The Bewitching - Midsummer Aine - Book 2

Chapter 29 - Run Away

The mood in the room was one of gloom. The worst part was not knowing what Aine had planned for them. All they knew was that the countdown had begun, and they were running out of time. They had barely slept since they had returned, and the wariness was making it difficult to come up with a plan which didn't help the situation.

Elyssa still had the troubling feeling that something was wrong with Alicia, although she hadn't had time to speak to anyone about it. From the way they acted though, it didn't seem like they noticed anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it was the tiredness that was getting to her, and her imagination was running wild. Or maybe she was merely worried about Alicia's injuries and was projecting that worry into something else.

She looked again at the freshly bandaged wound on Alicia's shoulder. It hadn't looked so bad when they had finally cleaned it up, although the shape was somewhat odd. Elyssa had assumed it was a bite mark, or even claw mark, but upon the wounds cleaning it resembled nothing of the sort. The flesh around it had been singed too. It was almost as if a branding iron had been used, and then the flesh inside of the marking had been ripped away. At least the others noticed that oddity, but that seemed to be the extent of their concern.

"Elyssa...Elyssa!" Annette said, trying to get her attention.

"...Oh, sorry. I was just...thinking," she responded as she glanced over at Alicia again, which no one seemed to notice.

Shannon, who was seated next to her, leaned in close. "Are you okay?" she whispered. Elyssa hesitated for a moment.

"...Yeah. I'm fine," she finally responded back quietly.

"I'm sure he's fine. If he's anything like you've said, he's probably half way through taking care of Aine himself," Shannon stated with a tiny nudge.

"Assuming it is Aine," Elyssa retorted, although something told her and the others that the chances were that Aine was behind this. It was the safe bet, and almost a sure one. That had been the whole discussion for the first several hours when they finally got back to the shop. In two days was the summer solstice, a day of significance to Aine, and one she'd likely want to play up for whatever plot she had planned.

"It doesn't matter who it is. I'm sure he can handle himself."

Elyssa smiled in response, although that was another concern that had been bothering her that she was trying to forget. With Shannon's reference to him, it was now once again at the forefront of her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if he was okay. For the few moments she had seen him in the reflection of the shop for the portal home, he looked as if he had been to hell and back. Shannon's idea that he could take care of Aine on his own couldn't be further from the truth.

"Are you two done?" Annette blurted out, a bit annoyed at the private conversation they were having. Like the others, she had been on edge too since getting back. Her temper, which was usually close to non-existent, had turned into a very short fuse. She was obviously just as concerned about the situation as everyone else, if not more so.

Meekly, the two of them nodded. Annette waited a couple more seconds, and they could feel her eyes burning into them. She had made her point, and once she was sure they understood, she continued with where she had left off.

"As I was saying, I don't think it's smart to just wait around. She already has the advantage, and I think it's safe to assume there's a good reason she's waiting until the summer solstice. If we can force her to play her hand earlier..."

"We can destroy her whole plan, or at least put a large kink in it. The problem is, we have no idea how to find her," Dewdrop finished Annette's train of though.