Toxic

Chapter 7

Andre hisses his fury at being bolted to the wall.

There is almost no trace of the boy I have loved for so long - his beautiful eyes that horrendous lime green, soft black hair matted, the arms that would hold me so gently covered in scales and tugging at bindings.

I'm still reeling from Carly's bombshell.

What if she had lured me here so we could rescue Andre but then she tried to take him for her own?

While I was alive, so was the bond between the two of us, and that thin curtain helped protect him from her. She might try to kill me and make it look like an accident.

 Andre wrenches at the chain, although the collar simply slices deeper into his slimy reptilian skin and blood showers the walls.

He slumps back against it, breathing haggardly.

The walls of the warehouse are clearly past their best, however, because one more tug from him sees an entire chunk of rubble come away.

The chains give way, and Andre is free. Shit.

"Now what?" I scream.

He has the four of us backed into a corner, baring his fangs malevolently.

Carly steps forward, holding out her hand, and knocks him backwards with a spell, leaving him unconscious.

"I think we should take him out while he is out cold," she suggests, but as her back is turned, several rocks rise into the air, forming a tomb around her.

"Serves you right, bitch!" Lola yells triumphantly.

She had spoken too soon, for as we all know, pride comes before a fall, and the rocks disintegrated into dust.

"It will take more than a pile of rubble to hold me, you foolish girl." Carly screeches.

Lola is flung against the wall with a shriek, and lies in a heap.

"How dare you touch my baby sister!" Ruby snarls.

Carly laughs demonically, and there is a burst of violet smoke, until my eyes water and I can't see anything.

The fumes affect Ruby and Lola too, and we huddle together until they clear.

Carly has disappeared, and in her place is the most beautiful, but at the same time, most deadly woman I have ever seen.

Rosalind has ebony hair, tumbling down her back in lustrous barrel waves. It contrasts with her posionous pupils and scarlet lips. Her nails are claw like, jewelled talons. One hand is on her hip, drawing attention to her curvy body. She is the very image of seduction.

The pretty teenager facade is long gone, only the pernicious witch remains.

"Are you with me, or against me? It makes no difference to me; either we work as a team to put an end to this, or I take you all out." She cackles.

"We'll all help to catch Andre. There's less chance of him escaping." I mutter.

 Rosalind, exotic and regal, strides over to Andre, murmuring incantations as she goes.

He rises, still unconscious, into the air, the collar around his scratched neck jangling.

"Fetch me some water from the river," Rosalind demands of Lola, shoving a flask at her.

Lola hastily obeys, and rushes over to the embankment.

"You. You can move fire, is that correct?" she asks Ruby.

"How the hell do you know that? We never told you." Ruby pointed out.

"I sensed the energy within you."

"So, how is that relevant?"

"The four of us shall brew a potion that will draw the toxins out of Andre's body. Whether it kills him or not is another matter, but do as I say and you shall all be safe."

Lola returns with the murky water, which she hands to Rosalind.

"Good, now, as this has never been attempted before, I shall require you to bear with me. I will tell you when I require assistance."

Ruby turns away and rolls her eyes, but keeps her mouth shut.

"What are we, her slaves?" Lola whispered.

I shrug and hold a finger to my lips. The last thing any of us needed was a reprimand.

We keep watch over Andre, as Rosalind pours liquid, crushes stones, even at one point, spits into the jar.

"Um, why did you do that?" Lola is clearly disgusted.

"It will seal the other ingredients together." Rosalind says in a bored, calm voice, as though reading aloud from a newspaper.

Her concoction is a vivid, luminescent purple.

"Ruby, heat this mixture for thirty seconds, please," she instructs.

Ruby's elegant nails wave back and forth, and a tiny flame appears beneath the jar.

After the required time has passed, Ruby withdraws her fingers and Rosalind faces me.

"Could you freeze this for me, Thorn?" her manners have returned.

I do as I'm told, and there is now a purple rock in the jar. Rosalind scoops it out. It's now or never.

"Why did you keep appearing as Carly, even after I'd seen you in your true form when you dropped your bags that day?" I want to know.

"I did not know you had recognised me, and I was unaware that I was residing among others of magical blood. We witches are few these days and I thought I would remain incognito. I became arrogant when I repeatedly tried to attract Andre. I was instrumental in my own downfall."

"I would not have told anyone" I laugh.

"Be that as it may, I had to keep up appearances."

Rosalind's voice, although no way near as sweet and light as Carly's, was no longer reminiscent of a bully.

We had been almost friends, despite my prejudices, and if she had not corrupted the love of my life, I doubt I would feel half as much resentment for her.

"I just want you to know, that I truly am sorry for what I have done to Andre. I have denied my love for him, convinced it was lust like always, but, he is the most handsome boy I have seen for years. That and the sense of elation I felt when I spoke to him drove me to do what I did." Rosalind apologized.

Compassion pulses through me. All she ever wanted was to be loved, which, in my eyes, didn't make her such a bitch anymore.

The beautiful faces, both real and false, were masks hiding the vulnerable side of her. They and the stuck up attitude were merely bravado.

Rosalind hugs me then, sensing my understanding.

When we break apart, a tear drips down her immaculate face, before she takes our solidified potion and hurls it through the air.

There had to be another way, and Lola must have realised that too, because she slashed it into pieces before it met its intended target.

Andre remains trapped in his eerie slumber.

Rosalind sinks to her knees, looking like a lost little girl, because she knew what she had to do, impossible as it seemed.