Zoe's only wish is to be able to run barefoot through grass, but she knows it'll never happen. Ever since she was born, she's been unable to touch anything living without it instantly dying. It's a curse she would do anything to get rid of, but that...
I felt exhausted, but I also didn't want to rest. Even if I tried, I probably wouldn't be able to. I just needed to know if it would work and if it did, at least one problem would be solved. Hopefully that could give me enough peace of mind that I could get one night of proper sleep.
Felix had tried to change my mind several times. I knew it was because he was worried that something would go wrong, that I would get hurt. But Alex had helped me push the idea through.
"Are you sure?" Felix asked one last time, right before we could see the house from the car.
"I am," I answered.
When Felix had accepted that I would try, he had instead started to try to convince me to do it somewhere other than their house. Somewhere I would be able to use witchcraft. I, however, had been stubborn about that it was the best place for it. Harry would be the most relaxed and even if we got him somewhere else, he would wear an amulet. So independent on what place we picked, my witchcraft wouldn't be of much use.
As we drove through the gates, I felt the now familiar feeling of my magic leaving me, and up to the house. Felix didn't bother with parking to the side like he had before. As soon as he stopped, I got out of the car. I didn't want to prolong it for even a second and risk getting into my own head too much. I already had started to doubt myself on the drive there, but I couldn't. Doubt would lead to hesitation and Harry would be cautious enough that the smallest bit of hesitation could lead to failure.
"Dad!" Felix called as we got into the house.
Only silence greeted us. We walked further in, but there was no sound or sign of him.
"Let's check his office," Felix said, and we made our way up the stairs. For each step we took, my legs felt more and more like jelly and when we reached the second floor, I couldn't understand how I was still standing up.
I looked into the eyes of Ralph Oakes where he hung in his portrait. His eyes looked even more menacing than the last time and sent shivers down my spine. They seemed to carry all the hatred that he had felt towards witches. There was something foreboding about looking into them and, out of reflex, I looked behind me, down the stairs.
"Duck!" I yelled and pulled Felix with me to the floor as an arrow shot towards us. It missed and pierced the portrait of Ralph Oakes where his heart would have been.
On the bottom of the stairs was Harry, and in his hands, he held a crossbow. His eyes glued on me. I could see the hate, disgust, anger, but also something that seemed to be fear.
"So you haven't had enough, witch," he spat at me.
"Dad, please. We only want to talk," Felix begged at my side, but Harry looked at him with a murderous glare.
"Stay out of this! You're not being yourself. Just let me kill the witch!"
He released another arrow. Felix dived to the side to escape it, but I knew what I needed to do. I couldn't run or hide. I had to get close to him. Close enough so that I could touch Harry's skin with mine and then... Well, then it was time for a trip down memory lane.
I went to the side of the staircase. Put my hands on the railing and jumped over it. I landed neatly on the bottom floor, out of sight from Harry.
"Got some fight left in you, I see," I heard his comment.
I got out from where I was and quickly ran towards the kitchen. Right before I pushed the door open, a third arrow flew and hit the doorframe right next to me. But before another one came, I slipped through the kitchen door.
I positioned myself to the side of the door, eyes fully concentrated on it, and waited. The moment he pushed the door open, I raised my hands and placed them on either side of his head. Before our skin met, I had time to catch a glimpse of his expression. The anger and hate were completely gone, worry and fear shone through. But I had barely time to register it, before I pushed my mind to do what I had to do.
It was starting to become familiar. I saw his life energy, but just like with Alex's, it didn't spread far before it met an obstacle. I concentrated and mended the road over and over. There was much more to mend than it had been with Alex, bumps and cracks and pieces hanging loose, but finally I was through. His energy shone brightly at me and it was time to take one step further down. I braced myself for a moment, tried to prepare myself, before I pushed.
I almost lost all concentration and let go as I saw Harry's labyrinth of memories and emotions. Nothing could have prepared me for what met me. It was so different from Alex's. In hers there was such a bright mix of emotions, but Harry's was quite the opposite. Almost everything was a glaring red or a dimmed gray.
I took a moment to calm myself and get used to what I was looking at. There was so much red, almost blindingly much. But the longer I looked, the more I realized that the red was almost always accompanied by a gray thread. The anger had replaced so many different emotions.
But with so much gray, there were too many to pick from and I had no idea where to start. So I took a deep breath and just threw myself in. Picking a thread at random as I did so.
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