Chapter 18
The morning sun had begun its climb into the sky, but the usual sounds of the world awakening were missing.
Maggie knew something was wrong immediately, when she awoke to total silence.
Where were the birds, who were never deterred from their cheerful chirping each morning?
There was no breeze rustling the leaves in the trees.
Even the sound of the river was gone. It was as if the world stood still, watching and waiting.
Maggie climbed from the bed, careful not to disturb Dylan, who slept soundly at her side.
She crept past Richard, who was also still sleeping soundly on the floor.
Opening the door, she stepped outside into a world that had morphed overnight in an otherworldly way.
Everything around her appeared to have been frozen in place.
Birds hung in the sky, paralyzed in midflight; Maggie’s horse, seeming for all the world as if she’d been enjoying a good buck, had stopped mid-motion, with her hind legs in the air.
The other horses stood still as could be in the grassy field, heads down and motionless, as if they had been captured by an artist in the middle of grazing.
The eerie silence was abruptly broken by cackling laugher coming from one of the trees by the river’s edge.
There, sitting amid the branches of a giant pine tree she spied Brielle, looking quite comfortable in her lofty perch.
“Good morn to ye, lassie,” Brielle greeted her brightly, with a sarcastic sneer curving her lips.
Maggie didn’t answer, her mind whirling with thoughts about what Brielle had planned and how best to approach the situation. She suffered a moment of sheer panic, but forced herself to take a deep breath and grounded herself.
“Would ye care to join me?” Brielle asked.
Before Maggie could consider what Brielle was suggesting, she found herself being pulled up into the air, as if she was being hoisted on invisible strings, high above the cottage until she was at eye level with Brielle.
“That’s better,” Brielle announced. She was surrounded by dozens of birds, and not one of them was moving a single feather or even blinking.
Breathe! Breathe! Maggie continued to fight against the panic, which threatened to overtake her. She had always been afraid of heights and usually avoided them at all costs, but now she found herself hovering, fifty feet in the air, and she was completely terrified.
“Are ye afraid of heights, Maggie? If ye are, I could always send ye back down to the ground.” Brielle laughed evilly and Maggie suddenly found herself freefalling towards the hard ground below.
She squeezed her eyes shut in terror just as she was about to hit the ground, but instead, she was yanked back up to Brielle’s level again.
“Wasn’t that fun? Would ye like to do it again?
” Brielle tipped her head, waiting for an answer.
Maggie couldn’t speak. She was nauseous and shaking violently, from the rush of adrenaline coursing through her bloodstream.
“Cat got yer tongue? Answer me, Maggie! ’Tis no fun at all if ye dinnae plead with me to let ye go.”
Maggie did her best to relax. If she were going to succeed here, she needed a clear head. “I’ll nae plead with ye. Drop me if ye wish, but then yer little game of cat and mouse will be over.”
As Maggie watched Brielle contemplating her next move, she managed to calm herself enough to float gently back to earth and once her feet touched the ground, she made a run for the cottage.
Bolts of lightning rained down on her from above, nearly striking her on more than one occasion.
In a panic, she hit the ground and rolled behind a large boulder.
Peeking over the top of the boulder, she could see Brielle had disappeared.
She wasn’t sitting in the tree anymore. Where had she gone?
Maggie searched the vicinity, but she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
The spell had been broken and to her relief, the birds were chirping and the horses were moving again.
Everything was back to normal, or so it seemed.
Dylan and Richard both appeared in the doorway, concerned expressions upon their faces.
Maggie ran over to them, her hands still shaking from the ordeal.
“Are you okay, Maggie?” Dylan gripped her arms, searching her face for an answer.
“I had a really bad dream. I was paralyzed, and it didn’t matter how much I tried, I couldn’t move a muscle.
You were falling from a tree and I couldn’t do anything to save you. ”
“I had exactly the same dream,” Richard said sharply, frowning heavily. “Perhaps it was not a dream at all.”
“Yer right. ’Twas nae a dream. Brielle was here, sitting up in that tree over there,” Maggie explained, pointing to the tall pine tree where Brielle had been perched.
“Somehow, she was able to freeze time; everything was stopped in mid-motion, including the two of ye, I think. The only things that could move were Brielle and me.” Maggie shook her head, still trying to come to terms with the events of the past few minutes.
“Where is she now?” Richard asked.
“I don’t know, but I would imagine she hasnae gone far.” Maggie shivered at the prospect. She’d been completely overwhelmed by Brielle’s first attack—how on earth would she be able to stop her?
Dylan held Maggie close, rubbing her back to soothe her. “We’ve got to find her, Maggie. She could’ve killed you.” His arms tightened around her protectively.
“But she didnae. She’s playing with me and I’m nae sure why, but I need to be prepared for anything and everything.
She caught me off guard this time, and I let my fear cloud my brain.
Once I calmed my mind, I was able to float down to the ground unharmed.
Keeping a clear head and not letting fear in, I believe that’s what will help me defeat her. ”
“You’ll need to draw her out. Make her come to you,” Richard suggested. “If you can keep her occupied, I might be able to get a shot off at her with my bow.”
Maggie shook her head firmly. “Nae. I told ye, I must do this myself. Nae matter what ye see, ye mustn’t interfere.”
The two men seemed ready to argue the point with her, but when they saw the determination on her face, they apparently thought better of it.
“Ye may stand with me in support, but that is all.” Maggie wanted to make it clear to them, and tried to sound as confident as she could. “I can do this. Believe in me.”
“I have faith in you, Maggie, but you have to understand how hard it is, to feel so utterly helpless in this situation.” Dylan grumbled, obviously not enjoying the position Maggie had placed him in.
“Richard?” Maggie wanted his assurance as well.
“I believe in you, Maggie,” he said.
“Okay. I have an idea. I’ll need the amulet and a minute or two to gather my thoughts,” Maggie entered the cottage, leaving Dylan and Richard standing outside, staring at her departing back in dismay.
***
“I don’t like this,” Dylan said to Richard.
The two men had stepped away from the door of the cottage to avoid Maggie overhearing them, and they strolled towards where the horses were happily grazing.
“I know Maggie is a powerful witch, but I think she’s at a serious disadvantage here with Brielle. ”
“I agree. I think we need to have a plan in place, if things start looking bleak.” Richard whistled to his horse, Arion.
The great beast cantered right up to him and lowered his head for a rub.
Richard obliged him and when he stopped, Arion almost knocked him off his feet as he butted him with his head, seeking more attention.
“Arion, I cannot stand here all day patting you, will an apple be a reasonable recompense?” Richard pulled an apple out from his pocket and offered it to Arion, who happily gobbled it up.
The other two horses stood nearby, waiting for treats of their own.
“I don’t have anything for you,” Dylan apologized. The horses both snorted impatiently at him and he chuckled. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Both horses ignored him, instead focusing on Richard, who had drawn another apple from a pocket.
He halved it with his knife and gave one piece to each horse.
They happily munched on them as Richard and Dylan worked on a backup plan, just in case Maggie found herself in trouble.
As they headed back to the cottage, the wind began to pick up and the faint sound of Brielle’s cackling laughter floated in on the breeze.
The two men stopped dead in their tracks and spun around, trying to place the direction the laughter was coming from.
Strangely, it seemed to be echoing at them from every angle.
Striding purposefully back to the cottage, they found Maggie waiting for them in the doorway. She held up the amulet.
“I’m hoping this will do the trick,” Maggie said, passing them on her way out the door.
“Wait, what are you going to do?” Dylan was desperately worried, but he hoped it wasn’t being revealed in his voice.
“Lure her with the amulet,” Maggie answered calmly.
Richard raised a questioning eyebrow and put a reassuring hand on Dylan’s shoulder as they both turned and followed Maggie out into the open field.
***