Sorceress

Chapter 5

"We need to find a big city, one with plenty of witches and warlocks. One of them is bound to want me," I explained to Ignis as we soared through the sky.

"Whatever you say," he replied, "but don't be surprised if it takes a while." The sun was starting to sink into the horizon, setting the sky ablaze. We flew over endless forest, until trees were the only thing we could see for miles and miles.

"Are we lost? There's nothing but trees everywhere."

"Ignis, we can't be lost if we don't know where we want to go. Are you hungry? Let's stop for dinner and make camp for the night." We lowered to the ground and unpacked the basket. The forest was unbelievably thick and unusually dark. The trees seemed to let out an eerie groan, and their leaves created a canopy, hiding the sky from view. There was almost no underbrush apart from grass, but the huge trees were set very close to each other. Something was... off, but I couldn't determine exactly what.

Ignis ran off to hunt, the tip of his tail bristling. I ate all the berries and a strip of beef, then took the blanket and found a soft spot of grass to sleep. I lay the blanket down there and waited for Ignis, sitting against the tree. When he didn't come back after several minutes, I became worried. Stoats are naturally quick and vicious hunters. He never takes this long to find food, especially in a forest where prey resides.

When I was about to go looking for him, Ignis appeared, walking out of the nearby trees. He was dragging his tail behind him, his head drooping.

"What's wrong?" I asked, scooping him up.

"There's no prey anywhere," he said, "not even a scent."

"Are you sure?"

"I didn't see any. There are no scents. There isn't even a sound."

That's when I realized what was off in the forest. It was silent. No birds chirping, no rustling of leaves or rushing water. There wasn't even any wind.

"I don't like this place Alice," said Ignis, his fur starting to stand on end, "It's unnatural."

"It's already dark. Just one night and we'll move on." I climbed under the blanket with Ignis curled up beside me, all the way under the covers. The canopy above was so thick, almost no moonlight shone through.

The only sound in the forest was our breath.

⚫️⚫️⚫️

"Alice!"

I jolted awake to a bloodcurdling scream.

"Ignis!" It was his scream. A fierce hissing came from somewhere among the trees. It was so dark, I couldn't see anything in front of me. Then there were balls of fire flying everywhere, one after another. In the brief glimpses the light of the fire allowed, I could see that Ignis was a few feet away, fur sticking out everywhere, throwing fire like his life depended on it. From the firelight, I briefly saw what looked like scales.

Ignis sent a stream of fire directly at the scales, illuminating the whole scene. It was a snake. A giant snake.

It calmly slunk forward, unfazed by Ignis' s attacks. Ignis finally ran out of energy and collapsed, panting, to the ground. I swooped him up, slowly backing away from the serpent. It was dark and silent now that Ignis wasn't conscious. The only sounds were my footsteps, the snake made no sound. I backed into a tree and stood there, hardly daring to breathe.

My heart was racing so fast I wondered if the whole forest could hear it. I tried to quiet my breath, but it came in quick, sharp, panicked gasps. For a moment, it seemed as if the giant snake had left. But then I heard a soft hissing, growing louder and louder until I could sense the snake right in front of my face, smell it's death-tainted breath.

I had no weapons. No way to defend myself. I couldn't yet control magic. I didn't know what to do. Figuring I should at least try, I thrust out my hand. nothing happened except for a few sparks flying from my fingertips.

I felt a forked tongue brush my cheek, then slowly recede. The serpent was drawing back, getting ready to strike. I could sense the snake lunge, aiming at my neck with it's long, hooked fangs. I cringed, heart pounding, prepared for the end.

But the end didn't come. I hear a faint swoosh and a thud a few feet away. To my right, somewhere in the forest, I could hear a pounding on the forest floor, and a faint light in the distance. Both grew stronger until they both reached me.

A group of creatures stood in front of me, some of them holding large torches, bathing the nearby forest in orange light. The serpent was a few feet to my left, pinned to a tree with a huge arrow. It hung motionless on the spot.

A couple of the creatures went over to it, removing the arrow and holding up the giant snake. They appeared to have the upper body of a human, but from the waist down they had a body of a horse. They wore paint on their bare chests and faces, and they had long, wild hair. They eyed me suspiciously, whispering among themselves in a language I didn't understand. Before I could say or do anything, they were (roughly) picking me up and tying me to the horse-like back of one of the creatures. They bound my mouth so I couldn't speak and I rode away with them into the dark forest.