Power of the Witch

Chapter 5

Rachel turned her head quickly. Ruby was standing there, cool and imperturbable as always, one hand on her hip. Her long black hair wasn't even ruffeld; her eyes, just a dark shade of brown, were steady. And she was holding an ironwood fighting stick with a very sharp point. Rachel growled faintly in relief. You couldn't ask Ruby to be creative - her mind didn't work that way. But on any question of logic, she was unbeatable, and she had nerves of ice. More important right now, she was a superb fighter. "If you want to play, why don't you try me?" she suggested, and whipped the fighting stick around expertly a few times. It whistled in the air, tracee a complicated figure, and ended up casually across her shoulder. Then she slowly extended the point toward the vampire's throat. "Yeah, and don't leave me out." This voice was husky and shaky but still grim. It came from behind the counter. Meg was pulling herself up. She coughed once, then stood straight, facing the vampire. Energy, orange and pulsating, flared between her cupped hands. Witch power.

"You're alive." Rachel thought. She couldn't suppress the flash of relief. The vampire looked from one girl to the other. Then he glanced at Rachel, who was laying on her side, feebly ttrying to make her legs work. Her tail lashed furiously. "Come on!" the other vampire shouted. He was staggering under the weight of the dragon, heading for the door. "Let's get Abbadohn out of here. He's the most important thing." The first vampire hesitated one instant, then whirled and plunged after his friend. Togheter, they hustled the dragon out into the mall. Then they were gone. Rachel gave one final gasping snarl and felt herself change. This time, it felt more like a snail falling out of a shell. Her claws dissolved, her tail withered, and she slumped into her human body. "Boss! Are you OK?" Meg came toward her, a little unsteadily. Rachel raised her head, brown hair falling on either side to the floor. She pushed herself up with her arms and looked around, taking stock. The shop was quiet. It was also a wreck. Meg's impact with the wall had knocked off most of the decorative plates and clocks there. Rachel's fight with the dragon had trashed a lot of shelves. There were shattered Christmas ornaments everywhere, little glittering fragments of scarlet and holly green and royal purple. It was like being in a giant kaleidoscope. And outside, chaos was gathering. The entire fight had only taken about five minutes, but all the time it had been going on, people had been running away from the shop and screaming. Rachel had noticed them; she had simply filed them away in her mind as unimportant.

There had been nothing she could do about them. Now, there were security officers closing in, and someone had undoubtedly called the police. She pushed with her arms again and managed to stand up. "Ruby." It hurt her throat to speak. "Where's the car?" "Right down there." Ruby pointed at the floor. "Directly below us, parked outside the Mrs Fields cookie store." "OK. Let's get Rebecka out." Rachel looked at the young girl with the shimmering hair who as yet hadn't spoken a single word. "Can you walk?" Rebecka stared at her. She didn't say anything. Stunned and frightend, Rachel guessed. Well, a lot had happend in the last few minutes. "I know this all seems bizarre to you, and you're probably wondering who we are. I'll explain everything. But right now, we have to get out of here. OK?" Rebecka shrank a little, trembling. "Not exactly a hero",Rachel thought. Or quick on uptake. Then she decided she was being unfair. This girl was the Witch Child; she undoubtedly had hidden strengths. "Come one." Gabriel said to Rebecka gently. "She's right; it isn't safe here." Rebecka looked up at him earnestly. She seemed about to agree. Then she gave a little shiver, shut her eyes and fainted. Gabriel caught her as she fell. Rachel stared. "She's too pure to deal with this kind of stuff." Meg said defensively. "Violence and all. It's not the same as being chicken." It was at that exact moment that Rachel could pinpoint her first real doubts about the new Wild Power.

Gabriel looked down at the girl who lay in his arms like a broken lily. He looked at Rachel. "I--" "you take her; we'll surround you and cover you." Rachel said, cutting him off. She knew her hair was in complete disarray, a wild cyclone of brown waves around her. Her sleek jumpsuit was torn and stained, and she was clutching her right shoulder, which still throbbed in agony. But she must have looked fairly commanding, because Gabriel didn't say another word, just nodded and started toward the door. Ruby led the way in front of him. Meg and Rachel fell in behind. They were ready to fight, but when the security guards with walkie-talkies saw Ruby whirling her stick, they backed away. The ordinary people, curious onlookers attracted by all the noice, not only backed away but ran. Lots of them screamed. "Go." Rachel said. "Fast. Go." They made it to Mrs Fields without anybody trying to stop them. A girl with a red apron flattend herself against a wall as they thrust their way behind the counter and into the sanctum full of industrial-sized ovens in the back. A gangly boy dropped a tray with a clang, amd lumps of raw cookie dough scattred on the floor. And then they were bursting through the back entrance, and there was the car, a white limousine illegally parked at the curb. Ruby whipped out a key chain and pressed a button, and Rachel heard the click of doors unlocking. "Inside!" she said to Gabriel. He got in. Meg ran around the car to get in the other side. Ruby slid into the driver's seat. Rachel ducked in last and snapped "Go!" even as she slammed the door.

Ruby floored it. The limousine shot forward like a dolphin - just as a security truck sped up from the rear. A police car appeared dead infront of them. Ruby was an excellent driver. The limo swerved with a squeal of tyres and peeled out of another of the parking lot's exits. A second police car swung toward them as Ruby dodged traffic. This one had lights and sirens on. Ruby gunned the engine, and the limo surged forward again. A freeway on-ramp was ahead. "Hang on." Ruby said briefly. They were passing the on-ramp - they were past it. No, they weren't. At the last possible second, the limo screamed into a ninety-degree turn. Everyone inside was thrown around. Rachel clenched her teeth as her wounded arm hit the window. Then they were shooting up the on-ramp and ontp the freeway. With a little patter, cat's paws of rain appeared on the windshield. Rachel, leaning forward to look over Ruby's shoulder, was happy. With icy rain and the low, grey fog, they probably wouldn't be chased by helicopter. The big limousine roared past the few other cars on the road and Meg sat looking out the rear window, murmuring a spell to confuse and delay any persuit. "We lost them." Ruby said. Rachel sat back and let out her breath. For the first time since she'd entered the mall, she allowed herself to relax minutely. We did it. At the same moment, Meg turned. She poundedvthe backseat with a small, hard fist. "We did it! Rachel - we got the Wild Power! We...." Her voice trailed of as she saw Rachel's face. "And, uh.... I guess I disobeyed orders." Her pounding was self-conscious now; she ducked her curly dark-blond head. "Um, I'm sorry, Boss."