We drive through the night. Trees whizz past the window. Fields and farms turn to villages. Villages into towns. Banners hang high from the buildings declaring that the people who live here stand against magic. That they condemn witches. That they will burn the heathens. Nooses hang from lampposts with effigies wearing black pointy hats. Windows of herbal shops and spiritual healing practitioners are broken or boarded up. Front doors have graffiti claiming the Devil’s whore lives here. There are burnt out cars. Looted buildings. And some houses have been burnt to the ground. And there are multiple blood stains on the pavement. We notice groups that appear to be on the prowl. They wear plain white porcelain masks on their faces. Dozens of them. All wandering around with weapons such as bats and hammers. The streets are otherwise eerily silent as we look out through the tinted windows with growing anxiety.
‘What’s with the creepy masks?’ I ask.
‘The masks are what Hunters wear at witch executions,’ Gabriel tells me. ‘These people are vigilantes. Probably all under the effect of the Hunter’s mark.’
‘Fucking hell,’ I swallow the fear with a dry mouth and lock my door. Images of the gang at the little museum flood my mind and I worry for all the innocent bystanders that have been, or will be, hurt by these people. They occasionally glance at our beat-up people carrier, but pay no mind as we travel casually through their hometowns.
Gabriel and I are up front. He keeps hold of my hand as he drives and I see Jensen in the rearview mirror, watching us. They keep a firm grasp on timing and distance, making sure we stay ahead of the Bloodstone delay, but already we know that this can’t carry on.
For two days, we weave around the UK, never stopping in one place for too long and sticking to country roads when we can. It’s on the third day that my Sensativa returns. I never realised how much I loved feeling Gabriel’s magic until I was forced to be without it. We assume that the spell zapped my magical strength, that’s what Connor called it, and that it will take the same amount of time for it to return after the next stone. Rebecca was right. I will certainly need protection afterwards.
As we travel, the radio is always playing and we listen to nothing but the news.
Riots. Mobs. Gangs. Murder and missing persons fill the airwaves. There are more every day. Shops start selling the porcelain masks for five pounds each, or free with a full tank of petrol.
Pamphlets are handed out with titles like: Seven ways to spot an occultist. How magic can destroy our planet. Why witches want to kill your children.
Meanwhile, politicians are assuring the country that they are safe and under the protection of Witch Hunters. They encourage them to inform the authorities of any person they have concerns over. The prime minister boasts that thousands of Hunters are flooding into the country from all over the world to help the people and he makes a half-assed attempt at deterring the vigilante’s efforts. And that damned public service announcement continues to play on the television.
As each day passes, and more Hunters arrive on British soil, the hostility and violence gets worse. England is at war with itself and as far as we can tell, the only people who have been hurt are humans. No camps have been found, but we all wait for that one story which will tell us that some Descendants have been discovered.
I feel like my heart will wear out if it keeps beating like this.
A week passes and by some miracle we haven’t been caught by Grayson or the Hunters. Despite their obvious increase in numbers, we haven’t come across any. Gabriel and I have spent hours and hours trying to search my mind for any clue of where the necklace may be, but all we’ve found is blackness. The hole where my memories should be, remains a bottomless pit of nothingness. The same as it has been for the last two years.
When night falls and a heavy rain starts, we pull into a holiday park and pay for a caravan so we can get some rest. Side by side, on a tiny bed, Gabriel and I talk.
‘My nightmares have stopped.’
‘That’s a good thing, right?’ he asks, running his fingers through my hair.
‘Since the spell, I’ve not had a single dream at all. That’s weird, right?’
‘What about the little voice? Have you been hearing that? Or seeing any hallucinations?’
I shake my head.
‘Well,’ he yawns. ‘I’ll take that as a win.’
There’s a rap on the door.
‘We need to move, folks.’
‘Okay, Jensen. We’ll be out in a minute,’ Gabriel calls back, sitting himself up and bringing me with him.
‘How’s she doing?’ Jensen enquires. ‘Did she get any sleep? I’d ask her myself but-’
‘Fine. She’s doing fine.’ Gabriel lowers his voice as he addresses me. ‘You have to talk to him at some point. Being stuck in that car with you two is beyond awkward.’
‘Not ready yet. I’ll talk to him when the urge to slit his throat passes.’
‘I did offer to kill him for you.’
‘You know I can hear you, right? This caravan’s walls are thinner than paper.’
‘It was a joke, Jensen,’ Gabriel replies, shaking his head and mouthing “Not a joke. I will kill him”. He gets to his feet and claps his hands together. ‘Right. We need to get going. You good?’
I join him as he heads to the door. ‘Where are we going?’
‘East.’
‘What’s East?’
‘Maybe nothing. Connor’s found something about a private auction. One of the items listed sounds similar to the necklace.’
I reach my arms up high, stretching out the hours of car travel from my muscles. ‘Okay. But on the way there, I want to look into my memories again.’
‘Sure,’ he sighs, holding the door open for me. ‘But without your magic I can’t search as deep as I would like.’
I pass Jensen as we walk through the narrow caravan hallway. He takes my arm.
‘When will you talk to me? It’s been over a week and we have a lot to sort out.’
Snatching my arm away, I tell him, ‘I need to sort my own head out before I can try and sort yours out too.’
‘I didn’t know what your mum was doing. Please… you must-’
Gabriel nudges me out the way. ‘It’s the fact you let her get cut, Jensen. Just let her deal in her own time, yeah?’ He leads me along the thin corridor to the others who are all cramped into the kitchen/lounge area. Connor has his nose stuck in a book. He’s been in full-research mode, trying hard to find any clues as to the necklace’s location. Collins is helping Amara put on her jacket and Jensen lingers in the door way. Everyone looks remarkably happy, despite being exhausted. But I suppose freedom is freedom. Even if we have to keep moving to keep it. Collins is next to drive. Gabriel and I take up the very back seats and continue trying to prize my memories from my skull.
Hours pass, and nothing.
As we travel, I see a group of yobs five strong, running around a corner up ahead. They’re whooping and cheering as they go. As we carry on and pass the side road they went down, I see why. They’re chasing someone. A girl. The road they’ve chased her down isn’t a road at all but an alleyway with no exit. The idiots are wearing those masks.
‘Collins, did you see-’
He’s already slammed on the brakes. ‘Yeah. I saw.’ He puts his gears into reverse and we shoot backwards, stopping at the top of the alley. The men have cornered the girl. She’s picked up a pipe in an effort to defend herself. But she’s outnumbered and they quickly take away her weapon. They grab her, calling her a witch. But killing her is not on their agenda. Not yet at any rate. They start working as a cruel team to tear off her clothes. ‘Girls, stay in the car,’ Collins says.
Gabriel unclicks his seat belt and leaps out of the car.
‘Right behind you,’ Jensen adds, leaving the car with them. All three men walk down the alleyway. They yell and get the attention of the attackers. Collins rolls up his sleeves, ready to fight. Gabriel has a knife in his hand. But Jensen simply stops, pulls out a gun, and with five shots, the men go down one after the other.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.
Dead.
Gabriel and Collins turn to face Jensen with open mouths. Jensen simply holsters his weapon, shrugs, and returns back to the car. He gets in and waits patiently for the other two to return.
‘Jensen…’ Amara gasps in awe. ‘That was bad-ass!’
‘It’s all men like that deserve. World’s better off without them.’ He reloads his gun before tucking it back inside his jacket. The other two return to the car and turn in their seats to look at Jensen.
‘You’re a good shot.’
‘Well, some of us don’t have magic to fall back on. If we had more time, I’d have castrated ’em first. Lass alright?’
‘She ran off screaming before we could check. I think she’s in one piece.’ Collins drives on and starts heading down a country bypass. ‘I can’t believe we didn’t see that all this was the effect of the Hunter’s mark. This hatred and malice is insanity. It was a good job we were passing. Poor girl.’
‘I’m surprised you stopped, if I’m honest,’ Jensen adds quietly after a few minutes.
‘What? You thought we’d just drive away from someone about to be gang raped in a filthy alley?’ Gabriel scoffs.
‘Rape ain’t above your brother. You lot thought nothing of forcing Rose Hooper into having kids against her will. We all know how obsessed he is with the Hooper bloodline. I’m just relieved I got Lilly out before she fell victim to that kind of savagery.’
‘Bit late for that.’ I didn’t even realise I’d said it. The words came out without thought. Jensen spins quickly in his seat and watches me. His thoughts rage behind his eyes and then everything seems to fall into place for him. He pulls out his gun and aims it at the back of Gabriel’s head. Connor grabs his hand just as he fires. The bullet misses Gabriel’s head by a millimetre and shatters the windscreen as he roars a swear word. Jensen keeps trying to fire as Connor attempts to get the gun off him. I leap over the seats and attack my long-lost father like a rabid dog. I shout and scream and bite and scratch, all the while, the car swerves and everyone yells. Amara tries to get me off. Gabriel ducks to avoid the bullets and Collins does his best to get the car off the road in one piece. When he slams on the brakes, we all fly forward and fall into the foot well. I have Jensen beneath me and I’m going crazy. Fists. Nails. Anything and everything is my weapon. Connor grabs the gun and scarpers out of the car so no one else can get it. Gabriel appears at the open door and hauls me off Jensen. Collins grabs Jensen in a choke hold and yanks him out too. We’re in a car park behind a derelict country pub, so luckily, we’re out of sight. Which is a good thing because this is madness! Jensen is thrown against the car and Collins holds him in place with an arm across his chest. Gabriel has dragged me away from them and is trying to keep hold of me as I swear and thrash against him in a bid to hurt my father.
‘What the fuck, Jensen?!’ Gabriel bellows over me as he keeps me pinned to his chest. ‘What the hell did you just try and shoot me for?’
‘Get the hell of me!’ Jensen barks at Collins who barely struggles against his attempts to get free.
‘Lilly… Will you fucking stop before you hurt yourself?’ Gabriel snaps at me.
‘He just tried to kill you!’
‘Yeah. I got that when his bullet grazed my fucking ear!’
‘Why the hell did you just try and kill my fiancé?’ I scream furiously.
‘I kill him, I’ll kill Grayson! That bastard raped my daughter!’
‘What?’
‘What?’
‘What?’
Collins, Gabriel and Amara all ask at the same time with confusion before they all look at me as if it’s true.
‘What the hell are you talking about?!’ I hiss.
‘You just said!’ He stops trying to get away from Collins. He sees there’s no point. The man’s as strong as an ox. He looks directly at me with anguish. ‘You said Grayson raped you.’
‘I didn’t say Grayson raped me! You’re fucking unhinged! How dare you! You try to murder Gabriel right in front of me? Even if Grayson had raped me – which he hasn’t – you, killing the man I love is hardly helping, is it?!’
‘I won’t stand by and let the man who assaulted my daughter live.’ His face is red and he shakes with anger.
‘I just said Grayson never-’
‘“A bit late for that!” You said. If you didn’t mean that, then what the hell did you mean?’
‘You think you can swoop in and save me? Be my dad? Protect me by killing the man I love? You’re deluded, Jensen. DELUDED! Get off me!’ I shrug off Gabriel and walk away a few steps in a bid to calm down. Gabriel remains between us and watches me closely, but when I turn, I just look at Jensen. ‘You are not my dad, Jensen. So stop trying to be. You’re a sperm donner. A child abandoning bastard and a sadistic prick that watched his flesh and blood get mutilated by your friend.’
‘Yeah. I am those things. I stopped looking when I thought you were dead and I shouldn’t have. I let Theo do what he did and I regret it every single day. But I will not let you be subjected to the same fate as your ancestor. I haven’t been able to protect you from much. But I can protect you from that. No man will ever violate you-’
‘Well you should have come and got me from Harry’s house when I was fourteen years old then!’ I yell. My eyes well up and tears quickly slide down my cheeks as everyone goes deadly silent. ‘You want to protect me from being violated? Well you can’t. You’re too late. You’re years too late. I had my virginity taken from me on the floor of my attic-bedroom. I didn’t even know what sex was! No one told me!’ My words echo around us and they make Jensen’s face pale. I turn to Gabriel. ‘I told you to tell him everything. I told you-’
‘I didn’t think you meant that,’ he apologises.
‘Who?’ Jensen asks quietly. ‘Who was it?’
‘Some lad Harry hired to work at the house,’ Gabriel tells him on my behalf, a lot gentler than I expected and a lot calmer than I am currently capable of. ‘Don’t drag it all up now, Jensen. She’s vulnerable enough as it is.’
‘I want to know who. I want his name,’ Jensen snarls. ‘I WANT HIS HEAD!’
‘Yet again, Jensen, you’re too fucking late. He’s dead, okay? Junior’s dead and he died bloody. So try and find another way to act like a dad-’
‘What?’ Gabriel grabs my arm and spins me round to face him. ‘What did you just say?’
‘I said Ryan’s dead. That-’
He shakes his head. ‘You said “Junior”. “Junior’s dead”. His eyes search mine and a disgusted look etches across his face. ‘Hold on…’
‘I… I didn’t say Junior.’ I pull back my arm, shaking my head adamantly. ‘I said Ryan. I said Ryan’s dead.’
‘You said Junior,’ Amara agrees, the same look of anguish on her face.
‘Who is Ryan? Who is Junior?’ Jensen demands, looking between us all.
Gabriel takes a step closer to me. ‘Lilly…’ he says painfully. ‘Was the person who raped you, your cousin?’ I just stare at him, not knowing what to say. ‘But, I’ve been looking for him for months. Why wouldn’t you tell me? Harry… he said he went to France. I don’t understand.’
The lump in my throat increases in size. He takes a few steps closer.
‘Tell me… For fuck sake, Lilly. Just tell me the truth!’
‘I can’t,’ I whisper, taking a step back. ‘Please…’
He rushes forwards, eliminating any space between us, and holds my shoulders. His eyes dance back and forth as he looks deep into my eyes. ‘Lilly, is Ryan… Junior? Was the person who assaulted you… your cousin?’
‘His name was Ryan-’
‘Lilly… please!’
‘Ryan,’ I whisper. ‘Harry. Ryan. Junior. He was Harry’s son.’
