Triwiccan Wars Part IV

Chapter 19

Cedar’s vision was blurry for a second, as he looked around the floor to see what had hit him. A large black object caught his eye. Of course, everything looked large and black without any lights on. He turned round and flicked the light switch on. Looking down once more he could see exactly what had hit his head.
A large pink, metal box lay on the ground. The door had swung open from the impact of hitting the ground, and lying just beside it was a small purple book. Cedar knew without a second glance that the little purple book was Ella’s diary.
‘ Priceless.’ He muttered to himself grinning. He quickly put Ella’s mobile, purse and make-up back into the box, being careful not to close the lid, and put the box back onto the shelf by the door. Quickly walking over to the bed, which to Cedar’s disgust was covered in fluffy pink cushions and a pink throw rug, he sat down and started reading the diary.

1st Jan 04
Dear diary,
Mum says that for next years school proms, Blue are going to be guest singers. OMG! Isn’t that just so cool!
My friend Sophie said that…

‘ Boring’ said Cedar faking a yawn, which ended up turning into a real one. He remember Ella and his prom night, and ‘Blue’ were in fact just some crappy school band, who couldn’t get a gig elsewhere.
He flicked through the thick book looking at any page entry that looked remotely interesting, until he hit the jackpot.
The page itself was different from all the others. Ella had made little pink hearts, all around the outside of the page, and had put a little swirl in each corner.
25th June 05
Dear diary,
I don’t think I have felt this way about any other boy before. He has to be the most fantastic kisser ever. When he held me I felt so safe. But something didn’t feel right. I mean he is a great kisser and everything but its just…I don’t know, like I’m under some sort of…I don’t know spell. God I think I’m in love with him. Mrs Maison…mmm… I like the sound of that! Merrick asked me to meet him at the arena at 11 o’ clock tonight. This time I’ll make sure I leave Cedar a note, but with any luck, I’ll be back in time and will be able to get ride of it before he notices I’m gone.
Oh well. I think I’ll go read the Matrio spell book, see if there’s anything about our new weapons in there.
Ella Matrio 4 Merrick Maison
4ever!
Ella
Xxx

Cedar snapped the book shut quickly, horrified at what he had just read. So that little scum bag, Merrick had been getting off with Ella had he? Cedar got up quickly and walked back over to the shelf, slamming the diary back into its metal box and shutting it.
He walked back over to the bed and glanced at the clock. It was ten past one in the morning and if he was going to have to be up before dawn he needed to get to sleep. Laying down a wave of exhaustion swept over him and before he had time to get anymore angry, he had fallen fast asleep.
***
It was getting closer and closer. ‘Ella! Move!’ Cedar was trying to shout desperately, but his gag was bound to tight. The shadows were right behind her now. Unable to hear his warning, Ella grasped the young girls wrist tightly, making sure she didn’t loose her amidst all the smoke and fire. Cedar could see their bows raised, aiming straight at her. ‘Ella!’ Someone had shouted, running towards her. They pushed her and the girl off the edge of the rooftop, just as the arrows were shot into the air. Cedar saw all three of them falling straight towards the hard concrete floor below, before the person untangled himself from the other bodies. Ella’s hair was streaked in red, from where she had hit the pavement below, at full force. Cedar watched as Merrick shook silvery blonde hair and gingerly tested his joints, before he rushed to kneel down by Ella and the girl. ‘Ella? Ella are you alright?’ Merrick asked his eyes full of concern. He gave her a gentle shake, her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him, tears falling down her cheeks. ‘You saved me.’ Ella said. She looked down at the young girl who lay next to her. Ella shook her, gently at first, brushing the hair out of the girls face, when she didn’t wake up she tried more desperately, before looking down at her stomach and giving a small cry.
An arrow seemed to have sliced right up her abdomen and was now sticking out awkwardly, just under her lungs. The young girl gave a small ragged breath before she coughed, and spat the blood out on the floor next to her. ‘ Spirit! Oh my god! Merrick look at her stomach!’ Ella whispered stunned, feeling dizzy she had never had a very high threshold for pain, and when she imagined how much Spirit was in…Ella put her hands on the ground to steady herself…and as he stood trying to wrestle away from his captures, he knew there was not a thing he could do to help any of them.

Chapter 20
‘ Zhin. Zhin!’ Merrick was stood next to him on the street, an anxious look on his face. ‘Are you ok? Was it another vision?’ Zhin nodded feebly. ‘I’m fine…but I don’t think the guardian of the trident is going to be.’ Merrick was shocked as Zhin explained what he had seen. Zhin had been his best friend for many years now, and Merrick had learnt to believe him whenever he told them of his visions. Merrick could see that it was distressing him, knowing that this young girl, Spirit, was going to be injured so badly. Merrick turned to Zhin, his expression grave but determined. ‘Ok. So all I have to do is make sure that when I grab Ella and Spirit, its me that will be in the drowning angels line of fire and not them.’
He saw Lily peeking out of her hiding place to give the signal; the drowning angels, England’s most notorious gang of vampires, were coming down the street. By the looks of it they had had a busy night. Two of them were stood either side of a young girl, who looked no older than twelve, and were gripping her elbows firmly so she could not escape. Merrick prayed that this wasn’t the girl, who was fatally injured in Zhin’s vision, but had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was. He couldn’t understand how anybody could hurt someone so young, so innocent, and so…he searched for the right word…pure.
‘That’s the signal’ Zhin said quietly, drawing his sword. Merrick did the same and they both charged forward, advancing on the unsuspecting gang. Lily ran up to face the leader, Merrick wasn’t far behind. ‘ Fancy meeting you here.’ She teased taking a lunge at him with her sword. He made a low growling sound that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Still, Lily stood there staring into his cool turquoise eyes, daring him to make a move. He ran a hand threw his greasy, black, matted hair, before making a quick motion with his arm that sent her flying backwards through the air and into the wall of a grimy building. Merrick, though desperate to check his sister was ok, suddenly charged forward and made a quick cut across the vampire’s neck with his sword. The vampire leader, who was not expecting this, gave a small gasp before falling to his knees. This caused Merrick enough of a distraction to get a small stake out of his pocket and ram it into the side of the Vampires head. The vampire gave a cry of anguish, before falling to the fall and leaving nothing more than a pile of ashes.
The stake clattered to the ground and Merrick quickly picked it up and pocketed it. As he looked around, he saw the battle was in full swing. The clanging of many swords deafened him, as he ran over to where Lily had been thrown. He saw her body, hanging limply off the side of a skip, her long golden curls cascading to the ground, a rag doll that had been carelessly thrown into its toy box. Without a minutes hesitation he jumped in, ignoring the vile smell that was emanating from the skip. He pulled her in roughly by the shoulders, shaking slightly as he did so. He had promised his mother, just the day before she had died, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And he wasn’t about to break that promise after eight years of keeping it. He touched her face, brushing the hair out of her eyes. She felt so cold. He felt his heart beat increase. Frantically he searched for a pulse. There was one but it was very, very faint and irregular. He pulled her frail body close to him, feeling the hot tears cascade down his face. ‘Hold on Lily.’ Merrick whispered gently in her ear. ‘I won’t let you die…I promise.’
***

Ella ran her sword into the vampire’s gut, twisting it evilly, so it caused the most pain, before shoving the wooden stake into its chest. She had seen Merrick run off to the side of a nearby building, no doubt to get his sister. She wanted to find him, but she saw that the young girls captures were otherwise occupied and so running forward to her, Ella grabbed the girls’ wrist and started steering her away from all the chaos. The young girl looked up at Ella. Who was this person? How did she know to trust her? Young though not stupid she could sense this girls fear. She felt fear for her brothers, and someone else, it was another boy, and someone she was worried about right this second, her soul mate!
They sprinted round the corner trying to escape and out of nowhere strong arms had trapped them, holding tight around their waists. ‘GET OF ME!’ Ella screamed half in fear, half in fury. ‘Oh no you don’t!’ laughed a voice menacingly. Ella twisted her head around and saw a very lanky, yet strong vampire holding them. He looked pretty badly beaten, his face smeared in a mixture of dirt and blood. His pale yellow eyes narrowed, as though her was looking at her as prey. She could see the other girl struggling desperately to try twist out of his arm. ‘ I got another one of those damn Matrio kids, where do I take her?’ the vampire shouted to another nearby. He merely pointed to a rooftop and continued to duel with Willow.
Moving surprisingly quickly, for someone with to struggling girls in each arm, he made his way across the battlefield that had once been a street and began climbing up some rickety old stairs. He reached the rooftop and Ella realised to her horror, that Cedar was already bound and gagged, to one of the four metal poles that stuck out. His eyes widened in horror as they were thrown onto the ground. The vampire hastily shoved the young girl next to the nearest pole and tied her up, before producing a ball of material from his pocket and shoving it in her mouth. The vampire turned around and saw that Ella had been climbing down the metal ladder, trying to escape. He grabbed her roughly by her outstretched arm and lifted her up dangling her over the roof edge. Cedar was screaming so hard that her thought his throat might burst. Ella was screaming too. Screaming and crying all at the same time, her pale tears cascading down her pale face.
Suddenly the vampire seemed to have had a change of heart. He pulled her back onto the roof edge, an odd look in his eyes. Only his eyes weren’t looking at her face anymore, he was looking at her chest. She screamed in horror as she realised what he was about to do. She glanced over at Cedar, feeling her body shaking all over, as the vampires piercing gaze seemed to burn her skin. Her eyes were full of terror as she tried to push him away. Cedar now felt positively sick as he realised what was going to happen. Merrick from the skip of the building opposite, yelled in anger. He handed Lily's lifeless body to Zhin, before rushing over to where Ella now lay, to stop this terrible deed.

Chapter 21

Ella had stopped trying to struggle now; she knew that it would just result in her getting punched harder. She had tried to cruse out but the vampires’ power field was smothering her, like walking into a room with no air. Even though she could barley breath from the weight of him on top of her, she wiled herself not to loose consciousness, and as she desperately found herself looking anywhere else but at the vampire she spotted him.
He was behind the young girl, a small penknife in one hand, cutting through the ropes that bound her tight. He had already freed Cedar, who now crept silently up behind the vampire, his bow and arrow poised, before he released it, from point blank range, into the back of the vampires head. With a flash of blond hair, Merrick was beside him stake poised, ready. ‘Aww, did the poor ‘ickle vampire get a booboo.’ He said mockingly, his eyes so narrow that they reminded Ella of daggers. With what little strength he had left the vampire managed to stutter. ‘ Go t-to hell!’ Merrick lunged forward and grabbed the collar of his coat and whispered in his ear. ‘I’m already there.’ He slammed the wooden bamboo shoot into the vampire’s chest and watched him dissolve into ashes.
Ella quickly stood up and ran over to where the young girl stood, eyes widened in fear. Grabbing her hand, she pulled her over to where the ladder had been, before seeing that it had fallen to the ground. ‘What’s your name’ she asked breathlessly as they made their way to the opposite side of the building. ‘Spirit’ the young girl replied. As they reached the other side of the building, Ella realised in dismay that there was no ladder here either. Spirit suddenly gave a small shriek, and just as Ella turned round she found herself being thrown back onto the rooftop, by a powerful blast of fire energy.
Smoke bellowed all around them, coughing and spluttering she crawled around calling out for Spirit. Finally finding her, she grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. Even stood, she couldn’t see over the wall of fire that now surrounded them. She thought she heard someone shouting her name, but she couldn’t see them. She manoeuvred Spirit and herself back to the edge of the building, when suddenly she felt strong arms pushing both her and Spirit off the edge.
***

As they fell, arms and legs became tangled together, and somewhere in the back of her mind Ella realised numbly that in her condition, this fall would probably kill her. Selflessly she realised she didn’t care. She didn’t want to live anymore, not after what had happened on the roof, she felt so dirty. All she would allow herself to remember was the pain she had felt, low in her abdomen. Convincing herself that he had punched her stomach, not that he had actually…she couldn’t think about it. Ella didn’t know how she had managed to find the strength to move, she was so tired. She could feel a hand clinging tight around her hips, restricting her movement. But she knew she had to get Spirit, so that when they landed, she could use her body to cushion the fall. As she tried to manoeuvre herself, so she was underneath Spirit, she felt the hand on her hips grow tighter stopping her, almost as if the person it belonged to knew what she was trying to do.
Suddenly something occurred to her. What if she manipulated the pavement below so that when they landed? Instead of been concrete. It would be almost marshmallow like. The impact of landing would probably still knock the wind out of them, but nothing more. She concentrated hard on the thought of the pavement being soft, but even as she did anxiety built up in the back of her mind. What if it doesn’t work? She thought desperately, but had no time to contemplate on the matter further, as her back hit the soft, cushiony pavement, the world went a dizzying grey.
Merrick was the first to untangle himself from the pile of bodies. Shakily standing up, he went to test his legs, but in a sudden gasp of pain he fell back down onto his knees. The ground sure wasn’t soft now and even in his pain, he found himself in admiration of what Ella had managed to do to the pavement. Looking down he saw that he had been hit by one of the flaming arrows that had been fired. A large cut sliced down his right side. It was all blackened from where it had been burnt. He could feel his head spinning, but all he cared about was Ella and the young girl who were still lying on the ground, not moving.
He crawled over to where Ella lay, taking shallow, ragged breaths. He shock he lightly and her eyes sprang open. ‘Oh my god! Merrick are you ok?’ she practically screamed at him. Hastily he pulled his leather jacket tighter so she couldn’t see his wound. ‘Don’t be stupid, I’m fine.’ He said with a very forced smile.
Ella looked down and realised Spirits head was resting on her stomach. She tugged at Spirit lying on her ‘Spirit! Are you alright?’
Spirit stirred. Both her hands were clutching Ella’s t-shirt, but she sat up a little without letting go. ‘You saved me’ she said tears pouring down her face ‘And now my duty is done’ she flicked her hand into the air and in a shower of sparks the trident appeared. Ella and Merrick gasped, ‘I no longer need to guard this, as the true owner has arrived’, she looked at Ella smiling and gently she started to fall, backwards onto the pavement ‘Spirit!’ Merrick gasped as he caught her head in his hands. A golden light swirled around her and slowly she faded away. ‘No!’ cried Ella ‘not now, this isn’t fair.’ And then before she could stop herself hot tears were spilling out of her eyes. ‘This is not fair’ she cried as Merrick slipped his arm around her waist gently rocking her like a baby. ‘It was all for nothing…she didn’t even get to live…why? She was just a baby, only 12 and we jumped and got hurt for nothing.’ Ella cried practically sobbing into Merrick’s shoulder now. Merrick stopped rocking her, his face suddenly serious ‘your hurt…where? Can you move everything?’ She nodded ‘I’m just a bit bashed up.’ Merrick started holding her again ‘I’m so sorry Ella…I’m sorry spirit died and I’m sorry you got hurt.’ He reached out a hand and gently touched her cheek where the vampire had punched her. It was a strange sensation making her shiver inwardly.
She found herself slipping her arms into the warmth of his leather. She tucked her arms around his waist snuggling into his chest. Suddenly she quickly withdrew her right hand, as Merrick gave a gasp of pain. Looking down at her own hand, she realised in horror that it was covered in blood. ‘Merrick, what? Your hurt! Why didn’t you say anything?’ she stared, at him fresh tears in her eyes. ‘ You need a doctor, Merrick…Merrick!’ He had fallen back onto the pavement his eyes closed, breathing rapidly. She leaned over him, her golden blood streaked hair, cloaking her frantic eyes. Gently she lifted his upper body, so it lent on her chest. ‘Merrick…oh Merrick, why didn’t you say anything?’ She cried blinded by her own tears. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight; she had to get him to a hospital, or better yet Zhin. She closed her eyes, wrapping herself tight around him and with a small ‘pop’ they both disappeared.

Chapter 22

’Zhin…Zhin! Where the hell are you, come quick… please hurry…hurry!’ Ella yelled her words smothered in tears, Merrick had stopped breathing. Zhin came running over, fists flailing, before skidding onto his knees beside where Merrick lay, engulfed in Ella’s shaking arms. ’Oh Zhin it’s Merrick he’s hurt really bad.’ She felt sick, her head was spinning really badly, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. Zhin was now lent over Merricks wound examining it; placing his hands over the wound he closed his eyes. Ella waited expecting to see the usual blue light, but it didn’t come. ‘Zhin, it’s not working!’ Ella cried desperately. Zhin’s eyes suddenly snapped open, he looked down at the wound and a ragged breath escaped from his lips. ’ Ella, There’s nothing I can do… He’s not made it… I can’t heal him…I can’t heal the dead. ‘
Ella stared at his face incredulously, shocked at the bluntness of his words. She could feel anger and pain filling her. He’s dead…oh my god Merrick’s dead was pounding at her head like a jammed CD. The pain in her stomach was fierce now not only emotional but physically. She could feel the tension building up in her lungs, making it hurt to breath. Suddenly she exploded. ’YOU’RE LYING!!! HEAL HIM NOW!!’ she screamed in a voice that wasn’t her own, a sudden shield of sheer power thrust out, throwing everyone within a twenty foot radius backwards, with force.
Ella could feel the tears that were tumbling down her cheeks physically burning them. She threw up a hand and wiped them away, scolding her arm, as the boiling tears splashed onto it. With her other arm she pulled Merrick closer to her, resting her head on his chest, the boiling tears still cascading down her face. Ella lent over slowly and started kissing his wound, her lips were becoming drenched in Merrick’s blood, but it didn’t matter. Somehow she knew what she was doing, it was almost like an instinct, and she knew that if she did this, she could bring Merrick back to life. Her hair was blowing in a fierce invisible gale, and she could barley see out of her eyes now, and all she could see was violet. The burning tears dripped onto his wound. A small puff of steam appearing, each time one landed. The ground was vibrating and the violet glow, that Ella realised was issuing from her eyes, was surrounding both Merrick and herself in a great dome of light. Before she realised what was happening, her feet had left the ground, as had Merricks body. With what little vision she had left, she could see her friends below, gasping in awe at the scene before their eyes. Ella glanced down at Merrick’s wound and saw to her astonishment, that it was healed. She could feel them revolving slowly steadily gathering speed, they were soon spinning so fast she felt as if she was going to throw up. Merrick was stirring in her arms. His eyes fluttered open and realising there were arms around him, holding him tight to somebody’s chest, he looked up. He gasped in shock as he saw who it was, just as Ella gave a squeal of joyfulness. ‘Ella…what…how?’ Merrick began, but noticed she was shaking her head. ‘Hold on… tight!’ She shouted back, and just in time Merrick grabbed onto her arms.
They were suddenly thrown up into the air; screams from below on the ground followed them, as they soared upwards. Twenty ft, thirty, forty, fifty. They climbed higher and higher before they stopped, floating mid-air and began to fall back down.
Ella had never liked heights, and after already falling off a tall building once today, she wasn’t to keen on seeing the familiar sight of the fast approaching ground again. However; at least this time she knew what she had to do. Concentrating with what little strength she had left, she manipulated the ground bellow so it would be soft and cushiony, just like before. Only she didn’t manage to get it quite right, this time when she and Merrick hit the floor, they where thrown sideways into the wall of a nearby building. The ground they had hit had been soft, but instead of cushiony, it was more trampoline like.
‘Ow’ she moaned as she slid down the wall and her knees buckled beneath her, a sharp pain drove straight through her body. She heard Merrick land with a soft ‘thud’, on the ground next to her and she rushed over, ignoring the pain in her legs. ‘Oh my god, Merrick your ok and alive. Are you hurt?’ Ella almost shrieked with joy.
Merrick slowly got up from the ground and shook his head, his silvery blond hair shining. He turned to face Ella. She stood there silhouetted in the sunlight, looking like an angel, she was his angel and no-one else could have her. He looked up at her normally golden hair and was surprised to see it was streaked liberally with deep red blood. As he looked down he saw she was covered in several bruises, a number of cuts and her knees were simply a bloody mess. He looked at her eyes and realised they weren’t normal. Her irises completely covered where the white should have been, so her eyes were just a mass of violet, with a small black pupil in the middle.
‘No…I’m not hurt…anymore.’ He said walking towards her, placing an arm on her shoulder. She winced slightly, and withdrawing quickly he stepped back staring at her questioningly. Ella slowly reached up to the collar of her baby blue t-shirt and pulled it across her shoulder, revealing a large bloody cut. Merrick stepped forward again and began fussing over her, asking her to move her arm up and down so he could make sure there was no muscular damage. As she waved her arm around, he grabbed it and stared into her eyes, which had returned to normal. ‘ Why did you save me?’ he asked not breaking the eye contact. Ella paused thinking it would sound a bit cliché to say because I love you so instead she said. ‘ I don’t know.’ Merrick’s eyes flashed brilliant silver before he pulled her close and kissed Ella passionately on the lips. Electricity seemed to spark between them as he grabbed at her tiny waist and with his other hand played gently with her silky hair, he could taste the blood on her lips. As he pulled her closer, she could feel herself melting in his arms. She pulled playfully with the hairs at the nape of his neck and tugged at the collar of his black skin-tight shirt. A hand suddenly slid up the back of her t-shirt and a small moan escaped from her lips.
‘Well they’re obviously ok!’ said a voice loudly. And as Merrick and Ella broke apart, they were slightly taken aback at the large crowed that had formed around them.

Chapter 23

Instinctively Ella pushed herself from Merrick, but he caught her arm and pulled her back, closer. Wrapping his arm around her tiny waist, he gave her a small squeeze, before he turned and faced everyone.
’ As I’m sure many you have noticed, there is an absence of vampires. That’s is because they have all either fled or have been vanquished.’ A loud cheer rang through the street. Merrick continued. ’ But I also have some grave news. The young girl Spirit died, just after the fall. She seemed to have only of been allowed to live, until she could find the true owner of the trident, which Ella and myself retrieved. But the good news is that, the trident is not as we originally believed in three pieces, but is in fact whole.’
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the glimmering object. It truly was magnificent. Three sparkling amethysts were intertwined in the handle. Merrick handed the trident to Cedar, who gave a small nod of thanks.
’ I can see that many of you are hurt. Ember, if you could freeze some of the injuries, until Zhin gets around to healing them.’
Ember gave Merrick a wink, to show she understood and began fussing over people nearby flicking her fingers so that bandages of ice formed around their wounds. Cedar and Sam both ran over to Ella and hugged her tightly. Cedar pulled back and whispered in her ear. ‘ Are you ok? That vampire he didn’t…he didn’t.’ He struggled trying to finish his sentence. He had seen the pain in Ella’s eyes when that vampire had been so close. He had seen her struggle repeatedly to break free of her captor, and repeatedly get punched or slapped when she wouldn’t let the vampire get up her skirt. The only problem was, Cedar didn’t know, if she had managed to stop him, right before Merrick had arrived, Ella had looked on the verge of passing out with pain.
Ella gave a small nod. ‘ I hope not.’ Was all she managed. Sam grabbed her back into a tight hug. ‘ Oh Ella… I’m so sorry.’ He said comfortingly and she knew he meant it to.
When they had arrived that morning, they had used various ways to transport themselves there. Some had taken buses, others had caught taxis, and a few had even driven. But as Ella looked around, she realised that many were quite badly injured and were in no state to travel on public transport, without injuring themselves further or causing suspicion to those around them. She then remembered that she could cruse not only herself but also those around her in large groups. She also remembered that this would make her weak, and although she didn’t exactly feel fantastic now, she knew it was selfish to make others suffer, whilst she did not. Turning to Cedar, who was still stood beside her Ella said. ‘ Tell Merrick and everyone else to come her and everybody grab on, I’ll cruse everyone back to the entrance hall.’ Cedar looked back at her a little apprehensively. ‘Are you sure your strong enough?’ She nodded and watched as Cedar started gathering everyone around her. Merrick was the last to arrive; the body of Lily lay still in his arms as he carried her. Many people gasped but let him pass. He came and stood next to Ella and she laid her right hand on his, which was laid on Lily’s cold hand, so that she was touching both of them. Everyone else grabbed onto a bit of her clothing, as Cedar and Sam held onto her left hand.
Ella closed her eyes breathing deeply, concentrating on herself and everyone around her reappearing in the entrance hall. Suddenly she felt herself being drained of energy and she realised that they must have arrived. Her head spinning, she fell to her knees and gave a gasp of pain as they hit the stone slabs of the entrance hall. Opening her eyes, she saw that around her knees was a small pool of blood. She hadn’t had time to see Ember before they had left. Looking up she was glad to see that everyone had arrived safely and she suddenly found herself being lifted by someone into a baby carry. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, the sudden move had made her feel faint again. As her eyes fluttered open she saw a familiar black t-shirt and as she looked up she saw Merrick’s face.
He smiled down at her. ‘How can you bring me back from the dead, manage to cruse everyone back here safely, but not care about your two, quite obviously badly hurt knees?’ He said smirking now. Ella looked into his eyes. He continued. ‘ And how did you know how to save me. I mean did you read it somewhere or…’ But he found himself cut short by Ella giving him a sharp prod in his chest. ‘Soul mates, remember. I guess it was just instinct mixed with some of my powers.’ Her eyes suddenly turned serious. ‘ How’s Lily?’ she asked quietly. His eyes suddenly became filled with pain. ‘I don’t know, it looks like the vampire hit her with some kind of curse. I must confess, I did have another motive for whisking you off you feet as well as to get you to Zhin. Once your healed, do you think…please may I …we, look through your book of shadows and see whether we can find out what the curse was, and more importantly if there is a cure.’ Ella could see the desperation in Merrick’s eyes and understood completely, if it had been Sam or Cedar she would have felt exactly the same way. ‘Of course.’ She said nodding sympathetically. ‘But you’ll have to wait until I have had a shower, I’m covered in blood and bruises.’
She looked round and saw that they were now stood in a long line of people, with various injuries. She spotted a mass of black curls ahead and called to Sky. ‘ Can you do something, anything to take people’s mind of the pain they’re feeling? Please.’ Sky turned round and started waving her hands in the air. Little rainbows were forming, moulding themselves into various shapes. One minute they would be a flower and the next they would turn into aeroplanes zooming around the room.
Ella sat in Merrick’s arms for a moment, mouth open at the fantastic show before her eyes, when Merrick shifted her slightly. Realising that although she wasn’t heavy, he had carried her up two flights of stairs and though a pretty winding corridor, he probably needed a break. She thought for a moment and then suddenly started conjuring comfy armchairs and footstools for everyone to sit on. Herself and Merrick included. As he set her down gently he let out a small sigh as he sank down into his own chair. But Ella wasn’t done yet. She began conjuring plastic cups, got up and walked as though she was uninjured, along the length of the room, handing people steaming drinks of hot chocolate. Merrick got up and walked alongside her, trying to persuade her to sit back down, but she was too concerned in making sure everyone else was all right, to even listen. As she reached the front of the queue and as she was about to hand Willow her hot chocolate, she gave a cry in pain as her knees gave way beneath her. Hot chocolate still in hand she fell down but was caught by Merrick just before she hit the ground. ‘Ella are you ok?’ he asked as he scoped her back into his arms. She nodded, a small tear tumbling down her cheek, which he gently brushed away, just as Zhin called the next person in. Ella started to say to Merrick to go back to where they had been in the line, but Willow shook her head. ‘ No.’ she said firmly ‘you next.’ Ella gave Willow a small smile, she had never known anyone so kind. ‘Thank you.’ She whispered, as Merrick carried her through, to behind the curtain.

Chapter 24

Zhin had healed her knees, shoulder and the various others cuts and bruises on her body that he could see. She hadn’t let him anywhere near her stomach, where she was sure there was a large bruise. Merrick had taken Ella back up to her room. They hadn’t talked much on the way. When she had been hurt, it had been different, she had needed him, but now it was just awkward. Ella pushed the door closed and with a fake smile plastered across her face, had walked smartly across the room, glancing at her brothers, who were both sat on the couch, staring at her, looks of deep concern etched on their faces, and walked in to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Ella collapsed to the tiled floor. The tears that she had held back since the rooftop, finally overcame her will, to not let them fall. She beat her fists on the floor in rage. Waves of nausea swept over her, as she stood up, trying to warn her not to do, what she knew she must, next.
With shaking hands, Ella lifted up the bottom of her top, praying to god, she would find a bruise that could explain the incredible pain; she had felt on the rooftop. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she found herself making all kinds of bargains with god. Slowly, she tilted her head downwards and opened her eyes. There was no bruise. Which meant that the vampire had indeed, managed to do it. Fresh tears cascaded down her cheeks, as she once again fell to her knees. Why her? How could this possibly be fair? Hadn’t she already suffered enough? Her vision suddenly became hazy, as she let a cry of anguish escape her lips.
Realising she was going to throw up, she hurled herself at the toilet bowl. As the vomit passed through her nose and lips, it was if some of the pain, that had being crushing her ribs, had been lifted. As Ella grabbed onto the sides of the cold china, she didn’t even hear the door open behind her. Somebody was stood behind her, gently pulling her hair back and off her face. The way her mum had done, when she was little. That same person was gently rubbing her back, in a soothing circular motion. It comforted her slightly. The vomiting wore off, but the tears were still falling. ‘Here, brush your teeth.’ Cedar said passing her a toothbrush, with the toothpaste already on it and wet. After she had brushed her teeth, Sam took a soft white towel and wiped her face with it, gently clearing the still falling tears and water away. They said nothing as they worked; Cedar gently tipped her head over the sink and carefully got a cup of water and poured it onto her hair, then another and another, until her hair was soaking. He got some of Ella’s shampoo and gently massaged it into her hair, as her rinsed it out, he noticed that the water turned a reddish colour as the blood and water went down the plug hole. Normally with a untroubled mind, Ella would have told the both of them to go away and that it was none of their business, but today she found herself finding comfort, both in the fact that as her brothers they were caring about her, and the way in which they were doing it.
When Cedar was quite sure all the blood and shampoo had gone from Ella’s hair, Sam handed him another towel. He draped it over her shoulders and pulled her head back up so that her hair hung lightly down her back. It distressed him to find his sister so helpless, we and unable to fight back, which he knew Ella would of under normal circumstances. Cedar lightly grabbed her shoulders and steered her back to her bedroom. Pushing down on her shoulders when they got to her bed, she sat down. Sam passed her a hairbrush and some pyjamas and backed up to the doorframe, which he leaned against. Cedar knelt in front of Ella, gently holding her chin, so she had no choice but to look at him. ‘ We are both here, if and when you need to talk. Ok?’ He said quietly, his eyes full of serenity and compassion. He stood and as they both turned to leave, Ella finally found her voice. ‘Thank you, for everything.’ She croaked, her throat sore from all the crying. Cedar gave her a deep nod and Sam managed a sad smile, before they both turned and left her in peace.