Page 27 of Last Hope
Isis felt the walk to be a never ending dream, because they had accomplished nothing. She had pictured a Romanian forest to be more exciting than this, perhaps filled with witches and incense and potions meant for secret rituals, but everything so far had been a little along the lines of boring, though she really didn’t feel she could complain, after everything she’d been through, she felt normal was something she desperately needed.
But all thought of normalcy left her brain when Anya exclaimed loudly by her side and began to race forward at a faster pace. Isis, startled, followed behind her towards two trees in front of them that were bent towards each other, the tops entwined in a knot together, forming a circular doorway, with nothing but darkness staring back at them.
Isis stared at it with curiosity, her heart accelerating, though she wasn’t sure why. It was simple darkness and even when she squinted she saw nothing beyond that. Her breathing grew ragged and she tried to take a step forward but it did nothing. She felt her body go rigid as she stood immobile in her place.
“It is a witch’s spell.” Anya spoke for the first time in what seemed like hours. “An immobility spell so that we cannot go through the doorway.”
Isis wanted to speak, but her words were caught in her throat. She felt as though invisible cords were knotted around her, tightening the life from her body. She wanted to blink away the tears that fell from her eyes but she couldn’t do anything. She felt her bones begin to snap from the inside, she tried to desperately send out mental signals for Anya to help her but even that seemed impossible.
“Isis, I am going to break the spell. Hold strong, okay?” Anya said in a calm voice and then began to whisper under her breath. A moment later, Isis felt released from the unseen bonds. Her breath was restored and her bones began to heal almost immediately.
“What the hell was that?” Isis demanded when she found her ability to speak again.
“An immobility spell cast upon the front of this door,” Anya said. “Anyone with the intention of entering would be frozen where they stood. Eventually the spell sucks the life from the one standing here. It can be very deadly.”
“Why didn’t it work on you?” Isis wondered.
“Why indeed?” A voice that wasn’t Anya’s replied around them.
Isis went on high alert and turned in a predatory stance, only to find the tip of a very sharp arrow pointed directly at her nose. She held her breath but glared at the arrow and at the fingers wielding it. They were dark fingers, connected to a long slender arm.
Her eyes darted to the woman wielding the weapon. She looked like she belonged in the jungle. All long limbs, with dark olive skin that was covered in brightly colored tribal paint. Her hair was long and black, hanging over her shoulders, down to her slender waist. She was holding a bow in hand and the arrow looked ready to be released through Isis’s skull.
“Don’t even think about moving,” she demanded in a calm, deep voice. “This is a bewitched arrow.” Isis was hoping that Anya was beside her, thinking of a spell that would knock this amazon bitch on her ass.
“You’ve taken excruciating measures to secure the perimeter, Ami,” Anya said. “A bewitched arrow?”
Isis’s eyes darted to Anya in questioning.Ami?What?
The woman with the arrow redirected it to Anya’s direction. “So you know how deadly it can be, Anya.”
Anya’s eyes remained somber, even with the arrow on her forehead. Slowly, her voice took a mystic tone to it as she spoke her next words, they wrapped around them like smoke, the heat of them pressing against Isis’s skin.
“Upon our blessed mother moon, that the path we’ve chosen is honest and true…”
“…to the depths of ours souls that our bond of friendship is strong no matter how far apart we are…” Ami continued the chant, her voice just as misty and just as warm.
“…love ourselves and the ones we choose. Love with sincerity and protect our loved ones and those in need.”
And, ending, their voices rose to a crescendo as they practically sang together, “This is our secret and solemn vow…so let it be written and let it be done. So mote it be, beneath our mother moon.”
It ended in silence around them; both Anya and Ami were breathing heavily, as if they had run miles, while Isis just stared awkwardly between them. She had no clue what was going on and she had to admit, it made her uneasy.
She cleared her throat. The sound was like glass shattering in the quiet, causing Ami to lower her arrow, the side of her lip quirking up slightly.
“Your memory has not failed you,” Ami said.
Anya smiled. “The oath is something I could not forget. It has been many years; I could understand your precautions.”
Isis raised an eyebrow and cleared her throat again, hoping that this time they would pay attention to her.
Ami’s eyes found her once again, eyebrows suddenly furrowed together. “And who,” she began slowly, “is your impatient friend?”
“This is Isis, and we are seeking refuge.”
There was a long silence before Ami asked, “Seeking refuge from what?” Ami eyed Isis from head to toe, making her feel slightly uncomfortable, making her narrow her eyes and she suddenly wanted to tug at her shirt, though she resisted the urge to do so.
“From her own kind.” And then Anya recounted Isis’s entire story to this complete stranger. From the moment she had been changed unwillingly in Egypt to the more recent events of Azizi and how the police had discovered that he was alive.
