Willow the Witch

Chapter 7

"I'm sorry, you have to go." He insisted, pushing me away. Tears pricked my eyes and my vision blurred a little, not helping me to see in the darkness of the forest. I gripped his shirt tightly, refusing to let go stubbornly.

"No. I won't leave you." I whispered softly, staring up into his beautiful blue eyes, the eyes I had come to love. He grabbed my hand, staring at it intensly before ripping it away from his shirt. I whimpered softly and took a step back as he raised on of the many weapons he always kept hidden on him. 

"Willow, go before they come." He said, nodding as I turned to go. I took a deep shaky breath, steadying myself and whispered a long forgotten incantation. The earth beneath me rumbled and the wisps in the forest flitted to and fro among the trees. I clenched my teeth, sweat forming on my brow. It had been a long time since I'd raised the dead. 

I lurched forward, panting heavily and covered in sweat. That damned Evan, where is he? I took in my surroundings, almost gasping when I saw the chains that were clamped around my ankles and wrists. I was in what looked like a dungeon, the walls were dark and damp and I heard the dripping of what I hoped was moldy water. It smelt putrid, like the floor itself was made from feces. I cringed, unable to block my nose. Why had I dreamed again? It was almost the same thing but the feelings.... they were very different than the first. 

Evan, where is he? He'd told me not to wish for anything right? Hmmmm.

"I wish these chains were.... gummy snakes?" I chuckled at my wish, surely it wouldn't come true. I mean gummy snakes, really? My eyes widened when the cold, hard chains fizzled and sparkled and eventually grew smaller, more flexible and their colour went from a rusted silver to various brighter colors. 

I tore my hands away easily, munching on one of the snakes that remained around my wrist. Yum. I glanced at the door, it was a thick heavy, wooden door but the hinges were old and rusted. The wood was weak and damp, making it easy to force open after a while. It creaked open loudly and I winced, glancing around outside to make sure no one had heard me. 

I panicked when I saw a pair of wide, muddy brown eyes staring at me. The man standing around was dressed in a suit, clearly not expecting an escape, ever but nevertheless I took a deep breath, my voice shakier than I had intended. 

"I'll just slip out of here and you'll pretend you never saw a thing okay?" I tried to smile, it probably turned out more like a grimace but luck was on my side, the man was still dumbstruck and I saw a glint of something shiny stick out of his belt. A gun or knife I'll assume. I bit my lip, glancing over at the medieval style torches.... was this a dungeon or something? Wait, in one of my dreams I created a tornado right? So I could probably use the fire or something to scare him off. 

The man shook his head, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair and tried to look cool, placing his hand on what I now saw clearly was a gun. 

"Get back in there or things'll hafta get nasty." He said with a grin on his face, his eyes staring straight at me. I took a deep breath, let's hope this works! 

"Just a little one, small, not too big and just enough to scare him." I mumbled under my breath, shutting my eyes tightly. I heard  a sharp intake of breath and the clang of metal hitting the stone floor. I quickly searched for the source of the commotion and my eyes widened when I saw that one of the medieval style torches had fallen to the ground, the flame becoming larger, engulfing the man almost beside me. 

I yelped as he cried out, stretching a now blistered hand out to me. 

"Help.....me." He barely choked out, it was little more than a whisper and a fit of dry, heavy coughs erupted from his chest soon after. The flames flared out, dancing around his body and I saw a glimpse of something, something more than just a mindless fire. The crackling turned into a distorted laughter and the low rumble became a beat, the flames dancing to it. 

I blinked, astonished at what I was seeing. I lifted a finger to the flames, barely touching them when a small part jumped out, stepping onto my skin. I gasped as I felt no pain, no heat and my flesh stayed quite intact. I grinned as the flame danced across my palm and laughed a little when it dove back into the fire. 

The smile faded quickly when the mans screams ripped through the room, breaking the silence save for the crackling of the fire. I flinched as he flailed around, arms whipping to and fro wildly. He rolled over many times but the flames were persistant, growing evermore angry when he tried to put them out. 

I didn't wait to see his fate, I stepped around him and rushed into the corridor further, seeing many more heavy doors like my own. I came to a crossroads, two tunnels. One was brighter than the other and a light glow could be seen some distance away. The other was pitch black, cold and hard. Somehow it drew me in, the black darkness welcomed me, as if I had been on a long journey and was now home again. 

I gulped, shaking my head quickly and avoided the darker passage, turning to the brighter one on the right side of me. I quickly stopped in my tracks, eyes widening when I saw Evan standing before me, just a few meters away.

"Willow, what have you done? You still don't remember do you?" His face darkened and his tone became dangerous, his eyes locked onto mine and I took a step back as he, forward. I tore my gaze away from his and glanced at the darker tunnel. Guess I know which path to take now. I took a deep breath, smiling inwardly at the confidence of my voice.

"I don't know how I did it but you owe me answers Evan, or should I say, Mr. Hunter? Yes, I guessed, though I haven't had many dreams but you always seem to pop up in them. So it's either tell me what's going on right here, right now.... or I will take my leave." I said, gesturing to the darkness on my left. 

I hadn't thought it possible but his face grew more furious and he took several steps forward, whereas I took several to the left in turn. He stopped abruptly, seeing where I was going with this.

"Fine, just don't move." He commanded, I felt compelled to listen, obeying, I folded my arms, staring at him defiantely. 

"You're a witch, don't give me that look!" He said, becoming a little more a ease when he was sure I wouldn't run he raised his hands when I gave him a skeptical look.

"To be more specific you're the reincarnation of one. A particularly powerful one too, she was the greatest there ever was. She was what 'her kind' called an Elder Summoner." He said the words with disdain but I watched him as his blue eyes grew distant as he spoke of whoever 'her' was. 

"I was sent to kill her, she was a danger to human kind. I was only following orders... until I met her. She was a trickster, a menace, childish and somehow she still managed to make me-" He cut off, tearing away from whatever he had been reminiscing about. He shook his head, anger crossing his face once again. 

He took a step forward, blades seemingly falling into his hands out of nowhere. My mouth fell open in shock. Okay first I'm a witch, one of the most powerful, then he's a hunter and now he wants to kill me I guess. Worst. Day. Ever.

I turned and ran into the darkness. Gasping as it hit me like an ice cold bucket of water, it felt cool and refreshing. I smiled, it felt familiar, like... home. Something brushed against my face and I screamed, expecting Evan to have caught up with me. I stopped mid scream when I saw it had only been a tree branch. A tree branch? I looked around wildly, glancing at the forest I was now surrounded by. 

I touched the nearest tree, it's old bark was tearing away and it was void of any leaves. A deep, old and soft voice spoke to me, comforting me and I felt comfortable.

"Welcome home, Willow the Witch."