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Authors: Gillian Shields
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for. The church bell began to strike and the sound echoed crazily around the room. Time…time…there’s no time left…. The walls seemed to shake…. I grasped hold of Sebastian’s hand and he pulled me gently to him.
“Evie, I’ve been sick and weary for so long, but I had to find you. I have to tell you something.”
“What is it?” I asked, afraid to hear his reply.
“That you’re the most beautiful girl I ever saw.” He smiled and my heart flipped over, but the clock was striking, calling to Sebastian from far away. But I couldn’t be sad, not now, not yet. I would be sad later, when the bell stopped ringing. Right now, at this moment, Sebastian was there, next to me, and I could smell the sweet warmth of his body as he leaned over to kiss me….
There was a crash, a knocking at the door, and Miss Scratton entered the room, dressed in a long black robe. She held out her hand and said coldly, “Your necklace, Evie, give me your necklace.”
The lights swirled again and I felt Sebastian slip out of my arms. “No,” I cried. “No, no, no…”
“The necklace, Evie,” he shouted. “I have to tell you…hide it…don’t let them see it…they’re coming….”
He seemed to vanish into the red glare of the dyingsun, and all I could hear was Miss Scratton’s harsh voice: “Your necklace…your necklace…your necklace…”
I woke up, sobbing under my breath. “No, no, no…” The sound of the church bell was drifting clear and high across the frozen valley. Three…four…five…six…
Another day was dawning without Sebastian. I sat up, then dragged myself out of the dorm and down the corridor to the bathroom. Tugging open the door of one of the cubicles I retched violently into the basin. To be with Sebastian in my dreams, to hear him and touch him and hold him, and then to be flung back into the empty waking world was more than I could bear. I was sick again, spilling out my guts instead of my heart. Sebastian was out there somewhere, slowly fading from this world and sinking into the abyss, and I was still hadn’t found out how to stop it.
I washed myself with cold water, trying to freshen my body and my mind. Water—my beautiful, translucent element: as quick as fire, as smooth as air, as weighty as earth…
Hide the Talisman, Sebastian had said. Had it really been him, or was it my jumbled thoughts trying to make sense of things while I slept? Perhaps I had been too flippant about our escape from the coven the night before.The confidence I had felt then began to drain away. After all, if Sarah hadn’t been able to sense their movement through the layers of earth and rock they would have been upon us. The Talisman could have been taken. I could have been taken. It could have been my last week, my last day, as the note had threatened.
As I dried myself, my hand brushed against the necklace, cool against my skin, hanging on its silver chain under my nightclothes. Although my high-buttoned school shirt and tie usually covered it up, there were times when I had to change into my gym clothes, take showers, lie in bed asleep. At any moment, one of the mistresses, whether she served the coven or not, might see it and demand it from me. Give me your necklace…give me your necklace….
I had made a decision.
I would trust my dream Sebastian. He had told me to hide the Talisman, and I would, until I was ready to use it. Pulling my robe tight, I hurried out of the bathroom and went back to the dorm. I crept over to Helen’s bed and shook her gently awake.
“Shhhh!” I warned her. “It’s only me.”
Helen sat up and yawned, pushing her hair out of her sleepy eyes. I knelt at the edge of her bed and tried toexplain everything in a hurried whisper, before the other girls woke up.
“After this weird dream and what happened last night, I think we definitely need to hide it somewhere safe,” I said in a low voice.
“I think you’re right. Wearing it is like an invitation for them to
“Evie, I’ve been sick and weary for so long, but I had to find you. I have to tell you something.”
“What is it?” I asked, afraid to hear his reply.
“That you’re the most beautiful girl I ever saw.” He smiled and my heart flipped over, but the clock was striking, calling to Sebastian from far away. But I couldn’t be sad, not now, not yet. I would be sad later, when the bell stopped ringing. Right now, at this moment, Sebastian was there, next to me, and I could smell the sweet warmth of his body as he leaned over to kiss me….
There was a crash, a knocking at the door, and Miss Scratton entered the room, dressed in a long black robe. She held out her hand and said coldly, “Your necklace, Evie, give me your necklace.”
The lights swirled again and I felt Sebastian slip out of my arms. “No,” I cried. “No, no, no…”
“The necklace, Evie,” he shouted. “I have to tell you…hide it…don’t let them see it…they’re coming….”
He seemed to vanish into the red glare of the dyingsun, and all I could hear was Miss Scratton’s harsh voice: “Your necklace…your necklace…your necklace…”
I woke up, sobbing under my breath. “No, no, no…” The sound of the church bell was drifting clear and high across the frozen valley. Three…four…five…six…
Another day was dawning without Sebastian. I sat up, then dragged myself out of the dorm and down the corridor to the bathroom. Tugging open the door of one of the cubicles I retched violently into the basin. To be with Sebastian in my dreams, to hear him and touch him and hold him, and then to be flung back into the empty waking world was more than I could bear. I was sick again, spilling out my guts instead of my heart. Sebastian was out there somewhere, slowly fading from this world and sinking into the abyss, and I was still hadn’t found out how to stop it.
I washed myself with cold water, trying to freshen my body and my mind. Water—my beautiful, translucent element: as quick as fire, as smooth as air, as weighty as earth…
Hide the Talisman, Sebastian had said. Had it really been him, or was it my jumbled thoughts trying to make sense of things while I slept? Perhaps I had been too flippant about our escape from the coven the night before.The confidence I had felt then began to drain away. After all, if Sarah hadn’t been able to sense their movement through the layers of earth and rock they would have been upon us. The Talisman could have been taken. I could have been taken. It could have been my last week, my last day, as the note had threatened.
As I dried myself, my hand brushed against the necklace, cool against my skin, hanging on its silver chain under my nightclothes. Although my high-buttoned school shirt and tie usually covered it up, there were times when I had to change into my gym clothes, take showers, lie in bed asleep. At any moment, one of the mistresses, whether she served the coven or not, might see it and demand it from me. Give me your necklace…give me your necklace….
I had made a decision.
I would trust my dream Sebastian. He had told me to hide the Talisman, and I would, until I was ready to use it. Pulling my robe tight, I hurried out of the bathroom and went back to the dorm. I crept over to Helen’s bed and shook her gently awake.
“Shhhh!” I warned her. “It’s only me.”
Helen sat up and yawned, pushing her hair out of her sleepy eyes. I knelt at the edge of her bed and tried toexplain everything in a hurried whisper, before the other girls woke up.
“After this weird dream and what happened last night, I think we definitely need to hide it somewhere safe,” I said in a low voice.
“I think you’re right. Wearing it is like an invitation for them to
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