Chapter 18 #2
She grabbed a tote bag from a recent romance writers' conference and headed into the woods.
As she walked, she couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as she entered the dark forest. The trees seemed to whisper secrets, and the air was thick with an otherworldly energy.
Victoria tightened her grip on the tote bag, reminding herself that she was on a mission and had no time for distractions.
A twig snapped behind her. Victoria froze. Turning slowly, she was relieved to find nothing. “Just my stupid imagination…” she muttered.
When she turned back, she almost stumbled. A small cottage stood where it hadn’t been a few seconds ago.
“Oh, that’s not ominous at all.”
It was old with peeling white paint, but a faint light shone from inside.
Victoria cautiously approached the door and knocked.
The door creaked open, revealing an old woman with deep wrinkles and piercing blue eyes.
“Hello, my dear witch,” the woman said in a raspy voice. “You certainly took your time.”
Victoria was taken aback. “I wasn’t aware I had an appointment.”
“You did. You just didn’t know it yet.”
“Sure. That clears everything up.”
The woman smiled knowingly and gestured for Victoria to come inside. Reluctantly, she entered the cottage.
“Sit, sit,” the old woman said, motioning to a small table covered in herbs and potions. “I can see you're on a quest. What is it that you seek?” The old woman shuffled around the table, then stopped and studied her, like she was reading a label Victoria couldn’t see.
“You’re not where you belong,” the crone said.
Victoria let out a short laugh. “That might be the understatement of the century.”
“Body stolen,” the crone surmised. “Identity taken. Magic displaced.”
Victoria leaned forward. “Yes. All of that. If you could fix it, I would deeply appreciate it.”
The crone ignored that.
“You’re chasing two paths at once,” she continued. “The ingredients… and the thief.”
“I like to stay busy.”
“You like control.”
Victoria’s mouth tightened. “I like results.”
She explained her whole situation, how she had been switched into another woman's body and now needed to find seven ingredients to reverse the spell.
The woman listened intently and then nodded her head. “I know of these ingredients,” she said. “You must travel to the far corners of the world and face great challenges to retrieve them.” Victoria's heart sank. She knew it would be a challenge, but what choice did she have?
“I also know the ingredients,” Victoria said. “I have a list. It’s aggressively inconvenient.”
“The quest will be worse than you think, especially if you go alone.”
A pause. Then Victoria cut in, sharper now. “Do you have any of those ingredients, or can you help me find the woman who did this?”
“No.”
Victoria blinked. “No?”
“Not yet.”
“That is profoundly unhelpful.” Victoria was about to leave when the woman stopped her.
“You’re not ready.”
“I am extremely ready. I am motivated, angry, and wearing someone else’s sweatpants. What more do you require?”
The crone’s gaze sharpened. “A trade.”
There it was.
Victoria leaned back and sighed. “Naturally.”
“You want knowledge,” the old woman said. “I want something in return.”
“And what exactly does a mysterious forest crone need that she cannot acquire herself?”
The woman smiled then. Fully. It wasn’t reassuring.
“A plant.”
Victoria stared. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Which plant?”
“I will help find the woman if you agree to do this for me first.”
Desperate for a shortcut, Victoria agreed.
The crone revealed that she wanted a rare magical plant that has an intoxicating fragrance, like a combination of sweet and spicy.
Its aroma is so unique and powerful that it takes your breath away.
The scent lingers in the air for hours after it's been picked.
Then the fragrance changes to a heady mix of floral and musky notes, with an unexpected hint of something exotic.
“All of the aromas are both captivating and mysterious. The enchanting scent has the power to transport you to a magical world, but don’t smell it for too long.
You could get lost there. Another characteristic is that it changes shape and color, depending on the time of day.
That’s why it’s called the Kaleidoscope plant.
It only grows in the depths of the Central American jungles.
If you bring it to me, I will help you rectify this mistake. ”
The mission of the L.A.W. was to help people. Victoria agreed to help the woman and then hoped the woman would help her too.
Victoria filled in the witches, grabbed what she needed, and headed straight for the airport. Hours later, Central America rose up beneath the plane like a wall of green.
Panama hit her with heat the moment she stepped off the plane.
She didn’t linger. She flagged a taxi, rattled down to the canal, then climbed into a narrow boat that looked like it might not sink.
Soon enough, the engine sputtered to life, and she was skimming down a muddy river, the jungle closing in on both sides.
Too long later, she was still on that river. Her guide assured her it was ‘right around the corner’… several times.
“This had better be worth it,” she muttered, swatting something with wings and evil intentions.
By the time she reached land, her nerves were shot, and her patience was thin. This wasn’t a vacation. This was a magical scavenger hunt designed by a sadist, and she was already behind.
The jungle, however, refused to care.