Page 3 of Up from the Earth

Stepping over the remains, I placed my foot back down on the path and began to follow it home.

His body is returned, but his soul was unkind. It dwells in the World of Below, where such things go.

Freezing in place, my entire body went rigid at the sound of the deep, unplaceable voice. I darted my gaze around the woods, but there was nothing. I looked to be alone, but IknewI was not.

“W-Who’s there?” My voice trembled, and I clutched the basket closer to me.

Silence spread around me until I thought I was surely going mad. There was no way I’d heard that. I was just giving myself a fright because I knew I’d wandered off the beaten path a bit.

Cerridwen…you did not stay on the path, did you, child? Little girls who wander too far into the woods put themselves in danger of being consumed. Didn’t your mother tell you?

Fear raced through my veins as my pulse thudded, the muscle of my heart beating frantically against my ribcage. I needed to run. My mother had warned me, and for the first time, I didn’t think I was ready for the magic of the forest either.

I took off at a dead sprint, unwilling to lose my basket of mushrooms, so I squeezed it tightly to my chest. My shoes would have to be retrieved on a different day, and I left them behind me as I passed by the marshy areas near the bank of the stream. There was a pond not far from here, and the sounds of frogs and crickets chirping swelled higher and higher.

Without understanding why, I recognized this. Running, fleeing through the woods was familiar.

My dream.

There was no time for that, so I pushed everything I had into my legs. My steps pounded on the earth, each one bringing me closer to the woods’ edge, where I could escape safely into the fading light of day.

You cannot outrun me forever, Cerridwen. You belong to the wood, to the Below, to me.

Every cell shook with the rush of survival and retreat. Stranger still, there was exhilaration and…something I didn’t understand. In my mind, I asked a question of that voice, and the reply he gave would turn out to be the answer to not just my simple inquiry but to everything.

Who are you? Why are you after me?

Sweet, young Cerridwen. Still just sixteen. I am a very important wolf who must be obeyed. And you…are the Cauldron.

Two

When The Call Of The Wood Comes, Answer It.

In the present…

Myskinitched—apersistentnagging that had been dogging me every moment of the day. Comparable to a woolen sweater pulled on over dry flesh, it was nearly all I could think about, and each second that the day drew closer to midnight made the sensation worse. I needed out of this house.

“I’m fine, Mother. I only need rest. It has been ritual after ritual all day long. I’m exhausted.”

Furrowing my brow, I sagged, eyeing her with a silent, desperate plea to be left alone. She sighed, reaching out to brush a steady hand down my cheek. I could see the gears grinding behind her eyes, and that motherly look of concern was ever-present on her face.

“Alright, alright. Go on, then. Get your rest.” She stepped forward, wrapping her arms around me for a hug. “And happy birthday, Cerri.”

Smiling, soothed by the familiar scent of lavender and cedar that clung to my mother, I squeezed her back.

“My birthday is tomorrow. But thank you.” I leaned back and offered her a grateful quirk of my lips. “And I’m more than sure that you’ll have plenty for me to do then, too.”

Mother rolled her eyes at me, unbecoming of the Witch’s Maid that she was, and it warmed me all the more. Margaret Bridget Locke—my mother and friend—was as steadfast and sturdy as the tallest oak and rarely one to embrace the “frivolities of youth.”

“You’re not wrong, love.” She pulled me in and kissed the top of my head. “So, getting your sleep is a wise decision. Is it possible that after all these years, my daughter has finally found her head at twenty-one?”

I smirked, slipping away and jogging up the first few stairs that led to my room. “Never.”

With a wink, I hurried up the rest of the steps. It was moments to my room, down the left hall and at the far end. Once inside, I closed up the space, sealing it from unwanted spirits with a simple circle and knock.

Sleep was unlikely, as it usually was, but maybe this evening would be different. I was exhausted down to my bones from all the celebrations of the day. Perhaps insomnia and dreams of running would leave me be this time.

Fat chance, Cerri. And you know it.

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