The Deception of Magic

The Hut

The path past the river wound its way up the hill, with the well-trodden dirt leading the way. A shack stood on top of the hill and Ciara deduced that was their destination. After the stream, their walk had been silent, the noise from the birds being the only sound filling the air. Paul seemed lost in his thoughts, his eyes wandering around, checking behind them often with one hand on the gun in its holster in his pocket. The silence gave Ciara a chance to process the events of the morning but her head began to fill with questions about why she was in this mess, whether she was dreaming, and if she would ever wake up. Maybe she had an accident while on her way to work and she was in a coma in hospital? Maybe she was drugged when she went out for a drink before? Maybe…she didn’t know and really needed to find out. She instinctively pinched herself and the pain felt real. Is that part of the trick my brain is playing on me? She thought getting frustrated at her inability to work it out. She followed Paul as he approached the shack on the top of the hill. It seemed more like a wooden tool shed she would find out the back of a house in her street. She looked around feeling like her street would materialise out of thin air and there would suddenly be a house in front of the shed. Alas, Ciara needed to stop thinking about getting back to her comfortable warm bed and forced her brain to focus on the scene in front of her. Her brain started to refocus and loose the haziness she was experiencing before. Paul appeared in her eyesight and he was frowning at her, his voice suddenly hitting her ears.

'Well, are you coming in or staying out here? The wolves will be sniffing down your scent soon'.

Ciara instinctively shivered and followed Paul inside.

He closed the door behind her and she was taken aback. The hut opened up underneath her like a cave, with a massive open-plan living area. On one wall hung a collection of hunting knives, axes and saws - on the other wall sat a bed, a washing tub and table. Large and functional, it seemed comfortable and homely. Paul pushed past Ciara and walked down the stairs. Grabbing a blanket and threw it out over the floor.

'Sorry i don’t have anything else for you' he said. She suddenly felt uncomfortable at intruding on Paul’s house.

'I can go if you like, surely I can find my way back to the portal that gets me home,' she said, he eyes focusing on the floor.

'Don’t be silly, you have nothing to fear from me, I'm here to protect you for now, we can discuss what will happen next in the morning. You should get some sleep.' He said walking over to his bed and hopping in.

He was asleep within moments of closing his eyes, his breathing becoming shallow and steady. Ciara blinked and thought it was strange, but soon felt quite drowsy and curled up on the blanket on the floor. She seemed not to care that she was sleeping on the floor.