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Authors: Erika McGann
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witches – the Hunters. Adie hadn’t seen the fight, but Rachel had described it in grisly detail.
She glided through one of the skinny windows, swinging through stone halls and corridors. It had been a while, but she could still remember everything. It was so quiet though, and completely deserted.
Of course it was. The Witch Trials were over and the students had gone home. Adie stopped suddenly. What had she been thinking? She could never have reached her friends here. There was no-one left in Tithon Castle.
The burnt leaf fragments hung in the air as if waiting for further instructions, and Adie’s mind drifted aimlessly. She would never see the witch apprentices again. They were long gone, they would all be back where they had come from, getting on with their lives. She had never even asked Gaukroger or Aura where they were from, she didn’t know why. Her heart sank in disappointment, and she cursed herself for being so stupid. She had done all this for nothing.
I want to go home now , she thought to the mugwort.
That seemed instruction enough and the fragments darted back into the hallway. Making little effort, she let the leaves drag her along like the end of an elastic band that had been stretched and let go. The stone walls shot past, the steps flew below her in less than a second, and she was through the entrance hall and out before she knew it.
She skimmed along the barren, cracked ground surrounding the castle, through the woods and into the rushing stream. She felt cold as the weird river creatures of Hy-Breasal swirled and blended until she could no longer make them out. The wall of water continued until she could finally see the seals and fish she knew filled the seas on the Irish coast.
THWACK.
It wasn’t just the sound – which was loud – she felt it like a punch in the face. The mugwort let go and she rocked back on her heels, gasping for breath and spluttering water. Shefell to one side, her elbow sinking into the muddy bank, and waited for her vision to clear and the coughing to ease. Her limbs felt gooey inside, like she was a deflated balloon, all wrinkly and stretched out of shape.
‘Ugh.’
That and the not-so-pleasant taste of the not-so-clean river water was nauseating. Unable to get to her feet, Adie crawled up the bank, feeling the damp and dirt seep into her clothes. Her uniform was filthy, she would get in trouble at home.
A shadow flitted through the trees ahead. She stopped and ducked low, the scruffy weeds scraping her chin. It was small and quick, too quick to be a person. A fox, maybe?
There it was again. And it was no fox.
Adie pressed herself into the ground but she knew the creature had seen her. It danced between the trunks but always ended up behind the sycamore she was facing. It wasn’t an animal, but it wasn’t human either. Finally, skinny fingers crept around the bark and it showed its face.
The creature’s face was oval, with very round and very large eyes. The skin was pasty, almost grey, and stalks of hair stood out from the head like scrawny twigs. Its mouth widened into a grin and it tipped onto all fours. Adie couldn’t see it then, hidden beyond the bank above, and her heart raced. The round eyes appeared at the top of the bank and the creature wagged a finger at her. She noticed, with alarm, thatits mouth was filled with sharp, triangular teeth. It grinned again and, with a swish of its skinny limbs, it was gone.
A faery , her mind screamed with panic. I’ve brought back a faery from Hy-Breasal .
She shook her head. It wasn’t possible. How could it follow her? Water-messaging was just that – messaging. Her body didn’t travel to Hy-Breasal on water. How could a faery’s body have travelled back on it?
It wasn’t possible, she knew it wasn’t. But some awful knot of dread began growing in her stomach, and she lay there, in the mud, not moving, not caring about the cold damp that soaked to her skin.
There was a faery loose in her world,
She glided through one of the skinny windows, swinging through stone halls and corridors. It had been a while, but she could still remember everything. It was so quiet though, and completely deserted.
Of course it was. The Witch Trials were over and the students had gone home. Adie stopped suddenly. What had she been thinking? She could never have reached her friends here. There was no-one left in Tithon Castle.
The burnt leaf fragments hung in the air as if waiting for further instructions, and Adie’s mind drifted aimlessly. She would never see the witch apprentices again. They were long gone, they would all be back where they had come from, getting on with their lives. She had never even asked Gaukroger or Aura where they were from, she didn’t know why. Her heart sank in disappointment, and she cursed herself for being so stupid. She had done all this for nothing.
I want to go home now , she thought to the mugwort.
That seemed instruction enough and the fragments darted back into the hallway. Making little effort, she let the leaves drag her along like the end of an elastic band that had been stretched and let go. The stone walls shot past, the steps flew below her in less than a second, and she was through the entrance hall and out before she knew it.
She skimmed along the barren, cracked ground surrounding the castle, through the woods and into the rushing stream. She felt cold as the weird river creatures of Hy-Breasal swirled and blended until she could no longer make them out. The wall of water continued until she could finally see the seals and fish she knew filled the seas on the Irish coast.
THWACK.
It wasn’t just the sound – which was loud – she felt it like a punch in the face. The mugwort let go and she rocked back on her heels, gasping for breath and spluttering water. Shefell to one side, her elbow sinking into the muddy bank, and waited for her vision to clear and the coughing to ease. Her limbs felt gooey inside, like she was a deflated balloon, all wrinkly and stretched out of shape.
‘Ugh.’
That and the not-so-pleasant taste of the not-so-clean river water was nauseating. Unable to get to her feet, Adie crawled up the bank, feeling the damp and dirt seep into her clothes. Her uniform was filthy, she would get in trouble at home.
A shadow flitted through the trees ahead. She stopped and ducked low, the scruffy weeds scraping her chin. It was small and quick, too quick to be a person. A fox, maybe?
There it was again. And it was no fox.
Adie pressed herself into the ground but she knew the creature had seen her. It danced between the trunks but always ended up behind the sycamore she was facing. It wasn’t an animal, but it wasn’t human either. Finally, skinny fingers crept around the bark and it showed its face.
The creature’s face was oval, with very round and very large eyes. The skin was pasty, almost grey, and stalks of hair stood out from the head like scrawny twigs. Its mouth widened into a grin and it tipped onto all fours. Adie couldn’t see it then, hidden beyond the bank above, and her heart raced. The round eyes appeared at the top of the bank and the creature wagged a finger at her. She noticed, with alarm, thatits mouth was filled with sharp, triangular teeth. It grinned again and, with a swish of its skinny limbs, it was gone.
A faery , her mind screamed with panic. I’ve brought back a faery from Hy-Breasal .
She shook her head. It wasn’t possible. How could it follow her? Water-messaging was just that – messaging. Her body didn’t travel to Hy-Breasal on water. How could a faery’s body have travelled back on it?
It wasn’t possible, she knew it wasn’t. But some awful knot of dread began growing in her stomach, and she lay there, in the mud, not moving, not caring about the cold damp that soaked to her skin.
There was a faery loose in her world,
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