W I T C H: Chapter 5

Nora sprinted all the way back to the hotel, not daring to look back. She didn’t stop running until she raced into the back entrance she’d left propped open. She leaned against the wall, panting heavily from her escape as sweat poured down her face.

Damn it, she thought furiously and bitterly. Damn it, damn, damn…!

She hurried up the maintenance stairs, worried that the elevators might harbor potential witnesses despite the late hour. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she stomped along the way to her floor, her thoughts seething with fury.

That stupid fool! Stupid, stupid fool… how did he even notice me? I’m certain he couldn’t have heard me… I picked the perfect place…

Indeed Nora thought she had selected the best hiding spot: a forgotten broom closet just big enough for one person to slip into as the large groups disperse. When she heard the guard coming up the stairs, making his first rounds of the night, all she had to do was just sit quietly and wait for him to leave. He never even knew she was there, not once for the three hours she waited and waited. She smiled harshly at this thought, as she closed in on her room. She knew some people couldn’t fathom that: the idea of simply waiting in a cramped little room for hours on end.

But I know how easy it is… I’ve waited so much longer than that for my freedom before…

Her footfalls quieted once she reached the 12th floor and she crept silently into room 1224. She softly locked the door behind her, and for a moment simply stood by the door, utterly defeated. She inhaled through her nose and rested her forehead on the door.

“Damn it,” she muttered. “What were you thinking? You almost killed him…” The memory of those eyes, so scared and helpless, flooded her thoughts. Nora shut her eyes tightly, suddenly resolute in her decision.

I’ve gotta go. There’s nothing else I can do here – I’ve got to go.

She turned and sauntered to the bed, where her bag still waited for her patiently on top of the covers. She undressed quickly and threw her clothes to the floor. She dove back into the blue dress-suit, eager to hurry on her way before anything else could go wrong.

“Leaving already?”

Nora’s blood ran cold at the sound of the voice. She closed her eyes and turned around slowly, letting her bag slip back onto the bed. She held her head up high as she faced her own reflection in the vanity across the room. The mirror image of herself, with a sinister little grin, observed her calmly and knowingly. This trick always frightened Nora more than she cared to admit.

“But you just got here?” her image taunted sweetly. “And what a nice place it is! Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little longer?”

“Afraid not. I might end up running into you.” Nora answered curtly. Her reflection continued to grin.

“Oh, that’s not very nice,” it answered smoothly. “I thought I taught you better than that.”

“At this point I’m not sure you taught me anything worth remembering.”

“You belong to me, Nora,” the image stated. The smile vanished and the eyes hardened. “You belong here, with us. With your family.”

“God, I can’t believe you're still peddling that bullshit. Why won’t you just admit that I was a means to an end - I never meant anything to you.”

“That’s not true,” replied the reflection, the face softening as if hurt. “You know that’s not true. I’ve cared for you all these years like you were my own daughter. And I think, deep down you know that. That’s why you’re wasting time.” Nora scoffed and turned away.

“You’re unbelievable.”

“My poor precious girl,” said the reflection tenderly with a gentle smile. “I know what you’re feeling. We all do...”

“You don’t know anything about me.” Nora snapped, turning back to the magic mirror. “And if you really want to, then face me yourself, Iris! No more of these parlor tricks. No more spying on me!” But the reflection ignored her, and went on.

“You just lost your way. That’s all, my little Dearest…”

“Shut up.” Nora demanded. “Don’t call me that. Not ever again.”

“But don’t worry my Dearest, we will find you. We will always find you…”

“I said Shut Up!!” Then the reflection’s eyes hardened and the smile became wicked once again.

“You can never escape…”

“SHUT UP!”

A high-pitched ‘CRACK!’ rang out through the room and the mirror shattered into a jagged, nonsensical puzzle.

Some of the fragments slipped helplessly from the frame, landing with light little pings to the carpeted floor below. Nora breathed heavily and stared at the crooked reflection, aghast. This time it was her own eyes that gazed at her through broken glass. Exhausted, she plopped down on the edge of the bed and stared at the mirror.

What am I going to do? What am I going to do? She reclined onto the bed, her long soft curls splaying out around her as she gazed up to the ceiling. She massaged her forehead with her finger tips, and closed her eyes to consider her options.

If I stay any longer, they’ll track me down for sure, she considered wearily. But if I leave then they’ll just follow me… they’ll never stop trying to pull me back into that God forsaken hole.

“Still,” she said aloud, opening her eyes to the ceiling. “I’d rather run myself ragged – for the rest of my life – than ever go back. Not with them. Not to Shadow Hall.”

She rolled over and curled up on her side, twisting locks of her hair around and around her own fingers; a childhood habit she’d never broken.

Even if I leave, they’ll surely come after me… probably pass by just after I’ve left, she thought with a smile. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat and her body stiffened.

The amulet – what about the amulet! That could be my one shot of getting away from them forever. Do they even know it’s here?! No – probably not. They would have come for it by now if they did. But what if they do find out it’s here? What if they try to go after it?

Nora gazed blankly through the wall, as if trying to see the future from the comfort of her bed.

“I can’t let them have it. Whatever happens – I have to get that amulet.”

***

Iris Sanders considered herself a proper and dignified woman. No matter how often her star pupil tested her nerves. She was a woman of refinement and inner strength, well respected in the little town of Hickory, South Carolina – a town she practically owned, and justly so. A dying relic of a former world, farming nowadays was the only way to prosper in a place like Hickory. Iris personally made sure of that. But when she came across this child – a little girl in bare feet and torn cheesecloth dress – she knew she discovered her real treasure. But despite all of her work, all her years of sacrifice and teaching, the foolish little thing decided to repay her by running off in the most undignified way.

“Oh well,” she muttered, leaning back from her splintered mirror. “Very soon, Dearest, you’ll be home where you belong.”

She turned and vanished through the door of her bedroom, her footsteps echoing softly in the aging, Victorian house. She sauntered into the kitchen and observed three of her pupils scrying intently for Nora’s location.

“Have you found her yet?” she asked, approaching the kitchen table.

“Almost,” Elizabeth muttered, a thin glaze of sweat glistening across her brow. Her pendant swung lazily from its thin black chain, circling over the map they had retrieved.

“She’s somewhere… in this region, I think,” she added softly. The other two women nodded in agreement, not daring to look away from the map, as if doing so would break the progress they had made. They each had one hand on top of Elizabeth’s, as she held the pendent high overhead, and with their free hands each held down a corner of the yellowing curled edges.

“I see she’s improved her cloaking,” Said Iris matter-of-factly, before gently pushing Elizabeth aside. “You’ll need extra help if you’re to find her.”

She too rested her hand on top of Elizabeth's and concentrated– using her little chat with Nora as extra incentive. Suddenly, the pendant swung faster and faster, its rounds narrowing inch by inch until finally it stood upright on a little corner of Arizona. Iris smiled triumphantly.

“So she’s somewhere in Maricopa County,” Irene stated. She leaned back in her chair and wiped away a lock of her chestnut hair. “My, she’s certainly been busy, to make it that far.” Elizabeth rose eagerly from her chair.

“Madame Iris? Let us go after her. She’ll be back home by tomorrow morning if we pool our strength.”

“Libby,” Iris cooed, “there’s no need to rush.”

“But, what if she tries to run again?” Elizabeth questioned worriedly.

“Even if she does, she won’t get far,” Iris replied with a calm smile. “We know where she’s been even if we don’t know where she’s going, and that’s all we’ll need to bring her home. In the meantime,” she added, addressing the other two girls still seated at the table.

“Take tonight to rest and build your strength. Irene, you and Libby will leave tomorrow to retrieve her and I want you at your best.” Irene nodded obediently and shared a knowing glance with Cleo, seated across from her.

“I don’t have to remind you,” Iris went on, “that Nora is one of my most gifted pupils. Confronting her will not be an easy task.” With that she turned back to Elizabeth and smiled warmly.

“Well done, all of you. Now get some rest – tomorrow will be an interesting day.”

In her room, Iris closed the door firmly behind her, as her smile faltered and her eyes became wicked. She stared into the mirror Nora had broken from hundreds of miles away.

Yes, my star pupil indeed, she thought venomously as she approached the mirror. She reached over and traced her finger along the length of a black split, slicing her finger tip in the process. She pulled her hand away and regarded the tiny trickle of blood, the same way a child regards an ant crawling on their skin.

But that doesn’t stop me from seeing your thoughts my Dearest… just what have you found out there that’s so important..?

Edited: 2/20/24

Author's Note:

So, this will be the last chapter I'm posting here on Vocal, as I'm shooting for a wider release later in the year. I'm planning to make this book available, in both paperback and e-book, by December at the earliest (though I'm hoping I'll be able to move that timeline up a little bit!).

Now please bare one thing in mind: this was literally my first novella written way back in 2017 - at least it was my first attempt. I plan to keep editing until it's in at least a half-way decent form (trust me, you don't want to see the original copy - it's so cringe-y!). If it reads or sounds different from my current writing style, that's probably the reason why: I didn't even know my own voice way back in 2017; I didn't even think I had one, I guess.

But just because the hardest part (i.e. writing out the damned thing) is already done, that doesn't mean it's going to be a picnic from here on out. There's still a lot of editing left to do, and even a few rewrites the more I look at the original copy. The polishing process of edits can take just as long as the actual writing, depending on the project. But since I still plan to utilize self-publishing and print-on-demand over traditional publishing, I think I still have a shot of meeting my current deadline.

Also bare in mind that I've got at least one more big project planned for the end of this year, so balancing that with this project (and just life in general) is not going to be easy. But, I'm adamant: early December for the first 'WITCH' book. Fingers crossed!