Chapter 7
Rumor
My feet slipped on something slick and wet, and I tumbled forward, pain shooting through my knees as I landed on hard earth.
Panting and feeling the burn in my chest from exertion, I pulled myself up, determined to escape.
Icy wind howled against the exposed skin of my face and arms, and the pervasive feeling and terrifying realization that I was being chased—no, hunted—stabbed into my back as I ran.
Suddenly, my feet sank into fluffy white snow, giving away my position, making each attempt to hide feel loud and echoing through the night.
To my horror, something growled behind me.
Wherever it was, it was gaining on me Whatever it was, it was faster and I wouldn’t escape it.
I dodged through naked, black trees, their branches outstretched towards the full moon, when I glanced up in horror.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of eyes blinked back at me.
Bird, spirits, or monsters, it could’ve been any or all of those things—or perhaps the trees themselves knowing I’d be dead soon—made no attempt to hide their true forms. They were watching me, gawking at the spectacle of a dark little witch running like a scared rabbit from a long-fanged, invisible predator.
Somewhere in the distance, a sound much scarier than the snarls of my pursuant reverberated through the eerie quiet…
Prism screamed.
My little sister was sobbing between bellows somewhere in the night. Her begs pierced my soul deeper than any blade here could.
“Please, please, please,” she pleaded.
I didn’t know where I was or how I’d got here, but somehow I’d been put wherever my sister was—and she needed me.
Despite her misguided actions, despite the warping of her mind by the withers, she was my only family and the only thing I truly cared about in this world.
I’d do anything to save her; I’d stop at nothing to rescue her.
“Prism!” I called out. “I’m coming for you, Prism!”
The rumble of footsteps behind me halted, and I stopped between a clearing of trees. Before me were two doors. Two oddly placed doors in the middle of a dark, snowy forest.
The howling wind ceased, the crunch of snow dissipated, and the looming glow of eyes above me watched with rapt attention. Disoriented, I marveled, confused at the sudden and unexpected display of otherworldly interference.
Prism screamed again, now somewhere behind the doors… but which one?
This felt like a cruel trick.
A malicious game.
My magic prickled behind my skin, drawing me forward. One door beckoned me with its slick, obsidian black… the other perched next to it, smaller, rosy pink and unassuming.
One mighty, powerful, and dark. I imagined the potential behind such a mysterious thing. The portals to unknown realms of ether and eternity… naturally, it called to me.
The other door was delicate and light, looking as if the smallest match would set it to ruin.
Visions sprang behind my eyes like maroon tulip bulbs during the equinox.
This door smelt of blueberry muffins; it felt soft as freshly laundered quilts, and warm like a garden thawing in the bright, new sun.
That wasn’t a life I could fit inside anymore.
I’d shed that skin like a snake.
I’d learned us much from the mere hours spent inside my cottage in Willowspire.
How could I go back to spells for sudsing soap buckets and banishing fire ants and vermin when I’d just experienced the rush of real, animated, formidable magic within my bones?
Knowing now that daimons responded to my call, canvases danced, tiny mice hoarded all the wisdom of the veiled cosmos, and teachings of every solstice gathering throughout time existed within a library mere miles from my dwelling place?
How could I say goodbye to that in favor of moon water, stick runes, and waiting for the next tragedy to strike and render me helpless again?
The pink door wasn’t made for me.
The black door held promise and intrigue… much like the mystery grimoire. This was a new grimoire all of its own. Real or not, in my head or not, this was something divine.
I walked toward it but paused, recalling Prism’s tear-streaked face. The fervor of her hex.
To never find love.
She’d hexed me for killing her monster.
I couldn’t begin to sort through those emotions—and despite her rage, I couldn’t give up on her either. My matri wouldn’t have given up on us. She fought for us until her very end, and I’d do the same for Prism.
My sister would have to kill me to stop me from loving and protecting her.
With an intake of breath, I caressed the smooth handle of the black door… before letting go and moving towards the pink.
If my sister were anywhere, if beyond the fog whisked her away to some far-off place, if her own unwieldy magic created safety for her… this was it. This door had Prism Malefic all over it.
I didn’t want it; it’s not what I would have chosen on my own, but it’s what she would pick. If this… what was this? A dream? A nightmare? A vision? If this altered state of awareness was leading me anywhere, it was here, toward her.
Letting out a breath, I turned the creaking knob of the splintered pink door and pushed it open.
I stepped forward into sunlight.
And my heart dropped as the light blinded me and someone said my name, but it wasn’t my sister.
A voice I hadn’t heard in so long.
A voice that erupted tears to my eyes and disbelief through my frame. I felt small. I felt like a little kid again at that voice. I felt all the pain and loss of my existence in one instant with one word.
My matri’s voice echoed. “Rumor?”