The Vaga Read online

  I shake my head. It’s so stupidly romantic. As if he would be here just for me. Besides, I have Uncle Jo and Magi watching me closely enough.

  Even though I know how ridiculous it all is, I still can’t help but wonder if he’ll be at the game tonight. A part of me hopes he will, but then another part of me battles against the guilt I feel for even thinking that. Why does it have to be this complicated? Why can’t I just be like everyone else?

  I shrug the bag more firmly onto my back and grip the straps tighter, making my way across the quad—the outdoor living area of George Brown College. It’s a modern blend of medieval and Gothic courtyard design, with pathways and patterns within the turf evoking a calming influence on the gorgeous old Jacobethan buildings surrounding it. These historically inspired buildings were the main reason why I chose a major in architectural studies at George Brown over all the others. I love the stories and history held within their walls.

  My eyes close for a moment as I pass beneath the silver maples that line the walkway and I inhale deeply, breathing in their evergreen scent. Reaching out, I lightly graze the trunk with my fingertips, letting the woody texture travel through me. It makes me miss Old Olsen—the magical tree back at the farm. I’d give anything to wrap my arms around his massive trunk right now.

  Passing the old brick dorms where Phoebe and Sam live, thankfully co-ed or else they’d probably be shacked up playing happy families already, I spot Rhianna and Jessica going to class. I keep my head down and try not to let them see me.

  ‘Hey, Ellie,’ Rhianna yells out, waving at me.

  Crap! Why did you have to touch that bloody tree? I silently berate myself, wishing I could teleport out of here. I haven’t seen Jessica around after our incident the other day and was hoping to keep it that way.

  ‘Hey. How’s things?’ Rhianna asks almost falling into me. Jessica stays back, pretending to have her attention on a nearby group of artists painting in the south-east corner of the quad.

  ‘I’m good. You?’ I ask, my eyes falling to her cousin.

  Rhianna follows my gaze and gives me a soft smile. ‘You know, she said she was sorry about the other day. She was just feeling frustrated you know?’

  I raise my eyebrows. ‘Really? Well she might want to keep that temper under control.’

  Rhianna lowers her speckled, sun-kissed face to the grass. ‘I know.’

  Taking in her response, I sigh inwardly. It’s not her fault her cousin is a sore loser.

  ‘Sorry,’ I say. ‘I know this isn’t your fault. She just rubbed me the wrong way is all.’ I nudge her arm. ‘We’re okay, alright. I’ll get over it, I promise.’

  She nods before flashing me a dimpled grin. ‘I also heard on the grapevine that you’re going to the game tonight.’ She raises her eyebrows suggestively.

  ‘How did you find out I was going?’ I blush.

  She shrugs. ‘A little birdy may have texted me.’

  Phoebe.

  ‘But don’t worry, she thought you may need a back-up plan should anything go pear-shaped.’

  ‘Pear-shaped? What does she think is going to happen?’ I cross my arms defensively, thinking that this is sounding more like a blind date than just an innocent game of football.

  She giggles. ‘Not sure, but she obviously thought you could use a posse.’

  Bloody Phoebe. ‘Ugh. This is just getting better and better.’ Magi suddenly bombards me with an image of Aunt Lily. ‘Hey, I’m really sorry, Rhianna, but I’ve got to run.’

  ‘Oh, okay,’ she replies a little startled.

  I give her a quick hug. ‘I’ll see you tonight though, okay?’

  ‘Sure. See you then.’ She gives me a wave and makes her way back to Jessica, who doesn’t even glance in my direction. I’m too excited to think about her right now. I haven’t seen Aunt Lily in a month.

  I quicken my pace, moving past the library and the mobile coffee van that is teeming with highly strung law and medical students—using caffeine as their own twenty-four hour adrenaline drip—and make my way across the campus parkland, dodging a group of joggers in the process. I reach the other side and hop onto the trail that leads to our cottage, a row of freshly pruned hedges leading me up to the front porch.

  ‘There she is!’ Aunt Lily shouts happily as she comes running out the front screen door to greet me.

  I can’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. The sunlight hits her auburn hair as she bounds down the steps and a warmth spreads through me at the sight of her. I all but jump into her arms.

  She hugs me for a long time before stepping away to get a better look at my face. ‘You look so great,’ she says.

  ‘So do you. I missed you.’

  ‘I missed you too.’ She wraps her arm around my waist, leading me up the porch steps. ‘I want to hear everything, so let’s grab a tea and sit out back.’

  I smile. ‘Sounds good.’

  Sitting on the whitewashed wicker chairs on the back porch, overlooking the kaleidoscope of autumn colour that encompasses the backyard and surrounding woodland, I could forget that the tides have turned again in my life. The solitude and comfort of nature engulfs in me a sense of peace and harmony that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else. But then it would make sense, witches always feel more at home amongst nature.

  ‘So, apart from all your studies and amazing athletic feats, what else has been happening?’ Aunt Lily asks.

  The heaviness that has lain on my chest like an iron weight over the past few weeks makes another appearance. ‘Not much.’

  She nods her head gently, acknowledging my hesitancy in opening up. Normally I could tell Aunt Lily anything, but I don’t know if I can tell her about Julian. I mean, what would I say? ‘Well, Aunt Lily, you know that guy who tried to kill me and Magi and who kidnapped Phoebe? Well, funnily enough, I’ve been having these dreams about him and now I think I’m in love.’

  As if.

  We sit in silence for a moment, both of us looking out towards the tree line, waiting for each other to fill the void with everything we’re not saying.

  ‘Ellie, your uncle told me about Julian,’ she says, breaking the tension in the air.

  I place my mug down on the side table and fold my legs up underneath me. ‘I thought he might. What did he say exactly?’

  ‘Well, you know your uncle. He was pretty upset about it.’ She takes a sip of tea before continuing, ‘He loves you, that’s all. We both do.’

  I sigh. ‘I know.’

  Magi glances up from the floor and I recognise the look she’s projecting. It’s a look that says “tell her the truth”.

  No.

  She nudges my foot forcefully with her nose.

  No!

  She whimpers, her wolf eyes pleading and manipulating me at the same time.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Uncle Jo asks, stepping through the back door and eyeing me tentatively.

  ‘Nothing. Magi’s got issues is all,’ I mumble, passing Magi a warning glare.

  He takes a seat on the stool next to us and watches me warily.

  ‘Can we just talk about something else, please?’ Veering off the topic of Julian and imminent threats I ask, ‘How is the shop going, Aunt Lily?’

  Her pretty face lights up and she shifts position to face me. ‘It is going so well.’ Her wide smile conveys her excitement.

  Moving to college meant my aunt and uncle couldn’t attend to the dairy side of the farm anymore, and after selling all the cattle they were forced to consider other income possibilities. After our near death experience that saw me having to use the Book of Cole and my herbal knowledge to cure Magi and Uncle Jo, Aunt Lily came to respect and admire the power of herbal medicine, and natural therapies in general. She became obsessed with knowing everything there was to know, and she exhausted all my knowledge on the subject before presenting her idea of opening the “Herbology” store on downtown Maine Street.

  Before moving to college I taught Aunt Lily everything I knew—what
herbs go with each other to make ointments; how to mix them; how to know which plants relate to the different physical, emotional, and spiritual energies of the body; and more. These things I learnt off my mother, Ama, and from the Book of Cole, and they have served me well over the years.

  ‘I took your advice on how to treat people with anxiety and depression and imported the passionflower you suggested. I have had huge success with it, and have even been able to mix it as a tea tincture.’ She clasps her delicate hands together and looks like she could just burst with happiness.

  Her enthusiasm makes me feel light. ‘That’s so great. Who knew you had this gift?’

  She nods and looks over at Uncle Jo, who is watching her with amusement.

  ‘I think if we keep going this way I will finally be able to employ someone to help around the shop, giving me more free time to be here with you both.’

  ‘We’re okay, Lil. You just keep focusing on the shop. Don’t you worry about us,’ he says, concern rippling through his words.

  Uncle Jo feels it’s safer that Aunt Lily stay at the farm. Without saying it, I know he feels that the closer anyone is to me, the closer they are to potential danger. But I also know what being away from her is doing to him.

  Since the opening of the store a year ago, we had all made a family pact to see each other every fortnight, but lately, what with the store being so busy and me not wanting to teleport as much, the time apart is having a negative effect on everyone.

  ‘Well of course I worry, Jo. Look at Ellie. Something’s going on. Look how she’s glowing.’ She gestures towards me.

  ‘What do you mean I’m glowing?’ I look down at my body, but I can’t see anything obvious.

  Uncle Jo narrows his gaze, trying to see what Aunt Lily is talking about. ‘I can’t see it,’ he says, as if squinting his eyes will make it clearer.

  I roll my eyes. ‘There is no glow. And can you stop glaring at me like that?’ I say, exasperated.

  He sits back but continues to watch me closely.

  My skin prickles suddenly and I make a move to stand.

  ‘Hey, where are you going?’ Uncle Jo asks.

  ‘Ama’s here,’ I reply.

  ‘Oh. Okay, well we’ll talk later then,’ he responds.

  I ignore his comment like a sore tooth. ‘Sorry, Aunt Lily, but she can’t hold her form for too long.’

  She grabs my hand gently as I pass her. ‘I know. It’s fine. We’ll have another catch up later.’

  I squeeze her hand before making my way into the house—originally a three bedroom worker’s cottage that had been sitting abandoned for years. When we moved in it had started to dilapidate in areas that technically shouldn’t have still been standing. The floors were crooked and roughly cut, some doorframes had a lean to them that made them impossible to close. There were unexplained missing pieces of molding and other oddities all over the house, and it had a gnarly old spice cupboard smell to it that infiltrated your nostrils every time you breathed in.

  But the witch in me loved it—the little idiosyncrasies you’d find in every room, the character it exuded within its flaws. The clincher though was the private and uninterrupted woodland backdrop, a must for me if it’s to feel like home, even if it is just a temporary one.

  When we moved in I was chosen to be the designated decorator, with a little help thrown in from Aunt Lily. You’ll find a bit of me in every room, usually in the form of a throw rug here, an antique wooden chair there, an assortment of old books and knick-knacks that give the rooms a homey feel.

  Walking past the small but cozy living room, with its pale yellow walls and leadlight French windows, I make my way down the narrow hallway to my bedroom.

  ‘Ama?’ I say, stepping into the room and sensing the uncertainty in the air.

  ‘Elena, darling, how are you?’ she asks. Her ethereal body gliding towards me as if she’s riding on a cloud of air. She hugs me warmly, and as she pulls away her eyebrows rise ever so slightly. ‘Are you feeling alright, Shem?’

  Moving towards my purple, fifties-inspired sofa, I say, ‘Yeah, of course. Why?’

  She flicks her graceful hand in the air. ‘No reason. It’s just that you are emitting something.’

  Sitting down, I shove my legs under me and groan, ‘Don’t tell me I’m glowing?’

  She tilts her head to the side and a few seconds pass before her eyes widen. ‘Yes. That’s it. You are glowing. It’s a little bit like the time you got your first period actually.’

  ‘Ama!’ I say, surprised.

  She holds her hands out. ‘Well it is. The colours are all intermingled and writhing through one another.’

  I swear this family has no shame.

  She comes to sit beside me, crossing her legs and clasping her hands in her lap. ‘So…what’s going on?’

  ‘What do you mean? Nothing’s going on,’ I scoff half-heartedly.

  ‘I see,’ she says so slowly that it feels like time is hanging in limbo.

  My powers begin to heighten out of frustration and Magi enters the room, watching me with concern.

  Ama senses it. ‘Now calm down, Shem. I’m not trying to interrogate you. It’s just that…there is something stirring. I can feel it in my bones.’

  Magi plonks herself down next to me and the action of patting her head calms me. ‘Don’t know if you’ve noticed, Ama, but you don’t have any bones.’

  ‘Yes, thank you, Elena, for sharing your keen observation skills,’ she replies sarcastically, giving me her famous one eyebrow cocked glare.

  I shrug. ‘No problem.’ The banter lightens my mood, if only slightly.

  She stands up and starts moving about the room, the folds of her sleeveless burgundy dress moving effortlessly with her. When I’ve asked her why she still wears clothes from the thirties she replies, quoting my favourite all-time female icon Audrey Hepburn, “Elegance is the only beauty that never fades”.

  She keeps her head down, tapping her chin thoughtfully. ‘There is something, Shem. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it feels…unsettling.’

  I realise now that I can feel it too. The dreams, Julian, my mood swings, the feeling of dread that sometimes sits heavily against my chest; it is all related.

  What is going on?

  ‘Ama, what do you think it is?’ I ask.

  She purses her lips, looking off across the room. ‘I’m not quite sure. But if feels heavy, like a dark shadow that falls across my path.’ She spins towards me suddenly. ‘You can feel it, can’t you?’ she says, stepping forward.

  I nod. ‘I wasn’t sure. I just thought it was hormones or something. Everyone around me is acting kinda weird and I just thought that maybe—’

  She moves so quick that I didn’t see her sit back down next to me and take my hand in hers.

  Her green eyes lighten, reminding me of the old mood rings Phoebe and I used to have. ‘Tell me everything. And I mean everything, Elena.’

  Chapter 4

  I know that opening myself up will make me seem strange and slightly bonkers. The thought of revealing these secrets within me is like peeling back the delicate layers of a flower—each petal holds a thought, a dream, a desire.

  I fiddle with my locket, knowing Mum would want me to be strong and have the courage to face whatever it is that is happening.

  ‘You can’t freak out, Ama. No matter what I say, alright?’

  She straightens her back. ‘Alright.’

  I take a deep breath. ‘At the track today, I saw Julian.’

  Her mouth opens, and she looks like she is about to say something, but then thinks twice and presses her lips together, waiting for me to continue.

  ‘I don’t know why he is here, but if he has shown himself, then something is going on. I have a feeling that there may be another enemy involved. Whether it’s the Puritans or some other organisation, I don’t really know.’

  Ama withdraws her hand slowly from mine and leans back into the sofa. I give her time to process.

/>   ‘There is something bothering me about this, Elena. If Julian is here then he must have known where you were.’

  ‘I suppose. I mean, I hadn’t thought of it like that. Wait…do you think he’s been watching me all this time?’

  She nods her head. ‘It’s very possible. He did say in the letter that you would meet again.’

  His words echo through me.

  You will not see me for a while, but I will see you again, Elena. I hope that when we do meet in the future, you can see me for the man I truly am.

  It makes sense. But if he has been watching me all this time then he not only knows me, but he must also know everyone who is important to me.

  A chill travels across my skin.

  ‘If he wanted to harm you, Shem, he could have done it already,’ Ama says, interpreting my thoughts.

  Standing up I start to pace the room.

  ‘What else has happened? What is it you aren’t telling me?’ she asks worriedly.

  Magi watches me pacing back and forth, her black, furry head bobbing from side to side like she’s watching a tennis match.

  I stop and feel the wall I’ve built around myself begin to slowly come down. ‘It’s…my feelings.’

  Ama sits forward, her eyes burning into me. ‘What do you mean?’

  Squaring my shoulders, I turn and face her. ‘I’ve been having these…feelings, dreams, whatever you want to call them. I’m not sure what they mean.’ It’s not the whole truth. I can’t tell her that my feelings go deeper than I’m convincing myself they do.

  Her gaze narrows. ‘What sort of dreams?’

  In our family dreams aren’t just little fantasies we fall into at night. For us, dreams represent visions or premonitions that have the ability to influence our lives or the lives of others. Sometimes they are presented to us through images, conversations, or symbols. Other times they reveal our clairvoyance in showing us what will come to pass. Regardless of how they come through, dreams hold meaning, our interpretation of them being the key to understanding their purpose.