The Enchanted Writes Book One (24 page)

Henrietta did not get far. Though she had
cast the flee spell, and even though it enabled her to run with
frantic speed through the city streets, it didn't take long to
realize that someone was following her.

At first she heard something that sounded
like rain, and then waves almost, and then, from behind, a jet of
water shot out from somewhere and slammed right into her back.

By now Henrietta had reached the industrial
section of town, and just as the shot of water slammed into her
back, pushing her forward and onto the ground, she tumbled to a
halt right in front of a scrap metal dealership.

It had high fences, and the yard was packed
with old sheets of metal and junk.

Though she had slammed to the ground with a
great deal of force, and though she was wearing the most ridiculous
of dresses, Henrietta quickly rolled over and pushed herself up to
her feet. She turned just in time to see another jet of water shoot
towards her.

She dodged to the side, her skirt snagging
against some exposed wire of the fence, and ripping loudly.

She didn't have any time to swear. Just
across the street was a bloody water witch.

It wasn't just any water witch either; it
was the same one she had faced at the docks, the very night she had
first met Hellier.

That night the Witch King had saved that
water witch, preventing Henrietta from banishing her.

Now the water witch was back for round
two.

She was wearing a black lacy dress, high
heels, and her black hair had an indigo tinge to it, and seemed to
hang around her face like wet sheets.

The witch opened her mouth and let out a
horrible hissing sound. “His Highness wishes to see you,” she
said.

It was the first time Henrietta had heard
one of the witches speak, and it was a truly horrible sound. It
felt like someone was sticking pins in her spine, and Henrietta
gave a violent shudder.

It was also the words that made her shudder
too.

“You interrupted his party, he wants to see
you,” the witch repeated, “he wants me to bring you back, you left
early.”

Henrietta bared her teeth, clutched her
hands into fists, and ground her heels into the dust to steadier
herself.

She forced her fan forward and wrote the
words witch hunter.

She transformed quickly.

The witch watched her as she did, but the
creature did bring up an arm to protect her eyes, as if the light
of Henrietta's transformation was painful somehow.

When Henrietta was finished, and her heels
clicked down on the dust-covered pavement, the witch gave another
hiss. “He wants to see you; he isn't done with you yet,” the witch
added.

Henrietta was back to being a witch hunter.
Gone was that incredible white princess dress, and the skirt,
heels, and long jacket were back.

Henrietta couldn't deny that they made her
feel powerful. All that mess of emotions that had overcome her, all
that nervousness, all that worry, it seemed to burn up now that she
was back in control.

Wall.

She wrote her favorite spell in front of her
just as she ducked to the side, another jet of water slicing out
towards her.

The jet of water was so strong and sharp
that it managed to cut through the fence Henrietta was standing in
front of. There was a cracking sound, and a section of the fence
fell forward, missing her by an inch.

With the magical wall in place before her,
Henrietta backed off, quickly jumping and flipping through the hole
in the fence, rolling on the ground, and then forcing herself to
her feet in a snap.

The witch sent another slice of water her
way, but fortunately the bulk of the wall protected Henrietta
again, though the magical bricks did shake in place.

This water witch really was powerful.
Perhaps the most powerful witch that Henrietta had yet faced.

Apart from the Witch King, that was.

“He wants to talk to you,” the water witch
repeated, her voice singsong. Then she walked forward, right into
the wall. Though the magical wall did repel her, the water witch
brought up her arms and slammed them into it.

It began to crumble.

The witch stepped over the remaining magical
bricks, a horrible smile peeling across her face.

Henrietta backed off.

Fire.

She cast a fireball, and it shot towards the
witch, but the witch easily brought up a hand, and as she did a
rush of water followed. The water collected over the fireball,
covering it completely until the two spells cancelled each other
out.

Dammit. The last time she'd fought this
witch, Brick had been at her side, and he had managed to cast a
magical magnification spell. In fact, that had been the only reason
that Henrietta had been able to cast a fire tornado, a very
difficult spell indeed.

But now she was on her own, and if she
didn't come up with a solution fast, it sounded as if this water
witch would drag Henrietta all the way back to Hellier.

Henrietta could only shudder to think of
what would happen then.

She ducked to the side, rolling quickly,
then pressing her hands into the ground and flipping several times
until she landed behind a stack of metal sheets.

There were still many spells Henrietta had
not tried, many words she had been intending to practice if she
ever got the time or opportunity.

It seemed that the breadth and range of
magic she could cast was only limited by her imagination. Just as
long as she got the wording right, she could almost do anything,
well, as long as she had the requisite magic.

The spells that were by far the easiest were
the elemental ones. Fire, earth, air, water; those came naturally
and fairly quickly.

But wasn't there one element that Henrietta
had left out? One elemental spell she had yet to try.

Metal.

So Henrietta wrote it. Though she had no
idea what the spell would do, she was desperate.

The witch was advancing, sending spurts of
water Henrietta’s way with every second, until it felt like there
was a lake underneath Henrietta's feet.

The second she finished writing the word,
the strangest of symbols appeared underneath Henrietta's boots.

But nothing happened. No metal spikes shot
out and towards the witch, but still the light of the spell and the
symbol below her travelled up and around Henrietta.

It was almost as if the spell had not been
properly cast, as if it was waiting for something more.

The water witch suddenly brought her hands
up and then furled them out. Just as she did, a wall of water burst
around her, as high as a tsunami, and it travelled towards
Henrietta like a bullet.

She had seconds.

A word came to her mind.

She wrote it.

Cage.

Finally the spell at Henrietta’s feet took
hold, and several metal poles shot from the symbol, rushing towards
the witch. They were fast and there were so many of them that they
burst through the wall of water, forcing it to break in half. So
when the water did reach Henrietta, it peeled off on either side of
her, crashing to the ground, completely soaking her, but not
toppling her over with its force.

The metal poles reached the witch, and one
by one they slammed into place, then twisted at the top, producing
a metal cage around the creature.

Just as Henrietta got to her feet, her whole
body sopping wet, she saw the witch begin to pull at the metal
bars. The creature was so strong that already she was having
success at tugging them apart.

So she had to end this.

The witch was still not weakened enough that
she could be banished, so Henrietta needed one more spell.

She had an idea.

Lightning.

It was the first time she'd cast it, and as
she wrote the word, there was a violent crackle of electricity from
a symbol under her feet, and then an arc of lightning shot out and
struck the cage.

Instantly electricity surged over it, down
the metal beams, and shot into the wet hands of the witch as she
held onto the metal poles.

She jolted backwards, slamming against the
cage just as she let out a high-pitched, horrible cry.

Though water and metal surrounded her, and
the electrical discharge from the lightning strike should have
translated through to Henrietta, nothing of the sort occurred; the
symbol at her feet protected her.

The witch was down, weakened enough that the
banish spell would work. So Henrietta did not hesitate. She took
several shaky steps forward and wrote banish.

The by-now familiar rush of invisible energy
coalesced around her and covered the witch, sending the creature
back into the void.

After it was all over, Henrietta the witch
hunter walked home. She was weakened, she was tired, and she had a
hell of a lot to think about.

Henrietta was on the couch eating ice cream.
She hadn’t eaten anything that entire day, and yet when she had
gotten home, she had polished off a pack of chocolate biscuits and
half a tub of cookie crumble ice cream.

Because she deserved it.

E
ven though she hadn't thought herself capable, she had gone
to that ball, and she had found out what Hellier was up to. And, to
top it all off, Henrietta had also taken down a fiendishly strong
witch all on her own.

Brick was sitting on the recliner opposite
her, and by George did he look proud. He was currently tucking into
his own packet of biscuits, and he was even making eyes at her
half-finished ice cream.

“Get your own,” she warned him with a
growl.

“I would have thought you would be more
thankful, considering what I did for you tonight,” Brick said as he
crammed another biscuit in his mouth.

“You told me that Hellier wouldn't be able
to see through my disguise,” Henrietta pointed out as she waved her
spoon Brick's way.

Brick winced through a smile. “It seems I
got that wrong. Though we cannot be sure that he saw through your
disguise; he may simply have taken a lucky guess. However, we
should not dwell on such things, because tonight was a
success.”

She pushed her head back into the pillow
propped up behind her.

“No one died, we found out what he is up to,
and you learnt several new spells,” Brick clarified. “What is more,
your sister gave me her number.”

Henrietta spluttered, wiped the back of her
hand over her mouth, and straightened up.

Brick was meant to be immune. Brick was
meant to be the only man Henrietta had ever met that wouldn't ditch
her for her sister.

Brick took a moment, and then he began to
chuckle, and it was a very toothy, crackly chuckle.

Henrietta threw a cushion at him. “I am in
no mood to play, Brick. Plus, we don't have the time. We might have
gotten out of there tonight, and I might have taken down that water
witch, but Hellier is still going to run for mayor. And if he gets
his way, then he is going to spend all the city’s funds on trying
to widen his witch den.”

As Brick bit into another biscuit, he
momentarily looked solemn. “This is true. But you are a witch
hunter, and I am the warrior monk helper who serves you, and if you
have not already figured this out, Henrietta, we will always be
busy. We will always be fighting the witches until the shadow war
can finally end.”

Henrietta put down her spoon, then she
nodded at Brick.

Because he was right.

She had finally accepted that fact.

She was a witch hunter. Henrietta Gosling,
former train wreck and uncoordinated wallflower was now the very
last of her kind. Capable of powerful magic, and with a trusty if
eccentric warrior monk at her side, Henrietta would fight the
witches.

It was her destiny. And as Brick always
said, she had to grab her destiny with both hands. Which she would,
as soon as she’d finished her ice cream.

Thank you for reading The Enchanted Writes
Book One

Book Two is currently available.

This series is complete.
It consists of five books. You can buy each book separately, or buy
the boxset – The Enchanted Writes Complete Series – for a reduced
price.

Life is busy for Henrietta. Ever since that
fateful night at the masquerade, the witches of Carson City have
only become more powerful and ferocious in their attacks. And to
top it all off, she can’t get his name out of her head and his
shadow out of her dreams. The Witch King. Theodore Hellier. He
haunts her every move. So when Henrietta’s own sister becomes
smitten with the man, Henrietta is forced to put her life on the
line to keep the two separate. Whilst wearing ridiculous stiletto
boots, of course.