Willow the Witch

Chapter 8

I studied my surroundings closely; I was definitely in a forest, though it was dark and hard to tell. The area was covered in a thick fog and I saw flashes of light weave in and out of the black, bare trees. Curiosity getting the better of me I waited for another sliver of light, after a few minutes of waiting I spotted a flash and raced after it, the action seemed familiar and I followed after it. The light left me huffing and puffing in a small clearing as it escaped into the forest once again, I collapsed onto the ground and leant on one of the nearby trees, the fog that surrounded me began to fade and I barely made out a pebble stone road. After resting I followed the pebbles and my eyes grew wide as I realized where I was.

This was the place from my dreams! This was where I had lived in another life. The cottage before me was dark and dingy due to being left alone for years on end. It was falling apart and the trees had seemed to grow into it. The branches wrapped around the roof and windows almost protectively and the doorway was firmly shut, though the roots tried to seep into the cracks.

A sense of warmth flooded through me and I almost ran up to the front door. Gingerly I placed a hand on the rotten, wooden door and pushed a little. When it didn’t budge I tried both hands and heaved, the door creaked but still it remained in the same place. I searched the area for a strong branch or something to help open it but all I found were some twigs and stones. Refusing to give up I crept over to one of the dirty glass windows and peered through the muck and dust.

Inside there was ancient looking furniture, things I’m sure historians would love to find, and a range of bottled and labeled jars. I tugged at a root, trying to remove it with no success. It was like the house didn’t want me to go inside.

After searching for another way inside in vain a light bulb went off in my head. I smacked myself in the forehead and groaned.  “Magic! Why didn’t I think of that before?”

I put my hands on my hips and faced the old wooden door again. I didn’t know if this would work but I took a deep breath and willed the door to open before commanding it.

“Open.” My voice was stronger than I had expected and the command seemed overly familiar. My eyes widened as the roots surrounding the house retreated and the door creaked open. A dust cloud blocked my vision and I coughed as I inhaled it. I could smell mold and my eyes watered. As the smoke cleared I took a cautious step inside and studied my surroundings.

The cottage was dark and dingy but I could imagine how it once was. It would have once been bubbling with life and filled with different foods, jars and other concoctions. The bed, or what remained, was tucked away in the corner and the sheets had long been eaten by moths.

Exhaustion swept over me and I decided to try and light a fire. Remembering the small flame that had jumped out from when I had….. never mind, to sum it up; I used magic to light a fire from old rotten wood and dead branches from outside. I wandered tiredly up to the broken bed and sighed. It had 3 legs and no mattress. It was missing a pillow and the sheets were unusable.

“Man, I wish I had my bed here.” I muttered. As soon as the words left my mouth the broken bed shimmered and transformed into my own, to my delight. When I was sure it had properly materialized I flopped straight onto it and drifted off into sleep within seconds.

My undead ‘army’ left false trails for the Hunters to follow as I ran frantically through the forest.  If I hadn’t have raised the undead I would have teleported immediately but they would have followed the estral essence left behind. I heard footsteps behind me and tears clouded my vision as I recognized the blue eyes behind the mask. Dagger in hand, Evan trudged up to me. Terrified of the coldness within his eyes I backed away, something was wrong, very wrong. I tripped over a rock and scraped my foot, my heart beat went a thousand miles a minute and I was sure he could see the fear dripping off of me.