The Last Witch: 3.5: Chapter 15

he wades into the ocean. My legs are wrapped around his waist and my head rests on his shoulder as he takes us deeper and deeper into the sea.

The cool water is refreshing on our hot skin, and the sun slowly rising in the horizon is a wonder to behold.

‘I’m so proud of you,’ he says. ‘What you did, with The Stolen and coming to find the guys, you’re a natural leader. A protector. A defender.’

‘I thought you were mad at me.’

‘Mad you left without me. Not mad you left.’ He kisses my cheek. ‘But to the fool who attacked you, well, they’re going to wish they had never been born.’

‘Do you think that they’re trying to re-open the Veil?’ I ask him, my eyes on the glowing horizon. ‘Do you think that’s what this is all about?’

‘Maybe.’

‘We have to do something about this, Gabriel. If they succeed, they could bring the whole human world down on us.’ I tense around him. ‘I can’t go back to that life. None of us can. Callie can’t.’

‘The Bloodstones are dead, Lilly. The only real power they had was put there by Rebecca Hooper and then harnessed by you. The Hooper witches are the real power here. Not the Bloodstones. Whatever comes, we’ll face it together,’ he promises. ‘All of us. The entire Council are looking for the missing witches, and if there is a threat, we will deal with it as one.’

His hands grip me a little harder as I nod.

‘Come on. Let’s get back to camp and get a couple of hours sleep before heading home.’

He turns and wades out of the water, carrying me in his arms to the beach and back to our discarded clothes.

We climb the steep pathway up to Connor’s camp, Gabriel holding my hand and leading the way. He turns back to me.

‘So Connor and Bias…’

‘Connor and Bias.’ I reply.

‘Is that more than a friendship, do you think?’

‘I think that Bias finds comfort in Connor. I think he finds peace. Connor’s an extremely kind and sweet man. Very patient and always looks at the positives. I found that a tremendous comfort on some of my darker times at The Orchard.’

‘But Connor’s a guy.’

‘No shit,’ I laugh. ‘I don’t think a silly thing like gender ever really bothered Bias. He wasn’t shy about experimenting when we were-’ I shut the hell up. Why would I even bring that up? I wait for his reaction. For Gabriel to turn with a scowl or a glare.

But he doesn’t. He just carries on.

‘Funny thing is, when we were kids, I always thought that Bias preferred guys to girls. I was convinced, but with our family it was better to keep that to yourself. If Bias ever had feelings for a man, he never would have said. Finding acceptance in my house was like finding a virgin in a brothel. Except for our mother, of course. She would have screamed her pride from the rooftops.’ He looks at me with a sad little smile as he thinks of his mother. ‘She would have fucking loved you.’

‘You think?’

‘I know. I’m glad they’ve found each other. I’m glad Bias has-’

‘Gabriel!’ I stop suddenly, yanking at his hand.

‘What?’ What’s the matter?’

‘I… I can’t see…’ I tighten my grip on his hand, swallowed suddenly in pitch blackness. ‘I can’t see! Gabriel… Something’s-’

I scream and grab my head, howling in pain as I get bombarded with images. They slam into my brain with relentless violence, forcing their way into the deepest recesses of my mind.

I haven’t had a vision since returning. I wasn’t sure that the realm had manifested yet, but it sure as shit has now.

The agony expels a blast of Telekinetic energy from my body. The edge of the cliff trembles and the ground beneath our feet crumbles into dust.

I fall.