White Witch, Black Magic

Come morning, we discover a new problem. Avaysia decided to wash her hair last night, and didn’t ask Wren or me first. And now we’re completely out of water.

“Well how was I supposed to know that?” Avaysia snaps at me. “I thought we had plenty of water!”

“We did,” I reply. “Until someone used it on her hair!”

Avaysia’s nostrils flare. “How dare you speak to me like that! I am a princess and expect to be treated like one!”

“Ah!” I cry in frustration. “Haven’t you figured out yet? You don’t want to be a princess in these woods. You’re fatter, slower, and easier to catch than anything else in here. So carry on shouting that you’re royalty. I’ll get you a flashing sign to go with it!”

But only one of my words seems to stick in Avaysia’s head. “Fatter? You call me fat? I shall have you beheaded the instant we reach Flumen!”

“Well thanks to you, that may not happen! We’re could just as easily die of thirst out here! So quit threatening my life, Princess.” I practically spit the last word at her.

Avaysia screams in anger and hurls herself at me. I’m ready for her, though. She claws at my face with her perfect fingernails. I grab a fistful of her hair and yank on it. She howls as her head snaps back.

I let go and shove her away from me. She falls into the dirt hard. She lashes out at me, trying to kick me in the stomach. I snatch her ankle and twist it, flipping her over. Her skirt tangles around her legs, trapping them.

Avaysia manages to free herself and lunges for me again. She wraps her arms around my torso and throws us both to the ground. I jam my hand into her chest, forcing her off. Avaysia isn’t a very good fighter and I could squash her easily, but I don’t want to cause her any permanent damage. I do have my family to think about.

Avaysia, however, has no such qualms. What she lacks in skill, she makes up for in persistence. We roll across the dirt and smack into a tree. I hit my head and pause, dazed. Avaysia throws me off herself and jumps on top of me.

We’re trading blows and I’m landing more than she is, but she doesn’t seem to feel them, like there’s a cushion around her. I don’t feel like I’m hitting her, either. My hands seem to glace off a film that covers her entire body.

Then Wren comes out of nowhere and pulls Avaysia off me. He drags us apart. Avaysia isn’t fighting him, but when he sees me stand up to go after them, he dumps Avaysia on the grass.

He leaps on top of me and uses his body to pin mine to the ground. I struggle, trying to wriggle out from under him. I want to fight. I’m sick of being pushed around by the royal family. I want revenge.

“Let me go, Wren!” I bellow.

“Temper, temper,” Avaysia say haughtily.

She’s picked herself up in is watching me. She’s playing with her hair in a taunting sort of way. This only makes me fight harder, but Wren is far stronger than I am and holds me down without too much difficulty.

“Calm down, Emma! Do you really want to make an enemy out of a princess?”

“She took my family, Wren! As leverage over me! Did that happen to you? Is everyone you love ridding on the success of this mission? Which is kinda doomed?”

“No,” Wren says. “She didn’t do any of that! It was her father. It was all King Dominic. You can’t blame her.”

“Oh, yes I can! We’ll see how he likes having his loved ones used against him. Now let me go!”

“No.”

I smack my head into the ground in frustration. Then I do it again and again. Wren’s hands go to my face and force me to stop. His knees pin my arms down. He leans over me and puts his forehead on mine.

“Calm down,” he whispers. “Right now. You’re angry and scared, and I don’t blame you. But you need to take a deep breath and calm yourself down.”

I can’t believe he’s sticking up for Avaysia. She’s a spoiled little brat who’s going to end up killing all three of us. Fury shoots through my body, coursing through my veins.

Suddenly, Wren is blasted way from me. He’s thrown backwards into Avaysia and they both go down. I spring to my feet, energy flickering around me in a blue aura of power.

Behind me I hear a snarl. I pivot on my foot and see a wolf stalking towards me. We must have attracted him with our noise. He’s huge, coming up to my waist. I could have ridden on him if he wouldn’t have ripped me to shreds. His coat is a slivery white and his teeth are bared. Growls erupt from around our campsite. I spin slowly, taking it in. The wolves surround us. All of them are poised for attack, ready to devour us.

But I’m not scared. I feel powerful, stronger than I ever have before. I point two fingers at the nearest wolf, just like I did the giant. Blue electricity sparks from my finger and arcs towards the wolf. It scorches his fur and an acrid smell fills the air. The wolf howls and turns tail.

The rest of the pack keeps advancing. I spread my arms wide, gesturing to the world at large. A thin blue line spreads around Wren, Avaysia, the horses, and me. The line thickens until it’s seven feet tall and six inches wide.

Avaysia gasps. “What is this? What have you done?”

Wren hushes her, saying, “Don’t disturb Emma just now. I don’t know what might happen if you do.”

A wolf charges at the circular wall. The moment he touches it, sparks fly and the smell of burning fur fills the air again. The wolf whimpers and darts into the trees. Another comes right up to the wall and stares at me. I can see its eyes are blood red. He stands as close the shimmering blue shield as he can.

“Go ahead. Try to get in. Just try it,” I taunt him.

The wolf growls again then yips to its fellows. The all surge back into the woods. I scorch one or two tails as they go, just as a reminder. Once they’ve all retreated, I drop the shield.

But I’m still angry. My rage is still there, growing stronger. Part of me thinks that this is wrong. This isn’t me. I shouldn’t be using my magic to terrify everyone. But the need for the power crowds out the reason.

I turn, searching for another target. The horses might work, but Avaysia would be so much more fun to torment. I try and control myself, but I can’t. I start for Avaysia again, but Wren is in my way.

He grips my shoulders and stares into my eyes. “Look at me, Emma. I know you’re in there. Listen to me. This isn’t you.”

I know that! I think.

“You need to get back in control. Calm yourself down. Come on, I know you can do it.”

Slowly, I feel myself returning to normal. No more blue fire. The crazy urge to hurt has abandoned me. I feel weak. My knees sag and Wren catches me. He sits me on the ground and props me up against a tree.

“What happened to me?” I ask. “I couldn’t control myself. It was like I was…. possessed, or something.”

“You’re magic. It took over you. You’re eyes turned purple and your hair started flickering red and blue. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I second that,” Avaysia whispers.

I’d forgotten she was there. I most likely frightened her witless.

“I’m—wait, what color did my eyes become?”

“Purple.”

“They’ve always been purple.”

“No they haven’t!”

“Yes, they have. I think I know what color my eyes are.”

Wren peers at my eyes. “I guess they are purple. I never noticed before.”

“Well, it was still scary,” Avaysia says. “They were glowing purple.”

I mutter an apology and we try to pretend like it never happened. We mount our horses and continue forging west.

Soon, the lack of water starts to take its toll.

The horses are clearly having trouble, so we all dismount and continue on foot. Avaysia complains loudly until Wren tells her to shut up, that she’s wasting moisture and talking will only make her thirstier.

By nightfall, we’re all exhausted. When we start to set up camp, I decide not to bother pitching my tent. I don’t have the fine motor skills required. Avaysia must feel the same way because she just curls up on the ground. Wren doesn’t bother with his hammock, either.

Come morning, we’re starting to get desperate. Our lips are dry and cracked. None of us has an appetite. The horses are in poor condition, too. I think about killing an animal and drinking its blood, but I doubt I could catch anything. Besides, that’s just repulsive. We aren’t that desperate yet.

The trail was supposed to be covered in a crisscrossing of streams. How far off course must we be to not have encountered one by now? Our travel is slow and painful. Sometime mid-morning, Avaysia collapses. Her eyes are closed and neither Wren nor I can wake her.

“Now what?” I ask, my voice raspy and hoarse.

Wren shrugs. Neverard nudges me with his head, as if he has the answer. I look at him, and he turns, showing me his back.

“Does he want…?” Wren says. His voice is as bad as mine.

“Can he carry Avaysia?”

Wren shrugs again. With no better ideas, we give it a try. Wren and I barely have enough strength between us to lift her up, but we manage it. Wren secures her with a length of rope.

Neverard plods forwards and we follow him. I suppose the horse’s instincts will be better than mine, so he might lead us to water. I don’t even care about reaching Flumen anymore.

The earth begins to cling to my feet. I pull myself free of its grasp with a sucking sound. I replace my foot and yank the next one loose. It’s like the ground doesn’t want us to continue.

“Stupid…. mud….” Wren rasps.

It dawns on us at the same time. Mud! You need water to make mud! Wren and I fall to our knees. We slop through the mud, searching for the water. The muddier the ground, the happier I am.

My hands encounter a small, crystalline pool of blessed, life-giving water. My fingers slip beneath its surface easily. Without thought or concern, I plunge my whole head into the pool and gulp great mouthfuls of water.

Eventually, I force myself to stop. The pool is nearly half empty. It slowly starts to refill, and Wren takes a turn. Then each of the horses drinks as well. The pool has been emptied five times and takes longer to refill each time.

I pull Avaysia from Neverard’s back and roll her over to the pool. By this point it’s little more than a puddle. I scoop out water and let it trickle into Avaysia’s mouth. Her eyes flicker open, so I push her towards the water source.

Avaysia drinks until all the water is gone. We wait for more water to burble up, but it doesn’t. We’ve drained it completely. Once we’re sure it’s tapped out, we leave. Wren shoots a bird and we devour it. I take it as a good sign that our appetites have returned.

“Do you know how dangerous that was?” I ask Wren and Avaysia as we continue following the compass west.

“What do you mean?” Avaysia asks.

“We drank water that may or may not have been safe.”

“So? You think it was toxic?”

“No. But we should be more careful next time. In these woods, anything can happen. The water could have been magic.”

Avaysia snorts. “Oh please. Who puts magic spells on water?”

“A young, mischievous witch?” Wren says. He flashes me a crooked smile.

“Oh, yeah, I definitely jinxed the water.”

“Well who knows what you might have done when….” Wren trails away, but I know what he’s referring to.

“Do you mean when Emma’s magic ran away with her?” Avaysia questions.

“That’s a good way to put it,” Wren answers.

We travel a while longer, still hopeful for more water. It’s been quiet for some time when Avaysia says, so softly I barely hear her, “I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know what?” I ask.

“When your magic ran away with you, you said that I’d taken your family for leverage over you.”

“I know you didn’t do it.” I leave the sentence unfinished, but it’s obvious what should be next. But your father did.

“I didn’t know.”

“I’m confused. You didn’t know what?” Wren asks.

“That my father took your family. I didn’t know, Emma. I thought they were let go, and you came of your own free will. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, Avaysia, it’s not your fault,” I tell her, even though it kind of is.

“It is my fault. You got your magic because of the tournament, which was for guards to escort me to my wedding, guards my age that I specifically asked my father for, because his make me nervous. I don’t even want to get married!” Avaysia freezes. “Forget I said that. I didn’t mean it. I was just…joking, that’s all.”

No one speaks after that. It’s a good thing, too, because we’re all starting to suffer from dehydration again. Avaysia, who is in a dress and slippers, is having the most trouble. She’s carrying one of her shoes; the other is lost someplace in the mud. Her breathing is ragged.

We’ve been traveling since sunrise, about eight hours ago, when we run across the trail. My spirits soar. Wren lets out a whoop and Avaysia cheers.

“We’re saved!” she says.

“Now here’s the real question,” I say. “Do we go on and hope to find water ahead, or turn back and look that way?”

Wren looks at Avaysia. She stares right back and shrugs. “I think we might be better off to continue.”

“Okay then,” I say.

Without another word, we continue down the trail. I feel drained and exhausted from lack of water and trekking through the woods. It becomes steadily harder to place one foot in front of the other.

Avaysia is close to collapsing again when we hear it: a faint, rushing sound off in the distance. We all look at each other. Then Avaysia starts to run. Thorns slice through her bare feet and rip at her dress, but she keeps on going.

“Avaysia!” I call after her.

I want to warn her, to tell her to wait for Wren or me to check it out. Not to foolishly plunge into a trap of some kind. But my voice is weak, and Avaysia is deaf to it. She isn’t used to thinking logically. Everything has always been served to her on a golden platter.

Wren and I take off after her, Neverard, Dusty, and Winter trailing along behind us. The trees start to thin. The noise is definitely being made by water. I feel my intentions shift. Suddenly, I’m not running after, I’m running towards.

We all come out on the edge of a grassy hill. At the bottom is a pool of clear water. At one end, a waterfall feeds the pool. At the other, the water drains away in a river. The temptation of water is so overpowering I barely resist it. But this water may not be safe.

Avaysia sprints right for it. Unfortunately, she isn’t very accomplished at running. The fabric tangles around her legs and trips her. She falls, smacking her head on the ground. She hits the grass and begins rolling.

Avaysia tumbles end over end towards the water below. Wren and I reach the slope in time to see her fly into the water. Her dress billows about her and her remaining shoe drifts away. She’s clearly unconscious and will certainly drown if we don’t act fast.

Wren and I scramble down the hill. My movements are clumsy, my feet sluggish and uncoordinated. I sprawl across the riverbank, too tired to rise. Wren dives into the water after Avaysia while I lie, weak and helpless on the bank.

I watch through the clear water as Wren swim towards Avaysia. She’s slowly sinking to the riverbed, weighed down by all her clothes. Wren wraps an arm around her waist and starts to haul her upward.

I can tell they aren’t going to make it. Avaysia is too heavy, Wren too weak. I want to help, but I figure if I go in the water, two of us will need rescuing. But I soon see that I’m wrong. Wren may be tired, but he’s still smart.

Wren lets go of Avaysia and pull out his knife. He grabs the front of her dress and cuts through the fabric. It floats away on the current. Wren again wraps his arms around Avaysia and this time they start to rise.

They break the surface moments later. Gasping, Wren swims Avaysia to the water’s edge. I do my best to drag both of them onto dry land. Wren lays flat on his back, trying to regain his breath. I attempt to revive Avaysia.

I’ve heard that really potent smells can wake an unconscious person. I yank off my boot and wriggle my toes beneath Avaysia’s nose. They must really stink, because she starts coughing and spewing water right away.

Avaysia sits up and leans over. A stream of water pours from her nose and mouth. Then she begins drawing great breaths. When she and Wren are both breathing normally again, Avaysia seems to find her dignity.

“Why, pray tell, am I in my underclothes? Just my underclothes?” she demands.

“You were too heavy,” I reply. “Wren couldn’t lift all that weight.”

“Another perfectly good dress, ruined! And I’m still parched!”

Then, without any more thought, we all plunge our faces into the water. Had I been thinking, I certainly wouldn’t have done so. The horses, thirsty as they must be, stay well back from the water. That alone should have set off warning bells. On top of that, there’s an ominous ringing in my ears. Magic is at work.

“Much better,” Avaysia says, sitting back on her heels. She wipes her mouth on her arm in a most un-princess like manner.

But something’s happening to her. She’s shrinking. Her ears lengthen and migrate to the top of her head. Fur sprouts all over her body. I look around at Wren. The same thing is happening to him. I stare in horror at myself as I, too, begin to evolve.

My eyesight sharpens, but the colors seem washed out. Everything looks much bigger. There are so many sounds and smells around me; I can’t believe I couldn’t register them as a human.

It takes me a bit longer to complete the change than the others, but, within seconds, three fluffy rabbits sit where Wren, Avaysia, and I were. Wren is a light brown bunny with a tiny pink nose. He looks absolutely adorable. Avaysia is unnatural and crazed looking, with blonde fur that sticks out like it’s trying to curl but is too short. I’ve become a midnight black rabbit, my fur sleek and shiny. All three of us have puffy tails that are absolutely ridiculous.

“I’ve. Become. A. RABBIT!” Avaysia shrieks, making each word its own sentence.

Her voice is harsh against human ears, but positively torture to a rabbit’s far more delicate ones. I clap my paws over mine, trying to block the sound. Wren starts twisting his, as though he’d like nothing better than to rip them out.

“SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!” Avaysia squeals.

I think my ears are dying.

“AND DO IT NOW!”

Or maybe they’ve already died and gone to hell.

“NOW!”

“SHUT UP!” Wren bellows. “You’re going to attract every predator in the woods! Do you know how many animals eat rabbit?”

That gets Avaysia to be quiet. Of course, she’s already rung the dinner bell and invited every creature in the Sylvian Woods to come devour us. A hungry animal might turn up any moment.

Sure enough, my sensitive rabbit ears are picking up a rustling in the trees. A fox appears, eyeing us. Luckily, he’s on the other side of the water. But the fox is soon going to rectify that. He takes a running start and leaps.

His jump is off, and he falls short. There’s a splash as he lands in the water. The fox manages to drag himself onto our side of the river. He gets to his feet, snarling. Avaysia, Wren, and I back up. I’m desperately trying to think our way out.

There’s a small pop, and the growls stop abruptly. The fox disappears and is replaced with a reddish fish. The fish flops about in the grass until Wren shoves it into the water with a paw. The fish swims in circles for a bit, then darts off downstream.

“Did you see that?” Avaysia asks. “I think this water is magic!”

I roll my eyes. “Wow,” I say. “How’d you figure that one out, genius?”

“Be nice girls,” Wren interjects. “We still need to think of a way out of this, so lets hop to it.”

“Ha ha,” I say.

“Pun not intended,” Wren adds.

“Well I think Emma should fix this,” Avaysia says.

“Me? Why do I have to solve the problem you created?”

“Because—”

I cut her off. “Don’t you dare say because you’re royalty!”

“I wasn’t going to. Now, as I was saying, Emma should fix this because she’s the only one with magic. And, for the record, I am royalty.”

Wren rolls his eyes and I fold my front legs across my chest. Avaysia smirks at me, an interesting expression when wore by a rabbit. Neverard snorts and walks up to us. He snuffles the ground by my head and looks at me like, hurry up and fix this.

I focus and try to channel my magic. The change happens much slower than I would have liked. My ears start to shrink and slide down my head. My body elongates and my senses become weaker.

Suddenly, a twig snaps. We all jump and I lose my concentration. There’s a loud bang and all three of us are rabbits again. The abrupt change makes my head hurt. Apparently, Avaysia and Wren are experiencing the same thing.

A long, low growl comes from up on the hill. I turn and see one of the huge wolves that had attacked us before come slinking down the hill. He looks hungry. I wonder if he’s eaten since I was on the menu.

When the wolf comes close enough to smell us in the still air, he freezes. His head tilts to one side, as though he’s trying to remember something. He sniffs at the air cautiously, then seems to decide it safe to approach.

He throws back his head and lets out a loud howl. I know the rest of the pack will soon be upon us. If only I were in my human form! It seems my scent has changed, because the wolf acts as though I might be a threat but probably aren’t. Maybe he’d remember me as a human. Maybe they remember how our last encounter ended.

I try hard to force Wren, Avaysia, and myself back into human form. Once again, the transformation is slow. The wolf is drawing closer and we’re only part way through the change.

I’m still half rabbit when the wind begins to blow. It puts the wolf downwind of us, tossing my scent in his face. He jumps and lets out a puppy-like squeal. He turns, tucks his tail between his legs, and sprints for the woods, howling all the way.

There are three pops, and Wren, Avaysia, and I reappear in human form. Avaysia flops on her back in the grass. Wren breathes a sigh of relief. Neverard and the other horses come out from behind the bush in which they were hiding.

“Okay. I’m sick of being thirsty. It’s stupid,” I say.

I use my magic to create a small bowl-shaped hole in the ground. Concentrating hard, I imagine a great big straw sucking all the water out of the ground beneath us and putting it the hole. Though it makes me short of breath, the spell works perfectly. Avaysia, however, looks hesitant about drinking the water.

“Is it safe?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure I’m not going to turn into a rabbit or something?”

“Positive.”

“You know what? You drink first.”

Only after Wren, the horses, and I have hydrated ourselves does Avaysia drink some. When she’s declared it safe and has drunk her fill, we all sit on the grass and watch the sun sink lower in the sky.

“So, what did we learn today?” I ask Avaysia.

She looks at me blankly. “What?”

I sigh. “You royals are so thick! What else has to happen to you before you figure out how dangerous magic can be?”

“Oh.” Her face flushes red. “That.”

“Yes, that. I told you time and time again not to drink the water!”

“You drank it too!”

“But I didn’t swim in it.”

That shuts her up. I have a point, and she knows it. So rather than answer, Avaysia turns her back on me and talks to Wren.

“Should we move on, or camp here?”

“I’d just as soon stay put. We won’t be able to get far in the dark. Besides, we still need to figure out how to cross the river.”

“What if we fall into it while we sleep?”

“We wake up as rabbits,” I say. “What do you think?”

Avaysia sniffs and folds her arms across her chest, but doesn’t say anything. Then, as if she can’t stand to be near me a second longer, she rises and marches off. She sits back down on the grass about fifteen feet downstream. Then she bursts into tears.

Wren sighs. “Did you have to do that?” he asks.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“You made her cry.”

“It’s not my fault she’s so soft.”

“She just isn’t used to normal life.”

Wren stands and goes over to Avaysia. He sits next to her and starts trying to console her. She lays her head on his shoulder and I see in her eyes that she’s faking. To prove me right, she looks directly at me and winks.

I roll my eyes. “Or maybe she just wants attention, did you think of that, Wrenny boy?” I mutter.

Rather than watch Avaysia make an idiot of herself, I choose to start setting up camp. Using my magic to summon water has made me realize that it doesn’t have to be used solely as a weapon. In fact, it makes a pretty useful tool.

By the time Wren has “soothed” Avaysia, I’ve set up both tents and the hammock. Dinner is cooked and ready to eat. I’ve filled the big water skin and set a charm on it so Avaysia can’t get in. I know this is unnecessary now that I can draw water from the earth, but it will irritate Avaysia, so I do it anyways.

While we eat, I practice making the little balls of light and directing them to positions around the camp. We watch the moon rise in the sky; it’s full tonight. I wonder what phase the moon will be in when I finally get home. If I get home. The woods haven’t exactly been easy passing through, and we’ve only just started.

Wren and Avaysia go straight to bed after dinner, but I have first watch. Wren and Avaysia tuck themselves in and I climb a tree. My lights and the moon’s glow illuminate up our camp fairly well, and I have a good view.

The night is quiet. About half way through, I drop from the tree to switch with Wren. I’m just about to wake him when dark cloud drifts across the moon. The light immediately disappears. Not only that, but the stars have been blotted out. Even my lights have left us.

“Wren! Get up!” I shout.

I hear some movement off to my left, where Wren is. Then there’s a thump and a groan.

“Ow! How come it’s so dark? Where’d the moon and stars go?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can’t you make some more of those magic glowy things?”

“I’m trying,” I say, cupping my hands like I did before. “But it isn’t working!” I can feel the heat from them, but there’s no light.

“Well, what are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know! I was just about to wake you when this huge black cloud drifted over the moon and all the lights went out.”

“Where are you? Keep talking,” Wren says.

So, of course, I can’t think of anything to say. I start humming the first song that pops into my head. It’s one that Will taught me. The words tell about a little girl who got lost in the woods and died.

“Ouch!” I gasp as Wren stumbles into my foot.

“Sorry. Will you quit humming that song? I really don’t want to think about that right now.”

“Sorry. Oh, great, now it’s going to be stuck in my head.”

“Sh! What was that whistling sound?”

I fall silent, listening hard. “The only thing I hear is a ringing noise, which means magic is at work.”

“Do you mean your magic?”

“No. Someone else’s.”

“Is it friendly?”

“That’s kind of hard to tell. It doesn’t sound friendly, but it isn’t exactly threatening either.”

“Well that clears things up.”

“Hey, magic is imprecise! What can I say?”

“Guys? What’s going on?” Avaysia has woken up. “Why is everything so dark?”

“We’re having a bit of a magic problem,” Wren says.

Avaysia’s silent for a minute, then she says, “Did Emma’s magic run away with her again?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” I assure her. “Somebody else’s magic is doing this.”

“Do you hear something?” Wren asks again. “Sort of a sucking sound.”

This time, I hear it. It isn’t long before I feel it, too. The wind picks up and starts swirling in circles. I start turning out lights that can’t penetrate the blackness. The whistling grows louder.

“What’s happening?” Avaysia asks in a high-pitched voice. “Are we going to be turned into rabbits again?”

“I hope not,” Wren says.

“Well, being a rabbit might be better than whatever’s happening just now.”

“At least Wren was a cute rabbit,” Avaysia adds.

Though I can’t see either of them, I’m sure both are blushing.

Suddenly, the temperate drops. I’m shivering so hard I can hear my bones rattle. The darkness presses against my eyes. The whistling noise is growing louder and closer. It turns into a terrified scream that I think might be Avaysia.

Then, as quickly as it started, everything stops. The whistling vanishes, the stars and moon turn on, and our camp is flooded with light from the little fleets of glowing balls I created. The temperate comes back up to normal.

“Avaysia?” I ask. “Was that you screaming?”

“No. I thought it was you.”

“No. Wren?”

“No. I don’t think I could force myself to scream in a voice that high.”

That’s when I notice the panting. I look at the ground, where the sound seems to be coming from. Sprawled in the dirt, muddy and scared looking, is a strange girl that appeared out of nowhere.