Chapter 14 #2
The witches paused to decide whether to finish me or let me go. Or were they startled by my strange magic?
“I’m here to ask for help,” I said, attempting to lift my palms up, only to realize I still held the whip and the book.
I willed my weapon to retract, and it wrapped around my forearm. Surprisingly, it felt easy.
The women exchanged looks, but I couldn’t decipher what they thought or felt.
When the jewelry was back on my arm, I was about to step forward when the ground beneath my boots shook. A large circular hole in the earth opened around the ground I stood on, wide enough that I couldn’t jump over it.
They still don’t trust me, and rightfully so.
The witches probably suspected I was a dark witch trying to hurt them.
A tree root erupted from the soil and wrapped around my torso, trapping my arms to my sides. The witches saw me as a threat. I could no longer use the bracelet or show them the witch book. My only option left was to talk my way out of dying.
“Please, I’m not here to hurt you,” I said.
The three women glided forward and stopped at the edge of the hole in the ground. They slipped back their hoods, revealing white hair and radiating faces. They had lived long lives, but they were not eternal.
A small, long branch wound around my leg and climbed to my throat. They had made up their minds on killing me.
I spoke as fast as I could before I couldn’t take my next breath. “Please, I’m here to ask for help to break through Cordelia’s dream realm barrier.”
I barely got the words out when the branch squeezed around my throat, cutting my air supply. It pressed against the almost-faded bruises Torin had left behind, and dull pain radiated to my shoulders.
After what felt like a long moment, my lungs burned. Perhaps I was stupid to think not fighting back was a good strategy to win them over.
A wheezing sound came from my lungs, and the energy in my muscles left me. The witches would finish what Torin had started—my last thought.
But in the next moment, the branch around my neck snaked away, but the one around my body tightened.
“What do you want with the dark witch?” the woman in the middle said and added, “To join her ranks?”
“To start a coven of dark witches?” the woman on the left said.
“What are you talking about? I don’t want to join her.” My voice sounded croaky.
I coughed.
“But you also have dark magic. Interestingly, you contain both dark and light magic. You will become like Cordelia.”
Perhaps Cordelia had let me live, anticipating I’d be joining her soon.
“I don’t want to.”
“Then you must make the right choice.”
I groaned. What were they talking about? More riddles?
“What’s the choice I need to make?”
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
I let out a heavy sigh and fidgeted with my body, making the branch dig deeper into my flesh. I needed to know how to enter Cordelia’s dream realm besides the obvious task—convincing the three witches to spare my life.
“Cordelia stole my wolf spirit, which I need back. I must kill the dark witch to regain my identity.”
After the women exchanged looks again, their laughter carried in the air like a lullaby. I winced.
“The three of us are not strong enough to defeat Cordelia. Do you understand?” the witch in the middle said.
“Maybe,” I said.
“We can’t defeat Cordelia, although we have gained decades of experience and wisdom. You indeed have a powerful magic in you. But you seem to be ignorant about how witch powers work,” the woman on the right said.
“Do you know of any spells, young lady?” the woman on the left said with the tone my dad sometimes used on me when he scolded me.
“No.” My voice came out shaky.
With amusement dancing in her glowing eyes, the middle witch spoke again. “Why will you face Cordelia knowing quite well you can’t stand up to her? You’re going to meet your end. Is your missing wolf spirit worth risking death?”
I nodded, thinking about Torin, my broken mate. If I didn’t regain my wolf spirit, I’d be forced to mate with Hayden.
And I still didn’t know if these women were friends or foes.
“Cordelia is a thief. Besides, she’s committed many crimes,” I said.
“Do as you wish. We want no part in your vengeance, so please don’t summon us again. Next time, we won’t be so lenient.”
Her message of not wanting to get involved with the dark witch rang clear.
“Don’t play with witchcraft,” the woman on the left added, her gaze lowering to Cordelia’s book, which was stuck to the side of my body.
The witch in the middle waved her hands, and the branch around my torso let go of me.
I breathed a little easier and shook out my arms and legs.
They watched me carefully, daring me to do something for a long moment, but I stayed still.
Finally, the women turned around and walked toward their cabin.
No. I couldn’t let them go without receiving information.
I yelled after them, “Please teach me how to break through Cordelia’s block to her dream realm.”
With their backs to me, the women didn’t stop. The three witches had left me stranded on the tiny island of earth surrounded by a wide hole as they walked away.
Blood rushed to my head, and I sucked in a deep breath.
“No, no, no,” I whispered and shook my head.
I dug my fingernails into the rough material of the book cover. I’d come so far, risking my life for Torin and the kingdom. I couldn’t let the only other witches I knew walk away now.
An image of naked and bloody Torin chained to the ceiling of the vampire Queen’s bedchambers popped into my mind, and my stomach churned, my breathing becoming rapid.
“No, please help me,” I yelled after the witches again. “My mother’s name is Willa,” I said, hoping they knew of her and liked her.
The three witches halted and twirled around. Watching them spin together in synchronized movement unsettled me. Their widened eyes and slightly opened mouths told me they knew of my witch mother. The big question was whether the witches liked or disliked Willa.
I hoped for the former because my life was on the line.