The Witching Hour (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 16

I fell onto the hard down. My head slammed against stone. At Lux's, I was already on the ground. Maybe I did something wrong.

I groaned loudly, and I heard a door slam open. "Faeryn!" Allen exclaimed. "Where did you come from? Are you all right? Do you have your magic back? Do you know how to get Sibyl back? Faeryn?"
I smacked the ground as I tried to sit up, but I was still disorientated from the journey there and the impact on my head. I frowned at Allen and made sure Shadow was all right. "I just got here. Give me a second." My voice was cold.

It made Allen freeze. He stood a few steps away from me, staring down at me. He knew something had changed since we last saw each other, and that was my magic.

I managed to stand up. Shadow stretched. I placed my hands on my hips and looked up at Allen. "I came from the wizard's house. I'm okay, thank you. I do have my magic back, and I think I know how to get her back. I discussed that with you, Allen."

He blinked at me. "Your eyes.... They're brighter."

I felt my lips lift up in a smile. "Because of my magic."

Allen shook his head slowly. "You're so weird."

I followed him inside the house. "We need to hurry," I said as we walked. Shadow stayed outside with Marak. "I don't know what state Sibyl will be in, so we must get to her as soon as possible. It's not yet noon, so we might be able to get quite a bit done today. Don't expect to actually go after Sibyl for another day or two though."

Allen stopped in the kitchen. I grabbed an apple lying in a bowl. Allen sat down at the table. "What do we need to do?"

I sat down across from him and took a bite out of the apple. "We need to go to my house. Well, what's left of it."

"Why?" Allen asked.

I gathered my thoughts before saying, "I need to make that potion. I need certain ingredients to make that potion. I had them at my place. They may still be there, but we need to search for them. I can't make the potion without them."

Allen chewed on his lip. "All right, when do we go?"

"Once I'm ready. Maybe an hour," I replied immediately.

Allen's eyes widened. "So quickly?"

I nodded, still eating the apple. "Well, yeah. We need to get this done. Is there someone that can watch over Rose while we're gone?"

Allen sighed. "Yes, one of the neighbors can."

I began to stand up. "All right, then you can do that while I get Marak ready. Shadow and Dusk can stay here to keep an eye on her. We'll ride Marak to my house. It's not that far away, unlike the wizard's. Be quick." Allen started to leave, but I grabbed his arm upon remembering something. I made sure he was looking at me. "Allen, that tracking potion will lead me to Sibyl."

He looked at me in confusion. "I know. I don't doubt you, Faeryn."

I shook my head. "Allen, we'll find her no matter what. Whether she's dead or alive. If she's dead, her body will be decomposing, and that's assuming nothing has gotten to it and eaten it. We don't know what state she's in."

His eyes clouded, but they cleared up in moments. "We'll worry about that once we get there." And then he left.

I frowned. "Then let's hope she's in one piece and in one spot.