The Last Hope

17 - Witch

SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER - Yamaha, Delta Spirit. Linked above! If you enjoy the chapter please vote, it means a lot. Also, I actively encourage commenting and am trying my best to reply to any as quickly as I can. Want a chat? Don't be shy!

________________________________________________________________________________

Later that evening, after Felix graciously accepted Mona's offer for them both to stay the night again, Mercy hovered outside of Mona's room. Fist poised above the wooden door, she hesitated. Maybe Keenan had been right, maybe she should wait for Mona to come to her. But something in Mona's devastated expression, the way she'd tried so hard to hide it from everyone else this afternoon, had dug under Mercy's skin. Long, dark talons that kept clawing at her, until it had hit her suddenly. Mona's expression had so plainly made real Mercy's biggest fear. That she wouldn't be able to get the rune off. That Mercy had been given a taste of magic, of the world she'd forgotten, and then it had all been torn away.

She knocked once, softly, unsure. The door swung open on soundless hinges. And the room behind it-

It was like stepping into another world. Ceiling's twenty feet high and lined from top to bottom with book after book, taking pride of place atop sprawling mahogany shelves. Some colourful atlases, some leatherbound journals, some ornamented in marvellous patterns of gold, some appearing to be bound in...charcoal scales the size of her fist? Mercy looked away quickly, forcing herself not to think about it.

Ivy crawled along every surface, completely covering some of the volumes on the shelves, clambering over the open window and creeping along the floor like a rug of greenery. Some even dangled from the ceiling, swaying lazily in the cool breeze.

But that was not the most remarkable thing about the strange room, not by a long shot. Because, pushed up against one wall, commanding all the space, was a gnarled but towering willow tree. It forced its way up from beneath wooden floorboards, curling them backwards like a gaping maw. The same tree, she realised with a start, that stood sentry beside the wooden cabin in Ellyheim. Crammed beneath its thick body, was a large bed, the billowing leaves a gossamer curtain around it. Its branches spread across the room, narrowly avoiding the drooping chandelier, which did nothing to add light to the room.

No, the light in the room glowed green. Not from all the plants, Mercy realised, but from small, hovering orbs, floating serenely in the air. They were scattered around the room, about the size of an apple, casting out an ethereal sage hue. Mercy blinked at them, crossing the room to the nearest one, unable to control her curiosity. She poked one with the tip of her finger, and it squirmed away, as if ticklish.

"They're called sprite lights. I never go anywhere without at least one."

Mercy started, whirling. Mona was perched at a desk along the same wall as the door, sat so silently that Mercy hadn't noticed her upon entry. Her hand pressed to her heart; Mercy huffed out a breath. "Shit!"

"That wasn't in the vocabulary I taught you." Mona smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Mercy chewed on her lip, debating whether she should just walk out. Say she'd taken a wrong turn, play it off as stupidity. "You know, only you and Keenan have ever been in here. Ariah pretends not to be curious, but I know she is. And I don't allow Lincoln in here - green eyes, they're bad luck."

Mercy had never heard of that before, so she asked, "is that why you are nervous around Felix?" She hadn't missed the careful curiosity, the way Mona had flitted like a bird, poised to flee.

"You noticed that?" Mona said dimly, turning back to whatever she was working on. A large encyclopaedia style book, spanning the width of half the desk. The pages were covered in inky shapes, slashed lines overlain by curved ones, some more circular, some rendered to look like stars. Runes.