INFILTRATION

JACK

There was a light feeling in her chest as she skipped down the path. At certain points, she would stop and do a twirl. This elicited weird looks from people she passed, but that didn’t stop her. If anything, it urged her on.

Every other minute, her hand found it’s way to the ring hanging around the chain on her neck and clutched.

It seemed the wind wanted in on the action as well, as it picked up in earnest, lifting up her dress and exposing a heart-shaped mark on her thigh.

The girl laughed and twirled her fingers in the air happily. It continued this way until she bumped into someone, and all the gaiety bled out of her as she scowled at the man that had fallen to the ground.

“Watch where you’re going, old man.”

His walking stick was a few meters away from him and he was struggling to stand.

“That should serve you right. Next time, stay at home or watch where you’re going.”

She flounced away from him, not bothering to check if he had regained his feet. No one would put a dampener on her happiness today. The world was her oyster and she was its queen.

She shook her head, stamped on a smile, and hummed a lively tune. She wove to a couple pushing their child in a pram and cooed at the baby inside. Once their backs were turned, she made a face and continued walking on.

She almost passed where she was headed but just in time, stopped and sailed into the shop, announcing her entrance as the little bell on the door jingled.

The sense of familiarity the sound elicited, was enough to widen the smile on her face. The warmth of the coffee shop wrapped her up and she removed the sweater she had worn on top of her dress before leaving the house that morning, and tied it around her waist.

She was silently pleased her instructions had been adhered to when she saw the cafe was empty. She took in the well worn chairs, four to a table, with the foam already peeking out from their leather covering.

A sign on the wall caught her attention. It read - Drink a cuppa and you’ll never be the same again. She broke out in a grin when she saw this.

As she approached the counter, the girl behind it pasted on an awkward smile that didn’t sit well on her face. It slipped two notches as the newcomer stopped in front of her.

Her mouth opened and she began to speak. “Welcome to Cathy’s Cafe, my name is Stacy. We have a latte, mocha and cappuccino. Buy a cup and get our delicious home made fruit cake.” She stopped, c****d her head to the side as if to ask - so what’ll it be?

You could tell she had rehearsed those lines so many times she was tired of it. The awkward smile was immediately replaced with a frown as she waited for the newcomer before her to speak.

“What’s black and red with holes in it?”

It took Stacy all of five seconds for her mouth to drop open and in a voice filled with disbelief, she asked.

“Your heart?”

“Correct! My name is Jinxabell, I believe I’m being expected.”

Stacy visibly seemed to straighten. She immediately rushed to the door, grabbed a hold of the sign that hung from it and flipped it around. She locked the door and then turned round to face Jinxabell.

“Follow me.” With a wave of her hand, she ushered Jinxabell through the back door that led through a long dim corridor. There, she stopped at a door, knocked and entered, followed closely by Jinxabell.

The room was dark, save for the light that emanated from the fire underneath a huge cauldron from which smoke billowed from.

Ten people, all wearing long, dark blue hooded gowns stood around it in the middle of the room in a circle, holding hands. They all looked up as Jinxabell and Stacy entered the room.

They wordlessly beckoned, waving at them to join the circle. Jinxabell’s hands were tightly clasped as she gazed into the cauldron that churned with liquid and smoke. The circle opened up once again, and Stacy joined them on the opposite end of the circle, also wearing the same hood as the others.

From the cauldron, a silver colored smoke rose steadily in the air. Tendrils of it moved, snake like, towards the first person hidden underneath the hood. It nudged the hood off, revealing a middle aged woman with blonde hair. On sighting her face, it bounced off and moved to the next person.

This continued with the other people, and as it moved, it grew in intensity, forming long tentacles. Not finding what they were looking for, they moved on to the next hooded person.

This went on until it got to Jinxabell. The tendrils stopped, hovering in front of her face, then suddenly without any warning, they sunk into her skin and disappeared. A transformation took place; her skin became translucent, and shone with an inner white light.

Her eyes shot open, and they were bloodshot. Her feet lifted off the ground and she began to levitate in the air.

Sight, sound and smell faded away, as well as her surroundings. She was no longer in the dim room. All around her, as far as the eyes could see, was water. She was on the deck of a boat.

A cold wind blew from the west, lifting the tresses of her hair that were now long and auburn. Even her clothes were different. She wore a long gown with a sleeveless tunic and a wimple covering her hair. On top of her gown, was a long cloak made of sheepskin, and on her hands were long elbow length mittens.

Someone wrapped an arm around her waist from behind, and whispered into her ear. “Me love.”

She was turned round and came face to face with a man that had a jagged scar that started from his left eye and travelled down to his chin, disappearing into his full shock of facial beard.

She leaned into him, smiling languidly, filling her nostrils with the smell of him. He smelt like the sea; fresh and tangy. “My Jack, tis like a dream being in your arms after waiting for so long.”

He kissed her on the forehead and moved back, gazing deep into her eyes. “Yes, lassie, ye’er not just a maiden now, but my betrothed.”

He lifted her hands in the air and stared at their entwined fingers before he rose them to his lips and kissed her fingers.

“What do ye think of the ring, lassie?”

That was when Jinxabell saw it. She gasped as she gazed in awe at the ring sitting on her left finger. It was a plain simple gold band with a small gem in the middle of it. Even though it didn’t look expensive, she knew she would cherish it for the rest of her life.

“I know it’s not much, but it’s special to me, because it was me mother’s, and I want ye to have it. Tomorrow, we will wed before the whole Vikings and I will -“

He didn’t finish his words as he was snatched from her by a whirlwind. Her vision blurred, and everywhere went dark. She screamed in turmoil, calling out his name over and over again.

She felt herself falling, as if from a great height, the law of gravity pulling her down with pressure. She closed her eyes and willed it to stop.

What felt like hours later, but she knew could only have been seconds, her feet hit solid ground and she opened her eyes. She was once more in the room, but this time, she was alone. No hooded figures, no cauldron - just her.

She dragged herself up, feeling as if her whole body had passed through a grinder. She was out of breath and her legs felt like jelly, and so at intervals, she would stop and lean against the wall as she made her way out of the room and towards the cafe.

Stacy was nowhere to be seen. It seemed like she had closed, because the chairs were placed on the tables and the blinds were drawn. Jinxabell was glad, because she wasn’t ready for small talk.

She walked all the way home and slumped in the sitting room chair. As usual, her mother was there, sipping tea.

“You saw him, didn’t you?”

Jinxabell’s foot was already raised to climb the first stair when she stopped and turned. “Saw who, exactly?”

Her mother stood and walked close to her. “You forget we’re in this together, you can’t just conjure him whenever you like, we could be c—“

“Then let us be.” Jinxabell flayed her fingers in the air. “I miss him so terribly.” A sob caught in her throat and she almost fell, were it not for her mother who caught her just in time.

They both sank to the floor and Olivia cradled her daughter in her arms, smoothing the hairs at her nape. “Shush, now. We will get past this. Thanks to you, I’m doing better, so please try to keep it together at least till we find the worthy one, okay?”

They both fell silent, each lost in thought.