The Witching Hour (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 2

When I woke up, my throat was on fire. It was probably from inhaling dust and possibly screaming. All I could see was darkness, and all I could hear was silence. I never knew silence could be so loud. I twitched all of my fingers. Good, I thought, I still have all ten of my fingers. If I tried to move any more, my reward was pain and frustration. I was most likely stuck like that for about an hour. As soon as I heard Marak grunting, I moved as much as possible. Within no time, I saw Marak's grey snout. He noticed my right hand and hooked his teeth into my hand to drag me out. I winced in pain as he slowly pulled me out. Once my other arm was free, I used it to move rubble out of the way.

Marak took his time in getting me out. I crawled to my feet and staggered before I regained my balance. Shadow ran to me right away, so I didn't have time to look at anything, but I knew I was in bad shape by Shadow's face. "Before you gloat," I groaned, "or scold, let me say that you were right. I should trust a cat's instincts from now on."

Shadow shook his head. "I just came to ask what happened," he mewed quietly.

Dusk flew and perched on my shoulder. Marak shifted his wings. I smiled weakly. "I must've grabbed female dragon blood. Instead of giving me more magic, it took my magic away, so the hut fell down since it was only standing because of my magic."

Shadow's eyes widened. "It took away your magic? Do you know what this could mean? I could become a regular cat and leave!"

I coughed, and dust came out of my mouth. "Give me a moment," I said. I looked down at myself. I had cuts everywhere, and bruises had already started to form. My right hand looked like I stabbed myself with a needle a million times, and my right arm was dislocated. The black dress I had on was torn in a dozen places. My house was in worse shape. It was just a pile of junk. I looked around for any clothes. I found some black leggings and a grey tunic, but that was it.

"I can't even find any of my jewelry," I complained. "I have my amulet on, but I don't have any of my rings or my hat! For Pete's sake, where are my boots?"

Shadow sniffed around. "Weren't your boots outside drying off?"

I nodded and ran to the mat near a pond. There were my boots. I went to the outhouse and quickly changed. When I came out, Shadow was sitting by a pile of jewelry and a black, pointy hat.

I clapped my hands excitedly and donned my rings. Marak held a leather bag in his mouth. I thankfully grabbed the bag and stuffed my hat in there. Inside the bag was also my black cloak. I draped it over my shoulders. "Is that all you could find?"

Dusk flew past me and dropped something. I caught it. "It" wriggled, and I opened my hand. A worm. "I'll take that as a yes."

Shadow licked his paw. "Now what do we do?"

I searched for my belt and daggers. "I thought it was rather obvious. We must enter the Haunted Woods." I regretted saying that as soon as the words left my mouth.

The cursed Haunted Woods. Only witches and wizards ever dared enter it. And even fewer lived in the forest. Of course, my mother was one of the most powerful witches in the whole world, so it only meant that she had to live in the forest to make sure that others knew her power. Once she was gone, she left everything to me, and I only left the Haunted Woods a few times, but when I did, I was always on my broom in the sky. Never actually in it. There were a few creatures native to the Haunted Woods that only added to the fear. Troglodytes were the worse. They were giant spiders that preyed even on humans. Trees were another. They could use their limbs or roots to ensnare ignorant travelers. The trees had a mind, and they knew what humans did to trees for fuel. All in all, going into the Haunted Woods was suicide.