Page 8 of Witch Unexpected
I peered into the pouch at the white seeds inside. “Breadcrumbs?”
“Better. These won’t get eaten. Trust me, Solaris swears by them.”
“Solaris, huh? And when do I get to meet him?”
“Her,” she said. “And soon.”
I gripped the pouch, gave Ursula a jaunty salute, then strode into the rift.
* * *
I’d gonethrough a rift before, into an awful evil place called the Eye. It was the reason I’d bonded with Jasper. I’d needed him for that trip, but this, I could do alone. Heck, not like I had a choice.
My skin pricked like a thousand needles were having a stab, and then I was in a dark forest, not much different from the one I’d left, except the air here was sickly sweet, like gone off fruit, and it felt thicker as it navigated my lungs.
My boots were planted firmly on a dirt track, a path hewn by obvious foot traffic, and yep, there were three pairs of tiny shoe prints pressed into the earth and another set of barefoot prints with large, splayed toes. I bet it was a bitch to find boots that fit those feet.
But this was a bingo moment for me.
A nice little trail to follow.
I dropped a seed and looked over my shoulder at the silver slash in the world.
I’ll be back, Way Out. “Okay, fae fuckers, where are you?”
I set off along the path, eyes flicking from the footprints to the edge of the track where shit could be lurking, waiting to pounce. This place looked normal, but it felt whacked out and off. My gut squirmed, and it took everything in me to keep moving forward. Six seed drops later, the sound of music drifted through trees to my left, and sure enough, the shoe prints veered off that way.
Was this another call for a bingo? I was about to find out.
I dove into the brush, leaving the path behind. Branches tried to scratch my face, but I batted them away, following the strange, haunting melody that left an ache in my belly. The silvery rays of moonlight that had been lighting my way were blocked by the leafy canopy above. I dropped another seed and then another as the music grew louder. Light flickered up ahead between the trees—the flames from a campfire.
This had to be a bingo, surely.
The urge to make a jump and shift into the clearing up ahead was an itch at the base of my skull, but my instincts warned me to minimize the use of my power here, to only employ it if absolutely necessary.
The music and the crackle and pop of the fire masked the sounds of my approach, then the clearing was visible through the trees. Three small shapes sat huddled together, eyes heavy with sleep. The human children. They looked so tiny and fragile, and kind of eerie with firelight dancing across their cherubic faces.
Another figure sat across from them with its back to me, but I caught sight of long gray hair and a green flat-cap. He prodded the flames periodically, making them jump and dance.
I couldn’t see any musical instrument. Where was the melody coming from?
I stepped to one side to get a better look at the clearing and check how many other fae creatures were holding the kids’ hostage.
Nope, the gray-haired fae was alone and—
What was that, a wooden cage? There was something inside. Small and furry with round ears. It looked like a teddy bear. An odd-looking teddy bear that had its eyes closed and…Fuck, the melody was coming from its mouth. It was singing.
My gaze flicked from the creature to the children, then back again. Wait, was the melody making them drowsy? Was it keeping them compliant?
It had no effect on me, so it must have been targeted to the little ones somehow.
“Mummy.” One of the kids opened her eyes and stared at the creature across from her in confusion. “Who are you? Where’s my mummy?”
The gray-haired creature swung his stick toward the cage and smacked it hard. The teddy bear creature within jumped, but it didn’t open its eyes. It sang louder, though.
The little girl’s eyelids drooped. She sighed and fell silent.
A soft chuckle drifted to my ears. “You keeps singing, you hear. Keeps singing and I won’t hurt ya.”
