27. Cori
Cori
S he woke naturally at dawn the next morning after another restless night. Adrian had dropped her off after the trip to the grocery store before nine, his eyes lingering on her mouth as she unclipped her seat belt. Despite her temptation to kiss him again, she had jumped out of the car and practically ran into the cottage.
She laid in bed for a while when she awoke the next morning, watching the final beams of moonglow dissipate as they were overcome by the sun’s rays.
She popped a bagel in the toaster and filled her mug with hot coffee as Turtle rubbed against her legs, mewling to be let outside. As she opened the door, Turtle ran into the garden, and the spray of the sea bouncing off the rocks below inspired her to take a walk. Before she went outside, she retrieved her old notebook and marked the date.
Ninety-eight days .
She carefully climbed the rock path down to the beach, her coffee sloshing out of her mug as she balanced on the smooth rocks that lead to the soft gray sand.
After carefully perching herself on a large piece of driftwood, she watched the ocean waves dance and curl between the rocks. Each breath of salt air fueled her as she savored each sip of her morning pick-me-up. Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to wander to what it felt like to sit on the bay at home watching the sailboats drift under the bridge.
She became so lost in the memory she didn’t notice that someone had been approaching behind her until she saw a long slender shadow appear to her side.
Cori turned her head and squinted into the light, her eyes focusing on the frame of a tiny woman, her dark hair fashioned into a stylish bob with a neat fringe of bangs. Her mouth was twisted into a smile of pure delight, accentuated eerily by the dark red lipstick she wore. She sported a neat little red dress with large shiny buttons that made her look almost comical standing on the rustic beach.
Cori’s heart pounded as she recognized the intruder from her vision. She stood quickly, her heart practically leaping out of her chest. There was nowhere to run. The beach was surrounded by the tide, and the only exit, the stone steps, now appeared to be guarded by a tall man wearing a black trench coat.
He wore boots, certainly the same large shoes of the accomplice that broke into her cottage. The mysterious man looked almost bored as he stood on the steps, his arms crossed loosely, as if he was waiting on the platform for a train.
The woman opened her mouth to speak but seemed at a loss for words. She put her hand up to her heart and squeezed her eyes shut before blurting out, “Cordelia?”
Cori’s mouth fell open with shock. This woman certainly knew who she was. Who she really was. She was so taken aback by the sound of her full name, she took a step toward the water. “Who are you?” she asked as her foot slipped on a seaweed-laden rock below her.
She rehearsed in her mind what she was supposed to do if she was ever cornered by a kidnapper. There was charm to send furniture flying at her attacker, but that would do her no good out on the beach. A charm that would whistle loudly, but she doubted anyone would hear it over the roar of the ocean .
Her mind suddenly was blank, filled only with the shock of finding herself in this predicament.
The woman in front of her stopped smiling now as she narrowed the distance between them, “I’m sensing you might be a little freaked-out right now,” she said quickly raising her hands in front of her. “I have a million things I need to tell you, and something about you is giving me major fight-or-flight vibes. I really didn’t want to have to do it this way, so I’m sorry about this.”
She took a highly embellished pouch out of her pocket and slowly dipped her hand in. When she removed her hand, it was covered in a shimmering powder. She moved her fingers to her lips and softly blew the powder into the wind, where it settled on Cori’s face.
Her eyes grew full of a gloomy sensation of exhaustion. She felt the muscles in her arms and legs get heavy as she slowly slumped to the sandy rocks below.
When Cori woke, she was lying in the back seat of a small compact car that smelled strongly of patchouli and burnt matches. The big man in the trench coat drove as the woman in the red dress sat in the passenger’s seat, her arm propped up on the window as she looked out to the road.
“Oh, I love this song!” she squealed, making the man jump.
“Pru, for God’s sake, do you want me to crash this car?” He had a thick English accent and a deep timbre to his voice. “I’m struggling enough with driving on the wrong side of the road in this godforsaken country.”
The woman in the passenger seat began to sing along to the radio, her voice happily off-key.
“I’m going to kill my uncle for making me come here,” the man said under his breath.
“Come on, Alfie, my dad asked you to come out here because he thinks you’re a tough and clever witch, and you would be the perfect person to help me. You should be honored. Plus, this is a gorgeous little town, even you must admit that.” She leaned on the window again.
“It’s perfectly acceptable,” Alfie grumbled.
“It’s much more charming than New Haven. I know you hated that place.”
Alfie gagged. “New Haven is what would happen to Cambridge if a bunch of hippies moved in.”
Cori nearly choked. Just how long had they been following her?
“Oh, Cordelia, you’re awake!”
Cori attempted to speak, but only garbled noise came out.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I had to tongue-tie you.” Her kidnapper scrunched up her spritelike face apologetically. “Couldn’t risk you using a spell on us,” she explained with a shrug.
Although she couldn’t speak, her hands and legs were free. Cori looked down at the floor of the car and spotted a pen and a few crumbled pieces of paper. She had never been more jealous of a Charms witch. It would come in handy to use silent incantations at a time like this. She covered the pen with her foot, developing a plan in her mind.
“Oh, how rude of me! I didn’t even introduce myself,” her kidnapper said. “I’m Prudence, but you can call me Pru. This is Alfie. He’s my cousin from across the pond,” she said with an exaggerated English accent and a flourish. Alfie rolled his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Don’t mind him, he has that dry English charm and sense of humor that all the gents go nuts over.”
Cori raised her eyebrows at Prudence. For a kidnapper, she was extraordinarily polite. She had a million questions tied to her lips that she couldn’t make into words, with her tongue glued to the roof of her mouth. Out the window, she recognized the road that led to the south side of town. Alfie pulled to a side road toward a small abandoned dock that looked like it had not been used in years.
With horror she realized that there was a small boat tied to the side. The car pulled to a stop, and she seized the opportunity to scoop the ballpoint pen into her pocket along with a few scraps of paper from the floor.
“Cordelia, be a dear and walk over to that little boat for us?” Prudence asked her sweetly from the front seat. “Alfie thinks we should use more sleeping powder on you, but I would prefer not to carry you at this point. I nearly threw my back out getting you into the car.” She rubbed her back as she made a pitiful, pleading face toward her.
She walked obediently to the boat as she had time to fully survey her captors. She opened her Eye to Prudence first. Her aura was pink and pulsing with almost girlish excitement. Although her emotions were intense, Cori didn’t sense malicious intent, despite her actions.
There was something else there that was harder to read, something that was almost sad. She sensed Prudence had walls up, most likely expecting that Cori would use her Celestial powers to gain an advantage. Alfie was easier to read—dingy annoyance.
She boarded the boat as instructed, heart hammering in her chest, wondering how they intended to kill her. Would they throw her overboard after inflicting some deadly spell? She could see the coroner’s report now— likely death of natural causes, fell into the water after losing consciousness .
Death by magic never left a trace or a sign of a struggle on the victim. She wondered how many mysterious deaths that were reported as natural causes were because of dark magic.
Her skin prickled, her breath quickening as hot tears stung her cheeks. Prudence turned from the stern of the ship and wilted a bit when she saw the tears streaming down her face.
“Cordelia, why are you crying?” she asked with apparent genuine concern.
“She can’t answer you, remember?” Alfie responded to her. “But if I had to guess, she’s probably crying because she was put to sleep with magic and captured by two strangers who are about to take her to a bloody deserted island.”
Cori sucked in a deep breath through her nose, squinting into the light as Alfie shoved a few more objects into his duffel. Cetus Island was just beyond the shoreline, only a short, ten-minute boat ride away.
She tried to remember everything Adrian had told her about the island—something about steep rocks and only being able to dock in a certain spot. The sun was high in the sky, and the air had heated. How long had she been asleep?
“Alfie, please, we’ve gone through this.”
“I know. We have gone through this. Ad nauseam, in fact. But it still doesn’t change the fact that there had to be a better way to do this.”
“I told you a hundred times,” Prudence snapped at him. “We knew she would never come with us willingly. She was raised by Charms witches, for Goddess’s sake!” Prudence paused, looking back at her with sorrow in her eyes. “She was never going to trust us.”
Alfie rolled his eyes. “Sure, Pru. Because kidnapping someone is always the best way to gain their trust.” He shook his head and muttered something under his breath.
Prudence stomped to the stern of the little boat and turned over the engine.
They sailed onward toward the south side of the island and circled until they found a reasonable place to dock. Alfie tied the boat, rather sloppily Cori noted, to an ancient-looking chain that was welded to a shabby mooring. The island was overgrown and wild sea grasses had claimed the beach. There was more rock than sand.
“Welcome to our little slice of paradise,” Prudence said. She made her way up the hill to a clearing in the brush.
Cori was getting the feeling that Prudence and Alfie knew exactly where they were going. “Now that you’re all safe and sound, I’ll be happy to release your tongue.” Prudence smiled at her as she twisted her hand, spinning an amulet that swung from a long chain around her neck in her fingertips. Cori felt her mouth relax, and she reflexively stretched her out jaw.
“Pru, I left my pack in the boat! I’ll be right up,” Alfie called back to her .
Cori seized her chance, liberating the pen and piece of paper from her pocket. She scribbled a word behind her back the best she could and folded the little scrap of paper the way her mother had taught her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on Adrian, whispering the spell as the little piece of paper melted into her hand.