Night Witch

Chapter 32

Over the next couple days, Karina fell into a steady routine. Wake up as the Day Bird started to fly, check the skull lanterns, sweep some grungy floor, then lessons, in which she ground powders, gathered flowers, learned to read the strange script of yagas and warlocks, and learned about the magick that ran through her veins. Or, more precisely, through everyone's.

People were made of two kinds of particles: darkness and light. Darkness linked to emotions, while lightness linked to thoughts. Most people had an equilibrium of both sorts of particles, but those who had more Darkness or Lightness in them correlated more to one or the other were more likely to be overcome or controlled by those emotions or thoughts--although it also gave them the powers to control those particles if they could be trained properly.

Baba Yaga had said it was unclear how the particle imbalances occured, but said that it was thought to be passed down.

As much information as Karina had retained about magick, she couldn't use it. She couldn't feel any more emotions, safe for a few super charged moments that made her laugh and cry and scream all at once.

She couldn't feel anymore, and she wanted to know why.

So she listened. She questioned, silently, quietly, then loud enough so that the whole house could hear her and tremble at her hunt for knowledge. She couldn't unlock her Night, her Darkness, but perhaps she could unlock her Light.

And it wasn't working.

Karina sat up from the tree stump, setting her unreadable papers on the dry, tightly packed soil. It was getting close to midmorning. She'd better be going in. Baba Yaga probably had chores for her to do, and she had to have something to eat. Ever since she'd arrived at Baba Yaga's, her stomach had been pinching itself and the monster inside had been clawing at her body and twisting different parts of it together. It felt like when Olga wouldn't feed her for a week, only more intense. More monstrous.

More real.

The ground was warm against her bare feet, like it was radiating heat. She ran towards the door, feet lightly touching the ground. The door swung open for her and she skidded into the kitchen, opening the upper cabinet to reveal two leather pouches: one, she knew, contained carrots, and the other contained dried and salted meat. She grabbed the lumpy pouches, untied one, and began to gnaw on the dried meat strips.

"You shouldn't have to eat that much, girl. No one should." Baba Yaga stood behind her. "This is the third time you've eaten something massive since breakfast. You're eating me out of this home. Soon enough I'll have to skin the legs of this house for food."

She had no response. Before, she would have apologized and made excused, feeling shame rush through her bloodstream and pound against her skull. But now there was nothing.

Baba Yaga sighed. "You'll have to go hunt and cook your own food, though what you'll find in this Forest is impossible to say." Her wrinkled lips puckered. "It's not worth any magick."

Karina nodded, mouth stuffed with the salted meat.

"I'll work on your magick problem while you're gone, girl. Get going." And, with a sweep of her dark dress, Baba Yaga stepped away, and Karina headed downstairs, the wood splintery against her toes.

She didn't feel fear cowering in her heart as she had before. The Darkness was there, but it was not an enemy; it simply existed, and therefore was not to be feared. She couldn't fear something for living. So she walked into the darkness, hand brushing against the rough walls to keep her mind focused.

When she reached the basement and opened the door that let in the golden glow of light, she was greeted by the messy room she'd sorted through. The items to be disposed of still lay in their respective piles, and the box of dolls was shut away in a dark corner, covered in clothes so it could be hidden. She could still find it, though. A mark of her failure and fear.

But she wasn't here for failure and fear. She was here to get something decent to eat and to ease the sharp ache that had turned her belly into a gaping chasm.

The bow lay on top of a pile of cloaks heaped on the floor. She picked it up, testing it out. It was tall and curvy and the wood was smooth and of fine make, and although the grip felt odd in her hand, it would suffice. It was the perfect size for her tall height.

She began to pull the bowstring back.

Unbidden, a memory flashed in front of her eyes. Darkness, Nyx, weight in her hands, her father's phantom fingers on her shoulders, guiding her. Cold and hot, hot and cold, power surging through her bloodstream. Tears were suddenly blinding her vision, and the bowstring snapped against her fingers.

She gasped. Had it really happened? Had she been overcome by emotion, even for just a bare moment? She tried to feel something again, to think of dead parents and hurt hearts and hands that bled after a long day's work under a woman she hated--and there was nothing.

There was nothing, and so she felt calm climbing up the stairs, through the darkness, into the Forest with a quiver on her shoulder. She felt nothing as she, a mere five minutes from the hut, saw a beast with blue eyes and shot an arrow in its leg to capture it and kill it when she was at a place better suited to it.

She felt nothing but a shock when she realized as she arrived back at Baba Yaga's that there was only one blue eyed beast she knew of. Recognition forced her into action. He was a killer. She would get the job done.

She held onto an arrow so hard it turned her hand into red and white stripes, and, with a will of steel, drove it towards his heart.

Hi! Sorry for the late update, and thank you for reading! If you enjoyed please vote and tell me why you liked it! If you didn't enjoy, please tell me why so I can improve as a writer! I love hearing from you guys!

Also: Night Witch is nominated for The Cryptic Awards! Would you like to help Night Witch win? (I'd love you forever if you did) To vote for Night Witch, place an inline comment over 100 words about WHY you think Night Witch should win and why you enjoy this story. I'll be tagging a couple people later this weekend to ask for help, but if you're reading this right now, I'd love your help!

Have a nice weekend!