A Witch's Revenge

Chapter 3

The warmth of the blanket on top of Henry registered, protecting her from the cool air in the room. With a groan, she turned to her side and buried herself under the covers.

Every muscle in her body ached and screamed at her as she moved. What in the world had she done to become so sore?

Insulted the horse, talked with Helter, went to her mother's ... she sat up, throwing the covers off, fully awake.

Esmeralda.

It had to have been a dream, right?

She glanced around the room and found Helter and Skelter sitting on the back of the chair staring at her with hooded lids. Someone had let them in, and Helter looked very satisfied.

The human is awake.

About time. Even you haven't taken a nap that long.

As she ignored them, she realized she wasn't in her own room at Gladstone Cabin, which she shared with two other employees. Instead, she rested in one of the guest quarters where visiting parents would've been housed.

She intended to get out of bed and figure out what the hell had happened to Esmerelda, but her head swam and the room spun with every movement, causing bile to rise in her throat. She lay back down with a groan.

You should go signal someone that the human is awake. You know they've been very concerned about her.

You can't fool me, Skelter. I know you're just trying to get me banished from the house.

I am not, you degenerate.

A hiss, a growl, and Henry closed her eyes.

"Would you two just shut up?" she whispered, every word slamming against her brain like a jackhammer.

She's so rude.

Henry didn't have the patience for two self-centered, narcissistic felines.

"I mean it!" she yelled. "Shut up!"

Finally, a curtain of silence fell around her, and she drifted off. Certainly, she'd had a terrible dream about her mother. There was no other explanation. Yet, she could feel the chill on her fingertips from where she'd touched Esmeralda's ice-cold skin. Visions of her haunting dead eyes wouldn't go away, no matter how hard she tried to forget them.

She didn't know how long had passed when she heard other voices, far, far away, as if they were in another room, or even another dimension.

"Is she awake?" a female's voice whispered.

"It doesn't look like it," another girl answered. "Maybe we should come back later."

"But Ms. Gladstone wanted us to check on her. I'm worried about her."

The conversation continued, bringing Henry out of her reverie.

"If you two don't shut the hell up, I will skin you myself," she said, her voice weak and tired, and definitely not conveying the weight of the threat.

Two gasps met her ears, and she opened her eyes. Helter and Skelter still sat on the chair staring at her, but Helter seemed to be grinning, as if he were pleased.

That's not us, Human. There are those annoying little girls here.

"Oh, crap."

If you do skin them, can you make us a bed with the black hair? I just want to curl up in that and dig my claws into it.