Bewitched

Chapter 4 - Malise

My head spun, but I did my best to keep up with Elvira. No matter how much I called to her, she wouldn't slow down, and I couldn't use magic right now. I'd used up all of my strength. Days of preparing, crafting potions, drawing runes on my body with powders ready to release their magical charges. One big blow. And now my legs were nearly giving out.

But I couldn't give up. I'd gotten her out of the court, and now I had to bring her home.

With the last bit of strength I had left, I caught up with her. I grabbed her and she fell, pulling me along with her. I grabbed her and held her in place. "I'm just trying to help you!"

"I don't need help from a witch!"

"You think the humans will be so kind? They want us all dead. You want to put your fate in their hands?" This was her last chance to come voluntarily, or else-

"I'm not one of you! I'm not a witch!"

I wasn't sure if I'd heard correctly. "What do you mean, you're not a witch?"

"They arrested me by mistake."

You've got to be kidding me...

"You can let me go, right?" Her eyes looked hopefully at me. She wasn't struggling anymore, but her muscles were still tense, waiting for a moment to escape. "I won't tell anyone about what happened. I'm of no use to you, so you can let me go."

The wrong sister. How had that happened? Were the humans that dumb to ignore the witch right in front of them and arrest the human instead? "How were you mistaken?" I asked. 

"It happens."

"What, you were singing songs underneath the full moon?"

"What's it to you?"

"I think I'm allowed to have an opinion on witch trials."

"Well, I think I can find my way home."

She tried to get up, but I held her down.

"Home? You think you'll make it there? Witch or not, you won't be wanted there anymore. You weren't exactly declared innocent."

"The people that matter know that I am." 

I needed her to tell me about her sister. As far as she knew, she was a stranger to me. So, I needed her to give me information before I could use it against her. "You'd be lucky if your family hasn't been chased out of town yet."

"That's why I'm trying to get back."

She struggled again, her sleeve sliding up, revealing the scratch I'd given her. Perfect. "That scratch," I said. "I know that magic."

She followed my gaze. "I don't know what that is. Someone gave it to me, before..."

"Before magic started happening? That's how you got caught, isn't it? Magic happened nearby you."

"How... How do you know?"

"Like I said, I know this magic. It's used for tracking down witches. It activates magic, especially in younger witches who may not be in control of their gift yet. It can cause troubling accidents. My guess is that they marked multiple people to see who would react. And clearly, you were mistaken for the real witch."

"Who would do this? Why?" The urgency in her eyes. She wasn't asking this for her own sake. This is where I'd win her over.

"Someone on the hunt for witches. Someone wanting to see if a young girl really does possess the gift. I know a coven that operates like this. Whoever the real witch is, I'm sure they've already gotten to her."

She sat up with such force that she escaped my grip. "I have to go. Right now."

"I'll come with you."

"I don't need your help." She got up and I followed.

"I know this coven. I don't exactly approve of their methods, and I'd like to keep a fellow witch out of their hands." If only she knew.

She took me in as if she saw me for the first time, assessing me. "You really want to help me?"

"I want to help one of my own. I just need your help to do that." There was no lie in my words.

She ran a hand through her hair and for a moment I was distracted by how it flowed down her neck, grazing her collarbone. For a human, she was very pretty. "You're saying I might come home to find my sister taken by witches?"

"It's a possibility."

"And if that happens, you'll help me get her back?"

"I'll do whatever I can to get her to safety."

She nodded, her eyes burning into mine. "Alright."

But I am in charge. There will be no use of magic, and this is only until my sister is safe."

"No magic?"

"You heard me. You will walk in front so I can keep an eye on you."

"As you please." I winked at her - just because I felt like it - and started walking.

"And I decide where we go and when we rest," she said behind me at what sounded like quite a distance.

"Very well."

"And when my sister's safe, you disappear."

"I'll vanish into the night. Although I might have to borrow your broomstick."

She made a confused sound that drew a soft chuckle from me. She was quite cute. For a human, that is.

~~*~~

It took hours before Elvira averted her eyes from me, and she only did it once she couldn't wait with relieving herself anymore. I deliberately didn't turn around when she disappeared into the bushes. If I had, she might not have moved so far away, far enough that she couldn't see or hear me. I dug up a piece of glass from my pocket and took a deep breath. This would cost me my last bit of strength. If only I didn't pass out in front of the human.

The shard, a piece from a larger mirror, lit up as it connected me to its counterpart. The edges started to crumble. It wouldn't last long. "Mother Zaleria?"

I couldn't see her, but her voice sounded clear enough. "Yes, child?"

"There's been a delay."

A brief silence. "What kind of delay?"

"Those dumb witch hunters arrested the human instead of our sister. I'm in the woods with the human now." I adjusted my grip on the shard as it shrunk.

"Just when you think they can't sink any lower... I trust you are fixing this?"

"I am. The human will take me to our sister. Once I've reached her, I will let you know our location."

"I trust I don't need to remind you what happens if you fail?"

I swallowed, my throat dry. I blamed the exhaustion. "No, Mother."

"Good. I trust I will hear from you shortly."

"Yes, Mother."

The shard stopped glowing and shrinking. I stuffed the remains back in my dress pocket just before Elvira came back into sight. 

"How much farther is it?" I asked, pretending not to know.

"Not that far. Half a day, if we continue avoiding the main roads."

"In that case, I'd like to suggest taking a break. My legs are a little tired from chasing you around." Truth be told, they were close to giving out. If we ran into trouble, my powers would be laughable. And I'd used every single spell I'd planted on my body.

Elvira looked around. "It is getting dark..."

"My point exactly. We'd better get a fire started. As close as we came to being burned alive, I won't say no to a little warmth."