Witch Crystal (Witches of Zrotaz Book 1)
The Witches of Zrotaz Trilogy Book 1
Witch Crystal
Malika Gandhi
Published 2014 Copyright © Malika Gandhi
First Edition
The author or authors assert their moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author or authors of this work.
All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover illustration and design by Luke Bailey www.luke-bailey.co.uk
Illustrations by Malika Gandhi ........................................................................................
For more information on the author, visit: www.malikagandhi.wordpress.com
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my husband for his support in this venture, whom without; this project would not have been finished.
I would also like to thank Georgina Ramsey and Marcia Carter for their enthusiastic reading and reviewing approach.
CONTENTS PAGE
CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1
ZROTAZ
Senon shouted above the noise as he barricaded the door. “They are coming! Marcaria, take Larissa to the garden, to the shuttle!”
“No, I can’t leave you. I won’t!” Marcaria shook her head.
“Don’t worry about me, I – ”
A deafening blast blew the door open, knocking Senon to the ground. He quickly picked himself up as an ear splitting scream followed, forcing both him and Marcaria to crouch over their daughter. With their hands over their ears, they waited for the scream to die down. They rose to their feet as soon as it did. The scream was the witches’ scream, deadly, if anyone came close to it.
A series of blue, green, and yellow flares flew at them but Larissa had used her shield.
“Good girl,” said Senon.
“Father, so...hard...” Larissa lost her strength and the spell collapsed.
“We can’t stay here, Senon.” Marcaria picked Larissa up and ran into the garden.
Senon looked at the space where the door once stood and followed his family to the back of the house.
The attacks were aimed from afar, but Senon knew the Empire Witches were moving closer into their village.
The most powerful and merciless on Zrotaz, the Witches of the West – the Empire Witches – would do anything to get what they wanted, and this time it was the girl.
No one had yet defeated this clan, meaning Senon and Marcaria alone did not stand a chance.
Trying to find cover in the back yard, Marcaria tried to rouse Larissa, who was still unconscious. Suddenly she heard the unmistakable cries, coupled with a surge of heat, and realised the witches brought dragons.
The evil black dragons were huge, muscular, and scaly. Their red talons scraped the earth, and their large ugly nostrils could smell fear. It was not a myth; their fire breath was more lethal and cursed than any other creatures on Zrotaz. The Empire Witches had recruited these dragons for their own; other dragons feared them and their wrath.
The townsfolk fought side by side with Senon and Marcaria. They promised they wouldn’t let the Empire Witches take their daughter. Larissa was their only hope to free this world of them. Marcaria knew the Empire Witches needed and wanted their daughter...no, she would not let them. She needed to take Larissa away to safety!
A terrifying roar filled the night sky and a rush of raw, dry, hot air blew towards them. Marcaria felt her daughter’s hand squeeze hers tightly. She looked down at her, and gave a nod. Senon looked at his wife with worry and fear etched on his face.
“It will be too much for her,” he said.
“Larissa is confident, she wants to try. It may be our only chance to get away,” replied Marcaria.
Larissa took her father’s index finger into her small palm and he felt the beginnings of her spell, already powerful for a five-year-old Zrotaz witch.
“Okay,” he sighed. “Be careful, my angel.”
They led her to the edge of the garden where the trees hid them, but where they could still see the dragons and the Empire Witches.
Larissa took a deep breath and muttered a spell. White film trailed out from her palms, she pushed them up and towards their enemies.
Marcaria was acutely aware of the power emanating from Larissa’s very core. Soon, the roar of dry heat and screams died. An eerie silence followed as snow particles replaced the dragons’ fire.
Marcaria spotted the surprise and hatred etched on the faces of the Empire Witches as they hovered above the ground, sitting on the backs of the dragons. They jumped to the ground, defying gravity, from the now dazed dragons who tried to blow fire.
“Two can play at this game,” sang Richiney, the High Witch’s personal guard.
Clapping her hands, she spread her arms wide and opened her mouth. A whistling noise enveloped them all, which made it almost impossible for their thoughts to flow. Larissa’s spell broke, the dragons’ disorientation lifted, and once again, oppressing heat came forth, only this time stronger and fiercer than before. Richiney called her comrades.
“The child is near; I am able to sense her. Burn down every house until she is found. Now go!”
Marcaria turned to her husband, fearing for Larissa and their village.
“We must do something, Senon. Everyone will die! The Empire Witches will not care, nor will they show mercy. The village will no longer be!”
“Take Larissa to the shuttle. I will try to hold them off,” said Senon.
Marcaria, who was torn between getting their daughter to safety and leaving her husband, didn’t move. Senon took her hands in his and kissed her.
“I know what you are thinking. I will be safe, I promise. I will be with you and Larissa in no time. Please take her. Get her to safety.” He pushed his wife and daughter towards the shuttle and waited until he saw Marcaria put Larissa safely inside.
As he turned back, the trees burned down in front of him, sending waves of more dense heat his way. Shielding his eyes, he crawled away and took a moment before his mind cleared so he could gather the power from his core. He sensed an enemy witch behind him; she was summoning the spell to kill. He concentrated on his own spell. A hot glow began within him.
“Kurrancha!” he yelled, waving his arms high above his head, his eyes burning bright.
Trees that had escaped the dragons’ wrath, tore from the roots and hovered over the witch’s head, then crashed down on her. An ear-piercing wail escaped her before she dissipated into dust. Senon looked towards the shuttle, but he could not see Marcaria or Larissa. He supposed that they were inside, but he wanted to be sure. His heart thumping in his chest, Senon called to them using telepathy. No reply came forth from either of th
em.
The lights in the garden began to flicker, and then complete darkness surrounded him. Another witch was there, hiding in the dark. He felt himself succumbing to the spell of the Sleep of Death.
“Wake up; I will not let you die on me!” someone cried.
The spell lifted a little, allowing Senon to open his eyes. It took a moment before he realised Marcaria was kneeling in front of him.
Senon smiled. “Where is Larissa?”
“She is here, with me. Come my love, we must leave,” said Marcaria, holding her husband’s hand.
“So weak...Sleep of Death...I’m so sorry.”
Marcaria gasped. “No! No Senon, you are stronger than this! You can fight the spell. Just...focus! I will not let you die!”
“Take care of our angel, my darling.”
She screamed as Senon closed his eyes, finally giving out. A few moments later, she wiped her tears and hugged her daughter tightly.
“Go Darling, go back into the shuttle, and lay low. Keep the Crystal close. Do not worry about me and do not look for me. I will be with you in a moment.”
“Yes Mother.” Larissa ran to the shuttle.
Marcaria’s close friend, Zarina, appeared by her side.
“Zarina, oh thank heavens you are here. I need to wake Senon...”
“Marcaria, Senon is dead. You cannot wake him. Look at me and listen. Richiney will be here at any moment. You must go now. The shuttle is ready and the gateway is open!” said Zarina frantically.
“But Senon...” tears blurred Marcaria’s eyes.
“There is nothing you can do for him. I’m sorry.”
“You can revive him, I know you can,” Marcaria pleaded with her good friend.
“I cannot. It is beyond my powers. Marcaria, his soul has left his body. Please, you must take Larissa away, before it is too late, before the Empire Witches take her.” There was a note of urgency in Zarina’s voice.
The lights in the garden began to glow again; Marcaria saw the mark the spell had left on Senon’s forehead.
“Oh, Senon,” Marcaria fell to her husband’s side, kissing his closed eyes and still warm lips.
“I shall miss you very much.”
“Do you have the Crystal?” Zarina asked.
“It is in the shuttle,” said Marcaria.
“Then you must go – now!”
“Not without giving me the child,” bellowed a voice from behind. Both witches jumped.
Richiney smiled. “Where is she, Marcaria?”
“You will not have her, Richiney!” Marcaria braved.
“You will do as I say or...” the Empire Witch looked at Senon. “Poor Senon, if he hadn’t tried to fight, he would still be alive.”
“How dare you. I will kill you!” Marcaria screamed. She lunged forward with her hook-like, extended nails. Richiney pointed a finger towards her in a casual manner; Marcaria rose into the air. A small twirl of Richiney’s finger had her slammed to the ground. Zarina attempted to go to Marcaria’s aid, but a blast from Richiney’s wand had her frozen. She laughed and used another spell to bring Marcaria to her feet.
“Hand over the girl or you will regret it,” the tone was not forgiving.
“Never!”
The shuttle began to glow. Blue mist now surrounded the transport. It was time to go. Marcaria knew she had to enter the shuttle now and dissolve into particles before the gateway closed.
“I will not succumb to you or any of your kind!” she spat at the evil before her.
Before Richiney could respond, she flew into the small shuttle where her daughter lay hidden. Larissa sat crouched in a corner, with the Crystal clutched in her hand.
Marcaria kissed her daughter’s forehead and took the Crystal from her hand. She drew a breath and the transport, along with herself and Larissa, dissipated into particles. She heard a far-away, high-pitched scream.
Marcaria should have felt relief at escaping Zrotaz and the Empire Witches, but her heart was heavy. She and her daughter were leaving their home and loved ones, living and dead, behind. For how long, she couldn’t bear to consider, she just knew that they’d be gone as long as was required.
Marcaria closed her arms around her daughter, and sent a silent prayer to her husband to watch over and protect them in this new chapter of their journey.
2
EARTH
Larissa sat on a grassy bank, overlooking the winding road that led into the small fishing village of Robin Hoods Bay. The ocean sparkled as if tiny stars were embedded into the great blue where seagulls swooped for food.
It was a peaceful morning, for some much-needed time alone to gather her thoughts. Larissa stretched out on the grass and thought about the dream, the same one she had had for many years. They were frequent and vague when she was younger, but now they come after huge gaps in her life, and more intense. They are also vivid, such colours of light!
She understood now, the dreams to be of powerful spells, but who cast them? She wished she knew.
There was a man, someone familiar who seemed frightened of something. Larissa sighed, and then threw a stone down the bank in frustration. Who was this man? Why did she have these dreams? Although the dreams were full of darkness and evil, Larissa could still feel and sense hope.
A cool breeze brushed her face, bringing her back from her thoughts. Her bangles made music as she stood up and dusted off her long white skirt of dry mud and grass. The sun shone brightly with not a cloud to be seen, quite unusual for British weather. Larissa’s hand trailed over spring flowers as she walked down the bank and onto the narrow cobbled street.
The market was just setting up. Larissa took a little detour and walked through the high street. Quaint little shops lined the way, a confectionery shop, a boutique, an antique shop, a bookstore of old and new. The usual high street chains, which she didn’t really care about, were nowhere to be seen. This made the street what it was, a haven for tourists. She came back to the market and headed straight to the fish stalls where she bought a lobster and a snapper. She was sure her mother could make something out of them.
Larissa looked towards the sea front, saw the boats coming in, and noticed someone she had not seen in a while. She skipped down to him as he hauled his boat in.
“Hello there, Larissa. What brings you here today?” Mike said.
Mike was always dressed in a white shirt that wrapped around his round tummy, with braces holding his trousers up. Larissa couldn’t remember if she had ever seen him wearing shoes, for boots seemed to be permanently glued to his feet.
She hugged him and held up her shopping basket. “I’ve just bought a snapper and a lobster,” she said.
“That’s nice. It’s good to see you,” Mike smiled. He seemed to be thinking about something and his face lit up. “Do you want to take to the sea a little? The waves are good today and I have some free time.”
“Oh, that’s such a great idea! But sorry Mike, maybe another time. Mum will get worried if I don’t get back soon. I said I would be out for only half an hour and well, you know, time flies when you have fun!” Larissa said regretfully.
Just as Larissa was about to leave, a boy popped his head out from the boat’s tiny cabin.
“Hey Mike –,” he began, but then saw Larissa. She blushed a faint red. Mike, fortunately, didn’t notice.
“Jake, this is Larissa and Larissa, this is Jake,” Mike introduced.
“Hello.” Larissa nodded her head a fraction.
Jake jumped off the weathered boat, which was in great need of tender loving care and some paint. He extended his hand towards Larissa.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, and she politely shook his hand.
She liked the look of this boy; he was not striking, yet she could sense a kind of determination from his eyes. His wore his hair in a mass of brown curls that reached to his shoulders. He had an indian looking complexion, light brown like wheat and eyes the colour of the ocean that never left you...Mike cleared his throat.
Both Jake and Mike followed her gaze.
“It does seem like it,” agreed Mike after a moment. “You’d better get along Larissa. Jake, let’s get these fish to the shop quickly before the storm stops all work.”
“Goodbye,” said Larissa.
Jake gave her a smile and swiftly jumped back onto the boat. Mike was already working hard and fast to beat the storm.
* *
The dark clouds were closing in as Larissa made her way up the cobbled stone street towards the cliff top. The abrupt change in the weather didn’t bother her but the thought of her mother’s wrath sent shivers down her spine. Her mother was constantly on edge when Larissa was out.
She’d once found her mother’s diary open. It was an old, scrappy looking thing and she couldn’t help but read a section. The entry was from just after she was born.
Her mother had expressed delight at her daughter’s silver hair and emerald eyes but she was also worried. About what, Larissa never discovered, as her mother was coming back into the bedroom. Larissa hastily closed the book, and hurried to her own room.
From that day, she wondered about her appearance as a baby for she no longer had silver hair or emerald eyes. She looked like a normal girl with straw-coloured hair and hazel eyes. However, normal she wasn’t, and she knew that very well.
Thunder now boomed overhead and the wind howled across the open moor. Larissa fought her way, soon wiping her face of the rain. Her fingers tingled at the electric fusion of magic and lightning. This was not a good combination. She ran under a canopy of trees for shelter. Her fingers sparked.
“Not now, Larissa,” she said to herself as she closed her fists, although it pained her to do it.
The magic fizzled and then stopped. She drew a deep breath and thanked her stars. She looked through the sheets of rain. The moor was empty except for a wandering red deer. It looked at her and Larissa felt a connection, but when she moved to get a closer look, the deer bolted.
That was weird... was that magic? Why did she feel she could have read its thoughts? She wished it hadn’t run away.