Death's Awakening

Chapter Eight: The Witch

Someone was coughing in the next room.

The witch opened her eyes slowly, the lids sticking together as if she hadn't opened them in weeks. Her bones ached, every muscle tight and tired.

A heavy blanket covered her body and sweat trickled across her temple. She grabbed the edge of the blanket and moved it to the side. The fabric seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and the muscles in her arms screamed at the simple motion.

She sat up, but the room began to spin and she had to close her eyes to keep from falling backward. She moaned and ran her fingertips across her forehead.

Footsteps sounded on the floorboards outside her room, followed by a knock at the door.

Startled, she looked up, taking in her surroundings for the first time. She shook her head, not remembering at first. Nothing here looked familiar and she wondered if she was still caught inside a dream.

"Are you awake? Mind if I come in?" A man's voice followed by another soft knock.

The witch went to answer, but her voice was a mere whisper. Her throat was dry as a desert.

The door opened slowly and a pair of blue eyes peered inside. When he saw that she was awake, the man's face broke out in a smile. "Hi," he said. He motioned toward the table by her bedside. "Do you mind?"

She shook her head, still trying to swallow and find her voice.

The man carried a small tray inside and set it down on the table. He poured a cup of steaming brown liquid and handed it to her.

She lifted her hands and wrapped them around the warm cup.

He nodded to her, then glanced at the drink.

Slowly, she brought it to her cracked lips and took a sip. The taste was bitter, but felt delicious against her sore throat. She took another sip and her stomach rumbled.

The man reached for the wooden chair near the door and pulled it over toward the bed. He turned it backwards and sat down facing her. His eyes never left her face. "How are you feeling? I can't tell you how relieved I am to see you awake," he said. "I was going to give it one more day before I drove you into the city. I would have taken you sooner, but Momma's really sick herself and said she didn't want to be moved. I didn't feel right leaving her here alone, but I was scared you weren't gonna make it."

The witch narrowed her eyes at him and placed her hands in her lap, still holding on to the delicate cup even though it was empty. "Where am I?"

The man tilted his head a bit. "Don't you remember? My momma and I found you outside on the ground a few days ago," he said. "You were passed out for Lord knows how long. Momma said maybe days. No idea how you survived it, really."

She shook her head. "No, I mean where am I?" she asked. "What's this world called?"

The man's nostrils flared a bit and he laughed. "This world?" He sat up straighter. "What do you mean? Like what county?"

The witch looked down at the cup in her hands. She wasn't thinking straight. She needed time to gather her thoughts and figure this out. She definitely wasn't still in her homeland. No, wherever Tobias had gone, it was definitely another dimension.

She'd never seen another world before, but she'd read about them many times in the Council's history books. Before the War of Fire and Ice, witches and wizards used to travel freely between dimensions. It was only after the Dark One was banished that the guardians made it a crime to use portal magic. They never told anyone where they'd sent the Dark One, and they'd hoped no one would ever be able to find her.

But Tobias had led her straight here.

"What's your name, anyway?" the man asked.

She lifted her eyes to his. "I have no name," she said.

He laughed again. "Everyone's got a name."

She lifted the delicate cup and put it back on the man's tray. "Thank you for the drink. It was very kind of you to take me in."

He shrugged. "It's no problem," he said. "Up here in the mountains, we don't get many visitors and it's a long way to the nearest hospital. I would have called a doctor, but me and Momma, we don't have a lot of money right now. The crops haven't been that great this year. Not enough rain."

She nodded, trying to understand what he was telling her.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Much." She managed a smile and looked into his eyes again. They were kind eyes.

He smiled back. "You're so pretty," he whispered.

She touched her knotted hair and shook her head.

He swallowed nervously. "You're the most beautiful girl I ever saw."

The young witch blushed. No one had ever called her beautiful in her whole life. No one had ever looked at her like that. Like he thought she was something special and unique.

In the next room, the man's mother started coughing again. She called out to him, calling him Marcus. Disappointment flashed in his eyes as he stood and moved the chair back to its place against the wall. "I've got to go see about Momma," he said. His eyebrows pinched together. "She's not feeling so well these past couple days. Might end up having to call that doctor after all."

The man nodded to the tray beside her bed.

"There's more tea in that pitcher if you want some," he said. "And there's plenty of food in the kitchen if you feel up to coming down in a little while. I'll fix us some supper here in a bit."

"Thank you," she said.

He turned and started out the door, then looked back at her. "I'm really glad you're feeling better," he said. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled something out. He stepped toward her, his fist outstretched. "I almost forgot."

She lifted her hand to his and he dropped a small purple stone into her palm.

The witch gasped and pulled the stone closer. The Fatalis stone. She thought it had been lost with Tobias. She picked it up carefully and studied it, turning it around and around in her hand. It was faceted with five sides. Each side had a unique mark engraved on it.

"Where did you find it?" she asked.

"It was lying on the ground in a pile of dirt where we found you," he said. "I figured it must be yours."

She nodded. "Thank you."

The older woman coughed again and the man glanced nervously toward the hallway. "I better get going," he said. "I hope I see you for supper later."

He shut the door behind him as he left.

The witch clutched the purple stone close to her heart. She had no idea how to use it, but seeing it made her heart soar. Tobias had used this stone to somehow create the portal that brought them here. If she could figure out how to use it, maybe she wouldn't be trapped here in this world after all.

Maybe there was still a way home.

Thanks so much for reading!