15. Wolf
She never came back. I waited and waited in the Mist, fear and agitation and loss all warring inside me, but Emi never reappeared. I had no idea if she was alive or dead. I couldn’t think of it without my heart shredding.
I tore the house apart. Emi was gone, and there was nothing I could do about that, no matter how much I wondered who that man was or what had happened to her. People didn’t vanish into thin air without magic. Having magic would explain how he was in the Mist without becoming a monster, but I”d never heard of a male gemstone witch. It was only ever women.
It didn’t matter.
Nothing mattered. I had to move on.
Forget Emi. Forget the hope she’d given me.
Forget the things I’d started to feel.
I threw myself into my task, no longer cautious in my search as I ripped apart furniture and tore into walls. The Ruby Witch lived up to her evil reputation at every turn.
I found stashes of gemstones, vials of poison, keepsakes, and tokens tucked away like trophies of past curses. I didn’t let myself wonder about the people who’d suffered under those curses, because none of them were the one I was here for. I didn’t let myself think or feel.
All I wanted was to leave this place and its memories behind. The three witches told me it would end with me. I’d killed for this. Echoes of Ruby’s death and her final taunt, “You’ll never be free,” would haunt me to the end. I’d made Emi hate me. I’d surrendered to the monster.
For what?
So three witches could take out their competition? For some kind of revenge? A game? Why?
I couldn’t slink back to the enclave without an answer.
I spent days searching without sleep, tearing up the garden, too. When the Mist pulled at me, I worked harder. When I caught glimpses of Lynx or Bear through the trees, I retreated. Beating wings drove me inside. I couldn’t let Robin or Hawk see my disgrace. The cottage was a mess, every table overturned, every cupboard emptied, every cushion torn open, and I found nothing of use.
I felt nothing but the absence of Emi. I missed the sounds of her puttering in the kitchen, whipping together something to bake whenever she was overwhelmed. I longed for a glimpse of dark red hair. A flash of red in the forest sent my heart skittering until Fox poked his furry nose out from the bush and dashed that terrible hope. He was checking on me, they all were, but none of them came in to the clearing. The Ruby Witch’s legacy had left too strong an imprint on us all. This was my burden to bear, and mine alone.
When I finally slept, I passed out on the couch with the pillow that smelled of warm vanilla clutched to my face.
Eventually, I had to admit Emi wasn’t coming back and I wasn’t making any progress. The Mist’s claim on me was a searing fire I could no longer put off, so I stepped outside to surrender to it.
For several more days, I wandered the woods, hoping to stop feeling...so much.
Finally, with my tail between my legs, I returned to the enclave. It was time. There was no end to this, and I owed it to them to explain. To apologize. They were my family and all I had in this life, so I returned to the only home I remembered.
I slipped through the wall of towering branches that held back the Mist, hoping to slide inside unnoticed. But Fawn and Moose called out welcomes as I grabbed trousers and a tunic and jerkin from our stash. Their calls were too friendly. Too happy. They should blame me, but…they didn’t?
That set off a chorus of “Wolf,” and “He’s back,” from around the enclave. Fox’s insolent, “Finally,” cut deeper than the rest.
Lynx rushed over and threw his arms around me. “We knew you’d come back, mate. Never doubted you.”
Robin’s small but mighty arms circled my waist next, and she hung on until I worried for the integrity of my ribs. Then she yelled at me for going after the Ruby Witch myself without taking her along.
“I hardly think a robin would have been much threat against curse magic. I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt,” I soothed.
What I’d really wanted was to spare them from what had to be done, so none of them would have to feel what I felt now. I didn’t want anyone else to give more to their monsters than they had to. And now that I’d failed, I wouldn”t wish this lingering guilt on any of them.
A jab to my upper arm reinforced Robin’s indignation. “Quit underestimating me. I could have been your distraction. Bear would have backed you up.”
The man in question solemnly nodded his big head beside her.
“We all would have,” Robin insisted.
I blinked back the sting in my eyes. “I was just trying to follow the prophecy. They said it was for the wolf of the woods. That’s me. No need to risk the rest of you if I was enough. Except I wasn’t enough. I’m sorry,” I said, my head hanging.
“None of that, now.” Fawn smiled kindly, handing me a bowl of stew. “We knew you were out there doing your best for us, like you always do, Wolf.”
“I saw some of you, checking up on me.”
“Not checking up,” Lynx protested, “just worried about you. We saw the girl there.”
“That was Ruby’s granddaughter. She showed up the day after.”
There was a collective hiss of inhaled breaths. “Another witch?” Robin asked.
I snorted. “That’s what I assumed. But Emi hasn’t claimed her magic yet.”
“Obviously, or you’d be dead.” That was Fox, pointing out painfully obvious facts.
“She did try.” I huffed out a laugh. “But Emi was…is…different.”
Robin’s eyebrows shot up. “I think you should tell us everything, from the beginning.”
As we often did, we gathered around Fawn’s fire. She was our den mother, always feeding everyone, so seating had naturally grown around her little piece of the enclave.
Bear and Hawk sat on either side of me, lending reassuring support as I told the group everything since the prophecy and my departure. Even Fox listened closely without reproach.
“The witches said killing her would break the curse. They literally said ‘clear skies can soon reclaim these lands’. No more Mist. They must have lied, I just can’t figure out why.”
“Or the prophecy was wrong,” Lynx suggested.
Robin spoke up. “Impossible. Amber says the Diamond Witch”s prophecies are infallible.”
“Well, this one wasn’t,” I muttered, wondering how she could say any witch”s name so plainly, without contempt lacing her voice.
From across the fire, Fox cleared his throat. “What exactly did the prophecy say? The precise wording.”
I repeated it, verbatim.
“So not that the curse would break, but that you would gain the power to break it. That”s not the same thing,” he said.
He was right, technically. “But nothing happened to me when she died. I didn”t gain any kind of power, and all that’s happened since is the Mist got even thicker.”
“Then what?” Robin asked. “After you killed that Ruby bitch, what happened at the cottage?”
“I searched it. I hoped I”d find something I missed.”
”And?”
“There was nothing.” I didn”t know why, but I didn”t want to tell them all about Emi. I didn”t want to talk about our time together. It was probably because we were all wary of witches, not because merely thinking Emi’s name opened the aching hole where my heart lived. “I stayed to search, but there”s nothing there. I tore the whole place apart.“
Fox looked contemplative. “Maybe you should go back to the other witches.”
I expected a flare of hatred to burst to life at the idea, but all that happened was an image of Emi filled my mind with fondness. After so long hating all witches for what Ruby had done, now I couldn”t help but see them as individuals. I didn’t trust the Diamond Witch or her failed prophecy, but I could admit I didn’t feel the same malice from her as Ruby had always evoked in her scarlet hood. The Amber and Crystal Witches who’d delivered the prophecy with Diamond, weren’t terribly threatening either. Was it possible not all witches were terrible?
At the forest”s edge, I surveyed the Yellow Plain. The Mist wasn’t solid beyond the bounds of Aglonbriar forest, but it was still thick enough to cloak the plain in an endless golden twilight. In the distance, the shadow of a tall beanstalk loomed high into the misty gloom, so high I”d heard it broke through the haze at the top to a true blue sky. It might as well have been a different world.
Even if I could climb it, I couldn”t go that far from the woods. The curse bound us too tightly for that sort of distance, so I stood at the edge with solid tendrils wrapping my legs and tail in a gentle caress. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my head and howled to the yellow sky.
The Amber Witch was always nearby, watching over the plain from her beanstalk. Apparently, she’d planted it from a so-called magic bean her brother, Jacks, had obtained. Of course, the only real magic was Amber’s, her plant magic able to grow the legume to such an obscene size that she could weave its branches into a home and platforms from which she kept watch over travelers. My howls clawed at the gold-cast landscape, their echo lingering as I waited.
She strode out of the gloaming like a pale ghost in a floating gossamer gown. Dark hair framed her face, an unusual shade like Emi’s, which sent a pang through me. Amber was otherworldly in the strange light, and apprehension tightened its fist in my chest.
It didn”t escape my notice that I was standing very close to where Leo had lost his head to the sword wielded by Amber’s brother. Another stab of loneliness lanced me at the memory. I was so tired of doing this alone.
“I miss you, brother,” I thought to Leo’s ghost as I emerged from the trees.
Amber gave me a wide berth as I left the Mist behind and the transformation came over me. When I was ready, I stepped closer. She didn”t offer me anything to cover myself, but she also seemed completely unaffected by my nudity. It was a shame the male body did nothing for her, because I could have used some shock to my advantage.
“Wolf, it”s good to see you,” Amber said.
“I won”t say the same,” I replied. I”d never given her the impression we were friendly, even if I was grateful for the enclave and the magic she used to maintain it. It was the least she owed for Leo”s life.
She smiled kindly. “No, I wouldn”t expect you to. I hoped you”d have good news, though.”
“That”s why I”m here. It”s done, and it didn”t work. Was this a joke to you? Did you and those other witches plan this to destroy us further? Give us hope that we could end this, only to watch it crush us when it didn”t work. Lovely trick, witch.”
“What? No. Wolf, I promise you, we acted in good faith. Diamond”s prophecy—“
“The Diamond Witch”s prophecy was a sham! The Ruby Witch is dead and the Mist is worse than ever.”
“I’ve noticed. She must have anchored the curse in place beyond her death.”
“You think I didn”t think of that? I”ve torn her place apart. I even had to deal with her granddaughter showing up.”
“Jade was there?” Amber asked, interest flaring to life in her face, along with hints of hostility. There was a history there, but I didn’t care to know it.
“No, not that one. Her sister, Emerald.”
“Emerald?” Amber”s interest faded to confusion. “I’ve never heard of her.”
“She doesn”t have magic. She knows I killed Ruby.”
“And you”re still alive.” She assessed me with a clinical gaze. “So she”s probably telling the truth about her magic. That’s interesting.“
I shrugged. “Either way, the curse didn”t break. So what are you witches playing at?”
“Nothing. I want this curse ended too, believe me.”
I frowned. “From what I”ve heard, your brother makes a pretty fortune escorting people across this plain, skirting the Mist, never telling anyone that you”re the one really watching over them. Why would you want that to end?”
Amber shook her head. “Jacks offers a service. It keeps people from wandering into Aglonbriar and ending up…well, ending up like you. So, yes, I let him do it, and yes, he profits from it. But I don”t care about the money. I just want people to be safe. It”s what I”ve always wanted.” Hollow regret rang in her tone, and reluctantly, I believed her. There was a tale behind that sorrow, a reason for her self imposed penance watching over the Yellow Plain. Huh. There really was more to witches than their magic, and it had taken Emi to open my eyes to it.
“Then help me. Tell me how to fix this.”
“I’m thinking.” Amber’s lashes fluttered, and she drew in a cleansing breath. “What if the anchor is the girl?”
“No.”
She arched a brow.
“It’s not Emerald.”
“Why not? Blood magic can be as strong as gemstones, stronger in some circumstances.”
“It isn’t her.”
“How can you be sure? Maybe she harbors the curse in her blood. The prophecy said the witch’s blood—”
“I said no!”
Amber took a step back and it stopped my outburst. I couldn’t imagine what expression must be thundering across my face to have finally intimidated the powerful witch.
Gently, she said, “Why, Wolf?”
“Because.” My fingers caught in my hair. “Because I can’t. I won’t. I can’t kill her.”
Amber watched me calmly. “You care for her.”
“I don’t—It doesn’t matter. She’s gone anyway. I don’t know where she went. So get that Diamond Witch back here to give another prophecy.”
She ran a hand over her face. “I’m not sure that”s how it works, but”—she lifted the hand to placate me—“but I”ll ask her. Meet us in a quarter moon’s time.”