yours.”

  Kiera looked back at the knife, “Why are you giving it to me?”

  Kitto put a hand on her shoulder and then rose to his feet, “Although it's hard, sometimes it's best to let go of the past, especially the parts that cause us pain. I want you to do with it as you will. I never use it, it just sits up there gathering dust and sometimes…sometimes you have to move on.”

  Kiera had a strange feeling that Kitto's message was for her, that he knew what spell she was hoping to create. She averted her eyes to the fire and sat quietly and digested Kitto's terrible story. Bersaba had lost her sisters and an entire village had been killed. She couldn't imagine the horror of it.

  “Thank you,” Kiera said at length, “do you really mean that I can do whatever I want with it?”

  Kitto nodded.

  “I know what I'd like to do with it if you'll help me,” Kiera smiled.

  Kitto smiled back, “yes I thought you might.”

  Chapter Twenty

  For the first time in as long as he could remember Jack awoke Christmas morning and felt a twinge of excitement. He rose and dressed and headed downstairs. Kiera came through the front door as he reached the bottom of the stairs. She must have been up early meditating.

  “Merry Christmas,” she smiled.

  “Merry Christmas,” he said, suddenly feeling awkward, “I'll put the kettle on.”

  “Already done it,” Kitto appeared beside him, “merry Christmas all.”

  They fell into an uncomfortable silence. Kitto glanced at Jack for guidance, “So, what do we do now?”

  Kiera laughed, “We have breakfast.”

  “Okay”, Kitto turned back to the kitchen, “you two sit down while I sort us some breakfast out.”

  Jack and Kiera took seats in the living room next to the tree. He glanced at her and thought she had an air of melancholy. Her first Christmas without her dad; it must be difficult for her.

  He cleared his throat, “I…erm…got you a little something.”

  He pulled a small, neatly wrapped present from his pocket and held it out to her. Inside was a hand carved model car, just like his BMW.

  Jack laughed embarrassedly, “I just thought you might like a little memento of the hours I've spent shouting at you in that thing.”

  Kiera put a hand to her chest, “You made this for me?”

  Jack nodded and felt uncharacteristically emotional. He had never given his ornaments away as presents, not to anyone, but with Kiera it had seemed exactly the right gift for her. He had spent a lot of time getting the details of the car just right.

  “Do you like it?” Jack asked nervously. “Becau
se I have others if…”

  “I love it!” Kiera exclaimed. “It's so thoughtful thank you.”

  She flung her arms round him, taking him by surprise, “And, for the record, when I look at the car it will be happy memories I think of. After a bumpy start you've been an excellent instructor.”

  After a moment Kiera thought she should pull away, Jack wasn't exactly a tactile sort of person. However, she couldn't quite bring herself to move out of his arms and, when Jack didn't push her away, she turned and nuzzled into his shoulder. She missed her dad so much. It was the first Christmas morning she had not spent with him. To her surprise Jack raised his hand and stroked her hair gently.

  “You must miss your dad today,” he whispered as though he could read her mind, “I know this whole thing has been strange for you, it's been strange for me too, but I hope you know that…”he faltered “…well, that me and Kitto are here for you. We can make this work.”

  Kiera didn't speak. She just nodded and gripped him a little tighter. They stayed that way until they heard Kitto's footsteps and then they hurriedly broke away.

  Whilst Jack was talking to Kitto she glanced up at him and smiled. He was constantly surprising her.

  After breakfast she gave Kitto and Jack their presents. She had bought Kitto tickets to a Shakespeare play at the local theatre. He loved it. She twiddled her thumbs nervously as Jack unwrapped a small, red velvet box. He glanced at her puzzled as he opened it and then grinned.

  “What a beautiful knife,” he said warmly, “thank you.”

  Kiera glanced at Kitto who was smiling. It was right that she should give the knife to Jack, just as Bersaba had given it to her Gwithiaz all those years ago.