Page 14 of The White Enchantress

I sit back against the seat, keeping watch for cars that might be following us. After turning around for the hundredth time to check if anyone dared to pursue us, Josh tells me to relax. “What will Wesley do, start an epic car chase like in some Hollywood action movie? That would make him look the guilty party. No, he’ll want to appear innocent, as I’m sure your father has much to say in regard to his character. You are safe but, most importantly, free.”

I want to cry and laugh at the same time, but all I let out is a warm smile and a hiccup. Josh grabs my hand, giving it a supportive squeeze. “Leo, if we were to be in a car chase, would this car win?”

“This car and my exceptional driving skills will be no match for anyone, my lady. I assure you.”

Hearing the hint of a joke in Leo’s voice, I relax, letting Josh pull me closer to him. His eyes fill me with calm, looking down at me with nothing but love. We might have been friends in high school and throughout college, but things changed after Princeton. I have a strong urge to kiss him, though I don’t think that would be appropriate with Leo sitting in the front seat. But my urge wins out. I lean up into Josh’s smile.

Before our lips touch, we are hitched forward unexpectedly. The car violently swerves left and right before skidding to a stop in front of a large tree at the edge of the Solway Coast Nature Preserve.

“Lady Guin, are you all right?” Leo asks breathlessly, sounding as if he is miles away.

Flashbacks of my mom, her face covered in blood, glass decorating her skin, consume my mind. My breath is frozen inside me for a span of ten seconds or so until I recognize the voices shouting my name.

“Lady Guin!” “Guin!” Leo and Josh shout in unison.

“Yes, I’m fine. What happened?” I ask, coming back to my body, to the here and now.

“It’s a flat tire, my lady. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Of all the days to get a flat tire, do you think someone sabotaged us?” I hop out of the car to investigate, dragging my dress along. The tire is so badly damaged, I can’t tell if someone vandalized it.

“Let’s not become paranoid, Guin. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.” Josh says as he climbs out of the back seat. “Please tell me you have a spare, Leo.” At this, Leo gives Josh a look that says, “Who the hell do you think I am? Of course I have a bloody spare.” But Leo is much too polite to say such a thing aloud. “Right, let’s get started then.”

As the two men go to work, I grab my backpack from the back seat and head for the trees to get some privacy. I step a good ten paces or so into the trees, far enough to lose visual of the men but close enough to hear them. Leo politely shouts orders at Josh, whoquickly obeys his commands. I smile to myself, knowing that Josh is a good guy, one who shows respect even to a driver.

Though Leo is much more than my driver, respect is something Wesley never gave to him. I don’t know what the future holds for Josh and me. I don’t even know if I want anything more than friendship. But at least he loves me, and I love him. I love that he is honest. I love that he is loyal. I love the way his broody face lights up as soon as music touches his lips and fingertips. Whatever comes next, I know Josh will always be there.

I open my bag and start rummaging through to find the change of clothes I packed.Dammit. How am I supposed to get this bloody dress off?I forgot about the millions of tiny buttons on the back that Mrs. Bingham helped me with earlier this morning. As I close up my bag, I hear a whisper from behind me but when I turn around, the sound is gone.

No one is there. But I swear I heard voices, human voices whispering just a few feet behind me. And I swear there weren’t this many trees when I walked over here five minutes ago. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up on high alert. Every bone in my body shakes with fear, telling me to turn back to the car. But I can’t.

In this moment, I understand why every character in a horror movie doesn’t just run the fuck away. Fear makes you motionless.

Chapter 6

I close my eyesand count to ten, calming my irrational mind and the anxiety within. When I open them, my mind is quiet again, and I begin the labor of unbuttoning my wedding gown.

But after a few minutes and only a couple of buttons undone, the whispers start up again. I can’t make out their words, but the voices sound strangely familiar. It’s as if they are trying to speak to me, calling out. Somehow, I know I am meant to follow them. I grab my bag and carefully make my way farther into the marshy woods, listening for the whispers.

As I walk, I think of Merida from the Disney movieBrave, following those mysterious will-o’-the-wisps to find her destiny.Is it crazy to think that something like that could be real? That these voices will lead me to where I am supposed to be?After all, the world is a big mysterious place, and England is full of legends and lore that must have come from a genuine source.

But after a while, I feel like giving up. I don’t know how long I have been walking. And then it hits me; I haven’t been keepingtrack of where I had been walking from.Did I walk straight? Had I made any turns? If I use the GPS on my phone, I’d be back at the car in no time. This isn’t so bad. I can’t be too far in.

I quickly regret this thought as mist surrounds me, coming out of nowhere. The whispers start up again, much louder than before. Panic slowly pulses its way through my body, up from the pit of my stomach. I feel sick and dizzy, unable to see straight in front of me.

Then silence. All around me, a terrifying quietness takes hold of the woods. I am even unable to hear my own panicked breaths. Spinning around, I try to find an opening in the thick mists, but there is nothing, only a blank whiteness.

Then I hear a voice, loud and clear, saying my name. Josh, he is looking for me. It sounds like he is just behind a group of trees standing to the left of me. But I can’t detect any movement beyond them.

Taking a deep breath, I prepare to shout back at him, but no noise escapes my mouth. My scream turns to bubbles right in front of my eyes. For a split second, I’m dazed.How did my voice turn to bubbles?

Water. Somehow the mist turned into water. Looking all around me, I see nothing but water. No surface, no incline in the ground to lead me to shore. My mind is racing, trying to think of a way out of this crazy nightmare. I attempt to move, but my dress is stuck under a large rock.Now, how the fuck did that happen?Pulling at my dress does absolutely nothing.

Then a glint of metal appears to my right. I bend to pick it up, hoping it’ll be sharp enough to cut myself free. Before I can even see what I picked up, I’m surrounded by a warm white light. The light shoots me out of the water. I stay conscious long enough to see a dense forest surrounding me as I hover above the lake I fell into.

I’m a little disoriented when I come to, and I can still hear those damn whispers. These whispers are different though; they are clearly female. I can even make out some of what they are saying. Something about a white enchantress, legendary sword, the lady and a lake...none of it makes any sense.

I open my eyes to find myself lying on the ground, drenched and muddy. I see two women dressed in dark robes, both with hair flowing down to the waist.I must have stumbled into a LARP camp.

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