‘Bullshit!’ Skeebs waved the knife, trembling with anger at Amanda’s story.
Amanda had managed to position herself back between Skeebs and prisoner. Steph clung to the wall, her mother’s knife trembling at her chest like she’d just been dunked in icy water.
‘You think I’m fucking stupid.’
‘It’s the truth.’
‘No, no, no. It’s you. You’ll say fucking anything to have it your way. Well, I ain’t one of your marks. You tell him the same thing?’ The knife point jabbed at Caleb.
Amanda flexed her fingers, the tips tingling with adrenalin. She could see Skeebs’ anger building, overriding his caution. He’d be trying for Reeves again any moment and Amanda didn’t know what she would be able to do to stop him.
She glanced over to Steph, the girl staring right back, looking for some kind of signal from her. If they were going to make it through this it would have to be together.
Seeing something of the woman’s thoughts in her eyes, Steph began to slide along the wall, further out of Skeebs’ peripheral vision.
‘That’s why we’re headed to the stone circle,’ said Amanda, trying to distract him, not knowing what the girl was up to. ‘We kill it there, it can’t jump—’
‘Stop! Just fucking stop. I’m trying to think.’
‘I’m telling you the truth.’
The girl was along the wall, out of sight. Skeebs would notice any second, demand she come back. She could see Steph eyeing the space between them, judging the distance. She was reaching the same conclusion as Amanda, she was too far to attack, Skeebs would turn in plenty of time.
‘Come on, Skeebs,’ Amanda kept his attention, kept talking. ‘I can’t risk having you around if I think you’re going to do this. I need to see my daughter again.’
‘Yeah and I need to see my brother. This is on you. It’s all on you.’
Amanda was sweating, could feel it cool in the frigid air. She wished she could say that was the only reason she was shivering. She was no good at fighting, had neither the strength nor the stomach even when she was riding on her father’s rage. Skeebs was angry, desperate, willing to take this so much further than she was. Conviction counted for a lot in something like this. He wanted things to be simple, wanted this to all be over.
The girl screamed, a high-pitched shriek that rang through the tight confines of the carriage.
Alarmed, Skeebs turned. Amanda lunged.
But the boy was quick, waving the blade, forcing Amanda to jump back. She could do nothing but retreat as the knife flicked between them, cutting at the air.
Steph gave a frightened squeak, pushing along the wall to get away.
A grin flickered across Skeebs’ face but there was no joy in it, just an animal sense of victory.
He went after her, knife raised for a downward stab. Amanda managed to grab his forearm, but the boy’s momentum carried them both backwards.
The heel of Amanda’s boot caught in Caleb’s sleeping bag and they both went over, falling across the big man’s legs. The landing worked in Skeebs’ favour, the knife jarring in their combined grip, coming down at Amanda. She just had the presence of mind to push up, steering the blade so it only took a bite out the shoulder of her coat.
They wrestled, the blade tip screeching on the floor.
Amanda’s back was arched uncomfortably over Caleb’s shins, vertebrae creaking, muscles straining as she tried to push the blade away. Skeebs’ pulled it, aiming to score it down across Amanda’s shoulder and torso.
She could hear Steph saying something but her heart was pounding too loud to hear. Skeebs’ breath clouded her face. The grin was gone now, his brow creased in furious concentration.
Youth was winning out. Amanda could feel herself tiring.
Sensing it too, Skeebs jerked away bringing the knife up to stab it down and all Amanda could do was inhale and wait for the pain. God, let Michaela be OK without her.
The knife stayed in the air, and Skeebs’ snarl cracked down the middle, concern flashing.
He wasn’t going to do it, Amanda realised. He didn’t have it in him. They were frozen, both of them unsure what had to happen next, each as unwilling to inflict pain as the other.
There was a twitch beneath them, followed by a seismic shift with a groan to match as Caleb began to move.
With an inhaled ‘Jesus!’, Skeebs scrambled to get away, pushing himself to his knees.
A sharp snap cracked in the air, accompanied by a blinding flash. Skeebs cried out in fright, the blade dropping from his hand as he covered his eyes.
Amanda shoved the boy off her, lifting off Caleb as the sleeping bag sat up. Hands poked at the material from within, like something in a chrysalis trying to get out.
Amanda could hardly believe it, hardly dared believe it.
‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!’ Skeebs screamed, rolling backwards, forearm over his eyes.
Steph scurried forward and snatched up the knife, darting away again out of reach, blade held protectively to her chest.
The boy was no danger, kicking back until he collided with the nearest chair. He was blinking, staring sightlessly as he tried to clear his vision.
What had happened to him?
The zip inside Caleb’s sleeping bag began to part. Blood made the material cling to Caleb’s skin as he peeled it away.
His face was a bloody horror, red still seeping from a deep gash above his left eyebrow. It glued his eyes shut, crusted his lips as he tried to speak. His large hands went to his face, trying to wipe himself clean.
‘Caleb?’ Amanda tried. ‘That you, mate?’ She wondered what kind of answer she’d believe.
‘Someone hit me.’
Amanda grabbed a bottle of water out of the rolling detritus. ‘Here.’ She threw it so it landed in Caleb’s lap.
The big man worked it open by touch and did his best to clear his eyes.
‘What is it?’ asked Skeebs, desperate. ‘What’s happening?’
‘Just stay where you are. It’s fine.’
‘Fuck, man, my eyes. I can’t fucking see!’
‘It wears off,’ said Steph. ‘I didn’t know it would be that strong. I barely tried.’
‘You did that?’ Amanda demanded.
‘You fucking bitch!’ Skeebs cried.
‘He was trying to kill you. What else was I to do?’
‘What’s going on?’ Caleb had managed to open his eyes, his face a mask of red, the whites of his eyes bright in contrast.
‘You’re injured. Stay still. Skeebs, you too. Steph, get Caleb the medical kit.’
Steph looked like she was going to argue but saw the look on Amanda’s face and thought better of it. Whatever camaraderie they’d had evaporating under the heat of Amanda’s anger. Fucking magic.
Caleb cleaned himself up as Amanda explained, interrupted by Skeebs’ accusations more than once.
There was some burn cream in the kit too. The adrenalin had taken some of the sensation out of her aches and pains which were starting to claim their debts a hundredfold. She applied the balm liberally to her blistered wrist.
She couldn’t believe her luck that Caleb had survived, the growing terror and guilt washed away by relief and not a little apprehension at what Reeves might do next.
Steph remained in her corner and Amanda made it clear with a look that their discussion wasn’t over.
Caleb lifted the compress away from his head to inspect the blood on it. ‘Going to need stitches.’ He winced. ‘And some aspirin.’
‘We’ll see to that,’ said Amanda, quickly.
‘What about my fucking eyes?’ asked Skeebs.
‘She says it wears off.’
‘I think it does,’ said Steph.
‘You mean you don’t know?’ said Skeebs.
‘I’ve never done it before,’ said the girl. ‘Someone taught me it. In case…’
‘Here,’ Caleb lumbered unsteadily to his feet, knees popping audibly. He filled the room as he reached his full height, a swinging lamp narrowly missing his head and casting more shadows as he went to crouch by Skeebs.
‘Let’s have a look.’
‘It’s like spots in front of my eyes, man. Like a camera flash. Bitch, I swear, I hope the magic gave you fucking cancer.’
‘I might have made it a bit too bright,’ said Steph. ‘I was only trying to help. You were trying to kill each other.’
‘And who asked you to do that? Eh?’ said Amanda. ‘You fucking blinded him.’
‘It was just a bit of—’
‘I don’t give a shit what you think it was.’
‘He was trying to kill you.’
‘And I was taking care of it. Shoving you aside wasn’t clear enough for you? Every fucking Abra, the same. Just because you can do something ain’t the same as you should.’
‘But magic’s why I’m here.’
‘It’s why your mother was here, cleaning up her own mess. If I’d known she’d been teaching a little girl…’ Amanda stopped herself. ‘Makes me fucking sick. Give me that.’
The girl flinched from Amanda’s hand. She moved as if to keep the knife out of reach but thought better of it. Eyes beginning to moisten, she proffered it. Amanda snatched it.
‘How is he?’ Amanda asked Caleb. She ignored the sound of the girl hurrying past in tears. Steph pulled the curtain around the makeshift toilet as far as it could go, right up to the quad bike.
‘He’ll live,’ Caleb patted Skeebs on the shoulder. ‘Wearing off already. Just dazzled him, is all.’
‘It’s happening a lot earlier than we hoped,’ said Amanda. ‘Bridget underestimated how long we had before he found a way through.’
Caleb looked out the side of his eye at the prisoner. He lowered his voice, low as his fractured trachea would allow.
‘Not much we can do. But you’re going to apologise to that little girl.’
Amanda kept her face poker straight, keeping the disgust from her features. ‘She already helped enough. I was taking care of it. Instead she went straight for the magic. Could have blinded Skeebs. Or me. Better to nip this in the bud now. If she gets it in her head she doesn’t want to do what she’s told…’
‘Then convince her. You got reasons, but bullying a little girl isn’t going to get you, or any of us, what you want. She isn’t one of us. And when you act like this people get hurt. Get your head out of your arse and apologise. Don’t know if you noticed but she reminds me of Emily. Always chewing her pen.’
People get hurt. He was talking about Michael again, that rift between them widening. ‘Go see to the prisoner.’
Caleb followed her with a stony stare that Amanda could only ward off by turning her back.
It was the right decision. The idea of a girl her age knowing magic made her insides boil. Magic: she’d burn it all to the ground if she could.
‘I’m with you, man,’ said Skeebs. ‘I had my way, she’d be in chains too.’
Amanda sighed. Shit.