Morwitch - Breaking the Rules (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Three

The arguments had been going round and round ever since Ellie had found out about the aunts being sick. As Jayce had predicted, she flatly refused to accept the fact that she couldn't go and see her aunts. Jayce had tried every argument he could think of, even though he knew it was hopeless. Stubborn, and determined to help the aunts, she was refusing to listen to reason.

Jayce rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we could just teleport to the aunts' house, find out what we can about what's going on, and then come straight back. It should only take a couple of hours max."

Yvette shook her head. "Magic leaves a trail for anyone who's looking for it. It's way too dangerous. The only way I've been able to come here has been when I placed a glamour on a trusted friend and left them in my place, so no one would actually need to be looking for me. You two, on the other hand, have people everywhere looking for you. The magic would lead them straight to you."

Ellie frowned. "What if I went alone? They're looking for two of us, and surely I can create a glamour strong enough to disguise my magic?"

Jayce almost choked. "There is no way you're going without me. We go together or not at all."

"But..." Ellie started, and at the look in Jayce's eyes she threw her hands in the air. "Well we can't just sit here and do nothing!"

Yvette sighed. "There might be another way we can see what's happening without actually going there. We could try scrying the aunts. It would be good practice for Ellie, and may reveal something about what's causing the outbreak to spread. Sometimes the presence of dark magic is more noticeable when looking through a magical filter, so to speak."

Everyone looked at Ellie, Jayce holding his breath in anticipation of her reply. She finally nodded. "But if we don't learn anything, I will be going to see them, whether you all like it or not!"

***

ELLIE CLEARED her mind of all thoughts except those related to her aunts. She placed her hands above the bowl of water, and it instantly began to swirl, the comforting feel of Jayce in her mind helping to calm her frayed nerves. Suddenly the water calmed, and an image of Serena and Emelda began to take shape on the surface.

Ellie smiled at the sight of her two aunts sitting in their favourite armchairs. But the smile froze at the lack of animation on their usually bright and cheerful faces. At first glance, they appeared to be simply lost in their own thoughts, but Ellie could discern the vacant looks in their eyes as they stared unseeingly at each other.

She concentrated on expanding the image so she could scan the aunts' surroundings for anything unusual. The room appeared abnormally neglected, a dusty haze suspended in the still air. A slight movement caught Ellie's attention; Emelda sat wringing her hands in her lap. Ellie zoomed back in for a closer look and gasped. Emelda's hands were withered and blackened, as if she'd stuck them in a fire. Serena's were in the same state.

Whatever had infected them had come from something they'd touched. She scrolled through her memories of the years they'd spent as a family, searching for clues that might explain what had happened. Then she spotted the small gardening spade on the floor beside Serena's chair. The aunts were usually very meticulous about putting things away. Why would a gardening tool be sitting discarded on the lounge room floor?

Ellie waved her hands over the bowl again, and formed a mental image of the aunts' prized rose bushes in her mind. Once again the water swirled, and then settled to reveal the area of the garden she'd been thinking of. The gardening tool carry-all sat abandoned next to the two kneeling frames the women used when working in the garden. And the rose bushes were withered and dying, the stalks blackened as if they'd been burned.