Book 5: The Journey
Prologue
Elizabeth – Present Day
“Hi.”
I struggled to open my eyes and sit up on the uncomfortable cot. My joints were aching and I was freezing cold, but when I reached for my blanket, I saw that it had slipped to the floor. That voice, I thought, the gears of my mind still trying to churn out the last of my sleep. I know it.
Monica was sitting right in front of me, with her legs folded underneath her body.
A chill of fear ran down my spine. She looked almost exactly the same as she had seven years ago. Her blonde hair was longer and her pale skin was tanned from spending so much time in the woods.
“Hi,” Monica repeated. “You were sleeping for hours,” she added. She yawned. “I was getting bored.”
My mouth went dry and I wiped my palms on my thighs. The chill air of the hut made me feel raw, exposed – almost like I had a hangover.
“I know, you’re probably confused,” Monica said. She tossed her hair over one shoulder and yawned. “Ligeia didn’t tell me, either.”
“I’m sorry,” I said nervously. I bit my lip. “I…I wasn’t expecting this.”
Monica raised an eyebrow. “Elizabeth, you came looking for me in the woods,” she said quietly. “What were you thinking would happen?”
I bit my lip, unable to speak. “The last time I saw you…”
“God, I’m so sick of talking about seven years ago,” Monica said irritably. She stood up – she was taller, but I still had a solid head on her – and crossed the room. Her body was different, too: she was still slender and petite, but leaner. Muscles bunched underneath her legs like coiled springs.
Monica poured water from a jug into a stone cup and brought it over, handing it to me. Her expression was both amused and bored.
“How…how have you been?” I asked weakly.
Monica laughed, but it wasn’t a joyful sound. She shrugged, then took the cup back and downed half the water, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.
“You know. Guarding Andrea,” she replied as if it was the most natural answer in the world.
I bit my lip. “I’ve missed you,” I said cautiously.
Monica’s eyes flew to my left hand and I tucked my hands beside me, squirming uncomfortably.
“So, you and Steven?”
Now it was my turn to shrug. “We were together for a long time. I’m pretty sure it’s run it’s course.”
“But you were engaged.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How did you know that?”
Monica giggled and I felt a sudden flame of irritation.
“Elizabeth, did you forget that I’m a witch?”
It was a struggle not to roll my eyes. “Well, I couldn’t reach you for a long time,” I said crossly. “I had no idea where you’d gone.”
“Elizabeth, don’t be stupid,” Monica said. “You knew. You knew, David knew, everyone did. But you didn’t really ask about me until now.”
That stung. I licked my lips and pulled my hair into a messy knot, tying it with the band on my wrist. This didn’t feel good – at least, not in the way I’d assumed. It was good to see Monica, but I was more confused than ever.
“So, are you staying?”
I frowned. “I don’t know,” I said. “Things are…really messed up right now.”
Monica yawned. “Don’t be so dramatic,” she said. “I’m sure it’s fine, Elizabeth. You’re still so whiny,” she added critically.
“I’m not whining,” I shot back. “You were the one who manipulated Steven and David.” I shook my head – the memories were coming back now, as strong as a waterfall. “Why did you do that? How could you do something like that, to people who really cared about you?”
“What is this, the inquisition?” Monica flipped her hair and stood up, slamming the cup down on the wooden table with more force than necessary. “Elizabeth, I did what was best, for both of us. If you haven’t grown up enough to see it, then I really don’t know what to say.”
My heart sank and I sighed heavily. “Right,” I said slowly, trying not to let my exasperation show. “Look, I know you were doing what you thought was best, but…I don’t know, Monica. Things are really different now.”
Monica gave me an annoyed look. “It’s not my fault if your relationship isn’t working out,” she said. “You should be nicer to Steven – I thought you’d be happy with him worshipping you day in and day out.”
“Things didn’t stay like that, though,” I snapped. “Everything changed.”
“It shouldn’t have,” Monica said arrogantly. “When?”
I frowned. Closing my eyes, I thought back through the years. “Three years ago.”
“Nothing should have changed at all,” Monica said. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything!” I exclaimed hotly, jumping out of bed and glaring at her. “I swear. I went on a trip and when I came back…Steven was different. Things were different.”
Monica looked sour. “Well, of course things changed then,” she said. She sniffed the air. “If you leave, your hold on him weakens.”
“Maybe you should have told me that,” I thundered back. “I had no way of knowing!”
Monica looked at me dully. “You really are stupid sometimes,” she said bitterly, shaking her head. “This hasn’t been easy on me, either, Elizabeth. I’ve had to give up practically everything. You, David, everyone I really loved.”
I sank back down. I knew that despite her cold manner, she was absolutely right. In the end, Monica hadn’t had things any easier than I had.
“So, she’s alive, then,” I whispered softly. “Andrea.”
“Well, she’s not exactly dead,” Monica said. She inhaled sharply. “And if you knew half of what went on around here behind your back, well, I think you’d—“
“Hello, Elizabeth,” Ligeia said pleasantly. She sailed into the hut, looking every inch the regal forest queen. I knew it was crazy, but somehow, she seemed even younger and more powerful than she had been the last time I’d seen her.
Monica tensed. “Hello, Ligeia,” she said stiffly. “I’m speaking to Elizabeth right now, mind giving us some privacy?”
Ligeia smiled. “I see no reason for that,” she said. “We are all family here, are we not?”
Monica glared and I bit my tongue, feeling confused. Was it simply that spending so much time together had bred contempt between Monica and Ligeia?
Or was something going on – something I had no idea of?
“Elizabeth, come help,” Ligeia said. She smiled at me. “We’re feasting tonight, did Monica tell you? You’re more than welcome to stay,” she added. “We’re always so pleased to see one of our own.”
“I think she has to go,” Monica said quickly. She shot me a nervous look. “Don’t you, Elizabeth? You were just talking about how you have to get back home, to Steven,” she added. “Remember?”
I blinked. “Um, I guess,” I said nervously.
Ligeia cocked her head to the side and gave me a funny look. “Monica, why not go and help the others,” she said. I could tell her tone was more a command than a suggestion. “Elizabeth and I have some things to discuss.”
“I was just leaving,” I said, getting to my feet and shoving my hands in my pockets. My jeans were damp from sleeping in Ligeia’s hut and I was chilled the bone. But I knew, deep down, that my true reason for discomfort had nothing to do with the temperature or my messy state.
Something was going on, and as usual, I was going to be the last to know.
“Elizabeth, don’t go, not just yet,” Monica said. She gave me a pleading glance behind Ligeia’s back. “At least, not right now – we have some things to discuss. Remember?”
“I need some time,” I said. I shook my head, biting my lip and keeping my eyes away from Monica. It felt too much like looking at a ghost, even though I knew full well that she was alive.
“Come, Elizabeth,” Ligeia said.
“No,” Monica said. She glared at me and crossed her arms over her chest. “Elizabeth, wait. Don’t go,” she added sharply.
I looked at her, feeling helpless. The worst the memories – an image of Monica stabbing a teenaged Andrea in the chest with her athame – was plaguing my mind, and I couldn’t bear to look at her. If you hadn’t done that, where would we be now, I wondered sadly. Would we actually have normal lives?
“Elizabeth, please don’t go,” Monica said. She looked at me, pleading with her brown eyes.
“Monica, do as I’ve said,” Ligeia said curtly. “Leave us.”
Monica gave me one last look – a strange blend of scorn, pity, and helplessness – before striding out of the hut, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
“What was that about?” I turned to Ligeia. “What is she talking about?”
Ligeia gave a small shrug. “You know Monica,” she said. “Always going on about something or another.”
I bit my lip. “She said she had to talk to me.”
“Pay her no mind,” Ligeia said. “Come, child.”
“I’m twenty-two,” I said crossly. “I’m not a child.”
Ligeia laughed – it was a pleasant sound, even if I knew she was mocking me.
“Compared to me, almost everyone is a child,” Ligeia said. She took her walking stick and guided me out of the hut, setting a brisk pace across the grassy meadow. As always, the perpetual spring weather of the coven enchanted me. It felt like forever since I’d seen a blue sky, and I craned my neck as we walked across the clearing.
“So, you have regained your friend,” Ligeia said. “And now there is the matter of repaying the coven, Elizabeth. Have you already forgotten the promises you made?”
“No, I haven’t,” I said stiffly. “But I can’t do anything right now. I have to go home, Ligeia.”
“Excuse me?” Ligeia gave me a haughty look. “You mustn’t think of refusing me, Elizabeth. I am your elder.”
“I’ll come back,” I said quickly. “But there are some…well, I have to do some stuff at home first. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, and I can’t just leave at the moment.”
Breaking from Ligeia’s side, I burst into a run and ran until my sides ached. A strange female voice echoed in my ears – a blend of Monica’s cheerful bitterness and Ligeia’s aged tones. Closing my eyes, I pushed myself harder and harder, my feet slapping the earth.
“You cannot run from me,” Ligeia called. “You forget, Elizabeth,” she said. “You cannot leave me so quickly.”
“No,” I called over my shoulder. “I told you – I have to go back. Things…things aren’t right, at least, not now. Just give me some time, and then I’ll come back, I promise.”
Ligeia appeared in front of me, floating in the air. Her ivory robes whipped around her wizened flesh and her blue eyes burned brighter than ever before.
“Elizabeth,” Ligeia said. “This is a warning. If you leave, we cannot assure you of anything. And your betrayal will not be so easily forgotten.”
“I’m not leaving forever,” I said quickly. “I told you – I just have some things that I have to take care of, that’s all. I’ll be back. I promise.”
“This is what you wanted, remember?” Ligeia glared. “You wanted your best friend, your Monica. And now she has returned, and yet you are still not happy. Why, Elizabeth?”
“Because,” I growled through gritted teeth. “She’s not the same.”
“Isn’t she?” Ligeia clicked her tongue against her teeth and shook her head. “Or have you just remembered things which you’d rather have forgotten?”
The words hit me like a punch to the chest. Dropping to my knees, I closed my eyes and surrendered to my own emotions. Tears came to my lids and I blinked them back hotly, covering my face with my hands.
“I just don’t know why I was able to forget everything that happened,” I moaned, sniffling. “I don’t know why I forgot! And now, I can’t un-see the past. I can’t…” I trailed off, biting my lip and sighing. “I can’t forget about her stabbing Andrea.”
Ligeia gave me a cold look. “You are weak, child,” she said. “Take time – return home, regain your strength.”
Relief washed over me.
“But then you will return,” Ligeia said harshly. “You will return, and serve me, for as long as I please.” She held her chin high in the air.
As I ran from the coven, I wondered just what exactly Ligeia had in mind.