When The Witching Hour Strikes

Chapter 25

Ellie POV:

The only thought running through my mind was that I had to get out of here. There had to be a way right? The phoenix came back to get me, the last one left. Everyone else was already going through their trials. With a grave face, it approached me and beckoned me to come with it. I followed, unsure of where it was taking me but trusting that it will all be okay in the end. Something glimmered ahead of me and I noticed the bird was gone. I cautiously approached the animal not wanting to scare it or harm it further if it was hurt. I knew how instinctive they are and the last thing I wanted was to hurt one. Before I could get any further I noticed a slight ripple in the air. A barrier had been put up clearly to trap the animal. But by who or what I could not tell.

The animal didn't appear to be in any immediate danger but it did have wounds. Calling on my energy I spoke to the animal

"Hello, I am here to help you. How badly are you hurt?"

It moved its head up slightly and I saw that it was a horse. Pure white, with dark eyes that seemed to look right through me.

"Ellie, I'm all right. Look you don't have all that much time to help me."

When I heard the voice I jumped. It was Ember's voice. But how? Was this a trick? What happened? Was this another mimic?

"Ember? But how?"

"Yes, it's my voice but not me. I promise I'm somewhere safe. Do you remember that first time we had a team training?"

"Of course, how could I forget?"

"Well that cage we made to trap those mimics in, you can do the opposite to get me out of this barrier. You can undo the magic the way it was done. That's all I can tell you."

"Okay, I'll get you out of there, I promise."

I had to find the beginning of the barrier, that was how it'd be able to be undone.

Looking at the barrier it seemed really solid, the way they had done it was to make layers upon layers, which meant finding the beginning was going to be hard. Even finding the end would be hard, each layer was intermingled with the one below it and the one above it.

After what felt like an hour but was probably only half an hour I thought I found the start of it.

I tried slashing it with my sword, but every time I made a cut it would close and nothing happened.

I became desperate, I had to get her out of there.

Drawing on my energy I gently tugged at the piece I had a hold of. It took a while but eventually, it began to come loose. By the end of it, I was exhausted, the barrier had been made to last, not to be undone by anyone.

I managed to get the horse out and began to look at its wounds. There was nothing much I could do, I wasn't a healer, that was Alvin or even Raisie. But I did carry an ointment that would help, at least for now.

"I have an ointment that will help your wounds. It might sting but it'll help them heal on their own. Is it okay if I apply it?"

"Yes, just be gentle please, they hurt."

"Of course."

I worked quickly, making sure to be as gentle as I could. The wounds would take a few days to heal but there would be little scarring.

"Are those all of your wounds? Do you need any help getting anywhere?"

She was about to respond, then before she could reply I found myself back in the glade we had come from. Everyone else was already there, but it looked like they too had also only just got back. I looked around, curious to know how the others had done.

"Are we all back? How was it?"

Cordelia responded first, breaking the thin tension in the air.

"Yeah, I think so, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still hard."

Suddenly I felt dread in the pit of my stomach. Something didn't feel right. There was someone missing.

"Wait, guys, where's Ember?"

We all looked at one another, shock written all over our faces. Where was my sister? Was this some sort of group trial meant to test us even more? Would we be able to go through it? Our trials had already exhausted us, I for one had little energy left.

Kalen spoke first, voicing some of my concerns

"I don't know, all I remember is her going off first, then one by one the rest of us left. Is she still in her trial?"

"The rest of us are back, but maybe hers is taking ages? I've heard of some taking a bit longer."

I was unconvinced.

"Yeah, maybe."

My voice was flat, I was exhausted.

Somehow at that moment, I knew. She wasn't coming back. It was a gut feeling in my stomach, and I couldn't shake it. 

A/N: First of all I'm really, really sorry for not updating in almost three months. I wasn't feeling motivated and my creative drive left. Secondly, this is the second to last chapter in the book. The next chapter will be up in the next week. Thirdly I would like to thank each and every one of you for over 400 reads. It blows my mind that people actually read this book. 

To all, I think two of you who actually care, please don't cut me for these past couple chapters and the next one. It was the only way I saw it going.

Also, I would like to thank @Dugdaw2 for motivating me to write this chapter. You've been a great help, thanks fam. 

I will see you all soon, 

Much love, 

Char xox