A/N: This chapter was originally a bit shorter, but I'm writing the next one as we speak and with the extra stuff that I added into this chapter it was already over 3,000 words so I went back and added some more from the next chapter to this one. xD Originally, if you're curious it ended at "They were at a stand still" so you can thank the next chapter for being so long for less of a cliff-hanger ending xD
Chapter 12: i chase after your shadow; i run as though i'm fleeing
Injured though she was, Constance still found energy to yell at Broomhead, "No! Not again you filthy creature!" She shot a golden bolt of magic from her fingertips and it hit Broomhead directly, slamming her against the wall. She knew her actions would only halt the attack temporarily, so she took full advantage of the time she had and turned her attention immediately to Imogen, as she struggled to make her way over to her, Broomhead noticed and sent a bolt of magic right back at her, slamming her against the table.
Imogen's body ached all over, and now that she had just been given a marvellous headache courtesy of Mistress Broomhead, she desperately wanted to help, but she knew that would do more harm than good, she had no power to assist Constance, all she could do was watch the incredible display of magic before her eyes, and stay out of the crossfire.
In the next few moments, Imogen began to understand the cliché of a few seconds of time seeming like they were happening in slow-motion. All she could see were sparks of magic flying in front of her face and then nothing. They were gone: Broomhead and Constance.
In a panic Imogen stood up quickly, forgetting she was injured. She couldn't find the words to express how she felt, all she could manage was, "Amelia, what just-, how-?"
Miss Cackle, who was equally stunned, replied with a determination rarely heard in her voice, "I do not know, but trust me Imogen I am going to find out."
"How? They vanished, there's no way to track them is there?" Imogen was slowly regaining her ability to think clearly.
"While it is difficult, it is not impossible, they can't have gone far, both of them are injured and it means that Mistress Broomhead's magic will not be as powerful while she is in this state, and moving them like she did would have drained her further. It was a risky thing to do, she must be desperate."
"I fail to see how it's possible Miss Cackle. Is there some kind of spell we can do? Anything?"
"Miss Cackle, sorry, it may be kind of a silly idea, and I don't know if it will even work, but last week I was reading about the methods witches used to use to try and find things or people," Mildred suggested, knowing her suggestion was a long-shot and probably wouldn't work, but she could see how desperate everyone was and no one else had managed to come up with anything useful.
"What is it Mildred?" Miss Cackle asked.
"Well, Miss Hardbroom has a magic mirror doesn't she? Couldn't we use it to scry for her?" Mildred said, hesitantly.
"Scrying?" Miss Cackle began, surprised by Mildred's unique suggestion, "It's been a long time since I've heard anyone suggest that, I'm not even sure if I've ever actually done it before," she said.
"I know no one does it anymore, but it wouldn't hurt to try," Mildred replied.
"Hi, excuse me, remember me? The non-witch, sorry to be impatient here, but what are you talking about?!" It irritated Imogen when witches talked about something clearly obvious to them but to her sounded like a foreign language she didn't understand.
"Scrying is an ancient practice amongst witches, used to locate someone who is missing, or to help one look for answers to something. It has various methods, the oldest of which being to interpret the smoke which emanates from a fire. More commonly it is done by the use of crystals or mirrors to find the answer you're searching for," Miss Cackle explained, "no one really uses it anymore since it's fairly unreliable and there are usually far more effective methods available, however in this case perhaps the more simple methods would be more appropriate, as there is a lot of magical interference from the confrontation earlier, and the one which I can feel still happening now."
"So are you saying we can find them?" Imogen asked.
"We don't know if it will work, but given this mirror belongs to Constance, there is a good chance it will. She would not keep a faulty or substandard tool in her possession after all," Miss Cackle replied, going over to the panel behind which Constance kept her mirror. She took the necessary precautions and was able to open the panel. She lifted the mirror out and placed it on the table, "Imogen I think it would be best if you tried first, you are the most emotionally connected to Constance, and indeed to Mistress Broomhead, as soon as you see something start describing it and hopefully it will lead us to them."
Imogen nodded and stepped in front of the mirror, "What do I do?" She asked.
"Focus your mind only on Constance, remember as much about her as you are able, try to visualise every detail you can," Miss Cackle explained.
"Will it work even though I'm not a witch?"
"You were once a witch Imogen, the necessary magic will still be somewhere inside you, your magic may have been taken from you, but trace amounts will remain, besides your connection to Constance is the strongest among us, you are the best chance we have to find her, now concentrate."
Imogen focused on the mirror, and thought only of Constance.
The forest was alight with magic, though both were injured they were still able to counter each other's attacks, neither of them would give up easily. Few words were spoke as the dual continued, every effort was concentrated on conjuring their magic. Constance hurled a binding spell at Broomhead, hoping to stop her from running away, however as the magic flew through the air, it was countered. The increase of magical energy being generated by the two witches could be felt in the air, and if they kept going it would multiply until it would be impossible to contain. Constance was conscious of this, but she was more compelled by the overwhelming need to stop Broomhead.
Imogen was doing her best to concentrate, but even she could feel a change in the air, the magic being conjured by Constance and Broomhead was increasing in power and it worried her. Re-focusing her thoughts on locating Constance, she looked purposefully into the magic mirror before her and slowly images began to appear, "Miss Cackle! I think it's working," she exclaimed, not wanting to take her eyes off the mirror for fear it would break the connection.
"What do you see?" Miss Cackle asked, deciding to contain her surprise that such an unreliable method of seeing magical energy was actually working.
"It's not clear, mostly flashes of magic," Imogen concentrated so she could more easily interpret the images before her, it took a few moments before she recognised parts of the images enough to know where they were, "I know where they are," she said, rushing out of her chair and running out of Miss Cackle's office, through the school's corridors and out to the courtyard.
"Imogen!" Miss Cackle called, running after her.
"I have to find her!" Imogen exclaimed.
"And how do you plan on doing that in your state? You can't fly there, so what were you going to do, run?" Miss Cackle spoke to her as if she were disciplining a student, while also catching her breath, running was not her forte.
"I can't just stand here and do nothing!" Imogen pleaded, "I have to go after her."
"I will go with you, on a broomstick, that way we will have a chance of getting there quickly," Miss Cackle told her.
"Fine," Imogen said, "we haven't got time to waste, let's go, quickly!"
Miss Cackle took Imogen by the arm and they ran over to the broomshed, she grabbed her broomstick and ordered it to hover, "Sit behind me and hold on tight, as you said, we don't have much time, so we need to hurry, and it's probably going to be dangerous with two of us going this fast, do you understand Imogen?"
Imogen nodded and got on the broomstick behind Miss Cackle, "Let's go, then, what are you waiting for?"
With that Miss Cackle ordered the broom to fly.
They rose quickly, Imogen understood what she had meant not, it was slightly disorienting and made her feel a little dizzy, but she didn't care. All she wanted to was to get to Constance as fast as possible.
From the air it was easy to see where the two witches were, the forest glowed with magical light. Navigating the skies whilst there was so much magical energy being generated was not as easy task, Miss Cackle had to constantly stabilise her broomstick. She lowered them down just outside of the most concentrated area of magic.
Imogen practically leapt off the broom once they were close enough to the ground, and ran as fast as her aching body could take her. Miss Cackle tried to protest and follow after her, but even injured Imogen was easily able to out-run her.
When she reached the clearing where Constance and Broomhead were, the light from their magic was blinding, and she couldn't see either of them clearly enough to tell who they were.
She didn't know what she'd hoped to accomplish, it wasn't like she could do anything to defend herself or Constance. As she stood there Miss Cackle finally caught up to her, she looked straight at her and said, "You shouldn't have done that."
Imogen didn't care, she was being sustained only by adrenaline at this point.
Miss Cackle knew if she added more magic to this already precarious situation it would only do more harm.
They were at a stand still.
Constance knew if this battle continued, the Foster's effect would likely destroy them all, but she couldn't let Broomhead win. The magical energy was building, and the storm it caused was growing more powerful, "This needs to stop!" She cried.
"This is your doing Constance, had you not been so useless we would not be here now!"
"We are here because of you, because of what you did to Imogen! You destroyed what we had, what we could have been!" Constance yelled, casting another bolt from her fingers.
"She is meaningless! And so are you!" Broomhead's words did little damage to Constance, she was numb to them at this point. The scars she had inflicted when she was younger burned as Broomhead's spell flew towards her. The close proximity and the intensity of magic between the two witches was exacerbating the pain, making it feel like she was engulfed in flames.
Constance heard movement in the trees, and turned suddenly, confirming that they were not alone. She knew it had to be Amelia and Imogen. She knew they would come looking for her, however what they could do to help her, she did not know.
Imogen couldn't look away from the scene in front of her, she had to work hard to resist the urge to run in there and try and stop them, "We have to do something! We can't just stand here," Imogen turned to Miss Cackle hoping she had come up with a plan on how to stop it.
"If we try and interfere we would risk making things worse, their magic has to go somewhere so even if we dragged one of them away from the battle, it would do little good," Miss Cackle's outlook while realistic was not overly positive, and Imogen knew she was right, but it didn't mean that she had to like it.
"Can we channel it somewhere?" Imogen asked, trying to at least get a conversation going, which was making her feel like she actually was contributing to saving Constance.
"The only thing I can think of is to channel it into the sky, and hopefully overload it so it dissipates," Miss Cackle replied.
"Is that safe? Wouldn't that just create a massive electrical storm? What if it builds and doesn't overload itself?" Imogen didn't understand the finer points of the magical world but it seemed to her that Miss Cackle's idea was a pretty desperate one.